Sweet.

But weird.

Was it supposed to mean anything on a deeper level? I don’t know. I’m confused.

It was hard to get past the fact that she was having a physical relationship with a bear.

I don’t know.

Fun if you feel like you can get past that.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Oni Press for a copy in return for an honest review.</i>

A story of a lady and her bear, the title really does explain it all. This is a charming graphic novel about love, friendship, and just accepting who you are. I laughed and even shed a tear, curse my fondness for a good love story!

This book is adorable, but you can't think about it too much.

The art is beautiful. It's beautiful and fluid and adorable and I love the character designs. I couldn't get over how cute Bear was and I kept giggling over his various faces. On the other hand, it feels like I'm proving Nora's rude friend right by praising the Bear just for his cuteness. On the other other hand, he's a BEAR. He IS cute and repeatedly acts cute on purpose in the story itself and I'm just reading too much into it.

See that's what I mean about not thinking about it. If you want to really enjoy this book, enjoy the cute art and the cute bear and the cute girl and the cute cat. Just don't think about it too much. Yes, it's a real bear. No, it's not a bear shifter or an anthropomorphized bear. It's literally just a real bear. Yes, she falls in love with the bear. Yes, she fucks the bear (thankfully not on-page, that'd be a very different type of literature). Yes, the book is absolute bonkers and I kinda love it. I just can't think about it at all.

The title of this graphic novel spells it out for you: Nora's boyfriend is a bear. No, not an avid fan of Chicago football, and not a hat-wearing wocka wocka standup comic -- an actual flesh and fur belongs-in-a-zoo-or-in-a-stream-salmon-swatting bear. Nora is a thoroughly modern Los Angeleno who hasn't had much luck in love. On a camping trip with the latest self-absorbed suitor, she wanders off and encounters a bear on the trail. What ensues isn't a survivalist tale, but a wholly unexpected modern suburban love story. Written by Pamela Ribon, the story magically balances a clever, goofy awareness of its off-kilter premise with, at heart, an unabashed sincerity and insight into the highs and lows in love and relationships. Cat Farris' illustrations are whimsically charming, especially the Los Angeles she captures, a Los Angeles I would love to live in instead of the one I actually do.

This was an enchanting read I couldn't put down once I started it. What I love most about this book is how much it believes in love. Highly recommended for the starry-eyed romantic in all of us.

What caught my attention about this book was the title. I didn't really expect the real bear but OMG. 😂

It was a fun read, I like it. I can recommend this to someone who wants to spend some time reading but not much. I read it in one sitting. Although I didn't like much the idea of a girl having not only romantically but also sexually relationship with an actual bear. Plus, the death of her cat just made me sad.

I didn't care for Nora. At all. She doesn't know how to chose her friends, or her dates, or her job but makes it look like it's such an universal conspiracy to make her life miserable.
To make things right, a bear picks her for its mate. Apparently, the bear doesn't mind her reading Glamour instead of Kerouac. I liked the bear, it was fun.

I'm not exactly sure what I was expecting, but I don't think it was this. As the title suggests, this girl was in a romantic relationship with a bear. A literal bear. It was a cute story, though. And that bear actually was a really good boyfriend, I think I was expecting it to be more of a metaphorical situation. It was interesting that some people were able to accept the relationship, and others were attempting to sabotage it. I actually found myself angry at her blonde friend who invited an ex to her birthday party. Here I am thinking 'how dare she disrespect their relationship?!' and then checking myself... "but this is a literal bear... how can this end well?" I was waiting for that disastrous event that I was sure was coming... I mean, it's a bear... around people.... but it never did. Happy Ending. Cute. This was simply a cute story with very appealing art.

This was a cute book. I loved that it dealt with the positive (cuddling) and negative (breaking things) aspects of living with a bear. The Bear and cat interactions were the best.

Whimsical and weird! A solid choice for folks who enjoy off-beat humor.

Nora has dated quite a few douche bags in her day. (She said it...) It is no surprise that she wants her next boyfriend to be a CUDDLER! Good Listener! Brave! Smart! Funny! A homebody and outdoorsy fella. WHEW! Clearly she's not one to settle. But she knows it's going to be rough finding the guy. And perhaps that why she's so open to a relationship with the bear that pursues her later that evening. No, not the kind of "Fabulous Bear" RuPaul might hang out with - an actual American Black Bear.

