Mundie Moms

Monday, October 27, 2014

Atlantia by Ally Condie, Book Review



By: Ally Condie
Published by: Dutton Books
To Be Released on: October 28th, 2014
Source: arc from publisher in exchange for a honest review
Rating: 4 Stars- I Enjoyed It!
Pre-Order it from: Amazon | B&N 
Add it to Goodreads

Can you hear Atlantia breathing?

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths. (quoted from Goodreads)

I love it when I'm excepting one thing with a book, and get something completely different. Ally Condie treated me to something I was not excepting. When I first read that Atlantia had Sirens, I, for whatever reason, thought mermaids. For the record, there are NO mermaids in this book. What this book has, however is an unpredictable plot line, a pretty cool world, some great characters, a well paced romance, and a few twists. 

Atlantia's world is two worlds in one. There's an Above and a Below. As in an UNDER SEA WORLD!! Who doesn't want to visit a world like that? I mean there's a reason why I picked #TeamBelow in Penguin Teen's blog tour for Atlantia (read about that here). There are both humans and sirens whom make up these worlds. Though many of the sirens live below, and for a reason. Mixed into this world is a history that is complex. For Rio, all she's ever wanted to do is go to the Above. When her mother dies, her sister leaves her, and she's left alone, she suddenly finds herself in the middle of something she never thought possible. 

With more questions than answers, Rio sets out to figure out a way to get to the Above, save her sister, find out what really happened to her mother, and embrace a secret she closely guards. Rio soon realizes that things are not as they have always seemed. Betrayals, twists and learning to follow her own heart, vs what she needs to do, make Rio into a character who becomes much stronger than she first seems. I liked Rio. I liked learning more about her, and the history of the sirens, and why the world is split into a Below and an Above. I also loved that at the heart of this story is a story of love. Not in the sensual love or romantic love, love there is some romance, but love as in the love only sisters can have. That played a crucial role in this story.

Ally Condie is a talented writer. Her writing is layered, and beautiful. She's one of the few authors who's writing makes it impossible for me to quickly read through her book. Instead of quickly telling a story, and filing me in on the details later on, Ally paces her story telling, and includes all the details as she's going. Nothing is missed. Everything little detail great or small is fit into her story, which works perfectly for Atlantia.  There is a lot to the story of Atlantia, which means there are time the story moves quickly, and other times the story is slower passed. There are things that need to be explained, and built up in order for the story to come together nicely. During the times that the story moved a little slower I didn't feel quite as engaged with it, nor was I as interested as I was when the story flowed more easily. 

Overall the story is great. I liked it. I liked how unpredictable it was for me. Especially the ending. I liked reading about the siren history, and getting to know Rio, and some of the other characters. The romance in the book was just right and kept me wanting more. But, there was something that I needed a little bit more of to really love the book like I wanted to. I can't even say what the something was. I'm a fan of Ally Condie's. I like her books. I like that Atlantia was not was I was excepting it to be. I love that in a YA book market that is saturated with series, this is a standalone. However, I will say that I wish this book had been stretched out to a duology, as I wanted a little more. 

If you're a fan of Ally Condie's, I would recommend picking up Atlantia. 


Check out my Team Below giveaway

ATLANTA by Ally Condie, #TEAMBELOW International Giveaway!!


We're 1 day away from the release of Ally Condie's new release, ATLANTIA!!! To celebrate the release, Penguin Teen created an excited tour for Team Above & Team Below. You can read about it here. In support of my fabulous team, #TEAMBELOW, I'm hosting a giveaway! First, check out each of #TEAMBELOW's posts below:


TEAM BELOW
September 28 – Mundie Moms Q&A
September 30 – I Read Banned Books Guest post
October 2 – Katie’s Book Blog Short Q&A
October 4 – YA Book Queen Review
October 6 – Bloody Bookaholic Fancasting
October 8 – Novel Thoughts Blog Guest post
October 10 – Fangirlish Review
October 12 – Ravenous Reader Review
October 14 – Novel Novice Playlist
October 16 – Gone with the Words Q&A
October 18 – Paper Cuts Guest post
October 20 – Eve’s Fan Garden Playlist
October 22 – Bookish Broads Q&A
October 24 – Reading Lark Review
October 26 – The Compulsive Reader Images that Inspired Atlantia

The Giveaway


Two beautiful Atlantia necklaces for both Team Above and Team Below. Both necklaces are boxed and ready to send out to one lucky winner! This is OPEN INTERNATIONALLY!!!

To enter, please fill out the form below:

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED & WINNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED

About The Book


By: Ally Condie
Published by: Dutton Books
To Be Released on: October 28th, 2014
Add it to Goodreads
Pre-Order it from: Amazon | B&N 

Can you hear Atlantia breathing?

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden—she has nothing left to lose.

Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths. (quoted from Goodreads)

STONE COLD TOUCH by Jennifer L. Armentrout, Blog Tour: Giveaway & Character Interview


Hello & Welcome to today's STONE COLD TOUCH blog tour! 
If you've not yet picked up Jennifer L. Armentrout's latest release, I HIGHLY recommend that you do. Check out my review to find out what I love this book so much, and why I'm not officially torn on who Layla should choose. Speaking of Layla, I'm so thrilled she's stopped by the blog today to chat about her favorite boys, Zayne & Roth. Even though I know she can't give away spoilers, I did try to get something out of her and who she'll choose..... Before you find out if she answered my question about them, here's a little bit about the book:



About STONE COLD TOUCH:

Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden.  Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…


BUY LINKS: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Kobo | iTunes
Add it to Goodreads


Hi Layla. Thank you for being on Mundie Moms today. I just have to say that after the end of Stone Cold Touch, I am Team Layla all the way. You've definitely been through a lot and have some hard choices to make coming up. I admire your strength, and your ability to some what keep Zayne and Roth both in check. What have you learned about yourself over the past two books?  

I've always felt different, kind of on the outside of both my human life and my life with the Wardens.  I think that I'm starting to realize that being different might not necessarily be a bad thing.


Until I read Stone Cold Touch, I totally thought I had figured out who would be the better guy for you between Roth and Zayne. Now, I have no idea who I think you will choose, if you choose anyone. Without giving anything away, if I were to ask if you could look into your future five years from now, do you know who you'd see yourself with? You can answer with just a yes or no if you'd like.

I really don't want to give anything away so I'm not even going to answer that with a yes or no. But you will definitely find out.


If you were the given the chance to be a normal teenager for day, and not worry about everything that's going on, what would you want to do or where would you go?  

I think I'd just love being able to walk down the street without seeing souls.  Or be able to be near souls without having the urge to take them.  I'm always aware of that desire and it would be freeing to be normal for a day.


What is something you love about both Roth, and Zayne? If they both have a nice butt, you can say that too. I won't tell anyone.

Well, they do both have nice butts, but I think there's a lot more to both guys.  Zayne's my best friend and he's always there for me.  Roth keeps me on my toes because he's always doing something that I wouldn't expect from a demon.  

What has been one of your favorite moments you've shared with Zayne?  

Zayne and I have been inseparable for years, so we've shared so much together.  I've grown up with Zayne and I couldn't even begin to choose a favorite moment.  It's really just the every day things that I love with Zayne like hanging out in the treehouse or getting ice cream.


What has been one of your favorite moments you've had with Roth?  

I don't think I can pick a favorite moment with Roth either!  Roth has introduced me to a different side of myself and different things.  He's full of surprises so it keeps all of our moments together interesting.

I'm looking forward to seeing what you do in the next book. I have a feeling that you'll be a force to be reckoned with, and that both guys will be in for a surprise when it comes to you. What's your favorite part of the story, the butt kicking or the kissing? 

I'm going to go with the kissing because I've never really been able to be close to someone like that before.


Speed Round Questions:
What's your favorite article of clothing? Cardigans
What's something you can not live without?  Cookie dough
Warm or cold weather?  Warm
Favorite dessert? Can I use cookie dough again?  Or a banana split.
Current Favorite band or song? Paradise City
If you're watching a movie, do you like romantic comedy, action or drama? Romantic comedy

Thank you Layla for stopping by today! I can't wait to find out who you choose. I know you've got a tough decision to make.


And don’t forget the previous books in The Dark Elements Series…

BITTER SWEET LOVE

WHITE HOT KISS

 And don't forget! The choice is yours...


Beginning October 21st you’ll have 3 weeks to visit the series website, www.thedarkelementsseries.com, to take a poll and decide which guy Layla should ultimately choose in the final book in the trilogy, EVERY LAST BREATH.

At the end of 3 weeks, we will tally all the votes, and that’s when Jennifer L. Armentrout will start writing EVERY LAST BREATH. The guy who gets the most votes is the one Layla will pick.

To prevent early spoilers, we're not going to reveal who won the poll in advance…you’ll have to wait until EVERY LAST BREATH goes on sale on July 28th, 2015 to find out whether Zayne or Roth wins Layla in the end. We promise the book will be epic and definitely worth the wait!


Who do you want Layla to end up with? 
Go to www.thedarkelementsseries.com and vote for your choice! 


About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.



GIVEAWAY:
One signed print copy of STONE COLD TOUCH for each site to giveaway. US/Canada only Giveaway.

GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED & WINNER HAS BEEN NOTIFIED

Blog Tour Schedule:

October 22
Vilma’s Book Blog-Video Review
October 23
Kimberlyfaye Reads-Quote Teasers
October 24
Stuck in Books-Character Interview w/ Roth & Zayne
October 25
October 26
The Irish Banana Review-DreamCast & Review
October 27
Mundie Moms-Character Interview w/ Layla
October 28
October 29
Emilie’s Book World-Character Interview w/ Roth, Zayne & Layla

October 30
Vi3tiBabe-Author Interview
October 31
Jenuine Cupcakes-Baking with Roth & Zayne

Reading Teen-Review


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