Mundie Moms

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Book Review: Dark Souls

Published by: Point
To Be Released on: August 1st, 2011
Source: book to review from publisher
4 Stars- I really enjoyed it!

Welcome to York, England.

Mist lingers in the streets.

Narrow buildings cast long shadows.

This is the most haunted city in the world. . . .

Miranda Tennant arrives in York with a terrible, tragic secret. She is eager to lose herself amid the quaint cobblestones, hoping she won’t run into the countless ghosts who supposedly roam the city. . . .

Then she meets Nick, an intense, dark-eyed boy who knows all of York’s hidden places and histories. Miranda wonders if Nick is falling for her, but she is distracted by another boy — one even more handsome and mysterious than Nick. He lives in the house across from Miranda and seems desperate to send her some sort of message. Could this boy be one of York’s haunted souls?

Soon, Miranda realizes that something dangerous — and deadly — is being planned. And she may have to face the darkest part of herself in order to unravel the mystery — and find redemption.

A haunting ghost story, an intriguing mystery, and a rich historical setting mixed with a mild romance create the perfect elements for an engaging read. I thoroughly enjoyed Dark Souls. I love the way Paul Morris was able to blend tragedy, paranormal activity and center the story in historical York, England. Her descriptions of York and historical references really captivated me. As much as I would love to travel there and walk among the cobblestone streets, Paul's vivid descriptions made me feel like I walked along the streets with the story's main character Miranda Tennant.

After a recent tragedy, Miranda's parents decide they're taking her and her older brother Rob to York, England for a family vacation/work get away. Hoping they can try and put some closure of the accident behind them, Rob & Miranda's time in England brings a whole new set of interesting events. Miranda's still reeling with her new found gift, or maybe it's a curse, she can see ghosts. Unfortunately for her York, England's rich history is the perfect place for many of it's ghosts to reside. The most engaging part of the story for me was the way Paula introduced York's history, which was through Miranda's interest in and learning more about some important places. She does this to try and understand why she's seeing so many ghosts and why they're appearing, looking the way they do. One of the interesting things about Dark Souls's ghosts is they bare the marks of how they died.

Wrapped into this unique ghost story is a great mystery. There's the ghost a young guy who appears in the window across from Miranda's and the mysterious Nick, the story's love interest, who knows a lot about York's history and it's ghosts. Nick has some secrets of his own and he seems to have the ability to appear out of now where. Then there's some strange incidents happening around town, which tie into York's tragic past. I liked the minor twists and turns Paula threw into the story's plot that kept me guessing.

I enjoyed the characters in the story, but my connection was with the setting. I really like Paula's writing, because her vivid descriptions of both the story's scenes and setting give her book a realistic feel. It's not hard for me to picture myself there, seeing the cobblestone streets, the buildings and the various places Miranda goes to. I liked the feel of the story, the direction it took and the elements Paula gave it. I really enjoyed Dark Souls and I recommend picking it up. It's a great clean cut book that I think readers 13 yrs & older would enjoy.

Saturday, July 30, 2011

In My Mailbox #83

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren and is a post for bloggers to share what books they've received to review, bought, borrowed or were gifted.

All highlighted review links go to the books' link on Amazon & the bought links go to the place where the book was purchased.

For Review:

* Betrayed by Edna Walters, published by Firetrail, released on July 14th, 2011
* Circle of Fire by Michelle Zink, published by Little Brown, to be released on August 3rd, 2011
* Memory's Wake by Selina Fenech, published by Fairies & Fantasy, released on July 3rd, 2011, received two signed copies, one of which we'll be giving away
* Dreams of Significant Girls by Cristina Garcia, published by Simon & Schuster, released on July 12th, 2011
* Isle of Night: The Watchers by Veronica Wolff, published by NAL, to be released on September 6th, 2011

Bought:

* Undercurrent by Tricia Rayburn
* Sirensong by Jenna Black (it FINALLY arrived)
* Love Story by Jennifer Echols
* Circle of Fire by Michelle Zink, I'll be giving this extra copy away

Gifted:

* Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough, thank you S!


