I really liked this graphic novel. It was hard for me at the beginning because I couldn't fully immerse myself in the story but after the 30% mark I read it in one sitting.
As a Latina, I really appreciated the cultural aspects that the novel shows us. I really liked the color palette and the drawing style. My only complaint is that I would have liked it to be longer and explain the magical world more.

Unfortunately this title was archived before I could read and review it. I will be getting it out of my local library as soon as it is published, and post a review then.

What a great book! Thank you Netgalley and Oni books for providing me this early ARC.

I loved the art style and also the story was really good. I cannot wait to read the next volume.
And what is it about?
Lia is a young girl and also a bruja. She lives with her abuela and has a very uncommon friends.
With her powers she can do unbelievable things, even get herselg into a realm of the death.
Solid 4 stars :)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5073711020

We dive right into the story without much explanation and see our protagonist Althalia in action right from the start. As the story progresses, we learn that Althalia is her grandmother's apprentice and is in the midst of her Buja training.
Season of the Bruja is a beautifully illustrated graphic novel with lots of whimsical fun, magic and action on (almost) every page. The pace of the story is kept fairly quick and goes along swiftly.

First off the art in this is so gorgeous! The panels are well-placed and the full pages are a real treat for the eye. The story is straightforward but the details are lovely and make you want to see where it leads. I wish this was twice the length to pad out more for all the characters and the bad guys (which are so hateable). I want to learn more about them all! I am looking forward to the release of more volumes. That said this volume ends nicely without any big cliffhangers making it a satisfying read on its own, no need to wait for more to come out before starting it. Wow, the art pages at the end are so nice and felt like a decadent dessert after a satisfying meal.

*I was given an eARC of this from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful art and illustrations! I wish I felt more connected to the characters and the story, but I still enjoyed it.

This graphic novel has so much promise! I loved the art style and was already invested in the narrative from the beginning. The decolonial aspects, conversations about Indigenous culture, and the magic stand out to me about the graphic novel. I really liked the world we were in and I'm excited about the sequel.

However, there was a LOT going on in the graphic novel. Sometimes it got confusing to keep up with what was going on and I had to go back and re-read some sections to make sense of it. I trust that the sequel will address many of my questions from Volume 1. But as a stand-alone graphic novel, this was my biggest problem.

Still, I recommend it because I was incredibly invested. I just wish we lingered on/fleshed out some plot points more because it was confusing for me as a reader at times.

This was such a beautiful story inside and out, I can't say enough good things about this book. Althalia is a multi dimensional young woman who is still figuring out her magical abilities, lives with her abuela and couple of magical creatures. But everything changes when a racist comment from a stranger gets police involved and Althalia is tossed into a swirl of grief, demonic forces, old history and powerful ancient magic. A bright colour palette and sweet illustration style contrast some of the stories darker elements beautifully and at times left me sobbing from Althalia's emotional journey.

This graphic novel is a colourful tale about family ties, witchcraft and the consequences of grief. I felt deeply connected to Althalia’s anger and denial, to her immense sadness and her path to acceptance and self-discovery.
This graphic novel doesn’t shy away from important conversations about religion and spirituality, colonialism and collective trauma, lost traditions and the importance of protecting an endangered heritage.
It was all beautifully depicted through a strongly focused writing process and a sequence of artworks that literally took my breath away. I loved every single character concept, the way colours and details fully represented the essence of the story and its actors.
It was a beautiful journey, but I almost feel like it ended too soon.
I can’t wait to read the second volume to find out how Althalia deals with the consequences of her actions and her newly found peace.

Althalia and her grandmother, are both special witches - they are "bruja", tasked with keeping a natural order between the living and the spirit realm. But, their kind have been hunted for centuries by an order of catholic priests that can trace their lineage back to Cortez himself. Lia and her two best friends use their supernatural abilities to tackle all manner of evil spirits, including renegade demons who escape cursed dolls. One day, while in a museum full of Aztec treasures, tragedy strikes, leaving Lia to take on the world - both living and spiritual - in a grief-fueled rampage. While Lia’s training may not be complete, she is a strong witch, and she’ll suffer no fools, even demonic ones.

