The Book of the Month August 2023 selections are here! Decide which of the books you want to add to your subscription box.
Book of the Month is my favorite subscription box. Every month, I choose between their curated book selections, and voila! A blue box arrives at my door carrying one (or two or three) new books for me to read.
Except for a curve ball they threw in March 2022.
Instead of five books, Book of the Month says it will vary its selection count. I guess they want to keep us on our toes.
Still, every month, I will highlight the books chosen 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.
Keep scrolling to see all the details about the Book of the Month August 2023 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 at least five books for you to choose from. The Book of the Month selections cover different genres and are always special edition hardcovers. Though now you can also chose from audiobook versions as well. Often, the chosen books haven’t been published yet, so you get to be one of the first people to read them.
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. Or, after your third box, you can choose from five member favorite books for your month’s selection instead.
On the other hand, if you want more than one book, once you’ve chosen your initial 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, be favorites from previous months, or be new releases specially included in the add-on catalog.
Pricing
Book of the Month runs two different pricing plans. On the monthly plan, you get one credit a month for $17. If you are willing to pay upfront, the yearly plan gives you 12 credits for $168, which averages out to $14 a book. For a hardcover 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 this Book of the Month Club referral link to get your first book for $5 right now!
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 at a discounted price!
August 2023 Book of the Month Selections
Happiness Falls
Angie Kim
Twenty-year-old Mia isn’t particularly concerned when her father and brother are late coming home from a walk. Until her little brother walks in covered in blood. With autism and a rare genetic condition, Eugene can’t communicate what happened. Now Mia must race to find answers. Did her father walk away? Did something happen to him? And could Eugene be responsible? A slow read, Happiness Falls philosophize about the family dynamics of a mixed-race family with a special needs child, the nature of happiness, and ableist views of society.
Family Lore
Elizabeth Acevedo
Flor can predict the exact day anyone will die. So when Flor wants a living wake, her sisters and nieces willingly gather together. Confronted with the possibility of Flor’s death or their own, each sister and niece makes a decision about her life in this powerful story of a Dominican-American family. Although Elizabeth Acevedo is best known for her young adult novels, this GMA Book Club pick for August is being praised as a superb adult novel.
None of This is True
Lisa Jewell
On her forty-fifth birthday, Alix Summers runs into Josie Fair, who happens to be her birthday twin. Soon Alix runs into Josie again, and Josie convinces Alix that Josie’s life would be a great subject for Alix’s podcast. As Josie manipulates her way into Josie’s life Alix unexpectedly finds herself the subject of her own podcast and must uncover Josie’s dark secrets to protect her family. Although it had an excellent mix of after-the fact documentary and current storyline, None of This is True didn’t have the tension I wanted in a thriller. Yet, I seem to be in the minority on this one, at least according to all the rave reviews I’ve been seeing.
Shark Heart
Emily Habeck
In their first year of marriage, Wren and Lewis are shocked when Lewis is given a rare diagnosis. Over the next few months, Lewis will gradually transform into a great white shark. As Lewis struggles to mark peace with his unfulfilled dreams, Wren desperately wants to find a way to stay together. Yet Lewis’s changes into a predatory creature trigger her long-repressed memories of trauma.
The Many Lives of Mama Love
Lara Love Hardin
In a stunning memoir, Lara Love Hardin writes of her unexpected life and her hard journey toward redemption. Suburban soccer mom Lara Love Hardin was the last person you’d expect to be arrested, but she was secretly funding her heroin addiction by stealing her neighbor’s credit cards. Using her PTA skills, Love Hardin quickly rises in the prison ranks. After being released, she manages to establish herself as a successful ghostwriter. Yet, the shame and guilt are harder to let go of, forcing her to figure out a way to forgive herself.
Vampires of El Norte
Isabel Cañas
Nine years ago, a monster attacked his true love and Néstor hasn’t gotten over it since. Except Nena survived, believing Néstor abandoned her, and has become a healer in Mexio’s war against the United States. When Nena and Néstor reunite, they must put aside their differences to face a monster that drains men of their blood.
Not Feeling the August Books?
Sometimes, it happens. If none of the August 2023 Book of the Month selections are calling your name, don’t despair. After your third box, you now have another option!
Previously, if you didn’t love the five choices, you would have to skip the whole month. Now, you can choose a member fave for your monthly box and then add-on up to two more books if you choose.
Member Faves:
August’s New Add-Ons
Recently, Book of the Month has started including a few extra releases on top of their monthly selections. Once you have picked your main selection, you can choose to add-on one of these new books (or any past release) to your box.
August’s New Books:
My August 2023 Picks
After only getting one book last month, I’ve decided to return to my roots and choose three books for my August box.
I didn’t have any trouble choosing my main selection. Mostly because I’ve already read None of This is True and Happiness Falls, both of which were three-star reads for me. That left Family Lore as the obvious choice since it’s the GMA Book Club pick for August and I’ve enjoyed Elizabeth Acevedo’s young adult novels The Poet X and With the Fire on High.
To fill out my box, I decided to go for some lighter reads. I love a good thriller, so I’m hoping Just Another Missing Person will deliver a fun mystery to read. Plus, The Five-Star Weekend seems like the perfect beach read to round out my summer reading list.
Which of the Book of the Month August 2023 Selections Are You Going to Pick?
What books can you not wait to get your hands on this month? Or are you skipping this month’s selections? As always, let me know in the comments!
More New Book Releases:
Susan says
Thanks for your reviews and thoughts! I chose Shark Heart. I looking forward to something unique and creative. I think I’ve maxed out on creepy, psychological thrillers.
Added The Connellys of County Down