Mundie Moms

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Book Review: Sweet Venom (The Medusa Girls Bk 1)


Published by Harper Teen
To Be Released on September 6th, 2011
Source: ARC from author/publisher for review
5 stars- Go Pick It Up!

Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though. Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they're triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters. These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

I absolutely love Tera's YA books! Each one has a rich mythology and a romance that leaves me wanting more. Sweet Venom is another one of her must read books. Sweet Venom has a refreshing, unique Greek mythology with a trio of butt kicking, strong, realistically written teen sisters whom are also descendants of Medusa. I know I've said this many times before, but I absolutely love it when the story's protagonist (in this case there are three) is strong willed, can kick butt, knows when to ask for help, and has a strong sense of who they are. I think that sense of being grounded and secure with who they are is such a huge quality to have in a YA book.

I loved the twist on the sisters, how they met and the fact that they hail from an incredible mythological character, which also blesses them with a lot of abilities to fight the creatures they come in contact with. Gretchen, Grace and Greer are all identical in their looks, but these three have had three completely different childhoods and I liked how this molded their characters. Gretchen is the one whom I admired the most. She's got this fierce attitude, has been taught in the arts of fighting, and has been prepared for what's about to happen. Grace on the other hand comes from a normal family, has a over protective older brother, and is just an all around fun character to get to know. Greer is a little bit more reserved on what she's about to learn. She's introduced close to the end of the story, and I'm excited to get to know her more as the series continues.

Along with each sister is a fabulous love interest that kept me hooked. Tera does such a great job at stringing me along with her character chemistry and the "are they going to kiss yet" scenes. I loved Nick and Gretchen! Their scenes either made me smirk or laugh out loud. Nick is fabulous and I love that he's totally undeterred by Gretchen and her attitude towards him, which is for a good reason. Than there's Milo, Grace's brother's friend and surfer boy Kyle who's Greer's boyfriend.

Aside from well written characters, is an amazing mythological world that exists in the middle of the human world. Tera's world building and her explantations on how the girls are able to see these creatures and how they are descendants of Medusa is fascinating and intriguing. It's believable and I loved the spin she has on her Greek mythology. Sweet Venom is a well written book that sets the series up for a lot more action, twists, romance and leaves me wanting a whole lot more!

This book has everything I enjoy in a YA book. It's action packed, it has relatable characters, romance and makes me want to go beg her publisher to please release the sequel before next year. Not that I would really ask that.... I highly recommend picking this book up. Sweet Venom is a clean cut, fun, fast paced read that fans of Tera's will really enjoy. I'd recommend this to readers 12 years old & up.

Congratulations Cassie!

Congratulations to Cassie & her fellow nominees who have made the 2011 Inky Awards short list! You can read the entire short list here. Cassie's nominated for Silver Inky (International Book) for CLOCKWORK ANGEL!!

If you are TEEN between the ages of 12-20 you have until October 14th, 2011 to VOTE. Winners will be announced on the 25th of October at InkyFest.

Thoughtful Thursday- Spending a Day with Ash & Puck

Today's Thoughtful Thursday is "Spending the day with Ash & Puck". Now I didn't make that up, this is part of a contest Julie Kagawa is having for a SIGNED copy of The Iron Knight. Be sure to go enter!! We adore Julie and her characters, and couldn't pass up a chance to post about Ash and Puck. Really, who wouldn't want to spend the day with them.


Since we're moms and very busy, we can't spend the entire day with these boys. So we're going to spend a couple hours with them in between dropping kids off at school, doing errands, cleaning the house and picking our kids up (so that leaves about a hour). I'm going to do a surprise date for Sophie and Ash, and I'm pretty sure they'll both kill for this, but it will be worth it.

See, I'd plan a little picnic for Ash and Sophie, not a romantic one, but one where they could sit and talk, not that Ash would talk a lot. Sophie's a mom, so she'd be able to make him talk. I'd have a blanket and food all set out for them and I'd of course need to pull out the poisonous berries Puck would have accidentally left for Ash. Being a mom I'm sure Sophie would ask Ash if Meghan was cooking for him and she'd look at him, check him out and then tell him he needed to eat more, and then check him out again. She'd of course ask him about his sword fighting and Ash would be more than happy to give her a quick lesson with sword fighting. Then what date wouldn't be complete without one beautiful white horse magically appearing so they could enjoy a quick ride through the beautiful mountains near Lake Tahoe. It's cold enough there for Ash and not too far away from home for Sophie. Notice I said one horse.... Sophie would have to ride behind Ash and hold on for dear life.


