Un semestre à l’étranger

Abroad #1

by Liz Jacobs, Laure Malaquin (Translator)

Nick Melnikov ne sait pas à quel milieu il appartient. Il n'était qu'un enfant lorsque sa famille judéo-russe a immigré au Michigan. Maintenant, il passe un semestre à Londres pour l'université, submergé par des souvenirs inattendus. Très timide de nature, intensément introverti, Nick ne s'attend pas à devenir aussi rapidement ami avec un groupe d'étudiants soudés de sa faculté. C'est à la fois grisant et effrayant. Traîner avec eux, c’est un peu comme les montagnes russes : un mélange de gêne intense et de désirs incroyables, en particulier quand le membre le plus intimidant du groupe, Dex, regarde dans sa direction.

Dex Cartwell sait exactement qui il est : un homo noir qui se fout totalement de ce qu'on peut penser de lui. Il est maître de sa vie. En dehors, peut-être, du stress du déménagement brusque de sa famille dans une ville aisée, en grande partie blanche. Et l’inquiétude que son frère cadet se sente de plus en plus isolé. Il y a aussi son cœur brisé qu’il traine depuis longtemps...

Lorsque Nick et Dex se rencontrent, l’un comme l’autre, se sentent subjugué. D'innombrables conversations nocturnes ne font qu'aiguiser leur attirance. Mais la dernière chose que Nick veut, c'est affronter son secret le plus profond, et la dernière chose dont Dex a besoin est un autre chagrin d'amour. Dex a dû se battre trop fort pour avoir ce qu’il a aujourd’hui. Nick ne sait même pas d'où il vient. Alors, comment l'un ou l'autre peut-il dire où cela va ?

#New Adult #Romance #Ownvoice

Genres: Romance, Contemporary, M M Romance, LGBT, Queer, New Adult, Fiction

472 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 17, 2017

About the author

Liz Jacobs came over with her family from Russia at the age of 11, as a Jewish refugee. All in all, her life has gotten steadily better since that moment. They settled in an ultra-liberal haven in the middle of New York State, which sort of helped her with the whole “grappling with her sexuality” business.

She has spent a lot of her time flitting from passion project to passion project, but writing remains her constant. She has flown planes, drawn, made jewelry, had an improbable internet encounter before it was cool, and successfully wooed the love of her life in a military-style campaign. She has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize for her essay on her family’s experience with immigration.

She currently lives with her wife in Massachusetts, splitting her time between her day job, writing, and watching a veritable boatload of British murder mysteries.

Reviews

[K.J. Charles]

A spectacular debut. This is a really lovely coming of age story with a closeted MC, a Russian immigrant to the US turned American foreign exchange student in the UK, falling for an apparently confident but kind of messed up friend. It's immensely realistic about young love, finding yourself, student life. The group of friends is beautifully drawn, the sense of friendships making and shifting is intensely real, the dialogue crackles, and the emotions of love and loneliness and not belonging are vividly real. Deeply impressive especially for a first book and I'm dying to read the next.

I got an early copy of this because the author is an online mate, but as ever, I don't leave reviews I don't mean. This is a terrific book.

[anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

rep: Russian Jewish gay mc, Black gay mc, bi mc, Indian lesbian sc, trans mlm sc, Black sc, mlm sc, lesbian scs

read it just for nick (the russian boy) explaining to a western boy why communism does, in fact, suck balls

also for all those kids, i love them

[Elsa Bravante · Rating 5 out of 5]

He de confesar que aunque la premisa me interesaba mucho, y conozco a la autora (no somos amigas) de los SM y me cae bien, me sentía muy escéptica con este libro, lo primero que pensé es: otra nueva autora con mil estrellas de la gente que hay alrededor. Pues bien, no podía haber sido más injusta y haber estado más equivocada, porque la verdad es que es una historia adorable, llena de realidades, diversidad, tierna, bella y muy bien escrita.

Nick es un inmigrante ruso en Estados Unidos que viaja a Londres para estudiar durante un año, allí conoce a un grupo de amigos, con los que comenzará un viaje personal de conocerse y reconocerse a sí mismo. Nick evoluciona, reflexiona, crece personalmente y tiene que afrontar conflictos relacionados con su carácter, su historia, su cultura y su sexualidad. Todo esto no lo hace solo, lo hace acompañado de sus nuevos amigos, dos de ellos, Dex, el chico del que se enamora, y Lizzie incluso tienen sus propios POV, pero incluso los que no los tienen no se quedan en personajes secundarios planos, todos tienen su propia historia y son interesantes por sí mismos.

Es un libro de coming of age donde el MC principal no solo descubre, reconoce o afronta su sexualidad, todo ello está muy relacionado con su condición de inmigrante y la herencia de su cultura rusa/judía, lo que le hace un libro todavía más interesante. Y aunque mi background no es comparable con el de Nick y yo emigré a una edad mucho más avanzada, muchos de sus sentimientos los he sentido como míos en algunas situaciones que he vivido. Aunque quizás la aceptación de su sexualidad por parte de Nick es el tema principal, se interrelaciona con otros muchos, su incipiente historia de amor destaca entre otro muchos temas. Y ahí precisamente está mi conflicto con algunas partes del libro. Como ya comenté hay tres POV, Nick, Dex e Izzie, todos relacionados, fundamentalmente el de Dex y Nick, Izzie está viviendo su propio viaje personal, y aunque me gustó mucho leerlo y es un personaje estupendo, en algunos momentos sentí que me cortaba el ritmo de la otra historia que estaba leyendo, no estoy segura de si me ha gustado o habría preferido otro libro distinto para Lizzie.

