Hey y'all!

I begin again by apologizing to my fellow bloggers for disappearing off the face of the earth again, both posting and commenting wise. August proved to be a hectic month, and so I'm just now getting back into the swing of things.

Anyway, I come today with a rather overdue tag - I had planned on publishing this last month, but time got away from me....again.

This particular gem is from MK @ Sarcastic Scribblings, and it's the Summer Bucket List Book tag! She tagged me not too long ago - just after I completed my two book tags from last year that she had gifted me.

Best friends, I tell you. tsk tsk tsk

I kid, I kid. You can view her responses HERE.

I admit, book tags just don't seem to be my thing? I mean, I tend to recycle a lot of my answers, because I end up perusing my Goodreads library to answer them, and not the actual mental library. Because really, my memory for books can be like a goldfish sometimes.

But we'll give it the old college try!










The romance between Cammie and Zach can only be described as "fiery". And I think MK can agree with me on the one. I mean, what isn't fiery about spies coming up in the middle of nowhere, crashing train rides, and oh yeah, let's not forget all the drama.




I mean, the whole book is basically a journey to the end of the world. It's not a roadtrip necessarily, but it will do, right?




I'm pretty sure that I left a fangirly review of this on Goodreads, so there is no point in repeating it here. I was just so shooketh with the wonderful story and characters in this one. The only thing I can say is that you need to go read it. Now. *shoves readers over*






I had a six hour car ride recently, and this book had just been bought...and so I had a delightfully long while to read this riveting adventure book. I loved it ever so much - it kept me intrigued the whole time. The personification of all the animal characters was really cool - down to the dialects. And the story, even though it's a classic fantasy trope, was really gripping to me. I will definitely look for the rest of this series.

And to think that I almost didn't buy this book....










Peder and Miri's relationship is one of the sweetest romances that I've come across in a long time. There is no real drama, just loving trust between two young persons. One that is built on trust. I long for a romance like that.

Or maybe one like Charlie and Sophie in Letters to Juliet.

And yes, this is totally what I thought of when I read that question.




I haven't read that much Catholic fiction, and so to actually read a book that had the Faith at the center was SUCH a relief! It was super compelling and a great joy to read.

Oh by the way, Lena Donellan has recently published her second book, West of Yesterday, and I totally recommend that you go put it on your To-Read list :).







There were a lot of obstacles for Emily to climb over in this book - a not-so-good engagement, her struggles with her feelings, and the inability to write. The latter being the worst nightmare for any writer. But she's got grit and determination and she wins them all over.





This is a hallmark of The Ranger's Apprentice series, apparently. And I can totally see why.

*stomach growls*





This book actually helped inspire one of my stories, so I will always count it as an inspiration to me. But even if it hadn't done that, I would count it. It's such a great Christian allegorical fantasy story! I mean, it's just an ordinary mom going to save the world!


Welp, that's it! Since summer is pretty much over, I'll be leaving this tag open for any passerbys to snag. Hope you enjoy it!

Scribblingly yours,

Catherine

Hi everybody!!!

Today I've brought to you a really exciting tag from Rebellious Writing, which is celebrating it's second year anniversary!

*eyes pop out*

Seriously, I can't believe it's been two years since I joined a group of fellow bloggers to promote clean literature. I was just out of college then....*dramatic sigh*

I already had planned to do this tag since I'm one of the founders of Rebellious Writing, but Nicole Dust also tagged me for this before I published it. So thank you, Nicole!!

Rules:

1. Link back to Rebellious Writing (www.rebelliouswriting.com)
2. Answer the questions
3. Tag at least 5 bloggers.


What is one classic that hasn’t been made into a movie yet, but really needs to?

Love Among the Chickens by P.G. Wodehouse

I've been recently re-listening to an audiobook version of this book and I love it so much. There is so much hilarity in this that I could see it being a really really popular rom-com film. I would love to see Garnet and Ukridge be personified...especially Ukridge.

What draws you to classics?

In most cases, I don't have to deal with as much "content issues" with classics than I do with modern literature. If such issues such as language or lust do occur, they are handled with much more taste than the modern literature does.




What is an underrated classic?

I must admit, that Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott is the first thing that comes to mind. I first found this by Librivox and was charmed by the story. Sure, the plot really could use some work, but the characters!


