Aardvark Book Club is a monthly book subscription box (in both the U.S. & Canada) in which members choose up to 3 hardcover books. In addition to past months’ selections, Aardvark provides 4-5 newly published books to choose from each month. You can also discuss the books with other members in the Aardvark app. You can use the promo code READBETWEENTHESPINES to get your first book for $4.
As the end of the month approaches, Aardvark Book Club starts posting hints for their upcoming month’s selection. While the type of hints changes from month-to-month, they remain fun to follow along with. I typically make guesses as to what books they will be in my Instagram stories, but I thought I would also share them here.
The first set of February hints show that there will be 6 Aardvark selections this month! I usually wait until the second hint is out to post my guesses. However, I decided to take a swing after the first hint this month. I will say that the music ones are the most difficult for me, personally.
The second set of hints are posted… and a new, fun format.
I will be updating this post every day once new hints have been posted.
Book # 1
Hint 1.1: This first hint clearly alludes to a book about fashion, possibly taking place in California. The playlist is titled “Prêt-à-Porter,” which translates to ready to wear. The first two books that come to mind are The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard and Valley Verified. I do not know if Astrid Bricard has any connections to California, but the synopsis mentions New York City’s disco scene. I do know that Valley Verified at least partially takes place partially in California but the protagonist is not a model as some of the song choices indicate. However, the songs are modern (1980s through recent years), so I think Valley Verified is the best guess.
Hint 2.5: A thrifted designer bag containing mascara (but shows AirPods), New York Fashion Week Pass, liquid blush, Catan (formerly Settlers of Catan) board game, sunglasses, and an earring. Some of the items in this bag seem to fit Valley Verified, but it is always so hard to know for sure without having read the book! There are no tech items in the bag, unless you count AirPods. Is Catan the only reference to nerdiness and Silicon Valley?
Hint 3.3: Fashion board #384
Valley Verified
Kyla Zhao
When a fashion writer dives headfirst into the cutthroat Silicon Valley tech world, her future threatens to unravel in this addictive novel by Kyla Zhao, author of The Fraud Squad.
On paper, Zoe Zeng has made it in New York’s fashion world. After a string of unpaid internships, she’s now a fashion columnist at Chic, lives in a quaint apartment in Manhattan, and gets invited to exclusive industry events.
But life in New York City isn’t as chic as Zoe imagined. Her editor wants her to censor her opinions to please the big brands; she shares her “quaint” (read: small) apartment with three roommates who never let her store kimchi in the fridge; and how is she supposed to afford the designer clothes expected for those parties on her meager salary?
Then one day, Zoe receives a job offer at FitPick, an app startup based in Silicon Valley. The tech salary and office perks are sweet, but moving across the country and switching to a totally new industry? Not so much. However, with her current career at a dead end, Zoe accepts the offer and swaps high fashion for high tech, haute couture for HTML. But she soon realizes that in an industry claiming to change the world for the better, not everyone’s intentions are pure. With an eight-figure investment on the line, Zoe must find a way to revamp FitPick’s image despite Silicon Valley’s elitism and her icy colleagues. Or the company’s future will go up in smoke—and hers with it.
Genre: Romance
Publication Date: January 16
Publisher: Berkley
Book # 2
Hint 1.2: This first hint makes it pretty clear that it is going to be a fantasy novel (hopefully with a bard). Who doesn’t love a good bard? This playlist is titled “Justiciar,” which means an administrator of justice and likely indicates the book is set during medieval times. Fantasy is not my genre, so the books that came to mind are those I consider for BOTM picks or those on my most anticipated list. The City of Stardust refers to punishment and crime. Sun of Blood & Ruin takes place in the 16th Century and also mentions a vigilante serving justice. The Tainted Cup In addition, this title has mythical creatures, somewhat similar to Narnia. I am going to keep looking through fantasy titles, but for the time being, I think Sun of Blood & Ruin is the best fit. Unfortunately, it does not have great early reviews.
Hint 2.3: A worn leather satchel containing a spyglass, eye drops, an envelope, leather cleaner, French stamps, and a lock pick set. The French stamps do not match Sun of Blood & Ruin, so I looked through my other two initial options. The Tainted Cup is referred to as Sherlock Holmes meets Game of Thrones. I am still a bit thrown off by the French stamps. Unless, I find a better fit, The Tainted Cup is my guess for this round. The good news is that The Tainted Cup has really good early reviews!
Hint 3.6: Study material
The Tainted Cup
Mariely Lares
A Holmes and Watson–style detective duo take the stage in this fantasy with a mystery twist, from the Edgar-winning, multiple Hugo-nominated Robert Jackson Bennett.
