Monday, June 17, 2013

My Picks of the Week! (18th June 2013)

  Hello, Muses!

 Sorry it's late, but here are the new releases for the week! If you are looking for something different to read, then I highly recommend Sea Change by debut author S.M. Wheeler. Stay tuned for my review of the novel and author Q&A later this week!

In movies, if you are looking for a little mindless action/adventure, then you may want to check out Jack the Giant Slayer. If you want some laughs, two comedies come out this week, 21 & Over and Movie 43.

It's that time of the year when tv shows start making their way on dvd and blu-ray and there are quite a bit being released this week. Lifetime's hit series Drop Dead Diva: Season 4 and FX's Wilfred: Season 2 should be noted but the show I can't seem to stop talking about also will be available and that is Rectify: Season 1. If you haven't checked out the write up I did on the show, you can check it out HERE. Great story, powerful performances, season 2 will definitely be a much watch in 2014.

Enjoy!







BOOKS (18th JUNE)


ADULT

Cryonic: A Zombie Novel
by: Travis Bradberry

When Royce Bruyere chose to be cryogenically frozen upon death, he figured coming back to life would be exciting. Neat. Bonus time. The world he awakes to is nothing of the sort.

A Chinese invasion has crippled the United States, dividing the country in a decade-long stalemate along the Mississippi. Royce’s successful reanimation is unprecedented, making him the Chinese regime’s most prized possession?but not for long. Eager to control life and death, the Chinese reanimate other �cryonics,” until something goes horribly wrong.

Royce travels through a future wrought with violence and despair, only to discover the cure for the disease lies within him. It’s a race against time as he flees the Chinese and the bloodthirsty victims of a terrifying epidemic in the hope of saving the country from apocalypse and creating a life worth living.

Release Date: 21th June 2013

Ocean at the End of the Lane, The

by: Neil Gaiman

It began for our narrator forty years ago when the family lodger stole their car and committed suicide in it, stirring up ancient powers best left undisturbed. Dark creatures from beyond the world are on the loose, and it will take everything our narrator has just to stay alive: there is primal horror here, and menace unleashed - within his family and from the forces that have gathered to destroy it. His only defense is three women, on a farm at the end of the lane. The youngest of them claims that her duckpond is an ocean. The oldest can remember the Big Bang.


Release Date: 18th June 2013


Sea Change
by: S.M. Wheeler

The unhappy child of two powerful parents who despise each other, young Lilly turns to the ocean to find solace, which she finds in the form of the eloquent and intelligent sea monster Octavius, a kraken. In Octavius’s many arms, Lilly learns of friendship, loyalty, and family. When Octavius, forbidden by Lilly to harm humans, is captured by seafaring traders and sold to a circus, Lilly becomes his only hope for salvation. Desperate to find him, she strikes a bargain with a witch that carries a shocking price.

Her journey to win Octavius’s freedom is difficult. The circus master wants a Coat of Illusions; the Coat tailor wants her undead husband back from a witch; the witch wants her skin back from two bandits; the bandits just want some company, but they might kill her first. Lilly's quest tests her resolve, tries her patience, and leaves her transformed in every way.

A powerfully written debut from a young fantasy author, Sea Change is an exhilarating tale of adventure, resilience, and selflessness in the name of friendship.

Release Date: 18th June 2013


Sovereign (Book of Mortals, #3)
by: Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee

Nine years after Rom Sebastian was thrust into the most unlikely of circumstances as hero and bearer of an unimaginable secret, the alliance of his followers is in disarray. An epic battle with The Order has left them scattered and deeply divided both in strategy and resolve in their struggle to become truly alive and free.

Only 49 truly alive followers remain loyal to Rom. This meager band must fight for survival as The Order is focused on their total annihilation. Misunderstood and dispised, their journey will be one of desperation against a new, more intensely evil Order. As the hand of this evil is raised to strike and destroy them they must rely on their faith in the abiding power of love to overcome all and lead them to sovereigncy.

SOVEREIGN wonderfuly continues the new testament allegory that was introduced in FORBIDDEN and continued in MORTAL.

Release Date: 18th June 2013


YOUNG ADULT

A Trick of the Light
by: Lois Metzger

Mike Welles had everything under control. But that was before. Now things are rough at home, and they’re getting confusing at school. He’s losing his sense of direction, and he feels like he’s a mess.

Then there’s a voice in his head. A friend, who’s trying to help him get control again. More than that—the voice can guide him to become faster and stronger than he was before, to rid his life of everything that’s holding him back. To figure out who he is again. If only Mike will listen.

Telling a story of a rarely recognized segment of eating disorder sufferers—young men—A Trick of the Light by Lois Metzger is a book for fans of the complex characters and emotional truths in Laurie Halse Anderson’s Wintergirls and Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why.

Release Date: 18th June 2013


Intuition (Transcendence, #2)
by: C.J. Omololu

As Cole begins to accept her new life as Akhet, someone who can remember flashes of her past lives, every new vision from her past lives helps explain who she is in this life. As her passion for Griffon grows, she learns to identify other Akhet around her, including Drew, the young self-made millionaire who reveals his startling connection to Cole-he was her husband in Elizabethan England and gave her the ankh necklace that has been returned to her after centuries in hiding. Drew's attentions are overwhelming as he insists that their connection in the past signals their future destiny together, but before she can decide who she truly loves, Cole must learn to harness her unique Akhet abilities if she is to ever understand her role in this strange new world.

Release Date: 18th June 2013


Proxy (Proxy, #1)
by: Alex London

Knox was born into one of the City’s wealthiest families. A Patron, he has everything a boy could possibly want—the latest tech, the coolest clothes, and a Proxy to take all his punishments. When Knox breaks a vase, Syd is beaten. When Knox plays a practical joke, Syd is forced to haul rocks. And when Knox crashes a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is branded and sentenced to death.

Syd is a Proxy. His life is not his own.

