Mundie Moms

Monday, January 31, 2011

Book Review- Arson


By Estevan Vega
Published by Tate Publishing
Released on May 4, 2010
Source: Author
4 Stars- Really liked this book. Go pick it up.

Synopsis (From Tate Publishing): "Arson Gable feels like a freak. He can create fire. He never asked for it. He never wanted it. But he can't shut it off.
Before now, three things were true: he both loved and despised his grandmother; his life was going nowhere; and he was alone. But when a strange girl—who feels more normal behind a mask than inside her own skin—moves in next door, Arson hopes to find something he's never had: purpose. Using what he fears most about himself, Arson must face his consuming past and confront the nightmare that is his present as he walks the fine line between boy and monster. Dark, moody, and breathtakingly relevant, Arson, the chilling chronicle of an isolated boy with unimaginable ability, is sure to ignite the hearts and minds of a new generation."

I’ve been curious about Arson since I first read its synopsis and saw its creepy cover. I thought that the story would be mainly about the boy that has the ability to create fire with his mind but I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it was about more that than.

I thought Arson would be more of a paranormal novel but to me it was a lot more contemporary with a little bit of paranormal which made for a great story. It focuses more on Arson's struggle trying to keep a low profile around his peers so nobody will notice his ability or what he believes to be a curse. We really don't get to see a lot of his fire ability, just a few glimpses when he tries to get some control over it. Arson is part of a very dysfunctional family, he lives with his grandmother who seems to really hate him sometimes and blames him for the death of his mother which makes Arson feel worse about himself and hate his powers even more. This grandmother had the craziest mood swings, she would be nice and sweet towards Arson one minute and then just go completely evil on him. Those were probably the scariest parts of the book because you really didn't know what this woman would do next and I was just as scared of her as Arson was.

When Emery moves next to Arson's house he finds someone almost as different and an outcast just like him. I really loved Emery, I think more than any other character in the story, and there aren't many good ones in this one. She just had a way that would just win anyone over if you looked past the mask that she wears and gave her a chance, she was brave, smart, fun and easy to talk to. Arson finds this same qualities on her and finds someone he can really talk to with ease and be his true self around her, she makes him come out of his shell and brings a little happiness into his very depressing life. I loved that these two damaged characters grow closer to each other even with all the craziness going on around them and at home.

Estevan Vega throws a few unexpected surprises into the mix, he makes you think that something else is going on in the story and that you think you know what's going to happen next just to be proven wrong. I loved that! With every few pages we get to see the story unravel and see what's really going on in Arson's life and his past. I was glad that we actually get to see Arson's powers come into action towards the end, and they were just as amazing and dangerous as the premise lets you believe. The ending takes the story into a completely different direction, more on the paranormal side. I thought all along that this would be a stand alone novel, and it had the feel of it while reading it, but it leaves you with a heartbreaking cliffhanger of an ending and lots of questions. I can't wait for the next one! I'm really looking forward to seeing where this story will go next and what will happen to Arson and Emery.

Mundane Monday #71

Happy Mundane Monday!

(photo taken and used with permission from VLC Productions)

With all the excitement surrounding the CoFA trailer, and with the permission of Natalie from The Mortal Instruments Examiner, we'd like to introduce you to the actors who played the characters in the trailer.

Natalie has introduced fans to the cast of the TRAILER (this is not for the movie) via interviews, which you can find on her site.
We've met:
Clary (Tegan Elliott,)
Simon (Maxwell Reed, who also a loyal following of fans whom are trying to get him into the movie, which you can click here to read about it)
Alec (Carson Nicely),
Sebastian (Brad Etter,)
Isabelle (Saundra Coller,)
Maia (Victoria Esguerra), and
Jace (Josh Dibble).

We can't wait to see the trailer, which I believe is being released sometime in March. Be sure to go here http://tinyurl.com/653yelu to read Natalie's latest TMI posts. Who was your favorite portrayal? I think they all did a great job, but Simon is one of my favorites!

We know there's a lot of support out there with friends who have contacted us asking us to help support their friends who want to be in the movie. As a fan site to Cassie, we are staying neutral on the matter of casting and being apart of petitions or movements we've been asked to be apart of. We're not taking any sides and nor taking part in them. However, there is a fantastic site we'd recommend fans who have friends that want to be apart of the movie to visit Face of the Fan.

