Sarai Henderson's Blog, page 174

Mini Reviews: The Raven's Heart, Rebel Heir, How to Forget

I have some more mini reviews for you. Too many books not enough blog space. I could fill up my blog everyday with a review for the next two months with the amount of reviews I need to do. Lets get to some of the pages I have turned lately.

The Raven's Heart 
By Jesse Blackadder

Rating: ★★★☆☆
This happened to be the oldest book on my TBR pile. The history involved in the is book was really in depth,  and the story itself was really interesting. I thought that it was a little long though. Just when you think the story will end, it keeps going with a new set of problems.  Rebel Heirby By Vi Keeland

Rating: ★★★★☆
This was a steamy read. There was a nice story behind it and you really get to know the characters and their backstories. If you are looking for something hot, this is it. How to ForgetBy Kate Mulgrew

Rating: ★★★★☆
I'm a big fan of Ms. Mulgrew. Voyager, Orange is the New Black. Love it all. This story is about her childhood and how she had to watch her parents grow old and die. I loved how Mulgrew told the story. It was filled with love and loss. A wonderful memoir. 

Weekly Menu #317 And The Book Of The Week

Hey Monday, welcome back. Its been a hell of a week. Sick children, chaos at work, busy schedules. I'm ready for a rest. Let's hope today is my rest day.
I did manage to hit a weight loss goal this week. 6 lbs down. I made myself the goal of 20 lbs this year and its been a rough year. I've only lost 8.2 lbs of that goal, but I'm now in a good place and getting good results on my current routine. I'm excited for my next goal.
This weeks read is Still Me by Jojo Moyes. I'm currently reading the previous book After You and I'm really getting into it. Still Me is on my Goodreads Best of 2018 list that I need to finish before the end of the year. Who's with me?What are you reading this week? Any goals that you are working on? Let me know down in the comments.
Lets get on to the menu!
Monday- Tomato Basil Ravioli 
Tuesday- Roasted Chicken and Broccoli 
Wednesday- Cheesy BBQ Beef Meatballs
Thursday- Seared Steak and Garlic Butter
Friday- Beef Taco Lettuce Wrap 
Saturday- Pork Chop and Mustard Pan Sauce 
Sunday- Leftovers Night

Sunday Confessions # 9

Another week, another confession. This has been a great week. The boys are on their second week of school and I've finally had a Monday to myself. It was a long summer and although I'm sad to be separated from my boys, I need this quiet time to reset and spend on myself. 
Lets get on with this weeks confessions.

Sunday Confessions #8~Weekly Menu #316 And The Book Of The Week~Best of Goodreads Challenge Update~Book Review: Becoming by Michelle Obama~My Year In Books Challenge 2019~Book Review: Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan 

Weekly Menu #317 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse by E. Eason~Book Review: The Farm by Joanne Ramos~Sunday Confessions #10


Brother sounded really interesting. I picked up this book after reading about it from another blogger.
Children of Blood and Bone was the last book I needed to finish my Best of 2018 Goodreads challenge. 
Spin the Dawn was also recommended by another blogger and it sounds awesome! 

Both these books are reviews from Goodreads that I am excited to read.



This week I finished my reading goal for 2019. 150 books and there are still a few months left in the year.




Thanks for stopping by for my confessions. I would love to hear what books you've found this week. I'm always looking to expand my TBR list, hahahah. Leave me a comment below. 

Book Review: Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan

Title: Beneath a Scarlet SkyBy: Mark SullivanGenre: Historical FictionPages: 513Release Date: May 1st, 2017Publisher: Lake Union PublishingRating: ★★★★★
Summary from Goodreads: Based on the true story of a forgotten hero, Beneath a Scarlet Skyis the triumphant, epic tale of one young man’s incredible courage and resilience during one of history’s darkest hours.Pino Lella wants nothing to do with the war or the Nazis. He’s a normal Italian teenager—obsessed with music, food, and girls—but his days of innocence are numbered. When his family home in Milan is destroyed by Allied bombs, Pino joins an underground railroad helping Jews escape over the Alps, and falls for Anna, a beautiful widow six years his senior.In an attempt to protect him, Pino’s parents force him to enlist as a German soldier—a move they think will keep him out of combat. But after Pino is injured, he is recruited at the tender age of eighteen to become the personal driver for Adolf Hitler’s left hand in Italy, General Hans Leyers, one of the Third Reich’s most mysterious and powerful commanders.Now, with the opportunity to spy for the Allies inside the German High Command, Pino endures the horrors of the war and the Nazi occupation by fighting in secret, his courage bolstered by his love for Anna and for the life he dreams they will one day share.Fans of All the Light We Cannot See, The Nightingale, and Unbrokenwill enjoy this riveting saga of history, suspense, and love.
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Review: This book is a thriller. Set in world war 2, we get to dive into a story that is based on truth. I find that these are the best kind. To know that there were people strong enough and brave enough to defy the odds and help people in need. This story brought me to tears.

