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4.36 AVERAGE
4.36 AVERAGE
** I WAS GIVEN THIS BOOK FOR MY READING PLEASURE **
Copy received through Netgalley
Castle Swimmer has such a unique and interesting concept. It's clear that lots of thought and ingenuity were put into the art and world building. I was surprised by the amount of violence and blood, considering this is billed as a book for a kids.
There was a super cute romance between the Beacon and Shark Prince Siren that I can see having lots of twists and turns in the future. There's a vague enemies-to-boyfriends plotline, with a touch of forbidden love because there's a prophecy saying the Shark Prince must kill the Beacon. Complicating matters further, there's a tether drawing the Beacon - Kappa - towards fulfilling every prophecy! It makes for a tense but exciting story.
However, while it's a cute story, at times it feels like it's trying to give a meaningful life lesson that's unrealised. Maybe because it's just vol 1. There's a plot of betrayal, fulfilling unrealistic expectations and the burden and pressure of a legacy forcing someone towards a certain goal.
I don't really understand the title. It doesn't really explain the story as well as something related to the Beacon might. In fact, I haven't a clue what it references, because there are multiple "castles" within the world building.
Another negative is that The ending was too open and abrupt, too much of a cliffhanger. After taking a look at Webtoons, I believe that more than ever. The ending of Season 1 on Webtoons was a perfect stop point for Vol 1 and I'm not sure why they deviated from that, but in my opinion it was the wrong choice.
I'd happily read more, but I'm heading over to Webtoons to continue, because I'm not sure I enjoyed it enough to buy a paperback, though I'd consider the ebook, in the future.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
That was such a cute read and for once I'm intrigued.
The drawing are absolutely adorable especially in way baby are drawn .
I don't have much to say it is a first volume so it was more about settling few base point for the story .
It was pretty chill . Not much action happened but it was really adorable .
I don't know yet if it going to be a full on romance but the tag and the interactions between Kappa and Siren are really foreshadowing a little queer romance which I LIKE.
The idea of multiple prophecies may mean that Kappa should not be the only one of his kind
Apart from the fact that it does not resemble any of the species we have met so far, each kingdom has its own prophecy and if every prophecies were to be fulfilled , Kappa will not succeed without missing one or more.
The drawing are absolutely adorable especially in way baby are drawn .
I don't have much to say it is a first volume so it was more about settling few base point for the story .
It was pretty chill . Not much action happened but it was really adorable .
I don't know yet if it going to be a full on romance but the tag and the interactions between Kappa and Siren are really foreshadowing a little queer romance which I LIKE.
The idea of multiple prophecies may mean that Kappa should not be the only one of his kind
Apart from the fact that it does not resemble any of the species we have met so far, each kingdom has its own prophecy and if every prophecies were to be fulfilled , Kappa will not succeed without missing one or more.
Cute art and a cute story that is sure to appeal to a lot of our tween and teen graphic novel fans. The only reason I'm not giving it more stars is that this definitely reads like a first volume and doesn't feel at all complete on its own, which makes it a little less usable for things like book clubs.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
one of my favorite webtoon! such a fun aquatic story with beautiful art style and unique plot
The story starts with this gold merfish named kappa is known as the beacon who is destined to help with many prophecies from many fish villages/ species. one species has a prophecy where the shark prince named siren has to kill kappa. however, this becomes a difficult task when the prince siren and the gold merfish kappa falls in love GASP
Will the prince choose to kill the love of his life to save his people from this deadly curse? Or will the prince save his love and betray his people including his parents
the prophecy by taylor swift
despite the forrbidden lovers tagline, this is such a precious mermaid webtoon!!! It’s also funny like silly goofy. I wasn’t expecting this cute comic to be a COMEDY
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
though the premise is v intriguing, this was a bit of a slow start for me. i was surprised at how little action overall happens in this first volume. i would read the next volume or continue on webtoons though bc i hear it picks up.
the art style is very cute and i love the mermaid designs, but i did feel like the choice to have monochromatic color themes to panels made it feel a bit underwhelming sometimes.
the extra content however was very intriguing, i liked the extra details and thought put into little things about this world!
the art style is very cute and i love the mermaid designs, but i did feel like the choice to have monochromatic color themes to panels made it feel a bit underwhelming sometimes.
the extra content however was very intriguing, i liked the extra details and thought put into little things about this world!
an honest arc review ♡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Violence, Murder
Minor: War
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this graphic novel a lot, but I really enjoy anything with merpeople. I loved the different mer-types based on different sea creatures, though I would’ve loved to see more skin colours and body types. The art style and the different kingdoms reminded me a lot of She-ra and the princess of power (2018). It was interesting to see the difference in the art style between the bonus chapter and the rest of the book, at first I thought it was a different artist and it wasn’t till I got to the authors note that I saw and realised the improvement and changes in their work. Story wise the two main characters have been told a prophecy and there is a lot of outside pressure to conform which is a good analogy for queerness as a whole. However I’m not sure what solution siren and kappa will have, to avoid following the prophecy and the pull that kappa has. Their avoidance towards the end did start to slightly irritate me. I look forward to seeing where it goes in the rest of the series.
#ad I received this book as an arc but the opinions are my own.
#ad I received this book as an arc but the opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail
Mersharks blushing is on my list of things I find super cute now. Kappa being a shiny merperson “blessed” to be the beacon and fulfill the prophecies of the other variations of merpeople seems like a pretty sweet gig, if you don’t think about it too much. Siren is the prince of the mersharks and he’s been been told his whole life he will fulfill his peoples prophecy and break their curse, he’s just waiting on one Mr. Beacon.
The art in this is phenomenal, there is so much detail and the colors are gorgeous, I loved every minute of it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Martin; Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press | Ten Speed Graphic for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) and provide my honest opinion/review.
The art in this is phenomenal, there is so much detail and the colors are gorgeous, I loved every minute of it.
Thank you to NetGalley, Wendy Martin; Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed Press | Ten Speed Graphic for the opportunity to read an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) and provide my honest opinion/review.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
This was a really fun fantasy book!! I loved it! It left off on a huge cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to read volume two!!