Monday, June 25, 2012

The End is Near...My Picks of the Week! (June 26th)


Good Morning, Muses!

This month is quickly coming to an end and sadly I have not posted any reviews for June yet. Last Monday, I updated everyone on my lack of posts due to me being sick with a sinus infection and tired from working both my jobs. I had hoped to have my review for The Car Thief by Theodore Weesner up last Wednesday, but I just couldn't find the motivation to get it done. Hopefully, with June coming to an end and a new month starting soon, I will get back on track. I just wanted to apologize for the lack of posts and also for not stopping by any of my fellow blogger's sites to see how everyone is doing. I plan to rectify that soon!

Now to the new releases coming out this week. In Adult books, the wait for the highly anticipated sequel to The Last Werewolf by Glen Duncan is nearly over with the release of Talulla Rising. Gena Showalter fans will be excited to check out Wicked Nights, book 1 in her new Angels of the Dark series. I love Gena's work, so I can't wait to see what she does with angel mythology.

In Young Adult, I have a feeling that The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker is going to be a highly sought after novel. Dust Girl by debut author Sarah Zettel has an interesting premise, so I plan to sit back and wait to see what my fellow bloggers think before adding it to my TBR pile.

In Movies, this year's Academy Award winning movie, The Artist, finally makes it to blu-ray and dvd. If you like comedies, then 21 Jumpstreet starring Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum may be for you. I didn't really care for Mirror Mirror starring Julia Roberts as the queen in this quirky rendition of the Snow White fairy tale, but if you know anything about director Tarsem Singh's movies, then you know they are beautiful to look at. If you like action and Greek Mythology, Wrath of the Titans (sequel to Clash of the Titans) might be worth a watch.

The movies that are being released in blu-ray/dvd combo packs this week are: Mirror Mirror and Wrath of the Titans.

And finally, in TV Series, Casablanca: the Complete Series from the 1980's will be out on Tuesday. So will Damages: Season 4 and Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Year 7, etc.

Thanks for everyone's patience as I try getting back on schedule! Enjoy!




BOOKS (June 26th)




ADULT

Chasing Magic (Downside Ghosts, #5)
by: Stacia Kane

Magic-wielding Churchwitch and secret addict Chess Putnam knows better than anyone just how high a price people are willing to pay for a chemical rush. But when someone with money to burn and a penchant for black magic starts tampering with Downside’s drug supply, Chess realizes that the unlucky customers are paying with their souls—and taking the innocent with them, as the magic-infused speed compels them to kill in the most gruesome ways possible.

As if the streets weren’t scary enough, the looming war between the two men in her life explodes, taking even more casualties and putting Chess squarely in the middle. Downside could become a literal ghost town if Chess doesn’t find a way to stop both the war and the dark wave of death-magic, and the only way to do that is to use both her addiction and her power to enter the spell and chase the magic all the way back to its malevolent source. Too bad that doing so will probably kill Chess—if the war doesn’t first destroy the man who’s become her reason for living.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book


Dark Knight, The
(Montagues, #3)

by: Elizabeth Elliott

At long last, Elizabeth Elliott—the bestselling author of The Warlord and Scoundrel—returns with a medieval romance that will take readers’ breath away.

Thief, assassin, and master of disguise, Dante Chiavari is the most feared mercenary of England’s King Edward. On one last assignment, Dante must play the part of a chivalrous knight to steal Avalene de Forshay from her family and thwart the ruthless Faulke Segrave, who would wed Avalene and use her to spark war between Wales and the crown. Upon seeing the beautiful and innocent young maid
en, however, the mercenary suddenly finds himself at the mercy of his own intense desire.

When Avalene meets the handsome knight she knows only as Sir Percival, he sweeps her off her feet even as he spirits her away from Coleway Castle. Their escape is wrought with risks and perils, but Avalene will find that the greatest danger lies in losing her heart. And after the truth is revealed, Avalene fears that she may never again be able to trust the dark knight who has come to mean more to her than life itself.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book


Darkness Devours
(Dark Angels, #3)

by: Keri Arthur

Half-werewolf, half-Aedh Risa Jones can enter the realm between life and death, and she can see the Reapers who collect the souls of the dead. Now, she is using her gifts—and the investigative know-how of a man who broke her heart—to find a cabal searching for the power to control time, reality, and fate. And this is besides her work for the Vampire Council, half of whom want her dead.

