Winter Favorites

Happy winter, everyone!

It's officially my favorite season!  And no, my view from the window does not look like this.  But it is kind of chilly today, so we'll count it.

I did one of these for autumn and I really enjoyed doing it so here I am again!

Winter is the perfect season for snuggling under a fluffy blanket, hugging a stuffed animal of some sort, and digging into some heartwarming stories.  Let's get into it, shall we?


Books:

A good winter book should be cozy, maybe a bit nostalgic, and maybe something tried and true. 

1. One Christmas in Winter ~ Bell Renshaw

You can't have winter-y reads without a little bit of Christmas, can you?  And one of my favorite things to do in the wintertime is join my mom and sister for a Hallmark movie marathon.  This novella was reminiscent of just that.  The story is sweet, the characters are likeable, and it's clean!

2. Disowned ~ Sarah Addison-Fox

There's a lot of snow in this book.  Which is probably a weird criteria, but oh well.  I read this book in one day, and I was glued to my phone (where I read it) the whole time.  The world was rich, there was character development, I loved all of it and I cannot wait for book 2.

3. Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King ~ William Joyce

This is the book series that inspired the film "Rise of the Guardians" (I'm going to talk about that later), and I've been reading through them since December.  It's pure magic, guys.  So, so good.  One of my new favorite middle-grades?  That would be a definite yes.  But this first one follows North, who is a Russian bandit, as he finds his way to a little town in Siberia and saves the children there from the Nightmare King, Pitch.  And yes, those are yetis on the cover.

4. How to Train Your Dragon series ~ Cressida Cowell

While this first book wasn't my favorite, the rest of the series is so good.  Hiccup is such a great main character, and Camicazi and Fishlegs are the best sidekicks ever.  It's different from the movie, but not in a bad way, and it's perfect for binging while curled up with some cocoa.

5. Winter's Child ~ Cameron Dokey

Now, it's been awhile since I've read this book, but I loved it when I read it.  The Snow Queen is one of my very favorite fairytales, and this is a retelling of that fairytale.  I mean, look at all the snow on that cover.  Winter is in the title.  It's perfect for this list.



Movies:

To me, if you could see yourself watching a movie whilst snuggled comfortably under some blankets with a cup of peppermint cocoa, it counts as the perfect winter-y movie.  And now I want to marathon all of these in just that position so guess where I'm going to be right after finishing this list...

1. Brother Bear

Y'all can fully expect a Disney film to be on every single one of these lists let's be real.  And while at first I was going to go with the more obvious choice (Frozen, of course), I decided to go with this one instead.  This, to me, is one of the most beautifully animated Disney films ever.  I mean just the transformation scenes alone, y'all. *swoon*

2. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

I mean??  "Always winter, never Christmas." anyone?  This film is just so snowy and magical and nostalgic and I love it so, so much.  Ahh, it just... fills my heart with happiness and makes me feel so good.  I just adore it.  I'm going to shut up now okay.

3. The Finest Hours

Okay so this was one of my favorite films of 2017, even though I saw it later in the year.  And while it probably isn't everyone's cup of tea, it's definitely worth a watch.  It's a disaster film, which deterred me at first, but I wanted to watch it before it left Netflix (and it's still there, so??? Netflix???) (not that I'm really complaining because that means I can rewatch it yay).  I found what was to me an absolute gem and I still think of this film with a smile.  Plus Chris Pine is in it, so.  And the guy who played Neal on OUAT.  Yep.

4. Rise of the Guardians

Speaking of Chris Pine...  This movie centers on Jack Frost, I mean, come on.  After recently rewatching this beauty as a Christmas movie ('cause it's totally a Christmas movie), my love for it has been renewed.  The whole movie takes place in the wintertime, too, so it works for this list and I'm happy.

5. Anastasia

This animated classic is one that I only just saw for the first time last year.  It's wonderful.  It follows Anya, who may or may not be the missing duchess Anastasia, as she travels from Russia to Paris in search of her long-lost family.  And it's a musical, which is always great.


Television Shows:

While you're snowed in (or not), you may want to binge a TV show or two.  I have some suggestions here that you may want to consider!

1. Psych:

Because Amazon loves us and now all 8 seasons are streaming on Prime.  And yes, my sister and I have already begun our rewatch and yes, it's just as good the second time around.  (Also, who watched the movie?  Did you love it as much as I did?)

2. Signed, Sealed, Delivered

This show is one of my favorites.  It's so fluffy and feel-good.  It followed a team of postal detectives and they're such a family.  It'll make you laugh, it'll make you cry, and it's not too long, so there isn't too much to binge. 

