Things have slowed down a bit from previous months regarding big book releases for May 2025. Still, many excellent reads aren’t getting lost in the shuffle of Onyx Storm and Sunrise on the Reaping. Many new literary fiction titles and romance books should climb to the top of most bestseller lists. Here are Good e-Readers’ top picks of the month.
Say You'll Remember Me
Customers praise the book for its relatable and emotional content. They find the romance realistic and sweet, with a well-written family drama. The characters are described as wonderful, and the story is filled with strong secondary characters, including furry ones.
Strangers in Time: A World War II Novel
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Calamity of Souls comes David Baldacci’s newest novel, set in London in 1944, about a bereaved bookshop owner and two teenagers scarred by the Second World War, and the healing and hope they find in one another.
Great Big Beautiful Life: Reese's Book Club
A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK ∙ AN INSTANT #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER ∙ Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping novel from Emily Henry.
How to Be Well: Navigating Our Self-Care Epidemic, One Dubious Cure at a Time
A deeply researched, lively, and personal exploration of the multibillion-dollar wellness industry -- about why women are feeling so un-well and how this trend has shaped our thinking about health and self-care
Lloyd McNeil's Last Ride: A Novel
From the Alex Award-winning and Edgar-nominated author of How Lucky, this twisty, funny, and ultimately uplifting novel follows a father in a race against time to provide for his child.
Fever Beach: A Novel
Another instant classic from Carl Hiaasen—laugh-out-loud funny, tackling the current chaotic and polarized American culture (following in the path of Squeeze Me), with two wonderful Hiaasen heroes
Detained: A boy's journal of survival and resilience
The first-ever memoir of a child’s experience in detention on the US/Mexico border under President Trump’s infamous family separation policy.
One Golden Summer
One Golden Summer was everything I wanted for Charlie and more! Alice and Charlie's chemistry is an absolute bonfire, the banter is perfection, and Nan is a treasure. Fortune's stories are rich and sparkling. She makes me believe that a summer at the lake is a necessary and formative experience in life.
The Names: A Read with Jenna Pick: A Novel
The story of one family told three different ways, leading to three different fates—a dazzling debut that asks: Can a name shape the course of a life?
The Emperor of Gladness: A Novel
The Emperor of Gladness is a poetic, dramatic and vivid story. Epic in its sweep, the novel also handles intimacy and love with delicacy and deep originality. Hai and Grazina are taken from the margins of American life by Ocean Vuong and, by dint of great sympathy and imaginative genius, placed at the very center of our world.
Mark Twain
Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer Ron Chernow illuminates the full, fascinating, and complex life of the writer long celebrated as the father of American literature, Mark Twain
Never Flinch: A Novel
From master storyteller Stephen King comes an extraordinary new novel with intertwining storylines—one about a killer on a diabolical revenge mission, and another about a vigilante targeting a feminist celebrity speaker—featuring the beloved Holly Gibney and a dynamic new cast of characters.
The Tenant
Bestselling author Freida McFadden knocks at your door with a gripping story of revenge, privilege, and secrets turned sour…
The Stonewater Kingdom
From NYT bestselling author Rachel Gillig comes the next big romantasy sensation, a gothic, mist-cloaked tale of a young prophetess forced on an impossible quest with the one knight whose future is beyond her sight. Perfect for fans of Jennifer L. Armentrout and Leigh Bardugo.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.