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Aardvark Book Club May 2026 Predictions and Possible Picks
Trying to predict Aardvark Book Club picks is always fun, and May is shaping up to be an especially interesting month. There are a lot of horror releases coming out that could just as easily be labeled literary or even historical fiction, which makes the potential lineup feel a little less predictable in the best way.
In this post, I am sharing my Aardvark Book Club predictions for May 2026, including the titles that feel like strong contenders based on release timing, genre trends, and past selections. If you like guessing before the reveal or want to get a head start on your TBR, these are the books worth watching.
And if you want to know about even more books releasing in May 2026, check out my complete list here.
Related: May 2026 New Book Releases
If you aren’t familiar with Aardvark Book Club, you can check out my full review of this subscription service. The basic idea is Aardvark Book Club chooses five books from different genres every month and members can choose their pick when the books go live. You can also add on up to two more books for only $9.99 each. If you don’t like any of the picks, you can choose to skip and save your credit for the next month, which is honestly the best part of this service to me. I don’t like subscription boxes that only offer one book selection that you don’t know ahead of time. If you are interested in trying Aardvark Book Club, you can use my code ALLISON4 when you checkout at this link to get your first book for only $4!
As usual, these are just my opinions and my Aardvark Book Club predictions. It is fine if you disagree or think the Aardvark Book Club May 2026 predictions are terrible-we all have different reading tastes. Please remember to be kind in comments or messages because we are all readers with different tastes!
Table of Contents
Mystery/Thriller Aardvark Book Club May 2026 Prediction
Want to see more 2026 thriller releases? Check out my full list of of 2026 thriller books.
Five by Ilona Bannister
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Debut Author
Five lives. Five stories. Four will live—one will die. Who it will be? In this slow-burn masterpiece of psychological fiction, the choice is all yours.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
The Library After Dark by Andi Pliego
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Repeat Author
A bookseller must escape the infamously haunted library that holds her darkest secrets, but with a murderer in her tour group, escaping alive is not as simple as it seems, in this twisty locked-room thriller from bestselling author of You Are Fatally Invited.
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop.org
Romance Aardvark Book Club May 2026 Predictions
Want to see more 2026 romance releases? Check out my full list of of 2026 romance books.
Burnout Summer by Jenna Ramirez
Release Date: May 12, 2026
For fans of Tessa Bailey, Emily Henry, and Elle Kennedy: a beachy friends-to-lovers romance through a post-grad journey that will have readers cheering (and falling in love!) along.
Reality Bites by Amy Mass
Release Date: May 12, 2026
Debut Author
A wickedly funny debut romcom in which a young scientist reluctantly becomes a contestant on a reality TV dating show to save her lab—and realizes her secrets are threatened when romance unexpectedly finds her behind the scenes.
Horror/Gothic Fiction Aardvark Book Club May 2026 Predictions
The Caretaker by Marcus Kliewer
Release Date: April 21, 2026
A supernatural horror about a young woman who accepts a caretaking job from Craigslist, only to discover the position has consequences far greater—and more dangerous—than she ever could have imagined.
The Girl with a Thousand Faces by Sunyi Dean
Release Date: May 5, 2026
From the USA Today bestselling author of The Book Eaters comes The Girl with a Thousand Faces, a stunning Gothic tale set in a historical Hong Kong that meshes ancient myths and local legends into a haunting story of ghosts, grief, and women who will not forgive.
Honey by Imani Thompson
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Debut Author
A dark, provocative, adrenaline-rush of a novel about a graduate student who murders bad men and justifies it in the name of feminism, by a bold new voice in fiction.
She Waits Where Shadows Gather by Michelle Tang
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Skeptics Avery and Carlos Tam travel to his ancestral home in the Philippines, where unsettling secrets and family tragedies linger. After a devastating accident leaves Carlos trapped in his own body, something in the house begins to speak to him. As the past resurfaces, Avery must face a terrifying truth before it consumes their future.
I’ll Watch Your Baby by Neena Viel
Release Date: May 26, 2026
Possible June 2026 Pick
A suffocating and sharp narrative horror novel for fans of Victor LaValle and The Reformatory from “addictive” (Publishers Weekly) horror author Neena Viel, I’ll Watch Your Baby is a haunting reimagining of Linda Taylor–known as the original Welfare Queen―pursued, scrutinized, celebrated and vilified, and the impact her image has had for generations.
Sci-Fi/Fantasy Aardvark Book Club May 2026 Predictions
Homebound by Portia Elan
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Debut Author
Five interlocking lives. One beloved story. A dazzling adventure across centuries and continents in search of the things that hold us together.
Death’s Daughter by S. A. Barnes
Release Date: May 5, 2026
Repeat Author
The steamy mythology of Neon Gods meets the dark academia of Ninth House in this contemporary romance from USA Today bestselling author S.A. Barnes.
The Arcane Arts by S. D. Coverly
Release Date: May 19, 2026
In this thrilling and sensuous dark academia fantasy, an ambitious graduate student and her advisor dive into studying a taboo branch of magic, igniting a dangerous passion between them.
If We Cannot Go at the Speed of Light by Kim Choyeop
Release Date: April 28, 2026
From Korean science fiction author Kim Cho-yeop, a stunning and poignant collection of literary speculative fiction stories that explore the complexities of identity, love, death, and the search for life’s meaning, perfect for fans of Exhalation and The Paper Menagerie.
Do you agree with my predictions? What are some of your May 2026 Aardvark Book Club predictions or hopefuls? Let me know in the comments!
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