Happily Ever After & Everything In Between: Book Review
Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
“OMG, look at us, we’re so in love, and so cute” – that seems to be the essential story of the comic book ‘Happily Ever After & Everything In Between’ by Debbie Tung. This collection of comic strips shares glimpses of the author’s married life as newlyweds, and unlike its title, the creator shares only selective sweet parts of her relationship. There are no highs and lows, just a steady cutesy high, which becomes quickly boring, because it is nothing we don’t already see “influencer” couples doing regularly on social media.
‘Happily Ever After & Everything In Between’ came out in 2020, and is very similar to Catana Chetwynd’s ‘Little Moments’, which was published in 2018. Both their art styles are simple, although I prefer Catana’s roundish, childish illustrations more, they are a lot more adorable. Debbie Tung’s illustrations have a lower recall value. Although as far as the content is concerned, sure, a lot of readers will finds some bits funny or relatable. Like when Debbie and husband have a hard time deciding what to watch on TV, or how they prefer to laze around the house together on an off day. Or when they go grocery shopping but forget the one thing they actually stepped out for. Yeah, happens to us all.
I feel like this book is an illustrated gratitude journal, where instead of writing about what she is grateful for, the author draws the mushy moments from her romantic life. I haven’t read Debbie Tung’s earlier works—Quiet Girl in a Noisy World and Book Love—which are critically acclaimed, so I cannot compare ‘Happily Ever After & Everything In Between’ with them. However, it will probably be best enjoyed by those who are already fans of her work.
Would I recommend the book to any of my friends? NO. Would I gift it to anybody I know? NO. Am I a bitter single woman with cats/dogs? NO. The only reason I got this book was because it was available to me for free as part of my Kindle Unlimited subscription.
Rating: 2.5 on 5.
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