An Evening with Cassandra Clare

Oh my God, my dream has just come true!!

GUYS, my FIRST book signing event EVER!! God bless United Kingdom!!

Overwhelmed doesn't even begin to cover it. 

I don't even know where to begin. Maybe at the beginning?

The event started at 7pm at the Assembly Roxy, Edinburgh, organized by Waterstones. The guests were Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan. Oh my God they were hilarious. Instead of reading a chapter from City of Heavenly Fire, they read the (probably will ever be published) the voice mail messages on Magnus Bane phone after the event in City of Lost Souls. It was the most hilarious thing EVER. Honestly, my favourite one was from Simon. :D Wish I had recorded it. Really.

Then there were questions. 

I got to ask a question!! Excitement, excitement!!

I asked how on earth could a newborn Maureen killed the skilled, old, twisted Camille?

And the answer was.. Camille created Maureen. So there is this thing about vampires being loyal to their Masters. Plus, Maureen has killed a lot of people, therefore she became stronger and stronger. Camille really wasn't expecting it. And we all know how crazy Maureen is.. And this is how it happened. I was satisfied with the answer. Because really, it has been bugging me since May 2012 when I finished City of Lost Souls.

The rest of the questions were more about inspiration and where she got the names from and which character she likes the most. There was also some talk about The Infernal Devices. It was interesting. :) But nothing you, my dear book blogger how follows Cassandra Clare twitter, wouldn't know about it ;) Nonetheless, it was very interesting and exciting! You know, authors really are rockstars to us.

And then there was the book signing. 

Oh my God, I have to say this. I might have totally been a fangirl. Ok, scratch that, I totally was. Looking back at it, it might have been a bit embarrassing, but hell, I meant every word I said. 

You wanna know?

I told her that I was a book blogger and that I post the excitement about her book and that I posted one of the first reviews on City of Heavenly Fire. I told her that she was the best author ever. That her mind is a masterpiece of a mind and that I wish one day I will be like her. And that Clockwork Princess is one of the most beautiful and perfect books ever written. And that City of Heavenly Fire is really close to that. That I loved it!! I loved every second of it.

I was pretty much blushing all over. 

And she asked me about my blog and if I twitted her my review. And I was.. Ok, this was one of the rare occasions in my life that I was actually shy. Like really shy. And she said "You were scared?" And, I admitted it. I was actually shy and scared. 

All of it was overwhelming. And perfect.

And so.. because this was my first signing ever, I decided to stay till the end. Because I could. And at the end when all the people left and there was only Waterstones staff left, I picked up my courage and asked her, if I can ask a last question. 

This is a major spoiler, so if you haven't read City of Heavenly Fire, do not read this.

You know all the talking in the past 2 years, and the saying that one of the major characters was going to die? Ofcourse you do. I know I did. I dreaded every moment of the book, so scared that Jace or Clary were going to die. Or Isabelle, or Alec, or Simon, or Magnus. I was so scared. So, ofcourse when I finished the book, I was like "Huh? None of us really died." So, I asked how come there was this rumour? 

She said that she really didn't want to kill anyone of our favourite gang, and that she wanted a happy ending. I mean Jace already died or he almost died few times, so she couldn't kill him for real, because really. Clary, she didn't really wanted to give a message to people by killing a strong female character. About Alec and Magnus, she didn't want to give a message by killing one of our gay protagonists. Really, she just wanted a happy ending. :)

And to our delight (!!) there is gonna be a wedding by the end of The Dark Artifices. Hint, hint - the one Clary saw in the Demon dimension. OMG OMG!!

In the end she shook my hand. This event was magical and awesome and everything I wanted it to be and more, and like I said, overwhelmed doesn't even begin to cover it! I am still overwhelmed!! 

Cassandra Clare and Sarah Rees Brennan THANK YOU for the amazing evening!

Just Not Mine by Rosalind James Cover Reveal

Just Not Mine - Cover Reveal

Rosalind James

Contemporary Romance

Date Published: June 5, 2014

  

  

Destiny has a way of sneaking up on you .  . . or of smacking you in the face.

Hugh Latimer's coping with a few problems just now. A broken hand, missing the European rugby tour . . . and a half-brother and sister who are playing havoc with his love life. Instead of packing down in the scrum, he's driving the carpool to ballet--or forgetting it's his turn. When he hears his neighbor wailing out bad pop in the wee hours, it's the last straw.

Josie Pae Ata is a fortunate woman. A new house, good friends, a gorgeous boyfriend--oh, and stardom, too. Getting involved with her new neighbors would bring risks she doesn't need. But life has a way of changing the rules. And when you get more than you can handle, sometimes all you can do is hang on for the ride.

