Event Report: MIRA Ink UK Blogger Evening

On Thursday 22nd March I was invited to the offices of MIRA Ink UK to their very 1st Blogger Event and I couldn't have been more excited because I love lots of their titles and to go to the 1st blogger event they host was very special indeed.  I had to leg it out of work and take the train and tube there and I ran up the stairs (I don't do running) just so I could get from one side of London to the other in an hour.  I got there just in time and met Hayley and Casey from Dark Readers at the station so we could walk together and reduce the chance of getting lost.  Didn't exactly go to plan and even with a map and directions (which I might add I thought to bring!!) we missed one turning and ended up getting to the offices last.  Whoops!  We collected our name badges and went upstairs to find all our fellow bloggers already seated but thankfully we hadn't missed anything yet.

The lovely MIRA people had laid on some yummy cupcakes and snacks for us all and a MASSIVE goodie bag filled with current and future titles.  The bags were waiting for us all on our seats and I nearly rammed my face into the bag to try and see what was in there because I know there would be AWESOME things in there.  MIRA had tweet a photo of the bag during the day and I'd be dying to see what was inside all day at work!

We started off with introductions from the team and then a power point and video trailers and author messages about the new titles heading our way from MIRA this year:

Titles included:

New Girl by Paige Harbison out May 2012 which is a modern retelling of the classic Rebecca

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross out June 2012:  A haunting Steampunk romance mystery adventure.  It's the 1st in a trilogy sent in London 1897

Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent out in July 2012 is the latest in the series and Rachel had recorded us a little video message to say hi and talk a little about the book and announce the title of the 7th book will be 'With All My Soul' and is the last in the series

Crave by Melissa Darnell out October 2012 and is a vampire and witch Romeo and Juliet type story and is part of the Clan trilogy with book 2 Consume and Book 3 Covet soon to come (hopefully)

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry out and is a classic bad boy meets loner troubled girl and they are thrown together as they are both in therapy and want to break into their files to find out what's in there.  Suffice to say romance happens and I'm really looking forward to this one.  Loved the character names: Echo and Noah.  GREAT names!

Saving June by Hannah Harrington out June 2012 is a contemporary YA about a girl who's sister kills herself with no understandable reason why and when her parents want to divide the ashes to scatter them and so she steals the ashes and goes on road trip with a boy who knew June (not that anyone else knew that) and she finds out about herself and her sister along the way.  This one is right up my street mainly because it has heavy musical influence in it and even had playlist in the back of the book. LOVE THAT!

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz is out September 2012 and is sold as Gossip Girl with Witches so I guess it's perfect for fans of the Blue Blood books which has that same vibe

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa is out May 2012 and is the 1st in a Vampire dystopian series and is set in a world where human's have been nearly wiped out and vampires rule and you either have the choice of death, slavery or being turned.  The trailer looked SO GOOD.  Have a peak yourselves!

Then we were so lucky to have Julie herself on hand via the wonder that is Skype to chat with us all!  I must say I looooove this idea and minus a few tiny hitches like feedback on Julie's end and a tiny delay it was an amazing way for us as UK bloggers to chat with US authors we really admire and would otherwise not get to see without a long flight.  Julie Kagawa is such a lovely person and was up for talking about her new book, her other series the Iron Fey books and her super cute baby chicks that we got a sneaky peak at.  SO ADORBS!  

The Immortal Rules was born out of a mix of two ideas where Julie's agent suggested vampires for the next series maybe and Julie already had ideas for a dystopian novel and decided to combine them both.  The vampires in The Immortal Rules are very traditional horror style vampires and Julie really wanted to make that clear.  Even though she has nothing against Twilight and other vampire romance's out there in YA; they just weren't the vampires for her book.  Julie also mentioned she was currently reading Daughter of Smoke and Bone (a book I adored) and that the next book from the Iron Fey world of books in a new series is called The Lost Prince (much ooooing and ahhhhing happened at this point).  We waved bye and thanked Julie for her time and then got to chat and mingle with the other bloggers and the MIRA team. 

