Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.15 AVERAGE
4.15 AVERAGE
I think this is sweet and it gets the four star because the art is really good. I like the playful tone and how fun it is. It does not get too graphic, believe it or not, which is a plus for me. What is going to bother me is that both have had relationships with men but I feel like they both are going to be lesbians by the end of it (which I think Ally is because had 1 relationship with a man and did not do it again but Lisa almost got married that sounds bisexual to me!).
funny
inspiring
Book Review
Title: Sunstone Volume 1
Author: Stjepan Sejic
Genre: Graphic Novel
Rating: *****
Review: This is the first graphic novel I have read, while I love manga I had never read anything similar to Sunstone. I really enjoyed Sunstone mainly for the reason I love erotic fiction and this was just a more visual style of storytelling.
Sunstone is the story of Lisa and Ally, two young women, both professionals and single, who are looking for something to spice up their sex life and then they meet each other on the internet, leading to some major life changes for the two of them. Ally is a domme, and her love life has been rather… fractured because of her sexual interests. These unusual interests which have led to trust issues between her and her previous partners since BDSM is an extremely sensitive and private activity that depends on trust and faith between two partners. Lisa on the other hand is the opposite, she is a submissive and her tastes lean that way, though she has been equally frustrated with her sex-life, which lack a certain spark for her to really care about them.
One thing I really loved about Sunstone was that author dealt with this highly sensitive matter in a very matter-of-fact and natural way. He didn’t make a big deal out of Ally and Lisa being bisexual and that’s exactly the kind of attitude that people generally need to have in real-life as well. Everyone has his or her own tastes when it comes to sex. Sunstone is a story that progresses in stages. We meet the characters, the characters meet each other in person. They hang out, chill out, have a lot of fun. They come back to each other again and again. Their shared sexual experiences eventually develop into something else. Stjepan takes each stage as it comes, spends enough time with it to get the reader really comfortable, and then he moves on. Since he is both the writer and the artist on this, he has a very strong and cohesive vision for how to proceed with each stage, and it comes off rather flawlessly.
The pacing of the story is pretty much perfect, and so is the core concept itself. You never really feel at odds with the characters and there’s always this sense at the back of your mind that what they are doing is perfectly natural. Stjepan presents everything as it is, without any embellishments or without any male-gazing or visual abuse. Of course, this being an erotica comic with two bisexual leads, there’s a fair amount of sex scenes but that’s no big deal.
Stjepan doesn’t go extreme with what kind of BDSM practices he shows here, but he gives you enough so that you get a really good idea for what it is. But again, the characters are at the heart of everything, and I loved all there was to love about Ally and Lisa. The art is gorgeous. Stjepan has a very distinctive style and it gives you a really warm feeling inside, like you are watching a proper master at work. There’s a great sense of excitement and naivete in the characters which translates well with the reader.
Stjepan’s writing was beautiful and I’d recommend you read Sunstone just for the artwork. There’s a lot of red here, understandably, and it helps give a certain visual cohesiveness to the whole thing. And if I had to pick out my favourite scene from the entire novel, then I’d pick the double page spread where Ally and Lisa are getting ready for their first meet-up and can’t decide what to wear and you see a variety of style, colour and material really showing off the artists’ ability. That page utterly captures what these two characters are all about and it is a fantastic sequence.
This was a perfect story. It had a great charm and it was extremely immersive. It was also extremely personal allow us the reader to connect and understand the characters and I was very pleased that Stjepan treated the subject matter with respect and dignity.
Title: Sunstone Volume 1
Author: Stjepan Sejic
Genre: Graphic Novel
Rating: *****
Review: This is the first graphic novel I have read, while I love manga I had never read anything similar to Sunstone. I really enjoyed Sunstone mainly for the reason I love erotic fiction and this was just a more visual style of storytelling.
Sunstone is the story of Lisa and Ally, two young women, both professionals and single, who are looking for something to spice up their sex life and then they meet each other on the internet, leading to some major life changes for the two of them. Ally is a domme, and her love life has been rather… fractured because of her sexual interests. These unusual interests which have led to trust issues between her and her previous partners since BDSM is an extremely sensitive and private activity that depends on trust and faith between two partners. Lisa on the other hand is the opposite, she is a submissive and her tastes lean that way, though she has been equally frustrated with her sex-life, which lack a certain spark for her to really care about them.
One thing I really loved about Sunstone was that author dealt with this highly sensitive matter in a very matter-of-fact and natural way. He didn’t make a big deal out of Ally and Lisa being bisexual and that’s exactly the kind of attitude that people generally need to have in real-life as well. Everyone has his or her own tastes when it comes to sex. Sunstone is a story that progresses in stages. We meet the characters, the characters meet each other in person. They hang out, chill out, have a lot of fun. They come back to each other again and again. Their shared sexual experiences eventually develop into something else. Stjepan takes each stage as it comes, spends enough time with it to get the reader really comfortable, and then he moves on. Since he is both the writer and the artist on this, he has a very strong and cohesive vision for how to proceed with each stage, and it comes off rather flawlessly.
The pacing of the story is pretty much perfect, and so is the core concept itself. You never really feel at odds with the characters and there’s always this sense at the back of your mind that what they are doing is perfectly natural. Stjepan presents everything as it is, without any embellishments or without any male-gazing or visual abuse. Of course, this being an erotica comic with two bisexual leads, there’s a fair amount of sex scenes but that’s no big deal.
Stjepan doesn’t go extreme with what kind of BDSM practices he shows here, but he gives you enough so that you get a really good idea for what it is. But again, the characters are at the heart of everything, and I loved all there was to love about Ally and Lisa. The art is gorgeous. Stjepan has a very distinctive style and it gives you a really warm feeling inside, like you are watching a proper master at work. There’s a great sense of excitement and naivete in the characters which translates well with the reader.
