Mundie Moms

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

CWA Celebrations Day 31- RELEASE DAY!!!


Happy Release Day To Clockwork Angel!! I'm sure many of you were up all night reading. Cassandra has a talent from capturing our attentions and keeping locked into her story until the end.


I can't believe this is the last day of our Clockwork Angel celebrations. It has been so much fun sharing teasers, hosting giveaways, sharing our character interviews and so forth. To celebrate the release of Clockwork Angel, we have one last giveaway. Thank you to Hebel Designs, we have the Sight Rune pendant to giveaway! All you have to do is enter your information in the form below to be entered to win.


The winner will be drawn on September 8th, the day we have our chat with Cassandra Clare ( at 8 pm CST here on our blog). Mark your calendars!! We'll be talking about Clockwork Angel!! Spoilers maybe discussed!!


Go and enjoy reading Clockwork Angel! We can't wait to hear what you think about it. Be sure to come and share your thoughts with us on our forum-

Cassie's going on tour!!! We've listed a few of Cassie's up coming stops. Be sure to visit the link below to see the rest of her stops.

August 31: PRINCETON, NJ
Tuesday, August 31st
7:00PM
Barnes & Noble
3535 US Route 1
Princeton, NJ 08540

September 1st: EXTON, PA
5:00PM
Borders
298 Exton Square Mall
Exton, PA 19341


September 2nd: CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
7:00PM
Anderson’s Book Shop
123 W. Jefferson
Naperville, IL 60540


September 3rd: ST LOUIS, MO.

7:00PM
ST. LOUIS COUNTY LIBRARY
1640 S. Lindbergh Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63131
*Books sold by Puddnhead Books

September 5th: ATLANTA, GA
Decatur Book Festival Presentation & Signing
Day/Time: Sunday, 1:15pm
Stage: Decatur Presbyterian Sanctuary Stage
http://www.decaturbookfestival.com/2010/authors/detail.php?id=3
*Books sold by Little Shop of Books

Please be sure to visit her site for more details about her signing. She does say how many books she'll be signing and what the rules will be for each location. Every book store has their own guidelines for signing night, so be sure to check out what the requirements are for stop you're going to.http://cassandraclare.livejournal.com/42397.html


Don't miss this great interview w/ Cassie

Book Review- Halo

By Alexandra Adornetto
Published by Feiwel and Friends
Releases- August 31st, 2010 TODAY
Source- the publisher
3 stars- it's a good read

Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. They work hard to conceal their true identity and, most of all, their wings. But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls in love with the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods. Will she defy the laws of Heaven by loving him? Things come to a head when the angels realize they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. There′s a new kid in town and he′s charming, seductive and deadly. Worst of all, he′s after Beth. (taken from Goodreads)

I was thrilled to have the chance to read Halo, as it has been on my list of highly anticipated reads for 2010. Halo is the story about three angels sent to earth, to the tiny town of Venus Cove to bring more good to it. Sent with strict rules not to have close human relationships, everyone but Bethany follows this rule. Tempted by the immediate connection she feels to one human, Xavier, Bethany can't help but want to get closer to him.

Bethany has her protective big brother Gabriel, and her more reasonable sister Ivy to help her in their assignment, and it won't be easy. Bethany is immediately drawn to the ways of the human world. She has an immediate attraction to Xavier and quickly makes friends with a group of stereotypical high school girls. The girls are constantly talking about boys, clothes and the upcoming prom. Being an Angel, Bethany is pure and innocent which is both a character strength and weakness. Bethany's greatest weakness is being sent to earth so naive, which really bugged me. I'm drawn to stronger female characters and Bethany wasn't that for me. Being sent on an assignment, I had excepted her to be a little more educated with the ways of the world. Luckily Bethany has a great support group with Gabriel, Ivy and Xavier.

I liked how sweet Xavier and Bethany's relationship is, but I was caught off guard with how intense her feelings for Xavier were. From the moment she meets him, he consumes her every thought and she always wants to be with him. Not saying people can't have an immediate connection with someone, but their intensity took me by surprise. My biggest complaint is when Bethany wants to give up everything she is to sleep with Xavier. Not only did I feel that didn't fit with the story, but I felt didn't fit with a character who's an angel. I loved Xavier's character even more when he said no and told her why.