El libro está escrito de una forma muy bella, las emociones saltan de las páginas, fundamentalmente las de Nick, pero no solo las suyas, es una montaña rusa emocional en la que no puedes evitar sentir ese grupo de amigos como tuyo y el deseo de saber qué les pasa y dejarles en un lugar feliz. Bien escrito, con la introducción de temas importantes y muy actuales como la inmigración, la diversidad sexual, cultural y racial, parece que en algún momento la autora va a darnos alguna lección pero lo evita permitiendo al lector pensar y que forme sus propias ideas. El libro está lleno de conversaciones interesantes que provocan el parar un momento la lectura para reflexionar sobre lo que los personajes están hablando.

Absolutamente todos los personajes son adorables y queribles, pero creo que es Nick el que más brilla, formemos una cola para abrazarle y decirle que todo va a ir bien.

Una muy buena novela debut y un libro coming of age maravilloso. Estoy deseando que salga el siguiente.

[Anyta Sunday]

What a wonderful NA LGBT romance!

There are many, many things to love about this book.
The writing is punchy and strong.
The characters are diverse and likable.
The setting is nicely integrated into the story, and explores the loneliness of moving to a foreign country.

I loved all of this, but I especially loved the sweet, slowburning romance between Dex and Nick.

The book is written from three different points of view: Nick, Dex, and Izzy. Their issues are relevant to younger adults and I think readers of YA and NA would enjoy this excellent debut from Liz Jacobs.

This book can be read as a standalone, complete with a happy for now end.

Please do not let the confusing subtitle on Amazon (The Hellum and Neal Series in LGBTQIA+ Literature 5// and it mentions the book being book 5 too. It's not. It's the first book.) deter you from giving this book a chance.

It's really lovely, and I look forward to reading more Liz Jacob romances!

[Ariadna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating is 4.5

I'd heard about this book for a while. It's gotten an overwhelming and, imo, well-deserved amount of good reviews.

TBH, I was surprised that we got 3 POVs- each one with a v. distinct voice.

One of the things that really got to me was the way it explained that realization and acknowledgement of what it means to be queer. How that queerness shifts the way people will observe, analyze, and become part of the world. I loved the honesty in each character (both main and secondary.)

Nick and Dex's romance is super slow-burning and yet that fit with who they were. Their issues (both big and small) were such that having the two of them get on the insta-love route would've cheapen the relationship. FTR, although the book is getting marketed a romance, the actual romance doesn't happen until the final third of the book. When I said super slow-burning, I meant super slow-burning. ;)

The rest of the romances (which would be spoilery to discuss in depth) rounded up the experience of LGTBQ+ people liking, lusting after, and falling for each other.

For me, though, the core of this novel's awesomeness was the immigrant story. I identified a lot with Nick in how he had to weigh his family's expectations after immigrating to a new country vs. who he is regardless of where he's at. That idea of potentially becoming too much of a foreigner or a stranger to your countrymen yet not able to disappear or be assimilated into your new country. That chasm between the here and there and where one can yield or compromise. Particularly the last third of the novel, during which we get to hear Nick talk about his thoughts on belonging somewhere. Gods, talk about being hit with wave after wave of FEELS.

My heart also went out to Dex. His desire to reconnect with his little brother were hurty in a good way.

Like some readers, I did struggled a bit with Izzy's chapters. At least, at first. In a way, it's because I hadn't expected her to be such an integral part of the novel. IIRC, she's not even mentioned in the blurb. So, I was a little like 'bzuh?' once I saw that she had her own POV in the book. It didn't help that she was the kind of v. extroverted and nosy person that would drive me up the wall IRL. Thankfully, the story went further than her shiny personality. My best guess is that her story worked as a bridge between this book and the next one. Or, at least, that's how I'm interpreting it. #YMMV

TL;DR: A superb and tremendously strong debut that goes deep into themes of LGTBQ+ friendships, immigration, and coming of age. The cliffhanger is soft, but deffo leaves you wishing you could pick up Book 2 right away.

[Sleepless Dreamer · Rating 4 out of 5]

More like 3.5 but I'll round it up because the diversity here is great!

Abroad is the tale of Nick, who is a Jewish-Russian immigrant. He decides to study abroad in London and the story mostly focuses on him befriending a gang of queer pals. 

I thought I would adore this book. From university themed, to Judaism, Russia, and queerness, this is incredibly up my alley. In fact, I'm struggling to think of the last book I read that felt so attuned to my passions in life. 

Truly, I loved the parts where Nick talked about Judaism, Russia and living in the states as an immigrant. This book manages to pinpoint a lot of things in Jewish culture that don't always get attention. For example, Nick talking about the benefits of not looking Jewish is fairly accurate, unfortunately. I'll admit that I've never heard anyone talk about "Jewish eyes" but once Nick described it, I was like, huh, that does make sense, somehow. 

