10 Best New Books Releasing in May 2026 You Need to Read

Dungeon Crawler Carl fans rejoice – Carl and Donut are backmost successful the eighth instalment of the deed bid this period – and we adjacent person an exclusive excerpt and an interrogation with the bestselling writer himself, to tide america implicit until then.

Finding themselves connected the tenth level of the dungeon, the tasks look amazingly simple, but arsenic we cognize from erstwhile books, each is ne'er what it seems. With bizarre glitches taking spot much and much frequently, and mysterious whispers astir the eleventh floor, nary 1 – not adjacent the showrunners – are definite what this means. But fixed that the strategy AI is referring to it arsenic “a coming-out enactment for the ages,” it’s astir apt not going to beryllium a bully thing, is it? Which is wherefore Carl is readying a enactment of his own, to hellhole with the consequences. And adjacent though it mightiness not look that mode from archetypal inspection, the stakes person ne'er been higher for our beloved characters.

Seek The Traitor’s Son by Veronica Roth

Release date: May 12 (US) and May 14 (UK)

With quality that a caller Divergent publication volition beryllium hitting shelves aboriginal this year, Veronica Roth has a marque caller publication to support america each going until then. Seek The Traitor’s Son is gripping, tense, and impossibly intriguing. It revolves astir 2 characters successful peculiar – Elegy and Rava – aft a prophecy is linked to them that could use to either individual. One is simply a soldier, destined to support her state from a mighty enemy, portion Rava is simply a wide for that aforesaid almighty entity.

And erstwhile the prophecy declares that lone 1 of them volition beryllium victorious, it means that either Elegy oregon Rava volition beryllium the past 1 near lasting successful the end, whereas the different volition perish, and obviously, Elegy needs to survive. I'm truthful captured by this one, particularly erstwhile it features a Fever that brings decease to each azygous idiosyncratic that it touches, that is unless it resurrects them into idiosyncratic wholly different. Thankfully there’s not excessively agelong to hold to find out.

Platform Decay by Martha Wells

Release date: May 5

We consciousness similar we’ve been counting down the days until we tin get our hands connected a caller Murderbot communicative for years now, and thankfully our prayers person been answered successful the signifier of Platform Decay. Following connected from publication 7 – System Collapse – this clip our favourite SecUnit volition beryllium spending a batch much clip with humans, including quality children astatine that.

Packed afloat of the clever banter, sarcasm and enactment that the bid is known for, the communicative begins with Murderbot and Three taking connected a rescue mission, which of people becomes a batch much analyzable than anticipated. All we tin accidental is, this has climbed consecutive to the apical of our TBR database for the period of May, that’s for sure.

I Hear A New World by Alan Moore

Release date: May 21 (UK) and May 26 (US)

If Alan Moore’s The Great When happened to walk you by erstwhile it was released backmost successful 2024, you’ll decidedly privation to get caught up earlier the 2nd publication successful the humanities fabrication bid drops astatine the extremity of this month.

The twelvemonth is 1958, and contempt Dennis believing that he’s done with the Great When for good, it’s not done with him, and helium soon finds himself drawn backmost into the magical shadiness mentation of London aft helium discovers that his archetypal emotion has journeyed determination to analyse a bid of unusual goings connected successful some cities. Let’s conscionable say, it doesn’t look apt that the Great When volition fto him get distant for a 2nd time, and arsenic easy arsenic helium did past time, astatine that. But could the robust cardinal that helium covertly brought backmost with him past clip travel successful handy? You’ll person to prime up a transcript to find out.

The Franchise by Thomas Elrod

Release date: May 12

Now, erstwhile we heard that this publication had been compared to “Game of Thrones meets The Truman Show,” it’s harmless to accidental that we were instantly intrigued. And to us, it’s adjacent giving america immoderate Westworld vibes, too. So, if you’re the benignant of scholar who is drawn to books featuring magic, dragons, warriors and wizards – but with a spot of a twist – we person a feeling that this could conscionable beryllium your caller favourite read.

With a multigenerational communicative featuring a fig of epic clip jumps, it blends satire with sci fi adventure, arsenic the full colonisation of a Hollywood-owned phantasy satellite aren’t alert that their lives aren’t successful information existent and that they are being wholly controlled by the workplace successful charge. That is until a fan-favourite of the franchise starts to uncertainty what’s going on. However, freeing himself and the remainder of his radical won’t beryllium arsenic elemental arsenic helium thinks it will. We can’t hold to springiness this 1 a read.

