My thanks to Lion Forge for a digital edition via NetGalley of ‘Mooncakes’ written by Suzanne Walker and illustrated by Wendy Xu in exchange for an honest review.

From its creators introduction: “Nova and Tam are many things. They are both Chinese American, queer, and from unconventional families. Nova is hard-of-hearing and Tam is nonbinary; they each have their own form of magic. But these aspects of their identity don’t make the story.“

Nova lives with her grandmothers, who run the Black Cat Cafe and Bookstore. They sell books on witchcraft and related subjects. Nova goes to the woods one night to investigate reports of a large white wolf and discovers Tam, her childhood crush, doing battle with a horse demon. They rediscover their feelings for each other while fighting against dark forces.

This was such a sweet story, beautifully illustrated and full of adventure, magic and love. The magical creatures within the woods were delightful. Nova’s extended family is so amazing and I would have loved to learn more about Cousin Terry’s story.

I plan to buy its hardback edition in due course.

Highly recommended.

Such a magical story. I was immediately attracted to the cover, but it didn’t really tell me what the book was about. When I requested the book it was mostly because I kept seeing it on Instagram and it had a gorgeous cover. I didn’t know about the plot and I was so glad I went into it without knowing it. It was a great surprise!

I loved the magic, the characters, the story, the drawings. I liked how the story developed. Only flaw I’m thinking about is that some things seemed pretty rushed. Things that maybe could’ve developed in a couple pages were done in just one. I would’ve loved to see more, know more, wait more. I can be patient, but I know that with graphic novels things have to happen fast, and besides that, I loved everything else.

I wish there was more but the ending left me satisfied, grinning. I will definitely have the author and illustrator on my radar right now. Gotta love a queer and diverse fantasy graphic novel. I will recommend it to everyone.

My first graphic novel review and it is definitely a must read! A fantastic story of adventure, family and love combined with a gorgeous art style full of colour and magic. It was a perfect combination of the two showing a vibrant world with fully shaped and relatable characters who burst out of the page with every word and image.

There was so much representation in this book and it flowed perfectly into the story. Tam is non-binary which informs so much of their past and relationship with their parents. Nova is deaf, and with hearing aids, which is a fact important to the story and her relationship with Tam, who comments on how Nova has changed hearing aids and that they like the colour. Both Tam and Nova are also Asian-American and their queer relationship is a major part of the story.

One of the things I loved most was seeing how Nova's deafness and magic interacted. How the magic is used to highlight her deafness and her experience of both. My favourite scene was one where the characters linked psychically and Nova talks about the way that she gets a taste from it of how her life could be without deafness. It was done in such a beautiful way, showing the impact being deaf has on her life but without denying how much a part of her identity it is or showing her as some poor trapped, disabled character wanting to be free (a trope that is used so often and is extremely harmful for people with disabilities).

This is such a great book full of magic and excitement whilst also showcasing the intricacies of regular life. Definitely a must read.

Cute and lovely story about sweets and witches, a very good read for this time of year. No spooky but still plenty of good fun

<em>Mooncakes</em> by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu centres on Nova Huang, a queer teenage witch working in her grandmothers' magic bookshop, and her childhood friend(/crush) Tam Lang, a non-binary werewolf who's been driven out of their home by their abusive step-father, as they try to stop a horse demon that's roaming the woods!

It's very sweet in a lot of ways; Nova's family is supportive and charming, and I enjoyed the way that they welcomed Tam in with open arms! Especially how even though Nova's parents have died, they're still important to the family (and still have strong opinions on what she should be doing with her life). Nova and Tam falling back into their friendship after so long apart was lovely, and I was cheering for their romantic relationship pretty much from the beginning.

However, there is underlying seriousness beneath that sweetness; even without getting into the horse demon problem, Nova is an orphan struggling with the death of her parents and the expectation that she should be leaving home, and Tam has been driven out of their home by their abusive step-father. I felt that <em>Mooncakes</eM> handled both aspects really well! It meant that while there was darkness and betrayal in the story, there was also hope, and I needed that. The ending doesn't resolve all of the characters' issues, but it does show that Nova and Tam are growing, and might be able to resolve them in the future!

I've been a fan of Wendy Xu's art for a while; here it's really colourful and characterful, and while some of the bigger scenes felt a little jumbled to me, I did adore the art and how it handled the magic! Plus, Nova's outfits are amazing, and I really hope that they have real-world counterparts.

The tl;dr is that if you're in the mood for some urban fantasy with teenagers saving the day and falling in love, this is a really solid choice!

