I thought this comic was alright. I like the characters and am interested in the story, but not a whole lot happens in this volume. We get some good suspense and intrigue, but the pacing is kind of slow which makes it drag. This volume was mostly just set up, so I feel like the next one should be a more exciting and/or suspenseful read. Also, not that big of a deal, but the ending of this volume was odd. I feel like the editors should have tried to find a spot in the comic that felt more like a natural end. Anyway, while I wasn't super into this story, it has an interesting premise and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for this digital ARC

This review is only for the English translation of Volume 1 of Murderous Lewellyn's Candlelit Dinner

I did not know about this being already published and I went into this story expecting a mystery thriller as it was tagged as such. The mystery element is pretty low and most of the story revolves around 2 characters Shavonne, a broke ghost writer struggling to earn money and Lewellyn, possibly a serial killer who is obssessed with onions.

Now, most of my issue stems from not knowing this is a series leading to romance between these two characters and maybe we will get more backstory and reasons for the characters' behaviour in next volumes, based on what we have got here it was uncomfortable. This could be something that works for others who wouldn't mind weird dynamics and characters who ignore every red flag. If this was only a thriller, i could see how the book successfully creates a creepy unlikeable character but volume 1 still fails to create a dynamic start to a series with most of it's settings all being on the apartment floor of the two characters. The art style is good and easy to understand.

Thank you to NetGalley and Yen Press/Ize Press for the e-book copy!

Murderous Lewellyn's Candlelit Dinner follows Shavonne, an author looking for his next paycheck. He catches the attention of his new neighbor, Lewellyn who harbors a secret. The beginning of this story starts off slow but once it picks up it grabs your attention. I wanted to believe Lewellyn was not what he seemed but as the story developed the more I was convinced. I like Shavonne as a main character he was cynical but had moments where he showed fear for his situation. I am going to continue with this series for now and I can't wait to see what will happen next.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the e-arc!!
This is BL with no spice in a murder mystery kind of setting. It’s definitely intriguing, the art is lovely and can’t wait to read more

This is the first in a multi-volume graphic novel collection, and the ending has me hungry to know what happens next.

Shavonne lives in the bad part of town, where multiple recent murders have occurred. He’s a down on his luck ghostwriter that is barely scraping by. He’s also becoming more and more paranoid because someone is mysteriously leaving notes for him. One day, he encounters a man peeling onions on the stairs outside his apartment door. While cautious about getting to know the man, Lewellyn, better, he does accept an invitation to a candlelight dinner at the man’s apartment, which ends up being next to his. While at the dinner, Shavonne makes a discovery which will help guide the remainder of this volume of the story.

I enjoyed this graphic novel. The artwork was all in darker and muted tones to play into the themes of the story, and did a great job supporting the dialogue. I am very curious about where this story is going to go moving forward.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher/author for this copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

We follow the story of a young man living in a city with a serial killer on the loose. Our main character is being stalked and at the same time being semi-courted by his neighbor. Lewellyn is a strange man, with strange qualities, could he be our serial killer? And who is our stalker?

I will say I found our narrator Bo be slightly annoying with how many times he wondered if Lewellyn was a serial killer or even a killer in herbal but then NEVER did anything about it. His inner musings were just frustrating and I flet he would get caught up in a lot of things for way longer than was necessary.. Hoping the next books provide clarity into his mind and clarity about Lewellyn.

Everything about this book drew me in—the title, the cover, and most of all, the premise. The plot and artwork? They did not disappoint in the slightest.

Isn't it scary to have your next door neighbour be a killer? A Handsome killer that writes you cute notes? If it was me I would bolt. But Shavon doesn't have much a choice. With no money, no job and a police that refuses to listen, he's trapped. To make matters worse he is also being stalked. By the same killer? Or is it someone completely different?

Lewellyn- the killer is kind to him and Shavon certainly isn't used to such kindness. It's eerily similar to Stockholm syndrome. Although it's not like the killer has held him hostage.

Lewellyn's motive remains a mystery. Love? Revenge? Or is he just a twisted psychopath? Why go out of the way to be kind to someone? Even slipping Shavon money under the guise of a proofreading job—correcting grammar in love letters that are clearly fake? (Nice try, Lewellyn. Not fooling anyone.)