There are a lot of other great moments in this book. Both Nick and Izzy discover new elements of their sexuality. I felt like those scenes were very well written. It felt like good representation of what it feels like to suddenly realize something new about yourself. Izzy and Ruby's scenes felt very relatable. 

I also loved the way family is shown in this book. Both Nick and Dex are close to their siblings. It was great to see that dynamic get explored. I feel like many books don't do that as well as this book did. 

However, as a whole, this book didn't quite do it for me. I couldn't understand why Izzy was so insistent about the friendship with Nick. Nick, seemed to be defined by his anxiety and social awkwardness. I realize that this is funny coming from me, a person who can absolutely relate to every human encounter resulting in some type of awkwardness but still, every interaction Nick has with people left me deeply uncomfortable and irritated. I couldn't quite feel his chemistry with people. 

Really, somehow, I didn't feel like I knew or loved this gang of friends. They all were described and I liked that those traits were highlighted but as a whole, something in their chemistry didn't quite click for me. It just didn't feel right, if that makes sense. 

The dialogues here were fairly cute but as a whole, some of the writing was awkward and even clumsy at times. I still read through this book incredibly fast but nevertheless, every once in a while, I found myself look at sentences and feeling like they were a little out of place. 

All in all, this is a cute read. A lot of the sensations it described felt very accurate (my dorm room looks terrible and literally has one drawing a friend made for me, after I complained my room looks sad). Having queer focused books is always great, especially when they highlight minority voices!

What I'm Taking With Me
- Gosh, I adore Russian Jews. 
- Dex and Izzy's friendship was lovely.
 - Somehow, a lot of the books I've been reading lately seem to talk about London and racism within London and that's fairly depressing. Although, I suppose it's good that there's a conversation going on. 
- Can Dex just teach me how to cook?

Uni Adventures: Week 3/ Self Isolation Life: Week 6  
- I talked about dystopian futures in my Jewish religious study class when we were supposed to be discussing the desire to rebel and anyway, I think the organizers regretted asking me my opinions when I started to say, "you see, in order to rebel, there needs to be something to rebel against which brings the question, in a society where all is allowed, what can you rebel against?" 

- From that point, it was very easily to slip into dystopia and boy, did I.

 - I've spent more time this week talking to people from northern Europe than studying Philosophy. 

- However, I've been studying so much Economics so at least I can calculate all of the ways I used my time this week and properly see how the capital and the labor correlate to my Y. 

- And really, I am so grateful for the ability to watch lectures at 3.5 speed, an hour long Political Philosophy lecture no longer makes me feel restless.

- I officially got back all of my papers from last semester and almost all of my predictions were right which shows that I am entirely aware of my paper being average before I send it and my TAs are also aware of this.

-My phone has had so many problems this week. By the second time I asked people to resend me messages because my phone deleted them all, Chen suggested that perhaps WhatsApp has just grown tired of me. If this were to happen, it would be understandable, considering the insanely long and pointless messages I tend to send.

- I spent a long time this week studying the past Israeli parliaments and I genuinely feel like I see the world differently now, who knew that political history is so compelling?

- A friend got into an argument with a right wing guy who kept using economical arguments so she texted me for help to refute the economical parts of his claim. I feel like I've done my job to confirm myself as the left wing economic student.

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

Oh my word, what a gorgeous book this was! This story had everything - nuanced, interesting characters, gentle humour, tenderness, romance, sex (so hot!) - and once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. I'm not going to write a long review, I just want to encourage everyone to read this. You won't be disappointed.

[Izengabe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pues sintiéndolo mucho, lo dejo en un tres, no me ha entusiasmado.
Bien escrito, con buenos personajes, temas tratados con realismo y madurez... Pero no ha hecho click, y eso que estaba deseando que me gustara porque es muy mi tipo de libro... (carita triste)
Una de las cosas que no me ha convencido es la conclusión, me pareció que los hilos argumentales se cerraban a la vez y de forma un tanto brusca. En general me quedé con la sensación de que la autora intentaba tocar muchos temas y eché en falta que tratara algunas cosas con más profundidad.
La portada es preciosa, necesitamos más portadas así en el género xD
(Creo que no se trata técnicamente de un YA, lo meto en esa balda porque las baldas son para mí y yo me entiendo xD)

[Rafa Brewster · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 Stars

Reviewed for Just Love
I received an advance review copy in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Abroad really spoke to me. I mean, it really spoke to me in a way that a book hasn’t done in a while. Perhaps because many parts of the story mirrored my own experiences at Nick’s age when I left home and moved overseas, not even realizing I was in search of something. But mostly this book spoke to me because it was just that beautifully written.

What must it be like to know yourself and to like what you know? To take up space the way they did and not feel strange or ragged around the edges? To know that you belonged somewhere, inside and out?

Abroad is a tender romance and a contemplative look at queer identity and the different ways it intersects and overlaps with the other aspects that make us who we are. Specifically, it’s the coming-of-age story of Nick, a shy, sheltered 20-year-old Jewish Russian-American immigrant who leaves close-knit family to embark on a study abroad program in London. Serendipitously, he is taken under the wings of cool and confident Izzy and soon finds himself a fixture in her and her flatmates’ lives. While the prospect of new friends and new experiences proves just enough to entice Nick out of his dorm room on occasion, it’s his growing fascination with broody, mercurial Dex that eventually forces him to look within himself and face his deepest truth.

