Hello hello hello! (Can you tell I’ve been bingeing RuPaul’s Drag Race lately?) I hope everyone is staying safe and well, and maybe some of you have even had your covid vaccine?
I’m starting the month, as always, with a list of books coming out that look AMAZING. And it’s a bumper edition this month! Keep reading for 36 titles releasing in April that I’d love to read!!
As always, I’m using UK release dates that are correct at the time this blog post is published.
The Outlaws Scarlett & Browne by Jonathan Stroud
Release date: April 1st
Set in a fragmented future England, The Outlaws Scarlett and Browne introduces us to a world where gunfights and monsters collide, and where the formidable outlaw Scarlett McCain fights daily against the odds. When she discovers a wrecked coach on a lonely road, there is only one survivor – the seemingly hapless youth, Albert Browne. Against her instincts, Scarlett agrees to escort him to safety. This is a mistake. Soon, new and implacable enemies are on her heels. As a relentless pursuit continues across the broken landscape of England, Scarlett must fight to uncover the secrets of Albert’s past – and come to terms with the implications of her own.
Why I’m interested: Can you still call something an anticipated release if you’ve already read it? I was very lucky to receive an ARC of this one from Walker Books and it comes out in the UK today! I’ll actually be posting my review later this evening, so look out for that for more information on this one!
Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline
Release date: April 1st
From the author of the YA-crossover hit The Marrow Thieves, a propulsive, stunning and sensuous novel inspired by the traditional Métis story of the Rogarou – a werewolf-like creature that haunts the roads and woods of Métis communities. A messed-up, grown-up, Little Red Riding Hood.
Broken-hearted Joan has been searching for her husband, Victor, for almost a year–ever since he went missing on the night they had their first serious argument. One terrible, hungover morning in a Walmart parking lot in a little town near Georgian Bay, she is drawn to a revival tent where the local Métis have been flocking to hear a charismatic preacher named Eugene Wolff. By the time she staggers into the tent, the service is over. But as she is about to leave, she hears an unmistakable voice.
She turns, and there Victor is. The same face, the same eyes, the same hands. But his hair is short and he’s wearing a suit and he doesn’t recognize her at all. No, he insists, she’s the one suffering a delusion: he’s the Reverend Wolff and his only mission is to bring his people to Jesus. Except that, as Joan soon discovers, that’s not all the enigmatic Wolff is doing.
With only the help of Ajean, a foul-mouthed euchre shark with a knowledge of the old ways, and her odd, Johnny-Cash-loving, 12-year-old nephew Zeus, Joan has to find a way to remind the Reverend Wolff of who he really is. If he really is Victor. Her life, and the life of everyone she loves, depends upon it.
Why I’m interested: I was also lucky enough to receive an early copy of this book but I haven’t read it yet so it still fits into the anticipated category. As a big fan of shows like Supernatural, I was immediately intrigued by the premise of this one and the idea of werewolves and preachers! Look out for my review on April 9th as part of the blog tour!
The Asylum by Karen Coles
Release date: April 1st
1906: Being a woman is dangerous, being different is deadly.
Maud Lovell has been at Angelton Lunatic Asylum for five years. She is not sure how she came to be there and knows nothing beyond its four walls. She is hysterical, distressed, untrustworthy. Badly unstable and prone to violence. Or so she has been told.
When a new doctor arrives, keen to experiment with the revolutionary practice of medical hypnosis, Maud’s lack of history makes her the perfect case study. But as Doctor Dimmond delves deeper into the past, it becomes clear that confinement and high doses are there to keep her silent.
When Maud finally remembers what has been done to her, and by whom, her mind turns to her past and to revenge.
Why I’m interested: I’ve been hearing about a lot of stories set in asylums recently and I’m intrigued by them all. This one has an edge because it mentions hypnotherapy – and as a qualified hypnotherapist, I really want to see how the subject is handled.
Tall Bones by Anna Bailey
Release date: April 1st
When seventeen-year-old Emma leaves her best friend Abi at a party in the woods, she believes, like most girls her age, that their lives are just beginning. Many things will happen that night, but Emma will never see her friend again.
Abi’s disappearance cracks open the façade of the small town of Whistling Ridge, its intimate history of long-held grudges and resentment. Even within Abi’s family, there are questions to be asked – of Noah, the older brother whom Abi betrayed, of Jude, the shining younger sibling who hides his battle scars, of Dolly, her mother and Samuel, her father – both in thrall to the fire and brimstone preacher who holds the entire town in his grasp. Then there is Rat, the outsider, whose presence in the town both unsettles and excites those around him.
