Verona Comics

* I got this book for review from the publisher for my honest thoughts*

I really wound up adoring this read. I love this book so much. I was so invested in both the male and female POV. I loved how this book focused on the comics world and beyond comics books and not just comic con. I also like how this book explored harder relationships topics including family dymamics, romance, codependent relationships and anxiety and depression. I thought this was realistic look at what comes after a whirlwind romance. but it was so fun and loved the characters and the harder topics.

audio fiction (9 hrs with Michael Crouch and two others providing perfect narration) TW: suicidal ideation, abusive/neglectful parents, panic attacks and extreme anxiety.

two queer (bi/pan) teens meet at a costumed Comic Con prom in New England -- she, Jubilee, a cellist hoping that a weekend at the Con will provide the needed distraction for her to ace her scholarship audition, and he, Ridley, a 17 y.o. with crippling social anxiety that unintentionally makes him seem mysterious and different. The catch: his megalomaniac villain dad runs the Geekery, a grossly unethical comics publishing corporation, and her mom's wife is the queer Latinx superstar comic artist and small business owner of Verona Comics that has been a thorn in the show more Geekery's side. They make a super cute couple, especially with the exquisitely delivered narration in the audio, and though they don't really know each other at all it's hard not to root for them despite the huge wrench that will get thrown in there when Ridley agrees to spy on the Verona store in an attempt to gain his dad's approval.

Ridley for sure needs a therapist and a good psychiatrist, but Michael Crouch's voicing of him is super adorable; Taylor Meskimen's Jubilee is also exceptionally good. End matter includes resources for suicide prevention and queer support. show less

https://booksteacupnreviews.com/2020/04/22/bookreview-verona-comics-by-jennifer-...

Verona Comics was cute and complicated YA, queer contemporary that revolved around Jubilee and Ridley. It was about anxiety disorder and mental health issue, dysfunctional family, love and complications, learning to love yourself and life, looking for a solution of problem rather than finding an exit door.

Writing was gripping and fast paced. At first it felt light hearted and cozy but as I read more that vibe turned so intense and heavy. If you are expecting lot of fun, humor and light YA romance just hold your thought here because it’s much more complicated with serious issues. Verona Comics was written from Jubilee and Ridley’s POV that provided show more clear view of total opposite life style, family and their views towards comic books business.

Plot was interesting. As synopsis said Jubilee and Ridley met at comic convention prom that Ridley’s dad’ company, Geekery, sponsored. Geekery had a reputation of destroying Indie comic shops and had an evil eye on Verona Comics ever since Verona laughed at Ridley’s dad’s offer. When they met at prom they didn’t know who their parents were but Ridley found out Jubilee was Verona’s step daughter and they hate Geekery. I knew it was going to be complicated but even Ridley agreeing to spy on Verona comic for his dad to please him to go back to his childhood home was shocking. I was curious to see where this will go from here, how Jubilee will find out about his real identity and what Ridley will do to come out of the mess he created.

Characters were interesting. I loved family dynamics and balance of family, friendship and romance. Jubilee’s family was great. Both her moms were supportive, loving and caring. Verona was the stepmother everybody would love. I didn’t like Ridley’s family. I blame them for everything happened in this book. But I liked his sister Gray. She was amazing from the very beginning.

There were so much diversity. Jubilee’s mom was bi and her stepmom, Verona, was lesbian. Both Jubilee and Ridley were bi, Jubilee’s friend Jayla was black and lesbian. I liked Jubilee for her non-label thoughts. She was bi but haven’t experimented it and didn’t care for a label and accepted who she was.

Jubilee was smart, overachiever student, and amazing cellist. Audition for scholarship to summer program to study with famous cello teacher was her dream. Her passion and dedication was admirable but at the same time I agreed with her both friends. She should have applied other camps and she should managed things normally like she did before Ridley entered her life. Her concerns and emotions were well written. As adult I didn’t agree the way she handled situation in climax but I can see and understand why she did that. I might have done the same at her age. Young love does that to us. Her decision later was fabulous. I liked her even more for it.

Ridley was good person but he was struggling with many things. He had narcissist parents who didn’t love him as he wasn’t prodigy and stopped caring for him once they knew he was bi, had anxiety disorder and suffered with depression. My heart went to him, I wanted to snatch him away from those parents who not only were not helping him but also made him feel worthless. But at the same time I didn’t like him exactly for what he was doing from the beginning even though he knew it was wrong. When he spent more time with Jubilee I started to warm to him as it was helping him coping with his mental health and also for his wish to come out clean. But climax changed it once again because he was asking a lot from Jubilee and was not even thinking about her family, he was being selfish. I exactly felt like Jubilee did, I liked him but at the same time I didn’t. I was so glad after climax things started to change for him and I was happy with his efforts.

