The Marauders: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Midnight Release Recap

The Marauders is a feature where Book Yabber, Marci from The Plot Bunny and I will showcase our bookish adventures around New England. Whether it is a bookstore or a library, we wanted to discover new places to share with the bookish community. We each took an Animagus form. Can you guess who is who and what animal is each person's Animagus?

I was beyond excited to meet up with Elizabeth and Marci for one of the most epic days of the year! Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was released on July 31st which is also Harry Potter's and J.K. Rowling's birthday!!! I met up with Elizabeth at Harvard Square (aka Harvard Square) and we headed to John Harvard's for dinner. Rachel, Anna and Marci met up with us shortly after. I ordered a Lady Grey martini in honor of the Grey Lady, which by the way, is perfect for this Ravenclaw. For dinner I had a delicious plate of Butternut Squash Ravioli.

Rachel and Anna parted ways with Elizabeth, Marci and I. Despite it being almost 8:00 p.m., the ladies and I ventured toward Harvard Book Store, which is my favorite indie book store. The line for the tickets didn't start yet but we wanted to be some of the very first people to obtain the book at midnight. Tickets were being handed out at 10:00 p.m. in the order people stand in line. We ended up being in the front of the line and boy was it worth it.

@bettylouwh0, @marcilialoubach and I are first in line for the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child midnight release at @harvardbookstore. #HarryPotter #HarryPotterAndTheCursedChild #Potterhead #HPatHBS #midnightparty #HPScriptBook

A photo posted by Nicole Moy (@nicolecmoy) on Jul 30, 2016 at 5:16pm PDT

Elizabeth and I needed to use the restroom so we walked toward Starbucks to order some Butterbeer Frappucinos. I ended up getting Luna on my cup and had Bellatrix written for Marci. When Elizabeth and I walked back to Harvard Book Store, the line was getting pretty lengthy. I am so glad we got there earlier and Marci held the spot for us.

After a couple of hours of waiting in line for the tickets, we were notified that the we couldn't get our tickets until the list for the pre-orders was done printing. We didn't end up going into the store into around 10:30. However, it was definitely worth the wait. We got our photo taken at the photo booth and worked on a Harry Potter trivia sheet that we can fill out to enter to win a $50.00 gift card to Harvard Book Store. There were also house tables serving cream soda, pretzels and other treats.

Photo credit: Harvard Book Store

Elizabeth, Marci and I counted all the snitches around the store and we were in the queue at 11:45 p.m. to wait in line for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. OMG was that wait torturous! My heart was pounding so fast when there was only 6 minutes left before the boxes were opened. I was able to capture many photos and video of the epic midnight release party!

So this happened on Sunday around midnight. Throwback to an amazing Harry Potter midnight release! #latergram #HPatHBS #HarryPotterAndTheCursedChild #HarryPotter #midnightparty #HPScriptBook #potterhead #themarauders3

A video posted by Nicole Moy (@nicolecmoy) on Aug 2, 2016 at 6:26pm PDT

Elizabeth, Marci and I took so many selfies all night long. My favorite has to be the one with us holding Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in our hands! We got the book around 12:01 and were out of the store super quick before heading home. This was Elizabeth's first midnight release party and I am so happy that she had a blast. In fact, we all had a fantastic time!

Top left and bottom right photo credit: Elizabeth, top right photo credit: Harvard Book Store

What did you do for the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child? Did you attend a midnight release party or throw a Harry Potter with friends? Did you marathon the movies or books?

If you want to follow The Marauders on social media, please check out the hashtag, #TheMarauders3, for pictures about our bookish adventures. We solemnly swear we are up to no good. Mischief Managed.

Photo credit: Marci

The Eighth Epic Story: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Happy birthday Harry Potter and J.K. Rowling! The day has finally come and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is out! For those who cannot attend the live show, they can read the play script about what happens 19 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. This is an extension of the epilogue found in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I cannot wait to dive into this book. I scheduled this post to go up at midnight on July 31st. If you are reading this around midnight on July 31st, I am in line to get my book at Harvard Book Store.

Harvard Square located in Cambridge turned into Hogwarts Square for the release of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Starbucks sold Butterbeer Frappucinos and Grendel's Den sold wizard drinks such as Polyjuice Potion. A recap of my adventures will be posted sometime next weekend as part of the Marauders feature.

For those who don't know about the eighth book, check out more information below.

Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Author: J.K Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books (US), Little Brown UK
Publication date: July 31, 2016
Pages: 320

Synopsis (from goodreads.com):

Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a new play by Jack Thorne, is the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. It will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on 30th July 2016

It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn’t much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and father of three school-age children.

While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places.

