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Must-Read Books April 2025 |
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The Page Turner
by Viola Shipman
Emma Page grew up the black sheep in a bookish household, raised to believe that fine literature is the only worthy type of fiction. Her parents, self-proclaimed 'serious' authors who run their own vanity press, The Mighty Pages, mingle in highbrow social circles that look down on anything too popular or mainstream, while her sister, Jess, is a powerful social media influencer whose stylish reviews can make or break a novel. Hiding her own romance manuscript from her disapproving parents, Emma finds inspiration at the family cottage among the 'fluff' they despise: the juicy summer romances that belonged to her late grandmother. But a chance discovery unearthed from her Gigi's belongings reveals a secret that has the power to ruin her parents' business and destroy their reputation in the industry--a secret that has already fallen into the hands of an unscrupulous publishing insider with a grudge to settle. Now Emma must decide--as much as she's dreamed of the day when her parents are forced to confront their own egos, can she really just sit back and watch The Mighty Pages be exposed and their legacy destroyed? Read-alikes: Alison Espach's The Wedding People; Emily Henry's Beach Read.
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The Library of Lost Dollhouses : A Novel
by Elise Hooper
Tildy Barrows, Head Curator of a beautiful archival library in San Francisco, is meticulously dedicated to the century’s worth of inventory housed in her beloved Beaux Art building. She loves the calm and order in the shelves of books and walls of art. But Tildy’s uneventful life takes an unexpected turn when she, first, learns the library is on the verge of bankruptcy and, second, discovers two exquisite never-before-seen dollhouses. After finding clues hidden within these remarkable miniatures, Tildy starts to believe that Belva Curtis LeFarge, the influential heiress who established the library a century ago, is conveying a significant final message. With a newfound sense of spontaneity, Tildy sets out to decipher the secret history of the dollhouses, aiming to salvage her cherished library in the process. Her journey to understand introduces her to a world of ambitious and gifted women in Belle Époque Paris, a group of scarred World War I veterans in the English countryside, and Walt Disney’s bustling Burbank studio in the 1950s. As Tildy unravels the mystery, she finds not only inspiring, overlooked history, but also a future for herself, filled with exciting possibilities—and an astonishing familial revelation. For fans of: The Magnolia Palace by Fiona Davis; The Lost Bookshop by Evie Woods.
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Bridal Shower Murder
by Leslie Meier
Lucy Stone is thrilled about her youngest daughter Zoe's engagement to Chad, yet there’s no denying the whirlwind romance has turned Lucy’s life upside down in more ways than one—especially when she learns about Chad’s complicated background and close ties to Tinker’s Cove. When Lucy meets her in-laws-to-be, Penny and Nate Nettleton, persuasive Penny proves to be intent on taking over wedding preparations. But the real shock comes when prominent guest Hetty Furness, the head of the Tinker’s Cove Historical Society, goes missing—only to be found dead, the victim of a brutal murder . . .
Lucy is determined to reveal who committed the vicious crime as she navigates her new reality with the Nettletons. Racing to determine if Hetty’s extensive knowledge of local history—and hidden scandals—led to her demise, Lucy soon realizes she’ll need to put her sleuthing talents to work like never before to guarantee wedding bells to ring for Zoe and Chad . . . and that she survives to see her daughter walk down the aisle! Read-alikes: Mia P. Manansala's Arsenic and Adobo; Joanne Fluke's Wedding Cake Murder.
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A Map to Paradise
by Susan Meissner
1956, Malibu, California. Something is not right on Paradise Circle With her name on the Hollywood blacklist and her life on hold, out-of-work starlet Melanie Cole has little choice in company. There is her next-door neighbor and successful screenwriter, Elwood, but his agoraphobia only allows for short conversations through the windows. He's the closest thing she has to a friend in her exile, however, as she and her maid, Eva, an immigrant from Eastern Europe, rarely make conversation. Until they both happen to spot Elwood's sister-in-law and caretaker, June, digging in his rose garden one morning just before dawn. After that, they don't see Elwood at all anymore. Where could a man who never leaves the house possibly have gone? Has something happened to Elwood? The two women can't help trying to find out. But as they sneak up on and into June's life, they discover an unexpected secret, and then a shared goal that's even more startling. For fans of: The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid; The Disappearing Act by Catherine Steadman.
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Heartwood : A Novel
by Amity Gaige
In the heart of the Maine woods, an experienced Appalachian Trail hiker goes missing. She is forty-two-year-old Valerie Gillis, who has vanished 200 miles from her final destination. Alone in the wilderness, Valerie pours her thoughts into fractured, poetic letters to her mother as she battles the elements and struggles to keep hoping. At the heart of the investigation is Beverly, the determined Maine State Game Warden tasked with finding Valerie, who leads the search on the ground. Meanwhile, Lena, a seventy-six-year-old birdwatcher in a Connecticut retirement community, becomes an unexpected armchair detective. Roving between these compelling narratives, a puzzle emerges, intensifying the frantic search, as Valerie's disappearance may not be accidental. Read-alikes: Freida McFadden's The Crash; Paula McLain's When the Stars Go Dark.
