The Last Bride
Home to Hickory Hollow, book 5
by Beverly Lewis
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: April 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-0764211980
Pages: 336
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Once again, I have read another Amish fiction title, but this time it is by the author who gave birth to the genre, Bethany Lewis. I believe this is the final installment in the Home to Hickory Hollow series that started with The Fiddler, The Bridesmaid, The Guardian and The Secret Keeper.

The Last Bride centers on Tessie Miller, one of the five daughters from her Old Order parents. She is in love with Marcus King, but like Romeo and Juliet, they are denied to have a relationship. Her older sister, Mandy, advices her to leave things alone and obey her father's wishes, even though her sister is in a loveless arranged marriage.

Unknowingly to their family and friends, Tessie and Marcus travel to the English world and enlope, but instead of running away to live together as man and wife, they return home to Hickory Hollow and try to hide their marriage from everyone.

After a tragedy occurs, the true reason behind her father's disapproval is finally revealed. Tessie must have faith in the Lord and understanding of the true meaning of "grace," so she is able to survive.

While most middle-graders were joining sports teams, school marching band and other activities, I had my nose in a book during the 90s. I would keep a couple of paperbacks stored in my desk and when any free time came available, I would grab the book and read like there was no tomorrow. Of course I read the Goosebumps series during this era, but my favorite books were under the Point Horror brand. Such authors as R.L. Stine, Diane Ho, Christopher Pike, Caroline B. Cooney and Richie Tankerlsey Cusick wrote horror titles involving teenage characters in these books.

I can't pinpoint one favorite book from this genre, as there too many of them, but Teacher's Pet by Richie Tankersley Cusick is in top of my lists. I appreciate Open Road Integrated Media for releasing it to an eBook format for a new generation to read.

Originally published in November 1990, Teacher's Pet centers on an aspiring teenage horror author, Kate. Her teacher, Miss Bunceton, signs her up to attend a writing writer's conference camp, which one of the classes is being taught by her idol - horror author, William Drewe. To her disappointment, when she arrives she learns that William Drewe hardly ever attends his own classes, but instead sends his brother, Gideon, in his place.

If you grew up during the 80s and the 90s, then you probably remember the popular children book series The Baby-Sitters Club from author Ann. M. Martin. The books were so popular that a short-lived television series aired on HBO in 1990, a feature-film version in 1995 and several spinoff book series. One of the series was titled California Diaries and is now available to purchase on Kindle.

American Dad Vol. 9
Voice Cast: Seth MacFarlane, Wendy Schaal, Scott Grimes, Rachael MacFarlane, Dee Bradley Baker
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Release Date: July 1, 2014
Retail: $29.95
ASIN: B00LFW6BA0
Running Time: 418 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Available to own through Amazon's manufactured on demand service (MOD) is the outrageous adult animation series American Dad Vol. 9, featuring all 19 episodes from the ninth season.

Created by Seth MacFarlane, Mike Barker, and Matt Weitzman, the series centers on the CIA Agent Stan Smith (voiced by MacFarlane). When he isn't assassinating a terrorist for his boss, the Deputy Director Avery Bullock (voiced by Patrick Stewart), he tries to have a normal life with his blonde blondeshell wife Francine (voiced by Wendy Schaal), his hippie daughter Hayley (voiced by Rachael MacFarlane), his stonier son-in-law Jeff Fischer (voiced by Jeff Fischer) and his dorky son Steve Smith (voiced by Scott Grimes). Then there is also the alien named Roger living in his attic and the talking goldfish, Klaus Heissler.

Season Nine kicks off with Roger kidnapping Hayley and Stan trying to sell his black SUV. Hayley and Jeff's marriage has hit rock-bottom, especially when Jeff is abducted by aliens. Klaus Heissler steals Stan's body. Francine's childhood catches up with her in "National Treasure 4: Baby Franny:She's Doing Well The Hole Story." Steve continues his dorky life, while Roger goes even zanier.

