Hello, Muses!
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Here are the new releases for this week. In books, I have my eyes set on Loving Cara by Kristen Proby, Untouched by Maisey Yates, and the YA novel The Scar Boys by Len Vlahos.
This is a big month for Indie films, so you may want to check out the comedy Instructions Not Included and Sunlight Jr. starring Naomi Watts, Matt Dillon, and Norman Reedus.
I should have another review posted on Wednesday.
Enjoy!
BOOKS (21st January)
ADULT BOOKS
A Little Too Hot (A Little Too Far, #3)
by: Lisa Desrochers
Tossed out of college and cut off by her parents, Samantha West is in pretty dire straits. So when her rocker best friend hooks her up with a job dancing at a gentlemen’s club, who is she to turn it down? Plus, there are rules to dancing at Benny’s: No touching, keep your clothes on at all times, and never get closer than three feet. Unfortunately for Sam, her first private client makes her want to break every single one of them.
Harrison Yates is scorching hot, but he’s got a past that involves being left at the altar not too long ago. Sam is determined to make him forget about his ex, but when she makes her move, it flings her life into a spiral of chaos she never saw coming.
Because Harrison Yates isn’t who he seems to be. And his secret will probably get her killed.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Believe (True Believers, #3)
by: Erin McCarty
Phoenix is two days out of jail when he meets Robin at his cousin's house, and he knows that he has no business talking to her, but he's drawn to her quiet demeanor, sweet smile, and artistic talent. She doesn't care that he's done time, or that he only has five bucks to his name, and she supports his goal to be a tattoo artist.
But Phoenix knows Robin has a secret, and that it's a naïve dream to believe that his record won't catch up with them at some point. Though neither is prepared for the explosive result when the past collides with the present…
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Betting on You (Danvers, #4.5)
by: Sydney Landon
She’s made her own way, studying computer science at Brown and snagging a coveted position with Danvers International after graduation. Her plan to avoid parental involvement seems to be going well until her mother buys her a date at a charity auction—with the hot resort owner who she’s been eyeing on her latest work project.
Seth never mixes business with pleasure, but something about Mia drives him to distraction. Giving into his desires for just one night will hopefully clear his head enough to keep his hands off her during office hours.
But when one mind-blowing night turns into weeks of flirtation, frustration, and companionship, Mia realizes that their workplace fling may be developing into more—and that Seth might be the perfect man she’s been waiting for…
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Craig's Heart (Legacy, #7)
by: NJ Water
He’s accustomed to being the only human in the room…until he attempts to help a desperate, newly made vampire in the throes of her first transformation.
Evie Pelowski is a woman alone. Left alone in a filthy alley to become a monster like the one that attacked her, unable to control the bloodlust surging through her veins. Now she’s done the unforgivable—turned her Good Samaritan into a monster just like her.
They must face the future while coming to grips with their new realities. But despite a strong bond ignited by blood and forged in the heat of sexual desire, despite Craig’s unshakeable determination to teach her to trust, Evie knows nothing she loves ever stays. Especially when the vampire who made her wants her back—and he’ll kill anyone who gets in his way.
Warning: The transformative power of love collides with the bite of a vampire to create one heck of a love story. Mix in some smokin’ hot sex, some very nasty bad guys, a disgruntled family and an ancient vampire and you’ll be stretching your neck for a bite.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Dark Bites (Dark Hunter Short Story Collection)
by: Sherrilyn Kenyon
Sherrilyn Kenyon takes readers from the Dark-Hunters to the demigods, from Dream-Hunters to demons, and everything in between. Dangerous and exciting, each story is one thrill ride after the next, proving time and again how Sherrilyn has captivated millions of readers worldwide. Now, readers are invited to go deep into Kenyon’s rich and imaginative world and experience the heart-racing moments that never stop coming!
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Dirty Magic (Prospero's War, #1)
by: Jaye Wells
The last thing patrol cop Kate Prospero expected to find on her nightly rounds was a werewolf covered in the blood of his latest victim. But then, she also didn't expect that shooting him would land her in the crosshairs of a Magic Enforcement Agency task force, who wants to know why she killed their lead snitch.
The more Prospero learns about the dangerous new potion the MEA is investigating, the more she's convinced that earning a spot on their task force is the career break she's been wanting. But getting the assignment proves much easier than solving the case. Especially once the investigation reveals their lead suspect is the man she walked away from ten years earlier—on the same day she swore she'd never use dirty magic again.
