Mundie Moms

Monday, July 18, 2011

Egmont Original Paperbacks Chat

We are so excited to have teamed up with Egmont to bring a fun chat with four of their authors from their new line of fun summer reads called, Egmont's Original Paperbacks. We're going to be chatting with the authors THIS WEDNESDAY at 8 pm CST here on the blog.

Here's a little bit about the books (the highlighted book title takes you to the book's page on Egmont's site where you can purchase & read more about each book, and the high lighted author name takes you to their site):

1) Will Work For Prom by Aimee Ferris (you can read my 4.5 star review here)
Quigley Johnson has, reluctantly, given up the rest of her last year of high school to take part in her best friend Ann's Betterment Plan, which will turn them into the best-dressed, most sought-after, most admired girls at their senior formal. Because - hey - who doesn't want the perfect prom, complete with a dream dress and a devastatingly handsome date?

But the prom costs money - lots of money - and even though the girls could easily have Ann's mom design their dresses (she's only Victoria Parisi, one of the most famous designers in the world), Ann insists that they pay their own way. And that's how Quigley gets stuck making artistic topping masterpieces on frozen pizzas canvases, before becoming a live model for Ms. Parisi's fashion design class, where she meets Zander.

He's cute, and cool, and funny, with a killer design sensibility (even if he can't sketch). But is he too good to be true? And what about David, the hot, talented artist at school, who's also kind of a jerk, but won't leave Quigley alone? And Ann - she started the Betterment Plan to improve Quigley and herself, but it seems like it's ripping their friendship to shreds.

This road to the prom dream may just end in disaster.

2) Countess Nobody by Lynn Kiele Bonasia (you can read my review here)
When Sophie and Samuel Delorme’s parents sit them down for a talk, the nearly sixteen-year-old twins expect to hear something major—just not their father’s declaration that they come from a long line of French nobility. Suddenly Sophie’s lost in dreams of life as a countess. She’ll no longer be an invisible suburban teen, and just maybe the unattainable Spencer Kavanaugh will finally notice her.
But wait . . . Dad’s not done. The title is only passed down to the males in the family. Sam is a count. Sophie is a big nothing.
Frustrated, she starts a blog about the mysterious Count S who’s just arrived in America and is breaking hearts left and right. But when the posts are picked up by a major celebrity gossip site, and people start demanding proof of the noble’s existence, how will Sophie keep her cover as Mademoiselle Blogger a secret, and stop her reputation from being destroyed?

I’d like to say something clever, but my tongue is paralyzed. This guy is tall and built and—okay, maybe he’s not exactly handsome. Wait, that’s not true. He is exactly handsome. From ten feet away I can see the electric blue of his eyes. All of that put together makes him the Superman of redheads.
After a year in rural Cottonwood Creek, Iowa, city girl Laurel is still adjusting to a place where parties take place in barns, guys ride around in pickup trucks, and a killer senior prank involves getting pigs into the principal’s office. Fortunately, she has her best friend Aspen, an Iowa native, to show her around. The real problem is that neither the country girl nor the city slicker have boyfriends—or any prospects for getting them. Clearly, they need to raise their profile—and they have a summer to do so.

Expelled from thirteen boarding schools in the past five years, seventeen-year-old Jane Fontaine Ventouras is returning to her Southern roots, and the small town of Bienville, Alabama, where ladies always wear pearls, nothing says hospitality like sweet tea
and pimento cheese sandwiches, and competing in the annual Magnolia Maid Pageant is every girl’s dream.

But Jane is what you might call an anti-belle—more fishnets and tattoos than sugar and spice. The last thing on her mind is joining the Magnolia Maid brigade and parading around town in
a dress so big she can’t even fi t through doors. So when she finds herself up to her ears in ruffl es and etiquette lessons, she’s got one mission: Escape.

What’s a hipster to do? Will Jane survive Bienville boot camp intact or will they—gasp!—make a Southern belle out of her yet?

We're really looking forward to chatting with each of these authors, and hank you to Egmont, we will be giving away some goodies during the chat. Come and join us on Wednesday night at 8 pm CST/9 pm EST.

Book Review & Giveaway: Dark Parties


By: Sara Grant
Published by: Little Brown
To Be Released on: August 3rd, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher to review
Purchase from: Amazon| Barnes & Noble|
3 stars-

In a world shrouded in fear and lies, how can you shed light on the truth?

