Let's start off by saying we are really loving this series and that Hayley is a favorite author for us and we love anything she writes and she never disappoints and we loved yet another tale she has written for us as the story had an amazing cast of characters for us to love and fall in love with all over again.

This was yet another emotional and heart felt read that was filled with tons of emotion and drama,a ton of regrets,challenges,surprises,self sacrifices and a whole lot of danger.

Roxie and Tanner have been struggling with their relationship for sometime and a lot of it has to do with her mental illness and feeling as though she is not good enough for Tanner but, that doesn't stop her from loving the man but, in her process to protected him she is destroying him while doing so.We loved that their relationship was challenged at every turn it just made the fight to fine their way back to each all the much harder and all the more complicated and all the more sweeter and we just loved that.

We loved this touching heart wrenching tale and we saw that love can help overcome more obstacles than you think and that it is possible if you just believe enough in the love you that have for one another it a love worth saving. Are you strong enough to whether the storms in order to keep it ? This couples journey road was a rocky one but, we were rooting for them from the onset of the story to see if they were going to be able to achieve their happily ever afters.

Another gripping tale that kept us engrossed and turning the pages to the very end.

Title:  Gregory and the Grimbockle

Author:  Melanie Schubert

Artist: Abigail Kraft

Book Soundtrack:  Jared Kraft

Genre:  Life / Children's / Drama / Family / Adventure / Fantasy

Year Published: 2017

Year Read:  12/29/2017 

Publisher: New Wrinkle Publishing

Source: eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 7+ (Some Scary Imagery)

I would like to thank NetGalley and New Wrinkle Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

YES! Another new book from the folks over at NetGalley! When I saw this book over at NetGalley, I just had to pick this beauty up as soon as possible! “Gregory and the Grimbockle” is a children’s book that is written by Melanie Schubert along with artwork by Abigail Kraft and it is definitely one fantasy read that children should check out!

Gregory is a ten-year-old boy who does not have many friends and his family often ignores him whenever he is home. But, probably the biggest sore spot about Gregory is that he has a large mole on his face that everyone keeps picking at, despite the fact that it causes him great painOne night however, Gregory’s enormous mole suddenly opens up and out stepped a Grimbockle who has a cockroach steed and it was then that the Grimbockle tells Gregory about his job in collecting thread like creatures called Exoodles that appear on human beings and repair them whenever they are damaged. Gregory then wanted to help the Grimbockle with his duties and the two of them go on a wild adventure to fix all the exoodles on humans before it is too late!

Wow! Just wow! I never would have thought that I would be able to read a children’s book that is so full of imagination and adventure that it wounded up being one of the most unique books I had read for this year! Melanie Schubert has done an excellent job at writing this book as the writing is both witty and exciting to read through. I loved the way that Melanie Schubert used various phrases like “Grimbockle” and “Exoodles” to explain the bizarre world that the Grimbockle lives in as it reminded me of the wacky phrases used in books that are written by Dr. Seuss and Roald Dahl. I also loved the way that Melanie Schubert had written Gregory as being an all loving hero who only wants to help the people he cares about and I like the fact that this story is set up as a coming of age story for Gregory himself as he learns to show compassion towards people, even towards people that treat him badly. The mysterious world of the Bockles was so magical and imaginative that I found myself fawning over the small world of the Bockles and how they are able to see the mysterious exoodles when no one else can! Abigail Kraft’s artwork is highly creative and detailed, especially of the images of Gregory himself as his facial expressions are usually drawn in an exaggerated way and yet, I have always loved the surprised look on his face as it reflects the bizarre situation he is thrown into quite well. I also loved the images of the Bockles themselves as they are portrayed as small purple creatures who have large eyes and have some features that make them look like little elves.



Parents should know that there is some scary imagery in this book, which mainly consist of images of the dark exoodles, which are black worm like things that pop out of people’s heads. This may cause some small children to be terrified about the possibility of having strange worm like creatures in their heads, even though this book is purely fictional (yuck, even that makes me feel nauseous typing this down). Parents might want to read this book first to see if their children can handle the scary imagery in this book.

