[ARC REVIEW] Hockey Karma by Howard Shapiro (@hockeyplayer, @Animal_Media)

Title:  Hockey Karma

Author:  Howard Shapiro

Artist: Andres J. Mossa

Genre:  Friendship / School / Drama / Drugs / Sports

Year Published: 2016

Year Read:  7/11/2017

Publisher: Animal Media Group 

Series: Forever Friends Trilogy #3

Source: eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Drug Abuse and Mature Themes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

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

Introduction:

YAY!  NetGalley has sent me the final volume to Howard Shapiro’s hit series “Forever Friends Trilogy” called “Hockey Karma” and I must admit that after I read this graphic novel, it was a worthy conclusion to this series!

What is this story about?

In this volume, Jeremiah “Jake” Jacobson is now thirty-two years old and is known as being the best hockey player in the world.  Unfortunately, because Jake is getting older now and he is starting to lose his edge, especially to new and upcoming star teammate Barclay Pedersen, his family life and career is starting to rapidly come apart.  Meanwhile, Tom Leonard has got his own issues to deal with as he is trying to get a project that would help improve their city off the ground.  But Jake refuses to help out with the project due to dealing with his addiction to some medical pills to keep him in the game and Tom is wondering if he would ever get the project off the ground.  Also, Tom’s old high school crush, Jaelithe returns to town and Tom rekindles his relationship with Jaelithe and the two are thinking about staying together.  But unfortunately, Tom will soon discover that he may have to sacrifice his current lifestyle just to maintain a long-lasting relationship with Jaelithe.

Will Jake be able to get his life back together and will Tom soon discover what he really wants for his future?

Read this graphic novel to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Howard Shapiro’s writing:  Howard Shapiro’s writing continues to amaze me in this volume as all the characters are written extremely well and I just enjoyed the character development that each character goes through in this story.  I loved the way that Howard Shapiro portrayed Jake’s condition as he is still recovering from his alcoholism from the last volume, only this time, he is dependent on pain medication and it realistically shows that even though Jake is trying to get help for his dependence on drugs, he is still struggling with trying to overcome his drug addiction.  I also enjoyed the relationship shared between Tom and Jake as Tom is still trying to help Jake become a better person by helping him deal with his drug abuse and trying to help him mend his relationship with his family.  I liked the way that Howard Shapiro also gave some focus to Tom in this volume as we finally get to see Tom have some of his story arcs resolved in this volume (him reuniting with his high school band “The Stereotypical Freaks” and him trying to rekindle his relationship with his high school crush Jaelithe) and I enjoyed seeing how much growth Tom goes through when he reunites with his old high school friends.

Andres J. Mossa’s artwork:  Andres J. Mossa’s artwork is extremely gorgeous in this volume as all the characters are drawn realistically and seem to glow off the pages.  I also loved the fact that Andres J. Mossa’s artwork is much more detailed in this volume than in the previous volumes as it greatly reflects the growing maturity in the stories and as the stories become more mature, the artwork becomes more detailed and realistic in tone.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I gave this book a four-and-a-half-star rating was because I felt that pacing was a bit too slow in some places and there was a lot of dialogue going on in this book that sort of slowed down the story a bit.  I often had to speed through the dialogue just to get to the meat of the story and I kind of wished that some of the heavy dialogue was trimmed a bit so I could get to the more essential parts of the story.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Hockey Karma” is a great conclusion to Howard Shapiro’s “Forever Friends Trilogy” that really cemented the importance of true friendship and I hope to see more works from Howard Shapiro soon!

