We’re fully into Spring now, and as the temperatures trend upwards we have dreams of summer to be sure! That means long walks, outside activities, and a long weekend here and there for a little bit of relaxation. And with a new month comes a new list of books we’re excited to check out! Here is what we’re looking forward to this month!
Serena’s Picks
Book: “The Shadow in the Glass” by J.J.A. Harwood
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Why I’m Interested: The cover immediately caught my eye when I was browsing through the books coming out this month. Looks like a fairytale retelling to me! And, of course, it is. And this time we’re diving into a dark re-imaging of the Cinderella tale. After her wealthy benefactor passes away, Ella’s future, which once was filled with balls and a wealthy marriage, has taken a turn, her days filled with toil and hardship. But when a mysterious figure arrives on night offering Ella the chance to regain the life she lost, Ella must face the fact that all wishes come with a price. And for these, the price might be too high. “Cinderella” isn’t my favorite fairytale, but I do like darker versions of the classics, so I’m excited to see what this one has to offer!
Book: “Black Water Sister” by Zen Cho
Publication Date: May 11, 2021
Why I’m Interested: I’m not typically a big fan of contemporary fantasy, but I really enjoyed Cho’s “Sorcerer to the Crown” when we read it a few months back for book club. Plus, the premise of this one sounds pretty unique! Jess is a young woman who doesn’t feel as if she knows herself. After moving back to her native land of Malaysia, Jess’s credits the current stress of her life as the cause for the strange voice in her head. But before she knows it, she’s caught up in her dead grandmother’s world of ghosts, feuds, and gods. With such players on the stage, will Jess sink or swim as she forges her own way forward? Also, this is another fantastic cover!
Book: “The Dragon of Jin-Sayeng” by K. S. Villoso
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Why I’m Interested: Well, obviously! I’ve been enjoying the heck out of Villoso’s “Chronicles of the Bitch Queen” trilogy. Each entry has been higher stakes than the last, and with the dire state of things in the last book, with Queen Tali imprisoned in her own country, I was eager to get my hands on this final entry. With so many forces aligned against her, Tali must once again pull together all of her strength and the aid of the few people she trusts to attempt to save not only herself and her son, but her country. To get there, however, she must delve even deeper into the hard choices that her warlord father made before her. And with the lingering threat of dragons long returned, will Tali be up to all of these challenges? There are a lot of string to tie up in this last entry, so I’m really excited to see how it all comes together!
Kate’s Picks
Book: “Hour of the Witch” by Chris Bohjalian
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Why I’m Interested: Though I find it to be a very frustrating and maddening time to read about, I also am deeply fascinated by the Puritans in American during the Colonial era. Especially the Witch trials and accusations of witchcraft in general (and I love to see a story that shows a woman taking control of her own destiny in this setting, of course). So when I read about Chris Bohjalian’s “Hour of the Witch”, I knew that I had to read it. It covers those topics, but also is described like a modern woman in potential peril thriller. Mary Deerfield is a young woman living in Boston in the 1660s, and she is married to an abusive man who is a well liked member of the community. One night he goes too far and she demands she be granted a divorce. But then someone finds three tined forks buried in her yard, and people start to whisper that perhaps she is a witch, and it puts Mary in even more danger. I love a suspenseful thriller, and this time period is an awesome aspect of this one.
Book: “Arsenic and Adobo” by Mia P. Manansala
Publication Date: May 4, 2021
Why I’m Interested: Since this is a year that my reading goal is expanding my genre choices, I was kind of interested in giving another cozy mystery a shot after enjoying “The Widows of Malabar Hill”. But I didn’t want to go full on ‘woman who owns a yarn store solves mysteries’ into it (not that there’s a problem with that, of course). Enter “Arsenic and Adobo” by Mia P. Manansala. It follows Lila, a woman who returns to her small town after a break up and who helps out at her auntie’s diner. When her ex boyfriend eats at the establishment, they get get into a huge fight… and then he drops dead from poisoning. Now Lila has to not only figure out who killed her ex to save her auntie’s restaurant, she also has to clear her own name. The cover is cute, the story sounds fun, and there is promise of recipes in the back. I’m in.
Book: “While Justice Sleeps” by Stacey Abrams
Publication Date: May 25, 2021
Why I’m Interested: Like many people during the past couple of years, I have come to greatly and deeply respect Stacey Abrams for the fantastic political mind and organizer that she is. There is no way that Georgia would have gone blue in the Senate run offs this year had she not been at the helm. What I didn’t know until recently was that Abrams is not only a political powerhouse, but she’s also a fiction author! And her newest book is a political thriller! “While Justice Sleeps” follows Avery Keene, a law clerk for the powerful and notoriously cold Supreme Court Justice Wynn. When Wynn is suddenly hospitalized and falls into a coma, he leaves Avery as his power of attorney, which shocks everyone, Avery included. As Avery starts to look into his work, she finds that he’s been digging into one of the cases that is supposed to go before the court… one that could have sweeping and controversial medical implications. And it could be a reason that someone would want him dead. Another genre I’m not as familiar with, but Abrams is more than enough to gt me to check it out.
What books are you looking forward to this month? Let us know in the comments!
The Library Ladies 