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Amparo is a teen prankster, desperately trying to impress the super-smart Iolanthe, but succeeding in only stressing out their mother and abuela.  When a talking cat comes to Amparo's bedroom, Amparo becomes convinced that the magical cat can grant them their wish: to be a better person  Unfortunately, the magical cat is a better trickster than Amparo, and steals their name and identity.  The former Amparo is doomed to Bright World, a vibrant, terrifying land squished in between the mortal world and what lies beyond.  Fierce creatures feed on humans and use memories as currency, and it's all former-Amparo can do to survive! They become an indentured servant to cafe owner, Mimi, who dubs them "Paola," but Paola soon finds a new master - El Ciervo, a creepy "doctor" who specializes in performing medical procedures on humans.  Now "Fawn," Amparo must fight their way out of Bright World and back to their life before they become a demon only worthy of Bright World.

Bright World is so imaginative and deeply developed through this story, and the summaries only scratch the surface of what's in this volume.  Stanley's vibrant colors make this book a wonder to behold.  There are a few instances of narrative hiccups where transitions could have been smoother, and I didn't care as much for the two tandem storylines of Bright World and the Mortal Realm happening on the same page, but it was a different way to show progression in each realm.  This small choice only slightly detracted from my overall enjoyment of this story.  There is also some beautiful representation in this story.  Bright World is a beautiful, boldly colored world with heavy Latin folkloric influences.  There are several panels of dialogue entirely in Spanish.   Fawn/Paola/Amparo is nonbinary, and the topic comes up a few times throughout the story.  
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There is some mild language - some of it is censored, and other times, when Amparo/Paola/Fawn gets really upset, it's not.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

This book is insane. But a good insane. And the art is so beautiful and weird and BEAUTIFUL. Like, I'm in love.
So, a talking cat stoles Amparo's name, and shape, and life, and sends them to this weird place, the Bright World, that's full of strange people or monsters or something, it's purposefully unclear. Well, the Bright Worldians like to eat humans, so Amparo must get a master of they want to survive and maybe get their life back.
I loved Amparo. They was a badass, a mess, a troublemaker in the human world. But they grow so, so much in Bright World, without losing themself in the process.
I also loved El Ciervo, he's so mysterious but also straightforward and open and not a villain but also not a role model.
It's safe to say that this graphic novel is as far as you can go from usual fantastic archetypes inside a fantasy/urban fantasy world. And I liked it a lot.

I could not put this book down. I read it wondering if it was going to be too dark to purchase for my teen collection, but I think I'm going to purchase it regardless and if I need to move it to Adult GN later, I will (I don't think I will!)

I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review from Oni Press via NetGalley.

Well, this one was unputdownable!

What a positive shock the artwork of this graphic novel was! I was not expecting it, it caught me totally off guard, and I ENJOYED IT all the way! What a pleasant surprise! The bold outlines, the vibrant colours, the neon, and the expressiveness added a lot to the plot development and the story's dynamics. I even have my favourite illustration; the Seamstress looks divine. 

The spookiness and the mystery of Bright World are making me both scared of it and in love with it at the same time. How is that even possible? I would love to be a part of it, to learn more about it, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to end up in some trouble over there because I am sure I wouldn't be able to get out of it. Bright World got my thoughts so entangled that I am not sure what I want. But I know that I want one thing, and that's the Volume 2. 

The characters of the story are something completely new and refreshing to me. The diversity of them, along with the world-building, draw me in quickly. I AM HOOKED TO IT! 

Amparo, a witty character who knows what they want but expresses it wrongly, maybe a delinquent, but they want to become a better person. As it turns out, they had to dive deep into the fantastic world "on the other side" to learn what exactly needs to be done to improve themselves. 

El Ciervo, Amparo's patron in Bright World, is still very mysterious to me. Who is he? I am confused about what this deer did to Amparo's teeth. How did he do it? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS! 

Needless to say, I was not happy about the abrupt ending. That cliffhanger there was so not expected, not wanted, and not asked for (I wanted more!). This intriguing story, filled with magic (and gore, and cannibalism, and dark everything), kept me wondering what happened page after page... and now, volume after volume - I am so looking forward to Volume 2!

