Book Confessions of an Ex-Ballerina

Sunday Confessions #91

Hello Sunday! It's been a wonderful week. Reading has been great and the weather has been sunny, but still a little on the cold side. I can't complain though, since the sun show's its pretty little head a little as possible un the Pacific NW.

Here is what has been going happening on the blog this last week, and what is to come.

Sunday Confessions #90

Weekly Menu #398 And The Book Of The Week

Book Review: Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Book Review: Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston

Movie Review: The Breach

Weekly Menu #399 And The Book Of The Week

Book Review: The Duke and I by Julia Quinn

Book Review: Highland Warrior by Heather McCollum

Sunday Confessions #92

27/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge

44/341 Gilmore Girls challenge

45/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge

Another wonderful week of reading. See you next time.

Movie Review: The Breach

Title: Breach

Genre: Scifi

Release Date: December 8th, 2020

My Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

IMDB Rating: 3.0 out of 10

Cast: Cody Kearsley, Bruce Willis, Rachel Nichols

Summary from IMDB:

On the cusp of fatherhood, a junior mechanic aboard an interstellar ark to New Earth must outwit a malevolent cosmic terror intent on using the spaceship as a weapon.

IMDB Trailer

Review:

If I had done just an ounce of research on this movie, I would have saved myself an hour and a half of misery. Although, I do have some fodder for my blog because of it, so I guess its a toss up.

I'm a huge fan of Bruce Willis. Loves the Fifth Element. It happens to be one of my all time favorite movies. So I thought it would be safe to watch another on of Willis' scifi masterpieces, right? Wrong... OMG... Here we go...

The movie started off with a unique concept although not very well explained. The world has been trashed as only us humans can do, so a few elite humans have been picked to go by spaceship to "New Earth." This is done by some kind of hyperdrive that shoots the ship many years into the future and then it only takes six months on the ship from there to New Earth. Most the passengers are in cryo pods with a small crew to maintain the ship and perform daily functions.

Of course, someone sabotage the ship, bringing aboard some kind of strange alien parasite that copies the DNA of its host and then brutally murders them. Of course, everyone starts dying and things get weird. Somewhere in there, the crew is getting drunk on some kind of acid/bleach alcohol drink that turns out to be their saving grace.

When the ship seems to be lost along with its thirty thousand sleeping residence, Willis decides to blow up the ship before it gets to New Earth. Of course he sends the love birds in an escape pod to save them before BOOM!

Here is your spoiler alert!

These aliens are already on New Earth and the love birds are thrown into another terrible day in space.

The one liners are corny, the script is terrible and the only saving grace is Willis, who's acting is still phenomenal.

Don't watch this movie unless you think I'm lying about the absolute suckage I have just witnessed or you like train wrecks.

This has been my rant of the day. Thank you for listening.

Book Review: Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston

Title: Aetherbound

By: E.K. Johnson

Genre: SciFi

Pages: 256

Release Date: May 25th, 2021

Publisher: Dutton

Rating: ★★★★★

Summary from Goodreads:

A thought-provoking new YA space adventure from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Ahsoka.

Set on a family-run interstellar freighter called the Harland and a mysterious remote space station, E. K. Johnston's latest is story of survival and self-determination.

Pendt Harland's family sees her as a waste of food on their long-haul space cruiser when her genes reveal an undesirable mutation. But if she plays her cards right she might have a chance to do much more than survive. During a space-station layover, Pendt escapes and forms a lucky bond with the Brannick twins, the teenage heirs of the powerful family that owns the station. Against all odds, the trio hatches a long-shot scheme to take over the station and thwart the destinies they never wished for.

Add on Goodreads

Review:

Well, that was unexpected. I've always been a fan of E.K. Johnson's Star Wars books, and was glad to get my hands on this book. Its something new and wonderful, full of surprises around every turn.

In this new world, people have special abilities that can help them navigate space ships or help out in other ways. Some are more special than others. On the Pendt's family ship, things are hard and our main character grows up thinking that she is nothing special. When she see a chance to escape, she takes it and starts her own life on a space station. When she realizes she has the most rare ability of them all, one that was of the utmost value to her family, she knows they will come looking for her, but that's not the only secret they've been keeping from her. As family goes, they are not the outstanding citizens she had believed her whole life. They are knee deep in human tracking, and this crime was also at the expense of her twin sister.

Love and honor come into play when Pendt realizes what her abelites are capable of and of course all hell breaks lose when the family cruiser comes looking for her.

A wonderful story within a unique world. Loved it from start to finish. Five stars.

