My April Reads – 2026

April was a strong reading month for me, despite two weeks of travel. I actually tend to read more when I am traveling. Once I am in that hotel room, I don’t have many distractions from my day to day life, and the page count soars.

I did really well on my priority reads, finishing them all.

This was my book club pick for the month, so it was my biggest must read. Remarkably Bright Creatures is about a giant pacific octopus, Marcellus, who helps an aquarium worker solve the mystery of her missing son. It is getting the Netflix treatment in a month or two. I read it last year, so this time through was a brush up, and I focused on Marcellus’s chapters. This is a mustn’t miss book, in my opinion. It is phenomenal. If you love heartwarming, tear jerker, stories with animals (no animals harmed in these pages except a few crabs and sea cucumbers consumed by the star of the book) you need to pick this up.

In this mystery, the First Lady of the United States has been charged with killing her philandering husband. This one met several prompts for me in my reading challenges, so I was glad to complete it. This story is more about the drama of DC. The mystery isn’t buried too deeply. I saw hints on how it would go early on, but it was interesting to see how the truth was uncovered. If you enjoy shameless defense attorneys, grasping media and film stars, unrepentant wives with philandering husbands, and jaundiced humor this may appeal to you.

This is the sixth Robert Langdon novel and the first Brown novel in a number of years. I love a roller coaster thriller. Normally Brown incorporates ancient secrets, art, and architecture. This book was more futuristic and cutting edge tech. I didn’t enjoy that vibe as much, but it held my attention. It was over 600 pages and could have been shorter, but it kept me guessing. It also fills some reading challenge prompts. Brown ups the ante with a wild story every time. If you’ve enjoyed his work in the past, it’s worth the investment.

This one is on my 26 books in 2026 list, and I have been meaning to reread it forever. It was one of my very favorite books as a pre-teen, and I have fond memories of discussing it with my mom, who also loved it. As it is a middle grade book, it was a quick reread. As such, it’s a simple story and our main character’s “flaws,” if you can call them that, don’t run deep. (I wouldn’t from a modern perspective. And in many ways, she’s a Mary Sue.) It’s set in the 1800’s and written in the 40’s, so this is also not a modern take on girlhood, thank goodness, but it’s sweet and it’s a fairytale world that is lushly described. I recommend it if you can suspend modern takes long enough to enjoy it for what it is and you love that delicious fairytale feel.

This is one of my brother’s favorite books from childhood, and I also enjoyed it a lot. One reading challenge prompt for me is to read a favorite childhood book from a family member. I thought this one would be fun to revisit. It was a quick and charming reread. It was published in the 60’s, so some aspects reflect that time. Huck, a Native American boy, makes friends with two other children and a shy, but feisty stegosaurus whom they need to hide from the world.

Next are my Tier Two reads, and I completed them all.

This was my April cookbook pick. I am reading one (or more) cookbooks each month as a personal challenge in 2026. The main idea is to find healthy recipes and actually make them. This is a chicken wing cookbook, and it’s a keeper for sure. A lot of the recipes will work not only for making different kinds of wings, but for other cuts of chicken as well. There were so many recipes I would do that I lost count, and that is a rarity for me with any cookbook. I tend to find that a typical cookbook will only contain a handful of recipes that I would really make. I keep way too many for that ratio, but the photography and the appeal to my fantasy self often wins out. My fantasy self is a much better cook than I am. This cookbook is different! I would really make this stuff. Since I was traveling, I haven’t had a chance to make something, but I expect to in the next week or so. Tangy Thai and Mole Ole are at the top of the list.

  • Deadly Yours (A Samantha McMican Mystery) by Cyndi L Stuart

I picked this one up because of a reading prompt looking for a friend recommendation. My writer friend Avis M. Adams has a fantastic blog called Your Next Favorite Author, which suggested this novel. I enjoyed this mystery thriller. It’s about a professor who had been stalked by a serial killer until she went into hiding with a new identity. Now the killer has found her and is killing those she cares about. I did not guess the killer, so it’s a winner, and I recommend it.

