March New Releases
The weather continues to be unpredictable. Pick up and read a book - it will be safer!
One would think that the weather would calm down about this time of year, with spring finally on the horizon. And yet, here we are, with cold, snow in some cases, unseasonable warmth in others, and more rain. ‘Tis a bizarre spring indeed!
Nevertheless, we here at Upstream Reviews bring you tidings of new releases to keep you entertained despite the weird and possibly unpleasant weather. If you want brand new fantasy and sci-fi to chew on, we have plenty of deals for you! Just check this list and see which book calls to you most.
Seeking the Gods (Quest for the Ancients Book 1) by Blaze Ward
Releasing: March 10
No system on the Ohran Web claims to be the homeworld of humanity.
For a xenoarchaeologist like Ollie, this presents a challenge impossible to resist.
When the espionage capers get out of hand, a misunderstanding turns him into the most interesting spy in the galaxy.
And the target of a lot of trouble.
Seeking The Gods, the first book in the Quest for the Ancients series, sets out to answer an ancient riddle: Where did we come from? And why are people willing to kill to keep that secret?
Accidental Astronaut 3 by J.N Chaney and Rick Partlow
Released: February 22
Jack Schafer followed his greatest enemy through a wormhole—and stranded himself on the wrong side of the galaxy.
Lost on a brutal alien world of dinosaurs, rebels, and empires built on stolen god-tech, Jack is cut off from Earth, from his allies, and from the woman he loves. But survival is the easy part.
Archon Draven is still alive. Still plotting. And now he’s found something far worse than an army...an emperor as competent and ruthless as he is.
As Jack fights his way through an unfamiliar war, Lisa Cantrell races to rebuild impossible technology to bring him home—before Draven uses it to enslave worlds, including Earth itself.
One man stranded. One enemy unleashed.
And a galaxy that’s about to learn why letting humans get involved was a terrible mistake.
Level Four: A Science Fiction LitRPG Novel (Galactic Merc Book 4) by Chris Kennedy
Releasing: March 20
I just wanted to tell my neighbor to shut up.
Hi, I’m Jack Taylor, a romance author from Earth—though you probably haven’t heard of my planet yet. It’s not part of the Galactic Consortium, and that’s a good thing for the shady alien races lurking in the shadows snatching people.
They got me, and I became first a merc, and now one of the Heralds, trying to unite the races and prevent an invasion of the Void Feeders that intend to consume the galaxy. I’ve never seen them, but apparently, they’re really hungry.
Faced with a surprise attack by the Void Feeders, my squad and I embark on a critical mission to activate three ancient nexus points, but they’re spread way apart and time is extremely short.
That’s a lot for a Level Four merc to take on, but I’m going to do my best. I mean… the fate of the Helios Cluster and its billions of people hinges on us completing the mission before they’re consumed. We’re going to do it or die trying. I just hope it’s the former.
The Monster Hunter Files, Volume 2 by Larry Correa
Released: March 3
For well over a century, Monster Hunter International has kept the world safe from supernatural threats far and wide. Now, join us as we delve some of the wilder stories from the library archives which have never seen the light of day. The Monster Hunter Files Vol. 2 continues the secret lore and mythical battles against the forces of evil, and the fallout from these conflicts.
Deadly mermaids attacking a small northeastern port village . . . ancient Roman heroes . . . combat exorcists . . . Decision Week . . . ancient Greek muses . . . all these and more within, all revealed with meticulous care and research of Albert Lee, MHI’s archivist.
Lock & Load (Valley of Fire Book 3) by John Van Stry
Released: February 18
In the heart of the Fire Nebula, war rages across the stars. Crown Prince Wolf Alexander-Morgan and Princess Mariella, forged in the crucible of combat and mech warfare, stand at the forefront of a desperate counterstrike against a ruthless empire that has already struck at their homeworlds. With elite squadrons, aging battleships revived from slumber, and hard-won alliances hanging by a thread, they prepare to carry the fight straight to the enemy’s stronghold.
