On Saturday 20th January I was invited along to Stripes YA Showcase event in London. This was my first time attending a book event so I was pretty nervous, especially heading into the city on my own as I hadn't done that before, but I was fine. So I thought I would share with you just what went on at the event and share some of the upcoming releases with you...
When I first arrived at the venue, I was a little overwhelmed as it was my first time attending an event like this and I hadn't met anyone who was there. Luckily, the lovely Olivia (I will leave links to her pages later in this blog post) came up and introduced herself.
Our first words to each other will definitely stay with me, as Olivia started by telling me she was following me on Twitter, then me reassuring her that I wasn't following her into the toilets. It was the start of an exciting new friendship.
We talked about travel, musicals, books (obviously) and - in true British style - the weather, before taking our seats for the showcase.
Introductions were made and then we were shown a video of everything Stripes had achieved in 2017. It was great to see so many amazing books included in this video, along with Tweets and Instagram posts from various book bloggers and Bookstagramers, but I was not expecting my face to appear on screen!
The people at Stripes included a small clip from one of my YouTube videos (below) where I did a review of Katy Cannon's book, And Then We Ran. I was so shocked to see myself up on that screen in front of everyone that I had to hide my face. It was awesome to be recognised for my review but I can't even describe how I felt at that moment. Olivia tells me that I made some strange noise, sort of in shock, that I don't remember making.
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Anyway, the first author we were introduced to was Sophia Bennett who spoke about Unveiling Venus, the second book in this series after Following Ophelia. Sophia spoke about her love of Venice, where her new book takes place, and she even read an excerpt from it, sharing a scene from the masquerade ball.
I was lucky enough to be sent this book the week before the event (thank you, Stripes) ahead of the release date on 8 February. It sounds like an incredible second installment and I can't wait to read it.
Next we had an exclusive cover reveal for Girl Thursday by Joanna Nadin. Unfortunately, Joanna couldn't be there but she did record a video for us, speaking about the book and reading a small excerpt from it.
This book sounds really interesting, the cover is really eye-catching and I'm looking forward to reading this one.
The next author to talk to us about her book was Emma Young, who wrote She, Myself and I. I managed to pick up and uncorrected proof copy of this and I'm so glad that I did because it sounds so interesting.
This book contains a science that is not currently possible: Brain transplant. However, it is apparently written in such a way that you believe is. I think this story has a fascinating plotline, with a girl who has her brain transferred into the body of another because her nerve disease is slowly shutting her body down. I'll be reading this very soon.
Next, we heard from Bryony Pearce, who spoke about her book Savage Island. Now this book is not for the faint-hearted. It's a Red Eye book, which means horror, twists and death. I've read a few Red Eye books before, by Alex Bell, but this one sounds especially terrifying.
It has a competition element that reminds me of The Hunger Games, where a group of teenagers sign up to win a huge cash prize, but we were told it involves "cutting off body parts" as part of the game. It sounds gruesome and haunting but I still want to read it.
Then we heard from Katy Cannon, who I mentioned at the start of this post because it was her book that I reviewed last year. Katy's next book is called How To Write A Love Story and I knew I wanted to read this just from the title. It sounds like my kind of book.
I love a good YA romance, and after hearing Katy talk about the book I knew I was going to struggle with the wait to read it. We also got to watch a book character edition of Blind Date play out in front of us, with the help of some volunteers from the book-loving audience.
The final author to talk to us was Tracy Darnton. Her book, The Truth About Lies, will be released in July and it's another book with a very interesting storyline.
The main character, Jess, can remember every single thing that happens every single day of her life, which seems to be both a gift and a burden. It sounds like a great thriller and I managed to pick up an uncorrected proof copy of this too, and I can't wait to read it.
After the authors had spoken about their books, food was served, we were given goodie bags and we had the chance to pick up some of the books. I managed to carry a bag with seven books around London for the rest of the evening, which I am very impressed with.
If you want to see which books I managed to take home, they will be at the bottom of the post.
The event was an incredible experience for me. I spoke to some lovely people, including the authors. I got a finished copy of And Then We Ran signed by Katy too.
When the event was over, Olivia - who I had only met three hours before - asked if I wanted to join her on a tour of London to see the Lumiere displays. In a completely spontaneous manner, carrying our heavy book-filled bags, we went off on a little London adventure.
Here are just a few photos of the stunning displays we saw...
I particularly loved the hedgehogs...
The butterflies were so pretty...
Our final stop on the Lumiere London tour was Westminster Abbey and we certainly saw the best one last...
My photos don't really do it justice, but I have never seen something so colourful and visually beautiful in all my life. It was incredible and I'm so happy that Olivia suggested it and allowed me to tag along.
Thank you, Olivia. I never thought that after attending my first book event on my own that I would make a friend this quickly and end up on an amazing tour of London with you after only three hours together. I now have a book-loving, theatre-fan as a friend, who has introduced me to films I need to watch and who I have introduced to the Dolan Twins. Hope to see you again soon, Olivia!
Here are Olivia's social media and blog links:
Personal:
- Twitter (Personal)
- Instagram (oliviamitche)
Books:
- Blog (The Olivia Edition)
- Twitter (The Olivia Edition)
- Instagram (livsbookishlife)
Theatre:
- Blog (Rewrite This Story)
- Twitter (Rewrite This Story)
- Instagram (rewritethisweb)
YouTube:
- Olivia's channel (Rewrite This Story)
Finally, here are just a few photos of the goodie bags and the books I picked up...
Books pictured:
- Charlotte Says (This is a prequel to Frozen Charlotte)
- And Then We Ran
- A Change Is Gonna Come (This book wasn't showcased but I still picked up a copy)
- I'll Be Home For Christmas (This book wasn't showcased but I still picked up a copy)
- The Eye of the North (This book wasn't showcased but I still picked up a copy)
- She, Myself and I
- The Truth About Lies
Books not pictured:
- Unveiling Venus (The first book is Following Ophelia)
- Savage Island
- Girl Thursday
- How To Write A Love Story
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