Mundie Moms

Saturday, January 16, 2010

In My Mailbox

hosted by Kristi @TheStorySiren and inspired by Alea @PopCultureJunkie
(Sorry about the bad cell phone picture).
This week we received some amazing reads.
* Linger (ARC) by Maggie Stiefvater (was borrowed from a friend of mine who won it on another blog).
* The Iron King (ARC) by Julia Kagawa (came from Harlequin Teen) We've got a couple ARCS we'll be giving away, one of which is currently in our *Freebie Friday* contest.
* The Chestnut King (ARC) by N.D. Wilson (Random House Kids). Is the third book in the 100 Cupboards series. We're part of The Chestnut King blog tour through Random House Kids. More details will follow in another blog post.
* The Dandelion Fire by N.D. Wilson (I bought), which is book two in the 100 Cupboard Series.

Book Review- Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Published by Scholatic
to be Released July 2010
4.5 stars

Here's a summary of Linger, the sequel to Shiver:

• grace •
This is the story of a boy who used to be a wolf and a girl who was becoming one.

Just a few months ago, it was Sam who was the mythical creature. His was the disease we couldn’t cure. His was the good-bye that meant the most. He had the body that was a mystery, too strange and wonderful and terrifying to comprehend.

But now it is spring. With the heat, the remaining wolves will soon be falling out of their wolf pelts and back into their human bodies. Sam stays Sam, and Cole stays Cole, and it’s only me who’s not firmly in my own skin.

A wonderful friend of mine graciously let me borrow her ARC. I devoured this book in a day (yesterday). NO SPOILERS will be mentioned and I can't say much until closer to the release day, but I will say this is an awesome follow up to Shiver.

We get to know Cole, one of the wolves Beck changes in Shiver. We get to know see a whole lot more of Isabelle. Can I just say how much I love her character! We definitely get a lot more of Sam and Grace *sigh*.

I really loved the fact that Shiver is written from 4 different point of views. By doing that, Maggie allows to us to see all different sides of the story, and what each person and wolf is dealing with and how they change and grow by the end of the book.

Maggie continues to amaze me with her wonderful talent for writing. In my opinion, not many people can master writing a book from 4 different point of views and keep me glued to the story. It was brilliant. Not to mention I fell in love with all four characters. If you haven't pre-orded this, it's a must have. It leaves me dying for the next book!!

You can find out more about Maggie and her amazing books here:

Book Review - Prophecy of the Sisters


By Michelle Zink
Published by Little Brown
Release date: August 2009
343 pages
Source: Bought
4.5 out of 5 stars

An ancient prophecy divides two sisters-

One good...

One evil...

Who will prevail?

Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in a mystery that involves a tattoo-like mark, their parents' deaths, a boy, a book, and a lifetime of secrets.

Lia and Alice don't know whom they can trust.

They just know they can't trust each other.



I read this over holiday break and I highly recommend carving out some time to read it. Prophecy of the Sisters is definitely "that" book, you know the one that you want to curl up with and savor. Michelle sets the mood immediately, when you find yourself in 19th century New York and meet the 16-year-old protagonist, Lia Milthorpe who is attending her father's funeral.

From there the plot unfolds rapidly as does the mystery. Why does the mark of a Jorgumand (a snake devouring itself) appear on Lia's wrist? What does it mean? It seems that she and her twin sister, Alice, are a part of an unfolding, dark, twisted prophecy. The mythology reveals itself as Lia uncovers more of the truth behind her family secret and the role she is destined to play.

This is where I try to remain objective and fail. Michelle uses Gaelic folklore, gothic fantasy themes, magic that weaves itself into different planes and sibling roles which come together and then twist apart. My only issue is that I had to stop and start as I read due to all of my holiday interruptions. Each night, I found myself waiting to literally drop into Michelle's world and to glide on her imagery and words. And much like Lia, I wanted to find out the mystery behind the Prophecy. Who was good? Who was bad? What would happen next?

When you are in the mood for a gothic fantasy about four friends who are destined to do battle against each other, pick up Prophecy of the Sisters. It truly has it all - love, death, magic, unbelievable mythology, a sibling bond which will tear two sisters apart and yes, oh yes, romance. For those who have read it, I have one word - James. For those who haven't read it, yet, think of a hot, old fashioned boy who is "unaccustomed to mysteries he cannot solve" (page 38, Prophecy of the Sisters). I see that you need to take a moment to view the trailer below.





Hop on over to Michelle's website and look through more reviews, advice and yes, just plain fun. Don't forget her prequel, Guardian of the Gate, will be out on August 1, 2010.

And if you'd like the recipe for the homemade granola she shared on her facebook page, I promise to post it in the comments section below by tomorrow morning. My family has given it "the best granola ever" rating. And I have a bunch of very picky eaters.

So pick up Prophecy of the Sisters, make a cup of tea and some of that delicious granola. Then on these wintry evenings, sit back and read a story of twin sisters and the magic that both binds them and threatens to tear them apart.

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