Romancing the Data

AMAZON KINDLE STORE ROMANCE BEST SELLERS ANALYSIS: MAY 2026

The May romance best sellers analysis is up! Who dominated the Top 100 this month? Did traditionally-published books increase or decrease? Which contemporary subgenre ranked higher than usual? What’s trending in book covers?

As per usual, the analysis covers A LOT of data, including publisher, price, POV, publication age, subgenre, authors, covers, length, etc. The Top 20 Ranking is available for free, but the full analysis and data in Airtable is a benefit for paid subscribers.

Data is provided by market research newsletter Kindletrends. The new monthly ranking is based on five Kindle Store Top 100 Best Sellers in Romance (Paid) lists pulled throughout the month, which I’ve then compiled and ranked using a sum of ranks calculation.

Become a paid subscriber at blog.romancingthedata.com/subscribe for US$5/month or US$50/year.

1. The Deal by Elle Kennedy
2. Rules for the Summer by Meghan Quinn
3. King of Gluttony by Ana Huang
4. The Score by Elle Kennedy
5. The Mistake by Elle Kennedy
6. Fever Dream by Elsie Silver
7. Rites of the Starling by Devney Perry
8. Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen
9. Crown Me Dead by Liv Zander
10. Fury Bound by Sable Sorensen
11. Kirill by Lilian Harris
12. Love Song by Elle Kennedy
13. Verity by Colleen Hoover
14. Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry
15. The Heart You Kept by TL Swan
16. The Last Letter by Rebecca Yarros
17. The Better Brother by Kai Lesy
18. The Goal by Elle Kennedy
19. Crown Me Yours by Liv Zander
20. Our Perfect Storm by Carley Fortune

romance romantasy

NEW YORK TIMES ROMANCE BEST SELLERS: MAY 2026

Here is my monthly ranking of the romance and romantasy books on The New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Best Sellers for the May 2026 sales period.

🅰️ = Also appeared on Amazon Kindle Store Romance Best Sellers: May 2026

1. The Deal by 🅰️
2. Our Perfect Storm by 🅰️
3. The Mistake by 🅰️
4. The Score by 🅰️
5. The Ballad of Falling Dragons by .a.parker.author 🅰️
6. Fury Bound by 🅰️
7. The Final Target by
8. Broken Dove by
9. The Daisy Chain Flower Shop by
10. Phoebe Berman’s Gonna Lose It by
10. Fever Dream by 🅰️
12. Rules for the Summer by 🅰️
13. Starside by 🅰️

ROMANCE BOOKSTORE UPDATE | May 2026

There are now 276 physical romance bookstores in 12 countries around the world; 4 new physical stores opened in May.

PHYSICAL ROMANCE BOOKSTORES
🌎 Worldwide: 276
↳ 🇺🇸 USA: 193 (70%)

ALL ROMANCE BOOKSTORES
🌎 Worldwide: 452
↳ 🇺🇸 USA: 324 (72%)

I just released the latest romance bookstore update to my subscribers. I share the high-level numbers with everyone, but you’ll need to become a paid subscriber for all the details—including a calendar of bookstore openings and closings.

Become a paid subscriber to receive the full monthly updates at blog.romancingthedata.com/subscribe (only US$5/month or US$50/year).

🔎 NYT15: NYT Combined Fiction Best Sellers List - 15 Year Analysis (2011-2025)

❓HOW MANY BOOKS AND AUTHORS APPEAR ON THE LIST IN A YEAR?

SLIDE 1: Number of Unique Books
-An average of 242 unique books appear on the list each year.
-The annual number hit a high of 303 books in 2014 and a low of 175 books in 2023—a 42% decrease over 9 years (128 fewer books).

SLIDE 2: Number of Unique Authors
-An average of 179 unique authors appear on the list each year.
-Similar to the unique number of books, the number of unique authors hit a high of 209 authors in 2014 and a low of 135 authors in 2023—a 35% decrease over 9 years (74 fewer authors).

SLIDE 3: Percentage of Unique Authors
-The percentage of unique authors represents the level of author variation on the list—the lower the number means less variation, i.e., a smaller number of authors overall, meaning more authors with multiple books on the list.
-Interestingly, the highest level of author variation was in the early pandemic years, 82% and 80% in 2020 and 2021, respectively. The lowest level was 69% in 2013, 2014, and 2016

Check out the blog post for the full analysis!

NEW YORK TIMES ROMANCE BEST SELLERS: MARCH 2026

Here is my monthly ranking of the romance and romantasy books on The New York Times Combined Print & E-Book Fiction Best Sellers for the April 2026 sales period.

🅰️ = Also appeared on Amazon Kindle Store Romance Best Sellers: April 2026

1. Game On by .allen 🅰️
2. The Night We Met by 🅰️
3. Rites of the Starling by 🅰️
4. Purple State by Dana Perino 🅰️
4. Starside by
6. King of Gluttony by
7. Twisted Pawn by 🅰️
8. Heated Rivalry by
9. Blood Bound by
10. Bulletproof by .m.moronova
11. Lights Out by .allen 🅰️
12. Bloodsinger by
12. The Throne of Broken Gods by .v.nicole
14. The Auction by

ROMANCE BOOKSTORE UPDATE | April 2026

There are now 272 physical romance bookstores in 12 countries around the world (added Sweden this month!); 12 new physical stores opened in April.

PHYSICAL ROMANCE BOOKSTORES
🌎 Worldwide: 272
↳ 🇺🇸 USA: 189 (69%)

ALL ROMANCE BOOKSTORES
🌎 Worldwide: 444
↳ 🇺🇸 USA: 317 (71%)

I just released the latest romance bookstore update to my subscribers. I share the high-level numbers with everyone, but you’ll need to become a paid subscriber for all the details—including a calendar of upcoming openings!

Become a paid subscriber to receive the full monthly updates at blog.romancingthedata.com/subscribe (only US$5/month or US$50/year).

According to my research, which 10 U.S. states don’t currently have a physical romance bookstore?

Guess in the comments!

Check out the full directory and map at romancingthedate.com/bookstores

It’s the countdown to Independent Bookstore Day this Saturday! Here’s a breakdown of all 267 physical romance bookstores by country.

Check out the full directory and map at romancingthedata.com/bookstores

How are you celebrating Independent Bookstore Day? 📚🎉