I really wanted to like this graphic novel -- I really did. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt. I forced myself to come back to it daily. But every second was a slog. There are some good concepts here, but it all winds up lost in the murky depths of uninteresting narrative format.

An odd and eerie, not to mention delightfully suspenseful, story that has some amazing graphics to go with it.

A missing ex-girlfriend and time travel... it had so much potential, but really didn't meet my expectations.

At the End of Your Tether by Adam Smith has such an intriguing premise. 
I felt a bit lost throughout the story due to the time jumps, but everything came together well at the end. 
At the End of Your Tether deals with how different people deal with love, loss & depression.

With themes of grief, love, loss, and time travel; this is a solid modern graphic novel. 

I’ve heard this compared to Donnie Darko and it lives up to it. The mind-bending time travel element makes this a bit difficult to follow at times, but keeps the love story fresh and adds depth. Both Ludo and Ardo are whole characters on their own and their relationship builds dynamically through the story. Loved the artwork!

An intriguing graphic novel that I think could benefit from a smoother artistic style, but then again this could be due to the fact that it's a galley and not a finished product.

This was the first ever graphic novel that I got approved for on NetGalley. As you know I've not delved *too* much into the world of graphic novels, just dipping my toes in now and again so this was a bit of a nice change of pace for me. I've been struggling a little bit with reading so this was a welcome change - less pages, still as much story but a lot less time to be put into it.

This was the story of a young guy who tried to find his missing ex girlfriend. He's returning to his old hometown after being away for a few years and he hasn't spoken to her since he left. Turns out she's been missing for the last week. Ludo (our young guy) sets out to find her and whats happened with a lot of bumps and ghosts along the way. I don't want to say much more because I don't want to spoil it.

I really enjoyed this. The story was compelling and twisty with surprises along the way. You do have to bear with it and follow through though, there are things that might not make much sense until further through the story arc. The characters were likeable and well fleshed out considering its all in grapic storyboard format. I really liked Ludo and Arlo and felt a strange connection with them. Even the parents are well represented in this. The artwork itself is stunning and so well done. I really liked this style and I think its testament to how well its done that the story is so well rounded, with depth and fleshed out. My one criticism is the same as a lot of others and that is the concept explored in it isn't always clear. I did sometimes had to read the same couple of pages 3 or 4 times to get where I was in the world that had been built. That being said, I didn't mind that as much as lot of other people because I was so intrigued by it.

3* out of 5* for me on this one!

Very good illustration / art work and story.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. All the best to the author and illustrator for future projects.

I found this book to be rather interesting. It follows two military brats and looks at their relationship in a very non-linear fashion. I can understand the way the story plays with time not working for a lot of readers because it can be confusing at times. I thought it heightened the uncertainty of the their relationship in general, especially with the way the families can be moved around at any point. I also liked that music was a major connecting point for the characters and that Arlo communicates to Ludo through mixtapes. The art is good. The characters look very grounded in reality, so the moments that are unusual really stand out.

This book made me cry. True love waits forever. This comic made me happy and sad, I loved the concept, the graphics and the beautiful storyline. I am looking forward to more books by these authors. I seriously can't stop drooling over this book. It has a great concept. A unique story. It is exactly what I was looking for. A mind refreshing story. 😍😍😍💓

'At the End of Your Tether' by Adam Smith with art by V.V. Glass is a graphic novel about a boy looking for something that maybe he's not meant to find.

Ludo Carre is in love with Arlo Quinonez.  They've made mixtapes together and formed a real connection.  One that got broken up with the moving around of families.  Now, it's 1997 and Ludo is moving back to his home.  The problem is that Arlo has gone missing.  Now Ludo has gone in search of her, but he may find things about Arlo that he wished he hadn't found out.

The story and art here were just kind of mediocre.  By the time the reveal hit, I was already a bit checked out of the story.  I liked the characters, and the end of the story was strange.
 
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Oni Press and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

I'm not sure I completely understood what was going on in this book. I liked a lot of the elements: characters who feel like outsiders, the questions of whether you can still know a person after years apart, whether you ever knew them at all, the exploration of the choices you make and their affect on the future. But the confusion that came along with those ideas was off-putting.

The story line and artwork is great. However, there is some confusion as to the time travel aspect and wasn't sure if it was from a military cause or if this is a SCi-Fi graphic novel.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This story has the potential to be something great if it were just a little more developed. It just needs some fine tuning to the the story it is meant to. The premises is great, and the story line is great it just needs more depth and background. Maybe a clearer timeline/storyline of events that are taking place.

I have to say, right away, that this wasn’t for me. It didn’t feel like a stand-alone book or even the first book in a series, it almost felt like a book in the middle of a series, and I think that’s one of the main things that I didn’t enjoy about it.

