Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 224

The Weather War by Stephanie A. Cain #BloogTour @stephanie_cain

The Weather War
Stephanie A. Cain
Publication date: September 19th 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Princess Azmei died for her country three years ago–or so everyone but a trusted few believed. Having survived assassination attempts, the desert, dragons, and a treacherous plot designed to destroy her entire family, Azmei has finally managed to save her kingdom.
Now she has to save the world.
Azmei travels to Amethir, whose prince she promised three years ago to marry. With her is Hawk, the man who loves her, and Yar, the Voice of Dragons. They carry a terrifying message for the king of Amethir: the gods are waking and the world is about to shake.
Prince Vistaren of Amethir has also received a frightening warning, this one from a powerful stormwitch–weather magic is failing. Patterns of storms are beginning to build outside their prescribed season. While the Stormwitch Academy officially denies any problems, there are hints of trouble yet to come.
Azmei and Vistaren know they must act. But the king refuses to listen to them and the land is beginning to tear itself apart. Facing pirate attacks, seadragon swarms, and a strange woman who uses magic in a way no stormwitch should, Vistaren and Azmei know they must find a way to set things right.
But what price is too high to save the world?

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo

Author Bio:
Stephanie A. Cain grew up in Indiana, where much of her urban fantasy is set, but unfortunately has been unable to visit Amethir or Tamnen, where her epic fantasy novels are set.
She graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Creative Writing, with a Medieval Studies minor. She has two-thirds of a Master of Library Science, but ran out of money and enthusiasm for grad school at about the same time. Despite this, her years of work in libraries were not wasted--besides having a lot of librarian friends (everyone should have at least one) she also spent a great deal of time hanging out in the stacks at 398.2, which gave rise to many of her urban fantasy stories.
She currently works at the General Lew Wallace Study & Museum, where she spends her time doing historical research, giving tours of a Victorian man-cave, and serving as a one-woman IT department.
Stephanie's favorite authors are J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Elizabeth Moon, Tamora Pierce, Garth Nix, and Robin McKinley.
A proud crazy cat lady, Stephanie is happily owned by Eowyn, Strider, and Eustace Clarence Scrubb. In her free time, she enjoys hiking (except for the spiders), bird-watching, visiting wineries, and collecting anything with owls on it. She likes to unwind by playing World of Warcraft and Skyrim. She enjoys organizing things, is overly fond of notebooks, and visits office supply stores for fun. She owns way more movie scores and fountain pens than she can actually afford.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

The Reason Why I Can't Watch Space Movies

Movies set in space make up a fair amount of stories that are released each year. Space exploration, space aliens, traveling to new worlds, Mars. There is an infinite amount of scenarios that one can come up with that has to do with space.

Take Star Trek for instance. One of my favorite space series. Star Wars. Awesome! I love both these shows because they are not realistic for the most part, at least not yet. These people live in space, have artificial gravity, travel at light speed. Phasers. Volcans. This is nothing like the world today. I can handle these movies.

What I can't handle, are the space horror, epic death, space drowning movies. Yes, I said space drowning. Its my new thing.

My husband and I decided to watch Life. It just came out recently on DVD and I managed to snag a copy from the library. I'm always leery of this kind of movie and for good reason. The realistic space deaths. Yes, I know there is a hyperactive death alien in it, which is in no way realistic right now, but come on. People live in space right now, just like in the movie.

WARNING - Death spoilers to come!

Everything is all hunky dory. The astronauts are coming back from a successful mission to Mars where they found a single cell of life. They are all happy. Yeah.

The life grows. They name it Calvin. How cute it is. Look how it reacts to their finger poking at it. Stop pocking at the alien life form, that's just alien 101 right there.
All hell breaks lose. One guy has his hand mangles so bad it actually gives him a heart attack. Another guy gets eaten from the inside out. There was one guy that got locked in his sleeping pod and I was so scared, I don't even know how he died.
A lady drowned in her own space suit. Actually drowned in liquid. That's some actual space drowning right there.
The last two people, now that's where the real money is. Two pods go down to earth as they try to escape, one has a dude and the alien in it. Which one do you think makes it back to earth and which one spins uncontrollably off into space never to be seen again? Oh, hell no! OMG the red light. Space drowning for everyone!

