Apr 28

Apr 28 Books Publishing This Week

The days when April begins to slip into May feel like a quiet unfolding, something so gradual you almost miss it if you’re not paying attention. But today, you are. You notice the way the light lingers just a little longer in the evening, the way the air feels softer against your skin, no longer carrying the chill that once made you pull your sleeves tight. The world is no longer waking up—it’s awake.

You move through your day with that awareness, a subtle sense that something has shifted. The trees are no longer tentative; they are full, green, confident. The breeze carries the scent of blossoms now, not just the promise of them. Even the sounds are different—birds louder, more insistent, the distant hum of life outside your window more constant.

It feels like the right time to begin something new.

The book has been waiting for you, resting in that quiet, patient way books do. You’ve seen it there—on your table, tucked into your bag, beside your bed—and each time you’ve thought, soon. But this moment, this transition between months, feels like the kind of threshold that deserves a beginning.

You choose your spot carefully. Somewhere with light. Somewhere you can feel the season around you. Maybe it’s by an open window, the curtain lifting gently with the breeze. Maybe it’s outside, where the sun filters through leaves and dapples the page. You bring something to drink—something fresh, something that matches the shift in the air. Not the heavy warmth of winter, but something lighter, brighter.

You sit, and for a moment, you don’t open the book.

You listen instead.

A breeze moves through the trees. A bird calls from somewhere close. A car passes, but softly, as if even the world has decided not to rush today. You take a breath, and it feels fuller somehow, like there’s more space inside you.

Then, finally, you open the book.

The spine gives gently. The pages part. The first line meets you where you are—no urgency, no demand. Just an invitation.

You begin to read.

The words settle into you easily, as though they belong to this moment. The story unfolds at its own pace, mirroring the way the season has arrived—quietly, steadily, without forcing anything into bloom before it’s ready. You lean back slightly, letting the light warm your face, your hands resting comfortably around the book.

Every so often, you pause.

Not because you’re distracted, but because the world around you feels worth noticing. The way the leaves move in the breeze. The way the light shifts across the page. The way the air smells faintly of something sweet and green and alive.

You turn another page.

The characters begin to take shape, their voices clearer now. The setting becomes vivid in your mind, layered with detail. You feel that familiar pull—the gentle draw into another world, one that doesn’t replace your own, but sits alongside it.

April has been a month of becoming. Of quiet starts, of tentative growth. And now, as it gives way to May, there’s a sense of arrival—not an ending, but a continuation. A deepening.

You feel it in the way you read.

You’re not rushing. You’re not trying to get anywhere. You’re simply allowing the story to unfold, just as everything around you is unfolding.

Time stretches.

The light softens.

The day moves forward, but gently.

When you finally close the book—marking your place with care—you sit for a moment longer, holding it in your lap. The world is still moving, still growing, still opening.

And so are you.

A new book. A new month. Not separate things, but part of the same quiet, beautiful transition.

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Books Publishing April 26 - May 2

The Night King’s Court by Elisa A. Bonnin

Ida’s father went missing without a trace seven years ago, last seen at the court of the enigmatic Night King, which comes to life only after dark with magic and revelry.

So when a position opens up for a new court Luminaire, Ida doesn’t hesitate. She inherited her gift for enchantments from her father—and with this position, she’ll use it to find him again.

Ida is swept into the king’s collection of magical beings, those who bring light and entertainment to the Court’s midnight gatherings—and swept away by the Court, where faerie gardens edge into underwater masquerades, dreaming revels offer blissful escapes, and life is a mesmerizing euphoria.

Yet a sinister thread interrupts Ida’s nights of decadence. Memories go missing, the castle’s magic takes on a malevolence, and Ida can’t seem to leave the boundaries of the court itself.

Enlisting the help of the king’s breathtakingly beautiful daughter Lenore, Ida must unravel the castle’s secrets… before this enchanted world destroys her.

If You Were Here by Abigail Johnson

A charming and emotional standalone grumpy/sunshine romance set during a Nantucket summer. Lili needs Wren's help to complete her father's research and save her family's reputation--but working together leads to more discoveries than either of them bargained for.

