Becoming April - A Cozy Contemporary Gender-Bender.

Self-Published

Community Rating

Description

"I'd heard ofchangelingsbefore. Who hasn't? After the alien ship crashed in the mountains of New Mexico about ten years ago, random people started coming down with Changeling Fever and coming out of it . . . changed. Some with mental powers like telepathy or telekinesis. Others with physical changes like complete regeneration of all injuries, or even full biological rejuvenation to bring them back to their prime of life. But me? A sixty-year-old man with a heart condition, I passed out from the pain of the change and woke up a teenagegirl. Exit David Ross, whoever he was, and enter . . . April? So now I've got to figure out how to become a new person, stay unnoticed (changelings arenotpopular with a lot of people), and rebuild my life. It would be impossible if not for the help of my next-door neighbors, the Seevers. Instead it's become an adventure for all of us, but what's almost the worst thing about all this? I've got to go back to school."WARNING:While sex is not the focus of the story,Becoming Aprilhas been given anExplicit Sexual Contentlabel for a reason; sexual biology and sexuality are treated frankly and there is self-discovery, explicit language and references, and a single very explicit sex scene. If such subject matter is objectionable to you, give April's story a pass.For prospective readers;Becoming Aprilhas been described as "cozy" and a "slice-of-life" story, and although it does contain personal drama it is far from an epic fantasy. The story is FINISHED at 42 chapters, 90,000 words. The final chapter ofBecoming Aprilwas posted 12/22/25 and it will be published on Kindle in '26, but April's story is ongoing so I'm now posting the chapters ofFinding Aprilhere as I write them. Thank you to everyone who has enjoyed April's story and provided me valuable feedback!TP

Information

Status: Ongoing
Year: 2025
Author: Taylor Paige

Royal Road Stats

Rating: 4.7/ 5.0
Followers: 502
Views: 102,454

Chapters(63 total)

What readers say about Becoming April - A Cozy Contemporary Gender-Bender.

“This is probably one of the most wholesome gender-bender stories out there. Yes, there's sex and identity exploration. Grass being greener on the other side thought processes and all that kind of ideas. (Wishful thinking is pretty toxic to yourself, whether…”
blobofblobsRoyal Road5.0 / 5
“A delightful story where the gender-change is not a small plot device or quickly forgotten about, but instead actually focusses on exploring the main characters new life reality. If you're looking for a down-to-earth story (despite the story summary not see…”
JarenaRoyal Road5.0 / 5

Reviews

No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts!

Community Reviews(10)

blobofblobsRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
This is probably one of the most wholesome gender-bender stories out there.
Yes, there's sex and identity exploration. Grass being greener on the other side thought processes and all that kind of ideas.
(Wishful thinking is pretty toxic to yourself, whether "I wish i could go back and do things right and fix my mistakes" or "I wish i was a girl so people would ask me out and love me rather than spurn me")
So not like, 100% wholesome and pg, but that's par for the course of the genre. However, unlike a staggering majority of the genre, the MC doesn't arbitrarily grow breasts the size of basketballs (idk why most authors decide that is necessary? To me all I think about is the back pain that probably brings, and then that never gets mentioned either, so it adds even more disbelief; here the MC is, you know, realistically proportioned), MC is a person outside of their sexual life. One who is caring, thoughtful, traumatized, believable, and probably depressed to some extent. Like most people, really. Everyone has some trauma, somewhere.
Also, the reasons for the gender-bend are not as ridiculous as some other stories (not all are poorly executed, mind you, just some, and others rely on isekai; this does neither), and instead is rather believable and well-executed.
In fact, this story has similarities to time travel/reincarnation stories, as those stories often also have elements of identity exploration (younger self, new body, back to childhood, etc [often the same gender, though]), and some are really well done. Not that I will name any names, because this review is about this book, not about other books that are good.
For once, it isn't an advanced review, mostly because I'm tired. Also because the story isn't done yet and I like to wait for as much to be done for a binge before a review (and then stuff gets stubbed before I can, often times.)
However, it is well-written, has believable characters, decent grammar and pacing, and generally is pretty happy (but not bein
JarenaRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
A delightful story where the gender-change is not a small plot device or quickly forgotten about, but instead actually focusses on exploring the main characters new life reality. If you're looking for a down-to-earth story (despite the story summary not seeming like it) without any travel to other worlds, demon lords to slay or magic systems to learn about, I can *highly* recommend it.Style: Well written and clear to read; whoever is speaking in dialogues is easy to follow, which is sometimes a gripe I have with royal road novels.Grammar: Nothing to complain about.Story: Very nice start, but after 18 chapters I'm concerned about the 40 chapter scope of the work described in the fiction page. The story takes it slow (which is very much fine by me!), but I wonder what story arc will come to a satisfying conclusion in just 22 more chapters at the current paceCharacters: They're pleasant to read about, though besides the protagonist have not shown any particular flaws or struggles. Again not something I mind in a longer work, but have to wonder about in something that is already halfway done and has focussed on 3 characters only.If you managed to get through all this let me stress again: Go read the novel!
MWCCRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
To be completely honest, I came into this not expecting much.I was most pleasantly surprised.From the characters to the story, I'm constantly invested. I'm sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for what's going to happen next!Its one of the more wholesome and character-driven stories I've read in the GB genre.
Matthew11111Royal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
I love this story. The pace is great and it pushes all the right buttons for me, I like the character so far. It has just the right amount of smut, my only complaint is chapter 36. I will continue to look forward to each new chapter. My thanks to the author.
NeonchameleonRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So someone got fed up of the gender benders that were basically badly written porn or even from the "breasted boobily" style of writing and decided to write a cozy gender bender about an adult man adapting to the body of a teenage girl and all the actual problems there might be. They did a very good job - sometimes heartwarming sometimes cringe worthy.The only slight flaw is the reason for the events, which was almost enough to knock half a star off.
kihlashtRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Truly, one of the best approaches the gender-swapped topic. Tackles everything tastefully, even with the rather explicit scenes, and describes an MC who really did not ask for the transformation he was given and yet needs to deal with her new life. If anything, I'd say it's *still* too fast- adding in some additional time skips would have made some of the... acquiescence and acceptance more believable, especially pushing back the school testing and term start a month or so.
ReifiRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
TLDR: Becoming April is the type of hidden gem this site should do more to promote. If you’re looking for something outside the standard fare of what’s popular here, you have come to the right place. The first instalment in the series is wonderfully rich and compellingly focused on what an experience like April/David's could be. The story is simultaneously cozy and confronting, not shying away from things that would sanitise, but ultimately diminish a tale like this if they were handwaved away. All the while Taylor Paige is working a second narrative into things that shakes the foundations of the story. If the theme interests you, it's one of the best examples I’ve had the pleasure of reading.
Story:
How to talk about this without giving too much away? There’s a lot going on in this story for something tagged as ‘Cozy’. The initial instalment of the story takes place over a few weeks following April/Davids transformation and is definitely the whirlwind of emotion and discovery you’d expect. Going from being a man who thought his life was pretty much complete to being regenerated into a late teenage girls body via alien sickness understandably turns April/Davids life inside out. How would they both live and come to accept themselves and their new circumstances? Taylor Paige chooses not to sugar coat it too much, to the stories credit. Yes there is body dysmorphia, freakouts, tears and sexual rediscovery. April/David isn’t alone though…
Characters:
I don’t want to spoil much of April/Davids journey, so I’ll simply say they are both confronting and relatable. They have believable and reasonable reactions to their new reality. I think from reader-to-reader people’s perceptions of April/David will change the most as depending on where you relate to them and how the character can be very different.
The supporting cast is a real treasure trove with the Seevers, April/Davids next door neighbours, being at the forefront of this first instalment. Taking April/David in and giv
SilereVitamRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
The premise was interesting, so I gave it a read. I am trying not to compare how I would react to the situations the MC faces, and appreciate the characters and situations for their own merit. It felt real for the most part. The emotions, the thoughts, and the situations. It is a good read that feels genuine.
Some_Random_CultivatorRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
Once again, clickbait ads help me find an absolute charmer of a story - well played.
David, tired, retired and just existing while walking a lonely path towards the end of his life is macguffined into a young (18-ish?) woman through [Alien Technology Indistinguishable From Magic bullshittery] which then segues into a hopeful, charming exploration into what makes a person, how life is versus how it was, found family and the joys of being in a body AWASH with hormones.
ALL the hormones.
And then it's a cosy, confronting, comforting literary journey into a new future.
Seriously it's a lovely read - do yourself a favour and pick it up.
Overall: Changeling Cottage Core 5/5
Style: Fun, explanative, direct and informative. Flows easily. 5/5
Grammar: I thin I saw 1 mistake, and it was already addressed before anything could be said, so yeah, great. 5/5
Story: Gentle, moving, tempestuous, loving. It's a coming of age when someone's got a new life, and they're going to grab it with both hands because it's an actual life, not a cold room where you spend your days. 5/5
Character: People are real, believable, flawed, have self- and shared-interests. It breathes, a bit Pleasentville-ish sometimes, but yeah, there is a sense of "this could be real if we just lived and treated each other like people" 5/5
TishersRoyal Road
★★★★★ 5.0
So far (after chapter 2) the beginnings of this story are well written. It has been presenting the background on the world and society in general . The neighbors are interesting and the protagonist is relatable.
There is enough set-up for subsequent chapters to keep me interested. You can see where the story is heading for the next few chapters.