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As usual, I had a tough time making my list of Book of the Month predictions for October 2021! I feel like October is a really YA-heavy release month, so I had to dig a little deeper than usual to find some non-YA 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 $9.99 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!
October is known as spooky season for many of us. Several years ago, BOTM received some backlash for not including a thriller book in the main picks. This was the year Imaginary Friend was included as an add-on and sold out the first day books dropped! It seems like they listened to the complaints because we have always had at least one thriller in October ever since. Sometimes there is more than one thriller/mystery pick and they will categorize one as another genre. I’m thinking specifically of Leave the World Behind in October 2020, which was labelled “literary fiction” on the website. I think we could easily see that happen again with my first prediction.
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Thriller Prediction
No One Will Miss Her by Kat Rosenfield
Release date: October 12, 2021
No One Will Miss Her is another thriller involving a social media influencer and a small town girl who form an unlikely bond. Both feel like outcasts who are truly alone in the world. But then one of the women is murdered and the local police are left scratching their head. Who would want this woman dead?
Hopefully this isn’t a spoiler but it is in the synopsis that the murdered character (don’t read the synopsis if you want to be surprised) narrates the story from beyond the grave. That sounds like an interesting twist to this psychological thriller that focuses on class and the dangers of wanting the life you don’t have.
Literary Fiction Prediction
Reprieve by James Han Mattson
Release date: October 5, 2021
Reprieve is described as a “literary novel of social horror,” so I could see this being a horror or literary fiction pick in October. I’m leaving it as horror because it has been a minute since we’ve seen a horror pick and because I have another book in mind for a literary fiction pick.
Reprieve could also be a historical fiction as it takes place in 1997. Yes, apparently the 90s are considered historical fiction now! This novel centers around the final room of a full-contact, haunted escape room in Lincoln, Nebraska. Four contestants make it to the final room of the escape room. If they can survive the horrors within without using the safe word, “reprieve,” then they will win a large cash prize that has only been claimed once. But before the group can complete the challenge, someone breaks into the room and kills one of the contestants.
But the rest of the synopsis makes me think this is going to be a very character driven book about the four contestants and not the actual escape room. Each character comes from a different background, and it sounds like Reprieve will focus on the social commentary of the times.
Romance Prediction
Not Your Average Hot Guy by Gwenda Bond
Release date: October 5, 2021
I really struggled to find a good romance prediction because many of the romance books I found were either the next book in a series that BOTM has not featured or a really heavy romance that isn’t their typical pick. We can almost always count on a romance pick though, so I had to go with Not Your Average Hot Guy.
This is a paranormal romance, which I could see working out well for an October pick. Callie is working her family’s escape room one night when 13 members of a Satanic cult show up. They perform a ritual that summons Luke Morningstar, the Prince of Darkness. Luke is a handsome bad boy in a leather jacket, and Callie finds herself drawn to him. Does Callie really have time for love when all hell is about to break loose?
Fantasy Prediction
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Release date: September 28, 2021
I originally had The Ex Hex in my add-ons prediction because this is technically a repeat author. Erin Sterling is a pen name for Rachel Hawkins, who wrote The Wife Upstairs. Then I looked back at the last two years’ picks for October and noticed we have had a fantasy book both years. So I moved this title up to the main book selection as a fantasy pick.
The Ex Hex is a light, fun paranormal romance about a witch who placed a curse on her ex. Now the ex, also a witch, is back in town and things begin to get interesting for the two former lovers.
Honestly this sounds like everything I’ve ever needed from a fall romance book, so I really hope this is a pick!
Contemporary Fiction Prediction
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! The cover is absolutely gorgeous too.
Historical Fiction Prediction
The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles
Release date: October 5, 2021
Emmet is being releases from a juvenile work farm and plans to pick up his little brother in Nebraska and head west to San Francisco. But once Emmet arrives, he discovers two friends from the work farm have hidden in the warden’s truck and have other plans for Emmet’s journey to California.
Add On Predictions
Add on books are never guaranteed, but members have come to expect at least one new add on book each month. These books can not be chosen as a main pack in your box, but they can be added to your box for $9.99 each.
The Book of Magic by Alice Hoffman
Release Date: October 5, 2021
I’m pretty sure The Book of Magic was already confirmed by the author, but I do think it will be an add-on and not a main pick since that seems to be the trend for continuing series and repeat authors. This is a highly anticipated sequel in the Practical Magic series following the magical Owens family.
Last Girl Ghosted by Lisa Unger
This thriller sounds like something completely different, which is why I think we will see it in BOTM this October! I made it the add-on prediction because this is already a well known author.
A woman goes on a date with a man she met on a dating app. She fell for him-hard. Then suddenly, the man is gone. No dating profiles, phone disconnect. The woman wonders what she did. But then she begins to investigate further and learns there have been other girls who were ghosted-and they all disappeared.
Do you agree with my predictions? What book do you hope shows up as an October 2021 BOTM pick? Let me know in the comments!
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