Top new literary-fiction books in April 2025
Last updated:
February 9, 2025
April 2025 featuring new releases by Katie Kitamura, Alka Joshi, Lynn Steger Strong, Nghi Vo, Jo Harkin, Sara Jafari, Sarah Damoff, Morgan Dick, Heather McGowan, Bianca Pensy Aba and many more.
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Audition by Katie Kitamura
One woman, the performance of a lifetime. Or two. A mesmerizing Mobius strip of a novel that asks who we are to the people we love.Two people meet for lunch in a Manhattan restaurant. She’s an elegant and accomplished actress in rehearsals for an upcoming premiere. He’s attractive, troubling, and young—young enough to be her son...fiction · contemporary · literary-fiction · poc-author · friendship · psychological · thriller · female-mc · book · adult -
![Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi]()
Six Days in Bombay by Alka Joshi
From the New York Times bestselling author of THE HENNA ARTIST, this sweeping novel follows a young Anglo-Indian nurse who embarks on a journey from her home in Bombay, through Prague, Florence, Paris, and London, to uncover a mystery and prove her innocence after a famous painter dies in her care...historical-fiction · fiction · historical · literary-fiction · poc-mc · audiobook · 20th-century · female-mc · book · adult -
![The Float Test by Lynn Steger Strong]()
The Float Test by Lynn Steger Strong
From Lynn Steger Strong, critically acclaimed author of Flight, a sophisticated and layered novel about sisters, betrayal, love, and climate change, for readers of The Dutch House and The Most Fun We Ever Had.The Kenner siblings are at odds. Jenn is a harried mom struggling under the weight of family obligations... -
![Don't Sleep with the Dead by Nghi Vo]()
Don't Sleep with the Dead by Nghi Vo
From award-winning author Nghi Vo comes Don't Sleep with the Dead, a standalone companion novella to The Chosen and the Beautiful, her acclaimed reimagining of The Great Gatsby.“A vibrant and queer reinvention of F. Scott Fitzgerald's jazz age classic. . . . I was captivated from the first sentence...fantasy · lgbtq · retellings · historical-fiction · historical · fiction · horror · dark · romantic-love · literary-fiction -
![The Pretender by Jo Harkin]()
The Pretender by Jo Harkin
A sweeping historical novel in the vein of Hilary Mantel and Maggie O’Farrell set during the time of the Tudors’ ascent...historical-fiction · historical · fiction · coming-of-age · politics · family · literary-fiction · book · adult -
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![Things Left Unsaid by Sara Jafari]()
Things Left Unsaid by Sara Jafari
A dazzling, electrifying, and thought-provoking novel for readers of Maame and Honey Girl, Things Left Unsaid is a mesmerizing and deeply-felt exploration of discovering your place in the world and the lasting power of love.When twenty-six year old Shirin Bayat bumps into Kian at a house party in London, she is taken aback by the immediate feelings that resurface... -
![The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff]()
The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
One family. Four generations. A secret son. A devastating addiction. A Texas family is met with losses and surprises of inheritance, but they’re unable to shake the pull back toward each other in this big-hearted family saga perfect for readers of Mary Beth Keane and Claire Lombardo.Ryan and Lillian Bright are deeply in love, recently married, and now parents to a baby girl, Georgette...fiction · literary-fiction · historical-fiction · contemporary · family · tragedy · drama · book · adult -
![Favorite Daughter by Morgan Dick]()
Favorite Daughter by Morgan Dick
A darkly funny debut novel about two estranged sisters who are unknowingly thrown together by their problematic father’s dying wish Mickey and Arlo are half sisters. But they’ve never spoken and never met. Arlo adored her father—but always lived in the shadow of his magnetic personality and burdensome vices...fiction · contemporary · literary-fiction · family · psychological · female-mc · humor · friendship · book · adult -
![Friends of the Museum by Heather McGowan]()
Friends of the Museum by Heather McGowan
Coworkers at a legendary but troubled New York City museum struggle with issues large and small over the course of one extraordinary day in this whip-smart “marvel” (Mona Awad, bestselling author of Bunny) of a novel in the vein of The White Lotus...fiction · contemporary · literary-fiction · humor · dark-academia · season-spring · female-mc · urban · book · adult -
![52 Weeks a Party of One by Bianca Pensy Aba]()
52 Weeks a Party of One by Bianca Pensy Aba
Aisha isn’t known to hold her tongue, but that’s until she finds out her boyfriend and her best friend are having an affair on New Year’s Eve. This sends her packing. She leaves Denver and moves to Dallas to have the time and space to process the betrayal... -
![Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman]()
Ruth Run by Elizabeth Kaufman
Cybercrime leads to a cross-country pursuit as an ambitious, misfit young thief exploits a hacked microchip to rob banks, and learns too late that the wrong people have been watching herTwenty-six-year-old Ruth excels at microchip design but decides to get rich the old-fashioned way: robbing banks...fiction · suspense · journey · thriller · crime · contemporary · female-mc · literary-fiction · technothriller · book -
![Happiness and Love by Zoe Dubno]()
Happiness and Love by Zoe Dubno
Following a young woman over the course of one outrageous and insufferable downtown dinner party at the home of her estranged best friends—an artist and curator couple, whom she now realizes stand for everything she detests—Happiness and Love is a piercing debut novel about brazen materialism, self-obsession, and the empty careerism of so-called cultural elites...
