Boyfriends. Volume One

Boyfriends #1

by refrainbow

Boy meets boy . . . meets boy . . . meets boy!

Jock, Goth, Nerd, and Prep are all juniors in college. But studying is the last thing on their minds as they are mainly interested in getting a boyfriend. Or multiple boyfriends.

The first two to couple up are Goth (cool and sexy) and Nerd (bubbly and flirty). As their budding relationship deepens, they can’t deny their chemistry with Goth’s other friends, Jock (sweet and easygoing) and Prep (sensitive and anxious). Nerd suggests they try something totally brand new to all of a polyamorous relationship. Everyone’s game to try, because they all agree the only thing better than one cute boyfriend…is three cute boyfriends!

But the transition isn’t so smooth, as Jock and Prep have issues of their own to settle, and all four need to learn how to make their new polycule work. Through navigating the adventures of dating life, the boyfriends come to understand themselves and each other in new and profound ways.

Laugh-out-loud funny and always heartwarming, Boyfriends is filled to the brim with moments of pride big and small.

Collects episodes 1–55 of the delightful WEBTOON comic Boyfriends .

Genres: Romance, Graphic Novels, LGBT, Manga, Queer, Comics, Contemporary

336 pages, Paperback

First published November 21, 2023

About the author

Refrainbow, whose real name is Ray, is an Indonesian debut author who draws boys kissing for a living.

Reviews

[Lamaleluna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bueno, estuvo... Bien

Boyfriends es un cómic de webtoon que en este mes llegó a Argentina en formato novela gráfica en papel. Diría que es una historia tierna y bonita para parar el rato, sobre el romance y la relación poliamorosa que tienen 4 jóvenes universitarios.

Creo que la historia se queda bastante superficial. No hay historia de hecho, es simplemente AMOR BESOS Y GENTE SIENDO ADORABLE CON SUS PAREJAS. Lo que el autor quiere destacar son los personajes, para que te encariñes con ellos. Y por ese lado tengo dos cosas para decir:
Si, te encariñas muy rápido, son adorables y querés una relación tan tierna y divertida. Todo es color de rosas y bonito en su vida y ni siquiera tienen conflicto con los demás o con sigo mismos a la hora de firmar su relación.
Pero me di cuenta a medida que avanzaba con las páginas que los personajes no tienen nombre, y al final de libro cuando el autor los nombra decide llamar a cada uno como un estereotipo distinto. Osea literalmente son estereotipos en persona.

Creo que está linda para pasar el rato, pero no destaca por mucho.

Si le doy puntos por ser a color, me encantan las novelas gráficas a color 🥺

Yo leyendo Boyfriends: 🥺🥰💕😝🙂

[Rae · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, I’m a little hesitant to give this one a review with actual stars because my personal rating would be 3 stars but for what it is and its intended audience it would be four stars to me. If I were the young queer person I was when I was 18/19 going into university for the first time I would have loved this story and related to it a lot more. As a 27 year old adult it just comes off a little childish sometimes. It was a very cute and fun slice of life story that focuses on a polycule consisting of four boys. The story is basically how all four of them came to be in the relationship and how they all interact with one another. It was really nice to see them actually talking it all out and setting boundaries. Everyone in the relationship was an equal participant and they made their feelings clear on what they wanted out of the relationship. Overall the story had a very 4-Koma feel if you read any manga. Basically 4 panel chapters that are slice of life and silly and just fun. The four characters embody their stereotypes but honestly, some people DO just embody stereotypes and that’s perfectly okay. The paneling, specifically the word bubbles could use a bit of work though. As a seasoned manga and graphic novel reader it wasn’t too difficult to realize when I had read them in the wrong order but occasionally I couldn’t really follow why the artist had decided to put the speech bubbles where they did. So that could use some work. The art style is simple but also incredibly colorful and really pops off the page with how fun and cute it looks. Overall this is a cute story and I’m happy to see fun things like this getting published.

