I absolutely loved the atmosphere of this book. The gritty 70s New York setting was vivid and interesting. I loved how obviously passionate about comics the author was. As a nerd myself, it was appreciated. I also loved the comic pages interspersed within the book. It was fun to see how the comic storyline matched with the main narrative. However, I had a hard time fully investing in the characters, and as a result was not super connected to the plot. Carmen was a very likable and relatable protagonist. I enjoyed following her. But the way the dialogue was written felt stilted, and most of the people she met or introduced felt like they existed just to be deus ex machinas. There was also a lot of telling rather than showing, which I don't mind in some cases, but felt amatuerish in this one. Overall, I had a good time with this, it just wasn't a new favorite.