Monday, July 15, 2013

My Picks of the Week! (16th July 2013)



 Hello, Muses!

I first want to thank everyone that participated in "Zombie Week". There are still 2 GIVEAWAYS going on, one that is open internationally and one that is open to US residents only. Click the links below to enter:



There are quite a few releases worth mentioning this week, especially in movies & television. But before getting to those, in Adult books, a few that stand out are Harder He Falls by Sidney Bristol, Innocence Defied by Lainey Reese, and The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P by Adelle Waldman. In Young Adult, Debbie Levy's Imperfect Spiral, Left Drowning by Jessica Park, and Perfection by JL Spelbring all sound interesting.

Finally, in movies & television, 42 (the Jackie Robinson Story), White Frog, Evil Dead should cover you if you are looking for a true story, drama, and horror. Hell on Wheels: Season 2 will be available this week as well as the BBC hit series Orphan Black: Season 1.

Enjoy!





BOOKS (15th-18th JULY)

A   D   U   L   T


Guarded Desires (Heart of Fame, #3)
by: Lexxie Couper

Small-screen sex symbol Chris Huntley is on the fast track to becoming the next big action-blockbuster movie star. When his latest movie takes him to Australia for a red-carpet premiere, he thinks he’s ready for anything.

But nothing could have prepared him for his raw, carnal response to his Aussie bodyguard. Sexual attraction to a man is a first for Chris. Now he realizes why his relationships with women have never felt quite…complete.

Liev Reynolds is comfortable with his bisexuality, but his attraction to Chris is an inconvenience he must ignore. For starters, there’s his professional ethics. Then there’s the long trail of female broken hearts in Chris’s wake.

Hard as they both try to keep their minds on their jobs, desire and a little matchmaking tip them over the edge. But Hollywood endings aren’t real life. And when the truth leaks out, their careers aren’t the only collateral damage.

Warning: A hunky Hollywood sex symbol. A smoldering, stubborn Australian. A desire so powerful it cannot be denied. A kiss. And a photograph. This isn’t your normal boy-meets-boy story.

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Harder He Falls, The (So Inked, #2)
by: Sidney Bristol

 A woman who doesn’t have time for love…

A hot night full of hotel-destroying sex was all Kellie wanted from her client-turned-sex god. Between family and work, there isn’t room for love, just hot, sweaty lust. An arrangement for mutual gratification is exactly what Kellie wants, but every kiss, each mind-blowing orgasm twines her heart around a man she cannot have.

A man building a new life…

Quinton’s assumptions about the So Inked shop owner are turned on their head after one session under her tattoo machine. Kellie’s not the vandal he’s looking for, but she’s the woman he wants. In his bed, on the desk or under the stars, he’ll take her any way he can get her. But Quin has secrets and someone is out to destroy him. Someone who has their sights set on Kellie now.

Release Date: 18th July 2013


Innocence Defied (New York, #3)
by: Lainey Reese

Gage Hollister is a Southern Dom looking for a full time sub/slave. When his family's business brings him to New York City for an indefinite stay, he decides that now is the time to find her. Night after night he prowls the local BDSM club in search of a woman whose need to be dominated equals his thirst for true submission. As the search drags on he begins to wonder if his perfect match even exists. When he is asked to play chaperone for a family friend embarking on her first trip as an adult; he welcomes the chance for distraction from his thus far fruitless endeavor.

Zoe Marshall is the youngest sister to Gage's best friend and she has been in love with Gage for as long as she can remember. She has saved herself for him and him alone. Now, after careful planning and a bit of luck she finally has her opportunity to show Gage that she's all grown up and ready to be his. Although he believes himself too old and jaded for an innocent like her, Zoe will not relent until she belongs to him in every way.

Soon Gage's resistance crumbles and Zoe's dreams become reality but their budding love is tested when her brother discovers them. As those bonds of friendship strain under betrayal and broken trust, Zoe is confronted with having to choose between the man she loves and the brother she worships. Will having the love of her man cost her the love of her family? If so, is her heart strong enough to survive that loss? Is their love?

