Beautiful artwork and diversity but lacking a story. I really wanted to love this and give it more stars but it didn't do a whole lot for me. It was predictable and I thought the dialogue between the characters was dull. If I were to recommend this to anyone it would be a younger audience than myself and maybe someone who is new to graphic novels. I would however give this author another shot.

I picked up Mooncakes because I thought that it looked like a fun magical graphic novel that I would really enjoy. I thought that the cover was overall a decent choice and showcased a little of what the book is going to be about without giving a lot away. And once I began reading, I was really glad that I picked this up because it was exactly what I was hoping for and even more.

The art style is really nice and I felt that each panel flowed really well together. However the last third of the story is no longer colored in and while I"m sure that will change for the finished copy it did slightly reduce the enjoyment of the story being told because I didn't feel as connected to the characters and the setting of the story. There was also one page before chapter 4 I believe that was completely blank and was not a chapter title so I was a little confused by what appeared to be an extra page. I think some of my favorite panels are the ones with the forest creatures. They all just look so cute and I wish they were real.

Representation in this story is amazing! I love that we have a non-binary main character as well as a main character with a hearing impairment, both of these types of characters have very little representation typically even in novel format so it was really refreshing and nice to see characters like them represented in this story. Nova has a best friend depicted in this story as a girl who is bigger and its also really nice to see her represented in this story. There is also representation for LGBTQIA+ relationships and even with all of the representation seen in this book, it never felt like the authors were going over the top with it and just cramming in representation to have it there. I thought they did it very tastefully and felt like each character had their time to shine.

The overall plot of the story was also really interesting. I liked the idea of wolf magic and witch magic being completely separate things and that wolves have the capability to also do their own kind of magic. Some bits of the story were a bit predictable but that in no way took away from the story for me. I felt that the timeline of the story was really well paced and things progressed nicely but also didn't seem like they were coming easily for the characters either. I would definitely be interested in reading a continuation of these amazing characters and seeing what other crazy trouble they can get up to.

This graphic novel was just about all I look for in a book. The diversity was fantastic and you can't go wrong with a protagonist who is a witch and a werewolf love interest. Throw in likeable secondary characters and an interesting plot, and you've got a great graphic novel that many will enjoy, especially around Halloween.

I'm not sure what to say about Mooncakes that hasn't already been said. It's a diverse and quirky graphic novel with nice illustrations. With all the magic and werewolves, this is the perfect Fall read. 🍂🐺💖📚

Thanks to Lion Forge and Netgalley for providing me with a review copy.

This book was a delight to read. The illustrations are sumptuous and enhance the story in the best possible way. It reads like a heightened reality, so reading it you get the feel of a world like ours, but where magic is just barely visible all around you. The author really walks the line between a quieter coming home and romance story with a more action-packed and higher stakes plot. You have a sweet love story at the center, but wrapped in a story about coming into your own. The leads are non-binary and LGBTQ, and one uses hearing aids. While correct pronouns and subtle references to these are woven throughout the story, it never felt as if those details were driving the story. I don't want to give away much of the main plot details, but this is absolutely a book I'll be passing along to as many people as possible since it hits so many wonderful notes throughout; family, friendship, love, strong female leads, magic, adventure, beautiful art, and more!

This story was cute! The obvious aspect of this book that elevates in my eyes is the representation. Along those lines, I felt that, although I can't speak for the accuracy of the representation, I never felt that it was overwhelming forced. The representation (LGBTQIA, hearing impairment, Asian main characters) was not the plot of the story, but just rather a component of who the characters were. This felt very "classic" magic to me. I did really enjoy all of the main characters. One complaint I have was that I felt that the conflict and "villain" were very one dimensional. Additionally, I don't prefer relationships where the characters were together in the past and reconnect. To me, it seems that the reader misses so much of what makes the relationship build and become believable. However, I know that is a personal preference and that, given the graphic novel format, expediting a relationship could work better,

I have been hearing about this title from quite a few BookTubers who were able to receive an ARC at BEA/BookCon, so when I had the opportunity to obtain an eARC, I jumped at the chance. Mooncakes tells the story of a young witch, Nova and Tam, a non-binary werewolf. Tam and Nova were friends when they were children, and Tam has recently returned to town to defeat a demon that has taken the form of a horse and lives in the forest. Tam and Nova reconnect, and with Nova's two grandmothers and her best friend, Tatyana they work to defeat the demon before it causes any harm. Nova and Tam's friendship quickly becomes more, but the story alludes to strong feelings between the two prior to Nova leaving town the first time. The acceptance of the characters for who they are by family and friends was essential to the lovely feel of the novel. It was a delightful read and I look forward to more stories about Nova and Tam.

