March 17 Book Releases

March 17 Book Releases: Love Song by Elle Kennedy, You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews, and Innamorata by Ava Reid
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Travis Williamson

Editor in chief

Published

March 12, 2026

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New week, new stack. The March 17 book releases are here, and leading the pack is Love Song by Elle Kennedy with 56,000 Goodreads want-to-reads.

Alongside this weekโ€™s new releases, we published a few more posts that are worth checking out:


Love Song

Author Elle Kennedy
Publication Date March 17, 2026

A Briar universe standalone romance featuring the next generation Off-Campus charactersโ€”where one unforgettable summer changes everything.

After a brutal breakup, college junior Blake Logan escapes to her familyโ€™s lake house in Tahoe, determined to shut out the world. Her plan is simple: no men, no drama. Until Wyatt Graham shows up. Four years older and far too good at getting under her skin, Wyatt is the living embodiment of a โ€œbad idea,โ€ and the guy who shattered her pride when she confessed her crush at sixteen.

With his music career stalled, Wyatt has come to Tahoe for inspiration. The last thing he expectsย is to find it with Blake. Heโ€™s spent years keeping his distance, convinced heโ€™s all wrong for her, but sheโ€™s no longer the innocent girl he once knew. Sheโ€™s confident, captivating, and impossible to ignore. And the slow-burning tension between them? Itโ€™s catching fire fast.

They both know this canโ€™t last, but one reckless kiss turns into another, and soon theyโ€™re tangled in something that feels dangerously likeย more. Just as they finally give in to the pull, tragedy tears them apart, leaving their hearts in pieces.

But forgetting that one, nearly perfect summer? Not a chance. And when fate brings them together again, Blake and Wyatt must decide if this is a second chanceโ€ฆor the final verse.

You Did Nothing Wrong

Author C.G. Drews
Genres Horror, Thriller, Gothic, Fiction, Adult, Mystery, Fantasy
Publication Date March 17, 2026
A relentless, horror-inducing psychological suspense for fans of The Push and Baby Teeth by New York Times bestselling author CG Drews.

Single mother Elodieโ€™s life has become a fairy tale. Sheโ€™s met Bren, equal parts golden-retriever devoted and sinfully handsome. Heโ€™s whisked her and her autistic son, Jude, to the crumbling family house heโ€™s renovating. She has a new husband, a new house, and a new baby on the way. Everything is perfect.

Then Jude claims he can hear voices in the walls. He says their renovations are โ€œhurtingโ€ the house. Even Elodie canโ€™t ignore itโ€“something strange is going on. The question is, is it with the house, or with her son?

Then the one secret Elodie has been hiding is revealed, and no one is safe anymore.

A pulse-pounding, clever take on the haunted house novel, You Did Nothing Wrong examines the complexities of motherhood and the twisted bonds of family as it races to its shocking ending.

Innamorata

Author Ava Reid
Genres Fantasy, Gothic, Romantasy, Romance, Adult, Dark Academia, Fantasy Romance
Publication Date March 17, 2026
A visionary and atmospheric gothic fantasy about necromancy, vengeance, and soul-consuming love, the first in a duology from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Lady Macbeth

Once there was an island where the dead walked the earth, and seven noble houses ruled by the arcane secrets of necromancy.

A conquerorโ€™s blade brought them low, burning their libraries, killing their lords, and extinguishing their eldritch magic.

But defiant against the new order stands the House of Teeth and its last living members: beautiful Marozia, the heiress to the House, and her cousin, the uncanny Lady Agnes.

Though she has not spoken a word in seven years, Agnes is the true carrier of the Houseโ€™s legacy. And she has her orders. She must recapture the secrets of death magic and avenge her familyโ€™s fallen honor. She must arrange the betrothal of her beloved cousin Marozia to Liuprand, heir to the conquerorโ€™s throne, for access to the forbidden library in his grotesquely grand castle.

Revenge burns in Agnesโ€™s heart but so do stranger passionsโ€”and it is Liuprand, the golden prince, who speaks to her soul. This passion is as treasonous as it is powerful, poisoning the kingdomโ€™s roots and threatening to tear the already shattered realm in two.

For Agnesโ€™s final order is the gravest: She must not fall in love.

Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line

Author Elle Cosimano
Genres Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Humor, Thriller, Romance
Publication Date March 17, 2026
From New York Times bestseller Elle Cosimano comes Finlay Donovan Crosses the Lineโ€”the highly anticipated next installment in the beloved Finlay Donovan series.

