Who is your favorite fictional mother?
This weekend I scanned my shelves for books with two prerequisites: (1) Is there a prominent mother? (2) Is she a life-giving role model?
Friends, I wanted to cry at the lack of present, life-giving mothers in fiction (especially in the genres I tend to read). And then my gaze landed on the Reflection Chronicles by @saraellawrites and I released a pent-up breath. Here’s a trilogy that gives honor to mothers throughout in unique and beautiful ways – as is only appropriate from an author raised by such a wonderful and supportive mother, who has many mother figures she loves to praise, and is a fabulous mamma herself.
I’m already so grateful to you, Sara, for so many reasons. We can add this one to the list. Love you, friend.
Runner-up to this was @maryweberauthor’s To Best the Boys. Even in her weakness, Rhen's mom is a life-giver to her daughter.
So, tell me, friends, who’s a mother in fiction you look up to? ♡ ♡ ♡
These stunning orchids were from my mamma for my birthday. 😍🥰 ♡ ♡ ♡
Challenges:
#StoriesWithStephMay19 – Merida: mother-daughter relationship (Mother’s Day)
#EndgameBaeMay – Frigga: Mother Figure
#MayInBooks19 – Favorite Fictional Mom
#AllTheBooksMay19 – Favorite Fictional Moms
#WildAdventuresMay19 – Best Bookish Moms · · · ·
#bookstagram
#SaraElla #Unblemished #coverlove #beautifulbooks #booksandflowers #TNZfiction #mothersday #booklover #bookdragon #booknerd #bookaholic #bookish #reading #yalovin #ireadya #fantasybooks
Who’s excited for the “live action” Lion King coming out in July?
And… are we calling it “live action”? It’s still animation. How do /you/ differentiate?
Anywho, I stacked books featuring animals on Saturday in honor of the oft-neglected princess Nala. (And then I fell into my birthday, Mother’s Day, and sickness and didn’t post! Eep sorry! 🙈) I love when characters ride lions like in the Songkeeper Chronicles by @gillianbronteadams and @tomiadeyemi’s Children of Blood and Bone. Gillian’s books are filled with many fun animals, as are @s.d.grimm’s Children of the Blood Moon books. If you love gryphons, wolves, dragons, and other such mythical creatures, these books are for you!
Challenges:
#StoriesWithStephMay19 – Nala: books with epic animals #stacksaturday
#RomanovNinjas – Funny Sidekick
#EndgameBaeMay – Iron Man: self-sacrificing character
#NightChargeMay19 – Wealtheow the Peace-Weaver: level-headed characters
#AllTheBooksMay19 – Power Hungry – all of the characters in Children of Blood and Bone
#ReadingAdventuresMay19 – Avatar Flight of Passage: character or animal that can fly • • • •
#bookstagram
#childrenofbloodandbone #childrenofthebloodmoon #songkeeperchronicles #kingofscars #leighbardugo #tomiadeyemi #gillianbronteadams #sdgrimm #booklover #bookdragon #booknerd #bookaholic #bookish #reading #epicfantasy #fantasybooks
And just like that, I’m 28.
Thank you everyone who’s sent me Happy Birthday wishes! 😭I love you so much!! I’m on my first day of "28." And it’s just another day. But it’s also not. I’m so grateful for the cycles God built into our world. Minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years. Each cycle is an opportunity to pause + reflect, to start something new. We’re not locked into one long, monotonous day. And birthdays are like a personal New Year. So as I pause + reflect on 27 + look ahead to 28 I’m assessing what I want to keep from 27 + what I want to change for 28.
I’m not going to word-vomit that here for you, but I want to encourage you. The weekend is a natural turn in a life cycle. Take some time to assess what you want to keep + anything new you want to instigate for the coming week.
In that light, this prompt was inspired by my favorite Disney princess. Since Beauty + the Beast has so much to do with rebirth, I thought it appropriate to display some favorite books that got reborn with new covers!
Challenges:
#StoriesWithStephMay19 – Belle: book with a transformed cover (My birthday! Shoutout a life-giving friendship + comment here or on my challenge post that you did for a bonus entry to the challenge giveaway!) – I’m so grateful to so many people! Reflecting on 27 + Instagrammers who have been intentionally life-giving to me, I can think of many but need to give special shoutouts to these lovelies: • @ruthanneburrell – A post entitled Ode to Ruthie still won’t be enough to express all the ways you bring me life. • @carailona – Adventure Buddy! The heart-shaped succulent on my desk is an everyday Cara-hug. • @shirl_who – My book twin! My kindred spirit friend! • @saraellawrites – Always I am in shock that we haven’t actually met in person. Thank you for bringing me life in year 27! Here’s hoping year 28 will bring us face-to-face! • @galaxy.adventurer – Half Price Books + Chick-fil-A forever! • @anovelescape – I always feel privileged to call you friend. Anticipating the day we can meet in person! 😅I had to shave so much of this post for IG text limits.😭If you're reading this, I'm so grateful you're in my life! 🤗
“Have courage and be kind.” If that’s not one of the greatest princess quotes, I don’t know what is…
I really enjoyed the live action Cinderella. Another line from it I loved was, “Just because it’s what’s done, doesn’t mean it’s what should be done.” Both of these thoughts are embodied so well in @cjredwine’s Ravenspire series, the latest of which is a Cinderella retelling!
