Tag: April New Releases

Happy April! No fooling, here are some of the new books out this week:

Books for Kids

Not My Cat – A women “adopted” by a stray cat insists it is not her cat – but when the cat disappears, she worries about what happened to it.

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

Tree. Table. Book. – Two Sophies. One in elementary school, the other much older. But they are best friends. But when the elder Sophie starts having memory issues, her family plans to move her away – something young Sophie can’t even imagine. Just reading the description of this book made me tear up. I have to read this one.
Harley Quinn: Redemption (LGBTQ+) – The final book in this DC Icons trilogy. Harley is taunted by a criminal who is taking young girls, daring her to come find them.
Kill Her Twice – When they suspect a coverup at work in the case of their murdered childhood friend, the Chow sisters start looking for a killer.
A Whisper in the Walls – Sequel to A Door in the Dark. Theo has been exiled and Ren has been thwarted in her revenge plan, but there are others who would like to see the end of House Brood. This series sounds fascinating!

Books for Adults

Earls Trip (Trade Paperback) – Three earls on an annual “boys” trip have their plans upended when one has to ride to the rescue of childhood friends. This sounds SO fun!
Fake Flame (Trade Paperback) – A firefighter offers to help a woman get rid of her ex by posing as her boyfriend. Yes, please!
Funny Story (Hardcover) – Two strangers become roommates when their fiancés dump them to date the other person’s ex. And it doesn’t take long for someone to get the bright idea that they fake a relationship to try to get their exes back. Yep, this is on the list, too.
The Good Ones Are Taken (Trade Paperback) – When Maggie starts dating a great guy from her gym, her longtime friend keeps finding flaws in him until he finally confesses he’s loved her all along and doesn’t want to see her with someone else. How can she be expected to choose?
The Lady Plays With Fire (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Goode’s Guide to Misconduct series. A theatre critic and the playwright she blasted in print meet and discover their secret identities. Will their professional conflict ruin their chance at love? This sounds fun!
Not How I Pictured It (Trade Paperback) – A former star who left her career behind in shame after her father took all of her money finds herself back with her old cast, 20 years later as the studio tries to resurrect the old show. But on their way to filming the group ends up stranded by a storm on a small island – and they are “the most useless survival group in history.” Yes, please!
Star For Jesus (And Other Jobs I Quit): Rediscovering the Grace that Sets us Free (Hardcover Nonfiction) – A memoir in essays about faith and grace.

Here are some of the new books out this week:

Books for Kids

My Lost Freedom – Author, actor, and activist George Takei shares his story of being in an incarceration camp as a boy during WWII.

Books for Teens/Young Adults

Dear Wendy (LGBTQ+) – Two college freshmen who identify as aromantic and asexual start to become friends thanks to that shared identity. But neither knows that the other is behind their IG rival’s secret identity. I’m looking forward to reading this one!
The King’s Sword – Book 2 in the League of Rulers series by Jennifer Anne Davis. Sabine finds more than she bargained for when she went looking for her sister’s killer and then became a queen. I already have book 1 on my TBR, and this sounds amazing!
The Lady of Rapture – Book 3 in the Bones of Ruin trilogy. An immortal tightrope walker finds herself in a fight for her life. I have book one of this series on my TBR, too!

Books for Adults

Christa Comes Out of Her Shell (Trade Paperback) – Something new from Abbi Waxman! Christa’s lost and presumed-dead father returns, upending her family, her research, and her personal life. If I see a book is by Abbi Waxman, it’s an automatic purchase for me. I can’t wait to read this one!
The Finders Keepers Library (Trade Paperback) – A young woman lost and looking for any sort of anchor for her life decides to spend the summer with her aunt while trying to put the pieces of her life back together. While there, she finds a community – and the possibility of love.
Nun Too Soon (ebook – April 18) – Book 1 in the Bad Habit Book Club series from the folks with Smartypants Romance. A former nun-turned-librarian and a bounty hunter have a chance at love in this hilarious-sounding story that I have already pre-ordered!
One Last Word (Trade Paperback) – An app creator finds her life turned upside down when her app, which allows users to upload final messages to be released upon their death glitches and she watches her own drunkenly-saved messages get sent when someone else with her name passes away. YES!

Here are some of the new books out this week:

Books for Kids

Shared Space – From the author of the Wombats! series. An order-loving mouse gets a new neighbor – Pak-rat. I discovered this book after falling in love with the illustrations for the Wombat! series. And now I want all of the author’s picture books too!

