This month, Book of the Month chose seven main selections and one mid-month add-on.

Main Picks | Add-Ons | Predictions | My Choices

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Predictions & Thoughts

There are seven main BOTM selections for January. They include two debut novels and one novel from a repeat author. There are two books in each the romance and historical fiction genres. I am looking forward to reading most the picks this month, although I am sad a few books were not chosen.

I predicted 5 out of 7 books correctly. The two books I did not include in my predictions, Independence and Queen of Thieves, were both books that I considered for my prediction list. The cover of Independence turned me off from including it. On the other hand, I should have known simply from the cover of Queen of Thieves that it would be a BOTM selection. Anyone else think it looks like several past historical fiction picks?

Age of Vice is already looking like it will be one of the biggest books of January. It is IndieNext’s January pick along with Good Morning America’s and Audacious’s (Roxane Gay) book clubs choice.

I was positive last month when I stumbled upon Lunar Love that it would be a BOTM selection. I am excited to be correct, especially since it sounds a bit different from the usual fare. I knew from a spoiler that The Reunion would definitely be a selection this month. It has been a long time since BOTM has had more than one romance novel in a month’s offerings.

Although it was not on many BOTM prediction lists, What Lies in the Woods screamed BOTM thriller pick to me – from the cover to the synopsis. I was desperately hoping that BOTM would not choose The House in the Pines, which is Reese’s Book Club’s January book. I have not heard good things from anyone regarding it.

I am pleased for everyone who loved Ninth House that BOTM decided to continue with this series and include Hell Bent. I have not yet read Ninth House but am intrigued by its popularity and the synopsis of Hell Bent. Since it is my birthday month and I have more than one account, I may decide to pick these both.

I am pleasantly surprised by this month’s historical fiction picks as they seem like deviations from BOTM’s typical celebrity or World War II histfic selections.

I am wondering if the lack of inclusion of add-ons this month means that BOTM will be moving away from them in the new year. In 2022, it seemed like BOTM was featuring add-ons less by both choosing fewer and not having a separate category on the website for them. With the announcement last March that the number of main selections would vary beyond 5, I am curious to see if there will only be main selections in the future. I would not mind this, especially since many of my favorite books in past years were add-ons ineligible for Book of the Year voting.

My Choices

Because I have multiple accounts and it is my birthday month, that pretty much guaranteed that I would choose at least 4 books. I cannot say no to a free book after all. However, I may be choosing fewer books in 2023 as I try to tackle my BOTM backlist and focus on reading books I own.

Age of Vice was an obvious choice for me. I am happy that it is a selection since I was planning on reading it. I am also pleasantly surprised to see BOTM kicking off the new year with a literary fiction novel as the first selection. Some of my all-time favorite books have been BOTM literary fiction picks, and I was disappointed with the lack of choices in the genre last year.

Enemies-to-lovers is my favorite romance trope. Along with the fact that it has BIPOC author, Lunar Love was also an easy choice for me to make. I hope it lives up to my expectations.

I always end up reading my BOTM thriller picks first. While I have a number of unread thrillers on my shelves, I do not have many that are BOTM selections. What Lies in the Woods sounds like a good bet, and I have seen positive reviews from friends I trust.

While I do not love the cover, I am excited to read Independence. I have recently been looking for more books about India’s partition since it is not a subject I know much about. As a result, I was pumped to see it as a selection.

Finally, I decided to also get a copy of Queen of Thieves. I love historical fiction based upon real people and am a sucker for any book with feminist themes. Add in some crime and I was totally sold.

While I am intrigued by Hell Bent, I have not yet read Ninth House. So I will be holding off on these two for now.

The Reunion does not greatly appeal to me based upon the synopsis and the fact it is a second-chance romance. This is a book I will wait for reviews before considering.

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What books did you choose for your January BOTM selections? Let me know in the comments!