My Picks of the Week! (May 15th)

Good Monday!

I noticed that this week's releases are a little different, especially in the book department. Vonna Harper's (best known for her erotic romances) Canyon Shadows is available at bn.com today while on amazon.com you would have to wait until the end of the month to buy it.

In Young Adult, Shade's Children is actually a re-release of Garth Nix's 1998 edition. It has been given a nice new cover so I'm thinking with the popularity of YA novels like The Hunger Games, giving the book a more appealing cover will draw new attention. It definitely has an interesting premise! Susanne Winnacker's Weepers: The Other Life is new to us in the US, but apparently it was released overseas in Febuary 2012 (she lives in Germany) by the title The Other Life. Lastly, I am personally looking forward to Railsea by eccentric author China Mieville.

In movies, I'm pretty excited over the blu-ray/dvd combo release of Father of the Bride 1 & 2. My boyfriend enjoyed watching Rampart starring Woody Harrelson. I haven't watched it myself, but he said it was a good character driven drama. Hopefully I will get to set aside time to watch Albert Nobbs, starring Glenn Close who was nominated for an Oscar for her gender bending role.

Rounding out the releases in TV Series, the kids might be happy for season 2 of the popular Nickeloden show Victorious. I personally am excited for the release of AMC's western series Hell On Wheels Season 1, starring Anson Mount. That man is just H.O.T! So what are you looking forward to reading and watching this week?

BOOKS (May 15th)

ADULT

Canyon Shadows
by: Vonna Harper

Undeniable

Canine trainer Shari Afton can't deny the shiver of pleasure that runs through her at the sound of Maco Durant's sexy voice over the phone. Seems that trouble has followed this Wyoming rancher to Oregon, and he wants two of her guard dogs for protection. And she wants to see the cowboy face-to-face...

Uncontrollable

As she waits for Maco, the last thing Shari expects is the sound of a gunshot. When Maco arrives, Shari puts on a brave front, but the shooting brings back vivid memories of her past and she can barely control her emotions around this rugged stranger...

Unforgettable

Maco's concern awakens an intimate place deep inside that Shari has almost forgotten. With one touch, he ignites her erotic desire, and within his strong, masculine embrace, she surrenders to a wild ride in the saddle, western style...

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Fallen Queen, The (House of Arkhangel'sk, #1)
by: Jane Kinred

Heaven can go to hell.

Until her cousin slaughtered the supernal family, Anazakia’s father ruled the Heavens, governing noble Host and Fallen peasants alike. Now Anazakia is the last grand duchess of the House of Arkhangel’sk, and all she wants is to stay alive.

Hunted by Seraph assassins, Anazakia flees Heaven with two Fallen thieves—fire demon Vasily and air demon Belphagor, each with their own nefarious agenda—who hide her in the world of Man. The line between vice and virtue soon blurs, and when Belphagor is imprisoned, the unexpected passion of Vasily warms her through the Russian winter.

Heaven seems a distant dream, but when Anazakia learns the truth behind the celestial coup, she will have to return to fight for the throne—even if it means saving the man who murdered everyone she loved.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Infected: Shift (Infected, #5)
by: Andrea Speed

In a world where a werecat virus has changed society, Roan McKichan, a born infected and ex-cop, works as a private detective trying to solve crimes involving other infecteds.

Between his mutating virus and his rocky relationship with his artist boyfriend, Dylan, Roan has enough problems to solve without taking on other people’s, but that’s the nature of his work. Someone has to look into the case of the murdered trans woman, and if the perp is the dirty cop Roan suspects it is, the police are not the right people for the job.

But now Roan has a new obstacle to overcome: someone caught part of his transformation on video, and the media frenzy is making it hard to do his job. One case nets him a hockey team full of new friends. Another leads to an attempt on his life. And Roan’s hustler sidekick drags him on a quest for revenge. With his world and his body both in turmoil, Roan is finding it harder and harder to see the line between justice and vigilantism.

Release Date: 14 May 2012
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North of Need (Hearts of the Anemoi)
by: Laura Kaye

Her tears called a powerful snow god to life, but only her love can grant the humanity he craves…

Desperate to escape agonizing memories of Christmas past, twenty-nine-year-old widow Megan Snow builds a snow family outside the mountain cabin she once shared with her husband, realizing too late that she’s recreated the very thing she’ll never have.

