I would like to express my gratitude for the Advance Reader Copy (ARC) of this book, generously provided by the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

"Space Battle Lunchtime Vol. 1" by Natalie Riess is a delectable graphic novel that blends the excitement of an intergalactic cooking competition with a delightful cast of characters. Riess's storytelling is as flavorful as the dishes featured in the space kitchen, offering readers a delightful mix of humour, competition, and unexpected twists.

The art in this volume is a visual feast, with vibrant colours and expressive characters that bring the cosmic culinary showdown to life. Riess's whimsical illustrations enhance the overall charm of the narrative, making it an engaging and visually appealing read.

"Space Battle Lunchtime" is not just a treat for the eyes; it's a creative and entertaining journey that will leave readers hungry for more. With its unique premise and engaging execution, this graphic novel is a delightful addition to the genre, offering a perfect blend of fun and adventure

Space Battle Lunchtime is a book that to me, frankly, represents much of the best parts of my career in selling books. It's fun, it's colorful, it's for everyone, and it's hard not to love. The delightful premise of a young human baker from Earth being snagged into an alien world of high stakes cooking competition with ingredients and palates she's deeply unfamiliar with is just...delightful! I love the inclusion of a nonbinary alien character and I love the spunky attitude of our main character. This book tows the line of YA because it's just so wholesome, but this main character is, in fact, an adult woman with a job and there is a glimmer of romantic possibility and deeply concerning things around the competition itself. However, I say it's pretty much great for age 12 to 112, as long as you're willing to be on board with fun.

Natalie has really outdone herself here. Space Battle Lunch Time is absolutely, 100% my favorite comic about space baking.

Ready…Set….Baaaakkkkke!

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Be honest you read that in the style of The Great British Baking Show! Well if you love that show and others like Top Chef then definitely check out this fun and adorable middle grade graphic novel! Thank you to @onipress and @netgalley for the gifted copy of Space Battle Lunchtime Vol1: Lights, Camera, Snacktion by Natalie Riess!

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Synopsis from the publisher: Collecting the first four issues of Natalie Riess’s delectable series, SPACE BATTLE LUNCHTIME! Earth baker Peony gets the deal of a lifetime when she agrees to be a contestant on the Universe’s hottest reality TV show, Space Battle Lunchtime! But that was before she knew that it shoots on location… on a spaceship… and her alien competitors don’t play nice! Does Peony really have what it takes to be the best cook in the Galaxy? Tune in and find out!

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This was such a fun and engaging story that ended in quite the cliffhanger, so I will definitely be seeking the next volume. This is a perfect graphic novel for elementary and middle school age groups, as well as any reader who loves a fun cooking competition story! This book is available now, so happy reading!

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Do like cooking competition shows? If yes, which is your favorite? I honestly love them all, but the early seasons of Great British Baking are my favorite.

It’s Chopped but in space! I need vol. 2 immediately. I fell in love with the characters and I just want everyone to get what they want to be okay!

A very colorful graphic novel, full of unexpected twists, strange situations but fun.
The illustrations are great they go very well with the story in general, if I felt that I lacked a little more in the development of the story (I am very used to very complex stories), but this book relaxes, gives you a fun moment and without a doubt appreciates.

I adored this so much. Space Battle Lunchtime is cute, it’s fun and sweet. It was exactly the kind of reading that I needed. The premise is both straightforward and quirky, a pastry chef gets invited on a cooking completion. Only it’s in space. Cue imaginative competitors and ingredients. This is all illustrated beautifully, with rich and colourful artwork. It’s not just the dishes as are yummy, it’s the art-style too (sorry couldn’t resist).

My only critique is that it was all too over quickly, I wanted the next instalment as soon as I finished the first volume.

I didn't expect much from this book, but I found it surprisingly entertaining. It's not especially deep. We have a human who finds herself a part of an alien cooking show. While she is out of her depth, she's willing to take chances, to experiment with food and take chances with people. There's no fear or distrust, only openness. The plot, for the most part, goes in the directions we expect. The real strength here is the illustrations. This book leads with art, telling the subtle parts of the story with images. The characters are incredibly expressive and whole sequences are told with little to no text. This is a great book to flip through. And since the story is incomplete, it could develop complexity with future volumes.

Space Battle Lunchtime is a fun graphic novel and a quick read. I would recommend this to students who enjoy books about cooking and space. Read alikes would include My Video Game ate My Homework and the Star Scouts series.

