Hide Your Wallet

May’s New Releases

It’s time to talk new releases for May! I don’t know about you, but I feel like it’s been ages since we talking about upcoming books. May is going to be particularly rough on my own wallet, though here are a few more titles you may be anticipating:

  • Gay royal romance alert: Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
  • Lesbian royal romance alert: Her Royal Highness by Rachel Hawkins ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
  • Middlegame by Seanan McGuire ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is a new standalone fantasy.
  • Mercy Thompson fans are sure to pick up Storm Cursed by Patricia Briggs ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
  • Stay Sexy & Don’t Get Murdered by Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is out! Shout out to my fellow murderinos.
  • Meg Tilly continues her Solace Island series with Cliff’s Edge ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
  • Excited for Tightrope by Amanda Quick? ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
  • Jane Austen fans! Don’t miss Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev! ( A | BN | K | G | AB )
  • Munro by Kresley Cole is slated for a May 28th release, but so far, there’s no cover or description out. As an IAD mega fan, I need info!
  • The Bride Test

    The Bride Test by Helen Hoang

    Author: Helen Hoang
    Released: May 7, 2019 by Berkley
    Genre: ,
    Series: The Kiss Quotient #2

    From the critically acclaimed author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all boundaries of the heart…

    Khai Diep has no feelings. Well, he feels irritation when people move his things or contentment when ledgers balance down to the penny, but not big, important emotions — like grief. And love. He thinks he’s defective. His family knows better— that his autism means he just processes emotions differently. When he steadfastly avoids relationships, his mother takes matters into her own hands and returns to Vietnam to find him the perfect bride.

    As a mixed-race girl living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, Esme Tran has always felt out of place. When the opportunity arises to come to America and meet a potential husband, she can’t turn it down, thinking this could be the break her family needs. Seducing Khai, however, doesn’t go as planned. Esme’s lessons in love seem to be working… but only on herself. She’s hopelessly smitten with a man who’s convinced he can never return her affection.

    With Esme’s time in the United States dwindling, Khai is forced to understand he’s been wrong all along. And there’s more than one way to love.

    Amanda: I’ve read this one already and it’s so good.

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • Nocturna

    Nocturna by Maya Motayne

    Author: Maya Motayne
    Released: May 7, 2019 by Blazer + Bray
    Genre: ,
    Series: A Forgery of Magic #1

    The first in a sweeping and epic own voices debut fantasy trilogy—set in a stunning Latinx-inspired world—about a face-changing thief and a risk-taking prince who must team up to defeat a powerful evil they accidentally unleashed. Perfect for fans of Tomi Adeyemi, Leigh Bardugo, and V. E. Schwab.

    To Finn Voy, magic is two things: a knife to hold under the chin of anyone who crosses her…and a disguise she shrugs on as easily as others pull on cloaks.

    As a talented faceshifter, it’s been years since Finn has seen her own face, and that’s exactly how she likes it. But when Finn gets caught by a powerful mobster, she’s forced into an impossible mission: steal a legendary treasure from Castallan’s royal palace or be stripped of her magic forever.

    After the murder of his older brother, Prince Alfehr is first in line for the Castallan throne. But Alfie can’t help but feel that he will never live up to his brother’s legacy. Riddled with grief, Alfie is obsessed with finding a way to bring his brother back, even if it means dabbling in forbidden magic.

    But when Finn and Alfie’s fates collide, they accidentally unlock a terrible, ancient power—which, if not contained, will devour the world. And with Castallan’s fate in their hands, Alfie and Finn must race to vanquish what they have unleashed, even if it means facing the deepest darkness in their pasts.

    Amanda: I’ve heard amazing things about the writing and world building in this.

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • Somewhere Only We Know

    Somewhere Only We Know by Maurene Goo

    Author: Maurene Goo
    Released: May 7, 2019 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
    Genre: , ,

    10 00 p.m.: Lucky is the biggest K-pop star on the scene, and she’s just performed her hit song “Heartbeat” in Hong Kong to thousands of adoring fans. She’s about to debut on The Tonight Show in America, hopefully a breakout performance for her career. But right now? She’s in her fancy hotel, trying to fall asleep but dying for a hamburger.

