It’s that time again, time for me to share some of my anticipated releases for April. I know this is a little bit late, but nevertheless there are some amazing books being released this month that you must get your hands on!
What books are you looking forward to reading this month?
Mina and The Undead by Amy McCaw
Released: 1st April
Published By: UCLan Publishing
New Orleans Fang Fest, 1995.
Mina’s having a summer to die for.
17-year-old Mina, from England, arrives in New Orleans to visit her estranged sister, Libby. After growing up in Whitby, the town that inspired Dracula, Mina loves nothing more than a creepy horror movie. She can’t wait to explore the city’s darkest secrets – vampire tours, seedy bars, spooky cemeteries, disturbing local myths…
And it gets even better when Mina lands a part-time job at a horror movie mansion and meets Jared, Libby’s gorgeous housemate, co-worker and fellow horror enthusiast.
But the perfect summer bliss is broken when, while exploring the mansion, Mina stumbles upon the body of a girl with puncture marks on her neck, clutching a lock of hair that suspiciously resembles Libby’s… Someone is replicating New Orleans’ most brutal supernatural killings. Mina must discover the truth and prove her sister’s innocence before she becomes the victim of another myth.
Rumaysa: A Fairytale by Radiya Hafiza
Released: 1st April
Published By: Macmillan Children’s Books
For as long as she can remember Rumaysa has been locked away in her tower, forced to spin straw into gold for the evil Witch, unable to leave. Until one day, after dropping a hijab out of her small tower-window, Rumaysa realizes how she might be able to escape . . .
Join Rumaysa as she adventures through enchanted forests and into dragon’s lairs, discovers her own incredible magical powers and teams up with Cinderayla and Sleeping Sara!
Rumaysa: A Fairytale is a magically fresh, empowering and funny debut, which retells three classic fairytales – Rapunzel, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty – with beautiful inside illustrations by Rhaida El Touny and cover illustration by Areeba Siddique.
Starboard by Nicola Skinner
Released: 1st April
Published By: Harper Collins Children’s
The extraordinarily inventive and inspiring new middle grade novel from the rapturously acclaimed author of BLOOM.
This is the story of Kirsten, an apparently happy and successful 11-year-old YouTube star who meets a ship that comes alive… and is claimed by it as its new captain as it breaks free from its dry dock.
Inspired by the true history of the SS Great Britain, Starboard is about the friendship, heroism and bravery that you can find in others, whether they’re made of flesh or iron. It’s about taking control of your own life and going on epic adventures. But most of all, it’s about finding out who you really dare to be, when you’re completely out of your depth…
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
Released: 6th April
Published by: Hot Key Books
Seventeen-year-old Iris Hollow has always been strange. Something happened to her and her two older sisters when they were children, something they can’t quite remember but that left each of them with an identical half-moon scar at the base of their throats.
Iris has spent most of her teenage years trying to avoid the weirdness that sticks to her like tar. But when her eldest sister, Grey, goes missing under suspicious circumstances, Iris learns just how weird her life can get: horned men start shadowing her, a corpse falls out of her sister’s ceiling, and ugly, impossible memories start to twist their way to the forefront of her mind.
As Iris retraces Grey’s last known footsteps and follows the increasingly bizarre trail of breadcrumbs she left behind, it becomes apparent that the only way to save her sister is to decipher the mystery of what happened to them as children.
The closer Iris gets to the truth, the closer she comes to understanding that the answer is dark and dangerous – and that Grey has been keeping a terrible secret from her for years.
Vulture by Bex Hogan
Released: 8th April
Published By: Orion Children’s Books
Power, politics and pirates collide in Vulture, the finale of the epic YA fantasy series The Isles of Storm and Sorrow, perfect for fans of Pirates of the Caribbean.
We are all one misstep away from being the villain…
Marianne has passed the ultimate test required to be a Mage. She is finally powerful enough to reunite the Twelve Isles.
But having exposed herself to the darker side of magic, Marianne is struggling. The magic within her is nearly impossible to control, and she becomes cruel and violent, mercilessly pursuing those who have harmed her in the past, ignoring the pleas of those closest to her to remember what’s really important: saving the islands.
Everything she’s fought for has come down to this. Will Marianne be able to fulfil her promise to bring peace to the islands when she can’t even bring peace to herself?
Conquer the darkness. Control the magic. Save the Isles.
What Beauty There Is by Cory Anderson
Released: 8th April
Published By: Penguin
Winter. The sky is dark. It is cold enough to crack bones.
Jack Morton has nothing left. Except his younger brother, Matty, who he’d do anything for. Even die for. Now with their mother gone, and their funds quickly dwindling, Jack needs to make a choice: lose his brother to foster care, or find the drug money that sent his father to prison. He chooses the money.
Ava Bardem lives in isolation, a life of silence. For seventeen years her father has controlled her fate. He has taught her to love no one. Trust no one. Now Victor Bardem is stalking the same money as Jack. When he picks up Jack’s trail, Ava must make her own wrenching choice: remain silent or help the brothers survive.
Choices. They come at a price.
Malice by Heather Walter
Released: 13th April
Published By: Del Rey
Once upon a time, there was a wicked fairy who cursed a line of princesses to die, and could only be broken by true love’s kiss. You’ve heard this before, haven’t you? The handsome prince. The happily-ever-after.