Speaking of the movie, there is no announcements on the casting of Jace. Yes, they are auditioning for the role. Yes, they've offered the role to Alex Pettyfer, but it's standard for them to meet with other actors as well. Recently Cassie posted about it, saying,"That is not really the way this stuff works. When a studio is negotiating with an actor, that does not mean they are not looking at any other actors (or that the actor is not looking at other projects). I know the studio has in fact met with other actors and I've heard various names. I would say that what this means is that nothing is going to happen very soon. However, this 'yes' 'no' stuff is part of negotiating and ***until someone is cast as Jace***, there is basically no such thing as final news. I am saying this mainly because I am leaving Sunday and will be off the internet for a month, so this may as well stand as what I have to say on the topic." You can read more of Cassie's reply here http://twishort.com/aced1

Thank you to Natalie for allowing us to share her interview links on Mundie Moms (all character interviews links were quoted from Natalie, off the TMI examiner site).

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Cover Reveals

This last week we had the privilege of being apart of a Myra McEntire's cover reveal for her debut book, Hourglass. We wanted to share the cover along with the book trailer for the cover (which was posted on Twilight Lexicon and Myra's sites) here, incase anyone missed it.

Out on May 24th, 2011 from Egmont USA

"Since the age of fourteen, Emerson Cole has seen strange things – dead things – swooning Southern Belles, soldiers, and other eerie apparitions of the past. She’s tried everything to get rid of the visions: medication, counseling, asylums. Nothing’s worked.

So when Emerson's well-meaning brother calls in yet another consultant from a mysterious organization called the Hourglass, Emerson’s willing to give it one last try.

Michael Weaver is no ordinary consultant. He's barely older than she is; he listens like no one she's ever met before; and he doesn't make her feel the least bit crazy. As Emerson ventures deeper into the world of the Hourglass, she begins to learn the truth about her past, her future--and her very life.

A seductive time-slip novel that merges the very best of the paranormal and science fiction genres, Myra McEntire’s Hourglass is a stunning debut from an author to watch."

Be sure to watch the video that Myra made and then go visit her newly remodeled site
http://myramcentire.blogspot.com/ Don't forget to go enter our giveaway for a miniature hourglass.

Ellen Hopkins released the cover of her upcoming release, Perfect, this past week during her live chat via Simon and Schuster.

Perfect by Ellen Hopkins
September 13th 2011 by Margaret K. McElderry

Everyone has something, someone, somewhere else that they'd rather be. For four high-school seniors, their goals of perfection are just as different as the paths they take to get there.

Cara's parents' unrealistic expectations have already sent her twin brother Conner spiraling toward suicide. For her, perfect means rejecting their ideals to take a chance on a new kind of love. Kendra covets the perfect face and body - no matter what surgeries and drugs she needs to get there. To score his perfect home run - on the field and off - Sean will sacrifice more than he can ever win back. And Andre realizes to follow his heart and achieve his perfect performance, he'll be living a life his ancestors would never understand.

Everyone wants to be perfect, but when perfection loses its meaning, how far will you go? What would you give up to be perfect?

A riveting and startling companion to the bestselling Impulse, Ellen Hopkins's Perfect exposes the harsh truths about what it takes to grow up and grow into our own skins, our own selves.

In My Mailbox #60

In my mailbox is a weekly meme we participate in hosted by The Story Siren where we share some of the goodies we received through out the week. These are books we received to review, as a gifted, what we bought or borrowed.


For Review:

* The False Princess by Eilis O'Neal, published by EgmontUSA, released on January 25th, 2011
* The End of the World Club by Jon & Pamela Voelkel, published by EgmontUSA, released on December 28th, 2010
* Drought by Pam Bachorz, published by EgmontUSA, released on January 25th, 2011
* Almost True by Keren David, published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, released on September 2nd, 2010 (UK edition) & Spring 2011 in the US
* Marcelo and the Real World by Francisco X. Stork, published by Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, released in 2009
* Scarlett Fever by Maureen Johnson, published by Scholastic Inc, paperback edition to be released on February 1st, 2011
* Midnight Howl by Clare Hutton, published by Scholastic Paperbacks, to be released on February 1st, 2011
* Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright, published by Little Brown Books for Young Readers, released on January 25th, 2011
* No Hope For Gomez by Graham Parke, published by Outskirts Press, published January 12th, 2010
* Some Rivers End on the Day of the Dead by Eileen Clemens Granfors, published by Createspace, released on August 1st, 2010
* The Angel Experiment (Maximum Ride book #1) by James Patterson, published by Little Brown, released on May 1st, 2006
* School's Out-Forever (Maximum Ride Book #2) by James Patterson, published by Little Brown, released on May 23rd, 2006
* Saving The World and Other Extreme Sports (Maximum Ride Book #3) by James Patterson, published by Little Brown, released on July 1st, 2008
* The Final Warning (Maximum Ride #4), by James Patterson, published by Little Brown, released on September 1st, 2008
* Max (Maximum Ride #5) by James Patterson, published by Little Brown, released on September 1st, 2009

Bought:
* I bought a couple books I'm still waiting to arrive. I had to resist the urge to go on a book spending splurge this week, but I'm trying to save up for all the awesome author tours coming to TX in the coming months.

