Lumine Volume One

Lumine #1

by Emma Krogell

A runaway werewolf meets a witch boy, and their lives will never be the same.

In a world where weredogs, witches, and humans live side by side, Lumine is a down-on-his-luck weredog with nowhere to turn…until he meets antisocial witch boy Kody.

One causes trouble wherever he goes, and the other attracts trouble like a magnet. So of course, the two forces end up colliding.

Lumine has a big, fluffy secret: he is a werewolf, a rare and powerful type of magical being thought to be extinct. Except…he can’t transform properly. When robbers attack the two boys, Lumine shifts into his other form, a tiny, fierce, and ridiculously cute puppy dog. How is he supposed to instill fear in their enemies like that?!

Impressed with the small but mighty pup, Kody’s dad hires Lumine to be his son’s bodyguard. Tensions are high in the supernatural community; witch kids have been going missing, and Kody’s father is worried. Lumine is determined to both protect Kody and become his friend, but the secretive witch does everything in his power to keep Lumine at arm’s length.

When Lumine persists, he realizes that Kody has his reasons for being so withdrawn: he can’t control his magic, other witches at school are bullying him, and an evil spirit in the shape of a cat is haunting him at every step.

Without realizing, Lumine has stumbled paws first into a family full of their own secrets. Kody is plagued by shadows, and his father’s motivations for hiring Lumine aren’t nearly as simple as they seem. Things are far more dangerous than Lumine bargained for, and this is only the beginning.

This volume collects episodes 1 to 14 of the enchanting WEBTOON comic.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Young Adult, Comics, Manga, Fiction, Webcomic

288 pages, Hardcover

First published December 5, 2023

About the author

Creator Emma Krogell is the author and artist behind LUMINE. She currently lives in Finland with her two big fluffy dogs. Follow the author on social media @kabu_rion.

Reviews

[Izabella 🪐]

Middle school me is screaming right now. One of my favourite WEBTOONs as a kid 😭😭
I need this book like right now please 🥺🤲

[Rod Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet, but slow-paced tale about a 13-year-old who can transform into a puppy becoming a bodyguard for a boy witch. The art is cute, but the story is vague as the creator holds back a lot of the series mythology to first tell a story about school bullying.

The book is a little thick but reads surprisingly fast, and I do want the next volume to see what follows that "Well . . . " on the last page. (Though I'm too paper-addicted to finish reading the whole epic digitally, available in full at the link below.) If the story doesn't pick up speed and do a little more world-building, I worry I could find myself tiring of it fairly quickly.


FOR REFERENCE:

Collects episodes 1-14 of the WEBTOON comic as Chapters 1-8.

[—lex♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es lindo, pero pensar que lo dividieron aquí, sin que se acabara un arco o sucediera algo realmente impactante es lo que no me gustó.
Si bien la historia es interesante, si dependiera solamente de este primer libro, no hubiera seguido leyendo, porque no hay un elemento que de ese algo plus.
Lumine es muy lindo, me encanta. Kody es un misterio. Las interacciones de ambos son encantadoras, a pesar de que Kody sigue empujando lejos.

[Rebecca · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the art, but Kody is such a pill that he ruined the story for me.

[nico · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich habe mich nach nur zwei Seiten in den Zeichenstil der Autorin verliebt. Und in Lumine erst. Sooo unglaublich süß. Lumine ist so loyal, zutraulich und anhänglich wie ein 100%-iger Hund. Wirklich total gut umgesetzt. Ich freue mich schon auf die nächsten Teile!

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is pretty but the story gave me flashbacks of old jokey fanfic/anime tropes circa 2008, especially the Dad and the other bodyguard(?) his whole outwardly incompetent/ultra babying his kid but secretly probably a badass but the other person has to commit random acts of violence against him to get him to work. And absolutely nothing happened in this volume? I know it's a wecomic but really, I went in knowing nothing and I'm leaving knowing absolutely nothing about any of the characters or where exactly the story is going but I could probably guess (by going off old fanfic tropes). This is a mini-rant but it's a pet peeve of mine to see the censored swear words. Like why? I get this is for younger audiences but I still know what the word was and so would a kid who is probably saying worse than "ass" or "damn" to be honest. Just don't swear if you're going to unnecessarily censor it out.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the manga-style illustrations and the simplicity of the pages. Ultimately the story fell flat for me - rather uneventful and anticlimactic. This may be because it is the first in a series and is setting the reader up for something bigger, or perhaps this vibe is typical for webcomics? I have never followed any, so am not sure. I may still booktalk this one as I think middle school readers may be drawn to the design style and concept.

