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Editorial Content for The Project

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Norah Piehl

Annie Lord isn't (yet) very well known on this side of the Atlantic. In the UK, though, she's already gained a reputation as a go-to source for advice (and commiseration) on love, dating and relationships.  Read More

Teaser

When 26-year-old Daisy wakes up next to James Stanley, she can’t believe what she’s done. But sleeping with him is a casualty of a Much Larger Problem --- there is not a decent, single man to be found in London. Fed up with the dating scene, Daisy and her best friend, Maya, decide to stop waiting and take matters into their own hands with “The Project.” Their goal? To build the perfect, eligible match out of some of the most lackluster, raw material. And who better to start with than their embarrassingly uncivilized (yet frustratingly attractive) friend, James? Embarking on a series of social and cultural lessons --- from art exhibitions to feminist book clubs, designer clothing stores to house parties --- Daisy and Maya chaperone James on a journey of discovery. But which of them will change more?

Promo

When 26-year-old Daisy wakes up next to James Stanley, she can’t believe what she’s done. But sleeping with him is a casualty of a Much Larger Problem --- there is not a decent, single man to be found in London. Fed up with the dating scene, Daisy and her best friend, Maya, decide to stop waiting and take matters into their own hands with “The Project.” Their goal? To build the perfect, eligible match out of some of the most lackluster, raw material. And who better to start with than their embarrassingly uncivilized (yet frustratingly attractive) friend, James? Embarking on a series of social and cultural lessons --- from art exhibitions to feminist book clubs, designer clothing stores to house parties --- Daisy and Maya chaperone James on a journey of discovery. But which of them will change more?

About the Book

From the acclaimed Vogue writer and author of NOTES ON HEARTBREAK comes a decade-defining rom-com: a funny, sweet and subversive debut novel, reminiscent of Dolly Alderton and Monica Heisey, about two women, tired of the London dating scene, who decide to transform their most annoying male friend into the perfect man.

When 26-year-old Daisy wakes up next to James Stanley, she can’t believe what she’s done. She slept with James. The most boorish boy she knows. The black sheep of their friendship group. Someone who once told her that he’d never cried in his entire life --- and sounded proud of it.

But sleeping with James is a casualty of a Much Larger Problem --- there is not a decent, single man to be found in London. At least, that’s what Daisy and her best friend Maya think. All the good ones are taken. Even the average, not-so-good men have beautiful, educated and accomplished girlfriends with perfect hip-to-waist ratios. Where have all the good men gone?

Fed up with the dating scene, Daisy and Maya decide to stop waiting and take matters into their own hands with “The Project.” Their goal? To build the perfect, eligible match out of some of the most lackluster, raw material. And who better to start with than their embarrassingly uncivilized (yet frustratingly attractive) friend, James?

Embarking on a series of social and cultural lessons --- from art exhibitions to feminist book clubs, designer clothing stores to house parties --- Daisy and Maya chaperone James on a journey of discovery.

But which of them will change more?

Audiobook available, read by Emma Appleton

Editorial Content for Sisters of a Halved Heart

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Jana Siciliano

“‘I’ll just stand outside our window reciting poetry all day long,’ said Jack as he drank from his glass of wine. ‘What languor would his silence show / How full of fire his speech would glow! / How artless was the note which spoke / Of love again, and yet again.’ As Jack said the words, theatrical over the dancing shadows of the candlelight, I felt a shiver over my skin.’” Read More

Teaser

Mira Guhathakurta is a poetry editor at a distinguished literary magazine in New York, a dream job that has given her nearly everything she's always wanted. And then she reconnects with Jack from college, and suddenly she feels as if she might have found her soulmate. They've woven their lives together so thoroughly. All that remains is for Jack to meet her family: her beloved father and dear sister, Joy. But when Joy commits an unthinkable act of betrayal, the sisters are impossibly fractured and their father's heart is broken. As the sisters navigate their tumultuous relationship and Mira starts over, it turns out that Joy isn't the only one who has been --- or continues to be --- dishonest.

Promo

Mira Guhathakurta is a poetry editor at a distinguished literary magazine in New York, a dream job that has given her nearly everything she's always wanted. And then she reconnects with Jack from college, and suddenly she feels as if she might have found her soulmate. They've woven their lives together so thoroughly. All that remains is for Jack to meet her family: her beloved father and dear sister, Joy. But when Joy commits an unthinkable act of betrayal, the sisters are impossibly fractured and their father's heart is broken. As the sisters navigate their tumultuous relationship and Mira starts over, it turns out that Joy isn't the only one who has been --- or continues to be --- dishonest.

About the Book

The electric story of two sisters and an unthinkable betrayal. 

