Wow. Wow. Wow, Omg. Wow. Going into this I was not expecting to have a story with so many twists and turns. Amparo, first off is on my list of my favorite nonbinary characters that I've interacted with in media. They radiate/exudes the energy of not my favorite type of characters (ie strong willed, humans that plow through plots). Instead you see how a "shifty character" goes through a world that is filled with already shifty characters. The Bright World is where most of the story takes place and its filled with monsters and creatures that are here to be shifty and doing what they can to survive, constantly changing the rules to help themselves and no one else. This graphic novel has some unique art that isn't usually used in graphic novels and I find it quite enjoyable especially when it comes to the Bright World itself. This will keep readers on your toes (as someone who normally guesses plots before they happen) I could never keep up with what would happen next! Beautiful work!

ARC kindly received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This bizarre graphic novel takes on a journey through a parallel world full of monsters that like to eat humans.

I really wanted to love this. However ....it just fell a little flat. The storyline was bizarre. Now I like bizarre, however this was too odd even for me. It felt a little all over the place and overly complex. The artwork was nice enough but the lines felt a little thick.

I did start to get into it a little towards the end, maybe I would try the second volume?
2/5

I have no idea why I never heard of this webcomic before?!
When I was specifically looking for queer webcomics?!

I'm half glad I didn't as the colour in this is absolutely beautiful. Bright Lands is a fantastical world and we are just dropped in and immersed, we learn alongside Amparo what it is and the rules there.

I really loved it, I loved the art style, the colours, I loved the use of untranslated Spanish (most of which I was able to understand...go me), I loved the premise. I loved our characters and learning more about them. I love our main character and how they are still struggling with their gender identity rather than a "this is who I am" without that being what the story is about.


I felt the story lost me for a little while in the third quarter, so it wasn't quite a 5 star for me.

Now I need to decide whether to catch up with the black and white webcomics or wait until a colourised volume 2.

I got a e-copy from Netgalley's "Read Now"

Oh gosh look at the cover design !! It's beautiful, eye catching and colorful. I didn't even bother to read the book synopsis before deciding to read it.

I would like to apologize if I am mistaken with the non-binary pronouns.

Oh Amparo, you have it bad for Lolanthe!! Alright, I see how opposite Lolanthe and Amparo is with each other. It's very interesting how each of them are quite opposite in their personality, character and interest. I find this very interesting.

A talking cat casually walks in Amparo's room and makes a deal, wow! Amparo is extremely trusting of a cat that wants to grant wishes with blood trade. Anything involving a blood trade/contract is bad news!!

The Bright World is amazing, full of fantasy like tropical plants and unusual creatures. Creatures who are very sinister and manipulative. Bright World is not a good place for humans, apparently Minion human is not eaten and works for a sponsor but a Morsal human is edible and does not have a sponsor. Lucky thing Amparo is street smart and was able to talk herself out of a tense situation. However, Miss Mimi is one step ahead of her always, she is a double edged sword!

Reading this comic/GN remind me of the anime movie "Spirited Away" Because it somewhat felt like that, traveling to an alternate reality and forgetting her identity along the way. Not to mention all the wonderful creatures she meets along the way some is human friendly while others is out to get you. So far the story is great and kept you interested in the Amparo's experiences in the Bright World.

If I must complain, it would be the lack of surprise and panic portrayed by Amparo with all the magical creatures he meet in the fantasy world. He just didn't see very surprised to have made a deal with a cat or that he is now in a fantasy Bright World. I find that to be slightly weird. While the artwork is amazing, at times the story seem to progress very slow and the artwork can be quite overwhelming and I find myself loosing interest in the story plot. I guess one being it focused a lot on Amparo rather than a balance of two world.

This GN is very long and when we reach the end, I felt like there are so many questions yet to answer. Perhaps this will be answered in the next vol.

4.5/5
This was so interesting! I want to read all the volumes now!

Queer non-binary teenager Amparo made a deal with a talking cat: a drop of blood and their name in exchange of becoming a better person. But when the cat takes their shape and they are sent to another place called Bright World they fight to find a way back while the cat steals their life.

This graphic novel is really interesting as I said, it's full of plot twists, it's funny and it's fascinating. Bright World is a strange place and it has its own rules, it's amazing (bit scary though!).

I really like the idea of the story, another world or dimension (not really sure yet) where there are lots of creatures and almost no humans.

Also, it's so colorful! The art and the colors were wonderful!

