Carried Over from Last Month’s TBR

I actually read ALL of the books on my April TBR, so I don’t have anything for this section! Yay!

New Releases

I think for New Releases, I should put them on my TBR as ‘Possibles’ or ‘Bonus’ books, since while I intend to buy them, I may not, or they may not release in enough time for me to pick them up and read them.

One of my favorite topics to watch on YouTube is aviation, but in particular accidents and incidents. My nerdy brain loves the puzzle of figuring out what when wrong with the complex machinery, human factors, atmospheric influences, and other contributing factors, and the challenge of taking each story and seeing how it can be used to make flight safer. I wish this kind of investigation and self-reflection were a part of the culture for every industry, to be honest. In addition to Mentour Pilot, 74 Gear, Disaster Breakdown, Green Dot Aviation, Mayday: Air Disasters, and Pilot Debrief, I have been following Captain Steeeve for a while. Captain Steeeve’s 13 Rules for Life is marketed as a “flight plan for life.” I like to support the people that I spend so much time watching (there’s some kind of emotional connection created when you pay attention to someone’s story closely), so I’ll likely pick this up and give it a go. I have this marked as releasing on April 30, but it actually looks like it was published back on February 26.

Fury Bound is the sequel to Dire Bound, which was recommended to me by my friend, Kelly. I haven’t managed to read Dire Bound yet, so I’m trying not to spoil myself by reading the blurb of sequels too closely, if I haven’t read the preceding book. I think I will put Dire Bound on my TBR as a Possible. It is expected to release on May 5.

Also releasing on May 5 is Our Perfect Storm. This is a friends-to-lovers trope where the friends part seems like it’s pretty volatile. So much so that Frankie isn’t sure that George is going to show up as Best Man at her wedding. He does, and the next day she’s left at the altar. Hmmm…. Then, George convinces her to still go on her planned honeymoon… with him. I have enjoyed Carley Fortune’s books. Several of her previous ones have been set in Canada at cabins on the lake (which feels very much like summertime Michigan, so nostalgic, in a way, for me), while this one takes us to a new location of Tofino. Yes, I had to Google that. It’s a small town in the Vancouver Islands. It’s kind of fun that they are going to be honeymooning in the area where I got engaged. It’s not necessary for me to relate quite this hard to characters in order to appreciate a story, but I have to say, I don’t think it hurts!

Another May 5 release is Sweet Vengeance, which is Book 3 in The Calder Academy series. I binge-read the Crave series a few years ago, and this series is a spin-off from that. It’s kind of that guilty pleasure YA romance/thriller type of series that is entirely fluffy and enjoyable. I know that I’ve read Sweet Nightmare, which is Book 1, but somehow I missed Sweet Chaos, Book 2… Hmmm… Goodreads says that it’s expected publication date is November 3, 2026; Amazon says it’s November 2, 2027. I’m confused…. Book 3 is being published before Book 2???

Broken Dove is the sequel to Silver Elite, another book that I haven’t read yet. Ugh! I have a copy of Silver Elite, right? Somewhere? Now I have to search the house…. Yes! There it is! I got it as a Book of the Month selection, so it’s on my BOTM bookcase. You can get your copy of Broken Dove this Tuesday, May 5.

First and Forever! This book officially releases on May 12, but I was lucky enough to read an ARC version in February and loved it, 4.5 stars! After being harassed by a team mascot at a game and accidentally hurting him, Duffy is hated by the other fans, who only saw her being mean to the beloved mascot. On the other side, the team’s management is worried about the harassment part of the encounter and try to patch things up with Duffy by setting her up with a private meeting/date with one of the players.

Also coming out on May 12 is Hart’s Landing by Melanie Harlow. Melanie is a local author that I’ve had the privilege of meeting in person. I’ve read her Cherry Tree Harbor series (5 books) and enjoyed them, so I am looking forward to this new book. This book will be offered on Kindle Unlimited, so I could read for free, but I will likely pick up a physical copy – the sprayed edges look so cute on it! The story follows Mila and Everett. Mila left town after a huge fire, leaving behind a lot of suspicion and her former crush. Everett, now the mayor of the small town, runs into the girl that got away, but there are still questions remaining about the reason she left in the first place. So, maybe a bit of mystery with our romance in this one.

