The Book of the Month December 2023 selections are here! Decide which of these 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 December 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. 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!
December 2023 Book of the Month Selections
A Winter in New York
Josie Silver
Moving to New York to escape an abusive ex, Iris is charmed by a family-owned gelato shop in Little Italy that her mom visited decades ago and was given the secret recipe. When Gio, the handsome owner, admits to Iris that his uncle forgot the secret family recipe after a stroke, Iris doesn’t have it in her to admit that she has the key. Not wanting to cause family drama, Iris agrees to help recreate the recipe, but secrets from the past threaten to ruin her new love. A Winter in New York is a cute little love story that reminds you that honest communication would prevent a whole lot of unnecessary drama.
The Kingdom of Sweets
Erika Johansen
In a retelling of The Nutcracker, Natasha has always lived in the shadow of her twin sister Clara, the beautiful favorite of their grandfather, the powerful Drosselmeyer. When Drosselmeyer arrives on Christmas Eve, he presents Clara with a nutcracker that will transport her to a magical world, The Kingdom of Sweets. Natasha seizes her chance and follows Clara, making a bargain with the Sugar Plum Fairy that forces Natasha to reckon with her own dark destiny.
No One Can Know
Kate Alice Marshall
Emma has purposely kept her husband in the dark about her past. But when they get evicted, laid off, and Emma finds she is pregnant, Emma is forced to reveal that she jointly owns her parent’s estate with her estranged sisters. The house where her parents were murdered and Emma was the prime suspect. As Emma is forced to reconcile with her sisters, she worries that long-buried secrets will threaten to ruin her new family.
The Storm We Made
Vanessa Chan
In 1945 in Malaya, Cecily Alcantara’s family is trying to survive until the end of World War II. Cecily’s son has disappeared, her youngest daughter must stay hidden so she isn’t forced to work in the comfort houses, and her oldest daughter hates serving drunken Japanese soldiers in the teahouse. Cecily knows it’s all her fault; for a decade ago, Cecily was drawn into a campaign to keep “Asia for Asians.” Tired of being a housewife, Cecily became a spy who unwittingly ushered in the Japanese invasion. Now Cecily must face what she has done in order to save her family.
Tomb Sweeping
Alexandra Chang
In a collection of short stories set across the United States and Asia, Alexandra Chang examines loyalty to relatives, strangers, and even ourselves. From a woman collecting trash along the street to an unfulfilled Shangai housewife caught up in underground gambling, Chang probes the divides that plague modern relationships.
Want an Audiobook Instead?
Recently, Book of the Month has started including audiobooks as another option for your monthly picks. Instead of choosing a hardcover copy, you can choose one of these audiobooks as your main selection this month.
December’s Audiobooks:
Not Feeling the December Books?
Sometimes, it happens. If none of the December 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 hardcover for your monthly box and then add-on up to two more books if you choose.
Member Faves:
December’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.
December’s New Books:
My December 2023 Picks
Happy early December from Book of the Month!
I immediately knew I wanted to try Kate Alice Marshall’s newest thriller, No One Can Know. I feel like it’s been ages since I read a really good thriller, and I’m all for a family drama where the protagonist may have killed her parents. I enjoyed her last thriller, What Lies in the Woods, so I’m hoping her newest one will catch my interest.
Normally it would have been a strong debate for my add-ons, especially since Book of the Month is offering eight new releases this month. However, I’ve already read A Winter in New York by Josie Silver (it was okay. Super cutesy but not very deep) and I received The Mystery Guest by Nita Prose in the mail over the weekend, else it would have been a guaranteed pick. I can’t wait to pick up where The Maid left off.
To round out my box, I added Ariel Lawhon’s The Frozen River, a tale of an 18th-century midwife trying to solve a murder that is inspired by a true story. Code Name Hélène, Lawhon’s fictionalized account of the life of Nancy Wake, a female spy during WWII, was one of the best books I’ve read in recent years.
And since it’s my birthday month, I am using my free credit to pick up a hardcover copy of Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano which is probably my favorite book I read all year. I debated whether to wait a month since Hello Beautiful is likely to be one of the candidates for Book of the Month’s Book of the Year. However, if it is, I might just snag a second copy to give to my sister, who just read Little Women for the first time.
Which of the Book of the Month December 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:
