PageHabit Review, September & October 2017

BEWARE – URGENT UPDATE FOR PAGEHABIT AND ALL QUARTERLY CO. BOXES AS OF 8/20/18!! – THERE SEEMS TO BE AN ISSUE WITH SUBSCRIBERS RECEIVING JULY 2018 BOXES AND SO FAR NO AUGUST BOXES OR ANY WORD FROM THE COMPANY.  QUARTERLY CO. (WHO IS THE MOTHER SITE OF PAGEHABIT) SEEMS TO BE HAVING MAJOR ISSUES WITH THEIR SUBSCRIPTION BOXES AND CUSTOMER SERVICE IS NOT ANSWERING EMAILS OR CHAT MESSAGES VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.  I CANNOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE CONTINUE TO ENDORSE THIS SUBSCRIPTION BOX WHEN SUCH THINGS ARE OCCURRING, AND DISCOURAGE YOU FROM SUBSCRIBING TO, OR COMPLETING ANY ORDERS WITH THEM UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE.  I WILL UPDATE AGAIN WHEN I HAVE MORE INFORMATION.  IF THE COMPANY DOES NOT RESPOND TO ME BY SEPTEMBER 1, I WILL BE DISCONTINUING MY AFFILIATION LINK.

PageHabit is the book box subscription formerly known as “Bookly Box”. They partnered with Quarterly Co. and now offer an even BETTER box! To see my previous reviews of Bookly Box, go here.  To see my previous reviews of PageHabit, go here.

There are several options to choose from:

1. PageHabit Monthly Box is $29.99/month + shipping (tax added for CA and ID). Each box includes: (1) Brand new release annotated by the author in the genre of your choice (Literary Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Young Adult Fiction, Romance, Horror, Historical Fiction or Science Fiction), (1) Written letter from the featured author, (2-3) Bookish items, (1) Beautifully designed bookmark, (1) Donation to support children’s literacy around the world, and access to PageHabit’s online community. International shipping is available.

• You can also add extra annotated books to your box from the other genres offered that month for $18.99 each; however you will NOT receive the author’s letter with any added books.

2. PageHabit Quarterly Box (shipped every 3 months) is $49.99/quarter + shipping (tax added for CA and ID). Each box includes: (1) New release annotated by a critically acclaimed author in either the Literary Fiction, Young Adult or Cookbook genres, (2) additional books curated by the featured author, (1) Written letter from the featured author, (2-3) Bookish items, (1) Beautifully designed bookmark, (1) Donation to support children’s literacy around the world, and access to PageHabit’s online community. International shipping is available.

3. PageHabit Gift Subscriptions are available for both monthly and quarterly boxes, with different length subscription options. International shipping is available.  See the PageHabit website for pricing.

4. PageHabit Limited Edition new release books annotated by their authors are also available  – no subscription needed! For latest options/pricing see PageHabit website.

NOTE: Some subscriptions also offer a ‘skip’ option, and an option to switch to a “book(s) only” box at a lower rate. See PageHabit website for details.

Why should you subscribe to a book box when you can just buy a book cheaper elsewhere? PageHabit has an answer for that!

FIRST, part of the reading experience is diving deeper, going beyond the words on a page to relate these stories to our real lives. That is why each of our boxes comes complete with exclusive author insight, including a written letter and author annotations! Every new release is peppered with exclusive author annotations placed throughout the book to enhance the reading experience. You will not be able to purchase these anywhere else.

SECOND, with a membership you also get access to our online community of over 12,000 bookworms from around the world! Get instant book recommendations, feedback, and thoughts on all things bookish.

THIRD, our members also get access to exclusive author content, including live chats with authors — ask them anything! — and exclusive playlists, deleted chapters, interviews and more!

There are affiliate links on this website, however I pay for my subscription. Please note that I *never* accept compensation in exchange for a positive review.  All of my reviews are my honest, personal opinions and contain my own photography (unless otherwise stated).

My review will cover the PageHabit HORROR and MYSTERY genres for September & October of 2017!

