Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 164

Sunday Confessions #28

It's Sunday and you know what that means. Confession time!!! What a week. The kids had Monday off and my husband and I took Friday off for some family medical stuff. Its been a very emotional week and I'm glad its over. 
How was  your week? Did you read that book you wanted to read? I started The Girl Who Fell From the Sky by Heidi W. Durrow. The book is set in my back yard of Portland, Oregon and I'm excited to finish it. Do you enjoy books about your city or state? I sure do.

Sunday Confessions #27~Weekly Menu #335 And The Book Of The Week~Movie Review: Godzilla~Book Review: Women Talking by Miriam Toews~Book Review: Cries From the Lost Island by Kathleen O'Neal Gear~Book Review: Brother by Ania Ahlborn

Weekly Menu #336 And The Book Of The Week~Movie Review: Stuber~Book Review: The Help by Kathryn Stockett~Book Review: Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adetemi~Sunday Confessions # 29


I searched the internet for a wide range of topics this week. Here are a few blogs that I visited.
Chores for kids of all ages by Angela at Homebody~Big Mac Sloppy Joe Recipe from by Sabrina at Dinner then Dessert~The best apps for bloggers by Vanessa at Pixie Blog~22 of the best books for Outlander fans from Beyond the Bookends~20 Book to Movie adaptations in 2020 by Ellen at Stacked Shelves

I updated my Star Wars book challenge and I'm up to 11 books read. I also added the Cannon book list to my Legends book list and I have no idea how many Star Wars books there are on list now. There are at least 200. Oy Vey... What have I done?!

Still waiting patiently for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins to be released. We only have six more months... It's not that long... Really...


Just keep swimming... Lets read some books this week. What are you going to read? 

Book Review: Brother by Ania Ahlborn

Title: Brother
By: Ania AhlbornGenre: HorrorPages: 319Release Date: September 29th, 2015Publisher: Gallery BooksRating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads: From the bestselling horror author of Within These Walls and The Bird Eater comes a terrifying novel that follows a teenager determined to break from his family’s unconventional—and deeply disturbing—traditions.

Deep in the heart of Appalachia stands a crooked farmhouse miles from any road. The Morrows keep to themselves, and it’s served them well so far. When girls go missing off the side of the highway, the cops don’t knock on their door. Which is a good thing, seeing as to what’s buried in the Morrows’ backyard.

But nineteen-year-old Michael Morrow isn’t like the rest of his family. He doesn’t take pleasure in the screams that echo through the trees. Michael pines for normalcy, and he’s sure that someday he’ll see the world beyond West Virginia. When he meets Alice, a pretty girl working at a record shop in the small nearby town of Dahlia, he’s immediately smitten. For a moment, he nearly forgets about the monster he’s become. But his brother, Rebel, is all too eager to remind Michael of his place…   Add on Goodreads

Review: This has got to be the darkest book I have ever read. It really threw you into the deep dark world of this messed up family and how the manipulated the poor boy they stole. Their killing had no bounds and by the end, it was a free for all blood bath.

Book Review: Cries From the Lost Island by Kathleen O'Neal Gear

Title: Cries From The Lost Island
By: Kathleen O'Neal GearGenre: Fiction Pages: 320Release Date: March 10th, 2020Publisher: Daw BooksRating: ★★★☆☆
Summary from Goodreads: This standalone fantasy brings an ancient Egyptian mystery to life against a modern background, in a tale expertly crafted by a seasoned anthropologist

Set against the glory and tragedy of ancient Roman Egypt, this novel brings to bring to life the greatest love story of all time.

Sixteen-year-old Hal Stevens is a budding historical scholar from a small town in Colorado. A virtual outcast at high school, he has only two friends: Roberto the Biker Witch and Cleo Mallawi. Cleo claims to be the reincarnation of Queen Cleopatra. She also believes she's being stalked by an ancient Egyptian demon, Ammut, the Devourer of the Dead.

But when Hal and Roberto find Cleo murdered in the forest near her home, it appears she may have been telling the truth. Her last request sends them journeying to Egypt with famed archaeologist Dr. James Moriarity, where it quickly becomes clear that Cleo has set them on the search of a lifetime: the search for the lost graves of Marc Antony and Cleopatra.

