Mundie Moms

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

August Clockwork Prince Teaser

Cassie has spoiled us rotten with all her fabulous teasers this past week and today she's treated to August's CP teaser!


Dear sensible Miss Gray,
I write to you on behalf of a mutual friend, one William Herondale. I know that it is his habit to come and go — most often go — from the Institute as he pleases, and that therefore it may be some time before any alarm is raised at his absence. But I ask you, as one who holds your good sense in esteem, not to assume this absence to be of the ordinary sort. I saw him myself last night and he was, to say the least, distraught when he left my residence. I have reason for concern that he might do himself an injury, and therefore I suggest that his whereabouts be sought and his safety ascertained. He is a difficult young man to like but I believe you see the good in him, as I do, Miss Gray, and that is why I humbly address my letter to you —
Your servant,
Magnus Bane

The mother in me is saying with concern "Oh Will, what have you gotten yourself into now" and the other part of me is more than a little concerned since Magnus wrote a letter to Tessa about it. Ugh, I can't wait till December to know what happened.

You can read the rest of her teasers here, and we also have the link to her teasers in our top right hand side bar.

Book Review: Bargains & Betrayals, BK #3 in the 13 To Life Series


Published by: St. Martin's Griffin
Released on: August 16th, 2011 TODAY
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars- I Really Enjoyed It

Locked away at Pecan Place, Jessie finds her situation to be even more dangerous than she feared. While she struggles to maintain her sanity and discover answers about the group that seems less and less like any legitimate government agency, Pietr fights to keep their relationship alive. But very aware that his mother’s time is running out, Pietr makes a deal he doesn’t dare tell Jessie about. Because the deal Pietr’s made could mean the death of far more than his tenuous relationship with the girl he loves.

Picking up right where Secrets & Shadows ended, Shannon Delany throws readers into a book full of action, emotionally intense scenes and a book that has an edgier, darker feel to it. Strap your seat belt on and hang on for this book's wild ride. Bargains and Betrayals was nothing I was excepting. There's a lot more at stake, a lot of twists, and along with Jessi's point of view, there's another character's pov of who helps in telling a story that is so perfectly fitting for a third book in a series I have really enjoy.

There's a lot of things I liked about this book and some things I missed, like Max's fabulous one liners. I missed Jessi and Pietr's daily interactions in the beginning of the book, but Shannon more than makes up for that in the second half of the story. I liked the way Shannon threw in a lot of self doubt and gave Pietr's character and journey that takes him to the darker side as he struggles with doing what's right and doing whatever he can to save his Mother and Jessi, even if that means he has to make a bargain with the devil figuratively speaking.

I was pleasantly surprised with the character growth of Jessi. She became such a strong character, as she not only has to stay strong and level headed for her own sanity, but she's the only one who can give Pietr the support he needs. Her love and unyielding faith in him helps him through some of his more darker inner battles. I really felt that Jessi finally grew into the character I had hoped she'd become. It's not that I didn't like her in the first two books, because I did, but I felt that she wasn't the strong character I had hoped she'd become. I really feel she's finally become the stronger character in the series. She's switched roles in a way with Pietr and Max who I always felt were a source of strength, and now they've become the ones who need someone else to rely on to help them through the battle they face emotionally.

With all that happens in Bargains and Betrayals, I like that Shannon isn't afraid to test her characters, and break some of them even more. I like that she doesn't give her story line a fairy tale feel to it and she keeps it raw, and realistic. With everything that happens I'm left wondering how much more Pietr and Jessi can take. There's so much that Shannon throws into this story that I didn't see coming. There's twists and turns, betrayals, and bargains that are made that effect each of the characters in one way or another. Though Shannon wraps up some of the previous story's lose ends in such a wonderful, twisted way, she also leaves me wanting more answers.

The tables have been turned and I'm eagerly awaiting the release of Destiny and Deception to find out how everything is going to end. There are some mentions of sex and a very tactfully written scene between two of the characters. I'd definitely recommend this to readers 14 yrs and older.

BETRAYED Blog Tour: Interview with Author Ednah Walters

Today is the second stop in the Betrayed Blog Tour. Yesterday I posted my 4.5 star review for Betrayed here and today I'm excited to have Ednah with us. Recently I was able to ask Ednah a few questions about The Guardian Legacy series and her writing.

Congratulations on the release of your sequel, BETRAYED. Do you feel writing a sequel is easier or more challenging?
It is in some aspects and it’s not in the other. Because the world-building is already done in book 1, there’s less research involved in book 2. On the other hand, I write romance and since the couple meet in book 1, which is usually exciting and fun to write, I find that I must try even harder to come up with an interesting and believable plot to continue holding the readers’ interest. After all, they already know the main characters love each other.
Which of your characters has surprised you the most with how much they've changed in BETRAYED?
Lil actually surprised me. I didn’t expect her to stand up for the less fortunate like she did. I mean, I knew that being an empath makes her more sensitive to others, but to actually stand up to the Cardinals…that came from nowhere. She was so new to everything in book 1 and was very emotional and reactionary when confronted with challenges. In book 2, we actually see her step out of her comfort zone to deal with adversaries.

What is one your favorite YA series? Why?
I like Heavenly by Jennifer Laurens. She has a unique way of getting inside her character’s head and creating believable and relatable heroines and situations. I was rooting for Matthias in that series from book 1. I took an acute dislike for Weston—a total douche.
If you could add one character from any YA book to your series, who would you add and why?
I think Patch from Hush, Hush series would be great. From the cover of the last book, I assume he earns his wings and goes back to being an angel. Nephilim and angels are not the best of friends since the angels hunted them down. To have an angel as part of their team would be interesting to write. For starters, everyone would hate him…except Lil. She is more open-minded. Second, Patch has an attitude that’s sure to irritate the others.
Where's your favorite place to write?
I have a comfortable chair in my bedroom and a laptop tray. The chair is shaped like beanie back, so lots of back support. Once I’m curled in it, there’s no pulling me out, unless something goes wrong-like the Wi-fi stops working. I love to check stuff online as I write.
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Thank you so much Ednah for joining us today!

You can visit Ednah online via her website, blog, facebook, twitter, Goodreads, and ProBoard.

You can purchase Betrayed via Amazon (Kindle), Amazon (paperback), Barnes & Noble (paperback), Barnes & Noble (Nook), and Smashwords

Twitter Tuesday - Holly Black

Holly tweeted this yesterday and this Mundie Mom's heartbeat went wacky for a few seconds while I read the excerpt.



Most of you may not know, but I will admit that White Cat sat on my TBR for a year. Yes, a year and I ignored the begging remarks made by my friends *glances nervously over at all of you who know who you are* to please, please, drop everything and read it.

Well, I did the day before I met Holly at her Northern Cal tour stop this past Spring. I was so sleep deprived and in sheer shock at the beauty of her story that I could only mumble stupid comments. So, listen to me, MMs, if you haven't picked this series up, yet -- DO. Like, RIGHT NOW. Because of gorgeous writing like this excerpt from Black Heart:
Lila's standing at the edge of the grass, looking up. She's wearing a long black coat and when she speaks, her breath condenses in the air like the ghosts of unspoken words. She looks like a ghost herself, all black and white in the shadow of leafless trees. "My father wants to see you," she says. "Okay," I say and follow her. Just like that. I'd probably follow her off a cliff.
And I'd follow this story off of a cliff. Well, maybe not a cliff per se, but you get the idea. Go and get it. Trust me. Jace is even in the stories, kinda sorta. See? You're picking it up now, aren't you?

Forgotten Winner





Congratulations to our winner of a hardcopy of FORGOTTEN by Cat Patrick:


LISA JOYNER!!!


Thank you everyone for entering. It makes me happy that we had so many entries on a story I truly loved. For those who missed the 5-star review, it's posted here.

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