Hello, April.

I can’t believe how fast 2019 is going – I say this at approximately the same time every year – but it’s true. 2019 has been rather uneventful for me so far. Work is quiet, nothing crazy has happened, I’ve been very happy and content, and I’ve had lots of free time. I do like life this way, but I know it won’t last. So, I’m trying to devour as many books as I can while life is calm. 

That’s why I love doing these blog posts about new releases. I get the GoodReads newsletter every month about new releases, and I used to just zoom through, add a few to my TBR, maybe buy one or two, and move on.

But with this free time, I have time to both go through the books more closely and write a blog post for you guys!

So let’s get started about which lovely books April is bringing to us!

1. Boy Swallows Universe by Trent Dalton

Eli’s life is a mess. His mother is in jail, his father is lost, and the only adult in his life steadfast enough to watch over him is a notorious felon.

Eli wants to be a good man, a journalist, and fall in love. A normal set of goals. However, he also wants to fight off the bad guys, and save his mother from certain doom.

All before starting high school.

This book has crazy amazing reviews, especially for such a new book, and it’s a debut novel, making it all the more impressive!

2. Wicked Saints by Emily A. Duncan

A girl who can speak to Gods; a prince in danger; a boy with a monstrous secret – they all must work together to kill the king, and stop the war.

The first book in the Something Dark and Holy series hits shelves this month. These three paths meet in a mysterious world where blood is spilled and secrets bind people, and a forbidden romance develops.

3. I Miss You When I Blink: Essays by Mary Laura Philpott

Society inflicts this kind of check list on humanity: graduate, get a good job, get married, have kids. Done it all? Now what?

In this collection of essays, Mary observes that there is more to life once you’ve done all these things. Real life doesn’t need to end once you hit 30 or 40 years old. She assures us that reinventions are necessary. She defies the “right” way to do life and shows that going against the grain can work.

This blurb really struck a chord with me because personally, I fear boredom. I’ve never really experienced boredom in my whole life, and being a creative person, realistically, I probably never will. But it’s still up there with my fears. What will I be doing at 40? 50 years old?

This collection is definitely something I’m interested in, and maybe you will be, too.

4. The Mother-in-Law by Sally Hepworth

I’m immediately drawn to this book because right now, I’m obsessed with interesting relationship dynamics: the best friend who takes to your husband instead of you, the co-worker that you love to hate, the child of an old friend.

This book is about a mother-in-law, a person who is endlessly villanised in media. In this book, the mother-in-law is cold, but still a grand pillar of the community who does lots of work for social justice, but she still ends up dead.

There is a suicide note, but the autopsy reveals it was suffocation. Lucy was always kept at arm’s length from her mother-in-law, and so eyes turn to her. But it turns out, everyone in the family is keeping a secret…

5. Emily Eternal by M.G. Wheaton

Call me crazy but I love reading about artificial intelligence, especially ones with personality. I was fascinated by the movie Her, and someone, please let me marry AIDAN from the Illuminae Files 😦

Anyway, Emily Eternal is about Emily, an artificial consciousness, designed to help humans process trauma. However, when the sun begins to die 5 billion years earlier than scientists thought it would, Emily discovers a human genome she believes will help the human race restart the sun.

Before she can test her theory, her lab is attacked and her servers are taken hostage. Emily is forced to escape with two humans in a race against time to save humanity.

This book sounds so unique and interesting and intense. I really hope it’s as good as it sounds! 🙂

6. The Binding by Bridget Collins

Emmet loves books. Unfortunately, they’re forbidden. When a letter arrives summoning him away from his family to work as a bookbinder, he can’t resist. Seredith, his boss, informs him he’s a natural. This is his calling.

Inside each book, they can capture something unique and extraordinary: a memory. If there’s something you want to forget or erase, you can lock your secrets inside a book and lock it up.

Emmett discovers two secrets: one) there is an evil force working against them, a group who wants to use this magic power for the worst, and two) there is a book with a name written on it. The past is about to be dramatically rewritten.

7. Little Darlings by Melanie Golding

When Lauren has her twin girls, she’s convinced someone tried to switch them at the hospital. Not with different babies, but with creatures…

The police investigate but find nothing. A month later, her daughters are taken while she’s at the park. When they’re found, everyone is relieved, except Lauren. To everyone else, her daughters look the same, but to her, something is different.

Inspired by the darkest fairy tales, Little Darlings tells the story of how far a mother will go to bring her babies back.

8. How To Make Friends With The Dark by Kathleen Glasgow

When Tiger’s mother dies, every day feels dark. Even the brightest ones. Her room is dark, the skies her dark, there is darkness in her heart. Now, Tiger is alone.

This is how you make friends with the dark.

This book has powerful and wonderful reviews and seems like a gripping account of grief and loss.

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As for April, that’s all we have! I hope you enjoyed & found some books to add to your TBR. Let me know what you’re most excited for this month 🙂