★★★★★ 5
likely my favorite read of this entire year
Format: Kindle
Noah Blue has finally made it to the big leagues with her webcomic's success, as she lands a full-time job at the company responsible for the relaunch of the cult classic Queen Leisah. The comic is expected to be a smash hit, with movie deals already in the works. Noah's career is taking off, but there's one obstacle standing in her way.
Sage Montgomery's natural talent has brought her to the top of the charts for eight consecutive years. Although her career has hit a plateau, she believes that working on a high-profile, mainstream comic will help her breakthrough. She expected complete creative control over the Queen Leisah relaunch, but instead, she must share credit with an artist who has been her rival since college. This artist has a real chance of surpassing her in skill.
Sage and Noah must put their rivalry aside and cooperate, or at least make it appear that way. They thought the biggest challenge would be working together, but the real challenge turned out to be falling in love.
Touching her was like diving into a warm pool, the heat soothing yet close to being unbearable. I wanted more, but I wasn’t confident I'd be able to handle more. That I was worthy of more.
This book was probably one of the cutest books I have ever read and I'm so glad that I picked it up so early in my 2024 reading year because now I get to spend the rest of 2024 shoving it at everyone I know because this is a book I need every person to read. If you look at my entire January wrap-up and decide to only take one of my recommendations, let it be this one. It will leave you feeling all of the things and I don’t know if there is a cuter couple than Noah and Sage.
I'll start my talking points with Noah, a fellow people-pleaser who worries a lot internally about whether or not she belongs at her new job with people she sees as the best of the best. I related to her for the people-pleasing aspects and it broke my heart to hear how her family talked about her art career. I absolutely loved her personality and if I could have a fictional character go shopping with me and help me pick out outfits because her style and overall vibes were immaculate. I loved the realness of her struggle to the top and the reality of what pushing yourself like that can be like.
And then there is Sage, the oldest daughter who is literally taking on the entirety of taking care of her family on her own shoulders and feeling like she needs to be in control of everything all of the time, also super relatable for me personally. Sage’s growth throughout this book was probably one of my favorite points. The healing journey that she goes on throughout was inspiring and really beautiful which had me emotional at times. I loved the realness of how burnout was spoken about throughout this book. And I especially loved the way that her bisexuality was talked about in the book and how it can feel like people expect you to just pick a side.
This book really delivered the rivals-to-lovers aspect of things and I really appreciated the term rivals being used as opposed to enemies because it just fit them so much better. The way that they started in direct competition with one another only to realize it shouldn’t have been one to begin with and the two of them just rooting for each other even at the expense of their own losses was just absolutely beautiful. Their chemistry as a couple was off the chart and from start to finish I was rooting so hard for them. I appreciated how open and direct they were with their communication and how their friend group grew closer and helped along the way.
Outdrawn was seriously so cute and I know I’ve already said it but I can’t help but use that word when describing this book. I definitely recommend it to literally everyone and cannot wait to read more of Deanna Grey’s books!
- rivals to lovers
- sapphic romance
- bisexual rep
- lesbian rep
- Black romance
- comic book artists main characters
- workplace romance
- banter for days
- slow burn
- lots of pining
- opposites attract
- grumpy/sunshine
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Reviewed in the United States on February 10, 2024