This book was so good! As a big fan of cooking competitions, I really, really enjoyed this book. The main character, Peony, is asked to compete in a space cooking competition. She goes and competes (I don't want to give anything away about the ending) and ends up making some friends along the way! Overall, this was a really cute book and I can't wait to read volume 2! Especially after that cliffhanger ending.

This was such a cute little graphic novel. I can see kids falling head over heels for the style and even I personally loved it. I think this series has major potential and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Oh, this is so adorable! There’s two things my family has been doing a lot more of during quarantine: watching TV baking shows (Great British Bake-off is a favorite) and reading. This graphic novel perfectly combines both so of course we loved it!

After a strange frog-like person visits the bakery she’s working at, Peony suddenly finds herself agreeing to take part in an intergalactic cooking competition. Her fellow chefs are quite the interesting cast of aliens. Some of them are more friendly than others (looking at you, Melonhead) but they’re all delightfully different. Despite her shyness, Peony quickly makes friends with some of the show’s crew, and there’s even a sweet burgeoning romance between Peony and one of the other chefs.

The artwork is colorful and vibrant. Each page is full of interesting and creative details, from the aliens to the dishes they’ve created. And, oh, the food! From Peony’s cupcakes to floating jelly blobs to what looks like a pair of socks on a rock, everything is gorgeous. And it’s just plain cute!

This volume ends on a cliffhanger, which of course led to my kids immediately demanding we pick up the next one from the library. Overall, if you’re a fan of cooking competitions and graphic novels, you’ll love this adorable book!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for an advanced review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

This was a cute, original, fun middle-grade sci-fi graphic novel, but it threw the reader immediately into the action. With little to no back-story, it became difficult to make any attachments to any of the characters. But man, what a cliffhanger! I could see quite a few of my students enjoying this for the fun cooking show competition element and great illustrations.

This was such a weird and fun story. A baker gets asked to join a cooking competition by an alien who randomly walked into her shop. From there shes giving all these random ingredients to impress the judges and makes new alien friends. We get some added excitement to the story when hints of sabotage float around. I did feel like we didnt get to know the characters well like knowing more about the bakers friends and family back home, but maybe that will change in the next volume.

If you love cooking shows/competitions and outer space this book is for you! I loved all the colors and art. And I can't wait for the second volume to see what happens to our characters and who wins the competition!

Imagine Iron Chef in space. That is the basic concept of this story. Peony, a baker from Earth, gets selected as a last minute replacement for a galactic cooking competition show. She's thrown into the competition without getting any instruction on how to use the equipment or any information about the ingredients (some of the ingredients are quite weird). Peony is a great character. She keeps a bright and positive outlook on what is going on even if she doesn't have any idea of what is happening. The art style perfectly matches this bright and positive attitude.

One thing to note is that this seems to be written for younger readers, however there is a rival show where chefs hunt and cook each other, which seems surprisingly dark for this story. It also comes out that Peony's predecessor was kidnapped and sent to this show and perhaps eaten. Nothing is shown on-page, but I feel that it would have been better to keep that sort of thing out of the story

I think I’ve found a new favourite comic to read!

As you can imagine from the title and cover art, this is a really fun and bright read!

Chef Peony agrees to, or better worded as she confusedly stumbles into, compete in a cooking show of galactic, alien weirdness.

Easy to read, fun and engaging, this is definitely one to keep you reeled in and excited for more!

Sweet, lightweight scifi comic about an intergalactic iron chef competition. Some nice absurd moments, and the character is a sweet mary sue, buy the plot was pretty conventional. Like a yummy sweet and buttery cheese Danish, but not enough for a full meal.

Peony is a great chef on Earth but when she is asked to join an intergalactic competition, think bake off in space, Peony is a little uncertain.
The TV show, crew and contestants are all aliens from other planets so expect strange creatures throughout the story.
Peony is amazing accepting of being zapped into space for this opportunity and she immediately makes a few friends and a few enemies. With plenty of sabotage, fighting and weird ingredients, this is a brilliant book to spend time with,
Superb illustrations allow you to study subtle changes in frames that tell more of the story as you read along with the text.

This was only part one and it ends with a cliffhanger, immediately sending me to the nearest store to find the next in the series.

Excellent for UKS2, I can see this being a huge hit,

Copy provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exhange for an honest review.

Ill firstly start with the art style. This is vibrant and super cute! It did really suck me in. Plot wise its quick to get started and is very simple. Think masterchef in space. This volume did leave me wanting to know what happens next so has definitely done its job. This really is just a silly, fun graphic novel that will make you smile. Great in this current climate and I would recommend.