Mundie Moms

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

Book Review & Giveaway: Skylark by Meagan Spooner



Published by: Caroldrhoda Lab
To Be Released on: August 1st, 2012
Source: Book from author to review/giveaway
3 stars: It's A Good Read
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound

Sixteen year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.

Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.

Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret – but can she stay alive long enough to find them?


A well crafted story that's infused with elements of magic, science-fiction and given a dystopian feel, this is a book unlike any other I've read. Skylark takes readers into a dark, dangerous world where magic exists, and nothing is as it seems. 


Skylark follows the story of Lark, a young teenage girl who lives in a world that's been crafted around her. Lark's city was built and runs on the harvested power it takes from it's citizens, something that's deemed honorable. When Lark is finally chosen for her harvesting she not only finds out the shocking truth behind the harvesting, but what she really is and what she's capable of doing. Lark has an fascinating group of characters who make up her world, and throughout her story she'll discover some shocking truths about them, including her own brothers. There's plenty of betrayal, shocking revelations, and a few secrets that she'll uncover on her journey for answers. 


Lark for me was a hard character to really love. Given her circumstances, the world she lives on and all that's going on around her, I had expected her to be a much tougher, and stronger character than she is. It's not bad to get through every tough situation she faced with the help of someone or something else, but I wanted to see her get out some her situations by herself. Had I been able to do that, I think I would have connected with her and liked her more than I did. Instead I found myself more fascinated in both Oren and Kris, the two guys who enter Lark's life, and who both have this air of mystery around them. I liked not knowing everything about them in this book. It kept the story interesting, and more engaging for me as I tried to uncover what it is both of them are hiding.


The world itself is fascinating and unlike anything I've read about before. I like the interesting use of magic, and the dystopian feel Meagan's world had about it. While I enjoyed some the scenes that took place and the elements that Meagan included in her story, there were a few things I felt didn't really fit in with the flow of the book. I won't say what they are to keep this review spoiler free, but, I felt these few minor things could have been excluded from the book or should have addressed a little bit more to make them feel like they fit in with what was going on. Or maybe it was just me and no one will else will be bothered by them at all. 


Over all I felt like this was a good debut from Meagan and I'm interested to see what she does with her storyline. Skylark's ending makes me think they'll be a second book, which I think would be great, because Meagan definitely leaves a few things unanswered she could create another story line with. Either way, Skylark has a fast paced plot line, plenty of surprising twits, and an original plot, that I think YA fans will enjoy. Don't forget to check out my interview with  Meagan from earlier today. 




The Giveaway:
THANK YOU to Meagan, I have a SIGNED copy of Skylark to giveaway! TO ENTER, please fill out the form below. 1 entry per person, US residents only, you must be 13 yrs of age or older to enter (under requires a parent/guardian's permission to do so).


Skylark Blog Tour: Author Interview



For today's Skylark Blog Tour stop, I'm excited to have author Meagan Spooner on Mundie Moms. She's stopped by to answer a few of my questions about her debut, which will be out on bookstore shelves TOMORROW! First, here's a little about her book:



Vis in magia, in vita vi. In magic there is power, and in power, life. 

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city. 

Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply. 

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley believed in a lie. Now she must escape the only world she's ever known...or face a fate more unimaginable than death. 


To Be Released on: August 1st, 2012

Interview:

Hi Meagan! Thank you for being on Mundie Moms today to talk about your debut, Skylark. Are you able to sum up what it feels like to a published author to a few words or less? I can only imagine how surreal that must feel.

Thank you for having me! Surreal is actually a pretty good word for it. Also, see: amazing, terrifying, humbling, and crazy-making.

What inspired you to start writing Skylark?

The initial glimmerings of the world in SKYLARK came to me first, while listening to a public radio piece on the energy crisis. I was only listening with half my brain, but it did make me think about alternate power sources, and my mind (being what it is) leaped to magic. I think the real inspiration, though, came when I figured out whose story, within that world, I most wanted to tell. I think there's a little bit of the kid I was (and still am deep down) inside Lark... afraid she'll never fit in, uncertain of her strength, always wondering if perhaps there's something else, a little further beyond the places she's gone. SKYLARK is above all else a character story, and for me that was the real driving force behind my writing it. I wanted to see what Lark became.

