Castle Swimmer is an incredibly entertaining and beautifully written and drawn graphic novel. While the content is more of a middle grade/young adult, it was a really cute read for me as an adult. This would be a wonderful story to read together with your kids. Wendy Martin does an excellent job developing each character through their prose as well as detailed graphics – the facial expressions were so funny and really helped in further understanding the characters and story. I really appreciated the balance of plot and the young romance. I find the concept of the story very unique and while its considered “fantasy” the world building felt very well paced and natural. Similarly, the plot is in no means simple, however I never felt like I was getting lost in the story. Events unfolded in a clearly well planned way and the story flowed perfectly. I am looking forward to being able to have a physical copy of this beautiful graphic novel!

Castle Swimmer was one of the first web comics I followed, and it’s been so fun to see it making its way from screen to physical book! Wendy’s artwork and character design is so creative and beautiful. She does a wonderful joy creating an underwater world that is interesting and full of mysteries.
Siren and Kappa are the most lovable characters, it’s hard not to fall in love with them and empathize with their struggles. While their personalities are very different, they have a similar sense of loneliness because they each have a burdensome task they alone are responsible for. They bond over the impossibility of the expectations that have been placed on each of them, and it is so lovely to see them support eachother through their personal growth as they move from allies, to friends, to something more. This is just the beginning of their story, and it only gets better from here.

Oh my gosh, what a fantastic comic! I find myself craving more just from reading Volume 1 today. I love the unique art style and the new ideas you have about the creatures living underwater. Having the different subtypes was interesting to me. Plus, I love a couple of boys with similar life circumstances who also might be into each other. Only future volumes will tell!

My only very small note would be Kappa saying, "I think they're sexy" on page 134. I feel like it doesn't fit the tone of the comic. Maybe I'm crazy but I think using "cute" or "handsome" could be better.

This is really cute and I'll be following the webtoon immediately
the illustrations are great, the boys are the sweetest and the villains are really funny
A plus all around

I absolutely adore this book! Not.only is this an enjoyable book for adults to read but it is also one that is great to read with your kids. There is some violence in this story but it's definitely appropriate for middle grade kids. Castle Swimmer is fast-paced fantasy webcomic/graphic novel set in a world where "nothing" exists outside of the ocean. There are so many wonderful characters to meet of all different types. At the heart of this story is also one of the sweetest romances that I have ever read! You will absolutely fall in love with our two heroes and the wonderful cast around them.

this story is very cute! the illustrations are adorable and I can't wait to read more! I was left wanting more! ill be keeping my eye out for volume 2.

This is a really cute start to an interesting story! The world-building was done so well, and has really set up the reader for a wonderful journey alongside the Beacon.

Despite this not being my typical genre, I enjoyed Castle Swimmer. This is only my 2 or 3rd ever graphic novel, and I was draw to it for for the M/M storyline, and fantasy elements. The graphics were beautiful, and the story was sweet. The biggest downside is that it's only volume 1 so there is no resolution. I want to know what happens! While I am not typically a graphic novel reader, I might just have to make an exception here to find out how the story proceeds. The two main male characters have a lot of growing to do, and I can tell they are going to be a great support for each other as the story progresses.

I was looking for a little more upfront explanation of why everyone has a "beacon prophecy," but overall I got sucked into this cute story. Kappa and Siren are both adorable, and the art is gorgeous!

This was a really fun fantasy book!! I loved it! It left off on a huge cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to read volume two!!

I liked the concept of this book and it was really easy to jump right into the story. The art in this comic is really beautiful and well made.


*Thanks to NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.*

Special thanks to Netgalley and Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This story is cute and straightforward! At times I didn't really feel the stakes, but it was overall very enjoyable (I look forward to seeing how this story progresses both in the plot and in the artwork). I would recommend.

Beautiful art, gripping story and lovable characters. An absolutely magical and amazing first volume. I'm excited to see how the relationship between the heroes grows!

𝐼 𝒹𝑜𝓃'𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝒶 𝒷𝑒𝒶𝒸𝑜𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒𝓈 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝑜𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝓈. 𝐼 𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓌𝒶𝓃𝓉 𝓉𝑜 𝓈𝒽𝒾𝓃𝑒 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓂𝓎𝓈𝑒𝓁𝒻.

I am so obsessed! Really looking forward to read the next Volume!

So this was really cute but I feel like I'm missing the same enthusiasm that other reviewers have. I don't really know what it is. I mean I enjoyed it and I really like the artwork and I like the characters but I'm not blown away. It's a good and I'm going to keep reading it but it's not a five star for me.

Thanks NetGalley!

This is a beautiful graphic novel with a unique story. I loved that the mermaids were different species of ocean life such as a shark, barracuda, even shrimp. Kappa is just stunning with his gold scales. It is really eye-catching which is why I wanted to read this one. I hadn't heard of it before and now I now I will binge read it and I am very excitedly waiting for the rest of the volumes to be released. I plan on buying all of them!!!!!

Kappa is born to be a Beacon. He is to fulfill different prophecies of the merpeople. He does his duty but all he really wants is a life of his own and not predetermined. Kappa is being drawn to the Shark Kingdom to do his next prophecy but doesn't realize for the sharks it means being killed by the Shark Prince, Siren. Siren also doesn't want to be part the prophecy because he doesn't want to kill Kappa but his people are dying from a curse. Siren and Kappa try to make a plan to escape and to live their own lives.

I hadn't read this webtoon before, but I'm very familiar with webtoons that get published physically! I adored this. I love how Siren the shark mer has conflicting morals about wanting to save his people by fulfilling a prophecy and by not wanting to hurt someone. I also love all of the scarring on the other shark mer characters. It's a nice way to have cute characters that still have depth and a dark story without being too heavy. The art is nice as well! Can't wait to read the next part!

Thanks to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Absolutely loved everything about this webtoon the artwork the storyline it was just magical
Thank you NetGalley for letting me read this

Listen this is such a good series. As a girl who's spent more than a few fast past coins on Webtoons reading this series I was so excited to reread the first part in book form. The art is beautiful and the boys are as cute as I remember. The story of a young merman/chosen one basically falling for a shark prince mixed with some magic and prophecy stuff. Who wouldn't love it?

Kicking myself for not reading this Webtoon sooner, but I'm so glad I finally did! I'm so glad this is getting published physically, because it's AMAZING and I know I'm going to need a copy. It's the perfect amounts of dark and suspenseful yet cute, cosy and funny. If that sounds strange, I'm sorry, I can't explain it any better. I thought this was so well done, and I already adore both characters.

I really like this graphic novel. I like the storyline and the plot. And I really liked the choise of colors in it. I set the mood of the story. Also the characters and the banter between Them. It talks about not feeling like you are good enough and not feeling like anything you do is going to be enough. Im looking forward to seing Prince siren and Kappas story unfold in the next volume