Mundie Moms

Friday, September 13, 2013

THORNHILL by Katherine Peacock, Book Review




Published: Katherine Tegen / Harper Teen
Released on: September 10th, 2013
Source: arc from publisher to review
Series: Hemlock #2
5 Stars: I Loved It
Purchase it From: AmazonBarnes & Noble
Add it Goodreads

Mac can’t lose another friend. Even if he doesn’t want to be found.

The ripple effect caused by Mac’s best friend Amy’s murder has driven Mac’s new love, Kyle, to leave Hemlock and disappear from her life forever. But Mac knows that Kyle plans to enroll in a rehabilitation camp, where he can live with other werewolves. She refuses to accept his decision, especially since the camps are rumored to be tortuous. So she sets out in search of Kyle with a barely sober Jason—and Amy’s all-seeing ghost—in tow.

Clues lead Mac to find Kyle in a werewolf den in Colorado—but their reunion is cut short by a Tracker raid. Now Mac and Kyle are trapped inside the electric fences of Thornhill, a camp for  young werewolves. As she devises an escape plan, Mac uncovers dangerous secrets buried within the walls of Thornhill—and realizes that the risk to the people she loves is greater than ever before.

This sequel as it all! It's action packed, suspenseful and will leave readers on the edge of their seat. Fans of Hemlock will love what Kathleen Peacock gives them in Thornhill!

I loved Hemlock! Sure that ending left me heartbroken for Mac and a little irritated with Kyle, because let's face it, his excuse to leave and "protect her" wasn't a very good excuse in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I understood why he felt that way, but still. Mac has already proven she's a strong character and she only grows that much stronger in this book. Thank goodness she's also incredibly stubborn! If she wasn't, Thornhill wouldn't have started off with with Mac and Jason in Colorado looking for Kyle, and ended the way it did.  

I loved that Thornhill picks up right where Hemlock ended. I have to give credit to Mac. She will do whatever it takes to protect those she loves and cares about. Take for granted, running off without letting Tess know, finding herself in the middle of werewolf territory, and uncovering a few shocking twists not only add to the story's suspense, they also endanger her life more. I admire Mac, because she's not a character who backs down, from anything. Or maybe it's the fact she won't take no for answer that I loved. No matter what it is, Mac has proven to me numerous times in Thornhill that she's as tough as the werewolves, or maybe tougher.

Oh the romance, action, suspense and twists. Kathleen Peacock doesn't hold back in this sequel. From the moment Thornhill starts and through the last page, this book is packed full of action. Some characters get attached, punches get thrown, a few characters get beat up, others find out what really happens at the Thornhill camp, and it's not pretty by any means. Threats get made, characters get shot, and a car crash happens. It's literally none stop action.

From fight scenes, to scenes from within the "rehabilitation" camp full of werewolves, to the complicated relationships, and well written twists that even I didn't see coming, Thornhill is one heck of a sequel. I loved those twists! I will not say what they are, because they're huge spoilers, but I can say one deals with a complicated relationship, and the other is a stolen kiss. Ooh and that stolen kiss was so well done! Those twists were shocking, hard to predict and perfect for this storyline. Just when I thought I had things/characters figured out, Kathleen throws me for a loop. It kept me on my toes the entire time I read the book (well okay I read the book in one sitting, but still), I couldn't put it down.

The romance in this sequel is fabulous! I loved the stolen kisses, the soft touches, and even the protectiveness that both Kyle and Jason have for Mac, especially while in the Thornhill Camp. I'll admit, I loved having Kyle back in the story, but my heart kinda veered over to Jason in this book. It's not just the fact that he risks a lot to help Mac find Kyle, and then all the crazy, shocking things that happen after they do find him, it's what he does for Mac herself. He's there for her. He protects her even when she doesn't think she needs it. He doesn't let her push him away when she claims she doesn't need help, and when she does ask for it, he's the first one to stand beside her. But it's also the little things, I was surprised at how much I started falling for him. But, this is not a love triangle story.

I loved the romance between Mac and Kyle. Even in the midst of chaos and danger, these two steal kisses, have those stolen glances, and soft touches. Given the situations they continue to find themselves in, in Thornhill, those moments were sighworthy to say the least. BUT, their relationship is not what it once was, and I'm a bit worried about that means for the two of them in the next book. There's a riff between them, while I hope for Mac's sake things work out, I'm kinda hoping something might happen between she and Jason (wishful thinking). I loved the both Kyle and Jason would do anything to protect Mac. As I said before Thornhill has a few twists, and there's more than these two guys who are willing to risk it all to protect Mac. 

