The art was stunning and original, but the writing didn’t work for me, it was telling over showing and lacked a bit of charisma. Because of the nature of the small talk conversations due to the lack of language skills of the protagonists, I couldn’t get invested in their dynamics.

This is a delightful graphic novel. I enjoyed learning about Sarah and Ping - the whole story of foreigners in the same place (Paris), a chance meeting, and their friendship develops into something more. I appreciated how the theme of languages is woven throughout the book - I liked the exposure to the different languages in the background, and even between Sarah and Ping, with their own language consisting of French, English, and Cantonese. I think the novelist did a great job communicating this story in a beautiful fashion.

Thank you to NetGalley and IDW Publishing/Top Shelf Productions for the ARC!

This is such a cute book! The art is very unique and fits the story perfectly. I loved the multilingual aspect of the novel, it really made it stand out. The slow burn saphic storyline was a great representation of how friendship can turn into love. Overall, I really liked this graphic novel!

3.5 stars

So far, Sarah Huxley’s experience in Paris isn’t quite what she thought it was going to be. She expected a life of romance and adventure and instead, she’s lonely and miserable in her corporate job. However, everything changes when she collides with a woman named Ping Loh, a woman from Hong Kong working for a family in France.

The two bond over their struggles learning French, not only learning French but learning each other’s languages as well. As their friendship grows, their feelings start to change. But their language barrier might get in the way of what they’re actually trying to say.

Thanks to NetGalley and Top Shelf for an advanced copy of Love Languages by James Albon to review! While I don’t read a lot of adult books, I usually make an exception for graphic novels. And I’m glad I did for this one! It’s a quieter, more slow moving story, but the romance at the center of it is so sweet.

I appreciated the way that Albon showed the various languages in this book, with different styles of speech bubbles and different colors. Graphic novels are unique in that they can show these differences visually, and it’s always interesting to see how authors do that.

This is definitely a slow burn kind of romance, which I appreciated. I always prefer a slow burn over an instant-connection or insta-love. It gives more depth to the relationship (in my opinion), and really invests the readers in the characters. Sarah and Ping were the best part of this, and getting to see Paris from their perspectives made for a fascinating story.

My only complaint is that sometimes, some of the pages or layouts felt a little busy or confusing due to the amount of speech bubbles included. It did pull me out of the story a few times, but was necessary for showing the different perspectives throughout the story.

All in all, if you like graphic novels with sweet romances at their core, definitely check this one out!

I love reading graphic novels, and this one was quite endearing. The Love Languages is the story of two ladies living in Paris, France. Both are there for work and have been struggling some days with the French language and missing their respective homes.

Sarah is from the USA and is working with a French team. Some days, she has to take the lead and deal with many workplace issues. Ping is from Hong Kong and is a babysitter for a wealthy family.

The two women meet by chance in a cafe. After spending time together, they both realise they have feelings for each other but are unsure how to navigate these feelings and take the relationship further. They have a language barrier; Ping is teaching Sarah Cantonese while Sarah is also still learning French. Cultural differences are highlighted to help people understand that languages and cultures are not the same.

The novel is beautifully illustrated, which helps to tell the story. I especially loved the facial details when people did not understand each other. Another highlight of the graphic novel is the language translations - Cantonese, English, and French.

Thanks to NetGalley for this arc.

The art was so unique. Watercolor is my favorite. It was a reminder that connection looks different to everyone but is so necessary. It also depicts communication with friends from different cultures so well. Quick and adorable read!

Thank you, Netgalley, the author, IDW Publishing for the gifted e-book! ❤️ #gifted. My review is comprised of my honest thoughts.

Read this book if you like: Sapphic love stories, watercolor style art, cross cultural, cross language, slow burn

This is good! It's so beautifully drawn and well put together. The use of different languages is so interesting. It's a slow burn Sapphic comic that crosses language barriers. I highly recommend it!

Oh what a special story! You'll fall in love with Sarah and Ping, as well as James' watercolor illustrations. A lovely romcom of a book that's reminiscent of a particular storyline found in the movie Love Actually ;)

Love Languages is a sweet graphic novel about Sarah, a young English woman working in Paris. She is dissatisfied with her job and struggling to learn French. On a random trip out of her apartment, Sarah meets another expat, Ping who is a working as a nanny after leaving Hong Kong. Sarah and Ping patch together communication through their limited French and begin learning some of each other's native languages.

Sarah and Ping bond in a unique way, and the book highlights the communication struggle and beauty of this connection. I felt that as a friendship story it was beautiful and believable, as a romance it was a bit too insta-love for me. The art is beautifully painted, but again isn't totally in line with my personal taste.

I'm glad I read this and I think it will be enjoyable for many readers of adult graphic novels.

I adored the romance in this one and the artwork. However, I disliked the format of the chat, the way they displayed the various different languages, it was hard for me to follow. Thank you for the early copy!

"Love Languages" is a sweet, tender story about two women who stumble across each other and bond over the specific, bittersweet feelings that you only experience when you are far from home in a foreign city. Their conversations are a mosaic of English, French and Cantonese and they eventually discover that the language of love...is both found in between all these spoken languages but also that it transcends them.

I loved the art style. The watercolours really helped convey the characters' emotions - for example, how Sarah seemed to float through her life in Paris due to her sense of alienation. And the little details in the art! Amazing! The fact that before meeting Ping, most of the elements are drawing in cold tones, with an abundance of blue, which slowly turn to warm tones once Ping becomes a presence in her life.

Another very unique element of this book is the way that language was visually portrayed. How, in the beginning, the phrases that Sarah didn't understand where also not translated in English, so we were also privy to the same distance created by the language barrier. How the English translation was always outside of the speech bubbles, until Sarah and Ping finally grasped the mosaic they used and fully understood each other, and then English was no longer "a second layer" but the main language.

