This was ok. It was very predictable. Natty is a spoiled and entitled princess who quickly got annoying. I really didn't care for her or what happened to her in this story. The artwork was good though.

Artwork was stunning a bright. However, the story was kinda flat. The concept of the Untouchables is really cool, Also who doesn't want a cow as a pet?!

I am almost positive this was <em>not</em> author Éric Corbeyran's intention, but I can't help comparing aspects of his graphic novel <em>Natty</em>--illustrated by the wonderful Melvil--to Disney's Aladdin. And, guaranteed, this is probably why I loved it so much. Of course, I won't say that the entire story follows the plot-line of Aladdin, but there are definitely parallels that can be drawn. Coupled with gorgeous artwork and an incredibly unique take on these ideas and I'm basically in love. <em>Natty</em> is such a beautiful and majestic tale.

<em>Natty</em> begins with the crown princess of Orchidhal, a sunny land of flowers and beautiful gardens, as she laments over her loneliness. Though she longs for more companionship than her delightfully expressive cowpanion, Gaai, she isn't altogether pleased when her parents prepare an unwanted wedding. Suddenly she is forced to choose between two brutish suitors for a marriage she does not want. Then, as our lovely heroine stands up for her independence and refuses the hands of both men, an archaic law dictates she must now forfeit her life to make up for the slight.

Rather than be put to death for her refusal, Natty escapes from the palace and into the lower, dark realms of her kingdom. Though alive, she now must face some uncomfortable truths about the disease that has withered away the poor of their world. She soon meets those who have been deemed Untouchables, shriveling in the darkness. As a result, it quickly becomes clear that she will have to do whatever she can to return home and change the law, least she wither away herself.

<b>Some of the most superb world-building</b>

Now, the general set up for this world seems to inspired by a caste system in India. I'll be completely honest, I don't know much about caste systems. This is rather unfortunate as I feel I'm thoroughly missing out on a very nuanced and intricate commentary as a result. From what I can ascertain, it's set up incredibly well. Not only that, but it also plays into the darker themes of the story. Those of the lower caste, shrouded in darkness have been denied a basic necessity for life. And that denial has resulted in their diseased forms.

Natty, privileged as she is, has never experienced this. At least, not until she's had to hide herself away in the lower realm. Suddenly, with the help of a new friend (who saves her in a <em>very</em> similar way to Aladdin and Jasmine), Natty is able to see the horrors that have been inflicted on her people. Whether she will do something about it is likely something we'll find out in book two.

The book ends in a place I would consider about 30% of the film. This leaves us, yes, with a cliffhanger.

<b>Characters and artwork</b>

...are basically amazing?

There's <em>Natty</em>, naturally, who is utterly fantastic. She's definitely a bit naive and a bit selfish, but has so much potential to learn and grow. There's Sami, our Aladdin foil, who is definitely involved in seedier things to survive. And of course, I'll never forget Gaai, the loveable cowpanion of Natty's who is just about the most amazing creature I've ever come across.

Other characters, brilliant though they are, kind of take a backseat. They really exist more as part of the world than as individuals. I'm honestly okay with this. Considering this story is likely to be more about Natty's growth than anything, it fits. I honestly don't think I'd have it any other way.

As for the artwork, well, it's gorgeous. I love the juxtaposition of the sunlit flower gardens of Orchidhal to the shadowed realm below. You can <em>feel</em> the change as you read. With that feeling comes a sense of urgency. Though moments are lighthearted, every second is draped in the danger. You see, each second Natty spends in the realm below is a second more she has to wither away.

I honestly am a <em>huge</em> fan of this story. I've yet to read the second installment, but I recently picked up a Kindle Unlimited subscription for the sole purpose of doing so. I look forward to finding out what happens next!

<em>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</em>

An interesting concept and some beautiful illustrations. However, the story just wasn’t appealing to me. I can see the appeal for some young people but I think that there are other graphic novels of this type that are more appealing.

As always I got attracted by the cover and its colors. The synopsis sounded much more interesting than the entire comic. Unfortunately, I did not like it as I wanted. It has wonderful illustrations and a nice drawing style full of colors. The setting is really nice as it is settled in India, so different from what we are used to read, but I felt it missed something to keep me attached to it. I thought it was going to be those graphic novels, which I do not want to put them down, but unfortunately it wasn't like that.

The art was absolutely beautiful, but the story just didn't manage to grab me at all... I do think the end was great, though!

It looked so cute from the cover, but the art inside was subpar. And the main character was just a little brat!

*I received this book as an eARC from Europe Comics via NetGalley. I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*

A fantasy princess coming-of-age story set in a fantasy world? That checks all my boxes. Unfortunately, this graphic novel was not what I wanted. The fantasy setting is mostly appropriative. The tropes and cliches often present in this genre aren't diverged from enough, in my opinion. This book feels like it was written in the 80s or 90s. It is not very modern.

My biggest problem with this book is the Untouchables. A caste system exists in this world, very reminiscent of that in India. My husband grew up in India so I have heard many stories involving caste dynamics. It's still an issue today for many people.There are even people today who still follow this idea, not touching those beneath them. In this book, the Untouchables are physically grotesque. There's some backstory that leads to why they are that way, but having the caste system being a physical representation rubbed me the wrong way.

There is so much emphasis on physical beauty in this book. It seems to want to breakdown fairy tale tropes, but it does not succeed. The first volume ends in the middle of a scene. I would read the second volume, but it just isn't modern enough for me. I wanted to see more respect for the cultures that inspired the fantasy world this French author created. I give this book a 2/5.

