Suzanne Collins has a new Hunger novel, the second prequel in the series (after The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes), set 24 years before the first Hunger Games book.
This franchise has such a strong following that Sunrise on the Reaping has already received a film adaptation, expected to debut in cinemas at the end of 2026. This time, Haymich Abernathy (the character Woody Harrelson played in the original film trilogy) takes center stage.
Called to participate in the annual Hunger Games, the District 12 tribute is determined to survive the harrowing challenges awaiting him to reunite with the love of his life. But the powers that be are working behind the scenes to engineer his defeat.
Sunrise on the Reaping is unlikely to make new converts. If you live and breathe Hunger Games, then this prequel is everything you have ever wanted. The book comes out on March 18. Once Was Willem by M.R. Carey (March 4) feels like the quintessential fantasy novel, choked with magic, monsters, and a showdown between the forces of good and evil.
Willem’s story should have ended when he died. But forces outside his control resurrected the fellow, thrusting him into a mission to save a humble village from a great evil. At 310 pages, Once Was Willem is a short, charming historical fairytale in which supernatural individuals are trying to protect a community that fears and hates them.
Carey tackles themes of empathy and found family, but the book feels neither clichéd nor overly predictable. The Anatomy of Magic by J.C. Cervantes (March 11) is fantasy romance. Lilian Estrada, the protagonist, is a successful OB-GYN with a great life. Like all Estrada women, she is also gifted with an incredible ability: the power to manipulate memories.
When a harrowing event shatters her confidence, sending her powers into a tail spin, Lilian returns to her ancestral home to heal. Once there, she reunites with Sam, her first love, whom she has not seen in a decade.
Lily must navigate her rekindled emotions for the boy she once knew while simultaneously exploring their shared history in the hopes of bringing her magic under control. The Serpent Called Mercy by Roanne Lau (March 25) is described as ‘The Witcher meets Squid Game,’ which is somewhat misleading.
The novel features deadly games (Squid Game) and monster-hunting (The Witcher), but those similarities are so vague as to not matter. Lythlet and her friend Desil will never escape debt and poverty, so they take drastic measures by descending into the city’s underbelly to fight sun-cursed beasts for money.
Initially, Desil’s brawling prowess piques the match-master’s interest. But then Dothilos becomes enamored with Lythlet’s quick cunning and decides to mentor her. Eventually, the promise of fame and unimaginable wealth enchants Lythlet, dragging her into a nefarious political game with enemies who don’t mind crossing the line to get what they want. Reviewers have praised the book for its action.
The protagonists are expected to partake in twelve matches. But the beasts they must defeat boast a unique array of abilities, which makes each fight a puzzle Lythlet and Desil must solve. When The Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi (March 25) asks an absurd question.
What if the moon became a giant wheel of cheese? Scalzi does not provide a definitive answer. In fact, he tells readers to take his science with a grain of salt in the afterword.
Instead, his book explores the reactions this ridiculous phenomenon attracts, placing readers in the shoes of billionaires, politicians, school kids, preachers, etc. In essence, each chapter is a short story. Some stories are faster-paced and more exciting than others. But in every chapter, Scalzi’s humour and wit shine. And that should do for now. Happy Reading!