What is one classic that you didn’t expect to love, but ended up loving anyway?

A Tale of Two Cities and Jane Eyre are tied for this title. Both of these were school readings, and the first read or two for both was tedious. The second or third time, though? Interest spiked.

So much so, that when Jane Eyre was discovered in the donate box, I snitched it. #noregrets.


What is your most favorite and least favorite classics?

Favorite classic is, without a doubt, is Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. (sorry Nicole). Close seconds are other Jane Austen novels (Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion), Little Women, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Lord of the Rings, Chronicles of Narnia, Chronicles of Avonlea, A Tale of Two Cities, Jane Eyre.....okay, I'll stop now.

Least favorite classic: The Three Musketeers by Alexander Dumas. I hate this book with a passion - it is so anti-Catholic (both author and book!), and the plot is terrible.



What is your favorite character from a classic? Or if that is too hard, one is your favorite classic character trope (e.g. strong and silent, quiet sidekick, etc.)

Seeing as how I wrote that cop-out, I'm taking it.

I really like spunky female main characters. Maybe because I'm sort of a spunky female character???


What’s a popular classic that you felt wasn’t actually that great?

Tuck Everlasting. I'm sorry to those fans of that story and the musical, but that story was just plain weird.



Who is your favorite classic author? 

I have several favorites, but the absolute favorite? That honor goes to.....

Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Ha! You thought it was Jane Austen, didn't you?

I chose LMM because I haven't really read a story that I didn't like from her. I can't stand Jane Austen's Mansfield Park or Lady Susan, so that disqualifies her from the top spot.




In your opinion, what makes a classic a classic? 

I'm taking a more mechanical approach to this question, as I'm sure that most people know the philosophical answer to this.

In terms of prose, it tends to be more flowery and descriptive. It has the power to capture a person. The world-building must be spot on and unique. The characters have a realistic feel to them, as if the reader knows them in person.


Relating to newer books, what attributes does a book need to have in order to be worthy of the title “classic”?

It needs to be uplifting, and help to mold character. It must transcend at least a couple of generations, and not enjoy popularity in just one. It needs to either reaffirm a human truth or teach a valuable lesson.




I tag:

Megan Chappie @ The Pen and the Cross
Belle Anne @ Worlds of Ink and Paper
Ceci E. @ Ceci Creates
MiddleEarthMuscian @ Music, Mystery, Middle Earth and Mitochondria
Sarah @ Sarah, Plain and Average


Hope you guys enjoy the tag!

Scribblingly yours,

Catherine

Greetings and salutations to you dear readers!

So for this Taggy Tuesday, I'm giving y'all a triple dose of tags. That's right, all the tags that I was tagged to do this year, I'm doing all at once. Only because two are small, and the other was lonely.

This first tag is the #CoverLove Tag. I was tagged by Allison @ the little bookworm, whom I thank from the bottom of my heart. You can see her original post HERE.

Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who tagged you and link back to their blog
2. Answer the seven questions your nominator gave you
3. Create seven new #CoverLove Tag questions
4. Nominate seven other bloggers and let them know they've been tagged

1. Most aesthetic-y book cover

Goodreads

I love bright eye-catching colors, and this cover has them in abundance. It's the thing that drew me to this book and I'm now forever grateful to the cover artist because this is one of my favorite books!

2. Favorite autumn book cover

Goodreads

I had a hard time finding an autumn cover, and this was the closest one I could find. It's got all the right rusty browns and olives greens for an autumn cover, no?


3. Least favorite cover edition of a good book

Goodreads

As far as I know, this is the only cover that goes with this book. It's a really awesome book but my gosh! What an ugly cover!


4. Cover with a face / person on it

Goodreads

Well there ya go. One with two faces on it and a very smashing cover to boot. Can't get much better than that, can you?

5. Amazing cover on a book you hate

Goodreads

I was really disappointed with the fact that there was so much content in this book because the cover was really intriguing!!! *huffs in disgust*


6. Book you bought / read primarily because of the gorgeous cover

Goodreads

I mean, I love Jen Turano anyway (historic inaccuracies aside), but this cover made me snatch up this freebie really really quickly. I mean, THE COLORS!!! They are so blooming gorgeous....