There are a few other surprising allies in this complicated plot line. I loved that Serena plays a huge role in this story, as does a new character Eve. Though there were times I might have gotten a little irritated with Mac's whole, "you guys can go home, I will do this one my own" and the few times she wanted to make some really stupid rash decisions, I still thought she was an incredibly strong character, and I admired her for wanting to protect those she loved/cared about even if that meant putting herself in harms way. Talk about an ending that makes you wish you already had the next book. Kathleen may have wrapped up a few things in her story, but she gives you an ending that makes you want to beg her to tell you want is going to happen next.

If you loved Hemlock, go pick this one up! Thornhill is an awesome, must read sequel!
Don't miss my interview with Kathleen talking about Thornhill here.

Thornhill by Kathleen Peacock, Blog Tour & Author Interview


Hello & Welcome to today's THORNHILL blog tour stop! I'm so thrilled to have author Kathleen Peacock on Mundie Moms today. If haven't already, go pick up THORNHILL!!! It's a fabulous sequel. Before I share my interview with Kathleen, here's a little bit about her newest release:



Mac can’t lose another friend. Even if he doesn’t want to be found.

The ripple effect caused by Mac’s best friend Amy’s murder has driven Mac’s new love, Kyle, to leave Hemlock and disappear from her life forever. But Mac knows that Kyle plans to enroll in a rehabilitation camp, where he can live with other werewolves. She refuses to accept his decision, especially since the camps are rumored to be tortuous. So she sets out in search of Kyle with a barely sober Jason—and Amy’s all-seeing ghost—in tow.

Clues lead Mac to find Kyle in a werewolf den in Colorado—but their reunion is cut short by a Tracker raid. Now Mac and Kyle are trapped inside the electric fences of Thornhill, a camp for  young werewolves. As she devises an escape plan, Mac uncovers dangerous secrets buried within the walls of Thornhill—and realizes that the risk to the people she loves is greater than ever before.

By: Kathleen Peacock
Released on: September 10, 2013
Published By: Katherine Tegen Books / Harper Teen
Purchase it from: AmazonBarnes & NobleGoodreads

Hi Kathleen! Welcome back to Mundie Moms! Congrats on Thornhill's release. How would you describe your sequel in 5 words or less?

Thanks for having me back! Five words? No pressure... Hmmm... Just a sec... Almost have it... GOT IT!

Thornhill = Electric fences and stolen kisses. 

Which character surprised you the most in terms of the choices they make in THORNHILL and why?

I'd like to say Jason because his character undergoes the most growth, but I always knew book two would be his chance to step up. I think a new character, Curtis, surprised me the most. His choices changed in every single draft, and I wasn't entirely sure which side of the friend/foe divide he would end up on when all the cards were on the table.

What was one of your favorite scenes to write? If it's spoilery, you can just tell us a page number *coughs* ;)

One of my favorite scenes to write was the very first dream sequence with Amy. I loved writing it for two reasons. One: Amy's "easy tiger" is a line that was actually uttered by Jason in book one. The line (the whole scene, actually) got cut, but I really wanted to work it in somewhere else. It's not a great line or  an original nickname—I just really liked the idea of someone calling Mac "tiger." The other reason I love this scene is that there is a tiny Doctor Who reference near the end. Here's a small taste from the beginning:

Rat-tat-tap.

Three glistening drops of red hit the porcelain. They mixed with the water, tingeing it pink.

My heart jackhammered as I glanced up.

Amy stared at me from the other side of the bathroom mirror. 

I scrambled away so quickly that I tripped and had to grab the towel rack to keep from falling.

"Easy, tiger." Amy leaned forward. Her ink-black hair fell around her like a curtain and her eyes were shadows that shifted and swirled like smoke.

Do you find it easier or harder to write a sequel?

It feels like it was much harder to write a sequel. My friends and family, however, have assured me that I was just as stressed when working on Hemlock and that time has dulled my memory. I do think I worried about letting people down a lot more with the second book than I did with the first. 

Do you have a favorite line from the book you can share with us?

I actually really like the opening line: Some rooms looked better in the dark. This was definitely one of them.

What's a writing must have (music, chocolate etc)?

