Mundie Moms

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

Cassie Answers a Few TLH Questions: James & Lucie

Cassie answered a few TLH questions on her tumblr today:

Q. Since your answering some Last Hour questions - can we expect James and Lucie’s parentage and unique powers (? in Lucie’s case) to be a point of prejudice they regularly face in Shadowhunter society? — glamour weaver

Cassie: Lucie may or may not have powers — she doesn’t know as the books open. It’s something she wonders about. James does (as we know from Midnight Heir) and does regularly face prejudice regarding it. To the point, in fact, where he had to leave the Shadowhunter Academy in Idris as a kid because he was badly bullied. It is however how he and Matthew became friends, so silver lining to everything I guess!

by Cassandra Jean

Here's what Cassie had to say about these two drawings by Cassandra Jean:
I love how this art of James and Matthew (above) echoes the art of Will in Jem’s lap (below.) Someone’s always reading, and it’s always a Herondale.
by Cassandra Jean


Q. Matthew Fairchild has been pictured with a green carnation multiple times. Is this a hint to his sexuality? — countdorkula

Cassie: Mm, doin’ your history research! Oscar Wilde popularized the wearing of green carnations with the opening of his play Lady Windermere’s Fan. Because of him, the wearing of green carnations did become a symbol for gay male communities in London and Paris. The green carnation though does mean more than that.

Oscar Wilde and the Green Carnation: Note that the green carnation that Wilde wore in his buttonhole was not natural. A florist had to dye a carnation in order to make it green. It had to be created. The green carnation has resonances that encompass not only Wilde’s sexuality, but his views on literature and art.

Matthew is a fan of Oscar Wilde (dead three years by the time Last Hours begins) and the aesthetic movement, which believed that art didn’t need to be moral, it just needed to be beautiful — challenging the predominant didactic ethos of Victorian art and writing, which believed the sole purpose of art was to educate and elevate.

So anyway, that’s a long way of saying Matthew might be gay, or he might be bisexual, or he might be straight and a fan of the aesthetic movement. We must wait to see. There is a gay male romance in The Last Hours, and also a lesbian pairing.

Q. Hi Cassie! I’m so excited for TLH and all these questions you answer make me even more excited! Anyway, I was wondering who has more of the Herondale’s bitter sense of humor, James or Lucie? Also, since Will prefers Lucie to marry Alistair, would that cause a conflict between them? I can imagine Will being that overprotected wait here while I go get my gun type of dad haha — fizziandmel

Cassie: Well, Will would like Lucie to marry Alastair eventually. Like, when she’s 21 and he’s 27. Not, like, right at the moment. Is he going to be thrilled about Lucie’s partially dead love interest? Probably not. :) Stuff is complicated though and so is Lucie’s love life! And Lucie and James kind of have their own senses of humor, but both of them have a bit of Will.

Q. How much of Jem is going to be in The Last Hours series? Will there be a series (if Jem and Tessa have kids) from the maybe kids of Jem and Tessa? One more will there be any Jem and Will interactions? I one hundred percent understand if you aren’t able to answer these questions. Thank you so much for saving me with your writing! — minniviggy

Cassie: Hello, Jem fan! Yes, I see you there, being all about Jem. That is ok. I also love Jem. I cannot tell you much about Jem’s future — I’d say come back and ask after City of Heavenly Fire. But yes, he and Will interact in The Last Hours. I always figured that once Jem was off being an SB, Will would spend his time making up reasons why he needed to see the Silent Brothers or visit the City of Bones constantly.

Will: I have cut my finger! I need to see the Silent Brothers!
Henry: Surely it will heal on its own?
Will: I AM BLEEDING OUT. TAKE ME TO BROTHER ZACHARIAH.
- - -

As a firm Team Jem-mer (Jem, Jemmy, Jemmmm, you get the idea), you cannot believe how much I love that last question and I fully believe that Will would be just like that! LOL. Loving these TLH questions and answers as well as those pictures above. I think we're going through Cassie book withdrawal here at Mundie Moms. I just may have to start my re-read of CoLS a little early.

Twitter Tuesday: Michelle Zink and Alexandra Bracken


Alex Bracken (Darkest Minds, Never Fade, Brightly Woven) had some amazing news to share (here's a link to her post) about her new series. All I can say is time-travel + "dangerous treasure hunt"??? Mundie Moms, you know that we are SO THERE. Congratulations Alex!!!

Don't forget to add Passenger to your goodreads shelf.


Michelle Zink (Prophecy of the Sisters series, Temptation of Angels, Wicked Game) has wonderful news about a series that, well, it includes thieves and heists. I know! It's like they are both writing ALL THE THINGS WE LOVE AT ONCE. 2015 is going to be a great year for stories!


Here are the announcements on Publishers Weekly:


Cassie's The Last Hours was also officially announced today in PW, and I know you've added the entire series to your goodreads TBR list already. Doesn't 2017 seem so very far away? But, the alternating schedule is such an amazing gift to all of us. Thank you, Cassie:


COMPULSION by Martina Boone, Cover Reveal & Giveaway!