2.5 Stars
I received an e-arc from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. The story is a little bit far fetched even for this fantasy story. The art is beautiful but there is an animal character that is a mix of a goat and cow which is confusing to me. The main character Natty does want to have her freedom and independence but is still a bit bratty towards her studies. I put down the graphic novel at some point and never picked it back up. It wasn’t something that really appealed to me but the illustrations are beautiful

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC, in exchange for an honest review. I simply loved the artwork in this one, absolutely stunning. It felt like all of the characters had the same voice, but the story was still fun and I love the cowpanion. I think this will be a fun one for our YA crowd.

Interesting. Fairytale fantasy setting with heavy indian (as in from India, not Native-American) influences. Nice drawing style.

The synopsis sums up the entire first volume, except it ends before we see Sami get captured. I think it would have been more exciting had there been less information in the summary. I liked the concept of the plant inspired characters living in what seems to be a garden setting where the people at the top flourish in the sunlight and the ones hidden away in shadows at the bottom wither away. I would have liked more world building, especially about how the animal suitors fit into this world. After reading the summary for the second and final volume I know exactly how everything will play out so the only reasons Id pick it up would be for the cute art style and more of Natty and Samis interactions. Sami was really sweet and Id like to see his relationship with the Princess develop. I also loved Nattys cow companion and the big sacred bug she encounters. Her parents on the other hand were confusing. I couldnt tell if they wanted her back just so she would take her life to prevent a war after turning down her suitors or if they meant to protect her.

I hate to say that I had a hard time with this one. It's a cute idea for a story and I am interested in what happen next, however the beginning of the story wasn't engaging and I had to make myself keep reading.

A more depressing version of Jasmine and Aladdin in a way. Loved the cow and the artwork, but not a fan of the story personally.

This story is about Natty, a spoiled, rich princess who knows nothing of the people below her. She wants to meet her subjects and walk among them but is told if they see her she will be drained of her beauty. Despite this, she still wants to meet them, even saying that she would rather be ugly than alone. She doesn't have to worry about being alone for long because her mother has sent for two princes so that Natty can pick one and be married off. The two princes that come to see her are both atrocious in their own ways and she refuses to marry either one of them which in turn disrespects their countries. To repent for her actions the advisors say she must kill herself (this feels really harsh as a punishment to me). Instead of doing that she obviously flees. She ends up on the lowest level of the palace where the Untouchables live. These are the people that supposedly drain her of her beauty. Come to find out that's not what happens at all. The Untouchables have a disease caused by lack of sunlight.

I don't want to spoil the ending to this first volume so I'll stop there. While I thought that this story was pretty interesting, it was pretty darn predictable. This might be a good story for a younger audience but then there is a drug selling aspect that comes in at the end that makes me think not? But I feel like a teen audience would get bored with this halfway through. The artwork was nice so it's got that going for it, but I really don't feel like this was well plotted overall.

The sypnosis sounded much more interesting than the entire comic. The only thing I found interesting in the entire graphic novel is the Untouchables. Half the things are silly, exaggerated or make no sense. Another thing with the sypnosis is that they mention Sami getting arrested which wasn't shown in the novel so it was basically a spoiler.

Since I'm not knowledgeable about Indian culture, I'll refrain from commenting on it.

In the beginning, Natty complains about not ever seeing her subjects but once she reaches the lower level, she only cares about going out and not finding a solution to help the people struggling there. The very reason she wants to escape is because she doesn't want to be ugly at that.

Another thing I found ridiculous is how her parents wanted to marry her off to either a savage or to a tyrant and also both are living at the other end of the world and then they get all shocked when she refused to choose between a boar and a monkey. So there were no other princes but these two? Because they supposedly chose the "best" out there. Which doesn't make a lot of sense to me since they wouldn't let anyone see her because they don't want the Untouchables to see her beauty but they don't mind marrying off to these two candidates.

For the artstyle, I don't really like this kind of artstyle and sometimes the body proportions weren't consistent and some were silly as well.

Overall, I didnt enjoy this much and would have been bored to death if it wasn't for the Untouchables. I don't feel like finishing the series.

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

Princess Natty of Orchidphali who lives high up in the sunshine-filled palace grounds, is now at a marriageable age so her parents have set her up to meet Prince Khuru and Prince Langur, who have travelled great distances bearing gifts in the hopes of obtaining Natty's hand in marriage. Not wanting to marry either of them, Natty is faced with the death penalty. Naturally, she runs away by hiding in the shadowy parts of her kingdom where the strange looking (and possibly disease-ridden) Untouchables reside.

I enjoyed the illustrations as they are beautiful and I like that all the characters have animal-like features. Princess Natty has cat-like(?) features, Prince Khuru looks like a boar, and Prince Langur looks like a monkey.

I found the spoiled and ignorant princess trope kind of annoying, and didn't find Princess Natty to be particularly likeable. My favourite character in this book though, was Princess Natty's cowpanion (pet cow), Gaai, who's absolutely adorable.

I'm a bit disappointed that this graphic novel ended right when things got kind of exciting… but the graphics were nice and I'm interested in learning more about the Untouchables.

All I can say: Kind of a weird comic. Thought I was going to like it more. Not exactly terrible, but more than a tad wordy.

I think this has a really interesting premise. The art style isn't what I usually go for but the colours were beautiful. It's an odd mix because at times I felt like the comic was intended for the middle grade but there were some themes that would probably better fall under the YA category.

I'm curious to where this is going and I think, if they go in the right direction, I'll like the message it is sending.

Natty is a princess of Orchidia who must choose between two terrible suitors for a husband. When she decides not to marry either, the price of their returned honor is her death.

Instead she fleas to the lower levels of her kingdom, where the sun doesn’t shine and a leprosy mutates the sun starved caste of untouchables.

Making a friend and ally in Sam, they begin to hatch a plan to return Natty to her old life before Sam is captured by guards.

The artwork is colorful and character designs are diverse and fun. Natty manages to straddle the line of being spoiled but likable.