Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 216

Someone Blew Up My Home Planet | Joined by Mara Gan

Joined
Mara Gan
(Joined #1)
Published by: Inkspell Publishing
Publication date: September 12th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Duty and prophecy get in the way of everything.
All I ever wanted to do was read my books, play my sports, and help people. Life and prophecy had other things in mind.
Helping people is what I do; as an empath and semi-frequent telepath, I can easily sense and understand people’s needs and emotions. Sometimes even before they do. Being able to read everyone’s thoughts and feelings all the time can drive me crazy with anxiety, but that moment when I can finally make someone’s life better makes everything worth it.
Unfortunately, I’m also the next in line to rule the galaxy, I’m the only diplomat most planets will listen to, assassins try to kill me on an annoyingly regular basis, and a much-vaunted Prophecy has decreed that I’m going to die. Oh, and someone blew up my home planet.
Kind of a lot to deal with, right?
Too bad I just got another problem: a big, irritating, overbearing bodyguard with serious anger management issues.
And I think I’m falling for him.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo—EXCERPT:“Great, Clee,” I said. “Job’s all yours. I’m going to bed.”
Kenzi covered a snicker as Synie rolled her eyes. “Princess, you know the Yurilians will only talk to you.”
I leaned back in my chair and stretched my neck. “Yeah, yeah.”
Kenzi tilted his head at Synie. “Why will they only talk to the princess?”
Synie shifted uncomfortably. “King Cepheus was….” She paused, searching for the right word.
“A jerk,” Clee supplied unhelpfully.
“Clee!” Synie barked. “That’s practically treason.”
Clee shrugged. “Yep. But I already told him that to his face. He agreed with me.”
Cepheus had a weak spot for Clee, as did we all; her tendency to tell the truth and lighten the mood at the same time was curiously refreshing. And she was right: Cepheus was a terrible diplomat.
With another reproachful glare at Clee, who was no longer paying attention, Synie continued, “King Cepheus was less than sympathetic toward their grain dispute with us. Andromeda smoothed things over and managed to talk them down from outright war.”
Kenzi’s eyes bugged. “They were going to declare war on us, just for some grain?”
“Food is a common reason people go to war,” I said. “Or, rather, lack of it. When people starve, they feel they have nothing left to lose.” Perseus’s words came back to me: people who have nothing to lose, fear nothing.
That was true on a global scale as well as a personal one, I supposed.
Kenzi’s dark eyes turned to me and he gave me an awed smile. I really hated being an object of awe. I liked doing my job—a lot—and I loved helping people, but at heart, I was an introvert who wanted as little attention as possible.
Just my luck, I got the most high-profile job in the galaxy.

Author Bio:
A Pacific Northwesterner by birth and disposition, Mara has lived in Washington DC, Oregon, Japan, and most recently the beautiful Pacific Grove, California, before returning to her roots in Seattle. By day she teaches history to unsuspecting teenagers, and by night she writes books and travels to far-flung places. She loves to be with animals, read, play sports, and drink more London Fogs than is likely good for her.
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27 Hours by Tristina Wright #BlogTour @chapterxchapter @TristinaWright @EntangledTeen

   
27 Hours by Tristina Wright
Publication Date:  October 3, 2017
Publisher:  Entangled Teen


Rumor Mora fears two things: hellhounds too strong for him to kill, and failure. Jude Welton has two dreams: for humans to stop killing monsters, and for his strange abilities to vanish.

But in no reality should a boy raised to love monsters fall for a boy raised to kill them.

Nyx Llorca keeps two secrets: the moon speaks to her, and she’s in love with Dahlia, her best friend. Braeden Tennant wants two things: to get out from his mother's shadow, and to unlearn Epsilon's darkest secret.

They’ll both have to commit treason to find the truth.

During one twenty-seven-hour night, if they can’t stop the war between the colonies and the monsters from becoming a war of extinction, the things they wish for will never come true, and the things they fear will be all that’s left.

27 Hours is a sweeping, thrilling story featuring a stellar cast of queer teenagers battling to save their homes and possibly every human on Sahara as the clock ticks down to zero.

