Sunday, January 28, 2018

Early Review of Indecent Exposure (The Academy #2) by Tessa Bailey

TitleIndecent Exposure: The Academy
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: The Academy (Book 2)
Format: Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (January 30, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0062467107
ISBN-13: 978-0062467102
Author's Website: 
Notes: I received an eARC loan from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


Jack Garrett has one of the biggest egos you'll ever see. He thinks he's god's gift to woman. While some of it is well founded--he's gorgeous, will treat a woman right (for the one night he's with them), and a sweet talker--he's got his flaws. His main one is he doesn't do relationships. When a cute redhead with an Irish accent and a long standing fascination with organized crime doesn't instantly succumb to his charms, he becomes intrigued.

Katie McCoy is a straight laced, Catholic raised, Olympic gold medalist in the air rifle competition, and more proficient with fire arms than just about anyone else around. She's part of the Garda Emergency Response Unit, the elite Police Tactical Unit of the Garda Siochana, the national police force of Ireland. She's come to New York as part of the International Police Exchange Program and is looking forward to two weeks of freedom. For the past four years she's trained relentlessly for the Olympics under the thumb of her father. She's looking forward to finally living a little. She has a list of what she wants to do over the next two weeks and Jack is not on her agenda. When she finds out that he's going to be under her tutelage, along with the rest of his unit, for the next two weeks she feels a torrid love affair with this infuriatingly handsome man would be way too complicated. But maybe, just maybe it'd be worth it?
This is the second book in The Academy series and it can be read as standalone.You may, however, wish to read the first book because I believe it captured the friendship dynamic between Jack, Danika, and Charlie a little better. I'm having so much fun reading about this trio and watching them fall one by one. Charlie and Jack are a little rough around the edges but they're all heart. I look forward to reading more about Danika in the next book and Charlie's brother, lieutenant Burns.

My first impression of Jack was that he was way too cocky. As he opens up and reveals some of his inner demons, however, we learn there's more to this man than just another pretty face. He just doesn't know it. Katie inspires him to look deep inside himself and figure out what he wants out of life. No ones ever expected much out of he so he never expected much of himself. Katie, however, sees something no one but his friends have, and encourages him to become the man she knows he's capable of being. I rather liked that about her.

Katie turned out to be not quite what I first expected. While I figured she was smart and strong, she was tougher than I would have given her credit for when we're first introduced to her. Jack's reaction to the thought of her sporting fire arms had me laughing. The boy's got it bad at the beginning of this book, and I could just imagine the goofy grin lighting up his face as he thought about her. Katie is by no means a push over and refuses to settle. Jack has to come up to snuff because she'll accept nothing less. It's the way she was raised.

I couldn't help but give this one 5 out of 5 roses. I liked how the author via Katie made Jack face up to his problem and get help. I also loved how Katie inspired him to be all that he could be. The two made a cute couple and I loved how the story didn't have that cookie cutter feel about it, and I found it surprisingly refreshing. Jack didn't win me over at the beginning but by the end, I simply adored him. On the Romance Rating Scale, this one earned a SHOWER rating--a cold shower is necessary (need I say more?). Some books should come with a warning--make sure your significant other is handy or your shower is in working order. 


Order of The Academy series:

Saturday, January 27, 2018

Early Review of Surrender to the Highlander (Highlanders, #5) by Lynsay Sands

Title: Surrender to the Highlander
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Historical Romance
Series: Highlander
Format: Paperback; 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (January 30, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0062468987
ISBN-13: 978-0062468987
Author's Webstie: http://www.lynsaysands.net/
Notes: I received an eARC loan from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


When Saidh MacDonnell hasn't heard from her good friend Edith in weeks, she asks her husband to have someone check on her. The last she'd heard Edith had been feeling poorly and Saidh fears the worst. Given that Saidh is four months pregnant and as big as a house, and the last messenger sent was refused entry, her husband complies. He asks Saidh's four brothers to go check on Edith. What Niels,  Rory, Alick, and Geordie find is not what they expected. Illness is not the culprit as everyone assumed. Someone has poisoned the Drummond clan leaving the Laird and his two eldest sons dead.The youngest son, thinking to escape the same fate, fled with his bride and hasn't been heard from since. Edith is holding on by a thread, and Neils and Rory vow they'll do all they can to nurse her back to health and make sure she comes to no more harm.

A killer is out there. 

An attraction blooms.

Can Edith resist the affections of the handsome Highlander with twinkling blue eyes who seems bent on saving her? Only time will tell...
This is the fifth book of Lysay Sands Highlander series and can be read as standalone. You may, however, wish to read 'The Highlander Takes a Bride', the third book in the Highlanders series which is Saidh's book, first. It will give you a little insight into Neils and his family along with a glimpse of the friendship between Saidh and Edith.

I really liked the mystery and whodunnit aspect of the book. I had it narrowed down to two people when the author killed off one of my suspects. It, of course, had to be the one I was leaning towards. I couldn't puzzle out the motive of the one left, however, so I thought perhaps I had it wrong until the author let the last puzzle piece fall conveniently into place. Then it all made sense.

Niels was a loyal and caring individual. He had to be talked in to checking on Edith, but once he found foul play involved, he was all in and fiercely protective. I liked how he and his brothers watched over Edith until she could take care of herself, and then didn't abandon her. They waited until the danger had passed before letting down their guard.

Edith was a smart and strong female who only broke down once in the novel. She went through a lot and instead of becoming a blubbering idiot she stayed on her toes and did what she could to help. She kept her head and put up a good defense when confronted with danger. While I liked this aspect of her, I felt she should have been at least a little more upset about her family's demise than she was. A few "I can't believe they're gone" type of moments seemed to be called for. Her lack of emotions where they were concerned just seemed a little off.

Niels and Edith were a cute couple. I loved how Niels felt he wasn't worthy of Edith because he was a third son and didn't have a lot to offer her. He was quite noble and tried to resist his feelings for her while she did everything in her power to tempt him. The courtship of these two gave me a good chuckle.

Overall, I liked the book and gave it 4 out of 5 roses. It showcased Ms.Sand's quirky sense of humor and lovable characters. It was fairly fast paced, and had a nice mixture of gravity and levity, romance and mystery, and darkness and light. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one earned a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed.

Order of the Highlanders series:

Tuesday, January 23, 2018

Giveaway and Review for About That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5) by Jill Shalvis



About That Kiss (Heartbreaker Bay #5) by Jill Shalvis 
When love drives you crazy . . .

When sexy Joe Malone never calls after their explosive kiss, Kylie shoves him out of her mind. Until she needs a favor, and it’s a doozy. Something precious to her has been stolen and there’s only one person with unique finder-and-fixer skills that can help—Joe. It means swallowing her pride and somehow trying to avoid the temptation to throttle him—or seduce him.

the best thing to do . . .

No, Joe didn’t call after the kiss. He’s the fun time guy, not the forever guy. And Kylie, after all she’s been through, deserves a good man who will stay. But everything about Kylie makes it damned hard to focus, and though his brain knows what he has to do, his heart isn’t getting the memo.


… is enjoy the ride.
As Kylie and Joe go on the scavenger hunt of their lives, they discover surprising things about each other. Now, the best way for them to get over “that kiss” might just be to replace it with a hundred more.

Joe studied her. “I asked you once before, but now I’m going to ask you again. Is there something going on between you two?”

She tossed up her hands. “Why do you both keep asking me that about each other?”

His eyes narrowed. “I thought nothing was going on.”

“And before today, I could’ve passed a lie detector test on that,” she said.

“What happened today?”

She paused. Not because she had anything to be ashamed of, but because she wasn’t quite sure what
had happened.

“Kylie.”

She sighed. “It’s nothing.”

“Try again,” Joe said and gave her the very male universal go on gesture.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. He . . . finally made a move on me.”

Joe didn’t budge. Not a blink, not a muscle twitch, nothing, but she could’ve popped corn off the electric tension coming off him.

“Describe ‘made a move,’ ” he finally said.

She crossed her arms. “And again, how is this relevant to my case?”

He just gave her that careful stare again and she thought wow, those eyes of his should be registered as a lethal weapon, because she found herself opening her mouth and spilling her guts. “He kissed me.”

“He kissed you.”

“Yeah,” she said. “Do you know that you often repeat what I say?”

“What kind of a kiss?” he asked.

She was momentarily bewildered. “I don’t know. It was a kiss. A normal kiss. A nice kiss.” She cocked her head at him. “How many kinds of kisses are there?”

He just looked at her for a long moment before coming toward her. He backed her to the wall and pressed his big hands on either side of her head.

“There are many kinds of kisses,” he said.

Her breath had backed up in her throat, where her heart had lodged, pounding wildly. “S-s-such as?”

“Such as this one.” And then he leaned in and covered her mouth with his.
At the touch of Joe’s mouth, Kylie’s brain stopped being capable of rational thought. His tongue gave a knee-weakening stroke against hers and she let out a shockingly needy moan as she clutched at him, fisting her hands in the material of his shirt at his chest. Only when he’d thoroughly plundered and pillaged and left her boneless did he lift his head and
look into her eyes.

“Wow,” she whispered, fully aware she was still holding on to him like he was a lifeline, but the bones in her legs had liquefied. “I mean . . .” She shook her head. “Wow.”

He nodded. “Yeah. So to be clear, that wasn’t ‘a normal kiss’ or even ‘a nice kiss.’ It was a ‘wow’ kiss. Any questions?”

“Just one,” she said softly. “Can I have another?”

Joe didn’t have to be asked twice. His mouth immediately descended again, his fingers sliding into her hair to change the angle of the kiss to suit him. It was a controlled, alpha thing to do, but she had only one thought—nothing about the usually carefully, purposely leashed Joe was in control at the moment.