PageHabit Review, September 2017

Here we go!  The minimalist box is sturdy and nice.  They seem to be able to withstand the pounding that our mail goes through.

If you read the top of the inside of the box where it says “Snap.Give.Read”, anyone can post a photo of the unboxing of their PageHabit box, tag it #mypagehabit, and they will donate another book to a child without access!  Pretty cool, if you ask me.

Included in each box is a double-sided insert.  One side shows all the titles chosen that month in each genre, and the donation information for that month.

The other side of the insert shows the area statistics where the donated books are going.  This month’s location is Dalia Togo!

Every month you receive a unique, branded bookmark.  They are made of a glossy laminate-type of material, which is good because I am pretty hard on bookmarks.

The bookmarks also include a literary quote – this month’s quote is “The love of books is a love that requires neither justification, apology, nor defense” – J.A. Langford

This is the author’s letter, that comes with your main chosen genre.  Note:  Add-on genres do not include an author letter. This inclusion is one of the selling points for me, as I love the personal touch and enhancement it gives to the read!  I’ve received a few boxes now, and I’m seeing a pattern.  It seems all authors (at least horror authors) have TERRIBLE handwriting!  LOL!  I am writer, and my handwriting sucks too.  Kind of ironic, I think.

The books all have a post-it note attached to the front telling you that author annotations are inside!  Wheeee!  The genre I chose is ‘Horror’,  of course!

‘The Twilight Pariah’ by Jeffrey Ford – Retail Value $14.99 (Amazon price $10.39)

“Poignant and punchy.” ―The New York Times

Three friends go looking for treasure and find horror in Jeffrey Ford’s The Twilight Pariah.

All Maggie, Russell, and Henry wanted out of their last college vacation was to get drunk and play archaeologist in an old house in the woods outside of town. When they excavate the mansion’s outhouse they find way more than they bargained for: a sealed bottle filled with a red liquid, along with the bizarre skeleton of a horned child

Disturbing the skeleton throws each of their lives into a living hell. They feel followed wherever they go, their homes are ransacked by unknown intruders, and people they care about are brutally, horribly dismembered. The three friends awakened something, a creature that will stop at nothing to retrieve its child.

I have a question.  Why would ANYONE (besides a builder) decide to ‘excavate’ an old outhouse?!? EWWWWW!  Otherwise it sounds very intriguing! It gets 4.5 stars on Amazon.  One awesome thing about PageHabit is, you will always get new highly acclaimed books!

Here are some examples of the author’s annotations.  I hope he answers the outhouse question.  We’ll see.  LOL!

Oh look!  A drawing of boxing gloves!  I love boxing. 🙂

Here is my add-on book from the ‘Mystery’ genre!  Add on books DO INCLUDE author annotations!  Yay!

‘The Visitors’ by Catherine Burns – Retail Value $26 (Amazon Price $15.43)

“Once you start Catherine Burns’s dark, disturbing, and enthralling debut novel, it’s hard to stop. The Visitors is bizarrely unsettling, yet compulsively readable.” —Iain Reid, internationally bestselling author of I’m Thinking of Ending Things

With the smart suspense of Emma Donoghue’s Room and the atmospheric claustrophobia of Grey Gardens, Catherine Burns’s debut novel explores the complex truths we are able to keep hidden from ourselves and the twisted realities that can lurk beneath even the most serene of surfaces.

Marion Zetland lives with her domineering older brother John in a crumbling mansion on the edge of a northern seaside resort. A timid spinster in her fifties who still sleeps with teddy bears, Marion does her best to live by John’s rules, even if it means turning a blind eye to the noises she hears coming from behind the cellar door…and turning a blind eye to the women’s laundry in the hamper that isn’t hers. For years, she’s buried the signs of John’s devastating secret into the deep recesses of her mind—until the day John is crippled by a heart attack, and Marion becomes the only one whose shoulders are fit to bear his secret. Forced to go down to the cellar and face what her brother has kept hidden, Marion discovers more about herself than she ever thought possible. As the truth is slowly unraveled, we finally begin to understand: maybe John isn’t the only one with a dark side….

