Hello, librarians! Below, please find our reading suggestions for the May LibraryReads list. Chock-full of both debut and bestselling authors, this list will surely provide you with enough reading material to last you through the early days of spring and beyond. Remember, the deadline to vote for the May LibraryReads list is March 20th.
Enjoy!
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The Perfect Mother by Aimee Molloy
For fans of: The Woman in the Window by A. J. Finn and The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena
An addictive psychological thriller about a group of women whose lives become unexpectedly connected when one of their newborns goes missing.
"Molloy, a master of clever misdirection, deftly explores the expectations, insecurities, and endless judgement that accompany motherhood in this fast-paced thriller featuring a bevy of strong, smart, and realistically flawed women who, refreshingly, have each other’s backs when it counts the most. Mesmerizing."
—Kirkus Reviews 
review
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Public Librarian? Click here to request a physical galley
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
Barracoon by Zora Neale Hurston
For fans of: Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
A major literary event: a never-before-published work from the author of the American classic Their Eyes Were Watching God that brilliantly illuminates the horror and injustices of slavery as it tells the true story of one of the last known survivors of the Atlantic slave trade—abducted from Africa on the last "Black Cargo" ship to arrive in the United States.
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Public Librarian? Click here to request a physical galley
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
That Kind of Mother by Rumaan Alam
For fans of: Saints for All Occasions by J. Courtney Sullivan
From the acclaimed author of Rich and Pretty comes the story of a young mother whose adoption of her late nanny's child finds her raising two children—one black, one white—whom she loves with equal ferocity, but whom the world is determined to treat differently.
"Quietly brilliant novel about motherhood, families, and race…. [Alam’s] portrait is quite possibly the best peek at motherhood and its disorienting seesaw effects on a middle class suburban woman than we have seen in a long while…. A stunning accomplishment."
—Booklist 
review
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Public Librarian? Click here to request a physical galley
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
Two Steps Forward by Graeme Simsion and Anne Buist
Also from Graeme Simsion: The Best of Adam Sharp and The Rosie Effect
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Rosie Project comes a story of taking chances and learning to love again as two people, one mourning her husband and the other recovering from divorce, cross paths on the centuries-old Camino pilgrimage from France to Spain.
"The feeling of camaraderie between strangers from around the world brings a warmth to the narrative, making it personal, real, and inviting. With wit and wisdom, Simsion and Buist have crafted a novel that will have readers wanting to walk a Camino of their own." —Kirkus Reviews
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
A Theory of Love by Margaret Bradham Thornton
For fans of: The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo and Faithful by Alice Hoffman
A follow-up to her successful debut Charleston and set in the world’s most glamorous landscapes, this moving new love story draws on a metaphor of entanglement theory to ask: when two people collide, are they forever attached no matter where they are?
"A Theory of Love is a rare find—a tempestuous modern love story with a deeply soulful heart. Lush, evocative and romantic, this story captivated me until the very last page." —Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, New York Times bestselling author of The Nest
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
Pops by Michael Chabon
Also from the author: Moonglow and Telegraph Avenue
"Magical prose stylist" Michael Chabon (Michiko Kakutani, New York Times) delivers a collection of essays—heartfelt, humorous, insightful, wise—on the meaning of fatherhood.
"Chabon expertly weaves together past and present events, infusing them with humor, pop culture, and profound observations."
—Booklist 
review
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
What Should Be Wild by Julia Fine
For fans of: The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker
In this darkly funny, striking debut, a highly unusual young woman must venture into the woods at the edge of her home to remove a curse that has plagued the women in her family for millennia—an utterly original novel with all the mesmerizing power of The Tiger’s Wife, The Snow Child, and Swamplandia!
"Delightful and darkly magical. Julia Fine has written a beautiful modern myth, a coming-of-age story for a girl with a worrisome power over life and death. I loved it." —Audrey Niffenegger, author of The Time Traveler’s Wife and Her Fearful Symmetry
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller
For fans of: Caroline by Sarah Miller
In the vein of Wicked, The Woodcutter, and Boy, Snow, Bird, a luminous reimagining of a classic tale, told from the perspective of Agnes, Cinderella’s "evil" stepmother.
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
Another Side of Paradise by Sally Koslow
For fans of: The Race for Paris by Meg Waite Clayton
The author of the acclaimed international bestseller The Late, Lamented Molly Marx imaginatively brings to life the shocking affair of F. Scott Fitzgerald and his longtime lover, Sheilah Graham, in this dazzling novel of romance, celebrity, and Gatsby-esque self-creation in 1930s Hollywood.
