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haileyhardcover's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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? It's complicated
4.0
Am I the only person who thought this was YA/college-age for some reason? If not, let me assure you this is, in fact, very adult. Three-chapter long spicy scene kind of adult lol
I really enjoyed this story and characters. I’m not normally an enemies/rivals to lovers girlie, but this one was great. The little quips and banter were perfect. I also really appreciated that Noah and Sage both had lives and issues outside of each other. Characters feel more real that way.
There were elements of the story that didn’t feel fully fleshed out to me, hence the four instead of five stars, but I still definitely recommend Outdrawn. Looking forward to more from this author!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Biphobia, Cursing, Mental illness, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Medical trauma
fleur____'s review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Biphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, and Chronic illness
Minor: Car accident and Lesbophobia
trussell12's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Cursing, Alcoholism, and Mental illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
btwnprintedpgs's review against another edition
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
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Car accident, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia
fuzzywilson's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Car accident, Alcoholism, Medical content, Biphobia, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Drug use
emlittle's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Let’s talk ending first: I SOBBED. Tears running down my face and my husband asking me if I was okay. I was; it was a very happy cry. It was the perfect, heart-swelling, sob inducing ending to this rivals-to-lovers rom com.
Okay, back to the rest of it. ‘Outdrawn’ is funny, vulnerable, and engaging. The shining stars? The main characters Grey gave us. Noah and Sage exist outside of their rivalry/romantic plot lines navigating complicated family dynamics, professional/office politics, and their respective friendships. Noah is optimistic and personable but perpetually underestimated by her entire STEM focused family (I feel you, babe). Sage is work oriented and aloof, while being the only stabilizing force in her family despite everyone being adults. And together, these two make up rivals-to-lovers perfection.
As popular as rivals/enemies-to-lovers is a trope is, it’s unfortunately done poorly often, the characters holding so much vitriol (and on the worst end of it, downright abuse) towards their counter part is borders on unbelievable that lovers were evert the result. However, this artistic/academic-rivals-to-lovers dynamic was done so well. Built on miscommunicatio and reading into what wasn’t there, it’s a very easy to understand rivalry that you root to turn into romance. Grey lays it out plainly: Noah and Sage are good for each other.
Truly my only gripe with Outdrawn is I wish it were longer. I wish I had more time with Noah and Sage, that their individual family conflicts had room to breathe and develop so we could REALLY feel the shift in dynamics. That said, I’d rather have too little of a great story than too much of a mediocre one. Outdrawn is truly otherwise rom-com perfection ♡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual content, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
bookishkellyn's review against another edition
reflective
- 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
It’s marketed as enemies to lovers, but it’s more grumpy (Sage) sunshine (Noah) complicated by past miscommunications. The beginning was slow, because there was actually too much character development. It evolved from a potential rom-com to a deep dual POV romance tackling depression and imposter syndrome after the ⅓ mark, and I’m glad I fought the urge to DNF.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Ableism, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Car accident, Lesbophobia, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, and Biphobia
wilybooklover's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
3.5
This was very cute, but the pacing dragged in the first half and the change from rivals to lovers (and the change in Sage's personality) felt a bit too abrupt. There was a lot of telling rather than showing, which I think contributed to the pacing issues.
Once these two got together though, they were adorable!
Once these two got together though, they were adorable!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
Minor: Biphobia, Car accident, and Lesbophobia
rickireadss's review against another edition
4.5
this was SO FREAKING GOOD!!! i had a feeling i would love this when i found out it was about sapphic rival comic artists, and deanna absolutely delivered. the aesthetics of noah and sage fit them so well and i just really liked their personalities. this was also HOT AF. i very much loved both noah and sage, individually but together they were such a power couple. i also wanna see their comics SO BAD, esp noah's from the epilogue !!
representation: Black FMCs, Bisexual rep, Lesbian rep, Chronic pain (FMC w/ carpal tunnel & extreme nerve pain)
content warnings:chronic pain, alcoholism, biphobia, mental illness, suicidal thoughts, lesbophobia, homophobia
representation: Black FMCs, Bisexual rep, Lesbian rep, Chronic pain (FMC w/ carpal tunnel & extreme nerve pain)
content warnings:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism and Chronic illness
Moderate: Mental illness, Biphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia and Lesbophobia
onlyonebookshelf's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness and Grief
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Alcoholism