Kate Prospero's about to learn the hard way that crossing a wizard will always get you burned, and that when it comes to magic, you should be never say never.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Loving Cara (Love Under the Big Sky,#1)
by: Kristen Proby
Cara Donovan loves her quiet life as a teacher in her sleepy hometown, so she jumps at the chance to make a little money over the summer as a tutor. But when she learns she’ll be teaching Josh King’s nephew, Cara’s sweet summer job gets a little bit hotter. Cara tries to focus all her attention on tutoring Seth, but Josh proves to be a delicious distraction, while Josh’s memories of the shy girl he once teased in high school are nothing like the beautiful woman he’s facing now. Can he persuade her that there’s more between them than a summer fling?
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Savor (Billionaire Bachelor's Club, #3)
by: Monica Murphy
With his winery’s grand reopening approaching, Matt is trying to stay focused, but Bryn is suddenly making it very difficult. He’s always thought her prim demeanor effortlessly sexy, but Matt can’t deny that her transformation is jaw-dropping …and going to make it very difficult to keep his hands to himself.
But when one thing leads to another and suddenly Matt is stripping Bryn bare, he’ll be faced with the biggest risk of his career—and his heart. Can he convince her—and himself—that this might just be more than a no-strings office affair?
Release Date: 21st January 2014
She's All Tied Up (Club 3, #2)
by: Cathryn Cade
When she's rescued from her latest dating debacle by bodybuilder Jake Stone, she can't resist his invitation to his BDSM club. The results are orgasmic, and Carlie comes back for more...until the night she goes all in. And Jake's reaction, driven by a ghost from his past, drives her back into her shell.
An ex-Marine, Jake believes self-discipline and control are the only things holding his life together. Until Carlie. Her lush body, tender vulnerability and unquestioning trust shake him to the core, jarring loose the tight lid he keeps on his demons-at the worst possible time.
Now, to help her find the courage to try again, he's going to have to do something he's never done before. Make peace with his past...and convince himself that leading with his heart doesn't have to end in pain.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Tell Me When
by: Stina Lindenblatt
She shouldn’t be waking up her college roommate with screaming nightmares. She shouldn’t be flashing back, reliving the three weeks of hell she barely survived last year. And she definitely shouldn’t be spending time with sexy player Marcus Reid.
But engineering student Marcus is the only one keeping Amber from failing her math course, so she grudgingly lets him into her life. She never expects the king of hookups will share his painful past. Or that she’ll tell him her secrets in return, opening up and trusting him in a way she thought she’d never be able to again.
When their fragile future together is threatened by a stalker Amber thought was locked away for good, Marcus is determined to protect her. And Amber is determined to protect Marcus…even if that means pushing him away.
Release Date: 20th January 2014
To Tempt a Viking (Forbidden Vikings, #2)
by: Michelle Willingham
When Elena is taken captive, fearless Ragnar risks everything to save her. Now they are stranded with only each other for company. Suddenly every longing, every look, every touch is forbidden. Elena could tempt a saint—and sinner Ragnar knows he won’t be able to hold out for long!
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Untouched (Silver Creek, #2)
by: Maisey Yates
Having never left the family ranch, Lark Mitchell needs a little adventure—or at least a romance that isn’t confined to the internet. Her older brothers Cole and Cade have always been too good at protecting her innocence, but even they can’t stop her from taking a second job—where her boss just so happens to be the kind of bad boy she craves. Too bad he’s also the one guy in Silver Creek she should never touch…
When Quinn Parker introduces himself, Lark tries to quit on the spot. Everyone knows Quinn was behind the accident that ended Cade’s rodeo career. But when he holds her to her contract, she can’t help wanting to get even closer. As she begins to see the man behind the gossip, she sees that not all of the things people say about him are true…even if there’s plenty about this bad boy she has yet to discover.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
YOUNG ADULT
A Mad, Wicked Folly
by: Sharon Biggs Waller
After Vicky poses nude for her illicit art class, she is expelled from her French finishing school. Shamed and scandalized, her parents try to marry her off to the wealthy Edmund Carrick-Humphrey. But Vicky has other things on her mind: her clandestine application to the Royal College of Art; her participation in the suffragette movement; and her growing attraction to a working-class boy who may be her muse—or may be the love of her life. As the world of debutante balls, corsets, and high society obligations closes in around her, Vicky must figure out: just how much is she willing to sacrifice to pursue her dreams.