Utter nonsense.
Let me tell you, no one actually cares about what happens to our princesses. I thought I didn’t care, either. Until I met her.
Princess Aurora. The last heir to the throne. The future queen her realm needs. One who isn’t bothered that I am the Dark Grace, abhorred and feared for the mysterious dark magic that runs in my veins. Aurora says I should be proud of my gifts. That she . . . cares for me. Even though it was a power like mine that was responsible for her curse.
But with less than a year until that curse will kill her, any future I might see with Aurora is swiftly disintegrating – and she can’t stand to kiss yet another insipid prince. I want to help her. If my power began her curse, perhaps it’s what can lift it. Perhaps, together, we could forge a new world.
Nonsense again. Because we all know how this story ends, don’t we? Aurora is the beautiful princess. And I-
I am the villain.
The Last Girl by Goldy Moldavsky
Released: 15th April
Published By: Electric Monkey
Scream meets Gossip Girl with a dash of One of Us is Lying!
When it comes to horror movies, the rules are clear:
– Avoid abandoned buildings, warehouses, and cabins at all times.
– Stay together: don’t split up, not even just to “check something out….
– If there’s a murderer on the loose, do NOT make out with anyone …
New girl Rachel Chavez turns to horror movies for comfort, preferring them to the bored rich kids of her fancy New York High School. But then Rachel is recruited by the Mary Shelley Club, a mysterious student club that sets up terrifying Fear Tests; elaborate pranks inspired by urban legends and horror movies.
But when a sinister masked figure appears, Rachel realises that her past has caught up with her. It’s time for the ultimate prank to play out …
Pretty Rude by Rebecca Elliott
Released: 15th April
Published By: Penguin
Continue to follow the hilarious misadventures of teenage heroine Haylah Swinton; a bold, brilliant and thoroughly modern protagonist in PRETTY FUNNY, the second young adult novel from Rebecca Elliott, an exciting and relevant voice in funny clean-teen fiction.
Pretty Rude gives Haylah a whole host of new obstacles to overcome, especially as she attempts to conquer . . . THE INTERNET!
You know Haylah Swinton – she’s big, bold and funnier than a cat in a onesie playing the bagpipes. She’s been busy proving she’s a kick-butt comedian, she’s got herself a fab boyfriend called Dylan, the best girl crew in the world, her little brother isn’t driving her totally nuts, and did she mention she has a boyfriend called Dylan?
But this proving-she’s-funny thing is kind of tough sometimes. And come to think of it, Dylan isn’t acting particularly boyfriend-y at the moment. Plus, her pathetic excuse for a dad has decided to turn up and make everything confusing. And as if real life wasn’t complicated enough, when Haylah sets up her own comedy YouTube channel, she finds out that online life can be a whole other can of trolls . . .
The Supreme Lie by Geraldine McCaughren
Released: 15th April
Published By: Usborne
Twice Carnegie medal winning Geraldine McCaughrean’s enthralling new novel is set in a world paralysed by natural disaster and dangerous lies.
Fifteen-year-old Gloria is maid to Afalia’s tyrannical Head of State, Madame Suprema. When the country is hit by unprecedented flooding, Madame Suprema runs away, fearing she will be blamed for the crisis. To cover up this cowardly act, Gloria is made to step into Madame Suprema’s shoes and is thrust into a world of corrupt and desperate politicians. As Gloria becomes aware of the forces toying with her every move, she must take decisions that could save, or end, thousands of lives – including her own…
A brilliant and darkly funny commentary on our present times by one of our greatest writers.
Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart
Released: 20th April
Published By: Hot Key Books
Trust no witch . . .
Iraya Adair has spent her life in a cell. Heir of an overthrown and magically-gifted dynasty, she was exiled from her home on the island nation of Aiyca when she was just a child. But every day brings her closer to freedom – and vengeance. Jazmyne Cariot grew up dressed in gold, with stolen magic at her fingertips. Daughter of the self-crowned doyenne, her existence is a threat to her mother’s rule. But unlike her sister, Jazmyne has no intention of dying to strengthen her mother’s power. Sworn enemies, the two witches enter a deadly alliance to take down the woman who threatens both their worlds. But revenge is a bloody pursuit, and nothing is certain – except the lengths Iraya and Jazmyne will go to win this game.
Two witches. One motive. And a very untrustworthy alliance.
The Incredible Record Smashers by Jenny Pearson
Released: 29th April
Published By: Usborne
A record-smashing, feel-good adventure packed with heart, humour and Guinness World Records from Costa Award-shortlisted Jenny Pearson, and Kid Normal illustrator Erica Salcedo.
Lucy is a fixer of broken things. But there’s one thing she can’t fix and that’s her unhappy mum. Until she comes up with an INCREDIBLE plan. Along with her best friend, Sandesh, Lucy is going to SMASH a world record. Because she’s convinced that starry Paul Castellini – Record Smashers TV host and singing legend – is the answer to her mum’s problems. But breaking a world RECORD when watermelons, kumquats, two baddies and a 30 cm shatter-resistant school ruler are involved isn’t quite as easy as Lucy thought. Can she learn that sometimes happiness doesn’t come with a plan?
Amy's Bookish Life 