Top 10 Book Releases April 2021
Looking for what book to read next? Look no further than this list of the 10 hottest new book releases of April 2021.
Mother May I - Joshilyn Jackson
"Growing up poor in rural Georgia, Bree Cabbat was
warned by her single mother that the world was a dark and scary place. Bree
rejected her mother’s fearful outlook, and life has proved her right. Having
married into a family with wealth, power, and connections, Bree now has all a
woman could ever dream of: a loving lawyer husband, two talented teenage daughters,
a new baby boy, a gorgeous home, and every opportunity in the world.
Until the day she awakens and sees a witch peering into her
bedroom window—an old gray-haired woman dressed all in black who vanishes as
quickly as she appears. It must be a play of the early morning light or the
remnant of a waking dream, Bree tells herself, shaking off the bad feeling that
overcomes her.
Later that day though, she spies the old woman again, in the
parking lot of her daugh¬ters’ private school . . . just minutes before Bree’s
infant son, asleep in his car seat only a few feet away, vanishes. It happened
so quickly—Bree looked away only for a second. There is a note left in his
place, warning her that she is being is being watched; if she wants her baby
back, she must not call the police or deviate in any way from the instructions
that will follow.
The mysterious woman makes contact, and Bree learns she,
too, is a mother. Why would another mother do this? What does she want? And why
has she targeted Bree? Of course Bree will pay anything, do anything. It’s her
child.
To get her baby back, Bree must complete one small—but
critical—task. It seems harmless enough, but her action comes with a
devastating price, making her complicit in a tangled web of tragedy and shocking
secrets that could destroy everything she loves. It is the beginning of an
odyssey that will lead Bree to dangerous places, explosive confrontations, and
chilling truths.
Bree will do whatever it takes to protect her family—but
what if the cost tears their world apart?"
Kicking off this list with my favourite genre...a good old
thriller. I just can't get enough of these kind of books at the minute, and
can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this one!
The Good Sister - Sally Hepworth
"From the outside, everyone might think Fern and Rose
are as close as twin sisters can be: Rose is the responsible one and Fern is
the quirky one. But the sisters are devoted to one another and Rose has always
been Fern's protector from the time they were small.
Fern needed protecting because their mother was a true
sociopath who hid her true nature from the world, and only Rose could see it.
Fern always saw the good in everyone. Years ago, Fern did something very, very
bad. And Rose has never told a soul. When Fern decides to help her sister
achieve her heart's desire of having a baby, Rose realizes with growing horror
that Fern might make choices that can only have a terrible outcome. What Rose
doesn't realize is that Fern is growing more and more aware of the secrets
Rose, herself, is keeping. And that their mother might have the last word after
all. "
Another thriller...
When the Stars Go Dark - Paula McClain
"Anna Hart is a missing persons detective in San
Francisco. When tragedy strikes her personal life, Anna, desperate and numb, flees
to the Northern California village of Mendocino to grieve. She lived there as a
child with her beloved foster parents, and now she believes it might be the
only place left for her. Yet the day she arrives, she learns a local teenage
girl has gone missing. The crime feels frighteningly reminiscent of the most
crucial time in Anna's childhood, when the unsolved murder of a young girl
touched Mendocino and changed the community forever. As past and present
collide, Anna realizes that she has been led to this moment. The most difficult
lessons of her life have given her insight into how victims come into contact
with violent predators. As Anna becomes obsessed with the missing girl, she
must accept that true courage means getting out of her own way and learning to
let others in.
Weaving together actual cases of missing persons, trauma
theory, and a hint of the metaphysical, this propulsive and deeply affecting
novel tells a story of fate, necessary redemption, and what it takes, when the
worst happens, to reclaim our lives--and our faith in one another.
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife
comes a novel of intertwined destinies and heart-wrenching suspense: A
detective hiding away from the world. A series of disappearances that reach into
her past. Can solving them help her heal?"
...and another! April is set to be a month full of great
reading for thriller fans.
