ReaderOnAMission

Lets talk subscription boxes for a minute. We know them, we love them, we stand by the door on delivery day with our faces pressed up against the window, but our bank accounts hate them. All of the subscription boxes are unique in their own way, there are bookish candle boxes like the FlickTheWick box (I can vouch for the amazing-ness of this one), self care and bath boxes such as Fiction Bath Co, and the classic book boxes such as Owlcrate and Fairyloot. In addition to the ones I mentioned, there are SO MANY MORE. Spellbound book box, Enchanted book box, Enchanted Fandom box, The Bookish Box, the list can go on forever.

Here comes the problem, which one (or ones…) do you choose?

I have almost zero self control. Seriously, it’s bad. Just this morning I ordered a new bookish T-shirt subscription ( Vellum Post subscription box!) because I worked overtime last week and decided to reward myself. But the costs of these boxes are high, and they have to be if we want to get products that are good quality and amazing, so we have to make a choice.

Personally I like to look at previous unboxings first to see what kinds of products they typically include. After that if I liked what I saw I might do a one time purchase of the box just to experience the items firsthand. The only box that I consistently receive monthly is FairyLoot. Others I may one time purchase if I appreciate the themes. Specialty boxes such as the Caraval boxes though are always a must have!

What are your thoughts on subscription boxes? And would you be interested in me posting some unboxings here on the blog?

XoXo

ReaderOnAMission

Okay guys, lets talk about retellings. We’ve all read and enjoyed them, sometimes without even realizing until afterwards that it WAS a retelling (I’m looking at you A Court of Thorns and Roses). There are definitely times when I feel like they are suffocating me. How many times can you really read another Beauty and the Beast retelling? However they are all so uniquely different that I love them anyways. I have yet to read Romanov by Nadine Brandes, but I absolutely love all things Anastasia (I even saw the broadway play on closing night!), so I am really looking forward to diving into a new retelling.

Beauty and the Beast appears to be the most common fairytale that is graced with retelling after retelling, most recently with A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer. There are some stories that stray so far from the original source material that you don’t realize until later where the inspiration came from. With Kemmerer’s tale, you could tell right from the start, when main character Harper gets kidnapped and brought to live in a magical castle. Seriously if you are going to be kidnapped I feel like there is no better end location than CASTLE. You’ll have to read the story to find out what happens next, but I can tell you that Brigid Kemmerer is a master at twisting this particular fairytale to her will.

Another story inspired by our favorite booknerd princess is A Court of Thorns and Roses. As opposed to Kemmerers tale which weaves closely to the source material, Queen Sarah J Maas only borrowed a few aspects of her story from the classic. A girl does get kidnapped, but she isn’t taken to a castle. Instead she is brought to the land of the Fae, and my oh my does that start an adventure. If you haven’t read the story yet, I would pay very close attention to who you think is inspired by Gaston and who you think is Prince Adam, because Queen Maas really likes to tear your heartstrings out and rip them to shreds. The world that is created in Maas’s books is one of my all time favorites, therefore I highly recommend them to all.

Now I know I basically wrote only about Beauty and the Beast retellings…. but that is because they stand out so much in my mind! I think there are more of them than others, and to be honest I don’t think I’ve read any other stories yet. But I do have To Kill a Kingdom on my TBR pile so then I’ll have a Little Mermaid under my belt!!

What are your thoughts on retellings?

Xoxo

ReaderOnAMission

Thanks for joining me in my crazy fantasy filled world!

“A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies . . . The man who never reads lives only one.” – George R.R. Martin

Currently with my book club we are reading The Mortal Instruments. Last month we read City of Bones and this month we are reading the next two books in the series. I read this series years ago but I have loved diving back into the Shadowhunters world. Cassandra Clare does such an incredible job at immersing her readers into a world of magic and demons and sarcasm. I think my favorite part is the sarcasm if we are being totally honest.

In the City of Bones we followed Clary in her quest to rescue her mother from the clutches of the evil shadowhunter Valentine. In order to do so she befriends Jace, a young shadowhunter who’s sass is only matched by the magnificent warlock Magnus, unfortunately he doesnt appear much in City of Bones, but having read the series already I am looking forward to him appearing more. The story is set in NYC, which is somewhere I recently got to visit. I normally love books that are set in magical fictional worlds, but there was something extraordinary about being able to picture where the characters were and knowing a little something about their world.

Reading with my book club, fantastically named A Coven of Readers, is the most fun I have ever had reading. The members of the club are spread out around the world, and brought together by the power of books. Every month we read and discuss and share our opinions. No judgement (unless you’re a Tampon fan, then we judge you harshly) just agreat group of friends talking about books.

Tell me, do you like to read with a book club?

xoxo

ReaderOnAMission

I thought I would start this blog off with my June TBR list, but really it’s just a picture of a hypothetical list that I may or may not read. The truth is I suck at following lists. Whether it’s a grocery list, a to do list, or a TBR list, it’s probably not going to go as planned. Different items will end up in the cart and different books will end up in my mind. The books on my hypothetical list are:

-Romanov

-Three Dark Crowns

-City of Ashes

-City of Glass

-To Kill a Kingdom

-Everless

Two of these books are must reads because I am reading them with my book club, also known as my coven, and those are City of Ashes and City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. These are rereads for me as I read the entire Mortal Instruments series in high school, but it has been so long that I am looking forward to the reread. The rest of the options are always subject to change. When you live the life of a mood reader it is hard to stick to any plan. I once asked some people what I should read next and then completely ignored the response because it wasn’t the book I had in mind. Have you ever done that? The problem is so many books are already on my to be read list, and more are being added every single day. But even when I don’t think I know what I want to read next, I *know* what I want to read. It’s like a tractor beam shooting out from the bookshelf pulling you in saying “read me, read me” and you’re trying to respond with “no, I’m supposed to read *insert title of amazingly recommended book here*” but the book that is haunting the back of your mind just laughs and that is what you end up reading.

Because of this I never fully commit to a TBR list, I just compile some of the books that I have been thinking of lately and hope for the best. If you relate to this let me know! I like feeling like I’m not alone!

xoxo

ReaderOnAMission