Exam season

Just a short update for you all! 

I am currently preparing for my exams so haven't been reading as often as I'd like to and as a result, there may not be any reviews (or few reviews) for a while. I'm so sorry but unfortunately exams have to come first! I will still be posting photos on my Instagram though which is theperksofalisha. 

To all those with exams, I wish you so much luck and I'm sure that you'll all do great! 'May the odds be ever in your favour'. 

Cassandra Clare Signing

So, today I went to the Birmingham Waterstones signing for the one, the only.... CASSANDRA CLARE!!

It was absolutley amazing and I felt a desperate need to do a post about the events of the day. So if you're expecting a book review, I'm afraid that this isn't going to be one, sorry!

So I started the day by having my friend Hollie arrive at my house at 8 so that we could get the bus to Birmingham and get there reasonably early (because we knew that it would be popular I mean... It's Cassie).

We then got there at around 11:30 and went to see that there was a queue that had alrady started (that wasn't actually allowed until 3pm but oh well) so we joined the queue and met some new friends, one of whom had written malec fanfic during the wait. (And I met Ren who is just as obsessed with Malec and their offspring as I am and it makes me so, so happy, if you want to look her up, her youtube is renontheroad).

BUT YOU DON'T WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THAT, YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT CASSANDRA CLARE DON'T YOU?!

She was so lovely. She had about 800 people queued around all of the way to Moor Street station and wanted to get through them all and that was so nice of her to think about all 800 of us. They also gave us water in the line which was so consderate, thank you Waterstones. When we got there, we were told that she was signing Lady Midnight and then stamping two others, which we were all perfectly fine with because after all, it's cassie and she's queen. So I brought City of Bones and The Bane Chronicles.

When I met her, I told her about my love for her books and how they got me into reading and she said 'ahh I'm so happy that you've read them, thank you for reading them' and it's just made me so happy. Then she was like 'also I love your runes' because my friends and I had all dressed as shadowhunters and had runes everywhere. On the way out we then got an exclusive poster just for the tour atendees and it's so beautiful!

If you get the chance to go to one of  her signings I would really recommend it and for anyone that is going to one...... GET. THERE. EARLY.

Review - Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare

Oh. My. God. 

What a book. I'm actually speechless... That ending... Wow...

Anyway, this book has just... I just can't describe how happy it has made me. There are more stories from the shadow world and I'm just so happy that Cassie has continued writing in this brilliant world that's she's created. 

The amount of twists in this book was just, wow. I expected none of what happened, especially towards the end! 

One of the best things about this book is that it featured the TMI characters and you get to see how they've progressed in life and their relationship developments and we get to also see a new family that has been mentioned before but not loads - the Blackthorns. In this world we haven't yet this family but in this book were introduced to so many of them and they all have such wonderful personalities. 

I love the depth of the parabatai bond that Julian and Emma have and it was explained in such detail that I have a better understanding of the shadow world from it. 

This might be slightly biased, based on the fact that I love Cassandra Clare and her books (because they're so fab) and even have a whole shelf of them but this book is worth the Five stars that I want to give it. If you haven't read any of Cassie's books then WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?! UNDER A ROCK?! READ THEM NOW! 

In all seriousness, if you love dystopian reads such as The hunger games, Divergent, etc, then you are bound to love this and The Mortal Instruments and The Infernal Devices and literally anything by Cassandra Clare (because she's a genius) 

*** NOW ONTO THE SPOILER SECTION SO DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN'T READ BECAUSE YOU WILL WANT TO FIND HIS ALL OUT FOR YOURSELF***

MARK BLACKTHORN YOU CHEEKY BUGGER. The ending 'why lie' I was just like... WAIT WHAT! Does that mean he has feelings for her? Is he getting back at Christina? Is he just doing it to save his brother? WHO KNOWS?! Also on the subject of Mark, I like the whole 'surprise, I kinda have a boyfriend' twist that happened. I love the memories that those two had shared and how, Kieran was all that he had. 

JEM AND TESSA HI. Thank you for putting us out of our misery as to why parabatai can't love each other, it was killing me. 

Malcom, why? Love drives you to do crazy things but this guy, going to extreme lengths and although everyone was like 'it's cool, were safe now'at the end of the book.  HOW WRONG YOU WERE. SURPRISE: EPILOGUE

Malec also have a child! A little blue warlock child named Max, Max! That actually made me smile that they actually called him Max. Jace and Clary are also still together and quite close with Emma, surprisingly. And then throughout I was like 'But what about Simon and Izzy' because we learn about Simon and Clary being parabatai but nothing else about Simon really. Then, engagement party! Simon and Izzy! GAH!  

Kit! Christopher Herondale, Herondales everywhere honestly (I knew he was too sassy to function, hence the Herondale blood) that was the best twist because he had just lost his dad, but gained a whole new family and found out that he's a shadowhunter! I can't wait to see how he progresses in the next book. 

I could honestly write pages and pages about this book because, it was just so brilliant and Cassie (if you actually read this) thank you so much. 

Reading update

Hello!

Sorry I've been a bit quiet, that's what loads of reading and work does to you. I have changed my current read and thought that I should let you guys know what's going on. 

I've recently received my copy of LADY MIDNIGHT and I've mentioned that I was getting it in previous posts so... You'll already know that I am pretty excited. 

Due to the fact that I'm meeting Cassandra Clare (I know I'm literally bouncing off of the walls) in about 2 weeks, I wanted to read it before hand and I'm doing a read along with my friend Hollie. 

Meaning, I have put The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Night Time on pause for a bit. I'm so sorry to all that wanted that review so that they can read it but it will be up soon after I've finished Lady Midnight. 

If you have Instagram I now have an account for my blog so that you don't need to subscribe by email if you don't want to, as I tell you when I post on there too! It's theperksofalisha. 

I hope you've all had a nice Easter and if you're meeting Cassandra Clare at any point let me know! I'd love to talk about it.