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

Keeping Pace (Older Middle Grade) – A girl who wants to run a half-marathon starts training with her middle school rival.
What Was the Great Molasses Flood of 1919? – I had never heard of the “molasses flood” before I read an I Survived book that talked about it. I think this would be a fascinating title for kids to check out!
Teenage Dirtbags (LGBTQ+) – When Phil gets dumped by “golden boy” Cameron, he seeks out his old best friend Jackson to help him show the world who Cameron really is. I have this one on hold at the library already!

Books for Adults

The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers (Hardcover) – An orphan raised by the Fellowship of Puzzlers is given a final puzzle to solve that is supposed to tell him about who is is and how he came to be with the Fellowship.
How to End a Love Story (Trade Paperback) – Former friends with a complicated past find themselves working together in the writer’s room for a TV adaptation of her work.
The Kiss Countdown (Trade Paperback) – An astronaut and an event planner concoct a fake relationship plan that gives him a girlfriend for the 3 months leading up to his launch so his family will get off his back. In return, she gets a place to live, rent-free, while she tries to launch her own business.

Happy April! No fooling, here are some of the new books out this week:

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

The Mystery of Locked Rooms – A girl whose family is facing foreclosure teams up with her friends to find a rumored treasure in an abandoned fun house.
The Second Favorite Daughters Club: Sister Sabotage – Two girls tired of feeling like second class citizens in their families start a club with the goal of becoming their parents’ favorite children.
Draw Down the Moon – A girl who was never supposed to develop magic and a boy who thought he knew his magical destiny meet up at a magical school where something dark and dangerous is happening.  Yes, please!
The Reappearance of Rachel Price – A family agrees to be part of a true crime documentary about their missing and presumed dead mother – but she reappears during filming with an unbelievable story about where she has been. Fascinating!

Books for Adults

Bridesmaid for Hire (Trade Paperback) – In order to move her event planning business to the next level, Maggie has to not only work during her vacation, but also pretend to be dating her sworn enemy. Sounds fun!
How to Plot a Payback (Trade Paperback) – A screenwriter gets the job of a lifetime, but it puts him back in proximity to the woman who has repeatedly ruined his life over the years. So he decides a little payback is in order as he writes her character into some unexpected plotlines. This sounds cute!
An Inconvenient Wife (Hardcover) – A man’s 6th wife teams up with two of her predecessors when a headless body is found near her new home and she tries to determine who the victim is – and if it has anything to do with another headless body found eight years ago. That sounds amazing!
Just for the Summer (Trade Paperback) – From the fabulous Abby Jimenez. Two people “cursed” to always be the one BEFORE a person finds their perfect match decide to date each other in order to cancel out their curses so they can finally find love. Yes, please!
Marvel What If: What If Loki Was Worthy? (Hardcover) – First in a new trio of stories from Marvel’s What If universe.  Thor is dead, and Loki is a fault, so he is banished to Earth and charged by a Valkyrie to help him deliver Mjolnir to Jane Foster as Thor’s final wish. But when Tony Stark vows revenge on Asgard for all Loki destroyed, can the god of mischief become a hero for his people?
Only and Forever (Trade Paperback) – Book 7 in the Bergman Brothers series. A man with a struggling romance bookstore agrees to help a writer with writer’s block in exchange for her help with the store. I haven’t read any of the earlier books, but this book-based plot caught my attention.
The Rule Book (Trade Paperback) – An NFL tight end has a change for a little revenge on his college ex when she asks to be his agent as she launches her career. Ending up married after a wild night in Vegas wasn’t part of the plan.
What Is Love? (Trade Paperback) – Two trivia fans first meet when she wipes out his streak on the show Answers! But when they reconnect for a competition between the biggest winners of Answers! they decide to team up to prep for the big showdown.
The Unfiltered Enneagram (Trade Paperback) – A new Enneagram resource from the person behind the @RudeAssEnneagram social media account. I’ll post a full review for this one soon, but I will say now that this is OUTSTANDING!
Worth Fighting For: Finding Courage and Compassion When Cruelty Is Trending (Trade Paperback) – From John Pavlovitz. A collection of recent essays as well as new material from the author designed to encourage readers toward hope, courage, and compassion.

This is the final release week of April – wow, that month went fast! Here are some of the books releasing this week:

Books for Older Kids/ Teens/Young Adults

What Was the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921? – The Tulsa Race Massacre is also known as the destruction of Black Wall Street. This will likely be a troubling read, but a necessary part of history to face and understand.
Harley Quinn: Ravenous – Sequel to Harley Quinn: Reckoning. Harley starts an internship at Arkham where she works with Talia al Ghūl. This is NOT where I thought this next book was going, but I will definitely be reading this one.
That Self-Same Metal – First in a new series. A craftswoman with power over metal finds herself in a strange situation with the Fae in the time of Shakespeare. This is a fascinating  set up.

