May 27, 2025 New Book Releases

May 27 New Book Releases

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New book releases May 27 with some hot drops: Hazel McBride’s Celtic romantasy A Fate Forged in Fire, where a fire-blessed blacksmith plots to bond a dragon and reclaim her kingdom; Annabel Monaghan’s witty rom-com It’s a Love Story, stranding a Hollywood producer and her long-ago crush on Long Island for one riotous week; and Stephen King’s pulse-pounding Never Flinch, which twines a revenge letter promising thirteen innocent deaths with a stalker hunting a feminist speaker, drawing Holly Gibney into both nightmares.

Order links, excerpts, and the full May 27 lineup follow below, but if you need a page-turner right now dive into our latest deep-dive, Two Twisted Crowns by Rachel Gillig: Summary Review and Ending Explained. Let us know which title tops your list and you might see your take featured in next week’s recap.

Where do you find out about new books?📚

Where do you find out about new books?📚

This blog (Well thank you 😌)
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25.5%
BookTok
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26.4%
Bookstagram
14 votes
13.2%
Goodreads
20 votes
18.9%
Friends
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1.9%
Whatever catches my eye at the bookstore
7 votes
6.6%
Author Newsletters / Blogs
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Other (reveal your secret source in the comments 👀📚)
6 votes
5.7%
Total votes: 106
A Fate Forged in Fire cover

A Fate Forged in Fire

Author Hazel McBride
Genres Fantasy, Romantasy, Dragons, Romance, Fantasy Romance, Enemies To Lovers, Adult
Publication Date May 27, 2025
To become the first queen in centuries, a powerfully blessed blacksmith must use her wits and fire magic to overthrow the corrupt powers ruling her kingdom—while also fighting her growing desire for one of her dragon-riding adversaries—in the first book of a sizzling Celtic-inspired fantasy romance duology.

Once a territory built on matriarchal rule and values, Tìr Teine has since grown frail from a long line of fruitless kings. The most recent of which have ruled under the influence of the True Religion, an oppressive group who have steadily poisoned the region with their anti-magic teachings.

Born to rule and blessed by fire, Aemyra has begrudgingly lived in hiding rather than risk her life in court, waiting in anticipation for the current king’s death so she can bond to his dragon, claim her throne, and protect her people. But when the king dies and Aemyra is ready to take what is rightfully hers, her ambitious plan is foiled and she is thrust into a game of vicious politics and plots.

Her biggest adversary is Prince Fiorean, a dragon-rider and one of the most powerful fire wielders in the territory. Cold, arrogant, and blindly supportive of his corrupt family, he is everything Aemyra despises. But as chaos engulfs the court, they find themselves reluctantly entwined, forced to forge an uneasy alliance—one that quickly ignites into something more dangerous than either of them expected.

Behind enemy lines and slowly falling for her so-called adversary, Aemyra uncovers just how far the rot of corruption has spread, and what she may have to sacrifice to claim her throne.
Death Row cover

Death Row

Author Freida McFadden
Genres Thriller, Short Stories, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Novella, Suspense
Publication Date June 01, 2025
With all hope of an appeal fading away, the fate of a condemned murderess takes a shocking turn in a breathtaking short story.

Talia Kemper is on death row for murdering her husband. She had an alibi and no known motive, yet Talia’s unwavering protestations of innocence have always been ignored. Then one day in the visiting area, she sees a recognizable stranger she’s certain is her husband. It turns out the man she’s been convicted of killing may not be dead after all. But as the days tick away toward Talia’s execution, what will it take for her to be believed?

Freida McFadden’s Death Row is part of Alibis, a collection of stories about lies, truth, and deception. It’s just a matter of what you can get away with. They can be read or listened to in one sitting.
It’s a Love Story cover

It’s a Love Story

Author Annabel Monaghan
Genres Romance, Contemporary, Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Chick Lit, Adult, Enemies To Lovers
Publication Date May 27, 2025
From the USA Today bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script, a novel about a former adolescent TV punchline who has left her awkwardness in the rearview mirror thanks to a fake-it-till-you-make-it mantra that has her on the cusp of success, until she tells a lie that sets her on a crash-course with her past, spending a week in Long Island with the last man she thinks might make her believe in love.

Rules for a love story: There are none. It’s all a lie.

Jane Jackson knows that true love is a lie. Laughter is the only truth—you can’t fake a belly laugh. Jane should know, she spent her adolescence as “Poor Janey Jakes,” the barbecue-sauce-in-her-braces punchline on America’s fifth-favorite sitcom. Now she’s a Creative Executive at Clearwater Studios and she’s living by a new mantra: Fake it till you make it.

Except, she might have faked it too far. Desperate to get her first project greenlit and riled up by pompous cinematographer and one-time crush Dan Finnegan, she opened her mouth and a big fat fib fell out. She claimed that Jack Quinlan, hottest popstar of the moment, has promised to write an original song for the soundtrack. Jack may have been her first kiss—and greatest source of shame—but she hasn’t spoken to him in twenty years.

Now, Jane must turn to the last man she’d ever want to owe: Dan Finnegan. Because Jack is playing a festival in Dan’s hometown on Long Island, and Dan has an in. A week in close quarters with Dan while facing down her past is Jane’s idea of hell, but Dan just might surprise her. While covering up her lie, can they find something true?
Never Flinch cover

Never Flinch

Author Stephen King
Genres Horror, Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Adult
Publication Date May 27, 2025
From master storyteller Stephen King comes an extraordinary new novel with intertwining storylines—one about a killer on a diabolical revenge mission, and another about a vigilante targeting a feminist celebrity speaker—featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters.

When the Buckeye City Police Department receives a disturbing letter from a person threatening to “kill thirteen innocents and one guilty” in “an act of atonement for the needless death of an innocent man,” Detective Izzy Jaynes has no idea what to think. Are fourteen citizens about to be slaughtered in an unhinged act of retribution? As the investigation unfolds, Izzy realizes that the letter writer is deadly serious, and she turns to her friend Holly Gibney for help.