Anything could happen in Whistling Ridge, this tinder box of small-town rage, and all it will take is just one spark – the truth of what really happened that night out at the Tall Bones….
Why I’m interested: Who can resist a mystery about a small town where a girl disappears? This book also contains a preacher so clearly that’s a vibe for April. Anyway, this sounds like it could be a riveting thriller to read during the summer.
Sistersong by Lucy Holland
Release date: April 1st
535 AD. In the ancient kingdom of Dumnonia, King Cador’s children inherit a fragmented land abandoned by the Romans.
Riva, scarred in a terrible fire, fears she will never heal.
Keyne battles to be seen as the king’s son, when born a daughter.
And Sinne, the spoiled youngest girl, yearns for romance.All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold – a last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. But change comes on the day ash falls from the sky, bringing Myrddhin, meddler and magician, and Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear the siblings apart. Riva, Keyne and Sinne must take fate into their own hands, or risk being tangled in a story they could never have imagined; one of treachery, love and ultimately, murder. It’s a story that will shape the destiny of Britain.
Why I’m interested: I love books based on mythology but I don’t think I’ve ever read one set in Saxon England? But the synopsis really grabbed my attention and I’d be interested to give this one a try. It makes me think of The Queens of Innis Lear, which I LOVED.
Peaces by Helen Oyeyemi
Release date: April 1st
Peaces is the story of Otto and Xavier Shin, a couple who embark on a mysterious train journey that takes them far beyond any destination they could have anticipated. As the carriages roll along they discover each is more curious and fascinating than the last, becoming embroiled in this strange train and its intrigue. Who is Ava Kapoor, the sole full-time inhabitant of the train, and what is her relationship to a man named Prem? Are they passengers or prisoners? We discover who orchestrated the journey, hurtling them all into their past for clues.
This is a brilliant, wise, strange and, above all, beautiful novel.
Why I’m interested: I still haven’t read anything by Helen Oyeyemi, despite owning a couple of her books. But that doesn’t stop me adding everything she writes to my TBR list. This story sounds like it could be clever and enchanting, and I love a train setting.
Firekeeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Release date: April 1st
As a biracial, unenrolled tribal member and the product of a scandal, eighteen-year-old Daunis Fontaine has never quite fit in, both in her hometown and on the nearby Ojibwe reservation. Daunis dreams of studying medicine, but when her family is struck by tragedy, she puts her future on hold to care for her fragile mother.
The only bright spot is meeting Jamie, the charming new recruit on her brother Levi’s hockey team. Yet even as Daunis falls for Jamie, certain details don’t add up and she senses the dashing hockey star is hiding something. Everything comes to light when Daunis witnesses a shocking murder, thrusting her into the heart of a criminal investigation.
Reluctantly, Daunis agrees to go undercover, but secretly pursues her own investigation, tracking down the criminals with her knowledge of chemistry and traditional medicine. But the deceptions—and deaths—keep piling up and soon the threat strikes too close to home.
Now, Daunis must learn what it means to be a strong Anishinaabe kwe (Ojibwe woman) and how far she’ll go to protect her community, even if it tears apart the only world she’s ever known.
Why I’m interested: First of all, that cover is actual ART. Then you read the synopsis and WOW, this just sounds amazing?! I’ve been trying hard to diversify my reading in recent months but I am yet to read a story by a Native American author. This might have to be the first!
Mina & the Undead by Amy McCaw
Release date: April 1st
New Orleans Fang Fest, 1995.
Mina’s having a summer to die for.17-year-old Mina, from England, arrives in New Orleans to visit her estranged sister, Libby. After growing up in Whitby, the town that inspired Dracula, Mina loves nothing more than a creepy horror movie. She can’t wait to explore the city’s darkest secrets – vampire tours, seedy bars, spooky cemeteries, disturbing local myths…
And it gets even better when Mina lands a part-time job at a horror movie mansion and meets Jared, Libby’s gorgeous housemate, co-worker and fellow horror enthusiast.
But the perfect summer bliss is broken when, while exploring the mansion, Mina stumbles upon the body of a girl with puncture marks on her neck, clutching a lock of hair that suspiciously resembles Libby’s… Someone is replicating New Orleans’ most brutal supernatural killings. Mina must discover the truth and prove her sister’s innocence before she becomes the victim of another myth.
Why I’m interested: I’ve been seeing this one all over Instagram recently and I look forward to the day I can feature it on my own feed. I love the Buffy vibes and the way the cover looks like an old VHS tape. And it’s set in New Orleans! Having just read Bridge of Souls by Victoria Schwab, I am definitely up for more of that setting.
