This last week, I read vol 1 of The Spellbook Library through #netgalley This manga is set in a world where dangerous spellbeasts roam the land. Spellbook librarians capture, categorize, and manage the keeping and circulation to these spellbeast. Spellbeasts are so integrated into the way of life, that they are vital to functioning and productivity of the towns and the people.

On the day of the library’s employment exam, Yan and Tohru meet as they are on their way to the exam. Yan is a guy with a rough attitude who’s turning over a new leaf, wanting to meet and emulate the spellbook librarians that saved his life as a kid. Tohru meanwhile, is a seemingly laidback and very mysterious boy that, even at the end of the 1st volume, we don’t learn much about.

Vol. 1 covers their employment and placement exams, and the beginning of their first day at their jobs. This volume does a good job of slowly introducing you to the magic system and introducing characters that will be important in the future while introducing our protagonists to their jobs. It also introduces many mysteries that, by the end of the volume, have yet to be answered. For example: what is up with Tohru? Why does he seem to have magic independent to the spellbooks that everyone else is seen using? Why is there a princess working in the library? Why are so many librarians disrespecting the princess and putting her down all the time?

I think that this is an intriguing world and magic system, but I wish that there were some more questioned answered in this volume, since almost none of mine were answered. Volume 1 ends at a cliff hanger, while raising more questions about Tohru and sort of hinting that answers are on the horizon. Rest assured, at least some of these questions are answered in vol.2 which is not published yet. For people like me who aren’t very patient, the publisher, Kodansha, has helpfully put their website at the end of the book with the information that if you make an account, you can read the chapters for this series for free.

The artwork and storyline are pretty good. I always wish that manga were longer, but I will read volume 2!

This is an interesting take on another library of spells//magical creatures. It proper Japanese//Manga fashion the library has lots of order//departments and an entrance exam.

This is more of a classic style manga with seemly powerful and likable characters that most people underestimate. The exposition is given in a clean way.

The proof also included some behind the scenes character drawings that were a nice touch.

My thanks to NetGalley and Kodansha Comics for an eARC of this book to read and review.

Meh. The beginning was clunky, with the artwork and dialogue not making ANY sense. The reader is thrown into this world with no idea of what is going on and not in a "ooh, I want to know more!" way, more like "what the heck is going on and do I really care to read more?".

It did get better and started to make more sense, but two characters who were in danger and the two heroes were not drawn in a way where this reader could differentiate them, so I was SUPER confused about who had released the book demon thingy for too many pages. I like to think that I am not slow when it comes to reading comprehension, but when I have to flip pages back and forth to figure something out and the book ISN'T a literary classic or in another language, that is usually not a good sign for me. I won't say no to reading the next volume, but I am not going to go out of my way to seek it out.

2, this is a big middle of the road 'meh' to me, stars.

ARC provided by Netgalley and Kodansha Comics

It wasn’t the worst thing in the world, but I didn’t really connect to the characters. I liked the world building, it seems like an interesting world. It’s just not interesting enough to keep me reading the series unfortunately.

Such an Interesting concept. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next volume. In this unique fantasy manga, we follow thru as they begin their journey to the spell book library entrance exam. They’re joined by a reformed hooliganism that wants the ability to meet the librarians that saved him as a child. Once they’re at the exam they realize that there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye.
I’m obsessed with the art and the creatures and the world building.

This was a really interesting and unique manga that I could not put down. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and the character development in particular.

Thank you Kondansha Comics and NetGalley for giving me an e-arc of The Spellbook Library!

3.5 Stars. need the next volume ASAP.

This is something that is not what I typically pick up, however, I am glad I did! The Spellbook Library a super fun and fast-paced fantasy graphic novel/ manga about individuals who run a magical library of fantastical creatures! The main characters are both applying to be librarians at the library (for different reasons) and the story ends on a cliffhanger! I hope to read Volume 2, because I am very interested in seeing how the story develops. Though the art style is a little difficult to interpret at times, I do think it is still very good art and I enjoyed looking at it through my reading journey. I enjoyed the overall story as well as concept, though such a short novel left me wanting more from the plot as well as the overall story. I hope that in future volumes there is more world building because I am really interested in the history of the library as well as the characters and I hope we learn more! I WILL be requesting volume 2 if it becomes available.

