Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for granting me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

I picked this one up mostly due to the original direction of cooking and monsters. Plus, the graphics promised to be colorful and exciting... and they were my most favorite part.

This tale centers around beginning students in a culinary school, who offer tons of diversity in various forms. The cooking sweeps in with heaps of imagination as the monsters come into the mix. It was exciting to see what would come next. While I was missing a little more on the monster fact end, that's just a personal preference and not necessary for this tale. The creatures kept the tale exciting and gave the tension high enough to keep the story gripping. The characters are fun and lively with the usual desires and problems. There's a great mix of cultures and perspectives, which fits well to modern themes, too. The story was slowed down a little thanks to the drama...this was a little too petty and drawn out to smoothly fit the pacing of the rest of the tale...but drama fans might enjoy it.

While this is sold as a young adult read, I can also see middle graders enjoying this one quite a bit.

Cooking with Monsters was such a fun and unique story! I didn't have super high expectations going into it but this really blew me away!

This was such a fun and unique book! I loved the concept of a cooking school with a monster twist and the variety of creatures that it showed in its pages. Beyond the excellent fighting and cooking scenes, I was very happy to see some great LGBT+ representation and a focus on building and keeping strong friendships. I am very much looking forward to more of this fun series!

Really cool concept executed in an incredibly fun, well-crafted package. The art is bright, colorful, and engaging to look at. I loved the unique monsters with connections to food - their designs are so imaginative. But one of the biggest strengths here is our diverse cast of characters, each given their time to shine and share their story without bogging down the overarching plot. This crew of kids is extremely lovable and you can't help rooting for them all.

Highly recommend in general, but especially for fans of the game Battle Chef Brigade.

This was an absolute blast to read from start to finish in this Food Wars meets Avatar the Last Airbender graphic novel (with the maturity mirroring Avatar rather than Food Wars). The story follows our main character Hana as she follows her dream to attend the Gourmand Academy of Culinary Combat and become a Warrior Chef, the kingdom's strongest fighters and best chefs. During her time there she faces down monsters, muddles through relationships, and of course, plenty of cooking challenges. This book has an excellent balance of humor to drama and an incredibly diverse cast (with those different cultures shining through in their cooking as well). Such a fun read that will appeal to fantasy loves and people who like cooking/cooking shows alike.

A funny, entertaining , heartfelt adventure without a dull moment, Cooking with Monsters does so much so well. Set in a fantasy world defended by warrior-chefs, the diverse cast of characters come from all over for their first year of culinary combat school. Alongside the more fantastical elements of the story, the characters go through all the things young people do: anxiety from school, friends, possible relationships, personal identity, etc. The art style is bright and kinetic in a way that fits the story perfectly. YA readers will love this book.

I originally requested this graphic novel because it reminded me of Battle Chef Brigade, which has a very similar concept - fighting monsters and then making food out of them. The true farm-to-table, if you well. Nothing says fresh like freshly slain.

While I loved the concept and the world-building, I feel like I would have enjoyed this story more if we were following new grads instead of teenagers just starting out on their journey as master chefs. I found the interpersonal drama took away from my fascination of the world itself, and the reasons for the arguments felt more petty and internal. The way graphic novels work, the internal conflict just didn't come through well enough that we got to see their growth in their own voice, rather than through their interpersonal relationships with others. The basis for the initial disagreement made sense, because we saw one perspective, but I feel like we, as readers, missed out on a lot of that internal struggle and development that might have worked better in a prose-based story.

In terms of the art and the world-building, I think I would've loved more exploration of the types of monsters and their fighting practices, learning more about the history of what they were doing, rather than be trapped in the mundane world of miscommunication and misunderstandings. What we do see of the monsters though has a lot of potential and I'm excited to see how the story develops and the world grows as these characters grow into their skill and are let out into the world. Definitely something to keep an eye on in the future.

One thing that really stood out to me was the talk of race and identity - where you do belong and who are you if you're away from your motherland or born somewhere else? What do you call home? Who are you if you're not who people think you are? I really enjoyed the culture-building through these conversations and their food, and its relevance to those who have experienced the same. It felt like a very valuable conversation to have both through a racial lens and that of the LGBTQ+ experience. I feel like some of those conversations could have been bigger (some came as a surprise, which is never good), but I appreciated their inclusion nonetheless.

I would 100% return to this world. The conflict wasn't one I felt had been developed or earned, so it took away from my enjoyment of the graphic novel as a whole, but I'm already excited to read the sequels slated for this series!

TW: violence (hunting), racism, bullying, injury; mentions death and fictional animal deaths

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 3/5
World Building: 4/5
Writing: 3/5
Art: 4/5
Pacing: 3/5
Overall: 3/5

eARC gifted via NetGalley by IDW Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you IDW Publishing and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this wonderful book. This start of a new series is a pure delight! Cooking, combat, monsters, great characters, and fast-paced action combine into a fantastic story. Loved the artwork and the concept of the warrior chef. I’m sure my students would love it as much as I did. Can’t wait for the next installment!

This book was very fun to read. We have been working on cooking and the title caught my eye but it was so much more. When we found out it was combat cooking, well we were so intrigued. They all work hard to go to culinary combat school to become head chefs. My middle child loves manga and so he devoured this book. He laughed and asked when the next one was coming out. The art Work was really good and the story flowed really well.

The plot of the book is fast-paced and exciting, filled with culinary challenges, epic cooking battles, and surprising twists. The author's creativity in imagining unique cooking techniques and imaginative ingredients adds an element of surprise and wonder to the story. The culinary battles are described in vivid detail, immersing readers in a world where cooking becomes a thrilling and high-stakes adventure.