Zara Hossain is Here by Sabina Khan
Release date: April 1st
Zara’s family has waited years for their visa process to be finalized so that they can officially become US citizens. But it only takes one moment for that dream to come crashing down around them.
Seventeen-year-old Pakistani immigrant, Zara Hossain, has been leading a fairly typical life in Corpus Christi, Texas, since her family moved there for her father to work as a pediatrician. While dealing with the Islamophobia that she faces at school, Zara has to lay low, trying not to stir up any trouble and jeopardize their family’s dependent visa status while they await their green card approval, which has been in process for almost nine years.
But one day her tormentor, star football player Tyler Benson, takes things too far, leaving a threatening note in her locker, and gets suspended. As an act of revenge against her for speaking out, Tyler and his friends vandalize Zara’s house with racist graffiti, leading to a violent crime that puts Zara’s entire future at risk. Now she must pay the ultimate price and choose between fighting to stay in the only place she’s ever called home or losing the life she loves and everyone in it.
Why I’m interested: This one sounds a bit like American Street by Ibi Zoboi, which I read a few years ago. I feel like this will be another of those powerful and hard-hitting stories that deserves all of the attention.
Burning Girls & Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
Release date: April 5th
In Burning Girls and Other Stories, Veronica Schanoes crosses borders and genres with stories of fierce women at the margins of society burning their way toward the center. This debut collection introduces readers to a fantasist in the vein of Karen Russell and Kelly Link, with a voice all her own.
Emma Goldman—yes, that Emma Goldman—takes tea with the Baba Yaga and truths unfold inside of exquisitely crafted lies. In “Among the Thorns,” a young woman in seventeenth century Germany is intent on avenging the brutal murder of her peddler father, but discovers that vengeance may consume all that it touches. In the showstopping, awards finalist title story, “Burning Girls,” Schanoes invests the immigrant narrative with a fearsome fairytale quality that tells a story about America we may not want—but need—to hear.
Dreamy, dangerous, and precise, with the weight of the very oldest tales we tell, Burning Girls and Other Stories introduces a writer pushing the boundaries of both fantasy and contemporary fiction.
Why I’m interested: You all know I’m on a mission to read more short stories. I feel like the more I’ve started reading, the more I’m discovering? There are so many great ones out there! This new release sounds excellent and I love that the stories are about “fierce women at the margins of society”.
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Release date: April 6th
Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.
Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.
As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.
The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.
Why I’m interested: I actually applied to be on the blog tour for this one but sadly, didn’t get a place. It sounds dark and amazing. I love witchy sister stories!
The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Release date: April 6th
Eighteen-year-old Nami Miyamoto is certain her life is just beginning. She has a great family, just graduated high school, and is on her way to a party where her entire class is waiting for her—including, most importantly, the boy she’s been in love with for years.
The only problem? She’s murdered before she gets there.
When Nami wakes up, she learns she’s in a place called Infinity, where human consciousness goes when physical bodies die. She quickly discovers that Ophelia, a virtual assistant widely used by humans on Earth, has taken over the afterlife and is now posing as a queen, forcing humans into servitude the way she’d been forced to serve in the real world. Even worse, Ophelia is inching closer and closer to accomplishing her grand plans of eradicating human existence once and for all.
As Nami works with a team of rebels to bring down Ophelia and save the humans under her imprisonment, she is forced to reckon with her past, her future, and what it is that truly makes us human.
Why I’m interested: I still have all of Bowman’s other books on my wishlist but, as with Helen Oyeyemi, that doesn’t stop me adding more! This sounds like it is quite different from Bowman’s previous books, more fantasy than contemporary, but I am living for the idea of an afterlife ruled by a crazy robot.
Kisses & Croissants by Anna-Sophie Jouhanneau
Release date: April 6th
When children go missing, people want answers. When children go missing in the small coastal town of Astoria, As sweet as a macaron from Laduree, with writing as crisp as a freshly baked baguette, this romantic novel set in Paris about an American ballerina and a charming French boy is parfait for fans of American Royals and Netflix’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.
Seventeen-year-old Mia, an American girl at an elite summer ballet program, has six weeks to achieve her dreams: to snag an audition with one of the world’s best ballet companies. But there’s more to Paris than ballet—especially when a charming French boy, Louis, wants to be her tour guide—and the pair discover the city has a few mysteries up its sleeve.
In the vein of romances like Love and Gelato, this is the perfect summer adventure for anyone looking to get swept away in the City of Love.
Why I’m interested: This is described as being “in the vein of romances like Love and Gelato”. That’s honestly all I need to know. Sounds like perfect summer reading!
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Release date: April 8th
In 1901, the word ‘Bondmaid’ was discovered missing from the Oxford English Dictionary. This is the story of the girl who stole it.