Thank you to the publisher for providing this eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Afra · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thanks Netgalley and Publisher for this advanced copy.

I didn't like it.
I've been reading webtoons for years. But, I've never tried to read Boyfriend. Why? Simply because the author was problematic. We had heard all dramas about him. But, this time, I tried to give it a chance to try this.

Let's start with the positives :
- Unique art style
- Simple story telling

Then, let start with the negatives :
- The authors felt like to try adding all those diversity aspects he can found in universe in one book. Without any thought at all. It was not needed. It was too much.
- The fact that all characters were stereotypical characters : We got a jock, nerd, gothic, haa... It was funny how the author tried to put a label on his characters.
- The maximum cringey level.

Overall, if you want to read a story with everybody is queer, you should try this.

[Suppi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up this was really cute!!!

[trice (semi ia) · Rating 4 out of 5]

didn't know this was on goodreads! this was so cute and sweet and its so rare to see a gay poly webtoon too. bonus points for character development and trans rep! goth is the best haha. fingers crossed the author will choose to continue it!

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a poly relationship between four people. The artwork was extremely cute but that is my only positive critique I can make. The book is very shallow and had little to no plot, other than the fact that it was about a relationship. Other than physical attraction, the characters had little to no development other than their stereotypes. I definitely will not be reading volume 2.

[Alex(Books-In-A-Storm) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one as much as the last two book. I was laughing and blush the whole book.

[Malena Hehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yo también quiero un novio ahre

[✨ Lauren ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet comic about a pansexual nerdy man, a bisexual jock man, a goth trans man and a gay preppy man starting a quad ploy relationship for the first time.

It deals with different real life situations and issues like self worth, communication style and problems, class differences, love languages, life plan and goals in serious but easy to relate way while still being light hearted and cute.

It also shows the same stereotypes but portrayed as women in their friends who are also super cute.

I binged all 148 episodes and can’t wait for more once the hiatus is over!!

[Isaiah · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got an ARC of this book.

100 pages in and no one has names, no character development, no good jokes. Nothing that would make me want to keep reading this. The art is cutesy, which could have been wonderful, but there was nothing here. Makes me sad. I wanted more polyam queer content.

[cupid! · Rating 1 out of 5]

Horrible lol.

[Percy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was perfect, no notes. The story is simple and low-stakes, but still very fun to follow. The poly rep is what initially led me to pick it up, and I was not disappointed on this front. I love all the boyfriends, ofc but I do have a fav (mostly because I relate to him the most).
The art style is one of the main highlights for me since it's so freaking cute, with all the pastels, like I just want to stare at it, committing every panel to memory.
It's not gonna work for everyone, and I think that's fine.

I bought the next volume as soon as I was done with this one, and it can't get to me soon enough (how much longer must I wait??).

[Bine · Rating 4 out of 5]

War mir lange unsicher, ob ich das mag. Im Grunde sind es recht belanglose Kurzeschichten rund um diese 4 queeren Charas, die eine Poly-Beziehung eingehen und sich darin zurechtfinden müssen. Ansonsten gibt es keinen roten Faden, wodurch die Spannung auf sich warten lässt. Aber diese Illus sind einfach total toll und irgendwie reicht es mir schon, mir nur die Zeichnungen anzuschauen, um mich happy zu machen. Das Bonusmaterial am Ende war dann so interessant, dass ich den ersten Band wehmütig zugeschlagen habe. Wahrscheinlich lese ich doch weiter :D

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

i already read this on webtoon when it came out but 10/10 i love this series so much!!

[Rhiannon · Rating 2 out of 5]

This comic has a cute art style and tons of representation between the various queer, trans, and polyamorous identities, but I don't feel like I connected to the story at all or got anything out of it.

I wasn't expecting much in the way of a plot considering it's slice of life, but I wish there'd been at least some narrative direction. The characters all felt like stereotypes of their respective aesthetics and identities, and they didn't really stand out to me as individuals in any way. Despite all having separate identities (i.e., nerd, jock, goth, and prep), their voices and personalities weren't that distinct from one another. Even something as simple as giving them on-page names would've helped me contextualize them in my mind.

