Ruin and Rising Launch Party Recap

Hi, everyone! Today is the release day for Ruin & Rising by Leigh Barugo, the third book in the Grisha series. I was lucky enough to attend the launch party last night held at The Last Bookstore in downtown LA. Leigh knows how to throw a good party and I was excited to celebrate her new book with her and all of the Grisha fans.

The event did not start until 7:30pm. I met up with Nicole, Michelle and Crystal earlier in the evening and had dinner at one of my favorite Italian places. By the time we made it back to the store, there was a pretty substantial line happening. Eventually someone came around to check our names off a list and gave us color coded wristbands so that they could tell if we were allowed booze or not. Below you can see I have my Ruin & Rising manicure and wristband ready to party!

The store was jam packed and we did not manage to grab seats in time. Instead, we wandered around the store checking out the party decorations and snacks. 

There was a lot of fun stuff going on, including a photo booth and a manicure station. I was pretty excited about the manicure station. I didn't do it because I already had my nails done but I am interested in seeing what manicures everyone else got.

After some mingling and snacking it was time for the main event. Leigh got up on stage and thanked everyone for being there. She said that she has started off all of her other launch parties by reading something embarrassing from her childhood. This time around, she had found a journal from when she was 10, which she read aloud parts of to us. I can't really paraphrase what was in the journal but trust me, she had us all in stitches. 

Leigh then talked a little bit about the film Labyrinth, which was one of her favorite movies as a teen.   I can't really summarize this part very well but she showed us some great footage of the ballroom scene and how it relates to her writing. She also touched on the subject of reading YA and pointed out that there is a lot of amazing writing going on in YA and that's why people read it. 

Leigh then read the first page from Ruin and Rising. She didn't want to be spoiler-y so she had a limited selection to choose from. Next up were some questions.

Who were Nikolai and the Apparat inspired by? 

Nikolai is a bit Han Solo and a bit Lando Calrissian. She also mentioned a character from a book series but I am blanking on the name. Sorry about that. If you remember, leave a comment telling me below.

Who was Mal inspired by?

Leigh had a friend when she was younger and they had a really close friendship. Mal is sort of inspired by that relationship of deep friendship though he is no inspired by any one person, since Leigh has never met anyone like Mal.

Then it was finally time for book signing! Luckily we had been standing pretty close to the stage and managed to get in the signing line near the front. The line was still going strong when we left so I am glad that we got in it early.

Leigh was sweet and gracious as always. I showed her my R&R nails like a fangirl. We even managed to finally snag some brownies after looking for them all night. Overall I'd say the night was a huge success! 

Much thanks to Leigh and everyone who organized the party and also to my blogging buddies for the great company. If you missed Leigh this time around, she will be at the Fierce Reads tour in B&N The Grove on July 23. I will be in San Diego for Comic Con already by that date but it should be a great event.