Books Coming Out in April
Book Roundup - Books Coming Out in April
Books Coming Out on April 1, 2021:
Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake
RUTHLESS WOMEN is a sizzling thriller set behind the scenes of a glamorous TV soap, from Sunday Times bestselling author Melanie Blake. Falcon Bay is the UK's favorite TV soap, beamed to millions three days a week from its beautiful location in the Channel Islands. But the show has a new owner, and ratings are falling. The cast and crew used to be 'one big family,' but now they've turned against each other in the battle to impress their new boss and survive the downturn. Writer Farrah, lead actor Catherine, and producer Amanda are the driven, ambitious women who keep the show on the road. But Farrah is losing episodes to her less experienced male rival, Catherine is terrified of the public falling out of love with her, and Amanda's evil husband Jake, vice president of the network, is plotting to get his wife kicked off the show. Can these women team up to bring down their rivals? Only if they are prepared for a battle of the sexes—where they'll need to be as ruthless as the men to come out on top...
I'm in Seattle, Where Are You? by Mortada Gzar
I'M IN SEATTLE, WHERE ARE YOU? is the story of Mortada Gzar’s quest to create a new world for himself in Seattle while searching for his lost love. Gzar, now an award-winning Iraqi writer, was born in Kuwait, grew up in Basra, Iraq, and went on to attend the University of Baghdad. While there in Baghdad during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, Gzar had a chance encounter with Morise, an African American soldier. It’s love at first sight, a threat to them both, and a moment of self-discovery.
At the End of the Matinee by Keiichiro Hirano
Bestselling author Keiichiro Hirano offers a timeless ode to love’s fragility and its resilience in this delicate, award-winning novel.
Classical guitarist Satoshi Makino has toured the world and is at the height of his career when he first lays eyes on journalist Yoko Komine. Their bond forms instantly.
The Light Through the Leaves by Glendy Vanderah
Go on a powerful journey of forgiveness and healing with The Light Through the Leaves, a transcendent novel of love, loss, and self-discovery by the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of Where the Forest Meets the Stars.
Astrid Sees All by Natalie Standiford
New York’s last bohemia—the glittering, decadent downtown club scene of the 1980s—is the setting for this brilliantly winning novel about a smart, vulnerable young woman taking a deep dive into her dark side, essential for fans of Sweetbitter, Fleabag, and books by Patti Smith.
Books Coming Out on April 6, 2021:
The Red Kitchen by Barbara Clarke
Mother-daughter relationships are notoriously tricky. Add to that a secretive father and an aloof husband, and you have the makings of a memoir full of grit, honesty, and humor. Barbara and her mother both surrendered for years to society’s expectations before realizing there's more to life than just being a wife, mother, and dutiful daughter. How about being yourself? A summer spent in a small village in Kenya allowed Barbara to discover why everyone mattered, especially her mother, and that simple is often better. She embraced a new aspiration: to be a person—funny, compassionate, complex, and often flawed. Both women, in very different ways, come of age, find the loving parts of their early relationship, and start living their best lives.
To Love and to Loathe by Martha Waters
The author of the “hilarious...joyful, elegant” (Publishers Weekly, starred review) To Have and to Hoax returns with an effervescent, charming, and swoon-worthy novel about a man and woman who never agree on anything—until they agree to a no-strings-attached affair in this Regency-era romp.
Anywhere for You by Abbie Greaves
A poignant and thrilling love story about one woman’s decade-long search to reconnect with the love of her life who disappeared without a trace—a stirring and heartfelt page-turner from the critically acclaimed author of The Silent Treatment.
The Girls in the Stilt House by Kelly Mustian
This Tender Land meets Where the Crawdads Sing in Kelly Mustian’s debut Southern novel, THE GIRLS IN THE STILT HOUSE (Sourcebooks Landmark; April 6, 2021; Trade Paperback Original; $16.99) — a harrowing and poignant story of two hardscrabble teenage girls who are cast in an unlikely partnership through murder. As the two girls are drawn deeper into a dangerous world of bootleggers and moral corruption, they must come to terms with the complexities of their tenuous bond and a hidden past that links them in ways that could cost them their lives.
Finding Napoleon: A Novel by Margaret Rodenberg
With its delightful adaptation of Napoleon Bonaparte’s real attempt to write a novel, Finding Napoleon offers a fresh take on Europe’s most powerful man after he’s lost everything. A forgotten woman of history―the audacious Albine de Montholon―narrates their tale of intrigue, love, and betrayal.
