New Books Publishing Week 22 of 2026

The Baroness’ Choices of New Books Publishing This Week

2026, Week 22’s New Books

My choices for this week include Sweet Romances, Cozy Paranormal Animal Mystery, Sweet Cowboy Romance, International Mystery, Young Adult SciFi Romance, Private Investigator Paranormal Southern Mystery, Sweet Royal Romance, Cozy Culinary Mysteries, Romantic Comedy, and Romance.

Happy Sunday! Tomorrow is Memorial Day. I am off work (yay!), so my plan is to read all day and do blog work. Well, along with spending time with Bella. Will you be celebrating? Or if you aren’t in the United States, what are your plans for this week?

My list for this week is slightly longer than the last three weeks, but not by much.

Here are my choices for New Books Publishing Week 22 of 2026!

A Kiss for Her Rival Rancher by Anna Grace

Holiday Ranch #2

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Sweet Romance

Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon

From locking horns…
To shocking their small town!

Rancher Cash Holiday was prepared to host the Mountain Country Most Eligible Pageant, not participate! But family always comes first, so when his siblings ask for this one favor, Cash says yes. Even though he’ll be competing with his stunning, quick-witted nemesis: Mayor Mylie Saunders. She and Cash have never seen eye to eye, but when they’re unexpectedly partnered up, the sparks really start flying! Now everyone in Ripple Creek is talking about the pageant…and the two front-runners. But under a sky full of Fourth of July fireworks, battles turn into unexpected butterflies. Are Cash and Mylie really perfect enemies…or are they perfect for each other?

A Surprise for the Single Dad by Jen Gilroy

Strawberry Pond #2

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Sweet Romance

Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon

An unexpected reunion
Brings a loving new beginning!

Returning to quaint Strawberry Pond, New Hampshire, is bittersweet for veterinarian Trevor Kaminski. His hometown is full of memories of the sister he lost. And with his orphaned nephew, Danny, to raise, he suddenly finds himself a single dad. But reconnecting with his childhood best friend, Laura Sullivan, brings a joyful surprise—romantic feelings that catch them both off guard. Laura is happy to help with Danny, and working with Trevor to save the local animal shelter allows their friendship to deepen and grow…into love. But self-sufficient Laura never planned on marriage. Can Trevor convince the dedicated bachelorette to embrace a fresh start with an instant family?

Black Cat Detectives by Kit Gray

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Cozy Paranormal Animal Mystery

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A charming cozy mystery with a delightful twist: The detectives are three kittens with magical powers, determined to solve a most purr-plexing case.

Precocious kittens Bippity, Boppity, and Boop are exceedingly loyal to their human, the twenty-eight-year-old up-and-coming magician Mila. She saved them from starving to death in a dingy Corvin’s Crossing alleyway and has been nothing but loving ever since, even though her own life is in shambles.

So when Mila’s sketchy boyfriend and business manager turns up dead at the end of her big magic show—she’s the prime suspect. With evidence mounting, there’s nothing stopping the sheriff from hauling away Mila to the human pound. Unless the kittens can solve the crime and clear her name.

The kittens will have to use their dubious control over the laws of physics and every whisker of know-how they’ve got to catch the real killer if they want to save their happy home with Mila. This is one meow-stery more tangled than any ball of yarn they’ve encountered yet.

By the Bootstraps by Alexa Martin

Starlight Ridge #1

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Sweet Cowboy Romance

Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | StoryGraph | Amazon

A cowboy romance enthusiast discovers that everything’s bigger in Texas—even love—in this swoony novel from beloved author Alexa Martin.

Fueled by a love of romance novels, Luna Starr was destined for a life with her head in the clouds. Her delusional tendencies serve her well…or at least they used to. When life throws her a curveball, she decides it’s time to turn her cowboy fantasies into reality and purchases a tiny farm in Celestial, Texas. After all, don’t all heroines try to outrun grief?

