Bookish Dreams at The King and Queen Tour

As seen on my Instagram, you would know that I love to read YA books. The fantasy world is just amazing and I find it awesome how authors conjure up different worlds from their imagination.

The author Cassandra Clare is quite renowned in #bookstagram. Her popularity influenced me to read her books. A year ago, I saw a copy of Clockwork Prince on sale in National Bookstore and bought it. That book now has a sentimental value to me because it’s my first Cassandra Clare book!

That’s how I’ve come to love The Infernal Devices series. Ah! Will Herondale! Jem Carstairs! Swoon-worthy, yes! When I finished reading the series, I secretly wished in my heart to meet Cassandra Clare someday!

I knew from social media that there will be a book signing tour of Cassandra Clare and Holly Black. But I didn’t expect it to be so soon! The book signing events have been coming in fast lately, with Monstress and Love Looks Pretty on You a few weeks apart. My 2019 bookish year started out amazing and I feel so blessed! And now, I’m writing about The King and Queen Tour.  😊

It was on the day of March 10 that I went to SM Megamall early and lined up outside. It was the easiest queue for me because I didn’t have to wait for a long time. The registration started just a few minutes later. Yay!

It's not just another stage! It's THE stage for The King and Queen Tour.

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Yes! I got in! Feeling ecstatic right now! Wheeee~ 🤩📚✍🏻 #cassiexhollyinph #booksigning #book #wickedking #clockworkprince #hollyblack #cassandraclare

A post shared by Angel Mariel (@myangelmariel) on Mar 9, 2019 at 6:12pm PST

A lot of people were there! I saw some bookstagrammers but I was too shy to approach them. Hehehe~ There were cosplayers, too! 😃 I think this is the first time in a book signing that I saw cosplayers! 

Shadowhunter cosplayers at The King and Queen Tour

FoxRots as Isabelle Lightwood

Dinny Grayson as Clary

Snow as Magnus Bane

Books written by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare were available for purchase, too. 😍

Cassandra Clare bookish paradise! :)

Gorgeous books by Holly Black on display.

When the event started, fans screamed with excitement as the two authors took their seats on stage. They introduced themselves and talked about how they met. It was because of books, yes! Then, they let the fans ask them questions about anything. 

Holly Black and Cassandra Clare greeting their fans.

Seeing them exchange hilarious answers made us laugh. They are truly BFFs. It’s like they know what the other is thinking. It’s fun seeing them like that, showing us the power of true friendship. And the topics were about their books! My own kind of genre! It was very interesting to listen to. Shadowhunters... Magnus Chase... Jude... It’s very fun to converse when you know the topics at hand. And it just kept getting better when the juicy bookish scoops came from the authors themselves! I found myself just drawn to the conversation that I lost track of time.

Can't help but take a lot of photos! Especially with Cassie's big smile! :)

And they gave us writing tips. Holly Black said that she sometimes doesn’t follow a timeline, but Cassie Clare does. So it’s all about flexibility but staying true to the plot in the end. It's one of the writing advice that I will hold in my heart.

And when the moment of book signing came, I couldn’t help but feel ecstatic and nervous! 

Look at this large crowd of bookworms! :)

Meeting them in person was so surreal! I was speechless that I almost forgot to take a photo with Holly Black. She has sparkling eyes, a mirror of joy that is so contagious! 

Holly Black's joy is contagious.

And Cassie is a very kind person! I didn't get the chance to tell her my what’s in my heart but having to get a photo with her is a great joy to me! Plus, she signed my copy of Clockwork Prince, my first Cassie Clare book! Now that book is all the more special to me. Yay! 😃

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These two! Mirror images of each other. It was a lot of fun listening to them. We had a cozy conversation with their hilarious moments. I’m still trembling and I can’t believe I met them! ✍🏻 When Holly Black @blackholly asked me, “How are you today?”. I got speechless, my vocabularies all gone. 😂 I took a deep breath to compose myself. She was so sweet and perky. I told her about Red Glove, how it was my first signed book ever bought. And how I’m excited to read it but it’s in my overwhelming TBR. Something we both laughed at. 😂😂😂 ✍🏻 Oh with Cassandra Clare @cassieclare1 , the queue was getting long and we only had a chance for a picture. I was not able to talk to her. I wanted to tell her that I loooove Jem Carstairs. I’m thankful that she created such a character with a good and kind heart. I wanted to tell her Jem’s words that I can never forget, “Ni hen piao liang.” Because I see a beautiful soul in her. I hope she will be able to read this. 🙈🥰❤️ ✍🏻 Thank you, @nationalbookstore ❤️🥰📚 ✍🏻 #cassiexhollyinph #cassandraclare #hollyblack #thewickedking #clockworkprince #theinfernaldevices #book #booksigning #nbsevents

A post shared by Angel Mariel (@myangelmariel) on Mar 10, 2019 at 4:49am PDT

My books, signed by Cassandra Clare and Holly Black.

I feel grateful to Cassandra Clare, Holly Black, National Bookstore, and to all the people who were involved in this wonderful event. My heart is overwhelmed with happiness and joy! This event made me believe in dreams again... and the fact that sometimes, dreams just effortlessly come to you because you wished for it.