How are you?
I have a different kind of post and it's all about my love for Shadowhunters (the books, not the TV series- I haven't seen it). If you saw my Top 10 Favourite Authors, then you will know I put Cassandra Clare second (under Queen JK). You can read that post here.
This is my story of how I discovered these books and how it influenced me and my life decisions (in a good way)
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| Bookmarks from an etsy store called Happy Hello Art |
So I remember being in London and going to a Watertsones and looking for the next book in the series. I bought up to book 3 in The Mortal Instruments and all of The Infernal Devices just because it had Cassandra Clare's name on it. I marathoned (?) the series and started The Infernal Devices as I didn't have access to a book shop that sold book 5. One of my friends was also reading the series at the same time and she bought me book 5 from the Works as she had seen it in their on sale. We read it at the same time and spent our days fangirling over it.
It was around this time that I began to like The Infernal Devices a bit more. I really like stories set in Victorian times so this was right up my alley. It was also around this time that I discovered that this boy I knew really liked the series too and we became really close over it. When I say obsessed, I mean that I was full on obsessed. It was all I talked about and all I thought about. It actually was what got me really into reading.
I had always been a big reader but it was The Mortal Instruments that really sparked my interest. I also discovered that there were YouTube channels all about books. I found Sasha from Abookutopia's channel and I felt like I had found someone who understood why I was so obsessed. I would google how to do my hair like Clary's and look up where to get certain props from the movie.
I don't know how I found out there was a 6th book coming out, but I couldn't wait for it to be released. It was in May 2014 and I went into a Waterstones and I asked if they had it. They said no and the date I had been given was the American release date. I went back the next day and bought it. I spent the rest of the day reading it. At first I didn't like it, I just didn't like the idea that this series was actually over.
I remember when I got my copy of the Shadowhunters Codex in April 2014. I made my parents buy it for me as I had to go to the dentist and get two baby teeth removed and I have a very bad phobia of needles. So they bought it for me in advance to my appointment and my dad brought it with us and gave it to me straight after my appointment. I wrote all over my copy to make it look like I was a Shadowhunter as my surname is very close to a Shadowhunter compound name.
Over the next 6 months, I read the books and watched the movie while I waited for my pre-order of the Bane Chronicles to arrive in November. I was so excited when I got my copy and read it in a couple of days as I was so happy to be back in this world.
My obsession subsided in 2015. I didn't have any new books to read and I wanted to discover new books. Again, I don't know how I heard about Lady Midnight being released but I was so excited. In February 2016 I discovered JessetheReader's channel and became re-immersed in the world of books and TMI/TID. March 8th 2016 was a good and bad day for me. I couldn't wait to get home and read my copy of Lady Midnight. So I get home and my copy isn't there. I'm not lying here when I say I had a tantrum. But it turns out having a tantrum helps as the doorbell rung and the postman was there with my copy.
I read it in a week. I love it so much. I discovered Emmabooks channel through this as well as her videos on Shadowhunters (the TV show). Every single Cassandra Clare themed video of her's, I can guarantee there's a comment of mine on it. I then discovered I had missed out on a Limited Edition copy of Lady Midnight and I was so gutted. I also discovered that there were Shadowhunter Tarot cards and a book called An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters and Denizens of Downworld. But they were only available in America, which was a shame.
In August 2016, I found a copy of the Limited Edition of Lady Midnight on eBay for £10- it was one that you had to bid for. I was determined to get it, but I had set myself a limit of £15. I was winning until the last 10 seconds when someone came in and bought it for £25 plus postage. I actually cried because I was so desperate to get it.
This year I have bought new box sets of the Mortal Instruments and the Infernal Devices in the new covers because they were so pretty. I bought TID individually and saved some money using World Book day tokens as my friends had given me all of theirs. I bought TMI as a box set of eBay for £18 plus £1 postage. At the moment, they are selling the TMI box set in the Works for £12.
With two new books coming out this year, my excitement grows. We have An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters and Denizens of Downworld on November 3rd (here in the UK) and Tales from the Shadowhunter Academy on November 15th. You can bet that there will be reviews for them coming up on here soon after their release.
I hope you enjoyed this story post, I plan on doing one for Harry Potter at some point. If you have any questions, just comment them down below.
Love,
Carenza x
