Featuring April in Fiction

April & Oliver by Tess Callahan

April and Oliver are cousins, used to be best friends, and might be soul mates. But April, a damaged barkeep who dallies with dangerous men, and Oliver, a musical prodigy who’s made sensible decisions all his life, are estranged, and are only brought together again when April’s brother is killed in a car accident. The renewed friendship between the apparent opposites is tentative, fraught with desire and fear on both sides, and complicated by others in their lives — a fiancée for Oliver, and the violent T.J. for April. There are no easy answers in a story like this, but the author’s “poetic style and grasp of emotion” (Publishers Weekly) makes the tale of April and Oliver compelling.

Happy Birthday by Danielle Steel

As her 60th birthday approaches, famous arbiter of style Valerie Wyatt finds herself alone. So too does her hard-working chef daughter, April, who is herself nearing her 30th birthday with a successful restaurant to show for it — but no love life. But life has surprises in store for both of them, and a chance encounter in an elevator and a romantic indiscretion lead to new chances at love. As in her other novels, author Danielle Steel delivers high drama, sad stories, and happy endings for her strong female characters. Grab it if you’ve got a hankering for romance and women reevaluating their priorities.