Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.35 AVERAGE
4.35 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I have received a digital review copy from the publisher via Netgalley. This does not influence my opinion.
Castle Swimmer is a very cute book about two people realizing that they don’t want to be who they are “destined” to be and starting to figure out how to be who they really are, all of it set under the sea.
I loved the premise of this book and can’t wait to see where the story takes us in the next volumes.
The art style was also beautiful and fit the story perfectly.
I only wanted the characters to be a bit more three-dimensional.
All in all a very good read.
This book was such a cute and whimsical read. I’m not sure if this is being marketed as YA but if you love series like Heartstopper I think this might appeal to you. I remember checking out this comic back when I first began on webtoon, but I didn’t keep up with it. It was really fun to get to return to the story now that more has been completed. I really loved all the different types of mermaids that were shown throughout this book. Going for something more nontraditional and visually interesting was definitely the way to go. This was a great start to a series and I’m excited for Kappa and Siren to get to go on some little adventures.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks to the publisher for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Castle Swimmer: Volume 1 is a fresh, sweet MG/YA beginning installment of a unique fantasy. The plot, about a young merboy (he seems to be about 15 maybe?) who’s born to play the key role in other cultures’ prophecies. He has incredible importance to all the denizens of the sea, but it’s clear from his beginning that his life is a lonely one. The ocean is full of various humanoid creatures desperate to meet him, but he’s always on the move, and has no family— his only friends are the little, silent fish companions who keep him out of harms way as he grows through of childhood.
Things get interesting quickly—finally out of childhood but not yet an adult, as various humanoid species eagerly follow word of his travels, he’s trapped rather quickly by the one culture who needs him to die. It’s a dramatic meet-cute for the main characters, a teen shark prince who is destined to become a murderer (to save his people) is as unhappy about this prophecy as the merboy is to be murdered. From there, things start to get interesting as they try to find away around their respective destinies. Volume 1 ends on a bit of a cliffhanger, and made me curious enough to go back and pick up the webcomic. I hope there are more installments published. The world building is interesting, and I appreciated the subtle queernormativity of the shark culture. Wendy Martin’s art uplifts the melancholy of the plot, and the characters are so determined to find a way out of their conundrum that I’m excited to see how this story develops. The characters design is consistent in this volume, but I also look forward to seeing the art style evolve (there’s a warning of this at the end of the book—it’s not uncommon for graphic novels who start as webcomics, and something I enjoy seeing). I enjoyed this, and hope the next volume is released soon.
Things get interesting quickly—finally out of childhood but not yet an adult, as various humanoid species eagerly follow word of his travels, he’s trapped rather quickly by the one culture who needs him to die. It’s a dramatic meet-cute for the main characters, a teen shark prince who is destined to become a murderer (to save his people) is as unhappy about this prophecy as the merboy is to be murdered. From there, things start to get interesting as they try to find away around their respective destinies.
Content Warnings
Minor: Blood
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-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
Castle Swimmer is a graphic novel series I always saw advertised to me on Webtoon, but never actually tried out until now. It seemed like something I would love, being an LGBTQ+ story about mermaids--a mythical creature books don't nearly focus on enough--so needless to say I was excited. And while I liked Castle Swimmer, I wasn't nearly as taken with it as I hoped I would.
This story suffers from what many long-running comics tend to go through, that being that the beginning just feels slow and like nothing it happening. That doesn't necessarily mean that things aren't happening, but it just feels like it because of how slow paced it seems. This is understandable, considering that it is still setting up lore and topics that will likely play a big role later, but it still doesn't help that it feels like nothing is really going on while doing so.
That being said, I will definitely be trying this series out again in the future. As I said previously a slow start tends to be something all graphic novel series go through, but from what I have seen, things look promising. Anything about mermaids is going to have me coming back for more, and the drastic improvement in the art style teased in the ending pages of this volume got me very excited for what's to come. If you are prepared for a slow start that may turn into something more exciting, I recommend checking this out!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
This story suffers from what many long-running comics tend to go through, that being that the beginning just feels slow and like nothing it happening. That doesn't necessarily mean that things aren't happening, but it just feels like it because of how slow paced it seems. This is understandable, considering that it is still setting up lore and topics that will likely play a big role later, but it still doesn't help that it feels like nothing is really going on while doing so.
That being said, I will definitely be trying this series out again in the future. As I said previously a slow start tends to be something all graphic novel series go through, but from what I have seen, things look promising. Anything about mermaids is going to have me coming back for more, and the drastic improvement in the art style teased in the ending pages of this volume got me very excited for what's to come. If you are prepared for a slow start that may turn into something more exciting, I recommend checking this out!
Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My absolute favorite webcomic and I’m overjoyed to have a physical copy of it now.
This book was written for me specifically, I’m convinced. It’s mermaids and it’s gay! This books is so stinking cute! The main characters are both struggling with destiny and how it pushes and pulls you through life and maybe you’re not yourself with destiny hanging over you! The story flows really well and there wasn’t any lulls in my opinion. It’s star crossed lovers gay mermaids, again it’s for me!