The Legacy Human (Singularity #1) by Susan Kaye Quinn

The Legacy Human 

Singularity #1

The Legacy Human by Susan Kaye Quinn
Series: Singularity #1
Print and e-book, 407 pages
Published March 2, 2015

Spiritual successor to the bestselling Mindjack trilogy… 

When transcending humanity is the prize, winning the Game is all that matters.

Seventeen-year-old Elijah Brighton wants to become an ascender—a post-Singularity human/machine hybrid—after all, they’re smarter, more enlightened, more compassionate, and above all, achingly beautiful. But Eli is a legacy human, preserved and cherished for his unaltered genetic code, just like the rainforest he paints. When a fugue state possesses him and creates great art, Eli miraculously lands a sponsor for the creative Olympics. If he could just master the fugue, he could take the gold and win the right to ascend, bringing everything he’s yearned for within reach… including his beautiful ascender patron. But once Eli arrives at the Games, he finds the ascenders are playing games of their own. Everything he knows about the ascenders and the legacies they keep starts to unravel… until he’s running for his life and wondering who he truly is.

The Legacy Human is the first in a new young adult science fiction series that explores the intersection of mind, body, and soul… and how technology will challenge us to remember what it means to be human.

Check out Susan Kaye Quinn's website for information about the Launch Party, ARC giveaways, and everything Singularity.

The e-book is only $.99!

My thoughts about The Legacy Human ~~ 

Aargh!! I DO NOT read science fiction! I never have and always said I never would. It never interested me. I always avoided that section in the library and in bookstores. I just don't read science fiction. Period!

And then I discovered Susan Kaye Quinn and her wonderful stories! I started reading her books way back when and I have yet to find one of them that I have not absolutely loved. I read her young adult science fiction Mindjack series, her adult future-noir Debt Collector series, her steam-punk romance Dharian series, and now this story, book #1 in her new young adult science fiction Singularity series. These are all genres that I had never tried before and did you notice all the science fiction on this list? I never thought that science fiction could consist of such great stories. Susan has opened my eyes to wonderful worlds filled with unique characters and unimaginable, but amazing storylines.

The Legacy Human is a wonderful, but yet a little disturbing, beginning to what is planned to be a 7 book series. We are thrown into a world where humans ascend to a higher intelligence and assume a better life. Everything will be perfect for Eli, if and when he can ascend and leave his human life behind. But he finds that things are not what they seem to be in that other, perfect world and he has a hard time figuring out who the good guys are and who are the bad ones. Just like in the real world. Who knew a perfect world would be like that?

I loved this story as it shows us that striving to be perfect and trying to leave all that we know and love behind as we strive for that perfection won't always make us happy. Be careful what you wish for!

I am continually in awe of the stories that SKQ creates. She has such an amazingly creative mind to be able to produce these edge-of-your-seat types of books. I have a hard time putting them down and anxiously wait for her next creation. I look forward to reading more stories in this Singularity series. And I can now say that I will embrace the science fiction genre, especially if the stories are as entertaining as this one was.

About the author

Susan Kaye Quinn grew up in California, where she wrote snippets of stories and passed them to her friends during class. Her teachers pretended not to notice and only confiscated her stories a couple times.

Susan left writing behind to pursue a bunch of engineering degrees, but she was drawn back to writing by an irresistible urge to share her stories with her niece, her kids, and all the wonderful friends she’s met along the way.

She doesn’t have to sneak her notes anymore, which is too bad.

Susan writes from the Chicago suburbs with her three boys, two cats, and one husband. Which, it turns out, is exactly as a much as she can handle.

Connect with Susan 

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads

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Book Spotlight and a Giveaway! Duma Key by Stephen King

I have sooooo many books! I have a ton of print books and probably even more e-books. The Book Spotlight feature that I am going to try to post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the books I have. There are a lot of different reasons that I might be letting some of my books go, the biggest one is that we recently moved and I discovered how many books I really do have. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy them.

The book that I am featuring this week is a little different from other books I have posted about in the past for a couple of reasons. This book is not one of the usual genres that I feature on The Book Bag. And it's an unabridged CD book, not a print book. You may not know this but I am a HUGE Stephen King fan! I have been a fan of his since his very first book, Carrie, came out in 1974. I also love listening to his books and I recently finished Duma Key. I have a collection of most of his books in print so I really don't think I need a collection of his audio books too. So if you like audio books, this would be a great one to win! And it's really not one of his 'scary' stories either. It's pretty tame, by his standards.  