Then again, neither is Knox’s. Knox and Syd have more in common than either would guess. So when Knox and Syd realize that the only way to beat the system is to save each other, they flee. Yet Knox’s father is no ordinary Patron, and Syd is no ordinary Proxy. The ensuing cross-country chase will uncover a secret society of rebels, test both boys’ resolve, and shine a blinding light onto a world of those who owe and those who pay. Some debts, it turns out, cannot be repaid.

Release Date: 18th June 2013


Reviver (Reviver, #1)
by: Seth Patrick

Revivers. Able to wake the recently dead, and let them bear witness to their own demise. Twelve years after the first reviver came to light, they have become accepted by an uneasy public. The testimony of the dead is permitted in courtrooms across the world. Forensic revival is a routine part of police investigation. In the United States, that responsibility falls to the Forensic Revival Service. Despite his troubled past, Jonah Miller is one of their best. But while reviving the victim of a brutal murder, he encounters a terrifying presence. Something is watching. Waiting. His superiors tell him it was only in his mind, a product of stress. Jonah is not so certain. Then Daniel Harker, the first journalist to bring revival to public attention, is murdered, and Jonah finds himself getting dragged into the hunt for answers. Working with Harker's daughter Annabel, he becomes determined to find those responsible and bring them to justice. Soon they uncover long-hidden truths that call into doubt everything Jonah stands for, and reveal a threat that if not stopped in time, will put all of humanity in danger...

Release Date: 18th June 2013


Solstice
by: P.J. Hoover

Piper's world is dying.

Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.

Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.

An imaginative melding of mythology and dystopia, Solstice is the first YA novel by talented newcomer P. J. Hoover.

Release Date: 18th June 2013


Star Cursed (Cahill Witch Chronicles, #2)
by: Jessica Spotswood

With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.

Release Date: 18th June 2013



MOVIES & TV SERIES (18th JUNE)


MOVIES

21 & Over
Directed by: Scott Moore

Starring: Justin Chong, Skylar Astin

From the writers of The Hangover comes a reckless and raunchy comedy 21 years in the making! On the day before a critical med school interview, straight-A college student Jeff Chang (Justin Chong, Twilight) gets a surprise visit from his two best buds (Skylar Astin, Pitch Perfect and Miles Teller, Project X) to celebrate his 21st birthday. In no mood to party, Jeff finally agrees to a single drink, which quickly leads to an over-the-top, out-of-control night filled with epic beer pong, smoking hot coeds...and one angry buffalo. Can Jeff's friends get their plastered pal cleaned up in time for his morning appointment? It's worth a shot!

Release Date: 18 June 2013


Jack the Giant Slayer
Directed by: Bryan Singer

Starring: Nicholas Hoult

Jack the Giant Slayer tells the story of an ancient war that is reignited when a young farmhand unwittingly opens a gateway between our world and a fearsome race of giants. Unleashed on the Earth for the first time in centuries, the giants strive to reclaim the land they once lost, forcing the young man, Jack, into the battle of his life to stop them. Fighting for a kingdom, its people, and the love of a brave princess, he comes face to face with the unstoppable warriors he thought only existed in legend—and gets the chance to become a legend himself. 

Release Date: 18 June 2013


Last Exorcism 2
Directed by: Ed Gass-Donnelly

Starring: Ashley Bell, Julia Garner

Continuing where the first film left off, Nell Sweetzer (Ashley Bell) is found alone and terrified in the woods. Back in the relative safety of civilization, Nell realizes that she can't remember entire portions of the previous months only that she is the last surviving member of her family. Just as Nell begins the difficult process of starting a new life, the evil force that once possessed her is back with other, unimaginably horrific plans that mean her last exorcism was just the beginning.

Release Date: 18 June 2013


Let My People Go
Directed by: Mikael Buch
Starring: Nicolas Maury

A sweet and hilarious fusion of gay romantic comedy, Jewish family drama and French bedroom farce, Mikael Buch s Let My People Go! follows the travails and daydreams of the lovelorn Ruben (Regular Lovers Nicolas Maury), a French-Jewish gay mailman living in fairytale Finland with his gorgeous Nordic boyfriend. But just before Passover, a series of mishaps and a lovers quarrel exile the heartbroken Ruben back to Paris and his zany family which includes Almodovar goddess Carmen Maura (Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Volver) as his ditzy mom. Scripted by director Mikael Buch and renowned arthouse auteur Christophe Honoré (Love Songs), Let My People Go! both celebrates and upends Jewish and gay stereotypes with wit, gusto and style to spare. The result is deeply heartwarming, fabulously kitschy and hysterically funny.

Release Date: 18 June 2013


Movie 43
Directed by: various

Starring: Emma Stone, Hugh Jackman

From the twisted minds of producers Peter Farrelly (Hall Pass, Shallow Hal) and Charles Wessler (There's Something About Mary, Dumb & Dumber), comes Movie 43-- the outrageous new ensemble comedy starring some of the biggest names in Hollywood. Movie 43 is not for the easily-offended and contains jaw-dropping, sometimes shockingly disturbing, but always entertaining intertwined storylines you'll have to see to believe.

Release Date: 18 June 2013


Quartet
Directed by: Dustin Hoffman

Starring: Tom Courtenay, Pauline Collins

Beecham House is abuzz. The rumor circling the halls is that the home for retired musicians is soon to play host to a new resident. Word is, it's a star. For Reginald Paget (Tom Courtenay), Wilfred Bond (Billy Connolly) and Cecily Robson (Pauline Collins) this sort of talk is par for the course at the gossipy home. But they're in for a special shock when the new arrival turns out to be none other than their former singing partner, Jean Horton (Maggie Smith). Her subsequent career as a star soloist, and the ego that accompanied it, split up their long friendship and ended her marriage to Reggie, who takes the news of her arrival particularly hard. Can the passage of time heal old wounds? And will the famous quartet be able to patch up their differences in time for Beecham House's gala concert?


