Thank you to NetGalley, Erin Grammer,
and Midnight Tide Publishing for an ARC digital copy in exchange for an honest review

If I were going to just look at this book from a technical literary standpoint I would have given it a rating of 2.5 or 3, but why did I give it a 4-star rating then? It was so much fun!! I read it over the last few days and enjoyed it so much, as a middle schooler I would have been obsessed with this book at the lead Holly.

Start positive with what I really liked
1. Holly our leading lady, was enjoyable and real, I felt her joy and awkward moments and all in-between
2. How honest her joy for fashion was, it wasn't just surface level (which I feared it would be) but seemed like the author cared about this culture and try to show it in a light that showed why Holly got so much joy from it
3. The story was just a fun starting point to an obviously bigger story

What I didn't really love
1. Pacing, it could be slow at some moments and then rush over others I thought needed more time
2. The ending while not bad felt less like an end and more like a stop and I get it is leading into a next book, but I felt I was missing the last chapter to really finish the book
3. Some of the writing was..clucky at times and showed how new to this they are, but even then it was never terrible and something that got better as the story went forward, and I could see just getting better and better with in the next books in the series

So I enjoyed this book and I am sad to have to wait for the next one!!! Oh one last thing I loved the authors note at the start was used as a trigger warning section and I think that is something that would be good in more novels bee they Teen or otherwise

Quick thanks to NetGalley for the free arc of this book in exchange for an honest review ✨

As someone who admires and would love to someday indulge in Lolita fashion (someday when my wallet can take it) I was very interested in the pitch this series was giving me. Just the sheer mention of Sailor Moon and I was hooked in to give it a try. My hopes might've been a bit too high.

Key points I'd like to make:
» I appreciated the author's efforts of trying to create a diverse cast of characters but I don't believe it worked out 100 percent. First off, our Hispanic character of the book has their hidden backstory dealing with the realm of drugs, which I gotta say I did sigh a little on. Also, Holly is part of the LGBTQ+ but she ends up assuming some of the characters' sexualities based on stereotypes and truly believes she's correct. That is until she ends up embarrassing herself when she assumes out-loud and gets corrected. It was just a bit yikes for me.

» Holly's relationship with the cast fell a bit short for me. I didn't really feel like some of them were very fleshed out yet to really even see a relationship with the main character. In fact, the odd N.E.R.D (yes that's their group acronym in the book..) group had a much stronger sense of chemistry/connection than Holly did with her main love interest.

» Grammar's writing was interesting. I felt a bit conflicted for sure because at first I seemed to really enjoy it. I was definitely intrigued with her use of metaphors/similes throughout the book. It's the first time I really noticed metaphors and such while reading but it wasn't a bad thing; I was quite entertained by her comparisons. Otherwise I have to admit the book was a bit difficult for me to get through. I'm not sure what was giving me such a hard time but I kept taking breaks. It was just taking me longer to finish than what I expected.

» Holly's explanation on Lolita and her fashion sense, to me, was spot on. I didn't expect to feel so validated about being into this fashion style until Holly. Her explanation and anger to the judgement she faces unexpectedly resonated with me. I felt her character's passion in that sense and could really tell that the author was well versed in the community Holly was interested in. It was the reason I picked up this book and it did not disappoint me in that regard.

Overall I can't say that I didn't enjoy this book. I did first consider giving it 3 stars but I couldn't ignore the fact that I did end up struggling to get through it. The story itself sometimes had me a bit confused which unfortunately made it a bit harder to focus on. Holly is definitely a flawed character but I haven't lost hope on her, I'm anticipating her character development in the next books. I'm curious to see where the story will go from here and how the author will grow as a writer.

I was weirdly into harajuku fashion when I was in middle school. I thought it was super cute and fun; way more fun than those ugly bermuda shorts all kids seemed to wear in the early 2000s. I’ve never actually gotten to experience the clothes however because I’m fat and Japanese styles aren’t exactly accommodating or easy to find in the States.