For Review *not pictured:
- Lady Bug Girl at the Beach by Jacky Davis, published by Dial, released on May 18th, 2010
- Lady Bug Girl and the Bug Squad by Jacky Davis, published by Dial, released on March 22nd, 2011
- Whooo Loves You? by Sandra Magsamen, published by Little Brown, to be released on August 3rd, 2011
- Love You Back! by Umesh Shukla, self published, released June 28th, 2011
- Goddess Girls, Aphrodite The Diva by Joan Holub & Suzanne Williams, published by Aladdin, to be released on August 9th, 2011
- The Odd Job Squad by Karl Fields, self published, released on June 14th, 2011
- My Beastly Book of Hilarilus Heros & The Beastly Book of Twisted Tales by Vincent Boudgourd, published by Owlkids Books, to be released on August 2nd, 2011

Bought: *not pictured*
- Wiener Wolf by Jeff Crosby
- Seekers, Smoke Mountain by Erin Hunter

Thank you to Ednah Walters, Little Brown, Simon & Schuster, Dial, Sophie, Selina Fenech, Veronica Wolff, Karl Fields, Suzanne Williams and Vincent Boudgourd. What goodies did you receive this week?

Giveaway Winners!

CONGRATULATIONS to our recent giveaway winners:

#147- Michele Luker

#46- Delana Campbell

#285- Angela Sanders

#9- Tiffany Dall
#131- Amy Cokenour

#18- Sera Rivers

Congratulations to all of our winners. Each winner has been notified via email and has 48 hrs to reply or new winners will be drawn.

We still have some fabulous giveaways going on, which are listed in our right hand side bar.

Book Review: Shift


Written by: Jeri Smith-Ready
Published by: Simon Pulse
Release Date: May 3, 2011
Source: Purchased
4 stars - I really enjoyed it!
Synopsis: Aura's life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can't deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she's not sure that she wants to.

Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift.

As Aura's search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets…and her heart.

In Shift, we find out more about the origins of The Shift and Aura’s and Zachary’s roles in it. Jeri’s well established world-building skills are showcased in the how she weaves her ghostly mythology in and out of key points in their lives. As a reader, I delighted in turning a page only to discover a key element that made everything before it make even more sense.

And Jeri brings us not only a Love Triangle but a Love Square (of sorts). Without bringing in any spoilers, Aura’s decisions on prom dates set into a place a very believable, sometimes humorous and very heart- aching chain of events. This subplot made me happy and sad, at the same time. I understood the reasons behind Aura’s decisions but oh man, did they frustrate me. I kept thinking about my 16-year-old self and I think even she would find these decisions frustrating. But hey, that’s exactly what makes for a good read. My disagreements with Aura created enough of a conflict inside me that I had to finish the book as quickly as possible only to find out what-the-heck-happens-next.

Let me take a moment to talk about the fictional hotness of Zachary. Okay, yes, he wears a kilt to prom but that’s not what made him swoon-worthy to me (let’s not kid ourselves that part helped). It’s his poor decisions and recovery from them that made him a romantic hero. Aren’t those boys the best? They make awful mistakes but stay true to themselves. Yes, yes, I can hear the collective sighs of Mundie Moms everywhere.

If you love a ghostly world where one solved mystery only leads to another and a Hot Boy in a Kilt (okay, you knew I’d mention it again) who is frustrating, right and yet oh-so-very-very-wrong, then be sure to pick up the Shade series.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Blog Tour: Epic Fail Guest Post & Giveaway

We're the next stop in The Teen Scene's Epic Fail Blog Tour. We're excited to have a guest post from author Claire LaZebnik. First here's a little bit about Epic Fail & you can also read our review here.

Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?

At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.

Guest post on what kind of things we’d find if you were to have a garage sale of items from your teenage years. You can assign values to them as well. Minimum of 7 items. Max of 15.

1) A pair of granny-style wire rim glasses, with very thick Coke-bottle lenses. As thick as that pair might have been, my eyes got even worse over time and my future glasses even thicker. Thank god for contacts or I would simply have stopped leaving the house before I even got to high school. $1.00

2) A cute brown teddy bear, well-worn, missing its nose, mouth, and a lot of its stuffing and wearing a home-sewn dress. Should probably have been sold or given away years earlier but I just couldn’t do it. $200.00 (I don’t really want to sell her—yes, her, Susie-Bear—not even now.)

