Alcatraz is a brand new series that first aired on January 16 on Fox. When Rebecca Madsen (Sara Jones) is assigned to a homicide case, she is in for the shock of her life.  Years after Alcatraz, a famous island prison located in the San Francisco Bay shut down, one of the inmates that disappeared suddenly comes back in the present. Rebecca wants to know the answers into why has he come back, but government agent Emerson Hauser (Sam Neil) tries to stop her from finding out the truth.

With the help of Dr. Diego Soto (Jorge Garcia), Rebecca explores the history of Alcatraz, government cover-ups, and her own family history only to discover that there are other inmates that are beginning to reappear, and they all want revenge. Rebecca soon realizes that Hauser has been waiting for the inmates to reappear for the last fifty years as she tries to keep the country safe from the criminals of the past.

The series is executive produced by J.J Abrams, who produced the new Star Trek movie. Alcatraz has been voted by journalists as one of the most exiting series in 2012. New episodes air on Wednesday at 9:00.

   After months of waiting, it’s finally here. On January 3, Bloodrose, the final book in the bestselling Nightshade trilogy by Andrea Creamer was released.

   This time Calla Tor is in for the fight of her life and must face many hardships. Her brother is branded a traitor, and she must save her ex-fiancé Ren from the witches, known as Keepers, even if it means facing her boyfriend’s anger. It’s a race against time for Calla and the remaining members of her werewolf pack.

   With the help of the Searchers, they must find the remaining pieces of the Elemental Cross in order to get rid of the Keepers’ evil magic once and for all.

   As the final book in the series, Bloodrose marks the end of a war that has been going on for centuries. Some will live, some will die , and finally, Calla  will choose  her mate. The rivalry between alpha Ren and human Shay at last comes to an end.

   Like the first two books, Bloodrose kept me reading, and seeing how much Calla has changed from the first book was a delight. She has gone from being a loyal servant oppressed by the cruelty of the Keepers, to being an independent young woman who follows her heart. Filled with fierce battles and more secrets, Bloodrose keeps its readers turning the pages.

   Rift, a prequel to the trilogy is coming out in August of this year.

By Alexandria Ceballos

   Fallen is the first book in the four part series by the New York Times bestselling author Lauren Kate. Seventeen year old Luce Price is forced to transfer to the reform school Sword and Cross after the death of her boyfriend. There, she meets Daniel, a mysterious boy who attracts Luce’s attention. And feels as if Luce knows him. But he tries to make things clear that he doesn’t want anything to do with her. But that only makes her want him even more.  And there is Cam, another student who seems that he has taken an interest in her, but she knows that there is something dark and sinister about him.  Haunted by the mysterious shadows as a child, Luce wants to know what the connection that she has with Daniel.

But the more she finds out the truth about him, Luce realizes that there is more to him and his friends than she knows. And it’s not pretty. For there is an epic battle between good and evil that has left both Daniel and Luce to find and lose each other throughout many lifetimes.

I have some mix feelings about Fallen. Throughout half of the book, it’s just them doing mundane things. And towards the end, we learned that Daniel and his strange group of friends are fallen angels (spoiler alert). But in the next two books, I learn that there is more to the epic love between the two main characters. I heard that there is a movie being talked about and that the Walt Disney Company had bought the rights for the film. Torment is the second book in the Fallen series.

My Soul to Take is the first book in the Soul Screamer series by Rachel Vincent.  It focuses on Kaylee, a girl who screams when someone is about to die. More recently, Kaylee has attracted the attention of Nash Hudson, the hottest guy in school, and gradually, she’s realizing that he knows more about her need to scream than she initially thought.

  When classmates begin to drop dead for no reason, Kaylee fears that someone she knows might be next. Meanwhile, she grows closer to Nash and realizes that she isn’t human. Instead, Kaylee is a bean-sidhe (banshee) and Nash is one as well. Suddenly, the world she thought she knew is turned upside-down into something both unique and sinister. She learns of a parallel world that is inhabited by demons and other supernatural folk who make bargains with humans in exchange for their souls. It isn’t long before she begins to connect this Netherworld with her school’s mysterious deaths.

 My Soul to Take is now among my favorite books. It kept me reading until the very end. Instead of vampires or werewolves, it introduces readers to whole new crop of otherworldly creatures.

Clockwork Angel is the first book in the Infernal Devices, a prequel to the bestselling series The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Claire. The time and place is in London England, during the reign of Queen Victoria. It focuses of sixteen year old Tessa Grey, who comes in search of her brother Nate. Once there, Tessa is abducted by the Dark Sisters, who are members of a mysterious organization called the Pandemonium Club.

Tessa learns that she herself is not human and has a rare ability to change into someone else. And that the head of the Pandemonium club, the Magister wants Tessa’s powers for his own. Hunted and alone, Tessa seeks refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. There she feels drawn to two very beautiful boys: Will, dark haired, blue eyed, very arrogant; Jem, fragile and hiding a deadly secret.

Desperate to find her brother, Tessa agrees to use her powers to help the Shadowhunters in their quest to learn the source of the corruption that has been going on in London’s underworld, a plot that threatens to destroy everything.

Clockwork Angel was the best prequel and steampunk book that I ever read.  A few characters from the first three books in the Mortal Instruments series are recognizable. Filled with Victorian elegance, and the dark side of London, Clockwork Angel is one of the best books that I ever read. I recommend it to those who love historical fantasy. Be sure to look out for Clockwork Prince, the second book in the Infernal Devices trilogy that comes out very soon.

   Wolfsbane is the thrilling sequel to the bestselling book Nightshade by Andrea Creamer. The book takes place after the events of Nightshade. After saving Shay from the hands of the Keepers, Calla finds herself in the layer of her former master’s enemies.

Desperate to save her pack and Ren, the guy she left at the altar when she made the choice to save Shay. Calla has no choice but to form an alliance with them. There, we learn the truth about who Shay is and who his parents are and how he fits into Calla’s hidden world. We also learn about the origins of the Keepers and learn that they are not who they claim to be. And that Calla learns the truth about her real history.

   Once she returns to Vail, she realizes that a lot has changed since she fled with Shay.  Calla learns that her brother and members of her pack have been imprisoned and many of the Guardian’s have sworn allegiance to only one new pack. She is consumed with dark feelings that she had betrayed Ren when she chooses to leave with Shay. By joining the Searchers, Calla would do anything to save both her pack and Ren from the cruelty of the Keeper’s and rid the world of their magic once and for all.

   Creamer has done it again as Wolfsbane took my breath away. Filled with fierce battles and betrayal, this thrilling sequel kept me reading to the very end. We are introduced to the Searchers and the history of the beautiful and cruel world that Calla has lived in her whole life. Be sure to look for Bloodrose, the third and final book in the trilogy that comes out January 24, 2012.

Nightshade is the first book in a international bestselling series by Andrea Creamer. The book takes place in Vail, Colorado and focuses on Calla Tor, a girl who can change into a wolf. Born to be a warrior, Calla always believed that it was her destiny to be the mate of fellow alpha Ren and that their union would mark the beginning of a new pack.

But things began to change when fate interferes. Calla secretly disobeys her masters (who are powerful witches) by saving the life of a human boy. Calla realizes that the boy holds the key to the secrets of her world and she begins to question her own destiny.

Nightshade is a thrilling read. It introduces a whole new world of fantasy where people can change into wolves at will but must also serve a group of cruel witches.  Nightshade has more to offer than the traditional werewolf novel.  Creamer brings in both magic and early modern history as she creates a love triangle between the three main characters. I highly recommend this book and suggest keeping an eye out for its sequel Wolfsbane .

   Grimm is a new series that aired on October 28 on NBC.

   It focuses on detective Nick Burkhart (David Giuntoli), who discovers that he is a descendant from a long line of hunters that fight the supernatural forces known as Grimm’s. Set in present day Portland, Oregon, the series puts a spin on the classic fairy tales we all know and love. Nick quickly learns that it’s his responsibility to protect humanity from the supernatural creatures that have infiltrated the world, all while keeping it a secret from his fiancée Juliette (Bistie Tulloch) and fellow detective Hank (Russell Hornsby).

   With the help of Eddie Monroe (Silas Weir Mitchell), a reformed Grimm, Nick must navigate both the supernatural and the real world to keep humanity safe.

   The series is filmed on location in and out of Portland. David Greenwalt, who was the co-executive producer for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, wrote the pilot, and The Lost Angeles Times has compared Grimm to Once Upon A Time, another fairy tale themed series.  

New episodes air on Friday at 8: pm.

   Aired on October 23, Once Upon A Time is ABC’s newest TV series.

   Twenty-eight-year-old Emma Swan (Jenifer Morrison) is shocked when her son Henry (Jared S. Gilmore), the child she gave up for adoption long ago, comes back into her life, begging for help. He claims that she is the lost daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. However, Emma does not believe him and decides to take him back home to the creepy town of Storybrooke, Maine. During the drive, Henry shows her his book of fairy tales, claiming that all of them are true and that the characters are real. In fact, he says, everyone in Storybrooke is a fairy tale character!

   According to Henry, they are under a spell cast by the Evil Queen (Lana Parilla) and have no memory of who they really are. In Storybrooke, time is frozen and none of the residents are able to leave. To top it all off, Emma is apparently the only one who can break the spell.

   Still unconvinced, Emma takes Henry back to his adopted mother, who is also the Evil Queen. Henry runs away again, and curious to see if Henry’s claims are true, Emma decides to stay in Storybrooke temporarily. This causes the clock to move again, a sign that there is hope. The spell that has befallen the residents of Storybrooke may be broken yet!

   Once Upon A Time is ABC’s biggest debut series in five years. The show’s writers, Adam Horowitz and Edward Kitis, also wrote for Lost and allusions to their previous work are being made. For example, Emma’s eye-opening after she wakes up is very Lost-esque, and the clock being stuck at 8:15 is no coincidence as that’s the same number as Lost’s doomed airline flight. New episodes will air every Sunday at 7:00 pm; be sure to check them out.

The show centers on the Harmon family, which is made up of psychiatrist Ben (Dylan McDerrmott), housewife Vivian (Connie Britton), and their daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga). After Vivian’s miscarriage and Ben’s extramarital affair, the family decides to move from Boston to Los Angeles. They move into a restored mansion and have no clue that the house is haunted. They soon learn that the previous owners of the mansion were murdered. As the three settle into their new home, Ben and Vivian try to fix their marriage and Violet suffers from depression.

They soon meet their neighbor Constance and her mentally challenged daughter Adelaine, both of which are hinted to have a connection to the house’s past. Ben starts to see his psychiatric patients in the house, including Tate, who seems to have an interest in Violet. The more they stay in the house, the more the Harmon family realizes that they have entered into a nightmare.

The show comes on Wednesday night at 9pm.