#Blackthorn Book Tours

[wikitpowers]

fuck i just imagined the type of twp art we could get during the book tours and i'm thinking about all the possibilities; kit dressed in shadowhunter gear, his hands shining with gold light, ty in his scholomance gear, the blackthorn crest on his back, his necklaces shimmering in the light; dru in faerie dressed in a corset and flowy skirt with a badass sword pressed against ash's throat, looking smug as ash smirks back at her with his black wings out wide, his eyes an intense green. i know our main leads will fuck. us. up.

[livia-dovehallow]

I went to the Chain of Thorns tour tonight!

As promised, I saw Cassie today and wrote down her answers (paraphrased) to the questions asked to share here with you all -- and I asked her a question of my own, too!

It was a spoiler-free event, so those of you who have not finished or read any part of Chain of Thorns can read on safely :D

Question: Was it intentional that a Lightwood dies in every series? [referring to Max (TMI), Benedict (TID), Robert (TDA), Barbara (TLH)] Answer: No, it was not intentional and not planned to be that way. But there are so many Lightwoods. In retrospect, it sure looks like it, doesn't it?

Question: What was your process of creating Grace Blackthorn? Answer: Grace is a parallel of Estella from Great Expectations, as The Last Hours is a retelling of that story. I wanted a character to be an embodiment of "explanation not an excuse." I also wanted to give Estella the chance to tell things from her perspective, which is never revealed in Great Expectations. So Grace is that character who is able to display the other side of that situation through her point of view.

Question: How did you come up with the parabatai curse? Answer: It's a greek work and when I learned the meaning, I was immediately interested in exploring the power of non-romantic love. That's where the concept of parabatai came from. The curse then stemmed from expanding on what it means to be parabatai and who could and could not have one. That is where the curse came to be, and of course, how it became a focal point of TDA.

Question: How can I find a man like James Herondale? Answer: I asked myself the same question when I was younger: "Why aren't men like men in books?" I met my husband at a book club and we began sending books to one another that we liked. So my advice is to find a boy, girl, person who enjoys books, too.

Question: Who is your favorite parabatai pair? Answer: Will and Jem.

Question: Who in The Last Hours was the easiest to write? The hardest? Answer: The hardest characters to write were Grace and Matthew, as they both faced very complex problems that don't have an easy or single solution. The easiest characters to write were Cordelia and Lucie. Lucie, because she is also a writer and I very much had a passion for it the way I did when I was younger, too. Cordelia was easy to write because she was fun to write. (Bonus: The most fun to write is Magnus.)

Question: Who is your favorite character from each series? Answer: Didn't want to answer at first, but admitted the following: TID is Tessa. TLH is Lucie. TMI is Simon. No answer for TDA.

Question: Who in TLH was your favorite point of view to write from? Answer: Alastair, Thomas, and Lucie.

Question: Will we ever see Jace and Clary again in a prominent role? Answer: They will be in The Wicked Powers, but the story focuses on Ty, Dru, and Kit, so prominency will remain with them.

Question: How did you develop Ty [Blackthorn] and who was your inspiration for him? Answer: My stepbrother, who always said he looked for characters who exhibited similar characteristics as him, but it was never the same as having a character who was also autistic, and used the word, too.

Question: What made you decide to make Coredlia Iranian? Answer: I was born in Iran and Farsi was my first language. I can't speak it fluently now, but I wanted to make a character that incorporated that part of my life. To make her character and her family's characters, I had a group chat with my mother's friends, who were a bunch of 80-year-old Iranian women. They were very happy to help. Sometimes they argued amongst themselves about a question I had and who had the correct answer, and I would just sit back and watch it unfold while a little scared.

Question: Is there a plot line or detail you look back on and regret doing? Answer: THE FAMILY TREE. [She went on to explain that when she first made it, she had no intention to write any other historical book. But she got the idea for TLH while writing TDA, and suddenly the path and story she wanted to tell did not align with the already-published family tree. So basically, my theory was right and we have confirmation from CC herself that it's just a result of premature development!]

That was the last question of the night, but I saved the question I asked her myself for last! I asked her if Cecily and Gideon had official birthdays, and if so, if we would ever learn them, since we know the rest of the TID cast's birthdays from the 10th anniversary birthstone cards.

Her answer: I never told you guys their birthdays?! I have what I call the Bible and it contains everything about all the characters like their birthdays, star signs, etc. So yes, they do have birthdays. I don't remember them off the top of my head, but I'm sure it'd be no problem getting it out to you guys. There's no reason for not.

So, yes, they do have birthdays, and if she remembers that I asked, we might find them out very soon!

I had a great night and there were some hilarious answers to questions that weren't TSC-specific, but I simply just cannot write that fast.

[gildengirl]

Even though it is clear Cammie didn’t trust Zach yet, if she had allowed him to follow her into the passageway in book 2, what do you think would have been said and done?

Yeah, I agree, Cammie definitely didn't trust Zach yet. Which is why I think Zach didn't really see the passageways until later in the series. I think, like Cammie's trust, he has to earn that. But I still think a little secret passageway tour scene in CMH could have been cute. Actually, one of my favourite moments between Cammie and Zach is when Cammie shows Zach her favourite secret passageway in UWS.

Anyways, if it did happen, I think it would go something like this...

