Have you been thinking about trying our a bookish subscription box? Fortunately there are a load more options in UK than there used to be, meaning shipping costs won’t break the bank. Here are the four I’ve tried so far.
Illumicrate
Frequency: Quarterly
Price: £29.99 (free UK shipping)
Genres: Usually YA SFF, sometimes contemporary and occasionally adult SFF.
What you can expect:
Often includes two books, the featured title plus an ARC (sometimes with an exclusive cover). The additonal items are usually from Etsy sellers, often with exclusive designs. Past items have included mugs, candles, pouches, cushion cover, coasters and notepads. The box usually has samplers, bookmarks and postcards for recent or upcoming YA titles.
Verdict:
I trust Daphne’s choice of books and have found some new favourites among her choices. I like the quarterly frequency too, so it’s not one I feel I have to put on hold. In fact, I’ve received every single standard box so far.
Illumicrate also do one off super boxes for specific fandoms.
Wildest Dreams
Frequency: Monthly
Price: £18 (free UK shipping)
Genres: YA
What you can expect:
A paperback book, a Geeky Clean product (or occasional candle) and hand-blended tea.
Verdict:
The cheapest on this list and I love that it includes consumables rather than stuff that’s likely to get shoved in a box and forgotten about. Again, I’ve really not had a chance to read the books yet and I’ll probably have to take a little break as monthly is just a bit too often for me.
Ninja Book Box
Frequency: Quarterly
Price: £29.99 (free UK shipping)
Genres: Varies
What you can expect:
An independently published book plus items from small businesses, often handmade. Each box includes a themed charm which you can add to a bracelet or chain and a recipe card.
Verdict:
Full disclosure, I adore Bex and I love that she’s doing so much to promote smaller publishers. I’ve not managed to get round to reading any of these books yet (although the box I skipped was because I’d already read and enjoyed Dragon’s Green). If you want a subscription to help steer you in a different direction, I would recommend this one, even if it’s not quite right for me.
Ninja Book Box also offers mini box subscriptions for the book without the additional items.
FairyLoot
Frequency: Monthly
Price: £26 + £3.95 UK shipping
Genres: YA Fantasy
What you can expect:
A recent hardback book, sometimes an exclusive edition, which comes in a FairyLoot book bag and a generous number of items based on a theme. Past items have included jewellery, tea infuser, scarf, hot chocolate, candles, notebooks, magnetic bookmarks and hat. The box also includes some promotional materials from publishers.
Verdict:
One of the most professionally put together boxes with plenty of quality items. I’m pretty bad at reading the books though, and monthly is just a bit too often. They do offer one off purchases though. Sign up for their newsletter for hints on what will be included and then you can decide if you want it.
So basically, I like all these boxes but just don’t have time to read all the books on top of my mahoosive TBR. I am trying to cut back a bit, but out of all of these, I think Illumicrate is my favourite, for book choices, frequency and contents. Do you know of any other British book boxes I should try?
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I've heard of all of these. I was going to get a Fairy Loot box but they sold out. It's pricey and I don't read much YA so for me it's a gamble. I considered Wildestdreams but I've seen some of the books they've featured in a discount store so that put me off ( the gifts are pricey and it is a good price so I'm sure it works out). I tried a one off Ninja box last yr-it was the one with Dragon's Green. I treated myself to a subscription and love it. So much thought and effort go into making each box and the book is always something I would never buy for myself but I would read. Two books in I mean to start reading one soon.
I love the surprise book and gift box idea and I like reading unboxings. I might try Fairy Loot one day but too pricey right now.
Thankyou Jen! That's lovely 😊
You have to be pretty quick to get a FairyLoot, it think they probably restrict number to their advantage so you panic and buy one. But if you don't like YA Fantasy there's really not much point as they don't vary at all. Ninja Book Box is great for those not wanting YA.
If you are on a budget, the boxes can be expensive when you could just buy yourself a book and a gift that you want. I do like supporting smaller businesses though and they are all run by small teams or a single person. It's better than giving my money to Amazon!
I think my favourite is Wildest Dreams – it's like a monthly self care package.
I also get Fairy Loot but have been more unimpressed by each box and delivery seems to be taking longer and longer. It's also most likely to be spoiled 🙁 This month's box was pretty good though.
I quite like Illumicrate, because it comes quarterly I forget I have it so it's a surprise each time haha.
Cora | http://www.teapartyprincess.co.uk
With FairyLoot I find the things I really want always always in the boxes I don't get! 😀 I had some great items in them though and I like the boxes for storage. Most the delivery companies are pretty good in my area but I can see it would be frustrating if they take forever. I try and stay off Instagram when I think they'll be arriving though most people I follow leave it a while or unbox in their stories which is easier to not see.
Thankyou for this Ellie, it's a great post 😊
Thanks for putting together this list. I've been looking for a good UK book box for a while.