As a self proclaimed foodie this book was amazing, The story and artwork was very cohesive and complimented each other very well. I did feel like towards the end it became very obvious at to what caused the mushrooms to grow. This would be a great novel for thriller fans and foodies alike.

Well. That did not go the way I thought it would. In the beginning of this tale we have two brothers, Rowan and Tulip (he prefers to be called Danny), who live on an unnamed Scottish isle with their cynical earth mama/hippie mother. After their aunt and uncle are lost at sea in a boating accident, the brothers head for the mainland, to see the secluded farm near London that they've inherited (along with a tidy chunk of change). Rowan dreams of making the land a proper farm, and Danny dreams of opening a restaurant in London serving the organic food Rowan grows. Soon, Tulip's opens, but it struggles until Rowan discovers a delicious, unknown mushroom growing in the woods on their property, and this exciting new mushroom makes the restaurant take off. As Danny becomes more and more involved in the business end of running the restaurant, he has increasingly less time to spend with his brother at the farm, and less time to actual be involved in the cooking in the restaurant. Will the stress get to him? Will he ease up on the business end, and get back to his ideals?
This is where the story is about halfway through the book, and I'm thinking this is going to be a heartwarming story of Danny being too caught up in success and is at the end of his rope, then his brother reminds him of their dream to serve people good food grown from the earth, and all comes out happy in the end. Boy, was I wrong. A thing happens, a disturbing thing, followed by a stupid, rashly done thing, which leads to us finding out what makes these mushrooms so special. Things get dark quickly, as Danny falls deeper into the clutches of fame and fortune, opening restaurant after restaurant, all serving food made with these mushrooms, which are the main reason for his success. While he pretends to everyone that there's plenty of mushrooms, the truth is the growing conditions they require are....not something that's easy to maintain, shall we say, and Danny is starting to panic. Rowan doesn't want to try to continue growing them, but while he's away for a few days, Danny takes matters into his own hands. When Rowan returns to the farm and discovers Danny's plan, things escalate quickly, leading to a tragic conclusion.
The story is good from the start, but once it takes that dark twist, it becomes hard to put down. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, and that ending! That last page, oh my!
The art throughout has an impressionistic feel, more a Van Gogh vibrant with a hint of crazy than a Monet softness, and suits the story well. Overall, this is a great read, and I highly recommend it!

#TheDelicacy #NetGalley

There is gaudy quality to the palette that Albon’s employs that signposts that there is something more sinister about the book than would first appear.

As a character study on the corrupting influence that avarice can have on someone, The Delicacy is perceptive and subtle. Raised by an eccentric mother far from the mainland, brothers Rowan and Tulip have differing takes on their agricultural lives. From the off, Rowan is far more at ease farming, while Tulip is itching for more. Using an unexpected inheritance, the brothers set out to create a new life on the mainland. Rowan taking responsibility for farming their late aunties land and Tulip cooking the produce in a restaurant.

After a difficult start to their new life on the mainland, the discovery of a rare mushroom turns their fortunes around.

Much like Breaking Bad, one of the book's central questions is: How much is enough?

The way the stakes are slowly ratcheted up makes Tulip’s actions throughout understandable if despicable. From the way he starts treating employees to the dismissive way he deals with his brother's concerns, Tulip becomes someone for whom the appearance of success is as important as success itself.

If there is a flaw with the book is that it is somewhat predictable. How the rare mushrooms that are cultivated aren’t the shocking twist that Albon may have intended. However, some surprising revelations keep the suspense alive.

Albon’s is a perfect fit for the story. Seeing the brush strokes is a joy, and the thick lines of both the lettering and characters add heft to the page. It really is a cheerfully pretty book to look at. Everything seems so pleasant.

For me, though, the writing and dialogue are the stars. In many ways, The Delicacy reminded me of the film How To Get Ahead In Advertising. The same seam of black humour and satirical criticism is present in Albon’s graphic novel.

This is an elegantly told story with well-written characters and sumptuous art. A superb achievement.

This was such a wild ride. The art was really cool and the story had a lot of twists and turns. I’m grateful for the opportunity to read this.

The Delicacy took a long time to get into and was very hard to find joy in reading. The writing felt almost childish at the beginning, yet as the book progressed the writing style did get better. The plot got more interesting as the book progressed as well but it still felt bland and boring overall. For the art style I found that I had to look at it for a second before being able to like and for it to go along with the book.

Simply incredible. I’ve never experienced a graphic novel that is anything like this, and I’m afraid all that follow will have to raise their game to measure up. To begin with, the artwork alone is stunning. The turning of a page would at times elicit a genuine gasp from me because of the color and movement and pure energy of the painting. Add a story of two brothers going from a dream of running a farm-to-table restaurant to success, obsession, and beyond. Suddenly, it is much more than a story about some mushrooms. We have pure artistry here: the unexpected put together in gorgeous, impactful way. I want to seek out and read every work by this author.

Thank you to James Albon, Top Shelf Productions, and NetGalley for an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

Wow, this book took a turn that I did not expect and I really enjoyed it. Tulip, or Danny, and his brother have a dream of working together and having a farm and restaurant. When an aunt dies and they inherit the land and home they decide to use the land to start the farm and Danny buys a restaurant. Everything seems to go the way it usually does for a starting restaurant. Some success but some slow nights too until they discover delicious mushrooms growing on the farm. Danny grows a small following using the mushrooms and it grows. Danny lets the success go to his head and he spirals out of control. The mushrooms are mysterious and his brother can't figure out how to regrow them on their own. The ending wasn't terribly surprising but the journey was really enjoyable.