I think there would be some flirty banter, a few awkward pauses, and of course, a lot more of Zach teasing Cammie.

Maybe when he thinks he's on a roll and in the middle of mocking Cammie for her seven-minute lecture on the historical significance of a 142-year-old bookcase-slash-door, he hits his head on a low-hanging beam. (Cam hits her head way too many times in the series. It's someone else's turn, okay.)

And maybe when he's busy shaking off the dust and dizziness they have a little moment.

Because Cammie's laughing.

And he can't tell if the dizziness he feels is because of her laugh or the bump that's forming at the top of his temple.

Because it's nothing like when Grant laughs at him and he wishes he could punch Grant without having to run an extra mile around the Blackthorne grounds in the morning. Or when Jonas laughs at him and he wishes Jonas could make it to the punchline without having his own asthma attack him.

No. When Cammie laughs at him, he can't remember a better sound.

It's the kind of laugh that lights up her entire face, even in the dark and shadowy passageways. It's the kind of laugh that makes him forget about the last fifteen years of his life, and he finds himself hoping that he could hear it for the next fifteen more.

But her laughter starts to die down and so does the sharp pain at the side of his head and things start to get quiet. Just a little too quiet.

"Come on, I can't be the first person who's done that." "No, just the first with a witness." "You can keep a secret though, right, Gallagher Girl?" "Just keep walking, Blackthorne Boy. The labs are this way."

So maybe he lays off the mocking for the rest of the tour (and he definitely refrains from pointing at himself and saying "spy").

But he still calls her "Gallagher Girl."

[potato-jem]

sleepoverrrr!!! top 5 conversations/topics we've had/discussed hehehe

sleepover!!!

before i answer, i just want you to know how cruel this question is because i genuinely love and cherish all our conversations no matter how wacky they can get

but, in no particular order:

1. tavvy blackthorn defence squad - the first conversation we had together with bry about the mistreatment and potential of tavvy blackthorn. that day we became mutuals and it’s never been the same since (nor would i want it to be)

2. book tour q&a - the idea of us two being on a stage talking about books uninterrupted in front of a live audience is still one of our best ideas methinks

3. me convincing you to get letterboxd - i love hearing your thoughts on literally anything, and your film reviews are so good so far 😌

4. shadowhunter opinions - i love that i feel really safe to talk about my opinions of shadowhunters, even if i feel like they are controversial, and that you do the same for me

5. every other conversation - again you are so mean for asking me this question and i refuse to pick a fifth and final top five conversation :(

(btw we are having this conversation in our pjs, sitting cross-legged on the floor with face masks on hehe)

sleepover saturday asks

[lovebooksgroup]

COMING SOON - #Virtualbooktour |Chapel Field by Paula Hillman @ pj_hillman @Bloodhoundbook | 28th March – 5th April | Proudly organised by @lovebookstours #BookTour #LBTCrew #Bookreviews

X Mail Print Facebook Pinterest Print Like Loading… Coming soon from Love Books Tours. Chapel Field by Paula Hillman 28th March – 5th April  Genre: Crime Fiction | Thriller  Publisher: Bloodhound Books Blurb A psychological suspense about silence and its sinister effects on a family and a village from the author of Blackthorn Wood. When Laurie Helm’s mother dies, Laurie must return…

[charcherry-weekly]

Charcherry Weekly - Issue 161

Hello everyone, Mage of Light Nick Card here. How in the heck did august fly by so fast?? At least it seems to be cooling down a bit from the recent warm stretch.

Nice Boat

This week, the odd squad attended a poker match between Bard Dappled Sunspots and Rogue Walcprahs. It was a rather intense series of rounds. Sun won the first round with a perfect hand, but Walc won the second round. The third however, Walc wasn't so lucky and Sun managed to get the upper hand. The deed to the Etna was handed over to Sun as a result. Walcprahs was later seen spending considerable time with Sorcerer Saryn.

A few days later, the previous owner of the boat, Rani Elkwood, was found in the midst of a longing soliloquy in front of the boat. It was at this point that the odd squad finally talked to the person about completing the quest to get it back, only to realize that the reward was rather small, only 30 gold pieces, a book of self-written poetry, and a pair of old boots. The party nearly almost hired Walcprahs to be its captain, but Enker was determined to get the boat back to Rani. Sun gave them another day to find something additional to add to the reward pool. Rani returned the next day with a sack of five magic beans. With the promise to give the odd squad free rides on the boat in addition to the other things, Rani was reunited with their boat. They are reportedly very satisfied.

Meanwhile, Artificer Coleman is planning on leading the party to a swamp to fight monsters and seek reagents to make diving equipment with.

Double HAZEL all the way

In her tour through dark timeline Johto, HAZEL has managed to reach Blackthorn City and obtain the Rising badge from Clair. She has also managed to defeat Giovanni at the radio tower (because apparently he actually showed up in that timeline??)

Meanwhile, the other HAZEL is reportedly biking up a mountain park trail in Crossroad city, with Rogue of Heart Charles and your previous newsletter writer following along. They managed to get ahead via Charles's swoobat, though they were dropped unceremoniously at the top. Fortunately there are no reported injuries. According to my counterpart, they are currently in a stand-off against a junior rocket who was holding a youngster's ditto hostage with a hyper beam gun. Fortunately the gun was discharged in an unoccupied direction. Further reports ongoing.

