Trope-ical Readathon - Team Fantasy - March 2026 Bingo Round - Wrap Up & Mini Reviews

Happy Saturday everyone!  Today I'm sharing my wrap up and mini reviews for the March 2026 Bingo Round of the Trope-ical Readathon which was hosted by Jenjenreviews.  Itran the entire month of March and I was on Team Fantasy.  This time around we've got unique bingo boards to complete that are based around your choice of team.  Of the 25 books on my original tbr, I managed to complete one bingo with a few extra squares for a total of 10 books.  Keep reading to see my thoughts on the books I read for this round:

Dark Academia

❋ ❋

I really wanted to love Katabasis by R.F. Kuang, but I was so irritated by the characters and the tone that it put me right off. I made it about 200 pages before I started skimming to see if anything would catch my eye to make me slow down to savor it but that never really happened again. Finally, I just wanted to mention that I couldn't help but think that Alice should talk to the Winchester brothers from Supernatural or even Charles and Edwin from Dead Boy Detectives.

My review is also on Goodreads, The StoryGraph, and my 2026 Popsugar Reading Challenge - March Update post.

Celebrity

❋ ❋ ❋ 

The Dark Sleep (Vampire Files #8) by P.N. Elrod was pretty good, but I was a little out of the loop given that I haven't read any of the previous books in the series. I'll have to come back for book one.  I really enjoyed the author's style of historical fantasy with horror elements and vampires.  This was sitting on my shelf for way too long so I'm glad I finally checked it off.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Love Triangle

❋ ❋

Death Blows (The Bloodhound Files #2) by D.D. Barant is an urban fantasy that I've on my shelf for quite awhile.  I'm always on the lookout for fun urban fantasy series to start in on and while I haven't read book one, but I had a tough time getting into this.  The premise sounded right up my alley, but I was just underwhelmed.  Perhaps I should have started with book one to really get the full effect.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Bookish

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

The Clockwork Scarab (Stoker & Holmes #1) by Colleen Gleason was pretty fun.  It's been awhile since I've read a steampunk novel.  I'd almost forgotten how much of a kick I get out of them, especially when it does bring in a bit of real history and then put its own unique spin on it all.  That said, I'm not sure if I'll continue on with the series though.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Time Travel

❋ ❋

Timeslip (Time Tunnel Adventure #2) by Murray Leinster is a tie-in novel to one of my favorite 1960s tv shows. While the basic concept is there, most of what I love about the show wasn't there. It's like it's based on a previous version of the script that's quite different. It's not terrible, but it just wasn't at all what I was hoping for or expecting.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Free Space!

❋

DNF'd @ p. 64

The 13th Witch (The King's Watch #1) by Mark Hayden is a book I was given (I was actually given the first eight books of this series).  It was quite a surprise and I wasn't at all familiar with the author going in, but the premise sounded intriguing enough to pick up the first book.  I like urban fantasy, but I realized pretty quickly this wasn't for me.  I kept going, but decided to give it up after just four chapters.  Overall, it's too awkward and disjointed.  I felt constantly out of the loop like I'd really missed something.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Powerful Artifact

❋ ❋

I've never read Judith Tarr before now, but I wasn't exactly a fan of Kingdom of the Grail by Judith Tarr. I didn't love it or hate it, just blah and bored. I will say that I really liked the idea of it though with both Merlin, the Grail, and the Song of Roland getting combined. It just wasn't quite for me though. I don't know if I'll be back for more from this author or not.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Enemies-To-Lovers

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

The Throne of Glass series is one of my favorites, but I don't think I really needed The Assassin's Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1-0.5) by Sarah J. Maas which is acollection of five prequel novellas. It was good to see Celaena again, and Sam too, and to visit their world again. I did appreciate how the final story The Assassin and the Empire leaves us right where the first novel begins.

My review is also on Goodreads, The StoryGraph, and The 52 Book Club's 2026 Reading Challenge - March Update post.

Multiple POV

❋ ❋ ❋ ❋

Old Country by Matt Query & Harrison Query is a horror thriller I'm glad I picked up on a whim from a thrift shop. I very much liked the almost conversational style.  The setting of the story is practically a character on its own.  The story is creepy and intense and I know I'll be reading more from these authors in the future.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Quest

❋ ❋

Faces of Deception (Forgotten Realms: Lost Empires #2) by Troy Denning is my first Forgotten Realms book in quite a few years. I haven't read the first book in this standalone series, but unfortunately this wasn't great. The characters are bland and it feels fairly generic. Plus, I wasn't expecting the level of Orientalism in this story.

My review is also on Goodreads and The StoryGraph.

Did you participate in this round of the Trope-ical Readathon?  Have you read any of these books?  As always, thanks for visiting my blog and perhaps even commenting down below!