Sara Reads Things

Title: Sword and Pen By: Rachel Caine Genre: Fantasy Pages: 368 Release Date: May 12th, 2020 Publisher:  Berkley Books   Rating: ★★★★☆ Summary from Goodreads:  With the future of the Great Library in doubt, the unforgettable characters from Ink and Bone must decide if it's worth saving in this thrilling adventure in the New York Times bestselling series. The corrupt leadership of the Great Library has fallen. But with the Archivist plotting his return to power, and the Library under siege from outside empires and kingdoms, its future is uncertain. Jess Brightwell and his friends must come together as never before, to forge a new future for the Great Library . . . or see everything it stood for crumble.   Add on Goodreads Review:  I'm so excited this series keeps going. The Great Library is under siege. Will they survive the fighting, or will they all parish. There are a lot of exciting fighting scenes that really had me biting ...

Recently, I've been back on the request trail and have picked up quite a few awesome review books from Netgalley and Edelweiss. Right now I have five books still left to read and review, so lets get to them. A town gripped by fear. A woman accused of witchcraft. Who can save Pale Harbor from itself? Maine, 1846. Gabriel Stone is desperate to escape the ghosts that haunt him in Massachusetts after his wife’s death, so he moves to Maine, taking a position as a minister in the remote village of Pale Harbor. But not all is as it seems in the sleepy town. Strange, unsettling things have been happening, and the townspeople claim that only one person can be responsible: Sophronia Carver, a reclusive widow who lives with a spinster maid in the eerie Castle Carver. Sophronia must be a witch, and she almost certainly killed her husband. As the incidents escalate, one thing becomes clear: they are the work of a twisted person inspired by the wildly popular stories of Mr. Edgar Allan...

Title: The Passengers By: John Marrs Genre: Scifi Pages: 400 Release Date: April 1st, 2019 Publisher:  Ebury Digital Rating: ★★★★★ Summary from Goodreads:  Eight self-drive cars set on a collision course. Who lives, who dies? You decide. When someone hacks into the systems of eight self-drive cars, their passengers are set on a fatal collision course. The passengers are: a TV star, a pregnant young woman, a disabled war hero, an abused wife fleeing her husband, an illegal immigrant, a husband and wife - and parents of two - who are travelling in separate vehicles and a suicidal man. Now the public have to judge who should survive but are the passengers all that they first seem? Add on Goodreads Review:  A phenomenal thriller full of twist after twist. How can one book surprise me time and again? Just when I think I understand, another plot twist happens and I’m flabbergasted. I loved this story because you never know what is true...

With the summer coming to an end, my blackberries are in overdrive. I have way too many and don't know what to do with them. Pinterest is my friend. I did a search for blackberry everything and came across this delicious cookie recipe. I think I ate way to many in one sitting. Ugh! These cookies would pair wonderfully with a good book, maybe this book by Rhys Bowen. I really enjoyed this historical fiction full of mystery and deceit during world war 2.  Goodreads Summary:  A novel about a woman who braves her father’s hidden past to discover his secrets… In 1944, British bomber pilot Hugo Langley parachuted from his stricken plane into the verdant fields of German-occupied Tuscany. Badly wounded, he found refuge in a ruined monastery and in the arms of Sofia Bartoli. But the love that kindled between them was shaken by an irreversible betrayal. Nearly thirty years later, Hugo’s estranged daughter, Joanna, has returned home to the English countryside to a...

Welcome back to Monday. Its the last Monday before September and the second to last Monday before school starts for us. Its almost time to wrap up the month and I'm super excited about it. I still can't believe its September already. This weeks book is going to be The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness. I'm really excited to read this one. I was moved by a Monster Calls. It made me cry and I want to know if Patrick Ness has it in him again. Can the writer make me feel something? The story line sounds amazing. Who is with me on this one? It's going to be a long week so we better get to it. Enjoy! Monday - Parmesan Thyme Chicken Tuesday -  Five Spice Beef Stir Fry Wednesday -  Creamy Skillet Tortellini   Thursday -  Grilled Chicken and Arugula   Friday -  Hoisin Glazed Pork Tenderloin   Saturday - Steak and Garlic Butter Sunday -  Leftovers Night

Welcome back to Sunday Confessions. It has been a long week and we are about to go into the last week of summer for us. The boys go back to school the first week of September and I couldn't be more excited. I can't wait to have my Monday's to myself where I can grocery shop and read without any interruptions.  It's going to be amazing! Lets get to what has been happening on the blog. Sunday Confessions #5 ~ Weekly Menu #313 And The Book Of The Week ~ Mini Reviews: A Whole New World, Warm Bodies, The Last Book Party ~ Book Review: The Rise of the Magicks by Nora Roberts ~ Movie Review: Tolkien ~ Book Review: Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood Weekly Menu #314 And The Book Of The Week ~ Book Review: The Passengers by John Marrs ~ Book Review: Sword and Pen by Rachel Caine  ~ Sunday Confessions # 7 The more I search the blogosphere, the more I find books to read. I think I have a problem. Other book blogs are wher...