This week’s known market stands in Desertia Town:

Katie’s potion stand (*CaFAI filling in for Katie when unavailable)

shinyjiggly pokesnacks stand (ran by Rufus)

Musharna's Sleep seed stand

I think that does it for this week. I think school is starting soon around here? Some of the younger visitors to the library are talking about starting up classes again. I hope they have decent teachers over there. Also, Samm is planning on opening up an eevee themed juice bar, though its unknown when that will happen. Seeya next week! https://letssosl.boards.net/thread/395/charcherry-weekly-issue-161

[nessietwihard02]

✨✨✨𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏+𝐈𝐍𝐓’𝐋𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘!✨✨✨⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣ 𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒕, 𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑯𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒂𝒍𝒕𝒆𝒓. 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆.⁣ ⁣ Hello, bookish friends!⁣ ⁣ 𝐐𝐎𝐓𝐃: Which book are you planning to pick up next?⁣ ⁣ 𝐀𝐎𝐓𝐃: I just finished Chain of Iron a couple of hours ago and I’d have to squeeze in Secrets of Blackthorn Hall first before I dive into Chain of Thorns. Don’t ask me why I suddenly felt the need to do this, though🤣⁣ ⁣ So excited to be part of this Promo Tour for 𝐀 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐕𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 by @jenlynning with 𝐌𝐓𝐌𝐂 𝐓𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬! A Princess of Vision is a full length Gaslamp Fantasy Romance novel set in The Great Balance World. It is steamy with a HEA and no cliffhangers. Out now!⁣ ⁣ 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤:⁣ 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑱𝒐𝒔𝒚𝒏 is excited to return home after years abroad. She rejoices in the chance to tackle the fractious council and treasonous plots threatening her brother, the king. But his enemies don’t hesitate to invoke a spell-prayer to strike her blind. Even with a new sense to Balance the loss of her sight, Josyn will need help from an old friend to navigate the court. ⁣ ⁣ Read more about it in the comments/my stories and don't forget to add this exciting new release to your TBR!⁣ ⁣ 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐋 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐑-𝐖𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐘:⁣ Win a paperback copy of A Princess of Vision!⁣ ⁣ ��𝐎𝐖 𝐓𝐎 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑⁣ - Like & leave a comment⁣ - Follow me, @jenlynning & @mtmctours⁣ ⁣ 𝐄𝐗𝐓𝐑𝐀 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒⁣ - Tag friends in different comments!⁣ - Share this post to your stories tagging @jenlynning & @mtmctours so they can see your entry!⁣ - And visit #APrincessofVisionMTMC from February 13th - February 19th for more beautiful tour posts.⁣ ⁣ Ends February 22nd. Must be 16+ or have parental permission to enter. Results announced on MTMC Tours' account only. (Not affiliated/endorsed by Instagram)⁣ ⁣ #GreatBalanceWorld #APrincessOfVision #mtmctours⁣ ⁣ #TheBookwormPrincess👸🏻⁣ ⁣ https://www.instagram.com/p/Co2MgFkLGkz/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[whimsicaldragonette]

Blog Tour and Arc Review: The Buried and the Bound by Rochelle Hassan

Welcome to my stop on the Buried and the Bound book tour with Colored Pages Blog Tours. (This blog tour is also posted on my Wordpress book blog Whimsical Dragonette.)

Tour Schedule

Book Info:

TITLE: The Buried and the Bound AUTHOR: Rochelle HassanPUBLISHER: Roaring Press Books RELEASE DATE: January 24, 2023 GENRES: YA Fantasy PAGES: 384 REPRESENTATION: BIPOC, Queer

Click "read more" for buy links, synopsis, author info, my review, and favorite quotes.

Goodreads

Blackwells

Amazon

Book Depository

Barnes & Noble

Synopsis:

As the only hedgewitch in Blackthorn, Massachusetts—an uncommonly magical place—Aziza El-Amin has bargained with wood nymphs, rescued palm-sized fairies from house cats, banished flesh-eating shadows from the local park. But when a dark entity awakens in the forest outside of town, eroding the invisible boundary between the human world and fairyland, run-of-the-mill fae mischief turns into outright aggression, and the danger—to herself and others—becomes too great for her to handle alone.

Leo Merritt is no stranger to magical catastrophes. On his sixteenth birthday, a dormant curse kicked in and ripped away all his memories of his true love. A miserable year has passed since then. He's road-tripped up and down the East Coast looking for a way to get his memories back and hit one dead end after another. He doesn't even know his true love's name, but he feels the absence in his life, and it's haunting.

Desperate for answers, he makes a pact with Aziza: he’ll provide much-needed backup on her nightly patrols, and in exchange, she’ll help him break the curse.

When the creature in the woods sets its sights on them, their survival depends on the aid of a mysterious young necromancer they’re not certain they can trust. But they’ll have to work together to eradicate the new threat and take back their hometown… even if it forces them to uncover deeply buried secrets and make devastating sacrifices.