Do you have a favorite moment or line from your book that you can share with us?

What I wanted was to go back, unlearn what I had learned, make him again just a boy, helping a girl, lost in the wilderness.

But I can't tell you why. I'm not being cagey, I promise! It's just spoiler-y to explain why this is one of my favorite moments in the book. I will say that the heartbreaking things are what stick with me, whether it's in my own writing or in someone else's.

What's something you came to admire about your character, Lark?

Her capacity for faith. I'm not really talking about religion, or anything spiritual whatsoever, when I say faith--but her first major decision in the book, the decision to flee the city she knows for the wild, potentially lethal, unknown land beyond the Wall comes from the fact that she believes there has to be something better out there. And in the beginning, this ends up being tangled up in naivete, as well. But I think she outgrows that as the story progresses, leaving her with simple conviction. And through all the ups and downs, particularly the downs (and there are many) she hangs onto that capacity. Betrayed, lied to, half-starved, stripped of everything she thought she knew--she still gets back up and says, "There's more than this." I think that makes it a hopeful book, despite its dark moments.

What author has been the greatest influence on you as a writer?

Waaay too many to name, but I'll do my best to at least narrow down the list a little and give you three: Lois Lowry, Robin McKinley, Peter Beagle.

If you could give one piece of advice to aspiring writers, what would that be?

Keep moving. The moment you let yourself stop, whether it's that you stop writing, stop critiquing, stop querying, or even just stop reading, you're going to make it twenty times harder to start again later. It takes time to build momentum and build discipline, and when you stop you lose that so quickly, no matter how long it took you to gain it in the first place. The instant you give in to the urge to stagnate, something switches over in your brain and you start treading water. Which, if I can risk stretching my metaphor too thin, will only make you tired--it won't get you anywhere. Always keep reading, writing, learning. Keep swimming. Keep moving. 


Bio:
Meagan Spooner grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day, while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, an astronaut. She graduated from Hamilton College in New York with a degree in playwriting, and has spent several years since then living in Australia. She's traveled with her family all over the world to places like Egypt, South Africa, the Arctic, Greece, Antarctica, and the Galapagos, and there's a bit of every trip in every story she writes.

She currently lives and writes in Northern Virginia, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there's no telling how long she'll stay there. 

In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads.

She is the author of SKYLARK, coming out August 1 from Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner Books. She is also the co-author of THESE BROKEN STARS, forthcoming from Disney-Hyperion in Fall 2013

Twitter Tuesday - Andrea Cremer


Two items of happy news from Andrea Cremer. She tweeted the first yesterday and now my answer to "Hey, Sophie, can you point me in the direction of well written erotica?" will be -- wait until October 2013. From the Publishers Weekly annoucement :
Bestselling YA author Andrea Cremer has agreed to do an adult erotic trilogy for Dutton. The author, who is best known for her popular Nightshade series (which Penguin’s Philomel imprint publishes), sold North American rights to three books that will be set within the Nightshade world. Dutton president and publisher Brian Tart negotiated the deal with Richard Pine and Charlie Olsen at Inkwell Management, and Dutton’s Jessica Horvath will be editing. The first book in the series—Dutton said it’s about “the lives, passions, and betrayals of lovers whose very desires invite their dooms”—is scheduled for October 2013.
Andrea's romantic scenes have always been sizzling but now an adult, erotic trilogy? I have to approve of a trend that has some of my favorite authors writing adult stories especially if they are set in a world we know and love.

Then today, her Nightshade, e-novella, Aftermath, is available at both Barnes & Noble and amazon. This is a must-buy for some of us. Guess what I'll be reading during the kids' swim lessons today?

Monday, July 30, 2012

TMI Movie Casting News: We have our LUKE & Madame Dorothea


Cassie took a break from her teaching with Holly out in CA. this week to share some exciting movie news with fans today! We now have our LUKE and Madame Dorothea!!


