Mundie Moms

Sunday, September 30, 2012

TMI Movie News: Filming Re-Cap / Cassie Clare's Recent pics, news & more

This week was insane, and while I tried my best to keep up with all that was going on in the TMI world, I did a few pretty awesome posts. So, I'm going to attempt to do a quick catch up and post those here, starting with the MOST EXCITING one.... a picture of MAGNUS/ALEC's hands (really Godfrey and Kevin's). I am seriously jumping up and down with excitement that Magnus scenes are being shot!


Yes, that looks like glittery nail polish. I swear Magnus's nails look much better than my own. lol You can read Cassie's post here


Cassie also reposted this on Tumblr the other day and added she was "sad he didn't mention I did my MTV interview while wearing cat ears. ;)" Sounds like someone was getting to the role of Chairman Meow. Speaking of Chairman Meow, I wonder if we're going to see him. I'm hoping a picture or two will surface of him soon. 


There wasn't much posted this week from the set other than Cassie's pictures or from the filming locations from the fans who have faithfully been visiting the locations since filming began in Toronto.  But, TMI Source's Michelle did do a great write up from her set visit on day 27 which was from this past Thursday. You can read it here


ComingSoon.net uncovered an early look at the TMI: CoB logo. I've not officially heard if this part of the actual movie logo or not, but it looks legit to me. I LOVE the runes on here. Here's what they said: 

"The Mortal Instruments" is a series of six young adult fantasy books written by Cassandra Clare and published by Simon & Schuster/Margaret K. McElderry Books. In the series’ first book, the #1 New York Times bestseller "City of Bones," set in contemporary New York City, a seemingly ordinary teenager, Clary Fray, discovers she is the descendant of a line of Shadowhunters, a secret cadre of young half-angel warriors locked in an ancient battle to protect our world from demons. After the disappearance of her mother, Clary must join forces with a group of Shadowhunters, who introduce her to a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld, filled with demons, warlocks, vampires, werewolves and other deadly creatures.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones stars Lily Collins, Jaime Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Jemima West, Kevin Segers, Kevin Durand, Robert Maillet, Lena Headey, Jared Harris, Godfrey Gao, Aidan Turner, CCH Pounder and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and is targeting an August 23, 2013 release.

(The blue line on the left side of the image belongs to another property's ad and is not part of The Mortal Instruments logo.)



What do you guys think? I can't wait to see an actual movie poster, which I know is still months out. Those runes are fabulous!

Banned Books Week Kicks Off Today!


Today kicks off Banned Books Week! What is banned books week? This is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Per ALA: this week "highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community- librarians, publishers, booksellers, journalist, teacher, and readers of all types- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even though some consider unorthodox or unpopular." (-quoted from here). It's also the American Library Association's 30th Anniversary of the Freedom to Read! Congratulations to them.

Mundie Moms is a HUGE supporter of Banned Books Week. Sophie and I are both HUGE supporters of books, and reading, and neither of us feels anyone has the right to tell someone he or she can not read a certain book. As Moms, we're doing all we can now to educate our kiddos about the importance of reading, and celebrating the differences that make the book world. There are hundreds of thousands of books out there, and I personally will never understand why anyone feels the right to tell someone they can't read a book, because they don't like or don't agree with it. Yes, there are plenty of amazing reads out there, as well as other not so stellar books. There are books I don't personally don't like, or agree with, but as I've said before, just because I don't like a certain doesn't mean someone else won't enjoy it, or maybe even be moved or inspired by that book. 

It never ceases to amaze the books I'll find on the banned list. The Bible, Harry Potter, Winnie The Poor, classics etc. What I'll never understand is why? I know it's dangerous to let your kids read Winne the Pooh or Harry Potter. They might inspire them to gain an imagination and that would really bad...... (insert sarcasm). The bible is another book I will never understand why it's been banned before and I'm sure will be added many more times to this list. I personally don't understand how a country that was founded on Christian belief is also a country that banned the one book the unites the vast Christian sects found through out country. Now I'm not opening this up for any religious or political arguments. I'm stating my shock over how a book like that could be banned. I'm equally as shocked to have seen Winnie the Pooh, as well as a slew of other classics on the list.

