We all know that Book of the Month is a monthly subscription service where you are supposed to pick one book a month. We also know this does not usually happen, because they generally have some awesome add-ons! I’ve seen a lot of folks asking for guidance when picking add-on both via Facebook and Instagram, so I wanted to take some time to highlight some of my favorite add-ons.

As a note I generally get three books in my box each month. Mainly because an add-on is an additional $10.99 and when getting newer books this is a steal. However, for some older books or classics, you can generally find them cheaper at Amazon, BookOutlet, Book Depository, or available at your local library.

Most of these books I have full reviews and I’ll be linking them if you want to see my full thoughts on a particular book. Feel free to reach out to me to on Instagram @speakingof_books or by commenting below to ask me more questions around Book of the Month Add-Ons.

Add-On Recommendations

All recommendations are listed in no particular order other than by genre!

Last note before I get into the picks, these are the picks available as of February 26, 2024. I do my best to post updated articles every few months. All books recommend are books I have read and there may be other books available that I cannot recommend simply because I have yet to read them! You can see my recommend post from March 2020 HERE , September 2020 update HERE, January 2021 update HERE, August 2021 update HERE, and July 2022 update HERE

Thrillers

These are some of my favorite thrillers that are Book of the month picks. While I’ll basically read anything from Karin Slaughter and Jennifer Hillier, I found my love of S.A. Crosby through BOTM and I’m so grateful. All three of these are a bit grittier, however, they’re all by excellent authors and completely binge worthy.

Breathless I enjoyed and was different from most snowy locked room thrillers. I really enjoyed the extra experience on the mountain, and I binged this one. Lastly, Killers of a Certain Age is just pure fun. It toes the line between of a cozy mystery but ultimately, it’s just a fun read.

Things We Do in the DArk REview

Killers of a Certain Age Review

Mystery

My top Thriller and Mystery recommendations are below but two I never hear much about are The Blinds and The Last Equation of Isaac Severy. I super enjoyed both of these books and while The Blinds is for plot twist loving readers and is now SOLD OUT, Isaac Severy has a more somber tone but is basically a treasure hunt, which is fun! Isaac Severy does have a lot of math involved as part of the story line, which my sister who majored in math loved. Even though there was plenty of numbers, it was not a detractor for non-number loving readers like me.

If you’re looking for a police procedural that address the opioid crisis, than Long Bright River is for you.

LONG BRIGHT RIVER | REVIEW

Paula McLain, Tana French, and Jane Harper are all auto-buy authors for me. These are my favorite from them that are available on the site currently. Ruth Ware also use to be an auto-buy author for me, but I haven’t been impressed with some of her newer books lately. The Lying Game is a much older release and was one of my favorites from her.

The Survivors Review | When the Stars Go Dark Review

Reviews of other Mysteries & Thrillers Available

A FLICKER IN THE DARK REVIEW | THE GUEST LIST REVIEW
RECKLESS GIRLS REVIEW | THE NIGHT SHE DISAPPEARED REVIEW
THE MAIDENS REVIEW | THE BOOK OF COLD CASES REVIEW
THE HUNTING WIVES REVIEW | THE WIVES REVIEW
THE WINTER SISTER REVIEW | CROSS HER HEART REVIEW
THE SILENT PATIENT REVIEW |The Fury Review | Only If You’re Lucky Review | When I’m Dead Review | What Lies in the woods review | Dark Corners review | All the Dangerous Things Review | The Only Survivors Review | The Last Word Review | You’re Invited Review | None of this is true review | First Born Review | No One can know review | The last flight review |The Night Swim review | Arsenic and Adobo Review | The Maid REview | The IT Girl REview | The Turn of the Key REview | The Anomaly review

Historical Fiction

I will never not recommend The Hearts Invisible Furies and The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. They’re two of my all time favorite books, and Lessons in Chemistry, The Frozen River, and The Women have joined my all time favorites list with them. All of these books are amazing for different reasons so check them out.

Lessons in chemistry review | The Women Review

The Frozen River Review | The VAnishing Half Review

The Night Tiger Review | The River we remember review

The SEcret Book of Flora LEa Review

Reviews of other Historical Fictions

ATomic love review | Circling the Sun Review

Malibu Rising review | The Library of Legends Review

Literary and Contemporary Fiction

I should have seperated out

Romance

I used to not read much romance but have started to lean on this genre more for lighter and less complex reads. Having a baby takes quite a bit of my mental capacity so I use rom coms to entertain myself. I generally gravitate towards lighter romances, and I would rather have a good Hallmarkesque story line rather than something heavy. Most of these are actually available on kindle for less or on KindleUnlimited.

Abby Jimenez hands down always has great books and stories to offer. I actually am reading a copy of Just for the Summer now and can’t wait to share a review with you. All that to say, always pick her books up.

I will always recommend a Katherine Center books. I just love her books. They have just enough depth mixed in with the rom-com and always leave me with warm fuzzies. Things You Ave in a Fire is my favorite KC book closely followed be her The Bodyguard! Ali Hazelwood is another I’ll read a grocery list from. Are her books predictable? Yes! Which is exactly why I read them. I know exactly what I’m going to get and love the STEM representation.

Katherine Center Book Reviews

Ali Hazelwood Book Reviews

Speaking of STEM representation, The Boyfriend Project stars a women in tech. As a women in Tech myself, this automatically makes me love the main character. Plus the setting is in Austin, and well I live 30 minutes from there, so this book was made for me.

THE BOYFRIEND PROJECT REVIEW

For my Bachelor fan, One to Watch is perfect for you. This book is all about a plus size women going on a dating show. It’s sweet, funny, and shows the underbelly of reality TV.

One to Watch review

I also mostly loved The League of Extraordinary Women series by Evie Dunmore. I adored the first two books in the series, the 3rd book was fine, and then the final The Gentleman’s Gambit tied the series together nicely. Bringing Down the Duke though is by far my favorite.

Bringing Down the Duke Review | Portrait of a Scotsman

A Rogue of One’s Own Review | The Gentleman’s Gambit Review

Finally, Talia Hibbert’s The Brown Sisters series is bomb. They’re steamy and have a unique disability representation. Highly recommend.

Get a Life, Chloe Brown

Science Fiction and Fantasy

Sourdough and The Philosopher’s Flight are two books I can’t stop recommending and don’t see a ton of traction for. Sourdough is more magical realism than fantasy but it’s a quick read that is excellent. Fair warning though, make sure to have some fresh bread around while you read it. The Philosopher’s Flight is the first in a duology, or at least I don’t think there will be a third book. It’s an alternative reality where magic is dependent upon chemistry and takes place during WWII. Very unique and I’m really hoping for a 3rd book.

SOURDOUGH REVIEW | THE PHILOSOPHER’S FLIGHT REVIEW

If you’re looking for a bit more of a fantasy that falls into mythology than Circe is the perfect pick. I have both Ariadne and Piranesi but have not read them yet, so Circe is the only mythological book I can recommend right now.

I have been waiting years for book two to come out after reading Ninth House a few years ago. It’s a dark academic type fantasy and has secret societies, ivy league schools, and some dark magic. I am here for it!

Things in Jars, is one of those books where it takes a few chapters to get into. The writing is different but I really loved it. It’s more a detective mystery with magical realism elements rather than a true fantasy book. Either way though it’s excellent. I already have a copy of Jess Kidd’s upcoming release and I’m so excited to read it!

THINGS IN JARS REVIEW

A River Enchanted is such a great read. I felt like I was in a song the entire time I was reading it. Completely recommend .

A RIVER ENCHANGED REVIEW

Highly Highly recommend The Adventures of Amina Al -Sirafi if you’re looking for an adventure. I can’t wait for more in this series and wish more people talked about this one.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi Review

Both The Change and Sign Here have gotten plenty of attention and for good reason. I adore book and both have a mystery element to them.

The Change Review | Sign Here Review

Young Adult

I have gotten away from reading YA recently, I just don’t have the patience for the characters and especially teenage angst at the moment. But I did love Divine Rivals last year and while I haven’t read the second book yet, it’s on my list. The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a magical story. It’s imaginative and beautifully written. I actually forgot it’s a YA book.

Divine Rivals review

I just finished Check & Mate on audio. The audio was great and while this certainly has YA vibes, it could also be more a closed-door romance. It definitely skips the spicy her other books normally contain.

Non-Fiction

I’m not a huge non-fiction fan but I do find true crime and stories of cults to be engaging. Killers of the Flower Moon, now a movie, is an excellent portrayal of the Osage Murders and how they were ignored. It’s interesting to read especially when you consider other areas where indigenous women go miss at a much higher rate than others, such as the Alaskan area.

The Sound of Gravel on the other hand follows Ruth Wariner’ s childhood in a commune/cult and how it impacted her life. It’s very well written and extremely interesting.

Maybe You Should Talk to Someone, one of my go-to non-fiction recommendations. I enjoyed the way Gottlieb presented therapy and the way we all have baggage to handle. It was both interesting, informative, and made me look at myself with new eyes.

As you age, the term ‘friendship’ evolves. When I read Big Friendship, I was right at the crossroads where you start to let go of certain friendships directly and indirectly. It was a hard transition for me, and I found this book to be a help with coming to terms with my own growth and aging out of certain friendships.

HAPPY READING

I hope you found a book that you are truly excited about in this post and enough to fill your little blue boxes! Let me know which other BOTM books you love by commenting below or by messaging me on Instagram @speakingof.books. Don’t forget to follow me to get weekly updates and new reviews!

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