Book of the Month Subscription Review
Welcome back to Cover to Cover! Today I wanted to take a break from the book reviews to do something a little different. If you’ve read previous blog posts, you may have noticed that I mention Book of the Month a lot. It is a yearly subscription service where you get to pick one hardback book our of five new choices at the beginning of every month. I have been in the routine of picking a book, reading it, rating it, and picking another book for eight months now. I don’t see anything changing from now to the end of the year, so I thought I’d give my final thoughts on it. Let’s get into it.
As I stated above, you get to pick one hardback book at the beginning of every month. There are around 5 new choices every month to pick from. The genres and authors vary. I’ve seen contemporary fiction, romance, thriller, historical fiction, science fiction, etc. There’s honestly something for everyone. And they have well-known authors like Shari Lapena (author of The Couple Next Door), Emily Henry (author of The People we Meet on Vacation and Beach Read), etc. One of the nice things about this subscription is that if you don’t like any of the new monthly choices, you can pick a past months book.
When I first started in January, I wasn’t thrilled with the options, so I was able to scroll through other books that have been featured on there. That’s how I got The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, and well…we all know how that turned out. There is also the option of skipping the month all together. You will still keep your credit; you just won’t get a book for that month.
Another thing I love is how fast their shipping is. From when I pick my book to when I have it in my hands is less than a week. It’s around 4-5 days which I think it really good. They also update you when your box is out for delivery and when it has been delivered. PLUS shipping is free with every box!
So, what are the sign-up options? Well, when signing up there are a couple of options you can choose from. I got mine as a gift from my boyfriend (seriously, one of the best gifts EVER). If you want to give this as a gift there are three options. The lowest plan is $49.99 for three months. The next plan is $89.99 for six months, and the last plan is $169.99 for twelve months. I highly recommend either joining or gifting to a friend because its such a cool experience, and especially for someone who constantly reads and burns through books like crazy. This is one of the cheaper book boxes because you’re not paying for all the other bookish items that other subscriptions have in their box. If you get the biggest plan (which is for 12 months), you’re paying $14.99 for each box. Not bad at all. I did a post about this around December as part of my bookish gift ideas. Here are the comparisons to other book box subscriptions from that blog:
Owl Crate (29.99 per month)
Once Upon a Book Club (34.99 per month)
Book of the Month (14.99 per month)
Fresh Fiction Box (24.99 per month)
Book Worm Box (29.99 per month)
Just for clarification this is the monthly breakdown of the highest plan for each box not the amount of the lowest/smallest plan possible. Like I said, it’s all about your preference. If you want cute little bookish add-ons then maybe something like Once Upon a Book is more your style.
Additionally, I really like this subscription service because its simple and easy. I’ve tried Owl Crate before, and I wasn’t the biggest fan especially now that I’ve experienced this. Personally, I don’t really need all the extra jazz and what not that comes with the other book box services out there. This is easy. The app is user friendly, and it keeps track of how many book credits you have left!
Honestly even if you bought from here one time without any type of monthly plan, I think it would be a smart decision. At most you’d pay like $15.99 for a HARDBACK book and shipping is FREE. That’s a good deal for a nice, big, hardcover book compared to the $17.99/18.99 or higher in some retail stores.
All in all, its your decision, but I wanted to share my experience with Book of the Month. I highly, highly, highly recommend this service. Even if you don’t read consistently, even if it’s just a little, I still recommend trying it. Try it for the three-month plan to see if you like it! As always thank you for reading!
In summary here is a pro and con list:
Pros:
-can pick from books from past months
-fast AND free shipping
-delivery notifications
-You’re getting 12 HARD COVER BOOKS (or 3 or 6 depending on your plan)
-it’s so exciting to pick a new book every month!
-You can see your stats on the app based on what you’ve been picking
(It will show you what genres you’ve picked the most, it will tell if you picked a repeat author, it will show your ratings, etc.)
-You get a cute, pun-y bookmark with every box
Cons:
-kinda pricey
-no bookish add-ons (but preference)