Eight Limbs is a passionate story about a former Muay Thai champion who takes in an orphan, Mari.

This graphic novel is beautiful from the plot to the characters to the artwork. It's action packed due it being heavily centered on sports.

Watching a story about two women, one older and the other younger navigate a relationship as a Foster parent and as troubled orphan was intense as much as it was heart warming.

We follow Joanne's determination to break through Mari's walls even if it means she has to challenge her past fears as a former Muay Thai champion.

I enjoyed reading Eight Limbs. Thank you so much for the arc.

A martial arts story that's more Rocky and less Mortal Kombat, this tale is perfect for inspiring young female readers. Review to come on No Flying No Tights.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this eARC of this awesomely enjoyable graphic novel.

I have only just dipped my toes into graphic novels, but having been a female boxing fan all my life, this story was an easy "knockout" for me.

Tells the story of a street tough, taken under the wings of a previous Muay Thai champ named Joanna Carr, who is now a trainer. As she and her family slowly break through Mari's tough outer shell, there are some misunderstandings along the way.

Graphics and dialogue are both fun and engaging as there is NOTHING I didn't enjoy about this story and the misunderstood ruffian, it rates an easy 5 stars from me. I would love to read more from this series!!! Please continue it!

I wasn't sure what to expect when I requested Eight Limbs because to me, it sounded like there was going to be a heavy emphasis on Muay Thai as a sport rather than the story in the blurb. But I was wrong! There was actually a really good balance between the story aspect of Eight Limbs and the aspect of Muay Thai as a sport, the two parts worked well together. I don't want to say too much about the story because it's such a quick read, but while it was a bit predictable, it was interesting to learn a bit about Muay Thai and I did end up tearing up over one part. It's a story I'll definitely be recommending to people looking for standalone graphic novels!

I really liked the art style but that tend to be a fairly personal preference. I learned a lot about muay thai. Nice action scenes. Sweet story of finding a family.

Though certain elements were slightly predictable, I liked this book substantially more than I expected to. Violent, yes, but warm and loving and familial in ways I enjoyed a great deal. The art was clear and nice as well. No confusion at all.

Though very short, this graphic novel packs a punch (pun fully intended). The characters are vibrant and fully formed, the art is damn good and the story hooks you immediately. I loved the combination of family drama, coming of age narrative, sinister action thriller and hero's journey. HIGHLY recommend for graphic novel enthusiasts and newcomers to the medium.

Dynamic and beautiful feminine storytelling

Thank you to NetGalley and Humanoids INC. for providing me with this ARC. It was the first one I’ve received, and I requested It solely because the cover art really caught my attention. What I didn’t expect was to have a graphic novel making me tear up at 11:30 pm on a random Wednesday night. Okay, yes, I’m a crier. Still, I wasn’t expecting it. Feminine Story telling is a rare gem.

The story focuses two women, one a new Mother who lost a championship title that she shouldn’t have, and the other an orphaned teenager. Both love to fight. Joanna, a retired Muy Thai champ, is still struggling with losing her last fight. It haunts her. Mari, the teenager, has obviously been bounced from home to home. She doesn’t feel like she belongs anywhere. And she’s got some pent up anger because of it. Joanna (and her Husband) agree to let Mari stay with them for a while to find her a foster replacement in a new town. Both women learn important life lessons from each other.

This story hit on a lot of things that I wasn’t expecting a Graphic Novel to address. New Motherhood is a beast, Matrescence is like adult puberty and it’s so hard to find yourself again after the experience of becoming a Mother. It’s something I don’t often see depicted, let alone how difficult it is, and even more shocking that it was in a Graphic Novel. It’s also about female anger, rage, and the want to express that physically being natural.

Overall Eight Limbs was a poignant story about womanhood, found family, and learning from mistakes. The art was beautiful, dynamic, exciting, and touching. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed Eight Limbs. The story grabbed me from the beginning and held me until the end which I read it in about a day. This is a great depiction of Muay Thai and gave the reader a dive into the art along with an great story.

Joanna, a retired Muay Thai champion, takes in a troubled foster teen and decides to train her, until the teen finds herself entangled with a dangerous group of criminals running underground fights and Joanna must return to the ring to save her... and keep their new family together.

After the devastating loss of her Muay Thai championship title, Joanna decided to walk away from competition, start a family, and open her own gym. But her quiet life gets disrupted when an old friend asks her to temporarily foster a troubled teen. Just as Joanna believes she is starting to break through Mari's walls, a misunderstanding drives Mari to run away and join an underground fighting ring. Joanna vows to do anything to get Mari back, even if that means stepping back into the ring...

Mari is a girl with anger issues getting kicked out of her 2nd school, a former pro fighter turned Muay Thai instructor and her husband become fosters parents for Mari.

Beautiful illustrations and the wording is so beautiful. Lots of action. You can tell the author has a lot of knowledge in the sport of Muay Thai.

And the ending. I cried!

I can’t wait to get myself the physical copy of the graphic when it comes out!

Thank you NetGalley for a e-copy for an honest review.

