Eight Hundred Grapes Laura Dave June 30th

 

 

Georgia Ford’s life begins to fall apart when she spies her fiancee and his famous ex-girlfriend and her mini me walking down the street as she is being fitted for her wedding gown.  As any grown woman would do she runs, still dress clad, back to her house, packs a bad and heads home to her parents winery where she must decide what she wants, he wedding is in a week, yet when she arrives home she finds it anything but idyllic, she finds a naked man in her parents house that isn’t her father, her brothers are fighting about something , but they won’t tell her what, and worst of all her father is selling the vineyard.  Georgia does her best to navigate this new landscape and it seems she just may be able to hold herself together until Ben, his daughter and her famous mother descend on the vineyard during the harvest and she must search herself heart and soul and try to figure out the right answer.  I loved Gerogia and her supporting cast.  He adorable nephews, her confused but oh so sweet sister in law, her always do the right thing brother Bobby and her trouble will find me no matter what brother Finn.  Then there is Jacob who works for the winery that will be buying her father out.  So many great characters and such a great story.  I was sorry to finish this story and leave the characters behind.

Forever for a Year by B. T. Gottfred

I loved this story, the feel of new first love and all the magic and wonder that it holds.  Trevor and Carolina have an instant attraction to each other and a romance that is the envy of their classmates, but will it stand the test of time?  This warm and funny look at first love is told by both Trevor and Carolina with wit warmth and honesty as only those who are in love can tell it.  A great fun read.

Summer Secrets by Jane Green June 23rd

 

 

   

Cat never had a great relationship with her father, a cold man who drank and wasn’t ever nice to her, but after his death she learns that he was not her father at all, and she heads off to Nantucket one summer to meet her real father and her sisters.  Will they be the family she always hoped for or will it be a disaster?  She bonds with her father and her sister Julia right from the start but her sister Ellie is cool and aloof.  When a bad decision after too much to drink puts her on the plan back to London in short order that should be the end, but as part of her recovery she must apologize to her sister in person and so with he pal Sam and her daughter Annie she heads off for a writing assignment on Nantucket and hopes of accomplishing two things while she is there, but of course things don’t go as planned and when Annie makes a quick and deep connection with her cousin Trudy who happens to be Ellie’s daughter, and the girls get led astray Cat and Ellie must finally face each other and themselves.  Cat must also come to terms with the end of her marriage to Jason and put her life in order so she can move on and Nantucket seems to be the best place to do that as well.  A touching story of family, trust, growing up,  and starting over with a clean slate.

The book of Speculation by Erika Swyler June 23rd

 

 

 

I loved this book and it stayed with me long after I finished it.  Simon lives in a falling down house Long Island Sound and one day an old book arrives.  Since Simon is a librarian and has expecience with old books he is imediately drawn to it, but as he imerses himself in the book as his physical world crumbles around him he realizes the book is about him and his family.  With the help of this girlfriend Alice and some of his other library connections he begins to piece together the real events that are told of in his book.   As the calendar runs toward July 24th the day the women of his family seem to drown in spite of the fact that they can hold their breath for a very long time, he becomes increasingly concerned about his sister Enola who is in town with her boyfriend Doyle.  Together the siblings must face their past and figure out how to save their future.  The story draws you in with new things unfolding each time you turn the page or so it seems.  Magical and warm but with a dark past and as luck would have it set on the water.  A great beach read, but a great read wherever life takes you.

More about The Six

Start reading it now:

Excerpt from The Six:

Shannon rears back in her seat as if she’s been slapped. “And where are you going to store the copies of our brains?” Her voice is furious. “In a supercomputer? A big electronic prison?”

Dad doesn’t take offense. He answers her calmly. “The scanning process converts human intelligence to a digital form, allowing it to run on any neuromorphic computer that has enough memory and processing power. But in the initial stage right after the transfer, we believe it’s important to connect the intelligence to a machine that can move around and sense the outside world. A human intelligence is accustomed to controlling a body, so if we want to preserve its sanity, we’d better give it something to control. Here, let me show you.”