On the casting news of Luke, Cassie had this to say, 




"Luke — Clary’s surrogate father figure, he has a hell of a dark past despite his current mild-mannered, bookstore-owning ways. The scars he bears belie his gentle heart — but he could tear you apart with his teeth if you threatened something he cared about.
Holly has long insisted Luke is her Fictional Boyfriend, so today, Holly, you have won: Aidan Turner."

You can read Cassie's entire post about Adrian's casting here




On the casting news of Madame Dorothea, Cassie said: 

"Madame Dorothea was a lot of fun to write. She’s Clary’s downstairs neighbor and a “witch” — the kind with crystal balls and Tarot cards. Her secret is that none of that magic is at all real: it’s a cover for the powerful position she actually does hold in the secret society of Downworlders.
Our Madame Dorothea is: CCH Pounder.
You may know her from The Shield. Or The X-Files. Or Warehouse 13. Or ER. Or The West Wing. Or pretty much every cool show in the known universe. Our director’s wanted to work with her for ages and I think she will be amazing. Welcome, CCH!"

I'm so excited about the casting of Madame Dorothea. I have long been a fan of CCH Pounder! I can not wait to see what she does with Madame Dorothea's character. You can read Cassie's entire post here


What do you guys think? This cast is getting better and better! You can check out the rest of the TMI casting news here.

Book Review: Survive by Alex Morel


Published by: RazorBill 
To Be Released on: August 2nd, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars: I Enjoyed It
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound
Sneak Peak: Read an excerpt


Hatchet meets Lost in this modern-day adventure tale of one girl's reawakening

Jane is on a plane on her way home to Montclair, New Jersey, from a mental hospital. She is about to kill herself. Just before she can swallow a lethal dose of pills, the plane hits turbulence and everything goes black. Jane wakes up amidst piles of wreckage and charred bodies on a snowy mountaintop. There is only one other survivor: a boy named Paul, who inspires Jane to want to fight for her life for the first time.
Jane and Paul scale icy slopes and huddle together for warmth at night, forging an intense emotional bond. But the wilderness is a vast and lethal force, and only one of them will survive -quoted from Goodreads



Survive is an intense, incredibly fast paced read that's full of triumph, tragedy, heartbreak, and will power. It's that will to survive that will aid Jane through the darkest moment of her life.... I'm not just talking about her desire to follow in her father's footstep to commit suicide. With all odds stacked against her, and the other survivor of a deadly plane crash in the middle of the mountains, Jane finds the hope, love and the strength to live. The book's title, SURVIVE has more than one meaning in this book, and I loved two different meanings it has in Jane's story.


Alex Morel did an awesome job with keeping his story's darker, and sometimes hard to write about subject deep, without going over board. Despite the fact I had a hard time connecting with Jane during the first part of the book, I loved her during the second half. Alex did a wonderful job at allowing me to see the changes in Jane. The first part of the book was spent on providing what Jane's agenda was (why she was flying home etc), how she got into the mental facility she's in, and her struggle to come to terms with all she's gone through, and why she's set on taking her life. Though Alex allowed me to understand why Jane was set on taking her life, I didn't connect with her during this time. I had a lot of issues with her reasoning behind wanting to do this. Despite that, it wasn't until the second half of the book, when the plane crashes did I start to connect with her. 


Talk about gut wrenching, this story is brimming with emotion on a whole different level. I thought I was prepared with what to except with Jane's story, but this story entails way more than I was anticipating. During the second half of the story, which takes places during and after the plane crash, I felt that Jane completely transforms into a much stronger character, and was much more engaging for me. She all the sudden had this spark of life in her, and had this incredible desire to live, and over come all the odds stacked against her. I loved the role Paul, the snarky, broken boy who's also had his fair share of heartbreak, plays in Jane's life  on the flight and especially after the crash. Though they had only met on their flight, he changed the way Jane felt, and how she viewed life. He pushed her like no one else had before. 


