I love witchy stories and this one is just perfect for the season! Here we have a sweet love story with a fun backdrop of doting aunts, a cozy bookshop, enchanting woodland, cult forces and magic spells. I honestly did not expect this to be so action-packed, but the fast pacing is balanced by the gorgeous artwork filled with nature scenes and a cute bookish cafe.

My favorite thing about the graphic novel of course is its almost effortless way of embracing inclusivity and diversity. It features a witch named Nova who uses a hearing aid, and a werewolf named Tam who is nonbinary. Here in the Philippines, we don’t really use gendered pronouns, so I really understand the need to remove the labels of he or she when talking to a nonbinary person. Admittedly, “they” for me still translates to the plural form so it was a bit awkward for me to read at the beginning. But thanks to reading this comic I was able to really put into practice the concept of adopting another person’s choice of pronouns.

Lastly, the story shows us that when it comes to love and friendship, it doesn’t matter which race or faction we are from. If our souls are connected, that’s all that matters in the end. A witch CAN be in love with a werewolf, and the world is even better for it.

Big thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Lion Forge for providing a copy of this wonderful book in exchange for an honest review.

beautiful, cute, adorable, spooky, perfection. I need to see this in color now, it's just too perfect and cute and wonderful for us

This is a YA comic about a witch that is dealing with the return of a childhood friend and also moving on to the next stage of her life. Nova lives with her grandmothers and works in their bookstore that has a large collection of books of magic. Tam is a werewolf that has been wandering after not having a great homelife with their mon and stepdad. Nova invites Tam to stay with her and they investigate the demon in the woods nearby. This is a sweet story and the art is nice, but I really liked the spirit creatures of the forest in their art.

A cute paranormal comic with great sapphic and chinese-american representation! I loved the colors and soft spooky vibe

A sweet, character-driven fantasy story.

**Trigger warning for intended parallels to homophobic violence, child abuse, and homelessness in the LGBTQ community. **

“A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.”

Teenager Nova Huang has a pretty full life: an apprentice witch, she’s employed part-time at the family magic shop-slash-bookstore, Black Cat Books, and also does plenty of volunteer work in her New England community. Though her parents are literal ghosts, having died in a tragic accident when Nova was a child, her Nanas take good care of her (and, being a witch and all, she gets to visit with the ‘rents on special occasions). There’s also her bestie Tat; the two might not always see eye-to-eye – Tat’s a scientist-in-training who has precious little patience for the inexplicable nature of magic – but they make it work.

When Nova ventures into the woods surrounding their town – recently bedeviled by spooky green lights and a seemingly rabid wild horse – she’s unexpectedly reminded of what’s been missing. There she stumbles upon her childhood friend Tam Lang, battling the creature solo. Tam and their family just up and left one day, no warning or explanation. Turns out that Tam’s a werewolf, their step-father is in cahoots with a devil-worshiping cult, and Tam’s werewolf magic might be the end of us all.

That is, unless Nova, Tam, Tat, and the Nanas can harness the magic of family and sisterhood to thwart their plans. And maybe even save a demon in the process? (WHAAAAAT!)

MOONCAKES is a super-sweet graphic novel that’s brimming with heart, humor, and some pretty awesome characters. Tam is nonbinary, in case it wasn’t already apparent, and Tam and Nova make an adorable couple. The Nanas are great (though I couldn’t tell if both are Nova’s biological grandmothers, i.e., both maternal and paternal, or if they are a F/F couple), and so is Tat, especially the playful back-and-forth she has with her extended/adopted witch family.

The plot is serviceable, I guess, though not terribly suspenseful; if I had to, I’d describe MOONCAKES as more of a character-driven story. The rest just feels like an excuse to bring Nova and Tam together, which is why I’m giving it three stars instead of four.
That said, I do quite love the little plot twist with the horse demon. Down with the kyriarchy!

I also really appreciate what the artists are trying to do vis-à-vis Tam’s homelessness; though it’s given a supernatural cause in this story, Tam’s plight does parallel and draw attention to the increased risk of homelessness faced by LGBTQ youths.

I'm not sure how many stars to give this! I dont typically rate graphic novels so that's my own personal problem.
I did enjoy this storyline, and the illustrations were really great too.

