Cute story. Quick read and I liked that the witch felt new and fresh when it is a trope used fairly often

Thanks to Netgalley for the arc in return for an honest review!

Nice cute wlw witchy book with donuts and music thrown in there too. Would recommend to anyone looking for a sweet, quick read.

When Margot accidently curses Elena, the cashier at a doughnut shop, she has to find a way to deal with the consequences and stop the curse - and also flirt with Elena just a little bit. My only complaint is that the book should have been longer. It would have been nice to learn why the lady had it in for Margot or if she passes her exam and keeps her license.

argot Grapes and Elena cross paths on an unfortunate day for both of them. Margot has failed her witch hub exam…again and Elena is stressed about her upcoming performance later that night. After a run in at Elena’s work at a donut shop, Margot unknowingly curses Elena. What ensues is a short, quirky story about two young women who help each other to be their best selves.

This was an extremely fast paced fantasy graphic novel. I enjoyed the animation style with mostly blues and pink when magic shows up. However, this story did move a little too quickly for me! I liked the relationship between Elena and Margot (who Elena calls by her last name, Grapes) and Elena’s relationship with her best friend/band mate, Bob. I wish there would have been more of a dive into the witch hub and the title didn’t really seem fitting.

This title is a great graphic novel that explores different aspects of personal growth. I think many will enjoy this story and reread this comic.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an advanced copy in return for a review!

Doughnuts and Doom is a cute little story about a musician and a witch that meet under duress and quickly fall in love. The art and color palette are beautiful and whimsical, and I can easily see myself falling in love with this world if (and when) further developed. That I find to be the text's biggest downfall; the characters meet, fight, settle their dispute, fall in love, and resolve a life-affecting curse in the short span of 140 pages. There isn't nearly enough time to develop and show off facets of the magic system or fully develop the aspects of Margot and Elena's relationship. Much to look forward to, I hope!

A short and sweet graphic novel with wonderful characters and expressive artwork. I would love to see further stories about Elena and Margot!

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This graphic novel is such a cute story and the ending left me wanting more. The two main characters, Margot and Elena, had the opposite of a meet-cute, more like a meet-hate, at a local donut shop where Elena works. Overall the story was very sweet, no pun intended, but I wish the “villain” had more of a motivation than just having a grudge against Margot. I’m hoping this graphic novel continues because it left me wanting more.

I wish this was longer! I loved the concept and the world and the art and the characters! The story was great and I feel like there was enough weight in it even though it was a bit short. I was convinced and this was an easy read.

This super cute queer graphic novel follows a witch and a musician. After an unfortunate first meeting, they end up becoming friends. As their friendship grows into something more, each of them start to build their confidence in themselves and each other. I thought this was a great love story that could definitely be the start to a fun series. I wish the story were a little bit longer, as there were parts that felt a little rushed. I just loved the characters and wanted more of them! Overall, a really cute queer graphic novel that I think many will enjoy.

I ended up not really liking this book. Example: I'm writing this about a week after reading it and I honestly can't recall many details, so it wasn't very memorable. I think the premise was too frustrating for me. I hated how the witch reacted in the cafe. And I hated that the "villain" didn't have much motivation beyond just being a jerk. I found the story itself a bit hard to enjoy with those two factors. The art is very cute though.

A gorgeous and beautiful story filled with sweet characters, snark and a cute familiar named Stanley.

I loved it to pieces and hope that this world is expanded on in future stories as it was just beautiful.

Absolutely brilliant!!

Truthfully, the golden-retriever-snake, Stanley, won my over instantly. Then the soft and warm enemies-to-friends-to-lovers was just icing on the cake.

I read this so quickly and it filled me with joy! I will absolutely be recommending this to anyone who will listen.

Doughnuts and Doom is an adorable story about how a chaotic encounter at a doughnut shop brings a witch and a wannabe rock star together. The artwork is adorable and unique, and I liked both main characters as a duo. The larger plot is a little thin in some places, but at least for this reader that wasn't the draw in the first place; the romance aspect of this graphic novel felt more relevant than any sort of magical spell. Overall, it's a cute read that I'd recommend to fans of other queer meet-cute graphic novels.

Thank you to IDW and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.

Thank you to Top Shelf and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this Digital ARC of Doughnuts and Doom!
This review is posted on Goodreads and here on NetGalley.

I wanted to like this book. I really did.

As a lesbian who exclusively listens to hardcore music, the premise was right up my alley: a rock star and a witch fall for each other as they overcome their own personal struggles.