3) A round brush and an enormous and heavy blowdryer (they were all enormous and heavy back then). Laboriously used for carefully curling hair under on the sides and the back and for feathering it in the front. An impossible hairstyle to nail, but we all tried back then. $2.00

4) A box of books, including (among many others) Charlotte Bronte’s JANE EYRE, Jane Austen’s PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Baroness Orczy’s THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL, Margaret Mitchell’s GONE WITH THE WIND, and Elizabeth George Speare’s THE WITCH OF BLACKBIRD POND, all very well worn. 10 cents each, the entire box for $1.00. Did I mention how well worn these books are? Pages are falling out. They’ve been read and reread way too often--some might say obsessively.

5) Another box filled with vinyl record albums, including many musical scores (e.g. THE FANTASTICKS, MAN OF LA MANCHA, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF) and some pop/rock music (e.g. The Beatles; Carole King; Dan Fogelberg; Stevie Wonder). Most have scratches. 50 cents each, the entire box for $5.00.

6) A collection of antique inkwells and pens, plus a half-empty bottle of ink. (I desperately wanted to live in England in the 19th century. Although, given my eyesight--see item #1, above--I would probably have been considered blind back then and kept in the attic). Some of these are moderately valuable: priced as marked.

7) A linoleum cutting set, with linoleum blocks, cutting tools, roller, and ink. An art form I had a brief flirtation with back in my teens. My mother was generous and eager for me to find some hobby, so she got me all the equipment I needed. The only thing I lacked was some artistic talent. The entire set: $10.00.

8) A sofa bed upholstered in off-white tweed. Worn-out, since I slept in it every night for all of high school, having replaced my twin bed with it in an attempt to transform my boring little girl bedroom into a grown-up “library.” Pretentious, moi? Only $50 but you have to find a way to transport it.

9) A Smith-Corona electric typewriter with self-correcting pop-in ribbon cartridges (one in black ink; one white-out). Once the darling of my eye; now made obsolete by the proliferation of home computers. $15. Treat it well. I loved it once.
_________________________________________

Thank you to the Teen Scene for providing the guest post, and questions and to Claire for the fun answers. Be sure to follow the rest of the Epic Fail Blog Tour.

As part of the blog tour we're giving away 1 copy of Epic Fail and one stress ball. To ENTER:
- Please fill out the form below
- US residents only
- You must be 13 yrs & older to enter
- 1 entry per person/ per email
* This giveaway will end on August 5th, 2011


Book Review: Always A Witch

Written by: Carolyn MacCullough
Publisher: Clarion Books
Published Date: August 1, 2011
Source: netgalley
5 out of 5 stars - This book is a must have. Don't wait, go pick up the series now!

Synopsis: The adventures of Tam and Gabriel continue with more time travel, Talents, spy work, and of course, the evil Knights.

Since the gripping conclusion of Once A Witch, Tamsin Greene has been haunted by her grandmother's prophecy that she will soon be forced to make a crucial decision—one so terrible that it could harm her family forever. When she discovers that her enemy, Alistair Knight, went back in time to Victorian-era New York in order to destroy her family, Tamsin is forced to follow him into the past. Stranded all alone in the nineteenth century, Tamsin soon finds herself disguised as a lady's maid in the terrifying mansion of the evil Knight family, avoiding the watchful eye of the vicious matron, La Spider, and fending off the advances of Liam Knight. As time runs out, both families square off in a thrilling display of magic. And to her horror, Tamsin finally understands the nature of her fateful choice.

Well established weaknesses for me include: time travel, magic, stubborn girls and boys who always, but always do the right thing. Need I go on to add that yes, Carolyn, hit them all.

Let me start by saying that I completely admire Carolyn's ability to plot a two story arc and then gracefully execute it until the very last page when that one thing mentioned in the first book (that was oh so important) comes back full circle. Yes, I'm trying hard to keep this spoiler-free so forgive a true, fan-girly moment here. But this is not just a well written story with characters I want to spend time with in real life (remember the fan-girl warning) but it packs an unexpected action plot line and draws in characters from the first book with new ones from the second in such an elegant way that I couldn’t help finishing the book in a day. I think the only word I had left when I closed the cover was “whoa”. I was in shock at how Carolyn brought all these wonderful, detailed elements from Once A Witch around to the sequel and quietly led me down the path of her plot until piece by piece every single thing made sense to Tamsin and well, to me.