Mira Guhathakurta is a poetry editor at a distinguished literary magazine in New York, a dream job that has given her nearly everything she's always wanted. And then she reconnects with Jack from college --- kind, funny, intelligent Jack --- and suddenly Mira feels as if she might have found her soulmate. They've woven their lives together so thoroughly. All that remains is for Jack to meet her family: her beloved father and dear sister, Joy.

But when Joy commits an unthinkable act of betrayal, the sisters are impossibly fractured and their father's heart is broken. As the sisters navigate their tumultuous relationship and Mira starts over, it turns out that Joy isn't the only one who has been --- or continues to be --- dishonest.

In a propulsive story of love and passion and the ultimate pull of family, SISTERS OF A HALVED HEART examines the lengths we will go to in order to make our own narratives of love work out, the lies we tell ourselves, and the ways in which the truth, often right in front of you, can be impossible to see.

Audiobook available, read by Sharmila Devar 

Editorial Content for The Haul: A Heist Novel

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Philip Zozzaro

O'Conner saw his opportunity and was quick to take it, as the money he was grabbing was ill-gotten and its previous owner lay bullet-ridden in the nearby streets. He had been asked to search for a key on the body of the late Anthony “Long Box” Tolles. But when he saw the duffel bag crammed with bills of various denominations, he seized as many dollars as he could hold and booked it before the police’s delayed arrival.  Read More

Teaser

After years of close calls, O’Conner --- the former “Warlord of Willow Ridge” --- spends most of his time in semi-retirement, running his legitimate businesses and playing pickleball. Except for his longtime girlfriend, no one in his middle-class neighborhood is the wiser to his double life. But O’Conner’s past refuses to stay dead. When he’s approached with a job he can’t resist, he agrees to mastermind his biggest heist yet: a multi-million-dollar raid of a tech billionaire’s secret bunker, hidden beneath his newly constructed basketball arena. As the job goes down, testing O’Conner’s mettle with new challenges, the promise of the score attracts ghosts from his past he thought were long buried.

Promo

After years of close calls, O’Conner --- the former “Warlord of Willow Ridge” --- spends most of his time in semi-retirement, running his legitimate businesses and playing pickleball. Except for his longtime girlfriend, no one in his middle-class neighborhood is the wiser to his double life. But O’Conner’s past refuses to stay dead. When he’s approached with a job he can’t resist, he agrees to mastermind his biggest heist yet: a multi-million-dollar raid of a tech billionaire’s secret bunker, hidden beneath his newly constructed basketball arena. As the job goes down, testing O’Conner’s mettle with new challenges, the promise of the score attracts ghosts from his past he thought were long buried.

About the Book

A professional thief takes the chance of a lifetime when he agrees to mastermind the raid of a tech billionaire’s secret bunker in this action-packed heist thriller set in the heart of contemporary Los Angeles, from master of West Coast noir Gary Phillips. Perfect for fans of Sara Paretsky and Michael Connelly.

After years of close calls, O’Conner --- the former “Warlord of Willow Ridge” --- spends most of his time in semi-retirement, running his legitimate businesses and playing pickleball. Except for his longtime girlfriend, no one in his middle-class neighborhood is the wiser to his double life.

But O’Conner’s past refuses to stay dead. When he’s approached with a job he can’t resist, he agrees to mastermind his biggest heist yet: a multi-million-dollar raid of a tech billionaire’s secret bunker, hidden beneath his newly constructed basketball arena. As the job goes down, testing O’Conner’s mettle with new challenges, the promise of the score attracts ghosts from his past he thought were long buried.

Interwoven with flashbacks to O’Conner’s coming-of-age as an orphan in Los Angeles, this pulse-pounding story is both an homage to Donald Westlake’s Parker series and a rich portrait of a morally gray thief at a crossroads.

Audiobook available, read by Desson Thomson

Editorial Content for The Break-Up Retreat

Contributors

Reviewer (text)

Christine M. Irvin

Welcome to Himlafall Clinic, where we use revolutionary therapy techniques to heal you from heartbreak. Whether you are going through a devastating breakup, or can’t seem to stop picking the wrong partners, we are here to help you change your life, once and for all…

That is quite the claim indeed!  Read More

Teaser

Isobel Anderssen has heard rumors. Nestled deep in the Swedish woods, there is a retreat. Primarily aimed at helping women who have gone through devastating break-ups, the Himlafall Clinic is meant to heal your mind and help you move on. Sometimes people are never heard from again. Armed with a fake story and a contraband phone to record interviews, Isobel is ready to expose Himlafall’s founder and get closure for the families of missing loved ones. But when she gets there, nothing goes to plan. Her contact is missing. The founder, Dr. Martina Hastings, knows how to get under Isobel’s skin in ways she didn’t anticipate. And all the while, the ghosts of the missing haunt her at every turn.