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.
by: Adelle Waldman

Bold, touching, and funny—a debut novel by a brilliant young woman about the coming-of-age of a brilliant young literary man

“He was not the kind of guy who disappeared after sleeping with a woman—and certainly not after the condom broke. On the contrary: Nathaniel Piven was a product of a postfeminist 1980s childhood and politically correct, 1990s college education. He had learned all about male privilege. Moreover, he was in possession of a functional and frankly rather clamorous conscience.” – From The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P.

Nate Piven is a rising star in Brooklyn’s literary scene. After several lean and striving years, he has his pick of both magazine assignments and women: Juliet, the hotshot business reporter; Elisa, his gorgeous ex-girlfriend, now friend; and Hannah, “almost universally regarded as nice and smart, or smart and nice,” who is lively fun and holds her own in conversation with his friends.

In this 21st-century literary world, wit and conversation are not at all dead. Is romance? Novelist Adelle Waldman plunges into the psyche of a modern man—who thinks of himself as beyond superficial judgment, yet constantly struggles with his own status anxiety, who is drawn to women, yet has a habit of letting them down. With tough-minded intelligence and wry good humor The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P. is an absorbing tale of one young man’s search for happiness—and an inside look at how he really thinks about women, sex and love.

Release Date: 16th July 2013


 Morning Light (A Day of Pleasure, #1)
by:  Cora Cade

During Noah Harper's ten years as an Army Ranger, Tennyson Sharpe's letters were his lifeline. With each mail call, the bright and vibrant girl of his youth slowly became the woman of his dreams.

Now he's home and he's in hell. The problem? Tenn is his little brother's best friend. Claiming her risks all kinds of collateral damage.

Tenn is getting nervous. Since Noah came home, they've been circling each other, neither willing to risk the status quo. It s time to kick things up a notch and make a play for the man she's loved since she was sixteen before someone else does.

Dressing to impress works better than she could have dreamed. After a scorching interlude leads to a steamy morning wrapped in each others arms, reality comes crashing down. Shining a devastating light on Tenn's deepest fears and forcing Noah into scramble mode to convince her forever was always on his mind.

Warning: This book contains some serious foreplay in the great outdoors; stand-up sex with a hot, stand-up guy; and a wounded Army Ranger who s determined to leave no heart behind especially the one belonging to the girl of his dreams.

Release Date: 16th July 2013

On the Road to a Perfect Match
by: Elizabeth Gold

Todd and Brad have been friends since they were kids dreaming of making their pro wrestling dreams a reality. After Todd’s college girlfriend ditches him, he convinces Brad to put his education on hold and go to wrestling school in Portland.

With money tight, Todd and Brad end up sharing a pull-out bed in a small apartment. It gets increasingly difficult for them to hide their feelings—or even to determine exactly what it is they do feel for each other.

When Todd’s mother is diagnosed with cancer, he returns to Seattle. Brad is left to fend for himself in Portland and struggles with jealousy and guilt as he wishes for Todd to be with him again. Will their wrestling careers ever take off? And what will happen to Todd and Brad’s relationship, in and out of the ring?

Release Date: 15th July 2013


Winning Season, The
by: Alison Packard

Kelly Maxwell has finally landed her dream job as publicist for the San Francisco Blaze. But the team's newest member, handsome bad boy catcher Matt Scanlon, is refusing every interview. She's got to get him to open up before the season ends, or she may not be back next year. And after everything she overcame to achieve her dream, Kelly's not about to let that happen.

Matt Scanlon just wants to be left alone to rebuild his life and his career. After a year of masking the pain of a recent loss with hard partying and fast women, he finally hit rock bottom and was traded to a team he's loathed his entire life—a team with little to no chance at the post-season.

Butting heads is getting Kelly and Matt nowhere but annoyed, and with the team's schedule on the road, they can't avoid close quarters—or their surprising attraction to one another. As the season winds down, Matt finds his growing feelings for Kelly have brought his numbed emotions back to life. But when betrayal shatters their fragile trust, winning it all seems more impossible than ever.