No matter how many times I say I will never watch a space drowning movie again, I always sit back down and gnaw of my finger nails like there is no tomorrow. Its like a train wreck, so horrible, but you can't look away.

If you are like me and space drowning is an issue, then I wouldn't recommend this movie for you, but if you like alien death machines and space horrors, then you will love the Life movie. It was well done and had some big name actors is it.

Do you have an issue with space drowning? Leave me your comments below.  

Sink by M.E. Rhines #BlogTour @MERhines

Sink
M.E. Rhines
(Mermaid Royalty #1)
Publication date: July 31st 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Obedience has always been a matter of survival for sixteen-year-old mermaid princess Pauline. Her mother is the tyrannical Queen Calypso, who rules the kingdom of Atargatis with an iron trident. To utter one word against her would mean banishment—or worse—so Pauline bites her tongue and minds her manners. But on the eve of her sister’s merling-shower, all of that is about to change. Confronted with the truth about what happens to the human men who are betrothed to the mermaids of Atargatis, Pauline realizes she can stay silent no more.
Determined to end the queen’s dark tradition, Pauline goes along on a search for shipwreck survivors, secretly planning to free them. But things get complicated when she finds herself inexplicably drawn to one of the men. Before she realizes what’s happening, she has kissed him—and a kiss from a mermaid is not without consequences. Now Pauline will have to risk everything if she is to save the young man and thwart the queen’s dark plans…

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Kobo—EXCERPT:My eyes widened, my heart hammering against my rib cage. A fear I didn’t understand tugged at my tailfin, like an anchor had been tied to its end. I sank against the wall of our pirated vessel and watched the chaos as it unfolded in slow motion.
Gene laughed at something my sister said just before it hit him. His smile fell in an instant as soon as the sudden deadening feeling pummeled into his chest. He dropped the plate and held out his hand. From my experience with Beaked Sea Snake, he was seeing double the fingers.
A fogginess washed over his eyes. He reached out for Fawna for just a second before his arms fell to his sides, limp and useless. Then, his human legs gave out from under him. A loud crack sounded as his knees made impact with the hard floor of the ship.
When he finally fell backward, my sister stood over his paralyzed body with a shameless, cruel smirk that gave me the chills. My mother, hovering well above me, nodded her approval with a warm, glowing pride showing on her face.
I looked around, expecting to see the same shocked expression I wore among my clan. But not one jaw was dropped. Every one of them watched with tense, excited eyes. They looked like bloodthirsty demons from where I was sitting.
“Mother,” I whispered. “What’s going on?”
She didn’t hear me.
“My Queen,” someone shouted from below. “What are your orders?”
Mother took in a long, powerful breath and shouted, “Air him out.”
I gasped, disbelief shuddering through me. “Mother,” I screamed. “Mother, you can’t!”
My protests were drowned out by the unified battle cry that erupted from every member of our clan. Angelique dropped her guitar, dashing for Gene with two other mermaids close behind.
I rushed for him, but Mother grabbed my arm with bruising fingers.
“Let me go,” I demanded.
Even through the screeching cheers below, I could hear Mother’s teeth grinding. “Don’t make a scene.”
I stilled, having every intention to stay put and comply, as usual. But then, I caught a glimpse of Gene’s face. While his muscles were tight and immobile, his eyes were filled with a conscious terror. They pleaded with me from across the ship, begging me to save him.
Before I could stop myself, I twisted my arm out of Mother’s grasp and swam to him, hoping to talk some sense into my sister before she did something terrible.
It was no use. I couldn’t reach them. They had too much of a head start. All I could do was watch as they snatched the helpless human and dragged his lifeless body up, up, and up until…
Bubbles sprayed all around them as they held Gene’s head and neck above water, but kept their own gills safely submerged. Even if he had working legs to thrash and fight with, he would be outmatched. Our tails treaded water in a way a human’s boney appendages couldn’t come close to.
He was in our world, by no choice of his own. We brought him down here against his will, and now that he was a part of it, my mother was sending him back home to die.
The gills would not disappear. They would only struggle for a short while before giving up to the heat of the land above. Gene’s chest moved in and out, in faster but shallower spurts.
I kicked my tail harder. Just as he came into my reach, he took one final gulp of air from his own world, and the movement stopped.
Mother had killed him.

