Most Anticipated Books of April 2019

Hello friends! It’s time for another one of my Most Anticipated Titles list.

This time, for April 2019!

My “Most Anticipated Books of (Month/Year)” posts are a monthly post where I basically drool over, and talk a little about the books I’m excited to read that are going to be published very soon.

There were quite a handful of April publishings that drew my attention, but here are the ones worth mentioning.

The covers and synopsis’ for each of these books are from GoodReads.

April 02

• Smoke and Key by Kelsey Sutton | Young Adult, Fantasy

A sound awakens her. There’s darkness all around. And then she’s falling…

She has no idea who or where she is. Or why she’s dead. The only clue to her identity hangs around her neck: a single rusted key. This is how she and the others receive their names—from whatever belongings they had when they fell out of their graves. Under is a place of dirt and secrets, and Key is determined to discover the truth of her past in order to escape it.

She needs help, but who can she trust? Ribbon seems content in Under, uninterested in finding answers. Doll’s silence hints at deep sorrow, which could be why she doesn’t utter a word. There’s Smoke, the boy with a fierceness that rivals even the living. And Journal, who stays apart from everyone else. Key’s instincts tell her there is something remarkable about each of them, even if she can’t remember why.

Then the murders start; bodies that are burnt to a crisp. After being burned, the dead stay dead. Key is running out of time to discover who she was—and what secret someone is willing to kill to keep hidden—before she becomes the next victim…

Publication Date: April 02.

Smoke and Key seemed like an interesting novel solely because of how gorgeous the cover for Smoke and Key is.

When I looked further into Smoke and Key I found out that there were a few more interesting parts about this book as a whole:

• it’s a STAND-ALONE
• yey fantasy

The Fantasy aspects of Smoke and Key are particularly gripping because of how Smoke and Key is supposed to play out. First off, in Smoke and Key, after you’re dead and buried you wake up in the afterlife, with some sort of memento from your previous life. I don’t know if it’s a key for everyone, but I’m excited in finding out.

• We Were Beautiful by Heather Hepler | Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary

It’s been a year since fifteen-year-old Mia Hopkins was in the car crash that killed her older sister and left her terribly scarred. The doctors tell her she was lucky to survive. Her therapist says it will take time to heal. The police reports claim there were trace amounts of alcohol in her bloodstream. But no matter how much she tries to reconstruct the events of that fateful night, Mia’s memory is spotty at best. She’s left with accusations, rumors, and guilt so powerful it could consume her.

As the rest of Mia’s family struggles with their own grief, Mia is sent to New York City to spend the summer with a grandmother she’s never met. All Mia wants to do is hide from the world, but instead she’s stuck with a summer job in the bustling kitchens of the cafe down the street. There she meets Fig–blue-haired, friendly, and vivacious–who takes Mia under her wing. As Mia gets to know Fig and her friends–including Cooper, the artistic boy who is always on Mia’s mind–she realizes that she’s not the only one with a painful past.

Over the summer, Mia begins to learn that redemption isn’t as impossible as she once thought, but her scars inside run deep and aren’t nearly so simple to heal … especially when Mia finally pieces together her memories of the night Rachel died.

Publication Date: April 02.

Oh man. I didn’t think much of this novel when I went to go reading about it, but maaaaan. My heart is already broken for Mia. I’m glad that in the synopsis though, we get some sort of an answer with how Mia remembers that horrendous night.

I can’t imagine losing my own sister, so when I get around to reading We Were Beautiful, I just know that I’m going to cry.

We Were Beautiful also seems like a stand-alone novel, so that helps, too.

• Descendant of the Crane by Joan He | Young Adult, Fantasy

Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own.

Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, dreaming of an unremarkable life. But when her beloved father is found dead, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of a surprisingly unstable kingdom. What’s more, Hesina believes that her father was murdered—and that the killer is someone close to her.

Hesina’s court is packed full of dissemblers and deceivers eager to use the king’s death for political gain, each as plausibly guilty as the next. Her advisers would like her to blame the neighboring kingdom of Kendi’a, whose ruler has been mustering for war. Determined to find her father’s actual killer, Hesina does something desperate: she enlists the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by
death, since magic was outlawed centuries ago.

Using the information provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of Yan at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high?

Publication Date: April 02.

I have been hearing about Descendant of the Crane for a while now. And now that I’ve read the synopsis for said novel, I can see the hype. Descendant of the Crane is a book that is honestly at the top of my priority list for April (or as soon as the library acquires it!)

