This was the perfect read to curl up and enjoy in one sitting. Full of magic and wonderful sweet treats it is a story of friendship and kindred spirits alongside love and loss. Beautifully told and illustrated, highly recommend

In the world of CRUMBS, there are phone sprites who serve as actually helpful personal assistants, bakery goods that give you the emotion/feeling that's baked into them, and a whole magical sector of government. And all that magic is actually being put to good use. This magical world is not dystopian. It's just like real life. There's friendship, grief, and growth. There are jobs, schools and exams, concerts, and driver's license tests (for brooms!).

And there are the mundane weekly rituals that bring you joy. Like visiting a favorite bakery and ordering tea with a romance pastry. When Ray, a young seer, meets Laurie, a barista hoping to be a professional musician, their worlds begin to merge as they fall in love. But the timing isn't quite right, and they are both bringing anxieties from former relationships into theirs.

CRUMBS explores what happens when you want to pursue your career aspirations, but love finds its way into your life when you aren't quite ready. Can you pursue both and not feel like you are sacrificing? Can you put your career first and not hurt the ones you love? Can you overcome past heartaches to trust and love again? A delightful read for older middle grade & up with a diversely depicted cast of characters and a variety of LGBTQIA+ rep.

I liked the setup for this graphic novel. The magical world and the love story were both really cute. I also thought the friends were nice additions. I guess my problem with it was that nothing felt complete. I feel like it would have done the story more justice if it had been more than one volume, since I still don’t understand certain aspects of the story. I also don’t really like how a lot of things weren’t fully explained, especially with the ending.

Absolutely delightful. I love the characterization and worldbuilding. My only complaint is that the images all look a little fuzzy and it feels like I’m not wearing my glasses when I read it.

This was such a great graphic novel. I loved the illustrations so much. This whole book is just beautiful. It's about discovering yourself, falling in love, making sacrifices. Basically, growing up with some magic thrown in. Highly recommend.

Thank you to Danie Stirling, Clarion Books, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Originally a web comic on the WEBTOON platform, Crumbs is a surprisingly mature look at growing up and of young love. While the love story between Ray and Laurie is an important part of this graphic novel, the book is more about the two of them figuring out their lives as young people while also figuring out how to make a romantic relationship work. Despite being a love themed graphic novel, Crumbs impressed me because it doesn’t romanticize the relationships, nor does it brush aside real relationship problems, which unfortunately is common in other romance, graphic novels, and webtoons. This book also doesn’t shy away from tough topics like toxic work environments, broken dreams, burnout, grief, and trauma, as these all exist even in a world where there is magic is everywhere. An incredibly cozy and charming read with lovely illustrations, Crumbs would be perfect for fans of YA fiction who want to dip their toes into the world of graphic novels!

*3.5 stars
This webcomic-turned-graphic novel was...ambitious. It's nearly 400 pages and tackles a lot, so it really needs every page. The world is unique and interesting, and I'd love to see another story set in it. However, this story isn't necessarily one that I loved reading because there was so much going on with the new friendship group and worldbuilding and the council job and the relationships. It felt like I needed more but also like it was already long enough, so I'm a little conflicted. Also, I think because it was a webcomic, the art seemed a little blurry and just didn't transfer to a physical medium as well.

I absolutely loved the artwork. I wish there had been more world building and I really wanted to like this book more than I did but I found it overly long with not enough plot. The romance was cute but nothing super memorable.

This was SO cute! I didn’t know anything about it before I began reading and it was immediately drawn in. We follow Ray, who is balancing an important magical internship with her first real romance. The world is full of whimsy, fun magic, like phones that have little fairy type creatures in them and baked goods full of good feelings. It’s pure serotonin.

I thought Ray was a deeply relatable character, and rooted for her throughout. I think a lot of young readers will feel the same and I can’t wait to share this with them. The art is really cute and lovely, and sometimes basic. Still, it was filled with warm feelings and good romance. The author is clearly talented.

This is getting a 4.5! I loved it but there were a few things I needed more of. I’m hoping to add this to my library’s collection. I know a lot of teen readers will adore it.

SOOOOOO cute and cozy!!! Very wholesome story and loved the art style.
Very readable and a great pick for fall.

I loved the artstyle of Crumbs, and I thought the premise was absolutely fantastic! Unfortunately, the story felt a little flat to me, and I was a little frustrated as it didn't feel like enough for a full volume

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this. It was cute and had a cute story. I could have used a bit more background, as I felt a bit out of my depths most of the time (it just kind of plunks you into this world with no explanations).

While the main couple was cute, I didn’t overly buy into them. But then I’m also not going to be too critical, as it is a fluffy, cute comic, and I think it accomplished what it set out to do.

An adorable book! I didn’t know it was a webtoon going in, but it definitely has that vibe. I found it very readable.

A wholesome graphic story full of sweet treats and magical careers, Crumbs is a must-read for lovers of Kay O'Neal and Molly Know Ostertag.

It's a story laced in romance, but it is much more about your what is needed in a relationship. It also explores how much someone should put into one's dream. Crumbs is a gentle, thoughtful graphic wrapped in gorgeous illustrations that perfectly convey the wholesome nature.

