13 march 2022 releases: mostly standalone novels

March seems like an amazing month for book releases too. There are many books on this list that I’m aiming to read by the end of 2022. Is anyone even surprised that I’m adding more and more books to my TBR but I can’t seem to clear them all? I guess it’s all part of being a reader. I have a feeling I’m leaning more to standalone this year as compared to series. They just take up less investment, kinda? Somehow most of the books in the list are standalone novels instead of being part of a duology or a series.

Now, let’s see. Some new authors to me are Dhonielle Clayton, Sona Charaipotra, Aminah Mae Safi, and Traci Chee while Lizz Huerta and Judy I. Lin are debut authors. The rest I’ve at least read 1 book from.

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the rumor game
– dhonielle clayton & sona charaipotra

standalone
March 1st 2022 by Disney
age range: young adult
genre: mystery/thriller
rep: Black MC

All it takes is one spark to start a blaze.

At Foxham Prep, a posh private school for the children of DC’s elite, a single rumor has the power to ruin a life.

Nobody knows that better than Bryn. She used to have it all—the perfect boyfriend, a bright future in politics, and even popularity, thanks to her best friend, cheer captain Cora. Then one mistake sparked a scandal that burned it all to the ground.

Now it’s the start of a new school year and the spotlight has shifted: It’s geeky Georgie, newly hot after a summer makeover, whose name is on everyone’s lips. When a rumor ignites, Georgie rockets up the school’s social hierarchy, pitting her and Cora against each other. It grants her Foxham stardom… but it also makes her a target.

As the rumors grow and morph, blazing like wildfire through the school’s social media, all three girls’ lives begin to unravel. But one person close to the drama has the power to stop the gossip in its tracks. The question is—do they even want to?

🍃 I’ve only read short stories from both authors before so I’m not too familiar with their works. Regardless, The Rumor Game sounds interesting and it has the same vibes as How We Fall Apart by Katie Zhao and Karen M. McManus’s books.

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travelers along the way: a robin hood remix
– aminah mae safi

standalone: remixed classics #3
March 1st 2022 by Feiwel and Friends
age range: young adult
genre: historical fiction, retelling
rep: LGBT

Jerusalem, 1192. The Third Crusade rages on. Rahma al-Hud loyally followed her elder sister Zeena into the war over the Holy Land, but now that the Faranji invaders have gotten reinforcements from Richard the Lionheart, all she wants to do is get herself and her sister home alive.

But Zeena, a soldier of honor at heart, refuses to give up the fight while Jerusalem remains in danger of falling back into the hands of the false Queen Isabella. And so, Rahma has no choice but to take on one final mission with her sister.

On their journey to Jerusalem, Rahma and Zeena come across a motley collection of fellow travelers—including a softspoken Mongolian warrior, an eccentric Andalusian scientist, a frustratingly handsome spy with a connection to Rahma’s childhood, and an unfortunate English chaplain abandoned behind enemy lines. The teens all find solace, purpose and camaraderie—as well as a healthy bit of mischief—in each other’s company.

But their travels soon bring them into the orbit of Queen Isabella herself, whose plans to re-seize power in Jerusalem would only guarantee further war and strife in the Holy Land for years to come. And so it falls to the merry band of misfits to use every scrap of cunning and wit (and not a small amount of thievery) to foil the usurper queen and perhaps finally restore peace to the land.

🍃 Robin Hood is a classic character, an outlaw with a bow and arrow, stealing from the rich to give to the poor. Other than that, I have no idea about his story. This remixed series is ticking all the boxes for me.

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all my rage
– sabaa tahir

standalone
March 1st 2022 by Razorbill
age range: young adult
genre: historical fiction, contemporary
rep: Muslim

trigger and content warnings:

• drug and alcohol addiction, mentions of repressed sexual assault, physical abuse, Islamophobia, racism, death, law enforcement

• taken from azanta’s goodreads

Lahore, Pakistan. Then. 
Misbah is a dreamer and storyteller, newly married to Toufiq in an arranged match. After their young life is shaken by tragedy, they come to the United States and open the Cloud’s Rest Inn Motel, hoping for a new start.

Juniper, California. Now. 
Salahudin and Noor are more than best friends; they are family. Growing up as outcasts in the small desert town of Juniper, California, they understand each other the way no one else does. Until The Fight, which destroys their bond with the swift fury of a star exploding. 

