✦ Obsidian Moon Crate announced their first subscription box theme back on 6/5/22. The theme for this box will be 'Of Gods and Monsters' and their chosen book is the highly anticipated "The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas".
Read more for all box details & my thoughts! This is my first post on my new bookish blog so I wanted to start strong with something exciting!
✦ This exclusive version of ST will feature a brand new cover (dust jacket) designed by artist meowlayn.art - a specially designed & signed bookplate - an author letter - sprayed edges
✦ The box is also planned to come with items designed around : Song of Achilles, Percy Jackson, The Daevabad Trilogy, Daughter of the Moon Goddess, Lore & possibly one other undisclosed title.
✦ The Song of Achilles item is designed by artist Oblivionsdreams
✦ There will be a wooden item for Daughter of the Moon Goddess designed by Daphnasebbane
✦ The Lore item has been designed by no0nedesigns
This subscription box is currently planned to be quarterly and you will be able to pay for each box quarterly ($55USD + shipping) or do an up-front yearly payment ($210USD + shipping). Payments are confirmed by the owner of OMC Taylor to be via Paypal only to ensure everyone's overall protection. Taylor also confirmed that you will be able to skip 2 different boxes per year but will have to email them directly to do so.
Currently to sign up you will first have to join their waitlist & subscription emails will be mailed out in order once they do open subs on August 13th! - CLICK HERE FOR THEIR WAITLIST
✦ Personally I am SUPER excited for this box. I have seen the quality that OMC has put out in the past and the creativity behind their custom books & items. I purchased OMC's Queer 2.0 box and I was blown away by how much they included and how much I loved from the box & book customizations they did. I've also purchased the incoming All For the Game themed merch box and from the small teasers given to us by Taylor its going to be incredible. As Sunbearer Trials is a book I'm highly anticipating the release of, and Aiden Thomas being one of my favorite authors, I wont be missing this one!
✦ I'm also currently reading an ARC of The Sunbearer Trials and LOVING it. Once I'm done I'll be making a separate post with a spoiler free review for anyone interested.
✦ Be sure to follow me on Instagram & Goodreads for more bookish content ♥
Hello Everyone! Today I want to make a post highlighting a small business (book) shop I'm a big fan of; and definitely deserves more love. The Dazzling Bookish Shop!
Dazzling is a queer owned shop that deals in customized books focusing heavily on LGBTQ+ books with plenty of representation and inclusion. They create incredibly beautiful custom edges and have started delving in to custom dust jackets as well which allows them to work with and support a variety of artists. They have a monthly subscription that is newer as well as a shop filled to the brim with beautiful custom editions to choose from. (Did I mention they're starting to offer physically signed / signed bookplate versions as well?)
They have a full PRIDE line of books where a portion of the proceeds are donated to "Hope in a Box" which is a non-profit focused on providing public school educators with curated sets of LGBTQ-inclusive literature, distinctive curriculum for these books, and community and training on how to build an LGBTQ-inclusive classroom.
All-in-all I think the team at Dazzling are amazing and are working hard to bring light to some really fantastic books that may otherwise be passed over by the larger book-boxes that focus primarily on more popular/mainstream titles.
Be sure to follow them on Instagram for the latest reveals of upcoming specials! Click the image below (their latest reveal of a RW&RB custom) to be taken to their Insta!
I personally own two of their lovely books so far with 3 more books and their Heartstopper set preordered! I cant wait to add more to my collection as their quality is always really impressive and you can easily see how hard they work to give their customers only the best.
Here are some more of their editions that I'm absolutely in love with!
✦ Be sure to follow me on Instagram & Goodreads for more bookish content ♥
⇢ Book review : The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas
Hello everyone! Here is my review for one of my most anticipated books of the year! My Bookstagram saw it first so make sure yall are following me there for first looks at everything I post here on my blog ♥
✨ The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas - OUT SEP 6TH!!
✱ I honestly can't recommend this book enough. If you are a fan of the Percy Jackson 'demigod' / quests / trials type fantasy you are going to be in for a MASSIVE treat with this one. Aiden has created an incredible world that blends modern touches with fantasy so seamlessly the world easily feels real. Often times when reading fantasy books I find myself struggling to remember whos-who, what's-what, where's-where but that isn't the case with this one. Not only does the physical book come with a beautifully drawn map (if you need it) but everything is written in a way that it just feels natural to be along for the ride. I was able to easily picture every incredible city and character introduced as the plot progressed.
✱ This book follows our protagonist Teo, a Jade demigod (semidiose) and son of the beautiful Quetzal. Teo is a character you will easily adore; he is strong willed, anti-authority, values his friends and will get back up every time he falls to do the right thing.
✱ My FULL review can be found on my Goodreads profile [linked above], but trust me when I say this book IS WORTH IT. Honestly it's easily one of my favorites of all time now.
