Swooon’s Top 5 Romance Best Sellers of May 2025: ‘Shield of Sparrows’ & More

Spring has finally come to an end, and Carley Fortune has given us the perfect book to ring in the summer. Fans have been begging Fortune to give Charlie his own story for ages, and boy, did she deliver with One Golden Summer. Set in Fortune’s storied lakeside town, Barry’s Bay, One Golden Summer tells the story of a photographer who reunites with the unassuming subject of the photo that started it all. No matter which of Fortune’s lakeside romances you pick up, get ready to laugh, then cry, then laugh again. Also, be sure to check out our full One Golden Summer conversation with Carley Fortune here!

Buy on Bookshop Buy on Amazon

Calling all Off-Campus fans: Meet Windy City, your next hockey romance obsession! Hallie and Rio may have broken up when they were 19, but fate has other plans for the high school sweethearts turned estranged exes in Liz Tomforde’s fifth Windy City book, Rewind It Back. Lending her signature depiction of realistic and healthy relationships to a second chance romance, Tomforde’s final Windy City novel is expertly told through an alternating timeline, jumping between past and present. For anyone who’s ever moved away from the house next door to their ex, thinking there’s no way you’ll end up living next door to him again, this one is for you.

Buy on Bookshop Buy on Amazon

Emily Henry has made our top five for the second month in a row with her newest novel. Great Big Beautiful Life masterfully weaves together an oral history of the glamorous House of Ives, as told by the family’s lone heiress, Margaret, and the love story sparked between the two biographers vying to write her story, making the novel a little bit of a departure from her previous straightforward romances. But don’t worry, the novel is chock-full of iconic EmHen characters and certainly delivers on the masterful storytelling her fans have grown to expect. If you like your love stories mixed with a twinge of mystery, this is definitely the pick for you. Already read Great Big Beautiful Life? Check out our dream cast for a potential adaptation!

Buy on Bookshop Buy on Amazon

Ali Hazelwood has outdone herself with her newest spicy romance. Featuring Maya, a 23-year-old grad student, who finds herself at an intimate destination wedding with her brother’s 38-year-old best friend Conor, Problematic Summer Romance is the perfect beach read. From second chance vibes to sexy forbidden love, Hazelwood teases that when it comes to the steamy summer romance, “Not everything is as it seems—and clichés sometimes become plot twists.” We may not have been invited to an Italian destination wedding this summer, but Hazelwood definitely made us feel like we made the guest list.

Buy on Bookshop Buy on Amazon

Landing at the top spot on our list is Devney Perry’s Shield of Sparrows, which published on May 6. If you like Fourth Wing, proceed with caution. Not only will you love this steamy, Cinderella-inspired romantasy adventure, you won’t be able to put it down. Shield of Sparrows follows Odessa Cross, a forgotten princess who was never meant to take the crown. Praised for its vast world-building, unpredictable twists, and, of course, its epic, slow burn, enemies-to-lovers romance, Shield of Sparrows has quickly become a must-read for every romance reader. Trust us, if you didn’t jump on the bandwagon this month, you need to grab a copy before everyone starts talking spoilers because readers have already declared that the ending is “some of the craziest sh*t” they have ever read.

Buy on Bookshop Buy on Amazon