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

Duma Key 

Duma Key by Stephen King

Audio CD, 18 discs

Published January 22nd 2008 by Simon & Schuster Audio 

Six months after a crane crushes his pickup truck and his body self-made millionaire Edgar Freemantle launches into a new life. His wife asked for a divorce after he stabbed her with a plastic knife and tried to strangle her one-handed (he lost his arm and for a time his rational brain in the accident). He divides his wealth into four equal parts for his wife, his two daughters, himself and leaves Minnesota for Duma Key, a stunningly beautiful, eerily remote stretch of the Florida coast where he has rented a house. 

All of the land on Duma Key, and the few houses, are owned by Elizabeth Eastlake, an octogenarian whose tragic and mysterious past unfolds perilously. When Edgar begins to paint, his formidable talent seems to come from someplace outside him, and the paintings, many of them, have a power that cannot be controlled. 

About the author

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels. 

Connect with Stephen

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Release Day: Poker Face by Melissa Pearl

Poker Face by Melissa Pearl

RELEASE DAY BLITZ

February 27, 2015

When Caitlyn Davis agreed to work with the FBI, she never imagined it would lead to her own kidnapping. But her special ability to read people's emotions and decipher the truth has attracted the unwanted attention of Santiago Gomez, a rich casino owner who intends to use Caity’s talent to further his own business.

Eric Shore knew Caity didn't want to break up with him; her scribbled note left on his bed gave him a snippet of the truth she'd been hiding.

Still reeling from his brush with death and the loss of his beloved grandfather, Eric throws himself into searching for his girl. With help from his reemerged father and a rogue FBI agent, Eric follows a tenuous lead to Las Vegas, not caring that his rescue attempt could bring him face-to-face with the same man who killed his grandfather and wants him dead as well.

While Caity fights to survive the horrors of her slavery, Eric is thrust into a dangerous world that could cost him his life, along with Caity's.

Buy Poker Face

  

~*~About Melissa Pearl~*~

Melissa Pearl was born in Auckland, New Zealand, but has spent much of her life abroad, living in countries such as Jordan, Cyprus and Pakistan... not to mention a nine month road trip around North America with her husband. "Best. Year. Ever!!" She now lives in China with her husband and two sons. She is a trained elementary teacher, but writing is her passion. Since becoming a full time mother she has had the opportunity to pursue this dream and her debut novel hit the internet in November 2011. Since then she has continued to produce a steady stream of books, ranging in genres from Fantasy to Contemporary Romance. She loves the variety and is excited about the books she has coming up in 2015.

"I am passionate about writing. It stirs a fire in my soul that I never knew I had. I want to be the best writer I can possibly be and transport my readers into another world where they can laugh, cry and fall in love."

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Cover Reveal: Dark Secrets:Edge of Evil by Shea Berkley

Dark Secrets: Edge of Evil

Dark Secrets: Edge of Evil by Shea Berkley 

(Dark Secrets #2) 

Publication date: March 3rd 2015 

Genres: Adult, Paranormal Romance

What if nightmares, best kept in the dark, refuse to stay hidden?

Dr. Maya Kelbeck believes no matter how unusual her patients’ delusions, she can help. When billionaire Alden Caldwell seeks her counsel to escape a controlling relationship, she’s intrigued by his unusual diagnosis, lycanthropy—her patient actually believes he is over 400 years old and a werewolf.

Alden Caldwell’s life is not his own and hasn’t been since the middle ages, not since he was transformed into a werewolf. The once noble knight now finds himself no more than a slave to a female vampire who is without morals, without conscious, without a soul.

Maya promises Alden she can help him, and at first it looks like she can, until the supernatural world in which he lives wants him back. Can Alden convince Maya his delusions are real in time to save her, or has he just sentenced a woman who cares for him despite his past transgressions to a fate worse than death?

About the author

Shea Berkley started out writing nonfiction (not so fun) and quickly moved into fiction (totally fun), and knew she'd found her calling. (Her family was thrilled she'd found friends to play with even if they weren't technically real.) She's still pleasantly surprised people are willing to pay to read her stories. Besides writing, her many diversions include kickboxing, reading awesome books and hanging out with her loud and rambunctious family. With five kids (all girls), her biggest job is to make sure the little darlings don't harass the neighbors and then play dumb when the cops come knocking on her door.

