MyBookBox is a monthly book subscription box featuring specially selected books and a surprise gift perfect for book lovers like you!
Each month, MyBookBox curates a list of recommended books that spans several genres. When you sign up, you’ll choose two genres that fit your interests. Your monthly box will contain two books, one for each of your chosen genres. Wanna switch genres? Just contact MyBookBox.
My Subscription Addiction paid for this box. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
This review is of the Women's Fiction and Young Adult, $39.95 a month, box.
The Subscription Box: MyBookBox
The Cost: $39.95 a month + shipping (which is free in the US). MyBookBox also offers discounted 3-month and 6-month subscription plans.
The Products: Books from two genres you choose, plus a book-related gift.
Ships to: U.S. (free), Canada ($19), Mexico ($26), and beyond ($28).
Check out all of our MyBookBox reviews and more book subscription boxes in the Book Subscription Box Directory!
Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!
This little note tops off the box. I like the handwritten script and the pretty, stone-like background. It's a nice break from the usual leaves-and-pumpkins design tropes that tend to fill October boxes!
This MyBookBox contains books from their Women’s Fiction and Young Adult genres. Wondering what you'd get with other genres? The back of the notecard lists out all the month's picks.
There's a poster for Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in the box, too!
On the back, there's some advertising for other Fantastic Beasts merch. I know a kiddo who's SUPER excited about this movie. I might pass this poster their way!
A nice thing about MyBookBox is that they always include notes from the month's authors. It's so fun getting some backstory to the novels in the box. Seeing the author's handwriting is cool, too—these notes give this book box such a personal touch.
And just in case all of your bookmarks are busy at the moment, MyBookBox provides one for each book!
The bookmarks aren't made of the toughest paper, so I kind of wish they were a bit more sturdy. That said, I get the feeling that these bookmarks are more about showcasing the books in the box, rather than being a lasting, artsy bookmark. But no matter. I'm the kind of person who uses the receipt from the bookstore as a bookmark, so this is a step in a classier direction.
Labrie Designs Butterbeer Candle - Value $9.00?
This little candle packs a huge aroma. Just opening the tin, my room started smelling of vanilla and toasty caramel. It wouldn't be my first pick for a candle scent, but this sweet, cozy smell is definitely perfect for fall. It's the perfect way to make your home smell like you've been baking cookies (or drinking with wizards) all day long.
I'm Not Your Manic Pixie Dream Girl by Gretchen McNeil - Value on Amazon $11.99 (retail price $17.99)
This book is so unexpectedly zany. I can't help but think I would have loved it as a high-school reader. It's sort of a new twist on the time-honored Revenge of the Nerds trope, with data-driven paths to popularity and social conundrums reminiscent of Mean Girls. Best of all, I like how this book plays with and pokes fun at the "manic pixie dream girl" character that's become so popular in contemporary storytelling. It's interesting to see what's "cool" to current teens and that the struggle to be one's self hasn't gone away.
Book Summary on Amazon:
From acclaimed author Gretchen McNeil comes her first realistic contemporary romance—perfect for fans of Kody Keplinger’s The Duff and Morgan Matson’s Since You've Been Gone.
Beatrice Maria Estrella Giovannini has life all figured out. She's starting senior year at the top of her class, she’s a shoo-in for a scholarship to M.I.T., and she’s got a new boyfriend she’s crazy about. The only problem: All through high school Bea and her best friends Spencer and Gabe have been the targets of horrific bullying.
So Bea uses her math skills to come up with The Formula, a 100% mathematically guaranteed path to social happiness in high school. Now Gabe is on his way to becoming Student Body President, and Spencer is finally getting his art noticed. But when her boyfriend Jesse dumps her for Toile, the quirky new girl at school, Bea realizes it's time to use The Formula for herself. She'll be reinvented as the eccentric and lovable Trixie—a quintessential manic pixie dream girl—in order to win Jesse back and beat new-girl Toile at her own game.
Unfortunately, being a manic pixie dream girl isn't all it's cracked up to be, and “Trixie” is causing unexpected consequences for her friends. As The Formula begins to break down, can Bea find a way to reclaim her true identity and fix everything she's messed up? Or will the casualties of her manic pixie experiment go far deeper than she could possibly imagine?
The book comes with a signed bookmark, too! Cool!
Three Amazing Things About You by Jill Mansell - Value $14.99
This emotional book tells the story of several lives that are woven together through hardship and happiness. This is one of those happy-sad, bittersweet stories with a Lifetime movie feel—it's rich and somewhat soapy with medical struggles and star-crossed lovers. Pop it in your tote bag before you travel for the holidays—it'll make a long plane ride fly right by.
Book Summary on Amazon:
Hallie has a secret...doesn't everybody?
Hallie doesn't have long to live. And to make things even more complicated, she's in love with a guy who's seriously out of bounds. She's never going to let him know, of course; she's just going to enjoy every remaining moment of her crush. She's also determined to spend her last months helping those who write into her Dear Rose column with problems of their own. Her doctors can't fix her, but maybe she can fix a few other people's dilemmas before it's too late.
All our lives are full of choices, for better or worse. The amazing thing to see is how connected we all are-in ways we don't even know. On occasion, we have the chance to see the ways we change one another's lives for the better.
Praise for The Unexpected Consequences of Love:
"Mansell's tale of the stirring of love in spite of various heartbreaks and disappointments is a charming and, at times, madcap romantic comedy." - BooklistPraise for Don't Want to Miss a Thing:
"Utterly charming from the first page, Mansell's engaging tale is as welcome and warming as a cup of tea on a rainy night." -RT Book Reviews, 4 ½ Stars
Verdict: I liked this month's MyBookBox. The books were cute, if not the most compelling, memorable stories. This is a more expensive book box at $39.95, and the value of this month's items only reached about $36.00 (not counting the MyBookBox ephemera nor the poster, which is probably a dollar or so in value). MyBookBox does go out of its way to create an experience around the books they provide, such as including the author notes and signed items. If those sort of "experiential" items are valuable to you as a lit lover, then this box is probably a good pick. In my case, I liked the books well enough, but I wish the box contained a little more value (such as another book instead of the extra, non-book item).
What do you think of this month’s MyBookBox?
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