41 Wonderful New Books to Read in April 2023
Spring is officially here, which makes it the perfect time to pick up the best new April 2023 book releases.
The start of a new month always brings so much excitement โ especially when there’s new books to look forward to.
On my list to read this month are Never Vacation With Your Ex, Queen Bee, The Plus One, The Nanny, Yours Truly, Vacation Wars and Happy Place. There are so many incredible books to read, but I’m leaning more towards the contemporary reads as we head deeper into spring!
This list features 41 young adult and adult fiction books releasing in April 2023. With these books, you’re guaranteed to find new favourites to read throughout the month.
Whether youโre a fan of mystery, fantasy, romance or anything in between, youโll find something on this list to read this month!
Browse the Books by Release Date
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April 4th Book Releases
Contemporary, Romance โข Disney Hyperion
Nasrin Mahdavi is a Broadway triple threatโbut sheโs living a double life.
A freshman in NYUโs prestigious musical theater program, Nasrin spends her days prepping for auditions, sweating through dance classes, and belting her heart out for the viral streaming show sheโs been cast in. But on calls with her maman and baba, sheโs their jigar talah, the golden child who put her theater dreams aside to follow in their entrepreneurial footsteps as a business major.
At least her whole life isnโt a lieโshe is taking a single business course. Except sheโs kind of failing it. Cue jazz hands?
Nasrin needs to bring her grade up fast if sheโs going to keep her parents in the dark, so she grudgingly signs up for tutoring with the infuriatingly smug and annoyingly attractive Max. And yet … as the semester rushes by, the sparks of anger that first flew between them start to turn into a very different kind of spark. The kind she definitely does not have time for.
Except when Nasrinโs charming though devious cousin takes an interest in Max too, Nasrin has to figure out exactly what has been an actโand whatโs for real. Can Nasrin decide whatโand whoโis truly worth fighting for, and find a way to step into the spotlight as her full self?
Verse โข Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Award-winning author Laekan Zea Kempโs heart-wrenching novel-in-verse follows two teens who must come together to heal the pain from their pasts, perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Nicola Yoon.
Danna Mendoza Villarrealโs grandfather is slowly losing himself as his memories fade, and Dannaโs not sure her plan to help him remember through the foods he once reviewed will be enough to bring him back. Especially when her own love of food makes her complicated relationship with her mother even more difficult.
Raรบl Santos has been lost ever since his mother was wrongly incarcerated two years ago. Playing guitar for the elderly has been his only escape, to help them remember and him forget. But when his mom unexpectedly comes back into his life, what is he supposed to do when she isnโt the same person who left?
When Danna and Raรบl meet, sparks fly immediately and they embark on a mission to heal her grandfather … and themselves. Because healing is something best done togetherโeven if it doesnโt always look the way we want it to.
Historical Fiction, Romance โข Berkley
A forbidden love between a Mexican heiress and a shrewd British politician makes for a tantalizing Victorian season.
Ana Marรญa Luna Valdรฉs has strived to be the perfect daughter, the perfect niece, and the perfect representative of the powerful Luna familia. So, when Ana Marรญa is secretly sent to London with her sisters to seek refuge during the French occupation of Mexico, she experiences her first taste of freedom far from the judgmental eyes of her domineering father. If only she could ignore the piercing looks she receives across ballroom floors from the austere Mr. Fox.
Gideon Fox elevated himself from the London gutters by chasing his burning desire for more: more opportunities, more choices. For everyone. Now as a member of Parliament, Gideon’s on the cusp of securing the votes he needs to put forth a measure to abolish the Atlantic slave trade once and for allโa cause that is close to his heart as the grandson of a formerly enslaved woman. The charmingly vexing Ana Marรญa is a distraction he must ignore.
But when Ana Marรญa finds herself in the crosshairs of a nefarious nobleman with his own political agenda, Gideon knows he must offer his hand as protection … but will this Mexican heiress win his heart as well?
When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.
After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.
To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanishโinto the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.
Shadow and Bone meets Lore in Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals, an epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.
Sixteen acclaimed authorsโincluding a National Book Award nominee, a New York Times best-selling novelist, and a beloved actressโjoin forces for a cross-genre YA anthology of linked short stories about the first days of college.
Jilly cannot believe her parents keep showing up at all of her orientation events. (Except, yes, she can totally believe that.) Isaac wants to be known as someone other than the kid who does magic and has an emotional support bunny. Lilly is stuck working at the college bookstore during orientation (but maybe new friends are closer than they appear). Hira, meanwhile, just wants to retire from ghost hunting once and for all, but a spirit in the libraryโs romance section has other ideas. For their sophomore effort, the contributing editors behind the critically acclaimed Battle of the Bands admit us to opening day at a fictional college, with a collection that makes an ideal high school graduation gift or โsummer-beforeโ read. This colorful array of stories spans genres and moodsโfrom humorous to heartfelt to ghostlyโtackling with sensitivity, humor, and warmth what it feels like to take those first shaky steps into adulthood.
With stories by: Adi Alsaid, Anna Birch, Bryan Bliss, Gloria Chao, Jennifer Chen, Olivia A. Cole, Dana L. Davis, Kristina Forest, Lauren Gibaldi, Kathleen Glasgow, Sam Maggs, Farah Naz Rishi, Lance Rubin, Aminah Mae Safi, Eric Smith and Phil Stamper
Some love stories end before they even begin …
When Lili meets Ben by chance one hot summerโs day, it feels like fate. But life is about to take them in different directions, and so they agree to meet next July, in the beautiful hidden garden where they first laid eyes on each other. But one of them never shows up …
Five years later, Ben still wonders how he got things so wrong โ he let the love of his life slip between his fingers. And then a stranger, Alice, arrives in his tiny Scottish hometown. Alice has no memory of how she got there: she canโt remember anything before that morning. The only clue to her past is the silver bee necklace she wears โ the very same one Ben bought for Lili that magical summerโs day …
As Ben, Lili and Aliceโs stories converge, so begins a beautiful and deeply emotional story of love, forgiveness and second chances. Perfect for fans of Colleen Hoover and Lucy Score.
Contemporary, Romance โข Viking Books for Young Readers
Forgetting Sarah Marshall meets Crazy Stupid Love in a YA second chance romance from fan-favorite author couple #Wibbroka!
Seventeen-year-old volleyball star Kaylee Jordan lives a life of player rankings, constant training, and a carefully curated social media full of followers watching to see if she’ll go pro out of high school like her famous mom. Her one refuge, and the thing she looks forward to every summer? The vacation her family spends in Malibu with the Freeman-Yus. This year, thereโs only one problem: Kaylee and their son, Dean, dated for the past three months, and Kaylee just unceremoniously dumped him.
Hoping to spare them the worst summer ever, Kaylee comes to Dean with her unconventional solution: sheโs going to walk him through her rules for getting over an ex. When Dean grudgingly cooperates, Kayleeโs got her work cut out for her. But helping Dean follow her own rules starts becoming difficult when the pressures of Kayleeโs family legacy and perfect life start to feel less like a plan and more like a prison … and amid warm California nights and stolen laughs, Kaylee feels herself falling for Dean for the same reasons and some new ones. With their trip coming to an end, Kaylee has to make the complicated choice between doing whatโs expected and taking a (second) chance on love.
Contemporary, Romance โข Delacorte Press
This friends-to-lovers spin on The Bachelor follows two childhood besties reuniting to spend the summer in L.A. after five years apartโbut when they both get involved with a teen reality dating show, their lives take an unexpected turn for the unreal.
Sloane McKinney feels like a background character in her own life. But this summer will be different, because sheโs spending it with her childhood best friend, Liam Daniels, in her dream city, Los Angeles. Sure, sheโs surprised to find that Liam just happens to have had a Hot Guy glow-up since she last saw him, but so what? A little attraction wonโt ruin her plans for their funโand completely platonicโreunion.
What might, however, is that Liam has been roped into working for his producer dadโs new teen reality dating show, Aspen Woodsโs Future Leading Lady. Liam figures Sloane can still hang out with him on set while he fetches coffee for the film crew, or whatever it is that production assistants do. Except it turns out the show is one contestant short … and Sloane is the perfect last-minute addition.
Once cameras are rolling, the whirlwind of dating teen heartthrob Aspen Woods feels way more real than Sloane expected, and Liam doesnโt exactly enjoy watching it all unfold. But itโs behind the scenes where the drama really picks up …
Because wanting to kiss your best friend? Thatโs a plot twist neither Sloane nor Liam ever saw coming.
Historical Fiction, Romance โข Joy Revolution
A teen girl seeking retribution against her backstabbing former best friend finds her plans slightly derailed once she catches the eye of a familiar, handsome marquess. Bestselling author Amalie Howard delivers a delightful, anti-historical Regency-era romp thatโs Bridgerton meets The Count of Monte Cristo!
Lady Ela Dalvi knows the exact moment her life was forever changedโwhen her best friend, Poppy, betrayed her without qualm over a boy, the son of a duke. She was sent away in disgrace, her reputation ruined.
Nearly three years later, eighteen-year-old Ela is consumed with bitterness and a desire for … revenge. Her enemy is quickly joining the crรจme de la crรจme of high society while she withers away in the English countryside.
With an audacious plan to get even, Ela disguises herself as a mysterious heiress and infiltrates Londonโs elite. But when Ela reunites with the only boy sheโs ever loved, she begins to question whether vengeance is still her greatest desire.
In this complicated game of real-life chess, Ela must choose her next move: Finally bring down the queen or capture the kingโs heart?
Contemporary, Romance โข Sourcebooks Casablanca
A peaceful vacation turns into a roller coaster ride of family drama.
Two handsome men with competing agendas cause mix-ups and betrayal. Sometimes you have to put your foot down to get what you really want in life.
Ellie Reed’s self-esteem can’t take any more of her family’s constant criticism and attempts to control her life. But when she rents an Airbnb on a gorgeous farm in Montana, she encounters a whole new set of family drama and finds herself the caretaker of a barn full of farm animals, caught between two handsome men competing for control of the farm, and the sudden best friend of a spunky elderly widow whose outrageous ideas just might change her destiny …
Fantasy โข Knopf Books for Young Readers
A series opener inspired by Arthurian legend and fueled by love, revenge, and pure adrenaline!
Tamsin Lark didnโt ask to be a Hollower. As a mortal with no magical talent, she was never meant to break into ancient crypts, or compete with sorceresses and Cunningfolk for the treasures inside. But after her thieving foster father disappeared without so much as a goodbye, it was the only way to keep herselfโand her brother, Cabellโalive.
Ten years later, rumors are swirling that her guardian vanished with a powerful ring from Arthurian legend. A run-in with her rival Emrys ignites Tamsinโs hope that the ring could free Cabell from a curse that threatens both of them. But they arenโt the only ones who covet the ring.