Author Bio:

Rochelle Hassan grew up reading about dragons, quests, and unlikely heroes; now she writes about them, too. She is the author of the middle-grade novel The Prince of Nowhere and young adult fantasy novel, The Buried and the Bound. She lives in New York

Goodreads

Website

Instagram

My Rating: ★★★★★

My Review:

This was phenomenal! It was just the right amount of dark for me - full of creeping dread and a constant level of darkness that you don't usually find in fantasy books. Like a Sabriel level of darkness. There were plot twists upon plot twists, and always revealed at the exact right time to make an impact and change the direction of the plot. And while the groundwork was carefully laid, several of them took me by surprise.

I never felt like the plot was forced into the 'standard' YA formula. I was dreading a typical love triangle and am so relieved that this is not that at all. In fact I love this, the bonds between each of the characters, the secrets and the trust. I have become used to checking the percentage on my kindle as a way to gauge what will happen next - but that didn't work here. The story shifted and changed and breathlessly barreled towards the end without ever letting up or falling into the standard back and forth I am used to. I loved it and I couldn't tear myself away.

I LOVED the characters. Aziza is practical and competent and I loved seeing her grow as a hedgewitch. Leo was warm and caring and it hurt to see the effects of the curse on him. Tristan was desperate and in a lot of pain and I really felt for him. I loved how their lives slowly twined together as the story progressed, and how three seeming strangers became inseperable and bound together. I can't wait to see where the next installment takes them.

I love how the story explored the boundaries and margins of things. The way Leo fought constantly against the edges of his curse. The practicalities and difficulties of Tristan being homeless. The way Aziza spent her time protecting the boundary between Blackthorn and Elfhame. The way the hag pushed up against both of those and was neither. The boundaries between love and friendship and trust and curses and lies.

The darkness was all-encompassing and weighed on everything, but there was just enough light to counter it that it never felt too oppressive or too much.

The writing was gorgeous. It was absolutely perfect for the story, and there were phrases that really stood out to me and stuck with me because of how beautiful they were. Darkly beautiful, but beautiful all the same.

I am SO glad it's going to have a sequel(s) because I don't want to leave this world or these characters and there is so much more to be discovered.

I would recommend this to people who enjoyed Garth Nix's Old Kingdom books (Sabriel), Libba Bray's Great and Terrible Beauty trilogy, Holly Black's Cruel Prince trilogy and Darkest Part of the Forest, Margaret Rogerson's Vespertine, Lynn Flewelling's Nightrunner series, and maybe also Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely series. Stories of magic and darkness and terrifying, creeping evil and traditional fae and characters who are determined and hold just enough light to counter the darkness of their worlds.

*Thanks to NetGalley, Macmillan Children's and Colored Pages Blog Tours for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

Even on four legs, it was taller than either of them and broader than the two of them combined: a wolf blacker than black, as dark as the space between the end of a dream and the moment of waking.

---

Her roots weren’t there; they were here in Blackthorn, not only because she’d been born here, not only because her parents had chosen it, but because it had chosen her. And Aziza chose it back. That was how you made a place your home: You put work into it. You carved out a role for yourself. You made yourself belong even if you weren’t sure you did.

---

If they could’ve cut him up into pieces and kept only the parts they found acceptable, they would’ve done it in a heartbeat. No, they hadn’t loved him. They hadn’t even liked him.

---

Leo’s car was a bucket of rust held together with duct tape and hope. It whined, it groaned, it sputtered threateningly anytime Leo turned left — but as Leo put what must have been all his weight on the pedal and the car lurched into motion, it was a chariot of the fucking gods.

---

She sounded calm, and she felt it, too, the cool practicality that came of being in a situation that was so completely fucked that your mind tricked itself into not being afraid — like cold that was so cold it burned. Fear that ran so deep it became bravery.

---

Overhead, the forest canopy dropped off suddenly, and the night sky gaped down like an audience, silent and breathless.

---

He knew better than most people that Blackthorn was ugly and dangerous sometimes, and its magic was ugly and dangerous sometimes, but the ugly parts of Blackthorn had a right to exist too.

---

Dawn broke sluggishly, with a first sliver of sun like the horizon cracking open an orange eye.

[annarellix]

The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power

My Review (5) This is not the usual ghost story as it's not by the haunted but by the ghost. A clever, curious ghost of Rachel, a woman who was killer, and is now observing the people living in her former house and trying to guess who-did-it. It's a gripping and dark story that kept me turning pages as I was fascinated by Rachel and wanted to know who-did-it The author is a good storyteller and did in excellent job in developing this story, the characters, and the world building. Rachel is an interesting and well developed character: we meet her as a ghost but we also read entries from her diary when she was alive. There's a lot of secrets and twists, it's quite fast paced and the solid mystery kept me guessing. I can't wait to read another book by this author. Highly recommended. Many thanks to Helen Power and Blackthorn Book Tours for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Synopsis: Trust no one. Especially your neighbours. Rachel Drake is on the run from the man who killed her husband. She never leaves her safe haven in an anonymous doorman building, until one night a phone call sends her running. On her way to the garage, she is murdered in the elevator. But her story doesn’t end there. She finds herself in the afterlife, tethered to her death spot, her reach tied to the adjacent apartments. As she rides the elevator up and down, the lives of the residents intertwine. Every one of them has a dark secret. An aging trophy wife whose husband strays. A surgeon guarding a locked room. A TV medium who may be a fraud. An ordinary man with a mysterious hobby. Compelled to spend eternity observing her neighbours, she realizes that any one of them could be her killer. And then, her best friend shows up to investigate her murder.

