Book of the Month is a monthly book subscription box. Each month, their editorial team picks out their favorite new hardcover books, and you can choose which one you want to receive on the first of the month for $17.99/month. You can also add up to two additional books for only $9.99 each. (This box was named one of the best subscriptions for avid readers in the 2024 Subscription Box Awards.). The currently have a promotion for September where you can get your first book for just $5!
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the editorial guidelines to learn more about how we review boxes.)
My BOTM Pick for August: Blue Sisters by Coco Mellors; Retail Value $23.01
Back of Book Summary:
The three Blue sisters are exceptional—and exceptionally different. Avery, the eldest and a recovering heroin addict turned strait-laced lawyer, lives with her wife in London; Bonnie, a former boxer, works as a bouncer in Los Angeles following a devastating defeat; and Lucky, the youngest, models in Paris while trying to outrun her hard-partying ways. They also had a fourth sister, Nicky, whose unexpected death left Avery, Bonnie, and Lucky reeling. A year later, as they each navigate grief, addiction, and ambition, they find they must return to New York to stop the sale of the apartment they were raised in.
But coming home is never as easy as it seems. As the sisters reckon with the disappointments of their childhood and the loss of the only person who held them together, they realize the greatest secrets they’ve been keeping might not have been from each other, but from themselves.
My Summary
For the four Blue sisters, sisterhood was not just a matter of biology. It was one of survival. Raised in dysfunction with an alcoholic father and a mother unable to cope with both her husband's outbursts and the needs of her four wildly different daughters, the sisters formed bonds that kept them moving forward.
Now one of the four is dead.
Nicky's unexpected death and their mother's announcement that she's putting their childhood apartment up for sale forces the three remaining sisters home to New York City where they come face to face with the childhood demons that have chased them across the globe.
Avery is a classic oldest sister, a recovering heroin addict-turned-overachieving-lawyer in London who carries the weight of parenting her younger sisters on her back.
Bonnie is now the middle child, a former professional boxer who fled the ring in the wake of Nicky's death and now works as a bouncer at an LA club.
Lucky, the youngest, is a model in Paris who's own addictions are quickly unraveling her life.
Gathered in their New York apartment, the three grapple with the joys and frustrations of sisterhood and the devastation of loss.
The Verdict
Looking for an unflinchingly honest novel about the ties that bind families together and the dysfunction that tears them apart? This September BOTM Club book pick is it.
Coco Mellors' Blue Sisters is a raw and at times painful look at the many ways grief can manifest itself, told in the alternating perspectives of three sisters. Family dysfunction is a well-worn fictional trope, but Mellor's writing is so incredibly human that it feels fresh and new. Covering not just the grief of losing a sister but struggles with addiction and the ways it can tear at the fabric of our lives, the story takes you into dark places only to pull you back out into the light just when you're need it most.
Value — Was This Box Worth It?
Finishing up my September BOTM Club book pick, I had one thought in mind: I need to get my hands on everything Coco Mellors has ever written. Fortunately for fans who feel the same way at the end of Blue Sisters, you've got options. Mellor's debut was the bestseller Cleopatra and Frankenstein — which you may have seen all over BookTok a while back.
As for the overall dollar value, you save a few dollars with this choice. The BOTM Club starts at $17.99, depending on your chosen subscription, and this hardcover is listed at $23.01 on Amazon.
Of course, the first month of a subscription is $9.99 with free shipping, so if this is your entree to a Book of the Month subscription, you come way out ahead.
The Cost: $9.99 + free shipping (This price is only for your first month).
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this book if you sign up today? Yes! But you will need to order it as an add-on.
What do you think of the Book of the Month subscription? Let us know below with your own review!
Please do not enter your email address in the Name field or in the comment content. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *. Remember to post with kindness and respect. Comments with offensive language, cruelness to others, etc will not be approved. See our full comment policy here.