As word spreads, greedy Hollowers start circling, and many would kill to have it for themselves. While Emrys is the last person Tamsin would choose to partner with, she needs all the help she can get to edge out her competitors in the race for the ring. Together, they dive headfirst into a vipersโ nest of dark magic, exposing a deadly secret with the power to awaken ghosts of the past and shatter her last hope of saving her brother …
Fantasy โข Margaret K. McElderry Books
Two rival apprentice sorcerers must team up to save their teachers and protect their own magic in this lively young adult romantic adventure from the New York Times bestselling author of In Deeper Waters and So This Is Ever After.
Edison Rooker isnโt sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesnโt have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesnโt even have magic. But he does have a planโto regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed.
Antonia is … intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new nameโRookโboth of which heโs happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antoniaโs rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isnโt so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, and Rook minds less and less.
But when the Consortium gets wind of Rookโs Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back … or face losing their magic forever.
From the author of Loathe at First Sight and So We Meet Again, a fun rom-com about a young Korean-American woman having to return to college after discovering sheโs a few credits shy of completing her degreeโonly to find one of her TAs is her old college boyfriend.
Lily Lee is a bestselling author of the How to Be a Supernova At Work series, and her editor wants her to strike while the ironโs hot with a new book, How to Land the Perfect Job. But when Lily is offered a coveted position at a top firm, the employer background check reveals sheโs short a few college credits and never actually completed her degree. Unbelievably, her worst nightmare has come true.
Lily returns to her alma mater, reliving her senior year of college ten years later. She enrolls in classes, gets invited to frat parties, eats most of her meals with โdining dollars,โ and to make things even more weird and chaotic, she discovers that her computer science TA is her old college boyfriend, Jake Cho.
As Lily and Jake reconnect, she sees that her ex has done well for himself: the handsome, charming grad student appears to have his life together while Lilyโs so close to losing her dream job opportunity and her book deal.
Things aren’t so simple the second time around.
The Do-Over is a delightfully warm and hopeful story about second chances in love and life, and how the future we want may turn out far different than we imagined.
Romantic Comedy โข St. Martin’s Griffin
Some facts are indisputable. The sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Gravity exits. Indira doesnโt like Jude. Jude doesnโt like Indira. But what happens when these childhood enemies find the only thing they can rely on is each other?
On paper, Indira has everything together. An amazing job, a boyfriend, and a car. What more could a late twenty-something ask for? But when she walks in on her boyfriend in an amorous embrace with a stranger, that perfect on paper image goes up in flames.
Jude has nothing together. A doctor thatโs spent the last three years traveling the world to treat emergencies and humanitarian crises, a quick trip home for his best friendโs wedding has him struggling to readjust.
Thrust into an elaborate (and ridiculously drawn out) wedding event thatโs stressing Jude beyond belief and has Indira seeing her ex and his new girlfriend far more frequently than any human should endure, the duo strike a bargain to be each otherโs fake dates to this wedding from hell. The only problem is, their forced proximity and fake displays of affection are starting to feel a bit … real, and both are left grappling with the idea that a situation that couldnโt be worse, is made a little better with the other around.
What starts out as a fake wedding date turns into something these childhood enemies never expected in the next sparkling romantic comedy by Mazey Eddings.
Thriller โข St. Martin’s Press
Get ready for a thrilling, addictive novel about marriage, betrayal, and the secrets that push us to the edge in Sally Hepworth’s The Soulmate.
Thereโs a cottage on a cliff. Gabe and Pippaโs dream home in a sleepy coastal town. But their perfect house hides something sinister. The tall cliffs have become a popular spot for people to end their lives. Night after night Gabe comes to their rescue, literally talking them off the ledge. Until he doesnโt.
When Pippa discovers Gabe knew the victim, the questions spiral … Did the victim jump? Was she pushed?
And would Gabe, the love of Pippaโs life, her soulmate … lie? As the perfect facade of their marriage begins to crack, the deepest and darkest secrets begin to unravel.
Paranormal, Romance โข Berkley
Enemies-to-lovers has never been more enchanting in this witchy romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling author of Go Hex Yourself .
Penny Roundtree wants nothing more than to be a familiar to a witch. Sheโs been a member of the Society of Familiars ever since she was old enough to join the Fam. Thereโs just a small problemโno oneโs hiring. Witches and warlocks are so long-lived that there are far more familiars available than witches to train them. So when an unorthodox arrangement to apprentice under the table to a forbidden warlock presents itself, she takes it.
Willem Sauer is banned from having a familiar due to past transgressions, thereby limiting his magic-casting abilities. Unfortunately for the surly, Prussian warlock, he has no choice but to work with enthusiastic Penny as a familiar. They immediately clash like dried roan horsehair and honeycomb gathered by moonlight (itโs a terrible spell combination, ask anyone).
Casting spells has delightful perks Penny never could have dreamed of, but also greater dangers. Someone is targeting Penny. Willem and Penny must work together to catch their enemy, and if their ploy requires a little kissing on the side, who is to question the rules of magic?
What if the Blue Fairy wasnโt supposed to help Pinocchio? This New York Times best-selling series twists another Disney classic into a harrowing story in which the Blue Fairy defies fairy law, setting off a dramatic chain of events.
โStarlight, star bright, first star I see tonight … โ so begins the wish that changes everythingโfor Geppetto, for the Blue Fairy, and for a little puppet named Pinocchio. The Blue Fairy isnโt supposed to grant wishes in the small village of Pariva, but something about this one awakens some long-buried flicker within. Perhaps itโs the hope she senses beneath the old manโs loneliness.
Or maybe itโs the fact that long ago, before she was the Blue Fairy, she was a young woman named Chiara from this very village, one with a simple wish: to help others find happiness. Her sister Ilaria always teased her for this, for she had big dreams to leave their sleepy village and become a world-renowned opera singer. The two were close, despite their differences. While Ilaria would give anything to have a fairy grant her wish, Chiara didnโt believe in the lore for which their village was famous.