In Daretana’s greatest mansion, a high imperial officer lies dead—killed, to all appearances, when a tree erupted from his body. Even here at the Empire’s borders, where contagions abound and the blood of the leviathans works strange magical changes, it’s a death both terrifying and impossible.
Assigned to investigate is Ana Dolabra, a detective whose reputation for brilliance is matched only by her eccentricities. Rumor has it that she wears a blindfold at all times, and that she can solve impossible cases without even stepping outside the walls of her home.
At her side is her new assistant, Dinios Kol, magically altered in ways that make him the perfect aide to Ana’s brilliance. Din is at turns scandalized, perplexed, and utterly infuriated by his new superior—but as the case unfolds and he watches Ana’s mind leap from one startling deduction to the next, he must admit that she is, indeed, the Empire’s greatest detective.
As the two close in on a mastermind and uncover a scheme that threatens the Empire itself, Din realizes he’s barely begun to assemble the puzzle that is Ana Dolabra—and wonders how long he’ll be able to keep his own secrets safe from her piercing intellect.
By an “endlessly inventive” (Vulture) author with a “wicked sense of humor” (NPR), The Tainted Cup mixes the charms of detective fiction with brilliant world-building to deliver a fiendishly clever mystery that’s at once instantly recognizable and thrillingly new.
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery
Publication Date: February 6
Publisher: Del Rey
Book # 3
Hint 1.3: Until I saw the title of this playlist, I was a bit unsure what book this hint could possibly allude to. Since it is titled “Tailgate Party,” I assume this means a book that involves football. With the songs I recognize, I am guessing a romance with a football player. The book that instantly comes to mind is When Grumpy Met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein.
Hint 2.1: Fjällräven backpack containing a baton, white cheddar popcorn, Target gift card, lip balm, a dirty spoon, and a lanyard. If hint 2.1 alluded to When Grumpy Met Sunshine, I think there would be a pen in the bag at the very least. The lanyard immediately makes me think of college, which could easily include a tailgate party (think big state school). In all fairness, this did not come to mind with hint 1.3, because football is basically not a part of my college experience. I think this could be Come & Get It, and I asked a friend who has read it to verify. She confirmed that the second hint definitely fits Come & Get It.
Hint 3.2: Dorm inspo
Come & Get It
Kiley Reid
From the celebrated New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age comes a fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a professor and three unruly students.
It’s 2017 at the University of Arkansas. Millie Cousins, a senior resident assistant, wants to graduate, get a job, and buy a house. So when Agatha Paul, a visiting professor and writer, offers Millie an easy yet unusual opportunity, she jumps at the chance. But Millie’s starry-eyed hustle becomes jeopardized by odd new friends, vengeful dorm pranks, and illicit intrigue.
A fresh and intimate portrait of desire, consumption, and reckless abandon, Come and Get It is a tension-filled story about money, indiscretion, and bad behavior—and the highly anticipated new novel by acclaimed and award-winning author Kiley Reid.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Date: January 30
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Book # 4
Hint 1.4: This was the hint I was most excited by when I scrolled through them. This playlist is full of classic jazz and blues from the Harlem Renaissance and alludes to a love affair that ends poorly. Two books instantly came to mind: A Love Song for Ricki Wilde and The Mayor of Maxwell Street. Since The Mayor of Maxwell Street takes place in Chicago and is not being released a publisher Aardvark has previously worked with, the obvious choice is Ricki Wilde (which I could not be more excited for).
Hint 2.4: A trendy toe bag (from Strand) containing mascara, floral foam, Metrocard, petals, and a cell phone with a floral case. This hint reaffirms my belief that this book is Ricki Wilde since she wants to be a florist.
Hint 3.4: Wedding Bells
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde
Tia Williams
Leap years are a strange, enchanted time. And for some, even a single February can be life-changing.
Ricki Wilde has many talents, but being a Wilde isn’t one of them. As the impulsive, artistic daughter of a powerful Atlanta dynasty, she’s the opposite of her famous socialite sisters. Where they’re long-stemmed roses, she’s a dandelion: an adorable bloom that’s actually a weed, born to float wherever the wind blows. In her bones, Ricki knows that somewhere, a different, more exciting life awaits her.
When regal nonagenarian, Ms. Della, invites her to rent the bottom floor of her Harlem brownstone, Ricki jumps at the chance for a fresh beginning. She leaves behind her family, wealth, and chaotic romantic decisions to realize her dream of opening a flower shop. And just beneath the surface of her new neighborhood, the music, stories and dazzling drama of the Harlem Renaissance still simmers.
One evening in February as the heady, curiously off-season scent of night-blooming jasmine fills the air, Ricki encounters a handsome, deeply mysterious stranger who knocks her world off balance in the most unexpected way.
Set against the backdrop of modern Harlem and Renaissance glamour, A Love Song for Ricki Wilde is a swoon-worthy love story of two passionate artists drawn to the magic, romance, and opportunity of New York, and whose lives are uniquely and irreversibly linked.
Genre: Romance
Publication Date: February 6
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Book # 5
Hint 1.5: This is definitely the toughest hint. Box breathing makes me think of anxiety, relaxation, and therapy. One of the song titles is “Microdosing,” which leads me to believe that the book involves microdosing of psychedelics as a mental health treatment (which is something that has been tested over the past few years). The other song titles are reminiscent of ocean waves, science, and nature. I think I figured it out! The Resort by Sara Ochs fits the color scheme and the synopsis includes box breathing. Without having read The Resort, I cannot say for sure. The other book that seems like it may fit is The Clinic.
Hint 2.6: A shower caddy containing a wig, bottle caps, a receipt, pills, gum, playing cards, and flip flops. Based upon the shower caddy, I am questioning my initial guess. Unfortunately, I cannot find enough information in reviews to determine if this hint fits The Resort. The color of hint 2.6 also leads me to think that The Clinic could be a better fit. Then again, I am positive that Aardvark staff have a delightful time tripping us up with colors and the like when it comes to hints. I asked a friend who has already read The Clinic if the second hint seems to fit. She confirmed it does. But as we all know, just because one hint fit does not mean they all will.
Hint 3.5: New year, new me
The Clinic
Cate Quinn
From the critically acclaimed author of Black Widows comes a thriller set in a remote rehab clinic on the Pacific Northwest coast, in which the death of a woman inside prompts her sister to enter the clinic as a patient in order to find the truth. Perfect for fans of Stacy Willingham and Tarryn Fisher!
Meg works for a casino in LA, catching cheaters and popping a few too many pain pills to cope, following a far different path than her sister Haley, a famous actress. But suddenly reports surface of Haley dying at the remote rehab facility where she had been forced to go to get her addictions under control.
There are whispers of suicide, but Meg can’t believe it. She decides that the best way to find out what happened to her sister is to check in herself – to investigate what really happened from the inside.
Battling her own addictions and figuring out the truth will be much more difficult than she imagined, far away from friends, family – and anyone who could help her.
Genre: Thriller
Publication Date: January 23
Publisher: Sourcebook Landmark
Book # 6
Hint #1.6: This book very clearly takes place or has a strong relation to Italy. “Sei Fuori!” roughly translates to “you’re out”. After doing some googling, it seems like some of the songs may be opera, and the titles include “The Doll,” “Heart,” “I Will Leave With You,” “Words Words,” and “The Terrace.” “Funiculi, Funicula” was inspired by the first funiular railway. The only book that immediately came to mind was Diva, a late January release, and I think that is a pretty good guess. The other option would be a book that takes place in Italy, like Christopher Golden’s The House of Last Resort, which is a horror novel. Based upon the background colors of the hint, I am leaning towards The House of Last Resort. I have read a past Christopher Golden book, and it was really good.
Hint #2.2: The overflowing suitcase(s) contains a smudge stick, matches, keys, a drawer handle, Italian currency, floor and tile samples, and a farmers’ market haul. My initial guess seems to hold for this hint. The couple in the book move to Italy and plan to renovate. Now, if this hint included any religious paraphernalia, I would positive.
Hint 3.1: Reno plans
The House of Last Resort
Christopher Golden
Across Italy there are many half-empty towns, nearly abandoned by those who migrate to the coast or to cities. The beautiful, crumbling hilltop town of Becchina is among them, but its mayor has taken drastic measures to rebuild―selling abandoned homes to anyone in the world for a single Euro, as long as the buyer promises to live there for at least five years.
It’s a no-brainer for American couple Tommy and Kate Puglisi. Both work remotely, and Becchina is the home of Tommy’s grandparents, his closest living relatives. It feels like a romantic adventure, an opportunity the young couple would be crazy not to seize. But from the moment they move in, they both feel a shadow has fallen on them. Tommy’s grandmother is furious, even a little frightened, when she realizes which house they’ve bought.
There are rooms in an annex at the back of the house that they didn’t know were there. The place makes strange noises at night, locked doors are suddenly open, and when they go to a family gathering, they’re certain people are whispering about them, and about their house, which one neighbor refers to as The House of Last Resort. Soon, they learn that the home was owned for generations by the Church, but the real secret, and the true dread, is unlocked when they finally learn what the priests were doing in this house for all those long years…and how many people died in the strange chapel inside. While down in the catacombs beneath Becchina…something stirs.
Genre: Horror
Publication Date: January 30
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