Purchase link: http://mybook.to/Amazon_GhostsThorwald

The Author Helen Power is an academic librarian living in Saskatoon, Canada. In her spare time, she haunts deserted cemeteries, loses her heart to dashing thieves, and cracks tough cases, all from the comfort of her writing nook. She has several short story publications, including ones in Suspense Magazine, Hinnom Magazine, and Dark Helix Press’s Canada 150 anthology, “Futuristic Canada”. Her stories range from comedy to horror, with just a hint of dystopia in between. The Ghosts of Thorwald Place is her first novel.

Website: https://helenpower.ca/ Twitter: @helenpowerbooks Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/helen-power

[isobelblackthorn]

Book Review: Thunder Point by Colin Holmes

Book Review: Thunder Point by Colin Holmes

…reviewed for Blackthorn Book Tours About Thunder Road When an Army Air Force Major vanishes from his Top Secret job at the Fort Worth airbase in the summer of 1947, down-on-his-luck former Ranger Jefferson Sharp is hired to find him, because the Major owes a sizeable gambling debt to a local mobster. The search takes Sharp from the hideaway poker rooms of Fort Worth’s Thunder Road, to the…

[aardvarkian]

Enemy by Kimberly Amato

There is an old Chinese saying (some say it’s a curse): May you live in interesting times. No doubt about it, we absolutely do; it all depends on how you define ‘interesting’. Putting aside the pandemic for the moment, global politics is at its nadir presently. We have national and international corruption and coups going on right now. We have countries firing missiles into the sea for the sheer…

[curiosityboughtthebook]

Captain Clive's Dreamworld Book Tour

Captain Clive’s Dreamworld Book Tour

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[livia-dovehallow]

Hii! Can I ask what is your opinion of Grace right now?

Hi! Of course you can! (And as a forewarning, my use of "you" throughout this answer is in the general sense and not at all directed to you specifically, anon!)

I'll try to keep this spoiler-free, as this is an overall opinion throughout all the books.

At the start, I was generally indifferent to her, as she was really only around to further James's plot and I am not a fan of James (or the main love triangle at all. I despise love triangles).

But, once we started getting more of her separate from that toward the end of Chog and throughout ChoI, I think she's a seriously misunderstood character and people are quick to hate and spewing their hate all across the fandom and in the Grace Blackthorn tag.

No, Grace is not meant to be a perfect character. She is not even meant to be a good character (in terms of good v evil). She is purposely meant to parallel Estella from Great Expectations but offer her side of the story in addition to the other (which we don't get of Estella in Great Expectations. This isn't a spoiler for Great Expectations considering this book is literally almost 150+ years old.)

We're meant to see an admittedly toned-down depiction of a girl who has been seriously emotionally abused and neglected, had her beloved brother die horribly in her arms, and has no memory of her birth family--only of her sick, twisted adoptive mother. We're meant to see how she has felt she needed to do these things to survive. She's a sixteen/seventeen year old girl; we seriously cannot expect her to have the most seamless, foolproof decision making skills. We obviously know Tatiana does not have a seamless, foolproof decision making ability. You really expect me to think she taught Grace any?

Grace made bad choices. Grace hurt people. Are we meant to sympathize with her? Well, that's where it's reader's interpretation. But I certainly think she's not meant to be villainized. More of a morally gray character, who did both good and bad things to survive because she felt she had to.

Do we see her come to recognize the difference between those good and bad things at the end of Chain of Iron? Sure, we see the start of it. But we can't honestly expect her to make up for everything she did in a one week time span that is the break between Chain of Iron and Chain of Thorns.

Nor, do I think, are we meant to forgive her either. That's also reader's interpretation/choice. I'll leave that to you all to decide for yourselves once you read Chain of Thorns. Whether you think she got what she deserved or didn't is literally entirely reader's choice.

But I do get pretty annoyed when I see people use certain words, phrases, and descriptions of Grace. I think calling Grace a r*pist is beyond inappropriate. That's a serious thing to call someone. What she did to Matthew is definitely assault. But I think the fandom often forgets that r*pe is a serious, serious thing and is not something to be thrown around lightly or just because you hate a character. This is a terrible thing that happens to too many people and just throwing it around all the time like that isn't doing any favors to fellow fans who have experiences or triggers of it.

I certainly can tell you that there are many fans who feel as though they can identify with Grace because they, too, grew up with an abusive parent or felt pressured into doing things they didn't necessarily want to do because it was the only way they could see to survive. Not all victims of abuse are perfectly docile and innocent like I think many people like to believe. No two victims are the same. Some may grow up able to cope well. Others do not. Many, I'm sure, what stood exactly where Grace has--at a crossroads of survival instinct and recovery. Some have made bad choices themselves just as much as they've made good choices. Some more than others.

You all remember that I went to the Chain of Thorns tour. There was one fan who described this exact feeling of identifying with Grace because her own mother was abusive and neglectful. She said she never expected to see a character like Grace in a YA novel because of the dark undertones of that kind of experience. Like I mentioned earlier, it is an admittedly toned-down description since it is a YA book, but there is always someone out there who can identify with that character in one way or another.