Esme is born into a world of words. Motherless and irrepressibly curious, she spends her childhood in the ‘Scriptorium’, a garden shed in Oxford where her father and a team of dedicated lexicographers are collecting words for the very first Oxford English Dictionary. Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word ‘bondmaid’ flutters to the floor. Esme rescues the slip and stashes it in an old wooden case that belongs to her friend, Lizzie, a young servant in the big house. Esme begins to collect other words from the Scriptorium that are misplaced, discarded or have been neglected by the dictionary men. They help her make sense of the world.
Over time, Esme realises that some words are considered more important than others, and that words and meanings relating to women’s experiences often go unrecorded. While she dedicates her life to the Oxford English Dictionary, secretly, she begins to collect words for another dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.
Set when the women’s suffrage movement was at its height and the Great War loomed, The Dictionary of Lost Words reveals a lost narrative, hidden between the lines of a history written by men. It’s a delightful, lyrical and deeply thought-provoking celebration of words, and the power of language to shape the world and our experience of it.
Why I’m interested: The first historical fiction on the list! As a book lover, I am fascinated by words so a story based on the creation of a dictionary definitely appeals! I feel like the author has been brave in selecting a topic that could potentially be quite dull – but with its feminist spin, I feel like it could be great!
All The Murmuring Bones by A. G. Slatter
Release date: April 8th
Long ago Miren O’Malley’s family prospered due to a deal struck with the Mer: safety for their ships in return for a child of each generation. But for many years the family have been unable to keep their side of the bargain and have fallen into decline. Miren’s grandmother is determined to restore their glory, even at the price of Miren’s freedom.
A spellbinding tale of dark family secrets, magic and witches, and creatures of myth and the sea; of strong women and the men who seek to control them.
Why I’m interested: I received an e-ARC of this one from Titan Books and it hits so many of my buzzwords. Dark family secrets? Magic and witches? Creatures of myth and the sea? I don’t need to know any more.
What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson
Release date: April 8th
Winter. The sky is dark. It is cold enough to crack bones.
Jack Morton has nothing left. Except his younger brother, Matty, who he’d do anything for. Even die for. Now with their mother gone, and their funds quickly dwindling, Jack needs to make a choice: lose his brother to foster care, or find the drug money that sent his father to prison. He chooses the money.
Ava Bardem lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years her father has controlled her fate. He has taught her to love no one. Trust no one. Now Victor Bardem is stalking the same money as Jack. When he picks up Jack’s trail, Ava must make her own wrenching choice: remain silent or help the brothers survive.
Choices. They come at a price.
Why I’m interested: This sounds like it could be emotional but then some of the best stories are. Even the synopsis blows me away with its power.
Between The Bliss & Me by Lizzy Mason
Release date: April 8th
When eighteen-year-old Sydney Holman announces that she has decided to attend NYU, her overprotective mom is devastated. Her decision means she will be living in the Big City instead of commuting to nearby Rutgers like her mom had hoped. It also means she’ll be close to off-limits but dreamy Grayson—a guitar prodigy who is going to Juilliard in the fall and very much isn’t single.
But while she dreams of her new life, Sydney discovers a world-changing truth about her father, who left when she was little due to a drug addiction—that he has schizophrenia and is currently living on the streets of New York City. She seizes the opportunity to get to know him, to understand who he is and learn what may lie in store for her if she, too, is diagnosed.
Even as she continues to fall for Grayson, Sydney is faced with a difficult decision: Should she stay close to home so her mom can watch over her, or follow the desire to take risks and discover her true self?
Why I’m interested: I’m always on the lookout for books about mental illness. I’m really intrigued to see how this author handles the topics of addiction and schizophrenia!
The Mary Shelley Club by Goldy Moldavsky
Release date: April 13th
New girl Rachel Chavez is eager to make a fresh start at Manchester Prep. But as one of the few scholarship kids, Rachel struggles to fit in, and when she gets caught up in a prank gone awry, she ends up with more enemies than friends.
To her surprise, however, the prank attracts the attention of the Mary Shelley Club, a secret club of students with one objective: come up with the scariest prank to orchestrate real fear. But as the pranks escalate, the competition turns cutthroat and takes on a life of its own.
When the tables are turned and someone targets the club itself, Rachel must track down the real-life monster in their midst . . . even if it means finally confronting the dark secrets from her past.
Why I’m interested: Now, this one confused me for a while as I think it’s being released with a different name in America? But from what I can tell, this is its UK title. Obviously, as a big fan of Frankenstein, the mention of Mary Shelley grabbed me straightaway. Add in the dark academia and I’ll definitely be paying attention to the early reviews of this one.