He wasn’t Natali and her confidence in who she was. He wasn’t Dex and his grace, his easy pride and acceptance of all that he contained. Nick was the product of all things unspoken, all things fearful and untold.

A few of the things that impressed me about the book were the complexity of the characters and the strength of each character voice. The book managed to not only depict Nick and Dex’s stories in touching and precise detail, but it also painted a vivid portrait of the rest of their friends. The depth and scope of Izzy’s story however was quite unexpected and altogether too distracting for me, despite how much I adored her. It was an exciting detour at first but the longer it went on the more it took away from the slow and delicate build of Nick and Dex’s romance (which at that point was still in its formative stage). Looking back, I think it spoke volumes to the pull of Nick and Dex’s story that I couldn’t wait to get back to them.

Dex had been north, and Nick a compass needle. When Dex had moved or spoken, Nick had felt the pull of him. The hardest thing he’d ever had to do was fight the urge to watch him…. Secure and powerful, like a manifestation of steadiness. Dex was everything Nick wasn’t, and everything he longed for.

The ARC I received was positively riddled with all manner of errors (all of which should be cleaned up in time for release I’m sure) but I can say in all honesty that none of this even remotely took away from my enjoyment of the gorgeous writing. Whether it was discovering the sights and quirks of a new city through Nick’s eyes, witnessing Dex’s frustration at not being able to help his brother, or just hanging out with the gang down the pub, the author’s writing shone and the dialogue (be it American, Brit or Russian) felt authentic and nuanced. My only complaint is that the word “strop” appeared what felt like a million times in the book (or maybe just a dozen; it was one of those unfortunate things where it got overly repeated during an early scene so my brain noticed and recoiled every time it appeared thereafter).

Overall, Abroad was a slow and gorgeous read and I cannot recommend it enough. It ended on a lovely HFN for Nick and Dex, and a cruel, tantalizing tease of the rest of Izzy’s story. Which I now realize I desperately need right away. Help.

[Bárbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

I should probably learn from my past mistakes and stop having expectations altogerher. This book was a huge disappointment for me.

I just couldn't relate to any of the characters- which resulted in basically being unable to care for any of them at all. I would have DNF it embarrassingly early on, if it wasn't for the fact that I have an ARC for the second volume- that will be fun!

The writing was mediocre at best. Not only because of the fact that the author was incapable of making a very specific set of experiences seem relatable despite not being universal; on top of that, it was altogether just plain... bad.

Also, I get that this was a slice-of-life thing, but some thing resembling a plot would have been nice. It wasn't enough with having each pov character's personal journey (not when it was plain and unoriginal- and not like I haven't seen the same stories thirty million times before, thanks).

To wrap this mess with a pretty bow, someone should please give this author a crash course on how to write sex scenes: there were two sex scenes in this book, and both dragged unnecessarily, and were close enough to put me to sleep. Not the most pleasant of experiences (and I've had all four of my wisdom teeth removed at once- which entailed me having my mouth open for almost 2 hours- yay, fun). It almost felt like the time it took to read each sex scene was equivalent to the amount of time spent reading the rest of the book. I was close to tears. Please, make it stop.

I can't explain how relieved I am to be done with this- however temporary it may be. All I know is that I'll be taking some time before I start the second volume- my brain can't handle it right now.


This deserves a one-star rating. The only reason I'm giving it two is because there were *some* parts I didn't completely despise. But from what I've seen so far, I wouldn't want to extend my commitment with this author further than I've already signed up for.

[Fenriz Angelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was skeptical at first but Abroad is a really good debut novel by new author Liz Jacobs.

The things that i liked most of the book are: 1. The effortlessly diverse group of friends, 2. As a YA/NA book, the characters read like actual 20-something years old ppl. 3. Thank god it's not narrated in first person, that helped a lot. 4. The character's struggles felt real and when they adressed it it wasn't in a preachy tone, they left both the characters and the readers to come to their own conclusions.

Surprise read tbh, I related a lot with Nick, Dex and Izz were cool too, tho i'm still ambivalent about the importance of adding Izz's PoV and own sexual discovery, while i thought it was cool and honestly the best f/f i've read xD i also think it rested Nick's story or distracted the reader. However, the journey of the 3 main characters is just beginning and i will definitely wait for the next installment. :)

[Suki Fleet]

Really lovely writing!^^

Hoping there's a sequel as wow, that ending really wasn't enough of an ending! :)