Books for Adults

Ashes to Ashes Crust to Crust (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 2 in the Deep Dish Mystery series after Six Feet Deep Dish. Delilah is hoping to win a Taste of Wisconsin contest which will help her business a lot, but things get complicated when someone dies at her contest – and romantic – rival’s juice bar. I’ll be reviewing this one soon.
Bear With Me Now (Trade Paperback) – An executive at a wilderness therapy retreat starts to fall for the handywoman who saves him from a bear.
French Holiday (Trade Paperback – April 26) – Merry’s sister has married the only man Merry has ever loved, so she needs an escape plan, and fast. A castle in the French countryside sounds like the perfect solution, except her nemesis is there as well.
Happy Place (Hardcover) – Two exes pretend to still be together for the friend group’s annual vacation since they never told anyone they had broken up. Yes, please! That sounds awesome!
Moorewood Family Rules (Hardcover) – She might have gone to prison to save all of their butts, but now that she’s out, Jillian has some new rules for the con artists and rogues in her family. This sounds amazing!
#TagMe for Murder (e-book) – Book 2 in the Trending Topic Mystery series. New neighbors threaten Coco’s and Jasper’s business empires, and when one of the neighbors is murdered, Jasper becomes the prime suspect.
Zora Books Her Happy Ever After (Trade Paperback) – A bookstore owner meets her author-crush – and his grumpy best friend – and soon finds herself in a love triangle with both men. But she’s also certain they are keeping something from her. It seems obvious what the “secret” is going to be, but I don’t even care. This sounds awesome!
The Enneagram of Emotional Intelligence (Trade Paperback) – The Enneagram meets Emotional Intelligence (EQ)? Yep, I’ll be checking that one out!
Wisdom for Faithful Reading: Principles and Practices for Old Testament Interpretation (Paperback) – Best practices for reading and studying the Old Testament. During the pandemic, I started watching a teaching series from the author of this book, and I really liked him! I’m eager to try this and see if it’s as engaging as he was in the video series.

Here are some of the books out this week – what’s on your wish list?

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

The Swallowtail Legacy: Betrayal By the Book – Book 2 in the series; from the author of the fantastic Red Blazer Girls. Lark’s favorite author comes to the island, but she’s not at all what Lark expected – and not in a good way. And then the woman’s assistant is killed. I loved the Red Blazer Girls, so I am intrigued about this new middle grade mystery series – especially one with a book focus!
Against the Stars – Two boys find friendship turning into something more as they negotiate a world where people can see a Glimpse of their future. And things take a turn when people realize no one has ever had a Glimpse beyond a certain day on the calendar. The sci-fi tech of this is fascinating! I have to check this one out!
A Hunger of Thorns – Maude’s best friend, always drawn toward dark, powerful magic, has gone missing and Maude seems to be the only one who can figure out where she went – and the only one determined enough to step into the unknown in order to find her.
No Boy Summer – Feeling fed up with relationship drama, two sisters swear off boys for the summer. But when one starts to have feelings for a girl she meets through her summer job. she wonders if it’s breaking her promise to her sister if the relationship is technically not with a boy.
Sunshine (Graphic Novel Memoir) – A follow up to the fantastic Hey, Kiddo by Jarrett Krosoczka. The author turns to his time at Camp Sunshine working with seriously ill children in his second graphic novel memoir.

Books for Adults

The Blood Gift (Hardcover) – Book 2 in the duology, the follow up to The Blood Trials. This feels like an IYKYK situation. If you aren’t familiar with book one, start there. It’s on my wishlist!
The Bone Shard War (Hardcover) – The third and final book in the Drowning Empire series. This is another fantasy title on my TBR.
Damsel (Hardcover) – Soon to be on Netflix. A young woman agrees to an arranged marriage in order to save her people, but she discovers they intend to sacrifice her to a dragon. I will be reviewing this one soon.
The Secret Service of Tea and Treason (Trade Paperback) – Book 3 in the Dangerous Damsels series. Rival spies must pose as husband and wife to infiltrate a pirate house party in search of an assassin. I have this on hold from the library.
365 Gays of the Year: Discover LGBTQ+ History One Day at a Time (Hardcover Nonfiction) – I received a free review copy of this book from Netgalley, and I spent an evening reading through a variety of the short biographies. This was a fascinating read, and I really enjoyed it. (♥♥♥♥)
Sticks AND Stones – Two new Bible studies by Kat Armstrong. I picked up Mountains as well as Valleys when they released earlier this year. I really like the structure and set up of these and I am looking forward to more in this collection.