Today's focus is on the classics. These are the classics that topped the list of Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Banned/Challenged books in the 20th Century (see the complete list here), were all books I read in high school. In fact, a few of them were books I read my senior year and inspired my love for the classics. For the sake of today's post I'm going to refrain from allowing my snarky side to come out and comment on why each of these books is on the list......
  1. The Great Gatbsy by F. Scott Fitzgerald
  2. The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
  3. The Grapes of Wrath by Joh Steinbeck
  4. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
  5. The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
  6. 1984 by George Orwell
  7. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
  8. Animal Farm by George Orwell
  9. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
  10. The Call of The Wild by Jack London
  11. Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
  12. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien
Oh and I forgot to list Shakespeare! I'm sure if I looked through ever banned book list I'd also find C.S. Lewis, but I don't have the hours it would take to through every banned book list to see if he's on there. 

Now I'll admit I despised having to read one or two of these books on the list, like Animal Farm. I mean I was a teenager and this book did not appeal to me what so ever at all, okay it still doesn't. Then there were books like The Grapes of Wrath who's richly layered, and detailed historical references painted a bleak, hopefully, heartbreaking story of what it was like during the Depression in the south. I swear that was the first time I felt myself emotionally connect with a book, because at the time I read it I understood the hopes and fears, the desires, and the need the characters felt/had/wanted. Then there was  something about The Great Gatsby I just loved. Okay maybe that had to do with the fact after we read the book, did a report on the book, and discussed it in class, we also watched the movie staring Robert Redford. I might have fallen in love with the storyline a little more after watching the movie. This is one book had I not read in high school, I never would have read it, and I'm glad I did. To Kill a Mockingbird stayed with me long after I read it and The Lord of the Flies showed me how savage people become when faced with the ultimate will of survival. And YES, many of these are books you'll find on my bookcase. 

I'm not going to let my kids grow up in world were they can't freely find and read some classics that challenge their way of thinking. That after is one of the benefits of reading. Reading challenges your views, makes you think outside the book, inspires you, and allows you to escapes into a world outside of the one we're all trying to find our place in. I'm sorry (okay I'm really not sorry),  but I'm not letting someone take that right away from me, or them, or someone else. 

Through out week here on Mundie Moms, and as well as Mundie Kids you'll find a daily Banned Book Week feature. Don't forget to go enter to win one of this year's most banned books HERE. Check out these other links for more Banned Books Week resources:


Frequently challenged books (information on how/why a book is challenged)
Resources: fro readers, teachers, librarians, kids, booksellers & more

My Weekly Round Up in the Stacks (IMM #141 Stacking the Shelves #5)

Happy Sunday! Welcome to another week of my weekly round up. You can see why I changed the name of this weekly meme here. Wow, this week flew by fast. Yesterday I had a blast working at the Austin Teen Book Festival. I swear it gets better and better each year. I can't wait to share my author interviews with you guys! I hope y'all had a great weekend. This week brought a few surprises, as well as some much anticipated books.  Here's what arrived this week:

For Review:


Random House:
Bloomsbury Teen:
Harper Teen:
Hyperion
Penguin

  • REACHED by Ally Condie, to be released on 11/13/12, I'm so excited to be on the team of bloggers who will taking part in challenges over the next few weeks to help promote the upcoming release of REACHED! I'll be hosting some REACHED swag giveaways shortly! Ally graciously signed a few of my posters yesterday when I saw her, and I'll be including those in my giveaways. Yes, they will be international.
Tor Teen:
SOHO Teen:
Spencer Hill Press:


Mundie Kids:
Purchased:
Gifted:


I'm really excited to show you guys this picture, as some of these items are goodies you can win via Shannon Messenger's upcoming book tour signing for her DEBUT book that releases this week, KEEPER OF THE LOST CITIES! You can also find out how you can win the swag and enter to win KEEPER via my blog tour for KEEPER here. THANK YOU SM!!!

Thank you to:

Shannon, Random House, Penguin, Harper Teen, SOHO Teen, Tor Teen, Spencer Hill Press, Hyperion and Bloomsbury for this week's awesome reads/treats. 

*********

Author Interviews/ Blog Tours / Giveaways
Reviews: 

Saturday, September 29, 2012

Book Review: Entice by Jessica Shirvington


Published by: Sourcebooks Fire
Released on: September 4th, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4.5 stars: I Really Enjoyed It!
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Violet Eden is Grigori - part angel, part human. Her destiny is to protect humans from the vengence of exiled angels. 

Knowing who to trust is key but, when Grigori reinforcements arrive, it becomes clear everyone is hiding something. Even Lincoln. The only thing Violet does know: Phoenix's hold over her is more dangerous than ever. 

