Thank you to Netgalley for providing this ARC for me in exchange for an honest review!

Mooncakes was such a nice graphic novel to read! I found myself turning page after to page to keep seeing hat was going to happen! The art is absolutely gorgeous and the story itself is so cute and sweet.

I do wish we got more information on the backstory of the characters, however, since it would have helped connect the reader to the characters more. I also wish we could have gotten an in-depth explanation of the magic system in this world as well.

Regardless, Mooncakes was adorable and I loved every second of it!

This was such an adorable and heartwarming graphic novel. It’s packed with witchy vibes, a sweet young romance, werewolf magic, and the strength and pure love that a family—both biological and found—can give. Between the art and the story itself, it really captures the feeling of Fall—cooler weather, cozy nights, spooky feels, changing leaves. I found myself easily transported into this world, the atmosphere almost tangible. It is an absolutely beautiful read on so many levels.

In this story, we follow two best friends. Nova Huang is a brilliant, Chinese-American teenage witch who works with her two grandmothers in their bookshop. She helps them loan out books on spells while also going out and investigating any odd, supernatural happenings around their town in New England. Tam Lang, Nova’s childhood best friend, is a Chinese-American, nonbinary werewolf…and also Nova’s long-time crush.

The pair have lived apart for a few years with Tam having to constantly wander to escape those who wish to harness her power for evil. Then, one night, Nova stumbles across Tam battling a horse demon in the woods outside town. Soon, Tam, Nova, and the grandmothers team up to fight the forces pursuing Tam and defend the magic of the wolves. And something even more powerful is being rekindled between Nova and Tam.

My favorite part of this novel is the illustrations. They are absolutely perfect for the story and portray the tone of it incredibly well. Just the color scheme alone—deep, rich tones with a somewhat muted look—immediately sets the atmosphere of the novel. The colors Xu uses capture the mysterious and dangerous undertones of the text while also creating a feeling of warmth and welcoming to match the themes of family and love. And the style of the illustrations themselves is one of my favorites out of all the graphic novels I’ve ever read.

The story is also written so well and it is fantastic to see so much diversity being put into this novel. It is a perfect addition to the ever-growing library of LGBT+ young adult books. The characters are brought to life and developed extremely well in such a short amount of time. Walker does a great job forming the relationships between the characters and the close ties they share. Nova is a strong, intelligent, and brave young witch who will drop everything to help her loved ones and community. And Tam, equally strong but lost and hurting, finds love, comfort, and a sense of belonging that, as a whole, help her fight for herself and those she cares about.

The only thing I wish is that the novel was longer. There were a few parts of the story that I felt were just a bit underdeveloped. I would have loved to see more back story for both of the main characters, particularly Nova and her family. I would also have loved to see more of Nova and Tam’s relationship progress as well as learn in more depth about the magical aspects of the story—both good and evil. Also…I just need more of this!

Mooncakes is a beautifully-crafted and magical graphic novel. I can’t think of any better way to describe my experience with this novel than by saying that it made my heart happy. It has everything I love—queer romance, the unconditional love of found family, witches, werewolves, magical animals, and libraries of spells. What more could you want?! I very highly recommend picking it up this fall to read during a cozy night in with a warm drink (and maybe a snack cause, oh boy, was I craving mooncakes after this). This is truly an enchanting story that readers of any age will love.

*I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

The title, the cover, the hype... I had to pick this one up and I'm so glad I did.

This book is an absolute treat and I loved every minute. The artwork is fantastic and just my type. The characters are sweet and lovely. The supernatural parts feel like they fit into the real world so well...

This is where I start to feel horrible about my inability to write good reviews, because this book deserves so much praise, but I just don't know what to say besides: I think everyone should read this.

Look we have childhood friends reunited with a budding romance. There are LGBT+ characters and non-white characters everywhere making this a gloriously diverse read. The two friends are so fun to read about and I was curious about what was going to happen. There is even the friend who isn't magical (oh no forgot her name), but she is great and a platonic friend. It is nice having a little bit of everything in one book.

Besides the magic though, this is a story about family and about figuring out where to go in life-- finding ones roots and how to grow.

If you like cute graphic novels then you should 100% give this one a try. If you like supernatural or coming of age books, I also recommend this!

I loved the love history between them both, mixed with magic and extraordinary creatures. Its a really sweet and cute comic.

My daughter enjoyed the book and read it very quickly. she said she would like to read more books from these series. She says she would recommend the book to her friends.