Overall, “Gregory and the Grimbockle” is a fantastic fantasy adventure for children both young and old! I would recommend this book to children ages 7 and up due to some of the scary imagery.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope

Author:  Berkeley Breathed

Genre:  Humor / Politics / Satire / Animals / Friendship / Relationship

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  12/28/2017 

Publisher: IDW Publishing

Series: Bloom County Relaunch #1

Source: eARC (NetGalley) and Library

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Some Language and Sexual Dialogue)

I would like to thank NetGalley and IDW Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Introduction: 

Now, I will admit that I had never read the “Bloom County” comics before, even though I had heard of the series way back in the 1990s. I guess it was because that by the time I started reading newspaper comics, “Bloom County” had all but vanished from the strips and I was not able to read the series then. So, imagine my surprise when I found out that a) the author of the “Bloom County” comics Berkeley Breathed, had decided to bring this comic series back to the pages in his newest comic book called “Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope” and b) NetGalley has given out this book for readers to check out!

What is this story about? 

After twenty-five years of the “Bloom County” comic strips going out of the pages, the Bloom County gang has finally come back with new adventures and are trying to get used to all the new technology, such as social media and dealing with all the political drama in this modern-day world!

What I loved about this story: 

Berkeley Breathed’s writing: Wow! I never would have thought that there would be a day where I would actually read Berkeley Breathed’s legendary comic strip “Bloom County” and now that day has finally come! Berkeley Breathed has done a brilliant job at writing this comic book series as the humor is sharp and witty and I really enjoyed the way that the satire on the modern-day era is handled in this series as I found myself laughing at each jab at the current state of politics. Now, I will admit that I do not normally read many books or comic books that deal with politics because most of them tend to be a bit too one-sided for my tastes. However, Berkeley Breathed was able to make the political satires in this comic be more hilarious and memorable as it managed to poke fun at both liberals and conservatives and that really amused me! I really liked the fact that the comic is written in a way where you do not have to read the previous “Bloom County” comics to get the characters or the setting. The fact that the characters felt the same way as they did decades ago except for the fact that society has changed over time, really made reading this comic a pleasant experience for me! I also loved the way that Berkeley Breathed wrote each character, especially Bill the Cat and Steve Dallas as all the characters were hilarious and entertaining to read and I especially enjoyed their interactions with each other, especially with how Steve usually acts like a jerk towards the other characters, but is still on friendly terms with them.

Berkeley Breathed’s artwork: Berkeley Breathed’s artwork is hilarious to look at as all the characters are drawn in a semi-realistic way and yet, the images of Opus the Penguin and Bill the Cat are much more cartoonish than the human cast and they really stand out in the artwork.



What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: 

For anyone who does not like language and sexual dialogue, this comic strip does have some language such as the constant usage of the “a” word and also there are some sexual dialogue littered throughout the comic, mainly coming from Steve Dallas himself as most of his story arcs involve him trying to get a date with various women.

Final Thoughts: 

Overall, “Bloom County Episode XI: A New Hope” is a fantastic continuation of the “Bloom County” comics and anyone who is a huge fan of the “Bloom County” comic series will surely enjoy this graphic novel!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Nora's First Day at School

Author:  Tamar Bobokhidze

Artist:  Salome Eqizashvili 

Genre:  School / Children's / Animals

Year Published: 2017

Year Read:  2017

Series: My Teacher Hilda #1

Publisher:  Lune Spark Books

Source:  eARC (Author)

Content Rating:  Ages 3+ (Nothing Objectionable)

I would like to thank the author Tamar Bobokhidze for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Now, I have been reading many children’s books that dealt with a child’s first day at school, but I was quite surprised and honored that the author Tamar Bobokhidze had given me a free copy of her newest children’s book “Nora’s First Day at School” along with artwork by Salome Eqizashvili and I must admit that it was quite a cute experience to read through!

The story begins with Nora going to Bumble Bee Academy Daycare for the first time and she is really nervous about going. Her father then comforts Nora and tells her that everything going to be alright. Nora then meets her new teacher Ms. Hilda and Ms. Hilda ends up making Nora extremely comfortable in the classroom. Nora was also able to make new friends with her classmates and introduce them to her special toy giraffe Raffee.