Promo

Isobel Anderssen has heard rumors. Nestled deep in the Swedish woods, there is a retreat. Primarily aimed at helping women who have gone through devastating break-ups, the Himlafall Clinic is meant to heal your mind and help you move on. Sometimes people are never heard from again. Armed with a fake story and a contraband phone to record interviews, Isobel is ready to expose Himlafall’s founder and get closure for the families of missing loved ones. But when she gets there, nothing goes to plan. Her contact is missing. The founder, Dr. Martina Hastings, knows how to get under Isobel’s skin in ways she didn’t anticipate. And all the while, the ghosts of the missing haunt her at every turn.

About the Book

An undercover journalist goes to expose an exclusive psychological wellness clinic where women go to recover from heartbreak, with dire consequences, in this creepy thriller from THE BACHELORETTE PARTY author Camilla Sten.

Welcome to Himlafall Clinic, where we use revolutionary therapy techniques to heal you from heartbreak. Whether you are going through a devastating breakup, or can’t seem to stop picking the wrong partners, we are here to help you change your life, once and for all…

Isobel Anderssen has heard rumors. Nestled deep in the Swedish woods, there is a retreat. Primarily aimed at helping women who have gone through devastating break-ups, the Himlafall Clinic is meant to heal your mind and help you move on.

Sometimes people are never heard from again.

Armed with a fake story and a contraband phone to record interviews, Isobel is ready to expose Himlafall’s founder and get closure for the families of missing loved ones. But when she gets there, nothing goes to plan. Her contact is missing. The founder, Dr. Martina Hastings, knows how to get under Isobel’s skin in ways she didn’t anticipate. And all the while, the ghosts of the missing haunt her at every turn. It is clear something is going wrong and Himlafall, and Isobel must uncover the truth, before she disappears once and for all.

Audiobook available, read by Peyton Mader 

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August 7, 2026, 466 voters

August 7, 2026 - August 21, 2026

Here are reading recommendations with your comments and a rating of 1 to 5 stars for the contest period of August 7 - August 21.

August 7, 2026

Last week, Francesca came over to the house and helped me with book organization, which means that all upcoming books have been shelved by month. She also indulged me in the piles of “books I intend to read,” some of which have been there for more than a year. No matter how quickly I read or listen, I always feel like I am missing something I really want to read.

Week of August 24, 2026

Paperback releases for the week of August 24th include THE BLACK WOLF, the 20th installment in Louise Penny's Armand Gamache series, which finds the Chief Inspector of the Sûreté du Québec playing a lethal game of cat and mouse with an invisible foe who is gathering forces and preparing to strike; BACKSTAGE, a memorable collection of stories and essays on writing, reading, teaching and Venice by Donna Leon, the celebrated author of the Commissario Guido Brunetti novels; BRADY VS. BELICHICK by Gary Myers, a unique and unparalleled look into the nature and relationship of two of the pillars in the NFL's greatest dynasty; and Kelly Sundberg's THE ANSWER IS IN THE WOUND, an intimate, linked and lyrical essay collection focusing on the longer-lasting effects of trauma and PTSD on survivors --- challenging a culture in which violence against women is normalized.

Week of August 17, 2026

Paperback releases for the week of August 17th include WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE? by Sophie Kinsella, an unforgettable story --- by turns heartbreaking and life-affirming --- of a renowned novelist facing a devastating diagnosis and learning to live and love anew; THE LOST BAKER OF VIENNA, a sweeping saga about survival, loss, love and the reverberating effects of war that was inspired by the experiences of Sharon Kurtzman's own family after the Holocaust; WRECK, a wonderful novel from Catherine Newman about marriage, family, and what happens when life doesn’t go as planned; and THAT NIGHT by Gillian McAllister, an electrifying thriller about three siblings torn apart by the cover-up of a death while on a family vacation in Italy, which is now available in the US for the first time and was adapted earlier this year as a limited series on Netflix.

Week of August 10, 2026

Paperback releases for the week of August 10th include ALL THIS COULD BE YOURS, a captivating thriller from Hank Phillippi Ryan in which a glamorous book tour becomes a deadly cat-and-mouse chase; RETURN OF THE SPIDER, the stunning companion to ALONG CAME A SPIDER, James Patterson's classic thriller that introduced Detective Alex Cross to readers around the globe and delivered an unsurpassed rivalry: Cross versus Gary Soneji; BURY OUR BONES IN THE MIDNIGHT SOIL, a genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger from V. E. Schwab, which now includes a new short story; and DEAR MISS LAKE by AJ Pearce, an enormously uplifting testament to the power of friendship and hope, in which plucky wartime advice columnist Emmy Lake discovers that sometimes it takes losing everything to find what we need most.