Honestly, I am so happy that this book is being published. I’m looking forward to all the intrigue and the happenings of Descendant of the Crane, and all it has to offer.

Descendant of the Crane is a stand-alone novel.

• Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan | Young Adult, Fantasy

A girl who can speak to gods must save her people without destroying herself.

A prince in danger must decide who to trust.

A boy with a monstrous secret waits in the wings.

Together, they must assassinate the king and stop the war.

In a centuries-long war where beauty and brutality meet, their three paths entwine in a shadowy world of spilled blood and mysterious saints, where a forbidden romance threatens to tip the scales between dark and light.

Publication Date: April 02.

Wicked Saints has been on my radar for quite a while now. At least for 5 months, for sure.

I love that on the cover of Wicked Saints there’s a line that says “Let them fear her” and honestly, that alone gets me seriously giddy.

Apart from the cover, the synopsis is awesome as well. I mean, a girl who can speak to gods?!

I know that there will be three points of view (or more!) and frankly I am 100% OK with that. In fact, I’m looking forward to it.

Wicked Saints is the first book in the Something Dark and Holy trilogy.

April 04

• Wolf-Light by Yaba Badoe | Young Adult, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Born in wolf light, the magical dusk, in Mongolia, Ghana and Cornwall, Zula, Adoma and Linet are custodians of the sacred sites of their homelands. Yaba’s debut novel A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars was shortlisted for the 2018 Branford Boase Award and nominated for the 2019 Carnegie Medal.

When copper miners plunder Zula’s desert home in Gobi Altai, and Adoma’s forest and river are polluted by gold prospectors, it is only a matter of time before the lake Linet guards with her life is also in jeopardy. How far will Zula, Adoma and Linet go to defend the well-being of their homes? And when all else fails, will they have the courage to summon the ancient power of their order, to make the landscape speak in a way that everyone will hear?

Rich in elemental magic, myth and the mysterious magical dusk, Wolf Light is Yaba Badoe’s defiant call to protect our environment, to conserve our heritage and to hear the ancient power that connects us.

Publication Date: April 04.

To be quite honest with you, I don’t know what to think about Wolf Light. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to reading Wolf Light as soon as I can.

I’m kind of obsessed with this book however, because the synopsis says that this book is “steeped in elemental myth.”

April 05

• Queen of Sea and Stars by Anna McKerrow | Young Adult, Fantasy

As a child, Faye Morgan was always an outsider, shunned for the ancient and powerful magic that runs through her veins.

Ever since she was a little girl, growing up in the village of Abercolme on the wild coast of Scotland, Faye Morgan’s life has been steeped in the old ways – witchcraft, herbal lore and a blood connection to the dangerous and unpredictable world of Faerie.

But magic is both a gift and a burden, and Faye has more than paid the price of living between two worlds. Neither accepted by the villagers, nor welcome in the Faerie Kingdom of Murias after rebuffing the fickle and attractive Faerie warrior king, Finn Beatha, Faye runs from Abercolme, hoping to leave that life behind.

However, even in the twisted, cobbled streets of London, Faye finds her blood bond with Faerie won’t be broken. A Faerie War of the Elements is brewing and, though she doesn’t yet know it, Faye is fated to play a terrible part. If she is to survive, she must learn to embrace her own dark power and face Finn Beatha once more… but in doing so Faye will discover secrets in her own past that never should have been disturbed.

Publication Date: April 04

HOOWEEE, I do love books that talk about the fae/rie’s and the like. Actually, pretty much anything Fantasy you can bet that I want to read it.

Queen of Sea and Stars is a book I found out about at the start of March and let me tell you: Never have I ever wanted to request a book on Netgalley more (curse you, Adele, for your self-imposed ARC ban!).

What intrigues me most about Queen of Sea and Stars, is well, everything. Like I said, I’m awed and kinda shocked that this book is going to be published so soon. I am way over the moon excited!

As far as I know, Queen of Sea and Stars is a stand-alone. But that could easily change, I believe.

April 09

• When Summer Ends by Jessica Pennington | Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Aiden Emerson is an all-star pitcher and the all-around golden boy of Riverton. Or at least he was, before he quit the team the last day of junior year without any explanation. How could he tell people he’s losing his vision at seventeen?