My Year In Books Challenge 2019

I've done it! I finished my 2019 reading challenge already. My goal this year was to read 150 books, a far cry from my 300 books last year, but my reading has slowed down with everything that has been going on with the boys at school and at home. This was an awesome challenge and maybe I will up my book count next year. We shall see.
To check the full 2019 list of the books I've read, click here.

Book Review: Becoming by Michelle Obama

Title: Becoming By: Michelle ObamaGenre: Memoir Pages: 426Release Date: November 13th, 2018Publisher: CrownRating: ★★★★☆
Summary from Goodreads: An intimate, powerful, and inspiring memoir by the former First Lady of the United States.
In a life filled with meaning and accomplishment, Michelle Obama has emerged as one of the most iconic and compelling women of our era. As First Lady of the United States of America—the first African American to serve in that role—she helped create the most welcoming and inclusive White House in history, while also establishing herself as a powerful advocate for women and girls in the U.S. and around the world, dramatically changing the ways that families pursue healthier and more active lives, and standing with her husband as he led America through some of its most harrowing moments. Along the way, she showed us a few dance moves, crushed Carpool Karaoke, and raised two down-to-earth daughters under an unforgiving media glare. 

In her memoir, a work of deep reflection and mesmerizing storytelling, Michelle Obama invites readers into her world, chronicling the experiences that have shaped her—from her childhood on the South Side of Chicago to her years as an executive balancing the demands of motherhood and work, to her time spent at the world’s most famous address. With unerring honesty and lively wit, she describes her triumphs and her disappointments, both public and private, telling her full story as she has lived it—in her own words and on her own terms. Warm, wise, and revelatory, Becoming is the deeply personal reckoning of a woman of soul and substance who has steadily defied expectations—and whose story inspires us to do the same.
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Review: A wonderful memoir. Not many people can say they started just like any other and ended up being the first lady. I've never really paid much attention to the first lady, until Michelle Obama. She put herself out there, to take care of those who needed her the most. 
This book tells the story of how she got there and how she felt while going through some of the most trying times of her life. The struggle is real. It makes me have even more respect for her. The world needs more Michelle Obamas.

Best of Goodreads Challenge Update

My quest to read all the best books of 2018 on Goodreads has become slow and daunting, but I'm determined to finish. I think its the fact that I don't like half the genres, so the books don't appeal to me. I loved about half the books I've read and hated the other half. Here is how I am doing so far.

Books I've Read

Leah on the off beat - Didn't likeThe hate you give - LovedThe great alone - Loved

The last black unicorn - LovedEducated - LovedI'll be gone in the dark - Loved the first half


I am enough - LovedHerding Cats - Absolutely lovedThe witch doesn't burn in this one - Didn't like

Circe - Didn't likeThe outsider - Didn't likeThe kiss quotient - Loved 

Elevation - Didn't likeCravings: Hungry for more - Indifferent
Books I Haven't Read Yet

 I'm excited to read all three of these books. They seem to be right up my ally.

Th rise and fall of the dinosaurs doesn't sound very interesting to me, but my son thought it was. The other two books, I've read the first book in the series and liked them, So these two should be great.

This is a must read.
I've done the math, and if I can read 1.75 books a month for the rest of the year, I will get through the last 7 books in this challenge. This is doable, but I still have to read all my Netgalley requests and keep up with my TBR pile. 
We are in the final months of 2019, what book challenges are you working on?