OK, I don’t know about you, but this sounds AWESOME!  Can’t wait to read it!!  Secrets in the cellar is always a good premise. 😉

I’ve been reading a few debut authors lately, and they’ve all been impressive!  I hope this one is as good as it sounds.

It gets some pretty decent reviews; not for being action-packed, but for it’s disturbing and unsettling qualities.  Perfect…muwahahaha….

And here are the included author annotations!

I really, really like the annotations – it makes the reading so much more fun!  Whoever came up with this, is a genius.

Pagehabit boxes also come with some extras.  One of those ‘extras’ is a short story!

‘Hungry Daughters of Starving Mothers’ by Alyssa Wong – Retail Value $1.00? This is a free download from Great Jones Street, but I’m not sure how much it is to purchase a paper copy like this one (couldn’t find one online).  Previously included short stories seem to go for about a dollar.  It looks like each genre gets a different story (obviously), too.

This is both a fun, and appropriate extra that gets some good reviews!

I like to bring these with me when I’m waiting.  Doctor, dentist, etc. – it is the perfect way to kill time!

Silicone Rubber Cat Coaster – Retail Value $1.80 – How cute is this?!?  I prefer coasters that are on the sturdier side (not cardboard), so this one does the trick. I’m not a cat person, but I like it anyways. 😉

Embroidered Time Traveler Iron-On Patch – Retail Value $5.99.  I have no idea if this is paraphernalia for a particular book or movie, but if you have an interest in the time traveling concept, you’ll probably like this patch. I’m not one for patches, so this will be a swap or gifting for me!

Enamel Comic Book Pin – Retail Value $1.62.  This is a really cute and colorful little pin.  If you are a collector of pins and/or comic books, it’s perfect!

The backside – you can tell is it well-made.

So this was September’s spread!  A nice, unique assortment IMHO.  PageHabit does a fantastic job with book selection – I haven’t been disappointed yet!  The total Retail Value comes to $51.40 ($36.43 using Amazon Pricing for the books); but this does not include the value of the author letter, author annotations, bookmark or the book donation to Africa.  If you consider the latter, you are getting a decent (but not huge) value in the $29.99 box + $18.99 add-on price (combined price $48.98 not including tax/shipping).  I am happy with the value and look forward to the box every month!

PageHabit Review, October 2017

My PageHabit box arrived safely and on time for Halloween – YAY!!  Let’s see what’s inside!

Stuffed full!

October’s donation is going to the Democratic Republic of Congo!

Here are all of the October Genre selections; I chose the horror box with a mystery add-on.

The bookmark!  Black; so appropriate for October.

Albert Einstein gets the quote this month: “The only thing that you absolutely have to know is the way the library.”  I agree.  OR…the way to the bookstore. 😉

The author of the horror book is Tade Thompson, and a letter from Tade is included. More bad handwriting – lol!

Here is the Post-It note on top that directs you to the author’s annotations inside the book!

‘The Murders of Molly Southbourne’ by Tade Thompson – Retail Value $11.99 (Amazon $8.23)

“A bold outpouring of flesh and crisis at once horrifying and familiar.” —The New York Times

Every time she bleeds a murderer is born. Experience the horror of Tade Thompson’s The Murders of Molly Southbourne.

The rule is simple: don’t bleed.

For as long as Molly Southbourne can remember, she’s been watching herself die. Whenever she bleeds, another molly is born, identical to her in every way and intent on her destruction.

Molly knows every way to kill herself, but she also knows that as long as she survives she’ll be hunted. No matter how well she follows the rules, eventually the mollys will find her. Can Molly find a way to stop the tide of blood, or will she meet her end at the hand of a girl who looks just like her?

This book sounds very different – I’m trying to figure out WTF by the description.  It gets decent reviews, so alrighty then!

The author annotations are scattered throughout the novel.  It’s good that they are on the sticky notes so you can move them around easily without losing them.

This month’s book is a novella (shorter novel), but there is exclusive ‘extra content’ included!  Wheeee!

There is all kinds of interesting info in the extra content package…what fun!

