OWLCRATE - May 2018

          I’m very excited by OwlCrate’s May box, both for the theme and the fact that the box had something different from usual (at least since I have been subscribed).  May’s theme was “Fight Like A Girl” , so let us get into the box. 

          From Evie Bookish comes this wall hanging, which was inspired by Feyre from A Court of Thorns and Roses series by Sarah J. Mass.

          This bath bomb is created by Whipped Up Wonderful and is inspired by the character of Zéilie from Children of Blood and Bone. 

          Indigo Eleven created this double sided bookmark. It was inspired by both The Wrath of Dawn and Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh. 

          I really love this print. Mélanie Bourgeois illustrated this art print and was inspired by Inej from Six of Crows. 

           Catching Stars by Cayla Keenan it is a story about a powerful witch who is just trying to survive in the grim city she calls home. Her path crosses with Maddix, a young man who is wrongly thrown in prison and has just escaped. They become the most unlikely allies. This is an exclusive from Oftomes Publishing. 



 

          Finally, the main book for this box, Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young. This story is about Eelyn, who grows up as a member of the Aska clan of warriors. Loyalty is everything to her. She ends up facing her brother on the battlefield, a brother that she thought was dead. This battle takes her to live with a rival clan, and there she learns things that will change her life forever.

           I’m very excited by the fact that this box contains two books instead of one. ☺️

OwlCrate - April 2018

          The theme for April's Owlcrate box is "Shadows & Secrets". One of my favorite things was included in this box...I'm sure by the end you'll know what it is. Oh! And no it is not the book lol.

 
          Speaking of the book, this month's book is the first in the Shadow Games series by Amanda Goody, Ace of Shadows. From Goodreads.com: "Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets…
and secrets hide in every shadow.

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—and her reputation—behind to follow her mother’s trail to the city where no one survives uncorrupted.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he’s a street lord and a con man. Levi is also only one payment away from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all his problems.

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless mafia donna. As Enne unearths an impossible secret about her past, Levi's enemies catch up to them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the city…

And she’ll need to play."

I have another book by Amanda Foody, Daughter of the Burning City, but I have not read it yet.


 
          Next up is a sneak peak for a book by Stephanie Garber, author of Caraval. This is an excerpt from her latest which goes on sale on May 29, 2018.



          COFFEE!!!! Need I say more? This brew is from Bones Coffee Company.


   
          This is the second time that I have seen Owlcrate include a pillow case in their boxes and as usual, good quality with a quote from Crooked Kingdom and designed by Stella Bookish Art.



          As the label says, handcrafted Bar Soap from Three Sisters Apothecary by Soap Cauldron.



          Finally, these pretty pencils with quotes from Harry Potter on them. They were created by Owlcrate and Jubilee Designs.

Have you guessed my favorite thing in this box??

Owlcrate - March 2018

          My box from OwlCrate really came to me banged up that I was so worried for the items inside. Luckily the people at OwlCrate really know how to pack the items so that they are not harmed. The theme for this box was "Across the Galaxy".

          This was an exclusive candle from Wick & Fable. They sent out two different seats and the one that I got was Kady Grant from The Illuminae Files. I didn't even have to open the candle lid to smell the scent of the candle it was all over the box the moment I opened it. It smells like heaven.

       

          Next up is something really cute from FUNKO. They are pint-sized heroes and there were three different ones sent out; I got my personal favorite Baby Groot! It is totally going to go sit next to its brothers and sisters lol.

          As someone who reads everyday, and sometimes reads a few books at a time, it is never a waste of space to give me a bookmark and this beautiful one from Lexy Olivia is just what I like to see in a book subscription box. It is a watercolor bookmark with a quote from Star Wars.

          I was very confused when I got this out of the box. At first before taking it out of the package I thought it might be a pillow or a blanket but then when I opened it I was like huh?? Then I went to check the card that had the spoilers. This is an exclusive infinity scarf made by OwlCrate. The print on it is very beautiful and the material is so soft and stretchy! I can't wait to wear it.

