Favorite Quotes ~ Classics Edition

Classics are something that have always been a huge chunk of my reading experience.  And some of the most beautiful quotes in literature have come from classic novels.  (not that modern books don't have some beautiful quotes... but that's another day.)

So today, we're going to take a look at some of my favorite quotes from classics. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oof, those were hard to choose.  I'm sure as I read more classics, I'll find more favorite quotes, but for now, there's a few.  What's your favorite quote from a classic?

 

~ Abby 

[Insert a Creative Title] {a look back at April}

See, I knew this would happen.  I would get into May and this post would go to the backburner.  But hey, here I am.  With a less-than-stellar title, but a look back at a fairly good month!

April was busy (not nearly as busy as May is gonna be *siiiiigh*) but some fun things happened this month including:
~ EASTER HAPPENED.  And went off, praise God, with only a few hitches.
~ I entered the OYAN short story contest!  That's the first contest I've ever entered, and I'm pretty happy with my story (a prequel to the novel I'm working on), even if it doesn't win (which, tbh, is a pretty big possibility).
~ We had our dance picture week, which went way smoother than most in the past (and that's probably because I'm only in one class and we didn't do individual shots, so we just had to show up for group pictures, lol)
~ A ton of house stuff got done this month.  Like...
~ GETTING A NEW COUCH.  We needed one desperately (sitting to either side of our old one resulted in a slide to the side and down into the divot which made it nearly impossible to stand back up), so we got one! It's big and fluffy and perfect for curling up to watch a movie or read a book.  One of our church friends graciously took time out of his busy schedule to help us put it up and we're so grateful (because there's no way we could have done it alone, lol)
~ Setting up Mom's new Sleep Number bed (because she wanted to downsize from the king she had with Dad and now has a smaller [but still comfy] queen)
~ This section in May is probably going to be way longer because I'm sitting here looking at my planner and dying inside a little at the sheer number of days that are filled.

~ What I Read ~

 (click on the collage to go to my Goodreads shelf for more in depth reviews :D)
~ The Son of Neptune ~ I... I think this might be my favorite Heroes of Olympus book?  I haven't finished rereading them but good grief, I love this one. {5 stars}
~ At Her Fingertips ~ Such a good one!  I loved the romance :) {5 stars}
~ Little House in the Big Woods ~ A beautiful flash of nostalgia that I really needed.  {4 stars}
~ The Dressmaker's Secret ~ So sweet! I loved going back to see Alice as a kid after seeing her as a young adult.  {4.5 stars}
~ The Mark of Athena ~ I don't know how I felt about this, because I loved the kids being together, but I felt like this one dragged a little bit?  So idk, I gave it  {4.5 stars}

~ What I Watched ~

Okay so Mom downgraded our U-Verse this month, which is fine because we gained the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel so basically all we've been watching this month is things on that channel.  Like, all my favorite mystery shows.  Murder, She Wrote, Monk, Psych, ahhh I love them all.

Oh and I also saw Infinity War.  I have a lot of thoughts.

~ What I Listened To ~

All the feels this month!  Tons of Broadway was listened to (no surprise).  Some great Christian music.  Celtic Woman.  TV series.  Yeah.

~ What I Posted ~

The Get to Know Me Tag: Writer's Edition {about my writer-ly life}
What I'm Currently Reading {about the books that I was in the middle of}
At Her Fingertips {blog tour + book review} {about a super sweet story}


ALSO the YouTube channel run by my sister and myself now has 49 subscribers! And we're currently running a giveaway! IT'S VERY EXCITING.

Anyway, that's what happened in April!  What about y'all?  How was your month?

~ Abby

The Rebellion {blog tour + book review}

WHO'S EXCITED??

Yes, I totally am going to use Cinderella's Castle for every Livy-related post I make, lol.

Will I ever post anything but blog tours?  Eh, probably not.

But that's fine because Livy's new book comes out TOMORROW!!!

And because I got to be part of this awesome blog tour, you get a review right now!


The Rebellion

Author: Livy Jarmusch
Genre: Contemporary/Christian
Content: None
Main character(s): The royal family of Tarsurella, Vanessa Bennett, Hansen Fletcher

Synopsis:
Vanessa Bennett lands her dream job working at the Palace in Tarsurella. She struggles to balance everything on her plate: life in a new country, stressful deadlines, crabby co-workers, college classes at the local University, and blossoming feelings of romantic adoration toward her boss–King Addison. Keeping up with her To-Do list, while trying to earn respect in Addison’s male-dominated administration, presents its challenges. Nevertheless, she can’t help but fight a reoccurring thought and the excitement rising with it: is Addison interested in her?
Addison is adjusting to his new role as King. Rumors of a rebellious uprising among the youth in Tarsurella intensifies, as acts of violence and protest break out across the city. Addison is determined to uncover the hidden instigator who fearlessly blogs democracy-driven ideals with a secretive pen name. Will Addison discover and expose the fiery rebellion leader? Or will his efforts fail to stop the rebellious thoughts spreading like wildfire, causing a heartbreaking rift in his divided nation? 