Release Date: 15th July 2013


Y  O  U  N  G    A  D  U  L  T

Belladonna (Secrets of the Eternal Rose, #2)
by: Fiona Paul

In the second in the stunning Secrets of the Eternal Rose series, Cassandra Caravello is trying to forget Falco, the wild artist who ran off with her heart, as she grows closer to her strong, steady fiancé, Luca. But Luca seems to have his own secrets. When he’s arrested by soldiers in the middle of the night, Cass’s life is once again thrown into chaos. She must save Luca, and that means finding the Book of the Eternal Rose—the only evidence that will prove he’s innocent.

So begins her journey to Florence, a city haunted by whispers of vampirism, secret soirees and clandestine meetings of the Order of the Eternal Rose. And home to Falco, who is working for the Order’s eerily stunning leader, the Belladonna herself.

Can Cass trust her heart to lead her to the truth this time?
Nothing is as it seems in this seductive thriller, where the truth may be the deadliest poison of all.

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Dangerous Girls
by: Abigail Haas

Paradise quickly gets gruesome in this thrilling page-turner with a plot that’s ripped from the headlines and a twist that defies the imagination.

It’s Spring Break of senior year. Anna, her boyfriend Tate, her best friend Elise, and a few other close friends are off to a debaucherous trip to Aruba that promises to be the time of their lives.

But when Elise is found brutally murdered, Anna finds herself trapped in a country not her own, fighting against vile and contemptuous accusations. As Anna sets out to find her friend’s killer, she discovers harsh revelations about her friendships, the slippery nature of truth, and the ache of young love.

Awaiting the judge’s decree, it becomes clear to Anna that everyone around her thinks she is not only guilty, but also dangerous. And when the whole story comes out, reality is more shocking than anyone ever imagined..

Release Date: 16th July 2013



Imperfect Spiral
by: Debbie Levy

Danielle Snyder's summer job as a babysitter takes a tragic turn when Humphrey, the five-year-old boy she's watching, runs in front of oncoming traffic to chase down his football. Immediately Danielle is caught up in the machinery of tragedy: police investigations, neighborhood squabbling, and, when the driver of the car that struck Humphrey turns out to be an undocumented alien, outsiders use the accident to further a politically charged immigration debate. Wanting only to mourn Humphrey, the sweet kid she had a surprisingly strong friendship with, Danielle tries to avoid the world around her. Through a new relationship with Justin, a boy she meets at the park, she begins to work through her grief, but as details of the accident emerge, much is not as it seems. It's time for Danielle to face reality, but when the truth brings so much pain, can she find a way to do right by Humphrey's memory and forgive herself for his death?

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Left Drowning
by: Jessica Park

What does it take to rise from life’s depths, swim against the current, and breathe?

Weighted down by the loss of her parents, Blythe McGuire struggles to keep her head above water as she trudges through her last year at Matthews College. Then a chance meeting sends Blythe crashing into something she doesn’t expect—an undeniable attraction to a dark-haired senior named Chris Shepherd, whose past may be even more complicated than her own. As their relationship deepens, Chris pulls Blythe out of the stupor she’s been in since the night a fire took half her family. She begins to heal, and even, haltingly, to love this guy who helps her find new paths to pleasure and self-discovery. But as Blythe moves into calmer waters, she realizes Chris is the one still strangled by his family’s traumatic history. As dark currents threaten to pull him under, Blythe may be the only person who can keep him from drowning.

*This book is intended for mature audiences due to strong language and sexual content.

Release Date: 16th July 2013


No Easy Way Out (No Safety in Numbers, #2)
by:  Dayna Lorentz

It's Day 7 in the quarantined mall. The riot is over and the senator trapped inside is determined to end the chaos. Even with new rules, assigned jobs, and heightened security, she still needs to get the teen population under control. So she enlists Marco's help--allowing him to keep his stolen universal card key in exchange for spying on the very football players who are protecting him.

