The author puts their bio at the front of the book, and I wish they wouldn’t. It mentions their writing accolades makes it more depressing when the book isn’t that great. In this book Gracie is a puppy with a new litter looking to attract her new home. The story is stilted in many places, and then ends abruptly. It doesn’t have any flow. The illustrations are interesting but look like something someone would do for a school project. I really wanted to like this book and like Gracie the Westy, however this is a flash in the pan that’ll be gone in a blink of an eye.

This book just stole my heart especially if you are a westie lover and you have a westie, I have one called Millie, she is my world.

Curiously Gracie: Life Begins by R S Christopher was just a beautiful book from the cover till the last page. I just loved it, and it was about adventures of westie called Gracie, a lovable westie puppy, she embarks on a journey filled with curiosity, love, and then searches for her forever family. Sad in parts but she finally finds a family that will love her forever.

I adored this book it had beautiful bright illustrations throughout.

This delightful tale follows the adventures of Gracie, a lovable westie puppy, as she embarks on a journey filled with curiosity, love, and the search for her forever family. The book beautifully portrays Gracie's innocence and the universal longing for a place to call home.

Prepare to fall head over paws in love with Gracie in this charming adventure that whisked me away into the world of a lovable westie puppy. From the very first page, I was hooked by Gracie's boundless curiosity and her quest for a family to call her own. This book is a heartwarming reminder that sometimes the most remarkable adventures begin with a wagging tail and a heart full of love.

I really liked the idea behind this book but I found that it was really far too short to be a proper story.

The book does have some lovely illustrations and even though I wasn't a fan of the book overall, they are really lovely and a pleasure to look at as they do capture the personality and spirit of Gracie.

I am also a little unsure why the book is called "Curiously" and not just "Curious" as that would have made more sense to me but that really is a minor point.

It is 3 stars from me for this one, would have been higher if the book had been a longer as I didn't feel the story really developed and I am assuming it has been created as the first in a series and that there will be more to come. Whilst I didn't really gel with this book, I would still pick up a follow on book to see what happens next to Gracie.

I'm no expert on children's books but my niece is. I have a Westie and knew she would love it. And she did. We read it four times at bedtime.

As for me, the story was lacking but perhaps it was designed as a cliffhanger. The illustrations were cute but often didn't make sense within the context. Regardless, Laila loved it and she can't wait to see what adventures await Gracie.

Thank you to R S Christopher and NetGalley for the opportunity to meet Gracie!

I'm a sucker for a dog book, especially a cute children's dog book. As such, I expected to thoroughly enjoy this story of Gracie. As it turned out, it left me disappointed. There is promise to the story but for me it just didn't seem to go anywhere and the ending was abrupt. The illustrations occasionally seemed to be made up of elements that didn't quite mesh or didn't seem to adequately illustrate what was happening. Nor did it show Gracie, said to be curious and a bit of a rebel in that she wasn't always following the lead of her siblings, romping around and having fun, not to mention her expression never seemed to change. Like people, dogs have very expressive faces, so this was a disappointment.

As noted, there is promise to the story, however. The sub-title "Life Begins" made me think this is simply the intro to a series that will follow Gracie's life, curiosity and fun adventures in future books. Don't get me wrong. Gracie's image is adorable in the book, it just rarely seems to change. Westies are adorable little dogs and I'd love to see the mischief in her eyes to better reflect the adjective of curious that is applied to her. I'll also note here (the dog owner in me showing) that she's depicted in some pictures in a yard that appears to border a road. Hope to see a fence next go-round if my hunch is right about future stories. Bottom line, 3 stars for the concept but it could have used a bit more fine-tuning. Thanks to #IndependentlyPublished for allowing me this glimpse into Gracie's beginnings and potential. I'm definitely up for checking in on Gracie as her life goes on.