[Briar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Liz Jacobs’ spectacular debut is a story that will resonate with everyone and touch every reader’s heart. This raw, heartbreaking yet hopeful book features an exquisite coming-of-age storyline and a tender, realistic look at modern romance. One word: unputdownable.

~~~~

Where do I begin even trying to review this lovely book?

Perhaps I should say that if you want a novel with characters that you will undoubtedly connect with, read this book. Or perhaps I should say if you want to cry buckets and have your heart broken then mended again, read this book. You know what: just read this book.

This new adult novel is hyper realistic in regards to the accuracy of student life, romance and sexuality, friendship, race, and finding one’s place in the world. It’s a book about Nick, a Russian immigrant from America who leaves his tight-knit family to move to London as an exchange student. There, he is taken under the wing of bighearted Izzy, and finds himself part of a loving, effortlessly diverse group of friends. He meets moody Dex, one of Izzy’s best friends, a confident, openly-gay black man who Nick finds himself equally afraid of and drawn to. As Nick grows closer to Dex, he has to face a truth about himself, a truth that terrifies him to his very core.

So I am forming the Protect-Nick-Melnikov-Society-2k17 because he is one of the gentlest, sweetest main characters I have read in a long time, especially for a NA novel. He suffers from crippling anxiety and all of his interactions with people are imbued with fear, unease, and Nick trying to make himself as invisible as possible. Nick’s experiences with anxiety are so realistic, there were many moments I had to put the book aside because I could see myself in him. His character voice is raw, intense, unembellished – Abroad is not typically a heavy read, but many scenes were for me.

Dex is Nick’s opposite in every way: confident, out, extroverted … it’s easy to see how someone as deep in the closet like Nick is could fall for someone as strong as Dex. But appearances are deceiving, and Dex is struggling to help his family, specifically his little brother who is one of the only black boys at his new high school and is growing melancholy. His feelings for Nick were tender, and he was incredibly aware and sensitive of Nick’s anxiety, which I highly appreciated. Dex is depressed and lonely after his failed relationship and reading his renewed spark of life due to Nick’s presence was just beautiful.

Although the novel focuses on Nick and Dex’s budding romance, another character has a POV: Izzy. It was quite a surprise to be reading Izzy’s POV, but the more I did, the more I came to love her and her storyline. It was an exciting relief from the Dex and Nick’s heart aching storyline, since Izzy’s plot revolved around strong female friendships, partying and enjoying life, and discovering an important facet of herself. My only criticism of this book is not even about the book, it’s about the blurb and the fact that Izzy’s story came as a surprise. The blurb only mentions Dex and Nick and their romance, despite the fact that Izzy is a POV/main character. That’s not a dig at the author by the way, she can’t control what the blurb says; it was just a little disheartening to see a wlw storyline erased from the blurb, especially when m/m romances are so venerated by readers and f/f stories are often ignored. By not including Izzy in the blurb, it felt like that was the case here too (although not in the actual reading of the book). Does that make sense? TL;DR: Izzy should have been mentioned in the blurb – she’s a star, I want more of her.

Jacobs’ writing is vividly powerful and engaging; I flew through the book, despite some of the scenes literally hurting my heart. Jacobs writes with authority and the precise detail of a #OwnVoices author. The three character voices, and subsequent secondary characters, were distinct and real – so real that I felt as though I knew these characters, that they were my friends. They were authentic, nuanced, complex people – real people. I would recommend this book based on the characters alone, they’re that amazing.

Do yourselves a favour and read this touching novel. It’s a powerful, captivating story that I could not put down. Give me the second book ASAP, Jacobs!

______________________________

3rd book for #TheReadingQuest - category: A book with a one word title

[Aleksandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was amazing novel and truly a wonderful experience of reading about parts of my identity I don't often see in books.

Abroad is a contemporary NA novel about twenty year old Nick Melnikov who comes from USA to London to study British history as international student in university. He meets cheerful and passionate Izzy and grumpy-at-first-sight Dex. The discoveries about themselves, coming of age, figuring your sexuality and being BFFs follows.

I love this book because a) engaging writing, b) slice of life type of story done right, it's very character driven and I enjoyed every minute of it, c) wonderful diverse cast of characters.

I'm not in habit of saying much about the plot, because I don't want to spoil anything. The story is soft, earnest and delightful, that's all I'm going to say.

The characters!
First, Abroad is #ownvoices novel for Russian Jewish rep, queer rep and experience of immigrant coming to USA from Russia. Thanks to helpful goodreads page, I now know that Liz Jacobs is Russian Jewish herself and she's currently living in USA with her wife.

Nick Melnikov (or Nikolay Melnikov) is Russian Jewish immigrant, he's gay but he's so far into closet he can't even admit it to himself. Thank you ages of cultural/traditional homophobia of Russia. Also Nick has anxiety and panic attacks. It was clear that the book is #ownvoices because all the Russian language was grammatical and contextually correct (so important to me! Many of the books I've read messed it up ridiculously). There were several reference to Russian culture that I've got and I'm sure non-Russian readers might've missed them but they were dead to my heart. Nick has an older sister Zoya and she's literally the best.

Important things that Abroad has three protagonists, Nick, Dex and Izzy. I've talked about Nick, let's move to the other two.

Dex is chemistry student (final year) black guy. He's gay and he has recently had a messy break up so he's grumpy and still deal with it. Also there are some things going on in his family, especially younger brother. He lives in London and his family doesn't. Dex is such a sweet guy, I loved him from page 1. Dex's best mate is Izzy.

Izzy is film student (final year), she's chubby, ginger and the boss. During the course of the book, she realizes she's bi. It's worth mentioning that Izzy's mum has agoraphobia. She visits her and we can see a bit of them together. Izzy and her mum have such wonderful supportive relationships. I loved it.