Life hasnโ€™t been easy for Finlay Donovan lately, but it just got a whole lot harder. Her nanny and partner-in-crime, Vero, has been extradited from Virginia to Maryland, where sheโ€™s facing criminal charges for a theft she swears she didnโ€™t commit. A prisoner to an ankle bracelet as she awaits her trial, Vero is forced to live with her overbearing mother and nosy aunt. Threatening messages keep arriving on her motherโ€™s door, demanding Vero โ€œturn over the money . . . or else.โ€ And if she doesnโ€™t figure out who really stole her former sororityโ€™s treasury funds, her next home might be a prison cell.

But proving her innocence might be an impossible feat. Vero was the treasurer of her sorority when the money went missingโ€”one of the only people who had access to the cash. And her alibi is a date who ghosted her. With her court date quickly approaching, and her mysterious stalker on her tail, Vero needs to clear her name fast.

Finlay decides a trip to Maryland is in order. After all, Vero stood by her through her darkest moments, and Finlay will be damned if she lets her best friend and childrenโ€™s nanny be convicted for something she didnโ€™t do. She sets off on a mission to sus out the real thief and bring Vero home.

Everyone in This Bank Is a Thief

Author Benjamin Stevenson
Genres Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Thriller, Crime, Adult, Audiobook
Publication Date March 17, 2026
Ten suspects. Ten heists. A mystery only Ernest Cunningham can solve.

I've spent the last few years solving murders. But a bank heist is a new one, even for me. I've never been a hostage before.

The doors are chained shut. No one in or out. Which means that when someone in the bank is murdered, hostages become suspects.

THE BANK ROBBER
THE MANAGER
THE SECURITY GUARD
THE KID
THE FILM PRODUCER
THE PRIEST
THE RECEPTIONIST
THE PATIENT
THE CARER
ME

Turns out, more than one person planned to rob the bank today. You can steal more from a bank than just money.

Who is stealing what? Are they willing to kill for it? And can I solve the crime before the police kick down the door and rescue us?

Stakeouts and Strollers

Author Rob Phillips
Genres Mystery, Thriller, Adult, Fiction, Cozy Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Cozy
Publication Date March 17, 2026
Amateur private investigator and new dad Charlie Shaw gets more than he bargained for when he agrees to track down a young girlโ€™s missing father in Rob Phillipsโ€™ award-winning debut.

Charlie Shaw is low on sleep. And cash. Otherwise, life is going pretty well for the ex-crime reporter: Heโ€™s happily married to his college sweetheart, heโ€™s a first-time dad to the most adorable baby girl in existence, and heโ€™s making ends meet as a rookie PI. But when Charlie meets Friday Finley, a frightened sixteen-year-old runaway on a stakeout-gone-wrong, his world gets a little more complicated.

Friday is looking for her estranged father Shawn, an unreliable alcoholic who left when she was youngโ€”and who also happens to be her only shot at avoiding the foster care system since her motherโ€™s death a few weeks earlier. At first, Charlie believes the man is simply hiding out somewhere, avoiding his responsibilities as usual, but the more he investigates, the more unsettlingโ€”and dangerousโ€”Shawnโ€™s disappearance becomes. When his own family is threatened, Charlie realizes heโ€™s in over his head, but can he back out now that heโ€™s begun to care for Friday as his own?

A perfect blend of humor and high stakes, Stakeouts and Strollers is a heartwarming story of fatherhood, family, and what it really means to be a โ€œGirl Dad.โ€

Mayhem and the Mortal

Author Shanora Williams
Genres Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Adult, Adult Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Fantasy Romance
Publication Date March 17, 2026
One mission. One curse. No escape.

Zaira doesnโ€™t want a hero. She needs a weapon.

To save her sister from a soul-devouring curse, she has to cross The Shallowsโ€”a nightmare landscape of ruined magic, shifting paths, and vicious creatures that eat people alive.

Her guide? Thane Valkor: sorcerer, assassin, walking red flag. His name clears rooms. His magic kills quietly. And whatever heโ€™s really after, itโ€™s not salvation.

He promises to help. He might even mean it.

But Zaira knows better than to trust a liar with a blade and ice in his veins.

She just doesnโ€™t have a choice.

Only Spell Deep

Author Ava Morgyn
Genres Fantasy, Horror, Witches, Fiction, Adult, Paranormal, Mystery
Publication Date March 17, 2026
Rebecca meets The Craft in this dark, atmospheric novel of one witch rediscovering her power while on the run from another willing to kill her for it.

Judeth Cole has always had certain uncanny abilities. But when she arrived at Solidago - her grandfatherโ€™s estate by the sea - she was forced to keep them secret. There she lived a harsh life under his rule and the haunting legacy of her late grandmother, Aurelia. Until the fateful day she ignited a fire with her magic. It was the last time she saw her family alive.

