A Genre-Bending March: Romance, Horror, Fantasy & Literary Delights.
Or, what I read in March.
If you’re not here for the chatty update and just want to get to the book reviews and recommendations, feel free to scroll down, I won’t be offended. In fact, I won’t even know!
March is a strange month, we can still fondly remember time off over December and January as if it were only last week, yet the year is in full swing. In Australia we have entered Autumn, but still we’ve seen temperatures rise above the 30’s (that’s 30 degrees Celsius, so about 86 Fahrenheit), we’ve also had flooding, hail and I’m currently looking out my back windows on an eerie mist like fog.
Despite the weather, I’ve ventured out and visited the theatre twice this month (which is unheard of), seeing Hadestown, (if you ever get a chance to see this musical based on the mashed up myths of Orpheus & Eurydice, and Hades & Persephone, take it, it’s fantastic!) and MJ The Musical (which was just as good, but didn’t ignite my nerdiness as deeply as the other).
I’ve been over here at the Ink-Stained Desk researching the Body Horror genre, ready for the next instalment of the Genre Genealogy series, desperately trudging on with the last developmental edit of the Trillmore Project (I am officially 35% through as of yesterday).
I also must mention with sadness that the management over at HauntedMTL (the website I have been regularly free lancing for) has decided to close and go in another direction, which is also exciting because it is to become a quarterly magazine and I have been offered regular features. I guess more on that to come.
But you’re all here for the book reviews, so let’s just get to that. This month was a bit of a mixed bag, I dipped into romance, science fiction, fantasy and a little bit of literary fiction, all while staring hungrily at Sunrise on the Reaping, which has been sitting on my desk since it’s release date, but I promised myself I wouldn’t start it until all the books that I have half read are finished. — I have since reneged this promise to myself and am 3 chapters in, it’s fantastic!
Anyway…
I have linked titles to the respective GoodReads pages for those that still ‘GoodRead’. If anyone is interested in my current reads or what planned reads, find me here.
Deep End, Ali Hazelwood: Ali Hazelwood is one of those authors where I usually pick the book up without reading the blurb because I trust I am going to enjoy the book no matter the plot. I was a little confused when I started reading this (I have come to expect STEM plot from Hazelwood and this is a sport based romance) But Deep End did not disappoint. Very spicy and comes with multiple trigger warnings, but for those that love romance pick this one up! Also tickled to find characters from Hazelwood’s other fiction make appearances in this one!
Loathe to Love You, Ali Hazelwood: After finishing Deep End, I came across this collection of three short stories by Hazelwood in my local library. Again we have linking characters, the three main characters are also best friends and all working in STEM. I really enjoyed these but think that Hazelwood really shines greater in her long form novels.
Love in the Time of Serial Killers, Alicia Thompson: Finishing up my romance binge this month, I also picked this one up from my local library. I was sceptical, if only because of the cover, but this was a find! Another academia type romance, Phoebe is in the process of completing her PhD on which her focus is True Crime. Life circumstances see her moving back to her childhood home, and low and behold, the neighbour is gorgeous, but suspicious. Late night goings on, weird noises and a whole lot of a red substance cause Phoebe to suspect the neighbour might be a serial killer. This was all round a fun and well written story.
A House At The Bottom Of A Lake, Josh Malerman: This novella is exactly what the title says, two teens find a house at the bottom of a lake and spend the summer exploring it. Josh Malerman is a favorite of mine. Like Ali Hazelwood, I tend to pick up his books, blurb unread, because I will generally enjoy what he is putting out there. The exception to this rule is A House At The Bottom Of A Lake (if I never have to type that title again I will be pleased!). It just didn’t hit the way his other novels have and I was disappointed. It was lacked creativity in descriptive passages (if the characters movements underwater were described as Astronaut-like’ or ‘Astronaut-esque I was going to loose my eyeballs in the back of my brain).
The Hotel, Daisy Johnson: Originally written and recorded as a series for BBC Radio 4 in 2020, (you can find the recordings here. This collection of 14 short stories weaves together generations of families who have been tempted, forced, or serendipitously dumped at The Hotel. After reading the collection, I went ahead and listened to the podcast and must say I enjoyed it a lot more than the book. It is recorded with a full cast and this just adds something to the telling of the story that was lacking in the book.
Blood Over Bright Haven, M.L Wang: This was a title that I have seen on and off on YouTube, added to my ‘want to read’ list and then quickly forgot about, that is until I spotted the cover sitting on the shelf end at the library and decided to give it a go. I cannot begin to explain the metaphoric depth that has been put into this story. Themes of consumerism, colonialism, privilege and so much more. I would love to write a whole essay about the symbolism in Blood over Bright Haven, but I’d like to let it brew a little more first. Suffice it to say, if you this book, grab it!
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke: I have been reading Clarke’s masterpiece since mid January after buying myself a copy for Christmas, I think I’m the last person on the planet to read it. I officially finished mid march and can’t wait to get my hands on another of her titles! This was amazing and everything I could want in fiction, Dickensian, magical realism elements, alternative history. It certainly packs a punch, especially for a debut!!
The Book of Disappearance, Ibitsam Azem: As part of ‘The International Booker Prize Long-List Reading Challenge’, I reviewed this book in long form, to read my review click below.
The House Witch and the Enchanting of the Hearth, Delemhach (AKA Emilie Nikota): After reading the previous three novels on this list, I was really after some sort of cozy fantasy, something like a palate cleaner to allow my brain relax a little. Housewitch Finlay comes to Daxaria to work as the royal chef. War is brewing with nearby countries, there are spies, princes and a cat that knows too much. I was so excited in coming across this series that I ordered the other three books at the library, suffice it to say that I cancelled that order shortly after finished book 1. Yes, this is a cozy fantasy, but it lacks plot direction. I need to add that the author needs a better editor, not only for awkward sentences, misused words and weird formatting, but for cutting down the story and improving her character relationships.
Nightbitch, Rachel Yoder: This is a case of, ‘I want to read the book before I watch the tv show’. About a mother who is basically having a crisis of identity after having a baby and resigning her job to be a stay at home mum, and starts, well, becoming a dog. I’m on the fence with this one. I really like the idea, and the themes of identity and motherhood and nature, but I think the amount of introspection that the main character engages in was too much, she spends so much time navel gazing about the same issues over and over that I found myself zoning out and having to backtrack. I am yet to watch the tv show but am interested in how they wrote this for tv.
Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens, Lynn Hutchinson Lee: I received this one as an ARC from publisher Stelliform Press. Publication is coming up on the 22nd April. First, the cover is just stunning! This book is written in what feel like short bursts, Origins of Desire in Orchid Fens is a hybrid novella of mixed genre, it feels experimental, comprised of prose, poetry, encyclopaedia definitions, mobile phone conversations and excerpts of non-fiction environmental texts. It tells the story of Orchid, a young Romany girl living in Carminetown with her unwell mother. On one side of town Nurses Creek, known to be the resting place of the river spirits; the ‘Ruskalkas’; the panni Raklies; the dead girls who have not been forgotten by the town and are waiting for revenge their chance at revenge. On the other side of town is the Orchid Fen, a place of quiet beauty, loved by most who live in the town. This is at once a horror story of what happens when dead girls start calling, a love story and a piece of environmental commentary that considers the results of greed and corruption in the mining industry. I could not put it down.
So that’s that, another month of 2025 gone.
Here’s to April and having a creative month, I hope you found something you might like to pick up from the list above,
See you next Friday (if not before)
C M Reid at the Ink-Stained Desk.
What is the Trillmore Project?