the first third of this book is a bit slow going, and has a lot of dialogue that was either offensive in a way that most teenagers I know have luckily advanced passed. Maybe it's nit-picky but equating men to only cis men, and using "acting like a girl" as an insult just really rubs me the wrong way. After the initial bump though it's a sweet story about two boys with issues finding comfort in each other, surprising themselves.

Thank you to @netgalley and First Seconds Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

★★★★★

Always Raining Here is an absolute gem of a graphic novel—tender, funny, and emotionally honest in all the right ways. As a longtime fan of the original webcomic, I was thrilled to see this standalone adaptation, and it completely lived up to expectations.

The story follows Carter and Adrian, two high school boys navigating identity, friendship, and the messy, beautiful beginnings of love. Carter’s bold, impulsive charm contrasts perfectly with Adrian’s quiet, guarded nature, and watching their relationship evolve from awkward encounters to something deeply meaningful is incredibly satisfying. Their dynamic feels authentic—sometimes clumsy, sometimes sweet, always real.

The art style is adorable and expressive, perfectly capturing the emotional beats of the story. From shy glances to chaotic house parties, every panel feels alive with personality. And while the pacing occasionally feels a bit rushed, the emotional payoff more than makes up for it.

What really stands out is how the creators handle the characters’ growth. Carter’s journey from infatuation to genuine care, and Adrian’s slow opening up after heartbreak, are both handled with nuance and heart. It’s a story about queer joy, vulnerability, and the power of connection—perfect for fans of Heartstopper or Bloom.

Highly recommended for older teens and anyone who loves a heartfelt, character-driven romance with a cozy, rainy-day vibe.

#books #bookishlife #booklover #readingisfun #iowabookstagrammers #iowabookstagram #netgalley #firstsecondbooks #alwaysraininghere #hazelandbell #graphicnovel

Always Raining Here is a delightful story following the building relationship between two very different high school boys. This was adorable, and I really enjoyed it. I'd recommend this one to anyone looking for a cute, queer YA story.

In my opinion, we can all agree that we should let Carter get laid LOL! This book is such a happy short read. My first thought was like "Let him get laid!" To "I thought you only wanna get laid?!" The author really made me freaking giggle and I didn't know Adrian's a tease and the one who wanna get laid the most is a wholesome baby><! The author also kept it light though some of the parts of the book touched a little emotional side that I think should have elaborated more like Carter being an emotional mess how that led to him doing that to Adrian. Also, there's always a cliffhanger when they're getting you know(゜ロ゜) making me guess if they did it all the way or not. I get it though the author wanna keep it light and PG.ヽ(*´＾｀)ﾉ Nice ending btw I threw my phone because of their cuteness.
In Conclusion, I need more of these two babies and have a more in-depth understanding of the story by adding fillers maybe, or more tension between them so the ending will be more emotional. 6/5 (the art is gorgeous)

I was happy to get this book, as I’m trying to read more graphic novels. The art is pretty and colorful. I think I went in expecting a Heartstopper vibe and it actually started darker and less cutesy for sure. There is a toxic relationship history for one character and some initial verbal harassment of that character at the start of the book. It’s not minimised and the characters deal with the issues head on. It’s very much teens exploring sexuality and the awkwardness that comes with that exploration and confusion as to how to express oneself and make a connection. It gets better from there and the characters grow and learn and form a connection that felt organic as the story progressed. A few rough edges but good art, a defined story arc and growth. Looking forward to more from the author/illustrator.

This graphic novel was not for me. I did not like the characters at all, and their "love story" was just not it. I didn't like the toxic beginning the relationship had. The art was cute though.

A very cute read! I got more invested in this story than I thought I would. From the very pretty cover, I expected a cute simple story. I was surprised by some of the more realistic moments like common issues that happen at teen parties or the things that parents, friends, classmates, and teachers might say when they’re disappointed. I enjoyed the two main characters. Their developments felt very human, where sometimes their decisions made sense to me, and sometimes they didn’t. Their emotions and attitudes changed often, and they each had a lot of different people in their life.

The main little pet peeves that stuck out to me were the flow of the text bubbles and the change in art style. Often times it wasn’t intuitive which speech bubbles were meant to be read first in a panel. Also, the first half of the book was re-drawn for this physical publication and you can tell very clearly when the revised part ends. I think it would’ve elevated the book and made it feel more cohesive and polished if all of the art had been re-drawn to match the revised art style. But I still liked the book enough to recommend it to other people who enjoy queer graphic novels.

toxic! harassment! long-term victim-blaming! Carter harasses Adrian for weeks asking for sex. This makes Adrian uncomfortable, and he says so repeatedly. Carter then does one nice thing coincidentally, and I honestly still think he goes to far with Adrian while he's blacked. Then something just switches and they're friends? Then when Adrian finally kisses Carter, Carter gets all mad and accuses Adrian of using him, even though he's the one who relentlessly harassed Adrian until he finally gave in. There were cute moments, but I just couldn't get over how creepy Carter is.

3.5⭐️
Follow Carter, an impulsive/adventurous teen who is trying to make it his mission to hook up with a cute guy in a town with not many queer people in it. Enter recently single Adrian, who is hardworking and stressed out all the time. Carter tries to seduce Adrian, but Adrian is still in love with his ex. They eventually form a friendship after a wild night out, and they get closer and closer. As the story progresses, events happen that jeopardize their friendship/feelings. Do they work through their issues and admit their feelings for each other?

Review:
“You don’t have to work through all the hard bits on your own.”

This was such a cute, angsty YA graphic novel.

I love the artwork, the dialogue, the emotions portrayed.

It was cute and silly, with mostly light themes. It was dorky and funny, and I loved watching Carter try to “woo” Adrian. It gave very black cat x golden retriever vibes. I love their friendships with Maria and Jason as well.