Seventeen years later, sheโ€™s living in Seattle as Jude Clark, and failing at life, when she makes a last detour through her favorite bookstore, selecting a book to read as she waits to die. But when she pulls it from the shelf, an invitation to her for a clandestine midnight meeting slips out.

Jude is quickly swept up into a world of secrets and magic, discovering a circle of powerful new companions led by the mysterious, enigmatic Arla. The source of their magic, Arla tells her, is a goddess, trapped and bound, that they call The Fathom. But Jude swiftly realizes Arla wants this power all to herself, and that sheโ€™s willing to kill for it.

Terrified, Jude turns to Levi Orman, the handsome bookseller whoโ€™s seen her at her worst. With his help, she begins a research journey that leads her from the crystal waters of the Mediterranean to the icy waves of the Greenland Sea and back to Solidago, the house she swore to never return to. With the Fathom threatening to break free and Arla on the hunt, Jude must finally face her past to save her future.

Ava Morgyn's Only Spell Deep is a novel that takes readers on a journey into a dark, glittering world of magic, a place where power should never be caged and misplaced trust can have deadly consequences.

Life: A Love Story

Author Elizabeth Berg
Genres Fiction, Contemporary, Friendship, Literary Fiction, Adult Fiction, Family, Romance
Publication Date March 17, 2026
In this warm, intimate novel, a woman celebrates the joy she finds in the ordinary things in life and discovers itโ€™s never too late to start new adventures. By the New York Times bestselling author of The Story of Arthur Truluv and Open House

Florence โ€œFloโ€ Greene is nearing the end of her life, and she decides to leave her house and an account of her life for Ruthie, the younger woman who grew up next door, moved away, and still is like a surrogate daughter. As Flo writes to Ruthie about the meaning of beloved things in her home and about events in her past, she also tries new adventures of her own. She intervenes in the lives of friends in her neighborhood.

Flo's project has been to encourage Teresa, a wise but unconfident woman, to open her heart to romance. Flo goes to the library to get advice from Mimi, a librarian. She encourages Ruthie, who is contemplating divorce, to try again with her husband, by sharing a startling secret long buried about Floโ€™s own seemingly perfect husband and marriage.

In her final weeks, Flo leaves an indelible mark on others, as this moving novel celebrates life, change, and ways to discover new happiness, friendship, and love.

Darling Daffodils Farm

Author Brittanee Nicole
Genres Romance, Westerns, Forced Proximity, Contemporary Romance, Found Family, Enemies To Lovers, Small Town Romance
Publication Date March 17, 2026

Prepare to fall in love amongst the wildflowers this spring. . .

From the romance superstar author of The Boston Bolts hockey series comes a rivals-to-lovers, grumpy-sunshine romance about a young woman returning to her familyโ€™s daffodil farm only to find someone unexpected running her daddyโ€™s business.


They say you can never tame a wildflower...

When aspiring pastry chef, Tally Darling, returns home to her familyโ€™s daffodil farm, the last thing she expects to find is a hotโ€”half-nakedโ€”farmhand living in her childhood bedroom and running her late daddyโ€™s business.

Jesse Walker might be gorgeous but heโ€™s also infuriatingly grumpy. Walker has no time for Tally and the feeling is mutual.

That is, until Tally hears him moan over one of her signature salted honey cupcakes. And then discovers how good it tastes when they kiss.

As dewy April days turn into warm May evenings, Walker and Tally soon realize that there is a thin line between love and hate. But will their budding connection grow into something that lasts beyond one season?

The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale

Author C.M. Waggoner
Genres Fantasy, Cozy Fantasy, Witches, Cozy, Fiction, Adult, High Fantasy
Publication Date March 17, 2026
A practical witch must sabotage her beloved son's ascension to the throne in order to keep the kingdom from ruin, in this delightful cozy fantasy from the author of The Ruthless Ladyโ€™s Guide to Wizardry.

Once upon a time, a somewhat wicked witch named Gretsella lived in a cozy little cottage in the Dark Forest of Brigandale. She dispensed herbs and tinctures at reasonable prices, met with her slightly oddball coven on a regular basis, and had absolutely no need of any further company whatsoever, thank you very much. But then one afternoon, Gretsella came home to find a screaming infant on her doorstep.

Against all her better judgement, she took the baby in. She named him Bradley.