All in all this one has me really hooked and I am excited to read more about both Lewellyn and Shavon. Hopefully one of them doesn't end up as a corpse in the next volume.

ARC provided by Netgalley and the Publisher.

This was very weird, tonally. It was just a strange reading experience. I can't really pin down why it was weird, but I think it has something to do with nothing being too much. Everything in here was mild, no one was being creepy enough for me to call them out on it, no one was scarry enough to be frightening, and nothing was romantic enough for me to get those vibes either. Everything was just there and happened. The description hypes the story up way more than is dementated here and I'd be curious to see how volume two escalates things but right now there is kind of just nothing.

With a title like this, you’d think the premise would be straightforward, but the story proves to be much more complex. By the end of the first volume, it feels like we’ve only just begun to scratch the surface. Lewellyn is a fascinating character, while the protagonist is someone I pity more than I like—but that only adds to the tension between them, which is executed brilliantly. The art is absolutely gorgeous, and the atmosphere keeps me on edge the entire time. It’s an addictive read, a real page-turner, and I can’t wait to get my hands on the second volume.

This book wasn't really what I expected. I was looking forward to it but was disappointed in the story, the pacing, and the characters. I really wish this felt more like a cohesive book than a webtoon that got published.

I also felt that the tone did not convey the emotions of the main character very well, which I feel is necessary to understand how the character is backed into a corner and making the choices he is. Instead there are just random expository scenes outside of the character that are just convenient enough that they explain away all of the character's actions, or non-action.

This is just the first book in the series so I imagine it may improve but ultimately, I think this story is not for me. I just don't think this story could go anywhere interesting to me with such a passive, uninteresting main character and such an annoying, unlikeable secondary character.

Lewellyn's a freak and I like that. The art style is what drew me in, and while I did go into this mostly blind, I am very interested to know how the story develops. Volume 1 gives us, I think, a good set up for the future plots. I need volume 2 like rn tho

Thanks to NetGalley and Ize Press for the eARC!

Shavonne is a poor ghostwriter who dreams of getting out of a bad neighborhood. After breaking up with his current FWB, he starts running into a neighbor named Lewellyn, who he finds off-putting immediately. The author/artist did a wonderful job making the tension palpable in the scenes with Lewellyn. I was in a constant state of anxiety reading this, as Lewellyn’s demeanor would change on a dime.

This was a super fun (and tense) read and I’ll absolutely be reading the next volume!

I really wanted to love this graphic novel because I was super excited about the new overall concept depicted in the blurb, however I struggled with the pacing and overall plot of this volume. I thought the story moved a little slower than most graphic novels, and while there was a lot of information in this volume, it did not feel as though the plot was furthered. Lastly, Lewellen was incredibly unlikable—some of which I think was purposeful, some of which felt irredeemable.

One other thing I wanted to mention was that a few times Lewellen spoke about Savonne’s boyfriends giving him STIs, and I thought that was maybe a little inappropriate and insensitive for a novel featuring a gay man. This, admittedly, might be a cultural disconnect, but something like that in American culture would come off as queerphobic or derogatory.

The things I did enjoy were the story’s quirkiness, the gorgeous art, and the Shavonne’s surliness. Shavonne was definitely the standout character, in my opinion.

Shavonne is a struggling writer in the worst housing in the city and hoping to get a chance to write his own works instead of ghostwrite for others. He's being stalked, and also has a next door neighbour who appears to be a murderer -- though it's unclear if these two are the same people.

Fascinating and creepy, even borderline gothic (despite the city environment). I felt genuinely very chilled by the ominous overtones of Lewellyn getting Shavonne more and more enmeshed into his life and his debt, and I definitely want to pick up the next volume.

Art was consistent and very pretty, if not overly expressive. And I laughed at how completely useless the cops were; it was both a great way to set up how little recourse Shavonne had and also, you know, yeah. I didn't find the characters entirely believable -- though, as with a gothic story, I didn't need to.

