The Best Book Club Books of April

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Associate Editor Erica Ezefedy was a transplant from Nashville, Tennessee, settled in the northeast. In addition to being a writer, she has worked as a victim advocate and in public libraries. It focuses on providing free spaces, instruction and test preparation guidance for queer teens to students. Outside of work, much of her free time is planning her next snack in search of her next great read. Find her on Twitter @erica_eze_.

Big, Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry

Here, Henry gives her writer-turned enthusiasts like she used to, but she gives a twist. The writers in question are Alice Scott, a Sanshany writer who is hungry for that big break, and Hayden Anderson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning grout. They are located on an island called Little Crescent. Because they are both competing to write a biography of the legendary Margaret Ives. The twist comes in the form of Margaret being given a one-month court period to see whoever she likes to write her story the most. The thing is, she isn’t actually telling them everything, and depending on who is telling her, it may seem like a tribute to tragedy and love. Furthermore, the development of tension between the two writers is turning into a unique story.

Avid book covers

Enthusiasm by Morgan Jalkins

Jerkins’ (Caul Baby) latest one has this important duality. It is about the enduring consequences of slavery, as is the power of love. It was in 1865, and as Harrison was discharged from the Union army as a free man, he attempts to reunite with his love, Tilza. However, after he settles with another woman after the tragedy, his plans are repositioned. Then there’s Tilza, who teaches at Friedman’s school. She sees an ad looking for her on paper and knows it’s Harrison looking for her, but despite her new freedom, the state of the world means that reunion with him is full of risk. Jerkins’ story is wiped out for generations, and 150 years later, in 2019, Harlem, Ardelia and Oliver host an engagement party, and he gives a falling old man’s love letter. The question of whether their connection is any kind of universe reconciliation, originating, many generations ago.

Medicine River cover graphics

Medical River: The Story of Mary Annette Pemba’s Survival and the Heritage of Indian Boarding Schools

This documented a highly deliberate effort to destroy Indigenous communities and cultures through cultural genocide. From the mid-1800s to the late 1930s to the late 1930s, tens of thousands of Indigenous children were stolen from their families and forced to go to boarding schools sponsored by the US government. In schools they were abused and discouraged from being involved in their traditions and culture through violence. Ojibwe journalist Mary Pember explores the long-term impact of attending these loveless institutions, detailing how mothers attending one sets the stage for ferocious mother-daughter dynamics.

Jo Harkin's Pretender Cover

Jo Harkin’s Preender

This is likened to the historical fiction of writers like Hilary Mantel and Maggie O’Farrell, and I can see it reaching a level of popularity, and books by those authors are so troubling, at least in part.

So let’s reach the chaos. In 1480, John Collan attends his peasant duties (including goats) when he approaches a well-dressed stranger who tells him that his entire life is a lie. He is not John at all, but Lambert Simnell, the son of the Duke of Clarence, ran away as the Duke’s brother, Richard III, liked to invalidate his nephew. Well, now that his true identity has been revealed, John Know Sinnell is sent to Irish courts to learn etiquette and willing to manipulate Joa, the daughter of his Irish patron, and sometimes even encounters the murderous Joa. In a way, the two aren’t that different. She can go to the monastery or wedding altar, and he can be king or die. That’s why they come together and plan and change the course in England forever.

Coverage when the tide holds the moon

When the tide is held by Vensavidakery

Yes, I’m very excited about this queer, 1910s set romance in New York City and it Water shape essence. Among them, Benny Caldera should really be labelled as an artist of the stunning ironwork tanks that make for the Coney Island playground, even if the orphan Bolikua blacksmiths aren’t normally the case. But what makes him more adore than his tanks is whoever came to occupy it in captivity. Benny comes to know Rio, a merman, as the spirit of a relative captured from the East River. Deep love that quickly develops questions his ideas about the ease of captivity and what he sacrifices for the loved ones.

