Editorial Content for The Naysayers
Book
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
You know that little voice in your head that sometimes feeds your insecurity? The one that whispers that maybe you aren't good enough? In THE NAYSAYERS, Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke explore that concept by creating an alternate world in which people are paid to literally whisper negative thoughts into the heads of those who reside in the "Real World" and are in "danger" of being too happy and secure in their lives. Read More
Teaser
At Naysay Inc., Megan’s job is to whisper negative thoughts straight into the minds of clients in the Real World. It’s all in a day’s dirty work in Naysayland, the parallel reality where your negativity is manufactured and self-doubt is a commodity. But when she is assigned to sabotage a romance between lifestyle influencer Lily and author Jasper, Megan’s carefully constructed reality begins to unravel. The project teams her with Ben, the smug but cute whisperer in the next cubicle. As they work to tear down Lily and Jasper’s situationship, Megan and Ben are catching feelings for each other. As their empathy grows, and they start rooting for the relationship they’re tasked with destroying, dreaded HR is sniffing around. Now they’re facing a choice: keep crushing dreams for a paycheck, or risk everything for their own fairy tale.
Promo
At Naysay Inc., Megan’s job is to whisper negative thoughts straight into the minds of clients in the Real World. It’s all in a day’s dirty work in Naysayland, the parallel reality where your negativity is manufactured and self-doubt is a commodity. But when she is assigned to sabotage a romance between lifestyle influencer Lily and author Jasper, Megan’s carefully constructed reality begins to unravel. The project teams her with Ben, the smug but cute whisperer in the next cubicle. As they work to tear down Lily and Jasper’s situationship, Megan and Ben are catching feelings for each other. As their empathy grows, and they start rooting for the relationship they’re tasked with destroying, dreaded HR is sniffing around. Now they’re facing a choice: keep crushing dreams for a paycheck, or risk everything for their own fairy tale.
About the Book
From bestselling authors Liz Fenton and Lisa Steinke comes a witty, sharp-edged tale of corporate greed, unexpected romance and the quiet power of our shared humanity.
At Naysay Inc., Megan’s job is to whisper negative thoughts straight into the minds of clients in the Real World. It’s all in a day’s dirty work in Naysayland, the parallel reality where your negativity is manufactured and self-doubt is a commodity.
But when she is assigned to sabotage a romance between lifestyle influencer Lily and author Jasper, Megan’s carefully constructed reality begins to unravel. The project teams her with Ben, the smug but cute whisperer in the next cubicle. As they work to tear down Lily and Jasper’s situationship, Megan and Ben are catching feelings for each other. And it’s making them lose their negative edge.
As their empathy grows, and they start rooting for the relationship they’re tasked with destroying, dreaded HR is sniffing around. Now they’re facing a choice: keep crushing dreams for a paycheck, or risk everything for their own fairy tale. Who knew professional pessimists could be such hopeless romantics?
Audiobook available, read by Megan Tusing
January 16, 2026
On Wednesday afternoon, after our first “Bookaccino Live” event of the year, we turned off the camera and went to questions from the audience as we always do. It ended up being a lively conversation for about 45 minutes, where readers asked Tom (Editorial Director Tom, not Husband Tom) and I questions about books, authors and review coverage. We moved briskly from topic to topic.
Afterwards we got a number of really lovely notes from attendees who appreciated our candor in describing how we select what to cover --- and so much more that goes into our thinking about what runs on the site. We definitely have honed what we do over the past (almost) 30 years.
Editorial Content for Best Offer Wins
Book
Teaser
Dark, biting and laugh-out-loud funny, BEST OFFER WINS is a propulsive debut and a razor-sharp exploration of class, ambition and the modern housing crisis.
Promo
Dark, biting and laugh-out-loud funny, BEST OFFER WINS is a propulsive debut and a razor-sharp exploration of class, ambition and the modern housing crisis.
About the Book
An insanely competitive housing market. A desperate buyer on the edge. In Marisa Kashino’s darkly humorous debut novel, BEST OFFER WINS, the white picket fence becomes the ultimate symbol of success --- and obsession. How far would you go for the house of your dreams?
Eighteen months and 11 lost bidding wars into house-hunting in the overheated Washington, DC suburbs, 37-year-old publicist Margo Miyake gets a tip about the perfect house, in the perfect neighborhood, slated to come up for sale in one month. Desperate to escape the cramped apartment she shares with her husband, Ian --- and, in turn, get their marriage, plan to have a baby, and whole life back on track --- Margo becomes obsessed with buying the house before it’s publicly listed and the masses descend (with unbeatable, all-cash offers in hand).
A little stalking? Harmless. A bit of trespassing? Necessary. As Margo infiltrates the homeowners’ lives, her tactics grow increasingly unhinged --- but just when she thinks she’s won them over, she hits a snag in her plan. Undeterred, Margo will prove again and again that there’s no boundary she won’t cross to seize the dream life she’s been chasing. The most unsettling part? You’ll root for her, even as you gasp in disbelief.
Dark, biting and laugh-out-loud funny, BEST OFFER WINS is a propulsive debut and a razor-sharp exploration of class, ambition and the modern housing crisis.
Editorial Content for Canticle
Book
Teaser
CANTICLE is a masterful debut novel following a spirited young woman’s explorations of faith, agency and love in 13th-century Bruges.
Promo
CANTICLE is a masterful debut novel following a spirited young woman’s explorations of faith, agency and love in 13th-century Bruges.
About the Book
A masterful debut novel following a spirited young woman’s explorations of faith, agency and love in 13th-century Bruges.
Aleys is 16 years old and prone to religious visions. She and her only friend, Finn, have been learning Latin together in secret. But just as she thinks their connection might become something more, everything unravels. When her father promises her in marriage to a merchant she doesn’t love, she runs away from home, finding shelter among the beguines, a fiercely independent community of religious women who refuse to answer to the Church.
Among these hardworking and strong-willed women, Aleys glimpses for the first time the joys of belonging: a life of song, meaning and friendship in the markets and along the canals of Bruges. But forces both mystical and political are at work. Illegal translations of scripture, the women’s independence, and a sudden rash of miracles all draw the attention of an ambitious bishop --- and bring Aleys and those around her into ever-increasing danger, a danger that will push Aleys to a new understanding of love and sacrifice.
Grounded in the little-told stories of medieval women --- mystics, saints, anchoresses and beguines --- and introducing a major new talent, CANTICLE is a luminous work of historical fiction, vividly evoking a world on the verge of transformation.