The art was excellent! And as someone who loves cozy fall time, witches and werewolves, and great rep across the board this graphic novel was more than cute it was amazing. I would definitely recommend!

Graphic novels haven’t really been my thing, but this year I have been trying to pick up more as I have established I really Enjoy them.
Mooncakes has a really easy clear format to read (some GN have speech bubbles that make it unclear what’s to be read first).
The story itself has really good LGBTQ+ representation and the whimsical fantasy story was super cute. In a way I wish it had been longer as some parts felt a little rushed but I still gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads, I can’t wait to pick up a copy, thank you net galley for early access!

Loved the story, but not a huge fan of the artwork. The story was a bit typical in a witch-werewolf love story, but still enjoyable.

There's definitely potential. The cast of characters are diverse, the art is great, but the story could've been more. I'm not sure how to pinpoint it, but the plot of the story starts rather abruptly and continues without enough substance/support. For example, we don't really know how Nova and Tam grew to love each other (besides given a glance of their childhood together) or the journey of how Nova learned to use magic so well. In general, we don't know much about the past of Nova and Tam, which is pretty essential for character development. Overall, everything is very...instant. At least for me. I've read some reviews and some people don't seem to have this issue. Apart from this, "Mooncakes" is an average read with good art that didn't completely capture my attention.

This was such a cute novel! I loved both Tam and Nova, I hope there’s more from these two on the adventures. I also loved the relationship they had with the nanas. This is the first book I’ve read will so much diversity and it was really refreshing! I really enjoyed it.

I enjoyed this but not as much as I thought I would. I thought there would be more stuff going on but it's focused on their relationship and growth more which is not a bad thing but I expected more out of the plot. The bad guys were beaten too easily for my liking. The characters are really lovable but you barely see anybody else besides them even in the background.

The artstyle was fine though I'm not a big fan of this kind of artstyle. I'm not sure why the last chapter wasn't colored in but then again it takes a lot of effort. The spirits were very cute though and I loved them.

Thank you Netgalley for providing me with the digital copy for an honest review.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

First of all, I was intrigued by this book because I have seen it around YouTube and it seemed really interesting. I loved the art style, but I wish the spirits (I think that's what they were called, the animals) had more details. The story was really nice and dark at the same time. It tackles some important issues even with the magic system which is impressive and good. I thought it was missing something, but I can't figure out what. I loved the relationships in this book, mostly Nova with her grandmothers and family. I really enjoyed it and can't wait to see the final version of it, but I think it wrapped up too quickly and too perfect and that is the reason I give it 3.75 stars. But all in all, a really good story with diversity that I would recommend everyone interested in reading.

Sweet, cute and enchanting story with a lot of heart and very charming and diverse characters. I found both Nova and Tam to be very sensitive and also very fierce, loved Tatiana and her playful ways and thought Nova's grandmas were THE BEST. And the art was beautiful! I really enjoyed it.

The artwork in this was absolutely stunning and I know it will be even more so in the final copy when all the pieces all coloured in.

I thought Nova was such a badass witch. I loved the hard of hearing rep and the non-binary rep as well. Tam and Nova's relationship was adorable. I think the relationships in this book were its strongest part. The Nanas were great and hilarious, especially when they teased Nova and got involved in the action too rather than being passive. Tat and Nova's friendship was so relatable I can't put it into words, the teasing, talking about boys, texting and fundamentally just being there for each other.

Mrs C as a female villain was great. I loved that Tam had a personal attachment to her you doubted the warning signs because of this.

Though it had werewolves and magic and horse-demons and cults and witches, I wouldn't say this was a plot heavy or fantasy heavy book. There was enough but I don't think that was the defining aspect. It was the characters and I thoroughly enjoyed them.

I'm not a huge graphic novel (I think this is the 4th one I've ever read) reader because I feel the format makes it hard for me to truly connect with the story and characters on a deeper level. However, after reading Mooncakes, I don't think I wholly believe that anymore and am ready to delve into some others.

So cute! The characters, the artwork, the reppin' queer love! I knocked one star off because I did feel the story was a little rushed. I wanted more background on what happened to the parents and family drama etc. But it's very cute and worth a read if you're looking for that queer love story in your life.

I absolutely loved this book. I can't wait to read more by this author and see more illustrations from Miss Wendy Xu. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

2.5/5 stars

I had really mixed feelings about this graphic novel, which makes me really sad because it was such a good idea! Like, queer witches/magical people stopping a demon in the woods of their little town? Yes please!!! But, alas, the execution just fell flat for me.