I loved how author showed young love and complications that comes with it, how course of life can be changed at any minute, one cannot have full control over life and most of all representation of anxiety disorder and panic attacks. How character suffering with mental health act and behave and what are their thought process, how difficult it’s for them in life and how they need more than just medications. Honestly I wasn’t expecting this heavy topic in the book so it was total surprise but I was glad to read author’s realistic approach with this topic.

Climax was tense. As I said I wasn’t happy with characters’ decision at this point and wanted to shake them out of whatever they were thinking so they could see what was coming. I swear my heartbeats stopped for a moment and I was dreading what happened next. But at the same time something good came out of it, they learned many things, it changed their life and developed stronger and healthier. I like the end. It was great.

I thought I will rate this 4 because I was not happy with characters’ decisions and I wasn’t happy with Ridley and what he did throughout the book but when I gave it some time, put myself in their situation, it felt so real and apposite. They were just 17. Who has wisdom and maturity about love, life, and relationships at this age! And let’s not forget mental health issue. So, yes, full star to this.

Overall, Verona Comics was realistic, deep, complicated, and heartwarming YA LGBTQ cotemporary romance. I highly recommend this to fans of this genre.

*** Note: I received e-copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks to PRHGlobal for free copy. *** show less

There were quite a few aspects to "Veronca Comics" I enjoyed, primarily the idea of two teens from competing comic shop families crushing on each other after meeting at a comic con. That's just a super adorable premise! The characters are also nicely fleshed out, even the side characters were fun to read, and honestly I would love a Jayla spinoff novel. Also, everyone is very open about their dating preferences and sexuality, and there is a lot of wholesome support shown from friends and (most) family.

That being said, I just felt like the whole second half of the novel was quite repetitive and redundant. Characters kept having the same conversations about the same topics, and very little happened until the final couple chapters. Even show more then, it wrapped up quite quickly, and although I enjoyed the note the book ended on, I felt like it happened too fast to be thoroughly enjoyable. The pacing overall could have been much smoother. Lastly, there was just a little too much of that vibe of a girl thinking "Oh, I can date this troubled boy and fix him!" for me to be totally comfortable. It doesn't end up being quite like that, but I also don't think that line of thinking was addressed enough. No one ever challenged this thought and it really needed to be.

This last point has spoilers - you've been warned ;)

*A major part of this novel is the fact that Ridley's dad wants Ridley to spy on Verona Comics so he can find a way for their comic shop to buy out Verona. But this plot is tied up in basically a sentence that says Ridley's dad decided to just stop trying. That's it. All throughout the book, Mr. Everlasting was shown to be harsh, relentless, and cutthroat, but then he just...stops?? I don't believe it. Sure, Ridley was in that car accident, but when Ridley jumped off that roof however long ago it did stop his dad from being mean/cutthroat then? I just don't buy it, and it felt like lazy writing to wrap this up so blandly. show less

I really wanted to love this after being completely surprised and blown out of the water by Dugan's debut, Hot Dog Girl; however, this did not work for me. Though I appreciated the open and frank portrayal of anxiety, a lot of the core components of this book felt underdeveloped, which made it difficult to buy into the conflict. I didn't feel anything for Ridley and Jubilee's Romeo & Juliet-adjacent romance, especially when Jubilee felt more unexplored as a character, even in her own chapters. The pacing of the story also shifted from breakneck to plodding along and nothing ever quite hit it's stride. There were some things I really did enjoy in this book, but I was ultimately left wanting a whole lot more.

* I got this book for review from the publisher for my honest thoughts*

I really wound up adoring this read. I love this book so much. I was so invested in both the male and female POV. I loved how this book focused on the comics world and beyond comics books and not just comic con. I also like how this book explored harder relationships topics including family dymamics, romance, codependent relationships and anxiety and depression. I thought this was realistic look at what comes after a whirlwind romance. but it was so fun and loved the characters and the harder topics.

I really enjoyed this book. Not only is it a YA romance, but it is a story that also deals with real-life situations, including dealing with mental health issues. It was nice to read a book that represents all factions of LGBTQ, where everyone is accepting of each other, meaning, it was never addressed by any character in a negative light. I laughed out loud at the characters' sense of humor, got really angry at Ridley's parents, who chose to brush his issues under the carpet, which unfortunately happens in today's society. Well written, quick read. I also felt shades of Romeo & Juliet in the storyline. Any coincidence that the characters were named with R & J??