Mundie Moms

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Book Review- Something Deadly This Way Comes


Published by Harper Teen
Released on May 24th, 2011
Source- Book from publisher for review
4 stars- I enjoyed it

I'm Madison Avery, in charge of heaven's hit squad . . . and fighting it all the way.

When Madison died the night of her prom, she knew her life would never be the same. Now she has a powerful amulet, a team of rogue angels by her side, and the ability to flash forward into the future to see the shape of destiny. And of course, now she's finally with Josh—a perfect boyfriend who doesn't even mind that she's dead.

But being dead has its disadvantages, too. Madison feels caught between the light and the dark, and between her real life and her timekeeper status. When Madison has the opportunity to get her body back—to bealive again—she faces her most difficult decision yet. If she claims it, she could return to being a normal girl—and have a chance at a real relationship with Josh. But would having the one thing she wants most in the world also mean giving up everything she's worked so hard for?

This is the first book I've read in the Madison Avery series and I have to say I've been missing out. Kim Harrison introduces a strong, relatable female heroine who's determined to change ancient law in an endless, epic battle between both light and dark angels who stake their claim on human souls. Not only is there a great mythology, but this book is surprisingly entertaining and engaging with it's cast of fabulous characters with extraordinary paranormal gifts, the plot twists, and it's realistic romance between Madison and her boyfriend Josh.

I loved getting to know Madison, Nakita & Barnabas. They have a strong friendship grounded in their beliefs to change the way things have been run with the ancient law and they're determined to do the right thing, even if it comes at a high price. I liked that the story is centered on a young teen who's earthly struggles and time is about up, but Madison and her friends are determined to not only save her life, but her soul from the Seraph before it's too late. Intervening on fate isn't as easy as it sounds. Madison's character has a lot of strengths, and I liked seeing how she struggles with certain decisions she makes and wanting to feel alive again. One of my favorite characters is Barnabas, and I loved reading a bit about his history, and being able to understand why as a fallen angel he feels like he doesn't have a soul.

Though I've not read the other two books in this series, it wasn't hard for me to understand what was going on and who everyone was. The way in which Something Deadly This Way Comes is written makes it easy to follow along with out getting lost into the series plot or this book's particular storyline. I really liked the way the book wraps up. I think this is a fun, quick read and it's one I'd recommend picking up.

Don't miss your chance to meet Kim on tour with The Dark Days of Supernatural Tour happening this week!

Interview with STARCROSSED author Josephine Angelini

Today we have STARCROSSED author, Josephine Angelini stopping by to answer a few of our questions about her debut book. Josephine is also part of The Dark Days of Supernatural Tour, which kicked off yesterday. Go here to see which cities she'll be visiting.

Starcrossed
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.





I loved your mythology and setting for STARCROSSED. What inspired you to choose Nantucket as your setting?
I knew I wanted to write about Massachusetts because that’s where I grew up, and I knew that I had to put Helen, my protagonist, near the Atlantic Ocean. For plot reasons, I also needed to isolate Helen and hide her away. It was almost too perfect. Nantucket is this gorgeous, lonely little rock at the edge of the continent. It’s barren looking, with epic glimpses of a very cranky ocean. So dramatic!

We're huge fans of Greek mythology. I liked the unique spin you gave your mythology. Was it easy for you to write it?
I’m a huge fan of Greek mythology, too! I especially love the Iliad and the Odyssey, so it was easy to spin it to a certain extent. This is a topic I love to think about and I find that when you love a topic, coming up with your own take on it is easier.

You have a great cast of characters and I found it hard falling for just one of them. Which character surprised you the most in terms of how much they grew or changed from your first draft to STARCROSSED being published?
I was so surprised by the reaction I got form other people for some of the characters—Hector most of all. I can’t tell you how many girls have singled out Hector as their favorite, and I just want to tell them “no! That boy is trouble! Run away!”

Not that anyone has ever listened to advice against falling for bad boys. But I try!

STARCROSSED has a great forbidden romance. What is one of your favorite YA books that also encounters a forbidden romance?
The Summoning series by Kelly Armstrong has a great forbidden love element, and it’s done in a non-traditional way. The bad boy isn’t gorgeous, or even bad, just misunderstood, which I loved.

Wait—here I am cheering for the bad boy. See what I mean? I don’t even take my own advice about staying away from them!

If you could spend the day with one author, who would you pick and why?
Mary Shelly. We’d talk about two of my favorite subjects-- monsters and boys. Or boy monsters, which would be even better. We’d hit the town, stay out late, and cause some trouble. Girl knew how to party, I hear. ;)

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Thank you for being with us today Josephine. To keep up with her latest writings, news and more, be sure to visit her website and follow her on twitter. You can also enter to win a copy of STARCROSSED, as part of our Dark Days prize pack giveaway here.

Must Have Summer Reads, June 14th Releases

We're going to be changing up our Waiting on Wednesday posts a bit. We're still going to focus on the books we can't wait to read, but we're also going to mix it up with releases we're looking forward to for each month. Since there are a lot of awesome summer releases we're going to focus on a few of our Must Have Summer Reads. Today's post is going to spotlight a couple books that will be released next week. You can find a list of releases here.

Today's Must Have Summer Reads are:















































* Demon's Surrender by Sarah Rees Brennan
We have really enjoyed this series and with everything that happened in Demon's Covenant, we can't wait to dive back into the world Sarah created. I'll be posting my review soon for this. Sarah Rees Brennan knows how to write the kissy scenes and throw in the twists. Go here to read our reviews for The Demon's Lexicon and The Demon's Covenant.

* Passion by Lauren Kate
I really love the Fallen Series. I'm really excited about Passion, which is a prequel to Fallen. I love a book that mixes history and romances and that's one of the things I'm most looking forward to with Passion. Go here to read my reviews for Fallen and Torment.

* Trial By Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
This book has been on my list of must have reads ever since I read Raised by Wolves. I'm a huge wolf girl and I love what Jennifer has done with her series. I can't wait to get back into her world and find out what's in store for Bryn next.

* Hourglass by Myra McEntire
Talk about an amazing debut! This is one of our favorites and it's also our Book of the Month. Sophie and I will both be sharing our reviews for this must have summer read via The official Hourglass blog tour we're hosting. Here's a little bit about the book, quoted from Goodreads:


One hour to rewrite the past . . .

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is about seeing what isn’t there: swooning Southern Belles; soldiers long forgotten; a haunting jazz trio that vanishes in an instant. Plagued by phantoms since her parents’ death, she just wants the apparitions to stop so she can be normal. She’s tried everything, but the visions keep coming back.

So when her well-meaning brother brings in a consultant from a secretive organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to try one last cure. But meeting Michael Weaver may not only change her future, it may change her past.

Who is this dark, mysterious, sympathetic guy, barely older than Emerson herself, who seems to believe every crazy word she says? Why does an electric charge seem to run through the room whenever he’s around? And why is he so insistent that he needs her help to prevent a death that never should have happened?

Full of atmosphere, mystery, and romance, Hourglass merges the very best of the paranormal and science-fiction genres in a seductive, remarkable young adult debut.

I'm really looking forward to sharing my reviews this next week for these must have summer reads. What June releases are you looking forward to?

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