Book picks similar to
The Arden by L.S. Popovich
science-fiction
giveaways
fiction
goodreads-giveaways
Sunkiller
J.N. Chaney - 2022
Angel Cortez has found... no matter the human cost.Because beneath the dirt and stone lies an ancient mystery, a secret history, and a warning of an implacable alien enemy. And if the warnings are true, then corporate mercenaries and Sea Dragon commandoes are the least of Chase’s worries.Can Sgt. Chase Weston and Dr. Evangeline Cortez uncover the mystery of the Sunkillers? Or will they just be the latest to die trying?
To Squeeze a Prairie Dog
Scott Semegran - 2019
D. Wiswall, a sincere young man from a small town, who joins a state government agency in a data entry department comprised of quirky clerks. Quickly endearing himself to the diverse group in Unit 3, J. D. learns his coworkers have a pact to share the $10,000 prize if they win a cost-savings program for a suggestion that could save the government money, in turn helping them rise above their own personal struggles. A multimillion-dollar cost-savings suggestion is accidentally discovered by J. D.'s supervisor, the goof-off alcoholic Brent Baker. This lucrative discovery catches the attention of crotchety Governor Dwayne Bennett, a media-hungry demagogue, who turns the coworkers of Unit 3 into props for his selfish political reasons. The publicity surrounding the clerks piques the interest of a newspaper reporter, Esther Jean Stinson, whose investigative reporting threatens to reveal the governor's career-ending secret, as well as jeopardizes the prize that the clerks so desperately desire. Along with J. D. and Brent, the lives of the amiable coworkers in Unit 3 are revealed. There is Rita Jackson, the kind matriarch of her large brood, who spends her time outside of work caring for her five struggling children and thirteen wily grandchildren. Then there's Deborah Martinez, a single mother to a felonious son, who struggles to keep her head above her sinking financial woes. There's also Conchino Gonzalez, a quiescent giant of Mexican and Japanese descent, who street races at night to relieve worries about his ailing grandfather in Japan. Finally, J. D. has dreams bigger than his small hometown can provide, and Brent wants nothing more than to drop the bureaucratic routine to become a rock star with his bar band. A few blocks away from the agency that houses Unit 3, Governor Bennett, a smarmy politician who whizzes around the Governor's Mansion on a gold-plated wheelchair, parades the unwitting clerks in front of the local media in an attempt to raise his sagging poll numbers. But reporter Esther Jean sees through the governor's bald-faced motives and uncovers secrets not meant to be revealed. Will her revelations keep Unit 3 from receiving their elusive prize? From award-winning writer Scott Semegran, To Squeeze a Prairie Dog is an American, modern-day tale with working-class folks--part fable, part satire, and part comedy--revealing that camaraderie amongst kind-hearted friends wins the day over evil intentions.
The Code Hunters
Jackson Coppley - 2019
• An Army Ranger makes a snap decision that sets in motion events beyond his imagination.• In New Mexico, caver Tom Littleton discovers a 10,000-year-old coded tablet far too advanced for ancient people to have created it.• In Boston, Rachael Friedman, a leading physics professor, unlocks a key to the mysterious code.• And in Italy, a violin maker and his autistic daughter show the way to a secret chamber where a medieval scholar has locked away more clues.Wealthy adventurer Nicholas Foxe leads this unlikely team to solve the mystery of the code. But dark forces threaten to destroy The Tablet and the people who know about it…• The Televangelist who intends to profit from his “religious” interpretation of The Tablet.• A Washington Senator who secretly serves a powerful constituent.• The mysterious Texan who foresees extraordinary wealth by owning The Tablet.• A Bombmaker in Queens who serves the latest in destructive products.The Code Hunters is a Thriller for the reader who:• Wants the Adventure of Indiana Jones,• Likes the pace and puzzles of The Da Vinci Code,• Or just enjoys a Mystery Page-Turner.