Placement in Series: 2 of I don't know how many (I am so stoked for book 3, I can't even tell you) in the Tales of Tarsurella series.

What I Thought:

This was such a perfect follow-up!  Just as much fluffy feel-good-ness with a touch of angst, and just enough suspense and intrigue to keep the plot going.  I really, really enjoyed it!  Being back with these characters was great, and I love pretty much all the ships.  (Mostly the main one, tbh, I love them with all my heart)  It was so fun.

Favorite Quote:
"You can't change the world by becoming just like it."

Book Playlist:

This is the same playlist as the first book, only now it's a whole series playlist, has a few new songs, and a pretty new cover picture.  I really like this playlist a lot (guess who's been listening to this playlist for the past few days straight?  This gal!)

Will I Keep Reading? YESSS

Overall Rating: 4 Up-themed dates out of 5

About the Author:

Livy Jarmusch is a twenty-something author, singer, and songwriter. She enjoys crafting YA Christian fiction that is pure, lovely, inspirational, and of course, entertaining! When she's not writing, you can usually find her playing guitar, blogging, drinking peppermint tea, connecting with new friends, planning her next trip to Disney, or pinning images of Europe and Golden Retriever Puppies.
Connect with Livy via: her blog ~ Facebook ~ Instagram ~ Twitter ~ YouTube ~ Goodreads

PLUS there's a giveaway for a signed paperback of book one (!!!!) going on and you can enter it here!

Be sure to check out the Tales of Tarsurella!  They've been pure magic so far. <3

~ Abby

At Her Fingertips {blog tour + book review}

Today's the dayyyyy!

Kellyn Roth's newest book, At Her Fingertips, is officially available now! 


And because she's the sweetest person and sent me a review copy, you get a review too, yay!


At Her Fingertips


(isn't this cover gorgeous?)

Author: Kellyn Roth
Genre: Historical fiction
Content: A few mentions of unsavory things, but nothing explicitly shown
Main character: Alice Knight

Synopsis:
Debutante ​Alice Knight has a plan: have her first social Season in London, meet her husband, and marry him. As the Season begins, Alice’s feelings and common sense both begin to undermine her goals. But she must stick to her plan—and everyone, including God, had best stay out of it.
The plan looks even less appealing when a childhood friend reappears, an American author shows her a different kind of faith, and a charming gentleman is not all he should be.
The life she longs for is finally at her fingertips, but how can she know it's the right one?

What I Thought:

I don't even know how to describe my love for this story.
This was exactly what I wanted and not at all what I expected.  I didn't really read the synopsis, I just kind of wanted to go in blind and see what was behind that gorgeous cover.  Turns out it's a really sweet, twist-filled romance that gave me vibes of [the adaptation of] Jane Austen's Emma (I say the adaptation because I haven't actually read the book yet).  It was just what I was in the mood for, and I'm so glad of it.

The Characters:
Alice Knight - She's such a fun protagonist!  Seeing the world through her eyes was so fascinating.  I'm not much older than her now, and knowing that she had all that expectation on her even when she's just trying to figure herself out, I don't envy her a bit, lol.  But she was so witty and smart and not afraid to speak her mind, and I can appreciate all of that.

Peter Strauss - Okay, so, when he was first introduced, I thought he was old.  Like, in his forties or something.  So then certain plot points started occurring, I was confused because "isn't this dude forty or something?".  Come to find out, he's actually perfect and amazing and I love him and I spent the second half of the book shipping it so hard, y'all.

Kirk Manning - Sweet, innocent Kirk.  He deserves the world.

Gibson Ashfield - ew do I have to talk about him at all?

Favorite Quote:
"I've learned that if you can weather the hard times, more often than not the sun will shine when you need it most."

Overall Rating: 5 paint brushes out of 5

About the Author:

Kellyn Roth was born and lives on a cattle ranch in North-Eastern Oregon. Always fascinated with telling stories, she created crazy games to play with her little brothers as a child. Today, she writes Christian and Historical Fiction with a focus on truth and family.

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


ALSO there's a giveaway going on over at Kellyn's blog! 

Definitely go check it out! (Because don't those covers look so beautiful together? *heart eyes*)

Thanks so much to Kellyn for sending me a review copy of her lovely book!  I really enjoyed it, and I highly recommend it to all of you! 

~ Abby

What I'm Currently Reading

Today I just have a short post.  I've been working on my novel quite a bit lately and thus, when I realized that I should probably write a blog post, my creativity was quite dry.  So today I thought I'd just take a look at my Goodreads "Currently Reading" shelf and give y'all some of my impressions so far. 

