Book of the Month is probably the most popular book box out there regarding price, quality & variety. However, the BEST part of this club is that you get to CHOOSE the book(s) you want, and quite often they offer titles before their official release date! I’ve subscribed to pretty much every book box out there, and this is the one that I’ve had the longest commitment to because I love it so much! Today I’m here to show you the books I chose for February 2019.
BOTM Membership costs just $14.99/month for (1) book credit, or less with longer subscription commitments. Each box includes YOUR CHOICE of (1) newly released hardcover book out of their (5) monthly selections, and you can also add up to (2) more books to your box for only $9.99 each. If you have additional credits on your account, you can choose to use those to purchase add-on books instead. The add-on books can be from the current month OR from previous months (as supplies last). You can skip a month whenever you wish and you won’t be charged; and your credit(s) will roll over to the next month. Shipping is always free! Gift memberships are available to purchase as well.
All new monthly titles are available to start selecting on the 1st of the month, and you must also select when to ship your box. You have until the 6th to make your selection(s), or, if you don’t choose a book and ship your box by the 6th of the month, you will be renewed $14.99 for a credit to redeem the following month.
There are a variety of genres offered each month that may include (but are not limited to): Thriller/Horror, History, Historical Fiction, Fantasy/Sci-Fi, Contemporary Fiction, Literary Fiction, YA (Young Adult), Mystery, Romance, Domestic Suspense, Dystopian, Satire, Non-Fiction and Memoir.
COUPON: If you would like to join and get your first month for only $9.99, sign up at this link!
I am not a Book of the Month affiliate, but I do use their referral program which is available to all members. I pay for my subscription, but there may be other affiliate links within this post where I could potentially earn a commission. Please note however, that I *never* accept compensation in exchange for a positive review. All of my reviews are my honest, personal opinions and contain my own photography (unless otherwise stated).
To see my other Book of the Month reviews, go here. If you’d like to see what I think of all the books I read, you can go to CrazyDogMama’s Book Reviews here. You can also come be my friend (or stalker) at Goodreads.
Book of the Month Review, February 2019
I always choose my book(s) promptly on the 1st of the month, and have my box shipped immediately – which is more often than not the same day. I receive my books around the 8th of the month, give or take a day. I love seeing that bright blue box!
Photo courtesy of bookofthemonth.com
These were the February 2019 choices, chosen by 5 different curators to ensure a great selection. On the website you can read the descriptions, and the reason why each was chosen by it’s curator. This month there is one exclusive version, and two debuts!
Read. Love. Repeat. – the BOTM motto! And also my personal motto.
I opted for the 12-month membership and have enjoyed every book I’ve read so far. How many books I order each month depends on how many titles sound interesting to me (duh), but I haven’t yet wanted to skip a month because there is always a great variety. It’s nice to know I have the option to skip, though.
The books come shrink-wrapped together with a cardboard bottom, and a paper bookmark. My books have always arrived in perfect condition – no damage at all.
This is the cardboard bottom with instructions on how to tag your photos on social media.
Here is my February book haul! I chose “The Winter Sister” and “A Woman is No Man” from the five choices. Let’s get into some details…
‘A Woman is No Man’ by Etaf Rum – Retail Value $26.99 (Currently a pre-order item on Amazon for $24.29 – official release is March 5, 2019)
Description:
Three generations of Palestinian-American women living in Brooklyn are torn between individual desire and the strict mores of Arab culture in this powerful debut—a heart-wrenching story of love, intrigue, courage, and betrayal that will resonate with women from all backgrounds, giving voice to the silenced and agency to the oppressed.
“Where I come from, we’ve learned to silence ourselves. We’ve been taught that silence will save us. Where I come from, we keep these stories to ourselves. To tell them to the outside world is unheard of—dangerous, the ultimate shame.”
Palestine, 1990. Seventeen-year-old Isra prefers reading books to entertaining the suitors her father has chosen for her. Over the course of a week, the naïve and dreamy girl finds herself quickly betrothed and married, and is soon living in Brooklyn. There Isra struggles to adapt to the expectations of her oppressive mother-in-law Fareeda and strange new husband Adam, a pressure that intensifies as she begins to have children—four daughters instead of the sons Fareeda tells Isra she must bear.
Brooklyn, 2008. Eighteen-year-old Deya, Isra’s oldest daughter, must meet with potential husbands at her grandmother Fareeda’s insistence, though her only desire is to go to college. Deya can’t help but wonder if her options would have been different had her parents survived the car crash that killed them when Deya was only eight. But her grandmother is firm on the matter: the only way to secure a worthy future for Deya is through marriage to the right man.
But fate has a will of its own, and soon Deya will find herself on an unexpected path that leads her to shocking truths about her family—knowledge that will force her to question everything she thought she knew about her parents, the past, and her own future.
Set in an America at once foreign to many and staggeringly close at hand, A Woman Is No Man is a story of culture and honor, secrets and betrayals, love and violence. It is an intimate glimpse into a controlling and closed cultural world, and a universal tale about family and the ways silence and shame can destroy those we have sworn to protect.
So this choice is a departure from what I normally read, but I can’t help but want to expand my horizons and explore a culture I know very little about. Book of the Month makes it super easy for me to ‘switch it up’ from my usual genre(s) of choice, and I’m curious to see if I agree with all the hype surrounding this book. This book is both a debut novel from the author, AND an exclusive from BOTM – this title is not due to be released until March 5th! As a Bibliophile, getting a book before it is released is super exciting. Be sure to stay tuned for my full review of this book coming soon – check back frequently here!
All BOTM books are specially labeled with the BOTM logo on the front of the book jacket, and also on the back with the month/year the book was featured.
‘The Winter Sister’ by Megan Collins – Retail Value $26 (You can find it on Amazon for $16.82.)
Description:
In this spellbinding and suspenseful debut, a young woman haunted by the past returns home to care for her ailing mother and begins to dig deeper into her sister’s unsolved murder.
Sixteen years ago, Sylvie’s sister Persephone never came home. Out too late with the boyfriend she was forbidden to see, Persephone was missing for three days before her body was found—and years later, her murder remains unsolved.
In the present day, Sylvie returns home to care for her estranged mother, Annie, as she undergoes treatment for cancer. Prone to unexplained “Dark Days” even before Persephone’s death, Annie’s once-close bond with Sylvie dissolved in the weeks after their loss, making for an uncomfortable reunion all these years later. Worse, Persephone’s former boyfriend, Ben, is now a nurse at the cancer center where Annie is being treated. Sylvie’s always believed Ben was responsible for the murder—but she carries her own guilt about that night, guilt that traps her in the past while the world goes on around her.
As she navigates the complicated relationship with her mother, Sylvie begins to uncover the secrets that fill their house—and what really happened the night Persephone died. As it turns out, the truth will set you free, once you can bear to look at it.
The Winter Sister is a mesmerizing portrayal of the complex bond between sisters, between mothers and daughters alike, and forces us to ask ourselves—how well do we know the people we love most?
This is a debut novel from author Megan Collins, and I can’t wait to sink my teeth in! I’ve heard nothing but great things about this book; plus I love a good domestic murder mystery. I chose this as an add-on for $9.99. Since I am an annual subscriber, I could have used one of my ‘credits’ to add it to my order, but my credits are worth $12.50, and paying $9.99 is a better deal!
Be sure to stay tuned for my full review of this book coming soon! Check back frequently here.
All BOTM books are specially labeled with the BOTM logo on the front of the book jacket, and also on the back with the month/year the book was featured.
Each monthly box comes with a sturdy cardboard bookmark with a literary quote printed on it.
This month’s literary quote is: “Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” – Anna Quindlen. So true! Love it!
I actually love these bookmarks, and use them to read my BOTM books even though I have approximately 5 million other bookmarks. They just work!
So what do you think of BOTM? The total retail value of my box was $52.99 (currently $41.11 using Amazon prices – but one of them is not even officially released yet!), and I paid $22.49 ($12.50 with my 12-month subscription + $9.99 for my add-on book.) – so this is a fantastic deal, even over Amazon prices! If you are bookworm like me, and want to be in the loop on the latest releases, I highly recommend this box – you just can’t go wrong! I love being introduced to new authors, and books I may not even know about. I’m also more inclined to try new genres I wouldn’t consider otherwise, which is exactly what I did this month!
DON’T FORGET THE COUPON! If you would like to join and get your first month for only $9.99, sign up at this link!
TTFN, CrazyDogMama – XOXO
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