They say April showers bring May flowers. Is it raining where you live? In California we’ve had a lot of rain this season, for a change. My daffodils and plum tree blossoms are done, and the freeway daisies are blooming as I write this. I’m looking forward to the mass of pink flowers that show up next in my garden. While I wait, I have plenty of new historical novels to read.

BEST COVER

The Sweet Blue Distance by Sara Donati (April 2)

“A young midwife travels west to the New Mexico Territory to care for women in need and faces dangers more harrowing than the ones she’s fleeing in this epic tale of survival, redemption, and love.” ~ book description

The sky on this cover is enough to stop me in my tracks and invite me to pick up the book. The running horse implies action and history, so I’m hooked. In this novel, the woman’s trip west is fraught with adventure. When she safely arrives in New Mexico, she encounters secrets and danger.

OTHER TOP COVERS

1666 by Lora Chilton (Virginia, April 2)

All We Were Promised by Ashton Lattimore (Civil War Philadelphia, April 2)

A Plague of Serpents by K. J. Maitland (London, 1608, April 25)

The Outlaw Noble Salt by Amy Harmon (19th century Paris, April 9)

Thorn Tree by Max Ludington (1960s Hollywood, April 16)

BEST TITLE

Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade by Janet Skeslien Charles (April 30)

“The New York Times and internationally bestselling author of the ‘captivating, richly drawn’ (Woman’s World) The Paris Library returns with a brilliant new novel based on the true story of Jessie Carson—the American librarian who changed the literary landscape of France.” ~book description

I love titles that include books, and this month we have a book club and a bookseller as well as a book brigade. This one is a dual timeline story with each tale beginning at the New York Public Library. During the Great War, Jessie travels to France and makes a children’s bookmobile out of an ambulance. Then she disappears. The modern-day story researches what happened to her.

OTHER TOP TITLES

The Wartime Book Club by Kate Thompson (Isle of Jersey, 1943, April 9)

Once Upon an Effing Time by Buffy Cram (Ontario, 1969, April 9)

The British Booksellers by Kristy Cameron (Coventry, WWI and WWII, April 9)

The Paris Peacemakers by Flora Johnston (Paris, 1919, April 18)

The Mayfair Dagger by Ava January (London, 1894, April 23)

MOST INTRIGUING

The Royal Librarian by Daisy Wood (April 11)

“A royal palace. A closed book. A betrayal that will echo through generations…” ~ book description

How wonderful to have another bookish title! This dual timeline novel centers around a letter found in a modern day book that is stamped with the crest of Windsor Castle. A search ensues to discover its story. Meanwhile, the 1940 timeline tells of a spy sent to Windsor to uncover a plot.

OTHER MOST INTRIGUING

The Widow Spy by Megan Campisi (American Civil War, 1861, April 9)

Kate’s War by Linda Stewart Henley (London 1939, April 9)

The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson (Missouri 1928, April 23)

American Daughters by Piper Huguley (Washington, D.C., 1900, April 2)

The Moonlight Cavalry by Lynn Ellen Doxon (WWII in the Pacific, April 16)

 

Need more historical fiction on your TBR?

See Paper Lantern Writers’ weekly round up in the Facebook group SHINE on Historical Fiction with Paper Lantern Writers. See even more new release titles at Historical Novel Society.

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