Lilac People Book Cover

People of Lilac by Milo Todd

Bertie is a trans man and lives with friends in a strange scene in Poppin’s Berlin, where she spends the night. Hitler then comes and attacks the Sexual Science Institute, where Bertie works to improve the lives of queer German people, and he barely escapes with his girlfriend Sophie. For over a decade, they have lived as an elderly couple on a farm in isolation until they see young transmen in their property. He has passed away and is still wearing Holocaust prison clothes. They decided to protect him more than anything else. Ironically, as the Allied forces grow stronger, Bertie and his family begin to think they are actually safer in the United States.

Julie Chan is the cover of the dead book

Julie Chang is dead by Lian Chang

So many dark thrillers have come out recently to see social media and the lives of influencers. This is the latest. Megapoplar influencer Chloevan Husen makes a video where she finds twins that have been lost for a long time and buys a house…for the view, obvi. Then, twins and supermarket cashier Julie Chan doesn’t go much for her. This means designer clothing, bomb skincare routines and millions of followers. It also means having a hard time fitting into Chloe’s social circle and attending an island hideaway for a week, where things get out of control, Julie reveals the dark forces that led to the death of the twins. The power to target her next.

Happy Land Book Cover

Happy Land by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

Through Nikki, who returns to North Carolina at the request of her estranged grandmother, we learn about the past queens of Appalachia. During the visit, her mother, Rita, tells Nikki about Queen Ruella, the great and great grandmother who lived in the very land where she stands. There is a kingdom known as Happy Land, where once enslaved people created memories of the meat of the kingdom of Africa. Now, it’s up to Nikki to get back what they’ve established so that they don’t take it from her family like everything else.

Search cover graphics

Search: Self in the digital age with Vauhini Vara

Vala, author of Pulitzer Prize-nominated Immortal King Rao, explores the long-term effects of having the technology to drive AI that communicates like humans. She uses a viral essay about her sister’s death with the help of ChatGpt and uses an online chat room as a teenager to find out how technology can communicate and use it for real profits (and not just corporate entities).

Translated by Louise Heal Kawai, the Cat Cover that Saved the Library by Natsukawa Sosuke

Cat saved the library by Natsukawa’s sosuke by Louise Heal Kawai (translator)

In this follow-up of the bestseller of Cats that Saved the Book, we are put into the world of 13-year-old Nanami. Asthma prevents her from playing sports and going out with friends. So of course she reads it. One day she finds that some of her favorite books (many of which are classics) have gone missing from the library. When she tells the librarian, they dismiss her, but she sees a suspicious man wearing a grey suit and follows him. Her pursuit of him was hampered by her asthma and by the time she inhale he was gone. Enter Takby Cat, Takby Cat to save the book from the first book in the series. The books are burning, and it’s up to Nanamine and the Tiger to save them.

Covers images of murder by cheesecake

Murder by Cheesecake: A cozy mystery of a golden girl by the courage of Rachel Extrom

This book combines two of my favorites: Golden Girls and Cheesecake. It is the first of a new mystery series and is as cozy as you can get. After Dorothy procures the date for Rose’s cousin’s wedding festivities, he soon finds himself dead. Now the girl has to cooperate to solve the murder. And because they are all suspects, the faster the better.

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Five books recommended for those who say “There’s no good sufficient romance”

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This week we are highlighting posts on the calendar about literary events that should be on our calendar for the rest of 2025. This week is prohibited from the announcement of the award to the birthdays of famous authors. Read the excerpt and become an All Access member to unlock the full post.


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Most Expected Literary Events of 2025 (Remaining)

For some, this year’s major literary events are pleasant or interesting surprises that you can enjoy for now rather than anticipate. For others, bookmarking these opportunities in advance is a huge attraction, planning, forecasting and building. Me and the rest of the editorial team are doing business that is ahead of the line of what this year has for book lovers, publishers, industry experts and more. So we’re gathering towards the end of 2024 to plot everything from the birthdays of literary greats to the anniversary of a book that has deepened its cultural influence, to the literary awards and events of the year. These events are becoming a very busy year in books, so we make a mark when it’s happening on the site, but we expect so many big, exciting literary events in 2025.

Whether you’re a book-focused creator of adjacent content, someone who strengthens TBR with literary award winners, or a book lover who appreciates knowing, I’m here at the starting point for calendaring the rest of this celebratory year…


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