But victory demands more than firepower. As hidden truths surface, old grudges resurface, and the line between ally and threat blurs, Wolf and Mariella must navigate treacherous politics, overwhelming odds, and the weight of their own destinies. One wrong move could doom their kingdom—or end the war in flames.
Pulse-pounding space battles, brutal ground assaults, and the clash of crowns await in the explosive conclusion to the Valley of Fire trilogy. In a galaxy where loyalty is tested in fire, some legends are born… and others are extinguished.
The Restitching of Camille DuLaine (Volume 2) (The Rivenlea Sphere) by Lindsay A. Franklin
Released: February 10
A splintered world, a heart gone cold. Hope reborn in threads of gold.
After accidentally bridging the storyworlds together, Emlyn DuLaine faces an impossible task: sever the connections without destroying the stories themselves. If she fails, the characters will be trapped in twisted versions of their tales, forced to relive their worst moments forever.
But undoing the bridges is only the beginning. To truly fix what’s unraveling, Emlyn must uncover the secret flaw buried deep in Rivenlea’s foundation, something that’s been wrong since the very start.
And the danger has never been closer to home. The clock is ticking for the injured wyvern who needs Rivenlite air to survive and the story boy Emlyn swore she’d never fall for. Emlyn and her team must rescue Frank and Laramie from chaotic, shifting story spheres before they’re gone for good.
But Frank and Laramie aren’t the only ones lost to the spheres. Camille DuLaine is a prisoner, held as bait by someone who knows exactly how to lure her sister in. After seven years of sleep, Camille wakes to find herself trapped in a storybook and sure of only one thing: Emlyn must stay far, far away.
Racing to solve one mind-bending puzzle after the next, Emlyn uncovers a plan seventeen years in the making. She stands at the center of a fractured universe—and she might be too late to save it.
Firebreak (Firebird Interlude Trilogy Book 1) by Kathy Tyers
Releasing: March 10
What would you sacrifice to save your family and your home world?
Lady Firebird Caldwell returns to the world of her birth, Netaia, intending to introduce her young sons to the noble Electors while her husband, Brennen, conducts a military inspection. When mysterious ships in distress suddenly approach the planet, the Electorate sends her to initiate first contact. Forced to work alongside a vengeful childhood enemy, Firebird uses everything within her power—even her passion for music—to negotiate, only to discover their alien technology threatens all the worlds she holds dear.
Facing ruthless betrayal, Firebird undertakes a deadly journey to salvage the mission. Brennen must make daring use of his telepathic powers to save human life in the galactic Whorl, including that of their young sons. But saving the worlds might force Brennen to give the order that would mean Firebird’s death. In a galaxy poised on the edge of ruin, survival may demand the ultimate sacrifice—from them both.
Starquest: Sinister Syndicate of Space by John C. Wright
Releasing: March 17
Special Agent Athos is now King of Pirates! Blood Moon is his! When will his corsairs turn on him?
Ahab is gone, but the Faceless Man remains! How will the Syndicate of Felony Worlds retaliate?
Nightshadow and Ancient Mariner meet! But neither brother knows the secret identity of the other!
Must Andromeda's foremost Lawman arrest the most feared Lawless Vigilante?
Has Lirazel found her long-lost robot father at last? Or does hateful fate hold more woe in store?
Where is Arcadia?
MASTERMINDS of CRIME and OVERLORDS of EVIL OCCULT ARTS COMBINE!
TO BE CONTINUED IN OUR NEXT EXCITING INSTALLMENT:
Starquest: Sinister Syndicate of Space!
Right of Vengeance: Part 7 of The Vixen War Bride Series by Thomas Doscher
Released: February 1
Peace is hard, but it is still better than the alternative.
