Books Publishing This Week
The morning arrives quietly, slipping in on a pale blue sky streaked with the softest pink. The light is different now—gentler, warmer—stretching longer across the floorboards. The air still holds a lingering chill, but the promise of spring is undeniable. Outside, the world is waking up, the hush of early morning interrupted only by birdsong and the distant hum of life stirring.
You move through the house slowly, wrapped in the kind of stillness that only early mornings can offer. A cup of coffee warms your hands, steam curling up into the cool air. The scent is comforting, familiar—a small ritual that feels even more special in these first days of April, when the world is shaking off winter and something new is beginning to bloom.
A book waits for you on the table, its cover smooth beneath your fingertips. You’ve been saving this one, waiting for just the right moment to begin. The first pages feel like a fresh start—like stepping into a story at the same time the world outside is starting over. The weight of the book settles into your hands, grounding you as you curl into your favorite chair by the window.
The ivory blanket you’ve kept close all winter is still draped nearby, a comforting layer against the morning chill. You pull it over your legs, the soft knit warming you as you settle in. The light filtering through the window is soft, casting delicate shadows across the pages. The air smells faintly of rain from the night before—clean and fresh, as if the earth itself is waking up alongside you.
With a slow breath, you turn to the first page. The words meet you like an invitation, drawing you in one sentence at a time. There’s something about starting a new book in the morning—your mind still quiet, the day stretched out ahead of you like a blank page. The story unfolds gently, its rhythm matching the unhurried pace of the morning.
You read for a while, letting the outside world fade. The characters begin to take shape, their voices filling the quiet spaces of the room. Time moves slowly here, marked only by the soft turning of pages and the occasional sip of coffee cooling in your hands.
Outside, the day brightens by degrees. The sky shifts to a soft, cloudless blue. Tiny green buds cling to the branches outside the window—early hints of the season to come. The whole world feels poised on the edge of something—something softer, something new.
You pause now and then, resting the book in your lap, letting your gaze drift outside. The morning holds that fleeting kind of beauty—the kind that makes you want to linger a little longer, to stretch out the quiet before the day truly begins.
Eventually, the coffee cup empties, the sun rises higher, and the day begins to press forward. But for now, you stay wrapped in the warmth of the blanket and the steady pull of the story, savoring the stillness of an early April morning—just you, the book, and the soft, gentle promise of a new season unfolding.
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Books Publishing This Week: March 30 - April 5
If Tomorrow Never Comes by Allison Ashley
Fate connects two people in life-changing ways in a deeply romantic and emotional novel about hope and second chances by the author of Would You Rather and The Roommate Pact.
Uncertain of what tomorrow brings, Elliott Holland decides to live it up—on the eve of a stem cell transplant to treat her leukemia. It’s destiny when she crosses paths with handsome and charming Jamie Sullivan. The chemistry is magic. So is a beautiful evening that ends with a bittersweet kiss goodbye and no expectations of ever seeing each other again.
One year later, Elliott’s future looks good. Her cancer is in remission. Her career in graphic design is taking off. And she’s finally met Carly, the young woman whose stem cell donation gave Elliott a second chance at life. Then, in a twist of fate both blissful and unfair, she meets Carly’s boyfriend. It’s Jamie, the man Elliott kissed like it was her last day on earth. Neither of them has ever forgotten it.
Now, the most difficult decisions of all lie ahead. Whatever risks there are to the heart, one need wins out: to grab hold of everything that can make someone feel alive again.
Vera Wong's Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto
Ever since a man was found dead in Vera's teahouse, life has been good. For Vera that is. She’s surrounded by loved ones, her shop is bustling, and best of all, her son, Tilly, has a girlfriend! All thanks to Vera, because Tilly's girlfriend is none other than Officer Selena Gray. The very same Officer Gray that she had harassed while investigating the teahouse murder. Still, Vera wishes more dead bodies would pop up in her shop, but one mustn't be ungrateful, even if one is slightly...bored.
Then Vera comes across a distressed young woman who is obviously in need of her kindly guidance. The young woman is looking for a missing friend. Fortunately, while cat-sitting at Tilly and Selena's, Vera finds a treasure trove: Selena's briefcase. Inside is a file about the death of an enigmatic influencer—who also happens to be the friend that the young woman was looking for.