Meanwhile, controversial and outspoken women’s rights activist Kate McKay is embarking on a multi-state lecture tour, drawing packed venues of both fans and detractors. Someone who vehemently opposes Kate’s message of female empowerment is targeting her and disrupting her events. At first, no one is hurt, but the stalker is growing bolder, and Holly is hired to be Kate’s bodyguard—a challenging task with a headstrong employer and a determined adversary driven by wrath and his belief in his own righteousness.

Featuring a riveting cast of characters both old and new, including world-famous gospel singer Sista Bessie and an unforgettable villain addicted to murder, these twinned narratives converge in a chilling and spectacular conclusion—a feat of storytelling only Stephen King could pull off.

Thrilling, wildly fun, and outrageously engrossing, Never Flinch is one of King’s richest and most propulsive novels.
When Devils Sing cover

When Devils Sing

Author Xan Kaur
Genres Horror, Young Adult, Mystery, Gothic, Thriller, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
Publication Date May 27, 2025
This deluxe edition is printed with stenciled edges!

In this Southern gothic horror novel, four unlikely allies in a small town investigate a local teen’s disappearance, and what they discover festering at the core of their community is far more sinister and ancient than they could’ve ever imagined. For fans of She is a Haunting, True Detective, Mexican Gothic, and Midsommar.


When Dawson Sumter goes missing, all he leaves behind is a smattering of blood in room 4 of the debt-ridden motel owned by Neera Singh’s family. Disappearances like this aren’t uncommon in the rural Georgia town of Carrion, especially every thirteen years when a periodical cicada brood returns from underground, shrieking their deafening screams.

For Neera, Dawson is another reminder that in this corner of the South, the rich only get richer, and the poor―well, nothing good comes their way.

Neera sets out to investigate Dawson’s whereabouts―if he even still lives―along with three other teens: Isaiah, son of a prominent judge and clandestine true crime podcaster; Reid, son of the wealthiest man in the region; and Sam, estranged daughter of the local hitman. As they find themselves entangled in a messy web of secrets and lies, they discover the riches of the adjacent Lake Clearwater community may have a terrifying source of power dating back to the town’s founding and an ancient urban legend about three devils, each more sinister than the next. How deep does the rot go, and can they find a way to escape its reach?
Hidden Nature cover

Hidden Nature

Author Nora Roberts
Genres Romance, Mystery, Romantic Suspense, Thriller, Suspense, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
Publication Date May 27, 2025
The #1 New York Times-bestselling author presents a new novel about an injured cop who must fight to bring down a pair of twisted killers… Natural Resources police officer, Sloan Cooper, and her partner had just taken down three men preying on hikers in the Western Maryland mountains. Driving back, she pulled in at a convenience store—and walked right into a robbery in progress. One gunshot from a jittery thief was about to change her world. After being shocked back to life on the operating table, she has a long recovery ahead, so she moves back to her parents’ peaceful house in Heron’s Rest. As for the boyfriend who dumped her via text while she was in the hospital, good riddance. She may be down, but she’s not out. So when a woman vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, Sloan searches online for similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young—the missing seem to have nothing in common. And the abductions keep happening. Luckily, the new man in her life shares her passion for solving this mystery. But it will take every ounce of endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case—and she’s willing to risk her life again if that’s what it takes to stop the horror.
The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club cover

The Martha’s Vineyard Beach and Book Club

Author Martha Hall Kelly
Genres Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Books About Books, World War II, Adult Fiction, War
Publication Date May 27, 2025
Two sisters living on Martha’s Vineyard during World War II find hope in the power of storytelling when they start a wartime book club for women in this spectacular novel inspired by true events, from the New York Timesbestselling author of Lilac Girls.

“A dreamy beach book that also sizzles with tension . . . another winner by one of the best historical fiction writers around.”—Fiona Davis, author of The Stolen Queen

2016: Thirty-four-year-old Mari Starwood is still grieving after her mother’s death as she travels to the storied island of Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Massachusetts. She’s come all the way from California with nothing but a name on a piece of paper: Elizabeth Devereaux, the famous but reclusive Vineyard painter. When Mari makes it to Mrs. Devereaux’s stunning waterfront farm under the guise of taking a painting class with her, Mrs. Devereaux begins to tell her the story of the Smith sisters, who once lived there. As the tale unfolds, Mari is shocked to learn that her relationship to this island runs deeper than she ever thought possible.

1942: The Smith girls—nineteen-year-old aspiring writer Cadence and sixteen-year-old war-obsessed Briar—are faced with the impossible task of holding their failing family farm together during World War II as the U.S. Army arrives on Martha’s Vineyard. When Briar spots German U-boats lurking off the island’s shores, and Cadence falls into an unlikely romance with a sworn enemy, their quiet lives are officially upended. In an attempt at normalcy, Cadence and her best friend, Bess, start a book club, which grows both in members and influence as they connect with a fabulous New York publisher who could make all of Cadence’s dreams come true. But all that is put at risk by a mysterious man who washes ashore—and whispers of a spy in their midst. Who in their tight-knit island community can they trust? Could this little book club change the course of the war . . . before it’s too late?
Whispers of Dead Girls cover

Whispers of Dead Girls

Author Marlee Bush
Genres Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Adult, Suspense
Publication Date May 27, 2025
She’s right. It can never happen again. She won’t let it.

Ten years have passed, and Ren Taylor is back at square one, having accepted a job at her old high school. She’d hoped to make peace with the past but now she’s thrust back into it: her murdered teenage sister is still immortalized in town, and Ren can’t stop seeing her wherever she goes. She’s dogged by the scandal that ruined her childhood and killed her sister.

Then Ren meets physics teacher Bryson Lewis. Handsome and charismatic, all the other teachers and students seem to fall at his feet. But Ren knows men like him – she knows they can’t be trusted.