He puts the vial of nanoprobes back in his pocket and pulls out something else, a small remote–control device. He points it at the doorway beside the stage, and a moment later I hear a loud clanking. The noise startles the soldiers standing by the doorway. They step backward, flattening themselves against the wall. Then a seven–foot–tall robot emerges from the doorway and brushes past them.

The robot strides across the stage. It has two arms and two legs, but otherwise it isn’t very humanlike. It has no head or neck. Its torso is shaped like a giant bullet, with the rounded end on top. Its legs angle downward from the base of its torso and rest on oval steel–plate footpads that clang against the floor.

The machine marches briskly past the podium and stops in front of my dad, who presses a button on his remote control. This command extends the robot’s arms, which telescope to a full length of six feet. They look like multi–jointed tentacles. The machine’s hands, though, resemble human hands, with dexterous mechanical fingers and thumbs.

Dad presses another button, and the robot’s rounded top starts to turn like a turret. “The cameras and acoustic sensors are up here,” Dad says, pointing at the top end. “But the neuromorphic electronics are deep inside the torso, encased in armor plating. These robots were originally designed for the war in Afghanistan, so they’re pretty sturdy.” He raps his knuckles against the torso. “All in all, it’s an excellent platform for a newly transferred intelligence, but really it’s just the beginning. The whole point of the Pioneer Project is to bridge the gap between man and machine, and that means the human intelligences must explore their new environment. The Pioneers will have to learn how to use their new capabilities, and that includes transferring their intelligences from one machine to another.”

His voice grows louder again, full of enthusiasm. “Once the Pioneers have mastered these tasks, our hope is that they’ll be able to establish a connection with Sigma. If all goes well, they’ll start communicating with the AI before it launches any of the Russian missiles. And then the toughest challenge will begin. At the same time that the humans are learning how to be machines, they’ll have to teach Sigma how to be human.”

Sneak Peek at The Six Giveaway link at the bottom

The Six

By Mark Alpert

Sourcebooks Fire

July 7, 2015

Advance Praise for Mark Alpert

“Adam is an unusual hero—and he faces a frightening question: Computers can’t kill—CAN they? I’m still shaken by the answer. Will the near-future really be this terrifying?” —R.L. Stine, bestselling author of the Goosebumps and Fear Street series

“An exciting action story chock-full of characters you’ll love. The Six is full of big ideas, big questions, real science, and things that will make you think and wonder and lie awake late at night.” —Michael Grant, New York Times bestselling author of the Gone series

“The Six are introduced as terminally-ill teens, but there’s plenty of high-speed action in which they engage. Their physical disabilities and limitations through disease are forgotten as the teens’ hearts, minds, and personalities shine through…questions of principle, power, and possibility keep this look at our modern, hardwired existence fresh and fascinating.” STARRED Booklist

“Alpert’s exploration of neuromorphic electronics raises interesting questions about ethics, technology, and human nature…a haunting ending scene will leave readers pondering the line between progress and loss. A thought-provoking clash between humanity and machinery.”- Kirkus Reviews

“A well-researched, hardcore science-fiction joyride, great for fans of first-person shooter video games like Halo and Destiny. Highly recommended” –School Library Journal

“Do not just read The Six; make your friends read it too.” –VOYA Magazine

Goodreads Link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23354348-the-six?from_search=true&search_version=service_impr

Avatar meets The Terminator in this thrilling cyber-tech adventure…

Book Info:

Adam’s muscular dystrophy has taken his motility, his friends, and in a few short years, it will take his life. He takes solace in playing video games he’s programmed to reflect the life that he used to have. Virtual reality is the one realm where he can be the hero, and it’s where he chooses to spend his time, until an entity called Sigma tries to kill him.

A dangerously advanced artificial intelligence program created by Adam’s computer-genius father, Sigma has escaped its cyber prison and is threatening global destruction and domination. But Adam’s father has a plan. He will stop Sigma by using the technology he developed to digitally preserve the mind of his dying son.