And she liked it.

She had no idea how long they went at it because she was in absolute heaven. Who knew that the man could use his preferred silent mode to communicate in a way that she finally approved of?

Only when she was completely breathless and about to strip him down to his birthday suit did she manage to pull back.

“Any more questions?” he asked, also a little bit breathless, which was more than slightly gratifying. Dumbly, she shook her head. His eyes softened and he gently he stroked his thumb over her bottom lip. “And FYI? Gib’s an idiot.”



Jill Shalvis
Connect with her on:
Facebook: @JillShalvis
Twitter: @JillShalvis
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jillshalvis/
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/jillshalvis/

New York Times bestselling author Jill Shalvis lives in a small town in the Sierras full of quirky characters. Any resemblance to the quirky characters in her books is, um, mostly coincidental. Look for Jill’s bestselling, award-winning books wherever romances are sold and visit her website, www.jillshalvis.com, for a complete book list and daily blog detailing her city-girl-living-in-the-mountains adventures.



Title: About That Kiss: A Heartbreaker Bay Novel
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Series: Heartbreaker Bay
Fomat: Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Avon (January 23, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0062741772
ISBN-13: 978-0062741776
Author's Website:
Notes: I received an eARC loan from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.


Once upon a time a girl and a guy fell in love, but it took a while. He didn't think he was the relationship type. She was a quiet introvert who didn't open up all that easily. Then a family heirloom goes missing and the two team up to find it. So after trying to deny it, and attempting to avoid it, they finally give in and fall and it all started with a kiss. A heat scorching, heat pounding, bone-melting, world rocking kiss. 

About that kiss...
This past year Jill Shalvis was given the Centennial Award by RWA for the publication of her 100th novel. With each book she seems to up her game, and this one is something special. It's another fun loving, sweet-hearted, sexy as all get out romance with a little mystery thrown into to the mix and a whole lot of depth. It seems like Jill is spreading her wings and tackling some harder subjects. I wouldn't be surprised if this one gets nominated for a RITA. In my humble opinion, it was that good. This is the fifth book of the Heartbreaker Bay series and it can definitely be read as a standalone. Be forewarned, however, it's hard to stop with just one of her novels. They tend to be very addictive.

Kylie reminded me of a cross between Lucille Ball in I Love Lucy and Stephanie Plum from Janet Evanovich's series by the same name. As you read about all her attempts to disguise herself, you can't help but get an amused look on your face. Her attempts had me chuckling and shaking my head in equal measure. I'm thinking she watched one too many humorous detective shows (somehow Scooby-Doo comes to the forefront) and thought detective work was much easier than it is. She's actually very talented and artistic when it come to woodworking, which kind of runs in the family. She should definitely stick with that.

Joe reminded me a bit of Ranger of the Stephanie Plum series. He's gorgeous, has a dangerous air about him, and is all alpha male. He works for a private investigation service and Kylie makes him laugh which is something no one else seems capable of doing. To her he seems to be one big contradiction from head to toe. Badass and ready to save the world one minute, deceptively playful the next. He's got a lot of emotional baggage and his dad isn't exactly the kind of person you want to bring your friends home to. His dad suffers from PTSD and isn't the easiest person to deal with. His dad has a tendency to answer the door with a gun in his hand, and you are never quite sure whether or not he'll use it. Joe's dad's illness led to him and his sister growing up fast and hard after their mother died. At the tender age of ten he'd assumed the parental role of the family.

At first glance, Kylie and Joe seem like complete opposites, but they actually do share something in common. Each is haunted by something in their past. This is where the depth in the story comes from. Each needs to work through their feelings of guilt in order to move on, and together they do just that.

I couldn't help but give this one 5 out of 5 roses. It was a fun, witty, heart warming and emotionally moving romance. I loved watching these two fall for one another, and their chemistry was so hot I thought my e-reader would spontaneously combust. This one had a little sugar and spice and a whole lot of hot and steamy nights cause that's what good romances are made of. On the Lisarenee Romance Rating Scale, this one earned a STEAM rating--too hot for a fan, but you still have a handle on things. You should use extreme caution when reading a book with this rating in public. People may inquire as to why you looked flustered and flushed. I simply adored it.

Order of the Hearbreaker Bay series:


(One Snowy Night and Holiday Wishes are Novellas)



Win a copy of  About That Kiss by Jill Shalvis
(US and Canada ONLY) 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Order your copy at:

Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/2mGIuC8
Books-A-Million: http://bit.ly/2ETb4Id

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Early Review of Markswoman (Asiana #1) by Rati Mehrotra

Title: Markswoman (Asiana #1)
Classification: Young Adult
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy
Series: Asiana (Book 1)
Paperback: 384 pages
Publisher: Harper Voyager (January 23, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0062564544
ISBN-13: 978-0062564542
Author's Website: https://ratiwrites.com/
Notes: I received an eARC loan from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. Therefore, all quotes must be checked against the final copy as they are subject to change.


"May you Walk on water and pass through fire..."

Centuries ago there was a war to end all wars--The Great War. Not much is left from the time period known as the golden age. Much of the structures are gone, and the rule of Kings and Queens has long since passed. No texts survived and knowledge of the technology was lost to the sands of time. Asiana had to be rebuilt from the ground up using whatever scraps and pieces the survivors could find and salvage.

"To live we must die, and to rule we must serve, and to uphold the peace we must kill..."

Asiana was divided into five sections. Each one ruled and policed by one of the five Orders of Peace--Kali, Zorya, Valavan, Mat-su and Khur. All the Orders, save one, are run entirely by women known as the Markswomen. The exception is the Order of Khur, the youngest of all the Orders. It is the only one comprised entirely of men--the Marksmen. The Orders were formed upon the recommendations made in texts written at the end of the Great War by the last ruling King of Asiana. Known as the Kanun of Ture-asa, it bound all the clans and established the law of the land.


"The katari belongs to you. But you need to make sure that your emotions don't rule your blade."

Markswomen and Marksmen are the highly trained force who mete out justice and the only ones legally allowed to kill. With each kill they mark their skin with a cut, hence, their name. Inner Speech is the gift of kalishium which is what the Markswomen's/Marksmen's katari's are made from. A Markswoman bonds telepathically with their weapon and when properly trained, they can read and control other people's minds and actions. The deeper the bond, the greater the ability.

"We must remember who we kill and why. Our blood for theirs."

One young Markswoman will seek justice for the Mahimata (the leader) of her Order whom she believes met her end by foul play. In doing so she will come to find her path in the world, and come to understand what her beloved friend and mentor had tried to teach her and why.

"Being a Markswoman is not about taking revenge. If you kill in anger, you are no better than the ones you execute."

The Orders have worked for over eight hundred years, but the world changes with time and so must everyone along with it. It is whispered that the power of the Orders is beginning to fade. Kyra's quest for justice will make her begin to question the way of the Orders, and lead her on a different path than the one she planned. Her quest will bring about the winds of change.

"Let the past be what it is. Let the future bring what it will. Stay in the present. Be aware of yourself and who you are. It is all that matters."


I really liked this story. It took me some time to get into because there is a whole lot to this universe, so it took me awhile to get acclimated. Gradually, we learn more about Asiana and the Orders of Peace as Kyra completes her final test before being formerly accepted into the sisterhood of Markswomen. Kyra is one of the youngest in the Order of Kali and we get to see her earn her first mark. She's lived with the Order since the age of five when her family and entire clan was murdered. Kyra found her place in the Order, and can't imagine not being part of it. When the leader of her Order is found dead, a women who was very much like a mother to Kyra, she believes foul play is involved, especially since the person she suspects of doing it will become Shirin Mam's successor. Kyra quickly disengages herself from the Order on the ruse of seeking out the rightful heir to Shirin Mam's katari. The journey that ensues takes her on one of discovery. She learns things about herself, the Orders, and her teacher. It helps her to see things more clearly and ready her for what is to come.

You see, when Kyra left on her quest, she was marked a defector. In order for her to go home she'll need to challenge the new Mahimata to a duel. Prior to Tamsyn's promotion to Mahimata, she was the Order's Mistress of Mental Arts and the Hand of Kali--Shirin Mam's executioner of choice. No one dares challenge Tamsyn because of her fierce reputation with her blade. Luckily, when Kyra finds herself literally at the door of the Order of Khur, they take her in and agree to train her so she'll have a chance at beating Tamsyn. It's there that she'll learn things that have been kept from her and realize the importance of Shirin Mam's teachings, and start to question some of the practices of the Orders.

The katari blades reminded me a little of the Shardblades in Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive series. The Orders with their 'good vs evil' mentality and mind bending skills reminded me a touch of the Jedi of Star Wars fame. The references to the 'Ones' had me a little baffled. Who exactly are they, where did they come from, and what, if any, role did they play in the coming about of the Great War? Those questions have yet to be answered. Then there are the doors which appear to be remnants of the technology from the world long since destroyed. They seem to be passageways not only to other places in Asiana, but are they also a means to travel through time? I found these very cool yet also very confusing. I hope at some point how they work will be more fully explained. They kind of reminded me of the movie Arrival and how things seemed to get a little out of sequence (time wise) and you needed to figure out how they fit together.

