April 2026 Reading Wrap Up: 12 Books I Read While Barely Surviving My Slump

April was… a month. I was hoping March meant I was fully crawling out of my reading slump, emerging dramatically from the shadows with a stack of books and renewed purpose. So no, this was not my biggest reading month. But I did notice something: when I actually picked up a book, I usually flew through it. Apparently my brain was not anti-reading. It was just anti-effort.

Here’s where my April 2026 reading wrap up and where my book reviews stand.

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April Reading Stats

Books read: 12
Pages read: 4,327
Average rating: 3.4
Reading vibe: paranormal comfort reads and favorite authors, sports romance, and please do not make me read anything slow right now
Format breakdown: 7 audiobooks, 1 print book, 4 ebooks
Trend I did not expect: more than one next-gen series showed up this month

Watch: My April 2026 Reading Wrap-Up

If you prefer video/podcast-style chatting, I also talked through most of these books in my April wrap-up episode. I forgot one of the books when recording!

Top Picks of the Month

April may have been a slower reading month, but I still found a few books that really worked for me and they were all very different flavors of romance/fantasy.

Legacy of Desire by Larissa Ione 4 STARS

I will always show up for the Demonica universe. Always. No questions asked, no blurb required, just hand me the book and let me return to my paranormal happy place.

This is book three in the Demonica Birthright series, which is the next-generation spinoff from the original Demonica books, and I highly recommend reading the whole universe in order. This one caught me a little by surprise because I thought I was getting a love triangle situation, and then it leaned more into a why choose setup with three best friends who already have a deep bond.

What I love about Larissa Ione is that she knows how to balance the relationship with actual paranormal worldbuilding and action. We still get the locations, characters, and overall vibe that made the original series so addictive.

Grab Legacy of Desire on Amazon

A Curse of Beasts and Magic by Jeaniene Frost 4 STARS

This was one of my most anticipated books of the year, and thankfully, it delivered.

It’s basically a Beauty and the Beast retelling where Beauty is the beast, which is such a fun setup. We have an ER nurse who discovers there is something very not-normal going on with her, especially when a beastly side comes out and needs to feed on terrible people.

What surprised me most is that even though Jeaniene Frost is writing something different here, it still felt familiar in the best way. It does not feel like Cat and Bones or Vlad, but there is something in the voice, pacing, and paranormal that gave me that familiar vibe.

I would call this more fantasy romance on paper, but it gave me strong urban fantasy vibes, and that worked for me.

Grab A Curse of Beasts and Magic on Amazon

The Fake Divination Offense by Sara Raasch 4 STARS

I did not read the first book in this series, and now I’m annoyed with myself because this was so much fun. This is a sports romance with magic. Sara Raasch has this way of making books feel playful, unique, and genuinely easy to read. The dialogue, the setup and the characters are fun.

We have an athlete in a PR fake relationship with the team cheerleader, opposites attract and just a really entertaining story from the first chapter.

Grab The Fake Divination Offense on Amazon

Everything I Read in April 2026

Gorgon With the Wind by Devon Monk 3 STARS

I picked this up because I’ve really enjoyed Devon Monk’s Ordinary Magic series, and this sounded like a cozy mystery version of that same Ordinary, Oregon world.

The cozy paranormal mystery vibes are definitely there. We still have the vacationing gods and that magical small town weirdness. But it didn’t quite hit for me the way Ordinary Magic did. I think I missed the stronger connection to the main protagonist, her sisters, the town dynamics, and the romance thread that made the other series so easy to get into.

This was still enjoyable enough that I’d probably try the next book, but if someone asked me where to start with this world, I’d still point them toward Death and Relaxation first. That one has more of the flavor I wanted.

Grab Gorgon With the Wind on Amazon

Love at First Bite by Katherine Dyson 3 STARS

This was what I’m calling a soft paranormal romance with a vampire hero, forced proximity, and a heroine who ends up at a goth weekend retreat/festival that is very much not her usual scene.

The best way I can describe this is: a cute women’s fiction-y contemporary romance, but with fangs.

It is not super heavy on the paranormal worldbuilding. The vampire element is there, obviously, but the book reads more like a light contemporary romance with a paranormal twist than a full-on vampire romance with deep lore. And honestly, sometimes that is exactly the energy you need.

I enjoyed it, and I’ll probably check out the author’s next book.

Grab Love at First Bite on Amazon

The Missing Ones by A.R. Torre 3 STARS

This was a fast, easy audiobook thriller, but not my favorite A.R. Torre. The premise had potential: an exclusive close-knit community, three vanished residents, human remains discovered years later, and three women with secrets, accusations, and messy rich-people drama swirling around them.

And this is definitely readable. It’s the kind of popcorn thriller you can fly through by the pool when you want something quick and not too involved. But I never connected with the characters as much as I wanted to, and the rich people problems angle did not fully work for me this time.

If you’ve already read everything else by A.R. Torre, this could still be a light summer read. But it’s not the one I’d personally start with.

Grab The Missing Ones on Amazon

Isle of Wrath by Claire Contreras 3.5 STARS

This is the first book in a dark romantasy series, and it gave me dystopian, gothic, mythology-based fantasy vibes. There were moments where the tone reminded me a little of older fantasy books, and there were some Hunger Games-ish vibes too, even though it is not actually that.

The worldbuilding has some really interesting concepts, especially the idea of memories functioning almost like currency. I loved that. I also liked the gods, prophecies, and darker atmosphere.

