Mundie Moms

Friday, August 19, 2016

HEIRS OF WATSON ISLAND Series by Martina Boone / GIVEAWAY!

We're celebrating the paper back release of PERSUASION with Martina Boone! Trust me, you do not want to miss her seriously amazing giveaway below!



I am so thrilled to team up with HEIRS OF WATSON ISLAND author, Martina Boone, to celebrate the upcoming paper back release of Persuasion (on Tuesday), and the upcoming, highly anticipated release of the third book in the series, ILLUSION, coming this October! I love this series. If you haven't already, now is your chance to pick up the first two books in the series. Compulsion is already out in paperback, and Persuasion will be out in paperback on Tuesday! To celebrate, Martina has put together a HUGE giveaway! Before you check it out, here's a little bit about her series:


COMPULSION
Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse ISBN: 18732883

Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

Three hundred years ago, an ancient spirit cursed one of the founding families of Watson Island and gave the other two magical gifts that became compulsions. Arriving for the first time at her aunt’s plantation home, Barrie Watson finds herself haunted by the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she can’t see. With the help of Eight Beaufort, who seems to know what she wants before she knows herself, the last Watson heir starts to unravel her family's twisted secrets. What she finds is dangerous: a love she never expected, a river that turns to fire at midnight, a gorgeous cousin who isn’t what she seems, and very real enemies who want both Eight and Barrie dead.

Purchase from: IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Book Depository 

Add it to : Goodreads

PRAISE FOR COMPULSION



RT Book Reviews Top Pick & Editor’s Best 
USA TODAY Must-Read Paranormal 
Goodreads Best Books of the Month & YA Best Books of the Month


PERSUASION 
Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse ISBN: 148141125X

As reporters chasing rumors of a stolen shipment of Civil War gold descend on Watson Island, Barrie Watson discovers more is buried at Colesworth Place than treasure. A mysterious, magical man claims the key to the Watson and Beaufort gifts and the Colesworth curse also lies beneath the mansion, and Barrie has no option but to help him find it. While she and Eight Beaufort struggle to make sense of the escalating danger and their growing feelings for each other, Barrie must decide not only whom to trust, but which gift is more reliable—Eight’s or her own. With the fate of the founding families at stake, she has to choose between what she feels deep in her heart and what will keep her loved ones safe.

Purchase from: IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon |  Book Depository 

Add it to: Goodreads

ILLUSION
Hardcover, 10/25/15
Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse ISBN: 
1481411306

Caged by secrets all around her and haunted by mistakes that have estranged her from Eight Beaufort, Barrie Watson is desperate to break the curse that puts her family in danger—without breaking the beautiful magic that protects Watson’s Landing. To do that, she must heal the rifts that have split the families of the island apart for three hundred years, unravel the mystery of the Fire Carrier and the spirits he guards, and take control of forces so deadly and awe-inspiring they threaten to overwhelm her.

With the spirits that cursed Watson Island centuries ago awake and more dangerous than ever, she finds an unlikely ally in the haunting and enigmatic Obadiah, whose motivations and power she still can’t read—or trust. His help comes at a price, however, plunging Barrie into a deadly maze of magic and wonder, mystery and intrigue that leads through history to places she never imagined she could go.


Purchase from: IndieBound | Barnes & Noble | Amazon | Book Depository 

Add it to: Goodreads

ENTER TO WIN (U.S. ONLY)



Win a copies of SIX OF CROWS, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES, BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA, and a signed copy of HOURGLASS, along with a COMPULSION FOR READING t-shirt and a signed set of COMPULSION, PERSUASION, and ILLUSION charm bookmarks.

Enter by 9/20.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LORD OF SHADOWS Snippet Featuring Mark and Emma #Shadowhunters

Happy Friday Shadowhunters! Check out the new Lord of Shadows snippet Cassie recently shared, featuring Mark and Emma! 


