1. Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune
Publication: May 5th 2026 | Berkley
Subgenres/Tropes: Romcom | Friends to Lovers | Summer Read
Summary: Frankie and George have been best friends since they were eight years old. Both passionate, impulsive, and headstrong—they’ve always clashed . . . and come back together. Until now. It’s the eve of Frankie’s wedding weekend, and she doesn’t know where they stand or even if George will show up as her best man.
Then, at the start of the festivities, in walks George. For one glorious evening, surrounded by her loved ones, Frankie’s life is finally perfect. But it all comes crashing down when her fiancé dumps her the next morning, leaving only a note as an explanation.
Crushed and confused, Frankie returns to her family’s home to wallow. But George has a different idea and a plan for healing Frankie’s broken heart. He wants her to go on her honeymoon. With him. For one week, to the lush rainforests and misty beaches of Tofino.
Frankie agrees, seeing the trip for what it really is: one last chance to repair their friendship. Even if it means unearthing secrets and long buried feelings neither knows how to handle. Even if it means falling apart for good.
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2. Rules for the Summer by Meghan Quinn
Publication: May 5th 2026 | Bloom Books
Subgenres/Tropes: Romcom | Beach Read | He Falls First
Summary: He clicked “yes” on a dare. She bought a failing candy shop. Now they’re neighbors for the summer―and neither is ready for what comes next.
Renley Gossage has one shot to prove she’s more than Cape Meril’s favorite cautionary tale: restore her favorite candy shop before the town writes her off like they did her father. No help, no shortcuts, and definitely no rich men wielding engagement rings and making things messy.
Theo Williams never planned on ending up in Cape Meril. A drunken game of truth or dare turned into a botched online engagement, and now he’s across the ocean, escaping his father’s control with nothing but designer shoes, misplaced confidence, and a rental next door to Renley.
She’s practical, stubborn, and covered in paint. He’s posh, persistent, and willing to use a sander if it means earning her trust.
Between collapsing drywall, gossiping neighbors, and the chaotic schemes of Renley’s aunt, their forced proximity turns into something dangerously close to real.
But Renley’s future depends on standing on her own two feet, and Theo’s past isn’t done with him yet. By the time the candy shop doors open, they’ll have to decide if this is just a summer fling―or the happily ever after neither of them saw coming.
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3. Small Town Smokeshow (The Calloway Ranch #2) by Holly Renee
Publication: May 12th 2026 | Holly Renee Publishing
Subgenres/Tropes: Small Town Romance | Cowboy Romance
Summary: Hunter Calloway has a reputation. He’s a smooth talker, a heartbreaker, and the kind of cowboy who never lets anything get too serious. But the one woman he can’t stay away from is the one he should never touch, Maggie Hayes.
His ex-girlfriend’s little sister.
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4 First and Forever by Lynn Painter
Publication: May 12th 2026 | Berkley
Subgenres/Tropes: Romcom | Sports Romance | Fake Dating
Summary: Duffy Distefano loves three things: her dad, the family cat, and Minneapolis Coyotes football. So when she gets booed out of a game and becomes the internet’s villain, she is distraught—and disgruntled. All she did was shove Coyote Carl away when he made a move on her, but everyone else just saw a woman attacking their team’s beloved mascot. Eager to clear the air, Duffy agrees to an interview on a hit morning show. She doesn’t expect a co-guest to join her—especially not the Coyotes’ star tight end.
When MVP Connor Cunningham gets tasked with damage control to help his team out of their PR nightmare, he thought that meant saying a few words on the team’s behalf. Instead, he finds himself in a highly amusing verbal sparring match with a recently wronged fan on live TV. Duffy pelts him with fiery jabs but is also clearly diehard about the Coyotes—color him intrigued…and attracted.
The interview instantly goes viral, and the public is obsessed with them. A strong push from the Coyotes’ PR team to ride the wave results in Connor asking Duffy out. Despite his distaste for PR stunts, he’s surprised to discover being with Duffy is much easier than he thought, and somehow it doesn’t feel fake to him. Harboring this secret can only blow up, but all he knows is that if he messes things up with Duffy, it’ll be the greatest fumble of his life.
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5. Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez
Publication: May 12th 2026 | Saturday Books
Subgenres/Tropes: Debut Author | Beach Read | Friend to Lovers | Slow Burn
Summary: Four years after graduation, life isn’t going the way Camille Luna expected. Her corporate career is soul-sucking, she’s in debt from student loans, and her breakup with her ex has created a serious rift between her college best friends. When her spiraling lands her in jail for the night, it’s Danny Brennan —the lovable burnout from their college clique— who bails her out and offers the perfect solution to her quarter-life crisis: a summer by the beach.
