Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

Initially I was attracted to this book by the art. I almost decided against requesting it, though, as the blurb on NetGalley decided to throw Percy Jackson under the bus to lift this book up. Someone clearly didn't read past the first series, as there are many POC and LGBTQ+ main characters in later books. But that was just a personal peeve since I love Riordan's work and his efforts to educate himself and lift up voices who can do those sorts of characters better than he could. That aside, the comparison isn't even accurate: this is nothing like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. As someone who has read both series, the only thing it has in common with HP is the fact that they're in school; the only thing it has in common with PJ&O is that they fight monsters.

If I were to compare this with any popular media, I would go with something more like Naruto, My Hero Academia, or even Final Fantasy. The art style looks very anime-inspired to me. The way that cooking is linked with monster-fighting reminds me a lot of the Qun in Final Fantasy IX-- one of your characters is a chef and fights with utensils, and they eat monsters.

The biggest negative I can think of is the personal drama in this book. Maybe I'm just way too past the demographic to have the patience for this "misunderstanding leads to drama" nonsense that went on for way too long. The fact that Olivia holds this grudge against Hana for so long over an innocent comment was pretty annoying; all the back-and-forth between Hana and her childhood friend got tiring. I feel like that took up most of the story rather than learning about the monsters or the fighting/cooking techniques. I would've also liked more character interactions, as I didn't feel I knew any of them much beyond Hana, Olivia and Salem-- and Salem only because he was such a big personality I loved him every time he showed up.

The art style is very nice, the dialogue is good, and the world-building is excellent. Probably the best part of the book. Which is honestly why I wanted that part to get more focus than it did. I wanted to learn how this school came to be, why they chose cooking to be their way of dealing with monsters, what each monster type meant, and just more emphasis on fighting and cooking. Would've been cool to have a few recipes thrown in, too. They are culinary warriors, after all.

I think it's a pretty decent start. If it can ease off the personal drama and focus on the world and the other characters, I think it'll be a good series.

Think warriors. Now think chefs. Totally unrelated, right?

Wrooooooooong!!

Cooking with Monsters crafts an extremely interesting and unique world populated with extremely interesting and diverse characters! As we follow Hana on her journey to become the greatest warrior chef, there is rarely a dull moment making for an enjoyable story!

And let's talk about the art itself... Beautiful!!! Every tile is vibrant and full of life. The character designs themselves were ✨✨✨

Altogether, a super fun story and I can't wait to see how it develops!

I had thought it would have now fantasy world elements to it. Loved all the monsters they fight and the battle spatulas. Didn't care much for the heavy dialogue and characters got dull quickly. Wish it had leaned more into fantasy elements than modern day issues.

**I received an ARC copy of this graphic novel from Netgalley. This is my honest opinion.**

Cooking with Monsters is a character-driven YA graphic novel that introduces us to a beautiful world with really cool creatures.

I love the illustration style in this book! The colors are vivid and everything is so detailed. It made for a very engaging visual read. The worldbuilding drew me in and I wanted to get to know more about all the cool critters. The worldbuilding focuses on teens at a school for warrior chefs. The world they live in is full of creatures who can sometimes be deadly, and the warrior chefs are responsible for eliminating the dangerous critters when they threaten, harvesting from the more tame ones, and creating new recipes with all those ingredients. A lot of time was spent on character development and relationships with some action sequences thrown in.

This books does approach the topic of xenophobia and prejudice but in a way that is natural and understandable for the age group. The two main characters parents were from islands in an area known as the Archipelago. This is brought up a few times both in their appreciation for their cultures (by cooking food from their parents homelands) and when interacting with characters who judge them based on their heritage. I liked how there was an age appropriate struggle with feelings, friendships, family, relationships, and romance.

Overall this was a fun, pretty cozy YA graphic novel with an inclusive cast that made me hungry (sometimes literally) for more stories from this world!

My 8 year old son also got wind that I had this ARC and read it before I got a chance. He loved it (especially the giant spatula's) and wants to read more from this series. We'll be picking this up for our bookshelf at home!

This is so great! I didn't know this is the concept that I loved to read the most, the combination of fighting and cooking! Warrior chefs are so cool and all of the characters in here felt like real people to me. There's a diverse set of characters from ethnicity to gender identity and sexuality. I loved the friendship "drama" between Bobby and Hana, and how they mend their relationship. The illustrations are so beautiful and the plot and character arcs are so intricate and written well. The balance between the plot and the character relationships and interactions are so fun to follow as it smoothly weaves along together. I can't wait to follow Hana, Bobby, Olivia, Tom, Salem, Layla, Anne, and Aldo on their second year in Gourmet school. I highly recommend!

