Event Report: Hotkey Blogger Brunch with Alexandra Christo & Sebastien de Castell

Back at the end of September I was really lucky to be invited to Hot Key's Blogger Brunch with authors Alexandra Christo and Sebastien de Castell. I'm a huge fan of both of these authors so I was really excited to get to meet them and it's always fantastic to get the chance to meet up with blogging friends too.

When we first arrived at the event we had time to mingle while we munched on the delicious array of treats Hot Key had laid on for us before we got to hear both of the authors give a reading and talk about their books.

Sebastien de Castell reading from Soulbinder

First up was Sebastien de Castell reading from the fourth book in his Spellslinger series, Soulbinder. If you're familiar with this series you'll already have met one of my favourite fictional characters, squirrel cat Reichis, and one of the threats he loves to make is that he's going to eat someone's eyeballs. Well apparently Sebastien is always being asked the question about whether Reichis is going to finally get the chance to carry out that threat and let's just say that the reading he gave answers that question in gloriously revolting detail during this reading! I've not had a chance to read Soulbinder yet but I loved the first two books in the series and you can read my reviews for Spellslinger and Shadowblack by clicking these links. I'm looking forward to reading Charmcaster and Soulbinder very soon so keep an eye out for my reviews.

Alexandra Christo reading from To Kill a Kingdom

Alexandra Christo treated us to not one but two readings, the first from her debut novel To Kill a Kingdom, which is a fabulous retelling of The Little Mermaid that I'd highly recommend (you can read my review here). Then she gave us a super early sneak peak at the book she's working on right now called Into the Crooked Place which she described as a darker version of Six of Crows. Unfortunately that book isn't due for publication until October 2019 so we've got a year to wait but let me tell you now you NEED to put this book on your wishlist because the preview we were given was absolutely fantastic!!

After the readings and a Q&A we had the chance to speak to both authors and get our books signed which is something I always love to do. I had taken my copies of the first three Spellslinger books with me and was thrilled to get given a copy of the fourth book, Soulbinder, and Alexandra's To Kill a Kingdom too.

Sebastien de Castell and Alexandra Christo

I'd like to say a huge thank you to everyone at Hot Key Books for inviting me to the event, I had a brilliant time and really enjoyed getting to meet the authors. Thanks also to Sebastien de Castell and Alexandra Christo for taking time out of your busy schedules to come and chat with us!