But for no
w the Council needs her alive. Someone is killing blood-whore addicted vampires, and Risa must find the guilty party. If she succeeds, she may finally convince the council to lift the execution order on her life. But before she succeeds, she must first survive…

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book



Midnight's Lover
(Dark Warriors, #2)

by: Donna Grant

Driven by the fierce god within him, highlander Ian Kerr is sworn to fight for the land he loves—and the brother he lost. But when he’s transported four centuries into the future, he finds himself fighting his own desires—for a beautiful, bewitching woman who could hold a warrior spellbound…

Danielle Bu
chanan has heard the legends. She has felt the power of Druid blood in her veins. But she has never known a man as fearsome—or as haunted—as the warrior Ian. With her magic, Dani must help him fight an ancient evil. With her heart, she must join him in his quest. But only with her soul can she free him from his curse…and seal their fates together.


Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book


Once Burned
(Night Prince, #1)

by: Jeaniene Frost

She's a mortal with dark powers...

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude...until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world's most infamous vampire...

He's the Prince of Night...

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most fear
ed vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book


Queen of Swords
(Sanctify, #1)

by: Katee Robert

When the cards tell Ophelia Leoni she's supposed to marry the Prince of Hansarda, the gunrunner grits her teeth and boards the starship that comes for her. It doesn't matter if the ship's commander is the gorgeous stranger whose bed she just spent a wild, drunken night in. As a Diviner, she’s painfully aware the cards don't lie. Ever.

Boone O’K
eirna knows Ophelia is trouble the second he sees the way she moves. Not about to let the deadly little hellcat marry his sadistic half-brother, Boone pretends to be the Prince’s emissary and kidnaps Ophelia. Too bad they can’t be in the same room without him wanting to throw her out an airlock–or into bed.

Even as
they fight each other–and their explosive attraction–Ophelia and Boone sense something is wrong. Too much is going their way. Soon, they realize while the cards may never lie, the truth is sometimes hidden between them…and the future king of Hansarda is not one to take defeat lying down.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book


Secret of the Wolf
(Warriors of the Rift, #2)

by: Cynthia Garner

Once a g
eneration, the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. Vampire, demon, or shapeshifter, they can save the world-or send it spiraling into chaos.

As a werewolf liaison to the Council of Preternaturals, Tori Joseph is used to straddling the world between hu
mans and immortals. She plays by the rules and always delivers justice, no matter the cost. But after a string of increasingly brutal attacks results in humans turning into werewolves, Tori doesn't reveal her horrifying suspicion: Someone very close to her might be responsible.

Investigating the paranormal violence, no-nonsense detective Dante MacMillan believes Tori is hiding something. His search for the truth draws him into greater danger as he gets closer to the dark realm of the immortals-and to the sexy werewolf who stirs his primal lust. Now with evil closing in around them, Dante must convince Tori to tru
st him . . . before her deadly secret destroys them both.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book


Talulla Rising
(The Last Werewolf, #2)

by: Glen Duncan

When I change I change fast. The moon drags the whatever-it-is up from the earth and it goes through me with crazy wriggling impatience . . . I’m twisted, torn, churned, throttled—then rushed through a blind chicane into ludicrous power . . . A heel settles. A last canine hurries through. A shoulder blade pops. The woman is a werewolf.

The woman is Talulla Demetriou.
She’s grieving for her werewolf lover, Jake, whose violent death has left her alone with her own sublime monstrousness. On the run, pursued by the hunters of WOCOP (World Organisation for the Control of Occult Phenomena), she must find a place to give birth to Jake’s child
in secret.

The birth, under a full moon at a remote Alaska lodge, leaves Talulla ravaged, but with her infant son in her arms she believes the worst is over—until the windows crash in, and she discovers that the worst has only just begun . . .

What follows throws Talulla into a race against time to save both herself and her child as she faces down the new, psychotic leader of WOCOP, a cabal of blood-drinking religious fanatics, and (rumor has
it) the oldest living vampire.

Harnessing the same audacious imagination and dark humor, the same depths of horror and sympathy, the same full-tilt narrative energy with which he crafted his acclaimed novel The Last Werewolf, Glen Duncan now gives us a heroine like no other, the definitive twenty-first-century female of the species.


Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Hardcover | E-book


When Darkness Hungers
(The Shadow Keepers, #5)

by: J.K. Beck

FBI agent Alexis Martin knows that vampires exist—because one of them killed her sister. Assigned to investigate a series of bizarre homicides in Los Angeles, Alexis believes the murders are the work of rogue vampires—perhaps even the monster responsible for her sister’s death. Now she finally has a chance for retribution. Even better, Alexis receives unexpected help from a sexy stranger as hungry for rogue blood as she is.

