April 2026 TBR

It’s already the second quarter of the year!! That means it’s time for me to plan for the second quarter – I’ll be having a quarter 2 goals post coming out in a few days. In the meantime, let’s take a look at my April TBR.

I had originally planned on participating in the Magical Readathon, but have decided not to for two reasons:

  1. I wasn’t super feeling the prompts for my calling.
  2. I have a lot of books that I want/need to read this month that don’t match the prompts and I’m already super busy with essays, an exam and researching for my thesis.

So I decided to leave it for now and I’ll maybe join in come autumn depending on how crazy life is at that point. For now, though, let’s see what I am planning on reading.


Clicking on book covers will take you to the Bookshop.org UK site (except if the book is not available on the site), where your purchases support local independent bookshops. These are affiliate links and I get a small commission – this does not affect the price you pay. Titles link to The Storygraph. For books without Bookshop.org listings, covers lead to other sites.


This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Ilona Andrews

Maggie wakes up in a city she knows from the pages of an unfinished dark fantasy series. Soon, instead of trying to get home, she gets enmeshed in the schemes of princes, dukes and villains, all while trying to save them from a cataclysmic war.

Ilona Andrews are my most-read author (and not just because they have a ton of books) and this is my most anticipated release of the year, so I’m VERY excited about this. I’ve got my preorder in and hopefully it comes in time for release day!

The Witch by Marie Ndiaye

Lucie inherited a weak gift from her mother, who was formidable but ashamed of her magic. At 12, Lucie’s own children are initiated into the family’s peculiar womanhood and they soon fly the nest. Literally. Translated from the French by Jordan Stump.

This is another new release that I have preordered and although it doesn’t come out until the 7th my preorder has already come in?! It’s a super short novel(la) – only 130 pages!

If We Cannot Go At the Speed of Light by Kim Choyeop

A collection of bitesize journeys into the unknown, from alternative futures to distant alien planets, in the company of scientists, space explorers and ordinary citizens in extraordinary situations. Translated from the Korean by Anton Hur.

This is one of the first NetGalley requests that I have been approved for, so that’s super exciting! It comes out on the 7th of May, so I need to get it read and reviewed before then.

Death and the Gardener by Georgi Gospodinov

A son watches his father pass; the father’s gardener remains his living legacy. Translated from the Bulgarian by Angela Rodel.

I’m reading this as a buddy read with a friend and we’re about a third through the story, so we plan on finishing it by the second week of April.

Herlands by Megha Mohan

All over the world, there exist women-led communities. Megha Mohan researches their roots in a search for alternative way of living and coexisting for us all.

This was on my March TBR and despite reading a lot of books in March, I never got around to it, so I’m putting on the April TBR as well… fingers crossed!

A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna

Exiled from her Guild after losing her powers resurrecting her great-aunt Jasmine, Sera Swan now (reluctantly) helps Jasmine run an enchanted in. Then she finds an old spell that, with the help of magical historian Luke Larsen, could help her restore her power.

I put a hold in for this at the library ages ago and it recently came in, so I need to read this book before it needs returning on the 11th.

Herself An Author by Grace S. Fong

An examination of late Ming and Qing women’s poetry, travel writing and critical discourse on poetry reveals how women found self-empowerment and community through writing.

The first two weeks of April are going to be an essay writing frenzy, followed by a dissertation-research frenzy. One of the books that I know I want to read completely for that is Herself an Author.

이상한 나라의 스물셋 [The Strange Land of Twenty-Three]

Short stories about the difficult process of growing up and living in the world with other people in your young twenties.

I finally managed to finish the short story I was in the middle of in March, so I’ll be moving on. I only have three stories left, but I’m going to be pretty busy in April so I’m just setting a goal of reading the next story: 스토커 [Stalker].


Summary

My TBR for April is basically made up of new releases, library books, buddy reads and books I need to read for my dissertation! Once my friend and I have finished Death and the Gardener, we’ll probably pick another book to read together, but I don’t know what that will be yet so I haven’t included it here. Likewise, I will be doing much more reading than just one book for my dissertation, but other books might be read only in part etc. so I’m not going to add them to my TBR here.


What books are you planning on reading in April? If you’ve posted a TBR, please leave me a comment so I can check it out!

Keira x


Leave a reply to Charlotte Cancel reply

12 responses to “April 2026 TBR”

  1. Emma avatar

    I’m SO excited for new Ilona Andrews, aaa!
    I spy a lot of books that will fit bingo hehe, I also have my eye on that short story collection!

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    1. Keira @Keira’s Bookmark avatar

      I just finished it and it was really good, definitely no disappointment here. (Although, I really hope book 2 comes soon because that ending….)
      And yes – I picked out the short story collection before the r/fantasy bingo prompts came out but that’ll check off a trickier square really early one. Hopefully I enjoy it, especially since it’s the first Netgalley ARC I’ve been approved for since getting back into blogging!

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  2. shanaqui avatar

    I really want to get This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me soon — Ilona Andrews’ work is normally fun, and it’s a concept I’ve enjoyed in danmei and similar. Hope you enjoy it, too, and of course all your other reads this month!

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    1. Keira @Keira’s Bookmark avatar

      I just finished it and I think you’ll probably enjoy it! I’ll post a review soon, but there are some very clear references to C-drama tropes etc. with a similar plot. (And it manages to sidestep all of the annoying things that sometimes happen in these books pretty well. I never wanted to wring our main character’s neck or throw a bucket of cold water over her head, so that’s pretty good hehe. Gotta love a smart heroine.)

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  3. dem avatar

    oooh some of these sound so interesting! hope you enjoyy

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    1. Keira @Keira’s Bookmark avatar

      Thank you!! I’m really excited about this month’s TBR.

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  4. Annemieke avatar

    I hope you enjoy A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping. I’ve also only heard great things about the new Ilona Andrews book.

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    1. Keira @Keira’s Bookmark avatar

      Funnily enough, these are the two books I’ve already this month. Spoiler alert: I really enjoyed them both! I’ll probably be writing full reviews for both of them later this month.

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  5. Charlotte avatar

    I was originally planning to join in with the Magical Readathon too but I looked in mid March and couldnt see any information about it and wasnt sure if it was happening so I delayed the prep work, then forgot to check again until it was too late to plan 🙈

    I hope you enjoy all of your choices. It looks like a lovely mix. I’ve heard a lot of good things about This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me and Magical Innkeeping. Congratulations on your first ARC too, thats so exciting. Hope you enjoy it

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    1. Keira @Keira’s Bookmark avatar

      Oopsies!

      (Sorry for the late reply hehe, life got away from me a bit in April.)

      I’ve now read both This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me and Magical Innkeeping and really enjoyed them both. I have a review for Magical Innkeeping on my Bookstagram and I’ll be posting a This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me review ASAP here on the blog.

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      1. Charlotte avatar

        Dont worry I get it, I feel very behind on here myself right now 🙈

        I’ll make sure I’m following you on Bookstagram and check your review out later on today, probably this evening as I don’t think I’ll get on there until then. And I’ll keep an eye out for your Kingdom review too 🥰 I’m glad you really enjoyed them both.

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