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For what I consider spice, it contains just a hint. It's also labeled as Adult by the publisher, so per those guidelines, it's not intended for a teen audience. But, you know, it's always up to the individual and the guardian!

@@thestorydragon1 I mean does it have more than kiss and like is it close door?, cuz I don't care for gore or bloodshed but if it's spice I won't be reading it hi. Hehehe

@@Marvasmidk OH, I see! I can confirm it's more than just a kiss, lol. So probably not your cup of tea!

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I will forever and always recommend the Letters of Enchantment duology to anyone and everyone! I haven't read Five Broken Blades yet! Although, if you say it's worth a shot I'll TOTALLY add it to my TBR. The cover catches my eye every time it pops up on Goodreads and such, but I've been hesitant ...

@@thestorydragon1 I loved it! It was like oceans eleven but fantasy and a little Korean, and the end goal is to assassinate the king instead of robbing casinos 😆

YAYAYA! Ugh, it was a JOY of a book. The banter was *chef's kiss* There is a slight (and I mean SLIGHT) spice scene. It's such a tiny moment that I honestly forgot how graphic it gets, but not very. Think Emily Henry as opposed to Ali Hazelwood as a "how spicy does it spice" comparison

@@thestorydragon1 oh okay awesome! Thanks so much for letting me know!☺️

I didn't even notice that but you're so right 😭

This was a really hard book battle!! I would have LOVED to "build-a-book" and cherry-pick my favorite features from each one. And having read the book now, I totally understand Owlcrate's endpapers. They do fit nicely with the story. But man, I'm a sucker for character artwork!

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I'm not sure what the wait times look like now. I do know my friend (who got on last summer) had to wait about five months. Fingers crossed you get on soon!

The most recent update I have seen for FL waitlist looks like this UK/international YA box - December 9th YA book only - November 4th Adult book - September 2nd Combo book - December 31st Romantasy - May 12th (2023) US/Canada YA box - November 15th YA book only - September 30th Adult book - June 20th (2023) Combo book - September 30th Romantasy - August 31st So depending on what one/s you are on the waitlist for its a pretty long wait 🥲 This update was from July4th btw

Ok, I was soooooo confused looking at the spoiler card, because it said (going off memory here since my dogs got ahold of it and tore it to shreds 💀) "a colour-way redesign of the trade cover" and I was like "huh ... I don't remember it looking like this." And now I wonder if the UK and US had different trade covers, because sure enough, the one I've seen is not the same. It that's the case, I'm glad we got the UK cover on the back because it's BEAUTIFUL!

Oooooooooooh, that's a good thought. And then I could have reversed 😭

@@thestorydragon1 if the editions were the same size you could even swap the covers but since one is slightly smaller that wont work. Bummer.

I agree. I think its such a shame, because I feel like the reversable dust jacket matches the end pages a lot better than the purple one, though that one is also gorgeous.

Oh my gosh, I almost did this with another set 😂

Sure! No spoilers needed 😊 I had to look way closer, lol, but yes I'm pretty sure it's a lock beside the knob. (Not that it would ever be needed because of the wards. MAGIC!) For the back, it's two separate doors. In person, you can see the pillar, but with the way the papers are glued the pillar is on the curve. It could be any number of places. It might be Graves's home? (That's my best guess since we spend a lot of time there.)

@@thestorydragon1 ahh, thank you so much! the lock makes a lot of sense and I did think about the glue doing its part. for me it was like half of a door and I wondered what happened there 😂 can't wait to see mine in person! 🥰 the cover is so nice - dustjacket is my favourite feature and the edges go so well with it 😍 pretty!

Hahahaha, I can totally see the confusion and being like "why is there only half a door ... ??" The edges were so well done 💕 it all just flows together and I love that!

Ahh, I'm so glad to hear the adult book is going to be awesome as well!! It's sooooooooo pretty. I love it!

I was so excited to see character endpapers on both editions. And having them front and back was a treat! I especially liked that we got Eve's birthday in the Owlcrate edition 💕 They almost always have blocked sprayed edges, but only in the past two editions have they been the shocking, highlighter color. Crossing my fingers that changes in August 🤞

Hmmm, well that's a bit disappointing regarding the edges. Not a big deal by any means, but still makes me go 'whomp'

I know! Owlcrate usually has sprayed block edges and they've fit the novels really well. Idk what's up with the June/July choices ...

This is GENIUS! I'm loving the ingenuity 💕You could have a whole channel based solely around reimagining book box items! That would be a blast. Right? It's a beautiful edition. I do think people will be disappointed in the book content (it's the epitome of lower grade YA and more targeted to 15 year old readers) but it's good for the library and does fit the box target audience, so 🤷‍♀️. I have a friend whose daughter loves reading, so I'll regift to her

Oh, I'm so glad to know that! Okay, it definitely makes me feel better that book 2 isn't dependent on book 1. It is sad knowing they probably won't do a matching edition of The Shadows Between Us, though. Especially since you said it's hard to get ahold of the first edition, and they don't match anyways. Maybe it will end up being part of their Iron Editions? (Though they don't seem to have done much with those so far?) We'll see, I suppose

Oh my gosh, EXACTLY what you said. Similar to the adult subscription, but a romance focus. I didn't even pick up Gild because I knew I wouldn't be able to stomach it. And I sent my friend a link of the TW when she said she might pick it up. She passed lol. July's book (which we haven't gotten yet but I already read) is 100% a step in the right direction. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that this is wobbly legs while getting started and they'll hit their stride!