7. Book cover with a place / location

Goodreads

Another really hard one, so I decided to pick the book that was based in a Civil War park...the cover at least reflects that. I thought it was a really cool concept for a cover :)

7 new CoverLove Questions:


1.  Favorite cover of one of your favorite author's books
2.  A cover featuring a sunset
3.  A cover with lots of eye-popping color
4.  Favorite romantic cover
5.  A cover with a historic dress you would wear
6.  Favorite cover off of a religious book
7.  Favorite cover that has water on it (i.e. waterfall, rain, etc.)


I tag:

Anyone who love aesthetics covers :)

Seriously, go ahead. You need a reason to look at pretty covers.


For this second tag, I treat you to a superlative challenge known as the Voted Most Likely Tag. Think of a high school yearbook and jack up the ridiculousness of the titles...which then get gifted to your characters. Sounds like fun, right?

Sarah Rodecker @ Pen of a Ready Writer gave me this tag and I thank her heartily. You can see her original post HERE. 

Rules:

1. Thank the blogger who tagged you.
2. Include this link: https://phoebeamorryce.wordpress.com/2018/10/15/voted-most-likely/
3. Use your own original characters, not anyone else's.
4. Tag at least five people.

~ Most Likely to Be a Poet ~

That would most definitely be Janina, my MC from The White Rose. She is, after all, the Patroness of the Bards in Duventoliel. She loves poetry and even composes some occasionally - though she readily admits that it is no good. 




~ Most Likely to Dance in the Rain ~

Grace from Fair Winds. She is the most joyful out of all of my characters thus far, and wouldn't mind a little dampness every now and then. Pity for her, her older sister has a deadly fear of people catching cold....



~ Most Likely to Look Good in a Kilt ~

That honor goes to Ealdread, from The White Rose.

With a man so rugged, handsome, and hardy as he is, I dare say he'd look good in anything....and his native costume is quite similar to a kilt, actually!




~ Most Likely to Get Punched in the Face ~

That honor would belong to my little group of rogues from Hidden Seeds....Merrion would be the most guilty. He has this habit of getting in the way and sounding off that is rather tempting to fists. 




~ Most Likely to Drop Everything and Become a Sheep Herder ~

Maeve from From the Cave and Rose o'Neill from "Rose of Culmore" are a tie for this one. Both would love a more simplistic life away from the world's problems. Rose probably would have more experience with sheep, but Maeve would love to get into spinning....


~ Most Likely to Be Found in the Library ~

Leon, from The White Rose. Like his sister Janina, Leon is a quiet person who loves to study. In fact, I believe he has some inklings of joining one of the teaching sects of Leberechts. 




~ Most Likely to Sleep Through an Earthquake ~

John Callahan from "Rose of Culmore". This guy, especially when he's been working in the fields all day, is a bear to try to get up. He goes into deep hibernation and only food will get him to move.




~ Most Likely to Steal Food from Other Peoples’ Plates ~

Karsten, from The White Rose, if he could get away with it. Will Chagney from "Shattered Chandelier" would be a close second though. Both have a mischievous side to them, but Karsten's is much more developed.



~ Most Likely to Cheat on a Test ~

Ceinwen from Hidden Seeds would be the most likely candidate for this one, even though Magda from The White Rose wouldn't be too far behind her. I mean, Ceinwen did kidnap her sister and deceived her sister's suitor into marrying her....so I suppose test-cheating isn't that much of a stretch for her.




~ Most Likely to Say “Oops” After Setting Something on Fire ~

Bradach from From the Cave. He'd do something stupid like that and then since he's so brash, he'd just shrug it off. Meanwhile, his older brother is threatening to curse him out and his younger sister is already inquiring on how to make restitution for the damages.....




~ Most Likely to Open an Orphanage ~

If Lilliwen from Hidden Seeds and Janina from The White Rose would ever meet each other, I dare say, they would indeed open up an orphanage together. Janina loves orphans and has care of the court orphans as part of her lot as the youngest child (which is titled Champion of the Orphan). Lilliwen is such a motherly soul, she would take every foundling child she ever saw to her bosom. 




