Ronyell (a.k.a Rabbitearsblog)

Title:  Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale Volume 1  

Author:  Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa  

Artist:  Francesco Francavilla  

Genre:  Horror / Drama / Zombies / Alternative Universe / Friendship

Year Published: 2014

Year Read:  10/28/2017

Publisher:  Archie Comics

Series: Afterlife with Archie #1

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Gory Violence and Some Language)

Introduction: 

Alright, so I will admit that I have not read many Archie Comics where the gang is put into a darker situation that is different from the “wholesale family entertainment” adventures that they are usually in (and this was BEFORE the reboot came along, although the reboot was not as dark as this comic). So, since Halloween is around the corner, I just had to pick this graphic novel up called “Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale Volume One” which is written by Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa along with artwork by Francesco Francavilla, where Archie and the Gang end up in a for real zombie apocalypse!

What is this story about? 

The story starts out with Hot Dog, Jughead’s beloved dog, being run over by a car and Jughead ends up going to Sabrina the Teenage Witch, to see if she can help his dog. Unfortunately, Sabrina’s aunts tell Jughead that there is nothing they can do for Hot Dog and that he should let Hot Dog stay dead. But then, Sabrina decided to help out Jughead anyway and she ends up resurrecting Hot Dog. Unfortunately, it turns out that when Sabrina brought Hot Dog back to life, Hot Dog became a zombie dog and he ended up biting Jughead, which turned Jughead into a zombie! So, when Jughead went to the school dance, he ended up affecting most of the school by biting most of the students, with the exception of the main cast, which consisted of Archie, Dilton, Midge, Moose, Reggie, Betty, Veronica and many others. The remaining students ended up going to Mr. Lodge’s mansion in order to protect themselves against the zombies, while also trying to see if there are any survivors from the zombie apocalypse.

What I loved about this story: 

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s writing: Wow! I never would have thought that I would live to see the day where there would be a graphic novel series that has Archie and the gang getting involved in a zombie apocalypse! Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa has done a fantastic job at giving the usual sweet natured Archie Comics a darker and scarier tone in this graphic novel and it never felt so out of place to me that the Archie gang in this story are portrayed in a much more mature and cynical way, since they are stuck in a zombie apocalypse and it is appropriate for this type of story. I also loved the way that Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa created a different spin for each of the main characters, such as Betty and Veronica being more antagonistic with each other rather than be good friends with a small rivalry with each other, Sabrina and her family being more realistic and intense versions of witches and Nancy and Chuck…well, I will let you find out for yourselves what is going on with Nancy and Chuck in this comic! I really loved the fact that this comic is much more serious and frightening in tone since the gang are facing a zombie apocalypse and I found myself a bit creeped out by some of the moments in this comic, such as the zombified citizens of Riverdale attacking the main protagonists.

Francesco Francavilla’s artwork: Francesco Francavilla’s artwork fits the scary and serious tone of this comic quite perfectly as the zombies in this comic are quite terrifying to look at such as the images of the zombified Hot Dog. I loved the fact that the art style is much more realistic in this comic as it really captures the mature and serious nature of this story. I also loved the way that Francesco Francavilla did the coloring of this book as the colors are mostly in red, black, orange and grey that greatly convey the horror elements of this story.



What made me feel uncomfortable about this story: 

Anyone who does not like language or gory violence might be a bit uncomfortable with some of the gory violence and language in this comic. The language in this comic is not as strong as some of the more mature comics as only the “h” word is uttered in a couple of sentences and as for the gory violence, there are many images of zombies biting into people which is pretty graphic.

Final Thoughts: 

Overall, “Afterlife with Archie: Escape from Riverdale Volume One” is a fantastic graphic novel that anyone who loves both the Archie Comics and zombies will easily enjoy!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  The Fairy in the Kettle

Author:  Pauline Tait

Artist: Debbie Bellaby

Genre:  Fantasy / Weather / Homes / Fairies

Year Published: 2016

Year Read: 2017

Publisher:  Matador  

Source:  eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Nothing Objectionable)

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

I went surfing around NetGalley again for some new children’s books to read and I spotted this cute children’s book called “The Fairy in the Kettle” which is written by Pauline Tait along with artwork by Debbie Bellaby and this book was truly adorable to read through!

In the land of Bramble Glen, there lives a village full of fairies and they all lived in various flowers across the village. One fairy however, who was called Leona, actually lived in an old round cast-iron kettle and she loved her kettle home, despite the fact that the other fairies thought that the kettle was too noisy on certain days. One day however, a huge storm hits Bramble Glen and at first, the fairies and Leona are unaware of the storm coming, but when the storm gets worse, the fairies immediately try to find a safe place to hide from the storm.

Will the fairies survive the storm?

Read this book to find out! 

