Books of the Month March 2020
With social isolation and lockdowns becoming a reality for many across the world there has never been a better time to read. Not only is it one of the safest hobbies at the moment, but it also offers some respite from the current stressful state of the world. For anyone still wondering what some great books are to read across all genres here are the best ones chosen by our readers during March.
Best Romance
Jonquils for Jax
by Katy Regnery
Jacqueline "Jax" Rousseau is the protagonist of Jonquils for Jax by Katy Regnery. Despite being rich, smart, vivacious, and beautiful Jax doesn't have the best of luck when it comes to love. After a string of disappointments with lawyers, doctors, actors and politicians shes on a self-imposed hiatus from love, but this is when she has a run-in with Gardener Thibodeaux. There's something about Gard that intrigues Jax, but she's not used to dealing with gruff, ill-mannered men that can't be charmed. Readers who enjoy romances about people from very different worlds falling for each other will enjoy Jonquils for Jax.
Best Action & Adventure
The Soloist
by Donald Gates
The Soloist by Donald Gates is a gripping thriller where the story is played out from the perspective of the antagonist. It is set in 1944 and sees the lead character being sent to Manhattan by Nazi Germany for an operation that could see tens of thousands of Americans perishing. However, while the battle-hardened Finnish soldier they sent is more than up to the mission, he is also on a private mission of his own, which is driven by an intense hatred of the United States. Driven by his violent agenda he evades capture by the FBI and brutally eliminates anyone standing in his way. The Soloist is a great read for anyone who can appreciate a well researched and tense thriller with a different than usual perspective.
Best Mystery & Thriller
Betrayal
by Hannah Howe
Betrayal by Hannah Howe is the first book in her Ann's War Mystery series and features a complete mystery that is resolved within the story. This book is about Ann Morgan who finds her life turned upside down over the course of 24 hours. What was supposed to be just another secretarial day at a detective agency for Ann becomes one where she discovers a murder, meets a handsome widower and confronts the murderer. All this happens while her husband is away on a top-secret mission for the RAF, so Ann has to deal with everything on her own. Thankfully Ann is more than up to the task and devotes herself to solving the crime. Readers who have not yet discovered the delights of the Ann's War Mystery series will find this book to be the best place to start.
Best Biography
A Soldier Returns Home
by Yoram Eshet-Alkalai
A Soldier Returns Home by Yoram Eshet-Alkalai is an inspiring memoir of a war veteran reclaiming his life. Yoram was a young paratrooper in 1973 during the war between Israel and its Arab neighbors. The father of one is sent on a daring commando operation behind the Egyptian army lines when he suffers a head injury. It leaves him paralyzed, blind, and unconscious, but when he wakes he finds that he can't read, write, think clearly or even orient himself. In this stirring book, the author describes the horrors of war as well as the odyssey of rehabilitation that was needed for him to regain his cognitive and motor skills.
Best Children's Book
The Eye of Ra
by Ben Gartner
The Eye of Ra by Ben Gartner is the story of John and his sister Sarah who end up time traveling to ancient Egypt after exploring a mysterious cave in the mountains behind their house. With no parents around to save them the two siblings have to figure out how to get back home on their own. It's not going to be easy as the duo has to face everything from cobras, scorpions, tomb robbers and more. Luckily the two kids can trust each other and make friends along the way who can assist them with the challenges. The Eye of Ra is packed with the kinds of adventures that kids love and the fantastic setting will keep them entertained throughout.
Best Young Adult
Wolf of the Tesseract
by Christopher D. Schmitz
Wolf of the Tesseract by Christopher D. Schmitz features a world underneath our own reality where magic and science are just two sides of the same coin. It is in this world where Claire Jones finds herself after she is abducted by a shape-shifting hobo and carried off through a dimensional gate. Here Claire discovers that a powerful sorcerer believes that she is the key to summoning his dark god. This leaves Claire with the choice of running from her destiny forever or reclaiming a mythic weapon to end the sorcerer's reign of terror. With the consequences of failure being Sh'logath's cataclysmic power being unleashed upon the universe there's a lot of pressure on Claire to make the right choice in this riveting young adult novel.
