Monday, July 8, 2013

My Picks of the Week! (9th July 2013) + ZOMBIE WEEK!!!


Hello, my lovely Muses!

Can you guess what this week is??? That's right, it's ZOMBIE WEEK!!!I have a review being posted on Wednesday and one on Saturday that are "zombie" related so I figured why not have a zombie week? Also, stay tuned for some pretty cool giveaways!

In Adult books this week, and if you like zombie novels but are looking for something different, you should definitely check out FIEND by Peter Stenson. I guarantee it's unlike anything you've ever read. Also, check back for my review of FIEND on Wednesday. In Young Adult, the second novel in the Quarantine series called The Saints by Lex Thomas will be available as well as Some Quiet Place by Kelsey Sutton. What a beautiful cover!

Not much going on in tv series this week, but there is quite a variety of movies coming out. If you are looking for some laughs, check out Admission starring Tina Fey and Paul Rudd. If you are looking for a little sci-fi and romance then you may want to pick up The Host, based off of the highly popular Stephanie Meyer novel. If you're in the mood for a suspense/thriller, Dead Man Down might be worth a watch which stars Noomi Rapace, the actress from the original Swedish version of Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.

Enjoy the rest of these releases and stay tuned for more zombie fun this week at The Muses Circle!





BOOKS (8th-9th JULY)

ADULT

Beautiful Bitch (Beautiful Bastard, #1.5) 
by: Christina Lauren

Picking up where Beautiful Bastard left off, Chloe Mills and Bennett Ryan continue their steamy, combative relationship.

Just when Chloe’s career starts to take off, Bennett wishes it would all slow down long enough to spend a wild night alone with his girlfriend. But after he refuses to take no for an answer, Chloe and Bennett find themselves with two plane tickets, one French Villa, and a surprising conversation that, predictably, leaves them wrestling under the covers.

Release Date: 9th July 2013


 Better Than Good
by: Lane Hayes

Matt Sullivan understands labels: law student, athlete, heterosexual. He has goals: graduate and begin his career in law. One fateful night, Matt tags along with his gay roommate to a dance club and everything changes. Matt finds himself attracted to the most beautiful man he's ever seen. All labels go flying out the window.

Aaron Mendez doesn't believe in labels, and he’s leery of straight curious men. He makes it clear that he’ll hide his fabulous light for no one. While Aaron can't deny the attraction between him and Matt, he is reluctant to start anything with someone who is still dealing with what this new label means—especially when that someone has a girlfriend.

Release Date: 8th July 2013


FIEND
by: Peter Stenson

When Chase Daniels first sees the little girl in umbrella socks tearing open the Rottweiler, he's not too concerned. As a longtime meth addict, he’s no stranger to horrifying, drug-fueled hallucinations.  

But as he and his fellow junkies soon discover, the little girl is no illusion. The end of the world really has arrived. 

The funny thing is, Chase’s life was over long before the apocalypse got here, his existence already reduced to a stinking basement apartment and a filthy mattress and an endless grind of buying and selling and using. He’s lied and cheated and stolen and broken his parents’ hearts a thousand times. And he threw away his only shot at sobriety a long time ago, when he chose the embrace of the drug over the woman he still loves. 

And if your life’s already shattered beyond any normal hopes of redemption…well, maybe the end of the world is an opportunity. Maybe it’s a last chance for Chase to hit restart and become the man he once dreamed of being. Soon he’s fighting to reconnect with his lost love and dreaming of becoming her hero among civilization’s ruins. 

But is salvation just another pipe dream?
   
Propelled by a blistering first-person voice and featuring a powerfully compelling antihero, Fiend is at once a riveting portrait of addiction, a pitch-black love story, and a meditation on hope, redemption, and delusion—not to mention one hell of a zombie novel.

 Release Date: 9th July 2013
 
Forever, Interrupted
by: Taylor Jenkins Reid

“Have you ever heard of supernovas? They shine brighter than anything else in the sky and then fade out really quickly, a short burst of extraordinary energy. I like to think you and Ben were like that . . . in that short time, you had more passion than some people have in a lifetime.”

