125 Best Chocolate Chip Recipies: Quick, Easy, Fun Ideas
by Julie Hasson
Publisher: Robert Rose
Pub. Date: September 15, 2014
ISBN: 978-0778800729
Pages: 192
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:


As many of my readers already know, I do know my way around a kitchen; learning at an early age to cook my own meals and bake my own desserts, so naturally I was interested in reviewing 125 Best Chocolate Chip Recipes, which I received an advanced copy several weeks ago. The cookbook, or should I say baking book, features delicious recipes for bars, squares, cakes, pies, muffins, quick breads, puddings, hot and cold beverages and sauces, all of which uses chocolate chips!

The publisher, Robert Rose, has given me permission to share two tasty recipes.

Love's Fortune
The Ballantyne Legacy, book 3
by Laura Frantz
Publisher: Revell
Pub. Date: September 16, 2014
ISBN: 978-0800720438
Pages: 400
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving in bookstores today is the third installment in The Ballantyne Legacy, titled Love's Fortune by Laura Frantz. I have never read the other books in the series, but the cover alone for the third book caught my attention. Plus, to me the book feels like a standalone novel.


Love's Fortune centers on Rowena "Wren" Ballantyne, a young woman living in Kentucky who's life is forever changed when she leaves her home and travels with her father to New Hope, Pennsylvania. She quickly learns of her father's heritage and meets her new family members, who introduce her to the high society life.

Jumping from one lifestyle to another is not an easy task and she struggles to fit in, that is until she meets James Sackett, a steamship pilot of the Ballantynes' shipping line. Though her newfound friend tries to help her fit in with her new surrounds, she still doesn't feel comfortable becoming the kind of 'lady' that her Aunt Andra wants her to become.

Castle: The Complete Sixth Season
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Stana Katic, Seamus Dever, Jon Huertas, Tamala Jones, Molly Quinn, Susan Sullivan
Studio: ABC Studios
Release Date: September 16, 2014
Retail: $45.99
ASIN: B00FR23QNE
Running Time: 984 minutes
Rating: TV-14
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Arriving on DVD on Tuesday September 16, 2014 from ABC Studios is Castle: The Complete Sixth Season, featuring all 23 episodes. Bonus Features include: A Few of Our Favorite Things - Cast and crew reveal their favorite Castle moments of the past six seasons, including an unaired "Caskett" highlight from the Season 4 finale. Plus fan Favorites in every category; On Location With Stana - Stana Katic shares insights into her creative process and reflects on the character she portrays, in this intimate diary of a day on set during the season finale; Audio Commentaries - Including character commentary with Detectives Ryan and Esposito; Castle Karaoke - Detective Ryan gets his groove on in this never-before-seen extended karaoke performance; Bloopers and Deleted Scenes.

Season 6 further develops Richard Castle (played by Nathan Fillion) and Kate Beckett's (played by Stana Katic) romance with their engagement, despite the fact that Beckett accept a job working for the Attorney General's office in Washington D.C., well only for the the first three episodes of the season before she returns to her duties as a New York homicide detective.


Castle's daughter, Alexa (played by Moly Quinn), returns from her vacation overseas and she brings back a boyfriend, Pi, which Castle doesn't take the news very well, resulting in Alexa moving into her own apartment. Meanwhile, Castle's estranged father (played by guest-star Josh Brolin) returns, only to bring danger to his family. Beckett finally takes the down the man responsible for her mother's death. All of this leads to the shocking cliffhanger in "For Better or Worse," which will be resolved in the seventh season premiere on Monday September 29th!

The 23 episodes on the five-disc set are:

Prisoners Of War: Season Two
Starring: Gal Zaid, Yael Eitan
Studio: Shout Factory!
Release Date: September 16, 2014
Retail: $29.83
ASIN: B00KTFJ6VK
Running Time: 715 minutes
Rating: TV-MA
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Now available to own on DVD for the first time in the United States is Prisoners Of War: Season Two, featuring all 14 episodes from the exciting second season. Bonus Features include an Introduction by Gideon Raff, Cast Interviews and Episode Commentaries with Creator Gideon Raff & Director Of Photography Itai Neeman.

Prisoners Of War first premiered in 2010 and has consistently been the number one drama in Israel over the course of two seasons. A third season is being planned. The series inspired Showtime's Emmy-award winning Homeland.

The second season picks up a few days after the events of season one with the discovery that Amiel Ben Horin, now know as "Yussuf," is still alive and he has been living as a Muslim in Syria. The biggest question is: "Has Ameil been turned into a terrorist?" Meanwhile, Uri and Nimrod struggle to pick up their lives after returning home. 

