Slightly belated, but better late than never! Here’s what I read in March.

Spellwright by Blake Charlton is a book for language lovers. Think sticks and stones can break your bones but words will never hurt you? Not in Charlton’s world. In Spellwright, not only can words break your bones, but they can chop off your limbs, stab your heart, and create all sorts of mayhem. It’s a fresh take on a classic genre plot, and gives new meaning to such words as “ghostwriting” and “purple prose.” An enjoyable read. (Read my full review here.)

And I read a historical fantasy set in medieval China, Dream of the Dragon Pool: A Daoist Quest by Albert A. Dalia. Incorporating Chinese myth and legend, Dalia’s fantasy adventure tells the story of a poet’s quest to find his muse. I had mixed feelings about this one, the details of which are hard to sum up in a one paragraph mini-review. Ultimately, I felt that while the story had potential, it had a very amateur feel. (My full review forthcoming at Debuts and Reviews; I’ll post the link when it goes up. UPDATE: Here it is.)

Anticipating the April release of Lisa Shearin’s fourth Raine Benares book, Bewitched and Betrayed, I also reread the previous book, The Trouble with Demons, this month. If you’re familiar with the series, you know that Raine is caught between two men and doesn’t know which one to choose. Rereading the book did little to help me decide which one to root for. It actually made it harder! That’s the mark of an author who knows how to write vivid characters. And the scene with Raine, Piaras, and Talon in the police station after creating demon-slaying mayhem is one of my favorites in the series.

That wraps it up for March. See you soon!