Book of the Month is a monthly book subscription box. Each month, 5 curators pick out their favorite new hardcover books, and you can choose which one you want to receive on the first of the month. You can also add up to 2 additional books for only $9.99 each. (This box was named one of the best subscriptions under $15 by MSA readers in the 2020 Subscription Box Awards.)
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
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About this Box
The Subscription Box: Book of the Month
The Cost: $14.99 a month
The Product: Subscribers get to pick from a selection of hardcover books each month. Skip any month you aren't interested in. Add up to two additional books for $9.99 each.
Ships to: The US for free
Book of the Month April 2020 Review
These are the five book choices for subscribers this month. So many of these appealed to me, but I wanted something a bit more escapist this month, so I chose a thriller.
The Guest List by Lucy Foley - Retail Value $27.99 (found here for $19.59)
Book Summary from Amazon:
A wedding celebration turns dark and deadly in this deliciously wicked and atmospheric thriller reminiscent of Agatha Christie from the author of The Hunting Party.
The bride ‧ The plus one ‧ The best man ‧ The wedding planner ‧ The bridesmaid ‧ The body
On an island off the coast of Ireland, guests gather to celebrate two people joining their lives together as one. The groom: handsome and charming, a rising television star. The bride: smart and ambitious, a magazine publisher. It’s a wedding for a magazine, or for a celebrity: the designer dress, the remote location, the luxe party favors, the boutique whiskey. The cell phone service may be spotty and the waves may be rough, but every detail has been expertly planned and will be expertly executed.
But perfection is for plans, and people are all too human. As the champagne is popped and the festivities begin, resentments and petty jealousies begin to mingle with the reminiscences and well wishes. The groomsmen begin the drinking game from their school days. The bridesmaid not-so-accidentally ruins her dress. The bride’s oldest (male) friend gives an uncomfortably caring toast.
And then someone turns up dead. Who didn’t wish the happy couple well? And perhaps more important, why?
Told from various perspectives, each of whom has their own role and title within the story, such as the bride, the plus one, or the wedding planner, this story opens on a scary moment at a wedding. The story then flashes back to the day before the wedding which is where most of the story takes place, with just a few pages that skip back to the present moment, just enough to whet your appetite for mystery. We are given a unique perspective at each chapter, which only serves to add to the air of mystery as they all describe their own perceptions of the other characters. There are some steamy tidbits in the book and it seemed like everyone had secrets to hide.
I had a tough time with this one because I really wasn't too fond of any of the characters. Most seemed selfish and shallow as did the friendships between them. I did like the "bridesmaid" and the "plus one" and their interactions and stories were the most interesting to me. I struggled a bit in the middle, but once the secrets all began to reveal some deeper connections within this group of people, I was able to fly through to the surprising ending.
While the satisfying ending made up for the areas where I found that the story lagged, I ended up being pretty disappointed in this story overall. A storyline such as this should have intrigued me and held my interest better, but I found myself somewhat removed from the story since I really couldn't bring myself to care about what happened to the characters all that much.
Each month, Book of the Month includes a bookmark.
If you picked this book this month, please let me know what you think of it!
Verdict: This Book of the Month pick was a bit disappointing to me. It sounded so intriguing with a murder occurring at a wedding and I was looking forward to escaping into this story, but in the end, I just wasn't that into it. I enjoyed the style of the book and the use of flashbacks and flashforwards which made the storyline more engaging, but the characters ended up being so mysterious that I didn't know enough about them to care. The only thing that kept me reading to the end was wanting to solve the mystery and so for entertainment purposes, it was fine, but I wouldn't consider this a "must-read." If you read this story, I'd love to know what you think!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this book if you sign up today? No, but it may be available as an add-on next month!
Check out all of our Book of the Month reviews and see what other book subscriptions made our favorites list!
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