What made me give it 4 stars was the fact that the romantic aspect felt a bit rushed towards the end of the book. We were shown how Sarah and Ping grew close and fond of each other, but in a very platonic way, and the romantic aspect seemed to appear almost out of the blue.

All in all, it is a beautiful story with lovely illustrations, and the book is so worth it!

Thank you NetGalley for the e-ARC!

4.5

I very much enjoyed this story of two people who meet in Paris & who's first language is something other than French yet somehow manage to become friends & more.

Sarah Huxley has moved to Paris from London to Paris for a corporate job & Ping Loh is working as an Au Pair for a family of Hong Kong expats. Neither speaks French very well & so they end up communicating in a mixture of English, Cantonese, French & emojis.

The street scenes of Paris are delightfully illustrated & the scenes showing Sarah & Ping's attempts to communicate are very cleverly done.
As I read I laughed, smiled & sighed in enjoyment & content.

Thanks to netgalley & Top Shelf for an advance copy of this title

Lovely watercolors do a fantastic job of expressing the highs and lows of this sweet story. Blues and yellows are used to great effect, emphasizing the loneliness felt by Sarah in her corporate job, and the brightness brought to her life by Ping. The style of text and speech bubbles worked well for conveying the initial stop-and-go confusion of navigating three languages. At first the narration felt a little slow to me, but as the story progressed I realized how impactful this was while Sarah still feels isolated due to language barriers and a disconnect from colleagues. The way text and conversation changes as fluency grows really drives home the excitement and connection between Sarah and Ping.

I am honestly bummed that I did not enjoy this one. The premise, in itself, is fantastic and I am such a sucker for love against all odds and a story that hones in on culture shock and assimilation into a new and different environment. As someone who was an expat for many years I’d been hoping for a relatable and sweet story but the slow pacing and lack of connection and build between the characters left me wanting more. I also felt that, though the idea of French and Cantonese and English being interwoven in conversations to display the confusion and barriers they both face in France- it was confusing for the reader too. With more often than not the words jumbling up with no true way to follow what is occurring on page when the illustrations don’t always help to guide. Of course, yes, as their relationship grows that becomes less confusing and we see their connection bloom. But I felt almost zero connection for it and I wasn’t rooting for them because there was no baseline. Their friendship made sense to me but their romance did not which I think can be contributed to the fact that I also really struggled to get inside Sarah’s head as a reader and I wonder if this story would’ve benefited from being a novel where the focus was on Sarah’s feelings and experiences in her own brain.

Je suis un peu mitigée sur cette lecture. La thématique de la barrière de la langue quand on s'installe dans un pays qui n'est pas notre langue natale était plutôt prometteuse et m'intéressait beaucoup, m'étant retrouvée dans cette situation lors de mon année d'échange aux USA. Saisir les nuances, le rythme, l'argot, etc. Cependant j'ai trouvé l'écriture très brouillon : c'était une idée intéressante de superposer les trois langues - français, anglais et cantonais, mais ça devenait vite illisible. Le parallèle avec le fait d'avoir du mal à se comprendre est cependant assez pertinent, mais ça freinait beaucoup ma lecture.
Quand j'ai lu la BD, j'avais un peu oublié le résumé et pour moi la "romance" est arrivée un peu comme un cheveu sur la soupe - bon, j'étais heureuse que ça soit le cas, mais en vrai ça me paraissait bizarrement amené.
Finalement, la fin m'a plus intéressée que le reste.

Before I begin, I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an early readers copy.

Love languages is a cute little graphic novel about two women who speak different languages coming together learning languages, and more about each other. It was a cute reminder that love can come out of nowhere, wherever you are.

The drawing style and coloring was so beautiful and perfectly captured the beauty of France. I find myself not loving France whenever I'm there, but this graphic novel made me wanna go back to experience the mundanity, the cafes and restaurants, just to have experiences like Sarah and Ping.
I loved how they slowly became closer and we can see them steadily falling for each other. I really wish we could've gotten more from them together.
I really appreciate any sapphic story that's simply a feel good slice of life romance and this one definitely delivered in cuteness while keeping the characters extremely real.
The added layer of languages was what first made me interested in this story, as someone who speaks several languages and also tries to focus on conversations in foreign languages wishing I could understand them.

demorei um pouco para me conectar com a história, pois no início me senti tão perdida quanto a personagem.

o plot em si não é mirabolante, não envolve uma fantasia com nomes demais para recordar e nem um vilão com uma risada esquisita; é simples e bonito. a maneira que você mergulha na história quando as duas se conectam através da língua deixa uma sensação ainda mais prazerosa durante a leitura, e também a forma que as cores se aquecem quando as personagens estão juntas é linda, tudo tem mais vida, mais alegria!

gostaria que tivessem explorado mais o lado romântico delas no final, fiquei com um gostinho de ?quero mais?. achei um pouco apressado e levemente vago mas no geral gostei!

This is a really cute slow-burn sapfic romance graphic novel that uses the language barrier between the characters in an innovative, cool way that includes the reader in a unique way I've never seen before.

Sarah moves from England to France and begins work as a bilingual corporate executive, making the big bucks and using her degree. It's everything she ever wanted. But she's lonely. So lonely, in fact, that a chance encounter with a Chinese woman at the cafe has Sarah clinging to this tiny social connection, hoping to find meaning in her life despite the language barrier.

I like graphic novels with a lot fewer words, but I can't deny that this one was impactful. It brilliantly captures the guilt and hope one feels while trying to adjust to a new language, particularly when the people around you are using a lot of slang or speaking rapidly. I didn't love the ending, but I'm not much of a romantic at heart.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.