Looking for the new releases coming out in May 2026 to build your TBR? Get titles from all genres, including romantasy, contemporary, romance, thriller, and more!
Contemporary
- The May House by Jillian Cantor
- The Maiden Heads by Benny B. Peterson
- Girls Our Age by Phoebe Thompson
- Where the Water Meets the Sky by Diane Les Becquets
- The Things We Never Say by Elizabeth Strout
- You Can't Hurry Second Chances by Michelle Stimpson
- John of John by Douglas Stuart
- Mercy Hill by Hannah Thurman
- The Pillagers' Guide to Arctic Pianos by Kendra Langford Shaw
- Take Me with You by Steven Rowley
- Saturn Returning by Kim Narby
- Immersions by Kyle McCarthy
- The Outer Country by Davin Malasarn
- Men Like Ours by Bindu Bansinath
- Canon by Paige Lewis
- Enormous Wings by Laurie Frankel
- Hungered by Amanda Rizkalla
- Good Joy, Bad Joy by Mikki Brammer
- All Us Saints by Katherine Packert Burke
- June Baby by Shannon Garvey
My pick: All Us Saints by Katherine Packert Burke
Release date: May 19
Synopsis: 19 years after a tragic family event, Edna and her siblings Calla and James gather to reenact the murders committed by their sister Edna's twin. This literary drama explores the childhood of a closeted trans girl in the 90s.
Science Fiction
- The Republic of Memory by Mahmud El Sayed
- The Last Contract of Isako by Fonda Lee
- Radiant Star by Ann Leckie
- Love Galaxy by Sierra Branham
- Homebound by Portia Elan
- Platform Decay by Martha Wells
- The Memory Foundation by Amanda West
My pick: The Memory Foundation by Amanda West
Release date: May 26
Synopsis: Natasha Walker, a journalist, infiltrates a secretive clinic led by Wade Hunter and his wife Lydia to uncover the truth behind their memory loss cure.
Fantasy
- Strange Familiars by Keshe Chow
- Verity Guild by Mai Corland
- Worthy of Fate by A.N. Caudle
- The Arcane Arts by S. D. Coverly
- Rainshadow Orphans by Naomi Ishiguro
- Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth
- The Lost Book of Lancelot by John Glynn
- Immortal Connections by Tao Wong
My pick: The Arcane Arts by S. D. Coverly
Release date: May 19
Synopsis: Ambitious student Ellsbeth Storer convinces the celebrated professor Thaddeus Rawlins to mentor her in a taboo and dangerous branch of magic. Their clandestine research soon ignites a forbidden passion that threatens to consume them both.
Horror
- She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang
- Not Your Final Girl by Mikayla Randolph
- Honey by Imani Thompson
- The Bone Door by Frances White
- Bone of My Bone by Johanna Van Veen
- Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey
- I'll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel
- The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
- Dead Weight by Hildur Knútsdóttir
- The Dorians by Nick Cutter
- Femme Feral by Sam Beckbessinger
- Until Death by Mary Berman
- New Skin by Sarah Wang
- The Temptation of Charlotte North by Camilla Bruce
- I Know a Place by Nat Cassidy
My pick: I'll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel
Release date: May 26
Synopsis: In 1974, the infamous Lottie Turner runs scams involving desperate families looking to adopt, while in 1994, Bless discovers the horrifying truth about her own past. Bless must choose between seeking revenge or finding forgiveness for the woman who shaped her life.
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Historical Fiction
- The Hope Keeper by Heather Webb
- The Last Lady B by Eloisa James
- The Calamity Club by Kathryn Stockett
- Holloway by Elena K. Arnold
- The Arcadian by Steven Pressfield
- A Harlem Wedding by Tiffany L. Warren
- The Young Will Remember by Eve J. Chung
- Liberty Island by Virginia Hume
- The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline
- The Forgotten Midwife by Laura Anthony
- Smallie by Eden Mckenzie-Goddard
- A Very Vexing Murder by Lucy Andrew
- A Perfect Hand by Ayelet Waldman
- Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler
- The Parisian Chapter by Janet Skeslien Charles
My pick: The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline
Release date: May 12
Synopsis: Sisters Adelaide and Sarah see their lives transformed when they marry the world-famous conjoined twins Eng and Chang Bunker in 19th-century North Carolina. The story follows their complex, boundary-defying marriages over five decades against the backdrop of a nation heading toward war.
