You may have noticed that my weekly Sunday blog post last weekend didn’t happen – why? Well, last Sunday I was Olympia in London attending London Film & Comic Con! Prepare yourself as long post ahead…
I’ve attended London Film & Comic Con for a number of years now, in fact I think my first one must’ve been around ten years ago now. I think anyone who likes any television show or is super passionate about one of the more ‘nerdy’ movies, then you will love attending London Film & Comic Con. This year I met Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy in Harry Potter), Emilie de Ravin (Belle in Once Upon A Time) and Ian Somerhalder (Damon in Vampire Diaries) but if you look at the line up, if you had the money I could list so many guests who I would’ve loved to have met.
I don’t think anything is more exciting that meeting some of your favourite actors / actresses. Huge credit particularly goes to Ian Somerhalder, not only did he make an effort to talk with every person in the photo session and hugged every person in the photo, but he also stayed until long after the convention shut to sign all the diamond pass (a type of ticket that you can buy that guarantees you a photo opportunity and autograph with some of the bigger named guests) autographs and he didn’t rush it in the slightest, he made sure that he spoke and made eye contact with every single person. I also really loved meeting Emilie de Ravin, I had met her before at a Once Upon A Time convention but I met her quite late in the day I think she was quite rushed on time, however this time was incredible as I was able to have a small conversation with her and tell her how much I love her portrayal of Belle. She genuinely is the most lovely person. I only had a photo with Tom Felton and although it was very rushed as he had to get through a lot of people, he again made an effort to at least say hello to everyone and to be honest I was fangirling inside so much that I was meeting the actual Draco Malfoy to have been able to manage anything more than a hi anyway!
A more recent addition to London Film & Comic Con is the Young Adult Literature Convention – YALC.
You don’t have to look far on my blog to realise how much I love reading, I mean most of my blog consists of book reviews, plus I’m a complete sucker for a young adult novel! I went with a friend who wasn’t as into books so I had an hour or so exploring YALC myself. I went on Sunday and sadly didn’t get up to the YALC until after long into the afternoon so I’d missed out on all the ARC raffles and pretty much all the talks, signings etc. However, the perk of going late in the day was that I managed to get some absolutely amazing deals on books! I’m sure I’m not alone in the book lovers community where no matter how many books I have in my to be read pile, I can’t resist buying more. YALC also gave people the opportunity to meet some of your favourite authors, the book guest lineup was incredible and I’d wished I’d had more time to have been able to get some of my books signed.
As I usually do my Sunday book blog post, I thought I would share with you in book name alphabetical order, my YALC book haul, the blurb and a little bit about why I chose to buy the book!
Finale – Stephanie Garber
Blurb –
A love worth fighting for. A dream worth dying for. An ending worth waiting for.
It’s been two months since the Fates were freed from a deck of cards, two months since Legend claimed the throne for his own, and two months since Tella discovered the boy she fell in love with doesn’t really exist.
With lives, empires, and hearts hanging in the balance, Tella must decide if she’s going to trust Legend or a former enemy. After uncovering a secret that upends her life, Scarlett will need to do the impossible. And Legend has a choice to make that will forever change and define him.
Caraval is over, but perhaps the greatest game of all has begun. There are no spectators this time—only those who will win, and those who will lose everything.
Welcome, welcome to Finale. All games must come to an end…
Why I Bought This Book – You know a book has an amazing blurb when you take one read of it and instantly buy it even though its book number 3 in a series. Now I don’t know whether to take the risk and instantly dive into this book or download the first two books onto my Kindle to read first! I love a young adult fantasy novel that has a little bit of romance in it too and oh my goodness this book sounds incredible. I genuinely can’t believe I’ve never even heard of this series of books, let alone the fact that I’ve never picked any of them up to read before. The amazing reviews on Goodreads only hightens my excited of reading this book! This book is the most excited I’ve been to read a series of books in a very long time and I genuinely can’t wait to start reading the series!
Freshers – Tom Ellen & Lucy Ivison
Blurb – Uni beckons. Phoebe can’t wait to be a fresher – especially since her crush from school will be there too. She’ll be totally different at Uni: cooler, prettier, smarter … the perfect potential girlfriend. She’ll reinvent herself completely. But Luke’s oblivious, still reeling from the fallout of the break-up with his ex. Thrown head first into a world of new friends, parties and social media disasters – can Phoebe and Luke survive the year, let alone find each other?
Why I Bought This Book –I have been dying to read this book for a good year or so now. It’s been on the top of my to buy list for the longest time now but somehow my to be read pile keeps getting bigger and I don’t really know why but I just never end up buying this book. The Chicken House stall had an amazing offer on buying three books so I instantly picked this book up. The book is exactly my kind of book and I cannot wait to start reading it, I hope the wait is worth it!
Lily’s Just Fine – Gill Stewart
Blurb – Lily couldn’t have planned life better herself. She lives in the best house in town and she’s dating the most popular boy in school. Everything else she can fix. Mum’s apathy? On it! The stuffy gala committee? Watch this space!