Serge is a centuries-old bad boy who stays off the grid—keeping his secrets, his hunger, and his heart safe from exposure. A new breed of vampire that feeds off other shadowers, Serge finds sweet torture in Alexis’s arms. Loving her is a chance to be free from the hiding, the loneliness, the secrecy. But the truth about what he is, and what he’s done, may banish him to the dark confines of his own private hell—and destroy the beginnings of their love.


Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book


Wicked Nights (Angels of the Dark, #1)
by: Gena Showalter

Leader of the most powerful army in the heavens, Zacharel has been deemed nearly too dangerous, too ruthless--and if he isn't careful, he'll lose his wings. But this warrior with a heart of ice will not be deterred from his missions at any cost...until a vulnerable human tempts him with a carnal pleasure he's never known before.Accused of a crime she did not commit, Annabelle Miller has spent four years in an institution for the criminally insane. Demons track her every move, and their king will stop at nothing to have her. Zacharel is her only hope for survival, but is the brutal angel with a touch as hot as hell her salvation--or her ultimate damnation?

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book



YOUNG ADULT

A Want So Wicked (A Need So Beautiful, #2)
by: Suzanne Young

Elise is a normal seventeen-year-old girl until the day she wakes up in a desert park, with no idea who she is.

After that episode, her life takes a bizarre turn. She’s experiencing unexpected flashes of insight into peop
le’s lives—people she’s never met before. Strangers frighten her with warnings about the approaching Shadows. And although Elise has never had a boyfriend, she suddenly finds herself torn between two handsome but very different young men: Abe, the charming bad boy whose effect on her both seduces and frightens her, and the mysterious Harlin, who’s new to town but with whom Elise feels an urgent, elemental connection—almost as if they are soul mates.

Now Elise begins to question everything about her life. Why do these guys both want her so desperately? What are the Shadows? Why does the name Charlotte inspire a terrifying familiarity? And who is Elise, really?

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Hardcover | E-book

Age of Miracles
by: Karen Thompson Walker

“It still amazes me how little we really knew. . . . Maybe everything that happened to me and my family had nothing at all to do with the slowing. It’s possible, I guess. But I doubt it. I doubt it very much.”

Luminous, haunting, unforgettable, The Age of Miracles is a stunning fiction debut by a superb new writer, a story about coming of age during extraordinary times, about people going on with their lives in an era of profound uncertainty.

On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, 11-year-old Julia
and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life—the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.

With spare, graceful prose and the emotional wisdom of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker has created a singular narrator in Julia, a resilient and insightful young girl, and a moving portrait of family life set against the backdrop of an utterly altered world.


Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Hardcover | E-book


Before I Wake (Soul Screamers, #6)
by: Rachel Vincent

I died on a Thursday-killed by a monster intent on stealing my soul. The good news? He didn't get it. The bad news? Turns out not even death will get you out of high school... Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking life is much harder than Kaylee Cavanaugh expected. After weeks spent "recovering," she's back in school, fighting to stay visible to the human world, struggling to fit in with her friends and planning time alone with her new reaper boyfriend. But to earn her keep in the human world, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls, and when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won't keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn't just gambling with her own life...


Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book

Chosen Ones (Lost Souls, #1)
by: Tiffany Truitt

What if you were mankind’s last chance at survival?

Sixteen-
year-old Tess lives in a compound in what was once the Western United States, now decimated after a devastating fourth World War. But long before that, life as we knew it had been irrevocably changed, as women mysteriously lost the ability to bring forth life. Faced with the extinction of the human race, the government began the Council of Creators, meant to search out alternative methods of creating life. The resulting artificial human beings, or Chosen Ones, were extraordinarily beautiful, unbelievably strong, and unabashedly deadly.

Life is bleak, but uncomplicated for Tess as she follows the rigid rules of her dystopian society, until the d
ay she begins work at Templeton, the training facility for newly created Chosen Ones. There, she meets James, a Chosen One whose odd love of music and reading rivals only her own. The attraction between the two is immediate in its intensity—and overwhelming in its danger.

But there is more to the goings-on at Templeton than Tess ever knew, and as the veil is lifted from her eyes, she uncovers a dark underground movement bent not on taking down the Chosen Ones, but the Council itself. Will Tess be able to stand up to those who would oppress her, even if it means giving up the only happiness in her life?


Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book

Dust Girl (American Fairy, #1)
by: Sarah Zettel

Callie LeRoux lives in Slow Run, Kansas, helping her mother run their small hotel and trying not to think about the father she’s never met. Lately all of her energy is spent battling the constant storms plaguing the Dust Bowl and their effects on her health. Callie is left alone when her mother goes missing in a dust storm. Her only hope comes from a mysterious man offering a few clues about her destiny and the path she must take to find her parents in "the golden hills of the west": California.