You might also like:

• The Stereotypical Freaks by Howard Shapiro

• The Hockey Saint by Howard Shapiro
• The Hardy Boys: The Deadliest Stunt Volume 13 by Scott Lobdell

[ARC REVIEW] The Hockey Saint by Howard Shapiro

Title:  The Hockey Saint

Author:  Howard Shapiro

Artists: Maricia Inoue and Andres Mossa

Genre:  Friendship / School / Drama / Drugs / Sports

Year Published: 2014

Year Read:  6/3/2017

Publisher: Animal Media Group 

Series: Forever Friends Trilogy #2

Source: eARC (NetGalley)

Content Rating:  Ages 16+ (Drug Abuse and Mature Themes)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

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

Introduction:

After I had finished reading Howard Shapiro’s previous graphic novel, “The Stereotypical Freaks,” I was excited to find out that “The Stereotypical Freaks” was a part of the “Forever Friends Trilogy” and I was even more excited to find out that I was approved of the second book in the series “The Hockey Saint” by NetGalley!  After reading this graphic novel, I found this story to be just as memorable as “The Stereotypical Freaks!”

What is this story about?

Tom Leonard is back once again as he is now a college sophomore who is a part of the school’s hockey team and he now has a new dilemma to face!  The story starts off with Tom’s parents being killed in a car accident and Tom is still trying to deal with this tragedy.  Also around that time, Tom has been offered a scholarship for his talents in hockey and Tom is striving to get that scholarship as much as possible.  One day however, Tom ends up meeting his favorite hockey player, Jeremiah Jacobson, who is known as the world’s best hockey player.  Tom then quickly becomes good friends with Jeremiah and the two of them started spending a lot of time with each other.  But later on, Tom discovers that Jeremiah has a terrible secret: he is a heavy drinker and a smoker and Jeremiah refuses to acknowledge that he has this problem.

Can Tom help Jeremiah with his drug addiction before it is too late?

Read this book to find out!

What I loved about this story:

Howard Shapiro’s writing:  Howard Shapiro’s writing is as usual a delight to read as the characters are written extremely well and I loved the real-world plot of this volume as it addresses the dangers of drug addiction that has rarely been addressed in many comic books.  I loved the fact that we actually have a comic book that details drug addiction in a realistic way by showing that Jeremiah is in denial about his addiction and how it was difficult at first for Tom and his loved ones to try to get Jeremiah to understand about the severity of his drug addiction. I also loved the way that Howard Shapiro wrote the relationships between the characters, especially between Tom and Jeremiah as I loved the fact that Jeremiah shows Tom that there is more to life than just playing hockey all the time and Tom cares enough for Jeremiah to go out of his way to help out Jeremiah with his drug addiction.

Maricia Inoue and Andres Mossa’s artwork:  Maricia Inoue and Andres Mossa’s artwork is beautifully done as the characters look truly realistic and I loved the way that the characters glow off the pages.  Now, I will admit that there were some facial expressions on the characters that looked a bit odd, especially regarding Tom always smiling during some serious moments; but other than that, the artwork really captures the raw emotions that the characters feel during this serious situation that deals with drug addiction.

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The reason why I took off half a point from this rating was because I felt like the pacing was a bit slow at times, especially at the beginning and I sometimes wished that the plot moved at a much faster pace to get to the main point of the story.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Hockey Saint” was a truly heartwarming and realistic story about drug addiction that anyone who wants to read about the consequences of drug addiction and the importance of true friendship will truly enjoy!

[BOOK REVIEW] The Hardy Boys: The Deadliest Stunt Volume 13 by Scott Lobdell

Title:  The Hardy Boys:  The Deadliest Stunt Volume 13

Author:  Scott Lobdell

Artist:  Paulo Henrique

Genre:  Mystery / Adventure / Thriller / Crime

Year Published:  2008

Year Read: 4/7/2016

Series:  The Hardy Boys #13

Publisher:  Papercutz

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 7+  (Some Fighting Scenes)

Buy or Add on:  Amazon  //  Goodreads

Introduction:

Here I am again and I have once more picked up another volume in the “Hardy Boys” graphic novel series, which is called “The Deadliest Stunt,” the thirteenth volume in this series! Even though this still is not the five star “Hardy Boys” graphic novel that I am looking for, it was still a fun read from this interesting series!

What is this story about?

