Book of the Month Subscription Review + 50% Off – Dec 2015
Book of the Month is a monthly book subscription box. Each month, 5 curators pick out their favorite new hardcover books, and you can choose which one you want to receive on the first of the month.
They are currently having an amazing deal on 3-month subscriptions (deal details below), so I had to sign up. (Plus I love book subscriptions so I probably would have signed up for this one with or without a deal!)
My Subscription Addiction pays for this subscription. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes).
The Subscription Box: Book of the Month
The Cost: $16.99 a month ($8.99 a month with 12-month subscription).
COUPON: Use invite code BOTM15 to get a 3-month subscription for only $20.97 ($6.99 a box!).
The Product: Subscribers get to pick from a selection of hardcover books each month.
Ships to: US Only
Check out all of my Book of the Month reviews!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wish list!
For December, subscribers picked from the following 5 books:
This month I decided to go with:
The Japanese Lover by Isabel Allende (Retail Value $28, $16.80 on Amazon)
Named one of the most anticipated novels of the year by New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly,Cosmopolitan, Harper’s Bazaar, Publishers Weekly, The Huffington Post, and more. From New York Times and internationally bestselling author Isabel Allende, an exquisitely crafted love story and multigenerational epic that sweeps from San Francisco in the present-day to Poland and the United States during the Second World War.In 1939, as Poland falls under the shadow of the Nazis, young Alma Belasco’s parents send her away to live in safety with an aunt and uncle in their opulent mansion in San Francisco. There, as the rest of the world goes to war, she encounters Ichimei Fukuda, the quiet and gentle son of the family’s Japanese gardener. Unnoticed by those around them, a tender love affair begins to blossom. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the two are cruelly pulled apart as Ichimei and his family—like thousands of other Japanese Americans—are declared enemies and forcibly relocated to internment camps run by the United States government. Throughout their lifetimes, Alma and Ichimei reunite again and again, but theirs is a love that they are forever forced to hide from the world.Decades later, Alma is nearing the end of her long and eventful life. Irina Bazili, a care worker struggling to come to terms with her own troubled past, meets the elderly woman and her grandson, Seth, at San Francisco’s charmingly eccentric Lark House nursing home. As Irina and Seth forge a friendship, they become intrigued by a series of mysterious gifts and letters sent to Alma, eventually learning about Ichimei and this extraordinary secret passion that has endured for nearly seventy years.
Sweeping through time and spanning generations and continents, The Japanese Lover explores questions of identity, abandonment, redemption, and the unknowable impact of fate on our lives. Written with the same attention to historical detail and keen understanding of her characters that Isabel Allende has been known for since her landmark first novel The House of the Spirits, The Japanese Lover is a profoundly moving tribute to the constancy of the human heart in a world of unceasing change.
There wasn’t a book that jumped out at me as “the one” this month, so I went with the approach of going with the book that had the best reviews on Amazon. I think that will work for me this month – I just re-read the summary of the book, and I’m excited to start it.
And each book is selected by a judge – this book comes with a letter from judge Bill Goldstein.
Verdict: I’m also very pleased with the value of my Book of the Month subscription so far – I still can’t believe I got this book for only $6.99!
What do you think of the Book of the Month subscription? Which box did you pick this month? (FYI – Book of the Month has extended the selection window for the December boxes. You can sign up for a subscription and start with a December book selection, now through 12/15.
Written by Liz Cadman
I just signed up with the book15 coupon, thank you for that. I was wondering if I just leave my book “checked” and that’s all I need to do?
Yep – you should be good! 🙂
I just signed up for this subscription and received The Japanese Lover (and an add-on book, Church of Marvels), both in hardcover. I am so happy with how good of a deal it was I’m buying my mom a subscription for the holidays!
I’m currently getting “the Jane” from The Book Drop, but this value is soooo much better and I like the fact that I can choose from a few options. I’m switching over!
I just received my first selection (What She Knew) and was very surprised to find a paperback copy instead of a hardback. I actually prefer paperbacks, but that definitely changes the value. Is this common or do you think perhaps this was part of the fulfillment issue they had this month with that title? (Apparently it was a popular selection and so they had to order more and some of the subscriptions – including mine – were slightly delayed.)
I also chose What She Knew. I believe mine was hardback but now I want to go home and check. I’ve never received a paperback from them before.
Thanks, Heather! Now I’m really curious! ?
Mine was a hardcover.
I selected “What She Knew” and got a paperback today too. :/ Trying to decide how much I care and whether I want to do anything about it. I still got a good deal, but it definitely changes the overall value.
I chatted with BOMC customer service & they were extremely apologetic, explaining that the paperbacks were sent to some subscribers who ordered What She Knew due to the unanticipated volume of orders they had for that title, in order to prevent a further delay. They have the hardback in stock again and offered to send me one … I actually prefer the paperback though! It seems this was a very unusual situation and customer service was great, so I’m satisfied.
Do you know how long this coupon code will be good for? I’d like to hold off and do this closer to Christmas. 🙂
I was so happy to read this review! I have been eyeing the book subs for a while, but can’t really justify the cost without cancelling a sub or two that I have (not ready for that yet, just got them started). I can totally justify this one! Maybe it will get me out of my reading comfort zone. I already do Amazon Kindle Unlimited and use the crap out of it!
Do you know how long this coupon code will be good for? I will be running home after work today to sign up!
love this sub. last month i got 2 books for 6.99 and i also picked the isabel allende book this month. i think it is a great deal!!
I went a little crazy and got The Japanese Lover, The Magician’s Lie, AND What She Knew. Yikes. I think I’m going to quit Indiespensable because this one is a much, much better value. That’s hard for me to do since I’m from the Portland area and have always worshipped Powell’s!
I went with The Magicians Lie even though I really wanted What She Knew. I also added two extra books from a couple months ago for 9.99. I’m ECSTATIC to receive mine.
This is my second month. I got my pick, What She Knew, yesterday. It was difficult not to add another book to my box this month. The choices all look excellent.
I requested the same book. Can’t wait to read it.