We have survived another month of 2026, my friends! I have run away from North Carolina, where the pollen is trying to murder me, and am hiding in my home state as I write this monthly wrap up. I am so excited to talk about the books I read and loved this past month, even as I look forward to the beginning of two months of new releases that I am SO EXCITED about. Rites of the Starling and The Paris Match drop on Tuesday and I, for one, cannot wait. But before we get to new releases, let’s talk about the books that I have already completed…
5 Star Reads
As you can tell, a great month of 5 stars for me. Were three of them rereads? Yes, but they still count! Project Hail Mary was “Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!” and I am so excited to FINALLY watch the movie today with my dad and sister. We’ve all three read the book so I think it will be so fun to watch the movie together now too. The Names by Florence Knapp is more of a literary fiction than what I typically read, but it features one of my favorite tropes which is being able to see how one decision can affect someone’s life in really big or small ways. Finlay Donovan Crosses the Line is just too much fun. I had a sort of ARC so I reviewed it here if you want to see more of my thoughts. The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez was so angst-y and had me stressed about how the heck we were going to get an HEA. I loved it. I really liked the characters so much. She said she spent two years writing this one and I think the care that she took is evident. I really liked it.
Then we have my rereads… Shield of Sparrows remains a perfect romantasy to me. It has everything that I want. I am so excited for the sequel. SO EXCITED. Archangel’s Sun is my favorite book in the entire Guild Hunters series and may or may not be the reason that the others I re-read this month are not five stars because they simply don’t compare to this one. And finally, Slave to Sensation, which is a five star as it should be because the Psy-Changeling series is perfect.
4.5 Stars
Anderson in Bloom, No Place Like You, and Silver & Blood were all ARC reads and therefore reviews are posted of each of the three books. If you click the title of the book you’re interested in from the last sentence, it will take you to the review! The short version for Anderson in Bloom is that it was an angsty, truly fantastic book of yearning sapphics and that was a delight. For No Place Like You, I absolutely devoured the first three quarters of the book but what I wanted and what the last quarter gave diverged slightly. As to Silver & Blood, there’s just something about Mihalik’s writing that works SO well with my brain. I wish I knew what it was well enough to ask for more books by authors who also write in this way.
Then for my three 4.5 star Guild Hunters books, each of these books are great, they really are. They just aren’t as great as Archangel’s Sun because nothing is better than Titus and Sharine. I could read that book on repeat, tbh. Oh, but focusing, I think that Archangel’s Light feels a little incomplete somehow despite nearly 400 pages, and then Lineage and Ascension both just do a lot of jumping around in ways that I support but also don’t love, if that makes sense. So great books, just not the perfection that is Sun.
4 Stars
Archangel’s War and Archangel’s Resurrection are two books that are great, but not my favorites. I think I struggle somewhat when the GH books span eons of time like Resurrection. I am okay with flashbacks, but Resurrection requires the build up of various times far more than just flashbacks and that’s not the easiest for my brain.
Forget Me Not was a good read; it was a quick audiobook. I liked it, but didn’t love it. Two Can Play was really fun, but not my favorite Ali Hazelwood.
ACOTAR is not my favorite book of SJM’s and I’m praying I will actually love my reread of ACOMAF because if not, I’m just skipping ahead to Silver Flames and then skipping Crescent City entirely and re-reading Throne of Glass for the fourth time. Some days I just really have my own favorites and I’m not interested in looking outside of those.
There’s an ARC review of This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me posted, but also, I’m already tempted to reread it because I think a reread will help me understand the world better, which I think will help me like it more. But mostly I think I need the romantic arc to play out more, which requires waiting for the next two books, so… Who knows. There are also ARC reviews of the Jenny Lawson and Olivia Dade so I’m not going to belabor the point for those.
A Vow in Vengeance created such a huge world and I was absolutely invested in reading it by the end, but it was slow to kick off for me. I think because I was so baffled by who the love interest was going to be because every man was giving bland until finally the prince stepped up and started giving good banter.
3 Stars
I wish I liked this, but I do also feel like it’s not the most fair for me to rate since I haven’t read the earlier books in the series, even if this was one I picked up thinking it was a standalone. Anyway, there’s an ARC review posted if you’re interested.
#SpringIntoLoveBingo Update
I counted Forget Me Not for Multiple Proposals. A Vow in Vengeance for Latinx Representation, Slave to Sensation for Published Pre-2016, Shield of Sparrows for Reread, Anderson in Bloom for HEA, This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me for Audiobook, Archangel’s Ascension for Established Relationship, and No Place Like You for Field. So 8/25 at the end of March. Not bad, but not great. If you’re participating, how is it going for you?
Closing Thoughts
I really meant to have this posted sooner, but you know, that just didn’t happen. But my favorite book of the month was absolutely Project Hail Mary. I finally saw the movie and really loved it too! I’m especially fond of the people who are now knitting one of the cardigans Ryan Gosling was wearing in the movie. I love that so much. Anyway, what was your favorite book of March? Let me know!
xx
firewhiskeyreader 