Monday, July 16, 2012

My Picks of the Week! (July 17th-19th)


 Hello, my Muses!

I know, I know! It's a little late, but here is the new list of releases this week!  In Adult books, I added some really hot scorchers! If you like erotica, then you need to check out Banishing Shadows by Lorna Jean Roberts, Omega Mine by Aline Hunter, and Tattooed Tryst by Cynthia Sax! In Young Adult, I have an ARC of The Girl With Borrowed Wings by debut author Rinsai Rossetti, so I am looking forward to reading that. I somehow stumbled upon Beth Kephart's Small Damages which sounds interesting.

In Movies, there is a little bit for everyone. If you are looking for laughs, you may want to check out The Three Stooges and Will Ferrell in Casa de mi Padre (yes, it is in Spanish!). If you are looking for romance, the cute indie flick Salmon Fishing in Yemen starring Ewan McGregor and Emily Blunt is said to be a good one. If you like action/suspense films, check out Guy Pearce in Lockout and Mel Gibson in Get the Gringo. Yeah, I know, Mel has issues, but I've been hearing he is surprisingly good in it!

*Note* The only movies coming out this week in a blu-ray/DVD Combo set are Get the Gringo and The Three Stooges.

And finally, in TV Series, if you are looking for something new to watch, check out Syfy's Alphas: Season 1. Season 4 of both Leverage and Sanctuary come out this week. And if you are into classic tv and have been patiently waiting for the final season of Designing Women to get released on dvd, your wait is finally over. Season 7 is finally here!

Enjoy these goodies!








BOOKS (JULY 17th-19th)



ADULT 

Banishing Shadows
by: Lorna Jean Roberts

Fear is an emotion Kayla Sinclair is all too familiar with. An assault four months ago left her shaken, traumatized, scared of her own shadow. But now she’s determined to fight back. She’s taking control of her life, standing on her own two feet… Which would be so much easier if Cord Marsden hadn’t swept back into her world, knocking her feet right out from under her. Sexy as sin, dominant and bossy—he’s the one man she’s always been wildly attracted to, and the one man she’ll never trust with her heart. Not again.

Cord has returned home with one thing on his mind. Seducing Kayla. Two years ago he ran out on her, and she’s haunted him ever since. Memories of her sweet taste, her luscious scent and her innocent touch fill his dreams. He’s come back, determined to win her trust and her love.

And he will allow no one, not Kayla or whoever is threatening her, to get in his way.
Release Date: 18 July 1012


Burner
by: M.C. Mars

How far are you willing to go, and how much are you willing to sacrifice in order to realize your dream?

Jason Teal, is a hip-hop deejay and producer who dropped out in his last semester as a college astrophysics major and moved to san Francisco with his rapper friends to pursue a career in music. Three years later, the hip-hop group he co-founded has signed a major label deal – without him. Meanwhile, Jason has lost sight of his dream. He’s working a job he hates and his relationship with his stripper-girlfriend has hit rock bottom. And now, with greater frequency, he’s having hallucinations. He hallucinates walls and trains covered with graffiti pieces (burners). The burners are the work of his dead brother, PSYCHOPOMP, a great graffiti writer whose death, more than twenty years ago, has given rise to strange rumors. Some say he was murdered by the Illuminati, others believe he was in the Illuminati.

Into the chaos of Jason’s downward spiral steps a man named Cyril Magbion, a mysterious figure with ties to a secret society. Cyril has the power to transform Jason’s life overnight. He has money. He has answers.  He  seems to know everything. But first Jason must prove himself worthy of such a mentor and undergo “The TEST.”seems to know everything. But first Jason must prove himself worthy of such a mentor and undergo “The TEST.”

The TEST will take Jason Teal down the rabbit-hole into the new paradigm of wave/particle duality where quantum physics meets mysticism at the level of the unseen. In the rabbit hole, he’ll encounter a dominatrix with a chip on her shoulder, a gangster who blew off his leg making a bomb, a man in a wheelchair dressed as a pharaoh beckoning him with ESP, a ginseng store owner who looks like Peter Lorre on speed, CIA MK ULTRA experiments, and many more weird and terrifying things that will lead to a head-on collision with himself, and the Big Bang of consciousness.

