My FIVE Favorite FIVE Star Reads from April 2026

April was not as big of a reading month for me, but it was a really good one. I read less (and many of the books I did read were shorter read alouds with my kids) but the books I read were great. I only had one read the entire month under four stars and more than half were five star reads.

In April, I read 16 books and 4,598 pages, with an average of 287 pages per book. I read 11 books by a female author and 4 books by a male author. Of the books I read, I borrowed 8 of them and owned 8 of them. I read 4 eBooks, 6 audiobooks, and 6 physical books and had 4 rereads and 12 new reads. I read 6 middle grade books, 1 YA book, and 9 adult books, and shared 5 read alouds with my kids. I read 2 new releases. I read 1 book that was part of a series and read 6 stand alone books. I read 2 books on my 2026 TBR list, having now read or DNF'd 15 of 33. I read 9 five star reads, 6 four star reads, and 1 three star read, with no 2 or 1 star reads.

Here are my five favorite reads from April:

Only the Beautiful by Susan Meissner

Only the Beautiful was a beautiful (no pun intended) historical fiction that I could not put down. The first half follows an unwed mother in an asylum due a secret—that she sees colors when she hears sounds. The second half switches to Helen Calvert, a woman connected with the first main character, but who was living in Europe during World War II and is now ready to relocate back to America. I loved the story from the beginning. It was a little jarring for me when it switched perspectives halway through, but then I ended up loving that perspective as well. I also really enjoyed the ending and the way the two perspectives wound together.

The Woman They Could Not Silence by Kate Moore

The Woman They Could Not Silence is a nonfiction book that reads like fiction, following Elizabeth Packard. Elizabeth Packard was committed in an insane asylum unjustly by her husband and spent the rest of her life fighting for her freedom and the freedom of other women. I absolutely loved the book, I could not put it down and learned a lot about the history of the time.

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

I almost didn't read Sunrise on the Reaping, a prequel to The Hunger Games following Haymitch and his Hunger Games. I read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, the first prequel to The Hunger Games, and while it wasn't terrible, I found it to be long and a little boring. That made it so I had little interest in the newest prequel, but then I heard other people talking about how much they loved it (and those same people talked about how they didn't love Ballad). I decided to give it a try and am so glad I did. I loved it! I think the first Hunger Games was still better (because Sunrise felt long to me still), but I think Sunrise on the Reaping was my second favorite of all the Hunger Games books.

Messy Minimalism by Rachel Crawford

I have read a lot of books on minimalism so Messy Minimalism didn't really have anything new in it for me, but it is now one of my favorite books on the topic. The author is really good at telling stories from her own life in a way that is both engaging and in a way that relates well to the topic she's discussing. I laughed throughout and left the book feeling remotivated to declutter and focus on the most important things in life.

The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella

Sophie Kinsella is one of my favorite authors and I was so sad when she passed away last year. Her books tend to be on the edge for me when it comes to sexual content (there is quite a bit of casual talk about sex and her characters do sleep with people off page) and this one was more explicit than her other books that I've read so far. That was the one downside for me. I did love The Burnout though. I loved the characters, their chemistry, and their journey in this one. The hotel and all the workers there were quirky and amazing to read about.

Bonus:

Charlotte's Web by EB White

I don't include rereads on my favorites' lists in my bullet journal (if I'm rereading it, it's because it was already a favorite), but I love to do a bonus each month sharing my favorite reread of the month. In April, that was Charlotte's Web, as a read aloud with my kids.

We have been reading the Little House series together, but my four year old wanted to read Charlotte's Web, so we took a short break from the series. I love Charlotte's Web, I think it's such a sweet children's classic and I love the focus on nature. Even the writing style is slow and nature-like. I really loved how much my kids and especially my four-year-old son loved it. His favorite parts were the ones with Templeton, especially when the egg breaks and when Templeton eats so much at the fair that he gets huge. It was a sweet experience to read it together (and then watch the cartoon!).

That's what I read and loved in April! What were your favorite reads in April? What was a book you read and loved recently? I'd love to chat books with you!