The September Book of the Month picks are here, and I am so happy with this month’s lineup. September is my birthday month which means I get my free birthday book and honestly the universe delivered because this might be my favorite BOTM month of the year. Usually, I agonize over what to grab and go back and forth for days but this month it was SO easy to narrow down my box. Almost every pick had me excited which is rare & there’s a really strong spread across genres and I think most people are going to find something they love in here. However, I’m super bitter that the one of two of the books I knew I wanted immediately sold out soooooo fast! Let’s get into what’s in the box and what I’m grabbing.
Reminder: if none of this month’s picks are calling your name, don’t forget to scroll through my Most Anticipated New Releases for more inspo. And if you’re looking to bulk up your box, check out my regularly updated BOTM add-on recommendations, you might just discover a new favorite tucked in there.
September MOST ANTICIPATED
August Most Anticipated
Summer MOST ANTICIPATED
Fall Most Anticipated
BOTM ADD-ON GUIDE
August 2025 Picks
Before you were anne review
Add-ons
Centennial Pick
My Box
Main Picks
This month’s main picks have such a good range. I already have a copy of Fallow but haven’t gotten to it yet so I’m excited to see what the BOTM community thinks once everyone starts reading. The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman by Deesha Philyaw ended up being my main pick this month. A megachurch pastor’s wife whose carefully curated rags-to-riches story starts crumbling when her secret past surfaces. It wasn’t on my radar before but the premise hooked me and since it’s my birthday month I was NOT about to skip my free book. The Wretched Divine by Adalyn Grace brings the fantasy this month with a human knight navigating an ancient war between angels and demons — fantasy girlies, this one’s yours. I already have a copy of Kiss Slay Replay by Rachel Harrison because I love Rachel Harrison and a wedding nightmare on repeat from the author of So Thirsty is exactly the spooky season energy I need. I’ve already read Before You Were Anne by Emiko Jean and my review is live on the blog so go check that out if you’re on the fence. And If Not You by Ellen O’Clover rounds out the main picks with a rivals-to-lovers road trip between two copywriters with five years of messy history. It’s a cute premise and a solid romance option for the month.
Before you were anne review
Add-Ons
Okay the add-ons this month might be better than the main picks and I said what I said. Dead Beat by Leigh Bardugo was an instant grab for me — it’s book three in the Ninth House trilogy and I need it to match the rest of my set. If you’ve been reading this series, you already know you’re grabbing this, no explanation needed. The Thoroughbreds by Elin Hilderbrand and Shelby Cunningham is the sequel to The Academy and Hilderbrand is BOTM royalty at this point so no shock there. The Witches of Cambridge by Alice Hoffman — okay so I was going to grab this for my mom, but I got distracted and they sold out SO fast. If you see it available don’t even think about it just add it to your box. A Practical Magic-adjacent series about a secret sisterhood of witches at a 1950s women’s college during fall? Come on. That sells itself. The Pirate Queen by Ariel Lawhon — I already have a copy of this, and I’m almost done and it is SO good. A sweeping adventure inspired by Grace O’Malley, the legendary Irish pirate queen, from the author of The Frozen River. Come back for my review because I have a lot to say. Under Story by Chloe Benjamin is from the author of The Immoralists and I already have a copy of this one too. Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel is mind-bending literary fiction with doubles and fractured timelines and Mandel is a heavyweight, so I expect this to be a big one. And Bones by K.L. Speer — this is the one I grabbed instead of Witches of Cambridge after it sold out. It’s a debut set in the remote mountains of Montana, and it was not on my radar at all, but the premise caught my eye and sometimes those surprise picks end up being the best ones. Early reviews are calling it emotional and impossible to put down so I’m cautiously very excited.
Centennial Pick
This month’s centennial edition is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John le Carré. I’m still using the centennial picks as my classics backlog and trying to read one a month through the library. This is a stone cold classic of spy fiction and if you’ve never read it this is a gorgeous edition to have on your shelf.
My Box
So, what actually ended up in my birthday month box — Dead Beat because the Ninth House trilogy must be completed, Bones as my wildcard add-on since Witches of Cambridge sold out before I could snag it for my mom (still bitter), and The True Confessions of First Lady Freeman as my free birthday pick because why would I ever leave a free book on the table. Pretty happy with this haul and honestly September might be my favorite BOTM month of the year.
What books did you pick this month? Let me know in the comments below or over on my Instagram HERE.
Happy Reading
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 $15.99 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 $10.99 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