I enjoyed the artwork, but the story felt rushed. It would have been interesting to read more about the main character's backstory, too.

Rating: 2.5-3 ⭐️s

Thank you Netgalley, the author, and Oni Press for letting me review this e-arc.

After Lamont’s father dies he moves in with his aunt where he learns how to make tea from his aunt. While living with her he deals with his traumas and grief while also finding and understanding his sexuality.

A few things I did like about the book was how the author used their art and used color to show his fear. In some parts it felt really unsettling. I also really enjoyed the tea recipes throughout the book, I thought they were a really nice touch. As for things I didn’t like was I felt that the book was rushed and was really fast paced at the expense of character development. And how the characters interacted with each other was quite hollow and felt emotionless. I also felt like we were missing out on some scenes that happened off page. The book itself was also quite confusing changing from one topic to the next without any real smooth transition.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for gifting me a copy of Heaven, West Virginia.

We are following our main character Lamont who just lost his father and is going back to his aunt’s cabin in West Virginia.

The art in this graphic novel was stunning and I enjoyed following Lamont’s journey through grief and self-acceptance. The manifestation of Lamont’s demons through the wolves was a great idea and well executed as reader the sense of uncertainty whether the wolf is real or not stayed with me the whole time.
Lamont’s relationship with Coyote was great and lets us think that Coyote will help him. I also enjoyed Latoya’s recipes in the book and would love to try the love potion!

It’s 5 stars for me and I would highly recommend it!

★★★★☆ — A beautiful visual experience, just wish there was more of it.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC! I'm glad I got to read it.

Heaven, West Virginia is a wonderful art piece. The art was my favourite part, it was simple yet striking, with such a lovely style and a strong sense of mood and place. It's a beautiful example of visual storytelling, and I really loved the tea recipes scattered throughout. They added such a warm touch, it felt homey and I will be trying some.

That said, I do wish this was longer. A lot of the story happens off-page or is only implied, and there's not quite enough time to sit with Latoya and his struggles. It doesn't really sink in to you the way it has the potential to. If I were rating the story execution alone, it would be lower, but the art really picks up the slack and makes the whole experience worth it. I really enjoyed the premise, I just would’ve loved to spend more time with it. Thank you again, I wouldn't have thought to pick it up had I not seen it on Netgalley.

While the art style was not my favorite, I can appreciate the story that was being told! It did a great job of illustrating what going through grief looks like and coming to terms with it! I also really enjoyed the snippets with the tea recipes, they did a good job of cutting through the seriousness of the story!
4/5

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this ARC in exchange for my honest review!

This is a beautiful and touching graphic novel about grief and moving past trauma. While the artwork was unique, I still enjoyed it. I also appreciate a story that can dive into our emotions and humanity. Thank you Oni Press as always!

the art style wasn't the greatest but it fit the tone well and I looooved the use of the static to signal Lamont's creeping guilt and all the urges he wants to ignore because he was told all his life they were wrong. There's a lot happening off the page here, but I liked how it was a quick little story diving into such deep topics at a breakneck pace

⭐⭐⭐.5
back with another short comic but Deep then I expected, first of all ;
A special thanks to the author for allowing me the chance to read this work before its official release.
This comic came as a light break after a heavy read, but it surprised me with the depth of its themes despite its seemingly simple presentation.

The story follows a man who grew up under the shadow of his father, a priest, and lived his childhood under constant psychological pressure—something he only fully recognized after his father’s death. From my interpretation, the main character had his own sexual orientation, but his father, bound by strict religious beliefs, labeled it as a sin. As a result, the child grew up in fear, one so profound that even after his father’s death, he continued to perceive him as a terrifying presence—symbolized by massive, haunting wolves that followed him everywhere.

Later, he meets a mysterious man and a relationship begins to form between them. It’s not portrayed explicitly, but rather gently revealed as the protagonist admits to being more drawn to men. This moment becomes part of his gradual emotional release from the grip of his father’s long-standing judgment.

The comic is short, simple, and sweet.
What I didn’t fully enjoy was how quickly the protagonist seemed to move past the trauma of his father’s influence. I would’ve liked a deeper emotional resolution—perhaps a symbolic confrontation, like a dream where he speaks to or faces his father, something that shows him conquering the fear rather than simply suppressing it.
As for the art, it was minimal and clear. It wasn’t a major element for me since I was more invested in the story itself.
➥ I’m grateful you took a moment to read my review—thank you.

I'm honestly so confused. It looks like it would be a really lovely story, if the author took the time to really flesh out the story. So many scenes happen in the background, which is super confusing.
Like I don't even understand how the romance between the two MCs came to be.
That said, I love the tea recipes though. And I can't wait to try them.

<i>Disclaimer: I received this book as an ARC in exchange of my honest review.</i>

This was okay. I loved the queerness, the religious trauma, and the tea recipes! But I felt like I was left outside the story quite a bit instead of immersed. The dialogue was a bit hollow and emotionless, and we didn't get any internal thoughts or feelings to help us get to know the characters.

