December 2020 Book of the Month Review and Coupon

I got two books with my December Book of the Month box, neither of which were featured for the month.Since this was my birthday month I was able to choose a free extra title.

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

Book of the Month costs $14.99 per month for a new hardcover title. You can choose from one of five books, and if none of them strike your fancy, you can skip the month or choose from a small option of previous titles.

The December box came with a sheet of cute Boxie stickers, the Book of the Month mascot.

I wasn't interested in any of the December selections so I chose The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah. For my birthday bonus book I could choose anything from their past catalog, so I picked The Night Tiger by Yangze Choo.

Here's the synopsis for The Great Alone:

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska―a place of incomparable beauty and danger.

And for The Night Tiger:

Quick-witted, ambitious Ji Lin is stuck as an apprentice dressmaker, moonlighting as a dancehall girl to help pay off her mother's Mahjong debts. But when one of her dance partners accidentally leaves behind a gruesome souvenir, Ji Lin plunges into a dark adventure: a mirror world of secrets and superstitions.

Eleven-year-old houseboy Ren is also on a mission, racing to fulfill his former master's dying wish: that Ren find the man's finger, lost years ago in an accident, and bury it with his body. Ren has 49 days to do so, or his master's soul will wander the earth forever. As the days tick relentlessly by, a series of unexplained deaths racks the district, along with whispers of men who turn into tigers. Ji Lin and Ren's increasingly dangerous paths crisscross through lush plantations, hospital storage rooms, and ghostly dreamscapes.

Yangsze Choo's The Night Tiger pulls us into a world of servants and masters, age-old superstition and modern idealism, sibling rivalry and forbidden love. But anchoring this dazzling, propulsive novel is the intimate coming-of-age of a child and a young woman, each searching for their place in a society that would rather they stay invisible.

 
Both titles sound like great stories that will transport me to two very different places and I'm excited to read them.

• Visit Book of the Month to subscribe
• Use coupon code NEWBOOKS to get your first book for $9.99
  

Bottom Line: Book of the Month is the best book subscription box to me. You can't beat $14.99 for a new, hardcover title, and they always have great titles to choose from.