Weekly Menu #316 And The Book Of The Week

Hello, and welcome back to Monday. I am your host, Sarai and this is Book Confessions of an ExBallerina. Yes, I am a exballerina. Danced for 16 years of my younger life. Now, I'm a mom of 3 boys who have special needs, I work full time and blog. Life is good.

This will be my first full Monday without the boys. They are now back in school and my Mondays are mine to do with as I please.... Like laundry, dishes, grocery shopping... You know, the usual. I also get to read peacefully while I work and watch my back log of television shows that I've saved up all summer. I don't enjoy watching my shows whilst children are screaming in the back ground... and fore ground...


I'ts time for your weekly read, hosted by me (Sara) @ Book Confessions. This weeks read is Circe by Madeline Miller. I've heard a lot of good things about this book and I'm excited to dive into the pages. Picked it up from Netgalley so you should be seeing a review of it shortly. What book will you be picking up this week? Leave me a comment below.

The Weekly Read is hosted here @ Book Confessions and is a post to share what you're planning on reading this week. It can be one book or many books. Make sure to share your weekly read in the comments below so others can see what you're up to and share their reads as well. Make sure to link back to http://www.exballerina.com.

Lets get on to the weekly menu. Enjoy!


Monday- Chicken Piccata Meatballs
Tuesday- Pan Seared Pork Chops
Wednesday- Oven Fried Chicken
Thursday- Beef Taquitos 
Friday- Sweet and Sour Chicken Stir Fry
Saturday- Tomato Basil Ravioli 
Sunday- Leftovers Night

Sunday Confessions # 8

Well hello there. Welcome back to Confessions Sunday. The place where I recap my week in books and other things. What have you been up to this week?

Sunday Confessions # 7~Weekly Menu #315 And The Book Of The Week~August 2019 Wrap Up~Book Review: What a Scot Wants by Amalie Howard and Angie Morgan~20 Books of Summer 2019~Book Review: Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center~

Weekly Menu #316 And The Book Of The Week~Book Review: Becoming by Michelle Obama~Book Review: Beneath a Scarlet Sky~Sunday Confessions # 9



I only found 3 books this week here at Confessions.
Maids was recommended to me by my mom. We like to swap books and I can't wait to dive into this one.
The Perfect Son and Cilka's Journey are both Netgalley reviews and I was super excited to be approved for. I'm thinking about bumping them up the list so I can read them sooner. Maybe.

Orange County Readers did it summer wrap up. Totally worth the look.
Its time to get back to reading. Thanks for stopping by.

Book Review: Things You Save in a Fire by Katherine Center

Title: Things You Save in a FireBy: Katherine CenterGenre: Contemporary FictionPages: 320Release Date: August 13th, 2019Publisher: St. Martin's PressRating: ★★★★★
Summary from Goodreads: From the New York Times bestselling author of How to Walk Away comes a stunning new novel about family, hope, and learning to love against all odds. 
Cassie Hanwell was born for emergencies. As one of the only female firefighters in her Texas firehouse, she's seen her fair share of them, and she's excellent at dealing with other people's tragedies. But when her estranged and ailing mother asks her to uproot her life and move to Boston, it's an emergency of a kind Cassie never anticipated.

The tough, old-school Boston firehouse is as different from Cassie's old job as it could possibly be. Hazing, a lack of funding, and poor facilities mean that the firemen aren't exactly thrilled to have a "lady" on the crew, even one as competent and smart as Cassie. Except for the handsome rookie, who doesn't seem to mind having Cassie around. But she can't think about that. Because she doesn't fall in love. And because of the advice her old captain gave her: don't date firefighters. Cassie can feel her resolve slipping...but will she jeopardize her place in a career where she's worked so hard to be taken seriously?

Katherine Center's Things You Save in a Fire is a heartfelt, affecting novel about life, love, and the true meaning of courage.
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Review: I am so glad I pick up this book. This story is full of struggle and heartache. A real picture of what true life can be. It doesn't beat around the bush about how women are treated in a man's world, or how some people can fall off their rockers. 
I loved how the writer told the story. Her writing style is smooth and so easy to read. The characters were really colorful, a wonderful cast. The feelings this book gives is amazing. 
A wonderful read for anyone. 
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review.