3. MacGyver

I'm putting MacGyver on here because I can and I'm currently obsessed with it.  If you need something a little more action-packed for your snuggled-up viewing session, may I suggest the MacGyver reboot?  We just finished binging season 2 here, and it has officially taken over my heart.  The friendships, the family aspect, the snark and the sass, I love it so much.  Highly recommended.


Music:

I have just a few album recommendations here, just for you.

1. Beauty and the Beast ~ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

The 2017 version has more of a wintery feel to it than the 1991 version, is that just me?  Maybe it's the overture, maybe it's the fact that Beast's castle is surrounded by eternal winter, but it just feels like a winter album.  Yeah.

2. Covers ~ Jillian Edwards

If you like almost-acapella covers, this is a great album.  The songs are soft and gentle, and I like putting them on when I'm stressed or when I need to concentrate.

All In ~ Matthew West

I've been a fan of Matthew West for a long time, and this album is definitely one of my favorites.  Each song is so deep, the lyrics are fantastic, and they're all so dance-along-able.

4. Frozen ~ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack

Okay, come on, you knew this was going to be on this list somewhere.  This whole film is based around a blizzard, it's perfect for snowy feelings!  (the instrumental tracks also make an excellent soundtrack for writing a Snow Queen retelling, just putting that out there)

5. The Live Room Sessions ~ For King & Country

Because who doesn't love 4K&C?

SO, what do you think?  What are some of your winter favorites?  Let me know in the comments below!

~ Abby

"Sleeping Handsome" Cover Reveal!

If you're like me, you have been eagerly anticipating the reveal of the cover for Rebekah Eddy's new book.  Well, good news.  Today is that awaited day.

Are you ready to see this beauty? 



I don't think you are.



Prepare yourself.



HERE IT IS!

Isn't it amazing?  I'm so excited for this story!

Here's the synopsis:

Minnie's goal was to have a fun, worry free vacation with her best friend Amy. A few weeks spent in their favorite far away place before they both went back to their respective colleges. A visit to the many famous sights across the British Isles has been on both their bucket lists for a very long time, after all.
However, when a mysterious taxi driver mentions a legend that somehow concerns her ancestral heritage, she decides to dig deeper. After being accused of stealing the famous statue and tourist attraction known as Sleeping Handsome, Minnie and Amy are plunged into a world they would never have imagined existed.
Prince Gregory, after being awakened from being frozen in stone for hundreds of years, finds himself searching for his true love in order to reverse the stone spell on his kingdom and awaken the rest of his people. With his faithful horse Brutis by his side, he sets out to destroy his greatest enemy, release his kingdom from the stone spell, and win the heart of his princess.

If this book sounds as great to you as it does to me, it will be available for purchase on February 14, 2018!



Congrats, Rebekah!

~ Abby

The Allegiance Blog Tour {+ book review}

THIS IS A VERY EXCITING DAY!



Because today is the day that I get to participate in the Allegiance Blog Tour!!

And because I was sent a copy in exchange for a review, that's also what you'll be getting today.

So let's talk about

Disowned



Author: Sarah Addison-Fox
Genre: Dystopian fantasy
Content: Mentions of some rather unsavory things, but nothing is actively shown.
Main Characters: Mick Haynes and Celeste

Synopsis:
Two countries, two choices, one life
When Kyraenean slave Celeste risks her life to reach the free nation of Etraea, a country filled with technology and wealth, she unknowingly sets off a chain of events that will change her life forever.
After escaping her new owner, Celeste awakens in the home of an Etraean soldier, sworn to protect the fragile peace.
For Corporal Mick Haynes, life is simple. Follow the rules, do your job and work your way up the ranks. Getting shot and finding a wanted slave at his family's farm wasn't part of the plan.
When a Kyraenean bounty hunter locates Celeste, Mick's loyalty will be stretched to the limit.
With war on the horizon, Celeste faces two impossible choices. Both securing her freedom, but both at a cost she could never have imagined.
Will Etraea provide the freedom she's longed for or shackle her to an entirely new master?

Placement in Series: 1 of 2 (I think...)

What I Thought:

I absolutely adored the world of this book.  100%, my favorite part.  I'm a sucker for fantasy stories with guns, idk man. Is it a fantasy?  I don't know.  But it takes place in another world so I think that counts?
Anyway, from the first few pages of this book, I knew it was going to be something special.  The way the world was put together instantly hooked me (I'm a sucker for a good story world, you know) but so did the characters and trying to figure out what the heck was going on.  It was fascinating and I read the entirety of it in one day.  Yes, a 332 page book.  In one day.  Yeah.  So if that doesn't tell you something about it, I don't know what will.


The Characters:
Celeste - I really like Celeste, but at times she kind of drove me crazy?  Like girlfriend, stop running away.  You're safe here, so please just chill?  But really, she's super cool and super strong and yeah I think she's a pretty neat lead character.  I look forward to seeing her develop more in the sequel.

