Cassandra Clare Book Signing

You know one of the hardest thing about being a non-American fangirl? I get to miss out on all the events and book signings that go on as the majority of my favourite authors are American and mainly do signings over there. They rarely come over to Ireland. So it's like an extra big deal when an author of one of my favourite books comes over here, because who knows when it'll happen again? That's why I was so excited when I heard that Cassandra Clare was coming to Ireland! I know!!

If you haven't heard of Cassandra Clare (and if you haven't, have you been living under a rock the past eight years?) she's the author of the famously popular Mortal Instruments series, Infernal Devices, and most recently the Dark Artifices series, with Lady Midnight being released on 8 March this year. When I saw she was coming over to my small island to sign some books and give an interview, I might've gotten a tad overexcited. Because when am I going to get the chance to see her again??

It was an absolute amazing experience and one I recommend all of you do if she comes to a town near you in  the future. Me and my roommate/fellow fangirl got up at the crack of dawn to go on a very long bus ride with two books in tow to get signed. I bought LM and City of Lost Souls with me. There was an interview with a manager before the signing where she discussed the book (spoiler-free) and talked a little bit about the sequel, Lord of Shadows. Isn't that an awesome name, by the way? If anyone wants spoiler-y news about the sequel, I'll hide it in white below (just highlight below to read!)

Cassie promised that the sequel would feature a lot more Magnus and Alec (which the audience got so excited about!) and that Emma and Julian would venture below to the world of Faerie! Mark's love triangle with Kieran and Cristina will also be explored a lot more. Doesn't it sound amazing??

Okay done spoilers. After her interview, Cassie sat outside and we all lined up to get our books signed. Here's a picture of me talking to her! I told her my favourite character was Tessa and asked her some questions about the end of LM (which she wouldn't answer, sadly)

 It's all blurry cause we were both moving our hands a lot. (For some reason the woman who took the picture never asked us to pose, which was annoying to be honest.)

And here are my two beauties afterwards! One got stamped as she had a hand injury but she hand-signed Lady Midnight.

So that was my booknerd experience with Cassandra Clare! It was so amazing and I totally don't regret skipping college to go, haha! Now if only Jennifer L Armetrout would come over here, I would die a happy girl.

Did any of you ever go to a book signing? If so, who's? Let me know in the comments below!

Review: Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

Book: Me After You, Jojo Moyes

Series: Me After You #1

Publisher: Pamela Dorman Books/Viking

Release Date December 31^st, 2012

Lou Clark knows lots of things. She knows how many footsteps there are between the bus stop and home. She knows she likes working in The Buttered Bun tea shop and she knows she might not love her boyfriend Patrick.

What Lou doesn't know is she's about to lose her job or that knowing what's coming is what keeps her sane.

Will Traynor knows his motorcycle accident took away his desire to live. He knows everything feels very small and rather joyless now and he knows exactly how he's going to put a stop to that.

What Will doesn't know is that Lou is about to burst into his world in a riot of colour. And neither of them knows they're going to change the other for all time.

I’ll be honest – I didn’t see this book until I realised I was going to be in the cinema. When I saw that, I looked up a bunch of reviews that most of them stated not to read because of spoilers, or else that this book is emotionally crippling and will make you re-evaluate your life.

So… warning! There will be spoilers in this review. I’ll try not to, but for a book like this, it’s impossible to avoid spoilers. All I will say is read it. Read it without knowing what it’s going to be about, read it even if you’re not particularly a big fan of contemporary books. Read this book and be completely enlightened. Realise that, even if you think your life is so stressful, at least you can walk. You can dress yourself. You can give the person you love a hug. Realise how lucky you are and bless yourself for it every single day.

Review: Walk The Edge by Katie McGarry

Book: Walk The Edge, Katie McGarry

Series: Thunder Road Series, #2

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: March 29^th, 2016

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds.

Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life. 

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don't belong. But when he learns she's being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it's time to step outside the rules. And so they make a pact: he'll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she'll help him seek answers to the mystery that's haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they're both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they're going from here.

Review: The Iron Warrior by Julie Kagawa

Book: The Iron Warrior, Julie Kagawa

Series: The Call of the Forgotten #3

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: October 27^th, 2015

The Iron Prince—my nephew—betrayed us all.

He killed me.

Then, I woke up.

Waking after a month on the brink of death, Ethan Chase is stunned to learn that the Veil that conceals the fey from human sight was temporarily torn away. Although humankind's glimpse of the world of Faery lasted just a brief moment, the human world has been cast into chaos, and the emotion and glamour produced by fear and wonder has renewed the tremendous power of the Forgotten Queen. Now, she is at the forefront of an uprising against the courts of Summer and Winter—a reckoning that will have cataclysmic effects on the Nevernever.

Leading the Lady's Forgotten Army is Keirran himself: Ethan's nephew, and the traitor son of the Iron Queen, Meghan Chase.To stop Keirran, Ethan must disobey his sister once again as he and his girlfriend, Kenzie, search for answers long forgotten. In the face of unprecedented evil and unfathomable power, Ethan's enemies must become his allies, and the world of the fey will be changed forevermore. 

To Reread or not to Reread?

Have you got that series you love with all your heart? The one that maybe got you into reading, or spoke to you deeply somewhere inside when you really needed to hear it? And no matter how many times you read that series, it's just as amazing and speaks to you just as deeply as it did the first time? 

I think rereading a book (or series) is one of many bookworms' favourite pastimes. 

There's just something about revisiting a certain world and seeing certain characters again that opens up a chasm of nostalgia and feels that will reminds you how much you love that world. I also feel that rereading a favourite book is 99.999% guaranteed to cheer you up if you're having a bad day. The only thing better than revisiting a favourite book is being able to read it for the first time all over again. (If only.)

So.... Why do I reread?

Many reasons, really.

1.  It could be that a sequel is coming out and I need to reread the first book to familiarise myself with what happened. I did this recently with Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.
2. I'm feeling really sad and need to read something I know will put a ridiculously huge smile on my face. The ideal candidate is the Vampire Academy books by Richelle Mead. (I actually plan on rereading this at some point in the future! Anybody want to read-along with me?)
3. I want to immerse myself in feels and emotional roller-coasters from my favourite characters.

I have a lot of books to read, and I'm quite busy between college and work, so I don't ideally have the time to re-read a whole series, especially if I want to keep up with Goodreads Reading Challenge, haha. But books I would like to re-read in the future are:

1. Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series by Richelle Mead. (You can't read one without the other)
2. A Court of Thorn & Roses by Sarah J Maas. (To prepare myself for the sequel! Can't wait.)
3. Blood of Eden series by Julie Kagawa. (Just because.)

Do you like to re-read books? Do you reread books often, or are you like me, where you mightn't have the time? What books do you plan to re-read in the future? Let me know!

*Sidenote: Now that I've written it, I actually would like to read the Vampire Academy books again. If anyone is interested in doing a Readalong, don't hesitate to tell me! I think it would be fun :)

Review: The Iron Traitor by Julie Kagawa

Book: The Iron Traitor, Julie Kagawa

Series: The Call of the Forgotten #2

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release Date: October 29^th, 2013

In the real world, when you vanish into thin air for a week, people tend to notice. 

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again. 

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.