Mundie Moms

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Book Review: Daughter of Smoke & Bone


Published by: Little Brown
To Be Released on: September 27th, 2011
Source: ARC from publisher to review
5 stars- Incredible Story Telling! Go pick it up

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself? - quoted from Goodreads

What a beautiful, dark, and an engaging story. Laini Taylor was written an outstanding, and truly fascinating book! I can honestly say there is not another book like it. This is an awesome, completely unique, and incredibly intriguing story line. The writing is incredible, the world building is fantastic and well developed and the chemistry with the love interests is sensual and beautiful, and I couldn't get enough of it. I loved the well developed lore and forbidden romance that is the heart of this story.

I'm so glad I didn't go in reading this book with any expectations, because those would have been blown away. There's something about the way Laini wrote this story that captivated me. I'm not sure if I was more drawn to the beautifully detailed settings, the well developed history that makes up the story, the romance or variety of in-depth paranormal characters that are apart of the story. Combined together, all these things made for an incredible (I apologize now, as I will more than likely use incredible one too many times while talking about this book), beautiful story that is really unlike any other paranormal book I've ever read. I'll admit, the beginning was a little confusing, and despite wanting to rush ahead to find out what happens, I'm glad I didn't, because everything gets explained through out the course of the book.

Karou, the blue haired main character is fabulous! I loved her from the moment she wished a certain "itch" would happen to her ex-boyfriend. I laughed a little too hard when I read this and when you read this scene you'll know what I'm talking about. I wanted to high 5 her. She's an artist living in Prague, and she does some collecting of "things" for a character named Brimstone. She has the ability to go through portals, is fluent in many languages and has this mystery about her that kept me invested into her story. She's part of two worlds, the human world and a world were chimaera's exist, she doesn't know much about herself, or her special powers.

It's not until Akiva, the angel/warrior enters Karou's life do my questions start to get answered. These two have a sizzling, sensual relationship that was fabulously written. Let's just say the way they go from being enemies and wanting to kill each other, to feeling drawn to each other and then falling for each other flowed beautifully into Karou's story. One of the things I loved about this forbidden romance was the chemistry. It's not about the kissy scenes that made this chemistry so hot. It was the way they move around each other- it's their nearness to each other, the gentle touches, and the way their feelings were described that made it sizzling. Just as things heat up Laini throws some unexpected twists into the story that explains why they feel the way they do, among a few other things.

Laini Taylor is an amazing story teller! The way she describes everything and the way she writes this story is just stunning to me. One of my favorite lines from the book: "Hope is the real magic, child." The romance is only part of this incredible story. There's an entirely fascinating world that Laini's created that hooked me from the moment I started this book. There's so much to this story and this world that I couldn't even start to describe how incredible (sorry I said it again) it is. This is a book I highly recommend picking up. You really have to experience this story for yourself.

I would really recommend this to older YA readers. It's a book I'd classify as a beautiful YA/Adult cross over. There's nothing that I'd give a warning to other than the fact there a lot of darker undertones in the story and the style it's written in, is for mature or older readers. Sequel? YES PLEASE!! I'm definitely looking forward to jumping back into this world when the second book is out.


Weekly Feature & In My Mailbox #89

This week we've got some exciting things happening on Mundie Moms.

Monday & Tuesday- we'll be featuring Anna Godberstein's Beautiful Days, with a review & an interview with Anna
Tuesday & Thursday- we'll be featuring Rae Carson's The Girl of Fire & Thorns with a review and an interview with Rae.
Thursday- we're chatting LIVE with author Christine Johnson at 8 pm CST
Friday- Seers Blog Tour stop, and we'll be hosting another CROSSED by Ally Condie giveaway
Saturday- We'll be kicking off our week long Banned Book Week Celebrations!

