The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week
2026, Week 19’s New Books
My choices for this week include Sweet Romance, Psychological Thriller, Young Adult Romance, Cozy Paranormal Animal Mystery, and Cozy Mystery.
It’s May! The fifth month of the year! Are you celebrating ‘May the Fourth Be With You’ day or Cinco De Mayo? I am thinking of making some Star Wars-themed cupcakes, but we will see if I have enough time.
How are your reading challenges going? Mine are okay, I think I have a rhythm going now. Jen has been reading a bit more, too.
I have a short list of books here, but they all sound really good.
Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Week 19 of 2026!
The Art of Seashells by Jennifer Faye
Adams Family of Bluestar Island #1
Publication Date: May 4, 2026
Genre: Sweet Romance
He’s a firm rule follower. She paints outsides the lines…and now these opposites are forced force to work together.
Lily Adams owns the Lily Pad craft shop, but she’s always dreamed of being a professional artist. After a devastating loss, she’s reprioritizing her goals. At last, she’s willing to put herself out there and enter the Bluestar Art Competition. The grand prize could open doors in the art community that were previously closed to her.
Mayor Tony Banks is happy to be living on the island once more and doing his best to help Bluestar thrive. However, when his events coordinator has a medical emergency, he finds himself working with his best friend’s sister to organize the upcoming arts festival.
In the past, Lily had always been off-limits to him, but that was then and this was now… However, he quickly learns she’s still a rulebreaker. And worse yet, his heart wants to follow her lead but his mind warns of the dangers of not following the rules. Will these two hearts find a safe middle ground?
Includes a recipe for Lily’s Pumpkin Cookies!
Payback by Elizabeth Rose Quinn
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
For seven inmates, their luxury weekend prison sentence comes with concierge service―and complimentary homicide.
Welcome to Pay to Stay, Los Angeles’s premier minimum-security facility where the privileged serve time Friday to Monday only.
But this New Year’s weekend, seven inmates―including a driven campaign manager, a disgraced nurse, a party girl, and one mysterious male transfer―discover their abusive guard dead, wrapped in an ironic “Community Payback” vest. Now they must solve his murder before their cushy arrangement becomes a permanent stay in maximum security.
As a storm rages outside and the power fails, alliances shift within. With police knocking at their door and an emotional support iguana named Nacho as their witness, these inmates hustle to collect evidence and plan a killer party―all while dodging suspicion. Because someone in this concrete block is a murderer. And everyone is a suspect. But as New Year’s Eve approaches and bodies pile up, these unlikely allies discover that in Pay to Stay, some debts can only be paid in blood.
Rolls and Rivalry by Kristy Boyce
Gaming and Romance #3
Publication Date: May 5, 2026
Genre: Young Adult Romance
Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon
Roll the dice, strike up the band, and get ready for a swoon-worthy summer! A charming gaming romance that blends the magic of D&D with the camaraderie of band camp—from the bestselling author of Dating and Dragons!
Questing for love . . .
Hazel Buchanan has her senior year mapped out: Win respect as color guard captain, kick off her first D&D campaign, and steer clear of distractions. But her plan takes a critical hit when Max—her former best friend and longtime crush—returns to town with drumsticks in hand and an unexplained chip on his shoulder.
Hazel and Max can’t help bickering every time they’re together, and thanks to meddling parents, he’s invading her D&D game too. As Dungeon Master, she’s ready to shut him down, but D&D has a way of bringing people together like nothing else. Is this rivalry masking something more? With dice rolling and emotions spinning, Hazel might be in for more than she planned . . .
Pride and Poltergeists by Maggie March
Grumpy Ghost #6
Publication Date: May 7, 2026
Genre: Cozy Paranormal Animal Mystery
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a grumpy Victorian ghost in possession of a haunted mansion only wants to be left alone.
For Richard Lockwood, former Scotland Yard detective, that changed the moment Anna McGuffin walked through his door. Months of solving crimes together have turned reluctant roommates into something more. Witty banter. Lingering looks. Undeniable chemistry. And one very inconvenient obstacle—he’s dead, she’s not.
Anna and Richard’s fledgling romance is forced to a backseat when Professor Ridley, the manor’s former tenant, appears as a ghost with unfinished business. Twenty years of stubborn pride kept him from apologizing to Eleanor Bennett, the flower shop owner he loved and lost. Now he needs Anna to find his hidden will before his scheming nephew takes everything and robs Eleanor of her inheritance.
It sounds straightforward—help a lovelorn ghost, find a missing will, thwart a greedy nephew. But someone wants that fortune badly enough to kill for it. As Anna, Richard, and Daisy close in on the truth, a killer closes in on them.
With danger mounting, Anna can’t ignore the parallels to her own impossible love story. Watching Ridley wrestle with a lifetime of regret, she knows one thing for certain: she won’t make the same mistake. Now she just has to find a way to make the impossible possible.
For Fans of:
⭐ Grumpy/sunshine
⭐ Impossible romance (ghosts and humans don’t get a happily ever after—or do they?)
⭐ Second chance love (it’s never too late to say sorry—even from beyond the grave)
⭐ Amateur sleuth
⭐ Ghost dog sidekick
Pride and Poltergeists is the sixth book in the Grumpy Ghost series—a paranormal cozy mystery where each book serves up a fresh mystery with a satisfying resolution, while Anna and Richard’s impossible love story builds across the series toward its ultimate conclusion. This book can be enjoyed on its own, but reading in order is recommended for the full experience.
The Harbor Ledger by Clara Whitford
Harbor Cove Bookstore Mysteries #2
Publication Date: May 9, 2026
Genre: Cozy Mystery
A photograph should not outlive the record that confirms it.
When bookstore owner Maggie Sullivan comes across a marina image that contradicts Harbor Cove’s official ledger, she notices something no one else does.
The dates don’t align.
A dock assignment was altered.
A maintenance log quietly revised.
And a death that seemed settled may have been recorded incorrectly.What begins as a clerical discrepancy leads Maggie deeper into Harbor Cove’s records, where small adjustments can carry lasting consequences.
In Harbor Cove, documentation matters.
So do the quiet errors no one thinks to question.And if Maggie is right, the truth was never buried — only misfiled.
The Harbor Ledger is the second book in the Harbor Cove Bookstore Mysteries, a clean cozy mystery series featuring a small coastal town, a thoughtful amateur sleuth, and layered, puzzle-driven intrigue.
Perfect for readers who love:
• Bookstore cozy mysteries
• Small-town secrets
• Female amateur sleuths
• Clean, intelligent mysteries
Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Week 19 of 2026
Drop a comment if you like one of the books above or if you have one to recommend.
Thank you for stopping by,
Happy Reading!
Baroness’ Book Trove is an Amazon affiliate, meaning that if you click the link and purchase something, this blog gets a tiny percentage back. Mainly, this helps cover the website costs and a few giveaways.
Leave a Reply