A gripping book, this story pulls you till the very end, I enjoyed reading it. I definitely will love to see more from the author

*Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!*

When I first came across this manga on NetGalley being promoted as perfect for fans of Cardcaptor Sakura, I was IMMEDIATELY skeptical. CCS is one of my all time favorite anime/manga, both in terms of nostalgia and current enjoyment.

So I was delightfully surprised when I got sucked into this first volume, mouth agap at that cliffhanger! There were some parts that I found cliche or a bit annoying but the story overall is very engaging. I want to know more about the motivations and secrets of the main characters. And I want to explore more of this world of spell beasts and librarians. I will definitely be coming back for the second volume. 5/5 Stars

I loved the art and writing of this manga. It was fun, fast-paced, and easy to follow. I also enjoyed the magic system and the dynamics between the characters. I can't wait to see where the story goes from here. Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an E-ARC of this book.

The premise of this manga has a lot of potential, a library full of spellbooks containing dangerous creatures. The story started off pretty well, with an interesting beginning and some library-related incidents that made me smile with their relationship to real libraries (I did wonder if the author is a librarian or has worked in a library).

Unfortunately my enjoyment did go down somewhat as the story continued. The plot failed to really hold my interest and it wasn't helped by the fact that the art was sometimes hard to interpret. The characters seemed interesting but didn't feel fully developed in this first volume. The cliffhanger ending was also honestly annoying.

Overall I think it is decent but underwhelming. It is only the first volume and I do believe the premise and characters have enough potential that the series could easily improve as it continues. Considering how expensive manga can be though, unless I find volume two in a library one day, I might not end up reading it.

I have read the first volume of the series courtesy of NetGalley and the second and much of the third on the Kodansha website, although they have done something strange and the last two chapters are not available. This is to say you that the manga is quite addictive, even if a little naive sometimes.

It’s very Japanese, despite being also made with Americans readers on the author’s mind, and with that sense of humor so peculiar and particular to many manga. And in addition to the two main characters, there is also a princess who wants to be a librarian above all and books, many books, plenty of books. And it is so because books, and the amount of information they can keep, are as protagonists as the spellbeasts and the librarians..

A library is home to books, that’s the purpose of a library. But this library holds special books, spellbooks. And these books don’t contain spells but magical creatures that are trapped in the pages for the safety of humanity. The Librarians are tasked with protecting it.

The artwork in this manga was really cute, however, some of the panels were a little overdrawn and it was hard to understand what was written. The characters were really interesting and I look forward to learning more about them. The world was built really well and it was easy to understand.

Overall, this manga was really cute and I’m excited to see more of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an uncorrected e-arc of this title.
This was a fun read overall. I enjoyed the concept... think Pokemon blended with ghostbusters, in a library environment. I liked the two main character friends too. It felt a little disjointed though... this may be because it was an unfinished copy, and/or because I was reading this on an e-reader. The art style was lovely! My rating is actually 3.75 stars.

The Spell book Library is a great mix of good art and a good story line. I'm not usually a manga reader, I tend to enjoy the style of graphic novels better, but I really enjoyed this story and format.

The Spellbook Library follows Yan and Tohru, two boys who aim to pass an exam and become spellbook librarians. They both have different and unusual paths to wanting to become one and seeing how they work together to achieve their goals. Looking forward to reading the next volumes!

Interesting art, fun story, and incredibly cool world-building. I can't wait to read the next volume. I love the idea of a magical library for locking away magical creatures. I look forward to seeing where this story goes.

A fun quirky manga that explores the adventures of the two main characters, Yan and Tohru, in their new job as librarians at the Spellbook Library. The story is fast paced, with events ticking over even as the manga explores the backstory of its two main leads. This story is great for lovers of fantasy, as well as those with a love of books and libraries.

Despite an interesting premise, the story ultimately fell flat for me. A library that holds all types of magical creatures and the librarians having to pass tests in order to work there sounds like an interesting tale, but the pacing in this first volume was inconsistent throughout. This unfortunately made it hard to follow the story at times. I think this story had potential, and I will see how the second volume turns out and if I will continue this series.

Thank you to Kodansha and NetGalley for an advanced review of this manga in exchange for an honest review.

This had some interesting points, but also some slow parts. I am kinda intrigued with the characters and the world. I do like the cozy feel of the library. The characters could have interesting plots in further installments. The story is just okay for me, and I wasn't overly intrigued. I'm torn on whether I will continue or not.

Thank you to Netgalley and Kodansha for the eARC in exchange for a review.