When I first encountered this book, I’m not going to lie, I was absolutely smitten with the cover. I love the art and the colors are so striking. Then the title made me do a double take. Now, I’ve never actually watched Sailor Moon or a majority of the MCU but I’m still very aware of what Magic Girls and mutant superheroes are. I thought it made an interesting, kickass combo. I get why the MCU is used as a descriptor, but I’m a much bigger fan of The X-Files and the shady shit that goes on with making a superhuman serum just screams for Fox Mulder (and Captain America hehe).

The story itself leaves a lot to be desired, however. It just seems too goofy and too 2014 Tumblr-y to be taken seriously. Like N.E.R.D is the name of the secret organization working on the supermutant serum. That’s…I’m sorry, that’s just lame. I’m not overly familiar with lolita/harajuku fashion but something about the almost in-your-face treatment of it as an aesthetic makes me uncomfortable. There’s a part in the book where Holly talks about the different terms and branches of lolita and she uses the terms “weeabo” and “glomp” seriously (this is where the tumblr of it all comes in). She’s also white so…I’m not entirely sure how to take that, especially considering her best friend is Asian as well. On the bright side I really love Grammar’s use of metaphors and similes. I am, personally, also a big fan of using them in my writing and in a similar style to hers (goofy and extravagant).

The characters fell flat for me. I couldn’t connect to them, which was disappointing because I have fairly severe anxiety and in the summary of the book, it seems like Holly’s anxiety was going to be more important than it actually was. For a girl with anxiety she did a lot that I couldn’t see myself doing- like just going along with Brannon and Nuñez and that group with little hesitation, or planning on going to a massive party/con alone. She even says after three days she loves the N.E.R.D group like family which…I mean, insta-love is insta-love even if it’s not romantic. For example: Doctor Laura had maybe a handful of lines, a meager presence, and like a paragraph of backstory- I’m not even sure if I like her! These characters feel more like caricatures.

The romance (if you can even call it that?) between Brannon and Holly was terrible. Brannon is a complete asshole with minuscule sweet moments that Holly just continues to write off- she even says herself “he’d delighted in treating me like crap for three straight days” but continues to imagine what kissing him would be like. I don’t particularly care for Brannon even if Holly seems uncomfortably interested.

Around 90% is when the book starts getting good. I appreciated the plot twist with the villain reveal but felt the delivery after that was a little botched, although characterization wise it was consistent. It ends on a cliffhanger and I know I’ll eventually read the rest of the series but it isn’t high on my list. Something about the arrival of other supermutants seems almost comical, which makes it hard to take this book seriously.

I think it would’ve done a lot better as a graphic novel or comic, in all honesty. The artwork on the cover would have made for a great delivery of Holly’s character, really accentuating the differences between her and her life and the life Brannon and the other N.E.R.Ds follow, especially when you consider how Brannon is “all sharp lines and angles,” very different from Holly’s daily sweet lolita choices. It also would’ve allowed for easier action scenes because those were hard to follow in some parts since Grammar seems to prefer pronoun usage to names in those scenes- I cannot count how many times people were referred to as things other than their name.

Overall, it’s not a very satisfying read but it’s something different.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. There are content warnings for this book, like gore and body horror, so keep that in mind if you decide to read this novel.

First off, the cover of this book is gorgeous and is what drew me to it in the first place. I loved the magical-girl vibe of it, and how it seemed like she was going to do battle as a magical girl in a modern story.
Magic Mutant Nightmare Girl is about a teenage girl who loves Harajuku fashion. She transforms into a powerful mutant after clashing with scary mutant monsters on her way home one night. Sounds like a cool story, right? I certainly thought so, and I love this sort of content, which was why I was so keen to read the book.

