Spring has finally sprung, and for us, the mild and sunny weather means one thing—more opportunities to read outdoors.
If you’re thinking if doing more of the same in April, you’re in luck, because there are some stellar new releases on the horizon. Our favorite publishers gave us the chance to preview a few of April’s biggest books, and we’re here to bring you all of our favorites. Form literary magic to vampires, modern to Regency era romance and even a murder mystery, April has a little bit of everything on the roster. Just keep scrolling to discover five books releasing next month and why you’ll want to read them all.
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer – April 7
We’ve read a few stories lately about the magic of hopping into books to save the day, but Meg Shaffer’s The Book Witch may be our favorite of the bunch.
It tells the story of Rainy March, the titular Book Witch, who comes from a long line of Book Witches entrusted with magically leaping into stories to protect them from unusual threats. These include Burners who seek to censor stories by destroying them from the inside, and thus erasing the tales from existence altogether. Rainy’s one of the best, trained by her grandfather after the death of her mother as an infant, and with her cat familiar, Koshka, and her magical umbrella, she can solve just about any problem that comes her way.
Some of the rules of being a Book Witch are easy to follow. Don’t eat eat or drink within a story, and don’t fall asleep, lest you start to think you belong there and get trapped forever. Real people must live in the real world, while fictional characters must stay in their books. And falling in love with a character is strictly forbidden, which is extra tricky when you’ve been in love with said character since you were 16 years old. When Rainy finally does meet the man of her dreams, the Duke of Chicago, the suave and charming English detective is just as wonderful as she imagines. Sparks fly and a relationship develops, but it’s short-lived, and if she does see him again, she’ll no longer be allowed to be a Book Witch at all.
But when everything goes wrong, with Rainy’s grandfather suddenly disappearing just as a Nancy Drew book—Rainy’s only inheritance from her mother—goes missing, the Duke appears in the real world right when she needs him most. After all, he’s the one person in the universe—fictional or not—she thinks is up for solving the mystery by her side with her grandfather’s life, her livelihood and her love at stake.
If you’re someone who’s always wanted to teleport into a beloved book, you’ll instantly feel drawn to The Book Witch. It’s adventurous, whimsical and romantic, while also packing a real emotional punch with its metanarrative about the importance of stories and the way they create big transformations in our lives in often tiny and imperceptible ways.
(The Book Witch via Ballantine)
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The Gravewood by Kelly Andrew – April 7
Kelly Andrew’s The Gravewood is just the thing for anyone craving a dark and angsty vampiric YA love triangle that pulls no punches. It tells the story of Shea Parker, a Deaf teenager living in post-apocalyptic New England, where the Gravewood—a dense, sprawling and deadly forest—has separated the inhabitants from the rest of civilization. Its water makes people Turn, either changing them into blood-thirst, sun-hating vampires, or corrupting them as Rot, their bodies rejecting a vampiric state and leaving them as hollow yet dangerous shells of a people.
Shea’s mom is suffering from Rot, and Shea’s gotten desperate. For six months now, she’s turned to Oliver Lysander—aka the Gravewood Devil—for batteries for her hearing aids, knowing at some point, the supply will run out and she’ll never hear again. In exchange, she allows him to feed on her. Lysander is the young brash and unpredictable leader of a gang of vampires who rule over the Gravewood, and she hides this secret in shame.
But everything changes when Shea’s best friend, Camellia, disappears into the Gravewood—called to it, just like Shea’s father years before. Before long, Camellia’s older brother, a renowned soldier in the battle against Lysander’s kind—and Shea’s childhood crush—shows up. He’s deserted his post to seek out his missing sister, and soon an unlikely and extremely delicate alliance forms. Lysander arranges for Asher to kill his greatest rival, Paris Keeling, in exchange for helping to find Camellia. If Shea will Turn for Lysander—becoming a vampire herself—he’ll help her cure her mother. All the while, Lysander and Shea can’t be sure whether they’re truly falling for each other or it’s just their twisted symbiotic relationship—parasite and host—that makes them irresistibly drawn back, and Lysander plays with Shea and Asher’s feelings surrounding their unrealized romance.
The Gravewood unfolds with chapters that swap between Shea and Lysander’s perspectives, offering compelling glimpses into both of their heads that make the angst between them even more deliciously frustrating. We adore the deep lore and twist on traditional vampire stories, and especially the Deaf representation and the way that Shea might embrace her disability if it weren’t for the way the world treated her because of it. The love triangle is also pretty enthralling (even if we are firmly on a certain team). Be aware that this is a duology, so if you thought the story would be nearly wrapped up in a bow at the end of The Gravewood, think again. It leaves us on quite the cliffhanger and we’re desperate to know what happens next. The sequel, The Hollow King, is expected to release in early April of 2027.
(The Gravewood via Scholastic Press)
Stranger Things Have Happened by Kasie West – April 14
We’re suckers for fake dating books, and Stranger Things Have Happened by Kasie West approaches the subject in a delightful (and pro-therapy) new way. It begins with Sutton, who’s overwhelmed juggling being a new restauranteur in L.A. and taking care of her mom in her hometown hours away after a nasty car accident. Her mom has been distant ever since her father left them 15 years ago, and now it seems she’s taking our her anger and frustration on her daughter. Sutton’s at least planning on enjoying a romantic night at a hotel with her boyfriend of two years, only for him to break up with her over text as soon as she gets there.
Dejected and miserable, she strolls into a bar, where she runs into her high school best friend, Tara. Tara’s fiancé, Michael, is there with her, as well as his handsome but villainous-looking brother, and before the end of the night, Sutton finds herself wrapped up in a bizarre bet. She’ll be attending couple’s therapy with Michael’s brother—a complete stranger—for four sessions. If the therapist realizes they’re strangers and not actually engaged, Tara wins the bet and Michael has to go to couples therapy with her. If not, Michael wins, and he’s free. Sutton only agrees because she feels guilty about letting Tara down years and years ago, but regrets the choice immediately.
