I wanted to thank Netgalley for giving me the opportunity to review this wonderfully heartwarming story.

For starters, this book had wonderful representation for hard of hearing and LGBTQ rep. Nova is hard of hearing and wears a hearing aid. Tam is non-binary and goes by they/them pronouns. They are referred to as such for the duration of the story as well. Nova had two grandmothers who were in a relationship and this wasn’t questioned and there was no homophobia in this respect, or any other.

The friendship between Tam and Nova is pure and wonderful. Their relationships is even more so. I fell in love with their characters and found myself rooting for them and crying with them as well.

The art in this story is GORGEOUS. The drawings are cute and it’s very colorful and pleasing to the eye. I found it very engaging and it kept me wanting more. Most of the ARC I received had color but the last few chapters were not, but either way, the art style still kept me engaged.

The plot felt high stakes and engaging as well. It felt believable and I loved the characters and how they stood up for each other.

I highly recommend this story to anyone and everyone who wants a heartwarming coming of age story about queer witches set in New England in the months of autumn.

A fun, light read. The story is relatively fast paced and the color palatte and illustrations are very attractive. The story didn't blow me away, but I would certainly recommend it to someone looking for something new. Good for fans of Nimona or Lumberjanes. Also loved the use of they/their pronouns for one of the characters. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for access to an ARC.

I LOVED THIS!!!!!!!

Seriously one of my favourite reads of the year. full of representation, diversity and everything else you could possibly want!! Do yourselves a favours everyone, go out and pre-order this now. A full review can be found on my GoodReads Page - https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2906068283

Will be pre-ordering my physical copy TONIGHT!!

Mooncakes was a good story full of magic and diversity. I loved the drawings and the dialogues but the story felt a little flat or too quickly resolved for me. It made little sense but it might be just me. Quick and fun read nonetheless. Thank you NetGalley for the free ebook copy.

This is a must read. The content is amazing and screams diversity and inclusion. The pronouns, the magic and witchcraft, the relationships, the complex problems, and the illustrations were all wonderful. This book is something that this genre has been missing, and I think it will be well received.

This was an adorable and heartwarming queer story about magic, werewolves, amazing forest spirits, childhood friendships and love. I adored it and would love more in this genre!

*I received an ARC of this book from Lion Forge through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Mooncakes is an adorable graphic novel about two friends who must face evil together. Nova and Tam were childhood crushes who now find each other again, under more difficult circumstances. They must solve the mistery of a demon who is suddenly loose in the woods.

I enjoyed the plot, characters and illustrations a lot. It was refreshing to read a novel that made representation and inclusion such a big part of the story. The characters are well written, and even though maybe we are left wanting to know more about the backstory on some of them, the story still works. There were so many colors, and that made the scenes look prettier and be more engaging. I'd like to see the ending chapter in full color, eventually.

I would definitely recommend this, specially for readers looking for a fun, cute and pretty graphic novel.

This is a perfect graphic novel for anyone who is a fan of magic and witches, and would be great to read around the Halloween season. I enjoyed everything about Mooncakes, right from the characters, to the story line, to the amazing graphics. I can’t wait for this to be released so that I can add it to my collection of graphic novels.

It's been a while since I've read a graphic novel and I wasn't sure what to expect. Mooncakes by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu does not disappoint. It's a story of reunited friends battling supernatural forces, while balancing family drama, cultural expectations and falling in love.

Nova is a young witch who lives with her grandmothers and helps run the family bookstore. Tam comes back to town unexpectedly and a whole lot of trouble follows them. Only by teaming up together can Nova and Tam defeat dark forces, and find their own unique places in the world.

What I loved about this novel:
The characters are rich and diverse-- ethnically, in abilities, religiously, from a gender and sexual preference perspective and even in magical ways. For example, Tam is nonbinary, Nova has a hearing aid, both are Chinese Americans. But the story isn't about these aspects of who they are. The story is about their situation and how they tap into who they uniquely are to solve their problems and find love.
The supernatural storyline was anything but predictable and it had a few very unexpected twists and turns I don't want to spoil.
The art work engaged me in every scene. I loved the way the illustrations brought the story to life, especially during action scenes.