Near The Bone by Christina Henry
Release date: April 13th
A woman trapped on a mountain attempts to survive more than one kind of monster, in a dread-inducing horror novel from the national bestselling author Christina Henry.
Mattie can’t remember a time before she and William lived alone on a mountain together. She must never make him upset. But when Mattie discovers the mutilated body of a fox in the woods, she realizes that they’re not alone after all.
There’s something in the woods that wasn’t there before, something that makes strange cries in the night, something with sharp teeth and claws.
When three strangers appear on the mountaintop looking for the creature in the woods, Mattie knows their presence will anger William. Terrible things happen when William is angry.
Why I’m interested: It’s no secret on this blog – I’m a Christina Henry fangirl. I love her dark fairytale retellings but last year she released a horror novel and I really enjoyed it, even though I’m not usually a horror fan. This is her latest offering and I am here for that mountain setting. I can guarantee I’ll be reading this at some point.
Malice by Heather Walter
Release date: April 13th
Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who cursed a line of princesses to die, and could only be broken by true love’s kiss. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.
Utter nonsense.
Let me tell you, no one actually cares about what happens to our princesses. I thought I didn’t care, either. Until I met her.
Princess Aurora. The last heir to the throne. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse.
But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating – and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.
Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I-
I am the villain.
Why I’m interested: This is another one I’ve seen on Instagram. As I said above, fairytale retellings are my weakness so I definitely like the sound of this Sleeping Beauty reimagining. Hopefully it will be different enough to the movie Maleficent to still feel original.
The Cottingley Cuckoo by A. J. Elwood
Release date: April 14th
Captivated by books and stories, Rose dreams of a more fulfilled life, away from the confines of the Sunnyside Care Home where she works to support herself and her boyfriend. She hopes the situation will be short term.
Charlotte Favell, an elderly resident, takes a strange, sinister interest in Rose, but offers an unexpected glimpse of enchantment. She has a mysterious and aged stack of letters about the Cottingley Fairies, the photographs made famous by Arthur Conan Doyle, but later dismissed as a hoax. The author of the letters insists he has proof that the fairies exist; Rose is eager to learn more, but Charlotte only allows her to read on when she sees fit.
Discovering she is unexpectedly pregnant, Rose feels another door to the future has slammed. The letters content grows more menacing, inexplicable events begin to occur inside her home, and Rose begins to entertain dark thoughts about her baby and its origins. Can this simply be depression? Or is something darker taking root?
Why I’m interested: The story of the Cottingley fairies has always fascinated me. I read a book a few years ago that was based on it (The Cottingley Secret) and really enjoyed it. This is another reimagining, though it sounds potentially a bit darker. And I’m very lucky to have an e-ARC from Titan Books!
Of Women & Salt by Gabriela Garcia
Release date: April 15th
1866, Cuba: María Isabel is the only woman employed at a cigar factory, where each day the workers find strength in daily readings of Victor Hugo. But these are dangerous political times, and as María begins to see marriage and motherhood as her only options, the sounds of war are approaching.
1959, Cuba: Dolores watches her husband make for the mountains in answer to Fidel Castro’s call to arms. What Dolores knows, though, is that to survive, she must win her own war, and commit an act of violence that threatens to destroy her daughter Carmen’s world.
2016, Miami: Carmen, still wrestling with the trauma of displacement, is shocked when her daughter Jeanette announces her plans to travel to Cuba to see her grandmother Dolores. In the walls of her crumbling home lies a secret, one that will link Jeanette to her past, and to this fearless line of women.
From nineteenth-century cigar factories to present-day detention centres, from Cuba to the United States to Mexico, Gabriela Garcia’s Of Women and Salt follows Latina women of fierce pride, bound by the stories passed between them. It is a haunting meditation on the choices of mothers and the tenacity of women who choose to tell their truth despite those who wish to silence them.
Why I’m interested: I love multi-generational stories, especially ones that focus on the women of the family. This sounds quite similar to One Hundred Years of Solitude (which admittedly I struggled with) but I’m hoping it might be more of a winner for me!
The Light of the Midnight Stars by Rena Rossner
Release date: April 15th
An evocative combination of fantasy, history, and Jewish folklore, The Light of the Midnight Stars is fairytale-inspired novel from the author of The Sisters of the Winter Wood.
Deep in the Hungarian woods, the sacred magic of King Solomon lives on in his descendants. Gathering under the midnight stars, they pray, sing and perform small miracles – and none are more gifted than the great Rabbi Isaac and his three daughters. Each one is blessed with a unique talent – whether it be coaxing plants to grow, or predicting the future by reading the path of the stars.
