10 Books to Read in April

 

 

April is here! Flowers are blooming, the sun is (hopefully!) shining a little more, and warm days are ahead. And what better way to welcome the spring season than with a good book? Here are the titles I’m excited to dive into this month.

 

1. Mad Mabel by Sally Hepworth (4/21)

"A twisty tale of justice, redemption, and one irrepressible woman who’s not done breaking the rules just yet."

 

 

2. Happy Ending by Chloe Liese (4/14)

"A clever and heartwarming rom-com that is perfect for fans of Christina Lauren and Annabel Monaghan about two best friends who must fake a relationship for their exes."

 

 

3. The Last Kiss of Summer by Jessica M. Felleman (4/28)

"A beautiful, heartbreaking love story about two teens who find their way back to each other through a second chance romance."

 

 

4. The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn (4/7)

"A woman tests the limits of her so-called amicable divorce when she flies to Paris for the destination wedding of her former sister-in-law, only to butt heads with the deliciously gruff best man."

 

 

5. The Name Game by Beth O'Leary (4/7)

"A man and a woman with the same name are looking for a fresh start only to discover they have landed the same job in this charming new romance."

 

 

6. American Fantasy by Emma Straub (4/7)

"Set sail on a parasocial voyage of friendship, nostalgia and resurfaced teen angst. Emma Straub’s latest story follows Annie, who boards a ‘90s-themed cruise ship and unexpectedly bonds with her favorite boy band while rediscovering the joys — and frustrations — of her youth."

 

 

7. Ms. Mebel Goes Back to the Chopping Block by Jesse Q. Sutanto (4/28)

"A nearly divorced trophy wife enrolls in culinary school to win back her husband, only to find a fresh start in the unlikeliest of places." 

 

 

8. Mrs. Benedict Arnold by Emma Parry (4/28)

"A riveting reimagining of the young woman who almost ended the American Revolution."

  

 

9. The Island Club by Nicola Harrison (4/28)

"An unputdownable novel of loves lost and found, shocking secrets—and the power of female friendship."

  

 

10. The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer (4/7) 

"Come along with the Book Witch in this magical and inspiring love letter to reading." 

 

What books have caught your eye this month? Let me know in the comments below. 

Blog Break

 

With Easter and spring break on the way, I’m stepping back from the blog for a bit to enjoy some family time and much-needed down time. I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday (if you celebrate) and finds a moment to relax with a good book. Before we know it, all those beach reads will be out—I can’t wait to share this summer’s best reads with you.

See you soon,
Christina

 

Bridgerton Roundup: Mini Reviews

With a new season of Bridgerton on Netflix, it inspired me to finally finish reading the much-loved series. There's something special about the Bridgerton family and I'm sad to say goodbye to them. If you love all things Bridgerton, check out all of my previous reviews as well as read-alikes and the spin-off series. 

 

It's in His Kiss (Bridgerton #7) by Julia Quinn

Pages: 496

Genre: Romance

Pub. Date: June 28, 2005

Publisher: Avon

Source: Personal Copy

Other Books By Author: Bridgerton series

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "Meet Our Hero…
Gareth St. Clair is in a bind. His father, who detests him, is determined to beggar the St. Clair estates and ruin his inheritance. Gareth’s sole bequest is an old family diary, which may or may not contain the secrets of his past… and the key to his future. The problem is—it’s written in Italian, of which Gareth speaks not a word.

Meet Our Heroine…
All the ton agreed: there was no one quite like Hyacinth Bridgerton. She’s fiendishly smart, devilishly outspoken and according to Gareth, probably best in small doses. But there’s something about her—something charming and vexing—that grabs him and won’t quite let go…

Meet Poor Mr. Mozart…
Or don’t. But rest assured, he’s spinning in his grave when Gareth and Hyacinth cross paths at the annual–and annually discordant—Smythe-Smith musicale. To Hyacinth, Gareth’s every word seems a dare, and she offers to translate his diary, even though her Italian is slightly less than perfect. But as they delve into the mysterious text, they discover that the answers they seek lie not in the diary, but in each other… and that there is nothing as simple—or as complicated—as a single, perfect kiss."

 

Gareth St. Clair is in line to inherit his family's estate and fortune, but all that is up in the air as his father is an all-around awful person and is set on destroying his inheritance. Gareth finds his ancestor's diary, written in Italian, and hopes to translate it as he feels it holds some family secrets. Who better to translate it than Hyacinth Bridgerton, who speaks some Italian and spends most of her days reading to his grandmother, Lady Danbury. Everyone knows Hyacinth can be a pill and is extremely outspoken, but that doesn't intimidate Garth in the least. Their adventure translating the diary and piecing the puzzle of his family together leads them to adventure, romance, and even more family secrets waiting to be revealed. Julia Quinn's It's in His Kiss is a delightful addition to the Bridgerton series, filled with snappy dialogue and swoon-worthy romance.
 