    11 00 p.m.: Jack is sneaking into a fancy hotel, on assignment for his tabloid job that he keeps secret from his parents. On his way out of the hotel, he runs into a girl wearing slippers, a girl who is single-mindedly determined to find a hamburger. She looks kind of familiar. She’s very cute. He’s maybe curious.

    12:00 a.m.: Nothing will ever be the same.

    Amanda: A Roman Holiday retelling with a K-Pop star!

    Elyse: A YA romance with a K-Pop star heroine!

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • The Key to Happily Ever After

    The Key to Happily Ever After by Tif Marcelo

    Author: Tif Marcelo
    Released: May 14, 2019 by Gallery Books
    Genre: , ,

    A charming romantic comedy about three sisters who are struggling to keep the family wedding planning business afloat—all the while trying to write their own happily-ever-afters in the process. 

    All’s fair in love and business.

    The de la Rosa family and their wedding planning business have been creating happily ever afters in the Washington, DC area for years, making even the most difficult bride’s day a fairytale. But when their parents announce their retirement, the sisters—Marisol, Janelyn, and Pearl—are determined to take over the business themselves.

    But the sisters quickly discover that the wedding business isn’t all rings and roses. There are brides whose moods can change at the drop of a hat; grooms who want to control every part of the process; and couples who argue until their big day. As emotions run high, the de la Rosa sisters quickly realize one thing: even when disaster strikes—whether it’s a wardrobe malfunction or a snowmageddon in the middle of a spring wedding—they’ll always have each other.

    Perfect for fans of the witty and engaging novels of Amy E. Reichert and Susan Mallery, The Key to Happily Ever After is a fresh romantic comedy that celebrates the crucial and profound power of sisterhood.

    Sarah: A romantic comedy about three sisters inherit a wedding planning business – I’m so curious, and have heard really excited buzz about it, too.

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • The Lost Coast

    The Lost Coast by Amy Rose Capetta

    Author: Amy Rose Capetta
    Released: May 14, 2019 by Candlewick Press
    Genre: , ,

    The spellbinding tale of six queer witches forging their own paths, shrouded in the mist, magic, and secrets of the ancient California redwoods.

    Danny didn’t know what she was looking for when she and her mother spread out a map of the United States and Danny put her finger down on Tempest, California. What she finds are the Grays: a group of friends who throw around terms like queer and witch like they’re ordinary and everyday, though they feel like an earthquake to Danny. But Danny didn’t just find the Grays. They cast a spell that calls her halfway across the country, because she has something they need: she can bring back Imogen, the most powerful of the Grays, missing since the summer night she wandered into the woods alone. But before Danny can find Imogen, she finds a dead boy with a redwood branch through his heart. Something is very wrong amid the trees and fog of the Lost Coast, and whatever it is, it can kill. Lush, eerie, and imaginative, Amy Rose Capetta’s tale overflows with the perils and power of discovery — and what it means to find your home, yourself, and your way forward.

    Amanda: Disclaimer: My roommate works for Candlewick and I told her I needed that “queer witch book.”

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • The Unhoneymooners

    The Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren

    Author: Christina Lauren
    Released: May 14, 2019 by Gallery Books
    Genre: ,

    For two sworn enemies, anything can happen during the Hawaiian trip of a lifetime—maybe even love—in this romantic comedy from the New York Times bestselling authors of Roomies.

    Olive Torres is used to being the unlucky twin: from inexplicable mishaps to a recent layoff, her life seems to be almost comically jinxed. By contrast, her sister Ami is an eternal champion . . . she even managed to finance her entire wedding by winning a slew of contests. Unfortunately for Olive, the only thing worse than constant bad luck is having to spend the wedding day with the best man (and her nemesis), Ethan Thomas.

