May 2019 Owl Crate

Owl Crate is a young adult book subscription box where every month you receive one new hardcover book and an assortment of bookish goodies connected to the monthly theme. Some of these items are very practical and others are better suited as decor or for a pin/builtin board. May’s theme was Epic Adventures.IMG_0455

Lately Owl Crate seems to be including more practical items that fit the months theme. For Epic Adventures the bookish goodies included a vinyl sticker from Howls Moving Castle, a sleep mask with a quote from A Court of Mist and Fury, a passport wallet featuring a quote from the Hobbit, and a water bottle inspired by Stardust. The largest item was a full sized pillow cover inspired by A Darker Shade of Magic.

The book this month was We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal. Which follows Zafira a hunter who disguises herself as a man to brave the cursed forest to find food for her people and Naisr the Prince of Death. If their secrets are found out everything will be in jeopardy but when their paths collide the prize they seek may be the biggest threat of all. I don’t know much about this book but it sounds like a fantasy story that I will like. All Owl Crate editions of books come signed with exclusive covers. This month, character art work was also included and the enamel pin each month is inspired by the book.IMG_0461

June’s theme is Libraries of Wonder and if the book is what I think it is this should be a very good box.

Fae Crate March 2019

IMG_0361So in March I decided to try a new book subscription box which was Fae Create’s anniversary box. Fae Crate is a young adult book subscription box that focuses on fantasy and science fiction. Unlike some book boxes Fae Crate has three options to choose from: a shirt only box (Solitary Crate), a book and goodies box (Unseelie Crate), and a box that includes the shirt, book, and all the bookish goodies (Seelie Crate). For my first box I choose the Unseelie Crate without the shirt as I do have trouble ordering clothes online sometimes due to my height and body shape.IMG_0359

Sadly, I was a little disappointed with this box especially since it was their one year anniversary box. The smaller bookish goodies in the box where an iron on patch inspired by the Winner’s Curse, a record coaster set inspired by Wintersong, an Outlander magnet, a Caraval book sticker and an art Polaroid from A Court of Thrones and Roses. The two bigger items besides the book where a Snow globe inspired by A Muse of Nightmares and a Watch necklace from the book series Air Awakens. To me while none of these items where bad, most of them felt cheep and like they were trying to find things to fill the box with. Which I don’t like given Fae Crate is more expensive than some of the other book boxes.

The book is Vortex Visions by Elise Kova which has a beautiful dust jacket and art work on the inside of it as well as an embossed cover. The story follows Vi Solaris who is the heir to an Empire she doesn’t know and wants to reunite with her family.  With powers she shouldn’t have and can’t control she meets a stranger that might be able to help her and save the world. I have never heard of this book before but it sounds interesting. Fae Crate does seem to include books that are not the most hyped so if your trying to find new books people might not be talking about this might be the box for you. Also Fae Crate does include a eBook download in each months box which adds more value when the items might not be the best. This months eBook was The Body Electric by Beth Revis.

For those interested Fae Crate does special book “hangover” recovery boxes for some popular and highly anticipated books throughout the year as well as monthly boxes. For me, I have bought a hangover crate but not any more of the monthly boxes as none of them have peaked my interest again.

Owl Crate April 2019

Owl Crate is a young adult book subscription box where every month you receive one new hardcover book and an assortment of bookish goodies connected to the monthly theme. Some of these items are very practical and others are better suited as decor or for a pin/builtin board. April’s theme was The Dark Side which featured goodies from books with some darker themes.IMG_0396

The bookish goodies include in this months box where a pair of Six of Crows inspired socks, a Grishaverse Darkling inspired scarf, a hard cover note book with a quote from the Throne of Glass series, a pin banner for the included enamel pins, and a phone holder/pop socket inspired by Vicious. The phone holder was not sent in my box but I was able to replace it with an item from Owl Crates past items shop. This box also included a Finale by Stephanie Garber chapter sampler.

The book this month is Wicked Saints by Emily A Duncan which follows Nadya who can speak to the gods and take their magic joining forces with a prince and a blood mage to assassinate the king and end the war plaguing their world. I’ve been hearing a lot of things about Wicked Saints and I hope to read it soon. Owl Crates’ books all come signed with exclusive covers and a letter from the author. The enamel pin each month is inspired by the book. This month also came with a fabric map as an extra with the book.

May’s theme is Epic Adventures.

May 2019 Wrap Up

I was very busy last month and didn’t get much done for the blog so I also have blacklisted post to finish and post. May has been a good month though somewhat stressful.

Books:

I have read 3 books this month and it was a much better month for me then the last couple.

40776737Alien Echo by Mira Grant is a young adult book set in the Alien franchise and is cannon to the rest of the series. It follows the story of twin sisters, Olivia and Viola, on a new world where their parents work as xenobiolgists but when an Alien threat that no one has ever seen rips their world apart they must adapt to survive. The book stars out slow like most movies in the alien franchise. For the first 90 pages or so its more of a teen drama set on a alien world than a science fiction or horror story but when the Xenomorphs arrive it become a true Alien story with all the problems that entails. The thing about Mira Grant books is there is always a twist that changes everything that makes me love the book more or makes me fall in love with a book that doesn’t have the greatest beginning. The characters are interesting and well written for the world though there is some romantic drama that is over done near the beginning and if you know the Alien franchise you know whats coming. So there doesn’t see to be a point to it and the slang is little over used. Considering the characters are teenagers shove into a situation that no one can predict with Aliens that are evolving to be better killers most of the reactions make sense. The action of the characters worked and were as though out as the situation allowed for and the book overall fits within the rest of the Alien Franchise.5_Star_Rating_System_3_and_a_half_stars 

260047The Second Evil by R L Stine is the second book in the Fear Street Cheerleaders saga. We follow Corky Corcoran after the events of book one where she is still dealing with the death of her sister and the evil spirit that attempted to kill both of them. Corky is trying to put Bobbi’s death behind her and live as normal of a life as possible with the Shadyside cheer leading squad. However, it becomes apparent that the evil spirit is not done with her yet and people start dying again. This is a reread for me but since I read these books back in junior high I don’t remember much of what happen though I do remember not liking this one much even back then. Though it continues the story from the first book there are tons of plot thread added to this one that don’t really go anywhere- from Jennifer’s bother blaming her death on Corky to a girl related to Sarah Fear the book is constantly trying to convince you that multiple people could be the evil spirit. By the time book ends and tells you what really going on its not the most interesting take. The evil seems to be defeated once again but we all know that its really not and will continue to terrorize everyone in the next book. 5_Star_Rating_System_2_stars

38644528Final Fantasy VII: On the Way to a Smile by Kazushige Nojima is a prequel novella to the Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children movie and is set in the years following the end of the game. This novella expects you to either have played the game or know enough that it doesn’t need to take the time to introduce characters, places, or past events. This is a book written and designed for fans of the game and will make no sense to anyone who is not a fan. Though not the best written work it does give the reader insight into the emotions and actions of all of our favorite characters following the end of the game. The novella is broken up into six main sections each following a different character or group in the after math of the lifesteam destroying meteor and the defeat of Sephiroth. These sections are broken up by sections in the lifestream which seem to be Sephiroth’s and Arith’s thoughts and how they are trying to harm and help our heroes. The main thing this story focuses on is the guilt that these survivors have even though they are heroes that saved the world and what do they do after that. If you are a fan I would recommend reading it once, either before or after watching the movie. I love this series and now I want the remake of the game even more. 5_Star_Rating_System_4_stars