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Somehow, we are already in the third month of the year. February both felt like it dragged and went by too quickly. What is time, amirite?
Temporal musings aside, March has so many books to be excited about. While the featured books have been picked out of this month’s many great releases by our writers—and include everything from the fifth Hunger Games novel to a trans-Regency romance—I also want to highlight a few titles out this week in particular.
For starters, there’s the very adorable picture book A Day at Abbott Elementary by Halcyon Person, Shelli R. Johannes, illustrated by Joelle Murray. There’s also the YA mythromantasy Divining the Leaves by Shveta Thakrar, the YA pirate-filled Nightweaver by R.M. Gray, the hilarious and very relatable collection of essays Sucker Punch by Scaachi Koul, and The Dream Hotel, the latest from Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award finalist Laila Lalami. And, if you’re looking for the next part in a series, fantasy sequels Tea You at the Altar by Rebecca Thorne and Oathbound by Tracy Deonn are also out.
As for the newbies below, there is historical horror by Stephen Graham Jones, dark academia, a memoir by a survivor, and lots more.
Sci-Fi
Sunrise on the Reaping (A Hunger Games Novel) by Suzanne Collins
One of the biggest YA series of all time is back with a fifth book! And like the last one, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, it’s a prequel. This time, Suzanne Collins brings readers back to learn about young Haymitch Abernathy of District 12. He’s in the Capitol to fight in the fiftieth Hunger Games, but he soon realizes the odds are most definitely not in his favor, and he may never make it back to his family and the girl he loves. (But the biggest challenge of this book might be whether it can top the sales of Onyx Storm this year!) — Liberty Hardy
Literary Fiction
I Leave It Up to You by Jinwoo Chong
Jack Jr. wakes up from a two-year coma to a world totally unrecognizable to him. His job is gone, his partner is gone, and even his Manhattan apartment is gone. And, he realizes, it’s been 10 years since he last saw his family. So, he treks to the Korean American-filled New Jersey town Fort Lee, and sinks back into a life tending to the struggling sushi restaurant his parents still run. This means 4 a.m. life lessons told over tuna by his Appa and hearing his Umma complain about dwindling sales. It also means fighting with his recovering alcoholic brother, and a little romance with the male nurse who took care of him. Even as he settles into this second chance at following the path his parents envisioned for him, there is still another life calling to him.
Nonfiction
Saving Five: A Memoir of Hope by Amanda Nguyen
After Amanda Nguyen was sexually assaulted, Nguyen chose to have her rape kit registered under the name “Jane Doe.” But she later found out that because she chose to remain anonymous, she only had six months to take action against the man who assaulted her. Horrified by this law, she decided to fight to change it. This is her story. — Kendra Winchester
Romance
A Gentleman’s Gentleman by TJ Alexander
A trans regency, you say? By TJ Alexander, you say? What more do you need to know? Go get it!
(Okay, fine.)
Lord Christopher Eden prefers to live off the grid with just a few trusted servants, but a wrench is thrown into his plans to live his life out at Eden’s End, his ancestral country home. His father’s will dictates that he must marry in order to retain his holdings. So off he goes to London, where he hires Harding to be his valet. The pair have a rough start, but gradually become friends and confidantes—except when it comes to each of the men’s greatest secrets. — Jessica Pryde
Graphic Novel/Manga
Dogsred Volume One by Satoru Noda
Rou was a promising figure skater until the emotional trauma brought on by his mother’s death permanently ended his Olympic dreams. What can possibly get him back on the ice? How about a small-time hockey team that just wants to score a goal before they’re disbanded? — Eileen Gonzalez
Fantasy
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
This is the debut solo novella from Amal El-Mohtar, co-author of the hugely popular novella This Is How You Lose the Time War! It’s about the two Hawthorn sisters, who live on the edge of Faerie, and what happens when one of them puts their lives at risk by falling for a Faerie man. Holly Black calls it “Half delicious murder ballad, half beguiling love story.” YES, PLEASE. — Liberty Hardy
Romantasy
Innocence of the Maiden by Ileandra Young
Sapphic witches, rival covens, a bit of a mystery. Tina is a cop, but when her coven mentor goes missing, she does her best to keep trying to find her separate from her regular police work. But there are other things going on, both between the covens and between herself and her (secret?) girlfriend, and everything is about to come to a head. — Jessica Pryde
Historical Fiction
The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones
Horror
They Bloom at Night by Trang Thanh Tran
We’re kicking off March with a new YA horror novel from Trang Thanh Tran, the author of She is a Haunting. Mercy, Louisiana, has been completely devastated by hurricane damage. Red algae has taken over the town, and the water levels continue to rise. Noon and her mother search their submerged town looking for those they have lost. Noon’s mother is convinced their family has died and come back as sea creatures. And Noon herself is beginning to feel like a monster is hiding underneath her skin. — Emily Martin
Young Adult
We Are Villains by Kacen Callender
For fans of dark academia!
In the tradition of dark academia, everyone’s got secrets they want to keep buried! Milo is back at Yates Academy on a mission to find out what really happened to his friend Ari after her death was ruled accidental. Fellow student and ruler of the school, Liam, is being anonymously blackmailed, accused of Ari’s murder. Wanting the threats to stop, he promises Milo he’ll stop the harassing campaign against him if he figures out who is behind the blackmail. What could go wrong?!
Children’s/Middle Grade
Vanya and the Wild Hunt by Sangu Mandanna
Vanya and the Wild Hunt is a fun magical school story by the author of The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Vanya is a young girl who can communicate with books, and her power, as well as a frightening monster attack, means she is sent to Auramere, a school where she will learn to use her talents. When the school is threatened by the Wild Hunt, Vanya has to save her new home. — Alice Nuttall
Mystery, Thriller, or True Crime
Broken Fields (Cash Black Bear #4) by Marcie R. Rendon
For fans of 1970s historical mysteries, amateur sleuths, and Indigenous leads!
Cash Blackbear is happy to live a quiet, hard-working life. But having been looked after by a sheriff who she is now friends with, she has a knack for solving murders. While on a farm job, Cash ends up finding a dead body and a young girl hiding, too afraid to talk. While searching for the girl’s mother in the White Earth Reservation—to stop her from going into foster care—Cash ends up with another body on her hands…
A note on the series: You can start here and not be lost, but if you’d like to follow this fantastic character throughout the series, pick up Murder on the Red River. — Jamie Canavés
Other Book Riot New Releases Resources:
- All the Books, our weekly new book releases podcast, where Liberty and a cast of co-hosts talk about eight books out that week that we’ve read and loved.
- The New Books Newsletter, where we send you an email of the books out this week that are getting buzz.
- Finally, if you want the real inside scoop on new releases, you have to check out Book Riot’s New Release Index! That’s where I find 90% of new releases, and you can filter by trending books, Rioters’ picks, and even LGBTQ new releases!