Also, Grace is a fictional character. I have seen many of you who have said terrible things about Grace turn around and love the villains of other books who do terrible things, too. Is it because Grace is a girl? Is it because you may have found yourself a bit too in love with the fictional James Herondale? Whatever the reason, take a minute to reflect on why it is you feel the need to spew hate about a fictional character and threaten people whose opinions differ from yours.

I have had several people come to me on here, both in asks and in chats, telling me that for the longest time, they did not feel safe talking about Grace at all on any platform because they would be attacked in all directions for it. That is not how a fandom should be. That is not a fandom at all. That is a terribly isolating experience that someone who has sought comfort in these books or just simply enjoys a character should not have to be subjected to because you think your opinion is morally superior.

Sometimes I wonder if I am just sounding too much like a grandma when I say things like this because I know I'm of the older crowd of TSC fans but you're not cool just because you attack people online. Having a moral superiority complex does not make you cool. The world is not black and white. Things are not as simple and good and bad. And you certainly do not have a right to spew hateful, rude, abhorrent things to people who may think differently than you do.

An anon said this in a previous ask about Grace, and I fully agree: liking Grace doesn't mean you condone everything she did or approve of anything she did. It just means you like a fictional character, for whatever reasons.

I've fully moved off my indifferent opinion of Grace and have moved toward finding that I think her character is incredibly more complex than I ever really gave thought to before and I think she's terribly mistreated by fans. Whether I think she's mistreated by the narrative, too, well, you'll have to read my spoiler-filled answers to previous asks to find out.

But that is my extremely long, elaborative answer on my opinion of Grace, and I hope that answers your question, anon (or at least addresses what you wanted me to talk about)!

...

This is also a reminder to any new followers of mine (welcome!) that I am a legal adult. I am 23 years old, almost 24. If there are topics I discuss or write about that make you uncomfortable, you do not have to read them. You don't have to interact or engage with any of it at all. You're free to unfollow me if you ever feel uncomfortable. I will answer all kind/polite asks, whether they contain adult content or not, though I will always tag accordingly.

Anything I write that contains even a hint of adult content will always be tagged as such and I will not write any explicit content of under-age characters. (Since I mostly write about Gabrily, I tend to focus on their early years of marriage if a piece references adult concepts at all).

[beneathathousandskies]

Blog Tour (Book Review) - The Speed of Life - James Victor Jordan

Blog Tour (Book Review) – The Speed of Life – James Victor Jordan

Hello!

Today is my stop on the blog tour for ‘The Speed of Life’ by James Victor Jordan organised by Blackthorn Book Tours. I hope that you will check out the book and the author.

Book Summary:

What happens when a brutal crime threatens a mother’s love for her son?

An old Florida family and those in their orbit get caught in a torrent of passion, a deadly legal system, and the…

[coloursofunison]

Today, I'm reviewing Murder in Myrtle Bay by Isobel Blackthorn #cosycrime #blogtour

Today, I'm reviewing Murder in Myrtle Bay by Isobel Blackthorn #cosycrime #blogtour @IBlackthorn @rararesources @Lovesick.Isobel.Blackthorn

Here’s the blurb: When feature writer Ruth Finlay and her elderly neighbor Doris Cleaver visit an antique and collectibles market in the small town of Myrtle Bay, they get a lot more than they bargained for. After Ruth’s old tennis coach is found dead, they discover that there’s no lack of people who harbor a grudge against the victim, and a tangled web of family ties and lies begins to…

[purplebass]

#2 Celbratory Fic! And it's another one with Jesse and his uncles + cousins. This time, Jesse spends time with uncle Gabriel, Thomas, Anna and Grace. You can just say is a continuation of this other fic I've posted a few days ago. The next fic will be about Grace and Christopher (also: anon, I hope you don't mind I'll use your prompt!). I also hint at this in this fic. So, happy reading! ✨

Characters: Jesse Blackthorn, Thomas Lightwood, Gabriel Lightwood, Anna Lightwood, Grace Blackthorn, Lucie Herondale

Jesse sat across his cousin Thomas in the carriage, and it was a bright morning. He forgot how hot the weather could turn towards the summer season, and wished he hadn’t worn a coat, because the air in the vehicle was stale, and he was sweating. Too late. Too late and too bad the windows seemed to be stuck, but at least they had almost arrived at his uncle Gabriel’s house.

“Are you adapting well?” Thomas asked him.

“Uncle Gabriel and aunt Cecily are very kind,” he said. He accepted to live at their house for the time being, while he continued training to become a shadowhunter. “And Anna decided to give me her room while I’m there. I can’t express my gratitude enough.”

Thomas smiled. “Don’t mention it. You’re part of our family. But even if you weren’t, we would still help you, Jesse.”

Jesse couldn’t help but grin, and blush a little. He remembered when he was a child. His mother never failed to mention how his uncles and their families were corrupted, evil, and they needed to be kept at arm’s length, if he ever were to cross paths. But his relatives had been nothing short of welcoming.

“Looks like we’re here,” Thomas announced, glancing outside. “By the angel, uncle!” he exclaimed next, as he opened the door to get off.

Jesse exited after him, and saw his uncle Gabriel touching the side of his shoulder. “Is everything alright?” he asked. Thomas seemed to have stormed inside already.

Gabriel looked up, and winced a little. “Yes, yes. I wanted to open the door for you, but Thomas beat me to it,” he shrugged. “Did you have fun at Gideon and Sophie’s?”

