Mundie Moms

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

On Set at the COLS Book trailer Filmage

Cassie shared a teaser with fans today taken from the filming of the COLS trailer! Check out this lovely back shot of JACE!!


I seriously LOVE this teaser! Here's what Cassie had to say about it:

Onset at the City of Lost Souls book trailer filmage. (Is filmage a word?) The director and the back of book-trailer Jace’s head. I don’t know who is playing Jace in the trailer, but he has nice hair. And a stylin’ sweater. Which fits, as City of Lost Souls Jace has fancier clothes than previous Jace.


Did Cassie just say Jace is in fancier clothes!?!? I can't wait to read about a fancier dressed Jace and find out why he's dressed that way. ;)

Blog Tour / Book Review: Emerald City by Alicia K Leppert


Published by: Cedar Fort Books
To Be Released on: April 10th, 2012
Source: ARC from publisher to review
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Olivia Tate is a broken shell of a girl haunted by the tragic events that fill her past. She has closed herself off from the world, each day grasping at something—anything—to live for. Convinced there will never be a way out, she seeks solace in the depths of her medicine cabinet. When she wakes up days later in the hospital she is introduced to Jude, the quiet stranger responsible for saving her life. She never could have guessed then that her mysterious rescuer would end up saving her life a second time, while simultaneously turning her world upside down -quoted from Goodreads

Emerald City has the feel of a realistic contemporary, but will surprise readers with it's paranormal twist. I normally don't judge a book by it's cover, but this is one cover that drew me and made me want to read it. Not only is it catchy, but it sets the mood and tone for this book. I love that it was set in Seattle and Alicia Leppert does a wonderful job at describing Seattle's scenery and a few of it's popular places that are featured in Olivia's story. The main focus of this book is twenty year old Olivia, who's spent the past year dealing with her emotional scars. She's lost herself to severe depression, hasn't gotten over her mother's death, is still copping with her father's abundant from when she was a young girl, and working a minimum wage job to make ends meet. Her life slowly begins to change when her new neighbor Jude saves her life, literally.

Olivia for me was a hard character to connect with. While I sympathized with her and I felt bad for her situation, I just couldn't emotionally connect with her no matter how hard I tried. Despite that, I couldn't help but cheer her on. She's the underdog I wanted to win as she learns to find herself again. This poor girl has been through so much and though she was at rock bottom when the story starts, I liked the hope and determination she finds with Jude in her life. He helped her find that spark, and the desire to just live life. I liked Jude, and I loved that he was so willing to sacrifice so much for her. I liked how they both slowly but surely learned to trust one another. I admired Olivia for taking the stand to find the professional help she needed in dealing with her depression and suicidal feelings outside of just talking with Jude about it.

Alicia does a great job at taking readers into the darker, traumatic side of dealing with demons, depression and being at rock bottom with Olivia. This book definitely has a darker side to it given the subject matter that is discussed through out the storyline, but it's also a story about hope as Olivia learns to overcome her obstacles. Overall this was an okay read for me. There's parts of Emerald City I liked and other parts I had a very hard time being able to relate to. I wish I had gotten to know more about Jude sooner in the book instead towards the end. I enjoyed getting to finding out about his secrets. I felt the ending was a bit rushed given everything that gets revealed towards the end of the story. Having said that, I did love the twist at the end. Given the older characters and their situations, I think this is a story that those 17 yrs & older will enjoy more than younger readers. Emerald City is a book I'd recommend for those who are looking for a YA/adult cross over that's a blend of realist contemporary and urban fantasy.



Please be sure to visit the rest of the Emerald City blog tour here.

Waiting on Wednesday: Insurgent by Veronica Roth


Published by: Katherine Tegen Books / Harper Teen
To Be Released on: May 1st, 2012
Pre-Order from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | IndieBound


One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love. 


Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so. 


New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian Divergent series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature - quoted from Goodreads

I know I'm one of many of Veronica's fans who is patiently waiting for May 1st get here so I can get my hands on this sequel! I seriously need answers and if you've read the sneak peak from EW's Shelf along with some of the recent Insurgent teasers here, you'll know what I'm talking about. Plus, I need more FOUR! I also really love the cover for this book. I'm a huge fan of covers matching within the series, and I think Harper Teen has done a great job with both this cover and Divergents. What book are you waiting to get your hands on?

April 2012 YA Releases

I can't believe it's almost April! That means it's one more month until COLS is out!!! *dances around* There's some pretty awesome releases happening in April that will keep us occupied until COLS is out. Check out the list of YA books that you'll be able to get your hands on during the month of April!

April 1st

April 3rd


April 8th


April 10th

April 12th

April 17th
April 24th
I'm pretty sure there's a few more YA books I'm missing. Always, please let me know if you see an April YA release not listed on here, in the comments below. 

** All links go back to Goodreads

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