March is almost here!
This year I’ve been sharing some sort-of goals I want to achieve each month, as a way to be organized and intentional with my reading.
Here’s my March Prospectus, a collection of books I’d like to read over the next 4(ish) weeks and also some new books releasing soon which I will maybe-probably-eventually tackle, if the god of library holds smiles upon me.
5 Books I’d Like To Read This Month
Keeping goals small and achievable is the name of the game in 2022. So here is a small collection of books I’d like to prioritize during the upcoming month.
The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
Cee has been trapped on an abandoned island for three years without any recollection of how she arrived, or memories from her life prior. All she knows is that somewhere out there, beyond the horizon, she has a sister named Kay, and it’s up to Cee to cross the ocean and find her.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
When Korede’s dinner is interrupted by a distress call from her sister, she knows what’s expected of her: bleach, rubber gloves, nerves of steel, and a strong stomach. This’ll be the third boyfriend Ayoola’s dispatched and the third mess that her sibling has left Korede to clear away. She should probably go to the police, but she loves her sister and, as they say, family always comes first.
Persephone Station by Stina Leicht
Persephone Station, a seemingly backwater planet that has been largely ignored by the United Republic of Worlds, becomes the focus for the Serrao-Orlov Corporation as the planet has a few secrets the corporation tenaciously wants to exploit, featuring Rosie, a bar owner, and Angel, an ex-marine and current head of a criminal organization.
Follow Me to Ground by Sue Rainsford
Ada and her father, touched by the power to heal illness, live on the edge of a village where they help sick locals—or “Cures”—by cracking open their damaged bodies or temporarily burying them in the reviving, dangerous Ground nearby. Ada, a being both more and less than human, is mostly uninterested in the Cures, until she meets a man named Samson.
The Mountains Sing by Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai
An enveloping, multigenerational tale of the Tran family, set against the backdrop of the Viet Nam War. Tran Dieu Lan, who was born in 1920, was forced to flee her family farm with her six children as the Communist government rose in the North. Years later in Hà Noi, her young granddaughter comes of age as her parents and uncles head down the Ho Chí Minh Trail.
New March Books I’m Curious About
These aren’t books I necessarily plan on reading this month, but it’s always fun to look at the new and shiny releases and see which ones you want to stalk the library for. So here’s a collection of books releasing in March 2022 that I’m potentially interested in reading:
The Tobacco Wives by Adele Myers
Historical Fiction
March 1, 2022
Maddie is a seamstress in Bright Leaf, North Carolina—the tobacco capital of the South. When Maddie is thrust into the role of dressmaker for the town’s most influential women, she soon learns that Bright Leaf isn’t the paradise that it seems: misfortune follows many of the women, including substantial health problems. Maddie wants to report what she knows, but in a town where everyone depends on Big Tobacco, she doesn’t know who she can trust—and fears that exposing the truth may destroy lives.
A Thousand Steps into Night by Traci Chee
Fantasy
March 1, 2022
Miuko is an ordinary girl resigned to an uneventful, existence as an innkeeper’s daughter. But when Miuko is cursed and begins to transform into a demon, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life. Aided by a thieving magpie spirit and thwarted by a demon prince, Miuko must outwit tricksters, demon hunters, and feral gods if she wants to make it home again. But with her transformation comes power and freedom, and she’ll have to decide if saving her soul is worth trying to cram herself back into an ordinary life.
If You Ask Me by Libby Hubscher
Contemporary Romance
March 8, 2022
Violet writes the most popular advice column in the state of North Carolina. She has an answer for how to handle any situation…until she discovers her husband has been cheating on her. Furious and out of sensible solutions, Violet leaves her filter at the door and turns to her column to air her own frustrations. Her brutally honest writing goes viral, sending shock waves through Violet’s life. When she burns her ex’s things in a late-night bonfire, a smoking-hot firefighter named Dez shows up to douse the flames, and an unexpected fling shows potential to become something longer lasting.
All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown
Science Fiction
March 8, 2022
When Andrew stumbles upon Jamie’s house, he’s injured, starved, and has nothing left to lose. A deadly pathogen has killed off most of the world’s population, including everyone both boys have ever loved. They flee south in search of safety. The road ahead of them is long, and to survive, they’ll have to shed their secrets, face the consequences of their actions, and find the courage to fight for the future they desire, together.