Called to life by Megan’s tears, snow god Owen Winters appears unconscious on her doorstep in the midst of a raging blizzard. As she nurses him to health, Owen finds unexpected solace in her company and unimagined pleasure in the warmth of her body, and vows to win her heart for a chance at humanity.

Megan is drawn to Owen’s mismatched eyes, otherworldly masculinity, and enthusiasm for the littlest things. But this Christmas miracle comes with an expiration—before the snow melts and the temperature rises, Megan must let go of her widow’s grief and learn to trust love again, or she’ll lose Owen forever.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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YOUNG ADULT

Code Name Verity
by: Elizabeth Wein

Oct. 11th, 1943—A British spy plane crashes in Nazi-occupied France. Its pilot and passenger are best friends. One of the girls has a chance at survival. The other has lost the game before it's barely begun.

When “Verity” is arrested by the Gestapo, she's sure she doesn’t stand a chance. As a secret agent captured in enemy territory, she’s living a spy’s worst nightmare. Her Nazi interrogators give her a simple choice: reveal her mission or face a grisly execution.

As she intricately weaves her confession, Verity uncovers her past, how she became friends with the pilot Maddie, and why she left Maddie in the wrecked fuselage of their plane. On each new scrap of paper, Verity battles for her life, confronting her views on courage and failure and her desperate hope to make it home. But will trading her se crets be enough to save her from the enemy?

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Immortal Hearts (Vampire Kisses, #9)
by: Ellen Schreiber

This final chapter of Vampire Kisses' nocturnal romance will keep all mortal and immortal hearts racing.

Athena "Stormy" Sterling is coming to Dullsville, and Raven is both excited and panicked in anticipation of Alexander's little sister's visit. Alexander tells Raven that she and his sister have a lot in common, but can the mini-Raven be everything she hopes for? Alexander calls her Stormy for a reason.

Stormy's visit stirs up the perfect immortal whirlwind. Raven is forced to take a good look at what it would really mean to be a vampire in the Sterling family, aside from some of the things she already loves, like shunning the sun and sleeping in a cof fin with Alexander. When Raven compares her life with Stormy's, she can see that it's not all starry skies and black roses. But Raven knows she's always wanted to be a vampire.

Alexander is as romantic and dreamy as ever, and th ough he keeps showing Raven how much he loves her, will she ultimately be able to convince him that it's the right thing to turn her?

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Railsea
by: China Mieville

On board the moletrain Medes, Sham Yes ap Soorap watch es in awe as he witnesses his first moldywarpe hunt: the giant mole bursting from the earth, the harpoonists targeting their prey, the battle resulting in one’s death and the other’s glory. But no matter how spectacular it is, Sham can't shake the sense that there is more to life than traveling the endless rails of the railsea–even if his captain can think only of the hunt for the ivory-coloured mole she’s been chasing since it took her arm all those years ago. When they come across a wrecked train, at first it's a welcome distraction. But what Sham finds in the derelict—a series of pictures hinting at something, somewhere, that should be impossible—leads to considerably more than he'd bargained for. Soon he's hunted on all sides, by pirates, trainsfolk, monsters and salvage-scrabblers. And it might not be just Sham's life that's about to change. It could be the whole of the railsea.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Shade's Children
by: Garth Nix

If you're lucky, you live to fight another day.

In a futuristic urban wasteland, evil Overlords have decr

eed that no human shall live a day past their fourteenth birthday. On that Sad Birthday, the children of the Dorms are taken to the Meat Factory, where they will be made into creatures whose sole purpose is to kill.

The mysterious Shade—once a man, but now more like

the machines he fights—recruits the few teenagers who escape into a secret resistance force. With luck, cunning, and skill, four of Shade's children come closer than any to discovering the source of the Overlords' power—and the key to their downfall. But the closer they get, the more ruthless Shade seems to become. . . .