Straight-laced Olivia thought she had life all figured out. But when her dream internship falls apart, her estranged mother comes back into her life, and her long-time boyfriend ghosts her right before summer break, she’s starting to think fate has a weird sense of humor.

Each struggling to find a new direction, Aiden and Olivia decide to live summer by chance. Every fleeting adventure and stolen kiss is as fragile as a coin flip in this heartfelt journey to love and self-discovery from the author of Love Songs & Other Lies.

Publication Date: April 09.

When Summer Ends is a book that I thought would be more like a Fluff novel, you know? Like it’s happy from start to finish, nothing “bad” happens, and everyone is happy.

However, with having read the synopsis for When Summer Ends, this novel does not sound like a Fluff novel. It actually sounds like a serious novel regarding life, love, and overcoming hardships.

I’m ridiculously interested in how Aiden will cope with losing his eye sight at the young age of 17. Especially since he was the all-around golden boy of Riverton. Like I’m actually, genuinely curious to see how he learns and copes with becoming blind.

I’m also fairly curious to see how Olivia will react and cope with being ghosted at the start of summer.

What I’m most looking forward to though, is how Olivia and Aiden will connect.

When Summer Ends is a stand-alone. As far as I can tell.

• The Sword and the Dagger by Robert Cochran | Young Adult, Fantasy

When empires clash,
a Princess, a Knight, and an Assassin
embark on the quest of a lifetime

During the time of the Crusades, an unlikely trio—a Christian princess, her affianced prince, and a Muslim assassin—embarks on a quest to the court of the most fearsome warrior the world has ever known, Genghis Khan.

A rousing tale of adventure and romance about three young people who must grapple with fundamental issues of loyalty, friendship, faith, honor, and courage against the backdrop of conflicts that still resonate today.

Publication Date: April 09

Ho-ly smokes. Not only is the cover for The Sword and the Dagger very suiting, but the synopsis is kinda ominous as well as truth-telling.

There is so much that I feel like is going to happen within these pages.

The synopsis is small, but boi does it pack a punch.

The cover is very sly, since there’s an object on the cover for each of the points of view that we’ll be reading from. A Crown for the Princess, a sword for the Knight, and a dagger for the Assassin.

The Sword and the Dagger (as far as I know) is a stand-alone.

April 30

• A Pack of Blood and Lies by Olivia Wildenstein | Young Adult, Fantasy/Paranormal, Romance

The primal rule of winning: don’t fall in love with the contender.

Three months shy of her eighteenth birthday, Ness is forced to return to Colorado. Even though it’s been six years, and the wolves of her all-male pack don’t recognize her, she recognizes them. People who shun others because of their gender are hard to forget.

Especially Liam Kolane—son of Heath, the crudest and cruelest Alpha to have ruled the Boulder Pack. Liam is as handsome as he is infuriating, as kind as he is punishing, and he makes Ness’s traitorous heart race, which isn’t good. After all, he’s a Kolane. Like father like son, right?

When Heath dies, Liam vies to become the new Alpha and no one dares challenge him.

Except Ness.

Thus begins a treacherous game.

The rules: winner takes all…including loser’s life.

Publication Date: April 30.

A Pack of Blood and Lies seems interesting….to say the least.

Honestly, I don’t know what to say about this one. There seems to be a lot going on in the synopsis that isn’t talked about, and that makes me wary.

I’m not too into reading about all the Alpha Males, but I am looking forward to seeing how Ness navigates her life once she’s back in Colorado.

Other Mentionable Titles Include:

• Lovestruck by Kate Watson (out on April 02)
• You’d Be Mine by Erin Hahn (out on April 02)
• Mirror, Mirror by Jen Calonita (out on April 02)
• Mera: Tidebreaker by Danielle Page (out on April 02)
• Since We Last Spoke by Brenda Rufener (out on April 02)
• Defy Me by Tahereh Mafi (out on April 02)
• How to Make Friends with the Dark by Kathleen Glasgow (out on April 09)
• Things I’m Seeing Without You by Peter Bognanni (out on April 09)
• Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett (out on April 16)
• Earth to Charlie by Justin Olson (out on April 16)
• The Raven’s Tale by Cat Winters (out on April 16)

There is obviously a larger amount of Mentionable Titles than the titles I actually talked about. The reasoning for this is because I genuinely don’t know what to say about these books. They do honestly interest me though.

Are there any publications that you’re looking forward to?

Thank you so much for stopping by!

See you soon, and Happy Reading! 
Adele