Elsie Porter is an average twentysomething and yet what happens to her is anything but ordinary. On a rainy New Year’s Day, she heads out to pick up a pizza for one. She isn’t expecting to see anyone else in the shop, much less the adorable and charming Ben Ross. Their chemistry is instant and electric. Ben cannot even wait twenty-four hours before asking to see her again. Within weeks, the two are head over heels in love. By May, they’ve eloped.

Only nine days later, Ben is out riding his bike when he is hit by a truck and killed on impact. Elsie hears the sirens outside her apartment, but by the time she gets downstairs, he has already been whisked off to the emergency room. At the hospital, she must face Susan, the mother-in-law she has never met—and who doesn’t even know Elsie exists.

Interweaving Elsie and Ben’s charmed romance with Elsie and Susan’s healing process, Forever, Interrupted will remind you that there’s more than one way to find a happy ending.

Release Date: 9th July 2013

Into the Triangle
by: Amylea Lyn
  
When a man wakes after a plane crash to find himself on a mysterious island where humans and mythical Merfolk live together, is it all just a strange dream? Or does the Bermuda Triangle have more hidden dangers than were ever thought possible?

What's a guy to do when his world is falling apart? Go on a vacation of a lifetime…

Gabriel "Gabe" Overton has the worst luck. First, he's caught having an affair with his father's married business partner and forced to go on an unwanted tropical vacation until the scandal dies down. Then the plane he's riding in crash lands on a mysterious island in the middle of nowhere.

Saved by a man with fins instead of feet, Gabe must now try and uncover the island's secrets, all without being killed in the process. Maybe he can figure out just who imbedded a pearl into his forehead and what that has to do with the sea creatures--known as the Merfolk--and discover what the hidden evil on the island has planned for them all before it's too late.

Release Date: 6th July 2013


Rebellion (Blood and Feathers, #2)
by: Lou Morgan

"This is a war. THE war. There is no stopping; no getting out. You're in this - just like the rest of us - to the end."

Driven out of hell and with nothing to lose, the Fallen wage open warfare against the angels on the streets. And they're winning.

As the balance tips towards the darkness, Alice - barely recovered from her own ordeal in hell and struggling to start over - once again finds herself in the eye of the storm. But with the chaos spreading and the Archangel Michael determined to destroy Lucifer whatever the cost, is the price simply too high? And what sacrifices will Alice and the angels have to make in order to pay it?

The Fallen will rise. Trust will be betrayed. And all hell breaks loose...

Release Date: 9th July 2013


The Truth About Riley
by: Henrietta Clarke

Riley Aylworth’s life has been completely devoid of intimate contact since a fire three years ago left him with horrific facial scarring, so when he finds an ad for a phone sex service, he decides to give it a call. Except that the number is not a phone sex service—it’s the revenge Cameron Kirkwood’s ex-boyfriend took on the uptight advertising executive after Cam forgot their anniversary and accidentally put him in the hospital. Needless to say, after thirty-nine disturbing calls seeking phone sex, Cameron is at the end of his tether and yells at his fortieth caller. What he doesn’t expect is for Riley to hit redial and yell right back.

The argument helps both Cameron and Riley vent about their issues, and when they’ve calmed down, they decide to exchange numbers and talk again. From this decision springs a friendship that, over time, grows into a gentle romance—all over the phone, because Riley is too scared to meet Cam in person. Showing a potential boyfriend his disfigured face is the fastest way to get rejected, right? Even a month of scorching hot phone sex can’t change his mind, no matter how hard Cam tries to persuade him that with their phone chemistry, the sex would be so much better in person.

Meanwhile, Cam is haunted by the scarred blond he seems to be seeing everywhere, and Riley can’t get the handsome brunet who always seems happy to see him out of his mind. It’s a shock to both men to realise that the guy they’re falling for over the phone is also the man who brightens their day with just a smile; but it’s one thing to let a stranger smile at you and quite another to let him close enough to see into your soul. If Riley can’t break down the walls in his mind and believe that Cameron loves him in spite of his scars, their relationship may be doomed before they’ve even had a chance to kiss.

