Books We Loved, Mar. 2026

Well, it’s undoubtedly not the same for everyone, but the endless winter of 2026 that afflicted the northeast United States, followed by two inexplicable days of summer and an immediate return to something approaching normal spring temperatures, has made the need for good, distracting reads more apparent than ever. Here are three books we loved in March, two historical and one contemporary romance, to keep you going until April arrives.

Janie Chang, The Fourth Princess  (William Morrow, 2026)

I’ve enjoyed several of Janie Chang’s books, most recently The Phoenix Crown, which she co-wrote with Kate Quinn, another favorite author of mine. So I couldn’t resist the pitch for a Gothic novel set in Shanghai at the very end of the Qing empire.

I won’t reveal the identity of the fourth princess or its connection to the story, because that would give away too many important plot points. I will say that the novel opens with and closely follows the experiences of Liu Lisan, a young Chinese woman who accepts a position as secretary (in the sense of social secretary) at Lennox House, the manor at the center of the Gothic tale. Her perspective overlaps with that of Caroline Stanton—the wealthy American who lives at Lennox House with her husband, Thomas, and his uncle. A third perspective, more historical but crucial to the story, comes from the diary of Rosalie Burnett, the wife of Thomas’s cousin, which Lisan discovers during her time at the manor.

Like all good Gothic tales, this one includes a crumbling façade, a hidden destiny, a series of unfortunate accidents that may not in fact be accidental, a looming sense of menace and words unspoken, and a location on the outskirts making it difficult to reach and even more difficult to escape. It could take place anywhere, but the way that the house and its troubles to some extent echo and intersect with the crumbling façade of the Qing empire lifts it above other works of its genre. The Fourth Princess is a delightful read with more than one delicious twist along the way.—CPL

Penny Haw, The Invincible Miss Cust (Sourcebooks Landmark, 2022)

Surrounded by dogs and horses, Aleen Cust grows up concerned with the health and welfare of all animals. When she first hears and comes to understand the term “veterinary surgeon,” she begins to fantasize about all the horses she could meet working as an “animal doctor,” all the calves in whose births she could participate. As it is, she is an excellent horsewoman by the age of six, and unbeknownst to her parents, who consider horse racing unladylike, she is intrepid when it comes to competing with her brothers.

She also has an instinct for knowing when horses and other animals are not up to par. She sounds like a shoo-in for veterinary school but for the fact that this wonderful historical novel unfolds in the second half of the nineteenth century. It is a man’s world in England, the country her family calls home, and also in Ireland, where Aleen spends her first decade, moving only after her father’s death. Moreover, she is an aristocrat, and while instruction in veterinary surgery is considered too physically demanding for women, her own family members see her ambitions as indecent, disgraceful, and embarrassing. Only by renouncing her can they save face within the communities they deem crucial to their personal goals.

The Invincible Miss Cust tells a powerful story of a highly spirited woman who must walk the fine line between her own desires and those of the many people who either doubt her abilities or feel they must adhere to the trends of the times. As opportunities to prove her capabilities present themselves, challenges to them only increase in number. There are no female veterinary surgeons at the time, so there is no one to guide her along. If she is to learn to defend herself and push on in the face of rejection, she must glean that knowledge from the handful of men who come to admire her skills, one of whom is the major designated to be her guardian after her father’s passing.

The Invincible Miss Cust is a thrilling read. It gallops along at the same quick pace that Aleen favors when she’s out on horseback and no one is watching. Author Penny Haw lets her character speak for herself, so that the reader learns everything she/he needs to know about the time and place without the story ever suffering from information dump.

Anyone who has ever taken on more than observers believe she or he “can chew” will revel in Aleen Cust’s accomplishments, and the author’s ability to combine existing fact with insight and imagination to create a powerful story.—JS

Jodi McAlister, An Academic Affair  (Atria Books, 2025)

Enemies-to-lovers romance novels are a dime a dozen, but a smart, funny, tongue-in-cheek, enemies-to-lovers romance about two academics who have turned their nonstop arguments into a teaching method is something to be celebrated. When the book’s author is herself an academic who spent years in what Australians call “the precariat,” meaning the vast underbelly of adjuncts and teaching assistants who often do the actual work of teaching at major universities, that adds a sense of authenticity that enriches both character studies and plot. Individual chapters even have footnotes! How academic is that?

The point of view shifts between the two mains, Jonah Fisher and Sadie Shaw. Jonah comes from a well-off scholarly family; Sadie has fought her way up. He specializes in early modern literature; on the rare occasions when she can convince someone that contemporary romance novels actually merit study, that’s what she researches and teaches. The two of them often end up teaching together, with predictable fireworks. But when a real job opens up at a university in Hobart, Tasmania, Jonah and Sadie have to go head-to-head for the position. Sadie wants a job, and this is the first one that actually asks for a specialist in contemporary romance—or, oddly, early modern European literature. Jonah’s motivation is more personal: his sister Fiona, abandoned by her husband and left with two kids to raise on her own, lives in Hobart and needs help.

Sadie lands the job, but out of sympathy for Fiona, she offers to marry Jonah, making him eligible for partner hire in the department. I’m sure you can imagine where things go from there, but the path to the inevitable destination results in one of the most delightful romances I’ve read in a long time.—CPL