@@thestorydragon1 glad to hear you prevented your friend from that read! 😌 (though Gild is a beloved book, somehow - I don't get it). Love to hear this about july! If it's the book I'm thinking of, I have seen the review :) that's promising. I hope you are right - adult had a rough start design wise and is now my favourite sub. Maybe we just have to give romantasy the time it needs. plus, the more subscriptions they have, the more books they have to select each month which reduces the ability of getting only "the best" in the boxes (subjectively spoken of course 😂)

She was happy, too 😂 Oh my GOSH, I'm so excited for the July adult book! I've seen it advertised everywhere, and @ayragon said they got theirs FL edition in and it's amazing 💕 I've always wondered how the selection process works. Especially since, out of ALL the books, box subscriptions duplicate quite a bit. I wonder if the publisher is like "pick on of these three" and that's that. But if romantasy heads in the same direction as the adult subscription (growth wise), I'm definitely holding on and crossing my fingers!

@@thestorydragon1 sadly I had to skip july (I'm on combo and wasn't interested in the ya pick - just can't afford it for only one book I'm curious about but hadn't even on my radar before) but if it's pretty and good I might try to hunt it down afterwards 🤭 yes, I'd love to know too! actually, I'd appreciate more insights and behind the scenes. This is all such a huge mystery 👀 fingers crossed for a good romantasy development!

I totally get that. And I'd say you made the right move. The July books was good for teens, but it's certainly a low-level YA that adult subscribers will (probably) be "meh" about. I regifted it to a friend's daughter and she loved it, so it works! Certainly no Crimson Moth, though, lol! Some behind the scenes blogs and videos would be so cool! I would eat that up in a heartbeat! 🤞

I started to expect damage to the book, and that's NEVER something you want in a subscription. Glad you're saving money! 💕

I'm desperately trying to catch up as well. There are so many, and it's my own fault for having a ton of subscriptions lolol. It's a policy and change sweatshirt!

@@thestorydragon1 agreed. Less speaking hot air and more making change to prevent further tragedies.

Nooooooo. The glass tumblers were some of the good items. I hate that for you 😭 That's so odd that they sent you separate book covers, too? I think the Owlcrate Romantasy will be a way better sub!

I've been disappointed in the Illumicrate book selections as well. The only one I've managed to read thus far is Voyage of the Damned. All of the others I've started and stopped multiple times, and I've had the audios lapse because I just couldn't get into them. Oooooh, I'm super excited for the FL Epic Fantasy sub!! I might drop my Afterlight subscription for that one. And I got the chance to read the FL July Romantasy pick. It wasn't great imo, but by far it's the best pick so far and I think a lot of people will enjoy it. If nothing else, I'm sure it will be pretty! I've been think about dropping the FL items as well in 2025. I just haven't been as impressed in 2024

@@thestorydragon1 exactly. Plus, I have so many of the items repeated already. It’s fine, I can sell and gift a lot of them, but it’s more clutter so I think I’m done. Plus I am 30 years away from the target audience, so the stories aren’t my favorites anymore.

YES. The amount of book sleeves I've gotten 😭 I have a whole drawer filled with items I need to sell or use as giveaways. YA has gotten hit or miss as I get older (which totally makes sense because I'm not a teen LOL). I have to follow a different rule-set when I review for that exact reason--I'm no longer the target audience, I just work with the target audience and purchase for them 😂

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The dragon on the Illumicrate version was a WIN! I'm just so confused by the specific shade of blue that Owlcrate went with. There are so many hues to choose from and they picked Highlighter 😭

​@@thestorydragon1one of the darker colors from the covers would have fit much better honestly

@@nellie4621 YES! I completely agree

@@ayragon it really outdid my expectations! And I thoroughly enjoyed the audio. Let me know what you think when you get around to reading 💕

I wish so badly that I could embroider! I'm going to make a second attempt, so we'll see! The FairyLoot box definitely seemed to be thought through better than the Illumicrate box. It was more cohesive, and the items were well designed. I especially love the way the book was done!

That would have really tied the whole design together. It makes me wonder if the different artists communicate with one another, or if they're just given basic blueprints of what Illumicrate wants for the edition and roll with that ...

I had to go refresh my mind on that cover, but yeah, they really are similar with the color scheme! The blue variants with the silver has such a beautiful effect

I didn't even think about that as an option, but they definitely could have gone that route. Or they could have done a combo sale with their Iron Editions that got launched a while back. (Although, I don't think they've done much with that?) This was an interesting book choice for certain.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Ugh, I hope they do. Or, at the very least, that this can read as a standalone and there's no need to get the first book. (Unless you really want it, of course!)

Ooooh, I'll have to give this trick a try! Now to find the best book to fit the colors of the bookends ...

Okay, so I'm not crazy. The edges DO look similar to another edition! I was second guessing myself. I probably should have skipped the second book too (sad days). But I'm 16% into July's book and enjoying it so far! Let's cross our fingers and hope things are looking up ...

Thank you!! The design on the bookends is really well done :) I'm playing around with display options!