New York Times
Hardcover Fiction Bestsellers
May 17, 2026

1. Yesteryear
by Caro Claire Burke

Natalie Heller Mills, a privileged tradwife social media influencer, wakes up to find she is living in the comparatively difficult reality of 1855.
2. The Correspondent
by Virginia Evans

Letters from someone she used to know push Sybil Van Antwerp toward revisiting her past and finding a way to forgive.
3. The Throne of Broken Gods
by Amber V. Nicole

The second book in the Gods and Monsters series. Samkiel hopes to save Dianna after her transformation.
4. Purple State
by Dana Perino

A public relations professional goes with two of her friends to a swing district in Wisconsin and meets a guy with a different perspective.
5. Blood Bound
by Ellis Hunter

Skylar and Astrid take on inner demons and external forces as they fight to save their world.
6. We Burned So Bright
by TJ Klune

As a black hole approaches, Don and Rodney, who have been together 40 years, take an urgent road trip.
7. Starside
by Alex Aster

Aris traverses a realm of magic and immortals, where she faces dangers as she seeks to avenge her family’s death.
8. Hope Rises
by David Baldacci

The second book in the Walter Nash series. Using an alias and some lethal skills, Nash works to bring down a global criminal operation.
9. Carl's Doomsday Scenario
by Matt Dinniman

The second book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Carl and Donut confront an ancient spell and heightened dangers.
10. The Mother-Daughter Book Club
by Susan Patterson and James Patterson

In a follow-up to Things I Wish I Told My Mother, epiphanies occur at Lake Como.
11. Judge Stone
by Viola Davis and James Patterson

Judge Mary Stone oversees an ethically complex case in her courtroom in Union Springs, Ala.
12. The Night We Met
by Abby Jimenez

Larissa makes a choice after a concert to ride home with Chris’s best friend, which may cause life-changing results.
13. The Dungeon Anarchist's Cookbook
by Matt Dinniman

The third book in the Dungeon Crawler Carl series. Carl and Donut are up against a subway system filled with monsters.
14. Chasing the Clouds Away
by Debbie Macomber

In return for her help in a time of need, Maisy Gallagher asks Chase Furst to pay it forward with an act of kindness.
15. Rites of the Starling
by Devney Perry

The second book in the Shield of Sparrows series. Secrets uncovered may stop the devastation of a cursed realm.
©2026 All rights reserved by New York Times Syndication Sales Corp. This material may not be published, broadcast or redistributed in any manner.
 
A version of this list appears in the May 17, 2026 issue of The New York Times Book Review. Rankings reflect sales for the week ending May 2, 2026.
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