Lili Gardner hasn’t been back to Nantucket, her dad’s favorite place, since her parents divorced six years ago. But Dad passed away recently, leaving her a house on the island and an unsolved mystery about a maligned Gardner ancestor. Lili is determined to finish his life’s work, and convinces her mom and sister to spend the summer in Nantucket with her while she looks for answers, and for a connection to her dad.

Wren McCleave has a passion for history, but his father refuses to showcase anything real in their tourist trap of a “museum.” So when Lili asks Wren for help with her research, Wren can’t resist the opportunity to throw himself into something real, even if he dislikes tourists on principle.

Lili and Wren only have a summer to find out the truth about Lili’s ancestor. But the most surprising truths they uncover aren’t about the distant past, but about themselves right here in the present, and about what they want out of the future.

They Want Us Dead by CL Montblanc

In this new mystery from CL Montblanc, the author of Pride or Die, two internet enemies are forced to work together after a true crime meetup turns into a deadly case of its own.

Seventeen-year-old Sam Tombs hopes to get more eyes on the videos they make to raise awareness of crimes against LGBTQ+ teens. A true crime content creator event seems like the perfect opportunity to grow their channel—until the group becomes stranded at an eerie Victorian mansion, and one of them is killed in the night.

Sam’s alibi, and the only person they can trust, happens to be their mean, dorky internet nemesis Dylan. But the two must now put aside their rivalry and use their investigative skills to figure out who among the remaining teens is the killer, before their own deaths become tomorrow’s trending content.

The Sea Spinner by Julie Johnson

Bursting with reawakened magic, a young woman challenges the tides of fate in this highly anticipated installment of Julie Johnson’s romantasy series.

Something changed for Rhya Fleetwood in the battle of Fyremas. Her untrained power feels both heavy with grief and volatile, crackling with each pulse of her simmering rage. Caeldera lies in ruins. Her friends are dead or wounded. And Pendefyre, their newly crowned king, is shutting her out. The Remnant of Fire needs all his focus for his kingdom, his people, and—perhaps more than anything—his insatiable need for revenge.

When a twist of fate leads Rhya to the last place she expected—the Water Court—the novice wind weaver is forced to confront the limitations of her power as well as her increasingly complicated relationships. For enigmatic King Soren of Llŷr is as different from Penn as sparks are from the sea. The more insight he offers into the maegic that binds them together, the more confused Rhya feels—about her future as a Remnant, about her deepest desires, and about her role in the coming war.

Enemies circle close, ready to strike. And if Rhya isn’t careful, she’ll lose more than just her heart.

She’ll lose her life.

Our Rogue Fates by Sarah Glenn Marsh

On the hunt for hidden treasure, two former best friends turned adversaries must put the past behind them if they hope to make it home.

This childhood friends-to-lovers male/male romantic fantasy for fans of Tusk Love and Sara Raasch crackles with tension and heat.

When he isn’t training as a Warden to become half the hero his father was, Griff Sayer is in the business of breaking hearts all across the town of Mayfair, although that slows down after settling in with his current boyfriend. Griff's ex–best friend, Mal Pryce, meanwhile, is in business with whatever or whoever puts good money in his hands. Now in their mid-twenties, Griff and Mal have only exchanged scathing looks and carefully barbed jabs since the fight that sent them their separate ways years ago. But all that begins to change when an attack Mal plotted for his shady boss leaves Griff near death and their childhood friend Alys as his savior, forcing them back into each other’s orbit.

Livid at his boss, Mal makes a deal to earn his freedom and Griff’s safety. He has just four weeks to retrieve an ancient treasure from Rotrose Mire, a remote swamp known for its ghostly and beastly dangers, the same treasure Alys’s beloved father, Rhun, had been searching for when he disappeared for good. Armed with a map and a broken blade of Rhun’s, Mal sets off—with Alys and a reluctant and newly single Griff in tow.

Yet the explosive tension between the two men—along with the dangers of the mire pressing in around them—makes for a more difficult journey than any of them could have anticipated. As Griff and Mal peel back their tough facades and shared feelings heat up in unexpected ways as they learn to trust again, they also realize that someone—or something—seems to be following their path. Someone who doesn’t want them to succeed, no friend to their parents’ old enemies, but also no friend to would-be heroes…

Our Rogue Fates is a second-chance spicy Achillean romance with the questing spirit of Dungeons & Dragons, perfect for fans of Critical Role.

