May 2025 is loaded with amazing new book releases! With summer just on the horizon, we want to highlight a few of the anticipated new releases coming next month that will have you on the edge of your seats.
The Manor of Dreams by Christina Li
Publish Date: May 6, 2025
Vivan Yin, the first Chinese actress to win an Oscar, disappeared from the spotlight during the peak of her fame, and is now dead. Her remaining family members gather for the reading of her will, where they expect one of them to inherit Vivan’s estate in Southern California. Instead, the house is given to another family. Both families move into the mansion, hoping to stake their claim on the house. While Vivan’s daughters race to piece together what happened to their mother in the weeks leading up to her death, they realize they are being haunted by something much darker and more sinister than their regrets. This upcoming thriller is perfect for fans of Mexican Gothic and Everything I Never Told You.
Wake the Wild Creatures by Nova Ren Suma
Publish Date: May 6, 2025
Three years ago, Talia’s mother was arrested for murder and taken from her childhood home in Neves in the wilds of the Catskill Mountains, a community of women seeking shelter from a cruel world. Now, at 16, she is forced to live with distant relatives away from Neves, where she is exposed to misogyny, capitalism, and disconnected from nature, everything the women at Neves are against. Talia is eager to return, but as she waits for communication from her mother, she is forced to re-examine her role in the collapse of the community in Neves and question what it means to be her mother’s daughter. If you love YA, you can’t miss this new release!
Parents Weekend by Alex Finlay
Publish Date: May 6, 2025
To celebrate their children’s first year of college at a small private school in Northern California, five families gather for a celebratory dinner to kick off Parents Weekend. But the students never arrive. A couple of students missing a function shouldn’t be alarming, but a week prior, an anonymous call about a missing girl was ignored, and she was found dead. Now, the search is on, and the missing students are dubbed The Five, as reporters arrive in their small community and rumors spread. What happened to the students that night? And does it have to do with the sins of their parents’ past? The book is told in multiple POVs, past and present, exploring the weight of family expectation and dysfunction.
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Publish Date: May 13, 2025
From New York Times bestselling author of The First Law series Joe Abercrombie comes a new dark fantasy novel. Brother Diaz has been summoned to the Sacred City expecting a holy assignment. Instead, he’s given a team of convicted monsters and tasked with a mission that will require all of them to exact bloody measures to achieve their righteous ends. This dark, gritty, yet humorous fantasy story is perfect for long-time fans of Abercrombie, giving them something new and refreshing from the beloved author, but is also perfect for those who have yet to sink their teeth into his books.
The Love Haters by Katherine Center
Publish Date: May 20, 2025
Katie Vaugh has two choices: get laid off from her job as a video producer or accept a gig at her co-worker’s request profiling Tom “Hutch” Hutcheson, a Coast Guard in Key West, at the request of her co-worker Cole, who also happens to be his brother. But Katie isn’t exactly qualified because she can’t swim and fakes it for the job. As she gets further entangled with Hutch, who’s very attractive yet a bit of a love hater, she traps herself in a lie — or two — and must wait for a chance to tell the truth. This is the perfect romcom for summer, which is just around the corner!
Harmattan Season by Tochi Onyebuchi
Publish Date: May 27, 2025
Harmattan Season is a mix of new noir and dark fantasy novel, exploring the impact of postcolonial West Africa. In the book we follow Boubacar, a private eye and veteran, who is trying to stay out of trouble, but when trouble comes knocking in the form of a bleeding woman stumbling to his doorway who vanishes just as quickly, Bouba finds himself enmeshed in the secrets of the city on the brink of violence. The French occupiers are ready to keep the peace at any cost while the indigenous dugulen have split into various factions all vying to reclaim their abilities and lost heritage.
These Vengeful Gods by Gabe Cole Novoa
Publish Date: May 27, 2025
From the New York Times bestselling author of Most Ardently and The Wicked Bargain comes a new action-packed fantasy novel. Several years ago, the descendants of the God of Death were murdered, and those who survived now live in hiding. One of these survivors is Crow, who now lives with their uncles in the lowest part of the Shallows. In the Shallows, life is tough, but years of learning to survive and hiding their magic had made them tougher. When their uncles are arrested for harboring Deathchildren, Crow joins The Tournament of the Gods, a gladiator-style competition, where the winner will be granted a favor.
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Looking for some spring recommendations for the year? Click here!
Check out the Bookstr Team Recommendations Shelf on Bookshop for even more book recommendations!