CW: Cannibalism, Gore, Misgendering, Amputation, Violence, Murder, Death.

I WAS SO EXCITED TO READ THIS. The Hazards Of Love is a queer, dark fantasy, romance graphic novel about a chaotic delinquent sent into another dimension. Want to read it yet?

It follows Amparo, a non-binary teen who makes a deal with an untrustworthy talking cat that steals their name and their body in the human world and sends Amparo off to the Bright World. Yeah, don’t trust talking cats. The Bright World gives me Mexican ’Day Of The Dead’ undertones from the colours and the creatures – who Amparo has to try and survive. I fell a little bit in love with all the characters and it’s really nice to see a non binary protagonist. Does it affect the story in any way? No. But does it make me smile? Yes.

The Hazards Of Love is not a book for kids… or readers with a weak stomach. Whilst the plot isn’t an uncommon trope, there’s some violence that’s slightly disturbing and the entire book is dark and kind of creepy. It’s not exactly a light read… but that’s only because I was so stressed about what was going to happen to the characters.

I just couldn’t put it down. I LOVE the characters and the vibrancy of the illustrations makes them jump right off the page and into your heart. Amparo is hilarious and real and I just want them to be happy 😦 The title is a little misleading – it’s not really the love story I’d imagined between Amparo and a girl we’re introduced to at the beginning, Iolanthe. Mainly because they’re together for about a page (evil cat, remember?). But it’s a story of survival and other types of love and desperation… and also exploitation. Some pretty serious stuff is covered in the guise of this mad fantasy world.

Also, please note, I haven’t cried at a book in about a year and a half but this may have set me off. Possibly… although I admit nothing. The Hazards Of Love ends on a bit of a cliffhanger – let me tell you I physically gasped – but the rest of the series is luckily online. I am now suffering a severe book hangover, it’s so good.

To sum up, The Hazards Of Love is a weird and wonderful book. From badass female characters to the gorgeous illustrations and the gay jokes – this is just genius, I can’t praise it enough. If you love queer fantasy and dark graphic novels, read this on the 30th March! You won’t regret it.

I received a copy of this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review. 
The Hazards of Love Vol 1: Bright World is a YA graphic novel that follows Amparo, a non-binary teen wanting to become a better person, so, naturally, he makes a deal with a talking cat in order to achieve this. Talking cats are not to be trusted however as this one proceeds to steal Amparo's name, body and life, condemning them to Bright World, a world full of monsters, where humans are either eaten or turned into mindless, memory-less slaves. 
This book was so weird and not at all what I expected. That being said, I still found it very intriguing and the strangeness just added to that. The mysteriousness of Bright World and its inhabitants was engaging throughout, and the characters seemed very real. 
I really enjoyed the art style, which definitely contributed to my enjoyment, and the colourful plant life of Bright World was beautiful. There were many bits of this graphic novel that shocked me, and this only increased my desire to continue, and I will definitely be picking up the next volume when it's released. 
I can't comment on the non-binary representation, but I can comment on sapphic rep, and I loved how normally the relationship is portrayed, despite how abnormal some aspects of it actually were. I also thought that the way Iolanthe's school mates see her as a way to boost their school's perceived inclusion felt very accurate. 
This book is full of diverse characters; all of the main characters in the real world are poc, and while I am unable to comment on how good the representation is, I thought it was a great inclusion to the book. 
There were also some aspects of this graphic novel that I didn't love, part of it being some of the logic behind the characters' actions, as there were points when some characters seemed to act completely differently than the way they had been throughout the rest of the book, but this didn't impact my overall enjoyment too much, and it still got 4 stars. 
This book is not definitely for everyone, but if you are interested in dark, confusing fantasy worlds then I would recommend it to you.

I’m 79 pages in this graphic novel and it’s interesting and i love the art it’s beautiful and the art for the world amparo goes to is beautiful, and i’m happy that there’s diversity in this book which is enjoyable but i feel like the character development needs a little work because it doesn’t let us see how they react naturally, because it goes from one event to another without giving the characters  a break to let us know how they normally react. and the relationship between the characters is sweet but it needs a little a lead back without jumping into the relationship so quickly, other than that it’s honestly a enjoyable read!! overall i give this book 3.5/5 stars and i’m gonna continue reading it when i get the chance to!!

