The bookstore celebrated the release of Onyx Storm, the third instalment in Rebecca Yarros’s bestselling Fourth Wing series.
The launch of the latest instalment of the book series Onyx Storm at midnight on 21 January drew a queue of book lovers to Waterstones in Kingston, with fans eager to get their hands on a copy of the year’s most anticipated fantasy novel.
Kingston Waterstones has hosted several events of this kind, including a midnight launch of Sarah J. Maas’s latest book last year and a ‘Meet the Author’ opportunity with Sally Rooney.
On 17 March, the bookstore is planning a midnight launch party for Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping, the second prequel to The Hunger Games series.
“We’re trying to do more events in general because we love the Kingston community,” Margaret Thomas, the events coordinator, said.
She added: “Every time we have had a launch event, there is such a nice kind sense of community that brings everyone together.”
Upon arrival, fans were given drink tokens and raffle tickets. A specialised drink station offered Onyx Storm-themed cocktails and mocktails, keeping everyone refreshed as they enjoyed their night.
The evening was packed with activities, including friendship bracelet-making, tote bag decorating and bookmark crafting, creating a buzzing atmosphere for book lovers of all ages.
“It is nice just to get everyone together, do different crafts and build excitement for the release of a book,” Thomas said.
Many attendees embraced the fantasy theme, arriving in costumes inspired by the books or proudly wearing their Fourth Wing merchandise.
The launch attracted a large crowd, with some fans travelling from as far as Slovenia to be among the first in line to buy the book.
“We wanted to go on holiday, but the event was just like a bonus, so we decided to come here,” Ava Brezovec, a Slovenian fan, said.
Stephen Fujiwara, an American fan visiting the UK on a business trip, seized the opportunity to purchase the book before flying to New York on Friday with his wife to attend Rebecca Yarros’s big launch party, where the author will host a Q&A session.
“We will see Rebecca on Friday in New York for her big release party, so I need to get through it because there will be a lot of people talking about it and I don’t want to be spoiled,” Fujiwara said.
Ella Osborn and her friend, Ava Aldridge, who took the following day off work to read the book, travelled three hours from Bournemouth to attend the event.
Aldrige said: “We both read the first and second, book and with how the second one ended, we needed to get the third one straight away.”
“I don’t want to wait all day when it comes out,” she added.
Later in the evening, Aldridge was lucky enough to win one of the two limited-edition Onyx Storm t-shirts in the raffle, adding an extra highlight to a memorable launch night.
The excitement peaked at 10pm with a book quiz, followed by eager fans lining up to collect their long-awaited copies at 11pm and have a chance to win a raffle prize, which included a limited-edition signed copy of the book for one lucky winner.
