This graphic novel was hilarious and well-drawn, definitely worth the money and the hype, and I hope will be successful!

'Just Enough' with story and art by Flavia Biondi is a graphic novel about a relationship in Bologna.

Manuel and Mia live in a very full house, but they want a place of their own. The problem is Mia has quit her low level job and is even having doubts about the relationship and Manuel is a writer waiting to be discovered.

I liked this story and the cast of characters. Love can be complex and this book doesn't shy away from it. The art is a nice style for the story being told.

I requested this when I just started using NetGalley and didn't know exactly how it worked yet. I was not able to download this before it was archived, but the story intrigued me enough that I kept looking back at it. I finally was able to read a copy and am so glad I kept it in the back of my mind! It was well worth the wait and the work of finding a copy. The art in this graphic novel is beautifully done and the story is touching and infinitely relatable. This feels so real and grounded that I just flew through it. I will most definitely be looking for more from Flavia Biondi!

I wasn't sure I would like this but ended up really enjoying it. It's a very honest story about what happens when a couple who has been together a long time reaches the part of their lives when all their other friends seem to be so much more "adult" than they are - with "real" jobs and kids and houses. It's also a story about what happens when one half of a couple is ready to grow up and move on with their adult lives while the other half is completely flailing/failing at everything with no direction and no clue what comes next.

Beautifully drawn and very tender, this is the perfect Graphic Novel for fans of Craig Thompson and Tom Hart.

I grabbed this because I absolutely loved Flavia Biondi's Generations. This isn't quite that, but it has a similar "banalities of daily life" vibe. It feels very millennial in a way -- the main character is struggling, she doesn't know what she wants to do with her life, she can't tell if she should commit to her boyfriend or break up with him, and she can't take a break to figure it all out because the rent still has to get paid. I think you might have to be in the right mood to appreciate it but I actually found this to be a surprisingly uplifting story about putting in the work to make your own happy ending. There's no magical solution for Mia. The excerpts from Manuel's serial novel about courtly love are an interesting conceit that contrasts his fantasy world with Mia's reality. The art is monochrome (blue rather than black) and really evocative. All in all, a mature love story that I would recommend to people looking for reality more than fantasy.

This book and story was so beautiful I actually cried! I highly recommend this! Simply beautiful! I am not one to cry, but this one made me bawl like a baby!

I'm a huge graphic novel lover and this hit home. The art was good. The story was realistic. It seriously made me teary eyed. The ending made me cry. It was so beautiful.! I loved it!

Thank you, NetGalley and Europe Comics for the preview of this graphic novel.

Just Enough by Flavia Biondi was a very powerfully emotional graphic novel that portrays how it feels to be a twenty- someone who is struggling with real-life and watch their dreams fade away. The style of art was fresh and beautiful.

A very delicate contemporary love story that can touch intimate feelings without being invasive. A bit slow in the storyline and the cianotype-like art may not appeal to everyone, but it is a good comic.

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Thanks to Netgalley and Europe Comics for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review. It has not influenced my opinions.

I knew this graphic novel since its publication in Italian, but until now I never had the chance to read it. I was always curios about it mostly because of the cover, I could see it was most probably a love story but couldn’t understand if it was settled in today’s world or in the past, and Just enough is exactly this. The graphic novel carry on two different stories, one settled in today’s Bologna and the other one is a Medieval story where there is a princess and a valorous knight.
At the beginning I didn’t like it, and I thought to not continue reading, but as I’m a stubborn person I decided to continue and I’m actually really glad. I have to say that as soon as I finished reading, I was in doubt to how many stars to give. Mainly because it is a nice graphic novel, but I didn’t fall in love with it. On the contrary it goes through some tough episodes of life that is common in today’s generations. Therefore, I could find myself as Mia for part of the story, and I could really feel how she was feeling and the doubts she was going through. In conclusion, I gave three stars to this graphic novel because it is a nice and emotional story that glues you to the pages.

I related to parts of how Mia was feeling about people from school seeming like they have their lives together and her not having her together. I very much have felt and sometimes still do feel this way. I like that the author made the situation seem realistic. I like the out come, I liked how Mia went to see her family after every thing that happened.

4.5⭐️! Wow. This is just...sublime 💙 “Just Enough” perfectly captures the concept of adulting, where everyone traverses the winding roads of real life and daydreams littered with boring jobs, rent and overdue bills. This insightful book is filled with monochromatic but beautifully rendered art and page spreads. It’s a bit text heavy for a graphic novel but the skillful paneling helps the reading experience be more effortless.

The story explores the fear of never being able to survive with just your talent and passion. It shows complex human feelings towards making life changing decisions as affected by pressures of age and the limitations of time. It poses the questions: To what extent can we lie to protect the ones we love? What do we need to do to make our lives better?

Ideals can sometimes make us blind so we always have to find the balance between reality and fantasy. We have to weigh the choices and sacrifices we need to make, and it’s always a matter of taking that first step. We would probably need to make hundreds more “first steps” during our lifetime.

“Just Enough” is a love story, but more than that it’s a story about self-discovery and growing up and never stopping to learn new things and understanding life through shifting perspectives. No matter how old we get, life is full of beginnings, and we are all responsible for defining our own happy endings.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Europe Comics for providing a copy of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.

Well shove me in a wheelie bin and call me blind but I just can't see what everyone else was raving about. A household of unlikeable people quibble, bicker and mope, with the leading moper a wholly uninteresting woman stuck in the middle of the nowhere that is her life, with her Hellboy-gone-wrong boyfriend (I mean, check out those eyebrows!). He thinks his asinine mediaeval romance is a novel that's going to earn him some money, which a visit to the real world would sort out pronto. She is a woman, falsely under the illusion that she has boobs, that quit a humdrum job because she needs more time to mope. Out of that, I completely fail to see any appeal.