The Ballad of Falling Dragons – what is it with the new releases this month?! Why are they all calling me out with sequels to books I have not read yet (but meant to)?! This book is the sequel to When the Moon Hatched, which I own and which has a lot of great reviews, but also which I have not yet managed to read.

Sigh. It’s looking more and more that my TBR will be filled with a lot of backlist titles – probably as ‘Possibles’ instead of actually fully committing to reading them. I’d rather be pleasantly pleased that I made progress on my list of Bonus books than disappointed in myself for not accomplishing a goal. Thankfully, this is just my personal TBR and I will not be graded on it and it’s not cheating if I architect it to my advantage!

Book Club Picks

For my brother’s Moon Lit Bookclub selection for May, we will be reading The Inadequate Heir by Danielle L. Jensen. Last month was the first time that his book club had selected a sequel as the monthly choice, and this month is the first time we have selected a third book in a series! I started reading it as soon as I finished The Traitor Queen, but have only made it to page 14 so far. In this sequel, we leave Lara and Aren behind and follow her brother, Keris, and Zarrah, who is the General of the country his people are at war with. I think this book is mainly a prequel to the first two books in the series, but it may go up to current events or beyond. It’s always questionable for me when a series changes focus from one set of protagonists to another set. I get invested in the original characters, and for me, if I’m not attached to the characters, I will not generally enjoy the book.

For my brother’s Welcome to the Apocalypse book club, we will be reading Resistance by Mark Tufo, which is the sequel to last month’s Reset from the After the Pulse series. I also started reading this one in April, and am 42 pages/11% in. It starts out 3 years from the events in Book 1 and is narrated like you know what’s been going on the whole time, so it’s a bit jarring and confusing at the beginning. But through the device of a journalist doing interviews with the characters, we start to learn what happened in the intervening years. Apparently, there are now aliens who have invaded. I swear I just finished Reset and I do not recall this from the end of the book. Did I miss it?

(Overdue) Library Books

Okay, I don’t have any overdue library books at the moment, but I did place a couple holds last month. I read Star Shipped last month. The other is for Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune. I didn’t realize it when I put in the hold, but the Carley Fortune’s book isn’t going to be released until May 5. I’ll add it as a ‘Possible’ for the TBR, because I don’t know if I’ll get ahold of a copy this month due to the sheer number of people who are in the hold queue ahead of me.

Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune – I think this is a standalone book. It features Frankie and George, childhood friends who have always had a volatile on/off relationship. Frankie invites George to be her best man at her wedding, not knowing if he will actually make an appearance. He does, but then her fiancé calls it off the next morning. Confused and heartbroken, she agrees to George’s request to go on her planned honeymoon with him, as a last chance to repair their friendship.

Random Selections

Everybody’s Favorite Guy by Katherine Center – Lily fell in love with her childhood friend, Walker, who ended up rejecting her. Seven years later, they are trapped together in a snowed in cabin in the Rockies.

Books Ahoy Readathon

My friend, Monica, is hosting the Books Ahoy Readathon in her Facebook group, Let’s Peanut Butter Taco ‘Bout Books. It will take place from Monday, May 25 – Sunday, May 31, 2026. The prompts are:

• Bon Voyage (a great first line)
• Sailor’s Delight (bestseller’s list)
• All Aboard (includes a boat)
• Make Waves (water on cover)
• Anchor (main character returns to hometown)
• Whatever Floats Your Boat (favorite genre)
• Smooth Sailing (a book you can sail through)

As a Navy veteran, how could I not participate in this readathon?! (I mean, obvs, I would participate anyway….)

Monica also sells coordinating stickers for the readathon via her Etsy shop, PeanutButterTaco, so I will be certain to pop over there and place an order.

Here are some nautical considerations:

Love Overboard by Kandi Steiner – This is a book that can be read for free via Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited subscription. It is a second-chance romance between Ember and Finn, who end up working together on the same yacht. To complicate things, Ember is starring in a reality TV show, so their interactions will be on the air for the masses.