Are you excited about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child? Did you attend a midnight release party? How did you celebrate Harry's and Rowling's birthday? Let me know in the comments below.

The Marauders: B-Fest Day

The Marauders is a feature where Book Yabber, Marci from The Plot Bunny and I will showcase our bookish adventures around New England. Whether it is a bookstore or a library, we wanted to discover new places to share with the bookish community. We each took an Animagus form. Can you guess who is who and what animal is each person's Animagus?

On Saturday, June 11th, I ended up meeting Elizabeth and Marci and Barnes & Noble near the Burlington Mall for some bookish fun. If you didn't know already, Barnes & Noble had B-Fest Teen Book Festival nationwide which started on Friday, June 10th and spanned all weekend long. It was the first festival Barnes & Noble hosted and it's pretty awesome that all the Barnes & Nobles nationwide had author events, trivia, swag, etc. Unfortunately, it was poorly marketed. If you didn't have a twitter account or aren't active on social media, you pretty didn't know about the event.

Elizabeth, Marci and I were able to pick up a few things at Barnes & Noble when swag was put out at 11 am. We obsessed taking pictures with Stalking Jack the Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco because the novel is fantastic! Afterwards, we headed to the Cheesecake Factory for some lunch and dessert. I got my usual Thai Lettuce Wraps and a Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake slice.

Because we had a lot of time to kill, the ladies and I decided to venture off to the Disney Store and took quite a good chunk of time there browsing the store. We took many photos with the castle and with stuffed animals. We counted how many Disney characters were in the three character trees.

Bottom left and right photo credit: Elizabeth

Claire's was next and I can't tell you when the last time I visited Claire's. I probably haven't been there since middle school or high school. Elizabeth, Marci and I took many photos of us trying on flower headbands and random hats and even a veil! Marci had fun with a parasol.

Left and right photo credit: Marci

A Starbucks trip was in need of next and Marci and Elizabeth ordered Pink Drinks off the secret menu while I ordered a Latte Macchiato. They were super delicious and they were just the pick me ups we needed to continue our day.

Photo credit: Marci

The ladies and I returned back to Barnes & Noble and were surprised that much of the swag was untouched. Again, it's because of the poor marketing. We decided to pick up three of some of our favorite reads at Barnes & Noble and made a book wheel showcasing the books we chose. Marci also went picture happy styling all of the chosen books. Aren't they wonderful looking?

Photo credit: Marci

I chose All the Feels by Danika Stone, Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch and Fangirl by Rainbow. I totally forgot to add Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum and The Start of Me and You by Emery Lord. However, I was only limited to three books. Contemporary is my favorite genre and these books mean so much to me. All the Feels and Fangirl are about fandom love which I can relate to so much since I am OBSESSED with Harry Potter. Love & Gelato, on the other hand, reminds me of memories when I was in Florence, Italy.

However, Elizabeth's choices of To All the Boys I've Loved Before by Jenny Han and When We Collided by Emery Lord are also fabulous. I absolutely love both of them and they are contemporaries I would recommend to everyone. I also really want to read The Museum of Heartbreak by Meg Leder that Marci chose.

Photo Credit: Marci

Have you read any of the book pictured above? If so, what did you think of them? If not, which books do you want to pick up in the near future? Were you able to attend B-Fest this month? Leave a comment below!

If you want to follow The Marauders on social media, please check out the hashtag, #TheMarauders3, for pictures about our bookish adventures. We solemnly swear we are up to no good. Mischief Managed.

Photo credit: Elizabeth

The Marauders #3: Harvard Square

The Marauders is a feature where Book Yabber, Marci from The Plot Bunny and I will showcase our bookish adventures around New England. Whether it is a bookstore or a library, we wanted to discover new places to share with the bookish community. We each took an Animagus form. Can you guess who is who and what animal is each person's Animagus?

On Saturday, May 21th, I ended up venturing to Harvard Square in Cambridge to meet up with Elizabeth, Marci and Rachel to celebrate Rachel's belated birthday. We ended up meeting around 11:30 for brunch at PARK Restaurant and Bar which, by the way, has some of the best food and drinks around the area. The Lavender Moon cocktail drinks are to die for. Marci first introduced Elizabeth and me to them last year and I am addicted!

Next stop is to The Curious George Store which is a wonderful store with toys and books. They have a good amount of Harry Potter items there as well as Out of Print t-shirts. The ladies and I ventured to the Harvard Book Store and looked at Classics, MG and YA novels. I love how downstairs there is a used book section with remainders. Harvard Book Store is one of my favorite indie bookstores to visit. Their selection is pretty good and they host some of the best author events. Their frequent buyer program is pretty awesome too. For every $100 you spend, you earn 20% off a single purchase up to $200.

