Redeeming Meg, by Misty Evans & Nolan Evans, is a romantic thriller published in 2025.

This book is the first in the Black Swan Division series, and it centers on Meg Carson, a fearless undercover operative, and her enigmatic second-in-command, Declan Reid. They lead an elite CIA team that handles high-stakes espionage missions that are considered impossible for others. The story involves international conspiracies, rogue assassins, and fractured loyalties, as the team navigates deadly situations while wrestling with personal demons. The Black Swan Division is reactivated to retrieve a USB drive from the US embassy in Bucharest and find a missing person, Tommy Mendoza, all while facing Mosai Hagar and his death squad. The book contains heart-stopping twists, nonstop action, and a dash of slow-burn romance.

#BlackSwanDivision, #MegCarson, #DeclanReid, #Espionage, #CIA, #RomanticThriller, #ActionThriller, #SecretMissions, #MosaiHagar, #BucharestEmbassy, #RedeemingMeg, #MistyEvans

Forget by Nicola Marsh is a contemporary romance novel, first published in 2019 as One Wicked Week, with world English rights copyright in 2019. It was published by Parlance Press in 2025.

The story revolves around Jayda York, who seeks the help of tech genius Brock Olsen to launch her online business. Six years prior, they had a one-night stand that empowered Jayda. Now, she proposes a deal: his expertise by day and his "sinful skills" by night, for one week, no strings, no emotions. However, Brock has not forgotten Jayda either. He wants more than just a week.

As their days and nights together become more intense, the lines between business and pleasure blur. The book explores themes of past relationships, personal growth, and the challenges of mixing business with desire. Jayda is determined to honor her sister's memory by creating an educational charity, while Brock grapples with his own family issues and his aversion to emotional entanglements. The story also touches on Jayda's body image issues and how Brock's acceptance challenges her insecurities.

#OneNightStand, #BusinessAndPleasure, #NoStringsAttached, #TechGenius, #FamilyIssues, #CharityGoals, #PersonalInsecurities, #IntenseDesire, #CommitmentPhobia, #PastRelationships, #ForgetNovel, #NicolaMarsh

The Pause Principle: How to Keep Your Cool in Tough Situations by Cynthia Kane, is a self-help book published in 2025.

The book focuses on how to pause in difficult conversations by using the SOFTEN principle, which involves practices based on mindfulness.

The book emphasizes that communication is a body-mind practice, and it is hard to pause in stressful conversations because our biology takes over. The book introduces the concept of the "pause principle," which is the idea that by softening, we can connect with others and think clearly in heated moments. It teaches that pausing is not something that we naturally know how to do but rather something that we can learn. The SOFTEN practices are mindfulness-based techniques designed to help people bring awareness to their thoughts, feelings and actions. The book is structured in two parts: The first part teaches the reader about what makes it so hard to pause and introduces the SOFTEN principle. The second part is dedicated to the SOFTEN practices. The book also includes a 30-day pause plan and a 5-day challenge to help the reader implement these practices. The book also touches on meditation as a way to help in the pausing process.

The SOFTEN practices are:

• Sensation: Paying attention to body sensations in tough conversations.
• Own Your Discomfort: Acknowledging and feeling the unpleasant sensations in the body without judgment.
• Focus on the Present Moment: Bringing attention back to the present moment to interrupt patterns of overreaction.
• Take a Breath: Using breath as a tool to calm the nervous system.
• Eyes Toward Another: Cultivating compassion and connection towards others.
• Need to Say: Using specific language to help the nervous system feel safe.

The author states that the book is not based on theories but her own experiences. The practices in the book are concrete and meant to be used in the moment during conversations.

#PausePrinciple, #SOFTEN, #MindfulCommunication, #EmotionalRegulation, #StressManagement, #PresentMomentAwareness, #Breathwork, #SelfTalk, #MeditationPractice, #DifficultConversations, #CynthiaKane, #PauseAndSoften

The Perfect Plan by Caitlin Weaver is a work of fiction published in 2025.

The story revolves around three friends, Liz, Fabiola, and Alice. Liz is trying to choose a surrogate to carry her baby. Fabiola is married with three children, and is also a business owner who helps people organize their homes. Alice is also a close friend. The women meet to review potential surrogates. Liz eventually asks Fabiola to be her surrogate.

Fabiola agrees to be Liz's surrogate, but then has a brief affair with Liz's husband Peter the night before the embryo transfer. Fabiola becomes pregnant and discovers that she is carrying her own child, not Liz's. As the pregnancy progresses, Fabiola's marriage falls apart. Her husband, Aron, is involved in a financial fraud scheme and had also kept a letter from Fabiola's estranged mother.

Fabiola's mother returns after many years, and Fabiola has to decide how to deal with her mother, her husband's betrayal, her feelings for Peter, and the fact that she is carrying her own baby as a surrogate for her best friend. Fabiola's relationships with Liz and Alice are impacted by her choices. Ultimately, Fabiola gives birth to a daughter. Liz and Fabiola eventually reconcile.

#SurrogacyDrama, #FriendshipBetrayal, #FamilySecrets, #UnexpectedPregnancy, #FinancialFraud, #MothersAndDaughters, #SecondChances, #Forgiveness, #WomensFiction, #ComplexRelationships, #ThePerfectPlan, #CaitlinWeaver

The Moor’s Account by Laila Lalami is a historical fiction novel published in 2014.