Hello & Welcome to today's exciting cover reveal for debut author Martina Boone's COMPULSION! I am so thrilled to help Martina reveal her cover. Before I tell you about her book, and her awesome giveaway today, check out THIS cover:


I'm totally loving this cover. This is the kind of cover that would make me pick up this book if I was heading out to the pool or the beach, or snuggle up with on a cool fall day. What do you guys think of the cover? Find out more about the book:

ABOUT THE BOOK

COMPULSION
By Martina Boone
Hardcover
October 28, 2014
ISBN: 18732883
Simon & Schuster, Simon Pulse

Three plantations. Two wishes. One ancient curse.

When loss is all you know, how do you find true love?

All her life, Barrie Watson has been a virtual prisoner in the house where she lived with her shut-in mother. When her mother dies, Barrie promises to put some mileage on her stiletto heels. But she finds a new kind of prison at her aunt’s South Carolina plantation instead—a prison guarded by an ancient spirit who long ago cursed one of the three founding families of Watson Island and gave the others magical gifts that became compulsions.

Stuck with the ghosts of a generations-old feud and hunted by forces she cannot see, Barrie must find a way to break free of the family legacy. With the help of sun-kissed Eight Beaufort, who knows what Barrie 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.

ADD TO GOODREADS | PREORDER

Here's a little video tease of the book with the cover reveal. (Not the book trailer -- that will be coming later.) 


Teaser One

When I first started writing Compulsion, the part of Barrie's godfather Mark was meant to be very small. But I ended up loving him and the relationship he has with Barrie so much that he stuck his size-fourteen Louboutins into nearly every chapter.

Here's an example. We're starting with Mark talking to Barrie on the phone:

“Good. So tell me about this moonlit walk with your lucky number.”

“Well, there was moonlight and there was walking.” Barrie drew her knees to her chest to try to hold herself together. But there were more and more pieces of her heart splintering off all the time. “Then this morning he brought me a rose and took me to see sea turtles, and fed me the most amazing hot dog for lunch. A can’t-do-better-so-never-eat-hot-dogs-anywhere-else hot dog, so it’s a good thing I hate baseball, or I’d starve at the games. Have you ever heard of sweet potato mustard?”

“Sounds too good to be true,” Mark said. “The boy, I mean, not the mustard.”
Barrie thought of the way Eight pushed and acted like he knew everything, and she almost laughed. 

“Trust me, he isn’t too good. He is picking me up in an hour, though, so I have to hang up. Oh, and I lost my phone. Call Pru’s number if you need me.” Mark was quiet so long, she thought she’d lost the connection. “Mark?”

“I’m still here. Quick, what shoes are you wearing?”

“Jeffersons.” As always, Barrie named the first shoes that came to mind, which was how the game was played.

“Jeffersons? Huh. High and sporty. Kick-ass cute without making you seem like you’re trying hard. You be very careful now, sweetness. You’re not used to this, and the number’s still just a boy. You’ve got places to go. No falling for him.”

No worries.

Barrie didn’t need that kind of aggravation.

Teaser Two

The next teaser speaks a little bit to some of the unique elements of Watson's Landing, one of the three plantations around which the HEIRS OF WATSON ISLAND trilogy is centered. Arriving at Watson's Landing as the de-facto Watson heir, Barrie has no idea what she's getting into, and because of the way some secret, spoilerish things happened in her family, there isn't anyone who can explain it to her. She keeps getting herself into situations she isn't prepared for at all.

From the top basin of the three-tiered fountain, a figure stared back at her. Not a person. Another spirit of some kind, a woman with translucent hair cascading around shoulders that melted into water drops and the moonlit dark of night. Her fingers were rivulets pouring into the basin, her legs and hips and torso a streaming column of water. She watched Barrie with ancient eyes, evaluating her. Judging. Yes, that was the word. Barrie felt she was being judged.

“W-what do you want?” Barrie croaked. 

The voice that answered was a whisper of water and a breath of wind. It came from inside Barrie’s mind and from everywhere around her. “You have given blood,” it seemed to say.

“Given?” Barrie swayed on her feet. She grabbed the edge of the fountain to keep from falling.

“We accept the binding.”


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Martina Boone was born in Prague and spoke several languages before learning English. Her first teacher in the U.S. made fun of her for not pronouncing the "wh" sound right, so she set out to master "all the words”—she's still working on that! In the meantime, she’s writing contemporary fantasy set in the kinds of magical places she'd love to visit. If you like romance steeped in mystery, mayhem, Spanish moss, and a bit of magic, she hopes you'll look forward to meeting Barrie, Eight, Cassie, Pru, Seven and the other characters of Watson Island.

ABOUT THE GIVEAWAY



To celebrate the new cover, Martina is giving away an ARC of Compulsion, which will be hot off the press in a couple of weeks. The winner will receive on of the very first copies, signed and personalized, of course. To go along with the ARC, Martina is also giving away a sterling silver key necklace with a design similar to the keys on the necklace Barrie wears in the book. There are also some great, signed books she loves and wants to share:
The giveaway will run through 3/31/14, and it's open internationally. Use the Rafflecopter giveaway  below to enter.

