Subscription Boxes

All the unboxings and details about subscription boxes (bookish or not)

Books, Subscription Boxes

Your Majesty Illumicrate Unboxing

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As you may know Illumicrate are doing monthly boxes now. This is their second monthly box, and they had kind of spoiled the book by sending the signed bookplate for it by mistake in the box (for the previous month). However, I have to say they do not cease to wow me.

Just look at that bounty! Starting from the bottom left corner and going clockwise:

  • Theme leaflet. What I like is that it “sorts” the items into categories. You have the general items, the Book, the Collectible and the Photo Challenge, all neatly inside it.
  • A Once Upon a Time Book tin. This is gorgeous and made me sqeual a little. It is delicate but also beautiful and useful.
  • We Are Blood and Thunder sampler.
  • Descendant of the Crane, the book for this month, and I have been wanting to read it so yay! Plus it has soft deep red sprayed edges that match the red of the book cover.
  • Another sampler, for A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, which everyone should read.
  • Crown of Power candle, very fruity scent.
  • Moth and Mirth mug. I love this item the most because this type of mug is gorgeous. Plus the artwork is stunning. I love love love this item so much.
  • Scattered around the picture are the character cards. They were also preorder incentives so I had already seen them but they are still gorgeous and are a nice bonus to have.
  • Descendant of the Crane print with author letter on the back.
  • Travel psoters for Three Dark Crowns. I am not into paper bits but this are simple yet stunning and I don’t need to be into the fandom to enjoy them.
  • Iron Throne phone ring. I like the idea of it, but I only have so many phones (work and personal) so yeah, this won’t get used sadly.
  • And to me, the most puzzling item, the collectible. A Magnetic coin. The silly coin kept falling off the “necklace” so I do not recommend wearing it (and that only while I attempted to set this photo up, not actually wearing it, very little movement made it fall). Apparently we get collectible “magnetic coins”. It is an original collectible, I’ll give them that, but I am not into it (we shall see, giving it a chance). And most definitely will not be wearing it as a necklace.

So overall it was a box that gave me two favourite items, one puzzling one and oen I just won’t use btu the rest is good, so not bad at all. Plus it felt full of stuff even if there aren’t that many items (or not many more than usual) and absolutely feels like value for money.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Born Rebel Litjoy Unboxing

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This is going to be my second to last Litjoy. I am trying to keep costs down and it is hard to choose which boxes to keep. Since I’ve been skipping the last few months of Litjoy, I decided it was a good idea to not renew. And this box confirmed it, as I am just not excited about it.

Contents of the box from top left (book) and going clockwise:

  • The Tiger at Midnight. I knew this was the book and want to read it.
  • A book sleeve with a Throne of Glass quote. I am terribly bored of SJM quotes however I like the sleeve because it feels perfect for a tablet.
  • A set of Snake Handle Makeup brushes, makes me think of Slytherin. I don’t really do makeup and alreayd have a set of brushes so this is a cool item that sadly I have no use for.
  • A collectible bracelet Percy Jackson themed. It’s neat, they have sent bracelets of this type before. I like them, do not wear them at all.
  • Aladdin magnetic bookmarks. Super cute, but my issue with magnetic bookmarks is that they break quickly.
  • A fearless rune sticker, assuming it is from Shadowhunters (yes the leaflet says so). It’s kinda meh because it is just a rune sticker, doesn’t mean much to me and it is huge so hard to mix with other laptop stickers. Space is a prime thing.
  • The theem card, I do love the artwork for it.
  • The collectible cards, Infernal Devices trio.

As you can see it wasn’t a bad box, but it just wasn’t for me. The only things I am keeping is the book and the sleeve. Which isn’t worth the price of it for me (considering it costs the shipping to UK). And they’re moving furhter away from themed fully on the book, which is the main reason I loved this. It used to be very thoughtfully curated to match the book but this feels more like a hey thrwo nice stuff in.

Subscription Boxes

Bold & Brave Book Box Club Unboxing

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The theme for this box sounded great and I was looking forward to it, but you all should know by now I have a soft spot for Book Box Club because they have the Clubhouse meeting with the authors and they were the very first ones to do something that connected author and readers.