Music. I find writing more difficult without music.

What do you do on your book release days? If we could, we'd bake you cupcakes and bring them over. 

Awwww *smoosh*

I don't do much, tbh. Last year, I went out to lunch with friends. This year, I stayed home and watched Star Trek: Into Darkness and read The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo  (I know, I'm not very interesting)

Can you tell us what you're working on now?

I'm still working on the third Hemlock book, but I'm also playing with some YA and NA ideas and trying to figure out what will come in my post-Hemlock world.
Thank you Kathleen for being on Mundie Moms today!


About Kathleen:
Kathleen Peacock spent her teen years crushing on authors and writing short stories about vampires. She put her writing dreams on hold while attending college, but tripped over them when office life started leaving her with an allergy to cubicles. Her debut, HEMLOCK, is coming May 8th, 2012 from Katherine Tegen Books, an imprint of Harper Collins, and will be published in the UK under the title DEADLY HEMLOCK from Simon and Schuster Children’s Books.

The Giveaway:

For First Place (open International)
"Unlock the wolf within" Thornhill necklace (engraved stainless steel pendant on a silver-plated chain http://instagram.com/p/cIGkoowOJq/#)


Signed copy of Thornhill
Signed swag
Runners Up (International)
 3 runners up will get swag packs (stickers, bookmarks, signed bookplates)
a Rafflecopter giveaway 

The Tour Schedule:
Week 1
9/2/2013- Book Chic- Review
9/3/2013- In the Best Worlds- Interview
9/4/2013- Fall Into Books- Guest Post
9/5/2013- Portrait of a Book- Interview
9/6/2013- The Book Life- Review
Week 2
9/9/2013- The Reader's Antidote- Guest Post
9/10/2013- Auntie Spinelli Reads- Review
9/11/2013- The Book Belles- Review
9/12/2013- Two Chicks on Books- Guest Post
9/13/2013- Mundie Moms- Interview

BLACKMOORE: A Proper Romance; Blog Tour: Book Spotlight


Welcome to today's stop for Shadow Mountain's Blackmoore Blog Tour. I'm excited to be featuring Julianne Donaldson's newest release today on Mundie Moms.


 

Published by: Shadowhunter Mountain
Released on: September 9th, 2013
Genre: Regency Romance
Book Brand: A Proper Romance 
Purchase it from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Add it to Goodreads

About Blackmoore
Kate Worthington knows she can never have her heart’s desire and so believes she will never marry. But Kate’s meddlesome mother has other plans. Kate journeys to the stately manor of Blackmoore on the cliffs above the seashore, where she must face the truth and the man that has kept her heart captive.

Set in northern England, Blackmoore is a Regency romance that tells the story of a young woman struggling to learn to follow her heart. With hints of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters, Blackmoore is a page-turning tale of romance, intrigue and devotion.

England, regency romance, and hints of Jane Austen!? I'm hooked! Mundie Moms, doesn't this sound like the perfect book to curl up with a cool fall day? Okay well it's not yet fall weather here in TX, but this still sounds like the perfect book to spend the afternoon with. I can't wait  add this one to my shelves! I'll definitely be curling up to read this one as soon as I get my hands on it. 



About Julianne Donaldson
Julianne Donaldson grew up as the daughter of a U.S. Air Force fighter pilot. She learned how to ski in the Italian Alps, visited East Berlin before the wall came down, and spent three years living next to a 500-year-old castle. After earning a degree in English, she turned her attention to writing about distant times and places. She lives in Utah with her husband and four children. Follow her on Facebook to keep up with her latest happenings. 

Ember Blog Tour: Guest Post & Giveaway


Happy Friday! Welcome to today's Ember Blog Tour Stop. I'm thrilled to be hosting Entangled tour stop today and to have Stacy Abrams on Mundie Moms. 


Ember Blog Tour

"Our fires burn brightly for our readers and as a way to say thanks to our readers we've launched our latest division of Entangled Teen and it's name is Ember. We have two exciting launch titles: Darker Days by Jus Accardo and Chaos by Christine O'Neil. Read away!" Entangled Teen Ember is a division of Entangled Teen that specializes in digital-first YAs


About the Books

My name is Maggie Raynard. After sixteen years being just plain me, suddenly, when I lose my temper, my fingers become weapons of mass destruction. Turns out I'm a semi-god, descended from Aphrodite. Sounds cool in theory, but when I accidentally put my ex-boyfriend in a coma, things go downhill pretty fast.

