Subscription Boxes

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

Subscription Boxes

Young Adult PageHabit

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So after choosing a Fantasy PageHabit, I won the chance of adding an extra book and some goodies to my box, so I was crazy and got another PageHabit, but this time YA.

I don’t regret this extra box at all and was very pleased with it.

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Starting from the card at the bottom and going clockwise:

  • PageHabit donates books to other countries for every box bought so it is also a charitable and fun effort to get this box. On the other side of the card it mentions all the books in the different genres that were includd this month (I liked this since it helps me see if the box I have is the one I would’ve enjoyed most or not).
  • Time Traveler patch (same as previous box)
  • Bookmark (same as other box)
  • Comic book pin (also same)
  • Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova. I had my eye on this book so it was awesome to receive it as the bonus book I had won.
  • Feather pen, it has a super fine tip which made me swoon (fine tips and ultra fine tips are awesome)
  • The short story of the box.
  • A Horcrux keychain.
  • The actual book of the box, Black Bird of the Gallows by Meg Kassel, another interesting read, which came with author’s letter and annotated, so it is fun.
  • And a cat/fox coaster.

I enjoyed the box so much I decided to subscribe again. Finding out it had almost the same things as the other box, I decided to just get one box and add an add-on book. I’d definitely recommend it since it has a broader range that most book boxes so you can choose different ones and pad up as you’d like.

Subscription Boxes

Fantasy PageHabit

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I don’t remember how I found out about PageHabit but I love the idea of an annotated book so I jumped into the bandwagon with this.

After purchasing it, I started hearing bad reviews about the service and applying codes and discounts and worried a little, but I have to say, their customer service was top notch and really helpful. My tracking email got lost and they quickly gave me the tracking link and helped me cancel my subscriptions (I wanted to receive the box before it renewed so I could make up my mind about it).

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Starting from the book and going clockwise: (one of these days I am going to do it counterclockwise, just to play with your heads)

  • Magicians Impossible by Brad Abraham. It also included a letter from the author, where he explains that the title came from a blunder, instead of saying Mission Impossible, it came out as Magicians Impossible. This made me laugh but also made me curious. There are sticky notes on the pages with annotations from Brad inside the book which makes it even more interesting!
  • A short story specifically commissioned for Page Habit, Wild Things.
  • A cute fox/cat coaster (I think it is a coaster but it could also be a mug cover, to keep your drink warm, I am unsure).
  • A comic book pin, very colourful, cute and I was pleased to see a pin there (yes, I like pins, very much).
  • A Time Traveler iron on patch, I don’t really have anything I iron patches on (I rarely ever use an iron, I refuse to iron, so I have a permanently crinkled look on all my clothes or buy clothes that don’t require ironing, I’d rather be reading!) but I still like the patch, maybe I will stick it to my drawing clipboard…
  • A quote bookmark which I kept showing upside down during the unboxing because it is tricky to unbox and film and talk, and my coordination is limited but it is a gorgeous bookmark.

As you can see, it is isn’t a bulging book box but the value is there and I loved all items so I was very pleased to receive this box and now I want another.  What do you think?

 

Subscription Boxes

September’s LitCube

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If you read my post about all subscription boxes I had tried, then you are aware I had tried LitCube before. I decided to give it a go again since the theme was ‘Apple Spice and Everything Nice’ and it is autumny and it just makes me feel cosy. (I confess I love Alpine Spiced Apple Cider instant mix even if I don’t add sugar to my tea or coffee or any other beverage).

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Starting from the theme card and going clockwise:

  • Apple Spice and Everything Nice card, it is quite lovely and it made me feel excited about contents.
  • Apple Cider lip balm by Black Tie Market, I haven’t tried it yet but anything with apple cider flavour is a win in my books so looking forward to trying it (and I do like lip balm tins, it reminds me of childhood and shared secrets).
  • Apple Cinnamon Donuts candle by Novelly Yours. It smells like just baked apple cinnamon rolls and it makes my mouth water and I felt like I was in heaven.
  • The Simplicty of Cider by Amy E. Reichert, which I didn’t know about but will surely read, gives that autumn vibe perfectly.
  • Bare baked apple slices with cinnamon. They didn’t last long and were just right, not too crsipy not soggy and not too spiced but also not bland.
  • Fingerless gloves. These were the item I wasn’t so sure about and then I put them on and really liked them, they are soft, don’t feel flimsy/badly made and look pretty rather than bulky and horrid (for the record, I have small hands not child like but small, in all fairness most of me is small).