Release Date: 18 June 2013


Stoker
Directed by: Park Chan-wook

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode

Following the tragic death of her father on her eighteenth birthday, India Stoker (Wasikowska) meets Charlie (Goode), her charismatic uncle, whom she never knew existed. When Charlie moves in with India and her unstable mother (Kidman), both are drawn to his charming and calming demeanor. But it soon becomes clear that Charlie's arrival was no coincidence, and that the shocking secrets of his past could affect India's future...or shatter it completely.

Release Date: 18 June 2013


Summoned 
Directed by: Peter Sullivan

Starring: Cuba Gooding Jr., James Hong

Recently divorced artist Laura lives a quiet life in Marin County, spending time preparing for an upcoming show. One day, she sees a news story about a man named Nathan who's been found dead, suspected of having jumped off the roof of his San Francisco apartment building. Something about this bothers her, and we follow her to a local retirement home, where she tells her friend Frank what's happened. It turns out that Laura, Frank and Nathan all served on the jury for one of San Francisco's most high-profile cases - the trial of infamous serial killer Evan Barber, known as the Midnight Murderer. The jury ultimately found Evan guilty, and he was executed soon afterward. While the authorities are quick to dismiss Nathan's death as a suicide, Laura is suspicious. When Frank also turns up dead, the coincidence is too great to ignore. She starts looking into Nathan's last days, and learns that he'd been working on a book about his experiences, and re-examining some of the evidence from the case. Meanwhile, Laura starts to get the feeling that someone, or something, is following her. Could she be next?


Release Date: 18 June 2013


TV SERIES

Body of Proof: Season 3

Starring: Dana Delany

Dana Delany is back as Dr. Megan Hunt, facing her greatest challenge yet in ABC's Body Of Proof: The Complete Third Season. In the wake of Inspector Peter Dunlop's death, Megan returns to work to find her new partner is an old flame. Will her history with Detective Tommy Sullivan make working side by side impossible? Their search for justice becomes even more personal when a serial killer takes Megan's daughter, Lacey, hostage. Get ready for a season of provocative twists and turns all leading up to the ultimate mystery of Megan's life. The stakes are higher and the thrills are bigger than ever in ABC's Body Of Proof: The Complete Third Season, complete with never-before-seen bonus features only available on DVD! 

Release Date: 18 June 2013


Call the Midwife: Season 2

Starring: Jessica Raine, Stephan McGann

The critically acclaimed BBC/PBS series Call the Midwife returns for a second season on Blu-ray! Based on the bestselling memoirs by Jennifer Worth, Call the Midwife follows Jenny Lee, a young midwife in 1950s London's working class East End, providing the poorest women with the best possible care. Season Two continues to follow Jenny and the other midwives as they deal with all the problems the neighborhood of Poplar has to throw at them. A fascinating portrayal of birth, life, death and a community on the brink of huge social change, Call the Midwife offers a gripping insight into a way of life that is so drastically different from how we live now.

Release Date: 18 June 2013


Drop Dead Diva: Season 4

Starring: Brooke Elliott, Margaret Cho

A vapid aspiring model killed in a car crash gets brought back to life as an intelligent, overweight lawyer, hoping to find the meaning of inner beauty. 

 Release Date: 18 June 2013



  
Moonshiners: Season 1

Starring: n/a

Think the days of bootleggers, backwoods stills and 'white lightning' are over? Not a chance! It's a multi-million dollar industry. But perhaps more importantly to the moonshiners, it's a tradition dating back hundreds of years, passed down to them from their forefathers. It's part of their history and culture. While this practice is surprisingly alive and well, it's not always legal.

Discovery Channel's all-new series MOONSHINERS tells the story of those who brew their shine - often in the woods near their homes using camouflaged equipment - and the local authorities who try to keep them honest. Viewers will witness practices rarely, if ever, seen on television including the sacred rite of passage for a moonshiner - firing up the still for the first time. They will also meet legends, including notorious moonshiner Marvin 'Popcorn' Sutton. 

Release Date: 18 June 2013



Rectify: Season 1

Starring: Aden Young, Abigail Spencer

FROM THE PRODUCERS OF BREAKING BAD. After spending 19 years on Death Row for the rape and murder of his teenage girlfriend, Daniel Holden is going home. His conviction has been vacated due to new DNA evidence, thrusting him back into a world he no longer knows. Having spent his adult life waiting to die, Daniel must now learn how to live again. But, his reentry into the outside world may be as unforgiving as prison. He is haunted by the past, dogged by the present, and uncertain of the future. As he struggles to adapt to his new life, his return will reignite the fears of a small town and threaten to shatter his family's fragile peace. Daniel's alleged crime divided a community. His freedom could tear it in half. 

Release Date: 18 June 2013



Web Therapy: Season 2

Starring: Lisa Kudrow

The popular online show, now a television series, features Fiona Wallice who is branching a new type of therapy. She decides that 3 minutes over web cam is better than 50 minutes of patients rambling on. By dramatically shortening session time, she hopes to get results more quickly. Her sessions take place via web cam over the Internet and are taped in the hope of attracting investors into promoting her new technique as a worldwide therapy option. 

Release Date: 18 June 2013


Wilfred: Season 2 (US version)

Starring: Elijah Wood, Jason Gann

Elijah Wood and Jason Gann return for another fearlessly funny season of Wilfred...the story of a dog and his man. Following the first season's cliff-hanger finale, Season Two finds Ryan making a fresh start with a real job and a new girlfriend. But with Wilfred's help, Ryan discovers he still has a lot to learn about life, including 'squishy' viral videos and the ongoing cuteness war between dogs and babies. Get your paws on Season Two -- with a shocking season-ending revelation that will change everything. 


Release Date: 18 June 2013


Workaholics: Season 3

Starring: Blake Anderson, Adam DeVine

TelAmeriCorp's chief slackers Adam, Anders, and Blake clock in for another shift with Workaholics Season 3 on Blu-ray and DVD containing the latest 20 episodes from Comedy Central's hit series. This time; the boys get a surprise visit from home, help a coworker spy on a cheating spouse, and welcome their newest roommates, and Jesus, into their bachelor pad. 

