New Book Releases May 2025: Your Ultimate Reading Guide
- Alis Page
- May 28
- 13 min read
Looking for your next page-turner? May 2025 is packed with an array of thrilling new book releases across genres. From epic fantasy quests to gripping historical dramas, edge-of-your-seat thrillers, and swoon-worthy romances, there’s something for every book lover this month. Jump in and discover your next favourite read!
🔮 Fantasy Books
If you’re craving adventure and magic, these fantasy new releases are sure to transport you to otherworldly realms.
Title: A Curse Carved in Bone
Author: Danielle L Jenson
Series: Saga of the Unfated book 2
Publisher: Del Rey
Pages: 416
About Book: BOUND TO A DARK DESTINY, FREYA MUST WEAVE A NEW FATE.
A shield maiden fights to break the hackles of prophecy - and to overcome betrayal of the man who broke her heart - in this searing conclusion to the Norse-inspired fantasy romance duology that began with the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling A Fate Inked in Blood. With the secret of her divine heritage revealed, Freya finds herself on a path that could see thousands of lives lost to the magic in her blood. Desperate to avoid this dark fate, she risks an alliance with Skaland's greatest enemy to seek answers from the seer who foretold her future - the same seer who sent Bjorn to kill her. While Freya still seethes with rage over Bjorn's betrayal, the blood oaths that bind her demand that she keep him close as she hunts for a way to avert the looming war. Her magic draws her to the front lines of an old enmity, embroiling her with Nordeland's Unfated - children of the gods who serve the king she was raised to fear. The same king who, unlike Bjorn, is now willing to fight at her back. For despite the desire that burns hot between Bjorn and Freya, his growing distrust of her chosen path threatens to drag them further apart. As war approaches, gods and mortals must choose their weapons. Yet the fiercest battle will be the one Freya wages within herself. With the magic of two goddesses burning in her veins, she must weave the threads of destiny to decide her own fate: Will she be the shield that protects her people or the curse that destroys them?
Title: A Simple Twist of fate
Author: April Asher
Publisher: St Martins Griffin
Pages: 345
About Book: At the bright-eyed age of eighteen, witch Harlow “Harry” Pierce attended her first Fates Festival Finding Ceremony certain the Blue Willow Wisp would lead her to her Fated match, her cougar shifter boyfriend, Jaxon Atwood. But Fate had other plans, guiding her best friend to him instead. With a broken heart, all her belongings, and a vow to never return, Harry did the only thing a heartsick witch could do. Run. Thirteen years later, she returns to her magical hometown—with her half-human, half-shifter goddaughter in tow—hoping that not only would the town work its magic on the troubled teenager, but that the local Alpha of the Rocky Mountain Pack could help Grace identify—and control—her fiery abilities. Jaxon Atwood was a shifter of few words and even less patience… until his mother retired as Alpha of the Rocky Mountain Pack and left the running of things to him. It’s a headache he didn’t need, and one that brought the witch who’d ripped his heart from his chest knocking on his door. Ever since the disappearance of the town’s Fate Witch over a decade ago, Fates Haven’s magic has been slowly going haywire. There hasn’t been a Fated Match made in thirteen years, putting the town in serious jeopardy of losing its title of Highest Fated Mates Percentage in the World. But now, something is stirring in Fates Haven, Colorado, and it smells like the past, tastes like change, and looks like A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE.
Title: When The Moon Hatched
Author: Sarah A Parker
Series: Moonfall book 1 of 2
Publisher: HarperVoyager
Pages:566
About Book: She's an assassin on the run
Raeve’s job is to complete orders and never get caught. Until a rival assassin devastates her world, and she is captured by a group of powerful fae.
He's the dragon rider who'll stop at nothing to save her
Crushed by the loss of his great love, Kaan Vaegor hunts the world for answers. Then a clue lures him to the capital's high-security prison, where he finds Raeve …
Together, they'll burn it all down
Now they seek truths that threaten to shatter everything they knew about their world – and each other.
