Mundie Moms

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Waterfell by Amalie Howard, Cover Reveal

I'm so excited to be apart of today's cover reveal for Amalie Howard's WATERFELL hosted by Harlequin Teen & Good Choice Reading. You can see the first cover puzzle piece here are Good Choice Reading and the next one following mine will be at 10:30 on Shortie-Says. At noon today head over to Harlequin Teen's facebook pace to see the full reveal! 

Check it out my cover piece......



About the Book:

THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE QUEEN

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright-the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon-until her father's betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa's upcoming birthday-the day she comes of age.

Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa's mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her?


What Amalie had to say about the cover:


What’s your favorite thing about the cover?

I love the bands of water in the artwork. They are so symbolic of my protagonist’s fears and her sense of imprisonment in this book. She feels like she is trapped by what she’s born into and wants to escape her life, but in the end, she comes to realize that she can’t run away from who she is. To me, the cover art exemplified that struggle. I really love when book covers express a story of their own and it meshes with relevant themes from the book.

About the Author 


Seventeen Magazine Summer Club author Amalie Howard spent her childhood with her nose stuck in a book, from Grimm's Fairy Tales to Anne Rice, and everything in between. She is the author of Bloodspell and a published poet. She received a bachelor’s degree from Colby College in International Studies and a certificate in French Literature from the Ecole Normale SupĂ©rieure in Paris, France. When she's not writing or devouring other people's novels, she reviews books for TheLoopNY. She lives in New York with her husband and three children.

Of Triton by Anna Banks, Book Review


By: Anna Banks
Published by: MacMillian / Fierce Reads
To Be Released on: May 28th,  2013
Source: ARC from publisher to review
Series: Of Poseidon
4.5 Stars: I REALLY Enjoyed It!
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?


Nothing beats a hot summer read like a well written undersea romance. Every summer reading list should have at least one book on it that contains mermaids and an exciting undersea mythology. OF TRITON should be on your lists. Like with Of Poseidon, Anna Banks delivers another fabulous read with Of Triton. With it's snark, sizzling romance, and characters who spring to life, I couldn't help but fall in love with the world and mythology she's created, all over again.  I'm a sucker for a story that has an addicting romance, characters that are easy for me to fall in love with and care about, and an exciting mythology that's the story's backbone. OF TRITON has all that. I really enjoyed everything about this book.

I loved being back in Emma's world. I didn't realize how much I missed the characters until I started reading this book. They're all so easy to love, and I really enjoyed their moments together as couples, and together as a group. There are times when I felt like I was right there with each of them. I love it when an author is able to make their characters, and story come to life like that. Anna does such an awesome job at telling the story from both Emma and Galen's points of views. By alternating their voices, she allows readers to see what's happening within both worlds, and with both Emma and Galen.  Emma and Galen are two characters that I seriously love. I admire their feistiness, and how stubborn they both can be. When they want something or believe in something, like their love, they'll do whatever it takes to make it happen. Though this series focuses of them, I love the other two relationships that make up this story.

One of the things I enjoyed about the characters this time around, is that things that were left unanswered with some of them in Of Poseidon get answered in this book. And a character I wasn't too fond of originally, is a character I ended up liking more, because there are some interesting turn of events that made me understand her motives and choices in the first place. Yep, that's saying something without giving you guys any spoilers. I liked how this storyline developed, and what transpires with the characters. I LOVED all three couples in this book. Their chemistry and romances were perfectly developed in a way that was fitting for each of them.

Oh the twists, and things that happen as the story goes on. Let's just say before you want to go off on a character and sit in shock over something they do, keep reading to find out what happens, because not everything is as it first seems. Again, kudos for Anna's great written for throwing me off there. She made that incident totally believable to. I obviously fell for it. I also liked how things were explained so that it made the impossible see possible. The thought of undersea people has of course fascinated the human race for years, and I loved how this world felt believable. The other thing I really enjoyed about Of Triton was getting a closer look at the history of the two Kingdoms/families, and seeing how a few shocking twists caused them all to take into consideration some big changes to the way they've all lived for centuries.