Release Date: 23rd January 2014
Avalon (Avalon, #1)
by: Mindee Arnett
Of the various star systems that make up the Confederation, most lie thousands of light-years from First Earth-and out here, no one is free. The agencies that govern the Confederation are as corrupt as the crime bosses who patrol it, and power is held by anyone with enough greed and ruthlessness to claim it. That power is derived from one thing: metatech, the devices that allow people to travel great distances faster than the speed of light.
Jeth Seagrave and his crew of teenage mercenaries have survived in this world by stealing unsecured metatech, and they're damn good at it. Jeth doesn't care about the politics or the law; all he cares about is earning enough money to buy back his parents' ship, Avalon, from his crime-boss employer and getting himself and his sister, Lizzie, the heck out of Dodge. But when Jeth finds himself in possession of information that both the crime bosses and the government are willing to kill for, he is going to have to ask himself how far he'll go to get the freedom he's wanted for so long.
Avalon is the perfect fit for teens new to sci-fi as well as seasoned sci-fi readers looking for more books in the YA space-and a great match for fans of Joss Whedon's cult hit show Firefly.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Evertrue (Everneath, #3)
by: Brodi Ashton
Terrified for her survival, Nikki and Jack begin a desperate attempt to reverse the process using any means possible. Even Cole, who they expected to fight them at every turn, has become an unlikely ally — but how long can it last? Nikki needs to feed on Cole to survive, Cole needs Nikki to gain the throne in the Everneath, Jack needs Nikki because she is everything to him — and together, they must travel back to the Underworld to undo Nikki’s fate and make her mortal once more. But Cole isn’t the only one with plans for Nikki: the Queen has not forgotten Nikki’s treachery, and she wants her destroyed for good. Will Nikki be forced to spend eternity in the Underworld, or does she have what it takes to bring down the Everneath once and for all?
In this stunning conclusion to the Everneath trilogy, Brodi Ashton evokes the resiliency of the human spirit and the indomitable power of true love.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Fake ID
by: Lamar Giles
My name isn’t really Nick Pearson.
I shouldn’t tell you where I’m from or why my family moved to Stepton, Virginia.
I shouldn’t tell you who I really am, or my hair, eye, and skin color.
And I definitely shouldn’t tell you about my friend Eli Cruz and the major conspiracy he was about to uncover when he died—right after I moved to town. About how I had to choose between solving his murder with his hot sister, Reya, and “staying low-key” like the Program has taught me. About how moving to Stepon changed my life forever.
But I’m going to.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Fragile Spirits (Souls, #2)
by: Mary Lindsey
Vivienne ignores the voices of the dead.
Paul has always followed the Protector’s rule book, preparing diligently for the day when he’d be matched with his Speaker and fulfill his destiny.
Vivienne never does what she’s told.
So when Paul is matched with Vivienne, they both find the pairing less than satisfactory. But a kidnapping, a malevolent spirit and power stronger than both of them may just prove that they are two halves of the same whole.
In a stunning story about the beauty of fate and the power of secrets, Mary Lindsey returns to the world of Shattered Souls with a breathtaking thrill-ride of a novel.
Release Date: 23rd January 2014
Gospel of Winter, The
by: Brendan Kiely
As sixteen-year-old Aidan Donovan’s fractured family disintegrates around him, he searches for solace in a few bumps of Adderall, his father’s wet bar, and the attentions of his local priest, Father Greg—the only adult who actually listens to him.
When Christmas hits, Aidan’s world collapses in a crisis of trust when he recognizes the darkness of Father Greg’s affections. He turns to a crew of new friends to help make sense of his life: Josie, the girl he just might love; Sophie, who’s a little wild; and Mark, the charismatic swim team captain whose own secret agonies converge with Aidan’s.
The Gospel of Winter maps the ways love can be used as a weapon against the innocent—but can also, in the right hands, restore hope and even faith. Brendan Kiely’s unflinching and courageous debut novel exposes the damage from the secrets we keep and proves that in truth, there is power. And real love.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Rule of Three, The
by: Eric Walters
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Scar Boys, The
by: Len Vlahos
In attempting to describe himself in his college application essay--help us to become acquainted with you beyond your courses, grades, and test scores--Harbinger (Harry) Jones goes way beyond the 250-word limit and gives a full account of his life.
