April reading wrap up graphic from Storygraph

Alexis’ April 2026 Wrap Up

Posted on by Anna and Alexis

Alexis:

I had a great reading month in April! Despite a busy month (I feel like I say this every month) I read 6 books and 2,530 pages.

  1. Deathly Fates by Tesia Tsae: This is a classic, Chinese-inspired quest YA fantasy that I read as an ARC, so thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin’s. You can read my review here!
  2. A Forest Darkly by A.G. Slatter: I’m always down to read more woodsy novels. This is a slow-moving, witchy book with a creepy forest. It’s weird, and half of the book is like a dark, horror fairytale, and the other half is closer to Stardew Valley. Slatter describes it as her “grumpy menopausal witch in the woods” novel. ⁣
  3. ⁣Honey in Her Veins by Ruth McKell: I actually preordered this one because it sounded right up my alley, and I was right. It’s a contemporary fantasy with bee/honey/plant magic, possession (think One Dark Window), lyrical writing, lush, Appalachian atmosphere, a creepy forest, and second chance romance. It’s 5 stars from me based off of this list alone!⁣
  4. The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan: The Red Winter is a dark historical fantasy set in France. Sebastian Graves, an immortal with a demon living in his head, returns to the French countryside when there are rumors of the Beast returning—the Beast he narrowly defeated 20 years ago. ⁣While there were aspects I enjoyed, this was just too gross for my tastes, too slow moving, and it wasn’t my sense of humor. ⁣
  5. The Road of Bones by Demi Winters: I picked this one up on a whim after hearing about it, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. I love the beginning (a dangerous trek though a creepy forest with vampire deer is my jam) but wasn’t quite sure about some of the middle, especially because I hated one of the side characters. But the ending completely validated and surprised me. I’m currently reading the sequel!
  6. How to Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh: An editor travels to Ireland to help a writer: the daughter of a famous, passed away author who is tasked with writing the final book of a fantasy series. This was a fun read, but I actually enjoyed everything else about this book more than the romance. 

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Published by Anna and Alexis

Hello! We're Anna and Alexis, twins from the Richmond, Virginia area. We both studied English and creative writing in college. Anna spent a year after college working in book publishing in New York City. After living outside of D.C., she moved back to the Richmond area. She works in marketing. Her favorite genre to read is literary fiction, especially by female authors, and she also enjoys dystopian novels. Alexis works in marketing and writes novels on the side. She recently finished grad school, where she received her MFA in creative writing. She loves reading fantasy, especially YA, magical realism, and the occasional lyrical fiction and romance. We’ve been reading and writing together as long as we can remember, and we’re excited to share our bookish thoughts with you! Check us out on Instagram @takestwotobookreview.

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