The Crowd of Gilded Bones - Jennifer L. Armentrout
"She's been the victim and the survivor…
Poppy never dreamed she would find the love she’s found with
Prince Casteel. She wants to revel in her happiness but first they must free
his brother and find hers. It’s a dangerous mission and one with far-reaching
consequences neither dreamed of. Because Poppy is the Chosen, the Blessed. The
true ruler of Atlantia. She carries the blood of the King of Gods within her.
By right the crown and the kingdom are hers.
The enemy and the warrior…
Poppy has only ever wanted to control her own life, not the
lives of others, but now she must choose to either forsake her birthright or
seize the gilded crown and become the Queen of Flesh and Fire. But as the
kingdoms’ dark sins and blood-drenched secrets finally unravel, a
long-forgotten power rises to pose a genuine threat. And they will stop at
nothing to ensure that the crown never sits upon Poppy’s head.
A lover and heartmate…
But the greatest threat to them and to Atlantia is what
awaits in the far west, where the Queen of Blood and Ash has her own plans,
ones she has waited hundreds of years to carry out. Poppy and Casteel must
consider the impossible—travel to the Lands of the Gods and wake the King
himself. And as shocking secrets and the harshest betrayals come to light, and
enemies emerge to threaten everything Poppy and Casteel have fought for, they
will discover just how far they are willing to go for their people—and each
other.
And now she will become Queen…"
If you're a fan of the Blood and Ash series then no doubt
you are excited for the latest instalment released on April 20th!
Second First Impressions - Sally Thorne
"Distraction (n): an extreme agitation of the mind or
emotions.
Ruthie Midona has worked the front desk at the Providence
Luxury Retirement Villa for six years, dedicating her entire adult life to
caring for the Villa’s residents, maintaining the property (with an assist from
DIY YouTube tutorials), and guarding the endangered tortoises that live in the
Villa’s gardens. Somewhere along the way, she’s forgotten that she’s young and
beautiful, and that there’s a world outside of work—until she meets the son of
the property developer who just acquired the retirement center.
Teddy Prescott has spent the last few years partying,
sleeping in late, tattooing himself when bored, and generally not taking life
too seriously—something his father, who dreams of grooming Teddy into his
successor, can’t understand. When Teddy needs a place to crash, his father
seizes the chance to get him to grow up. He’ll let Teddy stay in one of the
on-site cottages at the retirement home, but only if he works to earn his keep.
Teddy agrees—he can change a few lightbulbs and clip some hedges, no sweat. But
Ruthie has plans for Teddy too.
Her two wealthiest and most eccentric residents have just
placed an ad (yet another!) seeking a new personal assistant to torment. The
women are ninety-year-old, four-foot-tall menaces, and not one of their
assistants has lasted a full week. Offering up Teddy seems like a surefire way
to get rid of the tall, handsome, unnerving man who won’t stop getting under
her skin.
Ruthie doesn’t count on the fact that in Teddy Prescott, the
Biddies may have finally met their match. He’ll pick up Chanel gowns from the
dry cleaner and cut Big Macs into bite-sized bits. He’ll do repairs around the
property, make the residents laugh, and charm the entire villa. He might even
remind Ruthie what it’s like to be young and fun again. But when she finds out
Teddy’s father’s only fixing up the retirement home to sell it, putting
everything she cares about in jeopardy, she’s left wondering if Teddy’s magic
was all just a façade."
I recently read The Hating Game and enjoyed it - although
maybe not as much as most - but I'm sure many of you are excited for Sally
Thorne's new book!
Kate in Waiting - Becky Albertalli
"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."
This one sounds very light and fluffy, which can be the
perfect kind of read as we head into the summer months.
The Light of Days - Judy Batalion
"Witnesses to the brutal murder of their families and
neighbors and the violent destruction of their communities, a cadre of Jewish
women in Poland—some still in their teens—helped transform the Jewish youth
groups into resistance cells to fight the Nazis. With courage, guile, and
nerves of steel, these “ghetto girls” paid off Gestapo guards, hid revolvers in
loaves of bread and jars of marmalade, and helped build systems of underground
bunkers. They flirted with German soldiers, bribed them with wine, whiskey, and
home cooking, used their Aryan looks to seduce them, and shot and killed them.