Death Meets Cute by J. Penner

"Filled with so much love, heart, and delicious baked goods." —Rebecca Thorne, USA Today bestselling author of Can't Spell Treason Without Tea

I am more than capable of being evil today. I think…

Iris Weyward wants to be bad. Truly bad. Terrifyingly, gloriously villainous. But after helping her sisters unleash a spell to throw the realm into chaos, Iris is left feeling strangely empty—and still not the villain of her dreams. So, she sets off for the quiet town of Fraywell to build her wicked legacy alone.

Things start promisingly: a crooked little cottage, a reputation for curses and potions, and a healthy dose of fear from the locals. But when her ogre bodyguard disappears, Iris needs new muscle. Good thing a fearsome orc just toppled over in her yard. Naturally, she decides to reanimate him. It's a perfect solution.

Only, Talon isn't the brooding warrior she was hoping for. He's gentle. He bakes. Worst of all, he's nice. But Iris can't possibly have a thing for her new employee. She's supposed to be the most wicked witch in town!

While Iris struggles to turn Talon into the enforcer she deserves, her sisters arrive seeking help—their magic is fading, and the cause may be closer than any of them realize. The timing couldn't be worse, and falling for an orc wasn't supposed to be part of her villain era, but it might turn out to be the best spell she's ever cast…

First Night at Dad's by Elizabeth Rudnick, illustrated by Yaara Cellier

A heartfelt picture book about one of the big milestones for kids in the midst of a divorce or separation — spending their first night at the other parent’s house — and the love that can be found everywhere.

Henry feels a little nervous. It still seems strange that Dad doesn’t live with him and his mom anymore … that they’re getting a divorce. But now he’s going to spend the night away from his mom, and that’s even stranger. Mom says it will be an adventure, but Henry isn’t sure.

Then Dad picks him up and drives him to the new house — a beautiful place with a tree swing and a field full of flowers. Inside, some things are familiar, like Dad’s pasta sauce and rules about bedtime. And some things are different, especially when Henry misses his mom. As Henry works through his big feelings about change, he comes to understand that no matter where he is, the most important thing is always the same: how much both of his parents love him. An author’s note from New York Times bestselling writer Elizabeth Rudnick reflects on her own experiences with parenting her child through a separation and this unexpected milestone.

This touching and much-needed book will reassure any parents and children going through their own family shifts that change can be managed, and they are not alone.

Chasing the Clouds Away by Debbie Macomber

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber comes an uplifting story of an unforgettable chance encounter between a successful yet jaded businessman and a woman who sees—but also expects—the best in everyone, sparking an unlikely romance that challenges their assumptions about generosity, trust, and the gifts of unforeseen love.

Maisy Gallagher has her own dreams, but when her father passes away, she selflessly sets them aside to help her family. Despite knowing it was the right thing to do, she can’t help but wish for the road not taken.

Chase Furst, the hardened heir to a financial empire, is on the other hand primarily focused on his own life and on his work as a bank executive. His childhood was marred by his mother’s struggle with addiction, and left him cynical and emotionally distant.

But then Chase meets Maisy, a beautiful woman full of optimism and kindness who can see past his defenses. To his surprise and annoyance, she offers to help him during a time of need, and declines his offer of payment. Instead, she asks him to pay it forward—and not with money or a quick fix, but through an act of true selflessness. At a loss, Chase doesn’t know where to begin.

The Original by Priya Parmar

When young Katharine Hepburn loses her beloved brother, she makes two decisions: She will become famous, and she will never let anyone hurt her again. Leaving home at twenty-one to pursue a career on Broadway, Kate is talent-spotted, screen-tested, and lured to Los Angeles, accompanied by her lover, Laura. Hollywood in the early 1930s is a town full of secrets. Everyone comes with a story. When Kate arrives in California to launch her film career, she leaves behind her East Coast marriage and icy patrician family to live and love on her own terms. Soon she is scooped into the studio system and launched as a star—but stars must play by the rules and Kate, brilliant, bisexual, and strong-willed, refuses to conform.