In a savage post-nuclear world, four young fugitives attempt to overthrow the bloodthirsty rule of the Overlords with the help of Shade, their mysterious mentor.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Sharks & Boys
by: Kristen Tracy

Fifteen-year-old Enid's carefully constructed life in Vermont is beginning to crumble. She has come to accept that, after bonding together for years in "twin studies," her friends have betrayed her. And now she finds out that her dad has betrayed her mom. It's not easy, but at least she's got her boyfriend, Wick, to help her through this tough time. Solid, funny, gorgeous Wick. Enid's loved him since she was six, and their relationship is perfect.

That is, until Wick suddenly announces he thinks they should take a break, an unclear status that Enid can't accept. As Wick abandons Enid for a trip to Ocean City, Maryland, with those same friends who betrayed her, she lets her wildest fears take over. More than five hundred miles later, Enid realized she's acting desperate as she spies on Wick, his twin, her twin, and all the boys from twin studies. That doesn't stop her from following them aboard a yacht and hiding in the bathroom. But then the boys take the yacht out into a storm-a storm which leaves everyone adrift in the ocean without food or water-and Enid discovers a new definition of desperate.

With sharks circling and no help in sight, Enid and the rest of the twins must find a way to trust one another in order to survive-and face the fact that they might not make it home.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Weepers: The Other Life
by: Susanne Winnacker

3 years, 1 month, 1 week and 6 days since I’d se en daylight. One-fifth of my life.

Sherry and her family have lived sealed in a bunker in the garden since things went wrong up above. Her grandfather has been in the freezer for the last three months, her parents are at each other’s throats and two minutes ago they ran out of food.

Sherry and her father leave the safety of the bunker and find a devastated and empty LA, smashed to pieces by bombs and haunted by ‘Weepers’ - rabid humans infected with a weaponized rabies virus.

While searching for food in a supermarket, Sherry’s father disappears and Sherry is saved by Joshua, a boy-hunter. He takes her to Safe-haven, a tumble-down vineyard in the hills outside LA, where a handful of other survivors are picking up the pieces of their ‘other lives’. As she falls in love for the first time, Sherry must save her father, stay alive and keep Joshua safe when his desire for vengeance threatens them all.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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MOVIES & TV SERIES (MAY 15th)

MOVIES

Albert Nobb
Directed by: Rodrigo Garcia

Starring: Glenn Close

Five-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close stars in this emotional and thought-provoking tale of a woman forced to live as a man in 19th Century Ireland. After thirty years of keeping up the charade, a new love threatens to destroy everything she's worked so hard to build.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Chronicle
Directed by: Josh Trank, Jay Alaimo

Starring: Michael B. Jordan, Michael Kelly

Three high school students make an incredible discovery, leading to their developing uncanny powers beyond their understanding. As they learn to control their abilities and use them to their advantage, their lives start to spin out of control, and their dar ker sides begin to take over.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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eCupid
Directed by: J.C. Calciano

Starring: Houston Rhines, Noah Shuffman

From the di rector of Is It Just Me? comes this sparkling romantic comedy that takes online dating to the extreme! Marshall is an over-worked ad exec who is suffering from a serious case of the seven-year itch with his loving boyfriend. A s his 30th birthday nears, he is hell-bent on changing hi s lif e and he comes across a mysterious dating app called eCupid. Turning his world upside down and overwhelming him with sexy, horned-up guys at ever y turn, Marshall gets much more than he bargained. Firing on all cylinders with sharp wit, hot cast, and even an extended cameo from Hollywood legend Morgan Fairchild, eCupid will win your heart.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Father of the Bride 1&2 (blu-ray release)
Directed by: Charles Shyer


Starring: Steve Martin, Martin Short

Bride plus the uproarious follow-up Father Of The Bride, Part II on Blu-ray for the first time ever. Screen legends Steve Martin, Diane Keaton, and Martin Short star in these warm and witty family favorites, complete with a new digital restoration! Things get out of hand for befuddl ed fa ther George Banks (Martin) w hen his young daughter unexpectedly announces her plans to wed. Life gets even crazier in the side-splitting sequel when his daughter and his wife (Keaton) both announce they are pregnant, and George desperately tries to capture the wild and crazy days of his youth. Relive every heartwarming and hilarious moment in this special 2-movie collection. It's fantastic family entertainment that really delivers!

