Mundie Moms

Friday, May 16, 2014

City of Heavenly Fire Book Trailer!

It's HERE!!! Simon & Schuster recently posted the much anticipated book trailer for Cassandra Clare's City of Heavenly Fire, which hits book store shelves in less than two weeks. Check it out!!




Awesome trailer! What did you think? That Jace & Clary kiss better not be a good bye kiss! *sigh* I need this book already. 

About the book:

  • Author: Cassandra Clare
  • Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
  • Publication date: 5/27/2014
  • Series: Mortal Instruments Series , #6
  • Pages: 752
  • ISBN-13: 9781442416895
  • Age range: 14 - 17 Years

  • Shadowhunters and demons square off for the final showdown in the spellbinding, seductive conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.
Darkness has descended on the Shadowhunter world. Chaos and destruction overwhelm the Nephilim as Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends band together to fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in this world can defeat Sebastian—but if they journey to the realm of demons, they just might have a chance…
Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world will change. Who will survive the explosive sixth and final installment of the Mortal Instruments series?

17 First Kisses by Rachel Allen, Book Review



By: Rachel Allen
Published by: Harper Teen
To Be Released on: 6/17/14
Source: arc from publisher to review
Rating: 2 stars- It Was An Okay Read
Pre-Order it from: Amazon
Add it to Goodreads

No matter how many boys Claire kisses, she can’t seem to find a decent boyfriend. Someone who wouldn’t rather date her gorgeous best friend, Megan. Someone who won’t freak out when he learns about the tragedy her family still hasn’t recovered from. Someone whose kisses can carry her away from her backwoods town for one fleeting moment.

Until Claire meets Luke.

But Megan is falling for Luke, too, and if there’s one thing Claire knows for sure, it’s that Megan’s pretty much irresistible.

With true love and best friendship on the line, Claire suddenly has everything to lose. And what she learns—about her crush, her friends, and most of all herself—makes the choices even harder.

In her moving debut, Rachael Allen brilliantly captures the complexities of friendship, the struggles of self-discovery, and the difficulties of trying to find love in high school.


17 First Kisses is a book that tackles friendship, drama, mean girls, teen age relationships, drama (way too much of it) girls learning to not let guys treat them like crap, realizing that sometimes no matter how much you like guy, they may not be worth all the trouble, and learning to figure out what a true friendship is about. I'm really torn on my feelings with this book. I liked parts of it, and other parts not so much. I liked that this wasn't a typical YA contemporary romance. Sure, there is a light romantic tone to it, but the book digs deeper into the realities that make up a teenage relationships. The learning to stand up for yourself, what friendship really means, and figuring out how to cope with the fact your best friend and you are falling for the same guy.

When I first started reading this book I liked the relationship Claire had with her best friend Megan. Rachel Allen wrote well distinguished flash back scenes that give a history for Megan and Claire's friendship, how Claire obtained each one of her kisses and more. It's during those flash backs where I first started not liking Megan, like at all. She was so stuck on being the "it" girl, having the cutest guy as her boyfriend, regardless of whether or not Megan liked him or saw him first. Megan always had to one up Claire, and I got frustrated that Claire just went with it, even though she started to see what Megan was like. These two had a friendship I just didn't get. The way Megan started treating Claire made me mad. I was irritated at Claire for making discussions based on what the popular crowd was doing. For her to fit in, she willingly went along with it. There was way too much relationship drama between Claire and Megan, and the boys they equally liked. They stole each other's boyfriends or would take the guy the other thought was cute, fight and then make up. *confused*. The drama to me felt very middle grade and not at all the kind of drama that exists in high school, which is when the story started to turn me off.

What I liked.  I liked that Claire started to learn to stand up for herself when it came to their friendship and with some of the guys who tried to take advantage of situations she found herself in with them. I also liked that both her and Megan were able to realize the mistakes they made, and attempt to salvage their relationship. I liked the Claire's parents were apart of her life. I really liked her dad's caution to her about Luke. I liked that Claire started to see relationships for what they really were, and realized she needed to either get out of them, or fix what she could with them. I liked how Rachel wrote the flash back scenes. I loved Claire and Sam's relationship. I really like the book's cover.

What I didn't like, the word slut. I hate that word. I hate how often this word is misused in our society. I can not stand it when that word is used in a book. It was used one too many times in this book. I had a few issues with the writing. There were times I felt scenes were written great, then the next scene I felt was missing something. I don't even know if that makes sense. There were some characters who were less than stellar in this book. You'll know who they are pretty quickly. Once I felt that the maturity level of the characters didn't feel true to their age, I detached from the story, and became less interested in it. While this is a book that started off good, it sadly ended with me not liking it as much as I had wanted to. It was not a story that I connected way.

*This book has sexual references, underage drinking, and sensual scenes that may not be suitable for younger YA readers.

I hate posting reviews for books I didn't love, but I'm not going to love every book I read. While I didn't enjoy this book as much as a few of my other reviewers friends did, you may find you will enjoy it. 

Flashback Friday: The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima, Audiobook Review



By: Cinda Williams Chima
Published by: Disney-Hyperion/Recorded Books
Narrator: Carol Monda
Release Date: August 31, 2010
Series: Seven Realms
Source: Purchased
Ages: 10-11
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars (this is a series that I want to keep reading!)