Along the way she meets Jack, a young hobo boy who is happy to keep her company — there are dangerous, desperate people at every turn. And there’s also an otherworldly threat to Callie. Warring fae factions, attached to the creative communities of American society, are very much aware of the role this half-mortal, half-fae teenage girl plays in their fate.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Hardcover | E-book

One Moment
by: Kristina McBride

"This was supposed to be the best summer of Maggie's life. Now it's the one she'd do anything to forget."

Maggie remembers hanging out at the gorge with her closest friends after a blowout party. She remembers climbing the trail with her perfect boyfriend, Joey. She remembers that last kiss, soft, lingering, and meant to reassure her. So why can't she remember what happened in the moment before they were supposed to dive? Why was she left cowering at the top of the cliff, while Joey floated in the water below-dead?
As Maggie's memories return in snatches, nothing seems to make sense. Why was Joey acting so strangely at the party? Where did he go after taking her home? And if Joey was keeping these secrets, what else was he hiding?
The latest novel from the author of "The Tension of Opposites," "One Moment" is a mysterious, searing look at how an instant can change everything you believe about the world around you.


Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Hardcover | E-book



MOVIES & TV SERIES (June 26th)



MOVIES

21 Jump Street
Directed by: Phil Lord, Chris Miller

Starring: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum

In the action-comedy 21 Jump Street, Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) are more than ready to leave their adolescent problems behind. Joining the police force and the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover in a local high school. As they trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, Schmidt and Jenko risk their lives to investigate a violent and dangerous drug ring. But they find that high school is nothing like they left it just a few years earlier - and neither expects that they will have to confront the terror and anxiety of being a teenager again and all the issues they thought they had left behind.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD


A Thousand Words
Directed by: Brian Robbins

Starring: Eddie Murphy

Eddie Murphy is Jack McCall, a fast-talking literary agent, who can close any deal, any time, any way. He has set his sights on New Age guru Dr. Sinja (Cliff Curtis) for his own selfish purposes. But Dr. Sinja is on to him, and Jack's life comes unglued after a magical Bodhi tree mysteriously appears in his backyard. With every word Jack speaks, a leaf falls from the tree and he realizes that when the last leaf falls, both he and the tree are toast. Words have never failed Jack McCall, but now he's got to stop talking and conjure up some outrageous ways to communicate or he's a goner.


Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD

Bullhead
Directed by: Michael R. Roskam

Starring: Matthias Schoenaerts

Domineering cattle farmer Jacky Vanmarsenille (Matthias Schoenaerts), constantly pumped on steroids and hormones, initiates a shady deal with a notorious mafioso meat trader. When an investigating federal agent is assassinated and a woman from his traumatic past resurfaces, Jacky must confront his demons and face the far-reaching consequences of his decisions.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD


Mirror Mirror

Directed by: Tarsem Singh

Starring: Julia Roberts, Lily Collins

One of the most beloved stories of all time is coming to life in the motion picture event for the whole family, Mirror Mirror. A fresh and funny retelling of the Snow White legend, Mirror Mirror features breakout star Lily Collins as Snow White, a princess in exile, and Julia Roberts as the evil Queen who ruthlessly rules her captured kingdom. Seven courageous rebel dwarfs join forces with Snow White as she fights to reclaim her birthright and win her Prince in this magical comedy filled with jealousy, romance, and betrayal that will capture the hearts and imaginations of audiences the world over. The film also stars Armie Hammer as the Prince, and Nathan Lane as the hapless and bungling servant to the Queen.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray-DVD Combo | DVD


Sound of Noise
Directed by: Ola Simonsson

Starring: Bengt Warnebring

Police officer Amadeus Warnebring was born into a musical family with a long history of famous musicians. Ironically, he hates music. His life is thrown into chaos when a band of crazy musicians decides to perform a musical apocalypse using the city as their orchestra... Reluctantly, Warnebring embarks on his first musical investigation..