Supporting cast is also delightfully diverse. Natali is Indian lesbian, Johnny is trans, Alex is black fellow chemistry student as Dex. Plus about three more lesbians? Bless. The book has wlw content and mlm content (both between main and side characters).

One of the other strongest points of the book is "squad goals" and dynamics between friends. The book has such a strong presence of friendship and platonic relationship. I can't say that all the relationships are flawless, but they are realistic and it's evident that they all care for each other.

I can't wait to read the sequel! Abroad does end on definite note but some things are left unfinished, Abroad simply needs the sequel so I can spend more time with my new mates.

Highly recommend! Beautiful heartwarming ownvoices debut. Don't miss on the book!

Trigger warnings: internalized homophobia, fear of coming out to probably unsupportive parents, transphobic parents, alcohol consumption, several sexual explicit scenes, characters with anxiety, agoraphobia.

[Eugenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must confess that I was drawn to this book by its glorious cover. The blurb intrigued me, being an immigrant myself. What I was not ready for was the high level of quality in prose, dialogue, characterization, and plot.

This was a long book, but I felt like mere minutes had passed from when I began reading the first page and swiped to the last. I was engaged entirely by this NA queer romance that navigates through themes of exclusion, isolation, acculturation, racism, and sexual identity. There is so much packed in this book, but I never felt preached at nor lectured to. I got to live life through the eyes of three MCs.

The two main MCs are Nick and Dex. Nick's family emigrated to the US from Russia when he was a young child. He chooses to study abroad in London for a year during university. Dex is a British university student, his family going back several generations in the U.K. The men appear to be polar opposites. One is white, small, thin, shy, and deeply in the closet, awash in Russian guilt over his un acknowledged sexuality. The other is black, tall, thick and very proudly gay, comfortable in his own skin. Appearances are deceiving however in this book, and not just for the main characters.

There is a secondary character, Izzy, who also plays a very large role in this novel and who gets her own POV from time to time. While I was not ready to have a female POV in what I perceived to be an MM romance, I appreciated it and felt that it added to the themes of self and identity. Be warned readers, there is an f/f scene in here (which was pretty hot, I must say).

In this book which deals so strongly with sexual identity, the sex took a back seat, although it was forever present as underlying tension. What scenes we do get, though are excruciatingly lovely and sexy and fit right where they should.

A stunning debut! This Liz Jacobs is definitely on my radar.

[Skye Kilaen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What can I say about this amazing duology? The basic description was enough to pull me in: Nick, a closeted gay college student with anxiety, who was born Jewish in Russia before emigrating to the U.S., studies history abroad in London and falls for Dex, a black British engineering major. What I didn't realize when I started is there's a second plot interwoven with this, in which their female friend, film student Izzy, has her own POV and moves from believing she's straight to accepting her bisexuality, and finally finds love too.

It's a compassionate and skillful navigation through the social dynamics of friendships, crushes, and relationships among a super-close group of mostly queer college students. Kind of a flashback to my own college years, to be honest, with everyone flailing around and the feelings are SO BIG and SO REAL and things are messy and everything hurts, but also with lovely soaring moments and people supporting each other. Everyone's really young and has the corresponding coping and relationship skills, but they're all trying so hard, and I was always rooting for them. SO worthwhile to read, even though both books together is a lot of book. These characters stories wouldn't have been tell-able in a shorter space, though. And it was so freakin' refreshing to spend time with this fictional group of friends where gay, bi, trans, and POC is just normal, instead of having a token this or that in a predominantly white, straight, and cis cast.

Shout out to the epilogue, which doesn't flinch from the realities of inter-continental relationships, but finds a place of happiness for Nick, Dex, and their found family.

Jacobs is a Jewish woman (with a wife, though I don't know how she self-identifies) who was born in Russia and emigrated to the U.S. as a refugee when she was a child.

[Lenore]

I'm reading the hell out of this book when it's out!

[Chris, the Dalek King · Rating 5 out of 5]

He’d started asking himself why so long ago, it felt like a part of him. At thirteen, he had been just as desperate to have the answer as he was now, at twenty. Why me? Why couldn’t I be normal?

He’d run four thousand miles from home, but all he’d done was get closer to the question. Why had he thought England would be neutral ground? If anything, it was like a conductor, and Nick was standing on it, entirely exposed.

Four thousand miles, and nothing was getting easier.

It was getting worse.

For years Nick Melnikov has loved England. Getting a chance to study in London should be the highlight of his life. And it is…except for the fact that be it in England, Michigan, or Russia, Nick is still very much the same person he has always been. Alone, unsure, and desperately wanting to be someone else. Turns out that you can run (or fly) several thousand miles and still find yourself stuck in the same damn place as before. Even as he slowly gets used to the strange food, and even stranger people, he can’t help but feel that his hoped-for journey of self-discovery was a bit of a rip-off (and a terribly expensive one at that). Yet he has to hope that there is something more to be found in England than just a fancy degree.

Going into this book I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect. There was quite a bit in the blurb that caught my fancy, but having never read anything by Liz Jacobs before I had no clue if her writing style would work for me. And part of me would have felt downright awful if I didn’t end up liking the book, since my interactions with the author herself have really made me like her as a person. I do try my very hardest to separate the author from their work when I go into a book with the intention of reviewing it, though.

That being said, it just makes me doubly happy when I can say that an awesome person wrote an awesome book and you should go totally check it out.