Online, Xander had it all: a parade of private jets, fabulous parties with socialites, and a burgeoning career as a social media influencer. The only problem is, after his body is fished out of Mission Bay, the police can't seem to actually identify him. Who is Xander Lin? Nobody knows. Every contact is a dead end. Everybody claims not to know him, not even his parents.
Vera is determined to solve Xander's murder. After all, doing so would surely be a big favor to Selena, and there is nothing she wouldn't do for her future daughter-in-law.
Swept Away by Beth O'Leary
Zeke and Lexi thought it would just be a night of fun. They had no intentions of seeing each other again. Zeke is only in town for the weekend to buy back his late father’s houseboat. Lexi has no time for dating when she needs to help take care of her best friend's daughter.
Going back home with a stranger seems like a perfect escape from their problems. But a miscommunication in the dark, foggy night means no one tied the houseboat to the dock. The next morning, Zeke and Lexi realize all they can see is miles and miles of water.
With just a few provisions on the idle boat, Zeke and Lexi must figure out how to get back home. But aside from their survival, they’re facing another challenge. Because when you’re stuck together for days on end, it gives you a lot of time to get to know someone—and to fall in love with them.
Barely Visible: Mothering a Son Through His Misunderstood Asperger Syndrome by Kathleen Somers
Although Asperger syndrome is considered a form of autism, few people are aware of its existence and even fewer can recognize it. Barely Visible is not a series of helpful hints and best practices, or a heroic tale of a champion parent. It is a relatable story of one mother’s struggle with the gray space between her son appearing normal on the surface and being not quite normal beneath it.
Walking that fine line between when to say something and when to bite your tongue, hoping your child can handle life on his own, requires tremendous discernment and energy. How do you convince others to “cut your child some slack” when the kid they see looks like every other kid they know? How do you explain away behavior that, at face value, looks like the result of bad parenting? And how do you prevent others from discriminating against your child once you do disclose their disability?
Chronicling a journey spanning twenty-three years, Barely Visible is a mother’s admission of guilt for choosing to ignore her son’s diagnosis initially; acceptance of defeat, for rarely knowing the right thing to do; and an acknowledgment of love—not only for her son, but for herself.
Meet Me at Blue Hour by Sarah Suk
Seventeen-year-old Yena Bae is spending the summer in Busan, South Korea, working at her mom's memory-erasing clinic. She feels lost and disconnected from people, something she's felt ever since her best friend, Lucas, moved away four years ago without a word, leaving her in limbo.
Eighteen-year-old Lucas Pak is also in Busan for the summer, visiting his grandpa, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. But he isn't just here for a regular visit--he's determined to get his beloved grandpa into the new study running at the clinic, a trial program seeking to restore lost memories.
When Yena runs into Lucas again, she's shocked to see him and even more shocked to discover that he doesn't remember a thing about her. He's completely erased her from his memories, and she has no idea why.
As the two reconnect, they unravel the mystery and heartache of what happened between them all those years ago--and must now reckon with whether they can forge a new beginning together.
The Gatsby Gambit by Claire Anderson-Wheeler
America's most beloved literary characters.
A page-turning mystery.
The gilded opulence of the Roaring Twenties.
And a clever young woman of unusual persistence.
Be ready to re-think the world of Gatsby.
Freshly twenty-one and sporting a daring new bob, Greta Gatsby--younger sister to the infamous Jay—is finally free of her dull finishing school, and looking forward to an idyllic summer at the Gatsby Mansion, the jewel of West Egg. From its breathtaking views to its eccentric denizens, Greta is eager to inhale it all--even to the predictable disapproval of Mrs Dantry, Jay’s exacting housekeeper. Indeed, nothing could disrupt the blissful time Greta has planned… except finding out that Jay’s cadre of dubious friends—Daisy and Tom Buchanan, along with Nick Carraway and Jordan Baker—will be summering there, too.
It's hard to be noticed when the luminous Daisy Buchanan is in the room, and Jordan keeps rather too close tabs on handsome Nick Carraway for Greta’s liking. But by far the worst is Daisy’s boorish husband, Tom, whose explosive temper seems always balanced on a knife-edge. But soon, bad blood is the least of their problems, as a shocking event sets the Gatsby household reeling.
Death has come to West Egg, and with it, a web of scandal, betrayal, and secrets. Turning sleuth isn’t how Greta meant to spend her summer—but what choice does she have, when everyone else seems intent on living in a world of make-believe?
Deftly subverting romantic notions about money, power, and freedom that still stand today, THE GATSBY GAMBIT is a sparkling homage to, and reinvention of, a world American readers have lionized for generations.