The hazards of love is a great fantasy comic. Main character Amparo is tricked by a talking cat who steals their name and body, taking his place in the human world and then sending them to a colourful world full of monsters who feed of human memories and slave people to take his fondest memories.

This is a very fun and imaginative story with a indefined genre protagonist, if you read between lines you can see many similarities between this world full of monsters and the real world

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for making this available.. 

I got 137 pages in and still couldn't figure this out. This jumped into everything way to fast for me, the character development never happened for me, the part of the cat made no sense to me because there was no back story, it all just happened. If it slowed down, explained things a bit more, discussed and took time with explaining the main characters backstory and who they are and how they're interested in each other would be so much better. 

 The artwork was so beautiful, the details were really well done and the use of the colours was amazing.

I went into this not knowing a single thing about it so I honestly did not know what to expect. To be honest, even if I had read the blurb prior to reading this graphic novel, I probably still would’ve went in with minor knowledge.

This story goes in so many directions but the journey is a ride you want to be on even if at times it’s a little creepy and scary.

We follow Amparo as they accidentally get sent to this other dimension full of demons that want to eat them after making a bad deal with a magical talking cat.

Their journey in this crazy land whilst also dealing with their gender was well done, in my opinion. It wasn’t made into a huge deal, we just see in certain instances where a character gets corrected on pronouns and Amparo says out loud to someone how they feel with it.

It followed a lot of darker roads than I anticipated but nonetheless I really enjoyed this.

I will say though the art at times was a little too vibrant so I did need to take a few breaks in between chapters but that might just be a personal thing.

Besides that, I highly enjoyed the artist’s style and how well they captured all of these characters personalities. Each one really stood out on their own!

I’m really looking forward to more volumes in this series especially with that juicy cliffhanger of an ending.

Highly recommend this if you’re into weird, spooky, queer stories!

4/5 ⭐️

TW: death, death of a loved one, dismemberment, blood, body horror, violence.

My review will be up on my blog on release day!

3.5/5 stars 

'What did I just read?' would be an understatement to the queerness imbibed in this book. But it is queer in the best way possible. Describing this book or putting it in a particular genre is especially hard. The book is wonderfully illustrated and the style of the illustrations is pretty pretty unique. Also can we take a moment for the amount of representation this book has, beautiful. There are sooo many unanswered questions. Eagerly waiting for the next volume. 
Overall 'The Hazards of Love Vol 1' is a graphic novel with a unconventional storyline and beautiful artwork.
Highly Recommended.

This would actually be a 3.5 for me. 
This is the first graphic novel I have read since Tintin (does that count?) which I read as a child, so it may take some getting used to on my part.

I really enjoyed it, I just found it a bit confusing and there were some aspects of Bright World that I didn't understand (although I'm sure more of this series of graphic novels will help with that). I found the concept interesting and compelling, but aspects rather odd. I loved the queer narrative that accompanied the story about Bright World, identity and the concept of 'good' and 'bad'. The art work and vibrant colours made the novel so beautiful.

4/5
Quality of writing: 4
Plot development: 4
Pace: 4
Characters: 4
Enjoyability: 4
Ease of reading: 4

Such a weird book! The art is really nice - the heavy outlines, the coloring...
The storyline is definitely weird but fun at the same time.

Thank you NetGalley, Oni Press, and Stan Stanley for the opportunity to review The Hazards of Love Vol. 1 as an ARC. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced reader's copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Hazards of Love follows Amparo as he tries to become a better person to impress his crush.  Never did he think that along the way a trickster talking cat would send him to a whole other world where humans become the servants and animals are the masters.  The fantasy world was creepy and interesting and I loved how bright and vivid the art work was. I really enjoyed this graphic novel!

I was given an eARC of this novel in return for an honest review. Thank you to Oni Press, Stan Stanley and NetGalley. 

This book follows our bad-attitude non binary main character, Amparo as they navigate wanting to be a better person for their crush. This lands them in a sticky situation when a magical cat who promises to help, steals their identity and banishes them to an alternate world where humans really shouldn’t be - Bright World.