There's so much intrigue that it keeps you reading until you finish it! I was watching the pages get closer to the end but then it ended!! There were more pages but the story was over! I really need the next volume cause I need to know everything.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the digital ARC of The Hazards of Love Volume 1!

The Hazards of Love follows queer, non-binary teenager Amparo as they try to find a way to turn their life around. Rather than putting in the hard work, Amparo strikes a deal with a cunning, talking cat.

A drop of blood later and we are in the Bright World. An amazing, colourful place inspired by Mexican culture. The artwork of the Bright World is beautiful, rich and quite literally a Bright World. You can see how the author has used her Mexican heritage and poured it in to her work.

I really, really, really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was like a breath of fresh air for me. The concept was so unique, and to make it even better- it was queer.

The idea of a world on the other side of the veil inhabited by superior animals was a wonderful concept for me. I really got invested in Amparo and how they were going to get back to their world, Mother and girlfriend.

This book was really fun, it had some fantastic twists and really was a one-of-a-kind story. I am already looking forward to the next instalment, and I plan on buying myself a hard copy of this novel when it is published.

I will be posting my review on goodreads, my bookstagram (Instagram @lostinthepaiges) and in my private Facebook book club

What a weird little one. I did not expect this when I asked for this book on Netgalley. Don’t get me wrong, it’s positively weird and I quite liked it, I just don’t know how to express my feelings about this graphic novel.
First of all, the cast is really diverse and the story is quite easy to follow. The only difficulty is getting into this new universe and understanding how it works. I mean, this is difficult because even the main character is struggling with this. Then, the drawings are very nice and colourful. The only kind of negative point for me is that there is so much on each page, it’s difficult to see and pay attention to everything. The story is very original, I don’t think I have ever read something like that before. It is spooky, and mysterious but also funny, magical and there is a touch of friendship that links it all and makes it great. The characters are all very different, it’s very interesting. The author does a great job at making them come alive.
I really want to read the next book in the series. I want to know what happens and how Amparo will get out of this mess. I recommend this book to fantasy and graphic novel lovers.
3.5/5

Just a truly touching and lovely story. The art style is amazing! I was hooked from the very first page. I couldn’t put it down and finished it in one sitting. I can’t wait to see what else the author comes out with. I’d love to have this graphic novel as part of my collection.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this one so though I would pick it up. The art style was vibrant and punchy and had me instantly enjoying it but I did find the story a little hard to get into. It starts with action off the bat and the introduction of Bright World is like being thrown in head first. This made it a little hard for me to understand at first, but as the story goes on we learn along with the main character as they navigate it and it definitely picks up. The second half was more and more enjoyable as it went along and I was a little bummed when I reached the end. Though the first half definitely was slow for me, I would be eager to read the next volume to see what happens!

3.5/5

"The Hazards of Love" by Stan Stanley wasn't what I expected. I was expecting it to be a teenage coming of the age love story. Instead, It's a fantasy induced graphic comic, which draws various parallels with the human world. It's a story of two worlds, the Human World and the magical world. It was quite interesting to see the free-flowing imagination of the author with the 'magical' world. I like how she explores the nuances of the two worlds. The magical world is not an evil world where humans are not welcomed, and if any human is trapped there by mistake, they have to work as slaves like workers to get by.

The protagonist, Amparo, is stuck in the magical world. He is trying to get back to the human world and return to his family. It's fun to read about his ways to achieve the same. The fantastical elements of the books blended with the beautiful colorful illustrations make this an enjoyable read. I would be looking forward to the next volume.

Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy!

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I really enjoyed this graphic novel! It has a very interesting premise that I haven’t seen before. It’s fun, wildly colourful, surprising, and diverse! I was pleasantly surprised to find how queer this book is. It is full of LGBTQ+ representation, as well as BIPOC characters! The characters were likeable and interesting. I would definitely like to keep reading to find out what happens.

A beautifully illustrated graphic novel, with the scenes set in The Bright World being particularly vibrant and eye-catching. An exciting premise and intriguing characters, however the plot was slightly difficult to follow for a little while in the middle. But I would definitely recommend this, and will be interested to read further volumes to find out how Amparo's journey continues.

<b> The ARC of this book was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. </b>

3/5

The stunning art and writing is done by Stan Stanley (I like this name, bonus points) and the design is by Sarah Rockwell. I find it hard to comment on the art, it's something you either like or dislike. In this case, I liked it.
I'm not an art critic. I review books. I did an art history class in high school, so that's why I don't really comment on it unless I think I really know what I am talking about.