Thanks SO much to everyone at MIRA for the event and the books and again to Julie Kagawa for chatting with us all.  A fab event and I can't WAIT for the next time!

Review: Intangible by J. Meyer

GoodReads


Twins Sera and Luke Raine have a well-kept secret—she heals with a touch of her hand, he sees the future. All their lives they’ve helped those in need on the sly. They’ve always thought of their abilities as being a gift. 

Then Luke has a vision that Sera is killed. That gift they’ve always cherished begins to feel an awful lot like a curse. Because the thing about Luke’s ability? He’s always right. And he can’t do anything about it.


Review





Intangible is the story of twins Sera and Luke and their special abilities that have been kept a guarded secret all their lives because honestly who would believe a teenager when they said they could see the future or heal physical and mental ailments. These twins are special and they know it but they don't realise just how important they may be to others in the supernatural world that either want them dead or alive.  Starting to read this story I felt like it had elements of a lot of paranormal and supernatural books that were out there currently but there was some flairs and interesting twists that made me get really sucked into the story.  The characters for one are fabulous and really well written in my opinion.  I felt the passion behind their connections to each other and also the heart ache they suffered that really hit me in the stomach sometimes.


I enjoyed having supernatural characters that were very much outside their lives and then they were thrown into it as it opened up to them.  They've lived their lives cut off from things like Vampires and ghostly monster figures and it's not until they come looking for them that they have to decide who to tell their secrets to and if it's worth risking others lives in the process.  It wasn't a perfect read for me because one character I just didn't gel with at all was Quinn because he was brought him initially in the story but then faded into the background and I wished he was either really there more or not at all because it seemed like he could have been just about anyone in the book.


The banter between the characters especially the twins themselves felt really genuine and I could hear their voices and tone through out the book and that's what made me keep reading.  The plot itself was cool and enjoyable but the characters voices spoke to me and made me feel like i'd be leaving a friend halfway through a phone conversation if I stopped reading.


I'd definitely like to read more about these characters and the story behind where they came from and the history there because it sparked my interest and plus I'd want to see WAY more of Jonas and/or Marc.  Both hotties that were swoon worthy in their own individual ways.





Rating: 7/10


This is a self published book and is available here now as a Kindle eBook

Department 19 is Rising!

So I all with the jumping and cheering for Department 19 by Will Hill because the supernaturals are REAL monsters, killers and it's a book about out and out kick arse action packed monster fighting.  There's blood, gore and takes the history of the genre from Dracula to Frankenstein and brings it smack up to date.  Gush fest over I'm here to deliver a message:  Department 19 is Rising!

Along side the release of the 2nd in the series Department 19: The Rising (which the lovely people at Harper Collins have sent me and not only is it the size of a brick but it's all glossy and shiny and I want to stare at it all the live long day!) and they have also sent me a link to this viral video and it includes some awesome stuff about the series and on that same Facebook page is a chance to win a Spy Training Day for you and 3 mates. WIN!

Watch this "incident" video for excitement and Department 19: The Rising is out to buy from March 29th

Top Ten Books I'd Play Hooky With

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

Surrender by Lee Nichols

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting

Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

The Rising by Will Hill

A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton

Looking For Alaska by John Green

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

Monsters of Men by Patrick Ness

Review: Advent by James Treadwell

Goodreads


For centuries it has been locked away Lost beneath the sea Warded from earth, air, water, fire, spirits, thought and sight. But now magic is rising to the world once more. And a boy called Gavin, who thinks only that he is a city kid with parents who hate him, and knows only that he sees things no one else will believe, is boarding a train, alone, to Cornwall. When he arrives, there is no one there to meet him.


