This unboxing is very very late as I’ve been on a bit of a blogging hiatus for a little while, but since I had already taken the photos before I hurt my shoulder, I thought I would still post my unboxing and share what was inside Fairyloot’s June box now that I am getting back into blogging again!
The theme for June was ‘Animal Companions’ and I have to say I love books that have animal companions in them, so I was looking forward to this box. Let’s see what was inside!
Read More » After the August box I decided to unsubscribe, but trust Fairyloot to pull me back in. The January theme was just perfect for me so I couldn’t pass on it. Although I decided I didn’t like getting a box every month, I will still get the occasional one when the theme and book is right up my street.
Fairyloot is a UK-based YA fantasy subscription box. If you subscribe, you get a box a month which includes a hardback book and 5-6 exclusive goodies around a theme.
The theme for January was ‘Greek Mythology’! Let’s see what was inside…
Read More » I was super excited for this month’s Fairyloot box as I’d guessed what the book was and it’s one of my most anticipated releases of the year!
Fairyloot is a UK-based YA fantasy subscription box. If you subscribe, you get a box a month which includes a hardback book and 5-6 exclusive goodies around a theme.
The theme for August is ‘Let The Games Begin’, though I’m not really sure how the items connect to this theme. Perhaps there are more subtle connections that someone who has read the books the items are inspired by would understand? Also, this unboxing photo is missing an item as I took out the bath bomb straight away because the smell was so strong!
Read More » I have to say I wasn’t that excited for this box but I absolutely loved it! Even though the theme sounded good, I hadn’t read many of the books mentioned in the fandom list, so wasn’t sure how much I would like the items. However, most of the items you can enjoy even if you’ve not read the book they’re inspired by which I was really glad about.
Fairyloot is a UK-based YA fantasy subscription box. If you subscribe, you get a box a month which includes a hardback book and 5-6 exclusive goodies around a theme.
The theme for July was Resilient Royals! So let’s see what was inside…
Read More » June is my birthday month so I was excited to get this box since it was due to come around my birthday. Unfortunately, it was delayed a couple of weeks due to the coronavirus so it didn’t come until about mid-July.
Fairyloot is a UK-based YA fantasy subscription box. If you subscribe, you get a box a month which includes a hardback book and 5-6 exclusive goodies around a theme.
The theme for this box was ‘A Different Kind of Magic’ and they revealed it would be a two-book box which is always awesome!
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Last week I received my first Book Box Club box! I decided to subscribe because their May theme was just right up my street. Dragons are my favourite magical creatures so I just couldn’t resist a box themed around them.
Book Box Club is a UK-based subscription box. If you subscribe you get a book along with 4-6 bookish items. They offer monthly, 3 month or 6 month pre-paid options and they also do a book-only option. Also included is an invite to their exclusive online book group where you get a chance to ask the author questions which sounds pretty cool.
The theme for May was Dangers and Dragons! Without further ado, here’s what was inside.
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Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books and Dani @ Literary Lion. This week’s topic is ‘Subscription Boxes’.
I only discovered bookish subscription boxes last year but they’ve been around for a little while now. The basic idea is that once a month you get a box in the post that includes a new release book and a few bookish items. Some companies also offer book only or item only options. Sounds appealing right? That’s exactly what I thought when I discovered book boxes existed. It’s super exciting waiting for the box to arrive and then the surprise of opening it since you don’t know what’s going to be inside! Plus, they often do special edition boxes for big new releases in which all the items are themed around that book/series e.g. Chain of Gold, Queen of Nothing.
So far, I have tried Fairyloot, Illumicrate and Book Box Club which are all UK based. I haven’t tried any US based ones yet as shipping is really expensive. I’ve only had one box from Illumicrate so far and while I liked it, I didn’t feel there was as much included as the Fairyloot boxes I’ve had. Literally just this week I had my first Book Box Club box. The May theme was around dragons which I absolutely adore so this theme was just perfect for me. However, it didn’t feel like there was much in the box, there were only a few small items. Unlike Illumicrate and Fairyloot who offer exclusive editions (usually with sprayed edges, exclusive cover design etc), the books included in Book Box Club appear to be just the standard editions. What Book Box Club does offer though is a member-exclusive book group with the author of the featured book which sounds really cool, though I haven’t tried it out yet since I only just got my first box from them.
