The Goodreads Editors Share Their May Book Picks

Posted by Cybil on May 1, 2026


Here at Goodreads World Headquarters, we sort through a lot of books each month. Our monthly Readers’ Most Anticipated Books feature is exactly that—selections based on the data about the books that Goodreads members are placing on their Want to Read shelves. Essentially, these are the books that your fellow Goodreads regulars are excited about.
 
Of course, the Goodreads editorial staff gets excited about books, too. And we regularly come across specific new releases that we can’t wait to read—or “won’t shut up about,” to borrow a phrase from the colleagues who sit right next to us.
 
There are always way more great books each month than we have time to read, so we’re passing our findings along to you, complete with genre tags, our unhinged commentary, and general enthusiasm. Think of this list as our intel on the books you might not be hearing about absolutely everywhere else, from two people who really, really want to help you find a great read.
 
Some of the stories on tap for May: folk horror in 17th-century Bavaria, a boarding school murder mystery in the Pacific Northwest, and an Indigenous anti-Western in the great plains of pioneer Canada. Plus: the intriguing new novel from Walter Mosley!
 


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: All Derry is abuzz with the news that famous American actor Monica Logue has flown in to star in a new series set during the Troubles. Then she disappears. Whodunit, and—more importantly to the cast of characters whose various points of view tell the story—what does it all mean? This debut novel comes from the author of Did Ye Hear Mammy Died?, so you know it’ll be hilarious.

Genre: Fiction


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: This sweeping American Western has some fun surprises for readers. A Chinese American family trying to survive on their Dakota farm become neighbors with a secret military operation—an operation that may explain the sudden bout of magical happenings across the land. Did I mention this gem is from the author of The Thousand Crimes of Ming Tsu? Yeah, add this to your WTR RIGHT NOW! 

Genre: Historical fiction/Sci-fi/Fantasy 


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: Vaishnavi Patel (Kaikeyi) makes her contemporary urban fantasy debut with this searing look at the current state of reproductive rights in America, featuring a burned-out clinic worker who accidentally obtains demonic powers from a statue in the Art Institute of Chicago. Sing, goddess, of female rage!

Genre: Fantasy


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: Kayla Rae Whitaker wowed readers with her 2017 debut, The Animators, and has had all of us waiting eagerly for her sophomore novel since then. That wait is finally over. She’s back with a tragicomic tale of one Kentucky family’s rise and fall throughout the 1980s.

Genre: Historical fiction


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: Is this book a novel, an epic, or a fever dream? Why not all three! We’ve got an unlikely hero who’s been asked by God to slay the leader of an army of Bad Guys, a disillusioned prophet seeking God’s approval, and a leader of the Good Guys named Harpo. Also, what’s going on with the whale on the cover of this book? I can’t wait to find out.

Genre: Fiction


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: How about a juicy suburban drama? The arrival of Jin Chang’s family to an affluent Bay Area suburb sets off a series of scandals in this new novel from the author of A River of Stars. We’re talking real estate scheming, suspicious “progressive” neighbors, vicious coyotes, and a broiling fire season (sounds very Bay Area!).

Genre: Contemporary fiction


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: Bad men in academia get what’s coming to them in this dark and darkly funny thriller about a grad student who gets a taste for murder after accidentally(?) witnessing the death of the professor who stole her friend’s research. This book sounds unhinged in the best way!

Genre: Thriller


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: I know Walter Mosley as the master of mysteries (case in point, the amazing Easy Rawlins series), so when I saw that his new novel is an epic family drama, I was intrigued! Another huge plus: This book is being compared to two of my five-star reads, The Bee Sting and Demon Copperhead.

Genre: Contemporary fiction


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: Boarding school murder mystery set in the Pacific Northwest? I’m sold. Give me the secret society, the scholarship student rubbing elbows with the über-elite, the drippy trees and foggy vibes.

Genre: Mystery


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: In this coming-of-age debut, 12-year-old Sofia and her family hope that better times will arrive soon. For now, they’re camping out of the family car and witnessing kindness and cruelties of lives lived without a safety net. Goodreads members are calling this novel a heartbreaker that will linger in your mind long after you finish the final page.

Genre: Contemporary fiction


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: From the author of The Book Eaters, this historical fantasy is set in the Walled City of Kowloon. Mercy Chan washed ashore onto Hong Kong Island on the eve of WWII with no memory but a very specific ghost-talking skill set. Will the past become just another thing that haunts her? Early readers are raving about this one!

Genre: Historical fantasy


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: Stop what you’re doing and add this book to your TBR pile. Why? Well, this debut is a literary sci-fi novel that twists together five lives across centuries. Scan through the early reviews and you’ll see that readers are smitten, describing this novel as “wonderful” and “a masterpiece.” One review (my personal favorite) says Homebound “warmed the cockles of my heart.” 

Genre: Science fiction 


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: A fresh murder that mirrors the circumstances of a cold case with personal ties is Kausur Khan’s newest investigation in the delightful Detective Aunty series. I love a cozy fair-play mystery, and I especially love underestimated “little old lady” detectives, so I’m seated for this book!

Genre: Mystery


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: Stereotypes are bad, so I’ll just say Ireland has produced some pretty good writers. And here’s another one! In this gritty and tragic debut, Djamel White portrays the life of a queer gang member in Dublin. Early reviewers are calling this read “emotionally charged” and “impossible to put down.” 

Genre: Contemporary fiction


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: For the Kennedy Ryan devotees (of which I am one), you really don’t have to say much beyond “Kennedy Ryan has a new book out!” For the rest of you, here are a few more keywords about her latest: second-chance romance, forced proximity on a film set, TENSION (sexual and otherwise).

Genre: Romance


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: Sure, pregnancy seems daunting in this reality, but in Tsao’s alternate reality giving birth also means that you’re replaced by a stronger doppelgänger that EATS YOU. Well, that’s one way to endure motherhood. If you loved Nightbitch and The Substance, this one’s for you.

Genre: Horror/Sci-fi


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: A rising-star author is invited to a prestigious writing residency—and promptly disappears. A year and a half later, someone has started a true crime podcast about her last days, and the narrator sounds suspiciously like the missing woman. Armed with these surreal clues, the author’s sister sets off to find out What Really Happened. Everything about this premise is catnip for me!

Genre: Horror


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: The 1600s seem to be having a moment in recent historical fiction, probably for reasons that aren’t good. (Are those reasons ever positive and glowing?) Whatever the source for this trend, I’m all about it, especially when it merges with fantastical horror, like in Johanna van Veen’s latest. Here, a runaway nun and sharp-witted peasant invoke the curse lying within a dead saint’s bones. 

Genre: Horror/Fantasy/Historical Fiction


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: Described as an anti-Western, this exciting debut follows a young man and a women-led group of freedom fighters who take matters into their own hands to investigate why boys keep disappearing from their Métis community. Great title, great cover, great premise!

Genre: Historical fiction


Cybil can’t wait to read this book because: Set in a Lithuanian forest during World War II, this blend of historical fiction and fantasy finds four teens struggling to survive the dark times, when they come under the  protection of a murder of magical crows. I loved Ray Nayler’s The Mountain in the Sea, so I’m excited to crack this open! 

Genre: Fantasy/Historical fiction 


Sharon can’t wait to read this book because: Eloisa James is one of the OG authors who got me into reading historical romance in the first place, so a new book from her gets an automatic spot on my WTR shelf. In The Last Lady B, James indulges in some good Gothic fun with a dead husband who might have been Bluebeard, a grumpy solicitor who is far too appealing, and a plucky heroine who’s absolutely going to explore every secret passageway in a Scottish abbey.

Genre: Historical romance