April is in full swing and instead of spring showers we’re getting a flood of good books. Rachel Khong, author of Goodbye, Vitamin, is out with a new release, Caroline Leavitt’s Days of Wonder is turning heads and Abby Jimenez hit #1 on the New York Times bestseller list with her latest. Check out these books and more from BookSparks CEO Crystal Patriarche’s must-reads for April 2024.

Real Americans by Rachel Khong

Year 2000: Lily Chen and Matthew are as different as can be. While Lily is a broke, unpaid intern at a slick media company, Matthew is an East Coast, attractive, and extremely rich heir to a pharmaceutical company. But against all odds, the two fall in love.

Year 2021: Nick Chen is a fifteen-year-old outcast that lives with his single mother, Lily. His whole life he has suspected that his mother has been hiding something, but when he sets out to find his biological father he might just find more questions than answers.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Family Reservations by Liza Palmer

Maren Winter, a world-renowned restaurant owner with a large legacy, is about to retire and no one is more excited than her three daughters. During Maren’s New Years Eve party the family gets into a fight that goes viral to the public. This is the opportunity that every culinary and restaurant elite has been waiting for to seize power. With the Maren Winter legacy on the line, her three daughters will need to learn to make their own path in the world or lose it all.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez

Thanks to a viral Reddit post, Justin is infamous for his dating curse. Every woman he dates and breaks up with finds her soulmate immediately after the breakup. One day a woman who has the same curse messages Justin and they decide to date and break up, hopefully getting rid of their curses permenantly. When Emma gets assigned to work in Minnesota, she never thought that she’d fall for Justin. But here she is, getting feelings over what was supposed to be a summer fling. But is this truly a perfect match or will their summer romp end in heartbreak?

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble


Daughter of a Promise by Jeanne McWilliams Blasberg

Written from the perspective of a letter to her unborn son, Daughter of a Promise is about the coming-of-age and first love of Betsabé Ruiz. Just days after her graduation, Betsabé Ruiz is living in New York and working among the super wealthy at a Wall Street investement bank. Nothing in her life is going as she expected as she learns about wealth, power, and obtains professional relationships. But when she starts falling for her boss, Betsabé Ruiz must learn how to balance who she is and where she wants to end up.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble


Days of Wonder by Caroline Leavitt

As a teenager Ella Fitchburg was hopelessly and completely in love with her boyfriend, Jude. But everything in Ellas’s life came crashing down when she was accused of attempted murder on Jude’s father and sentenced to six years in prison. Right before her time in prison, Ella found out she was pregnant and was forced to give up her daughter. Now, after being released, Ella is desperate to find her daughter and start her life over. But as she journeys to Ann Arbor, Michigan she finds that what she needs most is to find out the truth of what happened. There is only one problem, neither Ella nor Jude remember the night before she was convicted.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble


While We Were Burning by Sara Koffi

Elizabeth Smith is spiraling. After the mysterious death of her best friend, Elizabeth has to hire a personal assistant to help her keep her mind off of everything. But when Elizabeth and Brianna, her new personal assistant, become close quickly, they both start investigating what happened. But Brianna is not what she seems, she wants to know why the police killed her Black son and who in Elizabeth’s neighborhood called the cops on him that day. As the two women dig deeper and become closer, it’s clear that both of them have secrets.

Buy the book now: Bookshop.org | Amazon | Barnes & Noble

She Watches

When you need a break from books and want to pop on something to stream, check out these recommendations from Crystal.

Bingeing Peaky Blinders

Peaky Blinders is a completed series that is perfect for a binge watch! Set in the post-World War I era, this show revolves around a gang called the “Peaky Blinders” as they attempt to become the most feared gang in Birmingham. Watch as they raise their empire of theivery and illegal betting. This show is perfect for fans of crime shows, heist stories, and found family. If you loved Oppenheimer and need more Cillian Murphy in your life, this is your fix.

Netflix Ripley

Based upon the 1955 crime novel The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith, the show Ripley revolves around a man named Tom Ripley who wants to escape his past. He goes to Manhattan and meets a wealthy man who hires Ripley to bring his son, Dickie Greenleaf, back from Italy. But when Ripley meets Dickie, he becomes obsessed with his lifestyle and a dangerous game ensues.

Hulu Under the Bridge

Based upon the #1 bestselling novel by Rebecca Godfrey, this show is about the murder of a fourteen year old girl named Reena Virk. One night, Reena goes to a party with her friends and never returns. After she’s found dead, this story follows the seven girls and one boy who were with Reena the night of her death and who are accused of her murder.