The first defining moment: the day the neighborhood goons tied him to a tree during a lightning storm when he was 8 years old, and the tree was struck and caught fire. Harry was badly burned and has had to live with the physical and emotional scars, reactions from strangers, bullying, and loneliness that instantly became his everyday reality.
The second defining moment: the day in 8th grade when the handsome, charismatic Johnny rescued him from the bullies and then made the startling suggestion that they start a band together. Harry discovered that playing music transported him out of his nightmare of a world, and he finally had something that compelled people to look beyond his physical appearance. Harry's description of his life in his essay is both humorous and heart-wrenching. He had a steeper road to climb than the average kid, but he ends up learning something about personal power, friendship, first love, and how to fit in the world. While he's looking back at the moments that have shaped his life, most of this story takes place while Harry is in high school and the summer after he graduates.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
MOVIES & TV SERIES (21st January)
MOVIES
Best Man Down
Directed by: Ted Koland
When their obnoxious and over-served best man, Lumpy (TYLER LABINE), unexpectedly dies at their destination wedding in Phoenix, bride Kristin (JESS WEIXLER) and groom Scott (JUSTIN LONG) are forced to cancel their honeymoon and fly home to the snowy Midwest to arrange for his funeral. But getting Lumpy's body back to Minneapolis is just the start of their adventure, as the well-intended sacrifice surprises at every turn. And when the newlyweds' path leads them to a fifteen-year-old girl in a small, northern Minnesota town - all bets are off on who Lumpy really was.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Blue Jasmine
Directed by: Woody Allen
Cate Blanchett stars as a former New York socialite teetering between her troubled past and a fresh start in San Francisco.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Captain Phillips
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is - through director Paul Greengrass's distinctive lens - simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama's commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award (R)-winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips' unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Charlie Countryman
Directed by: Fredrick Bond
When his late mother appears in a vision and tells him to go to Bucharest, Charlie Countryman immediately boards a plane across the Atlantic. A chance encounter with an ailing passenger leads Charlie to Gabi, a Romanian beauty, changing the course of his entire trip. As he falls head-over-heels in love with Gabi, he realizes that her dark past is riddled with dangerous baggage: namely her gangster ex-husband who has no intention of letting Gabi go. Determined to protect her, Charlie enters into a hallucinatory underworld filled with violence and, strangely enough, love.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Freezer
Directed by: Mikael Salomon
Dylan McDermott of the TV Series Hostages and American Horror Story, stars as Robert Saunders, a New York City mechanic who is knocked unconscious at his birthday dinner and wakes up to find himself locked inside the restaurant's walk-in freezer. But why he's there - and how he'll survive - will reveal a chilling nightmare of mistaken identity, the Russian mob, a missing $8 million, and a wounded cop (Peter Facinelli of THE TWILIGHT SAGA) who may hold the key it all. The temperature is dropping. The fear is growing. And for a man caught between frozen death and vicious thugs, what happens next may lead to the most cold-blooded twist of all.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Instructions Not Included
Directed by: Eugenio Derbez
Resident bachelor Valentin Bravo has his life turned upside down when a former fling leaves a baby girl on his doorstep. He moves to L.A. in search of the mother, but unable to find her, he decides to raise the baby and gets a job as one of Hollywood's top stuntmen.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Machete Kills
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Danny Trejo returns as legendary ex-Federale Machete Cortez in this action-packed thrill ride from innovative director Robert Rodriguez. In his latest mission, Machete is recruited by the U.S. President (Carlos Estevez ) to stop a crazed global terrorist (Mel Gibson) from starting a nuclear war. With a bounty on his head, Machete breaks all the rules as he faces death at every turn from a star-studded cast of deadly assassins. Featuring Michelle Rodriguez, Sofia Vergara, Amber Heard, Antonio Banderas, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Demian Bichir, Machete Kills is "a bombastic over the top combo of mayhem and fun!" (Shawn Edwards, Fox-TV), one of the wildest save-the-world adventures ever captured on film!
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Starving Games
Directed by: Jason Friedberg
The newest spoof by duo Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer (Disaster Movie, Meet the Spartans) that references The Hunger Games, The Avengers, Sherlock Holmes, and the Harry Potter saga with hilarious pop culture shout outs, where teens compete in a brutal death match!
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Sunlight Jr.
