Ancient knowledge, modern cover-ups, and a discovery lost to time—for thousands of years, the truth about civilization has been hidden, suppressed, exploited and buried beneath layers of deception, with some believing the answers lie within the Great Pyramid of Giza, but no one has ever found them as those who tried were ridiculed, silenced or worse. JC Ryan launches A Rossler Foundation Mystery with technothriller where when journalist Daniel Rossler and researcher Dr. Sarah Clarke stumble upon a secret hidden within the pyramid, their discovery threatens to upend everything we know about the past, and what begins as an academic curiosity quickly becomes a fight for survival as they uncover evidence that powerful forces never intended to see the light of day. 🔺As they push forward, skepticism turns to hostility, and dangerous enemies close in—The Orion Society, a ruthless secret organization, will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried, but they’re not the only ones watching as intelligence agencies, military forces and even the President of the United States have their own reasons for keeping the past hidden. Ryan explores what happens when archaeological discovery threatens present-day power structures, examining how truth becomes dangerous when institutions depend on lies. ⚠️
The author delivers technothriller where the Great Pyramid’s secrets are worth killing for, proving that some knowledge is suppressed not because it’s false but because it’s too true. Ryan writes protagonists whose academic curiosity makes them targets for organizations with resources spanning from secret societies to governments, creating stakes where discovering the past means risking the future. The first Rossler Foundation Mystery establishes a world where ancient knowledge is modern weaponry. 🌍
Why I’m including this: Technothriller launching A Rossler Foundation Mystery where for thousands of years the truth about civilization has been hidden—suppressed, exploited and buried beneath deception layers—with some believing answers lie within the Great Pyramid of Giza but no one finding them as those who tried were ridiculed, silenced or worse, until journalist Daniel Rossler and researcher Dr. Sarah Clarke stumble upon a secret hidden within the pyramid threatening to upend everything we know about the past, their academic curiosity becoming a fight for survival as they uncover evidence powerful forces never intended to see light, with skepticism turning to hostility as dangerous enemies close in including The Orion Society ruthless secret organization stopping at nothing to keep truth buried plus intelligence agencies, military forces and even the President having their own reasons for keeping the past hidden.
Life’s a game, at least it is for everyone stranded in Viridian Gate Online, the only RPG where you can swap the apocalypse for an avatar and a fist full of magic—thirty-two-year old Jack Mitchell knows he won’t survive the impact of the massive asteroid hurtling towards Earth, and after all, he’s not one of the handful of lucky lottery winners scheduled for rescue. James Hunter launches The Viridian Gate Archives with LitRPG fantasy adventure where but he did luck into a NexGenVR capsule, which means Jack can risk a one-way trip to the world of Viridan Gate Online (V.G.O.), an ultra-immersive fantasy role-playing game, though taking that leap of faith means permanently trapping his mind in the game and killing his body in the process. 🎮Worse, one in six die during the transition, and even if Jack beats the odds, he’ll still have to navigate a world filled with vicious monsters, domineering AIs, and cutthroat players—and when Jack stumbles upon a secret conspiracy to sell off virtual real estate to the ultrawealthy, transforming V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age, the deadly creatures inhabiting Viridian Gate’s expansive dungeons will be the least of his concerns. Hunter explores what happens when escaping planetary destruction means entering a game where dying is permanent, examining how virtual worlds replicate real-world power structures when the wealthy buy their way to dominance. ☄️
If Jack can’t game the system, he’s going to be trading in a quick death for a long, brutal one—oh well, at least he gets a dragon. The author delivers LitRPG fantasy adventure where the apocalypse becomes an RPG but the game is rigged, proving that even virtual worlds can’t escape inequality when the ultrawealthy import feudalism. Hunter writes a protagonist whose one-way ticket to survival means permanent entrapment in a conspiracy-riddled game where monsters are less dangerous than the players trying to recreate aristocracy. The first Viridian Gate Archives novel establishes stakes where virtual death is as permanent as real death. 🐉
What makes this special: LitRPG fantasy adventure launching The Viridian Gate Archives where life’s a game for everyone stranded in Viridian Gate Online, the only RPG where you swap the apocalypse for an avatar and magic—thirty-two-year old Jack Mitchell knows he won’t survive the massive asteroid hurtling towards Earth since he’s not one of the lucky lottery winners scheduled for rescue, but he lucked into a NexGenVR capsule meaning he can risk a one-way trip to ultra-immersive fantasy V.G.O., though taking that leap means permanently trapping his mind in the game and killing his body, and worse, one in six die during transition, plus even if Jack beats the odds he’ll navigate a world filled with vicious monsters, domineering AIs, and cutthroat players as he stumbles upon a secret conspiracy to sell virtual real estate to the ultrawealthy transforming V.G.O. into a new feudal dark age where deadly creatures will be the least of his concerns—if Jack can’t game the system he’s trading a quick death for a long brutal one, but at least he gets a dragon.
