My Thoughts on My First BotM Box

As I mentioned yesterday, I got my first Book of the Month box in July. When I'm writing this (July, soon after I ordered my box), I'm still figuring out BotM, its website, and what exactly comes with a BotM subscription.

So far, it seems like you get one credit per month with your subscription to BotM. With that credit, you can choose a book from that month's book selection. Additionally, you can add on 1-2 more books for around 10-15 USD, depending on the book. (Pro-tip: subscribe to some BookTubers and watch their videos, because they may have a video where they were sponsored by BotM, and you can use their code.)

The two books I got were Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson and The People We Keep by Allison Larkin. I honestly think that being able to get 1-3 books for 10-15 USD is an amazing deal. This becomes even more of an amazing deal when, from what I understand, Book of the Month deals with hardcover books, which tend to be 20-30 USD or more.

Kaia Alderson's Sisters in Arms

Think of it this way: one hardcover is normally 20-30 USD. This means that two hardcovers are normally 40-60 USD, and three hardcovers are 60-90 USD. To get 1-3 hardcovers, with free shipping, for 10-20 USD is mind-blowing for me. One of those hardcovers can be covered by that month's credit.

(Certain hardcovers may be more than this. These are numbers are the average for what I've seen hardcovers go for, not including shipping.)

If I had the opportunity, and more importantly the money, I would buy every and any book I see that catches my attention. I don't care if the book is paperback or hardback - if it catches my eye for whatever reason, I would buy it if I had the means. However, recently, I've been trying to figure out how I can still read more without spending as much money. Apps like Libby have really helped me out in this way since I can just borrow books I'm unsure about. However, I have noticed that Libby doesn't have a lot of the recent releases I want to read before purchase.

This is why BotM is useful for me. I can buy recent releases at affordable prices without breaking my wallet. Additionally, you can skip a month and roll your credit over to the next month if none of the book selections of a particular month don't catch your eye. BotM is the only book subscription box where I've understood that you can skip a month without repercussions. (There are most likely some book subscription boxes with this bonus, but I can't name them.)

Allison Larkin's The People We Keep

I really hope to enjoy Sisters in Arms and The People We Keep sometime soon. However, there are so many books currently on my up-and-coming TBR (and because I'm in school with a bunch of reading already). As a result, I'm probably going to read these when I have a bit of a lull in school work and/or am on break.

I Tried Out Book of the Month (BotM) Back in July . . .

I have seen Book of the Month floating around on BookTube so much for the past couple of months. In July alone, I watched around 4 to 5 videos where BotM was mentioned. I think that BotM sponsored most of those videos too.

I first heard of Book of the Month earlier in the year, maybe sometime between February and April. It was something that intrigued me because you could choose the book(s) that came in your subscription box. However, I wasn't too sure about it at first.

As many of you know at this point, I read a lot of history and historical fiction books. With most subscription boxes, though, they cater to the fantasy, YA, and contemporary fiction genres. However, when I was watching the BookTube videos sponsored by BotM, two historical fiction books were included.

The two books that were included in the July list were Sisters in Arms by Kaia Alderson and The People We Keep by Allison Larkin. These books immediately caught my attention. It wasn't just because they're in the historical fiction genre. It was also their covers and the premises of each story.

After watching some BookTubers' videos discussing BotM, I made an account for the book subscription. You get one credit each month, which you can use on one of the selected books for that month. And you can add on one to two other books, bringing your total to 10-20 USD. I talked to my sister a little bit about it, and after a while, I thought, "What the heck, let's try it for July."

For me, there were two points that convinced me to try out BotM back in July:

1. The ability to skip a month (and not lose a credit) if none of the books for that month catch your eye
2. Getting 2-3 hardcover books for 10-20 USD (versus the normal 20-30+ USD for one hardcover)

See tomorrow's post for my thoughts on receiving the July box.