Never Say Goodbye {cover reveal + book spotlight!}

Guys, it's a very exciting day! Because today, I get to share with you ALL the information about Sarah Grace Grzy's new book, Never Say Goodbye!

I loved Sarah Grace's first book, Live Without You, and I just know I'm going to adore this one too.  If it's anything like LWY, there will be feels, there will be smiles, and there will be warm, snuggly, happy feelings for days.  ((I'm kind of really excited, can you tell?))

The release date isn't until Spring of 2020, but for now we can all get excited over this synopsis and drool over the cover (which you'll get to see in just a minute!)


They say time heals all wounds. But he was finding it a poor painkiller.
Tyler Collens has seen grief and loss in his years of experience as a paramedic—but he never expected it to touch his life in such a personal way. The death of his wife eighteen months ago shook his steady world and changed him in more ways than he can count. Time and routine have steadied his feet, and he looks toward the future as he raises his infant daughter—but the past has a tighter grip on him than he knows.
Alyvia Emmerson has never been certain of who she is or where she belongs. Her dad’s abandonment as a teen broke a fragile piece of her heart, but ten years later, she has moved on. Living on her own, she at last has a project to devote herself to: revitalizing a shabby bookstore. But she didn’t count on her dream job revealing the shattered pieces of herself she thought mended long ago.
In this sophomore novella featuring beloved characters from Live Without You, Sarah Grace Grzy explores themes of grief and hope in a story that touches both the heart and spirit.


Are you excited?  Because I'm excited!



You can add the book to your Goodreads shelf here!

And now

the moment

you've all

been waiting for.

It's time

to see

the cover!





*screams* *cries* *dies over the beauty*

It's so pretty you guyssssss!!!

I can't wait to dig into this book as soon as I can get my hands on it which probably won't be until next year but until then, I'll just be here, staring at this cover and dreaming about the beauty inside. 

Connect with Sarah Grace!
Newsletter signup ~ Goodreads author page ~ Goodreads profile page ~ Twitter ~ Instagram

So, what do you think?  Are you as excited as I am?  Do you love the cover?  Tell me all the things in a comment down below!

~ Abby

Farewell, September

September has come and gone and I'm kinda sad, tbh.

But look!  I'm doing a wrap-up, and it's on time.  I'm winning at life.

While August wasn't the best month ever, September showed up and turned that around.  I had a pretty great month, all things considered.  I read and watched some awesome stuff, celebrated my 21st birthday, and God showed me a lot of things that I'm pretty sure have changed my life.  So.  That's exciting.

- reading -

I only finished 5 books this month, which is a far cry from last month's 11.  But that's okay, because they were all great.

I started out the month by re-reading Prince Caspian and having an absolutely magical time.

I've always been a self-proclaimed Narniac, but it's been years since I read this book.  But when I got my Pixie Dust box, I watched the movie again with my siblings and was caught up in ALL the nostalgia, so I dove into the story again.  And gosh, it was great.  My review is all ramble-y and fangirl-y, but you can read it here if you'd like. (Also Caspian is my sweet baby angel boy and I love him a lot)

The September pick for the book club that I host was As Old As Time and wowww.  I didn't expect to love it as much as I did.

Beauty and the Beast mixed with a murder mystery mixed with a social commentary that I didn't hate = a winner in my book.  The characterization was perfect, it filled in plot holes without changing the story, and the castle life scenes were so PURE and SOFT and I'm really happy.

- writing -

I'm loving this story so much, y'all.  I've finished the first draft of chapter 3, so here's where the adventure really begins, yay!

Here's a nice little Clyde aesthetic because he's my best boy and I love him.

- watching -

This month brought with it some amazing movies and shows, some recommended by friends and some I found while scrolling Netflix.  aka the best time waster next to YouTube.

I have to gush for a minute about Mystery 101, my newest favorite Hallmark Movies & Mysteries series.  Amy and Travis are the //softest// and I adore them.

((you'll find me sobbing in the corner over this gif))  The mysteries are awesome, the characters are great, and it quickly worked its way up to my top spot of HMM series.  Clearly I just really love a good murder mystery.  No one is surprised.