          What can I say about this beautiful mug? I drink tons of coffee a day and this mug is just an enabler for me to drink me. It is inspired by the Lunar Chronicles and designed by Sasha Natasha. It is a ceramic mug so it is dishwasher and microwave safe.

          Finally this beautiful (and signed!) book. It came with a letter from the author along with a character poster. The edges of the book are a beautiful color purple. From Goodreads:"Seventeen-year-old Ana is a scoundrel by nurture and an outlaw by nature. Found as a child drifting through space with a sentient android called D09, Ana was saved by a fearsome space captain and the grizzled crew she now calls family. But D09—one of the last remaining illegal Metals—has been glitching, and Ana will stop at nothing to find a way to fix him.

Ana’s desperate effort to save D09 leads her on a quest to steal the coordinates to a lost ship that could offer all the answers. But at the last moment, a spoiled Ironblood boy beats Ana to her prize. He has his own reasons for taking the coordinates, and he doesn’t care what he’ll sacrifice to keep them.

When everything goes wrong, she and the Ironblood end up as fugitives on the run. Now their entire kingdom is after them—and the coordinates—and not everyone wants them captured alive.

What they find in a lost corner of the universe will change all their lives—and unearth dangerous secrets. But when a darkness from Ana’s past returns, she must face an impossible choice: does she protect a kingdom that wants her dead or save the Metal boy she loves?"

This book is the first in the series.

Nocturnal Reader’s Box- March 2018

          This box of Nocturnal Reader’s Box has two interesting books, a mug, a bag, and a print.

Ana Godis with the Ice cream man.

The bag...

Stickers and a bookmark...

The Mug...

And finally the books.

THE FURRY is our classic book. It is also book one of THE FURRY series. From Goodreads: "Gillian Bellaver’s family is one of the wealthiest in the world. Robin Sandza’s father Peter is a government assassin. The two teenagers seem to have nothing in common. Yet they are spiritual twins, possessing a horrifying psychic energy that threatens humanity. While dangerous and fanatical men vie for the secrets of their awesome power, Peter Sandza, using all the ruthless skills of his trade, makes a final desperate effort to save them. Exploring with extraordinary skill the myths and legends deeply rooted in the subconscious mind, this novel builds, scene by shocking scene, to a night of chilling horror that surpasses anything you’ve ever experienced . . . First published in 1976 and made into a successful movie written by the author and directed by Brian De Palma in 1978, The Fury is one of the all-time classics of the horror genre."

THE GONE WORLD is a mix of science fiction and thriller. From Goodreads: "Inception meets True Detective in this science-fiction thriller of spellbinding tension and staggering scope. The Gone World follows a special agent into a savage murder case with grave implications for the fate of mankind.

Shannon Moss is part of a clandestine division within the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. In Western Pennsylvania, 1997, she is assigned to solve the murder of a Navy SEAL's family--and to locate his teenage daughter, who has disappeared. Though she can't share the information with conventional law enforcement, Moss discovers that the missing SEAL was an astronaut aboard the spaceship U.S.S. Libra--a ship assumed lost to the darkest currents of Deep Time. Moss knows first-hand the mental trauma of time-travel and believes the SEAL's experience with the future has triggered this violence.

Determined to find the missing girl and driven by a troubling connection from her own past, Moss travels ahead in time to explore possible versions of the future, seeking evidence or insight that will crack the present-day case. To her horror, the future reveals that it's not only the fate of a family that hinges on her work, for what she witnesses rising over time's horizon and hurtling toward the present is the Terminus: the terrifying and cataclysmic end of humanity itself.

Luminous and unsettling, The Gone World bristles with world-shattering ideas yet remains at its heart an intensely human story."

Owlcrate - February 2018

          The theme for Owlcrate’s February box is Hidden Worlds. At first I thought the box just didn’t have as many things as it usually does but then when I saw the items I knew why. So let us dive in. 

