March 2026 LibraryReads List

You voted, they counted, and LADY TREMAINE by Rachel Hochhauser, THIS STORY MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE by Tiffany Crum, and NOBOBY’S BABY by Olivia Waite are LibraryReads picks for March 2026!

PLUS, T. Kingfisher (WOLF WORM), Ilona Andrews (THIS KINGDOM WILL NOT KILL ME), and Marie Benedict (DAUGHTER OF EGYPT) are in the Hall of Fame, and SEASONS OF GLASS AND IRON: STORIES by Amal El-Mohtar is the LibraryReads Board’s Bonus Pick!

LADY TREMAINE BY RACHEL HOCHHAUSER | 9781250396341 | 3/3/26

“Hochhauser’s splendid debut retells the ‘Cinderella’ story from the stepmother’s perspective… Hochhauser grounds her tale with a convincing depiction of the medieval setting and offers a stirring exploration of maternal instinct and female strength. It’s a winner.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Ethel is so much more than the cartoonishly villainous Wicked Stepmother that fans of Cinderella have come to know over the years. Instead, Hochhauser has created a desperate and prideful woman who would do anything in her power to ensure that her daughters have an easier life than she’s had… A bold and beautifully written examination of a mother’s love told through the eyes of Cinderella’s ‘wicked’ stepmother.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

THIS STORY MIGHT SAVE YOUR LIFE BY TIFFANY CRUM | 9781250395238 | 3/10/26

“A podcaster’s disappearance casts suspicion on her secretly besotted best friend and business partner in Crum’s dynamite debut… Crum skillfully intercuts Benny’s narration with draft chapters from Joy’s memoir-in-progress, heightening suspense while gradually establishing that Benny’s unspoken love for Joy is reciprocal. By turns hilarious, harrowing, heartbreaking, and profound, Crum’s mystery ticks every box. It’s a triumph.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

NOBODY’S BABY BY OLIVIA WAITE | 9781250342263 | 3/10/26

“Ship’s detective Dorothy Gentleman, introduced in MURDER BY MEMORY (2025), takes a second case when a baby in a basket is left on her nephew Ruthie’s doorstep… In this exquisite, slim novel, Waite blends a cozy locked-room mystery and inventively logical world building to create an addictive read that will delight mystery and sf fans.”—Booklist, starred review

WOLF WORM BY T. KINGFISHER | 9781250829825 | 3/24/26

“Kingfisher (A HOUSE WITH GOOD BONES) has outdone herself here. For fans of mad scientist horror, such as THE DAUGHTER OF DOCTOR MOREAU by Silvia Moreno-Garcia or HER WICKED ROOTS by Tanya Pell, who also crave visceral details like those of Nick Cutter’s works.”—Library Journal, starred review

“Kingfisher teases out this mystery into perhaps her most viscerally terrifying tale to date. Readers will come away with new nightmares.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Atmospheric and perfectly paced, this gothic novel ratchets up the tension until it hits a delightfully horrifying crescendo that is very much not for the squeamish… Recommend to fans of Nick Cutter’s THE BREACH (2020), Caitlin Starling’s THE DEATH OF JANE LAWRENCE (2021), or Kingfisher’s own Sworn Soldier series.”—Booklist, starred review

THIS KINGDOM WILL NOT KILL ME BY ILONA ANDREWS | 9781250377265 | 3/31/26

“Andrews (RUBY FEVER) launches a series that is a love letter to fantasy, exploring both the world of Rellas and characters’ backstories in a fully immersive story. Fans of isekai fantasy, doorstopper reads, or authors Samantha Shannon, Danielle L. Jensen, and V. E. Schwab will love this.”—Library Journal, starred review

“This meta-narrative combines high fantasy with the basics of time travel (as Maggie uses her knowledge of the future to attempt to edit the present) and a delightful touch of self-insert fanfiction. Fantasy fans will relate to Maggie, and the strong characters, convincing world building, and simmering slow-burn chemistry between Reynald and Maggie will draw in many readers. A suspenseful, convincing book one of a new series.”—Booklist, starred review

DAUGHTER OF EGYPT BY MARIE BENEDICT | 9781250280732 | 3/24/26

“Benedict’s flair for bringing the past to life draws in readers, providing not only lessons in history but an engrossing and entertaining tale. The complex issues of exploration and the collection of antiquities add resonance to the story. Recommended for readers of Elizabeth Peters’s Amelia Peabody mysteries or Deanna Raybourn’s Veronica Speedwell series.”—Library Journal

SEASONS OF GLASS AND IRON: STORIES BY AMAL EL-MOHTAR | 9781250341006 | 3/24/26

“An essential collection of work from one of today’s most poignant speculative writers. El-Mohtar creates immersive worlds with beautiful language.”—Library Journal, starred review

“Whether playing with folklore and fairy-tale tropes in stories like ‘Florilegia; or, Some Lies About Flowers’ and ‘John Hollowback and the Witch,’ or experimenting with form in the anti-colonial ‘A Tale of Ash in Seven Birds’ or Palestine elegy ‘Qahr,’ El-Mohtar (THE RIVER HAS ROOTS, 2025) brings genuine storytelling talent paired with lush poetic language to deliver the kind of narratives her devotees have grown to love. Fans of Naomi Novik and E. Lily Yu will want to check this one out.”—Booklist, starred review

“Blending fantasy, magical realism, and speculative fiction, and often rooted in history, myth, or legend, these tales range widely across time and place but are connected, as El-Mohtar writes in her introduction, by her love of women… There’s not a false note here.”—Publishers Weekly, starred review