While Xavier isn't the main character, he quickly became my favorite character. He was the most in-depth character in the story. He comes from a close knit family, is the school captain, and the hot boy every girl at the school wants to date. Since a terrible accident, he hasn't given much thought to the girls at his school, until Bethany enrolls. With Bethany being so naive, I like how protective Xavier is of her. Even Xavier will have a challenge protecting Bethany against the hot new British bad boy, Jake Thorn. Where there's good, there's evil. Jake definitely provides the evil in Halo.

Halo's sweet love story and good vs evil battle make for a quick, fun read. I'm looking forward to finding out more to Bethany's story in Hades, when it's released next year. Congratulations to 17 year old Alexandra Adornetto, as Halo is her first US debut.

You can find out more about Alexandra's books and her upcoming Book Tour here http://tinyurl.com/372z8lr
I'm looking forward to meeting Alexandra at the Austin Teen Book Festival, Oct 2nd.

Twitter Tuesday - Carrie Ryan and Ally Carter

We're thrilled to see Carrie Ryan's cover of The Dark and Hollow places. Here's what she said on her blog:
I am IN LOVE with this cover! LOVE LOVE LOVE! I love the model, I love the dirt and grime, I love where she is, I love the expression on her face, I love everything. It fits the story sooo well and I just feel like the luckiest author in the entire world.

And because both KatieB and I picked up Heist Society this past week, I couldn't resist sharing this tweet from Ally Carter:


What fun songs...are you humming "Walk Like An Egyptian" now?? I know, I am!

Happy Twitter Tuesday, Mundie Moms. Now go on, get your Clockwork Angel copy and read, read, read!!!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Clockwork Angel Celebration & Take Me There Blog Tour Winners

I want to thank everyone for taking part in our month long Clockwork Angel Celebrations! It has been so much fun sending goodies to all over the world. The response for our celebrations was bigger than I imagined it would be. THANK YOU!

Here's our latest list of giveaway winners: (all winners have been contacted)

Clockwork Angel Day 3 Celebrations-Write a Clockwork Angel Blurb
#25-Chelsie Sunde
She wins a copy of Clockwork Angel. She wrote:
"Will, don't!"
"What?" He said with menace. "You think your little clockwork angel will save you?" The pendant dangled from his fingers, and the gears ticked louder, as if in distress.

From Will's Interview/Giveaway:
#25 -Andrea Rose- winner of the Clockwork Angel Book
#114- Malak Kudaimi- winner of our CWA poster

Freebie Friday (CWA swag):
#82- Kelsey Arnold

Take Me There Blog Tour Giveaway:
#11- lag123

Congratulations to all of our winners!

Please don't forget we still have our Mockingjay Blog Tour Giveaway going on (it ends tomorrow), our Crescendo ARC giveaway and a few other giveaways going on. Tomorrow we'll have 1 last Clockwork Angel Celebrations Giveaway. You don't want to miss it!

Book Review- Clockwork Angel

By Cassandra Clare
Published by Simon and Schuster
To Be Released on August 31st, 2010 TOMORROW
Source- the publisher
5 Stars- An absolutely brilliant book!

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa.

As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all. (taken from the cover of the ARC)

I have read some amazing series, by some wonderful authors. Most of the time I find that I love one or two of their books, and only a couple of their characters. Then there's Cassandra Clare, who introduces me to a whole new world in her Mortal Instruments Series. She has a whole cast of unique characters that keep me engrossed in the storyline. Now there's Clockwork Angel.

Cassandra Clare is brilliant! Not only did Cassie captivate me with her Victorian Era setting (in London) and transport me into a darker world for the Shadow Hunters, but she swept me away with her characters. How can I pick one or two to love, when even the supporting characters are amazing. Before I get into characters and setting, let me just say that you do not need to read The Mortal Instruments series prior to reading Clockwork Angel. Cassie has a talent for introducing a new world for those who haven't read The Mortal Instrument Series. For those who have, you'll find yourself engrossed with an even darker, more dangerous Shadowhunter world.

Set in Victorian Era London, Cassandra opens up a whole new world of danger, action, romance and my favorite, the history of the Shadowhunters and the Institute. I felt like Cassandra had taken me back in time, and I loved her vivid description of 1800's London. Clockwork Angel's setting and the mannerisms from the time are rich in detail, that I felt I was apart of it.