[Caution warnings: abusive step-parent, homeless teen, dead parents] [This review is based on an ARC from Netgalley]

This graphic novel was so cute and so entertaining! I loved the art and I really enjoyed reading Mooncakes!

Mooncakes is an amazing graphic novel with diverse characters and beautiful artwork. The story, the plot and the characters are all really well written and the inclusivity and wholesomeness will definitely leave you with a smile. Mooncakes was a perfect read in every way!
Full review on the blog!

There are many things to love about this graphic novel. The diversity, the fantasy, the conflict, and the relationships, both romantic and familial, are a smash hit of everything I could want in a story. The artwork is beautiful and really brings the story to life. This is a quick read, but the story is engaging and makes readers care for the characters.
I did have a bit of a problem with the insta love between the two main characters, and I wish I had more of the backstory history.
I recommend this for anyone that enjoys the genre, is looking to expand their reading preferences, or simply enjoys a good, heartwarming, story.
I will review this work in more detail on my blog following the publication date.
Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the e-book ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lion Forge for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

“Sometimes… sometimes I think we need space. A chance to go out on our own, find our own way.”

Mooncakes has a cosy and autumnal vibe which suits its October release date. This is a lovely graphic novel with a great story and stunning artwork. I enjoyed the diverse representation which felt natural. The two main characters, Nova and Tam, are both Chinese Americans. Nova is a queer witch who is hard of hearing and Tam is a non-binary werewolf. Tam uses they/them pronouns and everyone is respectful of this. Nova’s grandmothers are also in a relationship with each other.

What I liked most about Mooncakes is the characters. Family plays an important part in this book and Nova’s grandmothers are very supportive, both of Nova and Tam. Nova and Tam are childhood friends who are reunited after many years. These two characters are very sweet and I loved how they blush a lot! Whilst there is some instalove, the romance is high on the cuteness scale.

I think this will also appeal to fans of the supernatural as it features witches, werewolves and demons. The story includes a ‘villain’ type character and mystery. It was fairly easy to guess the identity of the villain, but that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of the story.

Overall

A sweet and heartwarming tale about finding yourself.

I’ve seen this book everywhere for the past few months so when I saw it on Netgalley I knew I just had to request it and I’m so glad that I did. This is such a cute, fun and absolutely perfect read for autumn. The artwork in this is also amazing.

This book follows Nova, a witch, who is wandering in the woods following up on concerns raised by her friend that something strange might be going on when she stumbles across a horse demon fighting a white wolf. Even more shocking is that the wolf turns out to be her childhood friend and crush Tam. This leads Tam and Nova to band together to defeat the demon, with the help of Nova’s amazing grandmothers.

I adore the characters within this. Tam and Nova are both Chinese American and Queer. Nova is hard of hearing and Tam is nonbinary. Nova is still struggling to come to terms with the loss of her parents and Tam is struggling to find where she belongs in the world after running away from her family. The book also features Nova’s grandmothers who I adored. They are so loving and supportive and kickass.

The book features a f/nb romance that is adorable and one of my new all time favourites.

Overall, this book focuses on the love and support of families as well as the importance of found family, it’s about growing and taking risks and finding out who you are.

This is such a magical book full of witchy vibes that left me feeling all warm and fuzzy inside. I absolutely loved it and gave it 5 out of 5 stars

This was a cozy little story with fantastic representation. Nova is a witch who is hearing impaired and lives with her two grandmas. She is reunited with her childhood friend, Tam, who uses "they" pronouns. Their friendship eventually grows into something more, and together they must defeat an evil force threatening the neighborhood. I loved the Nanas, their cats and the adorable spirit creatures! The plot itself was very basic which was a bummer. And the art style was not one I was particularly drawn to (dammit, self). I hope other people enjoy this one more than I did.

Witches. Werewolves. Queer relationships with positive representation. All in time for Halloween. Sign me up!

I was so excited to read this graphic novel just in time for the fall season and Halloween antics to begin. The artwork was beautiful and the scenes flowed together perfectly. The representation in this story was well-done in my eyes, but I am not as immersed within the LGBTQA+ community as other readers may be. I appreciated that Tam’s preferred pronouns remained in place for the duration of the story, plus Nova’s grandmothers were the most supporting parental figures I have seen in a while. Also, Tam and Nova were absolutely cute together! I hope to read more from this author in the future.

What a lovely graphic novel!

The drawing style used is really sweet and beautiful, I loved the look of all the characters as well as the animals in the forest. Tam and Nova's romance also felt genuine and was very cute. I did feel it was a bit rushed, but I also know the characters have a long history so I suppose we are supposed to believe they're jumping back into something that had already been brewing for years, rather than it coming out of nowhere. The representation was also fantastic and felt natural.

