Synopsis:
A story of love and demons, family and witchcraft.
Nova
Huang knows more about magic than your average teen witch. She works at
her grandmothers' bookshop, where she helps them loan out spell books
and investigate any supernatural occurrences in their New England town.
One
fateful night, she follows reports of a white wolf into the woods, and
she comes across the unexpected: her childhood crush, Tam Lang, battling
a horse demon in the woods. As a werewolf, Tam has been wandering from
place to place for years, unable to call any town home.
Pursued
by dark forces eager to claim the magic of wolves and out of options,
Tam turns to Nova for help. Their latent feelings are rekindled against
the backdrop of witchcraft, untested magic, occult rituals, and family
ties both new and old in this enchanting tale of self-discovery.
(Synopsis from Goodreads).
My Thoughts:
I've been wanting to read more graphic novels this year. It's something
that I love to do, but don't do very often for whatever reason. I heard
quite a few people on booktube talk about how good Mooncakes is so I
decided to check it out. Unfortunately, I ended up not enjoying it as
much as I had hoped I would.
Mooncakes had so much potential. The
graphic novel is full of things I usually love reading about, such as
witches, shifters, and LGBTQ+ characters. Unfortunately, the story fell
flat for me. Throughout reading the graphic novel, I was confused
because parts of it didn't seem to make sense. It almost felt like there
was another book in the series that came before it that I should have
read. However, when looking on Goodreads, it appears to be the only book
in the series. There were references to things that had happened to the
characters previously and inside jokes between them that I didn't get
at all.
The other thing that I didn't like about Mooncakes was
that the main characters didn't have distinct personalities. They were
just cookie cutter and plain. Other than their physical abilities, there
was nothing to make them stand out from other characters in the graphic
novel, or characters I had read about in other books. In fact, I had to
go slow and keep looking at the art work to remember which character
was which because their personalities were so similar. I had to
backtrack several time in the story line because I kept getting them
confused.
I really wanted to love Mooncakes. It has all of the
elements that I usually love in a story line. However, this graphic
novel just wasn't for me. I found it confusing, and hard to distinguish
between the characters. I would like to give this author another try in
the future though because I know a lot of people that did love this
graphic novel.
I give Mooncakes: 2/5.
Want to know more about the authors?
Suzanne Walker
Website: https://www.suzannewakeenwalker.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/suzusaur
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/suzisaur/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7008509.Suzanne_Walker
Wendy Xu
Website: http://www.artofwendyxu.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/angrygirLcomics
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/artofwendyxu/
I received this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
Synopsis:
Morgan Grant and her sixteen-year-old daughter, Clara, would like nothing more than to be nothing alike.
Morgan
is determined to prevent her daughter from making the same mistakes she
did. By getting pregnant and married way too young, Morgan put her own
dreams on hold. Clara doesn’t want to follow in her mother’s footsteps.
Her predictable mother doesn’t have a spontaneous bone in her body.
With
warring personalities and conflicting goals, Morgan and Clara find it
increasingly difficult to coexist. The only person who can bring peace
to the household is Chris—Morgan’s husband, Clara’s father, and the
family anchor. But that peace is shattered when Chris is involved in a
tragic and questionable accident. The heartbreaking and long-lasting
consequences will reach far beyond just Morgan and Clara.
While
struggling to rebuild everything that crashed around them, Morgan finds
comfort in the last person she expects to, and Clara turns to the one
boy she’s been forbidden to see. With each passing day, new secrets,
resentment, and misunderstandings make mother and daughter fall further
apart. So far apart, it might be impossible for them to ever fall back
together.
(Synopsis from Goodreads).
My Thoughts:
Colleen Hoover is one of my favorite authors. I read Hopeless when it
was first released, and have been addicted ever since. Therefore, it was
no surprise to me that I loved her latest novel, Regretting You.
Regretting
You is definitely in my top five books of the year. There's so much
that I loved about the book. First of all, I love how Colleen Hoover can
write crazy plot twists. I didn't read the synopsis at all, so what
happens towards the beginning caught me completely by surprise. There
were a few things after that that completely shocked me too. There's a
certain thing that's revealed in the middle that I didn't see coming at
all. I had to stop and re-read that part to make sure I was reading it
right.
Also, I love the relationships that she creates between
characters, whether it be a family dynamic or a relationship dynamic.
Morgan and Clara might not always have the perfect relationship with all
of the chaos surrounding their lives, but when it comes down to it,
they have each other's backs. I like that the author shows that real
side to all of the relationships in the book. Love, whether it be family
or romantic, is always messy and complicated, but one hundred percent
worth it in the end.
In fact, the only thing that keeps this
from being a five star book is the ending. I found it to be a little
lackluster after all of that build up, especially the way the school
project ended. I just expected more. Other than that, I absolutely loved
Regretting You. Although at this point, I'm pretty sure Colleen Hoover
could re-write the phone book and I'd love it. I can't wait for her next
release.
I give Regretting You: 4.5/5.
Want to know more about the author?
Website: https://www.colleenhoover.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AuthorColleenHoover/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/colleenhoover
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/colleenhoover/
Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/colleenhoover
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5430144.Colleen_Hoover
I received this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.
