2026 Reading - April Books!

Best Books of the Month: The Poet Empress and Things We Leave Unfinished

Comments: 

• Lots of quick and easy romance, in part because I could listen to it while working through some tedious stuff.  
• Continuing a trend of multiple DNF's.  Life is too short and my TBR is too big to push when it's just not doing it for me!
• Adding more details about why I'm reading some of the books.  Random wheel spinner for when I can't decide on my own and library hold when I have a time limit for them.  

1.  Slow Dance, Rainbow Rowell (wheel spin!)- I had forgotten how much I enjoy Rowell's writing as it's been years since I last read her.  Her characters always seem very real and grounded, and she doesn't put them in a magical/wishful/fairy tale world.  Picked this up on the Apple sale page, and am glad I did.  Needing some lighter books just now, and this second-chance/friends-to-lovers did just the trick!  

2.  You Should Be So Lucky, Cat Sebastian - This landed on NPR's Books We Love the year it was published, and is how I became aware of Sebastian.  I very much enjoyed it, but it wasn't as good as the first Midcentury NYC that I read last month.  Honestly, sports romance isn't really my thing - sorry!  I will say though, that Sebastian does sweet and tender very, very well.  

3.  Ladies in Hating, Alexandra Vasti (audio) - Lol, Yeah, I tried it because I really liked the title and cover.  This was perhaps the steamiest sapphic romance I've ever read, and I loved the concept of two rival lady Gothic writers.  It started a bit slow, but it definitely picked up and I loved the end!  

4.  Tusk Love, Critical Role, Thea Guanzon (wheel spin!) - Was it original?  Not particularly.  Was the writing really good?  Yes!  I was actually pleasantly surprised with how much I enjoyed this read.  It was sweet and satisfying, spicy in all the right ways, and cozy enough to be a relaxing read.  I have had Guanzon in my potential TBR list for a while, and am definitely going to try her other books after this.  

5.  The Poet Empress, Shen Tao (audio) (library hold!) - Oh my.  This book has been all over Bookstagram, receiving accolade after accolade....and it deserves all of them.  Straight up, this is NOT a romance.  If the author had tipped it in that direction, it would have been horrible.  As it is, it's a heartbreaking fantasy that investigates the consequences of trauma, power, gender roles, and cultural control.  There was a major plot point that was telegraphed through the trigger warning list, although I was surprised by how it played out.  (Almost didn't read it...I have hard lines related to that trigger list.)  The ending was perfection, the magic system was unique and powerful, and the characters will be with me for a long while.  Such a good book.  

6.  Arrow of Fortune, Jacquelyn Benson (The Raiders of the Arcana #3) (wheel spin!) - Truth be told, this series is wearing a bit thin.  I did enjoy it, but it was a slow start.  (In fact, I tried starting it multiple times.)  Overall, it was satisfying, but I'm not sure if I'll continue with the next book.  I think my problem is that I adored Adam and Ellie (ahem...Rick and Evie....) but am not particularly enjoying how much she's expanding the character list.  I'd be happier with a tighter focus on those two. 

7.  The Astral Library, Kate Quinn (Audio) (Library hold!) - Yes, yes, this is a book for book and library people like me.  It was charming and sweet, and fun to listen to....and I'm glad I didn't spend money on it.  (Thank you Daniel Boone Regional Library!)  I did love the battle with the library board, and I could clearly see how much the author loves all of the books she referenced.  

8.  Son of the Morning, Akwaeke Emezi (audio) - Lol.  I probably should have read this in print.  It was way steamier than I expected, and I don't do super steamy in audio without a fair amount of cringe.  I absolutely adored it, though.  At its heart, this book is about family - both found and born - and about the nuances behind who we think is good or evil.  Early on, there is a description about a side character that completely sold me on the book, and made me love Emezi.  The writing is gorgeous, and the mythology is well done.  Oh, and this is another NPR Books We Love!

9.  Once and Again, Rebecca Serle (audio) - I love Serle's brand of magical realism.  This is a fairly quick book about a family where all of the women get a ticket to have a single do-over during life.  Yes, it was a fantastic way to explore how we live our lives and how we relate to each other.  The thing I most appreciated, though, was that our main character took complete accountability in her life...even when she really didn't have to.  My friends and I are divided on the last page - I loved it, they hated it.  Love talking to other readers and getting other opinions!

10.  The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion, vol. 1, Beth Brower (audio, novella) - Emma's journals popped up in my Bookstagram feed a few times, and I was so curious!  As I've said a million times, I'm a sucker for an epistilary novel, and this lived up to my expectations.  I'm desperately curious about what happens next...but I doubt I'll continue unless they all end up at the library.  Brower has planned a LOT of these books, and I don't want to invest in them!