Let's jump in!

A Light in the Window

{Jan Karon}

 

sequel to At Home in Mitford // feel-good // relatable // small town // sweet romance // 24% done

Little House in the Big Woods

{Laura Ingalls Wilder}



 

re-read // childhood favorite // happiness from the nostalgia // sibling love // 33% done

Love's Rescue

{Christine Johnson}

historical fiction // romance // pretty cover but meh inside so far // merchant ships // Florida setting // 10% done

The Mark of Athena

{Rick Riordan}

 

re-read // squad goals // all the ships // including an actual ship // favorite // 55% done

Miracles

{C.S. Lewis}

 

deep thinking // fascinating points // slow going // gorgeous cover // 21% done

Reintegration

{Ashley Bogner}

cover love // new book boyfriend // blogger friend's book // cool worldbuilding // 60% done

So there you have it!  Yes, I am in the middle of way too many books right now.  Yes, I'm floundering a little bit.  But hey, it gives me options, so it's not too terrible. 

 

What are you reading right now?  Ever been in the middle of way too many books?  Let me know in the comment section below!

 

~ Abby

The Get to Know Me Tag: Writer's Edition

I have another tag to do!  YAY!

The lovely Gray (go check out her blog, guys, she's so cool) tagged me for this... tag... I've been writing all day, okay, I need more words. xD  Anyway, this one is super fun because y'all get a glimpse into my writing! :D

The Rules

~ Link back to the person who created the tag ~ that would be Savannah (whose blog I also love)

~ Thank the person who tagged you ~ Thank you, Gray :D

~ Share the tag graphic (optional) ~ I made my own, but the original is gorgeous o.o

~ Tag eleven bloggers ~ oh dear, do I even know 11 people? xD


LET'S DO THIS

Vital Stats / Appearance

[pen] Name: Abigail McKenna

Nicknames: Abby is technically a nickname, but it's what I've been called by most people since birth, so a lot of my close friends/close family friends will refer to me as Abs, which I find hilarious as it's a nickname of a nickname.  xD

Birthday: September 29

Hair color and length: Dark brown with a good amount of red, that goes to just past my shoulders as of now, but I may get it cut after all the end of the year dance stuff that's easier with longer hair is done.

Eye color: It changes depending on what I'm wearing, but on normal days, it's blue-green with brown around my iris.  My eyes are special, but I love them.

Braces/piercings/tattoos: Never had to have them, don't have any, and no.

Righty or lefty: Righty

Ethnicity: Caucasian (very, very white)

Firsts

First novel written: It was a story about three siblings who discovered something cool in their grandmother's attic... I don't remember what it was, actually...

First novel completed: ^ that's it.

Award for writing: I've never won one, so I guess I'll have to get back to you on that one xD

First publication: Also have to get back to you on this one...

Conference: The One Year Adventure Novel Summer Workshop last year.  It was fantastic, and I absolutely recommend it if you're an OYANer.

Query/Pitch: None yet! (in case you haven't figured it out, my writing has always been pretty personal.  I rarely even share it with my family... honestly OYAN is one of the few places I've openly posted it to be read by other people)

Favorites:

Novel (that you wrote): I have a feeling it might turn out to be my WIP... but I haven't completed a novel in so long that I don't really have one.  I have special places in my heart for several of my stories, but none of those have actually been finished, so....

Genre: I know it's not so much a genre as it is an age category, but anything and everything middle grade!

Author: Ohhhh lots.  Melanie Dickerson, Avi, Lois Lowry, C.S. Lewis, Rick Riordan...

Writing music: Whatever I'm in the mood for at the moment.  Or my story's playlist.  Or movie soundtracks, or Broadway soundtracks, or Disney soundtracks, or... I listen to a lot of music.

Time to write: I wish I could say midday or morning or something but no, my brain always decides it's writing time at night.  Which does not help with sleeping because then I'm thinking about plot twists and next thing I know it's three and while I've gotten a lot of words down, I'm also exhausted.  *sigh*

Writing snack / drink: Anything salty (or candy) / water, for the most part.

Movie: uhhhhh at the moment, it's probably Star Wars... or Narnia... or pretty much anything Disney, but to be honest, I haven't watched many movies lately, so...?

Writing memory: It's not really about actually writing, per say, but it's probably one night when I was driving with my dad and we were talking about our stories to each other, and he was saying how he'd love to take me to a writer's conference someday, and it was just very peaceful and gentle and it's a nice memory to hold onto now. :)

Childhood book: I was obsessed with all things American Girl, so I guess I'll go with that, but I had too many to list here in any sort of timely fashion.

Currently

Reading: Rereading "The Mark of Athena" and loving it.