Purchase from: Barnes and Noble | amazon | IndieBound | Book Depository
Audiobook: iTunes | audible

The Demon King (Seven Realms, #1)

Synopsis: One day Han Alister catches three young wizards setting fire to the sacred mountain of Hanalea. Han takes an amulet away from Micah Bayar, son of the High Wizard, to ensure the boy won’t use it against him. The amulet once belonged to the Demon King, who nearly destroyed the world a millennium ago. With a magical piece so powerful at stake, Han knows that the Bayars will stop at nothing to get it back.

Meanwhile, Princess Raisa ana’Marianna has her own battle to fight. She’s just returned to court after three years of riding and hunting with her father’s family. Raisa aspires to be like Hanalea, the legendary warrior queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world. But it seems that her mother has other plans for her—plans that include a suitor who goes against everything the Queendom stands for.

The Seven Realms will tremble when the lives of Han and Raisa collide in this stunning page-turner from best-selling author Cinda Williams Chima.


For years now my close, bookwormish friends have recommended this series to me and advised me that I would fall in love with Cinda's writing. But somehow, I never did pick it up because all those shiny, new releases got in the way. And then one day, I tweeted a request for an outstanding audiobook recommendation, and sure enough The Demon King popped up again. I figured it was time to listen to this much recommended story.

And you know what? Those friends of mine were right. Cinda writes of a magical, fantasy world, but one whose characters you immediately recognize. Han, the former street lord of the Raggers, rough and right in his approach to just about everything. Yes I admit, I loved him right away.

But there's also Princess Raisa and oh, how I loved her. She is surrounded by all those expectations of what is proper for her, and with her character came the thing I love the most in these types of plots -- political intrigue.

Cinda's a master of surprise and while you may anticipate that a plot twist is coming, you won't be sure of it until it, BAM, hits you. The Demon King sits on my shelf alongside my favorite fantasy stories (think of Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief). Like a lot of first books with a large cast of characters, the plot is a bit slower, but I promise you that thanks to the wonderful narration of Carol Monda, you will keep all the characters straight and you will fall in love with both Han and Raisa. I finished the audiobook and immediately bought the second one. I need to know what happened next, and yes, yes, to all my bookish friends, you were so right, I did fall in love with Cinda's story.


ENDSINGER by Jay Kristoff, Cover Reveal & Giveaway

Happy Friday!! I'm so thrilled to be apart of today's exciting cover reveal for ENDSINGER, the third book in Jay's The Lotus War series. Check out this AWESOME cover!!



I've been honored to take part in each of Jay's cover reveals for his series, and with each reveal I've found myself in awe over the cover I've helped reveal. I think his covers are some of the coolest looking YA book covers. What do you guys think?

Here's a little bit about ENDSINGER, via the book jacket:

A TREMBLING EARTH
The flames of civil war sweep across the Shima Imperium. With their plans to renew the Kazumitsu dynasty foiled, the Lotus Guild unleash their deadliest creation—a mechanical goliath known as the Earthcrusher, intended to unite the shattered Empire under a yoke of fear. With the Tiger Clan and their puppet Daimyo Hiro in tow, the Guild marches toward a battle for absolute dominion over the Isles.

A BROKEN REBELLION

Yukiko and Buruu are forced to take leadership of the KagĂ© rebellion, gathering new allies and old friends in an effort to unite the country against the chi-mongers. But the ghosts of Buruu’s past stand between them and the army they need, and Kin’s betrayal has destroyed all trust among their allies. When a new foe joins the war tearing the Imperium apart, it will be all the pair can do to muster the strength to fight, let alone win.

A FINAL BATTLE

The traitor Kin walks the halls of Guild power, his destiny only a bloody knife-stroke away. Hana and Yoshi struggle to find their place in a world now looking to them as heroes. Secret cabals within the Lotus Guild claw and struggle; one toward darkness, the other toward light. And as the earth splits asunder, as armies destroy each other for rule over an empire of lifeless ash and the final secret about blood lotus is revealed, the people of Shima will learn one last, horrifying truth.

There is nothing a mother won't do to keep her children by her side.


Nothing.

This book sounds like it's going to be an amazing read. If you've followed Jay's previous cover reveals, you know he's a fan of giveaways! Here is your trivia question:

Your uber giveaway quiz question is:
5. What kind of animal is Buruu?

Head over to Jay's blog to ENTER to WIN by answering the question above. Good luck!

City of Lost Souls Read-A-Long: Chapter 15


Hello & welcome to day #15 of our City of Lost Souls Read-A-Long. You can find out more about the read along and find the schedule here. There is no right or wrong way to participate. Your comments can be as long or as short as you'd like them to be. 

Today's discussion is about the Chapter 15: MAGDALENA

Chapter 15

  • What are your thoughts about Sebastian? How do you think he compares to Valentine? I found it ironic that he would tell Clary that he thought Valentine was wrong in how he went about his cause. He makes some great points, but I also see a lot of Valentine in Sebastian. I think he's more cunning than Valentine was. There's definitely off setting about Sebastian.
  • In this chapter we learn a little more about Clary's family history. Do you think there's a reason why Cassie is having Sebastian tell her more about her family history vs having Jocelyn do it?
  • Hello plot twist...... an Iron Sister armed the Circle? I didn't see that one coming. Any guesses on what Sebastian is having her make out of the adamas?
Please DO NOT POST SPOILERS. There's some fans who are joining the read-a-long who are reading Clockwork Prince for the first time. 

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