May is going to end soon and June will be upon us very soon. Everyone is excited about summer arriving in a couple of weeks. And we figured now is the best time to look at the most read books on Goodreads in May to see what everyone is reading. So, keep reading to find out what they are!

Goodreads updates their reading charts every week and every month. This lets anyone see what Goodreads users are reading or interesting in reading. And the great part is you can see what people in the United States or the world are reading.

We decided to look at what people all around the world were reading for the month of May. This is a great way to see what is trending and what new books are a hit with your fellow readers. If you are an avid reader, you will recognize many of these authors. You can see the full list below!

The Most Read Books on Goodreads in May

The most read book in May worldwide was Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. The novel was released in late April of 2025 and May was the first full month that readers were able to read it. Emily Henry is one of the biggest authors in the world and I am not surprised to see her top this list.

In second place was Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins, the prequel to The Hunger Games. Seeing Suzanne Collins see this level of success after a decade since The Hunger Games was releases is impressive. Many authors would have fallen off but Collins shows that great writing and a great series are timeless.

Coming in at third is The Tenant by Freida McFadden, the latest author to take the world by storm. McFadden has established herself as a fan favorite and she is releasing novels every three months. This novel was released on May 6th and it will be interesting to see how it holds up in the coming months. As I looked up other books on the list, I was surprised to find out that McFadden will be releasing Death Row on June 1st.

Another author who has blew up over the past five years is Abby Jimenez. Her novel Say You’ll Remember Me was the fourth most read book of the month. Like her peers on the list, she has become a fan favorite and will only go up from here.

In fifth place, we have Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros, the novel that has dominated this list for most of the early months of 2025. This novel is still charting high since it was released in late January of 2025. And Yarros has two other books in the top ten. Her reign is nowhere near its end and I expect to see this novel on this list for the remainder of 2025.

Conclusion

These are the most read books on Goodreads for the month of May. Book readers around the world are gravitating towards popular authors. Have you read any of the books on this list? What books are you surprised didn’t make the top ten? Let us know in the comments below!

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