The first books of the year have landed! At least from everyone’s favorite little blue box company, Book of the Month. To kick off the year, BOTM is serving up primairly debut authors, which you guys know I love! We’re also seeing 1 repeat author, 1 very famous author but 5 out of 7 books available this month are Debut! I hope this is a sign for the rest of the year, because one of the biggest reasons I originally signed up for BOTM was to gain exposure to new authors. I am so here for all the debut authors!
Reminder that if none of these are speaking to you this month be sure to check out some of my Most Anticipated New Releases lists. If you’re looking for add-ons to put into your boxes be sure to check out my BOTM add-on recommendations, which I update every couple of months.
January Most Anticipated
Winter 2022 Most Anticipated
BOTM Add-ON Guide
January Book of the Month Picks
New Add-Ons
My Picks
This is the very first month that I skipped both my boxes. I have always added at least one book to my box but I actually have a copy of every single one of this month’s picks already. Of the 3 I’ve read so far, none are ones I would want a physical copy of to read again.
Black Cake and Fiona and Jane would have been my pick for this month, if I didn’t already have copies of both. Fiona and Jane is already getting huge praise from Time, Good Housekeeping, and more, including a blurb by Pulitzer Prize winner, Viet Thanh Nguyen. On the flip side Black Cake is getting rave reviews on Goodreads and a few readers I trust have given it 5 stars, it will be one of the first books I read this month, so be on the lookout for my review, coming soon.
For the books I’ve read all three were on my January Most Anticipated List. The Maid, Reckless Girls, and The Magnolia Palace are all buzzy books this season.
The Maid is more a cozy mystery than anything else and while I wanted to love it, I really didn’t. I honestly struggled through the book and could honestly care less about it. I has a lot of good reviews so I may just have an unpopular opinion on it, but that’s reading for you. It’s majorly subjective.
Review: The Maid
Reckless Girls is this month’s thriller pick and is a BOTM Repeat Author. It’s an enjoyable thriller with an interesting plot. It’s your usual thriller and enjoyable. I gave it 3.5 stars rounded up to 4. If you like thrillers you’ll like it especially if you enjoy Ruth Ware and Lucy Foley books.
Review: Reckless Girls
The Magnolia Palace was another of my December reads, which I enjoyed but it wasn’t a favorite. I enjoy Fiona Davis’ writing but I did not like The Lions of Fifth Avenue, which was her 2020 release. I enjoyed this one much more but not enough to grab a physical copy.
REview: The Magnolia Palace
That’s what’s in my box this month! Did we pick any of the same books this month? Let me know in the comments below or over on my Instagram HERE.
Happy Reading
WHAT IS BOOK OF THE MONTH?
For those who haven’t heard of Book of the Month club or BOTM, it is a subscription program, similar to audible or other box subscription services, where you get (you guessed it) a new book every month. Each month members are given 5 different books to choose from. BOTM generally focusing on debut and emerging writers, and is known for having helped launch the careers of some of the most acclaimed authors in American literary history. In an attempt to read more books outside my favorite genres without having to siphon through all the duds, I decided to sign up for the monthly subscriptions. It costs me $14.99 per month, I choose 1 of the 5 books on the first of every month, and it’s delivered straight to my door. You can skip any month or roll your credits over to the next month, at any time. Since I started getting BOTM in 2018, I’ve really enjoyed some of the new authors I’ve been exposed to. If you’re interested in joining BOTM, I’ve added my referral code to the bottom of this post, which if you use, you’ll be able to get a discount on your first month (book)!
Interested in joining Book of the Month?
Get your first book for $9.99 when you sign up using my link!
Either click HERE or enter the url into your browser: https://book-of-the-month.ixmz.net/kvzez https://book-of-the-month.ixmz.net/c/1803400/761424/9782