The episodes on the 3-disc set are:

I have always been a fan of children stories, but due to the surge of unwanted vampire titles, thanks to the overrated Twilight Saga, I haven't read too many children book titles over the last few years. During my elementary years, I became a little obsessed with the Titanic shipwreck, reading any book and watching any documentary on the subject. After the overrated 1997 film, I became less interested in it, but my interest returned in 2012 during the 100th anniversary of the disaster. That being said, it is pretty obvious why I wanted to read the first book in The Haunted Museum series.

Grimm Fairy Tales Presents: Tales From Oz
by Meredith Finch and Joe Brusha
Publisher: Zenescope
Pub. Date: April 29, 2014
ISBN: 978-1939683564
Pages: 160
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

I guess you can say that I'm playing catch up today with a few NetGalley titles that have been read months ago, but I'm just now taking the time to actually write the reviews.

I'm sure almost everyone has heard of The Wonderful Wizard Of Oz books by L. Frank Baum or has seen the 1938 musical-film version. The land of Oz is once again becoming popular with last year's Disney film, Oz the Great and Powerful and this year's animated film Legend of Oz: Dorthy's Return. The Wicked Witch even appeared on the popular ABC series Once Upon A Time this year. Two more television series are in the works, NBC's Emerald City and Lifetime's Red Brick Road. Now, the Grim Fairy Tale is putting their own twist on the legend.

Tales From Oz is a prequel set in the Grimm universe, which consists of four Realms (Wonderland, Neverland, Myst, and Oz). Similar to the Wonderland issues, the Grimm version of Oz is written and illustrated for adult readers. Here the stories are centered on Tin Man, the Cowardly Lion, The Scarecrow, and Toto, giving a origin tale for each character. 

Hellboy In Hell Vol. 1: The Descent
by Mike Mignola and Dave Stewart
Publisher: Diamond Book Distributors
Pub.Date: June 3,, 2014
ISBN: 978-1616554446
Pages: 144
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

While Hellboy has been in the comic book world since 1993, I have only been exposed to the films starring Ron Perlman in the title role. I was excited when I saw this title was available to review on NetGalley, I eagerly signed up to review, as this was my chance to read a Hellboy tittle.

This summer's release of Hellboy In Hell Vol. 1: The Descent combines the first four issues (The Descent, Pandemonium, Family Ties and The Three Gold Whips) of the Hellboy In Hell series into one volume.

"Shortly thereafter he fought a dragon and was killed."

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 Elizabeth!

Do covers pull you in?

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: 

Yes, a great cover will get me interested in reading a book. I remember seeing the first Goosebumps book at Walmart in the early 90s and the book jumped out at me. As an adult, if the cover looks great, I'll check the back cover to see if I want to read the book.

The Other Woman is coming to DVD and Blu-ray, July 29th! 

It’s time to get even! Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment takes girl power to a whole new level with THE OTHER WOMAN, debuting on Blu-ray & DVD July 29. With Cameron Diaz and Leslie Mann as the leading ladies and newcomers Kate Upton and Nicki Minaj bringing the jokes left and right, ladies all over better be ready for the perfect movie to end their summer in style! Cameron Diaz leads a knockout cast in this irreverent comedy about love, lust and the laws of karma. New York attorney Carly Whitten (Diaz) is nobody’s fool. So when she accidentally discovers that her too-good-to-be-true boyfriend Mark (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) is married, she’s less than thrilled. Not only that, she and Mark’s wife Kate (Leslie Mann), learn about yet another mistress (Kate Upton)! Great boyfriends are hard to find, even in the movies. To prepare you for the release of The Other Woman, we have made a list of the top ten boyfriends that Hollywood films have to offer.

Yes, the summer months means "fun in the sun" to some and to others it means "vacation time." I haven't been on an actual vacation in at least fifteen years. Typically, not going on vacation doesn't bother me, but this month my body and mind are taking a hit for not taking a vacation.

After watching (well, more like listening) the film Austenland (based on the book of the same name by Shannon Hale) on Starz, where a woman takes a vacation at a Jane Austen-themed resort, I started wondering what would be my favorite vacation inspired by a novel.

A friend of mine has been to England and she is going there again in a few weeks, so maybe I should think about taking a trip there, as one of my favorite books is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, which is set during the Victorian era. Then again, I now know a bit of Italian, German, French and Spanish thanks to some audio CDs, so I could take an international adventure like the in the Dan Brown novels.