Five years have passed since the Dark Ones' attack on Va'Sh, and the Coalition occupation of the planet is approaching its official end. During this turbulent time, Imperial Sword Bearer Ben Gibson is ordered to the Imperial Capital to provide advice and counsel to the Va'Shen Emperor. His mission drastically changes, however, after the Va'Shen Empress is shot by a human gunman during a ceremony and now hovers between life and death. With interstellar peace in the balance, Ben must somehow uncover the truth behind the attempted assassination or Va'Sh and Earth may once again be thrown into war.
Call of Wings (Drift and Dragon Book 5) by Dan Michaelson and D.K. Holmburg
Released: February 17
The summons was supposed to bring justice. Instead, it awakens something far older.
Called to testify at the Baron’s trial, Callen Nasinth enters the capital expecting politics and danger—but not the pulse of ancient power beneath its streets. Noble factions hunt for the Baron’s lost research. Whispers spread of transformed aristocrats hiding in plain sight. And someone has left a message only the Nightshade would understand.
As Nora’s visions warn of blood on marble floors and the drift thrums with something waking below the city, Callen must navigate treacherous alliances, buried corruption, and the ghosts of the man he used to be.
Because the capital isn’t just watching him.
It remembers him. And it wants him back.
This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me (Maggie the Undying Book 1) by Ilona Andrews
Releasing: March 31
When Maggie wakes up cold, filthy, and naked in a gutter, it doesn't take her long to recognize Kair Toren, a city she knows intimately from the pages of the famously unfinished dark fantasy series she's been obsessively reading and re-reading while waiting years for the final novel.
Her only tools for navigating this gritty world of rival warlords, magic, and mayhem? Her encyclopedic knowledge of the plot, the setting, and the characters' ambitions and fates. But while she quickly discovers she cannot be killed (though many will try!), the same cannot be said for the living, breathing characters she's coming to love—a motley band that includes a former lady’s maid, a deadly assassin, various outrageous magical creatures, and a dangerously appealing soldier. Soon, instead of trying to get home, she finds herself enmeshed in the schemes—and attentions—of dueling princes, dukes, and villains, all while trying to save them and the kingdom of Rellas from the way she knows their stories will end: in a cataclysmic war.
The Peace Child by Nick Nethery
Released: March 3
The Peace Child was a sacred custom, one which had held for thousands of years.
Red was a soldier at the end of a long career, who just wanted to retire to his estate and forget about the world.
But then his king asked him to perform one last mission: safeguard and escort a six year old boy, royal scion of a once-enemy kingdom, away from danger. Because there was a conspiracy, or several conspiracies, to kill the Peace Child in order to start a new war. And almost immediately, Red discovered that the places and friends he thought he could trust were just as dangerous as his known enemies.
From the royal palace to a sacred abbey at the top of an active volcano, from a smugglers’ sanctuary to a clifftop estate above a raging sea, Red must keep the novice and the Peace Child safe. He and his companions must make new friends, hide from bounty hunters and soldiers from all sides, and navigate little-understood yet powerful magics. If Red fails, the ancient tradition ensuring the peace will be broken, and war will begin again.
Done With Mirrors: A Collection of Short Stories (Sarah A. Hoyt’s Short Story Collections) by Sarah Hoyt
Released: February 14
DONE WITH MIRRORS
From Prometheus Award winner Sarah A. Hoyt comes a dazzling collection that showcases why her work has appeared in Analog, Asimov’s, and Weird Tales—and why readers can’t get enough.
Magic-soaked noir in 1920s Denver. Mirror-hopping time lords fleeing across infinite universes. Survival in John Ringo’s zombie apocalypse. Murder and mystery in the world of Darkships and Rhodes. Each story in this collection pulls you into a different world—and refuses to let go.
Previously published in acclaimed anthologies from Baen and Chris Kennedy Publishing, these nine tales span Hoyt’s most beloved universes alongside standalone adventures. Whether she’s writing in Ringo’s Black Tide Rising series, exploring her own Darkships and Rhodes worlds, or crafting speculative noir that defies categorization, Hoyt delivers the vivid storytelling and emotional resonance that has earned her a devoted following.
