The 10 Most Popular Reads We Cozied Up With This April

Milwaukee chef Lou receives a scathing review from a critic who happened to come to her restaurant on basically the worst day of her life, and now her business is in shambles. Drowning her sorrows in a local pub, she runs into Al, a gruff but charming Brit who’s celebrating getting a new article in the paper. Banter ensues, and when Al pooh-poohs the local scene, Lou undertakes to show him the best of what Milwaukee has to offer. But what happens when the two of them discover that Al’s the critic who ruined Lou’s career? 

MRS. EVERYTHING chronicles the life of sisters Jo and Bethie Kaufman from the girls’ childhood in the 1950s to present. In their early lives, the girls both have their roles to play; Bethie is pretty and feminine. Jo is a rebellious tomboy. But the truth, and their futures, are much more complicated. In Mrs. Everything, you’ll go on the journey of a lifetime through incredible historical events, seen through the eyes of two sisters who are just trying to be themselves in a world that wants them to be something else. 

An unnamed narrator known as “The Girlfriend” is on a road trip with her (possibly, soon-to-be ex-) boyfriend to visit his parents… but there’s something amiss. Besides the fact that the girlfriend is receiving strange phone calls, events spin out of control when they make an unscheduled stop at an abandoned high school. This is the perfect listen for your next road trip… if you want to seriously freak yourself out. 

Anne Corey, an English professor with the goal of tenure, has a problem: her ex-fiancé, a relationship that crumbled over a decade ago, has just been hired as her boss. But Anne’s careful plans to procure tenure and her duties to her ailing father should give her time for little else, especially not for contemplating the close proximity of her first love. Right? Yet life never seems to be that simple, and her one-track mind slowly breaks down as she thinks about the future that may still be possible, the memories that linger. Scandals erupt both with her best friend, Larry, and her own affair with a famous writer, providing an often-comical backdrop to the underlying fixation on past love in this tale inspired by Jane Austen’s PERSUASION. 

When FBI agent Kendra Donovan is thrust back in time to 1815 England, a wealthy aristocrat offers his protection, but how will they deal with Kendra’s need to help investigate a distressing murder without the technology she’s always relied on? This book is packed with wonderful historical background, suspense, and romance. 

In THE SEVEN SISTERS, bestselling author Lucinda Riley offers up a passionate, spellbinding epic about a young woman discovering her family’s past. After her adoptive father’s death, Maia receives a clue about her true parentage. Maia ends up in Brazil where she learns uncovers the story of her mother, Izabela, who traveled to Paris in the 1920s. There, her life was changed forever when she met an ambitious sculptor and became engulfed in the romantic art scene. Love this book? It’s the first in a dazzling new series of historical romance! 

From the author of the beloved THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY comes a lovely story about an inquisitive young girl, her beloved aunt, and the alluring visitor who changes the course of their destiny forever. With long-buried family secrets, delightfully eccentric characters, a small-town setting, and a plot that will have you rapidly turning pages, what's not to love? 

Kate Morton does it again in this unforgettable story of two women trying to uncover their family’s secret history. Sweeping from the poverty-stricken alleys of Edwardian London to the shores of colonial Australia and back, this intricately plotted tale of physical and emotional journeys is a tribute to the power of storytelling. 

DEAR MRS. BIRD has all the elements of a perfect historical-fiction novel that captures the true plucky British spirit. Sometimes life is scary and dangerous and we say the wrong things, but that does not mean that it’s the end of the world. This charming novel follows Emmeline Lake, who dreams of being a Lady War Correspondent in WWII. She thinks she has caught her big break when she takes a job at a local newspaper but soon finds there’s been a misunderstanding. Instead of writing about the war, Emmeline finds herself typing up letters for Mrs. Bird, a renowned advice columnist. However, when Mrs. Bird refuses to answer letters that contain unpleasantries, Emmy decides to write back to the desperate women who write them. 

In this charming novel, Faith Frankel returns to her suburban hometown at age 32, and discovers some mysterious artifacts in the attic of her new house -- and it makes her question if life is at all what it seems. This is a funny, loveable story with family disarray, a murder investigation, and a heroine you'll easily champion.