The more Ren watches him, the more suspicious she becomes. And when she notices his close relationship with a girl in one of his classes – a girl just like her sister – she worries history is about to repeat itself. This time, she won’t sit back and watch another girl be taken before her time.

This time, Ren will do what she must to save her, even if it means revealing her own darkest secrets.
Problematic Summer Romance cover

Problematic Summer Romance

Author Ali Hazelwood
Genres Romance, Contemporary Romance, Contemporary, Summer, Adult, Summer Reads, Fiction
Series Not in Love #2
Publication Date Expected publication May 27, 2025

What is wrong meets what feels right in this romance set in Italy by the New York Times bestselling author of Deep End.

Maya Killgore is twenty-three and still in the process of figuring out her life.

Conor Harkness is thirty-eight, and Maya cannot stop thinking about him.

It’s such a cliché, it almost makes her heart implode: older man and younger woman; successful biotech guy and struggling grad student; brother’s best friend and the girl he never even knew existed. As Conor loves to remind her, the power dynamic is too imbalanced. Any relationship between them would be problematic in too many ways to count, and Maya should just get over him. After all, he has made it clear that he wants her gone from his life.

But not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.

When Maya’s brother decides to get married in Taormina, she and Conor end up stuck together in a romantic Sicilian villa for over a week. There, on the beautiful Ionian coast, between ancient ruins, delicious foods, and natural caves, Maya realizes that Conor might be hiding something from her. And as the destination wedding begins to erupt out of control, she decides that a summer fling might be just what she needs—even if it’s a problematic one.

And They Were Roommates cover

And They Were Roommates

Author Page Powars
Genres Romance, Contemporary, Queer, LGBT, Young Adult, Fiction, Transgender
Publication Date May 27, 2025
A hilarious, unputdownable second-chance-romance about the most unlikely, gay roommate mishap. Perfect for fans of Casey McQuiston and Gwen & Art Are Not in Love.

Romance is the last thing on Charlie’s mind.

On his first day at Valentine Academy for Boys, Charlie’s carefully crafted plan to hide his identity as the school’s only trans student is set in motion. Only to be immediately destroyed. Charlie has been assigned the worst roommate in the world (possibly the universe): Jasper Grimes, the boy who broke Charlie’s heart the year before he transitioned.

Except, Jasper doesn’t recognize Charlie.

Who knows how long until Jasper realizes the truth? Charlie has one shot at freedom and a dorm room all to himself, but only if he helps Jasper write love letters on behalf of their fellow students first. No problem. Charlie can help Jasper with some silly letters.

Long nights spent discussing deep romantic feelings with Jasper? Surely, no unintended consequences will arise…
Beautiful Venom cover

Beautiful Venom

Author Rina Kent
Genres Dark Romance, Sports Romance, Romance, Dark, Hockey, Sports, Contemporary
Publication Date May 27, 2025
From New York Times & USA Today bestselling author Rina Kent comes a sizzling dark hockey romance set in a new glamorous secret world.

In a den of vipers, revenge is the deadliest venom.

They shattered my world; now, I’ll bring down theirs.
The problem? I have virtually no way to trace the puppet master.
My only lead: The Vipers.
An elite college hockey team that rules the ice—and the shadows beyond it.
To infiltrate their secret society, I set my sights on their weakest link.
Kane Davenport.
The charismatic captain and the lone green flag in a nest of serpents.
But too late, I realize I’ve enticed the most venomous snake.
Kane’s friendly façade hides a predator more dangerous than I imagined.
He quickly unveils the monster lurking beneath the surface.
A monster who lured me in only to trap me in a lethal game with no escape.


This book marks the beginning of a new chapter in the #Rinaverse. No other book should be read before this.
Beach House Rules cover

Beach House Rules

Author Kristy Woodson Harvey
Genres Fiction, Contemporary, Romance, Chick Lit, Womens Fiction, Southern, Audiobook
Publication Date May 27, 2025
“Southern bestselling sensation” (Katie Couric Media) Kristy Woodson Harvey returns with a delightfully moving new novel about a mother-daughter duo learning to lean on their community of women—and each other—after their world is turned upside down.

When Charlotte Sitterly’s husband is arrested for a white-collar crime, she and her daughter Iris are locked out of their house by the FBI and—what’s potentially even worse—thrust into the spotlight of @JuniperShoresSocialite, the town’s snarky anonymous Instagram account. Cut off from her bank accounts and feeling desperate, Charlotte takes up an acquaintance’s offer to stay at a beachfront former bed-and-breakfast that’s home to a community of single mothers and draws plenty of gossip in the small coastal North Carolina town.

Charlotte and Iris find solace and are surprised by how much fun they’re having with the other families despite their circumstances. But when the women discover a secret link between them, it changes everything they thought they knew about the unconventional family they’ve created and leaves them wondering whether their coming together was a coincidence at all. Will the skeletons in the mommune closets help Charlotte and Iris reclaim their place in the Juniper Shores community—or shatter the sisterhood forever?

“Perfect for fans of Elin Hilderbrand and Jennifer Weiner” (Country Living), Beach House Rules is a charming exploration of the joy of friendship, the true meaning of family, and reclaiming the power to reshape our own destiny.
Change of Hart cover

Change of Hart

Author Bailey Hannah
Genres Romance, Westerns, Second Chance, Small Town Romance, Friends To Lovers, Contemporary Romance, Dual Timeline
Publication Date May 27, 2025
In this spicy romance from the author of Alive and Wells and Seeing Red, a jaded woman reluctantly returns to her hometown—and to the cowboy who broke her heart and drove her away.

She spent years trying to forget. He’ll do anything to make her remember.

Wells Canyon is the last place Blair Hart wants to be. Yet when her mother falls ill, she has no choice except to return to the hometown she’s avoided for over a decade. In a town so small, she knows there’s no way she can avoid the cowboy who tore her life to pieces all those years ago, but that doesn’t mean she’s prepared for the way Denver Wells can turn back time with a single smile.