Overall, I gave this one 4 1/2 out of 5 roses. I loved the relationships in this tale especially the one blooming between Kyra and Rustan, and look forward to seeing how this love affair will grow. There were quite a few interesting twists and turns which kept me glued to the pages once I settled into the story. The world building was phenomenal, although we've only seen a small portion of it. The series is shaping up to be something special, but I was left with a lot of unanswered questions. The author seeded the story with so many puzzle pieces that, as of yet, don't quite fit together though we're starting to see the edges of it take shape. It's the type of story that gives your imagination lease to run wild and try to puzzle it out before the next book. I'm guessing this was a ploy by the author to keep my interest piqued until the next installment comes out. Depending on how those questions are answered and how things are explained and handled, this series could become one of my favorites. I'm cautiously optimistic that that will be the case, but we'll have to wait and see where the author takes it. I look forward to seeing if any of my hypotheses are correct.


Notes to keep you in the know...
There seems to be a touch of concepts from the Hindu religion woven into the story...

Mahimata is a term which literally means Mother Earth.

Kali is a goddess in the Hindu religion known as the Goddess of destruction. Said by some to be the destroyer of evil forces and by others the destroyer of ego. She is also known and worshiped for being the Divine Mother or Mother of the Universe. She is also hailed by some to be a protector and the one who bestows moksha, or liberation.

To find out more. check out these links:
Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kali
Ancient History Encyclopedia - https://www.ancient.eu/Kali/

There also seems to be a little buddhism woven in too...

The wheel of life with eight spokes is primarily used only in Buddhism and is often times referred to as the wheel of Dharma. The eight spokes represent the Noble Eightfold Path of Buddhism which are said to (depending on where you look) lead either to spiritual enlightenment, Nirvana, or pain relief.
.
To find out more. check out these links:
http://www.dummies.com/religion/buddhism/the-eightfold-path-of-buddhism/
http://www.buddhism-guide.com/buddhism/wheel_of_life.htm

Saturday, January 6, 2018

Early Review of Agent in Place (Gray Man #7) by Mark Greaney

Title:  Agent in Place (Gray Man)
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Thriller
Series: Gray Man (Book 7)
Format: Hardcover; 528 pages
Publisher: Berkley (February 20, 2018)
ISBN-10: 0451488903
ISBN-13: 978-0451488909
Author's Website:  http://markgreaneybooks.com/
Notes: I received an eARC via Penguin's First to Read program.


For a long time Court Gentry has wanted to do something to support the fight against the Syrian regime. The last thing he wanted, however, was to travel into middle of Syria. He'd already determined to do so would be a fool's errand. So when an opportunity arose to work for the FSEU, the Free Syria Exile Union---a usually nonviolent group--came up he took it. It was supposed to be a fairly simple operation, as far as these kind of jobs go--kidnap the mistress of the Syrian leader and deliver her to his employer. They believe she holds key information which can take the Syrian president down. Unfortunately, things rarely ever go as planned for Gentry. This is one of those times. The mistress refuses to talk until her baby is safe and against his better judgment, Court charges in to what appears to be a suicide mission. The baby, you see, is not only the Syrian President's love child, but his only heir.
This is the seventh book of the series and while you could possibly jump right into this one, I recommend you read at least the first book of the series before diving into it. There is no information dump and the prologue doesn't bring you up to speed so you'll be going in somewhat blindsided, but  eventually you'll get the lay of the land. so to speak. My first impression of Court Gentry is he's a cross between an American version of James Bond and Ethan Hunt of Mission Impossible fame. The main difference is he moonlights on the side for causes he believes in and doesn't have as pristine a reputation. I kind of like that about him because to me it makes him more human. He’s known by most as the Gray Man for his uncanny ability to keep a low profile, in the shadows, while completing his assignments. Basically, if you see him, it's already too late.

He's a fiercely loyal and trustworthy individual and when he says he's got your back you can believe him. He served over a decade in the Central Intelligence Agency, then another five as an assassin for hire. Now, he's back with the CIA in an ad hoc contract position that allows him to retain his ability to accept work from outside the agency when he desires. His latest assignment is one of the latter variety.

From the beginning Court has misgivings about his employers and their lack of professionalism. While this doesn't deter him from taking the assignment, he decides early on that he needs to keep an eye out for trouble of the unexpected variety. As it turns out, his suspicions are correct. Trouble seems to dog this covert mission right from the get-go. Luckily, he's a seasoned veteran when it comes to trouble and meets it head on. That is what makes this novel so much fun and highly entertaining.

I couldn't help but give this one 5 out of 5 roses. The novel was fast paced with a lot of action, twists, and turns. Dangerous life-and-death situation await at every turn causing Court to have to think quick on his feet and act first while asking questions later. I'd love to know if guys like this truly exist in the real world because they'd be about one step shy of being a superhero. This is the first book I've read in the series, and I'm very tempted to see where it all began and whether my first impression of Court is correct. If the rest of the books are as good as this one, I'm thinking the series would make for an excellent movie or two. We're due for another larger-than-life character to hit the silver screen and Court would do nicely. I've seen the vigilante for hire side of him, now I'd like to get a glimpse of him in agency minion mode. I definitely recommend this one and am pretty sure I'll be reading more of this series in the very near future. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Order of the Gray Man series:

Thursday, January 4, 2018

Books to Movies 2018 Edition

Coming to theaters in 2018


I don’t know about anyone else, but I truly enjoy reading the book before I see the movie whenever possible. I thought I’d let you know what books appear to be making their to the silver screen this year. Please note the dates of movies are always subject to change and are not written in stone. If a book has TBA in front of the year, then the exact date it will hit the theaters is yet unknown. For those slated for 2018 without a specific date, there is a good chance they'll get pushed back to the following year. I plan on creating a second list of all the books that have had their screen rights bought, but have no date or year associated with them. I will publish that list later. It's a biggie.

Over six years ago I comprised a list of books being made into movies because I'd never seen one before. Now it seems like the talk of the town. Well, I've been listening and watching and updating my original list so here I go again....(by the way, this year I included comic books and manga in the list)

If you'd like to purchase one of the books, click on its cover or title and you'll be magically transported to Amazon.

So how many can you read before the movies come out? There certainly are a lot to choose from. Is anyone up for a challenge?

*- * - * - *- * - * - * - B - O - O - K - S - * - T - O - * - M - O - V - I - E - S - * -  * - * - * - *- * - *



January 4, 2018 - Molly's Game [Movie Tie-in]: The True Story of the 26-Year-Old Woman Behind the Most Exclusive, High-Stakes Underground Poker Game in the World by James St. James

When Molly Bloom was a little girl growing up in a small Colorado town, she watched her brothers win medals, ace tests, and receive high praise from everyone they met. Molly wanted nothing more than to bask in that glow a little herself, so she pushed herself too—as a student, as an athlete. She was successful but felt like she was always coming from behind. She wanted to break free, to find a life without rules and limits, a life where she didn't have to measure up to anyone or anything—where she could become whatever she wanted.

Molly wanted more, and she got more than she could have ever bargained for.

In Molly's Game, Molly Bloom takes the reader through her adventures running an exclusive high-stakes private poker game. Her clients ranged from iconic stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and Ben Affleck to politicians and financial titans so powerful they moved markets and changed the course of history. With rich detail, Molly describes a world that until now has been shrouded in glamour, privilege, and secrecy, one where she fearlessly took on the Russian and Italian mobs—until she met the one adversary she could not outsmart, even though she had justice on her side: the United States government.

Molly's Game is an incredible coming-of-age story about a young girl who rejected convention in pursuit of her version of the American dream. It's the story of how she gained—and then lost—her place at the table, and of everything she learned about poker, love, and life in the process.




January 5, 2018 - The Hostage (Stratton, #1)  by Duncan Falconer (Movie Title: Stratton)

When an undercover operation monitoring the Real IRA goes horrifically wrong, British Intelligence turn to the one man who can get their agent out: Stratton, SBS operative with a lethal reputation. It's a dangerous race against time: if the Real IRA get to the Republic before Stratton gets to the Real IRA, his colleague is as good as dead.
But the battle in the Northern Ireland borders is just the beginning. For there can only be one way the Real IRA knew about the British agent: someone within MI5 is tipping them off. A surveillance mission is mounted in Paris to identify the mole but ends in disaster: Hank Munro, US Navy SEAL on secondment, is captured.

Munro's wife Kathryn is distraught, and her priest Father Kinsella is very supportive. Kinsella, though, is not the holy man he seems, and Kathryn becomes an unwitting part of a deadly Real IRA plan, a terror attack the likes of which London has never seen . . .

When Hank is inadvertently kidnapped by terrorists on an SBS 'safe op', Kathryn returns home to America, only to be manipulated by a priest and secret IRA godfather into playing a political role in the negotiations for Hank's release. Unknown to her she is to have a key part in the most destructive terrorist assault in Irish Republican history, one that holds the fate of hundreds of thousands of Londoners in its hands.




January 12, 2018 - Freak Show by James St. James

Billy Bloom is gay, but it's mostly theoretical, as he hasn't had much experience. When he has to move to Florida, he can't believe his bad luck. His new school is a mix of bible belles, amberzombies, and football heroes -- none of which are exactly his type.

Billy's efforts to fit in and stand out at the same time are both hilarious and heart warming. In this novel from adult author and media personality James St. James, readers are in for a wild ride as he tells Billy's fascinating story of bravado, pain, and unexpected love, inspired by his own experiences.

Billy Bloom is gay, but it's mostly theoretical, as he hasn't had much experience. When he has to move to Florida, he can't believe his bad luck. His new school is a mix of bible belles, amberzombies, and football heroes -- none of which are exactly his type.

Billy's efforts to fit in and stand out at the same time are both hilarious and heart warming. In this novel from adult author and media personality James St. James, readers are in for a wild ride as he tells Billy's fascinating story of bravado, pain, and unexpected love, inspired by his own experiences.



