New Book Releases | May 12, 2026
Including print, ebook, and audiobook editions
It's a huge week. We've got Veronica Roth's return to dystopian fiction, sequels to Silver Elite, Long Live Evil, and Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi, a new Louise Penny thriller, a Lynn Painter rom-com I've already finished, two contemporary romances from Katherine Center and Melanie Harlow, and Amazon's May Sci-Fi & Fantasy Pick.
My featured pick this week is Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth, the start of a brand new adult dystopian fantasy series called The Burning Empire. More on that below.
Here are the new book releases for May 12, 2026, plus all the new books coming out this week across every genre.
Missed last week? Catch up on the new book releases for May 5, 2026.
Off Campus premieres tomorrow: All 8 episodes of the Off Campus TV adaptation drop on Prime Video May 13. Already renewed for Season 2. Everything you need to know before watching
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⭐️ Featured Release
Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth
The Burning Empire #1
Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth Book Cover
📖 Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop.org | 🎧 Listen on Audible
Veronica Roth is back, and not with Divergent. Seek the Traitor's Son is the start of a brand new adult series called The Burning Empire, and it's giving epic romantic fantasy with dystopian bones.
Set after a fever has ravaged more than half of Earth's population, the world is split into two warring countries. Half of the time it kills you, but the other half, you come back with a power. Telusar worships the fever. Hence the worship. Cedrae is fever-resistant, leaning hard into technological advancement instead, refusing to be infected. Now everything's coming to a turning point with a prophecy where one country is foreseen to be victorious over the other. And it all comes down to two women: Rava Vidar, a sadistic Telusar noble who treats human life as expendable, or Elegy Ahn, the Hope of Cedrae.
I was lucky enough to get an early copy. A few first impressions without crossing into spoiler territory: Elegy is a masterfully written FMC. Smart, courageous, kind, with the experience to back her battle prowess and enough empathy for her people to be deeply likable on the page. The world-building is rich without being overwhelming.
Look out for my full Seek the Traitor's Son review and complete guide coming soon.
Series: The Burning Empire #1 (start of a new duology)
Tropes: dystopian fantasy, prophecy, dual female leads, magic system rooted in cost, post-apocalyptic worldbuilding
Read if you love: Divergent, Chosen Ones, The Hunger Games, Red Rising, An Ember in the Ashes
Why it's the featured pick: Veronica Roth is one of the most influential dystopian fantasy authors of the last fifteen years, and Seek the Traitor's Son is her most ambitious adult work to date. The fever-as-magic premise, the dual-FMC structure, and the duology format make this the early front-runner for one of the most-talked-about fantasy releases of 2026.
📚 Looking for your next read? Join Book of the Month and get your first book for just $5. It's one of the easiest ways to discover new releases across every genre. I've found some of my favorite recent reads through BOTM picks.
Fantasy & Romantasy
Broken Dove by Dani Francis Book Cover
Broken Dove by Dani Francis
Silver Elite #2
📖 Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop.org | 🎧 Listen on Audible
The sequel to the New York Times bestselling Silver Elite is here. Wren Darlington blew her cover as a double agent, fled the Prime-controlled capital, and is now behind allied lines. Her former commander Cross is still inside enemy ranks, and a new player, fighter pilot Grayson Blake is complicating everything. Lines will be crossed. Loyalties will be tested.
If you loved Silver Elite's dystopian romance with a love triangle that actually has stakes, this one picks up running and doesn't stop.
Need a refresher? Our Silver Elite complete guide has the full recap before you dive in.
Series: Silver Elite #2
Tropes: dystopian romance, double agent, enemy-to-lover commander, love triangle, telepathic bond
Read if you love: Silver Elite, Fourth Wing, Daggermouth, dystopian romance with real political stakes
Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty Book Cover
Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty
The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi #2
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Amina al-Sirafi is back on the high seas. This time she's been charged with an impossible quest: steal a spindle capable of rewriting fate from a mysterious sorceress on an island no one can escape. Deadly storms, an erratic poison mistress, old enemies, and a crew that might not all be on her side.