Author Bio:
ME Rhines a southwest Florida native currently living in North Port with her two beautiful children and a third, much larger child whom she affectionately calls husband.
She writes young adult paranormal romance to feed her belief that fairy tales are real and
nonsense is necessary.
She also writes adult romances under her edgier alter-ego, Mary Bernsen.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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#WeeklyMenu Week 208

Look at this adorable picture of my middle son I found. Facebook told me this was six years ago today. He used to be so bald, now he wont let me cut his hair. My little surfer boy.

Writing is coming along nicely. Got over my writers block and have a clear path to where I want to take it. Hopefully today I can find some quiet time and put pen to paper.

I can't believe the temperatures we are going to have this week. Thursday is supposed to be 107! That's hotter than the day I got married. Thankfully, last winter we installed an awesome heater/ac unit that keeps the house a nice neutral temp. 

Try not to melt this week and enjoy this awesome menu! 

Monday- Ground Beef Tacos
Tuesday- Chicken Artichoke Spinach Bake and Rice 
Wednesday- Oven Baked Chicken and Rice
Thursday- Beef Stoganoff
Friday- French Dip Sandwiches
Saturday- Tortellini Soup
Sunday- Tuna Sandwiches

July 2017 Reads

Welcome to the end of July. Its been a long month full of wonderful books and fun times. I can't believe summer is half way over and the kids will be going back to school soon. Maybe I'll have time to read even more books in the fall... Maybe... To keep you busy until then, here are the 43 read I was lucky enough to blast through this month.

Weekly Confessions #2

Made it through seven books this week from a road range of genres. Just finished Wild by Sheryl Strayed. It really inspired me to hike the Pacific Crest Trail, but then I realized that I don't hike and even the shortest portion of the trail is rough and could take days. Reviewed Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero It was not what I thought it was going to be. Blew through Percy Jackson and the Sea of monsters, Alice in Wonderland (My Gilmore Girls reading list) and A Lief in the Wind of all Hallows. Last but not least, Tithe and Legend were knocked off my TBR pile. It was a great reading week and I'm hoping to be just as productive next week. I've been on a personal journey to lose the weight my new medication (That I will have to be on for the rest of my life) made me gain last August. It really sucks because I worked really hard to lose the weight I had gained after I stopped dancing and after giving birth to my three boys. A total of 57 lbs. Then the meds made me gain 20. I am currently down 7lbs, but have a way to go. Today thought was the last day of my 21 day fix regime. I lost a  total of 2.5lb (You may not think that's a lot, but I do) and 16.5 inches from my flabby mom bod (This is what's more important to me). I'm excited to start another round of 21 day fix tomorrow, and maybe I can lose another 3 lbs this time. 
In honor of the successful weight loss regime, I went out and bought me a new t-shirt. Gas Monkey! Anyone else struggling like I am with weight loss? What has worked for you?
Its now been a week since Seeker has been released. It seems to be doing well and gathering a following on Goodreads. I've been relentlessly soliciting reviews online and posting on all my social media forums trying to spread the word. I'm sorry if you've become inundated with The Hunter Saga but its my baby and I'm proud of it.


I was able to get in a few hours this week on a new book I'm working on. I'm thinking of calling it The Darker, but that is a working title. So far, I'm about 36K words into a 90K or so book. A third of the way there. Its coming along nicely though and I think you will all love it when it comes out.
What are you writing right now? Do you have a working title yet?
I had an awesome week on the blog. Lots of books, food and fun.This week I shared with you 13 of my favorite Sci-Fi and Fantasy booksReviewed Meddling Kids by Edgar CanteroTried to convince you to read Stillhouse Lake by Rachel CaineShared the new release by T.H. Hernandez called The UnionIntroduced you to Mark Shaff and two of his novels Gave you another week of meals to enjoy

There is an awesome review for House of Chaos on Book Ink Reviews. Its critical, but that's how an author grows. By listening to the ones who actually read the product. How am I supposed to know whats wrong with my book? I love following Dust and Pages on Instagram. They just came out with a Fayre Funko Pop that is totally awesome! I'm holding out for the Rhysand though.Came across the hash tag #momswhoblog on Instagram. I'm thoroughly enjoying this feed and seeing all the moms like me who have so much to say and not enough time in the day to get it all done.Thanks for stopping by the blog today and listening (I guess reading) my confessions for the week. Now get out there and read something!