The whole box seems very in tune with the theme, but let’s go round, starting from the theme card on the top right:

  • Theme card, very much in tune with the rest of the box and setting the theme.
  • A sampler of The Furies. I’ve heard interesting things for it.
  • Another sampler, for The Girl Who Came Out of the Woods.
  • A Mother of Dragons metal bookmark (the picture doesn’t do it justice)
  • A chocolate lip balm (it smells like I should eat it instead of just apply it to my lips).
  • Underneath we have a tote bag with a Mulan in it (I like the art a lot and that the tote bag is a blue).
  • If you have bought more than 20 boxes, you get this snazzy pin designed by yours truly (aka me)
  • A listpad to be more like Hermione. I love that it isn’t stuck with being a specific year or week, but more of a fill as and when you feel like it.
  • The Clubhouse invite.
  • A promo bookmark.
  • The Hand, the Eye and the Heart. This book has caused some conversations on Twitter, but I am interested in reading it.
  • A gorgeous marble watercolour biscuit that is gluten free. It didn’t last long after the picture.

The box was very on topic which I loved, and the items are gorgeous so I was happy with it.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Adventure Awaits Illumicrate Unboxing

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First proper monthly Illumicrate. I have liked their quarterly boxes (and their special editions) for too long to not give this a go.  So here we go. Startin from the theme card on the far right bottom corner and going clockwise:

  • Theme booklet. ~I like that you have to open it to see what is in the box, so you don’t spoil yourself accidentally.
  • LOTR pins. That Eye of Sauron, is so beautifully detailed!
  • The red and blue notebooks aren’t together but they’re meant to be a set of them inspired by The Raven Cycle (interesting that also Book Box Club box had something to do with this fandom, however, totally different items and both gorgeous).
  • Excalibur water bottle, which came at a good time as I have resolved to drink more water at work, so this one is now on my desk.
  • Muse of Nightmares postcard
  • Mistborn socks. I have a soft spot for socks, and this pair is discreet enough but also gorgeous, so win.
  • The Grand Tour mug rug, I have used it as a “teapot” rug instead and a “cooking pot” one too, and it is great at that. I had no clue what fandom it was at a glance and Grand Tour to me means cars and Amazon Prime show, so I knew I had it wrong. It is from The Gentlemen’s Guide to Vice & Virtue and their tour (I wasn’t into this series, so yeah, wouldn’t have guessed).
  • Once & Future, the book and a “card” with the author letter. The book ahs gorgeous teal sprayed edges and I was smitten immediately!
  • PROUD bookmark
  • Do you dream of Terra Two? sampler. (Interesting but doesn’t feel like my thing…)

So overall, I liked this box. It felt a little more hodgepodge than the usual quarterly boxes but I am hoping this gets better as they make more monthly ones and figure out how to make it work.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Favourites Fairyloot Unboxing

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I bit the bullet for March’s Fairyloot because I wanted both book that would be in it, and a theme of Favourites should be pretty spectacular, right? Sadly, this box confirmed that I am not that into their boxes.

But let’s see what was inside, starting from the top left corner and going clockwise:

  • Three prints. The only one I recognised was the Warcross one. Apparently the other two are from The Cruel Prince and An Ember in the Ashes. The artwork is nice, but 3 paper items aren’t really winning me over for this box.
  • A golden metal bookmark that is embossed and inspired by Strange The Dreamer. I liked it but it’s not that amazing and the design gets lost in the metal.
  • Theme postcard.
  • Alice in Wonderland socks, probably one of the best items as I do like socks. But also, nothing special about them. I can easily buy socks like this just going to Oxford for the day and visiting the Alice shop.
  • Bookworm Page Tabs. I like page tabs and have loved the potion ones they sent in a previous box, but this ones are less striking. Still not too bad, not too good, or rather, not a favourite.
  • Theme bookmark
  • Tarot cards, not collecting them  so neither here nor there for me. The artwork was very nice which at least was a bonus here.
  • Viper by Bex Hogan. That cover is gorgeous and I am so happy with this!
  • Author letter with artwork (for To Best the Boys)
  • To Best the Boys by Mary Weber, also another book I am looking forward to reading!
  • A purple Fairyloot pin. I wasn’t crazy about it, it is a bit “blurry” so not really stunning or striking.
  • And finally, underneath it all, a scarf with “favourite” books. It has spelling errors (I proof and proof my artwork if it has text, and when I “interpret” titles, I change to other words, not just omit letters), it is too translucent to actually show the books as books when you wear it, just looks like blots of colour, so not impressed. The artwork in itself has mmostly titles I don’t care about and that aren’t favourites.

All in all I was underwhelmed by the box. My favourite items were the books only, nothing else really made me think “oh yes, my favourites”, so for me the theme missed the mark. I am sure others loved it, but since I buy too many boxes and preorder too many books I have to be picky with what I get and sadly Fairyloot isn’t for me.