No Ordinary Love by Myah Ariel
A PR relationship between a pop superstar and a pro-athlete bad boy turns into so much more in this swoony romance from the acclaimed author of When I Think of You.
Ella Simone’s popstar life is what dreams are made of. Her eight year marriage to renowned music producer, Elliot Majors, has helped garner the hits, awards, and adoring fans to prove it. But when Ella tires of Elliot's many infidelities, she decides to fight for her independence despite the ironclad prenup that threatens her career.
To help her case, Ella is under strict orders to stick to The Plan: no headlines, no rumors, no rocking the boat. But this strategy is thrown a curveball after an awards show wardrobe snafu and quick rescue by Miles Westbrook, MLB’s most eligible player, sends the tabloids into a frenzy. Amid tricky divorce proceedings, Ella’s magnetic connection with the charismatic pitcher might just be her downfall.
Now the pressure is on to turn a scandal into an opportunity and give their teams what they want: a picture-perfect performance that will shore up both Ella and Miles' reputations. But as the lines between reality and PR begin to blur, Ella will either stick to the choreographed life she knows so well, or surrender to a love that could set her free.
Cat's People by Tanya Guerrero
A stray cat brings together five strangers over the course of one fateful summer in this heartwarming novel about love, found family, and the power of connection.
Núria, a single-by-choice barista with a resentment for the "crazy cat lady" label, is a member of The Meow-Yorkers, a group in Brooklyn who takes care of the neighborhood’s stray cats. On one of her volunteering days, she starts finding Post-It notes from a secret admirer at the spot where her favorite stray lives—a black cat named Cat. Like most cats, he is rather curious and sly, so of course he knows who the notes are from. Núria, however, is clueless.
Are the notes from Collin, a bestselling author and self-professed hermit with a weakness for good coffee? Are they from Lily, a fresh-out-of-high school Georgia native searching for her long-lost half-sister? Are they from Omar, the beloved neighborhood mailman going through an early mid-life crisis? Or are they from Bong, the grieving widower who owns Núria’s favorite bodega? When Cat suddenly falls ill, these five strangers find themselves bonded in their desire to care for him and discover that chance encounters can lead to the meaningful connections they've been searching for.
Falls to Pieces by Douglas Corleone
Author Interview with Douglas Corleone
A mother and daughter in hiding are threatened by more than secrets and lies in a twisting novel of paranoia, revenge, and psychological suspense by bestselling author Douglas Corleone.
For two years, Kati Dawes and her teenage daughter, Zoe, have lived off the grid in Hawaii, hiding from a past Kati must forget as if her life depends on it. New names. Anonymous online presence. So far, safe. Until Kati’s fiancé, attorney Eddie Akana, disappears along a popular hiking trail in a Maui national park. Now all eyes are on Kati. Exposure can make a woman with so many secrets very paranoid.
Eddie’s law partner, Noah Walker, is doing everything he can to protect his new client from the press that’s hovering like a vulture and the authorities whose suspicions about Kati―and the disappearance―are rising. Then suddenly, Zoe goes missing as well. Kati will risk anything to find her. But the worst is still to come. Because Kati’s not the only one with secrets. And buried among them is a twist she never saw coming.
The Library of Lost Dollhouses by Elise Hooper
Author Interview with Elise Hooper
When a young librarian discovers historic dollhouses in a hidden room, she embarks on an unexpected journey that reveals surprising secrets about the lost miniatures.
Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses.
After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, overlooked history, but also a future for herself—and an astonishing familial revelation.
Spanning the course of a century, The Library of Lost Dollhouses is a warm, bright, and captivating story of secrets and love that embraces the importance of illuminating overlooked women.
Bitterfrost by Bryan Gruley
The first in a brand-new crime thriller series from Edgar nominee and Pulitzer Prize–winning author Bryan Gruley. Feisty defense attorney, Devyn Payne faces off against veteran detective Garth Klimmek as they work to solve a vicious double homicide in their small, icy town of Bitterfrost.
Thirteen years ago, former ice hockey star Jimmy Baker quit the game after almost killing an opponent. Now, as the Zamboni driver for the amateur team in his hometown of Bitterfrost, Michigan, he’s living his penance. Until the morning he awakens to the smell of blood . . .