WOW, Alex created an incredibly engaging, and realistic crash site. Every emotion and the danger that encompasses this part of the book felt real. I grew up loving Hatchet, and I know this story has been compared to a modern day, older version of that book. Normally I'm not a fan books being compared, but I definitely agree with that comparison. It's well written, fast paced book, with the right amount of length to hook you. I will warn you, there is an incredibly heartbreaking scene in this book that will leave you a little broken, but it's oh so worth picking up the book. You'll miss out on all that happens leading up to that point. One a side note, there is some minor language, and this book does talk about suicide, a lot, and in a very tasteful manner. If you're a fan of survival stories, you must pick this one up! 


Be sure to visit the blog on Saturday when Alex Morel stops by to talk about his debut, and enter to win one of 3 copies I'll be giving away.

Must Have Middle Grade Monday

Welcome to this week's edition of Must Have Middle Grade Reads, a weekly feature here on Mundie Moms where I spotlight last week's middle grade books I reviewed on Mundie Kids



By: Sarah Mlynowski
Published by: Scholastic
Released on: May 2012
Ages: 8 & up
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Series: Book 1, Whatever After Series

A fresh, modern spin on a classic fairy tale--from bestselling author Sarah Mlynowski! Mirror, mirror, on the basement wall . . . Once upon a time my brother and I were normal kids. The next minute? The mirror in our basement slurped us up and magically transported us inside Snow White's fairy tale. I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. But hey -- we're heroes! We stopped Snow White from eating the poisoned apple. Hooray! Or not. If Snow White doesn't die, she won't get to meet her prince. And then she won't get her happy ending. Oops. Now it's up to us to: Avoid getting poisoned- Sneak into a castle- Fix Snow White's story. And then, fingers crossed, find our way home. -quoted from Goodreads

A fun spin on a beloved classic, Sarah Mlynowski takes what I loved about Snow White and gives this adventure a hilarious, modern day spin. You can read my entire 4 star review here.




By: Brian Brown
Illustrated by: Nathan Love
Published by: NBC Publishing / Rodale Publishing
Released on: 7/17/12
Ages: 8 & up
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Series: RingForce

When you believe in your dream … all is possible.

That was the message on the poster hanging on Booker’s bedroom wall—the poster of the greatest boxer of all time, Olympic gold medalist Muhammad Ali.

Booker dreamed of being an Olympian too. He was fast. Really fast. Sometimes he could even outrun the elevated train as it roared by on the platform outside his apartment building.

But little did he know when that freakish snowstorm hit Brooklyn one sunny spring day, his incredible speed would lead him to a destiny greater than he ever could have imagined: a chance to join an elite force fighting for the hopes and dreams of the whole entire world. -quoted from NBC Publishing's site

An engaging, fun read to get your kids ready for the Olympics, RINGFORCE is an exciting new book that kids of all ages will enjoy. This book isn't just about the adventure of 5 young kids who are thrown into a mission to keep the Olympic torch going, and to save the world, it also sends kids an extremely powerful, and positive message about the importance of "Following Your Dreams". I loved the author Brian Brown's experience with working a vast number of Olympic events played a big role in his ability to capture his readers attention, and teach them about Olympics, and as well as giving his readers a positive story line that will uplift and motive them. You can read my entire 4 star review here.


Middle Grade Monday:
Don't miss my Marvelous Middle Grade Monday meme on Mundie Kids, a weekly meme hosted by author Shannon Messenger's. You can check out this week's Mundie Kids feature here






Mundane Monday #147: Clockwork Princess Snippet, Magnus

Happy Monday! Today's Mundane Monday post is a teaser Cassie posted yesterday in honor of Magnus's advancement on Friday in the YA Crush Tournament. Enjoy this snippet from Clockwork Princess!



“I am not at your beck and call,” Magnus said. “I helped with de Quincey because Camille requested it of me, and Will once, because he offered me a favor in return. I am a warlock. And I do not serve Shadowhunters for free.”

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Clockwork Princess Teaser


With Jem and Magnus both advancing in their YA Tourney Rounds on Friday, Cassie has promised fans a Clockwork Princess teaser from both characters. Today's (which was posted yesterday) teaser is with Jem.