Tamar Bobokhidze has done a great job at writing this book as all the characters are extremely adorable to read and I liked how the setting of this book, which takes place at a daycare center, has an extremely friendly environment! I liked the fact that Tamar Bobokhidze focused on the issue about making children comfortable on their first day of school by encouraging both kids and teachers to be as helpful as they can to a new student. This book would be extremely helpful to both parents and teachers who are dealing with kids who are afraid of their first day at school and this book would help teach them how to allow the new students to get used to their new surroundings and make friends easily. I loved the fact that Tamar Bobokhidze made all the characters extremely helpful and friendly with each other, especially Ms. Hilda herself as she is probably one of the most helpful teachers I had ever read in any children’s book as she does all she can to make sure that Nora is comfortable at her new school. I really loved the fact that Nora’s classmates also played their part in making Nora’s first day of school a comfortable experience as they were willing to play games with her and made her feel welcome in the classroom. Salome Eqizashvili’s artwork is adorable to look at as all the animal characters have large and cute looking eyes and I loved the friendly atmosphere of the daycare center itself.

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that the story was a bit slow at some places and sometimes it was hard for me to get through certain scenes because of the pacing.

Overall, “Nora’s First Day at School” is a truly cute book about going to school for the first time and about how you can conquer your anxiety on your first day of school by making friends and having a helpful teacher! I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  It Takes a Cat Burglar

Author:  Cailin Briste

Genre: Contemporary Romance / Interracial Romance

Year Published: 2017

Number of Pages:  81 pages

Date Read: 12/14/2017

Series: A Thief in Love Romance #1

Publisher:  Hot Sauce Publishing

Source:  eARC (Book Unleashed)

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Some Strong Language and Sex Scenes)

I would like to thank Book Unleashed and Hot Sauce Publishing for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

After I had read “The Frog Prince” from Book Unleashed, I just had to request another book to review and lo and behold, I found an interesting romance book called “It Takes a Cat Burglar” by Cailin Briste and I was quite interested in this story!

The story starts off with a young woman named Darcelle Lebeau who is training to become a great cat burglar and she is training under a mysterious man who goes by the name Matou. What Darcelle does not know is that the mysterious Matou is actually Sebastian St. Croix, a rich man who is also a cat burglar. After Sebastian observes Darcelle’s skills for a while now, he had decided to make Darcelle his partner in crime. But first, Darcelle must complete a mission that involves trying to save Sebastian’s niece Cheyenne from the clutches of a corrupted businessman. During Darcelle’s training though, Sebastian and Darcelle start falling in love with each other and they will have to keep their hands off of each other in order for the mission to go as smoothly as planned.

Wow! I was quite impressed with this story that was written by Cailin Briste since this would be the first romance novel I had read that dealt with cat burglars falling in love! I loved the fact that this story is centered on cat burglars because it makes this book so unique to read, since in most romance books, the characters I had read were either dukes, duchesses, businessmen and normal people. I also enjoyed the way that Cailin Briste wrote both Darcelle and Sebastian as they were pretty interesting characters, because of the fact that they are both cat burglars, and yet, you get to see them slowly bonding with each other, despite the fact that they both want to control the other. I like the fact that both Darcelle and Sebastian are shown as being strong protagonists as with the case of Darcelle, she refuses to let anyone run her life and she wants to be more independent, especially after the life she had to go through with her overbearing mother and her sister Cassie. I also liked Sebastian because even though he struts his authority throughout the book, it is clear that he has Darcelle’s best interests at heart and is willing to allow her to do whatever she desires. I really loved the way that Cailin Briste wrote the sexual scenes between Sebastian and Darcelle as they were hot and sexy and I was literally fanning myself whenever the sexual scenes would show up!

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that because of the book’s short length, there was not enough character development going on with the characters. I wanted to learn more about Sebastian’s backstory and how he became a cat burglar since he seems a bit too mysterious for a character and I wanted to learn more about his character. I also felt that Darcelle and Sebastian’s relationship with each other fell into the “insta-love” category and there was not enough build up to their romance with each other that made me actually buy into how well developed their romance was.

Overall, “It Takes a Cat Burglar” is a cute story about thieves falling love that many fans of romance novels will enjoy!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog