Backstrom - Ancient, Chinese, Secret

The murder of a psychic in Chinatown forces Backstrom (Rainn Wilson) to question several other psychics in the area including a young man who offers fortunes to each member of the team that reveal secrets and possible futures for each of them. In terms of ongoing storylines the big takeaway from "Ancient, Chinese, Secret" is the reveal of the burgeoning romantic relationship between Niedermayer (Kristoffer Polaha) and Nadia (Beatrice Rosen), which seems to come out of nowhere, as well as some foreshadowing about Nadia's past which will likely be further explored over the remainder of the season.

Avengers Black Widow & Captain America by Clef's Atelier & Han Jones

The Blacklist - The Deer Hunter

The latest extra-creepy member of The Blacklist Reddington (James Spader) sends Lizzie (Megan Boone) and the FBI after is serial killer well known for the style in which the victims' bodies are left (hung upside down, gutted, and with a bite taken out of their liver). Reddington offers a single insight that their killer is actually a woman (Amanda Plummer) allowing for a new branch of investigation and discovery of just how the Deer Hunter chooses her victims.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten #12

Romance is in the air as relationships are at the center of the latest issue of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Ten as Super-Andrew's new found powers allows him to help Buffy, Spike, and the Scoobies fight a sorcerer known as the Sculptor who creates armies out of dead flesh. As promised the magic potion Andrew took allows him to finally become his best self, which actually doesn't have anything to do with his new powers which leave him as quickly as they appeared once the young man admits a not-so-well-kept secret to himself and his friends.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. trailer

We now have our first trailer for the upcoming film based on the 60s spy TV-series of the same name. Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer star as American and Russian agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin thrown together to work for U.N.C.L.E. on a mission to stop an international criminal organization (known as T.H.R.U.S.H. in the original series) from destroying the world. Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Grant, and Simona Caparrini also star. The movie opens in theaters on August 15th.

Forever - Memories of Murder

Molly Dawes (Hilarie Burton) returns as a visiting college lecturer in the latest episode of Forever which involves the murder of one of her students (Auden Thornton) who had gotten involved in a detailed 70s roleplay (complete with time-period furnished apartment and clothing) with a man (Cotter Smith) still mourning the loss of his wife years later. Despite leading Jo (Alana De La Garza) to the suspect and getting him to confess to the crime, Henry (Ioan Gruffudd) becomes less and less sure of the man's guilt. Enlisting the help of Molly he recreates the crime scene (in the episode's best scene) hoping to find a clue to what really happened to the young woman.

LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League

A LEGO Justice League movie? Okay, you've got my attention. The only real negative to LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs. Bizarro League is its length. Clocking in around 45-minutes it's a stretch to say you're getting your moneys worth with this new LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes "movie." That doesn't mean there isn't an awful lot of fun to be had for fans of LEGO and DC Comics.

The plot takes place after the events of Batman Be-Leaguered (also included here as a nice extra) as a distrustful Batman (Troy Baker) has joined the Justice League which now faces a new threat with the return of Bizarro (Nolan North) who creates Bizarro duplicates of the other members of the Justice League to help him save the lifeless odd square-shaped planet which Darkseid (Tony Todd) has taken an interest in because of the powerful crystals Superman (North) has convinced Bizarro are helpless citizens he needs to protect.

Kingsman: The Secret Service

Kingsman: The Secret Service isn't the first time director Matthew Vaughn has signed on to bring a Mark Millar comic to the big screen. Like Kick-Ass, Kingsman: The Secret Service centers on the life of a young punk who enters a world of violence, ridiculous adventures, and even more ridiculous villains. This time, however, the subject of spies rather than comic book heroes is both celebrated and lampooned.

Arrow - Nanda Parbat

Recent revelations and uncovered secrets prove to have consequences which will begin with Thea (Willa Holland) turning Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) over to Nyssa (Katrina Law) and the League of Assassins and lead Oliver (Stephen Amell) and Diggle (David Ramsey) to Nanda Parbat and face-to-face with Ra's al Ghul (Matt Nable) who, rather than torture the archer (as he's done with Merlyn), makes Ollie an offer he may not be able to refuse.

Atlantis - Season Two Part One

Available on both Blu-ray and DVD, the two-disc set collects the first-half of Atlantis' Second Season continuing the heroic misadventures of Jason (Jack Donnelly), Pythagoras (Robert Emms), and Hercules (Mark Addy) featuring the two-part season premiere of Ariadne (Aiysha Hart) assuming the throne, the introduction of a dangerous new suitor to the Queen in the conniving Prince Telemon (Clive Standen), and the Queen's party attacked on the road by Pasiphae's (Sarah Parish) forces and forced to take shelter in a tomb where the dead rise in the season finale which will turn Medea (Amy Manson) from possible friend of Jason to mortal enemy heading into the season's remaining seven episodes.

The two disc set includes all six episodes of the season which have aired (the remaining seven may or may not air as the show has not been renewed for a Third Season) but does not include any extra features.

Person of Interest - Blunt

"Blunt" gives Reese (Jim Caviezel) and Finch (Michael Emerson) a new number in a college con woman who, based on what we've seen here, is likely to be the show's latest recurring character. In Harper (Annie Ilonzeh) the show introduces another character who lives in shades of gray and could easily become ally or enemy of Finch and Reese as we see her hedge her bets and expertly play both sides when Reese attempts to free the woman and her patsy from their dealings with Dominic (Winston Duke) and the Brotherhood.

Marvel's Agent Carter - Valediction

Agent Carter's season finale showcases the strengths and weaknesses of the show's First Season. Despite offering Peggy (Hayley Atwell) some actual field work and acknowledgement from her comrades in the SSR, the season ends with yet another reminder of the times and circumstances Peggy finds herself stuck in suggesting little will change should the show return for a Second Season. The final scene involving Peggy and Angie's (Lyndsy Fonseca) future living arrangements (the exact arrangements Peggy turned down in the Pilot) suggests we may see more of Fonseca should the show return but I'm not sure that's enough to bring me back for another go around.

Pretty Little Liars - Bloody Hell

As the Liars visit Alison (Sasha Pieterse) in jail for the first time since her arrest for Mona's (Janel Parrish) murder, now finally understanding that their friend isn't A, their unknown enemy begins targeting the girls and their families once again. Spencer (Troian Bellisario), who is pushed into an Oxford interview by her mother, discovers A's influence stretches all the way to London where a bloody mess destroys her college interview and leaves the most level-headed Liar in a state of panic.

Scorpion - Going South

Walter's (Elyes Gabel) zealous nature to promote Scorpion leads the team into another dangerous situation when they accept a job from a billionaire tech mogul to find his daughter Zoe (Mia Serafino) who was kidnapped in Mexico by a drug cartel. Finding themselves stranded miles from town south of the border without the ransom money, which was taken from them by a different band of local criminals, the team has six hours to retrieve the stolen ransom money or find the kidnappers before their time runs out.

Castle - The Wrong Stuff

Richard Castle (Nathan Fillion) goes to Mars (or at least to Mars One). The latest episode of Castle gives us a locked room mystery with a Castle twist when one of the astronauts in a simulated Mars mission turns up dead. Getting the chance to enter the simulation to investigate, a giddy Castle follows Beckett (Stana Katic) into the man-created Martian landscape in search of a killer.

Traveling with Shay

Shay Mitchell takes us along on her latest travels to Bali. You can find photos and more videos inside.

Star Wars Rebels - Rebel Resolve

Despite Hera's (Vanessa Marshall) orders to lay low, Ezra (Taylor Gray) easily talks Sabine (Tiya Sircar), Chopper, and Zeb (Steven Blum) into rescuing Kanan (Freddie Prinze Jr.) who is being held, and tortured, by Grand Moff Tarkin (Stephen Stanton) and the Inquisitor (Jason Isaacs). Not knowing where to start, Ezra is forced to reveal his secret to Vizago (Keith Szarabajka) and agree to I.O.U. likely to bite the young padawan in the ass in the near future (if he lives long enough).

Batgirl #39

The "who is Batgirl" storyline seemingly wrapped up a couple months ago continues in Batgirl #39. The quick revamp of the character with spiffy new costume and younger feel got me interesting in Barbara Gordon once again but my interest is already beginning to wane. Although they finally make-up at the end of the issue, Batgirl #39 continues Black Canary's role as pretty much the worst friend ever as she completely abandons Babs once again in her time of need as my opinion of the New 52 version of Dinah Lance continues to sour with little relief in sight.

Hawaii Five-0 - Nanahu

There are three stories of interest in the latest episode of Hawaii Five-0 which includes the return of a recurring character and two new guest-stars. In the case of the week Five-0 works with ATF Agent Kathy Millford (Melina Kanakaredes) who has come to the island to track down a serial arsonist and murderer now setting fires in Hawaii to watch young couples burn alive. Despite lying to Five-0 about being there in an official capacity, McGarrett (Alex O'Loughlin) and his team accept the assistance of Millford whose knowledge of the arsonist proves invaluable (and also puts her in danger when the man targets a hotel for his next arson).

John Wick

John Wick is the type of old school throwback that makes me think of the early action flicks of Steven Seagal and Arnold Schwarzenegger. With a threadbare plot and the loose message of be careful who you fuck with, Keanu Reeves stars in the title role as a legendary killer brought out of retirement by the son (Alfie Allen) of a local gangster who, only days after the passing of Wick's wife, kills the man's dog and steals his vintage sports car. Needless to say the punk didn't realize who he was messing with.

A typical revenge story, John Wick gives Reeves the opportunity to kill many, many people (including an impressive number of victims shot in the head). The film is populated with amusing small roles such as Willem Dafoe and Adrianne Palicki as other hitmen and Ian McShane as the proprietor of a hotel who caters specifically to those in Wick's line of business, but what you're really paying for is the nonstop action and high body count. And that the film delivers.

Black Canary by Callie Cosplay

Scandal - No More Blood

The Fourth Season's opening arc centering on the abduction of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington) to pressure President Grant (Tony Goldwyn) to sending troops into harms way and the sale of Olivia to the highest bidder ends with "No More Blood." Although I'm sure their will be plenty of fallout from her traumatic experience (as evidenced in the short interview Olivia makes towards the end of the episode after her rescue) the episode ends with our heroine back in Washington, D.C. and the unexpected return (albeit brief) of one of her former gladiators (Henry Ian Cusick).

Once Bitten / Love at First Bite

Sometimes studio released dual-packs are an odd mixture of movies thrown together. That's not the case with Scream Factory's new Double Feature of insane vampire parodies from the late 70s and mid-80s. Once Bitten stars a young Jim Carrey as a sweet high school virgin seduced by a mysterious older woman (Lauren Hutton) who just happens to be a vampire in need of his blood to continue her immortality. Mark's increasingly odd behavior doesn't going unnoticed by his equally chaste high school girlfriend (Karen Kopins) who, in true sex comedy fashion, will discover the perfect solution to saving Mark's soul.

Love at First Bite is arguably even more ridiculous starring the world's tannest man George Hamilton as Count Dracula who attempts to fit into New York City while stalking a fashion model (Susan Saint James) he belives to be the reincarnation of his great love and being perused by a descendant of the world's greatest vampire hunter (Dick Shawn).

Elementary - When Your Number's Up

Watson's (Lucy Liu) return to the brownstone isn't without a few issues as Joan can't help but notice Sherlock Holmes' (Jonny Lee Miller) oddly considerate behavior to make his partner feel more at home all the while protecting her against what he fears may be a rash reaction to Andrew's murder. As the pair stumble along their reunion under a single roof the detectives are brought into the case of multiple murders all tying back to those who would have received compensation from a pending wrongful death case and whose killer (Alicia Witt) has left a sum of money they believe each victim's life is worth.

Backstrom - Bogeyman

The case of a missing teenage girl hits home with Backstrom (Rainn Wilson) as the Lieutenant is the first to connect to an unsolved kidnapping and presumed homicide that nearly destroyed his sanity and his career seven years ago. The similarities in the two missing girls in both appearance and interest in goth culture leads Backstrom to claim the unit has only three days to find the missing girl before her death.

Big Birdman

What happens when Sesame Street parodies Birdman? Awesomeness! Featuring Big Bird's Caroll Spinney.

The Blacklist - The Kenyon Family

The latest target of The Blacklist Red Reddington (James Spader) sends Lizzie (Megan Boone) and the FBI isn't a single person but an entire cult whose anti-government leanings and polygomus practices haven't gone unnoticed by the FBI. Red isn't so interested in the charismatic leader Justin Kenyon, who claims to be a god, but the secret stashes of munitions and other secrets buried over the militia's hundreds of acres for select clientele, none of whom have heard from Kenyon in days.

Saturday with Emma

The Mentalist - White Orchids

After seven seasons and 151 episodes The Mentalist comes to an end. Since the death of Red John and the shuffling of the show's core cast and basic set-up midway through the show's Sixth Season The Mentalist has had its ups and downs. The show ends on a positive note with the wedding of Patrick Jane (Simon Baker) and Teresa Lisbon (Robin Tunney) and the close of the storyline involving the show's latest (and least interesting) serial killer Joe Keller (Aubrey Deeker).

Stalker - Fun and Games

With no stalker of the week, "Fun and Games" centers completely on the series' ongoing B-story as Ray (Eion Bailey) begins his attack on Beth (Maggie Q) and her friends which includes a physical attack on Amanda (Elisabeth Röhm), the kidnapping of Tracy (Tara Summers), and the brutal end of Ray's short partnership with Perry (Erik Stocklin). His game also includes taunting Beth which leads her superiors to pull her from the case installing guest-star Mira Sorvino as the temporary head the unit until Ray has been stopped.

McFarland, USA

Miracle. The Rookie. Cool Runnings. Remember the Titans. Walt Disney Films has a talent finding true stories and adapting them into surprisingly moving films. Hell, even Eight Below was better than it had any right to be. Sure sometimes the efforts limp to the finish line (remember Secretariat?), but more often than not the tales of struggle, perseverance, and overcoming great odds turn out to be solid family films. Based on the true story of troubled sports coach Jim White who took a job in the only place that would hire him, Kevin Costner stars as a man struggling with not being able to better support his family who, despite their initial distrust of the predominantly Mexican-American town, eventually come to think of McFarland, California as home.

The story follows a basic pattern as White and his family (Maria Bello, Morgan Saylor, Elsie Fisher) come to embrace the town made up of mostly fruit pickers including a group of young kids (Carlos Pratts, Johnny Ortiz, Ramiro Rodriguez, Rafael Martinez, Hector Duran, Sergio Avelar, Michael Aguero) who White will turn into a cross country team.

Pretty Little Liars - Pretty Isn't the Point

As a desperate Hanna (Ashley Benson) reaches out to both a pageant coach (Jackie Debatin) and Emily (Shay Mitchell) to help prepare her for what's ahead, Aria (Lucy Hale) enlists the help of Andrew (Brandon W. Jones) to spy on Mike (Cody Allen Christian) whose erratic behavior has made the Liars believe he is now working for A. While not doing any favors to any of the Liars' romantic lives, "Pretty Isn't the Point" reveals Mike's true motivations as well as what Mona (Janel Parrish) was up to at the time of her death (and why it took so long for Mike to begin grieving the loss of his girlfriend).

Arrow - The Return

In an episode that flips the format of the show's First Season Oliver (Stephen Amell) returns to the island in the present along with Thea (Willa Holland) while we see lengthy flashbacks to Ollie working in Starling City for Amanda Waller (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) during his missing years. The island storyline allows for the return of Deathstroke (Manu Bennett), who was freed from the A.R.G.U.S. cell by Malcolm Merlyn (John Barrowman) to teach Ollie and Thea a lesson, and another secret falling by the wayside as Thea learns just what a bastard her biological father truly is.

The 7th Sword #7

The seven-issue mini-series from writer John Raffo and artist Nur "Popia" Iman comes to a close in The 7th Sword #7 as the reluctant samurai Daniel Cray, after recovering his lost Malathane sword in the desert, chooses to return and fight alongside the small army of ZenZion against the vast array of mutants and mechs under the command of the vicious warlord Kavanaugh.

Marvel's Agent Carter - SNAFU

With next week being the season finale and last week seeing Peggy (Hayley Atwell) discovered and arrested by her own colleagues "SNAFU" is the episode everything has been leading up to... with, as we come to expect, mixed results. Peggy's guilt or innocence is eventually sussed out through a convoluted hour where Dr. Ivchenko (Ralph Brown) lays his hands on the Stark invention Leviathan is so enamored with and the SSR team suffers another loss. Once again Peggy's colleagues blindly stub their toes for most of the episode believing her to be a traitor in league with Howard Stark (Dominic Cooper) which actually seems far more plausible than her list of actions over the course of the previous six episodes.