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | DVD



The Artist

Directed by: Michael Hazanavicius

Starring: Jean Dujardin

Hollywood 1927. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a silent movie superstar. The advent of the talkies will sound the death knell for his career and see him fall into oblivion. For young extra Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo), it seems the sky's the limit - major movie stardom awaits. The Artist tells the story of their interlinked destinies.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD



Wrath of Titans
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman

Starring: Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson

A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus-the demigod son of Zeus-is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades and Poseidon. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus' godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramírez), switch loyalty and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. The Titans' strength grows stronger as Zeus' remaining godly powers are siphoned.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray-DVD Combo | DVD



TV SERIES


Casablanca: Complete Series

Starring: David Soul

Casablanca - a 1980s television series based on the 1942 classic film. David Soul (Starsky and Hutch) plays Rick Blaine an American expatriate and the owner of Rick's Caf‚ in unoccupied Africa during the early days of WWII. The shows stellar cast includes Hector Elizondo as Captain Renault, Reuven Bar-Yotam as Ferrari, Ray Liotta as Sacha, Patrick Horgan as Major Heinrich Strasser and Scatman Crothers as Sam. The classic song "As Time Goes By", sung here by Crothers is the opening theme song for the show. Winner of an Emmy Awardr for Outstanding Cinematography for a series and a nominee for Outstanding Art Direction for a series.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | DVD

Damages: Season 4

Starring: Glenn Close, Rose Byrne

Patty Hewes (Glenn Close) prepares for a class action suite against a multinational pharmaceutical company, Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) returns to Hewes & Associates to pursue her own lawsuit against military contractor High Star Security and its powerful CEO, Howard Erickson (guest star John Goodman).

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | DVD



Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Year 7

Starring: Vincent D'Onofrio, Kathryn Erbe

Squad Detectives Robert Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio), Alex Eames (Kathryn Erbe), Mike Logan (Chris Noth) and Megan Wheeler (Julianne Nicholson) are back for another season of looking through the window of the criminal mind.

The Seventh Year includes 22 powerful episodes featuring high-profile criminal cases ripped from contemporary headlines. Investigations range from the murder of a modern-day pirate to the execution of three college freshmen and Goren going undercover at a mental hospital. Part of television’s most successful franchise, Law & Order: Criminal Intent was created by entertainment kingpin Dick Wolfe and ran for ten seasons.

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | DVD


Poirot, Agatha Christie's: Season 5

Starring: David Suchet, Philip Jackson

Now remastered & in original U.K. broadcast order

As seen on PBS’s Masterpiece Mystery!

David Suchet returns as Agatha Christie’s peerless Poirot in these eight mysteries from the hit series. The genteel Belgian detective calls upon his famous little grey cells to crack cases that no one else could, aided by cohorts Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser, Sharpe), Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson, Little Voice), and Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran). The elegant world of 1930s Europe sparkles anew in these remastered adaptations, with guest stars including Anna Chancellor (Four Weddings and a Funeral), Hermione Norris (MI-5, Cold Feet), and Jeremy Northam (Emma, The Tudors).

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD


RuPaul's Drag Race: Season 4

Starring: n/a

She's BACK…again! The unbearably long wait is over as RuPaul returns with a brand new field of gorgeous and talented sequin-sporting queens. But it's not just about the wigs and the heels, it's about performers with passion who prove to be some of the most fascinating characters on television. And this season brings us the biggest personalities the show has ever seen, all vying for the biggest prize in Drag Race history--$100,000. That's a lot of padding, honey! From deeply revealing work room interactions, to displays of wild creativity during the challenges, to their astounding transformations on the runway…every moment is hilarious, heart-filled, and truly unpredictable. As always a new star-studded panel of celebrity judges will join RuPaul to select and crown America's Next Drag Superstar. Mondays are a bigger drag than ever, as the TV's most irresistible competition show returns to Logo!

Release Date: 26 June 2012
Website | DVD

Monday, June 18, 2012

Update & My Picks of the Week! (June 19th)



Howdy, Strangers!

My first order of business is to apologize for my brief absence in the blog world. This past week I got hit with a horrible sinus infection on top of working 3 doubles (yeah, I'm a masochist at times!). By Friday I got a Z-Pak but I ended up spending the whole weekend in bed! So I just wanted to apologize for the lack of posts and also to anyone who has tried emailing me that I haven't gotten back to yet. I'm working on it!

Second, since I was incapacitated this weekend, I wasn't able to fully celebrate Father's Day. So I just wanted to wish my dad a Happy Belated Father's Day. I couldn't have asked for a better dad! You RAWWWK!

Okay, now to the new releases this week! Compared to the last few weeks, the book selections look slim. As they say, sometimes less it more, right? In Adult books, I never heard of Z.A. Recht's zombie series, The Morningstar Strain. Now with the final installment, Survivors, hitting bookshelves tomorrow, and summer only days away, I'm going to have to add this series to my TPR pile. In Young Adult, I was lucky enough to win an ARC copy of Courtney Summer's This is Not a Test thanks to LibraryThing.com, so hopefully I will have a review up by next week to share my thoughts. I'm also interested in Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt. It sounds unique and intriguing, so I'll have to give it a shot at some point!

