The cover was adorable, and the story sounded so good. But meh, i could not care less about Holly. Plus i disliked how she jumped to conclusion about Branndon and Nunez because of how they acted and because of Branndon`s tattoo wich was feminine? come on. I thought this was going to be soo good, but i was just left bored...

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an e-ARC of Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl in exchange for an honest review!

Unfortunately Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl is a DNF (I quit after the halfway mark) for me. It's not a bad book, by any means, but after I got so far into it, I realized that I had absolutely no cares what was going on plotwise. And although it's marketed for YA, some of the writing felt very MG to me (note: I love MG, but when it's not meant to be MG but sounds like it, that's a bit of an issue).

I will throw some love at the absolutely GORGEOUS cover, the ~idea~ of the plot (i.e. Mutants?!@! YES PLEASE) & the aesthetic/fashion aspects of the book. Again, it wasn't a bad book just ended up not being my vibe.

Content Warning(s) for the book: grief, anxiety, gore, violence, death, parental death, depression, bullying/harassment, mild body horror, drinking, mention of drug use, age gap

Representation in the book: bisexual girl protagonist, lesbian side character, bi/pan and nonbinary side character, ace-spec side character

Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl is fun, fast-paced, action-filled tale of a bunch of queer mutants running around trying to catch an evil mutant. It is cute, full of fluffy skirts and glitter showers. It keeps you on your toes and hungry for what happens next.

Holly, our harajaku fashion enthusiastic protagonist, inadvertently faces some people who have escaped the site of their experimentation and ends up getting superpowers. She embarks on a journey to discover her powers and creating a found family. All the while dealing with anxiety that she hides under her fluffed up skirts and insistence of doing only what she thinks is right.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the shenanigans that Holly and her friends got themselves into. Just a bunch of teenagers, trying to do their best while everything seems to go exactly the opposite way. However, it took me some time to get used to the writing style. It felt a little awkward and one that clashed with the tone of the novel. The plot of the novel is simplistic and easy to follow, which worked as a great counterbalance to that.

The narrative is highly focused on Holly, who often comes across as brash and insensitive as she regularly refuses to listen to other characters’ advice. Because of this focus, those characters felt underdeveloped. As much as I loved the fact that the entire cast of this novel was queer, Holly’s weird insistence on shipping two male characters based on some arbitrary reasons made me feel uncomfortable. Also, the fact that the only Latinx character in the ensemble was the one who was connected to a drug cartel seemed mildly offensive and ill-conceived.

In conclusion, MMNG was a thrilling ride that leaves something to be desired. I look forward to seeing how Holly’s character develops over the series and, in turn, allows other characters to be more three-dimensional. I would heartily recommend this book if you’re looking for a short read with bumbling teenagers who bleed blue and have pink hearts.

This seemed like a fun read, but ultimately, it really wasn't for me and really dragged on. The plot seemed really disjointed at times, and the main character was just super unlikeable and judgmental in a way that I sadly didn't enjoy. This really ties in with some more problematic aspects of the book that have been mentioned by other reviewers already, so I won't go into them - but they also caught my eye and irked me, so I hope those parts didn't make it into the final version of this book!

3.5 stars

This book is perfect for fans of Sailor Moon, or any other magical girl show/book with a bad-ass MC.

We follow Holly, a girl who stands out for the way she dresses. When she stumbles upon exploding mutants with blue blood, her entire world changes.

This was a fun read. Very fast-paced. And it reminded me a lot of some magical girl manga's, so I very much enjoyed reading this book. And I can't wait to get my hands on the sequel.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I guess I'm in a bad book streak because here I am rating another low star.

I requested this book because the cover grabbed my attention & the premise intrigued me. I really liked the concept of this bubbly girl fighting mutants. I thought that was a really fun idea but I think this book had some untouched potential.. I usually prefer authors including less characters and developing them well, rather than saturating the book with half developed side characters. However, where this book had a small number of characters, I didn't feel they were developed as well as they could have been which made them more boring than they could have been

If you just want a quick, easy read to kind of relax and enjoy the dynamics. This is the book for you. If you're looking for something with deep character or story development, maybe not.

This was a fun story, the art is beautiful and fun to look at, and the characters are excellent. Definitely recommended

I really wanted to like this book, but I couldn't.

The writing was random and disjointed, which I understand fits the "mood" of this book, but it just didn't work for me. The characters felt flat, and the plot didn't really seem like a story, just a dress up cute and kill monsters game.

Thank you Netgalley for this ebook arc in exchange for an honest review.

This book has an interesting and fun concept but ultimately struggles to illustrate it coherently. You are thrown into the action with little understanding of what is going on, and while it may be a result of the protagonist not understanding what's happening it results in hard-to-follow action.

On the other hand, the descriptive ability and imaginative storytelling of the author are promising. There are times where they go a little overboard with descriptions, but it doesn't detract from the story. The intent of creating vivid imagery is definitely achieved.

