This was honestly such a fun and cute book. I'm very happy that I stumbled across O'Neills work, because so far everything has just been so hearfelt. Her artwork is beautiful and so are her stories. I honestly love the world that she has created and with every new book, I find myself wishing more and more that I could go within it.

I received an ARC of this book thanks to Net Galley and publisher Oni Press in exchange for an honest review.

Oh boy, this just about melted my heart and I am so so happy I read this. The Tea Dragon Society is an absolutely lovely graphic novel/webcomic that you can read entirely online for free (you can also buy a bindup). It tells the story of a young girl who is learning to be a blacksmith when she stumbles upon another potential profession-caring for these small creatures called tea dragons. The Tea Dragon Festival is the followup to that story, though it is not a sequel and you don't need to read the first one for this to make sense. Instead it is merely set in the same world and features some of the same characters.

In this story we follow Rinn, a nonbinary person who loves foraging ingredients and supplies for their town. This village communally cares for a group of tea dragons who are the adorable titular creatures. One day Rinn comes across a real dragon called Aedhan who has been asleep for 80 years. With Rinn's help, Aedhan must now assimilate back into village life and find the creature who caused him to sleep for so long.

I'm not sure how many times it is appropriate to use the word 'adorable' in one review but it perfectly encapsulates this whole graphic novel experience. The art style is absolutely gorgeous, the characters are likeable and the story is compelling. After reading this I was just filled with so much joy and love for the world the artist had created. I could read a thousand stories in this world and never be bored. It is the ultimate feel good experience.

The representation in this is also topnotch and it makes me so happy to see so many concepts in a children's work. I think people of all ages could enjoy this graphic novel but it is definitely kid-friendly as well and I love how effortlessly the artist incorporates diversity. This is how it should be done!

There's not much to be said about this apart from I loved it and I want as many people as possible to experience the joy this work brought me. If you're looking for a cute graphic novel, this is the perfect example. If you like dragons, tea, fantasy worlds, slice of life stories featuring a ton of diversity, romances that aren't overt or take over the plot, compelling characters or beautiful artwork, then please please read this. You will not be disappointed.

Overall Rating: 5/5

★★★★★ | Colourful, lovely and heartwarming!

Honestly, every time I read a Katie O'Neill story I wish to have kids just to read it to them. And I'm not planning kids.

I love the Tea Dragon world and little Tea Dragons but in this one, we have Rinn, a brown non-binary person, finding an ACTUAL dragon while gathering wild herbs and vegetables in the forest. There are also some characters from the last story and Deaf representation (with the whole village being able to use sign language!).

The Tea Dragon Festival is a story about finding your own place in the world and being a part of something. A community. A tradition. A memory. About the sharing of all that with others.

I'm hoping for much more Tea Dragons to come and thank you NetGalley for letting me read this one! It uplifted my mood for the next few days for sure!

I always loved Katie's web comic The Tea Dragons and was so excited when I found out she had written and illustrated books! This is such a sweet story and I loved that it included sign language and the inclusion of it as a village. Such a wonderful story! I also adored the illustrations!

Rinn, a skilled gatherer of edible plants and aspiring cook, is used to living side by side with tea dragons--adorable and sometimes mischievous creatures that everyone in their village cares for together--but when they meet Aedhan, a dragon who’s been asleep for eighty years, they soon learn that dragons and tea dragons are only distant relatives. Aedhan can fly and fight, if necessary, and he can also take humanoid form. When Rinn finds him sleeping in a temple, at first they’re alarmed, but then Rinn discovers that he’s the village’s long lost guardian.

Though Aedhan’s decades long nap was the work of a forest spirit, he still feels guilty for the time he’s missed. Rinn’s uncle Erik, a bounty hunter, and his partner Hesekiel, set out to track down the forest spirit before it can put anyone else to sleep: eighty years isn’t so bad for a dragon, but it’s a lifetime for a human. Can Rinn help their new friend make up for lost time? Katie O’Neill’s books often remind me of Studio Ghibli films: gorgeous celebrations of everyday pleasures, like making tea and spending time with friends. Beautiful art and endearing characters make this peaceful story a treat for tea dragon fans new and old.

This was another super cute book by Katie O'Neill. I've read her two previous books and knew I would like it. The art style was beautiful as always. The colours were beautiful and always suit the scene. The deaf representation was really interesting as there are not many books that feature disabled protagonists as prominently as O'Neill did. The story was good but it did feel weak in comparison to her other books. This was the only area the book let itself down.