Early in the month, my friend Jenni (go check her out, she's pretty awesome) and I had a bit of a movie night and watched her favorite movie, Much Ado About Nothing.  And it was ICONIC.

The sheer number of times I thought "I LOVE this trope" is reason enough to recommend this movie.  It's classic comedy, quick witted and snappy, with a sweet love story to boot.  Definitely going to be watching this one again.

While on a random Netflix browse, I came across The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and as I feel like it's a cultural icon, I decided to check it out.  And yes, I sobbed through the last half hour and I'm not ashamed.

This movie is really stinking sweet, okay?  The diversity between the girls, their friendship (it's so PURE), the family relationships and the struggles they all go through, I just.  I'm emotional, okay?  (There's some content, but really only in Bridget's parts, lol.)

And finally mom introduced us this month to Remington Steele, which is sometimes frustrating but overall completely charming.  I'm always a sucker for con-man stories, and this one has murder mysteries on top of it.  (It's not squeaky clean, jsyk, but it is a barrel of fun)

Yes, that is baby-faced Pierce Brosnan. And yes, his hair is fabulously fluffy.

- listening -

Here's my September playlist, it's a complete mixed bag of music, but I kind of love it. xD

- doing -

A lot of Disney and a lot of TV watching, haha!  My sister had a surgery this month that's taken her awhile to recover from (she's okay, but she's been couch-ridden for two weeks) and thus, I've been watching a lot of TV with her. xD  Which has been pretty chill and nice, tbh. 

- blogging -

Two whole posts this month wooooo

- the seven questions book tag -
- 13 reasons why blog tour + freedom review -

But hey, I really like those two posts, so. Who's really winning?

((it's not me, I'm not winning))

I do want to blog more, I do!  And I hope to this month.  I have a few ideas for some blog post series that hopefully I will actually get to writing.  xD

But no matter what happens, I'm glad this blog exists.  Because even though I never seem to actually post on it more then twice a month, I really love this little piece of the internet.  And I can't give enough thanks to y'all who stick with me through everything. <3

(and hey, look, Psych gifs are back in action. all's right with the world xD)

- Abby



Freedom Book Review - 13 Reasons Why Blog Tour

September is National Suicide Prevention Month.  I thank God every day that I haven't been personally touched by the tragedy of suicide, but every day, thousands and thousands of people are hurt by it.  It's an epidemic, and it's heartbreaking.

So, Faith Potts used the gift that God gave her, wrote a book, and shared her message.  Then she teamed up with her friend Kaitlyn Krispense, and together, they built a blog tour.  Then, I signed up to review Faith's book and take part in the blog tour, and here we are today.  This is something special, y'all.

 

 So here we go, on to the review!


Freedom



Author: Faith Potts
Genre: Contemporary [romance? I guess?]
Content: Several attempts at suicide
Main Characters: James Green, Alex Lorance

Synopsis:
Having just returned to American soil from the desert sands of the Middle East, James Greene is done with his life. 'Double amputee' doesn't seem like a strong enough phrase to label the physical and emotional pain he bears. Add the lack of love and communication with his family members, the demons that haunt him day and night, and he can find nothing worth living for. Ending it all is the only way out. 

Alexandria Lorance is a not-so-ordinary physical therapist, content with aiding in her patients' recoveries. Her work gives her fulfillment, but alone in the silence, she still endures the hidden scars of a past, unhealthy relationship. Reminding herself that true healing is found in Christ alone, she seeks to show kindness and love to everyone she meets.


When these two broken ones' paths intersect, the spark of friendship is ignited, bringing hope and joy to both. Can they step out of the darkness of suffering and into the freedom of grace?


A Marine, broken by war. A therapist, scarred by words. A chance meeting in a parking lot bonded them together. But can love grow in these two hurting hearts? Or are they truly too broken to ever find lasting happiness?

Add on Goodreads ~ Purchase on Amazon

What I Thought:

^ me, dead after the excellence of this book while my family drags me through the rest of my life

This is my third book of Faith's, and she is QUICKLY becoming one of my favorite contemporary authors.  Having read Dandelion Dust last month, I had a feeling that this one was going to make me cry.  And I was right.

