I’m a sucker for all things Werewolves (Team Jacob) and this book takes that world to a whole new level. First time authors Jade Olivia Braddock and Cyril Alfred Blake really outdid themselves on this one. If I had to compare it to anything I would say it’s like Game of Thrones meets True Blood with a hit of The Mortal Instruments.

This is the story of the death of Devon Andrews, and her rebirth into a world she never asked for. On the night of the winter solstice: a lunar eclipse, a prophecy and a world of war and leadership. A once-forgotten ancient culture and a dynasty under the guidance of the last of the druids. A war between two families, one given gifts by the Gods the other created through dark magic, both with their own secrets and agendas. Her old life ripped away, a new destiny is created. Follow Devon and her journey into this one-of-a-kind story of history, magic, and werewolves. The Solstice Moon Series has taken a classic supernatural genre beloved by its fans and given it a world that no one has seen before.

I found Devon Andrews to a rough and tumble kind of girl with a tomboy sense of fashion and a street smarts attitude. She kept me guessing the whole way about how she was going to react in certain situations and there was always this aura of mystery around her which I quite enjoyed. There is also a slew of other characters to fall in love with along the way including a fabulous gay and a studly trainer. I find whenever there is a gay character in a book, like The Mortal Instruments for example, I grow more attached to the story and enjoy reading it just that much more. All in all I loved the story and thought it did a beautiful job of setting things up for the rest of the series, which I will definitely be buying.

Read the rest of this entry »

“Events have been set in motion,” we hear in the trailer. “It is the beginning of the end.” Is HBO hinting this could be the last season of True Blood? I hope not. After a teaser and several #waitingsucks promos, we finally have our first full-length trailer for Season 6 of True Blood and it’s bloody good.

The 90-second trailer promises a season filled with more of your favorite shirtless characters (Alcide & Eric), new faces and hints that things are going to get pretty bloody in Bon Temps, with tensions between the humans and vampires spilling into all-out war. No one is safe this year. There are even rumors that one of the supernatural series’ main characters will meet his untimely demise. If you think it’s Bill, it’s not. He’s back in vampire mode and no longer as the bloody Billith. Watch the trailer below.

watch the video after the jump

Waiting for a new True Blood season truly sucks. Even HBO knows it. The network began unleashing a brand new series of promo videos in anticipation of the sixth season premiere of the supernatural series on Sunday, June 16.

Each clip gives a behind the scenes look filming on location. From the looks of it, each of the main characters will receive their own clip. It began with Jason Stackhouse (Ryan Kwanten) confronting Eric’s sister in the bloody aftermath of the season finale. Alcide (Joe Manganiello) and Eric’s (Alexander Skarsgard) videos then followed. Check out the first three below.

check out the waiting videos after the jump

“Billith” is back and he looks angrier (and bloodier) than ever. He must be on his period ;) On the Season 5 finale we saw Bill (Stephen Moyer) transform into a bloody-smeared creature like Lilith. In the clip below, Billith warns “you’re all gonna burn.” All bark and no bite if you ask me. LOL.

HBO originally planned to air the first tease of True Blood Season 6 before tonight’s Game of Thrones premiere. It still will, but released it online several hours earlier. In the 30-second clip, you see Jessica teary-eyed, Pam and Tara in strife, Sookie frightened and Alcide shirtless (naturally). All are accompanied with ominous voiceover snippets like this one from Eric Northman (Alexander Skarsgard), “If the humans want war, we’ll give them war.” Watch Tease No. 1 below.

watch the teaser after the jump

Based on this new development, I don’t have a whole lot of confidence going into Season 6 of True Blood. Midway through filming the upcoming season, the show replaced its showrunner. This typically isn’t the norm, especially with cable shows since they have shortened seasons. What chain of events led the network to make such a drastic change? Were things really that bad?

Season 6 will be the first without Alan Ball as showrunner. The series creator left after five years to focus on his new show, Banshee, for the network. HBO tapped Mark Hudis to fill the vacant position. His previous credits include Nurse Jackie and That 70′s Show.

