23 March Books We're Excited About

And what you can read in the meantime

Reading ahead

Our TBR shelves may be overflowing, but there are always new books that we want to make room for. From searing dystopian tales to long-awaited sequels to powerful nonfiction narratives, March’s most anticipated list is packed with must-reads! Here are 23 upcoming releases across a mix of genres. These titles are available for pre-order, but in the meantime, we have recs for similar reads that you can enjoy now.

Literary fiction 

Dream Count by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Mar. 4)

Chiamaka is a Nigerian travel writer living in America amidst the pandemic. Zikora is her seemingly invulnerable best friend; Omelogor, her bold, outspoken cousin in Nigeria; and Kadiatou is Chiamaka's stalwart housekeeper. The award-winning Adichie trains her fierce eye on these women in a sparkling new novel.

What to read while you wait: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy (Mar. 4)

Dominic Salt and his three children are caretakers of Shearwater, a tiny island near Antarctica. Shearwater was once full of researchers, but with sea levels rising, the Salts are now its final inhabitants. Until, during the worst storm the island has ever seen, a woman mysteriously washes ashore.

What to read while you wait: The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton

Jane and Dan at the End of the World by Colleen Oakley (Mar. 11)

When Jane and Dan go to the renowned upscale restaurant La Fin du Monde to celebrate their nineteenth anniversary, novelist Jane is planning to tell Dan she wants a divorce. But when an underground climate activist group bursts into the dining room, things take a stranger-than-fiction turn.

What to read while you wait: Anxious People by Fredrik Backman

Tilt by Emma Pattee (Mar. 25)

Annie is nine months pregnant and shopping for a crib at IKEA when a massive earthquake hits Portland, Oregon. Stranded, she makes her way home through the chaos. As she walks, Annie confronts her general sense of unhappiness and decides that if she can just make it through this, she'll change her life.

What to read while you wait: Soldier Sailor by Claire Kilroy

Mystery, thriller, and suspense 

Ward D by Freida McFadden (Mar. 4)

As a medical student, Amy is required to take a night shift on Ward D, the hospital's mental health unit. But it forces her to confront a secret past she's fought hard to forget. And as the hours tick by, Amy grows increasingly convinced something terrible is happening within the ward's tightly secured walls.

What to read while you wait: The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman

Lethal Prey by John Sandford (Mar. 25)

When a twenty-year-old cold case resurfaces, now with a $5 million reward, dozens of true-crime bloggers get involved in looking for new evidence. Lucas Davenport and Virgil Flowers are called in to review any new leads. But with the bloggers blasting every clue online, the killer is staying one step ahead.

What to read while you wait: Judgment Prey by John Sandford

Nobody's Fool by Harlan Coben (Mar. 25)

This twisty sequel centers on disgraced detective Sami Kierce, now teaching night classes. When a terrifying secret from his past comes back to haunt him, it presents a baffling mystery that he cannot ignore. All these years later his memory is clear, but the facts don't add up and he has to get to the bottom of it.

What to read while you wait: Fool Me Once by Harlan Coben

Retreat by Krysten Ritter (Mar. 25)

From actress, director, and bestselling author Ritter comes a serpentine thriller. Clever and confident, Liz Dawson has the ability to move seamlessly through elite circles—qualities that make her a brilliant serial con artist. Isabelle Beresford is strikingly beautiful and obscenely wealthy—making her the perfect mark.

What to read while you wait: The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Sci-fi, fantasy, and horror

The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (Mar. 4)

Sara has just landed at LAX, returning home, when agents pull her aside. They take her into custody, informing her that data from her dreams suggest that she will soon harm the person she loves most: her husband. This riveting dystopian novel is set in a near future where even dreams are under surveillance.

What to read while you wait: The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins (Mar. 18)

As the day dawns on the fiftieth annual Hunger Games, fear grips the districts of Panem. This year, in honor of the Quarter Quell, twice as many tributes will be taken from their homes. In District 12, Haymitch Abernathy is trying to avoid thinking about it and just focusing on being with the girl he loves.

What to read while you wait: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn (Mar. 18)

Practical Magic meets Gone Girl in this spellbinding novel about a woman drawn to poisonous things—both plants and men. After faking her own death to escape a volatile marriage, Piers Morgan goes to stay with her estranged great aunt. There she learns that her predilection is more than a hunger. It's a birthright.

What to read while you wait: The Change by Kristen Miller

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (Mar. 25)

The moon has turned into cheese. Now humanity has to deal with it. For some, it's an opportunity. Others question their faith. Still others are just trying to keep things normal in the face of this absurd impossibility. A quirky, kaleidoscopic novel that goes all the places you'd expect, and to many you wouldn't.

What to read while you wait: Starter Villain by John Scalzi

Historical fiction 

Broken Country by Clare Leslie Hall (Mar. 4)

Beth and her gentle, kind husband Frank are happily married, but their relationship relies on the past staying buried. When the man Beth loved as a teenager returns to their village, dangerous secrets and jealousies resurface and Beth is forced to choose. A sweeping love story with thriller twists.

What to read while you wait: The Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller

One Good Thing by Georgia Hunter (Mar. 4)

1940, northern Italy—Best friends since university, Lili and Esti, both Jewish, become even closer when Esti's son Theo is born. When Germany invades, the older, more confident Esti convinces Lili that they must flee. Then disaster strikes and a critically wounded Esti begs Lili to take Theo and keep him safe.

What to read while you wait: We Were the Lucky Ones by Georgia Hunter

The Jackal's Mistress by Chris Bohjalian (Mar. 11)

Virginia, 1864—Libby Steadman, the wife of a Confederate soldier, spends her days running a gristmill that provides grain to the Confederate Army. Then she finds a gravely injured Union officer. Risking treason, she nurses him back to health hoping she might be able to negotiate a trade for her missing husband.

What to read while you wait: Neverhome by Laird Hunt

The Story She Left Behind by Patti Callahan Henry (Mar. 18)

Bronwyn Fordham's book, written in an invented language, made her famous. When she disappears in 1927, she leaves behind a bereft daughter, Clara, and an untranslatable sequel to her landmark work. In 1952, Clara, an illustrator raising her own daughter, is contacted by a stranger with an intriguing claim. 

What to read while you wait: The Nature of Fragile Things by Susan Meissner

Romance 

The Love Simulation by Etta Easton (Mar. 4)

Furious when her principal decides to spend funding on a football field instead of a library upgrade, vice principal Brianna Rogers joins the team of teachers competing in a six-week Mars simulation. But Brianna didn't count on Roman Major, the handsome science teacher (and principal's son) to join their crew.

What to read while you wait: The Kiss Countdown by Etta Easton

The Strawberry Patch Pancake House by Laurie Gilmore (Mar. 13)

World-renowned chef Archer never planned on moving to a small town like Dream Harbor, let alone running a pancake restaurant. But, as a single dad, he needs a community to help raise his daughter, Olive. Iris, restless and flighty, is an unlikely candidate to be his live-in nanny, but she needs a job.

What to read while you wait: The Pumpkin Spice Café by Laurie Gilmore

The Love We Found by Jill Santopolo (Mar. 18)

This long-awaited sequel is set ten years later. After finding an address in a box of Gabe's photos, Lucy impulsively flies to Rome to track it down. Lucy's journey leads her to Dr. Dax Armstrong and a new chance for love. But before she moves forward, does she need to tell her son the truth about his real father?

What to read while you wait: The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

Summer in the City: Deluxe Limited Edition by Alex Aster (Mar. 25)

In an attempt to end her writer's block, screenwriter Elle ends up back in NYC in the swankiest apartment she's ever lived in. It's perfect until she realizes her new neighbor is tech billionaire Parker Warren, her stairwell hookup from two years ago. Not ideal. Get the stunning Deluxe Edition while supplies last.

What to read while you wait: The Fine Print by Lauren Asher

Non-fiction

Propaganda Girls by Lisa Rogak (Mar. 4)

Betty MacDonald was a 28-year-old reporter; Zuzka Lauwers, a brilliant polyglot from Czechoslovakia; Jane Smith-Hutton, wife of a naval attaché living in Tokyo; and Marlene Dietrich, a world-famous German-American star. These four women contributed to one of the most covert and successful military campaigns in WWII.

What to read while you wait: Marlene Dietrich: The Life by Maria Riva

Everything is Tuberculosis: The History and Persistence of Our Deadliest Infection by John Green (Mar. 18)

The bestselling author of The Anthropocene Reviewed and a passionate advocate for global healthcare reform, tells a deeply human story illuminating the fight against the world's deadliest infectious disease. Order now to get the signed edition while supplies last.

What to read while you wait: The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann

Four Red Sweaters: Powerful True Stories of Women and the Holocaust by Lucy Adlington (Mar. 18)

Four Jewish girls, Jock Heidenstein, Anita Lasker, Chana Zumerkorn, and Regina Feldman, all faced the Holocaust in different ways. While they did not know each other—in fact had never met—each had a red sweater that would play a major part in their lives. From an award-winning clothes historian.

What to read while you wait: The Dressmakers of Auschwitz: The True Story of the Women Who Sewed to Survive by Lucy Adlington

We hope you find some titles here that you want to add to your TBR list! Let us know which new books you’re most excited about this month.

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Read more by Ashly Moore Sheldon