Is Book of the Month Worth the Money? My Honest Review After 3 Years of Membership
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I have been singing the praises of Book of the Month since I first joined 3.5 years ago, in June of 2022. I was immediately in love with everything they had to offer. The selections, the free shipping, the cost, and the awesome perks associated with being a BOTM BFF. So, now that I have been a part of BOTM for 3 years…do I still feel the same? Let’s jump right into it with my honest review after 3 years of membership! Is Book of the Month Worth the Money?? Spoiler alert…I love it just as much today as I did 3 years ago! If you want to give Book of the Month a try, you can grab your first book for $5 with my link!
What exactly IS Book of the Month?
Before we jump into all of the ways that I adore BOTM…let’s do a quick rundown of what exactly it entails! Like the name suggests, Book of the Month is a subscription that delivers a new book or books straight to your door each month (as well as audiobooks straight to your ears). When I tell you that I look forward to seeing that blue box on my porch each month…I stalk the mail carrier…politely of course…I’m not an animal.
Now, because one size doesn’t fit all…there are several different plans you can choose from. My current plan is one book credit a month. My cost is $16.99 plus tax which brings it to a total of $18.18. The other plans that they offer are 2 book credits a month which brings the price to $14.99 a credit (saves you $2/credit) and also a yearly subscription of 12 credits that brings the price down to $13.99 a credit.
I’ll discuss price etc a little later on in the post. But for now, let’s chat about what I love so much about BOTM!
Why I LOVE BOTM
SO, I love books…surprise! Not only do I love books, but I love owning books. I have amassed quite a home library, and it is one of my favorite things in my home. Collecting, hoarding, whatever you want to call it…it makes me so happy. So, I love the fact that I know that every month I will have a new book to add to my shelf!
As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the main things I love about BOTM are the selections, the cost, the free shipping, and perks that occur once you become a BFF. Let’s break each of these down!
The Selections
At the end of each month, Book of the Month will send out a list of the book selections that are available to choose from the following month. I have never had a month where I didn’t find a book I was interested in reading. Now, I am an extremely eclectic mood reader, so I love a variety of genres. I think that is why I have never NOT found at least one book. If you are someone who only reads one genre then it may be slightly more difficult…but if this happens there are ways around it!
So, for example, last month BOTM offered 6 hardcover book selections, plus some audiobooks. Of these 6 books, the genres were Fantasy, Romance, Paranormal Thriller, YA Gothic, Magical Realism, and Literary Fiction. I had some free book credits (more about that in a minute) so I picked FOUR of the main selections. FOUR. (Did I mention that I have a slight book obsession?!?)
So, what happens if you don’t like any of the choices? Well, you can do one of a couple of things. First, BOTM allows you to pick from a past Member Favorite instead of choosing one of the main selections. If you don’t want to choose one of those books you can simply choose to skip a month. When you skip a month, your book credit rolls over to the following month. Easy peasy!
The Cost
Books have gotten so insanely expensive. Hardcover books especially. So, to me, spending $18.18 a month for a book doesn’t seem like a bad price when you compare it to some other places. (I will speak primarily of the big box stores and chains because I always want to encourage everyone to keep shopping at their local Indie bookstores!!) For example, a lot of new books on Amazon or Barnes and Noble are $20-$25…especially for a new release. So, to snag it for $18 is pretty great…especially since BOTM often has new releases as well as early releases!
So, if you are someone like me who enjoys amassing books for your home library, grabbing a new one from BOTM for under $20 is a pretty good deal!
Oh, and shipping is always free! I am someone who absolutely loathes paying for shipping…so I always consider free shipping to be a perk!
The BFF Perks
I mentioned above that a great perk of BOTM occurs once you are a BFF. So, how do you become a BFF and what kind of perks are we talking about? So, to become a BFF, all you have to do is have 3 boxes shipped to you. That’s it. So, after you receive that 3rd box, you achieve BFF status and unlock so many amazing perks.
The first perk…an amazingly adorable tote bag…with a book pocket. When I tell you that I squeaaaaled with joy when that tote arrived…and I still use it constantly. It is adorable and I love it.
The next perk is one that I just got to experience again last month. You get a free book credit during your birthday month. I LOVE anyone who gives me a free book…seeing that notification pop up during my birthday month every year is fabulous.
Next, you get a free Lolly finalist book of your choice during Lolly season…which happens to be right around the corner…this month I think! Lolly awards are given each year…and members get to vote on their favorite BOTM books. Well, BOTM members get to pick a free book from one of the finalists…and I am so excited to not only choose my book, but also see who the winner is this year!! So many great books to choose from…it was SO hard to pick my fave!
One of my fave perks is the $11.99 Add-On Books. So, once you are a BFF you are able to add a few extra books to your monthly box for only $11.99 each. You cant beat the price. $11.99 for a brand new hardcover book is unheard of…and so appreciated by this book lover!
One last perk of being a BFF is that you get access to a free Members Services phone line and email address. I have never had to use this perk because I haven’t had any issues that needed to be addressed, but it is nice to know that it is there if I ever DID need anything!
BONUS Perk
Ok, so I have one last perk. This is a mutually beneficial perk between a Book of the Month member and an aspiring Book of the Month member! As a BOTM member, I am able to share my link with others and offer them a chance to try BOTM for just $5. FIVE DOLLLLARS! This is such an incredible perk by itself, but BOTM takes it one step further…they give ME a free book credit any time someone uses my link. I KNOW…amazing, isnt it? You KNOW how much I love a free book!
SO, if you decide you want to give Book of the Month a try, I definitely think you will love it. You can snag your first book for $5 with my link! If you have any questions at all, please comment below or shoot me an email at beachesandreads@gmail.com … I am happy to answer any questions that I can!
MY February 2026 Book of the Month Selections
I wanted to take just a quick second and share what I chose for my Book of the Month picks for February! So, each month, BOTM will add 5-7 (usually) books as their main selections. They will also add some new books to a section called New and Recent Ad-Ons…so, once you choose your main selection you can add something from here or from another past selection.
This month I chose 2 from the main February Selections and 2 from the New and Recent add Ons. I chose a Contemporary Fiction, 2 Romances, and a Thriller.
My choices from the main selections were One & Only by Maurene Goo and It’s Not Her by Mary Kubica. For the Ad-Ons I chose How to Kill a Guy in Ten Dates by Shailee Thompson and This Book Made Me Think of You by Libby Page. I have had This Book Made Me Think of You on my Amazon Wishlist for MONTHS…I was SO excited to see it included on BOTM’s site! (Edited to add that I just read it and it was AMAZING!)
Happy Reading
I just want to wish you all a very happy February! I hope that you have a great reading month and get some 5 star reads! If you have any Book of the Month related questions, dont hesitate to comment below or shoot me a message. You can also go back and read my original post that I wrote 10 months after joining. I have loved BOTM for a really long time!
Happy reading, friends!
