Must-Have April Releases

        Can you believe it is already almost April?! I don’t know how this happened; in my mind I’m still on winter break! However, before we know it—at least for me—school will be out and we’ll have the whole summer stretching before us. Just think how much reading we’ll be able to do then! So, here are the new novels I’m so excited to see release in the coming month!

Hope in the Land

        When Henry Edison turns up in Lancaster County to survey farm women about their domestic contributions during the 1930s, the last thing Amish housewife Gloria Grabill has time for is the government agent’s unending questions. Gloria’s hands are already full with a farm to run alongside her husband, a houseful of children, and an English neighbor, Minerva Swain, how has been trying Gloria’s patience for forty years. Gloria’s oldest daughter, Polly, wants nothing more than the traditional path of an Amish farmer’s wife, but everything she does seems to push Thomas Coblentz further away. While the Great Depression shadows the country in gloom, can Amish and English neighbors in Lancaster Country grasp the goodness that will sustain hope?

        Hope in the Land is the fourth book in Olivia Newport’s Amish Turns of Time series, coming after Wonderful Lonesome, Meek and Mild, and Brightest and Best. I’ve only read Brightest and Best, but I did enjoy it, so I’m looking forward to this new installment.

Counted with the Stars

        Sold into slavery by her father and forsaken by the man she was supposed to marry, young Egyptian Kiya must serve a mistress who takes pleasure in her humiliation. When terrifying plagues strike Egypt, Kiya is in the middle of it all.

        Choosing to flee with the Hebrews, Kiya finds herself reliant on a strange God and drawn to a man who despises her people. With everything she’s ever known swept away and now facing the trials of the desert, will she turn back toward Egypt or surrender her life and her future to Yahweh?

        Counted with the Stars is Connilyn Cossette’s debut novel, so clearly I haven’t read anything by her yet. However, this book sounds fabulous, so I’m excited to soon change that. I mean, who doesn’t think this sounds like an interesting read?

Like Never Before

        Maple Valley became Amelia Bentley’s haven after her heart and her dreams of a family were shattered, but her new life as a newspaper editor is shaken when the paper is bought out by a chain that plans to incorporate it into a regional paper.

        After his biggest campaign success yet, speechwriter Logan Walker is approached to work on a presidential campaign. But he already lost his wife three years ago, and saying yes to the job means he’ll see his young daughter even less. When Logan hears of a special election campaign in his hometown, helping out sounds like the perfect way to occupy himself while deciding what to do.

        When Amelia hears Logan is back in town, she begs him to lend his previous experience in the newspaper world to help turn her paper’s numbers around in time. They may butt heads more than they expected, but a lead on a story that could help save the paper is just the start of the sparks that fly in the office and in their hearts.

        Like Never Before is the second book in Melissa Tagg’s Walker Family series, coming after From the Start. I absolutely LOVED From the Start, and have been dying to read more of Melissa’s work ever since I finished it, so I absolutely cannot wait for this book. I’ve already planned on preordering it, so rest assured you’ll be seeing my review of it before long.

The Reluctant Duchess

Will fleeing the Scottish Highlands only leave her in more danger?

        Lady Rowena Kinnaird may be the heiress to a Highland earldom, but she has never felt good enough—not for her father, not for the man she thought she’d marry, not for God. But after a shocking attack, she’s willing to be forever an outcast if it means escaping those threatening her life.

        Brice Myerston, the Duke of Nottingham, has never been one to shy away from manor-born ladies, yet the last thing he needs is the distraction of the newly introduced Lady Rowena. He has enough on his plate having recently come into possession of a rare treasure for which many would kill, yet those around him seem intent on pairing him with this desperate but beguiling girl.

        Rowena is reluctant to marry this notorious flirt. And when she learns that Brice is mixed up in questionable business with a stolen treasure, she fears she’ll end up in more danger than she fled.

        The Reluctant Duchess is the second book in Roseanna M. White’s Ladies of the Manor series, coming after The Lost Heiress. I’m a huge fan of Roseanna’s, and was actually given the chance to be an influencer for the Ladies of the Manor series, so I’ve already read the first book. I absolutely loved it, but then, I knew that I would. I’ve been dying to read more of her work, so I’m extremely glad this book is finally releasing soon.

