A new month means new book releases 🤩! I’m always looking to add to my reading list and the beginning of the month means it gets that much longer. There are just so many interesting books coming out! Not to mention the queer ones! So without further ado, here are my most anticipated LGBTQIA+ novels of March 2024.
March 5th to 10th Releases
Heirs of Bone & Sea by Kay Adams - March 5th
A Fantasy Romance that follows a sheltered princess with the power to bring back the dead and a queen masquerading as a pirate as they try to stop the war between their nations. There is a content warning for gore and body horror. I'm a big fan of sea adventures and pirates
The No Girlfriend Rule By Christen Randall - March 5th
Hollis isn’t trying to get a girl—she’s just trying to get by. And besides, she already has a boyfriend: Chris. To prove she’s a girlfriend worth keeping, Hollis decides to learn Chris’s favourite tabletop roleplaying game, Secrets & Sorcery—but his unfortunate “No Girlfriends at the Table” rule means she’ll need to find her own group if she wants in. This one is shaping up to be a cute, slow-burn romance with a stand-out protagonist and I’m ready to squeal at the sweetness of it all! I'm a big D&D lover so this was an early add to my list, even before I started this blog!
One Last Breath by Ginny Myers-Sain March 5th
Mount Orange, Florida, is famous for two things: Cerulean freshwater springs, ideal for freedivers who aren’t afraid of lurking gators. And the gruesome cold case murder of best friends, Bailey and Celeste, twenty years ago. Determined to solve the mystery, Tru and Rio entangle themselves in the case. If you’re in the market for a sapphic mystery/thriller, One Last Breath just might be the book for you.
March 11th to 17th Releases
This week has some of my most anticipated releases! I cannot wait to read all five of these books! My poor wallet will be empty after this.
Some Strange Music Draws Me In By Griffin Hansburg - March 12th
It's the summer of 1984 in Swaffham, Massachusetts, when Mel meets Sylvia, a tough-as-nails trans woman whose shameless swagger inspires Mel's dawning self-awareness. But Sylvia's presence sparks fury among her neighbours and throws Mel into conflict with her mother and best friend. Decades later, in 2019, Max (formerly Mel) is on probation from his teaching job for, ironically, defying speech codes around trans identity. Back in Swaffham, he must navigate life as part of a fractured family and face his own role in the disasters of the past. This book has a few content warnings for sexual assault, transphobia and homophobia. If you’re able to deal with that, the early reviews say it’s worth the read and is a fantastic story of coming into your own in a backward town.
Just Another Epic Love Poem by Parisa Akhbari - March 12th
Over the past five years, Mitra Esfahani has known two constants: her best friend Bea Ortega and The Book—a dogeared moleskin she and Bea have been filling with the stanzas of an epic, never-ending poem since they were 13.
For introverted Mitra, The Book is one of the few places she can open herself completely and where she gets to see all sides of brilliant and ebullient Bea. There, they can share everything—Mitra’s complicated feelings about her absent mother, Bea’s heartache over her most recent breakup—nothing too messy or complicated for The Book.
Nothing except the one thing with the power to change their entire friendship: the fact that Mitra is helplessly in love with Bea.
I am a sucker for books written in different writing styles, and Just Another Epic Love Poem is written entirely in lyrical, confessional prose, and alternating poetry. This is probably my most anticipated book of the month!
These Bodies Between Us by Sarah van Name - March 12th
For seventeen-year-old Callie and her best friends Talia and Cleo, every summer in their small North Carolina beach town is as steady as the tides. But this year, Cleo has invited enigmatic new girl Polly to join them, creating waves in their familiar friendship. And Cleo has an idea, gleaned from private YouTube videos and hidden message boards: they’re going to learn how to make themselves invisible.
Callie thinks it’s a ridiculous, impossible plan. But the other girls are intoxicated by the thought of disappearing, even temporarily—from bad boyfriends, from overbearing families, from the confusing, uncomfortable reality of having a body altogether. And, miraculously, it works.