Title: Silver Elite
Author: Dani Francis
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 515
About Book: TRUST NO ONE. Twenty-year-old Wren Darlington is not your ordinary Mod. She’s one of the most powerful in existence. But her world is divided. On the Continent, being a known Modified means certain death, as the Primes - those immune to the biotoxin that nearly wiped out the population 150 years ago - want nothing more than to eliminate those who were enhanced by the toxin and developed psychic powers. LIE TO EVERYONE. Wren has survived all these years by concealing her abilities and keeping a low profile while doing what she can to aid the rebel Uprising in fighting against the Primes’ oppressive rule. But one careless mistake places her in the crosshairs of the Continent’s military, and she is forced to join their most elite program: Silver Block. Unwittingly, her enemy has given her - and the Uprising - the perfect opportunity to strike a devastating blow from inside their ranks. AND WHATEVER YOU DO, DON’T FALL FOR YOUR GREATEST ENEMY. That is, if she can keep her powers hidden, survive training, and prove herself to Cross Redden, her cocky, maddeningly attractive commanding officer. Despite the explosive chemistry between them, Wren cannot let Cross get in the way of her mission. But as war rages between Mods like her and those who aim to destroy them, emotions run high and secrets are revealed, forcing Wren to decide how far she’s willing to go to protect herself . . . and how much of the Continent is worth saving.
🏰 Historical Books
Step back in time with these captivating historical new releases that bring the past to life with vivid storytelling and unforgettable characters.
Title: The Show Woman
Author: Emma Cowling
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 336
About Book: THE SHOW MUST GO ON ...1910. With the disappearance of her mother and the sudden death of her father, Lena instantly loses any security she has within the circus she has known all her life. She is advised to sell the carousel her father cared for like a child and look for a husband, or a job in a factory. Until flame-haired Violet, known to all in the fairgrounds as ''the greatest trapeze artist that ever lived'', suggests they go it alone with their own, all-female act. With her outspoken ways and her refusal to marry, Violet is as much an outcast as Lena. What do they have to lose? Recruiting new performers including bareback horse-rider Rosie, on the run from her abusive father, and Carmen whose rainbow ribbons hide the darkness in her past, the four women form an unbreakable bond. Thrust into a harsh and dangerous world that treats them with suspicion, disdain and even violence, they must forge their own path in search of freedom, security, and love.
Title: My Name is Emilia Del Valle
Author: Isabel Allende
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Pages: 304
About Book: Emilia del Valle was always destined for great things. Abandoned at birth by her Chilean aristocrat father, Emilia comes of age in nineteenth-century San Francisco as an independent and fiercely ambitious young woman, decades ahead of her time. She will do whatever it takes to pursue her life's passion for writing, even if it means publishing under a man's name. When Emilia lands a position as a journalist for the Daily Examiner, her unwavering sense of adventure - and new-found determination to survive in her own name - leads her to seize the chance to cover a brewing civil war in Chile alongside another talented reporter. But the assignment offers Emilia more than just an opportunity to prove herself as a writer. Before long she embarks on a treacherous, life-changing journey in a homeland she never knew, to uncover the truth about her father - and herself. A masterclass in historical storytelling from Isabel Allende, My Name is Emilia del Valle is a powerful tale of love and war, discovery and redemption, told by a valiant young woman who confronts monumental challenges, survives and reinvents herself along the way.
Title: The Best We Could Hope For
Author: Nicola Kraus
Publisher: Verve
Pages: 320
About Book: When Bunny Linden abandons her three children with her older sister, Jayne, in 1972, she knows Jayne will be the perfect mother. The mother Bunny, a teen runaway, could never be.
As months turn into years without word, Jayne and her husband, Rodger, a rising journalism star, strive to give the children the opportunity to flourish and feel loved. When Jayne and Rodger finally have a child of their own, a seemingly stable home is built. But then, after nearly a decade, Bunny resurfaces and sets a chain of events in motion that detonates all their lives.
As adults, their children try to reassemble the pieces and solve the mystery that has always haunted them. Who were their parents? What really happened between them? And who is ultimately to blame for the destruction? But will the answers they seek set them free - or lead to something far more damaging than anyone imagined?
Title: Last Train To Freedom
Author: Deborah Swift
Publisher: HQ DIgital
Pages: 336
About Book: 1940. As Soviet forces storm Lithuania, Zofia and her brother Jacek must flee to survive.
