13 Best Romance Books of May 2026: ‘Our Perfect Storm’ & More

Release Date: May 5

Carley Fortune’s latest romance brings two firecracker best friends together as they grapple with newfound feelings for one another. Ever since she was a kid, Frankie has only known one constant in her life, and that is her best friend, George. Despite their quick tempers, friendship is their highest priority. Even after a huge fight, when Frankie is left at the altar, devastated and with an extra ticket for her honeymoon to Tofino, George agrees to tag along in hopes that the trip will help her recover from the jilted wedding. With their friendship on the rocks, the time away should act as a time of recuperation, but Frankie and George quickly realize that their friendship is evolving into something new, and they can either fight to cling to their past or step into a new phase together.

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Release Date: May 5

Political intrigue and a tenuous alliance make Mai Corland’s series starter a gripping read for anyone who likes their romance with a healthy helping of danger. High priestess Kerasea has long awaited the night of the Revelry, which marks the end of a longstanding war and the beginning of a period of peace for her kingdom. However, the next morning, a politician is found dead, and investigator Torren is called in to uncover how he died. Torren resents Kera and believes that she’s the reason for his family’s status, but won’t let his feelings stand in the way of his job. It becomes clear that someone wants to get rid of the most powerful players in the kingdom, and Kera, Torren, and the rest of the Verity Guild, which acts as the tribunal for their community, must go into hiding. But hidden away with supposed allies, bodies keep dropping, and Kera knows she can trust no one, and yet Torren is the only person she wants to believe in.

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Release Date: May 5

Aren’t we all entitled to our secrets? Jocasta, the daughter and sole heir of Death, definitely believes so. She’s done everything she can in her new life as a student at university to keep her friends from finding out who she is, and how she feeds in order to survive. A new arrival on campus, a descendant of Lust, is an immediate threat to everything she’s built, and when he informs her that she has been named as Death’s successor, she knows that Lust is not the only one who will come looking for her. What will it take to protect this new life of hers? Her new ally is about to help her find out.

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Release Date: May 5

If you’ve missed Sarah Dessen, trust us, we have, too. But the YA author makes her return to the genre with Change of Plans, the perfect summery YA novel of your dreams. High school grad Finley Hope thinks she’s got this whole life thing figured out. Post-graduation she’ll spend the summer with her somewhat estranged mother, Cat, and then she will head off to begin her life with her boyfriend, Colin. Finley can adjust when Cat switches their plans to head to a small town and prep her estate for sale, but when Colin suddenly dumps her, Finley realizes that all her planning was for naught and drops her phone in the lake and immerses herself into small town life. Her unplugged summer gives way to lessons about life, revelations about her mother, and a newfound romance, pulled off in classic Dessen style.

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Release Date: May 12

Veronica Roth sets up a love story of epic stakes in this dystopian story on the question of destiny. In the world of Talusar, the world has been ravaged by the Fever, and two distinct communities have emerged in response. The ruling Talusar have accepted that many will die in contracting the Fever, but those who survive showcase new powers. The Cedre aren’t willing to lose life at any cost, and quarantine aggressively to protect their people. Elegy Ahn is the second in command of the Cedre and is surprised to be summoned by a powerful group of psychics and told of a prophecy. Elegy could lead her people to success, and the love with a man will guide her victory. But Rava, the cutthroat general of the Talusar, has also been given a prophecy that she can secure a victory for the Talusar. Only one of these prophecies can come true; the question is which one.

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Release Date: May 19

Who doesn’t love a good fake relationship, especially when it includes a half-giant with a heart of gold and an ambitious cheerleader? The Philadelphia Hellhounds rawball team has Orok, their half-giant defensive tank, to thank for their years of success, but Orok has grown tired of his reputation for being big and scary. He has plans for leaving the team (and renouncing his god, but that’s another problem). Before he can do so, he is caught up in a bar fight and finds himself stepping in to rescue Alexo. Cheerleading intern Alexo has had big dreams of becoming a cheer star, and when the public swoons over Orok’s big save, the company is eager to have them continue a public relationship. Orok only agrees to help out Alexo, who could use this stunt to get promoted to the cheerleading team, and everyone loves the pair’s fake relationship, but Orok’s never been all that good at faking it.

