Mooncakes is a delightful story of a witch, Nova, and a werewolf, Tam, reuniting after years apart. Tam and Nova were close friends before Tam's family moved away. Now Tam is back, with a demon on their tail. Tam is nonbinary, Nova uses hearing aides, and Nova lives with her grandmothers. The Mooncakes from the title are to celebrate the mid Autumn festival, celebrated alongside Sukkot by Nova's family. The art is fetching, but the review copy lost color near the climax of the story.

This story was so cute and so fun to read! I feel like it’s a perfect read to pick up during fall/halloween time! I absolutely loved it!

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker:

“A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.
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.
One fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from place to place for years, unable to call any town home.
Pursued by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options, Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.”

“Home is where you are, okay?”
★★★★★

This is the first graphic novel I’ve ever read and I was amazed. Besides the great drawing of characters and scenes this story is lovable.
It doesn’t need to be written to let you know how the characters are feeling or thinking. While I was reading, I could notice the different emotions and points of view of each character just by the dialogue and the expression of their faces. That was a whole new experience in reading for me.
The story, for me was unique, It has diverse characters that deal with disabilities, orphanage, relationship with step-parents, and the main characters belong to the LGTB+ community. It had funny and unexpected moments, but in the world it made sense. The plot was clear and and the story unfolds so does the characters. In that way the characters become likable and relatable even in the most bizarre situations.
It wasn’t predictable at all. It had little twists that made the characters evolve and helps the reader figure out a bit about the past of each character
I honestly liked this story a lot and it would be magnificent to read more about this amazing cast and world. Recommended for middle grades and teens.

Oh my. This was so good, that I'm definitely buying this comics once it will be published!

I loved practically everything about this book. It has so sweet characters, adventurous story line and amazing illustrations. And romance? Romance was probably the best. I mean who would have thought that witch and werewolf would make such a cute couple.

Also, it has great halloween/autumn vibes and I really hope that there will be sequel in the future.

I can definitely reccomend this to everyone who loves LGBT+ themes mixed with fantasy. Give Mooncakes a try. You'll not be disappointed.

Thank you #NetGalley and #SuzanneWalker for this #MoonCakes ARC. This graphic book is so adorably illustrated and the storyline is written quite well. I would recommend this to anyone who loves witchy-vibes and graphic books.

This is a very cute read with wonderful representation and fun magic. There’s a sort of blurry aspect to the art that I liked because it added whimsy movement to the characters and objects. (The mouths are drawn in a super weird, genuinely distracting way, though.) The colors were lovely and I want to live in Nova’s house. She also has super cute clothes, so major style points to her!

I’m not a huge fan of the writing. The plot was somehow both very basic and convoluted at the same time. The dialogue made me cringe several times, like when a character references Game of Thrones (which took me way out of the story) and when a hard of hearing character uses ableist language.

The story itself is basic enough to read as middle-grade while the romance amps it up to feel a little older. This might be perfect for the reader right in the sweet spot between middle-grade and YA. Mooncakes will be a great pick for those kids, because it’s a sweet, cozy read and beautifully diverse.

thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!
This book is such a good autumnal read!! I love the aesthetic of this comic and it has really cozy vibes, the characters are all lovely. I gotta be honest the story it self didn’t do muchhhhh for me but it was still pretty cool and a different read that what I’m used to since I usually don’t read comic books.

This adorable graphic novel follows Nova, a teenage witch, and her childhood friend, Tam (who happens to be a werewolf) as they reconnect and navigate family, friendship, and stopping a demon horse in the woods.

Overall, I really enjoyed Mooncakes! The best aspect of this story is definitely the diverse cast of characters. Nova is queer and hard-of-hearing and Tam is nonbinary. They are both Chinese-American and Nova has two adorable grandmothers. The romance between Nova and Tam is very sweet and you can see how much they care for each other.

In addition, the art is beautiful and I really appreciated the colors, which scream autumn. The cats and spirit animals were especially adorable! I loved their facial expressions and their role in the story. I also got some Princess Mononoke vibes because of the pretty white wolf and the demon in the woods.

I wish there had been a bit more explanation about the final events in the forest because it felt a bit rushed, but other than that everything was paced well. Readers who like magic, fall vibes, a diverse character cast, and beautiful illustrations should give Mooncakes a try! 🎃🔮🍁

Thank you to Netgalley and Lion Forge for providing a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

4 stars!

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review!

Mooncakes was an adorable graphic novel about queer witches and werewolves, being in love and fighting demons. Nova and Tam we’re both wonderful characters which nice little character arcs who you rooted for the entire time you were reading. There romance was incredibly sweet and gave a voice to disabled and non-binary people who you don’t normally see represented much or at all in romance or fantasy fiction, which was fantastic!

I’d highly recommend mooncakes to anyone looking for a short and sweet, inclusive fantasy graphic novel!

I was lucky to receive an e-arch of Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker from Netgalley. This is a graphic novel about love, loyalty, friendship, magic, and so much more. The relationships made me smile and the art was absolutely beautiful. This is the perfect read for any occasion.

If you are in the mood from a cute, atmospheric story for October this is a good book to turn to!
The illustrations are what drew me to this book. The colors are soft and inviting, the scenery is so detailed, and the character designs gave subtle hints to who they are. I look forward to seeing the finished product, as I am sure it will be breathtaking!
I enjoyed the characters, especially the grandmothers. I would have liked to see the characters developed more rather than be told about how they changed.
The premise is lighthearted and fun, but I would have preferred more backstory about Tam and Nova.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy.