** On Monday the 26th we'll be chatting with Michelle Hodkin & our The Faerie Ring Blog Tour kicks off as well.
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In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren for bloggers to post about what books they've received the previous week to review, what they bought, were gifted, borrowed or won. I didn't post my IMM last week, so this is a combination of the past two weeks:


For Review

* The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton, published by Tor Teen, To Be Released on September 27th, 2011, these two books are being giving away during our The Faerie Ring Blog Tour

* Incarnate by Jodi Meadows, published by Katherine Tegen Books, to be released on January 31st, 2012

* Everneath by Brodi Ashton, published by Balzar + Bray, to be released on January 3rd, 2012

* Reckless by Cornelia Funke, published by Little Brown, release on September 5th, 2011

* Embrace by Jessica Shirvington, published by Source Books to be released on March 1st, 2012

* Matched by Ally Condie, published by Speak, (pb edition) to be released on September 20th, 2011, already reviewed & loved it!

* Liar's Moon by Elizabeth Bunce, published by Scholastic, to be released on November 1st, 2011

* Shifting by Bethany Wiggins, published by Bloomsbury, to be released on September 27th, 2011

* This Dark Endeavor: The Apprenticeship of Victor Frankenstein by Kenneth Oppel, published by Simon & Schuster, released on August 23rd, 2011, already reviewed & loved it!

* Shut Out by Kody Keplinger, published by Little Brown, released on September 5th, 2011, received both an ARC and published copy, already gave one copy away

* Bunheads by Sophie Flack, published by Little Brown, to be released on October 10th, 2011

* After Obsession by Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel, published by Bloomsbury, released on September 13th, 2011, already reviewed and really enjoyed

* Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs, published by Katherine Tegen Books, released on September 6th, 2011, already reviewed and highly recommend it!

* Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst, published Margaret K. McElderry Books, released on September 13th, 2011

* Emory's Gift by W. Bruce Cameron, published by Forge Books, released on August 30th, 2011

* A Dog's Purpose by W. Bruce Cameron, published by Forge Books, released on May 24th, 2011

* The Amulet Chronicles by Erika Ely Lewis & Anne Tibbets, published by BookSurge, released on October 17th, 2007

* Sally Forth, Vile Curmudgeon by Travis Webster, self-published, released on June 24th, 2011


Mundie Kids

* Tales of Sixth-Grade Muppet by Kirk Scroggs, published by Little Brown Kids, released on September 5th, 2011

* The Man In The Moon (Guardians of Childhood) by William Joyce, published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers, released on September 6th, 2011, already reviewed & loved it, hosting a giveaway for these here

Bought

* The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

I'm waiting on an order of books I bought last week, and I'll feature them in an upcoming IMM after they arrive


THANK YOU to Simon & Schuster, Harper Teen, Little Brown, Penguin, Scholastic, Bloomsbury, Source Books, Tor Teens, Forge Books, Erika Ely Lewis & Anne Tibbets and Travis Webster for this weeks awesome reads.

What books did you receive this week?

*All book links go directly to the book's page on Amazon

Austin Teen Book Festival

I am so excited for this upcoming FREE festival! It will be my third time attending and my second time helping out at this fantastic event. Each year I'm blown away at the number of authors who come and this there is another AWESOME line up!


WHO: The Austin Public Library Friends Foundation
WHEN: Saturday, October 1, 2011
10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
WHERE: Palmer Events Center, 900 Barton Springs, Austin, TX 78704
COST: Free
Twitter: @AustinTBF @APLFF
MEDIA: Photos and interviews at David Wyatt at 512/904.9928 or david@wyattbrand.com

Austin Public Library Friends Foundation Announces
Panels, Entertainment, ‘Infinite Playlist’ Screening for Austin Teen Book Fest
Third Year Projected to Bring Austin to Largest of Similar Events in U.S.

AUSTIN, Texas—The Austin Public Library Friends Foundation (APLFF)—established to increase private support for the Austin Public Library’s collections, programs, and facilities— today announces new details of the third annual Austin Teen Book Festival on October 1.

On Friday, September 30th at 10 pm, Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar will screen “Nick & Nora’s Ultimate Playlist” with a Q&A featuring festival author David Levithan, co-author of the book on which the film was based. BookPeople will be selling signed copies of his books in the lobby. Levithan is a young-adult fiction editor and award-winning author. His first book, Boy Meets Boy, was published in 2003. Other titles include Every You, Every Me and this year’s The Lover's Dictionary. The screening benefits the APLFF.

