The Crumrin Chronicles Vol. 1 The Charmed and the Cursed

I received an eARC copy from Oni Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. The Crumrin Chronicles Volume 1 is/was my first encounter with Courtney Crumrin and her spooky world. Although this volume focuses more on Will, Courtney's "younger brother" (Will is actually Wilberforce, Great Uncle Aloysius' brother, for those of you familiar with the whole series), I still think I managed to grasp a good hold of the entire world and the story revolving around Courtney and her adventures (I did read a bit about her, yes, I did). The plot was a hit from the start (how could it not be?! We got magic, vampires, charms, books filled with a bunch of spells, a sorceress, spooky vibes, a creepy and mysterious atmosphere, a great uncle who returned to life as a young man - what's not to like?); I was expecting something evil to happen when I realised Will is getting a necklace with a pendant that would make everyone like him. How could he possibly know whether those friends are by his side for real or just being attracted and manipulated by the pendant? And how could I not love it?! For me, reading about Courtney for the first time, this little piece of magic was an entrance to the mystical and dark aspect of the story. The actual care Will expressed toward Tucker and the situation she ended up with with the bullies at the school is what I came here for. It was courageous of him to stand up for his friend and take matters into his hands. The trio (Courtney, Will, and Tucker) joined their forces and knowledge to fight the vampire and protect the world. The dark theme of the graphics worked wonders with the somewhat fairytale story; I felt drawn to it from the first page. The artwork is stunning, the illustrations are gorgeous, and I adored Courtney's dominance on each of the panels she appeared on; she is such a fierce sorceress. What made me give three stars to this read are the gaps in the panels, dialogues, and the overall story, which hindered any character development. I understand that reading graphic novels in general calls for my imagination to fill in the gaps as well, but at times, I felt like I ended up guessing a big chunk of the story to make it make sense. It just felt too rushed. Nevertheless, I look forward to seeing Will, Courtney, and Tucker grow and evolve in the upcoming volumes!

This was a dark read but a good one. The illustrations were great all apart from the Sister. I couldn't understand why there wasn't a nose on that characters face. The moral for this story was obvious but very well done. The colourist worked really well with a specific palette of colours. I didn't really get a great connection with it but did enjoy it. I can't work out if I would be carrying on reading the series or not.

Better for people with different tastes than mine Key words: fantasy, middle grade, graphic novel, magic This was a nice read. However, I didn’t get really invested in the story. I think I am a bit too old for this graphic novel. Moreover, I wasn’t a fan of the drawings. I think it can be an amazing read for some people but I just didn’t get the desire to know what happens next. I found it a bit all over the place at times and hence, was a bit confused. I recommend it to middle-graders or just people with different tastes than mine. 2.5/5 Thank you Netgalley for this eArc in exchange of my honest opinion