cuddlycuddlefish's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jkenna90's review
4.0
Thank you to NetGalley and Iron Circus Comics for the free review copy!
This graphic novel is about two friends, Darra and Andrea, that live in a small, boring town where there's not much to do. One day while exploring an abandoned factory, Andrea stumbles upon a woman trapped inside. Turns out that the woman, named Carmen, has magic powers and will grant Andrea one wish. Of course things don't go as planned and Andrea and Darra are on the search for Carmen's fairy circle. They are aided in their search by a local man named Liam who we find out has a connection to Carmen from a long, long time ago. Together, they search the woods for the fairy circle and try to banish Carmen back to where she came from - wherever that is.
Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was a quick read and pretty entertaining. The artwork was really good and so was the coloring. I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!
This graphic novel is about two friends, Darra and Andrea, that live in a small, boring town where there's not much to do. One day while exploring an abandoned factory, Andrea stumbles upon a woman trapped inside. Turns out that the woman, named Carmen, has magic powers and will grant Andrea one wish. Of course things don't go as planned and Andrea and Darra are on the search for Carmen's fairy circle. They are aided in their search by a local man named Liam who we find out has a connection to Carmen from a long, long time ago. Together, they search the woods for the fairy circle and try to banish Carmen back to where she came from - wherever that is.
Overall, I really enjoyed this graphic novel. It was a quick read and pretty entertaining. The artwork was really good and so was the coloring. I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to reading more from this author!
ljrinaldi's review
4.0
This is the story of a fairy doing magic, but this is no old fairy tale, set in a by gone age, but a modern story, with two teens who hate where they are living, and want to get out of town, and travel the world.
And of course, that is what the fairy promises.
But all magic has a price, and the price of this fairy's magic is that if you get something, she takes it from another.
The girls are very real, and this is set in the frustration of the modern world, and when Andrea realizes that the fairy is real, it is all she can do to not want this magic. Even if it means it will mess up her best friend Dacca.
Is it worth the price?
Good, fast story. Well done. I like how stark the town was, vs. the glamor of the fairy, even as she drips poison flowers everywhere she goes.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
And of course, that is what the fairy promises.
But all magic has a price, and the price of this fairy's magic is that if you get something, she takes it from another.
The girls are very real, and this is set in the frustration of the modern world, and when Andrea realizes that the fairy is real, it is all she can do to not want this magic. Even if it means it will mess up her best friend Dacca.
Is it worth the price?
Good, fast story. Well done. I like how stark the town was, vs. the glamor of the fairy, even as she drips poison flowers everywhere she goes.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
gifcompatible's review
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
clarabooksit's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
a_blue_box_full_of_books's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Darra and Andrea are really bored in their small town. With no hope for the future, the teenage girls feel trapped in an uninteresting life. So, to spend time they explore old buildings, hoping they will discover something intriguing. As they step into a century-old abandoned factory, Andrea meets an unexpected girl. But is she really a girl ?
Stars, Hide Your Fire is really good. That graphic novel takes place nowadays, but also has a 19th century atmosphere. It is Urban Fantasy, but it is also about teenagers trying to follow their dreams in a hopeless town. It is about the fear of growing up and the uncertainty of life.
I love how Kel McDonald and Jose Pimienta followed the traditional Faery Folklore belief : here no cute tiny creatures flying all around. Faeries are dangerous creatures to deal with. You wish for something ? The fey will realize your dream, but at what cost ? Kel McDonald emphasizes how the Fair Folk can sometimes trick you if you make a wish without thinking of consequences. As someone that really love traditional folktales and Faery stories I appreciated the references of fairy ring, iron or folly.
I didn’t know what to expect when I started this graphic novel (me and my love of picking random graphic novels on @netgalley just because I can), but I am really excited about that read ! Kel McDonald’s story is great, Jose Pimienta’s illustrations are really good as well. If you are in the mood for a Urban Fantasy graphic novel, it is perfect for you !
Stars, Hide Your Fire is really good. That graphic novel takes place nowadays, but also has a 19th century atmosphere. It is Urban Fantasy, but it is also about teenagers trying to follow their dreams in a hopeless town. It is about the fear of growing up and the uncertainty of life.
