Mundie Moms

Monday, September 26, 2011

Clockwork Prince Masquerade Ball TEASER Trailer

Talk about a fabulous, swoon worthy TEASER! Cassie and Vania, who made the trailer for Clockwork Prince have finally given fans the treat they've been waiting for......

Cassie says, "The full trailer will be released closer to the release date of the book and will have a very special someone doing the voiceover narration. For now Vania’s lovely visuals reveal exactly who is in the DSBS scene as it’s come to be known — if you don’t want to know, don’t watch!"


HELLO Blue Eyes! I'm admit that in CP I'm claiming Team Tessa! There's no way I'm choosing between the two guys....

What do you guys think?

AND Cassie's announced the first of her CP tour dates:

Confirmed stops on my December Clockwork Prince tour: New York, Long Island, and Nashville. Phone #'s are provided so if you have questions about the events you can call the store. More events to come!

December 6-13 CLOCKWORK PRINCE RELEASE TOUR
Tuesday December 06, 2011
NEW YORK CITY: 7PM
Union Square
33 East 17th Street, New York, NY 10003, 212-253-0810
THIS IS THE LAUNCH EVENT FOR CLOCKWORK PRINCE. There will be swag bags and prizes and other fun stuff.

WEDNESDAY December 07, 2011
LONG ISLAND 7:00 PM
Country Glen Center
91 Old Country Road, Carle Place, NY 11514, 516-741-9850

Monday December 12, 2011
NASHVILLE, TN: 7:00 PM
Cool Springs
1701 Mallory Lane, Brentwood, TN 37027, 615-377-9979

Blog Tour: Book Review, Interview & Giveaway for Cornelia Funke's RECKLESS



Published by: Little Brown
Released on: September 5th, 2011
Source: book from publisher
4 stars- I Really Enjoyed It & Recommend Picking It Up

Beyond the mirror, the darkest fairy tales come alive. . .

For years, Jacob Reckless has been escaping to another world--a world behind the mirror, where witches haunt the forests and fairies and dwarfs roam. A world for treasure hunts and magnificent quests--but also a world locked in a deadly war.

Jacob's secret seems safe, until one day his younger brother Will follows him, to disastrous consequence. Faced with a curse that is quickly turning Will to stone, the Reckless brothers are thrust into a race against time to find a cure before one of them is lost forever.

Inspired by the Brothers Grimm, master storyteller Cornelia Funke introduces a lush, enchanting landscape of fairy tales and legends re-imagined as never before. Reckless is a thrilling adventure and a tale of heroism, filled with danger, mystery, and above all, magic. - quoted from Goodreads

I'm not sure what I was expecting to read when I picked up RECKLESS, but I got was an incredible journey to an enchanted world were dark magic rules, magical creatures exist, sacrifices are made and love pays the ultimate price.

Take a magical mirror, add to brothers, and place them into a world full of the unimaginable and you've got the perfect recipe for an engaging, fast paced read that left me wanting more. This is such a creepy, intriguing story that had all the right elements for the makings of a Brothers Grimm fairytale. There's shape shifting characters, two brothers, a girl, fairies, witches, dwarfs, and of course the beloved classic fairy tale characters like Sleeping Beauty and I can't forget the Goyl, the creepy stone like creature that is featured on the cover of some of the RECKLESS books. I really enjoyed this creative mix of characters. Together, they all made this story fascinating for me.

Normally for me I need to feel a connection to a character or characters to really enjoy the book, but with RECKLESS I didn't feel that connection nor did I feel like missed the connection with the characters, because Cornelia writes them in such a way that brings her unique, well crafted story to life. The story is centered on the two brothers, Jacob and Will. These two broken boys pulled at my heart strings. Jacob's in a rush to save his brother Will from the flesh eating stone that's consuming him. That's only one of a many things that are going wrong for these boys. My favorite character from the story is Fox, the shape shifter who's followed Jacob around for years, or should I say from the moment he entered this dark, dangerous world years ago via the mirror in his father's office.