Tom has enough on his plate without trying to drag Newton St Cuthbert into the 21st Century. His sister is sick and there’s nothing anyone can do. Not doctors, not his parents, and certainly not Lily Hildebrand.
Sail away this summer with the unexpected romance of Scotland’s most determined teenager.
Why I Bought This Book – I bought this book very late in the day, and by that point my friend had joined me and we were offered 2 copies of this book for £5 and the author would sign it for me! Dangle a book in front of my nose for £2.50 and I will absolutely snatch your hand off. The blurb sounded just my cup of tea. Definitely a whim purchase but I’m very excited to read it.
The Apprentice Witch – James Nicol
Blurb – Arianwyn has flunked her witch’s assessment: She’s doomed. Declared an apprentice and sent to the town of Lull in disgrace, she may never become a real witch– much to the glee of her arch-rival, Gimma.
But remote Lull is not as boring as it seems. Strange things are sighted in the woods, a dangerous infestation of hex creeps throughout the town, and a mysterious magical visitor arrives with his eye on her.
With every spirit banished, creature helped, and spell cast, Arianwyn starts to get the hang of being a witch–even if she’s only an apprentice. But the worst still lies ahead. For a sinister darkness has begun to haunt her spells, and there may be much more at stake than just her pride . . . for Arianwyn and the entire land.
Why I Bought This Book – This book was number two that I bought in order to complete the three books offer from the Chicken House stall. You know those books that you pick up and think wow, younger me would’ve loved this book? This was completely one of those books and even though I rarely read much of the lower age of young adult novels, but for pure nostalgia reasons I knew I had to buy this book. I’m already half expecting to read this book and not be as engaged with it as I could’ve been as I’m so much older than the target age but I do like the sound of the story so i’m happy to give it a go. Regardless, I have a neighbour who is the perfect age to enjoy this book so if I don’t enjoy it I know that I can pass it onto her and she’ll get maximum enjoyment from it.
The Lost Princess – Connie Glynn
Blurb – In the third book in the Rosewood Chronicles return to a world that effortlessly combines the charm of The Princess Diaries and the immersive magic of Harry Potter.
Ellie is a rebellious princess hiding her real identity.
Lottie is her Portman, acting as the princess for the public to shield Ellie from scrutiny.
Jamie is Ellie’s Partizan, a lifelong bodyguard sworn to protect the princess at any cost.
Together they are attempting to stay safe from Leviathan, a group determined to take the princess for unknown reasons.
When Leviathan force them to travel to their beloved Rosewood Hall’s sister school in Japan, the threesome find that nowhere is beyond Leviathan’s long reach. The only solace they find is a secret group called Banshee who are fighting against the organisation’s hold. But when long-buried secrets are uncovered, the lives of Lottie, Ellie and Jamie will never be the same again…
Why I Bought This Book – Truthfully when I bought this book I assumed this was book number two in the series and I’ve only found out its actually book number three whilst writing this blog post! Whilst visiting the Waterstones stand I saw signed copies of this book and it was being sold at YALC before it was even officially released, so safe to say it was in my hands and I was walking to the till to pay so quickly whilst being extremely happy with my purchase! I had no idea author Connie Glynn was a YouTuber when I initially bought book one, The Rosewood Chronicles, I just downloaded it as it sounded like the kind of book I would love and I did. I had been desperate to read the next instalment in the series so can’t believe book two somehow passed me by and I now have two whole new instalments in the series to read Now I just need to buy the second book in the series so I can hurry and start this one…
The Return – Rachel Harrison
Blurb – An edgy and haunting debut novel about a group of friends who reunite after one of them has returned from a mysterious two-year disappearance.
Julie is missing, and the missing don’t often return. But Elise knows Julie better than anyone, and she feels in her bones that her best friend is out there, and that one day she’ll come back. She’s right. Two years to the day that Julie went missing, she reappears with no memory of where she’s been or what happened to her.
Why I Bought This Book – The short answer – it was free! I bought Finale by Stephanie Garber and when I paid the man who served me said I could take an ARC of this book for free! I’m sure I can’t have been the only person who bought this book and did a completely shocked, ” What?! You mean I get to take a book for completely free?!” This book isn’t out until March 2020 but I’m intrigued to start reading it. I’ve been looking forward to watching the tv show, Manifest which tells the story of a plane that goes missing for 5 years and the passengers on the flight thought they’d just been on the normal length flight and had no idea it was so many years later when they landed. This book reminds me of that and although I don’t think I would’ve bought it ahead of a lot of books if I saw it in the shop, I am extremely excited to read it. I think my interest in watching Manifest, makes me quite eager to read a story that’s on the similar kind of line. Despite it not the usual kind of book I’d read I am extremely eager to start reading this story.
Under Rose-Tainted Skies – Louise Gornall
Blurb – At seventeen, Norah has accepted that the four walls of her house delineate her life. She knows that fearing everything from inland tsunamis to odd numbers is irrational, but her mind insists the world outside is too big, too dangerous. So she stays safe inside, watching others’ lives through her windows and social media feed.
But when Luke arrives on her doorstep, he doesn’t see a girl defined by medical terms and mental health. Instead, he sees a girl who is funny, smart, and brave. And Norah likes what he sees.
