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B&N May 2025 Must-Reads
15
items These are the freshest, buzziest books lighting up shelves right now — from chilling thrillers to heart-wrenching literary fiction. If you're into page-turners that everyone will talk about this month, you’ve landed in the right stack.
Sections
4
Literary Brilliance & Deep Feels
Thrillers That Will Own Your Brain
Fantasy & Romantasy Escapes
Bonus BookTok Darlings to Watch
Literary Brilliance & Deep Feels
Thought-provoking prose with lasting impact.
A luminous novel about memory, self, and survival. Poetic, powerful, and impossible to rush through.
The Emperor of Gladness (Signed Book) by Ocean Vuong
Spanning continents and generations, this novel explores identity, exile, and the stories we pass down.
The Book of Records: A Novel by Madeleine Thien
Backman does it again: a tender, sharp story about art, loneliness, and found family. Prepare to underline everything.
My Friends: A Novel (Barnes & Noble Book Club Edition) by Fredrik Backman
A quirky road trip story with Wilson’s trademark mix of wit and warmth. Weird, wonderful, unforgettable.
Run for the Hills: A Novel (Signed Book) by Kevin Wilson
Thrillers That Will Own Your Brain
Plot twists? Emotional whiplash? Yes please.
Holly Gibney returns. More sinister crimes, more moral tension, and more King-level brilliance.
Never Flinch: A Novel by Stephen King
New standalone psychological thriller from the queen of BookTok suspense. Short chapters, big gasps.
The Tenant
Fantasy & Romantasy Escapes
Rich worlds, swoony stakes, magic you can feel.
Moody, lush, and romantic — think gothic fantasy with edge and yearning. TikTok is eating this one up.
The Knight and the Moth (B&N Exclusive Edition) by Rachel Gillig, Hardcover
Time travel + slow-burn romance + espionage. One of the most unique plots you’ll read this year.
Ministry of Time : A Novel by Kaliane Bradley
Bonus BookTok Darlings to Watch
Trending hard, and worth the hype.
Enemies to lovers? Roommates with unresolved tension? Henry delivers again — funny and feelsy.
Funny Story by Emily Henry, Paperback
Vampires, enemies, forbidden love. Yes, this is Ali Hazelwood going full paranormal and we’re into it.
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
Her return to adult fiction — dark magic, survival, and a protagonist you’ll ache for.
The Familiar (B&N Exclusive Edition) by Leigh Bardugo
Fantasy romance meets wartime epistolary love story. Beautifully written, emotionally rich, and totally addictive.
Divine Rivals: A Novel by Rebecca Ross
The latest in the Crescent City series. Explosive twists, sexy chaos, and yes, THAT ending.
House of Flame and Shadow (B&N Exclusive Edition)
If you liked The Hunger Games or Red Queen, you’ll devour this one. Rebellion, romance, danger.
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
Dark academia classic that’s still going strong. Secret societies, dangerous magic, morally gray geniuses.
The Atlas Six (B&N Exclusive Edition) - Olivie Blake