This story was so //beautiful//.  Each character's struggles and successes felt real and true and I was an emotional mess the whole time I was reading it.  James and Alex are the cutest and purest ship and I adore them so much.  (their banter! I love them!) The side characters had just enough development to make me care about them deeply without overtaking the story.  The conflict was engaging and I read the whole thing in basically a day because I couldn't put it down. 

I made my way through the story with tears in my eyes because of the darkness that James faced and the sheer beauty of God's light breaking through that darkness.  This book just reaffirmed to me how good God is.  I know these particular characters aren't real, but that doesn't mean that the story is untrue.  We serve such a great God who reaches into the hardest places and lifts us out.  He's never going to leave us, and that means everything.

So yes, I highly recommend this book.  If you like stories with ALL the feels, cute ships, and banter, you're going to love this book.

Overall Rating: 5 ice cream cones out of 5

About the Author:
Saved by God's grace, Faith Potts is a teenage writer and homeschool graduate, living with her family and beloved yellow labs in the North Carolina mountains. When she’s not weaving stories, consuming large amounts of coffee, reading stacks of books, or studying American Sign Language, she can be found laughing harder than is healthy, daydreaming, and—of course—blowing dandelions.

Connect with Faith: Her blog ~ Goodreads ~ Facebook ~ Instagram

This tour is, of course, happening in tandem with the release of Kaitlyn Krispense's novel, Beloved!



Life without love is hopeless.

Foster teen Cara Richards is unloved. With nothing left and nowhere to go, she is determined to find peace, no matter the cost. But despite her intentions, she’s tossed into another foster family and this time, there’s no going back to who she used to be. To make matters worse, one of her five new foster brothers is a Jesus freak, and she refuses to believe that God actually cares.

Her world is thrown upside down in a way she never expects. Though she prides herself on a resilient heart, her mind is lost adrift among a sea of questions: Is death really the answer? Does God care about someone as unworthy as me? Can everyone truly be loved, no matter what?

Add on Goodreads ~ Purchase on Amazon

There's also a GIVEAWAY going on for signed paperbacks of both Freedom and Beloved, and you can enter it right here!

And to close out this post, I thought I would share my own 13 reasons - 13 reasons why this world is worth living in. 

• Puppies
• Dancing to the music in the grocery store aisle
• Sunsets
• Cake (honorable mention to cheesecake)
• Mountains
• The moments when your heart is so full of happiness that you start crying
• Mashed potatoes
• Have you seen a picture of a baby panda lately?
• God's creation in general
• Pumpkin crème pie (I apologize if you're hungry now)
• Books
• A good solid hug from someone you really love
• Jesus paid my debts, what have I to fear?

I just want you all to know that I am always here to listen, for whatever you need.  Me and Jesus.  With wide-open arms.  I'm praying for you. <3

~ Abby

The Seven Questions Book Tag

It's time again for tags-we-weren't-tagged-for-and-are-doing-anyway, y'all!

I've been wanting to do another tag, and what should pop up on my subscription feed but this one on Olivia's blog.  So here we are.  I stole it.  I'm such a criminal.

I'm pretty excited about this one so let's dig on in.

1. What is your favorite genre to read?

Historically speaking, it's been fantasy, but nowadays, I'll pick up pretty much anything except horror, as long as its relatively clean and holds my attention. 

2. What was the best book you read for the first time last year?

Ooh, I like this question!  I read a lot of fantastic books last year, but the Blades of Acktar books really stuck out to me.

((listen, whoever is making blades of acktar memes... keep up the good work))

3. Do you remember when you first began to read? What drew you to it?

I started reading when I was around 4, so no, I don't really remember.  My parents (Dad, in particular) were huge readers, so I grew up surrounded by stories.  Mom says I used to just read whatever I could get my hands on.  It's about when I was 10 or 11 that I remember choosing what I wanted to read for myself.  I think what drew me was that the 26 letters I was learning to put in different orders could paint such a different picture in my head.  It fascinated me.  It's still what draws me, in a way.

4. How do you arrange your books?  By color? By title? By author? By series? By something else altogether?

I have an TBR "shelf" (meaning, all my unread books are stacked on my dresser) which is organized by color, and my actual bookshelf with all the books I've read and loved and decided to keep, which is organized by author last name and then series order.

