It’s time to take a look through the lists of forthcoming releases for the next month! These are the the titles AAR thinks are the best bets for the best reads of May 2023. As always, we love to hear from YOU about what you’re looking forward to – so do drop by for a chat in the comments!
Releasing week of 1st May 2023
Releasing week of 8th May 2023
Releasing week of 15th May 2023
Releasing week of 22nd May 2023
Releasing week of 29th May
I was so excited for Broadway Butcher, but I just saw on Amazon it’s listed as releasing on June 22 now. (Unless I’m missing something…)
Yes, CS Poe said a couple of days ago that she’d had to push the release date back a month (I know she’s been struggling with it a bit, and doesn’t want to deliver a sub-standard book) – but promised it won’t move again!
O, dear. I see those books and I feel sad. I should feel more enthusiasm towards new Romance books. But I don’t have it in me nowadays. I hope that your reviews encourage me to try them.
My personal reading moment is far from novelties. As a matter of fact, these days I’m Reading a delicious oldie, ‘The Parfit Knight’. So, I’ll wait and see what you write about some of these books.
I love Stella Riley’s books, and I’ve listened to the Parfit Knight more than once. I listened to The Mesalliance again a while back, and enjoyed it just as much the second time around.
Of the list above, I’m looking forward to Broadway Butchery.
Briar Prescott comes out with Until You (M/M contemporary) on May 16. The blurb on Amazon gives me absolutely no idea of plot but she’s an auto-buy author for me so I’ll take the plunge. Hopefully she will send out a newsletter soon that gives more information!
I’ve also been binging May Archer’s backlist (also M/M contemporary). I think her writing has gotten better over time and I really like her current Sunday brothers series. It’s one of those small town Vermont books with the quirky townspeople. The latest one Cherry Picked comes out May 2 and has older brother’s best friend/virgin hero tropes.
Edit: I didn’t mean to imply May Archer’s writing started out bad. I meant started out good and keeps getting better!
May Archer has been hot or miss for me, but I’ve only read a few of her older books. I may try one of the newer series. I’ve enjoyed the Briar Prescott’s books I’ve read, so I’ll keep a lookout for Until You. Thanks for bringing up these books!
You’re welcome! My first full length May Archer was Pick Me, which is the first Sunday brothers book and I really enjoyed it. That’s her latest series. I read her Whispering Keys trilogy next because one of the main characters in Pick Me is from that trilogy. Then I went back and read her Love in O’Leary series, which is a much longer series written before the current ones and has both full length books and novellas. I actually already had Love in O’Leary in 2 boxed sets that I had picked up a while ago when they were on sale and it felt good to cut down my TBR a bit, ha ha! I liked them all but I could tell that the more recent books have better character development and more polished endings. Maybe try Pick Me?
I’ve read the Prescott for review and loved it :)
Yay! I look forward to reading your review :)
I hope my May reading turns out to be as good as it might be from the list of authors I recognize: CS Poe, Madeline Hunter, Harper St. George, Amy Barry. In addition, I’ve got Freya Marske’s A Restless Truth, AJ Demas Sword Dance, Cat Giraldo’s Wild Pitch, KJ Charles Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen and several Jeannie Lin’s all in hand to keep me occupied until the May books (and AAR reviews) appear.
Annabeth Albert’s new book, Bring Me Home, comes out this Thursday (I know, still April), then I’m waiting for Broadway Butchery. I thought about trying The Gay Best Friend, but after read a few reviews I don’t think it’s my style.
I liked the Albert – not quite Out of Uniform standard, but I liked it more than A-List.
I considered The Gay Best Friend, too, but like you, don’t think it’s my thing. It sounds like the queer equivalent of WF, and that’s not my bag.
The bulk of the books on my May TBR are scheduled for publication on May 23…good thing school will be out by then and I’ll have a summer of reading ahead of me!
REVERB (May 1) is the fourth and final book in Julie Kriss’s Road Kings series of rock star romances. This is one of my most anticipated books of 2023—the story of the Road Kings’ drummer and the journalist hired to document their reunion tour. Their story has been threading through the background of the previous three books, so I’m looking forward to these characters finally getting to be front-and-center in their own story.
HERO WORSHIP (May 9, postponed from April) by Amelia Wilde appears to be a “next generation” book about the now-adult children of characters from an earlier Wilde series where characters & storylines were loosely inspired by Greek mythology. The MCs of HERO WORSHIP are cousins—but the hero was adopted later in life, so they’re not technically related and didn’t grow up together; still, I’ll be interested to see how Wilde handles that aspect of the storyline. HERO WORSHIP was originally scheduled for April, but—seeing as Wilde is working on no fewer than three different series right now—I will not be surprised if the book is postponed yet again.
REBEL AT HEART (May 23, postponed from April) by Zoe York is, after DIAMOND RING, my second-most anticipated book of 2023. It’s the fifth and final installment of York’s Kinkaid Brothers series and features one of my favorite (and, in my opinion, most underutilized) tropes: a couple, long divorced, discover their divorce was never finalized and “Ooops, we’re still married!” Is the spark still there? You know it!
CINDERELLA AND THE OUTBACK BILLIONAIRE (May 23) is the latest HP from the always reliable Kelly Hunter. In this story, a billionaire crashes in the Australian outback and is nursed back to health by a young woman. But when the billionaire recovers and returns to the city, he cannot find the woman who rescued him.
Another HP due May 23 is Caitlin Crews’s WHAT HER SICILIAN HUSBAND DESIRES. This is a marriage-of-convenience where the MCs have lived apart. When they reunite, sparks fly!
CLAIM (May 23) by Sienna Snow is part of the multi-author Midnight Dynasty series of dark romances about the warring Morelli and Constantine families, who love and hate each other in equal measure. I haven’t read anything by Snow before, but I’ve enjoyed many of the Midnight Dynasty books, so I’m giving this one (featuring Sophia Morelli) a try.
That happened to me in April – loads of books I wanted to read all out the same day/week. There’s only ONE book on this list I’m looking forward to, C.S. Poe’s Broadway Butchery, so May looks like being a light month for me.
Lucky you finishing on 23rd May – here, the last week of May is half term (a week off) and then we have seven more weeks to go until the end of term
Where I work, the students finish May 18. Staff continue to work for a few more days (paperwork, clean out classroom, etc.), but to me, a day without students is free money, lol!
Wow – that’s nice and early! I think you guys start the Autumn term earlier than we do in England – we usually go back in the first few days of September, but you seem to get a nice long summer break.
We return first week of August. Students return August 10. School starts early so the first semester finishes when we go on Christmas break. That way students don’t have to come back to final exams in January.