    Olive braces herself for wedding hell, determined to put on a brave face, but when the entire wedding party gets food poisoning, the only people who aren’t affected are Olive and Ethan. Suddenly there’s a free honeymoon up for grabs, and Olive will be damned if Ethan gets to enjoy paradise solo.

    Agreeing to a temporary truce, the pair head for Maui. After all, ten days of bliss is worth having to assume the role of loving newlyweds, right? But the weird thing is . . . Olive doesn’t mind playing pretend. In fact, the more she pretends to be the luckiest woman alive, the more it feels like she might be.

    With Christina Lauren’s “uniquely hilarious and touching voice” (Entertainment Weekly), The Unhoneymooners is a romance for anyone who has ever felt unlucky in love.

    Amanda: There’s just something about Christina Lauren’s writing that makes me so happy.

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • An Illusion of Thieves

    An Illusion of Thieves by Cate Glass

    Author: Cate Glass
    Released: May 21, 2019 by Tor Books
    Genre:
    Series: Chimera #1

    In Cantagna, being a sorcerer is a death sentence.

    Romy escapes her hardscrabble upbringing when she becomes courtesan to the Shadow Lord, a revolutionary noble who brings laws and comforts once reserved for the wealthy to all. When her brother, Neri, is caught thieving with the aid of magic, Romy’s aristocratic influence is the only thing that can spare his life—and the price is her banishment.

    Now back in Beggar’s Ring, she has just her wits and her own long-hidden sorcery to help her and Neri survive. But when a plot to overthrow the Shadow Lord and incite civil war is uncovered, only Romy knows how to stop it. To do so, she’ll have to rely on newfound allies—a swordmaster, a silversmith, and her own thieving brother. And they’ll need the very thing that could condemn them all: magic.

    Amanda: This sounds so awesome.

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • New Ink on Life

    New Ink on Life by Jennie Davids

    Author: Jennie Davids
    Released: May 27, 2019 by Carina Press
    Genre: , ,
    Series: Thorn & Thistle #1

    Quiet does not equal weak… 

    Leaving a dependable job to apprentice as a tattoo artist was a drastic step after surviving breast cancer, but Cassie Fletcher is nearly five years cancer-free. Nearly. She’s not ready to go out on her own until she clears that all-important hurdle. Also off-limits are relationships and sex—something Cassie is sure she’ll never want again.

    Struggling tattoo shop owner MJ Flores doesn’t give a damn what people think, but losing Thorn & Thistle would mean losing everything. When her former mentor’s protégé arrives at her door, MJ hires her out of obligation…at first. Cross-stitching goody-goodies are not her type, but Cassie’s business background might just get the shop back on solid footing. They strike a bargain: Cassie will enact new marketing plans and MJ will teach her to find her inner bitch.

    Only when clients request to see Cassie—having learned of the beautiful, compassionate tattoos she creates for survivors and their families—does MJ realize all Cassie has endured. And as Cassie’s fears fade, she finds it harder to keep her admiration for her bad-girl boss from reawakening all she’d feared was lost.

    Sarah: Tattoo shop romance between two women who seem to have made a number of presumptions about one another that they might have to rethink (ahoy, again, catnip).

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • Fake It Till You Break It

    Fake It Till You Break It by Jenn Nguyen

    Author: Jenn Nguyen
    Released: May 28, 2019 by Swoon Reads
    Genre: , ,

    Mia and Jake have known each other their whole lives. They’ve endured summer vacations, Sunday brunches, even dentist visits together. Their mothers, who are best friends, are convinced that Mia and Jake would be the perfect couple, even though they can’t stand to be in the same room together.

    After Mia’s mom turns away yet another cute boy, Mia and Jake decide they’ve had enough. Together, they hatch a plan to get their moms off their backs. Permanently. All they have to do is pretend to date and then stage the worst breakup of all time—and then they’ll be free.

    It’s the perfect plan – except that it turns out maybe Mia and Jake don’t hate each other as much as they once thought…

    Elyse: A romantic comedy where the main characters fake-date to get their parents off their backs. This has the potential to be so much fun.