Directed by: Laurie Collyer
Sunlight Jr. is a love story set in the ruins of the American dream. Melissa is a convenience store clerk who lives in a motel with her paraplegic boyfriend, Richie. When they learn they are going to have a baby, they are genuinely excited. But when she loses her job and they are evicted from the motel, they face difficult choices about life and their relationship.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
TV SERIES
Borgen: Series 3
IN DANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLE
Borgen is a modern Danish political drama about the personal costs of the
struggle for power for the people at the center of the political world and the
media.
In this third and final season of Borgen, Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen) is a very different person than the confident prime minister who spoke at the lectern in parliament. She is no longer prime minister. It has been two and a half years since she called an election in which she failed to win the required number of seats to maintain the existing government. She has since left politics and is now a highly-paid speaker in the business world. During a talk she is holding for yet another group of Danish businesspeople, it all suddenly becomes too much for her. She can no longer brush off the recurring question of what she would do if she were Prime Minister.
In this third and final season of Borgen, Birgitte Nyborg (Sidse Babett Knudsen) is a very different person than the confident prime minister who spoke at the lectern in parliament. She is no longer prime minister. It has been two and a half years since she called an election in which she failed to win the required number of seats to maintain the existing government. She has since left politics and is now a highly-paid speaker in the business world. During a talk she is holding for yet another group of Danish businesspeople, it all suddenly becomes too much for her. She can no longer brush off the recurring question of what she would do if she were Prime Minister.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Crossing Lines: Season 1
Set in exciting and exotic locations Crossing Lines taps into the charter of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to mandate a special crime unit to investigate serialized crimes that cross over borders, hunt down criminals and bring them to justice. a global FBI is born. Crossing Lines stars William Fichtner ("Prison Break") as Carl Hickman, a wounded New York cop, pulled from the edge by a group of unlikely saviors, Emmy and Golden Globe winner Donald Sutherland ("The Hunger Games") as Michel Dorn, an inspector in the International Criminal Court, and Marc Lavoine ("The Good Thief") as Louis Daniel, the head of an elite cross-border police unit charged with hunting down the world's most brutal criminals.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
Dolmen: Complete Series
IN FRENCH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES What could be more perfect than coming home to marry your childhood sweetheart? Police officer Marie Kermeur returns to the beautiful craggy island of Ty Kern, off the coast of Brittany, to marry Christian, the man she grew up with on the island. But wedding planning turns into funeral preparations as the island becomes the stage for strange, nightmarish happenings. One by one, members of Marie's and other well-known local families die in mysterious circumstances. Adding an element of the bizarre to each tragedy is the fact that at the moment of death, one of the large stone outcroppings called menhirs begins to bleed with blood identical to that of the victim. And, in the hand of each corpse is found the cryptic note, For Marie, He will judge. From the stone, blood will spill. The strange phenomenon revives an old and sinister island legend that of the Shipwreckers. They were the starving islanders who, centuries ago during a famine, misdirected ships heading to lighthouse and caused them to wreck upon the rocks. Desperate to stop the carnage, Marie starts her own investigation, but a top cop from Paris, Lucas Fersen, supplants her and is officially put in charge of the case. However, given that her family is directly affected by the eerie events, Marie is determined to play a part in the investigation and help solve the mystery. Despite their initial mutual mistrust, a strong attraction grows between Marie and Lucas. Together they reveal Ty Kern's darkest secrets.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
NYPD Blue: Season 5
The groundbreaking and award winning cop series returns with more gritty drama and frenzied New York City action at the 15th precinct. Season five finds Sipowitz (Dennis Franz) and Simone (Jimmy Smits) dealing with the aftermath of the Joey Salvo Homicide*setting up a rape sting*on the trail of a stripper killer and investigating a murderous home invasion. Meanwhile Medavoy (Gordon Clapp)*Martinez (Nicholas Turturro) and Russell (Kim Delaney) uncover a body snatching ring*investigate the murder of a rock n roll manager and look for a man suspected of robbing taxis. Airing on ABC primetime from 1993-2005 and seen by millions*NYPD Blue was created by Emmy-® award winning show runner Steven Bochco (LA Law*Hill Street Blues) NYPD Blue continues to tackle cases ripped from the headlines capturing the tumultuous and unpredictable nature of New York City crime fighting.
Release Date: 21st January 2014
I read A Little Too Hat and it was not for me. I am writing a review soon. I did not like the male lead.
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