They bombed German train lines and blew up a town’s water supply. They also
nursed the sick and taught children.
Yet the exploits of these courageous resistance fighters
have remained virtually unknown.
As propulsive and thrilling as Hidden Figures, In the Garden
of Beasts, Band of Brothers, and A Train in Winter, The Light of Days at last
tells the true story of these incredible women whose courageous yet
little-known feats have been eclipsed by time. Judy Batalion—the granddaughter
of Polish Holocaust survivors—takes us back to 1939 and introduces us to Renia
Kukielka, a weapons smuggler and messenger who risked death traveling across
occupied Poland on foot and by train. Joining Renia are other women who served
as couriers, armed fighters, intelligence agents, and saboteurs, all who put
their lives in mortal danger to carry out their missions. Batalion follows
these women through the savage destruction of the ghettos, arrest and
internment in Gestapo prisons and concentration camps, and for a lucky few—like
Renia, who orchestrated her own audacious escape from a brutal Nazi jail—into
the late 20th century and beyond."
Rewriting women into the history that they helped to shape
is so important, and this book sounds like it will do an excellent job at it.
Plus, the film rights have already been optioned by Steven Spielberg!
The Bomber Mafia - Malcolm Gladwell
"In The Bomber Mafia, Malcolm Gladwell weaves together
the stories of a Dutch genius and his homemade computer, a band of brothers in
central Alabama, a British psychopath, and pyromaniacal chemists at Harvard to
examine one of the greatest moral challenges in modern American history.
Most military thinkers in the years leading up to World War
II saw the airplane as an afterthought. But a small band of idealistic
strategists, the “Bomber Mafia,” asked: What if precision bombing could cripple
the enemy and make war far less lethal?
In contrast, the bombing of Tokyo on the deadliest night of
the war was the brainchild of General Curtis LeMay, whose brutal pragmatism and
scorched-earth tactics in Japan cost thousands of civilian lives, but may have
spared even more by averting a planned US invasion. In The Bomber Mafia,
Gladwell asks, “Was it worth it?”
Things might have gone differently had LeMay’s predecessor,
General Haywood Hansell, remained in charge. Hansell believed in precision
bombing, but when he and Curtis LeMay squared off for a leadership handover in
the jungles of Guam, LeMay emerged victorious, leading to the darkest night of
World War II. The Bomber Mafia is a riveting tale of persistence, innovation,
and the incalculable wages of war."
The Drowning Kind - Jennifer McMahon
"When social worker Jax receives nine missed calls from
her older sister, Lexie, she assumes that it’s just another one of her sister’s
episodes. Manic and increasingly out of touch with reality, Lexie has pushed
Jax away for over a year. But the next day, Lexie is dead: drowned in the pool
at their grandmother’s estate. When Jax arrives at the house to go through her
sister’s things, she learns that Lexie was researching the history of their
family and the property. And as she dives deeper into the research herself, she
discovers that the land holds a far darker past than she could have ever
imagined.
In 1929, thirty-seven-year-old newlywed Ethel Monroe hopes
desperately for a baby. In an effort to distract her, her husband whisks her
away on a trip to Vermont, where a natural spring is showcased by the newest
and most modern hotel in the Northeast. Once there, Ethel learns that the water
is rumored to grant wishes, never suspecting that the spring takes in equal
measure to what it gives."
This book sounds very eerie, with elements of historical
fiction and a classic ghost tale. If a bit of mystery/creepiness floats your
boat, add this one to your list!
The Music of Bees - Eileen Garvin
"Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a
dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of
her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how
her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she
raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days.
In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with
Jake--a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River
County--while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck.
Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from
his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm.
And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with
debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to
Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an
unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious
pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and
illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must
unite for the sake of the bees--and in the process, they just might forge a new
future for themselves."
If you fancy a warm, uplifting novel about friendship (aka
you were a fan of Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine) this book is the one for
you.
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