Member Reviews
Disappeared off my device before I had the chance to read it. Thank you for the ARC, Netgalley. I will read it once published.
This was a great start to what I hope is a successful series for Simon Curtis. 'The Witches of Silverlake' takes cues from many popular witch-centric media and adds a beautiful layer of inclusivity. The art style is beautiful and I was so engrossed by the story that when it was over, I wanted to start the volume over again.
If your readers are looking for something with similarities to 'The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' or 'The Craft,' they will absolutely love this.
This was dark and brooding and overall a fun read. I don't know if I would continue reading it but the story was unique and a fun take on the genre.
I received a complimentary copy of this book through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.
This feels unfinished? I know it's only volume one, but I can't help feeling I'm missing something. I mostly liked it though otherwise.
Elliott moves to LA, joins a coven of witches, and somehow unleashes a murderous demon. Loved the 90s Buffy/Charmed/The Craft vibes of this book, both in the plotline and in the illustrations. The soft pastel color palette interrupted by vivid red blood and demons was very fun! I also enjoyed the diverse cast of characters and queer representation. The pacing was a little uneven at times, and more depth of character development would have been welcome. None of the mysteries are resolved at the end of this volume, but it’s a fun series opener.
ARC provided by NetGalley!
This was such a blast - I had requested it awhile ago on NetGalley then saw it being promoted at Librarycon and wanted to read it even more. By the time I was approved I had kind of forgotten about it and was reading it just to read…and I LOVED it!! I had recently read The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and this gave me the same vibes. The bone chilling illustrations of the red demon haunts me a little and the grotesque deaths in it as well. I love love love the characters and always support (almost) entirely queer casts lol. The story itself is intriguing and very engaging although confusing at times. My assumption is this is on purpose to gain more intrigue since we aren’t really sure what the demons want with Elliot. I especially loved the character bios at the end, normally I skim over those but these were actually super helpful and made me even more excited for the future. I want to see their powers and what is in the works for them!! For sure adding to our library 🧙♀️
Thank you to Netgalley for the e-arc!
I liked the premise and it kept me reasonably engaged throughout. This whole book was giving CW teen show vibes. Think Gossip Girl mixed with Charmed, and a little bit of Teen Wolf and the Craft. And it ended on a cliffhanger, wth. I didn't even notice that it said "volume one" so now I'm invested enough to read more.
After the death of his father, Elliot Green is getting a fresh start at a one of LA’s most prestigious private school in Los Angeles. When he gets there, he is befriended by a group of outcasts who are convinced he is the final member of their coven. Elliot soon finds himself in their world of crystal stores and occult shops, going to coven meetings and doing magical experiments... that eventually lead to the release of a bloodthirsty demon that starts murdering their classmates and teachers. Elliot in particular begins to be haunted by the demon and a strange crystal. This is the first book in the series, and while I loved the pretty artwork and the potential of the story, I felt it was actually lacking a plot and substance. It felt kind of like The Craft, but maybe just like the very beginning of the movie where she moves to a new school and befriends some witches and they work on awakening their powers. Overall, it was a pretty comic it just didn’t really feel like there was much story in it.
*Thanks Netgalley and Legendary Comics, Legendary Comics YA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
I absolutely loved the artwork and plot line of the book, but it was a bit lacking. The plot line was very solid but I feel as though it could be more in depth and fleshed out. At times it felt as though I was missing crucial information. Despite this it was a fun and relaxing quick read. I loved the diversity of the characters and the overall vibes of them! Just wish there was more of it. Definitely reads as a debut novel but not necessarily in a bad way.
Talk about a fast read! Thanks NetGalley for the ARC.
I loved this comic. It immediately gave us a reference from “mean girls” and it definitely gives off “the craft” vibes. There are mentions of suicide so that could be triggering for some. There is some gore but it isn’t on every page. The story is of a young student who is in high school and moves to LA when his mom becomes a vice principal at a new school. He makes friends on the first day, finds out he has powers, and things go haywire from there. It was a load of fun to read. I can’t wait to see more.
YA graphic novel about a group of friends who are discovering magic in real life together. Elliot has recently shifted to this new town where he ends up joining a coven, fighting demons and discovering magic as well as friendship. The moment I started reading this I knew it is going to be a 5-star read.
The graphic novel captures attention and continuously builds up excitement with every flip of the page. The story is exhilarating and devastating in the same breath, especially considering the ending.
It is also a coming-of-age story with LGBTQ2+ rep which was an additional feature and not just the focus of the story, the story is nostalgic in the sense that it explores quite few of the high school events and people that give that unique edge to that phase in our lives.
The illustrations were definitely adding brilliance to the plot.
This book has a slightly confusing narrative, jumping from one event to the next far too quickly, but it still tells an engaging story.