Since Denver’s world came crashing down thirteen years ago, he’s somehow managed to keep his demons at bay…that is, until Blair Hart’s return knocks him from his saddle. But if he wants her back, he’ll have to prove he can be the man she needs—the same one she used to love.

Throwing herself into the role of caregiver, Blair doesn’t have the time to sift through their messy history even if she wanted to. And Denver’s going to need a lot more than his usual cowboy charm to convince Blair he’s worth a change of heart.

Don’t miss any of Bailey Hannah’s steamy Wells Ranch ALIVE AND WELLS • SEEING RED • CHANGE OF HART
The Busybody Book Club cover

The Busybody Book Club

Author Freya Sampson
Genres Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Books About Books, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary, Thriller
Publication Date May 27, 2025
A dysfunctional book club must pull together when one of their members goes missing in this bighearted new mystery from the USA Today bestselling author of Nosy Neighbors.

The five members of the St. Tredock Book Club disagree on everything, from the books they read to the biscuits they eat. But when one of the group suddenly disappears and a dead body is discovered at his house, these bibliophiles must put their differences aside to solve the mystery.

Having recently moved to Cornwall, Nova Davies started the book club to impress her new colleagues at the community center, but so far it’s a disaster. To make matters worse, six thousand pounds is stolen from the community center during one of her meetings, putting both her job and the whole center at risk.

Suspicion for the theft falls on book club member Michael, especially when a dead body is discovered at his house and Michael disappears. The police think he’s simply run away, but the other members have their own theories. Agatha Christie superfan Phyllis is determined to prove he’s a murderer as well as a thief, while secret romance reader Arthur believes Michael’s eloped with his mistress, and teenage sci-fi fan Ash thinks dark forces are at play.

While trying to find Michael and recover the money, each book club member has their own secrets to protect. With inspiration from their favorite fictional sleuths, they won’t rest until they’ve cracked the case and everyone is safe at home where they belong.
Tell Them You Lied cover

Tell Them You Lied

Author Laura Leffler
Genres Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Suspense, Contemporary
Publication Date May 27, 2025
Anna had never met anyone like Willow. Entering art school with lofty ideas about Art and her role in it, Anna was wholly unprepared for someone as mysterious, moody—and cool—as Willow. Here was Anna’s muse and collaborator all in one, ready to bring her in on Art’s great secrets.

Now, five years later, Anna is weary. Where art school was boundless creativity and collaboration, the New York art scene is all about survival. Worse: Willow’s true nature as a muse only to herself has become nakedly apparent, as has her cruelty.

So the mugging Anna has staged for Willow this morning? It’s supposed to send Willow running back to her true friend. The knife is supposed to be a mirror in which this ‘artist’ can finally see the monster she’s become. It’s supposed to give Anna her power back.

But this morning isn’t just any Tuesday. It’s September 11, 2001. And as the city reels from the seismic events of that day, Willow never returns home. Anna keeps quiet about the prank and her growing panic that she’s to blame for Willow’s disappearance. But as the hours and days tick by, Anna begins to question whether she’s the mastermind she thought she was, or the pawn.

Alternating between the friends’ art school tenure and their lives in 2001 New York, Tell Them You Lied reveals how difficult the search for answers is when you’d rather have anything but the truth.
Come As You Are cover

Come As You Are

Author Dahlia Adler
Genres Romance, Young Adult, Contemporary, LGBT, Fiction, Queer, Young Adult Romance
Publication Date May 27, 2025
Hot on the heels of a broken heart, Everett “Evie” Riley arrives at Camden Academy ready for a new beginning – one far away from her cheating ex-boyfriend, the sister who stole him, and the best friend who let it happen. But her fresh start is stopped in its tracks when she’s accidentally placed in an all-boys dorm, with no choice but to stay.

When rumors and gossip about Evie’s housing predicament spread like wildfire, she decides the only way to survive is to lean into her questionable new reputation… but she’s definitely going to require help. Her grumpy emo dorm mate Salem Grayson isn’t exactly her first choice, but he does need her help to repair his relationship with his parents every bit as much as she needs his to learn how to be cool. And so they make a pact – he’ll teach her how to be bad, if she teaches him how to be good.

It’s a flawless plan, except while Salem thrives academically, even romantically, and – annoyingly enough – even physically, Evie’s quest feels like one dead end after another, and the girl she’s becoming certainly doesn’t feel remotely cool. But when Evie realizes what she wants more than anything, she’ll have to contend with her thrice-broken heart and figure out how to become someone capable of chasing happiness.

Dahlia Adler’s Come As You Are is about refusing to accept less than you deserve, and realizing that the best relationships are with people who know exactly who you are.
The Guest Cottage cover

The Guest Cottage

Author Lori Foster
Genres Romance, Fiction, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance
Publication Date May 27, 2025
In this uplifting series debut, forgiveness and unlikely friendship blossom in the haven of a quiet lakeside town when two very different women bond over one man’s betrayals.

Marlow Heddings is starting over. She’s carried the outrage of her husband Dylan’s affair with a younger woman—and the expectations of his family’s powerful Chicago holdings company—long enough. Now, after another devastating twist of fate, she’s unapologetically moving on.

Arriving in tiny Bramble, Kentucky, Marlow revels in her freedom, swapping her executive suits for sundresses . . . and scouting places to open her dream boutique. Best of all is her new residence, an adorable cottage with gorgeous lake views—and a breathtaking landlord, former Marine Cort Easton. Soon they’re sharing dockside morning coffee and nighttime firefly gazing. Marlow’s new life feels like a dream.

Then Pixie Nolan arrives on her doorstep. With a shocking secret.

To Marlow’s astonishment, Dylan’s “other woman” is a desperate girl of nineteen, destitute, exhausted, and disowned by her family. Defying her manipulative in-laws’ demands, and surprising even herself, Marlow vows to lay down roots in Bramble and help Pixie get on her feet. Then they’ll part ways. But empathy has a way of forging bonds. As Marlow grows close to the hard-working, devoted young woman, she becomes something of a big sister to Pixie.

Now, with each sunrise, Marlow awakens to the life she was truly meant to live, one filled with deepening connections, supportive friendship . . . and even a second chance at love.
The Famine Orphans cover

The Famine Orphans

Author Patricia Falvey
Genres Historical Fiction, Australia, Fiction, Historical, Ireland
Publication Date May 27, 2025
A powerful, captivating novel of historical fiction from the acclaimed author of The Titanic Sisters, based on the little-known story of the thousands of young women sent from Irish workhouses to Australia after the Famine.

1848: The girls, 4,000 in all, come from every part of Ireland—from the shores of Galway to the Glens of Ulster and Belfast’s teeming streets—to board ships bound for Australia. All were chosen from Ireland’s crowded workhouses. Most are orphans. The Earl Grey Scheme was presented as an opportunity for young women to gain employment as domestic servants in the Colony. But there is another, unstated purpose—the girls are to “civilize” the many men sent there as convicts, so that settlements can be built.
 
Kate Gilvarry has spent six months in a Newry workhouse, subsisting on a diet of watery porridge. She knows there’s no future for her either within its walls or outside, in a ravaged, starving land. But once Kate’s ship completes the harrowing voyage, she and her companions find their reception in Sydney dismayingly unwelcoming, as anti-Irish sentiment grows. Homesick, and disillusioned by love following a shipboard crush, Kate strives to fit in, first as the servant of a demanding English woman, then as a farmer’s bride in the Outback.
 
When heat and drought force her husband to leave for long periods to work on a sheep ranch, Kate is left alone to fend off wild animals, drifters, and her aching loneliness. She longs to return to Ireland. But first, this beautiful, unforgiving country will teach her about resilience and survival, and the limitless possibilities that come with courage and love.
 
Evocative and compelling, The Famine Orphans is a testament to the young women whose pioneering spirit left an enduring legacy in a land so far from home.
 
Releasing 10 (Standard Edition) cover

Releasing 10 (Standard Edition)

Author Chloe Walsh
Genres Romance, Sports Romance, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult, Sports, Contemporary, New Adult
Publication Date May 27, 2025
*This limited deluxe edition comes with an ombre spine matching the rest of the series*

A love that couldn’t be broken, except by the truth.

Lizzie Young has always felt she was too much everything. Diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a young age, she’s never fit in with her family, her friends, her community. Lizzie wants to be accepted and understood, but with few family or friends in her corner, she’s carries her burdens and her trauma on her own.

But when she meets a kind boy on the school bus, things start to look bright for the first time in her life…

Hugh Biggs has an old soul and the wisdom of someone far beyond his years. A young man with a sharp mind and a firm code of ethics, he sees something in Lizzie Young that he can’t resist. He wants to be her everything and shoulder her burden. And Lizzie wants that too.

Lizzie and Hugh’s bond seems unbreakable — their chemistry is electric, their love is potent, and their connection is soul deep – but even the truest love can be shaken by forces beyond control.
The Blackbirds of St. Giles cover

The Blackbirds of St. Giles

Author Lila Cain
Genres Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, British Literature, Audiobook, Adult Fiction, African American
Publication Date May 27, 2025
Some things are earned. Some things are worth fighting for… 

It’s 1780, Daniel and his sister Pearl arrive in London with the world at their feet and their future assured. Having escaped a Jamaican sugar plantation, Daniel fought for the British in the American War of Independence and was rewarded with freedom and an inheritance.  

But the city is not a place for men like Daniel and he is callously tricked and finds himself, along with his sister Pearl, in the rookeries of St Giles – a warren of dark and menacing alleyways, filled with violence and poverty.  

The underworld labyrinth is run by Elias, a man whose cruelty knows no bounds. But under his dangerous rule is a brotherhood of Black men, the Blackbirds of St Giles, whose intention is to set their people free.  

Can Daniel use his strength, wit and the fellowship of the other Blackbirds to overthrow Elias and truly find the freedom he fought for…? 
Along Came Amor cover

Along Came Amor

Author Alexis Daria
Genres Romance, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Adult, Fiction, Adult Fiction, Latino
Series Primas of Power #3
Publication Date May 27, 2025
From the international bestselling author of You Had Me at Hola and A Lot Like Adiós comes a steamy love story of a divorced schoolteacher who discovers that her perfect no-strings fling is anything but…

No strings

After Ava Rodriguez’s now-ex-husband declares he wants to “follow his dreams”—which no longer include her—she’s left questioning everything she thought she wanted. So when a handsome hotelier flirts with her, Ava vows to stop overthinking and embrace the opportunity for an epic one-night-stand complete with a penthouse suite, rooftop pool, and buckets of champagne.

No feelings

Roman Vasquez’s sole focus is the empire he built from the ground up. He lives and dies by his schedule, but the gorgeous stranger grimacing into her cocktail glass inspires him to change his plans for the evening. At first, it’s easy for Roman to agree to Ava’s rules: no strings, no feelings. But one night isn’t enough, and the more they meet, the more he wants.

No falling in love

Roman is the perfect fling, until Ava sees him at her cousin’s engagement party—as the groom’s best man, no less! Suddenly, maintaining her boundaries becomes a lot more complicated as she tries to hide the truth of their relationship from her family. However, Roman isn’t content being her dirty little secret, and he doesn’t just want more, he wants everything. With her future uncertain and her family pressuring her from all sides, Ava will have to decide if love is worth the risk—again.
Mansion Beach cover

Mansion Beach

Author Meg Mitchell Moore
Genres Fiction, Adult, Adult Fiction
Publication Date May 27, 2025
From national bestselling author Meg Mitchell Moore comes a sparkling new novel following a young woman entwined in the opulent lives of her neighbors on Block Island, set against a backdrop of scandal, secrets, and a not-so-subtle love triangle, perfect for readers of Pineapple Street and Sex and Vanity.