And don’t worry, Mundie Moms, one of my favorite fictional boys ever, Gabriel, is still there. In fact here he is from page 12 when he and Tamsin are tempted to taste some of the sweets her mother is preparing for Rowena’s wedding:
“Mhmm,” I say, licking the icing from the corner of my mouth. “It’s good. Even if it’s probably poisonous. Go on, I dare you.”
            Gabriel narrows his eyes a me, then takes the remainder of the cake from my fingers and eats it in one gulp.
            “Some of it,” my mother answers, inspecting a fork. “And stop hanging on the door,” she admonishes absentmindedly. “It’ll break again and I’m tired of having Chester fix the refrigerator. The last time he fixed it, it sang ‘I’m a Little Teapot’ every time opened it. It drove me insane.”
            Gabriel inhales on a laugh, then begins choking on cake crumbs. Alarmed, my mother whirls aroud. “Which one did you eat?” she cries.
            “The chocolate flower one,” I say, “Will he live?” I help myself to another cake, this one covered in sugar violets. “Is this one okay?” I ask, and then pop it into my mouth.
            My mother closes her eyes briefly, “Yes.”
            “Yes I’ll live or yes the second cake that she just ate is okay? It’s kind of important that you be specific here,” Gabriel says.
This quote also illustrates how much of this book is about family – past and present. They are all around Tamsin. They are part of who she was and is and well, they’re definitely her mystery to solve. I can’t emphasize how much I love them and their fierce loyalty to one another. It reminds me of my own family and I swear we have an Uncle Chester, too.

If you haven’t picked up this series, don’t wait, you’ve got to meet Tamsin, Gabriel, Rowena and yes, even the Knights. A huge thank you to Carolyn for making this Mundie Mom stay up way past her bedtime. It was worth every hour of lost sleep.

I Am Number Four: The Lost Files, Six's Legacy & The Power of Six

From Harper Teen, we wanted to share the exciting news about I Am Number Four, The Lost Files, Six's Legacy ebook and the upcoming release of The Power of Six:


In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorians; nine who scattered on Earth and went into hiding; nine who live among us and look like ordinary teenagers, but who have extraordinary skills. The Mogadorians found and killed Numbers One, Two, and Three. Then they found Number Six. They followed her, they hunted her down—and they caught her.

Taking place before the adventures of the New York Times bestseller I AM NUMBER FOUR, I AM NUMBER FOUR: The Lost Files: Six’s Story is the riveting story of Six’s harrowing capture and eventual escape from the Mogadorians. Perfectly timed to get fans excited for THE POWER OF SIX and custom-made for the those who loved the I AM NUMBER FOUR ebook, I AM NUMBER FOUR: The Lost Files: Six’s Story is a novella-length digital original available exclusively as an ebook.

THE POWER OF SIX, the sequel to the #1 New York Times best selling book, I AM NUMBER FOUR, will be available everywhere on August 23rd. Following a massive battle at the end of I AM NUMBER FOUR that proved the Mogadorians have found him at last, John joined forces with Number Six. Now the fate of Lorien—and Earth— rests in the hands of these two teens.

To get a taste of what's to come, check out the novella-length digital original I AM NUMBER FOUR: The Lost Files: Six’s Story, available NOW exclusively as an ebook. Taking place before the adventures of I AM NUMBER FOUR, the novella is the riveting story of Six’s harrowing capture and eventual escape from the Mogadorians.

Here's a sneak a peek at Six’s story with this exciting excerpt and get ready for the upcoming release of THE POWER OF SIX.


In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorians, who scattered on Earth and went into hiding, who look like ordinary teenagers, but who have extraordinary skills. The Mogadorians killed Number One, Number Two, and Number Three. They tried to kill Number Four, John Smith ...and failed.

Following a massive battle at the end of I AM NUMBER FOUR that proved that the Mogadorians have found him at last, John joined forces with Number Six. Now the fate of Lorien—and Earth— rests in the hands of these two teens.

Already John and Six have inspired a fellow Lorien—Marina, Number Seven—who has been hiding in Spain. She’s been following the news of what’s happening in the US, and she’s certain it’s the sign she’s been waiting for.

THE POWER OF SIX, by Pittacus Lore, is the second installment in the thrilling, action-packed Lorien Legacies series that launched with the #1 New York Times bestseller I AM NUMBER FOUR, and the heart-pounding suspense has never been higher. Now John Smith is joining forces with some of his lost companions as they battle against the alien force bent on eliminating them.