From rain-slicked streets where magic and murder collide to the far reaches of space-time itself, Done With Mirrors demonstrates the genre-hopping brilliance of one of speculative fiction’s most versatile voices.
Nine stories. Nine worlds. One unforgettable collection.
Contains the short stories: Honey Fall; Scrubbing Clean; Last Chance; Great Reckoning in a Small Room; Horse’s Heart; Do No Harm; Dead End Rhodes; Knights of Time; Done with Mirrors.
With an introduction by Holly Chism.
Sylvie’s Escape by Mary Catelli
Releasing: March 12
Princess Sylvie's parents sent her off to a mountain castle for her safety. There, she is greeted with a gift of a kitten. Not just any kitten, but one of the legendary Queen Angelique's kittens.
When the kitten leads her into the forest, she follows, just avoiding capture as soldiers arrive to take the castle. She must flee and find refuge among the mountains and the mountain folk.
If she can.
I’m the Beautiful But Evil Space Princess Who Rules A Galactic Empire But Really Wants To Leave People Ruthlessly Alone: Volume 3 by Nathan C. Brindle
Released: February 3
Imperial Princess Regnant Alice and Crown Prince Daniel of Xeros are now engaged to be married, by the laws and customs of the Church of the Goddess on Xeros.
But if you’ve ever had a wedding, or anything like a wedding, you know you have to hope the guests will be well-behaved.
Enter the Goddess herself, and her “plus-one,” Michael of Terra, who have a bit of an emergency for which they need our plucky crew.
But don’t worry . . . it’s only the universe unraveling. It can wait till tomorrow.
The third volume of the BBESP light novel!
The Sundered Crown Saga (4-6) by M.S. Olney
Releasing: March 27
The Sundered Crown Saga: Books 4–6 Boxset
Voyage for the Sundered Crown – Heroes of the Sundered Crown – Master of the Sundered Crown
The final chapters of the epic fantasy saga begin.
As darkness sweeps across Delfinnia, Luxon Edioz and his companions are thrust into a battle that will determine the fate of their world. From storm-lashed seas and ancient kingdoms beyond the horizon, to besieged cities and the very heart of magic itself, the heroes must forge new alliances and confront enemies born from nightmare.
Pursued by the unstoppable forces of Danon and the rising terror of the N’Gist, old prophecies stir, forgotten powers awaken, and the truth behind the Sundered Crown is finally revealed. Loyalties will be tested, sacrifices demanded, and the line between hope and despair grows razor-thin as the Void threatens to consume all.
This exclusive boxset brings together the explosive concluding trilogy of the Sundered Crown Saga, delivering sweeping adventure, world-shattering battles, unforgettable characters, and a finale years in the making.
Perfect for fans of classic epic fantasy, dragon-filled warfare, heroic camaraderie and worlds steeped in deep lore.
The journey ends. The legend is born.
Against the Demon World by D. M. Ritzlin
Released: February 1
Avok Kur Storn is renowned throughout Cythera for his fearlessness and his unsurpassable swordsmanship. When a cult of Iljerists arrives, bent on converting the Cytherans to their vile creed of demon worship, Avok, naturally, will not stand for it. However, the high priest Arsk Felthor possesses unimaginable powers, and summons an unholy entity. Avok is captured and carried away to Uzz, the moon where demons dwell!
On Uzz, Avok is fated, it seems, to be nothing more than a pawn in a war between two factions of diabolical demons. One is led by the cunning and monstrous Nelgastrothos, the other by the seductive succubus Heltorya. Both sides wish to exploit Avok for their own purposes.
Will Avok be able to break the chains that bind him to the depraved realm of demons and return to his home world? And if he can, will he find his people in the grip of Felthor’s evil cult? His life—and soul—are at stake!