So I enjoyed this box a lot, the only downside is that there was a customs charge which made it a lot more expensive. I think I will only buy one-off boxes when the theme is something I really want to get, but if you are in the US I’d say, go ahead and enjoy it.

Subscription Boxes

All that Sass FairyLoot

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I am doing this unboxing a little earlier than usual because of one of the items in it.

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Starting from botom left with the bookmark + notepad and going clockwise:

  • All that sass bookmak (there has been a collectible bookmark since I think April/May this year).
  • Grisha Bad Ideas notepad by Alexis Lampley. This is probably my favourite item from the box. You can pull each page away which I love and the design is gorgeous.
  • All that sass theme card.
  • High Warlock Candle by In the Wick of Time, it smeels quite lovely and my only complaint is that it is ever so small. It’ll run out too quick!
  • Even The Darkest Stars by Heather Fawcett is the book for this month and it sounds amazing. I am quite excited to read it!
  • Weasley Twins inspired magnet by Ink and Wonder Designs which is now happily on my fridge alongside other bookish magnets. Thre’s something quite cheerful in it.
  • Quote Tote Bag by Miss Phi.
  • Rattle the Stars beanie by Reverie and Ink, FairyLoot exclusive. Definitely not my cup of tea because I don’t wear beanies and least of all with pom poms (it just doesn’t go well with me, though I envy those that can pull it off).
  • ADSOM and Lunar Chronicles prints by Taratjah. I actually recognised Lila, so I was very pleased with myself (I couldn’t recognise the other because I haven’t read the books)
  • Bookish merch (sampler of The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue and a Tower of Dawn bookmark).
  • And finally, the one item, Hot Chocolate for Sassy Demi Gods by Brontie & Co. I was super excited when I saw it in the box, and immediately got my hot choc mug out (I was born in Mexico so I have a special hot choc mug and I know my hot chocolates, I do love them dearly). I can’t have any kind of milk that has been heated/warmed up so I usually make them in hot water (I have tried all brands available at supermarkets and know what to expect in flavour if they are meant only to be done with milk). So I had braced myself for it being a little less amazing due to me being weird. What I didn’t brace myself was for the amount of spices in it. This does not taste at all like chocolate, it tastes like one of the powdered ginger drinks from Asian shops. And yes, in the lenghty description (in a hard to read font in orange over black background, a killer for people with eye issues) it mentions spices, but when I think of a spiced hot chocolate, it is there but doesn’t kill the flavour of chocolate. In this one, there is sadly no hot chocolate flavour, just spices. Thankfully, because I posted a warning on my instagram stories, a few other subscribers avoided allergic reactions due to the spices, so this is why I am posting this early.

To clarify, I do not think this is a bad box (I actually enjoyed most of it) or that the hot chocolate was bad. I just think labelling could have been better and the hot chocolate recipe is definitely very niche since most people do not like that amount of spice in any beverage unless actually intending to have a spiced drink. (I am always having to tone down my cooking due to me being Mexican amongst British people). I am still all up for hot chocolate in my FairyLoot boxes, though hopefully a mix more like what Options does that can be done in hot water and it is lovely.

 

Subscription Boxes

September YumeTwins Unboxing

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After a lot of umming and erring, I decided to stop my subscription to YumeTwins. So this is the last box I will unbox from them (until a specific theme/item changes my mind and I do a one-off box).

My reasons to stop are relatively simple. I do not get the most out of the items sent. It is not that they aren’t good items or good value, but rather that they don’t fit in my lifestyle at the moment and as much as I find them cute and find smiles in them, they are gathering more dust than being used (in all fairness, out of each box one or two items have been quite useful and are being used happily at home).

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Starting from the box and going clockwise:

  • A Cinnamoroll bag. It is really cute and Cinnamoroll is one of my favourite Sanrio characters (along Twin Stars). Sadly this is one of those items that won’t get used much.
  • Studio Ghibli chopsticks. They are gorgeous and are currently in my kitchen, but we rarely ever have food that requires chopsticks so they are still waiting to be used.
  • A prtable comb with Rilakkuma. It is very pink and sadly, because of having curly hair I only use a wooden comb so not keeping it despite the cuteness.
  • A cute plush toy. This is the one item I wanted and you had 4 different versions of it. I really wanted this specific version so when I unboxed it and saw it was the one I wanted I was so excited and squealed in delight. This cutie is now my bed companion and brings me buckets of joy.
  • Under the foxy plush is the box for a wristwatch (somehow I wasn’t very good on taking unboxing pics this time, in my defense I was too excited) which is nice but not my style so not keeping it.