Eighteen years later, Bradley has grown into a bafflingly likable young man under Gretsellaโ€™s extremely tolerantโ€”one might even say dotingโ€”eye. But the witchโ€™s hopes for an unremarkable yet fulfilling life for her son are shattered when small woodland animals start prophesying that he is the lost prince and should ascend to the throne. Bradley ignores Gretsellaโ€™s advice that prophecies and talking chipmunks are to be avoided at all costs, and sets off for the capital. But soon confusion and chaos are reigning, and scheming courtiers are using Bradley for their own ends. Sometimes a witch has to roll up her sleeves and take matters into her own cauldron. So Gretsella sets off to bring about the downfall of her darling sonโ€ฆ

The Shock of the Light: A Novel

Author Lori Inglis Hall
Genres Historical Fiction, Fiction, World War II, Historical, France, War, Wwii Fiction
Publication Date March 17, 2026
โ€œA wonderfully conceived and remarkably assured first novel, rich in emotion and with a truly compelling narrative drive. A brilliant success.โ€
โ€”William Boyd, bestselling author of Any Human Heart

For readers of The Nightingale and In Memoriam, a sweeping novel of siblings, steeped in love, heart-rending loss, and sacrifice, the story of twins who meet shockingly different fates, but whose bond will last forever


Twins Tessa and Theo are roots of the same tree, in tune with one anotherโ€™s every thought and desire. As World War II takes hold across Europe, both are eager to do their part. Theo is recruited by the RAF and disappears into the skies, while Tessa jumps at the chance to join the Special Operations Executive, devoted to spying and sabotage behind enemy lines. It will be dangerous, highly classified work, but Tessa, despite all she shares with Theo, is no stranger to secret-keeping.

Two years later, Theo comes home. Tessa does not.

Theo, wounded, broken by the loss of his fellows and his sister, is indefatigable, angry, driven, a clandestinely gay man at a time when homosexuality was illegalโ€”and he will pay a price for pursuing answers about Tessaโ€™s fate.

Decades later, PhD candidate Edie is deep into her research on the Special Operations Executive during the war. When she finds Theo in London, they form an unlikely partnership, and together they finally uncover the truth about Theoโ€™s beloved sisterโ€”a truth that stretches back to the summer Tessa spent in France before the war had even begun.

Stunningly and propulsively written, The Shock of the Light is a novel of bravery, the brutal human cost of war, a brother and sister bond that outlasts even death, and the redemptive love that grows in unexpected places.

Two Perfect Lies

Author Natalie D. Richards
Genres Thriller, Mystery, Young Adult, Contemporary, Mystery Thriller
Publication Date March 17, 2026
The first lie made Lily a savior. The second framed Clara for murder.

If it weren't for Lily, Clara would still be a total outcast, shunned for her role in an incident that gave her a criminal record and ruined another girl's life. She's spent the past two years trying to escape that night, and ever since Lily Dalton befriended her, she's almost succeeded. After all, Lily's the golden girl of the high schoolโ€”smart, popular, beloved by allโ€”and as her best friend, Clara's now the bright, hard-working chemistry whiz.

But is Lily really just the good-hearted friend who saved Clara from the past? Because lately Lily has been talking about certain classmates and teachersโ€”about wanting revenge. Do you ever think about making them pay? she asks. How would you do it? Lily has to be joking. At least that's what Clara thinks, until she finds a folder that outlines a deadly plan, including detailed steps and a list of targets in their school.

Shockingly, there's even more to Lily's plan, and it has everything to do with Clara. After all, everyone already knows what she did two years ago. Suddenly all the evidence has been turned against her, and there's no way she can prove her innocence. And the people on that list of targets? One after the next, they're meeting terrible fates, and Clara's looking guiltier by the second. It's up to Clara to find the truth and clear her name, before it's too late.


The House of Hidden Letters

Author Izzy Broom
Genres Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, Womens Fiction
Publication Date March 17, 2026
โ€˜Whisk away to Greeceโ€ฆ the perfect escapist read.โ€™ Veronica Henry

โ€˜Atmospheric, romantic and mysterious... perfect for fans of Victoria Hislop.โ€™ Cesca Major

For Greek cottage. One Euro.

Skye doesnโ€™t make impulsive decisions. But when she sees a derelict Greek cottage for sale by lottery, she enters with dreams of a fresh start.

However, her heart sinks as she pushes open the tattered blue door weeks later. Can this wreck ever be her home?

Then Skye finds a bundle of letters hidden in the fireplace, their faded pages drawing her in with a story of long-forgotten love, tragedy, and unbelievable bravery.

But all the while, Skyeโ€™s own past is circling. No matter how far she goes, fate is never far behindโ€ฆ

This gorgeously sweeping, escapist dual-timeline novel is perfect for fans of Karen Swan, Victoria Hislop and Lucinda Riley.