One bookstore to the next, the ladies and I decided to visit The COOP at Harvard. As we were crossing the street, we ended up getting separated. Elizabeth and Rachel already crossed the street while Marci and I were waiting for the light to change. It was pretty funny since Marci was taking pictures of Elizabeth and Rachel while we waited for the crosswalk light. How funny is it that both Elizabeth and Rachel have brown hair, a similar haircut and glasses?

At The COOP, we ended up looking at the MG and YA books downstairs. Rachel of course was posing with her favorite Sarah Dessen books. Rachel also has a wicked cool shirt that she wanted to pair up with some books. She ended up choosing The Fault in Our Stars and The Divergent series.

A birthday celebration isn't complete unless there is a sweet treat. Sweet Cupcakes is across the street and the ladies and I each purchased a cupcake to enjoy. I ended up getting a lemon raspberry one. Delicious! After chatting and catching up, we departed ways. Of course we are looking forward to the next meetup. Thank you, Rachel, for being the honorary guest Marauder!

If you want to follow The Marauders on social media, please check out the hashtag, #TheMarauders3, for pictures about our bookish adventures. We solemnly swear we are up to no good. Mischief Managed.

Image taken by Elizabeth

The Marauders: Trip to Salem

The Marauders is a feature where Book Yabber, Marci from The Plot Bunny and I will showcase our bookish adventures around New England. Whether it is a bookstore or a library, we wanted to discover new places to share with the bookish community. We each took an Animagus form. Can you guess who is who and what animal is each person's Animagus?

On Saturday, April 16th, Marci, Elizabeth and I met up in Salem, MA. Salem is known for the Salem Witch Trials but is also know for other things. Salem is rich in history and has some of the best shops and restaurants around. Red's Sandwich Shop, which is one of the best places for breakfast in Salem. Seriously, this is where the locals go. I ended up getting a delicious Eggs Florentine.

After a delicious brunch, the Marauders decided to venture to The Trolley Depot, which is a good place to check out fandom mugs, Salem related souvenirs and more. Wicked Good Books is the local bookstore in Salem. They have new and used books and once in awhile, they host author events. Elizabeth, Marci and I were fortunate to attend the Halloween Teen Scream event back in October at the Hawthorne Hotel. If you can't find a title that you're looking for, Wicked Good Books will be happy to place an order for you.

The Coven's Cottage is the place to go for your apothecary needs. From Nettle to Mandrake root, you can pretty much find anything you need for a spell or potions. The Marble Faun Books & Gifts is a cute little store full of books and gifts. We definitely found a lot of bunnies around the town. Marci has been counting how many bunnies are in Salem and this is definitely a place to find a bunch of bunnies. However, we did find a place that has a room full of bunnies but more about that later.

Afterwards, we ended up taking photos of Stickwork which is a Peabody Essex Museum stick installation created by Patrick Dougherty, which located across the street from the Hawthorne Hotel. This is a fabulous piece of artwork and also great area in Salem to take photos. Marci's black and white photos are amazing and it have the right amount of eeriness to them. Stickwork in black and white definitely reminds all three of us of Kim Ligett's Blood and Salt. If only Stickwork was made out of corn stalks.

Remember Salem and Wynott's Wands are the places to go for your Harry Potter needs. Remember Salem has everything Harry Potter related from books to T-shirts to aprons.You can even get Butterbeer here. Okay, it's Butterscotch soda but it's the closest thing you can get to the Butterbeer at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Remember Salem also a small selection of Doctor Who and Game of Thrones fandom items. There's even a Crown & Shield Hall in the back of the store for those who want to host an event such as a birthday party. Complete with a Great hall decor, the Crown & Shield Hall has a potion room attached.

Wynott's Wands is the like walking into Ollivanders. Not only are there wands at Wynott's, but other trinkets such as wax seals and candles are sold here. The lady working at Wynott's definitely is super nice and was very mystical. We even saw two birds named Bill and Fred. This is a good place to take dueling pictures too.

Photo Credit: Random person using Elizabeth's phone

Dueling | Photo Credit: Marci

Our next stop was at the Jolie Tea Company. This new tea store/cafe is the best place for tea in Salem. Not only can you buy loose leaf tea by the ounce but you can have afternoon tea or Le Petite Tea. The ladies and I opted for Le Petite which includes a pot of tea of your choice, one scone, one madeleine and one macaron. I chose Gyokuro Jade Dew tea, a lemon scone, a plain madeleine and an Earl Grey macaron. Remember those bunnies I was mentioning earlier? Well, Jolie's bathroom has decked out with bunny wallpaper. I think we lost count of how many bunnies we found in the city of Salem.