Mooncakes is a sweet and adorable graphic novel, and I’m so grateful to #Netgalley and Lion Forge for letting me access an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I’m not really sure I needed anything more than the cover to win me over. Isn’t that cover warm and adorable? Combined with the publisher’s summary it was perfect. Magic. Baked goods. Werewolves. Witches. Chinese-American young adults. LGBTQ+ representation. And friendship to love.

Mooncakes lived up to every one of my expectations and more. The art is charming, warm and soft and yet vibrant and evocative. There are terrific little extras on almost every page, whether it’s one of the black cats covering its eyes to hide from a kiss, or a clever joke printed on Tam’s t-shirt. There are so many little asides that I think this graphic novel would benefit from multiple careful readings, after the first reading to simply enjoy this sweet story.

The central relationship, between Tam and Nova, is sweet and gentle and supportive, much like most of the relationships in this story. Childhood best friends who had been separated by a family move years ago find each other again,. In the interim, Tam has come out as non-binary as well as a werewolf, with the struggle that both of those identities can entail, and Nova is a queer deaf witch whose parents are both deceased. Neither of them has had easy or traditional lives so far, but they find a safe space with each other, and with Nova’s super-supportive grandmothers.

There’s technically paranormal plot drama about horse demons and werewolf magic and dangerous magical cults, but really that just serves as a frame for the relationships that are at the center of this book. For instance, there’s a cadre of black cats who understand that Nova is deaf and seek to communicate with her in ways she can respond to when her hearing aids are out. There’s even a practical, no nonsense plus-sized best friend named Tatyana to be the scientist foil to all the magical activity in the story.

As if the story isn’t enough on its own, let me just talk about the diversity of representation in this story. It’s terrific! As mentioned, both Tam and Nova are Chinese-American. Nova is deaf and wears a hearing aid much of the time, and the story frequently involves aspects of being deaf (like cats needing to pat her face to wake her, instead of yowling or scratching, like with a hearing human). Tam is a werewolf who is non-binary. The powerful witch grandmothers are Jewish and Chinese-American, respectively, and make a sweet couple too. Best friend Tat is plus-sized. One of Nova’s aunts is in a relationship with a white-presenting man, and another cousin has a pigeon head (that’s not really fully explained, and possibly the weirdest part of the book.) Magical practice is everywhere, and is really central to the story. Chinese and Jewish culture are woven into the story, and everyone we meet is supportive of LGBTQ+ relationships and of Tam and Nova figuring out their places in the world. All of this feels organic to the story, too, not just heavy-handed talking points forced onto characters. What a great chance for young adult readers to see healthy diverse representation in their reading material!

Overall, this story is just a winner. No, it’s not incredibly tense or dramatic. The romance is pretty much a forgone conclusion. In this case, it’s not the destination that matters, but the journey. The sweet, supportive, adorable and diverse journey. Highly recommended as a sweet, fun YA paranormal graphic novel.

I was sadly disappointed in this graphic novel. The cover looks adorable and I was eager to see diverse demographics represented in the story. However, the plot felt very basic and the flow was completely off for me. I contemplating bailing on it halfway through, but pushed through to completion. Cute illustrations, but they characters and plot was all very flat and predictable.

Love is everywhere!!! And I really enjoyed it.

I love all the relationships here but, my absolute favourite is how this graphic novel talked about finding yourself and surrounding yourself with people who accept, love, respect and support you. There were several amazing moments in this graphic novel that just made me feel good.

Let’s take a moment and talk about Tat(yana) because my friends need to step up their game and be on the same level as Tat in wingwoman-ing. I loved how she’s such a skeptic but you can still see how supportive and accepting she is towards Nova, Tam, and Nova’s family.

Not in love with the art, I liked it, but I’m not crazy for it. Overall, a delightful read!

This book is gorgeous! The art is smooth and the coloring is perfect. I loved the elements of acceptance embedded into the story regarding deafness, transgender identity, and same-sex partnerships. These aspects are a part of the story without being the story. Instead you have a beautiful story of first love set to an adventure involving magic and defeating evil. I will recommend this book to all comic book readers.

I really liked this gráfi novel, the images are well done, the fact that it’s about magic, witches, werewolf and it’s about this time of the year, Halloween was perfect, really pretty

A very cute read, perfect for the days leading upto Halloween.

This comic features LGBTQ characters in a magical world full of witchcraft. Although the comic wasn't very long, it did a great job acquainting the readers with the characters.