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| Back After This by Linda HolmesWhen she half-heartedly agrees to host a show about her dating life, podcast producer Cecily Foster is tasked with going on 20 blind dates set up for her by relationship coach Eliza Cassidy. But she keeps running into cute waiter Will on her dates, with whom she shares an instant spark of attraction. Is she falling for the wrong guy -- or making the right choice? For fans of: Funny Story by Emily Henry; Is She Really Going Out with Him? by Sophie Cousens. |
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The Book That Held Her Heart
by Mark Lawrence
Two people once connected by a vast and mysterious library are now separated and must overcome time and distance to reunite and bring peace to their worlds... The fate of an infinite library hangs on one book, a book that holds the power to break the unbreakable. In the face of such forces, fragile things like hearts, family, and the world seem certain to fail. The people most vital to Livira are scattered across time and space, lost, divided into factions, in mortal peril. Somehow, she must bring them together and resolve the unresolvable argument that fuels the library's war. The bond between Livira and Evar has stretched and stretched again. Can it hold at the end, when things fall apart? Can it bring them together against impossible odds? This is the last chapter, the final page. The end threatens and no one, not characters, readers, or even the author, will emerge unscathed. Read-alikes: V. E. Schwab's The Fragile Threads of Power; Nora Roberts' Year One.
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| The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham JonesIn 2012, college professor Etsy Beaucarne learns about a 100-year-old diary written by her great-great-grandfather, Lutheran minister Arthur Beaucarne, hoping she can utilize it to secure tenure. Contained within its pages are the confessions of Good Stab, a Blackfeet vampire seeking vengeance for the massacre of his people. For fans of: The Lost Wife by Susanna Moore; Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina. |
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The Love We Found
by Jill Santopolo
It's been ten years. In case you're out there somewhere-in case you're listening, I'm here. And I have so much to tell you. It's been nearly ten years since Gabe's been gone when Lucy finds a tiny piece of paper in a box of his old photos. An address in Rome. Why did Gabe keep it, and what was he doing in Italy? Lucy buys a last-minute ticket. Impulsive, but Gabe always brought that out in her. Lucy's journey to uncover Gabe's secret leads her to Dr. Dax Amstrong, a New Yorker in Italy working with an NGO. His broad shoulders and sad, intense eyes draw Lucy in. His touch reaches her in a forgotten place-one that no one has neared since Gabe. But her old life awaits, along with an earth-shattering decision-whether she and Darren should tell their son Samuel the truth about his real father. How can Lucy move forward while she's rooted in regret? Fate broke her heart in the past. Can finding new love set her free? Read-alikes: Tracey Garvis Graves' The Trail of Lost Hearts; Jojo Moyes' We All Live Here.
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The Dream Hotel : A Novel
by Laila Lalami
Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home from a conference abroad, when agents from the Risk Assessment Administration pull her aside and inform her that she will soon commit a crime. Using data from her dreams, the RAA's algorithm has determined that she is at imminent risk of harming the person she loves most: her husband. For his safety, she must be kept under observation for twenty-one days. The agents transfer Sara to a retention center, where she is held with other dreamers, all of them women trying to prove their innocence from different crimes. With every deviation from the strict and ever-shifting rules of the facility, their stay is extended. Months pass and Sara seems no closer to release. Then one day, a new resident arrives, disrupting the order of the facility and leading Sara on a collision course with the very companies that have deprived her of her freedom. For fans of: Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan.
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| One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This by Omar El AkkadIn his frank and thought-provoking blend of history and memoir, award-winning novelist Omar El Akkad (American War) examines the West's apathy and inaction toward Israel's ongoing destruction of Gaza. Try this next: The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates. |
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| Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America by Russell ShortoDrawing on never-before-seen archival materials, bestselling author Russell Shorto's (The Island at the Center of the World) lively social history explores the early days of New York City, from its 1626 purchase by the Dutch to its capture by the English four decades later. For fans of: The Village: 400 Years of Beats and Bohemians, Radicals and Rogues, a History of Greenwich Village by John Strausbaugh. |
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How To Say Hello To A Worm : A First Guide To Outside
by Kari Percival
This how-to guide for connecting with nature introduces the concept of a garden and all that it offers, generating curiosity and wonder as young readers explore this magical place and all its creatures. .
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| One Wrong Step by Jennifer A. NielsenIt's 1939, and nobody has ever reached the top of Tibet's Mt. Everest. British 14-year-old Atlas and his dad hope to be among the first. Their climb, however, is charged with danger, from Nazi spies to a life-threatening avalanche. Fascinating details will keep you turning the pages of this historical adventure. |
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A Wizard of Earthsea : A Graphic Novel
by Fred Fordham
Ged was the greatest sorcerer in Earthsea, but in his youth, he was the reckless Sparrowhawk, and in his hunger for power and knowledge, he tampered with long-held secrets, unleashing a terrible shadow on the world.
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Sunrise on the Reaping
by Suzanne Collins
It's the 50th annual Hunger Games and as the games begin, District 12 tribute Haymitch Abernathy realizes he's been set up to fail, but something in him wants to fight, in the fifth book in the Hunger Games series.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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Albert Lea Public Library
211 E Clark St.
Albert Lea, Minnesota 56007
(507) 377-4350alplonline.org |
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