Jesse nodded. “They took me around Idris. It was really nice,” he said. He had seen Idris already, when he was a ghost. But seeing it during the day was something entirely different. He liked the shadowhunter city, and the life that came with it. Although, if he had to be honest, he preferred the area where Blackthorn Manor was located, at the edge of Brocelind forest, where there was nothing else but vegetation around him. And Herondale Manor.

“I’m glad, I’m glad,” Gabriel replied. “When you’re ready, we will accompany you to the manor like you asked last time. Do you still want to renovate it?”

“I think it’s my duty as the last Blackthorn alive.” It felt weird to utter the word alive without thinking himself dead. I am alive. I am alive. I am living. “And I want to see if there is something that can be salvaged from the ruins. You know, family heirlooms, and things like that.” There weren’t many things in the manor that Jesse had cared about, because admittedly, there hadn’t been much to begin with. He hoped that most of the items he used whenever they were there, like the old books which probably belonged to his father or grandparents, hadn’t been destroyed in the fire. He had cherished those books. They were one of the few goods that had given him a glimpse of how his father might have been around his age. He didn’t live that long, after all.

Sometimes, he found himself thinking about Rupert. How life might have turned out, if he hadn’t lost his life before he was born. Now his uncles, aunts and cousins were the closest thing he had to a family. His uncle Gabriel offered to teach him how to use the bow and arrow, which had surprised Jesse. He hadn’t asked anyone to help him with training. He was happy someone offered to help him.

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to use it, but we didn’t have one at Chiswick,” he told Gabriel in the training room of the London Institute, where there was more space available to practice.

Gabriel had made a face. “Strange. There was one which belonged to me, but maybe,” he had shaken his head, lost in thought. “Nevermind. Let’s get started, shall we?”

And then he had spent the day learning how to hold the bow and shoot. It hadn’t been easy, and his shoulders were a little stiff, but he had managed to pull a few good shoots by the end of their session. His uncle had patted his shoulder lightly and had congratulated him. It felt good.

“Not bad for your first time,” he had commented. “How did you find the bow?”

“I think I like it.”

“If we train more, you will get even better. No pressure.”

Jesse wasn’t sure if the bow and arrow was his weapon of choice, but he surely wanted to know more about it. “Thanks, uncle Gabriel,” he had replied, making his uncle’s face brighten.

It was the first time he had called him uncle.

Gabriel and Jesse reached the drawing room. Perched on an armchair, newspaper in hand, sat his cousin Anna Lightwood. “About time, cousin. My tea’s got cold,” she said, twirling the cup in her slender fingers for show. It was empty.

Jesse had heard a lot about Anna. Had seen her while he was a ghost as well. She had a reputation for being fashionable and very direct, confident. Two things he didn’t think he was, but not everyone was perfect, and he was sure that Anna had demons of her own. Perhaps, someday they would talk about it like cousins did. He believed.

“You know that our family’s carriage is slow, Anna,” said Thomas from the window, his arms crossed on his chest.

“Right. Anyway, you’re here, finally,” she said, rising from her seat. “Are you excited that we’re about to redo your wardrobe?”

“I trust your judgement” he answered. “But please, don’t make me ridiculous.”

“You, ridiculous?” Anna’s eyebrows shot up in disbelief. “You could never be ridiculous with such features. Trust me on that. I will make your black hair and green eyes combination shine.”

“If you say so,” he pursed his lips. “Grace,” he said then, as his sister crossed the threshold. She had been staying at the Lightwoods as well, but lately she had been spending more time at Grosvenor Square, where the Fairchilds lived. She told him that she liked to help his cousin Christopher in the lab, and that she wanted to learn more about science. Jesse couldn’t object about that, because he knew that his sister could never truly pursue what she wanted. He just wanted her to be happy, and if science was what she was interested in, so be it.

“I’m sorry I’m late, but I had to change.”

“Did my brother burn something again?” Anna asked. “Last time I wanted to watch what he was doing, he ruined my tie.”

“And he almost burnt my eyebrows once,” Thomas reminded them.

“Nothing of the sort,” Grace said. “It’s late, isn’t it? Shouldn’t we go?” she asked hurriedly, as if she didn’t want to continue that conversation. She barely talked about what happened in the lab, and he guessed she didn’t want to. Not that he wanted to know. He respected her privacy, but not everyone did.

Thomas stayed behind because he had something to do, whereas Jesse, Anna and Grace decided to take a walk to get to the shops where they could find something for him. They didn’t disguise themselves, which he liked. It made him feel part of the world again, to be seen by people. The street Anna had taken them teemed with pedestrians going about their day, and they reached the clothing shop soon. It had a big sign on it, and some dresses on display.

Anna decided that purple and burgundy were Jesse’s color, and she chose a couple of waistcoats. She insisted that she would pay, saying they were a welcoming gift. Now they were visiting the third shop, which was a three floor building which sold different items for men and women alike. He believed they had bought several pieces already, but Anna was convinced that he needed a coat for the winter season, even if it was almost summer. Ah, and a bathing suit. Really? As she was looking around to find the perfect piece, he decided to take a tour around the store, since he had never seen one like that before.

He was by himself as he waited, because Grace excused herself that she also needed to look for something. He walked around and glanced at the accessories and the clothes, until something caught his eye.