Cam is whisked away to Elswick, Rhode Island, where former slacker Danny has taken over his uncle’s restaurant and turned it into a seaside hotspot. But while Danny has grown into a devoted boss and dog dad, his carpe diem life philosophy is still as fiery as ever. The hazy summer days start to blur between shifts at the restaurant, dips in the ocean, and a reignited passion for writing, all alongside Danny who makes her laugh like nobody else. Cam can’t help but wonder —is it the salty waves that have her feeling so renewed, or is it the carefree friend she always overlooked? But summer can’t last forever, and Cam’s looming student debt reminds her at every turn that the frigid air of corporate office life is waiting.
As September approaches, Cam must decide between snuffing out the flames with Danny in order to keep her beloved friend group together and return to the corporate grind—or falling into his forbidden arms and setting her old life ablaze.
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6. The Last Page by Katie Holt
Publication: May 12 2026 | Alcove Press
Subgenres/Tropes: Books about Books | Enemies to Lovers
Summary: Ella has grown up at The Last Page, a charming local bookstore in New York City where she now works. Her first kiss was in the women’s health section. A boyfriend dumped her in comedy. The owner is like a second father to her and has begun training her to take over the store. So when he unexpectedly dies and his estranged grandson is left everything in the will, Ella is devastated.
Henry doesn’t know the first thing about running a bookstore. With his aging mom back in Tennessee, he plans to stay in New York just long enough to ensure things are running smoothly and then head back home. What he never could have counted on was the beautiful, funny bookseller who loves The Last Page more than any place in the world—and who sees him as the villain who’s come to ruin her life.
But when it becomes evident that the store is in deep financial trouble and Henry and Ella are both at risk of losing everything, they have no choice but to put their differences aside and team up—despite the inconvenient chemistry blossoming between them.
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7. Out of Her League by Ava Rani
Publication: May 12th 2026 | Avon Books
Subgenres/Tropes: Sports Romance | Friends to Lovers | Forced Proximity | Fake Dating
Summary: Dr. Isabelle Mercado is this close to having it all. Top of her class at the country’s most competitive orthopedic surgery residency, a dream career within reach, and a golden ticket to the Paris wedding of the year.
There’s just one her ex—the one who got away—is going to be there… with his perfect new fiancée.
Desperate to save face (and maybe spark a little jealousy), Isa enlists soccer legend and global heartthrob Austin Cade to be her fake date. It’s the perfect after an injury and some unfortunate encounters with the press, he needs good PR and the kind of elite connections this wedding will attract. Plus, her ex just so happens to be his #1 fan. Win-win.
But between champagne toasts and stolen glances under Parisian stars, pretending starts to feel a lot like the real thing. Isa’s always been all-in on her career—love was never the goal.
But maybe, just maybe… this time, the heart has its own agenda.
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8. Reality Bites by Amy Mass
Publication: May 12th 2026 | Harper Perennial
Subgenres/Tropes: Debut Author | Romcom
Summary: Grace Lambert’s entire family are all influencers. Her mom runs an HGTV-like Instagram, her dad operates a Yoga for Men Youtube channel, and her brothers are famous on Tiktok and Twitch. Grace, however, is a scientist devoted to saving the Southern Mountain yellow-legged frogs from extinction, who has never had social media.
When her mom signs her up for a dating show with a cult-like following, Grace hangs up on their lawyer, Andrew, immediately. She has no interest in reality TV—until her lab loses its funding, and her coworkers learn about not only the show’s worldwide viewership . . . but the cash prize.
Arriving on set, Grace immediately feels like a frog out of water. She doesn’t know how to mug for the cameras, make effortless small talk with the contestants, or watch her tongue in an interview—making her a constant thorn in Andrew’s side.
The more time Grace spends competing in challenges, unexpectedly flirting with contestants, and making Andrew’s life a living hell, the more she realizes that being there for the wrong reason and keeping it secret might be trickier than she thought—not to mention just how much trouble an illicit, off-screen romance can bring.