The story is a fictionalized account of the Narváez expedition to La Florida in the 16th century, told from the perspective of Mustafa ibn Muhammad ibn Abdussalam al-Zamori, a Moroccan slave, also known as Estebanico. The narrative recounts his journey from Azemmur to the Land of the Indians, where he becomes a slave, is shipwrecked, and endures years of hardship.

• The book provides an alternative perspective to the commonly known accounts of the expedition, particularly those of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.
• It explores themes of slavery, freedom, cultural clashes, and the complexities of historical narratives.
• Mustafa's account aims to correct details and omissions in the testimonies of the Castilian gentlemen, offering a more complete and nuanced version of events.
• The story is presented as a personal memoir, with Mustafa reflecting on his life and experiences long after they occurred.
• The novel is structured as a series of stories, each detailing a significant period or event in Mustafa's life.
• Mustafa's desire to be remembered and to share the "true story" forms the core of the narrative.

#TheMoorsAccount, #LailaLalami, #Estebanico, #LaFlorida, #Slavery, #NarvaezExpedition, #Apalache, #Gold, #Survival, #Storytelling, #CulturalClash, #Freedom,

Infernos by Barbara Winkes is a crime drama and romantic suspense novel published in 2025.

The book follows Lieutenant Simone Daniels, along with detectives Ellie Harding and Jordan Carpenter, as they navigate a series of interconnected crises. The story begins with a peaceful family breakfast for Simone, before she's called back to work due to global crises and an internal threat. Meanwhile, Pauline Carpenter enjoys a slow Saturday with her family before a phone call disrupts their plans.

The story jumps between multiple characters, including Ellie and Jordan as they plan a getaway with their daughter Meri. However, their plans are interrupted by a developing hostage situation at the police station.

As the story unfolds, a group of attackers, led by Stephen Plummer, take over the police station. Ellie and Kate are caught in the middle, while Jordan is out of the building, dealing with her own dangerous situation. As the hostage situation unfolds, it is revealed that a former police officer, Chris Atwood, is involved.

The story includes details of a murder case, with the victim Silvia Henry, and a related murder of Michael Ayers. It becomes clear that the attack on the police station is related to right-wing extremism and anti-government sentiments.

The novel continues with various twists and turns, exploring the relationships between the main characters, including Ellie and Jordan's marriage and family life. The story concludes with the resolution of the hostage situation, the solving of the murders, and the beginning of the long process to address the consequences of the attack. The book ends with a brief description of the author's other works.

#HostageCrisis, #RightWingExtremism, #PoliceCorruption, #PrivateMilitia, #MurderMystery, #FamilyDrama, #Betrayal, #Investigation, #TraumaRecovery, #VigilanteJustice, #InfernosNovel, #BarbaraWinkes

Eat Your Age by Ian K. Smith, M.D. It is a health and wellness guide, published in January 2025.

This book provides a framework for preventing, combating, and slowing the physical, mental, and spiritual decline associated with aging. It emphasizes that a significant portion of how one ages is within their control. The book outlines 15 strategies to start turning back the clock, including finding purpose, staying hydrated, limiting salt and alcohol, protecting the skin, exercising the heart and brain, sleeping well, visiting the dentist, eating more plants and less meat, stressing less, finding a community, increasing vitamin C, consuming antioxidants and fermented foods.

• It includes information about hidden medical dangers correlated to different decades of life.
• It provides a 30-day meal plan with recipes incorporating the top 10 power nutrients for each decade.
• It details physical fitness tests to assess balance, strength, flexibility, and cardiorespiratory fitness.
• It also includes information about important medical tests and numbers to know for each decade.
• The book also includes information about exercises, weight management, skin and vision changes, and more.

The book aims to help readers create a customized plan to navigate life, promote health and well-being, and live a longer and stronger life. It encourages readers to be proactive about their health and provides a "preventive road map to better and sustained good health".

#EatYourAge, #AntiAging, #Longevity, #Nutrition, #Fitness, #HealthyEating, #PreventativeHealth, #PowerNutrients, #MindBody, #HealthyLifestyle, #DrIanSmith, #MedicalTests

All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall is a 2025 novel.

This work of fiction tells the story of a young woman named Nonie who has a special connection to water. The story takes place after a series of environmental disasters, including a hypercane that floods New York City, where Nonie and her family live in the American Museum of Natural History, which they call "Amen".

The book follows Nonie and her family, including her older sister Bix, her father, and their friends, as they struggle to survive in a changed world. The family keeps two logbooks, a "Museum Logbook" to preserve knowledge and a "Water Logbook" to understand the changing weather and water patterns. When a catastrophic storm destroys their home, the group must travel to their last safe place, the taiga of Tyringham. They use a hidden birchbark canoe to travel up the Hudson River [8-10]. Along the way, they encounter other survivors, some helpful, others dangerous.

The journey is fraught with challenges, including sickness, injury, and loss, as they try to find their way and build a new life in the face of a dramatically changed world. The story explores themes of memory, knowledge, family, and the importance of preserving the past in order to build a better future.

#Hypercane, #Amen, #Logbook, #WaterIsLife, #TheLost, #Tyringham, #BirchbarkCanoe, #StormKingMountain, #HancockSettlement, #MassPike, #AllTheWaterInTheWorld, #EirenCaffall