Forty years later, Chiara, now the Blue Fairy, defies the rules of magic to help an old friend. But sheโs discovered by the Scarlet Fairy, formerly Ilaria, who, amid a decades-long grudge, holds the transgression against her sister. They decide to settle things through a good old-fashioned bet, with Pinocchio and Geppettoโs fate hanging in the balance.
Will the sisters find a way back to one another? Or is this, like many matters of the heart, a gamble that comes with strings?
April 11th Book Releases
An original novel written by New York Times best-selling author J. Elle inspired by Disney upcoming live action reimagining of The Little Mermaid.
After the death of Arielโs mother, the queen of the sea, the seven daughters of King Triton have grown estranged at best. Itโs been years since Arielโs older sisters have visited home. But this yearโs Coral Moon is fast approaching, and itโs a special one for Ariel. Finally fifteen, she will be dubbed the Protector of her very own ocean territory as is tradition, and her sisters have agreed to visit for the celebration.
But the ceremony is halted when Mala, one of the most renowned daughters of Triton, is abducted. The only clue to where she might have been taken is a hastily scribbled seaweed note, which says, โWhat could have saved Mother could save me, too.โ To rescue Mala, Ariel must work together with her siblings, traveling to various seas, outsmarting dangerous ocean creatures, and delving into forbidden waters to find the truth of what happened to their mother. But as Ariel and her sisters begin uncovering new secrets about their family and their kingdom, Ariel will have to face the loss of a mother she never had a chance to know and discover what it means to be both a good sister and a strong leader.
And the clock is ticking, because on the day of the festival, when the moon turns a true shade of coral, her sister will be lost, like her mother, forever
Blythe and her friendsโGabrielle, and brother and sister Tucker and Tanyaโhave always been a tight friend group, attending a local high school and falling in and out of love with each other. But an act of violence has caused a rift between Blythe and Tucker … and unexpected bursts of aggression and disturbing nightmares have started to become more frequent in their lives.
The strange happenings culminate in a shocking event at school: Gabrielle is found covered in blood in front of their deceased principal, with no memory of what happened.
Cracks in their friendship, as well as in their own memories, start appearing, threatening to expose long-forgotten secrets which could change the groupโs lives forever. How can Blythe and her friends trust each other when they canโt even trust their own memories?
From the USA Today bestselling author of Boyfriend Material comes a riotous Regency romp full of art, expensive hats, and a love that is nothing short of spectacular.
Peggy Delanceyโs not at all ready to move on from her former flame, Arabella Tarleton. But Belle has her own plans for a love match, and she needs Peggyโs help to make those plans a reality. Still hung up on her feelings and unable to deny Belle what she wants, Peggy reluctantly agrees to help her woo the famous and flamboyant opera singer Orfeo.
She certainly doesnโt expect to find common ground with a celebrated soprano, but when Peggy and Orfeo meet, a whole new flame is ignited that she canโt ignore. Peggy finds an immediate kinship with Orfeo, a castrato whoโs just as nonconforming as she isโand just as affected by their instant connection.
Theyโve never been able to find their place in the world, but as the pair walks the line between friendship, flirtation, and something more, they may just find their place with each other.
Contemporary, Romance โข Berkley
A woman discovers the father of the child she is nannying may be her biggest (Only)Fan in this steamy contemporary romance by Lana Ferguson.
After losing her job and being on the brink of eviction, Cassie Evans finds herself with two choices: get a new job (and fast) or fire up her long-untouched OnlyFans account. But there are no jobs to be found, and as for OnlyFans … Well, there are reasons she canโt go back. Just when all hope seems lost, an ad for a live-in nanny position seems the solution to all her problems. Itโs almost too perfectโuntil she meets her would-be employer.
Aiden Reid, executive chef and DILF extraordinaire is far from the stuffy single dad Cassie was imagining. She is shocked when he tells her sheโs the most qualified applicant heโs met in weeks, practically begging her to take the job. With hands that make her hindbrain howl and eyes that scream sex, the idea of living under the same roof as Aiden feels dangerous, but with no other option, she decides to stay with him and his adorably tenacious daughter, Sophie.
Cassie soon discovers that Aiden is not a stranger at all, but instead someone who is very familiar with herโor at least, her body. She finds herself at a loss for what to do, given that he doesnโt remember her. As their relationship heats to temperatures hotter than any kitchen Aiden has ever worked in, Cassie struggles with telling Aiden the truth, and the more terrifying possibilityโlosing the best chance at happiness sheโs ever had.
Thriller โข S&S / Marysue Rucci Books
A mystery about a group of former classmates who reunite to mark the tenth anniversary of a tragic accidentโonly to have one of the survivors disappear, casting fear and suspicion on the original tragedy.
Seven hours in the past. Seven days in the present. Seven survivors remaining. Who would you save?
A decade ago, two vans filled with high school seniors on a school service trip crashed into a Tennessee ravineโa tragedy that claimed the lives of multiple classmates and teachers. The nine students who managed to escape the river that night were irrevocably changed. A year later, after one of the survivors dies by suicide on the anniversary of the crash, the rest of them make a pact: to come together each year to commemorate that terrible night.
To keep one another safe.
To hold one another accountable.
Or both.
Their annual meeting place, a house on the Outer Banks, has long been a refuge. But by the tenth anniversary, Cassidy Bent has worked to distance herself from the tragedy, and from the other survivors. Sheโs changed her mobile number. Sheโs blocked the othersโ email addresses. This year, she is determined to finally break ties once and for all. But on the day of the reunion, she receives a text with an obituary attached: another survivor is gone. Now they are sevenโand Cassidy finds herself hurling back toward the group, wild with griefโand suspicion.