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • The Flatshare

    The Flatshare by Beth O'Leary

    Author: Beth O'Leary
    Released: May 28, 2019 by Flatiron
    Genre: ,

    Tiffy and Leon share an apartment. Tiffy and Leon have never met.

    After a bad breakup, Tiffy Moore needs a place to live. Fast. And cheap. But the apartments in her budget have her wondering if astonishingly colored mold on the walls counts as art.

    Desperation makes her open minded, so she answers an ad for a flatshare. Leon, a night shift worker, will take the apartment during the day, and Tiffy can have it nights and weekends. He’ll only ever be there when she’s at the office. In fact, they’ll never even have to meet.

    Tiffy and Leon start writing each other notes – first about what day is garbage day, and politely establishing what leftovers are up for grabs, and the evergreen question of whether the toilet seat should stay up or down. Even though they are opposites, they soon become friends. And then maybe more.

    But falling in love with your roommate is probably a terrible idea…especially if you’ve never met.

    What if your roommate is your soul mate? A joyful, quirky romantic comedy, Beth O’Leary’s The Flatshare is a feel-good novel about finding love in the most unexpected of ways.

    Sarah: Two strangers share a flat at opposite hours (he works a night shift, she works a day shift) and begin to leave notes for one another as they share a space but never meet. So much catnip.

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • Passion on Park Avenue

    Passion on Park Avenue by Lauren Layne

    Author: Lauren Layne
    Released: May 28, 2019 by Gallery Books
    Genre: ,
    Series: Central Park Pact #1

    From the author of the New York Times bestselling Stiletto and Oxford series, the first in a sizzling new series following the unlikely friendship of three Upper East Side women as they struggle to achieve their dreams and find true love and happiness in the city that never sleeps. 

    For as long as she can remember, Bronx-born Naomi Powell has had one goal: to prove her worth among the Upper East Side elite—the same people for which her mom worked as a housekeeper. Now, as the strongminded, sassy CEO of one of the biggest jewelry empires in the country, Naomi finally has exactly what she wants—but it’s going to take more than just the right address to make Manhattan’s upper class stop treating her like an outsider.

    The worst offender is her new neighbor, Oliver Cunningham—the grown son of the very family Naomi’s mother used to work for. Oliver used to torment Naomi when they were children, and as a ridiculously attractive adult, he’s tormenting her in entirely different ways. Now they find themselves engaged in a battle-of-wills that will either consume or destroy them…

    Filled with charm and heart and plenty of sex and snark, this entertaining series will hook you from the very first page.

    Amanda: Class differences with a successful heroine and enemies to lovers.

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • Rebel

    Rebel by Beverly Jenkins

    Author: Beverly Jenkins
    Released: May 28, 2019 by Avon
    Genre: ,
    Series: Women Who Dare #1

    The first novel in USA Today Bestselling Author Beverly Jenkins’ compelling new series follows a Northern woman south in the chaotic aftermath of the Civil War…

    Valinda Lacey’s mission in the steamy heart of New Orleans is to help the newly emancipated community survive and flourish. But soon she discovers that here, freedom can also mean danger. When thugs destroy the school she has set up and then target her, Valinda runs for her life—and straight into the arms of Captain Drake LeVeq.

    As an architect from an old New Orleans family, Drake has a deeply personal interest in rebuilding the city. Raised by strong women, he recognizes Valinda’s determination. And he can’t stop admiring—or wanting—her. But when Valinda’s father demands she return home to marry a man she doesn’t love, her daring rebellion draws Drake into an irresistible intrigue.

    Elyse: This post Civil War historical is set in New Orleans. I’m excited to read my arc before I go to BL Con in May!

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • The Rogue of Fifth Avenue

    The Rogue of Fifth Avenue by Joanna Shupe

    Author: Joanna Shupe
    Released: May 28, 2019 by Avon
    Genre: ,
    Series: Uptown Girls #1

    Silver-tongued lawyer.
    Keeper of secrets.
    Breaker of hearts.

