For the most part, the story was not for me because I was really expecting something much more unique based on the premise and the way the book was represented. Even so, what I did enjoy the graphics and the way the story was told. Unlike most comics and graphic novels I've seen Berrio was not afraid to display the progression of some scenes, which I liked since it has been my pet peeve in reading comics.

Going back to the plot, there were multiple scenes that featured people smoking, which I am personally against. This is the result of my rating being lower than usual. I expected our lead character to talk more about the places they were together in and perhaps their memories and whatnot, but I did not get a lot of that going through the book.

I got a gloomy vibe from seeing the cover and the title of the book, which spills into the color scheme throughout the pages, but the plot itself and the characters themselves were not able to represent that enough for me. And I need to mention again how the plot was just really not for me. And it did end weirdly for me.

Melancholic and atmospheric, the art style was absolutely my cup of tea. This is a graphic novel that could be translated into a movie or a novel even, it deals with the theme of dying love and of transition in a both sincere and emotional way.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

Well, this sounded better than it was. There were just a few things I didn't particularly like. 

This is the story of a woman whose partner is withdrawing from her. She decides to leave the place they are staying together (apparently with his parents???) and find a spot of her own. We see her talk to her friends, family, acquaintances about the situation. About Jorge, about what her plans are now. 

However, it isn't until the last story we finally hear something from Jorge. We finally meet the illusive guy who we only heard about from everyone and our MC. I was pretty pissed at that dude by then. I mean, really? It has been at least months (given that one cannot find an apartment in just one poof) and he hasn't contacted her ONCE??? Hello? What kind of relationship did you guys have? And oh yes, when she finally meets him up, they are all cosy and lovely and it didn't even feel awkward. Well, OK, right up until the moment they had sex. Then it got awkward. At least for me. I just couldn't understand why she had sex with the dude who hurt her this badly that she had to leave him. 

Elena's friends/acquaintances were so sweet. They offered help, a home, items, a party. 

I did love that the comic had many silent moments, relying on the images instead to the tell the story. And I also loved those more than the ones with conversation.

I have to say that I expected more off those Seven Places thing in the title. I had expected her to visit Seven Places that were significant to her and her boyfriend. 

The art was pretty OK. It fitted with the theme quite well, though I am not a very big fan of the style. 

All in all, it had good moments and not so good moments. I am glad I had the chance to try it out.

This graphic novel shows how carelessness can result into deep damage to a relationship which can take time to heal.
.
.Elena finds Jorge neglecting her for many days and one day when she runs out of patience she decides to move out.
Jorge tries to control the damage he has done to their stable relationship.
.
.Artwork is very good and shows step by step journey of Elena through tough times. Captions are up to the point and story is engaging throughout. 
.
Use of multicolor would have made difference in final outlook of the graphics but still artwork is awesome.
.
This throws light on the fact some relations can only be healed if we give adequate time and space.
Thanks #netgalley and author for ecopy in exchange of honest review.

This is an interesting take on what happens when love dies. Not because of cruelty or abuse, but by absence, and not caring.

We follow Elena as she unravels her life from Jorge, leaving his parents house, to couch surf with very generous friends, until she finds a place of her own.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Screen-Shot-2019-01-04-at-11.55.00-PM.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4879" />

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Screen-Shot-2019-01-04-at-11.57.54-PM.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4878" />

It is slow and steady, as we go from place to place without Jorge, until she has a place of her own. Not so much a love story, as a finding herself story.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

This is a poignant and gentle story about a young woman whose partner has withdrawn from her. They live with his parents but he doesn't communicate with her and sometimes he doesn't bother to come home. She realises that she must move out and so begins her transition to single life. She has support from friends and her own family but she finds strength in herself and gradually she finds peace. Eventually the boyfriend looks for her but the woman he finds is not the woman he knew. 

This is a gentle story about finding life and transitioning through difficult times. I thought the artwork was good and conveys the story  well. I particularly liked the pages with no text because the drawings then speak instead. 

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

"Come to Me, My Melancholy Baby"

Frank Sinatra once referred to one of his albums of torch songs, ("No One Cares", 1959), as a "collection of suicide songs". A bit extreme, but one gets the point. He certainly captured the aimless and passive melancholy of the classic torch song - a lament for a lost love. That's what we get here, and like a Sinatra song it's elegant, understated, and packs a sneaky emotional punch.

We follow Elena as she comes to grips with the fact that Jorge has slipped/drifted away, and we watch her mope and cope. The narrative is minimal and appears at first to be superficial. But of course that's life for you, and the little bits eventually add up. There is sadness, but also humor, (the dismissal of advantage-taking wannabe boyfriend Mario is priceless), and especially the support, (spoken and unspoken), of family and friends.

I appreciated this story mostly because of its treatment of Elena. She is often passive and bland, but that felt like a natural and honest initial reaction to her situation. You get the impression you are watching her sort out her feelings and choose her direction, and you get the impression that after a few false starts she will make good choices. It's not in your face girrrl power, but you do get the feeling that Elena isn't going to play the sap for the next Jorge who comes along. 

All of this is enhanced by the drawing decisions. Everything is pastel, with a few bits of meaningful and symbolic color here and there. Lines are soft, with a minimalist but effective approach to characters and background. Even in that soft and vulnerable pastel world, though, Elena is often drawn with more clarity and strength of line than the other characters, and that counts for something.