Surrounded by a legendary circle of intimates, including the powerful David and Irene Selznick, charming and romantically conflicted actor Cary Grant, ambitious director John Ford, and millionaire tycoon Howard Hughes, Kate navigates a web of sex, rivalry, and betrayal. As Kate’s career ascends, she faces an agonizing choice: be the star everyone wants her to be, or risk everything to become the woman she always was.

The author of the New York Times Notable Book Vanessa and Her Sister has created a propulsive, emotionally charged novel exploring the cost of fame. With sharp prose and unforgettable characters, The Original is a story of love, aspiration, and the price of living authentically in a world that demands you become someone else.

The Island Club by Nicola Harrison

Chicago Literary Salon’s May Book

1956: On idyllic Balboa Island, just off the California coast, life seems peaceful and welcoming. But when the lives of three women begin to unravel in shockingly different ways, an unlikely friendship—and the game of tennis—may be the only thing that can save them.

Milly Kinkaid's plan to fix her crumbling marriage seems to be falling apart before it even begins. She believed that moving her young family from Hollywood to Balboa Island might entice her increasingly distant husband to come home earlier after work. Instead, he's barely coming home at all.

Society matriarch Sylvia Johnson and her husband have been pillars of their community for decades, and have just recently begun a new business venture: The Island Club, a place for members to swim, play tennis and dine in style. But when she learns that he has been risking their financial security and putting their family's future in grave danger, she's not only poised to lose the club, but the entire community she holds dear.

Meanwhile, standoffish loner Adele Lambert's entire world is on the brink of being destroyed if the dark secrets of her past and her hidden identity is revealed. Twenty years ago, she ran from a shameful scandal and left behind the only thing she ever loved. Now, terrified that the anonymity she's spent decades guarding will be exposed, but desperate to stay afloat, she risks everything to return to the game that brought her to her knees all those years before.

Set against the sun-drenched beaches of Balboa Island, with its prim and proper 1950s facade, The Island Club is a story of love, loneliness and the lies we tell ourselves—and what can be gained when the truth is finally revealed.

The Cafe of Infinite Doors by Zara Marielle

Millennia later in San Francisco, sheltered, isolated twenty-three-year-old Marceline is desperate for a job, longing for a temporary escape from her controlling, toxic husband, Baxter. One evening, a magical café appears after Baxter strands Marceline on a desolate street after a nasty fight. Run by a quirky, mysteriously feathered woman named Lucretia, her partner, Kilda, and a gentle Tahitian man named Sylvan, the café holds the safety, comfort, and companionship Marceline has craved. Upon learning that the café’s door is a protected portal that opens to those in need, she joins the cafe’s staff behind Baxter's back.

Several months after Marceline has found her safe haven, the portals to the café begin closing one by one and the cafe’s sourceless light goes from warm and honeyed to dim and shadowy. Evil is looming that will endanger not only the café but the world at large; if Marceline is to protect herself and her newfound family, she must choose herself for good and escape her marriage once and for all ... or say goodbye to her hard-fought freedom forever.

A Deadly Episode by Anthony Horowitz

From Anthony Horowitz, author of the global bestsellers Marble Hall Murders + Close to Death, comes A Deadly Episode, an unputdownable new mystery in his Hawthorne & Horowitz series. They’re making a major feature film of the first Hawthorne/Horowitz mystery novel. Except – they’re behind schedule, they’ve run out of money and…oh! The star has just been murdered.

Verb Your Enthusiasm: How to Master the Art of the Verb and Transform Your Writing by Sarah Kaufman

Verbs are the underrated stars of the English language. They hold it all together. A complete sentence cannot exist without one, yet a single verb can create complete meaning. (See?) In this brilliant exploration of language, grammar, and style, Sarah L. Kaufman illuminates how all of us, professional writers and novices alike, can master the art of the verb and unlock the infinite potential of written expression.

When she was the dance critic at The Washington Post, Kaufman was challenged to translate the dynamic language of movement into words. Verbs showed her the way. Good verbs power great storytelling; they leap off the page, fire our senses, and transform our perceptions.