Release Date: 10th July 2013


 YOUNG ADULT

Anomaly
by: Krista McGee

Thalli has fifteen minutes and twenty-three seconds left to live. The toxic gas that will complete her annihilation is invading her bloodstream. But she is not afraid.

Thalli is different than others in The State. She feels things. She asks questions. And in the State, this is not tolerated. The Ten scientists who survived the nuclear war that destroyed the world above believe that emotion was at the core of what went wrong—and they have genetically removed it from the citizens they have since created. Thalli has kept her malformation secret from those who have monitored her for most of her life, but when she receives an ancient piece of music to record as her community’s assigned musician, she can no longer keep her emotions secreted away.

Seen as a threat to the harmony of her Pod, Thalli is taken to the Scientists for immediate annihilation. But before that can happen, Berk—her former Pod mate who is being groomed as a Scientist—steps in and persuades the Scientists to keep Thalli alive as a test subject.

The more time she spends in the Scientist’s Pod, the clearer it becomes that things are not as simple as she was programmed to believe. She hears stories of a Designer—stories that fill her mind with more questions: Who can she trust? What is this emotion called love? And what if she isn’t just an anomaly, but part of a greater design?
 
Release Date: 9th July 2013

Half Lives
by: Sara Grant

I learned that surviving isn't all it's cracked up to be. If you survive, you've got to live with the guilt, and that's more difficult than looking someone in the eye and pulling the trigger. Trust me. I've done both. Killing takes a twitch of the finger. Absolution takes several lifetimes.
Seventeen-year-old Icie's parents have given her $10,000 in cash, a map of a top-secret bunker, and instructions to get there by any means necessary. They have news of an imminent viral attack and know that the bunker is Icie's only hope for survival. Along with three other teens, she lives locked away for months, not knowing what's happening in the outside world or who has survived. And are they safe in the bunker after all?
Generations in the future, a mysterious cult worships the very mountain where Icie's secret bunker was built. They never leave the mountain, they're ruled by a teenager...and they have surprising ties to Icie.
This high-stakes, original, and thought-provoking adventure from Sara Grant follows two unlikely heroes, hundreds of years apart, as they fight to survive

Release Date: 9th July 2013

Only Ever Always
by: Penni Russon

Have you ever woken from a dream feeling it was more real than your world? Could there be someone exactly like you living another life? Claire lives in an ordinary world where everything is whole. But now she feels broken into pieces as her world is suddenly shattered with grief. The silvery notes of her music box help her escape from her pain into a dream world, into Clara's world. Clara's world has always been broken. Her fragmented life revolves around scavenging and swapping objects to survive. She is determined to face the sinister side of her cracked reality to save the only family she has ever known. But the cost may be more than she bargained for. Though Claire and Clara live in different worlds, their paths are set to collide when the people they love most are faced with death. But which world is the dream? Who is the dreamer? Penni Russon has written a spellbinding tale that stretches the imagination about what is possible.

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Right of Way
by: Lauren Barnholdt

Can a road trip repair a romance gone wrong? Find out in this standalone companion to Lauren Barnholdt’s Two-way Street.

Here are Peyton and Jace, meeting on vacation. Click! It’s awesome, it’s easy, it’s romantic. This is the real deal.

Unless it isn’t. Because when you’re in love, you don’t just stop calling one day. And you don’t keep secrets. Or lie. And when your life starts falling apart, you’re supposed to have the other person to lean on.

Here are Peyton and Jace again, broken up but thrown together on a road trip. One of them is lying about the destination. One of them is pretending not to be leaving something behind. And neither of them is prepared for what’s coming on the road ahead…

Release Date: 9th July 2013

Saints, The (Quarantine, #2)
by: Lex Thomas

A cross between the Gone series and Lord of the Flies, Quarantine #2: The Saints contunues this frenetically paced and scary young adult series that illustrates just how deadly high school can be.

Nothing was worse than being locked in—until they opened the door...
McKinley High has been a battle ground for eighteen months since a virus outbreak led to a military quarantine of the school. When the doors finally open, Will and Lucy will think their nightmare is finished. But they are gravely mistaken.

