7 Most Anticipated Books to Read in March 2020

Story by Delaney Tran

2020 is going to be another year filled with great books to stack onto your neverending to-be-read pile. From the controversial release of “American Dirt” by Jeanine Cummins in January, to the return of The Hunger Games in the prequel “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes” set to release in May, the year is going to be full of releases across all genres.

For March, a month that marks spring, there are more than just contemporary and romance to peak your reading buds. The modern retelling of “Anna Karenina,” a serial killer who uses murders from famous mystery novels as inspiration, and a story about a New York City that is actually alive are among some of our most anticipated reads for March. Honestly, there are always too many books to read, but we aren’t complaining.

The Modern Retelling We Never Knew We Needed

“Anna K” by Jenny Lee (March 3)

Genres: young adult, contemporary, romance

“Anna K” is Jenny Lee’s modern, young adult retelling of Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina,” albeit with more “Gossip Girl” and diversity spin on the original. The story is about Anna K—a half Korean, 17-year-old living in upper-class Manhattan—and her friends and family as they navigate their anything but ordinary teenage lives. Among the cast of characters is Alexia “Count” Vronsky, presumably the love interest. He is described as a “notorious playboy who has bounced around boarding schools,” according to the synopsis. There are also mentions of first love and first heartbreak, so don’t expect “Anna K” to serve just fluff and stuff—expect a side of feels too.

If Bookworms Became Murderers

“Eight Perfect Murders” by Peter Swanson (March 3)

Genres: mystery, thriller, crime

There is no such thing as a perfect murder, but bookseller Malcolm Kershaw believes there are. He titled a list of unsolvable ones from books, “Eight Perfect Murders.” Among them are Agatha Christie’s “A.B.C. Murders” and Patricia Highsmith’s “Strangers on a Train,” which uncannily resembles the recent unsolved murders in Boston. He soon becomes entangled in an FBI investigation where the killer is a fan of Malcolm’s list.

Peter Swanson celebrates the mystery genre in “Eight Perfect Murders,” while simultaneously feeding into many booklovers’ guilty pleasure of books about books. He’ll have you questioning if maybe Malcolm isn’t all that innocent either, and guessing who the real killer is.

I Didn’t Sign Up For This, But Now It’s Up To Me

“The Winter Duke” by Claire Eliza Bartlett (March 3)

Genres: young adult, fantasy

Claire Eliza Bartlett weaves a fantasy that is a blend of Sleeping Beauty, Anatasia and political intrigue, set in a world with icy castles and underwater kingdoms. In “The Winter Duke,” Ekata’s brother is soon to be named heir to the throne in their home in Kylma Above.She is ready to escape from her family after that, but one night, she becomes the only survivor of an ancient curse that befalls her entire family. No sooner does she inherit the title of duke, the bride that was meant for her brother, and the kingdom she was going to run away from, all of which she never wanted to begin with.

An Interview Question Becomes a Reality

“In Five Years” by Rebecca Serle (March 10)

Genres: romance, fiction, contemporary

In five years, where do you see yourself? Dannie Cohan is asked this very question in an interview for her career as a lawyer. She has an answer already prepared and her life is on track with her five-year plan. She accepts her boyfriend’s marriage proposal and feels confident about the interview. She falls asleep knowing everything is set in her life.

But she wakes up in a completely new timeline, one where everything is not how it was when she fell asleep. She has a different ring, different apartment and a different man beside her. It’s the same night, but five years into the future. She thinks it’s just a dream, so she goes back to sleep and forgets about it all. Only four-and-a-half years after the episode, she meets the man that appeared in her vision.

There’s Already Hype and It’s Not Even Out Yet

“The Glass Hotel” by Emily St. John Mandel (March 24)

Genres: fiction, mystery, thriller, contemporary

The most intriguing reason for including “The Glass Hotel” on this list is because of how much buzz the book community generated for it. Emily St. John Mandel is beloved for her dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel “Station Eleven,” and even if you haven’t heard about her, “The Glass Hotel” is receiving its fair share of hype on book lists, including from Bustle and Buzzfeed.

It sets up a slightly surrealistic story, set on an island in British Columbia. Vincent, a bartender at the Hotel Caiette—the glass hotel, one can assume—crosses paths with Jonathan Alkaitis, the owner of the hotel. There is also a mysterious scrawled note that reads, “Why don’t you swallow broken glass,” that perpetuates a series of events leading up to Vincent’s disappearance 13 years later.

While the synopsis sounds rather vague and confusing, the elements of a Ponzi scheme, white-collar crime and ghosts are interesting and something worth checking out, if only to see if it’ll live up to the hype.

New York Cities Fight Evil

“The City We Became” by N.K. Jemisin (March 24)

Genres: urban fantasy, science fiction

New York has five souls that make up New York City: Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, Queens and Staten Island. These five New Yorkers must come together to stop an ancient evil that threatens to destroy the city and the world. N.K. Jemisin weaves an imaginative tale that is her own take on superheroes, along with an outright love letter to the city that never sleeps.

Very little else is given from the synopsis and the early reviews on Goodreads, but that’s what makes it all the more intriguing. It’s fantasy, it’s science-fiction, it’s got superheroes and it’s got villains… What more could you want?

She Goes By Many Names

“Code Name Hélène” by Ariel Lawhon (March 31)

Genres: historical fiction, spy thriller

Nancy Wake is an Australian living in Paris and working as a reporter for Hearst newspaper. She meets Henri Fiocca and soon becomes Mrs. Fiocca, but when the Germans invade France, she takes on a few different identities. As Lucienne Carlier, she helps people and documents across borders. As The White Mouse, she has a bounty on her head from the Gestapo and flees France for safety. As Hélène, she is part of the Special Operations Executives. And finally, as Madam Andre, she is a powerful leader in the French Resistance and her ability to gain weapons from the Allied Forces, all while wearing her signature red lipstick.

Ariel Lawhon interweaves timelines around the four code names of Nancy Wake, based off the actual historical figure of the same name that fought against the Nazis with every name she had. “Code Name Hélène” will share the story of an unsung heroine who should be a household name.

This article was originally posted on the DIG MAG website.