Book of the Month is a monthly book subscription box. Each month, their editorial team picks out their favorite new hardcover books, and you can choose which one you want to receive on the first of the month for $17.99/month. You can also add up to two additional books for only $9.99 each. (This box was named one of the best subscriptions for avid readers in the 2025 Subscription Box Awards.).
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
My BOTM Pick for October: Never Over by Clare Gilmore; Retail $18 (paperback)
Back of Book Summary:
Twenty-five-year-old Paige Lancaster is one contract away from earning a living doing her favorite thing in the world: writing songs. But when a music industry professional suggests she might be holding back with her lyrics to lessen the heartbreak of an old flame, Paige doubts if her music is ready to be heard.
In a rare, impulsive move, Paige reaches out to Liam Bishop after four years of no-contact to ask him for a small favor: date her, and then re-break her heart, all so she can remember what those big, songworthy emotions felt like. And since Liam is the one who first set Paige on this career path, he hesitantly agrees.
Across two months of Liam’s summer work travel, the exes are forced to share hotel beds, rehash the past, and date in the present, all while navigating the building attraction between them they both swore was the one line of their agreement they wouldn’t cross.
But when it becomes near impossible not to act on their rippling chemistry, and as ever intensifying feelings blur reality with what’s driven by the music, Paige and Liam will both have to decide which is more important: art for the sake of it, or love over everything.
My Summary
A Nashville recording studio executive says Paige Lancaster has what it takes to be one of the great singers of the country music scene, but Paige doesn't want to take her angel voice on the road. Her heart is set on being a songwriter.
There's just one problem. Ever since her break-up with Liam Bishop, Paige's lyrics haven't been exactly top of the charts quality.
So when the executive offers her a chance to go back to the well and rewrite her lyrics, Paige decides it's time for something drastic. Tracking down Liam at a concert, she asks the man who once broke her heart to do it all over again.
In alternating chapters, author Clare Gilmore reveals the two tracks of Paige and Liam's love story — what happened four years ago to bring them together and break them apart, and what's unfolding in round two of this fun and frothy second chance romance novel.
The Verdict
Imagine Taylor Swift if she'd had her heart broken only once, and you can consider yourself ready to dive into this October BOTM Club pick, one of the early releases offered up as part of the subscription box.
Romcom author Clare Gilmore serves up a well-trod romance novel trope with her "what if they tried again?" plot, but Paige is a hard character not to love. I dare say I loved her and her back story, including her complicated family, more than I loved the love story itself.
Value — Was This Box Worth It?
This October BOTM Club subscription box pick gets one thumb up for giving readers an chance to crack the spine well-ahead of its October 28 release and another for a sweet escape from reality.
Judge me for judging a book by its cover, but all it took was one look at the pastel-colored cover for me to know this was the perfect pick for that time of year when the world is turning brown, and I'm dreading the winter marching toward those us in the Northeast.
The paperback currently retails for almost $18 on Amazon, and the BOTM Club starts at $17.99, depending on your chosen subscription (the first month of a subscription is currently $9.99). That may not sound like much of a savings until you add in the fact that the BOTM version is a hardcover!
The Cost: $9.99 (This price is only for your first month).
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To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this book if you sign up today? Yes! But you will need to order it as an add-on.
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