The Reading Lounge: May New Release Books
My curated list of the 10 books I can't wait to read this month + BONUS buzzy book list links
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Hello! Can I just say, May is chock full of new releases so curating my most anticipated list was extra fun this month. To choose the books, I browsed so many May new release lists and cross checked those with what I’ve already gotten copies of on Netgalley. I’m pretty much in summer reading mode so I’m looking for books with premises that sound so good I’d want to spend an entire day reading at the pool, by the lake, at the beach, or on my back patio.
I hope my choices, as well as the May buzzy book list links, can help you curate your own May TBR and get those library holds in or make your trip to the bookstore easier! **I’m providing one sentence publisher previews, please click on the title for the full synopsis- the words in BOLD are what grabbed my attention:)
May New Releases
The Lady Waiting by Magdalena Zyzak (May 7) - The White Lotus meets The Talented Mr. Ripley in this high-spirited novel of a stolen Vermeer, a Polish transplant in LA, and the charismatic couple who seduce her into a misguided international heist. **I’m starting this on audio today!
I Will Ruin You by Linwood Barclay (May 7) - A teacher's act of heroism inadvertently makes him the target of a dangerous blackmailer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. **Several of Linwood Barclay’s backlist books have been 5 ⭐️reads for me so I will automatically read whatever he writes!
The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley (May 7) - Part time travel romance, part spy thriller, this fusion of genres and ideas debut is set in the near future. A civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she'll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering "expats" from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible--for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.
The Reunion by Elise Juska (May 7) - It's June 2021, and three old college friends are heading to New England and the twenty-fifth reunion that was delayed the year before. But the reunion isn't what any of them had envisioned. When the weekend takes a startling turn, all three find themselves reckoning with the past--and how it will bear on the future.
Last House by Jessica Shattuck (May 14) - Spanning multiple generations and nearly eighty years, this tells the story of one American family during an age of grand ideals and even greater downfalls
Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space by Adam Higgenbotham (May 14) - the definitive, dramatic, minute-by-minute story of the Challenger disaster, based on fascinating in-depth reporting and new archival research--a riveting history that reads like a thriller. Follows a handful of central protagonists--including each of the seven members of the doomed crew--through the years leading up to the accident. It's a compelling tale of ambition and ingenuity undermined by political cynicism and cost-cutting in the interests of burnishing national prestige; of hubris and heroism; and of an investigation driven by leakers and whistleblowers determined to bring the truth to light. Throughout, there are the ominous warning signs of a tragedy to come, recognized but then ignored, and later hidden from the public. **This is my wild card nonfiction pick - the reads like a thriller hooked me!
Lies and Weddings by Kevin Kwan (May 21) - A forbidden affair erupts volcanically amid a decadent tropical wedding in this outrageous comedy of manners
One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware (May 21) - Harkening to Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None, this high-tension and ingenious thriller follows five couples trapped on a storm-swept island as a killer stalks among them.
A Northern Light in Provence by Elizabeth Birkelund (May 21) - Ilse Erlund is a translator who lives in a house on stilts along the west coast of Greenland. Isolated and restless in her world by the sea, she convinces her publisher to pay for a trip to the country she has never visited but whose language she speaks fluently: France. Her mission is to translate the verses of Geoffrey "Po" Labaye, a charismatic poet known as "the last living troubadour of Provence." Ilse is captivated by the poet, too, and she and Po develop a daily rhythm and warm camaraderie--which is disrupted by the arrival of the poet's son, Frey. Though he has a fiancée back in Paris, Frey turns his attentions to Ilse…a love story about a woman forced to choose, Where--and with whom--does her future lie?
Knife River by Justine Champine (May 28) - When Jess was thirteen, her mother went for a walk and never returned. Jess and her older sister, Liz, never found out what happened. But one morning, fifteen years after their mother's disappearance, she gets the call she's been bracing for: Her mother's remains have been found, so Jess returns to find Knife River--and her sister--frozen in time. **That first sentence…say no more!!
Buzzy May Book Lists To Help You Curate Your TBRs
Here are 14 books you should read in May (Time)
The best books to read in May (Town and Country)
Our most anticipated May books (Barnes & Noble)
12 new books coming out in May (ScreenRant)
Books to read in May (Vanity Fair)
Love a book list! You definitely put Knife River on my radar. I’m anxious to try it.
Great list! I am adding Lady In Waiting, I Will Ruin You, The Reunion and One Perfect Couple to my TBR. Also, i just learned about The Hazelburn Motorcycle and Flying Club and an Oprah pick called Long Island. Happy reading.