Let’s talk about anything bookish!
Finally, I’m sharing my wrap-up post for this AMAZING EVENT! I was mostly in vacation mode in the month of September and the first couple of weeks in October had me catching up to real life!
Anyway, I had an awesome time at the Historical Romance Retreat (HRR)! This is the first bookish event that I attended for ALL THE DAYS and I LOVED it so much! I have been to other bookish events, but normally, I would always get the weekend pass instead of the full event!
The Hotel
HRR was held at the historic Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, CA! Prior to this event, I did not know that there was an amazing place right out of history in Riverside! Granted, I live about 2 hours away (in LA traffic), so I don’t go to Riverside often. Let me tell you, this place is amazing and I felt like I was transported to another time! Think the Mask of Zorro time!
Seriously, this hotel has a lot of courtyards and weird hallways! While I did not take photos of the inside, I was able to do so with my room!
The Event
There were a bunch of workshops that we could attend during the event. I was able to go to a few and I also went to all the evening parties! It was really fun! Because this was my first time going, I was a bit hesitant about dressing up – until I saw everyone else who dressed up for the day! While it is not required to dress up, a lot of attendees did and I wish I also dressed up! I did for the masquerade, though!
I also wished I took a lot of photos of the other attendees but I was too timid to ask them! I should have asked but I did not grow any balls until the last ball (LOL).
Evening Parties
There was the SpeakEasy party, the Highlanders and Highwaymen Gambling Night, and the Grand Masquerade Ball!
I dressed up a bit for the SpeakEasy party but not for Gambling Night. I also won a gift basket from Laura Landon at the Gambling Night!
Grand Masquerade Ball
I made a huge mistake in dressing up all day Saturday, leading up to the Grand Masquerade Ball and it was – hell! I did not expect that wearing a freaking corset ALL DAY was going to be exhausting – and it was!
The People
I think the best thing about HRR is the people and the authors! Because it is a small event (under 200 attendees), there was a lot of mingling! I love getting to know other historical romance readers and also bumping into authors at breakfast, lunch and dinner!
I met and had breakfast, lunch, and dinner with the following authors: Kathryn LeVeque, Amy Jarecki, Collete Cameron, Lauren Smith, Annabelle Anders, and Stella Riley. It was fun just chatting about books and everything with them!
I also met up with one of my favorite authors, Sabrina Jeffries! It was fun meeting with her again! Also, she remembered my name for the second time! haha
I met up with another reader, Tracie and I basically tagged along with her since I didn’t know anyone at the event! I also met Sharlene from OSRBC! I had no idea she was going and she’s actually a frequent commenter on this blog! I also had lunch with her that first day!
And lastly, this awesome shot with the two models at the Grand Masquerade Ball was EPIC! Suuuuure, I think I needed a stool! LMAO
Conclusion
Overall it was an AWESOME event! I will definitely go again next year and this time, I will be fully prepared!
Also, I did not have time to take photos of the books that I got, I will do so at a later time! hahaha, I seriously HAVEN’T UNPACKED all the books and swag that I got from last month! Eeep!
What is your favorite book event?
Do you attend a lot of book events?
This event looks so cool! I would love to go, and I don’t even read romance. Anything with fancy hotels and costumes is my kind of event.
Aj @ Read All The Things! recently posted…The Sunday Post #168
Yes, it was cool! I invite you to attend next year!
Ohhh my gosh, looks like it was absolutely amazing. And you looked STUNNING!!! Love from your jealous mom friend in yoga pants. Haha!
LOL thanks Caiti!! I invite you to come next year! It was fun dressing up!
Wonder post! I would have loved to go to something like this!
Thanks! YES! This was an awesome event!
HRR was so much fun! I was so glad I met you & it was a freak coincidence that I did! Yay! I didn’t dress up for the days, but I also felt that the dresses I brought were not dressed up enough. People got so fancy. Your dress was gorgeous! And that hotel was fantastic. Perfect for the occasion.
Yes! It was such a wonderful coincidence, Sharlene! Maybe next year we can have an OSRBC meet-up or something! I totally forgot to post about it on the OSRBC group. I’m sure there were others who went!
I also agree! EVERYONE dressed up pretty great and I felt like a dud… It was my first year attending and I didn’t know what to expect! Next year will be different, I hope!
Wow, this sounds like a fantastic event. And you look GORGEOUS in that dress! 🙂
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted…Sunday Post: Book Pre-order Incentives & Giveaways Galore – 10/28/18
Thank you so much, Nicole! 🙂