May 2026 Book Picks
I am so excited for this line up! I have either read and loved the book already or am excited to read it. All the covers are just so magnificent and gravitational. You can’t help but want to crack its cover and see what story lies within. And that’s all I am going to write today because, well, I want to go crack a cover. Which one(s) are you most excited for? Let’s start a conversation in the comments below!
Please remember to make your selections by April 25th. All selections after that date will be honored if copies are still available.
The Paris Match by Kate Clayborn
Perfect for you if you like: contemporary romance - family life
Publisher Synopsis:
"The most engrossing love story. A 2026 must-read."--Christina Lauren, New York Times bestselling authors of Love and Other Words
AN AMAZON BEST OF ROMANCE PICK FOR APRIL
A JULIA QUINN TODAY SHOW RECCOMENDATION FOR 2026
A TOWN & COUNTRY BEST NEW ROMANCE NOVEL TO READ IN 2026
A woman tests the limits of her so-called amicable divorce when she flies to Paris for the destination wedding of her former sister-in-law, only to butt heads with the deliciously gruff best man, in a poignant and romantic novel from Kate Clayborn.
Physician Layla Bailey has spent over a year telling herself she's moved on from a painful but amicable divorce from her college sweetheart. Staying friends with her ex seemed like the mature thing to do, but when Layla is invited to her former sister-in-law's destination wedding in Paris--where Layla once spent her own romantic honeymoon--she knows her commitment to maturity might be her worst enemy...especially since her ex isn't attending alone.
The only thing that could make the week more difficult is getting through it without the distraction of the wedding.... But when what Layla thought was a harmless conversation about the choices of her younger self leads to the bride getting cold feet, Layla finds herself facing down the groom's mysterious, taciturn best man, Griffin, who will do anything to make sure this wedding happens.
Since she broke it, Griff demands she help him fix it. Going along with his plan to alleviate the engaged couple's doubts seems like Layla's best chance at maintaining a good relationship with a family she once called her own. But as she learns more about the past heartbreak that's driving Griff to help his friend, she gets closer and closer to confronting the true depth of her own pain...while finding herself more and more willing to risk it all again for Griff.
"[A] tremendous love story ... proof that Clayborn only gets better with every book." --Kirkus (STARRED)
The Tricky Business of Faerie Bargains by Reena McCarty
Perfect for you if you like: magical realism - fantasy - romance
Publisher Synopsis:
A former changeling must return to the land of the Fae to right a bargain that's gone terribly wrong in this delightful cozy fantasy debut packed full of charm, adventure, romance and heart.
When Poppy Hill was a child she was stolen from her family's Montana homestead and taken to the land of the fae, where she spent more than a century as a cook in the Wild King's castle. Now back in the human world, she works for a company that brokers fairy bargains, looking for loopholes in their contracts.
Then a bargain that Poppy is negotiating goes disastrously wrong and she has to return to the world she grew up in to try to rectify her mistake, facing danger, intrigue and a pesky ex-boyfriend along the way.
The Unforgettable Mailman by April Howells
Perfect for you if you like: general fiction - historical fiction - based on true events
Publisher Synopsis:
It's never too late for the adventure of a lifetime, even if you can't remember why you started.
The Unforgettable Mailman is a heartwarming story about intergenerational friendship and the power of human connection, perfect for fans of Fredrik Backman and Virginia Evans' The Correspondent.
1966, Chicago. Backlogged with millions of undelivered letters, the post office announces a temporary closure. But eighty-one-year-old Henry Walton can't stand idly by when there's mail waiting to be delivered. He believes letters are what keep people connected, and he's not about to let them get lost in the chaos.
Plus, connection keeps the mind sharp--according to a note someone's pinned up in his kitchen.
While the post office scrambles to get things under control, Henry races against time and forgetfulness. Taking it upon himself to deliver the mail, he discovers hatred and tragedy, triumph and joy in the letters he carries and the people he meets along the way.