Summers by the water with your best friends? Count me in! I am really intrigued by the concept of this book. Wanting to escape from life's problems and summers with your friends brings up memories for me, so this one was an easy addition to my TBR!
These Letters End in Tears by Musih Tedjix Xaviere - March 12th
Bessem notices Fatima for the first time on the soccer field—muscular and focused, she’s the only woman playing and seems completely at ease. When Fatima chases a rogue ball in her direction, Bessem freezes, mesmerized by the athlete’s charm and beauty. One playful wink from Fatima, and Bessem knows her life will never be the same.
In Cameroon, a country where same-sex relationships are punishable by law, the odds are stacked against Bessem and Fatima from the start. When Fatima’s older brother, a staunch Muslim, finds out about their affair, he intervenes by physically assaulting them, an incident that precedes a police raid at the only gay bar in town. After spending days in jail, Fatima goes missing without a trace, and Bessem is left with only rumours of her whereabouts.
This is the monthly tear-jerker! These Letters End in Tears is a look at being queer in a country where it’s still illegal, and the impact a first love can have on the heart. International stories are important to add to our reading lists. They allow us to experience new perspectives on life outside of what we know and expect.
March 18th to 24th Releases
Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abike Iyimide - March 19th
Sade Hussein is starting her third year of high school, this time at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school. After being home-schooled all her life and feeling like a magnet for misfortune, she’s not sure what will happen. What she doesn’t expect though is for her roommate Elizabeth to disappear after Sade’s first night. Or for people to think she had something to do with it.
With rumours swirling around her, Sade catches the attention of the most popular girls in school – collectively known as the ‘Unholy Trinity’ – and they bring her into their fold. Between learning more about them - especially Persephone, who Sade finds herself drawn to - playing catch-up in class, and trying to figure out what happened to Elizabeth, Sade has a lot on her plate. It doesn’t help that she’s already dealing with grief from the many tragedies in her family.
This is by the same author who wrote Ace of Spades, if that’s not reason enough to pick up this dark academic thriller then here’s one more: a guinea pig named Muffin!
A Botanical Daughter by Noah Medlock - March 19th
It is an unusual thing, to live in a botanical garden. But Simon and Gregor are an unusual pair of gentlemen. Hidden away in their glass sanctuary from the disapproving tattle of Victorian London, they are free to follow their own interests without interference. For Simon, this means long hours in the dark basement workshop, working on his taxidermical art. Gregor's business is exotic plants – lucrative, but harmless enough. Until his latest acquisition, a strange fungus which shows signs of intellect beyond any plant he's seen inspires him to attempt a masterwork: true intelligent life from plant matter.
The main reason I’m excited about this book: Mushroom Daughter! Besides the fact that Gregor needs to use a dead body to grow his mushroom child, many early reviews mention a cottage core feel to the book. A cozy Frankenstein if you will. I love cozy reads, so this one is another I’m super excited for!
Song of the Huntress by Lucy Holland - March 21st
Britain, 60AD. Hoping to save her lover, her land, and her people from the Romans, Herla makes a desperate pact with the king of the Otherworld. But years pass unheeded in his realm, and she escapes to find everyone she loved long dead. Cursed to wield his blade, she becomes Lord of the Hunt. And for centuries, she rides, leading her immortal warriors and reaping wanderers’ souls. Until the night she meets a woman on a bloody battlefield—a Saxon queen with ice-blue eyes.
I love a good myth and this one takes the myth of the wild hunt and ties it into early English history. To make an already great concept even better, Holland makes it sapphic and it has ace rep! The middle two weeks in March really have some great books coming our way.
March 25th to 31st Releases
A Deadly Walk In Devon by Nicholas George - March 26th
Still grieving the death of his long-time partner, Chase reunites with his dear friend and fellow Anglophile Billie Mondreau for a seacoast holiday of historic sightseeing. Assigned a pair of guides from the tour company Wanderers, Chase and Billie join seven other like-minded Americans looking forward to an English getaway. All except for Ronald Gretz. The wealthy entrepreneur behind the international Golden Sunset nursing home chain doesn’t like anything about walking, touring, or England. Coarse and opinionated, Gretz’s complaints get on the nerves of his fellow Wanderers—and his long-suffering trophy wife.