Photo Credit for Top and Right Photos: Marci

I felt bad because I drank so much tea. Pretty much I was scouting out for a bathroom after popping into Five Hands Curiosity Shoppe. Sorry Elizabeth and Marci. I have a bladder the size of a pea. Five Hands is part museum and as the site mentioned, "a menagerie of dark, macabre antique, vintage, oddities and unusual items from all over the world." It hard a very eerie vibe and the punk/metal music there definitely reminded me of my high school days.

After Five Hands, we headed to the Old Burying Point Cemetery, which is the oldest cemetery in Salem (1637) and contains the graves of witchcraft trial judge John Hathorne and a Mayflower Pilgrim. Most of the gravestones are weathered, are hard to read or are cracked but there are still some intact. Marci was super sad that her favorite tree is now part stump :(.

During our trip into Salem, the ladies and I visited Silver Moon Comics and Harrison's Comics & Pop Culture. I love looking at all the latest comics, graphic novels, manga and pop culture items such as Funko Pops and figurines. Elizabeth fell in love with all the Star Wars items and Marci was eying a Snow White poster. I definitely need to complete my collection of Sailor Moon manga soon. Elizabeth found a Jules, the miniature mechanical horse from the book, Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell. Let's say that we always find things that remind us of books.

Overall, the Salem trip was very relaxing and the Marauders and I walked over 4.5 miles. There were a lot of places that we didn't end up going to but I am pretty sure we will visit Salem again in the near future.

If you want to follow The Marauders on social media, please check out the hashtag, #TheMarauders3, for pictures about our bookish adventures. We solemnly swear we are up to no good. Mischief Managed.

Photo Credit: Elizabeth

The Marauders: A Bookish Adventures Feature

I am so glad to introduce a new blog feature that Elizabeth from Book Yabber, Marci from The Plot Bunny and I have been planning for some time. The Marauders is a feature where Elizabeth, Marci and I will showcase our bookish adventures around New England. Whether it is a bookstore or a library, we wanted to discover new places to share with the bookish community. We each took an Animagus form. Can you guess who is who and what animal is each person's Animagus?

On Saturday, March 12th, Elizabeth, Marci and I made a trip to Medfield to visit the largest children's book store in New England. Park Street Books and Toys is a cute store with several rooms full of wonderful toys and books. I pretty much freaked out when I saw the sign with Hogwarts, Narnia and Camp Half-Blood on it. It's the perfect sign for a lawn!

The first floor houses toys and new books. You can find picture books, children's school work books, Middle Grade and Young Adult books. There's even a cute pottery room attached to the store where little ones can paint ceramic sculptures and can get they fired up! It's such a great idea for a birthday party or a weekend activity.

On the second floor, one can find at least five rooms and a couple hallways full of used books! The prices are outstanding! Paperbacks go for under $3.00 and hardcovers under $9.00. If you're lucky, you can score some major finds in the $1.00 bookcase in one of the hallways. Some of the rooms have seating for readers to flip through a book before they buy.

After Park Street Books and Toys, the girls and I ventured to Fancy That in Walpole. Fancy that is a tea room, gift shop and vintage rental location all in one. Elizabeth, Marci and I had a reservation for afternoon tea in the yellow room.

All I can say is that Brad and Sarah know what they are doing! The room is beautifully decorated with an array of wonderful things like tea cups and saucers, a vintage couch, a pink tree with Marie Antoinette ornaments and a wonderful chandelier. The tea cup and saucer settings were perfect. And how cute is the Easter egg tablecloth? I also adored the teapot cozies to keep the teapot warm and the food was delicious.

We lucked out and had lemon poppy seed bread, tart cherry heart shaped scones, cucumber sandwiches, chicken sandwiches and apple cheddar on raisin bread with honey pecan cream cheese sandwiches. For the desserts we had parfaits of raspberry mousse with lemon curd and vanilla cake, pistachio french macarons and key lime coconut cupcakes.

The girls and I are definitely planning to visit Fancy That in the near future. It's a place that you must visit if you love tea! Brad and Sarah made sure our first experience was unforgettable. They even served us pink hot chocolate and always made sure that we were enjoying our stay at Fancy That. Let's just say that this will not be our last visit.

Fancy That's gift shop is too cute with all the vintage tea cups, amazing Harney & Sons teas and plenty of other goodies. Find a time in your life to sit back and relax. Keep calm and drink some tea.

If you want to follow The Marauders on social media, please check out the hashtag, #TheMarauders3, for pictures about our bookish adventures. We solemnly swear we are up to no good. Mischief Managed.

The Marauders | Photo Credit: Elizabeth