Wow! I found this book to be so adorable and inspiring as I not only found it interesting to read a fairy story where the fairy in question lives in a kettle pot, but a fairy story that teaches children about the importance of loving your home for what it is, no matter how strange your home is. Pauline Tait has done a great job at writing this story as I found the story to be extremely cute to read through, especially since it involves fairies doing cute activities like dancing and living in flowers. I also loved the message that Pauline Tait sends to the audience about the importance of having a loving home, no matter how bizarre it is, as I found the story about Leona living in a kettle pot and not caring about its flaws to be truly inspiring! Debbie Bellaby’s artwork is truly gorgeous to look at, especially of the images of the flowers surrounding the fairies and of Leona’s gorgeous pink and purple dress.



The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that the pacing was a bit slow in parts and I wished that more had happened in the story besides the fairies mostly dancing around in the story.

Overall, “The Fairy in the Kettle” is a truly cute story about the importance of staying in a home that is safe and useful to you no matter how different it is from other homes. I would recommend this book for children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku from a Very Serious Dog

Authors:  Samm Hodges and Phinehas Hodges

Artist: Idil Gozde

Genre:  Animal / Pets / Humor 

Year Published: 2017

Year Read: 2017

Publisher:  Animal Media Group

Source:  eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 10+  (Some Suggestive Humor)

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

I will be honest here: I did not know that there was going to be a TV series for ABC called “Downward Dog” since I barely heard any promos for the show. However, when NetGalley offered me a chance to check out the book that is going to spawn into a TV series called “Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku from a Very Serious Dog” which is written by Samm Hodges and Phinehas Hodges along with artwork by Idil Gozde, I just knew that I had to check this book out and I must admit that this book has got me interested!

The story is about a dog named Martin, who ends up being left at home by his human owner, Nan and during that time, Martin has decided to write a haiku about his life as a dog and you will be quite interested to hear what he has to say about his life!

I must admit that I found this book to be pretty creative and cute at the same time! I liked the way that both Samm Hodges and Phinehas Hodges wrote this story as it is styled in a haiku type of poetry and we get to see how Martin the dog views his life while relating his story and his relationship with his human owner Nan, to the audience in poetic form. I also liked the way that Samm Hodges and Phinehas Hodges incorporated some humor in this story, with my favorite moments being of Martin looking at Big Bird from “Sesame Street” on TV and commenting on it and Martin mentioning about how he would fart in bed with his owner. Idil Gozde’s artwork is both simplistic yet humorous at the same time as the artwork looks like children’s drawings, which would make sense since Martin the dog is supposedly the one who is writing this book; the artwork would often downplay the introspective nature of Martin, but does it in a humorous way!

The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because while I thought it was creative for the story to be told in a poetic narrative, it was a bit hard to understand exactly what Martin is saying throughout the book. Since the book is written in a way where various sentences are shortened in order to fit in with the structure of a haiku, I found some of Martin’s thoughts to be a bit incomplete and therefore, it was hard for me to see where Martin was going with his inner thoughts on his life.

Overall, “Downward Dog: Very Serious Haiku from a Very Serious Dog” is a truly cute book for anyone who loves reading about dogs and who loves reading haikus!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Unraveling Rose

Author:  Brian Wray

Artist:  Shiloh Penfield 

Genre:  Toys / Friendship / Children's / OCD / Mental Health

Year Published: 2017

Year Read:  2017

Publisher:  Schiffer Publishing  

Source: eARC (Edelweiss)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

4.5 stars

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

2017 seems to be the year where I am able to find many children’s book that deal with mental health issues and I loved the fact that I am able to find such children’s books since I wanted to read more about mental health and these books were essential to my reading choices! So, I picked up another book from Edelweiss called “Unraveling Rose,” which was written by Brian Wray along with artwork by Shiloh Penfield that dealt with the issue of OCD and I really enjoyed this book!

Rose was a stuffed bunny who was loved by a little boy and they would do all kind of activities with each other like read books and play in the park together. Also, Rose likes everything to be perfect such as making sure that the books on the bookshelf were straighten up and making sure that the tea cups were facing the right. One day, however, Rose noticed that there was a loose thread dangling from her arm and even though Rose tried to ignore the thread, it ended up being the only thing that she thought about and she ended up pulling out the thread. Unfortunately, the thread ended up stretching out even longer and it got to the point where Rose could not do much of the activities that she used to due to the thread pulling out the stuffing in her arm and rendering her arm useless.

Will Rose be able to play with the boy again and can she get over her obsession with fixing her loose thread?

Read this book to find out! 

