My March Reads – 2026

Despite reading fewer books than February, due to my end of the month editing deadline (which I met), I still read quite a few of the books on my March TBR, plus a few more. I read 12, pushed two to a later month, started one I will finish next month, and added on six, four of which I completed, one I am partway through, and one I chose not to finish. That is 18 completed or mostly completed books, two I will read later, and one true DNF.

I read all five books on my Priority One list.

Most people are familiar with the story, so I won’t rehash Elizabeth’s and Mr. Darcy’s relationship. This was a reread for me. It is on my 26 in 2026 list and I had been meaning to get back to it for a while, because I have a special edition with Marjolein Bastin illustrations (not the one pictured in my graphic below, unfortunately). It’s a beloved classic for a reason, and I always recommend it.

This is an Arthurian retelling from the point of view of the Lady of Shalott. It’s got a more feminist bent than some of the earlier retellings. This one changes up some aspects of the story and puts it in more of a fantasy world where Elaine, Arthur, Lancelot, Guinevere, and Morgana grow up in Avalon and come back to help Arthur claim his throne. Elaine has seen multiple tragic futures, but which ones are real and which actions lead to those fates? I adore a fate versus free will book, and it worked with my Arthurian/grail themed reading journal. I recommend it!

I picked this book specifically because I am trying to dip into romantasy a bit more this year and this sounded pretty whimsical. It’s actually a fantasy riff on the movie ‘You’ve Got Mail.’ It was a great worldbuilding effort which included zombies (who knew I’d enjoy a zombie book that much?), and the two main leads are charming. It definitely gave me vibes from the movie. One thing I really liked about this one that wasn’t in the movie – the main characters had known each other for four years. I thought that was an improvement for this type of trope. If you like romantasy, I recommend it.

It’s magical realism about cats – what’s not to love? The clinic in the story helps struggling patients by yes, prescribing them a cat. As a retired pharmacist, I love the idea. This was a heart warming read, and I do recommend it! Japanese novels have a different style, but it’s a sweet and thoughtful read. It essentially reads like a handful of short stories that ultimately gave you the backstory of the clinic. The reveal was magical. I can’t wait to find time for the sequel.

This was the book I am took to my fantasy book club in March. I met Glen last year at the Chanticleer Author’s Conference where he was a fellow Dante Rossetti award winner. He was actually the grand prize winner for a later book in this same series. (I won a first place for The Appearance of Power, so I came in right behind him.) This is another example of fantastic world building. Dahlgren knows his stuff. There are two candidates for the Child of Chaos, prophesied to come and shake up the religions of Order. Will it be Galen who is called to Chaos in his mother’s footsteps? Or will it be Horace, Galen’s tormenter from childhood who becomes a priest of Evil? The prophesy angle pulled me in and and wouldn’t let go. I know more now, and the next book is a must! I recommend it. My favorite side character was one of the priests of War. You should definitely pick up Dahlgren’s series if you love a good chaos versus order conflict!

Here’s the Tier One covers if you want to take a peek.

Since I got through the Tier One books, I did read some of the Tier Two books.

This one is a middle grade read that is modeled on Edgar Allen Poe’s ‘The Raven.’ I picked this one because it is up for an award at the Chanticleer Author’s Conference I am attending in April, and I know the author. It was a fast paced read, since it mirrors the poem. It’s completely charming and I loved it. I absolutely recommend it for kids, either in October, since it has some cute spooky elements, and also for summer, since it’s a camping theme!

This is a historical fiction about the Nazi occupation of Norway in WWII. I was afraid that due to my editing deadline and because this is a long book out of my comfort zone that I’d need to bump it to a later month. That ended up being the case. I had planned to move it to April, but with my travel in April, I think moving it further out to summer is warranted. More on this one later this year.

In February I dove into a historical fiction about Agatha’s 1926 disappearance AND I read her full life biography. I’d heard so much about this one, and I was glad I didn’t know the story. I did not guess it, but I didn’t expect too. It’s a quick read and I recommend Poirot in his prime.

I didn’t have time to finish this a cozy fantasy / romantasy combination in March. I am about 25% of the way through, and will wrap it up in April. It’s colorful and cozy so far, and Caz, the talking spider plant, has me completely hooked.

For my craft books, I read through the launch planner and was able to find plenty of checklists to get ready for my own launch in the summer. I didn’t have time to start the ‘Plan a Profitable Book Launch,’ so this one definitely moves to April, and I hope to glean more tips and more detail on steps I am already aware of. It will be a great read at the conference when I am not in sessions.

Here’s the graphic with the covers. The two I didn’t get to this month are faded.

My final group in the original March TBR was the cookbooks. I looked at all of them. They are all great cookbooks, I recommend them all, and I am having a hard time convincing myself to part with any of them. I hereby kick that can down the road. I did enjoy my Irish stew. I need another trip to Ireland and I need to try more of these recipes.

Here’s the graphic with those covers.

I did read a few extra books in March that I was hoping that I’d get to. I should have read my remaining Tier Twos, but given the editing project, the historical fiction and the nonfiction were a little too imposing. I needed shorter, lighter fare.

This is basically The Golden Girls meets 007. Four retiring lady assassins are marked for death by their own shadowy organization after a storied 40 year career. They have to stay alive and find out who’s responsible. I love my popcorn spy thrillers and I had a lot of fun with it. I recommend it.

It’s nonfiction, but it isn’t dense and imposing. It gives you the evidence for how trees calm you down and make you happy. I love this idea. The data is presented in short factual bites and there are pictures of beautiful trees. It is not a difficult read. I am about a third of the way through and look forward to finishing it in April. I hope I can get a walk in the forest sometime soon!

This is a biography of Mary Anne Patten, a sea captain’s wife who had to step up and captain the clipper ship around Cape Horn in the 1850’s in devastating storms when her husband became too ill to do so. She was nineteen, pregnant, faced a mutiny in the crew, and became a hero. It’s not a long read, because not a lot is known about her, but it’s fascinating. I recommend it if you’re looking for biographies of lesser known but outstanding women. I picked it up to hit a reading prompt.

This was a reread for me, and I didn’t read it very in depth. I am reading another Robert Langdon novel in April, and I mostly wanted to refamiliarize myself with the character. It has been a long while since I read the last novel. This one has been out as a major movie. It’s a “holy grail” hunt – a bit of a controversial one – but my reading journal is Arthurian/grail themed, and it fit reading challenge prompts for me. I like the historical artwork and puzzles angle.

I am trying to read some poetry every month to improve my prose as a 2026 challenge. I had picked the middle grade Poe-inspired (in poem form) book already, but was still hoping I could fit another one in. This is a very short read, it is whimsical, and it features cats, so it was a perfect add on.

The last book to mention was my true DNF.

The Wave is a nonfiction book about rogue waves and large waves. I had this book on my 26 in 2026 list. I started it years ago, because I love a nonfiction book about disasters. The rogue wave thing appealed to me because it is a fascinating concept. I had vowed to pick it up and finish it this year. I think I couldn’t get into it this time because there was a lot of information about famous large wave surfers that wasn’t grabbing me for some reason–maybe that’s why I put it down last time and I just don’t recall. I am on the fence as to whether I want to try again later, or admit it isn’t for me. Maybe it would grab me if I read further, but it is also the second time I have put the book down. We’ll see. Maybe I will give it another go later this year.

What was your favorite read from March?

Thanks for reading!

Related Posts