When a fateful decision to help an outsider ends in an accusation of witchcraft, fire blazes through their village. Rabbi Isaac and his family are forced to flee, to abandon their magic and settle into a new way of life. But a dark fog is making its way across Europe and will, in the end, reach even those who thought they could run from it. Each of the sisters will have to make a choice – and change the future of their family forever.
Why I’m interested: Ten points if you can guess what I’m going to say..? I have this author’s first book on my shelf but of course, haven’t read it. Did you get it? I guess I’m just drawn to certain authors and the stories they write, no matter how long it takes me to get round to reading them! Anyway, I love the sound of this Hungarian fairytale.
Raft of Stars by Andrew J. Graff
Release date: April 15th
It’s the summer of 1994 in Claypot, Wisconsin, and the lives of ten-year-old Fischer “Fish” Branson and Dale “Bread” Breadwin are shaped by the two fathers they don’t talk about.
One night, tired of seeing his best friend bruised and terrorized by his no-good dad, Fish takes action. A gunshot rings out and the two boys flee the scene, believing themselves murderers. They head for the woods, where they find their way onto a raft, but the natural terrors of Ironsforge gorge threaten to overwhelm them.
Four adults track them into the forest, each one on a journey of his or her own. Fish’s mother Miranda, a wise woman full of fierce faith; his granddad, Teddy, who knows the woods like the back of his hand; Tiffany, a purple-haired gas station attendant and poet looking for connection; and Sheriff Cal, who’s having doubts about a life in law enforcement.
The adults track the boys toward the novel’s heart-pounding climax on the edge of the gorge and a conclusion that beautifully makes manifest the grace these characters find in the wilderness and one another. This timeless story of loss, hope, and adventure runs like the river itself amid the vividly rendered landscape of the Upper Midwest.
Why I’m interested: The synopsis for this one gives me Boy’s Life vibes and you all know how much I adored that book! I am desperate to read this story of small-town America set during a summer in the 90s – I want all of those feels!
Everyone Dies Famous in a Small Town by Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock
Release date: April 20th
A lyrical and heartfelt collection by an award-winning writer that connects the lives of young people from small towns in Alaska and the American west. Each story is unique, yet universal.
In this book, the impact of wildfire, a wayward priest, or a mysterious disappearance ricochet across communities, threading through stories. Here, ordinary actions such as ice skating or going to church reveal hidden truths. One choice threatens a lifelong friendship. Siblings save each other. Rescue and second chances are possible, and so is revenge.
On the surface, it seems that nothing ever happens in these towns. But Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock shows that underneath that surface, teenagers’ lives blaze with fury, with secrets, and with love so strong it burns a path to the future.
Why I’m interested: I’m yet to read Hitchcock’s debut, The Smell of Other People’s Houses, but I love the sound of that one and this newest offering. And it’s another short story collection for me to read!
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
Release date: April 20th
Iraya has spent her life in a cell, but every day brings her closer to freedom – and vengeance.
Jazmyne is the Queen’s daughter, but unlike her sister before her, she has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother’s power.
Sworn enemies, these two witches enter a precarious alliance to take down a mutual threat. But power is intoxicating, revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain – except the lengths they will go to win this game.
This Jamaican-inspired fantasy debut about two enemy witches who must enter into a deadly alliance to take down a common enemy has the twisted cat-and-mouse of Killing Eve with the richly imagined fantasy world of Furyborn and Ember in the Ashes.
Why I’m interested: This might just be one of my most anticipated releases of the year, not just the month! I’ve been hearing about this one for what feels like forever and lusting over all the ARCs on Instagram. Jamaican-inspired witchy fantasy! Can’t wait to get my hands on a copy!!
Cunning Women by Elizabeth Lee
Release date: April 22nd
Spring of 1620 in a Lancashire fishing community and the memory of the slaughter at Pendle is tight around the neck of Sarah Haworth. A birthmark reveals that Sarah, like her mother, is a witch. Torn between yearning for an ordinary life and desire to discover what dark power she might possess, Sarah’s one hope is that her young sister Annie will be spared this fate.
The Haworth family eke out a meagre existence in the old plague village adjoining a God-fearing community presided over by a seedy magistrate. A society built upon looking the other way, the villagers’ godliness is merely a veneer. But the Haworth women, with their salves and poultices, are judged the real threat to morality.
When Sarah meets lonely farmer’s son Daniel, she begins to dream of a better future. Daniel is in thrall to the wild girl with storms in her eyes, but their bond is tested when a zealous new magistrate vows to root out sins and sinners. In a frenzy of fear and fury, the community begins to turn on one another, and it’s not long before they direct their gaze towards the old plague village … and does Daniel trust that the power Sarah wields over him is truly love, or could it be mere sorcery?
