Book Box Club – Page 6 – The Constellation of Moon

Moon Goes to: A Taco Party!

Posted on April 26, 2018

Last Saturday I hosted a taco party with friends, and met a few more fellow Book Box Clubbers.

If you wondered what box to buy, I can’t help but recommend Book Box Club. It is not just a book subscription box, it is so much more. It gives you a community, it gives you friends, it gives you new books to read.

I met my best friend thanks to Book Box Club, and I also have a lot of friends added to this with whom I have gone to signing events, book launches and soon will also attend YALC together.

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Obviously, you also get the benefits of having me around, and getting invited to Taco parties or any other party shenanigans that come to mind. This year we’ve already had taco and piñata parties.

(Doesn’t all that food look amazing?)

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But it is not only about food but about friendship, about community. I have to admit, Kate & Libby wanted not just a book box but a community and have made it! Girls, thank you so much from all of us.

We have slowly come out from behind our books and socialized between us and become friends that meet up (from several places in the country, someone travelled quite a lot to come to the taco party) when possible, but we also support each other.

We have had a few “drunk texts” from a few of us, which has made our weekend nights fun and makes us feel a little like part of it. We have gossiped about dates and life and work. We have counseled each other through bad things. We have celebrated success for one another.

We even started a “birthday elf box” where we send a box of goodies curated by one of us to another one on their birthday. And obviously we unbox them for all to see in a video.

And we have a “trade” and swap way, where we send books and goodies to each other, or pass along books we recommend or things we think someone else might prefer in their tastes.

It has become a wonderful group of friends, a great community, and we all owe it to Book Box Club.

Ps. Everyone in this picture is a confirmed not-serial killer, Dr. Bea approved, and Moon validated.

Subscription Boxes

Under The Sea Book Box Club Unboxing

Posted on March 31, 2018

Under the sea
Under the sea
Since life is sweet here
We got the beat here naturally
Even the sturgeon an’ the ray
They get the urge ‘n’ start to play
We got the spirit
You got to hear it
Under the sea

Now if you’re singing along with me (I sang that in my head), join in to sea the contents of this box (sea what I did there?). Starting with the book and going clockwise:

The Wicked Deep by Shea Ernshaw. I’ve been looking forward to reading this and now I even get the bonus of the Clubhouse meeting.
Siren Song bath bomb by Ascent. I love the smell and as soon as you opened this box it wafted up and made you want to figure out what it was.
Necklace by Oh Panda Eyes. It is gorgeous and I love it and I wore it the next day because I couldn’t resist.
Mermaid kisses vanilla lip balm.
Mermaid “tumblr” which I absolutely loved, it is cute, useful and just fun.
Under the Sea theme card.
The Wicked Deep postcard
A trio of bookmarks based on the sisters, which made me swoon SO much! I love items inspired by the book included.
An invite to the Clubhouse (it is a little hidden…)
And a publishers promotional postcard (I found out there were differnet versions, but I love my crumpets one!)

If you’d like to buy a subscription, you can use code MOON17 to get 5% off. I am not a rep, so no bonus or anything for me, but I still love the box and the community (we even have a book squad thanks to it and I have found my best friends there).

Book Review

The Fandom Review

Posted on March 19, 2018

This lovely book was part of Book Box Club, so after our clubhouse meeting, here’s my review.

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The Fandom by Anna Day

Cosplay ready, Violet and her friends are at Comic-Con.

They can’t wait to meet the fandom of mega movie, The Gallows Dance. What they’re not expecting is to be catapulted by freak accident into their favourite world – for real. Fuelled by love, guilt and fear, can the friends put the plot back on track and get out? The fate of the story is in their hands …

Rating:

This was a tough book to review and rate. Mostly because I really enjoyed reading it. The writing flowed and it somehow left me feeling like it was an enjoyable read. However, the story was a bit convoluted and the distracting dreams Violet has during her time in The Gallows Dance universe give away too much. It was too easy to guess what was happening almost as soon as it happened.

As a philosophical satire this shines because it takes all the tropes of YA and has a dig at them, which made it quite fun in a way, but also extremely predictable in another way. It was like re-reading bits and pieces of other YA books at times, which is probably why I wasn’t too keen on the whole story.

And then I had some issues with the characters, but I don’t know if that is me or not. And no, I don’t mean the ones from The Gallows Dance universe but more Violet and her friends. I just didn’t really love anyone enough to care about it. I didn’t care about Violet hanging or anything.

I did like the twist Ash shows Violet at one point regarding the Gems, which made it quite interesting.

Moon Recommends

Having a read of this, I don’t know many Fandom based books so I have to say I am unsure what to recommend, maybe Fangirl and Carry On by Rainbow Rowell?

Subscription Boxes

Into Dystopia Book Box Club Unboxing

Posted on March 1, 2018

As you may already know (if you don’t you’ll soon find out), I have been subscribed to Book Box Club since they started and this box didn’t disappoint (it also had me guessing the book like crazy!)

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So let’s start this unboxing from the theme card (it’s at the bottom of the picture):

Into Dystopia theme card.
Orphan Monster Spy publisher’s promotional postcard.
Outwalkers by Fiona Shaw. Such a difficult book to find but it does look so gorgeous!
The Hazel Wood bookmarks (there’s a few others around the picture).
Orange Zest Gnaw chocolate (it is yummy, survival supplies indeed!)
Supplies to Stay Alive list pad by Bread and Jam. I love the fact that it has a magnetized strip at the back so it has gone on my fridge for all my shopping lists.
Handmaid’s Tale Cuff by Beautifully Bookish. It has the pseudo latin quote on it and it is very pretty (I tried very hard to show it off here in the picture but failed).
The Belles promotional postcard.
Dauntless Tea by Craft Tea Company. It has lemon grass so it absolutely wins in my books.
Scrolled clubhouse invite
And a gorgeous silver arrow pen by Book Box Club. It is amazing.

Another gorgeous box by the girls of Book Box Club. You can use code MOON17 for 5% off a subscription.

Books, Subscription Boxes

Winter FairyTales Book Box Club

Posted on December 23, 2017

This year has brought us a cold prewinter (since officially winter starts on the 22nd) so it has lovely to receive bookish boxes that make you feel even more Christmassy.

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Book Box Club did not disappoint this time, so starting on the theme card and going clockwise:

Winter Fairytales theme card.
Baba Yaga wish bracelet by Charmed Delight Co. Last year they sent a different one which had three stars, so I am seeing a theme here, can we keep it up?
Hansel & Gretel’s Gingerbread Mallows by Bonboosh. They are the reason this picture was taken during nighttime using the lights in the room, as they didn’t make it to the next day.
Christmas Card, this was personalised to all the members of our house (sans the 9 chickens, but it’s hard to know all of their names! PS. Cow, Big Mama, The Sweeties, Skittles, Scarface, Red 1 and Red 2, Pearl) including our puppy and it is now proudly being displayed alongside the other Christmas cards we’ve received.
Underneath it all is a super soft scarf with shiny golden trees that makes me want to get dressed up already for Christmas (by Hazel & Pip)
A bookmark featuring the two books in the box.
Fairy Godmother notebook by TJ Lubrano.
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden. I actually guessed the books because I already had this one. The bonus is that the extra book is going to a good home and now I have a signed book plate for the book.
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden. Second book of the series and yay to double books in the box.
Fairytales pencil.
Scrolled Clubhouse invitation.

All in all, a lovely box with a very wintery feel.

Subscription Boxes

Haunted Minds Book Box Club

Posted on November 29, 2017

The theme for this month’s Book Box Club was Haunted Minds. And one of the things I loved about it is that it seems to be geared up to soothe haunted minds rather than actually haunt your mind.

Let’s do the unboxing clockwise starting from the theme card:

Theme card, Haunted Minds, which also on the other side says what everything is and who made it (I love, love, love that they include links to the makers).
Underneath everything there is a wonderful delightful Raven Boys tea towel which made my day (I really love pretty tea towels, the pretty ones are used on our coffee table as centre of it or to hold warm tortillas when we have tacos or freshly baked homemade bread, which is one of the most honourable tasks a tea towel can have in our home).
The Memory Trees by Kali Wallace, the book sounds intriguing.
Bath Salts by , because having a relaxing bath is exactly what everyone needs when your mind is haunting you. The tin they came in is beautiful too and much better than a plastic bag so bonus points for that.
Heathcliff candle, in a TipTree jam jar. If you missed my unboxing I mentioned this made it really cute because the jars are usually given out when you order toast with jam at a coffee shop/tea room and they usually have a saying in the lids. I used to collect the lids because some have encouraging or fun phrases.
An Usborne YA 2018 books sampler with a lot of interesting reads there.
A Calm Colouring pocket book, because once again it is all about relaxing and calming your mind.

This box was a cuddly hug to calm and soothe the mind and the body and I am glad about it. If this sounds good, then maybe subscribe for the month of December? They are including two books! And you can use code MOON17 for 5% off.

Book Review

A Shiver of Snow and Sky Review

Posted on November 23, 2017

This sparkly book was included in Book Box Club and I can’t wait to chat with Lisa during the Clubhouse meeting!

(Also, that cover, it sparkles and it is just so gorgeous!)

A Shiver of Snow and Sky by Lisa Lueddecke

Red, red, the lights glow red
Beware the danger up ahead…

On the frozen island of Skane, the sky speaks. Beautiful lights appear on clear nights, and their colours have meaning: Green means all is well, and the Goddess is happy. Blue means a snow storm is on the way.

And then there’s red. Red is rare. A warning.

Seventeen years ago, the sky turned red just as Ósa was born, unleashing a plague that claimed the lives of hundreds of villagers, including her own mother. This time, when the night sky once again bleeds crimson, she must discover how to stop the onslaught before so many lives are lost again

Rating:

I had been looking forward to reading this book for a while and I am glad it didn’t disappoint.

Ósa is a very well developed heroine. She has layers and she tries to cope with life in her own way, but then she decides to do the bravest thing and go search for the Goddess at the top of the mountains. She doesn’t do it for the glory or to be famous, or anything like that. She chooses to do it because it is the only idea she can think of to help and to redeem the fact that her mother died after giving birth to her.

Ivar was also well developed and I was happy to be able to have his eyes to relate what was happening in the villages while Ósa made her way to find the Goddess. It was real and it was gripping.

I am glad I wasn’t living in Skane, but the world was believable and it was scary but also so beautiful. The stories behind the stars and the ending were amazing and I was left wanting more once I finished reading it.

Moon recommends

You should try reading this sparkly gorgeous book. It is hard to think what to recommend similar to it. The one book that comes to mind is in Spanish and it was also very gripping, sadly there is no translated edition that I could find. La Emperatriz de los Etereos (The Empress of the Ethereal) touches on an adventure towards her realm where it is said suffering doesn’t exist, however the way to it is difficult. Bipa doesn’t believe in it but she ends up making the journey because her best friend Aer sets off on the quest and she’s trying to stop him from the foolishness. It is also very well written and I enjoyed it a lot.

If you’d like to read A Shiver of Snow and Sky, you can find it here.

Disclaimer: There is an Amazon Associates link, but if you choose to use them and buy from them, know that you’re just helping me buy more books and feed my reading needs. Book synopsis is from Good Reads.

Book Review

A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars Review

Posted on November 7, 2017

This gorgeous book (*swoon over the cover*) was part of Book Box Club’s Outlaws box, and it was actually signed by the author (no bookplate) plus it had a lovely yellow ribbon bookmark as part of the book (why won’t all books have one?).

A Jigsaw of Fire and Stars by Yaba Badoe

Fourteen-year-old Sante isn’t sure where she comes from, but she has a recurring dream of escaping a shipwreck in a sea chest as a baby with her lifelong companion, golden eagle Priss. In the chest was an African bamboo flute, a drum and a dagger inlaid with diamonds. Sante was found and raised by Mama Rose, leader of a nomadic group of misfits and gypsies. They travel around contemporary southern Europe, living off-grid and performing circus tricks for money. Sante grows up alongside two twins, knife-thrower Cat and snake-charmer Cobra, whom she is in love with. During a performance in Cadiz, Sante recognises two men from her dream. They come after her to retrieve the treasures from the sea chest. Sante finds out that she is an Ashanti princess, whose parents probably perished in the shipwreck. After Cat rescues a beautiful red-haired girl called Scarlett from a gang, Mama Rose’s band are forced to flee the city. But Sante and Cobra stay behind, determined to find out more about her family and where she came from.

Rating:

This book was really hard to review. The premise of the story is very interesting and it touches on prostitution, human trafficking and it is written by an author from Ghana/Britain, which gives it even more richness. And come on, it has a travelling circus and even a hawk! (Find the hawk in the picture)

However, the pacing was strange, it was very character driven but it wanted to be a plot driven book and with the plot it has, it should’ve moved faster than it actually did. Instead there is a lot of flashbacks, dreams, magic and a lot of musings that don’t move much, and they also don’t change the characters much.

I can say the book has a lot of potential and it required a bit of a tidy up regarding how the plot and writing flowed through the book.

I found the plot intriguing but didn’t particularly enjoy the writing or the book (but I loved listening to Yaba read the first chapter, it was so amazing! She should totally read audiobooks because that voice is a treasure).

Moon recommends

I don’t have many African reads that come to mind right now, though this was actually set in Spain, and I can’t think of many books I have read dealing with the topics in this one. The closest I can relate to is the game Alice Madness Returns which is technically a retelling of Alice in Wonderland+Through the Looking Glass. I guess this means I should go read more books, of course I shall comply!