What’s your favorite live action fairytale so far?
I adored Beauty and the Beast. Seriously, Beauty and the Beast is my favorite fairytale, and I love the animation, but the Beast’s storyline/character development always bothered me in the cartoon. I love that he’s an educated adult in the live action, and not a child. The love story in the cartoon doesn’t actually make sense. …but I digress…
Challenges:
#StoriesWithStephMay19 – Cinderella: courage + kindness
#RomanovNinjas – Black Covers – And all fairytales!
#EndgameBaeMay – Thanos: villain you love to hate – Wow, the villain gets creepy in Blood Spell.
#NightChargeMay19 – King John: power-hungry villain - …yup.
#MayInBooks19 – Favorite Spring Releases - *early* spring 😉
#ReadGushMay19 – Share your favorite photo editing apps or filters – I use PicMonkey and Photoshop.
#ReadingAdventuresMay19 – Star Tours: series that doesn’t end – Ravenspire is still going strong! …or, at least, I’ve been assuming…
#ThisIsBookishCommunity – Share a book with themes of rebirth, new life, transformation
#WhatANovelRead – Books you’ll love if you like this book – Not a fairytale retelling, but the Children of the Blood Moon trilogy by @s.d.grimm comes to mind as a comp recommendation. • • • •
#bookstagram
#CJRedwine
#Cinderella #HaveCourageAndBeKind #Society6 #Ravenspire #TheBloodSpell #fairytale #Fairytaleretelling #ireadya #yalovin#booklover #bookdragon #booknerd #bookaholic #bookish #reading #fantasybooks
What’s your favorite tiny book?
Yes, I love big books. But sometimes the smallest ones pack a pretty good punch. Behold! One of my very favorites.
Mara: Daughter of the Nile is a beautiful and exciting look into the rule of Hatshepsut and the political schemes to restore Thutmose III to Egypt’s throne. Caught at the center is Mara, a slave girl who becomes a double-agent at the palace. Also featured in this tiny book is one of my favorite OTPs.
Challenges:
#StoriesWithStephMay19 – Thumbelina: books + flowers
#RomanovNinjas – Tea – Well, this plate is from one of my tea sets.
#MayInBooks19 – Latest 5-star read – Not latest, but definitely 5 stars.
#AllTheBooksMay19 – Underhyped Books
#WhatANovelRead – Books I wanna give my ex (they belong together) – Bahaha, my hoarding continues, because I have no ex.
#ThisIsBookishCommunity – #WIPwed / Introduce your WIP – I’m actually working on proposal blurbs right now! So… here are the new three lines I’ve got leading into the back cover copy. I’m still chewing on them. What do you think? 🤔
A vigilante prince and his misfit crew
A resourceful heiress and her cursed inheritance
An ancient enemy lurking in the shadows ⭐
Two of my older three lines are also still in the running: ⭐
One stain that can’t be washed away.
Two families bound by dark secrets.
Three kingdoms on the brink of war. ☆ ⭐ ☆
OR ⭐
A prince rejected by his people as a monster
An inventor’s daughter with a secret inheritance
A world at war with Fate itself ☆ ⭐ • • • •
#bookstagram
#MaraDaughterOfTheNile
#EloiseJarvisMcGraw
#historicalfiction #booklover #bookdragon #booknerd #bookaholic #bookish #reading #goodreads #coverlove #booknerdigans #beautifulbooks
ROMANOV.
Read it.
That is all.
Lol, no, I love talking too much.
By now, I’m sure you’ve seen this beautiful cover taking over Instagram and the Internet-at-large. If you haven't seen it yet... *tada!* This is a YA historical fantasy Anastasia retelling of epicness.
Is it weird of me to feel proud of an author? Well, I do. @nadinebrandes is my people.
This is a human I respect and adore, and I love her perspective on life and how she weaves it into her excellent and entertaining stories. It gives me great pleasure to see her books get such wonderful attention. …Did I count correctly that there are at least six subscription boxes featuring Romanov this month?!? Well-deserved.
And, of course, this stunningly gorgeous book is Kitty Approved.
Happy Book Birthday, Nadine!! · · ·
IF YOU’RE PARTICIPATING IN MY CHALLENGE – Don’t forget to shoutout the Romanov release and comment here or on my challenge post to let me know you’ve done so to get a bonus entry in the challenge giveaway.
Challenges:
#StoriesWithStephMay19 – Anastasia: Lost Princess (Romanov Release!)
#RomanovNinjas – Last/Lost Princess
#EndgameBaeMay – Captain Marvel: new release
#NightChargeMay19 – Lancelot + Guinevere: Forbidden romance or doomed lovers
#ReadingAdventuresMay19 – It’s a Small World: ROMANOV Release!
#ThisIsBookishCommunity – #TribeTuesday / Who are your bookish tribe? Shoutout to them.
#WhatANovelRead – To annotate or not. – To! Especially in nonfiction. But, in fiction, my preference is to use page flags, but I don’t usually write or underline. · · · ·
#bookstagram
#ROMANOV #NadineBrandes #NadinesNinjas #RomanovBook #BookRelease #BookBirthday #yalovin #ireadya #coverlove #booksandcats #bookstacat #booklover #bookdragon #booknerd #bookaholic #bookish #reading #amreading #fantasybooks