Review: This was a fast paced sci-fi with action galore. I felt like the pacing was too quick. The book starts off throwing you straight into action and the action doesn't stop. It took me a while to get through the book because I kept having to put it down to take a breather. It was very intense. 
The writing was great. There were many sci-fi elements that were awesome. I would have liked to have more back story as to why the humans were fighting the aliens, but the story was well done. 
This was a great break out novel for Tristina Wright and I can't wait to see what she writes next. 
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.       
27 Hours by Tristina Wright Publication Date:  October 3, 2017 Publisher:  Entangled TeenAmazon | Amazon Australia | Amazon UK | Amazon Canada | B&N | iBooks | Kobo | Entangled 
 

Tristina Wright is a blue-haired bisexual with anxiety and opinions. She’s also possibly a mermaid, but no one can get confirmation. She fell in love with science fiction and fantasy at a young age and frequently got caught writing in class instead of paying attention. She enjoys worlds with monsters and kissing and monsters kissing. She married a nerd who can build computers and make the sun shine with his smile. Most days, she can be found drinking coffee from her favorite chipped mug and making up more stories for her wombfruit, who keep life exciting and unpredictable.

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Creamy Noodles and an Instagram #Giveaway | #WeeklyMenu Week #220

Happy Monday and welcome to the last week before Halloween. I can't believe we are in the season of holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving and then Christmas. Somewhere in there is my birthday, my favorite day of the year, of course.
Make sure you stop by my Instagram page today for a giveaway loop from Evernight Teen. I'm going to be giving away a signed copy of Hunter, a Hunter bookmark and a Dobby Funkopop. There are also many other prizes from the other authors and a grand prize from Evernight Teen. Click here to get started. 
I had a wonderful brainstorming session and came up with some awesome ideas for my new book. I think I'm finally out of my writing slump and have a clear direction to finish my story. I'm really excited, but you will have to wait a while for the revisions and then finding a publisher. Its going to be a long road, but thanks for sticking with me.
My next project is either going to be the third book in the Hunter Saga or a Jack Frost adaptation, kind of along the lines of a Court of Thrones and Roses. What is your pick?
Well, enjoy this weeks menu. It's a good one.
Monday- Chicken Bruschetta 
Tuesday- Loaded Beef Nachos
Wednesday- Lemon Parmesan Chicken
Thursday- Stew
Friday- Ranch Pork Chops
Saturday- Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup
Sunday
- Tuna Sandwiches

Can She Fall in love | Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe by Melissa De La Cruz

Title: Pride and Prejudice and MistletoeBy: Melissa De La CruzGenre: ContemporaryPages: 240Release Date: October 17th, 2017Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Summary from Goodreads: Darcy Fitzwilliam is 29, beautiful, successful, and brilliant. She dates hedge funders and basketball stars and is never without her three cellphones—one for work, one for play, and one to throw at her assistant (just kidding). Darcy’s never fallen in love, never has time for anyone else’s drama, and never goes home for Christmas if she can help it. But when her mother falls ill, she comes home to Pemberley, Ohio, to spend the season with her dad and little brother.
Her parents throw their annual Christmas bash, where she meets one Luke Bennet, the smart, sardonic slacker son of their neighbor. Luke is 32 and has never left home. He’s a carpenter and makes beautiful furniture, and is content with his simple life. He comes from a family of five brothers, each one less ambitious than the other. When Darcy and Luke fall into bed after too many eggnogs, Darcy thinks it’s just another one night stand. But why can’t she stop thinking of Luke? What is it about him? And can she fall in love, or will her pride and his prejudice against big-city girls stand in their way? 

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Review: I was pretty disappointed in this one. I love pride and prejudice. I also loved the zombie rewrite, but this one was lack luster. It took me a long time to get into the story, mostly because the whole beginning of the book was a big bunch of who was sleeping with who. It was a cute Christmas story toward the end, but not enough there to really suck me in. I gave this book three stars because the writing itself, was well done, but the story needed help.

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

Sparked by Helena Echlin and Malena Watrous #BookReview #BlogTour @chapterxchapter @sparkedbook

Sparked by Helena Echlin and Malena Watrous
Publication Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Geek & Sundry



Fifteen-year-old Laurel Goodwin wakes up to find her older sister Ivy missing from their Airstream trailer in the Oregon redwoods. A recurring nightmare convinces her that Ivy was abducted, but no one takes her dream seriously, including her mom. Laurel, a loner, has to learn to ask for help, and Jasper Blake, a mysterious new kid who shares her love of old books, quickly becomes her ally. Together they find their quiet town holds a deep secret and is the epicenter of a dark prophecy.


Laurel soon learns that her worst enemies, mean girls Peyton Andersen and Mei Rosen, are developing powers that she needs to find and save Ivy. With time running out, Laurel realizes that power doesn’t always take the form that you expect. And once she learns to look beyond her snap judgments, she develops an unexpected gift of her own.

