“Book of The Month” Review

I was so excited to come across this subscription box dedicated to books! I discovered it three months ago while doom scrolling on Instagram. Of course, with myself being an avid online shopper, and in desperate need for a new monthly subscription box, I signed up immediately. I used to have an Ipsy subscription but I cancelled that a long time ago. I tried an anxiety relief box too but that got expensive. This seemed affordable and right up my alley.

Our story is all about finding the best stories for you.

For $26.80 CAD you can get one book per month delivered to your mailbox. My partner did tell me it seems more geared towards women rather than men but I do disagree slightly and only slightly. I think there’s a book out there for everyone and if you love snagging a good read like I do, this is worth the sign up. Plus there’s nothing like the smell of a fresh book in my mind.

My First Box- October 2023

I do have to admit, this was a little hard to get into at first but once I started reading it, I couldn’t set it down.

A grim and gothic new tale from author Alix E. Harrow about a small town haunted by secrets that can't stay buried and the sinister house that sits at the crossroads of it all.

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote The Underland--and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it’s best to let the uncanny house―and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling―go to rot.

Opal knows better than to mess with haunted houses or brooding men, but an unexpected job offer might be a chance to get her brother out of Eden. Too quickly, though, Starling House starts to feel dangerously like something she’s never had: a home.

As sinister forces converge on Starling House, Opal and Arthur are going to have to make a dire choice to dig up the buried secrets of the past and confront their own fears, or let Eden be taken over by literal nightmares.

If Opal wants a home, she’ll have to fight for it.

Synopsis taken from goodreads

I will admit it was not my favourite book I ever read and I did set it down for a while because it didn’t hold my interest, however snagging a deal on a novel that is priced at $38.99 CAD was worth it.

My Second Box- November 2023

With the subscription you can add bonus books to your box on top of your monthly subscription so I tried that for the second month of my subscription. Both books caught my attention and I couldn’t wait to dive into them! I decided to start with When I’m Dead by Hannah Morrissey and trust me when I say that it was worth the purchase. I haven’t read anything else by this author. This book is the third in a series but you don’t have to read the first two to get the picture. Again, it was a steal of a deal in my opinion.

One girl murdered. Another one missing. And a medical examiner desperate to uncover the truth in the latest Black Harbor mystery by acclaimed author Hannah Morrissey.

On a bone-chilling October night, Medical Examiner Rowan Winthorp investigates the death of her daughter’s best friend. Hours later, the tragedy hits even closer to home when she makes a devastating discovery—her daughter, Chloe, is gone. But, not without a trace.

A morbid mosaic of clues forces Rowan and her husband to question how deeply they really knew their daughter. As they work closely to peel back the layers of this case, they begin to unearth disturbing details about Chloe and her secret transgressions…details that threaten to tear them apart.

Amidst the noise of navigating her newfound grief and reconciling the sins of her past, an undeniable fact rings true for Rowan: karma has finally come to collect.

Synopsis taken from goodreads

The second book that I got in this box was called The Last Love Note by Emma Grey and I haven’t picked a good romance novel up in a long time. This was such a great novel in my opinion. The characters really came to life in my mind. I inhaled this read.

You may never stop loving the one you lost. But you can still find love again.

Kate is a bit of a mess. Two years after losing her young husband Cameron, she’s grieving, solo parenting, working like mad at her university fundraising job, always dropping the ball―and yet clinging to her sense of humor.

Lurching from one comedic crisis to the next, she also navigates an overbearing mom and a Tinder-obsessed best friend who's determined to matchmake Kate with her hot new neighbor.

When an in-flight problem leaves Kate and her boss, Hugh, stranded for a weekend on the east coast of Australia, she finally has a chance, away from her son, to really process her grief and see what’s right in front of her. Can she let go of the love of her life and risk her heart a second time? When it becomes clear that Hugh is hiding a secret, Kate turns to the trail of scribbled notes she once used to hold her life together.

The first note captured her heart. Will the last note set it free?

Synopsis taken from goodreads

This book captured my attention immediately. The more I got into it the better it became. I instantly fell in love with the characters as I stated above. It was well worth the purchase in my mind.

My Third Box- December 2023

A playful and deeply affective short story collection about the histories, technologies, and generational divides that shape our relationships—from the award-winning writer of Days of Distraction

Compelling and perceptive, Tomb Sweeping probes the loyalties we hold: to relatives, to strangers, and to ourselves. In stories set across the US and Asia, Alexandra Chang immerses us in the lives of immigrant families, grocery store employees, expecting parents, and guileless lab assistants.

A woman known only to her neighbors as “the Asian recycling lady” collects bottles from the streets she calls home. A young college grad ponders the void left from a broken friendship. An unfulfilled housewife in Shanghai finds a secret outlet for her ambitions in an undercover gambling den. Two strangers become something more through the bond of mistaken identity.

These characters, adeptly attuned to the mystery of living, invite us to consider whether it is possible for anyone to entirely do right by another. Tomb Sweeping brims with remarkable skill and talent in every story, keeping a definitive pulse on loss, community, and what it means to feel fully alive.

Synopsis taken from goodreads

This was a really good and fast read. I fell in love with the stories in this book and it will forever remain on my shelf. If you’re into short story collections, I highly recommend this book as it transformed my life. There are fifteen short stories within the book itself and all of them explore different messages and avenues. I really enjoyed this read.

_____________________________

All in all, this is a pretty good subscription box for those who love books. It’s nice getting your next read basically hand picked for you every month. A lot of these were books I would walk by at the book store in all honesty by authors I’ve never heard of before. That being said, I don’t think I’ll subscribe to it every month just because of the cost. If you can afford it every month, then by all means go for it. But it just wasn’t worth the money in my mind. I think I’ll give it one more months try though.

_____________________________

Have you tried this subscription box out before? What did you think of it? Is it worth the price in your mind? Let me know in the comments.

Chloe Rose Violet 🌹