Verb Your Enthusiasm is a clarion call for all of us to get back to basics: to mean what we say, and say what we mean. Across eleven chapters, Kaufman proves how strong verbs can make your own writing—be it an email, a text, a report, or an ad—more efficient and effective, and investigates theories of language that will change how you read and write. But this isn’t a grammar guide, and it surely isn’t a set of rules. Great writing comes from a mix of inspiration, passion, and intelligence—from your unique discernment and imagination. Searching for the right verb might even reveal something true about yourself. All that in a word. So go. Write. Verb.

The Secret, 4th Edition, Revised and Expanded by Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller

In a world where 82 percent of managers struggle to lead effectively, this international bestseller reveals the one secret that separates great leaders from the rest.

“What do I need to do to be a great leader?” Every person in authority wonders this question sooner or later. Ken Blanchard, whose books have sold over 25 million copies, and Mark Miller, who rose from line worker to Chick-fil-A vice president, uncover the secret great leaders already know in this international bestseller.

Using a classic business fable, newly promoted executive Debbie Brewster asks her mentor the crucial question: “What is the secret of great leaders?” His reply—“Great leaders serve”—confuses her, but he reveals five fundamental ways leaders succeed through service. Debbie discovers why great leaders focus on the future, how teams determine success or failure, what three arenas need continuous improvement, why leadership success has two essential components, and how to strengthen—or destroy—credibility.

This fourth edition includes the proven SERVE model plus breakthrough content on leadership’s most critical element—a leader’s heart. Discover these new features:

• Revised chapters
• New chapter with five HEART habits that form the foundation for great leadership
• Comprehensive facilitator’s guide for groups and teams
• Expanded resources for teams and organizations

Translated into twenty-nine languages with over 700,000 copies sold, The Secret delivers proven wisdom in an unforgettable story that anyone can understand and apply immediately.

A Thousand Cuts by Gregory Poirier

Meet Max Starkey—disgraced CIA operative turned underworld fixer—whose past loves, rivals, and indiscretions close in on him in the jungles of Southeast Asia.

Seven years after a CIA mission in Laos went sideways, Max lives in the gray spaces between criminals and justice, recovering stolen goods for villains who don’t ask questions. But when he’s lured to Bangkok under false pretenses, his past catches up with him.

The setup: an old flame, Kelly Riggs, now married to his CIA rival.

The job: steal $130 million in dictator-owned gold before a coup ignites.

The problem : everyone plans a double-cross—and Max is the mark. Then there’s Giuliana Abara, Max’s sharp-tongued “companion,” an undercover FBI agent with secrets of her own, who further proves that trust kills and redemption demands blood in this high-octane debut thriller—spanning the streets of Bangkok to the Laotian rainforest— by screenwriter Gregory Poirier.

Colossus by Ross Barkan

A stark and unsettling portrait of success, in the vein of Philip Roth and Jonathan Franzen, that revives the long-established intersection between ambition and corruption in the pursuit of the American dream.

Teddy Starr has it all. A beloved pastor in a small Midwestern town, a devoted husband and father of three, and a rising real estate magnate, he has built a life that gleams with virtue and success. Self-made in every sense, Teddy is a man of conviction, or at least it seems. But behind the pulpit and the polished smile lies a fractured past, and when a figure from that buried life reemerges, the once-sturdy walls of his world begin to fall.

As scandal and ambition collide, Colossus becomes the story of American hunger for reinvention and the blatant self-interest beneath its surface. Written with the moral gravity of Robert Penn Warren and the psychological insight of Philip Roth, Ross Barkan offers a timely update on the examination of the American identity in an age of performance and decay.

The Violently Departed by Sarah J. Daley

Blending crime fiction and dark academia, The Violently Departed is a fast paced fantasy novel perfect for fans of An Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson.

A missing nun found murdered, a school built on secrets, a haunted town. A new case for Hero Viridian: half-demon, disgraced ex-nun-turned-investigator.

With the stink of demonic involvement surrounding the murder, who better to deal with it than a woman with something to prove, eyes of literal flame and a direct connection to hell?

