What Alyssa Read In March
TNB owner Alyssa here! March was another incredible reading month for me, and I’m so glad I’ve had a few solid months of great stories to start of 2026!
I ended up tackling 10 books last month, all of which were fiction. I found I was on a bit of a historical fiction kick for a few weeks which was really fun because it turned out I read three books in the same historical time period, but all with very unique stories and points of view.
A few stand out books for me last month were: The Lion Women of Tehran by Marjan Kamali; Someday, Maybe by Onyi Nwabineli; and Not In Love by Ali Hazelwood.
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I really enjoyed this fantasy novel. I’ve heard it compared to Harry Potter, and I would say that’s true in a lot of ways, but be aware: this book is set at a magical HBCU, so the main character is 18 some of the language is mature. I accidentally had been recommending this book to 10 year olds thinking it started out like Sorcerer’s Stone - whoops!
Regardless, I devoured this book. I loved the setting, I thought the main character Malik was realistic and complex, and the magic system is great. I did feel like the female characters were often secondary to the story outside of Malik’s grandmother, but that might be my only real critique. I’m very excited to continue on with book 2 and to see how LaDarrion wraps up the trilogy when book 3 releases later this year!
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This book is the second book the the Between Earth and Sky trilogy and follows Black Sun. All-in-all I thought this was a solid sequel that moved the story along, but didn’t necessarily blow my mind. I am still loving the world Rebecca Roanhorse has built and the magic system is fascinating. I’m excited to see what book 3 brings!
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This was a contemporary slow burn novel that really causes you to pause and think about your own relationship with your gender and sex. It follows a young woman who doesn’t feel like a woman (or at least all the time) and doesn’t really feel like a man (or at least all the time) and the journey she goes on to better understand herself in her body. It starts with her finding a mysterious note in a book that leads her to an older woman who dealt with similar issues in her youth. The main character, Dawn, tracks down this woman to try to make sense of her own life and find her creative spirit again. I really enjoyed this novel, and would recommend it to anyone who loves a book that causes you to reflect on yourself and society.
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This was the first of my three historical fiction novels all set in the same time period. This one takes place in San Francisco’s Chinatown in the 1950s during the height of Red Scare paranoia that threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans, like our main character, Lily. Lily is also a senior in high school who has just recently discovered she might not be like the other girls… because she likes girls and not boys. She befriends another Queer young woman and together they embark on fun nights at The Telegraph Club, where “male impersonaters” perform and women like them find a safe space to be. I really loved this entire book - my only critique would be the ending felt a little unfinished for me when it came to the epilogue. I was left wanting just a bit more resolution, but overall I think this is a book everyone should read.
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Everyone, I’ve found it: My favorite Ali Hazelwood book (at least so far). I absolutely ADORED Eli and Rue’s love story. Both of them are some of the most complex and trauma riddled main characters, and while they are working on their own issues, they’re both also very mature and self-assured within themselves. Ali Hazelwood’s author’s note at the beginning notes this isn’t like her typical novels - instead, she characterizes it as a erotic romance. Well, this is me hoping she writes way more of these, because I loved it and devoured it within 24 hours.
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This book is the sequel to Not In Love and follows Eli’s little sister, Maya, and his best friend, Conor. The main tension of this book is around the main character’s age gap (15 years) and I thought it was really well done. I found the book absolutely hysterical and laughed out loud almost every single chapter. One complaint is this one is not multi POV like Not In Love. I was excited to get Conor’s POV, but it’s okay because Maya was a phenomenal main character and is funny as well.
Grab your copy here.
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This was the second historical fiction I read in March, but this one was set in 1957 Alabama in the midst of the civil rights movement. It takes place in a fictional town called New Jessup, an all-Black town where residents have rejected integration and instead are focused on Black social advancement. The story is told from Alice Young’s POV - a woman who stumbles upon this town while heading North to find her sister, and ends up falling in love (both with the town and a local man) and never leaving. It spans decades as she builds a life for herself in this town and works to fight to keep it the special, safe place it has been for her.
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Fair warning: This book is not for the faint of heart. The first page begins with our main character, Eve, talking about how her husband is the great love of her life, how happy they were, and how she found him after he completed suicide on New Year’s Day. The rest of the book follows her through her deep grief, splitting time between after the death and before the death, giving you glimpses into their married life. This book writes grief in the rawest, most heart breaking way. My favorite quote: “Grief is not neat. Pain is not dignified. Both are ugly, visceral things.” This book embodies that sentiment the whole way through in all the messy, beautiful ways.
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This was the third historical fiction novel I read set in the 1950s, but this one is set in Tehran at the beginning, during and after the Iranian Revolution. It follows two young girls from opposite sides of life who become the best of friends, until a betrayal pushes them apart for years. This is a beautiful, heartbreaking and inspiring novel. I hope I can grow up to be exactly like Homa one day.
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This my second Krueger book, and each time I read one of his novels I’m pleasantly surprised. As someone with some religious trauma in my background, I tend to steer clear of books that have a lot of religious references in them, but Krueger does a fantastic job of using his characters and their experiences to question religion, god and meaning in life. This story follows four friends who have escaped from a Native American reform school after something occurs that causes them to flee. They travel by the Mississippi River trying to find a place they can call home, and running into adventure after adventure. The book is kind of like Tom Saywer meets The Odyssey, and it’s a sweeping novel that pulls you right along.
Check back soon for copies!
Need other recommendations? Ask me for some ideas!