As you can see it was a cute box and quite lovely, but sadly it just doesnt match me very well (though I was absolutely delirious about gettign what I wanted).

If you like cute things I’d definitely recommend trying it out.

 

Books, Subscription Boxes

Outlaws Book Box Club

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The long awaited Anniversary box for Book Box Club arrived and it didn’t disappoint.

Happy (late by the time this is published) Birthday Book Box Club, Kate & Libby, you’re awesome!

Since this is the anniversary box, let me tell you a little about my year with Book Box Club. I remember finding about the Enchanted Forest Box last year through Instagram. They had apparently sold out so I commented that it was a bummer I had missed out, but it turns out there was one last one left… So I obviously went and bought it there and then (I was at work and I snuck to buy it).

At the time I hadn’t tried as many book subscription boxes as I have today, but I was still unsure if this would be a box I would want to keep. The idea of the Clubhouse (a private group chat with the author, a month later) intrigued me and the fact that the girls were all up for the community aspect, which for a tiny account as I had at the time, I hadn’t seen much of that feeling and feltmore the blunt end of it.

The box surprised me, and I absolutely fell in love with it. That charm is still one of my favourite necklaces (considering I was and still tend to be an adamant “please do not send jewellry in book boxes” kind of person) and I am so happy about it.

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You can see their first box and my not very polished bookstagram unboxing skills for taking pictures. I think they have improved in a year for sure (please, don’t tell me they haven’t if they actually haven’t, let me think I am improving, don’t burst my bubble).

Of course, the Clubhouse absolutely blew me away and the community has been one of the best things about Book Box Club. Destiny definitely had it for me to be part of the history of this box, including being part of one of the boxes and now making a bookmark set (maybe I will make a bookmark per box, how about that?).

And now, here we are a year later…

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Starting from the theme card and going clockwise:

  • Maraunders/HP cards by The Imaginative Illustrator. They are utterly adorable and I am dividing between never wanting to use them and using them because they are so great.
  • A pair of Sante socks, which are really cute (too big for me). I have to say, one of the things I liked is that even though the socks are too big, they are not too girly, so I asked my bf if he would like to wear them and he was very happy to have a new pair of socks.
  • A personalised letter from Kate and Libby (see? Moon has stars around it. *swoons*) to celebrate their anniversary.
  • A shortbread biscuit by Nila Holden that looked so delicious I took the unboxing picture as quickly as possible so I could chomp away. It didn’t last long but it was delicious.
  • For this box, the girls also sent a second book, an ARC. They sent me Witch Born but there were like 10+ different options of the book you could get.
  • On top of the ARC is an Inej (Six of Crows) lipbalm by Oriandle. This is my absolutely utterly favourite lip balm. Caramel and cinnamon. Two of my favourite flavours/spices. I have been keeping it in my coat pocket to use when the wind dries my lips and then add a little bit and every time I do this it makes me smile and lifts up my mood.
  • There were also two samplers and a postcard from publishers.
  • The book for this month is a Jigsaw of Fire and Stars by Baba Yadoe and it sounds very interesting, plus that cover is gorgeous!
  • John Green promoting pencils since there’s a new book coming out (you can see I am not his biggest fan, I think if I had been younger when I read his books I’ve loved them but not now sadly).
  • And finally a cute Robin Hood magnetic bookmark that is exclusive to Book box Club by Marked by Hephaestus.

It is a cosy, lovely box and I was very happy to receive it. I am looking forward to another year with you girls (because we’ve become friends and I have met good friends through this box!).

If you’d like to subscribe, you can subscribe here, or you can try Purely Books which is just the book and access to the Clubhouse. Also *wink, wink* you can use code MOON17 for 5% discount on you subscription.

 

Subscription Boxes

Rattle the Stars Bookish Land Unboxing

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EDIT: Due to several incidents with the company I cannot recommend you buy this box anymore. They use items made exclusively for other boxes, do not provide good value for money, and have terrible customer service. Maja has a long post about this on her blog with lots of details, and the print featured here is from Evie.

 

As you may all know by now, I like trying new book boxes (or at least, book boxes I haven’t tried before) and this time, the theme for Bookish Land was right up my street.

Bookish Land is a book box with a twist. Each one is fully customised which means no two boxes are exactly the same and almost every single item is handmade by the brains behind this box or by an independent shop. As a warning it is on the slightly expensive end of the subscription boxes but it is still an interesting box.