Review



The premise for this book sounded like it had some real promise for me and even though I'm not a usual big fan of the very high fantasy genre (just because I lack the attention span to follow it all) I was intrigued enough to give Advent a read.  The lovely people at Hodder offered to send me a copy and I was quite excited when it arrived.  I was apprehensive straight away because not only is the book about 400 plus pages but the font size was teeny tiny for my eyes.  However; I try to not judge a book by it's cover and so I'll try not to judge a story by it's page count too.


The plot is generally slow with blips of action here and there and is spilt between the present day story of Gavin, a strange teen boy that see's an old lady who shouldn't be there, and his visit to his aunt who lives in a far away part of Cornwall.  His aunt never arrives to collect him at the station and it's from here that things begin to get ever stranger for Gavin as he meets the people in the village and the mysteries begin to unfold.  The other story is hundreds of year before gavin is even born but seems to be linked to his story in some way as a high rank player in the arts of magic finds love and power but which of the true holds his heart is the real puzzle of his tale.


I struggled with this book mainly because it just didn't have a real hook that grabbed me.  I like the story and how James Treadwell painted a glorious picture of the English landscape and the history within it but for me it was a heavy going read.  I didn't connect to the characters so didn't feel compelled to keep reading about what was happening to them.  It took until nearly half way into the book for a real shift in the story and personally that was too long to wait.  I wanted to like this book because I liked the idea of the story and the two parallel lives that intertwined somehow but just couldn't get to grips with it.


If you like you fantasy and stories that have great descriptive prose within it's pages then this is probably for you but it just wasn't my cup of tea sadly.  



For balance here is a link to a more overall positive review for Advent.


Published by Hodder and Stoughton and is available here and bookshops now

IMM: In My Mailbox [62]

 In My Mailbox is an epic feature run by The Story Siren and my links go to Amazon UK but other book sellers are out there too!

Received

A MOUNTAIN THIS WEEK

Ok first off

You by Charles Benoit : Got on Read It Swap It

Angel by L.A. Weatherly : Thanks to my lovely cousin Rebecca for this and I know it'll make Casey from Dark Readers happy

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky : Thanks SO much to the ever awesome C.J. for this.  She made a list of classic YA on her GoodReads and I mentioned I'd never read this and then this landed in my mailbox a few days later *smooches*

Fake Mustache by Tom Angleberger : Thanks to Tina at Abrams and Chronicle for this one and it came with a real fake Tashce too.  WIN!

The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting : Thanks to Sam at Headline for this CAN NOT WAIT TO READ!

Then I went to the 1st MIRA INK UK blogger event and got the biggest bag of goodies. Can not thank them enough for these!

The Girl in the Steel Corset by Kady Cross (super awesome cause this is Hardback and only a few even in the UK. ZOMG!)

Pushing the Limits by Kate McGarry LOOOOVED the sound of this one. Contemp fiction and the characters are called Echo and Noah. A-DORE

Crave by Melissa Darnell

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

If I Die by Rachel Vincent

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa (Glittery Hardback. I LOVE GLITTER)

Saving June by Hannah Harrington : I think i'm in love with this book after just hearing the plot.  Plus it has epic music playlists in the back to go along with the book.  That is TOTALLY my bag!

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz

Goddess Interrupted by Aimee Carter

phew! when i'll read them all who know's but I really hope a few soon at least!

HAPPY READING

XOXO

Blog Tour: Arcadia Awakens: Where the idea came from

Today I'm joined on the blog with Kai Meyer; author of Arcardia Awakens.  My review for then book can be found here and I'm handing over to Kai to talk about the inspiration behind the story in the book trilogy and how that idea grew into the book we have today.

I just love complex backgrounds for my books. If you look at my other novels available in English – the three books about THE FLOWING QUEEN and the WAVE RUNNERS trilogy – you will discover a similar merging of mythology and history. In the WAVE RUNNERS I had Greek and Northern gods interact with the pirates of the Spanish Main, in THE FLOWING QUEEN Venetian stone lions fight a reborn pharaoh of Egypt – and in the ARCADIA novels it´s a mix of the mafia and creatures from Ancient Greek folklore and myths. I always find it interesting to see what happens when the more foreign elements of our reality – like mafia, piracy, alchemy – clash with creatures of legend and lore. 

