October’s subscription boxes certainly had some very interesting themes! So I let a couple renew as well as indulged in one other. This month I got OwlCrate, Ever After Box, Muse Monthly and of course my OTSP Secret Sister Box!
So how did the month go? Let’s look!
Description: A monthly romance book box featuring swag, extras, downloadable e-books and print books based around a central theme.
September’s Theme: Here Comes the Bride
Cost: $29.99/one month subscription plan (free shipping in US – $32.09 w/tax)
Hashtag: #EverAfterBox #HereComesTheBride
Items Included:
- Print copy of award-winning author Sonali Dev’s The Bollywood Bride with letter from author
- Print copy in New York Times bestselling author Noelle Adams Hired Bride with letter from author
- Three e-book download cards:
- A.S. Fenichel’s Tainted Bride, Book 1 of the Forever Bride series
- Award-winning author Megan Kelly’s Wedding Rescue, Book 1 of the Love in Little Tree series
- Book 1 of the Meryton Matchmakers series by Kristi Rose, a modern day variation of Pride and Prejudice
- Mint wedding favors in a decorated tin, courtesy of author A.S. Fenichel
- A souvenir replica of a historical Gretna Green marriage license
- Wedding bangles courtesy of author Sonali Dev
- Double Happiness bookmark courtesy of USA Today bestselling and award-winning author Jeannie Lin
- Love birds S&P shakers
Thoughts: A print copy of THE BOLLYWOOD BRIDE – I own the e-book – which is definitely a boon. I loved the swag of this box, a replica Gretna Green license! the Double Happiness bookmark! I’m middle of the road about most of the other books – I’m not much for contemporary romances, but I do like marriages of conveniences so HIRED BRIDE will be interesting I think. I’ve been eying TAINTED BRIDE for a while so that’s cool to now have an e-copy of. Overall I enjoyed this box, though not as much as last month’s.
Subscribing Next Month (Nov)?: Yeah I’m a sucker for holiday themed romances and I want to see the surprise in the pretty bags!
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Description: OwlCrate is a monthly book subscription box that sends newly published Young Adult novels and assorted bookish goodies to your door. Each month’s OwlCrate is tailored to a fun theme (past themes include MAGIC, MYTHS & LEGENDS, and DIVERSITY) and will contain one new Young Adult novel, as well as 3-5 other bookish treats to help you get your nerd on.
October’s Theme: Once Upon a Dream
Cost: $29.99/one month subscription plan ($6.99/shipping)
Hashtag: #owlcrate #OnceUponADream
Items Included:
- Vassa in the Night by Sarah Porter hardcover
- Vassa signed book plate
- Vassa temporary tattoo
- Post card letter from Sarah about Vassa
- Sleeping Beauty inspired bracelet from The Geeky Cauldron
- Oz Passport notebook from
- Peter Pan “Lost Boys” hat from Whosits & Whatsits
- Quote bookmark from
- Red button bookmark from My Heart, My Tribe
Thoughts: I honestly mostly got this for Vassa in the Night and whatever Vassa inspired swag happened into it, so in that it was a success. I also will never turn down a new notebook and I really love the bracelet. The hat is a total miss with me – not only can’t I wear it (its acrylic, but my head is too sensitive for something like that – its why I prefer hoods), but I am soooo not a Peter Pan fan. This will likely get traded or given to someone.
I’ve done Owl Crate a few times – the fact I could guess the title this month was a boon since the last two times I didn’t end up liking the book and really only wanted it for the swag.
Subscribing Next Month (Nov)?: Haven’t decided. The book that is more than likely going to be included, with the exclusive cover, does not actually fill me with glee. I’m not a big fan of Alice in Wonderland (I can name the number of retellings I’ve liked on three fingers) however the swag….
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Description: Muse Monthly is a unique monthly subscription box for lovers of books and tea! Subscribe for a monthly delivery of literary fiction and delicious tea!
October’s Theme: Hogarth Shakespeare retelling of “The Tempest”
Cost: $29.50/one month subscription plan (shipping: $7 – $39.06 w/tax)
Hashtag: #musemonthly
Items Included:
- Hagseed by Margaret Atwood
- “The Tempest” art print from Obvious State
- Teapigs “English Breakfast” tea
- Margaret Atwood signed book plate
- Margaret Atwood quote bookmark from Lindsay Goldener
- Margaret Atwood postcard about the book
- (not pictured) “Tempest” candle from Novelly Yours
Thoughts: This is, depending on where you live for shipping/tax purposes, a rather more expensive book box against others. However this is a higher quality in terms of thoughtfulness in pairing the book with its supplementary items. The nice thing about Muse Monthly is that you can find out what the book/author is for the next month so you can decide whether or not you wish to go in then. Since the books do trend more towards the literary fiction side, this is a boon to me as I’m picky about my literary fiction. I’ve tried the Tea Pigs tea and loved it, its not a brand familiar to me so I appreciated finding a new site to poke at. Atwood’s note is interesting and gives some nice insight – the Hogarth Shakespeare collection features many different authors as they retell the tales in unique ways. I’d previously read Shylock is My Name by Howard Jacobson, which I enjoyed a lot and “The Tempest” is a Shakespeare play that doesn’t get enough love. I haven’t read Hagseed yet, but I’m hopeful.
If you’re not a fan of literary fiction, this box will likely not appeal to you. There are other book boxes that are tea+book related of similar or cheaper price range (Novel Tea Club which features Young Adult, Fantasy & Romance as categories to choose from; Blue Spider’s Attic which features 3 gently used books in SciFi, Fantasy, Mystery, Horror or Literary categories) that may appeal to you more.
Subscribing Next Month (November)?: No, the book doesn’t interest me
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OTSP Secret Sister
Description: OTSP Secret Sister is a monthly exchange program in which you get a partner and for 6 months trade letters, gifts and good cheer with each other.
October’s Theme: Fighting Evil by Moonlight (aka Sailor Moon)
Cost: my tier is $15-$20/monthly (you can spend more than this, but that’s minimum and there’s different tiers you can sign up for)
Hashtag: #otspsecretsister
Items Included:
- Sailor Jupiter Funko (one of her fav Scouts!)
- An adorable Sailor Moon Anniversary Notebook
- THE COOLEST SAILOR SATURN (who is my fav Scout) print (plus frame, not pictured)
- Adorable stationary
Thoughts: My dad caught me humming “Fighting evil by moonlight” as I gazed lovingly at this collection. The pic doesn’t do the Sailor Saturn print justice – the colors are soft, but so gorgeous. Just…I was in happy glee over this package.
So there you have it! If I have extra funds I may try Blue Spider’s Attic – there’s a 50/50 chance I’ll receive books I’ve read/owned given how vast my collection is, but as I just learned a couple days ago sometimes even I miss gems.
I know for a lot of people the book sub boxes have become problematic – you subscribe to the popular ones and you run into the chance of getting a book you just got. I haven’t hit this problem yet since I only really subscribe to one popular YA box (Owlcrate) and infrequently at that, but I think I can understand the frustration. Hopefully I can avoid this!!
For the Sake of Reading 