Title: Keeping Lucy By: T. Greenwood Genre: Historical Fiction Pages: 320 Release Date: August 6th, 2019 Publisher:  St. Martin's Press Rating: ★★★★★ Summary from Goodreads:  From the author of  Rust & Stardust  comes this heartbreaking story, inspired by true events, of how far one mother must go to protect her daughter.  Dover, Massachusetts, 1969. Ginny Richardson's heart was torn open when her baby girl, Lucy, born with Down Syndrome, was taken from her. Under pressure from his powerful family, her husband, Ab, sent Lucy away to Willowridge, a special school for the “feeble-minded." Ab tried to convince Ginny it was for the best. That they should grieve for their daughter as though she were dead. That they should try to move on.  But two years later, when Ginny's best friend, Marsha, shows her a series of articles exposing Willowridge as a hell-on-earth--its squalid hallways filled with neglected children--she knows she can't...

Title: Tolkien Genre: Historical Fiction Release Date: May 10th, 2019 My Rating: 4/5 IMDB Rating: 6.9/10  Cast:  Nicholas Hoult ,  Lily Collins ,  Colm Meaney Summary from IMDB:  The formative years of the orphaned author  J.R.R. Tolkien  as he finds friendship, love and artistic inspiration among a group of fellow outcasts at school. IMDB Trailer Review: I thought this movie was really interesting. How much of it was really based on Tolkien's life, I couldn't say, but the way that he was portrayed made him look like a wonderful person, so full of life. I love Lily Collins, she is an amazing actress. At first, I didn't know it was her, she looked so mature and her accent was British, haha. It was her though.  This movie made me want to rewatch the hobbit movies and the Lord of the Ring movies. Of course, my husband went out and bought the hobbit on DVD and we have been watching it non-stop since. If you like a good lo...

Title: The Rise of the Magicks By: Nora Roberts Genre: Dystopian Fantasy Pages: 464 Release Date: November 26th, 2019 Publisher:  St. Martin's Press Rating: ★★★★☆ Summary from Goodreads:  The #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  Year One  and  Of Blood and Bone  concludes her stunning trilogy that the  New York Times Book Review  praised as "A match for end-of-the-world classics like Stephen King's  The Stand ." The first battle is already over, but the big fight for good and evil is yet to come: The young Fallon leads their army to Washington D.C., to drive the black magic out of the world. She is the chosen one to rebuild the world after the apocalypse and unite her inhabitants. There is a great burden on the young woman, because the family of her father's murderer seeks revenge on her and her sweetheart. But Fallon's mission is now easier than the interpretation of her feelings for Duncan, whose fate i...

Who's ready for some mini reviews? I have three more books that weren't good enough to warrant a whole review for themselves. I didn't feel strongly about these books although they weren't terrible reads. You might have read them, you might not. Maybe you watched the movies, maybe you didn't. If you have any opinions on these books, please leave them in the comments. I would love to know what you thought about these books. I think the purpose of these mini reviews is because I have read way to much lately and built up a treasure trove of books to review and it would take me months of posting every single day to get through them all, lol. A Whole New World (Twisted Tales #1) By Liz Braswell ★★★ ★ ☆ The beginning of this book followed the Disney version of Aladdin almost word for word, but half way through it morphed into something new. I really liked the second half. It showed Aladdin and Jasmine in new rolls as protectors of the kingdom and ...

Monday and its my anniversary! 13 years married to a perfectly imperfect husband that I love very much. There have been a lot of ups and downs, hard times and good, but through it all, I still love him. I intend on going out for dinner on my anniversary, so you are all on your own for dinner tonight. I will take care of you the rest of the week, though. This weeks book is going to be  NOS4A2  by Joe Hill. I've heard a lot about this book, all good things. It sounds exciting and unique. I need a unique story about now. Has anyone else read this book? I wonder if the tv show is as entertaining? I will have to find out after I read the book. Monday - Anniversary Dinner! Tuesday -  Carolina BBQ Chicken Sandwiches Wednesday -  Creamy Skillet Tortellini   Thursday -  Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry   Friday -  Grilled Pork Tacos Saturday - Black Bean Taco Bowls Sunday -  Leftovers Night What are you eati...

Hello week five of my confessions. I love this post. It helps me recast what I've done during the week and puts into light the mass amount of books I've been reading lately. I thought at the beginning of the year that my book consumption would be less than last year. I was in a reading slump and because of it, I put my book challenge low at 150 books. I'm already at 124 books and we still have a lot of time left in the year. My poor dog this week. She has seasonal dermatitis and it makes her itch to no end. So, this week she has been resigned to the cone of shame. She looks like it too. After the initial fight of keeping the cone on her head, now she just looks at everyone with those sad dog eyes. Poor thing. She will feel better soon. On to the recap. Enjoy! Sunday Confessions #4 ~ Weekly Menu #312 And The Book Of The Week ~ Mini Reviews: The Illuminae Files by Amie Kaufman  ~ Book Review: Last Ones Alive by Sarah Davis-Goff ~ TV Series Review:...