However, I didn’t really enjoy this. This sort of adventure should be fun and interesting to the reader, but it was completely lost on me. There wasn’t much character development and some of the characters didn’t feel as fleshed out as they could be. A lot of things happened way too fast with no explanation, and yet the plot of the book felt so slow and just dragged on. At the beginning, the reader is just flung into the story and it’s super confusing for the first 20-25% of the book. After that, there’s a bit of explanation which helped me make sense of what was going on, but then the plot slows right down, which didn’t engage me at all.

I think my main issue was Holly, the main character – I just couldn’t connect with her. She loves Harajuku fashion and defends her choices strongly, which I enjoyed a lot because it gave her an interest that I don’t usually see in YA. It was fun for me to learn about and to watch Holly herself stay true to who she is, even when her love interest questions her on her style. However, I couldn’t connect with her, and as a result, I failed to connect with the story. Aside from her love for Harajuku fashion, there wasn’t much to her as a character. The only things I could tell you about her is that she likes her clothes, the Lolita style, that she acted entitled (and kinda mean) and would rush into situations even when everyone told her not to. My disinterest for Holly kept reappearing as I continued to read, and eventually I ended up ignoring her to finish the book. I did enjoy how the other characters interacted though. The N.E.R.D.S family were fun to read about because they bounced off each other really well.

I’m disappointed that I didn’t enjoy this like I thought I would. I still love the cover of the book and the concept introduced here, but I just couldn’t enjoy it like I wanted to.

Gory and kawaii! I first off was super drawn to this cover and the description 100% convinced me to read it!! Over all I really loved the story, characters, and the world. Definitely want to read more in the series to see what happens! 4 stars only because I felt like the flow of things was a little odd at times.

This one was a struggle for me. I got about halfway through before giving up and skimming the rest. Character-building was a big problem in this book, particularly with the main character. The very first chapter ends with her having gone through a traumatic event, and rather than reflecting on said trauma, our main character is more concerned about her outfit being ruined. I understand the book is placing the importance of the Harajuku fashion style as critical to the character's sense of identity, but sideling what she witnessed in favor of mourning a dress came across as ridiculous. We've barely received an introduction to her; to see this kind of disconnect before really getting to know her is jarring.

The prose itself was not terrible, and it's clear the author is aiming to be inclusive. The book overall was just a huge miss for me.

2/5 stars.

Content warnings: mild gore and body horror, mention of violence-related PTSD, mention of drug use, parental death.

First off, the cover for this book is absolutely beautiful, and as someone who grew up loving animes with magical girls I really was drawn to this plot. The concept was super cool but unfortunately this did not live up to my expectations at all.

Holly, the main character, is obsessed with Harajuku fashion and uses that to express herself, and truly that was one of the only interesting things about her. Her obsession is really made evident when, after ruminating over her actions early on after getting her strange abilities, she laments over not being able to wear her dresses and fears that her dresses will be, god forbid, donated to charity. Holly seems very self-obsessed the majority of the book, and though there’s some character development, she still felt very flat as a main character.

Her love interest Brannon also felt pretty flat for a character, and I wasn’t invested in their relationship at all. Holly obsesses over him as well, despite butting heads with him a lot, and makes strange assumptions over his sexuality over stereotypes with him being “feminine”, and I really would have expected better from a bisexual character. The other characters seemed cool too but again there wasn’t much to them; I particularly liked Nunez especially after finding out his backstory, but that was plopped in the middle of the book out of nowhere and uses some harmful stereotypes about Latinx people which I wasn’t comfortable with and felt very cheap.

I wasn’t invested in the story, it was slow-paced and involved mostly running around, and Holly coming to weird decisions I didn’t understand, and so much of it was confusing. I still have no idea what N.E.R.Ds really is. I know that being the first book of a series it should mostly be build-up, but I would have appreciated some more action. I loved the chase scenes with the mutants, and the book started off with a bang when Holly developed her abilities but then slowed too much I was dragging my feet to finish.

