Everything I Read in April 2025

This month started out rocky, reading-wise. My concentration was zapped; I couldn’t focus. I turned to the TV! By the second half of the month, things improved. And the upside of being distracted was that I walked a lot and listened to three audiobooks, all of which I would heartily recommend. Mixed in with the audiobooks were some fun fiction titles: one truly excellent thriller (out 5/20) and one “read in a day” romance (out 5/6), both of which I adored. And so, I only managed to read six books this month, and I didn’t read many paper books, but it was still an excellent month of reading. 

PS – Last month’s list! Don’t forget that The Library has every book I’ve read in the past ten+ years. You can search and filter by genre!

PPS—Please tell me your recommendations in the comments section. You’ve given me so many of my favorite book recommendations.

Everything I read in april 2025

Thriller

The Safari, by Jaclyn Goldis (out 5/20)

Jaclyn Goldis has quickly become a favorite author in just a few years. This is her third book, and I’d heartily recommend everything she’s written: twisty thrillers, set in glamorous locales. Odelia Babel is 64 years old and in the prime of her life. She is the CEO of a sustainable fast fashion empire. She is about to marry for the second time. Her fiancé, Asher Bach, is 25 years her junior: the designer of her luxury clothing line. He’s a fashion world favorite and madly in love with Odelia. Odelia, her best friend Gwen, Asher, and Odelia’s three children, along with her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, head to Leopard Sands (a luxury safari camp) in South Africa. This is their family’s favorite vacation spot; they’ve been going since the now-adult children were small. It seems like the dream trip, until the night of the rehearsal dinner. Odelia is murdered; vultures are destroying her body. Who could have done this? Was it Sam, the irresponsible son who always needed something (and resented his mother’s restraint)? Was it one of the hotel staffers? Meanwhile, Sam’s twin sister Bailey (and his alibi) goes missing. Secrets are revealed, and it becomes clear that the killer isn’t quite done. The plot had me racing to figure out who killed Odelia–I didn’t guess either of the big twists. You will love this one! Overall Score: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Romance

Set Piece, by Lana Schwartz (out 5/6)

This is the latest 831 stories Novella (If you are not familiar, these are under 200-page romance novels with whip-smart writing, curated by Erica Cerulo and Claire Mazur. This delivers. It is easily my favorite of all their books so far. It plays into the “famous person/non-famous person” trope with a hint of a “second chance,” and it’s deliciously steamy. When a newly famous (very handsome actor) Jack walks into a bar, he’s immediately mobbed. CJ, the bartender, steps in and helps him out. The chemistry between the two of them is intense, and they proceed to have a sexy night together. Afterward, they go their separate ways. Five years later, Jack is a full-blown celebrity, and CJ is a set designer, also a single mother to a four-year-old. When the two show up to film an adaptation of The Great Gatsby, sparks fly, as does mutual admiration for the other’s craft. That chemistry is still there, but do they have room in their lives for each other? CJ is balancing the demands of motherhood while building her career, and the demands on Jack’s time are never-ending. It’s delightful, thanks to the sharp writing, feminist perspective, and strong female protagonists I’ve come to expect from 831 stories. Overall Score: A+ // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Young Adult

Bad Influence, by Claire Ahn

I was having a stressful week and wanted something easy and light, so I reached for this, which I had been sent as an ARC. I love anything about influencer culture, and this offered a different perspective. 16-year-old Charlotte is living a double life. By day, she is the dutiful Korean daughter who gets straight A’s and babysits her 4-year-old sister Jojo. Meanwhile, she’s secretly an influencer, hoping to earn money to help out her struggling family. While at an influencer event, she experiences horrible racism. When she posts about it, she finds herself going viral. Suddenly, she has a new bestie and “cool” influencer friends, the attention of a Hollywood heartthrob, and sponsorships galore. But at what cost? Charlotte soon learns the high price of fame. Is the money she’s able to earn to help her family worth isolating herself from everyone she loves? This is true YA. It is very earnest and cute. I keep hearing that kids these days all want to be influencers, and if I were a parent, I’d have my kids read this. My favorite part was learning more about Charlotte’s Korean heritage–the food references made me hungry! Overall Score: B // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Non-Fiction

The Tell, by Amy Griffin

This was an incredible read. Content warning: this book surrounds sexual abuse. Audiobooks generally take me a few weeks to listen to as I am less consistent (and they can be long), but I finished this one in just a few days because I could not stop listening. On paper, Amy has the perfect life. She’s the founder of G9 Ventures, an investing extraordinaire, pals with Gwyneth Paltrow, married to a handsome billionaire husband, and mom to four beautiful children. I could go on. We start out learning about her childhood in Amarillo, Texas, through college, and then to her time in New York. Growing up, she pushed herself to be perfect–to be the best at everything she did, to please her parents, to be “perfect.” But it always felt like she was running from something. When she went on a quest to solve the mysteries of her own mind, she uncovered a horrible childhood trauma. Somehow, the book is both heartbreaking, hopeful, and empowering. I am so grateful to Amy for her courage and for sharing her story, as I think it will help a lot of people. Overall Score: A+ // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Greenlights, by Matthew McConaughey

I absolutely LOVED this. Couldn’t put it down, took it on all my walks, and gobbled it up in just a couple of days. It felt a little random (before reading this, I thought McConaughey was handsome, but I could have taken or left him otherwise). This was just so much fun to listen to. At times, it was soothing and relaxing, at times it was weird (with all those wet dream stories), and at times it was laugh-out-loud funny. McConaughey is unabashedly himself and takes us from childhood to the present, from funny family stories to his first acting job, to fame in romantic comedies. And then, walking away from romcoms to do more serious acting. Meeting his wife, having babies, and getting married. In between, there are plenty of life lessons and advice. This is honestly wonderful, and I’ve been recommending it to absolutely everyone. I chose to listen to it (which is great, as McConaughey narrates it and a new “Afterward” is included), but the print version contains photographs. Overall Score: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon

Careless People, by Sarah Wynn-Williams

This book is . . . something. It’s juicy, salacious, and quite frankly, alarming. My jaw dropped multiple times while listening to it. I will never look at Mark Zuckerberg, Sheryl Sandberg, or many of the other people who work at Facebook the same way. It details Wynn-Williams’ desperate mission to get a job at Facebook, her career there, and how she wishes she had never joined the company. It will make you think about the Meta platforms, and if they’re something you want to be part of. My hands are a little tied on that front, but wow. It is a must-listen. I do need to caveat that if you are squeamish about medical stuff (I am), you may want to fast forward through the shark attack and birth scenes. There was one scene in particular that made me dizzy. I had to sit down in the middle of my walk. This book offers a profoundly personal account of why and how things have gone so horribly wrong over the past ten years, told very honestly. A deep, unflinching look at the role that social media has assumed in our lives, and the scary truth about the leaders of Facebook they had. The more power they got, the more careless they became. Overall Score: A // Order on Bookshop or Amazon