Now some new guy named Mac Finnegan has made it his mission in life to continually piss me off. I'm stuck learning how to use my new powers while also dealing with regular high school problems, and with this annoying and super-hot—guy all
up in my business, I'm about to flip out.

But it gets worse. I just learned there's this watchdog council of semis who keep an eye out for any bad apples. They think I'm the baddest one in the bunch and want to take me out before I do any more damage. My nemesis Mac might turn out to be my salvation, only he's got secrets of his own...and they may just kill us both.

A little sin can be deadly...
Jessie Darker goes to high school during the day, but at night she helps with the family investigation business.
Cheating husbands and stolen inheritances? They’re your girls—but their specialty is a bit darker. Zombie in your garage? Pesky Poltergeist living in your pool? They’ll have the problem solved in a magical minute. For a nominal fee, of course...
When gorgeous new client, Lukas Scott, saunters into the office requesting their help to find a stolen box, it sounds like a simple case—until the truth comes out. The box is full of Sin.
Seven deadly ones, in fact.
They’ve got five days to recapture the Sins before they're recalled by the box, taking seven hijacked human bodies with them. Easy peasy—except for one thing...
There’s a spell that will allow the Sins to remain free, causing chaos forever. When the key ingredient threatens the life of someone she knows, Jessie must make the ultimate choice between love and family—or lose everything.

Exclusive Guest post from Stacy Abrams:

At Entangled, we take our launch lists seriously. They’re our first chance to show readers what the line will be like—not just its quality but its focus and tone. So to put a book on a launch list is to love a book. And I couldn’t love these two books any more, or think they are more perfect to showcase what we plan to share with you at Entangled Teen Ember.

First on the list is Christine O’Neil’s CHAOS. The first thing you need to know about Christine is that she’s the YA pen name for adult romance writer Christine Bell—and if you’ve read any of her adult romances, you know the woman can write a steamy kiss scene. I had to fan away the flames from my computer screen while reading the first kiss between Maggie and Mac. But beyond that, Christine has a way with humor and snark. The voice of CHAOS is so unique, so funny, it had me constantly smiling and giggling the entire way through. Maggie may be a unique paranormal creature, dealing with coming into her powers and crushing after her mentor, but her authentic teen voice will make readers feel like they know her—or could even be her.

Then there’s Jessie Darker, heroine of Jus Accardo’s DARKER DAYS. Jessie’s just your average teen girl, trying to fit in at school and help her mom with the family business. Except…there’s nothing normal about the family business. The Darker Agency investigates paranormal activity, and when Jessie’s confronted with one of the Seven Deadly Sins incarnate, Lukas—who just so happens to be a smoking-hot guy—her world is turned upside down. Jus Accardo is the author of the bestselling Denazen books, but this first in a brand-new series is sure to draw old and new fans alike for its snappy dialogue, juicy romance, and kickass heroine. I wish my high school job had been as cool as Jessie’s—or that my high school boyfriend was nearly as tempting as Lukas.

In the upcoming months, we’ll wow you with amazing contemporary, historical, dystopian, sci-fi, and fantasy stories sure to entertain, impress, and make you swoon. I hope you enjoy the start of our new imprint, an ember that will grow into a blaze for readers of all ages.

About the Authors

Christine O'Neil was born and raised in Connecticut, where she spent most of her childhood outdoors catching salamanders, frogs and colds. When she wasn't terrorizing Mother Nature, she was curled up under the covers with her nose in a book. As an adult, she's stopped stalking amphibians, but still loves books. When she isn't reading, she likes to spend her time people-watching. In fact, she's probably watching you RIGHT NOW O_O She's also pretty obsessed with writing YA books, but if she had to pick another profession she would be a ninja...or a Professor of the Dark Arts. Christine also writes adult romance under the pen name Christine Bell.


JUS ACCARDO spent her childhood reading and learning to cook. Determined to follow in her grandfather’s footsteps as a chef, she applied and was accepted to the Culinary Institute of America. At the last minute, she realized her path lay with fiction, not food, and passed on the spot to pursue writing. Jus is the bestselling author the popular Denazen series from Entangled publishing. A native New Yorker, she lives in the middle of nowhere with her husband, three dogs, and sometimes guard bear, Oswald.

The Giveaway:
Check out what you can enter to win!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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