Mundie Moms

Monday, December 5, 2011

2011 Mundie Moms Favorites


It's that time of year were we reflect back on this past year's fabulous reads and share with your our favorites. This year was a crazy insane reading year, and I mean that in a good way. Thank you to my insomnia I've read over 250 books to date, which also makes it harder for me to list a top 10 favorites list. There's just too many books that I want to spotlight, so I thought it would be fun to do a variety of different posts to do just that for some of our absolute favorite reads from 2011.

Instead of just listing our top 10 all time favorite reads from 2011, really it's 11 since it's 2011, Sophie and I (in our usually Mundie Moms style) have come up a variety of "favorites" posts, aka our 2011 Mundie Moms Favorites post series. Through out the month of December we're going to be sharing with you a variety of our favorites. These will range from:

* 2011 Favorite Series (from established authors) (Series We Said Good-Bye To & New series)

Each link goes directly to that individual post. Along with some of these posts we'll be sharing some mini character & author interviews along with hosting a giveaway or two.

The books being spotlighted are ones we gave 4.5-5 star ratings to, and they're the books that stuck out the most to us. However, that does not mean our 3 & 4 star books were not good, because they were. We needed to draw the line somewhere, and like every year, we feature the books that made the biggest impact or impressions on us.

We're looking forward to sharing our favorites with you and hearing what your favorites are.

THANK YOU to lovely friend Yara from Once Upon A Twilight for making our fabulous graphic, which will be used in all of our posts. We love it!!

Infernal Devices Clockwork Prince 31 Day Celebration: Day 30, Clockwork Prince Interview Series


TOMORROW!!!! I can't believe the release day if FINALLY tomorrow (if you're living in the US). It's day 30 of our 31 Days of CP Celebration and I'm seriously so excited about CP's release TOMORROW. As I mentioned the other day, we've got a sweet line up of interviews with Cassie, and each of the main characters from Clockwork Prince. Some of these interview answers have spoilers in them, so I'm saving those for later in the week and even then I'm going to color code them so that when someone reads the post they'll have to highlight the answer to read, so we don't give anything away.

Today's 1st interview series post is with Charlotte and Henry:

Henry & Charlotte:

What has been your greatest success in running the institute?

Keeping peace among the Conclave, and persuading them to put their faith in a young woman.

What's your greatest worry?

Henry worries that he will blow something up, and Charlotte worries about letting down the Consul and her parents.

Charlotte- there's so much that you are dealing with in CP, where do you find the strength to carry on?

Well, in the people around me, that I love and care for.

Henry- are you working on any new inventions you can tell us about?

I have an idea for a thing called a Portal that could transport Shadowhunters from one place to another, but it's probably just a silly idea . . .


Thank you Charlotte and Henry for joining us today! Tomorrow we'll have Jem on the blog!!


** Just a friendly reminder about CP spoilers, as fans we want to remind everyone to please be respectful to the fact that other countries won't be releasing CP until the end of the month. Please be cautious about where your discuss CP. We don't want to ruin it for any of the fans who haven't had a chance to read CP yet.

Mundane Monday #113

Happy Mundane Monday!!! TOMORROW CP will be released! YAY!!! Today's lovely little teaser comes from CP. It's nothing spoilery, so enjoy! ;)


"It is always better to live the truth than to live a lie...."
- Clockwork Prince, Magnus page 413

Book Review and Giveaway - Surrender

Written by: Lee Nichols
Published by: Bloomsbury USA
Release Date: December 6, 2011
Source: netgalley

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars -- this book is a MUST have.

Synopsis: After a devastating battle at headquarters in New York, the ghostkeeping world is in shambles. When Emma and Bennett return home, they are determined to defeat the wraithmaster, Neos, forever. But it's not going to be easy. Bennett's parents kick him out when they realize he is still using drugs to enhance his powers. Emma is convinced her aunt has come back from the dead to warn her of a new threat. And worst of all, Neos is using wraiths to possess the students at Thatcher Academy. If the ghosts manage to take over the entire school, even Emma won't be strong enough to stop them. But if either she or Bennett sacrifice his or her powers, they might be able to save the ghostkeeping world once and for all-and break the "ghostkeepers lose their powers when they fall in love" curse. The question is: who will be the one to surrender all power?


How do you end a trilogy where you are anxiously awaiting an epic showdown? We’ve all read those books and I won’t name them here, but you know the ones I’m thinking of, Mundie Moms. Those do or die endings that we all love to read. Lee Nichols has written such a delicious, believable series ending story that I am going to have to be extra cautious about not spoiling a thing.
For me, there’s nothing better than a character driven story and from the beginning, this series has been about Emma’s journey. She’s never a passive bystander. She always seeks answers. And she’s, much like a boy scout, as prepared as she can be. The secret to her strength lies in her friends and family. Lee mirrors real life so well when she shows us Emma’s relationships with her friends and how she maintains trust and loyalty in all who meet her, but how sometimes those same friends and family are not there to help her. It happens to all of us. Emma, though, doesn't wallow in betrayals or absences, she moves on. That characteristic made me love her even more.
Lee is also a master at creating quiet, meaningful moments. One of my favorites, in SURRENDER, occurs when Bennett’s dad spars with Emma. As a reader, I was left with a clear understanding of the similarities (and differences in choices and outcomes) of the three men in Emma’s life: Bennett, his dad and The Rake. Don’t you love moments when suddenly a character’s destiny and a lose-lose outcome seem inevitable? That makes me turn pages faster.
Now onto the romantic pairing of Emma and Bennett. I have to admit to laughing hard not once, or even twice but at least a three times while reading their doomed romantic timing. And while Lee knows how to cool down her reader with some laughs, she also knows how to make us swoon. Let’s just say that if ever my hand is burned while making chai, I will be waiting by the sink for Bennett to look at my burn.
If you haven’t picked up this series, do it now. SURRENDER, the final installment in the series, is released tomorrow, December 6th. I consider it the perfect holiday treat to give yourself, so to help you get started, I’m sponsoring a giveaway (details are on the form) of the first book in the series, DECEPTION. Just fill out the form HERE and you’ll see why Emma and Bennett (no, I did NOT just sigh as I said his name…okay, maybe just a little) will make my Top Ten Couples list.

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