Want more Lorien Legacy excitement before the highly anticipated release of THE POWER OF SIX? Check out the first entry from Sarah's journal and see what she thought of John the first time she met him.

For more insight into Sarah's mind, sign up for Pittacus Lore's AuthorTracker and get entries from her journal sent to you each week leading up to the release of THE POWER OF SIX on August 23rd.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Wolfsbane Blog Tour: Interview with Calla

We're the next stop in our WOLFSBANE blog tour and today we're excited to Calla on the blog.

I love your character in Nightshade and I really admired seeing your inner strength and watching your character change a bit in Wolfsbane. What is one thing you feel you've learned about yourself over the course of events that happen in Wolfsbane?
That every choice you make has a cost. Sometimes I wonder if the choices I made carried too high a price.

There's a lot of fans who have pledged their love for Ren and Shay. What is one thing you admire about both guys?
*shifts uneasily* I really don't like talking about them. I would say that they have a lot more in common then they would ever admit. Ren is a fantastic alpha and I admire him as a leader. Shay is a little bit more of a rogue and I like the way he thinks on his feet.

I was really surprised about the turn of events with the Searchers in Wolfsbane. What has surprised you the most with the Haldis group?
That I don't want to kill them. I even like them.

Now for a few fun questions:

What's your favorite piece of clothing?
I have a hoodie that I've worn so much it has holes in the seams, but it's so soft I love it.

Hair up or hair down?
I would always prefer to have my hair braided. My hair is so long that it gets in the way. I don't want anything to keep me from seeing what might be coming at me.

Make up or no make up?
No make up. If you need a makeover, go talk to Bryn.

It's the weekend and you've got a date (not saying who it's with), do you head outdoors or stay in and watch a movie?
I'd always rather be outdoors. Running in the woods, hunting - that's what makes life good.

In three words or less how would you describe Ren?
Loyal. Smart. Provocative. (I'm also going to add infuriating...sorry, can't help it)

What was your first thought when you saw Shay?
I can't believe I'm going to do this.
_________________________________________


Thank you Calla for joining us today!

To follow the rest of the WOLFSBANE Blog Tour and see what group you're a member of, please go HERE.

Don't forget to enter to WIN a copy of both NIGHTSHADE & WOLFSBANE HERE.

After you read WOLFSBANE, be sure to visit EW's link to read the 1st chapter of BLOODROSE here.

Class of 2K11 Live Author Chat TONIGHT!

I'm so excited that we'll be chatting with the class of 2K11 debs!

Tonight we'll be chatting with authors:
Carrie Harris,
Alissa Grosso,
Amy Dominy,
Angie Smibert,
Carole Estby Dagg,
Christina Mandelski,
Gae Polisner,
Julia Karr,
Kiki Hamilton,
Trinity Faegen


*Our chat will start at 8 pm CST/ 9 pm EST. To join, hit join and enter a screen name.

*We do our best to make sure all comments are published, but not all the questions may be answered in the hour time frame of the chat. Even if your questions and comments are not published, we and our guest can still read them.

* The reason why we moderate our chats is to allow our guest(s) to be able to come on and chat with their fans with out feeling overwhelmed by everyone talking to them at the same time.

*In respect to our guest's time, we will only publish comments that pertain to their current writings, and book.

* We often times have other author guests who join out chats, but we only publish questions pertaining to the author who is chatting with us tonight.

*We will not post any personal questions or comments.

* Any rude, disrespectful, or spam like comments will not be published.

*Thank you and we look forward to chatting with everyone tonight!

**No part of this chat is allowed to be used with out our permission**

Book Review: Touch of Frost (Mythos Academy #1)


Published by: Kensington Publishing
Released on: July 26th, 2011
Source: ARC from author to review
3.5 stars: It Was A Good Read

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died. . .

Touch of Frost is fun read with an intriguing mythology that left me wanting more. I'm a little torn about the book, as there are things I both really liked about it and some things I wanted to know more about. I loved what Jennifer did with her mythology and the way she introduced little bits and pieces of each lore through out the story. She created some great legends about both the Greek & Norse Gods and Goddesses, and tied them into the story via Mythos Academy, a school were the children of Valkyries, Spartan Warriors, Gypsies and more attend to learn about their history and how to control their powers. I liked being able to learn more about the legends at the same time the story's main character Gwen does.

