While the art in this graphic novel is pleasant, the story is really haphazard. The book is about a kid named Elliot who gets a fresh start in California after some traumatic events. He becomes friends with a group of misfits who turn out to be witches. They end up doing some sort of spell that eventually backfires on them in an enormously bad way. I feel like I could have enjoyed this more, but it felt so rushed and haphazard that I was unable to connect with it nor the characters.

Thanks NetGalley and Legendary Comics for the arc of this graphic novel!

I'm usually all for anything magical and witchy, but so much of this book felt like it jumped from one point to the next with no explanation I found it a bit hard to follow. I loved the diverse characters, the art style, and the storyline has good bones, I just feel like it could be expanded on quite a bit more and it would make it much more cohesive.

Also, this is clearly going to be a multi-volume series, so why tell us what powers the characters will eventually develop in their bio pages at the end?? I love discovering things like that at the same time as those characters, so that was a little disappointing.

I liked what I read of the sample, but I felt it was rushed in some places so some dialogue was confusing and some of the action too. I loved the art and I can’t wait to read the full version of this graphic novel.

This book was okay. My main issue with it is something that will hopefully be solved on release. The issue was that no matter what device I tried to use to read this, it was practically unreadable. The formatting was off with the speech text being way to small to read comfortably, as well as the graphic panels being split awkwardly along pages where parts of the page were white covering the panel. I understand that this is probably due to the formatting of the arc and will be adjusted.

Despite that I didn't find myself massively wowed when reading. I enjoyed how there was representation of LGBTQ+ as well as different racial ethnicities, however the character relationships were confusing to me. The pacing was all over the place with things happening extremely fast but I think this was also because there were some time jumps.

I personally wouldn't really recommend this to others as although I really like the concept, the execution falls flat for me.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this!

The mix of humor, drama, and mystery really kept me engaged! Additionally, I'm a huge Fantasy reader so the visions, prophecy, crystals, and magic were elements that I really enjoyed.

Additionally, the exploration of grief and anxiety through Elliot's inner monologue really added dimension to the story. I think that this would make for a very interesting television show!

My only criticism is that there were certain points where the scenes felt a little rushed. It would have been nice to see more details and have the suspense drawn out a bit more in the action sequences.

This was a very interesting graphic novel, and I am excited to see what comes next for this series!

While I definitely enjoyed my time with this graphic novel, I can't help feeling like this volume is incomplete in someway. While it is clearly marked as "volume one" of a multivolume story, it read more like the first third of a story that was taken and published on its own. I'm sure that the story and characters will develop further in future volumes, but it was hard to feel satisfied with this volume on its own.
I will definitely be interested in reading the rest of the series, but I would probably hold off until more volumes are released, so I can get a more complete experience.

I was hooked on this immediately. I love a good witch story and these characters were instantly likeable. I'm definitely curious to know where the next part of the journey will take the characters. There was a great combination of light-heartened teenage joy mixed with very dark and gory scenes. I loved it! I was curious why the group of friends were not super concerned when Rachel suddenly got popular and stopped talking them. I was expecting more out of that plot point, but I'm hoping the next volume will elaborate more. The art and color choices are beautiful and the characters are well thought out. I enjoyed the brief character summaries at the end of the book of how they should look and act.

Fast paced and exciting, this is a new graphic novel series that is perfect for fans of Riverdale, Lumberjanes, and Wednesday. An inclusive coven of witches in the town of Silverlake adopt their newest member, Elliot, who has recently moved to the area after his father's suicide. When a demon begins stalking him and his friends and grisly murders occur at their school, it's up to the coven to uncover the mystery and put a stop to it.

This was cute. It needed trigger warnings and the character profiles at the end have spoilers for the overarching plot, but this is a solid start for a cute graphic novel series. I think the gore was a little extreme for a YA graphic novel, but the queer rep was solidly within the bounds of PG13 sexual content and flirting. The art style is very appealing and Tobias and Elliot are absolutely stunning examples of character design speaking for personality. I do wish there was a genderqueer character in the mix of the coven and less time devoted to letting young adults flirt with teachers or parents, but the pacing was honestly a little bit of a mess all over the place. I would recommend picking this up if it sounds interesting, but I think having several of the volumes out before you start reading will be beneficial to the enjoyment of this work.

The Witches of Silverlake Volume One by Stephanie Son and Simon Curtis was a fun and engaging read. Son's art was always a treat to look at, and Curtis' script was smooth and never dragged. Some characters in the main friend group were less developed than others, but it's likely that they'll get more time to shine in the next installment, which I am very excited to read.

4.5 stars

Creepy, and chilling, and smart, and tender, this was a magical whirlwind full of witches and demons, and raging teen hormones. This graphic novel was a delight, and I can’t wait for what comes next!

Thanks to NetGalley and legendary comics for access to this E-arc. This was such a fun story with a diverse group of characters. If you like the craft movie this should be a big hit! I’m looking forward to seeing how this story continues.

This has a lot of potential but a very confusing start. It had everything I like in theory; being a graphic novel, magic, witches, and queer characters! The beginning is what tripped me up with the plot. The main character moves to a new school after a family tragedy and suddenly has best friends and is in a witch coven? Why did they suddenly become besties? Why is he going to their houses and learning their quirks after just one day of knowing them? The timing throughout the book was also confusing. It felt like there was time jumping and parts cut out. The plot itself was exciting and very mysterious, and I would read more of it to know what was happening. And I don't know if this was because I was reading on NetGalley, but they had character profiles at the end of the book that SPOILED the plot??!!!

The best thing about this book was the art! I loved the style and thought it fit the book perfectly. The character designs were perfect, and I am totally looking up the artist to see more of their work.

Overall I enjoyed it and would read more of the series, but I am still confused about what happened, especially at the start.

I like all the representation and their magical abilities. There was a lot going on in this book as it introduced everything, so I hope the next volume is able focus in a bit more. As a teacher I’m also wary of any teacher/student boundary issues, even in jest.

Thank you to NetGalley and Legendary Comics for providing me the e-ARC in exchange for a review! The story line was wonderful and the artwork was beautiful. I enjoyed The Witches of Silverlake very much and I cannot wait to see what happens with Elliot and the rest of the Coven next.

The artwork and the story were both interesting, even if they weren't really for me.

I did struggle a bit with continuity. Sometimes we would switch scenes and it seemed like I was expected to know what was going on, and I definitely didn't. There was so much going on, and I knew so little about what was happening, that being dropped into a scene with little to no context was not helpful in letting me know what was occurring.

I probably won't continue with this series, but I would suggest it for those who are interested in stories where you often don't know what's happening.

the art is ridiculously pretty and p[easing to look at, the rest is... debatable.

it's entirely plot driven, for a story with a seemingly large and expressive cast. it's also very telling - in a way that can be very popular with teen readers who are looking for quick and easy fun and nothing more than that. our MC comes off heavily as your basic chosen one archetype. you know the one: anxious, not very confident at first but also very brave, Special in the way that Special Events keep happening to him and that every character seems to gravitate toward his orbit for no apparent reason - but other than that he's just your average teenager with normal attributes, right? right.

i appreciate the diversity and casual queer reps a lot. with this being the first volume, it's too early to judge, but the efforts that went into developing the cast of characters around the MC is very palpable, and again, appreciated. i'd enjoyed reading about them more than our mc, to be honest. they are much more animated and interesting in comparison - even if we are only getting glimpses of them.

all in all, there's nothing new here, just a lot of vibes and pretty arts and an ending that promises something more but i am too uninvested in everything to collect on that promise.

After his father's unexpected suicide and his attempt, Elliot and his mom move to LA after she is offered a vice principal job at a prestigious private school. Elliot then joins a coven of witches, but they soon discover that they are in way over their heads. Something is killing people around Elliot and it is coming for him soon.

I would for sure read the TWs before reading this book, esp. if it's in the intended YA audience.
The vibes are really cool and the story was interesting. I will say the timing of a lot of it felt jumbled and then things would suddenly get very graphically violent which took me out of the story.

It's an interesting comic about the new kid at school who turns out to be a witch that can see the near future and the demonic actions and deaths that follow.
The story is great and definitely something new, but often told too fast, a lot of time skips and other flashbacks/dreams/visions are hard to decipher.
There are slightly deep insights for the background of the group of teens, but none are told enough to keep them in mind.

Thanks Netgalley and Legendary Comics for this eARC, these opinions are my own. I really enjoyed this! Elliot just moved to LA after dealing with tragedy in his life. Upon arriving he begins to see things and when something unexplainable happens he’s approached by two girls from school. They’re witches and Elliot is too, he joins the coven of five. They establish their magic and they start seeing the benefits but it’s not with its risks. And what’s worse the risks seem to be singling Elliot out. Can the coven figure out what is going on? This had all the things I like magic, demons, and of course high school drama! I loved that Elliot found the coven but not just any coven, a coven of queer people! Each unique in their own way! I also love that their magic is unique to them as individuals as well! Simon Curtis and Stephanie Son did a fantastic job with this! I can’t wait to see what happens in volume 2 and there’s still so long before volume one comes out! Highly recommend if you like magic! Can’t wait to read it again!