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Review:This was a weird read and it was hard for me to pick a rating. I finally settled on four stars because it was a really good read even though I felt like the point of view change hurt the whole feel of the book. I really loved how it started out with IVY going missing and her sister having to try and track her down, but just when I felt like the story was getting good, the POV would change throwing me into a boring story line that made me want to put the book down. When the story finally switched back to Ivy and her sister, it took a while for the feel goods to get going again. I stuck with it and the whole thing came together in the end.'


ABOUT THE AUTHORS Hello! We are both novelists, but if you’ve ever tried to write anything, you know that writing can be a lonely, angst-filled business. So one night over a cocktail or two, we came up with a solution: write our next book together. Malena already had an idea: a girl’s sister is kidnapped and she has to rely on mean girls with superpowers to get her sister back. We couldn’t resist seeing where that story would take us – a wild ride that includes a loner girl who wants to be a writer and a gorgeous boy who can shoot fire from his eyes but also loves to talk about books. And an ancient Zoroastrian prophecy. And pie shakes. (OK, so maybe we got a little carried away.)

We’ve both published solo novels (check them out here and here) and had no idea how co-writing would work out, but we pounded out the first draft in a white-hot frenzy of inspiration we called “the Vortex.” One of us would write a scene and send it to the other with a note: “My apartment is a pigsty and I haven’t eaten all day. #inthevortex.” We wrote the book we wanted to read as teenagers: a supernatural thriller with healthy doses of horror and humor. Oh, and of course there’s romance. You have to wait a long time for the only kiss in the book, but isn’t that the case with all the best kisses in books?


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Beauty and the Beast #BookTag

I've finally jumped on the book tag train. I know, its taken me a while, but life has been crazy around here in the House of Chaos. 
This book tag is Beauty and the Beast themed. I recently watched the movie and it was a little lack luster for me. They could have picked a better actor for the Beast. I did love Bell and the music was grand. The new song from Celine Dion, to die for.
Ok, lets get on with the good stuff.
The original tag was created by Du Livre but I found it over at Dreamland Book Blog. Make sure you stop by their pages for more fun.
1. A Villain You Can't Help But Love

For anyone who has read this book, you all know that Rhysand seems to be the villain, but he turns into a very sexy hero in the end. In the first book though, you have to love to hate him... Even though I love him... 
2. Your OTP
I am in love with Clair and Jamie from Outlander. The show is a regular staple on my Sunday nights and the books adorn my shelves at home. How can you live without a good romance? 

3. A Character Who's Destined For Greater Things
One of my favorite books that I've read this year is The Diabolic. The main character Nemesis is considered less than human, but yet, she overcomes the stigma of being a diabolic and learns how to love. She is definitely destined for greater things.   4. A Character Who's More Than They Appear
I would have to throw one of my favorite authors out there and say that Celaena from Throne of Glass is really not what she appears. Is she an assassin or a princess on the run? I don't know... And that's all I got today. The boys are calling for their dinner and the dog needs some love. Next time I promise to give you more than four answers. Please Join me on this book tag, and feel free to add more questions to the list. Make sure you tag me so I can stop by and comment.
Have a wonderful day my book friends.

Ghost Hands, Possessed Clown Statues and Free Magic Cats | Top 5 Wednesday

Hello and welcome to my very first Top 5 Wednesday! This is going to be a blast. Today's topic is Books Featuring Paranormal Creatures. This is a great way to start off my T5W, since I love paranormal books and mythical creatures of all kinds. Without further ado, here are my top five picks.

5. Wild Ride by Jennifer Cruise and Bob Mayer. This was a fun read that I picked up over the summer. Who doesn't like strange things happening at the fair? The creepy creatures in this one were possessed clown statues. Um.. no... I hate clowns. It was a creep fest from the beginning to the end.  It was really a wild ride and definitely in my top 5 this week.