The authors inculcated a deep sense of family culture, and I loved the relationship Nova had with her grandmothers.

The only thing that would have made me enjoy the book more is if the last few scenes (the big battle) were more drawn out. If the antagonists' agenda was more fleshed out, the book would have been even more enjoyable.

Mooncakes is an adorable, magical, diverse graphic novel. And perfect to read in the fall time! I absolutely loved it. I did a video review on my channel. https://youtu.be/wk0k-OlVwpg

Really enjoyed this! Loved the representation of people with hearing difficulties and a non-binary character. Perfect start to my October spooky reads! The art style was just beautiful too

Unfortunately, I won't be able to review this title because I only read a few pages and when I logged on to my kindle fire again, it was gone and its already been archived. The art style was really pretty and the beginning of the story seemed like it was off to a great start!

Ah just thinking about this graphic novel makes me feel happy. Mooncakes is so wholesome and filled to the brim with love, it was just what I needed after reading so many books that are first in a series. It was nice to read something so easy and enjoyable, and I've definitely read more since picking it up. It's just so wonderful to read something that includes so many diverse characters, and that gives them the happy ending that after reading that you'll inevitably want for them.
So firstly let's talk about my one issue with this graphic novel, before I start heaping praise on all the wonderfully diverse characters. This story is quick. I mean really quick, and I wish the book had been a little more fleshed out. I wanted more from the witchcraft and the world around this wonderful cast of characters, and maybe a few more flashbacks to Tam and Nova's relationship as children. It's a lovely story but the plot just felt a little too rushed and predictable for me.
I think though what's more important when it comes to this story are the values it brings to the table. It's filled to the brim with acceptance, the importance of finding your own family, and in all honesty just plain love. Both our protagonists are Chinese/American and queer. Nova wears two hearing aids and is an incredibly capable witch, Tam is non-binary and a werewolf. Nova's grandmothers are in a healthy, loving relationship, and it's just so good to see some soft LGBTQ+ rep in such a wonderful graphic novel.
This is such a light heartwarming novel that pulled me in with its characters. I know that anytime I pick this up I'll feel better after reading it, and honestly, sometimes that's exactly what I want from a story.

Recommend: If you're looking for some solid LGBTQ+ representation, and want to feel about 10x happier after reading then this is the one for you.

Graphic novels are not usually my first choice of books. But after seeing the book cover, I couldn't resist the urge. I just had to read Mooncakes.

Mooncakes is a cute paranormal story, filled with magic, love, family... In a paranormal city, Nova, a teen witch goes to the woods and follows a white wolf. It turns out that the wolf is her high-school crush, Tam. It would all be lovely, but Tam is in life danger and needs help. The two girls help each other and their connection grows throughout the book.

The scenery of the cosy home of Nova's grandmothers and the lovely bookshelves gave me a wonderful feeling of comfort. I loved their warm house, the lovely relationship they had and the love you could feel through the pages.

I enjoyed Mooncakes - it was adorable. If you like graphic novels, cute art and a little sparkle of magic - this book will not disappoint you.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher, Lion Forge, for sending me an E-Arc copy of this book, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a cute book about witches, betrayal, friendship, love, and having faith in yourself while also knowing when to ask for help. I feel like at times it tried too hard and others it didn’t try enough. I know who the characters are to an extent but the world building was a bit lacking. I felt like the actual story here was an afterthought, as though this book was meant to introduce us to characters instead of the story being the main focus. Magical folk seem to be known to everyone and yet not the norm, so I wound up a touch confused about just how common / known they were.

The romance is cute enough. The art work is just what you would expect based on the book cover art.

I’d probably read a second book if this is a series. There’s room for improvement in future books.

Supercute story about a young witch and werewolf who team up to solve a mystery. This is full of great rep - nonbinary, bisexual, queer, deaf - but occasionally the dialogue is a little on the nose. The artwork is really sweey though and at it's heart this is a story about friendship. Highly recommend.

3.5 stars!

I really enjoyed this cute little graphic novel, but overall, the story was extremely predictable and I didn't connect with our two main characters. I really wish we would have gotten more of their back story. In the beginning it refers to their childhood but we never actually learn about it. Also, the ending felt extremely rushed and predictable.

But overall it was still a cute autumn story with loads of representation. The artwork was stunning and the woodland creatures were ADORABLE! I want to adopt them all.

It was good, it just wasn't great for me :)