Mick - Good grief, this guy drove me crazy for the first couple chapters he was in.  He grew on me, but he just annoyed me at first?  Like Celeste, I eagerly anticipate his character growth (which, he did go through a lot of in this book, but I want more. *rubs hands together in anticipation*)

The Haynes Family - Okay can I be part of this clan please?  Because I adore them with every fiber of my being.  The parents aren't idiots!  They are actually really cool!  And their kids respect and love them!  YES FINALLY!


Will I Keep Reading?
Yes.  Book 2.  Now, please.



Overall Rating:
4.5 not-actually-mermaids out of 5

I loved this book and I highly recommend it. You can pick up a copy on Amazon here! 

About the Author:

Sarah Addison-Fox is a New Zealand-born home-schooling mother of two who loves action-packed, clean, fantasy with strong heroines. She has an astonishing amount of nail polish, has all her creative writing credentials shoved in a drawer somewhere, and has a husband who, after 27 years, can still make her blush. When she’s not working on both her YA fantasy series' she can be found fangirling on Goodreads or sending GIFs on Twitter.

You can connect with Sarah at:
Her website ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads ~ Twitter




Thanks so much to Sarah and to Livy for giving me the opportunity to read and review this awesome book!  Y'all should definitely go check it out!

~ Abby

New Year, New Look

Hello friends!  Happy 2018!!

I thought that it was about time to update the look of my blog.  It had been the same way since I started it in July of 2016, and a new year seemed like the perfect opportunity to change it up.  I hope you love it as much as I do. 

Y'all are the best.  I could probably write some sappy note about how I love you all and you mean so much to me, but I think I'll save that for my two year blogiversary in July.  For now, know that I genuinely love you guys.  Thanks for everything.

Here's to a richly blessed 2018.

~ Abby

My Favorite Books of 2017

We have come to the end of another year, and personally, I'm kind of offended at 2017 because excuse me??  Did I give you permission to go so fast???

I read a ton of books this year.  70 books, to be exact.  Which is insane and a great deal more than last year's 43.  So I thought that instead of doing a typical "Best Books of the Year" (which would just be way too difficult), I've decided to choose my top book from each month.  Which is probably still going to be hard, but here we go

January:

The top spot for the first month has to go to the first book I read in 2017.  Moon Over Manifest was absolutely gorgeous, and a fantastic way to start off my reading year.


February:

I have (hopefully, by the time you're reading this) finished the HTTYD books this year and I am SO proud of myself.  How to Seize a Dragon's Jewel was really great.


March:

Another new favorite series this year was started with The True Meaning of Smekday.  It was hilarious, heart-warming, and so original and creative.  I absolutely loved it. 
{Honorable Mention: The Silent Songbird}


April:

Lost in a Book was beautiful, inside and out.  I mean, look at that cover!  The domestic scenes of life in Beast's castle, the whole idea of being swept into a story, everything about it was pure magic and I adored every minute of it.
{Honorable Mention: The Reluctant Godfather}


May:

This month's top spot has to go to A Time to Die.  This book absolutely stunned me, so much so that I still haven't continued because honestly, this book messed up my emotions and I've needed this much recovery time just to handle it.


June:

For sure, this month's best book was Heist Society.  It was so fun and awesome and reminded me of Leverage and I am obsessed with this series now and Kat and Hale are so shippable I just.  I loved it.
{Honorable Mention: Payback}


July:

The Screwtape Letters blew me away.  It was my first time reading it, and I'm so glad I did.  It was so deep and powerful, and I will definitely be rereading it in the future.
{Honorable Mentions: Andora's Folly and Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover}


August:

You know what, I'm going to give The Noble Servant the top spot for August because I really loved this book.  It was funny, it was sassy, and I genuinely think that it may be my favorite Melanie Dickerson book. (So far, at least)


September:

September wasn't even a question, I just immediately knew it had to be The Goldfish Boy.  This is one of my favorite books now, and it was beautiful, and I need everyone to read it please.  It was so good.  I'm going to cry just thinking about it.


October:

This. was. awesome.  The top spot has to go to The Ship of the Dead because oh my word.  Rick knows how to do it. 


November:

The Coronation was amazing.  I loved it, I got to do an awesome review of it, and I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone. 
{Honorable Mention: United We Spy}


December:

As I was looking through the list of books I read this month and trying to decide which one was my favorite, the first one that sent a jolt of pure happiness through my heart was Nicholas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King.  I thoroughly adored this book.  It was so magical and friendship-filled and just wonderful all around.  Highly recommended from me.
{Honorable Mentions: Stay Where You Are and Then Leave and Unafraid}


And there you have it!  My favorite books of 2017.  I greet 2018 and it's reading opportunities with open arms (and a good deal of nervousness).  Hopefully you found some more books to put on your TBR pile from these suggestions.