From what I know about Liz Jacobs, I had a fair bit of certainty that the Jewish and immigrant aspects of this book were going to be handled very well. But not only did these parts of this book feel real, they were also just fun to read about. Not all of the facts behind that part of the story–especially the treatment of Jews in Russia during and after Communism–were fun in and of themselves…but they were incredibly intriguing. It is something I’ve not given a lot of thought to, but I must admit that I am now wanting to learn more about it. It never got preachy or lecture-y, but the way Nick talked about his past in this story was so damn well written that it made me curious. I love when books can do that.

I was also really happy with how the story handled Nick’s issues with being gay. After having to deal with the whole “coming out” issue myself over the last few years I must admit that my tolerance of closeted characters has great increased. While I would happily live in a world where everyone could just be whoever and whatever they are, I know that I am probably never going to be alive long enough to see that. And while this struggle with being true to yourself is hardly an untapped theme in gay romance, I really appreciate it when authors can write characters whose struggles feel organic to who they are, instead of just needed plot points. I truly felt I understood why Nick didn’t want to come out. Not to his family, not to his friends, and not even to himself. It is a fucking scary prospect, having to rewrite your own identity, and Nick’s fears and stumbles along the way to self-realization came across as honest and relatable.

That is pretty much how I feel about the romance here as well. I have always been a huge fan of the slow-burn in romance stories. I have a hard time buying insta-love in almost all its forms. Plus, man, I just love a book of pining and sad puppy-dog eyes. So the long wait to see Nick and Dex Cartwell finally get their shit together was a real pleasure for me. And because of all the issues the two of them have in their pasts, I think all the waiting and pining was kinda necessary. Especially on Nick’s side. By the time they got together I bought everything about them as a couple. I didn’t need the book to explicitly state their love because it was damn obvious on the page. The telling here is great, because I think they both need to hear it, but sometimes it feels like authors just want us to take it on faith that the love is there, instead of actually taking the time to show us. I need the showing, though.

I knew going in that there were a few scenes that involve a f/f romance and, I won’t lie, I was worried how those would affect my enjoyment of the story. Sex and the female body can sometimes be a huge trigger for me, so I typically just avoid it to be safe. But for some reason, for like the last couple weeks it really hasn’t been an issue, so I thought this would be the perfect time to read this book. And I’m really glad I did give it a chance. Not only did those scenes not bother me, they ended up being like really good. They’re kind of spoilery, so I won’t go into much detail, but I found myself enjoying the moments we got to spend with this character. Like with Nick, I think she was very well written, and the things that happen and the things she chooses to do in this book felt natural to who she was. I’m really glad my issues did not get in the way of getting to know her and her story.

As far as debut books go, you really can’t get much better than this. I have a few minor quibbles with the pacing in some areas, and I would have loved to have spent a few more chapters getting to know more about Dex, but overall this was a bloody brilliant book. The writing was incredibly well down, and all the characters felt completely realized. And yes, my god do I want to read a book about Jonny and Lance. Here’s hoping that Liz Jacobs gives us book two sometime in the near future.

4.5 stars


This book was provided free in exchange for a fair and honest review for Love Bytes. Go there to check out other reviews, author interviews, and all those awesome giveaways. Click below.

[Ceyda · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book surprised me in the best way possible, I love it

[Maraia · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

[Carol (bookish_notes) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have you ever wondered what a story would look like if every character was a precious cinnamon roll? Because look no further, Abroad has it covered! This is a exceptional debut novel that is a coming-of-age story with a whole cast of characters. And after reading this, I just kind of want all their stories? But this book is primarily focused on Nick, Dex, and a character the blurb doesn't mention - Izzy. Nickolay "Nick" Melnikov is Russian-Jewish and he and his family immigrated to the United States from Russia when he was ten. His life has always been about making himself fit in and not stick out for being different. He is on his way to study abroad in London as we start the story and we join him as he learns to embrace the new school year in a new country, alone.

Nick is quickly swept into a tight group of friends who come from all walks of life. Nick is nervous around others and thinks pretty intensely over everything he says before he says it. He gets anxious around others, but he wants the closeness they have with one other and he longs for it, even if he doesn't know how to express that out loud.

Among the group of friends Nick meets are an electric and energetic Izzy and seemingly dour Dex. We get to see their stories as they get to know Nick and as they come to realize aspects of themselves they hadn't realized before.

Anyone reading the blurb might not be expecting Izzy's storyline. I think it's more of a setup for the second book? It did initially throw me off, but I came around to loving Izzy's story and wanting for her to find a HEA too. The main pairing in this book is Nick and Dex. And boy, is it a sloooooooow burn. But, it is a rewarding one. This book is less  romance, or at least in the general sense, and more about a story of outsiders finding a family with one other.

I don't want to spoil anything, so I'll keep this short. Nick's story is the most heartbreaking, because Nick is such a sweetheart and he deserves all the friends and all the hugs. Nick has always felt like an outsider his entire life, but all he's ever wanted to do was fit in with the other students. To be less Russian, to not look like a Jew. But he also wants to love the parts of him that makes him who he is without the thought of it sending him into tremors, sleepless nights, and panic attacks. I love Nick and I also love Dex. Dex is completely unapologetic and confident in who he is as a queer black man and he owns it. The secondary characters were just as intriguing and I just want to know more about each and every one of them.

There's a sort of innocence and coming-of-age feel about this book that I usually only get from YA novels, but what makes this NA is definitely the inclusion of some very hot sex scenes. For readers expecting to go into this book just expecting m/m scenes, note that there are also f/f scenes. But also note that all of these scenes are hot.