There's really not that much to say about Eight Limbs - the art is consistently good (especially the cover), the story and characters pretty formulaic, and everything gets wrapped up in a neat little bow at the end. I actually liked the Foreword/Introduction by Stephanie Phillips the most - her perspective on the gender roles attached to martial arts and how Muay Thai helped her break them was very interesting. In this vein, I loved that Joanna was a loving mother, a wife, AND a Muay Thai world champion. Showing women embracing traditionally feminine and more masculine roles was a great call. I do think that this aspect of gender in martial arts would've been a more interesting focus than the story Eight Limbs ultimately tells - which follows the standard "troubled teen meets sportsperson who coaches them" formula.

If I had to describe Eight Limbs in one word, it would be "mediocre". It's a safe read for pretty much anyone, and if you're into these types of narratives, you might really enjoy it.

(Full disclosure: I received a free e-ARC for review through Netgalley.)

Joanna Carr used to be a professional MMA fighter - that is, until she lost her title in a rather crushing fashion. After that, she retired to New Jersey, where she started a family and a Muay Thai gym with her husband, Clark. Though she loves the life she's created for herself, Joanna is haunted by memories of that last loss - and with it, feelings of inadequacy both in and outside of the ring (motherhood is hard).

When an old friend asks Joanna and Clark to take in an especially tough client, Joanna jumps at the chance. Sixteen-year-old Mari reminds Joanna of herself - tough and scrappy, and desperately in need of an outlet for all those feelings. Slowly but surely, Joanna wins Mari's trust - thanks in no small part to their bonding over Muay Thai. But when Mari runs away after a misunderstanding, she falls into the clutches of George Pine, who runs a very brutal - and very illegal - underground fighting ring in NYC. Can Joanna make things right before Mari starts a fight she can't win

The story is fairly simple and a little predictable, but it tugs on ye ole heart strings nonetheless. I'm a sucker for found family stories, and this is a sweet (and bloody!) one. More than anything, though, it feels like a love letter to Muay Thai (and, by extension, women's empowerment through choosing to fight), and I am so here for it. The artwork is fantastic, though the cover definitely takes the cake.

Absolutely amazing! I practiced Muay Thai at one point and the images displayed of the martial art and the customs were excellently portrayed unlike some other series I’ve seen, I’d like to see a continuation of this.

I have to say I went into this without knowing a thing and came out enjoying it quite a bit.

Basically it's about a troubled girl, Mari, who has violent tendencies and no family to help her. Getting tossed around to different groups and families. Eventually she finds a family with Joanna and her husband. Jonna is a ex-Muay Thai champion. Joanna slowly helps Mari transform herself by using her anger to learn constructive fighting techniques.

But of course a big bad piece of shit comes along and feeds into Mari's insecurities till she's fighting for the wrong reasons.

My main beef with the book is how fast everything moves. Because the dialogue and characters are all top notch but the way we move into the next story beat is sometimes WAY too fast, not letting us grow with them. I wish this was a good 5-80 pages longer to expand that part of the story.

But art wise, characters, and sweet tender moments make this a lot of fun. A 3.5 but I'll bump it to a 4.

A rough and tumble teenage girl passed around the foster system lands in the home of a pair of retired fighters. After many trials and tribulations she learns that winning means different things to different people, and that sometimes we have to slow down, think and stop acting out of anger.

I have to say the art is really nice, especially the boxing scenes. Everything was going really fast paced so yeah I can’t say i was that gone on the characters, it might as well have been an art piece instead of a graphic novel tbh. I also didn’t feel the story that moving either, even if it’s suppose to be. It’s just probably my own thought…

Thanks Netgalley and publisher anyways for sharing the graphic novel!

*ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review*

I'll be honest, I truly didn't know what to expect after seeing this graphic novel strewn over my feed. I come from a strong line of boxers, so I was kind of unsure what to expect walking into this graphic novel (Let me clarify, I know this graphic novel covers Muay Thai which is very different from the boxing I was raised on. But I've seen my fair share of poorly done graphic novels).

Step One: They Don't Tuck Their Thumbs
Let me tell you, my little giggly girl heart got so excited the second Joanna told Mari that she got her hand bruise from tucking her thumb, and that you should never tuck your thumb. I remember as a little kid when I would pretend to box and my dad always would reprimand me "Don't tuck your thumbs, J. That's how you end up with a broken finger." And he'd move my fingers around to show me how to throw a proper punch. While my dad and I don't see eye to eye very much, this brought back a very sweet memory that I had forgotten.

Step Two: Good Art
The art in this graphic novel held no punches back (*ba dum tss*). It's stunning and jarring in the best ways.

Step Three: The Plot
I loved the plot line. I've always been a gigantic supporter on the front of adoption and foster care, (especially as someone who hopes to one day adopt children of my own once I have a stable enough income). Honestly, every part of the plotline was absolutely gorgeous, and I loved the introduction story which helps to remind the world that women are capable of choosing their own paths even if it's in a stereotypically male-dominated field.

As a martial artist myself I really appreciated the knowledge and kindness. The drawing it’s just perfect and very neat in the action. The plot can be a little predictable but is ok. Not only for people interested in martial arts, the message of the women role is also great.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy!

This is a great graphic novel.. A reason to fight and why people choose to fight. There are many reasons people might choose to fight or be forced into fighting. This is also about new parents trying to navigate those challenges on top of fostering a child that has never found their place. The art style is gorgeous and ferocious. I would recommend this if you need a slice of life, graphic novel.

I read this really fast, and I’m so in love with it. The illustrations are great and so is the story. This is a must read for anybody that’s a fan of martial arts. I need this delivered to my door the day they come out.