I'm running a little bit behind with these unboxings, but determined to get them done before the August boxes arrive! 😅 Now, let's have a quick reminder of the June 2021 Illumicrate theme: Our book this month is a debut standalone fantasy inspired by Jewish folklore and Hungarian history. The only power-less woman in a pagan village, surrendered as a sacrifice, and the disgraced prince in disguise as a captain of the king's holy order, must work together first to survive a perilous journey, then to try and prevent the prince's brother from seizing the throne. If the plot is successful, it will mean a violent reign of cultural and ethnic cleansing. Together they could save a nation, if they don’t betray one another first. We loved this thought-provoking read with its rich fantasy world and perfect example of enemies to lovers romance. If you love Nina and Matthias of Six of Crows, you are going to adore this one! 💛 Our Illumicrate edition features all exclusive: cover, reverse dust jacket art by @warickaart, foil embossing on the hardback, stencilled edges and is signed by the author! This is one of our most stunning books this year and we adore it! Both the full box and book only option will come with a matching pin designed by @stacey.mcevoy.caunt! 💛 We’ve put a very aesthetic, woodsy box together featuring items inspired by Lord of the Rings, We Hunt the Flame, Among the Beasts and Briars, an officially licensed The Darkest Part of the Forest item and more! We’re pleased to announce this box will feature the next of our ‘Piece Your Own Story’ jigsaw puzzles! The latest @rosiethorns88 mug wont be in this box, instead it is in July's. 💛 The book at a glance 📚 Adult fantasy, standalone 💡 All exclusive cover, reverse dust jacket art by @warickaart, embossing on the hardback, stencilled edges and signed by the author 💫 Jewish main character written by Jewish author, M/F relationship I'm 100% sure I know what this book is since I had an eARC of it last month. Sadly, my head wasn't in the right space to read the book as an eARC so I'm hoping to get back into it with the physical book. Okay, let's open it up! As always, there will be spoilers beyond this point so look away now if you don't want to see what's inside this box. First up, we have this absolutely stunning 'The Woods are Lovely' water bottle. It was designed by @rosdottir and features beautiful poetry by Robert Frost. I honestly love this so much. It's really hardy, made of glass, with a bamboo lid, and the artwork is really pretty. I'm looking forward to using this really soon! OMG! This is awesome! I absolutely love a good jigsaw and this Lord of the Rings inspired puzzle by @afterblossom_art and @chattynora is fantastic! I'm looking forward to a quiet night where I can put this together, probably while listening to the LOTR soundtrack! Next up we have a bunch of smaller, but awesome items. The woodmark by @no0nedesigns is seriously pretty. It's inspired by Among the Beasts and Briars and it's gorgeous. It fits perfectly with this months book which makes it a great companion bookmark. The huntress wooden pin is inspired by We Hunt the Flame and designed by @hannahhitchmanart. It's my first wooden pin and I just love it! Then there's the monthly collectors pin that matches the book, designed this time by @stacey.mcevoy.caunt. It's definitely very different than the usual colourful Illumicrate pins, but no less pretty. The last big item before the book is this The Darkest Part of the Forest banner designed by @superstarfighter. I haven't read, or even heard of the book, but the artwork is lovely and it's a really unique item that I've not seen before. Oooh, pretty stenciled edges! I love the block red colour! I don't have any like this. And here's the book! Isn't she pretty!? The artwork on this book is lovely and I love the naked cover! This edition has an exclusive cover, artwork on the reverse of the dusk jacket by @warickaart, embossing on the hardback, stencilled edges and it's signed by the author. Here's the synopsis for The Wolf and the Woodsman by Ava Reid: In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered. But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother. As their mission takes them from the bitter northern tundra to the smog-choked capital, their mutual loathing slowly turns to affection, bound by a shared history of alienation and oppression. However, trust can easily turn to betrayal, and as Évike reconnects with her estranged father and discovers her own hidden magic, she and Gáspár need to decide whose side they’re on, and what they’re willing to give up for a nation that never cared for them at all. This book really does sound great and it's pegged as being perfect for fans of Katherine Arden's The Bear and the Nightingale, which I absolutely adored, so I'm really hoping to revisit it soon. Anyway, that's all for now! I hope you enjoyed my unboxing!
I'll be back with the next one soon! Comments are closed.
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About Kay (She/Her)
Book addict, film mad, music lover, business owner, writer and mum (not necessarily in that order), living in the UK. About Sophie (She/Her)
Sophie loves books (obviously). She has a passion for photography and spotting wildlife, and is interested in anything made with passion and creativity. THIS BLOG IS SPOILER FREE!
Rating system: 5 Stars - AMAZING!! 4.5 Stars - Almost perfect! 4 Stars - I really loved it 3.5 Stars - I liked it alot 3 Stars - I liked it (I don't typically review books that I rate below 3 stars)
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