The Terror of Knowing

Hello one, hello all. Today I bring you a very exciting post – an unboxing! And not just any old unboxing but an unboxing of November’s Fairyloot box focused on the theme ‘Ladies That Slay’. Awesome, right?

For those who don’t know, Fairyloot is a UK-based subscription box with a monthly theme which the products of center around. Boxes contain a new YA fantasy release and 4-6 bookish goodies and each box is so beautifully packed you won’t want to ruin the prettiness by unwrapping it! Boxes frequently feature signed bookplate and a letter from the author, as well the beautifully designed Fairyscoop newsletter – even the packing list containing details of all the products is carefully designed and curated. I’ve received 3 boxes so far, and have purchased another 1, and I’m constantly amazed by the care and passion which seems to go into every item in every box. Everything is so carefully selected that it feels like every single small item that is included is there for a reason and there are so much many products and editions exclusive to Fairyloot that it has very quickly became one of my favourite bookish things.

After an extremely successful October box centred around Villains (check out my unboxing here), when I saw that the November theme was ‘Ladies That Slay’ I was like ‘take my money now!’. Fairyloot’s release blog said it best: “Do you like leading ladies that kick butt? Ladies who fight for what they believe in and inspire you? The November ‘Ladies That Slay’ box celebrates our favourite leading ladies in YA! You’ll find items themed on Hermione Granger, Katniss Everdeen, Blue Sargent and more.” They had me at “Hermione” to be honest! But the box also promised two books – the usual newly-released YA fantasy hardback centred around the theme and an ARC of an exciting high fantasy debut scheduled to publish May 2018. I couldn’t say no to that prospect so, of course, I snapped up a box as soon as I could… and then it was just a test of my patience until it arrived!

Here’s a little peek at all the bookish goodness I found inside:

First up, the main event, I’m no tease so let’s just get straight to the books, shall we?

The main book of the month was The Last Namsara by Kristen Ciccarelli which centres around Asha, a girl who’s the kingdom’s fiercest, feared dragon slayer – need I say more? I seem to be on something of a dragon kick lately after reading A Natural History of Dragons and Temeraire so I’m so excited to get to this one. Also, on a purely superficial level, the cover design is simply stunning.

The extra book was an ARC of Furyborn by Claire Legrand, tipped to be the “must-read fantasy of 2018”. It claims to feature two kick-ass young women at the story’s centre and it seems to be told in dual timelines and it’s kind of giving me Queen of the Tearling vibes because of that. Either way, I’m super grateful to have this ARC as a nice surprise in the Fairyloot box and I can’t wait to read this!

Now onto the bookish goodies…

The rather big product in the box is the Exclusive Slay Book Sleeve, as designed by Aunjuli Art. It’s emblazoned with swords and books and will comfortably fit a paperback or hardback book and keep it safe from anything else lurking in your bag – perfect for protecting your precious books when out and about!

Next we have Blue’s Brew, an exclusive tea blend created by Bookish Teas, inspired by (you guessed it) Blue Sargent from Maggie Stiefvater’s The Raven Cycle. I adore this series and Blue as a character is just an absolute delight so I can’t wait to try the tea blend inspired by her.

I shouldn’t be so easily excited by candles but I’m a basic bitch so of course I am. This candle is from the folks at Flick the Wick and it’s an exclusive Brightest Witch Candle inspired by said “brightest witch of her age”, Hermione Granger. The candle is wonderful, it has a lovely musky undertone and isn’t too flowery or sweet – exactly my kind of candle and the Harry Potter connection just makes it all the more special.

In the middle you might spot a sticker – this is an exclusive Fight the Darkness Sticker made by Reverie & Ink. The eagle-eyed amongst you will know the quote, it’s from Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes and it’s a perfect inspirational quote to keep all those ‘ladies that slay’ fighting even when the going gets tough!

Next up is an iron-on patch called Fire Is Catching Badge from the wonderful Literary Emporium, inspired (of course) by Katniss Everdeen from Suzanne Collins’ The Hunger Games trilogy, another strong lady who well and truly slays!

And, lastly, we have two more little bonus goodies to celebrate the release of their respective books – a cute The Last Namsara badge and a beautiful This Mortal Coil enamel pin to celebrate the release of Emily Suvada’s This Mortal Coil. I haven’t read the book yet but am intrigued by its synopsis and, I must admit, a large part of that is because of its focus on genetics, as is well teased by the helix-design of this pin.

Aside from that, I just want to (once again) do a quick appreciation of every single bit of “extra” artwork that Fairyloot make sure to include in their boxes. As you can see from the bottom right image above, they have a bookmark featuring the month’s artwork, a beautifully designed spoiler card, a monthly newsletter called the Fairyscoop which features an interview with the author of the featured book, and a letter from the author themselves. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Fairyloot are killing it with their artwork, if I could frame it all, I would.

As you can see, Fairyloot once again do not disappoint. After 3 boxes I can safely say that I haven’t been disappointed with any of the items curated and the monthly themes have always made me want to immediately buy the box. If you’re interested in the items I unboxed here, or a fan of YA fantasy, or just intrigued by the idea of this subscription box, then I’d definitely recommend you keep an eye out for the theme of next month’s Fairyloot box on their website and Twitter – the team behind Fairyloot are so enthusiastic and passionate about their product and super friendly on social media that I definitely do not hesitate to recommend their boxes in this unboxing post!

Do you subscribe to any monthly bookish (or otherwise) subscription boxes? Do you like the look of Fairyloot’s subscription box? Comment below, I’d love to chat!

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