Sorceline. Book 2

Sorceline (US) #2

by Sylvia Douyé, Paola Antista (Illustrator), Tanya Gold (Translator)

Return to the Island of Vorn, where mythical creatures roam free and only the brightest students are invited to study them! Follow along as the kids (and creatures) of Professor Balzar’s famous school of cryptozoology unearth the long-hidden secret at the heart of their story.

Sorceline has proven herself a star student at Balzar’s prestigious academy—but her gifts might have gotten the best of her. As Sorceline fights for her life, her classmates must work to uncover her origin story, revealing details of her past that may offer a key to their present.

At the back of the book, enjoy an illustrated bestiary along with behind-the-scenes bonus material!

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Comics, Graphic Novels Comics, Childrens, Fiction

112 pages, Paperback

First published August 8, 2023

Reviews

[Cherlynn | cherreading · Rating 3 out of 5]

A captivating sequel that has the same merits and faults as its predecessor. It's just as beautifully illustrated and coloured, with a plot that's sufficiently engaging and intriguing.

However, the same irritating flaws are present: Even smaller text that's so hard to read squeezed in equally tiny frames, and disjointed storytelling at some parts. The climax was quite disappointing too despite some good twists.

Nevertheless, I enjoyed this graphic novel overall and look forward to another installment.

[Dahlia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I loved the art in the first book but was disappointed in the story. My intrigue was high enough to Continue.
While the art is still stunning, the story telling had the same flaws as the first one. The pacing is totally of. We often were in the middle of a scene, when it skipped to the day after or to some other people. The friendships between the characters were surface leval and they didn’t have each others backs. I’m sad to say i won’t continue.

The art would get 5 stars and is the only reason it isn’t a 1 star.

Thank you to The publisher for the e-Arc via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.

[Gwendolyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m frustrated this is so choppy and disjointed because it has potential, but as it is it's just not working. The art is good but so smooshed together that I’m basically squinting to see the creatures and the details. There were some very interesting reveals but they happened so fast and it was a lot of telling rather than showing. It seems like there’s going to be more to the series but I don’t think I’ll be continuing in this series.

[Sarah Schanze · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book suffers from the similar problems of the first, being far too small to really enjoy the detailed artwork and genuinely difficult to read text. Still a lot of jumping around and I'll admit I skimmed some sections that seemed a bit too text heavy. I wasn't sure what text was dialogue and what was descriptions or thoughts, too. Still such lovely art though.

[Jules Inman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this one as much as the first book. The story is fun and the graphics are so detailed and pretty. I do wish the book was longer so they could spread out the graphics more to where they were larger. They pack a lot onto each page.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was okay? I’m not the biggest fan of the story. But I do really love the art

[Eule Luftschloss · Rating 2 out of 5]

trigger warning
memory loss, being possessed

Sorceline is still trapped, and one of her friends is missing. The remaining ones really need to find out what is going on.

While I really liked volume 1, I did not care for this much. The pacing was... kind of okay, and the illustrations are as beautiful as before. The plot seemed kind of weird, one plot strand was ignored and then we were told what happened later on.
Allround, a lot of telling. It felt incoherent, all over the place. I am not sure I want to read on.

[Meisha (ALittleReader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a confession.... I actually read this before reading the first one. Perhaps had I read the first book first, I'd have a different opinion. But I saw a copy up for grabs on edelweiss and I have been so eager to get my hands on the first one (and couldn't find it at my library or anywhere that didn't cost an arm and a leg) that I jumped at a chance to read this one.
I was I little bit disappointed. I think I had really high expectations after hearing so many great things...
I did love the paranormal and mystery atmosphere. These graphic novels would be perfect for anyone looking for a quick fun read for Halloween! And oh my gosh, the art work is STUNNING!! 😍
However, the layout and format had me confused. It kept jumping scenes and it would take me a little bit to grasp where we were and what was going on and that took a lot of the enjoyment out of it for me. Now, to be honest, I don't read a TON of graphic novels. So maybe that's an error on my part? But I do read a decent amount of them and haven't had that issue with any that I have read prior. So do with that what you will.
The characters also felt very two dimensional to me. I had no connection to them what so ever and because of that, found myself rushing to finish the book. Again, didn't read the first one so maybe that's part of it. If not though, if you're a character based reader, this one may not be for you.
Over all I found this to be a fun and enjoyable read. It just wasn't anything that blew me out of the water or ended up being a favorite of mine. I do recommend giving it a try if you enjoy paranormal books and graphic novels with a fantasy twist!
Huge thank you to the publishers and Edelweiss for the advance reading copy! All opinions are my own.

[Geordie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second book in the Sorceline series, like the first the art and the fantasy are excellent. But just like the first, the story is disjointed and the world is explained so awkwardly it feels like the writer is making things up at breakneck speed and never going back to edit. I'd be more forgiving of the book (I'm not the target audience, etc, etc), but the ending is painfully frustrating. The day is basically saved by luck, none of the protagonists' efforts are of any relevance, it's total unpredictable chance that they win in the end. And then at the very end the protagonists decide to team up with the sociopath vampire who was torturing half of the characters for most of the book.

The spectacle of this book is good (though I must say, it's baffling why they choose such small pages with this quality art and eye-straining font), but the story is a shambling mess. My daughter is more the target audience, but she was much more eager to continue the series after the first book than she was after this one. It's just hard to stay attached to the characters when the pace is so disorienting and so many things happen for no apparent reason. I honestly hope this series drops from her memory so I don't have to be bothered with any future books.

[Therearenobadbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this graphic novel's art and story. This volume is even better than the first, because it answers so many questions, and introduces us to new characters and plot twists that will keep you turning the pages. The art is so perfect and beautiful, giving magical vibes and setting the perfect mood for the mysteries to unveil and others to start. I love the colors as well and they are perfect for the scenes. I wish the font was a little bigger, especially the narrator's italics.
I love the extras and behind-the-scenes at the end of the book.
I got a copy from the publisher.

[Sirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The mystery and magic continues right where volume 1 left off. Sorceline is the victim of some unexpected magic and learns some surprising news about her family. Meanwhile, an ancient evil is on the loose, and if the kids and professor can't find a way to stop it, nightmares may be unleashed up on the world.

I'm truly enchanted by the ways this tale keeps me intrigued and guessing. Some things are obvious red herrings while others are sneaky clues I wasn't expecting to lead anywhere. The art is gorgeous, and the mysteries spooky.

[Allison · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art and creatures were amazing and seemed to carry so much potential! The story, however, was all over the place. The pacing was terrible. There were cut offs and jumps at seemingly random places at times and "perfectly understandable" solutions that popped up without any alluding to them at all. We didn't spend enough time to get to know the characters, so they still felt very flat and uninteresting. I had hoped the second book would get better in its storytelling, but I was very disappointed.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still choppy with poor transitions. I’m constantly wondering if I skipped/missed a panel. (I didn't.)

What really irked me was that at one point, the first panel of a new scene appeared as the last panel on the previous page. It made zero sense and is so jarring, and seems to suggest either poor editing and understanding of comics theory.

I feel like there was even less focus on the magical creatures (which is really what I was here for, and I mean, what the book markets itself with), which was disappointing.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art by itself deserves plenty of praise however, the story is still fragmented and hasn't progressed. I wonder again if part of this is due to translation problems or if it is actually due to the actual plot. I had hoped to see the characters show more depth now that we are further along in the series; they are still displaying the same tropes. I do not think that I will be reading any more of this series.

[D.T. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two of the biggest mysteries have been solved for Sorceline and her crew, but new revelations are still popping up. Also, the layout for pages 60 – 61 is TERRIBLE there is no reading direction indicated.

Overall, this was dark and emotional and didn’t shy away from the implications of death. It honestly may be too intense for younger readers. The ending went in an interesting direction, so I’d read book 3.

[Elinor Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s an entertaining read that I recommend for fantasy lovers. Gives me Harry Potter or Netflix’s Wednesday vibes. My only gripe with it was that everything seems to happen very abruptly with quick transitions that come out-of-the-blue, so a lot of the time I was confused and left thinking “uh, ok… I guess this is what we’re doing now…” That said, I still enjoyed it and recommend others to read it.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pacing is all over the place. The art is neat and the concept is interesting, but this story feels like it would've been better off a short novel. The characters thoughts and feelings could've been better fleshed out and instead use the art as a encyclopedia/guidebook peppered throughout the novel of all the creatures/cures they learn. At this point I'm invested enough to want to complete the story, but mostly for the sake of completing it and seeing if it improves.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

The illustration is great but the story feels like it was written by a kid. I know this is meant for children but the story has a stream of consciousness feel to it and is all over the place. Very little makes a bit of sense. Even in a magical world, good story structure needs to be followed. A lot of this just felt like gibberish.

[Ashlyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I overall enjoyed my time reading this book, but like the first one, I wanted more. I liked learning more about the creatures in the Isle of Vorn at the end and I liked the characterization of the characters for the most part. I’m hoping there’s more to come because I really feel like this series could be something I would continue to like.

[Hunter · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was fun too, but so much was going on. We learned so much and had everything thrown at us. It was a little too much.

Also, why make it a plot point that the kids think Sorceline and M have a crush on each other...when they're twins?! It was icky...even for others to think it.

[Cale · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty art is still the star, although this volume does move the story along a lot. It does so in a bit of a frenetic fashion, though, with a bevy of new characters, plots and secrets thrown in haphazardly. I will admit several of the reveals caught me by surprise. I'm not super invested in most of the characters but I still enjoyed the story.

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

i feel about the same as i did with the first book - lovely art, interesting ideas and concepts, disjointed plot. is it because it’s french??? the book feels like it exists on dream logic, we jump from scene to scene and are just supposed to accept that things have changed, big reveals come out of nowhere, time passes strangely… such an odd little book

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5*

I love the art style. I think the plot is really cool with genuine surprising moments. I just sometimes feel like it skips around too much and skips parts that I wish we saw while also over explaining things too? I really do enjoy it though.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art continued to be beautiful, but the story still felt very disjointed. I'm disappointed because the plot seems to be going to an interesting and unexpected place, but the world-building and character and story-development just don't live up to what the story could be.

[Bibi Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book look amazing and cool but where can i buy from i really want to see this book so bad but it look very fun to read but yea i do love this fun so much but please tell me where can i buy it i mostly lived in New Jersey.

[Rayne Dickerson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting way to end(?) the story. It did feel a little rushed but it was still fun to read. Again, the creatures drawn in the series were beautiful and at the end of this book there was actually some details about the creatures seen in the background.

[Jacquelyne Hernandez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3 stars. Less confusing than the first book, though I feel that the plot had a lot going on this time. Wish we could have explored the characters more this time around, but I am looking forward to reading the third installment.

[Krystal Caloia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was extremely choppy again. It cut off at odd points and added extra things in between information that should have been continued from previous pages. It was just choppy. It was left open, I doubt I will look for the next book real hard.

[Karsyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did like the story, and wish to continue the series. But the text boxes are hard to follow, and were often read out of order. Which is frustrated to have to re-read in the correct order, or backtrack mentally to put together what is happening.

[Erica Pehrson · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars for art, 2 stars for a story with so much potential and horrible execution. what was that pacing? lore dumping? convenient revelations? HUGE issues like SHE MURDERED HIM being immediately forgiven and they totally move on? these characters are all so weird.