Inspired by true events, this delightful story will linger with readers long after they turn the last page--and might just inspire someone to write a letter, the old-fashioned way.
The Chambermaid’s Key by Genevieve Graham
Perfect for you if you like: historical fiction - mystery - amateur sleuth
Publisher Synopsis:
From #1 bestselling author Genevieve Graham, "the reigning queen of Canadian historical fiction" (Kristen Harmel, #1 New York Times bestselling author) comes a dazzling novel set at an elegant hotel in Toronto in 1929 about a young chambermaid, a handsome waiter, and a murder that will reverberate for a century.
Welcome to the Dominion, where secrets lurk behind every locked door.
1929: Rosie Ryan wants nothing more than to escape the poverty of The Ward, Toronto's roughest neighborhood, and become a chambermaid at the brand-new Dominion Hotel. Until she meets Damien, that is--a charming and ambitious waiter who promises her a better life--and adds him to the top of her list. The Dominion offers her a chance to do well, but behind the gleaming chandeliers and polished marble lurk dangerous secrets involving its most notorious guest, a wealthy gangster who's about to profit from The Crash that will decimate the economy. When a friend is murdered, Rosie finds herself tangled in a web of betrayal--one that just might cost her everything.
Present Day: City building Inspector Bridget Kelly is assigned to scrutinize the recent renovations at the elegant old Dominion Hotel, a task she relishes as a lover of history and architecture, and that gets even better once she starts working with a brilliant and fascinating archivist. But when a routine inspection uncovers mysterious boxes, locked doors, and secret corridors, bringing to light a long-buried clue to a decades-old murder, her inspection is thwarted, and threats rise round her on every side. Bridget soon realizes someone doesn't want the truth to surface--and they'll do anything to keep it buried.
Spanning nearly a century, The Chambermaid's Key is a gripping dual-timeline novel about ambition, betrayal, and the secrets that bind us across generations.
James by PercivalEverett
Perfect for you if you like: literature - satire - historical
Publisher Marketing:
PULITZER PRIZE WINNER - #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - NATIONAL BOOK AWARD WINNER - A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, both harrowing and darkly humorous, told from the enslaved Jim's point of view - In development as a feature film to be produced by Steven Spielberg
KIRKUS PRIZE WINNER - NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FINALIST - SHORTLISTED FOR THE BOOKER PRIZE - A Best Book of the Year: The New York Times Book Review, LA Times, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The Economist, TIME, and more.
"Genius"--The Atlantic - "A masterpiece that will help redefine one of the classics of American literature, while also being a major achievement on its own."--Chicago Tribune - "A provocative, enlightening literary work of art."--The Boston Globe - "Everett's most thrilling novel, but also his most soulful."--The New York Times
When Jim overhears that he is about to be sold to a man in New Orleans, separated from his wife and daughter forever, he runs away until he can formulate a plan. Meanwhile, Huck has faked his own death to escape his violent father. As all readers of American literature know, thus begins the dangerous and transcendent journey by raft down the Mississippi River toward the elusive and unreliable promise of the Free States and beyond.
Brimming with the electrifying humor and lacerating observations that have made Everett a literary icon, this brilliant and tender novel radically illuminates Jim's agency, intelligence, and compassion as never before. James is destined to be a major publishing event and a cornerstone of twenty-first century American literature.
A Cute Little Murder by Molly Harper
Perfect for you if you like: mystery & suspense - romance
Publisher Synopsis:
She used to be the sidekick. Now she might be the only one who can survive.
As teens, Harlow Drake and Lainey Piper built an online fandom solving small-town crimes. Harlow was the star, Lainey the behind-the-scenes genius (and often, Harlow's scapegoat). Years later, Harlow's hosting a hit true crime tv show. Lainey? She's working in forensics. Well, forensic accounting . . . from home. In pajamas. With her cat.
