Book Box Subscription Review

Hello all! Welcome to my new blog post on book box subscriptions! I’ve been wanting to put something together for awhile, but I needed some more time to try the boxes and get a feel for what they were offering. I’ve compiled my thoughts on the boxes I have gotten here. These are just personal opinions, so YMMV.

image of fairyloot january box
January 2021 Fairyloot

Quick Overview of Book Box Subscriptions

This is a quick overview of the book box subscriptions I’ve received.

Owlcrate:

  • 2019
    • August 2019: Storms & Seas
    • September 2019: Fear the Night
    • October 2019: Dawn of a New World
    • November 2019: Through the Enchanted Forest
    • December 2019: Tales of Trickery
  • 2020
    • May 2020: Rebels with a Cause
    • July 2020: Date with Destiny
    • August 2020: Written in the Stars
    • September 2020: A Glorious Haunting
    • October 2020: Legends & Lore
    • November 2020: Growing Wild
  • Other
    • Call Down the Hawk Special Edition Box
    • Addie LaRue Special Edition Box
addie larue owlcrate box
Addie LaRue Owlcrate Special Edition Box

Fairyloot

  • 2019
    • December 2019: Defying the Odds
  • 2020
    • February 2020: Rulebreakers
    • March 2020: Break the Curse
    • November 2020: Enemies to Lovers
    • December 2020: Thick as Thieves
  • 2021
    • January 2021: Greek Mythology
december 2020 fairyloot box
December 2020 Fairyloot Box

Litjoy

  • 2020
    • June 2020: Mythical Gods
    • July 2020: As You Wish
    • August 2020: Elemental Magic
litjoy june 2020 box
June 2020 Litjoy Box

Bookish Box

  • 2020
    • September 2020: Thick as Thieves (no book)
    • December 2020: Winter Solstice (no book)
bookish box september 2020
September 2020 Bookish Box (no book)

Overall Thoughts on Box Subscriptions

I’ve gotten 20+ boxes overall, mostly Owlcrate at this moment.

Overall, I do have a preference. Despite the fact that I’ve only gotten six Fairyloot boxes I prefer it. Bookish Box is a close second. Owlcrate and Litjoy are tied. I really enjoyed Owlcrate in 2019 — however overall this year all the boxes landed rather flat for me. I did enjoy some of the cover changes, but overall I didn’t particularly really like any of the items in there. They went useful…almost too useful. For example, July and August I didn’t like at all. I thought the books were both gorgeous, but the office supply items weren’t for me. I liked September a little better, and then we had October…which was very lackluster for me again. The bowl cozy was a pretty item. November was a little bit better. I think the box was well designed, but once more, most of it wasn’t for me.

october 2020 owlcrate
October 2020 OwlCrate

Variety

I feel like Owlcrate lost a lot of variety this year. They went from items about fandoms to “inspired by” and these items are apparently procured off of Amazon or Wish. Or at least it feels that way. And there’s nothing wrong with it, but there was so much of it, and those items I didn’t enjoy.

Whereas Bookish Box has similar things to that. However, they’re items I’d use. (see: jewelry). Again, this is very personal preference. I know some people HATE the Bookish Box jewelry, but I love it.

Litjoy was a very mixed bag for me, but overall I moderately enjoyed their items. I wasn’t a huge fan of their books, but with their new YA quarterly subscription I’m going to give them another chance! Whenever they have a theme I’m interested in at least.

Fairyloot seems to have the right mix of items for me. They also all feel fandom oriented and I really like that.

litjoy july 2020
Litjoy July 2020

Shipping

I will admit Bookish Box shipping is…slow. Very slow. But I have liked what I’ve gotten. I’ll be getting the April 2021 box, so I’ll be excited to see if my opinions change.

Fairyloot has alternately used Fedex and UPS. I much prefer UPS because my boxes seem to come intact. The others use USPS which is just fine!

may 2020 owlcrate
May 2020 Owlcrate

Book Reviews of Books Featured Here

Past Boxes

I will admit I don’t have pictures of everything. But here is a gallery of photos! Click images to enlarge to see fully.

I have decided to do the unboxings on my blog as well as my booktube and Instagram. My blog will always go up first, then booktube then instagram.

So, this months was a really cool theme! I think it was a gorgeous box overall and very much appealed to my aesthetics. July’s box (despite having fandoms I loved!) was a huge miss for me and a severe disappointment. This box was the opposite of that!

image of an owlcrate box
Yes, it is the box. A very pretty box.

The first item I am starting with is one of the two fabric items. This was the one that was teased, and the item I was least excited for as I have SO MANY booksleeves and make my own, so I don’t find them necessary. However, this one is absolutely beautiful. It was based off The Starless Sea which I’ve never read. But I love the colors and the design.

The book sleeve! So magical!

The next items were rather small so I was able to put them all in one image. This box came with a silver pen with a star on top. Cute, I love celestial bodies so I’ll be using it. The objects in the star shaped jar are push pins. I JUST got rid of my corkboard, so whether or not I’ll use the push pins remains to be seen. Then we have the pin. The lotus flower with a moon inside the petals. The moon glows in the dark! It is super beautiful and one of my favorite pins. Finally, we have the clipboard which is based off Aurora Rising. I don’t have much use for a clipboard, but it is so pretty that I can’t help but love it.

The other goodie was a bandana/head thing. This is it unrolled, it is based off Strange the Dreamer. Personally, I think it would make a nice tapestry. There are all sorts of things one can do with it.

Last but not least is the book. The book is probably one of my absolute favorite cover changes ever. It even has the most beautiful sprayed edges. I love the color change from gold to purple. It is absolutely divine. The spine is a shimmery silver. And the edges are a deep purple.

Suffice to say, this is definitely a great box for me! It met all my aesthetic desires as well as being gorgeous. I wish there had been some more fandom related things, but honestly, I think it was really pretty overall.

What do you guys think?