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I am changing some things up on my blog, which is actually good news for my fellow Book of the Month fanatics! I am no longer writing monthly new releases posts, but I am now including multiple book predictions for each genre on these Book of the Month prediction posts! My Book of the Month predictions for December 2021 include some bonus wildcard predictions!
If you’ve been around for a while, you know Book of the Month (BOTM) is my favorite book subscription service. I love the anticipation of finally seeing the five monthly picks and always have fun trying to guess what may show up on the app on the first of every month.
If you aren’t familiar with BOTM, you can check out my full review of this subscription service. The basic idea is BOTM chooses five books from different genres every month and members can choose their pick when the books go live. You can also add on up to two more books for only $10.99 each.
If you don’t like any of the picks, you can choose to skip and save your credit for the next month, which is honestly the best part of this service to me. I don’t like subscription boxes that only offer one book selection that you don’t know ahead of time. If you are interested in trying BOTM, you can use my link to get your first book for only $5!
Thriller Predictions
A History of Wild Places by Shea Ernshaw
Release date: December 7, 2021
So the reviews for this say to go in as blind as possible, so I am not going to provided a synopsis here. I like that early reviews have stated it has The Village vibes. The only other snippets I caught from some reviews are there is a missing children’s book author, a person who has a knack for finding people, and a cult in the woods. This cover is stunning and this is definitely my number one wish for the BOTM thriller option in December.
Shea Ernshaw has written a couple of YA fantasy novels, so this may have fantasy elements to it. So I think it is also possible this could be a fantasy BOTM pick as well!
Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea
Release date: December 28, 2021
Recent DNA advancements have allowed the New York medical examiner to identify a 9/11 victim twenty years later. The twist? The victim was also accused of murdering her lover twenty years ago. Now the victim’s sister must work to clear her name.
This is apparently a popular thriller author, so I think it is more likely we would see this as an add-on and not a main pick.
The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
Release date: December 7, 2021
This book is giving me dark academia vibes, only the setting is a prestigious ballet school. A woman returns to the ballet school she left thirteen years ago to choreograph a ballet. She hopes this will be a turning point in her career, but she is also hoping to patch things up with her former friends at the school. But she soon discovers that things have changed since she has been gone and some secrets won’t stay buried forever.
The Replacement Wife by Darby Kane
release date: December 28, 2021
Elisa lives a nice quiet life in a nice quiet town. But she is also convinced her brother-in-law is a murderer. Josh has one dead wife and one missing fiance. He grieved for both, but he is already dating someone new, and Elisa fears for the woman’s safety. Elisa begins to investigate her brother-in-law and uncovers shocking secrets. Now Elisa is second guessing herself and questioning what is true and what she has come to believe.
I definitely think The Replacement Wife will be an add-on if it shows up in our BOTM app next month. This would be a repeat author, and BOTM seems to moving repeats authors to the add-on section more this year. But they also love to pick domestic thrillers, so it could very well be a main pick. Personally, I’m kind of over thrillers with “wife” or “husband” in the title, and this one also sounds like it will have an unreliable narrator.
Romance Prediction
Without a Hitch by Mary Hollis Huddleston and Asher Fogle Paul
Release date: December 7, 2021
A hilarious rom-com set in the high-profile Southern wedding industry. Having been part of several Southern weddings in my life, I can only imagine the shenanigans in this book, as some of the events are based on true events from the author’s life!
Eight Perfect Hours by Lia Louis
Release date: September 28, 2021
Okay, I know you are looking at the release date and think I’ve made an error, but hear me out! Last year, BOTM released In a Holidaze by Christina Lauren in December. The book had already published several months earlier, but I guess they made it a December pick since it is a Christmas romance. I am truly hoping they go the same route this year because Eight Perfect Hours sounds so adorable!
Two strangers have a chance encounter one night during a blizzard. They think they will never see each other again, but fate has other plans for the couple as they keep bumping into each other.
The Santa Suit by Mary Kay Andrews
Release date: September 28, 2021
This is another previously released book that is holiday themed, so I feel like it is also a possibility for the romance pick!
A newly-divorced woman finds an old Santa suit in the farmhouse she has recently moved in to. She finds a note with the suit-a little girl’s wish for her father to come home from the war. Now the woman is determined to find out what happened and whether or not the little girl’s wish came true.
Contemporary Fiction Predictions
Bright Burning Things by Lisa Harding
Release date: December 7, 2021
A former actress struggling with addiction after becoming a mom halted her career. Her estranged father steps in to care for her son out of fear for his safety. Now the woman must choose between her addiction or risk losing her son.
The Women of Pearl Island by Polly Crosby
Release date: December 7, 2021
A woman accepts a job working as the personal assistant for an eccentric elderly lady living on Pearl Island. The lady has been living on the island for decades, and there are some things she would like to forget about the island. But she begins to share her story with her new assistant and must face the long-buried secrets of her past that have kept her isolated for too long.
Historical Fiction Predictions
The Spanish Daughter by Lorena Hughes
Release date: December 28, 2021
An #OwnVoices novel about a young woman who must assume the identity of her husband to claim her family’s chocolatier estate. She must navigate through family secrets and other challenges at the estate set in twentieth century Ecuador. Inspired by true events at the coastal town known as the birth place of cacao.
Beasts of a Little Land by Juhea Kim
Release date: December 7, 2021
An epic historical fiction novel spanning half a century in Japanese-occupied Korea and following two characters with intertwined fates. This debut novel of love, war, and redemption is getting rave reviews, so I feel almost certain we will see it show up as a BOTM pick!
Literary Fiction Prediction
Tell Me How To Be by Neel Patel
Release Date: December 7,2021
A debut novel about an Indian-American family confronting the secrets among them. A mother and son reunite when she decides to sell the house a year after her husband dies. But the reunion is not a happy one as both characters must face pasts they have been running from and decide what future they want to run towards.
Biography/Non-Fiction Predictions
The Churchill Sisters by Rachel Trethewey
release date: December 7, 2021
This biography about the three Churchill sisters is based on previously unreleased family letters and tells the story of each of Churchill daughters and their relationship to their father, Winston.
Call Us What We Carry by Amanda Gorman
This is a collection of poems by Amanda Gorman, who delivered her stirring poem, “The Hill We Climb,” at Joe Biden’s inauguration. I am not sure is BOTM has ever featured a poetry collection, but I definitely think there is a chance they will offer this as an add-on in December.
December Wildcard Predictions
Last year, many of the add-ons in December were previous releases from various times in the year. So I definitely think this could happen again this year! Many of these books have been on previous BOTM prediction posts.
Just Haven’t Met You Yet by Sophie Cousens
RELEASE DATE: NOVEMBER 9, 2021
Just Haven’t Met You Yet would be a repeat author pick, so I feel pretty confident about it showing up either as the romance pick or as an add-on. Laura heads to the Channel Islands to write a story about where her parents met. But when she arrives at her hotel, she discovers she has picked up the wrong luggage from the airport. Laura is convinced the owner is her soulmate based on the contents of the luggage and sets off to find the owner. This sounds like the perfect fluffy romance book I crave during the holidays and was one of my November predictions.
We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
RELEASE DATE: OCTOBER 5, 2021
Riley and Jen have been best friends since they were in elementary school. Riley is Black and Jen is white. They remained close into adulthood, but that is about to change when Jen’s husband, a cop, is reported to be involved in the shooting of an unarmed Black teenager.
We Are Not Like Them sounds like a hard-hitting, emotional story that would be a perfect BOTM pick and was one of my October predictions.
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
release date: April 6, 2020
A debut historical fiction novel set during women’s suffrage following the two males who are working to create the first Oxford English Dictionary. One of their daughters decides to collect the “objectionable” words they are omitting from the dictionary and creates her own dictionary: The Dictionary of Lost Words.
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
I hate to even mention this one and get anyone’s hopes up, but last year we were surprised by The Invisible Life of Addie la Rue by V.E. Schwab, which was also a book published by Tor. So I feel like maybe there is a chance this will pop up, especially since BOTM has been picking fantasy more often this year. Under the Whispering Door follows a man who is given a second chance at life for one week before crossing over to the other side. This was one of my September predictions.
Do you agree with my predictions? What are some of your November Book of the Month predictions? Let me know in the comments!
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