Connect with Shea

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Cover Reveal: Belong to Me by Laura Howard

Belong to Me

Belong to Me by Laura Howard 
(A Moore Crossing Novel) 
Publication date: March 31, 2015
Genres: Contemporary, New Adult, Romance

Kate and Noah thought they had the kind of love that could last through anything. Until their world crumbles out from beneath them.

After months of separation, the tragic death of Jack, Kate’s twin and Noah’s best friend, throws them back together. As they try to heal from the horrific loss, will they be able to overcome old wounds or are they destined to live separately forever?

Preorder from Amazon

About the author 

Laura Howard lives in New Hampshire with her husband and four children. Her obsession with books began at the age of 6 when she got her first library card. Nancy Drew, Sweet Valley High and other girly novels were routinely devoured in single sittings. Books took a backseat to diapers when she had her first child. It wasn’t until the release of a little novel called Twilight, 8 years later, that she rediscovered her love of fiction. Soon after, her own characters began to make themselves known. The Forgotten Ones is her first published novel.

Connect with Laura

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The Secret Life of Book Club by Heather Woodhaven

The Secret Life of Book Club

The Secret Life of Book Club by Heather Woodhaven

Paperback and e-book

Published January 31st 2015 by Blue Azalea Press

Genre: Women's Fiction

Book Club Just Got Real. 

Jeanine Phelps is tired of reading about other women who grab life and have epiphanies. She challenges her book club to live like the heroines in the books they love. 

At first, seizing the day is pure fun until it generates an upset in each of their lives: 

Jeanine’s husband is so inspired by her new vitality it triggers a bizarre mid-life crisis involving tacos. 

Paula, the model PTA soccer mom, starts fighting with her man about the family printing business until she’s drawn back to her secret passion. 

Kate, a single mom and teacher, can’t figure out if the rekindled friendship with the new museum creator is worth the romantic risk. 

Anne, a mother of four babies, works to hold the book club together while trying to figure out her own identity. 

When everyone wants to quit the challenge, the media’s spotlight makes it impossible. Can they rely on each other while keeping their priorities? And more importantly, is their sanity worth the chance to each become a heroine in her own life? 

My thoughts about The Secret Life of Book Club ~~

Okay, first of all, since I am a cover lover -- isn't this cover just amazing? I love it!

And then there is the topic of the book. Four women in a book club. I love stories about women who are friends, or who want to be friends, and are there for each other through the good times as well as the bad times. And it's even better that these women are in a book club together. I love my book club friends!

So these four women are finding themselves getting a little bored with their lives and bored with the way their book club is evolving. They decide to work their way through the alphabet, completing a challenge for each letter. It has to be something that they have never tried before. And everyone has to partcipate. Boy, those are tough rules. I seriously don't know if my book clubs could handle this challenge. Some of the situations they found themselves in were just hilarious. Ahem, night time golfing. Hehehe. 

I enjoyed observing each new challenge that they tried and it was interesting to see how they all reacted to the tasks before them. Each challenge changed them in different ways and affected the way they began to think about themselves and their families. And some of the families began to see their wives and mothers in a whole new light. Sometimes it was a good light and sometimes not. 

 The Secret Life of Book Club is a very enjoyable read, especially if you like reading stories about women friends who rely on each other to grow and create change in the lives. I found myself totally engrossed in the pages of this book and loved being a part of these women's lives. I felt like I was a member of their book club and that I was there to share the good with the bad. Great job on this wonderful story, Heather. I hope to read more from you in the future. 

About the author

Heather Woodhaven earned her pilot's license, flew a hot air balloon over the safari lands of Kenya, assisted an engineer with a medical laser in a Haitian mission, parasailed over Caribbean seas, lived through an accidental detour onto a black diamond ski trail in the Aspens and snorkeled among sting rays before becoming a mother of three and wife of one. 

Now Heather spends her days celebrating laughter, adding to her impressive list of embarrassing moments, and raising a family of aspiring comedians who perform nightly at her table. She channels her love for adventure into writing characters who find themselves in extraordinary circumstances--whether running for their lives or battling the insanities of life.

Connect with Heather 

Website | Blog | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter

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Redeem This by Cami Checketts, an Excerpt, amd a Giveaway!