In this volume, Frank and Joe Hardy are asked to go on a mission that involves assisting a famous female stunt performer as she goes on to enter an international competition that decides the best female stunt performer.  Unknown to both Frank and Joe, it turns out that Lindsay Rider, the female stunt performer that they are supposed to look after, is actually an American Teen Against Crime agent (A.T.A.C) just like the Hardy boys themselves and Frank and Joe are actually her backups!  Now, all three A.T.A.C. members must solve the case that involves a contestant from the competition actually smuggling diamonds into America before it is too late!

What I loved about this story:

Scott Lobdell’s writing: Once again, Scott Lobdell’s writing continues to impress me as the characters are extremely well written and the case was pretty interesting to read about!  I loved the fact that in this volume, Scott Lobdell focused on a female character who turns out to be an agent on the same team as Frank and Joe and it was interesting seeing a female character become a part of the action in this series since it adds a bit of diversity, in terms of having more female protagonists, to this series.  Frank and Joe’s portrayals in this volume continues to amaze me as Frank is still shown as being the more level headed of the brothers while Joe is shown to be more eager to jump into action without thinking and I just loved their brotherly banter with each other as it was entertaining to read!

Paulo Henrique’s artwork:  Paulo Henrique’s artwork is as usual gorgeous to look at as the action sequences are done extremely well, especially during the scenes where the female stunt performers were performing various tricks, such as jumping off of high buildings and smashing down bricks in the process!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

Now, the reason why I gave this book a four star rating was because once again, I felt that the ending of this story felt a bit too rushed.  There were many scenes in this volume where the details to solving this case were not developed very well and it felt like they just threw in a culprit out of nowhere without mentioning about this culprit prior to the events in this story.  I would have liked it better if the clues to this case were better developed and were not rushed out at the last second just to solve this case in a matter of seconds.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “The Hardy Boys: The Deadliest Stunt” may have felt a bit rushed at certain points of the story, but it was still quite an enjoyable read for this series!

 

[BOOK REVIEW] The Tortoise and the Hare by Janet Stevens

Title:  The Tortoise and the Hare

Author:  Janet Stevens

Genre: Humor / Animal


Year Published: 1984



Year Read: 1995



Publisher: Holiday House

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 4+ (Some Bullying)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is a wonderful Aesop fable classic from Janet Stevens and it is about how Tortoise tries to work out everyday in order to beat Hare in a big race. “The Tortoise and the Hare” is the perfect book about the importance of hard work and perseverance that children will cherish for many years.

Janet Stevens has done an excellent job at both illustrating and writing this book about a famous Aesop fable. Janet Stevens’ illustrations are beautiful and colorful, especially of the images of Hare looking scraggly, while Tortoise looked wrinkly yet wise. Janet Stevens’ writing sets up the moral of the story, which is “hard work and perseverance brings its own rewards” in such a brilliant manner, that many children will be awed at how Janet Stevens shows that hard work does pay off.

“The Tortoise and the Hare” is a great book for children who want to learn how to work hard to earn their goals in life and is easily one of the greatest Aesop fables ever told. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book.  

[BOOK REVIEW] Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Title:  Heaven, Texas

Author: Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Year Published:1995

Number of Pages: 371 pages

Date Read: 8/18/2013

Series: Chicago Stars #2   

Publisher: Avon

Source:  Library

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

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

After reading “It Had to Be You,” I was definitely interested in checking out the rest of Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ fantastic “Chicago Stars” series!  Lo and behold, I managed to pick up the second book in the “Chicago Stars” series, “Heaven Texas” and I loved it!

Bobby Tom Denton was once a legendary football player for the Chicago Stars until a knee injury cost him his career!  Even though Bobby Tom is no longer playing football, he is still well-loved by the people of Texas.  However, Bobby Tom’s life changes forever when plain wallflower Gracie Snow comes by to bring him back to his hometown Heaven, Texas to begin shooting his movie and yet, Bobby Tom just cannot understand Gracie Snow’s proper and prim ways.  But then, after Bobby Tom gives Gracie a makeover and they spend quality time with each other, both Bobby Tom and Gracie will soon realize the importance of true love (but not without some struggles along the way)!