I must admit that I was quite impressed with this children’s book as it is rare that I read a children’s book that dealt with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Brian Wray has done a great job at conveying the signs of having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, which includes making sure everything is perfect, to the point that it becomes a massive obsession. I really enjoyed the relationship shared between Rose and the boy as it reminded of the relationship shared between the boy and the stuffed rabbit in “The Velveteen Rabbit,” which is where the boy truly cares about Rose, even if Rose was losing her stuffing out of her arm. This story also seems to be extremely similar to the classic children’s story “The Velveteen Rabbit,” as both stories involved a young boy playing with their stuffed rabbit. The only difference between the two is that this story has the “Velveteen Rabbit” character (Rose in this case) suffer from OCD and we get to see how Rose handles having this condition. I also loved the fact that Brian Wray provided some information about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) at the end of the book as it gave me more insight on how OCD works and how you can help a person who is suffering from OCD. Shiloh Penfield’s artwork is adorable to look at, especially of the images of Rose herself having a cute white dress with pink polka dots on it and the small boy having large glasses and a friendly expression on his face.



The reason why I took off half a point from the rating was because I felt that the pacing was a bit slow in some places and I often found myself trying to read through this book rather quickly as I wanted to hold my interest in the story.

Overall, “Unraveling Rose” is a truly cute book about teaching children about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and how to deal with it. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing objectionable in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Caraval

Author:  Stephanie Garber

Genre: Fantasy

Year Published: 2017

Number of Pages: 407 pages

Date Read: 10/11/2017

Series: Caraval #1

Publisher: Flatiron Books

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 15+ (Themes of Child Abuse and Deaths)

Trigger Warnings:  Child Abuse

“Every person has the power to change their fate if they are brave enough to fight for what they desire more than anything.” 

2017 is the year of new releases that are full of books that contain adventure, romance, horror and excitement and I happened to stumble upon a new release for this year called “Caraval” by Stephanie Garber and I was seriously blown away by this book!

Scarlett Dragna has lived on a tiny island for most of her life, along with her little sister Donatella Dragna and her cruel and powerful father Governor Dragna. One day, Scarlett’s father has decided to arrange a marriage between Scarlett and a Lord that she does not know and even though Scarlett believes that this would be the only way to escape her miserable life on the island and her abusive father, Scarlett still thinks that something is missing from her life. It wasn’t until that very day that Scarlett meets a roguish and mysterious sailor named Julian who offered Scarlet the chance to visit the place of Scarlett’s deepest dreams: CARAVAL! Even though Scarlett was unsure about going to Caraval because she feared that her father will punish her severely for her disobedience, Scarlett decided to leave the island once she finds out that her sister Donatella had suddenly vanished from the island. So, Scarlett and Julian set out to the mysterious island of Caraval to find Donatella; but once Scarlet gets to Caraval, she will soon discover that her sister Donatella is a part of some sort of sadistic game where whoever finds Donatella will be able to receive a wish from the legendary magician Legend himself! So, Scarlett and Julian try to compete in the game in order to find Donatella before it is too late!

Wow! Stephanie Garber has truly woven a truly magical and intense story about the importance of sibling love while also exploring the importance of true love! Stephanie Garber has done a brilliant job at detailing the magical world of Caraval as the concept of this world is that everyone is doing a performance for the people and you have to decide what is real and what is not real in order to survive the game! I loved the fact that this book focuses on a carnival theme as it is rare for me to read a young adult book that involves carnivals and games as a major plot of the story. I loved the way that Stephanie Garber focused on the sisterly relationship between Scarlett and Donatella as it is also rare that I had read young adult books that focuses mostly on the relationship between siblings and I loved the fact that Scarlett truly does care about her sister Donatella and is willing to put her life on the line in order to protect Donatella from any kind of danger in the world of Caraval. But what I loved the most in this book was the relationship shared between Julian and Scarlett! When I went into this book, I actually thought that this book was just going to be about the sisterly relationship between Scarlett and Donatella and while that was a major part of the plot, it was Julian and Scarlett’s relationship with each other that really sold me! I loved the fact that Julian and Scarlett both brought out the positive aspects in each other, such as Julian bringing out the bravery in Scarlett that she has held back due to her father instilling fear in her and Scarlett bringing out a softer side to Julian who was introduced as being aloof and not caring about who he hurts to get what he wants until he met Scarlett. Even though their romantic bantering was downplayed in this book, it was still interesting seeing how different these two are from each other and yet, they become quite a compatible pair!



For anyone who does not like some language in this book, there is some language in this book, although it is not as strong as some other young adult books. Also, this book deals with the subject of child abuse as both Scarlett and Donatella are beaten up by their father for various reasons and that might be uncomfortable for some readers to handle.

[***SPOILER WARNING!!!***

This is a bit of a small nitpick for me, but the fact that it turned out that Donatella put her own sister through the game and tricking her into thinking that she died to prove Scarlett’s love for her kind of rubbed me the wrong way. This made me see Donatella as being a bit manipulative towards Scarlett in making a deal with Legend without telling Scarlett and it made me question about whether or not Donatella actually cared about Scarlett’s feelings during the whole ordeal.

