It was cute? The story seemed forced and moved far too fast. Especially the romance which felt very random, no one even mentioned a crush until more than half way through the story when the main characters had already been in a relationship for a while. It honestly felt like I was reading a sequel and I missed a giant chunk of the story. But for people who enjoyed Moonstruck (which I personally didn't) this would be a story they would enjoy.

Werewolves, witches, LGBT representation, and puns! What more could you ask for? This book will be great for fans of the fantasy genre or who like the romantic side of the story. It was a lot of fun to read and the illustrations in the final version will be gorgeous.

3 stars---------------------------------------------
This was adorable. It was exactly what it said it was. Sweet, lighthearted and magical. There was a non-binary werewolf dating a witch. I love the representation because I hardly see non-binary characters in fiction. I loved the themes of love, friendship and family.

Overall all i can say is that this graphic novel was cute and sweet.

For me personally sometimes I found it cringey. I am a cynic at heart and any displays of love honestly make me what to gag. But thats more of a me problem than a book problem. I don't have much to say. Definitely pick it up if you want to enjoy a nice, sweet queer time.

It was a very good book! I loved the two main characters so much!! They were so cute and omg the art style was very beautiful!!!
Thank you so much Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange of my honest review!!

A very cute, magical, queer story about witches, werewolves, and demons. Tam (non-binary rep) has come back to town to try and track down and destroy a demon terrorizing the forest of their old neighborhood, but their werewolf magic isn't strong enough for the task. Nova (queer rep) is working in her grandmothers' (lesbian rep) book shop that has a secret back room full of books on witchcraft. The four magic wielders, and Nova's science-centric friend Tatyana, join forces to try and get to the bottom of the demon threat and find that this is more than just a random encounter. Tam and Nova have an adorable dynamic and it's sweet to see old friends that were separated for years come together and try to become more. I don't think Tatyana is particularly fleshed out and just seems to be a way to represent skepticism and a third party to witness the weird happenings and report to the main characters. It was a sweet story, though.

Ah I loved this! This was probably one of the cutest graphic novels I’ve ever read. The art style is gorgeous and the characters were so likeable. I loved all of the representation and was happy to see it. The family dynamics were so sweet as well and I appreciated how well it was shown.


Thank you to Lion Forge/Oni Press via NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was so freaking cute!!!!!!
I loved everything about this, the diversity, the relationship between them <3 <3 I WILL DEFINITELY BUY ME A COPY <3 <3

Disclaimer: I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Mooncakes is a gorgeous graphic novel. Nova is a witch who lives with her grandmas as she continues to learn magic with them rather than pursuing an apprenticeship elsewhere. One night, a report of a white wolf and glowing in the forest leads Nova to explore.

She finds her old best friend Tam in battle with a demon possessing a horse, and she helps them get away from the demon possessing horse and takes them back home. With the help of her grandmas, Nova and Tam quickly learn that this demon is one that will need some wolf magic in order to vanquish it–if Tam can figure out how to use their powers.

Mooncakes has gorgeous art throughout, and while the eARC didn’t show all of the final art details in the later chapters, the art work throughout is gorgeous, and no doubt, the final version will be even more gorgeous. The story also shines for the inclusion of a character who is hard-of-hearing and for a character who is non-binary as a part of the story while not making it the story.

Mooncakes will release in October, just in time for a delightful autumn appropriate read. Of course, the read is great any time as well. Check this one out.

A queer witch and a non-binary werewolf? Yes please!

Nova and Tam were childhood friends, until Tam moved away. But when a large white wolf is seated close to town, Nova knows Tam is back. It turns out Tam is trying to defeat a demon, and Nova decides to help them. She lives with her grandmothers (who she calls "the Nanas"), and Tam stays with them. They have an antique bookstore where they sell books on witchcraft in the back of the store, so they also try to help with defeating the demon. They're also joined by one of Nova's friends, a fat girl who lowkey hates magic because she's a massive science nerd.

Overall, the relationships in this novel are all so great, especially because they're very accepting and there's not a lot of conflict. And did I mention one of them is a werewolf?! There are even werewolf puns! And just... so many puns in general. The characters are just very amazing, and this was made even better because this novel has one of my favourite tropes: childhood friends who lose touch and are reunited when they're older, only to fall in love. I thought this was really well done here.

I also loved the art in this book, which is really atmospheric and done in soft, muted colours. I always feel like art is essential to a graphic novel, not just to depict the story, but to enhance it. And that's definitely the case here. The coloring was not entirely done yet, so the last part of the novel is still more of a draft. So I'll definitely be picking up a finished copy once the book is released in October!

