OwlCrate is a YA book subscription box. Each month they send you a newly released YA book along with some bookish goodies.
FYI - COVID-19 Updates: You can find OwlCrate shipping updates right here.
This box was sent to us at no cost for review. (Check out the review process post to learn more about how we review boxes.)
About OwlCrate YA
The Subscription Box: OwlCrate YA
The Cost: $29.99 + shipping. Save with longer subscriptions.
The Products: A new YA book and 3-5 book-related goodies. Recommended for ages 14+.
Ships to: The U.S. for $7.99, Canada for $9.99, and worldwide for $19.99
OwlCrate YA "Legends and Lore" October 2020 Review
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Each box comes with a card detailing the theme and the items included. This month’s theme is “Legends and Lore."
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We received this booklet featuring an interview with the author, a word search, and an interview with one of our vendors for this month. They also included some information about their monthly photo challenge and a link to a Spotify book soundtrack curated by the author of our book. What a cool idea!
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Legendborn by Tracy Deonn - Retail Value $18.99 (found here for $15.46)
This month's book is signed by the author and features an exclusive cover. Inside the book jacket is some beautiful artwork from Chibia Ulinwa (swipe all the way through to see this stunning design!).
From Amazon:
After her mother dies in an accident, sixteen-year-old Bree Matthews wants nothing to do with her family memories or childhood home. A residential program for bright high schoolers at UNC–Chapel Hill seems like the perfect escape—until Bree witnesses a magical attack her very first night on campus.
A flying demon feeding on human energies.
A secret society of so called “Legendborn” students that hunt the creatures down.
And a mysterious teenage mage who calls himself a “Merlin” and who attempts—and fails—to wipe Bree’s memory of everything she saw.
The mage’s failure unlocks Bree’s own unique magic and a buried memory with a hidden connection: the night her mother died, another Merlin was at the hospital. Now that Bree knows there’s more to her mother’s death than what’s on the police report, she’ll do whatever it takes to find out the truth, even if that means infiltrating the Legendborn as one of their initiates.
She recruits Nick, a self-exiled Legendborn with his own grudge against the group, and their reluctant partnership pulls them deeper into the society’s secrets—and closer to each other. But when the Legendborn reveal themselves as the descendants of King Arthur’s knights and explain that a magical war is coming, Bree has to decide how far she’ll go for the truth and whether she should use her magic to take the society down—or join the fight.
The night it all begins is the same night that Bree is told of her mother's death in a car accident. She sees magic, although she doesn't recognize that's what it is until months later when she is attending UNC as part of a special early college program for high schoolers. Her first night on campus she witnesses something strange and as she begins to notice other occurrences, she is drawn into the world of the Legendborn. While she is not exactly invited, she manages to finagle her way in by latching on to her assigned mentor whose father just so happens to be a legacy. Although Nick, her mentor, has tried to distance himself from this world, Bree is on a mission to find out what happened to her mother and in the process, she has managed to drag him back in. With his help, she is learning about Merlin and King Arthur and legends that she had no clue were real among other magical entities that are more threatening than she realized. While I'm only just getting into the meat of this story, it has been exciting from the start and I'm eager to see what Bree uncovers and see how her relationship with Nick develops as he helps her navigate this world that he tried to leave behind. The author has a fresh voice that is easy to read!
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We received this letter from the author which always feels like a special touch.
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OwlCrate Exclusive! Audiobook
In our box was a code for a free audiobook, Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko. It was very simple to redeem, you just follow the link, sign up for an account and you have access to the audiobook, which normally costs $20.99. I love listening to a good audiobook while I'm doing chores or too tired to hold a book before bed (one of the best 21st-century luxuries!). It looks like Libro.Fm also allows you to support your local bookstore with your purchases which is pretty cool!
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OwlCrate Exclusive! Mini Clipboard
We also received this sneak peek of We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal which is set to be released in January 2021. This excerpt includes the first three chapters.
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OwlCrate Exclusive! Plant-Based Soap Bar
This little bar of soap is so pretty and while the scent wasn't too strong, it had a nice herbal smell and left my skin feeling clean. This handcrafted bar is made with plant-based oils like coconut and olive along with natural fragrances. Our vendor, Motherland Essentials, is one of those featured in our magazine and I loved hearing a little bit about her business. This bar was inspired by A Song of Wraths and Ruin by Roseanne A. Brown.
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OwlCrate Exclusive! Wind Chime
This wind chime is such a cute and unique idea! It makes the prettiest twinkling sound and I love the way the chimes hang down from the wooden moon. One of my strings actually arrived detached, but I just had to pull out one of the little nails and re-attach the string and it was fixed. This was designed by Team OwlCrate and inspired by Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibanez.
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Here is a better idea of what it looks like when it's hung up!
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OwlCrate Exclusive! Bowl Cozy
This item is probably one of my favorite items that I've ever received from this subscription. This is a bowl cozy that you can hold underneath your hot bowl of soup to save your fingers from the heat. I love this idea and can't believe I've never thought about this even being a thing! I've already put this to use many times now that the weather is getting cold and I crave all the warm comfort foods. This design from Janine Lecour was is inspired by the Spin the Dawn cover and I think it's perfectly cozy!
Isn't this just perfect?
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OwlCrate Exclusive! Phone Stand
This is another fantastic and useful item! I love the look of the bamboo which is complemented nicely by the great design on the front from Lady Chubb Letters. This quote, "show me a dream unrealized" is from The Star-Touched Queen.
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Once assembled, it's the perfect little stand for your phone or tablet. It even has a hole at the bottom so you can keep it plugged in with the cord out of the way. I can't wait to use this while I'm cooking - I often have recipes on my phone that I reference and this will be so helpful!
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OwlCrate Exclusive! Glass Nail File
In keeping with our theme of useful and gorgeous, we have this glass nail file with a carrying case. Glass nail files are always so pretty and the colors on this one with the quote at the end are no exception! I love that this file includes its own little case making it easy to throw it in your bag without worrying that it will break. This file was inspired by Girls of Paper and Fire and designed by @paperbackbones.
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OwlCrate Exclusive! Monthly Enamel Pin
Each month you'll receive an enamel pin to go along with your book. This one is perfect for Legendborn with the colors we see on the book cover. This was designed by Hey Atlas Creative.
Verdict: In case you couldn't tell by my enthusiasm for all of the items, I LOVED this month's OwlCrate box! Everything was designed so beautifully and the items were so unique and useful! I really love the bowl cozy and have used it several times already as well as the phone stand which sits in my kitchen ready to go. The nail file and the soap were nice pampering items while the wind chimes are so cute and make a great musical accent piece for outside. This box really was jam-packed with the free audiobook code, the book sneak peek, and our pin. Not to mention the book with the beautiful artwork on the inside cover. This box had a big wow-factor and felt like an amazing value this month!
To Wrap Up:
Can you still get this box if you sign up today? No, but you can join the waitlist for the December box here.
Value Breakdown: This box costs $37.98 ($29.99 + $7.99 shipping), which means that each of the 8 items (not counting the book preview) in the box has an average cost of about $4.75.
Check out all of our Owl Crate reviews and more of our best book subscription boxes!
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