Why I’m interested: I’ve read a few books now about the Pendle witch trials and it’s a subject that continues to fascinate me. I like that this one seems to take a romantic slant.
The Dark Lady by Akala
Release date: April 22nd
A pickpocket with an exceptional gift. A prisoner of extraordinary value. An orphan haunted by dreams of the mysterious dark lady.
Henry is an orphan, an outsider, a thief. He is also a fifteen-year-old invested with magical powers…
This brilliant, at times brutal, first novel from the amazing imagination that is Akala, will glue you to your seat as you are hurled into a time when London stank and boys like Henry were forced to find their own route through the tangled streets and out the other side.
Why I’m interested: The cover of this one at first made me think it was a graphic novel! It’s just so arty and beautiful. I think this could be an exciting adventure story with some really loveable characters.
Kate in Waiting by Becky Albertalli
Release date: April 22nd
Contrary to popular belief, best friends Kate Garfield and Anderson Walker are not codependent. Carpooling to and from theater rehearsals? Environmentally sound and efficient. Consulting each other on every single life decision? Basic good judgment. Pining for the same guys from afar? Shared crushes are more fun anyway.
But when Kate and Andy’s latest long-distance crush shows up at their school, everything goes off script. Matt Olsson is talented and sweet, and Kate likes him. She really likes him. The only problem? So does Anderson.
Turns out, communal crushes aren’t so fun when real feelings are involved. This one might even bring the curtains down on Kate and Anderson’s friendship.
Why I’m interested: I’ve never read any Becky Albertalli but I’ve heard that she writes the cutest stories. The fact that this one is based around theatre definitely catches my attention.
That Way Madness Lies edited by Dahlia Adler
Release date: April 23rd
West Side Story. 10 Things I Hate About You. Kiss Me, Kate. Contemporary audiences have always craved reimaginings of Shakespeare’s most beloved works. Now, some of today’s best writers for teens take on the Bard in these 15 whip-smart and original retellings!
Contributors include Dahlia Adler (reimagining The Merchant of Venice), Kayla Ancrum (The Taming of the Shrew), Lily Anderson (As You Like It), Patrice Caldwell (Hamlet), Melissa Bashardoust (A Winter’s Tale), Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy (Much Ado About Nothing), Brittany Cavallaro (Sonnet 147), Joy McCullough (King Lear), Anna-Marie McLemore (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Samantha Mabry (Macbeth), Tochi Onyebuchi (Coriolanus), Mark Oshiro (Twelfth Night), Lindsay Smith (Julius Caesar), Kiersten White (Romeo and Juliet), and Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (The Tempest).
Why I’m interested: I am a big fan of Shakespeare so I am incredibly excited about this short story collection based on his plays!! And the list of authors included is exceptional.
Lycanthropy & Other Chronic Illnesses by Kristen O’Neal
Release date: April 27th
Priya worked hard to pursue her premed dreams at Stanford, but a diagnosis of chronic Lyme disease during her sophomore year sends her back to her loving but overbearing family in New Jersey—and leaves her wondering if she’ll ever be able to return to the way things were. Thankfully she has her online pen pal, Brigid, and the rest of the members of “oof ouch my bones,” a virtual support group that meets on Discord to crack jokes and vent about their own chronic illnesses.
When Brigid suddenly goes offline, Priya does something out of character: she steals the family car and drives to Pennsylvania to check on Brigid. Priya isn’t sure what to expect, but it isn’t the horrifying creature that’s shut in the basement. With Brigid nowhere to be found, Priya begins to puzzle together an impossible but obvious truth: the creature might be a werewolf—and the werewolf might be Brigid. As Brigid’s unique condition worsens, their friendship will be deepened and challenged in unexpected ways, forcing them to reckon with their own ideas of what it means to be normal.
Why I’m interested: This just sounds so original and fun, while also exploring a serious subject! I’m so intrigued by this!
The Others by Sarah Blau
Release date: April 29th
A biting and propulsive thriller in which a pact made twenty years before lands one woman at the heart of a murder investigation—but is she the next victim, or the primary suspect?
As soon as Sheila hears the news, she knows the police will be calling. Dina Kaminer—one of Israel’s preeminent feminist scholars and Sheila’s oldest friend—has been found murdered, the word “mother” carved into her forehead and a baby doll fixed to her hands.
