Reviews

Outdrawn by Deanna Grey

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keraashley's review against another edition

5.0

This book is so lovely. Sage and Noah as rivals are absolutely everything to me, them being opposites in so many ways but also similar, honestly I wish that stage of their relationship had been drawn out more. I do think their relationship could have been more detailed, outside of art bringing them together and them both being beautiful, their relationship kind of lacks reason. Sage and Noah both fighting to be seen and accepted as they are, and they deal with issues with their family and they help each other through them as well. Their communication skills are unrivaled, just truly so honest and clear with each other. This bleeds into their sex scenes as well and let’s just say 🥵 The conversation about bi-erasure was lovely and necessary. I wish their comics existed I would read them in a heartbeat.
I loved this book, and even if it isn’t perfect, I’m giving it 5 stars bc Black sapphic women deserve it.

dusktildawn's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring 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

2.5

When the art becomes everything, there's nothing else to fill up that empty space.

I really wanted to like this more than I did, especially since everyone else adores it. I mean look at that amazing cover. But evidently, it just wasn't for me. I was just bored the entire time I was reading and constantly checked how many pages were left before I could finish it. At some point I stopped I wasn't reading because I enjoyed it, I was reading to just be done with it.

I had to force myself to finish and somehow managed to convince myself it would get better even though it never did. It wasn't egregiously awful, but I struggled to connect with the characters or the story or anything that happened. Everything just lacked depth. When the big emotional payoffs happened, I felt absolutely nothing at all. It just never hooked me in and the strange pacing didn't help.

I liked the story and the initial set-up but despite how much the plot revolves around the comics and the art and how well done the aspects of it were, I felt like it wasn't that interesting, and that dragged the book down. It felt like I was promised something better than what we got. When I was about halfway through, and nothing had really happened and I could hardly remember what had happened, I found myself struck with an overwhelming sense of boredom. And after that, I just couldn't bring myself to care.

I liked Sage and Noah but I never really felt that connection between them outside of both being artists, and I never bought them being together. The relationship moved a bit too quickly for me because once they decided they were done being rivals, the actual compelling piece of the story just slowly died until it vanished. They just disliked each other until they didn't. The set-up was great but there just wasn't enough development in the relationship. Just one kiss and suddenly, "wait I actually really like you."

And despite how much time we spend with them, and how often they discuss their feelings, it still felt hollow to me. Whenever new moves were made and new things happened in their relationship, I felt like they came out of nowhere and I just didn't care. Unfortunately, a disappointing and forgettable read.

sarita_reads_books's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

This is the third book I’ve read by Deanna Grey and she just continues to not disappoint at all. The pace is vastly different to her other stories so where Outdrawn lacked in silly goofiness expected from collage romances was replaced with heart warming, yearning, beautiful stories of two brilliant women who no one could ever deny that they’re a absolutely in love. The plot as well was basically made for me, as an artist it was wonderful to read about other artists and their struggles and Deanna never fails to write depth into the history of her main leads as well as her side characters. I had to contain myself multiple times to not outright sob on the plane as the story came to its conclusion. The family resolutions, their art community, the way Sage sees Noah through her eyes literally brought me to tears.

so_likeuandme's review against another edition

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funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.5

gina1223's review against another edition

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4.25

I loved the way we got both povs and all the ways their thoughts changed. The rivalry was short lived and there wasn’t too much background or info outside of the plot. Happy ending.

flirting_with_pages's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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 OUT OF FIVE

The writing?! The plot?! The characters?! I LOVED IT ALL!

I really did love this book. By the tone, you can tell how much the author loved her characters and the plot (which is something I love looking out for). The writing was so well thought out. The character growth was very much present!! You get to read two characters who work through their problems and grow as people (individually and together).

Also, as someone with a vivid imagination, this book was AMAZING. Because these two are artists and see everything through an artistic lens, the descriptions of movements, body language, and just overall how they saw each other, brought such a colorful image to mind.

❀ Tropes: Rivals to Lovers, Forced Proximity, GrumpyXSunshine/
❀ Themes: Sapphic, Bi x Lesbian rep, Black Romance