From the moment I saw this title on Netgalley, I was excited and drawn to the cover and the plot. However, after reading it, I must admit I was let down story wise, but adored the minimalist illustrations. The illustrations were the highlight for me easily. The illustrations added to the words of the book. I adored how there was often multiple illustrations without any words, highlighting how alone and isolated Elena was after leaving Jorge's place.

The plot personally did nothing for me. I didn't understand why Elena kept talking about how Jorge hadn't gotten in contact with her, when it was her choice alone to leave Jorge's place without telling him as well. I found the ending to be confusing and conflicting. I understand her finding her own place, a place that Jorge hadn't been before, and this was a part of Elena finding herself. However, Jorge's presence in the ending and near ending, I definitely didn't see the point and was conflicted as to some of her choices.

I didn't connect to any of the characters, even with this book being short. I found them lacking any depth. The amount of time when a new character would arrive in one of the seven places, I was unsure who they were and what they were supposed to add to the storyline. I didn't understand Jorge showing up in the last chapter.

I really wanted to like this, more than just the illustrations, but it unfortunately fell short for me.

Thank you very much to Europe Comics for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

A beautiful, quick read on first love lost. Elena doesn't harbor resentment to Jorge, but knows that it is time to move into her own place and start anew.

First I would like to thank Netgalley, the author, and publisher for allowing me the chance to read and review this graphic novel.

I wasn't really expecting too much from this, having seen the reviews on Goodreads as well as the intriguing yet simplistic synopsis, but the art style was more than enough to make me want to read it. It's minimalistic yet cute vibe is one I love in my graphic novels, as it usually works well with the textual parts of the story while not being too distracting or too invisible. However, the art style alone isn't enough to support a story.

While the story was nice enough while reading, especially when supported with a nice art style, the ending left me feeling conflicted about the story in its entirety, and the point in reading it. While I understand the story follows a couple going through their first issues, it felt like the reactions of the characters didn't match up with what was happening, and the ending only supports this more so. It was all just rather confusing, and when paired up with the complete lack of background info, it was hard to orient yourself in the story enough to enjoy the simplicity of the plot. I spent too much time trying to figure out who everyone was, and their relationship to each other, that I never got around to caring about what happened, or really feeling anything at all about the characters.

In the end, that's probably my biggest disappointment with this story. I didn't feel anything while reading it, even though I can empathize with the situation of Elena quite a bit (having moved into my boyfriend's family home and all the things that come with that). But instead I felt no connection at all, because I never felt like I actually knew Elena, her story, and her relationships at all. It made the story fall flat, and feel unmemorable.

*spoiler alert*

Interesting slice-of-life story but a lot of things are left unsaid while the story goes in all directions without any answers for the reader. You also don't get many opportunities to care for the main character, Elena. She isn't shown in depth, her family and friends are sympathetic but superficial, and the reader mainly gets their superficial impression of what seems to be a blasé person.

Is Helena depressed, angry, lost, lonely, in schock? I'll never know. Elena's family and friends also never seem really interested in talking beyond the superficial niceties. Wherever she is the focus remains with the people around her, who go on interacting socially and having successful lives while she only observes in a detached way.

As a reader I can try to understand her reasons to leave Jorge, but I don't understand her lack of deep reactions. The character of Jorge and the backstory of his relationship with Elena are also not fleshed out enough so I understand what the whole break down was about. I can understand why Elena still sleeps once with her ex-, it seems that for her the turmoil of the breakdown messed up any rationality, this last scene making Elena more relatable; not an example of a heroine but a flawed and confused human being.

This book was like a portrait, a short melancholic depiction of the moment a relationship finishes.

Full review published on Booklover Book Reviews website >> http://bookloverbookreviews.com/2019/01/seven-places-without-you-by-juan-berrio-graphic-novel-review.html

This is a relatable story about going through a breakup without the agonizing feeling of a broken heart. While many stories out there try to convey the pain experienced by all at some point when dealing with a broken heart, I felt that Seven Places Without You came from a calmer heart. This felt like the stage in which you have accepted and are moving on at your own pace. It's nice to be reminded that while everyone goes through breakups, they also move on from it. Reading this made me feel peaceful and reflect on my own experiences without bitterness.