Jimmy soon finds himself arrested for a brutal double murder. The kicker? He has no memory of the night in question. And as the evidence racks up against him, Jimmy’s case is skating on thin ice. Could he have committed such a gruesome crime?
As his defense attorney, Devyn Payne and prosecuting detective Garth Klimmek race to uncover the truth, time is running out for Jimmy. Because all he can really be sure of is that he is capable of taking a life. The question is, in his blacked-out state, did he take two?
This gritty drama is the first in the Bitterfrost series, perfect for fans of Dennis Lehane!
The World's Fair Quilt: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel by Jennifer Chiaverini
Author Interview with Jennifer Chiaverini
As fall paints the Pennsylvania countryside in flaming colors, Sylvia Bergstrom Compson is contemplating the future of her beloved Elm Creek Quilts. The Elm Creek Quilt Camp remains the most popular quilter’s retreat in the country, but unexpected financial difficulties have beset them and the Bergstrom family’s stately nineteenth-century manor. Now in her eighth decade, Sylvia is determined to maintain her family’s legacy, but she needs new resources—financial and emotional.
Summer Sullivan—a founding Elm Creek Quilter—arrives to discuss an antique quilt that she wants to display at the Waterford Historical Society’s quilt exhibit. When Sylvia and her sister Claudia were teenagers, they had entered a quilt in the Sears National Quilt Contest for the 1933 Century of Progress Exposition, also known as the Chicago World’s Fair. The Bergstrom sisters’ quilt would be perfect for the Historical Society’s exhibit, Summer explains.
Sylvia is reluctant to lend out the quilt, which has been stored in the attic for decades, nearly forgotten. In keeping with the contest’s “Century of Progress” theme, the girls illustrated progress of values—scenes of the Emancipation Proclamation, woman’s suffrage, and labor unions. But although it won ribbons, the quilt also drove a wedge between the sisters.
As Sylvia reluctantly retraces her quilt’s story for Summer, she makes an unexpected discovery—one that restores some of her faith in this unique work of art, and helps shine some light on a way forward for the Elm Creek Quilts community.
10 Marchfield Square by Nicola Whyte
The Paris Apartment meets Only Murders in the Building in this debut murder mystery with an intriguing cast of characters inhabiting a quirky block of flats in modern-day London.
This Monster of Mine by Shalini Abeysekara
She knows the taste of death. He’ll stoke her hunger for it.
Eighteen-year-old Sarai doesn’t know why someone tried to kill her four years ago, but she does know that her case was closed without justice. Hellbent on vengeance, she returns to the scene of the crime as a Petitor, a prosecutor who can magically detect lies, and is assigned to work with Tetrarch Kadra. Ice-cold and perennially sadistic, Kadra is the most vicious of the four judges who rule the land—and the prime suspect in a string of deaths identical to Sarai’s attempted murder.
Certain of his guilt, Sarai begins a double life: solving cases with Kadra by day and plotting his ruin by night. But Kadra is charming and there’s something alluring about the wrath he wields against the city’s corruption. So when the evidence she finds embroils her in a deadly political battle, Sarai must also fight against her attraction to Kadra—because despite his growing hold on her heart, his voice matches the only memory she has of her assailant…
A dazzling Ancient Rome-inspired romantasy debut, This Monster of Mine is a bloodbath of manipulation, deception, and forbidden love.
The Never List by Jade Presley
Fifty Shades of Grey meets Serpent and the Wings of Night in a why-choose romantasy where one woman’s quest to save her sister―and the realm―brings her to not one, but four power-hungry princes of chaos.
Canceled Lives by Blake Bailey
A canceled bestselling author's highly personal account of his public scandal—a scandal that was reported on the front page of the New York Times and throughout the world.
Blake Bailey grew up in the shadow of his father, Burck, an eminent litigator—president of the Oklahoma Bar Association and widely considered a sort of real-life Atticus Finch: “His conduct, honesty, integrity, and courtesy best exemplify and represent the highest standards of the legal profession," his colleagues commended him in a 1989 award citation.
As for Blake, he was a late bloomer who finally came into his own as a writer. His fourth literary biography, Philip Roth, was published on April 6, 2021, and hailed as “a narrative masterwork" by Cynthia Ozick on the front page of the New York Times Book Review. The 900-page book debuted at #12 on the Times Nonfiction Bestseller list.
But success came at a terrible price: because of revelations in Bailey's biography, many were calling for Roth and his work to be “canceled," while others thought Bailey had been overly sympathetic and even “complicitous" with his subject's worst failings. Soon rumors exploded on the internet about Bailey's own private life, and within days he himself was roundly canceled.
