Mooncakes was such a cozy read, and it's something that I should reread now that it's fall. It's a story about family and life after formal education (which apparently exists?) and discovering what you're capable of.

Tam is a werewolf in search of answers about magic. There are rumors and hypotheses of werewolf magic, but they have no idea if it's possible. And if it is possible, how can they discover and control it? Their only hope is in finding their childhood friend Nova, a witch, and ask for help. This sets off into a story of self-discovery, uncovering corruption, and lots of magic.

Overall, I really liked this book. Admittedly, now that I'm writing the review four months after reading it, I don't remember many of the details. But I do remember wanting to tell everyone to read it after I put it down, so that' has to be a good sign.

I also connected with these characters a lot, especially in their subplots. Nova is feeling stuck in her home town because she decided to stay home with her grandmothers instead of going off to study witchcraft in another place. Tam is trying to find not just a place that feels like home but people that feel like home. Both of these were easy to relate to as someone in my twenties.

The art in Mooncakes is absolutely beautiful and some of my favorite from any graphic novel. And that's really saying something considering I read it as an ARC with mostly unfinished art. (Although, I've since seen some of the finished art and it has only cemented what I just said.)

This was really cute and a quick read. I really liked the art style and the dialog. The premise was cute and I liked the diversity in it. I would recommend this book for 12 and up (YA Age). I look forward to reading more from this author.

this story was really cute but I think the writing and art was just okay imo. It has lovely rep: enby werewolf, witch who is hard of hearing, nb/f love story about found family, but the plot was a bit unsophisticated for me and the art was just missing something (it's possible the art was bc it was the unfinished copy?)

Didn't love it, didn't hate it

Mooncakes is a cute , inclusive, and easy to read graphic novel. The book is a fantasy story set in modern times, with witches, magic, and werewolves taking centre stage in this graphic novel.

I really enjoyed the whole cast of different characters – in particular I loved seeing how effortlessly Tam was included in the story. In an early panel, Tam asks for the pronouns they to be used in relation to themselves and throughout Mooncakes we are given glimpses of Tam backstory – some of these include them as presenting as more feminine, and others are they transition and make changes to themselves.

In particular there are two panels that exemplify this excellently, in one Tam is a young girl with two long braids, in the other Tam is emotionally cutting her hair.

The LGBT and inclusion of Mooncakes can be seen in not just Tam but also her relationship with Nova, Nova’s grandparents, and Nova’s hearing aids. Mooncakes is just a queer feast for the senses!

Mooncakes was an engaging graphic novel that had a unique art style that often drew my eyes to small details. I would really recommend Mooncakes if you’re looking for a magically inclusive fantasy read.

This was such a quick, fun read and I can't wait to get my hands on a full color copy! This is one that I really want to buy for my friends because I really think they would love it.

This was a great graphic novel! The characters were awesome and the romance was so cute! I greatly enjoyed the art style of the comic; it flows really well and the colours were cheerful and perfect of an autumn palette. The story itself wasn't very complex, and personalities were pretty one-dimensional but that didn't totally detract from my enjoyment!

Hella cute but tried to do too much in each panel. Loved the LGBTQ+ aspects and one of the MCs being heard of hearing was cool.

This is a very sweet and very cute story about old friends, magic, family, self-discovery, demons (literally), and new relationships. I loved the artwork in this graphic novel and I felt like it added so much emotion and depth to the characters. I enjoyed seeing so many different types of representation and watching the characters learning more about themselves as the story progressed. Plus, the additions of magic and baking and her grandmothers made this an overall sweet and fun read. Definitely one that fans of Lumberjanes should check out!

A big wolf has been spotted in the woods. Suspecting witchcraft, Nova searches the forest and finds the white wolf being attacked by a gross demon horse. Turns out this wolf is an old friend of Nova’s, Tam. They haven’t seen each other in some time and Nova is radiant to learn what happened to Tam during the years they were gone but Tam has a mission. Only they can slay the demon, and Nova is ready to help.
I was not expecting to enjoy this graphic novel so much. As you start reading, you quickly get attached to the characters. From Nova’s unusual family to Nova’s non-magical friend, everything fits together. The story also pulls you in, it might be predictable sometimes but it’s still enjoyable. I started reading and couldn’t stop, ended up reading it in one sitting.
I don’t know if there’s going to be a second volume but, if it is, I would love to read it.