***SPOILER WARNING!!!*** (hide spoiler)]

Overall, “Caraval” is a wonderful book about the importance of sisterly love and anyone who loves reading books about siblings will surely enjoy this book! I will definitely be checking out the second book as soon as it is released!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  The Widow's Broom

Author:  Chris Van Allsburg

Genre:  Horror / Witches / Halloween 

Year Published: 1992

Year Read: 2010

Publisher:   Houghton Mifflin Company

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+  (Intense Themes of Witchcraft)

“The Widow’s Broom” is a haunting story from the great mind of Chris Van Allsburg and it is about how a lonely widow named Minna Shaw finds a friend in a witch’s broom, but is threatened by the villagers to get rid of the broom because the know that it is witch crafted. “The Widow’s Broom” may have some controversial material about witchcraft, but it is a brilliant read for children who love haunting stories.

Chris Van Allsburg makes this story haunting yet memorable at the same time as it details the story of friendship between a widow and her broom and the bond that Minna Shaw and the broom share together will definitely show children about the importance of friendship even in the worse of times such as when the broom was being harassed by the villagers because it was witch crafted. Chris Van Allsburg’s illustrations are highly beautiful and haunting at the same time as the images are mainly in black and white giving the story a haunting and old fashioned feel since this story probably took place during the 1700s and the image that stood out the most was the image of the broom itself as its handle actually curves when it is doing the work for Minna and because the broom looks so innocent and friendly, many children would actually like the broom instead of fear it.



Parents should know that the theme of witchcraft in this book might be too sensitive to readers who do not approve of witchcraft, even though personally, this subject does not bother me so much since I am a huge fan of Harry Potter, but the broom in this book was friendly and he only threw up the Spivey boys and the dog because they were harassing the broom. Depending on your views on the subject on witchcraft, parents should talk about this book with their children and see how they handle the witchcraft theme.

“The Widow’s Broom” is a brilliant book about the importance of true friendship and will be an instant treat for children who love reading haunting books. I would recommend this book to children ages five and up due to the witchcraft theme might be scary for smaller children.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Nightmares:  Poems to Trouble Your Sleep

Author:  Jack Prelutsky

Artist: Arnold Lobel

Genre:  Horror / Poetry / Halloween / Monsters

Year Published: 1976

Year Read: 2009

Publisher:   Greenwillow Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+  (Some Scary Imagery and Graphic Dialogue)

Nightmares” is a book of poems written by Jack Prelutsky along with illustrations by Arnold Lobel. This book contains poems about various monsters, wizards and ghosts doing horrible things to unsuspecting people. “Nightmares” might be too scary for smaller children, but older children will love the macabre content of this book. 

Jack Prelutsky’s writing is dramatic and intense as he brings true horror to these poems. Each poem describes a monster doing horrible acts towards their victims and Jack Prelutsky brings great detail to how these victims are tortured, such as in “The Vampire” where Jack Prelutsky describes how the Vampire bites down on its victim and licks the blood off its lips. Arnold Lobel’s illustrations are the center of attention here as they are in black and white coloring, giving the story a gothic feel to it. The image that stood out the most was the image of the Dragon of Death having seven heads and vicious looking eyes in the poem “The Dragon of Death.” 



“Nightmares” is surely one of Jack Prelutsky’s most haunting books he ever created since it talks about how monsters torture their victims to death. I would recommend this book to children ages seven and up since there are too many advanced words that young children might not understand and because of the macabre content displayed vividly in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Nightmares:  Poems to Trouble Your Sleep

Author:  Jack Prelutsky

Artist: Arnold Lobel

Genre:  Horror / Poetry / Halloween / Monsters

Year Published: 1976

Year Read: 2009

Publisher:   Greenwillow Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+  (Some Scary Imagery and Graphic Dialogue)

Nightmares” is a book of poems written by Jack Prelutsky along with illustrations by Arnold Lobel. This book contains poems about various monsters, wizards and ghosts doing horrible things to unsuspecting people. “Nightmares” might be too scary for smaller children, but older children will love the macabre content of this book. 

Jack Prelutsky’s writing is dramatic and intense as he brings true horror to these poems. Each poem describes a monster doing horrible acts towards their victims and Jack Prelutsky brings great detail to how these victims are tortured, such as in “The Vampire” where Jack Prelutsky describes how the Vampire bites down on its victim and licks the blood off its lips. Arnold Lobel’s illustrations are the center of attention here as they are in black and white coloring, giving the story a gothic feel to it. The image that stood out the most was the image of the Dragon of Death having seven heads and vicious looking eyes in the poem “The Dragon of Death.” 