LORD OF SHADOWS snippet: (illustrated by the wonderful CASSANDRA JEAN)
When Emma came out into her bedroom, wearing sweatpants and a tank top and rubbing her hair dry with a green towel, she found Mark curled up at the foot of her bed, reading a copy of Alice in Wonderland.
He was wearing a pair of cotton pajama bottoms that Emma had bought for three dollars from a vendor on the side of the PCH. He was partial to them as being oddly close in their loose, light material to the sort of trousers he’d worn in Faerie. 
If it bothered him that they also had a pattern of green shamrocks embroidered with the words GET LUCKY on them, he didn’t show it. He sat up when Emma came in, scrubbing his hands through his hair, and smiled at her. 
Mark had a smile that could break your heart. It seemed to take up his whole face and brighten his eyes, firing the blue and gold from inside. 
“A strange evening, forsooth,” he said.
Emma put her hands on her hips. “Don’t you forsooth me.”

I am really looking forward to reading Lord of Shadows, and I may even love Mark more. Not only is he reading Alice in Wonderland, he's rocking those shamrock pj bottoms without a care in the world. 

We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han / Flashback Friday: Book Review


By: Jenny Han
Published by: Simon and Schuster
Released on: April 24, 2012
Series: The Summer I Turned Pretty #3
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | IndieBound | iBooks | Book Depository
Add it to: Goodreads
Source: Purchased
Rating: 4 stars - I enjoyed it

* * * SPOILERS FOR THE FIRST TWO BOOKS IN THE SERIES * * * 

It's been two years since Conrad told Belly to go with Jeremiah. She and Jeremiah have been inseparable ever since, even attending the same college-- only, their relationship hasn't exactly been the happily ever after Belly had hoped it would be. And when Jeremiah makes the worst mistake a boy can make, Belly is forced to question what she thought was true love. Does she really have a future with Jeremiah? Has she ever gotten over Conrad? It's time for Belly to decide, once and for all, who has her heart forever. 

This is the third book in the Summer I Turned Pretty series (links to my reviews for book #1 , The Summer I Turned Pretty and book #2, It's Not Summer Without You), and it finds Belly aging two years to the summer after her freshman year in college. While I spent the first book wondering if Belly would end up with either Jeremiah or Conrad, and book two wondering if Conrad could be a bigger butthead, this book left me wondering if either Fisher boy was right for Belly.

Right away you get the idea that lighthearted, happy-go-lucky Jeremiah may not be the ideal match for our yes, still very, very, very naive (to the nth power) Belly. There are obvious hints that he's a party boy, maybe too involved in his frat and not so involved in his academic pursuits. But, Belly brushes all that off until THE ONE THING THAT HAPPENS (I know I promised I was going to try to keep it as spoiler free as possible, but it's so hard because this is the third book in the series). While, Belly tried to reconcile this ONE THING, her best friend, Taylor (yes, the very one who was on the outs in the previous book) became her voice of reason and best supporter. I grew to adore Taylor's dedication to party planning, friendship and choosing all the right accessories. It almost made me forget that ONE THING.

But sadly, the ONE THING led Belly and Jeremiah down a plot that left me, frankly, eye-rolly. It became a very predictable and plodding cliche. I found myself desperate for the slightest mention of Conrad, who appeared at moments when I thought I may just give up on this series. But, I plowed on, and I'm glad I did. In this last installment, it is very obvious that Conrad matured the most out of all the characters. He finally seemed to have direction, and the angst (understandable with the way his father treated his mother, their inevitable divorce and the return of her cancer) he felt in books one and two had dissipated. What was left was a guy who cared for his brother, and even above that, he cared for Belly. He reminded me of my very favorite, literary hero -- Mr. Darcy. He was proud, stubborn, but in the end, he acquiesced and did the right thing. His character arc bumped the book from 2.5-3 stars back up to a solid 4.

How was the ending? It was logical and everything that I wanted it to be, at least in that moment. Belly is still far too innocent to be entirely believable. Conrad is very heroic. Jeremiah is flawed, but a goofball. Long term, would either relationship work out for Belly? I'm in the camp that it wouldn't because eventually, Belly would come to a firm understanding of who she is, and that would change the dynamic between her and either boy. Jenny Han does pick a side, and like I mentioned above, it was a good, logical, horribly romantic pick.

Summer is still in full swing according to the temps in my neck of the woods. So, a story about a girl and two boys she sees only over summers accompanies this August heatwave nicely. Pick up the series and come back here to let me know your thoughts.

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