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Release Date: May 19

Laura Piper Lee takes opposites attract to a new level in this surprisingly warm and hilarious rom-com about two former rivals finding a new shared interest. Nomi Wyeth wants to change perceptions around weed. Though everyone she knows refers to her as a pothead, she’s found a special relationship with cannabis and the cannabis community and hopes to open her own dispensary. Right next door is Julian, the guy who was salutatorian to her valedictorian, now a doctor who still has an ego no one can tame, even despite making a huge mistake that almost cost him his career. With their businesses set up next door to one another, avoiding the other becomes next to impossible. Julian has a lot to learn about the cannabis community that he’s always frowned upon, and about Nomi, the woman he’s always secretly admired.

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Release Date: May 19

S.D. Coverly, a pseudonym for coauthors Dana Schwartz and Dan Frey, explores the tantalizing dangers of the forbidden in this magical dark academia novel. Ellsbeth Storer has one thing in mind: being the best. It’s why she’s arrived at Newlyn University to study the arcane arts and unravel the sudden death of a loved one. There she meets Professor Thaddeus Rawlins, who, underneath his bored facade, once shared in Ellsbeth’s hungry desire for the knowledge of magic — a desire that almost got him killed and nearly ruined his career. When Ellsbeth steps into Rawlins’ classroom, their fates are set. And when Ellsbeth asks for his help to study a hidden form of magic that can manipulate others, the two are set on a dangerous path of destruction that threatens both their careers and their lives.

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Release Date: May 19

It would take incredibly little to convince the average woman to date a millionaire — and single mother Dolly Brick is no different. Returning to her hometown of Whitfield, Rhode Island, the load of responsibilities Dolly is staring down (i.e., the sole financial provider for her child while also caring for the rest of her family) is slowly beginning to wear her down. So when Stewart Whitfield (yes, of the town’s name Whitfield) is humiliated in a public breakup and in need of a new girlfriend on his arm, a regular civilian like Dolly seems to be the perfect fit. Agreeing to a fake date in exchange for financial security, Dolly is whisked into a life of luxury she could never have imagined. But what surprises her most is that Stewart is far more kind and compassionate than she’d imagined, and holding on to Stewart and her own financial safety starts becoming two goals in opposition to each other.

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Release Date: May 19

Kennedy Ryan marks her return to her Hollywood Renaissance series with the tale of former lovers who cannot deny their rekindling feelings while working together on set. Fans of Reel will remember the undeniable chemistry between musician Monk and screenwriter Verity. Once upon a time, the two were lovers during their college years, and despite its briefness, it left scars on them both. Now forced to work together on a new movie, they’re both thrust back into each other’s lives, and old wounds can’t stay hidden for long. Neither wants to risk tainting the film with their sordid past, but learning to trust each other enough to begin to heal together is a journey Ryan makes both sensual and resonant.

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Release Date: May 19

Set in 1700s Korea, Hur pens a slow-burning historical romance that highlights the power of agency and literature. Fiction has just been outlawed in Korea, but teen Haewon will not be deterred, and under the pseudonym “Magpie,” she shares forbidden books for a price. Haewon hasn’t heard from her pen pal and author “Black Lotus” in some time, not knowing that the man behind the pseudonym is in fact Seojun, the son of a government official. Despite their misgivings about one another in real life, the two soon find a shared common ground: Their love of fiction and literature, a connection that expands into something more profound than either could have predicted.

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Release Date: May 19

There are some kisses that are just impossible to forget, and Katherine Center’s latest novel follows a heroine in an effort to recreate that perfect kiss years later. Jojo Burton might be trapped on a boat in the Bahamas for her sister’s wedding, but there are some upsides. Namely, Finn Turner, her childhood crush and the man whose kiss altered her brain chemistry, is newly divorced and stuck on this boat with her. Also on this boat is Cooper, Jojo’s former best friend, who ghosted her years ago with no explanation. As Jojo sets up increasingly unhinged scenarios to seduce Finn, it is Cooper whom Jojo keeps finding herself drawn to. Jojo wants that happily ever after, but will it be with the boy of her childhood dreams or the man whose friendship she has missed dearly?

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Release Date: May 26

You might know internet personality Brooke Averick from her podcast, Brooke and Conner Make a Podcast, but Averick is stepping out on her own for her heartening literary debut about a late bloomer. The titular star Phoebe Berman is almost 30, and yes, she’s still a virgin. After a humiliating experience with her first kiss (vomit included), she’s suffered from intimacy troubles that prevent her from feeling comfortable enough to have sex with anyone. With her birthday fast approaching, Phoebe decides she must reach this milestone before then and invents a “Guide to Losing Her Virginity in Thirty Days.” Soon enough, Phoebe has not one, not two, but three romantic interests in her life, and realizes that she has more to learn about herself in order to make the right choice.

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