New Books–April 2009

I tried to publish this post while we were on the road last week–and ended up losing the whole post!

I’ve redone it and am excited all over again about some of these April books. I’ve enjoyed the first two books in the Huxtable series (see February and March New Books) Mary Balogh wrote so this third book is an auto buy for me. Several others are on my list to buy right away while others may have to wait. What books do you plan to buy and read in April?

Paradise Valley

• by Robyn Carr
• Virgin River series, book 7
• Paperback released April 1
• Mira
• Contemporary romance
• “Marine corporal Rick Sudder is home early from Iraq — his tour ended abruptly on the battlefield. The carefree boy is gone, replaced by a man who believes his future is as bleak as his mirror image. But can the passion and commitment of a young woman who has never given up on him mend his broken body and shattered heart? As the people of Virgin River rally around Rick, another recent arrival tests the tightly knit mountain town’s famous welcoming spirit. Dan Brady has a questionable past, and he’s looking for a place to start over. He’d like it to be Virgin River…if he can find a way in. But he never expects to find it in the arms of a woman who was as much an outcast as himself.”

Blue Diablo

• by Ann Aguirre
• Corine Solomon series, book 1
• Paperback released April 7
• Roc
• Urban fantasy
• “Eighteen months ago, Corine Solomon crossed the border to Mexico City, fleeing her past, her lover, and her “gift”. Corine, a handler, can touch something and know its history—and sometimes, its future. Using her ability, she can find the missing—and that’s why people never stop trying to find her. People like her ex, Chance….”

Borderline

• by Nevada Barr
• Anna Pigeon series, book 15
• Hardcover released April 7
• Putnam
• Mystery
• “Drained and haunted by the killings on Isle Royale, diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and on administrative leave by order of her superintendent, the one bright spot in Anna’s life is Paul, her husband of less than a year. Hoping the warmth and the adventure of a raft trip in Big Bend National Park will lift her spirits, Paul takes Anna to southwest Texas, where the sun is hot and the Rio Grande is running high. The sheer beauty of the Chihuahuan Desert and the power of the river work their magic—until the raft is lost in the rapids and a young college student makes a grisly discovery.”

The Secret Wedding

• by Jo Beverley
• Georgian Romance series
• Paperback released April 7
• Historical Romance
• Signet
• “Home from a decade of war, Christian, Major Lord Grandiston wants to enjoy bachelor pleasures, but his father is wooing a rich woman on his behalf. Embarrassing, when he might already have a wife. Is Dorcas Froggatt alive, and if so, will she be his salvation or an even worse burden? He heads north to the industrial town of Sheffield to find out, but soon he’s on the run from the law with a woman who’s nothing but trouble, especially when they’re joined by a very peculiar cat.”

Turn Coat

• by Jim Butcher
• The Dresden Files, book 11
• Hardback, released April 7
• Roc
• Urban fantasy
• “The Warden Morgan has been accused of treason against the Wizards of the White Council–and there’s only one, final punishment for that crime. He’s on the run, wants his name cleared, and needs someone with a knack for backing the underdog. Someone like Harry Dresden.”

Curse the Dawn

• by Karen Chance
• Cassandra Palmer series, book 4
• Paperback, released April 7
• Onyx
• Urban fantasy
• “Cassandra Palmer may be the all-powerful Pythia now, but that doesn’t mean people have stopped trying to kill her. Most of the supernatural power players don’t want the independent minded Cassie as chief clairvoyant—and they’ll stop at nothing to see her six feet under.”

Longeye

• by Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
• book 2
• Hardcover released April 7
• Baen Books
• Fantasy
• “Hidden from the human-inhabited world by the inimical magical device known as the keleigh, the Vaitura has become a subtle battleground where the once all-powerful Elder Fey strive against each other and the upstart Queen to regain ascendancy. Of all the Elder Fey it is Altimere who is strongest in magical kest and Altimere who is most devious. Pitted against Zaldore and her group seeking to manipulate the convelescing Ranger known as Longeye to foil the Queen and rule the world, Altimere dares to utilize the untested powers of half-human, half-Fey Rebecca Beauvally, recognized by the elemental denizens of the Vaitura as The Gardener. Now all plans must be rewritten: Becca breaks Altimere’s capricious dominion with the dangerous herbal help of Duainfey, but, weakened by the effort, is held against her will in service to the Queen by Meripen’s mysterious sea-lord cousin, Sian. Becca must escape the Queen’s retainers to regain control of her own fate.”

Ghostland

• by Jory Strong
• Ghostland World series, book 1
• Trade paperback released April 7
• Berkley Trade
• Urban Fantasy Romance
• “In a post-Apocalyptic world where supernaturals have emerged from hiding, wealthy humans delight in decadence while the religious gain power through temptation. For the masses, fear reigns from birth to death, and the afterlife holds beings that only the bravest can summon—or dare to desire…”

White Star

• by Elizabeth Vaughan
• Star series, book 2
• Paperback released April 7
• Berkley
• Fantasy romance
• “In Palins, a land in the throes of upheaval, Lady High Priestess Evelyn leads a rebellion against an unjust usurper. But when she is taken prisoner by Orrin Blackhart, their clashing souls will be forged in desire, redemption, and glory…”

Killer Keepsakes

• by Jane K. Cleland
• Josie Prescott Antiques Mystery series, book 4
• Hardcover released April 14
• Minotaur Books
• Mystery
• “Josie’s cheerful and helpful assistant, Gretchen, who turned up unexpectedly just as Josie was setting up shop in New Hampshire doesn’t show up for work one day. Surprise turns to alarm when a dead body is found in Gretchen’s home—and Gretchen is the prime suspect. Josie sets out to find the real killer, and using her knowledge of antiques, discovers long-buried secrets that help bring Gretchen safely home.”

Fragile Eternity

• by Melissa Marr
• book 3
• Hardcover released April 21
• Harper Collins
• Young Adult fantasy
• “Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone—but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he’d ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen. Aislinn never expected to rule the very creatures who’d always terrified her—but that was before Keenan. He stole her mortality to make her a monarch, and now she faces challenges and enticements beyond any she’d ever imagined.”

At Last Comes Love

• by Mary Balogh
• Huxtable Quintet series, book 3
• Paperback released April 28
• Dell
• Historical romance
• “Margaret Huxtable has given her youth in order to keep her promise to her dying father to hold the family together until her sisters and brother have grown up. She gave up the chance to marry Crispin Dew, the man she loved, and suffered the pain of learning that he married someone else. But now her siblings are grown up, and her sisters are married. She is thirty years old and has decided that it is time she married too since the alternative is to be a spinster sister dependent upon her brother and sisters for the rest of her life.”

Storm Glass

• by Maria V. Snyder
• Glass series, book 1
• Trade paperback released April 28
• Mira
• Young adult fantasy
• “As a glassmaker and a magician-in-training, Opal Cowen understands trial by fire. Now it’s time to test her mettle. Someone has sabotaged the Stormdancer clan’s glass orbs, killing their most powerful magicians. The Stormdancers—particularly the mysterious and mercurial Kade—require Opal’s unique talents to prevent it happening again. But when the mission goes awry, Opal must tap into a new kind of magic as stunningly potent as it is frightening. And the further she delves into the intrigue behind the glass and magic, the more distorted things appear. With lives hanging in the balance—including her own—Opal must control powers she never knew she possessed…powers that might lead to disaster beyond anything she’s ever known.”