Sixteen-year-old Neva lives in Homeland, an isolated country separated from the rest of the world by the Protectosphere. The government insists there’s nothing beyond its borders, but as Homeland’s resources dwindle, people, girls mainly, have started to go missing. If there’s no way out of the Protectosphere, where are they going? Suspecting the government is lying about everything, Neva and her friends stage a Dark Party in the hope of uncovering the truth and finding the freedom they dream about.


With it's enticing premise and intriguing world, Dark Parties is a dystopian I've been looking forward to reading. I liked the concept of the story line. Neva, the story's main character comes from a a country that isolated themselves from everyone else and it's government strikes fear into the hearts of it's citizens, in order to make them not ask questions or seek going beyond it's boarders. They also go so far as to control their population's growth rate. Of course it's more complicated than that. Neva and her friends are part of a movement who want answers and a change and they're not the only ones.

Sara Grant starts her book off by thrusting the reader into the dark, literally. The story begins in utter darkness, the kind where you can't even see your own hand in front of you. It's called a Dark Party and it's here that we first meet Neva and her friends, who appear to be hormone driven teens, sneaking around and hosting a forbidden party, but there's more to this party than making out. It sets the stage for defiance and taking a stand against a government that's both controlling and frightening and Sara allows us to see just how far the government will go to silence those who try to defy them and see what those seeking for truth will risk. Neva, an only child who's dad works for the Government constantly finds herself between a rock and a hard place. She wants answers from the government, she wants to know why people she knows keep disappearing and what it is her parents aren't telling her.

I really admired and was drawn to Neva's inner strength, her quest for answers and her undeniable urge to fight for freedom. Living in a terrifying, controlling, world full of lies, government cover ups, and disappearances, Neva is one of a few who's not afraid to look for answers. She's a character who doesn't back down even when the horrifying truth she uncovers comes at a cost, not just to her, but to those she loves. There are some great characters in this book, but I had a very hard time connecting with any of them. They're not in-depth characters and I missed their character chemistry, especially between Neva and the main love interest. Don't get me wrong, they have a few hot scenes, but I missed and felt there wasn't a story line between them telling me why they felt that way towards each other. The strongest chemistry for me was between Neva and her missing Grandmother who plays a big role in the story.

Sara Grant did such a great job at throwing in twist after twist with both the plot and the characters. It made the story line flow well and kept me turning the pages. There were a few things I had a hard time with, like the fact that Neva and Braydon mess around behind her best friend, Sanna's back, and though I later find out why, it's still something I was bugged by. At least I know understand why they did it, as that's one of many great twists Sara threw into the end of the story. The last few twists were something I didn't see happening. The end has a few more surprises, and it definitely leaves room for a sequel, which I hope Sara writes. I'm left wondering what's going to happen to Neva, her parents, her Grandmother, Braydon, and her friend Sanna. Aside from the story, I like what they did with the cover and adding the snowflake to it. I liked how Sara tied in Neva's name, the nickname her Grandmother calls her, Neva's tattoo and her snowflake pendant into the story. This is a book I'd recommend to teen readers, as there is a lot of sexual context through out the story, though nothing graphic.
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You can read an excerpt from the book here.
Keep up with all the latest Dark Parties news on facebook.

About the author: Sara Grant is an American living in the UK. Born and raised in Washington, Indiana, Sara graduated from Indiana University with degrees in journalism and psychology. She now works as a freelance writer and editor for Working Partners, a London-based company creating series fiction for children. She lives in London with her husband. This is her first novel.

Watch a trailer for the video here

Thank you to Little Brown, we're giving away 2 copies of Dark Parties. To ENTER:
- This is open to residents of the US only
- You must be 13 yrs & older to enter
- 1 entry per person/per email
- This giveaway will end on August 8th, 2011


Mundane Monday #93

Happy Mundane Monday! I love the last line Simon says to Clary. The first time I read this passage from City of Glass my heart broke a little bit for Simon.


...."I guess I can't help thinking that if I'd known the truth, I wouldn't have met Jace the way I did. I wouldn't have fallen in love with him."

Simon was silent for a moment. "I don't think I've ever heard you say that before."

"That I love him?" She laughed, but it sounded dreary even to her ears. "Seems useless to pretend like I don't, at this point. Maybe it doesn't matter. I probably won't ever see him again, anyway."

"He'll come back."

"Maybe."

"He'll come back," Simon said again. "For you."

- City of Glass, page 367, Clary & Simon
Image found here

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