Unfortunately, there was little to no chemistry between the characters. There are certain definitive elements of a sapphic romance, and romance in general, that were absent. There was no emphasis on the development of feelings.
The characters were flat and didn’t seem attracted to each other at all, to the point where the kiss at the end felt abrupt and forced.

This aside, the art style and color palate of the cover were very cute. I also loved the tidbit about the intelligence levels of familiars. I also enjoyed the cinematic quality of the ending. However, the plot made no sense. I did not understand how the curse functioned (aside from its convenience as a plot device) and the fact that the protagonist’s singing was what fixed it also seemed strange.

At the end of it, Doughnuts and Doom felt like a book about sapphics created by someone who is not a part of the community, but has similar interests (music and witchcraft) and tried to market toward that audience by adding in an awkward kiss and marketing it as a queer romance.

In this not so scary world of witches and curses, we follow Elena, an aspiring Rockstar and part-time doughnut shop girl, and Margot, a teenage witch with a bit of performance anxiety, as they stumble their way into each others lives and towards their dreams of doing cool and awesome things. Meeting on a day where nothing seems to be going right for either of them, it is safe to say the two were not friends from the get go. Margot demands chocolate doughnuts, Elena retorts that they don’t have any, one thing leads to the other and a cursed doughnut Elena stress-eats after their confrontation wreaks havoc on her rock gig later that night. When Margot hears about this, she is overcome with guilt and reaches out with an antidote only to discover that a friendship between the two may not be doomed after all.
Between the cover and the title, I think it is safe to assume that this is a cute book, and it absolutely is! It is a super low stakes tale that I think anyone interested in casual graphic novels will enjoy. With that being said, it doesn’t really add to the LGBTQ+ witchy YA graphic novel genre…there are plenty of other graphic novels that I think have the same elements, but either do something really unique with witchcraft or develop stronger, more believable relationships (I am thinking Mooncakes, Witch Boy, Witchlight…even Squad although that is a werewolf book). I didn’t particularly like Elena or Margot. Maybe if I got to know them better, like if we dived into Margot's love for potions and her process, or Elena’s inspiration for her music, I would feel differently, but we got very surface level information about them. Also, going from screaming to each other to making out in what, 48 hrs? Eh, not so much.
Now, Margot’s familiar is a whole different story. STANLEY deserves all the love in the world and is such a good snake. His animations are adorable and I loved his inclusion in the story. Give us more stanley!!! Even like a side comic. How did he become Margot’s familiar? What does Stanley like to do? What if Stanley started to develop more intelligence the longer he is a familiar? I demand answers.
Thank you to NetGalley, Balazs Lorinczi, IDW Publishing, and Top Shelf Productions for providing me with an ARC in exchange for a honesty review!

This was a really cute book about a witch who accidentally curses the cashier at a doughnut shop - who also happens to be the singer for a local band. The rest of the story deals with them overcoming the consequences of the curse and maybe a little bit of flirting.

Overall, this was a really adorable book but it was so short! We never got to know why the head of the witch hub had it out for Margo. I wish there would have been some explanation of that and a few more pages at the end so we could see Margo pass her exam. But overall, I liked it and would recommend it to anyone wanting a cute fast read.

Super cute and fast-paced. I'm not one for insta-love but this was subtle enough that it wasn't annoying. I loved the witchy content and how it was just normal to have witches, but also was still magical and new at the same time.

I liked the art, and the story was pretty cute, but the relationship happened very quickly and the ending felt abrupt. Mixed feelings on this one.

3.5 stars - cute!! this fun little graphic novel follows margot grapes, a potion-brewing witch who keeps failing the test to get her spell-casting license. angry about another failure, she causes some chaos at the doughnut shop elena works at when she finds out they're out of her favorite chocolate doughnuts. besides working at the doughnut shop, elena is also an aspiring rockstar feeling disheartened by the low turnout at her band's gigs. the plot is relatively straight-forward and kicks up when elena finds out she's accidentally been cursed, forcing elena and margot to be drawn into each other's lives. very short and sweet, i loved the art style, the soft pink and blue color palette, and the cozy, slice-of-life feeling this story gives off - it feels reminiscent of suzanne walker's 'mooncakes' or carly usdin and nina vakueva's 'heavy vinyl.' i only wish it were longer, as i felt the romantic relationship could use more time to develop and the ending was a bit of a too-easy resolution for our characters. i'd recommend anyone intrigued by the premise (witches! rockstars! doughnut shop! sapphic romance!) pick this up for a quick and simple escape!

This is a really cute, queer and quirky tale that I will definitely recommend to my LBGTQIA+ students! It's got a little bit of everything: fantasy, sci-fi and coming of age––what's not to like?