I loved Hyacinth from the start of It's in His Kiss; she is everything you could want in a heroine. I also appreciated that this installment in the Bridgerton series included a bit more adventure than the other novels; it was a lot of fun, and I enjoyed figuring out the St. Clair family's mysteries. Quinn also did a great job with the dialogue and the witty banter between Hyacinth and Gareth; it made the story jump off the page and sizzle with a slow-burning romance. It's in His Kiss is a favorite of mine from the series.

 

 

 

On the Way to the Wedding (Bridgerton #8) by Julia Quinn

Pages: 496

Genre: Romance

Pub. Date: June 27, 2006

Publisher: Avon

Source: Personal Copy

Other Books By Author: Bridgerton series

My Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "A funny thing happened... Unlike most men of his acquaintance, Gregory Bridgerton believes in true love. And he is convinced that when he finds the woman of his dreams, he will know in an instant that she is the one. And that is exactly what happened. Except...

She wasn't the one. In fact, the ravishing Miss Hermione Watson is in love with another. But her best friend, the ever-practical Lady Lucinda Abernathy, wants to save Hermione from a disastrous alliance, so she offers to help Gregory win her over. But in the process, Lucy falls in love. With Gregory! Except...

Lucy is engaged. And her uncle is not inclined to let her back out of the betrothal, even once Gregory comes to his senses and realizes that it is Lucy, with her sharp wit and sunny smile, who makes his heart sing. And now, on the way to the wedding, Gregory must risk everything to ensure that when it comes time to kiss the bride, he is the only man standing at the altar..."

 

 

Gregory Bridgerton believes in true love and is determined to find it. When he meets Hermione Watson, he is sure this is it....except she is in love with someone else! Hermione's best friend, Lady Lucinda (Lucy) Abernathy, knows Hermione is headed to disaster with her current crush and agrees to help Gregory woo Hermione. However, the more these two individuals work together and spend time together, the stronger a connection forms. However, before Lucy and Gregory can actually be together, Lucy is already engaged to someone she doesn't want to be with, thanks to her cruel uncle, who is responsible for her betrothal. Julia Quinn's final Bridgerton novel, On the Way to the Wedding, has so many things I love, but overall, it fell flat for me as it wasn't my favorite from the Bridgerton series.

A lot happens in On the Way to the Wedding towards the last twenty five percent of the novel; there's a hostage situation, guns, theatrics, etc, and it just felt really unrealistic and over the top. Due to that, I didn't enjoy the novel as much as I had hoped. I am sad, though, to see the series come to an end as it's one of the best romance series I've read. Even though On the Way to the Wedding was a bit of a letdown, I am still glad I read and listened the series, and it will always be one of my favorites, especially with the marvelous Rosalyn Landor narrating. 
 

Are you a fan of the Bridgerton series? Have you read all the novels? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and which Bridgerton book is your favorite.  

 

Audio Book Review: The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides

Genre: Adult Fiction/Audio Book

Pub. Date: February 5, 2019

Publisher: Macmillan Audio

Source: Personal Copy

Other Books By Author: The Fury

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. A famous painter married to an in-demand fashion photographer, she lives in a grand house with big windows overlooking a park in one of London’s most desirable areas. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word.

Alicia’s refusal to talk, or give any kind of explanation, turns a domestic tragedy into something far grander, a mystery that captures the public imagination and casts Alicia into notoriety. The price of her art skyrockets, and she, the silent patient, is hidden away from the tabloids and spotlight at the Grove, a secure forensic unit in North London.

Theo Faber is a criminal psychotherapist who has waited a long time for the opportunity to work with Alicia. His determination to get her to talk and unravel the mystery of why she shot her husband takes him down a twisting path into his own motivations—a search for the truth that threatens to consume him...."

 

 

The story starts with Alicia Berenson, a painter, who shot her husband in the face (for reasons we aren't sure of) and then stopped talking altogether. Her husband, Gabriel, a photographer, doesn't exactly seem like someone who raises too many red flags. Theo Faber, a psychoanalyst, takes a job at Alicia's institution for the sole purpose of interacting with Alicia as he thinks he can get her to talk. The story is narrated through Theo's experiences and point of view as well as Alicia's diary entries. Slowly, readers piece things together, but start to wonder if Theo is a reliable narrator and what his motives are. Alex Michaelides's debut, The Silent Patient, is part psychological thriller, part detective novel, and will keep readers guessing.
 
