The Epic List of March 2022 Book Releases

Rogue therapist Avery Chambers promises that she can fix any problem in 10 sessions with her unconventional methods that have stripped her of her license. After cheating on her husband, Marissa Bishop is willing to do anything to save her marriage to Matthew. As Avery looks deeper into the seemingly perfect couple, she finds that there is much more going on than any of them suspect. With a compelling story and plenty of twists to keep you guessing, fans of the thriller duo will love their new psychological thriller.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Publication Date: 8 March 2022
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One of my most-anticipated March 2022 book releases is a novel about grieving and understanding a parent. When her mother dies just before their planned mother-daughter trip to Italy, Katy decides to still spend the summer exploring the Amalfi coast as she grieves. Magically, Katy meets a younger version of her mother, giving Katy a whole new perspective on her mother as a person.

I really wanted to like One Italian Summer because I adored the complex themes of Serle’s last novel, In Five Years. Yet, I really disliked the protagonist – who was overly reliant on her mother and was way too ambivalent to her husband. The mechanics of the time travel situation were not well thought out, which was also annoying. One positive thing: I loved the descriptions of Positano so much that I started learning Italian on Duolingo with intentions of visiting the Amalfi Coast as soon as possible.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Atria Books through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 1 March 2022
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In 1977, two men were murdered with the same gun but the prime suspect, the eccentric Beth Greer, was acquitted at trial. Searching for a story for her true-crime blog, Shea Collins decides to interview Beth, in a mansion that may be haunted. The deeper Shea dives into the truth, the more she worries she is being manipulated by a cold-blooded murderer.

The Book of Cold Cases gripped me at the start with its perfect blend of ghost story and cold case mystery. After the big halfway reveal, the combination fractured and the story lost all of its tension. Instead of keeping up the edgy suspense, the second half of the story just explained the truth of the cold case (with no hint of the supernatural) and then jumped into an overly ghost-filled finale. Although its five-star beginning turned into a three-star end, I still think that The Book of Cold Cases is worth a read for anyone who wants an enjoyably spooky read.

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Publication Date: 15 March 2022
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Based on the true story of Mila Pavlichenko, a librarian turned sniper known as Lady Death, who became a national hero during World War II. When Hitler invades Russia, Mila must abandon her books to fight in the war, becoming an expert sniper. After her 300th kill, Mila is sent on a diplomatic mission to Washington, DC, where the shadow of an old enemy looms.

Publication Date: 29 March 2022
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On New Year’s Eve 1999, five teenagers working the night shift at a Blockbuster in New Jersey are attacked, with only one survivor. Police quickly identify a local teenage boy as a suspect, but he disappears before they can arrest him. Fifteen years later, it happens again at an ice cream store. Now FBI Agent Sarah Keller must investigate both incidents, looking for a connection, while stirring up memories for the first survivor and the brother of the accused, who has always proclaimed his brother’s innocence.

The Night Shift has a tightly woven plot so all the characters are heavily interwoven. This interconnection allowed for plenty of twists and red herrings, but also made it so I guessed the ending. Yet, the story was so fun to read, that I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good thriller to read this Spring.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 1 March 2022
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The Home Group is a selective group of celebrity clubs where the rich and famous can party in private and then sleep it off in one of the luxury suites. As a group of celebrities descends for the opening of the pinnacle of The Home Group’s resorts on a private island, the company employees are pushed to the breaking point and bad behavior and deadly secrets lead to an explosive weekend.

I thought Reese’s March book club pick was overrated, which is disappointing because I loved Ellery Lloyd’s debut novel, People Like Her. The first half of the novel drags as it tries too hard to impress you with the exclusivity of its resorts. Even when the action picks up in the second half, the lack of character development makes for a forgettable read.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harper through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 1 March 2022
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When Emma falls seriously ill, her husband Leo begins to research her life for her obituary. The more he digs into his wife’s past, the more her realizes everything she told him about herself is a lie, including her name. Now Emma must convince Leo that he really does know her, but first she must tell him about the other love of her life.

