Good Morning Reader,

Get ready for our second bingo card of the year! Here's what is inside this month - from cottagecore reads and fictional hotels to the book series that has me turning off my Kindle and staring at the ceiling, flushed. 👀

Uncorked Reading Challenge Bingo April - June 2026: Let's go all in with the cozy, cottagecore, rest, & renewal vibes

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I'm so excited for this quarter's bingo card filled with the great outdoors, towns I want to live in, and relaxation. Here are a few book recs for each topic - mostly fiction, as that's my jam.

If you use Canva, here is a link to easily edit these templates (just upload your book covers). Or, you can upload bingo cards to any app or editing program that you like. They are 1000px by 1500px. Of course, using these cards/this format is not required. Track and share any way you wish.

April to June Themes with ideas to get you started

🦊 Talking Animals - I think of books like:

1. A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna
2. Charlotte’s Web by E.B. White
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell
4. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
5. The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (did you know I have a Little Prince tattoo?)

We also have an adult cat book reading list and some of our favorite dogs in fiction.

🏡 Cottagecore – Cottagecore is an aesthetic and lifestyle focused on rural life, earthiness, simplicity, and nature. Romanticize, read about homesteading (or find a book with eggs on the cover), and look into rustic decor. Consider more traditional crafting, books about slowing down, and themes involving forests, sweet friendships, gardens, and flowers - heck, even teacups. I love pushing the limits with magical fantasy and whimsy. Try:

• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
• Legends & Lattes by Travis Baldree
• The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune
• A Witch’s Guide to Fake Dating a Demon by Sarah Hawley
• Honey Bee Mine by Sarah T. Dubb
• Weyward by Emilia Hart
• Witch of Wild Things by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland
• Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke (April 7, 2026)

🏘️ Small Town – Read a book about a fictional or real small town:

1. Book Lovers by Emily Henry
2. Lovelight Farms by B.K. Borison
3. The Pumpkin Spice Cafe by Laurie Gilmore
4. Other Birds by Sarah Addison Allen
5. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer
6. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James McBride

🐦‍⬛ Nature – While on the subject of “Cottagecore,” let’s dive into nature books. Maybe this is hiking or climbing a mountain like Everest. Or, read a book about birding or with a bird on the cover. Take a nature walk or share a book that you read with your walking book club. Maybe think of a book with "storm" in the title or where a storm affects the characters' lives.

1. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
2. These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean
3. The Hike by Lucy Clarke
4. A Storm of Infinite Beauty by Julianne MacLean
5. Birding with Benefits by Sarah T. Dubb
6. The Love Haters by Katherine Center
7. Fun for the Whole Family by Jennifer E Smith (snowstorm)

🪏 Garden – This is the time of year in Asheville when I up my gardening game. Fiction or nonfiction, read a book about or set in a garden. Learn how to garden or look for a beautiful cover with garden tools and flowers. Maybe you are tending to your inner garden – that’s yoga for me. A few ideas:

1. Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore by Emily Krempholtz
2. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
3. Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
4. Late Bloomer by Mazey Eddings (flower farm)

🌈 Rain & Rainbows – Travel to a rainy place filled with rainbows, like Ireland. Look for rain or rainbows on the cover. Read about a situation where rain turned into a rainbow, or find a grumpy-sunshine book. I also love the idea of reading a book with a happy ending, and you know I love a good LGBTQ+ romance.

1. The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
2. Beach Read by Emily Henry
3. I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson
4. Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
5. Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell (see what I did there, haha)
6. Most Wonderful by Georgia Clark
7. How To Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh

🛌 Rest & Renewal – This is a key theme this year. Maybe this is a book about a vacation, a novel set at a hotel, a book about healing, or where you want to travel next. I always love inspiring and thought-provoking nonfiction. Cozy blankets on the cover, a book that feels like rest or a nap…

1. Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May
2. The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler
3. Last Summer At The Golden Hotel by Elyssa Friedland
4. Grace & Henry's Holiday Movie Marathon by Matthew Norman
5. The Beauty in Breaking by Michele Harper
6. Set Boundaries, Find Peace: A Guide to Reclaiming Yourself by Nedra Glover Tawwab

🍋 Lemonade – Read a book where a character makes lemonade from lemons. Maybe there’s a glass of lemonade on the cover. Read something that reminds you of sweet lemonade.

• The Villa by Rachel Hawkins
• Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell

Books That Will Make You Hungry & Rock Your Foodie Soul

Many of our 2026 Uncorked Reading Challenge themes incorporate food. This devour-worthy reading list, perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off, Gilmore Girls, and Hallmark mysteries, spans cozy romance, LGBTQ+ love stories, and even a ghost story, all centered on the power of a great meal.

👻 Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle (2025) - What if you could enjoy one last meal with someone you’ve lost and have unfinished business with? This story is for fans who like The Bear.

🥐 The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore (2023) - I wanted to devour this book like a scone. For Gilmore Girls fans, this is a cozy vacation for your mind and soul: fluffy, autumnal, and deeply satisfying, even if it’s 100% cheesy and predictable.

🍰 Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly (2022) - LGBTQ+ food fiction for fans of Top Chef and The Great British Bake Off. I love the joyful representation and dynamic characters.

🗝️ Check In With These Fictional Books Set At Hotels 🏨

Hotel fiction has it all: paranormal happenings, illicit affairs, rom-com disasters, and enough generational family drama to fill every suite on the floor. Think magic, ghosts, a talking fox, and love. These are my all-time favorites in 2026.

🗝️ The Heartbreak Hotel by Ellen O’Clover - I fell in love with Custard the dog, Rashad, Nan, and Mei. There’s hiking, ice cream, and temporary tattoos, along with silly tipsy nights and 🔪 basements. There are also heavier topics, such as grief, parenting, and mental health.

🗝️ A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna - A troublesome talking fox, a corrupt magic Guild, and solid neurodivergent and mental health representation, and you have a strong, unputdownable romantasy. Fitting for our (found) family theme, too.

🗝️ The Wedding People by Alison Espach - One of my top books of all time (check the TWs), I loved the rawness of the 40-year-old protagonist, complicated friendships, and life reflections. The dark humor made me laugh with misty eyes.

🌹 Your watch list just got a whole lot darker... 🖤

Fall in and out of love with these dark romance films - perfect if you enjoy classic literature to movie adaptations. We rounded up 15 of the best dark romance movies streaming right now - from gothic classics like Dracula and Crimson Peak to the absolutely stunning Nosferatu and the utterly unforgettable Poor Things (bending the genre here). This is NOT your typical rom-com list. We're talking obsession, forbidden love, master manipulators, and vampires.

Let's Read Together! 📆 Mark Your Calendars: May 30th Weekend

By request, we are hosting a casual group read and online book discussion of Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy in Uncorked Readers on the weekend of May 30th. I hope you'll join us!

🍆 Currently Reading & Blushing 😊

I just finished Game Changer - the first book in the series that inspired HBO's most-talked-about show, Heated Rivalry. Is the writing literary fiction? Absolutely not. Do I care? Also no.

I adore Kip and Scott, and I will never look at a blue smoothie the same way again. Fair warning: these books are steamy - even by my standards. You've been warned.

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