In comparison, the three monthly Fairyloot boxes I’ve had so far (October, February and March) seem to offer better value for money than the Illumicrate and Book Box Club ones I’ve had. They were full to the brim with a mixture of great small and larger items. So out of the three, Fairyloot stands out to me as the best in terms of their monthly boxes.
I recently received the special edition boxes for Chain of Gold from Illumicrate and Fairyloot. In this case, I think it was the Illumicrate box that was the best. All the items worked really well together and were unique and interesting. I was blown away by how amazing their box was. From looking at their past special edition boxes, Illumicrate seem to be really good at these.
I don’t think I will become a regular subscriber to a book subscription box as much as I would love to. They are quite expensive. By the time VAT and shipping is added the monthly boxes come to roughly £32. The other problem is that the kinds of items included do seem to be a bit repetitive, so I can imagine ending up with lots of similar items that I don’t know what to do with. I would be more likely to subscribe if there was less repetition and more unique items in each box. Also, as the contents are a surprise (which to be fair is part of what makes receiving them exciting) there is the potential to be disappointed so it can be a bit hit and miss.
As I have a lot more time for reading at the moment due to not being able to go anywhere, I will probably get a few more boxes this year. Plus, I need something to look forward to right now. I’m in the at risk group so I can’t go anywhere, not even to the supermarket! Receiving book boxes will provide some much-needed bright spots in what is quite a difficult time right now. When things get back to normal though I will probably go back to just getting the occasional box as a treat.
How do you feel about subscription boxes? Are you subscribed to any? Which would you recommend? Share your thoughts with me in the comments!
I finally received my March Fairyloot box last week! It was delayed due to coronavirus but it got here in the end and that’s what matters!
Fairyloot is a UK-based YA fantasy subscription box. If you subscribe, you get a box a month which includes a hardback book and 5-6 exclusive goodies around a theme. Or you can get a single purchase and just buy a one-off box.
This month’s theme was ‘Break the Curse’. I was excited for this box because I guessed from the description that the book would be one of my most anticipated reads for 2020. Without further ado, here’s what was inside.
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I was super excited to get Illumicrate’s December box for Christmas! I’d guessed the book which was one of my anticipated releases for 2019, and many of the fandoms featured in the box are ones I’ve read.
Illumicrate is a UK-based subscription box. They were originally a quarterly subscription box, but changed to monthly. If you subscribe, you get a box a month which includes a hardback book and 3-5 exclusive goodies around a theme. You can subscribe monthly for £26. There is also a book only option which is £17. Or you can get a single purchase and just buy a one-off box.
Be warned there will be spoilers for the contents of the December box in this post!
The December theme is ‘Secrets and Schemes’ and they revealed before the boxes were posted that there would be a mug and a calendar included.
Read More » This is my first unboxing post as I finally decided to order a subscription box, having been eyeing them up for ages! There are various book subscription boxes you can get, which usually include a book and a selection of goodies. Plus, it’s a surprise, as you don’t know what the book or items will be.
Fairyloot is a UK-based YA fantasy subscription box. If you subscribe, you get a box a month which includes a hardback book and 5-6 exclusive goodies around a theme. You can subscribe monthly, or there are 3 month and 6 month pre-paid options. The monthly cost is £26. Or you can get a single purchase and just buy a one-off box, which is what I decided to do. It’s pretty expensive to get monthly, so I just decided I would by a box occasionally as a single purchase when a theme catches my eye.
Be warned there will be spoilers for the contents of the October box in this post!
The October theme is ‘Love at First Bite’. I’m sure for a lot of people this must be their dream box, as there are a lot of vampire fans out there. I’m not super into vampires, but I really wanted the book in this box so decided to go for it. I got an eARC of The Beautiful and loved it, so wanted to get my hands on a physical copy and couldn’t resist a signed exclusive copy.
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The Last Book On The Left 