Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

This graphic novel is a queer slice of life love story of two high school boys that live in a small town trying to navigate their feelings, friendships and student life.
Adrian and Carter are both loveable and flawed Characters which makes them both realistic and relatable to the reader.
We get to see them make mistakes, grow emotionally, confront their issues, solve them and become a stronge couple.
I just wished the art style stayed a little bit more consistent throughout the book.

Overall I really enjoyed myself while reading this book. It gave me all the cosy and heart warming feelings I needed when I picked it up.
I think it is the perfect fall read.

I'm a little confused by this book because the premise doesn't seem to fully match what was actually in the book. I'm also not a big fan of the wear someone down trope though, so this one may just not have been for me. Once the two boys became friends there were definitely some cute moments, but the pacing felt off and like plot points were brought up and then completely dropped. I do appreciate the effort the artists took in going back and redrawing so many pages for the official publication of the comic. I was a bit more interested in seeing them finally together than I was the process of them getting together, so I'd been hoping to see some more about their relationship. Maybe in the future there will be more content, I would be interested enough to pick up another volume. I'd recommend it to anyone just looking for a light quick getting together story.

This was a cute queer coming of age story. I liked the second half much better than the first. The characters were more likable and the story progressed in a better way. I really liked Adrian and Carter coming together and hope Carter can continue to help Adrian have a support system outside of his overbearing parental expectations.

I liked the art style, but it was not very consistent. Sometimes it was shaky and other times it was more polished.

Over all though, super cute and enjoyed it.

This was soooo adorable and fun!! I love the two of them as well as their interactions together on the panels. I will I do feel a little older than the target audience for this graphic novel and I just my high school self would have absolutely LOVED it, nevertheless still a wonderful great read!!

Love: Nobody’s Perfect! Realistic flaws of both MCs are highlighted and explored. The umbrella thing! The little scenes of time passing (cute!).

Dislike: A LOT of boundary pushing (but they are teens and it never gets serious between the MCs so I am more lenient). A heavy focus on casual sex as a goal at the beginning makes it hard to get into.

Overall, I love these boys and their flawed romance. From the absolutely horrible start to the quirky attempts at flirtation that somehow develop into real feelings, there is something about them that makes me smile. Both of them have major flaws that make the relationship hard - it’s not just Carter’s preoccupation with sex that leads to him wanting a boyfriend. It’s also Adrian holding himself apart from others and trying to be the best at everything (thanks to outside pressures).

Both of them are trying to define themselves in high school, already a hard task. Add in the ideas they have about what they want and what they should want, and the struggle is real. That’s why I really enjoyed the little transition bits where they got to be silly and fluffy and walk in the rain while sharing an umbrella.

This was a cute, fun read! There were ups and downs with the artwork itself. But overall really enjoyed the evolution of the characters

*Thanks to NetGalley and First Second Books for early copy for review*

The story in this was really cute and I liked how the characters evolved. I am not sure if it is because I had an advanced copy, but the art wasn't great for the whole book. Some of it was terrible and made the reading experience not as great.

Adrian and Carter have my HEART!!! Such an adorable story and abordable couple. It’s very slice of life and the characters don’t feel one dimensional, they go through relatable situations.
Thank you to NetGalley and First Second Books for the amazing ARC to this adorable story!

Unfortunately this didn't work for me. I didn't like how pushy Carter was in the beginning and it too much. Also the switch between not liking each other to making out was too fast for me. I know this was originally a WEBtoon so maybe it worked better there since the storyline can be stretched out then. The art style was cute but not my normal preference.

A young teen boy trying desperately to find any another gay guy in his small home town to actually falling in love with someone.
This started of really funny with Adrian being a horny idiot and getting turned down by Adrian over and over again. But while he’s kinda mildly staking him to get his attention after all he’s actually starting to like him and they become reluctant friends.
I liked the story overall and how Adrian turned into a really nice guy after all, falling hard for Adrian.
I wish Adrian’s problems with his past relationship and his parents were told a bit more detailed and actually talked about (and maybe solved in the end).