If you’d like to buy this gorgeous book, you can find it here.

Subscription Boxes

Quests & Legends Book Box Club

Posted on November 5, 2017

After that long 101 for book boxes, let’s do some unboxings, starting with Book Box Club.

The theme was Quests & Legends and I was really hoping the book would be the one they actually sent since it was one I really wanted to read (and the author is such a dear).

Let me tell you that boxes with edibles in them usually make me want to take the unboxing picture there and then because yummy must be eaten NOW (I am not the only one, right? RIGHT?).

As per usual, let’s do clockwise, starting on the theme card.

Gorgeous Quest & Legends theme card. I saw it and loved it, there’s such a simple beauty in it, so dreamy and makes me want to be all cosy.
Dragon stickers by Wild Sally, I squealed when I saw them, they are so cute and they are stickers! I am torn between adding them to my laptop or my drawing clipboard.
Mountain earrings by Kate’s Little Store, they are wooden and really pretty but alas my double piercings are too close together for them to work with double earrings except hanging ones. This did not stop me from wearing them a few times (but I will reserve them for special wear rather than my go to pair for everyday).
Wooden bookmark by Hughes Laser Designs, this is probably the only item I have issues with and it is because the bookmark is so thick it’d damage books which is such a shame because the wood is beautiful (so it is more decorative than useful).
Bookish postcards & bookmarks by publishing houses.
The book, A Shiver Of Snow and Sky by Lisa Lueddecke which is such a fantastic story and I really want to read, also the book is sparkly and beautiful.
Narnia Hot Chocolate Spoon/Stirrer by Maple Molly’s. Another squeal and I was so happy about this, it is such a beautiful one and has a quote on the label and it is just perfect.
And of course, no hot chocolate should go without a mug, so we have a mug inspired by the heroine of the book by Four Season Fox. I love the fact that the mug and chocolate go so well together. And then the mug also matches the book…

Absolutely delightful cosy box, with a gorgeous book, wonderfully matching extras and I am just loving it. I usually complain* when book boxes send tea/coffee/chocolate and no tea strainer/mug/etc or vice versa, but the girls did it and sent both. I am SO happy about this.

In case this is the first time you pop over to my blog, you can use code MOON17 to get 5% off your subscription with them. *wink wink*

*Nevermind the fact that I have more mugs than I need, enough tea to go around well and a tea strainer that is perfect for all my needs (it fits mugs, tea pots and has handles so you don’t burn your fingers when taking it out of the mug, plus fine mesh for complicated teas like rooibos or a few others that love escaping most tea strainers). I do think about subscribers that may not be as crazy about their tea as I am and will wonder what to do with either the tea or the strainer without the other.

Art

Moon Draws: Book Box Club Bookmarks Pt. 2

Posted on October 12, 2017

On part 1, I showed the penciled sketches for the bookmarks, which didn’t have the right proportions for bookmark sizing nor did they include a hidden fox .

After some working on them, a few progress shots shared through my Instagram stories, and several late nights and early mornings working on them, they are finally done.

Each one has elements from the book they are based from, and elements based on the theme of the box they were featured in. Each one also has the hidden fox logo in them (in some it is very easy to spot in some it isn’t as easy).

Bookmark Collection 1 LowRes
Pictured above are the first four bookmarks. Enchanted Forest (The Call), Freedom Squad (The Hypnotist), Secrets & Sisterhood (The Stranger Game) and Magic by Night (Bone Gap).

The completion of them also means some news, the opening of my shop! At the moment the only thing available is a preorder of the bookmarks. The preorder closes on the 15th of October. That week, the bookmarks will be shipped to all those that preordered. After that preorder, bookmarks will be made available for individual purchase (so if you only want one bookmark or one of the designs, you can choose that particular one).

Bookmark Collection 2 Low Res
Immortal Stories (Ink), Troublemakers (All About Mia), Time Travel (Waking in Time), and Belles & Beasts (Hunted).

The designs have been digitally inked and done at high resolution (1200dpi) to ensure high quality when printing. They are one sided so that any art supply can be used without feeling guilty about it bleeding to the other side (not that it should since it is cardstock but it may).

Bookmark Collection 3 LowRes
Wizards at War (Spellslinger), Schoolroom Scandals (One of Us is Lying), Spells & Remedies (The Disappearances) and Fearless Females (Things A Bright Girl Can Do).

I enjoyed doing them and have plans for making one per box coming out. There is also the availability of custom colouring designs if you want to promote your book or are just a big fan of certain series.

If you would like to preorder a bookmark set, head out to Moon Kestrel Designs.