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Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters Super Fan Event!

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Today, Saturday 16 April, I boarded a very early morning train to London, traversed the Tube that was pretty much shut so had to go the long way round, and ended up in Leicester Square for a Super Fan Event. I wasn’t sure quite where the Leicester Square Theatre was, so I followed a trail of girls in all-black leather jackets and found it easily enough (the invite said Shadowhunter wear appreciated).

When I got there (around 45 minutes early) there was already a bit of a queue, yet the live feed had already been running for 30 mins. As the queue got longer and longer (and it was VERY long), Maximum Pop! Books filmed us, which was a little awkward. Everyone in the queue was Shadowhunter-ed up – so my leather boots, jacket and little lace dress combo fit right in! (The other jacket that seemed to be popular is the khaki parker!)

Before 11am, we were let in to the Leicester Square Theatre and those of us who had purchased the book received a copy (with the blue pages!). This event had designated seating but (and I think this is my fault), I’d booked a seat right at the back, thinking that it would be the front! Despite this, I had a really good view and didn’t struggle to hear anything. I was also sat to a girl who had come on her own, so we got to chat about the books and not just sit there on our phones!

After a brief wait, Anna James came on stage to read some ‘thank you’s and to confirm the plan of the event. Then she introduced Cassandra to the stage for a Q&A session and the crowd went a bit wild. The Q&A was interesting but touching on spoiler-y. There was an expectation that the crowd would have already read the book, when many fans buy the book at the event and don’t read it beforehand. I think it’s difficult to have a Q&A that doesn’t have a spoiler element, but talking about the book at a book launch is risky – and I, as well as many other fans, don’t like being spoiled when we’re there to appreciate the books.

Halfway through the Q&A, Special Guest Dominic Sherwood (Jace in the Shadowhunters TV Series) came on stage to join – I think he may have meant to be a secret guest but advertising gave him equal billing with Cassandra. Together, they made a good team and there was definitely interest in both the book and the TV show. I have also luckily finished the TV series and there weren’t many spoilers for the next season – but there will be more of Clace (Clary & Jace), Malec (Magnus and Alec) and the Seelie Queen will make an appearance – so the second season should be loosely based on City of Ashes. Dom also doesn’t try to read ahead – even though he really wants to.

The Q&A was about 35-45 minutes long, and questions weren’t opened out to the floor, which was a little surprising although understandable at an event in a theatre – at the last Cassie event two years ago for City of Heavenly Fire, there was a Q&A session but it was difficult to get to those in the middle rows. After the Q&A, Cassie signed copies of Lady Midnight, which took a long time as I was sat at the back. During the signing, make-up artists came round drawing runes and doing glittery lips and eyes (although I didn’t want either!).

At the signing, I spoke to Cassie quickly and had my picture taken with Dom!

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Leaving the venue, goody-bags were handed out to everyone (regardless of which ticket they’d purchased) – the bag says ‘Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunters on it, and contained a Lady Midnight poster and postcard, and a Hashtag Reads bookmark and badge.

Overall, a fun day although a tiny bit disappointing. I can’t wait to start reading Lady Midnight, though!

Annalise x

Shadowhunters: Episode 1 – the Mortal Cup

Shadowhunters, the TV adaptation of Cassandra Clare’s best-selling Mortal Instruments series, premiered today on Netflix outside of the US.

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Synopsis

Shadowhunters begins with Clary Fray, a red-haired 18-year-old who has just been accepted onto a programme at the Brooklyn School of Art. It’s also her birthday. Her mother, Jocelyn, and her mother’s boyfriend, Luke, discuss whether to tell Clary that she is a shadowhunter, a race who protect the human world from the demon world. Before Jocelyn has the chance to tell Clary the truth, Clary flounces out the door to a gig with her best friend, Simon, and Jocelyn resigns to let Clary have one more day without knowing the truth.

After the gig, Clary and Simon hang out outside the club, Pandemonium. Suddenly, a boy bumps into Clary, who Simon can’t see. Clary follows him into the club, where she witnesses him, and his two companions, murder several people with glowing blades.

Heading home in a cab, and leaving Simon at the club, two Circle agents follow behind, leading them to the home of Jocelyn Fray. Realising what has happened, Jocelyn has her friend Dot open a portal, and Clary is transported to the police station. Jocelyn stays behind to fight off the agents, but succumbs and drinks a potion that knocks her out cold. Dot is thrown out of a window, landing, apparently dead on the ground outside.

Clary overhears Luke at the police station, stating that Jocelyn and Clary mean nothing to him. Distraught, Clary returns to her apartment, finding it trashed and her mother gone. She finds Dot, alive, asking questions about the mortal cup. When Clary claims she knows nothing, Dot gets angry, and her face bursts open, revealing that she is in fact, a demon. Backed into a corner, Clary is saved when the boy from the club stabs the creature, but Clary has been bitten by the demon, and the venom causes her to pass out.

Clary wakes up to find Isabelle, the girl from the club, sat at the end of the bed. She introduces Clary to Alec and Jace (the boy who saved her), and Alec is seen to be jealous of the attention and interest Jace is giving to Clary. Simon calls Clary, tracking her down to an abandoned church. Wearing Isabelle’s leather clothes, Clary rushes down to meet Simon, not realising a Circle agent lurks outside the church. Jace kills the agent, to Clary’s horror and Simon’s confusion (as he does not have ‘The Sight’).

In Chernobyl, a man is now in possession of the body of Jocelyn Fray. He learns from his agents that Jocelyn has a daughter, and demands that she be brought to him.

Thoughts

  • Simon is pretty hot. Should he be? I don’t know.
  • Isabelle dresses like a baby prostitute. And talks like one. And dances like one. Huh.
  • Jace is cocky, which I like, for some reason.
  • I’m enjoying the amount of Magnus Bane, who has been introduced earlier in the TV series than in the books.
  • Some of the acting is really really awkward.
  • Why is part of this set in Chernobyl?!
  • Clary is a little too ditzy to be truly likeable, but hopefully this is a chance for some great character development.
  • This show has a lot of PoCs, which is good. The casting is good.
  • Dorothea from the movie has become the young, hip ‘Dot’.
  • It’s a little cheesy at times.

All in all, an alright, if a little cringey start to the show. I’m actually looking forward to the next episode and seeing where the show goes and how that relates to both the books and the movie.

Have you seen Shadowhunters? What did you think?

Comment below or tweet me at @AnnaliseBooks 🙂

Annalise x