Learn to Draw Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur, WEBTOON Entertainment, Walter Foster Creative Team

 

Learn to Draw Hooky by Míriam Bonastre Tur, WEBTOON Entertainment, Walter Foster Creative Team

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Walter Foster Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

If you’re a fan of the Hooky series and interested in learning how to draw the characters, then you’re going to be really excited to pick this book up! This isn’t a general how to draw book, so you might be disappointed if you pick this up and aren’t a fan of the series. It includes a lot of information about the characters, how they were developed, their color palettes, and general character information. However, it does include tips and general advice from the author for people who are interested in drawing a web series.

As a fan of the series, I really enjoyed reading this. I loved learning about the creation of the characters for this series as well as comments the author received while they were studying at a comics and visual art school. It was great to hear about how they also felt very passionate about drawing comics as well as how difficult they knew this path would be. All on all, this is an excellent read for fans of the series, especially for people who draw.

Draw Kawaii Style by Ilaria Ranauro

Draw Kawaii Style by Ilaria Ranauro

My Rating: ★★★★★

If you’re looking for a cute book on how to draw kawaii characters, then this is the book for you! Inside, you will see Ilaria Ranauro define kawaii for anyone who may not know what it means. You will also find a list of tools along with their personal preferences for each tool. Then we get into the drawing tutorials! One of the things I like about this book is that it’s very encouraging to artists of all levels. Plus, there’s a pretty good section on figuring out proportions and sketching out guidelines for facial features, which even my drawing classes in college didn’t go over.

There’s a lot of tips and tricks before we dive into a series of tutorials on how to draw a series of different characters ranging from human to animals and even objects. I think that this is the perfect book for anyone learning how to draw or looking to get serious about drawing in different styles. I love how encouraging the author is, which makes it feel like they’re happily guiding readers through the drawing process and letting them know that it takes time to find your personal style as well as see improvement in your work. We’re our own worst critics, and this book is like a pat on the shoulder while also working as our own personal hype squad.

First Quiver (Cupid's Fall #1) by Beth C. Greenberg

 

First Quiver by Beth C. Greenberg

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Isotopia Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Cupid sends one of his love-tipped arrows straight into the wrong booty, it’s the last straw. The God of Love is being banished into a mortal body and thrown down to Earth! He doesn’t know what the exact terms of his punishment is yet, but what he does know is that his best friend hasn’t really been dead for the last 2,000 years! Pan is ready to help his best bud complete his punishment and return home, but when it turns out that Cupid is doomed to experience his first love and first heartbreak all in one go, even Pan isn’t all that surprised. It’s even worse when Cupid has to find his first love’s Right Love match!

I absolutely loved reading this. We follow Cupid and Pan through their rotating perspectives as Cupid experiences his first love and his first heartbreak in a series of days! While we primarily follow Cupid and Pan, we also follow Cupid’s first love, Mia, as well as an occasional chapter following other characters. I particularly enjoyed reading Aphrodite’s perspective, which really expanded on the heart of the story.

While this is a fun read, I still wasn’t expecting a portion of the early chapters to be just two horny best friends hitting the town and getting laid. It makes sense for the story, but I just wasn’t expecting it when I first started the book. I really thought Cupid and Pan would be catching up on what they missed for the last 2k years. That said, it was really fun following the different characters on their adventures. I loved Mia and getting to see her find her happily ever after even though she’s confused about why Cupid is so determined to find her a love match that isn’t with himself.

The story itself was often hilarious, which I loved. I do think that Cupid and Pan had way more chemistry with each other than either had with any other character. I loved seeing how their friendship formed in this take on Greek mythology as well as seeing the different characters we all know and love. I’m excited to see where the story goes and who we’ll meet next!

A Galaxy Next Door Vol. 6 by Gido Amagakure

A Galaxy Next Door Vol. 6 by Gido Amagakure

My Rating: ★★★★★

In the final volume, Ichiro and Shiori get ready to spend the rest of their lives together as they plan their wedding. This was such an extremely sad read just because it was ending. It reminded me of when I watched the Barbie movie because I was so happy and sad at the same time! It was really lovely to watch the characters grow and really set into who they are as the series progressed. It’s sad to see it come to an end, but I’m excited to see what the author puts out next!