In Movies, folks that like their comedies with stories centered around crazy party antics will be happy for the release of Project X. I personally am looking forward to checking out Big Miracle, which is based on a true story starring Drew Barrymore.

Movies that are being released in blu-ray/dvd combo packs this week are: Big Miracle, Project X, Seeking Justice, and Wanderlust.

Lastly, in TV Series, the raunchy, hilarious show Wilfred Season 1 comes out on blu-ray & dvd. Season 2 premieres on the FX channel on June 28th at 10pm (eastern time).

Enjoy!





BOOKS (June 19th)



ADULT

Existence
by: David Brin

Bestselling, award-winning futurist David Brin returns to globe-spanning, high concept SF with Existence.

Gerald Livingston is an orbital garbage collector. For a hundred years, people have been abandoning things in space, and someone has to clean it up. But there’s something spinning a little bit higher than he expects, something that isn’t on the decades’ old orbital maps. An hour after he grabs it and brings it in, rumors fill Earth’s infomesh about an “alien artifact.”

Thrown into the maelstrom of worldwide shared experience, the Artifact is a game-changer. A message in a bottle; an alien capsule that wants to communicate. The world reacts as humans always do: with fear and hope and selfishness and love and violence. And insatiable curiosity.


Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Hardcover | E-book

Fallen Angel
by: Eden Bradley

Was she heaven-sent…or more heartbreak waiting to happen?

Haunted by a military mission that ended in personal tragedy, Declan Byrne still bears a soldier’s scars. As a park ranger on the secluded Mendocino coast, he guards his heart while standing ready for anything. Anything except a beautiful, ethereal woman with a mysterious past, falling from the cliffs to the rocks below.

Angel, as Declan decides to call her, has no memory of what happened. But as her body heals, disturbing dreams emerge. In Declan’s protective care, Angel feels safe to act on the undeniable passion between them, without the threats fro
m old, unnameable demons. And, in time, she senses Declan needs her as desperately as she needs him. But when her past returns with a vengeance, Declan must decide just how much he’s willing to risk in order to keep the woman he loves safe.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book


Survivors (Morningstar Strain, #3)
by: Z.A. Recht

The long-awaited finale of Z.A. Recht’s “action-packed zombie extravaganza” (Ryan C. Thomas) that began with the acclaimed novels Plague of the Dead and Thunder and Ashes. . . . THE MORNINGSTAR STRAIN WAS THE END OF THE WORLD. In the wake of the zombie apocalypse, two separate bands of survivors journey across a decimated America, each with the desperate goal of finding the cure for the virulent plague that threatens the existence of humankind—or what’s left of it. Now it’s up to these inheritors of the future to outlive their waking nightmare, any way they can. BUT FOR THESE SURVIVORS, IT IS JUST THE BEGINNING. One group includes a brilliant virologist; for the other, an immune soldier proves invaluable. Battling infected and marauding raiders at every turn, the teams soon uncover the devious plans of Sawyer, an agent of the Chairman of the Reunited States of America, who believes that Dr. Anna Demilio already has the cure, and he will stop at nothing to find her. Now, with the salvation of the world and their own souls on the line, how far will the survivors go to emerge victorious?

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book


YOUNG ADULT


Burn Mark
by: Laura Powell

Glory is from a family of witches and lives beyond the law. She is desperate to develop her powers and become a witch herself. Lucas is the son of the Chief Prosecutor for the Inquisition—the witches’ mortal enemy—and his privileged life is very different to the forbidden world that he lives alongside.

And then on the same day, it hits them both. Glory and Lucas develop the Fae—the mark of the witch. In one fell stroke, their lives are inextricably bound together, whether they like it or not ...


Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Hardcover | E-book


Something Like Normal

by: Trish Doller

When Travis returns home from a stint in Afghanistan, his parents are splitting up, his brother’s stolen his girlfriend and his car, and he’s haunted by nightmares of his best friend’s death. It’s not until Travis runs into Harper, a girl he’s had a rocky relationship with since middle school, that life actually starts looking up. And as he and Harper see more of each other, he begins to pick his way through the minefield of family problems and post-traumatic stress to the possibility of a life that might resemble normal again. Travis’s dry sense of humor, and incredible sense of honor, make him an irresistible and eminently lovable hero.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Hardcover | E-book


Tell the Wolves I'm Home

by: Carol Rifka Brunt

In this striking literary debut, Carol Rifka Brunt unfolds a moving story of love, grief, and renewal as two lonely people become the unlikeliest of friends and find that sometimes you don’t know you’ve lost someone until you’ve found them.