“Nightmares” is surely one of Jack Prelutsky’s most haunting books he ever created since it talks about how monsters torture their victims to death. I would recommend this book to children ages seven and up since there are too many advanced words that young children might not understand and because of the macabre content displayed vividly in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord

Author:  Sarah MacLean

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2010

Number of Pages: 357 pages

Date Read: 4/15/2011

Series: Love By Numbers #2

Publisher: Avon 

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Sex Scenes)

After reading the first book in Sarah MacLean's “Love By Numbers” series, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake I was practically dying to read the sequel “Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord.” Unfortunately, this novel did not seem to capture my attention like Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake and I have often found myself trying to finish this book as quickly as I can.

Ever since Nicholas St. John was named “London's Lord to Land” in a ladies' magazine, he has been avoiding all the women in London. However, when the Duke of Leighton told Nick about his missing sister, Nick was glad to take this opportunity to escape! However, when Nick comes to the secretive Townsend Park, home of Minerva House, he finds the daughter of the late wastrel, Lady Isabel Townsend and he realizes that she is no ordinary woman! But will both lovers ever truly love each other once their dark secrets are revealed?

There were a few good things that I did like about this book. I really loved the love scenes and the hero and heroine! Sarah MacLean had done an awesome job at making Nick the all-time, sexy and ever handsome hero! Whew! I just loved how Nick was willing to help out Isabel and the girls of Minerva House with their financial troubles and I just adored Nick for being honest with his feelings about Isabel. But, not only do I love Nick's personality, but his physical appearance is like the body of a god! I loved how Sarah MacLean described his body as being large and muscular, which are two things I love about my romance heroes! Now about Isabel, I loved the fact that Isabel is such a strong heroine and I loved the way that she stood up to any kind of authority that threatened to tear her apart from the girls of Minerva House. But, probably the best part about this novel were the love scenes between Isabel and Nick! I mean, this book is littered with love scenes galore and man, these scenes are hot and sizzling!

Now, here are some reasons why I gave this book a three star rating. For one thing, I often get annoyed with the heroine, Isabel, since she has some major trust issues to work through. I know that Isabel is scared to trust men because of what her father did to her mother and I do understand what she is going through, but still, I think that she could have at least put a little trust in Nick. I also felt sorry for Nick throughout the book because it is evident that he truly does love Isabel, but Isabel always seem to push him away from her no matter what Nick does to earn her love and it got so irritating after awhile. Also, I thought that this book was a little boring at times because the plot seem to slow down in many scenes and there are barely any action scenes in this book, so it was sometimes hard for me to get through this book without a bit of action.

Overall, this book is an average read for me. Even though “Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord” has some really cute scenes between Nick and Isabel, I just wished that Isabel was a little more trusting of Nick and I wished that there were more action scenes to keep my attention to the plot. Even though this is not my favorite book out of the series, I cannot wait to read the third book, Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Rabbit's Snow Day

Author:  Todd Strader

Artist: Penny Collins

Genre:  Animals / Winter / Children's 

Year Published: 2017

Year Read:  2017

Publisher:  Cyfarwydd Books

Source:  eARC (Author)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Nothing Objectionable)

Release Date:  November 2017

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

I have always loved reading books that deal with animals and when I got a free copy of “Rabbit’s Snow Day” from the author Todd Strader, I was really excited to check this book out since I love reading books about rabbits! “Rabbit’s Snow Day” which is written by Todd Strader along with artwork by Penny Collins is a truly cute story about how rabbits survive in the winter that children will definitely enjoy!

Basically, the plot of this book is about the rabbits trying to survive the winter and about how they try to stay out of the fox and the humans’ way while the winter is raging away and this is all told in a poetic narrative.

Wow! This book was a really cute read, especially if you love rabbits (like myself) and Todd Strader did a fantastic job at writing this book as the book is told in a poetic narrative that gives the book a unique and beautiful tone. I also loved the information that Todd Strader provided about rabbits at the end of the book as I wanted to learn more about rabbits in general and how they live in the wilderness and survive the dangers of the wilderness. Penny Collins’ artwork is gorgeous to look at as all the animals are drawn realistically, especially the rabbits themselves and I enjoyed seeing the winter atmosphere of the artwork as snow covers everything, from the ground to the trees, and all the snow covering up the pages give the artwork a beautiful and peaceful atmosphere. 



The reason why I gave this book a four-star rating was because I felt that the story was a bit too short and I wanted a much longer story on the rabbits’ adventures during the winter season and their encounters with the fox and the humans. I also felt that a good majority of this book was focused more on giving out information about rabbits in general rather than focusing on giving us a story about the rabbits and their time spent surviving the winter season.

