Unfortunately, I did not enjoy this story as much as I hoped. I was confused about the plot and bored with the progression. Majority of the story was the characters meeting in different places and talking about what's going on. I liked the cast of characters but the story was not enough to keep me interested. I was looking for more but did not get it.

This title had such promise with a diverse cast and intriguing plot. However, it was a let down in terms of plot. I love the characters and definitely want to spend more time with them so that will get to me to read book two. However, I was a bit let down by the plot of the story. It could have needed the large amount of setup to give us a place to go in the next book. The humor was fun and I enjoyed the interactions between the characters. I would definitely recommend a prequel as I think some introduction to the world is needed. But I did like the mystery and world building the author created. I just wanted to know more earlier!

‘Realms’ by Yeri Vallejo (4 stars)
David Castellano received a blue pendant on his birthday, at first he thought it was from a family member but when the pendant started glowing he realized it was something more. The book follows him and his friend trying to figure out what the pendant really is.
The story was interesting and the characters were inclusive, a little of everybody it seemed.
This was a good start to the series although I would have loved it to be longer, but now I really want to know what happens next so for the first book it works.

This was a very interesting concept! This book seems to be more about introducing the main characters then the plot itself, though it does give a glance into it. I enjoyed it, but I would like to connect to the plot and characters more, which I am sure will happen throughout the series. 3 ⭐️.

1.5 stars

Firstly, I’d like to thank NetGalley for giving me a free e-ARC of Realms in exchange of an honest review.

David is astonished to discover his older sister Meghan waiting for him in the parking lot after a particularly stressful day at Pensatucket High School. Meghan hasn't gone home since she started college, estranged for years from their mother, Joanne, following their father's death.

She claims, however, that she has a surprise for you today. They drive back to David's house, where his best friends are waiting to celebrate his birthday, unknown to him. Meghan and David almost miss the unnoticed bundle on the doorstep as they walk up the front way. He was stumped by the following questions: who had brought it? And why is that?

David opens the package after being persuaded by his pals to do so, revealing a huge blue pendant on a silver chain. The gift is strange to say the least, with no message attached and no messenger in sight. Furthermore, the blue stone in the setting begins to shine, and as time passes, it becomes increasingly brighter.

David enlists the help of his sister, friends, and their eccentric Aunt Noelia, a historian and expert on antiquities and rarities, to figure out what the weird blue pendant means. The inquisitive crew has no idea that what they discover would change their lives forever and put David's courage, resilience, and strength to the test.

Don't get me wrong: the graphics, drawings, craftsmanship, and characters in this book were all fantastic. It was only the execution that didn't wow me; I felt like I needed a prequel to understand this novel while reading it. Even now, I'm still perplexed by this book. It lacked a backstory, and the lack of a plot turned me off.

Despite my disdain for it, I may read the second issue to see if the plot improves.

Being the first comic I ever read, I didn't know what to hope for. It was an okay read. I liked the diversity of the characters but I was confused regarding the plot and the storyline. And it felt like it stopped in the beginning of the story.

This comic book was interesting - in black and white format, this story has introduced the characters and the mysterious concept, leaving things on a cliffhanger (I will admit, I thought this was quite an abrupt cliffhanger!). This volume didn't go too far into the 'realms' which the title suggests are oncoming in the story (or so I assume), but I think this was a good start. Interested to see future volumes as I think this story could be great.

I am giving this three stars only because this <b>felt</b> like an introduction of characters and a tease of the storyline, but the storyline didn't <i>really</i> kick in. I look forward to reading the next one and giving it a shot as I think the story definitely has potential to expand into quite an a awesome story.

<i>I received an ARC of this volume via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review, which I leave voluntarily.</i>

I feel robbed, this was all build up for what I imagine is a fantastic story, only for it to end on a cliff hanger.

I really want to know where in the world Vallejo is taking this plot, because I found the characters he introduced interesting but the plot was so enticing and we get none of it in this book.

It hooked me and I read it in 10 minutes, I can't wait for the second volume to come out.
The story is about a boy who, on his 15th birthday, receives a blue pendant as an anonymous gift.
This necklace turns out to be not normal at all, and it shines more and more every day and generates strange visions for the protagonist
We see how his aunt, a librarian, helps him and his group of friends and relatives to find possible information about this peculiar object
The characters are Dominican as well, so we have latinx and black rep. We will see if another type of rep appears in the next volumes. (hopefully lgbt)
Also I think I can not review ONE volume and less the first, because the information I have about the story is minimal. But I sure recommend it if you are in the mood to read a fantasy comic.

