The Town Crier: April 2025

Craving serious reads, new historical literary fiction, and lots of exciting announcements for this fall.

Welcome to The Town Crier, a monthly newsletter series in which I curate recent favorite reads, new releases that reflect my personal taste, and other book news I’m particularly excited about.

It’s April! As we enter spring in earnest, I’ve been in an interesting reading mood: I have craved high-quality books with more serious tones and have had very little patience for anything lighter or too trope-y (although on audio, a solid mystery or thriller has been working best). All year I have allowed myself to DNF freely, partly because my mental bandwidth at almost 32 weeks pregnant is limited, and partly because I KNOW what it feels like to love a book and I really want to prioritize those kinds of reads over more “mid” reading experiences.

I did read and enjoy a few books in March that I want to share; and I have my eye on some new releases in April that seem promising and different from anything else I’ve read recently.

Before we get into April: last month I mentioned I would likely skip the new Hunger Games book Sunrise on the Reaping but have been hearing great feedback since it came out. Please let me know in the comments a) if I should pick it up and b) if I need to reread the original trilogy and/or read The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes first (would rather not because I heard it pretty universally panned).

Without further ado, here’s The Town Crier for April 2025!

Favorites I Read Last Month

• How to Stop Trying: An Overachiever’s Guide to Self-Acceptance, Letting Go, and Other Impossible Things by Kate Williams (nonfiction, released 3/11). Not my usual fare that you’ll see here but I loved and needed this book. So much good stuff is shared, named, and unpacked here—from why we worry so much (and the harm it does), to why we’re programmed to constantly overachieve and be productive (and the harm THAT does), to self-acceptance and releasing guilt, and more. I wrote down so many quotes throughout that I hope to take to heart. At times more specifics around the author’s life were shared than I expected, including a lot related to infertility and other similar struggles, so be aware going in. Great on audio!

• Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito (Historical Horror, released 2/4). If you have a very twisted sense of humor and a stomach for gore, this one is for you. I found myself cackling several times at governess Winnifred as she settles into her new role working for—and resisting maiming and killing—the Pounds family. The tension builds and ultimately erupts in a satisfyingly cacophonous finale. My only criticism is that I wish there was a bit more depth to the story, as far as larger themes to engage with; it was mostly a thrill ride. But maybe there was more that I didn’t catch; I do know there are many literary references and works it’s in conversation with (including allusions to The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman).

• Tilt by Emma Pattee (Ecological Disaster Fiction, released 3/25). I shared the premise of this one in last month’s Town Crier. There are elements of a thrilling disaster story, but the dramatic events are merely a backdrop to the protagonist's interior musings grappling with her own questions and doubts about her pregnancy, her relationship, and her life as a whole. I enjoyed the balance the author struck; although I did find myself by the end feeling like there was something missing or a larger point left unmade. Visually I feel like this would make for a really great video game, from the earthquake's origin as our protagonist is in IKEA buying a crib, following her journey to get home across the city of Portland.

For reviews of every book I read, follow me on Instagram @hollyslitmagic.

April 2025 New Releases

…That I Want to Read

• The Pretender by Jo Harkin (Literary Historical Fiction, out 4/29). Inspired by a real life historical footnote during the time of the Tudor’s ascent to the throne: the year is 1480 and a young man who has been raised in obscurity by peasants learns that he is actually a potential heir to the English throne. He’s sent to be educated at Oxford and there meets an Irish girl named Joan who must face either marriage or becoming a nun. I ate up British royal history growing up, especially around the time of the Tudors, so am super curious about this one. Described as for fans of Hilary Mantel and Maggie O’Farrell.

• The Floating World by Axie Oh (YA Fantasy, out 4/29). Final Fantasy meets Castle in the Sky? I couldn’t add this to my TBR quickly enough. Ex-soldier Sunho lives in the Under World, a land of perpetual darkness. He can’t remember his past and works as a mercenary, which is how he stumbles upon a job searching for a girl who magically wields silver light. Meanwhile acrobat Ren is living and performing with her adoptive family—until one day she accidentally exposes a secret power she’s kept hidden. It sounds so fun, the cover looks fun—I’m just hoping it has enough fantasy depth to it to balance any romantasy vibes for my personal taste.

• Perspective(s) by Laurent Binet, translated by Sam Taylor (Literary Historical Mystery, out 4/8). Dawn is breaking in Florence on New Year’s Day 1557 and a man is found lying dead on the floor of a church, stabbed through the heart. He’s surrounded by the fresco paintings that make up his life’s work—but on one of them, the face of the goddess Venus is replaced with that of Maria de Medici, daughter of the Duke of Florence. Outrage and chaos ensues. I have no idea what to expect from this one but it sounds so good, both for the mystery of it all plus the rich time period and setting.

