Everything We're Reading And Watching This April
- Demi Lynch
- Apr 1
- 8 min read
The world can be a chaotic place but thankfully we have many books, shows and movies to educate us and connect us this April. We have several debut novels including Palestinian journalist Plestia Alaqad and media personality Ash London. Hollywood stars like Viola Davis, Michael B. Jordan and Rami Malek are back on the big screen kicking ass. Stories about Muslim families and Arctic Indigenous communities are finally platformed. And of course our fave romance writers Emily Henry and Abby Jimenez are back with more love stories and more heated scenes.
There really is something for everyone this April, and we can't wait to read and watch it all.
Dying For Sex
Written as a series of diary extracts, Plestia Alaqad relates the horrors of her experiences in Gaza while showcasing the indomitable spirit of her community.
Bad Influence: The Dark Side Of Kidfluencing
Piper Rockelle is a massively popular young social media superstar with more than 25 million followers. She films pranks, challenges, and “crush content” with her friend group, The Squad. For aspiring tween influencers, joining them could unlock hundreds of thousands of followers and big-budget brand deals. But a bombshell lawsuit by former Squad members and their families could be the end of her multimillion-dollar empire.
North of North
A young Inuk woman in a tiny Arctic village strives to forge her own path, defying societal expectations and gossip in her tightknit community.
#1 Happy Family USA
From creator Ramy Youssef comes # 1 Happy Family USA, an adult-animated series following the maniacally upbeat Husseins - the most patriotic, most peaceful, and most definitely-not-suspicious Muslim family in post-9/11 "Amreeka." With satire and absurdity, it redefines finding humour in hardship as they navigate the early 2000s under the watchful eyes of their terrified neighbours.
Étoile
The dancers and artistic staff of two world-renowned ballet companies embark on an ambitious gambit to save their storied institutions by swapping their most talented stars.
In early October 2023, Palestinian Plestia Alaqad was a recent graduate with dreams of becoming a successful journalist. By the end of November, her social media posts depicting daily life in Gaza, amid Israel's deadly invasion and bombardment, would profoundly move millions of people. She would be internationally known as the 'Eyes of Gaza'.
Written as a series of diary extracts, The Eyes of Gaza relates the horrors of her experiences while showcasing the indomitable spirit of the men, women and children who share her communities. From the epicentre of turmoil, while bombs rain around her and devastation grips her people, she is witness to their emotions, their gentle acts of quiet, necessary heroism, and the moments of unexpected tenderness and vulnerability amid the chaos.
Through the raw honesty and vulnerability of a normal 21-year-old woman trying to make her way through a human tragedy, The Eyes of Gaza is a potent reminder of the horrors of violence and a powerful testament to the human spirit. It recounts a harrowing experience, but it is not a heart-breaking lamentation. Rather, it is a deeply intimate love letter to a girl's home: demolished before her eyes, yes, but forever present in her heart.
Willow has everything worked out. The steady partner. The successful career. The grown-up house. Until she doesn’t – and she’s cast adrift on the sea of heartbreak, grieving a future with no clear path. With her life transformed beyond recognition, and her friends busy ‘moving forwards’, Willow has never felt more alone. But she’s in good company. And when inspiration arrives from an unlikely source, she rekindles the relationship she longs for – but has long neglected… The one with herself…
Artemis 'Temz' Owusu has bags of confidence, and plenty of opportunity for hook-ups; she fiercely embraces her beautiful size 26 body and expects any man to do the same. Her marketing career is on fire, and she has a thriving side-hustle as a 'plantfluencer'. But for some reason, her romantic relationships just won't stick.
So, when sexy California-based tech entrepreneur Ruben slides into her DMs looking for plant care advice, Temz doesn't waste an opportunity. Soon their long-distance digital flirtation is growing roots - until, in an out-of-character bout of self-doubt, Temz commits the cardinal online sin...
Suddenly she's embroiled in a web of deception as her relationship with Ruben gets increasingly serious. When her job lands her the opportunity to visit her man's stomping ground in Oakland, could it be a chance for her to finally come clean - or it could lead to total chaos?
Radio young gun Alex York is used to knowing - and getting - exactly what she wants. But when she blows up her glamorous career and retreats to a tropical island, for the first time in her life she has no plan, no prospects and, increasingly, no money.
Lured back to the real world by the breakfast radio gig of a lifetime, she promises herself she'll never let anyone throw her off course again - not her patronisingly old-school CEO, her network arch-nemesis or even her unexpectedly attractive new boss ...
