5 Hot New Titles for May 2019

Check out these five popular adult titles that hit the shelves in May. To see more titles, including new titles in popular series, check out the booklist New May '19 Books You'll Want to Read and our new titles, opens a new window page.

From the critically acclaimed author of The Kiss Quotient comes a romantic novel about love that crosses international borders and all the boundaries of the heart: The Bride Test by Helen Hoang.


Khai Diep is empty of feelings. The only thing he feels is an annoyance when people move his things or pure contentment with ledgers balanced down to the penny. He doesn't feel grief, and he definitely doesn't feel love. His family knows better - Khai's autism means he processes emotions differently. His mother takes his loveless life in her own hands, returning to their homeland of Vietnam to find him the perfect bride. Esme Tran, a young mixed-race woman living in the slums of Ho Chi Minh City, and she has always felt out of place. When she meets Kahi's desperate mother, she thinks she's found the break her family needs: a potential husband . . . in America. However, seducing Khai goes horribly wrong for Esme, and her love lessons only seem to be working on herself. Can she force Kahi into understanding he's been wrong all along, and there's more than one way to love?


Life is a lucrative business - as long as you play by the rules - in Joanne Ramos' The Farm.


Tucked away in New York's Hudson Valley is a luxury retreat called Golden Oaks, with organic meals, personal fitness trainers, and daily massages - all for free. In fact, you're paid a lot of money to stay at the Farm. It's more than you've ever dreamed of. The catch? For nine months you can't leave the grounds; your movements are constantly monitored; and you no longer have your own life while you're producing the perfect baby - for someone else. What follows is a gripping and heartbreaking story of motherhood, money, and how far a woman will go to fortify her family's future.


The Pioneers: The Heroic Story of the Settlers Who Brought the American Ideal West, by Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough, rediscovers an important and dramatic chapter in the American story.


This is the true story of Marietta, a town established in the newly acquired Northwest Territory on the banks of the Ohio River. The narrators are five characters who were instrumental in the opening of this vast territory, including a Massachusetts minister and his son, a carpenter turned architect, and a physician who became a prominent pioneer in American science. They and their families create Marietta, a town in a dangerous wilderness, coping with unbelievable conditions and realities. Written in diary and letter form, this is an American story of people whose ambition and courage led them to amazing feats. 


A thought-provoking new novel by New York Times bestselling author Sarah Blake: The Guest Book.


It's 1936, and Kitty Milton and her husband Ogden are both from prominent families.

But Kitty has uttered a word on a porch in summer that will have consequences rippling through their family for generations. While they summer on their island in Maine, the winds of change are beginning to stir. Two strangers enter the Miltons' inner circle. One captures the attention of Kitty's daughter, while the other makes them question one another. The winds of change were coming - as it does one night in 1959 in New York City.

In the present day, the third generation of Miltons doesn't have the money to keep the family house in Maine. Evie, the granddaughter of Kitty and Ogden, digs into her recently deceased mother's past and what she finds is an inescapable horror story that threatens the foundations of her family.


Things My Son Needs to Know About the World is a collection of heartfelt, humorous essays about fatherhood by Fredrik Backman, as he provides his newborn son with the perspective and tools he’ll need to make his way in the world. 


Fredrik Backman, author of the bestseller A Man Called Ovedoesn’t shy away from revealing his own false steps and fatherly flaws, tackling issues both great and small, from masculinity and mid-life crises to practical jokes and poop in this new memoir. He takes a step back to share the true story of falling in love with a woman who is his complete opposite and learning to live a life that revolves around the people you care about unconditionally. As he reminds us, “You can be whatever you want to be, but that’s nowhere near as important as knowing that you can be exactly who you are.”