Deliver // It's Finally Here!!!

Ahhh....Deliver is finally here! You heard right! You can go to Amazon and buy it RIGHT NOW! Yippee!!! When I first heard about Deliver finally being released....I immediately told my sister and we both jumped up and down in excitement. And then we got to read it and ahhh. Wish the series was continuing on!!! 

My Review: 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

** spoiler alert ** Ahhhh.....this book is SO amazing! (I'm soooo afraid I might give away a spoiler, so I'm gonna put that alert on just in case ;)) Yes, I laughed. Yes, I cried. And YES, I LOVED IT!!! :D Resolved to finish reading the book one night and stayed up until 1am. *whispers* and I don't regret it at all ;) Learning more about Martyn's past was heartbreaking, and then when he finally found well, you know who, (although really, it was the other person who found Martyn...) and it was all explained...ahhhh the tears xD When I first found out that the book followed more Martyn instead of Leith and Renna and Brandi, I was a little disappointed that there wouldn't be a lot of them. But turns out, there was just enough! The book didn't stay on Martyn the whole time, it went to Leith or Renna or Brandi too and *happy sigh* LOVE it!

And actually, I found myself really interested in learning more about Martyn. He seemed so wary and doubtful of everyone around him, and his sarcasm was - well, kinda hard. He really sounded quite angry with the world at the beginning. But then he met Kayleigh and he softened and ahhhhh :)

One of my favourite scenes? The soap scrubbing. Definitely the soap scrubbing ;P And Martyn and Kayleigh 💜💜💜 Soooo happy that Martyn finally has a happy ending and is able to trust again. For all his tough outside character, he can be pretty sweet sometimes :) 

There were some pretty intense scenes...like the burning and all. Goodness, I had tears running down my face while I was reading that. Didn't move a muscle while I was reading, was so caught up in the story! (also possibly because I was precariously perched on a chair under my loft trying to stay warm because it was 12 in the morning and I didn't want to go to sleep until I finished the book ;)) But just saying right now, if you haven't read this book yet...you must!! In fact, you gotta read the whole series if you haven't already. Because seriously you all. It's amazing. ^_^ 

Other Ways To Find out about The Blades of Acktar

Glad ya asked ;) 

Ms. Mingerink will be hosting a Facebook Party HERE on April 28th. You can go to the webpage for more details on times and stuff. 

Ooooh yes...and if you haven't read The Blades of Acktar yet, but you want to - now is your chance. ALL the books in the series are on sale right at this very moment! 

*sigh* Look at all these lovely books.... 

Anyway...school is beckoning. But I had to hop onto here and join all the other bloggers and Goodreaders and Facebookers posting about the release of the new book ;) Just a warning, you may or may not get a lot of posts about The Blades of Acktar coming in the next little bit :D

Have you read these books yet? (if you say no, I'm gonna tell you to go read them again. And again. And again ;))

Fitting In // Author Interview

Hello all! Today, I have an author interview with Rebekah Morris to share with you in honour of the release of her new short story which is coming out TOMORROW!!!

To see my review and summary of Fitting In, click HERE.

Add on Goodreads

Buy on Amazon 

Okay, onto the interview!

I just love asking this question. What was the inspiration for Fitting In?

The inspiration came when I was struggling with "fitting in" at church. I wasn't as young as most of the young ladies were and wasn't interested in their talk. I wasn't newly married nor engaged so I didn't fit in that group, I wasn't a mom with young children or a mom with older ones. I just didn't fit in anywhere. I'll admit that one night I was pretty much lecturing everyone (in an empty room) about including those who were "outsiders" and suddenly I realized that I had to go write a story. :)

Oh, that's neat how you used a real-life experience and turned it into a book! Is there a favourite part (reading or writing) that you especially like in your new short story?

Writing the school house scene was probably the easiest as I already knew what I was writing there and the rant was easy, but I think I loved the Leffler's first "picnic" the best. I won't say more lest I spoil it. :)

Haha, yes, 'the rant'. When you've got the words, it all just flows from your pen, doesn't it? ;) Do you find that you relate to any of the characters or events in Fitting In?