Release Date: 18 June 2013


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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Book Review & Giveaway: Shadows Cast by Stars by: Catherine Knutsson

Title: Shadows Cast by Stars
Author: Catherine Knutsson
ISBN: 1442401915
Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopian, YA

Theme(s): Mythology, prejudice, discrimination, spiritualism 
Length: 464 pgs
Binding: Hardcover
Published: 5 June 2012
Buy: amazon.com

Synopsis: Two hundred years from now, blood has become the most valuable commodity on the planet—especially the blood of aboriginal peoples, for it contains antibodies that protect them from the Plague ravaging the rest of the world.

Sixteen-year-old Cassandra Mercredi might be immune to Plague, but that doesn’t mean she’s safe—government forces are searching for those of aboriginal heritage to harvest their blood. When a search threatens Cassandra and her family, they flee to the Island: a mysterious and idyllic territory protected by the Band, a group of guerilla warriors—and by an enigmatic energy barrier that keeps outsiders out and the spirit world in. And though the village healer has taken her under her wing, and the tribal leader’s son into his heart, the creatures of the spirit world are angry, and they have chosen Cassandra to be their voice and instrument....

Incorporating the traditions of the First Peoples as well as the more familiar stories of Greek mythology and Arthurian legend, Shadows Cast by Stars is a haunting, beautifully written story that breathes new life into ancient customs.

My Rating: 

**Scroll down to enter GIVEAWAY**

My Review:   Shadows Cast By Stars is one of the most uniquely original novels I've had the pleasure of reading within the past year. I regret that it has taken me this long to review it, but things happen for a reason and I'm always happy to bring attention to a novel whether it has just been released or published 10 years ago. Shadows is a very hard book to categorize and is sort of a genre bender. It is dystopian yet the author manages to weave in Greek mythology, Arthurian legend, and culture of the First Peoples. I think this is one of the reasons why it has been having trouble finding the right audience. Despite this, Shadows is one of the most fascinating dystopian books out there, with beautiful, lyrical writing, and characters that you come to care about.

Let's talk about characters for a moment. I thought Cassandra was a great heroine and I found myself quite sympathetic to her plight. She sort of reminds me of myself at times, an old soul that carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. She loves her father and her brother but I got the sense that she is the glue to this family dynamic. I couldn't help but fall a little in love with her brother Paul, and I think that is a huge feat and proves how amazing of an author Catherine Knutsson is. I usually get bored with brother/sister tales because one character always seems to be more interesting then the other. But Paul is such a well written character, a tortured soul that seems to be always hanging over a precipice, one step in the light, one step in the dark.

Once Cassandra, Paul, and their father are forced to leave and move to the Island, other interesting characters are introduced. I loved Madda, the village healer who takes Cass under her wing and teaches her about healing and controlling her powers. We also get to meet the village leader's son, Bran, who becomes Cassandra's love interest. Some reviewers thought Cass and Bran's relationship was rushed. I don't believe so. Was there an immediate attraction between the two? Yes, but they didn't fall into each others arms right away. It was more like a slow burn. But then again, when it does happen and they allow their feelings to take over, it's a beautiful thing since they live in a world where at any moment they could be discovered by those from the Corridor.

What makes this novel truly unique and thought provoking is the many themes and lessons to be learned. Catherine Knutsson does this by giving us characters that can walk in the spirit world, a world where technology has poisoned us and the Old Ways are embraced by few but perhaps is the key to saving the world from self destruction. Cassandra and her brother Paul are called "Others", those who are immune to Plague because they carry antibodies to fight it due to their aboriginal blood. The term "Others" is interesting because it reminds me of a Multicultural class I took back in college. "Others" was a term used by whites when referring to Asian people. I remember thinking how horrible it must have been to be called an "Other", as if these people were not human beings but something entirely different, in a far less superior category.  That's how Cass and her people are treated, so discrimination and prejudice are huge themes that run throughout the novel.

Spirituality is also prevalent in Shadows Cast By Stars. While Cassandra can see spirit and see a person's Shade (like a person's totem or animal spirit), Paul has terrifying visions that come true and is often visited by the dead. Cass knows this takes a huge toll on Paul who starts to become more and more withdrawn. I also love how everything has a spirit which reminds me of Native American culture. While at school, Cass finds and sneaks out "contraband", a term used in the Corridor for old, forgotten items such as pencils, clips, elastic bands, rusty old keys, ribbons, etc. She then takes these items home and waits until they tell her what they want to be used for; sometimes she weaves them into dreamcatchers, other times it may be a basket. These items come to life in her hands and shows us how even the smallest object, such as a rock, has a spirit inside it.

Another important and interesting theme throughout the novel is that of Technology vs. The Old Ways. Novels that explore the advancement of technology and give us different views on what the world may look like in the future always disturb and intrigue me. It's scary because I see some of the negative effects already. We live in a world where teenagers don't even know how to tell time by looking at a clock because they are so used to looking at their cell phones. We live in a technological society where 10 years ago I could remember phone numbers without even checking my personal phone book but now if I lost my cell phone, I wouldn't even be able to call my boyfriend because I don't know his number by heart! In Shadows Cast By Stars, we are 200 years in the future where technology has basically turned against us. Everything is poison, the air we breath, the people infected with prejudice, etc. But maybe there is another way to live. Maybe it's not too late. Cassandra's father has taught his children how to live without electricity, how to live off the land. With Cass' healing nature and her father's instructions, they were able to salvage part of the soil in order to grow vegetables. Her father believes that by embracing and remembering the Old Ways, it keeps you honest and helps to remember who you are.

Once Cassandra and her family reach the Island, the Old Ways become more clear, the spirit world calls to her more often, and creatures you only hear about in nighttime stories or in legends come to life. It's rare for a novel to spook me or give me goosebumps, but this is Catherine Knutsson we are talking about! I know I mentioned how beautifully written the novel is, but some of her descriptions are so very vivid, especially when she introduces us to some of the ancient creatures that Cass has to contend with, such as the sisiutal and the dzoonokwas. I'm not even going to attempt to explain them, but let me just say the dzoonokwa that stalked Cassandra in the woods was truly frightening. But even these fierce creatures I came to respect because even they know how threatened their own world and existence has become due to the sickness that technology has spread.