"As each new decade begins, the Sun’s power must be replenished so that Sol can keep traveling along the sky and keep the evil Obsidian gods at bay. Ten semidioses between the ages of thirteen and eighteen are selected by Sol himself as the most worthy to compete in The Sunbearer Trials. The winner carries light and life to all the temples of Reino del Sol, but the loser has the greatest honor of all―they will be sacrificed to Sol, their body used to fuel the Sun Stones that will protect the people of Reino del Sol for the next ten years."
Hello everyone! The last two weeks have been pretty packed with teaser reels from different book subscription boxes! Reels are the go-to for Instagram these days so its a much more popular format for these companies to use before announcing their actual themes.
✦ With these reels I have been challenged to take the picture teasers and hunt for books that may very well be the monthly picks! I enjoy the hunt and sharing my guesses with everyone so I hope you'll find them useful!
Instagram DOES see all guesses first (same day as the original post usually), so feel free to follow me there if you want a quicker finger on the pulse ♥
⇢ HEARTSTOPPER FANS Rejoice! US Nick & Charlie Cover reveal 🍂
Exciting news for all Heartstopper - Solitaire - Alice Oseman fans! Today (8/4/22) Alice shared the brand new Nick & Charlie US edition cover!
Like their previous novels Loveless & I Was Born for This - the short novella following Nick & Charlie 2 years after the events of the Heartstopper graphic novel series is getting a US publication with artwork drawn by Alice!
✦ Some people may recognize this cover art as it was used on the preorder incentive poster for Heartstopper Volume 4's US release. It's an absolutely adorable picture of a very cuddly Nick & Charlie in Charlie's room!
✦ What's even more exciting is that the poster was double sided with a night time version and Alice confirmed that art will be on the backside of the book!
✦ Alice has confirmed on their twitter the following:
This will be a hardcover edition with possibly a dust jacket (unable to confirm the DJ but they believe it will have one)!
Both artworks above will be on the book (one on the front, one on the back).
There will be bonus trivia at the end of the book written by Alice's editor which will act as a breakdown of all the British stuff all non-British readers might not fully understand.
Nick & Charlie didn't actually break up and it was all just one big misunderstanding (my thoughts exactly Alice!)
Currently there is no confirmation on if Barnes & Noble will be doing an exclusive version like they did with LOVELESS, but I wouldn't rule it out completely!
You can PREORDER this book at any preferred bookstore but here are some quick links to save you some time:
^ Make sure on Amazon and Barnes & Noble specifically that you have the HARDCOVER version selected. Otherwise you'll end up with the UK edition. Double check the release dates and that it is a preorder to ensure you're buying the right thing.
I hope youre all as excited about this as I am and that this post was helpful to you!
✦ Be sure to follow me on Instagram & Goodreads for more bookish content ♥
⇢ Illumicrate Box & Fairyloot YA Box : September Book Guesses
Yesterday (8/3/22) both Illumicrate & Fairyloot shared their September teasers for their boxes. These teasers have a vauge-ish description of their chosen book, what customizations they're doing & any other information related to the items in the full boxes!
I posted my guesses over on my Instagram the day they showed their teasers but I'm sharing them here as well for anyone who may have missed it!
✦ Fairyloot's Box is going to contain items themed around : The Folk of The Air, Six Crimson Cranes & a fandom neutral item. They have planned for a blanket with art by @artblossom_art & the final trinket dish in their latest collection with art by @arz28
✦ Illumicrate's Box is going to be completely fandom neutral. The box is themed around the idea of 'bookworm' so hopefully this means we'll be seeing some useful and cool items from them this month!
Not a subscriber but want a pretty edition? Not a problem!
Belladonna has a special edition with Barnes & Noble as well! You can preorder it now and it comes with a purple hard case instead of the white, an alternate dust jacket, custom end papers & a deleted chapter! Even if you dont want the exclusive though all 1st editions (1st press) of this book will have a beautiful hardcase design and custom endpapers.
The Book Eaters has a special edition with Waterstones! It comes with an extended epilogue and sprayed edges. You can preorder it now!
As of right now these are the only alternative 'special' editions I'm aware of!
✦ Don't forget to enter the preorder campaign!
Belladonna has an ongoing preorder campaign that ends August 22nd, 2022! By entering your proof of purchase you can receive a beautiful art print, a signed bookplate, a deleted chapter and an annotated chapter! Check out the details here
✦ Be sure to follow me on Instagram & Goodreads for more bookish content ♥
If you checked out my last post you'll know that Alexis Hall has absolutely SPOILED fans of the London Calling series by announcing a 3rd addition to the Luc & Oliver saga, but also going a mile forward by announcing 2 more installments in the series (a total of 5 books)!
