First Line: Dropped something. Summary: Jesse is the daughter of a Hollywood publicist in the 1940s. She attends a prestigious school where she gets to see the biggest star of the time, Ingrid Bergman. As she watches the stunning young actress in real life and on screen she comes to idolize her. After her mother believes that Jesse is becoming too involved with the Hollywood lifestyle her parents decide to send her to a Catholic school. She believes that her life has come to an end but it really is only the beginning. She learns more about herself and the world around her.
Highlights: Ingrid! The description of her is beautiful. I immediately had to place her movies on hold to see more of her work. The author does a wonderful job of making you feel the injustice that was thrown at Ingrid after her scandalous affair that ostracized her from her American fans. I was so mad at the public, the media and the Catholic Church but at the time it was normal.
Lowlights: There were little pieces in the story that seemed to be thrown in as fillers but didn’t seem to have much relevance to the overall story. Her friend seemed like a side story. She seemed like she should be more important but it was more in the background.
FYI: Place The Bells of St. Mary’s on hold! Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman are stunning.
Isn’t it fun that new books just keep coming and coming? However, it means that my to-read list is always getting longer, no matter how fast I finish books! How do you decide what book you should read next? Do you keep a stack of books on your nightstand and read them top to bottom? Do you have a “hopeful” stack that you think you’ll pull your next book from? I am so easily distracted by the new, shiny titles, that some of my to-reads have been in the stack for years!
So, let’s add to those piles or throw something shiny and new into the mix with these books that are being released in early May.
“A Court of Wings and Ruin” is the third title in the Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Maas.
May 2: A Court of Wings and Ruin (A Court of Thorns and Roses #3) by Sarah J. Maas
My heart is beating so fast just thinking about getting my hands on the third installment in Maas’ Court of Thorns and Roses series. I’m dying to see what Feyre has planned in the Spring Court, and where things are going on the other side of the wall in Prythian. War is looming and one slip by Feyre could bring not only Prythian down, but could cost Feyre everything she loves.
May 2: The Boy on the Bridge (The Girl With All the Gifts #2) by M.R. Carey
From Goodreads: “Once upon a time, in a land blighted by terror, there was a very clever boy.
The people thought the boy could save them, so they opened their gates and sent him out into the world.
To where the monsters lived.”
“Into the Water” is a new thriller by Paula Hawkins, author of “The Girl on the Train.
May 2: Into the Water by Paula Hawkins
A single mother is found dead in the river, in the same place a teenage girls was found just a little earlier that summer. Are the two deaths related? A lonely 15-year-old girl is left behind in the care of an aunt she doesn’t know, a woman who vowed never to return to the place she left. And the river is disturbed and secrets are beginning to emerge.
May 9: Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan
Nora and Theresa Flynn leave their small village in Ireland and travel to America, to a new home in Boston. Decisions are made by both sisters that will have long-term repercussions, as 50 years later, when Nora is the matriarch of a large family and Theresa is in a convent in rural Vermont, a sudden death forces them to face choices they made long ago.
Amanda Quick’s latest novel, “The Girl Who Knew Too Much,” is set in 1930s California.
May 9: The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Amanda Quick
It’s California in the 1930s, and reporter Irene Glasson finds a beautiful actress staring up at her from the bottom of the pool in an exclusive little town where Hollywood’s elite go for privacy. The dead woman was the keeper of a secret about one of Hollywood’s leading men, a scoop that Irene was hoping to land. Now the rookie reporter is investigating murder.
May 11: New Boy (Othello) by Tracy Chevalier
This is the fifth installment in the Hogarth Shakespeare series (which also includes titles from Margaret Atwood and Anne Tyler). From Goodreads: “The tragedy of Othello is transposed to a 1970’s suburban Washington schoolyard, where kids fall in and out of love with each other before lunchtime, and practice a casual racism picked up from their parents and teachers. Peeking over the shoulders of four 11 year olds Osei, Dee, Ian, and his reluctant girlfriend Mimi, Tracy Chevalier’s powerful drama of friends torn apart by jealousy, bullying and betrayal will leave you reeling.”
The sun is shining a little bit more lately and the temperatures are warming up as well. We are getting those April showers that are supposed to bring us flowers in May. And April is giving us a great shower of new books to read as well. Here are some of the most anticipated titles that will be released in the second half of April.
“The Stars are Fire” by Anita Shreve will be released April 18, 2017.
April 18: The Stars are Fire by Anita Shreve
The latest novel by acclaimed author Anita Shreve is based on the true story of the largest fire in Maine’s history. It’s October 1947 and fires break out along the Maine coast. Before long, the fires are burning from village to village. Grace and Rosie are left to care for their small children when their husbands join the volunteer to fight the fires. As fire sweeps through their village, burning their homes to the ground, the women retreat to the sea, their only refuge, watching as their homes are burned to the ground and frantically protecting their children. As morning dawns, they are penniless, homeless and left to await news of their husbands’ fate.
April 18: The Fix (Amos Decker #3) by David Baldacci
Amos Decker watches as a man kills a woman, then turns the gun on himself, right outside FBI headquarters. Despite Decker’s powers of observation, he is baffled by the murder. He and his team can find no connection between the man and woman whatsoever. Then Decker is ordered off the case by an agent from the Defense Intelligence Agency.
“Blade Bound” is the final installment in the Chicagoland Vampires series by Chloe Neill.
April 25: Blade Bound (Chicagoland
Vampires #13) by Chloe Neill
This is the final installment in the Chicagoland Vampires series (cue my tears here). Cadogan House is infiltrated and Merritt is attacked by a vampire apparently under the power of dark magic. Chicago is again under supernatural attack as a wicked sorcery spreads through the city. It’s up to Merritt, with her Liege, love and master of Cadogan House — Ethan, at her side to save her city and all those she loves.
April 25: Anything is Possible by Elizabeth Strout
From Pulitzer Prize winner Strout comes a piece of fiction that is reminiscent of Olive Kitteridge in its complexity and richness. During the writing of My Name is Lucy Barton, Strout realized that the characters that Lucy and her mother talked about had their own stories. You’ll learn more about the “Pretty Nicely Girls,” Tommy, and Lucy Barton’s sister Vicky.
Lisa Unger’s latest novel, “The Red Hunter,” puts two wronged women on a collision course.
April 25: The Red Hunter by Lisa Unger
Two wronged women on wildly different paths are on a collision course that ends at one old house. Zoey Drake’s parents were murdered in a home invasion when she was a child. Claudia Bishop is trying to put her shattered life back together after a brutal assault. Claudia hopes to find a fresh start in restoring an old house. Zoey has embraced the rage within her and excels in martial arts. Zoey seeks justice and Claudia seeks peace, in the one place they have in common.
April 25: Burntown by Jennifer McMahon
Eva’s father is an inventor, and has possession of blueprints for a fantastic invention by Thomas Edison, one that will allow people to speak with those who have passed. Her father builds the machine and one night it whirrs to life on its own with a warning of danger. Eva wakes, and her father and brother are dead, and she and her mother need to hide from an evil man who is searching from them. Eva changes her name to her Necco—her favorite candy, but as she searches for the truth, she meets two more women who are on journeys of their own.
“The Girl Who was Taken” is the latest from Charlie Donlea.
April 25: The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea
Megan and Nicole are high school seniors in Emerson Bay, North Carolina. One summer night, they disappear from a beach party, and the police can’t find a single clue. Everyone has nearly lost hope when Megan suddenly reappears, having escaped from a bunker in the woods. Fast forward a year and Megan is a national celebrity after writing a bestselling book about her ordeal, but Nicole is still missing. Megan knows more than she shared in her book, but where will that knowledge get her?
Click on the title of any book to find it in our catalog.
How big is your to-read stack? However big it is, here are some great new books coming out the first two weeks of April that would be great additions to that stack of books on your nightstand. Click on the title of the book to find it in our catalog.
April 4: The Chosen by J. R. Ward
The 15th installment is the Black Dagger Brotherhood series finds Xcor facing a brutal interrogation after he is convicted of treason. Layla knows the truth that will free him, but the cost could be everything she holds dear.
Book 2 in the Broken Realms series is “Shadowcaster” by Cinda Williams Chima.
April 4: Shadowcaster by Cinda Williams Chima
Book 2 in the Shattered Realms series. Lyss, the reluctant heir to the Gray Wolf throne goes on the offensive to try to put a stop to the war that has raged her whole life. Hal, who lives on the other side of enemy lines, finds himself in more and more dangerous situations, and caught in a game of life and death. This series is set in the world of the Seven Realms series.
April 11: The Shadow Land: A Novel by Elizabeth Kostova
Alexandra Boyd, a young American, travels to Bulgaria, and through a series of events finds herself in possession of an ornately designed box containing an urn filled with human boxes. The ornate box has a name carved on the lid, which compels Alexandra to seek out the family to return the ashes. Her journey takes through the horrors of a century and throughout the country’s landscapes, both cultural and geographical.
“Alex and Eliza” by Melissa de la Cruz, tells the love story between Alexander Hamilton and Eliza Schuyler.
April 11: Alex and Eliza: A Love Story by Melissa de la CruzMeet a young Alexander Hamilton. And meet Eliza Schuyler, one of three daughters of fledgling United States’ founding families. It’s 1777 in Albany, New York, where people are bustling about preparing for one of New York society’s biggest events: the Schuyler’s grand ball. Eliza would rather be helping the colonists’ cause than attending a ball, but she can barely contain her excitement when she learns that Alexander Hamilton will be in attendance.
“Given to the Sea” by Mindy McGinnis is a young adult novel that will be released April 11.
April 11: Given to the Sea by Mindy McGinnis
This young adult novel is the story of Khosa, a girl born to be given to the sea to prevent a wave that would destroy the Kingdom of Stille; Vincent, third in line to hold the throne of the kingdom; Dara and Donil, twins who are the last of the Indiri, a race whose magic is fading; and Witt, who leads the army of Pietra. Enter the world of Stille and experience a world where armies march, royals scheme and the sea wants its offering.
I don’t know about you, but I wish that time would slow down when I was reading so I could get more reading done. And with the number of new books that look like they just must be read, my to-be-read list grows much longer and less likely to ever be finished. I’m sure I am not alone in this dilemma, am I? Here are several more new releases that will be released March 21 and 28 and that could end up on your to-be-read list.
March 21: “The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane” by Lisa See —
As she has done so beautifully in her previous novels, See introduces readers to the customs of another ethnic minority in China, in this case, the Akha. In a remote Yunnan village, a young woman, one of the few educated women on the mountain, has a baby out of wedlock, and abandons her in the nearest city. The infant is adopted and raised in California. Mother and daughter search for answers and find them in the tea that has shaped their family for generations. 4.22 stars on Goodreads
“Girl in Disguise” by Greer Macallister will be released March 21.
March 21: “Girl in Disguise” by Greer Macallister —
Kate Warne is the first female Pinkerton detective on the streets of Chicago during the Civil War. Kate is able to infiltrate the seedy side of the city in ways her fellow male detectives are not. A “desperate widow with a knack for manipulation,” Kate has a hard time earning respect, but danger is always nearby. This novel is inspired by the real story of Kate Warne, who helped sway the fate of the country. 3.93 stars on Goodreads
“The Hope Chest” by Viola Shipman will be released March 21.
March 21: “The Hope Chest” by Viola Shipman —Mattie, who is fiercely independent, is diagnosed with ALS, and Don, her husband of nearly 50 years is having a hard time imagining life without Mattie. When Rose, Mattie’s new caretaker, and Rose’s daughter, Jeri, enter Mattie and Don’s life, some happiness returns. Mattie is able to share the memories she has stored in the hope chest from her mother. This story reminds us that love and hope may be found where we least expect. 4.43 stars on Goodreads
March 28: “The Women in the Castle” by Jessica Shattuck —
Marianne von Lingenfels is the widow of a resistor who is murdered in the 1944 plot to assassinate Hitler. Marianne creates a makeshift family of the widows and family members of two of her husband’s co-conspirators. As the group assembles at the once-grand castle of Marianne’s husband’s ancestors, the women each have to come to terms with the choices they’ve made and face their own sets of unique challenges. For readers of “The Nightingale” and “The Light Between Oceans.” 4.23 on Goodreads
March 28: “It Happens All the Time” by Amy Hatvany —
“It Happens All the Time” by Amy Hatvany addresses timely topics such as sexual consent.
What happens when best friends Amber and Tyler share a drunken kiss? Find out in this provocative new novel. Amber and Tyler have been best friends since they were in high school. To Amber their relationship has always been platonic, while Tyler has held out hop that it might become something more. Amber is home for the summer after college graduation and is engaged to her college sweetheart. After a flirtation develops between Amber and Tyler, on a night fueled by alcohol, Amber kisses Tyler and what happens next changes everything. 4.12 stars on Goodreads
March 28: “The Twelve Lives of Samuel Hawley” by Hannah Tinti —
Samuel Hawley moves with his daughter Loo to his late wife’s hometown, after spending years on the run. He bears twelve bullet scars from a criminal past that comes back to haunt them both in this thrilling story that travels through time and place until they two of them are forced to face a reckoning. 4.13 stars on Goodreads
As I was looking through the 200 most popular titles scheduled to be released in March, I realized that March 7 is a huge day for new releases! I could probably have included 30 or more titles in this post. As it was, after much searching, I was able to find two books that will be released on Marcy 14, and one book that is already out. It was released on March 1, a Wednesday, so it’s a little bit of an odd book out. So, with so many great new books that could fill your shelves, here are some titles we think deserve the buzz they are getting.
“In Farleigh Field” is a new story from Rhys Bowen.
Released March 1: “In Farleigh Field” by Rhys Bowen —
From the author of the Molly Murphy and Royal Spyness series comes a sweeping new novel of World War II. A pilot’s parachute fails and he falls to his death on the estate of Farleigh Field, the ancestral home of Lord Westerfield and his five daughters. An MI5 operative conducts an investigation into the pilot, while one of Lord Westerfield’s daughters secretly works at Bletchley Park, the British code-breaking facility.
3.99 stars on Goodreads
March 7: “Silence Fallen” by Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson #10) —
The latest installment in the Mercy Thompson series finds the coyote shapeshifter alone in the middle of Europe trying to determine who is her enemy and who is her ally. She is unable to contact the werewolf pack at home, including the pack’s alpha werewolf, Adam.
4.45 stars on Goodreads
“Etched in Bone” by Anne Bishop is No. 5 in the Others series.
March 7: “Etched in Bone” by Anne Bishop (The Others #5) —
The fifth book in The Others series by Anne Bishop continues the story of the shapeshifters, vampires and humans that inhabit the Lakeside Courtyard. After the Elders brutally put down a human uprising, the courtyard has emerged relatively unscathed, but now faces tensions and difficulties of its own when Lieutenant Montgomery’s shady brother shows up. Simon Wolfguard and blood prophet Meg Corbyn have their hands full trying to maintain peace. 4.49 stars on Goodreads
March 7: “Exit West” by Mohsin Hamid —
Two young people, Nadia and Saeed, meet in a country that is on the brink of civil war. They begin a furtive love affair and when the city explodes in violence, they decide they no longer have a choice and have to leave. They’ve heard whispers about doors that can whisk people far away, but for a price. Nadia and Saeed find a door and step through into an alien and uncertain future. 4.17 stars on Goodreads
“Never Let You Go” is a new suspense novel from Chevy Stevens.
March 14: “Never Let You Go” by Chevy Stevens —
Eleven years ago, Lindsey Nash and her daughter escaped the abusive relationship with Lindsey’s ex-husband and he was sent to jail. Lindsey and her daughter, now a teenager, have built a new life. When Lindsey learns that her ex has been released from jail, she believes all ties have been cut, but now she feels like someone is watching her. Her new boyfriend is threatened; her daughter is followed and her home is invaded. 4.26 stars on Goodreads
A new Maisie Dobbs mystery is scheduled to be released March 14.
March 14: “In This Grave Hour” by Jacqueline Winspear (Maisie Dobbs #13) — It’s September 1939, and Great Britain is bracing for war with Germany. Maisie receives an assignment from Dr. Francesca Thomas to find a killer from the Great War. While Maisie is delving into that, she also has an evacuee from the current war billeted at her home in Kent.
4.32 stars on Goodreads