There were a few issues I had with the book that held me back from giving this novel a perfect 5 star rating and I am afraid they may mirror what others have complained about already. I would have to agree that we need to know more about the Corridor. Afterall, this is a dystopian novel. Everything we learn about the Corridor is at the very beginning of story, perhaps the first 2 or 3 chapters at most. We know that the Corridor is a city, polluted, contaminated, and people are dying from some sort of Plague. We know that government officials of the Corridor want "Others" tagged so that they can be used for their blood, almost like sacrifices. While this demented city and government sound scary, we never get any examples, flashbacks, or first person accounts as to how dangerous this society is. I'm also not so sure I am sold on the concept that people of the Corrider have to kill "Others" for their blood. If they keep killing those who are immune to the Plague, what happens when they become extinct? Wouldn't it make more sense for them to  maybe breed "Others" so that they can keep up with the demand for their blood? Sounds horrible, I know, but the breeding concept sounds more believable then killing them all. I also had a problem with how the government keeps tabs on those who have aboriginal blood. In the beginning of the story, everyone knows that Cass and Paul are "Others". Yet somehow the government doesn't know that their father is as well. How can they know Cass and Paul are immune to Plague but not their father? It really makes no sense and should have been thought through more.

Shadows Cast By Stars is an ambitious, deeply moving story. I still sometimes have a hard time wrapping my brain around the fact that this is Catherine Knutsson's debut novel. Her writing and storytelling are just that good. If you like stories that are not only entertaining but also make you think, then look no further. Shadows is the type of novel that I can see being used in high school classrooms and in colleges because it can prompt so many interesting discussions about discrimination and prejudice, spiritualism, and the pros and cons of technological advancement and what our world might look like in another 200 years. The book may test you morally and ethically in regards to the government killing one group of people to sustain the lives of others. Who has the right to make such a judgement? What makes one group of people more important than the other? If you are tired of searching for something unique in the overly saturated dystopian genre, give Shadows Cast By Stars a try. It's totally worth it.






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Monday, June 10, 2013

My Picks of the Week! (11th June 2013)



Hello, my lovely Muses!

There are quite a few hot releases this week, starting with the highly anticipated Forever Too Far, book 3 in the Too Far series by Abbi Glines! A new genre bending novel that has caught my attention is Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntosh. Can't wait to get my hands on that one!

In movies Oz: The Great and Powerful finally arrives on all formats, including 3D. The Rock aka Dwayne Johnson's drama SNITCH also is out this week, which is based on a true story.  And let's not forget that it is tv series release season, so make sure to check out below for all the shows coming out before new seasons start back up!

Enjoy!






BOOKS (11 JUNE 2013)

ADULT

Defiance (Defiance, #1)
by: Stephanie Tyler

Rebelling against her legacy as the MC's princess, Tru Tennyson escaped the ruthless, male-dominated culture of the Defiance motorcycle club. Three years later, her newfound freedom is ripped away, thanks to a massive hybrid storm that killed millions. Now, in the post-Chaos world of semi-darkness and near-total anarchy where gangs rule, she discovers the dangerous world of Defiance may be the one thing that can keep her safe.

Tru is at the MC's mercy when she's dragged back to her former home … and to the only man she's ever pictured a future with. Caspar is the bastard son of the club's leader, her safe haven when life got rough — and her onetime lover the night she left. When Tru refuses to trade sex for power and be claimed by a rival club leader, she also dares to announce she wants Caspar instead, throwing the MC into turmoil.

Tru's brazen revolt could start a gang war and destroy the club from within. Now both Tru and the MC must wait for Caspar's response … and the inevitable fallout.

Release Date: 10 June 2013


Ecko Rising (Ecko Rising, #1)
by: Danie Ware

In a futuristic London where technological body modification is the norm, Ecko stands alone as a testament to the extreme capabilities of his society. Driven half mad by the systems running his body, Ecko is a criminal for hire. No job is too dangerous or insane.

When a mission goes wrong and Ecko finds himself catapulted across dimensions into a peaceful and unadvanced society living in fear of 'magic', he must confront his own percepions of reality and his place within it.

A thrilling debut, Ecko Rising explores the massive range of the sci-fi and fantasy genres, and the possible implications of pitting them against one another. Author Danie Ware creates an immersive and richly imagined world that readers will be eager to explore in the first book in this exciting new trilogy.

Release Date: 11 June 2013


Forever Too Far (Too Far, #3)
by: Abbi Glines

Rush promised her forever... but promises can be broken.

Torn between his love for his family and his love for Blaire, Rush has to find a way to save one without losing the other. In the end one has to be more important. Letting go isn’t easy.

Blaire believed in her fairytale... but no one can live in a fantasy.

Her love for Rush and desire to have a family keep her believing that they can find a way for this to work. Until she has to make the right decision for her and the baby. Even if it breaks her heart.

Can they find the forever that they both want or has it all just gone... too far?

Release Date: 10 June 2013


Love Minus Eighty
by: Will McIntosh

Years in the future, dead women in cryogenic dating farms await rich, lonely suitors to resurrect them and take them home. LOVE MINUS EIGHTY follows interconnected lives touched by these dating farms. There's Rob, who accidentally kills a jogger, then sells everything to visit her, seeking her forgiveness but instead falling in love. Veronika, a socially-awkward dating coach, finds herself responsible for the happiness of a man whose life she saved against his will. And Mira, a gay woman accidentally placed in the heterosexual dating center near its inception, desperately seeks a way to reunite with her frozen partner as the centuries pass. In this daring and big-hearted novel based on the Hugo-winning short story, the lovelorn navigate a world in which technology has reached the outer limits of morality and romance.