Person of Interest - Q&A

While Reese (Jim Caviezel) works to help a programmer (Bella Dayne) who has taken up illegal martial arts fights on the side to deal with her sister's debilitating disease, "Q&A" picks up the thread of former number Claire Mahoney (Quinn Shephard), who was introduced earlier this season in "Nautilus" as Finch (Michael Emerson) is contacted by the woman he failed to save from Samaritan's influence.

The Flash - Fallout

"Fallout" serves two purposes as the latest episode of The Flash wraps up the Firestorm storyline by decoupling Ronnie Raymond (Robbie Amell) and Martin Stein (Victor Garber) and removing any doubt to the identity of the Flash's (Grant Gustin) arch-villain as Barry learns a troubling truth that he will travel back in time to save his mother... and fail.

Dark Supergirl by Jessica Tigra

Darth Vader #1

The first of Marvel's new single-character driven titles, Darth Vader #1 opens with Darth Vader returning to Tatooine for an audience with Jabba the Hutt in which the Dark Lord of the Sith brutally teaches the gangster the difference between a Jedi and a Sith in a way that leaves several dead and the Hutt agreeing to whatever Vader wants. The setting is meant to conjure images from Luke's appearance in the same throne room from Return of the Jedi but given this scene takes place decades later in real time and years before in Star Wars chronology it feels a bit odd.

Castle - Reckoning

In the conclusion to last week's episode featuring the return of Jerry Tyson (Michael Mosley and Dr. Kelly Nieman (Annie Wersching) the precinct goes into panic mode as they discover the two lunatic killers have kidnapped Beckett (Stana Katic) while providing themselves a perfect alibi surrounded by police. Forced to play Tyson's game, which includes a staged murder of someone made to look like Beckett, Castle (Nathan Fillion) throws all caution to the wind attacking the man the NYPD can't positively identify as 3XK and later putting his life on the line by knowingly playing right into Tyson's hands.

The Musketeers - The Return

After months of ignoring the needs of his serfs Athos (Tom Burke) is kidnapped and returned to his estate of Pinot where a starving populace beg their lord to fight for them against his greedy neighbor Renard (Miles Anderson) who plans to wipe out the town and give the land to his son. Neither their pleas nor an attack on his life by Renard is enough to sway Athos into action, but the arrival of Aramis (Santiago Cabrera), Porthos (Howard Charles), Treville (Hugo Speer), and D'Artagnan (Luke Pasqualino), and an encounter with an old friend (Marianne Oldham), eventually rally the Musketeer into doing his duty.

Hawaii Five-0 - E 'Imi pono

As Valentine's Day draws near Danny (Scott Caan) frets over Grace's (Teilor Grubbs) new crush in school, Jerry (Jorge Garcia) makes a move on the new Assistant Medical Examiner (Amanda Setton), and Five-0 begins investigating the murders of a battlefield reporter and former Congolese national who knew each other from the reporter's previous work in the Congo.

Elementary - The Female of the Species

With Kitty (Ophelia Lovibond) out of the country and Watson (Lucy Liu) mourning the murder of Andrew she knows, but cannot prove, was ordered by Elana March (Gina Gershon) from the prison cell where Watson put her, Sherlock Holmes (Jonny Lee Miller) elicits the help of Marcus Bell (Jon Michael Hill) for his latest case involving the theft of a pair of pregnant zebras from the local zoo. Their investigation will lead to the discovery of an extinct quagga bred from one of the zebras which would catch quite a price on the black market.

Fury

Fury is an intense in-your-face war movie set in the final year of WWII with the Allies slowly moving forward through Nazi Germany against a retreating German army. There are certainly more watchable or memorable war movies, but writer/director David Ayer's attempt to highlight the crew of one specific Sherman tank produces a solid drama that doesn't shy away from the cost of war.

