I'm not quite sure what to think about this one. Obviously, my rating indicates that I enjoyed it, but I just feel ambivalent to some degree. The art style is cute (though occasionally it doesn't quite feel the same and I don't like the alterations as much) and I enjoy the premise, but Persephone's (Kore's) character is a bit too immature on occasions and rubs me the wrong way.

However, I did find myself totally sucked into the plot. I think this is going to end up being a guilty pleasure series for me.

3.5 stars.

A short and somewhat emotional tale that feels a little like folklore. The plot provides a good insight to the Communist regime in China and the plight of youth who were "reeducated" under the control of the government.

There is development of friendship and some romance, but overall this is a bit of a coming-of-age tale wherein each individual must consider their own futures separate of everyone else.

The writing is decent and the story comes together at a comfortable pace, but the ending is a bit jarring due to a change in perspectives. It makes sense once the book is finished, but in the moment it really left me for a temporary loop.

A solid culinary inspired read with a great audiobook delivery by the author. The story is woven around food based memories and has a good, comfortable flow. There isn't much by way of intrigue or heavy depth in the narrative, but rather a slow and careful exploration of how food has comforted, inspired, or given more meaning to moments in life. This would be a good beach read or a palate cleansing comfort read. Tucci has a great way of writing/speaking that makes it feel like having a chat with an old friend.

Chaos in graphic novel form. That's the best way I can describe this. Magic, mystery, mythology? This story is ALL over the place, but it is pretty entertaining. Things were a complete mind boggle for about 90% of this volume, but I finally feel like I have a little bit of a handle on this series. I like the characters a lot and I love the graphics (with the exception of April's eyes...they weird me out). I was giving the series this volume to get me hooked and I'm going to go ahead and call that a success. I'm still on the fringes, but I'm moving forward with the next installment.

4.5. A short little side story featuring the characters from In An Absent Dream and highlighting the tale of Mockery. The writing style is slightly different from the original tale and has a bit more whimsy to it. It felt slightly less authentic, but was still enjoyable to read. The story itself is very short, and has a very compact, quick-moving plot. The atmosphere is dark and well-created, though this does focus more on the forest than the Goblin Market itself. I don't feel like you really get a sense of the characters if you haven't already read In An Absent Dream and that, even with that, Mockery is still a bit of a shell of a character. I'm really hoping that her pre-story is told somewhere in the series. Her history does seem intriguing from the bits that are given. I appreciate this extra little tale and the way it does add to Lundy's tale.

This series is just so seriously weird. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I will say that there are obviously a lot of people out there with WAY more active imaginations than my own. Today's lesson...don't walk away from it for very long or you forget enough to get lost. I had to refresh my memory on a couple of characters before things moved smoothly for me again. A lot of big events happen in this volume that will once again majorly change the trajectory of the story. I'm mildly confused, somewhat disgusted on occasion, and definitely weirded out, but I'm back into the loop now and ready for more.