Sometimes the action moved a little too fast and I had to back-up to reground myself in what was happening, but overall I really enjoyed this book. I read the entire thing in one sitting and could not put it down. I highly recommend reading this one when it's released!

Disclosure: I received this novel through Net Galley as a reviewer at no cost to me.

A cute, magical graphic novel with plenty of different rep? Sign me up 🙋🏻.

This was a seriously cute read, with lots of colourful art and witchy/supernatural vibes. There is queer characters, a nonbinary character, a character that is hard-of-hearing and both main characters are Chinese-American (please correct me if I’m wrong on any of these). So there is PLENTY of diversity.

Unfortunately I thought the story felt a bit rushed. I would have happily just been in this world without a ”big bad” trying to do evil. Just to spend time with the characters and getting to know them. As it was we got some of this too, but it got a bit rushed when we had to get back to the main plot.
Hoping that we get more of the different relationships and for some time to let them evolve more slowly in a possible sequel.

This was such a cute read though, and if you’re looking for diversity- here it is!

Thank you to #netgalley and the publisher for this copy in exchange for an honest review

ARC kindly provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nova is a queer witch that is hard of hearing and wears hearing aids, she also lives with her two grandma’s.

Tam is a queer non-binary werewolf who has been wandering around various places trying to find one to call home.

One night Nova goes to the woods in search of a white wolf that people have been reporting sightings of, and comes across Tam, who she has not seen in years. Nova lets Tam stay at her house and they start to rekindle their friendship and it starts blossoming into something a little more.

This was such a pure graphic novel that has disability and queer rep. Every main character in this book is so wholesome, the family dynamic in this book was amazing and reminded me of the relationship I have with my family. I recommend this book to anyone that wants a cute queer romance.

Wendy Xu’s illustrations in this book were absolutely stunning and I loved just looking at all the detail the artist added to enhance the experience and I thoroughly enjoyed my reading.

The only tiny problems I had that was preventing this from a full five stars is I don’t read a lot of graphic novels so it just felt pretty fast paced for my taste, I understand that with more experience in this format my opinions will change so it’s not this books fault! Another tiny thing is that since this is an advanced version of the story, not all the illustrations are coloured and completed which jarred me a bit and took me a little bit out if the story but I would still highly recommend this book and I understand all the praise surrounding this.

I cant wait to read a final copy!!

RELEASE DATE: October 15, 2019

A love story with a demon to battle. Nova is a witch who works in her grandma's shop. Tam is a werewolf who has come back into town. There's a demon in the woods and a crazy cult.

The story is great. It has these wonderful tender moments between Nova and Tam. I also love that when the grandma used the incorrect pronoun it wasn't turned into a crazy long lecture moment, but handed the way it would be in the real world.

The art is beautiful. I love the forest creatures and the way the magic looks. I can't wait to see the finished product.

Very nice illustrations, loved the style and colors.
Fun LGBTQ romance with witches and shapeshifter. Will be a nice addition to any graphic novel collection.

E-galley provided by Netgalley and Oni Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and quotations are based off an uncorrected proof

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"Maybe when this is all over I'll go see her. But for now...For now, I have to find this thing."

I really liked this book! It's very cute, heartwarming, and quick. Whenever I read graphic novels it's usually because I don't want to get into a big thing. I want a quick story that I can read in an hour and fall in love with. It's usually a tall order, but this book knocked it out of the park.

The characters were really lovable in a lot of way. Cute and Queer is a good way to make sure I'll love a character, but also there was just a really genuine earnestness to both main characters. A vulnerability that they had with each other that made them as characters and their romance interesting to read. The rest of the family was equally funny and adorable to see as well! There's a lot of love radiating from this book.

Also, I tend to not love horror stuff which sucks and i'm trying to get over because I really love spooky stuff. I've love creatures, Halloween, and spooky stuff all my life just not actually getting scared. Which I really loved about this book. A witch and a werewolf! What could be more perfect!