This book is beautifully written and a wonderful look into the mythology of a culture we often don't get to see in published works. As mythology is popular right now, this story will find a home with readers who are in to Rick Riordan's stories and the Rick Riordan Presents line of books. There are some Spanish phrases that have no translations in the work, but with context clues, readers won't be super lost. The pacing of this story is really well done aside from the ending, which felt a tiny bit rushed as Lia quickly came to terms with her grief. The Underworld in this story is reminiscent of Bright World from Hazards of Love by Stan Stanley, so pairing these together would make an interesting text set.

The illustrations are bright and wonderfully colored. The level of detail on the cover is carried throughout, and pages are jam-packed with atmospheric details and supernatural wonders. Characters are expressive, even when in animal form.

Oni Press rates this for Teen, which is an appropriate categorization. Given how much grief and death play a role in the storyline, this would be a heavy read for some younger audiences who may not have experienced the grief of losing someone extremely close to them. There is some fantasy violence and death on the page.

Sara's Rating: 9/10
Suitability Level: Grades 8-12

3.5 rating

Season of the Bruja follows Althalia, a girl apprenticed to her grandmother and learning magic. there is a lot going on in the background, like catching glimpses of dark things under the shining ocean surface, but the main story is magical heritage.

I hope the conquistador/religious aspect is returned to in the second volume as I found that whole conversation to be monumentally interesting. I do wish more information was supplied, as a lot of the scenes I found lackluster but recognized I was missing important background that would have spiced it up. (why was Althalia taking the 'demon' into herself at the beginning so scary to her friends? more importantly, who and what are her friends?? and why didn't her grandmother know any defensive magic? she's literally the last trained adult in this magic culture, idk why she wasn't expecting villainous white people to come after her smh)

on the upside, the art is absolutely lovely. the use of colors is so amazing; I was particularly endeared to Althalia's grandmother's 'pets'. they are so nice to look at, in their heavily saturated palettes, and I loved the designs the frog (?) and the cat had. and the flowers in Althalia's hair were such clever additions, the constant shedding of softly colored petals really added to every scene they appeared in. as far as art and color use goes, absolutely 5/5 stars.

overall, I did like the story and I would definitely pick up volume two just to see where it's going, but it didn't wow me as much as the cover made me think it would. ✨

It is obvious to me that there was a lot of love put into this comic. The passion is there, but it also is its weakness. I think the author had a lot of amazing ideas and just didn't really know how to edit them all down. As a story, this volume is self-contained, but the story is told quite erratically and I feel that if some of the side characters were trimmed and the story reworked it could have been a 5-star out-of-this-world story. There isn't enough space for everything to have pathos/stakes and setup-payoff dynamics. The story IS there, it is the path that we have to get to it that is lacking a bit. I would still recommend this as I do see A LOT of promise here, but yeah... I was left weirdly unsatisfied by this.

This story holds so much promise, and I am thrilled to know this is just volume 1 because I'm already so invested in the characters and would love to see how they develop and where the narrative goes. I loved the decolonial aspects, the magic, and the colors. The storytelling, however, could be much more streamlined because a lot was going on, and I had to re-read a few times to try and make sense of the plot.

*ARC provided by NetGalley for an honest review*

A gorgeously drawn comic with a compelling storyline. I feel like this graphic novel has a lot of potential, so I provided it three stars. However, I felt like there were a number of plot holes in the story and we were never truly given a good backstory to explain the character’s pasts. Overall, I think it has potential, and hopefully volume two can help clear some confusion.

The art of Season of the Bruja is beautiful, and the story throws you right into the action.