Can you handle a mind-altering adjustment to the mass hallucination we call reality? If the answer is yes, then read this book.seems to know everything. But first Jason must prove himself worthy of such a mentor and undergo “The TEST.”

The TEST will take Jason Teal down the rabbit-hole into the new paradigm of wave/particle duality where quantum physics meets mysticism at the level of the unseen. In the rabbit hole, he’ll encounter a dominatrix with a chip on her shoulder, a gangster who blew off his leg making a bomb, a man in a wheelchair dressed as a pharaoh beckoning him with ESP, a ginseng store owner who looks like Peter Lorre on speed, CIA MK ULTRA experiments, and many more weird and terrifying things that will lead to a head-on collision with himself, and the Big Bang of consciousness.

Can you handle a mind-altering adjustment to the mass hallucination we call reality? If the answer is yes, then read this book.
seems to know everything. But first Jason must prove himself worthy of such a mentor and undergo "The Test."
The TEST will take Jason Teal down the rabbit-hole into the new paradigm of wave/particle duality where quantum physics meets mysticism at the level of the unseen. In the rabbit hole, he’ll encounter a dominatrix with a chip on her shoulder, a gangster who blew off his leg making a bomb, a man in a wheelchair dressed as a pharaoh beckoning him with ESP, a ginseng store owner who looks like Peter Lorre on speed, CIA MK ULTRA experiments, and many more weird and terrifying things that will lead to a head-on collision with himself, and the Big Bang of consciousness.

Release Date: 16 July 2012



Omega Mine (Alpha and Omega, #1) (Re-release)
by: Aline Hunter

A bond forged in blood. Fealty given to the one he desires above all others.

Graced with the ability to shift into any form, Diskant Black is the absolute authority when it comes to New York shifters, and as the Omega of the city, his word is law. Protecting the shifter races is more than a job, it's a predisposition ingrained since birth-nothing is more important. Until a chance encounter with a tiny female sets fire to his blood, brings him to his knees and turns his world upside down. Ava Brisbane is more than he bargained for in a mate-beautiful, fragile...human. If he wants to keep her by his side, he'll have to sacrifice a portion of his soul to establish a bond that can never be broken.

Unfortunately, the timing couldn't be worse.

Shepherds-hunters of all the shifter races-have arrived in New York. To protect the woman he can't live without, Diskant will have to stand against those who have come to start a war.


Release Date: 18 July 2012


Tattooed Tryst
by: Cynthia Sax

When a tattooed stranger strides into the diner and gazes at Lori with his flame-infused eyes, she realizes he’s someone special. Something special. There are tall, gorgeous aliens hidden among us, aliens armed with big guns and burning kisses, aliens taking what they want and whom they want, melting resistance with firm lips and rough, calloused touches. Aliens with fascinating tattoos.

Trake takes one look at the waitress serving up coffee and sultry smiles and knows she will be his. With military precision, he begins his passionate assault, using every weapon in his sexual arsenal to seduce Lori. Time is limited. He leaves Earth in nine days and his human mate can’t make the difficult journey. This is his sole chance at the ecstasy of bonding.

He will not fail.


Release Date: 18 July 2012




YOUNG ADULT

A World Away
by: Nancy Grossman

A summer of firsts.

Sixteen-year-old Eliza Miller has never made a phone call, never tried on a pair of jeans, never sat in a darkened theater waiting for a movie to start. She's never even talked to someone her age who isn't Amish, like her.
A summer of good-byes.


When she leaves her close-knit family to spend the summer as a nanny in suburban Chicago, a part of her can't wait to leave behind everything she knows. She can't imagine the secrets she will uncover, the friends she will make, the surprises and temptations of a way of life so different from her own.


A summer of impossible choice.


Every minute Eliza spends with her new friend Josh feels as good as listening to music for the first time, and she wonders whether there might be a place for her in his world. But as summer wanes, she misses the people she has left behind, and the plain life she once took for granted. Eliza will have to decide for herself where she belongs. Whichever choice she makes, she knows she will lose someone she loves.