1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.

At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.


Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Hardcover | E-book


This is Not a Test
by: Courtney Summers

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self.

To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed
and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live.

But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside.

When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?


Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Paperback | E-book





MOVIES & TV SERIES (June 19th)





MOVIES

Big Miracle
Directed by: Ken Kwapis

Starring: Drew Barrymore, John Krasinski

Inspired by the true story that captured the hearts of people across the world, the rescue adventure Big Miracle tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and an animal-loving volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray-DVD Combo | DVD


Exit Humanity

Directed by: John Geddes

Starring: Mark Gibson, Jordan Hayes

In the aftermath of the Civil War an unexplained outbreak of the walking dead claims the life of Edward Young's wife while his son disappears. This sets him off on a harrowing journey into the plagued countryside. Facing off challenges not just from the ferocious undead but also from the living, will Edward find an exit to the grotesque caricature of what humanity has become? The War might be over but the fight has just begun.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | DVD


Jeff Who Lives At Home

Directed by: Jay Duplass

Starring: Jason Segel, Ed Helms

On his way to the store to buy wood glue, Jeff looks for signs from the universe to determine his path. However, a series of comedic and unexpected events leads him to cross paths with his family in the strangest of locations and circumstances. Jeff just may find the meaning of his life...and if he's lucky, pick up the wood glue as well.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD



My Afternoons With Margueritte

Directed by: Jean Becker

Starring: Gerard Depardieu, Gisele Casadesus

My Afternoons with Margueritte is the story of life's random encounters. In a small French town, Germain, a nearly illiterate man in his 50's and considered to be the village idiot by his friends at the local bistro, takes a walk to the park one day and happens to sit beside Marguerite, a little old lady who is reading excerpts from her novel aloud. She's articulate, highly intelligent and frail. Between Germain and Margueritte, there are 40 years and 200 pounds difference. Germain is lured by Margueritte's passion for life and the magic of literature from which he has always felt excluded. As Margueritte broadens his mind via reading excerpts from her novel, Germain realizes that he is more of an intellectual than he has ever allowed himself to be. Afternoons spent reading aloud on their favorite bench transform their lives and start them both on a new journey -- to literacy and respect for Germain, and to the deepest friendship for Margueritte.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD


Project X

Directed by: Nima Nourizadeh

Starring: Thomas Mann, Oliver Cooper

3 high school seniors throw a birthday party to make a name for themselves. As the night progresses, things spiral out of control as word of the party spreads. Project X is an out-of-control comedy that follows a group of buds who set out to throw the most epic 17th birthday party ever. The film documents a high school party that gets completely out of control, shot from the perspective of the digital cameras that the kids have with them.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray-DVD Combo | DVD



Seeking Justice
Directed by: Roger Donaldson

Starring: Nicolas Cage, January Hones, Guy Pearce

This action-packed thriller stars Nicolas Cage as Will Gerard, a happily married family man whose quiet life is turned upside-down when his wife, Laura (January Jones), is brutally attacked one night while leaving work.

At the hospital, waiting for news about his wife’s condition, Will is approached by Simon, (Guy Pearce) who proposes an intriguing offer: Simon will arrange to have a complete stranger exact vengeance on Laura’s attacker, in exchange for a favor from Will in the near future. Distraught and grief-stricken, Will consents to the deal, unwittingly pulling himself into a dangerous underground vigilante operation. While continuing to protect his wife from the truth, he quickly discovers that his quest for justice could lead to frightening and deadly consequences.

Directed by Roger Donaldson (The Bank Job, The Recruit), with story by Robert Tannen and Todd Hickey and screenplay by Robert Tannen, Seeking Justice also stars Harold Perrineau (ABC’s “Lost,” upcoming Inferno: A Linda Lovelace Story) and Jennifer Carpenter (Showtime’s “Dexter,” Quarantine).