I really enjoyed this and am really eager to read the next issue. I thought it was fun and I quite enjoyed the characters. There is still more character building I can see coming but I think it's been done well interweaving with the core plot. I quite like that the issue is in all black and white as well. Looking forward to what comes next!

David finds a package on the doorstep . He has been thrown a surprise birthday party. When h opens the package there is a blue pendant. David thinks it must be from his Grandmother but is it? David goes to. Pawn shop to ell it but ends up not doing it. He wears the pendant and it starts to glow. Why is it glowing? His friends and sistertry researching it at the library but don’t find the answers to the questions they have. What will David do?

It’s an excellent mystery as questions from the start don’t get answers. The author have David’s friends be different races. The characters are well written. The. Story includes culture and friendship. The end of the book is a cliffhanger. It’s a beginning of a series so when does the next book come out?

Intriguing little taste of a story to come. Obviously as this is only the first issue of what I imagine will end up as a multi-volume series, you only just get the set up of the characters and the initial conflict. It's hard to judge based on just 30 pages, but it was interesting enough that when there is eventually a full volume to read, I'll probably pick it up.

Quite a muddled start to what might make a reasonable genre read, but it's too early to say for sure either way. A disparate bunch of teens has one of them gifted a peculiar glowing amulet for his birthday, from a completely anonymous source. They immediately jump on Fortean origins, especially when someone starts waving stupid money in their face to buy it. We end here none the wiser, but what we do see is that the artist can draw, even if some of the poses are very static and low on character. We also see the lettering really likes to play fast and loose with conventional placing, so a lot of the text comes to our eye in entirely the wrong order, and the team's greenness means we go from just one or two frames per page and correspondingly huge lettering, to much more wordy, overly-busy pages crammed with too much and all heavily reduced for them to squeeze it all in. An uneven debut for this series, but not irredeemably flawed. Two and a half stars.

Realms is a book about David, a boy who for his birthday receives a mysterious amulet in the mail. The amulet glows without any known power source and the materials used to craft alone are worth up to $10k. The book ends on a cliff-hanger and I can't wait for the next one.

This was an okay book. I am not sure where it's going with the story. But i am not intrigued to find out.

David gets a weird amulet in a random doorstep package (no return address) on his birthday. As time goes on and only when he's wearing the amulet it starts to glow. David and his friends examine the amulet up close and find a symbol on the stone. They all start researching what it could mean and find answers that only leave them with even more questions.

There is magic, mystery,culture, and friendship. The character diversity is awesome. Based on the title and this first volume, I am hoping for some realm hopping! I think this is the start of what will be a very interesting and cool story. I can't wait to read more!

A young man, David Castellano, receives a strange, though beautiful blue necklace in the mail. He assumes it is a birthday gift from his grandmother and has little interest in it. After a thought and half-hearted attempt to sell the necklace, David finds it glowing softly one night. He shows his friends who offer the usual over-the-top reasoning for this, it's solar-powered, it has batteries, it came from outer space and aliens.
From here David goes on a search with his friends and sister, as well as an eccentric aunt to discover the origin and the meaning of the necklace.

I admit when I started this, I got the feeling that I was walking into the middle of a movie. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who, what the latest idea of where the necklace came from, or what it meant or wanted. I was still lost when I was finished.

This being the first volume, I won't fault the author for this. But I honestly did not find the end spot to garner enough interest in me to wonder what happens next.

Thanks to @Netgalley, BooksGoSocial, and Yeri Vallejo for the opportunity read this eArc in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

I got about 50% into this issue before I had to put it down because the art was bad, the story was bad, the dialogue was PAINFUL.

This read like a very early draft which needed LOTS of editing and refining

It's like so confusing. Honestly, I was expecting something different. The description made me think it was kind of a mystery, magical, story for kids, but it isn't. There's missing parts or something. I didn't connect with the story at all, even though it had a big potential.
The premise was good.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Realms, issue #1 by Yeri Vallejo is a gripping YA graphic novel that will appeal to fans of Morning Glories or Tower Prep. The story revolves around David, who receives a mysterious pendant when he turns 15. Who could have given it to him? And why? Is the pendant magic? David and his friends will find out the answers to these questions, and more!

Overall, issue #1 of Realms is a nice introduction to what seems like a mysterious and intriguing series. One highlight of this book is the artwork. The characters seem well-drawn. I was also intrigued by the story. Unfortunately, since this book only included issue #1, I'm not able to make any firm conclusions about whether I will like the series or not. At it stands, I'm not sure if I will seek out issue #2. If you're intrigued by the description, you can check out this book, which is available now.