[Dain · Rating 2 out of 5]

The low rating is for the story/writing only. Artwork was wonderful. It's just me, I Guess the anime-style stories just don't work for me. I found this truly boring and stupid, but read through to the end just in case the story actually went somewhere. Spoiler alert, it didn't! But maybe it will in vol. 2 cuz it ended with "to be continued..." Hard pass.

[Ashley Martinez (ilovebooksandstuffblog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun fast-paced read. The story hooked me right away and I longed to know more about the characters. There was mystery surrounding both Kody and Lumine and I really can’t wait to uncover more about them.

I enjoyed Lumine’s sunshine childlike personality. He was so cute.
Kody was the total opposite but he’s got a lot of interesting mystery and loads of brooding going on.

There was werewolves, weredogs, witches, and magic that I look forward to exploring further. Not only that but there’s also the mystery of Kody and the drama at school… oh so much that I want to know more about!! I’m so excited for the next book!

A huge thank you to the author and WEBTOON for a copy!

[Arianna Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lumine Vol 1 by Emma Krogell 5⭐️
This is a great story, it didn't take very long to get me hooked and to care about the characters. Lumine is precious and just wants to do a good job and protect Kody. I read most of the first volume in physical format and finished it on Webtoon, and I'm still continuing with reading the Webtoon.

[Frank Chillura (OhYouRead) · Rating 4 out of 5]

An orphaned were-boy and a witch with a curse. It sounds like the perfect book for me… and you’d be right! Where this worked really well was making Lumine’s past a huge mystery. Most of the story is really mysterious, so it adds a thrill to it that makes you want to keep reading.

I didn’t love the bullying. It makes sense for the story, I think. I’ll know more once we go on further.

[angy · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ★

De mis cómic favoritos desde hace años 😭 Extraba a mis bebés y por eso los releí. Ay no como los amo. No recordaba cosas y volverla a leer como si fuera la primera vez, fue tan emocionante. Te amo lumine, mi bebé bello. Kodyyyyyy, te amo, te lloro cada que te veo, te amo.

Me releí todo el webtoon, pero cada que saquen un volumen en físico, me lo releo de nuevo y me lo compro 😭

[A_Paige · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember finding this on Webtoon years ago. I fell in love with the environment and the characters. I’m so happy to have it on my shelf now. This is just a little taste of the story, and I wish I had more volumes of it to read. I recommend this to anyone who loves a cute story.

[Kayla Zabcia]

DNF; page 51

waaaay overdramatic, like those animes where they spend 10 minutes on a 30 second interaction. Reminded me of the Deathnote cafe interaction parody some TikToker made.

[GuineaPigFalconer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was not expecting to get invested so quick. And with a cliffhanger ending too? Now come on people, that’s just not fair! I feel like this story has lots of potential to grow in scope and drama, so I’ll definitely curious to see what happens next.

[Cez · Rating 4 out of 5]

childhood comic:(

[Andrea Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good artwork, nice story. I could read more 😉

[Nabeelah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

[archerslittlefox · Rating 5 out of 5]

my lumine 🥹🥹🩷🩷 seeing the webtoons you started yearsss back finally start releasing physical copies is suchasucha wonderful im literally sobbing

[EmberToBlaze · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have finished the WEBTOON!!!!! UGH!!!!!!
1. BILL NOOOOO
2. SHERRY NOOOOO
3. NOOOOOO
4. OMG!!!! KODY BECOMES PART CAT AKKKK (ngl I love the part of Kody breaking into the weredog fighting ring, not knowing what he did and passing out XD)
5. It made me cryyyyyyyyy

[Steff Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lumine by Emma Krogell is a charming graphic novel about a 13-year-old weredog, Lumine, who can’t properly transform and has been abandoned. He’s hired by Kody, an antisocial witch struggling with his uncontrollable magic and a haunting cat spirit, to be his bodyguard. Though Kody resents him, Lumine remains determined to protect him and form a friendship, even in the face of Kody forbidding him from telling his father about the bullying he faces at school.

Lumine’s whimsical, optimistic personality is incredibly endearing, and his persistence in trying to do his job well makes him a character you can’t help but root for. Kody’s complex struggles with his powers and the curse on him create tension, but the evolving relationship between him and Lumine adds emotional depth to the story.

The artwork is beautiful, capturing the magical world and the characters’ emotions perfectly. The plot mixes humor with supernatural intrigue, and the pacing is well-balanced, keeping you engaged while allowing for character growth.

In short, this is a heartwarming and magical tale about friendship, determination, and self-acceptance, making it a must-read for fans of supernatural adventures.

[Ella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aw Man!!!!

