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A Good Year for Bad Decisions: MARCH
A sharp, funny, emotionally honest story about almost-right choices, unspoken expectations, and the strange weight of new beginnings.
January blew Erin’s life apart.
February taught her that starting over is rarely clean.
March is where she tries to convince herself she’s doing just fine.
Newly divorced and newly employed at a fast-growing startup, Erin should feel like she’s back on solid ground. She has meaningful work, a kind man who feels safe in all the right ways, and the freedom to build something new from scratch.
So why does everything feel… louder?
Her coworkers are younger. Faster. Deeply enthusiastic about Slack reactions and team drinks that somehow last until midnight. Erin wants to fit in. She really does. She just didn’t realize how exhausting trying could be.
Between well-meaning colleagues, a relationship that’s starting to ask quiet questions, and the unsettling realization that comfort can be just as destabilizing as chaos, Erin finds herself facing a problem she never planned
What happens when the life you fought for doesn’t actually feel like home?
Warm, witty, and quietly incisive, March is a story about people-pleasing, misplaced ambition, and the small, human decisions that reveal who we actually are—long before we’re ready to admit it.
January blew Erin’s life apart.
February taught her that starting over is rarely clean.
March is where she tries to convince herself she’s doing just fine.
Newly divorced and newly employed at a fast-growing startup, Erin should feel like she’s back on solid ground. She has meaningful work, a kind man who feels safe in all the right ways, and the freedom to build something new from scratch.
So why does everything feel… louder?
Her coworkers are younger. Faster. Deeply enthusiastic about Slack reactions and team drinks that somehow last until midnight. Erin wants to fit in. She really does. She just didn’t realize how exhausting trying could be.
Between well-meaning colleagues, a relationship that’s starting to ask quiet questions, and the unsettling realization that comfort can be just as destabilizing as chaos, Erin finds herself facing a problem she never planned
What happens when the life you fought for doesn’t actually feel like home?
Warm, witty, and quietly incisive, March is a story about people-pleasing, misplaced ambition, and the small, human decisions that reveal who we actually are—long before we’re ready to admit it.
222 pages, Paperback
Published March 15, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 19, 2026
A Good Year for Bad Decisions: MARCH by Tess Marlowe (2026)
A Good Year for Bad Decisions #3
218-page Kindle Ebook story pages 5-216
Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction, Holiday > St. Patrick's Day
Rating as a movie: R for adult content
Featuring: Titled Chapters, 2025, Divorcée, Chicago, Illinois; Quadragenarian, Found Family, Friendships, Human Resource Specialist, Divorcé, Single Father, Starting Over, Sex - Off-Camera, Self-Actualization, Self-Reflection, Generation Gap, Corporate Setting, Coworkers, Office Politics, Author's Note - Link to Book 4
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📱🧋🔑🍀
My thoughts:🔖Page 108 of 218 [Chapter] 14 Dinner Plans - This was too much like a real work day for a few chapters. I'm glad these chapters are now numbered. It's pretty fast paced. I'm interested to what her next obstacles will be.
Don't get me wrong, this story is good, but there was just too much workplace reality for me. I felt like I was at work while reading this book. It's has pretty realistic point of view, which is why the story is so good, but also why I found it a bit frustrating when she was dealing with drama and stress. Looking for to the next 2 books.
Recommend to others: Absolutely. This is the best series of my All Through the Year Monthly/Seasonal novellas.
A Good Year for Bad Decisions
1. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: JANUARY (2025)
2. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: FEBRUARY (2026)
3. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: MARCH (2026)
4. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: APRIL (2026)
5. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: MAY (2026)
Memorable Quotes: I wanted to fit in at the company. I wanted to blend with people who were, in many cases, young enough to have graduated college after I’d already been promoted twice. And I didn’t love that about myself. I had spent fifteen years in HR telling other people not to do this. “Don’t optimize for likability at the expense of competence. Be consistent. Be legible. Let your work speak,” I would say, leaning across a mahogany desk, radiating wisdom. And yet here I was, drinking a seven-dollar coffee I didn’t want, staring at a random Chicago street, trying to invent a version of myself who deserved to exist on Monday morning. It’s different, I argued with myself. This is a fresh start. This matters. First impressions were sticky. Once you were labeled the “Corporate Narc” or the “Office Mom,” you stayed in that box until you quit or died. I had to get the calibration right. The problem, of course, was that I had absolutely no idea what “right” meant in this ecosystem.
