This is one of those French historical graphic novels, that think they have so much brilliance in their text they need to use the smallest font out there to get it all on the page. Here, our foundling hero has been brought up with an unknown legacy, left him by a dying Leonardo da Vinci. A lot depends on whatever it is and whoever he is and whatever he does with it all, especially as there are hard-and-fast religious types lording it over the place. So we get Dumasian swordplay, da Vincian flying machines, and no indication of how many other books will be following this. It's not bad for that kind of thing, but I will not be returning for the rest of the series.

Cool graphic novel over all, think reading it on an iPad effected it a little and at times it was a little confusing

Very sweet and cute story and art. Highly recommend if you like cozy stories. Very sweet and cute story and art. Highly recommend if you like cozy stories.

Really love the art - the flow is great and thoughtfully planned, the lush backgrounds really give a feel for the world and the differing locations, the character expressions are on point - very professional throughout and I enjoy the style.
I found the story entertaining without any major complaints. I'm giving a full 5 stars to counteract the low reviews from people who don't seem to understand that graphic novel storytelling is different from text novel storytelling.

The story was fine; I really enjoyed the artwork and coloring. Since I need to write more I am adding this sentence.

When I look for graphic novels, what determines if I’ll pick it up is the artstyle. And i’m glad to say that this one hooked at first look. Also the quality doesn’t suffer which I sometimes have seen due to deadlines for the project. But this one is pretty consistent throughout. which I appreciate.

This historical fiction kept the plot amusing even when things appear to settle down. The mystery and intrigue that surrounds the story were a determinant to the enjoyment of the graphic novel .Also something to consider is that, I was very impressed with some side characters. Many things were not what I was expecting, so I was pleasantly surprised when things unfold the way they did.

Looking forward to the next installment because I need to know what the future holds for Avril.

This has some absolutely stunning artwork and design, but unfortunately the story did not work for me and I did not end up reading the whole volume.

Idk, not sure about this one. I think you need to know a lot about this time period, which I don't really, in order to really understand this. The story also had a lot of loose strands and like other people already mentioned, just didnt seem to connect. Also the text was incredibly hard to read in the given version, that made this a lot more complicated.

I don’t read a lot of historical fiction so this was a bit out of my comfort zone. The illustrations were beautiful and story is interesting but text was difficult to read.

This wasn't for me. Historical fiction is my genre, the story didn't connect, and I just couldn't get into any part of this. BUT that's just a me thing. Definitely check this if the description seems interesting to you.

Though I mostly enjoyed the story and illustrations (time period, intrigue, etc), the text was incredibly hard to read and made for a challenging reading experience. The text was not only extremely small, but was in a spindly font that was not easy to read either. This would have been a 4 star read for me if it was actually easy to read.

I did enjoy the bright colors of the illustrations. I would definitely read the next in the series, though I hope the author and illustrator change the text issues.

I really loved the art style, and I thought the story was interesting! I did, however, struggle to read it at times, but I feel like that was more due to the digital format than anything else. I’d definitely buy a physical copy!

i really enjoyed the story and the artwork, it was really well done and an interesting story overall. a little blurry and sometimes hard to read but overall a great graphic novel

Thank you to Netgalley and Europe Comics for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review!!

TLDR; Interesting story and art, but just not for me.

Actual Rating: 2.5 stars

I have a few problems here, 1st is the text, it was small, especially with the notes that zooming in didn't help because of the pixelization, 2nd is that the pacing and paneling was really weird in here. I found it difficult to get through this book, but I'm sure that's just because this story wasn't for me. The art style was good, but it's not the type of art style I enjoy reading with overall.

Cinq Avril is an adventure book set against French historical events during the 1500s. It follows a young man, Avril, a "ward" of Leonardo Da Vinci, left as an orphan with only a necklace to his name. Upon the death of Leanardo, he is thurst into an adventure set against the Brenton War of Brittany, with Anne of Brittany making an appearance. As Avril learns about his birth, he has again led astray and needs to venture toward England to continue learning about himself and understand that he is the "key to humanity.

Knowing nothing of French history, it took a bit for me to understand the relevance of the situation Avril was placed upon. As an adventure story, it was a page-turner. No lack of stagnant pacing, in fact, one can say it was very fast-paced. The book relays as best it can the historical background in which Avril finds himself. It took a bit of Googling to understand the relevance of the history. Usually, in European history, the most important character stays within their own country. But this book hints heavily that Leonardo De Vinci, Anne of Brittany, and Sir Thomas More are connected in terms of protecting Avril.

The artwork has a nice quality of European style. It is very unlike the usual American style of comic, a la superheroes. Horses are very hard to draw, and the art did justice to depicting horses, as well as horses in action. I wasn't a big fan of the lettering. It was at times hard to read. I wish it was much cleaner and clearer.

The book was good fun and it left me wanting to know how the story ends. I would recommend it for the story, but also the historical fiction. It deftly uses and blends the historical background into the narrative as well to our hero.

I liked the art, but the story is all convoluted plots and conspiracies. It was also really hard to read because the lettering was uneven. I don't think I'll be continuing with this series.

Received via NetGalley.

We liked the comic format of this book and the illustrations were really good and colourful. It is a short book with less background information than I would have liked but I suppose that will be addressed in further issues.

Thank you to the publisher and author for this review copy.

I didn't really know what to expect going in to this one but the title and cover art were very intriguing.

I enjoyed this story although felt it had strange paving at times. I loved Ariane, she was definitely my favourite character. I wish she'd had more time on page with Avril as they were sweet together.

My only complaint is that I struggled to read the writing at times, although this could be to do with it being an early copy, I'm not sure.

Definitely a fun graphic novel and one of read again.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THIS REVIEW COPY IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW.

It was so hard to read now my eyes are hurting. I got the gist but the experience wasn't enjoyable. On the positive side, the graphics were helpful otherwise I wouldn't have gotten what was going on.

2.5 ⭐️

Thank you to Netgalley and the author for a copy of the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

I was expecting a lot more from the story, despite being the first volume so it's inevitably more introductory.
The plot is innovative, so I was a little disappointed by the inaccurate execution, in some places I didn't understand what was happening. The ending is a prime example of this.
I really enjoyed the art style, the drawings are beautiful and colourful!