Harry Potter Party!

It all started with a letter...

Last night I was lucky enough to be one of twelve guests to attend dinner in the Great Hall of Hogwarts. Hosted by Bryton Taylor of Food in Literature, we dined on food found throughout the Harry Potter books and marvelled at the talent, time and effort that Bryton put in to recreating the world of Harry Potter. Throughout the night which was attended by friends (many who are book bloggers and food bloggers), we constantly discovered new details that added to the authenticity of the night.

I'll let the pictures tell the story but a great night was had by all.

What are we studying this year?

Advanced Potion Making, anyone?

Preparing potions

Plenty of supplies in the potions storeroom

Thankfully, Snape was not present.

As usual, the ceiling was bewitched to resemble the night sky.

Don't forget to speak clearly when you travel by Floo Powder.

Dobby stopped by for a visit.

The Chamber of Secrets has been opened...
...but never fear, Professor Sprout has some
mandrakes that are almost ready.

As you exit the Great Hall you can pay a visit to Herbology
where the mandrake are growing up nicely! 

The bathroom was complete with a recording of Moaning Myrtle
to keep us company and our very own stained-glass mermaid. 

"Is it illegal to drink and apparate?"

Find Bryton's Butterbeer recipe here.

If you haven't already found your way to Food in Literature, I suggest you check it out. Bryton recreates food found in books and often throws themed parties from which she shares how-to guides on her website. As a long time friend of Bryton's, I have been to many different parties and she just out-does herself time and time again. I don't know how she isn't working behind the scenes in Hollywood!

Have you heard the news?

There have been quite a few announcements in the last couple of weeks so I thought I would sum them all up for you.

The cover for the final book in Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy has been revealed. Isn't it stunning?! Dreams of Gods and Monsters will be released April 2014. You can also read a "brief tantalizing excerpt" here. 

  

Maggie Stiefvater has shared the news that she has written a companion novel to Shiver. The standalone story, titled Sinner, will feature Cole and Isabel in Los Angeles and will be released July 2014. You can read more about it here.

The co-authors of the Caster Chronicles series have announced they are writing a new series featuring the characters Link and Ridley who readers first met in Beautiful Creatures. Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl will first release an e-novella, Dangerous Dream, on December 17th 2013, and then  follow it with the first novel, Dangerous Creatures, on May 6th 2014. Read more about it here.

 

And unless you have been living under a rock, you will know that Jamie Blackley has been cast as Adam alongside Chloe Moretz's Mia in the adaptation of Gayle Forman's best-selling novel, If I Stay.

 

J.K. Rowling is writing a script for a Harry Potter spin-off focused around the fictional author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. The film will feature Newt Scamander in New York and will be set about 70 years before Harry Potter. Read more about it here.

 

Filming of City of Ashes, the follow up to the film adaptation of Cassandra Clare's City of Bones, has been delayed with no set date as to when it will start and the possibility of it being cancelled all together. Find out why, here. 

John Green with Ansel Elgort (Augustus), 

Nat Wolff (Issac) and Shailene Woodley (Hazel).

(Source)

And finally, if you are a fan of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars (and if you're not, why not?!) then you will surely be interested in following all the news from the film set. John Green has been visiting regularly and keeping us up to date with what is going and sharing plenty of happy snaps from the set. Follow him on Twitter or Facebook.

So, what are your thoughts on all these bits of gossip? Are you excited for Sinner and Dangerous Dream or are you sick of spin-off/companion novels?  Should the filming go ahead for City of Ashes or did you dislike what they did with City of Bones? Are you happy with the casting of Jamie Blackley as Adam or was there someone else you thought would be perfect? Post in the comments below :) 

Happy Saturday to all xx