Now, Sal scrambles to run the family motel as his mother Misbah’s health fails and his grieving father loses himself to alcoholism. Noor, meanwhile, walks a harrowing tightrope: working at her wrathful uncle’s liquor store while hiding the fact that she’s applying to college so she can escape him—and Juniper—forever.

When Sal’s attempts to save the motel spiral out of control, he and Noor must ask themselves what friendship is worth—and what it takes to defeat the monsters in their pasts and the ones in their midst. 

🍃 An Ember in the Ashes series was my introduction to Sabaa Tahir’s books like everyone else so I’m excited to hear that she’s writing a standalone contemporary. I’m not done with her series yet but I already know All My Rage is going to be heart-wrenching.

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gallant
– v.e. schwab

standalone
March 1st 2022 by Greenwillow Books
age range: young adult
genre: fantasy, horror
rep: Mute MC, Dyslexic SC

arc review | gallant – v.e. schwab

trigger and content warnings:

• ableism & ableist language, parental abandonment, child abuse & neglect, mutism, nightmares, blood depiction, death of a brother by knife violence recounted, death of a mother & father mentioned, death of a cousin (on-page), murder, knife & sword violence, strangulation, bullying, and graphic animal death (crow, cat)

• taken from rachel ☾’s goodreads

Olivia Prior has grown up in Merilance School for girls, and all she has of her past is her mother’s journal—which seems to unravel into madness. Then, a letter invites Olivia to come home—to Gallant. Yet when Olivia arrives, no one is expecting her. But Olivia is not about to leave the first place that feels like home, it doesn’t matter if her cousin Matthew is hostile or if she sees half-formed ghouls haunting the hallways.

Olivia knows that Gallant is hiding secrets, and she is determined to uncover them. When she crosses a ruined wall at just the right moment, Olivia finds herself in a place that is Gallant—but not. The manor is crumbling, the ghouls are solid, and a mysterious figure rules over all. Now Olivia sees what has unraveled generations of her family, and where her father may have come from.

Olivia has always wanted to belong somewhere, but will she take her place as a Prior, protecting our world against the Master of the House? Or will she take her place beside him?

🍃 I’ll probably read Gallant before I pick up the last book of the Shades of Magic trilogy by V.E. Schwab. I don’t even know what this is about but I’m already ready for what’s to come.

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a hunt of shadows
– elise kova

series: a trial of sorcerers #2
March 1st 2022 by Silver Wing Press
age range: young adult
genre: fantasy, romance

Eira is now a champion of the Solaris Empire. She’s off to a land she’s only dreamed about. But a nightmare awaits her.

Her sworn enemy has escaped. His allies are powerful and deadly. And Eira finds herself tangled in the dangerous web of the undercity of Risen where the mysterious Court of Shadows and lethal Pillars battle for the fate of the kingdom.

But vengeance has a price. When Eira is captured by her enemies, it’s not only her life, but the lives of her friends, and the man she loves most, at stake. The woman she was won’t be enough to turn the tides churning against her from long before she was born. She’ll have to become something more. She’ll have to love deeper and fight fiercer than ever before.

The only way to kill a legendary champion, will be to become one herself.

🍃 I haven’t started on A Trial of Sorcerers, the first book in this series, but Elise Kova is an author who has a huge amount of books already released. Starting with her other book, A Deal with the Elf King in the Married to Magic series, I’m prepared to work my way through.

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a thousand steps into night
– traci chee

standalone
March 1st 2022 by Clarion Books
age range: young adult
genre: fantasy
rep: Japanese

In the realm of Awara, where gods, monsters, and humans exist side by side, Miuko is an ordinary girl resigned to a safe, if uneventful, existence as an innkeeper’s daughter. But when Miuko is cursed and begins to transform into a demon with a deadly touch, she embarks on a quest to reverse the curse and return to her normal life. Aided by a thieving magpie spirit and continuously thwarted by a demon prince, Miuko must outfox tricksters, escape demon hunters, and negotiate with feral gods if she wants to make it home again. But with her transformation comes power and freedom she never even dreamed of, and she’ll have to decide if saving her soul is worth trying to cram herself back into an ordinary life that no longer fits her… and perhaps never did.

🍃 I mean, I saw this cover and then read the synopsis that this is a Japanese-inspired fantasy standalone. Who am I to say no?