But they are not alone in their search. Cleo's murderers are watching their every move. And not all of them are human...
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Review: At first, I was drawn to this book because the story was so promising. We start off with a bang, when there is a murder and the main character is thrown into a world of confusion. We follow them to Egypt, where they try to piece together the reasoning behind the murder.

The story was a little slow for me a full of historical information fed to the reader through dialog. I got a little bogged down but was able to finish this short novel within a day.

Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

Book Review: Women Talking by Miriam Toews

Title: Women Talking
By: Miriam ToewsGenre: FictionPages: 216Release Date: April, 2nd 2019Publisher: Bloomsbury PublishingRating: ★★★☆☆
Summary from Goodreads: One evening, eight Mennonite women climb into a hay loft to conduct a secret meeting. For the past two years, each of these women, and more than a hundred other girls in their colony, has been repeatedly violated in the night by demons coming to punish them for their sins. Now that the women have learned they were in fact drugged and attacked by a group of men from their own community, they are determined to protect themselves and their daughters from future harm.While the men of the colony are off in the city, attempting to raise enough money to bail out the rapists and bring them home, these women—all illiterate, without any knowledge of the world outside their community and unable even to speak the language of the country they live in—have very little time to make a choice: Should they stay in the only world they’ve ever known or should they dare to escape?
Based on real events and told through the “minutes” of the women’s all-female symposium, Toews’s masterful novel uses wry, politically engaged humor to relate this tale of women claiming their own power to decide.

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Review: I really wanted to like this book. The beginning was fairly interesting, but it just seemed to drag on. The title really does the story justice, it was just a bunch of women talking... and talking... and talking... It has so much potential...

Movie Review: Godzilla

Title: Godzilla - King of the MonstersGenre: Thriller - ScifiRelease Date: May 31st, 2019My Rating: ★★★★☆IMDB Rating: 6.1/10Cast: Summary from IMDB: The crypto-zoological agency Monarch faces off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah.
IMDB Trailer
Review: OMG! Have you seen this movie? I love how Godzilla is the most wonderful monster on planet earth. He has come to save us all from the wiener  Ghidorah.
There was so much action in this movie, but a wonderful story line, something which this kind of movie often lacks in. The only reason I gave this movie four stars is because my nerves were a little on edge from the nonstop action by the end of the movie. 
Godzilla!!!! Watch it!!!!

Weekly Menu #335 And The Book Of The Week

Its Monday and a holiday... but I have to tell you, it is not a holiday for me. I always have Mondays off and this time the kids are out of school, so it kind of messes up my schedule. I had to grocery shop yesterday, so I didn't have to drag the boys to the story (because we all know how that goes). On top of that, shopping on a Sunday with the after church crowd is well... crowded. Sigh...

On top of today being a holiday, last week was insane. There was the threat of snow all week, except for Friday, which happened to be the one day it snowed. It wasn't like real snow though. I woke up to the ground covered in white, but by the time I had to leave for work at 6:30, it was pretty slushy. Of course, halfway to work, the bosses that be sent out a mass text saying work would open one hour late... I was already on my way... Again, Sigh...

I know I don't ask this of you ever, but this coming Friday is going to be rough for my husbands side of the family. His father is having a much needed surgery that is going to be very dangerous for him. His heart and lungs might not handle the stress of the anesthesia. I'm asking for all the prayers in the world, that he will be ok and wake up after the surgery. If you would all keep him in your prayers, I would greatly appreciate it.

That was heavy, lets get on with the books. This week's read is Shadow of Annihilation by S.M. Stirling. This book is a review that I picked up recently. I loved the first two books in the series and can't wait to dive into this one. Stay tuned for the review on the blog. What are you reading this week? Leave me a comment below.

Enjoy this weeks menu!


Monday- Greek Pork Tenderloin
Tuesday- Philly Cheesesteak Sandwiches
Wednesday- The Boss Burger
Thursday- Sweet Potato and Sausage Stew
Friday- Savory Pork Noodle Soup
Saturday- Garlic Dijon Steak
Sunday- Leftovers Night

Sunday Confessions #27

Hello book lovers. Welcome back to the end of the week confessions. I hope you read everything you were hoping to read, but if you are anything like me... You didn't... lol.