11. Crueler Mercies, Meran Chase (wheel spin!) - Every book I've read from Bindery Books has been fantastic, and this is no exception.  Crueler Mercies is advertised as a story about female rage, so I was surprised that it turned out to also be a very gentle book with an ending that was so, so satisfying.  Our forgotten princess's journey felt realistic given the trials she went through...her actions weren't forced or unnaturally bold for her character.  Looking forward to whatever Chase writes next!

12.  The Things We Leave Unfinished, Rebecca Yarros (audio and print) - Truth, I ordered my special edition copy of this book from Barnes & Noble because it was signed....not because I had any great interest in Rebecca Yarros's contemporary romances.  Dang.  I was so wrong about that.  This is now my favorite romance novel.  I loved both timelines, I loved the relationships, I loved the plot, and I actually cried at the end.  Such a beautiful book! And now I guess I need to read the rest of RY's catalogue...

13.  Dire Bound, Sable Sorenson - Look, this isn't winning any awards at all for originality.  It's often advertised as "Fourth Wing, but with direwolves" and that's EXACTLY what you get.  The writing duo behind the pen name is borrowing heavily from Rebecca Yarros and Sarah J. Maas and I'm sure a bunch of other big names in romantasy.  You know what, though?  I had a fantastic time reading it, and can't wait for the next book.  

14. The Antiquarian's Object of Desire, India Holton - I love this series so, so much.  You can tell Holton had an absolute blast while writing, and she's both winking at and laughing along with the reader throughout.  I love her somewhat silly magical/historical England, and I adore a friends to lovers romance.  

15. Rites of the Starling, Devney Perry (audio and print) - 

16. How to Write a Love Story, Catherine Walsh - I recently joked to a friend that if you believed romance novels about half of the US population is employed in publishing  somehow...and this is yet another book to back that up!  Truth be told, I was a tad disappointed.  I adore Walsh's Christmas Rom-Coms, but this didn't quite to live up to them.  

17. Sheine Lende, Darcie Little Badger - This prequel to Elatsoe was a complete delight, and I'm annoyed at myself for having waited so long to read it.  Also, I wish my dogs stayed with me as ghost dogs after they passed.  Little Badger has a talent for gently drawing focus to big social issues, and she clearly loves the story she's telling.  She also gets kudos for being fresh and original.  Loved it. 

18. The Night We Met, Abby Jimenez (audio) (library +hold!) - I was nervous about this book because of the marketing synopsis.  So not into emotional cheating, which is where I thought it was headed.  Happy to have been proven wrong.  Really, I think this book is more about friendship than it is about romance, and I really liked that.  

19. Romantic Comedy, Curtis Sittenfeld - So I have mixed feelings about this.  On the one hand (as I've stated before) Hollywood romances really aren't my thing, and I could have done without the overly detailed section at the beginning describing how an SNL type show functions.  But then they started emailing each other, and that was very good.  

20.  Next To You, Hannah Bonam-Young (audio) - Once again, I adore Bonam-Young's books.  They feel like a hug of a romance novel.  Her characters are often facing deep trauma, and they always find healing.  Difficult family dynamics are not uncommon in romance, but the resolution here felt particularly satisfying.  (And the spice was really good.)

Unfinished, 

1.  The Red Winter, Cameron Sullivan - Man, I was so excited about this book and I tried.  I really, really tried.  I even checked the audio out from the library and tried doing a tandem audio/print read.  At the end of the day, though, I find books with crazy footnotes to be a bit tedious, and I just never fully engaged.  I have a feeling it's a right book/wrong time situation, so I'll keep my copy and will maybe try again later.  

2.  Wolf Worm, T. Kingfisher - Truth be told, I'm a bit ambivalent about Kingfisher.  I've really loved several of her books, have moderately enjoyed others, and have DNF'd a few.  I respect her talent and understand why she's so popular...but I really don't think she's for me.  (Really enjoyed a recent interview clip of her, though!)

3.  This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me, Illona Andrews (audio) - OK.  Theoretically novels about a booklover like me being dropped into their favorite fantasy series should be right up my alley.  BUT, apparently they are not.  

4.  The Shadow of the Gods, John Gwynn - Again, I was super excited and really wanted to love this book.  1/3 of the way in, though, I realized I didn't care about any of the characters and was super bored by on of the POV's.  I had high hopes because Gwynn is so beloved on BookTok/Bookstagram...maybe I'll try again.  Maybe.