Stjepan’s writing was beautiful and I’d recommend you read Sunstone just for the artwork. There’s a lot of red here, understandably, and it helps give a certain visual cohesiveness to the whole thing. And if I had to pick out my favourite scene from the entire novel, then I’d pick the double page spread where Ally and Lisa are getting ready for their first meet-up and can’t decide what to wear and you see a variety of style, colour and material really showing off the artists’ ability. That page utterly captures what these two characters are all about and it is a fantastic sequence.
This was a perfect story. It had a great charm and it was extremely immersive. It was also extremely personal allow us the reader to connect and understand the characters and I was very pleased that Stjepan treated the subject matter with respect and dignity.
Rating: 4/5
-------
This is part of a mash up review! If you'd like to see my full thoughts, you can check them out on my blog, CoffeeCocktailsandBooks
-------
Review
So, this one sets up the framing device, a girl is writing a steamy (sexy?) romance novel and is taking inspiration from real life events. We're not sure if these are her events or not, but it's heavily implied that they are.
We are then introduced to Ally and Lisa, our two protagonists. Lisa, is the POV character for most of the time, though we do get times where Ally is the POV character.
Ally and Lisa met online as they were both into BDSM, but didn't have anyone to "scratch the itch". They talked online for a few months then decided to meet, and things got sexy from there. (What's funny is that it sounds like I've described the entire graphic novel, but that's actually just the first 10 or so pages).
We also meet Alan, Ally's friend who we later learn is also into BDSM, but is also a Dom and though he and Ally experimented together sexually in the past, they're just really good friends today. Alan also supplies Ally with most of her latex clothes and apparatuses.
This graphic novel really just explored Ally's and Lisa's relationship as they're starting this friends with benefits/BDSM relationship and they're trying to assess what their feelings are (is this sex only arrangement good, or do they want more?).
This graphic novel also talks about some important myths and facts about BDSM too, which I loved. They talk about aftercare, they talk about safe-words, and it was actually some of the best rep I've seen in such a long time.
Overall this was such a fun read, it was a quick (and sexy) read, and I was super excited to continue with the series. Only complaint is the one that Chelsea mentioned in her smutathon vlog was that all the sex scenes were fade to black, but they faded fast. A few more panels of foreplay would've been👌🏻.
-------
This is part of a mash up review! If you'd like to see my full thoughts, you can check them out on my blog, CoffeeCocktailsandBooks
-------
Review
So, this one sets up the framing device, a girl is writing a steamy (sexy?) romance novel and is taking inspiration from real life events. We're not sure if these are her events or not, but it's heavily implied that they are.
We are then introduced to Ally and Lisa, our two protagonists. Lisa, is the POV character for most of the time, though we do get times where Ally is the POV character.
Ally and Lisa met online as they were both into BDSM, but didn't have anyone to "scratch the itch". They talked online for a few months then decided to meet, and things got sexy from there. (What's funny is that it sounds like I've described the entire graphic novel, but that's actually just the first 10 or so pages).
We also meet Alan, Ally's friend who we later learn is also into BDSM, but is also a Dom and though he and Ally experimented together sexually in the past, they're just really good friends today. Alan also supplies Ally with most of her latex clothes and apparatuses.
This graphic novel really just explored Ally's and Lisa's relationship as they're starting this friends with benefits/BDSM relationship and they're trying to assess what their feelings are (is this sex only arrangement good, or do they want more?).
This graphic novel also talks about some important myths and facts about BDSM too, which I loved. They talk about aftercare, they talk about safe-words, and it was actually some of the best rep I've seen in such a long time.
Overall this was such a fun read, it was a quick (and sexy) read, and I was super excited to continue with the series. Only complaint is the one that Chelsea mentioned in her smutathon vlog was that all the sex scenes were fade to black, but they faded fast. A few more panels of foreplay would've been👌🏻.
Nikdy v živote som si nemyslela, že niečo podobné budem čítať, ale predsa sa to stalo. Na tento komiks som narazila úplnou náhodou vďaka Ravine (ďalší komiks od tohto autora) a povedala si, že by to mohlo byť zábavné čítanie. A ono to bolo fakt prekvapivo dobré, skôr také oddychovejšie.
I love Ally and Lisa and I want them to have all the fun times. It was cute how they were both nervous when they first met in person.
This is a provocative read but I think an incredibly realistic one. I thoroughly enjoyed the art and story.
lighthearted
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
three things:
1. the art is incredible, the character design and like the facial expressions of the characters *chef’s kiss*
2. the dinamics omgg, lisa and allycat are so sweet together! and i found ally’s friendship with alan super cute too
3. it’s just sooo wholesome, i grinned my entire way through the book😊 (it’s really sexy too don’t worry😉)
1. the art is incredible, the character design and like the facial expressions of the characters *chef’s kiss*
2. the dinamics omgg, lisa and allycat are so sweet together! and i found ally’s friendship with alan super cute too
3. it’s just sooo wholesome, i grinned my entire way through the book😊 (it’s really sexy too don’t worry😉)
I've been a fan of Sejic's art for a few years now, which was what drew me to this title. I love the way he can show so much personality and expression, as well as his excellent coloring abilities. Sunstone is gorgeous, and the characters come to life through Sejic's skillful art. Every panel is a delight. The writing, however, was a bit of a mixed bag for me. On one hand, I liked the story and characters, as well as the message that BDSM is just another nerdy culture and nothing to be demonized. On the flip side, sentence to sentence, the actual writing was somewhat repetitive and stilted. I'm hoping it will improve as the series continues. I plan to read the next volume as I want to support Sejic, and his art more than makes up for any weaknesses in the writing.