Goldie Vance by Hope Larson

Sixteen-year-old Marigold "Goldie" Vance lives at a Florida resort with her dad, who manages the place. Her mom, who divorced her dad years ago, works as a live mermaid at a club downtown. Goldie has an insatiable curiosity, which explains her dream to one day become the hotel's in-house detective. When Charles, the current detective, encounters a case he can't crack, he agrees to mentor Goldie in exchange for her help solving the mystery.

A little light on the mystery, but the art is gorgeous, and the character development is charming.

Sigh. This is 100% one of those “it's not you, it's me” things, because this graphic novel series is doing so many things right. Like the first volume, I loved the artwork, the diversity, and the adorable f/f romance featured... but again, like the first volume, the plotline lost me. While I was able to overlook it during Volume 1 thanks to the novelty of how freaking adorable this artwork and these characters are, sadly, it wasn't something I could move past in Volume 2. I think it's all just way too Nancy Drew for me (not as in “this is a ripoff”, but as in “I didn't like kid-detective-gang stories then and I don't like them now, Scooby-Doo eternally excluded”).

So, yeah. It's one of those series that I wish I could adore like everyone else does, but sadly, I'm going to have to sit out the rest of this one, I think. That said, if you like cutesy mystery stories AT ALL, please check out Goldie Vance, because it really does deserve the love it gets.