Authors like Stephen King might prefer the conflict between next-door realism and the unreal, but I always thought it´s even more exciting to have two exotic concepts in conflict with each other, as long as one of them is somehow grounded in reality. Sure, most of us have never encountered the real mafia, but we know it exists. Shapeshifters obviously don´t. So quite often I try to build my stories like arenas for two different concepts to clash.

That´s the reason why I wanted a love story as an emotional anchor for the reader. I didn´t choose the Romeo and Julia set-up because the story is set in Italy, but because it´s so clear and straight-forward. Everybody understands its central conflict: two families and two lovers who are not allowed to be together. That´s the skeleton of my story, the central plot – and it´s simple enough to put all the other, much stranger concepts left and right as meat on its bones.

Thank you so much to Kai Meyer (an extra big thanks because I doubt I could write anything that good and insightful in German) and also thanks to Templar books for inviting me to take part in the tour.

More information of Kai Meyer and the series can be found here

Review: All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle Zevin

GoodReads


In 2083, chocolate and coffee are illegal, paper is hard to find, water is carefully rationed, and New York City is rife with crime and poverty. And yet, for Anya Balanchine, the sixteen-year-old daughter of the city's most notorious (and dead) crime boss, life is fairly routine. It consists of going to school, taking care of her siblings and her dying grandmother, trying to avoid falling in love with the new assistant D.A.'s son, and avoiding her loser ex-boyfriend. That is until her ex is accidently poisoned by the chocolate her family manufactures and the police think she's to blame. Suddenly, Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight--at school, in the news, and most importantly, within her mafia family.


Review


I've seen this book floating around the bloggerverse since last year and was salivating to get a copy of it so when I saw at a blogger event at Macmillan there was no way I was going to leave without a copy.  The pile on the table called my name.  I think I may have even leapt on the books. So if that's anything to go by I think you can tell I was pretty keen to read this.


The story had a great hook that even in a sea of dystopian fiction that is swapping the YA market made me want to pick it up.  The idea of a world where chocolate and coffee are not only illegal substances but are near enough wiped out because of it appealed to me in a big way.  I live on coffee (no lie; I have about 6 cups a day at least) and i work in a chocolate shop so if I lived in this world then not only would I suffer physically without coffee but I'd have no job. SUCKFEST. 


The main part of the story that I really liked was the fact that the female lead seemed to be a real and strong female character to me.  She had a strange and harsh life coming from a family of criminals and mafia like clans and witnessing murder and other deaths from an early age and close up but she's trying to be the solid rock for her siblings.  She's attracted to the new boy, Win, who's father is the new DA and is basically the opposite in power to Anya's dead father.  Their lives are both so closely united but at the same time miles apart so when they begin to find themselves in the middle of a romance that they didn't intend to have they can't help but fight against their heads to please their hearts.


With a dash of gangster chic this tale of Romeo and Juliet esque romance made me feel all gooey and warm mainly because the romance wasn't so in your face.  It creeps up on you slowly and you suddenly realise it's there and it's not so bad.  The universe this story is built up in is wonderfully visual and makes the most of all your senses as you are sucked into the smell of the coffee that lingers in the walls all the taste of the forbidden chocolate.  The grime of a once prosperous city have coated the city and there is desperation in the air.  When there is desperation there is also a chance for money to be made and so enters the 'families' with their connections and low morals out to make a profit.  