I chose to add on the Mystery genre book this month – and I’m so glad I did!  Remember, add-on books include author annotations, but NOT a letter from that author.

‘The Last Mrs. Parrish: A Novel’ by Liv Constantine – Retail Value $25.99 (Amazon $17.08)

I had this book on my Amazon Wishlist, so I’m totally stoked!!  I love it when box subscriptions nail it.

“‘The Last Mrs. Parrish’ by Liv Constantine will keep you up. In a ‘can’t put it down’ way. It’s ‘The Talented Mr. Ripley’ with XX chromosomes.”—The Skimm

“Deliciously duplicitous. . . . equally as twisty, spellbinding, and addictive as Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl or Paula Hawkins’s The Girl on the Train.”—Library Journal (starred review)

The mesmerizing debut about a coolly manipulative woman and a wealthy “golden couple,” from a stunning new voice in psychological suspense.

Some women get everything. Some women get everything they deserve.

Amber Patterson is fed up. She’s tired of being a nobody: a plain, invisible woman who blends into the background. She deserves more—a life of money and power like the one blond-haired, blue-eyed goddess Daphne Parrish takes for granted.

To everyone in the exclusive town of Bishops Harbor, Connecticut, Daphne—a socialite and philanthropist—and her real-estate mogul husband, Jackson, are a couple straight out of a fairy tale.

Amber’s envy could eat her alive . . . if she didn’t have a plan. Amber uses Daphne’s compassion and caring to insinuate herself into the family’s life—the first step in a meticulous scheme to undermine her. Before long, Amber is Daphne’s closest confidante, traveling to Europe with the Parrishes and their lovely young daughters, and growing closer to Jackson. But a skeleton from her past may undermine everything that Amber has worked towards, and if it is discovered, her well-laid plan may fall to pieces.

With shocking turns and dark secrets that will keep you guessing until the very end, The Last Mrs. Parrish is a fresh, juicy, and utterly addictive thriller from a diabolically imaginative talent.

I’m always intrigued by a description that uses the word “Diabolical”!  Sounds good, doesn’t it??

The author is actually 2 people – sisters.  I found this intriguing given the content of the plot! (Sorry the photo is a little fuzzy.)

If you’ve read this one – let me know what you thought!

There are quite a few sticky notes (author annotations) in this one!  Cool!

‘Help Me Follow My Sister Into the Land of the Dead’ by Carmen Maria Machado – Retail Value $1.00?  This is a free download from Great Jones Street, but I’m not sure how much it is to purchase a paper copy like this one (couldn’t find one online).  Previously included short stories seem to go for about a dollar.  It looks like each genre gets a different story (obviously), too.

Hmmm…a GoFundMe account for those pesky costs to the other side.  If only…hehe!

70″ by 72″ Bloody Shower Curtain – Retail Value $7.99 (Amazon $4.77)

You are going to laugh, but, I already have one of these!!  I threw an epic Halloween party a few years ago, and put this up in my guest bathroom along with the music from “Pyscho”.  Total party hit. 😉

Library Card Pillowcase by Out of Print – Retail Value $15 (based on similar)

This is an exclusive for PageHabit!  I am hoping to get a second one on a swap site so I have a matching set for my King Size bed.

It is a standard size pillowcase.  Super cute and appropriate for us bibliophiles!

Jack O Lantern Keychain – Retail Value $5.99 (based on similar)

It lights up and plays a spooky little tune!

Jack (my puppy) REEEEALLY liked this little toy!  He wanted it SO bad.  Sorry, Jack, that’s Mama’s!

What a fun month!  Totally Halloween-themed; which was perfect for my horror/mystery box.  Loved it!  The total retail value (with the add-on book) was $67.96, or $52.07 using Amazon pricing. This does not include the value of the author letter, author annotations, extra content, bookmark or the book donation to Africa.  If you consider the latter, you are getting a decent (but not huge) value in the $29.99 box + $18.99 add-on price (combined price $48.98 not including tax/shipping).  This was the highest value yet in the boxes I’ve received, and I have no complaints!  I should be getting November’s box in a few days – woohoo!

Let me know what you think of PageHabit!