“An unputdownable modern-day take on The Great Gatsby. I gobbled it up.” —J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author


It’s the beginning of the summer, and Nicola Carr has just arrived on Block Island, RI, eager for a fresh start and some R&R. But her plans for a tranquil summer are derailed as the extravagant parties from the grand home next door pique her curiosity. She soon discovers the home belongs to Juliana George, an enigmatic entrepreneur with a past shrouded in mystery.

Juliana George, CEO and founder of a hot fashion-tech company, is at the top of her game. She’s spending the summer on Block Island preparing for a major IPO. But she’s chasing her dreams in more ways than one. This summer she hopes to rekindle a flame with a man from her past—a man who has a surprising connection to her neighbor Nicola.

Taylor Buchanan, the wife of Nicola’s cousin, is second-in-command of a real estate empire. Her life is exactly the way she planned it: she has the wealth, the family, the prestige, and the power. And there’s nothing she’ll let get in her way of Having It All. But when everything suddenly verges on the edge of collapse, she has no choice but to take matters into her own hands.

As Nicola, Juliana, and Taylor’s summers unfold, the three women are set on a collision course that leads to inevitable self-discovery, unforgivable betrayal, an unavoidable love triangle—and, most unexpectedly, a dead body.

A sophisticated escapist novel filled with light humor and surprising observations, Mansion Beach explores the depth of human relationships, our cruelly classist society, and the price of secrets that refuse to stay buried.
Flirty Dancing cover

Flirty Dancing

Author Jennifer Moffatt
Genres Romance, LGBT, Queer, Contemporary, Fiction, Adult, M M Romance
Publication Date May 27, 2025
Sparks fly in this summer romp for fans of Casey McQuiston when dancers at a Catskills resort try to pull off the perfect show, and find happiness and a place where they belong on the way.

Archer Read is 27 and desperate to find his place in life. Five months ago, he quit his soul-destroying accounting job in Ohio and moved to Manhattan with dreams of making it on Broadway. And now he has nothing to show for it but a string of rejections. Even for a ray-of-sunshine like Archer, hope can only go so far. A musical revue at Shady Queens, a queer-friendly resort in the Catskills, is his last chance to break into show biz—otherwise, it’s back to Ohio, broke and hopeless. He arrives ready to dance his heart out, only to find he’ll be working with his teenage celebrity crush, the Broadway star Mateo Dixon.

What is Mateo doing working at Shady Queens? Besides barking orders and glaring at everyone…when he’s not absolutely smoldering at Archer on the dancefloor. As Archer tries to forget his teen crush and get to know the real Mateo, he’s caught up in a romance with his hot, temperamental bunkmate, Caleb. Between Mateo’s baggage and the dance crew’s drama—partying, flirting, breaking up, getting back together, then breaking up again—it’s no surprise when the show starts to fall apart. Archer quickly discovers that when it comes to dance, sometimes you can’t leave all your problems backstage.

Filled with colorful side characters, about a million Broadway references, and enough drama for a high school summer camp, Flirty Dancing is a delightful romantic comedy that shows love, like art, is worth a little sacrifice.
Letters from the Dead cover

Letters from the Dead

Author Isabella Valeri
Genres Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Thriller, Fiction, Adult
Publication Date May 27, 2025
This addictive debut novel takes us into an intoxicating world of old money, privilege, and family intrigue as a young heiress must return home from a decade-long exile to face the powerful enemies arrayed against her, including those within her own family.
For the first eleven years of her life, the precocious daughter of a great European family tracing its roots back more than fifteen generations, never set foot on land that her family didn’t own. Cloistered on a sprawling estate in the Alpine foothills, as the youngest sibling of her generation she has little knowledge of the dark forces gathering in the shadows to strike at her family. But, when her insatiable curiosity leads her to uncover a priceless text hidden hundreds of years before, she shines light into corners meant to be left in the dark and threatens to uncover secrets that could trigger an internecine battle for succession.
Then, with no warning or explanation, she is whisked away on a private jet and exiled to an elite but isolated all-girls boarding school in the United States. More than a decade later, now in her twenties, she finds her bank accounts abruptly frozen by her family. She is recalled from her affluent but empty existence abroad. Little does she know that her family has plans for her, including an arranged marriage. Worse, as she draws closer to discovering the horrific act that sent her into exile a decade before, and shadowy enemies close in on her family, she must face her most dangerous and powerful foe: her own father.
The High Dive cover

The High Dive

Author Chelsea Fagan
Genres Romance, Fiction, Enemies To Lovers
Publication Date May 27, 2025
Alexandra Onassis hates only two things: austerity politics, and Danial Azad.

As the only scholarship kids of their elite group at Columbia University, their heated dynamic was scorched forever by one fateful, awful night just before graduation. And in the ten years since, Alex and Danial have been on radically different paths: she crafts social media campaigns for an ultra-progressive political party; he’s a rising star at a notoriously savage private equity firm. But when two of their college friends decide to tie the knot in the Mediterranean — and to host their old crew on a ten-day chartered yacht trip beforehand — Alex must finally face Danial, and the sobering reality that she’s now the only middle class outcast in this ultra wealthy club.

When her ideals start to clash with her most intimate desires, Alex must learn to swim in emotional waters that are as unfamiliar as they are undeniable.
Manic Pixie Dream Earl cover

Manic Pixie Dream Earl

Author Jenny Holiday
Genres Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Historical, Fiction, Regency, Adult
Publication Date May 27, 2025
Ted Lasso meets Bridgerton for a 19th century spin on The Hangover in USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday’s laugh-out-loud bromantic comedy featuring three Regency-era Earls on their annual tripride-or-die buddies offering one another unconditional support in everything from Lady problems to family woesespecially when this trip is crashed by one earl’s pen pal. The complicated fallout from his alter ego being exposed may just be the most challenging problem the boys have to solve yet!

