OwlCrate: Fantasy Box

If you’re a regular reader (or just a friend) you probably know that I have an MFA in Creative Writing focusing on Writing for Children, so you can only imagine how psyched I was when the folks at OwlCrate asked me to review their YA book subscription.

There is so much here to love. First, the name. OwlCrate. Even if I didn’t love Harry Potter and owls, their logo makes it adorable.

Second, their manifesto:
1) No one is too old to read YA.
2) We will not be ashamed of our TBR piles.
3) It’s okay to fall in love with fictional characters.
4) The book is always better than the movie (but the movies are fun too!).
5) Books have the ability to change our world.

I love their mantra so much that I want to run away and work for them (like people used to want to run away and join the circus, or gypsies, or a gypsy circus).

Now what you actually get:
Each magical box is tailored to a chosen YA theme (e.g. paranormal, first love, dystopia.) and will contain one new Young Adult novel, as well as 3-5 other bookish keepsakes to help set the mood for your literary adventure. OwlCrate ships out on the 20th of each month and only selects books that were published a maximum of 45 days prior to their ship date.

And, in a stroke of wondrous, awesome luck my box theme was Fantasy. It was like Christmas in Spring.

THE BOOK:

A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
(Estimated Retail: $17.76)
Description: “Kell is one of the last travelers—magicians with a rare, coveted ability to travel between parallel universes connected by one magical city. There’s Grey London, dirty and boring, without any magic…Red London, where life and magic are revered…White London—a place where people fight to control magic..And once upon a time, there was Black London. But no one speaks of that now.”
Verdict: Love!
I love Fantasy books that aren’t part of a huge series, or where I have to memorize long lineages and many, many names. I’m super intrigued by this concept of different Londons and of course, I must find out the ultimate fate of the mysterious “Black London”. This book is going to fit perfectly into my 2015 Popsugar Book Challenge under the category of “book with magic”, so be sure to come back for a full review.

THE LITTLE THINGS:


Enchanted Unicorn Bandages
(Estimated Retail: $6.09)
Description: “Cover your minor scrapes and scratches with these Enchanted Unicorn bandages and pretend that you’re in a magical land where pain doesn’t exist.”
Verdict: Love! Because unicorn tears are the best medicine.
Cuts suck and when you need a bandaid, why the hell shouldn’t it have a unicorn on it? These are even better than my mustache bandaids.

Game of Thrones Vinyl Figure Edition #1
(Estimated Retail: $7.24)
Description: “The Game of Thrones Mystery Mini Figure features some of your favorite factions and mythical creatures from the Game of Thrones TV series on HBO – stylized and measuring approximately 2 1/2-inches tall. Don’t miss out on these amazing mini-figures you could get- Stark Direwolves, Daenarys’ Dragons, King’s Guard Soldier, Night’s Watch Soldier, and so much more. The figure you get is a Mystery! Collect them all!”
Verdict: Gift
So I’m pretty much the last person in the world who doesn’t watch Game of Thrones. I know, I know, but I tried, really I did. I gave it like 3 episodes and it was so slow and there were so many names to remember. It felt like I should take notes and draw a chart. I know a ton of folks that love the show though, so I’ll be passing this cute little guy to one of them.

Craftedvan Set of Mini Bookmarks
(Estimated Retail: $7.54)
Description: “Designed, printed, hand-cut, and assembled with lots of love! Created using durable photo stock and magnet.”
Verdict: Love!
These were handmade exclusively for OwlCrate (how cool!) so I couldn’t find this exact set on Etsy, but I linked to a comparable 3 piece one. These bookmarks are adorable and fit the fantasy theme perfectly. I also love that they included something handmade and unique.

EXTRAS:

ADSOM PIN & POSTER
The poster is dual-sided and includes Cover Art for both the US and UK release. For some reason I stupidly only photographed one side, so apologies there. Both the pin and poster were given to OwlCrate by the author herself, which somehow makes it that much more cool.

Also included was this bookmark flyer that offers a coupon code for Geekycon. Just use the code GEEKYCRATE before May 15^th for $25 off. I noticed right away that Jenny Han was on the lineup. She was a year ahead of me at the New School and I remember when she sold her first book. Ah, memories. (Don’t mind me I’ll be in the back, drinking tequila and trying to sell a few novels).

OVERALL

Verdict: Love!

I don’t know if it’s the writer in me or the geeky chick, but I loved this box so hard. The fantasy theme was evident in all the items and they were a perfect mix of cute and practical.

I didn’t pay for this one, but if I had it would have cost me $36.98. Excluding the “extras”, the value (with Amazon discounts) came out to $38.63. I’m fine with those numbers because this isn’t the type of sub you subscribe to in order to get a bunch of stuff on the cheap. You get it for the fun surprises and the interesting curation. If I’d paid full price for this box, I still would love it and feel I got my money’s worth.

If I had more space in my apartment for hardcover books, I’d probably treat myself to a few months of OwlCrate, but unfortunately for me, space is at a premium, so I mostly stick to ebooks. Still, cracking open an actual hard cover book feels like going home again, so this sub calls out my name. I’ll probably break down around my birthday and treat myself to a few months because as you know I have no willpower.

Do you read YA books? What’s your favorite author?

THE BACKSTORY
Every month OwlCrate will send you a magical box tailored to a chosen YA theme (e.g. paranormal, first love, dystopia.) Each box will contain one new Young Adult novel, as well as 3-5 other bookish keepsakes to help set the mood for your literary adventure. Don’t forget to document and share your experience with others in the Owlcrate community! Every once in awhile they may include an Adult novel that is being embraced by the YA community. They promise that it will always be suitable for ages 16+, and that it will be a fantastic read!
COSTS:
Subscription: $29.99 or pay upfront for 3 or 6 months (with discounts applied). Please be aware that renewal is automatic until you cancel your subscription.
Shipping: Right now shipping to the US is $6.99 , to Canada is $10.59 and to anywhere else in the world shipping is $19.99 . (They are looking to find ways to make international shipping less expensive in the future!)

Author: Writer Preziosi

Once upon a time, long, long ago, Lisa attended Syracuse University where she studied singing in a giant castle surrounded by ice and snow. After she earned her music degree, she headed to the island of Manhattan, down to the West Village, to a place called the New School. There, she earned another degree in the great art of writing stories for children. She currently works on that same island trying to help real people, while making up stories about imaginary ones. Her first book, “The Ice Maiden’s Tale,” a fairy tale adventure, was released on May 30, 2017 and is up for sale on Amazon. View all posts by Writer Preziosi