As a new group of teens enters the school and gains popularity, Will and Lucy join new gangs. An epic party on the quad full of real food and drinks, where kids hookup and actually interact with members of other gangs seemed to signal a new, easier existence. Soom after though, the world inside McKinley takes a startling turn for the worse, and Will and Lucy will have to fight harder than ever to survive.
The Saints brings readers back to the dark and deadly halls of McKinley High and the QUARANTINE series.

Release Date: 9th July 2013

Shadows of the Mark (Carrier of the Mark, #2)
by: Leigh Fallon

Leigh Fallon’s Shadow of the Mark, the sequel to Carrier of the Mark, is a captivating love story set against the lush backdrop of Ireland.

Megan knew she was destined to be with Adam from the first moment she saw him and now they are determined to be together. But Megan and Adam are Marked Ones, and a romance between two Marked Ones is strictly forbidden…and could cause worldwide devastation.

Leigh Fallon’s Shadow of the Mark is a great choice for readers who love Becca Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush.

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Some Quiet Place (Some Quiet Place, #1)

by: Kelsey Sutton

I can’t weep. I can’t fear. I’ve grown talented at pretending.

Elizabeth Caldwell doesn’t feel emotions . . . she sees them. Longing, Shame, and Courage materialize around her classmates. Fury and Resentment appear in her dysfunctional home. They’ve all given up on Elizabeth because she doesn’t succumb to their touch. All, that is, save one—Fear. He’s intrigued by her, as desperate to understand the accident that changed Elizabeth’s life as she is herself.

Elizabeth and Fear both sense that the key to her past is hidden in the dream paintings she hides in the family barn. But a shadowy menace has begun to stalk her, and try as she might, Elizabeth can barely avoid the brutality of her life long enough to uncover the truth about herself. When it matters most, will she be able to rely on Fear to save her?

Release Date: 8th July 2013

Still Star-Crossed
by: Melinda Taub

Romeo and Juliet are gone. Will love live on? Despite the glooming peace that's settled on Verona after the recent tragedy, Montagues and Capulets are brawling in the streets. Faced with more bloody battles, Prince Escalus concludes that the only way to truly marry the fortunes of these two families is to literally marry them together. Everyone is skeptical, but none more so than the pair selected, for the most eligible Montague bachelor is Benvolio, Romeo's best friend, still anguished by the loss of his companions, and the chosen Capulet maid is Juliet's older cousin Rosaline, the girl Romeo first loved and whose refusal of Romeo's affection paved the way for bloodshed. Contrary to their late cousins, there's no love lost between Benvolio and Rosaline, yet they forge a bond to end the renewed feud not only to escape their forced betrothal, but to save their lives and the city of Verona itself

Release Date: 9th July 2013

Who Needs Magic? (Magic, #2)
by: Kathy McCullough

The sequel to DON'T EXPECT MAGIC! Now that Delaney Collins knows she’s a fairy godmother, she’s ready to make magic happen. But first, she has to find her next client. And it’s not as easy as she thought it would be.

Delaney’s spending the summer working at Treasures, a secondhand store at the mall, surrounded by cool vintage boots—and potential clients. But when she finally feels a connection with Jeni, a girl who needs a life-changing, happily-ever-after wish . . . Jeni doesn’t want her help. And to make matters worse, Delaney finds herself competing with another f.g. Glittery, sparkly Ariella is an uber-f.g., granting wishes with a flick of her lemon candy stick, while Delaney can’t seem to make anything happen. Not even a summer romance with her boyfriend, Flynn.

It takes more than waving a chopstick to make big wishes come true. But what good is being an f.g. if you can’t make the boy you like want to be with you as much as you want to be with him?

Release Date: 9th July 2013

Zom-B Angels (Zom-B, #4)
by: Darren Shan

After spending the last few months wandering around London--a city filled with the dead--B Smith has given up hope for any sign of normal human existence. But then B finds strange signs all over the city--a "Z" plus red arrows. Following them, B finds The Angels-- a group gathered in the hopes of combating the evil dead and the forces that introduced them. But all is not as it seems and it's up to B to find out: what battle are they truly waging?