Gwen herself is a character that liked getting to know, but there were times I was a little bit frustrated with her character. I was bugged that being halfway through the story she still didn't catch on to certain things about the school and why she was there, like I had excepted her to. One of the things I did like about Gwen is though she seems to be an outsider, she's not someone who's swayed easily and despite how hard it may be to stand up to the school's Queen Bee and her team of "mean girls", she does. I also liked her wit and the way she handles herself about the resident bad boy and main love interested Logan Quinn. One of the things that kept me hooked with the story was their chemistry. I'm looking forward to finding out what happens between these two in Kiss of Frost.

I liked Jennifer's writing, and I felt the story flowed well. There's a few things I felt that weren't covered as much as I had hoped, but I think those things will be addressed as the series goes on. I liked the murder mystery and how that intertwined with the story's mythology. I found the plot to be both predictable and unpredictable at the same time, and I liked that. While some things were easy to figure out, Jennifer was able to still throw some surprises at me. Though I felt the story read a lot like a teenage soap opera, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series. I'm hooked on the mythology and the chemistry between Gwen and Logan. I'd definitely recommend this book to older YA readers. There is language and sexual references through out the book and a scene with underage drinking.

Don't miss our guest post and giveaway with Jennifer Estep here.

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Happy Birthday Cassie!



HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASSIE!!!
We hope you a Magnus glittered filled, shoe shopping day in Paris!

In honor of your birthday we wanted to thank you for giving us:

* Spaghetti baths
* Holding hands in bed
* Making holy water HOT
* All the glitter of Magnus
* The awkwardness of Alec
* Keeping us up late at night
* Soggy grilled cheese sandwiches
* Making us want to get rune tattoos
* Making MANGOS our favorite fruit
* The moment we fell in love with Jace (see page 214 of COB, when he takes Clary's hair down)
* Girls who know how to handle a whip
* "Closing Our Eyes & Thinking of England"
* A silver haired boy who can play the violin
* Making nerdy boys hot... Simon (not that he's a nerd)
* Making us wish we could use a lethal parasol in carpool lane
* The fabulous one liners, the angst, hot character chemistry and snark
* The Seelie Court Queen who makes our PMS moods seem extremely mild
* The Stamina rune, which we'd love to use in real life for chasing after kids, cleaning the house and of course for staying up late reading TMI and ID.
* Characters we've fallen in love with, worlds we love to visit and moments where we sigh, cry, love and hope things turn out for the best

Love,
Mundie Moms

Book Review: Wildefire



Published by: Simon & Schuster
Released on: July 26th, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars- I Liked It

Every flame begins with a spark.

Ashline Wilde is having a rough sophomore year. She’s struggling to find her place as the only Polynesian girl in school, her boyfriend just cheated on her, and now her runaway sister, Eve, has decided to barge back into her life. When Eve’s violent behavior escalates and she does the unthinkable, Ash transfers to a remote private school nestled in California’s redwoods, hoping to put the tragedy behind her. But her fresh start at Blackwood Academy doesn’t go as planned. Just as Ash is beginning to enjoy the perks of her new school—being captain of the tennis team, a steamy romance with a hot, local park ranger—Ash discovers that a group of gods and goddesses have mysteriously enrolled at Blackwood…and she’s one of them. To make matters worse, Eve has resurfaced to haunt Ash, and she’s got some strange abilities of her own. With a war between the gods looming over campus, Ash must master the new fire smoldering within before she clashes with her sister one more time… And when warm and cold fronts collide, there’s guaranteed to be a storm.

This debut has a little a bit of everything, a stunning cover, a butt kicking protagonist, great characters, romance and a mythology that leaves me wanting more.

I really enjoyed Karsten's writing style. It's one that flows well, it has a poetic feel to it, it's engaging, and appealing. I think both guys and girls will enjoy what Karsten's writing offers. I was impressed with his ability to create such relatable characters despite the fact that some of them are Gods and Goddess. I really enjoyed getting to know each of the characters, all of whom add something different to the story. I liked the way Karsten introduced each of their back stories, and how that flowed into the story. The characters, especially the guys have such a great sense of humor and some fabulous one liners. I'm torn between which guy I like more Colt, the main love interest or Rolfe, one of the guys you'd want to have in your inner circle of friends. To match their wit are some equally snarky, tough female characters that I also enjoyed getting to know, especially the story's main character Ash.