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the lost dreamer
– lizz huerta

standalone
March 1st 2022 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
age range: young adult
genre: fantasy
rep: Mesoamerica-inspired

Indir is a Dreamer, descended from a long line of seers; able to see beyond reality, she carries the rare gift of Dreaming truth. But when the beloved king dies, his son has no respect for this time-honored tradition. King Alcan wants an opportunity to bring the Dreamers to a permanent end—an opportunity Indir will give him if he discovers the two secrets she is struggling to keep. As violent change shakes Indir’s world to its core, she is forced to make an impossible choice: fight for her home or fight to survive.

Saya is a seer, but not a Dreamer—she has never been formally trained. Her mother exploits her daughter’s gift, passing it off as her own as they travel from village to village, never staying in one place too long. Almost as if they’re running from something. Almost as if they’re being hunted. When Saya loses the necklace she’s worn since birth, she discovers that seeing isn’t her only gift—and begins to suspect that everything she knows about her life has been a carefully-constructed lie. As she comes to distrust the only family she’s ever known, Saya will do what she’s never done before, go where she’s never been, and risk it all in the search of answers.

🍃 Not too sure what this will be about but The Lost Dreamer sounds like a great fantasy debut. Settings around ancient Mesoamerica sounds like it will be incredibly magical.

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lakelore
– anna-marie mclemore

standalone
March 8th 2022 by Feiwel Friends
age range: young adult
genre: fantasy, magical realism
rep: latinx non-binary MCs, MC with ADHD, MC with dyslexia

trigger and content warnings:

• racism, homophobia

• taken from alanna ❦’s goodreads

Everyone who lives near the lake knows the stories about the world underneath it, an ethereal landscape rumored to be half-air, half-water. But Bastián Silvano and Lore Garcia are the only ones who’ve been there. Bastián grew up both above the lake and in the otherworldly space beneath it. Lore’s only seen the world under the lake once, but that one encounter changed their life and their fate.

Then the lines between air and water begin to blur. The world under the lake drifts above the surface. If Bastián and Lore don’t want it bringing their secrets to the surface with it, they have to stop it, and to do that, they have to work together. There’s just one problem: Bastián and Lore haven’t spoken in seven years, and working together means trusting each other with the very things they’re trying to hide.

🍃 One name: Anna-Marie McLemore. Ever since Wild Beauty, I’ve never missed a release by the author. They always write the most stunning books with heart-breaking stories and wonderful characters. I still have The Weight of Feathers and Blanca & Roja before I clear all of Anna-Marie McLemore’s books.

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kamila knows best
– farah heron

standalone
March 8th 2022 by Forever
age range: adult
genre: romance, contemporary
rep: desi MC

Kamila Hussain’s life might not be perfect, but, whew, it’s close. She lives a life of comfort, filled with her elaborate Bollywood movie parties, a dog with more Instagram followers than most reality stars, a job she loves, and an endless array of friends who clearly need her help finding love. In fact, Kamila is so busy with her friends’ love lives, she’s hardly given any thought to her own . . .

Fortunately, Kamila has Rohan Nasser. A longtime friend of the family, he’s hugely successful, with the deliciously lean, firm body of a rock climber. Only lately, Kamila’s “harmless flirting” with Rohan is making her insides do a little bhangra dance.

But between planning the local shelter’s puppy prom, throwing a huge work event, and proving to everyone that she’s got it all figured out, Kamila isn’t letting herself get distracted—until her secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan. Suddenly, it seems like the more Kamila tries to plan, the more things are starting to unravel—and her perfectly ordered life is about to be turned upside down. 

🍃 Farah Heron’s Accidentally Engaged was my first introduction to her writing. While I haven’t read her other releases yet, Kamila Knows Best is on my list of books to look forward to.

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love, decoded
– jennifer yen

standalone
March 8th 2022 by Razorbill
age range: young adult
genre: romance, contemporary
rep: Asian

jennifer yen: a taste for love & love, decoded | standalone reviews

High school junior Gigi Wong strives to be the best: the top student, the perfect friend, and the ideal daughter. But it’s tough when there’s always someone who is just a little bit better. With college applications looming, she can’t help but worry that she won’t make the cut. Thankfully, her best friend Kyle never fails to find the right words–and the perfect bowl of ramen–to cheer her up.

After her teacher, Ms. Harris, announces she’ll be nominating students for an app writing contest, Gigi is determined to be picked. After all, first prize is an exclusive tech internship, sure to make her application stand out. There’s only one problem: she doesn’t have a winning program. It isn’t until transfer student Etta admits she’s struggling to fit in at Superbia that Gigi stumbles on an idea. She’ll use her coding skills–and the matchmaking experience she’s gotten from weekends with Auntie Rose–to create a friend matching app! Etta will meet new people, and Gigi will guarantee her acceptance into college. It’s foolproof.

