March has started! I’m excited for it. I received a whole pile of advance reader copies (ARCs) of ebooks in February that I’ve been working my way through. I finished two of them last week and then picked up a title from a local author that’s been sitting in my TBR pile since December. It was a really fun week in my reading adventures.

1. Heir of Illusion – Celia Aaron (ARC)

CW: Domestic Violence, Blood, Graphic Depictions of Violence & Injuries, SA, Grooming, Child Abuse (Including Implied SA), Torture, Death of Parent, Child Death, Forced Captivity, Graphic Depictions of Panic Attacks & cPTSD, Torture

A very big thank you to The Nerd Fam for the ARC of the eBook for this title! It will be officially published on March 31st, and can currently be preordered on Amazon.

I gave this one a brief mention in my review video last week when I had just started it, and at that point I was already hooked. Within a minute of starting I knew the magic system alone was going to hook me. It absolutely did, and so did the characters. I saw diversity. Relationships felt genuine. The banter between the male and female leads was phenomenal, and so was their chemistry.

However, what struck me the most about this one is the author’s handling of cPTSD. The reader has the POV of the protagonist, who has endured repeated trauma in her life. Not only is the portrayal viscerally realistic, but one of the character’s powers is probably the most potent allegory for dissociation I’ve ever encountered. I was awestruck.

This is another instance where I am left desperately craving a sequel before the first has even been released. While the first one is scheduled for release on the 31st of this month, I have not yet seen a date for the next one. I’m struggling, because that ending left me dying for more.

2. A Murderous Business – Cathy Pegau (ARC)

CW: Homophobia, Dementia, Gun Violence

This was another eARC, this time from NetGalley. It will be officially released on September 16th, but can be pre-ordered through your favorite booksellers now.

A Murderous Business was a really fun mystery to read. It’s set in 1912 in New York, and the setting is so beautifully vivid you feel you can touch it. There was obvious dedication to historical accuracy, and it made the world thoroughly encompassing. The attention to detail also made the detective work all that much more impressive. It also had great pacing, keeping the investigation realistic and thrilling at the same time with enough twists and turns to keep you constantly guessing without becoming confusing or disorienting.

What I enjoyed the most were the characters. They were realistic and very loveable. Most of the main characters are LGBTQIA+, and they’re wonderful representation of the community in a time where they could not live openly. In the end, I was wishing the book was longer, with more time to explore these characters’ relationships and lives. Even if it had slowed down the narrative, I would have loved more glimpses into their day-to-day habits and behavior without an ongoing crisis.

This is the first title I’ve read from Cathy Pegau, but I will definitely be seeking out more after this. She’s released a number of other novels before this in a variety of settings and genres, so that gives me a whole list of titles to add to my TBR! I recommend grabbing this one when it’s available September 16th, and you can pre-order now to make sure you get your hands on a copy.

3. Black Maria – Christine Boyer

CW: Child Death, Blood, SA, Drug Abuse (See next week’s updated list for any additions.)

Back in December, I attended an event for local authors, where many of them were selling and signing copies of their work. This was one of the titles in the whole stack of books I brought home that day. I enjoyed getting to speak with the author as well. She was very sweet, as I find is often the case when women write dark fiction. I’ve been looking forward to this one.

I’m just getting started at this point, not even sixty pages in. It’s another mystery, this time more of a police procedural, and set in the early 70s in rural Pennsylvania. That’s not a subgenre or setting I pick up frequently, but I am liking this one. So far, the attention to detail is excellent and the banter is really fun to watch. I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes from here, and I’ll give you an update on it next week!

March Has Started, Here We Go!

March has started off very well, and I think it’s going to continue that way. I’ve got another couple of eARCs queued up (including a full series!) and an ever-growing physical TBR pile. I’ll be doing a lot more reading, and I hope that you will be too. Please remember to support your local libraries and independent bookstores as much as possible. They are extremely valuable places that offer their communities so much more than many people realize. Get some banned books while you’re at it.

Keep an eye out on my YouTube channel or the main updates page here to follow along on all our bookish adventures. My reading recaps go out on Mondays and our bookstore adventures go out on Thursdays. As always, I want to hear from you! What have you been reading lately? Are you having fun with it? Have you read any of these titles, and if so, what did you think of them? Tell me everything, and follow along for more!