When I first saw this graphic novel pop up I was immediately drawn to the cute cover, which gave me a lot of autumn vibes. It turned out to be a fun and cute story, with most of all a lovely cast of characters. There is a lot of diversity here, with some of the characters being Chinese-American, a deaf/hard of hearing character, a non-binary character and two queer relationships. I loved seeing how the characters were obviously queer but it was not treated as something that stood out from the norm. The plot itself was a lot like other supernatural stories I have read and I would have liked to see a bit more world-building, but this was still very enjoyable due to the character interactions, the beautiful artwork and just the general cozy vibes!

Loved this title. Xu's artwork is enjoyable, and the plot, while a common 'save the world/town from evil', still held my interest. Definitely a good title to recommend to teens when fall hits!

This was such a fun story. The artwork was beautiful and the relationship between Nova and Tam was adorable .

What an amazing graphic novel!

The artwork is EVERYTHING. The characters were remarkable and you just... fall in love with them! Not to mention the supernatural creatures that are included in this world, it's enchanting! Witches, werewolves, demons... you name it, it's here and it's ready to drag you in! The family dynamic between the characters was on point and I enjoyed it to the fullest.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me a e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I definitely recommend this for everyone! Please, read it!

Mooncakes was the first graphic novel I've ever read and I enjoyed it so much! It was an entertaining and cute story and the artwork was amazing as well. The characters were so unique and all of them were able to put a smile on my face. Perfect for Halloween and if you're in the mood for a magical and quick read!

*Many thank yous to Netgalley for the early copy!*

Review can also be found on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2982957462

NetGalley provided me an ebook for an honest review, thank you!

Such a cute book and I really enjoyed the artwork. The book is about a young witch and her non-binary werewolf friend. They try to solve a little mystery with demon and a cult. The overall themes about friendships, family, love and growing up were great.

4/5 stars

Let's start with talking about the artwork and the drawings in this graphic novel, because they are SO GOOD. I love the art-style and the coloring! They make the entire story feel very soft and safe, which is exactly the vibe I was hoping to get. Lots of soft colors like pink, yellow and green. I also love the way Wendy Xu drew the magic, both in small spells like changing one’s clothing and searching for something, and in the bigger spells (which I won't mention for fears of spoilers).

On to arguably the most important part of ordinary novels: the plot.
The plot was in my opinion nothing short of amazing. There is enough stuff happening to drive it forwards at the same time as it takes its time getting there. Mooncakes was an incredibly fast read, a little too fast for me. I wish we had been given more, but I understand the restriction. My E-arc had 259 pages from beginning to end, but I could easily have sat down to read well over 500 pages of this fluffy story.

The plot follows Nova and Tam as they both try to figure out who they are and who they want to become. The plot is built around this horse demon in the woods, which they have to try to somehow defeat. But the plot is also about Tam returning to a life they thought they had left behind, and about Nova struggling to find the courage to make a life of her own. The story is also heavily influenced by the role and ties of family and friends, both good and bad. I loved the story! I found the plot to be engaging and I think it ended in a very fitting way for this kind of novel. The only negative thing I have to say is that I wish we were given a bit more backstory on Nova and Tam, and that we got to see a bit more in the epilogue (unless there will be a sequel, which I am hoping for).

One thing worth noting about this graphic novel is the amount of representation it has. Both Nova and Tam are Chinese-American. Nova is disabled, she wears hearing aids and can't do without them. Tam identifies as non-binary, meaning their pronoun is "they". Nova's two grandmothers are in a F/F relationship.

This review is getting way too long, so in summary: this graphic novel is amazing! It has lots of representation, banter, magic, puns, teenage angst and mythical beings. I definitely recommend getting this! I'll probably buy a physical copy, just to have it for whenever I want to re-read this.

Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu is a very witchy autumnal graphic novel that is full of all sorts of good things. It begins with Tam’s perspective as they run in the forest as a wolf. Soon we switch to Nova, a young witch who lives with her Nanna’s (who own a witchy book store that I really wish was real). Nova’s BFF comes over and tells her about a white wolf who has been spotted near the woods. Naturally, Nova has to check it out, and runs into her best friend (and crush) who moved away a while ago. They quickly become good friends once again and enter into a relationship.

The art was very cozy and cute. The whole novel gave off such a cozy autumn vibe- it’s release in October will be very fitting. There were a lot of mistakes though. Some stuff would be so awkwardly drawn that it detracted away from the atmosphere of the scene and instead made it all feel goofy.

I liked it, but it wasn’t blowing my mind or anything. The queer, non-binary and disability representation was a-freakin-mazing, but that alone can’t carry the whole plot. Would I buy this for my own reading? No.

There will be a longer review on my blog.

This was so cute, well-thought and beautifully illustrated! But I really missed something. I had the feeling that I fell in the middle of a story and that I therefore missed a lot of background information. Because of that, it took me a while to get into the story and I couldn't enjoy the story as much as I wanted.

Tam and Nova were great characters and I loved to see that much diversity in a book. And the magic? I thought it was invented really well, but I needed a bit more information to enjoy the book more.