Almost immediately, something feels off this year. Cassidy is the first to notice when Amaya, annual organizer, slips away, overwhelmed. This wouldnโt raise alarm except for the impending storm. Suddenly, theyโre facing the threat of closed roads and surging waters … again. Then Amaya stops responding to her phone. After all theyโve been through, she wouldnโt willfully make them worry. Would she?
Andโas they promised long agoโeach survivor will do whatever he or she can do to save one another. Wonโt they?
Romantic Comedy โข Zando Young Readers
Back to the Future meets The Joy Luck Club in this YA contemporary romance about a Korean American girl sent back to the โ90s to (reluctantly) help her teenage mom win Homecoming Queen.
Being a first-generation Asian American immigrant is hard. You know whatโs harder? Being the daughter of one. Samantha Kang has never gotten along with her mother, Priscillaโand has never understood her bougie-nightmare, John Hughes high school expectations. After a huge fight between them, Sam is desperate to move forwardโbut instead, finds herself thrown back. Way back.
To her shock, Sam finds herself back in high school … in the โ90s … with a 17-year-old Priscilla. Now this Gen Z girl must try to fit into an analog world. Sheโs got the fashion down, but everything else is baffling. What is โmicroficheโ? Whatโs with the casual racism and misogyny? And why does it feel like Priscilla is someone she could actually be … friends with?
Sam’s blast to the past has her finding the right romance in the wrong time while questioning everything she thought she knew about her mom … and herself. Will Sam figure out what she needs to do to fix things for her mom so that she can go back to a time she understands? Brimming with heart and humor, Maurene Gooโs time-travel romance asks big questions about what exactly one inherits and loses in the immigrant experience.
Historical Fiction, Romance โข Atria Books
The Regency Vows series returns with this story about a viscount and his irascible new wife who hopes to chase her husband from their shared home so that she can finally get some peace and quietโonly to find that his company is not as onerous as she thought.
Viscount Penvale has been working for years to buy back his ancestral home, Trethwick Abbey, from his estranged uncle. And so heโs thrilled when his uncle announces that he is ready to sell but with one major caveatโPenvale must marry his uncleโs ward, Jane Spencer.
When the two meet in London, neither is terribly impressed. Penvale finds Jane headstrong and sharp-tongued. Jane finds him cold and aloof. Nevertheless, they agree to a marriage in name only and return to the estate. There, Jane enlists her housekeeper for a scheme: to stage a haunting so that Penvale will return to London, leaving her to do as she pleases at Trethwick Abbey. But Penvale is not as easily scared as his uncle and as their time together increases, Jane realizes that she might not mind her husbandโs company all that much.
Contemporary, Romance โข Forever
A novel of terrible first impressions, hilarious second chances, and the joy in finding your perfect match.
Dr. Briana Ortizโs life is seriously flatlining. Her divorce is just about finalized, her brotherโs running out of time to find a kidney donor, and that promotion she wants? Oh, thatโs probably going to the new man-doctor whoโs already registering eighty-frigginโ-seven on Brianaโs โpain in my assโ scale. But just when all systems are set to hate, Dr. Jacob Maddox completely flips the game … by sending Briana a letter.
And itโs a really good letter. Like the kind that proves that Jacob isnโt actually Satan. Worse, he might be this fantastically funny and subversively likeable guy whoโs terrible at first impressions. Because suddenly he and Bri are exchanging letters, sharing lunch dates in her โsob closet,โ and discussing the merits of freakishly tiny horses. But when Jacob decides to give Briana the best gift imaginableโa kidney for her brotherโshe wonders just how she can resist this quietly sexy new doctor … especially when he calls in a favor she canโt refuse.
April 18th Book Releases
Contemporary, Romance โข HarperTeen
Rom-com lovers and fans of Elise Bryant and Jenna Evans Welch will adore this next summer read from Hot British Boyfriend author Kristy Boyce.
No one has ever accused Sage Cunningham of being easily distracted. She has a plan, and she won’t be swayed. She’ll spend the summer interning in her mentor’s lab in Amsterdam, and then she’ll be ready for college. All she needs to do to pay for the summer abroad is agree to serve as the au pair for Dr. Reese’s three-year-old.
Sage has it all down to a science, but she doesn’t anticipate the surprise arrival of Dr. Reese’s teenage son. Ryland is spontaneous, flirty, and impulsiveโeverything Sage isn’t. He’s a talented artist, but he’s desperately in need of someone to keep him focused. And as nannying proves harder than Sage had expected, it turns out she might need help too.
The two strike a deal. Sage will stop Ryland from going out with a different girl every day, and Ryland will pitch in with his little brother.
Spending the summer stuck together is the perfect way to keep distractions to a minimum. Right?
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
From the author of The Sky Blues and Blaine for the Win comes a speculative young adult romance about a teen stuck in a time loop thatโs endlessly monotonous until he meets the boy of his dreams.
For some reason, Clark has woken up and relived the same monotonous Monday 309 times. Until Day 310 turns out to be … different. Suddenly, his usual torturous math class is interrupted by an anomalyโa boy heโs never seen before in all his previous Mondays.
When shy, reserved Clark decides to throw caution to the wind and join effusive and effervescent Beau on a series of โerrandsโ across the Windy City, he never imagines that anything will really change, because nothing has in such a long time. And he definitely doesnโt expect to fall this hard or this fast for someone in just one day.