A beautifully sentimental and ultimately uplifting look at one woman's journey to finding herself despite the pressure to remain coupled.

I liked the art, specially the colour palette used throughout the book and how it changed to imprint meaning into the scenes. In some scenes I had a bit of trouble following the dialogues properly, because the way it was scripted made it feel like from one vignette to the next something had been skipped.

Regarding the plot, I feel like the slow pace and the abscence of Jorge is quite a statement. I remember reading a bit of the book right after I had watched one of The Skin Deep videos on YouTube and thinking: this is exactly the same, the guy in the couple is the typical "nice guy" who everyone believes does nothing wrong, but he is totally being a jerk to his girlfriend. I feel like the story narrated here is a real one, it happens everyday in real life, but somehow something was missing in it to make a greater impact on the reader. I think the book was a good attempt at representing emotions without writing about them, but I felt there was a lack in depth and intensity. The pain was there, but we could not quite see it. It felt like throughout the graphic novel we were just roaming on the surface of Elena's emotions and reality.

It was weird getting to know right at the end that this graphic novel was originally published in Spanish, and I read it in English. Now everything - from the names to the places and the characters - makes more sense than before. It makes me proud seeing that more Spanish artists are being published and translated in other languages.

I received an advanced readers copy of this graphic novel via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Seven Places Without You is a graphic novel following a young woman named Elena who is going through a transitional phase in her relationship with her boyfriend Jorge. The only thing she can do is move out and start a life of her own. Little does she know, Jorge will show up and try to win her back. Will Elena give in?

I truly enjoyed reading this graphic novel! Juan Berrio truly painted a picture of a relationship taking a turn for the worst, but nonetheless I enjoyed it. I personally loved how the author described Elenas pain and confusion. I could feel her emotions and that is one of my favorite things to experience while reading. However, I hated that Jorge came back into the picture and ultimately expected for everything to be normal.

Overall, I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.

I'm not that used to reading coming books,however I am trying to widen my reading habit. It was an interesting and relatable story. It happens with all of us. The story was quite genuine, very everyday based- which isn't a bad thing. I enjoyed to get to know the characters, however,I find it with comics that they are quite fast paced.
I really liked the illustrations I enjoyed how basic this was.

Kudos to the illustrations. The story could have had more depth.

The book was the visual representation of what happens when love fades. The main thing the book lacked was the love.

I love reading graphic novels, and Seven Places without you seemed sad and unique. The art style is simple, and yet has such an air of melancholy about it that I couldn’t wait to get started.

The art in Seven Places Without You is wonderful. The panels have a real sense of gloom and sadness. The characters are simple, as are the environments, and yet the art manages to convey a real sense of emotion. One of the things I enjoyed was that some sections relied more on the art than on text to convey the story. There were silent moments that captured the feeling of relationship breakdown. These were the strongest parts of Seven Places Without You for me.

But unfortunately, that’s where my praise ends. The story was lacklustre, unengaging, and the characters weren’t fleshed out in any real depth. The introduction to these characters was just all kinds of weird. We dont' find out what Jorge did, only that he's got a job that keeps him busy, Elena doesn't bother to actually tell Jorge that she's left him, they don't actually break up, and yet still Elena laments that he hasn't called? If someone walked out on me without bothering to tell me or break up with me I'd probably not acall them either!

Elena does some things and has some boring conversations that don’t advance the story apart from showing a passage of time. I never get a feel for who Elena is or where her relationship went wrong. When she finally finds an apartment, we meet Jorge, who is funny and charming and seems totally ok with the fact that Elena walked out on him without bothering to tell him. He goes above and beyond to bring her things for the new apartment to make it more comfortable. Elena talks about how nothing has changed and that she’s already forgiven him, but the difficult thing is a loss of trust. Although, what caused this is never, ever communicated in the text or the images, so it’s tough to feel sympathy for her at this moment.