January 19, 2018 - Forever My Girl (The Beaumont Series) (Volume 1) by Heidi McLaughlin

I was never supposed to be a rock star. I had my life all planned out for me. Play football in college. Go to the NFL. Marry my high school sweetheart and live happily ever after.

I broke both our hearts that day when I told her I was leaving. I was young. I made the right decision for me, but the wrong decision for us. I’ve poured my soul into my music, but I’ve never forgotten her. Her smell, her smile.

And now I’m going back.

After ten years.

I hope I can explain that after all this time.

I still want her to be my forever girl.



January 19, 2018 - Horse Soldiers: The Extraordinary Story of a Band of US Soldiers Who Rode to Victory in Afghanistan by Doug Stanton

The inspiration for the major motion picture 12 Strong from Jerry Bruckheimer, starring Chris Hemsworth and Michael Shannon.

From the New York Times bestselling author of In Harm’s Way comes a true-life story of American soldiers overcoming great odds to achieve a stunning military victory.

Horse Soldiers is the dramatic account of a small band of Special Forces soldiers who secretly entered Afghanistan following 9/11 and rode to war on horses against the Taliban. Outnumbered forty to one, they pursued the enemy army across the mountainous Afghanistan terrain and, after a series of intense battles, captured the city of Mazar-i-Sharif, which was strategically essential to defeat their opponent throughout the country.

The bone-weary American soldiers were welcomed as liberators as they rode into the city, and the streets thronged with Afghans overjoyed that the Taliban regime had been overthrown.

Then the action took a wholly unexpected turn. During a surrender of six hundred Taliban troops, the Horse Soldiers were ambushed by the would-be POWs. Dangerously overpowered, they fought for their lives in the city’s immense fortress, Qala-i-Janghi, or the House of War. At risk were the military gains of the entire campaign: if the soldiers perished or were captured, the entire effort to outmaneuver the Taliban was likely doomed.

Deeply researched and beautifully written, Stanton’s account of the Americans’ quest to liberate an oppressed people touches the mythic. The soldiers on horses combined ancient strategies of cavalry warfare with twenty-first-century aerial bombardment technology to perform a seemingly impossible feat. Moreover, their careful effort to win the hearts of local townspeople proved a valuable lesson for America’s ongoing efforts in Afghanistan.


January 19, 2018 - The Little Broomstick by Mary Stewart (Movie Titled: Mary and the Witch's Flower)

A black cat that needs to rescue its brother from a witch's spell enlists the help of a lonely ten-year-old Mary Smith.

It is Tib the black cat who leads Mary to the strange flower in the woods. When she discovers a little broomstick shortly afterwards, she is astonished to feel it jump in to action. Before she can gather her wits, it is whisking her over the treetops, above the clouds, and in to the grounds of Endor College, where: 'All Examinations Coached for by A Competent Staff of Fully-Qualified Witches.' Here she discovers evidence of a terrible experiment in transformation - deformed and mutant animals imprisoned in cages. In the moment after her broomstick takes off, she realises that Tib has been captured. Returning to the College the following day, she manages to free the animals, but not before the Head of the college, Miss Mumblechook, and her colleague, Doctor Dee, have seen her. Mary manages to flee... but the evil pair are in hot pursuit!



January 19, 2018 - The Leisure Seeker [Movie Tie-in]: A Novelby Michael Zadoorian

The unforgettable cross country journey of a runaway couple in their twilight years determined to meet the end of all roads on their own terms—a major motion picture from Sony Pictures Classics starring Helen Mirren and Donald Sutherland.

The Robinas have shared a wonderful life for more than sixty years. Now in their eighties, Ella suffers from cancer and John has Alzheimer's. Yearning for one last adventure, the self-proclaimed "down-on-their-luck geezers" kidnap themselves from the adult children and doctors who seem to run their lives and steal away from their home in suburban Detroit on a forbidden vacation of rediscovery.

With Ella as his vigilant copilot, John steers their '78 Leisure Seeker RV along the forgotten roads of Route 66 toward Disneyland in search of a past they're having a damned hard time remembering. Yet Ella is determined to prove that, when it comes to life, you can go back for seconds—even when everyone says you can't.

 
 

January 19, 2018 - Ophelia by Lisa Klein 

He is Hamlet, Prince of Denmark; she is simply Ophelia. If you think you know their story, think again.

In this reimagining of Shakespeare's famous tragedy, it is Ophelia who takes center stage. A rowdy, motherless girl, she grows up at Elsinore Castle to become the queen's most trusted lady-in-waiting. Ambitious for knowledge and witty as well as beautiful, Ophelia learns the ways of power in a court where nothing is as it seems. When she catches the attention of the captivating, dark-haired Prince Hamlet, their love blossoms in secret. But bloody deeds soon turn Denmark into a place of madness, and Ophelia's happiness is shattered. Ultimately, she must choose between her love for Hamlet and her own life. In desperation, Ophelia devises a treacherous plan to escape from Elsinore forever . . . with one very dangerous secret.

Lisa Klein's Ophelia tells the story of a young woman falling in love, searching for her place in the world, and finding the strength to survive. Sharp and literary, dark and romantic, this dramatic story holds readers in its grip until the final, heartrending scene.



January 19, 2018 - Wildlife by Richard Ford

When Joe Brinson was sixteen, his father moved the family to Great Falls, Montana, the setting for this harrowing, transfixing novel by the acclaimed author of Rock Springs. Filled with an abiding sense of love and family, and of the forces that test them to the breaking point, Wildlife—first published by Atlantic Monthly Press in 1990 and now reissued as a Grove Press paperback—is a book whose spare poetry and expansive vision established it as an American classic.





January 26, 2018 - Maze Runner: The Death Cure Movie Tie-in Edition (Maze Runner, #3) by James Dashner

It’s the end of the line.

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.

Will anyone survive?

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.

The truth will be terrifying.

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all.

The time for lies is over.



January 26, 2018 - A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever by Josh Karp

The ultimate biography of National Lampoon and its cofounder Doug Kenney, this book offers the first complete history of the immensely popular magazine and its brilliant and eccentric characters. With wonderful stories of the comedy scene in New York City in the 1970s and National Lampoon’s place at the center of it, this chronicle shares how the magazine spawned a popular radio show and two long-running theatrical productions that helped launch the careers of John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Gilda Radner and went on to inspire Saturday Night Live. More than 130 interviews were conducted with people connected to Kenney and the magazine, including Chevy Chase, John Hughes, P. J. O’Rourke, Tony Hendra, Sean Kelly, Chris Miller, and Bruce McCall. These interviews and behind-the-scenes stories about the making of both Animal House and Caddyshack help to capture the nostalgia, humor, and popular culture that National Lampoon inspires.



February 9, 2018 - The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes by Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone, Jeffrey E. Stern

An ISIS terrorist planned to kill more than 500 people. He would have succeeded except for three American friends who refused to give in to fear.

On August 21, 2015, Ayoub El-Khazzani boarded train #9364 in Brussels, bound for Paris. There could be no doubt about his mission: he had an AK-47, a pistol, a box cutter, and enough ammunition to obliterate every passenger on board. Slipping into the bathroom in secret, he armed his weapons. Another major ISIS attack was about to begin.

Khazzani wasn't expecting Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos, and Spencer Stone. Stone was a martial arts enthusiast and airman first class in the US Air Force, Skarlatos was a member of the Oregon National Guard, and all three were fearless. But their decision-to charge the gunman, then overpower him even as he turned first his gun, then his knife, on Stone-depended on a lifetime of loyalty, support, and faith.

Their friendship was forged as they came of age together in California: going to church, playing paintball, teaching each other to swear, and sticking together when they got in trouble at school. Years later, that friendship would give all of them the courage to stand in the path of one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations.

The 15:17 to Paris is an amazing true story of friendship and bravery, of near tragedy averted by three young men who found the heroic unity and strength inside themselves at the moment when they, and 500 other innocent travelers, needed it most.



February 9, 2018 - Fifty Shades Freed (Movie Tie-In): Book Three of the Fifty Shades Trilogy (Fifty Shades of Grey Series)by E.L. James

When unworldly student Anastasia Steele first encountered the driven and dazzling young entrepreneur Christian Grey it sparked a sensual affair that changed both of their lives irrevocably. Shocked, intrigued, and, ultimately, repelled by Christian’s singular erotic tastes, Ana demands a deeper commitment. Determined to keep her, Christian agrees.

Now, Ana and Christian have it all—love, passion, intimacy, wealth, and a world of possibilities for their future. But Ana knows that loving her Fifty Shades will not be easy, and that being together will pose challenges that neither of them would anticipate. Ana must somehow learn to share Christian’s opulent lifestyle without sacrificing her own identity. And Christian must overcome his compulsion to control as he wrestles with the demons of a tormented past.

Just when it seems that their strength together will eclipse any obstacle, misfortune, malice, and fate conspire to make Ana’s deepest fears turn to reality.



February 9, 2018 - Happy Family: Das Originalhörspiel zum Kinofilm by David Safier (Movie Title: Monster Family)

(I could only find the German description for this one. There appears to be no translation available.)
Familie Wünschmann ist nicht happy. Mama Emmas Buchladen geht Pleite, Papa Frank ist völlig überarbeitet, die pubertierende Fee bleibt sitzen und Sohnemann Max wird von dem Mädchen, das er liebt, ins Schulklo getunkt. Kein Wunder also, dass sich jeder mit jedem streitet. Und als ob das alles noch nicht genügen würde, werden die Wünschmanns nach einem Kostümfest auch noch von einer Hexe verzaubert: Plötzlich sind sie Vampir, Frankensteins Monster, Mumie und Werwolf.
Gemeinsam jagen die frischgebackenen Monster nun um den halben Erdball der Hexe hinterher, damit diese den Fluch wieder rückgängig macht. Bei ihrem turbulenten Abenteuer treffen die Wünschmanns auch auf jede Menge echte Ungeheuer wie Vampire, Riesenechsen und schwäbische Pauschaltouristen. Sogar auf Dracula höchstpersönlich, dessen unwiderstehlichen Charme Mama Emma widerstehen muss. Tja, niemand hat behauptet, dass es einfach ist, als Familie das Glück zu finden.


