Author Appreciation Day 24: Double Dose of Love to the Hugely Talented Duo Cassandra Clare and Holly Black

Today is all about a couple of very talented ladies we love, Cassandra Clare & Holly Black. I decided to do their post as one giant love-fest since they're friends & they're both too fantastic for words. (And we were running out of days in March ;) ). Anyway, first off, Cassandra Clare; she is the author of the hugely popular (and wonderful) Shadowhunter books (Mortal Instruments & Infernal Devices). Her writing opens up a whole new universe in your head where you live with these wonderful characters she has created.  

Cassandra Clare's Website

I actually found about Cassie through a friend who was reading the Mortal Instrument books and raved about them constantly. She kept telling me over and over so finally I checked the first 3 books out of the local library. I think I spent a week living in the Shadowhunters world trying to figure out what would happen next while speeding through the books. They are so well written and the dialogue just makes the story come alive for you. I have to say I prefer the Infernal Devices books to the Mortal Instruments, though. Mostly because of Will Herondale & Tessa Gray..they are such superbly developed characters & I love to read about Victorian England. It's a no-brainer for me. 

FYI* You can pre-order the next book in the Mortal Instruments series, City of Lost Souls on Amazon.com right now guys!                            The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees. No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?
Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.
And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?
Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

Holly Black's Website

And now on to the brilliant Holly Black. I actually found her book White Cat (first book in The Curse Workers series) in a Borders closing sale & grabbed it up. I was very happy I did! I finished the book in a day. I couldn't put it down! Holly has a real gift for intrigue and I just love the way she tells a story. And then the endings-she kills me! I am usually gasping at the end of her books, wondering why she's torturing me. I hate waiting for books, but I love speculating about all the lovely possibilities. I am never disappointed when I pick up one of Holly's books. I love the complexity of Holly's characters in The Curse Workers series. They are many layered and you never know what is going to happen next when you're engrossed in Cassel's story.

Pre-Order Black Heart on Amazon.com now!

Cassel Sharpe knows he’s been used as an assassin, but he’s trying to put all that behind him. He’s trying to be good, even though he grew up in a family of con artists and cheating comes as easily as breathing to him. He’s trying to do the right thing, even though the girl he loves is inextricably connected with crime. And he’s trying to convince himself that working for the Feds is smart, even though he’s been raised to believe the government is the enemy.

But with a mother on the lam, the girl he loves about to take her place in the Mob, and new secrets coming to light, the line between what’s right and what’s wrong becomes increasingly blurred. When the Feds ask Cassel to do the one thing he said he would never do again, he needs to sort out what’s a con and what’s truth. In a dangerous game and with his life on the line, Cassel may have to make his biggest gamble yet—this time on love. (From Amazon.com)