Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Outdrawn by Deanna Grey

14 reviews

letsgolesbians's review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

five star read, Black sapphics and comics and softness and bubbline energy 🩷🖤

outdrawn is a rivals to lovers romance with comic artists who have been competing since college, first in classes then on a webcomic site. noah gets hired at the major comic company sage works at, which sage doesn’t take well, and their rivalry softens as they work together. 

this is one of those books against which i’m going to compare other romances, because i loved watching noah and sage work through their own insecurities together and grow as their relationship deepened. they encouraged each other to stand up to their families in different ways and talked through problems. highly recommend settling into this one if you need a little softness right now. 

tw: alcoholic parent; chronic wrist pain; mentions of bi- and lesbophobia; mention of suicide ideation; parentification; sex on page

photo review here: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6W2it9SdhY/?igsh=MWQ1ZGUxMzBkMA==

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lisa07xie's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Omg this book was so cute!!! I loved that! And just the characters and the relationships the character development it was so good! I loved that they talked about important topics and how hard it is to be an artist and that you should put your health first! I loved it so much and the ending it was PERFECTION! The proposal was so cute with the comic on the wall and that they both proposed at the same day so adorable!!! I would recommend it!

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smartie_chan's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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fleur____'s review

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emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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cloreadsbooks1364's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This is a really sweet adult romance! It's a rivals-to-lovers story between two comic artists. 
Sage and Noah were both such deep, well developed protagonists. They were like real people, flawed but good, the ideal way for characters to be in a contemporary novel!
The side characters had just enough development to be lovable, but not too little! 
The romance was amazingly written, it didn't seem unrealistic.
The comic competition was such an interesting past to the story, and I thought the ending was perfect!!!

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abookwormspov's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved every single second of this book.

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btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I really really loved this. For a lot of reasons, but I'm going to walk you through a few of them.

First and foremost, I love how Sage and Noah's competitive history is established immediately. You get their history in a way that's natural and interesting, but it also lends itself so well to building both characters. Noah is someone who's always been told that her interests are not valid, her job isn't valid, and she's not enough to be the best, so she's very determined to prove herself, no matter the costs. Sage, on the other hand, is a loner and a fixer - she swoops in to help her family with their finances, but she also pushes people away constantly so she can never be hurt. At the start, they're both so into the art to cope with everything else, they don't see anything else around them.

Their characters develop so well, and as they become lovers you really get to see how they respect, support, and challenge each other. How this impacts their peripheral lives (friends, family, etc.) was also very telling for their growth and development and I feel like every secondary and tertiary character had their purpose. Nothing felt extraneous, and I loved that.

The subject of web comics and comic publishing was so much fun too. I don't know too much about that side of publishing, but I loved learning about their art and interests and getting to know their coworkers. It definitely helped flesh out the main stage (their workplace) and the looming deadlines added stakes and intensity to every moment spent there.

As a bonus, a sapphic sex scene on page?? So rarely do I find books that have that and in such a way the fits the characters so well in their teasing, competitive, yet also soft manner?? Perfection.

I love how every moment in this book matters - not that it's heavy, but that it adds value to the characters and their stories. This book really came to life for me and loved every moment!

Rep: Black bisexual MC, Black lesbian MC with chronic pain (carpal tunnel)

TW: sexual content, chronic illness, burnout, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, abandonment; mentions lesbophobia, biphobia, car accident 

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hailstorm3812's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is such a fun time. I love the girls, the rival to lovers, the family dynamics, and the message. And the Spice!! (though a few times it could have been longer imo). It has a few self publishisms and typos but none of them remove the charm for me. I just really liked it.

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booksdogsandcoffee's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This! This is the nerdy sapphic book I have been looking for. Two rival artist thrown together again after being rivals in college.

 The way these two beautifully imperfect women picked each other up and made each other better made the book for me. Outdrawn wasn’t just a romance, both Sage and Noah learn and grow so much through the entire book. Both together and separately. 



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danaslitlist's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

“My loneliness slowly but surely melted with each smile she gave. This was trouble-- I was in trouble. Instead of being vigilant, I fell headfirst, no longer a girl with a plan."

This book was everything I could’ve wanted in a rivals to lovers romance! The characters were so realistic and jumped off the page, the banter and dialogue was a wonderful mixture of humor and tenderness, and the fact that Noah and Sage communicate healthily was the cherry on top. 

I  absolutely loved the character growth and seeing how they both worked on their own problems without expecting the other to magically fix their behaviors or personal lives. It was refreshing to have a romance not rife with drama and childish behavior constantly between the two leads. 

PLUS!! No third act break up.

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