The reason this doesn't get the fifth star is because it is a little too "real world" with her parents and friend Debra giving Nora shit about dating a bear. You could replace the "bear" with a woman, a man of color, poor, or a Republican and the narrative wouldn't likely change. I was hoping for a bit more whimsy. It is unclear if this is the start of a series or just a stand-alone story, so if there are more, I am hoping for more silly and less Debra. Honestly, with friends like her, who needs enemies.

There are parts that allude to Nora and Bear having sex. Like, dude is a 500 pound bear. Logistically I'm not sure how that works out and where the pieces fit. There is also some swearing and adult talk, so I wouldn't pick this up for the kids in your life.

Part of this review is also on my Litsy Account: Kelly_the_Bookish_Sidekick

This comic is far cuter and far sweeter than I honestly expected. It's a quick but quirky read that is weirdly enjoyable in the most heartwarming way possible.

This was fun, weird, but fun. It made me laugh and the illustrations are great - colourful and cute. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for something light, quirky, and fun.

This comic is straight up weird – it’s about a young woman who, after a number of failed relationships with unsuitable men, hooks up with an American black bear and starts a romantic and sexual relationship.

The weird thing is that the whole story is adorable, he’s a kind and thoughtful bear who does DIY, cares about the correct storage of coffee beans and makes her happy. The illustrations are sweet and attractively coloured and the whole story is charming and funny, but the fact that the beastiality is either a very heavily veiled metaphor for ‘date the one who makes you happy, not the one people approve of’ or it’s just something you have to try to overlook to enjoy the illustrations and story for what they are.

Although very interesting, the ridiculousness of the premise was a little hard to get over.

This is such a delightful and lovely story with charming illustrations.

Nora and her Bear are too adorable for words. She has had a lackluster track record with men and two well-meaning friends. She meets a bear while camping with her now-ex, who works with her at a call center. But when the news breaks that environmental factors force wildlife into LA, Nora finds a bear going through her trash...but it ends up being the same bear from the woods. It turns out this bear seems to be exactly what she is looking for in a companion in life. Will nature call Bear back to life in his cave or will his relationship with Nora become long-term? Reads like a super cute, closed-door Paranormal Romance. But Bear isn't a shifter. He's an actual bear.

This was oddly adorable. Nora is tired of dating losers. When she goes on a hiking trip with her newest boyfriend, Ben, she meets a bear in the woods. The attraction is instant. Surprisingly, the bear is the best boyfriend she has ever had. Although the storyline is very strange, it is also strangely adorable. Who knew there wasn't much of a difference between a human boyfriend and a bear boyfriend.

My Boyfriend Is a Bear was surely different, haha. I must raise my hat to Ribon for doing this, since you hardly see bestiality in comics and no, it's not the perverse kind here. Nora has had bad luck with guys and on her hike she runs into a bear, the actual kind. Somehow these two end up together and the bear is actually very sweet, considerate and well, very much a real bear. Of course the bear isn't just any bear, but somewhat anthropomorphized version, since otherwise this comic would be quite awkward. Their relationship is cute and they try to make it work, but getting others to accept is the hard part, but gladly the bear is very awesome. The hibernation is the biggest obstacle, but there's nothing a true love cannot conquer, right? The idea is brilliant and the story is well conveyed, although I perhaps wished something more profound and deep. The story is light and funny even, which makes this easy approach, so don't panic about the relationship itself.

The art is fun and cute with bright and beautiful colors. The pace is good too and overall the comic is nice, although light in every manner. My Boyfriend Is a Bear is a brave move and proves that you can have unconventional topics and do them with style. It's also a safe comic, even though I'm sure some of the readers consider this as "too much". I do hope Ribon continues with this line of work, since we surely need more diversity and new ideas!

This is a lovely light hearted story about as the title suggests a girl who has a bear for a boyfriend. It’s very heartwarming! The art style is really bright and colourful.