The episodes on the four-disc set are:

All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes
by Besty St. Amant
Publisher: Zondervan
Pub. Date: Sept. 2, 2014
ISBN: 978-0310338451
Pages: 320
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/AZIVZ
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/campaigns/alls-fair-in-love-and-cupcakes-betsy-st-amant

Review:

With me enjoying a good romance book and my love for cooking/baking, it was a no-brainier why I would sign up to review a book titled All's Fair in Love Cupcakes by Besty St. Amant. While I'm not familiar with the author's other work, the title alone caught my attention.

All's Fair in Love and Cupcakes centers on Kat Varland, a twenty-six-year-old who is stuck working in her Aunt Maggie's bakery. Though she has a business degree, her real passion is baking, but she has no idea how to mix the to together. Her life changes when she receives a letter stating she has been accepted as a contestant on a reality TV bake-off called Cupcake Combat, but she never sent in an application. She quickly realizes that best-friend, Lucas Brannen, was the one who filled out the application and sent it in. Now Kat can finally see her future as a professional baker working at a famous bakery in New York city, but her dream may never come true, as there are other eager bakers wanting to win the competition.

Unknowingly to Kat, Lucas has been in love with her for years. He saw how her talents were being wasted, so he signed up her up for the reality show, hoping that it will spark some creativity for her, but when he learns that the prize is a job at a New York Bakery, he must deal with the fact that he may lose her forever.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: The Complete First Season
Starring: Clark Gregg, Ming-Na Wen, Brett Dalton, Chloe Bennet, Iain De Caestecker
Studio: ABC Studios
Release Date: September 9, 2014
Retail: $45.99
ISBN: B00KMXQIYM
Running Time: 946 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: DVD, Blu-ray

Review:

Available to own on DVD and Blu-ray is Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. - The Complete First Season, featuring all 22 action-packed. Bonus Features include: Journey Into S.D.C.C., Marvel Studios: Assembling A Universe, 5 Behind-The-Scenes Field Reports ("The Malibu Jump," The Bridge," "Asgardian Bar Fight," "Classified" and "Cello Duet"), VFX Breakdown, Audio Commentaries with Filmmakers & Cast, Gag Reel and Deleted Scenes.

Picking up shortly after Marvel's The Avengers, Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. centers on the return of Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg), literally from the dead, who assembles a brand new S.H.I.E.L.D team consisting of an ace pilot and weapon expert Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen), a black ops specialist Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), an engineering specialist Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker), a life sciences specialist Jemma Simmon (Elizabeth Henstridge) and a hacker Skye (Chole Bennet).

Agent Coulson leads his unique team to investigate the strange and beyond, from investigating a superhuman, who later becomes Deathlock, to helping Lady Sif battle the Asgardian Lorelei. the main focus of the team is to unravel the mystery of who the villain "The Clairvoyant" is. Other stories include Skye searching for her birth parents and Agent Coulson's journey to learn how he was resurrected.

To tie into the events of Captain America: The Winter Solider, Hydra takes over S.H.I.E.L.D from within and one member of Agent Coulson's team is a traitor.

Episodes on the five-disc set are:

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Camille!

What books would you want to read again for the first time?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

Ghost Story by Peter Straub

Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Six-Horse Hitch by Janice Holt Giles

Teenagers growing up the late '80s and throughout the '90s were intrigued and terrified by the line of horror books released under the Point Horror name. These books were written by authors such as R.L. Stine, Diane Hoh, Richie Tankersley Cusick, Christopher Pike, and Caroline B. Cooney. The popularity of the books declined in the late '90s, resulting in an eight year hiatus. The Point Horror made a comeback in 2013 by releasing two new titles, quickly followed by this year’s releases of Wickedpedia by Chris Van Etten and Followers by Anna Davis.

Followers is set at the prestigious MacHale boarding school during the winter break and centers on Briana Beland. She is out to prove that she is more than just her mother's daughter, so she auditions for the role of Ophelia in the school's production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet. While she has only been at the school for a brief period of time, she hasn't made any new friends, which is slightly difficult considering that there is a high competition to be the best studen, making every student her frendemy. Similar to other teens today, Briana turns to Twitter in order to have some sort of social life.


The Hamlet auditions turn deadly when somebody is killed, but this doesn't stop Briana's goal of landing a juicy part in the play. Sadly, Briana doesn't get the part, but instead she is assigned the role of "social media director." Once again, she turns to Twitter where she starts receiving messages from @hamletghost, someone who knows a bit too much about the murder, as well as the other murders that are soon to occur.