Overall, not as great as I had hoped it would be and I’m not sure if I’ll be continuing with this series.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

I'm putting this on my DNF at 60% which is actually farther than I originally wanted to take this book. I wanted to quit earlier but tried to keep going. Sadly, I just can't get into it. It feels like something I should like, but I couldn't really connect with the characters or the world so I couldn't get interested in the plot.

I saw a lot of other reviewers criticizing this book on how the Latino character is given the cliché backstory of being in a drug cartel and the bi main character incorrectly assuming another character was gay because of a tattoo she saw on his body. Both of these criticisms are accurate representations of what goes on in the book. I'm not a part of either of these communities but I know that such clichés and assumptions are harmful. Once she's corrected, Holly then immediately takes on a different assumption about the character's sexuality. Again, not being part of the community, is it really her business what his sexuality is unless he comes out and talks to her about it himself? I sort of understand she's trying to figure it out since she's attracted to him, but then why not just ask him?

Another critique is how Holly is insistent on wearing her clothing despite the very logical argument that it stands out in a crowd and attracts attention. She makes the argument that she has no other clothes, but she also has money to burn so just buy different clothes. I do understand why she wants these clothes and her nails and all this stuff, but it's just hard to sympathize with her stubbornly sticking to the outfits when they are so noticeable. Something I have to personally complain about is how there is a scene where Holly describes her appearance in a mirror. Are we really still doing that in 2020?

I like leaving on a positive note, so I will say I liked the explanation of this kind of lifestyle. I would even say the main character is okay. She works off well with the other characters and I can see her hopefully growing and maturing as the series goes on. Maybe if this book took itself less seriously or felt more like a satire, I would've enjoyed it more. It's not bad, but I think it would definitely work better in a visual medium.

Thank you to the publishers, Xpresso Book Tours and Midnight Tide Publishing, for accepting my request to read this as an E-ARC via Netgalley. All opinions are my own.

What draw me into requesting this book ("Fight like a magical girl in this paperback original contemporary fantasy in which a Harajuku fashionista battles mutants-and social anxiety-by teaming up with an elite group of outcasts.") – it sounds like so much fun, right? - but that turned out to be what I disliked about the book. It wanted - and promised - too much that it just couldn’t do for a number of reasons. There's no character development going on over the span of the book, characters are quite one-sided and there’s just not a lot going on! I did not enjoy the build-up – in a weird way it was both too slow and too fast-paced? I was sitting waiting for plot progression and it just never happened, sadly.

The main character, Holly, is confusing and annoying and just not relatable even if you have some previous experience with Japanese subcultures. As I couldn’t relate to the main character, or the story overall, I just wasn’t engaged. It was all very, very bland.

I wish I had enjoyed this because I went into the book with the hopes of a fantastic, colourful action story. I understand it's the first book in a triology so maybe it'll be more comprahensive as the story progresses, but being so utterly unimpressed by the first installment I probably won't continue on with the series.

To start off with my general opinion of the book, I really liked it. It was a fun and fast read that was also quirky and weird at times but I really enjoyed it. However, there are a few glaring issues I picked up from the book and from the reviews of other people as well.

I don't really read the synopsis of books in-depth. I usually go into books blind. In this case, I knew the main character was obsessed with Harajuku fashion which made me assume that this was going to have a Japanese or Japanese-American lead. After finding out that the main character is white (correct me, if I'm wrong), I found myself a bit disappointed. However, it is very evident that the author, herself, really is knowledgeable on Harajuku fashion so I was reassured that the book was in good hands.