Redeem This

Redeem This by Cami Checketts

Kindle Edition, 164 pages

Published February 16th 2015 by Birch River Publishing

Some men are beyond redemption. Alex is one of them.

After Alex Chakhota was blackmailed and manipulated into becoming a hit man to protect his sister, serving time as the FBI's assassin doesn't do much to ease his conscience. His next assignment brings him face to face with Brittany, a beautiful woman that believes he's more than the killer he's been made into. The road to redemption is long for someone with a blackened soul, and with lives hanging in the balance, Alex has a short deadline.

Detective Scott Bentley's days of law enforcement are behind him. When he's asked to host agents at his secluded ranch for an FBI sting operation, Scott cannot refuse. Ivy McMahon shows up with the team, and Scott gets more than he signed up for. Not only can she hack into the any computer system, she's found a way into Scott's heart. The trouble is that she's in protective custody and when the job ends, she'll disappear.

Is redemption possible for those whose lives are scarred by the past? With danger crowding close, not even love may have a chance to redeem before it's too late.

Don't miss the exciting sequel to Blog This by #1 Bestselling Inspirational author, Cami Checketts.

You can read my thoughts about Blog This here.

Purchase Redeem This for only $3.99 at these vendors:

Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

If you haven't had a chance to read Blog This, it's available for only $.99.

Amazon | B&N | iTunes | Kobo

My thoughts about Redeem This ~~ 

Redeem This is the sequel to Cami's book, Blog This. I thoroughly enjoyed that story and was excited to read the sequel. It was great seeing the characters from Blog This back together again and to find out what was happening in their lives.

We see Alex again, back after Blog This where he was a hit man, and who now has been asked to go undercover for the FBI. He pretty much will do anything, as long as his sister is safe and happy. He is not proud of his past and doesn't feel that he is worthy of his own happiness. 

'Redemption was beyond hopeless for him.'

Redeem This has it all; action, suspense, romance, the FBI, blackmail, undercover work, an adorable little girl, a man who will do anything to protect his sister, more romance (always a good thing, right?), horses, and loads of surprises. There was so much in this enjoyable story and I just wanted to keep reading and reading.

And I'm wondering if there are any more stories up Cami's sleeve and in her head. I sure wouldn't mind spending more time with these people that I came to know from these stories. 

Excerpt

Alex focused on the target, ignoring the thrumming of his heart and the sweat trickling down his back. One eye closed as the other socket pressed against the scope. The hit must be perfect. His future and his sister’s future depended on it.

Everything lined up. He tightened his finger against the trigger, then before he could second-guess himself, pulled it. The bullet sailed right in between the eyes, exactly where he wanted it.

Loud clapping greeted him from behind. He straightened and turned to face Agent Marcus Klein. The tall, black man grinned at him, gripping a pair of binoculars in one hand. “Great shot.”

Alex shrugged. He glanced back at the practice field to hide the flush of pleasure. “It’s easy when you have a sniper’s rifle and the target isn’t moving.”

“Your specialty was more action shots?” Klein walked to his side and looked out at the target.

“I’ve done it all.”

Klein nodded. “I believe you.” He turned to face Alex. “So, you’re ready to pledge the next twenty years to the FBI and give up making fabulous money and traveling the world?”

Alex arched an eyebrow. He wasn’t ready to pledge twenty years to anyone or anything but Anna, but now didn’t seem the opportune time to state that. “If my sister is happy, you’ll have my loyalty.”

“We fly out for Salt Lake tomorrow. You can see for yourself how well she’s doing.”

Alex took a long breath, dipping his head so the agent wouldn’t see his emotions. Anna was happy. Whatever the FBI required him to do would be worth it. Until he was ready to steal her away and escape.

About the author

Cami Checketts is married and the proud mother of four future WWF champions. Sometimes between being a human horse, cleaning up magic potions, and reading Bernstein Bears, she gets the chance to write fiction.

Cami graduated from Utah State University with a degree in Exercise Science. Cami teaches strength training classes at her local rec and shares healthy living tips on her fitness blog: http://fitnessformom.blogspot.com.

Cami and her family live in the beautiful Cache Valley of Northern Utah. During the two months of the year it isn't snowing, she enjoys swimming, biking, running, and water-skiing.

