Book boxes offer an indulging reading experience

“Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it.” – Roald Dahl.

This quote adorns the front of my “Threads of Fate” FairyLoot box, the March edition of the U.K.-based book box subscription. Every month, FairyLoot curates a box filled with one hardcover special edition Young Adult novel (which sometimes comes with one paperback on the side) and four to five bookish goodies for subscribers. The box is priced at $35.90 for U.S.-based subscribers and shipping depends on your location — for me it cost $10.99. It is quite pricey, but I think that the box is worth the price if you are interested in special edition books. The only other drawback is that the subscription is in high demand so you must put your name on a waitlist, and they will email you when a spot is available. I personally had to wait three months, so it was a rather long wait, but it was definitely worth it.

The March box features the book “The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea” by Axie Oh, signed by the author herself. It is an absolutely stunning book that comes with many FairyLoot customizations — it instantly became the prettiest book I own. The colors of the cover are altered to have a peachy hue, compared to the original’s blue design, and I love the new look.

FairyLoot also added stencil-sprayed edges to the novel with a gorgeous blue and teal dragon design. There is dreamy artwork on the endpapers, inspired by the book itself, that complements the overall aesthetic of this FairyLoot edition. But my personal favorite customization was the blue foil embossing on the hardcover which pictured the main character, Mina, with the sea dragon god from the story. I was in awe of the intricate details of the embossing and it definitely was the cherry on top for me. 

The box also comes with a Madeleine Miller’s “Circe” inspired wood art piece, a Jordan Ifueko’s “Raybearers” inspired cushion cover, a Maggie Stiefvater’s “The Raven Boys” inspired sticker sheet and a tea tin inspired by the book of the month. Personally, I haven’t read any of those books yet but “Circe” by Madeleine Miller is definitely on my “to be read” list and the wooden artwork further piqued my interest in the book. Apart from the aforementioned items, there was also supposed to be a deck of foiled playing cards inspired by several book characters, but I have yet to receive that item due to shipping delays from their producers. Along with those bookish goodies, there is the usual two tarot cards, an author letter and, of course, the book.

Although the book box was on the more expensive side, it was definitely worth it. I won’t be using the items from the March box anytime soon because they weren’t very practical in my opinion, but I know that it differs every month so it honestly just depends on your luck. The same thing goes for the book because it just depends on your personal taste in books, though all of them fall under the Young Adult category. But despite these possible drawbacks, I would definitely say that the FairyLoot subscription is worth a try, even if just for a month. The customizations to the book are high-quality and the items definitely have potential. So, if you’d like to try out that “book box magic,” give FairyLoot a shot! It just might be perfect for you.