FEBRUARY: WATCH, READ, & PLAY

February. It has many things I love in it: Heart day, Merc with a mouth Day, those candy hearts, and it’s a short month. However, despite being a short month, it has quite a bit of things arriving to fill my geeky heart with glee. Are you excited about any of these things?

FILM & TV
Hail, Caesar!
Genre: Comedy
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Channing Tatum, Ralph Fiennes, George Clooney
In short: Tells the comedic tale of Eddie Mannix, a fixer who worked for the Hollywood studios in the 1950s. The story finds him at work when a star mysteriously disappears in the middle of filming. (February 5)

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
Genre: Horror
Stars: Lily James, Lena Headey, Douglas Booth, Matt Smith
In short: Jane Austen's classic tale of the tangled relationships between lovers from different social classes in 19th century England is faced with a new challenge -- an army of undead zombies. (February 5)

Deadpool
Genre: Comic Action/Adventure
Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Morena Baccarin, Gina Carano, T.J. Miller
In short: Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, who after being subjected to a rogue experiment that leaves him with accelerated healing powers, adopts the alter ego Deadpool. Armed with his new abilities and a dark, twisted sense of humor, Deadpool hunts down the man who nearly destroyed his life. (February 12)

Zoolander 2
Genre: Comedy
Stars: Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell, Penelope Cruz, Kristen Wiig
In short: Derek and Hansel are modelling again when an opposing company attempts to take them out from the business. (February 12)

The Walking Dead
Channel: AMC
In short: Have a lovely zombie filled Valentine’s Day when the second half of Season 6 begins. Things are never easy for Rick and company and with the arrival of Negan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), you have no idea how much worse they are about to get. (February 14)

11.22.63
Channel: Hulu
In short: Adapted from the 2011 Stephen King best seller, the drama stars James Franco as Jake. When his friend Al shows him a portal to the past, Jake finds himself in 1960 to eventually prevent the assassination of President John F Kennedy. But time does not like to be changed. (February 15)

Vikings
Channel: The History Channel
In short: It culminated with the extraordinary battle in Paris, where Ragnar seized victory from the jaws of defeat – but still returns to Kattegat dangerously ill. Thoughts of his death galvanize the forces who seek to succeed him as king, including his wife Queen Aslaug and his oldest son, Bjorn. Meanwhile, Lagertha continues power struggles with her calculating, former second in command, Kalf; Rollo betrays his Vikings heritage by remaining in Frankia and Floki is seized for his brutal actions to the Christian priest Athelstan. (February 18)

BOOKS
Brotherhood in Death (In Death #42) by J.D. Robb (February 2)
In short: Sometimes brotherhood can be another word for conspiracy... Dennis Mira just had two unpleasant surprises. First he learned that his cousin Edward was secretly meeting with a real estate agent about their late grandfather’s magnificent West Village brownstone, despite the promise they both made to keep it in the family. Then, when he went to the house to confront Edward about it, he got a blunt object to the back of the head. Luckily Dennis is married to Charlotte Mira, the NYPSD’s top profiler and a good friend of Lieutenant Eve Dallas. When the two arrive on the scene, he explains that the last thing he saw was Edward in a chair, bruised and bloody. When he came to, his cousin was gone. With the mess cleaned up and the security disks removed, there’s nothing left behind but a few traces for forensics to analyze. As a former lawyer, judge, and senator, Edward Mira mingled with the elite and crossed paths with criminals, making enemies on a regular basis. Like so many politicians, he also made some very close friends behind closed—and locked—doors. But a badge and a billionaire husband can get you into places others can’t go, and Eve intends to shine some light on the dirty deals and dark motives behind the disappearance of a powerful man, the family discord over a multimillion-dollar piece of real estate . . . and a new case that no one saw coming.

Glass Sword (Red Queen #2) by Victoria Aveyard (February 9)
In short: Mare Barrow’s blood is red—the color of common folk—but her Silver ability, the power to control lightning, has turned her into a weapon that the royal court tries to control. The crown calls her an impossibility, a fake, but as she makes her escape from Maven, the prince—the friend—who betrayed her, Mare uncovers something startling: she is not the only one of her kind. Pursued by Maven, now a vindictive king, Mare sets out to find and recruit other Red-and-Silver fighters to join in the struggle against her oppressors. But Mare finds herself on a deadly path, at risk of becoming exactly the kind of monster she is trying to defeat. Will she shatter under the weight of the lives that are the cost of rebellion? Or have treachery and betrayal hardened her forever?

These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas (February 9)
In short: Jane Austen meets X-¬Men in this gripping and adventure-¬filled paranormal romance set in Victorian London.England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive, young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.

The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine (February 16)
In short: Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen. In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart. But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

The Girl from Everywhere by Heidi Heilig (February 16)
In short: It was the kind of August day that hinted at monsoons, and the year was 1774, though not for very much longer. Sixteen-year-old Nix Song is a time-traveller. She, her father and their crew of time refugees travel the world aboard The Temptation, a glorious pirate ship stuffed with treasures both typical and mythical. Old maps allow Nix and her father to navigate not just to distant lands, but distant times - although a map will only take you somewhere once. And Nix's father is only interested in one time, and one place: Honolulu 1868. A time before Nix was born, and her mother was alive. Something that puts Nix's existence rather dangerously in question... Nix has grown used to her father's obsession, but only because she's convinced it can't work. But then a map falls into her father's lap that changes everything. And when Nix refuses to help, her father threatens to maroon Kashmir, her only friend (and perhaps, only love) in a time where Nix will never be able to find him. And if Nix has learned one thing, it's that losing the person you love is a torment that no one can withstand. Nix must work out what she wants, who she is, and where she really belongs before time runs out on her forever.

GAMES
XCOM 2
Platform: PC, Mac
In short: The alien invaders rule the world and an insane human government is collaborating with them. I lost the Rogue to the first one and I imagine we will be twitching the second one together. That is until the following week when the next game comes out (February 5)

Unravel
Platform: Xbox One, PC, PS4
In short: When I saw the presentation last year I was hooked. You play as a little yarn creature named Yarny. It is a simple platform and puzzle game, but it looks adorable and gorgeous. I cannot wait. Also will probably make a yarny of my own. (February 9)

Did I miss anything?