WOW!! This was incredibly adorable and definitely at the top of the list for my graphic novels read this year! The characters were unique, adorable, and extremely likable. Mooncakes is everything and more from what I was hoping it would be! I can't stress enough how much I loved this story, the art, and the concept of this book. Perfection. I love anything that includes cute witches and moons, and even baking. The cover alone for this accomplished all that. The content exceeded my expectations and I am beyond in love with this book. I can't wait to get a finished copy.

This is a review of an advance copy of Mooncakes I recieved from Netgalley.

There's one word that really sums up this book, and that is: CUTE.

The art is cute. The story is cute, The characters, the setting, etc. - all cute. And I don't mean cute in a derogatory way - I definitely enjoyed Mooncakes, both for it's cuteness and the other things it had going for it. This story isn't all sweetness and light - there's demons, kidnapping, an evil step-father, and the scariest thing of all (to me at least), disappointing your parents.

The story mainly focuses on Nova and Tam, two young people who were friends as kids and have now been brought back together by a magical crisis - namely, demons. They have to deal with that, plus typical teen problems; parental expectations, fitting in, and their own burgeoning romance. I think both Tam and Nova come through as fun but real, believable characters, and their romance is very sweet. There's also a nice focus on the secondary characters, who were my personal favourites, Nova's grandmas. They're both powerful, badass witches who get a chance to show off both their powers and their personalities in the book, and their support and love for Nova was clear and really comforting to read. They run a magical bookshop. which is a really fun idea that I loved.

In terms of representation, Mooncakes packs in a lot; both protagonists are queer, Tam is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, Nova is hard of hearing, and both are Chinese-American. What's good about Mooncakes though is that it makes Nova and Tam real characters instead of just a list of identities. Tam being nonbinary, for example, is far and away not the most important part of their story, and the same for Nova.

I think the only bad thing I could say about Mooncakes was that at the beginning the story felt a little rote, mixing in both YA tropes about teen romance and paranormal/urban fantasy tropes, but the plotline I thought was going to play out didn't end up happening and the story surprised me with a twist, so I think Mooncakes pulled it back. I was certainly left feeling happy and glad I'd read it, and really, what more can you ask for? This is a fun, inclusive, good story with nice art that also handles it's heavier themes well, and you can really feel the heart and love that it's creators put into it.

Thanks #NetGalley for the book #MoonCakes !!
This is my first ever book I got and I am pretty excited.
And rightfully so!
I loved this graphic novel so much!
I am new to magic system and fantasy reads but this one is simple to read and follow.

The art work gets better with the subsequent chapters. And woah! Who would have thought one of the characters would share my name?!
The chemistry between the characters is strong and all the characters are just too sweet.
What I loved the most was the 'nerd' talk right from the beginning. The dialogue bubbles are well put; the art sequences are well maintained. The cover rocks! Those who love manga will know what I mean.
The witches, the wolves, the magic and all the reading they did were like dream come true for a reader like me reading about them, seeing people like me doing exactly what I would do if I was in that world.
I dig the romance as well. It was subtle yet cute.
I love the ending. The action and the 'togetherness'!

I cannot wait to see the final copy with all the pages completely colourful!

Mooncakes was an enjoyable graphic novel to breeze through. I enjoyed the characters especially the grandmothers. The art style was enjoyable. I don't think the story went too deep but it was still entertaining.

Thanks for the opportunity to read Mooncakes on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival! This is a cute and fast paced graphic novel that focuses on a lot of themes like magic, werewolves, queer relationships, friendship, family dynamics and love. The illustrations are very beautiful and colorful. Def a fun read!

*Received via NetGalley for review*

Cute and sweet. I guess it's not quite finished yet -the coloring stop 3/4ths of the way through.

This was a really cute, sweet and different story than what I would normally read and I'm glad I moved away from my normal genres. I really enjoyed the magical and supernatural themes throughout the story, although I think they could have been fleshed out and explained a little bit more in-depth. I really enjoyed the characters of Nova and Tam and found their story of crushes turned to love very sweet and natural. The story flowed quite well and Nova's grandmothers were so fun, sassy and engaging. I think they really made this story. I found the spririts at the big ending fight a little confusing, and the only main negative I have is that I felt like we were dropped into a story without enough back-story or explanation to allow us as readers to really feel like we have a good understanding of what's going on with the plot and characters before launching into the story. It kind of felt like a second book, or a sequel to me. Otherwise, I really enjoyed it and found the illustrations really bright, fun and engaging.

This was cute as heck!
Firstly- the art style was absolutely gorgeous, the colour palette was soft and cute.I LOVED the illustrations of the little garden spirit animals, such the tea dragon society vibes!

The characters were precious lil' beans that I wanna protect with my life. PLEASE tell me we are getting a sequel/spin off/anything i'm desperate

The plot was the only thing I didn't really care about, it was quite predictable and not as enthralling. I just wanted to see more of the everyday life of the characters and the shenanigans they go on.