A Dream of Miracles

Mattie is at opposition with Bo before they even meet. And the stirrings of love are overshadowed by the need for a miracle to heal a young boy.

        Widow Mattie Diener’s son is terribly sick, and she doesn’t know why. At her wit’s end, she takes him to the local hospital, except a city doctor is filling in for the usual physician. When the new doctor accuses Mattie of child abuse because of the boy’s mysterious symptoms, Mattie’s nightmare turns from bad to worse.

        Bo Lambright works for social services and is assigned to the case. Even though he believes in his heart that Mattie is innocent, he is required to investigate the boy’s symptoms.

        Mattie checks her son out of the hospital against medical advice, but is arrested. Bo ends up bailing her out, but she feels she can’t trust him because of the horrible accusations, and she would never harm her children. Meanwhile, Bo is having dreams that seem crazy but might actually be the answer to all of their prayers.

        Can they find out what is truly wrong with Mattie son so he can be healed? And will the romantic tension between Bo and Mattie lead to something more, in spite of the past Bo has left behind?

        A Dream of Miracles is the third book in Ruth Reid’s Amish Wonders series, coming after A Miracle of Hope and A Woodland Miracle. I only got the chance to read the first book, but I definitely enjoyed it, and have been looking forward to reading more in this series. Fortunately, I’m getting the chance to review this book thanks to the Litfuse Publicity group, so I’ll get my chance soon!

A Flight of Arrows

Hearts are divided. Loyalties will be tested. The fates of two families hang in the balance.

        Twenty years past, in 1757, a young Redcoat, Reginald Aubrey stole a newborn boy—the lighter-skinned of Oneida twins—during the devastating fall of Fort William Henry and raised him as his own.

        No one connected to Reginald escaped unscathed from this crime. Not his adopted daughter Anna. Not Stone Thrower, the Native American father determined to get his son back. Not Two Hawks, William’s twin brother separated since birth, living in the shadow of his absence and hoping to build a future with Anna. Not Lydia, who longs for Reginald to be free from his self-imposed emotional prison and embrace God’s forgiveness—and her love.

        Now William, whose identity has been shattered after discovering the truth of his birth, hides in the ranks of an increasingly aggressive British army. The Redcoats prepare to attack frontier New York and the Continentals, aided by Oneida warriors including Two Hawks, rally to defend it. As the Revolutionary War penetrates the Mohawk Valley, two families separated by culture, united by love and faith, must find a way to reclaim the son marching toward them in the ranks of their enemies.

        A Flight of Arrows is the second book in Lori Benton’s The Pathfinders series, coming after The Wood’s Edge. I absolutely LOVED the first book, and I am so excited to read more about this story, as it left me hanging a bit, so I’m definitely planning on preordering this one as well. Lori is a fabulous storyteller, so I know this will be a wonderful book.

The Magnolia Duchess

        Fiona Lanier is the only woman in the tiny Gulf Coast settlement of Navy Cove. While her shipbuilding family races to fill the demand for American ships brought by the War of 1812, Fiona tries to rescue her brother who was forced into service by the British Navy.

        Lieutenant Charlie Kincaid has been undercover for six months, obtaining information vital to the planned British invasion of New Orleans. When a summer storm south of Mobile Bay wrecks his ship and scatters the crew, Charlie suffers a head injury, ultimately collapsing in the arms of a beautiful mermaid who seems eerily familiar. As Charlie’s memory returns in agonizing jags and crashes, he and Fiona discover that falling in love may be as inevitable as the tide. But when political loyalties begin to collide, they’ll each have to decide where their true heart lies.

        The Magnolia Duchess is the third book in Beth White’s Gulf Coast Chronicles series, coming after The Pelican Bride and The Creole Princess. Beth is a very talented writer, and I have really enjoyed her stories, so I’m excited for this next one to come. I was actually extremely blessed to have been contacted by Beth herself with the offer of a copy to review, so I’ll be reading this one very soon!

        Those are the books I’m looking forward to releasing in the coming month! What about you? What are some books you can’t wait for?

        Happy reading and happy April!

To see where I’m linking up, check out my Where I Party page.

All credit for the italicized synopses goes to each author and their respective publishers.