A mysterious Order. Keepers and Holders. Suitcases that need to be defended at all times. At all costs. Seven Secrets. And many, many, many other secrets that could very literally destroy the world. 

With Seven Secrets, Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo create an action-packed, page-turning experience. There is not a moment when the characters are not running, jumping, barely escaping. The few more (apparently) relaxed moments always end up being the most nerve-wracking. 

And Caspar, the main character, is a secret on its own. Born from a forbidden relationship between a Keeper and a Holder, he wants to continue his family's legacy. He knows what is in stake. So he studies and he learns, and he fails, and he tries again, all in a very "Kingsman" or  "Deadly Class-esque style"

Meanwhile, buildings explode, people die. The bad guys approach, and fight, and kill. Time runs out. 
I felt adrenaline building while I was reading this amazing story, as if me myself was part of the whole good vs evil fight. There are, as other readers have already stated, two very distinctive parts in Seven Secrets. First, we have the academy. Then, the action. I found Tom Taylor's writing style helped enormously with the rhythm. There are very few times when the conversations feel a little bit forced, like the author needed to give the reader the information to be able to continue with the action, but it is almost unnoticeable. Daniele Di Nicuolo's art, helped along by Walter Baiamonte's bright colours, create the perfect symbiosis as well.

In conclusion, I think this first volume of Seven Secrets is the perfect gateway to a world with a very intricate mechanism (that is about to be shattered, we all know that). The Order feels mysterious in a familiar kind of way, the Keepers and Holders relationship is sure to become an anchor for the story and Caspar is about to be in a lot, lot, lot of trouble. 
***Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC***

The Order of the Seven has always protected the Seven Secrets with one Keeper and one Holder assigned to each secret, enshrined in a suitcase, and kept far apart from each other across the planet. Except now the secrets are being targeted by deadly enemies - and the fate of the world is in danger! New Holder, Caspar, joins the others in keeping the secrets safe - but for how long?

Tom Taylor and Daniele Di Nicuolo’s Seven Secrets isn’t a bad new series. It’s definitely got its flaws but I liked it well enough too.

The story is childishly simple: goodies and baddies chase magic boxes around the world. So basically the plot of the Justice League movie/s? Yuh huh! And it’s because Taylor keeps things so vague that it’s not easy to get invested in what’s happening. It’s a melodramatic game of keepaway. Yawn.

That said, while the story is underdeveloped, Taylor is instead able to devote space on focusing on the characters and it’s because of them that makes the book stand out. Our main character is Caspar, who’s a generic hero, but I liked his parents, Eva and Sigurd, and the strained dynamic that the Order placed on them and their potential relationship with their son. The scenes between Sigurd and Caspar were unexpectedly touching.

The bad guy, Amon, is basically Kylo Ren (you’ll see why if you read this), but wasn’t boring even if he was derivative. Canto, one of the Order, has a cool mask design (or just has a very unusual-looking face), and the art throughout was really good - the book looks like a first rate anime.

Taylor’s created a familiar but still strange world for this series, where two major factions can wage war without drawing the attention of anyone, the Queen of England is a young black woman, and then there’s the place this book ends on… no idea what that’s about! It works in the narrative’s favour though and the surprising weirdness piqued my attention.

This first volume follows the template of a lot of first volumes, particularly those with a martial arts flavour, so there’s a lot of table-setting and a predictable training sequence, before the game of keepaway kicks off. Still, I wouldn’t say it was dull to read either, just a bit too one-dimensional for its own good, even if it is intentional.

Seven Secrets, Volume 1 is a fine, if unimpressive, beginning to this new title.

This concept is brilliant. I could see this comic going for a long time. It has similar story telling features to Saga, like the child of two people telling the story of their existence and relationship to the world. It’s a fantastic story telling device. I can’t wait for more!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

First off, the cover to Seven Secrets Vol. 1 is gorgeous. It looks similar to other really great covers for superhero comics. The art is gorgeous and showcases the diverse cast of heroes in the book. When I saw the cover, I was so pumped to start reading the graphic novel.

Seven Secrets Vol. 1 by Tom Taylor is about a secret organization called the Order that guards Secrets from being taken from villainous organizations. At the start of the book, two agents realize that they're going to have a baby. However, the Order strictly forbids relationships between Holders and Keepers. They have the option to leave the Order and raise their baby like a normal family. Instead, they choose to have the baby raised in the Order and without knowing who his parents are. That baby grows up into Caspar, the biracial protagonist of this book.

For the first half of this book, I was engaged in this exciting plot and the action-packed artwork. The art reminded me a bit of Umbrella Academy, and it seems like the artist may also have been slightly inspired by manga/anime art styles. I was totally on-board when Caspar was getting initiated into the Order. However, about halfway through the book, maybe when the villain was revealed, I lost interest. When reading graphic novels, I have to be invested in the characters and the relationships. Unfortunately, I did not feel connected to Caspar and his team when I was reading this book. By the time I reached the twist/cliffhanger at the end of the book, I didn't feel like I wanted to continue reading.

Overall, Seven Secrets Vol. 1 is an exciting, action-packed graphic novel that would be perfect for fans of the X-Men or Deadly Class. Although I personally didn't enjoy Seven Secrets Vol. 1, if you're interested in the plot or the artwork, you should check it out when it comes out in May!

Caspar is the son of the Keeper and Holder of the Seventh Secret, but because their relationship is forbidden, they are forced to give him up. Caspar is trained by the Order in martial arts and other skills to one day become a Keeper or Holder of one of seven briefcases, each holding a deadly secret. His chance comes sooner than he thinks when his father is killed. The Order has been betrayed by one of its own and the Seekers are coming. Who will survive, and will the secrets remain undiscovered?

Its is a lot going on in here, but I like it.
The background of Caspar was the best, I think. It was interesting to learn the story through his pov as a child with this space between him and his parents.
However, from the middle to the end It was a lot going on, as I said.
But it was cool, I mean it. I would like to read the second one because the story it's pretty much intense and leads to an open ending.

Wow, I just loved everything about this.
The character art was amazing and it gave me kind of a shounen manga vibe and it gives the characters a lot of emotion.
The story was exciting and I can't wait to read on. It had action, it had (forbidden) love and best of all: secrets.

More please!