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The Bookish Box “A World Between the Covers” Review – May 2019

The Bookish Box
4.4 overall rating
13 Ratings | 0 Reviews

The Bookish Box is a book-inspired subscription box from Appraising Pages, which is now called The Bookish Shop.

Originally, The Bookish Box was a subscription box filled with bookish objects only – no actual books involved. Recently, though, they have added several subscription varieties to choose from, including one that does have a book inside.

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 Bookish Goodies & YA Book Box, which is $28.99 a month + shipping.

About The Bookish Box Subscription Box for Book Lovers

The Subscription Box: The Bookish Box Goodies & YA Book Box

The Cost: $28.99 + shipping

Other available Bookish Box options:

  • Shirt and Book Box
    • YA - $28.99
    • Adult - $28.00
  • Book Only
    • YA - $17.99
  • Simply Shirt Bag
    • Various sizes - $18.00
  • Book, Shirt, and Goodies Bag
    • YA - $43.00
    • Adult - $43.00
  • Book and Goodies Bag
    • YA - $28.99
    • Adult - $29.99
  • Shirt and Goodies Bag
    • Women's Fitted - $29.99
    • Unisex - $29.99
    • Plus Size - $32.00

The Products: Every month you’ll receive themed goodies and a newly-released young adult book.

Ships To: The US for $7.50, to GA and Worldwide for an additional cost.

The Bookish Box “A World Between the Covers” May 2019 Review

Included in the box is a card that highlights this month's “A World Between the Covers” theme inspired by the beautiful maps and far away lands we discover in books.

Listed are all six goodies included in this month’s box, the young adult and adult book selections for the month, and the T-shirt for the month. An exclusive illustrated dust jacket is also included for the YA book of the month. The items you receive depend on which Bookish Box option you choose. There’s also a spoiler for next month’s theme.

Romanov by Nadine Brandes – Retail Value $17.99 (found here for $12.32)

Book Summary from Amazon:

“Anastasia “Nastya” Romanov was given a single mission: to smuggle an ancient spell into her suitcase on her way to exile in Siberia. It might be her family’s only salvation. But the leader of the Bolshevik army is after them, and he’s hunted Romanov before.

Nastya’s only chances of saving herself and her family are either to release the spell and deal with the consequences, or to enlist help from Zash, the handsome soldier who doesn’t act like the average Bolshevik. Nastya has only dabbled in magic, but it doesn’t frighten her half as much as her growing attraction to Zash. She likes him. She thinks he might even like her.

That is, until she’s on one side of a firing squad . . . and he’s on the other.”

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Disney’s Anastasia but can’t recall anything about the story! I intentionally didn’t look it up and instead launched into reading Romanov without any background or expectations for this historical fantasy.

The action starts right away with the Bolshevik soldiers coming to take Nastya’s father. You’re immediately drawn into the story! Along the way, you fall in love with the Romanovs. The magic unfolds with Nastya’s casting her first spell using the magic ink that helps her ill brother feel better but isn’t enough to heal him. The relationship between Nastya and the soldier Zash unfolds in a similar way. I got excited when Nastya finds the magic ink in Zash’s belongings – it becomes clear that he’s not a regular Bolshevik. They denounce the use of magic.

I love that Nadia Brandes doesn’t spend time explaining the background of the characters but lets the story unfold so each page you discover something new about the family, the relationship between Nastya and Zash, how magic works and other magical things. I also love a strong female lead!

Romanov Exclusive Dust Jacket by Diana Dworak – Retail Value $15.00

To compliment Romanov, this exclusive custom dust jacket was included in this month’s box. I’ve come to enjoy Diana Dworak’s illustrations for The Bookish Box. I especially love the illustration of Anastasia and Zash on the back cover.

Westeros from the Fire & Ice Series Enamel Pin by Dust and Pages – Listed Retail Value $10.00

Dust and Pages consistently delivers well-made, great quality pins that go perfectly with the theme of The Bookish Box. This pin is busy with many different elements and colors. Up close, you can appreciate the detail and design, but from afar, the colors start to blend in such a way that the elements aren’t apparent.

Ravka Map Wallet by Sweet Sequels – Retail Value $16.00

The image on this wallet represents the map of Ravka and would be the perfect gift for The Grisha Trilogy and Leigh Bardugo fans. The wallet has a smooth surface, sturdy black and gold zippered enclosure, and the inside is divided into three sections with a smaller zippered pocket in the middle and card holders on each side.

“I Am Up to No Good” Keychain – Retail Value $7.00

The content card lists an item: “Maureen’s Map Keychain”. Instead, I received this “I’m up to no good” keychain with the infamous quote from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I love that the quote is on both sides of the keychain and I like the gold keyholder.