Return to Me by Kelly Moran – A second-chance romance that starts out the way that so many of them do: two kids, one rich (the other presumably not), fall in love, some catastrophic event occurs that breaks them apart, fast-forward to present day. Now, Cole is back from the military and Mia returns to their small, coastal town as a private nurse in charge of Cole’s care.

Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans by Joanne DeMaio – Maris leaves her life in Chicago’s denim fashion industry for a coastal New England experience where she reconnects with old friends and savors a different pace of life while she settles her father’s estate.

Breathe by Abbi Glines – Forced to stand in for her pregnant mother as a domestic servant for the summer, Sadie is surprised to find her new boss is Jax, one of the hottest teen rockers in the world.

The Little Bookshop by the Sea by Eliza J. Scott – Florrie lives an idyllic life by the sea as a bookseller, until tragedy strikes and she has to work with her bookstore owner’s grandson, Ed to try to save it. She finds some mysterious, yellowed letters in the back room, but these are not the only secrets she has to contend with.

Summer on Lilac Island by Lindsay MacMillan – Newly unemployed Gigi finds herself living with her mother on Mackinac Island. Summer resident James works as an author, but Gigi swears his main job is irritating her. This is as much a story about Gigi’s relationship with her mother, as it is a romance.

My Greek Island Summer by Mandy Baggot – House-sitter Becky and Businessman Elias are thrown together when their plane to Greece has an emergency landing. They are more surprised when they run into each other again at the same villa.

Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean – STEM-loving Savannah is dumped by her boyfriend for being too boring, so she embarks on an Alaskan adventure to prove that she knows how to have fun… except, she kind of doesn’t. Insert Tanner, her long-time nemesis, who agrees to help her expand her horizons.

Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant – What if mermaids are real? What if they hate humans? After some filmmakers go missing at sea while making a “mockumentary” about legendary sea creatures, one of the crew’s sister returns to find out exactly what happened.

The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty – Amina is a famous Indian Ocean pirate who is looking forward to retirement and the good life, when a colleague’s mother asks her to retrieve her granddaughter for a princely sum. However, the girl’s disappearance is more complicated than first anticipated.

The “Possibles” List

The Replacement by Liv Constantine – The Amazon First Reads program (where Amazon Prime members get a free Kindle book every month) has recently been offering a bonus short story as well. There’s no downside to also selecting the bonus, so I pick it up every month. A Hollywood A-lister, who has fallen out of the limelight, but is trying to make her way back falls in with an up-and-coming costar who becomes her protege. But, this is a thriller, so bad things are coming…

Two Lives with You by Lauren Ho – This follows Dana and Nigel, a couple each struggling with their work situations, who receive a magical reprieve from their lives to explore what might have been if they had not married. What will happen when they run into each other in this alternate reality? And what does it mean when their magical wish has a catch?

Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth – Elegy is a soldier fighting against the Talusar. One day, she is brought together with one of the Talusar’s generals to hear a prophecy: one of them will lead their people to victory over the other, but they don’t know which. Also, there is a man central to both of them whom Elegy is told that she will fall in love with.

Final List

My final initial TBR for March consists of 3 books, and 21 bonus books:

• The Inadequate Heir by Danielle L. Jensen
• Resistance by Mark Tufo
• Everybody’s Favorite Guy by Katherine Center
  — Bonus —
• Captain Steeeve’s 13 Rules for Life by Steve Scheibner
• Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen
• Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
• Sweet Chaos by Tracy Wolff
• Sweet Vengeance by Tracy Wolff
• Silver Elite by Dani Francis
• Hart’s Landing by Melanie Harlow
• When the Moon Hatched by Sarah A. Parker
• Love Overboard by Kandi Steiner
• Return to Me by Kelly Moran
• Blue Jeans and Coffee Beans by Joanne DeMaio
• Breathe by Abbi Glines
• The Little Bookshop by the Sea by Eliza J. Scott
• Summer on Lilac Island by Lindsay MacMillan
• My Greek Island Summer by Mandy Baggot
• Hearts Overboard by Becky Dean
• Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
• The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty
• The Replacement by Liv Constantine
• Two Lives with You by Lauren Ho
• Seek the Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth

Carried Over from Last Month’s TBR

Sunk in Love is currently sitting just to the left of me on my office desk. It follows Roslyn and Liam, a married couple, who after 5 years have separated and are headed toward divorce. However, in her family where everyone but her is a doctor, Roslyn is the black sheep. She’s only redeemed by the fact that she’s married to Liam, who is a doctor and beloved by Ros’s family. So, when her family grows suspicious of Ros’s continued excuses for Liam’s absence at family functions and her grandparents request/demand that Liam preside over their vow renewal, she convinces Liam to fake a happily married relationship for the duration of the vow renewal cruise.

