As I was incredibly excited about the October Illumicrate box (unboxing), I couldn’t wait to receive my second box in November. And, once again, Illumicrate has delivered on its promise!
About Illumicrate
Illumicrate is one of the best known UK book boxes that ship internationally. They offer both a full box and a book-only subscription, and the books they feature are generally YA fantasy, but they also include other genres and adult books. Next to their monthly subscription, they also have special edition boxes, and exclusive editions.
The teaser
This is the info we received upfront from Illumicrate:
- YA fantasy stand-alone
- F/M relationship between demisexual main characters
- F/F relationship between side characters
- Content warnings: violence, past attempted sexual assault, past emotional and physical abuse, body shaming.
The goodies
I’m not sure how it’s possible, but every time I think there’s a book sleeve in the box, it turns out to be something else. Not that I’m complaining, I absolutely love the book jacket inspired by The Hobbit and designed by Pauhami. How could I not, it has a Dragon in its Lair depicted on it! 😀 As if it were made especially for me!
The next item I found was the Greek mythology inspired teacup and saucer by Niall Grant. This is the second one in this series and depicts Nemesis. This deity was against undeserved good fortune and was therefore considered to be the perfect deity to fit the featured box. It’s a very elegant teacup, but I’m not convinced I’ll find any use for it seeing that it can only hold such a limited quantity of liquid…
Then, I discovered a book tin inspired by The Scorpio Races and designed by Jez Hawk. I don’t really understand book tins, to be honest. Unless you are a teenager who believes these are secret hiding places (which they really are not), what are you supposed to do with these? I don’t think I will keep this item, although it is pretty.
There was also a metal bookmark inspired by She Who Became the Sun (review), designed by Danielle, a hanging ornament designed by Renata Krawczyk, and the monthly collector’s pin by Stacey McEvoy-Caunt.
Last but not least, there was the beautiful artwork with the opening scene of the featured book and a letter by the author on the back <3 <3 <3
The book
I have to admit, it took me a while to get into this book, but once I did, I was sold. Little Thieves by Margaret Owen contained so many elements that I loved: morally grey characters, magic, wit, representation of demisexuality…I gave this book four out of five gemstones. My full review is also available!.
The Illumicrate edition comes with all exclusive cover, full colour printing on the hardcover, stenciled edges, and a signed bookplate. Honestly, it’s a stunning edition. The hardcover itself gave me “children’s book” vibes, but once you get to know these characters you cannot help but fall in love with these illustrations.