Getting to know Jace and Alec's ancestors was fascinating. I enjoyed seeing some family similarities. Will and Jem will definitely win over the hearts of Cassandra's fans. Where Will is snarky and more complex, with many layers to his character we've yet to know, Jem is the more sensible one. Even he has an air of mystery around him. As much as I love the Jace and Alec scenes in TMI, Will and Jem have won me over. I adored Magnus! I'm looking forward to seeing more of him as the series continues. With a cast of Shadowhunters I adore, there are also some amazing supporting characters whom I fell in love with. I know everyone is anxious to met Will and Jem, but some of my favorite characters are the women in Clockwork Angel. Where Will and Jem provide snark, action and of course charm to the book, the women are tough and stand their ground in a man's world.

Having had a sheltered life, Tessa Gray comes to London to find her brother. She's thrust into a dark world she never thought existed. In finding out more about herself, the ties she has to this world might lead her to the clues she needs in her brother's disappearance. Tessa isn't someone who will sit back and wait for answers, or be told what to do. She's a searcher for truth and knowledge and handles herself and Will quite well. Believe me, Will doesn't seem like the type that many people can handle, except Jem.

Charlotte Branwell runs the Institute, and has taken in Jem, Will and Jessamine. Parentless and with no where else to turn, the Institute is now their home. Charlotte is someone who stands her ground, and she's regarded as a women doing a man's job. I love that she doesn't back down, even under pressure from the Lightwoods, to give up her running of the Institute. Jessamine Lovelace, is such a pain in the hiney sometimes. She lives a life she hates, but what I like about her, is that she knows what she wants and she's not afraid to speak her mind. A character who I think is over looked, is Sophie, a maid in the Institute. She's had a rough life, but she too, is a strong female character. She's someone who I think we'll be seeing more of. I think there's more to her character than we get to know about in Clockwork Angel.

With all the characters Cassandra introduces, never once was I lost. Each character has their own story to tell, and with the ending of Clockwork Angel, I found myself flipping through the extra blank pages just to make sure there wasn't more of the story. Written in true Cassandra Clare fashion, things aren't always what they seem. Filled with twists and turns, and characters who's layers we've just began to unravel, Clockwork Angel will quickly become a fan favorite.

Be sure to pick up your copy TOMORROW!

This Week's Releases














TOMORROW our most anticipated book of the year is released- Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare. Along with Clockwork Angel's release is Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, The Haunted by Jessica Verday and Halo by Alexandra Adornetto.

Tomorrow is only the beginning of an amazing upcoming month for YA book releases. September is full of much anticipated releases like Torment by Lauren Kate, Firelight by Sophie Jordan, Spy Glass by Maria V Snyder, Crusade by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie, Low Red Moon by Ivy Devlin, Grace by Elizabeth Scott and Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers, and more.

If you haven't already, be sure to check out these soon to be releases!

CWA Celebrations Day 30- Mundane Monday #48


TOMORROW is the day! While we are all anxiously awaiting the release of Clockwork Angel, we thought we'd make your Monday a little more appealing with an excerpt from Clockwork Angel.

... "Under Covenant Law, the Clave is responsible for parentless Shadowhunter children under the age of eighteen."

"So you are one another's family."

"If you must romanticize it, I suppose we are-all brothers and sisters under the Institute's roof. You as well, Miss Gray, however temporarily."

"In that case," Tessa said, feeling hot blood rise to her face, "I think I would prefer it if you called me by my Christian name, as you do with Miss Lovelace."

Will looked at her, slow and hard, and then smiled. His blue eyes lit when he smiled. "Then you must do the same for me," he said. "Tessa."

She had never thought about her name much before, but when he said it, it was as if she were hearing it for the first time-the hard T, the caress of the double S, the way it seemed to end on a breath. Her own breath was very short when she said, softly, "Will."

"Yes?" Amusement glittered in his eyes.

-Clockwork Angel (ARC), page 92

ALA Teen's Choice Awards

The American Library Association has recently posted the novels up for the 2010's Teen's Top Ten Choice Awards.

There are some amazing books on the list: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare, Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpartrick and more.

















Voting is open NOW!! Be sure to cast your vote before September 17th, 2010, when voting ends. The winners will be announced during "Teen Read Week", October 17th-23rd via a webcast on www.ala.org/teenstopten


Thank you Lauren from this information!!