โ€˜Absolutely loved itโ€ฆ Engaging characters, evocative setting, emotional journey. I was captivated from the first page to the last!โ€™ Cathy Bramley

โ€˜Absorbing, beautiful and devastating. A moving story of love and loss, of courage and kindness, of how the light of hope will shine through the darkest of times. I loved every page.โ€™ Chris Whitaker

Mother Is Watching

Author Karma Brown
Genres Horror, Fiction, Art, Adult Fiction
Publication Date March 17, 2026
An internationally bestselling authorโ€™s chilling horror debut in which an art conservatorโ€™s obsession with a mysterious painting spirals into a nightmarish descent, where the line between reality and the supernatural shatters, threatening both her sanity and her life.

Mathilde โ€œTillyโ€ Crewson, a thirty-nine-year-old mother and art conservator, is tasked with restoring The Mother. The painting, believed to be the work of a female surgeon-turned-artist after a personal tragedy, is the rumored fourth piece in a collection of only three known works. But this newly discovered painting, scarred by fire, holds more than meets the eye.

Soon after receiving the painting, Tilly discovers sheโ€™s unexpectedly pregnant. But almost immediately, strange, inexplicable things begin to terrifying insect swarms, eerie visits from her long-deceased mother, and sinister whispers that invade her mind. As these malevolent forces intensify, Tilly comes to a harrowing the only way to sever the perilous bond she shares with the painting is to destroy it. But The Mother has plans of her ownโ€”and theyโ€™re darker than Tilly could ever imagineโ€ฆ

Bloodlust

Author Sandra Brown
Genres Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Romance, Fiction, Suspense
Publication Date March 17, 2026
#1 New York Times bestselling author Sandra Brown delivers a new signature sexy suspense about a detective seeking justice for his murdered wife with the help of a psychotherapist โ€ฆ while fighting an undeniable attraction to her.

Two years ago, Detective Mitch Haskell lost his wife to a vicious act of retribution, and has since attributed her murder to two Roland Malone and the unidentified mastermind of the crime known only as Oz. Malone, a ruthless executioner and drug dealer who fronts as a restaurant owner, neutralizes so cleanly that he doesnโ€™t leave a trace. And he performs his handiwork at the biddings of Oz, the faceless kingpin of a drug trafficking operation whose name alone evokes terror.

Obsessively vowing to avenge his late wifeโ€™s murder, Mitch has been on a downward spiral, jeopardizing his closest relationships and drinking excessively to numb his pain. After going one step too far, Detective John Bowie, his former best friend and now his boss, has forced Mitch to get therapy to sort himself out.

Dr. Dylan Reede is immediately empathetic to the pain she senses beneath Mitchโ€™s cavalier attitude and wisecracking. Sheโ€™s determined to make the most of his mandated sessions. But from the moment Mitch breezes into her office, Dylan finds it a struggle to maintain the professional and personal boundaries that keep her own tragic past at a safe distance.

As Mitch begins to close in on Oz and Maloneโ€™s operation, theyโ€™re prepared to stop him by any means necessary. And when itโ€™s revealed that Dylan might hold the key to bringing them to justice, Mitch and Dylanโ€™s irresistible attraction to each other may not only compromise both of them professionally, but place them in Ozโ€™s bullseye.

The Fountain

Author Casey Scieszka
Genres Fantasy, Fiction, Magical Realism, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction, Adult, Speculative Fiction
Publication Date March 17, 2026
โ€œCasey Scieszkaโ€™s debut novel is absolutely delicious, like Tuck Everlasting for grown-ups. The premise is so goodโ€”an immortal womanโ€™s search for the fountain of youthโ€”that the writing, crisp and funny, feels like an extra treat. An excellent debut.โ€โ€”Emma Straub, bestselling author of This Time Tomorrow

A propulsive and deeply moving novel about eternity and mortality that asks what it would mean to live forever.

Vera Van Vulkenburgh hasnโ€™t been home in one hundred and eighty-eight years. But now Vera, forever twenty-six and able to heal from any wound, has returned to the Catskills. Whatever made her family immortal happened here, and if she can uncover it, maybe she can reverse it. After nearly two centuriesโ€”an endless sequence of unnoticed, meaningless lives and a soul-shaking incident in the desertโ€”she longs to be released.

Posing as a newly arrived forest ranger, she quickly blends into the upstate community and learns of something curious and disturbing. A mysterious, well-funded company is snapping up local property, no matter how high the asking price. But when her brother, a fellow immortal shows up, accompanied by a woman whose face is incredibly familiar to Vera, the purpose for her return gets clouded and Vera is in a race against time to find out what has caused her condition before someone else does.

