Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 183

The Bargain That Never Plays Out Well | In An Absent Dream by Seanan McGuire

Title: In An Absent DreamBy: Seanan McGuireGenre: FantasyPages: 203Release Date: January 8th, 2019Publisher: Tor.com
Summary from Goodreads: This fourth entry and prequel tells the story of Lundy, a very serious young girl who would rather study and dream than become a respectable housewife and live up to the expectations of the world around her. As well she should.
When she finds a doorway to a world founded on logic and reason, riddles and lies, she thinks she's found her paradise. Alas, everything costs at the goblin market, and when her time there is drawing to a close, she makes the kind of bargain that never plays out well.
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Review: This story blew me away. I always love this author and the stories that come from their mind, but this story had a little bit of a creepy mystery to it that really kept me on the edge of my seat. At first, you are rooting for the main character. you want her to run back to the doorway, but as time goes on, you really feel the heart string for her sister and you want her to stay. I found Lundy to be really selfish, but I could still see her point of view. She almost had an autistic sense around her, maybe because I am an mom of an autistic child. Great story. A must read!

Silenced In All Caps | Shrill By Lindy West

Title: ShrillBy: Lindy WestGenre: Non-FictionPages: 260Release Date: May 17th, 2016Publisher: Hachette
Summary from Goodreads: Coming of age in a culture that demands women be as small, quiet, and compliant as possible--like a porcelain dove that will also have sex with you--writer and humorist Lindy West quickly discovered that she was anything but. 
From a painfully shy childhood in which she tried, unsuccessfully, to hide her big body and even bigger opinions; to her public war with stand-up comedians over rape jokes; to her struggle to convince herself, and then the world, that fat people have value; to her accidental activism and never-ending battle royale with Internet trolls, Lindy narrates her life with a blend of humor and pathos that manages to make a trip to the abortion clinic funny and wring tears out of a story about diarrhea.

With inimitable good humor, vulnerability, and boundless charm, Lindy boldly shares how to survive in a world where not all stories are created equal and not all bodies are treated with equal respect, and how to weather hatred, loneliness, harassment, and loss--and walk away laughing. Shrillprovocatively dissects what it means to become self-aware the hard way, to go from wanting to be silent and invisible to earning a living defending the silenced in all caps.
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Review: I've read several books by female comedians who have had a hard upbringing. Their stories are usually full of heart ache, but they bring a simple sense of humor to the story that really brings the story to life. Shrill had a story to tell, but the authors delivery was far from humorous. Every chapter felt like the author was complaining. She's a self proclaimed fat girl... and that's all that we hear about. A good book needs to have hope. I want a story about how the author overcame the critics, but the first half of the book was one giant blame game. 
It wasn't until the author really dug deep and started to fight the war against comedians poking fun at rape. That was when I really felt like he had something worthwhile to say. If you could skip the first half of the book and just read the parts that really mattered, I would recommend that. I gave the book three stars because half the book was amazing and half was not.

WHAT I'M READING THIS WEEK | #WEEKLYMENU WEEK #295

Hello Monday! My oldest is back from outdoor school. Its nice to have all my little chickadees under one roof again. He said he had a good time, but was glad to be back home. I don't blame him. After five days of being away from home, I'm always glad to be back too. 
This weeks book is going to be The Clockmaker's Daughter by Kate Morton. I really enjoyed another book of her's so I thought I would try this one. We shall see if I like it. I've heard that Ms. Morton is a one trick pony and all of her books have the same story line. What are your thoughts?
I'm excited for this weeks menu, so get out there and cook some food. Enjoy!


