ARC, 224 pages
Release Date: July 1, 2025
Published by: Graphix
Read from: July 27-28, 2025
Float, #1
Source: ALA (I received a free ARC from the publisher. This did nothing to influence my review.)
Content Warning: Fighting, Violence
For Readers Interested In: Summer Romances, Graphic Novels, Contemporary Romance, “Bad Boy”, Sparkly Covers, Realistic Fiction, YADive into summer fun in this graphic novel romance from Webtoon. It’s perfect for fans of True Beauty and Pumpkinheads!
Amidst the chaos of her parents’ bitter divorce, Alaskan teenager Waverly Lyons trades in her textbooks and parka for a summer of suntans and short-shorts with her aunt in Florida. A fish out of water even back in the snow, Waverly is determined to be everything she isn’t back home: cool, fun, dare she even say part of a group? There’s just one problem. She doesn’t know how to swim.
Enter Blake — the super-tan, super-hot, super-arrogant boy next door who seems to hate her guts. When he discovers her secret, Waverly is positive that her perfect summer is perfectly over. But then Blake does the unthinkable. He offers to teach her.
This slice-of-life YA romance is illustrated in an anime-inspired style that readers will love. What are you waiting for? Dive in!
*MY THOUGHTS*
This book was so much fun! I didn’t know what to expect since this was a graphic novel but illustrated in anime style, but I loved it! I don’t read a lot of graphic novels, but this was super cute. And the way this ended, I guess I’ll be continuing the story, so we shall see.
Ok so the reason I even picked this up was the art. I can honestly say this cover had everything to do with me grabbing this from ALA. This anime style paired with this color scheme just MADE this for me. And the look in her eyes is so cute! The rest of the novel is just like this. I LOVED the colors. I can’t wait to pick up a copy of the final book from the library so I can see the whole book in color. The ARC is basically in color only in the first couple pages and then in black and white. But the overall art is like the cover and it is amazing.
The writing style was also good. Basic, but good. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. I did get annoyed by her lying, but LOL she was a teen in a new place who was embarrassed about EVERYTHING. So yeah, it was to be expected. I would have been surprised if it was something else actually. The dude was annoying tho. I hated that she liked him. And their friend group was ridiculous. When I tell y’all there will be a lot more drama in these future volumes, I can’t wait to see it. All because that dumb ending. There was nothing that was resolved or fixed. They were still bad, she still didn’t swim, etc. It’s forcing you to pick up the next one without having to do anything else.
This was cute. I DO wish we got to see some of Alaska tho. EVERYONE sees Florida. NO ONE sees Alaska. I hope we get there at some point in these volumes. Basically I can’t wait to see what else this happens. I guess. I hope something is fixed then.
Overall, I give this