This volume isn’t all about the wedding, though. I loved that we got to follow all of the characters over several years and see where they’re headed. It’s so easy to see how they will each spend the rest of their lives. I also loved seeing Ichiro and Shiori’s family expand and see even them learn something new about the pact. It was fun to follow the different characters around in their own chapters.

It was truly the best volume yet and really ended on a series high. I’m so glad I discovered the series and will definitely return to it any time I need a pick-me-up. It’s such a positive series and while it was iffy on and off at first, it really came into its own and became something super positive and beautiful.

A Galaxy Next Door Vol. 5 by Gido Amagakure

 

A Galaxy Next Door Vol. 5 by Gido Amagakure

My Rating: ★★★★★

When Shiori learns that her father had an accident, she finds herself returning home. However, this trip is different, as it’s become a family vacation where she’s also decided to tell her mom her wishes. Plus, things are getting serious between Shiori and Ichiro, and they’ve begun to seriously think about the future together. Between her love life, new friendships, and budding career, Shiori has confirmed that she never wants to return to the island again. Too bad her mom keeps running away every time she tries to have a conversation with her!

I’ve been loving this series a lot more than I thought I would! Things are really picking up speed now that Shiori has confirmed what she always knew, which is that she doesn’t want to return to the island she grew up on. It’s been great to see her truly blossom now that she’s built a life for herself and she’s no longer lonely. I love seeing her make friends with ease, embrace new things, and continue her journey as an artist and storyteller.

It was really nice to learn more about Shiori’s past as well as the rest of the story behind the Star People. I loved learning more about everyone and seeing the dynamic between her parents when she’s not looking. I like that we see that there’s a chance at Shiori and her parents having a better relationship in the future even if her mom doesn’t necessarily like her decision to not embrace life as her heir. 

It was fun to see Ichiro not be the leading character of the volume, so we got to see him loosen up and have a little more fun in ways that makes sense for him. I’m happy with the character growth and worldbuilding we’ve seen along the way as well as in this volume. While his story as well as the romance is predictable, it’s very cute and heartwarming, so I’m excited to see everyone’s happily ever after that’s coming up in the final volume.

A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 4 by Gido Amagakure

 

A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 4 by Gido Amagakure

My Rating: ★★★★★

Now that Ichiro and Shiori’s marriage pact has been annulled, they continue to grow closer without the pressure that the marriage pact had once brought them. I love seeing how they continue to communicate and work through any problems that may arise, which also allows them both to further explore their feelings. One of the things that I like is that their determination to keep an open line of communication shows how important communication is, not only with romance, but with all platonic relationships.

It was also really nice to see Ichiro see different sides of the publishing world as an artist while Shiori experiences her first round of honest feedback. I love some of the feedback she received wasn’t amazing because that just wouldn’t be realistic. That said, I love that not only was it mentioned because it’s important to protect yourself from negative feedback, but to also give us a glimpse at Ichiro as a person. It gave us some insight into her life on the island as well as how it concerned her that her first response was to wish she could telepathically change minds, which is not something that she actually wanted to do.

I really love seeing how much all of the characters and their relationships have grown since the first volume. This is truly a light and fluffy “feel good” series. I’m going to be a little sad when I reach the end!

The Duke's Sister and I by Emma-Claire Sunday

 

The Duke's Sister and I by Emma-Claire Sunday

My Rating: ★★★★★

I received a copy from Harlequin Historical through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Loretta Linfield has spent her life trying to be the perfect woman in society. When her dad sets his sights on the Duke of Colchester, she knows that will likely be her future husband. It’s the perfectly boring and safe life she was raised to embrace, which is why her lack of interest in that life has left her head spinning. However, meeting her potential sister-in-law, Charlotte Sterlington, has been the one shining light in her life. Loretta quickly finds herself sharing secret kisses with Charlotte that has ignited a fire she didn’t know existed. However it’s only a matter of time before she is faced with a marriage proposal from the wrong Sterlington…

I was excited to start this book because it was giving me serious sapphic Bridgerton vibes before I even read the first page. I’m excited to share that the book did not disappoint! We follow Loretta and Charlotte through their rotating perspectives. They have very different personalities, which leads them to clash early into Loretta and Arthur’s courtship. Once Loretta learns that Charlotte is trying to impress her rather than embarrass her, all bets are off.

