Mundie Moms

Friday, July 13, 2012

Vote for Jem


Jem's the latest TMI/ID character to go head to head with another fictional favorite in YA Sisterhood's Crush Tourney. Like she did for Will, Cassie posted a teaser for Jem fans (love these teasers).

Regardless of how it goes, a tiny Jem snippet from Clockwork Princess.
“Wo wei ni xie de,” he said, as he raised the violin to his left shoulder, tucking it under his chin. He had told her many violinists used a shoulder rest, but he did not: there was a slight mark on the side of his throat, like a permanent bruise, where the violin rested. 
“You — made something for me?” Tessa asked.
“I wrote something for you,” he corrected, with a smile, and began to play.
*sigh* Aw Jem and Tessa.....
Be sure to go VOTE for JEM!


Harper Teen News: Featuring Epic Reads & Pitch Dark Books

Looking for some hot summer reads? Check out these titles from Harper Teen:



Looking for some fabulous summer reads?  Head on over to Epic Reads between 7/2 and 7/30 to pick up some sweet reads for cheap! During the month of July ONLY, you can score some Harper Teen favorites an unbeatable price! You can't beat $2.99!! Get your deals HERE




Don't miss getting all your favorites for this summer's 2012 Pitch Dark Books! Get your digital essentials, book covers, read excerpts, and grab the widget all at Pitch Dark Books!!

Book Review: A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness

Flashback Friday is back! I've been a little busy lately and took a little break from this meme, but I'm picking back up with it today. Flashback Friday is a meme I started last year here on the blog for the sole purpose of spotlighting books that have been sitting on my shelf to read for awhile. This will include titles released the previous year and ones that have been out for a few years. Today's feature is for a book I wish I had picked up last year when it was out: A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness


Published by: Viking Adult / Penguin Books
Released on: February 8th, 2011
Source: Bought
5 stars: I Loved It!
Purchase from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble 
Series: All Souls Trilogy Book 1

A richly inventive novel about a centuries-old vampire, a spellbound witch, and the mysterious manuscript that draws them together.

Deep in the stacks of Oxford's Bodleian Library, young scholar Diana Bishop unwittingly calls up a bewitched alchemical manuscript in the course of her research. Descended from an old and distinguished line of witches, Diana wants nothing to do with sorcery; so after a furtive glance and a few notes, she banishes the book to the stacks. But her discovery sets a fantastical underworld stirring, and a horde of daemons, witches, and vampires soon descends upon the library. Diana has stumbled upon a coveted treasure lost for centuries-and she is the only creature who can break its spell.

Debut novelist Deborah Harkness has crafted a mesmerizing and addictive read, equal parts history and magic, romance and suspense. Diana is a bold heroine who meets her equal in vampire geneticist Matthew Clairmont, and gradually warms up to him as their alliance deepens into an intimacy that violates age-old taboos. This smart, sophisticated story harks back to the novels of Anne Rice, but it is as contemporary and sensual as the Twilight series-with an extra serving of historical realism - quoted from Goodreads

I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked up this book, but it definitely wasn't what I got. Deborah Harkness wowed me with her debut. It was simply one of those fabulous reads that I wanted to devour, but instead found myself savoring everything that was going on. It's a story that's part adventure, part mystery and one part a uniquely crafted paranormal historical read. I loved the story's fascinating mix of intrigue, rich history, exciting paranormal elements and it's good old fashion romance.  

You guys know how much I love well crafted, intriguing, complex characters. Deborah's protagonists, Doctor Diana Bishop and centuries old vampire/renowned scientist Matthew Clairmount fit that bill perfectly! These two took intrigue and complex to a whole new level. The fact that these two were so highly intelligent added to their over all character appeal for me. They weren't intelligent in the "I have no idea what you're talking about" way, but in the wow, Deborah really had her work cut out with these guys. They were times I felt like I was sitting in on their conversations vs reading about them. It was refreshing for me to read about characters who have intellect, as well as history smarts. 

Witches, Vampires, and Demons oh my! There's a lively cast of paranormal favorites here, or more like classic paranormal favorites. I felt like Deborah really did her homework on these characters and I enjoyed the own unique spin she gave each of them, which made for some authentic characters. Each character gave something back to the story. It also added some fabulous tension between Diana, who's a witch and the vampire Matthew. We all know witches and vampires don't go round holding hands and hanging out all the time together, but there's something these two offer each other aside from help and looking for answers they're both in need of. I loved the chemistry these two have. It's hot, complex and sometimes a little comical. 

Aside from the characters I really loved this story's setting. Oxford was the perfect setting for this book, and I felt like it fueled some of the story's overall appeal for me. I also enjoyed this story's over all plot line. It was highly engaging and kept the over all story entertaining and engaging for me. Sure there's a few moments where it's a little slow, but the majority of the story just flows. One of the things I loved about Deborah's writing was how descriptive it was. Normally I would have said it was a little over done, but it really worked with this book, because there's so much to this story's rich history and historical setting. I felt Deborah's attention to details, both little and big went along way in this book. I can only imagine how much time she spent on researching. 

A Discovery of Witches is an adult book with a ton of appeal for us "adult" YA readers who love a well crafted story with plenty of paranormal elements, historical references, fabulous character chemistry, adventure and a good mystery. It's one I'd highly recommend picking up!

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