• Author: Maripaz Villar
• Series: Standalone
• Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance
• No. of pages: 1277
• Dates read: 29.01.2021 – 22.07.2021
• Star Rating: 5 stars
• Challenge: Not a Novel

Plot: Doctor Andreas Marino loves his quiet life, filled with work and simple amusements, and when the strange Cati Abbott arrives in his town he decides he doesn’t like her at all. Unfortunately, she’s funny and quirky, has an uncommon past and seems to enjoy getting him in trouble. 

So, as most of you might know now, I recently started reading WebToons as of January of this year. I have reviewed a couple comics on this blog before and I come to you now with another amazing webcomic. Like with the others I had no idea what I was getting myself in for all I knew was that it was really popular. I started this book in January and through their Daily Pass feature I was reading an episode a day. It became a lovely morning routine that I would wake up and read the next episode. It was so worth it.

Starting off with the art, I loved the art style of this comic. I loved how the it was made to look like sketches with colour only being used to emphasis important moments like blushes and when their hearts starting racing. I really enjoyed how simple the backgrounds would be again only being used for emphasis of setting. I felt that the art was really thought through and it was so beautiful. Every character was so different and even with the lack of colour you didn’t get confused who was who. I loved the art style so so much!

The plot itself was really good. While most of the other comics I have read have been episodic and each volume or episode continued on a bigger narrative this comic was different. While obviously you have the overarching narrative of Andreas and Cati’s relationship most of the focus was on watching the characters grow as people and within their friendships. Each episode was different and sometimes followed side characters rather than the main duo. It was super refreshing clicking onto the next episode and seeing what these characters were doing now. In terms of the romance narrative it was just so beautiful and so much fun. I loved watching their love blossom and form over the episodes. But I think with the varied cast of characters it helped keep the comic fresh and fun.

The character were just incredible. My personal favourite was Cati. I loved her outlook on life, the fact she doesn’t take herself to seriously, her humour, the love and joy she brings to peoples lives was great to see and read about. I loved watching Andreas loosen up a bit but also not losing himself in the process. They both grow as people and compliment each other so well bringing the best out of each other. There are so many side characters to pick that it’s hard to say who my favourite it is but I want to point out how Villar really champions women in this series. She doesn’t shove them in a box but allows them to do anything and everything they want. I loved all the characters in this series.

Another stand out this about this series is that it’s set in some vague victorian esq town where it’s strong enough in the clothing and the setting but that’s it. I really enjoyed reading the story and not really focusing that much on the world, the town lives in a sort of bubble in a sense and it’s so beautiful. We see great LGBTQ+ representation, loads of characters of different races and loads of women taking charge of their own lives regardless of men. There is some social commentary involved in this series but the main focus is on gender in that world but most of the time the story is just set in a fictional, forward thinking town which I loved.

The next book I will be reviewing is The Devil and the Dark Water by Stuart Turton. I have actually already finished this book and let me tell you. It is good!