The book has a great cast of characters, so I loved getting to learn more about many of them. There are a few characters who seemed on the edge of having a larger role than they ultimately had, but I was happy with the overall story by the time I made it to the end. I do wish we saw or learned more about a few characters, but it also makes sense that they didn’t have larger roles. I also really loved how we got to see Charlotte and Arthur’s relationship shift and grow as the story continued. I love strong sibling relationships in fiction, so it was wonderful to see them go from being at odds to slowly becoming friends as the story continued.

All in all, this was a really enjoyable read. There’s a lot of chemistry between Loretta and Charlotte, but their romance is a little on the slow side. Personally, I didn’t have a problem with that. I enjoyed watching them get to know each other as well as watching Loretta learn that there’s so much more than meets the eye. I don’t know if this is a stand alone or the first book to a series yet, but I would love it if it turns into a series. It would be great to see some of the characters get their own stories, so I’ll be back if a second book comes out in the future.

A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 3 by Gido Amagakure

 

A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 3 by Gido Amagakure

My Rating: ★★★★

Meeting the parents of your significant other is enough to make one sweat. It’s even worse when their parents are royalty! It doesn’t help that Shiori’s parents, especially her mom, want her to come back home. Now Shiori has to make her parents see that she’s not being swindled by some smarmy guy and that she’s making good progress not only in her artwork, but also in romance!

I really enjoyed reading this volume. While the family relationships are still the star of the series, we finally got to learn a little more about Shiori’s home life before the story started! We didn’t learn a whole lot, but we did learn enough to see why she’s so eager to make her mark away from home. I do wish that seeing her parents wasn’t as brief as it was, but it was enough to see why she is the way she is as well as why people always left her feeling isolated back on the island.

We also get to see Ichiro and Shiori grow as a couple, which was cute and fun to see. I love how much Ichiro’s siblings are involved and how Shiori truly loves bonding with them. It was also great to see just how deep Ichiro and his sibling’s bond run! While this isn’t a book I would recommend if you were just looking for a romance, I do highly recommend it if you’re looking for something cute and fluffy with some deeper storylines. It really is a mood booster. I can’t wait to get the next volume!

A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 2 by Gido Amagakure

 

A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 2 by Gido Amagakure

My Rating: ★★★

After Ichiro Kuga accidentally became engaged to Shiori Goshiki, it’s a good thing they developed feelings for each other! Now that they’re dating, they can strengthen their bond while pursuing their drawing dreams. While this cute slice of life romance is fun and heartwarming, I’m still not feeling it as a romance! Instead, its main selling point is the family bond between Ichiro and his siblings.

That said, I was delighted to find that Ichiro and Shiori have some chemistry in this volume. They’re cute and new to dating not only each other, but dating in general, so they’re putting their best foot forward and learning along the way. I really like how close Shiori is becoming with Kuga’s siblings, but it also keeps selling it as a family series rather than a cute romance! I feel like we keep learning more and more about Ichiro and his family while learning the bare minimum about Shiori. Sure, she’s new to this world and appears to be naive thanks to her lack of experience with friends in general, but I think we need some good character building on her side of the story to really sell it to me. I’m so interested in learning about her and the life she had before she met Ichiro, but we only get little glimpses here and there along the way.

All in all, this is turning out to be an adorable and heartwarming story about a family with a cute romance on the side. The story moves a little slowly, so if that’s not your thing, you should pass on this book. However, if you’re looking for a slice of life with strong family bonds, this is your series. In fact, I actually really love it for this reason even though I wish we’d learn more about the Star People, especially since Shiori is a princess!

A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 1 by Gido Amagakure

A Galaxy Next Door, Vol. 1 by Gido Amagakure

My Rating: ★★★

I received a copy from Kodansha Comics through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Ichiro Kuga’s dad passed away, he took it upon himself to support his siblings and make sure they were always taken care of. Drawing the type of manga he wants to wasn’t earning him the money he needed to save up for his siblings to have the best possible futures, so he’s doing what earns him the most money. Now that he’s haunted by deadlines that leave him without enough time to complete things on his own, he’s hired a new assistant to help out. When Shiori Goshiki arrives, it’s like a dream come true until he tries to save her. Unfortunately, he accidentally binds himself to her, making him her fiancé!