A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft
Fantasy
March 8, 2022
When Margaret spots the legendary hala, the last living mythical creature, she knows the Halfmoon Hunt will soon follow. If Margaret wins the hunt, it may finally bring her mother home. While Margaret is the best sharpshooter in town, she needs an alchemist. Weston isn’t an alchemist—yet. But when Wes arrives at Welty Manor, Margaret allows him to stay, on the condition he join the hunt with her. As the hunt looms closer, Margaret and Wes uncover dark magic that could be the key to winning the hunt—if they survive that long.
Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore
Fantasy
March 8, 2022
Everyone knows the stories about the lake and the world underneath it. But Bastián and Lore are the only ones who’ve been there. Bastián grew up both above the lake and in the space beneath it; Lore’s only seen the world under the lake once, but that encounter changed their life. Then the world under the lake drifts above the surface. If Bastián and Lore don’t want it bringing their secrets to the surface with it, they have to stop it, and to do that, they have to work together. There’s just one problem: Bastián and Lore haven’t spoken in seven years.
When We Were Birds by Ayanna Lloyd Banwo
Magical Realism
March 15, 2022
The St. Bernard women have lived in Port Angeles for years. One woman in each generation is responsible for the passage of the city’s souls into the afterlife. But Yejide’s relationship with her mother has always been contorted by neglect, leaving her unprepared to fulfill her destiny. Raised by a devout Rastafarian, Darwin has always abided by the religious commandment not to interact with death. But when his mother can no longer work and the only job he can find is grave digging, he must provide for them both. Yejide and Darwin meet inside the gates of Port Angeles’s oldest cemetery, where the dead lie uneasy in their graves and fate beckons them both.
A Ballad of Love and Glory by Reynda Grande
Historical Fiction
March 15, 2022
Ximena is a Mexican healer who dreams of building a family with the man she loves. But when Texas Rangers storm her ranch and shoot her husband, her dreams are burned to ashes. Meanwhile, John, an Irish immigrant in the Yankee army, is sickened by the unjust war. In an act of defiance, he swims across the Río Grande and joins the Mexican Army—a desertion punishable by execution. When Ximena and John meet, a dangerous attraction blooms between them. Swept up, they fight not only for the fate of a nation but for their future together.
So This Is Ever After by F.T. Lukens
Fantasy
March 29, 2022
Arek hadn’t thought about what would happen after he completed the prophecy that said he was destined to save the kingdom. So now that he’s managed to (somewhat clumsily) behead the evil king, he is at a loss for what to do next. Arek’s best friend, Matt, convinces him to assume the throne until the true heir can be rescued. Except that she’s dead. Now Arek is stuck as king, a role that comes with a magical catch: choose a spouse by your eighteenth birthday, or die. With his birthday months away, Arek embarks on a hunt to find a spouse to save his life. But his attempts at wooing go painfully and hilariously wrong…until he discovers that love might have been in front of him all along.
Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May
Fantasy
March 29, 2022
On Crow Island, real magic lurks just below the surface. Neither real magic nor faux magic interests Annie. Not after it stole her future. She’s only on the island to settle her late father’s estate and, hopefully, reconnect with her best friend. Yet Crow Island is brimming with temptation, and the biggest may be her new neighbor. Mysterious and alluring, Emmeline is shadowed by rumors of witchcraft. And when Annie witnesses a confrontation at one of the island’s extravagant parties, she is drawn into a new world. A world where the boundaries of wickedness are tested, and the cost of illicit magic might be death.
So there you have it! 5 books I hopefully/maybe will try to tackle this month and 10 new releases to ~think about~ over the next 4 weeks.
I’m currently reading the “Girl Detective Megapack” – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18966032-the-girl-detective-megapack –
As a kid, I liked old books, although I didn’t really understand why some of them used bad language. I especially liked books with a female protagonist, who defied danger and bad guys and always won! So in the late 1990s, when I had dial-up and constant access to gutenberg.org… well, that helped me read even more old books. (And why I’ve got at least 70 books on my phone).
But since it’s almost spring, that means it’s also time for me to do a few re-reads of a some Very Bad Books… either “Irene Iddesleigh” or maybe one of the Elsie Dinsmore series….