Ottawa Blogger Mix and Mingle!

On Sunday, a lot of planning and anticipation all came together for the Ottawa Blogger Mix and Mingle! I've been looking forward to this day for a while now, and it was just as fun as I thought it would be!

Meaghan looking pretty!

The five of us hosts (Kathy, Meaghan, Katie, Emilie and me) met up about an hour before the event to put the goodie bags and present together! We gabbed about books and did a mini-swap then hauled all the crazy bags into the car. The event was being held at KS on the Keys, a yummy restaurant in the east end of town.

Allison Van Diepen chatting with bloggers

There were eleven gals that attended the event and it ending up being a ton of fun. We had lots of bookish discussions, some gushing over The Indigo Spell (okay, maybe that was just Katie, Emilie and I) and even a few prizes! We were joined by the lovely author Allison Van Diepen and she answered some of our questions about publishing and book covers! We also got ARCs of her new book Takedown (which she graciously signed!) and I'm really excited to read it! After lunch there was a quiz that took place and I awesomely won a prize! Admittedly, I had seen one of the prizes and knew exactly which bag I wanted to get (I didn't know the questions beforehand though) so I didn't hesitate when picking a prize. It was a pretty Hunger Games shirt. I love it to bits. The other four prize bags included a few ARCs and some swag and went to very worthy winners. After all the competition it was time for a book swap! I got a few really awesome ones from the swap and I can't wait to dive right into read them. After that, a few of us went to Chapters for some more book talk then it was off to our respective homes to relax.

The bloggers!

Well, I got to relax for a few hours and then it was off to a staff bowling party. I killed the first round (and won against my team YAY!) and then totally failed the second round. It was tons of fun to hang out with my awesome co-workers though! They put on a great event. And I was also repping Team Dean. Cause yes.

Team Dean FTW

After the party, I practically collapsed at home but not before going absolutely CRAZY when Fun. and Mumford & Sons won Grammys! I've been listening to the former for about three years now and it's been amazing to see them come this far!

I took a picture of me since none were taken at the event!

I want to say a huge THANK YOU to all the bloggers that came out to the event! Jessica, Kim, Kelsey, Alexandra, Stella & Ashely you guys were all so great! I hope to see you all again in the very near future! And thanks to all the publishers that provided the ARCs and swag! And of course to Allison Van Diepen for taking the time to chat with us crazy bloggers!

So, here's a pic of all the awesomeness I got!

Goodie Bag:

Takedown by Allison van Diepen

The Palace of Curiosities by Rosie Garland

The Loop by Shandy Lawson

Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike

Spellcaster (Spellcaster #1) by Claudia Gray

Poison by Bridget Zinn

Pretty Little Liars lipchap

Fancy Nancy pencil

Divergent and Vampire Diaries tattoos

Various bookmarks

Book Swap/Borrow:

Nobody But Us by Kirstin Halbrook

Nobody by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1) by Julie Kagawa

The Friday Society by Adrienne Kress

Article 5 (Article 5 #1) by Kristen Simmons

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson

Under My Skin (Wildlings #1) by Charles de Lint

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

All in all, it was an awesome event and I can't wait to meet up with these gals again!

- Ciara (Lost at Midnight)

Stacking the Shelves/Ottawa Book Blogger Meet-Up

So, I'm trying out a new meme this week! It's called Stacking the Shelves. Similar to In My Mailbox, hosted by The Story Siren, Stacking the Shelves is all about featuring the books we bloggers have received each week, adding to our already packed shelves. It's hosted by fellow Canadian blogger, Tynga's Reviews! This week's post is also about the Ottawa Book Blogger Meet-Up I attended on Tuesday, but more on that later in the post.

My shelf this week got a ton added to it. May 1st was one my most anticipated release days of the year, and I'm so excited with my new books. Without further ado!

Bought:

- Insurgent by Veronica Roth *not pictured here because my friends are borrowing it!*
- Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready
- Gallagher Girls Box Set by Ally Carter

Borrowed:

- Masque of Read Death by Bethany Griffin (ARC)
- Wildfire by Karsten Knight (ARC)
- Belles by Jen Calonita (ARC)
- Witchlanders by Lena Coakley (ARC)
- Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maeberry (ARC)
- Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood (ARC)


Note: HUGE THANKS to the Ottawa Book Blogger gals! All these books I borrowed were from them, and I'm so excited to get started reading!

Swag:

- John Green book plate

Note: So, many of you probably know about The Fault in Our Stars. Author John Green promised to sign every pre-order that was received but, because of some mishaps with the online retailers, about 1% of pre-orders were not signed. I happened to be in that 1%. John Green promised to send all the people who's books were not signed a bookplate, and I finally received mine the other day. So, thanks to John Green and RazOrbill! I'm so happy about my bookplate!


Now, onto the Ottawa Book Blogger Meet-up!


I'll admit, I was really nervous before I went. I'm generally shy when meeting new people, and often just observe the conversation instead of taking part in it. The gals had already met up before, so most of them knew each other, another thing that had me worried. I really didn't need to be though! Everyone was really welcoming, talkative and book obsessed! It was fantastic. We met up at Chapters for Insurgent Day, and spent lots of time discussing books in the teen section. After, we went to the Works for dinner and more book talk, then over to Emilie's house for book swapping. It was tons of fun meeting everyone, and finding people as obsessed with books as I am! Thanks for a great time, and I can't wait to do it all again!

(Photo credit to Emilie's roommate and camera)

The Ottawa Bloggers who attended the meet-up! (From left to right)
- Emilie from Emilie's Book World
- Kaite from Bookishly Yours
- Meaghan from Feeling a Little Bookish
- Katherine from The Lady Critic's Library
- Me!
- Kathy from A Glass of Wine


*Also at the meet-up but not featured in the picture Mel from The Pretty Nifty (YA) Reader*


- Ciara who is lost at midnight