I thought that the art style was nice, very simple and understated, but, at times, it was too simple. It was pleasant but not striking or eye-catching. There’s nothing wrong with that though because sometimes too much detail can distract from the plot and the characters and I felt like the artwork was a good choice for this type of story. I’m not an expert in art or graphic novels but I did like it.

The premise was very intriguing and I liked the beginning a lot, even if it was a little abrupt. I thought that the mystery aspects could have been interesting if they’d have been developed more. I did like some of the other themes it touched upon, such as love and grief, but the storyline became tangled and confusing. I didn’t work out what was going on until the very. Perhaps I should read it again now that I know the ending to see if it’s easier to follow.

Overall, I think that this graphic novel had a lot of potential but the plot became too complicated. I did like the artwork though.

I really liked the idea of this story. It's a little bit like one of my favorite shows last year, Dark from Netflix. I just can't say no to any story involving a messed up timeline.

Though the art style is not really my thing. I think it's a bit too romantic, the graphics are too light if you know what I mean. I would've loved it if they were somehow darker with more shading. I just don't think the lighter graphics fit this story well.

Back to the story, It's clear that this is only the beginning of an epic story. So it's like a set-up for more. I'm looking forward to reading the next volume, but I think there should have been more information in the first volume. I'm going to read the next one because I'm just a sucker for these stories, but I don't think the storyline in the first volume is enough to pull everyone in. That's why I'm giving it a 3 stars rating. I have higher expectations for it.

At the End of Your Tether is a mystery/sci-fi graphic novel following two teens - Ludo and Arlo - who grow up on an air force base and fall for each other. When Ludo's mother transfers bases, his relationship with Arlo ends. But now, several years later, Ludo and his family are returning to visit – he is nervous but excited to reconnect with Arlo. However, when they arrive, it turns out Arlo has been missing for several days, and for Ludo, nothing about it adds up.

This is kind of a mystery story, kind of a coming-of-age, and kind of a sci-fi. The first half is pretty wholesome – Ludo has this super supportive relationship with his parents, (they all bond over their love of motorcycles, aww); and I liked his meet-cute relationship with Arlo. Things quickly take a turn when Arlo goes missing, and it turns out the multiverse has something to do with it. Overall, I liked the characters, and I think there was a lot of potential there. Not only were they well-designed and recognizable, but they felt full of potential - I was excited! 

However, I had two big problems with this story – the plot and pacing. I had a really hard time following what was going on. There were elements to the multiverse aspect of the story that were ill-explained for me. Additionally, there were a lot of side-plots and leads that didn't seem to go anywhere or that were not elaborated on. I was asking myself, "what was the point of that?" or, "why is this in here if it's not important later?" There is also an omniscient narrator throughout the story that said things like, "Oooh yes, in THIS version of the story, it happens like this!!" – which made sense given the multiverse aspect, but those constant asides left me feeling even more confused trying to figure out what they meant.

Unfortunately, the wandering story isn't leaving me feeling super invested or interested enough to continue to the next installation, hoping there are explanations. I do give the creators massive props for the beautiful artwork, especially the fact that some (all?) of the coloration is done with gouache. Additionally the characters were wonderfully designed and felt fully realized; it's just too bad the story was so weak in comparison.

Would I recommend it? Maybe, maybe not. It is quite a quick read, yet it was also so unsatisfying to me I felt I could've spent my time better. I wanted a lot more out of this one than I received.

Actual rating: 3.5 stars

This was a gorgeous story featuring two army kids making a connection in a lifestyle that means constantly moving around. But when Ludo finds out his ex- and best friend, Arlo, has gone missing things his life starts to change.

The artwork in this graphic novel was a style that I love - simplistic but colourful and just aesthetically pleasing when paired with storytelling. Reminding me of illustrations by Fiona Staples in the Saga series, they were just enjoyable and wove the story-line together well.

While I adored our main characters, Ludo and Arlo, in their own way, the overall character development was a bit flat for me.

Without spoiling too much, this does have a little bit of time/dimension travel involved. A lot of other reviewers have stated that this wasn't clear and ended up causing some confusion. I don't disagree. While I don't think it was downright confusing, there was something missing to just make it clear to the reader.

But overall, I love the concept of the story that is weaved together by these fantastical elements. I enjoyed the novel and am interested in keeping an eye out for Adam Smith in the future - maybe a baby Vaughan on the horizon?

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.   Thank you NetGalley.

Interesting read overall.     Touches upon time travel.   The illustrations were great.   The concept was also good.     There were a few confusing times, but it made more sense when i read ita ll again.

At the End of Your Tether is, honestly, a very lovely story. It's steeped in time travel that I'm not sure always makes sense, or is as clear as it could be, but ultimately it works for me. The art is stunning, especially during the climax scene when everything really starts coming together.

I'm excited to read more of Adam Smith's work, though, which is always a plus!

*Thanks to NetGalley and Lion Forge for the free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.*