Neverland Map Mug Rug by Ink & Wonder – Retail Value $8.00

Ink & Wonder created the Strange the Dreamer pillowcase in the March 2019 Bookish Box that I loved! This Peter Pan inspired mug rug has the Neverland map brightly printed on both sides of the sturdy fabric. It’s just the right size for a mug. I only wish it came in pairs or in a set.

Compass Knuckle Ring – Retail Value $8.00

This tiny knuckle ring features a compass which goes perfectly with this month’s theme. I find knuckle rings to be a bit uncomfortable but this also fits on my pinky finger. It’s cute.

Special Edition Gemini Horoscope Bookmark by Gabriella Bujdoso – Listed Retail Value $8.00

A Gemini bookmark designed by Gabriella Bujdoso featuring Toyla and Tamar from the Grishaverse is also included in this month’s box. I believe this is the fifth bookmark in a series of twelve.

The Verdict: I liked all the goodies included in this month’s box! Aside from the book, my favorite items were the wallet and the mug rug. The pin in this month’s box is the first that I haven’t been wowed by but all of the others have been amazing. I like the cute little ring too. I highly recommend Romanov – it’s a good read! Bookish Box does a great job featuring unique items via artist collaboration and they are always on the theme. That's quite impressive to pull off month after month.

This Bookish Box costs $36.49 ($28.99/month + $7.50 shipping) and has an estimated retail value of $89.99. While slightly less than last month’s boxes, that is more than double the price of the box. I think this box is definitely worth the price for an awesome selection of quality bookish goodies and a newly released YA book.

To Wrap Up:

Can you still get this box if you sign up today? Past boxes are sometimes available in the Bookish Shop. Sign-up now for a chance to get August's “Wicked Victorian” themed box.

Value Breakdown: This box costs $36.49 after shipping, which means that each of the 8 items in the box has an average cost of $4.56.

Check out all of our The Bookish Box reviews and the best book subscription boxes of 2019!

Keep Track of Your Subscriptions: Add this box to your subscription list or wishlist!

What do you think of May’s “A World Between the Covers” Bookish Box?

Starting at $30.99
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Every month you'll receive a shirt by Appraising Pages Shop and 3-5 home, beauty, and fashion items. Designed with the the fashionable literary obsessed lady in mind.

Shatae Hutchinson
Hi, I’m Shatae; pronounced shhh-tay! I work in IT Healthcare, I’m married to my high school sweetheart and we have 2 cool kids. I am obsessed with black culture, lifestyle, travel and art made by and featuring women of color. I also love trendy plus-size fashion and accessories, eclectic and bohemian home décor and all things self-care, mental health and fitness. My favorite box is Izzy & Liv’s Brown Sugar Box; a monthly box offering tees, accessories and lifestyle products designed for black women. I also subscribe to TheSelfCareBox, FabFitFun, CauseBox and Merkaela. Being a wife and full-time working mom, subscription boxes are one of the few things that are just for me! They are fun, convenient, reasonably priced and full of surprises.

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11 comments

Hallie

I would love for new reviews of this company. Please 😺 I can’t find any less than a year old.

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Marcie

I did a subscription for the young adult box for my daughter. The contents of the box were great, but the shipping takes forever. As an extra, I ordered a t shirt for her on March 21st and it still hasn’t come yet (5/13). The explanation from the company was that they wait for orders of t shirts and then print and process them, so I have to wait for them to get enough orders.

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Marlene

I laughed when I saw that the card listed the keychain as “Maureen’s Map”. Funniest autocorrect I ever saw.

And I loved the wallet! The quality is amazing.

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Shatae

I liked the wallet too Marlene – super cute and well made!

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DawnS

Thank you for the review…. as always I love to hear your enthusiasm come through your writing!
I do have to make 1 correction though…Anastasia was done by 20th Century Fox NOT Disney. Sorry I am a Disneyphile! 🙂

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Shatae

Get out Dawn! Google has confirmed, “Anastasia has always seemed like a Disney princess, but the 1997 movie musical was actually produced by Fox Animation Studios”! I learned that TODAY! 🙂

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DawnS

LOL 🙂 You are so awesome!

Michelle

I just finished the Last Czar on Netflix and wow it is powerful. I wasn’t paying attention in history class and don’t realize the whole story about the Romanov’s and Rasputin.

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Katie

Romanov was not a good book…I was very excited for the release and got it the day it came out, and i was highly disappointed. Obviously it’s historical fantasy, so it’s easy to excuse the magic and whatever, but the issue for me was the portrayal of Rasputin as benevolent. most accounts show that the daughters didn’t trust him nearly as much as the book shows. he was a realllllyyyy dangerous, sick man.

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Serena

I’ll bet the keychain was supposed to say “Marauders’ Map” but became a victim of autocorrect.

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Shatae

I’d double down on that Serena!

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