Subscription boxes seem to be all the rage lately and new ones are popping up all the time! Today I'm going to review my recent purchase of The Best Damn Book Box!
I thought it would be fun to try out a box that I hadn't seen anyone get before. I found this box on instagram (thebestdamnbookbox) and loved all the sneak peeks for the March box so I waited til it went on sale and ordered it ASAP!
So, I got the March box and the theme was Magical Things & Magical Beings! That theme sounded like it would be right up my alley! I thought for a second that I had ordered too soon and ended up signing up for February (which made me sad, but after seeing the reveal, I think I would have liked more). But I got what I signed up for, so that's good.
When I got this in the mail, I somehow managed to wait until I got ALL the way home so I could take semi-good photos of the box (which lasted all of five minutes before I just whipped my phone out instead of using my fancy camera.
This was the view of the inside of the box upon opening! My first thought was that it looks kinda empty. But seeing that there was a candle included made me happy and I knew that there was a design by @SeoEvie included and seeing that on the top made me happy too!
I quite like the mermaid design of this! I have never heard of The Vicious Deep I don't think, but perhaps I'll check it out. I like the quote in this design! The bigger card has the list of all the items included in the box and the little thing is a sticker of the same print.
This candle was the first thing that I zeroed in on when I opened the box. I recognized the label and was pretty pumped because I wanted to try out a candle from Novelly Yours! Buuuuut the title on the candle made me sad because I was pretty sure that that was foreshadowing for what was to come deeper in the box.
Next I saw this enormous button! I love the button, I will 'show my badge of honor' with pride. The button is from 24 Hour Print.
There was also some Fairy Dust bath fizz to help me 'fly like Tink'! I like the bath product theme I'm seeing in these boxes because February looked like it had a bath bomb in it. I hope I stay at a hotel with a tub soon so I can take a bath (I haul water to my house so it's best not to waste water with a bath). This is from @enchatedstorybookspa.
Then we have this locket necklace from @craftingcall. If the candle wasn't my hint as to what book was gonna be in this box, this definitely was. I think the book cover locket is a cute addition for a box, but I don't like Cassandra Clare's writing so lol, I don't really want this.
And finally we have (SURPRISE) Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare. And also the cute mermaid ring from Sparks Emporium. This picture is me getting lazy and not moving my lazy cat to get a better picture. You can't really see him, but he's there.
So overall, I was super excited to finally get this box in the mail, but have really mixed feelings upon opening it. Let's do some pros and cons, shall we?
Pros:
~The fact that it included such a popular YA hardcover book is definitely a pro. And it's SO BIG!
~The goodies included in this book are fun and fit nicely with the theme!
Cons:
~Even though the quality of book is definitely a pro, it's also a con for me personally because I have absolutely zero desire to read this book.
~This box is priced at $39.99. Shipping for me was a little over $9. I found a 30% off coupon, but even with it, the box still cost me about $40 and I just don't think that what I got in the box was worth that much to me.
Overall, the box I think is full of quality goodies and includes a quality book, but the price just doesn't do it for me. If they had a theme in the future that I just don't think I could live without, I might order another one, but I don't think $40 is something I could afford to spend once a month something I'm gambling on whether or not I'll actually like all the contents.
I think that the next box I'm going to try is the Fantasy and Sci-Fi box or whatever it's called so look forward to that sometime in the distant or not so distant future.
I'd never heard of this box service either so thanks for the review Cyra. After trying a few subscription services (Julep for nail polish, Little Black Bag for accessories, Fandom of the Month Club for costume fandom jewelry, Le Tote for clothes and Owlcrate for books and things) I've realized that the anticipation is always more fun than the actual package. Of the services I mentioned above I've only kept a handful of items (2 shirts from Le Tote, some Julep polish, three fandom jewelry pieces--two of which turn my skin green, a handbag from Little Black Bag that probably is past its prime), everything else I received was quickly given away or discarded. I guess it's not the point of the service but I think what I'd like more is a subscription box where I can opt in or out easily (no monthly commitment) and see exactly what I get beforehand. It always feels like a bit too much of a gamble otherwise.
ReplyDeleteThis was the second subscription box that I have tried out and I definitely agree that the anticipation is the best part. The first one I tried was Owlcrate and the theme I got was Myths and Legends and that was something that SPOKE to me, but I was SO disappointed in basically everything in the box. It came with a neat tin of fancy tea, but I don't like tea and I don't even remember what else came in it. That being said, I have ordered the Dystopian themed Owlcrate for April so I will probs review that box next! But I look at all the pictures of people doing unboxings and I LOVE what I see and then when I finally go in and order, I hate what I get! I'm gonna give a few more a try just for the sake of seeing which one I might like the best, but I probably won't really subscribe to one. Just pick and choose which themes I might want to try out. I have seen one box (for like $43 so lol no) where they let you know ahead of time what book will come in the box, but I don't remember what it was called.
DeleteThanks for the review! I'd heard of this one, but the price point makes me raise an eyebrow. I guess if you could set preferences somehow, so you'd be more likely to get something you actually want. Plus, isn't Lady Midnight the latest in a series?? It seems backward to me, to send a novel that isn't a standalone or first in a series, for a subscription box. :/
ReplyDeleteI tried OwlCrate and I was surprised in a good way...I'm waiting to see how I feel about the Dystopian box for April before I decide whether it's up my alley. I have a subscription to Fandom of the Month Box, which I love even when it's not my fandom, because it's affordable enough to just gift everything from it.
Give we three commenter's experiences, maybe there's a market for a subscription box service of a geek/book nature that allows for personalization each month. I wish FotM had that, at least, since I can't wear bracelets. :/
Lady Midnight is the first in a new series that is basically probably all about the same things as the last series was, I think. It's a continuation of the events of the end of the TMI series, I think.
DeleteI have the Dystopian box from Owlcrate ordered! I hope that I like it! I wish I would have ordered the Sci-Fi box. I thought about it, but I was worried I wouldn't like the book, but I wanted that book and I'm sad I didn't do it!
I think that I might like to try Fandom of the Month, I should give that one a try next maybe!
A box with personalization options would be so fantastic! I think that there are some boxes with the option that the person doing it will look into your interests and stuff and pick a book out for you. Maybe it's Uppercase? I don't remember. I go into it thinking I want the surprise and then getting the box and not liking the surprise anymore.
But I would so sign up for a box with personalized books and goodies. I love the goodies in the boxes for the most part, they look so fun!