The story was odd but interesting? I went into it thinking like '''Aw, a queer romance, cute'' but this was more than that. Suddenly I was captivated by a story, an odd one that's for sure, but I was captivated. I loved the cover of issue 6 and 10 in the book. So beautiful!

Interesting to see how it continues!

Read more graphic novel reviews at www.graphiclibrary.org.

Amparo is a teen prankster, desperately trying to impress the super-smart Iolanthe, but succeeding in only stressing out their mother and abuela. When a talking cat comes to Amparo's bedroom, Amparo becomes convinced that the magical cat can grant them their wish: to be a better person Unfortunately, the magical cat is a better trickster than Amparo, and steals their name and identity. The former Amparo is doomed to Bright World, a vibrant, terrifying land squished in between the mortal world and what lies beyond. Fierce creatures feed on humans and use memories as currency, and it's all former-Amparo can do to survive! They become an indentured servant to cafe owner, Mimi, who dubs them "Paola," but Paola soon finds a new master - El Ciervo, a creepy "doctor" who specializes in performing medical procedures on humans. Now "Fawn," Amparo must fight their way out of Bright World and back to their life before they become a demon only worthy of Bright World.

Bright World is so imaginative and deeply developed through this story, and the summaries only scratch the surface of what's in this volume. Stanley's vibrant colors make this book a wonder to behold. There are a few instances of narrative hiccups where transitions could have been smoother, and I didn't care as much for the two tandem storylines of Bright World and the Mortal Realm happening on the same page, but it was a different way to show progression in each realm. This small choice only slightly detracted from my overall enjoyment of this story. There is also some beautiful representation in this story. Bright World is a beautiful, boldly colored world with heavy Latin folkloric influences. There are several panels of dialogue entirely in Spanish. Fawn/Paola/Amparo is nonbinary, and the topic comes up a few times throughout the story.
​
There is some mild language - some of it is censored, and other times, when Amparo/Paola/Fawn gets really upset, it's not.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 9-12

This book is insane. But a good insane. And the art is so beautiful and weird and BEAUTIFUL. Like, I'm in love.
So, a talking cat stoles Amparo's name, and shape, and life, and sends them to this weird place, the Bright World, that's full of strange people or monsters or something, it's purposefully unclear. Well, the Bright Worldians like to eat humans, so Amparo must get a master of they want to survive and maybe get their life back.
I loved Amparo. They was a badass, a mess, a troublemaker in the human world. But they grow so, so much in Bright World, without losing themself in the process.
I also loved El Ciervo, he's so mysterious but also straightforward and open and not a villain but also not a role model.
It's safe to say that this graphic novel is as far as you can go from usual fantastic archetypes inside a fantasy/urban fantasy world. And I liked it a lot.

I could not put this book down. I read it wondering if it was going to be too dark to purchase for my teen collection, but I think I'm going to purchase it regardless and if I need to move it to Adult GN later, I will (I don't think I will!)

I received an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review from Oni Press via NetGalley.

Well, this one was unputdownable!

What a positive shock the artwork of this graphic novel was! I was not expecting it, it caught me totally off guard, and I ENJOYED IT all the way! What a pleasant surprise! The bold outlines, the vibrant colours, the neon, and the expressiveness added a lot to the plot development and the story's dynamics. I even have my favourite illustration; the Seamstress looks divine.

The spookiness and the mystery of Bright World are making me both scared of it and in love with it at the same time. How is that even possible? I would love to be a part of it, to learn more about it, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to end up in some trouble over there because I am sure I wouldn't be able to get out of it. Bright World got my thoughts so entangled that I am not sure what I want. But I know that I want one thing, and that's the Volume 2.

The characters of the story are something completely new and refreshing to me. The diversity of them, along with the world-building, draw me in quickly. I AM HOOKED TO IT!

Amparo, a witty character who knows what they want but expresses it wrongly, maybe a delinquent, but they want to become a better person. As it turns out, they had to dive deep into the fantastic world "on the other side" to learn what exactly needs to be done to improve themselves.

El Ciervo, Amparo's patron in Bright World, is still very mysterious to me. Who is he? I am confused about what this deer did to Amparo's teeth. How did he do it? I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS!