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Grey, The
Directed by: Joe Carnahan

Starring: L iam Neeson

In The Gre y, Liam Neeson leads an unruly group of oil-rig roughnecks when their plane crashes into the remote Alaskan wilderness. Battling mortal injuries and merciless weather, the survivors h ave only a few days to escape the icy elements - and a vicious pack of rogue wolves on the hunt - before their time runs out.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Michael
Directed by: Markus Schleinzer

Starring: Michael Fuith

Michael (Mic hael Fuith), a seemingly meek insurance agent, has a secret: he's holding 10-year-old Wolfgang (David Rauchenberger) captive in a locked room in his basement. Chronicling a five month period, director Markus Schleinzer reveals a tense portrait of how seemingly mundane lives can hide the dar kest secrets. Michael is a masterfully executed study of a monster with rich cinematic detail and unnerving insight.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Rampart
Directed by: Oren Moverman

Starring: Woody Harrelson, Robin Wright

At the heart of Oren Moverman's Rampart is a riveting parable about what happens to a man who refuses to change, even when change is the only thing that can save him. That man is Dave Brown, played by two-time Academy Award nominee Woody Harrelson. Though the film is set in the 1990s, when scandal rocked the LAPD s Rampart division, the film hones in on a single fictional cop: Dave Brown, a man who has taken the no guts, no glory American mythos to heart, without questioning what it is doing to him and those he holds dear. He is a cop whose personal life is propelled into a dizzying downward spiral when he comes under suspicion for roughing up a suspect. More than just a police officer who plays things fast and loose, Brown exposes the inner workings of a certain type of personality everyone recognizes around them, a personality very much part of American culture, yet not often examined. He is the kind of man inexorably drawn to authority and power, yet seems destined to abuse it; a man who has dreams of being a great masculine hero, yet is beholden to women; who has undeniable charm, yet whose stubborn refusal to ta ke responsibility for his actions becomes a destructive force against family, community and ultimately himself.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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We Were Here (Documentary)
Directed by: David Weissman

Starring: n/a

David Weissman's WE WERE HERE revisits the San Francisco of the '80s and '90s, using the city's experience with AIDS to open up a conversation about both the history of the epidemic and the lessons to be learned from it. Yet the film reaches far beyond San Francisco and beyond AIDS itself as it illuminates the power of a community that comes together with love, compassion, and determination. Indeed, "The San Francisco Model"-the LGBT community's courage ous, multifaceted and creative response to AIDS-r emains a standard to which to aspire in seeking a healthier, more humane society.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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TV SERIES

Flashpoint: Season 4

Starring: Hugh Dillion, Amy Jo Johnson, Mark Taylor

The show focuses on a fictional elite tactical unit, called the Strategic Response Unit, within a Canadian metropolitan police force. The SRU are tasked to resolve extreme situations that regular officers are not trained to handle including hostage-taking, bomb threats and heavily armed criminals. Equipped with high-tech tools and a cache of weapons and explosives, members use negotiation tactics and intuition to try to avoid the use of deadly force, only implemented when other options are exhausted.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Hell on Wheels: Season 1

Starring: Anson Mount, Common

In 1865, a former Confederate soldier, Cullen Bohannon journeys to the Union Pacific Railroad's westward construction of the first transcontinental railroad to seek work and vengeance on the Union sold iers that have killed his wife. Cullen gets hired by the railroad and supervises an all-black "cu t crew," one of which is Elam, to prepare the terrain for track laying. Through conv ersation, Cullen learns more about his wife's death from railroad foreman Daniel Johnson, who knows the name o f her murderer. But tragedy strikes before this name is given. Thomas "Doc" Durant begins his "mad, noble quest" to expand his Union Pacific Railroad westward in order complete the transcontinental railroad.

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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Victorious: Season 2

Starring: Victoria Justice, Leon Thomas III

Season 2 of Victorious shines even brighter as the students re-audition for their spots at Hollywood Arts, get ready for their first-ever prom, and drive a giant cupcake through the streets! Put your hands together for more music, more drama, and hilarious behind-the-scenes bloopers!

Release Date: 15 May 2012
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