How many of the most read books on Goodreads this month can you name? I’ll give you the genres, if you need a hint. In the top five, we have two romances, a sci-fi book, a general fiction novel, and a thriller. The #1 most read book this month is a controversial one: readers have strong opinions about this satirical tradwife thriller.
Before we check your answers, though, let’s talk about a few books out in May that deserve more attention—especially since the full list of the top 50 most read books on Goodreads in May is roughly 98% by white authors. Yikes.
3 New Books Out in May You Should Know About
Unfortunately, the most read books on Goodreads tend not to be diverse by any definition of the word. So, here are a few new books that came out this month that deserve wider readership.
The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
Mercy Chan arrives in Hong Kong with nothing, not even any memories of her life before. She finds work as a ghost talker for the triad in Kowloon Walled City and begins wrangling ghosts. But when people start being murdered by a vengeful spirit, that spirit claims to be tied to Mercy and to know the secrets of the life she can’t remember. —Liberty Hardy
Hunger: A Novel by Choi Jin-young, translated by Soje
A woman sees her partner murdered in the street, brings his body back to their apartment, and begins to transform his body into her own. She is unwilling to let go, to obey the laws of god or man. Her partner witnesses his own funeral from beyond, his perspective contributing to a meditation about a society that devours everyone whole and how one might consume it back. —Alex Luppens-Dale
The Book Riot Newsletter
Join over 300,000 readers who get the latest book buzz, smart commentary, and must-read picks delivered straight to their inbox.
Plastic, Prism, Void: Part One by Violet Allen
This trans romantasy is a mash-up of Sailor Moon, Sex and the City, and House of Leaves—what more could you want? It’s the classic story: “She was a trans girl who was also an intergalactic moth-goddess. He was a trans guy who piloted a giant robotic tiger.” They had a tumultuous enemies-to-lovers romance before their universes diverged. Now, he’s back, and Acrasia will stop at nothing to keep him in her life—even if it means endangering both their worlds. —Danika Ellis
The Most Read Books on Goodreads This Week
#5:
The Night We Met by Abby Jimenez
Abby Jimenez is a bestselling romance author whose 2024 novel, Just for the Summer, was a breakout hit. Her newest is the second book in the Say You’ll Remember Me series. It follows Larissa, who is in a rocky relationship with Mike. Meanwhile, Mike’s best friend, Chris, is falling for Larissa, but he’s determined not to blow up their friend group by making a move. The Night We Met was read by almost 68,000 Goodreads users in May, and it has a 4.0 average rating.
#4:
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
This turned out to be the sleeper hit of 2025: it has kept growing in popularity, seemingly just from word-of-mouth recommendations. Katie Couric named it the first pick for her new book club. It’s about a woman who has written letters daily her whole life. When someone from her past writes back, she has to reevaluate a painful period in her life and find a way to forgive. This was read by 78,000 users in May and has a 4.5 average rating.
#3:
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
This 2021 sci-fi novel from the author of The Martian is getting renewed interest thanks to the movie adaptation starring Ryan Gosling, out now. Like The Martian, Project Hail Mary is hard sci-fi about an isolated man in space. Ryland Grace is a junior high teacher and former molecular biologist who becomes the unlikely last hope of life on Earth. It was read by 86,000 Goodreads users in May and has a 4.5 average rating.
#2:
The Deal by Elle Kennedy
This 2015 hockey romance is getting renewed attention with the release of the Amazon Prime TV adaptation of the series, Off Campus. In this first book in the series, Hannah makes a deal with hockey captain Garrett: she’ll tutor him if he fake dates her to make her crush jealous. Hannah and Garrett’s chemistry is undeniable, though, which has them both rethinking their arrangement. It was read by almost 100,000 Goodreads users in May and has a 4.2 average rating.
#1:
Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke
At the top of the list this month is Yesteryear, which came out in April. It’s one of several buzzy tradwife novels out this year. In this one, a tradwife influencer wakes up one day in the time period she’s been romanticizing, and real-life homesteading turns out to be much more difficult—and dangerous—than it looks on Instagram. Yesteryear was read by 154,000 users in May and has a 4.1 average rating.
If you’re looking for more buzzy books, check out The Bestselling Books of the Week, According to All the Lists.
Keep up with all the latest book news by signing up for the Book Riot Newsletter.
This content contains affiliate links. When you buy through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.