Blending the spectacular with the everyday in a tale filled with humor and warmth, The Fountain explores what gives life meaning and how our understandings of our histories shapeโ€”and cageโ€”us.

The Plans I Have for You

Author Lai Sanders
Genres Thriller, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Horror, Mystery, Contemporary, Adult
Publication Date March 17, 2026
Feminine rage, cancel culture, and suffocating societal pressureโ€”a cutting and brazen thriller about two Asian American women on a quest for revenge after a public shaming pushes them to the limit, for fans of Yellowface and Counterfeit.

When a conflict with a fellow passenger on the subway spirals into a humiliating breakdown, Shelley Huโ€™s life is over. The incident goes viral, costing Shelley her prestigious Manhattan law firm internship, her spot at Columbia Law, and her plan to build a better life for herself and her mother.

Months later, Shelley is back in Kissimmee, Florida, working the night shift at a kitschy motel near Disney Worldโ€”the very same job she held in high school. Shelleyโ€™s life is a black hole until, one night, the beautiful, enigmatic Sophia Moon checks in with her husband and young son. But Sophiaโ€™s appearance is far from random.

It turns out that, once upon a time, Sophia suffered her own episode of public shaming. Since then, Sophia has rebuilt a new life, and she promises to help Shelley do the same. More importantly, Sophia vows to help Shelley enact revenge on the three people responsible for the worst day of her life with a precise set of plans.

Shelley returns to New York with a new identity and plans that start off well. But when the situation soon spirals out of control, Shelley is forced to reckon with Sophiaโ€™s unspeakably dark sideโ€”though it may be too late.

I Love You Don't Die

Author Jade Song
Genres Horror, Literary Fiction, Queer, Fiction, Adult, Fantasy, LGBT
Publication Date March 17, 2026
Acclaimed author Jade Song (Chlorine) returns with her latest literary exploration: a lyrical, poignant, and heartfelt novel about the meaning of love, friendship, debt, depression, and death in New York Cityโ€”a coming-of-age for a new generation, in the vein of Sally Rooney and Ottessa Moshfegh.

For as far back as she can remember, Vicky has been fascinated and obsessed with death as the only inevitable thing in life. From living above a Chinatown funeral parlor to working at a celebrity start-up for bespoke urns, she has surrounded herself with deathโ€”in her home, in her work, and in her ever-growing collection of zhizha, paper creations meant to be burned for the dead, adorning the walls of her apartment. Yet, though living in Manhattan and working her dream job is all she ever wanted, she still struggles to have meaningful connectionsโ€”or find any meaning at allโ€”in her life. Too often she spends the day in bed, only drawn out from time to time by her best (and only) friend, Jen.

That changes when a dating app leads her into a throuple with an artist and a labor organizer, who offer exactly the kind of love she needs. For some time, itโ€™s perfect, but no one understands better than Vicky that all things must end. As doubts grow over the love in her life, her friendship with Jen, and her professional success, the oddly comforting abstraction of death starts becoming something else altogether. With everything beginning to feel hollow and temporary, Vicky must decide how to keep moving forward. To try and hold on to what she has, or to once again do what she does best: destroy.

The Feather Wars: And the Great Crusade to Save America's Birds

Author James H. McCommons
Genres History, Nonfiction, Nature, Birds, Science, American History, Animals
Publication Date March 17, 2026
An epic, fascinating history of the fight to save America's birds featuring heroes, martyrs, villains, and conflicted do-gooders.

From the time the country was founded, Americans assumed that the landโ€™s natural resources were infiniteโ€”they hunted and trapped, plowed and drained and clear-cut their way across the continent. It wasnโ€™t until the end of the 19th century, with the rapid demise of the Passenger Pigeon and the carnage of the American Bison on the Plains, that some Americans realized action needed to be taken.

What followed could be considered both a spiritual awakening and a great crusade to save birds and their habitat. The campaign took place on thousands of battlefields: political luncheons in the White House, society teas in Boston, smoke-filled hunt clubs on the East Coast, the sloughs along the Mississippi River, where market hunters and sport hunters faced off in battle, the mangroves in the Everglades, where bird wardens died resisting feather hunters, and in the editorial pages of newspapers and periodicals. The crusade to save birds stretched from the heady days of the Gilded Age to the misery of the Great Depression. Those five decades birthed the conservation and bird protection movements, and brought together a remarkable coalition of people and organizations to save the birds of America.