The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade
It’s Holy Week in the small town of Las Penas, New Mexico, and thirty-three-year-old unemployed Amadeo Padilla has been given the part of Jesus in the Good Friday procession. He is preparing feverishly for this role when his fifteen-year-old daughter Angel shows up pregnant on his doorstep and disrupts his plans for personal redemption. With weeks to go until her due date, tough, ebullient Angel has fled her mother’s house, setting her life on a startling new path.
Finding Freedom: A Cook's Story; Remaking a Life from Scratch by Erin French
Long before The Lost Kitchen became a world dining destination with every seating filled the day the reservation book opens each spring, Erin French was a girl roaming barefoot on a 25-acre farm, a teenager falling in love with food while working the line at her dad’s diner and a young woman finding her calling as a professional chef at her tiny restaurant tucked into a 19th century mill. This singular memoir―a classic American story―invites readers to Erin's corner of her beloved Maine to share the real person behind the “girl from Freedom” fairytale, and the not-so-picture-perfect struggles that have taken every ounce of her strength to overcome, and that make Erin’s life triumphant.
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
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. Young Esme’s place is beneath the sorting table, unseen and unheard. One day a slip of paper containing the word bondmaid flutters beneath the table. She rescues the slip, and when she learns that the word means “slave girl,” she begins to collect other words that have been discarded or neglected by the dictionary men.
Goodbye, Lark Lovejoy by Kris Clink
Lark’s lost her husband, and the expiration date has come and gone on her fake-it-till-you-make-it “Happy Mommy Show.” Healing her broken family requires drastic measures―like returning to her hometown in the Texas Hill Country. But she’s going to need more than clean air and a pastoral landscape to rebuild a life for her and her young sons.
You Belong Here Now by Dianna Rostad
In this brilliant debut reminiscent of Kristina McMorris’s Sold on a Monday and William Kent Krueger's This Tender Land, three orphans journey westward from New York City to the Big Sky Country of Montana, hoping for a better life where beautiful wild horses roam free.
After Happily Ever After by Leslie A. Rasmussen
Maggie Dolin is forty-five and isn’t dealing with getting older very well. Seventeen years ago, she gave up her job in publishing to raise her daughter, Gia―but now her only child is about to leave for college, and Maggie isn’t sure what her new purpose will be. She’s been the caretaker and nurturer for so long that she can’t even remember the last time someone took care of her. She wishes Jim, her husband of nineteen years, would take that role on―but he’s been distracted and disconnected, and she’s convinced he’s hiding something from her. Her self-involved, judgmental mother and resentful brother, meanwhile, are certainly no help, and her father―the only person in her life who’s always been there for her and asked nothing in return―is dealing with increasingly serious health issues, leaving Maggie without her rock.
The Bookstore on the Beach by Brenda Novak
How do you start a new chapter of your life when you haven’t closed the book on the previous one?
Eighteen months ago, Autumn Divac’s husband went missing. Her desperate search has yielded no answers, and she can’t imagine moving forward without him. But for the sake of their two teenage children, she has to try.
The Truth and Other Hidden Things by Lea Geller
A freshly funny and heartfelt novel about one woman’s secret life, the stories she tells, and the thrill and notoriety of being noticed.
On the same day Bells Walker learns that her IUD has failed, her husband, Harry, is denied tenure at his Manhattan university. So Bells, Harry, their two adolescent children, and her baby bump move to New York’s Hudson Valley, where Harry has landed a job at Dutchess College in the town of Pigkill.
The Last Exiles by Ann Shin
An unforgettable saga inspired by true events, The Last Exiles is a searing portrait of a young couple in Pyongyang and their fight for love and freedom
Jin and Suja meet and fall in love while studying at university in Pyongyang. She is a young journalist from a prominent family, while he is from a small village of little means. Outside the school, North Korea has fallen under great political upheaval, plunged into chaos and famine. When Jin returns home to find his family starving, their food rations all but gone, he makes a rash decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life.
Overcoming the Mom-Life Crisis by Nina Restieri
Soulful and excruciatingly honest, Overcoming the Mom-Life Crisis is the essential handbook for stressed-out and overwhelmed moms, offering up steps for creating your own momAgenda and finding lifelong happiness and fulfillment.
Books Coming Out on April 13, 2021:
One Got Away by S.A. Lelchuk
When six women are found dead in an abandoned U-Haul, Bay Area residents go on alert. Nikki Griffin, the “motorcycle-riding pugilistic guardian angel for abused women, [who’s] part Lisbeth Salander, part Jack Reacher, part MacGyver” (⭐️Shelf Awareness, starred review), is then summoned by the son of one the wealthiest families in SF for a unrelated job. Taking the case, Nikki comes to realize that no one involved is telling her the whole truth, so when the con-man’s trail intercepts with the leaders of those responsible for the U-Haul murders, Nikki must make a choice about who she will save…all while fighting to stay alive. As Nikki barrels down Northern CA’s dramatic coastline on her trademark motorcycle, readers will fly through the pages like the newest bingeable true-crime.