Because of this I wanted to share more information about the two different special editions currently on my radar that are coming soon!
Read more to get all the details of both upcoming specials!
➥ EXCLUSIVE LUXE SET BY DARKLY
✦ All the Info you need:
Who : Darkly by Bookish Box, a subsidiary of The Bookish Box
What : Exclusive Luxe Editions of both Boyfriend Material & Husband Material, the first 2 books in the London Calling Seris by Alexis Hall
Where : Darkly does not have its own website, you can instead find their sales on The Bookish Box's website under the 'Shop' tab : HERE IS THE LINK FOR DARKLY LISTINGS
When:
✦ EARLY ACCESS: Friday, AUGUST 19th at 10AM PT for active @thebookishbox subscribers (for the first 24 hours only).
✦ PUBLIC ACCESS: Monday, AUGUST 22nd at 10AM PT.
Pricing: This set is $75 USD (US Shipping Included) and is due to begin shipping in October!
✦ Special Features:
Both books SIGNED by author Alexis Hall (featuring tip-in page illustrations by peaches.obviously)
Foiled Front & Reverse dust jacket art by peaches.obviously
Illustrated end pages by peaches.obviously
Stenciled Edges illustrated by peaches.obviously
Foiled Hard Case Stamp illustrated by peaches.obviously
✦ Peaches has made a name for herself with authors and book boxes because of her unique style in creating beautiful renditions and recreations of popular book pairs, covers & much more! I can assume these two special editions will be a great treat with her involved in the artwork for them.
✦ I'm not a Bookish Box subscriber so I'm hopeful these will make it to general sale and will arrive quickly so I can add them to my collection!
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➥ SPECIAL EDITION BY DAZZLING BOOKISH SHOP
✦ All current Info:
This is a more recent announcement so there isn't a lot of information available. However, here is what we do know!
Dazzling Bookish Shop teased in their Instagram story today (8/2/22) the artwork by c_leadraw for an upcoming (near future) special edition of Boyfriend Material - they stated to keep an eye on their shop but did not give any other details.
C_Leadraw also posted the artwork on her Instagram and said the collab will be available soon and that this custom cover art isn't the only thing she's worked on for their shop so we may see a future cover for Husband Material as well! Lea previously did the alternate version for Dazzling's June Sub book Out of the Blue
If you're not looking to get these special editions, but still want to upgrade your London Calling series, here are some other ways you can spice them up:
✦ Boyfriend Material Dust Jacket by Lemoncielart
✦ Beautiful Sprayed Edges versions of BM & HM by PegacornPages
✦ Be sure to follow me on Instagram & Goodreads for more bookish content ♥
⇢ The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas : Master List of Info
Welcome to The Sunbearer Trials, where teen semi dioses compete in a series of challenges with the highest of stakes, in this electric new Mexican-inspired fantasy from Aiden Thomas, the New York Times bestselling author of Cemetery Boys.
- The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas (Goodreads Page)
THIS POST IS A MASTER LIST OF ALL SUNBEARER INFO & SPECIAL EDITIONS CURRENTLY ANNOUNCED:
Read more for info on this books physical tour, preorder campaign & special editions up for preorder!
There will be a book tour with Aiden Thomas : Dates & Info Here
Be sure to follow Aiden Thomas on Instagram for future updates & info regarding the tour, other details & future updates/changes.
✦ Preorder Campaign:
You have until 9/5/22 to upload your proof of purchase to received 5 FREE Hero Trading cards. There are 10 trading cards in total and the 5 you receive will be completely random. Click for US Entry & Click for International Entry - Please review the rules of the preorder campaign before entering!
✦ Special Editions:
Currently there are 3 different 'Special' editions of this book that you can preorder.
A signed & personalized copy from Two Rivers Bookstore (no other customizations but this is a great way to get a personalized signature if you cant make the tour!)
The Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition which comes with a golden color swap cover & special annotated chapter by the author.
The Obsidian Moon Crate's upcoming September subscription box. I have detailed this box more in a previous post which is the connected link. This exclusive version of ST will feature a brand new cover (dust jacket) designed by artist meowlayn.art - a specially designed & signed bookplate - an author letter & lastly it will have special sprayed edges.
Rainbow Crate's September subscription box. Announced on 8/2/22, Rainbow Crate's September book is The Sunbearer Trials! Per their announcement this exclusive version will feature an exclusive dust jacket - gorgeous page overlays by artist chioink - an author letter & a signed bookplate.
✦ I am currently reading a digital ARC of this book and will post a spoiler free review once finished. I've loved what I've read so far and as of posting this the book has a very high rating of 4.64 on Goodreads. Make sure you add this book to your TBR as it wont be one you'll want to miss!
✦ Be sure to follow me on Instagram & Goodreads for more bookish content ♥