The wildest ride at Dreamland isn?t the roller coaster. Lots of women think they?ve fallen in love with a demon. Mab Brannigan really has . . . Mary Alice Brannigan doesn't believe in the supernatural. Nor does she expect to find that she?s the newest recruit in the Guardia, an elite team of demon fighters formed centuries before to guard the five Untouchables, the most powerful demons in the history of the world, now imprisoned right there in the Dreamland amusement park. That would be bad enough, but there?s a guy she?s falling hard for, and there?s something about him that?s not quite right . . . Then there?s Ethan Wayne, a former Green Beret who?s come home to Dreamland to die. Ethan has his own problems including a bullet in his chest inching closer to his heart, a true love who shoots him on sight, and a mother who drags him into the Guardia after he?s possessed by a crazed killer mermaid demon. Between ducking his mother?s attempts to reform him and dodging the bullets of a secret government agent he?s pretty sure is his soulmate, Ethan really doesn?t have time for demons, touchable or not. But rocky romances and demented demons aren?t Mab and Ethan?s only problems: they?re also coping with a crooked politician, a supernatural raven, a secret government agency, an inexperienced sorceress, a betrayer within the Guardia, and some mind-boggling revelations from their own pasts. As their personal demons wreck their newfound relationships and real demons wreck the park, Mab and Ethan find out that the Untouchables have escaped and opened the gate to hell on earth. Now they?re facing down the Devil himself and finding out what everybody who?s ever been to an amusement park knows: the end of the ride is the wildest. 

4. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen. If you can look past the absurdity of what this wonderful Jane Austen book as become, there is actually a fun story about zombies underneath. Do I really have to tell you what the paranormal creature is in this book?

The New York Times Best Seller is now a major motion picture starring Lily James and Sam Riley, with Matt Smith, Charles Dance, and Lena Headey. 

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains.”

So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem. As our story opens, a mysterious plague has fallen upon the quiet English village of Meryton—and the dead are returning to life! Feisty heroine Elizabeth Bennet is determined to wipe out the zombie menace, but she’s soon distracted by the arrival of the haughty and arrogant Mr. Darcy. What ensues is a delightful comedy of manners with plenty of civilized sparring between the two young lovers—and even more violent sparring on the blood-soaked battlefield. Can Elizabeth vanquish the spawn of Satan? And overcome the social prejudices of the class-conscious landed gentry? Complete with romance, heartbreak, swordfights, cannibalism, and thousands of rotting corpses, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies transforms a masterpiece of world literature into something you’d actually want to read. 

3. Sabriel by Garth Nix. This author is one of my all time favorites of all time. Sabriel was the first book I picked up of his, and my favorite character was Mogget, the free magic creature trapped in the body of a cat.

Sent to a boarding school in Ancelstierre as a young child, Sabriel has had little experience with the random power of Free Magic or the Dead who refuse to stay dead in the Old Kingdom. But during her final semester, her father, the Abhorsen, goes missing, and Sabriel knows she must enter the Old Kingdom to find him.

With Sabriel, the first installment in the Abhorsen series, Garth Nix exploded onto the fantasy scene as a rising star, in a novel that takes readers to a world where the line between the living and the dead isn't always clear—and sometimes disappears altogether. 

2. The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden. Talking horses. Yes, you read that right. The Girl in the Tower has talking horses among other really cool, but creepy things. This was a great read, but make sure you pick up The Bear and the Nightingale first.

The magical adventure begun in The Bear and the Nightingale continues as brave Vasya, now a young woman, is forced to choose between marriage or life in a convent and instead flees her home—but soon finds herself called upon to help defend the city of Moscow when it comes under siege.Orphaned and cast out as a witch by her village, Vasya’s options are few: resign herself to life in a convent, or allow her older sister to make her a match with a Moscovite prince. Both doom her to life in a tower, cut off from the vast world she longs to explore. So instead she chooses adventure, disguising herself as a boy and riding her horse into the woods. When a battle with some bandits who have been terrorizing the countryside earns her the admiration of the Grand Prince of Moscow, she must carefully guard the secret of her gender to remain in his good graces—even as she realizes his kingdom is under threat from mysterious forces only she will be able to stop.  

1. Jade Green by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. I love this book! This was the first paranormal story that I really got into and possibly the culprate that got me hooked. The paranormal creature to watch out for is a floating ghost hand. Yes...

"Then at the end of the street, the house--the large brown house with the two eyes--made me suddenly clutch at the driver's arm as if to say, Turn back! Turn back!" At the first sight of her uncle's house--her future home--an inexplicable cloud of foreboding engulfs orphaned teen Judith Sparrow. Unfortunately, her fears are confirmed when she hears a mysterious scratching at the back of her closet and senses a ghostly presence hovering over her at night. Even more chilling, Judith learns of the death of a girl named Jade Green from the town gossip--a girl who lived in her uncle's house before Judith and died a horrible death on the attic stairs. As it turns out, Jade dearly loved the color that was her name. Suddenly, Judith knows the reason she was forbidden by her uncle to bring anything green into the house. She fears that by smuggling in a small green picture frame, she has roused the sleeping ghost of Jade Green and assured the doom of all who sleep under her uncle's roof! --Jennifer Hubert

Strength will be tested | Fearless by Jennifer Jenkins @chapterxchapter @authorjenkins @Month9Books

   
Welcome to the Release Day Celebration forFearless (Nameless #3) by Jennifer Jenkinspresented by Month9Books!Be sure to enter the giveaway found at the end of the post! 
Happy Book Birthday, Jennifer!     
 