But the sessions don’t turn out how Sutton imagined. Not only is the therapist completely clueless, but this much time with her “fiancé” Elijah (and the “homework” the therapist sends them home with) is forcing her to see a new side of him. Maybe playing pretend is getting to her head, or maybe she’s actually starting to develop real feelings for him—and they seem to be reciprocated. But maybe Sutton’s mom is right and he really is just a smooth-talker full of pretty words—the type of guy who’ll leave you high and dry at a moment’s notice. And with her career back in Los Angeles, and his firmly planted here with his boxing gym, is there really any chance things might work out?
Stranger Things Have Happened is a steamy adult rom-com that manages to feel fun and romantic while also juggling much headier topics. It tackles parental expectations, setting healthy boundaries with the people you love and especially the value that can be found in exploring your feelings in therapy, while also unpacking the baggage of a very inhibited protagonist. Most importantly, though, it gives us a lead who’s capably stubborn and easy to root for, and a highly swoon-worthy love interest with a love story worth reading, snags and all.
(Stranger Things Have Happened via Saturday Books)
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How to Fake It In Society by K.J. Charles – April 16
K.J. Charles is a master of queer Regency era romance, and her latest book, How to Fake It In Society, delighted us from start to finish. It begins when Titus Pilcrow, a shopkeeper who specializes in fine paints for artists, finds himself essentially evicted after a massive raise in his shop’s rent. It’s retaliation after he broke things off with his charming but mean-spirited landlord, Henry, and he has just one month to sort things out—an impossible task given the time and expense it will take to find a new place for a reasonable price and relocate everything.
But in a bizarre lucky—or perhaps unlucky—turn of events, Titus’s next paint delivery sees him at the bedside of a dying woman who begs him to marry her on the spot. She contends her nasty nephew pushed her down the stairs, and will do anything to prevent the inheritance from going to him. He eventually relents, and soon discovers that immense wealth also attracts immense attention, with all of London’s greatest parasites and grifters knocking on his door for their share.
This includes Nicolas-Marc, Comte de Valois de La Motte (or at least, that’s the name Nico gives Titus). He claims to be the son of the woman best known as the notorious thief of Marie Antoinette’s priceless diamond necklace, but that his mother was innocent, and that he’s been working in secret to make the truth known without making himself a target. None of it is true—it’s a ruse to help his dear cousin Eve pay off a massive debt. Nico was actually lined up to wed the old woman, but after her fall, Titus got there first. It’s fortunate that Titus will be a much easier man to scam, but as Nico endears himself to Titus and offers his aid and companionship, he falls head over heels for him. Nico decides the only thing he can do is make the money back without Titus’s interference, and once the debt is settled, he can do away with the lies and reveal the truth, proving he was never after Titus’s money at all. But is anything ever that simple?
Even if you’re not a reader who’s familiar with the time period and style of How to Fake It In Society, we think you’ll find it easy to get enamored with both Titus and Nico and the powerful relationship that develops between them. It’s an opposites-attract story, with Titus being shy and unsure of himself but passionate and creative, and Nico being an irresistibly charismatic charmer who’s unused to meeting many people with real depth. The influence the two have over each other is apparent as the story progresses, making it impossible not to fight for these two to fall in love, despite the deception that brings them together in the first place.
(How to Fake It In Society via Tor)
Flirting With Murder by Amanda Sellet – April 21
And last, but certainly not least, we have Amanda Sellet’s Flirting With Murder, a YA tale that combines fake murder mysteries with a real crime and a dash of romance. It follows high schooler Virginia Tillis who’s headed to Florida for the summer to spend time with her grandmother Lainey at Castle Claude. It’s actually a big condo inhabited by senior citizens who all share the same obsession with murder mysteries, regularly taking place in a roleplay game called Killing Me Softly, and the usually shy Virginia can’t wait to get in on the fun.
She’s shocked when Felix, the cute guy she met at the airport, winds up on the same van to Castle Claude with her, and even more surprised to discover he’s a grandson of one of the residents. She really wants to beat him at the game, but is it just because he’s impressed by his deductive reasoning skills, or because she wants to be the one to impress him? Even more, this specific game was the final wish of Claude himself, who recently passed away. His will even doles out props and costumes to participants of the game, in addition to attracting never-before-seen family members who want a piece of his wealth for themselves.
That includes Claude’s estranged sister, Bernie, and her nephew, Bradley, who stick out like sore thumbs at Castle Claude. Bernie doesn’t at all approve of her what goes on in the condo, and even worse, she’s inherited his place, and the stipulations of the will mean she’ll be sticking around for a while. There’s something extremely fishy about the way these two outsiders act—and things come to a head when a real dead body is discovered in the middle of a round of Killing Me Softly. It may not be their job, but Virginia and Felix are determined to get to the bottom of the mystery and find out the who, what, when, where and why of the murder. Of course, working together so closely is bound to make sparks fly. Along the way, they may discover the conspiracy is much, much grander than they first envisioned.
Flirting With Murder is all about wacky combinations—teens and seniors, crime-solving and romance, poolside fun and creepy tension—and they all work together in perfect harmony. Virginia and Felix are both so endearing and sweet, and their playful, flirty and sometimes slightly awkward dynamic makes piecing together the clues along the way even more of a joy.
(Flirting with Murder via Wednesday Books)
Missed our favorites from last month? Click HERE to check out all or our favorite book releases of March 2026.
