Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book, as this book has already been published, I will not share my review on Netgalley at this time.

This was cute. I did end up having to wait until I could get a copy though since none of the options through netgalley seemed to work for me. So that was kind of a bummer.

Anyway, I think I would have enjoyed this more if I was more of a gamer, but it was still pretty cute.

I would likely recommend this to big gamers.

I had gotten an arc of this from NetGalley forever ago and didn’t get to it before it was archived. I happened to see a physical copy at the library today and decided to grab it. I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting this to be but I didn’t have as much fun as I thought I was going to. I think there are too many storylines going on, there needs to be one or two less subplots.

The characters were really cool though! I wish we had learned why Agni has skeleton arms lol. I may or may not continue on with the story when the next volume comes out.

This looked like something I would have enjoyed and was looking forward to it. Unfortunately I could not open it through and app. Sad I couldn't review it😔

Coming at you with all the exuberance of the most childish combat mangas, and with the aesthetic of fighting arcade games, this actually starts feeling as if it riffs quite nicely on the beat-'em-up story. It's a world where a lot of people have tried to train themselves, levelling up and gaining bonkers skills, because every now and again a huge contest puts together an ultimate team (never the ultimate one, mind) to best the local witch. Our heroine, Agni, is an ace at potions and life-restoring gunk, and of course of having just the right one on hand at just the right time. Oh and hands that are skeletal. Just because.

There's a kind of slapstick element to her fish-out-of-water story, as seen early on when she has no idea who to help first in a fight she stumbles across. That's part of the visual side of things, too, where no one sentence can have a font size the same as the one before or after, and where all the frames have to be different, and placed differently, leaving copious white page into which so, so much of the speech and thought bubbles can bleed. But if anything this is less slapstick and more Benny Hill chase, for this makes you turn the page at record speed, so sparse and simplistic the action and script.

But it's a pity that so much of it resorts to the lowest denominator – fighting for fighting's sake, training montages chapters long, etc. So much is the training and so much the bickering and fighting that you just know this is going to get nowhere near a conclusion. And in the finish it is too close to its sources. Certainly if you come to this wanting something more that fighty-fighty-smashy-crashy, that's all you're going to get. This isn't a pastiche, it's nothing meta – it just is what it pays homage and obeisance to, and just tries to get away with turning everything up to eleven. That makes it a must-buy for many, I know, but not for the likes of me.

I've been super excited for this title as it seems absolutely brilliant from the synopsis and the cover alone! Unfortunately, the file for the review copy of this wouldn't download correctly so I didn't get to read most of the volume. However, I did really enjoy the parts of this that I did get to read.

From what I can tell, the opening of Witch's Throne is intriguing and also kind of nostalgic as it reminds me of a lot of the cartoons and stuff I used to watch as a kid! I was definitely hooked in by what I could read of this volume and it seems like it's going to be a lot of fun!

I also really loved the art because not only are the characters cute, but it's nice and colourful!

i think i liked it. The illustrations were to die for - so cute, gave off these mysterious vibes. It was a really solid book, but I didn’t particularly fall in love with anything. But i recommend!

Review to come October 8th on blog/goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

This review may be a bit chaotic. I am superduper tired after a night of barely sleeping, but I do want to read and review this book, so um, I will just write along as I read. XD

😍 The prologue! Oh, that was just kick-ass and it made me want to read so much more!
😍 The MC, what is up with her. What happened to her arms? Why is she so strong? Why does she want to go to the big city? Why is she not impressed by many things?
😍 Awesome world-building.
😍 Everyone's names. Or well, most of the names. They just sounded epic and so much fun and also perfect for this world. Grom Foster! Ohh!
😍 Btw Grom reminds me of a Nier Automata character, especially later on.
😍 That Weapon Lord Skill? Hello? Unlimited Blade Works? YAS! Bring it!
😍 DAYUM to the fights. Those were wonderfully done and I love the motion and how the author/illustrator just manages to capture it all.
😍 The potions our MC has. LORD, this girl is amazing. She brews some very interesting potions and I would love to see them for real. I mean, something that heals and takes care of the killing instinct? A potion that grows vines and is kick-ass? Hello! Bring it. A potion named Grace of Amadues? Hello? Yes!
😍 The various weapons we see pop by. And the names they have! Bring me a Dainslef!
😍 Even moves have epic names. Well, OK, some are just telling what the attack does, but some actually have some cool names that just makes you want to do them. Sadly, no magic here.
😍 Training montage! Ah this reminds me of the shounen anime/manga I watched/read. Poor Agni, haha. Get those muscles build. It is indeed clear that Grom... well is Grom and doesn't need that help, look at those muscles. Whoo.
😍 This part: "Mico Dharma, the genius arhat, has disintegrated entire valleys to ensure nothing could disturb her sleep." Girl, I love my sleep as well, but HOLY HELL. Don't come between her and a good sleep/nap.
😍 Backstories. YAS YAS. I love it when we get those and we learn more about characters. What makes them tick. How they got to this point.
😍 The characters. We have our good characters, but we also have some amazing yandere/welp she will fuck you over characters. I love it.
😍 Loved seeing Grom and Agni grow and see Reksha have fun with the training. They really got stronger and I loved that Agni found a way to also be able to fight. Not just rely on throwing potions or using magic, but also be able to use magic as a way to make her stronger. To make her fight.
😍 That test made by Reksha. Haha, they thought her training was hard, but oh boy she made one big test for them. I had a laugh that Grom thought his was going to be easy. Oh Grom, you silly little elf man. XD
😍 The Giant! I did NOT expect that one! That explains some things and then some more as he knows about the very first witch!
😍 Love the art, love it so much. It is fun and exciting and just lives! That sounds strange, but I have read some graphic novels or manga or comics that just felt very stilted. This one just POPS and everything feels very alive.

🤣 People can we please talk before initiating into battles? Please?

🙄 But really, can we stop compressing/blurring/whatever. This may sound ungrateful, but I just had such a hard time at times reading this book. The text was blurry and at times just hard to read. Even my husband had questions about it. Like, that he hopes that this isn't the finished version and that for the real version (both e or normal) it is better quality.

All in all, I need volume 2 now, because they haven't even gone to the Citadel yet, this one just sets the grounds for an epic saga. A saga I want to keep on reading. Because awesome characters. Fab art. Great magic and weapons. Great lore. And more! I would recommend this one.