Thriller
- Beneath a Broken Sky by Joshua Moehling
- Dissection of a Murder by Jo Murray
- Caller Unknown by Gillian McAllister
- The Great Houses of Pill Hill by Diane Josefowicz
- Rachel West and the Fallen Starlet by Emma Mills
- The Library After Dark by Ande Pliego
- Five by Ilona Bannister
- The Final Target by Nora Roberts
- The Anniversary by Alex Finlay
- The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny & Mellissa Fung
- This Town Won't Tell by Rhodi Hawk
- Artifacts by Natalie Lemle
- The Last Book Club by Joanne Rock
- The One Day You Were My Husband by Rosie Walsh
- Invitation to Murder by Carol Floriani
My pick: Five by Ilona Bannister
Release date: May 5
Synopsis: Five strangers wait for a train that will kill one of them in exactly five minutes.
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Young Adult
- The Last Best Quest Ever by F.T. Lukens
- This Must Be the Place by Kelly Quindlen
- The Unfinished by Cheryl Isaacs
- I'm Gonna Get You Back by Eva Des Lauriers
- As I Dream of You by Jennifer Lee & LeUyen Pham
- Behind Five Willows by June Hur
- Change of Plans by Sarah Dessen
- Lying About Last Summer by Sue Wallman
- Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli
- The Cove by Claire Rose
- Smash or Pass by Birdie Schae
- Shapes of Love by L.V. Peñalba
- Rani Deshpande Takes the Wheel by Arushi Avachat
- Stops Along the Way by Anna Sortino
- The Summer of Second Chances by K.L. Walther
My pick: Rani Deshpande Takes the Wheel by Arushi Avachat
Release date: May 19
Synopsis: Nineteen-year-old Rani Deshpande attempts to reinvent herself by taking driving lessons from her childhood crush and family friend, Kush Khanna. As their lessons progress, Rani discovers there is much more to the "model son" Kush than she originally thought.
Romance
- Fever Dream by Elsie Silver
- The Last Page by Katie Holt
- Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
- Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan
- The Summer Share by Jenn McKinlay
- Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez
- How the Story Goes by Andrew Forrester
- Soon by You by Dahlia Adler
- The Cupid Dilemma by April Asher
- After the Siren by Darcy Green
- First and Forever by Lynn Painter
- The Shippers by Katherine Center
- Bromantasy by Maire Roche
- Reality Bites by Amy Mass
- Summer State of Mind by Kristy Woodson Harvey
My pick: The Last Page by Katie Holt
Release date: May 12
Synopsis: Dedicated bookseller Ella fights to save her beloved bookstore when the owner’s out-of-touch grandson inherits the business.
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Sequels
- Birds of a Feather by Kate Stewart
- Bad Boy Era by Amy Daws
- Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen
- Broken Dove by Dani Francis
- She Knows All the Names by Michelle Jabès Corpora
- An Ordinary Sort of Evil by Kelley Armstrong
- Girls Like Us by Jennifer Dugan
- Score by Kennedy Ryan
- In Case I Go Missing by R.N. Swann
- The Devil and Mrs. Gooch by Oliver Darkshire
- The Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty
- Small Town Snakeshow by Holly Renee
- The Midnight Train by Matt Haig
- Villain by Natalie Zina Walschots
- All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan
My pick: Score by Kennedy Ryan
Release date: May 19
Synopsis: Screenwriter Verity Hill and musician Wright "Monk" Bellamy are forced to collaborate on a high-stakes film project a decade after their breakup.
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Non Fiction
- The Let That Sh*t Go Guide to Life by Monica Sweeney
- I Belong to Me by Tia Levings
- Vengeance by Tom Clavin
- Inspiration Porn by Ryan O'Connell
- Inside the Box by David Epstein
- Addicted to Anxiety by Owen O'Kane
- What's Going Right by Paul Conti, MD
- Make Believe by Mac Barnett
- The Land and Its People by David Sedaris
My pick: Addicted to Anxiety by Owen O'Kane
Release date: May 5
Synopsis: Psychotherapist Owen O'Kane explains how individuals unwittingly build habits around their anxiety, treating it like a clinical addiction. He provides practical tools to help readers identify triggers and replace unproductive behaviors with calmer, healthier ones.
For more book recommendations, visit my dedicated section
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