Lady Midnight by @cassieclare {Review}

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare
(The Dark Artifices, #1)
Release Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books; 720 pages
Rating:

The Shadowhunters of Los Angeles star in the first novel in Cassandra Clare’s newest series, The Dark Artifices, a sequel to the internationally bestselling Mortal Instruments series. Lady Midnight is a Shadowhunters novel.

It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?

Glitz, glamours, and Shadowhunters abound in this heartrending opening to Cassandra Clare’s Dark Artifices series.

Waiting on Wednesday #4

"Waiting on Wednesday" is a meme hosted by Breaking the Spine where we highlight one book that we're eagerly anticipating. Here at our blog, it'll be a book that's to be released in the next three months so we're not shooting too far in to the future (even if we really want to)!

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones Movie Review

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones by Harald Zwart
Release Date: August 21, 2013
Studio: Screen Gems
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 130 mins

When her mother disappears, Clary Fray learns that she descends from a line of warriors who protect our world from demons. She joins forces with others like her and heads into a dangerous alternate New York called Downworld.

BEA 2013 Write Up Day 2

Book Expo America or BEA for short is a publishing event that takes place in North America.  It gives authors and publishers the chance to showcase their new releases to the book publishing industry.  Advanced Reader Copies of upcoming books are available for attendees to pick up.  Attendees often include authors, publishers, librarians, members of the press, etc.  In recent years, the final day of the conference is open to the public for what they call "Power Readers Day".

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare Review

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare
(Infernal Devices, #3)
Release Date: March 19, 2013
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry; 568 pages

A net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. Mortmain plans to use his Infernal Devices, an army of pitiless automatons, to destroy the Shadowhunters. He needs only one last item to complete his plan: he needs Tessa Gray.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the London Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. But when Mortmain abducts Tessa, the boys who lay equal claim to her heart, Jem and Will, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are now engaged, Will is as much in love with her as ever.

As those who love Tessa rally to rescue her from Mortmain’s clutches, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself. But can a single girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy.

Author Event: Meeting Cassandra Clare & Michelle Hodkin

I got the chance to meet Cassandra Clare (for the third time) and Michelle Hodkin (for the first time) in Bethesda, MD on December 8, 2011. So, third time is a charm - you know that saying? Yeah, its totally legit. This was my third time meeting the always wonderful Cassandra Clare but I have to say this was my best experience, hands down. She took so much time with each person, she made a point to have a conversation with me. It was amazing. When I met her in NYC two days before this appearance I didn't get to say anything besides a simple Thank You. It was a bit of a letdown, if I'm being honest. It's not her fault, per say. She was talking to the girl in front of me (about her hair dye and how the box was in spanish, it was an entertaining conversation, I'll give her that) and I felt kind of rushed at this signing. (Though, there were a lot of people there, so its understandable) At this signing, the wait didn't seem long (I met some amazing people in line, so it was a lot of fun to talk about different books and such) and when I got up to her, I had plenty of time to tell her what I thought of Clockwork Prince (like the fact that I dropped it multiple times from shock) and then we talked about the Hunger Games, Julie Kagawa and her Iron Fey series...and just talked about books. It was nice, it was relaxing and it was probably the best book signing I've gone to, yet.

Giveaway: Signed Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Yesterday I headed to NYC to attend the book release party for Cassandra Clare's newest novel, Clockwork Prince. This is my second time attending one of her events and let me just say, they're always a ton of fun. Her stories are entertaining and you're sure to laugh many times! Not to mention the fact that Ed Westwick (best known for his role on as Chuck Bass on the CW's Gossip Girl), who voiced the City of Fallen Angels (The Mortal Instruments) and Clockwork Prince audiobooks, stopped by for a few minutes. Here's a picture (and a write up of the signing is coming shortly!):

Book Review: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
(The Infernal Devices, #2)
Release Date: December 6, 2011
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry; 497 pages

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.