April Uppercase: Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray

Heya! I feel horrible because these unboxings are so late but I haven't been reading as much as normal sadly. I finally got to read Defy the Stars so I can tell you about this months box!

First all,  theliteraryllama does such a nice job photographing the box, I mean look at her wormhole background to match!

Included in the bag was the book (signed), a Defy magnet, an awesome bookmark and my favorite - a Harry Potter notebook. It also came with the read along codes so I could learn more about the authors thinking process and fun stuff. 

Lots of great goodies this month!

If it wasn't clear by now, the book of the month was Defy the Stars by Claudia Gray. I haven't read anything by her before so it was a clean slate for me.

via Goodreads:

"She’s a soldier.

Noemi Vidal is seventeen years old and sworn to protect her planet, Genesis. She’s willing to risk anything—including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she’s a rebel.

He’s a machine.

Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel has advanced programming that’s begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he’s an abomination.

Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they’re not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they’re forced to question everything they’d been taught was true."



SO what did I think of the book? I liked it! I compare all space books to the The Illuminae Files because that was the first one I really liked. I thought of Illuminae and Starbound, but by the end the book stood on it's own. The main characters are different and strong but not clichéd.


I really enjoyed this month of Uppercase and can't wait to tell you about May's box!


till next time,
Maggie

March Uppercase: Hunted by Megan Spooner

Hiya! So I was about to write my review of April's Uppercase when I realized I was so busy with London stuff I never did March! So better late than never here's the awesome swag that was in the March bag.

The book for March was "Hunted" by Meagan Spooner. Meagan is one half of the team that brought us the Starbound trilogy which I devoured last year. If you haven't read those, check um out.


So here is the Goodreads synopsis:

"Beauty knows the Beast’s forest in her bones—and in her blood. Though she grew up with the city’s highest aristocrats, far from her father’s old lodge, she knows that the forest holds secrets and that her father is the only hunter who’s ever come close to discovering them.

So when her father loses his fortune and moves Yeva and her sisters back to the outskirts of town, Yeva is secretly relieved. Out in the wilderness, there’s no pressure to make idle chatter with vapid baronessas…or to submit to marrying a wealthy gentleman. But Yeva’s father’s misfortune may have cost him his mind, and when he goes missing in the woods, Yeva sets her sights on one prey: the creature he’d been obsessively tracking just before his disappearance.

Deaf to her sisters’ protests, Yeva hunts this strange Beast back into his own territory—a cursed valley, a ruined castle, and a world of creatures that Yeva’s only heard about in fairy tales. A world that can bring her ruin or salvation. Who will survive: the Beauty, or the Beast?"

Here's what was in the bag!

first off, the book, signed by Meagan. I like the cover, in particular the colors and the little bit of shininess.

A hello from Lisa and a description of what's all inside. 

Then the codes to read along with others! Always fun.

a "Hunted" bookmark

a beautiful gold print of some classic books

a book hoarder sticker, totally me

and some awesome Jane Austen socks.

I loved all the goodies in this month's bag. I read the book and still feel conflicted on whether or not I like it; I'm not a huge fan of Beauty and the Beast (sorry) and I didn't think the story was different enough to want to read? I thought it was well written and once I started reading it and I flew through it but...something about it didn't stick with me. 

Have you guys read Hunted? What did you think?

Stay tuned for April's Uppercase review coming soon!

till next time,

Maggie

Uppercase Book Subscription Review!

I've had good and bad luck with subscription boxes lately, but I think I've finally found one I love. 

Uppercase is a monthly YA (young adult) book box. With each subscription you get:

- Incredible Brand New, Hardcover Young Adult Book
- Signed Book or Bookplate Signed by the Author
- 1-2 High-Quality, Exclusive and Custom Bookish Items
- Uppercase Reading Experience with Exclusive Content
- Special Hand-Written and Personalized Note to You

Since I'm a little weary of boxes I had to really check out what they were about before I ordered. Luckily I was able to check out all their past boxes on their website. That's totally awesome because not all boxes let you see what they've done before for some reason. Uppercase has all of their past boxes that they've had since August of '14, so out of thirty something boxes a good majority were books I've read or have on my Goodreads to-read list! Plus the goodies they send are cute! I would totally buy some of the things they send so to have them included for basically free is awesome. Some stuff comes from publishers and others come from small businesses. Remember "Beautiful Book Quotes with Simini Blocker"? She put her art into a 2017 planner you got for one month, but you can also buy her stuff  in their store which is awesome. It helped that they had a first timer promo code for 10% off, which isn't a lot, but it was a nice touch.  Also, if you don't want the goodies, you can do a books only monthly plan which is cheaper and still comes with a signed book.

