With five days left in April, I am once again ready for new books to drop. Not because I need more books but more for the thrill.April had some great options for Book of the Month picks. One of which is most likely going to make it onto my top ten reads for 2021 list! See what I picked for my April BOTM box HERE. With that said most of the April picks I already had and had read so I feel very ready for the May books to drop already.May does not have near as many new releases as March and April did. Which is actually making it harder for me to predict what the picks might be but I’m giving it a shot anyways.
May actually has quite a few previous BOTM authors with new books out, so I have a strong feeling we’ll see some repeat authors popping up. May is also Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, so I think we may also see some really great picks from AAPI authors.
Every month, Book of the month tries to offer up a diverse selection of books for subscribers. There is usually always one thriller/mystery pick, one romance/women’s literature pick, most months have a non-fiction or historical fiction choice, one contemporary/literary fiction pick, and one random pick, with YA or a second in any of these categories. Early releases are also quite common so I’ve taken a look at my May Most Anticipated List as well to draw up these predictions.
Whether or not these are actually picks, only time will tell. Even if they are not all or most of these are on my May Most Anticipated New Releases list, which you can see HERE! When the picks are announced and you find you have space in your box still, make sure to also check out my most recent version of BOTM Add-On recommendations HERE!
Keep in mind that these are simply predictions and books I hope get chosen. I could get these completely wrong but the anticipated and guessing is part of the fun right?!
Mystery & Thrillers
Local Woman Missing is my top pick for the Mystery/Thriller BOTM pick. It’s a pretty safe sale as it’s a staple twisty mystery with an ending you don’t see coming. Very on brand for BTOM and I actually really enjoyed it. I have a full review for it HERE!
The Siren & The Other Black Girl are also great options for May’s Mystery and Thriller category. Though with The Other Black Girl being a debut, I think it gives it an edge over The Siren as being the mystery/thriller pick.
Literary & Contemporary Fiction
I love a good Texas book, and I’m very excited to read Olympus Texas. It’s a debut family saga with a mix of mythology and deep character development, which in my opinion makes it a great contender for BOTM. The Atmospherians is another May Debut, and dabbles in cults. It’s suppose to be a wonderfully written satirical novel. I haven’t seen too much chatter about the book, but everyone I know who has read it loved it. Lastly, my third pick is Great Circle, which is more a historical fiction than a contemporary but it sounds much more in line with a literary fiction to me, so I’m sticking it here.
Historical Fiction
I adored The Seven Husband’s of Evelyn Hugo but I was iffy on Daisy Jones & the Six. Malibu Rising though, I loved! I’ll have a review for it later this week but even though this is a June release (June 1) I can’t imagine it not being at least an add-on. Mary Jane gives me all the Daisy Jones & the Six vibes so I could also it being a pick. More in the traditional nature of a Historical Fiction, The Last Green Valley follows a Ukraine family as they fight to survive during WWII.
Fantasy
It’s been a few months since we’ve gotten a good book surrounding mythology and with Ariadne also being a debut, I think it’s very likely to be a May pick. If not than the urban fantasy Black Water Sister is my other fantasy pick as it’s both fantasy and written by a AAPI author.
Romance
So I’m not the biggest romance reader and while I know Christina Lauren and Jennifer Weiner have new books coming out in May, I’m more hopeful that The Invisible Husband of Frick Island or The Girl With Stars in Her Eyes are our romance picks for the month.
Potential Repeat Authors
There are quite of few authors with new books out in May that have previously been BOTM picks. I’m not really sold on most of these being main picks but all of these are on my list to read. Or in the cause of Malibu Rising & A Special Place for Women I’ve read and will have reviews up later this week for. I decided to go ahead and highlight these though, as I really love seeing what new books are coming out from authors I’ve enjoyed in the past.
Already Available
Two books from April are actually May releases, but are still available as BOTM add-on’s if you have room in your box. People we Meet on Vacation was even better than Emily Henry’s Beach Read which was a release last year. See my review HERE.
I hope you found a book that you are truly excited about in this post. Let me know which other new releases you are excited for this month or that you’re hoping are BOTM picks, by commenting below or by messaging me on Instagram @speakingof_books. Don’t forget to follow me to get weekly updates and new reviews!
Happy Reading!
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