~ Most Likely to Run off with the Circus ~

Kestrel from "Shattered Chandelier". After all, it was her idea for her and Jessamine to run off to a theater, so a circus wouldn't be that much of a stretch for her. She's a natural performer and has a bold streak in her that can get her into trouble some days. 



~ Most Likely to Survive the Zombie Apocalypse ~

Conloach from From the Cave. If he was in today's world, he'd be a survival freak. Like prepper survival freak - I'm talking the weapons arsenal, the doomsday bunker, the works. He'd call it "preparation" but I know him too well. Seriously dude, the fear of famine is rather unfounded in this day and age....




~ Most Likely to Fake Their Own Death ~

Oh brother....this question really got me stumped. Because none of my characters really have no reason to fake their own deaths...

I guess the closest one would be Gail from From the Cave. And that's only because she's at the end of her ingenuity and needs a way to get out the situation she's in. 



~ Most Likely to Die and Haunt Their Friends ~

Umm, I'd say that both Eric Gerard and Will Chagney from "Shattered Chandelier" would be willing to pull this stunt....each for different reasons.



I tag:

Belle Anne @ Worlds of Ink and Paper
The Doorman @ The Lord, His Lady and Their Doorman
Megan Chappie @ The Pen and the Cross
Sarah @ Sarah, Plain and Average
Keturah Lamb @ Keturah's Korner



And now, for the last tag of the day!



It takes one to know one, and this tag definitely proved it. I got passed this tag by MiddleEarthMusician, who is also a big Tolkien fan. Which I thank you very much for!

Rules:

1. Include the tag banner in your post.
2. Link back to the creator of the tag. (http://litaflame.blog/)
3. Thank and link back to the person who tagged you (You can view her post HERE).
4. Forge your Fellowship out of BOOK CHARACTERS by answering the given questions!
5. Tag three bloggers to pass the Ring to.


#1 [The Ringbearer]: If you could choose, which of the four races would you be: Elf, Dwarf, Human, or Hobbit?

I'm not sure how this has to do with book characters??

That being said, I'd probably be an Elf. They're the most interesting to me :).


#2 [Gandalf the Grey]: A wise/powerful elder/mentor character.

Brom from Eragon: The Inheritance Cycle #1. He's one of my top favorite mentor characters of all time, and definitely reminds me of Gandalf.


#3 [Aragorn]: A character with great survival skills.

Halt from The Ranger's Apprentice series. If there is one guy that has the spirit of Aragon, it's this guy. Seriously.


#4 [Boromir]: A character who makes mistakes but has a good heart.

Marguerite St. Just Blakeney from The Scarlet Pimpernel is probably the best character for this. She did betray someone rather dear to her unwittingly, and then made huge sacrifices in order to correct her mistake.


#5 [Gimli]: A stubborn character.

Margaret Hale from North and South. Seriously, that girl is so stubborn, she puts Thornton to shame sometimes....but she's also rather courageous, so we'll go with that.


#6 [Legolas]: A character who is talented.

Gabi from Waterfall (River of Time #1) by Lisa Tawn Bergren. This girl not only knows her history, but she know's 14th century Italian, how to ride and sword-fight?? Wow....


#7 [Peregrin Took]: A character who at first seems useless but ends up surprising you.

Frank the Cab Man from The Magician's Nephew. When I re-read this book again recently, I questioned the need for the London cabbie to be sucked into Narnia. Even more so when Aslan brought his wife Helen into Narnia. But then when they became the first monarchs of Narnia, it became clear why they were there.


#8 [Meriadoc Brandybuck]: A character who is small/not very strong but has great courage.

Sister Bertrille from The Flying Nun series. Technically, she started out as a TV character, but there are spin-off books, so I'm using that.

Sister, according to the book, only weighs 90 lbs and is extremely thin...hence the ability of the wind to pick her up and allow her to fly. Don't ask.
But despite her size, she successfully faced down angry playboys and maybe a disgruntled gangster or two....

#9 [Samwise Gamgee]: A character who is extremely loyal and who doesn’t give up

William Hartwell from The Captivating Lady Charlotte by Carolyn Miller. Any enterprising aristocrat that remains faithful to an unfaithful wife is worthy of the title of loyal.


Well, there is a motley crew for you! Pity we can't see this Fellowship in reality, there would be a lot of interesting conversations coming out of there.