I feel like much of this story was told in between the pages, and that the pages that were there moved too quickly for me to really get a feel for … what was going on. Lamont’s father is dead, so he’s moving in with his aunt who also dies. There’s no sense of how long he lived with his aunt, no sense of … anything. The grief and shame and guilt — the wolves, the shadows and shapes — are present, but overcome in a single page. He falls in love with a goat rancher and then falls into bed with them with no sense of the relationship between the two of them being anything more than physical appreciation and convenience as there doesn't seem to be anyone else in the book.

The art is fine, but what I really liked was the use of static instead of black, as if Lamont was missing the truth of what was in those spaces. The imagery is fine, if a little expected, and I never knew why there were two wolves. Was one Lamont and one his father? Was one society? Was one guilt and the other shame? While the wolves were all in his head, the horse wasn’t, so why did the horse also get the demon treatment?

I’m sorry, but this didn’t work for me either as a story, or as a graphic novel. I’m left too confused and feeling unsatisfied by the rushed pace. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC.

3.5 stars, rounded down.

I liked what this comic had to say, but I wasn’t a big fan of the artwork. As for the wolf, it was symbolic of Lamont’s need to stop hiding who he really was and embrace it completely. It was either that, or be eaten by what his dad wanted of him.

One thing this book really brought into focus is how often people will claim someone was “good” after they die, even if they weren’t good at all. Coyote was the only person willing to tell the truth.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC. This review contains my honest, unbiased opinion.

Lamont is dealing with the grief of his fathers death and the struggle of coming to terms with being gay while being haunted by his father, a renowned preacher. We mostly follow Lamont, now living with his Aunt and his relationship with a goat herder/cowboy named Coyote, as he works through his childhood trauma and figuring out who he is without his father.

The art style and flow of the story was very engaging and was great in reflecting what Lamont was feeling. I will definitely be checking out more of Ravi Teixeira’s work.

When reading graphic novels things tend to move bit faster. But I think in this so much, particularly the relationship development, happens very quickly that I felt a bit blindsided by some of the plot jumps. There’s a lot left for the reader to fill in and I wish it was just a bit longer so we could get a better feel for the characters.

Thank you Oni Press and NetGalley for the ARC

This had an unusual art style which I liked, but the story fell a bit flat for me. It was a bit confusing and I was a bit lost having to look back to try and understand it. I get the overall idea of it, but maybe more could have been explained along the way.

Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to the author and NetGalley for giving me an ARC.

The art and illustrations were absolutely stunning. I loved the use of colour or absence of to show how Lamont was feeling. The premise immediately drew me in.

Lamont has to deal with a lot of trauma when his father dies. His father pressured him to take over the family business, be aloof, and preached religious hatred in regards to men who lie with other men. Lamont deeply struggles to reconcile his lived experience of his dad with how the majority of people say he was a good man. He goes to live witn his aunt and meets a cute cowboy called Coyote.

Lamont then goes through a series of cathartic experiences, admitting out loud that he's gay. This was really heartwarming to see and I liked how it was shown a lot. There is a small intimate scene of Lamont and Coyote, but only skin is shown, and it isn't graphic.

With the nature of graphic novels, a lot of things happen 'off-screen' which are then hinted at in the text. This was the same, except sometimes it took me a while to catch on, and to realise that there had been a time skip/something significant had happened. It wasn't a major issue by any means, I just worry that I may have missed important details.

The design of the monster was exceptionally cool. I was kinda sad to realise that it was a metaphorical monster rather than an actual one, but it was cool none the less.

I really look forward to seeing what the author writes next.

I enjoyed the illustrations and the themes of the story. However, it is not suitable for children due to some explicit scenes. The recipes interspersed throughout the narrative added a charming touch.

This comic was interesting. The art style was beautiful, and I loved the coloring and full-page spreads. In many regards, this reminded me of a zine: unconventional storytelling with highly-stylized and striking imagery.

My main problem was that it felt quite rushed and generalized. Many events are implied, not fully fleshed out (though speaking of flesh, there is one sexy scene in which we see bodies and butts... it's PG-13, not R). The main character is dealing with lingering childhood trauma from his preacher father. He goes to stay with his aging aunt, and falls for a pretty, gay goatherd rancher named Coyote. Other than the resolution, I can tell you very few details about this story, because things are often hinted or implied without being addressed directly. As a result, I was left feeling somewhat detached from the characters, and filled in a lot of the details on my own as I read.

I do think this is worth reading, I just felt like too much was left up to the reader to fill in, and I wanted a little more detail from the narrative. This story felt like it was more about queer trauma than about one person's specific life experience, you know? I would love to try some of these tea recipes, though...

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for the ARC of this comic.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for approving my request to read an arc of this book.

This graphic novel centre’s around grief and new beginnings. I really liked the unique art style, and while it is fast paced, it told the story well.
I also enjoyed looking at the recipes that were included.

As someone with limited experience reading comics, I'm still figuring out what resonates with me. The plot of this one sounded intriguing, but the story felt rushed—so brief that I struggled to grasp it fully before it ended. That said, I really enjoyed the tea recipes included. They added a fun and cozy touch!

I received an ARC of this ebook from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.