Crisp-skinned chicken. Potatoes with perfectly browned edges. Arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette that hadn’t wilted into sad submission.
A Good Year for Bad Decisions #3
218-page Kindle Ebook story pages 5-216
Genre: Contemporary Women's Fiction, Holiday > St. Patrick's Day
Rating as a movie: R for adult content
Featuring: Titled Chapters, 2025, Divorcée, Chicago, Illinois; Quadragenarian, Found Family, Friendships, Human Resource Specialist, Divorcé, Single Father, Starting Over, Sex - Off-Camera, Self-Actualization, Self-Reflection, Generation Gap, Corporate Setting, Coworkers, Office Politics, Author's Note - Link to Book 4
My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️📱🧋🔑🍀
My thoughts:🔖Page 108 of 218 [Chapter] 14 Dinner Plans - This was too much like a real work day for a few chapters. I'm glad these chapters are now numbered. It's pretty fast paced. I'm interested to what her next obstacles will be.
Don't get me wrong, this story is good, but there was just too much workplace reality for me. I felt like I was at work while reading this book. It's has pretty realistic point of view, which is why the story is so good, but also why I found it a bit frustrating when she was dealing with drama and stress. Looking for to the next 2 books.
Recommend to others: Absolutely. This is the best series of my All Through the Year Monthly/Seasonal novellas.
A Good Year for Bad Decisions
1. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: JANUARY (2025)
2. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: FEBRUARY (2026)
3. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: MARCH (2026)
4. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: APRIL (2026)
5. A Good Year for Bad Decisions: MAY (2026)
Memorable Quotes: I wanted to fit in at the company. I wanted to blend with people who were, in many cases, young enough to have graduated college after I’d already been promoted twice. And I didn’t love that about myself. I had spent fifteen years in HR telling other people not to do this. “Don’t optimize for likability at the expense of competence. Be consistent. Be legible. Let your work speak,” I would say, leaning across a mahogany desk, radiating wisdom. And yet here I was, drinking a seven-dollar coffee I didn’t want, staring at a random Chicago street, trying to invent a version of myself who deserved to exist on Monday morning. It’s different, I argued with myself. This is a fresh start. This matters. First impressions were sticky. Once you were labeled the “Corporate Narc” or the “Office Mom,” you stayed in that box until you quit or died. I had to get the calibration right. The problem, of course, was that I had absolutely no idea what “right” meant in this ecosystem.
Crisp-skinned chicken. Potatoes with perfectly browned edges. Arugula salad with lemon vinaigrette that hadn’t wilted into sad submission.
April 1, 2026
I’m really enjoying this series. A Good Year for Bad Decisions March continues that momentum. I love how confident and self assured Erin has become in her life after her divorce in January’s story. I like her characters growth and her new job storyline. I’m also invested in how her relationship with Nick is developing. I’ll admit, I was worried a breakup might be coming, but that tension seems to be resolved… at least for now. And honestly, Tom and Carlos are standouts for me. Erin’s interactions with them are some of my favorite moments in the entire series. They bring humor to the story. Looking forward to April’s read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 18, 2026
absolutely loving these monthly reads, devour them as soon as they are released in one sitting
April 26, 2026
Wasn't into all the corporate talk. I didn't finish it.
April 1, 2026
Okay, not a huge fan of March’s read but I’m gonna stick with it so here’s to April. I do have to say that it’s one of the most real and believable stories I’ve read. Like this could be my life.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews