Your Promise

A spellbinding novel about a writer who breaks a promise and faces the implications of penning the story of a shattered romantic relationship.

Your Promise, an exciting new novel by award-winning French writer, Camille Laurens, packs one helluva punch! This riveting psychological thriller examines self-awareness when played out amidst the memory of a shattered, long-term romantic relationship. 

The story launches with 50-year-old, Claire Lancel, who writes the story of an old love, Gilles Fabian—this despite her once making a promise to never to share details about him, his domineering, narcissist proclivities, and/or their relationship. 

Readers know right from the start that the story of Claire and Gilles will not end well, but that is precisely the hook.  Claire conveys her story from prison. Why is she incarcerated? What did she do? 

These questions drive a masterfully constructed narrative rooted in a legal court case that slowly divvies out details about the lovers. This includes witness testimonies that trace--and often contradict--the story of an idyllic and seductive relationship, where emotion and passion turn to pain, and “love” succumbs to terminal insidiousness. Claire ultimately becomes a victim of control that forces her to grapple with hard truths about who she was and who she is; her choices and mistakes; and the meaning of her now reduced life. 

Laurens (In His Arms, Girl) renders her story with spellbinding suspense. She sets up a broad canvas then gradually zooms in closer and closer on stark details that ultimately trap and ensnare her characters--and surprise readers.

Your Promise by Camille Laurens (Translated from the French by Adriana Hunter)

Other Press, Paperback $18.99, 978163545734, 400 pages

Publication Date: May 12, 2026

To order this novel on Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

Learn more about Camille Laurens and her work HERE

 

Summer State of Mind

A heartfelt Southern romance, infused with an air of mystery, that begs the questions: “Who are we?” and “Where do we belong?”

Kristy Woodson Harvey returns readers to the coziness of small-town Southern charm in Summer State of Mind, a simmering, heartfelt story that gently explores family dynamics and the challenges of new beginnings.

 

The story starts when Daisy Stevens of Charlotte, North Carolina--a single, deeply dedicated, yet burned out nurse--decides she needs a change. After working for ten years as a Neo-Natal Intensive Unit (NICU) nurse in a Charlotte, North Carolina hospital, she packs up and takes what she believes will be a “simpler” job in Cape Carolina, a “sleepy seaside town” she had idealized since she was a child.

 

On Daisy’s first day on the job, a baby is found--cast off in a garbage dumpster--and is brought to the hospital by Mason Thaysden, the high school baseball coach. Mason was once a Major League prospect whose dreams were sidelined by an injury that forced him to stay put in his own hometown.

 

The abandoned newborn becomes the talk-of-the-town and forges a bond between Daisy and Mason. As the couples’ affection and love deepens, they are both forced to examine their hearts, hopes, and dreams. Along the way, Mason’s quirky Aunt Tilley also plays a part in reconciling her own mysterious past—a past that has the power to send ripples through the community. 

 

Readers have come to relish and take comfort in Woodson Harvey's (Beach House Rules) firm grasp on the perks--and drawbacks--of small-town living, the deep-seated complexities of love, and how “family” can often be defined beyond a mere bloodline.

 

Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey

Gallery Books (Simon and Schuster), Hardcover $29.00, 9781668074886, 384 pages

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

To order this book via Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

Learn more about author Kristy Woodson Harvey HERE

 

A Founding Mother

A fascinating novel of Historical Fiction--most apropos for America's 250th Anniversary--that traces the life and influence of Abigail Adams. 

A Founding Mother, written by author duo Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie, is a precisely researched and beautifully presented novel of historical fiction that details the astounding life and wide-ranging influence of Abigail Adams.

Abigail is largely known as the wife of John Adams, a man who rose from being a country lawyer to signing the Declaration of Independence and going on to become the second President of the United States. Abigail was also mother to six children—son John Quincy Adams would become the sixth U.S. President.

However, Abigail’s domestic life--her 'holding the fort' while her husband worked tirelessly to advance independence and forge equality in the country--is only one part of her story. And Dray and Kamoie present a fair and honest, well-rounded fictional portrait of a strong, determined woman--a woman of great charm, intellect and resourcefulness--and how she helped to shape the United States of America and its politics.

Rendered in intimate prose as narrated by Abigail herself, readers are treated to Abigail’s thought processes in her own voice:  In 1814, on the precipice of entering her 70s, she looks back on her life: “Fathers might wield the ploughs that till the fields of our future, but mothers provide the water, pull the weeds, and nurture the buds. Because men oversee the harvest, they take the credit for the crop. But without mothers, not one sprout would grow—whether the fruit be a child or a nation.”

A journal-like, episodic chronology traverses Abigail’s life from 1776 to 1817, where Abigail shares the many joys and struggles of domesticity she faces in the background of revolution. There are stories of raising her family; confronting illnesses and loss; she and John’s many separations and their often-intellectual repartee. Abigail is also forced to defend her home, her life and the lives of her children, while protecting and building her family’s nest egg. As the years unfurl and the country becomes liberated, Abigail’s astute intellect and hard-fought and hard-won wisdom eventually impact world leaders and politics.

There have been countless books dedicated to Abigail Adams—her life and her influence. However, what sets A Founding Mother apart is how Dray and Kamoie (America’s First Daughter, My Dear Hamilton) intently aim their focus on Abigail’s role as an early feminist (before the term “feminist” ever existed) and the influence of her fervent advocacy for women’s rights and equality.

A Founding Mother by Stephanie Dray and Laurie Kaomie

William Morrow (HarperCollins), Paperback $19.99, 9780063234765, 464 pages

Publication Date: May 5, 2026

To order this novel on Bookshop.org, link HERE

 

To learn more about A FOUNDING MOTHER, link HERE