Blog Tour ~ The Weirn Books, Vol. 2: The Ghost and the Stolen Dragon by Svetlana Chmakova ~ Q&A || Review || Giveaway
Afternoon all~
A very EXCITED welcome to the Blog Tour for The Weirn Books, Vol. 2: The Ghost and the Stolen Dragon by Svetlana Chmakova! OMG you guys, I am so FREAKING HYPED I can be part of this amazing tour + have an opportunity to read volume 2 for a review! I really LOVED book 1 (review here) and I am so happy that after 4 years we can read another story in this world and see how things are going. EEP!
For today’s post I got 5 * review to read, a small Q&A with the author, I also have book+author information, and you can join a fun giveaway if you click on this link.
Review
I received this book from the publisher/Publicity Prose in exchange of an honest review.
It took me a fair bit to get back into this world again because it has been 4 years since I read the ARC for the first book. But eventually I managed to settle into the story (the recaps helped) and I have to say I enjoyed it greatly and that I am definitely looking forward to more stories from this world!
😍 I love it when we get some recaps on things that happened before. I don’t always need it, but this has been 4 years and my mind clearly could use a refresher.
😍 The wonderful art is back again and better than ever! I really love how the dragons were drawn (human or in dragon mode), and the way the magic was drawn was just so fun and sparkly.
😍 I love our MC and her obsession with dragons, haha, she is even going so far to find spellbooks and ingredients to turn into a dragon, oh yes, this girl has big plans. But I love that, unlike many other books about characters obsessed with things, she can also let things go and act normal and responsible when time comes for spells and battle.
😍 The dragon! Who looked both cool in their dragon but also their human form. I loved how they instantly befriended our MC and helped her out whenever it was needed. I loved seeing the wonder in the dragon’s eyes when they saw the human world and all the things in there.
😍 The parents/grandparents are such fab characters. And unlike a lot of children’s books these days, the adults are kicking some serious butt as well.
😍 The return of THAT villain! And she has new plans, this time extra laced with vengeance and she was so well-written. She still deserved all that came to her. She should have given up after the battle in the previous volume, but haha, some people never learn.
😍 Bonus point to the caretaker! He was such a sweet character and I love how he handles both the beasts and the humans!
😍 Can I please please go to this school? It just sounds like such a fun magical place!
😍 The magic! So much fun magic!
😍 Continuing on the MC part, I loved seeing her grow in this one and form some serious plans for the future. I will be rooting for her!
😍 THAT ENDING! Not just for the uncle *gasp* but also for Patricia *oh my*.
All in all, I had so much fun reading this one and I am delighted I was able to read it for a review! I would highly recommend this book + the first one to everyone in need for a magical and exciting graphic novel series~
In the Night Realm, shifters, vampires, weirns (a particular kind of witch), and other night things passing for human may prowl the streets, but school is still in session—and you still have to do your homework!
In The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods (released June 2020), Ailis and Na’ya are pretty average students, but when a shadow starts looming and a classmate gets all weird, they’re the first to notice. It gets personal, though, when Na’ya’s little brother D’esh disappears. To get him back, she has no choice but to confront the secrets of the forbidden mansion in the Silent Woods!
Just in time for Halloween, The Weirn Books, Vol. 2: The Ghost and the Stolen Dragon (released October 15, 2024) takes readers back to Chmakova’s supernatural world full of magic, adventure, and… dragons! After her terrible adventures in the Silent Woods, Na’ya’s world seems to have returned to normal… that is, except for the nightmares that keep haunting her. What she needs is the power to protect everyone, and she has the perfect solution—she’ll turn into a dragon, once and for all! With help from Ailis and Jasper, everything seems to be going according to plan. But what’s that dark shadow slithering around the spell-casting range?“Chmakova maintains her signature anime-influenced style, as seen in the “Berrybrook Middle School” series, and adds a touch of whimsy through visual worldbuilding around the eerie, desolate woods… VERDICT Relationships take center stage in this sweet, not-too-scary coming-of-age story that feels like a young read-alike to Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
—School Library Journal (The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods)
“Classic manga visuals enrich Chmakova’s charming, full-color art: sweeping magic amid serene concentration, shadows accentuating fear-inspiring retorts from authority figures, and facial contortions add humor to life-and-death stakes… Chmakova smartly keeps the focus on family, friendship, and the relatable struggles of fitting in.”
—Publishers Weekly (The Weirn Books, Vol. 1: Be Wary of the Silent Woods)
Buy here:Amazon || Yen Press
Svetlana Chmakova was born and raised in Russia until the age of 16, when her family emigrated to Canada. She is an internationally published, award-winning author and illustrator, with more than 10 published books and her work translated into over 13 languages. Svetlana has drawn and written for animation, how-to-draw books, toy designs, and most of all, comics and manga. Her full-length manga/comics series include the fan-favorite romantic comedy Dramacon, the award-winning urban fantasy Nightschool: The Weirn Books, and the hit Berrybrook Middle School series, as well as the manga adaptation of the New York Times bestselling Witch & Wizard by James Patterson. She graduated from Sheridan College with a three-year Classical Animation Diploma, and was a Master Comics Artist-in-Residence at Atlantic Center for The Arts.
Q&A with Svetlana Chmakova
Q: What is the most challenging aspect of creating a graphic novel?
A: The amount of work and time it takes to make them, haha! My interest is not held long by much and neither is my focus, so by the time I am on the 3rd draft of a script that’s not working, I’m already impatient with the whole idea of it and just want to toss it and move on to something else. But then I still need to persevere and finish the rewrites, then storyboard, then draw it. It’s an agonizingly prolonged process (that’s totally worth it in the end!! In my mind, I know this, but in my heart I want to rage-quit every book I do).
Q: Have you always wanted to be an artist and writer? If not, what did you want to be when you grew up as a child?
A: I think my very first conscious job aspiration was to be a fashion designer, around when I was 11-12? I saved up my allowance to get a Barbie-like doll and I made three and a half outfits and drew many more impossible designs for that before quitting and deciding to be a programmer, instead.
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