The plot was very fast paced and enjoyable; it made for a very quick read which I always enjoy in graphic novels. Overall, I found this to be a great graphic novel with some wonderful witchy vibes. I would suggest it to anyone!

MOONCAKES by Suzanne Walker is a delightful read. I'm looking forward to getting a finished copy to fully appreciate the illustrations. I've recommended it to all my jr high and high school librarian colleagues.

A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft, Mooncakes is truly a treat. Nova Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town, and things are soon to get interesting in cute queer magical comic.

The representation in this story is as wonderful as the story itself, this is one of the first comics I’ve seen a non-binary character in, and shown as not a big deal, it’s just a natural part of the story. The romance is adorable and the plot really allows for the characters to develop - and I hope to continue to in future editions of this comic, I want to know so much more about Nova and Tam.

The art style is cute. Full of colour and sweetness, this story has some gorgeous scenes and displays a vivid cast of characters throughout. From Fall days to dark nights, this comic covers it all and does it so well. The wolf artwork stands out too, with wonderful artwork that brings it to life so well.

A wonderful story from start to finish.

Cute, easy read with a diverse cast of characters. The relationship between our main characters seemed sudden. I few more scenes of their childhood might have help to further that plot and make it seem more realistic. Overall, a solid read that I enjoyed!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu in exchange for an honest review!

Let me break it down for you — if you like cute, if you like diversity, if you like graphic novels, if you like amazing art, if you like stories of acceptance, if you like stories with that LGBTQ+ content we deserve — then you need Mooncakes in your life.

Granted, it wasn’t a long read — but I feel like it’s saying something when I complete a book in one-sitting. I devoured Mooncakes & fell absolutely in love with the story & art-style. Suzanne Walker & Wendy Xu work so well together.

There’s amazing rep in Mooncakes. We have Chinese-American rep, queer rep, hard-hearing rep & non-binary rep. All of this in a tale with witches, demons & werewolves!!! Mooncakes is absolutely brilliant.

There’s also a lot of acceptance in Mooncakes. When Tam announces that they are going by they/their pronouns now, Nova’s Nana quickly apologizes for using ‘she’ without any fuss. There’s no questioning & we just move on. Exactly as we should.

There’s also acceptance in terms of skeptics vs. believers. Tat, Nova’s best friend, is very into science. However, she supports Nova & even has a line that goes, “who says skeptics can’t learn?” There’s so many beautiful messages in this quick read.

The romance between Nova & Tam is so soft & fluffy! I’m legit obsessed with these cuties, along with all of the other characters in Mooncakes — I, mean, minus the antagonist, obvs.

Mooncakes is such a cute read that I will officially be yelling about for the rest of my life.

The characters are all such sweethearts that you can’t help but fall in love with them. There was such beautiful representation in each one of them from Nova’s grandmothers, to her hearing aids, to Tam’s pronouns being they/them. With the variety of characters, there is somebody for everyone to connect to in some way. I personally related the most to Tam.

I love the art style. It’s so beautiful. I love reading graphic novels and seeing the visual representation of the story that’s being told. There were so many details in the art that added to the overall experience of reading the story. Since graphic novels, a lot of the time is mostly dialogue I enjoy them a lot. The dialogue in this book was cute and nice, easy to follow.

The story itself was sweet, nothing too complicated that needed my full attention. There isn’t much that happens except for the main plotline and the romance between Tam and Nova. It’s a quick read with beautiful art and adorable characters.

This book has seriously gorgeous art and a cute story with a lot of wonderful representation. I also really liked the setting being New England since that’s where I live and I feel like the story fit right in with the New England vibes. The mixture of fantasy and reality was also really cool and made me wish that witches existed. I definitely recommend this book if you’re looking for a quick, easy, light-hearted read.

This was such a soft and lovely story filled with so many magical moments. From it's amazing cast of characters to its storyline that had me hooked from the start. Mooncakes was a joy to behold and the romance between Tam and Nova gave me all the feels. Tam is a non-binary werewolf and Nova is a chinese-american queer witch that lives with her two (kickass) grandmothers. I enjoyed the art style and the narrative kept me turning the pages. This was such a cute read that I flew through but I really wish that we got more substance on the magic system and the backgrounds of each character that led them to their arcs. Nevertheless, highly recommend to anyone looking for something to swoon over!

I really enjoyed the art style of this graphic novel..
I also like how diverse this book is.
Unfortunately for me, I found myself lost at times and the romance came across as insta-lovey.
Other than that I definitely recommend anyone to read, as it was cute and adorable!