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9. Fever Dream (Emerald Lake #1) by Elsie Silver
Publication: May 19th 2026 | Atria Books
Subgenres/Tropes: Small Town Romance | Cowboy Romance | Enemies to Lovers
Summary: Professional bull rider Emmett Bush is not looking for love. He’s looking for a paycheck to save his family’s farm from bankruptcy. So, when he agrees to be the leading man on a hot new reality dating show, Romance Ranch, he’s already decided it’s all one big performance.
Until Julia Silva walks onto his property. Smart, snarky, beautiful, and off-limits in more ways than one. As the location consultant on set and the little sister of his most bitter professional rival, she’s the last woman who should pique his interest.
Julia has been warned about Emmett. She knows better than to fall for his cocky swagger, broad shoulders, and smoldering good looks. Plus, she’s sworn off relationships.
But as Julia and Emmett work together, mutual distaste grows into an unexpected connection and then… something more.
Soon, they find themselves searching for excuses to spend time together and out of reach of the cameras. Knowing glances. Stolen kisses. Secret rendezvous.
Still, Emmett signed up to play the role of an eligible bachelor searching for the one. His family’s land and legacy depend on him completing the show.
The problem is, he’s already fallen in love.
Just not with a contestant.
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10. Bad Boy Era (Mountain Men Matchmaker #4) by Amy Daws
Publication: May 26th 2026 | MIRA Books
Subgenres/Tropes: Small Town Romance | Romcom | Forced Proximity
Summary: Rule #1 on the Everly Fletcher Matchmaking Manifesto…Never fall for your best friend’s grumpy brother.
Everly is the matchmaking mastermind of her family, but her own love life is a bit of a flop.
Back from four years in Dublin, she’s ready for a quiet summer on Fletcher Mountain helping launch her aunt’s animal rescue center—until Conri “Wolf” Reilly shows up.
Wolf is her college roommate’s infuriating twin brother. He’s brooding, Irish, and college rugby’s resident bad boy with thighs that could crack a watermelon.
His red card reputation has trashed his rugby prospects…until a training camp in Denver comes calling. As a favor, Everly reluctantly gets Wolf a place to stay if he volunteers at the rescue center.
Now Everly’s finds herself working and living next door to the Irish tattooed grump who treats her like a nuisance—but looks at her like he could press her up against a hay bale until they forget their own names.
Wolf swore he came to America to fix his image, not fall for his sister’s best friend, but the more time he spends with Everly, the harder it is to keep his distance.
Perhaps Everly’s in her bad boy era…or maybe Fletcher Mountain might has its own matchmaking plans.
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11. Dolly All the Time by Annabel Monaghan
Publication: May 26th 2026 | G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Subgenres/Tropes: Chick Lit | Summer Reads | Fake Dating
Summary: If they begin by pretending, can they end with something real?
Dolly Brick has never met a problem she couldn’t solve. Not when her mom left when she was twelve, and not at thirty-nine when she moves with her son back to Whitfield, Rhode Island for the summer to keep her dad and brother from losing the family home.
So when she comes across Stewart Whitfield—annoyingly handsome scion of the Whitfield family—with a flat tire and at the wrong end of a very public, very humiliating breakup, it’s in her nature to help. But Stewart’s proposed arrangement ends up being more than either of them bargained for, because as public dinners and high society benefits turn into sunset boat rides and swinging on the porch, Dolly starts to feel something more than helpful. She’s never relied on anyone besides herself, can she really start now?
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12. The Summer Share by Jenn McKinlay
Publication: May 26th 2026 | Berkley
Subgenres/Tropes: Small Town Romance | Beach Read | Romcom | Mystery
Summary: Free-spirited travel influencer Hannah Spencer has spent five years touring the country in her vintage van. An unexpected inheritance from her Pops brings Hannah to Cape Split, North Carolina, where she learns she’s the new owner of a worse-for-wear seaside beach house. Or, rather, fifty percent of one. Turns out Simon O’Malley inherited the other half from his Gramps.
As Simon and Hannah spend the summer tag-teaming repairs on the crumbling cottage, they discover the house was once home to a timeless love story. Soon, they begin to wonder if the house’s romantic past may be a good omen for their future together. But there’s one problem—Simon is set on selling the property at the end of the summer.
Hannah thought one summer at the Split would be enough, except it isn’t like any place she’s ever been, and Simon isn’t like any man she’s ever known—and she’s thinking about putting down some roots. She just needs Simon to see their budding relationship and this newfound community the same way or their first summer share might also be their last.
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Are any of these books on your TBR? What books are you excited to release in May?
wings and fables 