Book of the Month Live

She is an expert in all things adorable, a BOTM 3peat author, and can give you the inside scoop on what makes a great kiss. In this episode, Katherine Center talks about her newest novel, The Bodyguard. She also speaks to how the pandemic drove her to write her lightest novel yet, how really good fiction novels trick us into believing they're real, and what it means to "eat" a book. The Bodyguard is about Hannah, an Executive Protection Agent hired to protect the very famous actor Jack Stapleton from a stalker. But when Jack's mom gets sick and he comes home to Texas, he wants to keep his stalker—and need for a bodyguard—a secret from his family. So, Hannah enters into the role of fake girlfriend of Jack. In this witty romance the real question is whose heart needs protecting? Get The Bodyguard at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

After listening to today's episode, Blake Crouch will have you questioning everything. Are the biggest global corporations run solely by AI? Could gene modification make it so we can all run a 4-minute mile? Is Blake really writing fiction, or are his books actually just futures that haven't become realities…yet? Our 3peat author is here today to blow our minds and talk about his new novel Upgrade. Upgrade tells the story of Logan Ramsey, the son of an ambitious geneticist whose goal of improving upon nature instead killed hundreds of millions in the Great Starvation. This novel explores the pros and cons of gene editing and shows readers that sometimes evolution can be a real downgrade if you're not careful. Get Upgrade at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

If you could live in any video game, what would it be? Or are we actually living in one giant simulation already? We're here to answer these questions and more with author Gabrielle Zevin. She talks about her above-average Mario Kart skills, her constant fight against reviews that describe her book as "lovely" and "charming," and how we all need a little more play time in our lives. Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow is a moving story of friendship and art-making that will make you nostalgic for your favorite childhood video games. It follows two characters, Sam and Sadie, who bonded while playing video games together as young kids. When they meet again as university students, they start building a video game together, which becomes incredibly successful and wrenches them into a life of unexpected fame. This book will make you feel all the feels, guaranteed. Get Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

Written by Jocelyn Kender. Browse great reads at bookofthemonth.com and new members can get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Here's the brief: "The date had been on their respective calendars for months–travel booked, conferences declined, childcare arranged. And now that they were all gathered back on campus, together for the first time in over a decade, it was almost impossible to believe this was what was happening. They sat uncomfortably in the small room, eyes darting around as if no one could decide who was good, who was bad, and, most importantly, who had done the thing."

Written by Danica Lo. Author website: https://www.danicalo.com Browse great reads at bookofthemonth.com and new members can get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Here's the brief: "The date had been on their respective calendars for months--travel booked, conferences declined, childcare arranged. And now that they were all gathered back on campus, together for the first time in over a decade, it was almost impossible to believe this was what was happening. They sat uncomfortably in the small room, eyes darting around as if no one could decide who was good, who was bad, and, most importantly, who had done the thing."

We're kicking off our new VBT Briefs series with Book of the Month 3peat author Helen Hoang. New members can get Helen Hoang's most recent work, The Heart Principle, at bookofthemonth.com for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Please note this episode contains adult topics and might not be appropriate for all listeners. Here's the brief: "The date had been on their respective calendars for months–travel booked, conferences declined, childcare arranged. And now that they were all gathered back on campus, together for the first time in over a decade, it was almost impossible to believe this was what was happening. They sat uncomfortably in the small room, eyes darting around as if no one could decide who was good, who was bad, and, most importantly, who had done the thing."

What happens when you take tea leaf reading, family secrets, and powerful premonitions and blend them into an epic Western novel? You get Kali Fajardo-Anstine's Woman of Light. On today's episode, we talk about her deep Denver roots and the family stories that inspired her newest novel. Woman of Light is an epic yet intimate story that shows three generations of women trying to make a life in the perilous '30s American West. This novel follows Luz "Little Light" Lopez, a tea leaf reader and laundress, who is left with her aunt to make ends meet after her older brother is run out of town by a violent white mob. Get Woman of Light at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

How can one little lamp cause so much trouble? And how do video game characters fit all of their potions, weapons, and maps into their pockets? On today's episode, we answer these questions and more with Chelsea Abdullah, author of The Stardust Thief. The Stardust Thief is a novel that will grant your wish for a perfect fantasy with dark magic and a dangerous quest. When Loulie saves the life of a cowardly prince, she draws the attention of his powerful father, the sultan, who blackmails her into finding an ancient lamp that has the power to revive the barren land. Get The Stardust Thief at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

How can you fit conniving con artists, edge-of-your-seat endings, and shifty scammers all into one podcast episode? Listen to find out! Repeat BOTM author Julie Clark sits down with Editorial Director Brianna Goodman and Editorial Associate Jerrod MacFarlane to talk about how paranoia and a little bit of fear are the perfect recipe for a nail-biting thriller. The Lies I Tell tells the story of Meg Williams, a woman who is expertly reinventing herself again and again as she moves from place to place, doing whatever it takes to get what she wants. Meanwhile, ambitious journalist Kat Roberts has been tracking Meg for years, committed to exposing her as the criminal she is. This twisty cat and mouse story will have you ripping through the pages to find out who the true con woman is. Get your copy of The Lies I Tell at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com

How does an author go from writing Lord of the Rings fanfic to a spine-chilling tale about the supernatural? Author Isabel Cañas sits down with Editorial Director Brianna Goodman and Editorial Associate Jerrod MacFarlane to talk about how someone who is afraid of the dark (but really, who isn't?) and a self-proclaimed "wuss" when it comes to horror, wrote The Hacienda, a spooky novel that will make you want to sleep with all of the lights on. Isabel talks about influences for the book, including the creepy basements in her childhood homes, the gothic literature she read as a moody, introspective teen, and the history lesson about Mexico that school never taught us. In The Hacienda, Beatriz moves onto her new husband's estate and things start to take a turn for the haunted: visions of bloody clothes, unexplainable noises, and rumors of what might really have happened to her husband's first wife. For those who want to wander around a creepy haunted house, The Hacienda is the book for you. Get The Hacienda at bookofthemonth.com. New members get their first book for just $9.99 with code VBT at checkout. Learn more about Virtual Book Tour at virtualbooktour.com