{What were some of (because obviously, picking just one is too hard) your favorite books of the year?}

~ Abby

The Faith of the Carpenter {The Greatest Story}

How different would the Christmas story have been if Mary hadn't been betrothed to Joseph?

Really, think about it.

Mary very likely would have been stoned, and then where would we be?  It takes a special man to listen to an angel from a dream. 

Joseph is someone I've really started thinking about just over the past few years.  My dad basically did a whole sermon on him at one point.  (Well, him and one other character... for Father's Day... yeah).

As many times as Mary must have wondered why she had been chosen, Joseph must have had those thoughts tenfold.  I mean, Mary was great, her faith was strong and her heart was pure - of course she'd been chosen to bear the Messiah.  But Joseph?  He was just a carpenter from Nazareth trying to make an honest living and provide a good life for Mary and their future family. 

And then those hopes were smashed when she told him the news - she was pregnant.  And it wasn't his baby.  More than that, she claimed that God was the father, of all things. 

Now, I like to think that Joseph really wanted to believe her.  He really did.  But the idea was so ridiculous that surely there was a lot of inner turmoil trying to figure out what to do.  His sleep the night of the dream was fitful, as he turned the problem over and over in his mind.  If he does let her live, her reputation will be destroyed.  If he marries her, his will be.  And the only other option is for her to die. 

But when he finally slips off into slumber, he's awoken moments later with the answer.  She's telling the truth.  Of course she is.  She's never lied before.  And he knows what he must do.

Maybe he concocts a story, claiming that the child is his, he seduced her.  Or maybe he just lets the gossips of Nazareth decide what happened.  It doesn't really matter, does it?  He knows the truth.  He lets her go to her cousin Elizabeth while he stays behind to start building them a life together, attempting to make one befitting of a young Messiah.

Obviously, then, nothing goes according to plan and he has to take her with him to Bethlehem by order of a Roman who had no clue what was at stake here. 

And to Joseph's horror, the only place he can find for the Messiah is a stable.  One that didn't come with a complimentary midwife.  Where it was just him and Mary to try and go about bringing God into the world.

How terrifying must that have been?  To know that the best you can offer God is a borrowed manger and a few ragged cloths.  To know that you have to raise Him with no experience and not much money.

And then, to save his life, Joseph had to take God incarnate to a pagan land, even farther from relatives and the safety of the Promised Land.  Carrying nothing with them but the gifts of the wise men and faith enough to move mountains.

I sometimes wonder if Jesus looked like Joseph.  If people saw Jesus and thought, "Wow, he's growing up to look like his father."  Not just in appearance.  I wonder if he picked up his mannerisms, his quirks, his terms for things.  His skills, his personality.  I wonder if Joseph was his hero.  How often did he think, "I chose the right man."

We don't see Joseph again after the fateful day in the temple at Passover.  I hope his death was peaceful.  Maybe he spent his last moments in the arms of his son, who would be his savior.  Maybe Mary was there, crying, begging Jesus to save him, knowing that he could if he willed it.  And Joseph looked into the eyes that had seen the dawn of time and were full of tears, and knew that his time on Earth was done.  And he touched the face of the one who had spoken everything into existence, and trusted that He would take care of Mary and the other children.  That everything, somehow, would be alright.

Joseph was incredible.  And he's so underappreciated.  Being the step-father of the Savior was no minor feat.  I can't wait to meet him in heaven and ask him about Jesus as a child.  To ask him about the flight into Egypt, the visit from the Magi, Jesus' first steps and His first words and His first laugh.

Won't that be amazing?

~ Abby

Thoughts from a Sleepless Night

Of course my mind races on a Saturday night. A Saturday night when I have to be at church at 8 in the morning. When every minute I spend thinking is one less I spend sleeping.

Of course.

Of course I can't stop thinking about the future on a night when I can't do anything about it. A night where the future isn't until tomorrow and even then it's still somewhere off in the distance. Where every minute I spend thinking is one less I spend sleeping.

Of course.

Of course there are a million things running through one half of my head that I could be doing, while the other half is screaming "You need to sleep!" "If you don't sleep you won't be any good to anyone!" Every minute my head is at war is one less I spend doing either thing it wants to do.

Of course.

Of course my brain doesn't think about God in the moments when He's all that could soothe my racing heart. When I can hardly breathe with anxiety and so far He's been the only remedy to work. When every minute I spend thinking is one less I spend praying.

Of course.

Of course, I'm only human. What more could I expect from myself?

{Hey, guys.  I wrote this last night when I couldn't sleep. I know it isn't Christmas-y, but I wanted to jot it down none the less.  Look for some Christmas posts this week! ~ Abby}