Second First Impressions by Sally Thorne
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Hating Game and 99 Percent Mine comes a highly anticipated opposites attract romantic comedy featuring a grumpy, muscular, tattooed man and an introverted retirement home manager. Ruthie Midona’s life plan is to run the Providence Retirement home, but that’s in jeopardy as Prescott Development wants to buy the site. In order to save her livelihood and safe, cozy, predictable life plan, all she needs to do is stay serious—and that’s what she does best. Until, one day, Teddy Prescott blows in to town. Note: Thorne’s debut novel, The Hating Game, is being made into a feature film and started filming in November 2020.
The Venice Sketchbook by Rhys Bowen
Caroline Grant is struggling to accept the end of her marriage when she receives an unexpected bequest. Her beloved great-aunt Lettie leaves her a sketchbook, three keys, and a final whisper…Venice. Caroline’s quest: to scatter Juliet “Lettie” Browning’s ashes in the city she loved and to unlock the mysteries stored away for more than sixty years.
It’s 1938 when art teacher Juliet Browning arrives in romantic Venice. For her students, it’s a wealth of history, art, and beauty. For Juliet, it’s poignant memories and a chance to reconnect with Leonardo Da Rossi, the man she loves whose future is already determined by his noble family. However star-crossed, nothing can come between them. Until the threat of war closes in on Venice and they’re forced to fight, survive, and protect a secret that will bind them forever.
Key by key, Lettie’s life of impossible love, loss, and courage unfolds. It’s one that Caroline can now make right again as her own journey of self-discovery begins.
Just Get Home by Bridget Foley
When a devastating earthquake—the Big One—hits Los Angeles, two strangers are brought together by an act of violence and must help each other survive the wrecked city.
Fortunate Daughter by Rosie McMahan
Rosie’s sins were never difficult to recall; they lined themselves up like baby ducks in her mind’s eye. Her confession to Father Hart one day in 1974 went like this: “I didn’t finish all my chores. I stole the Halloween candy my mom hid in the pantry. And I let my Daddy touch my private places.”
His Name is Cwiz by Jeremy Rhyne
When a rattlesnake almost kills his best friend, Caesar "Cwiz" (pronounced Quiz) Ruiz, author Jeremy Rhyne can't help but recall all of the wild times they shared growing up in Southern California-and the profound impression Cwiz has made on his life. Starting with a covert one-man band in a high school health class that had the entire room laughing, Cwiz always kept Jeremy on his toes. Through near-death experiences, Bible study pranks, a kidnapping, hijinx across Europe and Asia, crashing the OJ trial, and game show dating to falling in love and finally growing up, Cwiz and Jeremy came of age together in surprising and hilarious ways.
From Ashes to Song by Hilary Hauck
It’s 1911 in Italy, and Pietro’s life on the family vineyard is idyllic. He has at last captured the melody of the grape harvest on his clarinet and can’t wait to share his composition with his grandfather, but before he can play, news arrives of a deadly disease sweeping the countryside. They have no choice but to burn the vineyard to stop its spread. The loss is too much for Pietro’s grandfather, and by morning, Pietro has lost two of the most precious things in his life—his grandfather and the vineyard. Adrift with grief, Pietro seeks a new start in America. He goes to work in a Pennsylvania coal mine where his musician’s hands blister and his days are spent in the muffled silence of underground. When the beautiful voice and gentle heart of a friend’s wife stirs a new song in him, Pietro at last encounters a glimmer of hope. From a respectful distance and without drawing the attention of her husband, Pietro draws on Assunta for inspiration and soon his gift for music returns. But when grief strikes in Assunta’s life, Pietro is to blame. When Prohibition steals Pietro’s last pleasure, he has to do something before Assunta’s grief consumes them both. Inspired by true events, From Ashes to Song is a story of unconventional love, hope, and the extraordinary gifts brought to America by ordinary people in the great wave of immigration.
Books Coming Out on April 15, 2021
At The End of the Matinee by Keiichiro Hirano
Bestselling author Keiichiro Hirano offers a timeless ode to love’s fragility and its resilience in this delicate, award-winning novel.
Classical guitarist Satoshi Makino has toured the world and is at the height of his career when he first lays eyes on journalist Yoko Komine. Their bond forms instantly.