The race to find the one thing that could tilt the balance of power brings them all to the sacred mountains of Jordan, where Violet's power will be pushed to the extreme. And the ultimate betrayal exposed. - quoted from Goodreads


A thrilling sequel full of suspense, fueled by passion, and filled with enticing plot twists. Jessica Shirvington exceeded my expectations with this book. She not only surprised me with the turn of events that plays out, but she emotionally hooked me with all that happens. You know an author has done a great job with their character development when there are times you find yourself wanting to yell at some of the characters over their blindness of what was going on, and other times you wish you could push two of the characters together and tell them to get over their foolishness and kiss and make up. There were times I was completely frustrated with the characters over their decisions making and lack of decision, and other times I was laughing out loud over some of the things they said or did. There were some fabulous moments left me sighing, that made up for some of the other not so stellar scenes between Lincoln and Violet. 

I enjoyed the romance that takes a back to seat to the more action packed, suspense filled story line. The romance between Lincoln and Violet is great, and I liked the role it played in the storyline. It's their motivator in doing some of the things they do. Violet for me was a character I grew a little frustrated with during the mid part of the book, because of some of the things that happened. I wanted her to confront the person who was the source of her distraction, but understood why she didn't. Even though I was internally yelling at her to say what was on her mind and let him have it. The relationship developments in this book are fabulous! Much like the characters, I felt their frustrations, happiness, hope, irritations, heartbreak and elations. Over all I really liked the character development that took place in ENTICE. I love that the things that I was frustrated with and other things that didn't quite add to me all made sense to me in the end.

Jessica did a fabulous job at creating diversions, and plot twists that kept me on my toes, and in the end she tied everything together perfectly.  I liked that the surprising turn a previous character has in this book. Though I did get my "I knew it!" moment at the end, the act of betrayal from one of the characters was one I had my guesses about through out the book, but couldn't be sure about. When it was finally revealed in the manner it was, it was a little shocking. I enjoyed the new cast of characters that were introduced and ended up playing a huge role in this storyline. I think fans of this series will really enjoy the direction this book goes. There's a lot that happens in this book. Don't let the size fool you. It's fast paced, packed with awesomeness and it leaves me wanting the next book in the series already. I definitely recommend picking this on up!

If you're in Austin today, stop by the Austin Teen Book Festival to come meet Jessica!

Stop by my Lincoln Day post to find out some of Lincoln's secrets here

Friday, September 28, 2012

Anew by Chelsea Fine Blog Tour: Book Review / Author Interview


I am thrilled to be the next stop in the Anew blog tour. Today author Chelsea Fine is on the blog to talk with me about her debut book!



Hi Chelsea! Thank you for being on Mundie Moms today. How would you describe Anew in 5 words or less?

Thank you for having me on! I’m so excited to be here! ☺ 

Okay. *taps chin* Using only five words, I’d have to say: Fountain of Youth, mystery, forbidden love.

Technically, that was six words, haha. But “of” doesn’t count, does it? It’s such a tiny little word…it’s insignificant, really…  

Did you have more fun creating the character chemistry or unraveling the mystery that surrounds Scarlet?

Ahh! ☺ What a great question! The mystery was fun, but creating the chemistry between my characters was EXCITING. I really loved writing scenes with Heather and Gabriel in them, because she’s annoying and he’s just tolerant, haha…for whatever reason, I find that entertaining. And writing scenes with Scarlet and Tristan was always a blast. I wanted readers to be wary of Tristan, but to like when Scarlet was intrigued by him and—since they don’t have an excess of dialogue between them—I had to build their tension using a lot of body language and inner thoughts. It was super fun!

I'm sure there are many readers who will read Anew and find themselves more drawn to one of the other brothers over the other. Did you find this was the case for yourself as you were writing them, or do you feel you were drawn to both guys equally?

I’m definitely drawn to one brother more than the other. So much so, that when I write scenes with my favorite brother, I don’t have to plan it out. I just start typing and write what I feel. I’m THAT connected to him. ;) 

What's one thing you admire about your main character Scarlet?

She yells back. Haha. I sometimes get annoyed by female characters who don’t scream back or defend themselves in a passionate way when a male character scolds them. Scarlet’s not afraid to fight back or follow her gut, and I like that. 

What was one of your favorite scenes/chapters to write?

There’s a scene in Anew where Tristan makes Scarlet pancakes at like 1am and it’s all dark and tense and he’s trying to stay away from her and she’s all curious about him and encroaching on his personal space…haha. Yeah. I love that scene. 