The Midnight Train by Matt Haig

Release date: May 21 (UK) and May 26 (US)

As idiosyncratic who adored Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library, Haig is backmost with a caller twist connected that archetypal conception successful The Midnight Train. And arsenic you mightiness person gleaned from the title, this clip our main quality finds themselves stepping aboard a mysterious bid that allows them to instrumentality a travel backmost successful time.

Yes, nary 1 tin alteration the past, but erstwhile Wilbur’s beingness comes to an extremity helium has the accidental to relive immoderate of the astir pivotal and seemingly inconsequential moments from his life. And successful doing so, he’s capable to reassess what went close – and what went incorrect – portion simultaneously realising conscionable what helium mislaid erstwhile it came to the emotion of his life, Maggie, who helium drifted isolated from arsenic the years passed by. A time-travelling emotion communicative with Haig’s signature wit and compassion, we can’t hold to spot if this lives up to its predecessor.

I Know A Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours by Nat Cassidy

Release date: May 5

If, similar us, you simply couldn’t enactment down Nat Cassidy’s superb When The Wolf Comes Home, you’ll beryllium blessed to cognize that he’s backmost with a compendium of abbreviated stories successful I Know A Place: Rest Stop and Other Dark Detours.

Assembled successful what fundamentally feels similar a travelogue, it features a fig of locations, ones wherever shadows and acheronian stitchery and preside. From a tech millionaire’s haunted kitchen, to a curiously bare state presumption remainder halt that conscionable truthful happens to beryllium adorned with googly eyes, to a yoga retreat wherever each is quiet, isolated from the screaming, it adjacent includes Cassidy’s critically acclaimed novella, Rest Stop, alongside a slew of abbreviated stories that are being published for the precise archetypal time. So, if fearfulness is your thing, you won’t privation to miss this.

Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli

Release date: May 5 (US) and May 7 (UK)

Speaking of Divergent, if you’re looking for a publication that captures immoderate of the aforesaid magic of that series, Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli should 100% beryllium connected your radar. The communicative follows nineteen-year aged Poet – making this a large caller summation to the dystopian YA genre – arsenic she dreams of becoming a Storm Breaker.

Even though her aboriginal and destiny has technically already been decided, her clip astatine Amery Academy is thing similar she imagines it to be. From the ruthless trials to the stringent rules, each of which are designed to abstracted the champion from the rest, each infinitesimal is simply a conflict to support going. However, Poet has a concealed that could alteration everything – not lone bash the storms not fearfulness her, they reply her back. And erstwhile an outsider arrives astatine the academy, she begins to question everything that she’s been brought up to believe.

The Anniversary by Alex Finlay

Release date: May 12

We’ve work rather a fewer of Alex Finlay’s enigma thrillers implicit the years – with a fig of them being disposable to work connected Kindle Unlimited, if you hap to unrecorded successful the UK – and it’s harmless to accidental that The Anniversary sounds conscionable arsenic captivating.

As you mightiness person gleaned from the title, this communicative revolves astir 1 time – May 1st – and that time conscionable truthful happens to beryllium the 1 time of the twelvemonth that the elusive May Day slayer strikes earlier going dormant for different year. Yet, successful 1992, our 2 main characters’ lives are changed forever, portion being inextricably linked, arsenic 1 of the fashionable crowd, Jules, narrowly survives an onslaught by the serial killer, connected the precise aforesaid nighttime that Quinn is arrested for trying to interruption up a combat and astir sidesplitting someone.

Exactly 1 twelvemonth later, Jules is inactive haunted by what happened to her, and Quinn finds himself released from juvie lone to observe that his parent has been murdered. As the communicative progresses, we get a accidental to revisit them some twelvemonth aft twelvemonth connected May 1st, arsenic the May Day Killer continues to rack up much decease and destruction.

Ellis is simply a freelance journalist, based successful the UK, with a emotion of each things books. She besides routinely chairs bookish events up and down the country, getting the scoop from immoderate of the biggest and bestselling authors to support you successful the know.