THOUGHTS ON THIS 'n THAT

  New York Times  bestselling author Marie Benedict, returns with THE DAUGHTER of EGYPT (Flatiron), a sweeping tale of a young woman who unearths the truth about a forgotten Pharaoh―rewriting both of their legacies forever. In the 1920s, archaeologist Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon of Highclere Castle made headlines around the world with the discovery of the treasure-filled tomb of the boy Pharaoh Tutankhamun. But behind it all stood Lady Evelyn Herbert―daughter of Lord Carnarvon―whose daring spirit and relentless curiosity made the momentous find possible. Nearly 3,000 years earlier, another woman defied the expectations of her time: Hatshepsut, Egypt’s lost pharaoh. Her reign was bold, visionary―and nearly erased from history. When Evelyn becomes obsessed with finding Hatshepsut’s secret tomb, she risks everything to uncover the truth about her reign and keep valued artifacts in Egypt, their rightful home. But as danger closes in and political tensions rise, she must make ...

  A must-read for the millions who suffer from chronic illness,  Soul-Happy SimonandSchuster)  is an inspiring and poetic account of navigating away from shame and life-threatening disease and into redemption and grace through a commitment to hard truths and unconditional love. Nette Nilsson has big dreams and is in the midst of pursuing them—starting by leaving Denmark to attend university in Toronto, Canada—when she falls for a beguiling but volatile American. Their romance moves fast, and in what seems like no time, she finds herself living a privileged but deeply unhappy life in New York with her now-husband, Cal. After suffering for too long, she finally begins to find her way onto a better path—only to be abruptly faced with a life-threatening physical condition. To survive and to heal, Nette must confront dark family lies and her hidden traumas and find her own power again. In an era of increasing awareness regarding how many strong, intelligent women ignore their ...

  WE INHERIT is an unflinching portrait of the fractured relationship between a mother and her daughter—set against the tumultuous end of apartheid in South Africa. There is that photograph, of course. My mother: standing in front of a soldier, closer than anyone else would dare . . . In late-1980s South Africa, teenager Kelelo is forced to leave her mountain school for a newly desegregated school in town, where her identity as the daughter of celebrated freedom fighter Kewame “Dolly” Malaka makes her an instant curiosity. While her classmates see her as a symbol of progress, at home she struggles with a mother who is emotionally unreachable, still haunted by the violence and deprivation she endured as a political prisoner under apartheid. Kewame, now living in material comfort, hides a growing inner collapse as memories of prison life and the women who sustained her resurface, stirred by her grandmother’s illness and the pressure of maintaining a façade of perfection. As mother an...

  Love is brewing as a barista falls for a reclusive artist struggling with the tragic aftermath of an accident in this charming, epic romance. Audrey Adams knows the exact routine for all her regular customers. That’s what happens when you work at the same Brooklyn coffee shop for years. So it’s completely normal that she notices Theo Sullivan, a shy new patron who comes in at exactly 8:17 a.m., right? And that this incredibly tall (and cute) man never drinks his coffee, always leaves a generous tip, only stays long enough to scribble in a notebook, and wears the same KN95 mask. Call it barista instincts or a reasonable reaction to Theo’s undeniable sweetness, but Audrey is crushing hard. Eagerly anticipating Theo's visits, Audrey relishes the precious few minutes they chat every time he orders his large, extra-hot Americano. When an incident reveals the horrific facial scar he's hiding beneath his mask, Theo flees the café in shame, dropping his sketchbook and leaving a part ...

In this deftly comedic and deeply contemplative memoir, the  New York Times  bestselling author faces life’s biggest curveball only to find resilience in the most unlikely places. After Annabelle Gurwitch received an out-of-the blue diagnosis of Stage 4 lung cancer, an existential dread set in. Precision medicine offered a temporary reprieve—but instead of turning into a cancer warrior, Annabelle declared herself a  cancer slacker . Her motto: no runs, no ribbons, no religion. Told with her signature wit, warmth, and gimlet eye, Gurwitch draws inspiration from Greek mythology and TV comedies, Kermit the Frog and Samuel Beckett. She accidentally acquires an angel, embraces being in it “just for the sex,” and finds herself on a European van tour selling merch for a heavy metal band. In this hilariously and deeply affecting meditation on mortality, the actress and activist illuminates life with chronic disease, inequities in care, and celebrates tiny victories, the crusty en...

  The HOUSE OF HIDDEN LETTERS (Berkley) is a beaut iful and escapist novel full of heart. For sale: Greek cottage. One euro. Skye MacKinnon is desperate for an escape. When she wins a lottery to buy a run-down cottage on a Greek island for only one euro, Skye jumps at the chance to get out of England and start over. As she unlocks the tattered blue door of her whitewashed new cottage, the sun-kissed sea glinting in the bay outside her windows, Skye immediately feels like she’s found her true home. Skye and the other lottery winners—the first residents in these houses since the 1940s—form a tight-knit group, finding in one another the strong relationships they’d been missing in their own lives. When Skye and local contractor Andreas find a set of mysterious letters, they begin to unravel the history of the prior residents, and the truth about life on Folegandros during World War II. Sweeping, escapist, and full of heart,  The House of Hidden Letters  reminds us of the impo...