Recap: Book Event (Indigo Presents: Fierce Reads)

RECAP: INDIGO PRESENTS: FIERCE READS

This will be short but still, I have to tell you all about it.

So woke up at 6am and left around 6:30am to pick up my friend Nancy in Montreal. First surprise of the day? Snow.

Didn't expect that, but the day must go on and I left to go get my friend. We left her place at 7:15 in the morning to drive to Toronto. Both of us were  pretty tired as we didn't sleep well, but hey, we had to go. Four authors were doing a Q&A and a signing.

These would be these four authors:

Leila Sales, Josephine Angelini, Emma Mills and Leigh Bargudo

Nancy and I were mostly focused on two of them: Josephine Angelini and Leigh Bardugo. Due to a lack of money and time, I didn't get to read books by Emma Mills and Leila Sales, but after meeting them, I'll be sure to add their books on my already long to-read list.

Anyways, we arrived at the Indigo Yonge & Eglinton with approximately three hours to kill. We bought the books we needed and waited for the event to start. At first, we were a small group, but once they started to set up the room for it, more and more people arrived.

We were lucky to be there early and were first row to see the authors' Q&A. While we waited for it to start, we were giving a piece of paper with our group number for the signing. We got to be in Group 1 :)

So around 3pm, the crowd is waiting for the authors to be arrived and finally, they are announced and coming from around the curtain along with the Vlogger Ariel Bisset who is leading the Q&A session. I had never heard of her, but I'll try to check out her youtube chanel and if you want to do the same, here's the link:

https://www.youtube.com/user/ArielBissett

So here are a few pictures from the Q&A:

 The Q&A was really fun. I got to see how some of my favourite authors were really like and I was happy to know they were so funny and entertaining. Discovering Emma and Leila was also fun and they made me want to read their books so I really hope in a near future I'll get to meet them again and tell them I finally got to read their books and tell them what I thought of them.

And then, the signing started and we got up. I really had a problem getting all my books out of my bag to give them to Josephine and Leigh, but the personel of Indigo were really nice and helpful.

First author in the line was Emma Mills and I got her to sign the poster from Fierce Reads and told her that I would get to read her books and she was just really nice about it.

Next came Josephine Angelini and she looked at my pile and was quite impressed (that's only because she didn't see that a few rows back from us, there were girls with a lot more books than me hahaha) and we talked a little. Told her about loving her Starcrossed trilogy and how I fell back in love with her writing with her new trilogy The Worldwalker and couldn't wait to read the second book. Then, we got to take a selfie together (actually, she was signing books for my friend and I jumped into asking her for a selfie hahaha) so it looked like this and I looked like crap, but I don't care because I got my picture taken with her:

After her, Leila Sales signed my poster and I told her that I would get to read her books and she seemed happy about it too. She even gave me a bookmark so I didn't forget. She was really cute and nice.

Last but not least was Leigh Bardugo. I already got my books signed for the Grisha Trilogy last year at the Yallfest so I only had her new book Six of Crows that I finished a few days ago (still working on my review for that one) and I was just so happy to meet her again. She was really nice and funny and she just has that bubbly personality. So did I get a picture with her? But of course I did.

So, got 6 new signed book, a signed poster and few other swags:

And that would end the recap of my book event. We drove back home, stopped for food on the way and made it back home in one piece. I have to thank my friend Nancy to have shared this experience with me once more.

Also a big THANK YOU to Indigo Yonge & Eglinton and Fierce Reads for making this event possible.

Review: Trial by Fire by Josephine Angelini (The Worldwalker Trilogy, #1)

Summary

(from goodreads)

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying experiences that others in her hometown of Salem take for granted, which is why she is determined to enjoy her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class, Lily wishes she could just disappear.

Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them all is Lillian . . . Lily's other self in this alternate universe.

What makes Lily weak at home is what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. In this confusing world, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can't hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected.

Read from: September 23 to September 26, 2015

Read on: Owned Hardcover

Review:

So I decided to finally read this book as I'm supposed to meet the author next month. I've been meaning to read it for a while, but sometimes, other books just got my attention or I wasn't in the mood for that kind of book so it got pushed back.

I fell in love with the Starcrossed trilogy and I was really hoping the same thing would happen with her new series. And guess what? I did. I fell for the idea, the characters and the alternate universe.

As I started reading this book, it took me a few chapters before getting into the story as the first chapters are mostly about her crush on her best friend and all the drama that comes with it, but once she finds herself in that alternate universe, it all changes.

Once you enter that world, it got a bit confusing because since this is an alternate universe, characters for Lily's world were also in it and I had to remind myself that even if they are representing the same person, they are not the same person. But that doesn't last too long and you continue the story as if you never were confused in the first place :)

Also in this alternate world, we meet new ones that were not part of Lily's world. Whether that will be significant in the series or not, I don't know. I'm intrigue to find out how come some characters aren't in Lily's world. Maybe it doesn't mean anything and I'll go on never knowing, but there's at least two other books so who knows what the author has in store for us.

Lily is really an interesting character. I wasn't sure if I would end up liking us since at first, I couldn't deal with the way she was, but once she finds herself in a new territory, I saw Lily as she should have been from the start. I really feel like she grew through this book and I'm looking forward to read more about her.

I'm really trying not give too much about this book because I just don't want to spoil anyone with anything that they might consider being spoilers. So, I'll leave this review here, but I really believe this series is worth a shot.

Josephine has a way to take an idea and really make it her own. She is creative and her writing is really enjoyable. You will be suck into her world.