This fantasy series starts fairly strongly! The art balances both the soft and sinister sides of the plot. There is more going on than meets the eye, and I dig it. Our MC is a plucky outcast of winged society and I have a feeling this world is going to throw a few curve balls at her regarding why her wings are like that. If this flavor of fantasy is your jam, you'll like this one!

Blue is a Celes with a secret. She has black wings. She is ridiculed by everyone and called a demon. But when she befriends the prince, the archangel encourages her to pursue her dream of becoming an angel. He even takes a special interest in her training. But will it be enough?

I'm not rushing out to get this volume and I'm not bursting at the seams to get the next one. However, the art was lovely and the story is promising. I'm curious and perhaps if I sit with this long enough, I will start to crave more. We shall see. But a solid first volume.

"A Kingdom of Quartz" was such a surprise 5-star read for me! I have read a great deal of fantasy manga at this point, that it really takes something uniquely its own to grab my attention the way this read did from Chapter 1. The Kingdom of Quartz world that we're dropped into is layered in such a way that I wanted to be wrapped up in it. We first meet our main character, Blue, enacting a hero scene with a charming wooden sword in hand in the orphanage she lives at. From the onset, you already start to fall in love with this imaginative, altruistic little girl. And on top of already liking her personality, the mangaka reveals that Blue has something about her that sets her apart from everyone else that endears you to her character further. I'll let you read that to find out more, but Blue is such a sweet, loveable character who was giving me serious flash backs to another fantastical orphan girl from another of my favorite manga series: Emma from "The Promised Neverland". Similar to The Promised Neverland, this story has some darker tones that will probably surprise you, but overall a fantastic plot and stunning art to keep you wanting to read on. I'm personally very excited to read more!

<spoiler> Also I so loved the little office AU side story at the end of the book! It was just the perfect, light-hearted note I needed after a little bit of the heaviness of the story. Very cute! </spoiler>

For fans of "The Promised Neverland" and "Shadows House"!

Thank you to Netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this first installment to a manga series. The story takes inspiration from legends of angels, archangels, demons etc. It feels a little inspired by the kids nursey story of the black swan - Blue is outcast from a young age due to her black wings, but I see the trajectory that she will become a powerful angel and everyone will need her.

The artwork is lovely with really cool character design. Character and world building is still ongoing, as this is a first installment, but I see great potential.

Thank you NetGalley.

I loved this. Everything about it. The artwork was great. Blue was adorable and spunky, and I have a personal love for the black wings. I liked what I saw of Prince Cassian. I like the setup for angel training. School settings are my thing!

I hope to see more development of that power that Blue has. It was very interesting to see.

Also, why do the demons look like eyeballs? Is there a reason? Regardless, I loved this and absolutely want to read more volumes.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. A Kingdom of Quartz was a great start to a new manga series. It follows Blue who is a Celes with black wings and a hidden well of power. Blue dreams of becoming and a chance meeting with the Prince of the Quartz Kingdom has her wanting to become an archangel. A tragic event leads Blue to reveal her immense powers and the Prince to want her to join his archangels when she is old enough. Until then she must hide her wings and her power.

A Kingdom of Quartz was a very original and interesting twist on an angels and demons themed story. The illustrations were really beautiful and detailed. I loved all of the detail given on the backgrounds and the characters. Blue has a single minded focus on becoming an angel and helping people. She puts others before herself multiple times throughout the story and is such a pure character with that underlying darkness. I am really interested to see where this story goes next.

This was a very cute story about a girl who is different from everyone else. Who has a dream to join the angels, and one day shows her power and attracts the attention of the prince. The characters and story are amazing and the Art is very pretty and well drawn. Will definitely be reading the rest of this series.

In the kingdom of Quartz, everyone is winged, but only special ones can become angels who protect the realm against demons. Blue is an orphan who wants to be an angel, but since her wings are black and not white, people think she’s a demon. With the help of Archangel Cassian, she strives to achieve her dream. The first volume ends in the middle of the trials for getting into angel training.

