Saturday, February 20, 2016

(Bookish) Memorable Moments

I've decided to post something kind of different and do a list of my favorite bookish moments. It's going to be a collection of everything that I've done (or possibly something I've gotten) until now. So let's see if these things are worth sharing or not. I'm going to try to provide some proof for most of these at the bottom.


  1. I met Sarah J. Maas TWICE. I met her first at Yallfest two years ago now, then she toured near me for the release of ACOTAR. Not only did I meet her, but I got to sign her super cool first edition of Throne of Glass (the one with the picture of the blonde girl on it before we got the newer covers), then she proceeded to call me a rule breaker. (She can tell these things instantly you guys). 
  2. I also got to meet the absolute sweetheart that is Stephanie Perkins. It was right after Isla and the Happily Ever After came out at the Decatur Book Festival. Not only did I get my entire collection signed, but I did a thing. *drum roll please* I made a shirt based off of her books and she loved it! Even her companion and husband took pictures of us together. It was definitely a very proud moment for me. (See picture below for proof)
  3. I launched my bookstagram account! I take pictures of books (it sounds super lame when you have to explain it). I have six bookshelves in my room and honestly could not see why I couldn't share the treasures they hold with the rest of the bookish community. Find me at @heir_of_books on instagram for updates on what I'm reading and my latest book hauls.
  4. I read my first Sarah Dessen book. I know, I know shame on me for waiting so so long to read one. I started off with Saint Anything and holy crap I loved it so much. I now know why she is super popular and doesn't live too far from my university actually. (she told me not to go to the school where she went to graduate school and look up her thesis paper. apparently it embarrasses her.) So you know what I did after that? I went and bought all of her books. I'm still making my way through them, but loving every single one of them.
  5. I joined the Scarlet Guard. Rise, red as the dawn. Which can only mean one thing. I met Victoria Aveyard this year. Also, I got to make some amazing friends in the Scarlet Guard. And yes you guess right. I got some awesome Scarlet Guard swag and got to read Glass Sword in November and boy if you haven't read it yet, you NEED to. One more thing about when I met her. So at Yallfest, they had these awesome author pins and of course they ran out of Victoria's so you know what she did? Gave me her personal button off of her lanyard. *spasms*
  6. Sabaa Tahir, Renee Ahdieh, and Aisha Saeed. I got to meet them all at the same time. I was lucky enough to be first in line for their panel at DBF. That was a great moment, since it was soon after all three books were released. Not to mention how amazing their books are! An Ember in the Ashes was my absolute favorite read this past summer. Can't wait for Torch to come out!
  7. Lastly, which is not as exciting for most, but I managed to buy some little Dragons. They aren't just any dragons though. These are the masterfully crafted dragons by one of my favorite authors, Julie Kagawa. Every couple of months Julie posts about a dozen of these little gems in her Etsy shop and they sell out in under a minute. I've only ever managed to snag two, but thanks to my boyfriend I now have a whopping total of EIGHT. I can hardly believe it. I've been trying to get a dragon from her since she opened her shop, but was unsuccessful until this year and now I have a small army. I almost have enough for Manon's Thirteen to ride. 


That sounds like a pretty nice summary of some of the awesomeness that's happened to me in the past year. Hopefully this year holds even more exciting stuff for me and by extension all of you! Let me know in the comments if you have any awesome bookish memories to share!


Sarah Dessen
Stephanie Perkins ft. my fandom shirt

(L to R) Aisha, Me, Renee, and Sabaa
My Awesome Scarlet Guard Initiation!




Book Blogger Love-a-Thon

Hey guys,

So I have some exciting news. I'm participating in this year's Book Blogger Love-a-Thon hosted by Alexa Love Books, The Novel Hermit, Stay Bookish, and The Daily Prophecy. I'm starting a tad bit late today, but only because what college student gets up before noon on a Saturday anyways? No, but seriously my homework is killer. Anyways, to start things off I'm going to be answering a questionnaire for you all to get to know me a little better. Here we go!

1. What's your name?
Cas, duh. If you couldn't tell from it being in almost all of my posts so far. Anyways, it's nice to meet all of you.

2. Where in the world are you blogging from?
Currently, my boyfriend's dorm room. Not so glamorous.

3. How did you get into blogging in the first place?
I've wanted to make a blog for a while now, but I just haven't had enough time. Still kind of don't have enough time, but I just love reading. People ask what I do besides read and it takes me forever to think of other things I enjoy doing..oops. I think being able to connect with other readers and rave and rant and let out all of the feels from the books is a fun thing to do, so I give you this blog.

4. How did you come up with your blog name?
So for those of you who don't know, my blog name is the same as my bookstagram name and my semi-personal twitter page.When I originally thought of the name, I was reading...*pause for dramatic effect* Heir of Fire by Sarah J Maas, and the name just kind of hit me, so I ran with it.

5. What genre do you read and review the most on your blog?
Well so far I haven't posted any reviews (don't worry they're coming), but I see it primarily being a lot of what I already read like fantasy and lots and lots of YA fiction.

6. What other types of posts do you do on your blog, apart from reviews?
Well, I plan on trying to have some author interviews, lots of book news (especially about preorder swag and the signings I'll be going to), but also just talking about books that I'm excited for being they get released.

7. Best blogging experience so far?
I'm going to be completely honest, seeing the page view counter increase has been kinda fun to watch. I text my roommate every time it goes up. But also meeting lots of new blogger friends is super fun.