When Margaret Ives, the famously reclusive heiress, invites eternal optimist Alice Scott to the balmy Little Crescent Island, Alice knows this is it- her big break. And even more rare- a chance to impress her family with a Serious Publication. The catch? Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud, Hayden Anderson, is sure of the same thing. The proposal? A one-month trial period to unearth the truth behind one of the most scandalous families of the 20th Century, after which she'll choose who'll tell her story. The problem? Margaret is only giving each of them tantalising pieces. Pieces they can't put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they're in the same room
There might be no such a thing as a perfect guy, but Xavier Rush comes disastrously close. A gorgeous veterinarian giving Greek god vibes-all while cuddling a tiny kitten? Immediately yes. That is until Xavier opens his mouth and proves that even sculpted gods can say the absolute wrong thing. Like, really wrong. Of course, there's nothing Samantha loves more than proving an asshole wrong...
Unless, of course, he can admit he made a mistake. But after one incredible and seemingly endless date-possibly the best in living history-Samantha is forced to admit the truth, that her family is in crisis and any kind of relationship would be impossible. Samantha begs Xavier to forget her. To remember their night together as a perfect moment, as crushing as that may be.
Only no amount of distance or time is nearly enough to forget that something between them. And the only thing better than one single perfect memory is to make a life-and even a love-worth remembering.
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Solange Knowles, and bonus daughter Kelly Rowland, is known the world over as a Matriarch with a capital M: a determined, self-possessed, self-aware, and wise woman who raised and inspired some of the great artists of our time. But this story is about so much more than that.
Matriarch begins with a precocious, if unruly, little girl growing up in 1950s Galveston, the youngest of seven. She is in love with her world, with extended family on every other porch and the sounds of Motown and the lapping beach always within earshot. But as the realities of race and the limitations of girlhood set in, she begins to dream of a more grandiose world. Her instincts and impulsive nature drive her far beyond the shores of Texas to discover the life awaiting her on the other side of childhood.
That life’s journey—through grief and tragedy, creative and romantic risks and turmoil, the nurturing of superstar offspring and of her own special gifts—is the remarkable story she shares with readers here. This is a page-turning chronicle of family love and heartbreak, of loss and perseverance, and of the kind of creativity, audacity, and will it takes for a girl from Galveston to change the world. It’s one brilliant woman’s intimate and revealing story, and a multigenerational family saga that carries within it the story of America—and the wisdom that women pass on to one another, mothers to daughters, across generations.
Julie Chan didn't mean to steal her identical twin's life. She meant to call the police when she found the body. She meant to dial 911. Except when she unlocked Chloe's phone to make that call, she also gained access to her estranged sister's sponsorship deals, her followers, her wealth, her whole life. And Julie's not prepared to give it back. Not yet. So it's goodbye Julie, love Chloe x
Now all Julie has to do is keep her head down and blend in with the beautiful Belladonnas, the tribe of influencers who had welcomed Chloe in to their inner circle before she died. Julie's going to breathe, detox, workout. Curate each post. Filter each picture. Spend whole days filming unboxing videos. But someone out there knows that even identical twins have their differences...
G20
Terrorists take over the G20 summit with President Sutton, bringing her governing and military experience to defend her family, company, and the world.
Drop
Violet is a widowed mother who goes to an upscale restaurant to meet Henry, her charming and handsome date. However, her pleasant evening soon turns into a living nightmare when she receives phone messages from a mysterious, hooded figure who threatens to kill her young son and sister unless she kills Henry.
In cinemas 17th April 2025
Minecraft
A mysterious portal pulls four misfits into the Overworld, a bizarre, cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. To get back home, they'll have to master the terrain while embarking on a magical quest with an unexpected crafter named Steve.
In cinemas 3rd April 2025
Sinners
Trying to leave their troubled lives behind, twin brothers return to their hometown to start again, only to discover that an even greater evil is waiting to welcome them back.
In cinemas 17th April 2025
The Amateur
Charlie Heller is a brilliant CIA decoder whose world comes crashing down when his wife dies in a London terrorist attack. When his supervisors refuse to take action, his intelligence becomes the ultimate weapon as he embarks on a dangerous trek across the globe to track down those responsible.
In cinemas 10th April 2025
Pets
Explore the extraordinary relationships that exist between animals and their people, all around the world. Highlighting dogs, cats, pigs, goats, and even birds of prey, "Pets" takes us on a hilarious and poignant journey that celebrates love, loss, and licks along the way.
The Penguin Lessons
Inspired by the true story of a disillusioned Englishman who went to work in a school in Argentina in 1976.
In cinemas 17th April 2025
Death of a Unicorn
Father-Daughter duo Elliott and Ridley hit a unicorn with their car and bring it to the wilderness retreat of a mega-wealthy pharmaceutical CEO.
In cinemas April 10th 2025
Novocaine
A man incapable of feeling physical pain turns his rare condition into an unexpected advantage in the fight to rescue his work crush from kidnappers.
In cinemas 3rd April 2025
Havoc
After a drug deal gone wrong, a bruised detective must fight his way through the criminal underworld to rescue a politician's estranged son, unraveling a deep web of corruption and conspiracy that ensnares his entire city.