Tate Jacobs hates cowboys, which is a small problem, considering his family happens to own the largest ranch in Celestial. Life might not have gone the way he wanted, but as head coach at his old high school and the town’s best (and only) handyman, he’s figured out how to stay busy and keep his head down—until the new girl in town shows up. Luna’s new property is a bad accident waiting to happen unless someone helps her with her DIY home renovations.

As Tate and Luna spend more time together fixing up her house, unexpected feelings and undeniable chemistry bubble to the surface. Luna might’ve moved to Celestial to make her cowboy dreams come true, but somewhere beneath the vast Texas skies, she discovers that love in the real world can be far better than she imagined.

Dungeons and Danger by Elizabeth Penney

Ravensea Castle #2

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: International Mystery

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The second in Elizabeth Penney’s Ravensea Castle cozy mystery series, set in a haunted castle-turned-B&B in Yorkshire, UK.

As Halloween approaches, Ravensea Castle is bustling with excitement as Nora Asquith welcomes the fall season guests to her family’s newly converted bed and breakfast. A historian studying the movements of the Vikings has traced their exploits to Ravensea. A certain Viking woman, known as the Red Maiden, landed here and the historian believes she buried a treasure hoard before the castle was built. He is hopeful he can find the hoard now. Nora can’t help but wonder if the enigmatic castle ghost she’s always referred to as the woman in red could be this very Viking?

Meanwhile, a team of four ghost hunters is coming to stay at Ravensea for the filming of Britain’s Got Ghosts. Former students of the historian, the group arrives with their own rivalries and baggage. They try to see who can make the most paranormal contacts and end up getting more than they bargained for.

When the historian is murdered during a Viking festival on castle grounds and his notes go missing, Nora can’t help but wonder if the treasure was why he was killed . . . and could it be connected to the visiting ghost hunters? Additional “accidents” befalling the hunters raise the stakes as Nora races to find the killer―and the treasure―before another death occurs.

Jin Young, In Between by Ellen Oh

Colliding Worlds #2

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Young Adult SciFi Romance

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In this follow-up to The Colliding Worlds Of Mine Lee, a boy discovers he can travel into parallel worlds to be with his girlfriend. But each time their paths collide, the fabric of their universes frays a little more. Is their love worth the unraveling of reality?

Jin’s whole world been turned upside down. Since meeting Mina inside her webcomic, Jin has discovered unbelievable things about his life:

1. He’s been living in a parallel universe.
2. His birth mother didn’t abandon him.
3. He’ll never be able to see Mina again.

But then the impossible happens—Jin teleports to Mina’s world. But with every visit, cataclysmic weather threatens Jin’s world. And a mysterious lab seems way too interested in testing Jin’s new teleporting ability. Is Jin ready to risk it all for the girl he loves?

Ellen Oh, the award-winning author and a founding member of We Need Diverse Books delivers a grounded speculative fiction adventure that’ll have readers swooning for the star-crossed romance.

Ode to the Bones by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries #30

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Private Investigator Paranormal Southern Mystery

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The next novel in the series that Kirkus Reviews characterizes as “Stephanie Plum meets the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” featuring sassy Southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney.

Private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney returns to her Mississippi Delta roots, hoping that long drives through cotton fields and the companionship of her dogs will ease her restless spirit. Instead, she’s confronted by a ghostly vision of a woman in white on the Tallahatchie Bridge, who disappears before Sarah Booth can investigate further.

When the local bank president hires her to find a missing farmer, Danny Anderson, Sarah Booth is forced to shift her focus back to the land of the―hopefully―still living. Danny is about to lose his family’s generational farm to foreclosure and is rumored to be entangled in a secret affair with a preacher’s wife. As Sarah Booth and her feisty partner Tinkie dig deeper, they uncover a web of gossip, ghost sightings, and a shadowy land buyer snapping up vulnerable farms.

With the help of her resident ghost-turned-spiritual-guide, Jitty, and her own unrelenting instincts, Sarah Booth must unravel the mystery of Danny’s disappearance, confront a town full of half-truths, and decipher the cryptic clues left behind―including those wrapped in lyrics and riverwater. But someone is watching her every move, and if she isn’t careful, she may be the next body swept away by the Tallahatchie’s current.