Martina's running eight giveaways in total, in honor of the cover reveal and Eight Beaufort, Barrie Watson's delicious love interest. Each has more great signed books (or series) from her favorite authors, including Laini Taylor, Maggie Steifvater, Stephanie Kuehn, Tahereh Mafi, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl, Megan Shepherd, Veronica Roth, Claudia Gray, Kendare Blake, and Jennifer L. Armentrout. Click the banner here to find them all.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

The Winner's Curse by Marie Rutkoski, Book Review


By: Marie Rutkoksi
Published by: Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Released on: March 4th, 2014 - TODAY
Source: bound manuscript / arc from publisher to review
Rating: 5 Stars- I LOVED IT!
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads
Winning what you want may cost you everything you love 
As a general’s daughter in a vast empire that revels in war and enslaves those it conquers, seventeen-year-old Kestrel has two choices: she can join the military or get married. But Kestrel has other intentions. One day, she is startled to find a kindred spirit in a young slave up for auction. Arin’s eyes seem to defy everything and everyone. Following her instinct, Kestrel buys him—with unexpected consequences. It’s not long before she has to hide her growing love for Arin. But he, too, has a secret, and Kestrel quickly learns that the price she paid for a fellow human is much higher than she ever could have imagined. 
Set in a richly imagined new world, The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski is a story of deadly games where everything is at stake, and the gamble is whether you will keep your head or lose your heart.
I can not even begin to tell you guys how excited I am to finally share my review for this amazing book! I read this book last March, and I have been impatiently waiting for this day, RELEASE day, ever since. 
**************

I absolutely LOVE this book! It sits nicely displayed on one of my "favorites shelves" which also holds some of my other favorite historical fantasies like Leigh Bardugo's Grisha Trilogy, and Sarah J. Maas's Throne of Glass series. Like both of those series, I could not get enough of this book. I loved everything about it. From Marie's writing, to the historical fantasy elements, the incredible world building, the characters, the romance, and more. There wasn't anything I didn't love about this book.

Marie's writing is simply stunning. There is no detail little or big that goes unnoticed in this book. Every thing included in The Winner's Curse has a purpose. I love it when an author uses every element, and every little detail to tell their story. These details go into the characters, and the settings. I've rarely read a story that has such well defined characters who felt like they were real. Marie's characters are not two dimensional characters who are simply in the story. Her characters are the story. Their personalities, their beliefs, their backgrounds, and the way they were/are raised not only define each character, but these important elements make them feel that much more real. They're believable. 

Normally in my reviews I focus on a couple of the characters that I loved reading about, but with this book aside from the main two, I'm going to focus more on they way Marie crafted her characters. I love what she did. Marie gave me characters I understood, both right and wrong. She emotionally connected me with them. Normally when I would have decided I didn't like a character, she made me understand them, and understand the choices they made, and understand the beliefs they stood by. The character relationships are awesome! They are complex, and complicated, because of the differences of cultures and view points. Krestel and Arin couldn't be more different, and more similar. One is the daughter of a successful General who continues to grow his empire with each conquest. Taking captive those who's land he wages war against, and then there's Arin. A slave she wins the bid on. While both characters are bound by the circumstances that surround them, they both want to fight for something more, something that's impossible for either to have, freedom.

Ringing true to the book's title, I loved how Marie tackled the winner's curse. There is so much at stake for those on the opposing sides to all that happens in this book. Everyone has something to lose. Even those who win, don't win without losing something. I loved that instead of telling who was good and bad, Marie showed me both sides of all that was happening. It made me realize just complex things, because no one is right or wrong, and yet at the same time everyone every one was both of those things. Everyone has a little of both in them and their decisions. They're all right in some accepts and yet they're wrong in the same ones. I loved that Marie's writing was smooth, and intelligent. Everything was strategically written. Whether it be love, war, or personal freedom, the price of winning always comes at a cost, and no one knows that better than Krestel and Arin. 

Kestrel and Arin have an awesome chemistry! Their romance is dangerous, and their relationship complicated. Yet what they feel for each other comes naturally and freely. Like the rest of the the story, there are two sides to everything, and their relationship is no different. The passion and love they have for each other seems like it could defy all the reasons why their relationship is wrong. These two literally have to fight for each other. It's part of what makes me cheer them one, and also what makes their relationship incredibly heartbreaking. The reality is, what Krestel and Arin have is forbidden and impossible. Like all beautiful love stories, this one is one I hope beats the odds. These two are fighters, and not ones who give up easily when they want something. 

While I got a lot of answers in this book, there are still many things I am eager to find out more about. I can not wait to get my hands on the sequel. I have a feeling that, that book is going to be action packed, and full of even more betrayals, twists, and fueled by romance. This Marie's best book yet! I highly recommend picking this book up! 

Read Marie's Bridge of Snow to get a look into her incredible world of The Winner's Curse

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