Overall, “Rabbit’s Snow Day” is a cute book for anyone who loves reading about rabbits and loves reading about winter as a whole. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Hey everyone!  If you love comic books and reading challenges, then feel free to sign up for the 2018 Comic Book Bingo Challenge here:

http://rabbitearsbookblog.blogspot.com/2017/12/comic-book-bingo-challenge-2018-sign-up.html

Title:  The Gingerbread Man

Author:  Rana Giglio

Artist: Henrik Drescher

Genre:  Fantasy / Humor / Retelling / Fairy Tale

Year Published: 1997

Year Read: 2017

Publisher:   Harcourt Brace & Company

Source:  Purchased

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Some Mischievous Behavior and Scary Imagery)

I have this weird confession to make: I once had a dream about a book that was illustrated by Henrik Drescher that was obscured and in my dream, I ended up buying the book since I am a huge fan of Henrik Drescher’s works. Well, I have to say that that dream actually came TRUE since I just recently bought this rare and obscure book called “The Gingerbread Man” which was retold by Rana Giglio along with artwork by Henrik Drescher and I have to admit that this book was a blast to read!

This book is basically a short version of the original fairy tale “The Gingerbread Man” and it pretty much retells the story about how an old couple bakes a gingerbread man and the gingerbread man ends up coming to life and running away from the couple, while yelling out:

“Run, run,
As fast as you can.
You can’t catch me.
I’m the gingerbread man!”

Will the gingerbread man escape the couple, the horse, the cow and the fox?

Read this book to find out! 

Wow…just wow...this had to be the weirdest yet most creative version of “The Gingerbread Man” I had ever read! I have to warn you though that this little children’s book is only EIGHT PAGES LONG! Not the usual 63 pages you get from most children’s books…EIGHT!!! So, I was quite surprised at how much of the original “Gingerbread Man” story they were able to get in such a short book, but it eventually worked out alright as this book serves to be an outline of sorts about how the “Gingerbread Man” story is told. Rana Giglio did a great job at retelling this classic fairy tale as the narrative is short and simple enough to read through and it really conveys the true story of the Gingerbread Man through just a few words on each page. But, the true highlight of this book is none other than Henrik Drescher’s colorful and bizarre illustrations as they bring this book to life and we are treated to a livelier version of the “Gingerbread Man” than ever before! I was intrigued with the artwork of the gingerbread man itself as it is drawn much more differently than the average look for the character as the gingerbread man is much more human like in appearance and it has wobbly limbs instead of short and thick limbs like it usually does in most adaptations.

I will admit that I was a bit disappointed that this book was a bit too short since I wanted to see more of Henrik Drescher’s artwork through a much more extended version of the story. I also will admit that I was a bit freaked out by the gingerbread man itself as while it is quite a unique design for the character, the fact that it has such wobbly limbs and oddly shaped eyes just put me on edge. I mean, just look at this thing!



Overall, “The Gingerbread Man” is an instant treat for anyone who wants to read a more obscure version of the classic fairy tale! I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since the images of the gingerbread man might scare some small children.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  The Frog Prince

Author:  Mike Klaassen

Genre: Fairy Tale Retelling / Historical Romance

Year Published: 2016

Number of Pages:  114 pages

Date Read: 9/24/2017

Publisher:  Bookbaby

Source:  eARC (Book Unleashed)

Content Rating:  Ages 8+ (Some Intense Moments and Rude Behavior)

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

Now, I have been reading the Brothers Grimm fairy tale classics for many years and I have seen many retellings of their fairy tales such as “Rumpelstiltskin,” “The Bremen Town Musicians” and “Snow White.” But, I had never read a retelling of the “Frog Prince” before and when Book Unleashed gave me a free copy of Mike Klaassen’s retelling of “The Frog Prince,” I just had to check this book out and man was I blown away by this interesting retelling of the classic story!

Young Prince Gerit was out playing around the bog near his father’s kingdom when suddenly, he falls into the bog and could not get out of the water. Then, an old woman named Wibke came along and noticed that Gerit was in trouble. Gerit desperately asks the old woman to help him out of the water and Wibke promised that she will help the prince if the prince promises her that he will take care of her for the rest of his life. Of course, Gerit does not want to take care of the woman, but he agreed to the bargain anyway and Wibke helped Gerit out of the water. Then Gerit tried to break his promise to Wibke by running off to the castle, until Wibke transformed Gerit into a frog and she states that the only way that Gerit will turn back into a prince again is if a princess comes along and kisses him three times. So, Gerit goes on a long journey to find a princess who is willing to kiss him three times and Gerit stumbles upon a kingdom that is ruled by his father, King Egon’s enemy, King Torsten and he finds out that King Torsten has a daughter named Anneliese. Now, Gerit tries to make an effort to get Princess Anneliese to kiss him three times or else, he will remain a frog forever!