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Congratulate Cassie & Josh



We are so excited for Cassie & Josh's upcoming wedding. To share in this excitement, we wanted to give her a card full of best wishes and congratulations from Mundie Moms.
We'll be giving Cassie everyone's best wishes along with a Mundie Moms gift when we see her September 13th & 14th.

Please join in the celebration and leave your short comment in the form below. We'll stop taking comments on September 10th, so that we have time to get everything together for Cassie.

We've also included this button on our sidebar so you can spread the word and link back to this post. We're looking forward to sharing with Cassie all of your best wishes and congratulations!


CWA Celebrations Day 29- Character Interview, Henry

With permission from Cassie, this week we're introducing you to the characters of Clockwork Angel. Each character description and artwork (by Val) posted, is quoted from and will be linked back to Cassie's Infernal Devices site.

Henry reminds me a lot of the absent minded professor. He's brilliant in his own way and has invented many Shadowhunter weapons. Some have worked, and some have failed. I think failure is what drives Henry to keep inventing. It's not hard to see why Charlotte worries about her husband.

Henry: Absent-minded and brilliant, Henry spends his waking hours in the crypt of the Institute, inventing fabulous machines and weapons out of cogs cams and gears. Unfortunately just as many of Henry's inventions don't work as the ones that do, and Henry is as likely to set himself on fire as he is to invent something new and amazing. When Tessa finds herself followed by a silent band of assasins who turn out to be automata—human beings made from clockwork parts—it is Henry who must decipher how they work in order to find the demonic mechanical genius at the heart of the most evil plan London's supernatural world has ever seen.

Book Review- Max Cassidy, Escape from Shadow Island

By Paul Adam
Published by Harper Collins Childrens Books
Released on March 1st, 2010
Source- The Publisher
4 Stars- I really liked it.

Max Cassidy can escape from anything.

Only fourteen years old, Max is the world's foremost escape artist. Chaines, handcuffed, lockined in a airtight water tank, there's nothing he can't get himself out of. He learned the art from his father- a man who just two years ago was murdered, and Max's mother went to jail for the crime.

Now a mysterious man has shown up backstage after one of Max's shows, telling Max that only is his mother innocent, but his father is still alive. He can provide only one clue: a slip of paper with eight digits written on it. It is this clue that will lead Max from his home in London to the exotic and deadly Central American country of Santo Domino and the impenetrable fortress on the sinister Isla de Sombra.

Max Cassidy can escape from anything-but given the chance to finally know the truth about what has torn his family apart, escape from Shadow Island is the last thing on his mind. (taken from the books cover).

Max Cassidy is a great murder, mystery read, as 14 yr old Max is out to prove that his Mum didn't kill his father, a world famous escape artist who was killed two years ago Santo Domingo. Now Max has followed in his father's shoes and can escape from most anything, even the unescapable Shadow Island.

In his quest to prove his Mum's innocence, Max travels from England to Santo Domingo to find answers. Max soon learns that finding his answers will be anything but easy, as those who know what happened to his father were either murdered or won't talk about it. Max isn't one to give up easily and as one event after another unfolds, Max realizes he's in a much more sinister game than he realized.

In a country where those with money and powerful ties control everything, even his Mum's fate, Max doesn't stand a chance. Max won't give up, even when he's in over his head. Knowing that his Mum is innocent and his father isn't dead, Max will stop at nothing to find out what happened.

This is a great read that I think both teens and tweens will enjoy. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next, as Max Cassidy ends on a good cliff hanger. You can find more out about Max Cassidy and read an excerpt here http://tinyurl.com/23gqv7y

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by The Story Siren and was inspired by Alea of Pop CultureJunkie! With this post, we share the books we've received this past week for review, borrowed from friends or the library, received as a gift and/or bought.
We've posted our what we've received for Mundie Kids (our Children's Book Review Site) here http://mundiekids.blogspot.com/


For Review:
* Kiss Me Deadly-13 Tales of Paranormal Love, Edited by Trisha Telep (shortstories written by Becca Fitzpatrick, Diana Petrfreund, Karen Mahoney, Maggie Stiefvater, Michelle Zink, Rachel Vincent, Sarah Rees Brennan and more), received from and published by Running Press Kids, Released on August 3rd, 2010
* Elixir by Hilary Duff, received from and published by Simon & Schuster, to be released on October 12th, 2010
* Crusade by Nancy Holder & Debbie Viguie, received from Simon & Schuster (published copy), published by Simon Pulse, to be released on September 7th, 2010
* Time Riders by Alex Scarrow, received from and published by Bloomsbury Teens, to be released on August 31st, 2010

Bought
:
* Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis (Signed from book signing) I've also got some signed swag we'll be giving away later this week from the signing!!
* Heist Society by Ally Carter
* Devil's Kiss by Sarwart Chadda
* Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Thank you to Simon and Schuster, Bloomsbury Teens and Running Press Kids for this weeks wonderful reads. What goodies did you receive this week?