Royal Revelry by Holly Kerr

Love in Laandia #7

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Sweet Royal Romance

Goodreads | StoryGraph | Amazon

Kate McKibbon needs a nap.

Too bad sleep isn’t on the schedule when you’re in charge of the royal wedding. From runaway-groom rescue missions to calming a groomsman with cold feet—and seriously, who left a pregnancy test in the castle?—Kate is juggling more drama than a reality show.

The last thing she needs is Jackson—the one who got away—waltzing back into her life. Especially since he walked out on her without so much as a reason.

But as the big day approaches, Kate starts to wonder… if she can pull off a fairy-tale wedding for the royals, maybe she deserves her own happily-ever-after too.

Royal Revelry is a swoon-worthy, friends-to-enemies-to-lovers romance in the Love in Laandia series—perfect for fans of sweet, closed-door romcoms with a royal twist.

Second Chance with the Firefighter by Amie Denman

Meet Me at Niagara Falls #4

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Sweet Romance

Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon

When old secrets come to light…
Can new love follow?

Growing up in Niagara Falls, Lauren Benedict and Seth Jones were inseparable…until he seemingly betrayed her family. Ten years later, Lauren finally learns the truth, so she sets out to apologize and, hopefully, rebuild their friendship. But Seth, now a firefighter and a dad, doesn’t want to mend fences. His quiet son, however, is fascinated by Lauren—whom he calls the flower lady. And he’s desperate to join her summer gardening class. As Lauren shows Teddy how to nurture seedlings, she and Seth are drawn into each other’s lives a second time. But can one magical summer prove it’s never too late for friendship…or love to bloom again?

The Chowder House Murder by Lee Hollis

Downeast Maine Mystery #1

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery

Goodreads | Bookhype | StoryGraph | Amazon

The first in a brand new, multi-generational cozy mystery series introduces three generations of strong, no-nonsense women who head the Holbrook family seafood dynasty in Downeast Maine…and a murder the Holbrook matriarch and her granddaughter must solve, even as it entangles them in a web of small-town secrets, and a Hatfields and McCoys-level chowder rivalry.

Ever since Halibut Cove’s popular eatery, The Chowder House, started serving matriarch Maggie Holbrook’s famous clam chowder it’s been in high demand. Cooked up at the restaurant by Maggie’s ambitious 19-year-old granddaughter, Audrey, the dish even has a regular nightly customer, retiree Chips Hogan. . . . Until one fateful Sunday night.

After serving Chips his chowder, Audrey rushes off to Maggie’s hilltop home for the weekly family dinner with the rest of the Holbrooks—her three uncles, and her mom, Jill. But before the meal’s end, Jill, a police chief, gets an alarming call. Chips has been found in the street—dead. Jill races out to investigate . . . and is shocked to learn Chips’ chowder was poisoned.

When a Chowder House server recalls seeing local diner cook Waldo Duggan in the alley that same evening, he becomes a suspect. And when it’s uncovered that Waldo bitterly believed the Holbrooks stole the lucrative chowder recipe from the Duggans in the 1930’s, he’s only further implicated . . .

Despite everything, Maggie can’t believe Waldo would murder anyone. For fair-minded Maggie, to keep an innocent man out of jail, and to ease Audrey’s guilt over serving the chowder, there’s no choice but to team-up to crime solve. Soon grandmother and granddaughter are immersed in a stew of rivalries, long held feuds, and looming threats. Because beneath the surface, even a pretty town has its ugly side . . .

The Diva Hosts a Murderer by Krista Davis

Domestic Diva Mysteries #19

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Cozy Culinary Mystery

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Old Town Virginia’s entertaining guru and occasional sleuth Sophie Winston – a young Martha Stewart in the making – juggles Fourth of July fireworks, a houseful of guests, and homicide in the latest Domestic Diva culinary mystery from New York Times bestselling author Krista Davis.

With a big crowd descending on her Northern Virginia home, it’s a good thing event planner Sophie Winston is an expert at entertaining. Whipping up patriotic pastries is as easy as pie for her, though meeting the man her widowed Aunt Melly just impulsively married in Las Vegas is a little more awkward. Especially when Melly’s longtime, now-heartbroken secret admirer is there too, which could lead to some fireworks.