This was such a cute read with pretty artwork and a great cast of characters. I really enjoyed seeing Ichiro Kuga’s family life and the strong bond he has with his siblings. I personally found how great the three of them are as characters as well as their strong bond to be the true star of the story. It was really heartwarming and believable.

However, this is meant to be a romance between Ichiro and Shiori Goshiki, so of course we have a case of insta love all thanks to an accident! Unfortunately, the pair don’t have any romantic chemistry, so it was a little hard to believe that they suddenly grew feelings for each other so fast. Plus, I was a bit confused because we didn’t get a whole lot of info about the Star People. We learned bits and pieces, but not enough to make some things make sense. For example, I’m still baffled by Shiori’s stinger that appears to be a tail of some sort.

While I enjoyed reading this, I’m having a hard time buying it as a romance at this point in the story. I was also hoping to learn more about the Star People than we actually did, so I’m hoping the author expands on this in the next volume. I’m planning on picking that up soon, but at this point in time, this felt a lot more like a novel about family over a romance between two people from different worlds.

Milk & Mocha: Our Little Happiness by Melani Sie

Milk & Mocha: Our Little Happiness by Melani Sie

My Rating: ★★★★★

If you’re looking for a very light and sweet book that’ll give you a nice boost, this is the book for you! Inside, you will find a series of panels following two bears named Milk and Mocha. You also get to see their adorable pet dinosaur, Matcha! Each page is a new light pick-me-up that is sure to boost your mood. Many of them are funny and relatable just like the author’s Instagram account, @milkmochabear. I loved seeing Milk and Mocha eating, hanging out, and just loving being in each other’s presence. It’s super cute and I really liked the art style. Melani Sie uses a very calming color palette to go with the overall theme of their artwork, which is chill and sweet.

While I do wish there was more variety among some of the panels, I think it’s an excellent book to pick up. It’d be fun to read with kids as well because it’s light, fluffy, and easy to follow as a family read. Each page is a glimpse into the lives of Milk, Mocha, and sometimes Matcha. My favorite character ended up being Matcha, so I was a little sad to see they don’t appear in the panels too often. However, it’s not a negative as it mainly follows Milk and Mocha! If you’re looking for something light to give you a nice mood boost, this is definitely a book you’ll want to pick up.

The Well by Jake Wyatt, Choo

 

The Well by Jake Wyatt, Choo

My Rating: ★★★★

If anyone asked Lizzy to describe her life, she’d say it was pretty sweet. While she sadly lost her parents and grandma to a battle with the leviathan that brought fog and destruction to their home, she’s lived a life full of love. Things go awry when she accidentally spends all her extra coin at the market, leading her to borrow money from the wishing well. Now she’s forced to grant the wishes attached to the coins or find herself claimed by the fountain.

This is such a beautifully illustrated book with a touch of magic. I really enjoyed the worldbuilding and how much love we see between many of the characters. I do think that there needed to be more information at times, such as the games with the goblins, but otherwise, it was a great story. I enjoyed reading it and loved all of the artwork. It was also fun to see Lizzy learn to think before taking action thanks to her experience with the wishing well. I also like that there’s a touch of humor here and there to keep the story from getting too sad since it was clear it was meant to be mostly lighthearted. All in all, I really enjoyed the story and I’m excited to see what the author as well as the illustrator put out in the future.

Read at Your Own Risk by Remy Lai

Read at Your Own Risk by Remy Lai

My Rating: ★★★★

I received a copy from Macmillan Children's Publishing Group/Henry Holt and Co. through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When Hannah and her friends decide to communicate with spirits with a coin, they never expected things to go wrong. For some reason, Hannah is the only one who has been cursed, and now she’s communicating with the evil spirit through her notebook. Now she’s determined to figure out how to break the curse before she finds herself dead all thanks to a game she wishes she never played!

This is such a perfect middle school read for any kid who loves scary stories. I was a huge fan of Goosbumps when I was growing up, so this is the type of book that I would’ve loved even more during that time of my life. We follow Hannah through a notebook that’s become her illustrated diary that she also uses to communicate with the evil spirit that’s cursed her. While I wish we got to know more about the evil spirit, I think it’s a perfect read for middle schoolers. I found myself sucked into the story after a few pages and a little grossed out by all the bugs! I’m excited to check out the author’s other work because this was such a great read.