The film has several uncomfortable scenes including Sgt. Collier's (Brad Pitt) brutal attempt to turn his new tank driver (Logan Lerman) into a killer by forcing the private to shoot an unarmed Nazi and the crew (Pitt, Lerman, Shia LaBeouf, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal) sitting down to dinner with a German woman (Anamaria Marinca) and her teenage daughter (Alicia von Rittberg) after liberating their town. As Ayer will repeatedly remind us over the course of the movie, these men aren't Hollywood heroes; they're soldiers who perform heroic actions when called upon but also leave great and terrible destruction in their wake.

Secret Six #2

The second issue of the new Secret Six continues with the entrapment of six strangers while also offering us flashbacks to Catman's previous incarceration to help explain the super-villain's dislike of confined spaces such as a coffin-shaped tomb in the bottom of the ocean.

Allegiance - Pilot / Teamwork

The first two episode of NBC's new spy series Allegiance set-up the post-Cold War intrigue, characters, and main conflict of the series. Gavin Stenhouse stars as CIA Analyst Alex O'Connor whose unusual personality and vast knowledge are quickly raising him up the ranks of the agency. Called in to investigate the story of a potential SVR defector (Sofiya Akilova), Alex quickly discovers the truth of the woman's claims that a former SVR/KGB agent was killed in the United States to hide the details of a massive operation the group has planned in the very near future.

Backstrom - I Am a Bird Now

After suffering panic attack that bought him a momentary reprieve from the Civilian Oversight Panel, Backstrom (Rainn Wilson) immediately classifies the murder of a drag queen as a hate crime allowing him to avoid giving testimony until the case is officially concluded. Given its coincidence Amy (Sarah Chalke) questions the validity of what appeared to be Backstrom having a heart attack in the middle of his testimony, but with the set-up the show has done over its first few episodes we know about the tenuous health of its leading character (whether or not he acknowledges it or not).

All-New X-Men #36

The time-displaced X-Men's adventure in the Marvel Ultimate Universe comes to a close as the two teams work together to take down their version of Doctor Doom. This also (rather coincidentally) leads to the return of the young mutant who has been jumping through realities unable to find her way home (at least until she gets the right kind of help).

The Blacklist - Ruslan Denisov

Despite Lizzie's (Megan Boone) distrust of Reddington (James Spader) in the aftermath of her experiences with Luther Braxton (Ron Perlman) the pair are thrown back together to deal with the latest number of The Blacklist (Faran Tahir) who has kidnapped an undercover CIA agent in Russia and is holding him for ransom. Meanwhile the investigation into the death of the harbormaster killed during Lizzie's illegal confinement of Tom Keen (Ryan Eggold) takes another turn which may lead to the end of Lizzie's career.

Stalker - Salvation

The Threat Assessment Unit gets an unusual case brought to them by a young woman being stalked and threatened by a group. At first the evidence seems to point to Isabelle's (Sara Paxton) ex-boyfriend given one of the stalker's attempts to urge her to reconciling with her former lover. The more Beth (Maggie Q) and Jack (Dylan McDermott) investigate, however, the more it begins to appear that the stalkers have an entirely different motive.

Velvet #9

Velvet #9 introduces us to Damian Lake, the former head of Intel Division who may have been set-up in a similar manner to Velvet before spending a forced extended stay in a psychiatric prison. Or he may me a master manipulator, gifted liar, and completely insane. Or, what's worse for our heroine, he may very well indeed be both. The question is will Velvet discover what is true before the man gets her killed?

Taylor Swift - Style

Here's Taylor Swift with the official video for "Style," her third single from her 2014 album 1989.

Arrow - Canaries

No more secrets. Finding a way to work through major plot points naturally over the course of a single episode "Canaries" continues a shift in the show as Oliver (Stephen Amell) must face the fact that the war on crime in Starling City isn't only his any more. It takes a fight with Laurel (Katie Cassidy), an argument with Roy (Colton Haynes), and some sound advice by Diggle (David Ramsey) to force the green-hooded hero to realize the city and team he's returned to isn't the same one he left.

Fifty Shades of Grey

Well, at least the foreplay was mildly entertaining. The attempt by director Sam Taylor-Johnson and screenwriter Kelly Marcel to adapt E.L. James' novel of the same name feels every inch a Hollywood adaptation of a trashy romance novel.