However, when those who sought her help turn against her, a vulnerable Hero must rely on an unlikely partner, Oleander Keen – a Demonhunter who has already tried to kill her.

One Second Away by Rick Mofina

What happens when your worst nightmare becomes your reality?

One sunny day in California, Jessie is hugging her nine-year-old son, Dylan, goodbye at the airport. He's travelling alone, all the way across the country, to visit his grandparents and father, Jessie's soon-to-be ex-husband. Her heart is breaking, but she puts on a brave face and gives her son one last wave as a flight attendant leads him away.

Several hours later, Jessie gets a frantic call from Dylan's grandmother in New York. Dylan is missing.

In a split-second, Jessie's world turns upside down.

The AirTag she'd put in Dylan's backpack says he's still at LAX. The airline insists that he was picked up at JFK by an elderly couple claiming to be his grandparents—but Jessie's in-laws insist they haven't seen him.

Dylan has disappeared into thin air.

At the same moment, miles away, in Toronto, a train operator loses control of a subway train, and the fiery crash kills five passengers and injures dozens of others. Was this a fatal human error or something more sinister? And how exactly is it connected to the disappearance of Dylan?

Because, somehow, it is.

Ashes of the Republic by James Chesterton

In James Chesterton’s dark and thrilling futuristic satire, ASHES OF THE REPUBLIC (Broken Ledger Press; April 28, 2026), it’s the year 2046 and Christian Nationalism has fully consolidated power. Evidence of liberalism is subject to punishment, women’s bodies are governed by data, medical professionals have been replaced with AI, and the blueprint for authoritarian rule is no longer theoretical—it’s fully operational.

At the center of the story is Lily Osbourne, a gifted technologist who once helped build the very systems that now govern daily life. After crossing her employer, Dennison Robotics CEO Iwanna Dennison, Lily is cast out of power and retreats into quiet anonymity. That fragile invisibility shatters during a routine airport screening when a TSA agent informs her that she is pregnant—which is strictly controlled by the government. In the Republic, all unregistered pregnancies are flagged. Her fetus is issued a Social Security number. The state is notified. Her body is no longer her own. She and her boyfriend Jeff Maslow, a former professor once arrested for reading Walt Whitman, must now find a way to survive, even as Iwanna Dennison claws her way to the highest reaches of power, the focus of her psychotic ambition.

Deeply rooted in current events, Ashes of the Republic draws from real-world debates surrounding reproductive surveillance, the fusion of religion and state power, the erosion of privacy, and the expanding role of data and AI in governance. Policies and ideas that felt speculative during the novel’s early drafts have since emerged as court rulings, legislative proposals, and political platforms.

This is not distant dystopia or traditional science fiction. Nearly every mechanism of control depicted in the novel already exists today, waiting only for the removal of institutional limits to be fully realized.

• The United States is now a theocratic surveillance state.
• Elections are performative.
• Dissent is being criminalized.
• Women’s bodies are regulated by data systems backed by religious authority and unchallenged executive power.
• Freedom is being bureaucratized out of existence.

This isn’t your parents’ sci-fi; its tone is controlled, unsentimental, and wickedly funny—a fast-paced thrill ride full of twists and turns. Ashes of the Republic is the first installment in the Ascent of Dennison series of gripping political thrillers that asks what happens when legal, cultural, and moral guardrails are deliberately dismantled by leaders who believe themselves divinely justified and technologically unaccountable.

The Gratitude Express by Walter Green

The Gratitude Express tells the story of Daniel, a young journalist traveling to see his ailing grandfather. With a notebook in hand and a heavy heart, he struggles to write a eulogy for the man who meant so much to him. But when a mysterious steam train—unlisted and seemingly from another era—arrives at the station, Daniel steps aboard and embarks on a surreal, transformative journey.

Guided by a stoic conductor and his unexpectedly insightful parrot, Daniel is taken to vivid moments from his past—scenes long forgotten, where his life was changed and he unknowingly changed the course of others’ lives through small acts of courage and kindness.

Each stop reveals the power of gratitude: both the importance of expressing it and the impact that comes from receiving it. When the train finally delivers him to his destination, Daniel chooses to forgo the eulogy and share his appreciation with his grandfather face-to-face—just in time.

