Although winter is still rearing its ugly head with record-breaking storms and temperatures, spring promises a bloom in the literary world, with new reads in every genre.
Romance fans, rejoice! Abby Jimenez, the beloved author who brought you the fake-to-real-dating whirlwind Just for the Summer has made her much-anticipated return with another gut-wrenching slow-burn: The Night We Met. Rebecca Serle, author of In Five Years, continues her magical realism streak with her latest novel Once and Again.
This month also has a slate of debuts from promising new writers. Kirsten King’s A Good Person, which stars a bitter millennial woman placing a hex on her ex-situationship, has already been optioned for an adaptation by Daisy Edgar-Jones. Juliet Izon, a longtime journalist, brings readers along for a cross-country journey on a rock tour bus.
From literary fiction to the biography of an icon, these are Bustle’s most anticipated books of March.
The Disappointment by Scott Broker
Out March 3. Broker’s debut novel opens when Jack catches his grieving husband Randy packing an urn of his mother’s ashes between pairs of sandals in a carry-on suitcase. This quiet domestic squabble follows the couple to a beach house on the Oregon coast, a trip they hope will quell their growing marital discontent. But as they’re introduced to a slew of zany locals, the two slide further away from the grasp of reality and plunge into the surreal. With early praise from Ocean Vuong, The Disappointment explores the intricacies of marriage and what it means to lose yourself in a relationship.
The Encore by Juliet Izon
Out March 3. The novel opens with Lottie, a piano prodigy attending an elite prep school, as she celebrates her 16th birthday. As a gift, her legal guardian gives her a birth certificate that reveals her birth mother’s true identity. Flip-flopping between the present and when Lottie’s parents Annie and Will meet in 2003, The Encore follows the two generations on a collision course across the country. Imbued with music at every turn, this coming-of-age tale reminiscent of Daisy Jones & the Six rings true in its sincerity and passionate exploration of creative ambition.
Once and Again by Rebecca Serle
Out March 10. In a swirling magical realism romance, the women of the Novak family share a gift: the ability to turn back time just once. When the youngest, Lauren, returns to her family home in Malibu, her nervous mother and her free-spirited grandmother are shrouded in a mysterious past. Fate brings her ex-boyfriend, Stone, back into her life, and Lauren must consider if any of the choices she’s made should be undone. Hannah Orenstein, deputy editor of lifestyle and wellness, says, “Serle is the queen of big feelings and impossible dilemmas. The premise practically begs you to ponder: If you could turn back time once, what would you do?”
Judy Blume: A Life by Mark Oppenheimer
Out March 10. In this sweeping biography, Oppenheimer explores the intricacies of a literary titan’s life. Beginning with her middle-class childhood in New Jersey, moving into her early novels, and the building of her legacy, the book is a definitive history of how Blume became one of the most beloved authors worldwide. Including juicy original interviews from Blume herself, Oppenheimer covers the backlash against her first adult novel Wifey, a tale of sexual liberation, her controversial relationships and marriages, and her continued advocacy for free speech.
Strange Girls by Sarvat Hasin
Out March 10. While Hasin has written three previous novels, Strange Girls is the Pakistan-born, London-based author’s American debut. This coming-of-age story centers on estranged friends Ava and Aliya and their forced reunion at a mutual friend’s bachelorette party. Both writers, they were once bound together in an all-consuming friendship, but now find themselves splintered in two directions. Their careers and love lives have shifted in unexpected ways. Together again, the two struggle to understand their rift. Masterfully weaving through past and present and between the threads of tension, jealousy, and tenderness, Strange Girls is a triumphant portrait of female friendship.
A Fraction of a Point by Nina Mandell
Out March 10. From veteran sports journalist Nina Mandell comes the true story of the reigning champions of Ohio’s high school gymnastics season as they trained for and competed in the 2022-2023 season. “I especially love books when they feel timely and urgent,” says Christina Amoroso, editorial director. “This couldn’t be more relevant today in light of gymnastics’ explosive growth in America and increasingly open conversations around mental health in sports.” If there’s an Olympics-sized hole in your heart, A Fraction of a Point is not one to be missed.
Missing Me: A Memoir of Postpartum Psychosis and the Long Road Back by Ayana Lage
Out March 17. After blogger and mental health advocate Ayana Lage gave birth to her daughter in 2020, she began to hear messages from God, who told her that her newborn was the second coming of Jesus Christ. In her stunning memoir, she recounts the moments her grip on reality began to slip, being placed in a psychiatric ward, and her return to health. “I’ve followed Lage for years on Instagram, and I’ve long admired how thoughtfully and openly she shares her experience with postpartum psychosis — a condition that’s still widely misunderstood,” Orenstein says. Missing Me does important work in both vulnerable storytelling and the dismantling of the stigma around postpartum mental health.
The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez
Out March 24. The No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of Say You’ll Remember Me has made her much-anticipated return with the story of Larissa, whose boyfriend’s best friend Chris is hopelessly in love with her. Entertainment editor Gabrielle Bond attests it has “all the pining and yearning you’re looking for in a romance.” For fans of Emily Henry, Jimenez’s latest balances fairy-tale-level romance with deeply human characters.
A Good Person by Kirsten King
Out March 31. Lillian’s situationship with Henry ends as most do: in disaster. In a fit of anger, she enacts a hex, hoping that he’ll come begging on his knees for her forgiveness. Instead, Henry is found dead, and Lillian is the prime suspect for his murder. Nolan Feeney, features director, says King’s novel is a “twisty, darkly comic tale of millennial self-delusion that plays out like if Lena Dunham wrote Search Party — and I can’t think of a book that has made me laugh harder in recent memory.”
The Adjunct by Maria Adelmann
Out March 31. From bestselling author Maria Adelmann is the story of Sam, a professor navigating an unstable academic job market. When she accepts a new position at a local private school, she finds herself on campus with her grad school advisor Dr. Tom Sternberg, with whom she shares a complex history. As rumors swirl that she is the subject matter of Tom’s new book — a story of a professor coming to terms with his past — Sam must question everything she once knew about herself. As Feeny says, “As anyone who’s seen After the Hunt can tell you, finding nuance in campus #MeToo stories is easier said than done. But The Adjunct feels like a unicorn, a truly thought-provoking look at power and misconduct — with a case so knotty, even the people involved are still untangling it — told from a POV rarely included in books set among quads and ivy-covered libraries.”
Get Even More From Bustle — Sign Up For The Newsletter
From hair trends to relationship advice, our daily newsletter has everything you need to sound like a person who’s on TikTok, even if you aren’t.