Release Date: 17 July 2012



Small Damages 
by: Beth Kephart

It’s senior year, and while Kenzie should be looking forward to prom and starting college in the fall, she is mourning the loss of her father. She finds solace in the one person she trusts, her boyfriend, and she soon finds herself pregnant. Kenzie’s boyfriend and mother do not understand her determination to keep the baby. She is sent to southern Spain for the summer, where she will live out her pregnancy as a cook’s assistant on a bull ranch, and her baby will be adopted by a Spanish couple.

Alone and resentful in a foreign country, Kenzie is at first sullen and difficult. She begins to open her eyes and her heart to the beauty that is all around her and inside of her.


Release Date: 19 July 2012



Spark (Sky Chaser, #2)
by: Amy Kathleen Ryan

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

In one night, a strange explosion rocks the Empyrean—shooting them off course and delaying their pursuit of the New Horizon—and Seth is mysteriously released from the brig. Seth is the most obvious suspect for the explosion, and Waverly the most obvious suspect for releasing him. As the tension reaches a boiling point, will Seth be able to find the true culprit before Kieran locks them both away—or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? With the balance of power precarious and the clock ticking, every decision counts… every step brings them closer to a new beginning, or a sudden end..


Release Date: 17 July 2012



The Girl With Borrowed Wings
by: Rinsai Rossetti

A stunningly written tale of an isolated girl and the shape-shifting boy who shows her what freedom could be--if only she has the courage to take it.

Controlled by her father and bound by desert, Frenenqer Paje’s life is tediously the same, until a small act of rebellion explodes her world and she meets a boy, but not just a boy--a Free person, a winged person, a shape-shifter. He has everything Frenenqer doesn’t. No family, no attachments, no rules. At night, he flies them to the far-flung places of their childhoods to retrace their pasts. But when the delicate balance of their friendship threatens to rupture into something more, Frenenqer must confront her isolation, her father, and her very sense of identity, breaking all the rules of her life to become free.


Release Date: 19 July 2012



Wicked Jealous: A Love Story
by: Robin Palmer

Simone never saw herself as the “cute girl”—she was always the chunky, band tee wearing, France-obsessed smart girl. But now that Simone’s a few pounds lighter and sporting a new retro style, things have gotten, well, weird. Her crush Jason seems to actually know she exists. And when Simone’s soon-to-be stepmonster Hillary stops ignoring her, Simone knows something is up. When Simone’s brother offers to let her move in with him and his six roommates on the beach for the summer, Simone jumps at the chance. But living with seven very different college boys isn’t exactly helping her land her very own happily ever after.

Release Date: 19 July 2012





MOVIES & TV SERIES (JULY 17th)



MOVIES

 4:44 Last Days on Earth
Directed by: Abel Ferrara

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Natasha Lyonne

In a large apartment high above the city lives our couple. They're in love. She's a painter, he's a successful actor. Just a normal afternoon - except that this isn't a normal afternoon, for them or anyone else. Because tomorrow, at 4:44 am, give or take a few seconds, the world will come to an end far more rapidly than even the worst doomsayer could have imagined. The final meltdown will come not without warnings, but with no means of escape. There will be no survivors. As always, there are those who, as their last cigarette is being lit and the blindfold tightened, will still hope against hope for some kind of reprieve. For a miracle. Not our two lovers. They - like the majority of the Earth's population - have accepted their fate: the world is going to end.

Release Date: 17 July 2012



Casa de Mi Padre
Directed by: Matt Piedmont

Starring: Will Ferrell, Diego Luna

Armando Alvarez (Will Ferrell) has lived and worked on his father's ranch in Mexico his entire life. As the ranch encounters financial difficulties, Armando's younger brother Raul (Diego Luna) shows up with his new fiancée, Sonia (Genesis Rodriguez). It seems that Raul's success as an international businessman means the ranch's troubles are over as he pledges to settle all debts his father has incurred. But when Armando falls for Sonia, and Raul's business dealings turn out to be less than legit, all hell breaks loose as they find themselves in a war with Mexico's most feared drug lord, the mighty Onza (Gael Garcia Bernal).