The festival is also revealing their steam punk theme—a nod to keynote speaker Scott Westerfeld. Accordingly, the entertainment will be courtesy of Delirium of Grandeur and the band Darwin Prophet.

Celebrating the teen reading experience, the festival will feature nearly thirty of the most popular and critically acclaimed young adult fiction authors in the country. Free and open to the public, the 2011 Austin Teen Book Festival will be held at the Palmer Events Center. There are five programmed panels (each will be held three times). They include:

PEN FATALE features Gabrielle Zevin (All These Things I've Done), Mary Pearson (The Fox Inheritance), Jessica Brody (My Life Undecided), Alyson Noel (Everlasting), and Alexandra Adornetto (Hades); moderated by Margo Rabb (Cures for Heartbreak).

ALTERNAWORLDS (fantasy) features Scott Westerfeld (Goliath), Maureen Johnson (Name of the Star), Jonathan Maberry (Dust & Decay), and Brian Yansky (Alien Invasion); moderated by Rosemary Clement-Moore (The Splendor Falls).

REAL LIFE IS MESSY (edgy fiction) features John Corey Whaley (Where Things Come Back), David Levithan (Every You, Every Me), Melissa Walker (Small Town Sinners), Coe Booth (Bronxwood), and Geoff Herbach (Stupid Fast); moderated by Varian Johnson (Saving Maddie).

I HEART LOVE STORIES (realistic/romance fiction) features Simone Elkeles (Perfect Chemistry), Stephanie Perkins (Lola & the Boy Next Door), Jenny Han (We’ll Always Have Summer), Jennifer Zeigler (Sass & Sensibility), and Christina Mandelski (The Sweetest Thing); moderated by Cristina Garcia (Dreams of Significant Girls).

SUPERNATURAL SUSPENSE (fantasy) features Heather Brewer (Vladimir Tod), Jackson Pearce (Sweetly), Tera Lynn Childs (Sweet Venom), Sophie Jordan (Vanish), and Andrea Cremer (Wolfsbane); moderated by Cynthia Leitich Smith (Blessed).

The festival, which expects well over 2,000 attendees this year, will feature Texas born and raised author Scott Westerfeld as the keynote speaker (@scottwesterfeld). Author of five science fiction novels for adults and three series of novels for young adults, Westerfeld is most notably known for his books Peeps, So Yesterday, which were both named Best Books for Young Adults by the American Library Association, as well as his Leviathan series, and Uglies series.

Westerfeld joins a list of other celebrated authors who will be participating in this year’s festival including central Texans Margo Rabb, Cristina Garcia, Varian Johnson and Cynthia Leitich Smith who will moderate several themed panel discussions throughout the one-day event. Panel genres include fantasy and science fiction, romance and realism, edgy and pen fatale.

This year, APLFF hopes to continue to increase the number of participants by partnering with local librarians to reach kids in the city who may not have otherwise been aware of the festival. Many teachers citywide have also agreed to offer their students extra credit as a way of encouraging them to attend the festival.

For more information, please visit the Austin Teen Book Festival’s website at www.austinteenbookfestival.com

About BookPeople
BookPeople was founded in 1970 and, over the years, has become the center of Austin's literary landscape. BookPeople hosts hundreds of author signings each year and supports hundreds of local non-profits, schools and libraries. BookPeople was a founding partner of the Austin Teen Book Festival and plans to continue to lend its support to making this the premier teen book festival in the country.

About the Austin Public Library Friends Foundation
The Austin Public Library Friends Foundation supports the Austin Public Library by increasing public awareness about the Library and its importance to the community, and by raising funds to enhance Library collections, programs, and facilities. Many of APLFF’s programs, including the Mayor's Book Club, The New Fiction Confab, Raise a Reader and many others are devoted to literacy, reading, and increasing the entire community’s access to information and knowledge.