February 9, 2018 - The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbitby Beatrix Potter

Beatrix Potter's four stories featuring Peter Rabbit are brought together in one volume, so that Peter's escapades can be read as a continuous saga. The Tale of Peter Rabbit, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies and The Tale of Mr. Tod are all included. From Peter's mischevious childhood in Mr. McGregor's garden to the time he rescues a family from Tommy Brock's clutches, Peter Rabbit's story is one children will want to hear again and again.



February 16, 2018 - Black Panther Epic Collection: Panther's Rage (Black Panther, Volume I) by Don McGregor (Writer), Marvel Comics (Publisher), Stan Lee (Writer), Jack Kirby (Artist, pencil, & Creator), Rich Buckler (Artist, pencil, & layout), Klaus Janson (Artist, ink), Billy Graham (Artist), Bob McLeod 

In the 1960s, Stan Lee and Jack Kirby created an unprecedented string of classic comic book heroes. One of them was the high-tech king of Wakanda, The Black Panther. When the Panther began his own solo series, Don McGregor strove to meet Lee and Kirby's high standard with "Panther's Rage." It was an epic adventure so huge it ranged across the savannah, into the deepest jungles and up snow-topped mountains. Over its course, McGregor would explore and expand the life and culture of Wakanda and their African kingdom in compelling detail.

COLLECTING: VOL. 1; FANTASTIC FOUR (1961) 52-53, JUNGLE ACTION (1972) 6-24

Black Panther: The Official Movie Special by Titan 

Black Panther: The Official Movie Special is a complete visual and behind-the-scenes guide to Marvel Studios' highly anticipated next movie.

With exclusive behind the scenes photos from the movie sets, stunning concept art revealing the beautiful, secretive nation of Wakanda, interviews with the stars of the film, including Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Andy Serkis, Martin Freeman, Forest Whitaker and Danai Gurira, this stunning collector's book is a must-have for all fans of everything Marvel!


 

February 23, 2018 - Every Day by David Levithan

Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.
There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.



February 23, 2018 - The War with Grandpa (Yearling) by Robert Kimmel Smith

Peter is thrilled that Grandpa is coming to live with his family. That is, until Grandpa moves right into Peter’s room, forcing him upstairs.

Peter loves his grandpa but wants his room back. He has no choice but to declare war! With the help of his friends, Peter devises outrageous plans to make Grandpa surrender the room. But Grandpa is tougher than he looks. Rather than give in, Grandpa plans to get even.

They used to be such great pals. Has their war gone too far?

"Captures the anger and frustration that accompanies a child's inability to control his life." - School Library Journal


February 23, 2018Annihilation: A Novel (The Southern Reach Trilogy) by Jeff VanderMeer (The Movie is Alex Garland's take on Jeff VanderMeer's novel)

Area X has been cut off from the rest of the continent for decades. Nature has reclaimed the last vestiges of human civilization. The first expedition returned with reports of a pristine, Edenic landscape; all the members of the second expedition committed suicide; the third expedition died in a hail of gunfire as its members turned on one another; the members of the eleventh expedition returned as shadows of their former selves, and within months of their return, all had died of aggressive cancer.

This is the twelfth expedition.

Their group is made up of four women: an anthropologist; a surveyor; a psychologist, the de facto leader; and our narrator, a biologist. Their mission is to map the terrain and collect specimens; to record all their observations, scientific and otherwise, of their surroundings and of one another; and, above all, to avoid being contaminated by Area X itself.

They arrive expecting the unexpected, and Area X delivers—they discover a massive topographic anomaly and life forms that surpass understanding—but it’s the surprises that came across the border with them, and the secrets the expedition members are keeping from one another, that change everything.



March 2, 2018 - Death Wish: Movie Tie-In Edition by Brian Garfield

Paul Benjamin, a successful accountant in New York City, is enjoying a three-martini lunch when his home is broken into by a gang of drug addicts. For just a handful of money, they savagely beat Paul's wife and daughter, leaving his wife dead and his daughter comatose. Grief-stricken and forced to reevaluate his views, Benjamin becomes disillusioned with society and plots his revenge on the perpetrators, whom the police are unable to bring to justice. Armed with a revolver and total disregard for his own safety, he sets out to even the score.



March 2, 2018 - Red Sparrow: A Novel (The Red Sparrow Trilogy) by Jason Matthews

In today’s Russia, dominated by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, state intelligence officer Dominika Egorova struggles to survive in the cast-iron bureaucracy of post-Soviet intelligence. Drafted against her will to become a “Sparrow,” a trained seductress in the service, Dominika is assigned to operate against Nathaniel Nash, a first-tour CIA officer who handles the CIA’s most sensitive penetration of Russian intelligence. The two young intelligence officers, trained in their respective spy schools, collide in a charged atmosphere of tradecraft, deception, and inevitably, a forbidden spiral of carnal attraction that threatens their careers and the security of America’s valuable mole in Moscow. Seeking revenge against her soulless masters, Dominika begins a fatal double life, recruited by the CIA to ferret out a high-level traitor in Washington; hunt down a Russian illegal buried deep in the U.S. military and, against all odds, to return to Moscow as the new-generation penetration of Putin’s intelligence service. Dominika and Nathaniel’s impossible love affair and twisted spy game come to a deadly conclusion in the shocking climax of this electrifying, up-to-the minute spy thriller.



March 9, 2018 - A Wrinkle in Time Movie Tie-In Edition by Madeleine L'Engle

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

"Wild nights are my glory," the unearthly stranger told them. "I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract".

Meg's father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?



March 16, 2018 - Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda Movie Tie-in Edition by Becky Albertalli (Movie titled: Love, Simon)

Sixteen-year-old and not-so-openly gay Simon Spier prefers to save his drama for the school musical. But when an email falls into the wrong hands, his secret is at risk of being thrust into the spotlight. Now Simon is actually being blackmailed: if he doesn’t play wingman for class clown Martin, his sexual identity will become everyone’s business. Worse, the privacy of Blue, the pen name of the boy he’s been emailing, will be compromised.

With some messy dynamics emerging in his once tight-knit group of friends, and his email correspondence with Blue growing more flirtatious every day, Simon’s junior year has suddenly gotten all kinds of complicated. Now, change-averse Simon has to find a way to step out of his comfort zone before he’s pushed out—without alienating his friends, compromising himself, or fumbling a shot at happiness with the most confusing, adorable guy he’s never met.



March 28, 2018 - White Fang (Dover Thrift Editions) by Jack London

When White Fang was first published in 1906, Jack London was well on his way to becoming one of the most famous, popular, and highly paid writers in the world. White Fang stands out as one of his finest achievements, a spellbinding novel of life in the northern wilds.

In gripping detail, London bares the savage realities of the battle for survival among all species in a harsh, unyielding environment. White Fang is part wolf, part dog, a ferocious and magnificent creature through whose experiences we see and feel essential rhythms and patterns of life in the animal kingdom and among mankind as well.

It is, above all, a novel that keenly observes the extraordinary working of one of nature's greatest gifts to its creatures: the power to adapt. Focusing on this wondrous process, London created in White Fang a classic adventure story as fresh and appealing for today's audiences as for those who made him among the bestselling novelists of his day.



March 30, 2018 - Ready Player One (Movie Tie-In): A Novel by Ernest Cline

In the year 2044, reality is an ugly place. The only time teenage Wade Watts really feels alive is when he's jacked into the virtual utopia known as the OASIS. Wade's devoted his life to studying the puzzles hidden within this world's digital confines, puzzles that are based on their creator's obsession with the pop culture of decades past and that promise massive power and fortune to whoever can unlock them. When Wade stumbles upon the first clue, he finds himself beset by players willing to kill to take this ultimate prize. The race is on, and if Wade's going to survive, he'll have to win—and confront the real world he's always been so desperate to escape.



March 30, 2018 - Lean on Pete: A Novel by Willy Vlautin

Fifteen-year-old Charley Thompson wants a home, food on the table, and a high school he can attend for more than part of a year. But as the son of a single father working in warehouses across the Pacific Northwest, Charley's been pretty much on his own. When tragic events leave him homeless weeks after their move to Portland, Oregon, Charley seeks refuge in the tack room of a run-down horse track. Charley's only comforts are his friendship with a failing racehorse named Lean on Pete and a photograph of his only known relative. In an increasingly desperate circumstance, Charley will head east, hoping to find his aunt who had once lived a thousand miles away in Wyoming — but the journey to find her will be a perilous one.

In Vlautin's third novel, Lean on Pete, he reveals the lives and choices of American youth like Charley Thompson who were failed by those meant to protect them and who were never allowed the chance to just be a kid.


 

April 6, 2018 - You Were Never Really Here (Movie Tie-In) by Jonathan Ames

Joe has witnessed things that cannot be erased. A former FBI agent and Marine, his abusive childhood has left him damaged beyond repair. He has completely withdrawn from the world and earns his living rescuing girls who have been kidnapped into the sex trade.

When he’s hired to save the daughter of a corrupt New York senator held captive at a Manhattan brothel, he stumbles into a dangerous web of conspiracy, and he pays the price. As Joe’s small web of associates are picked off one by one, he realizes that he has no choice but to take the fight to the men who want him dead.

