Today’s post covers the second half of the books I read in April 2026. I shared what I read in the first half of the month here. I shared my five star reads here. Plus, it’s time for the Share Your Shelf Link Up! I hope you will join Joanne and I to share what you read this month. The Amazon links to the books I’ve read are affiliate links and if you use them and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission. If you’ve read any of these books or are interested in them, I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
Title: The Tobacco Wives
Author: Adele Myers
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio, 3/1/22
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
From my backlist (but I neglected to add it to my official 26 in ’26 list), I listened to The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers. This was an interesting look at the lives of those who profited from tobacco in North Carolina in 1946, as it became known and ignored that tobacco was dangerous. The story is told from the viewpoint of Maddie, who is a young seamstress for the wives.
“Maddie Sykes is a burgeoning seamstress who’s just arrived in Bright Leaf, North Carolina—the tobacco capital of the South—where her aunt has a thriving sewing business. After years of war rations and shortages, Bright Leaf is a prosperous wonderland in full technicolor bloom, and Maddie is dazzled by the bustle of the crisply uniformed female factory workers, the palatial homes, and, most of all, her aunt’s glossiest clientele: the wives of the powerful tobacco executives. But she soon learns that Bright Leaf isn’t quite the carefree paradise that it seems. A trail of misfortune follows many of the women, including substantial health problems, and although Maddie is quick to believe that this is a coincidence, she inadvertently uncovers evidence in this engrossing historical mystery that suggests otherwise. Maddie wants to report what she knows, but in a town where everyone depends on Big Tobacco to survive, she doesn’t know who she can trust—and fears that exposing the truth may destroy the lives of the proud, strong women with whom she has forged strong bonds.”
I liked this story and found it interesting, but I thought the ending came a bit abruptly. The opulence, the lives of the women, and the cover up were all interesting to read about.
Title: Like, Follow, Subscribe
Author: Fortesa Latifi
Genre: Non Fiction
Publisher: Gallery Books, 4/7/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
As someone whose kids used to follow YouTube families and who secretly wanted to be a successful mom blogger, Like, Follow, Subscribe by Fortesa Latifi was such an interesting read. It had me looking up influencers and wondering if in the end it was better that my little mom blog never went far.
“What is it like to grow up with a camera in your face 24/7? To have your childhood moments sold as “content” to millions online? What happens when someone who works in a largely unregulated multi-billion-dollar industry sells away their childhood and has no financial safety net as an adult? What does it feel like to have your private moments—your medical diagnoses, your first period, your first break up, your tantrums, potty-training, and breastfeeding-weaning—broadcast to an audience of millions? Like, Follow, Subscribe shines a spotlight on the deeply troubling world of the child influencer industry. Journalist Fortesa Latifi dives into the lives of children whose parents mine their everyday activities for monetizable content, exposing issues like privacy violations, financial abuse, and the absence of child labor protections. Through expert interviews with psychologists, labor scientists, and even former child influencers and family vloggers, she uncovers the pressures, trauma, and consequences for children thrust into the spotlight.”
With discussions about the rights of influencer children, snark communities, why so many influencers are Mormon, influencers who regretted sharing as much as they did, and much more, this one kept me turning pages. Some of it did get repetitive, but if this is a topic you are interested in, this book is a deep dive into it all.
Title: Last One Out
Author: Jane Harper
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Flatiron Books: Pine & Cedar, 4/14/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
Last One Out by Jane Harper was a literary mystery about a town being taken over by a coal mine which was forcing out the residents one by one. The mystery was about Ro and Griff’s son Sam, who went missing 5 years earlier.
“Carralon Ridge, a once vibrant village in rural New South Wales, has become a shell of itself, its houses and buildings bought up and left to rot by the mining company operating at its borders. A decade into its slow death, surrounded by industrial noise and swathed in thick layers of dust, the skeletal town is all but abandoned, with just a handful of residents clinging onto what remains. After years of scorning those who left the Ridge behind as it fell into ruin, Ro never imagined she’d become one of them. But everything changed when she lost her son. Five years ago, Sam vanished while visiting during a break from college, leaving behind a rental car with his belongings inside. Sam had loved Carralon Ridge, and had been working on an oral history of the town to preserve its legacy before it vanished altogether. It wasn’t long after his disappearance that the rest of the family began to crumble away too. But when Ro returns to Carralon Ridge to be with her husband and daughter on the anniversary of Sam’s disappearance, she begins to suspect that something important was overlooked in his case. Because while nothing can stop Carralon Ridge from dying, someone seems to want to make sure that its secrets die with it.”
There were a lot of characters in this story, but I was able to predict what happened to Sam. I found the story of the dying town to be depressing.
Title: The Jills
Author: Karen Parkman
Genre: Mystery
Publisher: Ballantine Books, 2/10/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
The Jills by Karen Parkman was about Virginia, a member of the Buffalo Bills cheerleading squad whose best friend Jeanine goes missing. The squad is more of a backdrop to a story about seedy, mafia related criminals, and drugs, and is a crime novel more than a thriller.
“Virginia is a Jill—a cheerleader for the NFL’s Buffalo Bills—living the life of her dreams: she spends her weekdays practicing, her weekends cheering, and her nights hopping between bars and clubs with her teammates, including the fearless, charismatic Jeanine, whose friendship has given Virginia confidence in spades and helped her forget her troubled past with her estranged sister, Laura. One Sunday, Jeanine fails to show up for a game, and calls and texts to her go unanswered. Virginia embarks on an investigation into Jeanine’s disappearance, aided by a network of Jills, ex-boyfriends, seedy fixtures of Buffalo’s criminal underground, and unexpected figures from her past. But as her search grows increasingly dangerous and spirals into obsession, disturbing questions about who Jeanine really was begin to emerge. Soon, Virginia finds herself wondering how well she knew her best friend, if she can trust the people she thought were protecting her, and whether—when trying to save the ones she loves most—she’s capable of saving herself, too.”