Borrowed:
* Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer (thank you Pam!)

Thank you Scholastic, Little Brown, EgmontUSA, Frances Lincoln Children's Books, Pam, Graham Clark, and Eileen Clemens Granfors for this weeks awesome reads.

What goodies did you receive this week?

Saturday, January 29, 2011

A Few Quotes from CLOCKWORK PRINCE

Artwork by Val Freire 

On twitter tonight, Cassie tweeted a few quotes from Clockwork Prince just to distract us from some of that "City of Bones" movie gossip and hey, that distraction definitely worked. Cassie's words are in orange.

Jem from earlier today: "But you are much prettier," Jem said.

Will: "Tess,” he said, and she thought, once again, how no one but him ever called her that. “That is all I think about."

Tessa: “Jem!” she cried again, and when he did not look up, she strode across the room, and wrenched the bow out of his hand. “Jem, stop!"

And lastly: "I would die for you, you know that." - unattributed. Clockwork Prince. There, distracted I hope!

The Mortal Instruments & Infernal Devices Reference Forums on MM's


Recently we've been re-orangizing our Mundie Moms Forum. Okay, we're still in the process of updating it. Have you seen our updated TMI & ID Reference Forum? Sophie has been hard at work updating it with all the latest character Q&A's Cassie has done on Twitter.

Be sure to check all out here-http://tinyurl.com/49s5w4u
We'll be adding much more to the Infernal Devices forum soon.

If you're not familiar with our Mundie Moms forum, before our MM's blog went public, we started out via our forum. Our forums were created as a place to discuss all things Cassandra Clare, the TMI and ID series and more. You can visit us here- http://mundiemoms.freeforums.org/

Next month we'll be turning 2!! We can't wait to celebrate that with all of you. We'll be posting more information about that soon.


And The Winners Are..........

I apologize I'm late on posting some of our latest winners. CONGRATULATIONS to the following winners:

Favorite 2011 releases is.....
#189- Emily De Maria (who will receive Demonglass when it's released)

The Lost Saint book winner is....
#60-RK Charron

The Lost Saint nail polish winner is......
#94- Linda Septer

Sleepless winner is.....
#68- Sam Benson

All winners have been contacted. Please be sure to reply to our emails within 48 hours, or else we'll pick a new winner. Thank you to all who entered our giveaways. Be sure to check out our latest giveaways in our right hand sidebar. Have a great weekend!!!

Friday, January 28, 2011

Alex Pettyfer & The Casting of Jace- Truth vs Rumors

Recently we've received emails/comments as to why we've not posted that Alex Pettyfer has been cast as Jace. Our answer is, because he has NOT been cast. There's been a lot of rumors lately circulating on whether or not he's been cast. We wanted to separate the truth from the rumors:

* Cassie has NO say on who is cast for The Mortal Instruments Movie
* Yes, Alex has been offered the role to play Jace in the movie, and he's met with the director and has even read the series and likes it.
* Yes, he said he thinks Lily Collins will do great at Clary, and he also said he read the screenplay and thinks it's very faithful to the books.
* NO, the movie will not be canceled if Alex decides he doesn't want the part.

Do we think he'll make a great Jace? Yes, we do, but we also think that those who are making the movie will pick whom they think will do a fantastic job at playing Jace. Here's the great thing about book and movie magic. Just because I picture someone they didn't cast for the movie, doesn't mean they won't do a great job at brining that character to life. I was apart of a large site for another book series turned movie series (Twilight, cough, cough) prior to the movie being made. A lot of people were upset over Rob being cast as Edward, and now look at what a great job he did as Edward, and a lot of people love him for it. That's the magic of acting and movie making. Someone whom we don't picture fitting the role can often times bring that role to life brilliantly.

Am I saying I know whether or not Alex has been cast as Jace? Absolutely not. My point is my love for Cassie's writing and my support and excitement over the movie isn't going to change based on if one person is or isn't going to be cast in the movie (there is NO confirmation on whether Alex will play Jace at this moment). My excitement is for Cassie, as something she created and shared with all of us will soon be brought to life on the big screen.

We're so excited to hear who's been cast and we're anxiously awaiting to hear more. We'll be sure to post the news when we hear it. In the mean time, you'll be able to catch Alex in his upcoming movie, I Am Number Four out next month followed by Beastly! I don't know about you guys, but I'm loving the fact that more books are being made into movies.

The Iron Queen Court Blog Tour- The Iron Court



Welcome to the THE IRON COURT! We're thrilled this is your 1st visit to our court. Maybe we'll be able to sway you to pledge your alliance with us. After all we do have giveaways.....

It's an honor to be apart of the Iron Queen Blog Tour, and we've come to share a message from our Queen's 1st Lieutenant Glitch-


Hey. You probably don’t know me; we haven’t met before. I’m not that obnoxious Summer jester, or that uptight faery prince. Allow me to introduce myself. The name’s Glitch, and if that sounds vaguely familiar, you might’ve heard it before—once—in The Iron King.Remember?
“As technology became a driving force in every country, powerful new fey rose into existence. Virus. Glitch. And Machina, the most powerful of all.” –The Iron King
Yep, that’s me. Put simply, I’m one of Machina’s lieutenants. Or, I was, before that girl came in and took him out. You might be wondering why I’m here. Revenge? Or something even more sinister? Well, you’ll just have to read The Iron Queen to answer that question. I’m here to talk about the Iron Court today. Seems there’s a rumor going around that the Iron Court is pure eeeeeeeevil, and all we want to do is destroy Summer and Winter and the Nevernever and bring the apocalypse down on everything.
And that’s just not true at all--well the evil part, anyway. Technology isn’t bad, and neither are we. So our kingdom is poisonous to normal fey; that’s not our fault. So our last king tried to overthrow the Summer and Winter courts. What do you think Mab and Oberon would have done if they discovered us first? Do we deserve to be wiped out, just for existing? Don’t we have a right to defend ourselves? Summer and Winter can deny it all they want; we’re a part of Faery, too, just like them. If you stab us, do we not bleed?
Or at least stab you right back?
It’s just something to think about, as we head into the final battle. Oh, and I’m supposed to tell you that you can enter to win a prize today, by leaving a comment about what you think of the Iron Court. So go ahead and do that, and hopefully, I’ll see you all between the pages ofThe Iron Queen.
--Glitch, First Lieutenant of the Iron Court
_____________________________________
We'd like to tell you a little bit about The Iron Queen, which was released this past Tuesday. Really, if you haven't picked it up yet, we highly recommend you do so soon. It's a fantastic read and our favorite out of the series. Who doesn't love a book that has a sizzling romance, action packed scenes and takes your emotions on one heck of a roller coaster ride.


My name is Meghan Chase.
I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.
This time, there will be no turning back

You can read my 5 star review of The Iron Queen here-
http://tinyurl.com/46pqlcz and don't miss the rest of our reviews for The Iron King & The Iron Daughter here http://tinyurl.com/6xrcbyn


Be sure to check out the The Iron Fey Facebook Page, visit the Faery World and don't forget to visit Julie's Blog! You don't know what exciting things you're missing out on if you don't.


The next stop in The Iron Queen blog tour is on Monday, January 31 @ The Story Siren, a member of The Winter Court.




Don't miss The Iron Queen video here-

As we said, we have brought gifts. 5 lucky winners will each receive a hand band, sterling silver Iron Queen charm bracelet
To enter, leave us a comment telling us which court you've pledged your alliance to and fill out this form below- (if you don't have a blog, you can still enter to win)


Be sure to visit each of the following sites who are apart of The Iron Queen Blog Tour, as each site will either have a character guest post, an interview with Julie, a giveaway and a lot more!


Monday, January 24- PageTurners Blog(Summer Court)

Tuesday, January 25- The Iron Queen is released (YOU MUST GO PICK IT UP) by order of the Courts. LOL
Wednesday, January 26- Ticket To Anywhere(Winter Court)
Friday, January 28- MundieMoms (Iron Court)
Monday, January 31- the Story Siren (Winter Court)
Wednesday, February 2- Galleysmith (Iron Court)
Friday, February 4- Word For Teens (Summer Court)
Monday, February 7- Bookalicio.us (Iron Court)
Wednesday, February 9- The Bookish (Summer Court)
Friday, February 11- The Book Cellar (Winter Court)

*Graphic made by Pam from Bookalicious*

Labels