New Releases

I think for New Releases, I should put them on my TBR as ‘Possibles’ or ‘Bonus’ books, since while I intend to buy them, I may not, or they may not release in enough time for me to pick them up and read them.

American Fantasy is a story about a recently divorced Annie who is bullied by her sister to take a cruise on a boat featuring her favorite boy band from her youth. Can she form a real and lasting romantic connection with one of her childhood crushes, in a sea of other middle-aged fans? Expected release on April 7.

I’m not sure how The Book Witch crossed my radar. Rainy March is a book witch who can enter book worlds to defend them from attacks from within (rogue heroes) and without (malicious alterations). She’s been forbidden to see the Duke of Chicago, at the risk of her magic, but when her grandfather disappears, she needs the Duke’s help. I’m not sure if magical realism is my jam, but it sounds like it might be a cute read. Release date is April 7.

The Escape Game by its nature as a YA murder mystery is not normally a book I would gravitate to; however, I have liked Marissa Meyer’s writing (and the Cinder series), and the cast of characters – with a cryptographer, math whiz, game master, and potential murderer – reminds me a little of Ready Player One, so I’m willing to give it a shot. Expected April 7.

While scouring bookseller websites and YouTube videos to try and find out what books are coming out in April, Ally Condie’s name jumped off the screen to me. I enjoyed the Matched series, so I’m interested to see if I will like her adult mystery/thriller, The Girls Trip. In this story, Hope (actress), Ash (internet personality), and Caro (doctor) who met in an online book club and are not meeting in person. Each of them has reasons to want to escape their daily life and they choose to meet up at a National Park. But what happens when one of them disappears? Releases April 7.

I first discovered Beth O’Leary in Swept Away, which was a cute closed-door romance where the protagonists literally get swept away to sea. In The Name Game, two people named Charlie Jones arrive at a remote island, expecting to me the new farm-shop manager. It sounds like lighthearted shenanigans will ensue. Release day on April 7.

The bright, candy colors of the cover are what initially drew my attention to The Paris Match. Their marriage ended amicably, but only about a year later might be too soon for Layla to face the former in-laws and attend her ex-sister-in-law’s wedding. When she inadvertently gives the bride cold feet, the groom’s best man forces her to help him fix it. Expected April 7.

My friend, Kelly, introduced me to Shield of Sparrows, and we are both eagerly anticipating Book 2! Finally, we will get Rites of the Starling on April 7. Now that I have read The Bridge Kingdom, this feels like it will be a bit similar with many kingdoms that have different resources and try to solve their political strife with marrying their children to build alliances.

I am committed to reading all of Olivia’s National Parks books, and I hope that she writes one for each of the 63 National Parks. We just got Off-Limits Love in Shenandoah and now we are getting Tenor Willits Gets the Yips on April 10. These are self-published, so the release date is a little different from the other books, and I was only able to pre-order the ebook version from Amazon Kindle. I have paperback copies of the other two books, so I’m hopeful that once the release day comes, I’ll be able to order a physical copy. I think this book is more of a novella than a full novel at 159 pages. We met the MMC, Tenor Willits, in Off-Limits Love in Shenandoah, where he has been working with Lynette to overcome his “yips,” and heads to the Petrified Forest for a brief break from his demanding sport.

Stay for a Spell just sounds like fun! Princess Tandy hates princess duty and being cursed to remain in a bookshop until she unlocks her heart’s desire seems like a reward instead of a curse. However, back at home her princess duties are piling up and her parents are frantic to get her back, so they start sending princes to woo her back. The magic happens on April 14.

The Thorn Queen is the sequel to The Rose Bargain and releases on April 14. I purchased, but have not yet read the first book yet, but I am interested in it and might pick up book 2 this month.

