So I originally intended to have this scheduled to post on the 31st March but I didn’t quite get it finished before I had to leave for a holiday and it’s set half finished in my drafts ever since. So now two thirds of the way through the month I’m finally sharing some of the April releases that intrigue me!
Clicking the title will take you to the Goodreads page. Clicking on the retailers name will take you to the book on their site, these are not affiliate links just me enabling you all to buy more books!
Middle Grade
I think the covers alone would stop me and make me pick up these books and reading the blurb would definitely draw me in, from eagle hunters to fantasy worlds to young queens destined to save her kingdom there’s something for everyone! For some reason Beatrix the Bold isn’t on Goodreads but you can find it on Amazon if it appeals enough to buy it!
Stand on the Sky – Erin Bow
Release Date: 1st April 2019
A middle grade debut by author, Erin Bow, about a young girl who defies her family’s expectations in order to save her brother and become an eagle hunter.
It goes against all tradition for Aisulu to train an eagle, for among the Kazakh nomads, only men can fly them. But everything changes when Aisulu discovers that her brother, Serik, has been concealing a bad limp that risks not just his future as the family’s leader, but his life too.
When her parents leave to seek a cure for Serik in a distant hospital, Aisulu finds herself living with her intimidating uncle and strange auntie — and secretly caring for an orphaned baby eagle. To save her brother and keep her family from having to leave their nomadic life behind forever, Aisulu must earn her eagle’s trust and fight for her right to soar. Along the way, she discovers that family are people who choose each other, home is a place you build, and hope is a thing with feathers.
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Amazon UK // Amazon US // Waterstones // Book Depository
Beatrix The Bold and the Curse of the Wobblers – Simon Mockler
Release Date: 4th April 2019
BTen-year-old Beatrix is very good at telling jokes, dancing and throwing knives. She also happens to be a queen of a distant land – though she doesn’t know that yet. She also happens to be the queen who is quite possibly destined to lead the Wobblers to bold victory over the Evil Army – though she doesn’t know that yet either. Beatrix lives in an enormous golden palace with Aunt Esmerelda the Terrible and Uncle Ivan the Vicious, but as she’s only been allowed to see one new room per birthday, she’s only ever been inside ten rooms of the palace. Her aunt and uncle have always told her that if she goes beyond the woods outside the palace she’ll fall off the edge of the world. And the Dark, Dark Woods and all that lies beyond must be avoided at all costs – what if the dreaded Wobblers were to get her? But finally, the veil Beatrix has been living under is starting to slip. Beatrix knows she needs to be bold. Beatrix knows she needs to look for answers. And she’s about to get them.
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Amazon UK // Amazon US // Waterstones // Book Depository
Riverland – Fran Wilde
Release Date: 9th April 2019
When things go bad at home, sisters Eleanor and Mike hide in a secret place under Eleanor’s bed, telling monster stories. Often, it seems those stories and their mother’s house magic are all that keep them safe from both busybodies and their dad’s temper. But when their father breaks a family heirloom, a glass witch ball, a river suddenly appears beneath the bed, and Eleanor and Mike fall into a world where dreams are born, nightmares struggle to break into the real world, and secrets have big consequences. Full of both adventure and heart, Riverland is a story about the bond between two sisters and how they must make their own magic to protect each other and save the ones they love.
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Young Adult
This I’m sure is just a tiny selection of the amazing YA books being released in April. Some (like Hot Dog Girl) don’t yet have a UK publisher as far as I’m aware but are available on Amazon and I am so so tempted to order it, if only for the cover! SING sounds like such a great book and Opposite of Always sounds like such an intriguing premise!
Opposite of Always – Justin A. Reynolds
Release Date: 4th April 2019
Jack Ellison King. King of Almost.
He almost made valedictorian.
He almost made varsity.
He almost got the girl . . .
When Jack and Kate meet at a party, bonding until sunrise over their mutual love of Froot Loops and their favourite flicks, Jack knows he’s falling—hard. Soon she’s meeting his best friends, Jillian and Franny, and Kate wins them over as easily as she did Jack. Jack’s curse of almost is finally over.
But this love story is . . . complicated. It is an almost happily ever after. Because Kate dies. And their story should end there. Yet Kate’s death sends Jack back to the beginning, the moment they first meet, and Kate’s there again. Beautiful, radiant Kate. Healthy, happy, and charming as ever. Jack isn’t sure if he’s losing his mind. Still, if he has a chance to prevent Kate’s death, he’ll take it. Even if that means believing in time travel. However, Jack will learn that his actions are not without consequences. And when one choice turns deadly for someone else close to him, he has to figure out what he’s willing to do—and let go—to save the people he loves.
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Amazon UK // Amazon US // Waterstones // Book Depository
SING (Like No One’s Listening) – Vanessa Jones
Release Date: 18th April 2019
Since her mother died, Nettie Delaney hasn’t been able to sing a note. This wouldn’t be a problem if she wasn’t now attending Dukes, the most prestigious performing arts college in the country, with her superstar mother’s shadow hanging over her. Nettie has her work cut out for her and everyone is watching.
But one night, in an empty studio after college, Nettie finds herself suddenly singing, as someone behind the curtain accompanies her on the piano. Maybe all is not lost for Nettie. Maybe she can find her voice again and survive her first year at Dukes. But can she do it before she gets thrown out?
A novel about dreaming a dream, finding and raising your voice, and not throwing away your shot!
Pre-Order
Amazon UK // Amazon US // Waterstones // Book Depository
Hot Dog Girl – Jennifer Dugan
Release Date: 30th April 2019
Elouise (Lou) Parker is determined to have the absolute best, most impossibly epic summer of her life. There are just a few things standing in her way:
* She’s landed a job at Magic Castle Playland . . . as a giant dancing hot dog.
