Mundie Moms

Friday, January 29, 2010

Hex Hall Give Away

The wonderfully talented Rachel Hawkins is giving away one of her AMAZING books-Hex Hall, to brighten someone's day. This contest will end on Monday Feb. 1st. I've not read it yet, BUT as it's made way around some of our Admin team, they've done nothing but rave about it!! Be rest assured that we'll definitely be posting our review for Hex Hall prior to it's release.
You can enter to win a copy of Hex Hall here-
Believe us when we say, you'll love being Hexed!

Book Review-Spells

By Aprilynne Pike
Published by HarperTeen
to be Released on May 4th, 2010
Source: from Aprilynne and HarperTeen
5 stars

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the faerie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger--and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.

When it comes time to protect those she loves, will she depend on David, her human boyfriend, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable? (taken from goodreads)

I adore this cover. I think it's beautiful and so perfect for Spells. Aprilynne did such a great job with this sequel to Wings. Second books in series are always the hardest for me to read, as the character always has a hard choice to make and my heart just breaks for them as they continue on their difficult journey. Often times the choices aren't a right or wrong, but a choice of which is right at the time. This is the case for Laurel in Spells. *SPOILER FREE REVIEW*

Wings left us gripped in a love triangle with David and Tamani. Both are such beloved character that I couldn't pick a side. With the conclusion of Spells, I still feel both characters are amazing, but my heart has been won over by one of them.

Life in Avalon isn't easy for Laurel. While everyone there remembers her, she remembers nothing. Not only does she remember nothing, but she has to learn proper Faerie rules. It's a huge adjustment for her, as the human and faerie world is run very differently. Tamani and David both wonder what choices Laurel will make as she starts her training in Avalon. Laurel brings to Tamani hope of what they once had and to David, Laurel brings love and friendship. Laurel's not only torn between Tamani, with whom she doesn't remember her former life, and David whom she's with now, but she's torn between two worlds. She must face the hardest choice of all. Stay in the human world with David, or go back to the faerie world with Tamani. Her choice will come at a price to both sides, as there's danger lurking closer and closer to Avalon as they Trolls make their return. Even their return comes at a price for her human friends.

I am really looking forward to Forever. The end of Spells leaves me wondering what is to come with Tamani, David and Laurel. With that said, I think the way Spells ends was perfect for the story. I have to add that I love Shar at the end of Spells. If you loved Wings, than you'll definitely want to have Spells sitting on your bookcase next to it. Be sure to pre-order your book now!

Cassandra Clare's January Clockwork Angel Excerpt

Excerpt taking from Chapter Eight: "Camille"

Fruits fail and love dies and time ranges;
Thou art fed with perpetual breath,
And alive after infinite changes,
And fresh from the kisses of death;
Of languours rekindled and rallied,
Of barren delights and unclean,
Things monstrous and fruitless, a pallid
And poisonous queen.
—Swinburne

Tessa was only halfway down the corridor when they caught up to her: Will and Jem, each walking on either side of her. "You didn’t honestly think we weren’t going to come along, did you?" Will asked, raising his hand and letting the witchlight flare up between his fingers, lighting the corridor to a daylight brightness. Charlotte hurrying along ahead of them, turned and frowned, but said nothing.

"I know you can’t leave anything well enough alone." Tessa looked straight ahead. "But I thought better of Jem."

"Where Will goes, I go," Jem said, good-naturedly. "And besides, I’m as curious as he is."

"That hardly seems a subject for boasting. Where are we going?" she added, startled, as they reached the end of the corridor. The hall stretched away behind them; there was nothing in front of them but a blank stone wall. "Have we turned the wrong way . . .?"

"Patience is a virtue, Miss Gray," said Will. "You would do well to learn it."

"If you think—" Tessa began, and broke off as Charlotte took a stele from the pocket of her voluminous skirt. It seemed to glow with a dull internal light as Charlotte placed the tip of it against the stone of the wall, and drew, as if she were scrawling on a piece of paper. A thick black line spiraled out from the tip, forming the whorls and scrolls of a strong, delicate design.

As Tessa stared, a grinding noise came from within the stone, and a section of the wall swung open, showing another long corridor beyond. The walls were bare of tapestries or torches: Tessa realized why Will had lit his witchlight stone. He raised his hand now, and the light shone down into the corridor, which Tessa could se now was sharply curving, disappearing almost instantly away into shadows.

"This is the entrance to our Sanctuary," said Charlotte. "This is the place we meet with those who for whatever reason cannot enter hallowed ground. Those who are cursed. Vampires."

She started down the corridor, the others following after her.

"Is it a curse? Being a vampire?" Tessa asked.

Charlotte shook her head. "No. We think it is a sort of demon disease. There are demons who feed on blood, and demons who, like werewolves, shift their shapes with the phases of the moon and the movement of planets. When passed to humans, these diseases manifest in what we think of as vampirism or lycanthropy. Most demon diseases aren't transmissible to humans at all, with a few exceptions—"

"Demon pox," interrupted Will.

"Will, there’s no such thing as demon pox, and you know it," Charlotte said. "Now, where was I?"

"Being a vampire isn’t a curse," Tessa filled in. "But they still can’t enter hallowed ground, then? Does that mean they’re damned?"

"That depends on what you believe," said Jem. "And whether you even believe in damnation at all."

"But you hunt demons. You must believe in damnation!"

"I believe in good and evil," said Jem. "And I believe the soul is eternal. But I don’t believe in the fiery pit, the pitchforks, or endless torment. I do not believe you can threaten people into goodness."

Tessa looked at Will. "What about you? What do you believe?"

"Pulvis et umbra sumus," said Will, not looking at her as he spoke. "I believe we are dust and shadows. What else is there?"

"Whatever you believe, please don’t suggest to Camille Belcourt that you think she’s damned," said Charlotte. She had come to a halt where the corridor ended in a set of high iron doors, each carved with a curious symbol that looked like four back-to-back C’s. She turned and looked at her three companions. "She’s very kindly offered to help us, and there’s no purpose in offering her such insults. That applies to you especially, Will. If you can’t be polite, I’ll send you out of the Sanctuary. Jem, I trust you to be your charming self. Tessa . . ." Charlotte turned her grave, kind eyes on Tessa. "Try not to be frightened."

You can read the rest here: http://www.theinfernaldevices.com/infernalseries/ID1chapter1.html
you can also read it here on our Infernal Devices Forum:

February Happenings on Mundie Moms

We are very excited for February. Not only do we get to talk about some amazing books, we also have some amazing authors we'll be chatting with, 100 Cupboards author N.D. Wilson, The Iron King author Julie Kagawa and Chasing Brooklyn author Lisa Schroeder. We'll also be posting are Q&A with Lisa McMann, who will be starting her GONE TOUR!!

Cassie's choice for Book of the Month is one we love dearly-GONE by Lisa McMann.
Our Debut Author Spotlight is Julie Kagawa.
We'll also be spotlighting Chasing Brooklyn by Lisa Schroeder

Be sure to visit our forum, which opens Feb. 1st, to discuss the books with us.

Our Spotlight for our Children's Review Blog is the 100 Cupboards Series by N.D. Wilson

We'll be celebrating our 1st birthday Feb. 14th and running it through March 15th. While we didn't go live until the beginning of March with our Mundie Moms Forum, we thought it would be a blast to have our celebration start the day Mundie Moms was made. While our blog was made the same day, we didn't make our blog public until the end of August. SO, what does our Birthday Celebration involve? Give aways, guest author chats and more. Be sure to keep an eye out starting Feb. 14th for the more information!!

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