This was nice, but a bit hasty. It was a bit difficult to get the hang of the world and characters. There’s a battle and the aftermath starts, but then there’s a time jump and things are left unexplained. Drawings were nice, but the story wasn’t compelling enough for me to continue.

I liked the story and the art style as well. I feel like it didn't cover a lot and it was really short, but I would really like to see how Blue's story evolves.
I think a TW should be used, since people die and they are shown after that, so it can be triggering for some, so be warned, it's not your cute, easy and fun story

A Kingdom of Quartz, Vol. 1" earns a well-deserved five-star rating for its enthralling narrative, rich world-building, and compelling characters. The story of Blue, an orphan with pitch-black wings amidst a world of angelic protectors and demonic threats, is both gripping and emotionally resonant. The author masterfully weaves together themes of identity, power, and sacrifice, keeping readers on the edge of their seats until the very end. With its seamless blend of fantasy and adventure, this volume is a must-read for fans of the genre.

This was such a beautiful manga - the artwork was gorgeous and the storyline hooked me from the beginning. In my own well I felt Blue is one of those characters I just hit it off with and see a tiny part of myself reflected back. I am definitely looking forward to reading more about Blue and this world.

Blue is an orphaned girl who lives in a world where angels protect the kingdom from demons. Blue has black wings; because of this, she is treated as an outcast and becomes the target of bullying by the villagers because they think she’s a demon. Despite being mocked for her wings, Blue hoped to become an archangel. After seeing Blue’s unique and strange power, Prince Cassian took her under his wing.

The artwork is beautiful and detailed, especially Blue’s eyes when she uses her power. The story is good. I loved the world-building. There are explanations about angels and the Quartz Kingdom, which I liked.

I’m looking forward to reading the next volume.

A Kingdom of Quartz volume one is an amazing start to a story. This manga follows Blue, an orphan with black wings that wants to become an angel. She's an outcast and harassed because of her wings. This volume takes a dark turn when Blue finds demons have appeared and finds courage to fight against them until something tragic happens and a dark power is awakened in her. She doesn't remember and still continues on her dream to be an angel, later standing up for someone else being bullied and helping them even when it hurts her own chances of getting what she wants. I look forward to reading the next installments and I'm definitely excited to collect and recommend this series.

I don’t know what to say’s. As for me it’s more like Sailor Moon’s fanfic.It’s nice but not so much.

Certainly, the advantage of this manga, visible at first glance, is the beautiful linework, the colorful pictures on the first pages literally left me speechless! The first chapter reminded me a lot of Tongari bōshi no atorie, but then it became much more... darker. I really hope that in further chapters there will be no love between the prince and Blue, even unrequited love. That's my only concern with this series, because the rest looks great so far! I can't wait for the next volumes (I hope I can get my hands on them one day)!

This story is set in an 'angels vs demons' world, and follows a young orphan named Blue who dreams of one day fulfilling her potential of becoming an angel. Her wings are black instead of white, however, and because of this she is constantly bullied and labelled as a 'demon'. When her orphanage is one day violently attacked, she is horrified to feel a welling of dark power inside her as she fights desperately to hold the demons back and to defend the ones she loves.

I love going into a book blind, so I was sitting here kicking my feet and enjoying how breathtakingly adorable this was and then did NOT expect the tonal shift into violently dark territory. Suffice to say that I was very pleasantly suprised and was immediately messaging friends that they need to read this. I am so invested in Blue's journey. She is an unwavering ray of sunshine and relentlessly fights towards her goals despite everyone around her trying to tear her down. The world building and general story telling and tone is really engaging and i'm really excited to learn more about the angels and demons lore.

The illustration style is so beautiful and at times a little surrealist. I love the way that the demons are illustrated, and how it borrows from the bibles descriptors of what angles look like (we're talking wheels and eyes, baby.)

This is an instant five star for me and i'll be eagerly awaiting the second volume!