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Let’s start with the actual box. It is decorated by hand and I utterly loved it. It came wrapped in kraft/brown paper and bubble wrap on top so it was well protected which was a bonus to see. All of the parts of the box that you can see are decorated, trust me, it is an amazing piece of work.

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Going clockwise from the card at the bottom:

  • “I need more space” tote bag (this made me smile a lot, I want a t-shirt like this).
  • Astronaut print.
  • Wrapping paper of the book, it was gorgeous.
  • Inside the box, bookmark with two different quotes.
  • Inside the box, quote print (this was part of an Owlcrate box, made by Evie)
  • Space candle, it smells very fruity and delicious and it is decorate inside too.
  • Bath bomb in a tiny jar, I have yet to try this one
  • Wooden astronaut with a star charm, which is becoming a Christmas tree decoration!
  • The long way to a small angry planet by Becky Chambers.
  • A printed card that came with the wooden charm and I thought was really lovely.

All in all it was a gorgeous box and I was very pleased with it. I think if the theme speaks to you, it is worth getting it at least once. The amount of detail and effort makes it worth it.

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You can purchase a box here (also, as a note, you can ask for your own themeif the current one doesn’t do it for you). October’s theme is “I put a spell on you” (and I am quite tempted to get it for myself…).

Books, Subscription Boxes

September’s Sci-Fi & Fantasy Leafer Box

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Since I was very happy with Leafer Box last month, I messaged them and asked if there was a way to bundle up the Sci-fi and Fantasy boxes into one. Skip one of the chocolates (since technically each box comes with chocolate) and if there are ever repeat items between boxes, skip those too. I also really liked their logo sticker so I asked if they would kindly send some so I could use them to decorate my drawing clipboard and/or laptop, and they did!

Also, drum roll please, after promoting them unofficially, I am now an official rep for LeaferBox which absolutely made my day once we agreed on it. (They are quite small so there was no rep search but I have seriously been recommending them after being impressed with the boxes).

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So the contents of my mixed box are as follows (I tried to leave Fantasy in one side and Sci-Fi on the other but it is also a mix so there you go). Starting on top left corner with the book.

  • The Fantasy box book was A Crown for Cold Silver by Alex Marshall. It has a female main character and sounds like a great read that I will probably want to read quicker than is humanly possible.
  • A bath bomb that smells delicious (I have yet to try it but oh, scented items just make my day, specially bath bombs and bubble bars/bombs).
  • Thorntons Classic Selection chocolates which I have been enjoying at work to make the time go by.
  • The Sci-Fi book, The Echo by James Smythe. Space adventures and once again, sounds quite interesting.
  • In the little bag there are some space stickers (I didn’t take them out because they are small and I was dying to have the chocolates so wanted to take picture quick. This seems to be a repeating thing with this box).
  • Super cute and adorable and I am dying to use them and just look gorgeous on my desk Earth sticky notes.
  • A small sampler of Ginger Green tea which I am happy to try soon.
  • A sword and gem keyring, for a second I thought it was a letter opener and then realised it wasn’t but it is still cool. This is probably the only item I won’t actually use, and this is mostly because I have more keychains than keys currently so limiting the amount of them. But this one is quite cool.
  • 3 pens with galaxy/space decoration. My boyfriend ended snagging one so he could make notes about the power for one of his model airplanes and he liked it. I have yet to try them but they worked quickly and easily on top of several not ideal surfaces (why keep paper around when you can use scrap, right?)

Overall I was very happy with the box(es). Each box is almost half the price of most other subscription boxes (£12.99, shipping is not included but for UK is £2.99 , keeping still very affordable) and the only “downside” is that the book isn’t a super hyped YA read that is about to release or has only just been relased. I can live with that, since most of the time, by the time I get to those books they are not that new, woops (hey, I read Book Box Club books first and whatever my mood wants).

If you think this is the box for you and would like to give it a go, there is an even better pro: you can buy it any day of the month. To get September’s box, any day in September that you submit your order, you will get the September box, it can be the 1st, 12th, 26th or 30th and you will still be able to get it. They usually are quick to ship boxes and mine usually arrives next day or two days after shipping (not bad at all).

Are you convinced now? You can choose from Historical, Sci-fi, Fantasy, Chick-Lit, Comedy, Thriller or Surprise. And you can use code KESTREL10 for 10% off whatever you buy (1 month, 3 months, 6 months). Just remember this does not renew automatically so you have to visit their etsy page to buy the next one.