Brutal and redemptive in equal measure, You Were Never Really Here is a toxic shot of a thriller, laced with corruption, revenge and the darkest of inner demons.



April 8, 2018 - The House of Tomorrow by Peter Bognanni

Wholly original, The House of Tomorrow is the story of a young man's self-discovery, a dying woman's last wish, and a band of misfits trying desperately to be heard.

Sebastian Prendergast lives in a geodesic dome with his eccentric grandmother, who homeschooled him in the teachings of futurist philosopher R. Buckminster Fuller. But when his grandmother has a stroke, Sebastian is forced to leave the dome and make his own way in town.

Jared Whitcomb is a chain-smoking sixteen-year-old heart-transplant recipient who befriends Sebastian, and begins to teach him about all the things he has been missing, including grape soda, girls, and Sid Vicious. They form a punk band called The Rash, and it's clear that the upcoming Methodist Church talent show has never seen the likes of them. Wholly original, The House of Tomorrow is the story of a young man's self-discovery, a dying woman's last wish, and a band of misfits trying desperately to be heard.



April 13, 2018 - New Mutants Epic Collection: Renewal by Chris Claremont (Text), Bill Mantlo (Text), Bob McLeod (Goodreads Author) (Illustrations), Sal Buscema (Illustrations), Paul Smith (Illustrations), Ron Frenz (Illustrations), John Buscema (Illustrations), Frank Miller (Illustrations) (Movie Titled: The New Mutants)

Meet the future of the X-Men! Karma. Wolfsbane. Sunspot. Cannonball. Moonstar. They're teenagers, thrown together by the X-gene that makes them diff erent. Follow the adventures of these young mutants from Karma's first meeting with Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, to their early days at the Xavier School! The New Mutants' on-the-job training begins in earnest with battles against Sentinels, the Silver Samurai, Viper and the Hellfi re Club, and a team-up with Spidey and Cloak & Dagger -all while they'll get a taste of life as X-Men in a disturbing encounter with the Brood!

COLLECTING: VOLUME 1: MARVEL GRAPHIC NOVEL 4, NEW MUTANTS (1983) 1-12, UNCANNY X-MEN (1981) 167, MARVEL TEAMUP ANNUAL 6, MAGIK (1983) 1-4, MATERIAL FROM MARVEL TEAM-UP (1972) 100


April 19, 2018 - Disobedience: A Novel by Naomi Alderman

A small, close-knit Orthodox Jewish community in London is the setting for a revealing look at religion and sexuality in Alderman's frank yet heartfelt debut novel, Disobedience. The story begins with the death of the community's esteemed rabbi, which sets in motion plans for a memorial service and the search for a replacement. The rabbi's nephew and likely successor, Dovid, calls his cousin Ronit in New York to tell her that her father has died. Ronit, who left the community long ago to build a life for herself as a career woman, returns home when she hears the news, and her reappearance exposes tears in the fabric of the community.

Steeped in Jewish philosophy and teachings, Disobedience is a perceptive and thoughtful exploration of the laws and practices that have governed Judaism for centuries, and continue to hold sway today. Throughout the novel, Alderman retells stories from the Torah -- Judaism's fundamental source -- and the interplay between these tales and the struggles of the novel's unique characters wields enormous power and wisdom, and will surely move readers to tears.

Alderman's greatest feat is in combining her extensive knowledge of Judaism with a story that is universal. Her characters, to be sure, are Jewish, but her novel recalls works like To Kill a Mockingbird and The Scarlet Letter, as it speaks to communities and readers everywhere.



April 19, 2018 - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society: A Novel by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.

“I wonder how the book got to Guernsey? Perhaps there is some sort of secret homing instinct in books that brings them to their perfect readers.”

January 1946: London is emerging from the shadow of the Second World War, and writer Juliet Ashton is looking for her next book subject. Who could imagine that she would find it in a letter from a man she’s never met, a native of the island of Guernsey, who has come across her name written inside a book by Charles Lamb….

As Juliet and her new correspondent exchange letters, Juliet is drawn into the world of this man and his friends—and what a wonderfully eccentric world it is. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society—born as a spur-of-the-moment alibi when its members were discovered breaking curfew by the Germans occupying their island—boasts a charming, funny, deeply human cast of characters, from pig farmers to phrenologists, literature lovers all.

Juliet begins a remarkable correspondence with the society’s members, learning about their island, their taste in books, and the impact the recent German occupation has had on their lives. Captivated by their stories, she sets sail for Guernsey, and what she finds will change her forever.

Written with warmth and humor as a series of letters, this novel is a celebration of the written word in all its guises, and of finding connection in the most surprising ways.



April 19, 2018 - Papillon (P.S.) by Henri Charrière

Henri Charrière, called "Papillon," for the butterfly tattoo on his chest, was convicted in Paris in 1931 of a murder he did not commit. Sentenced to life imprisonment in the penal colony of French Guiana, he became obsessed with one goal: escape. After planning and executing a series of treacherous yet failed attempts over many years, he was eventually sent to the notorious prison, Devil's Island, a place from which no one had ever escaped . . . until Papillon. His flight to freedom remains one of the most incredible feats of human cunning, will, and endurance ever undertaken.

Charrière's astonishing autobiography, Papillon, was published in France to instant acclaim in 1968, more than twenty years after his final escape. Since then, it has become a treasured classic -- the gripping, shocking, ultimately uplifting odyssey of an innocent man who would not be defeated.



May 4, 2018 - Infinity War (Avengers Comic Book) by Jim Starlin  (Author),‎ Ron Lim (Illustrator) (Movie Titled: Avengers: Infinity War)

Collects Infinity War #1-6, Warlock and the Infinity Watch #7-10 & Marvel Comics Presents #108-111.

When evil dopplegangers of the Marvel heroes appear, it's all-out war! Why has Magus unleashed them on an unsuspecting world? And is the heroes only hope Thanos! Plus, will the Infinity Gauntlet swing the tide of the war?




May 11, 2018 - Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far on Foot by John Callahan

Is it possible to find humor -- corrosive, taboo-shattering, laugh-till-you-cry humor -- in the story of a 38-year-old- cartoonist who's both a quadriplegic and a recovering alcoholic? The answer is yes, if the cartoonist is John Callahan -- whose infamous work has graced the pages of Omni, Penthouse, and The New Yorker -- and if he's telling it in his own words and pictures. But Callahan's uncensored account of his troubled -- and sometimes impossible -- life is also genuinely inspiring. Without self-pity or self-righteousness, this liberating book tells us how a quadriplegic with a healthy libido has sex, what it's like to live in the exitless maze of the welfare system, where a cartoonist finds his comedy, and how a man with no reason to believe in anything discovers his own brand of faith.



May 11, 2018 - Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

A compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.

Bernadette Fox is notorious. To her Microsoft-guru husband, she's a fearlessly opinionated partner; to fellow private-school mothers in Seattle, she's a disgrace; to design mavens, she's a revolutionary architect, and to 15-year-old Bee, she is a best friend and, simply, Mom.

Then Bernadette disappears. It began when Bee aced her report card and claimed her promised reward: a family trip to Antarctica. But Bernadette's intensifying allergy to Seattle - and people in general - has made her so agoraphobic that a virtual assistant in India now runs her most basic errands. A trip to the end of the earth is problematic.

To find her mother, Bee compiles email messages, official documents, secret correspondence - creating a compulsively readable and touching novel about misplaced genius and a mother and daughter's role in an absurd world.



June 15, 2018 - On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

It is July 1962. Florence is a talented musician who dreams of a career on the concert stage and of the perfect life she will create with Edward, an earnest young history student at University College of London, who unexpectedly wooed and won her heart. Newly married that morning, both virgins, Edward and Florence arrive at a hotel on the Dorset coast. At dinner in their rooms they struggle to suppress their worries about the wedding night to come. Edward, eager for rapture, frets over Florence’s response to his advances and nurses a private fear of failure, while Florence’s anxieties run deeper: she is overcome by sheer disgust at the idea of physical contact, but dreads disappointing her husband when they finally lie down together in the honeymoon suite.

Ian McEwan has caught with understanding and compassion the innocence of Edward and Florence at a time when marriage was presumed to be the outward sign of maturity and independence.On Chesil Beach is another masterwork from McEwan—a story of lives transformed by a gesture not made or a word not spoken.



July 6, 2017 - Ant-Man and the Wasp (based off Marvel Comic Books) by Chris Yost (Author),‎ Stan Lee (Author),‎ Jack Kirby (Illustrator)

Marvel's size-changing superstars in astonishing adventures! Meet scientist Hank Pym - and find out how he became the man in the anthill! Hank soon harnesses his shrinking prowess to become Ant-Man - joined by his partner-in-crime-fighting, Janet Van Dyne, the high-flying Wasp! And in an all-time classic, Scott Lang - Hank's successor as Ant-Man - races into action with Hawkeye against the Taskmaster! Plus, it's Ant-Man and Hulk versus the Mad Thinker, while Wasp must save Captain America from the Wendigo! Tiny foes cause Jan big trouble when invaders from the Microverse attack! And Hawkeye puts Scott Lang through his paces on Monster Island!

COLLECTING: MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS ASSEMBLE SEASON TWO 9; AVENGERS (1963) 223; MATERIAL FROM AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES (2010) 2-3; MARVEL UNIVERSE AVENGERS: EARTH'S MIGHTIEST HEROES 7; TALES TO ASTONISH (1959) 27, 35, 44



July 20, 2018Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition 1 (Gunnm, #1-2) by Yukito Kishiro (based off Manga series) 

After more than a decade out of print, the original cyberpunk action classic returns in glorious 400-page hardcover deluxe editions, featuring an all-new translation, color pages, and new cover designs!