I spotted Mooncakes for the first time at ALA where my friend Erin told me that I absolutely HAD to read it! I missed out on grabbing an ARC of it there but thankfully received one from Netgalley later. The art style was what really made me want to pick this one up and I couldn't wait to dive in! Unfortunately, once I started reading it took me way too long to get through this relatively short graphic novel.

Mooncakes is a story about a witch named Nova and her friend Tam, who happens to be a werewolf and may also be more than a friend. First let me say there is so much amazing rep in this book! Nova wears hearing aids, Tam is non-binary, both are Chinese American, and they're in a relationship with each other.

I adored watching Nova and Tam learn about their magical sides and the friendship between these two was so cute, although their romance was a bit instalovey. I know that there was already history between them before the start of the book, but I wish there had been a bit more lead up to their romance.

While I did enjoy the art style and the story was fun, I did wish there had been a bit more depth to it. The plot was a bit generic and surface level and the villain was underwhelming. It definitely felt like younger YA than I expected. I did find myself a bit bored at times, but it was still a cute read. I'd definitely give it a try if you're in the mood for a cute, witchy, and diverse graphic novel!

This was an absolutely stunning graphic novel, full of friendship, romance, and inclusive characters.

Mooncakes is a graphic novel about magic. Not only the spellbinding magic, but the magic that touches the hearts of many.
A young witch, Nova welcomes an old friend back into her life, Tam.
Once childhood crushes, they find each other falling into each other’s lives deeper and deeper. Does the trouble of magic interfere with the life of two young women who want nothing more than to be together?
Tam realises her potential and recognises that a home extends beyond a physical place, it’s more than just a place to live.
Finding true love is a difficult one but has been so clear to Tam and Nova. Seeing a graphic novel incorporate a homosexual relationship is amazing! Recognising and adapting to the ever changing world is something that many books may fail to do, but this one did!! This graphic novel was a light-hearted read. It showed two women discovering themselves and their identity as they are involved in some deep rooted magic where toxic relationships are faced. The graphics were incredible and really engaged me in the situation. I loved learning about the different elements of magic and exploring a world that isn’t touched on in a lot of books - creativity is a tick for this book. I haven’t really seen a ‘world’ like the one created in Mooncakes. The fantasy and romance combination really gets me every time!
I did think some elements of this graphic novel were predictable. The ending for me was heartfelt although it was somewhat predictable. Is that a bad thing? You tell me.
In this circumstance, I think it fitted the novel well and gave me the happiness I wanted to see at the beginning of the graphic novel.
4/5 stars from me.

The art style was very nice but it felt like the story was lacking a bit. It might just be a preference thing for me because I've heard that other people have enjoyed the book much more.

This was such a cute novel! I really liked how incredibly diverse the cast was. The art style wasn’t my favorite, but it didn’t take away my overall enjoyment of this book.

I hadn't read any graphic novels before picking up Mooncakes and I think I chose the perfect introductions to this genre. I really like stories with magic and I am especially intrigued by witchcraft but sometimes stories with these topics are a bit too dark for me. When I spotted the beautiful cover for Mooncakes with its soft colors and cute illustrations I knew it was the perfect story for me.

I really enjoyed following Nova Huang in her magic adventures. They had the perfect amount of magic, friendship, love and darkness. The scenes with her childhood crush Tam Lang were really sweet and I was really curious to read how the whole mystery was going to unfold. There were no big secrets or shocking revelations but it left me with a big smile on my face, which made sense with the whole feel-good vibe of the story.

It was also great to read about such a diverse cast of characters. I will definitely be checking more work by these authors and more graphic novels.

Though this book looks like just another cute baking story from the outside, inside it's actually quite intense. That being said, it does still have adorable art and bright colours, and well, reading it just made me feel good. A story of long lost friends turned lovers, who have to also fight demons with magic. What more could you ask for?

Nova is seemingly an average girl who works at her grandmothers' bookstore, and although she's happy to be that person, she's anything but. Sporting bright blue hearing aids, she's more than she seems, and is also a witch who knows many crazy spells. One day a woman buys a book, just another normal day, until her friend stops by and tells her that there's a white wolf staring at her. This changes everything.

