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May is a big month for weddings, so you may be in a romantic mood. There are plenty of great romances coming out this month. If you also want to read Asian American books for Asian American Heritage Month, there are a couple of books on the list.
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Time Loops and Meet Cutes by Jackie Lau
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| May 2025; Atria; 978-1668030790 audio, ebook, print (352 pages); romantic comedy |
The old woman at the night market told Noelle Tom that eating particular dumplings would give her what she needed. She thought it was just food at the time, but now she's reliving the same Friday. The only thing different is that the food truck is gone. When she meets brewery owner Cam, he seems to be the key to escaping her time loop. He never remembers her, but she gradually becomes more and more attached to him. Can they ever break the time loop and have a future together?
Noelle was stuck in an isolated rut at the start of the time loop, quietly hanging onto lingering resentments and judging others. She isn't the only one caught in the loop, so the two join forces to figure it out. Variations in activities, dealing with romantic concerns, and family expectations all take place during the time loops. While there are no plans past breaking the loops, the bigger issues come in the fallout of the loops for the second half of the book. Noelle has to take a chance, not just for live, but for her jobs and friendships. Her new friend Avery from the loops helps her realize how isolated she is and how lonely it can truly be. By the end of the boo,k we have an explanation as well as a happily ever after. It's an interesting premise, and I was hooked right away. It's a fun romance with some serious emotions and concerns woven into the story. I really enjoyed the book and think you will, too.
Buy Time Loops and Meet Cutes at Amazon
Jilted by Vi Keeland
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| May 2025; Bramble; 978-1250359858 audio, ebook, print (272 pages); romance |
Sloane works in the wedding industry, even though her fiancé abandoned her at the altar. Working at Bride magazine is difficult, but it's worse when the bridezilla at her latest assignment has her fill in for a missing bridesmaid opposite the gorgeous but annoying Wilder Hayes. After a coatroom incident she'd rather forget, she finds out that Wilder is the boss's son, and will be working with her at every wedding for the season.
Sloane is a hard worker, pulling long hours at Bride magazine, traveling to document weddings for it, and also getting roped into helping at her family bar for various shifts or looking after her niece. Family is important to her, especially after her ex jilted her to return to his ex, and she has a moratorium for one year on dating again. The drunken making out in the coatroom has only gotten Wilder more interested in her, and he plans to prove he's not a player as he tags along for the dozen weddings that must be documented. There's the forced proximity for the romance to happen, and we see enough of Wilder's POV to know he's earnest with his interest.
Both Sloane and Wilder have baggage in their love lives. Sloane didn't date, and Wilder did nothing but date. This puts them at odds, and both have to face their fears based on the past. I really liked the family members on both sides that we see, and both have really good friends who are fun to see on the page. They get along really well, so it was fun to see them fall in love and accept it. We have our happily ever after and a great romantic read.
Buy Jilted at Amazon
Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice by Cynthia Timoti
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| May 2025; Bramble; 978-1250343475 audio, ebook, print (336 pages); romance |
Ellie Pang has a micromanaging family and type 1 diabetes. Her parents orchestrate a public proposal that goes humiliatingly viral, so Ellie moves across the country to open a sugar-free bakery. The storefront needs major renovations, and the only one who is available to help is her brother's best friend, Alec Mackenzie. The problem is, he broke her heart ten years ago. As awkward as that feels, Alec has an awkward need of his own: a pretend girlfriend to help him with a business deal. But as the two fake date, Ellie realizes some feelings never really went away.
Ellie's mother isn't just micromanaging her; she's regulating every potential aspect of her adult life and treating her as a mentally damaged and disabled woman. She wrangled the proposal for business prospects, paid off her boss to fire her and force her into the family fold, and belittled every attempt at independence in the name of their Chinese Indonesian heritage. That's beyond the pale and nothing like traditional filial piety that her mother used to control her. As damaged as the storefront property was that Ellie leased, I was proud of her for breaking free to establish herself. She tried to be independent, but of course, her supportive brother asked his best friend to look after her and help, since he owned a property management company in the area. He was looking into a lucrative business merger for his company, but was uncomfortable with the single CEO asking him for dinners. Hence, the fake dating trope we love so much.
Along with the usual complications of fake dating with real feelings present is Ellie's type 1 diabetes. Her sugar drops are a concern, and we see the various responses to her condition. Her mother considered her incompetent and fragile, one character was condemning and disgusted, and Alec tried to learn more, but was still panicked. It is an illness to consider in her everyday life, but it is simply another facet of her that doesn't change who she is. Ellie has great strength of character, not just for addressing the reality of her physical life, but for the emotional strain of her family, starting her own business,s and the relationship. I really liked her throughout the novel and kept cheering her on. I think you will, too.
Buy Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice at Amazon
Tell Me How You Really Feel by Betty Cayouette
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| May 2025; St. Martin's Griffin; 978-1250291127 audio, ebook, print (336 pages); romance |
Podcasters Maeve and Finn got a blockbuster deal for their viral sex and relationships podcast, "Tell Me How You Really Feel." The two can no longer stand to be near each other anymore, which would ruin the deal. Maeve wants to keep the show going, and Finn is set on winning her back.
