An absolutely stunningly illustrated gem of a book filled with cryptids, mystery and friendship! Can't wait to read the next book!

This was such an enjoyable read! We follow Sorceline, a young girl sent to this little island to learn about cryptozoology. But things begin to go amiss when her classmates are found after being turned into glass statues. From there, mystery ensues.

I really liked this! The art was beautiful, full of lush colours and I loved all of the little creatures scattered throughout each page. The plot was easy to follow too and it had even me second guessing what I thought had happened!

If you like graphic novels, magic and magical creatures with a mystery element, you need to add this one to your want to read shelves!

4/5⭐️

I've hooked up on this book because of the title and the cover of the book. I'm a fan of graphic novels as well as mystical creatures and magical stuff. That's the reason why I pick this book in the first place.
I don't know why when reading this book somehow remind me of Harry Potter. Overall it was a pleasant reading for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review

This was a very enjoyable read, and I found myself drawn into the mystical, fantastical Isle of Vorn from the very first page when it was described as gloomy, creepy, and super scary! The art was absolutely stunning in this graphic novel, perfectly creating whimsical and lush sceneries, dark academia vibes, and magical creatures that look absolutely realistic and, to be cliche, jump off the page. The colors in this book are super aesthetically pleasing and the art style is just amazing. I would frame this book if I could!

Onto the actual content. I found the plot extremely intriguing, and I loved the concept of children competing for a magical apprenticeship in cryptozoology on a magical, far away island. I mean how cool is that? My favorite character was Madame S -- I just love a spooky vampire lady that reminds me of Morticia Addams and she absolutely fit that description. From the first page, this book jumped into the plot and didn't slow down even at the very end, when we were greeted with a startling cliffhanger!! The ending moved very, very fast for me, but the middle of the book was a little slower.

I wanted to be absolutely amazed with this book, but at many times the transitions felt jarring, the scenes felt confusing, and I found myself turning the page inferring a lot of the information, rather than being able to say confidently what was going on. I'm not sure if this is because the book is translated from its original language, but there were a lot of parts that felt extremely out of place for me. The plot twists and complexities between the characters was lost on me a lot of the time because of this, and I found myself often rereading pages to decipher who was talking and which character had discovered what. I felt this was ESPECIALLY true near the end, which confused the hell out of me until I read it over again -- and I have to say, I still don't really understand what the last couple of pages were describing. If this book had a smoother plot, less jarring scene jumping, more explanations to the many creatures/plot points/characters, and a lot less going on, I think it would have been a lot better than 3 stars. Nonetheless, I am still interested in reading the following installments to Sorceline's story, and I am itching to see what is explained in the next graphic novel.

Welcome to the gloomy and super scary Island of Vorn, where mythical creatures roam free and only the brightest students are invited to study. Our main character, Sorceline, has just arrived for a summer apprenticeship with the zoologist Archibald Balzar. She wants to study cryptozoology, meaning amazing creatures most humans don't think exist, like elves, fairies, unicorns and dragons. But she has some competition: other kids who dream of becoming specialists in legendary creatures.

To become Balzar’s assistant, Sorceline must follow a few rules and learn to tame powerful beasts—including her own inner demons. Unfortunately, she doesn't think about the impact of her words very often. And, when strange things happen, she might be the one responsible. She needs to control her fiery temper and search for answers, even if they are far darker and more personal than she expected.

The artwork is delightful (from colours to perspectives), but I think the story is not well executed, even though there was plenty of misdirection to keep me intrigued. There’s so much going on that’s hard to follow, and sometimes the jumps between scenes feel slightly disjointed. Besides that, I obviously enjoy the concept and read the book in less than three hours. I’m curious about what’s next, especially because of the unexpected cliffhanger, but I hope the bickering between characters is over.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for providing me with an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

Yes and no... or should that be 'oui et non...', for this is a translation of a French comic, handily collecting the entire three books so far. It's not bad at all, but it's certainly not as pleasurable as it might have been. Our title character is one of a handful of kids under the care of a professor of cryptozoology – fanciful creatures and non-human humanoids, etc – at a summer camp that is designed to whittle them down to a solitary apprentice. But something or someone else is doing the whittling in unexpected ways. The problem is that this is an awkward set-up, seemingly demanding of all the kids that they just bicker and bicker (when they're not crushing, that is), and a heck of a lot of the plot is coming from their animosity and arguing. Also, the whole world building feels off, with a sick gorgon, a vampiress, a host of zombie pixies and so much else all trying to have their place in the story – so much of this world is crypto it's no bloody wonder the prof needs unpaid help.

Things might improve after the first episode, which was where this and I parted ways, finding the interchangeable kids very disagreeable and the story not very well executed. I can't say the same for the visuals, for they have a fine craft and, for all their love of looking-down-on-scenes-at-45-degrees-like-things-are-a-computer-game, something of a classic quality. Like I say, it's not at all terrible, but if people are intending to turn a scan of this into a love of the whole series they will require a majorly high tolerance level for snappy bratty kids.

This was a really imaginative story full of interesting creatures. Unfortunately I couldn’t really admire or enjoy the art style or the colours at all as the arc has everything inverted and in black and white, which is a shame as I can’t fully comment on the full experience of reading this and it made it more difficult to read.
But I enjoyed the use of fantasy elements and cryptids combined with mystery elements. I think it’s something I would enjoy reading.

A little bit of magic; a little bit of adventure, a little too much love for magical creatures and a little bit of drama. I absolutely adore the presentation of the graphic novel. The artstyle is everything!

The story is quite interesting as it involves a little bit of mystery as well.

Perfect for the target audience (middle grades), I feel it's a good start for those who want to start reading graphic novels.

Engaging and fun, this one is going to make a rather adventurous reading session.

The highlight for me is the character dynamics.

Go for this one. It's fun and entertaining.

Thank you, Andrews McMeel, for the advance reading copy.

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is an interesting concept--students competing to become a crytopozoologist's assistant, studying and helping to heal injured fantastical creatures.

The artwork in this middle grade graphic novel is beautiful and pulls you into the story. The mystery, hints, clues, and misdirection keep you intrigued, trying to figure out what is really going on, but there are times when the jumps between scenes feel slightly disjointed to me.

I enjoyed reading this one and will most likely read the next installment as well. This one ends on a cliffhanger.