 

Books, Subscription Boxes

Dream Teams Book Box Club Unboxing

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Dream Teams is a great theme for a book box! I was all on board with this one and I was pleased with it. Now let’s go around the unboxing, starting on the theme card, and going clockwise:

  • Dream Teams theme card.
  • Stolen Time, I haven’t heard of this one so unsure how it will pan out, but usually their books push me out of my comfort zone of reading.
  • A publisher’s promotional bookmark
  • Underneath, there’s a cushion cover inspired by The Raven Boys (I am not crazy fan but I do love this cushion cover, it is gorgeous and I am now using it on my sofa).
  • Parabatai Oath candle, it has glitter and smells delicious so good one.
  • Unashamedly Bookish keyring, this is perfect for me and I love it so much!
  • 221B Bath Bar, I love Ascent products and this one doesn’t miss the mark (I discovered them thanks to a book box, can’t remember which one), it is divine and I am eager to use it.
  • Six of Crows print, I am not a Grisha fan but the print is delightful.
  • The invite to the Clubhouse meeting to discuss the book.

That’s all, I did like ti quite a bit and the only thing I wasn’t that keen into is the print, but I don’t really go crazy for prints anyway. The rest of the items will be well usede (and that keyring will get a lot of love).

Books, Subscription Boxes

Murder and Mayhem Owlcrate Unboxing

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I just noticed there’s a very murdery vibe in colour choice of the box and I like it. Let’s check the items in it starting from the book and going clockwise:

  • Four Dead Queens. I already had this book in my list, ages ago, so it was easy to say yes to this box instead of Skip. I have to say I do prefer the normal cover rather than this one being red, I think the blue gives it a more “Cold” sombre effect that matches it better, but it’s still gorgeous.
  • Underneath there’s a drawsting backpack with a lot of murdery vibes going on. I don’t really do drawstring backpacks, but I love the idea of it and this one is quite nice quality.
  • The collectible pin which is gorgeous! It is the quadrants of the Four Dead Queens.
  • Three Dark Crowns sticker, which is gorgoeus and now I don’t know where to stick it!
  • A woodmark (I am still not super keen on them, they make me think it’ll break or something easily. ) and this one was very “meh” for me, even if the wolf is gorgeous.
  • My favourite item! A ceramic travel mug (I have a soft spot for travel mugs) inspired by Neverngiht, which is just amazing.
  • Sunai candle, there were apparently three scents to match the monsters types from This Savage Song.
  • Four Dead Queens pencil, from publisher I think. Not much of an opinion, it’s a pencil, it’ll be used…
  • And the theme card which also fits well the whole vibe of the box.

I liked the box in general but somehow wasn’t as wowed by it as I was by the one from last month. However, the mug makes me happy. I probably won’t keep the backpack but the rest of the things will be used (not the woodmark, please stop sending woodmarks! I do love Ink & Wonder designs but I am tired of woodmarks).

Books, Subscription Boxes

Gods & Monsters Illumicrate Unboxing

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This has been one of the hardest unboxing pictures I have ever taken. One handed while trying to hold the umbrella upright so you could see how gorgeous it is and trying to not kill my phone or myself. But it was worth it.

Now let’s check what else we had in the box (the umbrella is the most obvious thing here), starting from the left side and going clockwise:

  • Strange the Dreamer Umbrella, what are the odds that two book boxes would send a gorgeous umbrella in the same month? Can’t complain as living in the UK means I have an umbrella everywhere so now I can swap boring black cheap umbrellas with the gorgeous bookish ones.
  • The Orphanage of Gods, this is one book that wasn’t in my radar at all, but it looks very interesting and I am intrigued.
  • A character bookmark set from A Daughter of Smoke and Bone. (This almost seems like a Laini Taylor fanbox, not complaining though). I like the bookmarks but I am not crazy about them and they’re one of the items I am not keeping.
  • A sampler of The Binding.
  • Girls of Paper and Fire chopsticks in a little case. The chopsticks are kinda just plasticky, which is sad given that the box is gorgeous. My boyfrined was all excited since I have a pair of fancy metal ones engraved with Mushu. He was planning on stealing this pair but he felt they weren’t as cool as mine.
  • Cassandra Clare sampler. Not interested at all, not a fan.
  • Keep Me pencil case (or at least I thinkof it as a tin pencil case). I like the design and it is a nifty little thing that will end up full fo drawing/art supplies.
  • Beautiful Thing pouch. It is a gorgeous pouch but the size just isn’t right for me so another one that won’t stay around.
  • Nectar of the Gos lip scrub. I will admit I have never used a lip scrub. If I put “yummy” stuff on my lips, I end up chewing them, so I avoid anything that will leave a texture or the feeling of one. Sad because this smells SO good.
  • A metallic notebook. Aboslutely love the design!