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

Book Review: Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Title: Near the Bone

By: Christina Henry

Genre: Horror

Pages: 336

Release Date: April 13th, 2021

Publisher: Berkley Books

Rating: ★★★★★

Summary from Goodreads:

A woman trapped on a mountain attempts to survive more than one kind of monster, in a dread-inducing horror novel from the national bestselling author Christina Henry.

Mattie can't remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they're not alone after all.

There's something in the woods that wasn't there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws.

When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.

Add on Goodreads

Review:

Queue creepy horror music. I absolutely love Christina Henry's writing style and am so glad she branched off from her normal horror retellings. She is amazing at putting together an enthralling story that really keeps you on the edge of your seat from start to finish.

Right off the bat, I could tell there was something off with the relationship between Maddie and William, but I only had the small hints that Henry was dropping here and there. It was like a treasure hunt. Then... BAM! The plot thickens with a mysterious beast roaming the woods. Not only does Maddie have William to deal with, she has the beast as well. Queue third party drama and you have yourself a wonderfully complex plotline that seems to pull you in so many directions at once, but makes you feel oddly secure in your feelings.

I read this book in one day. Couldn't put it down. I will more than likely never go out into the woods again, or want to camp, but it was all worth it.

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

Weekly Menu #398 And The Book Of The Week

Monday is back. I hope you all had a wonderful Easter. Mine was spent with family.

With my review copies read and ready for review, I decided to dive into my backlog of books. This weeks read is Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan. My husband turned me onto this series before we were married and I've taken my sweet time getting through it. Its only been 15 years. Here comes book six.

Now for the good stuff. Here is the week menu. Enjoy!

WEEKLY MENU

Monday

Slow Cooker Ham Chowder

Tuesday

Roasted Veggie Salad

Wednesday

Chicken Fajitas

Thursday

Rosemary Turkey Patty

Friday

Chicken Tenders and Fish Sticks

Saturday

Taco Soup

Sunday

Leftovers Night

Sunday Confessions #90

Hello Sunday. What a wonderful Weeks its been. My boys went back to school for the first time in a year. The middle one was so excited to see his friends and teachers. The little one, not so much. He's a very grumpy child.

Lets see what's been happening on the blog.

Sunday Confessions #89

Weekly Menu #397 And The Book Of The Week

Recipe: Open-Face Egg Salad Sandwich

March 2021 Wrap Up

Weekly Menu #398 And The Book Of The Week

Book Review: Near the Bone by Christina Henry

Book Review: Aetherbound by E.K. Johnston

Movie Review: The Breach

Sunday Confessions #91

27/196 in my Star Wars Legends challenge

44/341 Gilmore Girls challenge

44/100 in my 100 books before you die challenge

Until next week.

March 2021 Wrap Up

Good by March! The first quarter of the year is over and we are well on our way to warmer months. I can't wait for the cool evening spent sipping drinks on the front porch swing. Magical nights.

My reading is right on track and in March I finished 9 books.

Here are the best and the worst from last month.

Aetherbound

by E.K. Johnston

A thought-provoking new YA space adventure from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Star Wars: Ahsoka.

Set on a family-run interstellar freighter called the Harland and a mysterious remote space station, E. K. Johnston's latest is story of survival and self-determination.

A Captain for Caroline Gray

Julie Wright

Caroline Gray would rather be daring and intelligent than demure and insipid, which is why she is still unmatched after her third season in London. Her family’s threadbare finances leave Caroline with only one choice to secure her future: sail with the Fishing Fleet to India, where the son of a family friend is willing to consider an engagement to her.

Captain Thomas Scott loves the open sea as much as he despises the three-month, twice-yearly trip his ship makes as he ferries young English girls across the ocean. He can’t imagine what family would allow an innocent young woman to be matched up with the Englishmen of questionable reputation who work and live in India.

But when Miss Gray boards the HMS Persistence, all of Captain Scott’s plans are upended. Miss Gray’s fiery spirit can’t be contained, and he is shocked and secretly delighted at her boldness—and her beauty. But the rest of his passengers aren’t so kind.

Caroline finds herself an outcast among her peers, but Captain Scott becomes an unlikely ally. They share the same passions and interests, creating an undeniable attraction. But they both know any relationship between them is impossible. After all, Caroline has obligations to fulfill in India.

Caroline has until the end of the voyage to decide if she is going to marry a man she has never met or be brave enough to love a sea captain who just might break her heart.

Near the Bone
by Christina Henry

A woman trapped on a mountain attempts to survive more than one kind of monster, in a dread-inducing horror novel from the national bestselling author Christina Henry.

There's something in the woods that wasn't there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws.

When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.