Hi all. Happy Thursday and happy March!

To my regular viewers, thanks so much for your patience with my absence the last few weeks! I had a number of big and exciting projects hit my desk right in a row, and my goal is always to support my authors to my fullest extent, so the videos had to take a bit of a backseat.

I had a bit of a busy week the last couple of weeks so there were no new videos out, but we are back in action this week, and I’m so excited to dive into what you should be reading this month!

As a quick recap, these books were the contenders for my March review. So it goes without saying, they are all on my TBR. So let’s get into it!

March 2024 Book Recommendations

A Story Spun in Scarlet by R. Dugan

This book ended up being the pick for this month’s book review! A journey that combines love, power, and the heart of stories, I had a fabulous time reading this—my full review will be out next week, so stay tuned BUT you can get your your hands on it now to tell me what you think!

Floating Hotel by Grace Curtis

There has been a huge surge in cozy fantasy stories, which have been fabulous to dive into—if you haven’t had a chance, you should definitely check out Legends and Lattes, Emily Wilde’s Encyclopedia’s of Faeries, and The House Witch. So, as a huge fan of that trend, I am THRILLED to see the cozy vibe turning to sci fi as well!

Floating Hotel is the story of the Grand Abeona Hotel—the finest food, sweetest service, and best views the galaxy has to offer. As such a luxury, it is an absolute magnet for intrigue—why are there love poems in the lobby inbox? How many Imperial spies are on board? And perhaps the most important, who is driving the ship? Following one-time stowaway, and longtime manager, Carl, the reader is taken on a journey of mystery and chaos as he protects the only home he’s ever known.

I feel like this book is going to be so good, but I have a sneaking suspicion it is going to make me cry. Either way, it sounds amazing, and I can’t wait to get my hands on it on the 19th.

Baby X by Kira Peikoff

This book… the premise is wild:

When any biological matter can be used to create life, stolen celebrity DNA sells to the highest bidder–or the craziest stalker–in this propulsive thriller.

It is pitched with comps like Gattaca meets Black Mirror, and while I think those cops are a bit old—I’m curious how many of you are familiar with Gattaca still—it is the perfect way to describe this.

In the near-future United States, where advanced technology can create egg or sperm from any person’s cells, celebrities face the alarming potential of meeting biological children they never conceived. Famous singer Trace Thorne is tired of being targeted by the Vault, a black market site devoted to stealing DNA. Sick of paying ransom money for his own cell matter, he hires bio-security guard Ember Ryan to ensure his biological safety.

Ember will do anything she can to protect her clients. She knows all the Vault’s tricks–discarded tissues, used straws, lipstick tubes–and has prevented countless DNA thefts. Working for Thorne, her focus becomes split when she begins to fall for him, but she knows she hasn’t let anything slip–love or not, his DNA is safe. But then she and Thorne are confronted by a pregnant woman, Quinn, who claims that Thorne is the father of her baby, and all bets are off.

How insane, and yet terrifyingly possible, does that sound? I’m so excited to see how it turns out! This came out on March 5th, so you can snatch it up now.

The Poisons We Drink by Bethany Baptiste

I love when fantasy and urban fantasy meld to make the connection between potions, magic, and how they could cross over into a darker, narcotics vibe. It very much gives vibes of the Prospero’s War series by Jaye Wells, if you’re familiar.

In a country divided between humans and witchers, Venus Stoneheart hustles as a brewer making illegal love potions to support her family.

Love potions is 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, 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.

This book has politics, magic, illegals, high risks and more. It sounds like everything I’m looking for in an urban fantasy! This also came out on the fifth.

Those are my top picks for this month! What are you reading? Anything I should add to my TBR?

April Book Review

And now, what to read for April!

I’ve chosen these titles—comment below to vote on what I should read and review for next month:

A Burden of Ice and Bone by Kyra Whitton: A tale of courage, love, and self-discovery in a frozen kingdom, perfect for fans of Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik.
Dragon Rider by Taran Matharu: Can an orphan captive learn the secrets of the Dragon Riders to stand up and avenge his people?
The Atrocity Engine by Tim Waggenor: Men in Black meets Hellraiser in this rollicking mash-up of urban fantasy and cosmic horror from four-time Bram Stoker Award-Winning author Tim Waggoner.
Eye of the Ouroboros by Megan Bontrager: When guilt-stricken park ranger Theodora Buchanan gets too close to the truth of her sister Flora’s strange disappearance, the Federal Bureau of Reality intervenes to ensure that the otherworldly answers she finds never see the light of day…

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And until next time, keep reading!

March 2024 Book Recs