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October’s Book of the Month predictions got a bit out of control.
I originally had 51 books on my list to research. And it just felt like too many to include on a predictions post. Many of the romance books releasing in October were holiday themed, so I’ve opted to leave those off the list this month. I may write a separate blog post featuring 2023 holiday romances.
Edited to add: By request, I have added the additional books that did not make the cut to the bottom of this month’s predictions post. It will not be the full 51 book because I did delete a few once I realized they were published by Amazon (traditionally not picked up by BOTM) and it will not include the holiday romance releases.
If I can ever find a good rhythm for working full time while balancing all things related to readwithallison, I would love to start writing a predictions post for Aardvark Book Club. Their picks have been so good lately and they always have books I’ve never heard of as options. They also have the most supportive team running the show and are super interactive and appreciative of the online book community.
Related: Is An Aardvark Book Club Subscription Worth It?
If you aren’t familiar with Book of the Month, you can check out my full review of this subscription service. The basic idea is BOTM chooses 5-7 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. As of June 2023, BFF members can add up to four more books to their box.
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!
As usual, these are just my opinions and my predictions. It is fine if you disagree or think the predictions are terrible-we all have different reading tastes. Please remember to be kind in comments or messages because we are all readers with different tastes!
Thriller/Mystery Predictions
You Always Come Back by Emily Smith
Release Date: October 10, 2023
Debut Author
In the vein of Kathleen Barber and Julia Heaberlin comes an electrifying debut suspense that pits the inhabitants of a small town against each other.
American Girl by Wendy Walker
Release Date: October 17, 2023
Repeat Author
A pulse-pounding novel about a small-town business owner found dead and the teenage girl caught in the crosshairs, American Girl is the latest thriller from internationally bestselling author Wendy Walker.
This one is up in the air for me. Wendy Walker has been a Book of the Month pick in the past, but this book is being published with an indie, which I’m not sure BOTM works with much.
Midnight is the Darkest Hour by Ashley Winstead
Release Date: October 3, 2023
From the critically acclaimed author of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife and The Last Housewife comes Midnight is the Darkest Hour, a gothic Southern thriller about a killer haunting a small Louisiana town, where two outcasts―the preacher’s daughter and the boy from the wrong side of the tracks―hold the key to uncovering the truth.
My Darling Girl by Jennifer McMahon
Release Date: October 3, 2023
The New York Times bestselling author of the “otherworldly treat” (People) The Drowning Kind and The Children on the Hill returns with a spine-tingling psychological thriller about a woman who, after taking in her dying, alcoholic mother, begins to suspect demonic possession is haunting her family.
The List by Yomi Adegoke
Release Date: October 3, 2023
Debut Author
In this sensational, page-turning debut novel, a high-profile female journalist’s world is upended when her fiancé’s name turns up in a viral social media post—a nuanced, daring, and timely exploration of the real-world impact of online life, from award-winning journalist and internationally bestselling author Yomi Adegoke.
Nestlings by Nat Cassidy
Release Date: October 31, 2023
Nat Cassidy is at his razor-sharp best again with his horror novel Nestlings, which harnesses the creeping paranoia of Rosemary’s Baby and the urban horror of Salem’s Lot, set in an exclusive New York City residential building.
Leave the Lights On by Liv Andersson
Release Date: October 17, 2023
Perfect for fans of Wendy Walker and Samantha Downing, in this thrilling domestic suspense novel, a woman fights to hide her secrets as her life’s idyllic façade begins to fall apart.
Romance Predications
10 Things That Never Happened by Alexis Hall
Release date: October 17, 2023
Jonathan Forest should never have hired Sam. It was a sentimental decision, and Jonathan didn’t get where he is by following his heart. Determined to set things right, Jonathan orders Sam down to London for a difficult talk…only for a panicking Sam to trip, bump his head, and maybe accidentally imply he doesn’t remember anything?
The Dance Deception by Becky Ward
Release date: October 24, 2023
Possible November pick/add-on
Funny, feel-good and oh-so-steamy, this is the perfect read for the Strictly-obsessed and anyone who loved The Spanish Love Deception and The Love Hypothesis.
Iris Kelly Doesn’t Date by Ashley Herring Blake
Release date: October 24, 2023
LGBTQ+
A fake relationship after a horrible one-night stand is anything but an act in this witty and heartfelt new romantic comedy by Ashley Herring Blake.
Love Interest by Clare Gilmore
Release date: October 10, 2023
Debut Author
Love Interest is Clare Gilmore’s sparkling debut, a co-worker enemies-to-lovers rom-com that proves falling in love is the risk and the reward.
Sweeten the Deal by Katie Shepard
Release date: October 17, 2023
She’s lonely, rich, and ten years too young for him—but she’s also his “sugar daddy,” and they couldn’t have less in common. Opposites attract in this charming new romance by Katie Shepard.
Maybe Once, Maybe Twice by Alison Rose Greenberg
Release date: October 3, 2023
Filled with the romance and angst that defines the years you come to know yourself, with a shifting timeline covering two decades and ratcheting up the tension, Maybe Once, Maybe Twice is a novel of second chances and finding your own way.
Love at 350 Degrees by Lisa Peers
Release date: October 10, 2023
Debut Author
When two women meet as judge and contestant on the set of a TV baking competition, they must decide what they’re willing to risk for the ultimate prize in this wholesome and delectable debut.
Sweeten the Deal by Katie Shepard
Release date: October 17, 2023
She’s lonely, rich, and ten years too young for him—but she’s also his “sugar daddy,” and they couldn’t have less in common. Opposites attract in this charming new romance by Katie Shepard.
Contemporary Fiction Predictions
Hold My Girl by Charlene Carr
Release date: October 10, 2023
Two women. Two eggs. One life-changing switch. With themes of racial identity, loss, and betrayal, Hold My Girl is an emotional novel that will leave you contemplating: What makes a mother?
The Sun Sets in Singapore by Kehinde Fadipe
Release Date: October 31, 2023
Repeat Author, possible November pick/add-on
Basking in Singapore’s nonstop sunshine, Dara, Amaka, and Lillian are living the glamorous expat dream—until a mysterious (not to mention handsome) new arrival infiltrates their tight-knit community and ruins everything.
Historical Fiction Prediction
Homeward by Angela Jackson-Brown
Release date: October 10, 2023
The country is changing, and her own world is being turned upside down. Nothing—and no one—will ever be the same.
The Roaring Days of Zora Lily by Noelle Salazar
Release date: October 3, 2023
The discovery of a hidden label on a famous gown unearths the story of a talented young seamstress in this glittering novel of family, love, ambition, and self discovery by the USA Today bestselling author of The Flight Girls.
The Woman at the Wheel by Penny Haw
Release date: October 3, 2023
Inspiring historical fiction based on the real life of Bertha Benz, whose husband built the first prototype automobile, which eventually evolved into the Mercedes-Benz marque.
The House of Doors by Tan Twan Eng
Release date: October 17, 2023
A mesmerizingly beautiful novel based on real events, The House of Doors traces the fault lines of race, gender, sexuality, and power under empire, and dives deep into the complicated nature of love and friendship in its shadow.
Literary Fiction Predictions
Everything Is Not Enough by Lola Akinmade Akerstrom
Release date: October 24, 2023
Repeat Author, possible add-on option, Possible November pick/add-on
From Lola Akinmade Åkerström, international bestselling author of In Every Mirror She’s Black, comes the highly anticipated second novel, focusing on the lives of three Black women as they fight their own personal struggles in one of the most egalitarian societies, Sweden.
Death Valley by Melissa Broder
Release Date: October 3, 2023
The most profound book yet from the visionary author of Milk Fed and The Pisces, a darkly funny novel about grief that becomes a desert survival story.
This book is giving me Aardvark Book Club vibes, so I think it would be more likely to be a pick for them in October or November.
Related: Is An Aardvark Book Club Subscription Worth It?
The Leftover Woman by Jean Kwok
Release date: October 10, 2023
An evocative family drama and a riveting mystery about the ferocious pull of motherhood for two very different women—from the New York Times bestselling author of Searching for Sylvie Lee and Girl in Translation.
House Gone Quiet by Kelsey Norris
Release date: October 17, 2023
Short Story Collection
A genre-bending debut story collection about the bonds and bounds of community and what it means to call a place home, perfect for fans of Friday Black and Her Body and Other Parties.
Probably an unlikely selection, but worth mentioning since a lot of people enjoy short story collections.
Horror Predictions
A Haunting on the Hill by Elizabeth Hand
Release date: October 3, 2023
From award-winning author Elizabeth Hand comes the first-ever novel authorized to return to the world of Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House—a “scary and beautifully written” (Neil Gaiman) new story of isolation and longing perfect for our present time.
Red River Seven by A. J. Ryan
Release date: October 10, 2023
Internationally bestselling fantasy author Anthony Ryan – writing as A. J. Ryan – delivers a nerve-shredding thriller in which seven strangers must undertake a terrifying journey into the unknown.
Knock Knock, Open Wide by Neil Sharpson
Release date: October 3, 2023
Knock Knock, Open Wide weaves horror and Celtic myth into a terrifying, heartbreaking supernatural tale of fractured family bonds, the secrets we carry, and the veiled forces that guide Irish life.
The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas
Release date: October 31, 2023
A haunted paleontologist returns to the museum where his sister was abducted years earlier and is faced with a terrifying and murderous spirit in this chilling novel.
This seems highly unlikely to be a pick, but it’s worth mentioning for spooky season!
Fantasy/Magical Realism Predictions
The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young
Release date: October 17, 2023
Repeat Author
A woman risks everything to end her family’s centuries-old curse, solve her mother’s disappearance, and find love in this mesmerizing novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Spells for Forgetting.
Curious Tides by Pascale Lacelle
Release date: October 3, 2023
First book in a Duology
Ninth House meets A Deadly Education in this gorgeous dark academia fantasy following a teen mage who must unravel the truth behind the secret society that may have been involved in her classmates’ deaths.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow
Release date: October 3, 2023
Repeat Author
A gorgeously modern gothic fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of Ten Thousand Doors of January.
Lilith by Nikki Marmery
Release date: October 3, 2023
Debut Author
Lyrically rendered, this epic U.S. debut tells the story of the woman known as Adam’s first wife and her fall from Paradise and quest for revenge.
What the River Knows by Isabel Ibanez
Release date: October 31, 2023
possible november pick/add-on
The Mummy meets Death on the Nile in What the River Knows, Isabel Ibañez’s lush, immersive historical fantasy set in Egypt and filled with adventure, a rivals-to-lovers romance, and a dangerous race.
Additional Books That Did Not Make The Full List
When I’m Dead by Hannah Morrissey
What We Kept to Ourselves by Nancy Jooyoun Kim
The Predictable Heartbreaks of Imogen Finch by Jacqueline Firkins
The Little Venice Bookshop by Rebecca Raisin
The Last Close Call by Laura Griffin
The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon
The Death of Us by Lori Rader Day
The Dead Take the a Train by Richard Kadrey
The Burnout by Sophie Kinsella
One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley
Do you agree with my predictions? What are some of your October Book of the Month predictions? Let me know in the comments!
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I’m wondering how you make your choices. I tend to pick my books based on your insight.
I research all the new releases I can find and base my list on publisher, debut authors, and repeat authors. Certain publishers have no had BOTM (like Amazon books), so I never include those books.