I had been looking forward to receiving the May 2022 book box by Illumicrate for weeks, as it features one of my top releases of this year. Can you already guess which one it is?
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:
- Adult urban fantasy
- First in a series
- F/M relationship between main character and a supporting character
The goodies
The first goodie I found was the Nevernight replica dagger designed by Stacey McEvoy-Caunt that was already announced upfront. I have to admit that I am still struggling to understand why everyone seems to love these replicas so much. I’ll be selling this one (I hope anyway).
The second goodie was a teacup and saucer set, inspired by Nyx, the Goddess of Night. The artwork was created by Niall Grant. As usual, it is very pretty. However, I have no real use for such small teacups, so I’ll be looking to sell this set too.
Next, I discovered a “blackout journal”, which is a concept I had never heard of before. All the pages are black, and Illumicrate recommends using white, metallic silver or gold gel pens. Definitely made me curious! This particular one was inspired by Daughter of the Moon Goddess, with artwork created by Blanca Montiel.
Last but not least, the box contained a metal bookmark inspired by Monstress (of which I had never heard), designed by Danielle. Very pretty indeed.
The book
I’m so looking forward to reading Book of Night by Holly Black. She is without a doubt one of my favourite authors and this is her adult debut. It tells the story of a girl who is trying to leave her shady past behind but who finds it’s not that easy to go straight. When a nightmare from her past returns, she finds herself back where she started…Doesn’t that sound perfect? My review will follow shortly!
This Illumicrate edition has an exclusive cover and exclusive endpapers, foil embossing on the hardback, sprayed edges, and, *drumroll* Exclusive bonus content. This last one is without a doubt my favourite customization for a special edition <3