But someone is working against the new systems, targeting the teens, and putting the entire mall in even more danger. Lexi, Marco, Ryan, and Shay believe their new alliances are sound.

They are wrong. Who can be trusted? And who will be left to trust?

The virus was just the beginning.

Fans of Life As We Knew It and those who love apocalyptic plots will love this modern Lord of the Flies. The sequel to No Safety in Numbers is a pounding, relentless rush that will break your heart and keep you guessing until the end.

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Perfection
by: JL Spelbring 

The personification of Aryan purity, Ellyssa's spent her whole life under her creator's strict training and guidance; her purpose is to eradicate inferior beings. She was genetically engineered to be the perfect soldier: strong, intelligent, unemotional, and telepathic.
 
Only Ellyssa isn't perfect.
 
Ellyssa feels emotions--a fact she's spent her life concealing. Until she encounters the epitome of inferiority: a dark-haired boy raised among renegades hiding since the Nazis won the war a century ago. He speaks to her telepathically, pushing thoughts into her mind, despite the impossibility of such a substandard person having psychic abilities.
 
But he does.
 
His unspoken words and visions of a place she's never visited make Ellyssa question her creator. Confused and afraid her secret will be discovered, Ellyssa runs away, embarking on a journey where she discovers there is more to her than perfection.

Release Date: 16th July 2013

Replica (Replica, #1)

by: Jenna Black

Sixteen-year-old Nadia Lake comes from a high-class Executive family in the Corporate States. Her marriage has been arranged with the most powerful family in her state, which means she lives a life of privilege but also of public scrutiny, followed everywhere by photographers, every detail of her private life tabloid fodder. But her future is assured, as long as she can maintain her flawless public image — no easy feat when your betrothed is a notorious playboy.

Nathan Hayes is the heir of Paxco — controller of the former state of New York, and creator of human replication technology, science that every state and every country in the world would kill to have. Though Nadia and Nate aren’t in love, they’ve grown up close, and they (and the world) are happy enough with their match.

Until Nate turns up dead, and as far as everyone knows, Nadia was the last person to see him alive.

When the new Nate wakes up in the replication tanks, he knows he must have died, but with a memory that only reaches to his last memory backup, he doesn’t know what killed him. Together, Nadia and Nate must discover what really happened without revealing the secrets that those who run their world would kill to protect.

Release Date: 16th July 2013


MOVIES & TV SERIES (16th July)

M   O   V   I   E   S


5 Shells 
Directed by: Paul S. Myers

Starring: Kelsey Hutton, Eve Kozikowski

When their parents are brutally murdered by bandits, two young girls, Matti and Joslyn are left completely alone in a world destroyed by the financial meltdown. With the weight of responsibility on her shoulders, a shotgun in hand, and only 5 shells to protect them. Matti decides they must go find their only relative they know of, their grandmother, who they have never actually met. 

Release Date: 16th July 2013

42
Directed by: Brian Helgeland

Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Harrison Ford

Hero is a word we hear often in sports, but heroism is not always about achievements on the field of play. "42" tells the story of two men-the great Jackie Robinson and legendary Brooklyn Dodgers GM Branch Rickey-whose brave stand against prejudice forever changed the world by changing the game of baseball. In 1946, Branch Rickey (Harrison Ford) put himself at the forefront of history when he signed Jackie Robinson (Chadwick Boseman) to the team, breaking Major League Baseball's infamous color line. But the deal also put both Robinson and Rickey in the firing line of the public, the press and even other players. Facing unabashed racism from every side, Robinson was forced to demonstrate tremendous courage and restraint by not reacting in kind, knowing that any incident could destroy his and Rickey's hopes. Instead, Number 42 let his talent on the field do the talking-ultimately winning over fans and his teammates, silencing his critics, and paving the way for others to follow.

Release Date: 16th July 2013

Bullet to the Head
Directed by: Walter Hill

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Sung Kang

Based on a graphic novel by Alexis Nolent, the plot follows a weary New Orleans hit man (Sylvester Stallone) on the run after an assignment goes bad. Bent on evening the score, he teams up with a fish-out-of-water cop (Sung Kang) and proceeds to lay waste to the city.