5. New books or used books?

Yes! All the books! I will never deny that I love the smell and feel of a new book, but I will also never deny that I love the price of a used book.  So I'm not picky, I love them all.

6. What tends to send you into a reading slump?

When I read such a stunningly beautiful book that all I want to do is read that book again and again until I'm sick of it which is impossible because I love it so much.

No but seriously it's only ever new-favorite books that send me into reading slumps.  Because they're so good! How is anything supposed to compare?

7. What tends to pull you out of a reading slump?

Time.  Watching movies that remind me of my old-favorite books and then feeling like reading again.  After a little while, I'll miss reading too much to not go back to it immediately.

And there we have it friends! Seven questions about books and my answers to them. Shout-out to Olivia for providing tags ripe for stealing. (seriously though, go follow her, she's awesome and her blog is so gorgeous)

The questions, should you choose to steal this tag from me:

1. What is your favorite genre to read?
2. What was the best book you read for the first time last year?
3. Do you remember when you first began to read?  What drew you to it?
4. How do you arrange your books?  By color?  By title?  By author?  By series?  By something else altogether?
5. New books or used books?
6. What tends to send you into a reading slump?
7. What tends to pull you out of a reading slump?

 Pick a question and answer it in the comments! I want to know ALL your bookish answers! *heart eyes*

~ Abby

Farewell, August

It's been almost a year since my last wrap-up post.

Is it weird now?

Do I care?

All fantastic questions for another day.

Remember that whole ~ I'm going to post something once a week ~ speech I gave in April?  Well, basically life said "LOL" and threw me under the bus of busyness.  But!  At least for today, I'm alive, and God is good. (well, God's good every day, but you know what I mean)

August was a month of anxiety, but also one of music, family time, and lots of reading. and making breakthroughs in plotting my novel. which is always exciting.

- reading -

Indie August happened!! And brought with it a new favorite book, yay!

Dandelion Dust was so good it put me in a reading slump for the rest of the week.  I wish I could say I was kidding.  It was so PURE and so SAD and I teared up TWICE.  I finished on the first day of the readathon and nothing else felt like it would compare and so nothing else got read lolll.  But if you like contemporaries at all, you definitely need to read this book.


I FINALLY read Romanov and y'all?

I'M STILL SHOOK.  Nadine has done it again.  This book was stunning.  I read it in 4 hours in the middle of the night (oops) About halfway through, this was my face:

I gasped OUT LOUD at 2 AM because WOW.  I'm not going to spoil it if you haven't read it, but you should read it. *shoves it into your hands* GO FORTH AND ENJOY, FRIENDS.


And the last one I'm gonna shout-out (I read 10 books this month, y'all!!) is The Con Job.

If you've been around this blog for any length of time, you might know that Leverage is my favorite show.  My mom has had three Leverage novels for a long time, and recently when she purged her personal book collection, I snagged them for my own.  This month I finally picked up this one, and I loved it so much??  The crew were each perfectly in character, including lines like this one:

"That put Eliot right back to remember who she [Parker] was to him,

the crazy thief with the wild ways and the private heart.

The little sister he'd never had."

*cue my distant sobbing*

I love this little found family so much and seeing them in a new adventure was something I loved so, so much.  ((A little warning should you wish to pick this up for yourself, there is a good bit more profanity than the show, which makes me sad but oh well))

- writing -

Parker and Barrow is coming along swimmingly, thanks for asking. xD

No but really, I'm enjoying writing this book so much.  I really got to work on the magic system this month, which is always a fun part of writing fantasy.  I'm so ready to get to the part where the plot really gets going, and I'm almost there, but writing dialogue (particularly one-sided dialogue) is my nemesis, thus my characters always seem trapped in this limbo of half a conversation because I have social anxiety I don't know how to have a conversation like a normal human. *sigh*

But I can make pretty aesthetics so here, have one of those for my little traumatized beans.

- watching -

Dick van Dyke strikes again.  Diagnosis Murder has been playing on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, and having only seen a few episodes before, my sister and I started watching it and oh my gosh?  It's so good?  Mark Sloane is an ICON.

And let me say, it's very helpful that they're all doctors.  They can actually help people who have been hurt which is nice.  Also Jesse is my fave and also my son.