If you loved the first book's swashbuckling adventure energy with the depth of historical fantasy, this is your sequel. Forty-something retired pirate captain. Demon ex-husband. Magical artifacts. The medieval Indian Ocean. Everything that made book one a treasure, only deeper.
Need to remember what happened in book one? Our Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi guide has the full recap, character breakdowns, the Moon of Saba explained, and ending broken down.
Series: Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi #2
Tropes: middle-aged FMC, retired pirate, demon ex-husband, found-family crew, historical fantasy, magical artifact heist
Read if you love: Shannon Chakraborty's Daevabad Trilogy, Legends & Lattes, Nettle & Bone, fantasy with grown-up protagonists
All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan Book Cover
All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan
Time of Iron #2
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The villain-romance sequel to last year's Sunday Times bestselling Long Live Evil. Rae is a fantasy reader transported into her favorite fictional world and now the all-powerful Emperor (her favorite character, now possibly the greatest monster in the land) wants her to be his evil queen.
Wicked bargains, fake engagements, undead armies, and the kind of meta-commentary on storytelling that made book one impossible to put down. If you love villain romance, portal fantasy, or anything with the energy of a fantasy reader getting genre-savvy inside her own favorite trope, this is your week.
Series: Time of Iron #2
Tropes: villain romance, portal fantasy, fake engagement, evil queen, meta-fantasy
Read if you love: Long Live Evil, Assistant to the Villain, The Princess Bride, books that know they're books
Death's Daughter by S.A. Barnes Book Cover
Death's Daughter by S.A. Barnes
Children of the Old Ones #1
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A new paranormal romance series from Bramble. S.A. Barnes best known for her atmospheric horror pivots to romance with the same unsettling craft that made her sci-fi sing. The first in a series called Children of the Old Ones, this is for readers who want their romance with teeth.
If you've been keeping up with Tor Bramble's growing romance imprint, add this to the radar.
Series: Children of the Old Ones #1
Tropes: paranormal romance, horror-tinged, dark romance, series starter
Read if you love: Phantasma, Gothikana, Six Scorched Roses, romance with horror DNA
Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey Book Cover
Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey
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Amazon's May Sci-Fi & Fantasy Pick. Sarah Gailey returns with what's being called "an eerily seductive look at the desire for community connection and self-improvement and the darkest places inside us all."
If you loved Shirley Jackson, the discomfort of Ari Aster films, or anything that makes you question the appeal of self-improvement culture, this is the book to grab. Urgent, timeless, and unsettling in the best way.
Tropes: literary horror, social commentary, self-improvement gone wrong, ensemble cast
Read if you love: Shirley Jackson, Bunny by Mona Awad, Ari Aster films, The Wedding People
LitRPG & Speculative
A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman Book Cover
A Parade of Horribles by Matt Dinniman
Dungeon Crawler Carl #8
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We read the ARC. Book 8 in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series sends Carl and Donut to the tenth floor for a series of races that seem a little too normal, a little too simple. Ignore the glitches. Don't ask about the mysterious eleventh floor. Everything is fine, Crawler.
If you know, you know, and if you don't, start with book 1. This series is one of the most addictive things I've ever read.
Series: Dungeon Crawler Carl #8
Tropes: LitRPG, post-apocalyptic, talking cat, video-game logic, found family
Read if you love: Cradle, Mother of Learning, video game LitRPG, dark humor
Romance
First and Forever by Lynn Painter Book Cover
First and Forever by Lynn Painter
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We read the ARC for this one too. A football fan gets booed out of a game after shoving the team's mascot (he made a move on her), becomes the internet's villain, and then ends up in a viral interview with the team's star tight end. The PR team pushes them together. He's supposed to be faking it. She doesn't know it's fake.
Lynn Painter does what Lynn Painter does best sharp banter, a hero who's in way deeper than he planned, and a premise that shouldn't work but absolutely does. If you loved Better Than the Movies energy, this delivers.