Overall, such a cute, queer story that I would definitely recommend you pick up when it releases!
4.5 stars

Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an e-copy for an honest review!

Mooncakes es la primera novela gráfica que leo en el año y vaya que no me decepciono en lo absoluto. El arte es super bonito, primero que nada, todas las ilustraciones, los colores, el diseño de los personajes hace que la lectura sea muy fácil y te la terminas en un abrir y cerrar de ojos. Como dato extra, en las escenas donde aparecen libros varios títulos conocidos pueden hacer un cameo *guiño, guiño*.

La historia es bastante sencilla; dos amigos de la infancia se reencuentran y algo más, una chispa que no estaba del todo apagada resurge entre ambos. Este es un libro lleno de personajes diversos pero la historia no va de esas diferencias. Ambos protagonistas son de origen chino-americano, ambos son parte la comunidad lgbt+ y ambos tienen poderes sobre naturales.

Los personajes en la historia fueron mi parte favorita. Nova es una cosita preciosa adorable y también lo es Tam. Me encantan. El romance es muy puro y aunque se desarrolla un poquito rápido, no se siente forzado. Debo admitir que mis personajes favoritos sin duda fueron las abuelas de Nova, ¿brujas dueñas de una librería? QUIERO TODO EL DÍA.

Creo que el único punto negativo es que la trama es demasiado sencilla y casi no se desarrolla, pero por lo que pude leer de la nota de autor, de eso se trata asi que no puedo quejarme demasiado (aunque no es como que tenga ganas de hacerlo, sinceramente)

En general creo que es una buena historia para pasar el rato y una muy buena adición a tu colección si te mola tener ediciones bonitas en tu librero.

This is so cute and heart-warming, while also including so many relevent and hard hitting themes.
There is non-binary rep, plus-size rep and disability rep. Now I cannot speak on behave of those who have experienced these themselves but I believe it was written in a beautiful yet not over powering way.
These aspects weren't the forefront of the book, they were just part of it.
There was also a key theme of grief throughout this graphic novel that was subtle yet heart wrenching.
Overall I adored this. I read it in one sitting and did not out it down.
OH also, the art style is BEAUTIFUL, this may be my favourite art style I've seen in a graphic novel...ever

Mooncakes was such a fun graphic novel! I loved the writing, stories, and those illustrations were absolutely beautiful!

The story was so easy to follow, which I really appreciated it. I also loved that the book, while short, did not feel rushed. There was a full story within these pages.

I am so excited for Mooncakes to be published. I can't wait to have this story on my bookshelf!

Rating 4 stars
This particular book had a really attractive cover and the moment I saw it I wanted to pick it up. I'd like to express my thanks to Net Galley and the publisher who sent me this copy. The illustrator and author, Wendy Xu and Suzanne Walker have done a brilliant job. As one can see there is a representation of a witch and a werewolf in the form of girls, a happy representation of a light and cute read but with the extra aspect of supernatural and magic to give it the right amount of suspense.

The main characters in the story are Nova, who is a young, cheerful witch and lives with her grandmothers, and Tam, who is a werewolf, who also happens to be Nova's childhood friend and crush. This story shows the lesbian couple's romance quite extensively. It represents how the two realize what they missed while they were apart and how they loved each other still. Tam apparently came back to destroy a demon with her wolf magic but she isn't able to execute it to her best potential. Nova, her grandmothers and Tat who is Nova's bff helps her through with this.

The story goes on to venture whether Tam will be able to test her full wolf potential, or not? If she does succeed in her plans, will she stay with Nova or return back to her mom? Will Nova and Tam end up together?

Pros: enjoyable, cute, queer romance aptly represented, the illustrations are magnificient and the writing style very easy to read and relate with.

Cons- mooncakes the title seemed a little bit inappropriate as it had rarely anything to do with the storyline, rather than just a mention. Secondly, the reunion romance was a little bit absurd without more background.

In all, I found the story really cute and loved the magical elements which were present. The story really explained the struggle of finding oneself among the chaos of life and going for what you really want. The read isn't that time taking, its pleasant and enjoyable with a good amount of suspense. Finished it in one single sitting.

I had a fun time reading this. The artwork is amazing, it mesmerizes the reader.

This fantastic graphic novel tells the story of Nova, a witch who uses hearing-aids, and Tam, a non-binary werewolf. They see each other again after a long time and form a powerful bond together. They fight against demons and bad forces. The book focuses on family and love with a drop of magic.

The family bonds are adorable in this book. Nova’s grannies are badasses and they support Nova in everything.

I liked the relationship between Nova and Tam, but also the friendship between Nova and Tatyana. Tatyana was an awesome best friend.

However, I felt like not everything is explained properly. For example, Tam’s story is still blurry to me. The characters’ past could have been better explained so that the reader would feel attached to the characters. I had to check to see if this wasn’t actually a sequel. It’s not.