Ash is an enduring character and someone I came to sympathize with. At first she seems rough around the edges, but after learning more about who she really is and what she has to endure with her sister, it wasn't hard for me to like her. She's definitely someone I wouldn't want on my bad side. The strained relationship between Ash and her sister Eve causes a lot of tensions within the story and I'm looking forward to seeing what's going to happen with these two next. Eve is definitely a fiery character and someone who's not to be messed with. She's a violet character and though I had a hard time with some of her scenes, her outbursts end up making a little bit of sense once Karsten introduces what her power is.

I loved the setting! Really I'm a sucker for a book that takes place in a woodsy setting, and not only that, one that takes place on the West Coast. The setting also ties into the characters and their mythology. I loved the diversity and the rich cultural back ground to the power each of the Gods and Goddess's posses. I have a feeling Wildefire has giving me a small glimpse of what's to come as the series progresses. After that killer of a cliff hanger, I'm looking forward to reading the sequel Embers & Echoes....like now. I'd recommend this to older teen readers. There are some violent scenes, a lot of language, some underage drinking, and a mild sensual scene.

Blog Tour: The Near Witch

Today is our second stop in The Teen Scene's The Near Witch blog tour.

Yesterday I shared my spoiler free review of The Near Witch and today we have author Victoria Schwab with us for The Teen Scene's This or That.

Paranormal or historical fiction?
Fairy tales :p Actually, I'm going to stick with that as a legit answer, because I consider a fairy tale to be a merger of the two.

Turn of the century British gentleman or a turn of the century southern gentleman?
BRITISH. GENTLEMAN. GIVE. ME. DARCY.

Secluded beach or exclusive mountain get away?
Mountain. I'm not terribly fond of heat and sun, so beach is never my default. Also beaches have dead things and sharp things and make me nervous. A rainy forest would be ideal.

Punk rock or country music?
Punk rock. Or alternative. It all depends on what I'm doing--running, writing, daydreaming--but the answer is almost never country.

Romantic comedy or action packed movie?
ACTION. I like explosions and fight scenes and bam pow magic weapon win!!!

Cupcakes or chocolate candy?
BOTH. That's like asking me to decide between children. Not that I like children.

Edward or Damon? (sorry had to throw out the hot vampire boys)
Damon. Hands down. *refrains from commenting on Edward's stalker behavior*...in all honesty, though, I'm in love with Damon's character because he adds levity to the angst.

Reading or writing?
Writing. Reading is an escape, but writing is my sanity.

Cold weather or warm weather?
Cold.

Pets or no pets?
PETS. ALL THE PETS. I have been put on a pet ban because I keep showing up with new animals.
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Thank you Victoria for visiting with us today. You can follow all of Victoria's latest happenings by visiting her blog, following her on Twitter.

Waiting on Wednesday- The First Time

Edited by: Jessica Verday & Rhoda Stapleton
Published by: Unknown
To Be Released on: October 2011

*This anthology eBook only release will include 25 short stories written by the 2009 Debs about 1st loves, 1st kisses, 1st zombie slayings & more. The short stories are written by YA authors like Cyn Balog, Teri Hall, Heidi R. Kling, Saundra Mitchell, Jenny Moss, Jackson Pearce, Carrie Ryan, Jon Skovron, Rhonda Stapleton, Jessica Verday and many more.

I love this cover and I'm really looking forward to reading the various short stories from so many different authors. You can find out more about the book by visiting Jessica Verday's site here.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

COLS Scene (Random Cut One)


Cassie just tweeted a random cut scene from CoLS with Magnus & Simon!

“Hey, Daylighter.”
“No offense, but I never really visualized you calling me before.”
“It’s hardly a social call.” There was a noise in the background; a murmur of voices. “Simon, have you —”
“No, I mean I didn’t really think of you as using the phone. More — appearing in a burst of glitter.”

I can not wait to read this book! I love Simon's comment to Magnus about the glitter *Images found here

Bloodrose Chapter 1 Teaser


With the excitement of today's release of Wolfsbane, Penguin has allowed Entertainment Weekly to post the 1st of Bloodrose! I'm going to say DO NOT READ IT UNTIL AFTER YOU READ WOLFSBANE. I'm not even going to post a line from the chapter, because that will make many of you want to go read it before you've read Wolfsbane. This chapter has a few spoilers in it and one heck of a hot scene! Seriously, I think I'm going to end up re-reading this chapter a few more times. Hurry (as in read it tonight) and read Wolfsbane and then go HERE to read Bloodrose's first chapter.

