Well it’s official, I now have the holy trinity of book box subscriptions again as far as I’m concerned! My first Illumicrate box arrived and I loved it so damn much, definitely made the right decision to get a spot when places opened up! (And I was very lucky to get both a subscription spot and the March box too, but I won’t do an unboxing for that because it’s a little late now.)
Anyway, April’s Illumicrate was themed ‘Dearly Departed’ and featured items inspired by Nevernight, The Beautiful, Gideon the Ninth and Dread Nation. It also included the latest book pot and although I currently only have one other (the fables one, because it’s too beautiful of a purple) I’m really excited to be able to grow my collection of them as time goes on!
Check out all the items below.
The Book
This month’s book was In the Ravenous Dark by A. M. Strickland. I’ll have a review up for it as soon as I can but… I read one chapter the other night and it’s just… *chef’s kiss*. I can’t wait to read more!
The Illumicrate edition comes with exclusive stencil edges that match the cover perfectly and exclusive, GORGEOUS, end papers designed by @lilith_saur. There should have been a signed bookplate but these are being sent out at a later time, which I’m fine with! It’s stunning regardless. We also had the preorder items included, which were the bookmarks and character art. Altogether it’s just pretty wow! The monthly collectors pin was designed by @stacey.mcevoy.caunt and it’s inspired by the poppy-skull on the cover… as a fan of skulls in general it was another item I loved!
Synopsis
A pansexual bloodmage reluctantly teams up with an undead spirit to start a rebellion among the living and the dead.
In Thanopolis, those gifted with magic are assigned undead spirits to guard them—and control them. Ever since Rovan’s father died trying to keep her from this fate, she’s hidden her magic. But when she accidentally reveals her powers, she’s bound to a spirit and thrust into a world of palace intrigue and deception.
Desperate to escape, Rovan finds herself falling for two people she can’t fully trust: Lydea, a beguiling, rebellious princess; and Ivrilos, the handsome spirit with the ability to control Rovan, body and soul.
Together, they uncover a secret that will destroy Thanopolis. To save them all, Rovan will have to start a rebellion in both the mortal world and the underworld, and find a way to trust the princess and spirit battling for her heart—if she doesn’t betray them first.
Book Pot
A Book of the Dead book pot, inspired by Ancient Egypt mythology and featuring artwork from @chattynora… Honestly, there is just no way I could not love this, I love Ancient Egypt and have since I was a child so yep, winner.
Fabric Book Organiser
With a design from @rosdottir, I didn’t know I needed one of these but heck is it useful! I love the design and the quote and just the general usefulness of the item overall.
Mason Jar Glass
I need to read The Beautiful, I really do. This is designed by @thatslovelydearshop and I think it’s going to be brilliant when the weather’s a bit nicer!
Magnets
Okay so how gorgeous is this artwork from @_saintdri?! I don’t have anywhere for magnets right now but when I do these will definitely be on display. Inspired by Gideon the Ninth which I will most definitely love when I get round to (I want to leave that until Alecto so I can read it all in one go).
Keyring
This is a super-cute keyring inspired by Dread Nation and designed by @palaceofresin. It features a quote which is pretty small but it is still a pretty nice item!
Overall
As my first subscription box from Illumicrate after so long, I have to admit that this blew me away a little with how much I loved it. My last box before this I think was August 2019..? Coincidentally that actually had Gideon the Ninth in it! I love how useful everything is and the artwork for everything is just perfect, definitely a great start to my new sub!
I guess it helps a lot that I like dark things a lot too. Give me skulls, shadow animals and bats any time of the day and I’ll be happy!
Next Month – Change Your Stars 💛
From Illumicrate themselves:
‘Our May theme is: CHANGE YOUR STARS! We all love those characters who see their fate and refuse to accept it. Who forge their own path through life, no matter how hard. Who never give up the pursuit of their goals and dreams.
Our book this month is an epic fantasy set in an Indian-inspired world. A princess, held captive in an abandoned, ancient temple plots revenge on the brother who banished her there. When the princess witnesses the hidden powers of one of the maids sent to clean the temple, she forces her into an uneasy alliance in order to escape and overthrow her brother. Together, they will set an empire ablaze. We loved the gorgeous prose and the dynamics between our two morally grey main characters!
Our Illumicrate edition will have exclusive stencilled edges and embossing on the hardback and come with a signed bookplate! Both the full box and book only option also come with the matching pin designed by @Stacey.McEvoy.Caunt
Our items this month are inspired by Girls of Paper and Fire, Spinning Silver, Skyward, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and City of Brass! This month we’ll be including one of our @pauhami booksleeves in the box!
The book at a glance:
📚 Adult fantasy, first book in a series
💡Stencilled edges, embossing on the hardback, signed bookplate
💫 Indian-inspired characters & setting written by Indian author, F/F relationship between main characters
You can find a list of content warnings for the book on our website!’
Okay okay… I am so ridiculously excited for this box, especially after this month’s. One thing that’s been announced as an item is a GOPAF Novel Threads pin from Blissfully Bookish, and it’s worth looking into them because they are stunning! I can’t wait to see the pin. There’s also been an announcement that the book sleeve will be Spinning Silver. Personally, never read Spinning Silver. And I have far too many book sleeves as is… so in a weird way kind of happy that the book sleeve will be a fandom I don’t know (although no doubt I’ll be conflicted by another gorgeous design). Definitely feel like we’re being spoiled by all of the fandoms though, and yay to more City of Brass merch in particular!
Now, the book. One of my most anticipated reads and I have a physical copy of the ARC which I can’t wait to get round to! It’s got glowing reviews so yep, very excited. Especially excited to see the edges after this month’s book too!
Do you subscribe to any book boxes?
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