Books of the Month March 2022

Reading is an escape from reality's troubles and turmoils, and March has had its fair share of both. Fortunately, there were plenty of great books available for our readers to take a break and relax. So, for anyone else who wants to expand their reading list, here are the books of the month for March 2022 as chosen by our readers.

Best Romance

When We Let Go

by Delancey Stewart

When We Let Go by Delancey Stewart is a suspenseful small-town romance novel in the Kings Grove series. It is the story of Maddie, who is trying to get her life back on track after a bitter divorce from her husband, Jack. She never planned to live her life in a trailer in a tiny mountain town but figured that she was better off alone after Jack. Another thing that she didn't plan on was falling for Connor Charles, a man as compelling as he was frightening. When We Let Go features a suspenseful atmosphere along with a dose of humor and is perfect for fans of satisfying, happy ever afters.

Best Mystery & Thriller

The Girl Who Wants

by Amy Vansant

The Girl Who Wants is the first novel in The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series by Amy Vansant. After growing up skip tracing and hunting military criminals with her father, Mick, Shee McQueen knows how to take care of herself. However, she is forced underground when someone puts a bounty on her head. Unfortunately, when she resurfaces years later, she finds that her father was shot in the head by an unknown sniper and is in a coma. Shee's on a quest to recover the life and love she's lost, and her family's hotel seems like a good place to start. But, unfortunately, someone still wants her dead, it seems.

Best Biography

Letters From Captivity: The Israeli Pilot and his Wife

by Rami Rarpaz

Letters From Captivity: The Israeli Pilot and his Wife is the biography of Rami Harpaz. Rami worked as an Israeli pilot in 1970 when his Phantom Jet was shot down over Egypt. While his wife, Nurit, was entering the final month of her pregnancy, Rami was being held captive in an Egyptian prison. He would spend the next three and a half years as a prisoner while his wife gave birth to twin girls. Letters From Captivity chronicles the correspondence between Nurit and Rami and tells their story in the form of an epistolary novel.

Best Children's Novel

Through the Mirror and Into Snow

by Ann T. Bugg

Through the Mirror and Into Snow is the first book in the Before Happily Ever After series by Ann T. Bugg. It features a magic mirror that best friends Valerie and Samantha discover and eagerly go through, only to end up meeting Snow White. The girls vow to help her as she had just escaped the huntsman and soon realize that they are caught up in the middle of their favorite fairy tales. This results in an adventure where the girls use their knowledge of the stories as their weapon and even discover their own fairy godmother.

Best Young Adult

Chosen

by Katrina Cope

Chosen is part of the Valkyrie Academy Dragon Alliance books by Katrina Cope. Tara is a wingless Valkyrie in a society where only the ones with wings are seen as useful to the future of Asgard. However, she is determined to prove everyone wrong and breaks the rules in an effort to help reap warriors for Valhalla. Her actions incur the wrath of Mistress Sigrun and Odin, but then Tara realizes that a dragon is also stalking her.

Best Fantasy

Sinking City

by Megan Walker and Janci Patterson

Sinking City by Megan Walker is set in a world where powerful illusions and mind-bending magic hide the world of The Skilled away from ordinary people. These "typics" are blissfully unaware of the magic that burns and wars being waged on the streets of Venice. The city is ruled with an iron fist by the powerful Mardova family, who keeps their powers secret. However, the last thing Zan Madrova wants to do with his magical Skills is getting involved with Family politics. This changes when he discovers that a rival Family has brainwashed a beautiful typic girl named Ellie, and he begins to unravel a web of dangerous secrets with her at the center.

Best Historical Fiction

Claimed by the Viscount

by Mina Carter

Claimed by the Viscount is the first book in The Everly Club series by Anya Cade and Mina Carter. Sophia, the widowed Lady Pembrooke, tries to ignore the advances of the rakish Viscount Thornton while launching her younger sister into society. Things are going well until her brother challenges Thornton to cards and loses everything. While Thornton is known for his rakish ways and love of widows, he has been unsuccessful with the beautiful Lady Pembrooke. However, the situation with her brother gives Thornton the opportunity he wants to make her his, but the feeling she stirs in him is not what he expected.

Best Horror

Welcome to the Family

by R. K. Latch

Welcome to the Family by R.K. Latch is the first novel in the Winchester County Legends series. The story is set in 1944, Mississippi, where nine-year-old Wade is roaming the backwoods trying to survive on his own. However, Wade believes that his luck has changed when he encounters a well-dressed man who offers him a place to stay. At first, Wade believes that Luthor and his wife, Gabrielle, are charming people, but he soon discovers that people are not always what they seem.

Best Literary Fiction

Whispering Pines

by Kimberly Diede

Whispering Pines is the first novel in the uplifting Celia's Gifts series by Kimberly Diede. Renee's life has been consumed by raising kids alone and a demanding career, but she finds herself with unexpected time off when she is fired. So she takes the opportunity to take a spontaneous trip to Whispering Pines, the place that defined her childhood. Whispering Pines used to mean spending time with her favorite aunt, Celia, who used to remain her most steadfast confidant. However, the trip turns into more than just a way to soothe her battered pride when she finds another opportunity at love waiting for her at Whispering Pines.

Best Science Fiction

Space Murder

by Nikki Haverstock

Space Murder is part of the Captain Liz Laika Mysteries series by Nikki Haverstock. Liz used to be the star student in her training class, but a family scandal has seen her become an outcast and stuck in the worst post in the Fleet. Unfortunately, just keeping her head down is no longer an option when a Cerulean passenger is found decapitated, and she is framed for the murder. Clearing her name is also complicated by everything else she has to deal with, including kidnapping, ship-eating whales, and the reappearance of her ex-fiance.

Best Paranormal

Blood Moon

by Al K. Line

Blood Moon is book one in the Wildcat Wizard series from Al K. Line. The protagonist, Arthur "The Hat" Salzman finds himself in over his head when a simple job to steal an item becomes a lot more complicated. He finds himself in possession of something that every gangster, spook, and magic abuser in the city wants, and they are willing to kill him to get it. Fortunately, Arthur is backed up by his fairy godmother and a Stepford mom whose main goal in life is to be his sidekick.

Best Non-Fiction

Happier Thinking

by Lana Grace Riva

 

In Happier Thinking, Lana Grace Riva helps people to change what they think is possible instead of simply accepting unhappiness. It is filled with tips and suggestions that have helped her achieve happier thinking. The author refers to these as a sort of gym for the mind, and just like a real gym, it takes time, effort, and practice. However, the rewards are also absolutely worth the effort.