You can tell this is a bit older, since some of the jokes and actions here felt kind of inappropriate to me honestly. I’m an adult so I can tell that hooking up with someone while drunk and not accepting a no is actually not good behaviour and not super funny in real life. Since this is addressed to a YA audience I think some bits should have been reworked to a more modern manner, but maybe that’s just me.

Over all this was a fun and quick read!

Actual rating: 3,75

4.5⭐️

I'm new to the world of graphic novels but I really loved this one! It was so fun getting to watch Carter and Adrian fall in love without even realizing it was happening. I also really enjoyed having the graphics! I will definitely be reading more graphic novels in the future.

Sadly, this one just did not work for me. The beginning story of this felt rushed and awkward. Some of the animations throughout did not seem to match up. Some of the middle scenes were a bit off-putting and didn't add much to the storyline. About halfway through, the illustration style seemed to change which was a tad confusing. The animations seemed clunky throughout and I just could not follow the story. Probably a personal opinion but just my thoughts.

The stand alone adaptation of the popular webcomic by the same name about the down-to-earth courtship between two gay teenagers as they fumble with high school, parental expectations, their dreams, and each other.

A beautiful, realistic story of 2 kids falling in love kicking and screaming all the way.
It's nice to see something real emotions in a graphic novel involving LGBTQ kids.  They're teens why act like they don't get horny?   And yes, the pacing was a little odd, but considering it was an online comic first makes it a little more forgivable.
I really liked the characters even after Carter acted a bit creepy.  It was an honest characterization of a teen boy in heat.
Recommended. Realest date November 11, 2025

Thanks to @netgalley and First Second Books for the opportunity to read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion

I would like to preface this with that I know this graphic novel was adapted from the original webtoon so there was only so much that could be done about the plot and pacing.

That being said, this GN felt very disjointed at times and the plot points didn't transition that well. It felt like it made big leaps between plot lines. The character archs also felt a little off too. The changes in Carter's and Adrian's behavior regarding each other felt rather sudden. Also, I wasn't a fan of how pushy Carter was at first. It felt very icky, which is also why the switch up was jarring.

The synopsis, to me, also gives off a very different vibe from the actual story. It didn't go the way I was expecting. I think I would have enjoyed this more if the characters, their relationships, and the setting was a bit more fleshed out. The art style was also a bit inconsistent too, but again, there's not much you can do about that when each "volume" was drawn at different times technically.

I did think near the end, after Carter and Adrian made up and decided to date, was cute. But I think getting there was very rushed.

I love this story so much!! I think I’ve read it three times already over the years. This new version with the updated pages is even better. I really like Carter and Adrian, and I love their story. The art is a little inconsistent but remember that it was drawn over the course of several years, artists evolve.

I loved the relationship between the two MMCS and how we were able to see the evolution between them just wanting to hook up to actually falling in love with each other.

Thank you to First Second Books and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this graphic novel. I did feel like I was missing something in the middle of the story, but! I think it was a great one-shot graphic novel with beautiful art and characters that have a lot of depth and change positively from each other. The art was also really beautiful. 4 out of 5 stars.

I finished this book in about an hour! It was really sweet. I can relate to Adrian’s toxic and self destructive behavior. He really grew a lot through the story. We don’t really completely learn in depth what his previous relationship was like, but from I did see at the beginning, I didn’t like. Poor Adrian. He’s going through so much. I do feel that there could have been an actual ending with his family’s story, but honestly that’s realistic. Sometimes, families don’t change, nor do the pressures they apply. You have to navigate around them, which I think Adrian is learning to do with Carter and his friend group. Adrian, despite his flaws is a great character. He is capable of introspection and apologizing sincerely. He’s a genuinely caring individual.