A lifeline appears when Japanese consul Sugihara offers them visas on one condition: they must deliver a parcel to Tokyo. Inside lies intelligence on Nazi atrocities, evidence so explosive that Nazi and Soviet agents will stop at nothing to possess it.
Pursued across Siberia on the Trans-Siberian Express, Zofia faces danger at every turn, racing to expose the truth as Japan edges closer to allying with the Nazis. With the fate of countless lives hanging in the balance, can she complete her mission before time runs out?
🔍 Thriller Books
Prepare for sleepless nights with these gripping new releases that deliver heart-pounding suspense and unexpected twists.
Title: Three Mothers
Author: Hannah Beckerman
Pages: 351
About Book: A heartbroken mother
When seventeen-year-old Isla Richardson is killed in a hit-and-run incident, a community’s lives are thrown into disarray. For Isla’s mum, Abby, it is her second devastating bereavement, having lost her husband five years ago. As Abby begins to uncover secrets about Isla’s life, she’s forced to rethink everything she thought she knew about her family.
A supportive best friend
For Abby’s best friend, Nicole, the tragic death sets in motion a chain of events that will have irreparable consequences for her husband and her two teenage sons.
A determined mum
For Jenna, Isla’s death threatens to expose secrets about her son’s past that she has done everything in her power to hide, to secure him a better future.
A tragedy unites them―but it could also tear their families apart
Tackling friendship, family, social prejudice and the pressures facing young women, Three Mothers asks: how well do we really know our children? And how far would any of us go to protect the people we love?
Title: Closer Than You Know
Author: Debra Webb
Series: Vera Boyett book 2 of 3
Pages: 317
About Book: Vera Boyett is a master at cracking a case.
After tragedy destroyed her career as deputy police chief, she felt lost. Moving back home near her sisters, she put her skills back to use as a crime analyst, and now her star is finally back on the rise. Vera’s work really begins to heat up after the local sheriff, Gray “Bent” Benton, calls to ask her for assistance with a pressing case.
Pushing aside their complicated past, Vera agrees to help Bent search for a missing reporter. But their investigation uncovers an improbable connection to the Messenger, a serial killer she put behind bars twelve years ago. The killer, who is dying of cancer, wants his final revenge. And the reporter is merely a distraction―Vera is his true target.
When the Messenger pulls her sister Eve into his twisted game, Vera vows to stop him for good. But can she find Eve and the reporter before it’s too late?
Title: The Children of Eve
Author: John Connolly
Series: Charlie Parker book 22
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Pages: 416
About Book: Wyatt Riggins, the boyfriend of rising Maine artist Zetta Nadeau, has gone missing, leaving behind a cell phone containing a single-word message: RUN. Private investigator Charlie Parker is hired to find out why Riggins has fled, and from whom. Parker discovers that Riggins, an ex-soldier, has been involved in the abduction of four children from Mexico: three girls and a boy, all belonging to the cartel boss Blas Urrea - except Urrea''s family is safe and well in Mexico, which means the abductees cannot be his children. Yet whoever they are, Urrea wants them back, and has dispatched his agents to secure them, even if it means butchering everyone who stands in their way. One of those agents is Eugene Seeley, a clever, ruthless solver of other men's problems. The other is an unknown woman. Every child has a mother. Now Charlie Parker will face one unlike any other, and learn the terrifying truth about the Children of Eve.
Title: We Solve Murders
Author: Richard Osman
Series: We Solve Murders book 1
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 464
About Book: Solving murders. It's a family business. Steve Wheeler is enjoying retired life. He still does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers the pub quiz and afternoons at home with his cat Trouble. His days of adventure are over – that’s his daughter-in-law Amy’s business now. Amy Wheeler thinks adrenaline is good for the soul, which makes being a private security officer to billionaires the perfect job. She’s currently on a remote island keeping world-famous author Rosie D’Antonio alive. Then a dead body, a bag of money and a killer with their sights on Amy have her sending Steve an SOS...As a breakneck race around the world begins, can they stay one step ahead of a deadly enemy?
❤️ Romance Books
Warm your heart with these romantic new releases that explore love, second chances, and unexpected connections.