First: Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

This one left me hanging, like fingertip gripping the edge of the mountain while a river of crocodiles is waiting for you at the bottom hanging.... I really thought my phone was crashing or that the app had a bug or something. At least that's how I felt when I turned the last page.
So here I am writing a review while I actually just want to read the next volume.

At first I was afraid, I was petrified....

No, seriously,
I was afraid that this might be to childish or to adorable. But the wolfs are just the right amount of cute and so is the shadow cat. The rest is not jet dark enough for me. But since it was an open ending, who knows...
Anyway, the story is good enough for me to wait in anticipation for the next volume.

[Skye (Skye's Scribblings) · Rating 2 out of 5]

10/24 A great unique setup but a surprisingly dull and simple story and art that devolved even further into a little more than a school bullying plot. Has potential, but for me only when the kids are older and I don't see that happening any time soon. Other than a few words of language (which is actually asterisked), this is a higher grade school / middle grade read, which for me to invest in has to have a stellar story - and sadly this doesn't.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was adorable! It caught me by surprise with how much I enjoyed it. That being said, I feel like early volumes of webtoon and similar types of stories are a little disjointed for me to outright love them - but I'll be looking for the next book for sure!

[Dreamcatcher (HIATUS)]

CHILDHOOD NOSTALGIA LET'S GOOO

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so glad to see this story go to print. I first found it on the webtoons website. It's a really fun and adventurous fantasy series. A world where witches (both male and female) are assumed to be powerful, weredogs are common place, and werewolves are considered extinct due to people killing them to harvest their bodies for power. This is the beginning to a story that involves learning to trust again as well as how to not let the past control you as well as what happens when you let the past shape how you interact with people. A tale featuring an optimistic werewolf pup, Lumine, posing as a bodyguard who not only wants to protect Kody, the witch boy, but become his friend as well. Both have trauma in their pasts but Lumine tries to be optimistic and not let it govern him but Kody has withdrawn from all people and has become distrustful. (I'm trying not to give spoilers because I read it on the website which is ahead several chapters versus the print copy.)

Lumine is out of a job again. He's been separated from the adult weredog that had been helping him and he's on his own now. It's tough to be a young one with no education when you also have to pose as a weredog because being found out to be the extremely rare werewolf would be dangerous. Too many people have captured and killed werewolves in the past making the population assume they're extinct. However, things start changing when he meets and protects Kody, a young witch boy. Kody's dad hires Luming to be a bodyguard because Kody keep attracting danger and his dad suspects he's being bullied at school. Luming would like to be both Kody's bodyguard and friend. Unfortunately Kody has closed himself off from people and insists that Lumine doesn't report anything putting Lumine in a bind. To top it off Lumine can see a spirit cat hanging around Kody that gives off a dangerous vibe that has him worried for Kody's safety. Will he be able to protect Kody and more importantly can he get him to open op and accept him?

[lauras_garden_of_books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Der nächste WEBTOON aus dem Hause Splittermangaplus der im Sturm mein Herz erobert hat. LUMINE ist ein Werwolf, aber psssst, das darf keiner wissen, denn diese sind eigentlich ausgestorben und auf die letzten ihrer Art wird Jagd gemacht. Also ist er offiziell ein Werhund. Allerdings wird Lumine, wenn er sich verwandelt, nicht zu einem gefährlichen reißerischen Tier, sondern zu einem kleinen knuffigen und flauschigen Welpen.
Ich habe mich auf Anhieb in die super süßen Zeichnungen verliebt; es ist sowas von herzig, wie sich Lumines Emotionen nicht nur in seinem Gesicht und in seinen Augen widerspiegeln, sondern auch darin, wie seine Haare und Ohren stehen; man sieht förmlich, wieviel Liebe in die Zeichnungen geflossen ist. Und wenn die Protagonisten in süßen Mini-Figuren zwischen den Panels herlaufen, ist das auch super niedlich anzuschauen.
Lumine hat es nicht leicht und zieht dauernd Ärger an, bis er in die Obhut eines Hexenmeisters gerät und den Bodyguard für dessen Sohn Kody spielen soll. Kody ist davon aber so garnicht begeistert und er macht es Lumine sehr schwer. Kody ist die Ausdruckslosigkeit und Emotionslosigkeit in Person, was zunächst ein wenig amüsant ist. Im weiteren Verlauf der Geschichte erfährt man aber, warum er so ist, und das ist so garnicht mehr lustig. Lumine ist ein durch und durch herzensguter Charakter und möchte Kody so unbedingt helfen, auch wenn sich dieser eigentlich nicht helfen lassen möchte. Man merkt aber, wie seine Eisschicht so langsam zu schmelzen beginnt. Außerdem geht es da noch um eine Zukunftsvision, die unbedingt verhindert werden, einen Werwolf der dafür sterben muss, einen Fluch in Form einer schattenhaften Katze, und dem mysteriösen Job des Hexenmeisters.
Einige Geheimnisse und Mysterien die aufgedeckt werden wollten, tiefe Freundschaftsthmen und ganz viel Flauschigkeit fürs Herz - das ist „Lumine“, aus der Feder einer finnischen Zeichnerin.
Leseempfehlung Deluxe 🙌🤍