Connect with Cami

Website | Twitter | Facebook | Fitness Blog

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It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? February 23, 2015

Hello! Welcome to It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? This weekly meme, hosted by Book Journey, is where we share what we have read this past week and what our plans are for the upcoming week. It’s a great way to see what others are reading and to discover books to add to your own To Be Read list. You never know where that next great read may come from!

Click on the book image to read more on Goodreads. 

What I'm currently reading

The Long-Shining Waters
by Danielle Sosin

This is our next book club selection. It's very different from what I usually read. It's okay. 

Tremolo: Cry of the Loon (LeGarde Mystery #3)
by Aaron Paul Lazar (audio-book)

What I recently finish reading

The Secret Life of Book Club

by Heather Woodhaven

My thoughts will be posted later this week. 

Redeem This
by Cami Checketts
My thoughts will be posted later today

What I think I'll read next

The Legacy Human (Singularity #1)
by Susan Kaye Quinn
Another new series by one of my fav authors. This releases March 2nd. I can't wait to get started!

What's going on in your reading world this week?

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Book Spotlight and a Giveaway! The Good Woman by Jane Porter

I have sooooo many books! I have a ton of print books and probably even more e-books. The Book Spotlight feature that I am going to try to post every Saturday is a way for me to clear my shelves and to share some of the books I have. There are a lot of different reasons that I might be letting some of my books go, the biggest one is that we recently moved and I discovered how many books I really do have. This feature is a way for my to cull my collection and to give someone else the opportunity to enjoy them.

The book that I am featuring this week is one that I discoverd that I had 2 copies of when we moved and I got my bookshelves all filled up. So I am giving one away!  

Good luck and be sure to stop back next week!

The Good Woman
(Brennan Sisters #1)

The Good Woman by Jane Porter 

Series: Brennan Sisters #1

Paperback, 368 pages

Published September 4th 2012 by Berkley

Is it possible to leave it all behind? 

The firstborn of a large Irish-American family, Meg Brennan Roberts is a successful publicist, faithful wife, and doting mother who prides herself on always making the right decisions. But years of being “the good woman” have taken a toll and though her winery career thrives, Meg feels burned out and empty, and more disconnected than ever from her increasingly distant husband. Lonely and disheartened, she attends the London Wine Fair with her boss, ruggedly handsome vintner, Chad Hallahan. It’s here, alone together in an exotic city, far from “real” life, that Chad confesses his long-standing desire for Meg. 

Overwhelmed, flattered, and desperately confused, Meg returns home, only to suddenly question every choice she’s ever made, especially that of her marriage. For Meg, something’s got to give, and for once in her life she flees her responsibilities—but with consequences as reckless and irreversible as they are liberating. Now she must decide whether being the person everyone needs is worth losing the woman she was meant to be.

About the author

Born in Visalia, California, I'm a small town girl at heart. I love central California's golden foothills, oak trees, and the miles of farmland. In my mind, there's nothing sweeter in the world than the heady fragrance of orange blossoms on a sultry summer night.

As a little girl I spent hours on my bed, staring out the window, dreaming of far off places, fearless knights, and happy-ever-after endings. In my imagination I was never the geeky bookworm with the thick coke-bottle glasses, but a princess, a magical fairy, a Joan-of-Arc crusader.

My parents fed my imagination by taking our family to Europe for a year when I was thirteen. The year away changed me (I wasn't a geek for once!) and overseas I discovered a huge and wonderful world with different cultures and customs. I loved everything about Europe, but felt especially passionate about Italy and those gorgeous Italian men (no wonder my first very Presents hero was Italian).

I confess, after that incredible year in Europe, the travel bug bit, and bit hard. I spent much of my high school and college years abroad, studying in South Africa, Japan and Ireland. South Africa remains a country of my heart, the people, the land and politics complex and heart-wrenching.

After my years of traveling and studying I had to settle down and earn a living. With my Bachelors degree from UCLA in American Studies, a program that combines American literature and American history, I've worked in sales and marketing, as well as a director of a non-profit foundation. Later I earned my Masters in Writing from the University of San Francisco and taught jr. high and high school English.

I now live in Seattle and Hawaii with my three sons. I never mind a rainy day, either, because that's when I sit at my desk and write stories about far-away places, fascinating people, and most importantly of all, love. I like a story with a happy ending. We all do. 

Connect with Jane

Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Twitter | Amazon

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