The Book of the Month February 2020 selections are here! Decide which of the five books you want to add to your subscription box.
When I was first gifted a subscription to Book of the Month, I immediately fell in love. So much so that this year, I decided to gift myself a renewal of my subscription and have committed to picking a book every month.
Getting access to new releases at a discounted price (often in advance) is a book lover’s dream. No wonder Book of the Month is so popular among the book community. For me, I love that feeling each month when my little blue box shows up at my doorstep.
This year, I’ve decided to run a monthly Book of the Month post. I’ll highlight the five books chosen each month and let you know my thoughts on the chosen titles.
Even if you don’t have a Book of the Month subscription (yet), I think you’ll find value in looking at a curated list of new releases.
Take a look at the five books this month:
- The Most Controversial Book of 2020
- A Legal Thriller
- Nigerian Woman’s Coming of Age
- Rich Kid Teen Drama
- Thriller from a Popular Writing Duo
Eclectic, right? Keep scrolling to see all the details about the Book of the Month February 2020 selections and to find out which one I’m adding to my subscription box.
What is Book of the Month?
Book of the Month is a monthly subscription book service highly popular among the book community. Trust me, once you try it, you’ll be hooked.
How it Works
Each month, a panel of judges chooses five books for you to choose from. The Book of the Month selections cover different genres and are always special edition hardcovers. Often, the chosen books haven’t been published yet, so you get to be one of the first people to read it.
At the beginning of the month, you choose one book to add to your box and shortly thereafter the little blue box arrives at your door. If you aren’t loving any of the selected books, you just skip that month and your credits will just roll over to the next month. On the other hand, if you want more than one book, you can add-on up to two additional books at a discounted rate. These add-ons can be from the current month’s selection or be favorites from previous months.
Pricing
Book of the Month runs two different pricing plans. On the monthly plan, you get one credit a month for $15. If you are willing to pay upfront, the yearly plan gives you 12 credits for $150, which averages out to $12.50 a book. For a hardcover of a new release, both prices are a steal.
Even better, when you include additional books into your box, they are only $10 each!
Book of the Month also offers 3, 6 and 9-month gift cards if you are considering purchasing it as a gift.
For new subscribers, Book of the Month’s homepage almost always has a special offer to get your first book for $10. But I can do you one better. If you are interested in joining, you can use my Book of the Month Club referral link to get your first book for $5!
Bonus Features
But wait, there’s more. Once you’ve chosen your 12th book from Book of the Month, you join the BFF club and get a special Book of the Month tote.
After that, you’ll get a free add-on every year for your birthday month. Plus, when the end of the year rolls around, you get one of the top 5 Book of the Month selections from the year for free. That’s an additional two books each year for no additional cost.
What are you waiting for? Join Book of the Month and get your first book for $5!
February 2020 Book of the Month Selections
American Dirt
by Jeanine Cummins
January 21, 2020 – In Mexico, bookstore owner Lydia is charmed to meet Javier, a man who shares her taste in books, only to find he is the local drug lord. When her husband exposes Javier’s secrets, the wrath of the cartel falls upon her family. Lydia and her son Luca must flee from his wrath – all the way to American soil. Of all the Book of the Month January 2020 selections, I’m most surprised by this one. Although it’s was the most hyped release of 2020, Cummins has been at the center of a firestorm about cultural appropriation and who gets to tell what stories. Read more →
The Holdout
by Graham Moore
February 18, 2020 – I love a good legal thriller, and I’m excited to see one among the Book of the Month February 2020 selections. In a tense murder trial, black high school teacher Bobby Nock is accused of the murder of the wealthy white student with whom he was having an affair. At the time, juror Maya Seale swings her fellow jurors to acquit. Ten years later, a documentary is highlighting the famous case. When a fellow juror turns up dead in Maya’s room, Maya must prove her innocence. Read more →
Update: See my full review on my March Reading List.
You Are Not Alone
by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen
February 25, 2020 – The bestselling writing duo is back with another psychological thriller, and their third time being picked by Book of the Month. After Shay Miller witnesses a suicide in New York City, she ends up connecting with the woman’s glamorous friends. But Shay doesn’t realize is that they might be just as interested in her as she is in them. With the recommendation coming from Sarah at Sarah’s Bookshelves, you know it must be a good one. Read more →
Anna K
by Jenny Lee
March 3, 2020 – A modern-day take on Anna Karenina, Anna K is living the high life in Manhattan. While her brother is dealing with a sexting scandal and her sisters is recovering from an injury, Anna has it all. Until she meets the Alexia “Count” Vronsky, a typical playboy who bounces around from boarding school to boarding school doing whatever he feels like. When these opposites attract, Anna must decide how much she is willing to risk for a relationship without losing herself in the process. Listed as a gritter Gossip Girl with a half-Korean lead, Anna K will appeal to any readers who to imagine the lives of the obscenely rich. Read more →
The Girl with the Louding Voice
by Abi Daré
February 4, 2020 – This debut novel from up-and-coming author Abi Daré highlights the coming-of-age of a Nigerian woman. All Adunni wants to do is get an education, so that she can craft her own future. When her father sells her as the third wife to a local man, Adduni runs away to the city, only to become a servant to a wealthy family. Yet, Adunni finds that no matter her circumstances, she can still speak out for herself and all the other girls just like her. If you are looking for inspiration, The Girl with the Louding Voice might be the perfect choice among the Book of the Month February 2020 selections. Read more →
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My Pick
After a less than stellar selection last month, Book of the Month pulled out all the stops in with the February selections.
First off, I can eliminate Anna K because teenage dramas with tons of language aren’t really my thing. I didn’t love The Anonymous Girl last year, so I thought You Are Not Alone would be an easy elimination, too. But Sarah put up such a convincing argument that I think I might have to read it. I’ll wait for the library, though.
Similarly, I think The Girl with the Louding Voice will be another library pick for me. It sounds fantastic, but I more traumatic than I would want to own.
That leaves me with American Dirt and The Holdout.
I’m not going to lie. I really want to read American Dirt. I had expected Book of the Month to pick it in January because so many people have mentioned that its a thrilling story. With the controversy, I think I’m going to hold off a bit, and maybe choose it as an add-on later.
Instead, I’m going for the legal thriller The Holdout. Randomly enough, Sarah was the one to tip me off to this one as well. Apparently, she is on top of things this month. (If you haven’t already, you should check out her podcast, Sarah’s Bookshelves Live.)
But wait, there’s more. I’m going to splurge this month and include an add-on to my February box. I feel like I’m the only book blogger who hasn’t read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. This month, I’m throwing a copy into my box.
I have a feeling this is going to be a great reading month for me.
Which of the Book of the Month February 2020 selections are you going to pick?
I chose three this time. My main pick was The Holdout. I’ve read two other books by the author, so this was an easy pick for me. I’m spite of the controversy, I decided to add American Dirt and when I saw Sarah chose You Are Not Alone, it got added to my box right away. I was tempted by the idea of Anna K, but when I read the sample I felt it was too ya.
Wait, how did you add three? I tried that, but it wasn’t letting me choose more than one of the February books. I must be doing something wrong.
After you chose your main pick you can chose up to 2 add ons. It should give you that option. Each add on is $9.99.
Thanks so much! I kept changing my main pick instead of telling it I wanted an add-on that was a February book.
I keep checking the BOTM website practically every hour now because it went back to “waiting for the selections” I’m betting they’re removing American Dirt from the list. Certainly an eclectic month! A few of these are probably library selections for me, but I might skip this month and wait to see what March holds…
They can’t be removing American Dirt. They just added it yesterday! Unless someone jumped the gun publishing the choices yesterday. Though, my box has already shipped. Plus, printing all those special editions can’t be cheap. I bet they are just flooded with requests right now. I’ll have to keep an eye out just in case.
Thank you for telling me about The Holdout – it sounds RIGHT up my alley and I immediately added it to my TBR list. And I LOVED The Seven Husbands… made me go back and read most of TJR’s backlist (though it remains my favorite). Enjoy!
I loved Daisy Jones, so I don’t know why it’s taken me this long to pick up The Seven Husbands. Well, maybe my insane high TBR stack by my nightstand has something to do with it…
I ordered the Holdout too! I also added You Are Not Alone. I read Sarah’s blog and always reference it before making my BOTM choices.
I hope you love You Are Not Alone. Be sure to let me know what you think!
Ohhhh I’m a wee bit jealous! It’s technically possible to get access to BOTM and other book subscription services, but it works out *SO* much more expensive with conversions and international shipping and so on. Still, I love seeing what you’re all picking and enjoying over there on your side of the pond 😉 I think The Holdout is a great choice, it’s what I would’ve gone with, too. I read and reviewed American Dirt a couple of weeks ago, one of the toughest reviews I’ve ever had to write because it’s such a tinder box… I’d say it’s worth reading purely to understand and form your own opinion about it, but I can understand why people would choose not to as well. Enjoy!
Oh, I will definitely check out your review once I read American Dirt. It’ll be fun to see the differences.