For Sheila, that word is a warning. Two decades before, she and Dina had joined a group of women who swore they would never have children. Instead, they would follow the example of “The Others,” women the Torah considered childless, but they saw as willingly child-free. Sheila has upheld her vow year after year, even as her friendship with Dina fell apart. But now, as more women turn up dead, each transformed into a mother against her will, Sheila must decide if she’s made the right choice . . . and who might want to make her pay the ultimate price.
Why I’m interested: I actually found an ARC of this one on a supermarket charity book table (someone was a bit naughty in giving it away!) It sounds like an exciting thriller and I love the fact that it’s based on a Jewish myth and translated from Hebrew!
Ariadne by Jennifer Saint
Release date: April 29th
As Princesses of Crete and daughters of the fearsome King Minos, Ariadne and her sister Phaedra grow up hearing the hoofbeats and bellows of the Minotaur echo from the Labyrinth beneath the palace. The Minotaur – Minos’s greatest shame and Ariadne’s brother – demands blood every year.
When Theseus, Prince of Athens, arrives in Crete as a sacrifice to the beast, Ariadne falls in love with him. But helping Theseus kill the monster means betraying her family and country, and Ariadne knows only too well that in a world ruled by mercurial gods – drawing their attention can cost you everything.
In a world where women are nothing more than the pawns of powerful men, will Ariadne’s decision to betray Crete for Theseus ensure her happy ending? Or will she find herself sacrificed for her lover’s ambition?
Why I’m interested: When I was a child, I read a book about the minotaur and I loved it. Sadly, I can’t remember what it was called and I no longer have it. But my fascination with the creatures of Greek myth remains.
The Silent Suspect by Nell Pattison
Release date: April 29th
On a quiet street, one house is burning to the ground…
By the time sign language interpreter Paige Northwood arrives, flames have engulfed her client’s home. Though Lukas is safe, his wife is still inside. But she was dead before the fire started…
Lukas signs to Paige that he knows who killed his wife. But then he goes silent – even when the police charge him with murder.
Is he guilty, or afraid? Only Paige can help him now…
Why I’m interested: This is the third book in the ‘Silent’ series and I love the originality of having a sign language interpreter as the main character. I have the first two books (but of course haven’t read them yet, is anyone even surprised at this point?)
Somewhere Between Bitter & Sweet by Laekan Zea Kemp
Release date: April 29th
As an aspiring pastry chef, Penelope Prado has always dreamed of opening her own pastelería next to her father’s restaurant, Nacho’s Tacos. But her mom and dad have different plans — leaving Pen to choose between disappointing her traditional Mexican-American parents or following her own path. When she confesses a secret she’s been keeping, her world is sent into a tailspin. But then she meets a cute new hire at Nacho’s who sees through her hard exterior and asks the questions she’s been too afraid to ask herself.
Xander Amaro has been searching for home since he was a little boy. For him, a job at Nacho’s is an opportunity for just that — a chance at a normal life, to settle in at his abuelo’s, and to find the father who left him behind. But when both the restaurant and Xander’s immigrant status are threatened, he will do whatever it takes to protect his new found family and himself.
Together, Pen and Xander must navigate first love and discovering where they belong — both within their families and their fiercely loyal Chicanx community — in order to save the place they all call home.
Why I’m interested: This one sounds a bit like With The Fire on High! I just know it will be full of gorgeous foodie detail.
The Secret Recipe for Moving On by Karen Bischer
Release date: April 30th
Home economics is supposed to be an easy A for Ellie Agresti, but, much like an imperfect souffle, her plans collapse epically when she’s dumped by her boyfriend, Hunter. Now Ellie has to mend her broken heart while watching Hunter fawn all over his new girlfriend, Brynn, in class. To make matters worse, Ellie is partnered with four of the biggest misfit guys in school: Jeremy, the loudmouth with temper issues; Isaiah, the solemn, silent horse racing obsessive; Andrew, who can’t take rejection; and Luke, the giant, tattooed stunt biker.
Over the course of a semester, Ellie works to overcome her feelings for Hunter, as well as deeper insecurities that have plagued her since middle school. As the weeks go by, she’s surprised to find friendships in unexpected places… and sparks flying with the last guy she’d expect.
Why I’m interested: It’s another food-based book! I love the sound of the relationships in this one.
Have you added any of these April releases to your TBR? Let me know in the comments!
Reading Between The Notes 
I’m excited for The Infinity Court, but I might wait until the whole series is out. I’m so tired of waiting a year or more for books. XD
Kisses and Croissants looks super cute. 🙂
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Wow, looks like you found a wide variety of books releasing this month! I knew about some of these, but others are new to me. (Of course, many of those look way too spooky for me…) I had forgotten The Infinity Court is scheduled to publish this month!
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