Okay, so I just finished flipping through this tarot-flavored graphic novel, and man, it’s like if The House in the Cerulean Sea crashed into a queer witchy mystery party—cozy vibes with a side of shadowy intrigue. Debut artist Sam Prentice-Jones drops us into a world of secret witch societies in modern-ish Britain, where the Arcana’s this big org of magic folks keeping the supernatural in check, run by these shady Majors who give off total “trust no one” energy.

Our main guy, Eli, is this chill coffee shop barista who’s been low-key hexing his latte art without knowing he’s a full-on witch. Then boom—enter James, a cute investigator sent by the Arcana, and it’s instant sparks. Like, love-at-first-sight sparks that accidentally kick off a 20-year-old curse tied to the downfall of some ancient royal witch families. Throw in a ragtag crew: level-headed trans witch Daphne, tarot-obsessed Koko, bookish researcher Grayson (wait, Sonny? Yeah, the squad rounds out to five), and suddenly you’ve got this found-family squad unraveling cryptic clues, dodging dark magic, and basically speedrunning “ancestral trauma therapy” while flirting over spells.

The art? Chef’s kiss. Prentice-Jones’s style is all fluid lines and muted blues/greens that feel like a foggy London morning—sparse but super immersive, making every panel pop without overwhelming you. The tarot structure weaves in perfectly, dropping hints like the Fool’s journey but with more queer yearning and less medieval vibes. Romance is sweet and fade-to-black (no awkward spice here), and the mystery builds just right—starts cute, gets sinister, ends on a cliffhanger that had me yelling “Gimme book two!”

If you’re into magical realism with heart, diverse reps (queer leads, varying skin tones, trans rep done right), and that “oh snap, we’re cursed?” plot twist, this is your next binge. It’s YA but hits NA cozy without feeling kiddie. Only gripe? It cuts off right when the real chaos hits—I need more witchy barn fires and Major takedowns stat. 4.5/5 stars, easy. Grab it if you want a hug from a spellbook.

Sweet, suspenseful, magical graphic novel featuring a lovable cast of friends uncovering the secrets of past generations. The art stands out--it's thoughtful and delicate, drawing from a muted palette and depicting characters of varying body types with lots of care. The mystery drew me in, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the story goes in the next installment!

This was a strong start to a new series. The art was fun and the story is captivating. There's a lot of information, but that's expected in a first installment.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think I'm gonna like this series. I adored the use of color throughout the book, this simple palette worked really well and really complemented the story. It's a cute little teen queer story and perharps because it is intented for younger audiences, it was not full five stars for me. I found the dialogue a bit awkward at times. I love the found family trope though. And as someone who's not into tarot, I found the worldbuilding and the design of the magic system very interesting.

What a gorgeously magical graphic novel! I loved the queer representation and muted color palette. The artist’s style and aesthetic was very pleasing to me. I found the book as beautifully told as drawn. I will be recommending it to my fellow queer witches in the future!

I really enjoyed the entire story. It was also easy to follow what I needed to read next. The comic style also fit the story really well. Thank you to the publisher for this arc.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC of this book for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was such a beautifully illustrated and delightfully queer graphic novel! I really loved James and Eli and their cute little instant connection. I found the story intriguing and paced well, especially given that pacing is so hard to get right in graphic novels.

While I appreciate the look into each character's backstory, the inclusion of 5 perspectives was a bit much. I think shaving that down by one or two would have allowed deeper connections to some of the characters. I am particularly interested in Daphne's backstory as a trans witch!

I really enjoyed this graphic novel. I was intrigued by the magic system and the characters all really grabbed my attention. I liked the art style, especially the use of color and how it would change throughout the chapters.
My one complaint is that some of the dialogue came off a bit unnatural in my opinion. This led to some of the conversations feeling a little bit cringey to me.

Thank you to Sam Prentice-Jones, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Arcana: The Lost Heirs is a tarot-inspired YA graphic novel weaving together found family, magical curses, and queer romance in a richly drawn world. The art impresses with its clean, expressive line work and a muted palette that enhances both mood and mystique, while the diverse ensemble—particularly the dynamic between Eli, James, and the supportive group around them—ground the story emotionally. Some may find the pace uneven and the ending abrupt, hinting at broader conflicts yet to unfold.

Super cute story full of great representation and fun storytelling. I will definitely be reading the next one! So cute.

What I loved: the artwork and coloring of the illustrations! Gorgeous, and half of what I consider a great graphic novel experience. Well done! As someone who got her interest in tarot piqued a few years ago, I really appreciated the integration of the tarot cards with each chapter and how the cards paralleled characters in this story. The plot was intriguing and original. Bonus points for LGBTQ inclusion.

What I didn’t love: the dialogue at times felt a bit too young for me, reading more like a texting conversation with a few too many “haha’s” that would flow better as illustrated chatter rather than reading in the text bubbles. I usually am not too particular about this, but it was distracting enough for me to mention something for constructive feedback! Overall a worthy read and a gorgeous one, too.

This was a pretty quick read, I was able to knock it out pretty fast on a road trip. I thought that the setup for the plot wasn't long enoug,h and all the actual action happened in the last 50 pages or so. That being said, I really liked all the characters and thought that the main couple/romance was very sweet. I will probably be picking up the next book when it releases!

the book was okay, it was not my favorite read. Not what I was expecting either. I thought it would be heavier on the tarot card idea? Overall, it was fine.