          This beautiful Skeleton Key Pendant Necklace is inspired by the story of Coraline and was designed by Team Owlcrate.

          I love the candles that Owlcrate have in their boxes. This one is a handmade soy candle of pine, mint, and vanilla and is created by Books on Candles. 

          I love pouches with zippers. I can store a lot of things to carry safely in my bogs when I travel or have to go somewhere. This one is inspired by Daughter of Smoke and Bone and was made by Risa Rodil.

      

          This cute sticker is from Naomi Lord and is obviously inspired by Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. 

          This was the surprise of the box for me apart from the book. It is a wall tapestry by Evie Bookish. The design is beautuful and the material is gorgeous! 

          Finally, the book. From Goodreads:  "Seventeen-year-old Alice and her mother have spent most of Alice’s life on the road, always a step ahead of the uncanny bad luck biting at their heels. But when Alice’s grandmother, the reclusive author of a cult-classic book of pitch-dark fairy tales, dies alone on her estate, the Hazel Wood, Alice learns how bad her luck can really get: her mother is stolen away―by a figure who claims to come from the Hinterland, the cruel supernatural world where her grandmother's stories are set. Alice's only lead is the message her mother left behind: “Stay away from the Hazel Wood.”

Alice has long steered clear of her grandmother’s cultish fans. But now she has no choice but to ally with classmate Ellery Finch, a Hinterland superfan who may have his own reasons for wanting to help her. To retrieve her mother, Alice must venture first to the Hazel Wood, then into the world where her grandmother's tales began―and where she might find out how her own story went so wrong."

My Thrill Club

          Because of the way that my post office works I’m not sure this box is from what month as usual, but I think that this is the last box which will include a movie if I am not mistaken. I’m actually sad about that, I loved the quirkey selection of the movies. They were all ones I had not seen and are very...B movie-esque 😂

So into the books and movie.

          From Amazon.com: "Operation Valkyrie tells the astonishing true story of a bold German plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler - and the man who risked everything to make it happen. Sebastian Kock (The Lives of Others) stars as Claus von Stauddenberg, a once-idealistic German army colonel whose exposure to wartime atrocities and personal battle injuries move him to conspire to eliminate the power-crazed Führer. The heroic tale remains a fascinating, must-see example of the German resistance to Hitler's oppression.

Date: 2004

Starring: Sebastian Koch, Ulrich Tukur, Hardy Kroger Jr.

Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes"

          From Goodreads.com: "From the acclaimed author of Ruin Falls and Cover of Snow comes a breathless new novel of psychological suspense about a dark, twisted turn of events that could shatter a family—a read perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn, Chris Bohjalian, and Nancy Pickard.

Sandy Tremont has always tried to give her family everything. But, as the sky darkens over the Adirondacks and a heavy snowfall looms, an escaped murderer with the power to take it all away draws close.

In her isolated home in the shadowy woods, Sandy prepares dinner after a fight with her daughter, Ivy. Upstairs, the fifteen-year-old—smart, brave, and with every reason to be angry tonight—keeps her distance from her mother. Sandy’s husband, Ben, a wilderness guide, arrives late to find a home simmering with unease.

Nearby, two desperate men on the run make their way through the fading light, bloodstained and determined to leave no loose ends or witnesses. After almost twenty years as prison cellmates, they have become a deadly team: Harlan the muscle, Nick the mind and will. As they approach a secluded house and look through its windows to see a cozy domestic scene, Nick knows that here he will find what he’s looking for . . . before he disappears forever.

Opening the door to the Tremont home, Nick brings not only a legacy of terror but a secret that threatens to drag Sandy with him into the darkness."

          From Goodreads.com: "Rise the dark. These were the last words written in Lauren Novak's notebook before she was murdered in a strange Florida village. They've never meant anything to the police or to her husband, investigator Markus Novak. Now the man he believes killed her is out of prison, and draws Markus to the place he's avoided for so long: the lonely road where his wife was shot to death beneath the cypress trees and Spanish moss in a town called Cassadaga.

