The Bookish Mindset

The warmer days have been teasing us and it’s almost outside reading time, so let me help you with the best of April’s new releases. Get the kettle on, feel the sun on your skin and get ready for a new book. Sounds perfect, right? It’s definitely the perfect time to pick up a book being the National Year of Reading too, we’re ready to Go All In!

So let me share some of my favourite new releases for the month. Just tap on the titles to get more info from Bookshop.org and to support my work. Or if you prefer an audiobook, then I’d definitely recommend Libro.fm!

Call of the Dragon – Natasha Bowen. YA Fantasy. Paperback. From the author of Skin of the Sea comes a dragon fantasy filled with African mythology and powerful gods. Publish date: 02/04.

A Steeping of Blood – Hafsah Faizal. YA Fantasy. Paperback. The final in the duology, Artie must now find a new place for her shop. Publish date: 02/04.

I Am Agatha – Nancy Foley. Literary. Hardback. A darkly comic tale about later in life queer relationships. Publish date: 02/04.

Unapologetic Love Story – Elle McNicoll. Romance. Hardback. A “whip-smart” romance with autistic rep, set in London. Publish date: 02/04.

Stag Dance – Torrey Peters. Literary Short Stories. Paperback. From the author of Detransition, Baby. This is a novel plus three short stories that discusses trans lives past and present. Publish date: 02/04.

The Reaper – Jackson P. Brown. Fantasy. Paperback. Set in a world between the streets of London and described as “dark and gripping”. Publish date: 02/04.

A Dance of Burning Blades – M. H. Ayinde. Fantasy. Hardback. Book two in the invoker series, follows debut A Song of Legends Lost. Publish date: 07/04.

Hunger Pains – Derek Owusu. Literary. Paperback. A story of obsession and image that spirals into self destruction. Publish date: 09/04.

To Steal a Throne – Gabi Burton. YA Fantasy. Paperback. A tale of magic at court and powerful friendships. Publish date: 09/04.

Sister of Mine – Marie-Claire Amuah. Literary. Paperback. On in a lifetime trip to Ghana, family secrets are uncovered that threaten to change Sika’s life. From the author of One for Sorrow, Two for Joy. Publish date: 09/04.

Little F – Michelle Tea. Literary. Paperback. A queer pan-American road trip odyssey. Publish date: 09/04.

A Murder for Miss Hortense – Mel Pennant. Crime. Paperback. Retired nurse turned investigator of murder, set in Birmingham suburbs. Publish date: 09/04.

Critical Role: Tusk Love – Thea Guanzon. Romance. Paperback. Yes you read that right (and maybe that’s just showing my nerdiness), that is a romance novel from the epic D&D campaign. Publish date: 09/04.

Gifted & Talented – Olivie Blake. Fantasy. Paperback. Contemporary fantasy full of family secrets, think Succession! Publish date: 09/04.

The Sharma Sisters – Racheal Fernandez. Romance. Paperback. A contemporary Indian British imagining of Little Women. Publish date: 14/04.

A Beautiful Evil – Bea Fitzgerald. Fantasy. Paperback. A YA retelling of Pandora and Epimatheos, from author of Girl Goddess Queen. Publish date: 16/04.

The Wilderness – Angela Flournoy. Literary. Paperback. Following the lives of four Black women over a 20 year friendship in the US from childhood to Obama and Trump’s presidency. Publish date: 21/04.

The Killing Spell – Shay Kauwe. Fantasy. Paperback. Brimming with Hawaiian culture, spell maker Kea is under investigation for murder. Publish date: 23/04.

Deathly Fate – Tesai Tsai. YA Fantasy. Paperback. Responsible for guiding the dead home, Kang doesn’t expect to be searching for missing Princes but they get caught up in secrets undermining their whole world. Publish date: 23/04.

Survival Show – Juno Dawon. YA Thriller. Hardback. Reality TV show turns deadly as eliminated contestants are killed off. Powerful tale of privilige and how far people will go to win. Publish date: 23/04.

Fruit Fly – Josh Silver. YA literary. Hardback. A “darkly funny” novel of queer identity, privilege and who gets to tell the story. Publish date: 23/04.

Have you planned to pick any of these up? I’d love to know!

If you like what you’ve read and would like to access more content, I’d love if you could take a look at my substack and consider supporting my content on there too. You can also find more content on my Instagram here.

And don’t forget to check out my other blogs and reviews – you can find books with similar themes in the same folder link below, or click back onto blogs to see the whole offering.

Last updated 09/05/2026