I also like the scene with Tristan and Gabriel going through the bloody weapons in Tristan’s trunk. ;) 

Do you have a favorite line from your book you can share with us?

I couldn’t narrow it down to just one line (because I’m ridiculous like that) but I like this passage: 

“Before he knew he was immortal. Before life was no longer fragile.
Those were the days when life truly meant something.
When life was hard but worthwhile, and love was valuable because your days were numbered.
That was living."

What can we except to learn about in book 2?

The history of Scarlet, Gabriel and Tristan! Awry is two stories woven together. It has the modern day story—where they’re trying to find the Fountain of Youth—and also the flashbacks of Scarlet’s first life—where the reader learns why Scarlet was engaged to Gabriel and what happened between her and Tristan. ☺

I can not wait to find out what happened between her and Tristan. Thank you for being on MM's today Chelsea! For more information about Chelsea and her series, visit her via: her blog | The Archers of Avalon website 



Published by: Acacia Publishing
Released on: December 7th, 2011
Source: book from author to review
3.5 stars: It's A Good Read
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Two years ago, Scarlet awoke in the forest alone, afraid, and unable to remember anything. Lost and confused, her life was a mystery...until she met a boy with a familiar voice. 

Gabriel Archer has a voice from her past, and Scarlet's determined to remember why. She immerses herself in his life only to discover he has a brother he's kept hidden from her: Tristan Archer. 

Upon meeting Tristan, Scarlet's world becomes even more muddled. While she's instinctively drawn to Gabriel, she's impossibly drawn to Tristan--and confused out of her mind. As she tries to piece together her history Scarlet realizes her past...might just be the death of her. -quoted from Goodreads

I really liked the way this story started off. The pacing was great, the characters were enjoyable, and the mystery behind Scarlet's lack of memory and her ties to the Archer Brothers was intriguing. In fact, I really enjoyed the first half of the book, and the ending, but some where in the middle the story faltered a little bit for me. I was excepting more than what I got. Though I felt the story was great up to this point, once the big reveal happened, and I found out the history and the ties between Scarlet and the Archer brothers I felt like something was missing after that. Don't get me wrong, it's still a good storyline, but I felt it fell a little flat after that and then gained momentum again for that killer ending. Between the big reveal and the end I excepted a little more of something. A little more action or romance, or suspense. Essentially I was looking for the WOW moment to make this story really stand out among the rest, or at best give me something to fuel my appetite leading up to the reveal moment and that didn't happen for me. 

This story did give me intrigue, hooked me at the beginning of the book, presented me with a love story that has spanned centuries, and has a few twists that left me wishing the sequel was already out. It also gave me a fabulously written swoon worthy guy, Tristan. It's not that I didn't enjoy his brother Gabriel, because I did. Gabriel holds the promises of forever and that sweet fairytale kind of true love, while Tristan has this whole angst, secretive, exciting thing going on. While both guys might look like Greek Gods, the chemistry between Tristan and Scarlet was fabulous! I loved everything about these two, and felt what they had and didn't have was believable. Kudos to Chelsea for writing this unique relationship in a way that didn't feel like "just another" love triangle. I started to see what Scarlet saw in both guys, but got what she really felt with Tristan. I seriously can't wait to find out what really happened between these two.

The curse and history that bonds these three characters together was enchanting, heart breaking and a little swoon worthy all at the same time. Okay it's a little romantic...that kind of tragic romance that you want to read more about, because there's one girl, two brothers, a curse, and true love. One's destined to love this girl forever, but can never have her, while the other is connected to her and can painfully find her time after time, only his curse kills her the closer he gets to her. See what I mean. I know, it's a killer of a curse. That's the part of the book that hooked me. Well that and there's secrets among secrets in this book, and I have the sinking feeling that the person responsible for this curse is unsuspectingly very much apart of Scarlet's life. Over all Anew gave me just enough to hook me and now leaves me patiently waiting to get my hands on Awry! I can't wait to discover all that unfolds with Scarlet, Tristan and Gabriel in this sequel. You can be sure I'll be picking up this sequel shortly.



Banned Books Week Giveaway Hop


It's that time of year that we here on MM's love. Celebrating Banned Book Week. While we'll be having our own celebrations next week, we're also taking part in a BBW giveaway! During this giveaway BBW celebration I'm giving away 1 book from this list of Banned Books to one lucky follower. 

Your choice of 1 of the following titles that are from both this year's top 10, 2012 banned books, as well as from the list of most banned books of all time. Some example of titles to choose from are:
  • The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
  • The Absolutely True Diary of a Part - Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
  • The Perks of Being a Wall Flower by Stephen Chobsky
  • TTYL, TTFN, L8R, G8R series by Lauren Myracle
  • Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling
  • The Giver by Lois Lowry
  • A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle
  • Roll of Thunder, Hear Me Cry by Mildred Taylor
  • Speak by Laure Halse Anderson
  • Forever by Judy Blume
Be sure to fill out this form here to enter:


For more chances to win be sure to check out these other bloggers who have joined in the giveaway.


Thursday, September 27, 2012

Blog Tour / Book Trailer Premiere: Brightest Kind of Darkness by P.T. Michelle Blog Tour: Book Review / Giveaway


I'm thrilled to be apart of today's Brightest Kind of Darkness Blog Tour! Today's post features my review, the book trailer PREMIERE, and a fabulous giveaway!



By: P.T. Michelle
Released on: June 27th, 2011
Source: book from author to review/blog tour
4 stars: I Enjoyed It

Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.

After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate.

Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past.

A thrilling paranormal read given the right amount of suspense, plenty of mystery that kept me hooked from beginning to end, and the oh so fabulous character chemistry that kept me turning the pages. Brightest Kind of Darkness was a book that I surprisingly enjoyed more than I thought I would. P.T.  Michelle's writing is great, and now I see why everyone has raved about her books. She provides plenty of detail, unsuspecting plot twits, a surprisingly terrifying villain, and plenty of heart pounding moments as well as moments that might have left me sighing once or twice. 

One of the things I love about a well written book is when I feel like I've escaped into a whole another world for a bit, and yet still feel like that world could really be apart of reality. This book has an intriguing original storyline set in modern day which gave it a very realistic feel, and I liked like that about this book. For the story's main character, Nara, life consists of high school, being a star soccer player, exploring a new relationship and trying to make sense of what her dreams and her lack of dreams are telling her. Nora for me was a great character to get to know. She's witty, has a great voice, and I found her to be both likable and realistic. This made it very easy for me to sympathize with her and emotionally connect with her when I needed to. There were times I wondered what I would have done or wondered how I would have handled some of the things she deals with. I truly enjoyed her voice, and that's one of the things that kept me hooked with her story.

Then there is Ethan. That incredibly enchanting "dark haired" boy with piercing eyes, a dark secret or two, who at first seems rough around the edges, has a gorgeous smile, and connects with Nara on a level no one else has before. Seems familiar right? Wrong! P.T. did an excellent job at surprising me with Ethan. I loved him from the moment I met him, and talk about a great character chemistry, these two have it. Instead of just creating "another one of those" relationships, P.T. created something a little different which gave Ethan and Nara's relationship depth, and made it feel realistic. I love how Nara questioned things, and thought things through, as well as trusted herself and her gut feeling with Ethan. Ethan himself becomes a knight in shining armor, and I love that Nara makes a joke about that in one scene after something happens.

This is book is packed full of fabulous moments between Ethan and Nara, as well as plenty of moments that will leave your heart racing, and in the end will give you a book you'll want to read more of. My only compliant with the book is that were one too many times I felt scenes were a little too detailed. It's not a bad thing, and it's most likely something a lot of readers will not even pick up. I've noticed that more and more books I read, the pickier I get with how detailed a scene is, and believe me I love detail, but I don't want a scene to have so much detail it makes me want to skip it. Aside from that, I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to reading Lucid, because I NEED TO KNOW what is going to happen next. Also, I totally love this cover. It captures the feel of the book perfectly. I'd recommend picking it up. 

*******

AND NOW, check out this BOOK TRAILER!!! I am so thrilled to be revealing the trailer for P.T. Michelle's Brightest Kind of Darkness. 



About the Author:
P.T. Michelle is author of the young adult series BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS. When P.T. isn’t writing, she can usually be found reading or taking pictures of landscapes, sunsets and anything beautiful or odd in nature.


LUCID: BRIGHTEST KIND OF DARKNESS, BOOK 2
Once Nara combines her prophetic ability with Ethan’s power to outsmart Fate at his own deadly cat-and-mouse game, she’s more determined than ever to help Ethan learn the meaning behind the raven sword tattoo that suddenly appeared on his back after their confrontation with Fate.

During her quest to uncover the tattoo’s secrets, Nara enlists the help of some new friends and discovers her own surprising connection to Ethan.