I found this interesting. It had elements of Harry Potter (the school aspect), Ghibli/anime (the art style and whimsical-ness), and Rutabaga the Adventure Chef. It all came together to make quite an adventure packed book but with also a contemporary feel of a YA graphic novel complete with angst and emotion.

I selected this book because of its unique theme for cooking. I am a middle school SPED teacher with a student who LOVES cookbooks and graphic novels. This is a fun book to help build on those interests. The text itself is simple to follow & illustrations are great. The storyline is just fine, as a grown-up its not particularly appealing to me, but I'm sure the kids would pick it up and be interested enough to finish it. Whatever it takes to keep the kids reading!

**Educator reviewing an advance review copy provided to me in exchange for an honest review.**

Omg I loved this so much!! The world building is amazing & its such a unique concept I couldn’t help but be immediately obsessed. So I already can’t wait to read the next one I need it asap!

The plot: It’s a fantasy graphic novel set in a land filled with monsters. Some are friendly, some can be domesticated, but some are just ruthless killers. These are dealt with by people called warrior chefs. They have the most prestigious jobs in all of Gourmand. They’re both amazing chefs & fighters. The story follows Hana & Bobby from the countryside as they travel to the capital to attend the warrior chef college. But life as a teenager isn’t always easy with exams, friendship feuds & inner turmoil, nevermind adding monsters to the mix. Can they navigate it all to survive their first year?

The characters: I honestly really liked these. They were all very realistic & felt like actual teenagers; strong emotions, petty feuds & a determination to follow their dreams. I also liked the adults/teachers as they were all individuals too but also know what’s best for the students. There’s also a lot of great queer rep amongst the students!

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. This was a fun read and I know my kids will enjoy it. It’s got cooking plus fighting monsters as you cook. The kids learn to deal with things they come up and realize there’s help along the way.

I got an ARC of this book.

This was adorable. It was silly, but covered some really intense topics at the same time. I was a little surprised it wasn’t just pure silly. Instead there was a lot of emotions and hero worship. There were rivalries, bullies, and racism. It was wild just how much was in this book.

The art was great. It fit the story perfectly. It had an element of silly when the artist wanted it to, but was able to carry the more serious moments with ease. I loved seeing the different monsters. Some were ones I knew, but others were wild. Mushrooms off a moose made me laugh. The weapons were great! The whisk really intrigued me. How would fighting with one work? I break so many of them cooking, I can’t imagine that being a helpful weapon.

The story itself was what took off a star for me. There were some amazing elements. The issue I had was pacing. In less than three hundred pages an entire year and multiple backstories were told. It felt breakneck speed. I wanted to have more about the side characters. I knew so little about them or about the world. Why are there refugees? Why are the archipelago islands looked down on? What are other professions in this world? How did chef’s become this big force? Having some of these questions means I am hooked, but there are just so many unanswered parts because the story was rushed.

I loved how this was a queer norm world. There were trans people just allowed to exist. The trans guy I saw and thought based on the art/chest scars that he could be, but then a hundred pages later it was said he was trans. I was so excited. There were they/them pronouns that were 100% respected. transphobia was not a plot! There were queer people. No sexuality labels were used, but there were hints that there was queer. I can’t wait to see if that blossoms.

Overall, this was really fun. It would be a great video game. I would immediately buy an RPG about this world.

I read this book. My son love it. The graphics, the penmanship was on point. It fit the concept of warrior culinary contest. I like the opening page where the children were running from the hungry big snake and the snake ended up begin the meal. I like how it broke down the meals and it was very interesting. The cover and description fit the book well. It was easy for my son to read and he enjoyed it so much..

The world-building in this new graphic novel series is just delicious! In the book's universe, warrior chefs roam the land like samurais, vanquishing (and then cooking up) the monsters who threaten the populace. Hana has dreamed of becoming a warrior chef from the time she was saved from a basilisk as a young child. The bulk of the story takes place at warrior chef training academy, where we follow Hana and her peers through the first year of training. There's fantastic diversity in race, gender, and sexual orientation, and navigating the line between teen friendship and romance is sensitively addressed. Teens will enjoy both the fast-paced action and the school story.