The Harajuku-focused, Sailormoon-esque aspects of this novel were GREAT and will appeal to so many fanbases - superheroes, anime, urban fantasy, etc. The story was very fast-paced and the writing very readable, but there were some problematic areas that kind of dragged on longer than they should of.

I received an advanced copy of Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl from the author so I could share my review with you!

Holly Roads uses Harajuku fashion as her own personal armor. By swathing herself in frills and pink, Holly has found a way to push back the darkness of her past. But, when an unfortunate encounter with a fortune-teller sets her on an irreversible course filled with mutant monsters and shady government agents, Holly isn’t sure her armor will be enough. Soon, she becomes embroiled in a manhunt for one of the monsters and starts developing shocking mutant powers of her own. Holly just wants her old life back, but to get it, she’ll have to kick some serious monster butt!

You can get your copy of Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl now from Midnight Tide Publishing!

For me, the premise of Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl was simply irresistible! I’ve never seen a book blend mutant biology with high-concept fashion before, and I must say the combination was delightful! My favorite part of this story would have to be the way that Holly’s femininity and style were also her strengths. Too often, femininity is equated to weakness, but Holly pushes back against the notion that a person can’t love frills while being strong. Erin Grammar has crafted an enjoyable and original story, that is not to be missed! As someone who previously knew very little about the world of Harajuku fashion, this book inspired me to investigate a whole new world of fashion and design!

My Recommendation-
If you enjoy quirky stories of individuality and monster-fighting goodness you need to pick up a copy of Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl! This story would be perfect for fans of anime and manga, as well as the aesthetic of Harajuku fashion!

2.5 stars
I haven't seen really any stories that included Lolita and that combined with the cover made me wanna pick it up!. It's a easy read and for that I like the writing style. However my biggest grip was the way they represented one character and the way it uses sterotypes about sexuality.

This book seemed like a fun time in theory: it centers around a teenager who contracts super strength in a scientific experiment gone wrong, all while wearing pastels and throwing glitter around, as one does. It promised queer representation and discussion of anxiety, which are story components I love to support. In practice, I had a lot of concerns, and I actually decided to DNF @ 39% long after first considering it. A brief summary of the issues herein:

Strike 1: Protagonist Holly's only definitive qualities are that she loves Harajuku fashion and she's loaded. These two things go hand-in-hand since her actual only interest is buying designer clothes. Let's start by noting that neither of these are actually personality traits. Also, I think it's at least open for debate that this could be cultural appropriation for a white protagonist, especially since her interest is so acquisitive, spending her apparently endless cash to hoard vintage and highly sought after designs. In addition, Ms Moneybags admits to being biased against poorer parts of town and then persists in said prejudices anyway. Yay, the rich!
Strike 2: The supporting cast felt like an attempt to cover every base in terms of representation without actually showing fully developed personalities or stepping outside of stereotypes. Physical descriptions were cringey when not infuriating (i.e. a character assumed to be specifically Cherokee by the main character because of his "clay and coffee" skin... WTF on many levels).
Strike 3: Way less damning but still frustrating, the plot was tropey and felt disconnected. Big reveals came out of nowhere and felt rushed. Plot elements were heavy-handed and lacked the characters and emotion to make it work. After all, flat and problematic characters do not lend themselves to nuanced relationships or empathetic connections.

Aaaaaaand, I'm out.

I was so excited for this when I read the description! I really liked the overall idea and also some of the descriptions were absolutely beautiful. However I also feel like I didn't really enjoy Holly as a character or her point of view. I feel like this would be a really awesome idea for on screen and would love to see that one day. But I feel the way this was written didn't really excite me as much as I hoped. I also found it rather fast paced, but I did really enjoy the overall concept. I would be interested to read the next instalment to see if I enjoy it more when it comes out.

2.5 stars rounded up

I am a massive fan of the MCU and Sailor Moon, so as soon as I heard about this, I jumped at the chance to request the ARC. This book ticked off so many of my favorite themes and tropes. Superheroes and mutants? Gory horror? Found family trope? Tick, tick, tick! That being said, it pains me to rate this book so low. But keep in mind, 2.5 stars is not a bad rating! I did not enjoy this as much as I anticipated.

Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl follows Lolita fashionista, Holly, after she is attacked by mutants and accidentally inherits mutant powers. With the help of a group, called the N.E.R.Ds, she tries to uncover a conspiracy that is more than meets the eye.

The writing was readable and fast-paced. I liked the descriptions of the clothes Holly wore and the way she described her lifestyle. I got a good insight into the Lolita fashion world which was enlightening. Despite the readable writing style and lovely descriptions, I personally did not gel with some of it. Some of the paragraphs lacked flow and there were a couple of info dumps that slowed down the pacing.

In terms of the plot, the beginning was so confusing because we are thrust straight into the action without explanation. However, this may be intentional as we are following Holly’s perspective. I was basically as clueless as she was. The world-building was really easy to follow after I got my bearings.