Puck and I on the other hand would of course take the opportunity to spy on Sophie and Ash, not because Meghan would have asked us to, but because Puck would have course want to play a prank on Ash and I of course would want to see how it all went down. While watching the two of them talk and enjoy their picnic I'd of course ask Puck how he's been doing and make sure he's getting enough to eat and plenty of rest. Meghan would of course want to join us and I'd do the motherly thing that Sophie did w/ Ash, and ask her how she's doing. I'd make sure Ash is treating her well, that she's eating right and tell her that when it's time for mini Ash's to running around to contact us. At which point Puck would glare at me and I'd smirk and tell him to "cheer up Uncle Puck, you'll make a great babysitter." Then I'd of course quickly leave while laughing hysterically at the look on Puck's face, and the blush on Meghan's.

That's how we'd spend our short time with Ash and Puck, how would you spend your day? Go HERE to find out how to enter Julie's contest.

Don't worry, we'll be doing something for Jace and Simon... perhaps a Mango Monday....

September 2011 YA Releases

Oh wow, September has SO MANY AWESOME releases! I seriously have no idea how I'm going to pick and choose which books to purchase. I'm so excited for a lot of these upcoming releases as we'll be featuring them here on the blog.

Here's the books you can look forward to picking up this month!

September 1st
  1. Torrent (A River of Time Book #3) by Lisa T Bergren
  2. notes from an ACCIDENTAL BAND GEEK by Erin Dionne
  3. The Eleventh Plague by Jeff Hirsch
  4. The Predicteds by Christine Seifert
  5. Witch Song by Amber Argyle
  6. UltraViolet by RJ Anderson
  7. Ashes by Ilsa Black

September 5th
  1. The Shattering by Karen Healey
  2. Dear Bully edited by Megan Kelley Hall & Carrie Jones
  3. Blood, Book 1 of the Mercian Trilogy by K.J. Wignall
  4. Shut Out by Kody Keplinger

September 6th
  1. Sweet Venom by Terra Lynn Childs
  2. Vanish (Firelight #2) by Sophie Jordan
  3. The Hidden (The Hollow #3) by Jessica Verday
  4. The Fallen 3 by Thomas E Sniegoski
  5. All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin
  6. The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle

September 8th
  1. Witch Eyes by Scott Tracey
  2. Bloodborn (Other #2) by Karen Kincy

September 13th
  1. Drink, Slay, Love by Sarah Beth Durst
  2. Fateful by Claudia Gray
  3. After Obsession by Carrie Jones
  4. Frost by Marianna Baer
  5. So Silver Bright by Lisa Mantchev
  6. Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
  7. Every You, Every Me by David Levithan & Jonathan Farmer
  8. Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
  9. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

September 15th
  1. As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott

September 20th
  1. The Girl of Fire & Thorns by Rae Carson
  2. Beautiful Days(Bright Young Things #2) by Anna Godbersen
  3. Goliath (Leviathan) by Scott Westerfeld
  4. The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill by Heather Brewer
  5. Enthralled edited by Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong

September 27th
  1. The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton
  2. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
  3. The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
  4. The Mephisto Covenant by Trinity Faegen
  5. A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies
  6. If I Die by Rachel Vincent
  7. Lost in Time (A Blue Bloods Novel) by Melissa de la Cruz
  8. Indelible by Lani Woodland
  9. Ashfall by Mike Mullin
  10. Shifting by Bethany Wiggins

September 29th
  1. The Name of the Star by Maureen Johnson
  2. Lola & The Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

There are some titles that were scheduled for different release dates, and have been moved up. If after you've read through the list and don't see a YA title you know is being released this month, please let me know in the comments.

WItch Song Blog Tour: Chapter 5 Preview

Happy Release Day to Amber Argyle's Witch Song! We're the last stop in our Witch Song "teaser" Blog Tour. Over the last five days each stop has shared 5 pages from chapters 1-5. Today we're sharing the 1st five pages of chapter 5.


By Amber Argyle
Published by Rhemalda Publishing
To Be Released on September 1st, 2011

The world is changing.
For thousands of years, witch song has controlled everything from the winds to the shifting of the seasons. But not anymore. All the Witches are gone, taken captive by the dark Witch, Espen.

As the last echoes of witch song fade, Espen grows stronger as winter and summer come within the space of a day. Now she’s coming for the one she missed—a shy, untrained girl of fifteen named Brusenna. Somehow, Brusenna has to succeed where every other Witch has failed. Find Espen. Fight her. Defeat her. Or there won’t be anything left to save.

You can read the 1st Chapter here.

5. The Last Witch

Brusenna was slumped over, her chin bunched up on her chest, when Bruke woke her with a whine and a warm tongue. With a start, she took a deep breath and passed her hand over her face, smearing her nose with slobber. “Ew!” She wiped it dry with her sleeve and peered blearily out the window. She felt suddenly afraid. What if Wardof escaped last night?

She rushed to the beginning of the corn row and breathed a sigh of relief to see the bundle still securely wrapped. She glanced up and saw the first hints of light on the tree tops. Dawn would be here in moments. The journal said to wait until the first rays touched her face before singing. Not wanting Wardof to hear even the slightest bit of the song, she ran to the far side of the pumpkins.

She squared her shoulders and opened her mouth.

Oh morning light, hear my cry, To Haven I must fly.

As she sang, mist rose up from the ground. It congealed and thickened. The moment the light hit the mist, it turned golden and flashed with small sparks. Brusenna watched in awe as the mist trailed toward the northwest—the opposite direction of Gonstower. Then, as quickly as it appeared, the mist vaporized. Brusenna let out all of her breath in a rush. “Northwest.”

To the northwest was Perchance, capitol of the Harden City- State, of which Gonstower was a small part. Beyond lay the next City-State, Urway, which held Nefalie’s capital, Tressalay.

Witch Song 39

Beyond that, Brusenna’s knowledge was scant. She knew Nefalie was a small country, with Gonstower in the middle and it had a long coast line, though she’d never seen the sea and couldn’t imagine how tired her eyes would be if the view went on without end.

Back at the house, she added the journal to her overflowing satchel. No sooner had she set it by the door than Bruke’s ears lifted and his growl morphed into a bark. Brusenna stiffened. The trees and brush parted. In all her life, only Coyel had openly entered the clearing around her home. But now, a horde of men emerged from the trees. She blinked in disbelief, but they were still there, lead by Garg.

She placed a hand on Bruke’s head. “Stand down.”

With a groan that ended in a whine, the dog sat on his haunches and glared at the intruders.

She surveyed the men invading her fields. At least twelve of them; Garg in the lead. In his hand, the leather thong trailed behind the floating pendant. The pendant steered directly toward her. Unconsciously, her fingertips found the pendant inside her dress. Smooth and hard, it felt warm to her touch.

When Sheriff Tomack caught sight of her, he put a hand on Garg’s shoulder and motioned to one of his men to stay with the fat man. Then, the sheriff snatched the pendant and held it in his large fist while signaling for all but two of his men to leave. Once his men had left, the Sheriff stepped closer to Brusenna. “In front of my witnesses, please describe the events.”

Brusenna watched with delight as all but Sheriff Tomack’s face went green as she told of binding Wardof with the corn.

He held out the other half of the amber necklace, the waning gibbous. “I figure it should be yours after the trouble Wardof put you through.”

Brusenna studied the pendant as it twisted and twirled, catching the sunlight as it strained toward her. She’d forgotten about it until now. She reached out. At her touch, it went limp. She rubbed the stone beneath her thumbs. After only a moment’s hesitation,

Witch Song 40

she eased the thong over her head. Laying them side by side, she pushed. The pieces fit together with a click. Her eyes widened as the pendant began to glow. Thin streamers of light swirled away from it. All plants the light touched grew and turned a richer shade of green. Slowly the light faded to nothing. Her heart beating in her throat, she stared at the now-full moon—nothing but a thin curving seam showed where the two pieces parted.

