A monthly meme to keep up with the latest publications, featuring advance copy reviews to look forward to reading.

Holy massive month of releases. Some of my favorites — Morgan Matson, Stacey Lee, Stephanie Perkins, Jessica Brockmole, SJ Maas — and some potential newbies, like The Crown’s Game and Sing, all come out in May. But one book I’m particularly excited about, Traitor Angels by Anne Blankman, releases in just a few days!

Traitor Angels by Anne Blankman
(Balzer + Bray, May 3)

Six years have passed since England’s King Charles II returned from exile to reclaim the throne, ushering in a new era of stability for his subjects.

Except for Elizabeth Milton, the daughter of notorious poet John Milton. By day she helps transcribe his latest masterpiece, the epic poem Paradise Lost, and by night she learns languages and sword fighting. Although she does not dare object, she suspects that he’s training her for a mission whose purpose she cannot fathom.

When the king’s men arrest him, Elizabeth follows his one cryptic clue and journeys to Oxford, accompanied by an Italian scientist, Antonio Vivani. When the two discover that Milton has planted an explosive secret in the half-finished Paradise Lost—a secret the king and his aristocratic supporters are desperate to conceal—Elizabeth is faced with a devastating choice: cling to the shelter of her old life or risk cracking the code.

Nerd book of nerdy proportions. Give it to me now.

What books are you looking forward to in May?