    He can solve any problem…

    In serving the wealthy power brokers of New York society, Frank Tripp has finally gained the respectability and security his own upbringing lacked. There’s no issue he cannot fix…except for one: the beautiful and reckless daughter of an important client who doesn’t seem to understand the word danger.

    She’s not looking for a hero…

    Excitement lay just below Forty-Second Street and Mamie Greene is determined to explore all of it—while playing a modern-day Robin Hood along the way. What she doesn’t need is her father’s lawyer dogging her every step and threatening her efforts to help struggling families in the tenements.

    However, she doesn’t count on Frank’s persistence…or the sparks that fly between them. When fate upends all her plans, Mamie must decide if she’s willing to risk it all on a rogue…

    Amanda: I’ve been waiting for Frank’s book since meeting him in A Notorious Vow!

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • These Witches Don’t Burn

    These Witches Don’t Burn by Isabel Sterling

    Author: Isabel Sterling
    Released: May 28, 2019 by Razorbill
    Genre: , ,
    Series: These Witches Don't Burn #1

    Hannah’s a witch, but not the kind you’re thinking of. She’s the real deal, an Elemental with the power to control fire, earth, water, and air. But even though she lives in Salem, Massachusetts, her magic is a secret she has to keep to herself. If she’s ever caught using it in front of a Reg (read: non-witch), she could lose it. For good. So, Hannah spends most of her time avoiding her ex-girlfriend (and fellow Elemental Witch) Veronica, hanging out with her best friend, and working at the Fly by Night Cauldron selling candles and crystals to tourists, goths, and local Wiccans.

    But dealing with her ex is the least of Hannah’s concerns when a terrifying blood ritual interrupts the end-of-school-year bonfire. Evidence of dark magic begins to appear all over Salem, and Hannah’s sure it’s the work of a deadly Blood Witch. The issue is, her coven is less than convinced, forcing Hannah to team up with the last person she wants to see: Veronica.

    While the pair attempt to smoke out the Blood Witch at a house party, Hannah meets Morgan, a cute new ballerina in town. But trying to date amid a supernatural crisis is easier said than done, and Hannah will have to test the limits of her power if she’s going to save her coven and get the girl, especially when the attacks on Salem’s witches become deadlier by the day.

    Amanda: How great is this cover?! Plus, more queer witches.

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

  • Teach Me

    Teach Me by Olivia Dade

    Author: Olivia Dade
    Released: May 30, 2019 by Hussies & Harpies Press
    Genre: ,
    Series: There's Something About Marysburg #1

    Their lesson plans didn’t include love. But that’s about to change…

    When Martin Krause arrives at Rose Owens’s high school, she’s determined to remain chilly with her new colleague. Unfriendly? Maybe. Understandable? Yes, since a loathsome administrator gave Rose’s beloved world history classes to Martin, knowing it would hurt her.

    But keeping her distance from a man as warm and kind as Martin will prove challenging, even for a stubborn, guarded ice queen. Especially when she begins to see him for what he truly is: a man who’s never been taught his own value. Martin could use a good teacher–and luckily, Rose is the best.

    Rose has her own lessons–about trust, about vulnerability, about her past–to learn. And over the course of a single school year, the two of them will find out just how hot it can get when an ice queen melts.

    Amanda: Plus size ice queen heroine! Workplace romance!

    Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

    • Available at Amazon
    • Order this book from applebooks

    • Order this book from Barnes & Noble
    • Order this book from Kobo
    • Order this book from Google Play

    As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
    We also may use affiliate links in our posts, as well. Thanks!

Comments are Closed

  1. JoS says:

    This is the first I’m hearing about Munro! BIG NEWS!

    Teach Me would be a romance between Snape and Lockhsrt if it were set in the Harry Potter world.

    I’m intrigued by The Flatshare.