This book felt painfully real and relatable, not to mention that it was beautifully illustrated.

Mia and Manuel are almost thirty, have been together for 8 years, but are still living like college students. They're both unhappy with their lives (which seems to lead nowhere) and are probably going through a quarter-life crisis. To make matters worse, they've both reached the moment in a relationship when things stagnate… aka the 7-year-itch.

I first heard of the 7-year-itch from a few coworkers who swore it was a real thing. One coworker was on her third marriage (the previous two marriages ended on the 7 year mark) and another coworker and her ex-boyfriend split up 7 years into their relationship.

When my relationship with my boyfriend was nearing it's 7 years, we too experienced a rough patch that was not unlike what was depicted in this story. We started noticing that our relationship wasn't the same as when we first started dating and started wondering what it would be like to see other people. We eventually made it past the rough patch but it's definitely something you hardly ever read about in books or see on TV - romance stories always shows the 'happy ending' but not what comes after.

I think this comic book does a really good job depicting the mundane as well as the difficulties of being in a long term relationship (for young couples at least). What do you do after the initial honeymoon period but not yet quite ready for the commitment that comes with marriage? Do you stay together, or split up and go through the same cycle with a new partner?

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Thanks to Europe Comics and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

I haven’t read a graphic novel for ages, but this sounded intriguing. This modern slice of life story follows Manuel and Mia, a young Italian couple living in Bologna and charts the ups and downs of being in a long-term relationship.

Initially I didn’t completely love the art style, but it grew on me as I progressed through the story. The art fits the dynamic of the story really well and is quietly understated, as the story itself is.



The real strength of this graphic novel is how perfectly it captures the modern millennial experience. We have the impact of the financial crisis, housing and employment insecurity, having to house share even though you’re approaching your thirties and feeling like everyone has their shit together and you don’t. The characters struggle with a lack of direction and no clear path to success. Sound familiar?

The relationships in the story felt modern and credible. Mia and Manuel have been together for eight years and the spark has faded. Mia wants to socialise more; Manuel wants to become a published author. The strains of competing life goals and managing a relationship when things have moved passed that initial excitement and romance are expertly portrayed. I’d challenge anyone in a long-term relationship to say they can’t identify with some of the issues this story explores. The friendship dynamics too, particularly the dynamic between Tito and Mia were also captured well.

This was a quietly profound, and really rather beautiful, insight into the lives of a young millennial couple.

"Just Enough" is a beautiful graphic novel. There is a great story here, coupled with an interesting art style. I'll definitely recommend this one.

I absolutely loved this graphic novel. I wasn't sure if it was going to be something that I would like but I'm so glad that I gave it a chance. This story is about Manuel and Mia who are living in a house with so many roommates that they haven't even met one of them yet. The story starts off with Mia quitting her job while Manuel works and writes a popular story online. The two of them have been together for eight years and are both coming to terms with their day to day reality. Mia is unsatisfied with her life so far and doesn't know what to do about it. This story is a slice of life and romance all rolled up into one. It really deals with what you do after you get out of college and life really doesn't turn out like you wanted it to. What do you do?

I would highly recommend this book. The artwork was fantastic as well as the story. If you are a fan of slice of life type graphic novels then this will be right up your alley!

I really enjoyed this graphic novel!
Set in Bologna,Italy, Flavia Biondi narrates the story of Mia and Manuel,a young couple living in a shared house with students and flatmates ,trying to face every day challenges and the ups and downs of their relationship.

Being Italian, I have found the atmosphere of Bologna perfectly represented..The use of a palette of blue and white colours is an excellent choice to depict the uncertainty and the sense of being lost in life.

The love story is the representation of wanting to fulfill dreams,to be free and enjoy life on one hand and on the other the desire to have a home,a marriage and kids.

The ending was perfect and I believe it is an actual representation of real life,with its difficulties and little joys.

Brava Flavia!

I grabbed this from Netgalley as soon as I saw it because last year I read another book by this author/artist which was excellent.

This book did not disappoint me either.

Manuel and Mia have been living together for eight years. They live in a shared house with students and flat mates. Manuel is ready for the two of them to find their own place. He wants the whole caboodle; marriage, children and Mia.

Mia is grappling with the reality that she will never be a sculptress and that her life may consist of going from one menial job to another. The passion she has for Manuel is not like when they first met. She doesn't know what to do with her life.

Manuel has dreams. He works hard as a waiter and works on his online novel in the hope that one day a publisher will pick it up. He knows Mia is unhappy but when Mia gives up her job as a shop assistant, the two of them have to face up to the difficulties in their relationship and the reality that this is life and being together doesn't mean stars and roses every day.

Meanwhile the couple are surrounded by friends and fellow flatmates and they have their families. As the crises deepens Mia is forced to really look at the way she is drifting and when the crunch comes she has to stare the possible loss of Manuel in the face and take a good look at herself.

This is an excellent story about grappling with the reality of life. Sometimes the dreams and desires don't bear fruit and then what do you do? Relationships wax and wane but how do we weather those changes without losing everything?

The artwork is in blue and white which gives it a haunting kind of feel but it just seemed very appropriate for the melancholy parts of the story. The ending is great. I enjoyed all the characters although there were times when I didn't like Mia very much. The story has a great cast of supporting characters and their roles complement the main characters so beautifully. The best part of the story is the way Manuel weaves his own online writing into the main story.

Overall this story is beautifully told and beautifully illustrated and is going on my list of exquisite reads for 2019!

Copy provided by Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.