Bethany House; 416 pages; $14.99; Amazon

After a week of dealing with a sore throat and the flu, I'm continuing my quest of finishing all my need-to-be read books. The good news is that I have reread all of those books this month, but now I need to write all the reviews for them.

Up first is my review for The Cottage, book two in the Secrets of the Shetlands series, by Michael Phillips. Some of you might recall me reviewing the first book in the series, The Inheritance, a few years ago. You can read my review for it here.

The Cottage centers on Loni Ford, a woman who has inherited some property from a distant ancestor that's located in the Shetland Islands. Her intentions is to sell the property as quickly as possible, but she changes her mind once she laid eyes on "the Cottage." Plus, she finds out that she has inherited the entire island of Whales Reef.

The locals aren't thrilled that an American woman is heir to "the Cottage." They all believe that David Tulloch is rightful heir to the estate. Her decision to stay upsets a local fisherman named Hardy Tulloch (David's cousin), who wants to claim the island for himself, as he has a few oil investors interested in the land.

Believe it or not! Valentine's Day is only a few weeks away. If your on a budget, then you probably can't afford to give your loved ones diamonds and roses. This year, I've teamed up with Oriental Trading to provide you with a few Cute & Simple Valentine's Day Gift Ideas that are very affordable. All the products featured in this post can be purchased on the Oriental Trading's 2018 Valentine's Day Party Supply landing page.

Many people, young and old, love to write in journals and diaries. I recommend giving them the Fuzzy Valentine Notepads (retails for $14.99, but it's currently on sale for $11.98). The 5 3/4" x 8 1/4" notepads have 30 blank pages. The cover is made out of a fuzzy material. One package comes with 6 notepads; three notepads have hearts on the cover and the other three have a swirl design.

If you're going to give a journal as as gift, then I recommending getting some writing utensils to go with it. Oriental Trading has gobs of pencils and pens to choose from, but for this post I went with the Valentine Monster Pencils (retails for $4.49), which comes in a package of 24 pencils. Each pencil has a cute little monster on it along with a heart-shaped saying, such as "Eye Like You."

You might need to mark what page you're on in your journal, so I'm recommending giving a bookmark along with the notepads and pencils. As you can see in the photo above, I picked out the Peanuts Valentine Bookmarks (retails for $4.29), which comes in a package of 24 bookmarks, featuring either Snoopy, Charlie Brown, or Lucy.  There are five different sayings, "Be a Friend," "Be Sweet," "Be Mine," "Be Kind,"Be My Valentine," or "Be Huggy." The back of the bookmarks have a "To:" and "From:" spots.

If you can't afford to give roses as a Valentine's gift, then your next logical step is to give a box of candy. Or you could give a mixture of both.

Pictured above are the Red Foil-Wrapped Chocolate Candy Roses (retails for $11.99, but is on sale for $8.98 per dozen). Each rose has a 14" plastic stem with leaves and a 2" chocolate rose that is wrapped in red foil. The chocolate rose is hollow and has a nice rich flavor.

Besides candy and roses, one of the most popular Valentine's gift is a teddy bear. Prices and sizes of teddy bears vary, some are expensive and others are affordable. Oriental Trading has a cute 15" Valentine Stuffed Polar Bear that's currently on sale for $4.78. The white fluffy bear is wearing a bow-tie and is holding a red heart that says,"I love you."

Then there's the Red Heart Chenille Pillow (retails for $11.99) that would make a great gift. It measures 14"L x 14"W and features a chenille front and felt backing.

Do you ever go back to older posts and change things?

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:

Once in a great while I will go back and make a few changes on older posts.

Now available on Digital HD from HBO Home Entertainment is the 1970s drama The Deuce: The Complete First Season, featuring all 8 episodes. Created by George Pelecanos and David Simon, the series stars James Franco, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Chris Bauer, Gary Carr, Chris Coy, Dominique Fishback, Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Margarita Levieva, Emily Meade, Natalie Paul, and Michael Rispoli. It will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on February 13, 2018.

Set in New York City during the early 1970s, the series centers on a variety of characters that get caught up in the gritty world of sex, crime, and the rising porn industry.

James Fransco plays dual roles as Vincent and Frankie Martino, twin brothers from Brooklyn, who end up working as fronts for the mob. The series focuses on multiple characters, such as prostitutes Eileen "Candy" Merrell (played by Maggie Gyllenhaal) and Lori (played by Emily Meade), the Martino's brother-in-law Bobby Dwyer (played by Chris Bauer), and an ex-college student turned waitress Abigail "Abby" Parker (played by Margarita Levieva). 