Thereโs just one how do you build a future with someone if you can never get to tomorrow?
An impulsive decision to join an Alaskan cruise getaway brings the chance for an onboard romance in this new enemies-to-lovers romance from the author of A Holly Jolly Diwali.
Jasmine Randhawa likes everyone to think she has it allโgreat job, perfect Seattle apartment, and a handsome boyfriend. But sheโs not as confident or successful as she seems, and her relationship is at a breaking point.
When Jasmine finds herself single and tagging along on her parentsโ vacation, sheโs not sure her life can get any farther off course. It’s a nightmare for someone who’s been so fiercely independent to find herself on a cruise full of family friends whoโve judged her since childhood. Things only get worse once the ship leaves the harbor and she realizes that this is a seniorsโ cruise, and the only other person under fifty on the entire boat is her childhood acquaintance, cocky and successful Jake Dhillon.
Jasmine and Jake clash right away, with Jasmine smarting over how their South Asian community puts him on a pedestal as the perfect Indian son, whereas her reputation as a troublemaker precedes her. Except they canโt avoid each other forever during the ten-day cruise, and they soon recognize a surprising number of similarities, especially in how many secrets theyโre keeping hidden from their families. Their restlessness seems to disappear whenever theyโre together, but is this relationship strong enough to last on land?
Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance โข Amulet Books
Lydia and her younger sister Penny make a pact to avoid boy drama for the summerโbut Lydia canโt help looking for a loophole when she falls for a cute girl
Lydia Jones and her younger sister Penny have had it with boy drama. Last year was marred by relationship disasters for both of them, threatening Lydiaโs standing with her schoolโs theater tech club and Pennyโs perfect GPA. Penny has, naturally, diagnosed the problem and prescribed a drastic solution: a summer off from boys.
Lydia and Penny decide to stay with their Aunt Grace and her boyfriend Oscar in Los Angeles while their parents are off on a European cruise. Penny follows her future-business-school dreams with an internship at Oscarโs office, and Lydia gets a part-time job at Graceโs neighborhood coffeeshop, Grounds Control.
Even when they spent hours, days, weeks dissecting their various boy drama, Lydiaโs never felt this connected to her sister before, and it makes her wonder what else in her life could be different. She finds herself drawn to a group of friends she meets through her Grounds Control coworker, Margaret, as well as an intriguing customer, Fran, an aspiring filmmaker andโwhile not the first girl Lydia finds herself attracted toโthe first girl who has mutual feelings for her. But sheโs not breaking her pledge to Penny, right? That was just about boys. Even though in her heart Lydia knows sheโs bending the rules, she hasnโt had a connection with anyone as strong as her connection with Fran, so she thinks it canโt be wrong. And Penny wonโt mind as long as sheโs happy … Right?
Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance โข Vintage
An unputdownable queer coming-of-age rom-com about life and love in Hollywood.
For aspiring cinematographer Luna Roth, coming out as bisexual at twenty-four is proving more difficult than she anticipated. Sure, her best friend and fellow queer Romy is thrilled for herโbut she has no interest in coming out to her backwards parents, she wouldn’t know how to flirt with a girl if one fell at her feet, and she has no sexual history to build off. Not to mention she really needs to focus her energy on escaping her emotionally-abusive-but-that’s-Hollywood talent manager boss and actually get working under a real director of photography anyway.
When she meets twenty-eight-year-old A-list actress Valeria Sullivan around the office, Luna thinks she’s found her solution. She’ll use Valeria’s interest in her cinematography to get a PA job on the set of Valeria’s directorial debutโand if Valeria is as gay as Luna suspects, and she happens to be Luna’s route to losing her virginity, too … well, that’s just an added bonus. Enlisting Romy’s help, Luna starts the juggling act of her lifeโimpress Valeria’s DP to get another job after this one, get as close to Valeria as possible, and help Romy with her own career moves.
But when Valeria begins to reciprocate romantic interest in Luna, the act begins to crumbleโstraining her relationship with Romy and leaving her job prospects precarious. Now Luna has to figure out if she can she fulfill her dreams as a filmmaker, keep her best friend, and get the girl … or if she’s destined to end up on the cutting room floor.
Fantasy โข G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Love is stronger than poison in this lush retelling of “Snow White” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz.
Raven-black hair, red lips, and skin as white as snowโLady Sophie has led a sheltered life … But that tale ends here.
Duchy of Bavaria, 1621. The palace is abuzz with excitement. The widowed Duke Maximilian is marrying a lady named Claudia, and at last, introducing his daughter Sophie to Bavariaโs high society.
At the ball, Sophie charms the dashing Prince Philip, heir to the Spanish throne. But as days pass and Sophie and Philip fall deeply and dangerously in love, the king of Spain orders Philipโs return home and his engagement to a princess.
Heartbroken, Sophie finds comfort in Claudia. But might the rumors of her stepmother’s dealings with magic be true? And when conflict between kingdoms puts a target on Sophieโs back, can a vanished witch be the key ally she needs? A new tale begins: one where Sophie must shield her heart, fight for life life, and protect her home.
Contemporary, LGBTQ+, Romance โข Avon
Lambda Literary award winner and national bestselling author Alexandria Bellefleur returns with a steamy Sapphic rom-com about a quiet bookseller and a romance novel cover model who agree to a modern-day marriage-of-convenience …
Tansy Adamsโ greatest love is her familyโs bookstore, passed down from her late father. But when it comes to actual romance … Tansy canโt get past the first chapter. Tired of her stepfamilyโs questions about her love life, Tansy invents Gemma, a fake girlfriend inspired by the stunning cover model on a bestselling book. Theyโll never actually meet, so whatโs the harm in a little fib? Yet when real-life Gemma crosses Tansyโs path, her white lie nearly implodes.