I don't foresee myself continuing with this series given my near total lack of interest in the characters or their relationship(s). This might be fun to read if it existed solely as short snippets, which I believe is how the comic was originally shared on Tumblr, but there just isn't enough development in either the characters or the overarching narrative for readers to really become emotionally invested. The concept should have been revised and further fleshed out before it was adapted into this medium.

[Atlas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic is lovely, absolutely lovely. I absolutely ate this up and left no crumbs. It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. The art is so crisp and clean, the character design is wonderful and I legit giggled pretty much every page. When I found out Goth was trans I almost cried. I would've fucking loved to read this when I was a teenager, but instead I will indulge myself and read it now.

[sol ☼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hermoso como no podía ser de otra manera. Hace ya mucho tiempo lo había leído y enterarme de que salieron los tomos en físico era la excusa perfecta para volver a adentrarme en esta preciosa historia. Encima la edici��n es PRECIOSA no tengo palabras. Ya quiero tener el segundo <333

[Yari · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was so cute! I loved it and laughed aloud so many times.

[Aafreen Shaik · Rating 1 out of 5]

EEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

[Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

lol this was so fun. Hella cringe but isn’t that part of its charm?

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote a review on NetGalley but it looks like it didn’t make it so here’s another one!

This book made my heart hurt because it was sooo wholesome and sweet and cute!! And had its little sweet and spicy moments.

I went into this book very curious to see how this polyamorous group would function. I thought Refrainbow approached the formation and rules of dynamic with a very thoughtful and thorough hand.

I love the bright colour palette, and art. It was so cheerful! The boys interactions with each other were all so sweet. I loved getting to know all the little quirks and personality traits within each boy. I especially loved Jock’s love of K-Pop choreo. A man after my own heart.

My only concern with this series is longevity and repetition. There is very little plot and it barely gets advanced. This series is like a collection of fluffy moments. Which is good and sweet but I don’t see myself sticking around for a second volume.

Thank you NetGalley and Wattpad Webtoons for providing this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[₊✩‧₊˚Aria ʚ♡ɞ Nichole˚₊✩‧₊ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boyfriends by Refrainbow is a silly and sweet book about four stereotypes; the jock, the nerd, the goth, and the prep falling in love with each other in a college setting.

It's cute. It's funny. It's colorful. It's not a deep story. It's a story about boys who just want to kiss boys and I think we need more of that in the world. It's a LGBTQIA fever dream. In a good way.

[Ayxan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is too cute!! Why haven't I read this earlier.

Anyone who's in the mood for poly should definitely check this out!! (You might feel a bit single afterwards, but...)

[Karla Diaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Esta es la historia mas bonita y caramelos a que he disfrutado tanto en la vida.

[Ximena Haro · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5

MI CORAZÓN SE SIENTE LLENO Y FELIZ. Este Webtoon se ha convertido en mi nueva serotonina, QUÉ COSA TAN MÁS BONITA DIOSSSSS 😭💕

[Chase Coe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lolllll this was presh

[Gabrielle Hope · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful start to this cute series! I love the art style, the colors and the characters. Everyone is adorable in their own way. Definitely continuing on with this forever.

[Bucletina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Súper tierno y gracioso, con un dibujo que acompaña muy bien el tono del cómic. A por el violeta.

[Juan Manuel Sarmiento · Rating 3 out of 5]

Guay por la representación y hablo desde mi ignorancia con el tema del poliamor pero creo que es bastante poco creíble el cómo llegan al acuerdo de salir los cuatro juntos. Como que deben alinearse demasiaaaaado los asteos para que eso se dé así en la vida real y por eso más que un webtoon “informativo” sobre este estilo de vida, parece más la representación de un fetiche .

Eso sí, son todos monísimos

[Sydney · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was kinda boring at best, and super cringey (and not in a cute or funny way) at worst