Welcome the Spring with These May 2025 Book Releases
How does the saying go? April showers bring May flowers—and new books, of course! Stock your TBR list with our most anticipated titles of the month and settle into spring with the best new releases May has to offer.
Celebrate “Get Caught Reading Month” With May New Releases
Did you know May is Get Caught Reading Month? Sponsored by Get Caught Reading, this campaign aims to remind people of all ages how much fun it is to read.
If you’re looking for an excuse to stay inside with the newest installment in your favorite series or are trying to inspire your kids to listen to audiobooks, this annual holiday is the perfect excuse. Pick up a May new release at your local Rochester, Michigan, bookstore to get started!
Popular Genres in the May New Release Lineup
- Thriller
- Mystery
- Coming-of-age
- Fantasy
- Rom-com
Keep an Eye Out for These May New Releases
Between upcoming titles by our favorite authors and a plethora of book genres to choose from, there’s something for every kind of reader coming out this month. We can’t wait to see some of these May new releases grace our shelves and audiobook apps:
The Tenant by Freida McFadden
Freida McFadden’s books are filled with jaw-dropping twists and turns—and we’re sure her new May release, The Tenant, out May 6th, is no different! After being abruptly fired from his job and struggling to afford the payments on the brownstone he and his fiancée share, Blake Porter finds himself desperate to make ends meet. When the beautiful, down-to-earth Whitney pops up, looking for a room to rent, she seems to be the perfect solution! But as neighbors start treating Blake differently, odd noises wake him up in the dead of night, and an impossible-to-remove smell of decay floats through his home, he begins to fear someone knows his darkest secret. But it’s too late—the trap is set.
My Friends by Fredrik Backman
Twenty-five years ago, a group of teenagers found refuge from their broken homes by spending their days together at the long-abandoned pier in their seaside town. Their unforgettable summer was captured in one transcendent work of art.
Most people wouldn’t think twice about the three tiny figures at the end of the pier in a famous painting, but Louisa, an 18-year-old aspiring artist herself, isn’t most people. Determined to discover their story, she sets out on a cross-country journey. But the closer she gets to her destination, the more nervous she becomes about what she may find.
My Friends, out May 6th, promises to be a heartbreaking, funny, and emotionally moving tale about the power of art and friendship.
The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers
Nic Monroe’s older sister, Kasey, vanished without a trace seven years ago. Her car was found over a hundred miles from home, with the driver’s side door open and purse untouched. The only real clue? Jules Connor, another woman from the same area who disappeared in the same circumstances two weeks earlier. But with little information to go on, the cases went cold. Years later, still haunted by their sister’s mysterious disappearances, Nic and Jules’s sister, Jenna, must band together and find the truth once and for all in this thrilling May new release. The Missing Half is out on May 6th.
One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
Alice hasn’t been back to her Nan’s favorite cottage since the summer she took a photo of three grinning teenagers in a yellow speedboat at 17 years old. When Nan breaks her hip, Alice, now a professional photographer, suggests returning to the magical lake for the summer. But the planned peace is quickly disrupted by a familiar boat and even more familiar man: Charlie Florek—and he’s all grown up.
Will Alice let Charlie in? Or guard her heart from his piercing green gaze? Find out in One Golden Summer, out May 6th.
The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Murderers? Magic practitioners? Monsters? When Brother Diaz was summoned to the Sacred City, this wasn’t exactly what he had in mind for his new flock. Instead of a commendation and grand holy assignment, his new mission will require bloody measures from each of them. As elves lurk at the borders and greedy princes care for nothing, it’s a good thing Brother Diaz has evil on his side in The Devils, out May 13th.
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
Like all the foundling girls who trade a decade of service for a spot in the cathedral, Sybil is a Diviner—and a legendary one, at that. Common folk and lords travel across the kingdom of Traum to learn their future from her prophetic visions. When a mysterious, heretical, and devilishly handsome knight, Rodrick, arrives just near the end of her servitude and her fellow Diviners begin to vanish one by one, she has no choice but to team up with him and get to the bottom of it. The Knight and the Moth, the first in Gillig’s new romantasy series, the Stonewater Kingdom, is out May 20th.
Rewind It Back by Liz Tomforde
When hockey player Rio finds himself the last single person in his friend group, he’d just about given up on love. That is, until he accidentally hires Hallie Hart, a jaded ex from his past, to renovate his house. To make matters worse? She just moved in right next door. If you’re looking for a second-chance sports romance, you’re in luck! We can’t wait for this spicy May new release, Rewind It Back, the grand finale in Liz Tomforde’s Windy City series, to come out on May 20th.
Catch Up the Rest of the Windy City Series:
It’s a Love Story by Annabel Monaghan
After years of playing the punchline as “Poor Janey Jakes” on America’s fifth-favorite sitcom, Jane Jackson is determined to be taken seriously as a Hollywood studio executive—and she’s ready to fake it until she makes it. But when her first project is greenlit under her bold claim of getting mega popstar (and coincidentally, her first kiss) Jack Quinlan to write a song for it, she may have faked it all too far. But since she hasn’t actually spoken to Jack in 20 years, Jane is forced to turn to the pompous, talented, and crush-worthy cinematographer, Dan Finnegan, for help.
Will a week in close quarters together end in disaster? Or will their connection surprise them both? Find out in It’s a Love Story, out May 27th!
With these exciting May new releases, celebrating spring is easy! Dive into the latest thrillers at our book clubs or swing by one of our monthly events and grab a charming new rom-com on release day. We can’t wait to see what you read at Novel.