In exactly twenty-three days, Gryphon will offer his life to Chief Barnabas in exchange for the lives of his best friend and mess brothers. Until then, he must keep his plans from Zo while avoiding the Wolves of the Allied Camp. But Gryphon is not the only one harboring secrets. To spare her own life, Zo has made a blood oath promising to help the Kodiak Clan free their families living as Nameless slaves. When Gryphon learns the truth — that the peaceful life he’d planned for Zo is not secure — he divulges a secret that will give the Allies the upper hand against the Ram.Now, The Great Move is underway and a final battle between the Wolf, Ram, Kodiak and Raven cannot be stopped. Strength will be tested. Loyalties will be questioned. Alliances will form. In a world of uncertainty and danger, Zo and Gryphon may finally have what they’ve each always wanted.

Fearless (Nameless #3) by Jennifer Jenkins Publication Date: October 17, 2017 Publisher: Month9BooksGoogle Play | BAM | Chapters | Indies | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | TBD | iBooks   
OTHER BOOKS IN THE SERIES     
   
 

With her degree in History and Secondary Education, Jennifer had every intention of teaching teens to love George Washington and appreciate the finer points of ancient battle stratagem. (Seriously, she’s obsessed with ancient warfare.) However, life had different plans in store when the writing began. As a proud member of Writers Cubed, and a co-founder of the Teen Author Boot Camp, she feels blessed to be able to fulfill both her ambition to work with teens as well as write Young Adult fiction.Jennifer has three children who are experts at naming her characters, one loving, supportive husband, a dog with little-man syndrome, and three chickens (of whom she is secretly afraid).

 
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Schnitzle, Cashews and Lasagna Soup | #WeeklyMenu Week #219

Monday, Monday! I'm singing in my head. The kids are back to school and I'm home having a quiet day. Hurrah! 
My husband and I tried a new restaurant over the weekend for breakfast. Its been there ever since I can remember, but I've never eaten there. It was really good and the view of the river was awesome. If you are in the Oregon City area, check out the Rivershore Bar & Grill. 
This weeks menu is going to be amazing. Since the cold weather is back, soup is back in rotation. I can't wait.
Enjoy this weeks menu! 
Monday- Pork Schnitzle
Tuesday- Philly Cheese Steak
Wednesday- Cashew Chicken
Thursday- Lasagna Soup
Friday- Sheet Pan Parmesan Chicken
Saturday- Spaghetti 
Sunday- Tuna Sandwiches

Is the Fight Worth the Cost | The Empress by S.J. Kincaid #BookReview

Title: The EmpressBy: S.J. KincaidGenre: Sci-fi FantasyPages: 320Release Date: October 31st, 2017Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Summary from Goodreads: It’s a new day in the Empire. Tyrus has ascended to the throne with Nemesis by his side and now they can find a new way forward—one where they don’t have to hide or scheme or kill. One where creatures like Nemesis will be given worth and recognition, where science and information can be shared with everyone and not just the elite.
But having power isn’t the same thing as keeping it, and change isn’t always welcome. The ruling class, the Grandiloquy, has held control over planets and systems for centuries—and they are plotting to stop this teenage Emperor and Nemesis, who is considered nothing more than a creature and certainly not worthy of being Empress.

Nemesis will protect Tyrus at any cost. He is the love of her life, and they are partners in this new beginning. But she cannot protect him by being the killing machine she once was. She will have to prove the humanity that she’s found inside herself to the whole Empire—or she and Tyrus may lose more than just the throne. But if proving her humanity means that she and Tyrus must do inhuman things, is the fight worth the cost of winning it? 
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Review: Another epic read from S.J. Kincaid. I was excited to dive back into the world of Nemesis. She is one bad as chick. Now that she is on the road to be the Empress, there are many people who don't want her to succeed. This whole story is a wild ride of twists and turns, murders and betrayals. It wasn't as enthralling as the first book, but still a great read. I can't wait for the last book in the series. 
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.