The book’s final image, with the Gratitude Express steaming into the distance, leaves readers with the reminder that we are not self-made, and expressing gratitude to those who have influenced us along the way enriches their lives and ours as well.

Blending fable, nostalgia, and emotional truth, The Gratitude Express offers a gentle, powerful lesson: never wait to say the words that matter.

Maggie's Big Break by Jennifer Dickinson

Perfect for anyone who loves a good friendship story and a love of theater. Maggie's Big Break is a testament to the power of following your dreams and the importance of never giving up.

Jennifer Dickinson's debut novel, Maggie's Big Break, is a powerful middle grade novel about Maggie Pierson, a theater-loving girl with a stutter.

Maggie Pierson is an 11-year-old aspiring actress starting sixth grade at a new school with her best friend, Francesca. Their first day is full of shared dreams about auditioning for the school's fall play, Dahlia Rockets to Space. But they're not the only ones looking to audition. Valentine, an experienced actress who has been in a commercial and a movie, has her eye set on the play's lead role and a new friend. Francesca falls under the spell of Valentine, the know-it-all actress who teases Maggie about her stutter. Maggie's disability has never held her back from performing before, but in the face of new insecurities and her best friend's abandonment, quitting seems like Maggie's best choice. How will Maggie find the courage to pursue her big acting dreams?

The Last Sunday in May by Kate Clark Stone

She’s a single mom, a devoted daughter, and an Indy 500 hopeful daring to dream in an exhilarating and emotional novel about family, ambition, and second chances.

Mack Williams was the next big thing in motorsports. Until her wild ways forced her to leave racing in her rearview mirror. Ten years later, she’s a single mom in rural Indiana, with a struggling family business and a dad who needs full-time care. The fastest woman on four wheels now drives car pool, her dreams turned to dust.

But Mack’s childhood idol, Janet Joyner, still sees the spark. Famed for breaking gender barriers on the track, Janet gives Mack a last-ditch chance to qualify for the coveted Indy 500. Mack thought her days of impulsive choices were over, but she can’t say no, whatever the risks―moving in with her estranged sister, facing down her daughter’s absentee father, and working with Mack’s new teammate, Leo. He’s gorgeous, supportive, and every kind of distraction Mack can’t afford.

Juggling her personal life with a professional dream close within reach, Mack won’t let a second chance slip away again. Win or lose, the stakes have never been higher.

Trust Yourself Anyway: Designing a Life That Fits by Sally Miller

Sally Miller is an award-winning fashion designer, speaker, creative entrepreneur, and now author of Trust Yourself Anyway: Designing a Life That Fits (May 2026).

• After decades working with girls and women in an industry built on identity, comparison, and external validation — including dressing the Obama girls, Jenna Ortega, Maddie Ziegler and Nia Sioux
• Sally brings a clear perspective to what many are experiencing right now: how to trust yourself in a world that is constantly telling you who to be.

Sally’s work is rooted in lived experience and a simple, design-based framework:
• Trust: The Fitting Room
• Trust: The Fitting Room
• Curiosity: Try It On
• Letting Go: The Reveal

These four pillars help women reconnect to their voice, make aligned decisions, and move forward with clarity, creativity, and self-trust.

• The conversation resonates across generations, from younger women navigating pressure and identity to those in reinvention, stepping into a new chapter and learning to trust themselves again.

Against All Odds by Richard A. Danzig

Richard A. Danzig will be releasing his new novel Against All Odds, a legal thriller, on May 1, 2026. In Against All Odds, Chance Cormac faces both a personal and professional crisis, losing faith in the legal system and himself. Leaving behind his law practice and life in Brooklyn, Chance embarks on a mission to represent illegally detained immigrants across the country. His journey takes him from federal courtrooms to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador, where he fights to free a client imprisoned without hope of escape.

As Chance battles for justice, his former paralegal and first love, Sally McConnell, confronts her own challenges, including her husband’s cancer diagnosis and her daughter Melody’s experience with cyberbullying at school. Ultimately, Chance must regain his faith in order to help those who need him most — and himself.

To learn more, visit https://www.richardadanzigauthor.com

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