  2. Ren Benton says:

    The cover of Passion on Park Avenue does not scream “sizzling,” nor does Teach Me scream “hot.” The cutesy-illustrated-cover-false-advertising trend to trick anti-romance readers into picking up the genre can’t die soon enough. (And GOD FORBID they find a plus-size model for a photo shoot.)

    My May list includes:

    The Man They Wanted Me to Be: Toxic Masculinity and a Crisis of Our Own Making by Jared Yates Sexton on May 7, which is self-explanatory.

    The Candle and the Flame by Nafiza Azad on May 14. Djinn, palace intrigue, magic, and feminism.

    With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo on May 7. Teen mom kitchen witch.

    The Unpassing by Chia-Chia Lin on May 7. Taiwanese immigrants in Alaska. Trigger warning for child death.

    We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal on May 14. Two reluctant legends on a collision course.

  3. DiscoDollyDeb says:

    @Ren Benton: total agreement on the illustrated covers. They seem to be aimed at those who are down with “chick lit” but turn up theur noses at “romance novel.”

    And now on to May releases: My favorite HP author, Caitlin Crews, has two new HPs for May: THE ITALIAN’S TWIN CONSEQUENCES (just downloaded to my kindle this morning) and THE UNTAMED BILLIONAIRE’S INNOCENT BRIDE (May 21). You know what you’re getting with an HP and I make no apologies for my love of the template. I’m also waiting for May 14 and the release of Skye Warren’s CONCERTO, sequel to OVERTURE and the next in her North Security series. Another of my perennial favorites, Katee Robert (whose MAKE ME YOURS, published by Harlequin’s Dare line, dropped yesterday), releases DESPERATE MEASURES on May 28. Well, I have my reading set until the end of the school year!

  4. Peggy says:

    Great list! Gotta add:

    PROPER ENGLISH by KJ Charles (May 8). f/f, historical, shooting party!
    (takes place 2 years before Think of England)

    WHY WE FIGHT by TJ Klune (May14) (#4 in At First Sight series). Bigender/M, contemporary. Treat yourself and read books 1-3 first. So funny, so good!

  5. Cristie says:

    My May list is the same as Peggy’s. Except I’m adding Talia Hibbert’s That Kind of Guy. May is going to be a great reading month:)

  6. MirandaB says:

    I’m looking forward to Tracy Grant’s The Glenister Papers. Something about the well-dressed gorgeous spy crazyness appeals to me.

  7. MirandaB says:

    Also, Charlaine Harris has a short story collection coming out.

  8. Lynnd says:

    The only book that I am looking forward to this month is A Brightness Long Ago by Guy Gavriel Kay. It releases May 14th. Otherwise, I’m continuing my Michelle West reread and my whittling away at the TBR pile.

  9. Kati says:

    May is a bad month for me. I have Finale, Aurora Rising, We Hunt the Flame, and Desperate Measures all on preorder. Denise Grover Swank just sent out a newsletter regarding a surprise Rose Gardner mystery coming out and I’ll be adding that to the list as soon as it is up on Amazon.

  10. DonnaMarie says:

    Munro!?!? Why am I just now hearing about this?

    Yes, totally up for a new Amanda Quick. JAK is such a known quantity for me it’s total comfort reading.

    I’ve also got my eye on The Unhoneymooners from the delightful Christina Lauren and The Rosie Result from Graeme Simsion.

  11. LauraL says:

    The Bride Test and The Rogue of Fifth Avenue were both on my radar. I was wondering if we’d hear Frank Tripp’s story.

    Rebel has just been added to my wish list. A former Rosenwald School is being preserved near our farm. The schools were established in the early 20th century to serve African-American children and adults in the South. I find myself wondering about the teachers in the post-Civil War schools, so this will be a good read. I know Beverly Jenkins will not disappoint in her history lessons!

    I also look forward to A Rogue by Night by Kelly Bowen hitting my Kindle later this month.

  12. Christi says:

    Pride Prejudice and Other Flavors is spectacular. Best book I’ve read so far this year.