Just a side note really, but there are quite a few instances of Russian in this story. It is a lovely addition to show Nick and his mother or sister conversing, but if anyone's reading the e-book, just note that highlighting the words doesn't translate because the Russian has been romanized and I guess (on Kindle at least) the Translate app doesn't recognize it and expects the original Cyrillic script instead.

There's no cliffhanger for Nick and Dex's story, but maybe it feels like a HFN since there's going to be a second book that will probably revolve around the same group of friends? In any case, I thoroughly adore this story and I can't wait for book two!!!

***Thanks to BrainMillPress for providing the ARC in exchange for an honest review***

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a super cute new adult romance. Nick has moved to England to complete his university study. Alone in a new country he meets and becomes a part of a diverse group of friends and meets Dex. I enjoyed the slow burn romance between him and Dex, it made for some pretty sweet and steamy reading. Nick is truly struggling with his identity and coming out and Dex was utterly perfect for him.

For me though, the real star of the show though, was Izzy. Her story is intertwined with Dex and Nick’s and I found her completely addictive to read and I have my fingers crossed that she gets her own book. A great debut.

[Burcu · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book. This book. It was so good. It dealt with so many issues and they were handled beautifully. I loved the characters, their friendship, their experiences.

I’m so glad this is the first book I’ve read in 2018. Such a good start to the year.

(now let me go buy the second book ASAP because this one ended with a cliffhanger.)

[Ellie · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 I-am-completely-overwhelmed stars!

It's such a tender, heart-wrenching story of finding yourself and your place in the world, exquisitely told!

I'll try to review it properly soon

[Isaiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

To see more reviews check out MI Book Reviews.

So, I got this book last year as a Secret Santa present (it is happening again this year, join us!). I have been pretty terrible about reading the books I was given, despite how excited I was to read them. I realized that mistake and I am working my way through every book I have been given through the Secret Santa group. I have been quite spoiled.

This book hit so many buttons for me: angst, queer characters that were just queer without that being the plot, angst, Jewish boys, angst. I was in heaven and hell and so much angst and I am in love.

So this book has a very loose definition of plot. The book just is. It doesn’t have a climax per say, but so much happens. The plot is literally a bunch of university kids angsting about their lives and coming to terms with who they are. That is perfect for me. The NA wave of books is becoming my favorite very quickly. I always found queer YA to be a bit young for me, even when I was a queer teen. The NA books allow for more depth, better sex scenes (holy shit), and just so much more.

So my main issue with 99% of sex scenes I read is that condom usage is sporadic at best. This book is no exception. However, the sheer raw emotion that was present distracted me from that until after the scene. I normally give pause during the scene and get grossed out by the negligence. This time I was pulled through the scene and amazed. There were two sex scenes, both first times. One was with a character I didn’t really expect which just blew my mind for so many reasons. I would have been completely happy with just that one sex scene. The second was between a couple everyone could see coming from a mile away. That knowing didn’t take anything away.

I am just in love with this book. It felt so real and so powerful. It had the perfect mixture of angst (like real angst like my parents have disowned me, but my dad is sick. What do I do?) mixed with normal teen angst. It was so true feeling. I feel like I was part of the friend group and I could see exactly where I fit. The characters were all complex, even the ones that didn’t get a lot of page time. The only other book that made me feel like this one did in the last few years is Antisocial. Everything was so perfect. The sequel is out, but I am out of borrows at for my library this month (what evil person limits my digital downloads to 10 a month when all the best queer books and comics are only digital in my area???).

[iam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book.

The cast of characters was wonderful and diverse, both the protagonists Dex, Nick and Izzy and the supporting characters. I liked all of them, and their thoughts, feelings, words and actions really resonated with me, even though my identity doesn't entirely overlap with theirs.
I've not encountered many books that ring so true to me, and that made me love Abroad.

I was a bit surprised by how explicit the sex scenes were, but they fit in well and were very well written, just like the rest of the book.

The ending is a bit abrupt and feels unfinished, and I'm very glad I'm reading this after the second and final book has been released already.

[YullSanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Неординарная история. Вернее, неординарный авторский стиль.
Мне понравилось по большей части. По меньшей части остались смешанные чувства...
Странно, что при честной оценке в 4 звезды у меня пока нет желания читать вторую часть. Беспокоюсь, что не будет ХЭ. Переживать не хочется.

[Josh Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly like this book more than I thought. Writing was engaging and we get 3 povs. The sex scenes were surprisingly explicit. Not something I was expecting but happy to read. Overall a good read.

[gowiththeflo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so good! I can't wait till the next one!! :))

[Carly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhere between three and four stars, this book suffers from me having too high expectations. It was very highly rec'd. If I were expecting it to be simply 'good' it would have been much more enjoyable. This book isn't really romance and it's not really YA. I guess that technically makes it New Adult but I'm still not convinced that's a genre with it's own identity and not just some muddled combo of romance and YA. This is a character-driven book about a group of college friends. There's almost no plot. I don't understand why there are two books when this is clearly only half a book on it's own. It must have been chopped in two to fit into the conventional length of one of those genres I mentioned. The pacing is also off because of this. The book didn't pick up until roughly 48% in. Which would have been a respectable 20-something % if the two were one really long book. But on it's own it's too late. All these complaints being said, I'm going to read the second one immediately