If you read my unboxing of Book Box Club's April Theme, you'll know that I'd planned on buying a couple of different UK boxes to see which I preferred. I already mentioned the pricing differences in my previous blog so feel free to check that out at the link above. Since then, I've also stumbled across Illumicrate, another UK book subscription box, the only difference is that this one ships every 3 months instead of every month, so...can you keep a secret? I may have also purchased the May Illumicrate to see what that's like. 🙊 Oops... On the positive side, that means I'll have 3 book boxes to share with you in May! Anyway, the FairyLoot box is finally here, and I'm super excited to dig into the 'Whimsical Journeys' theme. This is the info FairyLoot provided about this box when ordering:
Who's ready to lift the lid? First impressions: This box usually ships on the 20th of each month but was delayed for 10 days due to a 3rd party supplier issue. I completely understand that, these things happen and seriously it was soooo worth the wait!! It was delivered by My Hermes and arrived 3 days after shipping so not bad and the box had no damage. Another point to note is that the box itself is so freaking cool! I want to keep it just so that I can stare at the wonderful design both inside and out. The label is also underneath which makes for a nicer unboxing photo. I am so overwhelmed by how amazing this box is, so let's get started! The first thing you'll notice upon opening is a spoiler card listing all of the items in the box, which is super helpful so that you can track down the suppliers on Instagram, Etsy etc. What's in the box:
Overall, this box is absolutely incredible. It far exceeded my expectations and I cannot wait for next month's box to arrive since the book features SPRAYED PAGES and a BOOK SLEEVE!! I'll be posting the unboxing as soon as I get it, so watch this space. P.S: You'll notice in the photos that there are a couple of comparison photos between the two book boxes I've received so far, just to show you the difference in size. There was also a lot less packaging in the FairyLoot box and absolutely no wiggle room - it was jam packed! Rating: 3 STARS Genre: YA/Fantasy Standalone/Series: Standalone How I got this book: April 'Book Box Club' Subscription Ten days after Jaya Mackenzie’s mum dies, angels start falling from the sky. Smashing down to earth at extraordinary speeds, wings bent, faces contorted, not a single one has survived. Hysteria mounting with every Being that drops, Jaya’s father uproots the family to Edinburgh intent on catching one alive. But Jaya can’t stand this obsession and, struggling to make sense of her mother’s sudden death and her own role on that fateful day, she’s determined to stay out of it. When her best friend disappears and her father’s mania spirals, things hit rock bottom and it’s at that moment something extraordinary happens: An angel lands right at Jaya’s feet, and it’s alive. Finally she is forced to acknowledge just how significant these celestial beings are. Set against the backdrop of the frenzied Edinburgh festival, OUT OF THE BLUE tackles questions of grief and guilt and fear over who we really are. But it’s also about love and acceptance and finding your place in this world as angels drop out of another. There were one or two things in this book that didn't sit well with me, so I'm going to talk about the things that I did like first.
This book was a 'surprise' book as it was part of the April 'Fallen Angels' book box subscription from Book Box Club. You can check out my unboxing to find out what angel related goodies were inside this months' box. I was really intrigued by this fantasy-esque story that takes place in Edinburgh. I liked the setting, I think the backdrop of the Fringe festival was really well explored and works well alongside the fantasy elements of this story, and I enjoyed the Scottish narrative. This book is very diverse, and I love that it was both culturally and sexually inclusive. It features a lesbian character, a bi character (yay!), characters of colour, and disability. I think the author does an excellent job of tackling quite a lot of difficult subjects in such a short novel (279 pages) including; loss, grief, abuse, disability, mental illness, and faith, and yet it still remains a very teenage YA novel full of teenage antics, plenty of junk food, new friendships, and self-discovery. Jaya is a great protagonist. She's strong-willed, gay and not ashamed to be who she is. She's struggling to come to terms with her mother's death and blames herself. At the same time, she's juggling with a father who's channelled his grief into an obsession, almost leaving his children to care for themselves, a younger sister she can't face after the loss of their mother and the mysterious disappearance of her secretive ex-girlfriend. All the while, mysterious 'Beings' that look like angels are falling from the sky. Jaya's character comes on in leaps and bounds during this book as she deals with difficult situations and her own grief and pain exceptionally well. I truly wanted her to find peace. The friends she makes along the way are colourful, complex and beautiful, making the underlying story really beautiful. I really enjoyed the description of the 'Beings' - they were beautiful to imagine. The main issue that I had with this book was the ending. It felt rushed and in a way, incomplete. I just don't feel as though this was properly resolved. In my opinion, a lot of things were also left unexplained and, to me at least, it seemed to take away from the book by leaving so many unanswered questions that it almost felt like the book just ended accidentally with a missing chapter/epilogue which would have been helpful. The last line is the most confusing. There was so much crammed into this story that I felt a little more resolution at the end would have been nice to avoid the unsatisfied feeling I had when I put this book down. There were a couple of other things I struggled with but I don't want to give anything away as I'd still recommend this book to fellow lovers of YA/Fantasy looking for more LGBT representation. But, that's just my opinion. Read the book and let me know what you think! Tunnocks teacake anyone? This month I decided to give monthly book boxes a try. I've never tried one of these before but it always looked like a really cool idea. Books and book inspired knick-knacks...what's not to like? I figured, like with how hard it is to find book-related goodies on Etsy for those of us who live in the UK and don't want to (or can't) pay ridiculous international shipping fees, that there wouldn't be anything like this in the UK, so I was happily surprised to find two that looked really great. I decided to order from both Book Box Club and Fairyloot to see what they were like, and what you can expect from a box. Book Box Club is marginally cheaper at £27 per month, Fairyloot a little more at £32.95 (both include shipping to mainland UK). Fairyloot offers a single purchase, monthly, 3-month and 6-month subscription plan. Book Box Club offers two different boxes 'regular' and 'books only' (for anyone who doesn't want the goodies). The prices for the regular boxes are monthly, 3-month and 6-month subscriptions, but I suppose if you wanted a single purchase you could cancel after paying for the first month. Both are YA and Fantasy themed boxes which is absolutely perfect for me. So, the first box to arrive is the April 'Fallen Angels' Theme box from Book Box Club, the Fairyloot box is delayed slightly due to a supplier issue so I'll be reviewing that later in the month. This is the info Book Box Club provided about this box when ordering: From our Fallen Angles boxes you can expect... 😇A fantastic UKYA read set in the contemporary real world where celestial beings start falling from the heavens! It sparks wild theories, extreme cults and real teen crises and features one of the sweetest LGBT romances we’ve read. 😇Our April boxes will be jam packed with items inspired by literary angels from some of our fave fandoms. We are working on some awesome goodies so stand by for supplier reveals coming your way very soon.😀 😇All members will receive the all important invitation to our members-only online book group meeting with the author of our featured read and there is SO MUCH to discuss in this book! You guys won’t want to miss it! Who's ready to dive in? First impressions: The box arrived 2 days after it was shipped and looks really neat and tidy. No damage to the box (kudos to Royal Mail) and upon opening I'm really excited to get past all that blue tissue paper!! The first thing you get is an index card (I advise you not to turn this over until the end) that gives you a run-down of the box contents. I'm guessing this is to help you if anything is missing but also includes handy information to help you find the seller/creator of each item. What's in the box:
Overall, this is a nice little book box with cute, quirky items from three different popular fandoms and a nice-looking YA paperback, all centred around the 'Fallen Angels' theme. I'm not yet sure if I'll be ordering next month's box as I'm going to wait for the Fairy Loot box and probably stick with whichever is my favourite of the two since I'm sadly not made of money. |
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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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