Graphic Novel Review – Moonstruck Vol. #1: Magic To Brew

Hello, hello, and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet. Time for a graphic novel review, and today I’m looking at sapphic fantasy Moonstruck Vol. #1: Magic To Brew.

Synopsis
Werewolf barista Julie and her new girlfriend go on a date to a close-up magic show, but all heck breaks loose when the magician casts a horrible spell on their friend Chet. Now it’s up to the team of mythical pals to stop the illicit illusionist before it’s too late.
Collects issues 1 through 5.

Story Review
Rating: 3 stars
This was cute and cosy, with great representation on many fronts: BIPOC, Latina, plus sized, LGBTQ, and mental health. The best part was that all of these were simply written as fact with no need for them to be the *only* thing that matters, which is a particular bug of mine. So it all worked really well.

Julie is intent on impressing new fellow werewolf girlfriend Selena, and is super nervous about absolutely all of it. She struggles to speak up for herself, is what we are told in the early pages from conversation between her and Chet, and she has liked Selena for a long time. The storyline of a first date gone wrong can be a really fun one if played right, and a magician stealing magical powers is certainly a threat for all of the magical community.

All that said, I unfortunately didn’t really connect particularly well to this graphic novel, which really disappointed me as I wanted to so badly. But the characters were inconsistent, some just plain out nasty, and it felt like everyone was horrible to Julie, including her girlfriend and best friend, which just made me very uncomfortable. Selena especially seemed to turn on her for no reason at all, a complete turn-around for her previously gentle behaviour, which was just unpleasant, and Julie forgave it all. I would much rather have had her say “no, it’s not acceptable to treat me that way”, for the rest of the graphic novel series to then be them both working on themselves and their relationship.

Illustration Review
Despite my reservations with the story, the illustrations are absolutely beautiful. The way the magical beings are put across as they move through the town, and interact with one another, was so carefully captured, breathing life into their every action. When it came to capturing emotion, again, the illustrations really do bring the words to life, and I would absolutely pick up something by this artist again.

Thanks for stopping by for this review today. I’m hoping to get up to date with the Lore Olympys series this month ahead of the next volume releasing, so I’ll be sharing some more graphic novel reviews soon.