((I DIED reading this oh my gosh))

And of course, my good ol' tried and true, Murder, She Wrote was a staple this month.  It calms me down and makes me happy like no other can.

Jessica taking down the bad guys feels like I can do anything, and she's who I aspire to be in life, tbh.

((Also I'm forever sad that these two never had a crossover))

- listening -

 I rediscovered old-school Michael W. Smith this month and it's been a great ride.  "Rocketown" is my favorite song of the moment.

Here's an August playlist if you'd like to see what else I listened to obsessively this month.

- doing -

Dance started back full-force this month and I'm gonna be honest... my whole body HURTS.  Because let's be real, I'm old.  I'm creaky.  I need some oil in my joints, can I do that?  (but no really, I've loved going back, I missed it a lot.  especially tap.)

In other news, I can't WAIT for fall, y'all.  I'm sick and tired of 90+ degree weather and feeling like a steamed vegetable when I walk outside.

- blogging -

I put up 3 whole posts this month, be proud of me.  xD

- 5 indie books you should read (+ 5 on my tbr) -
- kees & colliers blog tour -
- midnight's curse blog tour -

Also, I randomly got a bunch of views in the past week from Canada and France, of all places.  So hi there, if you're new here.  Give me a follow if you wanna see me get a handle on my shenanigans, lol.

Will I get a more consistent schedule in the coming months?

(me, knowing I'm probably making more empty promises to myself)

We'll just have to see, won't we?

I really wanted to put together a wrap-up post this month, so here it is.  Did you like the layout?  Shall I do more like this in the future?  Let me know in a comment below!

(And yes, this month's regularly scheduled Psych gifs got highjacked in favor of Murder, She Wrote gifs instead, but let's face it, Jessica's always #relatable)

~ Abby

Midnight's Curse {blog tour + book review}

So we all know that retellings are my favorite thing.  And another one of my favorite things are books by Tricia Mingerink.  So when those things come together, it's perfection. 

So when Tricia opened up the blog tour for the second Beyond the Tales book, I jumped at the chance to read an advanced copy.  And it's available now so you can all read it!!!

And trust me, you want to read it.


Midnight's Curse



Author: Tricia Mingerink
Genre: Fantasy/fairytale retelling
Content: A little bit of violence and some blood.
Main Characters: King Alexander, Elara Ashen, Daemyn Rand
Placement in Series: Book 2

Synopsis:
High King Alexander rules the Seven Kingdoms of Tallahatchia—a divided nation on the brink of yet another war. When an invitation arrives from the king of Pohatomie, Alex knows it must be a trap, but could it also be the chance to unite the kingdoms he has been waiting for?
Daemyn Rand has lived a hundred years, served an arrogant prince, fallen in love with a princess, and lost himself somewhere along the way. He has already died for his loyalty. Will standing at the high king’s side cost him his one chance to truly live?
Elara Ashen is a lowly, miserable servant. All she wants is to spend even one night in a fancy dress dancing with the high king. When she is offered a pair of glass slippers, it seems that all her dreams have come true.
But dreams have a price, and gifts can be curses in disguise. What will it cost to stop this curse from tearing Tallahatchia apart yet again?
Fairy tales meet the Appalachian Mountains in this adventurous fantasy retelling of the classic Cinderella story.

Add on Goodreads ~ Purchase on Amazon ~ My review of book 1

What I Thought:

More than half of this book (as described by various gifs):

Alex @ Elara:


Elara @ Alex:


Zeke @ Alex:


Daemyn @ Zeke:


And I loved it.
This was so! good!  Back when I read Dagger's Sleep, I highly anticipated the next installment, because GOSH Tricia is good at retellings.  As a huge fan of the Grimm story, I loved every little nod to the original, and there were a lot of those!  Fun little Easter eggs were sprinkled all through the story, but it was still a completely original take.
My one complaint of the first book was that the world was hard to get into but not so in this second book!  Maybe that's because I was already a little bit familiar with Tallahatchia, but this world is so cool! And the development it got in this book? It was amazing.  We're centered in a different country this time, and where the first book was more of a questing adventure, this one was more court politics, and I love that this world carries both types of story equally well. 
Now,  I have to talk about the characters because oh my word I love them?  Daemyn and Rosanna's relationship is my fave, like... they almost rival Leith and Renna with how much I love them.  They're just the best.  And they communicate!  Bless!
I'm going to be honest here, I didn't care for Elara at all in the beginning.  But!  She grew! And developed! And I'm so proud of her now! She came a long way and had to endure all the consequences of her decisions, which is a beautiful thing to see play out in a story (even when I did feel bad for her xD).  Also, Alex annoyed me for a good portion of this book, but he was cursed, so I'll forgive him.
Again, I can't wait to see where we go next.  (Is Alex going to have a romance with one of the twelve dancing princesses? because I will be very happy if that happens)  Also I need Daemyn and Rosanna to get married and be the awesome kick-butt adventure couple they're destined to be.  Please.

