Let’s call a spade a spade, Doyak isn’t that good of a writer.

This was my review I wrote on RIDI when the story ended back in April. I don’t care what she had to say about Ian loving Jo. I will never believe that he was romantically in love with Jo. Because what was written in the story doesn’t reinforce that at all. You can read my breakdown under the topic CONFUSED.

And I’ll reiterate this again, Jo knew best what Ian’s “love” for him amounted to, when he expected it to have an expiration date!


Wet Sand has some of the most beautiful art I've seen in a manhwa, and honestly, the artwork is what carries the entire story and what kept me reading. No one can say Doyak is a terrible artist. 5/5 for the art alone. Writing wise, ehhh I never thought it was particularly strong, but it had the potential to be something good. I'm not a fan of love triangles so I avoided reading this story for 2 years, but I was drawn in after seeing TJ's face repeatedly on social media. He became the reason I kept reading despite some unrealistic moments in the story such as Ian asking to leave the gang like it's that simple or claiming that Ian could use self defense to get out of doing any jail time when he deliberately dragged someone back into his apartment to kill in in front of a witness. Anyone with any knowledge of the law would laugh at how little time Ian had to do for voluntary manslaughter. But having TJ be the one to say give him two years place blame on him and turn the readers attention away from Ian who could have easily let the man go, but decided to kill him in cold blood. Surface level readers took this and dragged TJ's name through the mud. I was able to predict about 80% of the plot, which tells me the story wasn't as layered or as cleverly written as some fans claim. The 20% I didn't predict wasn't because it was brilliant. It was because the author took directions that felt more like poor choices than meaningful twists. Sentimentality aside, I didn't think Ian was that stupid to go back to retrieve his couple's jewelry with TJ. The author literally had to dumb down all her characters to give Jo a moment to come in and save Ian. The writing all of season 3 was crumbling for me, but that moment was truly where the writing starts to fall apart. The biggest issue is that this story never should have been marketed as a love triangle. A love triangle requires mutual emotional tension and believable romantic pull between all parties, and Wet Sand simply didn't deliver that. We followed Jo and Ian's “relationship” from start to finish, and Ian showed minimal affection and care towards Jo. I couldn't feel any mutual romantic love between them. There was no longing, no spark, no sense that Ian was ever truly torn between his choice of TJ and Jo. All things pointed to TJ from beginning to end. Even when agreeing to leave with Jo, he had to tell himself he was also doing it for TJ. If TJ hadn't up and disappeared, Jo would've never had a chance to practically move in with Ian. It felt like Jo became a comfort blanket for Ian when TJ left. When do we ever see Ian seek out Jo other than to apologize on TJ's behalf. Jo was literally just there. A replacement because of the true love of his life left him lonely and rejected. If the author intended to convince readers that Jo was a genuine romantic contender, then she failed miserably. On the other hand, even with the crumbs we were given of TJ and Ian,Their scenes were consistently emotionally charged. Despite how little screen time they had together, I could actually feel the love between them. That's what makes the story so frustrating because the potential was right there. But instead the author chose to deprive the readers of the moments that mattered most. Once TJ and Ian crossed the line into romance, we barely saw anything except conflict and emotional smut. Where were their soft and tender moments? As a TJ/Ian fan, it felt like we were expected to endure seasons of buildup only to be denied the satisfaction of never seeing their entire journey together. And further planting seeds of doubt for the other side of the fandom to cling on to. What makes it worse is that I had no doubt since Season 1 that TJ was endgame. I kept telling myself to be patient, assuming the author would eventually provide the missing emotional foundation, a flashbacks, heartfelt conversation, or at least insight into their first two years together. Something, anything!!! But she gave us nothing. Even the secondary couple's breakup felt like it received more attention and care than the actual main couple finally getting together. The lack of emotional pull from the secondary couple throughout the story got dumped all at once in chapter 98 and I'm supposed to believe it was something more substantial than what was written from chapter 1-97? It was truly laughable. And this was the first time I believe the author was pandering to one side of the fandom. On top of that, the story introduces multiple plot points that never receive proper conclusions. Too much time is spent on scenes that don't move the story forward. It truly feels like the author was more interested in dragging out ambiguity to fuel fanwars than in delivering a coherent, satisfying narrative. Instead of focusing on what actually mattered, the love between the main couple and tying up loose end. She continued to force a “love triangle” that didn't exist, and it ultimately hurt the pacing and execution of Season 3. The ending especially felt insulting in how little effort was put into TJ and Ian's final payoff. There was time for meaningless fillers like Destiny shooting her shot with Jo, but not enough time for TJ to say “I love you” back, not enough time for a real proposal. We never got to see them go to California!!! After everything, the emotional reward was shockingly minimal. TJ and Ian's 20+ years journey to finding happiness deserved more than that. It was such a disappointment. Ultimately, this feels like a case of an author biting off more than she could chew. The gang subplot was underwhelming, the romance was underdeveloped, and the overall execution was disappointing. Wet Sand had the potential to stand out as something truly memorable,but instead it chose to rely on baiting readers with a false love triangle and dragged out ambiguity rather than delivering a properly structured story with meaningful payoff for the main couple. It felt like a slap in the face. It's a shame, because the story could have been good, maybe even great. But with so much wasted potential and such an unsatisfying conclusion, I can't justify rating it higher than 2.5/5. Do better next time Doyak or just stick to drawing.