This was such a joy to read. Every page is absolutely beautiful - I especially love the messy washes and increasingly loud patterns - and the story has a perfect contemporary gothic vibe. It went by fast because I couldn't stop reading it once I started, but I'll be returning to it again often just to stare at those watercolours.

Two brothers' dream of opening a restaurant turns into a nightmare. It was a real be careful what you wish for story. I liked that it went dark in a way I didn't expect but also saw coming. The artwork was funky and weird but it worked for this Graphic Novel.

I really loved this one. The bright, vibrant artwork in the story pulls you in and the story makes you want to find out what happens next. Truly a page turner.

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***
An interesting book, but a little too odd for me.

This was interesting part of the way through but the ending didn't seem satisfying to me.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book was an absolute wild ride. It starts off with this charming family, with their charming dreams drawn in this charming art style. And then goes off the deep end. I’ve never seen a book swerve from complete coziness into absolute dread the way this one has. I love the characters and the plot so much. Very nice.

A beautifully gruesome read about a pair of brothers, Rowan and Tulip, who move to the countryside on mainland England near London to take over their aunt and uncle's old estate and turn it into a farm to grow fresh produce for Tulip's restaurant venture. Rowan discovers a unique mushroom on the land that gives Tulip's restaurant a much needed popularity boost, but there is a secret to this discovery that begs the question: What length is Tulip willing to go to achieve a mass of fame and fortune for his restaurant?

The story had me captured until the end and the artwork is stunning. I highly recommend giving "The Delicacy" a read.

I loved the loose, lush, painted art of this graphic novel, and the plot (although it had many conventional beats) was a wild ride! I loved the themes of connection, spite, superiority, careerism in the plot, but it was a bit unendingly cynical and nihilistic. Then again, that almost seems like a rational response to these times. While the plot and thematic elements of this graphic novel aren't new or even a little tropey, the vividness of the main characters, the propulsiveness of the plot, and the symbolism of the mushrooms really made this a fun read.

First word to come to mind for this one is definitely "unique". I didn't personally love it, but I think that a lot of people will. An unexpected inheritance comes to a set a brothers and from there the story twists and turns through all sorts of surprises. A bit slow in places, but worth a shot if the synopsis sounds interesting to you.

The Delicacy follows two brothers, Rowan and Tulip (Danny), who have inherited a farm outside of London. Danny thinks that with his cooking talent and Rowan's farming skills that they could open their own farm to table restaurant in London. Soon, their restaurant, Tulip's, is open and they have a modest following. Rowan then discovers mysterious and unidentifiable mushrooms in the forest on their land, they both try them and Danny decides to put them on the menu. The mushrooms become a huge hit and soon everyone wants to eat at Tulip's. Success goes to Danny's head and he aims to expand the business with plans for more upscale locations in the heart of the city and perhaps even international. A shocking revelation about the mushrooms rocks Rowan and Danny's relationship and everything could be lost.

This was such an intriguing and unexpected read for me and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There were dark twists that I did not see coming AT ALL. The writing is superb and the story is well paced. I was a bit put off by the illustrations at first, but they quickly grew on me and I found they fit the story perfectly. Highly recommend!

I can't say that I have ever read a horror graphic novel. I am one of those readers who does not read the book descriptions/cover pages/end pages before I dive into a novel. (Unrelated, but I also pick my wines based on the covers so it's not just books that this tendency happens with.) What I thought was going to be a touching rags to riches story about two brothers who inherit some money and land and start a restaurant in London took a dark twist: a murderous and back stabbing twist.
Tulip dreams of escaping his name, his mum and his island life to become Danny who cooks at elite restaurants in London. Rowan is happy when his hands are in the dirt and his growing his own food. When their aunt and uncle are lost at sea long enough to be declared deceased on the mainland, they inherit their house and some money. Rowan starts working the land and Tulip opens a restaurant. Their secret ingredient: Rowan's mysteriously grown mushrooms. They are a killer.
Twists and turns abound at the end of this graphic novel. The art matches the creepy and sinister vibe the novel gives off.

Two brothers, Rowan and Tulip (Danny), embark on an adventure after inheriting a large property from their aunt and uncle and go from living on a small island in Scotland to London. As to what to do with the property, they struck up an ambitious plan of growing the finest vegetables on their property in the country and serving them up in a restaurant in the city. Since both brothers each have their strengths, one a gardener one a cook, it starts out great enough.

It turns out an ingredient grown on their farm, a glorious mushroom, has made the patrons of the restaurant acquire an insatiable appetite for them. And the quest to keep up with production begins.

A great story with just enough twists, turns and mystery to keep you reading. Once I started, I couldn't put it down. And the artwork was beautiful, too.

This book is amazing! The illustrations just LEAP off the pages with bold colors and artwork that has a lot of movement. Really wonderful illustrations and very unique story that had a surprising ending. The dialogue is great and I love the characters!

<i>Thanks to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.</i>