April is shaping up to be a wonderful month for readers, with a stack of highly anticipated releases across romance, women’s fiction, and heartwarming contemporary stories. From fresh beginnings and family dynamics to charming small-town settings and unforgettable characters, this month’s lineup promises plenty of emotional, feel-good escapes. Here is my April 2026 TBR: The New Books I’m Most Looking Forward To. Click on the book’s cover to add it to your Goodreads shelf.
After a disastrous relationship leaves Winnie Smith unfairly labeled the “other woman” and ostracized by Cape Cod’s judgmental Mommy Mafia, the responsible, drama-averse event planner finds her quiet life suddenly in ruins. Desperate for a fresh start, she takes a job as the personal assistant to Lorenzo Santini, a brilliant but notoriously intimidating surgeon known to hospital staff as “Dr. Satan.” While managing his chaotic schedule and tightly controlled world, Winnie begins to see the vulnerable man behind Lorenzo’s formidable reputation, and he, in turn, realizes that the seemingly invisible Winnie is far more extraordinary than he expected. As their professional arrangement grows increasingly personal, the two discover that sometimes the most unlikely pairings can lead to the perfect match. Publishes April 6.
Remy’s debut novel—based on her three best friends—becomes an instant bestseller, but as success arrives, her personal life begins to unravel: her friends drift away, her creativity disappears, and a reckless one-night stand leaves her feeling more alone than ever. Meanwhile, Simone, a devoted kindergarten teacher with a lucrative but secretive side hustle, finds herself suddenly cut off from her family when the truth about her work comes out. When the two women literally collide in a bookstore, their first meeting is far from warm—Simone is guarded and Remy is struggling—but despite their differences and hidden secrets, an unexpected friendship begins to form. As they slowly let each other in, Simone and Remy may discover they have the power to help one another heal, rebuild their lives, and realize the transformative strength of female friendship. Publishes April 7.
An aging mutt named Harold is determined to honour the final wish of his late owner, romance novelist Amelia May: help her grieving partner, Miguel, find love again. But Miguel has withdrawn from the world after Amelia’s death, rarely leaving the struggling bookstore they once ran together. When a famous author fails to appear for an event that could have saved the shop, Miguel and Harold set out to track him down—only to encounter the author’s guarded sister, Fiona, who dislikes dogs, and her warm-hearted eleven-year-old daughter, also named Amelia. As Harold tries to nudge the stubborn humans around him toward connection, he begins to believe his beloved Amelia was right that coincidences may actually be fate, and that helping Miguel open his heart again could lead to a new and unexpected happy ending. Publishes April 7.
After their divorces, Thea and Alex discover they have little in common beyond a love of food, a shared dislike of the town they live in, and the sting of their exes quickly getting together. In a moment of spite, they invent a story that they’re longtime friends—and even former first loves—but what begins as a harmless lie gradually turns into a genuine, if strictly platonic, friendship over the next two years. Despite their differences—Thea can’t cook while Alex is a world-class chef, and their post-divorce lives look very different—the bond between them grows stronger. When their exes invite them on a two-week “two family” beach vacation, complete with Alex’s daughter and Thea’s beloved dog, Thea and Alex are forced to confront whether their carefully crafted story has become something real—and whether it might lead them to an unexpected happily-ever-after. Publishes April 14.
Three years after a life-changing book club night with their daughters, lifelong friends Elin, Grace, Mariella, and Jamie reunite on the stunning shores of Lake Como, Italy, for the first time since that fateful evening. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, delicious food, and their well-loved books, the women attempt to reconnect—but beneath the warmth of their reunion lie long-held secrets about what truly happened that night. As old memories resurface, the friends must confront the past and discover whether the bonds of friendship, love, and their shared passion for literature can finally help them move forward. Publishes April 20.
Eighty-one-year-old Elsie Mabel Fitzpatrick has lived on her quiet, idyllic street for sixty years, known mostly as a nosy, curmudgeonly neighbour—but beneath that unassuming exterior lies a darkly hidden past. Once a little girl and now an old lady, Elsie has spent a lifetime concealing a troubling history, one marked by a curious pattern of people around her meeting untimely ends, proving that when it comes to murder, the most unlikely suspects are often the ones no one ever looks twice at. Publishes April 21 (Australian publication was October 1, 2025).
🇨🇦Spanning nearly a century, The Chambermaid’s Key follows two women connected by the secrets of Toronto’s historic Dominion Hotel. In 1929, Rosie Ryan longs to escape poverty in The Ward by working as a chambermaid at the glamorous new hotel, but her dreams become entangled with a charming waiter, a powerful gangster, and a shocking murder that draws her into a dangerous web of betrayal. In the present day, city building inspector Bridget Kelly is assigned to review renovations at the aging hotel and quickly becomes captivated by its history—especially when hidden rooms, locked boxes, and secret corridors reveal clues to a decades-old crime. As Bridget digs deeper, she discovers someone is determined to keep the past buried, no matter the cost. Publishes April 21.
Maisy Gallaher once dreamed of becoming a nurse but put her ambitions aside after her father’s death to support her family, quietly wondering about the life she sacrificed. Chase Furst, a guarded bank executive and heir to a financial empire, has grown emotionally distant after a difficult childhood shaped by his mother’s addiction. When their paths cross, Maisy’s warmth and selflessness unsettle Chase—especially when she refuses his offer of payment for her help and instead challenges him to “pay it forward” through genuine kindness. Determined to prove he can, Chase begins to change, and as their lives intertwine, both discover that compassion, vulnerability, and love might heal more than they ever expected. Publishes April 28.
April’s releases offer such a wonderful mix of heartfelt, intriguing, and uplifting stories that my reading list is already looking delightfully full. From the emotional journeys and relationships explored by Kristan Higgins and Debbie Macomber to the charming, character-driven tales from Chloe Liese and Sally Hepworth, there’s something here for every mood. Whether you’re in the mood for romance, women’s fiction, or a story that simply makes you feel good, these upcoming titles promise plenty to look forward to. I can’t wait to start reading—and listening—and to share my thoughts on which of these April releases become new favourites. Let me know which titles you are most excited to read!
Leave a Reply