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Showing posts from July, 2019

The Perfect Wife by JP Delaney

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Abbie, the carefree artist, married Tim, the driven tech guy, and life was never the same. Abbie woke up in a strange room confused on where she is and what happened. She quickly finds out she is not Abbie, Tim’s wife, but Abbie, the cobot Tim created after Abbie mysteriously disappeared five years ago. Tim’s creation was meant to help people live forever by uploading their memories and personality into a cobot, a realistic looking and acting robot. It takes AI to a new level. As Abbie investigates what happens to the human Abbie, she discovers terrifying things. This is a very interesting plot. AI is becoming a larger issue each year and this story is not just about AI but the impact a robot based on an actual person could have. How will this affect the persons family. How does the robot feel knowing they are a replacement? How are they viewed in the law and what rights do they have? Delaney does not take a heavy look at these issues but brings them to light and gets you thinking ab

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding

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Natalie moved across the US from her hometown on the west coast to attend art school in New York City. While she loves school, she finds it hard to keep up financially. She shares an apartment with roommates that hate her and the fact that she can't pay her portion of the bills on time is not helping. She visits her friend, Ava's penthouse apartment in Chelsea and wonders how Ava can afford everything. Ava introduces Nat to a life as a sugar baby. At first it seems simple, you spend a few hours socializing with an older man, a sugar daddy, and you can earn $500 for a few hours time. Natalie's first date is Gabe, a handsome lawyer. Gabe is charming and finds Natalie endearing. He offers to start an 'arrangement' with her. He will pay her $3500 a month and she will spend a few evenings a week with him for dinner and social events. It is supposed to be easy for both parties and when the arrangement is no longer working, it will end with no hard feelings. Natalie is thr

Where She Went by Kelly Simmon

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Emma is a young college student who dreams of writing for her school newspaper. Her mom, Maggie, receives a knock on the door that no one wants to hear, especially a widow of a police officer. Emma is missing. Maggie does not think the police are taking her daughters disappearance seriously, writing her off as a college girl who will be found sleeping at a boyfriends house. She uses her knowledge of police investigations to look for her daughter. Maggie is certain her daughter is in danger and the more she investigates, the more worried she becomes. She uncovers Emma was working on a story for the newspaper about college girls that become sugar babies, or girls who are paid for spending time with older men. As Maggie investigates, she dives deeper into Emma's life and closer to bringing Emma home. This story is told from the viewpoint of Maggie in the present and Emma in the past. I love stories told in this manner. You get little clues each chapter and can try to figure out the

Breath in, Cash Out by Madeleine Henry

Allegra Cobb hates her job. She is a banking analyst at a prestigious investment firm; a job that pays very well but requires her to work 24/7. Leaving the office before 11 p.m. (or at all) is seen as slacking on the job. She regularly gets emails at 1 a.m. asking her to re-do everything she and her team just spent hours doing. Allegra's dream job is to teach yoga but she does not want to disappoint her father. Allegra meets yoga guru, Skylar, and is thrilled when Skylar says she has potential. Skylar wants to help Allegra achieve her dream of teaching yoga. Skylar gives Allegra advice to lessen the stress in her life including time out for yoga at work and fasting for two days with absolutely no food or water. For someone who lives on caffeine this is incredibly hard for Allegra. As Allegra dreams of quitting her job and becoming a yoga teacher with Skylar's help, she begins to realize people are not always as they seem. This book is very funny. Allegra is trapped at work bu

A Stranger on the Beach by Michele Campbell

Caroline finds Aidan staring at her beach house one morning after a run. It is the first time she meet Aidan but it won’t be the last. Caroline is married and finds out her husband is cheating on her during her housewarming party in front of all of her friends. She is humiliated and goes to a bar to drown her sorrows. Aidan is the bartender and Caroline ends up having a one night stand with him. This is where the book gets interesting. Each chapter changes from Aidan’s voice to Caroline’s voice and the versions of events as they see them are different. Caroline thinks Aidan on stalking her and is afraid for her safety. Aidan thinks Caroline is in love with him and they have a future together. What is the truth? I struggled with the beginning of the book because it started a little slow. This did not last very long and soon I was hooked. Each chapter I was looking for clues to determine who was telling the REAL story. The ending was completely unexpected. This book will keep you guess