Tropes: fake dating, sports romance, football, secret faking, banter-heavy
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️
Read if you love: Better Than the Movies, Icebreaker, Mile High, sports romance with banter
Out of Her League by Nisha Sharma Book Cover
Out of Her League by Nisha Sharma
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A surgeon recruits a star soccer player to be her fake date to a lavish Parisian wedding to make her ex jealous. He needs the good PR after an injury and some bad press. She doesn't expect champagne toasts and stolen glances under Parisian stars to start feeling real.
If you love the fake-dating trope with a sports romance twist and a Paris setting, this one's for you.
Tropes: fake dating, sports romance, soccer, destination wedding, Paris
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Read if you love: The Wedding Date, Beach Read, Marriage of Inconvenience, swoon-y destination romance
The Shippers by Katherine Center Book Cover
The Shippers by Katherine Center
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Katherine Center doing what Katherine Center does best heartfelt, hopeful, deeply readable contemporary romance with a hook that'll have you racing through it in a weekend.
If you loved The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger, or What You Wish For, this one's already on your TBR. Beach read season starts here.
Tropes: contemporary romance, second-chance, beach read, witty banter
Spice level: 🌶️
Read if you love: The Bodyguard, Hello Stranger, What You Wish For, Emily Henry, summer beach reads
(Cover image: Hart's Landing book cover)
Hart's Landing by Melanie Harlow Book Cover
Hart's Landing by Melanie Harlow
📖 Buy on Amazon | Buy on Bookshop.org | 🎧 Listen on Audible
Mila Ferguson left her hometown ten years ago after a devastating fire, a stolen kiss, and a shattered friend group. A crisis brings her back, and she just wants to get in and get out except Everett McKean, the town's beloved mayor and her former crush, is everywhere. He never stopped wondering about her. He's not about to waste a second chance.
Slowly, Mila reopens her heart and rebuilds her fractured friendships until questions about what really happened the night she left start surfacing. Small-town second-chance romance with a layer of mystery underneath. Melanie Harlow does this exact subgenre better than almost anyone.
Tropes: small town romance, second chance, mystery subplot, hometown return, mayor MMC
Spice level: 🌶️🌶️🌶️
Read if you love: Frigid, The Cliffside, Beach Read, small-town romance with secrets
Women's Fiction
The May House by Jillian Cantor Book Cover
The May House by Jillian Cantor
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Three sisters inherit a beach house from their grandmother on the condition they return every May to spend one week together. When the oldest and most dependable sister doesn't show up one year, the other two start questioning how much they really know about her life.
Told in alternating POVs spanning from childhood to adulthood, this is the kind of sister story that book clubs will devour. If you loved the dual-timeline sisterly dynamics of Yesteryear or The Calamity Club, add this one.
Tropes: dual timeline, sister story, beach house, family secrets, multi-generational
Read if you love: Yesteryear, The Calamity Club, Jojo Moyes, The Summer I Turned Pretty trilogy
The River Muse by Laura Resau Book Cover
The River Muse by Laura Resau
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We read the ARC. At the brink of summer, Callie arrives in a secluded village in the South of France with her young daughter after barely escaping her menacing ex. She rents a cottage on the grounds of a crumbling chateau, and slowly, the place starts to heal her. A witchy landlady, a truffle hunter and his kind veterinarian son, their lovable dogs, and a mischievous ghost boy. There's flowing water, whispering poppies, and the kind of quiet magic that seeps in before you realize it's happening.
When Callie reclaims the music she gave up at her ex's insistence, her songs start opening hearts and healing old wounds but when he tracks her down, the stakes turn deadly.
Whimsical, atmospheric, and deeply comforting. If you need a book that feels like being wrapped in a blanket in the French countryside, this is it.
Tropes: magical realism, French countryside, single mother, escape from abusive ex, slow-burn healing
Read if you love: Practical Magic, Chocolat, The Lost Apothecary, The Light Pirate
Historical Fiction
The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline Book Cover
The Foursome by Christina Baker Kline
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A historical novel based on the true story of conjoined twins Chang and Eng Bunker and the Yates sisters they married. Set in Wilkes County starting in 1839 and spanning five decades, it follows Sarah and Adelaide as their lives become entangled with the twins' against the backdrop of a nation hurtling toward war.