Canceled Lives is the story of a father and son who had much in common—for better and for worse—and who supported each other in the midst of terrible family strife, including the drug addiction and suicide of Blake's older brother, Scott. Having achieved a success in life that Blake, at least, never expected, both father and son were ravaged by the ordeal of Blake's spectacular public humiliation.
Making the Best of What's Left by Judith Viorst
In a career that has spanned more than fifty years, Judith Viorst has captivated readers with her bestselling children’s books and collections of poetry reflecting on each decade of life. Now in her nineties, Viorst writes about life’s “Final Fifth,” those who are eighty to one hundred years old. Her signature blend of humor and vulnerability infuses personal anecdotes and observations, drawing you into her world of memories and candid conversations.
She confesses, “I never ever send a text while driving, and not just because I don’t know how to text.” She discusses the afterlife (She doesn’t believe in it, but if it exists, she hopes her sister-in-law isn’t there). She complains to her dead husband (“I need you fixing our damn circuit breakers. I need you! Could you please stop being dead?”). And she explores the late-life meanings of wisdom and happiness and second chances and home.
With a wit that defies age, Viorst navigates the terrain of loss. It’s a poignant dance between grief and levity that will resonate with those in their Final Fifth as well as anyone who has parents, relatives, or friends in their eighties and beyond. This is Judith Viorst at her best.
The Wandering Season by Aimie K. Runyan
Author Interview with Aimie K. Runyan
Unraveling the tangled roots of her family takes her places she never expected.
Veronica Stratton, a specialty food broker with a business on the cusp of brilliant success that would change the trajectory of her life, visits her parents in idyllic Estes Park for Christmas. She's fresh from a breakup with her longtime boyfriend, so she's eager to reconnect with her beloved family in the mountains and forget about her troubles for a few days. But with the holiday comes a DNA test from her younger sister that confirms her secret suspicions: she's adopted. Having the truth out in the open leaves her feeling unmoored in ways she didn't anticipate.
With so much of her life in upheaval, Veronica is looking for an escape. Inspired by her best friend, she plans to go to Europe to see four of the places listed on her DNA ancestry report. She treks to County Mayo in Ireland; the Dordogne region of France; the countryside of Lombardy in Italy, and Copenhagen, Denmark. She hopes to learn about where her family lived while also making connections for her rapidly expanding business, but she finds that each stop brings her visions of her ancestors that raise more questions than they answer. And among those pressing questions is how charming Irish castle keeper Niall Callahan will fit into her visions for the future.
The Keeper by Charles Martin
USA TODAY and ECPA bestselling series
Combine James Patterson and Colleen Hoover and you'll start to understand why readers are riveted by the Murphy Shepherd series from New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin: gripping action, heart-wrenching emotion, and deep questions that deserve to be considered.
Bones--Murphy Shepherd's teacher, mentor, priest, and friend--is gone. Devastated by the loss and unsure how to continue the rescue work they started, Murph has no choice but to jump back in when the worst happens. His longtime friend and current United States vice president, Aaron Ashley, has been a silent partner in the fight against trafficking. But in spite of having the best security available, his three daughters have been taken bound and blindfolded from their home by an extraction team that left no clues and no trace--just an empty house, a bereft mother, and nine dead Secret Service agents. Only Murph and his team have a hope of finding them.
Bones may have made the ultimate sacrifice by taking down his own brother and the dark network he led, but there are still others in this network where evil is the currency and power is the prize. Soon Ashley drops out of the presidential race and a new candidate emerges--someone who is ready, too ready, to step into the race and the Oval Office.
Bones taught Murph that the needs of the one, the lost one, outweigh those of the ninety-nine. In his first rescue without Bones beside him, Murph's fight against human trafficking takes him across the globe and through the halls of government to destroy the network and save the lives and souls of those taken.
The Murphy Shepherd series is simultaneously a tender love story, a heartrending search for freedom, an exploration of the terrible cost of human trafficking, and an anthem to the power of love to create change when it shows up regardless of the cost. The Keeper raises the stakes even further, so be ready--you won't want to put it down until you reach the very last page.
The Murphy Shepherd series: Book 1 The Water Keeper, Book 2 The Letter Keeper, Book 3 The Record Keeper, Book 4 The Keeper (coming April 2025!)
