The ethereal scents of fresh earth and dewy petals have awakened once more, and with them, the promise of strange and bewitching tales to renew our love of reading. April's recommendations are aglow with their gothic whimsy and eerie naturalistic allure.
So light one of our floral candles, like Moonlit Garden or Rose Reverie, and prepare to get utterly lost in these transportive, vaguely unsettling springtime tales tinged with mystery.
The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert
Get swept into a mesmerizing contemporary fantasy as Alice and her mother Ella are pulled back into the cult-classic storybook world crafted by Ella's grandmother - a realm where sinister fairy tales and dark whimsy lurk behind every gnarled tree and babbling brook.
Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
Welcome to the town of Bascom, North Carolina, where the Waverley women have been blessed (or cursed?) with magical gifts passed down from their mystical garden's capricious plants. A deliciously off-kilter tale full of edible flowers, supernatural happenings, and the perennial power of sisterhood blooming wildly.
House of Hollow by Krystal Sutherland
In this eerie YA novel, three sisters have inherited their grandmother's ability to see the dead...as well as her macabre Victorian home where the line between reality and fantasy grows increasingly blurred. A hypnotic coming-of-age fable drenched in witchy ambiance.
The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman
Set on a remote Australian island after World War I, this hauntingly poetic tale traces the emotional devastation of a childless couple who make an impulsive choice with heartbreaking consequences. As lyrical as the roiling sea, this melancholy gem immerses you in atmospheric morally-grey territory.
The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy by Myfanwy Collins
In this delightfully macabre romp set in an alternate Wild West, Hart is a marshal tasked with policing supernatural souls. When his latest assignment partners him with the prickly and humorous Mercy Smote, the duo find themselves in over their heads trying to wrangle a vengeful ghost before it can unleash havoc. Wickedly funny and rich with the dusty magic of twisted family legacies.
These stirring novels brim with the floral beauty and fertile shadows of a world reawakening after winter's slumber. Whimsical yet laced with an unsettling undertone.
What darkly whimsical tales will you be losing yourself in this April? Share your ethereal, witchy, or haunting springtime reads with us!