I also found out that the author made sure to include a diverse cast of characters in terms of race, sexuality and gender. However, this wasn't very prominent in the book. If I had not read the author's review, I would not know that the characters weren't white, except for the Korean and Mexican characters. The characters could have probably been more fleshed out in terms of their different backgrounds. As for the Korean and Mexican characters, I feel like the author did a decent job. However, after reading a few reviews, I realize that giving your Mexican character a past filled with crime and drugs can be a harmful stereotype. In terms of gender and sexuality, I think the author did a better job at that. I believe two characters were on the aspec spectrum which was a pleasant surprise. I rarely find books with an aspec character (especially in fantasy), let alone two aspec characters. The main character's bestfriend also uses she/her or they/them pronouns which was refreshing to see in a YA fantasy.

As for the story itself, I found it to be HELLA confusing at first. We were just thrown into the world and I honestly did not understand the world and what was going on in the first 20%. However, as the book progressed, I had a SLIGHTLY better grasp of the world and plot. Even as I finished, I'm still confused about a lot of things about the world and plot. In relation to that, the writing style was kind of weird. It was fairly simple but I found myself having a hard time getting into it. Despite all these things, I really enjoyed the book. It was quick and fun and I finished it in one sitting. My favorite part of the book would definitely be the characters and their bonding moments. They were all just really loveable. I also ADORED the romance. It's been quite a while where I found myself squealing over a book ship.

As for the remaining issues I have with the book, this really felt more like a NA fantasy than a YA fantasy, especially since the main character is 18 and her love interest is 23. Another thing is the age gap. Personally, I don't mind age-gap romances since I unconsciously age up the characters to match my age. But, I know a lot of people are going to be bothered by it. Finally, I found it annoying how the main character assumed Brannon was gay and in a relationship with his bestfriend. It just rubbed me the wrong way because it was so stereotypical. But aside from that, it was a great and enjoyable read! The book would be 4 stars, if it were based solely on my overall enjoyment of the book. But, due to the very glaring and multiple issues I found with the book, I would have to dock a star.

Thank you to the Midnight Tide Publishing and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was given a free ARC by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Who doesn't love magical girls, secret organizations, and fun manga tropes? I know I love them. It's what drew me in with this book. That and this adorable cover, I mean, please!

Sadly inside the bubblegum wrapping, things aren't as cute on the inside. I had a very hard time sympathizing with Holly. She is eighteen years old and acts very entitled throughout the book. There are a number of times she plain out ignores everyone else to do what she's going to do when she's just a teenager, not a trained soldier. I know where some of these tropes are from but I had gone into the book hoping the writer could take the tropes from anime and make them appealing for a novel. That didn't happen and it kept nagging at me as I read the story.

Holly herself was probably my biggest issue. I know girls like her who are into Lolita, but the way she demanded to wear her clothing (clothing items that are very rare in the community) while going on a mission to hunt down mutants made me anxious. She treats her clothing as something she's entitled to, not things she should be caring for and protecting. The moments she does mourn when her clothing is ruined, it feels hollow because she's an 'heiress' who can always buy more.

Honestly, the only part of the book that made me realize that maybe Holly's attitude is on purpose is at the end. Without spoilers, she overhears people say she is aloof and a little mean. So maybe this is something she is going to grow out of, but having her as the main character just turned me off from the book.

This book was supposed to have LGBT+ representation, while a few characters are there to check off boxes, most of the conversations with it tended to be cringe-worthy. Holly, a member of the LBGT+ community assumes someone is gay and when she finds out he's not she doubts it. That is so counterproductive to the stance she should have. Right? She wants people to accept her sexuality but she doesn't give others the same grace.

Another issue I had was stereotyping. One of the characters is from Columbia and his backstory is a cookie-cutter stereotype and it was cringy to read. I'm also currently reading 'Cemetary Boys' and I am holding people to that standard when it comes to cultural representation. This book just fell flat and it really hurt my reading experience.

The last issue I have is something I might be reading into. Throughout the book, Holly keeps having moments where she crushes on another character. He is a good five years older than her making him twenty-three. This book is a YA and relationships with a 'teen' and adult just make me cringe when they're labeled for teenagers.

Generally, this book is a fast read, but man, I think I would spend my time on something else.