In an earlier interview, Hudis revealed “It’s impossible to fill Alan Ball’s shoes… The guy’s created two massive hit shows for HBO and has on Oscar. Really, this plane is in the air, and I just want to land it safely.” I guess that plane had to conduct an emergency landing ;) Here’s the official statement SLASH publicity spin from HBO as the reason why Hudis left.

“Mark Hudis has stepped down as showrunner of ‘True Blood’ to focus on development under his overall deal with the network.” – HBO

find out who his replacement is after the jump

True Blood is adding a hot new fairy for its sixth season. No, not that kind of fairy but a faerie. Rob Kazinsky has been tapped by the supernatural drama to play Ben who helps Sookie Stackhouse (Anna Paquin) and her brother Jason (Ryan Kwanten) discover the truth behind their parent’s murders. Reportedly, Kazinsky will be a regular cast member of the HBO next season. Rumor has it he’ll also play, yet another love interest, for Sookie. In my next supernatural life, I’d like to come back as Sookie. First Eric Northman, then Alicide and now this. How lucky can one woman get?

Kazinksy hails from West Sussex, England. The 28-year-old actor is best known for his role on UK’s long-running soap, EastEnders. Robert is of Polish and Russian descent. Originally, he was to appear as Fili in the upcoming film, The Hobbit. Citing personal reasons, Kazinsky backed out of the role months after his casting was announced. Fans of ABC’s Brothers & Sisters might recognize him when he guest starred as Dr. Rick Appleton on the show. In 2008, he ranked No. 3 on All About Soap’s annual list of 100 Sexiest Men in Soap. Check out True Blood’s new addition below and see if you agree with the publication’s sexy assessment.

check out Robert shirtless after the jump

Perhaps playing shapeshifter Luna on True Blood has inspired Janina Gavankar on her new career path. Taking a cue from her character, the 31-year-old is shifting from actress to recording artist. Gavankar recently debuted her music video for “Waiting For Godot” and it’s breathtaking.

Her transition to music isn’t all that shocking given her background. In addition to majoring in Theatre Performance at the University of Illinois at Chicago, she trained as a pianist, vocalist, and orchestral percussionist. This half-Indian and half-Dutch stunner was also part of a girl group named Endera, who were once signed to Cash Money/Universal Records. I’m sure this isn’t what her former record label had in mind with regards to musical direction when she was part of the group.

“Waiting For Godot” is based on Samuel Beckett’s iconic 20th century play in which two characters, Vladimir and Estragon, wait for the arrival of someone named, wait for it… Godot. Given the inspiration for the track, the music video makes complete sense. That said, if want to delve more into the clip’s meaning, I highly suggest researching Beckett’s play. For me, I’m just wowed by the beautiful imagery in the Caitlin Pashalek-directed vid. Gavankar is gorgeous in every shot, playing two different personas. Watching it, I got a whole Ellie Goulding meets Bjork vibe. Check it out below.

watch the music video after the jump

For 17 years, GLAAD has tracked the number of LGBT characters appearing on television, both on broadcast networks and cable. Based on their newest report, the television landscape is the gayest ever, featuring the most gay characters in TV history. The number of scripted LGBT series regulars found on the big five networks is 31 while mainstream cable is up to 35 for the upcoming season. GLAAD counted 19 and 26 additional recurring characters on broadcast and cable respectively. The organization might have to think of another acronym than GLAAD as I’m sure they’re beyond ecstatic with these results. Especially, given last year’s report which showed a declined in LGBT representation on the tube.

“This year’s increase of LGBT characters on television reflects a cultural change in the way gay and lesbian people are seen in our society,” says GLAAD President Herndon Graddick. “More and more Americans have come to accept their LGBT family members, friends, coworkers, and peers, and as audiences tune into their favorite programs, they expect to see the same diversity of people they encounter in their daily lives.”

Last year FOX was the leader amongst broadcast networks, but this year ABC has supplanted them with shows like Happy Endings, Modern Family and Grey’s Anatomy leading the way. Over on cable, Showtime is now the new king, or should I say queen. With series regular characters on Shameless and Weeds, they’ve dethroned previous victor, HBO. That said, HBO shouldn’t fret too much, they still have the most inclusive television show on cable with six gay, lesbian and bisexual characters on True Blood.

Read the rest of this entry »