    I just put so many of these on my TBR list.

  13. PamG says:

    @Ren @DiscoDollyDeb

    I admit I thought Lauren Layne was going over to the dark side (women’s lit) when I saw that cover, but I am less concerned with publishers dissing romance as much as I am with them exploiting bogus genre rebranding to gouge readers’ wallets. I have no problem paying full price to get my favorite authors hot off the server, but full price better not be more than the print edition based on cartoony cover art. I haz a library card, and I know how to use it.

  14. Julie B. says:

    Cate Glass is Carol Berg so even more reason to be excited about An Illusion of Thieves.

  15. DonnaMarie says:

    @PamG, preach on, sister.

  16. MaryK says:

    Cartoon covers will always mean chick lit to me so even if the genre designation includes “romance” I side-eye those so hard. I always assume someone’s trying to trick me into reading chick lit or women’s fiction. The Flatshare blurb is intriguing, but based on the goodreads reviews I’m not convinced I’m wrong.

    Did you notice that at least one of the cartoon cover books includes both chick lit and contemporary romance in the genre designations? It seems like the term romance is being used more and more casually, and I don’t like it.

  17. I am… concerned about Munro. I am 100% certain that it is not coming out on May 28 but I don’t understand why the publisher hasn’t said anything about a delay. Unless Kresley wants to pull a Beyoncé and surprise all of us with an unexpected book.

  18. Anonymous says:

    Okay, I never read YA, but I think I’m going to have to make an exception for that Nguyen book. When I was in high school, the closest thing I had to a friend was this one dude, and because the world is as it is, eeeeeveryone (our parents, our teachers, eeeeeveryone) thought we should date, or we were dating, or we wanted to date but were too shy or something, idek. It was so obnoxious that eventually I got the idea that we should do exactly this book plot!

  19. Briana says:

    Talia Hibbert! That Kind of Guy! TomorroW!!

    I might be a little excited for it.

  20. Karen H near Tampa says:

    I think part of the switch to cartoonish covers may also be due to new rules by booksellers (online primarily) who don’t want sexy covers any more. I’ve had several authors comment in their newsletters that they had to redo covers from what I like (man chest) to something less racy so as not to run afoul of rules that don’t allow them to publish. I received one today from an author with a book cover showing a man wearing a jacket but no shirt complaining that Amazon wouldn’t accept the book cover for a while and therefore she couldn’t upload the file. I’ve always despised America’s ridiculous Puritanism and it seems to be getting worse and worse. Unfortunately, that doesn’t correspond with a true improvement in doing the right thing but only in what things look like (okay, yes, I’m talking about politics a bit).

  21. HeatherS says:

    I am so looking forward to “Red, White, and Royal Blue” and “Her Royal Highness”.

  22. Bec says:

    Most excited for Red White and Royal Blue, and The Bride Test.
    Defending the cute covers, I’m all for getting more people to read romance, if that’s their purpose. Whatever the next trend may be, let’s not go back to the naked man chest/abs.

  23. […] releases: Tor.com (genre-benders, fantasy, scifi, yasff), Smart Bitches […]

  24. HeatherS says:

    Also, everyone remember like 15 years ago when romance novels had cartoony covers? And then they became passe’ and folks like Linda Francis Lee had to redo covers from hot pink, yellow, and green with cartoon people to the hunky dude photo covers. I have similar books from the UK to the style we’re seeing now; was that an imported design choice, or did “The Kiss Quotient” kick this trend back off? Now everything seems to have cartoon/illustrated covers – and the books are all trade paperbacks, no mass markets to be found (or their lower price points). I’m with y’all – it seems like a move to market romance to the women’s fiction/chicklit audience (at $14-17 a pop, thankyouverymuch) who would otherwise turn up their nose at romance as a genre/a cover with a shirtless guy on it.

Comments are closed.

By posting a comment, you consent to have your personally identifiable information collected and used in accordance with our privacy policy.

↑ Back to Top