Book of the Month is a subscription box in which members choose up to 3 hardcover books to receive each month. Once you become a BOTM BFF, you can receive up to 5 books per month.
You can sign up here to get your first book for $5.
Every month, I make pretty accurate (80-100%) predictions about which books will be featured by Book of the Month (BOTM). I take a lot of time to research upcoming releases, analyze past selections, and choose books that are solid bets.
After a rather disappointing selection (for many subscribers) last month, I am interested if BOTM will have a redeeming September selection. In addition, with Allurial entering its third month, I am curious to see if BOTM carries any adult “romantasy” or if they plan to only select YA books of the genre.
I think that September books will most likely drop on Thursday, August 28; Friday, August 29; or Monday, September 1. Last year, BOTM posted September picks on Wednesday, August 28th.
Literary Fiction
I wavered whether to include a few books but ultimately ruled them out (including Little Movements by Lauren Morrow, What A Time to Be Alive by Jade Chang, Boy from the North Country by Sam Sussman, Pick a Color by Souvankham Thammavongsa, Life, and Death, and Giants by Ron Rindo) that I do not think will be among the selections. If there is another early release, I think it will be .
The Wilderness
Angela Flournoy
Synopsis: An era-defining novel about five Black women over the course of their 20-year friendship, as they move through the dizzying and sometimes precarious period between young adulthood and midlife.
To the Moon and Back
Eliana Ramage
Synopsis: One young woman’s relentless quest to become the first Cherokee astronaut will irrevocably alter the fates of the people she loves most in this tour de force of a debut about ambition, belonging, and family. An astounding and expansive novel of mothers and daughters, love and sacrifice, alienation and heartbreak, terror and wonder.
Debut
The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny
Kiran Desai
Synopsis: A spellbinding story of two young people whose fates intersect and diverge across continents and years—an epic of love and family, India and America, tradition and modernity, by the Booker Prize–winning author of The Inheritance of Loss.
Heart the Lover
Lily King
Synopsis: From the New York Times bestselling author of Writers & Lovers comes a magnificent and intimate new novel of desire, friendship, loss, and the lasting impact of first love.
Repeat Author | Early Release
Contemporary Fiction
I debated whether to include Best Woman by Rose Dommu, but I ultimately decided to not to do so.
The Phoebe Variations
Jane Hamilton
Synopsis: The acclaimed, New York Times bestselling author of The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World returns with a stunning coming-of-age novel about girls, mothers, and finding one’s way in the world.
Debut
The Irish Goodbye
Heather Aimee O’Neill
Synopsis: In this debut, for fans of J. Courtney Sullivan and Mary Beth Keane, three adult sisters grapple with a shared tragedy over a Thanksgiving weekend as they try to heal strained family bonds through the passage of time.
Debut
Lauryn Harper Falls Apart
Shauna Robinson
Synopsis: For fans of Elyssa Friedland comes a rollicking fall novel from beloved author Shauna Robinson, where the friend who left and the friend who stayed must reunite to save their hometown through the fall festival that once brought them together.
The Academy
Elin Hilderbrand & Shelby Cunningham
Synopsis: From #1 bestselling author Elin Hilderbrand, and her daughter, Shelby Cunningham: the irresistible, deliciously scandalous story of one drama-filled year at a New England boarding school.
Repeat Author
Historical Fiction
I considered a few June books that did not make ultimately make it into my predictions: Amity by Nathan Harris and Whatever Happened to Lori Lovely by Sarah McCoy.
Buckeye
Patrick Ryan
Synopsis: One town. Two families. A secret that changes everything. Sweeping yet intimate, rich with piercing observation and the warmth that comes from profound understanding of the human spirit, Buckeye captures the universal longing for love and for goodness.
Debut
The Mad Wife
Meagan Church
Synopsis: From bestselling author Meagan Church comes a haunting exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations that will leave you questioning the lives we build—and the lies we live.
The Lost Story of Eva Fuentes
Chanel Cleeton
Synopsis: A mysterious book with a legacy spanning from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present day unites three women—and their secrets—in this unforgettable novel from New York Times bestselling author Chanel Cleeton.
Repeat Author | Early Release
Romance
I also waffled about a couple of books, primarily Hot Desk by Laura Dickerman, The Austen Affair by Madeline Bell, Ladies in Hating by Alexandra Vasti, It’s Me They Follow by Jeannine A. Cook, Say It Out Loud by Ashley Schumacher, and Soul Searching by Lyla Sage. I also ruled out a number of books from past BOTM authors, including Sweet Heat by Bolu Babalola, Every Step You Take by Alison Cochrun, Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance by Kate Robb, and Crazy Spooky Love by Josie Silver.
