I can't get enough of Katie O'Neill's artwork and stories. The illustrations are beautiful, captivating, and comforting. The pastel tones and softness of shapes matches the soothing tone of her narratives. In her author bio, she says that she writes "gentle fantasy stories," and I think that's the perfect description. This one definitely has a similar feel to The Tea Dragon Society: a sweet middle grade comic with a queer subplot.
There is a fantasy element to Aquicorn Cove, but fundamentally it's about Lana and her father visiting to the seaside town she grew up in, before her mother passed away. They are staying with Lana's aunt, helping to clean up after a storm damaged a lot of the town. Lana loves seeing her aunt and being back home, but her father is impatient to go back to the city-uncomfortable with the memories that haunt him here.
This is also a love letter to the ocean. Lana clearly loves being back by the water, and she nurtures a baby aquicorn she finds stranded in a tidal pool. The environmentalist message includes information at the back of the book about coral reefs and how we can take care of them.
The romance is between Lana's aunt and an underwater woman creature (not a mermaid... she kind of reminds me of a Pokemon, but in a good way). In flashbacks, we see how they got closer, and then how they drifted apart. Their town depends on fishing, and it becomes a point of tension between them.
If you liked her other works, you'll like this one, too. I'd especially recommend this to middle grade nature lovers, but anyone looking for a gentle fantasy story (especially with queer content) should appreciate this one.