Book Club Picks

For my brother’s Moon Lit Bookclub selection for April, we will be reading The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen. This is the first time that his book club has selected a sequel as the monthly choice. I started reading it as soon as I finished The Bridge Kingdom, but I’m only 18% of the way through it. In this sequel, Lara’s husband has been captured by her father and she has to rescue him, as well as check on the status of her warrior sisters, who were raised alongside her to be weapons for their father.

For my brother’s Welcome to the Apocalypse book club, we will be reading Reset by Mark Tufo. Life as we know it has come to a sudden halt after an EMP goes off. This book focuses on some unlikely heroes (an addict, two pre-teens, and a person with a terminal illness) trying to survive. This book was available for ‘free’ (thanks, subscription), via Kindle Unlimited.

A local independent bookstore, Love & Other Books, has between 4-5 book clubs across different topics/genres each month. This month, I managed to catch the events before all of the spots were sold out and Star Shipped sounded like the most fun read. It follows two actors on a long-running sci-fi show who can’t stand each other. Simon finally gets to leave the show at the end of his contract, but he doesn’t want it to look like he was fired for being difficult to work with (even if he kind of is hard to work with). Charlie is wild, outgoing, and beloved by everyone on set, and just the PR solution that Simon needs. Could a fake friendship save Simon’s reputation? What happens if the fake friendship turns into a real relationship?

(Overdue) Library Books

Okay, I don’t have any overdue library books at the moment, but I did just place a couple holds, so I’ll add these to the TBR as ‘Possibles,’ since it depends on when the holds will become available. One of the holds is for Star Shipped, listed above. The other is for Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune. I didn’t realize it when I put in the hold, but the Carley Fortune book isn’t going to be released until May 5.

Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune – I think this is a standalone book. It features Frankie and George, childhood friends who have always had a volatile on/off relationship. Frankie invites George to be her best man at her wedding, not knowing if he will actually make an appearance. He does, but then her fiancé calls it off the next morning. Confused and heartbroken, she agrees to George’s request to go on her planned honeymoon with him, as a last chance to repair their friendship.

Random Selections

The Girlfriend Zone by Lauren Blakely – I started reading this book almost a year ago on April 20, 2025 and recently picked it back up again. I have been enjoying Lauren’s books, especially this series, even though they are on the edge of being too spicy for my preference. This is an age-gap romance, where Miles is given a second chance at his NHL career after a severe injury and is hoping to impress the coach and be given a co-captain position on his new team. He meets and has a steamy encounter with Leighton, before finding out that she’s off-limits as one of his new coach’s daughters. I’m pretty far into the book at this point and will likely finish it early in the month.

The “Possibles” List

Mayhem and the Mortal by Shanora Williams – I received an ARC of this book by Entangled/Red Tower Books. It arrived taped up in a plastic note with a note from the post office. The box it was in was completely destroyed and the book inside was terribly mangled as well. I feel so sorry for this poor book! The blurb on the back sounds very exciting: To save her sister from a soul-devouring curse, Zaira has to cross a nightmare landscape with the help of Thane Valkor, an assassin and walking red flag. It sounds like this book may have had to cross a nightmare landscape to make it to my house!

The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith – This is the first book in the series, and the second book is in the New Releases section above. I already own this book, so it would make sense if I were to finally read it in time to buy the next book in the series. It’s billed as a Regency-era YA Fantasy, so it’s got a lot going on! London has been under the control of an immortal fae queen, who tries to save her evil reputation by allowing each person to bargain for their deepest desire. Ivy thinks that marrying Prince Bram will solve her family’s problems and joins the competition for his hand in marriage.

Lift Me Up by Milly Johnson – This was a bonus free short story from the Amazon First Reads program. Tam was promoted at work to acting Managing Director, but then her job was taken from her and given to Jack. When they are stuck together in an elevator, he recognizes her capability which inspires her to fight for her true self.

The Final System by Anthony Tardiff – This was a free selection from the Amazon First Reads program. A vigilante hacker and a young politician risk everything to destroy a chilling new advancement in artificial intelligence. Jason is seeking revenge for his sister, and Chloe is realizing that the world that her daughter is growing up in is slowly losing its humanity.

Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood – After being fired from her dream job, Annie applies for a tech job she is not qualified for, but she tries to make up for her lack of coding skill with the social skills her nerdy coworkers lack. She also has to attend her sister’s second engagement party, to a man that Annie knows is the absolute worst. What makes this more excruciating is that Annie ruined her sister’s first engagement party, and her sister has not forgiven her.

Final List

My final initial TBR for March consists of 6 books, and 14 bonus books:

• Sunk in Love by Heather McBreen
• Tenor Willits Gets the Yips by Olivia Hope McCarthy
• The Traitor Queen by Danielle L. Jensen
• Reset by Mark Tufo
• Star Shipped by Cat Sebastian
• The Girlfriend Zone by Lauren Blakely
  — Bonus —
• American Fantasy by Emma Straub
• The Book Witch by Meg Shaffer
• The Escape Game by Marissa Meyer
• The Girls Trip by Ally Condie
• The Name Game by Beth O’Leary
• The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
• Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry
• Stay for a Spell by Amy Coombe
• The Thorn Queen by Sasha Peyton Smith
• Mayhem and the Mortal by Shanora Williams
• The Rose Bargain by Sasha Peyton Smith
• Lift Me Up by Milly Johnson
• The Final System by Anthony Tardiff
• Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood

Carried Over from Last Month’s TBR

Throne of Secrets by Kerri Maniscalco – I have been reading this little by little throughout February. It is sitting on my nightstand and I try to read every evening; however, usually I don’t get very far before I turn off the lights and go to sleep. It is an interesting story so far. This is Book #2 in the series and the Prince of Gluttony is fighting a secret threat to his circle that involves the ice dragons to the north of his territory. At the same time, a young reporter is trying to feed her ungrateful family by writing about the Prince’s exploits.

New Releases

Just Friends by Haley Pham – Most people know of Haley’s husband, Ryan Trahan, as a popular YouTube personality, but I found Haley’s YouTube channel first and enjoyed her bookish content. Once I start enjoying someone’s content, I do like to support them when I can. I also like that Haley prefers closed-door/low spice romances herself and is proud of her Christian faith, so I’m eager to see how this reflects in her first novel. It tells the story of Blair and Declan, childhood friends-to-lovers, who suffer some kind of traumatic event that disrupts their relationship. I’m interested in seeing how Haley navigates the dual timelines in her storytelling. This book releases on March 3.

Off-Limits Love in Shenandoah by Olivia McCarthy – Olivia is a local author who attends my church and writes closed-door romances and YA fantasy. This book is the second in her National Parks RomCom series and releases on March 6. I will 1000% read all of the books in this series, both to support Olivia, and also because I love National Parks and love seeing places I’ve been used as locations in novels. This story contains age gap and brother’s best friend tropes. The FMC, Lynette, runs into trouble hiking the Appalachian Trail and Ben comes to her rescue. While I haven’t been to Shenandoah National Park yet, I have hiked about 0.0002% of the Appalachian Trail! (Yes, I did the math.)

Toe to Toe by Falon Ballard – Releasing on March 10, this follows Allegra, a principle ballerina who is told that she needs to work on her sex appeal. Enter Cord, who needs help choreographing a partner piece for his show. While I do love sports romances, those set in the dance world have been hit-or-miss for me, but something in the blurb caught my attention when I was perusing the anticipated releases.

The Wings That Bind by Briar Boleyn – Also releasing on March 10, this is the third book in the Bloodwing Academy series. I pre-ordered the special edition to match the first book, On Wings of Blood, which I read and liked. I do not yet have the second book in the series (I think I’m waiting to see if they publish a matching edition), so I’ll likely not add this book to my TBR this month. I didn’t read the blurb too much, because I didn’t want any spoilers.

Beneath by Ariel Sullivan – Releasing on March 24, this is a prequel to Conform. I have a copy of Conform, but I haven’t read it yet, so while I may pick up this book this month, I won’t be officially adding it to my TBR. This book is set hundreds of years before Conform and follows characters 6 years after a nuclear disaster.