It’s Different This Time
Joss Richards
Synopsis: In this sweeping, second-chance romance, a twist of fate forces two former roommates back into their beloved New York City brownstone where they must confront the events that led to their estrangement—and the unresolved feelings lingering between them.
Debut
The Heartbreak Hotel
Ellen O’Clover
Synopsis: A bed-and-breakfast for the brokenhearted might hold the key to another chance at love in this achingly hopeful debut romance.
Debut
If It Makes You Happy
Julie Olivia
Synopsis: Grab your favorite fall candle, cuddle into a comfy blanket, and travel back in time to 1997 in this cozy, slow-burn romance set in the autumn glow of small-town Vermont.
We Met Like This
Kasie West
Synopsis: A sparkling, seductive adult rom-com debut about a hopeless romantic falling for the one man she never expected.
Tourist Season
Brynne Weaver
Synopsis: Two serial killers fall in love in a touristy beach town while evading the amateur investigation of a true crime documentarian, in Weaver’s Seasons of Carnage series launch.
Repeat Author
Thrillers, Mysteries, & Crime Fiction
I also waffled about a couple of books, primarily A Killer Wedding by Joan O’Leary, The Belles by Lacey N. Dunham, Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests by K.J. Whittle, Hot Wax by M.L. Rio, Slashed Beauties by A. Rushby, and Famous by Blake Crouch.
No Rest for the Wicked
Rachel Louise Adams
Synopsis: With an expert hand, Rachel Louise Adams’s debut No Rest for the Wicked reads like an edge of your seat, heart-pounding scary movie. In one Halloween obsessed Midwestern town, everyone’s on red alert after a local politician goes missing. Little do they know it’s only the beginning.
Debut
The Vanishing Place
Zoë Rankin
Synopsis: A shocking murder in the New Zealand bush—and the witness who looks all too familiar—draws a woman back to the very place she swore she’d never return to in this breakneck debut thriller.
Debut
The Wasp Trap
Mark Edwards
Synopsis: A dinner party in a beautiful Notting Hill townhouse turns into a sinister game as six old friends are forced to spill their darkest secrets… or else. Alternating between the past and present with a colorful ensemble of characters, The Wasp Trapis a fast-paced and twisty thrill ride that is perfect for fans of Lucy Foley and Alice Feeney.
Old Money
Kelsey Miller
Synopsis: On the Fourth of July, a teenager dies at an exclusive country club. Twenty years later, her cousin returns to her hometown, seeking answers behind closed gates in this rich, atmospheric thriller for fans of Lucy Foley, Liz Moore and Ruth Ware.
Debut | Early Release
Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Magical Realism
Now that Allurial exists, it will be interesting to see which books BOTM keeps for that service instead of including as BOTM selections. It is a possibility that BOTM will no longer include any romantasy picks, such as Wild Reverence and A Land So Wide. However, I hope that is not the case since not everyone wants to pay almost $30 for a special edition book.
I wavered whether to include a few books but ultimately ruled them out, including Witch of the Wolves by Kaylee Archer, The Summer War by Naomi Novik. If there is an early release, I think it will be The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller.
The Many Mothers of Dolores Moore
Anika Fajardo
Synopsis: For fans of Rebecca Serle and Elizabeth Acevedo, a magically insightful novel about a woman’s journey to discover her roots and what it means to carry our ancestors with us.
A Land So Wide
Erin A. Craig
Synopsis: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child comes an irresistible blend of dark fairytale and romantic fantasy. The town of Mistaken has a secret…and it’s up to one woman to uncover the truth, confront her past, and save the man she loves.
Repeat Author
Katabasis
R.F. Kuang
Synopsis: Dante’s Inferno meets Susanna Clarke’s Piranesi in this all-new dark academia fantasy from R. F. Kuang, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, in which two graduate students must put aside their rivalry and journey to Hell to save their professor’s soul—perhaps at the cost of their own.
Repeat Author
Thief of the Night
Holly Black
Synopsis: There’d always been something wrong with Charlie Hall. Crooked from the day she was born. Never met a bad decision she wasn’t willing to double down on. She may be good enough to steal a shadow from a tower, but will she be good enough to steal back a heart?
Repeat Author
Wild Reverence
Rebecca Ross
Synopsis: Set in the world of the gods first introduced in Divine Rivals, #1 New York Times bestselling author Rebecca Ross delivers a sweeping, beautiful adult novel filled with tension, romance, and dark secrets.
Repeat Author
Young & New Adult
Sisters in the Wind
Angeline Boulley
Synopsis: From the instant New York Times bestselling author of Firekeeper’s Daughter and Warrior Girl Unearthed comes a daring new mystery about a foster teen claiming her heritage on her own terms.
Repeat Author
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