Jem and Magnus won their YA Crush Tourney rounds! Today, a Jem snippet. Tomorrow, a Magnus one.
Will’s eyes met Tessa’s as she came closer, almost tripping again over the torn hem of her gown. For a moment, they were in perfect understanding. Jem was what they could still look each other straight in the eye about. On the topic of Jem, they were both fierce and unyielding. Tessa saw Will’s hand tighten on Jem’s sleeve. “She’s here,” he said.
Jem’s eyes opened slowly. Tessa fought to keep the look of shock from her face. His pupils were blown out, his irises a thin ring of silver around the black. “Ni shou shang le ma, qin ai de?” he whispered.

*sigh* I have a feeling this scene is going to break me in Clockwork Princess. In case you were wondering what Jem is asking Tessa, Cassie posted the translation here:

你 受伤 了 吗,亲爱的 
Ni shou shang le ma, qin ai de?
Are you hurt, my love?

Books, News & Other Things (IMM #133)

Welcome to this week's edition of Books, News & Other Things. My weekly post where I share with you some of the book goodies that arrived this week and re-cap this past week's happenings on Mundie Moms. 


For Review:

Won/Gifted:
  • The Kill Order by James Dashner, published by Random House, to be released on 8/14/12, won from Shannon Messenger's Twitter giveaway!! 
  • Forever.... by Judy Blume, published by Simon & Schuster, SIGNED! I am seriously in shock over this. Judy Blume is one of my all time favorite authors from growing up and I'm totally fan girling over this. Thank you Simon Teen!

For Mundie Kids:
Thank you to:

Razorbill, Random House, Simon Teen, Shannon Messenger, Joan Holub and Suzanne Williams for this week's wonderful reads!

********
Book Reviews:
News: (blog tours, cover reveals, author interviews, giveaways etc)

Blog Tours:
Cover Reveals:
Author Interviews:
Giveaways:
Other News:
Cassie Latest News:

Saturday, July 28, 2012

YA Book News & TMI Movie Casting Rumors

There's been lots of exciting news this week, mainly with three highly anticipated book trailer reveals. First I'm going to squash a movie rumor that went around this week that had TMI fans scratching their heads trying to figure out what to believe and what not to.




TMI Movie Casting News: Many fans were wondering why with the news from both Just Jared and MTV's Hollywood Crush reporting that ALEC had been cast, why I didn't post about it. My answer is, because unless I hear from Cassie herself or the studio it's a RUMOR. Cassie has been very faithful at posting the TMI movie casting news first to her fans before any media outlets have, via her tumblr, and since she didn't post about Alec I didn't post about it. She did however come out and say,


"Casting: rumors
And yes, I know there are casting rumors swirling and you want to know whether they’re true or not. Unfortunately I can’t confirm or deny (and I was hoping to get out of this without sounding like Nixon) at the moment. Hopefully this Dark Suspense will not last too long…".
As soon as Cassie confirms the casting of Alec, I'll post about it here on the blog. With filming being a few weeks away, I'm guessing we'll be hearing something soon! *crosses fingers it's this week*


********

The book trailer for Sarah J. Maas's debut, Throne of Glass was revealed this week on Hollywood Crush. You can check it out below. I'm so excited for this book to be released! It's fabulous!!!


Per their article "The long-awaited debut of author Sarah J. Maas, "Throne of Glass" is the beginning of what promises to be an epic, multi-book (we hope!) adventure—beginning when teenage assassin Celaena Sardothien is released from a life of imprisonment and brutal labor in order to compete at court for the title of royal assassin. If she wins, she wins her freedom. If she loses, the only freedom she'll know is death. And with two maybe-suitors, a series of murders and all the tangled intrigues and intricacies of life at court, Celaena's story is one you'll definitely want to follow when the book comes out August 7.

Get more info about "Throne of Glass" at the book's official Facebook page!"

********

EW's Shelf Life debuted the book trailer for Libba Bray's The Diviners! I've heard this book is amazing. I can't wait to read this one. Check out the fabulously done, creepy trailer HERE (will post the trailer when the code is available).