EXCERPT

        

And then he was standing just the other side of the kitchen bench, and she was looking at the depth of his chest, being reminded about the size of his arms, and he was smiling at her, and her hands had stilled on her knife.

“Do the ballet run, then?” she asked him, forcing herself to start cutting through the dense orange flesh again.

“Yeh. I take it you finished the job? Get your swim?”

“Yeh.” She smiled herself. “Bet I had a better time.”

He laughed. “Bet you did. I was going to say I’d take the kids home, because we all need showers, but d’you need a hand here first?”

She needed to stop smiling at him. “Again, a hand’s what it’d be. Don’t think you could do too much with one.”

“I can do quite a lot with one,” he said, the look in his eyes letting her know exactly what he could do, and suddenly, her oven wasn’t the only thing warming up. All he was doing was standing there, and he was still sending tingles to places they had no business being, evoking every shivery, delicious sensation that the most heated on-screen kiss failed to arouse, and it took all the training she had not to show it.

She looked down again hastily, resumed her hacking progress. “Nah, got this. Go take your shower. Then come back and help me christen my new deck.”

He glanced sharply at her, opened his mouth to say something, then shut it, and she realized what she’d said and very nearly blushed. She never got flustered with men, and she’d worked with, dated, been chatted up for years by men infinitely more handsome, polished, and urbane than Hugh could dream of being, but she was flustered now.

All he said, though, was, “Right. See you in a bit. Hour or so OK? Enough time?”

“Perfect,” she said. “See you then.” And kept chopping her vegies, moving around her dark little kitchen in her bare feet, and did her best to pretend that this was about a thank-you and nothing more.

Rosalind James

PERSONAL STUFF: I met my husband Rick at UC Berkeley when I was 21, so I really do believe in True Love and Happily Ever After—which helps a lot in writing about them! We renewed our vows a few years ago with the help of our two grown sons. Our home base when we’re not having our own adventures is in Berkeley, California, where the summers are foggy and the food shopping is the greatest.

WHY NEW ZEALAND: My husband’s job as an engineer, and mine as a marketing consultant, have given us the opportunity to live in many different wonderful places in the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. During the latest stint, 15 months living and working in Auckland, I fell in love with New Zealand: the beauty and diversity of the landscape (not to mention the seascapes), the Maori culture and its integration into the country’s life, and, perhaps more than anything, the people: modest, good-humored, unfailingly polite and hospitable, and so very funny.  I wanted to share what I loved so much about the country with everyone I knew—and didn’t know!

THE BOOKS: We had traveled to Wellington to watch the final of the Rugby World Cup in a pub as the start of a North Island holiday. I was absolutely overwhelmed by the intensity of All Black fever that gripped the entire nation during the World Cup, and the stature of the players themselves at all times. I had never seen anything remotely like it. I started wondering what it would be like to be so intensely admired and instantly recognizable in a country that has zero tolerance for bad behavior—and how hard it would be to find the right partner in that kind of spotlight. And that is where JUST THIS ONCE was born—walking through the rhododendron gardens of Mt. Taranaki, two days after the World Cup final. Writing that first page was terrifying, but within weeks, I knew that I’d finally figured out what I wanted to be when I grew up.

WHEN I’M NOT WRITING: I raise bantam chickens, foster Labrador Retrievers, and try to remember to cook dinner for my long-suffering husband.

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Goodreads

Buy Link

Amazon

City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare Review

City of Heavenly Fire 
The Mortal Instruments #6
by Cassandra Clare
Published on May 27th 2014
Margaret K. McElderry, 725 pages

ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance?

- Goodreads.com description

I finished it last night and I cannot even.. it blew my mind. Cassandra Clare is a genius and she is awesome and amazing and has such a masterpiece of a mind that wow, just wow. Let me tell you, this book didn't disappoint one little bit. It was perfect. Almost as perfect as Clockwork princess was.

Clary was super badass. Her gift really is powerful. 

Jace, oh, Jace. You really are a book boyfriend. And I really wish you were real. 

Our gang is as much fun as it used to be. I still found myself laughing like crazy through the dialogues. It was hilarious. 

I wish I could say more.. but after waiting for this book for 3 years, I will be damned if I spoil this book for you. Go ahead, read it and enjoy the journey. It's a fantastic one.

Messenger by Laury Falter Week Blitz

Messenger - Week Blitz

By Laury Falter

Young Adult Paranormal Romance

Date Published: May 8, 2014

  

  

Maggie does not know she is a Messenger. She has never met her eternal lover. She has never survived a Fallen One. All this changes when a Messenger awakens in the Hall of Records only to die moments later, never to return.