Title: The Dukes Dream
Author: Giovanna Siniscalchi
Series: The Swans of Paris book 1
Pages: 417
About Book: Helene de Beaumont, a French émigrée in Regency London, is poised to become the star of Sir Walter Scott’s new ballet, La Sylphide. With flawless technique and a self-taught mastery of dancing en pointe, her dreams of ballet glory are finally within reach. But when she captures the attention of William Harcourt, the powerful and enigmatic Duke of Albemarle—known in political circles as the Silent Sovereign—everything changes. He’s spent years haunted by the image of a sprite glimpsed only in restless dreams—graceful, untouchable, and maddeningly out of reach. Now she stands before him on stage: Helene. And the moment he sees her, he knows one thing with certainty—he must have her. As fascination turns to obsession, Helene is swept into a dangerous waltz of power, passion, and surrender. In a season glittering with promise and peril, she must choose between the life she’s fought for… or the man who could unravel it all with a single touch.
Title: One Golden Summer
Author: Carley Fortune
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 416
About Book: Good things happen at the lake. That's what Alice's Nan always says. And it's true. It's where Alice took that photo, the one that catapulted her career. Alice has always been happiest behind the safety of her lens. But when her Nan takes a fall, Alice brings takes a break from her photography career to take them back to Barry’s Bay. Though their peace is disrupted by the roar of a familiar yellow boat. Charlie Florek was nineteen when Alice unknowingly took his photo and now he’s all grown up. Sun-kissed days and warm nights out on the lake with Charlie are a balm for Alice’s soul, but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her, she begins to worry for her heart. Because Alice sees people – that’s why she is so good at what she does – but she’s never met someone who looks and sees her right back. Return to the world of EVERY SUMMER AFTER, but this time it's Charlie's turn to fall in love...
Title: What Happens in Amsterdam
Author: Rachel Lynn Solomon
Publisher: Penguin
Pages: 384
About Book: Dani Dorfman is looking for an escape. She's not expecting to land a new job to take her from Los Angeles to Amsterdam, but after recently getting dumped and fired, she's determined to make this a fresh start. But at the end of her first week, the big move is looking like an even bigger mistake. Especially when she crashes her bike into Wouter van Leeuwen, her handsome Dutch exchange student from ten years ago. Her first love, until he inexplicably ghosted her . . .Wouter is at a crossroads of his own - in order to inherit his family's gorgeous canalside home he needs to get married. And when Dani's job falls apart she needs a visa. Dani is certain Amsterdam is just temporary. But could the charming quirks of her new city, and a second chance at love, become her reasons to stay?
Title: Can’t Get Enough
Author: Kennedy Ryan
Series: Skyland Book 3
Publisher: Piatkus
Pages: 448
About Book: Hendrix Barry lives a fabulous life. She has phenomenal friends, a loving family, and a thriving business that places her in the entertainment industry's rarefied air. Your vision board? She's probably living it. She's a woman with goals, dreams, ambitions-always striving upward. And in the midst of everything, she's facing her toughest challenge yet: caring for an aging parent. Who has time for romance? From her experience, there's a low ROI on relationships. She hasn't met the man who can keep up with her anyway. Until . . . him. Tech mogul Maverick Bell is a dilemma wrapped in an exquisitely tailored suit and knee-melting charm. From their first charged glance at the summer's hottest party, Hendrix feels like she's met her match. Only he can't be. Mav may be the first to make her feel this seen and desired and appreciated, but he's the last one she can have. Forbidden fruit is the juiciest, and this man is off limits if she plans to stay the course she's set for herself. But when Maverick gives chase-pursuing her, spoiling her, understanding her-is it time to let herself have something more?
Title: Cover Story
Author: Mhairi McFarlane
Publisher: HarperCollins
Pages: 416
About Book: Bel’s joined the tiny Manchester office of a national paper from her indie podcast.
Thirty-something Connor is going to back to the start as the new intern.
The latest office news? They can’t stand each other.
So of course Bel bumps into Connor when she’s working undercover on the biggest scoop of her career. And of course she’s forced to improvise, pretending they’re a couple. A couple deeply in love.
Two rivals. One fake romance. The headline writes itself…
📚 Final Thoughts
This May brings a fresh wave of new releases with literary magic, with stories that span realms of fantasy, whispers of history, nail-biting thrills, and heart warming romances. Which of these new releases will be joining your bookshelf? Let me know in the comments—I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Happy reading!
Love Alis x
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