* Her crush, the dreamy Diving Pirate Nick, already has a girlfriend, who is literally the Princess of the park. But Lou’s never liked anyone, guy or otherwise, this much before, and now she wants a chance at her own happily ever after.
* Her best friend, Seeley, the carousel operator, who’s always been up for anything, suddenly isn’t when it comes to Lou’s quest to set her up with the perfect girl or Lou’s scheme to get close to Nick.
* And it turns out that this will be their last summer at Magic Castle Playland–ever–unless she can find a way to stop it from closing.
Jennifer Dugan’s sparkling debut coming-of-age queer romance stars a princess, a pirate, a hot dog, and a carousel operator who find love–and themselves–in unexpected people and unforgettable places.
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Amazon UK // Amazon US // Book Depository
Also publishing in April
- We Are Blood and Thunder by Kesia Lupo – Published: 4th April 2019
- Viper by Bex Hogan – Published: 18th April 2019
- How Not To Ask A Boy To Prom by S. J. Goslee – Published: 23rd April 2019
- Belly Up by Eva Darrows – Published: 30th April 2019
Adult
April sees the release of the paperback edition of Twisted, just look at the blurb and tell me it doesn’t appeal! That said I still have Thirteen sitting on my shelf to be read. As much as I’m not really a fan of adult contemporary, I tend to stick to crime and thrillers but I do really love the sound of The Flatshare. Final Betrayal is the latest book in the DI Lottie Parker series and I must confess to falling behind but I do love these books so I must catch up soon!
Also out this month are a few books previously released as a eBook but now available in paperback, new releases in series from authors I really enjoy but have fallen behind on and more intriguing sounding crime!
Twisted – Steve Cavanagh
Release Date: 4th April 2019
BEFORE YOU READ THIS BOOK
I WANT YOU TO KNOW THREE THINGS:
1. The police are looking to charge me with murder.
2. No one knows who I am. Or how I did it.
3. If you think you’ve found me. I’m coming for you next.
After you’ve read this book, you’ll know: the truth is far more twisted…
Pre-Order
Amazon UK // Amazon US // Waterstones // Book Depository
The Flatshare – Beth O’Leary
Release Date: 18th April 2019
Tiffy Moore and Leon Twomey each have a problem and need a quick fix.
Tiffy’s been dumped by her cheating boyfriend and urgently needs a new flat. But earning minimum wage at a quirky publishing house means that her choices are limited in London.
Leon, a palliative care nurse, is more concerned with other people’s welfare than his own. Along with working night shifts looking after the terminally ill, his sole focus is on raising money to fight his brother’s unfair imprisonment.
Leon has a flat that he only uses 9 to 5. Tiffy works 9 to 5 and needs a place to sleep. The solution to their problems? To share a bed of course…
As Leon and Tiffy’s unusual arrangement becomes a reality, they start to connect through Post-It notes left for each other around the flat.
Can true love blossom even in the unlikeliest of situations?
Can true love blossom even if you never see one another?
Or does true love blossom when you are least expecting it?
Pre-Order
Amazon UK // Amazon US // Waterstones // Book Depository
Final Betrayal – Patricia Gibney
Release Date: 18th April 2019
When Amy Whyte and Penny Brogan leave a local nightclub in the early hours of Sunday morning and don’t arrive home, their families are beside themselves with worry. Conor Dowling has just been released from prison, a man full of hatred for Amy, the girl who put him behind bars in the first place.
The case is given to Detective Lottie Parker, when the girls’ blood-soaked bodies are found, days later, in a derelict squat. Chillingly, both girls are clutching silver coins in their hands – what message is this killer leaving behind? All the signs point to Conor but his alibi is water tight.
As Lottie examines Penny and Amy’s final days alive in a desperate search for clues, two more girls are found stabbed to death in a luxury apartment complex. Caught up in what is fast becoming her toughest case yet, Lottie is unaware that somebody is watching her every move.
Then Lottie’s two daughters, Katie and Chloe suddenly disappear from the town centre. Terrified that the killer has her girls, the stakes have never been higher for Lottie.
But as Lottie puts everything on the line to find her daughters and solve the case, she’s about to find herself in terrible danger – someone has a personal axe to grind with her and they know the best way to get to her is to hurt the ones she loves the most.
Pre-Order
Amazon UK // Amazon US // Waterstones // Book Depository
Also publishing in April
- Perfect Ten by Jacqueline Ward – Published: 4th April 2019
- The Insider by Matthew Richardson – Published: 4th April 2019
- Cruel Acts by Jane Casey – Published: 4th April 2019
- Critical Incidents by Lucie Whitehouse – Published: 4th April 2019
- No Way Out by Cara Hunter – Published: 18th April 2019
- The Evidence Against You by Gillian McAllister – Published: 18th April 2019
- Stone Mothers by Erin Kelly – Published: 4th April 2019
- The Absolution by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir – Published: 18th April 2019
- The Dare by Carol Wyer – Published: 25th April 2019
I’d love to know if any of these have piqued your interest! Are there any other books I should be looking out for this coming month? Let me know in the comments!
Sarah Withers Blogs 
thehappybibliophileblog
I’m so excited for The Opposite of Always!
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Sarah - SWB
The premise sounds so good! My fingers are crossed it lives up to the hype I’ve created in my own head!
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goldenbooksgirl
Ooh Stand on the Sky sounds really interesting/up my alley! I’m looking forward to reading Sing and the Flatshare too (I read a bit of the latter in a shop today and I’m in love with it already tbh). VERY excited for Hot Dog Girl as well- it reminds me of Simon Vs a bit and I adore Simon Vs and I think I’m going to love it!
Amy x
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