What better reason for a red carpet blockbuster than books? I’ve heard wonderful things about Emily Giffin’s books, and was glad for a chance to meet her, and I was just excited in general for a fun, bookish evening.

Penguin Random House Canada certainly knows how to throw a great event, and Blockbuster Books was definitely a highlight.

A highlight for me was this Wheel of #BlockbusterBooks. Spin the wheel and get matched up with your perfect genre-based summer read. (If you want to be matched up with your perfect summer read as well, check out penguinrandomhouse.ca/blockbusterbooks.) I was secretly hoping for the Binge Box, because that just sounded awesome, but then I ended up with something even better — the Mystery Prize!

“Do you want a bracelet or bumbleebee tights?” the PRH Canada staffer asked me.

Well, that was a no-brainer.

The tights were inspired by the book-turned-movie Me Before You, and with its very own box of Kleenex!

Another highlight for me was the Be Glammed hair and makeup station. It’s the first I’ve heard of this service, and it sounds pretty awesome. You can book stylists to go to your home and do your hair and makeup. It’s a pretty useful service for a special occasion, and is available in Toronto and several US cities. I also happen to be really happy with the contouring and lip colour they gave me, which was perfect for my red carpet photo with Emily Giffin later on!

Emily Giffin is fantastic. She dropped by the event on her way to the airport, and joked about the weather: “What heat? This is nothing compared to Atlanta. This is a nice, breezy evening.” (It was possibly the hottest day in Toronto this summer, up to about 41 C with the humidex.)

Her new book First Comes Love is about two sisters who find themselves at a crossroads. I’m a sucker for sister stories, and I look forward to reading this one.

The event also featured a buffet with some yummy treats. (Forgive my crappy picture — I snapped it while in line to meet Emily, and the “Sweet and Sassy Chicken Lollipops” were almost all gone.) The spicy cornbread and samosas were really good (both from the cookbook Love and Lemons, the chicken lollipops were amazing (from the cookbook Diva Qs) and the crostini with cheese and peas and mint was probably my favourite (also ironically the one I didn’t get the cookbook name for, alas).

There was David’s Tea tasting (caramel corn flavour!), ice pops (I tried the grapefruit and didn’t like it, but I hear the peach rum is good), and when we left, a table full of books.

There were lots of great books to choose from, but the highlight for me was the ARC for Nilanjana Roy’s The Hundred Names of Darkness. I reviewed (and loved!) The Wildlings a while back, and actually gasped and squee’d out loud to see the conclusion.

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Thanks to Penguin Random House Canada for the invitation to this event. I had a fantastic time and can’t wait for the next one!