Furthermore, the inclusion of actual recipes throughout the book adds a delightful interactive element. Readers can try their hand at creating the dishes described in the story, further enhancing the immersive experience and making the book truly come alive.

This was such a quirky little middle grade. It had a mental image where I sorta felt I was reading but brain wise watching an anime and that was a lot of fun since it’s the first in some time that I’ve had that happen.
Fun characters, diverse and filled with a page turning writing style.
Rating 3.5 and eager to see where sequels stretch the story out

This book was so much fun. I loved the warrior chefs! I loved that when they vanquish a monster they cook it up!
With lots of representation and fun world building this is a must buy.

It gives the saying "fighting the munchies" a whole new meaning! A amusing twist of an action packed adventure ideal for manga readers looking for something more lighthearted.

𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲: Battles, Drama, Food and Monsters, at School
𝗙𝗮𝘃 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿: The scentipede
𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Slow
𝗧𝘆𝗽𝗲: Graphic Novel
𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗿𝗲: Adventure, School, Slice of Life
3.8/𝟱

🌱THE EXCELLENT
~ Different bodies to love
~ Pronoun consciousness
~ Bright colours
~ Fun monster animals
~ Changing friendships & priorities

Two friends enroll in a prestigious school for battling, killing & cooking monsters, after being saved as kids by one of the national heroes. As they go through their first year of mentorship, lessons & challenges, their friendship, loyalty & focus will be tested & they will make wonderful new friends who are there to support them.

✨𝗚𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗶𝘁 𝗮 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱.

🦖 I enjoyed this one overall, but I felt at times it was too much slice of life for what I had thought it would be. There is character development, brewing friendships & drama, but honestly, I wanted more battles & recipes.

🌱THE MEH
~ 🤔 seemed a bit long
~ There was some meandering which for a GN seemed unnecessary (better for a light novel)
~ The main conflict seemed somewhat off

♡🌱 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲 ;)

Thank you NetGalley and IDW Publishing for an ARC of this graphic novel. First of all, this comic has such a great fantasy world. Two of my favourite things: cooking and fantasy. I could never imagine them together, but now that I have read about it, I am so glad that it does exist.

The plot of the book is great, I am SUPER excited to see how the plot will progress. The ending leaves you wanting to know more!! It is such a diverse comic as well, I wish I had something like this when I was younger. Although all the characters are from fantasy lands, it still bleeds into the real world. I love that they are able to face their older bully again, and I REALLY hope to see some character development in him.

Spoiler: I don't know how to word this, but I am not a fan of the love triangle that is placed in the comic. I don't want something like that to happen/get between the two best friends, especially after they had just gotten over their previous argument. That being said, I am excited to see how it plays out in the end, and I know that with their dynamic, they should be able to get through it.

This is such a fun story! I love the drawings and how detailed they are. I also really enjoyed the narrative and characters. Looking forward to the next book in the series.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
The book focuses on Hana. Hana and her best friend Bobby finally make it to the Gourmand Academy of Culinary Combat. There they make friends and learn to fight and cook various monsters. And, of course, because they are young adults, there are many misunderstandings that lead to drama between Hana and her friends.
The concept is interesting. One thing I would have liked to see was more cooking information, like a recipe or two at the end that corresponded with dishes made in the book. I thought that the action was good, but there could have been more use of the various kitchen tools shown- I just don't see how someone is going to fight a monster with a giant whisk.
This was a fun and light-hearted story overall despite the interpersonal drama.

I love the monsters in this book. It is a very fun book. It is fast paced action and just enough violence to be entertaining for younger readers, but not scary or gory. The characters were excellent and I really enjoyed reading the story.

4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. My opinion was not affected by the free copy.

Initially I was attracted to this book by the art. I almost decided against requesting it, though, as the blurb on NetGalley decided to throw Percy Jackson under the bus to lift this book up. Someone clearly didn't read past the first series, as there are many POC and LGBTQ+ main characters in later books. But that was just a personal peeve since I love Riordan's work and his efforts to educate himself and lift up voices who can do those sorts of characters better than he could. That aside, the comparison isn't even accurate: this is nothing like Harry Potter or Percy Jackson. As someone who has read both series, the only thing it has in common with HP is the fact that they're in school; the only thing it has in common with PJ&O is that they fight monsters.

If I were to compare this with any popular media, I would go with something more like Naruto, My Hero Academia, or even Final Fantasy. The art style looks very anime-inspired to me. The way that cooking is linked with monster-fighting reminds me a lot of the Qun in Final Fantasy IX-- one of your characters is a chef and fights with utensils, and they eat monsters.

The biggest negative I can think of is the personal drama in this book. Maybe I'm just way too past the demographic to have the patience for this "misunderstanding leads to drama" nonsense that went on for way too long. The fact that Olivia holds this grudge against Hana for so long over an innocent comment was pretty annoying; all the back-and-forth between Hana and her childhood friend got tiring. I feel like that took up most of the story rather than learning about the monsters or the fighting/cooking techniques. I would've also liked more character interactions, as I didn't feel I knew any of them much beyond Hana, Olivia and Salem-- and Salem only because he was such a big personality I loved him every time he showed up.

The art style is very nice, the dialogue is good, and the world-building is excellent. Probably the best part of the book. Which is honestly why I wanted that part to get more focus than it did. I wanted to learn how this school came to be, why they chose cooking to be their way of dealing with monsters, what each monster type meant, and just more emphasis on fighting and cooking. Would've been cool to have a few recipes thrown in, too. They are culinary warriors, after all.

I think it's a pretty decent start. If it can ease off the personal drama and focus on the world and the other characters, I think it'll be a good series.