From Spicy To Soul-Crushing, Here Are The Books Scary Mommy Editors Loved In April

*Releases May 19

If you want to cry happy and sad tears about love and family and life, look no further. Damoff's forthcoming novel is a beautiful portrait of romantic and familial love — how both change and morph over time, how they can go completely sideways, and how they can be brought back from the brink. Deb and Billy's devotion to one another, in particular, had me beside myself. 10/10 life-affirming read. — Katie McPherson, Associate Editor, Lifestyle & Entertainment

Why did it take me this long to read a cozy murder mystery with woodland creatures?! What a fun read! I look forward to the others in the series as great palate cleansers or when I feel burnt out on reading. — Katie Garrity, News & Social Editor

This is a Southern Gothic horror novel that also reads like a dark fairy tale — and I loved it. The writing is gorgeous, and the story, which follows a woman named Judith after she runs away from her abusive mother and moves into a strange house in the woods, is enthralling. This is pretty experimental and poetic, but if you're into that, you'll be into this. — Sarah Aswell, Deputy Editor, News & Social

My 11-year-old checked this out of her middle school library, gobbled it up in three days, had nightmares for a week, and then begged me to read it, too. It's a creepy YA horror novel about a young girl who plays with a Ouija board app with her best friend, trying to connect with her cousin who died years before, and then chaos ensues. It's got everything you want in a horror book — weird kids, scary porcelain dolls, a secluded Scottish island — and it's just the right level of scary, whether you're a horror fan or not. — Samantha Darby, Senior Editor, Lifestyle & Entertainment

An amazing debut that is funny, page-turning, and touching. This book follows all of the wayward members of the Flynn family, all of whom are struggling A LOT. The parents have fallen out of love and opened their marriage (to disastrous results), while all three daughters are getting into a variety of tough spots. Can they get their stuff together, manage to love one another, and maybe stop a crime ring while they're at it? I loved the warmth and fun of this book, including each of the crazy characters. Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the listen! — Sarah Aswell

Trigger warning: If you have ever lived with an angry man in the house, this book may not be for you. The story follows Peggy, Drew, and their teenage son Samson. The trio live on a boat in a canal in the Midwest, where Drew obsessively works on his novel each night and controls his family's every move and choice, moving them further down the canal and away from connections each time they form. There was so much tension throughout this entire book; it's a lot, but beautifully written, and you really get attached to and root for the characters. — Katie McPherson

What a weird, wild ride! And a love letter to STORIES. All I kept thinking when I was reading this was, ‘Who was *my* Nancy Drew?’ And I kept thinking back to my time as a child, reading with wonderment and just falling in love with magical worlds and quirky characters. What a cute, fun, magical ride that had just the right amount of cheese. 💕 — Katie Garrity

This one is going straight to my daughter, and I already know she is going to absolutely lose her mind over it — it's the cutest Little Golden Book biography celebrating Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's love story, done in that classic illustrated storybook style we all grew up with. It's the perfect gift for any little Swiftie who also happens to know every Chiefs game day stat, and honestly it's just as delightful for the moms reading it aloud at bedtime. A sweet, fun, totally giftable moment! — Katie Garrity

I listened to this as an audiobook, and was pleased to find it's narrated by Gagne herself. It has a few fun asides from her that I'm not sure are printed in the book itself. This was an incredibly eye-opening read about how sociopathy feels to the person living with it, what drives someone to be good when they genuinely can't care about right versus wrong, and the coping mechanisms we turn to when something in our brain cries out for relief, but medicine doesn't know how to help us. — Katie McPherson

*Releases May 26

A WARM HUG OF LOVE IN A BOOK. Annabel Monaghan is an auto-read for me, and Dolly All The Time was just *chef’s kiss.* No one writes a leading man like her. — Katie Garrity

Do you ever find out just how little you know about something? That happened to me with this book, which is a small but mighty look into the past, present, and future of tuberculosis... and how it has had an effect on almost everything you can think of, from history and science to fashion and the arts. This book actually made me take a look back at my family tree — and I was shocked to find out how my own ancestors were affected by the disease. — Sarah Aswell

Somehow I've never read anything by Joan Didion, and I set out to change that with this book. It's a memoir about the sudden death of Didion's husband at the dinner table, and the year following in which she felt he might walk back in the door at any moment. It's beautifully written and truly feels like a walk through someone's psyche — exactly what I want from a memoir. — Katie McPherson

Libby Ward writes with the kind of unflinching honesty and humor that makes you feel deeply seen on every single page. Equal parts memoir and manifesto, the book tackles the guilt, the invisible labor, the impossible expectations, and the unspoken rage that so many moms carry but rarely say out loud. I felt very validated reading this! — Katie Garrity

This is one of my favorite reads of the year so far! A girl in Nigeria is forced by tragedy to go live with her cousin in England — and the two friends soon grow close. But family matters, culture, and misunderstandings complicate their relationship. This is a loose retelling of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, and it made me feel ALL of the feels. — Sarah Aswell

I am buying this for my daughter, and I love that it makes learning feel like an adventure. Instead of a traditional book, it follows a trail of 400 connected facts that lead from one surprising topic to the next, so kids can follow their curiosity wherever it takes them. It's the kind of book that gets picked up over and over again because every page leads somewhere unexpected and genuinely cool. Perfect for the kid who loves random knowledge and always has a fun fact ready to share! — Katie Garrity

Patricia Lockwood is now a must-read author for me. How come more people don't talk about how funny she is? I laughed as much as I do during a David Sedaris book as she told the story of her non-traditional family — her father is a rare married Catholic priest, and they grew up living in a rectory. This book is so smart, fun, and weird... I am recommending it to everyone. — Sarah Aswell

*Releases May 19

This is one of the most anticipated books of 2026, and it has all the hallmarks of a Steven Rowley novel — equal parts funny and deeply moving with a premise that sounds absurd but hits you right in the chest. College professor Jesse witnesses his husband of thirty years walk into their Joshua Tree backyard, step into a strange beam of light, and disappear, leaving Jesse to grapple with grief, reinvention, and what it means to be alone for the first time in his adult life. This is at the TOP of my TBR! — Katie Garrity

What a fun ride of a book! I am not usually into fairytale retellings (this one is by Cinderella's evil stepmother), but this book is completely delightful and fun to read. The author does a perfect job of integrating Cinderella into the story while also offering a totally original story to the tale, and I loved so many of the characters by the end. A wholly satisfying book and one of my favorites of 2026! Thanks to Macmillan Audio for the listen! — Sarah Aswell

I asked Scary Mommy Book Club for some recommendations for a very spicy and dark book, and so many people named Butcher & Blackbird. This very silly but fun story follows two serial killers who fall in love while competing to see who can murder the most evil people. Yes, this is weird, fluffy, unrealistic, and graphic, and yes, I had a really great time reading it. — Sarah Aswell