| Title | : | Moonstruck, Vol. 2: Some Enchanted Evening (Moonstruck, #2) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1534308458 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781534308459 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 136 |
| Publication | : | First published March 13, 2019 |
Collects MOONSTRUCK #6-10
Moonstruck, Vol. 2: Some Enchanted Evening (Moonstruck, #2) Reviews
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The art is cute and the characters are fun but for the second volume in a row, I find I can barely figure out what's supposed to be going on in the plot. Characters seem to be imperiled, but also days seem to pass concurrently that are full of leisurely visits the mall and the coffee shop? The stakes this time around seem SUPER low, which is fine, but like, they aren't even interestingly low. And once again, we seem to be building to a climax that is confusingly diffused in a page or two.
IDK. It's cute, and I applaud the representation on display, but the scripts need some extra attention. -
I didn't really understand the plot of this book but I still loved all the characters from the first book and it was very entertaining and funny!
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Unfortunately, the problems I had with the first volume continue here: Julie and Selena don't seem like a super healthy couple. At least, they're not the cute fluffy romance I was looking for from this. They fight and are hurtful. Selena can be insulting, and Julie is clearly nervous and will be in tears. Plus, I didn't have any interest in the plot of this volume. I'm disappointed, because I love the art and the world, but I won't be continuing.
Chet continues to be my favourite, though, and I loved the Neopets references. -
Oof, I find this series so frustrating. In both arcs Ellis sets up an interesting premise and some side plots, only to abandon them or have things solve themselves for reasons unexplained. It's happened in both arcs now and I've found it infuriating. In addition this relationship between Julie and Selina isn't cute at all. Selina changes personalities at times becoming quite toxic and self-centered. If Julie was an actual friend of mine, I'd be worried she's in an abusive relationship. It's not the kind of thing you expect to see in a fluffy YA series. The art remains cartoony but quite good.
Received a review copy from Image and Edelweiss. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned. -
What a confusing, pointless plot, and what an unhealthy relationship these two have! Like. Wow. Dump her now.
Two stars because I still really like the art, and some of the character designs are cute. -
I was super excited for volume 2 of Moonstruck!!! But I'm honestly pretty disappointed? I love the characters, love all the of representation, love the world but...the whole thing left me so confused.
I honestly don't know what the plot of this was? There were fairies? They trapped people? And then...??? It also seemed like things were always happening to the characters instead of the characters actually doing anything. Even during the resolution, Grace and Selena didn't do anything! It just happened!
I love Grace and Selena as a couple but...their relationship was not well developed in this volume, in my opinion. They were all doe-eyed lovey-dovey with each other one second and then Selena was absolutely raging at Grace for something that seemed pretty miniscule!
The best thing about these books continues to be Chet though. They're still a super fun character, though they didn't seem particularly relevant, or invested, in the plotline. Though, even Grace didn't seem very relevant to the plotline if I'm being honest! -
2022 reread welp i reread this and had zero idea i had already read it before so i guess my rating can't really change now can it...
such cute art and i love the fun paranormal creatures running around but damn the plot makes 000% sense. Loved the fairy frat boys though. Great twist. -
YOU WOULD THINK that now that the characters and setting have been somewhat established, we could dive in to more and get better stories and more information about all the characters, both their magic/existence AND their personalities, right?
WELL APPARENTLY NOT
If anything, it's worse than the first book. That one at least had a vaguely-understandable plot (Chet's and stop baddies from stealing other magic! Baddies are being bad for...unexplained reasons, but maybe they're just jerks?) where this one has....something? Involving fairies, which no one seems to understand how to deal with despite this being a world where fairies exist alongside everyone and go to classes with them etc. etc. HOW DO YOU NOT KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH THEM is a valid question that is NEVER ANSWERED.