I love how Kel McDonald and Jose Pimienta followed the traditional Faery Folklore belief : here no cute tiny creatures flying all around. Faeries are dangerous creatures to deal with. You wish for something ? The fey will realize your dream, but at what cost ? Kel McDonald emphasizes how the Fair Folk can sometimes trick you if you make a wish without thinking of consequences. As someone that really love traditional folktales and Faery stories I appreciated the references of fairy ring, iron or folly.
I didn’t know what to expect when I started this graphic novel (me and my love of picking random graphic novels on @netgalley just because I can), but I am really excited about that read ! Kel McDonald’s story is great, Jose Pimienta’s illustrations are really good as well. If you are in the mood for a Urban Fantasy graphic novel, it is perfect for you !
graypeape's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
3.0
Here's the gist of the story: two girls, best friends about 14 years old, live in a small Massachusetts town. Darra is feeling lots of academic pressure from her mom, and Andrea is desperate to get out of their small town and into the bigger world; she wants adventure. One night, the two of them break into an abandoned factory nearby, hoping to see the ghost rumored to be there. Andrea sees something, and goes back the next day to investigate further. She finds a fairy named Carmen, agrees to let the fairy out (she'd been trapped there by all the iron in the factory), and to help Carmen find her fairy circle. Darra comes looking for Andrea and finds Liam instead, a man who says Carmen is actually a demon who tricked him into a contract 100 years ago that of course went wrong. Andrea is tempted to help Carmen, believing it's her ticket out of there, and Darra agrees to help Liam send Carmen back to where she came from so she can't harm anyone else, including her best friend. Both parties need to find Carmen's fairy ring to achieve their goal. Will Andrea get caught in Carmen's spell, or will Darra be able to save her friend and banish the demon?
This story had a lot of potential, but it fell flat for me. The characters were mostly two-dimensional, not much personality to them. Andrea is vaguely implied to be queer (so vaguely it could be missed), but that doesn't go anywhere, I don't know that I could really call it queer rep. Darra is kind of mousy, torn between studying and doing well academically to please her mother and getting caught up in Andrea's recklessness, and she doesn't grow out of that really, so no growth there. Carmen is a tricksy demon, I'm not expecting her to be more than that, but Liam... I don't know about him, his story needed to be filled in more. Carmen wants to find her fairy ring because if it's destroyed, she doesn't have to go back to hell. Liam wants to find it so he can use it to trap her and send her back to where she belongs. But have these two been looking for it in the same place for the last 100 years, or have they been traveling and looking for it all that time? Who knows? It's not mentioned, another thing not explored. There was just too much story left out for me.
To be fair, though, this seems to be geared toward an upper middle grade audience, and I'm about 40 years too old for it. Perhaps if I'd read it when I was the right age for it, I would've liked it more, gotten more from it. It is a good story, it just feels a bit simple to me. But, not all kids' books hold up to reading as an adult, including some of my childhood favorites.
This story had a lot of potential, but it fell flat for me. The characters were mostly two-dimensional, not much personality to them. Andrea is vaguely implied to be queer (so vaguely it could be missed), but that doesn't go anywhere, I don't know that I could really call it queer rep. Darra is kind of mousy, torn between studying and doing well academically to please her mother and getting caught up in Andrea's recklessness, and she doesn't grow out of that really, so no growth there. Carmen is a tricksy demon, I'm not expecting her to be more than that, but Liam... I don't know about him, his story needed to be filled in more. Carmen wants to find her fairy ring because if it's destroyed, she doesn't have to go back to hell. Liam wants to find it so he can use it to trap her and send her back to where she belongs. But have these two been looking for it in the same place for the last 100 years, or have they been traveling and looking for it all that time? Who knows? It's not mentioned, another thing not explored. There was just too much story left out for me.
To be fair, though, this seems to be geared toward an upper middle grade audience, and I'm about 40 years too old for it. Perhaps if I'd read it when I was the right age for it, I would've liked it more, gotten more from it. It is a good story, it just feels a bit simple to me. But, not all kids' books hold up to reading as an adult, including some of my childhood favorites.