"A stunning, utterly captivating read. Another Side of Paradise delivers an unforgettable portrait of F. Scott Fitzgerald and Sheilah Graham, a remarkable couple steeped in all the glamour, romance, and intrigue of old Hollywood. Their wild ride of a love affair is one for the ages!" —Kathleen Grissom, New York Times bestselling author of The Kitchen House and Glory Over Everything
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
King of Ashes by Raymond E. Feist
Also from the author: Magician's End
The first volume in legendary master and New York Times bestselling author Raymond E. Feist’s epic heroic fantasy series, The Firemane Saga—an electrifying tale of two young men whose choices will determine a world’s destiny.
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: March 20th
Looking Ahead: Must-Read June Titles!
Also from the author: Magpie Murders and Moriarty
The New York Times bestselling author brilliantly reinvents the classic crime novel once again with this clever and inventive mystery starring a fictional version of the author himself as the Watson to a modern-day Holmes, investigating a case involving buried secrets, murder, and a trail of bloody clues.
"Deduction and wit are well-balanced, and fans of Peter Lovesey and other modern channelers of the spirit of the golden age of detection will clamor for more."
—Publishers Weekly 
review
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: April 20th
For fans of: Beartown by Fredrik Backman and The North Water by Ian McGuire
A gritty and captivating debut about a caretaker of an Appalachian nature preserve who gets embroiled in a dangerous bear-poaching scheme.
"Bearskin is visceral, raw, and compelling—filled with sights, smells, and sounds truly observed. It’s a powerful debut and an absolute showcase of exceptional prose. There are very few first novels when I feel compelled to circle brilliant passages, but James McLaughlin’s writing had me doing just that."
—C.J. Box, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Disappeared
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Public Librarian? Click here to request a physical galley
LibraryReads voting deadline: April 20th
Also from the author: Everybody's Son and The Story Hour
Bhima, the unforgettable main character of Thrity Umrigar’s beloved national bestseller The Space Between Us, returns in this triumphant sequel—a poignant and compelling novel in which the former servant struggles against the circumstances of class and misfortune to forge a new path for herself and her granddaughter in modern India.
"Heartbreaking…. A subtle, elegant analysis of class and power…that quietly roars against tyranny." —Kirkus Reviews
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
Public Librarian? Click here to request a physical galley
LibraryReads voting deadline: April 20th
For fans of: In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
The Bram Stoker Award-winning author of A Head Full of Ghosts adds an inventive twist to the home invasion horror story in a heart-palpitating novel of psychological suspense that recalls Stephen King’s Misery and Jack Ketchum’s cult hit The Girl Next Door.
"A tremendous book―thought-provoking and terrifying, with tension that winds up like a chain. The Cabin at the End of the World is Tremblay’s personal best. It’s that good." —Stephen King
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: April 20th
The Lost Family by Jenna Blum
For fans of: Kitchens of the Great Midwest by J. Ryan Stradal and The Rocks by Peter Nichols
The New York Times bestselling author of Those Who Save Us creates a vivid portrait of marriage, family, and the haunting grief of World War II in this emotionally charged, beautifully rendered story that spans a generation, from the 1960s to the 1980s.
"Deftly executed, deeply moving, and full of heart, Jenna Blum’s The Lost Family is an evocative look at the legacy of war and how it impacts one memorable family." —Jami Attenberg, bestselling author of The Middlesteins
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: April 20th
The Book of M by Peng Shepherd
For fans of: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid and The Country of Ice Cream Star by Sandra Newman
Set in a dangerous near future world, The Book of M tells the captivating story of a group of ordinary people caught in an extraordinary catastrophe who risk everything to save the ones they love—a sweeping debut that illuminates the power that memories have not only on the heart, but on the world itself.
"I was both disturbed and inspired by Max’s and Ory’s journey through apocalypses large and small. Peng Shepherd has written a prescient, dark fable for the now and for the soon-to-be. The Book of M is our beautiful nightmare shadow." —Paul Tremblay, author of A Head Full of Ghosts and The Cabin at the End of the World
Click here to download the egalley from Edelweiss
LibraryReads voting deadline: April 20th
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We hope you enjoy the suggestions! For more information on LibraryReads, please visit LibraryReads.org.
-Chris