 

Subscription Boxes

Warbringer SpecialTea Bookish Tea Box

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As you may know, I am a tea drinker. And not just have a cuppa now and then, but the kind of tea drinker that has a lot of loose leaf tins, pesters tea companies to help her find alternatives to tea bags or make their tea available (if you liked FairyLoot’s Warriors & Legends tea, look for Blend No. 66 here). And I am always looking out for new tea blenders and tea providers that care about their customers and specially about your tea.

This brings me to Zilan and Bookish Teas. She comes from a family that blends tea and has been blending tea since she was a child, and it shows, trust me. Every single one of her tea blends that I have tried has blown me away.

So today, I am unboxing one of her Bookish Tea Boxes, one inspired by Warbringer.

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As soon as I opened the box, the fragance of the teas welcomed me. Delicious as usual. The contents were:

  • 3 tea blends. Sisters in Battle (it was the one that had the most inviting smell and I couldn’t resist it, so I made a cup of tea almost as soon as I had unboxed it). Warbringer and Steve’s Gift. (I have yet to try this other two blends but they smell delicious).
  • Two delightful Warbringer pins by eachchronicles illustration.
  • A Themyscira lip balm by Behind The Pages.
  • A Wonder Woman bookmark with a lovely quote by wordsbyjasmine.
  • Themyscira bath salts by The Bookish Beauty Court (this made me very happy and I proudly boasted about them to my boyfriend).
  • A gorgeous illustration by LisyCorner showing Diana as a child and as Wonder Woman, it definitely catches your eye and makes you want to display it somewhere.

I admit I had actually missed out on getting this beforehand, or before first shipping, but once I saw an unboxing of it, I knew I had to have it and I do not regret this at all. Absolutely worth it.

 

 

Books, Subscription Boxes

Otherworlds FairyLoot

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One of the boxes I am on a “permanent” subscription is FairyLoot, and somehow I haven’t done an unboxing of any boxes yet, so here goes the first one.

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The theme of the box was Otherworlds which sounded quite interesting. Let’s see what was inside (starting from bottom left corner, going clockwise):

  • A Northern Lights print by Melissa Nettleship.
  • Underneath the print there are also two samplers, one for Blackwing and one for Godsgrave (I already have both samplers, and Blackwing is signed so this was a repeat but not complaining).
  • The book this month was Wicked like a Wildfireby Lana Popovic. It was already on my TBR list so this is a win in my eyes and isn’t it such a gorgeous cover?
  • A magnetic bookmark pairby Paperly and Co, there were 3 different pairs and I got Arwen and Aragorn (aren’t they cute?) which made me quite happy.
  • A Peter Pan inspired notebook by TJLubrano (in case you didn’t know, I really like her work so getting anything new from her will make me happy, though I do wish there were more mugs from her). Also, you can’t see it but on the inside it has a map on the back and a quote on the front. It’s really cute.
  • A Witchsoul candle by Book&Nook. I got Azareen but apparently there were 5 different smells.
  • A Westeros tea infuser in the shape of a sword. It looks really cool, but I have to say what I usually say, it is quite impractical. Getting the loose leaf tea out of it is tricky and you end up with bits and pieces stuck to it. Also, this would have been better if there had been some loose leaf tea included to match and use with it.
  • A Sarah J. Maas necklace by Oh Panda Eyes (you can see how big a fan I am just by how I wrote this description, woops. Thankfully I have a friend who loves her so she will be happy with the necklace). I don’t mind necklaces but I admit I prefer non text charms and if they are fandom related something more classic.
  • The FairyLoot postcard and the matching bookmark (I am still curious to see what the plan is for the collection of bookmarks).
  • A Blackwing temporary tattoo (I have so many left from YALC, so repeat but still okay, it’s extra stuff).
  • A sleep mask that says “Fictional Worlds fuel my dreams”. Fun item to have in a book box but I don’t really use sleep mask except to stop people from peeking when I do a piñata party and I have a fox mask and a cat mask to make for fun pictures of them trying to hit the piñata. This is too “conservative” for that, even if it is cute.

So, this wasn’t my favourite box but somehow August hasn’t been the best box month in general it seems. Still, book, candle, notebook and bookmarks made me happy.

On a wonderful note, FairyLoot for October will include two books and one is an exclusive cover edition. Sounds very exciting. (The interesting part is I am amost 100% sure I have an ARC for the book included for this box).

 

 

 

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