Books Coming Out on April 20, 2021
The Happiest Girl in the World by Alena Dillon
For Sera Wheeler, the Olympics is the reason for everything. It’s why she trains thirty hours a week, starves herself to under 100 pounds, and pops Advil like Tic Tacs. For her mother, Charlene, hungry for glory she never had, it’s why she rises before dawn to drive Sera to practice in a different state, and why the family scrimps, saves, and fractures. It’s why, when Sera’s best friend reports the gymnastics doctor to the authority who selects the Olympic Team, Sera denies what she knows about his treatments, thus preserving favor. Their friendship shatters. But Sera protected her dream—didn’t she? Sera doubles down, taping broken toes, numbing torn muscles, and pouring her family’s resources into the sport. Soon she isn’t training for the love of gymnastics. She’s training to make her disloyalty worthwhile. No matter the cost.
The Last Night in London by Karen White
New York Times bestselling author Karen White weaves a captivating story of friendship, love, and betrayal that moves between war-torn London during the Blitz and the present day.
My Ride or Die by Leslie Cohen
A timely and hilarious millennial women’s fiction novel about two young women who decide to give up their search for a perfect man and devote their lives to each other, but unexpected consequences arrive when romantic love comes along
Mirrorland by Carole Johnstone
With the startling twists of Gone Girl and the haunting emotional power of Room, Mirrorland is a thrilling work of psychological suspense about twin sisters, the man they both love, and the dark childhood they can’t leave behind.
Under the Southern Sky by Kristy Woodson Harvey
Recently separated Amelia Buxton, a dedicated journalist, never expected that uncovering the biggest story of her career would become deeply personal. But when she discovers that a cluster of embryos belonging to her childhood friend Parker and his late wife Greer have been deemed “abandoned,” she’s put in the unenviable position of telling Parker—and dredging up old wounds in the process.
Her Three Lives by Cate Holahan
Gaslight goes high-tech in USA Today bestselling author Cate Holahan's new standalone thriller in which a family must determine who the real enemy is after a brutal home invasion breaks their trust in each other.
Books Coming Out on April 27, 2021:
Promises to Keep by Nan Rossiter
In this heartwarming sequel to Promises of the Heart, USA Today bestselling author Nan Rossiter returns to Tybee Island off the Georgia coast with PROMISES TO KEEP (Harper Paperbacks; On-Sale: 4/27/2021) to focus on beloved characters Maeve and Gage as their relationship is tested by secrets they are keeping from each other.
The Seat Filler by Sariah Wilson
When dog groomer Juliet Nolan joins her roommate in a crew of volunteers that fill empty seats at awards shows, she ends up next to the celebrity crush of her dreams--popular leading man Noah Douglas. To hide her starstruck stammering, she pretends she has no idea who he is. But that's not the only secret she has to hide when he offers her a job caring for his dog.
Meet Me in Another Life by Catriona Silvey
Two people. Infinite lifetimes. One impossible choice.
Thora and Santi are strangers in a foreign city when a chance encounter intertwines their fates. At once, they recognize in each other a kindred spirit—someone who shares their insatiable curiosity, who is longing for more in life than the cards they’ve been dealt. Only days later, though, a tragic accident cuts their story short.
But this is only one of the many connections they share. Like satellites trapped in orbit around each other, Thora and Santi are destined to meet again: as a teacher and brilliant student; a caretaker and dying patient; a cynic and believer. In numerous lives they become friends, colleagues, lovers, and enemies. As blurred memories and strange patterns compound, Thora and Santi come to a shocking revelation—they must discover the truth of their mysterious attachment before their many lives come to one, final end.
By turns joyful, devastating, and quietly profound, Meet Me in Another Life is a spectacularly compelling page-turner filled with astonishing twists that affirms the power of love to connect us beyond time and space.
Her Last Holiday by C.L. Taylor
Two years ago, Fran’s sister Jenna disappeared on a wellness retreat that went terribly wrong. Tom Wade, the now infamous man behind Soul Shrink Retreats, has just been released from prison after serving his sentence for the deaths of two people. But he has never let on what happened to the third victim: Jenna. Determined to find out the truth, Fran books herself onto his upcoming retreat – the first since his release. The only question is, will she escape the retreat alive?
Doctor on Call by Alla Shapiro, MD
Dr. Alla Shapiro was a first physician-responder to the worst nuclear disaster in history: the explosion at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station in Ukraine on April 26, 1986. Information about the explosion was withheld from first responders, who were not given basic supplies, detailed instructions, or protective clothing. Amid an eerie and pervasive silence, Dr. Shapiro treated traumatized children as she tried to protect her family. No protocols were in place because no one had anticipated the consequences of a nuclear accident. From the outset of the disaster, the Soviet government worsened matters by spreading misinformation; and first responders, including Alla, were ordered to partake in the deception of the public.