What Gigi doesn’t expect is for her app to go viral around school. Soon, she finds herself at the center of a scandal—and at odds with both Etta and Kyle. Can Gigi fix what went wrong, or will her desire to be perfect cost her the people she cares about most?

🍃 I adored A Taste of Love by Jennifer Yen. From then onwards, I’ve been awaiting for her next book and Love, Decoded is another romance contemporary!

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a magic steeped in poison
– judy i. lin

duology: the book of tea #1
March 29th 2022 by Feiwel and Friends
age range: young adult
genre: historical fiction, fantasy
rep: Chinese

a magic steeped in poison – judy i. lin | blog tour + arc review

For Ning, the only thing worse than losing her mother is knowing that it’s her own fault. She was the one who unknowingly brewed the poison tea that killed her—the poison tea that now threatens to also take her sister, Shu.

When Ning hears of a competition to find the kingdom’s greatest shennong-shi—masters of the ancient and magical art of tea-making—she travels to the imperial city to compete. The winner will receive a favor from the princess, which may be Ning’s only chance to save her sister’s life. 

But between the backstabbing competitors, bloody court politics, and a mysterious (and handsome) boy with a shocking secret, Ning might actually be the one in more danger. 

🍃 Judy I. Lin is a debut author with her first duology, The Book of Tea. Both books within the duology is coming out in this year so we don’t have to wait that long for the sequel!

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the city of dusk
– tara sim

trilogy: the dark gods #1
March 22nd 2022 by Orbit
age range: adult
genre: fantasy
rep: LGBT

trigger and content warnings:

• mentions of parental abuse, grief, self-harm, blood, gore

• taken from chloe’s goodreads

the city of dusk – tara sim | arc review

The Four Realms—Life, Death, Light, and Darkness—all converge on the city of dusk. For each realm there is a god, and for each god there is an heir.

But the gods have withdrawn their favor from the once vibrant and thriving city. And without it, all the realms are dying.

Unwilling to stand by and watch the destruction, the four heirs—Risha, a necromancer struggling to keep the peace; Angelica, an elementalist with her eyes set on the throne; Taesia, a shadow-wielding rogue with rebellion in her heart; and Nik, a soldier who struggles to see the light— will sacrifice everything to save the city.

But their defiance will cost them dearly.

🍃 Tara Sim’s an author that I’ve been meaning to read from for a while. After reading Scavenge the Stars, I started keeping an eye on her releases. I already know it’s going to be an epic fantasy.

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four aunties and a wedding
– jesse q. sutanto

duology: aunties #2
March 29th 2022 by Berkley Books
age range: adult
genre: romance, contemporary, mystery
rep: Chinese-Indonesian cast, British Chinese LI, gay SC

dial a for aunties, four aunties and a wedding – jesse q. sutanto | duology review

Meddy Chan has been to countless weddings, but she never imagined how her own would turn out. Now the day has arrived, and she can’t wait to marry her college sweetheart, Nathan. Instead of having Ma and the aunts cater to her wedding, Meddy wants them to enjoy the day as guests. As a compromise, they find the perfect wedding vendors: a Chinese-Indonesian family-run company just like theirs. Meddy is hesitant at first, but she hits it off right away with the wedding photographer, Staphanie, who reminds Meddy of herself, down to the unfortunately misspelled name.

Meddy realizes that is where their similarities end, however, when she overhears Staphanie talking about taking out a target. Horrified, Meddy can’t believe Staphanie and her family aren’t just like her own, they are The Family–actual mafia, and they’re using Meddy’s wedding as a chance to conduct shady business. Her aunties and mother won’t let Meddy’s wedding ceremony become a murder scene–over their dead bodies–and will do whatever it takes to save her special day, even if it means taking on the mafia. 

🍃 Can you imagine the joy I experienced when I found out that Jesse Q. Sutanto is writing a continuation of Aunties?! I had such a fantastic time reading about Meddy and the hiding-body things that her aunties did with her in Dial A for Aunties. Will be picking this book up once it’s released.

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Out of all the books in this list, I’m definitely looking forward to Four Aunties and a Wedding and A Magic Steeped in Poison. Which March release(s) are you going to read immediately?

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