With a smart mix of the futuristic world and hits of the past which is very much the present for us it plays upon old and new and makes a world that you both know and remember while exploring the new.  The family dynamic was so interesting as it's a real mix of ages and power struggle and as we find out more and more about each characters past you start to understand what they've had to survive to this point.  My heart went out for Anya so much who had to not only care for her younger sister but also her older brother who survived a car accident when he was younger and now has a mental age of his younger self rather than the grown man he is physically.  It's a lot to have on young shoulders but she takes it all on as well as the law, her unruly mafia family and as things begin to unravel in her life she clings to the normalcy she longs for with Win.  A normal teenage romance.


Tense storytelling and striking characters. An impactful futuristic romance with a Mafioso edge.


Rating: 8/10


Published by Macmillan Children's Books and is available from here and bookshops from April 2012

#MyWorkSpace Blogger style

So yesterday there was a few twitter posts popping up that really caught my eye.  Started by Thomas Truong from Stripes Publishing to see lots of lovely work spaces.  From writers, publishers and illustrators I saw so lovely spaces and shockingly all very tired.  For some reason I'd think there would be papers all over the shop, empty mugs and food wrappers and stuff piled to the ceiling.  Of course this is probably because it's generally what my work space for blogging is like so in honour of that here is a photo of my work space.

Laptop, Internet Dongle, Blogger Diary, Kobo, LOTS OF BOOKS, empty mug.

So tweet your's with the hashtag #myworkspace for fun sharing!

Blog Tour: Natasha Farrant: How My Life Was Shaped By Books

I remember the moment when I finally knew how to read. After a longish period of learning letters and the sounds they supposedly made, these mystifying signs ceased to be a sequence of unrelated squiggles and became words, which became sentences, which became… a story.  I was at the French Lycée in London, the book was François le Bossu (Francis the Hunchback) by the Comtesse de Ségur, a Russian aristocrat who married a Frenchman and wrote a string of children’s books in the 19^th Century, and it was a moment which changed my life.  Even in that early triumphant moment, tracing the words on the page with my finger, I knew that a whole new world had opened up to me. From the moment I singlehandedly read about poor Francis’s misadventures, books have never been a pastime: they have been an all-consuming passion, the worlds between their pages so much more real at times than our own poor imperfect universe.

As a child, my tastes were indiscriminate.  I had only one rule: when I started a series, I had to finish it before I could move on to anything else (and by series, for a long time, I meant “author”).  So I read all of the Comtesse de Ségur, followed by a number of other French authors and series, until I moved on to Enid Blyton and Le Club des 5.  My father, appalled that I could think anyone called Enid was French, went out and bought me all the Mallory Towers books (in English), followed by the StClare books, the Secret Seven, the Adventure series and the Mystery series.  When I had exhausted Blyton, I moved on to Little House on the Prairie and Swallows and Amazons, and so on until I stumbled into Narnia.

Ah, Narnia! That moment when Lucy walks through the wardrobe and stumbles into a land of snow! Until then my reading had been entirely prosaic. I had accumulated a wealth of knowledge about boarding schools, ponies, spies, the American prairies, Cornwall and sailing.  But this was something else.  I read all the books, one after the other, and in the course of reading learned an important lesson about metaphor and allegory – that books can be used to say one thing while really meaning something other, and that reading stories about other worlds can help us better understand our own.

I think Narnia marked the beginning of the end for children’s books for me as a reader.  There weren’t many books for young adults around in those days.  I tore through Anne of Green Gables and The Green Grass of Wyoming, but at the same time I was reading Agatha Christie, PG Wodehouse, not so much for the stories as for the insights they gave me into worlds I didn’t know and yet somehow recognized as my own.  I gobbled up Jilly Cooper, Danielle Steel and Jackie Collins – precious discoveries which introduced me to an adult world of sex and courtship and romance, though I grew quickly tired of these authors (not Jilly Cooper – never Jilly) and moved on to Daphne du Maurier and Somerset Maughan.   In time I grew brave enough to venture away from series and to try authors I didn’t know.   I read on trains, on buses, on planes, on the tube, with the radio and television blaring, with people arguing all around me.  I travelled through nineteenth century Russia with Tolstoy, through smoky Parisian cafes with Sartre and Camus, to South America with Marquez, and all the time my imagination grew, and I realised that books were more than a passion, they were my life.

