April Reading Wrap-Up

Books Read

(4/6) Lake Effect by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney (★★★★★ – audiobook, Libby, 2026) – a beautiful story about the powerful effect secrets and lies can have on a community, but also how healing forgiveness can be

(4/7) Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake (★★☆☆☆ 1/2 – print, indie bookstore, 2025) – a romance about a regular person and a celebrity falling in love that didn’t impact me in any special way

(4/8) Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson (★★★☆☆ – print, Book of the Month, 2022) – when Byron and Benny’s mom dies, she leaves behind a recording that tells the story of her life

(4/12) The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie (★★★☆☆ – print, indie bookstore, 1920) – Christie’s debut! This mystery is about a wealthy matriarch who is poisoned and the silly Belgian detective who figures out the murderer. 

(4/13) The Love Haters by Katherine Center (★★★☆☆ – print, Book of the Month, 2025) – a contemporary romance featuring the grumpy/sunshine trope that just didn’t work for me

(4/14) How to Solve Your Own Murder by Kristen Perrin (★★★★☆ – audiobook, Libby, 2024) – when Annie’s great-aunt dies mysteriously, it’s up to her to solve her murder in order to gain an inheritance

(4/17) The Appeal by Janice Hallett (★★★★☆ – print, indie bookstore, 2021) – an inventive mystery involving text messages, police transcripts, emails, and more; you’re not only solving the murder, but also trying to figure out who got murdered, too.

(4/18) First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison (★★★★☆ – print, Book of the Month, 2025) – a contemporary romance following a radio host and a single mom who have both given up on love

(4/18) Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (★★★★★ – print, Book of the Month, 2026) – a tradwife wakes up one day to find she’s living in the 1800s. Is it a conspiracy, a bad dream, or something else entirely?

(4/18) Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman (★★★☆☆ – e-book, Libby, 2020) – a litRPG book that I would have never picked up on my own, and had a fairly good time while reading it

(4/18) Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino (★★★★☆ – print, Book of the Month, 2025) – unhinged thriller alert! This book was insane in the best possible way.

(4/21) Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis (★★★★☆ – e-book, Libby, 2011) – a reread from a beloved romance author about a pilot-for-hire and an animal rescuer falling in love

(4/22) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 1 by Beth Brower (★★★★☆ – audiobook, Hoopla, 2020) – a cute novella about a woman writing journal entries about her new life in a small English town in the 1800s.

(4/25) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 2 by Beth Brower (★★★★☆ – audiobook, Hoopla, 2020) – the second novella in the Emma M. Lion series, which I loved just as much as the first.

(4/27) Kin by Tayari Jones (★★★★☆ – print, Target, 2026) – a beautifully written book about two best friends whose lives diverge dramatically after high school

(4/29) In Your Dreams by Sarah Adams (★★★☆☆ 1/2 – e-book, Libby, 2025) – a little on the cheesy side at times, but a cute romance that deals with trauma, identity, and family

(4/29) The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, Vol. 3 by Beth Brower (★★★★☆ – audiobook, Hoopla, 2020) – the first full-length novel in the Emma M. Lion series, and omg, I just love this series so much!

Book Stats

• # of books read: 15 (and 2 novellas)
• # of pages read: 5,596
• Genre breakdown: fiction (7), romance (5), mystery/thriller (4), science fiction/fantasy (1)
• Format breakdown: print (9), audiobook (5), and ebook (3)
• Fastest read: Best Offer Wins (1 day)
• Slowest read: Kin (9 days)
• Star average: 3.8

Superlatives

• The best book I read in April: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
• My favorite romance in April: First-Time Caller by B.K. Borison
• The book I thought I would love more than I did: Dream On, Ramona Riley by Ashley Herring Blake
• The book I only read because book club made me: Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
• The book with the strongest sense of place: Lake Effect by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney

Reading Miscellaneous

Unread Shelf Project | April prompt: A book with a color in the name: I went with Black Cake, which I added to my Book of the Month box earlier this year due to some recommendations. It was fine, but not a standout for me. (Books it beat out: Yellowface, A Spool of Blue Thread, and Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore.)

Where I traveled this month: In the United States, I visited California, Washington DC, Idaho, New York, New Hampshire, Florida, Maryland, Louisiana, Georgia, and Kentucky. I also traveled to Jamaica and, again, to many places in the U.K., including London, Essex, and Yorkshire.

DNFs: My second month in a row with zero DNFs!

Something I learned from my reading: I learned about black cake, which is something I had never heard of before reading the book with the same name. Honestly, it sounds really delicious!

What’s Coming Up in May

Here are some of the books I’m going to try to get around to reading in May:

• James by Percival Everett – This book was everywhere a few years ago, but I’ve yet to read it. I’m going to give it a try this month!
• The Ending Writes Itself by Evelyn Clarke – I heard about this book on Shelf Respect, and it’s a book that’s so in my wheelhouse, it isn’t funny. Then, it was a Book of the Month selection in April! I’m excited to sit down with this one soon.
• Good People by Patmeena Sabit – This book is getting a ton of buzz and I moved it up my TBR list because of that.
• Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood – I wasn’t sure if I was going to read this romance, but I heard enough rave reviews that I’m going to at least give it a try.
• In the Weeds by B.K. Borison – This is the second book in Borison’s Lovelight Farms series. I loved the first one so, so much, and I hope the second one lives up to the hype.

What was the best book you read in April?