I found it difficult to relate to Holly at times because she came off as rude and self-centered. She made impulsive decisions and would jump straight into the fray without thinking everything through. I do love flawed characters but I found most of her actions rather frustrating.
By the end of the novel, I am glad she got character development and I am hopeful that she will continue to grow. It was heartwarming to see her open up to the rest of the crew despite her hesitation.

Like many other reviewers have pointed out, Holly made assumptions regarding Brannon’s sexuality based on a “feminine tattoo” he possessed and she kept entertaining the idea that he and Nuñez are together. By assuming someone’s sexuality, it reinforces stereotypes that are really harmful to the queer community. This came out of left field because Holly is part of the LGBTQ+ community and should know better than to push a sexuality onto someone without clarification.

Overall, I am incredibly disappointed by this but I am still interested in reading the sequel.
(Note, this is an ARC so there may be changes to the final manuscript)

It makes me really sad to give an ARC of a book such a low rating but I really did not enjoy this at all. My biggest complaint about this novel is how everything felt off. The plot was extremely fast paced but to it's detriment. I felt as though things would happen without any real explanation and we're suddenly thrusted into this murder mystery. In addition to this, Holly develops these superpowers, which forces her to meet this group of people who she suddenly loves in 290 pages (and I think, for timeline sake, roughly 3 days?). It made the novel very hard to understand. The characters were very one dimensional and flat. I felt like none of them had a "real" personality that was anything other than surface level. Holly was hard to handle - and usually, I really enjoy flawed characters but that is when they have some sort of reason behind it. I didn't really feel like Holly had a reason to be the generally unkind. Her actions were completely irrational and just never felt valid (Pushing a sexuality onto two characters simply because they live together? Has she never heard of roommates lol?). There was LGBTQIA+ rep in this, but I personally found the BIPOC rep to be a tad problematic. And while I cannot speak for that rep, it made me a tad uncomfortable. All in all, while this was a nice cover and premise that excited me, that was all it was and I am disappointed.

this was a very different read for sure. i enjoyed the main character and found her dynamic interesting, as well as the situations she found herself in. while this book was not my favorite, i can see the appeal for other people. and would still recommend it to people with a specific taste. (should be 3.5 stars)

Overall: This could be a standalone, but I am interested in where the series would head because of our magical girl story.


Pros:
Action. This story is really action packed. Only the kind that having a protagonist that looks like a magical girl could promise.
Protagonist. Speaking of Holly, I really enjoyed following her as a character.
Writing Style. I loved that the author was unapologetic in her love for magical girls, the feminism that shown in this or the queerness in the characters.

Cons:
Series. If you do not know going in, it does not feel like a first book in a series; however, the ending makes it very clear that it is intended to be a series.

Magic Mutant Nightmare girl is a contemporary/ urban sci-fantasy. Which is to say, that the mutants in the story are made from science, not magic.

Anyway, the story follows Holly, a Lolita fashionista, who happens upon mutants in San Francisco on her way home. This interaction sets off our story, since the morning after Holly sees the mutants (who ruin her dress) a handsome man shows up on her doorstep looking for answers. Whiles Holly’s fashion preferences are a plot point in the story, we do eventually learn that Holly is capable of caring about people even more than her clothes.

Holly’s materialistic, immature, and impulsive personality grated on me at the beginning of the book. However, Holly does experience character growth and development throughout the story. I think that the author did a great job of introducing the reader to a stereotypical character, then building up that character throughout the book so that by the end Holly is a complex teenage-magic-mutant-nightmare-girl. This character development (along with some plot developments) lead me to really enjoy the last 30% of the book. The latter part of the book also set up for its sequel nicely, and I am interested to read the next book in the trilogy.

Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl seems to fit into the younger side of YA even though the characters are all out of high school. Holly actually makes fun of another character in the story for being old, when he is in his early twenties.

I enjoyed the LGBTQIA and mental health representation in the story. There are ace, Demi, and bi characters in the story along with discussions around social anxiety and PTSD.

I disliked the beginning of the book, enjoyed the last 30%, and want to read the sequel. 3.5 stars.

I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Check out more of my reviews at https://shelvesandpines.wordpress.com

First up, thank you for allowing me to read this book. Sadly, this book and I just didn't match! Normally I read around 10-20%, but after 45 minutes (with a few small breaks) and not getting further than 5%, I decided to just give up around that part. The writing-style just isn't for me. It is quite confusing to see what age-group this book is for. Given the few bits I learn of the MC I would say late YA/early NA, but the way it is written seems way younger. The descriptions of things are endless, some sentences just keep on going without seemingly ever stopping. It felt very much like a graphic novel in the way that you get dumped mid story, I actually was looking for an early chapter and wondered if I had missed something (which wouldn't surprise me given how ARCs at times are). The monster fight... I am not sure what to think, I thought she was able to do at least something given the hints we got.. but um she was pretty useless. And again, endless descriptions that made the fight/whatever you want to call it, long-winded. I do love the cover, I love that our MC is not afraid to wear the clothes she does (I would love to wear them, but sorry, not going to happen).