When I left university, it never occurred to me to look for work in any field other than publishing and even now, twenty years later, I give thanks daily for the fact that I work in an industry I  love. And it was enough, for a while.  I worked hard, learned my trade, moved jobs, was promoted.  I got married, had children, read lots of books and all the time this little voice in my head kept getting louder saying, all this reading and selling and working with other people’s books – isn’t it about time you wrote your own?

It’s dangerous, of course.  Real life, we are constantly told, is not like it is in books.  Why is it, then, that books seem so much like real life?  Why is it that people in books (and, presumably, their authors) seem to know at times exactly what we are thinking and how we are feeling? I remember Anne Shirley and Laura Ingalls much more clearly than any of the girls I went to school with.  Every time I start work on a new book, I get that same thrill again as when I first deciphered the story of Francis the Hunchback: it’s the beginning of a new adventure, new friends, a new universe.  Oh, it’s going to be hard, I know, but then nothing worthwhile is ever easy.  We’ll have setbacks.  My characters will refuse to behave themselves, we’ll go charging down blind alleys, retrace our steps, start again, and we’ll get there in the end.  

In my mind, writing THE THINGS WE DID FOR LOVE, I went to Russia, to Hamburg, to France.  I ran through the French countryside at night, I kissed a beautiful boy, I explored an abandoned house.  I witnessed unspeakable horror, but also astounding acts of sacrifice.  By the end, I was thoroughly exhausted.  It might not be “real life”, but what a road we travelled together, my characters and I!

Thanks so much for this wonderful post Natasha!  You can find my review for The Things We Did For Love here and also you should go to The Spark Facebook page to see all the news on their up coming books and a fabulous contest where you can test your writing skills and be in a chance with winning an iPad

The Hunger Games UK Premiere: A fan POV

The Hunger Games is set to be one of THE biggest movies of the year and in case you didn't already know: it's based on a book and I'm a big fan.  I read the book when it first came out and was literally on the edge of my seat and a big blabbing mess at the end of the 3rd book so if that sounds like fun you should go read it.  The UK premiere was on the 14th March and I just had to go.  I've done a few premiere's before and over night queueing for gigs so I was prepared to do what needed to be done to get a good spot.  Casey from Dark Readers and I went together because we're both natters and had heard that with the morning Metro (London free newspaper) that the 1st 250 in the queue would not only get into the VIP pen area on the red carpet but get into a screening of the movie that night.  WE HAD TO GET IN. HAD TO.  So this is what went down.


We arrived at the 02 Arena at 9pm the night before and spotted out a few Hunger Games fans waiting around too and once the venue closed we all sort of gathered outside.  The staff at the arena said we couldn't wait on the property so we moved to just by the station and after a while the staff came back and cause we clearly weren't leaving we could queue outside the Arena.  A note to those camping out in March in London; pavements are hard and cold and having nothing but a fleece hoodie is not enough to keep you warm.  Thanks HUGELY to the fans there that lent me a spare blanket and tin foil blanket thingy.  You guys rock.  Plus I looked like an awesome superhero with my silver cape.  Kinda want a real one now.

A long cold sleepless night soon brought the morning and finally a chance to go and use the toilet's inside the arena and COFFEE.  I'm a big coffee addict and was at the point of desperation.  I think I didn't shut up about my coffee the whole time I was drinking it!  As soon as the Metro was out (around 5 or 6am) a bunch of fans grabbed a pile and we all had our own copy to take in.  The staff at the Arena were very helpful and big shout out to them and we were all guided into the first waiting pen (like a herd of animals) and we then had to wait for a few more hours.  There's a lot of waiting at these kind of things but the goal in the end is always worth it.

Casey (Dark Readers) and myself

When were were moved into the pens on the red carpet area we were all giving rubber wrist bands saying 'The Hunger Games' and this was basically our ticket in.  I felt like Charlie and I had a golden ticket for the Wonka Factory.  Couldn't believe that not only were we going to probably meet the cast but we were seeing the movie we'd been waiting for in mere hours.  SQUEE.


More waiting (hours and we had a lovely chit chat with the security guy there; you learn so much about how these event's work from them.  He was very nice and kept all us fans in line and at the same time had a  laugh.  He also promised to go see the movie when it was out.  WIN).

THOR!!! aka Chris Hemsworth

Slowly the sun went in and the carpet was out and the press started to arrive and we all started to get more anxious.  The around the early evening the stars arrived.  The 4 main cast attending were Liam Hemsworth (Gale), Josh Hutcherson (Peeta), Elizabeth Banks (Effie) and Jennifer Lawrence (Katniss) and we met 3 out of the 4 as Elizabeth had to go in straight away really.  Though 1st to arrive was Liam's brother Chris.  Upon his arrive I was a bit of a geek and was flapping and gasping 'IT'S THOR!'.  I'm so cool like that.  Liam came over to our bit straight away and signed books and took photos and even though I'm Team Peeta I confess that seeing Liam in the flesh made my allegiance wobble.  The word to describe Liam is PHWOAR!

Then the lovely Josh arrived and I swooned out.  He's just so adorable and was all smiles to the fans as soon as he was out of the car.  He took a photo with me and signed my book and if I could have taken him home I would have tucked him in my pocket then and there.  No shame; I have no shame.  

Jennifer arrived to a roar of cheers from the fans.  She looked STUNNING in her gold dress but must have been frozen so she whizzed through signing books and we all were in awe of her.  She was pretty awesome.  I'm under playing the meeting the stars because it was amazing and yet was probably over in a flash but felt like forever to me. Ha ha.

We had to wait till the stars had left the red carpet and then we walked the carpet in to the cinema to watch the movie.  Casey and I held hands as we went in because all the cheering fans still lining the barrier were kinda scary with the flashing cameras and screams.  I don't know how the stars do it without peeing themselves in fear!  We got given tickets and then after having to check in all recording devices and have a body metal scanner over us and bag checks (super strict security) we went into the cinema.  FREAK OUT!  I think Casey and I were just as excited for the movie as for the comfy and warm seats in the cinema.  It had been a long night.

Then before the movie started the producer came in and was followed by the cast!!! They did a little thank you and a bunch of the fans did the Katniss three finger salute and the cast returned the salute.  I actually saw both Josh and Liam do it and I think my heart exploded.  


The movie was …well…mind-blowing.  So true to the book and it was visually interesting at the same time with all the colour and camera movements.  The major scenes were all there and the cast are just so perfect for their roles.  I can't imagine anyone else in those roles now.  I was so happy that they have the right Haymitch too because I loved his character in the book.  I can't wait to go and see it again and again and I'm now DESPERATE to buy myself a Mockingjay pin.

Want more? Check out my fun with Capitol Make up post and Casey's post too.  Get the look of the Capitol!

Top Ten Books On My Spring To-Be-Read list

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This meme was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list complete with one of our bloggers’ answers. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND post a comment on our post with a link to your Top Ten Tuesday post to share with us and all those who are participating. If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. If you can't come up with ten, don't worry about it---post as many as you can!

Wither and Fever by Lauren DeStefano 

(I got Fever and i'm planning on read them back to back)

Drive By Jim Carrington

Switched by Amanda Hocking

Unravelling by Elizabeth Norris

(this is out in the early summer but sounds flipping awesome!)

172 hours on the moon by Johan Harstad

Advent by James Tredwell

All these things i've done by Gabrielle Zevin

(reading this atm)

Desires of the dead by Kimberly Derting

(need to read this before the 3rd book comes out!! so excited)

The iron king by Julie Kagawa

Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon