Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 233

#BookReview | A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas

Title: A Court of Wings and RuinBy: Sarah J. MaasGenre: FantasyPages: 699Release Date: May 2nd, 2017Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens BooksAudience: Mature Content
Summary from Goodreads: Looming war threatens all Feyre holds dear in the third volume of the #1 New York Times bestselling A Court of Thorns and Roses series.
Feyre has returned to the Spring Court, determined to gather information on Tamlin's maneuverings and the invading king threatening to bring Prythian to its knees. But to do so she must play a deadly game of deceit-and one slip may spell doom not only for Feyre, but for her world as well.

As war bears down upon them all, Feyre must decide who to trust amongst the dazzling and lethal High Lords-and hunt for allies in unexpected places.

In this thrilling third book in the #1 New York Times bestselling series from Sarah J. Maas, the earth will be painted red as mighty armies grapple for power over the one thing that could destroy them all. 

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Review: OK, so I've been waiting for this book to come out since I finished a Court of Mist and Fury on February 10th. I know a lot of you have been waiting a whole lot longer, but this author is new to me this year, surprisingly enough. I'm already obsessed though. I told my husband that his new name is Rhysand... He had no idea what I was talking about, but went with it.

There was so much action and romance. Betrayals and conspiracies. Characters from across the world come together to defeat the High King who seeks to rule human and Faye alike with an iron fist. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but toward the end I almost had to kill someone, but don't worry, it was all ok.

I can't wait for the next installment coming sometime in 2018. I guess I'll have to be patient. Five stars fro A Court of Wings and Ruin.

#BookReview | My Name is Caillou by Christine L'Heureux

Title: My Name is CaillouBy: Christine L'HeureuxGenre: Picture BookRelease Date: May 16th, 2017Publisher: Chouette Publishing
Summary from Goodreads: A first-ever look at the origins of Caillou, the lovable four-year-old who has been inspiring generations of preschool children to grow emotionally by learning, having fun and using their imagination. In this lighthearted and intimate book, Caillou introduces himself and shares the details of his young life: his family, his world, his daily routine. **NOTE: This edition is a high-quality hardcover with book jacket.Author Christine L’Heureux, who cocreated the character more than 25 years ago, chronicles the beginnings of her treasured character with tenderness and apparent delight. Illustrator Kary captures all the warmth and emotion that are the hallmarks of Caillou’s early years.
Review: If I wasn't already familiar with Caillou, then I probably wouldn't have picked this book up. There wasn't much special to the story and it left me wondering why I was even reading it. My three year old didn't seem interested in it either. The art was great, really along the lines of the Caillou I know. I gave the book three stars.

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

#BookReview | The Legion of Flame by Anthony Ryan

Title: The Legion of FlameBy: Anthony RyanGenre: FantasyRelease Date: July 6th 2017Publisher: ?
Summary from Goodreads: No current summary...
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Review: The Legion of Flame is the much anticipated sequel to Anthony Ryan's The Waking Fire. In this fantasy world, drake blood from the different species gives superhuman abilities. We continue to follow Clay from the previous book and a new character Lizanne. 
Now, I'm actually reading these books backwards, but this story was easy to dive into. I didn't need much prep in order to follow along with the continuation and the world building was awesome. I loved Clay. He seemed to move the story along quickly, and Lizanne was intense and an awesome chick.
I would recommend this read to anyone who likes dragons and dystopian fantasy world building. 

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

Empty Threat by Danny Bell #Giveaway @Xpressoreads

Empty Threat
Danny Bell
(The Black Pages, #1)
Publication date: May 2nd 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Book one of The Black Pages
Elana Black has the power to make herself fictional. But when she decides to start saving all the people in books and TV shows who die just for the sake of advancing the plot, she quickly learns that she’s not the only one with her powers.
All Elana wants to do is save people. But these others don’t want the stories to change, and they’ll do everything they can to stop her.
If you had the power to change fate… to create a happy ending where there wasn’t one before… would you do it if it meant risking your own?

Goodreads / Amazon—EXCERPT:My fears, by comparison, had always been irrational. The fear that someone will think my nose is weird. The fear that I’d hid in the bathroom too long or too many times and everyone at the party will notice. The fear that even my closest friends would one day leave or decide I wasn’t cool enough anymore. The fear that a group of strangers won’t like me, but then will only pretend to be nice to me, and I’ll never know it. They’d say something awful behind my back, and one of them would tell a lie about me, which would make someone else believe that lie, so they’d repeat it. Then two people would tell the same story, and the third and fourth people would also repeat it and then it would become something different, and soon entire groups of people I’d never met would be poisoned against me before we ever even had the chance to meet, before anyone knew I wasn’t some huge jerk, and—My heart was pounding just thinking about that scenario. My breaths were hard and shallow, my fingers hurt from where I’d been clutching the steering wheel. At least I’d stopped crying.
My point is, that for as terrifying as my fears were to me, I’d always found a way to get past them and function. Even when I was so afraid that I almost couldn’t move, I could fake bravado. In a bit of irony, the fear of being seen as afraid made me move on as if I wasn’t. To do otherwise would mean to just stop, and I’ve lived that life before. Sometimes days, sometimes weeks, sometimes months at a time… and you don’t get that time back. So ultimately, you were afraid for nothing. If I could impart a piece of advice onto the world, it is that more than the crowds, more than fake smiles and unheard whispers, even more than our own base, loathsome selves, what we should really fear is stasis. Life will always move forward, whether we move forward or not. Even stumbling and flailing about, unable to find your balance and rolling down a hill head over heels is still moving forward. It might not be graceful, but at least you’re not stuck with whatever you were trying to move past.

Author Bio:
My name is Danny Bell. I want to tell stories and avoid writing author profiles. I read—when I should be interacting with people, I named my cat after a cat I liked in a book, I’m pretty sure I saw a ghost one time—though I’ll never admit it publicly, I’m too tall for the earth, and I’ve never eaten a vegetable. I lied about the vegetable part. Wait… is someone going to read this?

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The Bodyguard by Wende Dikec #Giveaway @WendeDikec @Xpressoreads

The Bodyguard
Wende Dikec
(Legacies of the Amazons, #1)
Published by: Inkspell Publishing
Publication date: May 2nd 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Mythology, Young Adult

Descended from a secret race of Amazon Warriors, Ana Thermadosa is not like other girls. As a student at Artemis Academy, the training grounds for a mysterious company called Cerberus Enterprises, Ana has spent her life learning what is important. How to fight, how to win, how to kill, and, mostly importantly, how to follow orders and live up to the expectations of her powerful family.
Trained in the art of warfare since birth, now her skills are being put to the test. She’s been hired to defend Jordan Banks, the wealthy son of a nefarious businessman, from kidnappers.
She despises Jordan and all he stands for, but soon comes to realize that many things in the outside word aren’t as she’s been led to believe. She also discovers Jordan isn’t what she expected, and, against her better judgment, finds herself starting to care for him.
When disaster strikes, Ana is put in a difficult predicament. Keeping Jordan safe would mean betraying her own people and everything she believes in, but letting him die would mean betraying something even more important.
Her own heart.

Goodreads / Amazon / Kobo / iBooks—EXCERPT:“If you’d like a demonstration, I am willing to provide it.”“A demonstration?” Roman asked with a snort, but Ana could tell he was intrigued. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Philip suppress a grin.
“Me against them.” She looked at the three hulking bodyguards standing behind him. One of them actually had the nerve to giggle. She decided he would be the first to learn a lesson. Bodyguards should never giggle.
Melani had to bite her lip to keep from smiling. “You don’t have to do this, Ana.”
“Yes, I do.” She removed her black jacket, part of the standard issue uniform worn by everyone at the company, and placed it over the back of her chair. Beneath it, she wore a snug, black t-shirt, and comfortable pants. “There’s a sparring room next door.”
“Would you like them to come in one at a time?” Roman asked, trying to sound like a gentleman. Ana knew he thought she was going to get beat up, and she also knew he kind of looked forward to seeing it. He wouldn’t be so lucky today.
She studied the bodyguards, sizing them up from head to toe. All three of them grinned at her. She opened a door that connected to the sparring room ushered them in, leaving everyone else in the conference room.
“No. I can handle them all at once,” she said, shutting the door behind her.

Author Bio:
Wende Dikec has spent her life traveling the world, collecting stories wherever she visited. She majored in Japanese and International Economics in college and worked in import/export and as an ESL teacher before she committed herself full time to writing. She writes in several romance genres, and her books are quirky and fun. Wende is a Trekkie, a book hoarder, the master of the Nespresso machine, and the mother of three boys (probably the main reason for her caffeine addiction). A puppy named Capone is the most recent addition to her family, and she blogs about him as a way of maintaining what little sanity she has left. She is the author of TIGER LILY and STARR VALENTINE, and writes adult romance under the name Abigail Drake. She can be found on the web at www.wendedikec.com.
Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

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7 Ways to Reduce Your TBR Pile - One Book at a Time

I think it's safe to say that all of us bookish people have a To Be Read (TBR) pile as long as the eye can see. I know for me personal, I've added over 100 books in the month of April alone. You could say I have a problem. It also doesn't help that I'm a member of Netgalley and joined five book clubs on Goodreads this year.

There are so many good books out there, how are we supposed to read them all?

Because of this bibliophile issue that we all seem to face, I've come up with a few tips on how to reduce your TBR pile and get through those books that are gathering dust on your shelf.

Read More

In a fast paced world, everything needs to be scheduled. I know, this step is ridiculous, but think about it. Your day is chocked full of things you got to do. Grocery shopping, get the kids too and from school, work an 8 hour shift, make dinner, laundry, dishes. Where in this mess do you find time to read?

Find some time a few times a week, everyday, whatever your schedule allows, and take some time for yourself. Its worth it, trust me.

Set Reading Goals
That's right, goals. How much reading do you want to do. This is great. I made a goal to read 50 books this year... and of course smashed it by April. Should have shot a whole lot higher, but that's just how fast I read and we will go more into how I do that with the next tip. Whether you read a book a week, a book a month, a book a day... Set yourself a goal and try to stick with it.

Read Audio Books
Like I said before, I read a lot of books... More like, I listen to a lot of books...

As a mother of three boys, who works full time, writes books and has a thing for photography, After all the things I have to get done during my day, there isn't much time left to enjoy a few quiet moments. Even my bathroom time is interrupted by pounding on the door and little voices. There isn't one moment in my day that is free.

That's why I listen to audio books. I'm fortunate to have a job where I don't have to deal with the public and I sit at a computer imputing information all day. That means 8 hours a day, I have the possibility to plug in my head phones and listen to a good. book. It usually takes me 2 days to finish a good read, if that. It just depends on how many pages the book has.

A lot of my books come from the library and they have an awesome audio book section. There is also the text to speech function on my nook app, so if I can't be patient and wait for the library audio book, I can purchase the nook file.

Now you know my secret... Aren't you lucky!

Randomly Pick vs Going in Order
You may think, "I have to read the oldest books in my TBR pile first since they've been waiting the longest." That might work for some people, and if you are one of them, keep plugging away. For those of use that look at that oldest book in our pile and think, "I'm not really in the mood," try another option. This is one of my favorites...

Go to Random.org and plug in how many books you have in your pile. If you're anything like me and you have them all saved on your Goodreads to-read list, then it should be easy to find the number. Mine is currently 398 and that number I'm sure will go up by 100 by the end of the month. Random.org will generate a number for you, and you read that book on your list. Easy as pie. I find this way to be exciting and gets me into books that I wouldn't have picked up for a while.

Find a Book Buddy
I've been plugging through my TBR pile all by myself for so long. It wasn't until recently that I found someone who likes to read as much as I do and now I am excited to share what I've read with her.

Get yourself a book buddy or join a group or club. You can find lots of clubs on Goodreads or through your local library. Maybe you have a close friend that likes to read? Work through your TBR pile together.

Join a Book Club
I know I talked about book clubs a little bit in the last tip, but I thought I would dive deeper into the book club experience.

Book clubs can offer so much more than just reading buddies. They can also add to your TBR pile (Which I know this post is about reducing the pile, but adding to it is not a bad thing.) They can offer challenges. I recently joined a challenge to read through the alphabet in one year. It was fun and also a great way to pick some obscure books from my list. If you are like me and become emotionally attached to certain characters, then you might need an outlet to vent about their sudden demise or how much you hate them for what they did. Book clubs are a awesome. Get yourself connected and if you want a great place to start, come joint me and my book club that is specifically for working through the TBR pile.

You don't have to finish every book

This is probably my most important suggestion out of them all. You don't have to finish every book that you start. Think about it. A lot of people push through books that don't really interest them just because they feel they have to or there is some kind of taboo around it. I have been guilty of this thought process many times. For me, I decided that if I'm not into the book by 25%, I toss it. You should know by a certain point that you're not feeling it. You might say, three chapters or 100 pages. Maybe its an hour. What ever it is, don't feel obligated to read the whole thing just because you opened the cover. Put that book down and start something else.

It's very possible that you're not in the mood at the moment. Put it back in your pile or start a new pile for did not finish (DNF) books. I have one and it has a few highly recommended books in it that I just wasn't feeling at the time. Maybe I'll go back to them, maybe not, but there is no point in forcing yourself to read something that isn't making you happy.

These are my suggestions. They may not work for everyone, but that pile isn't getting any smaller. Trust me, I know... Feel free to join my book club, comment or send me a message, I love to connect with other avid readers, and remember, lets take it one book at a time.

Sarai's Book ClubTBR Pile - One Book at a Time

#WeeklyMenu Week 196

Another week under our belts and six more to go until school is out for the summer. I can't believe we are coming to the end of the school year. It seems like we just started. 
Received a box full of books for the local author book fair, which you should all attend, and now I'm waiting on my bookmarks that should show up on the 12th. Only a few more things to get ready and book fair here I come.
Trying some new recipes on the menu this week, also going to post about how I come up with my weekly menu and give you all a template to follow. So if you are thinking about starting a weekly menu, stay tuned for some tips.
Enjoy! 
Monday- Garlic Parmesan Pork Chops
Tuesday- Grilled Hawaiian BBQ Chicken
Wednesday- Spaghetti 
Thursday- French Dip Sliders
Friday- Chicken Cabbage Stir Fry 
Saturday- Broccoli Cheese Soup 
Sunday
- Tuna Sandwiches

Lux and Lies by Meg Collett #Giveaway @collettmeg @Xpressoreads

Lux and Lies
Meg Collett
(Whitebird, #1)
Publication date: May 2nd 2017
Genres: Science Fiction, Thriller, Young Adult

Mr. Robot meets UnReal in a story of celebrities and anarchists, reality shows and evil corporations, romance and self-discovery.
Nineteen-year-old Wren Iver is nothing more than a dying girl with cancer, but when megastar Sloan Lux dies right before filming starts on the year’s most anticipated reality show, producers scramble to secretly replace her—with Wren. She’s swept into Hollywood and promised a cure by VidaCorp, the nation’s richest bioengineering corporation, for simply replacing Lux. It’s a deal Wren can’t refuse.
The decision could get her killed, because she isn’t the only cast member with ulterior motives
The Whitebirds, a social anarchist group, has infiltrated the show, and they’ll stop at nothing to use Sloane Lux’s fame to derail VidaCorp’s efforts to legalize their controversial, life-changing drug—a drug that might kill more people than it saves. Caught in the middle of a game between a powerful corporation and ruthless anarchist group, Wren will do anything to survive.
Will Wren secure the drug she needs to survive, or will she become another casualty in the anarchists’ fight against VidaCorp?

Goodreads / Amazon—Are you a book reviewer?
Request a review copy here!—

Author Bio:
Meg Collett is from the hills of Tennessee where the cell phone service is a blessing and functioning internet is a myth of epic proportions. She and her husband live in a tiny house with three dogs and not enough couches. She’s the author of the bestselling Fear University series, the End of Days trilogy, and the Canaan Island novels. Find out more at her website www.megcollett.com.
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July Lightning by Shannon A. Thompson #Giveaway @AuthorSAT @Xpressoreads

July Lightning
Shannon A. Thompson
(Bad Bloods #4)
Published by: Clean Teen Publishing
Publication date: May 1st 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

From best-selling author Shannon A. Thompson comes an exciting new duology in the Bad Bloods universe.
Sixteen-year-old Caleb has been called many things: a patient, a musician, even a prostitute…now he has a new name—son. After his identity is uncovered, Caleb bands together with the family he once rejected in order to save the city of Vendona. But it won’t be easy. Enemies wait around every corner—and so do harsh realities. With Violet and Kuthun by his side though, nothing seems impossible. As Vendona sits on the verge of an economic collapse and a massive hurricane threatens the city, Violet and Caleb must show its citizens how to overcome decades of hostility and division to save themselves.
Standing or not, a sea will rage, a wall may fall, and all will depend on immortal pain and sacrifice.

Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo—EXCERPT:Everyone in the Pits called the fifteen-year-old Skeleton, for obvious reasons. Supposedly, the bad blood had been born a normal, healthy baby boy, but, over time, his skin unraveled and revealed pieces of bone. Somehow, defying all science, the boy continued to live. The last time I’d seen him, his right arm and chin showed bone, but now, half his face and all his fingers had contorted to the haunting shape. Even Adam cringed.“You here to fight?” Skeleton asked, eyeing both Adam and me.
I attempted to answer, but Adam shouted over me. “You work here?”
The betrayal Adam felt was one I would never comprehend, even if I wanted to. Adam was a bad blood. To see a fellow bad blood protect the Pits that killed his kind went beyond my human pain. I volunteered to fight. Bad bloods often didn’t. Moments like this reminded me why Kuthun slapped me when I told him I wished I was a bad blood. Just because I sympathized with them and loved them, lived with them and listened to them, did not mean I would ever be one. I could never feel the same emotions Adam did, and Adam couldn’t comprehend mine.
“The humans aren’t the only ones who see value in bad blood.” Skeleton egged Adam on, and Adam fell for it.
“You mean, your blood.”
The boy’s bony fingers rattled against the door. “Of course,” he said, then smiled. The addition of teeth only made the bony boy look worse.
“You’re one of us,” Adam snapped. “How could you—”
I stepped in front of my cousin. Thankfully, my actions stopped him. “We’re here to talk to Connelly,” I said.
The lanky, crass kid looked me over and stepped aside, but as we passed, he gave in to temptation. “If you need a tag for the bad blood, let me know.”
Adam knocked the boy out cold before I could stop him. That was how fast his powers worked. And, for once, I didn’t feel the need to reprimand him.
“You know you have to fight if you hurt the workers,” I said.
“No one will know,” Adam said as he strode past me. “You’re good at keeping secrets, right?”

Author Bio:
Shannon A. Thompson is a young adult author, avid reader, and a habitual chatterbox.
As a novelist, poet, and blogger, Thompson spends her free time writing and sharing ideas with her black cat, Bogart, named after her favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart. Her other two cats bring her coffee. Between writing and befriending cats, Thompson graduated from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in English with an emphasis on creative writing, and her work has appeared in numerous poetry collections and anthologies. Represented by Clean Teen Publishing, Thompson is the best-selling author of The Timely Death Trilogy and the Bad Bloods duology. When she is not writing, she is climbing rooftops, baking cookies, or watching murder shows in the middle of the night, often done with her cats by her side.
Visit her blog for writers and readers at www.ShannonAThompson.com.
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#Preview | Roar by Cora Carmack @CoraCarmack

Title: RoarBy: Cora CarmackGenre: Fantasy Release Date: June 13th, 2017Publisher: Tor Teen
Summary from Goodreads: In a land ruled and shaped by violent magical storms, power lies with those who control them.
Aurora Pavan comes from one of the oldest Stormling families in existence. Long ago, the ungifted pledged fealty and service to her family in exchange for safe haven, and a kingdom was carved out from the wildlands and sustained by magic capable of repelling the world’s deadliest foes. As the sole heir of Pavan, Aurora’s been groomed to be the perfect queen. She’s intelligent and brave and honorable. But she’s yet to show any trace of the magic she’ll need to protect her people.

To keep her secret and save her crown, Aurora’s mother arranges for her to marry a dark and brooding Stormling prince from another kingdom. At first, the prince seems like the perfect solution to all her problems. He’ll guarantee her spot as the next queen and be the champion her people need to remain safe. But the more secrets Aurora uncovers about him, the more a future with him frightens her. When she dons a disguise and sneaks out of the palace one night to spy on him, she stumbles upon a black market dealing in the very thing she lacks—storm magic. And the people selling it? They’re not Stormlings. They’re storm hunters.

Legend says that her ancestors first gained their magic by facing a storm and stealing part of its essence. And when a handsome young storm hunter reveals he was born without magic, but possesses it now, Aurora realizes there’s a third option for her future besides ruin or marriage. 

She might not have magic now, but she can steal it if she’s brave enough. 

Challenge a tempest. Survive it. And you become its master.

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Preview: Ok, I've been following Cora Carmack on social media for several years now. Found her through a twitter contest I was participating in with one of my own books. I was excited to finally read something of hers and it wasn't disappointing. 
The preview took me through the first 70 pages or so, and it leaves you on a cliffhanger. There is romance and magic all packed into a short amount of time and the characters are wonderful. I've requested the rest of the book from the publisher, so we will see if they approve me or not. Hopefully they do. 
Check out Cora on twitter to get the latest on Roar.