The Shimmering State
Meredith Westgate - 2021
An emerging photographer, he’s running from the sudden death of his mother, a well-known abstract expressionist painter. Even far from New York, her legacy haunts Lucien. Sophie has just been cast as a lead in the upcoming performance of La Sylphide with the Los Angeles Ballet. She still waitresses during her off-hours at the Chateau Marmont, witnessing the recreational use of Mem pills among the Hollywood elite—people consuming memories not their own. One controlling, powerful regular’s obsession with Sophie spurs a series of events that threatens to unravel the life she has so carefully built. When Lucien and Sophie meet at The Center, founded by the ambitious yet conflicted Dr. Angelica Sloane as a way to treat patients who’ve abused Mem, they have no memory of how they got there—or why they feel so inexplicably drawn to one another. Is it attraction, or something they cannot remember from “before”? Set in a city that seems to have no memory of its own, The Shimmering State is a graceful meditation on the power of story and its creation. It masterfully explores memory and how it can elude us, trap us, or set us free.
Flare
Jonathan Maas - 2014
The sunlight blinds and burns instantly, and then kills within minutes. The radiation has also destroyed all of the earth's circuitry, leaving the nights dark and dangerous. TWO FIND HOPE AMIDST THE CHAOS Two survivors, a thousand miles apart, each hear a rumor of a distant safe haven that can withstand the sun. Zeke is a silent wanderer, Ash is a brilliant young man hiding a painful past, and neither know just what this place really is. To get there they must each travel through ravaged towns and over hundreds of miles of charred earth, and must do so under a sky waiting to kill them with every sunrise. But with the world's population dying off and humanity getting more and more violent as the days pass, their paths are destined to collide, because this unknown and unseen place might be the only hope remaining.
The Light of Supremazia
Alana Siegel Mag - 2015
Kennedy teaches a class called American Ghosts stories, Albert Einstein grades science tests, and history's most brilliant and deceased minds make up the rest of the teaching staff. Not a problem for Jules Winklevoss, one of the few who can see spirits. Getting into school was a cakewalk, but Jules learns not all spirits are engaging and inspiring teachers. Fourteen years ago, Jules’s family thwarted an evil spirit's rise to power. Now, the evil spirit wants revenge on all Winklevoss's, beginning with Jules. As if evil spirit problems aren't enough, add best friend drama, unattainable boy crushes, and homework to the mix, and needless to say, high school is going to be dreadful. Jules is determined to protect her family and keep herself alive, even if that means delving into the world of the dead.
The Mother Code
Carole Stivers - 2020
When a deadly non-viral agent intended for biowarfare spreads out of control, scientists must scramble to ensure the survival of the human race. They turn to their last resort, a plan to place genetically engineered children inside the cocoons of large-scale robots--to be incubated, birthed, and raised by machines. But there is yet one hope of preserving the human order--an intelligence programmed into these machines that renders each unique in its own right--the Mother Code.
Kai is born in America's desert southwest, his only companion his robot Mother, Rho-Z. Equipped with the knowledge and motivations of a human mother, Rho-Z raises Kai and teaches him how to survive. But as children like Kai come of age, their Mothers transform too--in ways that were never predicted. When government survivors decide that the Mothers must be destroyed, Kai must make a choice. Will he break the bond he shares with Rho-Z? Or will he fight to save the only parent he has ever known?In a future that could be our own, The Mother Code explores what truly makes us human--and the tenuous nature of the boundaries between us and the machines we create.
The School for Good Mothers
Jessamine Chan - 2022
She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. What’s worse is she can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she’s attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she’s just enough.Until Frida has a horrible day.The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida — ones who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that she can live up to the standards set for mothers — that she can learn to be good.This propulsive, witty page-turner explores the perils of “perfect” upper-middle-class parenting, the violence enacted upon women by the state and each other, and the boundless love a mother has for her daughter.
Followers
Megan Angelo - 2020
Then Orla meets Floss ― a striving wannabe A-lister ― who comes up with a plan for launching them both into the high-profile lives they dream about. So what if Orla and Floss's methods are a little shady and sometimes people get hurt? Their legions of followers can't be wrong.Thirty-five years later, in a closed California village where government-appointed celebrities live every moment of the day on camera, a woman named Marlow discovers a shattering secret about her past. Despite her massive popularity ― twelve million loyal followers ― Marlow dreams of fleeing the corporate sponsors who would do anything to keep her on-screen. When she learns that her whole family history is based on a lie, Marlow finally summons the courage to run in search of the truth, no matter the risks.Followers traces the paths of Orla, Floss and Marlow as they wind through time toward each other, and toward a cataclysmic event that sends America into lasting upheaval. At turns wry and tender, bleak and hopeful, this darkly funny story reminds us that even if we obsess over famous people we’ll never meet, what we really crave is genuine human connection.