From the author of CANADIAN BOYFRIEND, the perfect romp for fans of Evie Dunmore, India Holton, Virginia Heath, Manda Collins, and Suzanne Allain!


An annual earls’ trip should provide an escape from a gentleman’s cares, but in this refreshingly modern Regency-era series, three handsome BFFs find that wherever they go, romantic complications follow . . .

When not writing, poet Edward Astley, Viscount Featherfinch, spends his time fending off the young ladies of the ton—and some of its young men—and avoiding his cruel father. As heir to the earldom, Edward knows he must marry someday. Alas, he is already hopelessly in love with someone. Hopeless because not only is Miss Julianna Evans not a member of the aristocracy, she is employed. She is a magazine editor—the only one to publish his work. Also, in all their years of increasingly personal correspondence, they’ve never met.
 
Also, she thinks he’s a woman. Named Euphemia.
 
Julianna is baffled. How can her soul mate not want to meet? Could it be that Euphemia is not the simple country girl she claims to be? Perhaps she’s wealthy. After all, she’s never cashed any of the bank drafts Julianna has sent. Perhaps Euphemia simply doesn’t want rank to come between them. Well, no more. Having extracted the details of a trip Euphemia is planning, Julianna squanders her meager savings and surprises her at the scene.
 
He is very, very surprised. As is she.
 
Now the two will have to decide what is true, what is not, and whether the truest thing of all—love—just might be worth an earldom . . .
 
Written on the Dark cover

Written on the Dark

Author Guy Gavriel Kay
Genres Fantasy, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Historical Fantasy, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy
Publication Date May 27, 2025
From the internationally bestselling author of Tigana, All the Seas of the World, and A Brightness Long Ago comes a majestic new novel of love and war that brilliantly evokes the drama and turbulence of medieval France.

Thierry Villar is a well-known–even notorious– tavern poet, familiar with the rogues and shadows of that world, but not at all with courts and power. He is an unlikely person, despite his quickness, to be caught up in the deadly contests of ambitious royals, assassins, and invading armies.

But he is indeed drawn into all these things on a savagely cold night in his beloved city of Orane. And so Thierry must use all the intelligence and charm he can muster as political struggles merge with a decades-long war to bring his country to the brink of destruction.

As he does, he meets his poetic equal in an aristocratic woman and is drawn to more than one unsettling person with a connection to the world beyond this one. He also crosses paths with an extraordinary young woman driven by voices within to try to heal the ailing king–and help his forces in war. A wide and varied set of people from all walks of life take their places in the rich tapestry of this story.

A new masterwork from the internationally bestselling author of All the Seas of the World, A Brightness Long Ago, and Tigana, Written on the Dark is an elegant tour de force about power and ambition playing out amid the intense human need for art and beauty, and memories to be left behind.
The Bombshell cover

The Bombshell

Author Darrow Farr
Genres Fiction, Literary Fiction, Adult, Contemporary, Historical Fiction, Novels, Adult Fiction
Publication Date May 27, 2025
A young woman’s radicalization sparks a widespread movement and media frenzy in this explosive novel of youthful passion, political awakening and first love, by an extraordinary new talent.

“A lush, cinematic and propulsive novel filled with sex, violence, glamor and a true revolutionary spirit. It’s a towering literary achievement.” (Adam Johnson, Pulitzer Prize winner)


Corsica, 1993. As a sun-drenched Mediterranean summer heads into full swing, beautiful and brash seventeen-year-old Severine Guimard is counting down the days until graduation, dreaming of stardom while smoking cigarettes and seducing boys in her class to pass the time. The pampered French-American daughter of a politician, Severine knows she’s destined for bigger things.

That is, until one night, Severine is snatched off her bike by a militant trio fighting for Corsican independence and held for a large ransom. When the men fumble negotiating her release, the four become unlikely housemates deep in the island’s remote interior. Eager to gain the upper hand, Severine sets out to charm her captors, and soon, the handsome, intellectual leader, Bruno, the gentle university student, Tittu, and even the gruff, unflappable Petru grow to enjoy the company of their headstrong hostage.

As Severine is exposed to the group’s political philosophy, the ideas of Marx and Fanon begin to take root. With her flair for the spotlight and newfound beliefs, Severine becomes the face of a radical movement for a global TV audience. What follows is a summer of passion and terror, careening toward an inevitable, explosive conclusion, as Severine steps into the biggest role of her life.

The Bombshell is an electric novel filled with seduction and fervor as it explores the wonders and perils of youthful idealism, the combustibility of celebrity, and the sublime force of young love.
Burned Bridges cover

Burned Bridges

Author John Gilstrap
Genres Thriller, Suspense, Adult
Publication Date May 27, 2025
An electrifying new series featuring Irene Rivers (code Wolverine), the unforgettable FBI Director from New York Times bestselling author John Gilstrap’s blockbuster, award-winning Jonathan Grave thrillers. Fans of action-packed page-turners by Catherine Coulter, Patricia Cornwell, and Tess Gerritsen are in for a treat, as Irene escapes the treacherous power games of Washington—only to face a new and equally deadly enemy in a rural West Virginia town . . .

She thought she and her loved ones would be safe here. The lovely farm nestled in the heart of West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle looks like the perfect refuge from the backstabbing maelstrom of DC politics. But this seemingly peaceful new home is anything but safe for former FBI director Rivers and her children. 
 
Troubles begin when Irene’s 12-year-old nephew finds a dead body in a cave on the property. Grim evidence points to a long-ago murder and cover-up.  Powerful forces will do anything—including kill again—to protect their interests. Soon Irene’s family is the target of the kinds of threats and intimidation she’s seen before from major crime syndicates . . . but this time, the enemy determined to tear them down is homegrown.
 
Then comes the attack she most fears. With everything she cares about at risk and an impossible deadline looming, Irene knows she won’t get any help from the local police force. And she’s burned too many bridges in Washington to get help from the FBI. This time, Irene Rivers is on her own.
 
