Diverse, wholesome and pure!
Mooncakes follows the story of Nova and Tam. Nova is a witch and Tam is a werewolf who used to be best friends until Tam moved away years ago. Now that Tam has returned in pursuit of a horse demon that is plaguing the forest near their town, maybe their latent romantic feelings for each other will resurface?
I loved Nova’s character. She undergoes quite the arc over the course of the storyline in a pretty short amount of time. She starts off very self assured and happy with herself, then thinking she might not be good enough, to accepting that maybe things do need to change in order to grow as a person. I love all of her witchy confidence and the fact that she isn’t afraid to ask her grandmother’s for help if she needs. She hasn’t gotten to that overconfident stage where she doesn’t need/want any assistance from others.
I thought Tam was a perfect contrast to Nova. Still a little unsure and unconfident in their werewolf abilities and even I would say a little ashamed. Not that they aren’t proud of being a werewolf but the fact that they haven’t mastered their powers quite to the same extent that Nova has. Though I love the fact that they don’t give up and actively tries to better themselves not for their own sake but because they want to keep those they love safe.
I thought the artwork was absolutely beautiful and at times really made an impact. In particular the way Nova’s parents were portrayed. Their addition alone into the plot was a twist that I did not see coming and I was delighted with how they were incorporated almost naturally with their artwork. All of the illustrations were really unique and different and I felt they captured the essence all of the characters perfectly!
The story as a whole I thought was highly entertaining. You definitely have the action packed, super magically charged side to the story, but there was also a calming, inclusive, family filled subplot that I feel will definitely appeal to a wide range of readers.
I would say though I just wish it was a tad longer, 50-100 or so more pages to really prolong the story and add just a little more depth and suspense and simply because I want more!
⭐️4.5/5 stars This warmed my heart!