That said, the worldbuilding did feel like it had some gaps, and it took me a little while to fully get into the story, especially on audio. But once I was in, I was in. I think this is one of those books where you need to give it a little breathing room before it really hooks you.

If you like dark romantasy with a dystopian edge and a mythology-based world, this is worth checking out for sure. Also, if you liked The Jasad Heir, give this one a try.

Grab Isle of Wrath on Amazon

The Earl That Got Away by Diana Quincy 3.5 STARS

This was my Romanceopoly study session read for the month, and it was a solid second chance historical romance. I did not read the first book in the series and didn’t feel lost, which is always appreciated.

What I really liked here was how the heroine’s culture and traditions were incorporated into the story and the historical context. That gave the romance a different angle from what we often see in historical romance, and I enjoyed that. The pacing dragged a bit for me, especially around the flashbacks and the time it took for the reconnection to really move forward. But overall, if you like second chance romance and want a historical that brings in cultural conflict and family expectations in a meaningful way, this is a good one to try.

Grab The Earl That Got Away on Amazon

Love Song by Elle Kennedy 3.25 STARS

This is my least favorite book in the Off-Campus universe. I know. Painful. But we have to tell the truth here.

This is a next-generation book. Wyatt is the son of Garrett Graham and Hannah from The Deal, and Blake is the daughter of the couple from The Mistake. They’ve grown up together, there has always been attraction, he rejected her before, and now they’re in a forced proximity summer beach house situation where all those feelings come crashing back.

The summer beachy vibe worked. If you like Emily Henry or Abby Jimenez-style summer settings, but with way more spice and a younger New Adult cast, this has some of that appeal. But the characters did not fully work for me. Blake felt immature and Wyatt? I had questions. Many questions. Mostly about how Garrett Graham raised this manchild because some of his choices had me side-eyeing the whole family tree.

There were cute moments. There was spice. I loved seeing the original Off-Campus characters as parents. If you want my full thoughts on this one, check out my Love Song by Elle Kennedy review.

Grab Love Song on Amazon

Tender Is the Storm by Johanna Lindsey 2 STARS

This was our bodice ripper book club pick, and yes, there are full podcast episodes discussing Tender is the Storm on this one so you can catch my full deep dive thoughts on it.

If you enjoy soap operas, this might be a fun time. It is over the top, dramatic, messy, and very much an older bodice ripper experience. I didn’t hate reading it. That’s important. The two stars are not because I was miserable the whole time.

But there were a lot of plot holes, the writing style did not fully connect with me, the time jumps were distracting, and the biggest issue for me was that there was a lot of telling and not much showing.

Still, I’m glad I read it. It has an iconic cover, and part of the fun of Ripped and Ravished is reading these older romances through a modern lens and seeing what the experience actually is beyond the reputation. I do think it’s a good entry book to reading bodice rippers because as far as problematic behavior it was as light as I’ve read so far.

Also, our next book club pick for May/June is A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux, and we’ll be discussing it on the podcast in June. Join us!

Grab Tender Is the Storm on Amazon

In Your Court by Kit Haley 4 STARS

This is a male/male contemporary sports romance with tennis, and the easiest pitch is: Heated Rivalry, but lighter and with tennis.

You still get the rivalry. You still get the chemistry. But it doesn’t have quite the same intense emotional push-pull or drama. It is sweeter, a little softer, and very easy to binge.

One of the main characters used to be on the rise in tennis, but after an accident, he has struggled to recover his career. No sponsorships, no fancy team, terrible rentals, doing his own laundry… the glamorous sports life, truly. Meanwhile, the other MC is the golden boy with the coach, the assistants, the nice hotels, the better food, and all the support.

When they reconnect, the tension is immediate, but so is the chemistry. I loved that we actually get to see the sport and the events, and I really enjoyed the balance between rivalry and sweetness.

If you like tennis romances or sports romances with a little less angst but plenty of chemistry, this is a great one.

Grab In Your Court on Amazon

How to Fake It in Society by K.J. Charles 3.5 STARS

A shopkeeper inherits an estate after marrying a woman on her deathbed, and the man who was supposed to marry her to help his financial woes to keep some bad people at bay. This book is perfect for readers who love a good historical mystery with a decent side of romance and low spice. It also almost has a crime organization vibe to it too but in a historical context which was so much fun. The complex lovable characters are what really stands out about this book though. Even though the plot may have been slightly complicated at times.

This was the book I completely forgot to mention when I was recording because I forgot to log it as read on Storygraph, which honestly feels very on-brand for April. Did I forget any more? Possible.

Grab How to Fake It in Society on Amazon

What April Taught Me About My Reading Mood

Even though April was a slower month, I’m not mad at what I read. I picked up books I was genuinely interested in, and that matters more to me than forcing a huge number just to say I did it. There was a good mix of paranormal, romantasy, historical, thriller, sports romance, and old school romance. If anything, I would have liked a little more historical romance and maybe a little more dark romance, but I already started May with some of that, so apparently my reading brain is course-correcting already.

May Reading Predictions

If April is any indication, May is going to need:

• more historical romance
• more dark romance
• paranormal books that actually give me the worldbuilding
• maybe some more fun contemporaries as we get to summer
• absolutely nothing slow, thank you very much

Tell me your best read of April. And if you have a recommendation I need to add to my May TBR, I’m listening.

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