Release Date: 11 June 2013


YOUNG ADULT

A Matter of Days
by: Amber Kizer

On Day 56 of the pandemic called BluStar, sixteen-year-old Nadia's mother dies, leaving her responsible for her younger brother Rabbit. They secretly received antivirus vaccines from their uncle, but most people weren't as lucky. Their deceased father taught them to adapt and survive whatever comes their way. That's their plan as they trek from Seattle to their grandfather's survivalist compound in West Virginia. Using practical survival techniques, they make their way through a world of death and destruction until they encounter an injured dog; Zack, a street kid from Los Angeles; and other survivors who are seldom what they seem. Illness, infections, fatigue, and meager supplies have become a way of life. Still, it will be worth it once they arrive at the designated place on the map they have memorized. But what if no one is there to meet them?

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Another Little Piece
by: Kate Karyus Quinn

The spine-tingling horror of Stephen King meets an eerie mystery worthy of Sara Shepard's Pretty Little Liars series in Kate Karyus Quinn's haunting debut.

On a cool autumn night, Annaliese Rose Gordon stumbled out of the woods and into a high school party. She was screaming. Drenched in blood. Then she vanished.

A year later, Annaliese is found wandering down a road hundreds of miles away. She doesn't know who she is. She doesn't know how she got there. She only knows one thing: She is not the real Annaliese Rose Gordon.

Now Annaliese is haunted by strange visions and broken memories. Memories of a reckless, desperate wish . . . a bloody razor . . . and the faces of other girls who disappeared. Piece by piece, Annaliese's fractured memories come together to reveal a violent, endless cycle that she will never escape—unless she can unlock the twisted secrets of her past.

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Born of Illusion (The Ghost Club, #1)
by: Teri Brown

Anna Van Housen is thirteen the first time she breaks her mother out of jail. By sixteen she’s street smart and savvy, assisting her mother, the renowned medium Marguerite Van Housen, in her stage show and sĂ©ances, and easily navigating the underground world of magicians, mediums and mentalists in 1920’s New York City. Handcuffs and sleight of hand illusions have never been much of a challenge for Anna. The real trick is keeping her true gifts secret from her opportunistic mother, who will stop at nothing to gain her ambition of becoming the most famous medium who ever lived. But when a strange, serious young man moves into the flat downstairs, introducing her to a secret society that studies people with gifts like hers, he threatens to reveal the secrets Anna has fought so hard to keep, forcing her to face the truth about her past. Could the stories her mother has told her really be true? Could she really be the illegitimate daughter of the greatest magician of all?

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Boy Nobody
by: Allen Zadoff

Boy Nobody is the perennial new kid in school, the one few notice and nobody thinks much about. He shows up in a new high school, in a new town, under a new name, makes few friends and doesn't stay long. Just long enough for someone in his new friend's family to die -- of "natural causes." Mission accomplished, Boy Nobody disappears, and moves on to the next target.

When his own parents died of not-so-natural causes at the age of eleven, Boy Nobody found himself under the control of The Program, a shadowy government organization that uses brainwashed kids as counter-espionage operatives. But somewhere, deep inside Boy Nobody, is somebody: the boy he once was, the boy who wants normal things (like a real home, his parents back), a boy who wants out. And he just might want those things badly enough to sabotage The Program's next mission.

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Charm and Strange
by: Stephanie Kuehn

When you’ve been kept caged in the dark, it’s impossible to see the forest for the trees. It’s impossible to see anything, really. Not without bars . . .

Andrew Winston Winters is at war with himself.

He’s part Win, the lonely teenager exiled to a remote Vermont boarding school in the wake of a family tragedy. The guy who shuts all his classmates out, no matter the cost.

He’s part Drew, the angry young boy with violent impulses that control him. The boy who spent a fateful, long-ago summer with his brother and teenage cousins, only to endure a secret so monstrous it led three children to do the unthinkable.

Over the course of one night, while stuck at a party deep in the New England woods, Andrew battles both the pain of his past and the isolation of his present.

Before the sun rises, he’ll either surrender his sanity to the wild darkness inside his mind or make peace with the most elemental of truths—that choosing to live can mean so much more than not dying.

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Girl Who Was Supposed To Die, The
by: April Henry

“Take her out back and finish her off.”
 
She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know where she is, or why. All she knows when she comes to in a ransacked cabin is that there are two men arguing over whether or not to kill her.
And that she must run.
In her riveting style, April Henry crafts a nail-biting thriller involving murder, identity theft, and biological warfare. Follow Cady and Ty (her accidental savior turned companion), as they race against the clock to stay alive.

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Linked (Linked, #1)
by: Imogen Howson

Elissa used to have it all: looks, popularity, and a bright future. But for the last three years, she’s been struggling with terrifying visions, phantom pains, and mysterious bruises that appear out of nowhere.

Finally, she’s promised a cure: minor surgery to burn out the overactive area of her brain. But on the eve of the procedure, she discovers the shocking truth behind her hallucinations: she’s been seeing the world through another girl’s eyes.

Elissa follows her visions, and finds a battered, broken girl on the run. A girl—Lin—who looks exactly like Elissa, down to the matching bruises. The twin sister she never knew existed.

Now, Elissa and Lin are on the run from a government who will stop at nothing to reclaim Lin and protect the dangerous secrets she could expose—secrets that would shake the very foundation of their world.

Riveting, thought-provoking and utterly compelling, Linked will make you question what it really means to be human.

Release Date: 11 June 2013

One
by: Leigh Ann Kopans

When having two powers makes you a Super and having none makes you a Normal, having only one makes you a sad half-superpowered freak.

It makes you a One.

Sixteen-year-old Merrin Grey would love to be able to fly – too bad all she can do is hover.

If she could just land an internship at the Biotech Hub, she might finally figure out how to fix herself. She busts her butt in AP Chem and salivates over the Hub’s research on the manifestation of superpowers, all in hopes of boosting her chances.