I would like to thank NetGalley and the publisher Oni Press for allowing me to receive this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

The Tea Dragon Festival By Katie O’Neill

This is a companion title to the award-winning The Tea Dragon Society.

First off I just recently discovered O’Neill thanks to Aquaicorn Cove being nominated for a Booktube SFF Award for Graphic Works. I fell in love with her art style and even more so with how she is working to introduce important topics to younger readers in a way that is so colorful, fun and engaging. There is something about these graphic novels that is just heartwarming and makes you smile. They are the ones that when you are having a down day you can go to and escape into this beautiful world, and imagine having a little tea dragon of your own. I love the diversity that is represented within all of O’Neill works. From all the different races that live harmoniously together to the subtle hints of accepted LGBT relationships, and within this novel, in particular, the use of sign language and the conversations of disabilities!

I highly recommend The Tea Dragon books and Festival is completely as lovely as Society!

5 Stars! More if I could!

I received this graphic novel from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This review will be posted on Goodreads/Amazon/Blog in September when the release date is closer by.

I will try to write a review for this, but I am not sure if it will be a neat one, it will be a mix of my reactions while I read + my afterthoughts. :P This was just so lovely and I was totally into the story and the gorgeous art.

We have 4 characters this time. Rinn who wants to cook and who knows all the good spots for food. Then there is Aedhan who Rinn finds and who is a dragon. A sleep dragon though, given that he slept for over 80 years. :P Then there is Erik and Hesekiel.

I also liked that we have a girl who is deaf/relies on sign language. It is just so great to have this added, I really miss having blind/deaf people in stories. There is plenty of sign language happening, especially later on during the festival.

There is a tea dragon festival coming up, and the preparations are in full swing. I was very much curious to how the festival would look and what would happen (other than drinking tons of tea).

Rinn was such a sweetie, I adored how they were able to find the yummiest foods in the forest to the point that everyone just gave them a grocery list. Yep. They are that good.

I also loved Rinn's grandma. Trying to help out Rinn with cooking, and having plenty of fun doing it.

Erik is an adventurer and he is just in time for the festival to happen. I quite liked how he looked, and I do want to know more about his adventures. What kind of things did he experience? What kind of things did he discover?

Aedhan? I loved that dragon guy from the start. Especially since he just slept 80 years and doesn't even know it. Good going dude, good going. I guess it was pretty boring to just sit and hang around in the house/shrine. His character design was my favourite both in dragon and human form. His colours were just so lovely.
I had a laugh at his reaction to the Tea Dragons. I guess there is indeed a big difference between a tea dragon and a true dragon.
I am glad that he feels remorseful for missing so much of the village he was supposed to watch and keep guard over. I think that if he wasn't remorseful but rather bashful about it I wouldn't have liked him as much as I do now.
Later on we do find out that maybe it wasn't entirely his fault for falling asleep, phew, I am glad to hear that. Though it does make things a bit scarier as this time it was a dragon, who can live centuries, but what if the next time it is a human? Or someone else with a less big lifespan. Oh my.

We see Aedhan figure out life in the village and I loved he tried to pick up where things were left. There was even some excitement and I was just on the edge of my seat, wanting to know how this would end.

Um, hasn't it been quite some time since Aedhan came to the village? Why is the Goatshorn girl just popping up now? :P

I loved finding out more about the dragon language. How they communicate and I was happy that Aedhan showed us how it was done. Plus we find out more about dragons and how to shift. Eep!

It was fabulous to see how everyone made Aedhan's home a home again. Fixing up the roof, cleaning up the weed, making sure everything is in perfect shape again.

I just adored the creature that put people/dragons/etc. to sleep. He was just gorgeous, what a lovely design. While I want to hug him I think I will stay away, just in case he puts me to sleep. :P I am glad with how things were resolved on that matter, that was a bit simplistic but still nicely done.

Holy wow, the festival was just absolutely stunning and gorgeous. I wish I could be there! Not looking from a screen to a page, but really there. In that village. Partying and soaking up all the lights and colours. And yes, I was crying when Rinn showed Aedhan what they made for him. That is just the sweetest thing ever.

OMG that ending. I was just squeeing in delight to what Hesekiel said to Erik. AWWW! And then there was the ending for Rinn and Aedhan, even more awww! Perfect ending!

