I want to try and make a regular thing of posting unboxings of my subscription boxes (but obviously will wait a while before I do so I don’t spoil the contents for anyone!). I have subscriptions to both FairyLoot and Illumicrate, which are both UK based boxes so my shipping charges aren’t astronomical. Both boxes cost £30 each time – FairyLoot is monthly and Illumicrate is once every 3 months. Shipping for me is around £3 (but check when you order, especially if you’re not based in the UK).

The January box was my first experience of FairyLoot other than lusting after the boxes posted by other people for months. Every month in the theme announcement post there are always hints to what the book is going to be, so you can either wait and enjoy the surprise when your box arrives, or like me do some digging and try and work out what it will be (just so I don’t go out and buy the same book before I get the box – this has happened to me before!). There is also a ‘if you liked ‘x y and z’ then this box will be perfect for you’ section which will give you an idea of the themes of the items included if you don’t want to know the book outright (for January these included The Night Circus, Sherlock and Alice in Wonderland). The hints to the January book were actually the main reason that I decided to subscribe in the first place – I worked out almost straight away that it was going to be Caraval which was one of my most highly anticipated books of 2017.

January box contents;
– BOTM – Caraval, plus signed bookplate, letter from the author and other goodies

– Come Back Yesterday candle by Meraki Candles

– How To Think Like Sherlock by Daniel Smith

– Mystery Funko Mini (either Game of Thrones or Harry Potter themed – I got Varys from GoT)

– The Night Circus themed cushion cover designed by Risa Rodil

– Rose necklace from Oh Panda Eyes

– Alice in Wonderland bookmark from @aenteereads

I completely loved everything in the January box – I never expected to receive a cushion cover in a book subscription box! The candle is a gorgeous mix of berries and cocoa and is probably one of the first that I’ve received from a subscription box that I would have chosen myself. The copies of Caraval which were included were the UK hardcover editions, which have one of four designs underneath the dustcover. I got the clock design which was my favourite of the four. Also the added bonus of receiving the book a week before its release date was pretty cool (although I’m not too sure whether this will have also been the case for international subscribers).

£30 may initially seem like a lot of money, but considering the sheer amount of stuff which was packed into this box its more than worth the money. The book itself would probably be £9.99 on release in most UK bookstores, and the cushion cover could easily be priced at £15-20, so you’re essentially getting the rest of the contents (which I reckon would be worth around £30+) for free.

I would absolutely recommend FairyLoot to anyone who’s ever considered getting it in the past – if you’re not sure then they always offer boxes as single purchases so there’s no subscription commitment. There are also always discount codes for 3 and 6 month subscriptions floating around on Instagram and Twitter – if you find accounts for the FairyLoot reps they usually have a code in their description/biography. I’ve already received the February box so should hopefully have an unboxing for that up within the next week or so.