Two hot novelettes that pull no punches, the first sex from a young mans viewpoint, the second, older women vying for a man.

In this groundbreaking guide, the prominent therapist Dr. Robin Stern shows how the Gaslight Effect works, how you can decide which relationships can be saved and which you have to walk away from—and how to gasproof your life so you'll avoid gaslighting relationship. Your husband crosses the line in his flirtations with another woman at a dinner party. When you confront him, he asks you to stop being insecure and controlling. After a long argument, you apologize for giving him a hard time. Your mother belittles your clothes, your job, and your boyfriend. But instead of fighting back, you wonder if your mother is right and figure that a mature person should be able to take a little criticism. If you think things like this can’t happen to you, think again. Gaslighting is an insidious form of emotional abuse and manipulation that is difficult to recognize and even harder to break free from. Are you being gaslighted? Check for these telltale signs: 1) Does your opinion of yourself change according to approval or disapproval from your spouse? 2) When your boss praises you, do you feel as if you could conquer the world? 3) Do you dread having small things go wrong at home—buying the wrong brand of toothpaste, not having dinner ready on time, a mistaken appointment written on the calendar? 4) Do you have trouble making simple decisions and constantly second guess yourself? 5) Do you frequently make excuses for your partner's behavior to your family and friends? 6) Do you feel hopeless and joyless?

Married at twelve, then separated, divorced and widowed, Nisa is the mother of four children, none of whom survived. She is strong, capable of foraging on her own in one of the world's most hostile environments, not dependent on any man for her daily sustenance and ready to talk to anyone as her equal. Wise, full of humour at the absurdities of life and courageous in the face of its defeats, she is bawdy, practical and incurably romantic. She is a woman of the !Khung people who live by means of humanity's oldest survival strategy - gathering and hunting. This book is the remarkable story of Nisa's life, told in her own words to Marjorie Shostak. It is a story full of echoes from a female past that we can never know directly. But it is also Nisa's unique story, her own voice, her own dignity. In anyone's culture, she is a remarkable woman.

A national indie bestseller! Meet Anna K: every happy teenage girl is the same, while every unhappy teenage girl is miserable in her own special way... At seventeen, Anna K is at the top of Manhattan and Greenwich society (even if she prefers the company of her horses and dogs); she has the perfect (if perfectly boring) boyfriend, Alexander W.; and she has always made her Korean-American father proud (even if he can be a little controlling). Meanwhile, Anna's brother, Steven, and his girlfriend, Lolly, are trying to weather an sexting scandal; Lolly’s little sister, Kimmie, is struggling to recalibrate to normal life after an injury derails her ice dancing career; and Steven’s best friend, Dustin, is madly (and one-sidedly) in love with Kimmie. As her friends struggle with the pitfalls of ordinary teenage life, Anna always seems to be able to sail gracefully above it all. That is...until the night she meets Alexia “Count” Vronsky at Grand Central. A notorious playboy who has bounced around boarding schools and who lives for his own pleasure, Alexia is everything Anna is not. But he has never been in love until he meets Anna, and maybe she hasn’t, either. As Alexia and Anna are pulled irresistibly together, she has to decide how much of her life she is willing to let go for the chance to be with him. And when a shocking revelation threatens to shatter their relationship, she is forced to question if she has ever known herself at all. Dazzlingly opulent and emotionally riveting, Anna K: A Love Story is a brilliant reimagining of Leo Tolstoy's timeless love story, Anna Karenina—but above all, it is a novel about the dizzying, glorious, heart-stopping experience of first love and first heartbreak.

Whirlwind of Desire is a gripping romance that brings together passion, power, and forbidden love. William, a calculating and ambitious governor, has his life meticulously mapped out—until Zoey, the wild, unpredictable sister of his best friend, storms into his world. Zoey has dreamed of being with William since childhood, but to him, she's always been untouchable. Now, fate throws them together, and the lines between duty and desire blur. As Zoey makes her boldest move yet, she never expects the fallout—rejection and an unexpected pregnancy with the man she's loved her whole life. William, torn between his political career and his feelings for Zoey, is faced with an impossible choice. Will he protect his heart, or surrender to the whirlwind of emotions that threaten to upend his carefully built life? Whirlwind of Desire is a must-read for fans of steamy, slow-burn romance, packed with tension, drama, and the intoxicating allure of forbidden love. Dive into a world where passion overpowers reason, and discover what happens when love defies all expectations.

Imagine being granted the extraordinary gift of one last conversation with a loved one, knowing it would be your final chance to connect. Would you use this precious time to pour out your heart, share stories of love and gratitude, and bid a proper farewell? For most, such a divine opportunity would be treasured. But for Jolie, a middle-aged woman juggling the demands of her children, job, grieving father, and estranged sister, the conversation might take an unexpected turn. Why, for instance, did her mother choose to ignore the cancer ravaging her body, instead channeling her energy into hosting dance challenges from her hospital bed and teaching her grandchildren the joys of skinny dipping? Since her mother’s passing, Jolie has been consumed by grief and regret, finding even the simplest tasks overwhelming. Despite knowing that hiding under the covers and napping won’t solve anything, she feels too drained to seek alternatives. As she contemplates the tempting escape of running away – a choice that hardly seems fitting for a woman nearing fifty – Jolie receives an extraordinary gift: one final conversation with her mother. With so much left unsaid, where does one begin when faced with this singular chance? It isn’t until Jolie faces a heart-wrenching accident involving her own daughter that she finds her answer. You begin by acknowledging the importance of family, and the power of forgiveness and letting go. Woven with wisdom, humor, and a touch of magic, A Time to Talk is an uplifting story that explores the unbreakable bonds of family, the profound impact of a mother’s love, and the ability to find light even in the darkest of times.

Everybody needs someone who gets their crazy Hank Kirby can't catch a break. He doesn't mean to screw up. It just happens. Case in point: his attempt to ask out the girl he likes literally goes up in flames when he spelled "prom" in sparklers on Amanda Carlisle's lawn...and nearly burns down her house, without ever asking her the big question. Hank just wants to pretend the incident never happened. And he might've gotten away with it—except there is a witness. Peyton Breedlove, brooding loner and budding pyromaniac, saw the whole thing, and she blackmails Hank into an unusual friendship. Sure, Hank may be headed for his biggest disaster yet, but it's only when life falls apart that you can start piecing it back together. "Funny, authentic, and, at turns, heartbreaking."—Jessi Kirby, author of Things We Know by Heart and Moonglass "I had so much fun reading this book."—Adi Alsaid, author of Never Always Sometimes and Let's Get Lost