Publication Date: 1 March 2022
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As the contentious 2016 Presidential election is underway, Owen Callahan moves back to rural Kentucky to live with his Trump-supporting uncle and grandfather. In exchange for a free writing class, Owen takes a job as a groundskeeper at the local college. When he begins a relationship with Alma, a writer in residence from a liberal East coast family, Alma struggles to understand Owen’s relationship with his family and his hometown.

Publication Date: 1 March 2022
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Peach Blossom Spring is a family saga that follows 70 years of the Dao family. After a life as a refugee, first fleeing from the Japanese Army and then relocating during the Civil War, Renshu Dao and his mother Meilin eventually end up in Taiwan. When Renshu attends graduate school in America, he reinvents himself as Henry and refuses to talk about his childhood or heritage to his American wife or daughter.

Loosely based on the life of Melissa Fu’s father, Peach Blossom Spring does an excellent job guiding you through modern Chinese history. Although the story was interesting, the telling left something to be desired. The writing style was stiff and the characters are emotionally distant; you are told what happens to them but never able to experience what they are feeling.

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Publication Date: 15 March 2022
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Born with face blindness, Eleanor witnesses her grandmother’s murder but can’t identify the killer. Terrified the murderer will come for her, Eleanor begins to have severe anxiety and nightmares. When she unexpectedly inherits her grandmother’s vast estate in the Swedish woods, Eleanor also inherits the dark secrets that come with it.

Camilla Sten’s Swedish thriller has the perfect spooky setting at an abandoned estate in the woods. Eleanor’s face blindness and the tensions between the characters give the whole novel a suspenseful vibe. Yet, the lackluster character development left me wanting more depth. That said, you will appreciate Sten’s twist, as the backstory of Eleanor’s grandmother collides with the present-day events.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

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Publication Date: 29 March 2022
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In 1959, the Garrett family takes their first (and last) vacation as their tenuous bonds seem to be falling apart. Mercy is struggling with her desire to break out of motherhood and become a painter. Meanwhile sisters Alice and Lily seem to have nothing in common anymore and their younger brother David seeks to escape for reasons unknown to the family. Told over the ensuing decades, French Braid is an exploration of how interweaving bonds between family members affect people throughout their lives.

Publication Date: 22 March 2022
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James Patterson, one of the bestselling authors of all times, teams up with beloved musician Dolly Parton for a thriller about an up-and-coming singer-songwriter. Singing about the hard life she left behind, her fame is only increasing. When she settles in Nashville looking for her big break, the past she has been running from comes back to haunt her.

Publication Date: 7 March 2022
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Salahudin and Noor were inseparable until a massive fight left them reeling. With his mother’s failing health and his dad’s increasing alcoholism, Sal takes it upon himself to save the family motel. Meanwhile, Noor secretly applies to college to escape their small town and her angry uncle. When Sal’s desperate attempts have unintended consequences, Sal and Noor must decide what their friendship is worth in this contemporary YA novel.

Publication Date: 1 March 2022
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Nine strangers receive a mysterious list in the mail with nine names, including their own. All are strangers with different occupations living in different parts of the country. When they begin dying under suspicious circumstances, FBI Agent Jessica Winslow begins to investigate if there is a connection or if it’s the work of a madman, because she, too, is on the list.

Publication Date: 15 March 2022
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Good people can be bad at relationships. Matthew Fray knows this first hand, after his article “She Divorced Me Because I left the Dishes by the Sink” went viral following his divorce. Now a relationship coach and blogger, Fray explains how good intentions can cause us to hurt our partners and shows how to break the cycle of dysfunction in your marriage.

This is How Your Marriage Ends spends most of the book repeating the same lesson over and over in as many ways as possible – by not having empathy, you unintentionally hurt your spouse and then invalidate their experience, breaking their trust and straining the relationship. Fray’s book serves well his target audience, good men who are bad husbands, beating them over the head with his central message. However, the constant repetition drove me crazy and Fray’s sense of humor wasn’t my style.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Harper Collins through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

My Rating:
Publication Date: 22 March 2022
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