As Maggie sets out to determine why the Messengers are suddenly beginning to die, she crosses paths with the infuriatingly appealing Eran and their story begins.

In this riveting account of Maggie's first life on earth with Eran, the star-crossed lover's romance transpires amidst treacherous enemies, their friends' resistance, and their own opposing wills. With the odds against her, can Maggie survive long enough to admit the feelings she has so carefully denied?

Messenger is the first prequel to the bestselling Guardian Trilogy - the breathtaking romantic saga about a love that has lasted centuries between a Messenger and her Guardian.

EXCERPT

He strode to me and crouched at my hip. His shirt was already off and the nearness of his well-built chest made it a challenge to stop myself from glancing at it. To my astonishment, he seemed not to notice my internal plight, not even the tremble that shook me when he tenderly took my chin and turned it toward him.

"You're healing nicely," he observed, concentrating on my forehead.

"Mm-hmm." It was all I could muster.

This was the closest we had ever been. His lips were no more than a few inches from me and drew my attention.

"I don't think you'll even scar."

When I didn't answer, I felt a shift in his presence and my eyes darted up to find him staring back with his striking blue-green eyes.

We froze in place.

Only our chests rose and fell, and they did it more rapidly the longer we stared at each other.

As his eyes lowered to my lips, his fingers tightened gently around my chin.

The flare of his nostrils and the intensity of his stare mesmerized me, made me want him closer. And it told me that he was struggling too and was in profound debate over what we were doing. No ward should be this close to their guardian, even if the ward didn't recognize them as one. It was taboo, unheard of, an abject insult to the role the guardian had been given. Yet, here he was, looking at me, at my lips, tensing at the sight of them.

And he wasn't alone in the struggle. For the first time, I forgot my urge to throw him off balance, my need to establish my independence. I was the one quickly losing my poise and forgetting who was dominant. The charm I fought so hard to deny, the very one that drew all others to him, took hold of me. And I gave into it out of my own free will.

About the Author: Laury Falter

Laury Falter is a bestselling author of young adult romantic suspense and urban fantasy. She is also an animal rights activist, a sailor, a one-handed golf putterer, and a Colorado River conqueror.

She has three series out: the Guardian Trilogy, the Residue Series, and the Apocalypse Chronicles.

Author Links

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Buy Links

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

GIVEAWAY

First three books of the bestselling Guardian Trilogy

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Excitement, excitement

What about.. THAT City of Heavenly Fire is coming out in less than 24 hours?!

God, I still remember the wait and the torture and again the wait. And it's almost here. I am beyond excited! And so happy that I will be off for 3 days in a row and I will be reading it in one sitting and damn, no food no sleep like old times. BEYOND EXCITED. 

ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last instalment of the Mortal Instruments series!

WHAT ABOUT YOU?! EXCITED?! 

*insert here that smiley with eyes like stars*

See You in Hell by Demelza Carlton Blog Tour Review

See You In Hell
Mel Goes To Hell #2
by Demelza Carlton
Published on April 30th 2014
Find the title on Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes and Noble
Get a free copy of the first part of the series, Welcome to Hell on Amazon - Barnes and Noble - Smashwords

Hate your job? Try working in HELL!

Melody Angel takes a job as a temp at the HELL Corporation. Surrounded by eternal bureaucracy gone mad, demons who love making life miserable, and dying for a decent coffee, it may take a miracle for Mel's mission to succeed. She must find out what evil plans the Lord of Lies has up his sleeve and stop him, using any means necessary. Lucifer and his minions are out to take over the world, but there's more than money at stake when the Devil drives. 

Adding trouble and temptation to Mel's job is Luce Iblis, the damnably hot CEO, who has set his smouldering eyes on the new office angel and is determined to claim her, body and soul. 

Can ultimate evil and angelic perfection escape a limbo of desire and find a paradise of their own?

- Goodreads.com description

I received the book from the Author in exchange for an honest review.

See you in hell was a fun, light read. I found myself laughing quite a bit. The plot was not that complicated, so it was really easy to follow the story line. 

Mel was a charming angel. She was sweet, nice, always ready to help. A true angel. Sometimes she was a bit funny, cause she was so angel-pure and on the other hand less pure with her sense of fashion. 

Luce was seducing man. It was really nice to see how he developed through the story. First he was a big jerk and then he changed to a sweet man and capable of love.

The paranormal twist in the story was appropriate and cool. The demons were so much fun and I laughed a lot. I found them more charming than the angels to be honest.

Overall, See you in hell was a fun and light read and I quite enjoyed it. So, if you are searching for a light, sweet, paranormal read, See you in hell is the perfect book for you!