She’s 65 years old and ready to embrace the adventure of a lifetime—when Isabel receives an invitation to a reunion from her childhood friends in Sapphire Bay, she hesitates since it’s been a long time since they’ve been together in the small lakeside town where they met as teenagers. Leeanna Morgan launches A New Beginning with small town romance where now 65 years old and recently widowed, she’s yearning for a fresh start, and deciding this could be the change she needs, Isabel tells her friends she’ll be there. 📚After she arrives, she discovers the town’s bookstore is up for sale and at risk of closing—with encouragement from her friends and Frank, a retired lawyer with a mysterious past, Isabel takes a leap of faith and purchases the store. Morgan explores what happens when fresh starts at 65 involve buying endangered bookstores, examining how midlife (or later) adventures require courage whether you’re starting a business or starting to trust again. ☕
As Isabel and Frank grow closer, she discovers he’s harboring dangerous secrets—when shadows from Frank’s past catch up with him, Isabel finds herself caught in the crossfire, forcing them both to make impossible choices. The author delivers small town romance where bookstore ownership comes with unexpected complications when the retired lawyer helping you has enemies, proving that fresh starts at any age can include both romance and danger. Morgan writes a 65-year-old heroine whose new beginning involves more than just reopening a bookstore—it means deciding whether love is worth the risk when the past won’t stay buried. 💕
Why I’m including this: Small town romance launching A New Beginning where 65-year-old recently widowed Isabel receives a reunion invitation from childhood friends in Sapphire Bay—she hesitates since it’s been a long time since they’ve been together in the small lakeside town where they met as teenagers, but yearning for a fresh start, she decides this could be the change she needs and tells her friends she’ll be there—after arriving she discovers the town’s bookstore is up for sale and at risk of closing, and with encouragement from her friends and Frank, a retired lawyer with a mysterious past, Isabel takes a leap of faith and purchases the store as she and Frank grow closer, discovering he’s harboring dangerous secrets, and when shadows from Frank’s past catch up, Isabel finds herself caught in crossfire forcing them both to make impossible choices.
The Brit and the Bridesmaid (Sweet Treat Novellas)
Abby is helping her sister Caroline plan her “British” wedding—Caroline is obsessed with all things British and insists on an authentic wedding, despite living in Oregon, and when they arrive at Sainsbury House reception hall, it has everything Caroline loves, and the host, Matthew Carlton, even has a British accent. Sarah M. Eden delivers Sweet Treat Novellas clean and wholesome romance where yet Abby isn’t buying the whole good-looking-British man with impeccable manners thing, determined to expose him as a fake, but the more Abby gets to know Matthew, the more she realizes how wrong she really is. 🇬🇧Eden explores what happens when skepticism about authenticity meets actual authenticity, examining how assumptions about people based on where they seem too perfect can blind you to genuine connections. The author balances Abby’s determination to prove Matthew is faking with the growing evidence that she’s misjudged him completely, creating romantic tension where being wrong has never felt so right. 💕
The novella delivers clean and wholesome romance where British-obsessed brides get authentic British wedding venues, proving that sometimes the perfect setup isn’t too good to be true even when your cynical sister thinks it must be. Eden writes a heroine whose protective instincts and skepticism about perfection make her miss what’s obvious: Matthew Carlton is exactly who he appears to be, and she’s falling for him despite her determination not to. The Sweet Treat Novella asks whether you can fall in love while actively trying to prove someone is a fraud. ☕
Why I’m including this: Clean and wholesome romance from Sweet Treat Novellas where Abby helps her British-obsessed sister Caroline plan her “British” wedding despite living in Oregon—when they arrive at Sainsbury House reception hall, it has everything Caroline loves plus host Matthew Carlton with a British accent, but Abby isn’t buying the whole good-looking-British man with impeccable manners thing and is determined to expose him as a fake until the more she gets to know Matthew, the more she realizes how wrong she really is.
