My Most Anticipated May Releases

Hello everybody! Today, I’m going to be talking about all my most anticipated releases for the month of May, which there are a LOT of, I won’t lie. I eventually stopped trying to narrow them down because the more books the better, right? (Please don’t judge me 😂) Onto the post!

---

Wildspark– if you know me, you know how much I loved Vashti’s debut Brightstorm and I don’t think it’d be possible for me to be more excited about her second book. It’s about a girl called Prue who becomes an apprentice to people who make ghost machines in a bid to bring her recently deceased brother back from the dead. It sounds like such an interesting world, I feel like I love Prue already and I’m just desperate to get my hands on this.

The Umbrella Mouse– this is the story of a mouse called Pip, who is both orphaned and made homeless when a V2 Assault bomb destroys the umbrella shop she calls home, and her having to form a new life for herself by joining the animal resistance against Hitler and the Nazis. It sounds like SUCH a unique take on the war and I absolutely can’t wait to meet all these brave animals. I imagine I will weep rivers reading this because I can’t cope well with animals in danger, plus my heart is bursting with love for Pip just from the blurb so I will be ridiculously attached once I meet her properly.

Spies in St Petersburg- I really liked the Sinclair’s series and the first in the new Taylor and Rose spin off so this is obviously a must read. I can’t wait to see the story set up in Peril in Paris continue and experience another adventure from Katherine Woodfine because they’re always great.

Summer of No Regrets- this is a YA contemporary about 4 friends pledging to have a regret-free summer by doing whatever they most want to no matter how much it might be scary. It sounds so feel good and fun and like a great summery read, and I’m looking forward to meeting the characters a lot.

My So-Called Bollywood Life- this is another YA contemporary that sounds like a lot of fun! It’s about a girl called Winnie who feels like her fate is falling apart after a break up, due to her family’ pandit that she would meet the love of her life before she’s 18, and her attempts to move on after a bit of prompting from fellow film geek Dev. This sounds so great.

---

A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder– this is about a girl called Pippa trying to solve a cold case murder of a girl called Andie that haunts her town to this day for a school project. I’m a bit hit and miss with thrillers but this sounds like more of a mystery and also just sounds generally spectacular. I’m VERY much looking forward to diving in and hopefully getting hooked on it the way basically every early reader seems to have been.

A Girl Called Justice– this book sounds so me that I can hardly believe it exists. It features a boarding school, a murder and a super smart female detective (the eponymous Justice). YES PLEASE I NEED IT NOW. Also, it’s apparently for fans of Robin Stevens, Katherine Woodfine and Enid Blyton and I couldn’t sum up my taste in mysteries better than those three authors (I think, anyway) so if I don’t love this I’ll be both very surprised and very disappointed that I don’t.

The Maker of Monsters- I’ve not read Lorraine Gregory’s debut, but I’ve heard very good things about it and I want to pick up her second as a result. It also has so interesting concept about a boy who lives on an island who guards monsters having to venture into the real world for the first time after they escape. I’m excited to give it a try! Also, Jennifer Killick and Vashti Hardy are raving about it and I love their books, which is very promising.

Malamander- I’ll not lie, I’m a bit hazy on the specifics of this one, because it sounds quite complicated, but it seems to be about a girl called Violet as she engages the help of someone who specialises in finding lost things to try and track down her parents. I Was on the fence about whether or not to pick this up, but after seeing incredibly positive reviews from a lot of early readers and hearing that fish and chips feature prominently, I’m pretty sure I’ll be getting a copy.

There’s Something About Sweetie- though (at time of writing, which is quite a long time before you’ll read this so there’s a chance I might have read it by then I guess) I have not yet read From Twinkle, With Love, I have read Sandhya’s debut When Dimple Met Rishi and I thought it was great. This is a companion novel to that about Rishi’s brother Ashish meeting a girl called Sweetie and falling in love. I’m really hoping to see how Dimple and Rishi are doing, but I’m also really excited for this because Sweetie is plus-size and I think it’s really wonderful and important to see a romance that shows someone plus size getting the grand romance.

---

Last Bus to Everland- I really liked Sophie Cameron’s debut Out of the Blue, so I always planned to pick up her second book anyway, but this sounds really good in its own right too. It’s about a boy being taken to this magical land where everything is perfect and the only risk is that it’s so great you’d never want to go home. I’m looking forward to picking it up and seeing how that concept plays out!

Serious Moonlight- Jenn Bennett writes romance really well (I’ve at the very least liked everything she’s written, and really enioyed two of the three) and given that this is going to blend mystery and romance, I’m hoping it’ll be her best yet. It’s about Birdie and Daniel meeting and falling in love while working together, and them having to solve a mystery involving a reclusive author popping up at their hotel, shadily meeting a stranger.

Rumblestar– I am SO excited for this. I really liked Sky Song by Abi Elphinstone despite never really gelling with the Dreamsnatcher trilogy and so I was pretty much always going to pick up whatever she wrote next, but this sounds spectacular. I loved Everdark (a short story prequel for World Book Day) and I think this looks absolutely magical. It’s about a boy called Casper Tock and a girl called Utterly Thankless- who are by all accounts a rather unlikely pair- teaming up to save the kingdom of Rumblestar from an evil harpy called Morg (who is in Everdark, and undoubtedly a nasty piece of work)

The Secret Dragon- this book is about a girl called Mari who is desperate to become a scientist as she meets a dragon and befriends it. I don’t know much more than that, but I love a good creature-human bond and I think it sounds super sweet and like a lot of fun.

And Then I Turned Into A Mermaid– I’m not sure If I’ve ever mentioned this in public, but I’ve felt for ages now that there’s been a gap in the upper MG market when it comes to mermaids and I love mermaid books, so when I heard about this (I found it in the depths of my library’s website long before it was announced officially) I immediately became very excited, because it’s about a girl who learns her family are mermaids. Then when it WAS officially announced I learned it was by Laura Steven writing under a pseudonym. Her YA is epic, so I’m pretty sure her MG (about MERMAIDS!!) will be awesome.

---

What are your most anticipated releases of next month? Do we have any in common, or are you planning to add any of mine to your list now? I’d love to hear in the comments!

Amy x

Advertisement