Needless to say, I was not happy about the abrupt ending. That cliffhanger there was so not expected, not wanted, and not asked for (I wanted more!). This intriguing story, filled with magic (and gore, and cannibalism, and dark everything), kept me wondering what happened page after page... and now, volume after volume - I am so looking forward to Volume 2!

CW: Cannibalism, Gore, Misgendering, Amputation, Violence, Murder, Death.

I WAS SO EXCITED TO READ THIS. The Hazards Of Love is a queer, dark fantasy, romance graphic novel about a chaotic delinquent sent into another dimension. Want to read it yet?

It follows Amparo, a non-binary teen who makes a deal with an untrustworthy talking cat that steals their name and their body in the human world and sends Amparo off to the Bright World. Yeah, don’t trust talking cats. The Bright World gives me Mexican ’Day Of The Dead’ undertones from the colours and the creatures – who Amparo has to try and survive. I fell a little bit in love with all the characters and it’s really nice to see a non binary protagonist. Does it affect the story in any way? No. But does it make me smile? Yes.

The Hazards Of Love is not a book for kids… or readers with a weak stomach. Whilst the plot isn’t an uncommon trope, there’s some violence that’s slightly disturbing and the entire book is dark and kind of creepy. It’s not exactly a light read… but that’s only because I was so stressed about what was going to happen to the characters.

I just couldn’t put it down. I LOVE the characters and the vibrancy of the illustrations makes them jump right off the page and into your heart. Amparo is hilarious and real and I just want them to be happy 😦 The title is a little misleading – it’s not really the love story I’d imagined between Amparo and a girl we’re introduced to at the beginning, Iolanthe. Mainly because they’re together for about a page (evil cat, remember?). But it’s a story of survival and other types of love and desperation… and also exploitation. Some pretty serious stuff is covered in the guise of this mad fantasy world.

Also, please note, I haven’t cried at a book in about a year and a half but this may have set me off. Possibly… although I admit nothing. The Hazards Of Love ends on a bit of a cliffhanger – let me tell you I physically gasped – but the rest of the series is luckily online. I am now suffering a severe book hangover, it’s so good.

To sum up, The Hazards Of Love is a weird and wonderful book. From badass female characters to the gorgeous illustrations and the gay jokes – this is just genius, I can’t praise it enough. If you love queer fantasy and dark graphic novels, read this on the 30th March! You won’t regret it.

I received a copy of this book on netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The Hazards of Love Vol 1: Bright World is a YA graphic novel that follows Amparo, a non-binary teen wanting to become a better person, so, naturally, he makes a deal with a talking cat in order to achieve this. Talking cats are not to be trusted however as this one proceeds to steal Amparo's name, body and life, condemning them to Bright World, a world full of monsters, where humans are either eaten or turned into mindless, memory-less slaves.
This book was so weird and not at all what I expected. That being said, I still found it very intriguing and the strangeness just added to that. The mysteriousness of Bright World and its inhabitants was engaging throughout, and the characters seemed very real.
I really enjoyed the art style, which definitely contributed to my enjoyment, and the colourful plant life of Bright World was beautiful. There were many bits of this graphic novel that shocked me, and this only increased my desire to continue, and I will definitely be picking up the next volume when it's released.
I can't comment on the non-binary representation, but I can comment on sapphic rep, and I loved how normally the relationship is portrayed, despite how abnormal some aspects of it actually were. I also thought that the way Iolanthe's school mates see her as a way to boost their school's perceived inclusion felt very accurate.
This book is full of diverse characters; all of the main characters in the real world are poc, and while I am unable to comment on how good the representation is, I thought it was a great inclusion to the book.
There were also some aspects of this graphic novel that I didn't love, part of it being some of the logic behind the characters' actions, as there were points when some characters seemed to act completely differently than the way they had been throughout the rest of the book, but this didn't impact my overall enjoyment too much, and it still got 4 stars.
This book is not definitely for everyone, but if you are interested in dark, confusing fantasy worlds then I would recommend it to you.

I’m 79 pages in this graphic novel and it’s interesting and i love the art it’s beautiful and the art for the world amparo goes to is beautiful, and i’m happy that there’s diversity in this book which is enjoyable but i feel like the character development needs a little work because it doesn’t let us see how they react naturally, because it goes from one event to another without giving the characters a break to let us know how they normally react. and the relationship between the characters is sweet but it needs a little a lead back without jumping into the relationship so quickly, other than that it’s honestly a enjoyable read!! overall i give this book 3.5/5 stars and i’m gonna continue reading it when i get the chance to!!