Here are some of the new books releasing this week!

Books for Kids

The Loud Librarian – Penelope seems like the perfect choice for student-librarian, but she is also SUPER LOUD.
How Do You Spell Unfair?; MacNolia Cox and the National Spelling Bee – The story of one of the first two African Americans invited to the National Spelling Bee. MacNolia was sent off from Ohio with great fanfair, but her arrival in the segregated state of Maryland in 1936 changed everything, from her experience on the train, to the hotel, and on to the spelling bee.
The Princess in Black and the Prince in Pink – Book 10 in this delightful series sees the Princess in Black team up with a new friend. I can’t wait to check out this new adventure!

Books for Adults

The Half of It (Trade Paperback) – A grandmother feeling pensive about her past runs into the last person she wanted to see again – and he just wants to know what happened all those years ago.
Heir of Uncertain Magic (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Whimbrel House series. While Hulda had some luck taming Whimbrel House, that doesn’t mean the story for her and for Merritt is over. Hulda’s boss has gone missing and a mysterious person is competing with Hulda for the job while Merritt is trying to work on his own still-developing magical gifts and learn the story of his estranged family and his connection to Whimbrel House. I have book 1 on my TBR!
To Swoon and to Spar (Trade Paperback) – Book 4 in the Regency Vows series. A couple agrees to a marriage in name only, but discover things to appreciate about one other when she schemes to scare him from their home and he proves to be difficult to frighten off. I loved the second and third books in this series, so I definitely want to give this one a try!
Yours Truly (Trade Paperback) – Something new from the author of The Friend Zone (♥♥♥♥½) and The Happy Ever After Playlist (♥♥♥♥½). After a rocky start, two doctors try to overcome their first impressions of one another – and then he offers her the one thing she wants most of all. I am already behind on reading the third Friend Zone book, and the author’s most recent Part of Your World. But this is completely on my to read list for “some day.”
I Swear: Politics is Messier Than My Minivan (Hardcover Nonfiction) – A memoir from Congresswoman Katie Porter. You can read my review here.

Happy April! Here are some of the new books out this week!

Books for Kids

Woo Hoo! You’re Doing Great! – An encouraging new picture book from Sandra Boynton,  ready to celebrate milestones – even simply surviving the work week – for readers of all ages. I can’t wait to check this one out in person!

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

The Maze of Bones (Graphic Novel) – The 39 Clues series gets the graphic novel treatment.
Good Different – A novel in verse starring a neuro-divergent girl trying to reconcile the ways she is “different” from her peers.
Nic Blake and the Remarkables: The Manifestor Prophecy – A middle grade novel from the author of the memorable The Hate U Give. Before Nic can get her father to teach her magic and what it means to be a Remarkable, he is falsely accused of a crime and Nic and her friends have to figure out how to save him. This sounds fascinating!
Punk Rock Unicorn (Comic Collection) – The 17th collection of Phoebe and her Unicorn comics. I adore these two friends and this whole series!
School Trip (Graphic Novel) – Book 3 in this terrific graphic novel series. Jordan and his friends are on a school trip – to Paris!
I’m Still Here (Older Middle Grade Nonfiction) – A young readers edition of I’m Still Here written for kids in the 10-14 year old range.
First-Year Orientation – A short story collection about the first days of college. This promises to be amazing!
Not Here to Stay Friends – The surprises keep coming for Sloane’s summer plans to reconnect with her childhood best friend. First, he’s gotten hot since she last saw him. Second, his dad’s new teen reality dating show is one contestant short – and he thinks Sloane is the perfect fill in.
Promposal – While Autumn is looking for something to help move her off the wait list for her dream school, she stumbles onto a business opportunity – planning promposals for her peers. But the best person to help her successfully launch this venture is the last person at her school she would trust. This sound great!
Queen Bee – A disgraced young woman plots revenge against the social climber who betrayed her.