This was a delightful, soft, magical graphic novel. It is a perfect way to get into fall and had some amazingly positive vibes. I’m also a sucker for witches! I’d also like to mention that this graphic novel is very queer and I’m so happy! Highly recommend this lovely tale.

Really loved this one! Very inclusive with all diverse characters. Lesbian, non binary rep. Bi racial rep. Hard of hearing rep. Also really enjoyed the artwork, it's beautiful. And just a fun story about witches and werewolves.

Love this graphic novel! The witty banter, and the gorgeous illustrations and colourings. Can I also add that I think this is my first time reading anything magical with the MCs of Asian descendants.

received a free ARC of this cute ass graphic novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel was magical, inclusive, adorable and gorgeous all in one. Witches, werewolves, demons and cults all appear in this quick and cute read. We’re introduced to Nova, a young witch being trained by her grandmothers and helping them keep the town safe. After her best friend tells her she has seen a white wolf in the woods. Nova decides to investigate and discovers that her old friend, Tam, is the wolf that her friend spotted. Tam has come back because they are running from a cult determined to bind them to a demon and the only way to defeat it is by tapping into their wolf magic. Nova vows to help Tam with their problem and in the process Nova and Tam begin to reconnect on a friendship level as well as a romantic one.

Character wise, the Nanas were completely adorable and my favorites without a doubt. They were so cute, understanding, and even funny. Tams’ struggle made me love them and put emotion and sensitivity into the story that I didn’t expect. Nova’s spunk and loyalty are certainly worth envying and made her loveable as well. Honestly, I couldn’t find anything wrong with any of the characters. There’s LGBTQAI rep and differently abled rep that is done so smoothly that I think a lot of authors could certainly take note. They weren’t used as props, but actual characters who faced issues because of their identities, but were also well rounded people. The illustrations were also amazing. Because this was an ARC, there were some chapters that were just drawing drafts without color, but even those were great.

If you’re looking for a cute inclusive read for spooky season, run out and grab this when it’s released on October 15, 2019.

Really cute and magical graphic novel. I loved both main characters and the diversity included in the story. The plot was simple but at the same time very interesting and magical. It was really good overall and I feel like it's the perfect Halloween read , it will give you the right amount of magic /fall mood for this time of year.

This tender, proudly queer graphic novel is a huge breath of fresh air from all the fantasy books trying to (and succeeding in) wrecking me. I breezed through this one effortlessly! Plus, the illustrations are so adorable and I just felt all warm and soft throughout the story.

Full review to follow (and will be posted on my blog!).

This is the cutest read ever, I thoroughly enjoyed this.
I definitely recommend that others go on this spellbinding adventure of magic.

I liked both the story and the drawings, but the whole book in general didn't <i>amaze</i> me. Though I loved the reunion between Tam and Nova, and I'd particularly recommend this to young adults/middle graders who'd enjoy to better understand what being a queer means, as an adult I feel like the general plot isn't that original or intriguing. It made me think I already heard about this somewhere, or I could predict what later happened. Anyway, I think this is aimed to a younger public than I am, and if it's your case, read it - that's a very cool graphic novel!

Moon cakes is an adorable tale of romance and fantasy with a whole dash of witchcraft - from gorgeous illustrations to a lovely tale, Mooncakes kept me turning pages faster than lightening. I can only hope for more graphic novels like this one in my immediate future

This was almost everything I've ever wanted in a graphic novel. If you want a cute and quick diverse read, consider giving this one a shot. There's a wholesome f/nb romance, hearing disability rep, Asian rep, and much much more. Aside from the rep, what I adored most about this graphic novel is how magic is used so normally. Sure, there were evil monsters in need of slaying, but there were also household chores to be done. All with the help of magic. And of course, the graphics themselves were gorgeous. The colors and shading created a cute and whimsical atmosphere. I'll definitely have to read more by this author!

This was my first graphic novel to read. I really enjoyed the characters and the story line. It was inclusive to the LGBT community and it taught how to believe in yourself and how to communicate in a relationship. Very fast read. I will definitely be reading more.

It's been a while since I've read a comic book. The illustrations are absolutely delightful! The story has so much variety that just isn't found in any other books. The quirky characters were so much fun! Witches, werewolves, and love! A good book for anyone struggling with being themselves... no matter who they are... and what they think. It's okay to just be YOU!

Mooncakes
By Suzanne Walker, Illustrated by Wendy Xu

I was so looking forward to this release so much as I loved the concept ever since first hearing about this graphic novel since I'm always on the hunt for some recommendations. Fortunately enough I was able to read this though Netgalley so I am incredibly grateful for that!