Susan Elizabeth Phillips has done it again with her stellar writing about the next character in the “Chicago Stars” series, Bobby Tom Denton!  I loved the way that Susan Elizabeth Phillips wrote this story as the story is truly intense and yet heartwarming at the same time!  I loved the cute little bantering between Bobby Tom Denton and Gracie Snow as it is so humorous to listen to them bickering with each other, while clearly showing how much they really care about each other.  I also loved the sexual scenes between Bobby Tom and Gracie as I was clearly fanning myself with anticipation at these steamy scenes between these two unlikely lovers!  But, probably the best part about this book were the characters themselves as they all brought something unique and charming to the story!  I can proudly say that Bobby Tom Denton is on the list of my top favorite contemporary romance heroes as he is cocky, but also has a pure heart on the inside.  It was pretty emotional for me to see Bobby Tom struggle with trying to figure out the true meaning of love while dealing with not being able to play football again due to his injured knee and I was definitely hoping to see Bobby Tom actually try to figure out the true meaning of love.  Also, just reading about Bobby Tom having a muscular physique really made me giddy with anticipation!  Gracie Snow was a truly amazing heroine as she went from being a plain wallflower to being a spunky and gorgeous woman!  I loved the fact that Gracie is never afraid to speak her mind and that she tries so hard to make Bobby Tom see what true love really is.  It is the fact that Gracie is such a determined and optimistic woman that made me fall in love with her character!  I also loved the romance between Suzy Denton (Bobby Tom’s mother) and Way Sawyer (the town’s most feared businessman) as it serves to be a side story to Bobby Tom and Gracie’s romance story and I loved the way that Suzy and Way’s romance with each other sort of serves as an inspiration for Bobby Tom and Gracie’s relationship with each other.

For anyone who does not like strong language and sex scenes, this novel has some graphic sex scenes that anyone could skim over if they are offended by them.  Also, this novel has some strong language like the “f” word and the “s” word being uttered a dozen times throughout the book.

Overall, “Heaven, Texas” is a fantastic novel from Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ famous “Chicago Stars” series and anyone who is a huge fan of Susan Elizabeth Phillips’ works or just loves contemporary romance novels in general, will definitely enjoy this novel!

[BOOK REVIEW] It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Title:  It Had to Be You

Author:  Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Year Published: 1994

Number of Pages: 376 pages

Date Read: 11/9/2011

Series: Chicago Stars #1  

Publisher: Avon

Source:  Library

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

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository 

To be honest, I have always been a huge fan of historical romance since it takes me to a time that is so completely different from the current times.  However, after reading this little gem of a romance novel, I started to gain interest in the world of contemporary romance.  “It Had To Be You” was the first romance novel I have read from author Susan Elizabeth Phillips and after I had read this book, I am definitely looking forward to reading more of her wonderful books! “It Had To Be You” is full of hot, sizzling romance, pure football fun and drama that will set any romance fans’ heads spinning!

When Bert Somerville, the owner of the prized football team, the Chicago Stars, dies he left in his will that his estranged daughter, Phoebe Somerville, will inherit the football team after his death.  Unfortunately, since Phoebe and her father never got along, there is a condition that Phoebe must follow in order to be successful in inheriting the football team.  If the Chicago Stars are able to make it to the AFC Championships, then Phoebe will be able to inherit the football team and earn one thousand dollars, but if the team fails to win, then Phoebe’s cruel cousin, Reed Chandler, will inherit the football team.  Things get more complicated when Phoebe meets the head football coach, Dan Calebow and at first sight, the two of them never got along.  However, Phoebe and Dan will soon discover how true love can work in mysterious ways…especially on the football field!