First, I want to say that the diversity is awesome in this book. From my knowledge, both main characters (Nova and Tam) are queer Chinese-American people. Nova is also queer (definitely likes more than one gender, no labels are used) and uses hearing aids, as she is hard of hearing. Tam uses they/them pronouns, so I assume they’re somewhere on the genderqueer/nonbinary spectrum (though no specific label is ever used). On top of this, Nova has two grandmas and her best friend is plus-size.

I’m not exactly an art style expert and I’m not usually picky, so I’ll just say I liked it. It was colorful, neat, and just a little whimsical in an old bookshop sort of way if that makes sense.

The characters in this book are what I think I liked the most. They were all likable and I was invested in what happened to them. The grandmas were strong, spunky, and sweet (alliteration!); Nov and Tal were capable and strong while also being able to have their fears and overwhelming emotions; Tal was funny, smart, and a wonderful friend. Knowing this, I did feel there were some weak spots in this. None of the characters were super complex, especially the villains, who were entirely one-dimensional and without any motivations I could see, le sigh. Development for characters at times seemed a little jerky/sudden. ***Spoiler-y examples*** Nova trying to figure out whether to stay or leave seemed to be heavily leaning towards staying and then at the end she just decided to leave. Tam’s issue with trust I also feel like got just brought up and then not really discussed or wrapped up which was sort of frustrating. ***Okay spoilers over*** Also, I know Tal was meant to be a side character but I wish she had gotten a little bit more page time where she wasn’t just “Nova’s best friend.”

Queer romance is in this book, which we love! It’s super cute and pure (feat. very consensual and cute kisses, teasing about romance, holding hands in sleep, cheek kisses, etc.) and I enjoyed it. However, I did think it was pretty rushed, as it was built on past feelings from when they knew each other years ago which we didn’t get to see much of, especially not before the romance had already blossomed. I was honestly shook when they first kissed because I thought there needed to be more development before that. ***Spoiler bit*** Also, the ending just felt a bit cheesy and unrealistic to me that Tam would decide to go with Nova because “home is wherever you are.” Like, adorable? Yes! Realistic after literally a month of actual dating? Not really. ***Spoilers done***

The concept of this book is really cool (as I said at the beginning), and the bones of the plot arc were nice, but I felt that the execution fell flat. The pacing felt very off; we time-jumped a month, during which we missed some relationship growth and magical growth which I thought was really important to the story, and we kept having time to stall or have introspective scenes when I felt like we should’ve been pushing forward. Part of that was because of a spell that basically gave them as much time as they needed to work on magic, which was Awfully convenient. Another part might’ve been just me misreading action scenes and thinking a villain was Right There when they weren’t, because I didn’t really know what was happening sometimes. ***Spoiler-y example*** When Nova used that hearing aid trick, was Pamela just too weak to get up or what? Like, did I miss her escaping? Why didn’t she try to go after the demon again? I was so confused!!! ***Spoilers done*** The climax itself was also honestly pretty anti-climactic and the issues were solved in a pretty cliché/cheesy way.

My last two notes I think are sort of within plot but are also just random so here they are. First, I definitely guessed the villain from about a million miles away, since a) you don’t get many options of who it could be, and b) they weren’t subtle at all about it. ***Spoilers*** Also, I’m still confused about why after only one, maybe two tries Tam gave up with the wolf powers and literally ran off like that was so dramatic and unnecessary? You tried for like two minutes Tam that was really fast to just give up??? ***Spoilers done***

Overall, this was a bit of a disappointment for me, which is…well, disappointing. BUT don’t think I hated this book! I enjoyed reading it, I wasn’t like burdened with “when will this book be done,” it was just very average for me. If you’re interested in this concept, I’d still definitely take a look when it comes out in September, and hopefully you love it as much as I wish I had.

My overall rating for Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu is 4/5.

What initially sparked my interest with this graphic novel was hearing and seeing reviews from people who received a ARC at BEA or ALA. When I seen that it was available to read now on Netgalley I went ahead and picked it up and got through it in one sitting. This story is diverse in more aspects other than the race of the characters, which was something that I found really enjoyable. The entire time while reading this many different emotions were triggered, which I liked because sometimes a graphic novel isn't capable of taking a reader on a roller coaster of feelings.

When this title is released I will most definitely being picking up a copy to see it all in color and the bonus material along with the acknowledgements that are to come.