I feel like I say this every month, but April really does have a ridiculous number of new speculative fiction releases! And I have once again over extended myself by requesting way too many books. Sigh. But can you blame me? I want to read all of these! Obviously I will not be able to read them all this month, but I did want to share all the books I’m excited for. Titles are linked to Goodreads if you’d like to learn more about them. Here we go!
Starting off with my top two most anticipated books, The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer is without doubt the book I’m most excited to read this month. In fact, this will be probably be my next read!
I’m also looking forward to Ronald Malfi’s new book, The Hive. I don’t have a review copy yet, but I hope to get one soon.
Japanese Gothic by Kylie Lee Baker. I hope to read Baker’s Bat Eater this year, but in the meantime, I can’t wait to check out her latest.
I have been reading lots of great historical fantasy/romance lately, and Thistlemarsh by Moorea Corrigan looks like it will fit perfectly in these genres.
There’s so much great horror being released this month! Morsel by Carter Keane is one I’ve heard good things about.
The Verdant Cage by Jess Lourey is getting a ton of buzz and awesome reviews, and although I don’t read much YA these days, I’m very excited to check it out!
The Year of the Mer by L.D. Lewis. Reviews are all over the place for this book, so I’m a little worried. But it’s sure a beautiful book, and The Little Mermaid retelling is what grabbed me in the first place.
Wife Shaped Bodies by Laura Cranehill is another horror story with a lot of potential. Mushroom body horror!
The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer sounds delightful! A witch is able to jump in and out of novels via a magical umbrella, fixing things that need fixing.
The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty is a cozy fae fantasy, and I’m glad I have so many upbeat, lighter reads in addition to some dark horror:-)
We Burned So Bright by T.J. Klune. A queer, older couple go on an end-of-the-world road trip. Cue the water works…
The Language of Liars by S.L. Huang. One of my few science fiction stories this month, this is a novella dealing with communication between species.
Invasive Species by Ellery Adams just sounds like a bunch of fun! I’m excited for this one.
It seems like every time I turn around, there’s a new Clay McLeod Chapman book, lol. I’m excited to read one of his 2026 releases, Bodies of Work.
The Café of Infinite Doors by Zara Marielle. A magically hidden café that appears to those in need? I think this sounds amazing:-)
Dark is When the Devil Comes by Daisy Pearce. I have a few of Pearce’s books on my TBR, but have yet to read them. The blurb is a little vague, but the story involves “something in the woods,” so I’m here for it!
Sarafina by Philip Fracassi. This is a reprint of a 2024 limited edition book, and I’m glad I’ll have the chance to read it without paying for the pricey hardcover.
So many amazing looking books are coming soon! Enjoy!
April is going to be such a good month!
I’m not currently planning on any of these. I’m hoping to read a few more books I own and more scifi.
Good luck with your April books:-)
We Burned So Bright wasn’t even on my radar until about a week ago when it felt like I saw it mentioned a lot. It looks really good and now it’s on my tbr haha
I just finished it last night, it was crazy! I loved it and I’m still processing, lol.
definitely a ghuge plate! Enjoy as many as you can.
I just discovered two of my favorite French authors of thrillers have one out this month. So I may end up listening to them
I hope you enjoy them!
I wasn’t aware of The Hive but I’m always up for trying a new Malfi book. And I’ve been curious about Japanese Gothic and The Book Witch. The theme behind The Cafe of Infinite Doors seems to be everywhere over the past year or two but I’m still curious with each new book I see.
Malfi always delivers, and I feel like The Hive is going to be another winner:-)
There are some great books due out and I’m especially looking forward to the Kliewer and Malfi.
Lynn 😀
April really is going to be amazing:-)
It looks like you have an incredible reading month coming up. I cant wait to see what you think of The Caretaker, having loved the authors debut. Ive just finished my copy of Japanese Gothic and am also curious to see what you make of it. All I’ll say is that Bat Eater is definitely on my Summer Of Horror must reads list now. I’m excited for quite a few of the others too and look forward to seeing what you think of them all. Here’s hoping you have lots of new favourites on the horizon.
I’m so excited for Japanese Gothic! And I loved the Caretaker, it’s very much in the same vein as We Used to Live Here, as far as vibes go.
Several really tempting ones here! Hope you have a good reading month and manage to get to a bunch of these.
Thanks! I have quite a few novellas which will help with my numbers:-)
The Book Witch and We Burned So Bright are high on my list of books to read in April! Hope you enjoy all the rest as well — looking forward to your reviews!
I just finished We Burned So Bright, it was so good!
The Book Witch looks great! I’m also really looking forward to 2 SF books not listed here: The Subtle Art of Folding Space by John Chu and Ode to the Half-Broken by Suzanne Palmer.
I wanted to read both of those, but I just wouldn’t be able to fit them in. I hope you enjoy them!