This is a graphic novel that captures my early love of stories about young female witches alike The Worst Witch, Sabrina and Kiki’s Delivery Service. It somehow makes me feel giddy and happy about magic and that doesn’t happen as much as it should with the amount of fantasy fiction I read. The setup of the story is undeniably lovely and something that I think was missing from some stories about witches that I have come across in the past ten years. However, without this being too similar to tales of young witches before, as it seems to showcase the sense that the females that dominate this story are inevitably more strong willed and full of attitude. There’s something more realistic to me about the witches and their way of life depicted in this graphic novel. I am in a wonder over how much this book captured my attention in the short space of time I spent reading it.

One of the things that I enjoyed in this book was the representation of Nova as a queer Chinese-American and Tam as a non-binary Werewolf. More importantly, how it was not in any way the main-focus of this story. I find that the subject of representation was handled beautifully, as I feel that being more inclusive within fiction should not be made as an attempt for it to dramatically overshadow all other narrative and plot, but for it to be included none-the-less and normalized. The message alone that these things should be common place, as how beautifully normal the representation in this story is, is a great thing. I thought that the small focus put onto Tam’s pronouns when talking to Nova’s Grandmothers was a subtle and respectful way of bringing it into the story and the way that Nova’s Grandmothers, which I loved so much in this story, were not focused on for their queer relationship, but as their position as witches and Grandmothers. That being said, I would love to see a backstory about those characters and their life or more of them in general because I loved their presence throughout this story.

With regards to the relationship between the two main characters, I thought it was quite a cute concept which was helped by their history as friends. However, if this story didn’t have romance between Nova and Tam I would have been fine with that too. At times, the romance between them seemed a little forced or rushed in my opinion. It is not that I didn’t think it was adorable, it is more a note on pacing. It is evident that these characters come together quite quickly because they have history, that much is clear, but in the same strand seeing more of that history might have led to a more compelling lead up to them being together.

Since this is a graphic novel, and such a beautifully created one at that, it would be crime to not talk about the fun and lovable art-style throughout the novel. I thought that the ‘not too realistic’ and warm toned nature of the pages suited the story well and made me think that I would love it if this were turned into an animated series. I feel like there would be so much potential if such an adaptation would happen. I would definitely love to see more of these characters and this world at some point no matter what form that might be in.

While I enjoyed the overall story, I feel like it’s nature as a graphic novel restricted its pacing. In a lot of ways this story suits a graphic novel. The effect that the story and dialogue together with the art-style is unparalleled to other graphic novels of this genre that I have come across. Perhaps it is testament to my own preference for a more fleshed out and slower pace in fantasy novels that make the timing of this novel seem so fast to me. Perhaps it is that I enjoyed the story and this world so much that I was simply annoyed by how quickly I ended up reading it. Ultimately I don’t think it is a failing of this story at all, but just makes me wish that there was more to devour.

All in all, this is a lively and sweet graphic novel that has an overall warm and cosy feel to it when you read it. The artwork is so amazing and lends a great deal to the experience of the story. I would recommend this to anyone that loves stories of young witches that has been hoping to see some diversity in this area for a while. I like the fact that it delved into the world of itches and werewolves without being too lore heavy. It didn’t make an attempt or leave itself room with its fast-paced nature to get caught up in the own mechanics of its fantasy world. I would love it if I could see more of this world and these characters as it filled me with a lot of joy while reading it. It's safe to say that I will definitely be picking up a copy when it is released.

A cute, lovely graphic novel about love, family, and relationships. Brownie point on witches, werewolves and mystical creatures. An incredible book for fantasy and graphic novel lovers. The illustrations were detailed and colorful and up to the mark.

The storyline is smooth and pleasant to read. Overall a good read. Recommend the book to Teens and YA's.

This is not a love story, even though Nova and Tam. This is not a teenage runaway story, even though Tam did run away from home. This is not a story of losing ones parents, even though Nova's parents are dead, and visit her as ghosts.

Rather, this is all of the above, mixed in with a werewolf (Tam) and an apprentice witch, Nova, and her grandmother's who run a magic book shop.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5358" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/mooncakes-2.png" alt="" />

And while there is a lot of fun in the story, there is also a demon that Tam feels might be their fault. (Tam's pronous are they and them).

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5357" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/mooncakes.png" alt="" />

A complicated love story? A paranormal mystery? Learning to be a witch? Oh, all that and more.

A fun romp. But, realistic teens, if you think having a story about a witch and werewolf being realistic.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.