Race, class, gender, identity, reinvention. Christina Baker Kline brings her signature emotional precision to a forgotten chapter of American history. If your book club loved The Exiles or Orphan Train, this is your next pick.
Tropes: historical fiction, true story, multi-decade narrative, sister story, antebellum South
Read if you love: Orphan Train, The Exiles, Lessons in Chemistry, The Personal Librarian
Thrillers & Suspense
The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny & Mellissa Fung Book Cover
The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny & Mellissa Fung
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Louise Penny (the Gamache series) teams up with journalist Mellissa Fung for a standalone thriller about a mother and daughter caught in the middle of an international crisis when security alarms go off simultaneously around the world and the signal is traced back to China.
Vivien Li is a Chinese dissident turned human rights activist. Her daughter Alice is an "erstwhile food blogger." Together they're uniquely positioned to stop the next attack. If they can stop misunderstanding each other long enough to work together.
If you love Penny's character work but want something faster-paced and more global, this is it.
Tropes: mother-daughter duo, geopolitical thriller, journalist co-author, ticking clock
Read if you love: The Gamache series, Daniel Silva, The Personal Librarian, smart international thrillers
What's Coming Next Week
I'm deep in prep mode for the May 19 releases. Big titles on my radar include the Ballad of Falling Dragons by Sarah A. Parker (May 19) and the When the Moon Hatched complete recap is going live this week so you can prep for the sequel.
Later this spring and summer: more sequels, screen adaptations, Jenny Han's adult debut, and a packed June. Subscribe to The Weekly Bookmark so you don't miss any of it.
In case you missed it: Veronica Roth announced The Sixth Faction, a new Divergent novel releasing October 6, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best new book releases for May 12, 2026?
The biggest releases for May 12, 2026 include Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth (the start of a new adult dystopian fantasy series called The Burning Empire), Broken Dove by Dani Francis (the Silver Elite sequel), Tapestry of Fate by Shannon Chakraborty (the Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi sequel), All Hail Chaos by Sarah Rees Brennan, Make Me Better by Sarah Gailey (Amazon's May Sci-Fi & Fantasy Pick), A Parade of Horribles (Dungeon Crawler Carl #8), First and Forever by Lynn Painter, and The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny.
What new romantasy and fantasy books come out May 12, 2026?
May 12 delivers some of the biggest fantasy releases of the year. Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth opens a new dystopian fantasy duology. Broken Dove continues the Silver Elite dystopian romance series. Tapestry of Fate is the Amina al-Sirafi sequel for readers who love grown-up historical fantasy. All Hail Chaos continues Sarah Rees Brennan's villain romance Time of Iron series. And Death's Daughter launches a new paranormal romance series from Tor Bramble.
Is Seek the Traitor's Son by Veronica Roth worth reading?
Seek the Traitor's Son is the start of Veronica Roth's new adult dystopian fantasy duology, The Burning Empire. Set in a world divided between fever-worshipping Telusar and fever-resistant Cedrae, the book features a richly built dual-FMC structure and a fresh fever-as-magic system. Early readers (myself included) are calling Elegy Ahn one of the best-written FMCs of the year. Audiobook narrators are excellent.
What new thriller books are out the week of May 12, 2026?
The Last Mandarin by Louise Penny and Mellissa Fung is the standout thriller release for May 12, 2026 — a globe-spanning standalone about a mother-daughter duo caught in an international crisis. Penny is best known for the Inspector Gamache series, and this collaboration with journalist Mellissa Fung delivers her character work at a faster, more global pace.
Is Broken Dove by Dani Francis worth reading if I haven't read Silver Elite?
You'll want to start with Silver Elite first — Broken Dove is a direct sequel and assumes you know the world, the characters, and the political setup from book one. If you missed Silver Elite or need a refresher before diving in, our Silver Elite complete guide has the full plot summary, every character explained, and the ending broken down.