Release Date: 9th July 2013



 MOVIES & TV SERIES (9th July)


MOVIES

Admission
Directed by: Paul Weitz

Starring: Tina Fey, Paul Rudd

Tina Fey and Paul Rudd star in this hilarious and heartwarming comedy about the unexpected detours we encounter on the road to happiness. Year in and year out, Princeton admissions officer Portia Nathan (Fey) has lived her life by the book. But during her annual recruiting trip, she finds herself reconnecting with a former college classmate, free-spirited teacher John Pressman (Rudd). As she bends the entrance rules for one of his very unconventional students, Portia puts at risk the future she thought she always wanted, and finds her way to a surprising and exhilarating life she never dreamed of having. From director Paul Weitz (In Good Company), and co-starring Michael Sheen and Lily Tomlin, it's the feel-good movie critics call "funny and fresh!"

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Boy
Directed by: Taika Waititi

Starring: Taika Waititi, James Rolleston

The year is 1984, and on the rural East Coast of New Zealand Michael Jackson's ''Thriller'' is changing kids' lives. ''Boy'' (James Rolleston) is a dreamer who lives with his brother Rocky, a tribe of deserted cousins and his Nan. While Boy idolizes Michael Jackson his other hero is his father, Alamein (played by director / writer Taika Waititi), who is a distant memory to him, but is the subject of Boy's dreams and fantasies. Boy imagines his father as a deep sea diver, a war hero and a close relative of Michael Jackson (he can even dance like him), but in reality he's ''in the can for robbery''. When Alamein returns home after seven years away, Boy is forced to confront the man he thought he remembered find his own potential and learn to get along without the hero he had been hoping for. Inspired by the Oscar nominated ''Two Cars, One Night'' (also included on this Blu-ray), BOY is the hilarious and heartfelt coming-of-age tale about heroes, magic and Michael Jackson.

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Crazy Kind of Love
Directed by: Sarah Siegel-Magness

Starring: Sam Trammell

While re-evaluating her life as a newly single mother, a woman relies on her carefree son and his awkward brother to keep their lives interesting. When an unlikely romance blossoms between the youngest son and the new girl in town, she realizes the key to her happiness can be found where she least expects it, and there's only one kind of love worth living for - the crazy kind.

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Dead Man Down
Directed by: Niels Arden Oplev

Starring: Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace

Niels Arden Oplev, the acclaimed director of the original The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, makes his American theatrical debut with the new action thriller, DEAD MAN DOWN. Colin Farrell and Noomi Rapace star as two strangers who are irresistibly drawn to one another by their mutual desire for revenge. The film co-stars Academy Award (R) nominee Terrence Howard and Dominic Cooper, from a screenplay by J.H.Wyman (Fringe).

Release Date: 9th July 2013

Host, The
Directed by: Andrew Nichols

Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons

What if everything you love was taken from you in the blink of an eye? "The Host" is the next epic love story from the creator of the "Twilight Saga," worldwide bestselling author, Stephenie Meyer. When an unseen enemy threatens mankind by taking over their bodies and erasing their memories, Melanie Stryder (Saoirse Ronan) will risk everything to protect the people she cares most about - Jared (Max Irons), Ian (Jake Abel), her brother Jamie (Chandler Canterbury) and her Uncle Jeb (William Hurt) , proving that love can conquer all in a dangerous new world.

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Louise's Diary 1942
Directed by: Franck Philezon

Starring: Anemone, Richard Bohringer

Based on a true story, Louise s Diary 1942 is a dramatic tale of a forbidden love in a time of war. Told through the eyes of an elderly man reading a diary from the German Occupation of France in 1942, Louise s Diary 1942 is the story of Louise, a young Jewish woman who had her identity changed with the help of Hans, a young SS Officer who rejects the Nazi ideology. The two lovers hide at the home of Huguette, a young cabaret singer. But they can t escape the animosity of war forever...

Release Date: 9th July 2013

Spring Breakers
Directed by: Harmony Korine

Starring: James Franco, Selena Gomez

Four frustrated college girlfriends (Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson and Rachel Korine) plot to fund their best spring break ever by burglarizing a fast-food shack. But that's only the beginning... during a night of partying, the girls get arrested. Hungover a nd clad only in bikinis, the girls appear before a judge and get bailed out unexpectedly by Alien (James Franco), an infamous local dealer who takes them on the wildest spring-break trip in history. 