Overall Rating: 4.5 glass slippers out of 5

About the Author:
Tricia Mingerink is a twenty-something, book-loving, horse-riding country girl. She lives in Michigan with her family and their pack of pets. When she isn't writing, she can be found pursuing backwoods adventures across the country.

Connect with Tricia: Her blog ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Pinterest

There's also a super exciting GIVEAWAY going on, where Tricia is giving away signed copies of both Dagger's Sleep and Midnight's Curse plus a Novelly Yours candle! You can enter by clicking this link right here!

A HUGE thank you to Tricia for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

~ Abby

The Kees & Colliers Blog Tour {+ book review}

Y'all should know by now that I love Kellyn Roth's books.  (And Kellyn as a person, but we're talking about the books today xD)  And today it's my turn to participate in the Kees & Colliers Blog Tour!

With the release of the prequel, Souls Astray, in May (you can read my review right here), and with the release of the third book in the trilogy right around the corner (this month!!!!), Troy, Adele, and Judy are having a moment and I, for one, am very excited for it.

And today, I have for you a review of the upcoming From Now 'Til Forever! (and yes, it was basically the cutest thing ever)


From Now 'Til Forever



(Kell's gorgeous covers strike again *heart eyes*)

Author: Kellyn Roth
Genre: Historical fiction
Content: None
Main Character: Troy Kee
Placement in Series: Book 3

Synopsis:
Troy Kee doesn’t know how he’ll settle back into life with his family after WWII, but he’s determined to do so. He feels that if he can just get his family back to their vineyard in France, everything will be all right. But his wife has other plans.
This charming novelette finale to the Kees & Colliers series highlights the difficulties of returning home after a war.

Add on Goodreads ~ Official website

What I Thought:

^ me, finally giving all these characters the hugs I've wanted to give them since book 1.
This was good and soft and everything I wanted.  Plus it was from the perspective of my boy Troy, which I loved.
We finally get to see all our faves being a happy family who loves and supports each other and I'm here for it!!  Judy is still the best, Cammy is adorable, Adele continues to grow and be amazing, and Troy, as always, is my fave.  Dads being soft with their daughters is my favorite thing ever.

Overall, the story was maybe shorter than I would have wanted (I want to spend ALL the time with this sweet little family), but it was a perfect ending to this series (and yes, I am going to go back and read the updated versions of books 1 and 2 and yes, I am looking forward to it).  I'm very happy.

Overall Rating: 5 pretty brooks out of 5

About the Author: Kellyn Roth lives on an Eastern Oregon ranch with her parents, little brothers, border collies, cats, and a few dozen cows and chickens.  Always a lover of a good story, and especially of telling one, she's been writing since she was seven and published her first novel at fourteen.  Now a homeschool grad, she divides her time between penning her next Christian historical fiction novel, creating professionally silly articles for her blog, and her actual life.  Actual life plays second fiddle sometimes, though.

Connect with Kellyn: Her website ~ Facebook ~ Twitter ~ Goodreads ~ Instagram ~ Pinterest ~ Youtube ~ Amazon ~ her personal blog ~ her review blog

Check out the rest of the Kees & Colliers series!

Book 1 - The Lady of the Vineyard


Book 2 - Flowers in Her Heart


Prequel 1 - Souls Astray


Prequel 2 - Goldfish Secrets


There's also a GIVEAWAY with some amazing Kees & Colliers prizes going on right now and you can enter by clicking this link right here!

A huge thank you to Kellyn for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for this honest review!

~ Abby