“The best single-volume history of the Revolution I have read”—upon its initial publication, Ray Raphael’s magisterial A People’s History of the American Revolution was hailed by NPR’s Fresh Air as “relentlessly aggressive and unsentimental,” with impeccable skill presenting a wide array of fascinating scholarship within a single volume, employing a bottom-up approach that has served as a revelation. Ray Raphael delivers historiography where A People’s History of the American Revolution draws upon diaries, personal letters, and other Revolutionary-era treasures, weaving a thrilling “you are there” narrative, “a tapestry that uses individual experiences to illustrate the larger stories” as Raphael shifts the focus away from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to the slaves they owned, the Indians they displaced, and the men and boys who did the fighting. 🇺🇸This “remarkable perspective on a familiar part of American history” helps us appreciate more fully the incredible diversity of the American Revolution, with through letters, diaries, and other accounts, Raphael showing these individuals—white women and men of the farming and laboring classes, free and enslaved African Americans, Native Americans, loyalists, and religious pacifists—acting for or against the Revolution and enduring a war that compounded the difficulties of everyday life. Raphael explores what the Revolution looked like from the bottom up rather than the top down, examining how ordinary people experienced and shaped events that history books attribute to famous founders. 📜
The author delivers historiography that proves the Revolution wasn’t just fought by elites but by diverse people whose stories have been overshadowed by Washington and Jefferson’s prominence, demonstrating that understanding history requires hearing from those who lived it rather than just those who led it. Raphael writes history that restores agency to the enslaved, displaced, and disenfranchised, showing how their choices and suffering were as central to the Revolution as any founding father’s decisions. The book asks whose Revolution it really was. ⚔️
What makes this essential: Historiography where Ray Raphael’s magisterial A People’s History of the American Revolution, hailed by NPR’s Fresh Air as “relentlessly aggressive and unsentimental” and by Howard Zinn as “the best single-volume history of the Revolution I have read,” presents impeccable scholarship employing a bottom-up approach as revelation—drawing upon diaries, personal letters, and Revolutionary-era treasures to weave a thrilling “you are there” narrative tapestry using individual experiences to illustrate larger stories, shifting focus away from George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to the slaves they owned, Indians they displaced, and men and boys who did the fighting, showing white women and men of farming and laboring classes, free and enslaved African Americans, Native Americans, loyalists, and religious pacifists acting for or against the Revolution while enduring a war that compounded everyday life’s difficulties.
On election day in the capital, it is raining so hard that no one has bothered to come out to vote—the politicians are growing jittery, wondering if they should reschedule the elections for another day, but around three o’clock, the rain finally stops and voters promptly rush to the polling stations, as if they had been ordered to appear. José Saramago delivers literary satire where but when the ballots are counted, more than 70 percent are blank, and in response to this mass act of rebellion, a state of emergency is declared—but are the authorities acting blindly? The word evokes terrible memories of the plague of blindness that hit the city four years before, and of the one woman who kept her sight, with perhaps she is the one behind the blank ballots as a police superintendent is put on the case. 🗳️What begins as a satire on governments and the dubious efficacy of the democratic system turns into something far more sinister—as the story unfolds, “the humor is still tender but the tone darkens, tension rises.” Saramago explores what happens when citizens collectively reject the political system not with violence but with blank ballots, examining how governments respond to peaceful rebellion that threatens their legitimacy more than any armed uprising. 😱
The author delivers literary satire where mass refusal to participate becomes more threatening than participation, proving that sometimes the most subversive act is simply declining to play the game. Saramago writes a government so dependent on the illusion of democratic consent that 70 percent blank ballots trigger authoritarian panic, creating stakes where the woman who once kept her sight during a blindness plague might now see through political theater everyone else accepts. The novel asks whether refusing to choose is itself a choice that changes everything. 👁️
What makes this compelling: Literary satire where on election day in the capital it’s raining so hard no one votes—politicians grow jittery wondering if they should reschedule until around three o’clock the rain stops and voters rush to polling stations as if ordered—but when ballots are counted, more than 70 percent are blank, and in response to this mass rebellion, a state of emergency is declared with authorities acting blindly, the word evoking terrible memories of the blindness plague hitting the city four years before and the one woman who kept her sight, perhaps the one behind blank ballots as a police superintendent investigates this satire on governments and dubious democratic efficacy that turns far more sinister as “the humor is still tender but the tone darkens, tension rises.”
… See the rest of today ‘s Book Picks here on page 3Page 3