Julie is timid, her girlfriend Selena is not, and they just! don't! communicate! It's been TWO WHOLE BOOKS and we still don't know why Julie dislikes being a werewolf! Heck, at one point they're arguing and someone tries to jump in and Selena tells them you wouldn't understand, it's a werewolf thing and GUESS WHAT? The audience doesn't understand the frikkin """werewolf thing""" either you toads!
Selena gets upset that Julie let someone else read the book she's writing when Selena hasn't been able to read it yet but--SELENA! You do not own Julie! She's allowed to get feedback from people who are not you!
I just...hate Selena, so much. And Julie, honestly. But I dislike Selena more because she's presented as this kind of cool character, like of course Julie likes her, everyone would like her. But she's not, she's actually very self-centered, and I don't think the story actually realizes how bad Selena is at being a friend, much less a girlfriend. I think we're meant to see her as just Julie's opposite, but she comes off as callous.
There is the barest thread of a plot in there, somewhere. Friends drink at a fairy frat party and are trapped. For...reasons? Maybe something to do with some long fairy rivalry? It's sorta explained, but really not fleshed out properly.
And again, we run into the problem I saw in the first book, which is that the world here does not feel like it has its own logic and could continue to exist when the "camera" moves elsewhere. Are we to accept that people get trapped every day because they ate food in a fairy's house (AT A FRIKKIN PARTY, I REMIND YOU, WHERE OUTSIDERS WHERE INVITED), and cannot leave their buildings without a guide? REALLY???
Also, Mark-the-terrible-person-who-is-also-a-vampire has a Big Secret that turns out to be.... And that's supposed to be a big revelation? Mark is already an unlikable character by design--in fact, it's hard for me to see what point he has being included, when so little of the plot actually has to do with him. He's given an outsize presence, so you wait for something Big to revolve around or involve him...and nothing does.
I petition to throw all of them out and instead revolve the series around Actual Ray of Sunshine, nonbinary centaur Chet, and Cass the seer/witch, the only two characters who are enjoyable to read about. -
Moonstruck’s first volume was an intriguing fantasy story with a clear social commentary, albeit some pacing and story issues. This arc (and the last one I’ll be reading of this series) focuses around a fairy fraternity that has trapped some of Julie’s musician friends in their frat house, and won’t let them go until…the entire band plays at their next party? Yes, it’s as ridiculous and boring as it sounds, and it gets even more confusing when Julie and the gang ask for help from Fairy Elsa of the fairy sorority.
For a book that preached inclusion and celebration of differences in the last arc, it’s surprising how heavily the book leans into cliché YA themes like frat and sorority rivalries, shallow romance dialogue, and stereotypes of fantasy characters (like an angry medusa and goth vampire). The frat fairy dude was literally Bradley Uppercrust III, and if you understand that reference, god bless you. Even Chet, who was adorably JVN in volume one, becomes annoyingly one-note obsessed with a Neopets knockoff – which still exists, good to know.
Lots of things didn’t make sense (including a weird rhyming battle), another prophecy is thrown in for no reason, and what is Cass up to and do we care at this point? Not really, because an already silly fraternity/cult storyline was resolved with terrible, total deus ex machina – and just like the last volume, the characters magically resolve their issues. (Speaking of which, Julie’s crippling insecurity about being a werewolf? Completely gone. Her uneven, infuriating relationship with Selina? Still there.) It doesn’t give me much hope for whatever the long game might be.
One of the few positives of this volume was artist Shae Beagle’s clear improvement between the last volume and this one, and while it’s a bit more cartoony she takes some great risks that show off her improvement, including a very cool labyrinth spread. Kat Fajardo returns to illustrate excerpts from the fictional “Pleasant Mountain Sisters” series, which did a better job of intersecting with the main story but still did nothing for me.