The story is told in two timelines, one consisting of flashbacks to the start of their show, and the other is the present. In the present, we see Finn with his famous parents, who keep pushing him into joining Hollywood with them. Maeve has a more humble origin and wants to support her sisters. Both are motivated to make the podcast work, especially when they're up against a vitriolic agitator of a podcaster. This forces them together, confronting their feelings for each other, their past, and even the industry itself. Podcasting is another branch of media and potentially Hollywood at this point, and the glass ceiling where women are paid less than men exists here as well. Maeve’s anxiety is a real issue as well, and we see how Finn's privileges from his upbringing mean he doesn't notice the things that make her anxious or the inequalities that she regularly faces.
This book is a romance, with the initial relationship as well as a second chance romance. The two of them really care about each other, which is why there was the capacity to wound as well. As they go through on their podcast, apologies need acknowledgement of the wrong done, as well as a plan to move forward. That happens here, with both Maeve and Finn learning how to communicate and build on their love.
Buy Tell Me How You Really Feel at Amazon
A Simple Twist of Fate by April Asher
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| May 2025; St. Martin's Griffin; 978-1250357854 audio, ebook, print (352 pages); paranormal romances |
Harlow “Harry” Pierce attended her first Fates Haven Finding Ceremony at age eighteen, certain her cougar shifter boyfriend Jaxon Atwood would be her Fated match. When her best friend matches to him instead, Harry left town. Though she didn't intend to return, her goddaughter, Grace, is half human and half shifter, with powers she can't control. Harry hopes that the local Alpha of the Rocky Mountain Pack could help, and discovers it's none other than Jaxon Atwood. He never knew why Harry had disappeared, but since then, Fates Haven’s magic has gone wrong. There hasn’t been a Fated Match made in thirteen years, and the town needs its magic back.
In a world of witches, demons, angels, shifters of various kinds, vampires, and fae, magic is very real and lives alongside ordinary humans. After Harry ran from her hometown, she lived in New York City and helped her human friend Cassie raise her daughter, Grace. They assumed Grace was fully human, but now strong emotions have her lighting things on fire, and she can't control it. Harry doesn't like being back where she grew up, but she needs help with Grace and controlling the shifting. She manages to rekindle a friendship with her former best friends and is constantly in Jax's orbit because of Grace and the festival games that her aunt planned. It's funny, and the competition brings out different aspects of Grace's shifter side, as well as the relationship between Harry and Jax.
April Asher is really good at supernatural romcom novels, and this is no exception. The fated mate concept is less of a growly "you are mine and no one can have you" trope (which I don't like) and more of "you're the other half of me and I'm better with you" (which I really do like). They get over fears of the past and of being left behind, and work together to build a better future. There are glimpses of at least three other potential couples, so it will be fun to see those stories, too.
Buy A Simple Twist of Fate at Amazon
Gay The Pray Away by Natalie Naudus
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| May 2025; Quirk Books; 978-1683695110 audio, ebook, print (256 pages); YA romance |
Valerie Danners is a seventeen-year-old Taiwanese American girl trying to live up to the godly and virtuous expectations of her parents. She identifies too much with the bisexual protagonist of a novel, just as the rebellious Riley moves to town. The two connect, and Valerie is falling in love. If she embraces her queerness, her family would never accept her.
One of the conservative groups that people might recognize is sometimes known as the Quiverfull movement, since women are expected to have many children to "keep the quiver full" of arrows (children) for the father's fight for God. Women in this movement are not allowed to go to college or have a job, or even wear pants. All education is Bible based or from tracts specially prepared for them; Catholics are too liberal and won't be saved by their definition. Remember the Duggar family from TV? These conservatives often decry any sexuality that isn't strictly heterosexual, and this is the place where Valerie grew up. She has some flares of rebellion, questioning her best friend, meeting her father's gaze, and stealing a book from the library with a bisexual protagonist. It's exactly this reason why education is such a fraught topic for the deeply conservative, because they teach obedience and hellfire, not critical thinking skills.
Valerie is a teenager questioning herself and her place in the world from the start. Riley is proof positive that other isn't evil, and there are those raised in this isolated community who escape it and label its tenets as abuse. As Valerie learns about the qualities of cults, that there are other ways of living a fulfilling life, and that her family and friends see her a the problem, she rebels further. We feel her dismay and how torn she is to realize that she will never fit into the mold her parents want. It's a painful place to be, and many people will recognize what it feels like. My heart went out to her, and I was glad she had a network of people able and willing to help. Even small gestures of kindness can mean so much, especially for someone so isolated. The numbers at the back of the book are helpful for information and a place to start learning or reaching out if needed.
Buy Gay The Pray Away at Amazon
Born and raised in New York City, M.K. French started writing stories when very young, dreaming of different worlds and places to visit. She always had an interest in folklore, fairy tales, and the macabre, which has definitely influenced her work. She currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three young children, and a golden retriever.
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