The Book of the Month May 2021 selections are here! Decide which of the five books you want to add to your subscription box.
Book of the Month is my favorite subscription box. Every month, I choose between their five book selections, and voila! A blue box arrives at my door carrying one (or two or three) new books for me to read.
Every month, I highlight the five 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.
Take a look at the five books this month:
- An Immigrant Vietnamese Family in New Orleans
- A Charming and Inspiring Mystery
- A Stepmother/Stepdaughter Thriller
- Silicon Valley Cat and Mouse Game
- The Retelling of a Greek Myth
Keep scrolling to see all the details about the Book of the Month May 2021 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 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 $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 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 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!
May 2021 Book of the Month Selections
Things We Lost to the Water
Eric Nguyen
A multigenerational story about Huong who immigrated to New Orleans with two young sons and no job awaiting her. Although at first she fervently sends letters back to her husband in Vietnam, eventually she comes to realize she is unlikely to see him again. Eventually, Huong and her sons make a place for themselves in America, until disaster strikes and reminds them to honor the ties that bind them together.
How Lucky
Will Leitch
Daniel considers himself unusually lucky. In Athens, Georgia, he has great friends and a great job working for the airline customer service, great friends. Mostly homebound due to a disease that since childhood has left him unable to speak or move without a wheelchair, Daniel likes to pass time observing his neighborhood. Every day, he sees the same young woman pass by. Until one day, when Daniel thinks he sees her being kidnapped.
The Last Thing He Told Me
Laura Dave
Before Owen Michaels disappeared, he smuggled a note to his new wife Hannah: Protect her. Hannah knows he’s referring to his sixteen-year-old daughter Bailey, but Bailey doesn’t want anything to do with Hannah. As Owen’s boss gets arrested and the FBI come knocking, Hannah and Bailey must come together to discover Owen’s secrets.
Imposter Syndrome
Kathy Wang
As COO of the hottest tech company in America, Julia Lerner has it all and hides a lethal secret: she’s also a Russian spy. One afternoon while performing a server check, Alice notices something off about the company’s privacy settings. When Alice begins to suspect Julia, a cat-and-mouse game ensues in this satirical look at Silicon Valley.
Ariadne
Jennifer Saint
A retelling of the Greek myth of the daughters of King Minos. Ariadne grew up hearing her brother, the dreaded Minotaur, hidden away in the Labyrinth on Crete. When Theseus, the Prince of Athens, arrives, Ariadne falls desperately in love. Now Ariadne must decide whether to betray Crete to aid Theseus and if she does, will she get her happy ending or will Theseus betray her in return?
Not Feeling the May Books?
Sometimes, it happens. If none of the five May 2021 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:
May’s New Add-Ons
Recently, Book of the Month has started including a few extra releases on top of their five 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.
May’s New Books:
My May Picks
For my May selection, the cat and mouse game in Kathy Wang’s Imposter Syndrome caught my attention. Since my TBR pile on my nightstand is overflowing with thrillers and dramas, I decided to round it out with Isabel Wilkerson’s bestselling nonfiction book Caste.
Surprisingly, I decided to pick up Sophie Cousen’s This Time Next Year. I generally do all I can to avoid romances, but the “chance meetings over a long period” is my favorite trope, and I’m really craving something extremely fluffy to read this month.
Funnily enough, Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone is on my to-buy list for this month. I just booked a vacation to Alaska in May (!!) and I want to bring a copy for Instagram pictures. It’s an amazing book and I don’t own a copy. However, I think a paperback copy will fit better in my suitcase.
Which of the Book of the Month May 2021 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:
