April 2023 | What to Read this Month
Spring has sprung and those April showers are going to be perfect for curling up with a good book! I am looking forward to so many great books this month. We have found:
- mysterious libraries,
- an old fashioned “enemies to lovers” wedding romance,
- leadership tips from the guy in charge (I don’t know about you but I really love leadership books that are outside of my wheelhouse – this month’s is authored by the longest active duty Navy SEAL. That is something I am…not),
- a fantasy book with a cover you just cannot pass by
- a teen fiction mystery about lost time and dissociative identity disorder
- and, a sweet picture book for the kids about a group of pigeons that help their artistic friend’s work get displayed in a museum
Ready to read with us? Head over to our Facebook Discussion Group where we are happy to talk all things books. Or catch up with us on Instagram. And, for more book talk, read along with me and you might get a sneak peek of future books. I bookstagram at VictoriaIsBooked.
Let’s turn pages!
Victoria
Book Lady for GHM
April 2023 | What to Read
The Last Heir to Blackwood Library | Hester Fox
Publishing Date
April 4, 2023
GENRE
Historical Fiction, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
In post–World War I England, a young woman inherits a mysterious library and must untangle its powerful secrets…
With the stroke of a pen, twenty-three-year-old Ivy Radcliffe becomes Lady Hayworth, owner of a sprawling estate on the Yorkshire moors. Ivy has never heard of Blackwood Abbey, or of the ancient bloodline from which she’s descended. With nothing to keep her in London since losing her brother in the Great War, she warily makes her way to her new home.
The abbey is foreboding, the servants reserved and suspicious. But there is a treasure waiting behind locked doors: a magnificent library. Despite cryptic warnings from the staff, Ivy feels irresistibly drawn to its dusty shelves, where familiar works mingle with strange, esoteric texts. And she senses something else in the library too, a presence that seems to have a will of its own.
Rumors swirl in the village about the abbey’s previous owners, about ghosts and curses, and an enigmatic manuscript at the center of it all. And as events grow more sinister, it will be up to Ivy to uncover the library’s mysteries in order to reclaim her own story—before it vanishes forever.
The Plus One | Mazey Eddings
Publishing Date
April 4, 2023
GENRE
Romance, Women’s Fiction
What starts out as a fake wedding date turns into something these childhood enemies never expected in The Plus One, a sparkling romantic comedy by Mazey Eddings.
She’s not looking to fix him. She’s looking to love him, if he’ll let her in.
Some facts are indisputable. The sun rises in the east, sets in the west. Gravity exists. Indira doesn’t like Jude. Jude doesn’t 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 that’s spent the last three years traveling the world to treat emergencies and humanitarian crises, a quick trip home for his best friend’s wedding has him struggling to readjust.
Thrust into an elaborate (and ridiculously drawn out) wedding event that’s 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 other’s 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 couldn’t be worse, is made a little better with the other around.
The Wisdom of the Bullfrog: Leadership Made Simple (But Not Easy) | Admiral William H. McRaven
Publishing Date
April 4, 2023
GENRE
Non-Fiction, Leadership, Motivation
The title “Bullfrog” is given to the Navy SEAL who has served the longest on active duty. Admiral McRaven was honored to receive this honor in 2011 when he took charge of the United States Special Operations Command. When McRaven retired in 2014, he had 37 years as a Navy SEAL under his belt, leading men and women at every level of the special operations community. In the ensuing four years, he served as Chancellor to the entire University of Texas System, with its 230,000 students and 100,000 faculty and health care workers.
During those four decades, Admiral McRaven dealt with every conceivable leadership challenge, from commanding combat operations—including the capture of Saddam Hussein, the rescue of Captain Phillips, and the raid for Osama bin Laden.
Each chapter provides a Make Your Bed-like parable, rich with insights like those featured in his bestselling memoir, Sea Stories, about the specific leadership traits required to be at the top of your game, including:
- Who Dares, Wins
- Run to the Sound of the Guns
- No Plan Survives First Contact with the Enemy
Tress of the Emerald Sea | Brandon Sanderson
Publishing Date
April 4, 2023
GENRE
Fantasy
The only life Tress has known on her island home in an emerald-green ocean has been a simple one, with the simple pleasures of collecting cups brought by sailors from faraway lands and listening to stories told by her friend Charlie. But when his father takes him on a voyage to find a bride and disaster strikes, Tress must stow away on a ship and seek the Sorceress of the deadly Midnight Sea. Amid the spore oceans where pirates abound, can Tress leave her simple life behind and make her own place sailing a sea where a single drop of water can mean instant death?
Pieces of Me | Kate McLaughlin
Publishing Date
April 18, 2023
GENRE
Teen YA, Girls & Women
When eighteen-year-old Dylan wakes up, she’s in an apartment she doesn’t recognize. The other people there seem to know her, but she doesn’t know them – not even the pretty, chiseled boy who tells her his name is Connor. A voice inside her head keeps saying that everything is okay, but Dylan can’t help but freak out. Especially when she borrows Connor’s phone to call home and realizes she’s been missing for three days.
Dylan has lost time before, but never like this.
Soon after, Dylan is diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and must grapple not only with the many people currently crammed inside her head, but that a secret from her past so terrible she’s blocked it out has put them there. Her only distraction is a budding new relationship with Connor. But as she gets closer to finding out the truth, Dylan wonders: will it heal her or fracture her further?
This Art Is for the Birds | Susan Bednarski
Publishing Date
April 4, 2023
GENRE
Children’s Picture Books
Can four determined pigeons get their friend’s artwork into a museum? Never underestimate the power of persistence and pigeonuity.
Alex the Crow is an artist, and his pigeon friends think his work belongs in the museum. But how will they get it there? With persistence and pigeonuity, the four friends hatch a plan to help their friend achieve his dream. The New York art world will never be the same!
With gorgeous traditional watercolor illustrations, debut author-illustrator Susan Bednarski crafts a story celebrating the joy of art. The innocent enthusiasm of the characters adds charm as they creatively problem solve and believe that anything is possible. Readers can spot famous artworks and landmarks as the pigeons pursue their bird-brained schemes to share Alex’s art with the world. This picture book is both a great story time read aloud and also a useful tool for teaching growth mindset in a classroom or library setting.
last month’s Popular Book Club Picks
Which ones will you be reading this month?
Note: Many of our books were read courtesy of NetGalley ARCs. While this does give us a sneak peak all suggestions and opinions are our own – we have no obligation to provide positive reviews. We will never recommend books we would not read ourselves or share with our own family. Additionally, italicized descriptions are from the publisher. Throughout the month we are so excited to discuss our opinions on all these picks – please join us here, on our Bookstagram, and in our Facebook discussion group!