In a dump in the lawless settlement of Scrapyard, far beneath the mysterious space city of Zalem, disgraced cyber-doctor Daisuke Ido makes a strange find: the detached head of a cyborg woman who has lost all her memories. He names her Alita and equips her with a powerful new body, the Berserker. While Alita remembers no details of her former life, a moment of desperation reawakens in her nerves the legendary school of martial arts known as Panzer Kunst. In a place where there is no justice but what people make for themselves, Alita decides to become a hunter-killer, tracking down and taking out those who prey on the weak. But can she hold onto her humanity as she begins to revel in her own bloodlust?


 
  
August 3, 2018 - The Complete Tales and Poems of Winnie-the-Pooh (Movie Titled:Christopher Robin and is loosely based off the books by A.A. Milne)

In 1926, the world was introduced to a portly little bear named Winnie-the-Pooh. Along with his young friend, Christopher Robin, Pooh delighted readers from the very beginning. His often befuddled perceptions and adorable insights won the hearts of everyone around him, including his close group of friends. From the energetic Tigger to the dismal Eeyore, A. A. Milne created a charming bunch, both entertaining and inspirational. These simple creatures often reflected a small piece of all of us: humble, silly, wise, cautious, creative, and full of life. Remember when Piglet did a very grand thing, or Eeyore's almost-forgotten birthday?

Gorgeous watercolor illustrations from Ernest H. Shepard appear in all their glory. With beautiful colors and simple lines, these images hold their own as classics. The tales, filled with superb story lines and lessons, will continue to capture the hearts of new generations.



August 10, 2018 - Meg by Steve Alton

All New Revised and Expanded! Includes Meg: Origins. Carcharodon megalodon apex predator of all time, the most fearsome creature that ever lived a 70-foot, 60,000 pound Great White Shark. Hundreds of 7-inch serrated teeth filled jaws that could swallow an elephant whole. It could sense its prey miles away,inhaling its scent as it registered the beat of its fluttering heart, and if you ever came close enough to see the monster...it was already too late. For Navy deep-sea submersible pilot Jonas Taylor, it nearly was too late. Years ago, on a top-secret dive seven miles down into the Mariana Trench, Jonas came face to face with an ancient monster everyone believed extinct. Having barely escaped with his life, Jonas must prove to the world that Meg still exists.When an opportunity to return to the trench presents itself, he takes it, intent on returning topside with a 7-inch tooth! But man's presence in this unexplored domain releases one of the sharks from its purgatory, and now Jonas is the only one who can stop it.

Soon to be a major motion picture (Warner Bros.) starring Jason Statham, Ruby Rose,Rainn Wilson, Bingbing Li, and Jessica McNamee.



August 17, 2018 - Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan

Crazy Rich Asians is the outrageously funny debut novel about three super-rich, pedigreed Chinese families and the gossip, backbiting, and scheming that occurs when the heir to one of the most massive fortunes in Asia brings home his ABC (American-born Chinese) girlfriend to the wedding of the season.

When Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home, long drives to explore the island, and quality time with the man she might one day marry. What she doesn't know is that Nick's family home happens to look like a palace, that she'll ride in more private planes than cars, and that with one of Asia's most eligible bachelors on her arm, Rachel might as well have a target on her back. Initiated into a world of dynastic splendor beyond imagination, Rachel meets Astrid, the It Girl of Singapore society; Eddie, whose family practically lives in the pages of the Hong Kong socialite magazines; and Eleanor, Nick's formidable mother, a woman who has very strong feelings about who her son should--and should not--marry. Uproarious, addictive, and filled with jaw-dropping opulence, Crazy Rich Asians is an insider's look at the Asian JetSet; a perfect depiction of the clash between old money and new money; between Overseas Chinese and Mainland Chinese; and a fabulous novel about what it means to be young, in love, and gloriously, crazily rich.


 

August 17, 2018 - THREE SECONDS by Anders Roslund, Börge Hellström, Kari Dickson

Dark, suspenseful, and more riveting than any thriller at the local cineplex, Three Seconds is the latest novel from best-selling Swedish duo Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström-heirs apparent to Stieg Larsson and Henning Mankell as the masters of Scandinavian crime.

Piet Hoffman, a top secret operative for the Swedish police, is about to embark on his most dangerous assignment yet: after years spent infiltrating the Polish mafia, he's become a key player in their attempt to take over amphetamine distribution inside Sweden's prisons. To stop them from succeeding, he will have to go deep cover, posing as a prisoner inside the country's most notorious jail.

But when a botched drug deal involving Hoffman results in a murder, the investigation is assigned to the brilliant but haunted Detective Inspector Ewert Grens--a man who never gives up until he's cracked the case. Grens's determination to find the killer not only threatens to expose Hoffman's true identity-it may reveal even bigger crimes involving the highest levels of power. And there are people who will do anything to stop him from discovering the truth.

Winner of the Swedish Academy of Crime Writers' 2009 award for Best Swedish Crime Novel of the Year, and a #1 best-seller there, Three Seconds captures a nefarious world of betrayal and violence, where a wise man trusts no one and even the most valuable agent can be “burned.”



August 31, 2018The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger "Several sleepless nights are guaranteed."—Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly

One postwar summer in his home of rural Warwickshire, Dr. Faraday, the son of a maid who has built a life of quiet respectability as a country physician, is called to a patient at lonely Hundreds Hall. Home to the Ayres family for over two centuries, the Georgian house, once impressive and handsome, is now in decline, its masonry crumbling, its gardens choked with weeds, the clock in its stable yard permanently fixed at twenty to nine. Its owners—mother, son, and daughter—are struggling to keep pace with a changing society, as well as with conflicts of their own. But are the Ayreses haunted by something more sinister than a dying way of life? Little does Dr. Faraday know how closely, and how terrifyingly, their story is about to become intimately entwined with his.



September 14, 2018 - The Darkest Minds (Bonus Content) (A Darkest Minds Novel) by Alexandra Bracken

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something frightening enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that got her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that had killed most of America’s children, but she and the others emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they could not control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones. When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. She is on the run, desperate to find the only safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who have escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents. When they arrive at East River, nothing is as it seems, least of all its mysterious leader. But there are other forces at work, people who will stop at nothing to use Ruby in their fight against the government. Ruby will be faced with a terrible choice, one that may mean giving up her only chance at having a life worth living.




September 21, 2018 - Goosebumps Horrorland Series 10 Books Collection Set by R.L.Stine (Classic Covers Set 2) (Movie Titled: Goosebumps Horrorland based off  R.L. Stine's series of the same name)

A brilliant set of terrifying horror adventures that will make the perfect gift for children aged 8-12 years. Goosebumps Horrorland Series 10 Books Collection Set by R.L.Stine (Classic Covers Set 2) Titles in the Set Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls, A Shocker on Shock Street, Say Cheese and Die, Vampire Breath, The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena, One Day at Horrorland, Please Don't Feed the Vampire, Return of the Mummy, The Haunted Mask, Night of the Living Dummy 2. Attack of the Graveyard Ghouls Now he's face to face with the undead, a cold, ghastly ghoul who wants to take over his body! Can Spencer find his way out? Or will he be stuck in the graveyard...forever? A Shocker on Shock Street They're anticipating the thrill of a lifetime when they visit the Shock Street theme park. But the thrill turns into a chill when they get stuck on a ride and attacked by terrifying, giant bugs. Will they ever get out? Say Cheese and Die Greg thinks there is something wrong with the old camera he found. The photos keep turning out ... different. When Greg takes a picture of his father's brand-new car, it's wrecked in the photo. And then his dad crashes the car. It's like the camera can tell the future - or worse. Maybe it makes the future. Vampire Breath Tough. That's Freddy and his friend, Cara. They're not afraid of anything. But that was before they went exploring in Freddy's basement. Before they found the secret room. The Abominable Snowman of Pasadena The Blakes are taking a trip to Alaska! Mr. Blake has been asked to photograph a mysterious snow creature there. Poor Jordan and Nicole - they just wanted to see snow. But now, they're being chased by a monstrous creature. A big furry-faced Creature...known as the Abominable Snowman! Other books include.. One Day at Horrorland Please Dont Feed the Vampire Return of the Mummy The Haunted Mask Night of the Living Dummy 2



September 21, 2018 - The House with a Clock in Its Walls (Lewis Barnavelt) (Lewis Barnavelt #1) by John Bellairs


Orphaned Lewis Barnavelt comes to live with his Uncle Jonathan and quickly learns that both his uncle and his next-door neighbor are witches on a quest to discover the terrifying clock ticking within the walls of Jonathan's house. Can the three of them save the world from certain destruction?



September 28, 2018 - Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith, and Family by Garrard Conley

A beautiful, raw and compassionate memoir about identity, love and understanding.

The son of a Baptist pastor and deeply embedded in church life in small town Arkansas, as a young man Garrard Conley was terrified and conflicted about his sexuality.

When Garrard was a nineteen-year-old college student, he was outed to his parents, and was forced to make a life-changing decision: either agree to attend a church-supported conversion therapy program that promised to “cure” him of homosexuality; or risk losing family, friends, and the God he had prayed to every day of his life. Through an institutionalized Twelve-Step Program heavy on Bible study, he was supposed to emerge heterosexual, ex-gay, cleansed of impure urges and stronger in his faith in God for his brush with sin. Instead, even when faced with a harrowing and brutal journey, Garrard found the strength and understanding to break out in search of his true self and forgiveness.