Cornelia Funke has done a suburb job at crafting together a story that totally lured me leaves me wishing her sequel was already out. Her writing is creative and her plot line flows beautifully as she writes the story from multiple points of views. I loved this and I'm in awe that she was able to do this in a way that was one, not confusing to me at all and two, gave me such a unique perspective on reading the story from all these different angles, from the heroes, to the victims to the villains. Wow, is there a great villain in this story!

Talk about creepy, this book definitely brings the creepy factor up a notch. I don't know if I was more intrigued by the bizarre, freaky characters that were in the story, or a little grossed out or terrified by them that I couldn't stop reading about them. I know that doesn't make sense, but believe me, you'll get get what I'm saying when you read about them. Well, I shouldn't say terrified, but if I was a character in the story I would have been.

If you're a fan of fantasy, adventure and The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales, than this is a book you need to pick up! It's an adventure unlike any other I've read before.



How would you describe Reckless in 3 words or less?

Fur, skin and stone

If you could be on of your characters in your story, who would want to be and why?

I think I AM Fox. I never felt closer to one of my characters. But Jacob is my male alter ego. In him I can live the secret wish to be thoughtless, reckless, irresponsible and absolutely fearless.

What's the most "reckless" or fun thing you've ever done?

Catching my two wild iceland horses on the meadow maybe:) zip lining over the jungle in the Carribean ( Jacob just smiles about all this...yes, I know, neither of it dangerous at all:))))

What authors inspired you as a young writer?

Astrid Lindgren first of all, with her writing and her deep humanity. I just visited the wonderful museum in her honor in Stockholm that brought me back to all her magical worlds. ( my favorite book is The Brothers Lionheart) Then Michael Ende, especially his Jim Knopf books and C.S. Lewis with Narnia.

If you could take a writing retreat anywhere in the world, where would you want to go?

Hmmm. Either Hawaii or Scotland- as you see I have a Northern and a Southern soul:)

_______________________________________________

Thank you Cornelia for being with us today!

To find out more about the RECKLESS series, please visit The RECKLESS site
Little Brown's site here
Read the 1st 18 chapters on Netgalley

Be sure to follow the rest of the tour here:

Tuesday, 9/27 – Lisa is Busy Nerding
Wednesday, 9/28 – WORD for Teens
Thursday, 9/29 – Tiger's All-Consuming Books

__________________________________

Thank you to Little Brown, we're giving away 1 copy of RECKLESS along with a poster!

To Enter:
- please fill out the form below

The Rules:
- this is for residents of the US only
- you must be 13 yrs & older (if under 12 yrs old, you HAVE to have your parent/guardian's permission to enter)
- 1 entry per person, duplicates will result in all your entries being removed
- this giveaway ends on 10/12/11

LIVE Chat with The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer author Michelle Hodkin!


I am SO excited about tonight's chat with debut author, Michelle Hodkin! We'll be talking about her debut release The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer! This will be a SPOILER FREE chat!


*Our chat will start at 8 pm CST/ 9 pm EST. To join, hit join and enter a screen name.

*We do our best to make sure all comments are published, but not all the questions may be answered in the hour time frame of the chat. Even if your questions and comments are not published, we and our guest can still read them.

* The reason why we moderate our chats is to allow our guest(s) to be able to come on and chat with their fans with out feeling overwhelmed by everyone talking to them at the same time.

*In respect to our guest's time, we will only publish comments that pertain to their current writings, and book.

* We often times have other author guests who join out chats, but we only publish questions pertaining to the author who is chatting with us tonight.

*We will not post any personal questions or comments.

* Any rude, disrespectful, or spam like comments will not be published.

*Thank you and we look forward to chatting with everyone tonight!

**No part of this chat is allowed to be used with out our permission**

Blog Tour: Book Review & Giveaway, The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton

Welcome to the first stop in our The Faerie Ring Blog Tour! I'm so excited to be kicking off the tour for Kiki's debut book, which will be out TOMORROW! Through out the two week tour there will be spoiler free reviews posted, giveaways, author interviews and more. You can find out all the tour information here.