I was hooked from the very beginning and I was completely immersed in the story!
The story follows a young orphan named Blue, who dreams of becoming an angel like the ones who protect the Kingdom of Quartz. However, Blue is different from the other children at the orphanage. While their wings are pure white, Blue's are a dark and ominous black, causing many to fear and reject her. Despite this, Blue remains determined to fulfill her dreams.
The manga is beautifully drawn, with stunning illustrations that bring the story to life.
It is a must-read for any fan of fantasy manga. Its unique story, stunning artwork, and well-developed characters make for an unforgettable read. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a captivating tale. I cannot wait to see where the story goes next, and I eagerly anticipate the next volume.

I got this book for free via Netgalley for a review.

I picked this one because the cover caught my eye, it's gorgeous and the blurb sounded great. I loved it! Once I started it I couldn't put it down until I had finished the volume, I was so hooked. The plot just pulls you along from the very beginning.

I loved the characters, particularly the protagonist, Blue. This book was the perfect mix for me of cute characters and dark situations. The world building seems really cool and I'm keen to explore it further in future volumes.

The art is just gorgeous the whole way through, but especially the coloured pages at the beginning.

I will definitely be picking up the next volume when it's available.

I totally loved this manga.
It was a wonderful surprise, from the story, to the characters and the world in which everything takes place. I was completely blown away.
The characters are fantastic, they all have a great impact on the world and story and do their best for what they want and what they truly believe in.
The art is stunning. The attention to detail and the way it connects with the story is beautiful.
All I can say is that I need to go buy the second volume.

[Thanks to Kodansha and Netgalley for an ARC of this volume.]

Blue is blue because she’s the only black-winged Celes (read: angel) in the entire kingdom of Quartz and people treat her like she’s a demon. When actual demons invade, she manifests some wild powers that may prove the people more right than they think.

If I threw Sephiroth from <i>Final Fantasy VII</i>, some <i>Witch Hat Atelier</i>, and a chunk of <i>Harry Potter</i> into a blender, I might get something closely approximating this story, which is basically ‘orphan goes to wizard school but it’s for angels’. There’s even a flipping train with an elitist bully!

This volume’s critical flaw is that it talks too much and shows too little and what it does show it doesn’t show very well. It has a massive, massive amount of lore and terminology to inflict on the reader and none of it was especially interesting.

Sometimes, sorry not sorry, Celes really is more.

Which is a shame because Blue might be cut from the cloth of plucky orphans everywhere, but she’s still trying to do her best and has a pure heart to contrast with her black wings and whatever happens to her during the shocking opening scenes.

I will give the story some credit for having the stones to not only let actual children die, but to also introduce characters that seem like they’re here for the long term and wipe them out early on. It cuts through the talking parts to firmly declare that there will be some stakes maybe.

There’s definitely a lot of prejudice and scorn being worked through here as well, although it is pretty ham-fisted, though having a character with black wings is putting a pin on it anyway, I suppose.

The action is not terribly interesting, honestly, and the demon designs are really… underwhelming. The art is actually pretty good for the most part, although there are some questionable choices with regards to feet at some points.

There’s just a feeling of ‘been here, done that’ to it that I couldn’t quite get past. If you have room for another one of these stories, I don’t think this is a total waste of time, but I wouldn’t reach for it first either.

It jumps around in time a little too much and focuses on characters versus info dumps too little. The character work is much stronger the lore, honestly, especially once we see a new group of cast members coming in towards the end.

But even there, the ending to the volume is moderately ridiculous, pitting a wee girl against a seasoned soldier with the former’s dreams on the line. Even if it’s more than likely the girl succeeds, it’s pretty thin.

I read a fair bit of <i>Witch Hat Atelier</i> and that had both art and a strong story. This has some alright stuff, but lots of creaky and otherwise meh bits to accompany it. Blue is great, but I think she deserves a better story.

3 stars - not my cup of tea, and if you wanted only one book in this genre there are better ones to reach for. More for genre fans than anybody else, honestly.