Duck's Vacation by Gilad Soffer

The story is short and paired with visually appealing illustrations that really pulled in the little ones.

Rating 4 out of 5 

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El Arbo Generosos (The Giving Tree) by Shel Silverstein

This has been a favorite of mine since I was a little kid, so when one of the children in the reading group chose this book I was delighted.

This is a sweet story of love and friendship. I very much recommend this book to everyone.

Rating 5 out of 5 

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Buzz Boy and Fly Guy

Little boys just love Buzz and Fly Guy, so of course when this book popped up in the reading group they loved it.

Everyone kept trying to guess how this dynamic duo would save the day.

Rating 5 out of 5 

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Anansi Boys (American Gods #2) by Neil Gaiman

Normally I’m a huge fan of anything Neil Gaiman writes; it’s imaginative, it’s creative and it offers you an interesting fantasy. However, this story really didn’t do it for me.

The main characters were barely likeable in my opinion. For me it got so bad that I was actually rooting for the villain, Tiger.

Anansi, the one extravagant and amusing character that I did enjoy was dead by the beginning of the story. So sadly this one fell flat for me.

Rating 3 out of 5 
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Breathe by Scott Magoon

The illustrations really attracted the attention of the children, but story-wise I personally felt that it didn’t live up to its potential.

Rating 3 out of 5 

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Bloodlines #1-6 by J.T. Krul

Reviews Issues #1-6

This miniseries was somewhat interesting we see all these people getting infected by a parasitic alien that gives them powers….before taking over and killing them. 

Concept-wise the story seemed appealing, unfortunately there wasn't enough to really get you vested in the characters. The cliffhanging ending also didn't help endear the characters to the reader. 

The art style and coloring were appealing, so that was a major save. 

Based on how this series ended, I’d be interested in tie-up issue or maybe even an appearance of the surviving characters in Action Comics or Superman; after all, they did ride off to Metropolis.

Rating 3 out of 5 
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Coraline by Neil Gaiman

I watched the movie before I read the book and I have to say I liked the book a whole lot more. The movie was good, but the book just had a way of making you imagine the other world more vividly.

Rating 5 out of 5 

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Paleo by Jim Lawson

This was a fun, dinosaur filled graphic novel. For the most part it’s all in black and white which was a bit of a turnoff for the younger kids. 

Personally I felt this book was more for children 8/9+, but its very eye catching to smaller kids because “who doesn’t love dinosaurs?” 

Rating 5 out of 5 
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Drawn to Her (Southern Heat #1) by Jenna Harte

Main Girl: Lexie McKenna

Main Guy: Drake Carmichael

Mean Old Man That Later Changes: Oliver Carmichael

I really liked this story, the way both characters come together with a little help from an old man that went from being Mr. Scrooge to Mr. Rogers.

This was a story about second chances at love, life and family. You’ll be rooting for Drake to learn there is more to life than money and you will absolutely love Lexie and her attitude.

Rating 5 out of 5

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Found: One Secret Baby by Nancy Holland

Main Girl: Rosalie Walker

Main Guy: Morgan Danby

Rosalie is a real sweetheart; she takes in her friend’s baby and wants so badly to protect the baby from his murderous father. Everything is going great until the father’s family comes into the picture and they want to take baby Joey.

Morgan has been sent to find and recover his step-brother’s baby. Just one or maybe more than one problem. He didn’t expect to actually find a baby or fall in love.

I loved the dynamic between the two characters because while women are often written as becoming all tongue tied and basically dumb when they see a good looking guy, Rosalie kicked butt. She wasn’t intimidated by Morgan and she went toe to toe with him.

We do get some crazy other characters come in and they make the drama all the more fun. The final scene was a bit mild, I felt it could have ended on a higher note, but it was still nice.

Rating 4 out of 5

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Happy Ever After in Christmas by Debbie Mason

Main Girl: Jill Flaherty

Main Guy: Sawyer Anderson

Annoying Girl w/Crush on Main Guy: Brandi

The story was well written, I simply did not like the main guy. I really think Sawyer comes across as a jerk and it detracted from the “love” we as a reader are supposed to see between these two characters.

I liked that Jill went out and tried to date other men after Sawyer rejected her, but it annoyed the hell out of me that they would go to the bar/restaurant owned by Sawyer.

Even towards the end I couldn’t really like Sawyer; and then his friendship with Brandi, who was supposed to be like Jill’s competition, just made him even less likable. Sawyer is supposed to come across as this really nice guy trying to help out a single mom from an abused relationship, but all it did was come across as like he was unintentionally stringing two women along.

Rating 2 out of 5

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