Writing: A story about a girl whose mob boss father has her infiltrate the palace, but she and her best friend become close to the princess and she doesn't want to betray the royal family.  Which is a terrible way to explain it, but I really love this story, y'all.

Listening to: my spring-themed playlist :D


Watching: Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street, The Autobiography of Jane Eyre (which is a YouTube vlog-style adaptation of Jane Eyre and it's really good so far), and the usual suspects (MacGyver, Bull, OUAT, etc.)

Learning: Spanish! (or rather, trying to learn)

Future

Want to be published: I'd love that!  If it's in God's plan for me, of course.

Indie or traditional: I'm going to copy Gray's answer here and say that I'm cool with indie, but traditional would be a dream come true.

Wildest goal: I kinda want to write a non-fiction Bible study book at some point? (which, I know, that's just wild xD)

I Tag...

Genuinely, I don't know who to tag, so I'm just going to tag YOU lovely people!  Tell me down below the answers to the "Currently" section!  Inquiring minds (okay, actually, it's mainly just me) want to know!  If you could recommend to me one song that you've been listening to recently, what would it be? :D

~ Abby

YouTube, Flowers, and Easter Songs {a look back at March}

March is over, and I... feel better about it than I have about past months...

HAPPY EASTER, YOU LOVELY PEOPLE



He is risen indeed :D

((and yes, I'm posting this a couple of days late but you can celebrate Resurrection Day all year round soooo))

So March.  It went by rather quickly, and to be honest, I spent most of the month really tired, but I got a lot done by ignoring sleep, lol. 

Some things that happened this month include:
~ I read a lot and I wrote a lot and I spent a lot of time at Disney World and with my family.
~ I found some cool plot twists for my story and my characters finally gave up more information that I needed so I'm happy with that.
~ Also on the writing front, I wrote [slash edited] all of the narrations for our church's Easter musical program and I can't tell you how happy I was when I finished.  (kind of surprisingly, it's hard to find different things to say about the cross when 11 songs have a similar theme -.-)  But I'm really proud of them and I think they came out pretty good. :D
~ Speaking of the Easter program, I sang in five songs and danced in one and ran a video on two songs and all of this to say, I tried to do everything I could with the gifts God gave me.  I feel blessed (and also tired... but really blessed)
~ And the big news of the month: MY SISTER AND I STARTED A YOUTUBE CHANNEL!  *confetti fanfare*  It's mostly about Disney, but we post vlogs and other fun stuff and it's mainly just us being dorks and having a grand old time.  So if you'd like to check it out, here's the link!

~ What I Read ~

(click on the collage for a link to the Goodreads shelf where you can see further reviews of all of these books :D)
~ The Lost Hero ~  This was the only Riordan book I got through this month *winces*  But I really loved rereading this and I've missed Jason, Piper, and Leo.  {5 stars}
~ The Story of Doctor Dolittle ~  I enjoyed reading the source material behind the musical (which I've loved for a long time).  It wasn't my favorite, but it was still fun.  {4 stars}
~ Dissemble ~  Oh my word, I adored this book.  I need book 3 asap, please.  {5 STARS}
~ As Easy as Riding a Bike ~  Adorable, heart-warming, fluffy, and comfortable, this felt like a Hallmark movie in a book and Bell's books have captured my heart.  I loved it.  {5 stars}
~ The Night Gardener ~  This book freaked me out in the best way.  Probably should have saved it for Halloween, but I couldn't put it down.  {5 stars}
~ Bound ~  I really loved this book!  Such a powerful story.  {4.5 stars}
~ Greetings from Nowhere ~  This had the potential to be a new favorite but unfortunately fell a little short for me.  Still an enjoyable, super fast read, though.  {4 stars}

~ What I Watched ~ 

Bull:

(yes, he is talking about a child xD)  This showwww.  all the feeeeels.  ahhhhhh.

The Greatest Showman:

I FINALLY SAW IT.  I wasn't one of my favorites, but it was still really really fun and the songs have pretty solidly been stuck in my head since I saw it.  (And none of my family has seen it so... it's kind of awkward singing it around them, lol)

Black Panther:

yes hello i love my son T'Challa and my daughter Shuri and I cannot wait for Infinity War.

~ What I Listened To ~

So many wonderful Broadway-related things came out, obviously I listened to The Greatest Showman soundtrack a lot, I watched a few other movie musicals, and overall just had a great music month.

~ What I Posted ~ 

Thoughts on the Psalms  {about some of the things God has been showing me}
My Life in Books {book tag}  {about some of my old favorite books}
When It's Too Much  {about when it's overwhelming and you need a promise}


And with that, three months of the year are over!  Wow...
So who's doing Camp NaNo this month?  I'm going to attempt it, we'll see how it goes.  Let me know in the comments if you'll be participating!

~ Abby