Following the suicide of his father, Elliot and his mother move to Los Angeles for a fresh start. Elliot has always been inclined toward the supernatural and now the witches' coven at his new school is ready to accept him as a new member. All kinds of strange things seem to happen when Elliot is involved including glimpses into the future.
I wish I could say I liked this title, but I found the storyline choppy, the characters confusing, and the timeline moved a little too fast. One moment the students are mourning the school principal and the next moment, they are getting ready for homecoming. The whole story seemed to be all over the place in quick jolting scenes and I can't find myself caring for any of the characters. I don't think I would pick up the next volume.
Unfortunately the formatting of the proof was off, therefore big chunks of the story were missing even though I read it on iPad.
This highly impacted my enjoyment of the story, as I had to often guess what was happening and couldn't fully follow the story. Regardless of this, I loved the art style, and the little plot I could follow reminded me of stories such as The Secret Circle, which I loved as a child.
I enjoy graphic novels a lot, my students do too, and I will certainly purchase this item to be able to enjoy it fully once it's in print since the proof isn't readable. I give it three stars because of the formatting.
Elliot is a teenager whose father committed suicide a few months ago and due to Elliot's depression and anxiety his mother has moved them across the country to a new school and new job. He is immediately scooped up by a group of teens that all want to be witches as they realize that Elliot has some powers himself. All of a sudden people start dying and these strange hooded figures and trying to get to Elliot. This could be really good, but there is just no plot and no explanation of anything. I can't tell you who's who, and all the characters are just typical high school stereotypes. If it didn't require a sequel to understand what is happening, I would be excited about this. The artwork was okay, but wasn't very exciting or add very much to the story. I don't know if I'm just missing something from this story or if it just didn't give any information.
Thank you to netgalley, the publisher and the author for the Arc
My review may contain spoilers, so please proceed with caution ⚠️
The witches of silverlake is a graphic YA novel by Simon Curtis and it's about a boy named Elliot who recently moved to LA with his mom, after the recent passing of his father. So they move to LA for a fresh new start. Elliot goes to a fancy new private school and his mom also works there as the new vice principal.
The book moved very fast for me. From the moment we get introduced to Elliot, he immediately gets accepted into this friend group? That happens to be witches?? We're moving wayyy to fast family. Like it' hasn't been 10 minutes and already so much has happened. Who is Elliot? Why exactly did they move from where they lived before? Why does he have these powers? Why is a weird person in a mask and cloak following Elliot around? What is that red demon and what does it want with Elliot? What on earth happened with Rachel? She completely flipped like a switch and ditched her friends with no explanation?? Did I miss something? Can Elliot see the future? Because everything he saw or dreamt became true? What does it all mean? The book skipped over so many things, it was all over the place and it was confusing most of the time.
I like the characters and the story is nice, I do think it needs some fine tuning. The illustrations are really great and I love the fact that this book has LGBTIA+ representation 🌈🏳️🌈🥹❤
From the outset I was seriously confused. The first “dream sequence” was a bit much to get my head around but I persevered and I am glad I did. If you like a good teenage witch story with weird demons I wouldn’t put you off it as it is enjoyable. It doesn’t feel hugely original but I still enjoyed it and the artwork is beautiful and evocative. It really sets the mood and atmosphere throughout. Overall it was a decent read just a little bit clunky and often left me going what did I just see in those frames, what’s going on? I really had to concentrate! Thanks for the ARC copy Netgalley.
This was just too creepy and gory for me to be able to make it all the way through. Not what I was expecting.
Why can’t I get more graphic novels like this one? I want more books to do nods to their predecessors. We got a Mean Girls reference towards the very beginning and I knew I’d love this! Then there were The Craft ones too.
The Witches of Silverlake follows Elliot, who after his father’s suicide and his own attempt, moves across country to LA from Detroit. His mother gets a job as a VP of a Christian Academy and he gets a full ride scholarship. On his first day, he meets a group of outcasts that quickly befriend him… who are looking for their final coven member.
This has a very diverse cast, including many queer characters. Even the popular jock is gay, so you could say that I was excited about it becoming a series.
I really hate when a book ends on a huge cliffhanger… Elliot walking in and seeing ______ hooking up, running away, and then finding 🩸🗡️???? I’m not giving anything away… you’d have to read it to understand. 🤯🤯🤯
This doesn’t come out until JULY!!!!!! So does that mean it’ll be 2024 before I get to read the sequel?😭😭😭
This graphic novel was somewhere between okay and good. The art was good, though the expressions were a little stiff. I also didn't feel like there was much plot. The characters simply moved from one scene to another. It didn't have a traditional three-act story which made it hard to follow. I love the characters though!