Needless to say, I loved this a whole lot. It's just such a lovely story to disappear in for a little while.

Rep: Chinese-American, Deaf, queer MC, Chinese-American non-binary MC who uses they/them pronouns, fat side character, f/f side couple

CWs: depictions of blood and wounds, misgendering (challenged), grief/past death of parents

This is an adorable fantasy story about two Chinese American teenagers (young adults?) who were childhood friends. But Tam is back after moving away from Nova and her town. The story is pretty adorable. Tam is non-binary who uses "them" pronouns. Nova is a cute little hard of hearing witch who uses hearing aids. The two are older now and it is quickly established that their connection is stronger than ever. Tam ends up being a werewolf and a group of people are after them to get their magic. Nova has the most adorable grandmas you ever saw. The story has lots of magical characters which are drawn beautifully on the pages. The story is fairly predictable and doesn't go too deep but with a story this darn cute and fun to read and look at, there is no need to go too deep. I really enjoyed this one and I'd like to thank NetGalley for an early review in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 Stars

Nova is a witch who lives with her two grandmothers in a small New England town. When reports of a white wolf begin to trickle in, Nova discovers her old friend Tam is back in town after she finds them battling with a horse demon deep in the woods. She must now help Tam to defeat the demon and the cult that summoned it before its too late.

I really enjoyed this cute graphic novel about friendship, family and falling in love! The main characters were adorable and I loved watching them grow back together after being separated. I loved the rep that was in this book! The two main characters were both Chinese-American, Nova was hard of hearing and Tam was non-binary. I really liked the family dynamics in this book and how supportive Nova's grandmothers were of not only Nova, but Tam as well. The only big downfall I have with this is that I wish there was more of a back story on these characters and their relationships with others in the story.

This is a sweet graphic novel about Nova and Tam, two Chinese-American queer teenagers who previously were childhood crushes. It was everything I hoped it would be. There was great representation with Nova, a witch who wears hearing aids and Tam, a nonbinary werewolf. The magic system was pretty interesting and I liked the battle they all had to go through to fight the demon. A big shout out goes to Nova’s grandmas who were just great and very helpful. I would love for these characters to be part of a series so that I could read more of their adventures!

Thanks to Lion Forge via Netgalley for providing a free copy

I quite enjoyed this it was cute and sweet. (Pun would be better if there had been more food involved)

I didn’t know much about going in except queer lady witches? Only one of them is a witch the other is a werewolf. Tam is a non-binary werewolf and Nova is our witch who lives with her two nana’s. She basically helps them out at their store. One night Tam re enters her life and the story takes off from there.

This was a cute story with great family dynamics which is something I always want more of but rarely get. I loved seeing the family work together to solve this problem. It’s the best of both contemporary and fantasy.

I love these characters and I am interested to see where their story goes.

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in return for an honest review*

This a wonderful graphic novel that I read in a single setting - I couldn't put it down, and had no desire to! Mooncakes felt like a summer dream - heartwarming and sweet with enough at stake to keep the plot from stagnating, with a slightly cutesy art style that perfectly suited the story's tone. It also stands as a perfect counter to those who claim you can't put 'that much' diversity into a story without it feeling forced - I was flipping pages so quickly, because the story flowed at such a natural pace, that I only realised it was 'unusually' inclusive when I'd finished and was pondering what I'd just read. The two main characters are Asian; one is non-binary, and the other is Deaf and being raised by her wlw grandmothers. The best friend is fat - and while she is very funny, she's not just there for comic relief. And nothing about this stood out as unusual in any way; they're all just people, and the nonchalant way in which they accept each other's differences makes them all complete non-issues - the ease with which the grandmother's accepted and adjusted to Tam's use of 'they' pronouns made me choke up a little, because that's exactly how it ought to work.

What I mean is, the characters all feel like completely real people. You might do a double-take at the magic and werewolves, but not the hearing aids or the non-binary pronouns - not when it's all presented so matter-of-factly and the panels are urging you on to the next bit of the story. This is how it is in real life, of course - people are just people, in all their different flavours - but it's a complete delight to get to see it and read in in fiction too.

The story is a reasonably simple one; Nova, a young witch, and Tam, a non-binary werewolf, team up to take care of a demon in the local woods, reconnecting after many years apart and falling for each other in the process. The fact that the reader can see it coming from a mile away in no way detracts from the stupidly big grin I had on my face as I read - despite the presence of, you know, demons, this is just...a summer-dream book. That's really the only way I know how to put it. It's cute and sneakily deep, magical and fierce, a story about first loves and being brave and finding your place in the world, and personally, I really want a prequel about the bad-ass grandmas and their past adventures!

And I'll try to say this without spoilers, but I adored the scene where we saw what lies beyond the magical gates in the woods. The designs of the various magical spirits, and the way in which they interact with the witches, was just wonderful. And I was ridiculously happy with our Happily Ever After. As someone who always has questions about where demons come from in any given story, I liked the explanation here and was glad everything ended well on that front too.

The perfect graphic novel to curl up with on a rainy afternoon, or whenever you happen to be feeling low. I guarantee you won't be able to stop smiling while you read!

Really enjoyed this manga. The story line was so cute. I loved the characters and the support that nova and tam have. Another aspect I really enjoyed was the art style and the vibrant colors. I will recommend this to my friends and all internet people who like manga. I can't wait for the manga to be released I would love to get a physical copy of this beautiful book.

This graphic novel is a beautiful piece of work. The story is so much fun and had some laugh out loud moments with the grandmothers. I loved seeing representation of someone with a hearing disability. I was so impressed on the authors ability to teach you about pronouns and using them perfectly in the story. I can’t wait to buy the finished copy and I hope the story continues.

Mooncakes.

I don't read graphic novels these days, so I'm the last person you should ask if a graphic novel is good or not. But this one is, in my opinion.
The art is cute, there's mad representation and also a sweet love story. And who doesn't love witches?
All in all a great read, even tho the six-legged horse did give me nightmares. I am scared of regular horses, it was enevitable.


Thanks to Lion Forge/Oni Press and Netgalley for providing this ARC!

This books description checked so many of my boxes but some how didn’t click with me. It had very beautiful artwork and I loved how you could tell so much about the characters just based on the clothes they wore. I was so excited for a diverse LGBTQ+ book but the plot and writing fell short. The plot didn’t feel overly original and the writing felt very all over the place. One minute we are fighting a demon the next we are sitting at home with no urgency because romance? This is in no way a bad book but a very traditional first book. I’m very excited to see what this duo will create in the future!

3.75 Stars.

I read this through NetGalley in the read now section.

I loved the colors and art style. The story overall was very enjoyable, short and sweet.
I'm not sure if this is a stand alone or a series but I wish I could get more time with the characters.
I will definitely be taking a look at the finished copy when it comes out in October.

Mooncakes is a Supernatural romance story following Nova and Tam, childhood best friends who meet each other again after several years apart and end up having to battle demons, nosey neighbourhood witches and their feelings for each other (but not really that last part).

To start off with: great diversity! Tam is a non-binary werewolf, and there's brief misgendering that is quickly rectified and their identity is respected throughout and just made me so happy. Nova also has a hearing-aid and it's brought up at certain points, but again, no disrespect is done, and it a natural part of her that is never treated harshly by any character, so no worries about any of that. She also uses her hearing aid to knock someone out at one point, which was so cool.


There was almost a pencil-sketch feel to the art. I can't explain what I mean, exactly, but I really like it, and the colouring feels quite muted compared to a lot of the vibrant block colours I see in other graphic novels with a focus on a more realistic, natural style, which I really love. It helps ground the magical elements, especially the spirits- my favourite part of this- and makes them seem as if they are alive and real in our world. It would be interesting to learn more about this world, as witches and general supernatural stuff seem to be known of and accepted, but I can't be sure. I mean, there's a character with a pigeon head, so I would think it's known about?

I like how big a part friendship and family play in the background of the story, too. We see Tam's complicated upbringing, distant from their parents, with the divorce of their parents and difficult relationship with their mum now due to their stepdad. There's also Nova's larger, more tight-knit family, which has been struck by its fair share of grief but she has learnt to cope with it. It's not the main focus, but grief and family difficulties are touched upon, and it's a very moving look that became one of my favourite parts of the narrative.

One of my main issues was that, besides not being into the plot as much as expected, I wasn't really attached to the romance. It was cute, but it felt like they moved so quickly from the reemergence of childhood crushes to dating that my head spun. The development was instant, almost. It would've had more of an impact if we saw more moments of them as children together leading up to the feelings being fully acted upon, just so we saw more of where those feelings stemmed from.

Overall, a very sweet supernatural story that I would recommend for people who may be newer to the genre, especially in graphic novel form!