But the house party really gets explosive when Sophie’s favorite tour guide falls victim to a killer—and evidence points to Sophie’s own father. Will DNA really incriminate her dad? And what’s the real story with her new uncle-by-marriage and the mysterious pal he’s brought along with him? Some of the secrets Sophie’s discovering are raising flags—and while the police department casts suspicion on her father, she has to declare her independence as a detective to find the real culprit, and serve justice along with her red, white, and blue cupcakes . . .

Includes delicious recipes, fabulous decorating tips, and easy entertaining hacks!

The Summer Share by Jenn McKinlay

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Romantic Comedy

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When two misfits discover they’ve inherited the same beach house, sparks fly in the most unexpected ways, in this hilarious and heartfelt rom-com from the New York Times bestselling author of Summer Reading.

Free-spirited travel influencer Hannah Spencer has spent five years touring the country in her vintage van, alone save for her hulking Great Dane, Dude. Until an unexpected inheritance from her pops has Hannah thinking about putting down roots in Cape Split, North Carolina, where she’s the new owner of a worse-for-wear seaside beach house. Or, rather, fifty percent of one. Turns out Simon O’Malley inherited the other half from his gramps.

As Simon and Hannah spend the summer tag-teaming repairs on the crumbling cottage, they discover it was once home to a timeless love story. As their own relationship shifts from enemies to friends to lovers, they begin to wonder if the house’s romantic past might be a good omen for their future together. But there’s one problem—Simon is set on selling the property at the end of the summer.

For Hannah, the Split isn’t like anyplace she’s ever been, and Simon isn’t like any man she’s ever known—she doesn’t want to let this new life go. She just needs Simon to see their budding relationship and this newfound community in the same way, or their first summer share might also be their last.

Their Sweetheart Scheme by Jennifer Brown

Haw Springs #4

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Sweet Romance

Goodreads | Bookhype | BookBub | Amazon

Falling into him…
Or falling for him?

Florist Marlee West can’t deny the attraction when she falls from a ladder into Matthew LaSalle’s arms. The grumpy, handsome pediatrician had saved her from injury and embarrassment! Then a photo of the moment goes viral, turning them instantly into #cutestcouple. Internet fortune benefits both their businesses, so a fake relationship makes perfect sense. Now instead of squabbling over parking spots on Main Street, they’re posing for a wedding-magazine shoot and blowing kisses to each other all over town. Then the whole charade starts to feel alarmingly real. Real enough that they wonder if fifteen minutes of fame could turn into a love that lasts forever…

When the Forest Dreams by Andrea Ezerins

Publication Date: May 26, 2026

Genre: Romance

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For fans of L. M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle, a contemporary retelling of the beloved romance that follows a sheltered young woman’s quest for love in New York City—and her search for a rare and elusive bird in the deep Arkansas forest.

What if the life you were meant to live was waiting just outside your door?

New York City, 2013. Emma Jablonski’s life is as dry as the day-old bread at her family’s bakery. Living with her parents and grandmother, she clings to the only escape she knows: a recurring dream that feels more real than her waking world. But when Emma’s eyes are open, she’s reminded of what’s out of reach—Jake, the enigmatic boy-next-door.

After a life-changing diagnosis forces her to face her fears, Emma decides it’s time to truly live—before it’s too late. With Jake and his vibrant friend Vee, she dives into a whirlwind of experiences: a fake engagement, dazzling parties, and an obsession with the elusive ivory-billed woodpecker, a bird that may not even exist.

But as her daring adventure is coming to an end, Emma begins to embrace a future she never thought possible. Dreams and reality aren’t supposed to mix . . . are they?

A modern retelling of L.M. Montgomery’s The Blue Castle, this gentle story of love, resilience, and the beauty of the unknown reminds us to seek joy in the most unexpected places.

Well, that’s it for the New Books Releasing Week 22 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 with the cost of the website and a few giveaways.

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