[Lexa Riffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Volume one contains episodes one through fourteen of the webtoon in graphic novel format

Lumine is a werewolf who is undercover as a weredog in a place he's not familiar with. Hes a runaway far from home, all alone. At the age of thirteen hes looking for odd jobs to keep himself afloat.

Lumine is found sleeping on the street sheltering from the rain by a boy named Kody. We come to find out that Kodys father was looking for Lumine.

Kody is a quiet antisocial young teen who is being bullied in school for being a weak witch. Anytime Kody does magic it makes him sick.

Kody's dad hires Lumine to be Kody's bodyguard. Lumine is determined to be the best bodyguard he can be but he also wants to be accepted as Kody's friend.

This is rated as young adult on webtoon but i do think as of this point its suitable for middle grade readers as well, as long as they are ok with some blood and violence.

This is so far a very cute and very engaging story, I sat down and read volumes one through three in one night, so its safe to say it had me hooked. This would be amazing if it was animated in the future.

I love that the world is mixed with humans, witches, werewolves and everyone lives side by side and integrated into a community.

I love how there is mystery left in a lot of this, were not sure why Kody's dad really came looking for lumine, we know he was in contact with his former employer but that was about it. There are a lot of unanswered questions in this first volume that made me itch to start the second one instantly.

Visit my website for reviews and more. www.LexaRiffe.com

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lumine, a 13-year-old boy who can shapeshift into a fluffy, little white dog, finds himself fired from his latest job with no place to go. His only option is to try to spend the night sleeping on the streets when a lost teen boy asks him where the bus stop is. With nothing better to do, Lumine tries to help him out only to run into a band of thieves that try to rob him. Fortunately, the mysterious boy's father finds them and the crisis is averted (but only after Lumine attacks the thieves in his dog form).

The boy's father offers him a job as his son's bodyguard and, with no where to go, Lumine accepts. The boy, Kody, is a witch but not a particularly good one. He also resents having a bodyguard making Lumine's job even tougher. But Lumine is determined to persevere and win over Kody's trust. If only he can figure out why a shadow black cat is following Kody around...

I really liked this one. I am sad I only have the first one checked out from the library because I want to find out what happens next!

Content Notes:

Swearing/profanity? A little. I counted 9 words. If you are curious as to the breakdown here you go: hell (5), ass (1_, piss (1), damn (1), and suck (1)

Sex/sexual references? None

Religious references? None

LGBTQIA + rep? Not specified

Violence? Just some street fighting. Nothing extreme although blood is shown

Am I adding this to a middle school library? I think so! I want to read the rest to find out but so far so good. This is rated 14+ but, besides the slight swearing, I'm not sure why.

[Florencia Checo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Serie en general: 2,5⭐
Estoy siendo amable con la calificación porque me entretuvo bastante y los personajes me cayeron dentro de todo bien, pero tengo varias quejas.

El inicio es súper lento, la historia se pone interesante recién en el tercer volumen. Después toma ritmo. Hay acción, riesgo, muerte y se tocan temas interesantes, todo para al final quedar en la nada. Quedan un montón de cosas inconclusas, abarca muchos temas que después quedan olvidados. Conocemos múltiples personajes que se vuelven queribles para que después no sepamos qué fue de sus vidas. Hay otros sobre los que se crearon ciertas expectativas sobre cómo iba a ser cuando aparecieran, pero ese momento nunca llegó. Ni siquiera queda claro qué pasa con la villana.

Básicamente hay un mal manejo del ritmo. La introducción debió durar menos, el conflicto tendría que haber empezado antes, hay tramas que podrían haberse cerrado en el medio de la historia sin problemas, hay personajes que debieron haber vuelvo a aparecer y el final tendría que haber sido aunque sea mínimamente resolutivo. Si lo del padre biológico era tan importante, hubieran hecho una temporada más, porque así como está no aporta nada.

Otro tema es el mundo: no explican nada. Hay brujos, hombres perro y hombres lobo (supuestamente extintos). No hay explicaciones de porqué existen (salvo un cuentito que no tiene mucho sentido) ni de porqué los hombres lobo son tan codiciados.

En resumen, me deben muchas explicaciones.