Wow…just wow…I never would have thought that I would read a retelling of “The Frog Prince” with so much energy and emotion! Mike Klaassen has done a fantastic job at retelling this classic fairy tale as he gives a more contemporary and in-depth spin to the story. I loved the fact that the story is told from the point of view of the Frog Prince himself and this made Gerit into an extremely interesting character as we get to see how he was like before he turned into a frog and we also get to see his struggles in becoming a frog and trying to find a way to change himself back into a prince. I also loved the character development that both Prince Gerit and Anneliese go through as they both started off as royal brats who only thought about themselves and believe that they will get anything they want because they are of royalty. However, the events of the story caused the characters to grow and understand the harsh situations that they are thrown into, such as the fact that their kingdoms are being involved in a war and how both Gerit and Anneliese may have to sacrifice their happiness in order to save their kingdoms. I loved the way that Mike Klaassen developed Gerit and Anneliese’s relationship with each other as I enjoyed the interactions that the two had with each other, such as playing ball together and talking about their favorite books. I also felt that Gerit and Anneliese’s growing relationship with each other was developed in a natural way and it felt more real than in the original fairy tale as the two did not love each other at first, but started developing feelings for each other over the course of the story, which I found to be pretty refreshing!

The only problem I had with this book was that the ending felt a bit rushed. It felt like they wanted to quickly skip to the ending of the original fairy tale and did not developed the resolution of the story a bit further to see how the actions of the characters would affect the overall scheme of the story. 

Overall, “The Frog Prince” is a brilliant retelling of the original fairy tale and anyone who is a huge fan of the “Frog Prince” will easily enjoy this book!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  When a Texan Gambles

Author:  Jodi Thomas

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2003

Number of Pages:  304 pages

Date Read: 3/11/2011

Series: Wife Lottery #2

Publisher:  Berkley Books

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Some Language and Gun Violence)

I have been currently reading Jodi Thomas's “Wife Lottery” series and after I have just finished the first book of the series, “The Texan's Wager,” which starred Bailee Moore and Carter McKoy, I finally got the chance to read the second book of the series, “When a Texan Gambles.” “When a Texan Gambles” stars Sarah Andrews and Sam Gatlin and boy, do they have wild adventures throughout this book! Expect a whole lot of drama, adventure and romance in this exciting sequel to “The Texan's Wager!”

After Sarah Andrews confessed to the murder of Zeb Whitaker along with her friends Bailee and Lacy, she was auctioned off in a “Wife Lottery” and ends up with a man named Sam Gatlin. Things were not going well for Sarah until she realized that Sam was stabbed in the back with a knife! Now that Sarah has taken care of Sam's wounds, she will soon discover that she is probably married to the most dangerous man the west have ever known!

Wow! I think this had to be the most action-packed story out of the entire “Wife Lottery” series so far! Jodi Thomas has done an awesome job at providing action throughout this novel, which just had me sitting on the edge of my seat every time I read about Sam and Sarah's escapades in escaping from various crooks who are after Sam's neck! What I really loved about this book were the characters themselves and my favorite characters in this book were Sam Gatlin and Sarah Andrews! I will admit that I really adored Sarah's spunk and kindness towards others as she is an innocent yet kind-hearted woman and I loved the way that she is willing to help anyone in their time of need, which includes helping various families reunite with each other. I also loved the little arguments that Sarah has with Sam because they were so cute and they always seem to make up at the end. Now, I am saving the best character for last and that is the sexiest and bravest cowboy to ever walk the planet, Sam Gatlin! Sam Gatlin is probably the most amazing romance heroes ever created because he is one-hundred percent all muscle on the outside and has a huge heart on the inside and that is what I like about my romance heroes! Here's what I think Sam Gatlin might look like:



Now, this book does not just have adventure, it also has hot and sizzling romantic scenes! The sexual moments between Sarah and Sam were just so steamy that I was literally fanning myself every time I read these scenes between Sarah and Sam!

The reason why I gave this book a four star rating is because I often got a little frustrated with Sarah throughout the book because she does not seem to trust Sam enough and she rarely reciprocates her feelings for Sam. Now, I do understand that she is a little reluctant in loving someone again because of her empty relationship with Mitchell, her first husband, but sometimes I think that Sarah tends to go a little overboard with telling off Sam about showing his love for her and also the fact that Sarah keeps telling Sam about the rules of love sort of makes me a little uncomfortable because I always love seeing how love comes naturally to romance heroes and heroines, rather than base it on a set of rules.

Overall, “When a Texan Gambles” is a great sequel to “The Texan's Wager” that romance fans of Jodi Thomas's works will greatly enjoy. I am definitely looking forward to reading the third book in the series “A Texan's Luck” next!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  The Tooth That's on the Loose!