…That I’m Considering

• Julie Chan is Dead by Liann Zhang (Suspense Thriller, out 4/29). Julie Chan is a supermarket cashier who was separated at birth from her twin sister Chloe; Chloe meanwhile has become a popular influencer. When Julie discovers Chloe’s dead body under mysterious circumstances, she has the chance to step into Chloe’s enviable life filled with designer clothes and millions of adoring fans. But when Julie goes on an island retreat with Chloe’s influencer friends, events start to spiral out of control. Described as for fans of Yellowface and Bunny, this debut sounds incredibly promising as a juicy, can’t-put-it-down read.

• Gifted & Talented by Olivie Blake (Contemporary Fantasy, out 4/1). Three grown siblings are forced to reckon with their sibling rivalries when their father, wealthy CEO and father of modern technology, dies. Add to this the fact that the siblings all have telepathic and electrokinetic abilities, and you can count me intrigued. I’ve been interested in Olivie Blake’s work for some time—maybe this will be my first.

• Faithbreaker by Hannah Kaner (Fantasy, out 4/1). This is book three in the Fallen Gods series and the main reason I’m only considering it is because I still have book one, Godkiller, sitting on my shelf to read! I’ve long been interested in this series (and its gorgeous covers) so hopefully am pushed to finally get started. I can’t share much about the premise given it’s the third in a series I haven’t read yet but it’s filled with gods, demons, and civil war.

…That I Probably Won’t Be Reading

• The Sirens by Emilia Hart (Historical Magical Realism, out 4/1). Hart’s books always appeal to me with their gorgeous covers and magical realism vibes—but something keeps holding me back from giving them a try. In this case, the story follows two separate timelines in the years 2019 and 1800 and I really struggle when books do this. It’s become an increasingly popular storytelling tool and I always end up liking one storyline more than the other, or feeling like I’m being wrenched out of the story right as I was settling into it and back into the other storyline. I would love to hear thoughts if you’ve read her previous book Weyward or plan to read this one—but in the meantime I probably won’t prioritize it.

• A Drop of Corruption by Robert Jackson Bennet (Fantasy Mystery, out 4/1). I know that the first book in this series, The Tainted Cup, was a five-star hit for many, but I admit it was a DNF for me. I could not get into the story or invested in the characters; I didn’t like the way I was dropped into the world without enough details to really picture and understand it. This is the new sequel and I already hadn’t planned to pick it up but also have heard mediocre early reviews so feel that much less guilty about DNFing the first book.

• The Maid’s Secret by Nita Prose (Mystery, out 4/8). I tried to read first book in this series, The Maid, a few years ago and ended up DNFing it. Normally I like protagonists who are on the spectrum but I felt like in this case that wasn’t made clear enough and I simply didn’t care about the plot. I won’t be reading this new installment but I know many enjoy them so it’s worth mentioning in case you want to give the series a try.

Other Book News & Items of Interest

• Paging Greek mythology girlies—new book announced from Natalie Haynes about Jason and the Argonauts, No Friend To This House, coming September 2025! Haynes wrote one of my all-time faves Stone Blind and she’s a particularly good audiobook performer.

• Bloomsbury announced a new imprint, Bloomsbury Archer, focused on science fiction and fantasy books.

• Cover revealed for Samantha Shannon’s new Roots of Chaos book, Among the Burning Flowers, also out this September! I cannot wait. It’s smaller than the others in the series (The Priory of the Orange Tree and A Day of Fallen Night, both lifetime favorites of mine) and described as potentially a less-intimidating, good place to start if you haven’t read any of them yet.

• More to look forward to in September: Richard Osman has finished writing the fifth installment of The Thursday Murder Club series. I thought he said he’d be taking a longer break from this series so fingers crossed the quality stays at the same level…

• Another cover reveal: Bryan Washington’s new book Palaver coming this November. I haven’t read him before, but the Tokyo vending machines on the cover have me immediately sold.

• Director Martin Scorsese will be adapting all four books in Marilynne Robinson’s HOME quartet (Gilead, Lila, Home, and Jack), for Apple. These have been on my shelf waiting to be read so time to prioritize them!

That’s a wrap on The Town Crier for April 2025! Be sure to subscribe to receive this month’s edition of Side Quests, in which I react to recent reads or unpack specific topics in my reading life.

For day-to-day updates on my reading life, additional short reading guides, and reviews for everything I read, follow me on Instagram @hollyslitmagic.