As I mentioned before, the wanting to fit in and be a part of some group has been a struggle for me more than once. I have felt those emotions that Elizabeth felt as I tried to fit in, but felt rejected. (Even if they didn't mean to give me a cold shoulder.) I could identify with her even if the struggle was slightly different.

*Nods head* Same here! I've found myself in similar situations before, and it was really interesting reading what you thought through Elizabeth :) 

What’s the hardest part of writing a novel/short story? Finding ideas, editing, etc? 

Hmm, I think each story varies on the hardest part. Some stories just seem to struggle to get written even if I have an idea, others seem to fizzle out part way through and I have to baby them along for a little while. For other stories it's writing the synopsis, and others is getting started. I don't usually have much trouble with editing, as I do that as I go, but a few times that's been hard.

Last question! What is one piece of advice you would give to aspiring writers?

Write the story that God has given YOU, not what you think will sell or be popular, and write it the way He has created YOU to write, not how someone else says you should do it. I guess that was rather two pieces of advice, but those are what I've been wanting to tell new authors.

Thanks for inviting me over, Blessing!

Great piece of advice, Rebekah, thank you so much for sharing! And thank you for coming over to my blog as well. Really enjoyed having you! :D 

Fitting In // Book Summary and Review

Summary

Elizabeth Leffler feels like an alien in the small town that she has recently become an inhabitant of. The neighbours are inhospitable and make her feel like she will never fit in. After vain attempts to make friends, she turns her efforts toward others also shunned from the town. Her helpfulness and kindness are treated with horror and disrespect. But when it goes too far, Elizabeth decides it’s time to act and confront her neighbours. 

My Review 

 Really enjoyed this sweet little story! The plot was well laid out and moved at a quick pace, not too fast to make it feel rushed, but not too slow to make you bored. It kept ya on your toes, always wondering what Elizabeth was going to do next ;) The relationship between Paul and Elizabeth was very sweet. Even though there wasn’t much emphasis on it, you could really tell they loved each other very much :) Elizabeth’s problems of not fitting in I found very similar to problems of my own :-) But it was inspiring to see how she focused on thinking about others instead of going into a dump and sulking about herself. Her actions were very Christ-like and quite beneficial to herself. I mean, think about it, by helping others she unconsciously made her own life happier too! :) Rebekah has a way of incorporating Christian values and lessons into her books and stories without you really even knowing it :) It actually has something to do with what's going on in the story, unlike some other books I've read where the author suddenly, and sometimes randomly, drops in a long spiel and shows that it's obviously a lesson of some sorts. 

A great afternoon read, would definitely recommend this book to anyone of every age! 

Add to Goodreads and pre-order here

Five Magic Spindles

You've heard me talking about this before, and I'm going to do it again ;)

Introducing Five Magic Spindles, five stories by five different authors. From Westerns to sci-fi, ghosts to tomb-robbers, you won't be disappointed in this collection of Sleeping Beauty stories.

Awaken the Magic! 

Emma, a good-hearted midwife, rushes to warn a neighbor about the hired gunman headed to his ranch but can't prevent the catastrophe in store for his daughter. 

Palli, the prophesied daughter of a king, is fated to rescue her people from the destruction called forth by a vengeful priest. 

Roselee, a ghost with a faulty memory, flits through the halls of an insane asylum in search of the mortal boy who can help her save the day. 

Arabella, a living spirit trapped in her own comatose body, helplessly watches from the realm of dreams as her usurping cousin plots to destroy her once and for all. 

Tanza, a tomb raider on a distant planet, struggles to make a living and doesn’t need a long-lost prince to complicate her difficult life. 

One way or another, these beauties have no intention of sleeping away their problems.
(summary from Amazon)

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You interested yet? You should be! Take it from someone who already read this, it's amazing! You can buy it on Amazon HERE.