Gemma van Dalen is a wild child, the outcast of her wealthy family, and now the latest heir to Van Dalen Publishing. But the title comes with one tiny condition: she must be married in order to inherit. When Gemma discovers a beautiful stranger has been pretending to date her for months, she decides to take the charade one step furtherโand announces their engagement.
Gemma needs a wife to meet the terms of her grandfatherโs will and Tansy needs money to save her struggling bookstore. A marriage could be mutually beneficial, if they can fool everyone into thinking itโs a love match. Unexpected sparks fly as Tansy and Gemma play the role of affectionate fiancรฉes, and suddenly the line between convenient arrangement and real feelings begins to blur. But the scheming Van Dalen family wonโt give up the company without a fight, and Gemma and Tansyโs newfound happiness might get caught in the fallout …
Historical Fiction, Romance โข Berkley
Two rival spies must brave pirates, witches, and fake matrimony to save the Queen.
Known as Agent A, Alice is the top operative within the Agency of Undercover Note Takers, a secret government intelligence group that is fortunately better at espionage than at naming itself. From managing deceptive witches to bored aristocratic ladies, nothing is beyond Aliceโs capabilities. She has a steely composure and a plan always up her sleeve (alongside a dagger and an embroidered handkerchief). So when rumors of an assassination plot begin to circulate, sheโs immediately assigned to the case.
But sheโs not working alone. Daniel Bixby, otherwise known as Agent B and Aliceโs greatest rival, is given the most challenging undercover assignment of his lifeโ pretending to be Aliceโs husband. Together they will assume the identity of a married couple, infiltrate a pirate house party, and foil their unpatriotic plans.
Determined to remain consummate professionals, Alice and Daniel must ignore the growing attraction between them, especially since acting on it might prove more dangerous than their target.
From USA Today and Amazon Charts bestselling author Meghan Quinn comes a fun, sexy story about the family dynamics that can stand in the way of rekindling a romance.
Prepared for a good time, Tessa is thrilled to spend the weeks before her sisterโs wedding at their familyโs favorite vacation spot: Santorini. Sandy beaches, stonewashed houses, attractive menโitโs heaven. But Tessaโs idea of a girlsโ trip comes to a screaming halt when her sister thinks itโs high time Tessa finds some love herself.
Unfortunately, Tessa forgot about the deal she made back in high school: she has to find her soulmate before her sisterโs wedding. Or else . As she dodges suitors and her sisterโs pranks, Tessa finds an ally in the oh-so-dreamy Myles, her childhood crush who just so happens to work at the resort. But Myles is dealing with some family conflict of his own. Heโs elated at being reunited with Tessa, but his fatherโs refusal to acknowledge his interest in the family business and relegating him to only grunt work casts a dark cloud. As Tessa and Myles help navigate their way through their familiesโ antics, they begin to realize that their past feelings may have a futureโif only they can turn their island fantasies into something real.
April 25th Book Releases
Historical Fiction, Romance โข Farrar, Straus and Giroux
For fans of Bridgerton, a Regency romance about three young women, their big dreams, and a London Season gone awry.
When Thalia, Kalliope, and Charis set off to Regency London for their first Season, they know exactly what they want. Thalia means to make her mark among the intelligentsia and publish her poetry. Her sister, Kalli, aims to take high society by storm, with parties and gowns galore and a proper husband at the end of it all. Their cousin Charis hopes to earn her place among the (nearly exclusively male) scientific elite. But it doesnโt take long for things to fall apart. Kalli finds herself embroiled in scandal and reliant upon an arranged marriage to redeem her reputation, Thaliaโs dreams of becoming a great poet are threatened by her attraction to a charming rake, and Charis finds herself an unexpected social hitโand the source of a scientific dilemma that her heart might not survive. Can these young women find their happily ever afters in this turbulent London Season?
Two people are ready for their lives to get a little wilder in this romantic comedy by debut author Katie Shepard.
After being hospitalized for panic attacks two years after his motherโs death, charitable foundation executive Teagan van Zijl is dragged by his sister to a wilderness therapy retreat in Montana. Lost in the woods, Teagan nearly gets eaten by a bear but is saved by an angel in muddy hiking bootsโthe programโs handywoman, Darcy Albano, that is. After spending the summer with Darcy, Teagan realizes he doesnโt want to return to New York without her. He hires Darcy as his sober companionโa position he doesnโt actually need filled and for which Darcy is completely unqualifiedโhoping she can help him figure out how to move forward. But once they get to the city, all Teagan can think of is how to confess the truth while keeping her in his life.
Darcy Albano thought she was going to work as a wilderness guide when she was hired on the camp staff, but ended up a handywoman insteadโonly the latest screwing-over sheโs endured since her ex stole her car and her parents ruined her credit score. But Teagan van Zijl is the silver lining she didnโt expect to appearโclearly going through something but willing to commit to Darcyโs unique brand of wilderness education as the cure for what ails him. They form an unlikely bond based on the unexpected support they provide each other. Darcy never imagined staying in the city, but with Teaganโs unshakeable belief in her abilities, anything seems possible.
A couple who broke up months ago make a pact to pretend to still be together for their annual weeklong vacation with their best friends in this glittering and wise new novel from #1 New York Times bestselling author Emily Henry.
Harriet and Wyn have been the perfect couple since they met in collegeโthey go together like salt and pepper, honey and tea, lobster and rolls. Except, nowโfor reasons theyโre still not discussingโthey donโt.