Saturday, August 28, 2010

CWA Celebrations Day 28- Character Interview, Jessamine

With permission from Cassie, this week we're introducing you to the characters of Clockwork Angel. Each character description and artwork (by Val) posted, is quoted from and will be linked back to Cassie's Infernal Devices site.

I like Jessamine. She takes what Isabel is in the TMI and takes it up a notch. She's a character who wants nothing to do with the Shadowhunter world, and yet finds herself right in the middle of it, whether she wants to be there or not.


Jessamine: Jessamine's parents, like Will's were Shadowhunters who left the Clave. Their deaths in a fire orphaned her, leaving her to be brought up in the Institute by Charlotte and Henry. Jessamine hates everything about being a Shadowhunter, from the training to the danger to the existence of demons, which she seems "smelly and disgusting." Armed with a razor-edged parasol and an equally sharp tongue, Jessamine can be dangerous if she wants to be—to herself as much as to the supernatural creatures she's sometimes forced to encounter. (quoted from http://tinyurl.com/2bru9vo)

Book Review- Life, Liberty and Pursuit


Published by Omnific Publishing
Released on June 22, 2010
Source: From the Publisher
3 Stars- It was a good read.

Synopsis(from Omnific) When college-bound Eliza falls into a cruise-ship pool, she doesn’t expect to fall in love. And when navy recruit David pulls her from the water, he finds her surprisingly hard to resist. But a whirlwind of rescues, candlelit nights, and beachside misunderstandings pulls them into a four-day love affair that threatens to break their hearts before their love has a chance to start.

When David leaves for endless drills and physical training in boot camp, and Eliza returns to Albuquerque to prepare for Princeton in the fall, they dare to keep loving each other and struggle to imagine a future when they can be together. But when miles and mistrust pull them apart, they are forced to choose between keeping true to their dreams and having the courage to love.

If you love sweet romance novels this is the book for you. Life, Liberty, and Pursuit is filled with romance that gave me a huge grin on my face at times and had me swooning over it. Susan Kaye Quinn has written a great novel about a long distance relationship that seems like it would be impossibly hard to continue.

From the beginning there's a lot of stuff going on in the story. We meet the two main characters Eliza and David on the cruise ship. After David rescues Eliza from almost drowning they start getting to know one another and the times that they are together definitely make you swoon and sigh. Unfortunately for the couple their lives seem to be going in two completely opposite directions. After leaving the cruise ship, missing each other and realizing they can't stop thinking about one another they start building their relationship by writing letters and talking on the phone. There is a long part in the middle of the book that focuses on Eliza's life in Albuquerque and David's life in Navy boot camp while they're trying to keep their relationship growing. It actually seemed at one point like it was dragging a little but it's definitely worth it because we see the characters develop and mature. The story is told from David and Eliza's point of view so we get to connect with each character and get a sense of their feelings and confusion about figuring out the right decision to make for their future.

I thought this was a very enjoyable read that seemed real with likable characters and something I could definitely see happening to a young couple. In my opinion the romance didn't seem overly done or cheesy, and after you get to the middle of the story it doesn't feel as rushed as in the beginning. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone that wants to get lost in a good love story.

Giveaway Winners


Thank you to everyone who entered two of our Clockwork Angel Giveaways (which ended last night). We'll reveal the winner of our CWA blurb contest on Tuesday, the day CWA is released!

The winners of our Infernal Devices Giveaway for Day 13 are:

#106- Laura Gordon, you've won a copy of Clockwork Angel
#104- Julie Marcinik, you've won a Clockwork Angel poster and journal

CONGRATULATIONS!

We still have a couple more CWA giveaways going on. You still have a chance to win our last giveaway for a copy of Clockwork Angel. Only 2 more days!!!

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