Packed with nail-biting suspense, gripping drama, and searing intrigue, Burned Bridges takes readers into a compelling world of unseen dangers and unexpected heroes.
 
Time After Time cover

Time After Time

Author Mikki Daughtry
Genres Young Adult, Romance, LGBT, Contemporary, Lesbian, Queer, Fiction
Publication Date May 27, 2025
From the screenwriter and co-author of the #1 New York Times bestselling novel and film Five Feet Apart comes an epic YA sapphic romance, unfolding over two sets of lives, one hundred years apart.

Nineteen-year-old Libby has always been inexplicably drawn to the old Victorian house on Mulberry Lane. So much so that when she sees a For Sale sign go up in the front yard, Libby uses all the money her grandmother left her to pay for college to buy the house instead, determined to fix it up herself—even though she knows her parents will be furious. Soon after moving in, she discovers a journal written by a young woman, Elizabeth Post, who lived in the house nearly a century earlier. It doesn’t take long for the journal to reveal that Elizabeth was madly in love with her personal maid, Patricia. A love that was forbidden and dangerous, especially at that time.

Enter Tish, a brash, broke fellow college student, who passes by the house one day and is mysteriously compelled to knock on the door. Soon Libby offers Tish a room in exchange for her help in fixing up the old house, and the two young women quickly find themselves falling for each other. But as Elizabeth’s journal entries delve deeper into her secret love affair with Patricia, uncanny similarities between that young couple and Libby and Tish are revealed, and it becomes clear that this may not be their first time in this house, or in this love. Is this their chance to get it right?
Storybook Ending cover

Storybook Ending

Author Moira Macdonald
Genres Romance, Fiction, Books About Books, Contemporary, Adult, Adult Fiction, Chick Lit
Publication Date May 27, 2025
A charming story about romance, friendship, and a love of books, in which two women—a lonely remote worker and a widowed single mom—and a handsome local bookstore clerk find themselves in an unusual love triangle when an anonymous note left in a book finds the wrong recipient.

April, a smart and lonely tech worker, worries work from home has gotten out of hand: She’s left an anonymous note in a book for Westley, the clerk at her Seattle neighborhood bookstore who has a gentle smile and looks great in flannel. But thanks to fate, Laura—a busy single mom who had given up on love—buys the book, finds the note, and thinks Westley has left it for her. A handsome man who loves books seems like just the plot twist she has been looking for.

Meanwhile, Westley—not the most perceptive—is too distracted by the movie filming at the store and the ambition it’s unlocked in him to notice either of the two women. But as April and Laura’s anonymous correspondence continues back and forth, their mundane routines are challenged, sparking a glimmer of hope. Is a happy ending in the cards for them?

A hilarious and intricate web of mistaken identities and serendipitous encounters, Storybook Ending is a playful tribute to romance, friendship, and bookstores, and to the objects—from a forgotten slip of paper to someone’s heart—left between the pages of books we loved.
A Thousand Distant Shores cover

A Thousand Distant Shores

Author Buck Turner
Genres Romance
Publication Date May 27, 2025
Before Ellie Spencer came to Sims Chapel and caught Jack Bennett’s eye, Sara Coffee had been the brightest star in his universe. Having grown up together, Sara and Jack were best friends, their bond as deep as the river that formed the lake where they spent countless summer days fishing and sharing dreams. But then Ellie Spencer happened, and everything changed.

Desperate to keep Jack’s attention, Sara takes matters into her own hands, ending the blossoming romance before it has a chance to fully bloom. Twelve years later, Sara appears to have it all—including Jack. But when Ellie returns after her Aunt Clara’s passing, Sara is once again on the outside looking in. And when the secret of her betrayal finally comes to light, Jack ends their relationship, leaving Sara to pick up the pieces of her broken heart.

In search of a new beginning, Sara flees her home and settles in the quiet beach town of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. She lands a job as a paralegal for Andrew Hastings, a successful lawyer who left the big city after a painful breakup of his own. From the start, there is an undeniable chemistry between them that only intensifies as they collaborate on their first case. But can Sara open her heart to someone new or is she forever chained to her past, to the memories of Jack Bennett and the love they once shared?
Everything’s Coming Up Rosie cover

Everything’s Coming Up Rosie

Author Courtney Walsh
Genres Romance, Contemporary, Audiobook, Fiction, Chick Lit, Contemporary Romance, Adult
Publication Date June 01, 2025
Sometimes what you think you want and what you actually want turn out to be different things . . .

Rosie Waterman has one to become a working actor. But lately, that hasn’t been working out. When she loses her apartment and her job on the same day, she does what she always does–puts herself out there, ready to find the next big thing. But a trip home makes her realize that while she’s been struggling to make this dream come true, all her friends have become real adults with careers and weddings and babies on the way. Rosie’s been at this for years, and she has nothing to show for it. But how does she simply let go of her dream?

When she’s offered a job as the director of a regional theatre’s production of Cinderella, she jumps at the chance–even though she’s only directed in college and the job is in Door County, Wisconsin, and not in New York. She has no other offers, and at least she’ll be getting paid to do something theatrical. But when she arrives, she quickly realizes that the “regional theatre” is actually in a retirement community, and the “actors” are actually senior citizens with no acting experience whatsoever.

Working on the show presents new challenges, forcing Rosie to learn how to step up and be the leader this fledgling theatre troupe needs. The more time she spends with her new cast, the more she begins to rethink what it means to dream big, especially when that big dream hasn’t turned out to be at all what she thought it would be. It’s not at all what she expected, but could it be exactly what she needs?

You picking up anything this week? Did I miss anything? Let me know with a comment below!

I’m reading about 3-4 books a month how many you all doing?

On average, how many books do you read each month?

On average, how many books do you read each month?

1-2
22 votes
5.9%
3-5
99 votes
26.7%
5-10
119 votes
32.1%
10+
131 votes
35.3%
Total votes: 371

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