As for this tag, I'm leaving this one open for anyone who wants it :)


And that concludes this triple tag! Who else wishes their characters could cross worlds? What reasons would a character have to fake their own death? What is your favorite type of character? Drop a comment below! 

Scribbingly yours,

Catherine

Greetings to you all!

To all the fellow bloggers out there, I just want to start this post out with an overdue apology. Y'all have been writing some really awesome content on your blogs out there, and I feel really ashamed to not have commented as well as I could have done. It's been terribly selfish of me - wanting to hide away and consume all the blog posts that come my way, not wanting to talk or having no idea what to say other than the stale "good job!".

Know that, even if I don't comment (and let's be honest, this month's comments will resemble scattershot at best), I'll be avidly reading your posts and enjoying them immensely!



1. I finally got my bookshelves put together! See below for a full reveal!

2. This was a month of re-reads and re-watches. Adam-12, P&P, American Girl books....I think I need a bit of variety in my life.

3. I finally broke the dry spell of writing. Not only was I able to write over 10 posts this month, I finally wrote a novel scene for the first time since April!

4. I finally changed up my favorites playlist. It really was getting stale, and I found a lot of new favorites that I wanted to listen to more often. I also went on a few raids on my friends and family's Spotify accounts and added even more songs from those.




For Working by Candlelight, I wrote 3 posts: Operation Vintage Makeover: Carpet!, The Weapon Tag, and Covering My Head: My Reflections on 1 Corinthians 11. This latter post is one that I've been dying to finish for YEARS, and I'm so glad that it's finally released to the world!
I also remade my header in Canva. In the same spirit of my recent blog aesthetic change over on RM, I decided to use the same pictures from my handmade header and put it in a custom sized banner that fits the width of my blog. I have no plans to change the blog aesthetics...at least not yet.

For Rebelling Muse, I wrote 4 posts: Meet the Books (The White Rose), A New Blog Look and Header, 10 Common Tropes in My Writing, and Double Feature: Disney Princess and Greatest Showman Tags.
As noted in the second post, I also re-did the whole aesthetics of RM. This included blog header, colors, and background picture.

For Rebellious Writing, I wrote two posts: Historical Fiction: 4 Things Writers Get Wrong, and June's Wrap-Up. After this month, I'm going on a writing hiatus from RW until after August so I can continue to concentrate on getting my own ducks in a row.

My hiatus for Maidens for Mary continues, though I did kick some old posts from WbC over there to develop later on.



There has been some interesting changes in this month's goals - shall we see what's different?


1. Make a nice aesthetically pleasing bookshelf.

Well, I'm not sure how asethetically pleasing this bookshelf is, but here it is:

Fiction bookshelf

Non-fiction bookshelf

I didn't have enough variety to do a color coded bookshelf this time, and I wanted to keep my genres together. As I've mentioned before, I have wayyy too many non-fiction books. You can't see it too well, but the non-fiction books are actually double-stacked. Believe me, I'll be glad when I get my own office to showcase them in!

And now, you see I was not kidding when I said my bookshelves were in a rather sorry state. Hardly any adult novels whatsoever. And the rest that I've read? Either from my Kindle library, or my parent's shelves.


2. Complete two tags.

I actually completed 5 tags - 2 were released at the end of this month, and the other three are being released at the end of July. Then, I'll only have 2 more tags, and those are slated for publication in August and September.

*screams* That means....I'll be caught up on tags! Hallelujah!


3. Finish beta reading Ceci's story by the first week of June. 

This definitely got done! I greatly enjoyed reading this story and I can't wait to see the finished product!


4. Prep for July Camp NaNo. 

This wasn't nearly as structured as it was in March.

Part of it was the fact that neither of the stories weren't "new" WIPs and so nearly all of the research and development had already taken place. However, during the last week of June, I did finally plot out those action scenes that have been missing since forever....

Oh yeah, this is the first I've had to mention it, but I'm making a last minute change to my Camp NaNo plans. Instead of working exclusively on TWR for 30k words, it will be a combination of FW and TWR for 60 hours. This is because of a last minute change to my grandparent's move plan, which means I'll spending at least a week at the seashore. And we all know that the only WIP that I can work on down there is FW. Since I can't afford to waste either this opportunity or lose a week of writing, that's the plan!


With so much done this month, what do the yearly goals look like?

1. Finish The White Rose - and have it ready for betas by May at the earliest.

June Update: Wrote another 300+ scene addition because it wouldn't leave my head. During the last few weeks of June, I started prepping what I was going to work on during Camp NaNo. 

6. Finish the draft posts - including old tags and linkups

After a lot of ditching and writing, I managed to get the draft posts down to 4. 3 are posts connected to the Meet the Books linkup, and the other is the Marvel tag by Christine Smith. All the other tags (Disney Princess, Greatest Showman, #CoverLove, Voted Most Likely, and Forging the Fellowship) have been written and slated for publishing between July and August. Which is wonderful, because I can now develop new content (finally!). 






July Goals: 

1. Fulfill my NaNo goal of 60 hours, working on TWR/FW. 

I feel confident that I'll be able to accomplish this, as it's only 2 hours a day. But anything can happen, especially as moving happens...

2. Finish FW's section of Project Blueprint, and update TWR's as necessary. 

As I have a time goal instead of a word goal, there is a bit more room to play with here in terms of "working on the story". So, might as well get this part done, right?


3. Make plot sketches of FTC. 

I'm starting on the "action" part of TWR, and the sequel's action will be determined by these events that I draft. To save me a bit of editing headache, I'm going to develop the major plot points of FTC.





Your turn! What are you writing for Camp NaNo this July? Any new books that you're excited about? What is your newest favorite song? Chat with me in the comments! 

Scribbingly yours,

Catherine

A happy Tuesday to you all!

Today, I bring you a double book tag feature brought to you by Mary Kate @ Sarcastic Scribblings. These two tags were given to me a full year ago this month and I decided it was high time to finish them. As much as I love book tags, filling them out can be really difficult...especially if they are as long as this first tag, which is....

The Disney Princess Book Tag. You can view MK's original post HERE.

Shall we venture forth?


1. Snow White - name your favorite classic


Picking a favorite classic is like trying to pick a favorite song some days. I have plenty of classic favorites, but this one stands out to me at the moment. Maybe because I recently re-read it?


2. Cinderella - name a book that kept you reading well past your bedtime




I mean, most of my five star reads kept me up past my bedtime. But this one....I believe it kept me up until 2am one night *shifts eyes*


3. Aurora - name your favorite classic romance

You can't get much more classic romance than Jane Austen. And this book is by far the favorite of mine out of all of hers. It's a perfect blend of drama, love lost and found, and even a moral or two. And since I discovered the '95 miniseries...I've loved it even more!


4. Ariel - Name a book that's all about making sacrifices and fighting for your dreams


This is one of my favorite books simply for this reason. Allie, our dear little protagonist, sacrifices her family's approval and an advantageous marriage to make her own life. She joins a new church, volunteers as part of the Red Cross to help the war effort, and even falls in love with a most wonderful soldier. And oh boy, does she fight for those things!


5. Belle - name a book with a smart and independent female


Marguerite St. Just is pretty much the epitome of smart and intellegent female. It even admits it in the book. However, she still is feminine and self-sacrificing, and I love her to pieces.


6. Jasmine - name a book with a character who challenged the social conventions of his or her world


Trenton lives in a world where inventing is considered a curse word. Now there is a social convention worth breaking, in my opinion. Especially when it's proven that there are outside enemies that are threatening the Cove. So for most of the book, he and his friend Kallista are working on remaking a previous inventors' creation, much to the chagrin of the Cove.

7. Pocahontas - name a book with an ending that was a roller coaster of emotions



UGH - this book left me feeling like I had been stomped upon. Horror, sadness, disgust, anger, contempt were felt, and that's just the tip of the iceberg!

Did I ever mention that I HATE feelsy books like that??


8. Mulan - name a book with a totally boss female character


As you can probably see from the cover, the main character is a female "Robin Hood". So yeah, boss female to the T. I frankly don't remember a lot about this book since I read it a long time ago....

9. Tiana - name a book featuring a hard-working self-made character


This is a book that doesn't get enough credit, in my opinion. Agnes Grey is a character who goes out to work as a governess. She works really hard to keep her charges in line - which is difficult considering that half of them are spoiled. She reminds me a lot of Tiana, actually - the way she remains herself in spite of everything bearing down on her.