I don’t expect biting social commentary or deep, emotional inner monologues, but there are plenty of YA books that are still great stories. (
The Prince and the Dressmaker comes to mind.) I imagine that preteens and teenagers who love fantasy and queer stories will eat this up, but as an adult reader it was a very frustrating read. -
Sadly disappointed by this instalment. I adored Volume 1 of this series; it was so fun, the fantastical elements/magical realism were great, Julie and Selena were adorable and I ate it up like a cupcake. The second volume, however, feels a bit lacking.
First of all, the plot was... I'm hesitant to say a mess, but it definitely wasn't especially coherent. I found it hard to get a sense of exactly what the plot WAS. We hopped all over the place and I found myself quite confused. I also found myself beginning to be frustrated with the characters. Selena bothered me in this volume - she kept blowing up at Julie for what seemed like no reason. I don't read this series for the relationship drama, I read it for the fun hijinks and pastel pictures, so when Selena keeps biting Julie's head off and they're arguing over... what even werethey arguing over? I don't know. It felt a bit unnecessary. I don't think this series needs a turbulent relationship to keep it interesting.
I also find myself entirely uninterested in the Pleasant Mountain Sisters excerpts. You're making me take breaks from a world of non-binary centaurs, lesbian werewolf baristas, fairies and fortune-tellers... to read about a bunch of teenage white girls having dull, entirely non-magical drama? I guess this is supposed to represent how this is the characters' version of fantasy, but to me, it doesn't add anything to the story.
There were some fun and enjoyable bits in this book for sure! Chet stole the show as always. The art style is as loveable and beautiful as ever. I liked the expansion of the magical creatures represented in the series, and some of the puns just really tickled me (the vampires work at a store called 21 Forever? Come on, that's comedy gold.) When Julie and Selena were on and working together, they were adorable. Chet also has a budding relationship that I'm super invested in. I think the magic is still there, it was just lacking a spark in this volume. -
This graphic novel series is so cute and i love all the characters 🌈😍
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Reviewed in my October Wrap Up with timestamps for titles in the description bar
https://youtu.be/rk2PIboA0ek -
This comic series is so dang cute and I will never get over it's adorableness. Like the last volume, the characters are all so sweet and the world that has been created is such a fun one to read about.
The characters are some of my favorite parts of this series. Especially Julie and Selena, who are this adorable werewolf couple who have the sweetest moments in the entire show. I think this series in general is a fluffy fun story about all kinds of supernatural characters, but I think Julie and Selena's romance is my favorite part. I also love Julie's co-worker (they work at a coffee shop) Chet, who is often the comic relief. It's easy to see these characters as family, and they even feel like a found family.
I honestly wish this was some sort of animated tv show. They would have to get the original artist Shae Beagle because their art is absolutely perfect. I couldn't help but take so many photos of my favorite art pieces in this comic volume. The colors, bubbly illustrations, and different body types and diversities makes this comic such a vibrant one that I cannot get enough of.
I am not the biggest fan of the angst between Julie and Selena. It seemed to kind of show up out of nowhere and it felt unnecessary. I think either it needed to build up more or have them have a different conflict. The good news is that the volume isn't very long and the conflict doesn't take up much of the story, so it wasn't too angsty.
Overall, I highly recommend this series. If you like supernatural type stories this could be the comic series for you! It's mostly based on magical supernatural creatures, their adventures, working at the coffee shop, a little bit of romance, and a found family. -
Just give me a whole volume of Chet.
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Like I said in the Saga post I recently went on a bit of a graphic novel reading spree, reading three graphic novels and possibly a fourth before going back and finishing Obsido. I had already read and reviewed Moonstruck volume one when it first came out, I was super excited about this series. It sounded super adorable and full of magic and maybe even some mysteries. So recently I saw volume two pop up on Hoopla I went ahead and borrowed it.