I enjoyed it very much, it was quick, but I can’t get over the part that some things in the characters’ story don’t add up to me. If I read about powerful women, I also want to see what made them like this.

The ending was not what I expected either. For those reasons, I’m giving this 3 out of 5 stars.

Cute love story between two girls, a witch and a shapeshifter. Nova is a hearing impaired orphan that lives with her grandmas. They are a family of witches that run a bookstore with the special books in the back. She runs into her old friend, that she fell in love with before, tam. Tam is a shapeshifter. She turns into a wolf and her preferred pronoun is they. She has run fr her family because of her stepfather. Tam is being chased by a demon horse. They come together to help defeat the demons and they also grow up together. This is a really cute love story that is all inclusive. I would recommend this to all my friends. I look forward to adding it to my collection.

This is a sweet love story with a side of action, adventure, and magic. The plot and magical elements take a backseat to the charming, diverse set of characters and their relationships to one another. The non-binary werewolf character uses they/them pronouns, which is a great step for representation in books for young people! Also, the young witch (who wears hearing aids! yay more representation!) they are in love with has f/f grandparents who reminded me of older, queer versions of Zelda and Hilda from "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." While the plot felt a bit lack-luster, the characters shine through, not to mention the absolutely gorgeous artwork. I would recommend this book to young adult readers (and adults, too!) looking for queer graphic novels. A super cute story that I can see young people falling in love with, too.

Thank you to NetGalley for sending me this eARC.

What a cute graphic novel! It's spooky and has a mystery and is perfect for this autumn/halloween season! We follow two girls, one is a witch, and the other a werewolf. They grew up together until the werewolf girl had to move away. Eventually they meet up again right as a dangerous spirit has been found in the town that they are both from originally. They work together to solve the mystery of what this spirit is and where it came from. There is also a small budding romance and it is oh so cute! Also the conclusion of the mystery can seem a little bit dark, so be warned hehe.

I rate this 4 stars. It wasn't wow in my face amazing, but I still really enjoyed it, and it was a quick read.

Sweet and magical, 'Mooncakes' is a graphic novel about witches, werewolves, family and love. And although all these sound terribly cliché, its authors have managed to make it unique by adding a variety of representation: one of the protagonists has impaired hearing and is using hearing aids while she is also half Asian, there's a bunch of LGBTQ+ characters, while most of the characters that appear in this graphic novel are definitely not on the skinny side.

While 'Mooncakes' has a very interesting and whimsical premise, I found it a little lacking in some aspects. First of all, the story starts in medias res, kind of in the middle of things, and although I understand there are things that have happened between the characters before the beginning of the story, the main romance and the intimacy of the main characters' relationship did seem very rushed and rather unfounded. The art was a bit awkward in certain panels, and the plot and its resolution felt a but rushed and naive at certain points. However, that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy reading it.

I really loved the characters and this magical world that the authors created - witches in our world and their magical antics reminds me a lot of many of my childhood stories, so it made me feel quite nostalgic. Overall, 'Mooncakes' is a very pleasant read and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants a witchy, light and feel-good read.

First up a big thank you to the publisher/Netgalley for allowing me to read this one.

Sadly... this one wasn't for me. I have heard so much about this one, and I was so excited. But it just was bland and flat and I gave up after 50 pages. There was just something missing. For instance the relationships, Tam and Nova are instantly romantic and while they apparently have a history it just felt very much insta-love because we don't see much of that history except a few sentences here and there and one little flashback.
Plus, why is Nova going outside in the dark woods? Is that her job? Is that something she has to do as a witch?

I did love the variety of the cast and also the fact our MC has hearing aids (which I rarely see or read about in books). The art was fairly fun and cute. I did like the magic aspect. But yeah, it could have been a bit better executed, now it just didn't hold my attention at all. I would have liked to get a proper introduction to the characters.

So despite not finishing it I will give it 2 stars for the good points I mentioned.

So many cool pieces going on in this one! Graphic novel, awesome hair (this is really a side note!), non-binary rep, queer rep, Chinese rep, hearing aids rep, and oh yeah... witches and werewolves.

Especially loved the two grandma characters and the mid autumn festival celebration.

I can see this one being fun and interesting starting at the late middle grade/middle schoolers realm. Super fun and unique and cute love story wrapped in too. I’m curious to see what the final product looks like, as well.

3/3.5 for the story and writing, but overall 4 stars for me because all of the moving pieces were intriguing and refreshing.

Thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Lgbtq+ romances are some of my favorite to read for graphic novels and this was absolutely one of the best I've read. The characters were diverse (non binary, Chinese-American, hard of hearing) and well developed. Each character felt unique with their own story. The art style was beautiful and put me in the mood for autumn and Halloween. One of my favorite themes in books is found family and I saw a lot of that in Mooncakes. I wish some stuff would have been better explained without having the reader just accept points of the story with no backstory (what happened to Nova's parents). Overall, this was an instant favorite of mine and I will be buying a copy when it is released this fall.