Sleeping Handsome Blog Tour!

Hey all! Today I'm here as a part of Rebekah Eddy's blog tour for her latest book! It's a retelling of Sleeping Beauty- but with a unique twist! I have Rebekah here for an author interview and I'm reviewing the book--so let's get on with it, shall we?

Book summery:

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.

Author Bio:

Rebekah grew up surrounded by family members who appreciated and read good literature. First, she fell in love with the stories her parents read aloud to her from the Bible and books like The Chronicles of Narnia, Great Expectations, The Hobbit, and Anne of Green Gables. After learning to read on her own, she discovered other fantastic books which helped to build her ever growing imagination.

She completed her first written work at the tender age of eight and now uses it to humble herself whenever the need arises. The story did serve to show her that God had given her a desire to write, however, and from that moment on Rebekah has never looked back or regretted picking up her pencil and becoming an author.

This nineteen-year-old homeschool graduate lives in rainy Western Washington and is currently working on receiving her BA in English in order to further her passion for creating worlds on paper.

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My Review: 4 Stars

Well. That was quite the wile ride! I'm not a huge fan of fairy tales, but this retelling sounded so interesting I knew I'd have to give it a try. 

I'm so glad I did! Not only were the characters all amazing and unique, the setting as Europe. Does it get any better then that?

I related to Minnie a lot. Like, I'd be reading and think something, and a moment later, she was thinking the same thing. It was both awesome and a bit strange--I don't think that's ever happened with a fictional character before. ;) 

The only thing that I didn't like and, I feel, kinda made some of the book confusing, was that the families of the two main characters were only mentioned.  Like, I wanted more backstory! xD Also, it seems like they would have tried to stay in contact with them a bit better. But then again, this is part fantasy and it's a novella, so it didn't affect the story in a huge way. 

So yes, all in all a book I'd recommenced to guys and girls alike. The little bit of romance in the book is sweet and clean, and not enough a part of the story that guys would hate it. ;) 

Author Interview: 

1.) What was the inspiration for Sleeping Handsome? 

The story of "Sleeping Beauty" has always been my favorite fairytale. I had wanted to try a fairytale retelling ever since I started writing (originally, "The Princess and I" was going to be a fairytale retelling) but never really got around to it. During Thanksgiving break, sudden plot ideas and scene inspirations popped into my mind for a "Sleeping Beauty" retelling and I typed them out in a very unorganized fashion. First came the title, weirdly. Next, the first chapter. Then, the idea that most of the story actually be in present-day instead of the whole story being fairytale style. Everything else just fell into place. 

2.) Which character do you most relate to? 

A strange mixture of Minnie and Amy. I get a little annoyed at Amy sometimes, but at the same time, my personality is much closer to hers, so I realize I probably would act more like Amy in a given circumstance. 

3.) If you could choose one sentence in the book to sum up who you are as a person, what would it be? 

This is a quote from Minnie, describing her best friend, Amy. It sounds a little egotistical to put myself under this personality, but it was the closest one to myself:

“Unburdened by responsibility, cheerful no matter what the circumstances, and forever trusting and loving to everyone around her.”

(Excerpt From: Eddy, Rebekah. “Sleeping Handsome.” Lulu.com, 2018-01-30. iBooks. 

This material may be protected by copyright.)

4.) The book is somewhat in between fantasy and contemporary. Which genre is your favorite to write? 

Contemporary is easier for me to write, but I like the challenge that comes with writing fantasy. 

5.) What's one resource that has been helpful in your writing? 

Strangely enough, Pinterest came in handy for "Sleeping Handsome". I was able to piece together several unique plot ideas into the original fairytale in order to come out with a (hopefully) one-of-a-kind retelling. :) Also, I know you said one resource, but I have to add this one: my family. A lot of the little details came into being through ideas from various younger siblings. The fact that Brutis is a flying AND speaking horse came from my sister, and the fireman's uniform idea came from a brother. (You won't know what either of those things are until you read me book *evil author chuckle*) 

6.) How many questions can I ask? B-) 

Well, it's a LITTLE late to ask that, isn't it? XD 

7.) In what ways would you like to see God working through your writing? 

Of course my motto is ~ Let everything you do be done for the glory of God ~ so I hope my books do that. :) 

8.) And in what ways as your writing brought you closer to God? 

I wouldn't be a writer without Him. Just the fact that I can create whole worlds and people out my brain overwhelms me with a sense of awe toward the Creator who made my imagination. With my writing has come a whole new world of other Christian teen authors, and with that has come amazing online fellowship. So many times my group of friends on here have surrounded me with prayer support and encouragement at the exact time I needed it the most. They have helped strengthen my walk with God more than any research I've done for any of my books. <3 

Anddd... that's it for this post! Doesn't the book sound fascinating? Are you gonna pick up a copy? (If you like fairy tails, you should!)