But Gretz’s gripes are tied to his own nerves being frayed. He has been receiving threatening texts and emails signed “An Avenger.” Convinced someone means him harm, Gretz asks Chase to watch his back. Soon, Gretz falls afoul of several “accidents,” leading to more friction with the other walkers. Until one final “accident” results in Gretz dead at the bottom of a cliff.
Chase, a former detective, knows Gretz’s death was no accident. While helping the police investigate, he discovers that members of the tour group not only disliked the victim but had legitimate motives for wanting him dead. Now, he just has to uncover who among them is willing to kill.
Another cozy book and another South England setting, I’m sensing a bit of a pattern in my picks this month! This is George’s debut novel and the first in a trilogy of murder mysteries that will take readers across England’s walking trails. While I do love suspense, I don’t mind a cozy mystery to read while the storm that is Canadian March blows about outside.
The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste - March 26th*
Love potions are a dangerous business. Brewing has painful, debilitating side effects, and getting caught means death or a prison sentence. But what Venus is most afraid of is the dark, sentient magic within her.
Then an enemy's iron bullet kills her mother, and Venus’s life implodes. Keeping her reckless little sister Janus safe is now her responsibility. When the powerful Grand Witcher, the ruthless head of her coven, offers Venus the chance to punish her mother's killer, she has to pay a steep price for revenge. The cost? Brew poisonous potions to enslave D.C.'s most influential politicians.
As Venus crawls deeper into the corrupt underbelly of her city, the line between magic and power blurs, and it's hard to tell who to trust…Herself included.
Urban Fantasy is a great genre. I do prefer more traditional fantasy but the illegal love potions have really piqued my interest in this book. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but I really love the cover of this one. The traditional evil green of the potion, and the pink smoke that is swallowing up D.C. in the background?! Amazing. It compliments the blurb so much!
*Originally, this book was supposed to be released on March 5th, but the author has said that due to printing errors, the release was pushed back to March 26th.
Icarus by K. Ancrum - March 26th
Icarus Gallagher is a thief.
He steals priceless art and replaces it with his father’s impeccable forgeries. For years, one man—the wealthy Mr. Black—has been their target, revenge for his role in the death of Icarus’s mother. To keep their secret, Icarus adheres to his own strict rules to keep people, and feelings, at bay: Don’t let anyone close. Don’t let anyone touch you. And, above all, don’t get caught.
Until one night, he does. Not by Mr. Black, but by his mysterious son, Helios, now living under house arrest in the Black mansion. Instead of turning Icarus in, Helios bargains for something even more dangerous—a friendship that breaks every single one of Icarus’s rules.
As reluctance and distrust become closeness and something more, they uncover the bars of the gilded cage that has trapped both of their families for years. One Icarus is determined to escape. But his father’s thirst for revenge shows no sign of fading, and soon it may force Icarus to choose: the escape he’s dreamed of, or the boy he’s come to love. Reaching for both could be his greatest triumph—or it could be his downfall.
This is on a lot of anticipated release lists for March and for 2024. Retelling Greek myths has become a popular format recently (See Song of Achilles & Lore Olympus). Icarus is a queer retelling of, well, the myth of Icarus and the Wax Wings. Icarus, despite his father’s warnings, flies too close to the sun and falls to his death. In Ancrum’s Icarus, he gets too close to Helios (i.e. the Greek embodiment of the sun!) the son of his father’s enemy. The clever use of names in the book has drawn me in. I love cleverness and connections to the source material, so this was an instant add to my list.
So, there you have it! These are the March releases I’m adding to my reading list! Make sure to subscribe to the blog to be the first to know when I review these lovely new books. Coming up next, 5 Signs a Character Isn’t Good LGBTQIA+ Rep. See you next time!