Don't forget about the rest of the Wolfsbane Blog Tour! We still have a lot of awesome stops in store, and a lot more giveaways!

Wolfsbane + Supernaturally + Anna & The French Kiss
















There is an AWESOME Book Release/ Signing Party happening tonight at the Oceanside, CA Barnes & Noble with Andrea Cremer, Kiersten White and Stephane Perkins! If you're in the area, you do not want to miss this. It's happening at 6 pm. This is one of those days I wish tele-porter machines were real so I could teleport myself there. If you're one of the lucky ones who is able to attend, please let us know how it was.

Go HERE to get all the information for tonight's event.

Blog Tour/Book Review/Giveaway: The Near Witch

Published by: Disney Hyperion
To Be Released on: August 2nd, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher/author to review
5 stars: A Beautiful Debut

The Near Witch is only an old story told to frighten children.

If the wind calls at night, you must not listen. The wind is lonely, and always looking for company. And there are no strangers in the town of Near.

These are the truths that Lexi has heard all her life.

But when an actual stranger—a boy who seems to fade like smoke—appears outside her home on the moor at night, she knows that at least one of these sayings is no longer true.

The next night, the children of Near start disappearing from their beds, and the mysterious boy falls under suspicion. Still, he insists on helping Lexi search for them. Something tells her she can trust him.

As the hunt for the children intensifies, so does Lexi’s need to know—about the witch that just might be more than a bedtime story, about the wind that seems to speak through the walls at night, and about the history of this nameless boy.

Take a beautiful love story and mix it together with an engaging fairy tale and you have The Near Witch. I am in love with this debut! Victoria's writing is spellbinding and her story is hypnotic. I could not put this book down. I loved everything about it, from her richly developed characters and setting, to the mystery surrounding the story's lore and everything in between. It's a story that flowed well and really came to life for me.

I adore Lexi. She's an independent, strong, courageous girl who's determination, fierce protective nature of her younger sister really won me over. I could really relate to her and I really admired her character. She's not afraid to defy authority aka her Uncle nor is she afraid to do things or trust in other people who are considered out casts in her village. I loved that she wasn't a helpless girl and even makes a few comments to her Uncle that just because she's not a boy doesn't mean she couldn't do something. Then there's Cole, and the this wonderful mystery that surrounds him. I couldn't get enough of him and I really liked the way Victoria kept hooking me with Cole. Every time a big reveal was going to happen, she'd create another diversion with the villagers causing me to resist the urge to quickly tare through the story to find out more about him. The best way for me to describe Cole is to say he's a well written, quiet hero, and he's definitely on my list of favorite fictional characters. The romance between Lexi and Cole was addicting! I absolutely loved the way their chemistry was developed. It's the type that leaves me sighing, satisfied and wanting more.

Victoria did an amazing job at bringing her beautiful setting and lore to life. I felt her attention to detail made it very easy for me to picture the village, the moor and the outlining forest in my head. I love it when a story's setting easily comes alive for me. I fell in love with the timeless feel of the book. I like that while I tried to pin point a time frame in history this story could fall into, I quickly found there really isn't one, which added to the classic fairy tale feel of it. This is a book that will make you fall in love with it's in-depth, flawed, relatable characters, it's beautiful love story and will leave you wanting more of it's folklore. I highly recommend picking up The Near Witch when it's out. It's a wonderful, clean cut book and I can not wait to read more of Victoria's books.
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To celebrate The Near Witch being our debut book of the month for August, we're giving away 1 ARC! In the coming weeks we'll have an interview with Victoria, live author chat and more giveaways. Thank you to Disney Hyperion & Victoria for today's giveaway.

To enter, please fill out the form below:
* This is open internationally to everyone 13 yrs & older
* 1 entry per person, per email
* This giveaway will end on August 26th, 2011


Thank you to the The Teen Book Scene for asking us to share our review for The Near Witch as part of their blog tour, which you can follow here. Tomorrow we'll have our last stop on their tour with a visit from Victoria.

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