Last week, I unboxed the Illumicrate August 2022 box, which featured an amazing edition of Babel by R. F. Kuang. Many people were looking forward to this book, so it’s not surprising at all that Fairyloot also picked it for its August Adult book box. Let’s compare the two!

About Fairyloot

Fairyloot is one of the best known UK book boxes that ship internationally. They offer two types of subscription plans: Young Adult (book box with goodies or book-only) and Adult (book-only). In most cases, their featured books are fantasy books. Next to their monthly subscription, they also have special edition boxes and exclusive editions.

The teaser

This is the info we received upfront:

• Perfect for readers that love
  • Dark Academia
  • Secret Societies
  • Revolutions

The book

As mentioned, the featured book is Babel by R.F. Kuang. It is the story of Robin Swift, an orphan who is brought to London to train for his enrollment in Oxford University’s Royal Institute of Translation, also known as Babel. But for a Chinese boy, serving Babel inevitably means betraying his motherland. Robin must decide: can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence.

The Fairyloot edition has an exclusive cover with two types of foil, digitally sprayed edges, a design on the hardcover with foil details, character artwork on the endpapers, and is signed by the author.

So let’s compare these customizations to those of the Illumicrate edition. Both editions are signed, so that’s a tie. I love the slipcase protecting the hardcover Illumicrate edition, more than I do the dust jacket of the Fairyloot one. Slipcases just scream “exclusive” to me. I have to say I really like the combination of the gold and silver foils on the Fairyloot dust jacket too though. Nevertheless, one point for Illumicrate. Comparing the naked hardcovers, I would give the next point to Fairyloot. It’s design is more elaborate and elegant. However 😉 it’s the same illustration on the Illumicrate slipcase, so I need to add that the design of the Illumicrate naked hardcover is more original. Nevertheless, I prefer the Fairyloot one. So the score is 1-1 for each. While both editions have special end papers, I prefer the ones of the Fairyloot edition as they feature character art. 2-1 for Fairyloot. Both editions also have customizations on the edges, and I love both designs. The Fairyloot one has an illustration, while the Illumicrate one has a text. As a text is more rare, I am giving them a point, bringing us back to 2-2. However, the Illumicrate one has two more tricks up its sleeve which the Fairyloot misses: a bound-in author letter and exclusive bonus content. So I would say that the Illumicrate one is the better one, winning with 4 -2.