Per their articleThe Diviners — isn’t out until Sept. 18, but the film rights have already been snapped up by Paramount. It follows a glamorous group of young people in the 1920s who, aided by magic powers, find themselves in an epic battle of good vs. evil when occult-based murders come to light. EW is lucky to have a sneak peek at the novel with a brand new trailer and excerpt from the novel. Read the excerpt here.

*********

Shannon Hale's Palace of Stone, the sequel to Princess Academy, had it's book trailer debut this week! Check out this lovely trailer here, 


In MOVIE NEWS: Congratulations to ORIGIN author Jessica Khoury, who's debut has been optioned for a movie! 

Friday, July 27, 2012

We're Celebrating Cassie's Birthday Today!

We're celebrating Cassie's Birthday today! 




We want to take a moment and wish her a VERY HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! You know no birthday would be complete with out a little Will humor... #TEAMWILL


  someecards.com - NO, Will! We can't send Cassie Clare a duck for
her birthday. Not even a little one.


You can join in the birthday celebrations by leaving a comment here for Cassie to read!


You can also join in the Twitter fun, that a few of us TMI fans sites are hosting today at 11 am EST! All you have to do is tweet #HappyBDayCassie starting at that time and any time after it. We're hoping to keep this a surprise until then. 


Show your love and lend your support to Cassie and wish her a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!


Thursday, July 26, 2012

Book Review: The Vindico by Wesley King


By: Wesley King
Published by: Penguin Teen
Released on: June 14th, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
4 stars: I Enjoyed It
Purchase from: Penguin | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

The Vindico are a group of supervillains who have been fighting the League of Heroes for as long as anyone can remember. Realizing they’re not as young as they used to be, they devise a plan to kidnap a group of teenagers to take over for them when they retire—after all, how hard can it be to teach a bunch of angsty teens to be evil?

Held captive in a remote mansion, five teens train with their mentors and receive superpowers beyond their wildest dreams. Struggling to uncover the motives of the Vindico, the teens have to trust each other to plot their escape. But they quickly learn that the differences between good and evil are not as black and white as they seem, and they are left wondering whose side they should be fighting on after all . . .


With fast-paced action, punchy dialogue, and sarcastic humor, this high-stakes adventure from a talented new YA voice pulls you in from the first page- quoted from Goodreads

Sometimes the only way to out smart a Villain it to become evil in order to become a super hero, or is it.... *evil laugh* If you took The Justice League and X-Men and introduced them to the Breakfast Club, you'd get The Vindico. This well written, fast paced book is one both YA and adult readers will enjoy. It's at times humorous, other times action paced and yet at the heart of this story is a message readers can walk way with. The thing I enjoyed the most about Wes's writing is how he was able to blur the lines of good and evil. It was incredibly fascinating for me to see how my first notion that someone was wrong, or the choice someone else made was good, was in fact not necessarily the truth. Getting to see how someone on the "other side" of that action saw it was eye opening, and explained a lot about the history of two groups and the feelings towards each other. 

Mixed into this story about Superheroes and Villains, are 5 proteges who were all kidnapped and in a round about way forced to join the world's greatest villains, The Vindico. Each of these kids are just your average teens, and yet there's something about each one of them that will help them grow into these amazing kids with superpowers. You know the kind of power you wish you had, like jedi mind trick powers, super strength, speed and more. As much as I loved getting to read about and understand the back story on how some of the villains came to be and their ties to the League of Hereos, I enjoyed getting to know about the 5 proteges more. 

Wes's writing is fabulous, as he tells the story from all angles, and introduces each character into the story in a very distinct way, making it very easy to follow along with. This not only made the story flow well, but it kept me invested with this story, and all that was going on. I seriously love the Justice League, and really any sort of well created Super Hero vs Super Villain story, and The Vindico was the perfect mix of that. This is a story that I surprisingly read in one setting, I enjoyed it that much. It has all the right elements that I enjoy in my beloved super hero story's, and then some. Like humor, a little bit of romance, kick butt characters, characters who are trying to find their own destiny and can easily be persuaded to do good or to do wrong, and a back story that allowed me to understand the actions of both sides of the law. 