Tales from the Clockwork Coyote (Barnson Collections) by Jay Barnson
Released: March 3
Brass gears. Steam engines. Impossible machines.
In this collection of six high-adventure steampunk tales, daring heroes, stubborn heroines, and dangerous mechanical creations collide in worlds powered by steam and imagination.
From desperate airship combat to experimental devices that refuse to stay contained, plunge into adventure where innovation meets risk—and courage is the only constant.
Author Jay Barnson delivers fast-moving action, inventive technology, and characters who refuse to back down when the pressure rises.
Strap in. Stoke the boiler.
And prepare for adventure.
Ruin and Redemption (Chronicles of the Fall Book 21) by Pam Uphoff
Released: February 18
A collection of six related stories
The Orgy Drug was just a snickery rumor . . . until an afternoon garden party when someone spiked the punch.
In a society divided by class, and ruled by the Mentalist Elite, who even keep their wives controlled with brain chips . . . Six upper class young ladies and their maids are faced with the ruination of their reputations—and the reactions of friends and family—and they’re going to deal with it, each in their own way.
Using the cultural changes forced by the loss of Zhivvyy Provoda, the Power Plague attacks, the illegal Orgy Drug circulating widely . . . and contact with other dimensionally-able civilizations, they’re all going to make it, one way or another.
Battle Drills: Kill Zone by Shane Gries
Released: February 25
In the frozen kill zones of Tau Ceti IV, Terran Marine Private David Hernandez fights a brutal war against the relentless Kharkan hordes. But when peace shatters the battlefield in the most unexpected way, survival takes on a new meaning—one far from the front lines.
Years later, Hernandez joins the elite mercenaries of Jackson Solutions, trading fatigues for high-stakes contracts in the lawless Zone of Separation. Amid corporate betrayals, pirate raids, and shadowy alliances, he uncovers a conspiracy that could ignite interstellar chaos.
As loyalties fracture and enemies close in, Hernandez must master the deadliest battle drills of all: trust no one, and fight to the last breath.
Honey, I Found a Starship by J.N. Chaney and Matthew A. Goodwin
Releasing: March 8
When Thomas Matheson moves his family into their new suburban home, he's hoping for a fresh start, a chance to reconnect with his teenage children and an opportunity to leave the pressures of his old life behind.
But when strange things start happening around the house, Thomas discovers something hidden in the basement: a starship, buried beneath their home for years.
Before they can process what they've found, the ship's AI activates and the Matheson family is scattered across the galaxy.
Now Thomas must navigate a universe of hunted heroes, alien civilizations, criminal syndicates, and a government that will stop at nothing to claim their ship.
His family is out there somewhere, lost among the stars and to find them, he'll have to become something he never imagined: a captain.
When The Cowbird Sings: Dark Tales for the Midnight Hour (Into the Night Book 2) by Caroline Giammanco
Released: February 3
Beware of When the Cowbird Sings because things aren’t always as they seem. What appears to be an ordinary day can shift beneath your feet.
Ghosts, strange creatures, and aliens will make you question reality in these spooky tales, perfect for giving a chill.
In this second book of the Into the Night series, Caroline Giammanco once again takes us into the worlds of the unknown and unexpected. Keep your eyes open, because you never know where theturn of a page might take you.
The wind seems to be picking up. Will March come in like a Lion or like a Lamb - that is, will it start windy and calm down? Or will it begin calmly and then see the wind increase?
As long as you have a good book and a coat, you should be in good shape, readers. Let us know which books on this list that you enjoyed and tell us of any we may have missed in the comments! Okay, time to get back inside. Spring hasn’t sorted itself out neatly this year!
I heard that since this January IF an author posts the ebook DRM-free, AND the e-book is not locked down by other restrictions, THEN readers can buy a copy and somehow send it to a non ‘Zon-controlled e-reader.
Do you know anything about that? I am willing to give it a try.