Spring Book Releases that Need to Be on Your Radar

On The Sunny Side #18 get your library card ready

Mar 23, 2025

On The Sunny Side is a weekly round-up where I share a few sunny things that have brightened my days, what I’m reading, watching, and obsessing over too.

Happy, happy Sunday all!

Spring is officially here, and Chicago 7pm sunsets are back, baby! Although we had a surprise snowfall Thursday morning, all traces have since been melted away and I fear we’re in for a few more weeks of winter weather. On the life front, I’m chugging away at my new job—figuring out my role and my new routine while putting writing on pause for the time being (I’m in the midst of drafting and waiting to sit with the storyline/characters. Also, side note, I really resonated with Jessica Joyce’s post about this and it’s a good read!)

As many of you—at least the ones who make it to the end of these posts—know I’ve been all-in on this season of Severance. I had a watch party with friends on Friday and… OH. MY. GOD. That’s all I’m saying about that but Season 3, is that you 😅

Okay, onto today’s main topic: Spring Book Releases. I’ve got a good roundup for y’all and I’ve already been placing numerous library holds that I’ll thank myself for later.

Grab yourself a warm (or iced) beverage and let’s chat books!

The Ones to add to your Beach Bag

Spring is *the* season for amazing romcoms.

Any Trope But You by Victoria Lavine | RomCom out April 1st. A bestselling romance author flees to Alaska to reinvent herself and write her first murder mystery, but the rugged resort proprietor soon has her fearing she’s living in a rom-com plot instead in this earnestly spectacular debut by a stunning new voice. This debut sounds delicious and very EmHen-esque.

Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry | RomCom out Apr 22nd. Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve. It’s giving The Seven Lives of Evelyn Hugo meets The Great Gatsby.

Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein | Contemporary Romance out May 13th. The story of two half-sisters who meet for the first time at their father’s cabin in Maine after his unexpected death. It’s a love letter to lake like and sounds like Parent Trap for adults.

Sounds Like Love by Ashley Poston | RomCom out June 17th. A hitmaking songwriter and a bitter musician share a startling and inexplicable connection that they’ll do anything to shake, in the next sparkling, magical book. Dare I say this screams Music and Lyrics?!

The Ones for the Thrill Seekers and Closet Poirot’s

Thriller’s haven’t been my thing in a while, but these caught my attention.

Saltwater by Katy Hays | Thriller out Mar 25th . On glittering Capri, anything can be a mirage. And no one holds a grudge like family. An electrifying thriller about an opulent family retreat to Italy that’s shattered by a resurfacing decades-old crime.

Heartwood by Amity Grace | Thriller out Apr 1st. This one takes you on a gripping journey as a search and rescue team race against time when an experienced hiker mysteriously disappears on the Appalachian Trail in Maine. I could see this being fantastic for a spring book club!

Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (On a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto | Cozy Mystery out Apr 1st. Vera is back and as meddling as ever looking for her next murder to solve. If you haven’t read the first novel in this series, I highly recommend. It’s so fun and great on audio!

Don’t Let Him In by Lisa Jewell | Thriller out Jun 24th. Nina, Martha, and Ash are on a collision course with a shocking truth that is far darker than anyone could have imagined. And all three are about to wish they had heeded the same warning: Don’t let him in. But the past won’t stay buried forever. Jewell’s books are hit or miss for me, but this plot already has me intrigued.

The Ones to Recommend at Book Club

If I were in a book club right now, I’d pick one of these.

Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley | Fiction out now! Date night goes off the rails in this hilariously insightful take on midlife and marriage when one unhappy couple find themselves at the heart of a crime in progress, that sounds suspiciously like the plot of Jane’s failed book… This sounds absolutely hilarious.

The Sirens by Emilia Hart | Magical Realism out Apr 1st. A spellbinding novel about sisters separated by centuries, but bound together by the sea from the author of Weyward (a personal favorite of mine!)

The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff | LitFic out Apr 22nd. 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 Claire Lombardo.

Favorite Daughter by Morgan Dick | LitFic out Apr 29th. A darkly funny debut novel about two estranged half sisters who are unknowingly thrown together by their problematic father’s dying wish. The cover alone has me dying to read this one!

Run for the Hills by Kevin Wilson | Contemporary out May 13th. An unexpected road trip across America brings a family together, in this raucous and moving new novel from the bestselling author of Nothing to See Here (another favorite of mine which you should definitely check out)!

There you have it—plenty of books to keep you nice and occupied with this spring season and carry you well into summer, pool time lounging, too.

What I’ve been reading & watching this week

📚 I made the executive decision to DNF Definitely Better Now and instead started First Time Caller which I’m having a wonderful time with.
🎧 On the audiobook front, I finished Madwoman (highly recommend if you like a messy MC) just in time for my Libby hold of All the Colors of the Dark to come in.
🥁 Music wise, I made a new spring-ish playlist for my yoga classes:
📺 The usuals, aka White Lotus and Severance—which if anyone wants to chat spoilers, HMU! And then we’ve been bingeing the newest season of Drive to Survive, and I am SO happy to be back with the boys 🏎️