The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez – Abby’s novels have been consistently enjoyable for me, so it’s no surprise that I added this one to my list as soon as I heard that a new book would be releasing on March 31. Since it’s releasing so late in the month, I won’t be adding it to the TBR. I’m a little confused by the blurb. It sounds like Larissa connected with a guy during a car ride home from a concert, but then gets into a relationship with his best friend. Did the boyfriend steal his friend’s identity? So curious…. This is a sequel to Say You’ll Remember Me.

What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally – Being the only boat leaving the marina as the dark clouds roll in sounds like a bad idea to start with. The boat is chartered by Emma’s new boyfriend, but is he an innocent victim of the weather alongside Emma, her best friend, Hannah, and her brother, Jackson, or is something more sinister going on? We will find out March 31. I also will not be adding this book to my official March TBR, due to the late-in-the-month publication date.

Book Club Picks

For my brother’s Moon Lit Bookclub selection for March, we will be reading The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen. Raised as a warrior to fulfill her father’s revenge against another kingdom, Lara is sent as a peace offering to be the rival king’s bride.

For my brother’s Welcome to the Apocalypse book club, we will be reading The Girl in Red by Christina Henry. A post-apocalyptic Little Red Riding Hood retelling.

Overdue Library Books

Now that I’ve finally gotten that email from the library, letting me know that they will no longer auto-renew my selections and I really, really need to finally return them… I will put them on my TBR so that I can actually read them and then get them back.

Deep End by Ali Hazelwood – Two elite athletes working through the stressors of college life, high level competitions, and past traumas. Do they have a no-strings agreement, or something more permanent?

One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune – This is the sequel to Every Summer After, where we are now following Charlie’s (Sam’s brother) story. The first book was very atmospheric and made me think back to my days at my cousins’ cabin on the lake in Michigan. I gave it 5 stars, so I have high expectations for this story. Alice once took a photo of three teens in a yellow speedboat, and that photo changed her life. Years later and now a photographer, Alice returns to the lake to help her Nan recover from an injury. Who else should return but one of the boys from the speedboat.

Random Selections

Sunk in Love by Heather McBreen – This was the February Romance Book Mail selection from Love & Other Books. Roslyn and Liam are headed for divorce after nine years, but before they can tell their family, they are asked to facilitate Roslyn’s grandparents’ vow renewal in Hawaii. Stuck on the cruise boat together, can they fake a healthy relationship long enough to actually repair what they have together?

The “Possibles” List

Only in Your Dreams by Ellie K. Wilde – I’m thinking about reading this one in March, solely because it has green clovers on the cover. Melody is newly dumped and now stuck on a camping trip with her brother’s best friend, Zac.

The Price of Honey by Liane Moriarty – This was the free short story offered through the Amazon First Reads program for being a Prime member. A tech billionaire’s widow and three ex-wives gather for his funeral and one final betrayal. Looks like this is Book 1 of the Deadly Ambition series, part of Amazon Original Stories.

Maybe It’s Fate by Heidi McLaughlin – This was my pick from the Amazon First Reads program. Antonia leaves her corporate life behind in order to raise her terminally ill best friend’s children. Will she fall for the present and supportive coach? The correct answer is yes. The only question is: Will this book make me cry?

The Names by Florence Knapp – This was a free selection from the 2025 Lolly Finalists. It explores the idea of your name determining your path in life and a young, abused wife deciding between three different names for her newborn son. In alternate timelines, we get to see what his life might be like for each name she considers.

How to Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh – This my Book of the Month pick for March. The daughter of a famous fantasy novelist is tasked with completing the last book in her late father’s series. Faced with writer’s block and a crumbling Irish estate, it doesn’t help that the publisher sends an editor to her doorstep to protect their investment.

Final List

My final initial TBR for March consists of 9 books, and 5 bonus books:

• Throne of Secrets by Kerri Maniscalco
• Just Friends by Haley Pham
• Off-Limits Love in Shenandoah by Olivia McCarthy
• Toe to Toe by Falon Ballard
• The Bridge Kingdom by Danielle L. Jensen
• The Girl in Red by Christina Henry
• Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
• One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
• Sunk in Love by Heather McBreen
  — Bonus —
• Only in Your Dreams by Ellie K. Wilde
• The Price of Honey by Liane Moriarty
• Maybe It’s Fate by Heidi McLaughlin
• The Names by Florence Knapp
• How to Write a Love Story by Catherine Walsh