There are three YA series that come to my mind that have these well written three dimensional under sea characters, incredible lore, and stories that are so easy to fall in love with. This series is obviously one of them, Tera Lynn Child's series and Tracy Deebs's series are the other two. If you're looking for that perfect Summer read to take pool side, to have at the beach or to read inside your air conditioned home, I'd highly recommend picking this one up! It's definitely one hot summer read you won't regret picking up.

Project Paper Dolls The Rules by Stacey Kade, Character Interview

Welcome to today's stop in the Project Paper Dolls The Rules tour stop. Today I'm thrilled to share an interview with one of the characters, Rachel from The Rules. But first, here's a little bit about the book.




1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…


Character Interview: Rachel Jacobs from Stacey Kade's The Rules

In this special interview, the saucy, headstrong and super popular Rachel Jacobs --- nemesis of Ariane Tucker --- stops by Mundie Moms for a chat...

Q) Thanks for agreeing to the interview. We are honored to be speaking with the Rachel Jacobs. Let’s get started. What kind of music do you like? What about movies and TV shows?
Rachel: Music? I don't really care. Whatever Hits One is playing on Sirius XM, I guess. 
As for television and movies, I prefer to make my own drama, thank you very much. 
Q) Who is your favorite designer? Who would you not get caught dead wearing?
Rachel: I have a signature style. All the icons do. So, it doesn't matter to me who the designer is for a particular piece as long as it's expensive, exclusive, and preferably red. That's my signature color within my signature style. And the brand I would not be caught dead wearing? Juicy Couture. Because...ew. When the moms in town are wearing it, it's about seven years past "in style." Do you hear me, Wingate? (Just fyi, for those of you who don't know, Wisconsin is, like, a complete time warp when it comes to fashion and culture. There are girls here who are actually still excited about wearing Ugg boots. Whatever.)
Q) What are your favorite accessories?
Rachel: Shoes. Glorious shoes! They change the look of an entire outfit (see signature style above) and it's a fantastic way to spend A LOT of money on something that will make people totally sick with envy. 
Q) What advice would you give to the new girl or new guy in school?

Rachel: Choose wisely. The people you associate with on your first day determine the kind of status you're going to have forever. So, be careful. And don't sit next to me unless I invite you to. 


Q) Are you okay with digging a little deeper, Rachel? Here we go. Being the granddaughter of GTX's mastermind must be no easy feat. How do you do it? And how do you make living in a town like Wingate exciting?


Rachel:  Actually, being a Jacobs in Wingate is awesome. Talk about a name that opens up doors anywhere. I'd hate to be anyone else. You know, to have to wait in line at a restaurant or actually pay my parking tickets. 


But yeah, living in Wingate is boring. See answer above about making my own drama. ;) 


Q) What exactly does your grandfather do? Do you have any juicy gossip about what goes on behind the scenes?


Rachel: Uh, yeah, I don't know what he does. He's in charge. He's the boss of pretty much everyone in town. That's enough for me. 


I have no idea what they do over there. Boring science stuff, mostly, I think. 


Q) Let's play word association, starting with your inner circle and then other classmates. What is the first word that comes to your mind when you think of:
Your grandfather: Home

Your parents: Gone
Cami: Bestie
Cassi: Thinks she's my bestie

Trey: So. Damn. Needy. Oh, wait, you said one word, right? 
Jonas: Fun
Zane: Challenge
Jenna: Boring
Ariane: FREAK

Q) Why do you feel it is so important to put Ariane in her place?

Rachel: Because, seriously, who does she think she is? How is what happened to that baby Jenna Mayborne any of her business? Jenna is the one who sought ME out, not the other way around. She knew what she was getting into. 


Look, there's a system for high school, an order. And it's not like it was my idea or anything. I'm just making sure everyone sticks to the rules. Because if people can do whatever they want, be friends with whoever they want, then chaos totally ensues. And some people might not end up with as many friends as they deserve.  


Q) Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself?

Rachel: Based on some of the Twitter hate I've been seeing, I think people are totally misjudging me. You're only hearing one side of the story, Twitter! Keep that in mind. Not that I care or anything.


**********
Thank you to Disney-Hyperion for today's stop and for Wiley for providing today's questions, and STACEY KADE for taking the time to answer today's questions.

About the Book:

By: Stacey Kade
Published by: Disney Hyperion
Released on: 4/23/13
Purchase the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads

Check back later today to read my review!

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