Immediately, I was curious as to why Alicia, a seemingly normal person, committed such a horrific crime and why she is now silent, hence the title of the story. I liked learning more about her through her diary entries, and slowly, a few suspicions arose once we got to understand her relationship with Gabriel, as well as others. Theo was also a questionable narrator in that the more readers learn about him, the more his motives are questioned. His relationship with his wife, Kathy, made him seem unstable more often than not, and both he and Alicia have had childhood trauma that impacts their adult lives. 
 
I will say that Alicia's diary was a nice touch in The Silent Patient; however, the details in the diary made it seem almost unbelievable, as no one would write a diary entry including such specific dialogue. After I got past that, I started to appreciate the novel more and could even guess one of the plot twists coming up.  
 
I have enjoyed Michaelides's The Fury, and I am glad I finally listened to his debut novel, The Silent Patient, as I know many readers have enjoyed it. The dual narration was outstanding and a perfect binge-worthy audiobook. 
 
Let me know in the comments if you are a fan of Alex Michaelides and your thoughts on The Silent Patient.  

 

Book Review: Once and Again by Rebecca Serle

Pages: 256

Genre: Adult Fiction

Pub. Date: March 10, 2026 

Publisher: Atria

Source: Publisher for review

Other Books By Author: Expiration Dates,

In Five Years, and One Italian Summer

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

 

 

Goodreads says, "The women of the Novak family were each born with a gift: they can, just once, turn back time.

Lauren has known since she was fifteen that her mother Marcella saved Lauren’s father from a deadly car accident. Dave is alive and happy, and out on the Malibu waves. But ever since, Marcella, her power spent, has lived in fear of what she won’t be able to reverse. Her own mother, Sylvia, is her polar opposite: a free-spirited iconoclast with a glamorous past she only hints at. Lauren has spent her life between these two role models—and waiting for her own catastrophe to strike.

Then one summer, Lauren’s husband takes a job in New York and she moves back to Broad Beach Road, back into her childhood home on the shores of Malibu. Lauren looks forward to surfing with her dad again and perhaps repairing an unspoken fracture in her relationship with her mother. What she doesn’t expect is for the boy next to door to return home as well: Stone, Lauren’s first love, who broke her heart nearly a decade before.

As Lauren falls into familiar patterns, with her family and, more dangerously, Stone, she finds herself thinking about all the choices, large and small, that have brought her to this moment. And wondering, finally, if one of them should be undone."

 

 

 

Lauren Novak comes from a line of women who are given a very special (and magical!) opportunity- they have a silver ticket which provides them the opportunity to go back in their lives and fix an event or change the outcome. Lauren's mother, Marcella, used it years ago when Lauren's father, Dave, got into a deadly car accident. Since then, she has been worrying nonstop about Dave, his heart, and how she won't be able to use her silver ticket again in the future if something goes wrong. Sylvia, Lauren's grandmother, is the opposite of Marcella and lives her life entirely differently. Lauren, stuck between these two women, is forced to examine her life further when she returns home to her family's Malibu beach house after her husband takes a job in New York. Things have been shaky between Lauren and her husband; plus, the stress of fertility treatments has taken its toll. Lauren becomes reacquainted with Malibu life, surfing with her dad, cooking with her grandmother, and hoping to repair some of the cracks in her relationship with her mother. But all that is well and good until her ex-boyfriend, and first love, returns on the scene, and he has her questioning her path in life. Ultimately, Rebecca Serle's Once and Again is a story that asks readers if they had a chance to go back and change one part of their life, would they? 

 

I really enjoy stories that involve generations of women, so that aspect of the novel did not disappoint in Once and Again. Serle does a good job of bringing the family dynamics to the forefront and letting readers learn more about each Novak woman, including more about Marcella's decision to use the "silver ticket." It definitely helps readers understand what makes the characters tick a bit more. However, despite this, I didn't feel overly connected to the characters, especially as Lauren starts to make some questionable decisions regarding her love life. 

 

The magical realism in Once and Again worked for me. If you've read Serle's novels before, this seems to be something she does and can pull off believably. Still, this time around, it felt a bit clunky to me as the novel segwayed into a more introspective one that begs readers to think about their own lives and the choices they have made. 

 

My favorite aspect of Once and Again was the Malibu setting and the surfing details. Despite the novel's emotional pulls, this aspect of the story makes it a good option for spring break reading, especially if you, the readers, are a fan of Serle's previous novels and want something that digs a little deeper than the usual romance.  

 

In the comments below, let me know if you are a fan of Serle and if you plan on reading Once and Again.