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Tyler Perry's Temptation
Directed by: Tyler Perry

Starring: Jurnee Smollett-Bell, Lance Gross

An explosive romance about forbidden desires, TYLER PERRY'S TEMPTATION tells the provocative story of Judith, an ambitious married woman whose temptation by a handsome billionaire leads to betrayal, recklessness and forever alters the course of her life.

TYLER PERRY’S TEMPTATION is written for the screen, produced and directed by Tyler Perry. Lionsgate and TPS Present, A TPS/Lionsgate Production, A Film by Tyler Perry.

Release Date: 9th July 2013



TV SERIES


Gator Boys: Season 1

Starring: n/a

GATOR BOYS follows the death-defying exploits of Paul Bedard and Jimmy Riffle, two extraordinary alligator trappers who risk injury and death to hand capture nuisance alligators that have invaded the backyards, swimming pools and businesses of Florida residents. The ultimate goal of GATOR BOYS Alligator Rescue is to take alligators out of harm's way before they are captured by trappers who kill the animals and sell them for their skins and meat. It takes serious skill to get face to face with these deadly creatures and the GATOR BOYS do it all for the love of the alligators.

Release Date: 9th July 2013


How the West Was Won: Season 1

Starring: James Arness, Eva Marie Saint

How the West Was Won: The Complete First Season is a family saga focusing on the lives of the Macahan family in the Old West. The leader of the family, Zeb Macahan (James Arness) is accustomed to the harsh realities of life on the frontier. His sister-in-law, Kate (Eva Marie Saint), alone since the death of her husband, is struggling to maintain a home for her daughters and sons. Luke (Bruce Boxleitner), Kate's eldest son, is pursued by the law for desertion from the Union Army. Their stories are played out against a realistic recreation of the American West in that lusty, hard-hitting period when laws were frequently broken and progress was charted by individual suffering and survival. 

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Portlandia: Season 3

Starring: Fred Armisen, Carrie Brownstein

Portlandia is IFC's hit sketch comedy series created, written by, and starring Fred Armisen (SNL) and Carrie Brownstein (WILD FLAG, Sleater-Kinney). The show is driven by a series of hilarious character-based shorts all of which take place in "Portlandia", the creators' dreamy and absurd rendering of Portland, Oregon where 90s culture reigns supreme and political correctness is all the rage. 

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Unforgettable: Season 1

Starring: Poppy Montgomery, Dylan Walsh

The series follows a former New York City police detective named Carrie Wells, who suffers from hyperthymesia, a rare medical condition that gives her the ability to remember everything. She is reluctantly asked by her former boyfriend and one-time partner to join his homicide unit after he asks for help with solving a case. The move allows her to do the one thing she has been trying to remember, that of finding out how her sister was murdered. 

Release Date: 9th July 2013


Warehouse 13: Season 4

Starring: Eddie MMcClintock, Joanne Kelly

Prepare for more paranormal thrills, chills and excitement as Warehouse 13 returns with more action-packed mysteries than ever before! After the destruction of the Warehouse, the agents risk the use of a mythical artifact in an attempt to restore all they've lost. But the use of this dangerous artifact could change the Warehouse team and the world forever. Featuring guest appearances by Brent Spiner (Star Trek: The Next Generation), Sam Huntington (Being Human) and other sci-fi favorites, this five-disc set includes all 20 Season Four episodes plus a cache of classified bonus content including a never-before-seen chapter of the animated web series Grand Designs. 

Release Date: 9th July 2013
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2 comments:

  1. RuthBJuly 8, 2013 at 5:52 PM

    Zombie week wiiiii :)
    BTW, I really liked The Host is a great movie I didn't read the book though
    Hope you are having a nice week
    Ruty@Reading...Dreaming

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jennifer @ Bad Bird ReadsJuly 11, 2013 at 5:35 AM

    Beautiful Bitch looks great.

    ReplyDelete

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