But when Harlow faces significant backlash over fumbling a case, she needs a quick win--like a special investigation into the decades-old disappearance of a starlet from a once-glamorous, now decrepit island hotel. The catch? It's bankrolled by Deke and Bryce of DBag Games, who are looking to shed their "frat bro" reputations. As long-time fans, they have one requirement for their funding: Lainey has to play the sidekick again.
Lainey is wary, but the offer is a lifeline in a sea of unpaid student loans. After reaching the Crossings Hotel, she realizes she's not content to be Harlow's helper anymore. As the cold case heats up, a crew member falls over dead, presenting Harlow and Lainey with a more modern mystery: what secrets does this hotel hide within its walls?
With sabotage, hidden staircases, and a killer in their midst, Lainey steps into the spotlight and takes charge of the investigation. It's up to her to crack the case--as long as she can stay alive.
Annie Knows Everything by Rachel Wood
Perfect for you if you like: romantic comedy - workplace romance
Publisher Synopsis:
Annie thinks she knows what's best for everyone. But when her life goes sideways, the inner workings of her own heart become a total mystery--can she stumble her way to happily ever after?
"This is the tech-world romance I didn't know I was craving. Crisply written, smart, and full of unique, quirky characters, this is a truly joyful and healing love story. I give it five big stars."--Annabel Monaghan, New York Times bestselling author of Nora Goes Off Script
After getting let go from her job and learning her sister is engaged to the worst man alive, Annie needs a win. Filling the open role in her company's data strategy team is just what the doctor ordered. So what if she doesn't know how to write code? How hard can it be? Surely Connor--the team's overworked, aggravating, and distractingly hot interim head--will soon realize how capable Annie is.
Annie sets her sights on landing this new job, even if that means ignoring the chemistry building between her and her new boss, and she tries to (gently!) convince her sister to reconsider her engagement. But with sparks flying at work and at home, she begins to see how complicated taking matters into her own hands can be. Maybe, just maybe, Annie doesn't actually know everything.
The Bewitching by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Perfect for you if you like: gothic horror - fantasy
Publisher synopsis:
NATIONAL BESTSELLER - BRAM STOKER AWARD FINALIST - Three women in three different eras encounter danger and witchcraft in this eerie multigenerational horror saga from the New York Times bestselling author of Mexican Gothic.
"In Silvia Moreno-Garcia's sure hands, every uncovered secret is fraught with intrigue and creeping horror."--Tananarive Due, Bram Stoker Award-winning author of The Reformatory
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: NPR, Elle, Kirkus Reviews, Book Riot, Library Journal, Crime Reads, She Reads
"Back then, when I was a young woman, there were still witches" That was how Nana Alba always began the stories she told her great-granddaughter Minerva--stories that have stayed with Minerva all her life. Perhaps that's why Minerva has become a graduate student focused on the history of horror literature and is researching the life of Beatrice Tremblay, an obscure author of macabre tales.
In the course of assembling her thesis, Minerva uncovers information that reveals that Tremblay's most famous novel, The Vanishing, was inspired by a true story: Decades earlier, during the Great Depression, Tremblay attended the same university where Minerva is now studying and became obsessed with her beautiful and otherworldly roommate, who then disappeared under mysterious circumstances.
As Minerva descends ever deeper into Tremblay's manuscript, she begins to sense that the malign force that stalked Tremblay and the missing girl might still walk the halls of the campus. These disturbing events also echo the stories Nana Alba told about her girlhood in 1900s Mexico, where she had a terrifying encounter with a witch.
Minerva suspects that the same shadow that darkened the lives of her great-grandmother and Beatrice Tremblay is now threatening her own in 1990s Massachusetts. An academic career can be a punishing pursuit, but it might turn outright deadly when witchcraft is involved.
Default May Pack
The Default May Pack is a smidge different than normal. We don’t have a set third item, like usual. All default packs will have an Insight Editions candle and a delicious chocolatey caramel from Ticket Chocolate. The third item will vary from box to box due to supply, but should be something that you haven’t received in prior boxes.
