HCC Frenzy – Fall Preview Event!

This Sunday I made the drive to Toronto for the Harper Collins (HCC Frenzy) fall preview event. It was so much fun! But before I get into that, I need to mention that I drove into downtown Toronto ALL BY MYSELF for the first time ever! I get massive anxiety just being a passenger lol. But I did it and I couldn’t be more proud of myself! Anyways, onto the event.

Being that this wasn’t my first event there, I was actually brave enough to talk to people! I still wasn’t as outgoing as I wanted to be, but I did have a few conversations with some that I met before and even a few new people! I love that we were all mostly introverts and were comfortable with being uncomfortable lol!!

While we were there we had some delicious snacks, learned about some of the upcoming books (which I’ll talk about some of my favourites in a second) and we even got to meet Jasmin Kaur, author of the upcoming published works called When You Ask Me Where I’m Going which is filled with poetry, prose and illustrations. She did a reading of a few of her poems and they were so powerful and beautiful! We also got a swag bag with a few ARC’s and some amazing items! Without further ado, here are some of the books that are coming up:

KINGDOM OF SOULS BY RENA BARRON

A fantasy where a girl comes from a long line of magic but has no magic for herself. When a strange premonition befalls her family and children begin to disappear, she begins the dangerous and scorned process of selling years of her life for magic. This borrowed power reveals a betrayal and danger beyond anything she could have imagined. Now she must find a way to master magic, or at least buy it, in order to save herself and everything she holds dear.

 

SERPENT AND DOVE BY SHELBY MAHURIN

Out of all of the books talked about at the event, THIS is the one that I wanted the most (but sadly didn’t get my hands on). It was described with one word – dirty! Louise le Blanc fled her coven and is living off whatever she could steal. But witches like Lou are hunted, feared, and burned. Sworn to the Church as a Chasseur, Reid Diggory has lived his life by one principle: thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. His path was never meant to cross with Lou’s, but a wicked stunt forces them into an impossible union—holy matrimony. The war between witches and Church is an ancient one, and Lou’s most dangerous enemies bring a fate worse than fire.   Unable to ignore her growing feelings, yet powerless to change what she is, a choice must be made. And love makes fools of us all…….. I need this in my life!

BREAK IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BY BRIAN FRANCIS

Everyone had nothing but positive things to say about this one! A young girl loses her mother to suicide and fears that she will one day follow her mothers path, and makes a plan to escape her pain. But when she finds out that the father that left town before she was born wants to meet her, plans change. They changed even further when she learns that he’s not only gay, but a world famous female impersonator….. that’s literally all I needed to know! Though this deals with some serious and dark topics, it was told that it’s handled with grace and poise. I can’t wait!

A TREASON OF THORNS BY LAURA E. WEYMOUTH

Let’s just take a second and look at this cover….. gorgeous, right?! This is a fantasy about a girl named Vi who has been in exile for 7 years, longing to return to one of the greatest houses in England, Burleigh House. The magic of the house kept everything draped in flowers that she used to hide in as a child. But when her father commits treason to get her out of the Kings control, he is killed and she’s forced into hiding. When she finally has the chance to return to the house she realizes that the houses magic has run wild with grief, covering everything in bushes and thorns. Everything has turned dark and deadly – poisoning livestock and destroying crops. She must decide how far she’s willing to go to save the house. This reminds me very much of Wild Beauty be Anna Marie McLemore.

SUGGESTED READING BY DAVE CONNIS

A list of iconic and important books make their way onto a prohibited list at school. Not only are they removed from shelves, but you will be expelled if you even have them in your possession! The main character Clara decides to start an ‘underground library’ in her locker so others can see the beauty within the pages. But when one of the books she loves most is connected to a tragedy, she’s forced to face her roll in it. Sounds amazing!

 

Those were the 5 books that i’m most excited for this fall. There were quite a few contemporary and fantasy on the list, but this post could get VERY lengthy if I listed them all. Next we have the swag bag! I’m not going to lie – the swag bag is a huge perk to attending the event! I got three ARC’s in total but the third was from an author that I have no interest in reading and I gave the book away. Here’s what was included:

• “No Shelf Control” tote from Epic Reads – so bright, colourful, and beautiful!!
• Kingdom of Souls by Rena Barron
• A Treason of Thorns by Laura E. Weymouth
• Tea from David’s Tea (Caribbean Crush and Raspberry Cream Pie – YUM!)
• “Daily Doodles” blank notebook from Ecojot
• Writing notebook from I’ll know it when I see it
• What If It’s Us pins
• Bath Bomb from The Bath Bomb Co – Canadian company that I’ve ordered from before and can’t tell you how much I love them!!!!!!!
• Three Dark Crowns pin from Epic Reads
• Bookish headband from Owlcrate and Storiarts
• “A good book has no ending” metal bookmark (I don’t know who made this but it’s possibly my favourite bookmark to date! I LOVE it!)

And that was the event! And exciting whirlwind of a day that I’m so glad I had the chance to participate in! Thank you so much to Harper Collins (HCC Frenzy) for hosting this wonderful bookish event! I hope I have the chance to attend another event in the future! And thank you to all of those companies for donating items in the swag bag. I love and appreciate every single thing!

Until next time, happy reading!