Their friendship turns deeper, but Norah knows Luke deserves a normal girl. One who can walk beneath the open sky. One who is unafraid of kissing. One who isn’t so screwed up. Can she let him go for his own good—or can Norah learn to see herself through Luke’s eyes?
Why I Bought This Book – This is the final book I bought in the offer of three books that I bought from the Chicken House stall. I think books that feature mental health issues are something that needs to be documented more but I sadly don’t really read many books that feature them. I needed a book to complete the three books for the offer, this sounded like a romance novel (and we all know I love a good romance novel!) and recently I’ve been thinking that I’d like to read more novels containing mental health issues so figured I would take a shot with this book.
When The Curtain Falls – Carrie Hope Fletcher
Blurb – In 1952 two young lovers meet, in secret, at the beautiful Southern C ross theatre in the very heart of London’s West End. Their relationship is made up of clandestine meetings and stolen moments because there is someone who will make them suffer if he discovers she is no longer ‘his’. But life in the theatre doesn’t always go according to plan and tragedy and heartache are waiting in the wings for all the players . . .
Almost seventy years later, a new production of When the Curtain Falls arrives at the theatre, bringing with it Oscar Bright and Olive Green and their budding romance. Very soon, though, strange things begin to happen and they learn about the ghost that’s haunted the theatre since 1952, a ghost who can only be seen on one night of the year. Except the ghost is appearing more often and seems hell bent on sabotaging Oscar and Olive. The young couple realise they need to right that wrong from years gone by, but can they save themselves before history repeats itself and tragedy strikes once more?
Why I Bought This Book – To be perfectly honest, I’ve read this book before (and loved it!) in hardback and this copy is in paperback and Carrie Hope Fletcher was at YALC so I had hoped to get it signed. I’m sure I’ve mentioned on here how much I love Carrie, I think she’s fantastic and pretty much anything she does I’d buy, so far everything she’s written or performed in I’ve loved. Sadly, it turned out YALC did Virtual Tickets that you had to collect within the first hour of the event opening in the morning which gave you a virtual spot in a queue at the time of the signing later in the day. I drove down so arrived quite late in the day so YALC was well and truly past that point, so no virtual ticket for me! I was told that more would be given out for her signing when she started the session but it was likely that Carrie wouldn’t reach my number. Someone at YALC overheard me asking this and as I sat down to wait to hopefully try and get a ticket to meet Carrie she came over and said she had to leave early so couldn’t meet Carrie and if I would like her virtual ticket. If you’re reading this, you have no idea how much you made my day and I truly can’t thank you enough. Getting to meet Carrie was one of the highlights of my day and I’m so insanely thankful that I was given a ticket. Carrie was absolutely lovely to meet and I was thrilled to get a photo with her too – I didn’t think I would get the chance to meet her so thank you so much again to the person who gave me your ticket, I’ll never get over your generosity.
Other Purchases
Normally I wouldn’t post such a, look at all the things I bought kind of post as sometimes I read some I feel like they don’t come across so well. However, aside from books I bought one other thing from YALC and I need to write about it as frankly its the best thing I’ve ever purchased!
Above is the book sleeve that I bought to hold your book in! I have to admit I don’t carry physical books around so much anymore since I bought my Kindle but I do still take an actual book when I go on a long distance train journey or if I’m going on an airplane. I think a lot of people can relate to that feeling of throwing a book in your bag or stuffing it in the little holder in the seat ahead of you on a plane and then retrieving your book and suddenly its become all tatty. Well now I’ll be able to put my book into this book sleeve and keep my book all nice and protected. The genuine excitement I have about owning this is unreal and I can’t believe I’ve never heard of them before or was even aware such thing existed!
The company is called Paperandword and if you click here it’ll link to the website where you can buy your own! It super padded, so soft and they have a variety of designs just to make it a little difficult to chose which one you want. They’re also available in paperback and hardback sizes – personally I only ever travel with a paperback so I opted for the smaller version.
Conclusion
If you’re still with me after reading this insanely long post…thank you for sticking with it!
If you’ve never been to London Film & Comic Con / YALC before I can’t recommend it enough. London Film & Comic Con offers you the chance to meet some of your favourite celebrities and every year that I go the organisation gets better and better. It’s also full of stalls selling a variety of different things, opportunities to do fun things for example this year I took part in a stand which put me into the Fast & Furious trailer and even got a free movie poster for my effort. Then if that wasn’t good enough a whole floor is dedicated to YALC. If you’re a book lover you will love YALC. You get the opportunity to meet your favourite authors and get your books signed by them, you get the chance to get ARCs and they have some amazing deals on books! Plus I found the whole YALC a lot calmer than the London Film & Comic Con area so it was nice to escape up there and chill out with fellow book lovers for a little while. However I would highly recommend trying to get for more than one day! I found trying to fit everything that I wanted to do in both London Film & Comic Con and YALC quite exhausting and if you intended on extensively doing both, going multiple days would’ve been so much less tiring!
Did you got to London Film & Comic Con / YALC this year? What did you think? If you’ve read any of the books that I bought I’d love to know your thoughts!
melissay 