Strangely, Sheriff Tomack didn’t seem surprised by the show. He leaned and whispered, “Miss, if you ever need anything again, you come to me. Understand?”

Tears stung Brusenna’s eyes. Perhaps her mother had been right about them having friends. “Thank you.”

“What happened to your mother? She dead?”

Brusenna cringed. “I don’t know.”

He studied her. “What else do you need?”

Brusenna sniffed and wiped her nose. “I’m going to look for my mother, but if I leave everything ...” she gestured to her home.

Sheriff Tomack looked around. “I can look after things while you’re gone, if you like?”

Brusenna nodded. “If I’m not here, the forest will forget in about a week. You should have no trouble finding it then. My livestock ... I don’t know what to do about them.”

“Tell you what I’ll do. I’ll take them to my place. As payment, you let me keep all they produce. When you come back, you take them back fair and square.”

Brusenna nodded. “And all the food that will sour?” He crossed his arms. “We could trade.”

She thought about that for a moment. “I need a horse.” “Show me what you have then.”

She took him into the cellar. He surveyed her stocked shelves in awe. “With the famine the way it is, I’d say this is well worth a horse. There’s enough here to feed my family for a year or more.” He turned back toward her. “One horse, a saddle and a pack. Whaddya say? Do we have an accord?”

Witch Song 41

He stuck out his hand. Brusenna hesitated. The last person to touch her had tried to kill her. But her triumph last night made her feel bold. She stuck her small hand in his large one. “Deal.”

“Have you any paper and ink?” She retrieved some and he went about writing a note. “My brother, Wittin, lives in Perchance, the next city northwest of here. Runs a horse business. This note’ll get you anything you need; I’ll pay him next we meet.”

Brusenna took the paper and quickly scanned it. It said exactly what Sheriff Tomack had said. She glanced nervously at the Sheriff. She’d never really trusted anyone before. The closest she’d ever come was Wardof. She had no idea if this place even existed. How did she know he wasn’t lying?

Sheriff Tomack must have noticed her hesitation. “Wary, I see.” He pulled a gold pocket watch from his vest. He caressed the face before handing it reluctantly to her. “Give this to my brother when you see him. It’s well worth a horse and saddle and he’ll recognize it as the one Father gave me when I left home. The Creators know, we fought over it enough.”

Brusenna took the watch shyly, dropping it and his note in the pocket that held her mother’s note. He gave her an encouraging smile. “I don’t claim to understand the ways of Witches, but I know if you help one in need, you’ll be repaid a hundred fold.”

She stared at him in awe. “If I don’t come back in time, you can keep the rest of the harvest. Just save us plenty of seeds.”

He grunted. “See, you’ve already more’n paid me.”

She started past Tomack but then paused. “Make sure Wardof doesn’t know where I’m going.”

He gave her an even look. “He won’t be getting out any time soon, I can promise you that.”

“He said when the others,” she deliberately left out the name Dark Witch, “found out, they’d release him.”

“Oh he did, did he?” Sheriff Tomack rubbed his beard. “Well, I’ll think of something.” With a nod, Sheriff Tomack left to feed her stock enough to last for the week it would take for the forest

Witch Song 42

to forget. She turned to the northwest. “Well Bruke, I guess we’re going to Perchance. Have you ever been there before?”

As if he knew exactly where he was going, he bound off in front of her. At the edge of the clearing, Brusenna turned back. Her home. Memories like drifting snowflakes swirled in her mind. She pushed them aside. The other Witches needed her. “I’m coming, Mother.”

_______________________________

The Tour:

8/28th- Page Turners, Witch Song Chapter 1

8/29- Fire & Ice, Witch Song Chapter 2

8/30- Once Upon A Twilight, Witch Song Chapter 3

8/31- We Fancy Books, Witch Song Chapter 4

9/1- Mundie Moms, Witch Song Chapter 5


Purchase From:



About The Author:

Be sure to follow Amber on her Blog, Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads.

You can also read Amber's Q&A about her debut here, follow the two different blog tour going on here, and find out where Amber will be signing at here.

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