I’ll say firstly that I had no idea what I was getting into with this graphic novel - the synopsis intrigued me with promise of queer characters, magical cats and a fantasy world and I wasn’t disappointed. The whole storyline was incredibly unique; filled with things I just wouldn’t have even imagined, characters you kind of love-hate and then an underlying tone of just-plain-creepy (in a more-ish kind of way). Add on top the very strange illustration style, which I’ll admit threw me off at first, and you’ve got a great read for anyone who’s into unusual fantasy types. (Think weird and trippy, like the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland) 

I give this a sold 4/4.5 stars, I’ll definitely be looking out for the next one.

The Hazard of Love was a beautiful anf entertaining graphic novel about a young person navigating themselves and being a better person. Diverse and well-written, this graphic novel keeps the reader guessing until the last page.

This was freaky and creepy and scary and strange and not my thing at all.

I didn't enjoy the art at all, I was confused all the time (and I still am), and my eyes just kept hurting. I'm very sory but I just couldn't like or rate this higher. It was a battle to finish it.

Amparo is always up to something and is known as a delinquent. When a talking cat comes in through their window and offers to grant one wish, Amparo is game. All they need to do is offer up a drop of blood and they’ll become a better person. What could possibly go wrong? Everything! The cat steals Amparo’s name and life, banishing them to some place called the Bright World. Nameless, shoeless, and confused, Amparo is left fighting to get their name and home back while trying not to get eaten along the way.

I received a copy from Oni Press through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have to say that this is one of the neatest graphic novel concepts I’ve seen in a while. I’m a fan of fantasy, and Bright World is an entirely new and fascinating world. I’m obsessed! We mainly follow Amparo as their life takes quite the turn when they become tapped in Bright World. The main rule of Bright World is that there are no rules. They’re always changing, so any humans who find themselves there can’t seem to find a way to escape. I’m fascinated by this world. I’m also interested in learning more about Amparo’s patron, El Ciervo, as the story continues.

We also loosely follow Amparo’s crush, Iolanthe, in the human world. Iolanthe is a straight edge, rule following, and serious person. When she gets looped into dating who she thinks is Amparo, she slowly becomes aware that something isn’t right when they seem to do a complete personality flip. Once the imposter everyone thinks is Amparo goes missing, we see her leading the search to find out what happened to them.

I wish that Iolanthe’s story was mapped out a little better between each issue. There were times that having the human world suddenly pop up side by side was out of place. In one instance, the human and bright world were depicted side by side across several panels, which was completely and utterly confusing. I had to read the human world panels and come back to read the bright world panels separately because it was just too confusing to read in the order it was laid out in.

The artwork was also absolutely beautiful. I loved looking at how rich and vibrant each panel was on top of the beautiful drawings. I’m super excited to eventually read the second volume and see where the story takes Amparo and company next.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased opinion.

When Amparo makes a deal with a talking cat to have a better reputation in exchange for their name and a drop of blood, the cat tricks them.  The cat becomes Amparo and sends Amparo's spirit to Bright World, where humans are food – both their body and their memories.  Nothing in this new world makes sense, and Amparo must rely on their cleverness to stay alive and find a way out of Bright World.

This graphic novel hooked me.  This is only volume 1, and I wish volume 2 was already available so I could continue reading the story!  Bright World was such an intriguing concept; I haven't read anything like it before.  The illustrations are beautiful and vibrant.  I also really liked the blurb at the end where we got to see the cat's perspective for the deal that was made.  I can't wait for more of this series to come out!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this graphic novel. I loved the LGBTQ+ representation in this story which featured a queer nonbinary main character, Amparo (they/them) and a Sapphic love interest, Iolanthe (she/her). The plot is such an interesting concept and I really enjoyed reading about Bright World and the creatures that inhabit it. It was a lot darker and more gory than I expected it to be and so I had to read a bit quicker past some of the illustrations but it didn’t get to the point of me wanting to stop reading. Finally, I thought the artwork style was wonderful and that Stan Stanley is a very talented author and artist. I’ll definitely be looking out for Volume 2!