Mundie Moms

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Weekly Feature & In My Mailbox #68

FINALLY it's the week of CoFA's release!!!!!!!! YAY!! We are so excited for Tuesday! Along with sharing our review for CoFA (after we read it), we will also be sharing our interview with Cassie and Holly Black, and hosting some wonderful giveaways, thank you to Simon and Schuster.

Don't forget, our Ed Westwick SIGNED TMI audiobook MP3 set giveaway ends TONIGHT!! Please be sure to go and enter here.

If you're in the Houston area, be sure to stop by the Teen Book Con on Saturday! I'll be there with a few other fellow bloggers and a whole group of amazing authors will be at the con! Authors like Ellen Hopkins, Stephanie Perkins, Andrea Creamer, Saundra Mitchell, Rachel Hawkins, Joy Preble, Lauren Myracle, Lindsey Leavitt, Deb Caletti, Elizabeth Scott and more. You can find out more information to this FREE event here.

This week's upcoming reviews-
* Entwined by Heather Dixon ( I pushed my review back from last week to this week)
* Red Glove by Holly Black
* City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare
* The Emerald Atlas by John Stephens (I pushed my review back from last week to this week)
* Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler

In My Mailbox- (In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren where we share what books we've received through out the week either for review, that we purchased, borrowed or were gifted.

For Review-
* Blood Solstice, part III in the Lunarmorte series by Samantha Young, published by Samantha Young, to be released on April 15th, 2011.
* Kane Richards Must Die by Shanice Williams, published by Lands Atlantic, to be released on May 12th, 2011.
*The Lipstick Laws by Amy Holder, published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, to be released on April 4th, 2011
* Blood Red Road by Moira Young, published by Simon and Schuster, to be released on June 7th, 2011
* The Noble Ones by Daniel Patrick Tinsley, published by Pill Hill Press, to be released on May 2011
* Breath of Angel by Karyn Henley, published by Water Brook Press, to be released on June 21st, 2011
* Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson, published by Source Books, to be released on May 1st, 2011
* Don't Stop Now by Julie Halpern, published by Feiwell and Friends, to be released on June 7th, 2011
* Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep, published by Kensington Publishing Corporation, to be released on July 26th, 2011

Middle Grade for Review (Mundie Kids)
* Shark Wars by EJ Altbacker, published by Razorbill, to be released on June 28th, 2011
* Juniper Berry by M.P. Kozlowsky, published by Walden Pond Press, to be released on April 26th, 2011
* The Billionaire's Curse by Richard Newsome, published by Walden Pond Press, released on July 1st, 2010
* The Emerald Casket by Richard Newscome, published by Walden Pond Press, to be released on May 17th, 2011
* Jacob Wonderbar and the Cosmic Space Kapow by Nathan Bransford, published by Dial Books, to be released on May 12th, 2011

Bought-
* Fablehaven, Keys to the Demon Prison (Book #5) by Brandon Mull, signed
* Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, signed (for giveaway)
* Elixir by Hilary Duff, signed

Thank you to Samantha Young, SImon and Schuster, Penguin, Walden Pond Press, Lands Atlantic, Amy Holder, Daniel Tinsley, Jennifer Estep, Source Books, Feiwell and Friends, and Water Brook Press for this week's awesome reads.

What goodies did you receive this week?

Cassie on EW.Com

In case you missed it, yesterday EW's ShelfLife revealed the trailer for City of Fallen Angels!! You can go here to watch it. Today they have a behind the scenes look at the City of Fallen Angels audiobook here.

Don't miss your chance to enter to win the City of Fallen Angels audiobook sets from Simon and Schuster at their site here.

Today is our last day to enter to win an Ed Westwick SIGNED TMI MP3 audiobook set here

Next week we'll have more chances to win SIGNED goodies, along with City of Fallen Angels audiobook sets.

Book Review/ Blog Tour- Fury of the Phoenix

By Cindy Pon
Published by Greenwillow Books
Released on March 29th, 2011
Source- ARC for review via publisher for The Teen Scene Blog Tours
4 Stars- I Enjoyed It

The Gods have abandoned Ai Ling.

Her mysterious power haunts her day and night, and she leaves home—with just the moon as her guide—overwhelmed by her memories and visions and an unbearable sense of dread. For Ai Ling knows that Chen Yong is vulnerable to corrupt enchantments from the under-world. How can she do nothing when she has the skill and power to fight at his side? A dream has told her where he is, the name of the ship he is traveling on, his destination. So she steals off and stows away on board.