I also did a reread of Avis’s poetry book. I have made it a personal goal to read some poetry each month in 2026 to improve my prose. I hope these words seep in when I need them. The poems are poignant, touching on family relationships and the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. I recommend it highly!

I have never been a big reader of traditional contemporary romance. But this year, I am trying to read some Romantasy and my reading challenges have thrown up a couple of contemporary romance prompts. The prompt in question was for something rom-com-ish. I actually have written some rom-com short fiction, so I thought, why not? I had seen Ali Hazelwood at the Kauai Writers Conference. She’s a PhD and this has STEM representation, which I appreciate. The downsides for me specifically? It is way spicier than my taste, and the main character is too adorkable for words (that k is there on purpose). A couple elements have me suspending strong disbelief that this is what really happens (or is appropriate) in academia (I spent three years in a Pharmacology lab, so I can speak to it), and fake dating is kind of a suspend-disbelief trope anyhow, so the scenario is a stretch. However, they are a cute couple I wanted to root for, there were humorous moments, and it was an enjoyable read, if not the best genre fit for my overall taste. If rom-com inspired romance with fake dating, lots of banter, high spice (IMO), and all the awkward moments is your jam, you’ll enjoy it too.

Tier Three only included a couple of books.

This is a book for indie authors that explores a fan focused alternative approach to one’s career. I LOVED this book, and it validates for me that rapid release is not the best move for my writing journey after all. There is more than one way to be a writer and I need to embrace what fits me best. This offered a lot of ideas to consider. I highly recommend it to authors who don’t feel rapid release is a great fit.

This one is supposed to help me get better at writing setting. I can see already that the tips are helpful, but the book is dense with a lot of valuable examples. I did NOT finish this in April, and will be reading from it for quite some time.

Here’s the covers for all the planned reads.

I also finished up a couple of other books I started in March. These include:

This took me a long time to read. I found the first half slow, but the second half worth the effort. If this hadn’t been such a popular cozy fantasy, I might have DNF’d given the slow roll out in the first half. The talking plant, Caz, was the other thing that kept me going. That said, I found that I had the same issue with Legends and Lattes. I think that since the stakes are lower and it’s more about the lush descriptions of food and the setting early on (my personal taste leans toward streamlined and pointed description), that cozy fantasy is just a genre I will find slow in the first half of the book. Both of these books picked up with higher stakes and faster pacing at the end. I think they are worth the read, but it’s something to be aware of when I choose them. I do recommend it if you don’t mind a leisurely pace, if you enjoy beautiful descriptions of cozy things, and found family is a favorite trope of yours. The main character escapes the sacking of the capital and relocates to an outer island to rebuild her life. She chooses to start a spell shop under the cover of selling jam and learns to trust her new community.

I really appreciated all the valuable information in this book and I’ll be referring to it often. It’s right on target with hot tips for a writer preparing to launch. I highly recommend it to newbie indie authors.

Forest Bathing is a nonfiction that explores the research around the Japanese concept of forest bathing, looking at the impact of trees on human health and happiness. The book is short and the research is persuasive. I recommend it if that concept speaks to you. I enjoyed employing the idea when I visited the Olympic Peninsula on my recent trip. The gigantic cedars there just convey a feeling of peace.

In addition to my planned reads and my wrap ups, I also picked up a bonus book that fulfills a couple of categories in the Goodreads Spring challenge. Do I really need to do this challenge? No. But I couldn’t resist.

The Raven Scholar is an epic fantasy that comes in only 667 pages, LOL. I didn’t think I’d finish it in April, but given how many other categories in the Goodreads challenge are yet to be announced, I pushed through. It’s a compelling read about Neema, the Emperor’s High Scholar, who has organized the trials to choose a new Emperor at the planned end of the current leader’s reign. Through a series of unusual events, Neema is forced to compete in the trial herself, while at the same time investigating a murder so that she’s not held responsible. In doing so, she uncovers a twisted conspiracy. Now that was something I could get on board with, and the book delivers on the hype it has generated. The world building is especially strong. I recommend it, and I will pick up book two when it becomes available.

If you have a favorite read to recommend, or a favorite book challenge for 2026, be sure to comment!

Thanks for reading!

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