The Feather Wars is an epic work of American history, an incredible story about how disparate charactersโ€”from progressive politicians, free-thinking society belles, nature writers and artists, bird-loving U.S. presidents, gunmakers and business titans, to brave game wardensโ€”came together during a decades-long crusade to save hundreds of species of birds in America. Heroes, martyrs, villains, and conflicted do-goodersโ€”the early bird conservation movement had them all. Together they transformed how Americans thought and cared about birds, a not to be killed, but to be protected and preserved.

Black Bag

Author Luke Kennard
Genres Fiction
Publication Date March 17, 2026
An out-of-work actor accepts the role of a lifetimeโ€”sitting soundlessly in a lecture theater, zipped into a large leather bagโ€”to aid a professorโ€™s psychological experiment. What could possibly go wrong?

In Luke Kennardโ€™s audacious new novel, a penniless and out-of-work actor picks up a job working for Dr. Blend, a university professor who is conducting a psychological experiment. How will Dr. Blendโ€™s students react to someone zipped into an oversized bag, sitting at the back of the lecture hall over a series of Fall lectures? The role, eagerly accepted, soon has unexpected consequences. A professor of post-humanism develops research questions of her ownโ€”in particular, can you love someone secreted away inside a black bag?โ€”and the actorโ€™s childhood friend forms a vision for monetizing this new situation . . .

A warped campus novel, an investigation into the crisis of masculinity, and an off-kilter love story, Black Bag is a firework of a blazingly funny and profoundly humane.

One Word, Six Letters

Author Adib Khorram
Genres Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Fiction, Queer, Realistic Fiction, Coming Of Age
Publication Date March 17, 2026
Two teen boys grapple with identity and accountability and set off a ripple effect within their community after a school assembly is disrupted by a shouted slur.

Freshmen Dayton and Farshid couldnโ€™t be more differentโ€”or so it seems.

When Dayton takes a dare and shouts the f-slur at a visiting author during a school event, it sets off a chain reaction that forces both boys to face parts of themselves theyโ€™d rather ignore.

Dayton, grappling with the fallout of his actions, faces rejection from his friends, disappointment from his parents, and a growing awareness of the harm heโ€™s caused. Meanwhile, Farshid is left to untangle his own feelingsโ€”about himself and about the quiet struggle of coming to terms with his queerness in a world steeped in heteronormativity.

As their lives unexpectedly intersect, Dayton and Farshid must reckon with what kind of men they want to become and whether they have the courage to defy toxic masculinity and societal expectations.

Timely, raw, and deeply thought-provoking, this novel is perfect for fans of Jason Reynolds and Nic Stone.

Queen of the Night Sky

Author Amalie Howard
Genres Fantasy, Romantasy, Romance, Adult, Why Choose, Fantasy Romance
Publication Date March 17, 2026
The sequel to The Starlight Heir and the epic conclusion to the romantasy duology that Rebecca Yarros calls, โ€œa breathtaking, sexy romantasy full of twists and adventure.โ€

The Kingdom of Oryndhr has been saved by the will of the Royal Stars. But King Roshan, once Suraโ€™s best friend and chosen love, has changed. She can sense corruption growing in him, and her own magic is being twisted by his command to dangerous ends. As dreams of her strange shadow guardian return in force, she is left unsure of her pathโ€”and of her heart.

When an attempt on her life leads to her rescue on the back of an azdaha, the dragon-like creature she once thought a myth, Sura truly finds herself in uncharted territoryโ€”in a land far beyond Oryndhyrโ€™s borders. Everlea is full of magic, ruled by the deadly and enigmatic Night King, Darrius. And to Suraโ€™s shock, Darrius is none other than the man in her dreamsโ€ฆand possibly her soul fated mate.

As a prophecy unfolds, the old gods awaken, and a war between kingdoms looms, Sura has no she must fully embrace her destiny as Starkeeper and the entirety of her power before itโ€™s too late. But all power comes at a costโ€ฆand darkness has a way of slithering into the smallest spaces.

Queen of the Night Sky is a lush, fast-paced romantasy inspired by Indian and Persian mythology,

Open door spice โ€œWhy chooseโ€ trope Yearning and heartache Magic system inspired by Vedic astrology

Under Water

Author Tara Menon
Genres Fiction, Literary Fiction, Historical Fiction, Contemporary, Friendship, Grief, Mental Health
Publication Date March 17, 2026
An intense, atmospheric novel about the devastating power of friendship, set against the backdrop of two cataclysmic events.