Adam’s consciousness is uploaded into the body of a weaponized robot, along with a group of five other gifted teens who are terminally ill. Together, they must learn how to manipulate their new mechanical forms and prepare for combat before Sigma destroys humanity. Adam can finally play the hero for real, but will his new body be worth the sacrifice of his human existence?

This innovative and thought-provoking young adult debut, from the critically acclaimed author of adult thrillers Final Theory and The Omega Theory, questions what it means to be human and whether we are destined to be defined by our physical bodies or our intellect.

Amazon | Apple| B&N | BAM | !ndigo | IndieBound | Kindle | Nook

Mark Alpert:

Mark Alpert is a former editor at Scientific American, and the author of several adult thrillers. He’s been praised by Douglas Preston as the “heir to Michael Crichton.” Visit Mark online at markalpert.com.

Rafflecopter Giveaway Link for Sourcebooks Fire Sci-Fi Book Pack including a copy of The Six by Mark Alpert (Runs June 11-June 23rd) US and Canada only:

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The Night We Said Yes by Lauren Gibaldi June 16th

Ella and Meg have been best friends for years and can’t imagine life without each other.  Jake is Meg’s on again off again boyfriend.  While it is clear that Meg and Jake really do care about each other they have trouble staying together even when they want to.  Ella used to have a wonderful boyfriend named Matt until the day he disapeard without a trace just a wimpy goodbye note and nothing else and now she is wrapping up her senior year and moving away to college.  Meg and Ella head out to a party thrown by one of Meg’s college friends and who should be there but Matt, back from where ever he was and looking for another chance with Ella who has no intention of letting him too close to reconstructed heart, but Matt knows she will feel that way and declares the evening the night to say yes, so instead of saying no to jumping off a bridge for example you say yes to looking at the lights on the water on the bridge.  And so Ella and Matt end up having an evening full of yes and Ella gets the answers she needs from Matt, but once she has them can she follow her heart, or will she break the spell and say no?

The Balance Project by Susie Orman Schnall

 

 

                I loved Lucy and her hectic wonderful life, but I also loved that she could see both sides of things and while she didn’t always know which one was the right one, she always wanted to find the right one.  Lucy is constantly picking up more and more dropped pieces for her boss Catherine, who is supposed to be the guru for balance in one’s life.  She runs a company, spends time with her family, wrote a book and is now promoting said book along with all her other commitments and it is wearing her to the quick, straining her marriage and causing upheavel in her life and Lucy’s.  One particularly bad day Katherine admits to Lucy just how bad things have gotten, and when Katherine appears to get in the way of Lucy’s dream job, Lucy may say a few things too many to the wrong person and set loose an avalanche of consequences for herself and for Katherine.  Can they pick up the pieces after the storm and find their own balance or is it too late for both of them?  Lucy looks at her own life and Katherine’s in detail while she tries to figure out who and what she wants to be and how to get there.  A novel about finding yourself, staying true to yourself in a crazy world, and being the best you can be balanced or not.

a different kind of same by Kelley Clink June 9th

 

 

a differnt kind of same tells the story of Kelley and her brother Matt both of whom suffered with depression growing up.  Kelley assumes that her brothers journey through the darkness of their illness is much like hers, but it is only after his passing that she dares to explore his life and discoveres that his journey is not like hers at all, and she realizes too late that she assumed much and only though reconstructiing her brother’s life can she truly learn about who he was and what he felt and honor his memory.  Kelley’s story is warm and touching, at times harrowing and tear       inducing, but ultimately warm and touching a  beautiful tribute that will touch readers from all walks of life.

Pieces by Maria Kostaki June 9

Pieces is a touching memoir of a daughters search to understand her father after his death.  In a mixture of present day thoughts and shared memories we see Sasha’s relationship with the father through the years.  She is at once an adult and a teenager given a gift her father picked out a rare and touching event.  The prose is heart felt and lyrical and we watch as she navigates the stormy waters between children and parents, past and present and hope and forgiveness.