Then she meets Elias VanDyne, another One, and all her carefully crafted plans fly out the window. Literally. When the two of them touch, their Ones combine to make them fly, and when they’re not soaring over the Nebraska cornfields, they’re busy falling for each other.

Merrin's mad chemistry skills land her a spot on the Hub's internship short list, but as she gets closer to the life she always wanted, she discovers that the Hub’s purpose is more sinister than it has always seemed. Now it’s up to her to decide if it's more important to fly solo, or to save everything - and everyone - she loves.

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Registry, The
by: Shannon Stoker

The Registry saved the country from collapse. But stability has come at a price. In this patriotic new America, girls are raised to be brides, sold at auction to the highest bidder. Boys are raised to be soldiers, trained by the state to fight to their death.

Nearly eighteen, beautiful Mia Morrissey excitedly awaits the beginning of her auction year. But a warning from her married older sister raises dangerous thoughts. Now, instead of going up on the block, Mia is going to escape to Mexico—and the promise of freedom.

All Mia wants is to control her own destiny—a brave and daring choice that will transform her into an enemy of the state, pursued by powerful government agents, ruthless bounty hunters, and a cunning man determined to own her . . . a man who will stop at nothing to get her back.

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Rush (The Game, #1)
by: Eve Silver

So what’s the game now? This, or the life I used to know?

When Miki Jones is pulled from her life, pulled through time and space into some kind of game—her carefully controlled life spirals into chaos. In the game, she and a team of other teens are sent on missions to eliminate the Drau, terrifying and beautiful alien creatures. There are no practice runs, no training, and no way out. Miki has only the guidance of secretive but maddeningly attractive team leader Jackson Tate, who says the game isn’t really a game, that what Miki and her new teammates do now determines their survival, and the survival of every other person on this planet. She laughs. He doesn’t. And then the game takes a deadly and terrifying turn.


Release Date: 11 June 2013


MOVIES & TV SERIES (11 JUNE 2013)

MOVIES

11 Flowers
Directed by: Wang Xiaoshuai

Starring: Liu Wenquing

One of China's foremost Sixth Generation directors, Wang Xiaoshuai (Beijing Bicycle, Shanghai Dreams) tells a striking, autobiographical coming-of-age tale set in the final days of China's Cultural Revolution. Eleven-year-old Wang Han lives with his family in a remote village in Guizhou province. When Wang is selected to lead his school through their daily gymnastic regiment, his teacher recommends that he wear a clean, new shirt in honor of this important position - a request that forces his family to make a great sacrifice.

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
Directed by: Tommy Wirkola

Starring: Jeremy Renner,Gemme Arterton

After getting a taste for blood as children, Hansel (Jeremy Renner) and Gretel (Gemma Arterton) have become the ultimate vigilantes, hell bent on retribution. Now, unbeknownst to them, Hansel and Gretel have become the hunted, and must face an evil far greater than witches...their past.

Release Date: 11 June 2013


Killing Lincoln
Directed by: Adrian Moat

Starring: Billy Campbell, Tom Hanks (narrates)

Based on The New York Times best-selling novel, Killing Lincoln is the suspenseful, eye-opening story of the events surrounding the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. While some aspects of the plot to slay Lincoln and cripple the newly forming union are widely known, much more of the history unfolds in this insightful thriller. As actor John Wilkes Booth becomes increasingly obsessed with removing Lincoln from office, a secret cabal forms, and ultimately empowers Booth to carry out an event that will change America forever. Narrated by Oscarr Winner Tom Hanks* and produced by Tony Scott and Ridley Scott, this historical masterpiece stars Billy Campbell (TV's The Killing) in a spectacular turn as President Lincoln. 

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Men to Kiss
Directed by: Robert Hasfogel

Starring: Frank Christian Mark, Udo Lutz

Earnest is a banker who finds his work and personal life thrown upside down after he meets and quickly falls in love with Tobi, a flighty, high energy performance artist who lives for the city's wild nightlife. The two are complete opposites but they want to make it work and need all the help they can get from Tobi's coterie of alternative friends. But when Earnest's friend Uta arrives on the scene she thinks Earnest can do much better and schemes to break them apart-setting off a frenzied battle of the 'fashionista' divas. Funny, fresh and unpredictable this light-hearted romp through queer Berlin and a few of its colorful characters makes Men to Kiss an absolute delight! 

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Oz: The Great and Powerful
Directed by: Sam Raimi

Starring: James Franco, Rachel Weisz

Disney’s fantastical adventure Oz The Great And Powerful, from the director of the Spider-Man trilogy,follows Oscar Diggs (James Franco), a small-time circus magician with dubious ethics. When Diggs is hurled away to the vibrant Land of Oz, he thinks he’s hit the jackpot — until he meets three witches (Mila Kunis, Rachel Weisz and Michelle Williams), who aren’t convinced he’s the great wizard everyone’s expecting. Reluctantly drawn into epic problems facing Oz and its inhabitants, Oscar must find out who is good and who is evil before it’s too late. Putting his magical arts to use through illusion, ingenuity — and even some wizardry — Oscar transforms himself into the great wizard and a better man as well.   

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Snitch
Directed by: Ric Roman Waugh

Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Benjamin Pratt

Johnson stars as a father who goes undercover to take down the drug cartel that framed his son for a drug set-up. Based on a true story.

Dwayne Johnson explodes into action as a man determined to bring a Mexican cartel to its knees. Johnson stars as a successful businessman who learns his son faces 10 tough years in a Federal hole for drug possession. Convinced it was a set-up, he volunteers to become an undercover informant and infiltrate a ruthless cartel. Now, with his back against the wall and his life totally on the line, he must expose the true criminals before they discover his identity.

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Wrong
Directed by: Quentin Dupieux

Starring: Jack Plotnick

From electronic musician-turned-director/writer/editor/cinematographer/composer Quentin Dupieux (Rubber, Steak) WRONG is a willfully surreal comedy, which made its world premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival, about a man's frantic search for his kidnapped dog and the strange characters he encounters along the way. Dolph Springer wakes up one morning to realize he has lost the love of his life, his dog, Paul. During his quest to get Paul (and his life) back, Dolph radically changes the lives of others. In his journey to find Paul, Dolph may lose something even more vital - his mind. 