While Nara digs deeper into the mystery, her desire for answers leads her down a dangerous path full of powerful and ruthless enemies. Swept into an age-old battle, Nara quickly learns that keeping one’s enemies close can be a necessary evil, making an intangible enemy she can control far more preferable to the human enemies she can’t. 




The Giveaway: 



Today's giveaway includes 10 ebooks of BKod/Lucid (international) and 1 SIGNED paperback copy of BKoD (US only)! To enter, please fill out this form below

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Book Review: Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo


Published by: Henry Holt & Co
Released on: June 5th, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher/purchased book
5 stars: I LOVED IT!

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.

A sensational debut! Leigh Bardugo has mastered the art of story telling with her richly detailed, highly addictive fantasy. Her vivid world building, intriguing characters, and engaging storyline were pieced together perfectly. Shadow and Bone is a story rich in lore, added with darkness, given hope, and fueled by love. I did not want this story to end! I've said this before, and I'm going to say it again here, this year is the year of debut authors! I'm again in awe over phenomenal writing, incredible story telling, and a world I want more of. 

Leigh Bardugo's writing style is one I loved. She's an author who throws you right into the mix of what's going on. While the story starts out with a brief back story with the main character Alina and her best friend Mal, the following chapter puts readers right into the mix of everything that's going on and it doesn't slow down until the last page. What I loved about Leigh's writing is the way she tells the story. I felt like she is one of few authors I've read recently who have mastered that show and tell style of storytelling. She doesn't give you more than you need in this story, while at the same time in certain scenes she gives you just enough which fueled my addiction to this book. It hooked me from page one and I didn't stop reading it until I was done. Her writing, the elements that make up Shadow and Bone, and the flow of the storyline are masterfully pieced together. I'm sitting here writing my review withholding my urge to yell, "I WANT MORE!".

How could I not want more. This world is a dark, rich world that is beautiful, dangerous and enticing. The characters are ones I fell in love with. The secrets that unravel through out the course of this story are fabulous. Not to mention the love story that fuels this story is breathtaking. It's one of those slow burning romances that makes you want to quickly get to the end of the book so you know what happens, and yet leaves you clinging to each page as you devour every moment between the characters. 

I LOVED, loved, loved what Leigh did with Alina and Mal. What starts off as an incredible friendship turned into a realistic romance that left me yearning for more. The relationship between Alina and the Darkling was so well crafted. THANK YOU Leigh for not creating a love triangle. Finally, a story with two totally different, yet perfectly written relationships and it doesn't have a love triangle.  Not only that, the romance in this story is only small part of the over all story arch. You'll see what I mean when you read this book. I seriously wish I could elaborate on what it is I loved about each relationship, but I can't for the sake of spoilers. Just trust me when I say it's good!

If you're looking for a richly crafted fantasy, then you must pick up this book!! This is a brilliantly told story, and one I HIGHLY recommend reading. You'll be seeing this book on my top ten list of at the end of this year. I literally can not wait for book 2 to be out. This is a book I'll definitely be reading again. I'll rarely say this, as I'm not a huge fan of all the different YA books that are being optioned for movies, but I really hope this one makes it to the big screen!

You can learn more about Shadow & Bone's world here. If you're in the Austin area this weekend, stop by the Austin Teen Book Festival, as Leigh will be there!

Thoughtful Thursday: Make A Wish Foundation; A Wish Granted via the TMI Movie


 Sophie and I hold a special place in our hearts for children's organizations, namely Children's Hospitals, Make A Wish Foundation etc, etc. These organizations both hold special places in our hearts as we've have both witnessed first hand how these organizations have changed the lives of people near and dear to us. I won't lie, I got a little teary eyed over Cassie's tumblr post yesterday that said this:



My hand, Jamie Campbell-Bower (Jace’s) hand, Lily Collins (with the two silver rings) (Clary’s) hand and Grace’s hand.

Grace is our girl from the Make A Wish foundation — it was her wish to be on the Mortal Instruments set and be an extra. And she looked fabulous! Look for her big screen debut in August! (Taken with Instagram)


You can find out more about Make a Wish and donating here: http://www.wish.org/


I already knew how amazing The TMI fandom was, as well as the cast and crew who are making the TMI movie, but this just put them on a whole new pedal stool for me. I LOVE that everyone involved with this made it their mission to grant the wish of Grace!

Grace, you are an amazing girl and I can't wait to see you on the big screen!

To learn more about Make A Wish, and find out how you can help grant the wish of some incredible kids, please stop by here http://www.wish.org/.

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