Jackson Pearce Chat TONIGHT!!!

Please join us TONIGHT at 8:30 pm EST for our chat with author Jackson Pearce!!
http://www.chatzy.com/705800494027

Fan Art - The Mortal Instruments

Today, Cassandra tweeted this absolutely gorgeous piece of fan art by kara~lija .

We can't say enough. In fact, we are speechless.

Truly speechless.

Review - Wake by Lisa McMann

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: October 2008
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


Not all dreams are sweet.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people’s dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie’s seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can’t tell anybody about what she does — they’d never believe her, or worse, they’d think she’s a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn’t want and can’t control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else’s twisted psyche. She is a participant….


Wow - the synopsis instantly drew me in and my book brain went into lust overload. Only a few books have made me so intrigued before I have read the first page and Wake most certainly is high on that list. Plus, I love the UK cover and the quote from Cassie will do wonders for this book even if that marvellous synopsis didn’t.

First off, I love Lisa’s writing style, it very unique and stands out from the crowd. On the first page I was a little wary with the writing style and thought I would struggle with the book. Well, my mistake. I was instantly hooked and devoured the book in one sitting. It was as if the book was super glued to my fingers, I couldn’t put it down even if I wanted to.

Janie is seventeen years old and is just your average teenager; well, if your average teenager has the ability to fall into peoples dreams. Snapped into peoples dreams without warning, Janie struggles to keep any sense of normalcy in her life. It doesn’t help that her mums a drunk, who simply really couldn’t care less. Janie starts to see a pattern in the dreams she falls into; they all ask her for help. But how can she when her voice doesn’t make a sound? Because of this, she is forced to watch the dream unfold.

Janie is seen as white trash, coming from the wrong side of town, having to work to forge a life for herself in a household that wouldn’t notice if she disappeared. With old clothes and hardly any friends, Janie bears her secret alone. Even her best friend, Carrie doesn’t know her secret. But Carrie is keeping her own secrets, a secret about a lake and a little boy named Carson.

Cabel is the loner at school, notorious for his drug abuse when he was younger. But Janie sees something in Cabel she is drawn too, even if she knows he is hiding secrets of his own. There is something in Cabel that makes Janie share her burden with, and by doing this she learns what it truly means to have her gift. Can she give people the help their looking for?

Right, I absolutely loved this book and was very glad this is a series of books and not a stand alone novel. The characters were so vibrant and alive and I actually cared about what happened to them. I loved that even though both Janie and Cabel are from broken homes, they still managed to be strong individuals. The story told for me was really a take on growing up, how to cope with being different and how to make sense of everything about us that makes us unique.

Yeah, I’m not old and I can remember being a teenager and feeling the same worries and oh the angst, I miss the angst!! I recognise and connect with Janie and Cabel because I can remember what it was like to feel the same fears and worries (well maybe not worries about being in peoples dreams).

The concept is excellent and just the right amount of romance was injected into the story. It is official, Cabel is one of my favourite fictional characters. He is so sweet and endearing, I just want to reach into the pages and give him a cuddle. Janie is a well formed character, and I loved how the story was told from a third person POV and was short clipped staccato sentences. A thrilling start to a new series, I would recommend this book to everyone. Go buy it….now…..run, quick.

Twitter Tuesday - Jackson Pearce

A lot of Mundie Moms have been following Jackson Pearce since the release of her book, As You Wish, this past summer. But on October 15th, I saw this little tweet, got so excited and hey, I wasn't even her mom.

And then the tweet was followed by a picture of the cover of the new book, Sisters Red, which will be released in June 2010.

Synopsis -
Scarlett never believed in the Fenris—soulless werewolves drawn to the delectable charms of young girls. That all changed when in one swift attack, a Fenris murdered her grandmother and left Scarlett half-blind and horrifically scarred. Only her younger sister, Rosie, escaped unharmed as Scarlett shielded her from the Fenris’s jaws.

Now eighteen, Scarlett’s life’s mission is to destroy the Fenris and save other girls from her fate—a mission she’s grown to love, despite herself. Armed with red cloaks and hatchets, Scarlett, Rosie, and a young woodsman, Silas, move to the city in search of answers—and vengeance. If they can find a Potential Fenris, tainted by the wolf pack but not yet consumed by it, they can unlock the mystery that transforms them- but better yet, use him as bait.

But unlike Scarlett, Rosie doesn't feel the thrill of the hunt in her blood. Longing for a life away from heavy responsibility and something sweeter than steel determination, Rosie finds herself drawn to Silas. More and more often, they abandon the search for the Potential to spend time together, stealing kisses, sharing secrets.

When Scarlett discovers the romance blossoming in her midst, she abandons her sister to the woodsman, certain that her own heart has no room for love, not when it's filled with her mission, her purpose. Still, the bond between Scarlett and Rosie is too deep to truly sever, and when Scarlett discovers a way to bring her sister back to her side for good- even if it means destroying Rosie’s happiness—she is forced to make a decision that will change the course of both their lives.

A modernization of Little Red Riding Hood, SISTERS RED is told in alternating viewpoints of Scarlett and Rosie as the sisters struggle to find the Potential, destroy the Fenris, and unwind their own tangle of romantic complexities and the deeply rooted bond between them.

I have to admit that waiting until June 2010 to read this twisted tale of a favorite childhood classic is going to prove hard. But in the mean time, I can laugh along with Jackson's observations on life. Like her tweet from today -

Just another reminder that we will be chatting with Jackson, TONIGHT (Oct. 20th) at 8:30 pm, EST. The link will be posted, here, a few hours prior to the chat.