Other added bonuses, each email comes with a fun gif or pic that made me smile, like this month's your box has shipped:

adorable. 

One thing I like is that they recommend you don't buy any new new books before you get your box in case you buy the one they're sending, so it actually helped my horrible impulse book buying habit...at least until I got the book

So what did I get this month? Here was Feb '17's box:

Cute reusable bag!

Whats inside!?

It's "By Your Side"

 and it's signed! woot!

True love.

and for some reason a 221B Baker Street door key which I loveeeee.

 A friend was just telling me about Novelteas and now I can finally try it. 

OK So the goodies are awesome, but one of my favorite things about Uppercase is the reader connection. In the box, are codes to use to enhance your reading the book. You go to the Uppercase website, enter the code for the part of the book you're on for different awesome bonuses. Example for Feb, the first code gave you an exclusive Youtube video from Kasie West to start you off reading. Plus you get access to the Uppercase book club so you can talk about the book with other YA lit lovers. You can do it from home in your pajamas anytime and they'res no pressure to read it by any date. Lovely! 

A little about the book, via goodreads:

"When Autumn Collins finds herself accidentally locked in the library for an entire weekend, she doesn’t think things could get any worse. But that’s before she realizes that Dax Miller is locked in with her. Autumn doesn’t know much about Dax except that he’s trouble. Between the rumors about the fight he was in (and that brief stint in juvie that followed it) and his reputation as a loner, he’s not exactly the ideal person to be stuck with. Still, she just keeps reminding herself that it is only a matter of time before Jeff, her almost-boyfriend, realizes he left her in the library and comes to rescue her.

Only he doesn’t come. No one does.

Instead it becomes clear that Autumn is going to have to spend the next couple of days living off vending-machine food and making conversation with a boy who clearly wants nothing to do with her. Except there is more to Dax than meets the eye. As he and Autumn first grudgingly, and then not so grudgingly, open up to each other, Autumn is struck by their surprising connection. But can their feelings for each other survive once the weekend is over and Autumn’s old life, and old love interest, threaten to pull her from Dax’s side?"




I found the book to be super predicable but well done. It kind of has the feel of a Sarah Dessen book...you know how it's going to end but it's short and sweet and sometimes you want that kind of story after a long dramatic book.

Overall I'm pretty happy with this box and I can't wait to see what the March pick is going to be! =)



Till next time,
Maggie

July Bookish Box - Fantasy Review

Howdy! I received my July bookish box today in the mail today and wanted to share what was all included. After last months Classic Novels box I decided to unsubscribe to Bookish, but I was still hoping for some awesome goodies in this last box.  (You can read my review of the Harry Potter Box here) 

For July I didn't know the theme before I opened it, but I was hopeful based on the Deathly Hallows on the side of the box. This was the first month where the theme wasn't put on the side for me.

The theme turned out to be Fantasy! Excitedness started with a Maggie Stiefvater quote on the opener.

So the first items were a headband and a small bag of Dragon Rider coffee. I work at a coffee company so I don't really need coffee but it's a cool name. I'll edit this once I brew! The headband pattern is cool - and I think referencing The Raven King? - but look closely at the second picture.

You might notice, it says "baby"

and that's the size brain it fits - maybe! It's so small, I don't know how they expect it to fit on anyone's head =( I can't wear it so that's a bummer.

Next in the box was a tote that had a long handle which was a nice touch. The quote I had to google, it's by Cassandra Clara via the Mortal Instruments. Is it weird that I don't get the quote? Why can't I have the joy of reading and feel like part of the story?

The Tee of the month was "a single dream is more than a thousand powerful realities," which again, I had to google. It's apparently one of those quotes people think someone said but they never did? In this case it's often attributed to Tolkien, but it was from a review of Tolkien in actuality. I like the quote either way, but I don't love that it's on a plain white t-shirt. I tend to never wear white because 1.) I will for sure spill on it and 2.) Washing whites is one step more complicated than colors and I'm lazy.  I should note that Bookish now offers the box without the Tee, and I would maybe do that if I ever re-subscribed. 

Last thing in the box was a "hold the door" bracelet. I know it's a Game of Thrones reference because the internets exploded after that episode, but I stopped watching GOT for reasons explained well here.  So anyway the bracelet is cute, but I will never wear it.

This box helped me confirm that this box just isn't for me. I can think of some fellow nerds who do like a lot of the things in the box, but with this and the Classic Novels box I only connected to one item, so it isn't worth the cost. I would totally support another Harry Potter box, because I know it will be 100% interesting to me, but other than that I'm happy with my decision. 

Do you have a box you subscribe to and love? Share below!!