Readers are able to get a glimpse into the lives of each of the teen characters that are introduced in this story, and are able to see how their back story's shape who they become, and the roles they now play in the epic battle of good vs evil. Given the fact there's still a lot left to know about them and their final decisions, I'm hoping that either each character will get their own book, or there will be at least a few more books in this series. I'm looking forward to reading more books from Wes and jumping back into this world with his next installment with this series. I think this is a story that both guys and girls, teens and adults alike with all enjoy, and it's one I highly recommend picking up!



Don't miss my interview with Wes here.

Clockwork Princess Snippet


In honor of Will's YA Crush Tourney win yesterday, Cassie treated fans to this lovely Clockwork Princess snippet....

Clockwork Princess snippet
“Will!”
He turned at the familiar voice and saw Tessa. There was a small path cut along the side of the hill, lined with unfamiliar white flowers, and she was walking up it, toward him. Her long brown hair blew in the wind — she had taken off her straw bonnet, and held it in one hand, waving it at him and smiling as if she were glad to see him.  
His own heart leaped up at the sight of her. “Tess,” he called. But she was still such a distance away — she seemed both very near and very far suddenly and at the same time. He could see every detail of her pretty, upturned face, but could not touch her, and so he stood, waiting and desiring, and his heart beat like the wings of seagulls in his chest. 
At last she was there, close enough that he could see where the grass and flowers bent beneath the tread of her shoes. He reached out for her —

*sigh* Will.... Thank you to everyone who has supported Alyssa and I with #TEAMWILL during the YA Tourney! Here's to another fabulous upcoming match!

Interview with The Vindico author, Wesley King

I'm thrilled to have debut author, Wesley King on the blog today to talk about his recent release, The Vindico.


I love that your book is described as X-Men meets The Breakfast Club. How would you describe your book in 5 words or less?

 Teens with superpowers—bad idea.  

I'm intrigued with the idea that in order to have a superpower, you first have to become a supervillain. If you were to become a supervillain what power would you choose to have and why?

Hmm, that’s a good question. I always think of the power I’d want if I was going to be a superhero, but it might change if my goal is crime and calamity. I think I’d go with telepathy. There’s something inherently wrong about going into people’s minds, so you might as well be a bad guy. There aren’t many morally good things you can do with telepathy.

Which of your characters did you enjoy seeing develop as your story went from drafts to the final book?

All five protégés in general. I felt like I was seeing them grow, which is ironic, because they actually became younger as the drafts progressed. I even had to cut two of them. But if I had to choose one, I think I liked seeing Sam slowly develop into a stronger character who is going to have a big role in future books. Hayden started as a loveable jerk and ended as a loveable jerk. I knew how he would turn out from the first draft.

What were some of your favorite books to read as a teen?

A really random assortment. A lot of classics: War and Peace, A Tale of Two Cities, Dr. Zhivago, Moby Dick. In my younger teens I read just about every Star Wars book ever written—I was pretty cool—and Lord of the Rings three times as well. Ironically I was reading War and Peace in my teens and have now read Harry Potter, The Hunger Games, and The Inheritance Cycle in my twenties. Teen fiction is awesome. I was missing out.

If you could write one super hero or super villain into your book, who would that character be and why?

I have literally never thought of that. Hmm. I’ll say Wolverine, because he’d fit right in with my cast and I’d love to write dialogue between him and Hayden. Wolverine would hate him, which of course would make Hayden harass him all the more.


The Vindico are a group of supervillains who have been fighting the League of Heroes for as long as anyone can remember. Realizing they’re not as young as they used to be, they devise a plan to kidnap a group of teenagers to take over for them when they retire—after all, how hard can it be to teach a bunch of angsty teens to be evil?

Held captive in a remote mansion, five teens train with their mentors and receive superpowers beyond their wildest dreams. Struggling to uncover the motives of the Vindico, the teens have to trust each other to plot their escape. But they quickly learn that the differences between good and evil are not as black and white as they seem, and they are left wondering whose side they should be fighting on after all . . .
With fast-paced action, punchy dialogue, and sarcastic humor, this high-stakes adventure from a talented new YA voice pulls you in from the first page -quoted from Goodreads

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