Books for Adults

The Do-Over (Trade Paperback) – An up and coming business guru is about to miss out on her dream job because she unknowingly never finished college. Now she is back to get those last few credits. But she didn’t count on the guy who broke her heart still being there. I’ll be reviewing this soon.
The Plus One (Trade Paperback) – While they constantly bickered and harassed each other as kids, now Jude and Indira need each other. By fake dating, he is a buffer between Indira and her ex (and his new flame). And in return, Indira gives Jude a way to pull back when the chaos and noise of the pre-wedding festivities for Indira’s brother and his husband-to-be get to be too much. I’ll be reviewing this one soon, too!
The Winter Knight (Trade Paperback) – A queer, contemporary Arthurian retelling.  You probably just need to read the full description of this one. Sounds amazing.
Be the Bus: The Lost and Profound Wisdom of the Pigeon – A gift book starring the Pigeon.
The Bible vs Biblical Womanhood: How God’s Word Consistently Affirms Gender Equality (Trade Paperback) – 14 Bible passages are explored for what they really say about “gender hierarchy.” I’m curious about this one.

It’s the final release week of April. Let’s see what books are on my watch list for this week.

Books for Older Kids/Teens/Young Adults

Breaking News (April 28) – When a fundraising scandal rocks their school, three students search for the truth. I’ll be reviewing this one soon!
The Great Peach Experiment: The Peach Pit – Book 2 in the Great Peach Experiment series after When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Peach Pie. The Peaches are back from their first adventure when their great aunt says she wants to gift them her historic mansion. But there are a few… conditions. I haven’t read the first book yet, but it is on my TBR pile. I hope to get to both of these soon.
Chasing After Knight – Four years ago, Alexa publicly betrayed her then best friend and crush Carson Knight. Now that Carson is a famous actor with a bad-boy image, Alexa’s best friend Lindsey is convinced that Alexa’s betrayal is the reason he has this image problem. So Alexa decides to try to make things right. I’ve already pre-ordered this one!
Harley Quinn: Reckoning – Part of the DC Icons series. Harleen’s internship at Gotham University leaves her disillusioned and seeking revenge on behalf of all the women in STEM who have faced harassment. Harleen soon falls into a vigilante girl gang called The Reckoning and starts to feel like she has found her people. Then someone in the gang is murdered. I already pre-ordered this one too.

Books for Adults

Double Shot Death (Trade Paperback) – Book 2 in the Ground Rules Mystery series after Fresh Brewed Murder. Sage scores a spot for her coffee cart at a music festival. And then she stumbles across a body. I loved the first book so much, this is a must read for me. I have already asked my local library to pick this one up.
A Margin for Murder (Mass Market Paperback) – Book 8 in the Beyond the Page Bookstore Mystery series. At a library sale, Addie buys an old bookmobile to use as a traveling part of her store, but before she can take possession, a fatal crash occurs and the first editions that were part of the bookmobile go missing. This is a clever set up that makes me want to pick this one up. It’s on my library wishlist.
The Vanishing Type (Hardcover) – Book 5 in the Secret, Book, and Scone Society series. When Nora is asked to help Deputy Andrews propose to his girlfriend Hester, she’s thrilled to help with a Little Women-themed proposal. But when someone mutilates all of the store’s copies of The Scarlet Letter where the character Hester Prynne is mentioned, Nora is worried someone has it out for the real life Hester. I have several of these books in my Kindle TBR, and I think I will be adding this one because the premise sounds so great!

It’s a small but mighty group of books on my radar this week. The three I don’t have ARCs for all ended up on my library wishlist. Let’s take a look!

Books for Teens/Young Adults

Flirting with Fate – When Ava misses being with her grandmother as she passes away because of a thunderstorm fender bender, she also misses the traditional family blessing. But it turns out, her grandmother gave the blessing – it just landed on the boy at the accident instead of Ava. Now shy and reserved Ava has to befriend the boy in order to set things right.
Queen of the Tiles – Najwa enters her first Scrabble tournament – the same tournament where her best friend died. But while the other competitors focus on trying to take the late Scrabble Queen’s throne, Trina’s Instagram account starts posting again with messages that Trina’s death might not have been as straightforward as everyone thinks. I’ll be reviewing this one soon!

Books for Adults

The Bookseller’s Promise – First in a new Amish Bookstore series. Jake promised his grandfather he would never sell the book. But the English woman, Yvonne, doesn’t plan to take no for an answer. Jake starts to read the book in question with Eva, one of his employees. Eva hopes the time together will help Jake see her as more than his employee. But Eva also senses Yvonne’s interest in Jake. This is a fascinating premise for a book centered on the Amish community, so I am curious about this one. It’s on my library wishlist.
Drop Dead Gorgeous – After an accident, Brittany finds herself in the Limbo Lounge between Heaven and Hell, waiting for her fate to be decided. But when her portal to Heaven opens, another woman, Edie, steals her spot. Brittany then has a second chance at life on Earth, but she has to do it from Edie’s body. What a fascinating premise. I’ll pick this one up just to see how things work out! It’s on my library wishlist, too.