Digital HD special features include:

• The Deuce in Focus- Delve inside The Deuce with Michelle MacLaren, James Franco and Roxann Dawson as they talk about bringing the show to life.

• The Wild West: New York in the Early '70s- Head back in time in this featurette that focuses on the frontier of the pornography business--New York City in the early 1970s--with the cast and crew of The Deuce. Creators David Simon and George Pelecanos plus James Franco and his co-stars open up about this unique period in NYC history as porn moved from the street to the mainstream screen.

Arriving on DVD, Digital, and On Demand from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is the family comedy WOODY WOODPECKER.

Directed by Alex Zamm (Inspector Gadget 2, The Little Rascals Save the Day), Woody Woodpecker stars Timothy Omundson (“Psych”), Thaila Ayala (“Rio Heat”), Graham Verchere (“Fargo”) Jordana Largy (Monster Trucks) and Eric Bauza (The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water), as the voice of Woody. The Woody Woodpecker DVD and digital features deleted scenes and an exclusive inside look at the making of the film as well as the evolution of Woody’s iconic cartoon character.

DVD Special Features include:

• Guess Who? The Evolution of Woody – Woody Woodpecker is one of the world’s most iconic animated characters. In this featurette, we explore how Woody’s look and personality have changed since his introduction in 1940. 

• The Making of Woody Woodpecker – Filmmakers and cast discuss why this version of the Woody character is so appealing and how his brand of physical humor translates across audiences. 

• Working with Woody – Filmmakers, cast and crew reveal the specific challenges of filming a movie whose main character is CGI.

I'm not a vegan my any means and I have no plans on to become one. However, I've put myself on a diet, where I'm trying to stay stay away from sugars as much as I can.

The week I've been reading the two Vegan Dessert Recipes eBooks. The cookbooks are titled: Chocolate Vegan Recipes and Ice Cream Vegan Recipes; both written by Sam Kuma. The cookbooks are available to download in a box set (2 Books in 1 with Free Gift; 150+ Recipes Included) on Amazon for $4.99.

Come on! Who doesn't like ice cream? I love it, but I don't like to eat it very often because all the sugar that's in it. I've tried the sugar-free ones, but they always make me sick after eating it. 

There's many different kinds of ice creams, sundae sauces, and slushes in the Ice Cream Vegan Recipes. I only had time to test out one recipe and it's called "Soy Pumpkin Ice Cream." There's a little bit of creamer and brown sugar in it! So there goes my sugar-free diet! But it tastes wonderful. It does contain 2 cups of pumpkin puree! Which I do love!

The Chocolate Vegan Recipes cookbook has about every chocolate dessert recipe imaginable, but with a vegan twist. I have had time to try out several of these, including the rich flavored Chocolate Chia Smoothie Pudding, Chocolate Hazelnuts Spread (no added sugar, besides from maple syrup), and Pumpkin Chocolate Loaf (It has a little bit of coffee in it!). 

Now available to buy on Amazon, BN, Kobo, iBooks, and Goodreads from Wild Thorn Publishing is the is the action-adventure The Last Line Of A Goat Story by Jonathan Doyle.

Ramblings of a Coffee Addicted Storyteller: When did you become interested in storytelling?

Jon Doyle: When I was about seven, my family’s TV set broke and we couldn’t afford to buy a new one. So my Mom would read to us every night from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s books. I fell in love. Soon after, I wrote my first story about a lonely tiger, roaming around Africa, looking for his long lost family. Sure, I got the continent wrong, but a writer was born!

RCAS: What was your first book/story published?

JD: This one. I’ve never tried to get any other book or poem or short story sold. Though I do have a self-published novel floating out there in the ether.

RCAS: What inspired you to write The Last Line of Goat Song?

JD: My book is about a stutterer rendered mute. I had a terrible childhood stutter when I was a kid and wanted to write about that experience which so influenced my life. I don’t think many realize how difficult it is to navigate through life without having fluency. This novel also deals with illegal immigration. I worked in bars and restaurants for years, so I know many “illegals”. I refuse to equate that with “alien”. These are people and I wanted to show that Maggie, my lead, is complex and flawed and wonderful and deserves respect.

RCAS: What character in The Last Line of Goat Song is the most/least like you, and in what ways?

JD: William is the most like me. Obviously, because of our stutter, but also our reclusive inquisitiveness. Who’s least like me? Probably Anna. She’s a go-getter, a bit of a game player. She holds grudges. I love Anna as a character, but we’re not built the same!

RCAS: What is your favorite part in The Last Line of Goat Song?