Book Riot’s Most Popular Posts of the Week
Welcome to The Best of Book Riot. Here’s your weekend highlight reel of the week’s most popular stories.
New Horror Books to Keep You Up At Night
Horror fans, have I got some good book news for you! A brand new batch of horror books is headed our way. From haunted mansions to alien invasions and everything in between, this month’s horror books are packed with frightening stories that will have you sleeping with the lights on… if you can sleep at all. If you’re looking for new thrills and chills, put all of these titles at the top of your TBR pile for the month of May.
Ay, Madre: Latine Books Featuring Complex Portrayals of Motherhood
Looking ahead to Mother’s Day this month got me thinking about my deep reverence for motherhood that has only grown with age. I don’t want kids myself, but it’s because I appreciate more and more what a profound undertaking being a mother is, from the physicality of birthing biological children to the everyday act of raising a human, biological or otherwise. Even when motherhood is a conscious choice under all the right circumstances, the weight of all that responsibility is more than a little daunting to me. Mad respect to all the mothers.
Never Let May Go: 12 Marvelous New SFF Books Out May 2025
Hello readers! You will be happy to learn that May is going to be another great month for those of us who love to read science fiction and fantasy. I had such a hard time narrowing this list down, but I managed to come up with an excellent selection of sci-fi and fantasy reads that are sure to delight and entertain.
There and Back Again: Time Travel Romances
Time travel romances are also a great escape from the mundane present, and also for the complication of a star-crossed romance with all of its complications, but a guaranteed happy ending. We all deserve a little trip away from the right now. Pack your bags, we’re going time-traveling. Keep your hands and arms inside the vehicle and beware of time slips, loops, and wrinkles in time.
A Guide to All the Cozy Genres
There are some common traits of so-called cozy books. Generally, they evoke a charming atmosphere with their setting. In cozy mysteries, this is often a small town—think of a quaint village in the English countryside. Fantasy adds some magic to that quaint village; horror adds ghosts. For science fiction, coziness often manifests as a ship, space station, or colony with a tight-knit crew. Readers can expect rich descriptions of the setting and a lot of atmosphere for a fully transporting reading experience.
The Best Book Club Books of April
This is the second month in a row that I’ve opted to look back at the most book club-friendly books that came out in the current month. I think switching over to this method, as opposed to making a roundup at the very beginning of the month, allows me to let some books marinate for a minute and see what people thought of them. It’s also better if you’d like to make one of these books the next read for your book club since they should all be out by the time this new list comes out.