The ocean voyage brings with it brutal danger, haunting revelations, and new friendships, but also the premonition of a very real and terrifying threat. Zhong Ye—the powerful sorcerer whom Ai Ling believed she had vanquished in the Palace of Fragrant Dreams—is trapped in Hell, neither alive nor dead. Can he reach from beyond the grave to reunite with Silver Phoenix and destroy Chen Yong? And destroy whatever chance Ai Ling has at happiness, at love?

In this sequel to the acclaimed novel Silver Phoenix, four lives are woven together and four destinies become one, now and forever (quoted from Goodreads).

Fury of the Phoenix is a surprising sequel with it's rich lore, wonderful romance and mild action scenes. Cindy Pon's sequel was far from predictable and one I enjoyed as nothing that happened was what I expected, and I loved that.

I also loved the way in which Cindy ties the lore and the characters from the two books together. Fury of the Phoenix has the perfect ending for the series, though I'll miss reading more about Chen Yong and Ai Ling. These two characters have more of a heated chemistry this time and I loved it! Ai Ling joins Chen Yong on his quest to find his father, and it's not just their story that's fascinating, but the parallel story of two other characters from the first book. Both stories are about the character journey which allowed Cindy to really take advantage of her series rich lore, something I found to be really intriguing. I was pleasantly surprised at how she ties the two journeys together in the end. That's saying something with out giving away any spoilers.

The setting really sets the tone for the story as it takes place on the sea and on the land. The descriptions of the ship and the landscape are vivid enough that it wasn't hard for me to picture each place in my mind. I really enjoyed this sequel and getting to understand the characters more. Really, who doesn't love reading more about Chen Yong. I will say there is a scene between Chen Yong and Ai Ling that made me want to yell, "FINALLY". Believe me, it's so worth the wait. I would definitely recommend picking the series up. As I said with Silver Phoenix, I think this series is a great cross over for YA and adult readers, and it's one I find very appealing as an adult reader.

Do You iClue?

Do You iClue?



  • 6 Authors

  • 6 Mysteries

  • 6 Chances to Win an iTouch


Six authors were talking one day and realized that even though their books ran the gamut from sci fi to romance, contemporary to ghostly, they all had one thing in common: a really good mystery. These authors--Lisa & Laura Roecker, Mandy Hubbard, Adele Griffin, Kimberly Derting, Lee Nichols & Beth Revis decided they wanted to give their readers a little more mystery...and if they solved that mystery, there needs to be a great prize, no?

The authors are working with The Reading Room (a book review site) and a slew of amazing book bloggers to bring you an exciting new contest that will be running over the next 6 weeks. For each mystery you solve, you get another entry into the contest. The grand prize is an iTouch loaded with 6 AMAZING eBooks from the participating authors.

Here's how it works:

  • Starting on April 4th a new author will be featured on the iClue Site each week.

  • The author will post their mystery on the site on Monday.

  • On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we will post links to The Reading Room and two book bloggers who will be posting a special clue to help you solve the mystery.

  • Once you've solved the mystery you send us the correct solution using a form on the website.

  • If you enter the correct solution you get one entry into the contest.

  • Solve all 6 mysteries you get 6 entries to win the iTouch.


iClue launches next week (April 4th) with my mystery, featuring some of the characters from ACROSS THE UNIVERSE. Solve the mystery, get the password, and you'll get an entry to win an iPod Touch! So make sure you check back next week for this!

Meanwhile...we want to make sure to get the word out on this exciting month-long event! And that's where you come in...you, and six autographed books...






Help us spread the word, and you'll be entered for a prize to win six autographed books, one from each of us! There are lots of ways to enter!

You can tweet!

You can blog!
(If you past the html code under the banner into your blog, it will automatically show up, all linked directly to the contest. If you put it into the post, be sure you're on the "edit html" tab of Blogger.)



iClue




You can spread the word however you like! And for every way you spread the word, we're going to enter you in a contest for a grand prize pack of all six of our books, signed! And don't forget to come back to the actual event for your chance to solve fun mysteries and win an iPod Touch!! (And yes--before you ask, the contest IS open internationally--both prizes!)

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