Release Date: 17 July 2012



Extraterrestrial
Directed by: Nacho Vigalondo

Starring: Julian Villagran, Michelle Jenner

When Julio wakes up in a strange apartment after a night of partying, he's pleasantly surprised to discover it belongs to a beautiful one-night-stand he can't remember - Julia. What's already an awkward situation is made even more so when they discover a giant flying saucer hovering above the city, which is now deserted. Now Julio must contend with a jealous ex-boyfriend, an eccentric neighbor - and very possibly the end of the world!

Release Date: 17 July 2012



Friends With Kids
Directed by: Jennifer Westfeldt

Starring: Adam Scott, John Hamm

Friends with Kids is a daring and poignant ensemble comedy about a close-knit circle of friends at that moment in life when children arrive and everything changes. The last two singles in the group observe the effect that kids have had on their friends' relationships and wonder if there's a better way. They decide to have a kid together - and date other people. There are big laughs and unexpected emotional truths as this unconventional 'experiment' leads everyone in the group to question the nature of friendship, family and, finally, true love.


Release Date: 17 July 2012




Get the Gringo
Directed by: Adrian Grunberg

Starring: Mel Gibson

ACADEMY AWARD Winner Mel Gibson* steals the show - and anything else he can get his hands on - in this explosive, nonstop thrill ride packed with equal parts action and attitude! A career criminal (Gibson) pulls off the heist of a lifetime, but his getaway plans go south of the border when a high-speed car chase lands him in a hard-core Mexican prison community known as "El Pueblito." Now, in order to survive, he'll have to fend off corrupt cops, take down ruthless druglords...and team up with a streetwise ten-year-old who has a few secrets of his own! 

Release Date: 17 July 2012



Here
Directed by: Braden King

Starring: Ben Foster, Lubna Azabel

Set against the gorgeous landscape of Armenia, Here chronicles a brief but intense relationship between an American satellite-mapping engineer (Foster) and an expatriate photographer (Azabal) who impulsively decide to travel across the remote countryside. As their trip comes to an end, the two must decide where to go from Here.

Release Date: 17 July 2012



Intruders
Directed by: Juan Carlos Fresnadillo

Starring: Clive Owen, Ella Purnell

Though no one can see him, Hollow Face lurks in the corners, desperately desiring love but only knowing how to spread fear and hate. He creeps into the life of John Farrow (Clive Owen) after Farrow s beloved 13-year-old daughter Mia (Ella Purnell) is assaulted in their home. The line between the real and the imaginary blurs as fissures start to open within the family unit. It seems that no security measure can keep Hollow Face out. From visionary filmmaker JUAN CARLOS FRESNADILLO (28 Weeks Later, the upcoming Highlander reboot), INTRUDERS is the chilling story of two children living in different countries, each visited nightly by a faceless being who wants to take possession of them. 

Release Date: 17 July 2012


Lockout
Directed by: James Mather

Starring: Guy Pearce, Maggie Grace

Starring Guy Pearce and Maggie Grace and set in the near future, Lockout follows a falsely convicted ex-government agent (Pearce), whose one chance at obtaining freedom lies in the dangerous mission of rescuing the President's daughter (Grace) from rioting convicts at an outer space maximum-security prison. Lockout was directed by Stephen St. Leger and James Mather from their script co-written with Luc Besson, who is also a producer.

Release Date: 17 July 2012



 Mamitas
Directed by: Nicholas Ozeki

Starring: E.J. Bonilla, Veronica Diaz-Carranza

Beautifully shot in Echo Park and against Los Angeles' downtown skyline, this beguiling coming-of-age romance introduces two phenomenal young actors in EJ Bonilla and Veronica Diaz-Carranza. At school, Jordin (Bonilla) is a cocky but charming Latino firebrand; at home he is a doting grandson who can't seem to please his perpetually cranky father. On the day he's suspended for insulting a teacher, Jordin meets Felipa (Diaz-Carranza), a bookish, no-nonsense New York girl who sees past the swaggering facade. The two immediately embark on an unlikely friendship that inspires Jordin to find out who he really is.