Best Fantasy
Born of Water
by Autumn M. Birt
Fans of epic fantasy novels found a lot to love about Born of Water by Autumn M. Birt. It's the first book in the Rise of the Firth Order series and is full of elemental magic as well as epic fantasy adventure. The setting is Myrrah, a mythic world where the Church of Four Orders rules. Ria is a 16-year old in possession of forbidden gifts that make her the target of a creature known as the Curse. There is a way to defeat the Curse but to discover what it is Ria has to set out on a dangerous adventure with a group of others. Their stories are just as interesting as Ria's, which is one of the things that make Born of Water a book that is hard to put down.
Best Historical Fiction
The Art of Love
by A. B. Michaels
The Art of Love by A. B. Michaels is the first novel in the Golden City series of historical fiction novels. The story is set during America's Gilded Age and features an unforgettable journey from the last frontier of the Yukon Territory all the way to the boomtown of San Francisco. The protagonist, August Wolff, has dug up a fortune from the frozen fields of the Klondike, but the unsolved disappearance of his wife and daughter sees him heading south to the "Golden City" to put it all behind him. Then there's Amelia Starling, who moves to San Francisco to further her career where she meets August. Although it is part of a series, The Art of Love is also a stand-alone read.
Best Horror
Zombie City
By Charlie Dalton
Zombies are a regular staple of the horror genre, but Charlie Dalton manages to keep things fresh in Zombie City, the first novel in his Death Squad series. The protagonist is a military vet named Tommy Wilson who is tasked to evacuate the survivors of a deadly virus outbreak in a US city. However, when his crack team arrives they can't find the civilians anywhere and instead has to deal with the undead and self-destructive cults. This leaves them with no choice except to escape before the military wipes the city off the map. However, there is more to the virus than what meets the eye and discovering the truth leaves Tommy questioning where his loyalties lie.
Best Literary Fiction
Flying Fossils
by Lynne Gentry
Flying Fossils by Lynne Gentry is her first book in the Women of Fossil Ridge series. This small town, generational series has won over many readers thanks to its warmth, humor, and heart. In Flying Fossils Sara breaks her hip, which leaves her unable to care for herself, which forces her daughter Charlotte to return home to Texas. However, Charlotte discovers that her mother needs long-term care, instead of the short-term caregiving plan that she had in mind. This leaves Charlotte with the impossible task of not just juggling a high-pressure job and a rebellious teenage daughter, but also Sara, who is slightly demented. Flying Fossils is a must-read for fans of books that explore mother/daughter relationships.
Best Science Fiction
Hidden From Our Eyes
by James A. Fisher
Hidden From Our Eyes by James A. Fisher is a science fiction novel with an alternate history twist. The protagonist, Tom Hathaway, is a student pilot from 1976 Virginia Beach. However, after stepping through a stone archway Tom finds himself in a world where America was never founded. Instead, only a few Vikings and a Christian priest or two can be found inhabiting North America, which is now called Vinlandia. This means that Tom has to quickly adapt to the ways of the Vinlandians if he has any hope of surviving. His new life is filled with adventure, but Tom hasn't completely forgotten about the world that he has left behind.
Best Paranormal
The Aura
by Carrie Bedford
The Aura is the first in the Kate Benedict series of paranormal mystery novels by Carrie Bedford. Kate is a London architect with the unusual ability to be able to see a dancing aura above the heads of people who are going to die soon. Kate struggles to cope with her newfound abilities and seeing as nobody really believes her when she tells them about her talent she has no choice except to turn detective herself. Kate doesn't quite understand her supernatural abilities, nor does she really want to believe in them, but she has no choice when the murderer begins to catch on that she knows too much.
Best Non-Fiction
Flying High Through the Course of Life
by Dr. Orna Markus Ben-Zvi
It is a sad fact of reality that a lot of people live with fear, anger, stagnation, discrimination and negative feelings. In this book by Dr. Orna Markus Ben-Zvi readers are presented with 200 practical suggestions and guidance for a life of self-fulfillment. The modern world is filled with challenges, whether it involves parenthood, education, gender and more, so the guidance of Flying High Through the Course of Life has helped many readers.
