emmanovella

JULY OWLCRATE UNBOXING

2/8/2017

By far the best day of the month is usually around the 18th when I hear a knock at the door and see the wonderful Royal Mail red coming through the window of the front door as 90% of the time that means one thing… OWLCRATE.

July’s theme was WANDERLUST and, as it was such a specific theme, I pretty much instantly guessed what the book would be… there weren’t many travel-esque YA novels coming out in July! This month had a great variety of items within the box with just the write mix of book/series related items and more generic, theme related things.

First of we got an awesome backpack – kind of like those drawstring gym bags you had in primary school but made of a canvas/tote bag material. This was super cute and the perfect size to carry a book in when on a hike to a good reading spot… however it’s The Lord of The Rings themed and I’ve never read or watched them so unfortunately I won’t get much use out of it at the moment. I do have a friend who LOVES the films but I won’t give it to him yet as I’ve been saying for years I want to watch the films; I just don’t know whether to start with LOTR or the Hobbit.

The first of the generic items we received was an Owl luggage tag by MUDPUPPY. This was a cute addition to the box although I believe the same thing was included in the JR crate and I definitely think it’s more suited to that box as it’s a little infantile in design – it’s a sort of felt material and is rather chunky. I love the fact it’s an Owl since you know… OWLcrate, but I wish it were more discreet in a way or different from what was in the kids box.

I completely forgot that the sneak peak was that we were getting something Fantastic Beasts related and I pretty much screamed the house down when I saw this Funko Pop Newt Scamander keychain! He is just adorable and aghhh! I have a whole Harry Potter shelf where I have my Harry and Draco (also OwlCrate items!) and Newt and a Niffler full size pops as well as a bunch of mystery minis so my little keychain will sit quite nicely next to them!

We also received this gorgeous mirror from Miss Phi which is beautifully designed with an A Darker Shade of Magic quote! I love items like this – magnets, key chains and mirrors etc. I would love to see more of these collectable yet practical type things in the boxes!

Speaking of collectables… we must talk about the little OwlCrate badge/pin/button – whatever you wanna call them! I’ve no idea how or when it began but I seem to have a nice badge collection going on and it’s honestly one of my favourite things from the boxes. I love knowing I’m definitely getting a badge to add to my collection!

OwlCrate know the way to my heart. This month we got a little pocket journal from Ooly. I’ll admit the mini pocket journal size is my least favourite but none the less, I am a sucker for stationery and journals and I will always be grateful for more! My mum asks why I have so many when half of them are empty but if I’m planning blog posts I can’t put that in the same notebook that I use as a diary, or that I use for budgeting and planning etc!! There is always a use for a diary and you always need an empty one for when that next idea hits

This Art Print by Shailey Ann Designs is gorgeous! It’s been years since I read Looking For Alaska but this has made me want to reread ASAP. I can’t recall if this was my first John Green or if I read TFIOS first but either way I adored it and I must delve back into it!

And finally we reach the main item: THE BOOK. You guessed it: The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee. I have been so excited about this book and although I knew it was going to be the pick for this month I was still over excited when I saw it! I’ve started reading this now and am about 20% into it and I will admit I’m not loving it as much as I anticipated. I think it’s because the characters – particularly Monty – are not quite what I anticipated and their behaviour seems extremely unlike what you would expect from that time period. It reads like modern day. And I suppose in a way we don’t know how people acted in the 1700’s. They probably weren’t that different in all honesty, it’s just strange to read historical, period characters that don’t act the stereotypical way. It’s starting to pick up its pace a little know and I think I’m getting into what this book actually is and have actually giggled out loud at certain points.

I’ve been a subscriber of OwlCrate since January 2016 and I’ve never looked back. There’s always something useful in there and almost always the book is a hit. The only negative thing I would ever have to say about the box is that it costs me about £40 a month – including shipping to the UK. BUT, with so many exclusive OwlCrate items now (including EXCLUSIVE COVERS!!) it is absolutely worth it.