8. Favorite thing about the blogging community?
EVERYONE IS SO NICE. Literally, the blogging community (and the reader community in general) is super nice and friendly. Yay for introverts.

9. Name five books you're most excited for this 2016?
Just five? Oh boy, now it's time to pick favorites. (in no particular order)
  1. A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas because honestly who doesn't love her? I definitely already have that gorg tote bag preordered. If you want one too, then click here
  2. The Crown's Game by Evelyn Skye. It's going to be her debut book, but I'm super excited go check it out if you haven't yet. Also, there's some lovely preorder stuff you need to check out! The more people who order the more swag we all get, just like playing The Tsar's Game
  3. So this one I know is already out, but I DON'T HAVE IT YET, so no spoilers please. I'm super excited for The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine. I've had my copy ordered for a while now, but since I bought it signed and personalized through Parnassus Books at one of her events, I had to have it shipped to my house that I don't go home to until next month. It's waiting for me and I can't wait to get my hands on it. Little known fact is that I consider C.J. to be my first real author friend. She followed me on twitter before Defiance came out and sent me an iBooks copy of it, but I never got to read it then because I broke that phone (it decided to go swimming). Anyways, even though I know she doesn't DM me on twitter or text me (because if I just randomly had her number that would be creepy right?), I still consider her the first author friend I've had. (I just got a physical copy of Defiance and I'm unbelievably happy about it) 
  4. Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. Okay, so Cassandra was the very first author signing I ever went to. It was for the release of Clockwork Prince, so I have that and City of Bones signed, which are my treasures. Her writing and world building is so amazing and I cannot wait to be transported back into the Shadowhunter world.
  5. Lastly, but certainly not least is A Gathering of Shadows by V. E. Schwab. I cannot contain my excitement for having more about Kell and Rhy. I'm working through A Darker Shade of Magic now actually. (the review will be up as soon as I'm done pinky promise). Also as a side note I will be going to one of her signing events whoo! To see if she's coming near you, with other guest authors, check it out here Red London, possibly White London
10. Name five books that you didn't get to read that you want to read in 2016.
Ugh, again with picking just five! It's like trying to pick favorite children. (I do NOT have children by the way. I can't deal with screaming little ones.)
  1. The Elite by Kiera Cass. So shamefully, I've met Kiera twice now and only have The Selection read. I read it in one day and it was wonderful. I liked the story. I did NOT like Celeste. ugh please just eliminate her already, so I want to try to finish this series this year.
  2. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo. I've met Leigh like six times now because she's been to like every festivals I've ever gone to. I love love love the Grisha trilogy. The powers and the way the characters are written is amazing. You know what else I love about the Grisha trilogy? THE DARKLING. I know, I know. He's the villian. "Make me your villian." but swoon, I can't help it.
  3. Doon by Carey Corp and Lorie Langdon. I've heard so many good things about this series. I love time travel to start off with. Whibbly whobbly, timey whimey. But also, I love Scotland, like most bookish people do. (cool side fact, my boyfriend is related to a previous king of Scotland, I totally OMG-ed).  I hope to start this series really soon.
  4. Speaking of Scotland, I want to read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon this year. I've seen the first half of season one and *swoon* so much goodness in one story I can't even contain myself. (I might rewatch it today now that I think about it). But you can obviously see my issue with reading Outlander right now. That thing is massive, or at least compared to the smaller books I can get through while at school. I'm going to save it probably for this summer and enjoy reading it outside while traveling *figuratively* through the Scottish Highlands.
  5. Queen of Shadows by Sarah J Maas. I've had zero time to read it since it came out. I still need to read the Assassin's Blade first, which is why I've put off reading this soul crusher. I absolutely love Aelin and I guessed about the ship spoiler in Heir of Fire, and I don't know how it will play out, but I do like the idea of them being together. 
Wish me luck on trying to get through all of these.

 Okay, so that's about it for now, I think that seems like a rather long post. I'll be more active this weekend as I continue with the Love-a-Thon. Feel free to leave comment and tell me about what you want to read or how you feel about anything I haven't read yet!

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Welcome to Checkmate Reads Blog!

Hi guys,

I'm Cas and welcome to my blog! I am very excited to be starting this finally. I may be new to blogging, but I am no stranger to books. I am frequently found at book festivals, author signings, attempting to take pictures of books, and reading a good book while eating. I am very privileged to have met so many awesome YA authors including Rick Yancey (who was pictured in my senior baby ad in high school), Sarah J Maas (who called me a rule breaker), Victoria Aveyard (who inducted me into the Scarlet Guard), and Ransom Riggs (who almost got sick on my shoes at a festival, then later photobombed me at an event). I'm going to be using this blog to post all of my bookish thoughts and feels as I continue to read. Feel free to comment and tell me recommendations and your feels too! I love making bookish friends who understand my ships (Rowan and Aelin, what's the ship name? Rowaelin? Aewan? Rowalin? Those all sound awful, so hopefully someone has something better out there.)

When I'm not reading however, I am a full time college student. My major is biology. Studying takes up most of my time, so I am forced to read books slower than I'd like, so this blog will contain more reviews during the summer and my breaks. However, I'm going to try to make it a goal to post once or twice a week, even if it is not a review.

You can find me on Goodreads, Twitter, and Instagram all at @checkmatereads ! Come hang out with me here on my blog. Hope you enjoy your stay and come back soon for the latest news and raves!

Rise Red as the Dawn,
Cas

My Current Read: A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab