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jessereadsthings's review
sad
medium-paced
3.0
Gorgeous art and an interesting concept for the plot. However, it definitely needed a bit more time put into crafting the story into the best version of itself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Xenophobia and Colonisation
Minor: Police brutality
betweentheshelves's review
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wanted to love this because the art is so, so gorgeous, but the writing and the world building just fell a little flat for me. We're dropped right in the middle of the action, which is normally fine for me, but I didn't feel like there were enough details in the rest of the story to fill in what was going on. I still felt quite confused by the end of the book.
It seems like this might be a series, though (maybe?), so perhaps we'll get more details later on. The concept was interesting, and I loved the magical elements woven throughout the text. The characters were also great! We just needed those world details to really put the reader on the same page.
It seems like this might be a series, though (maybe?), so perhaps we'll get more details later on. The concept was interesting, and I loved the magical elements woven throughout the text. The characters were also great! We just needed those world details to really put the reader on the same page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Racism, and Death
Moderate: Colonisation, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Self harm
indeedithappens's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Police brutality, Animal death, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, Xenophobia, and Racism
shaipanda's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Thank you so much to NetGalley for the eARC!
The art of this book is absolutely beautiful and I thought what I could gather of the plot was really interesting and had great potential. However, I unfortunately had a few issues with the book. The main two for me were lack of clarity and lack of personal connection with the characters. While there was some character development as the book progressed, it was still the kind of book where despite being a short graphic novel that I would normally finish in one sitting, this took me at least 3 sittings to finish. I just didn't feel that connection to the characters especially in the first half or so of it, and despite the fast pace, it just didn't pull me in. Additionally, in terms of the lack of clarity, I just felt that there were a lot of plot lines that weren't fully pieced together for me and because of that it wasn't as impactful.
However, overall I did enjoy this book and it was a beautiful read. I also really liked getting to see story lines about witches from other cultures as obviously witchcraft has been a part of many many different cultures in various forms but often it is only shown in a very specific European way.
The art of this book is absolutely beautiful and I thought what I could gather of the plot was really interesting and had great potential. However, I unfortunately had a few issues with the book. The main two for me were lack of clarity and lack of personal connection with the characters. While there was some character development as the book progressed, it was still the kind of book where despite being a short graphic novel that I would normally finish in one sitting, this took me at least 3 sittings to finish. I just didn't feel that connection to the characters especially in the first half or so of it, and despite the fast pace, it just didn't pull me in. Additionally, in terms of the lack of clarity, I just felt that there were a lot of plot lines that weren't fully pieced together for me and because of that it wasn't as impactful.
However, overall I did enjoy this book and it was a beautiful read. I also really liked getting to see story lines about witches from other cultures as obviously witchcraft has been a part of many many different cultures in various forms but often it is only shown in a very specific European way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Xenophobia and Colonisation
ezwolf's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Althalia, Lia, is a young woman, eager to use her abilities to help people. She loves her grandmother but doesn’t like to sit for lessons and is very conscious of the history of colonization of her people. I really liked that this was taking a look at the colonization of indigenous people native to South America and how the effect of losing cultural knowledge is a detrimental. The plot of this first volume was very common (young person with powers doesn’t want to learn, has lost family, loses the only family they have left who can teach them, they’re angered into almost losing control, and then learning that’s not the way to go about things). But I think every one deserves to have these kinds of stories told about people like them and I’m interested to see where this story goes!
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Thank you to NetGalley for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Colonisation and Xenophobia
Minor: Self harm
demetria_books01's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Such an amazing graphic novel! I’m so so grateful to NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this! I loved the storyline and the fact that the magical world in this book has been directly influenced by the culture and beliefs of indigenous Mexico makes it even more incredible. The book is fast-paced and gripping and OMG it’s genuinely so hard to put it down!
The main character-Althalia is very likeable and even though I’m not a Latina, the writing made it easy for me to relate to all the problems she had with her identity and dealing with loss. Now, as much as I would want to talk more about her, I’m worried I would accidentally spoil something, so I’m just gonna move on to the coolest character in this book: abuela Isadora. Oh boy, for an old lady she had so many genuinely badass moments in this comic and I love her so much!
Another insane thing about this comic book: colours. Holy guacamole the colour schemes in this book were so vibrant and beautiful! I’m definitely gonna buy this book just for the sake of the way it’s drawn. Absolutely incredible!!!
In conclusion, READ THIS !!!!
Quick tip for people who don’t speak Spanish (like me): it’s good to have translator opened on the side as there are quite a few dialogues fully in Spanish. ❤️
The main character-Althalia is very likeable and even though I’m not a Latina, the writing made it easy for me to relate to all the problems she had with her identity and dealing with loss. Now, as much as I would want to talk more about her, I’m worried I would accidentally spoil something, so I’m just gonna move on to the coolest character in this book: abuela Isadora. Oh boy, for an old lady she had so many genuinely badass moments in this comic and I love her so much!
Another insane thing about this comic book: colours. Holy guacamole the colour schemes in this book were so vibrant and beautiful! I’m definitely gonna buy this book just for the sake of the way it’s drawn. Absolutely incredible!!!
In conclusion, READ THIS !!!!
Quick tip for people who don’t speak Spanish (like me): it’s good to have translator opened on the side as there are quite a few dialogues fully in Spanish. ❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Xenophobia
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