There were a couple points I was more bored (during some of the theater/school scenes) or felt that things could be expanded (more time of them hanging out as friends and building up the connection), but it wasn’t bad overall.

Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to ARC read in exchange for an honest review!

I received this book from netgalley for free for an honest review. Thank you for the opportunity to read this. It is a great queer comic with great representation.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29725908


This was really cute and fun to read ! Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a eArc.
This was too cute ! Carter and Adrian reminded me a little of Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper.

*thanks to NetGalley for the ARC*

First things first; the artwork and illustrations are gorgeous. Absolutely captivating.

Overall, this was a cute story. I do feel like the pacing was a little off and the personalities of the main characters weren't exactly consistent throughout though. I understand character growth and all of that, but...something wasn't meshing for me. Both of the main characters were messy and I understand that can be the teenager way, but I didn't really LIKE either of them.

Maybe if the story had been fleshed out more and the ending hadn't felt so rushed, maybe my opinions would be a little different. Like I said, overall it was cute, but not entirely memorable.

I think part of the reason I didn’t really enjoy this book was my expectations. Based on the cute cover and description, I was expecting something with cozy, wholesome, cutesy vibes like Heartstopper. This was not that. The beginning was problematic as hell and a little aggressive. It got better around the middle and the end was cute, but the beginning nearly made me quit. This does not have Heartstopper vibes.

I was also disappointed with the art at the beginning. The art on the cover was lovely, but the first third or so of the graphic novel did not have the same art, and I did not enjoy it. It looked rougher and less finished. I received an ARC copy of this, so I’m not sure if that will be the same when published. Except for some little excerpts from the story, I enjoyed the rest of the art much better. The note at the end says the art at the beginning of the story is newer, but I much preferred the art after this section.

After a rough start, both with the story and the art, I did end up enjoying this graphic novel. Because I didn’t like the beginning so much, it ended up with a mid-rating from me. It’s probably not something I would read again, but I don’t regret finishing the story.

I received an e-ARC and am giving my honest review. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity!!

I'm not gonna lie, I read page one and I was worried. Openly gay guy, people referring to him as a "converted bi-kid" for a reason why gay guys weren't interested in him, not taking no for an answer - not just about a date, but explicitly about sex - and the love interest saying he's being a "total girl about this" because he doesn't want sex with someone he doesn't love. Very clearly written in the early 2010s, which it was. Doesn't excuse the writing, but did put it in a different perspective, at least a little bit, for me. But once you get past the party, it becomes a lot better. You can definitely tell when the authors reached a turning point, with characters taking accountability and talking through their issues. A lot of things were left unfinished, plot-wise, but I also found that a bit charming about it. Because that's how life is sometimes, Adrian's parents are probably still overbearing, he was probably unable to rejoin. I liked that those things weren't rushed to be fixed and finished. In my opinion, it was a positive about the story.

Although the beginning was definitely pretty rough for me, it ended up being worth it in the end. And a huge kudos to the artist, as they redid the first 80 pages since they've improved so much since then. That's such a massive commitment, and it definitely paid off. The art really sold the story for me. This is a very "real" story, with characters that aren't perfect by any means and it's important to remember that.

Thank you publisher and Netgalley for this advanced reading copy.

Honestly I don't really into the story. It's like the characters are desperate to have sex, and try to find anyone who is into man too. Not my favorite, but I love the character design

☂️🌧️🎭🌲

This was cuuuuute! At first I was worried Carter was going to be one of “those guys”- pushy, unrelenting, can’t take no for an answer. Thankfully I was proven wrong; he’s just ✨persistent✨I love how he showed up for Carter’s theater obligations and helped him get out of his own head. Adrian was a sweetie and much too hard on himself, I’m glad he had Carter to help him loosen up a bit. I think their personalities complimented one another and helped balance each other out. The art was super cute as well; it was very cozy and moody which definitely fit the rainy day vibes ☔️

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!!! 🫶🏼

The RayView:✨✨✨✨
The HeatRay:
How It Be Spicin’?:
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What a funny graphic novel. Carter is absolutely hilarious with his attempts at flirting and making friends with Adrian. I feel for Adrian and the strife he’s going through with his family. It’s hard when your parents have a view of how you SHOULD be and take away from your true passions. I really wish there was more to this series and the characters within. I think these two and their friends could get up to quite the shenanigans.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The illutrations were cute, but unfortunately the text bubbles either didn't load properly or were completely illegible so I could only follow the story via the pictures. What I saw looked fluffly and cute HS romance, but I probably won't be re-reading it when it comes out.

So cute!! If you’re looking for a cozy romance read this I’d definitely recommend this comic. The art style was adorable, and I had a super easy time falling into the plot of this story. I loved getting to see the character development as time moved on. It felt easy and natural, just two kids navigating life together. The only aspect that threw me off a bit was that the scene transitions occasionally felt a bit jarring, but it was never hard to find my footing again. Overall, this was definitely a fun read. A great way to spend a rainy day!

This is a sweet love story, once we get past the problematic beginning.


While I really enjoyed the character development of these two characters, Carter and Adrian, what I didn’t like was that Carter couldn’t take no for an answer, when he tried to “court” Adrian. This got a bit uncomfortable. But once Carter started to see more of Adrian, other than just a hot boy to pursue, and saw him as a human being he could enjoy hanging out with, the story got soooo much better.


As the story developed and we saw that Adrian was a theater nerd and that Carter started watching the rehearsals and even volunteered to go pick up scenery, we see how these two could get together in the end.


Not quite on a par with Heartstopper, but what is. 🙂


Originally a webcomic, apparently the first half had to be redrawn because the artist had gotten so much better, while they wrote it.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review. This book is being published on the 11th of November 2025.