Book of the Month May 2025 Predictions

The Man Made of Smoke by Alex North

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Repeat Author, Possible add-on

With his signature shock and suspense, Alex North brings us The Man Made of Smoke. In turn emotional, introspective, and utterly terrifying, this is a story of fathers and sons, shadows and secrets, and the fight we all face to escape the trauma of the past.

The Last Ferry Out by Andrea Bartz

Release Date: May 20, 2025

Repeat Author, Possible add-on

On a trip to the tropical paradise where her fiancée died, a young woman begins to suspect the death was no accident—and the killer’s still on the island—in this twisty thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of Reese’s Book Club pick We Were Never Here.

The Missing Half by Ashley Flowers

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Two women haunted by their sisters’ unsolved disappearances band together in this captivating mystery from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of All Good People Here and host of the #1 true crime podcast Crime Junkie.

Dying to Meet You by Sarina Bowen

Release Date: May 13, 2025

The acclaimed USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author returns with a twisty thriller that probes how well we actually know the men in our lives.

The Death of Us by Abigail Dean

Release Date: April 15, 2025

Repeat Author, possible add-on

Bringing together the slow-burn simmer of psychological suspense and the propulsive drive of crime thrillers, The Death of Us is the story of a marriage turned inside out by a violent encounter that sets fire to the hairline faults that were there from the start.

This book was on my April predictions list, but I think it could still show up as a mid-month add-on in May.

The Love Haters by Katherine Center

Release Date: May 20, 2025

Repeat Author, Possible Add-on

It’s a thin line between love and love-hating in the newest laugh out loud, all the feels rom-com by New York Times bestselling author Katherine Center.

A Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher

Release Date: May 13, 2025

A witch and a shifter get a second chance at love in this new paranormal romantic comedy from USA Today Bestselling author April Asher.

What If It’s You by Jilly Gagnon

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Everyone wonders about the one that got away . . . and thanks to an alternate reality tech project, one woman will get the chance to actually find out.

What If I Never Get Over You by Paige Toon

Release Date: April 15, 2025

Repeat Author, possible Add-on

One Day meets a contemporary Bridgerton in this high-drama, escapist wonder of a love story, Paige Toon’s best yet.

This book was on my April predictions list, but I think it could still show up as a mid-month add-on in May.

We Live Here Now by Sarah Pinborough

Release Date: May 20, 2025

Repeat Author

Award-winning author of New York Times bestselling breakout novel (and hit Netflix show) Behind Her Eyes returns with a haunting Gothic novel about a house―and a marriage―gone terribly wrong.

Home of the American Circus by Allison Larkin

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Repeat Author, Possible add-on

After an emergency leaves her short on rent, thirty-year-old Freya Arnalds bails on her lackluster life as bartender in Maine and returns to her suburban hometown of Somers, New York, to live in the house she inherited from her estranged parents. Despite attempts to lay low, Freya encounters childhood friends, familial enemies, and old flames—as well as her fifteen-year-old niece, Aubrey, who is secretly living in the derelict home. As they reconnect, Freya and Aubrey lean on each other, working to restore the house and come to terms with the devastating events that pulled them apart years ago.

Maine Characters by Hannah Orenstein

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Repeat Author, Possible Add-on

From beloved author Hannah Orenstein, this love letter to lake life is “the Parent Trap for adults,” the story of two half-sisters who meet for the first time at their father’s cabin in Maine after his unexpected death.

Speak to Me of Home by Jeanine Cummins

Release Date: May 13, 2025

A striking, resonant examination of marriage, family, and identity, Speak to Me of Home is ultimately a story of mothers and daughters that asks: How can three women who share geography and genetics have such wildly different ideas of where they come from? And, more important, can they discover a common language to find their way back home?

The Names by Florence Knapp

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Debut Author

With exceptional sensitivity and depth, Knapp draws us into the story of one family, told through a prism of what-ifs, causing us to consider the “one . . . precious life” we are given. The book’s brilliantly imaginative structure, propulsive storytelling, and emotional, gut-wrenching power are certain to make The Names a modern classic.

The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei

Release Date: May 6, 2025

Debut Author

In this dazzling debut, Stegner Fellow Jemimah Wei explores the formation and dissolution of family bonds in a story of ambition and sisterhood in turn-of-the-millennium Singapore.

A Curse Carved in Bone by Danielle L. Jensen

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Second book in a Series, Repeat Author, Possible Add-on

A shield maiden fights to break the shackles of prophecy—and to overcome the betrayal of the man who broke her heart—in this searing conclusion to the Norse-inspired fantasy romance duology that began with the bestselling A Fate Inked in Blood.

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh

Release Date: May 13, 2025

Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series meets Plain Bad Heroines in this sapphic dark academia fantasy by instant national and international bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards.

Aftertaste by Daria Lavelle

Release Date: May 20, 2025

What if you could have one last meal with someone you’ve loved, someone you’ve lost? Combining the magic of Under the Whispering Door with the high-stakes culinary world of Sweetbitter, Aftertaste is an epic love story, a dark comedy, and a synesthetic adventure through food and grief.

The Amalfi Curse by Sarah Penner

Release Date: April 29, 2025

Repeat Author, Possible Add-on, Possible May pick/add-on

Haven Ambrose, a trailblazing nautical archaeologist, has come to the sun-soaked village of Positano to investigate the mysterious shipwrecks along the Amalfi Coast. But Haven is hoping to find more than old artifacts beneath the azure waters; she is secretly on a quest to locate a trove of priceless gemstones her late father spotted on his final dive. Upon Haven’s arrival, strange maelstroms and misfortunes start plaguing the town. Is it nature or something more sinister at work?

This book was on my April predictions list, but I think it could still show up as a mid-month add-on in May.

The Ashfire King by Chelsea Abdullah

Release Date: April 15, 2025

Second book in a Series, Repeat Author, Possible Add-on

A merchant and a prince trapped in the crumbling realm of jinn must figure out how to save one world to return to their own in The Ashfire King, the second book in the Sandsea Trilogy, perfect for fans of The City of Brass and The Bone Shard Daughter.

This book was on my April predictions list, but I think it could still show up as a mid-month add-on in May. I think this one is less likely because I don’t know how popular the first book was with members.