Alright, so now that you saw the cover of this book (a blown up photo of a woman’s chest) you are probably thinking that this book would turn out to be too kinky for anyone’s taste in romance novels.  NO, that is not so!  Susan Elizabeth Phillips has not only written a romance novel full of hot and sizzling love scenes, but she wrote a romance novel that is full of drama and love!  Susan Elizabeth Phillips made the characters come to life in this novel, especially Phoebe Somerville and Dan Calebow!  Let me just say that I just love Phoebe Somerville to death! Not only is Phoebe truly attractive to the boys, but she is extremely independent and I loved the way that she handles the football team with so much confidence, despite the fact that she does not know anything about football.  I also loved the fact that Phoebe is always so determined to do everything right, no matter how hard the task is and I loved her relationship with her younger half-sister Molly and her attempts to make Molly see her as a good person, which truly makes Phoebe into such a caring heroine.  It was also heartbreaking in hearing about Phoebe’s childhood and how she was raped at such a young age.  I truly felt for her character when she experienced that horrible event and it was understandable why she would not let Dan near her in the first place.  Now onto the good part and that’s the all handsome and all muscle hero, Dan Calebow!  Dan Calebow is clearly one of my favorite romance heroes of all time because even though he has a terrible temper, he can be so caring and funny towards Phoebe and his dedication to football is truly inspiring in his nature.  Also, his dream of marrying a woman who loves children and wants to start a family with him, is just so sweet and dreamy!  I just love men who are so caring about having a family of their own to take care of!  And do not forget the love scenes between Phoebe and Dan! They are truly smoking and romance fans everywhere will definitely be fanning themselves once they read through these love scenes between Dan and Phoebe!

For those of you who do not like strong language and strong sex scenes, this novel has a lot of strong language and the sex scenes might be too explicit, so it would be best to skip over these scenes if it becomes too problematic.

Overall, “It Had To Be You” is easily one of the best contemporary romances ever written and anyone who is interested in reading romance novels that deal with the love of sports has got to check this novel out!

[BOOK REVIEW] Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare by Patricia Polacco

Title:  Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare

Author: Patricia Polacco

Genre: Sibling Rivalry / Family / Humor / School / Sports

Year Published: 2006

Year Read:  2013

Publisher:  Philomel

Source:  Library

Content Rating:  Ages 5+ (Some Rude Behavior)

Buy on:  Amazon  //  Book Depository

I have been reading Patricia Polacco’s works for many years now and after reading one of her works “My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother,” I just had to read more about Patricia Polacco’s brother Richie!  So, I just recently picked up “Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare” and I have to say that I was really impressed with this book!

Trisha knows how hard it is to deal with her annoying older brother Richie, especially when he starts making fun of Trisha’s ballet class!  So to teach him a lesson, Trisha dares Richie to perform in the ballet recital with her.  But Richie will only do it on one condition: Trisha has to play the big hockey game with him!

Wow! I was totally amazed by this book!  Patricia Polacco, as always, has done a brilliant job at telling the readers her life story as a child, with her “Richie” books being the funniest among her collection!  I loved the way that Patricia Polacco showed the sibling rivalry between her and her older brother Richie as it was interesting to see and it slightly reminded me of how I get along with my siblings!  I also loved the plot of this story about Trisha wanting to show Richie that ballet is not as easy as it look with Richie doing the same about letting Trisha play hockey with him.  I like how the two siblings learn to have a better understanding of each other as they both try out the different activities that the other sibling usually plays at and it was interesting seeing how their experiences with doing different activities made them grow as characters.  Patricia Polacco’s illustrations are as usual gorgeous to look at as the characters look extremely realistic and I loved the outfits that Richie and Trisha are both wearing as Trisha wears a lovely pink ballet costume and Richie wears a large red hockey suit with “Beavers 13” printed on it.

Overall, “Rotten Richie and the Ultimate Dare” is a brilliant follow up to “My Rotten Redheaded Older Brother” and anyone who is a huge fan of books about sibling rivalry will definitely enjoy this book!  I would recommend this book to children ages five and up since the name calling that Trisha and Richie engage in such as Richie calling Trisha “twerp” might be a bit inappropriate for younger children.