I really liked the complex middle school characters and the unlikely friendship. I was a little concerned the bullying would be handled unrealistically, but it had a good balance. 

dnf @ 103 pages 

This cover is stellar! It immediately caught my eye on the library display stand. The color direction remained varied and shiny throughout too. Truly, I thought it was one of the book's strengths. 

At the basic heart of the story, Dantes has been done wrong, and he goes on a long, tortuous journey to get his lick back.

It is an afrofuturistic retelling (with some Asian side characters: the jailmate, the female love interest(s), and later companions of Dantes) with Arabic references to The Count of Monte Cristo. I've not read the classic, but it didn't impede my understanding of the story. There were some cool sci-fi sprinkles here, but I'd have liked to see more.

There may be a barrier to entry with the dialogue. I greatly disliked reading it. It’s not old-timey speech, but it’s purple prose-y with an awkward rhythm. I wish the language would have been more to the point. I found myself rereading speech bubbles over, trying to get to the doggone point.

Since I was a newcomer to this story, I had to do a quick Wikipedia run and Google search to fill in some missing pieces. It's a lofty goal for a graphic novel to be able to cover everything. 

Like, with Haydee who felt like a lamppost with lipstick instead of a character.

she just shows up magically on one page. I didn't understand why Dante owned her. Because this graphic novel doesn't touch on that he bought her freedom as a part of his revenge. Now, from what I've read, it may have been omitted for good reason because it makes things squicky with their later relationship.

Overall, I'd have liked to continue this, but the dialogue was just too tiresome for me.

I was intrigued by the trials the kids faced, the benefits of reading, and Eyedra’s spirit powers. This is a good time with some actual stakes and action sequences. Better than the first book and less of that gross-out humor too.

I'm assuming this is a trilogy with the next book wrapping up the adventure. 

I don't have an interest in continuing, but this series maintained the lighthearted cuteness. Melphie gains more monster-eating allies in the form of Astride's knights. They also reach the pet name status and Astride reveals some of his past to her.

They also share something in common with the Fairly Odd Parents with the magic

so too much magic can make you deathly sick or explode it seems.

I loved the historical Black American history seamlessly woven into this. The different strategies for freeing enslaved people were fascinating to read. 

The female lead Hester is quiet, laidback, and lovely. Although she does get positively swooned, she never loses her realism/sense. Her parents’ love story was also bitterly tragic and shaped her view on love (doubly surprised that it's based on real life).

Galen, once he learned the value of please and thank you, wasn’t bad. He was a former playboy but didn’t have a wandering eye. 

It’s refreshing to see a Black woman and a deeply dark-skinned one get spoiled and live in the lap of luxury and love. Her dark skin is described beautifully and not just as “chocolateeee.” She's his jewel. Galen said ‘Anything you want I got it, baby!’ This card is limitless lol. 

The love scenes were also tasteful and sensual. They didn’t make me cringe either.

Overall, this was the first Beverly Jenkins story I’ve read. I would read more from her. Only 1 star retracted for

for Galen strong-arming her into marriage. While the characters call him out on this, and he’s sincerely apologetic, it takes away Hester’s agency. I wanted her to put away her fears and decide to love him. Some of it is intended to be comedic but still.

But bonus points for Jenine being the villain. I knew it was either going to be her or Foster. Jenkins faked us out on Foster and subverted Ginette being a hater.