10. Rapunzel - name a character that features an artist.


I'm going with a loose interpretation of "artist" and including a book about two young song artists. But seriously, y'all need to pick up this book. The romance is squeaky clean and the character arcs are wonderful.

11. Merida - name a book that features a mother-daughter relationship



This book features more of the coming of age story of Anne's daughter Rilla than it does on their relationship....however, this was the closest thing I could get to having a book with a mother-daughter relationship really discussed. There seems to be a terrible shortage of these kinds of books....I wonder why?


12. Anna and Elsa - name a book that features a great relationship between siblings.



I mean, this is a rather obvious choice. We're talking about a novel about 4 sisters here. Sure, there are some rocky points in each of the girl's relationships, but all stick together and their family dynamic is worthy of emulation.




And now, we move on to the second tag, which is The Greatest Showman Book Tag. You can see MK's original post HERE.

I was excited to get this tag, since I love the Greatest Showman. But since I got this two tags at a similar time, I decided to pair them up. This tag took a lot less time to fill out than the other, but it had to be patient as I finished scouring the bookshelves for the other.


THE GREATEST SHOW: Name a book that is as entertaining as a circus



Combine a secret backstage romance, with an eccentric grandmother with Alzheimers and a fetish for fancy gowns, paparrazi nosing their way into where they don't belong, as well as Anne-esque scrapes....this book is a perfect circus in and of itself.


A MILLION DREAMS: Name a book that is set in a fantastical world




Classic portal fantasy, but a really wonderful one with lots of Christian allegories. Well worth a read!


COME ALIVE: Name a book that makes you outrageously happy


This book is rife with everyday humor - you know, the funny little light-hearted incidents that make us stop and laugh at ourselves. The whole tone of the work is lighthearted, and the romance is absolutely adorable. So if I'm really feeling down, I pick up this book!



THE OTHER SIDE: Name a book that made you change your mind about something



Being a hopeless teenage romantic, I was trapped in the same thought process as Hannah Parker in that first fling of infatuation was enough. Hannah's journey also turned me off of shows like Bachelor/Bachelorette and that you can rebuild your life and find love after emotional distress.


NEVER ENOUGH: Name a book that you've re-read more than once


This was, I think, the first book that I ever picked up on Kindle. And it quickly became a favorite - Joan and I found lots of connections. And come on, who doesn't love a handsome doctor?


THIS IS ME: Name a book with a character that reminds you of yourself


Re-reading this in April really reminded me how similar I was to Miri. Especially when she was so undecided on what her calling was. She's also a natural leader and good at her studies....which I also share.


REWRITE THE STARS: Name a book with a forbidden romance


The title says it all, doesn't it? Really, secret romance just oozes from these pages :)



TIGHTROPE: Name a book with an adventurous main character


"Adventurous" could very well be Pippa's middle name. She's not afraid to explore caves, swim in waterfalls, or flight a glassern. And who else would be shrunken by fairies or try to interfere with her own marriage tournament? Seriously, y'all gotta meet this girl *shoos you to the book*

FROM NOW ON: Name a book with a wonderful family (related or otherwise)


The Haynes family, whom Celeste stays with after running from the Kyraenian slave traders, are probably one of the best fictional families that I've ever experienced. In particular, the youngest two children were the best. I did love the parents too. The only one who needed a swift kick in the pants was Mick....



Bonus: Order the songs from The Greatest Showman from least to favorite. 

9. Never Enough
8. Rewrite the Stars
7. Come Alive
6. This is Me
5. The Greatest Show
4. Tightrope
3. From Now On
2. A Million Dreams
1. The Other Side

The top three songs of this order are in my "favorites" playlist that I play all the time. The rest....I really only listen to rarely, if at all. I mean, all are really pretty and epic, but they just don't click with me as much as those three do.


As both of these tags are old (and rather rough looking), I shall let them loose into the blogging world to be picked up by anybody who wants them. *unlocks the cage*

And now, to hear from you! Which of The Greatest Showman's songs are your favorite? Any books that feature mother-daughter relationships that I may have not thought about? Any book change your mind about something? Chat with me in the comments! 

Scribbingly yours,

Catherine