My April 2026 Reads
It’s May 1st, so it’s time to share what I read in April: I listened to four audiobooks and two of these were advanced copies.
Here are the books I completed in April. They are listed in the order that I finished them:
Best Offer Wins by Marisa Kashino- 4 stars
Rebellion 1776 by Laurie Halse Anderson- 3.5 stars
A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham 5 stars (To Be Released May 5th)
The Shippers by Katherine Center 5 stars (To Be Released May 19th)
My ‘top rated read’ was extremely hard to choose! I had two rom coms that both scored 5 stars, but ultimately decided on The Shippers. The determining factor for me was a sort of ‘heavy direction’ that A Brewed Awakening went in. But then this direction was also why I gave it 5 stars! For my ‘Top Read of April’ I went with more light-hearted and fun. But both were superb and both are coming out very soon!
My ‘lowest rated read’ was Rebellion 1776. Again, there is nothing wrong with it, it just received the lowest stars in April. For a YA Historical Novel, it covers some deep topics: The Revolutionary War, a missing father, and small pox.
I did not get a physical book completed in April, but did get one started. Hopefully I will be able to report it completed in my May Reads!
What did YOU read in April?
Beware of Scammers Pretending To Be This Site
Always be aware of scammers out there pretending to be someone else! Now this is apparently happening with scammers pretending to have something to do with this site: Three times this month I have been contact by authors emailing jessica@jessicasreadingroom.com that they received an email that they were not sure was me. I hated to have to tell of them that it was not me! And I really don’t think there is a way to prevent this. Here are the emails they forwarded. Please note that I have redacted the author’s name and their book, but kept the scam email addresses visible to be seen:
Scam Email on April 2nd:
Scam Email on April 14th:
Scam Email on April 21st:
**This is just for April and who knows how many authors have been contacted from a scammer pretending to be me. These were just the three authors who were kind enough to give me a heads up on this. I also have no idea how long this has been going on. My site is far from being a website with huge numbers that this scammers is saying.
Please always be aware of scammers! And if **I** am to email you it will come from jessica@jessicasreadingroom.com.
Take care and be careful out there!
Book Review: 14 Nights in February
14 Nights in February
Authors:
KH Johnakin
Ben Farthing
Published: January 25, 2026
Kindle: 206 pages
Reviewed By: Jessica
Dates Read: February 24- March 24, 2026
Jessica’s Rating: 2 stars
Book Description:
14 chapters. 14 nights. 1 terrifying love story.
Years ago, a ghost hunt shattered Elizabeth’s life and took away the man she loved.
Now, she’s put her past behind her.
But then her old partner calls to ask a favor. His brother, Fitz, is insistent on documenting the strange activity at the Route 14 Motel. Elizabeth reluctantly agrees to help him.
The motel has a reputation: Each February, one room becomes active per night…
Fourteen rooms. Fourteen nights.
All leading to Valentine’s Day.
The hauntings are very real—restless spirits trapped in unfinished stories. Elizabeth and Fitz decide to help each ghost move on, one room at a time.
But a murderer’s ghost still stalks the motel—dangerous, powerful, and furious that someone is freeing his victims.
Amid cursed hotel rooms, vengeful ex-lovers, and rooms with only one bed, Elizabeth and Fitz will have to decide how much they’re willing to risk for love.
14 Nights in February is a horror/romcom designed to be read one chapter per day, from February 1st through Valentine’s Day—written by two authors living their own real-life love story, Ben Farthing and KH Johnakin.
Jessica’s Review:
14 Nights in February had an appealing premise and it is also an ‘advent’ book: Read a chapter a day from February 1- February 14th in time for Valentine’s Day. I enjoyed Farthing’s advent book for Halloween, The 31st Trick or Treater, so I was looking forward to this one. I wanted to see how a horror advent book for Valentine’s was going to go. We have fourteen chapters with a haunted hotel room and ghost in each: It sounds great! Knowing the co-author KH Johnakin is also his wife, I was thinking we were in for some horror and maybe some romance added in. After all, you are supposed to read it for Valentine’s Day.
I did not get it started until after Valentine’s Day, and was hoping to read a chapter a day as the authors intended, but time-wise I was not able to. The story also just did not work for me: I wasn’t intrigued. I did finish it but maybe should have just DNF’d it. For me the best part was the epilogue.
I think it might have just been the wring time for me to read the book and might at some point in the future give it another try. Just not anytime soon.
Purchase Links:
Amazon US
Amazon UK