This is so sweet it gives me a tooth ache. Ray is just a girl sitting in a café wishing for romance. She is a Council intern as has been her dream for years. But she finds herself frequently stopping by a bakery where the treats are baked with spells. She is drawn to the woman who runs the place and the magic she can weave. There she meets Laurie, an up-and-coming musician who works for his aunt at the bakery while paying his dues. Here the romance is not just baked in the scones, it develops between these two in a slow and subtle way. But, as with any good romance, there are complications. Laurie can not fly. He has been scared of heights since his parents’ disappearance. Ray, as a council intern has her work memory wiped daily. And if she becomes a full council member she will be wiped from the memories of her friends and family until such time as she is no longer a council member. This is a very unique romance, and a great format with fantastic illustrations. I was a bit sad to see the story end, but it ended in a place of love and hope that just leaves the reader with a smile on their face.

Adorable, sweet, light hearted and truthful. I'm such a huge fan of graphic novels and this one really gives an edge to the story with the colorful and powerful illustrations

Crumbs by Danie Stirling is based off a webtoon. It's about a seer who is having a hard time with her powers and finds love for the first time at her local town's magic bakery. THIS WAS SO CUTE AND I AM ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH IT.

Crumbs, by Danie Stirling, is a cute graphic novel set in a fantasy world. When Ray, a girl with unique powers who is trying to get a position in the governing council, falls for Laurie, a barista who longs to be a professional musician, they soon find themselves struggling with what they each want out of their lives and what that means for their relationship.

I loved the characters in this. Ray is a unique sort of seer who has the power of seeing what's true in the present. She has always longed to make the best possible use out of that gift, and thus has sought since childhood to join the council so that she can actually have an impact. However, as she begins her internship for the position, she begins to struggle with whether the responsibility and costs of being a council member (most notably the fact that everybody else's memory of you is erased) is what she actually wants, or if it's just something that she's been reaching for for so long that she doesn't know how to do anything else.

Laurie definitely takes a backseat in the narrative, which I was okay with because I found his story less interesting. He's been working in his aunt's magical bakery for years, and is now trying to make his way as a professional musician, which comes with its own series of pitfalls that he tries to hide to pretend as if his life is perfect. I wish his character had been explored a little more; he's very self-sacrificing, often putting others first at the expense of himself, but it just doesn't feel like that's ever resolved in any sort of satisfying character arc.

Ray and Laurie definitely have tons of chemistry, and their romance is by far the strongest aspect of the book. You just can't help but ship them; there's a gravity and realness to the situation. It's a coming of age romance between two teenagers who have different goals in life, and that's a story that rings true no matter the setting.

I will say, though, that the weakness of this particular setting definitely hindered the strength of that storyline. Starting the book, I was initially enchanted with the world. Laurie's aunt sells magical baked goods that are spelled to grant the eater a particular emotion. The characters' phones have little VR creatures that are the cutest possible version of Alexa or Siri, each one unique and having its own personality. They travel on broomsticks instead of cars. It's an adorable world, which made the government setup stand out and be all the more intriguing.

The dystopian council setting, where positions aren't chosen through elections and where everybody you love forgets you if you become a council member, was just begging to be explored in greater depth. Unfortunately, not only were the full ramifications of those qualities not explore beyond being a minor drawback in Ray's debate over whether to pursue a job there, but very little else about it is ever explained or fleshed out.

The most confusing part was that there are different branches to the council that have different duties, but they're only referred to as non-descriptive names and what they do is never explained, which would be okay if their difference wasn't a major plot point in Ray's character arc. When you want your reader to understand why a character is deciding between two choices, and why other characters demean the character for their choice, you need to explain what the two choices actually are.

I would have loved more fleshing out in every other part of the world, and particularly for some sort of attempt to be made at exploring the dystopian government structure, but at least explaining enough to understand the plot is the absolute bare minimum.

The plotting of the entire book felt strange. The romance plot-line has a lot of repetitive conflicts that felt contrived to allow time for Ray's character arc to happen, but even that was never quite resolved in a satisfying way. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the ending. It didn't entirely feel like a natural conclusion for either Ray or Laurie's character arc, but it was still realistic in a way. I think that the story could have definitely benefitted overall from a little more reworking plot-wise.

There's a lot to enjoy about this book; the art is lovely, all of the characters are wonderful (several having satisfying character arcs of their own), and the romance and protagonists are realistic and compelling. However, the lack of care to world-building, particularly when it is a driver behind the plot, is just confusing and inexcusable in a fantasy book. If you're okay with a certain amount of suspension-of-disbelief and accepting not understanding some aspects of the plot, then these aspects likely won't bother you, but they are there. Nevertheless, it's still an enjoyable read; I'm giving Crumbs 3/5 stars.

I received an e-galley of Crumbs by Danie Stirlilng from Clarion Books in exchange for an honest review.

Such a great graphic novel story about Ray, a young seer, and Laurie, a young aspiring musician. This was such a sweet combination of magic, friendship, baked goods, music, and love wrapped into this story. It's a story about self-discovery, following your dreams, and learning to love oneself as a way to better love others. I really enjoyed this story.

I enjoyed this sweet YA coming of age/romantic fantasy graphic novel. The art was beautiful, charming, and suited the story. The characters were flawed yet relatable, and the depictions of magic were fun and creative. I particularly liked the “smart” phones. I enjoyed how the author explored familial, friendly, professional, and romantic relationships among the diverse cast of characters.

I thought the ending was a bit rushed, but I liked the message conveyed.

I highly recommend this to anyone who enjoys sweet YA fantasies, coming of age stories, and graphic novels. It’s a very sweet, clean story that should be enjoyable for a wide audience.

Thank you to Clarion Books for providing me with an ARC through NetGalley that I volunteered to review.