Booth
Jason Pellegrini - 2016
Even his lifelong best friend played a pivotal role in earning Joseph his seat on death row. A phenomenon occurs as the electricity meant to kill Joseph is sent through him, and his essence is ripped from the body he has known his entire life and thrown into a new one. Only the body he now inhabits isn’t new at all; it is the body of a person who lived over a hundred years before Joseph’s birth. Now living in an unfamiliar era of history and trapped inside a foreign body, Joseph learns he has been sent back for a reason: to earn redemption for his damned soul and to find a sense of peace he has never known. All he needs to do to get there is to prevent one of history’s most infamous murders.
Towards the Within
Reece Willis - 2018
What starts out as a simple trip around India soon becomes a psychological journey into the darkness of Sam’s past. One he knows there's no running from. When Sam decides to give up his mundane life and travel to India he has no idea what he’ll do when he gets there and it isn’t long before his lack of preparation takes its toll. Vulnerable and alone, Sam is haunted by memories of his childhood and as he struggles to make sense of the pain he has suffered he follows a dangerous path that has devastating consequences.
Speaking in Tungs
Karla M. Jay - 2015
In this entertaining first novel, set in rural Pennsylvania, a young San Francisco woman searches for her birthparents and from the moment she arrives in the backwoods town of Tungston, she falls under the spell of unforgettable characters, the unexpected-but-real threat of a violent fugitive, and the unexpected-but-real charm of a local fireman—all leading her to discover the true meaning of family.
Gauntlet Fall (The Gauntlet #1)
Maddy Edwards - 2017
A fragile peace has allowed hopes for rebuilding to blossom, but they rest on the shoulders of those who run the Gauntlet, the lethal trail to the stronghold of the man whose strange creatures started the war many years ago. The stronghold lies deep in Torrent’s Valley, protected by deadly weapons that defeat every attempt to penetrate it, and it holds information crucial to the survival of Samantha’s world.Samantha wants to go to Harknell School, where Gauntlet Runners are trained. The only trouble is, she's the wrong gender. Determined not to let a little thing like that stand in her way, she disguises herself, calls herself "Sam," and risks everything to learn the skills she needs.Fraught with unimagined dangers, Harknell shows Sam a whole new world and forces her to keep a cool head as she fights to maintain her place and become a Runner. Along the way she'll make lifelong friends, watch loyalties crumble, and learn what it is to love. In this scorching world that no one saw coming, . . .until it arrived.
If, Then
Kate Hope Day - 2019
Ginny, a devoted surgeon whose work often takes precedence over her family, has a baffling vision of a beautiful co-worker in Ginny’s own bed and begins to doubt the solidity of her marriage. Ginny’s husband, Mark, a wildlife scientist, sees a vision that suggests impending devastation and grows increasingly paranoid, threatening the safety of his wife and son. Samara, a young woman desperately mourning the recent death of her mother and questioning why her father seems to be coping with such ease, witnesses an apparition of her mother healthy and vibrant and wonders about the secrets her parents may have kept from her. Cass, a brilliant scholar struggling with the demands of new motherhood, catches a glimpse of herself pregnant again, just as she’s on the brink of returning to the project that could define her career.At first the visions are relatively benign, but they grow increasingly disturbing—and, in some cases, frightening. When a natural disaster threatens Clearing, it becomes obvious that the visions were not what they first seemed and that the town will never be the same.
The Woman and the Witch
Amanda Larkman - 2021
The first in The Woman and the Witch TrilogyCan a little bit of magic save a woman trapped in darkness?Meet Angie and Frieda, two unforgettable characters who will live in your memory long after you turn the last page.Nothing ever changes in the village of Witchford until the day a hundred-year-old, bad-tempered witch falls and breaks her hip, and a fifty year old cleaner decides her life is over.Both are haunted by ghosts, but can Frieda help Angie find out what her long dead father is trying to tell her? And can Angie help Frieda fight off the wolf who circles ever closer?A story of empowerment and friendship, 'The Woman and the Witch' explores the freedom ageing can bring, and the power of the natural world.