13 Books to Read During Sci-Fi and Fantasy Week

If you've been following my blog for a while now, you will already know that sci-fi and fantasy are two of my favorite genres to read. If this is your first time to my blog, welcome and I thought you should know that two of my favorite genres are sci-fi and fantasy. I read a lot of fantasy, I write a lot of fantasy. Fantasy is my crutch. Dystopian, space opera, epic, magical. Hmm.. So much fun.
In celebration of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Week, I've put together a short list of some of the top books in these genres (according to the readers on Goodreads) that I have actually read. Now, there are more books that I think should be on this list, like the ones above, but sadly, not everyone in the book-o-sphere agrees with me. Hopefully you will have enjoyed some of these reads and help me add to the list by leaving me a comment below. 
In no particular order...

 


I have read all of these books and fortunately for us, they all have sequels. If you want to catch the entire list voted on by the bookish people of Goodreads, then click here. Otherwise, leave me a comment on your favorite Sci-fi and Fantasy novels. 
Happy Sci-fi & Fantasy Week!

#BookReview | Meddling Kids by Edgar Cantero

Title: Meddling KidsBy: Edgar CanteroGenre: Contemporary MysteryPages: 336Release Date: July 11th, 2017Publisher: Doubleday BooksAudience: Adult
Summary from Goodreads: For fans of John Dies at the End and Welcome to Night Vale comes a tour de force of horror, humor, and H.P. Lovecraft. The surviving members of a forgotten teenage detective club (and their dog) must reunite as broken adults to finally solve the terrifying case that ruined them all and sent the wrong man to prison. Scooby Doo and the gang never had to do this!
1990. The teen detectives once known as the Blyton Summer Detective Club (of Blyton Hills, a small mining town in the Zoinx River Valley in Oregon) are all grown up and haven't seen each other since their fateful, final case in 1977. Andy, the tomboy, is twenty-five and on the run, wanted in at least two states. Kerri, one-time kid genius and budding biologist, is bartending in New York, working on a serious drinking problem. At least she's got Tim, an excitable Weimaraner descended from the original canine member of the team. Nate, the horror nerd, has spent the last thirteen years in and out of mental health institutions, and currently resides in an asylum in Arhkam, Massachusetts. The only friend he still sees is Peter, the handsome jock turned movie star. The problem is, Peter's been dead for years.

The time has come to uncover the source of their nightmares and return to where it all began in 1977. This time, it better not be a man in a mask. The real monsters are waiting.

With raucous humor and brilliantly orchestrated mayhem, Edgar Cantero's Meddling Kids taps into our shared nostalgia for the books and cartoons we grew up with, and delivers an exuberant, eclectic, and highly entertaining celebration of horror, life, friendship, and many-tentacled, interdimensional demon spawn. 
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Review: I was so excited to read this book. I grew up watching shows like Scooby Do and Inspector Gadget. Loved the mystery and suspense of the hokey cartoon on Saturday morning. When I came across this book, it was almost like the story had finally continued. Its too bad I was board reading this story. 
It started off pretty good. The characters were introduced, and their back stories were starting to emerge, but that's kind of where I got lost. It took way too long for the real mysteries to happen. I'm wondering if I was just expecting a mystery and got a contemporary fiction. 
All together, it wasn't terrible. I'm just not a contemporary fiction kind of girl. Good concept thought.

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

#BookReview | Stillhouse Lake by Rachel Caine

Title: Stillhouse LakeBy: Rachel CaineGenre: Thriller / MysteryPages: 302Release Date: July 1st, 2017Publisher: Thomas & MercerAudience: Adult
Summary from Goodreads: Gina Royal is the definition of average—a shy Midwestern housewife with a happy marriage and two adorable children. But when a car accident reveals her husband’s secret life as a serial killer, she must remake herself as Gwen Proctor—the ultimate warrior mom.
With her ex now in prison, Gwen has finally found refuge in a new home on remote Stillhouse Lake. Though still the target of stalkers and Internet trolls who think she had something to do with her husband’s crimes, Gwen dares to think her kids can finally grow up in peace.

But just when she’s starting to feel at ease in her new identity, a body turns up in the lake—and threatening letters start arriving from an all-too-familiar address. Gwen Proctor must keep friends close and enemies at bay to avoid being exposed—or watch her kids fall victim to a killer who takes pleasure in tormenting her. One thing is certain: she’s learned how to fight evil. And she’ll never stop. 
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Review: A captivating thriller that will knock your socks off... I love a good thriller. One that has just the right amount of creep factor and keeps you guessing from start to finish. Sadly, I didn't feel that way about this one. The beginning was a little slow for me and it took me a while to get into the story, but once it really got going, I was like "wow." The book ended with an epic cliffhanger. Although I am excited now to read the next book to find out what happens, I'm more of a get it now kind of girl and the ending isn't sitting well for me. Needless to say, I will be reading the next book, because I have to know. 

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

The Union by T.H. Hernandez #BookBlitz @TheresaHernandz

The Union
T.H. Hernandez
(The Union #1)
Publication date: November 18th 2014
Genres: Dystopian, Young Adult

After global warming and a second civil war devastated the former United States, two different societies rose from the ashes – the Union, a towering high-tech utopia, hugging the perimeter of the continent, and the devastated, untamed midsection known as the Ruins.
Seventeen-year-old Evan Taylor has an easy, privileged life in the Union. What she doesn’t have is any idea what to do with the rest of her life. She only knows she wants to do something meaningful, to make a difference in the lives of others.
When she’s kidnapped and taken into the Ruins as a pawn in a dispute involving her boyfriend, Bryce, her ideal world is turned upside down. What she learns while in the Ruins shakes her faith in everything she’s ever known, from Bryce, to her family, and even the Union itself.
Now Evan must choose whether to stay with Cyrus, the sexy, resourceful survivor who believes she’s in the Ruins for a reason, or return to the only life she’s ever known. But when she stumbles upon a dangerous plot that threatens both worlds, her decision could tear her apart.
The Union is a futuristic young adult romantic adventure.
The complete series:

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / KoboThe Union – book 1 – is only 99¢ for a limited time!—EXCERPT FROM THE UNION:My eyes flutter open to complete darkness, my brain cloudy. My shoulders ache and my arms are numb from sleeping on them. When I try to sit up, the moments before I blacked out come rushing back, filling me with dread.
My hands are tied behind my back, so the best I can do is roll to my side. I strain into the darkness to make sense of my surroundings. I’m inside something that’s moving. It’s too dark to make out anything, so I rely on my ears. A train. But not the L-Train, nor a commuter train. Maybe a cargo. My pulse throbs behind my eyelids and I fight the urge to vomit.
Shit, shit, shit. Tears fill my eyes, but I can’t afford to cry. I need to figure a way out of this mess. Lisa and Colin must have looked for me when I didn’t come back. That only provides small comfort though, since I have no idea where I am or how they’d find me.
None of this makes any sense. The only kidnappings in the Union are due to custody disputes. Maybe Eddie had me kidnapped. Except that’s completely crazy. If he was going to do that, why wait until I’m almost an adult and already on my way to see him?
This must be about money. A ransom or something. That seems so fantastic though, like straight out of a movie. There was that one kid who disappeared a couple of years ago, but it turned out he’d just run away.
Maybe it’s got something to do with my Uncle David. As one of only seven governors, he has an incredible amount of power. Only the Prime Minister has more. Unfortunately, it’s the only thing that makes sense. If I have any hope of surviving, he might have to give them what they want.

Author Bio:
T.H. Hernandez is the author of young adult books. The Union, a futuristic dystopian adventure, was a finalist in the 2015 San Diego book awards in the Young Adult Fiction category.
She loves pumpkin spice lattes, Game of Thrones, Comic-Con, Star Wars, Doctor Who marathons, Bad Lip Reading videos, and all things young adult, especially the three young adults who share her home.
When not visiting the imaginary worlds inside her head, T.H. Hernandez lives in usually sunny San Diego, California with her husband and three children, a couple of cats, and a dog who thinks he’s a cat, affectionately referred to as “the puppycat.”
You can find her online at http://thhernandez.com
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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