In Red Lodge, Montana, a senseless act of vandalism shuts the lights off in the town where Sabrina Baldwin is still trying to adjust to a new home and mourning the loss of her brother, who was a high voltage linesman just like her husband, Jay. As the spring's final snowstorm calls Jay deeper into the mountains, chasing the destruction on the electrical grid, Sabrina is abducted by Garland Webb, the man Markus Novak believes killed his wife. Drawing them all together is a messianic villain who understands that you can never outpace your past. You can only rise against the future. "

**This book is the second in the series though it can be read alone according to reviews, but it will also leave you with a cliffhanger so be warned.

Owlcrate January 2018

      I was wondering if a blog post was going to be possible today because I had not received any subscription boxes for a while thanks to delays at Aramex. I was going to review some paints and Markers I had bought but have not tried out yet but then the bell rang this morning and Aramex brought me a box! It was the Owlcrate box, January 2018. Funny part was that they had a typo on their info card and it had 2017 instead...eh, it happens to the best of us! So the theme for the box is Fearsome Fairy tales and I really am in love with the items in the box.

          The first item is a box of gingerbread scented wax melts from Spireside Candles and they are exclusively made for Owlcrate! I can’t wait to try these.

          Along with the wax melts there was a burner to use them with. This burner can be used with the wax melts ir with essential oils. This burner was designed by Owlcrate.

        A handmade bracelet from Authored Adornments that featured a quote from Rapunzel. It has a faux leather strap and the charm can slide on and off.

          From Stella’s Bookish Art, we have a pillowcase which I can’t wait to use. It was inspired by the story of Sleeping Beauty.

          This print was inspired by the story of Little Red Riding Hood and is by Anne Lambelet.

          Funally we have the book. As usual it comes with a signed plate, and a letter from the author. It also has an Owlcrate exclusive cover and sticker.

From Goodreads:"Of course I want to be like them. They’re beautiful as blades forged in some divine fire. They will live forever. 

And Cardan is even more beautiful than the rest. I hate him more than all the others. I hate him so much that sometimes when I look at him, I can hardly breathe. 

Jude was seven years old when her parents were murdered and she and her two sisters were stolen away to live in the treacherous High Court of Faerie. Ten years later, Jude wants nothing more than to belong there, despite her mortality. But many of the fey despise humans. Especially Prince Cardan, the youngest and wickedest son of the High King. 

To win a place at the Court, she must defy him–and face the consequences.

In doing so, she becomes embroiled in palace intrigues and deceptions, discovering her own capacity for bloodshed. But as civil war threatens to drown the Courts of Faerie in violence, Jude will need to risk her life in a dangerous alliance to save her sisters, and Faerie itself."

My Thrill Club

          This is a quick look at one of my no fuss no muss just lots of fun subscriptions. As usual the box has one movie and two books. 

          From Wikipedia: "Hide and Seek is a 2005 American-German psychological horror-thriller film starring Robert De Niro and Dakota Fanning. It was directed by John Polson. The film opened in the United States on January 28, 2005.A newly single father discovers his daughter is caught up in a web of evil in this thriller.
          David Callaway (Robert De Niro) has been left to raise his nine-year-old daughter, Emily (Dakota Fanning), on his own after the unexpected death of his wife. David is at first amused to discover that Emily has created an imaginary friend named "Charlie," but it isn't long before "Charlie" develops a sinister and violent side, and as David struggles with his daughter's growing emotional problems, he comes to the frightening realization that "Charlie" isn't just a figment of Emily's imagination. Hide and Seek also stars Famke Janssen, Dylan Baker, and Amy Irving."

Another movie from the great team at My Thrill Club that I have not seen before.