By confronting his buried past and the burden of a life lived in shadow, Garrard traces the complex relationships among family, faith, and community. At times heart-breaking, at times triumphant, this memoir is a testament to love that survives despite all odds.



October 5, 2018 Venom by Rick Remender: The Complete Collection Volume 1; (Movie titled 'Venom'  based on Marvel comic book characters created by Todd McFarlane and David Michelinie)

Flash Thompson is Spider-Man's biggest fan. That hero worship inspired him to join the Army, where he became a decorated war hero. And though he lost his legs, Flash never lost his dignity - or his desire to serve. Now, the government has offered him a chance to don the alien Venom symbiote and be a hero once again! Now, Flash Thompson is Venom, the government's most lethal special operative. But Flash soon finds himself losing control of his own mind to the symbiote! And when his nemesis Jack O'Lantern blackmails Flash into serving the merciless Crime-Master, can Venom complete his mission and save his loved ones? Plus: What if the Venom symbiote bonded with...Deadpool?

Collecting: Venom 1-12, Venom/Deadpool: What If?



October 19, 2018 - Can You Ever Forgive Me?: Memoirs of a Literary Forger by Lee Israel

Before turning to the criminal life, running a one woman forgery scam out of an Upper West Side studio shared with her tortoiseshell cat, and dodging the FBI, Lee Israel enjoyed a celebrated reputation as an author. When her writing career suddenly took a turn for the worse, she conceived of the astonishing literary scheme that fooled even many of the experts. Forging hundreds of letters from such collectible luminaries as Dorothy Parker, Noël Coward, and Lillian Hellman -- and recreating their autographs with a flourish -- Israel sold her "memorabilia" to dealers across the country, producing a collection of pitch-perfect imitations virtually indistinguishable from the voices of their real-life counterparts. Exquisitely written, with reproductions of her marvelous forgeries, Can You Ever Forgive Me? is Israel's delightful, hilarious memoir of a brilliant and audacious literary crime caper.



October 19, 2018 - First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong by James R. Hansen

On July 20, 1969, the world stood still to watch thirty-eight-year-old American astronaut Neil A. Armstrong become the first person to step on the surface of another heavenly body. Perhaps no words in human history became better known than those few he uttered at that historic moment. In a penetrating exploration of American hero worship, Hansen addresses the complex legacy of the First Man, as an astronaut and an individual



October 19, 2018 - The Girl in the Spider's Web: A Lisbeth Salander novel, continuing Stieg Larsson's Millennium Series (Millennium #4) by by David Lagercrantz, Stieg Larsson (Creator)

She is the girl with the dragon tattoo—a genius hacker and uncompromising misfit. He is a crusading journalist whose championing of the truth often brings him to the brink of prosecution.

Late one night, Blomkvist receives a phone call from a source claiming to have information vital to the United States. The source has been in contact with a young female superhacker—a hacker resembling someone Blomkvist knows all too well. The implications are staggering. Blomkvist, in desperate need of a scoop for Millennium, turns to Salander for help. She, as usual, has her own agenda. The secret they are both chasing is at the center of a tangled web of spies, cybercriminals, and governments around the world, and someone is prepared to kill to protect it . . .

The duo who captivated millions of readers in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest join forces again in this adrenaline-charged, uniquely of-the-moment thriller.



 

October 19, 2018 - The Jungle Book (AmazonClassics Edition) by Rudyard Kipling
A classic story of friendship between man and beast.Saved from the jaws of the evil tiger Shere Khan, young Mowgli is adopted by a wolf pack and taught the law of the jungle by lovable old Baloo the bear and Bhageera the panther. The adventures of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the snake-fighting mongoose, little Toomai and the elephant's secret dance, and Kotick the white seal are all part of Mowgli's extraordinary journey with his animal friends.



November 2, 2018 - Nutcracker by E.T.A. Hoffmann (Movie Titled: The Nutcracker and the Four Realms )

The tale of Nutcracker, written by E.T.A. Hoffmann in 1816, has fascinated and inspired artists, composers, and audiences for almost two hundred years. It has retained its freshness because it appeals to the sense of wonder we all share.

Maurice Sendak designed brilliant sets and costumes for the Pacific Northwest Ballet's Christmas production of Nutcracker and created even more magnificent pictures especially for this book. He joined with the eminent translator Ralph Manheim to produce this illustrated edition of Hoffmann's wonderful tale, destined to become a classic for all ages.

The world of Nutcracker is a world of pleasures. Maurice Sendak's art illuminates the delights of Hoffmann's story in this rich and tantalizing treasure. 



November 2, 2018 Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man: Spider-Verse by Joe Caramagna, Various (Illustrator) (Movie Titled: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)

Collects Marvel Universe Ultimate Spider-Man Spider-Verse #1-4.

Featuring screen-capture images from MARVEL'S ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN: WEB-WARRIORS! Join Spider-Man on his wildest adventure yet,as the Green Goblin transports him through several alternate dimensions — each with its own Spider-Man (or Woman)! Things get tricky as Spidey fights Loki and Doctor Octopus with the help of Spider-Man Noir and the porktacular Spider-Ham! As the Goblin steals Spider-DNA from every dimension they visit, Peter Parker teams up with Miles Morales! Meet the armored arachnid known as Spyder-Knight! When Greeny nabs everything he needs from the Web-Warriors, can Spider-Man handle the awesome combined power of the Spider-Goblin?!



November 9, 2018 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (Classic Seuss) by Dr. Seuss  


"The Grinch hated Christmas! The whole Christmas season!
Now, please don't ask why. No one quite knows the reason."


Dr. Seuss's small-hearted Grinch ranks right up there with Scrooge when it comes to the crankiest, scowling holiday grumps of all time. For 53 years, the Grinch has lived in a cave on the side of a mountain, looming above the Whos in Whoville. The noisy holiday preparations and infernal singing of the happy little citizens below annoy him to no end. The Grinch decides this frivolous merriment must stop. His "wonderful, awful" idea is to don a Santa outfit, strap heavy antlers on his poor, quivering dog Max, construct a makeshift sleigh, head down to Whoville, and strip the chafingly cheerful Whos of their Yuletide glee once and for all.

Looking quite out of place and very disturbing in his makeshift Santa get-up, the Grinch slithers down chimneys with empty bags and stealing the Whos' presents, their food, even the logs from their humble Who-fires. He takes the ramshackle sleigh to Mt. Crumpit to dump it and waits to hear the sobs of the Whos when they wake up and discover the trappings of Christmas have disappeared. Imagine the Whos' dismay when they discover the evil-doings of Grinch in his anti-Santa guise. But what is that sound? It's not sobbing, but singing! Children simultaneously adore and fear this triumphant, twisted Seussian testimonial to the undaunted cheerfulness of the Whos, the transcendent nature of joy, and of course, the growth potential of a heart that's two sizes too small.

This holiday classic is perfect for reading aloud to your favorite little Whos.



December , 2018 - Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve


"It was a dark, blustery afternoon in spring, and the city of London was chasing a small mining town across the dried-out bed of the old North Sea."

The great traction city London has been skulking in the hills to avoid the bigger, faster, hungrier cities loose in the Great Hunting Ground. But now, the sinister plans of Lord Mayor Mangus Crome can finally unfold.

Thaddeus Valentine, London's Head Historian and adored famous archaeologist, and his lovely daughter, Katherine, are down in The Gut when the young assassin with the black scarf strikes toward his heart, saved by the quick intervention of Tom, a lowly third-class apprentice. Racing after the fleeing girl, Tom suddenly glimpses her hideous face: scarred from forehead to jaw, nose a smashed stump, a single eye glaring back at him. "Look at what your Valentine did to me!" she screams. "Ask him! Ask him what he did to Hester Shaw!" And with that she jumps down the waste chute to her death. Minutes later Tom finds himself tumbling down the same chute and stranded in the Out-Country, a sea of mud scored by the huge caterpillar tracks of cities like the one now steaming off over the horizon.

In a stunning literary debut, Philip Reeve has created a painful dangerous unforgettable adventure story of surprises, set in a dark and utterly original world fueled by Municipal Darwinism -- and betrayal.


Movies slated to be in 2018 but whose dates are still to be announced:


Just click on one of the covers listed below to be transported to GoodReads where you can read the description.


- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

- To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han


- All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

- All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid by Matt Bai Movie Title: The Front Runner

- Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet by Joanne Proulx

- Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

- The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 

- The Black Hand: The Epic War Between a Brilliant Detective and the Deadliest Secret Society in American History by Stephan Talty

- Black Klansman by Ron Stallworth


- Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra Movie Title: The Man Who Killed Don Quixote

- Dumplin' by Julie Murphy

- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

- "I Heard You Paint Houses": Frank "The Irishman" Sheeran & Closing the Case on Jimmy Hoffa by Charles Brandt

- The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen

- Little Woman (modern day adaption) by Louisa May Alcott

- The Long Home by William Gay

- The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary by Simon Winchester

- The Sisters Brothers by Patrick Dewitt




Books slated to become HBO series:
Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn

Books slated to become Miniseries BBC
Good Omens by Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman


Books slated to become TV series:
The Alienist by Caleb Carr 

Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan

Castle Rock - Based on the stories of Stephen King, the series will intertwine characters and themes from the fictional town of Castle Rock.

Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Little Fires Everywhereby Celeste Ng 

Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan


Books slated to become TV Movies:
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury


P.S. Yes, I searched for all these movies. I am exhausted. Hopefully I found them all, but I wouldn't bet on it.

P.P.S. The book blurbs and pictures used are from Goodreads and Amazon respectively. GoodReads: https://www.goodreads.com/  Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...