This program is made possible in part by a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

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About the Moderators

Rosemary Clement-Moore—Moderator of the ALTERNAWORLDS panel
Clement-Moore has been writing stories all her life, even when she should have been doing other things, like studying Algebra. She worked in theatre for years, and now she is writing full time, which is her dream job, because she “gets to work in her pajamas and take a break every afternoon to play Guitar Hero.” Her books include Texas Gothic, The Splendor Falls, Prom Dates From Hell, Hell Week, and Highway to Hell.

Margo Rabb – Moderator of the PEN FATALE panel
Margo Rabb's stories have been published in The Atlantic Monthly, Zoetrope: All Story, Seventeen, Best New American Voices, New Stories from the South, New England Review, One Story, and elsewhere, and have been broadcast on National Public Radio. She received grand prize in the Zoetrope short story contest, first prize in The Atlantic Monthly fiction contest, first prize in the American Fiction contest, and a PEN Syndicated Fiction Project Award. She grew up in Queens, New York, and recently moved to Austin, Texas with her husband and daughter. A complete list of her published work can be found here.”

Cristina Garcia – Moderator of the I HEART LOVE STORIES panel
Garcia is the author of five novels: Dreaming in Cuban, The Agüero Sisters, Monkey Hunting, A Handbook to Luck, and The Lady Matador’s Hotel, recently published by Scribner. García has edited two anthologies, Cubanísimo: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Cuban Literature and Bordering Fires: The Vintage Book of Contemporary Mexican and Chicano/a Literature. Two works for young readers, The Dog Who Loved the Moon, and I Wanna Be Your Shoebox were published in 2008. A collection of poetry, The Lesser Tragedy of Death, was published in 2010. Her newest work, Dreams of Significant Girls, is a young adult novel set in a Swiss boarding school in the 1970s.

García’s work has been nominated for a National Book Award and translated into fourteen languages. She is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Whiting Writers’ Award, a Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University, and an NEA grant, among others. Recently, Garcia was a Visiting Professor at the Michener Center for Writers at the University of Texas-Austin and teaches at Texas Tech University most spring semesters. This fall, Garcia will be a Visiting Professor at the University of Miami and will serve as University Chair in Creative Writing at Texas State University-San Marcos from 2012-14.”

Varian Johnson – moderating the REAL LIFE IS MESSY panel
Varian Johnson is the author of Saving Maddie (Delacorte / Random House, 2010), My Life as a Rhombus (Flux / Llewellyn, 2008) and A Red Polka Dot in a World Full of Plaid (Genesis Press, 2005). He was born and raised in Florence, South Carolina, and attended the University of Oklahoma, where he received a BS in Civil Engineering. Varian later attended the Vermont College of Fine Arts, where he received an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults.
Varian now lives in Austin, TX with his wife, Crystal, and is a member of SCBWI, the Writers’ League of Texas, and The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN). Varian is also the co-founder of The Brown Bookshelf, an online community charged with highlighting established and up-and-coming African-American authors of children’s and young adult literature.” @VarianJohnson

Cynthia Leitich Smith – moderating the SUPERNATURAL SUSPENSE panel
Cynthia Leitich Smith is the New York Times and Publishers Weekly best-selling author of Eternal, Tantalize, and Blessed (Candlewick). Tantalize was honored at the 2007 National Book Festival, named a Top Ten Pick on YALSA's Popular Paperbacks list, and The Horn Book called it "an intoxicating romantic thriller." A graphic novel adaptation of the book is in the works. Eternal was also a YALSA Teens Top Ten nominee, featured at the Texas Book Festival, and Publishers Weekly said, "…readers should be hooked by this fully formed world, up through the action-packed finale." It debuted at #5 on the New York Times best-seller list and #13 on the Publishers Weekly best-seller list. Blessed was cheered by The Horn Book Magazine as "A hearty meal for the thinking vampire reader." Kirkus Reviews calls the world, "wild and ultimately fascinating" and says of Quincie and Kieren, "...the pages fairly smolder in describing their attraction to one another." @ CynLeitichSmith

*post information is quoted from an email sent from David Wyatt

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