The British Book Affair 2015

On Saturday 18th April 2015 I headed down to London's swanky Marriott Hotel just off Grosvenor Square to meet up with some of my favourite authors!  The British Book Affair celebrated the best of steamy erotic fiction and I was delighted to be able to attend and meet the creators of some of my book boyfriends.

 

Firstly I met the lovely Emma Hart, author of The Love Game.  She signed my books and her very sweet hubby took our photo- plus he won the award for best tshirt at the event hands down!

 

 

I was also desperately keen to meet Kitty French as I've known Kitty for ten years now, but the queue to get near her was crazily long- which just goes to show how popular her books are with readers!

 

I did eventually get to give her a good squish though and have a bit of a catch up- albeit short, as her fans were clamouring for an autograph and pictures.  I'm so, so proud of how far she's come, she's hugely inspirational to me.  I can't wait to read Genie!  I'd been waiting for a paper copy rather than buying a kindle version because I knew I wanted it signed, but now there's no stopping me...

 

Another author I just had to meet was Anna Todd, author of the After series.  As a One Direction fan I've been a fan of Anna for a long while and her success is just phenomenal.  She's also genuinely lovely, and I can vouch for her being just as sweet in real life as she is on twitter.  She really does value her readers!  She gave me a huge hug (even though I was all stinky from travelling from Sheffield to London!) and I couldn't believe she knew who little old me was. 

 

Anna has always been keen to encourage others to write and has definitely played a part in helping me to believe that dreams can come true, so it was great to be able to tell her how thrilled I am for her success and that she's spurring me on to reach my own writing related goals.

 

I was also thrilled to meet the glamorous saucepot Abbi Glines.  Seriously, she's one foxy mama!  And I've got most of her back catalogue waiting to be read, so this summer is going to be a Glines-fest, for sure. 

 

I also fangirlled so hard over the lovely Christina Lauren girls!  They are constantly smiling and laughing and both of them appreciate all aspects of the genre (and, ahem, the importance of a gorgeous, half-naked-if-possible man on the cover).  I want a night out with these ladies so badly, because they are hilarious!  And I want to reread all their books, and share my thoughts on the ones I've not yet reviewed.

 

 

 

I also had the pleasure of meeting Samantha Young, Rebecca Donovan and Pamela Ann amongst others, plus the lovely ladies from The Hot Bed. Everyone was great fun and they all seemed to enjoy connecting with readers. 

 

Overall, it was a fabulous event-and it went on long after I had to leave with a fancy evening do running late into the night.

 

How long until BBA16?!  I want to get my ticket...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One Direction Official Annual 2014

 

I am a huge fan of One Direction, so when Harper Collins Children's Publishers sent me a review copy of the 2014 1D annual I thought all my Christmases had come at once!

 

Packed full of pictures of the boys on stage, in photoshoots and candid snaps, fans will spend many a happy hour drooling over this book.  The photo of Harry and Zayn relaxing on page 13 is my personal favourite as it's nice to see some images of the band chilling out offstage.  Obviously the annual was printed earlier in the year and the lads image has changed quite a bit in that time (Liam-I am particularly talking about you here!  He's definitely made the transition from boy to man in 2013) but there is a good balance of photos.  The picture quality isn't as high as in Where We Are (see my review here ), but that is a different type of book.

 

Interviews, factfiles and a trivia quiz make up the rest of the annual, and new fans will find out all the 'must know' facts such as birthdates and favourite songs.  The die hard fans will probably find they know most of these details anyway from previous interviews, but I'm sure that any Directioner would be happy with a copy of this in their Christmas stocking.  A fun addition for fans.

 

The Official One Direction Annual 2014 is out now, published by Harper Collins.

 

8.5/10

 

With thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

Where We Are, Our Band, Our Story- One Direction

I am slightly reluctant to admit that I, a thirty four year old woman, have developed a rather large crush on Louis Tomlinson.  Yes, I am just about old enough to be his mother (if I had had him extremely young!) but those exquisite cheekbones and that chiselled jawline... I can certainly see why girls have their hearts set aflutter by One Direction.

Where We Are is an 100% official book, and is, as I expected of very high quality.  Hardbacked and printed on thick, heavyweight paper, it will definitely stand up to having the pages repeatedly drooled over and stroked, not that I have tried...  There are a great selection of pictures of the band, from portraits to shots of them in the recording studio, from their time in Africa with Comic Relief to pictures of their adoring and dedicated fans.

Although almost a coffee table book in style, fans will be able to get an insight into the lives of Louis, Harry, Zayn, Niall and Liam through the sections on each member and a whole band interview.  I do feel it would have benefitted from a bit more of this, however, the photographs manage to capture each of the group and their individuality perfectly, which is a great testament to the bands official photographer Calvin Aurand.

This book is a must for Directioners and I am sure any fan would be delighted to find Where We Are in their Christmas stocking, although this fan is hoping to find Louis himself wrapped up under her Christmas tree (I have been a good girl this year, honest!)

Where We Are is out now, published by Harper Collins.

9/10

With thanks to Harper Collins for sending me a copy of this book in return for an honest review.