This was a fun read. The artwork inside is just as amazing as the cover. I love the idea a fantasy world that exists hidden in our own reality.

This was a pretty good take on portal fantasies. It just felt too short for the story as a whole and I did want more of it. The story felt rushed throughout most of it and felt like it could have been a much longer story.

One aspect that could have been expanded on was the characters in general. Would have loved to see more interactions between them all and also to get to know them more. I just don't feel like we got to know these characters much at all.

I would have also loved to see more of the kingdom too. Worldbuilding to me is essential to a fantasy world and we didn't get much of this. It would have been interesting if Jordan was given a tour of the kingdom when Griff and Prince Astel bring him to the capital. Seeing more of the Elf kingdom would have been nice. This would have given both Jordan and the reader a chance to learn more about this new world that we are both getting thrust into.

Loved the fact that this had LGBT representation, even though it was brief. I hope that eventually, the authors come back to this world because I think there could be so much more added to it.

Also, the illustrations and coloring were very nice. They went along nicely with the story and it drew me to it in the first place when I saw the cover.

Overall, this was a pretty good graphic novel that I recommend to portal fantasy lovers that what a little bit more LGBT representation.

*Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my ARC*

2.5 stars rounded up

"In the Shadow of the Throne" has a great base for an incredible fantasy story but falls a little short in the end. The story revolves around Jordan Rivera, a queer teen boy, trying to enjoy his vacation but instead has to be in charge of his younger siblings while at a museum. While trying to find a bathroom he gets spirited away to a fantasy realm where he must train as a knight to help the young prince Astel keep his kingdom safe.

The story has a decent plotline but it lacks buildup and suspense. This story would have benefitted from having a longer story and deeper character building. I found that the reader doesn't get a lot of time to connect to any characters completely and therefor I wasn't rooting for anyone, nor did I care about the plot twist close to the end. It's a great twist (though it's strangely similar to a plot point in "Witch Boy" by Molly Ostertag) but without any stakes or buildup it didn't feel exciting or surprising.

The art is charming and the color palette is great. I love the way Cardinali portrays the magic as blinding and sometimes uncontrollable. The character designs are simple and sometimes don't always look like their anatomy is perfect, but I don't find that it takes away from the charm.

Overall, this story needs more time to cook. Sheridan is close to an incredible story but that story needs more in terms of plot, dialogue, and polished character art.

In the Shadow of the Throne is the story of Jordan Rivera who travels from his family vacation in New York City into a magical world where he is immediately thrust into adventure. He acts on instinct to save a prince's life and goes on to pursue an epic quest to save the new land he has discovered and learn about himself along the way.

This is a fast-paced adventure fantasy with likable, and admittedly predictable, characters. It is a quick read that provided a pleasant escape into a magical world without demanding much from the reader. I liked that I was able to set my worries aside and fall into this story, however because it is so quick and a comic book there is limited opportunity to fully flesh out characters and plot points. The conflict is simple and to the fantasy-reader the secrets are likely to be predictable, but that doesn't detract from the pleasure of a simple, aesthetically-pleasing escape. Romance elements in the book were subtle and sweet, matching the ages of the characters involved and their limited time together, however the true relationship developments were familial, which I loved! All in all an easy, adventurous read designed for young audiences that I devoured in one sitting because it drew me in completely!

⭐⭐⭐ ✨ of five stars

The first thing that comes to mind when reflecting on this book is that there's a lot of missed potential. I feel like all aspects of it speak of a lack of experience in everything that is attempted, and I can see an earnest effort having been made, so I feel bad leaving a critique of it. That said, this is a published work, and for such a thing to have a chance of succeeding financially, the points that are lacking need to be addressed.

First, while the overarching concept isn't bad, the execution is pretty lacking. Things feel rushed, which take away potential for depth and dimension building. There isn't much character development, the setting ends up being more confusing than anything else, and for a graphic novel, it's kind of bad when there's more telling than showing. The art is also unpolished, it looks like the work of an amateur, which isn't inherently an issue as many amateur artists have produced professional-quality work. However, in this case, I feel like the artist would benefit from going back and studying the fundamentals, as put together with everything else here, it just further adds to the lacking feeling. I do appreciate the representation, however like anything else it can't be the only successful element and it also shouldn't be used to carry a whole.

This book feels like, had it been made later, when the writer and artist have had more time and experience, it might've come out better.

I really wanted to love this one, and I think I absolutely would have so I'm going to recommend it on the description and title alone. I wasn't able to actually read it due to a downloading and formatting issue but I look forward to buying it when it's published in the future.

High schooler Jordan Rivera is tired of being constantly told to watch over his younger sibling. While visiting an art museum on family vacation, he is desperate for a little peace and quiet. He stumbles across an exhibit with a fantasy painting that catches his eye. Before he knows it, he has been whisked away into another world where magic and royalty reign. After saving the crown prince, he finds himself being trained as a knight with the hope that he will become the prince's royal guard. In a realm where magic is prevalent but banned by the Queen, Jordan is in over his head with royal family secrets.

A great idea, but poor execution. The romance is brief and flippant. I can't find myself caring much for any of the characters and the story goes full circle without any resolution.

A big thank you for the arc !

The story was amazing! I loved the art and the plot ! I kinda wish it was longer though.
The end, the feels hugh ! I need emotional support now.

4 stars

This was a really interesting graphic novel!! The plot and characters fell a little flat for me but overall I enjoyed it.

Thank you to Netgalley for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I really enjoyed this long comic book. It is well drawn en a joy to read.
The stoy is original and is has a subtile gay-theme, which only becomes clear at the very end of the book.
This is a must-read if you like European comics.

It. It felt rushed, but was boring at the same time. The first 50 pages was okey, but at the rest I caught myself skimming through dialogues. Very disappointing.

**Disclaimer: I recieved a free eARC of In the Shadow of the Throne by Kate Sheridan through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.  Thank you to the publishers and NetGalley for this opportunity.

In the Shadow of the Throne by Kate Sheridan is a young adult fantasy graphic novel about a young boy who accidentally finds his way into a fantasy world where magic is outlawed, yet magic seems to be stirring in the outskirts of the city.  I rated it four stars on Goodreads.  It is set to be published on August 30th, 2022.


Here's the summary from Goodreads:

When his younger siblings and parents begin to irritate him on vacation, Jordan tries to get some space. But instead of wandering around the museum, he finds himself dropped in a fantasy world of magic where he can finally have some fun and train to become a knight. Except Prince Astel and Sir Griffith are about to uncover a sinister secret kept hidden by the Queen that'll thrust Jordan in the middle of a magical battle he never could have anticipated.
Join writer Kate Sheridan (Flash Gordon, Adventure Time: Fionna & Cake) and artist Gaia Cardinali (Disney Mulan's Adventure Journal: The Palace of Secrets) on Jordan's epic fantasy adventure that'll test how much he really wants to get home.

I was really intrigued by the world that Kate Sheridan and Gaia Cardinali built.  I have always enjoyed portal fantasy where someone from our world finds their way into a fantasy world and has to work in an unfamiliar environment. This graphic novel really handled that well.  Jordan literally stumbled into a fantasy world and he handled it quite well.  I liked how he incorportated himself into the world and did his best to survive everything that was going on.

I liked how he related to the other characters.  He got along quite well with Sir Griffith and I felt that their dynamic was quite interesting.  However, I especially enjoyed the dynamic between Jordan and Prince Astel.  I liked how they didn't initially get along but things changed as the story progressed.

The story overall was quite well written.  I felt that it was a really interesting plot, and the conflict was compelling.  I wanted to find out what was going on and I was really interested in the events.  There were some twists to keep me guessing, and it was very well paced.

The art was also beautiful, and I really enjoyed the design of the characters.

Overall, I highly recommend that you check out this graphic novel when it publishes in August.

This graphic novel is very different from what I'm used to reading.
It`s a fantasy novel with interdimensional travel. A fictional medieval land where magic exists and with the cliché that magic is forbidden. The world development is pretty basic and the character exploration too. The events of the story are very fast paced, everything happens realy fast, and the story is loaded with scene exposition.
The main characters don't have very strong motivations. Jordan is underworked and there is no proper explanation of his relationship with his family. Prince Astel has extremely cliché motivations, and for me one of the most interesting characters was the knight Sir Griffin, who barely appears in the story.
The point that attracted me to reading was the fact that It is LGBTQIA+, which is very rare in comics.
It's a very basic story, very cliché, and with very simple events. It's a book that is likely to please people who have a lot of passion for fantasy, but it lacks content for me.
The art is beautiful but as the story is very sudden, for me it seems like that are something missing, it gives the impression that scenes were cut to make the story run faster. Which ends up reflecting in the art.
Despite the artist's talent, the drawing is very still, with little movement. The most intense parts of the art are when the magic is being used.
It's not a bad comic but it lacked something to make it really good.

It would have been better as a longer book. The art was fine if not exciting. The story was also ok but it felt very rushed. The main character finds himself in a magic world. He has basically no moment of what would be reasonable panic and just cheerfully falls into sword training happy to be away from his younger siblings. The story feels very rushed, even for a graphic novel there’s no depth to it. I feel like with another 50 pages this could have been a great story. As is it’s enjoyable and a perfectly ok and teen safe read but not memorable.

The graphics throughout were beautiful and went well with the story. I found the story to be good and consistent in its intent. The relationships were strong and you could feel the MC truly did have love and determination to save his siblings. The character growth for me was lacking as I expect more from a Manga written in this style.

5/5 stars

Rep : Gay & Puerto Rican

I received a Free E-Arc in exchange for an honest review through Netgalley. Thank you to the Publisher and Netgalley.

This graphic novel was a cute story about how escaping into fantasy can be helpful and needed and can help you realize what you already have. The story follows Jordan, a 17 year old with 2 younger brothers who he has to keep babysitting even when his parents are around, and while at a museum, he wanders off to get some alone time and accidentally walks into a fantasy realm with magic and faeries.

I loved seeing Jordan step into a brand new world where he finally got to be free even if he was helping a Fae prince at the same time, while also trying to find a way home. Prince Astel is the heir to the fantasy kingdom and is very shut off throughout most of the book as he is trying to protect himself as he has magic which has been outlawed by his mother.

There have been weird incidents happening including wolves with glowing eyes that attacked without reason, so Prince Astel is trying to figure out what is going on while also dealing with this rather outgoing stranger who seems very out of place but saved his life. The mystery in this book was one I did not see coming but thoroughly enjoyed. I loved the characters and the world and seeing Jordan get tossed into a brand new world where there wasn’t anyone like him was interesting.

I highly recommend this book as it was a cute fantasy mystery with a beautiful art style. If you are looking for a Graphic Novel that is high fantasy and has a mystery that you likely won’t see coming, check this out.

"In the Shadow of the Throne" is an isekai story, in which the protagonist Jordan, finds himself in another world, instead of the museum where he is supposed to be. I really did like this story. I love when stories do the "Hero's Journey" storytelling trope, it never gets old. The fantasy world Jordan wanders into is so fascinating and I wish I got to learn more. Sadly, the story doesn't go too in-depth with any of the characters and their motivations. It also doesn't go too in-depth with the world the protagonist is in. I feel like it hops from scene to scene a little too fast, and doesn't take the time to linger as it should. This book is rather short, and the plot is quickly paced. Almost too quickly for my personal liking. The story feels like it was meant to be longer; a multiple volume series perhaps, but got smooshed down into a single, short book. I wish was it was longer, that was so much more that could be explored in the world of this story! The art itself is fantastic and looks lovely. I was certainly be looking for more books the artist has done after this. Again, I really did like this story. I just wish there was more, but don't we all say that about the stories we like?

Love the inclusion of LGBTQ+ characters but the storyline was super -rushed, so no character development, and the final reveals were not explained. The world-building and magic seemed promising but again not developed.

Yes it was an short novel but, it just fell flat for development of story and characters- so it was harder to engage in the novel.

Really good story telling, and great character development! The only thing that could've made this book better was if it was longer! It felt kind of rushed, because of how short it was.

Jordan and his family are touring a museum while on vacation, and Jordan is tasked with watching over his two little brothers. And it is indeed a task. He's tired of being treated like a babysitter, and so it's no surprise that when he is somehow transported from the museum into a new world, one of fantasy, elves, and magic, he isn't disappointed in the least.

This book has a lot of elements I'm into, fantasy, magic, elves, adventure, the Narnia trope of being transported from one world to another via some sort of magic. It also has LGBTQ+ rep which of course I was excited to see! But despite all of the good elements, this just didn't work for me.

I found the characters pretty flat for a lot of the story, and they also made a lot of stupid and/or questionable decisions. The characters making these stupid decisions are teenagers, so it's of course not unheard of for that to happen, but this story has life and death/dangerous scenarios playing out so I just found it incredibly unrealistic for these characters to be acting so foolishly and also that there were no repercussions for their stupidities. The main character, Jordan, also seems to be taking the entire "transported from one world to another" thing so lightly that I wonder if he's a bit delusional or if he thinks he's dreaming. A lot of the story was also just not explained very well/details seemed to be left out.

All of that said, it was a decent read, it's fast paced, pretty fun, and the art style is cool. Mostly it just seemed like the story was draft, but if you're not super character focused or needing clear details in your graphic novels then you may enjoy this one.


*I received a copy of this title via Netgalley in return for an honest review.