They broke up six months ago. And still havenโt told their best friends.
Which is how they find themselves sharing the largest bedroom at the Maine cottage that has been their friend groupโs yearly getaway for the last decade. Their annual respite from the world, where for one vibrant, blue week they leave behind their daily lives; have copious amounts of cheese, wine, and seafood; and soak up the salty coastal air with the people who understand them most.
Only this year, Harriet and Wyn are lying through their teeth while trying not to notice how desperately they still want each other. Because the cottage is for sale and this is the last week theyโll all have together in this place. They canโt stand to break their friendsโ hearts, and so theyโll play their parts. Harriet will be the driven surgical resident who never starts a fight, and Wyn will be the laid-back charmer who never lets the cracks show. Itโs a flawless plan (if you look at it from a great distance and through a pair of sunscreen-smeared sunglasses). After years of being in love, how hard can it be to fake it for one week … in front of those who know you best?
Superheroes โข Random House Books for Young Readers
Harley Quinn’s journey gets even more chaotic as she falls in love and embraces her inner Super-Villain in the thrilling second book of the Harley Quinn origin trilogy.
When Harleen Quinzel wakes up in a hospital bed with no recollection of the past few months, she scrambles to pick up the pieces of her life.
As she starts classes at Gotham University and an internship at Arkham Asylum, Harleen is determined to make her mark, getting paired with the most high-profile female inmate at Arkhamโthe notorious Talia al Ghลซl. Talia is brilliant and fascinating, and as they spend more time together, the lines between good and bad begin to blur for Harleen. When she starts to see Talia less as a patient and more as a mentor, all of Harleen’s dark and dangerous pieces begin finding their way to the surface again. The only way to stop the terror that haunts the halls of Arkham Asylum may be to let her darkness out …
Follow Harleen’s rise from anxious college student to ravenous, chaotic feminist icon in the second installment of the Harley Quinn origin story.
In a strange little home built into the branches of a grove of trees, live three robotsโfatherly inventor android Giovanni Lawson, a pleasantly sadistic nurse machine, and a small vacuum desperate for love and attention. Victor Lawson, a human, lives there too. They’re a family, hidden and safe.
The day Vic salvages and repairs an unfamiliar android labelled “HAP,” he learns of a shared dark past between Hap and Gio-a past spent hunting humans.
When Hap unwittingly alerts robots from Gio’s former life to their whereabouts, the family is no longer hidden and safe. Gio is captured and taken back to his old laboratory in the City of Electric Dreams. So together, the rest of Vic’s assembled family must journey across an unforgiving and otherworldly country to rescue Gio from decommission, or worse, reprogramming.
Along the way to save Gio, amid conflicted feelings of betrayal and affection for Hap, Vic must decide for himself: Can he accept love with strings attached?
Author TJ Klune invites you deep into the heart of a peculiar forest and on the extraordinary journey of a family assembled from spare parts.
Contemporary โข Disney Hyperion
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants meets 13 Little Blue Envelopes in this new young adult novel about a tight-knit, daring, and eclectic group of friends who dedicate every summer to completing their #SummerSistersBucketList together โ that is until one of their own passes away.
Best friends Carly, Daniella, Lainie, and Penny โ aka the self-proclaimed #SummerSisters โ have been coming to the New Jersey shore town of Ocean Park Heights ever since they could remember. And every year, the girls make a bucket list and dedicate their entire summer to completing every item on it, documenting their wacky escapades on FotoSlam for everyone to see. Itโs their tradition, and as long as the Summer Sisters had each other, the rocky jetty on the shore, and their bucket list, that would never change. Right?
But then, tragedy strikes after Carly โ the mastermind behind the bucket listโ unexpectedly passes away. As the remaining Summer Sisters try to wrap their heads around their best friendโs death, life seems determined to throw more curveballs at the girls, threatening to split the Summer Sisters up for good. Daniella is accepted to a prestigious music academy in New York City, Lainie finds out her family is moving to Florida and leaving Ocean Park Heights for good, and Penny struggles to find her footing as she feels ready to leave childhood behind more quickly than either of her friends. What will hold them together with Carly gone and the Summer Sisters seemingly over?
Then, Daniella finds Carlyโs final bucket list. And just like that, the Summer Sisters are back! But of course, things donโt always go as planned, and the girls try their hardest to navigate grief, loss, and coming-of-age woes while keeping the Summer Sisters โ and Carlyโs memory โ alive.
Zora has committed every inch of her life to establishing her thriving DC bookstore, making it into a pillar of the community, and she just hasnโt had time for romance. But when a mystery author sheโs been crushing on for years agrees to have an event at her store, she starts to rethink her priorities. Lawrence is every bit as charming as she imagined, even if his understanding of his own books seems just a bit shallow. When he asks her out after his reading, sheโs almost elated enough to forget about the grumpy guy who sat next to her making snide comments all evening. Apparently the grouch is Lawrenceโs best friend, Reid, but she canโt imagine what kind of friendship that must be. They couldnโt be more different.
But as she starts seeing Lawrence, and spending more and more time with Reid, Zora finds first impressions can be deceiving. Reid is smart and thoughtfulโheโs also interested. After years of avoiding dating, she suddenly has two handsome men competing for her affection. But even as she struggles to choose between them, she canโt shake the feeling that theyโre both hiding somethingโa mystery sheโs determined to solve before she can find her HEA.
More 2023 Book Lists You might Like
- March 2023 Reading Wrap Up
- February 2023 Reading Wrap Up
- 44 Incredible New Books to Read in February 2023
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What books are you most excited to read in April 2023? I’d love to hear!
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