Anticipated Books of May 2022

Absolutely ridiculous how many awesome sounding books are coming out in May 2022!  I’ve already read a few and have ARCs of some of the others that I’ll try to get to soon; but for way too many of the books below I was denied by Netgalley and have to wait on the library.  I'm also excited so many rom coms are coming out - I haven't done as much light reading lately, and it's just what I need to kick off summer reading season!   

Here are my most anticipated books of May by publication date:

Book Lovers by Emily Henry (5/3/22) - I loved Beach Read and People We Meet on Vacation so I'm so excited for her newest rom com - one of my most anticipated books of the year.  And I know I'm not the only one - I don't think I have EVER looked up a book on Goodreads and seen more of my friends having marked it "to read." I think for many of us, it wouldn't even matter what this book is about, we're going to read it.  But it also sounds like a fun one - about a cutthroat literary agent on vacation with her sister who keeps running into a editor she knows from back in the city who she is never gotten along with.  I love this sentence from the publisher's synopsis:  "It would be a meet-cute if not for the fact that they've met many times and it's never been cute."  

By the Book by Jasmine Guillory (5/3/22) - I have read and loved all of Jasmine Guillory's books and eagerly looking forward to this one as well.  It's her first book outside of her "Wedding Date" series of sorts of interconnecting characters.  This one is a loose modern re-take on the Beauty and the Beast story - and just like Book Lovers, it's set in the publishing world!  It's about an editorial assistant who has to go move in with a jerky high-profile author to try to get him to finish and turn in his long-awaited manuscript.

I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston (5/3/22) - I LOVED Casey McQuiston's Red White & Royal Blue and enjoyed One Last Stop - so looking forward to her new one.  This one sounds like a YA  rom-com/mystery hybrid - the day after high school student Chloe kisses her school rival Shara, Shara disappears, and Chloe joins forces with a few other students to try to find her.

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt (5/3/22) - This debut novel is getting absolute RAVE early reviews.  It's about a woman who takes a night janitor job at an aquarium after her husband dies, and is also still grieving the son who vanished on a boat 30 years ago.  And at the aquarium, she encounters a giant octopus - who is also a POV character in the book!  I love animal POVs in books, and this one just sounds so quirky and unique.

Our Little World by Karen Winn - This coming of age/mystery book is described by the publisher as being set in New Jersey in 1985, about a seventh grade girl named Bee with a crush on the boy next door - when his little sister goes missing and Bee's little sister turns out to have a secret of her own.  As someone who grew up in NJ in the 80s, I'm intrigued!

The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner (5/10/22) - I already read this one and gave it 4 stars - here's my review:  "Jennifer Weiner’s latest is a family drama about 3 generations of a family including grandmother Ronnie, her adult twin kids Sarah and Sam, Sarah’s step-daughter Ruby, and more- there were at least 7 characters who got at least a few POV chapters. And in addition to the family dynamics, each character has their own issues/problems/secrets. Despite the title, this is not a particularly summery book - not because it is heavy (like Weiner’s last book, That Summer, which was considerably darker), but because it’s told over multiple seasons and only partially is set on Cape Cod over the summer - on the same stretch of beach as her last two books, but considerably less of a Cape Cod vibe. Interestingly, the book is also set in our current world, so Covid is referred to, but in a subtle and realistic way - not about people getting sick but more about how quarantine impacted the families, in a realistic and relatable way. I don’t like to give spoilers in my reviews, so I will just say that there was one plot point in this book that really played out in a ridiculous way and felt contrived. And yet, I loved the writing and the characters and the whole vibe of the book. I am a huge longtime fan of Weiner since her very first book, and have read all her adult novels and her memoir. So, this was one I eagerly anticipated and while it is not my most favorite of her books, I still loved it."

Adult Assembly Required by Abbi Waxman (5/17/22) - I LOVE all of Abbi Waxman's books, so this is another one that went straight on to my must-read list without even reading the synopsis.  Per the publisher, it's about "[a] young woman [who] arrives in Los Angeles determined to start over, and discovers she doesn't need to leave everything behind after all."  And I gather that Nina from The Bookish Life of Nina Hill is a major side character!

This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub (5/17/22) - I can't wait for this one!  According to the publisher synopsis, it's about a woman on the even of her 40th birthday feeling like something is missing in her life even though she is pretty happy - and then she wakes up in 1996, reliving her 16th birthday!  I love Straub’s writing and I love time travel - sign me up!

Something Wilder by Christina Lauren (5/17/22) -I love the fun and funny rom coms that author duo Christina Lauren write, and since I only discovered them a few years ago, I'm also working on catching up on their backlist. This one apparently also adds a touch of adventure/mystery to the romance, as it is about a woman who leads trips on fake treasure hunts through the desert - only to discover that perhaps the hidden treasure isn't so fake after all.  Sounds fun, and early reviews are great!

Two Nights in Lisbon by Chris Pavone (5/24/22) - I always enjoy Pavone’s intelligent thrillers.  According to the publisher, this one is about a woman who wakes up in Lisbon alone, with her new husband gone without a trace, and she has to figure out both where he is - and who he really is.

Meant to Be by Emily Giffin (5/31/22) - I already read and loved this one - here's my 4.25 star review:  "Emily Giffin’s newest book is told from the alternating viewpoints of Joe and Cate, from their childhood through their 30s. Joe, who is heavily inspired by JFK Jr, is from a famous and privileged family and has been in the spotlight since his dad’s death when he was 3 years old. Cate (who is not really much like Carolyn Bessette other than maybe her look), comes from a very different kind of single parent family, and has struggled to make her own way to success as a model. Partway through the book, they cross paths, and then we get their relationship story. I have been a huge fan of Emily Giffin ever since the beginning of her career, and have read all of her books - and am super-excited to be one of the first to read this one! This book is definitely a departure for her in a number of ways - that it covers so many years, that it is inspired by real people, that it is set in the 1960s-1990s. But what is not a departure is that she creates interesting characters and brings them to life and makes you really care about them. And I loved it!"

The Latecomer by Jean Hanff Korelitz (5/31/22) - I know a lot of people discovered Jean Hanff Korelitz with her popular book of last year, The Plot, but I've been a fan all the way since I read her book Admission in 2011.  So if you only know her from The Plot, don't be surprised to hear that this one is NOT a suspense book.  Rather, according to the publisher, it's a family drama about teenage triplets born from IVF, whose mother decides to have a fourth kid with a frozen embryo from that long ago IVF.  Sounds like an intriguing plot and a few trusted reader friends already read and loved this one - I'm hoping to get to it soon!

Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean (5/31/22) - Emiko Jean's Tokyo Ever After was a fun YA romance, sort of like the Princess of Diaries but about Japan.  So I'm super excited for this sequel!

Rivals by Katharine McGee (5/31/22) - This is the third book in the  American Royals series, a fun YA series that imagines if George Washington had become king instead of president, and his descendants still ruled America, with the books told from the perspective of the teenage princess and prince and one of their friends. They're a little silly, but such fun reads, and I'm excited to continue the series!

Are any of these on your to-read list?  Any other books publishing in May 2022 that you're excited for?