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.
There are a ton of new releases this coming month, especially thrillers and mysteries. In fact, from previous BOTM authors, there is a plethora of new thrillers, which obviously cannot all be selections.
I think that January books will most likely drop on Tuesday, December 30th or Wednesday, December 31st.
If you are interested in actually knowing the main selections, check out my hints post.
Literary Fiction
I wavered whether to include a few books but ultimately ruled them out (including Is This A Cry for Help by Emily Austin, Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash, Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy, and Discipline by Larissa Pham).
Crux
Gabriel Tallent
Synopsis: A rollicking debut novel about a cautious daughter and her eccentric, estranged mother venturing west in search of buried treasure—and a way back to each other—before they run out of patience, money, and options
Debut
Scavengers
Kathleen Boland
Synopsis: A rollicking debut novel about a cautious daughter and her eccentric, estranged mother venturing west in search of buried treasure—and a way back to each other—before they run out of patience, money, and options.
Debut
The Future Saints
Ashley Winstead
Synopsis: Perfect for fans of Daisy Jones and the Six and In Five Years—a beautiful, powerful, and transportive new novel about a music executive desperately trying to bring a rock band back from the brink, from bestselling author Ashley Winstead.
Sheer
Gabriel Tallent
Synopsis: Told over nine charged days, Sheer is the gripping tale of a controversial beauty mogul’s insatiable ambition and the slippery ground between empowerment and abuse of power.
Debut
How to Commit a Postcolonial Murder
Nina McConigley
Synopsis: A bold, inventive, and fiercely original debut novel that begins with an uncle dead and his tween niece’s private confession to the reader—she and her sister killed him, and they blame the British.
Debut
A Beast Slinks Toward Beijing
Alice Evelyn Yang
Synopsis: A dark, magical realist debut family saga that moves through the Japanese occupation of Manchuria, the Cultural Revolution, and the present day to explore the effects of intergenerational trauma, the legacy of colonialism, and the inescapability of fate.
Debut | Early Release
Historical Fiction
I also considered Meet the Newmans by Jennifer Niven, A Great Act of Love by Heather Rose, When We Were Brilliant by Lynn Cullen, If I Ruled the World by Amy DuBois Barnett, and The Sea Child by Linda Wilgus but decided to ultimately leave them off my predictions.
Skylark
Paula McLain
Synopsis: The New York Times bestselling author of The Paris Wife weaves a mesmerizing tale of Paris above and below—where a woman’s quest for artistic freedom in 1664 intertwines with a doctor’s dangerous mission during the German occupation in the 1940s, revealing a story of courage and resistance that transcends time.
Repeat Author
The Bookbinder’s Secret
A.D. Bell
Synopsis: A young bookbinder begins a hunt for the truth when a confession hidden beneath the binding of a burned book reveals a story of forbidden love, lost fortune, and murder.
Debut
The Midnight Carousel
Fiza Saeed McLynn
Synopsis: The Night Circus meets Water for Elephants in this enchanting, darkly glittering story of grief, obsession, revenge, and enduring love.
Debut
The Infamous Gilberts
Angela Tomaski
Synopsis: The Remains of the Day meets The Royal Tenenbaums in this darkly funny debut novel about a wealthy, eccentric family in decline and the secrets held within the walls of their crumbling country manor.
Debut
The Seven Daughters of Dupree
Nikesha Elise Williams
Synopsis: From the two-time Emmy Award–winning producer and host of the Black and Published podcast comes a sweeping multi-generational epic following seven generations of Dupree women as they navigate love, loss, and the unyielding ties of family in the tradition of Homegoing and The Love Songs of W.E.B. DuBois.
Debut | Early Release
Romance
I considered but then ruled out The Odds of You by Kate Dramis and Like in Love with You by Emma Alban.
Most Eligible
Isabelle Engel
Synopsis: The Bachelor meets Funny You Should Ask in this laugh-out-loud rom-com debut about a journalist who goes on reality TV only to find her country music star one-night stand is the host.
Debut
Dandelion Is Dead
Rosie Storey
Synopsis: Jake has fallen head over heels for Dandelion. The only problem? Dandelion is dead. With sparkling wit and aching tenderness, debut author Rosie Storey gives us a modern love story about the courage it takes to live again after loss and finding hope in the most unexpected places.
Debut
Sunk in Love
Heather McBreen
Synopsis: A second chance at love sets sail when a couple on the verge of divorce pretends they’re still together for one last family trip, from the author of Wedding Dashers.
Repeat Author
Thrillers, Mysteries, & Crime Fiction
I also waffled about a number of books by past BOTM authors, that I eventually ruled out: The Storm by Rachel Hawkins, Such a Clever Girl by Darby Kane, Wildwood by Amy Pease, It Should Have Been You by Andrea Mara, and All the Little Houses by May Cobb. I also considered whether to include Very Slowly All at Once by Lauren Schott, The Long Con by Jenna Voris, and Darkrooms by Rebecca Hannigan. If there is an early release, I think it would most likely be Paper Cuts by Rachel Taff.
Anatomy of an Alibi
Ashley Elston
Synopsis: Two women swap identities for 12 hours to uncover secrets, but when one’s husband is found murdered the next morning, they both need airtight alibis.
Repeat Author
The First Time I Saw Him
Laura Dave
Synopsis: A gripping, rich, and deeply moving novel about the power of forgiveness, The First Time I Saw Him picks up right where the epilogue for the genuinely moving The Last Thing He Told Me left off, giving readers the eagerly awaited and absolutely exhilarating sequel to Dave’s global blockbuster.
Repeat Author
My Husband’s Wife
Alice Feeney
Synopsis: The New York Times bestselling Queen of Twists is back with a psychological masterpiece that will leave you questioning everything you know about love, identity, and revenge. One house. One husband. Two women. Someone is lying.
Repeat Author
The Briars
Sarah Crouch
Synopsis: The USA TODAY bestselling author of Middletide returns with a lush and atmospheric novel of suspense following a young woman whose job as a game warden puts her in the path of a murderer in a small town eager to protect its own.
Repeat Author
Such Sheltered Lives
Alyssa Sheinmel
Synopsis: For fans of Nine Perfect Strangers and The Midnight Feast, a moody, atmospheric psychological suspense set in the secretive world of celebrity rehab centers, from New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Sheinmel.
Gothic Fiction & Horror
A Box Full of Darkness
Simon St. James
Synopsis: Simone St. James, the New York Times bestselling author of The Sun Down Motel, returns with her scariest, most shocking novel yet in this pulse-pounding story about siblings who return to the house they fled 18 years before, called back by the ghost of their long-missing brother and his haunting request: Come home.
Repeat Author
On Sundays She Picked Flowers
Yah Yah Scholfield
Synopsis: In this sinister and surreal Southern Gothic debut, a woman escapes into the uncanny woods of southern Georgia and must contend with ghosts, haints, and most dangerous of all, the truth about herself.
Debut
Fantasy, Science Fiction, & Magical Realism
I wavered whether to include a few books but ultimately ruled them out (including The Poet Express by Shen Tao, Nine Goblins: A Tale of Low Fantasy and High Mischief by T. Kingfisher, and A Vow in Vengeance by Jaclyn Rodriguez).
We Who Have No Gods
Liza Anderson
Synopsis: In a world of witches, a human woman must hunt or be hunted in this explosive debut novel filled with dangerous rivals, guarded secrets, and simmering chemistry.
Debut
Rings of Fate
Melissa De La Cruz
Synopsis: Aren Bellamore has no interest in being anyone’s princess. She’s too busy running the Raven’s Beak tavern, fending off unwanted marriage proposals, and dreaming of escape. But when a brush with death and a dangerously handsome stranger upend her life, Aren finds herself bound to a bargain that could change everything.
Graceless Heart
Isabel Ibañez
Synopsis: #1 New York Times bestselling author Isabel Ibañez makes her adult debut with a gorgeous, historical, and romantic fantasy. A lush tale full of enemies-to-lovers tension, whimsical magic, villain romance, and slow-burn desire, set in an enchanted, perilous Florence where forbidden power could ignite a war.
Repeat Author
The Elsewhere Express
Samantha Sotto Yambao
Synopsis: When you lose your way in life, the Elsewhere Express just might find you. Step on board the train that may take you to your life’s purpose in this wistful, Ghibli-esque fantasy from the bestselling author of Water Moon.
Repeat Author
The Unwritten Rules of Magic
Harper Ross
Synopsis: For fans of The Midnight Library and In Five Years, The Unwritten Rules of Magic is a spellbinding novel that blends magic and memory in an unforgettable journey through love, grief, and the hidden cost of perfection across three generations of women.
Debut | Early Release
Nonfiction
I also briefly considered Notes on Heartbreak by Annie Lord.
Two Women Living Together
Kim Hana & Hwang Sunwoo
Synopsis: The big-hearted, bestselling South Korean memoir co-written by two best friends flouting gender norms and societal expectations with their decision to grow old together under one roof
Homeschooled: A Memoir
Stefan Merrill Block
Synopsis: A heartbreaking, empowering and often hilarious debut memoir about a mother’s all-consuming love, a son’s perilous quest to discover the world beyond the front door and the unregulated homeschool system that impacts millions like him.
Debut
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