          From Goodreads: "For state prosecutor Bradlee Aames, psychosis is a fact of life, a waking nightmare from which modern medicine’s soulless jargon and mind-numbing meds have offered little relief. Bradlee stays focused by winning trial after trial, even while she’s self-medicating with booze, dope, and midnight surfing sessions at a classic LA point break. But when a thick fog of delusions engulfs her, she blows a case, and her reputation and competence are called into question. To rehabilitate her career, her boss gives her an easy assignment: Dr. Don, a popular TV shrink and former state Medical Board expert, now stands accused of sexually exploiting a vulnerable female patient, yet the broken woman won’t testify. If Bradlee can settle the matter quietly, the board, avoiding further embarrassment, will be pleased. But Bradlee Aames doesn’t do things the easy way—not when a predator like Dr. Don is primed to debase more helpless women. Illusive LA is the gritty, sun-blasted setting for He Said, She Said, a thrilling story of trust, betrayal, truth, and deception. Told from multiple perspectives, it affords the reader a front-row seat to a tense legal battle while exploring the many human consequences of power and corruption."

          From Goodreads: "On India's frontier with Tibet, peace is just a façade and security a myth.

The sleepy Himalayan hill station of Mussoorie, near India's border with Tibet, is home to an eclectic mix of residents including Tibetan refugees and former guerrilla fighters, foreign missionaries, Indian military, tourists, and spies. Here, in a top-secret facility facing the snow-clad Himalayas, India’s legendary spymaster, Colonel Imtiaz Afridi, keeps a watchful eye on sensitive high-altitude borders. Having been a mountaineer in his youth, Afridi once climbed many of these peaks, including Rataban, a mountain with a treacherous history.

When an American agent is shot dead in Mussoorie, both the CIA and India’s Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), dispatch undercover agents to investigate. The American's death is quickly linked to the slayings of two Indo-Tibetan Border Police guards, suggesting possible Chinese infiltration. Working with Afridi is the brilliant junior analyst, Annapurna “Anna” Tagore, who helps him unravel these clues and other disturbing signs that something dangerous is brewing. When more violent acts shatter Mussoorie's calm, the CIA and RAW have no choice but to team up. Soon Afridi and the young Indian and American agents are piecing together a bloody conspiracy of revenge and murder that could shake the very foundations of world peace."

I have a long list of To Be Read books but these seem like they might go up the list order.

Owlcrate -December 2017

          Happy New Year everyone, I wasn't expecting to take a hiatus but that is how it ended up being. So let me start back up with one of my favorite boxes. The theme for the Owlcrate December box 2017 is SEIZE THE DAY. 

I really love the candle included in the box from Novelly Yours. It was inspired by The Names They Gave Us by Emery Lord. The moment you open the cover the green apple smell hits you.

I'm going to hang this in my car. It is a wooden ornament inspired by Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon and was created by Juniper & Ivy Designs.

This magnet is going on to my fridge door. It has a quote from Rick Riordan and was designed by Ink & Wonder Designs.

Lately I've gotten a lot of tote bags, but that is okay. I can always use a new one and this one is really pretty with a quote from Harry Potter's Ron Weasley. And blue is one of my favorite colors. This tote is from Bookworm Boutique.

I think apart from the ornament this is my favorite item in the box. It is a planner and reading journal. I love planners and reading journals are something I've always wanted to use. Two birds, one stone. The planner is from Blue Star Press.

December's book is Foolish Hearts by Emma Mills. It is an Owlcrate Cover exclusive and it comes as usual with a signed bookplate, and letter. There is also an embroidered patch.

**From Goodreads.com:

A contemporary novel about a girl whose high school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream leads her to new friends—and maybe even new love.

The day of the last party of the summer, Claudia overhears a conversation she wasn't supposed to. Now on the wrong side of one of the meanest girls in school, Claudia doesn't know what to expect when the two are paired up to write a paper—let alone when they're both forced to try out for the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream.

But mandatory participation has its upsides—namely, an unexpected friendship, a boy band obsession, and a guy with the best dimpled smile Claudia's ever seen. As Claudia's world starts to expand, she finds that maybe there are some things worth sticking her neck out for.