Release Date: 23rd July 2013

End of Love
Directed by: Mark Webber

Starring: Mark Webber, Shannyn Sossamon

THE END OF LOVE tells the story of struggling actor, Mark (played by writer/director Mark Webber), who is forced to grapple with his inability to grow up when the mother of his two-year-old son Isaac suddenly passes away. As he kindles a relationship with a young single mother (Shannyn Sossamon, 40 Days and 40 Nights), he begins to realize that he can no longer remain in denial about the real-life consequences his choices have on Isaac (played by Isaac Love, Webber's real-life son). The End of Love is an intimate and stunningly honest portrait of a young father in transition between the life he's been working for and the one that's waiting for him.

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Erased
Directed by: Philipp Stolzl

Starring: Aaron Eckhart, Olga Kurylenko

Ex-CIA operative Ben Logan (Aaron Eckhart, The Dark Knight) has been long estranged from his young daughter (Liana Liberato). That instantly changes when both are mysteriously targeted for termination, and all evidence of Logan’s life is erased. Pursued by a relentless, enigmatic agent (Olga Kurylenko), the two go on the run in search of the truth, in this non-stop, heart-racing international thriller.

Release Date: 16th July 2013

Evil Dead
Directed by: Fede Alvarez

Starring: Jane Levy, Shiloh Fernandez

A secluded cabin. An ancient curse. An unrelenting evil. Sam Raimi and Bruce Campbell reunite to present a genuinely terrifying re-imagining of their original horror masterpiece. Five young friends have found the mysterious and fiercely powerful Book of the Dead. Unable to resist its temptation, they release a violent demon on a blood-thirsty quest to possess them all. Who will be left to fight for their survival and defeat this unearthly force of murderous carnage? 

Release Date: 16th July 2013

Hiding in Plain Sight
Directed by: M. Legend Brown

Starring: Kelly O'Neil Jackson, Sharice  Henry Chasi

Bereft of resources and savings, Darius and Josephine Blackmon fall hard from their middle-class lifestyle and resort to living in their car. The couple has two young children to care for, but they have no family or friends to help them out of their hardship. Meanwhile, Darius' once unshakeable faith begins to fall apart as the pressures of trying to find work and keep his family together start to mount. While Darius and his family try to maintain appearances during the day and stay out of sight at night, a prominent teacher named Kevin Allen is working to keep kids in school with government vouchers, filling in where the pay checks stop. Little does Darius know that his path will soon cross Kevin's and make an unimaginable difference in the Blackmons' lives. 

Release Date: 16th July 2013

Solomon Kane
Directed by: Michael Bassett

Starring: James Purefoy, Max Von Sydow

Captain Solomon Kane is a brutally efficient 16th Century killing machine. Armed with his signature pistols, cutlass and rapier, he and his men unleash their bloodlust as they fight for England in war after war on all continents. As the story opens, Kane and his band of pillagers are carving a bloody path through hordes of defenders in an exotic city in northern Africa. But, when Kane decides to attack a mysterious nearby castle to plunder its rumored riches, his mission takes a fateful turn. One by one, Kane's men are picked off by demonic creatures until he alone is left to face the Devil's own Reaper -- dispatched from the depths of Hell to lay claim to his hopelessly corrupt soul. Though Kane at last manages to escape, he knows that he now must redeem himself by renouncing violence and devoting himself wholly to a life of peace and purity.

Release Date: 16th July 2013

White Frog
Directed by: Quentin Lee

Starring: Booboo Stewart, BD Wong

See the heartthrobs from Glee, Teen Wolf and Twilight all in one movie! From talented director Quentin Lee, White Frog is a universal story of the power of family, friendship and love. This deeply moving family drama tells the tale of Nick (Twilight s Booboo Stewart), a young teen with Asperger s syndrome. When his big brother Chaz (Glee s Harry Shum Jr.) passes away in a tragic accident, Chaz s friends comfort young Nick as he gradually discovers the truth Chaz was gay, but afraid to come out to their very traditional Chinese American parents (BD Wong and Joan Chen). The film s terrific all star cast also includes Gregg Sulkin (TV's Wizards of Waverly Place), Tyler Posey (TV s Teen Wolf ) and Kelly Hu (X2, TV's The Vampire Diaries).