Carter was amazing in this story! He started off very thirsty and silly, but with the help of his friend, he quickly realized that he was in love. While he did chase after Adrian heavily, when Adrian was in an impaired state, he never took it further. Carter was a truly great significant other. His support was wonderful. He was blunt, but never hurtful, and always understanding. He never let Adrian walk over him, despite loving him deeply. He was protective of his friends and it honestly was just so sweet.

At first, I was a bit thrown off by the art, but I love these type of stories, so I kept going. I’m so glad I did! It’s a really wonderful story. Thank you for the ARC. This exact review will also be posted on my Goodreads for anyone who wishes to find it.

Diese Graphic Novel erzählt die Geschichte von Carter und Adrian. Carter hat gerade entdeckt, dass er schwul ist, und möchte unbedingt sexuelle Erfahrungen sammeln; allerdings gibt es in seinem Umfeld nur wenig Optionen dafür, weshalb er Adrian ins Visier nimmt. Adrian ist jedoch unglücklich verliebt und überhaupt nicht begeistert von Carters plumpen Annäherungsversuchen.

Diese süße, queere Young Adult Geschichte hat mich von Anfang an in den Bann gezogen, auch wenn mir Carter erst mit der Zeit sympathisch wurde. Ich mochte Carters Entwicklung im Verlauf der Handlung und auch die Themen, die hier aufgegriffen werden und die viele junge Menschen beschäftigen, wie schulischer Leistungsdruck, Sexualität und Selbstliebe. Die Geschichte hat sich die Zeit genommen, die Beziehung der beiden zueinander authentisch entstehen zu lassen, wie aus Fremden Freunde und schließlich vielleicht auch mehr werden konnte. Auch hatte ich so die Gelegenheit, die beiden Protagonisten kennen und verstehen zu lernen, was bei vielen anderen Graphic Novels zu kurz kommt. Es gab ein paar Dinge, zu denen ich mir noch mehr gewünscht hätte, bspw. wie Carter am Anfang seine sexuelle Orientierung entdeckt hat oder wie Adrian am Ende zu seinen Eltern steht. Die Geschichte hat einen guten Abschluss, aber meiner Meinung nach besteht auch Potenzial für eine Fortsetzung.

Die Art und Weise, wie die Geschichte visuell dargestellt wurde, hat mir wahnsinnig gut gefallen. Ich mag den Zeichenstil und die Farben sehr. Lediglich die Sprechblasen waren für mich manchmal etwas irritierend angeordnet.

Fazit:
Eine wahnsinnig schöne queere Geschichte über Freundschaft, Liebe und Selbstwert, die ich nicht nur jüngeren Leser:innen absolut empfehlen kann.


in English:

This graphic novel tells the story of Carter and Adrian. Carter has just discovered that he is gay and is eager to gain sexual experience; however, there are few options available to him in his environment, which is why he sets his sights on Adrian. Adrian, however, is unhappy in love and not at all enthusiastic about Carter's clumsy advances.

This sweet, queer young adult story captivated me from the start, even though it took me a while to warm up to Carter. I liked Carter's development over the course of the plot and also the themes that are addressed here and that concern many young people, such as academic pressure to perform, sexuality, and self-love. The story took the time to let the relationship between the two develop authentically, showing how strangers could become friends and eventually perhaps even more. This also gave me the opportunity to get to know and understand the two protagonists, which is something that many other graphic novels fail to do. There were a few things I would have liked to see more of, such as how Carter discovered his sexual orientation at the beginning or how Adrian stands by his parents at the end. The story has a good completion, but in my opinion there is also potential for a sequel.

I really liked the way the story was visually presented. I really like the drawing style and the colors. Only the speech bubbles were sometimes a little confusing arranged for me.

Conclusion:
An incredibly beautiful queer story about friendship, love, and self-esteem that I can absolutely recommend, and not just to younger readers.

This review is based on an ARC.

This was a cute story. I was hooked from page one and enjoyed the evolution of their relationship. I would love to spend more time in this world with these characters.