Seven Places Without You went by in a blur of mediocrity, and I finished it feeling like I’d completely wasted the time it took me to read it. The dialogue was uninteresting, the chemistry between any of the character was non-existent. Seven Places Without You said nothing and went nowhere. It’s such a shame because the illustrations set this up to be a poignant graphic novel about heartbreak. This is not a book I’ll be recommending.

The art is just the style I like. Soft, melancholy, heartbreaking. The story is a slice of life where a relationship goes somehow wrong. Elana finds ways to recover from the loss of her boyfriend Jorge. She survives the places they have been without him. She has many friends and family to support her. Jorge makes an appearance. Elena will be okay.

An easy to read story with pleasant graphics.

I enjoyed reading it, and quite liked the art.

I don't think I've read another story about break-up that's so simple. The story is really short, basically just Elena realising her boyfriend doesn't spend any time with her anymore, then she moved out. It frustrates me a bit that the ending feels a little abrupt. (You'll understand it if you've read it.) I might like the book better if it was just a little bit longer, and maybe gives us some more thought from both Elena and Jorge.

Firstly I would like to thank Netgalley for the chance of reading this graphic novel by Juan Berrio in exchange of a honest review.

While the synopsis and the art style on the cover called my attention, the story in the end wasn't something that caught my full attention.. We follow, in Seven Places Without You, the story of Elena, and how she tries to find herself after her boyfriend seems to be distancing himself from her.

While the starts really got me, with Elena deciding to leave where they are living - his parent's house? - and go spend sometime with her friend, while trying to find one for herself, her trying out going out with friends, socialize to try and forget, we have a heart full story of moving on. But the last chapter where we finally get to know the elusive Jorge? I was let down a bit with the chapter, and I also feel like I needed a bit more to see what happens after it.

The colour pallet chosen, as well and the way it's drawn is really beautiful, and it all fits perfectly with the mood of the story and Elena's life in the moment, so that's something I really liked!

The art grabbed me straight away, very simple and yet conveyed so much of the main character's emotions. It was particularly good at showing how isolated she was feeling at the beginning of the story and at the party. Unfortunately, what seemed to be heading towards an original story about a woman finding herself again after the breakdown of her long term relationship ended up revolving entirely around men still. It's unsurprising this was written by a man and was a disappointing and very disjointed read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher -Dibbuks for the advance copy

Elena is the main character of this short story which never really takes off. We begin at a discussion with the mother of elusive Jorge who is eluded to as her boyfriend but does not make an appearance until the final chapter. We follow Elena as she moves on after the break up but her interactions are unfulfilling to the reader as we do not get introduced to any character in depth. At the end Jorge shows up with a box of random items for her new apartment and a glib attitude and assumption all is forgiven and he will move in. We get no story on where he has been but there is a love making scene in which she seems to be letting go.
It is a depressing and unhappy story with no plot.

The facial expressions do not always reflect what is being said.

This wasn't the best read ever. I will be posting a long lengthy review on my goodreads account. The only redeemable characters are the parents of Jorge and Elena. Everyone else can get the battle ax.

For the most part, the story was not for me because I was really expecting something much more unique based on the premise and the way the book was represented. Even so, what I did enjoy the graphics and the way the story was told. Unlike most comics and graphic novels I've seen Berrio was not afraid to display the progression of some scenes, which I liked since it has been my pet peeve in reading comics.

Going back to the plot, there were multiple scenes that featured people smoking, which I am personally against. This is the result of my rating being lower than usual. I expected our lead character to talk more about the places they were together in and perhaps their memories and whatnot, but I did not get a lot of that going through the book.

I got a gloomy vibe from seeing the cover and the title of the book, which spills into the color scheme throughout the pages, but the plot itself and the characters themselves were not able to represent that enough for me. And I need to mention again how the plot was just really not for me. And it did end weirdly for me.

Melancholic and atmospheric, the art style was absolutely my cup of tea. This is a graphic novel that could be translated into a movie or a novel even, it deals with the theme of dying love and of transition in a both sincere and emotional way.