It was a fun box, with some items I don’t love, and it feels a little underwhelming for the usual Illumicrate signature. I decided to subscribe to them for the “monthly” box and I am hoping it keeps the high quality. One thing I like is that it doesn’t feel cheap even though there’s an umbrella in it.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Magic Potions Book Box Club Unboxing

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I love the aesthetic feel of this box. And funnily enough, as you may have seen already, I have had a proof of Shadowscent and it was a book I loved the concept for, but wasn;t completely sold on the whole book. But now unto the box contents, let’s start with the book and go clockwise:

  • Shadowscent. The Darkest Bloom by P. M. Freestone. Heck I love the concept, this is the first book and I am curious about the next one. The finished copy is gorgeous!
  • A tumbler/reusable cup. It has a quote from the book and I loved this, in blue and it was perfect to keep at work where we get a discount on coffee/tea if we bring our own mug
  • Hot chocolate spoon. Of course, you can’t have a tumbler without having something to put in it, right? I love the hot chocolate spoons the girls add to their boxes when they do, so this is an absolute win to me (plus most chocolate spoons work in hot water and don’t require milk, which makes it work for me)
  • On the come up pin
  • Magic Potions theme card, the artwork is super cute and magical.
  • A Drink Me potion from Literary Galaxy. I like it however I don’t wear many necklaces so this isn’t going to be used much, but it is still gorgeous.
  • Clubhouse invite.
  • A roll on perfume that captures the scent of the “Darkest Bloom”, which is probably my favourite item from the box (and it was hard to choose a favourite), it smells amazing!
  • Two Can Keep a Secret pin, I am so happy for this book, it’s in my TBR.
  • Gorgeous Ex Libris stickers. They’re adorable, may not be used much because I would struggle to choose which book to use them on (I wish we had a whole booklet or many more of these).

I really enjoyed the whole coordination of the contents of the box and there is only one item I wouldn’t really use, so that was quite a surprise for me, and is always a bonus. I also love that a lot of it is centered on the book and the theme of the box, and it isn’t just to fill fandoms but rather unique items that you can enjoy if you’re bookish, but also if you are not bookish (meaning it makes for a nice gift to someone if you had bought it, even if they aren’t into all the fandoms). So very happy with this box, and looking forward to the March box!

Subscription Boxes

Whimsical Beasts Owlcrate Unboxing

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I know I’ve been quite “detailed” in my recent unboxings in general, mostly because I do spend a lot in them, and also because I have to decide which ones to keep, but also, experience. I’ve been buying book boxes since 2015-2016. I think my first one was the 3rd or 4th Owlcrate ever. I’ve seen book boxes come and go, and have seen them stay.

Anyway, the reason I derailed is that I really enjoyed this box and that was a good thing. So let’s do the unboxing starting from the book and going clockwise:

  • Crown of Feathers by Nicki Pau Preto. Super gorgeous cover, and purple sprayed edges, plus I like the dark cover.
  • Accio Books beanie. Probably my least favourite item of this box, but that’s mostly because I don’t wear beanies. But I can appreciate a cute one when I see it and this one is gorgeous.
  • Zine and theme postcard, so pink/purple, so cute, I just loved this one so much more than the recent ones.
  • An umbrella. It has pretty artwork, but just the fact that there’s a compact umbrella in the box made me squeal a little. I keep one in my work bag, one in my car, one in my usual bag, and it is always nice to get a handy compact one. Plus this one is SO gorgeous and unique, so less boring than just the black plain umbrella.
  • Pixie Dust soap, smells nice and I am all pro soaps specially if they are from nice small independent companies, so love it.
  • Owlcrate pin. I like pins, this has a Phoenix, not much to say here.
  • Spirited Away keyring, with Haku! I loved this one, and also was happy to see a good keyring in it.
  • A paperback copy of The Tea Dragon Society, which I have in hardback and have reviewed before, so also bonus. I ended up giving this away because I already own it but if I didn’t it’d be awesome!

So one of my favourite Owlcrate boxes recently. Just full of delightful goodies.