Monday- French Onion Chicken
Tuesday- Caprese Burgers 
Wednesday- Chipotle Ranch Chicken Salad
Thursday- Green Chili Steak Sandwich
Friday- Crispy Onion Chicken
Saturday- Taco night
Sunday- Leftovers Night

Mortal Engines | Movie Review

Title: Mortal EnginesGenre: DystopianRelease Date: December 14th, 2018 Rating: 6.2/10 IMDBCast: Summary from IMDB: In a post-apocalyptic world where cities ride on wheels and consume each other to survive, two people meet in London and try to stop a conspiracy.
IMDB Trailer
Review: I've read the book and now I've seen the movie. The book was great in my opinion and if you want to read my review, follow this link. 
There were some terrible reviews of this movie when it was first released last year, I can see why... to a point, but I think there was something wonderful about this movie still that makes it worth watching. 
The characters all have a purpose, no matter how small it might be. They were wonderful. What could have been improved upon was their back story. We really didn't get the sense of why the characters were as colorful as they were. I think that had a lot to do with limited timing and so much story to fit into 2 hours and 8 minutes. 
The cinematic were epic. The cities that travel the land eating smaller cities really were terrifying in an awesome way. 
I wanted to know more, but since I had already read the book, I had a better sense of what was going on. My poor husband though needed explanations.
The movie was worth watching once, and the book is a great read. You should really pick up both.

March 2019 Wrap Up

Another month down. I know I probably say this every wrap up, but I can't believe its April already. There were so many great books last month that I am excited to recap with you. Did you have a favorite book that you read last month? Share you reads with me in the comments.

Big Little Lies - Big Little Lies follows three women, each at a crossroads:

Madeline is a force to be reckoned with. She’s funny and biting, passionate, she remembers everything and forgives no one. Her ex-husband and his yogi new wife have moved into her beloved beachside community, and their daughter is in the same kindergarten class as Madeline’s youngest (how is this possible?). And to top it all off, Madeline’s teenage daughter seems to be choosing Madeline’s ex-husband over her. (How. Is. This. Possible?).

Celeste is the kind of beautiful woman who makes the world stop and stare. While she may seem a bit flustered at times, who wouldn’t be, with those rambunctious twin boys? Now that the boys are starting school, Celeste and her husband look set to become the king and queen of the school parent body. But royalty often comes at a price, and Celeste is grappling with how much more she is willing to pay.

New to town, single mom Jane is so young that another mother mistakes her for the nanny. Jane is sad beyond her years and harbors secret doubts about her son. But why? While Madeline and Celeste soon take Jane under their wing, none of them realizes how the arrival of Jane and her inscrutable little boy will affect them all.

Big Little Lies is a brilliant take on ex-husbands and second wives, mothers and daughters, schoolyard scandal, and the dangerous little lies we tell ourselves just to survive. 
 






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What I'm Reading This Week | #WeeklyMenu Week #294

Hello Monday! Today is a momentous day. My oldest son is going to outdoor school. This is bigger than the normal child leaving home for the first time by themselves since my oldest is autistic. We've been talking about it all week, preparing him for what he might expect. There has been excitement and anxiety. I know he will have fun, but a part of me is worried. I won't be there if he breaks down, and although the teachers from school know about him and his needs, they haven't been around him when he goes full blown autistic. There is nothing I can say to prepare them for that. All I can do is pray that he will have so much fun, he will forget about his anxiety for a while.

This weeks book is going to be Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs. I was blessed to get a pre-release copy to review so make sure you come back by the blog in May to find out what I thought of it. I'm sure its going to be fantastic. Patricia Briggs doesn't disappoint.

This weeks menu is going to be delicious. Enjoy!


Monday- Fried Fish Tacos
Tuesday- Pork Chop and Dill Sauce
Wednesday- French Onion Chicken
Thursday- Steak and Peanut Pad Thai 
Friday- Creamy Chicken Chowder
Saturday- Italian Sausage Dirty Rice
Sunday- Leftovers Night

Something Dark and Holy | Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

Title: Wicked SaintsBy: Emily A. DuncanGenre: FantasyPages: 400Release Date: April 2nd, 2019Publisher: Wednesday Books
Summary from Goodreads: A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.
A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings. 

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light. Wicked Saints is the thrilling start to Emily A. Duncan’s devastatingly Gothic Something Dark and Holy trilogy..

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Review: How could you not want to read this book after reading the synopsis above? The story has all the elements of a good story. Intrigue, adventure, magic, but the story wasn't quite what I expected. In the beginning, the main female character was strong and witty. She commanded the story line like a seasoned veteran. Toward the end of the book, we kind of lose her and she becomes just another love interest. Even with this flip flop of roles, I still loved this story. It had a wonderful vibe about the world that drew you in and kept you reading.    
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.

One Thing She Still Has | The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine

Title: The Shadow QueenBy: C.J. RedwineGenre: Fairy Tale Retelling Pages: 387Release Date: February 16th, 2016Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Summary from Goodreads: Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.
In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.

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Review: I have to say that I had no idea this was a Snow White retelling when I pick up this book, but I was wonderfully surprised. The magic twist and wonderful characters, really brought the story to life. I loved that the huntsman turned into a dragon and that the Snow White character wielded a really fantastic form of magic. The author really did a great job explaining how the magic works and the tole it takes on the wielder. This is usually skipped in books, but it really worked here. A great read.

Wrong About the Future | A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon

Title: A breath of Snow and AshesBy: Diana GabaldonGenre: Historical FantasyPages: 1439Release Date: August 29th, 2006Publisher: Delta
Summary from Goodreads: A Breath of Snow and Ashes continues the extraordinary story of 18th-century Scotsman Jamie Fraser and his 20th-century wife, Claire.
The year is 1772, and on the eve of the American Revolution, the long fuse of rebellion has already been lit. Men lie dead in the streets of Boston, and in the backwoods of North Carolina, isolated cabins burn in the forest.

With chaos brewing, the governor calls upon Jamie Fraser to unite the backcountry and safeguard the colony for King and Crown. But from his wife Jamie knows that three years hence the shot heard round the world will be fired, and the result will be independence — with those loyal to the King either dead or in exile. And there is also the matter of a tiny clipping from The Wilmington Gazette, dated 1776, which reports Jamie’s death, along with his kin. For once, he hopes, his time-traveling family may be wrong about the future.
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Review: I'm so sad... I really am obsessed with the Outlander series, but this book just plane sucked. There was absolutely no plot. 1400 pages of nothing... Nothing I tell you. I struggled through until about 45%, then I skipped forward to about 70% and that is when things really got good. I wasn't confused either, which meant that I didn't miss any real world building or story line. The last 30%of the book was interesting, but seemed to be several short stories mashed together into one book. It was horrendous. There were a few things that happened that pushed the story forward and probably meant something to the next book, but it needed to be cohesive and not just stuck at the end of a boring waist of paper. I'm sorry if you don't agree with me, but its the truth. If you need to read this book before you read the next one, skip forward to 70%. Rant concluded. 
  

What I'm Reading This Week | #WeeklyMenu Week #293

Its Spring Break! and its Monday. We've almost made it. The kids are doing well in school. My youngest is excelling, but he's in kindergarten and that is super easy with the help of his autistic brother coaching him. Middle guy is struggling, but mostly with his attitude. His grades are right where they should be for is grade level. My oldest is also doing well. He has been able to adapt to middle school like a champ even though his autism is giving him some troubles. I can't believe how well he is doing.

This weeks book is going to be The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang. This read was voted one of the best books of 2018 on Goodreads, so I'm excited to read it. I've also been working with a friend of mine to start up our own book club Burgers & Books. I know I'm already in one book club, but who says you can only have one. Its going to be awesome and exciting.

Lets get on to this weeks menu, again from homechef.com. It looks delicious and I can't wait to eat it all.

Monday- Cowboy Steak Sandwiches 
Tuesday- Sirloin Steak with Balsamic Sauce 
Wednesday- Marsala Mushroom Chicken Skillet 
Thursday- Hawaiian Chicken Tacos
Friday- Spaghetti with Roasted Red Pepper Cream
Saturday- Nacho Chicken Flatbread
Sunday- Leftovers Night