March 2020 Book of the Month Review

I didn't get a Book of the Month for February because I didn't love the selections, so I was extra excited to see what was available for March.

*Disclaimer: This box was purchased by See, Shop, Love! Post contains referral links.

Book of the Month costs $14.99 per month for your choice of one of five hand-selected titles. The books are all hardcover new releases and are selected by a monthly panel of judges. You can also subscribe for a full year at $149.99 per month (~$12.50 per book).

You can skip any month if the selections aren't to your liking and your credit will roll over to the next month. You can also add on as many titles as you want to your monthly shipment for $9.99 each.

To be honest, I wasn't very excited about any of the titles for March, but since I didn't get a box in February I really wanted to get one this month. I decided on The Splendid and the Vile by Erik Larson. I am a fan of his non-fiction writing, especially The Devil in the White City, so I knew that this book would be well-written. Here's the synopsis:

In The Splendid and the Vile, Erik Larson shows, in cinematic detail, how Churchill taught the British people “the art of being fearless.” It is a story of political brinkmanship, but it’s also an intimate domestic drama, set against the backdrop of Churchill’s prime-ministerial country home, Chequers; his wartime retreat, Ditchley, where he and his entourage go when the moon is brightest and the bombing threat is highest; and of course 10 Downing Street in London. Drawing on diaries, original archival documents, and once-secret intelligence reports—some released only recently—Larson provides a new lens on London’s darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill and his family: his wife, Clementine; their youngest daughter, Mary, who chafes against her parents’ wartime protectiveness; their son, Randolph, and his beautiful, unhappy wife, Pamela; Pamela’s illicit lover, a dashing American emissary; and the advisers in Churchill’s “Secret Circle,” to whom he turns in the hardest moments.

I'm not the biggest fan of Winston Churchill and I fear this book will further the narrative of him as the savior of Great Britain while ignoring his blatant racism and support of eugenics, but alas ... I chose it, so I guess I have to give it the benefit of the doubt.

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Bottom Line: Hopefully the April titles will have a book that really piques my interest, but for now, Book of the Month is still an excellent value and a great way to access new titles.