Cover Here are the best new books to read in May 2021 (Art: Chesca Gamboa/Tatler Hong Kong)

Looking for new titles to pick up this May 2021? Here are eight books you should keep on your radar

New month, new books to read. Take a break from Netflix and check out some of the new titles coming out this month, whether you're looking for mystery, romance or historical fiction read. 

With summer on the horizon, it's the perfect time to bring a book while you're out on the beach, on a picnic or even while enjoying the weather indoors at a coffee shop or restaurant. Not sure which book to pick up? We list down the best new books coming out in May.

See also: 9 Hong Kong Events You Can't Miss In May 2021

1. Witch of the Hour by Chris Bohjalian

Historical fiction, thriller and witches? That sounds about right. Best-selling author, Chris Bohjalian returns with Hour of the Witch set in Boston in 1662 and tells the story of a young Puritan woman, Mary Deerfield.

Attractive and resourceful, one might think Mary has the perfect life except she's married to Thomas Deerfield, a man as cruel as he is powerful. But that's not all, strange occurrences start to happen around her and Mary fights to escape her marriage and her neighbourhood.

Release date: May 4

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2. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary is a part scientific mystery, a part interstellar journey that's going to keep you glued to your seats, book at hand. This science-fiction book is about Ryland Grace, the only survivor of a last-chance mission to save Earth and all of humanity.

Except he doesn't know anything about that mission or much less himself. As he wakes up from a very long sleep, he finds himself away from home, with nothing but two dead bodies as company. With his crewmates dead and his memories not helping, he finds himself tasked to complete an impossible mission. Will he succeed?

Release date: May 4

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3. Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P Manansala

Arsenic and Adobo is the first book in a new culinary series filled with sharp humour and delicious dishes. This book follows Lila Macapagal, who after suffering from a horrible breakup, decides to move back home. There, she's been tasked with saving her aunt's failing restaurants while dealing with a group of desperate matchmaking aunties.

Little does she know, her ex-boyfriend, who also happens to be a food critic, drops dead after a confrontation with Lila, her life turns from a rom-com murder mystery. Wrongfully accused, Lila sets out to conduct her own investigation with the help of her nosy aunties and best friend.

Release date: May 4

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4. The Bookshop of Second Chances by Jackie Fraser

Thea Mottram just wants to catch a break. Her husband, whom she's married to for nearly 20 years, just left her for one of her friends and she's been let go from her office job. She just wants out. But when a distant great uncle in Scotland passes away, Thea decides to head over to his home on a small coastal town for a break.

Thea becomes occupied with selling off her uncle's antique book collection but standing on her way is bookshop owner, Edward Matravers. Gruff, arrogant and rude, Thea just can't get through him. But the bickering slowly turns into something more...enemies to lovers? Will it be enough for Thea to stay in Scotland or will she keep running away?

Release date: May 4

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5. People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry

Best friends turned lovers, a story as cliche as time yet somehow we still can't help but find it appealing. People We Meet On Vacation follows Poppy and Alex, best friends who absolutely have nothing in common and even live far apart.

Despite that, the two made a deal to always spend a week of their summer vacation together—until two years ago when they ruined everything and haven't spoken since. But determined to mend their relationship and confront the big truth she's been hiding along, is this the last chance for her to risk a friendship for...something more?

Release date: May 11

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6. Mary Jane by Jessica Anya Blau

Mary Jane is a coming-of-age novel written by Jessica Blau set in 1970s Baltimore. It follows 14-year-old, Mary Jane who loves cooking with her mom, singing in her church choir and enjoying the family's subscription to the Broadway Show Tunes of Month record club. Mary Jane gets a job as a babysitter for the daughter of a local doctor much to the delight of her mother, saying the job is "respectable" and a doctor's home is a "respectable house".

It might look great on the outside but on the inside, the house is a mess. The doctor also cleared out his summer to host a famous rock star who moved in with his movie star wife the week Mary Jane stars. Over the summer, Mary June is introduced to the world of sex, drugs and rock-and-roll to put it quite simply. She also discovers that there's a lot to life that she doesn't know thanks to her strait-laced family. Mary Jane is a tender tale of growing up, finding your self and knowing who you are.

Release date: May 11

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7. The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green

Best-selling young adult writer John Green ventures into non-fiction territory with The Anthropocene Reviewed, a moving and insightful collection of personal essays.

Expanded from his podcast, Green reviews different facets of the planet on a five-star scale—from the Qwerty keyboard, sunsets to Canada geese and even Penguins of Madagascar. The collection of essays are rich with detail, allowing readers to go on an exploration of our planet and celebrate our love for it.

Release date: May 18

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8. The Hunting Wives by May Cobb

Sophie O'Neill is bored and restless. She left an envy-inducing yet stressful career in Chicago to settle down with her husband and son in a small town in Texas, swapping the city life with quaint living. Just when she thinks life is too quiet, Sophie meets Margot Banks, a socialite who is part of an elite group known as the Hunting Wives.

Sophie, drawn to Margot, gets swept up into a world of late-night target practice and dangerous partying. Little by little, she slips away from her normal and quiet life with her family. Things get much more complicated when the body of a teenager is found where the clique meets, putting Sophie in the middle of a murder investigation.

Release date: May 18

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