Sam Prentice-Jones is an author-illustrator working in Brighton UK who graduated from Arts University Bournemouth in 2019 with a BA Hons in Illustration, specializing in digital, graphic, character-based work. Sam likes to create work that celebrates diversity and queer culture and began his career by curating a queer illustration magazine titled POOF Magazine which ran 2019-2021. Since then, Sam has gone on to create work for the worlds of book publishing, web design, advertising and product design as well as being featured in art fairs across the UK. His newest book is the graphic novel Arcana: The Lost Heirs.



James, Daphne, Koko, and Sonny have all grown up surrounded by magic in the Arcana, an organization of witches that protects the magical world, run by the mysterious and secretive Majors. Eli Jones, however, hadn’t even known other witches existed . . . until he stumbled into James. As James introduces him to the world of the Arcana, Eli finds the family he never had and a blossoming romance with James. The five new friends soon realize that sinister things are afoot, and everything may not be what it seems at the Arcana. When the group delves deeper into the mystery surrounding the deaths of their parents and the Majors’ rise to power, they discover that they’re at the center of a curse—one they’ve just unwittingly set into motion. As the friends search for answers, they’ll have to confront the cursed legacy that links them in hopes of freeing their futures.



This is a complicated novel, one with many characters, family histories, jumps between past and present, etc. Prentice-Jones handles this deftly. Each of the five main characters is not just visually unique, but a fully developed character. When readers are introduced to the team of five, the conflicts and tensions are already present and realized, and readers feel like Eli—thrown into a brand-new world of established relationships, hierarchies, etc. with no guidance. The clever writing and the simple illustrations allow readers to focus on the mystery of the plot and engage with the story, but also not get too confused in the familial relationships, time jumps, etc.



This is a longer graphic novel, so older teens and early college students are probably the target audience; however, there’s nothing here than a middle-schooler couldn’t understand or follow. The plot, based around magic and tarot, is appropriately thrilling and suspenseful for that level of readership, and the graphic violence is artistically handled. That being said, any graphic novel readers interested in a complex, multi-character mystery based around murder, revenge, and magic will thoroughly enjoy this book.

So.... Disappointing.

When I read the description for this I was so excited. A book inspired by Tarot cards?! Yes, please. While the chapters were named after tarot's, and one of the characters in the books actually read the cards, there wasn't much else.

So let's start with the good. The story. I really liked the idea of this story. It's what pushed me through until the end. But it isn't a satisfying ending because it's going to be continuing. However, I really liked the idea of how the story was building.

Now, what didn't work for me -- which was a lot.

Starting again, with the story. While I enjoyed the premise of the story, it didn't really go anywhere. There was no background of magic and the powers. There was no explanation of how magic worked in this world. Everything just existed? It was hard to really get into the world without knowing anything.

Then the characters. Holy boring Batman! None of the characters really had a personality. I felt like they were all generic without anything really standing out. I personally think a lot of this had to do with the writing.

When it comes to graphic novels, the imagery and the dialogue is what brings everything together. The dialogue was not good. As I'm reading a graphic novel, I don't expect to see "hahaha" but look at the expression on the character to gauge their mood. And the amount of "hahaha" was insane. It really dampered the mood of the book. Dialogue should actually feel like a dialogue and not like I'm reading texts between the characters.

And finally the art work. I give props to anyone who can draw. Seriosuly. But this artwork just didn't click with me. Again, nothing against the artwork but I just personally didn't like this. I thought the only cool scene was the dream.

Overall, Arcana: The Lost Heirs was just a miss for me. Even more so because this is clearly the first. I gave it 2 stars instead of 1 because even though I didn't enjoy the art or dialogue there is a slight possibility I'll pick up the second book to see where the story goes.

What I Liked: The moment that you open this book, it is hard to put it down because of how invested you get into the characters. The other draw to this book is the mystery behind Arcana and the things that are being kept from Eli and the other characters. While this mystery is revealed pretty early on, there is still so much more that keeps you reading and wanting to know what lies in store for everyone.

I was screaming by the end of this book because of the cliffhanger that you are left with. I have to read more and see what’s in store for Eli, but also what happened with the others. By this point in the book, I was hooked on each of the characters, and this is given that you don’t get to know them too well. There are characters we know more than others, but their relationships with each other are well done and drawn out, so I need to see if they will be okay. I want to get more of the characters’ backstory so that I know what is going on with them and their motivations for everything.

Final Verdict: Arcana: The Lost Heirs is an action-packed book that includes magic elements and has you on the edge of your seat from start to finish and beyond. This book is perfect for those of you who enjoy fantasy graphic novels, magical books, adventure, and/or are looking for a great book to read this summer into fall.

I was grateful enough to receive an e-ARC of this through NetGalley and I ate this up! I’ve been waiting for them to add this book on Fable so I could add it to my read books! 😍 The story was so riveting & I loved the artwork! Graphic novels truly scratch a different itch than the rest of my books do! We were left on a cliffhanger….so I can’t wait till book 2 comes out! 🌟🌟🌟🌟.5/5

This is a delight for representation! There is truly nothing better then finding yourself in a story. The writing of the story is very catching but does seem a little oddly paced at times. It feels a little slow with us spending some more time with characters. But then when it introduces the core issue it seems very rushed. Definitely wanna get the next one to find out what happens next!

While I enjoyed this volume, I would probably suggest waiting to read it until later volumes come out because this volume is mostly world building and ends on a big cliff hanger. The art style is really fun and all the characters are so cute and likable.

Arcana: The Lost Heirs was such a fun book! It's books like this that make me remember how fun graphic novels can be and how they become even better when they are diverse and inclusive in their characters and storylines! This book has nonbinary protagonists, characters diverse in their physical disabilities, stories of adoption, grief, and other heavy feelings. With a wonderful ending and queer love, I absolutely loved it!