Once Upon A Book Club Review, August 2016

Hello there fellow subscription box addicts and book lovers! I’m on a roll today and posting several reviews, so you’re in luck! This review is for a brand new subscription box called “Once Upon a Book Club“. If you are a certified (or certifiable – ha!) bibliophile like me, this box is DEFINITELY for you! Their motto is “Bringing Books to Life – Monthly”.

The Once Upon a Book Club is truly the most unique subscription book box out there. The creator sends you one new book a month (mostly women’s fiction released within the last few months) accompanied by several wrapped gifts that you are to open ONLY when you get to a certain page in the book! The gifts will somehow relate to or enhance the reading experience!

Once Upon a Book Club was created by the owner/designer Michelle Wolett of Chick Lit Designs and Once Upon a Book Case. Here is the pricing breakdown: (does not include tax/shipping)

Month to Month – $34.99 (auto-renew monthly)

3 Month Prepay – $100.99 (auto-renew every 3 months)

6 Month Prepay – $199 (auto-renew every 6 months )

12 Month Prepay – $390 (auto-renew every 12 months)

Straight from their Website:

“Pairing the perfect gift with a special part of each book. Each box takes months of preparation. Every detail mentioned in the book is thought over to find the perfect spots to insert a gift. Subscribers can expect gifts to be anything from the book. It can be a piece that relates to that particular era, a journal that the character is writing in, a vase that used to hide something. We search something significant to the story line, to really make the reader feel like they have been pulled in and help tell the story first hand.”

Once Upon a Book Club Review, August 2016

Here I go again with yet ANOTHER book box! Because this box is so different from all the other ones, how could I not get it??? To keep my budget in tact, I promised myself that I would either skip every other month (skipping any month is an option available to all subscribers), or get it for a few months to try it out, then cancel.  Well, I was so impressed with my first box that all that rationale went right out the damn window. Sigh. I won’t be skipping or cancelling any time soon. Gah. Oh well, you only live once, right? At least I will have a large stack of books to read when I’m bankrupt and starving.  Fuuuck.

I’m not an affiliate of Once Upon a Book Club, and I NEVER accept compensation in exchange for a positive review. These are my real and honest opinions. I pay for this subscription.

The box. Holy crap. So awesome. It is designed to look like a book…and IT IS PURPLE. I can’t get over it.

I will not be throwing this box out, I will be putting things in it and keeping it on my bookshelf. Michelle put a ton of effort and thought into this design, and it shows!  Bravo, girl!

I look ridiculous, the box looks fabulous!

Even the inside of the box is cool!  And look at all the girly goodies!

A reminder that you aren’t supposed to open the gifts until you get to the corresponding page. THE WAIT IS KILLING ME. I am NOT going to open these gifts just to do a review. You have to wait too, so NYAH!! I will do an update and a book review after I do my homework. I am a slow reader and my TBR (to be read) pile is huge, so keep your pantyhose on. I also don’t want to spoil anything for anyone who just received the box. They are sold out of this one, but you can sign up for September. This is going to be very difficult for me because I have ZERO patience and very little self control.

A quote from this month’s book. I like it! So true! There is a whole lot of entertainment around here, all the time.

If you have, or are going to start a book club – here are a list of discussion questions for you! I’m not that freakin’ organized, so I will just include my answers to these in my followup review, K?

The book. I’ve never heard of it, so perfect! Totally out of my regular genre(s) of choice, which are horror and smut. I’m broadening my horizons. 

The retail value on the back says $16, I saw it on Amazon for $9.52. I have no idea what the value of the gifts are since I can’t open them, but who cares?!? This box is all about curation and experience, so get over it.

Every gift is individually wrapped with a page number attached so you know when you can open it. I mean, look at how much detail and time went into this box! I am just so frigging impressed. I don’t know how many subscribers she has, but this has to take HOURS. Not only the packaging of it all, but coming up with the gifts, then finding them, then ordering them…I mean GEEZ!

OK, I just died. She even included a reminder on the actual page of the book…no detail has been left out…

When I opened the book, I found a card with the author’s signature on it. Of course that’s in there, of course. Simply amazing.

Another pretty little package that I can’t open yet. Love the sparkly silver ribbon!

A telegram! Can’t read it yet…

A scroll? WHAT IS ON THE SCROLL?

Annnnd….one more.

WOW. Just WOW. *clapping hands*

Lord God in Heaven, even the BOTTOM OF THE BOX is imprinted! Who thinks of this?!? Who has the TIME?!? Michelle Wolett, that’s who. Do yourself a favor and order this box.

I hope she doesn’t decide this is too much work, because DAMN. I don’t think she charges enough for all this work. I would charge y’all about $100 a box. Shhh! Don’t tell her that!

Is there even a question on how I feel about Once Upon a Book Club? I didn’t think so. I gotta go. I gotta read this book so I can open the gifts!