Author:  Chris Robertson

Genre:  Teeth / Humor / Western / Parody

Year Published: 2017

Year Read: 2017

Publisher:  Xist Publishing

Source:  eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 4+  (Some Mischievous Behavior)

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

4.5 stars 

I will admit that I had only read a few children’s books that dealt with the theme of children losing their baby teeth (mainly Marc Brown’s “Arthur’s Tooth”). So, when NetGalley offered a children’s book called “The Tooth that’s on the Loose!” by Chris Robertson that has a creative take on children losing their baby teeth, I knew that I had to get this book as soon as possible!

Who is that toothy and wiggly varmint who is running around town, causing mayhem wherever he goes? Tooth Be Wiggly (T.B. Wiggly, for short) that’s who! This outlaw goes around leaving holes in people’s mouths (in other words, taking people’s teeth and causing a hole in their mouths where the teeth used to be) and Sheriff Tex is trying to recruit some kids to help him bring down this outlaw!

Can the kids bring down T.B. Wiggly?

Read this book to find out! 

I must admit that I was quite impressed with this creative and odd little book! Chris Robertson has done a great job at making a dilemma that kids would have, which is losing their baby teeth at a young age and turn that dilemma into an outlaw villain named T.B. Wiggly, which made this book truly creative and interesting to read! I also liked the fact that Sheriff Tex was the one narrating the story and telling the audience who T.B. Wiggly is and why he has to be stopped as it allows us to explore the world through the characters’ point of view. I really like the way that Chris Robertson is able to incorporate so much humor in this book as I cannot help but laugh at the idea about a living tooth going around causing mayhem wherever he goes! Chris Robertson’s artwork is hilarious and exaggerated to look at, especially of the image of T.B. Wiggly himself as he is a tooth that has a large black mustache and tiny beady eyes that portrays his rugged personality. I also loved the mischievous looks that T.B. Wiggly gives to the audience as it helps lets the audience know that T.B. Wiggly is up to no good! 



The reason why I took off half a point from the rating was because I felt that more could have been done with T. B. Wiggly himself as he felt like a one-sided villain of the story whose only purpose of being in this story is to be the generic bad guy who steals people’s teeth. While I understand that T.B. Wiggly is representing the dilemma that young children go through, which is losing their baby teeth, I sort of wished that there was more development to his character besides being the bad guy that would make him stand out more in the story.

Overall, “The Tooth that’s on the Loose!” is a truly creative story for children who are going through losing their baby teeth and want to read a story that tackles this issue in a humorous and creative way! I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

Title:  Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake

Author:  Sarah MacLean

Genre: Historical Romance

Year Published: 2010

Number of Pages: 397 pages

Date Read: 12/15/2010

Series: Love By Numbers #1

Publisher: Avon 

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 18+ (Sex Scenes)

After reading so many romance novels with a generous and kind hero, I have finally stumbled upon a romance novel where we have here a “bad boy” hero. “Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake” is an amazing tale by Sarah MacLean about romance, drama, betrayal and lots of love making scenes that will have romance fans flipping over with excitement!

Lady Calpurnia Hartwell (Callie for short) has always wanted more out of her life since her life as a spinster to make a list of nine rules to break to make her life more interesting. While completing her list, Callie meets notorious and handsome rake Gabriel St. John, the Marquess of Ralston (Gabriel or Ralston for short) who she seems to have feelings for since ten years ago. Now Callie’s notorious list will either break her and Gabriel apart or bring them together.

Oh my goodness! Oh my gosh! I have never read a romance novel quite like this before! Sarah MacLean has certainly done an awesome job at writing this wonderful tale of love and betrayal! Now, I will talk about what I loved about the characters and the story. Sarah MacLean has probably created the most controversial yet most memorable characters in romance novels history! Callie is such a headstrong and passionate character, that I just loved her from the beginning! I loved the way that Callie was willing try something different in her life; even if it meant that she has to break the rules of the society she lives in to be a more daring person. Another character that really grew on me was Gabriel St. John and I will admit that when I first read about him, I was so annoyed by his rude and arrogant behavior towards Callie, but once I found out about how his mother had abandoned his family when he was small which caused him to distrust the power of love, I actually felt sympathy for him and when he stood up for Callie, watch out because Ralston truly shows his “bad” side when it comes to Callie! I also loved the fact that Gabriel is a true “bad boy” hero of the story as he has one rude and arrogant attitude, but he truly does have a heart of gold when it comes to protecting Callie. Now onto the juicy parts of this story! There are plenty of love-making scenes in this book from the very beginning to the very end and each love scene in this book will make you literally sweat and tingle all over as the scenes really go into great detail.

This book is basically filed to the brim with sex scenes, so anyone who is uncomfortable with reading about sex scenes might find it a bit difficult to read through this book.

Overall, “Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake” is definitely one of the most irresistible and unique romance novels ever written and any romance fans looking for pure love scenes and “bad boy” heroes will definitely get a kick out of this book!

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog