My March 2022 Book of the Month Pick

OK, STOP THE PRESSES!

Book of the Month has SEVEN books to choose from this March! Normally, Book of the Month (aka BOTM) allows members to choose from five books, but now, the monthly subscription service is offering seven books.

I’m so excited to have more book options! I confess that BOTM has become my go-to “bookstore” before my beloved Barnes and Noble. They just make it so easy, and I really like seeing the descriptions for the books and reading reviews before choosing. It beats having to carry my phone around at a physical bookstore and try to look up Goodreads reviews for every book that looks interesting.

Anyway, long story short, I had skipped a few BOTMs the past couple of months in an effort to try to catch up on my TBR list. I didn’t quite catch up, but I’ve been itching for some new reads.

If you’re unfamiliar with BOTM, they give a short one-sentence synopsis of each book called a Quick Take, which I will share with you so you can get an idea of what each book is about. I’ll also give my thoughts on each book, and of course, I’ll let you know which one I chose.

Without further ado, this month’s BOTM picks are as follows:

Fantasy: “The Cartographers” by Peng Shepherd

Quick Take: When her father turns up dead in the NY Public Library, a disgraced mapmaker has to find her true north ASAP.

BOTM describes this book as quirky with a NYC setting, murder, and more than 400 pages. Although this book sounded interesting and is rated at 4.13 stars on Goodreads, I didn’t choose this book since it was so long, and I am not a big reader of fantasy novels.

Romance: “Dating Dr. Dil” by Nisha Sharma

Quick Take: The Taming of the Shrew remixed & remade—can a love-averse TV doctor and a hopeless romantic spark an unlikely romance?

BOTM describe this book as light, funny, enemies-to-lovers, and millennial-focused. As much as I love romance novels, this book sounded way too similar to ‘The Dating Plan” by Sara Desai, which was probably one of my least favorite BOTM picks. For me, romance has to be believable, and I could tell from the plot summary, that this book was not one I would enjoy.

Contemporary Fiction: “The Unsinkable Greta James” by Jennifer E. Smith

Quick Take: Take a cruise with your estranged dad, they said. It’ll be a fun, not-at-all-awkward bonding experience, they said…

I’ll be honest, this one just sounded plain boring to me. BOTM describes this book as emotional, inspirational, full of family drama, and musical. Maybe it was because the Quick Take didn’t catch my attention. It does have 4.17 stars on Goodreads, and the books on BOTM are carefully curated, so maybe this book is worth a try!

True Crime: “Tell Me Everything” by Erika Krouse

Quick Take: An unforgettable, thrilling look at the life of a private investigator working to uncover evidence for a historic case.

BOTM describes this book as unsettling, critically-acclaimed, pertaining to social issues, and about a writer’s life. If you are interested in reading this one, I wanted to give you a heads up that BOTM warns that it contains descriptions of sexual assault and abuse. I didn’t choose this one due to the true nature of the book.

Literary Fiction: “The Verifiers” by Jane Pek

Quick Take: Family drama, dating app woes, and artificial intelligence, oh my! This witty debut novel has something for everyone.

BOTM describes this book as brainy, pertaining to the tech world, full of family drama, with LGBTQ+ themes. I know I’m not supposed to judge a book by its cover, but the cover did throw me off on this one. I hate to say that! I don’t mean to sound snooty, but sometimes, I buy a book based on how pretty the cover is. This one just didn’t appeal to me.

Thriller: “The Book of Cold Cases” by Simone St. James

Quick Take: A perfect read for every true crime fan who suspected they might just get to the bottom of things better than the pros.

BOTM describes this book as movieish, supernatural, with an unreliable narrator, and a plot set in the suburbs. This sort of gave me Stranger Things vibes, which I love. I almost chose this book but I saved it to be read later.

Now, onto my final pick!

My March Pick – Mystery: “The Paris Apartment” by Lucy Foley

Quick Take: Sometimes you visit the City of Lights and the vibe is just off … you know what I mean? Looking at you, neighbors.

Here is the full synopsis of the book:

“Jess needs a fresh start. She’s broke and alone, and she’s just left her job under less than ideal circumstances. Her half-brother Ben didn’t sound thrilled when she asked if she could crash with him for a bit, but he didn’t say no, and surely everything will look better from Paris. Only when she shows up—to find a very nice apartment, could Ben really have afforded this?—he’s not there.

“The longer Ben stays missing, the more Jess starts to dig into her brother’s situation, and the more questions she has. Ben’s neighbors are an eclectic bunch, and not particularly friendly. Jess may have come to Paris to escape her past, but it’s starting to look like it’s Ben’s future that’s in question.

“The socialite – The nice guy – The alcoholic – The girl on the verge – The concierge.

“Everyone’s a neighbor. Everyone’s a suspect. And everyone knows something they’re not telling.”

BOTM describes this book as a quick, international read that’s buzzy and has a classic “whodonit” theme. At first, the mention of neighbors gave me pause because so many thrillers like “The Woman in the Window” by A.J. Finn and the “The Girl on the Train” by Paula Hawkins have to do with narrators observing other people, and I haven’t been a fan of those types of books in the past. But I decided to take a chance and order this book because of the “whodonit” theme — reminiscent of “Clue” — and I think having the fact that the person missing is a man might give this plot a fresh take. I’ve also seen author Lucy Foley’s name and have been wanting to read something of hers for a while.

Also, I got two add-ons with my BOTM box: “Dear Edward” by Ann Napolitano and “The Love of my Life” by Rosie Walsh. Both books have over 4 stars on Goodreads and seem really interesting to me. “Dear Edward” is about a boy who is the sole survivor of a tragic plane crash, and “The Love of my Life” is about a husband who discovers that the woman he married is not the person she says she is.

Whew! This was a long post! I appreciate you taking the time to read this! If you are a BOTM member, which book did you choose this month?

As always, happy reading!