Release Date: 17 July 2012



Salmon Fishing in Yemen
Directed by: Lasse Hallstrom

Starring: Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt

When Britain's leading fisheries expert (Ewan McGregor) is approached by a consultant (Emily Blunt) to help realize a sheikh's (Amr Waked) vision of bringing the sport of fly-fishing to the desert, he immediately thinks the project is both absurd and unachievable. But when the Prime Minister's overzealous press secretary (Kristin Scott Thomas) latches on to it as a "good will" story, this unlikely team will put it all on the line and embark on an upstream journey of faith and fish to prove the impossible, possible.


Release Date: 17 July 2012


The Three Stooges
Directed by: Bobby Ferrelly


Starring: Sean Hayes, Will Sasso

Left on a nun's doorstep, Larry, Curly and Moe grow up finger-poking, nyuk-nyuking and woo-woo-wooing their way to uncharted levels of knuckleheaded misadventure. Out to save their childhood home, only The Three Stooges could become embroiled in an oddball murder plot...while also stumbling into starring in a phenomenally successful TV reality show.


Release Date: 17 July 2012





TV SERIES

Alphas: Season 1

Starring: Warren Christie, David Strathairn

Brought together to form one extraordinary team of "Alphas" - people whose unique brain anomalies imbue them with superhuman mental and physical abilities - five seemingly ordinary citizens must take the law into their own hands while working within the government to investigate a new brand of baffling crime. An action-packed thriller starring an electrifying cast led by Primetime Emmy Award winner and Academy Award nominee David Strathairn (The Bourne Ultimatum) and guest starring sci-fi icons Lindsay Wagner (The Bionic Woman), Summer Glau (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) and Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation), discover a new breed of superheroes in Alphas.

Release Date: 17 July 2012



Designing Women: Final Season

Starring: Dixie Carter, Annie Potts

The seventh and final season mixes up the cast one last time with the introduction of Judith Ivey as B.J. Poteet, a rich Texas widow who invests in the Sugarbaker firm after Allison Sugarbaker pulls her money out of the business for good. Season Seven highlights include Carlene (Jan Hooks) dating a cross-dresser, Anthony (Meshach Taylor) embarking on a wild, and costly, trip to Vegas, Bernice (Alice Ghostley) fearing that Mary Jo (Annie Potts) is planning to put her to sleep, and Julia (Dixie Carter) and all of the women of Sugarbaker’s struggling to keep the business alive.


Release Date: 17 July 2012



Eureka: Season 5

Starring: Joe Morton, Colin Ferguson

They can bend the laws of nature. They can push science to the absolute limit. But there's one force they can't change: their destiny. Return to the small town with big secrets as the geniuses of Eureka venture beyond everything they've ever known in the fifth and final season of one of TV's most beloved shows. From searching for the lost Astraeus crew to experiencing a disaster drill that proves all too real, it's anything but life as usual in the seemingly idyllic town. And as the final moments tick by, one question looms large for everyone: will Eureka be shut down for good? Guest starring sci-fi fan favorites Wil Wheaton and Felicia Day, this three-disc set is a fitting, mind-boggling send-off for the community that never "officially" existed.


Release Date: 17 July 2012



Leverage: Season 4

Starring: Timothy Hutton, Christian Kane

The stakes have never been higher in this all-new season of Leverage, the thrilling crime drama that puts you at the heart of the action. Timothy Hutton returns as Nate Ford, now more determined than ever to fight injustice with the help of his elite team of crack con artists.


Release Date: 17 July 2012



Sanctuary: Season 4

Starring: Amanda Tapping, Robin Dunne

Amanda Tapping returns as Dr. Helen Magnus in the amazing fourth season of the hit Syfy series, promising bigger myths and greater surprises than ever before. The Sanctuary team realizes they cannot rely on the government to help the Hollow Earth Abnormals who have emerged as Dr. Helen Magnus tracks down Adam Worth in 1898 to stop him from destroying the current timeline.


Release Date: 17 July 2012



The Inbetweeners: Complete Series

Starring: Simon BirdBlake Harrison

Marooned in suburbia, four adolescent boys navigate the minefields of life with their hormones at full blast. Though the young lads try to convince the world they are sophisticated, sexy human beings, their obsession with girls and cheap booze is a cringe-inducing look at the humiliations of teenage life. Enormously popular British comedy series.


 Release Date: 17 July 2012



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