Stoked for This: April 2026

So, full disclaimer – I do have reviews to post! I just haven’t gotten around to actually writing them yet… and I also have books I’m reading for different awards and such and therefor I can’t publicly post my reviews. But I will try to get some of my backlogged reviews up here soon. Thanks for sticking with me everyone ◡̈

April 7, 2026

A mind-bending, emotionally charged sci-fi novella with mystery and character-driven journey that intertwines generational trauma.

A YA romance where a boy is not only trapped in a time loop but also in a girl’s body that’s driving down an unknown highway. Laurie always crashes and she always meets Gideon every day. She realizes she only has 100 days to get back in the right body, break the time loop, and not fall for Gideon while he does it.

Maybe Tomorrow I’ll Know

By: Alex Ritany

Follow a Book Witch, who can jump in and out of novels with her umbrella and feline familiar. When her grandfather goes missing and a priceless book disappears, Rainy asks for the help of the Duke of Chicago, the dashing British detective who stars in her favorite mystery series.

The Book Witch

By: Meg Shaffer

A debut middle grade novel about Lacey who recently moved from her best friend Grace in Austin to Rhode Island and wants to reinvent herself, but does she have the courage to be her authentic self?

When You’re Brave Enough

By: Rebecca Bendheim

April 14, 2026

A forty-year-old workaholic house painter takes a eight-year-old under his wing as they form a makeshift father-son duo as they take on life’s bleakness and cynicism.

The Left and the Lucky

By: Willy Vlautin

A folk horror that deals with generational poverty and the all-consuming hunger of capitalism and atmospheric dread, cause, why not?

Morsel

By: Carter Keane

With all the hype from WICKED, how about a retelling of Dorthy and her adventure in Oz (with some spice).

West of Wicked

By: Nikki St.Crowe

Second chance romance(s) with a college crush and soon to be ex-husband – written by one of my favorite authors!

Cherry Baby

By: Rainbow Rowell

During a royal visit to the town, Princess Tandy’s dream comes true when she finds herself cursed to remain in a run-down bookshop until she unlocks her heart’s desire.

Stay for a Spell

By: Amy Coombe

After her old professor (and affair from 30 years ago) contacts her, Jean prays to Monica Lewinsky begging for her forgiveness of not understanding everything they had in common. To her shock, Saint Monica appears to her and leads her back in time to reassess what happened. 

Dear Monica Lewinsky

By: Julia Langbein

After both seeing a vision in a lake of a burning house, Chanel Cao and Ares use each other to find out and keep secrets.

After losing her baby in delivery, Cleo starts working at a funeral home and discovers that the best way to honor the dead is to live.

In a world where creating anything creates demons, Aurelie’s an inventor and Destrier is a demon hunter. When a mysterious figure offers Aurelie a job she can’t refuse her decision to accept sets off a chain of events that will alter every aspect of their world… and sparks the connection that will change both Aurelie and Des.

April 21, 2026

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April 28, 2026

Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, 120,000 Japanese Americans were removed from their homes on the West Coast and corralled into inland concentration camps. To be considered for release, Question 27 asked the inmates whether they were willing to serve in combat for the US military. Question 28 asked them—many of whom American citizens who had never visited Japan—to renounce allegiance to the Japanese emperor. This novel is told through mixes of fact with fiction and layers genres from James Bond movies to haiku to oral history, transfiguring an enormity of archival research into a chorus of stories.

Questions 27 & 28

By: Karen Tei Yamashita

A debut about a teenage girl in 1970s Brazil who is torn away from her twin sister after she becomes ill. Now, Dolores must learn what it means to fight for those she loves when all the odds are stacked against her.

Liar’s Dice

By: Juliet Faithfull

Told through the diary of Anna-Jane, who went to summer camp but is now possibly facing the end of the world.

The world is ending but Don an Rodney have one final journey across the country to take care before the blackhole consumes the Earth.

We Burned So Bright

By: TJ Klune

Read my review here

Slow Dance / Rainbow Rowell

Slow Dance
By: Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Romance
Number of Pages: 400
Published: July 30, 2024
Publisher: William Morrow
Dates Read: July 3, 2024 - July 17, 2024
Format: ARC / Paperback

Back in high school, everyone thought Shiloh and Cary would end up together – everyone but Shiloh and Cary, who were just best friends.

Now, it’s been fourteen years since Shiloh’s talked with Cary. She’s been married, had two kids, and then divorced. She’s also moved back in with her mom and living in the same house she grew up imagining running away from.

When she’s invited to an old friend’s wedding, all she can think about is whether or not Cary will be there. Would he even want to see her?

I’m going to start off by saying I don’t read a lot of romance – adult or YA, and if I do, that’s not usually the main focus of the story. But, I love Rainbow Rowell and will always read anything she writes so I was all about giving this one a chance.

I wasn’t the biggest fan of Shiloh’s. I found her incredibly annoying and I honestly don’t know how Cary put up with her half the time, especially when she would continue to mess with him after he clearly told her to stop (if someone continuously poked me or tugged on my hair, I would have stopped speaking to them so fast). Shiloh’s kids were fun!  I adored Cary but wish his character was a little more flushed out. We got a few pieces about his not so great childhood, but sometimes he would do things that I wish I had a better understanding of his background to then understand why he did what he did.

Overall, I’m still going to recommend this book. To me, it’s on the “softer” side of the romance – fluffy if you will; there’s nothing majorly spicy in it, definitely more cutesy with that “just get together already” vibe.

*Thank you William Morrow and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review