Before she can give it another thought, she heads into the forest. Turns out, the wolf is her old friend Tam, who's a werewolf. She's been trying to take down a demon by herself, but cant access her wolf magic, and has been stuck as a wolf for the last month. Isn't that exciting?

This story is a little more different than most, with the main characters being a witch who's hard of hearing, and the other a non-binary werewolf. Everyone has their own quirks after all, and it really lead for an interesting story. I especially liked how those things weren't any kind of big deal for the people around them, especially the magic parts.

Overall I really enjoyed reading this, and I'm glad I got the chance to check it out. It was a fast read, and a sweet one at that, and I would love to have a copy for my collection. Definitely check it out if you get the chance, even if you're not into stories like these! I think this could change your mind, with how cute it is.

Thanks for reading!
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com)

So you guys all know that warm and fuzzy feeling that you get when you’re reading a cute YA romance? Yep. That was EXACTLY how I felt reading this!

The novel revolves around Nova, a teen witch & employee of her mother’s company. Everything is going as usual until one day, she hears rumors about a white wolf wandering through the woods. Nova immediately associates it with Tam, her childhood friend/werewolf that she hasn’t seen in years.

Without out getting into too many spoilers, this leads to them getting tangled up in a magical conspiracy, and (to nobody’s surprise!) even rekindling their old friendship. It’s no secret that I’m a total sucker for slowburn romances, and this one

One thing that I would like to comment on is the diversity. Nova is queer, and Tam is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns. This was my first time reading about a nonbinary character, and it felt really special for me to finally see this kind of representation in YA literature. Wendy and Suzanne (the authors) get into this a lot in a letter they crafted to the readers, and I’ve attached in the gallery below.

As for the graphics, they were BEYOND adorable! I’ve also included a slideshow below of a few screenshots I took while reading it on my computer so you can see exactly what I mean 😉

Overall, this was exactly what I was hoping it would be and more. Since there were no visible problems that I had with it, I’m gonna go ahead and give this one a full five stars. Definitely a new favorite that I’ll be rereading in the future!

This enchanting graphic novel about a witch and a werewolf who battle a demon and fall in love was the perfect spooky season read. Nonbinary werewolf Tam returns to town and reunites with their childhood friend Nova, a witch who uses hearing aids and lives with her grandmothers. Tam doesn’t want to bring danger into Nova’s life, but they eventually confess that they’ve been battling a demon in the forest. Nova, who is dealing with some troubles of her own, vows to help Tam do whatever it takes to defeat it. The growing love between them is sweet, soft, and will delight readers. The art is colorful, engaging, and perfectly matched with this magical story. Plus Nova’s wardrobe is absolutely fantastic–and I wish I could raid her closet. I hope to see more from this writing duo in the future! And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Wendy Xu’s work in Dream Daddy, an adorable graphic novel anthology that also stole my heart this month.

Thank you so much to Lion Forge and NetGalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was my first graphic novel I've ever read and I loved it so much that I'm now hooked on them. The illustrations were amazing and the storyline was so good. It was the perfect amount of witchy and whimsical and I read it in one sitting. The characters were amazing, the plot was crazy, and I honestly couldn't get enough of this book. This is definitely one I will reread over and over again.

I had really high hopes going into MOONCAKES - it looked like a very cute, inclusive love story with a good amount of witchy magic and Halloween feels. I planned to read it ON Halloween but got sidetracked with finishing some other books for the end of the month, so I read it over the course of one night (the next day). I received an egalley for review but ended up purchasing the paperback after my review copy expired (whoops!).

This graphic novel is about Nova, a hearing-impaired witch, who lives with her two grandmothers. Her parents passed away but do appear in the story. When a wolf is discovered in the nearby woods, Nova goes to investigate. It turns out to be her childhood friend, Tam, a non-binary werewolf. The two, along with the Nanas, work to remove a demon from their town. Lots of family feels and little touches of side-stories that I'd love to read more about. An old flame reignites between Nova and Tam and it's THE CUTEST. I love childhood-BFFs-to-more storylines.

I have to say, a higher rating could very well have happened here but I seriously struggle with rating graphic novels. I know that they're just as good as reading a novel, obviously, but I personally rush through them. It's like I have a timer in my head saying I NEED to finish a comic in one sitting, just because I know I can. I blaze through them and it results in lessened enjoyment. Completely my fault. I still REALLY recommend this one. So cute.