Release Date: 11 June 2013

TV SERIES

Burn Notice: Season 6

Starring: Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar

There's trouble in paradise for former CIA operative Michael Westen and his cohorts, and the streets of Miami are hotter - and deadlier - than ever before in the action-packed, adrenaline-charged sixth season of Burn Notice! In hot pursuit of his old nemesis, Michael must take down Anson Fullerton and find a way to free Fiona from prison, where she is being targeted by a murderous foe. Michael goes full force to save Fiona as he takes on cold-blooded assassins, diabolical drug cartels, uneasy alliances, and explosive danger at every turn, until an unthinkable tragedy leaves him reeling and rocks his team to the very core. 

Release Date: 11 June 2013

Fairly Legal: Season 2

Starring: Sarah Shahi, Virginia Williams

Kate Reed (Sarah Shahi, The L Word) never faced a fight she didn't want.to win. A former lawyer, she's now a mediator who loves to resolve others' conflicts. But it's often her own conflicts that could use some attention. In season two, Kate returns to the firm and discovers that Reed & Reed is on the verge of financial collapse. To save the firm, up-and-coming trial attorney Ben Grogan (Ryan Johnson, CSI: NY) is brought on as a partner. However, Kate finds herself both clashing with Ben's aggressive, ambulance-chasing ways and yet, romantically drawn to him. Further complicating matters are Kate's relationships with managing partner/stepmother Lauren Reed (Virginia Williams, How I Met Your Mother) and soon-to-be-ex-husband A.D.A. Justin Patrick (Michael Trucco, Revenge). Watch all 13 original, witty, and absolutely unpredictable episodes of the series critics call "funny and sexy" (Mary McNamara, Los Angeles Times). 

Release Date: 11 June 2013


House of Cards: Season 1

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright

Set in present day Washington D.C., House of Cards is the story of Frank Underwood (Kevin Spacey), a Democrat from South Carolina's 5th congressional district and the House Majority Whip who after getting passed over for appointment to Secretary of State, decides to exact his revenge on those who betrayed him. The series also stars Robin Wright, Kate Mara, and Corey Stoll in lead roles.

Release Date: 11 June 2013


Major Crimes: Season 1

Starring: Mary McDonnell

The detectives in the Los Angeles Police Department's Major Crimes division are still reeling from the departure of Brenda Leigh Johnson and the realization that Captain Raydor is now in charge. Unlike their previous chief, Raydor is determined to lead the department with a more team-oriented approach, sharing the credit with the people with whom she works. Raydor's hardest job, however, will be gaining the full trust and confidence of her detectives, who aren't quick to forget her long history of internal investigations targeting them and their previous boss. Especially troublesome is Provenza, who has a difficult time taking orders from someone he doesn't think knows as much as he does. 

Release Date: 11 June 2013


Necessary Roughness: Season 2

Starring: Callie Thorne

Golden Glober nominee Callie Thorne (Rescue Me) returns in Season Two of the critically acclaimed series Necessary Roughness. It's a new football season, and as the Hawks get ready to take the field again, Dr. Dani Santino (Thorne) has a new set of issues to tackle both personally and professionally. Between juggling a new relationship with Matt (Mark Blucas), handling her own unpredictable teenagers, and dealing with emotional athletes on and off the field - including the wild antics of star player TK King (Mehcad Brooks, True Blood) - the pressure is definitely on Dani to hold it all together. Watch all 16 episodes back to back and uninterrupted of the series critics are calling 'a true winner' (John Griffiths, US Weekly).

Release Date: 11 June 2013


Newsroom, The: Season 1

Starring: Jeff Daniels

HBO presents the new one-hour drama series from the fertile mind of Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network) and executive produced by Sorkin, Scott Rudin and Alan Poul. Smart, topical, humorous and highly entertaining, The Newsroom takes a behind-the-scenes look at a high-rated cable-news program at the fictional ACN Network, focusing on the on- and off-camera lives of its acerbic anchor (Jeff Daniels), new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), their newsroom staff (John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Olivia Munn, Dev Patel and others) and their news-division boss (Sam Waterston). Overcoming a tumultuous first day together – climaxing in a newsflash that a BP oil rig has just exploded in the Gulf of Mexico – the team sets out on a patriotic if quixotic mission to “do the news well” in the face of corporate and commercial obstacles, and their own personal entanglements. 

Release Date: 11 June 2013


Rizzoli + Isles: Season 3

Starring: Angie Harmon, Sasha Alexander

Cop shoots medical examiner's mob boss father! When an explosive misstep drives a painful wedge between Boston's finest crime-solving colleagues Jane and Maura must set aside their personal difficulties in order to keep on top of the city's most heinous murder cases. Yet analyzing corpses and tracking killers is child's play compared to the complications that arise from both friends' respective parental units: Angela falls for Jane's new boss Maura meets her biological mother and Jane's infant nephew is the son of either her brother.or her father! Using intellect and instinct the best friends do what it takes to regain each other's trust while they bust criminals in all 15 witty gritty Season Three episodes. 

Release Date: 11 June 2013


Wedding Band: Complete SerieS

Starring: Brian Austin Green, Harold Perrineau

You're cordially invited to party it up with the WEDDING BAND, the hilarious and light-hearted new comedy starring Brian Austin Green and Harold Perrineau. Follow the outrageously funny ups and downs of four friends who are members of a fun-loving Seattle rock band called Mother of the Bride. They haven't figured out their personal lives, but they do know one thing for sure - weddings are the best place to meet women, drink up and rock out. Featuring A-list guest stars like Megan Fox and Molly Sims, this Wedding Crashers-meets- The Wedding Singer comedy mash-up marries the two key elements to any great party... terrific music and lots of laughter. 

Release Date: 11 June 2013

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