After Marissa loses her mother at five, the most intimate relationship of her life begins. Her marine biologist father, determined to channel his grief into completing his wifeโ€™s research, whisks her across the globe to Thailand. There she meets Arielle, and a fairytale friendship takes hold. During the week, the girls live at the resort owned by Arielleโ€™s parents; on the weekends they join the tight-knit community of researchers on a nearby island. Together the girls discover the fragile wonders of its reefs, forests, and beaches. Together they learn to dive into the deep, holding their breath for minutes at a time, as effortlessly synchronized as the manta rays they come to know by name. Together they learn to swim their way out of danger. But then comes a wave Arielle canโ€™t outpace, leaving Marissa gutted with loss.

Years later, Marissa is back in New York, adrift and haunted by the memory of her friend. Over the course of two fateful days, as another cataclysm approaches the city and the past comes flooding back, she discovers how to sustain herself in a precarious world.

My Dreadful Darling

Author H.D. Carlton
Genres Dark Romance, Smut, Dark, Romance
Publication Date March 20, 2026
Blurb coming soon... Placeholder date for preorder. Bookish Goblin note: I couldn't find any more info on this book, just leaving it here for now because there is still no release date, but it looks like you can preorder.

Children of Strife

Author Adrian Tchaikovsky
Genres Science Fiction, Fiction, Space Opera, Aliens, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook
Publication Date March 19, 2026
From the award-winning master of sci-fi Adrian Tchaikovsky, Children of Strife is the unmissable follow-up space opera to the highly acclaimed Children of Time, Children of Ruin and Children of Memory.

In this epic adventure, we visit a far-future after earth fell, where ark ships had hunted for a new home. They sought lost worlds terraformed in earthโ€™s forgotten past. We follow a ship crewed by maverick humans, spiders and a spectacularly punchy mantis shrimp captain as they rediscover one such world, and an ark.

Then human crewmate Alis wakes to discover that she, her captain and the shipโ€™s intelligence are the only ones left on their ship. But what happened to those who left to explore the ark . . . and the world below?

Children of Strife is the extraordinary next volume set in the Children of Time universe, featuring epic adventure, first contact and the nature of intelligence among the stars.

Missing

Author E.A. Jackson
Genres Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary
Publication Date March 17, 2026
In this unputdownable crime thriller for fans of Tana French, a detective returns to a thirty-year-old caseโ€”an infamous disappearance in Londonโ€”that has haunted her entire career and now may jeopardize her future.

In August 1990, London is suffering through an unprecedented heatwave when baby Bella Carpenter is snatched through the open window of her hotel room. Detective Inspector Martha Allen is assigned the high-profile case and, knowing that it could make or break her career, is determined to find Bella.

When a young woman named Nell Beatty walks into the police station with a baby who appears to be Bella, and whom Nell claims she found on a bench, it seems that the mystery is solved. Her family, the police, and the press are overjoyed at her return. But DI Allen isnโ€™t convinced, something about Nellโ€™s story doesnโ€™t ring true. As much as she wants to continue, however, now that the baby is safe, sheโ€™s ordered to close the investigation.

Thirty years later, Nell Beatty is found dead. Now a superintendent, Allen has never really gotten over her doubts about the Carpenter case and canโ€™t resist doing a little digging on her own time, eager to find out what happened to Nell, and her involvement in the babyโ€™s disappearance all those years ago. But will her efforts uncover something darker than she could have ever imagined? And what is she risking as she tries once and for all to reveal the truth?

Mother of Death and Dawn

Author Carissa Broadbent
Publication Date March 17, 2026

In the harrowing finale of the War of Lost Hearts trilogy, #1 New York Times bestselling author Carissa Broadbent brings this tale of romance, magic, vengeance, and redemption to a close.

Tell me, little butterfly, what would you do for love?

In the wake of a crushing defeat, Tisaanah and Maxatarius have been ripped apart. Tisaanah is desperate to rescue Max from his imprisonment, even as her peopleโ€™s fight for freedom grows more treacherous. But within the walls of Ilyzath, Maxโ€™s mind is a shadow of what it once was... leaving his past a mystery and his future at the mercy of Araโ€™s new, ruthless queen.

Meanwhile, in the Fey lands, Aefe has been dragged back into this world by a king who vows to destroy civilizations in her name. But even as her past returns to claim her, her former self is a stranger.

Tisaanah, Max, and Aefe are thrust into the center of a cataclysm between the human and Fey worlds. The unique magic they share is key to either winning the war, or ending it.

But that power demands sacrifice. Tisaanah may be forced to choose between love and duty. Max cannot forge his future without confronting his past. And Aefe must decide between reclaiming who she was, or embracing who she has become.

The choices they make will either reshape this world forever...or end it.

Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments down below.

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