Doughnuts and Doom

Playful artwork with a simple palette bolsters this adorable, fast-paced enemies-to-lovers queer romance.

Margot Grapes is a witch who excels at potion-making--she even has her own online potion shop--but ask her to use magic for something as simple as making a houseplant grow and she freezes up. Musician Elena Rogers is nearing burnout as she struggles to balance work at a doughnut shop with being the "main creative mind" behind her fledgling indie-pop rock band "Bird! Bird! Bird!" The two collide when, after Margot's third failed attempt at a spell license test, Margot tries to get a chocolate doughnut from Elena's shop only to discover that they're all out. Frustration mounts, sassy retorts are exchanged and Margot accidentally curses Elena. Margot, feeling guilty, tries to make it up to Elena, and a friendship quickly forms between them with flirty hints of more to come.

In his debut graphic novel, Doughnuts and Doom, Balazs Lorinczi makes clever artistic choices that elevate this lighthearted supernatural romance. Some of the best storytelling in the book comes from the illustrations: Lorinczi punctuates his simple palette of light blue shades with pops of pink to show that Margot's magic is present in the scene; the passage of time is expressed through multiple panels showing the same scene with slight differences. These quiet moments speak volumes, eliciting both humor and sentimentality while also helping Elena and Margot's relationship naturally develop. This magic- and music-filled graphic novel dazzles and charms. --Lana Barnes, freelance reviewer and proofreader

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