Such a fun read! Art was very nice. Interesting story and plot. I love the mystery and just like Savonne I cant get a good reading on Lewellyn. There was a dead body, but... is he a murderer? The home maintenance guy... he has to be dead right? Llewellyn is such a great character. The author/artist release detail little by little so you know just as much as Savonne, which is awesome becauseit really helps you feel like you are in Savonne's place leading you to want to know more. You know something is up with Llewellyn but just can't put your finger on it. I definitely think he killed the home maintenance guy though. All this to say I really want to know what happens next! Great book! Fans of murder mysteries or mysteries on general should definitely read!

(Slightly rounded up) A promising, if flawed, start for the series about a struggling writer and his mysterious onion-loving (and murderous) neighbour.

The art is really nice, if not as colourful as many other manhwas. The palette, however, feels organic for this particular setting, so the prevalence of browns, blacks and yellows did not bother me at all. For me personally, faces are quite important when I read manga/manhwa/comics - if something bothers me about the faces of the characters, I find it hard to get into the story (they do not have to be attractive, but I do have to find them interesting to look at) - and here the art really worked for me. The contrast with Lewellyn's goofy labrador-like smile and who he really is was quite fun, and Shavonne's grumpiness and insecurities were also nicely drawn.

The overall story/pacing felt a little too episodic for me - we jump from one scene to another to the next - and it did not flow as smoothly as I'd like it to.

The plot itself is quite interesting though - Lewellyn's identity and motivation, his intentions towards Shavonne and, ultimately the biggest mystery for me, the explanation for his onion obsession - I'd love to see where this all is going. I'd also like to find out more about Shavonne's past too, so I will be reading volume 2 for sure.

Overall, I liked the art style and the story intrigued me enough to want to read the follow-up, which I think is a win.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an eARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Shavonne lives on a sketchy street in a sketchy area that is being plagued with a string of murders. A creeper and/or Peeping Tom keeps leaving notes on his apartment door. The police are obviously more occupied and concerned with the murders than these weird notes being left on Shavonne’s door. One day, an odd new neighbor appears on the steps of their apartment building and keeps peeling onions every day. The new neighbor, Lewellyn, seems to be slightly infatuated with Shavonne and invites him to dinner.
I'm interested to see how their story will continue.

#ThxNetGalley #Sumnagi #MurderousLewellynsCandlelitDinnerVol1

Shavonne is a struggling ghost writer, barely making ends meet, living in a poor neighborhood that has recently been stalked by a serial killer. To make matters worse, he has an actual stalker who keeps leaving cryptic messages on his door and somehow things actually get worse, he has a strange new neighbor who spends all of his time in front of Shavonne's door peeling onions of all things. As Shavonne struggles to find a job to help him move as away from his weirdo neighbor, he discovers a dark secret about him, one that leaves him trapped and indebted to a murderer.

This definitely has some promise. It's interesting how Shavonne just kinda does whatever Llewellyn says even before he finds out he's a murderer. He really seems like such a pushover, and yeah I guess he's had a pretty hard life so I suppose it makes a bit of sense that he is attracted to this human that's showing him kindness but I think he gives in too quickly. Llewellyn is freaking weird, though. I mean, I can see him being both the serial killer and the stalker on one hand, but on the other, I really can't. I'd lean more towards the stalker than anything, though. Either way, he definitely creeps me out.


I was intrigued enough that I'll read volume two to see where this goes.

As always, thanks to NetGalley and Yen Press for the eArc!

I started reading this manhwa... I dropped it and then picked it up again. And I don't regret a thing. Bring in the doors, because there are plenty of handles.

This type of story has become very popular. There's something very shady going on here; the protagonist knows it, feels it, sees it... and yet there's something that won't let him leave that shady, toxic person. And here we're talking about murder.

The story starts off very slowly, which is why I put it down. But in the last three chapters, some very entertaining things happen, and the plot picks up a dizzying pace, ending with some of the most intense panels.

Eagerly awaiting the next volume. I need to know what happens!

Thank you, Yen Press, for the ARC I read on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Ooh okay this was very mysterious! I really liked the characters and the strange onion obsession that kept reoccurring. One volume was not enough! I feel like I only got a taste of something delicious and now I want a whole slice.