So, this looks at first like a pretty trifle, but it ends up being much more, and isn't that a nice find?

(Please note that I received a free advance will-self-destruct-in-x-days Adobe Digital copy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)

The start of story of Elena and Jorge is not one you see all that often and that was something I really liked about it. Whilst you're dropped in when Elena has already made up her mind it doesn't feel rushed or at all like a spur of the moment decision. 

I think this is partly owing to the simplistic art style and lack of dialogue to start, this worked very well. In addition the muted colour scheme works beautifully throughout the whole piece and matches the story perfectly. 

However, there were a few things that I did not enjoy as much. One being the characters looking so very similar (partly owing to simplistic art style) and therefore it was sometimes confusing as to who was talking and brought me away from the story to figure it out. Another was that sometimes the conversation didn't seem to be that of friends or family and didn't flow well, almost as if they were strangers. 

Overall I enjoyed the beginning set up of the art style and thought that the art was lovely. 3.5 / 5.

Seven Places Without You is a graphic novel depicting a tale not so often told— a couple experiencing a breakup of sorts and looking to an uncertain future. What I find refreshing about this story is the fact that it’s dealing with this theme at all. We see plenty of romance— often told in the same basic plot structure— through all forms of media, and while romance is great when it works for the story, it can get repetitive. I love that I’m reading something exploring the parts of romance that aren’t all happily ever after. We don’t see that much.

The art style is light and I love the scenery depictions. One of the chapters is told entirely in pictures and no text/dialogue, which is one of my absolute favorite graphic novel/comic tropes. All the characters look very similar, but I think that’s more of an aspect of the artist’s overall style, and not necessarily a criticism. I also enjoyed that the story was told through the seven places, as the title implies. We see Elena struggle and thrive in various environments following her decision to distance herself from Jorge. The color scheme remains relatively constant in soft blues, browns, and neutral shades, but Elena’s clothing is often the sole thing that will stand out on the page. She wears red for her final encounter with Jorge, which I think is nice symbolism.

I have to admit that the ending was off-putting. I wasn’t expecting what happened (no spoilers), but I was almost hoping that the opposite would happen. This criticism is likely a matter of personal opinion, so I won’t go into it too much, but given that this novel is pitched a certain way, what we see at the very end is not quite what we’d expect. I do like that some gets left to the imagination, for the reader’s interpretation.

These things aside, this is a quick read that deals with important issues and themes I don’t see often in media. It has a nice art style, and it’s quietly emotional.

Goodreads link to this review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2659434413

A quiet, nicely illustrated graphic novel about a young couple going their separate ways (maybe). Not especially plot driven, but the illustrations do well at giving a sense of space and stillness.

Seven Places Without You is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel. 

This is a story about a relationship that has broken down. Elena doesn't know what has happened or why, all she knows is that she is alone and heartbroken. There are seven chapters, each one sees Elena in different situations and we see how she deals with her anguish when with her friends and family. 

I love the illustrations and the muted colours used, they match the emotion and pace of the story. What surprised me was the depth of feeling portrayed in the images without dialogue. It's exquisitely done. 

My favourite moments are when Elena goes home and visits with her parents and her younger brother. The relationship between the siblings is sweet, and Elena's mum is very believable in her worrying and nagging!

I was a little disappointed with the last chapter, the story went in a direction that I wasn't expecting. However, that said, I very much enjoyed this book. I haven't read many graphic novels, Seven Places Without You has made me realise that this is a mistake, and I will definitely be reading more. An engaging and poignant short story.

Simple clean lines and art style in this graphic novel. It really lends itself to the story being told. I really enjoyed this one and will recommend it.

As someone who doesn't often go for graphic novels, this was a pleasant surprise for me. The narrative follows a young woman whose first relationship is on the rocks, as she searches for a new place for herself and considers her situation.

This is a story of love that doesn't run smoothly, and I appreciate that. It isn't filled with drama or passionate reunions (although there is a reunion of some sort in the final chapter), but takes place in the spaces between the events of the relationship.

One of my favourite things about the novel is how realistic all of the dialogue is. One particular line (unimportant as it is) stuck out to me: "Any more fridge food?" 
That line just sits perfectly in the middle of the scene, grounding it in reality. This isn't a novel focused SOLELY on romance and relationships either; it really captures the ongoing debate in Elena's head, whilst focusing on her day to day life.

Since this is a graphic novel, I should probably comment on the art too - it's very simplistic, with a muted colour palette, which isn't to my tastes exactly, but fits perfectly with the narrative. I liked how the colours reflected Elena's mood throughout, being blue and grey towards the beginning, and vivid red at the end.

One thing that did bother me slightly was that I had issues distinguishing between certain characters. Initially I thought that Maria was the same person as Elena's younger brother, then got HIM mixed up with Jorge when he finally appeared. This was perhaps just an issue for me, however it did hinder the flow of the narrative a little.

(There are some more explicit images in the final chapter which didn't bother me, but may bother others so I figured I'd mention it)

All in all, I enjoyed reading this book; it's a very quick read, perhaps 20 minutes? If you're looking for something simple and moving, give Seven Places Without You a whirl :)