I thought this one was a bit long but it had a lot of threads to tie together. It did keep me reading and interested in the story for the most part!
Title: Band of Sisters
Author: Lauren Willig
Genre: Historical Fiction
Publisher: HarperAudio, 3/2/21
Source: Publisher – Print, Library – Audio
Why I Read It: Backlist
My Rating: 4 Stars
I listened to Band of Sisters by Lauren Willig as my historical fiction book on my 26 in ’26 bonus list and it was really long, but it was narrated by Julia Whelan, so that made up for it. This was about a group of Smith College alumni who served in WWI in a relief unit to help war torn communities. There really wasn’t that much plot, as it was more about the relationships between the women and the people they met with plenty of drama to keep things somewhat interesting.
“A scholarship girl from Brooklyn, Kate Moran thought she found a place among Smith’s Mayflower descendants, only to have her illusions dashed the summer after graduation. When charismatic alumna Betsy Rutherford delivers a rousing speech at the Smith College Club in April of 1917, looking for volunteers to help French civilians decimated by the German war machine, Kate is too busy earning her living to even think of taking up the call. But when her former best friend Emmeline Van Alden reaches out and begs her to take the place of a girl who had to drop out, Kate reluctantly agrees to join the new Smith College Relief Unit. Four months later, Kate and seventeen other Smithies, including two trailblazing female doctors, set sail for France. The volunteers are armed with money, supplies, and good intentions—all of which immediately go astray. The chateau that was to be their headquarters is a half-burnt ruin. The villagers they meet are in desperate straits: women and children huddling in damp cellars, their crops destroyed and their wells poisoned. Despite constant shelling from the Germans, French bureaucracy, and the threat of being ousted by the British army, the Smith volunteers bring welcome aid—and hope—to the region. But can they survive their own differences? As they cope with the hardships and terrors of the war, Kate and her colleagues find themselves navigating old rivalries and new betrayals which threaten the very existence of the Unit.”
This book was based on letters and diaries from the actual women in the Smith unit, versions of which are included in each chapter. The author’s note at the end was also interesting!
Title: The Write Off
Author: Kara McDowell
Genre: Rom Com
Publisher: Berkley, 4/7/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
The Write Off by Kara McDowell is about Mars and West, college best friends to lovers who are now enemies and are reunited at a book festival at their alma mater. Both are writers and Mars blames West for the difficulties she had with her most recent published book.
“It’s been thirteen years since Mars Darling first met West Emerson on a bench outside their writing class. What started out as a friendly rivalry turned into a best friendship and then, for a brief time, a romance. Now over a decade later, as Mars stands at their college campus as a once-esteemed YA fantasy author, ready to take on a book festival, she comes face to face with West—the muse behind her infamous trilogy’s heartthrob hero, the man who betrayed her in the worst way. Mars is determined not to let her comeback tour be ruined by the fact that West is also at the festival as an author. But the longer they are on the campus that holds so many shared memories, the more time they have to untangle their past, and Mars starts to question if maybe it’s not only her writing career that deserves a second chance. Told in two unfolding timelines—Mars and West’s frenzied college days where they grapple with their undeniable connection, and their tension-filled present of heartache and familiar yearning—this charming romance shows that while you can’t rewrite the past, it’s never too late to chase your happily ever after and get back the one that got away.”
I really liked the writing in this one and the characters themselves being writers. I enjoyed reading about their past relationship through flashbacks. I felt their on again / off again situation got to be a bit much, but I did want to keep reading to find out what ultimately went wrong between them.
Title: Last Day Pool Party
Author: Emma Steinkellner
Genre: Middle Grade Graphic Novel
Publisher: Labyrinth Road, 4/7/26
Source: Publisher
Why I Read It: Sent to me for my review
My Rating: 4 Stars
I read Last Day Pool Party by Emma Steinkellner on the last day of the month because I felt like I’d read so few books this month and none had been middle grade! A graphic novel only takes a short time to read, so I fit this one in. It is about Dustin, who throws a pool party on the last day of 8th grade. A story about multiple kids in his class follows.
“Six very different kids’ stories collide at an unforgettable last day pool party in this hilarious and relatable story about friendship, popularity and the messiness of growing up. When her name gets skipped at the eighth-grade graduation ceremony, Rose decides she is done being invisible. She’s determined to finally stand out and make her unfulfilled middle school dreams come true at the upcoming pool party. But she’s not the only one who wants to make a splash…BFFs Liv and Juhi are on the verge of a friend break-up when Juhi reveals her family is moving, and Liv uses the party as a chance to scout for a new bestie. Queen bee Maya was forced by her mom to come to unpopular Dustin’s party to be ‘nice’. And meanwhile, her not-so-social cousin Paul is just trying to avoid all the pool party pandemonium. By the time the sun sets, unexpected twists and ridiculous mishaps will make this the weirdest, wildest last day of school ever. Get ready, because this party is about to go off the deep end.”
This was really cute and I loved the diverse characters. It is about friendships and being yourself and is perfect for the middle school age group!
This post includes seven of the books I read this month. Five were print books and two were audio. Six of these were adult books and one was Middle Grade. Genres included historical fiction, non fiction, mystery, rom com, and graphic novel.
If you wrote about books this month, you can link up with us here:
Have you read any of these books or do you want to? What have you been reading lately?