Published by: Tor Teens
To Be Released on: September 27th, 2011 TOMORROW
Source: ARC from publisher to review
5 stars- I Loved It! Go Pick It Up


Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger.

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty… quoted from Goodreads


The Faerie Ring is an intriguing, beautifully written, blend of historical fiction, mixed with the perfect dose of romance, mystery, and faerie lore, all set within the time period of Victorian London. I was completely enraptured with the story that I couldn't devour this debut novel fast enough. I absolutely loved reading this! Kiki Hamilton's writing is spellbinding and her story completely mesmerizing. The way Kiki mixed historical London with faerie lore was masterfully done, making this a truly unique YA book.

The Faerie Ring has a refreshing, fast paced, exciting plot that not only brought the historical parts of the story to life, but it introduced me to characters I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know. I was intrigued with the mystery that surrounds some of them, and totally surprised with the well written romance that develops perfectly as the story goes on. Kiki wrote her characters in such a way that allowed me to connect with them on an emotional level. I couldn't help but become invested with them, their surroundings, and what was going on with each of them. I wanted to know more about them and for me as a reader that is huge in bringing a story to life.

The story is centered on Tiki, a character I really grew to admire. She's not been dwelt the best hand in life, but she's made do with what she has, which makes her such an enduring character. She's a compassionate, strong character and someone I quickly connected with. She does what she has to survive, which means turning to pick pocketing and living with a group of misfits who all look after each other, regardless of how they ended up in the situation they're in. It's through Tiki's pick pocketing that she finds 1) the Faerie Ring, 2) that Faeries really do exist and she's been thrust into their world at the wrong time and 3) she meets Riecker.

I loved the way Riecker's character is introduced into the story. There's such an air of mystery surrounding him. I was really intrigued with what his motives were for wanting to help and protect Tiki, and his tie to the Faerie Ring. The way he treats Tiki is completely sigh worthy! It didn't take me long to fall in love with him.

I adored the story's setting! It really felt like a character in itself. I liked the way Kiki introduces the two different parts of Victorian London, which is done through Tiki's life in the slums and Rieker's life of wealth. The streets of Victorian London really came to life for me through Kiki's vivid details, and her descriptions of places that still exist to this day. If London wasn't already at the top of my list of cities to visit before I die, it would have been added after reading this book. There's also a map that's found in the published book which will allow readers to see the various places where the story takes place.

If you enjoy a story with a beautiful Victorian setting, that includes orphans, adventure, faeries, magic, mystery, characters with secrets and of course romance, than I highly recommend picking up this enthralling story tomorrow when it's out officially released! This book has been at the top of my must have reads since I read last year! It's a fantastic YA paranormal/historical read. I'm really looking forward to reading many more of Kiki's books.


The Faerie Ring blog tour continues tomorrow on Teens Read and Write. Be sure to go HERE to follow the rest of the blog tour.

GIVEAWAY TIME! Thank you to Kiki I've got 5 signed book marks I'm giving away.

To ENTER, please leave me a comment with your email address. I'll email the 5 winners when this giveaway closes on October 8th, 2011. 1 email per person please. This is open INTERNATIONALLY!

Mundane Monday #103

Happy Monday!! Where in the heck did this weekend go? It went by a little too fast for me. I'm thinking a little bit of Will will start your mornings off right & will get you ready for our CA read along that will start in a couple weeks!


"Singing the praises of our fair city?" a light voice inquired. Tessa whirled, and saw Will, leaning against the frame of the doorway. The light from the corridor behind him outlined his damp-looking hair with gold. The hem of his dark overcoat and his black boots were edged with mud, as if he had just come from outdoors, and his cheeks were flushed. He was barehanded as always. "We treat you well here, don't we, James? I doubt I'd have that kind of luck in Shanghai. What do you call us there, again?"

"Yang guizi," said Jem, who appeared unsurprised by Will's sudden appearance. "Foreign devil's."

"Hear that, Tessa? I'm a devil. So are you." Will unhitched himself from the doorway and sauntered into the room. He flung himself down onto the edge of the bed, unbuttoning his coat.
- page 106, Clockwork Angel

Image found here

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