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray-DVD Combo | DVD


LinkSnow on tha Bluff
Directed by: Damon Russell

Starring: Curtis Snow

Snow on tha Bluff is the story of, Atlanta robbery boy and crack dealer, Curtis Snow, who steals a camera from some college kids in a dope deal and begins documenting his life. At first, it's business as usual for Curt. He robs dope boys, he runs from the cops, and he sells drugs, all while trying to provide for his baby momma and 2-year-old son. But when one of the drug dealers he ripped off comes back for revenge, things in Curt's life spirals out of control.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | DVD


The FP

Directed by: Brandon Trost

Starring: Brandon Trost

In a dystopian future, a relentless turf war rages. Two rival gangs feud for control of rural wasteland Frazier Park ('The FP') in the deadly arena of competitive dance-fight video game "Beat-Beat Revelation." After hometown hero BTRO is slain on the dance platform by thug leader L Dubba E, his protégé younger brother JTRO (Jason Trost) goes into isolation, vowing never to duel again. One year later, The FP is in ruins, and JTRO must find the courage to return and restore order in a ruthless battle for revenge that can only leave one man dancing. From the producers of Paranormal Activity and featuring narration by James Remar (The Warriors), THE FP is a fury of fierce footwork, triumphant montages and neon street wear that Moviefone calls "a rare ready-made cult hit."

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD


The Jerk Theory
Directed by: Scott. S. Anderson

Starring: Josh Henderson, Tom Arnold

A nice-guy teen gives himself a bad-boy makeover, and quickly becomes the talk of the school before falling for a girl who doesn't give jerks the time of day. Labeled dull by his girlfriend and dumped for a guy who will treat her wrong, Adam decides that the time for being sensitive is over. Before long he's insulting every girl who comes his way - and they just keep coming back for more! But pretty Molly has dated her fair share of thugs, and now she'sLink looking for a guy who will respect her. The old Adam would have been a perfect match, but Molly isn't falling for his new routine. Uncertain if his new approach is attracting the kind of girls he really wants, Adam realizes that he'll never find the right one until he drops the act, and focuses on just being himself.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | DVD


Wanderlust
Directed by: David Wain

Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd

George (Rudd) and Linda (Aniston) are an overextended, stressed out Manhattan couple. After George is downsized out of his job, they find themselves with only one option: to move in with George's awful brother in Atlanta. On the way there, George and Linda stumble upon Elysium, an idyllic community populated by colorful characters who embrace a different way of looking at things. Money? It can't buy happiness. Careers? Who needs them? Clothes? Only if you want them. Is Elysium the fresh start George and Linda need? Or will the change of perspective cause more problems than it solves?

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray-DVD Combo | DVD



TV SERIES


Franklin & Bash: Season 1

Starring: Breckin Meyer, Mark-Paul Gosselaar

Jared Franklin (Breckin Meyer, Robot Chicken) and Peter Bash (Mark-Paul Gosselaar, NYPD Blue) have a funny way of practicing the law. From making out with a plaintiff, to fist fighting on the courtroom steps, to chugging beers as evidence, these rogue lawyers will pull any wild stunts to win a client’s case. But their unorthodox methods get results. That’s why eccentric attorney Stanton Infeld (Malcolm McDowell, The Artist) asks them to join his high-powered law firm. Prepare for a culture clash as Franklin & Bash teach the old legal system a few new tricks. The complete first season features guest stars Jason Alexander (Seinfeld), Beau Bridges (The Descendants), Harry Hamlin (L.A. Law), Tom Arnold (Sons of Anarchy) and Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica).

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | DVD


Hey Dude: Season 3

Starring: Joe Torres, David Brisbin

City-born rancher Benjamin Ernst and his herd of teenage help return to the Bar None Ranch for another summer of desert dustups and adventures. Season 3 episodes include a baseball game, ghost stories, Brad attending summer school, a wrestling match and even a possible marriage!

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | DVD




Louie:
Season 2


Starring: Louis C.K.

Comedian Louis C.K. is back with another season of this critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated hit. Spotlighting C.K.'s signature brand of twisted observational humor, Season Two follows the everyday trials of single dad Louie as he struggles to raise his kids, advance his career, and somehow get some action in the meantime. Facing one bummer after another, Louie takes on inattentive crowds, insane relatives, and a hair-raising U.S.O. tour of Afghanistan. Featuring a stellar array of guest stars including Joan Rivers, and Chris Rock, Louie Season Two comes fully loaded with unrestrained deleted scenes and commentaries by Louis C.K.

Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD


Wildred:
Season 1


Starring: Elijah Wood, Jason Gann

You'll sit up and beg for more of Wilfred, the most hilarious and daringly original new comedy on TV. Elijah Wood stars as Ryan, a down-on-his-luck lawyer who forms a unique friendship with his sexy neighbor's pet pooch "Wilfred." Everyone else sees a dog, but Ryan sees a bong-ripping, beer-chugging, foul-mouthed Australian bloke in a furry suit (played by the outrageously funny Jason Gann). By unleashing the surly, sweet and always adventurous Wilfred, Ryan may just learn to stand on his own hind legs and embrace the insanity of real life.


Release Date: 19 June 2012
Website | Blu-ray | DVD