Sunday Confessions #26~Weekly Menu #334 And The Book Of The Week~Movie Review: Brightburn~Book Review: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt~Movie Review: Little Women~Book Review: The Third Mrs. Durst by Ann Aguirre


Weekly Menu #335 And The Book Of The Week~Movie Review: Godzilla~Book Review: Women Talking by Miriam Toews~Book Review: Cries From the Lost Island by Kathleen O'Neal Gear~Book Review: Brother by Ania Ahlborn~Sunday Confessions #28





I have many new books to read this week. Several of them are review books so stay tuned for that. I look forward to next week and all the new books I get to dive into. 
What are you reading this week? Let me know in the comments below.

Book Review: The Third Mrs. Durst by Ann Aguirre

Title: The Third Mrs. Durst
By: Ann AguirreGenre: Mystery/ThrillerPages: 312Release Date: August 8th, 2018Publisher: Midnight InkRating: ★★★☆☆
Summary from Goodreads:  Some people just need killing.

Marlena Altizer Durst lives in her husband’s shadow. He controls her every move—what she wears, the food she eats, and the friends she’s allowed to make. If she disobeys, there are… consequences. And he has all the power, so nobody would believe her.

Her Cinderella story has been well-documented and it seems that she leads a fairy-tale life. But nobody ever wonders if Cinderella was happy after she married the prince. Marlena has traded freedom and safety for luxurious imprisonment, and most days, that seems like a bad bargain. Death may be the only exit she’s allowed. Just like his first wife. And his second.

Unless she flips the script.

And gets away with murder…
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Review: This book was dark and disturbing. It speaks a lot to how some men pray on vulnerable young women, manipulating them until there is nothing left of their will. I think the plot wove a dark mystery, one that was almost too dark for my taste. I had almost wished there was more plotting and less pain to give the story a little more excitement.

Movie Review: Little Women

Title: Little WomenGenre: HistoricalRelease Date: December 25th, 2019My Rating: ★★★★★IMDB Rating: 8.3/10Cast:  Summary from IMDB: Jo March reflects back and forth on her life, telling the beloved story of the March sisters - four young women each determined to live life on their own terms.
IMDB Trailer
Review: My sisters, mom and I are huge Little Women fans. It is tradition in my family to watch Little Women every Christmas. We know the movie front and back. Of course, we went to see this little diddy on Sunday night. 
I actually loved this version of the classic Luisa May Alcott story. The cinematic we well done and the story was pretty spot on. Yes, there were some things that were added into the original story as my baby sister had to point out, but I thought the adds really enhanced the  story instead of taking away from it. Of course, my sister was too stuck on how much it wasn't like the original book to even think about liking the movie. 
There were a few little things that drove me nuts, but this was just me being nit picky. The actress playing Amy had a really deep voice and at times it sounded like she smoked a pack a day. It threw me a little since Amy is supposed to be like nine or ten in the book. Also, The actor who played Laurie needed to eat a sandwich. He was also really young looking when it came down to the end where they were all supposed to grown up. 
That is all I have to say about that. I really enjoyed this telling of the book and if you go into the movie trying not to compare it to the book or the other movies that have come out, you will be just as happy as I was. 

Book Review: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Title: Tuck Everlasting
By:Natalie BabbittGenre: Historical FictionPages: 139Release Date: First Published in 1975Publisher: Farrar Straus GirouxRating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads: Doomed to - or blessed with - eternal life after drinking from a magic spring, the Tuck family wanders about trying to live as inconspicuously and comfortably as they can. When ten-year-old Winnie Foster stumbles on their secret, the Tucks take her home and explain why living forever at one age is less a blessing that it might seem. Complications arise when Winnie is followed by a stranger who wants to market the spring water for a fortune.
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Review: I fell in love with this story when the movie came out, but I have to say the book wasn't as appealing to me. Where was the magic I loved so much?! It was mostly a story about the kidnapping of a little girl. The book was interesting non the less, but not what I had hoped for.