I thought the story was nice too. I wish I had gotten more context and explanation of stuff regarding: parents, how magic works, and more New England. However, it makes sense given how short the book is. I really liked it regardless. Also, really great use of They/Then pronouns and other tough subjects.

TL;DR A graphic novel overflowing with Halloween vibes, gorgeous art, and a warmth explained only by the magic of love.

A delightful graphic novel born of friendship between author and artist, and the pain of separation but the joys of finding each other again, comes "Mooncakes".

Witch Nova Huang loves her town and her home with her grandmas and their Black Cat Bookstore, complete with a secret backroom full of spell books. While investigating her friend's strange sightings one full moon, she is surprised to encounter a white wolf. But not just any white wolf: Tam Lang, her childhood friend and crush. Tam brings with them a story of an evil demon that needs to be captured before it wreaks havoc, and now Nova, Tam, Nova's grandmas, and Nova's best friend Tatyana must find a way to stop it.

"Mooncakes" is a gorgeously written and illustrated graphic novel about rediscovering first love, identity, and how the most powerful magic comes from within. Beautifully diverse, showing that strength comes in all forms and sometimes in unexpected ways, "Mooncakes" is most definitely a graphic novel that belongs on every library shelf as there will always be a reader who finds a connection in these pages.

Nova's friend told her about strange lights appearing in the forest, and a curious white wolf has appeared. As she goes to check things out, she realises that the wolf is an old friend from her past, a friend she has missed dearly.

So we have a relationship between a disabled witch with hearing aids and a queer werewolfperson. We don't get to know how Tam identifies, but for they use they/ them pronouns.
Nova lives with her two grannies, who share a bed and might be in a relationship themselves. It doesn't get explained, but it has not to be explained. It works, that's all I need to know. The two cool old ladies have a bookstore with a backroom for magical stuff, and their granddaughter is apprenticed there as a junior witch. Those three take care of their community and try to sort magical things out as good as they can.

The drawings are simple and cute, just show enough to be not considered minimalistic but don't cluttered, either. The colours are muted and feel like autumn, which it might be as they decorate the store with Halloween stuff and they talk about Thanksgiving plans.
The last chapter looses almost all colours, we have only the lineart but the magic that's done is painted in different colours to show who cast it, which is a really nice idea that added to the understanding of the scenes.

It's just a feel-good story. Nova's family is so welcoming and supportive, she has a nice best friend, they know how to work things out. Bad things happen, but it's okay. Nobody has to face them alone, we'll get through it.

I feel like I'll be recommending this one a lot in the future.

This is such a cute and fun graphic novel! I didn’t quite get the hype and I don’t love it as much as other people seem to, but I still enjoyed reading it! I would recommend if you want a cute, Queer, magical read in your life!

In Mooncakes, a magical hearing-impaired witch, Nova, lives with her grandmothers (who are in a relationship), and helps them run a bookshop that has a magical back room. When her friend discovers a mysterious white wolf roaming the nearby forest, Nova investigates and is ecstatic to discover an old family friend, Tam. Tam, who is non-binary, is a shape-shifter who has encountered a demon in the forest. They join together with her grandmothers to help bind the demon while they figure out how Tam can fight it with her "wolf" power. This title investigates non-traditional relationships with minimal confrontation, and focuses more on personal growth and magical development through the support of Nova's family. Some parts feel a bit forced, as if the varying non-conventional relationships and self-identity are an agenda rather than a natural feel for the story. Would work well for young adults interested in fantasy while curious about their own lives. Illustrations are whimsical, and add to the story nicely.

Completely adorable graphic novel, full of representation and an all around magical good time! Perfect for the spooky season.

*thank you to Netgalley, Lion Forge, Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

4 stars.

Ohh my what a book! This was just incredible. It was so heartwarming and beautiful, I just adored it. The artwork is exactly the style I like. This was so enjoyable to read and it had so much of what I like in it such as magic, a sweet and cute love story between two characters of the same gender who have been friends since childhood, shapeshifting, positive relationships just to name a few.

I loved the love between the family members and having a character that is hard of hearing was a nice touch as it's not something that you see a lot of in a character. This really is an amazing Graphic Novel and one that needs to be added to your to read list.