“I don’t think that is her style,” Grace said, reappearing by his side as if she had appeared out of thin air.

He lifted a brow. “I don’t know who you’re talking about,” he feigned ignorance. “And how do you know what her style is?”

“You’re right, I have no idea about that. Although I’ve paid attention to her, I’m not sure.”

“About what?” he peered at her as she was checking something from the same rack.

Grace gave him an unreadable look. “She seems fickle. I’m worried that now that she managed to bring you back, she won’t be interested anymore.”

“I understand your concern, Grace,” he told her flatly. “But I can assure you, it’s nothing like that.”

“Has she told you she loves you already?”

“How do you know that?” he asked, blushing, glancing away.

“She did,” Grace said, inclining her head. “I can’t believe it. I thought she would never.���

Jesse didn’t know how Grace had realized that, but he could tell that she understood his feelings, and she didn’t want him to get hurt. He was about to ask her something, when Anna interrupted them.

“This looks refined, cousin,” she commented. “Lucie will like it,” she added, before she stormed away again.

Jesse and Grace exchanged a glance, and the latter grinned. He felt his cheeks warm, and he walked away before his sister could notice he was blushing.

...

A few hours and several bags of clothes and accessories later, they all went back to the Lightwood residence. Anna was pleased with what she had chosen for Jesse, and said that she’d be looking forward to seeing him in one of them at the next event, whatever that might be.

“Anna has a good eye for fashion,” Grace commented, holding two bags of clothes as well. “Do you think she likes us?”

“Why wouldn’t she?” Jesse shrugged. It was a curious question he did not expect.

“Well, you’re her cousin, whereas I’m -” Grace stopped mid-sentence, making Jesse wait. “Lucie.”

She turned abruptly, as if she had been caught with her hands in the cookie jar. She glanced at Grace, then at him. “Hello, Grace. Hello, Jesse.”

“What are you doing here?” Grace asked bluntly. It sounded a bit like an accusation, but considering the conversation they had had in the shop earlier, he expected it. Grace was wary of Lucie.

Lucie sighed, and managed a smile. She wasn’t wearing a hat nor gloves, and he suspected she had been waiting for them. He glowed inside. She came to see him. Which excuse would she use today? He bit his lip expectantly, amused.

“I had to run an errand for… for aunt Cecy,” she mumbled, clutching her hands nervously. “She needed something to do something, I guess.”

Grace wasn’t convinced at all, but she let her go. “See you next time,” she just said, then gazed up at Jesse one last time before leaving them alone.

Once Grace was out of sight and out of earshot, Lucie advanced. She offered him her best smile, which he exchanged with one of his own.

“Nice excuse you’ve got here, huh,” he said.

“Was it that obvious?”

“She already knows, Lucie,” he revealed, to which Lucie just nodded. “You know that Anna took me shopping today,” he changed the topic quickly. He opened his arms, and she hurried to him and put her hands behind his back, and her head on his chest. He closed her in an embrace, and interlaced his fingers behind her neck.

“Did you buy a lot of things?” she asked excitedly. “I can’t wait to see you in one of the suits you bought with Anna.”

“You will see them soon enough, I think. Isn’t there a party next week? At the London Institute?”

“Is it?” she glanced up. “I didn’t. Why has no one notified me?”

“Do not sound so angry,” he chided, a smile dancing on his lips. “No one knows.”

“Are you teasing me, Jesse Blackthorn?” she raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” he admitted. “I have something for you,” he said, and produced a small pouch from his pocket. “Here.”

Lucie examined it, and then looked inside. There was a silver comb with a butterfly decoration in it. “It’s precious,” she told him. Unable to hide her joy, she hugged him again, this time more tightly than before. “I really like it.”

“I’m glad,” he remarked, caressing the back of her neck. “I had to make up for the one I couldn’t retrieve from Chiswick.”

“Nevermind about that. I like this one more,” she said, and raised her head so that he could kiss her.

Someone cleared their voice, and they separated. It wasn’t a secret that they were together… to most. But probably, not everyone had caught up.

“Does Will know about this?” Gabriel asked, but they could tell he wasn’t serious, just curious. And he was smiling.

“Come on, Gabriel. Leave them alone,” Cecily intervened, taking her husband’s arm to lead him away, winking at them. “They were just embracing.”

“He will know next week,” Jesse said, making Gabriel and Cecily stop in their tracks. “That I plan to spend the rest of my life with Lucie, however long that might be.”

Lucie opened her mouth in surprise, and looked at him. “Jesse, are you...”

“Yes. Are you?”

“Undoubtedly, yes!” she exclaimed, embracing him again.

“Did he just propose to her or it’s my impression?” Gabriel wondered out loud.

“He did. Yes, he sure did,” Cecily said, and dragged a blabbering Gabriel away, while Jesse basked in his own happiness with Lucie, and he felt alive.

Taglist (if you want to be added or removed, send me a PM): @princesslucinda @kit-12 @immortal-enemies @lucian-evander @esa-emery @danieldyers @blackthorn-trash @rinadragomir @fortunesandfables @itsdaughterofthemoon @silvenys@thomastair3 @livvyheronstairs @ holding-infinity-and-a-book @lovelaces @axoloteca @autumnangel20 @cordelia-cardale @lucie-blackthorns