Release Date: 16th July 2013

Wild Bill
Directed by: Dexter Fletcher

Starring: Andy Serkis, Charlie Creed Miles

Out on parole after 8 years inside, Bill Hayward returns home to find his now 11 and 15-year-old sons, Jimmy and Dean, abandoned by their mother and fending for themselves. Unwilling to play Dad, an uncaring Bill is determined to move on. Dean reluctantly forces his dad to stay, but when Jimmy finds himself in trouble with Bill s old drug-dealing mates, Bill has to decide what kind of dad he really wants to be a good one or a free one. 

Release Date: 16th July 2013


T  V   S  E  R  I  E  S


Alphas: Season 2

Starring: David Strathairn, John Pyper-Ferguson

Discredited by the government after revealing the existence of Alphas in Season One, Dr. Lee Rosen (Academy Awardr nominee David Strathairn, Good Night, and Good Luck) must re-assemble his now defunct team to face the growing threat of Alpha extremist Stanton Parish (John Pyper-Ferguson, Fringe). With the help of tech-genius Skylar (guest star Summer Glau, Firefly) and memory recorder Mitchell (guest star Sean Astin, The Lord of the Rings trilogy), Rosen and his team must work together to uncover Parish's chilling plan. But with a mole in their midst, can they overcome the dangers that surround them and stop Parish before it's too late? 

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Damages: Season 5

Starring: Glenn Close, Rose Byrne

To win at all costs, sometimes you pay the ultimate price. In the final season of the award-winning legal thriller, powerhouse attorney Patty Hewes (three-time Emmyr and two-time Golden Glober winner Glenn Close) and her ex-prot‚g‚e Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne) face off in a fatal double showdown: the wrongful death case against a charismatic, international cyber-hacker (Ryan Phillippe, Flags of Our Fathers), and a devastating custody battle pitting Patty against her own son resulting in a series finale as explosive as it is unexpected. Special guest stars also include Golden Glober winner Jenna Elfman (TV's "Dharma & Greg") and Michael Gaston (Inception). 

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Hell On Wheels: Season 2

Starring: Anson Mount

Still struggling to leave his troubled past behind, former Confederate officer Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) returns to Hell on Wheels, the traveling settlement that follows and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. There, he faces a new onslaught of turmoil, danger and corruption in a treacherous town where life is cheap and greed is the only law. 

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Misfits: Season 3

Starring: Nathan Stewart-Jarrett

This is a super-sized, super-powered Misfits, with brilliantly surprising, original storylines and a body count to make CSI proud. Things certainly haven’t got any quieter for the gang. When we left the Infamous Five, our Misfits were locked in a tense trade-off of powers with super-dealer Seth. But have any of them ended up with a power approaching something at least halfway useful? Following Nathan’s departure, there’s also a new kid on the block, Rudy, who is learning fast that probation Misfits-style involves not much community service, lots of running around, fighting baddies and disposing of bodies. With zombies, time-travel and some complicated relationships developing, there’s definitely nothing normal about our five favorite superheroes…

Release Date: 16th July 2013


Orphan Black: Season 1

Starring: Tatiana Maslany, Dylan Bruce

Sarah is a streetwise outsider, currently on the run from a bad relationship and painfully separated from her own daughter. When an eerily lookalike stranger commits a shocking suicide right in front of her, Sarah sees a potential solution to all her problems by assuming the dead woman’s identity and clearing out her bank account. But instead, she stumbles headlong into a kaleidoscopic thriller mystery, and soon uncovers an earth-shattering secret: she is a clone. As Sarah searches for answers, she soon learns there are more like her out there, genetically identical individuals, nurtured in wildly different circumstances. And someone is trying to kill them off, one by one. 

Release Date: 16th July 2013




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