Plus points to the information at the end about the dragons. I just love it when we get some extra information on the world and the creatures that inhabit it.

All in all a gorgeously drawn graphic novel with plenty of fun, magic, dragons, and let's not forget tea. This book will suck you in, you will want to dive into this gorgeous world. I hope there will be another Tea Dragon book. Please? *looks with puppy eyes*

The Tea Dragon Festival is the loveliest little book I've seen in a long time. It made my heart melt
and flutter and brought so much happiness and joy.

The drawings are gorgeous, the atmosphere is incredible, and I only wish I could visit this beautiful and magical world, where dragons and tea dragons exist.

I loved everything about this, and I can't wait to get the book into my hands, so I could melt over the cutest Tea Dragons again and again and again <3

I adore the Tea Dragon universe and was thrilled to see it's continuation. This is a charming, diverse and inclusive follow up to The Tea Dragon Society, that will leave you happy and adoring all the new and old characters! A beautiful story with even more gorgeous art. This is a book I'll always recommend to others and look forward to hopefully seeing even more Tea Dragon stories in the future!

This graphic novel is so so peaceful and heartwarming. So many times while reading this I could feel myself getting caught up in the beautiful artwork and it felt so magical. Katie O’Neill’s comics fill me with such happiness and warmth it’s unreal.
And the diversity and inclusiveness in this story is wonderful. I was so happy to see lgbt and poc characters incorporated into a story as well as they were.

Overall I am in love with The Tea Dragon series and sincerely think no matter your age you should read these adorable comics.

Thank you to Oni Press via NetGalley for the ARC!

Another beautiful middle grade graphic novel from Katie O'Neill. Readers who read her other books will love this one too. I will actually be re-reading this one in print because I can only imagine how beautiful this art will be on the printed page. The conversations about just because you enjoy something and it comes easy to you doesn't mean it's not important will stick out with readers young and old (like me!) alike.

Thanks to Oni Press via NetGalley! This story is so sweet, and the artwork is adorable. I really enjoyed reading about Aedhan and Rinn.

A wonderfully peaceful book, the art is fantastic and the gentle story line and characters have been written perfectly.
A story for all ages.

Comics by Katie O'Neill just fill me with such deep happiness and peace that I want everyone in the world to read them. 😭💛The art is so so beautiful and magical, especially the foresty parts here...I felt like they were glowing off the page?! And the overall softness of the style the warm colours, and the expressions that so perfectly capture emotions (they're lovingly surprised faces when kindness happens just makes my heart swell). Look, I definitely am not an artist, but I can appreciate art 1000% and the Tea Dragon series is my favourite ever!

And I also have to mention the beautiful inclusivity, with characters who are queer, a nonbinary protagonist, all skin colours but especially brown and black characters, and deafness and gender fluidity. It's beautiful and loving and carefully crafted.

These comics are a soft journey of wishes and beauty and I love every page!

4.5 stars!
I read The Tea Dragon Society a few months ago and immediately knew I wanted more. This companion novel totally satisfied my tea dragon craving.
I actually enjoyed this one more. While the other one kind of explains what tea dragons are with not much of an actual story, this one had a whole lovely, adorable story.
The characters were all so fun and the art style was beautiful. It almost reminded me of Studio Ghibli with the landscapes and the storyline.
I want more tea dragons!

I think that Katie O'Neill's books are the purest, sweetest, and loveliest things in my life.
This book is about Rinn who is a fantastic gatherer and hopes to be a cook one day. One day she stumbled upon an abandoned cabin in disrepair and she finds a dragon asleep inside.
The artwork is so gorgeous. The colors are so lush and they really bring this world to life. The characters are wonderful and the story is so wholesome.
I cannot say enough good things about this book and I will recommend it to anyone.

This was such a cute graphic novel! Katie O'Neill did it again, she is now an autobuy author for me!!!!!!!!!!

this book was ADORABLE. i loved it so much for so many reasons! there were so many diverse characters (LGBTQ+, deaf, POC) and i loved loved loved that. i actually didn't read the first book, The Tea Dragon Society, but i still really enjoyed this story and still understood everything that was happening. this definitely has made me want to go binge read all of Katie O'Neill's books from start to finish because her stories are just incredible.

A lovely and timely story that manages to interlock several themes in a simple, visually enticing, and gorgeous package.