I would have liked a little more introduction to the characters at the beginning as I didn’t feel like I knew much about them, however the story was enjoyable and interesting, and the art is absolutely gorgeous.

I loved the recipe at the end, which I will be giving a try! And I will continue the series when volume 2 comes out to see what’s going to happen next.

Thank you so much for net galley for giving me an e-arc of this book

I like this very much! The illustrations is really really good and it really felt like I'm watching an animated series.
A few things that i have to say is that the ending really feels like it's rushed and i really wish that there's a translation for all the spanish phrases that are in this book. But overall a really good graphic novel and I'm looking forward to reading the next books.

From a young age, Althalia knew she would someday be the last of her kind—a bruja, tasked with keeping the power and stories of the ancient ways from fading fully into history. Never alone, Althalia works in a paranormal museum with her friends, a real-life Chupacabra and a were-coyote, while living with and caring for her beloved abuela. Through these powerful connections, her skills and knowledge grow.

Season of the Bruja is a story following a young woman as she comes into her power. Athalia knew she would one day be the last bruja, the last one to keep the knowledge and power passed down for generations. For now, she is living with her abuela and working with her friends in a paranormal museum, and all is well. However, an odd encounter with a priest makes her see firsthand just how intent the church is on destroying the last bruja, how the years of oppression have culminated to this moment, and how fast she needs to come into her power and her role.

I really loved this graphic novel, I thought it was absolutely amazing. The story was very interesting, I was engaged from the very beginning and I read this in one sitting. The main character, Lia, was a really great character to follow, and there's plenty of character development for her in store. The series of events that happen in this book shows her going through some really tough stuff, grief and hardships, and she comes out of it stronger and more determined.

The book deals with family, both blood and found, and that was one of my favorite elements of the story. Lia's abuela is an awesome character, and I loved their relationship so much, it was really sweet. Lia's friends (who are a real-life Chupacabra and a were-coyote), her found family, were amazing as well. The all-around love and care shown by the characters in this novel were like a warm hug while reading this, and I was entirely there for it. The book also deals with topics such as grief and loss, and it was done very well and it felt real.

The villains of the story were also interesting, especially with the added religious background. I thought it was done great, the motives of misguided faith are always really interesting to me. The concept of thinking you're doing the "right" thing and becoming the monster you fear is spot on here, I think. There are also discussions on colonialism, stolen and erased cultures which I found interesting, and I think would be good starting points for younger readers in understanding this.

The art was gorgeous, and the color palette vivid and amazing. I really loved how bright and colorful everything was, the vivid pinks and blues complimented each other beautifully. The characters were lovely, their faces were really expressive. The little familiars in Athalia's house were too adorable. The characters all seemed alive and vibrant, both in appearance and personality. I highly enjoyed the illustrations of this graphic novel.

My only slight issue was the pacing, specifically toward the end. I felt like it quickened a bit more than it should have and then the ending seemed a bit abrupt, with some things a bit rushed. However I really enjoyed the pacing for the majority of the book, and I am excited about the sequel, so I'm not too upset about it. I would highly recommend this graphic novel if it sounds like something it would interest you!

Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with an arc in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you to Oni Press for providing me an ARC through Netgalley in exchange for my honest review!

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
📚 - Graphic Novel / Fantasy / YA / Mythology
📖 - 128 pages

This was such a fun graphic novel! The art is beautiful and touching, and the story was fast-paced and easy to get into. I loved the mix of English and Spanish and thought that the story had a great flow. This is just Volume 1, and I can't wait to see where else the story goes. Will definitely be picking up the next volume.

In this first episode we follow Althalia, young bruja who has to face to difficult choices and her destiny. She has the potential to become a witch of great power but she hasn't got the time to polish her skills. She'll have to trust her family and friends to overcome the difficulties.

I liked the colourful drawings and all the latinx references; the characters are likeable and relatable. I think, though, that all happened too quickly, I felt like I didn't have enough time to know a bit the characters before jumping into all the action.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.