SPOILERS AHEAD
The main issue of this volume has to deal with fairies. Our group goes to a party at a frat house and things turn bad when the band goes a little bit crazy and burns some things down and get very upset (the band was made up of dragons). Then Lindi and some of her bandmates get trapped in the fairy house. They are not allowed to leave until they agree to play for them at the next big party. However, one of the band members was not there and is not trapped. So our gang sets off to find him and convince him to play the show so the others will be free. In this process, our gang runs into a sorority of fairies who want something from them about the same party. Now everyone is being pulled into two directions and it seems only the fairies are winning.
I enjoy this cute little series so much. It always has some overarching thing going on throughout the volume and I usually get super involved in that story arc. In this case, I really loved the fairy arch (I think even more than the first volume's arc). I am excited to see where volume three goes and I will definitely read it when it comes out. I gave this volume four stars on Goodreads. -
It starts off that from where Vol 1 ended and Julie has landed a gig writing the next story of her favorite series and we see little snippets of her work but she isn't ready to show her girlfriend Selena what she has written and problems ensue. I get this is not a high stakes GN but the author really wants to throw drama in the series for zero reason. Selena and Julie bicker back and forth and then suddenly make-up. It's not needed and really distracting. We just want to see a cute relationship - drama is not always required.
The biggest problem with Vol 2 though is that it made no damn sense. It jumped all over the place - we'd be watching a nice little scene with our main characters and then suddenly we are in a fairy house and they are trapped? Who are the fairies? Good question - I have no idea. Why are they trapping our main characters? Another great question that I have zero answers to. It was just bizarre. I have read other reviews and it seems I am not alone in my confusion. It was kind of a hot mess of a plot, to be completely blunt.
Yet again, I wanted to enjoy this story so much more than I did. I still love the main characters - Selena and Julie. They are freaking adorable and I love their chubby little selves (Hooray for fat rep!) and the LGBTQIA and POC representation is again amazing, but it's just not enough to save this story. I doubt I'll continue if there are anymore in the series. -
I received an ARC copy of this book from Edelweiss
Another really cute volume in this series. It's definitely not a high-stakes book, but the character designs are really cute [I loved the Frat Bro Faeries in particular] and watching two anxious lesbian werewolves running around apologizing to each other constantly is just weirdly adorable. It did seem like the way that the faeries' magic worked wasn't always consistent, but it was still a really fun read so I think it's easy to let a few small things slide. -
Meh.
I fell in love with the world on the first few pages of the first volume and quite liked the characters although the plot was already weak there. Here I started to get disenchanted with the characters too, what is this drama rama with the book writing girls? Makes no sense at all.
Secondly, even I know that you don't consume ANYTHING when you go to a fairy party so how do people who LIVE IN A WORLD WHERE FAIRIES ARE REAL get surprised by it?
I am very rarely shout-y in my reviews but I'm upset because I wanted this to be good. I gave it a second chance with this one, but Im not going to buy Vol. 3 :( -
Ugh I don’t know what it is about this series where both books have left me feeling flat and dissatisfied. There are so many elements I like - queer characters, lots of magic, great art style - but the plots don’t really excite me and I’m completely uninvested in the main couple, making their conflict irritating rather than compelling.
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This book went much better than the 1st of this series (still unsure how many books they will continue with), though the transitioning is choppy.
I sat down and read it in sitting. I wasn't surprised that in the beginning when someone gets an invitation to an event, then I know something bad will happen.
I mostly enjoyed the artwork and sped read the actual conversation. I cannot stand that it still includes the "Sunny Days" comic -> CORRECTION: Pleasant Mountain sister *CRINGE* (even though it somewhat relates to 1 of the MC's). And ugghhhh to the "interviews" they feature after each chapter. I don't know it's purpose nor if they're fictional characters or ...tbh I just don't know.
I love how they zoomed in on the male and female elves boxing when they were not really featured. They just played a role of bounding people to their frat/sorority homes and having beef with each other.
And why is Cass"s character scarcely mentioned when she's the COOLEST and INTERESTING people (a Black witch who receives visions that surround the group of friends) ?!?!? She needs more focus on her instead of always seeing the lesbian werewolves who always seem to have drama and Chet who is obnoxiously narcissistic.
Literally, she gets off her break and Chet storms onto the scene trying to inundate her with all her problems and she continues sipping her coffee; which is so me...nobody's gunna interrupt my coffee time -
Actual rating 3.5 stars
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I'm honestly just confused. The art and the rep is amazing, but the plot is hard to follow for me.
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This was fine. I really enjoyed the first volume, but I got I little bit bored in this one. The only thing that I really liked was Chet because he's the best (duh).
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*3.5
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4/5 ⭐️
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Very cute, but the two main female characters don’t seem to have a super healthy relationship!! The highlight was the Ask-A-Know-It-All section, I would read a book that was more to that tone!!
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Volume 1 was so confusing to me, but I thought I’d give volume 2 a try to see if it was any different. Nope... still confusing. I have no idea what’s going on most of the time, so I have no concept of what the stakes are.
Also, Selena sucks! I kinda felt like she was toxic to Julie in volume 1, but I was so confused about what was happening, I figured maybe I misunderstood. Once again, nope. Selena makes Julie feel bad about everything, insults her to her core, then brushes it all of as “a werewolf thing” and they both apologize (even though Julie shouldn’t be apologizing for anything). I’m not digging it at all. But the fact that someone else commented on Selena’s actions makes me wonder if it’ll be confronted in volume 3?
The only reason this is 3 stars and not less is the fact that the art is amazing, I still like seeing all of these fantasy/mythical beings doing their real-world things, and Chet is a precious bean. I love that Chet is obsessed with Newpals (aka Neopets) because SAME, I freaking loved Neopets, and honestly seeing someone so passionate about a geeky thing is always fun. Plus, the relationship blooming between Chet and Manuel is adorable. -
I try to save 1 stars for books I don't finish, but I really didn't like this one. The storytelling was incredibly disjointed, illogical, and weird. The pacing was awkward in the first, and it's downright broken in this one. The illustrations are cute, but that is about all it has going for it. I've come to dislike the characters and have no interest in reading any more of these.
An elf fraternity & sorority kidnap people because of reasons & some of the characters have to rescue some of the other characters and there is lesbian girlfriend drama/ rock band drama and I can't even -
#1
Moonstruck, Vol. One: Magic to Brew ★★★½☆
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When Julie and her friends are invited to a party, the think it’ll be a great place to relax and have fun. Unfortunately for them, it turns out the party involves a fairy circle full of fraternity bros who end up trapping one of them. It’s up to Julie, Selena, and Chet to break their friend out and disengage from the fairy politics they’ve been sucked into.
I thought the first volume was such a cute story that I was really excited to finally pick up this volume. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t enjoy it anywhere near as much as I thought I would. While I love that we got to see a relationship exit the honeymoon phase and hit a rough patch, I don’t think we’ve see Julie and Selena’s relationship progress enough to really buy that they could overcome this bump in the road. I know it’s a graphic novel, but I think we also needed to see more of a conversation about why Julie hadn’t shared her manuscript with her girlfriend. It came off as throwing a sad little band-aid because they allegedly bonded while lost in the fairy circle toward the end.
The more I read this, the more I wished we were following Chet and a few other characters because Julie and Selena’s part of the story just was not pulling me in. I also wish that we saw more of the fairy world before the issue was over because it seemed like we got sucked in and spit out for the fun of it. Plus, I was not a fan of the advice column pages at all. Just when I was getting into the story, it was taking completely out by these pages and they really didn’t add anything to the story.
That said, I do think that the other characters were wonderful. I was having a great time every time anyone but Julie and Selena were at the forefront of the story. While I think the fairies were extremely glossed over, I do think they were interesting and hope things make a little more sense on that front if we see them again.
As always, the artwork as absolutely stunning. Hopefully, my issues with this volume will dissolve when I start volume three.
