FairyLoot Unboxing - December - Oh So Regal

The theme for FairyLoot's December box was Oh So Regal.

This was my second box and I definitely want to get more of them!

On to the unboxing!

 

Inside was a Funko. Different Funkos were put in the boxes. You could either get: Simba, Rapunzel, Pocahontas, Ariel, Jasmine or Tiana.

I got Ariel!

 The keyring is designed by Stella's Bookish Art and is an exclusive. It says 'Books Rule' on it.

There were different candles in this box as well. The options were Prince Aladdin, Prince Charming, Prince Adam or Prince Eric. I got Prince Charming and it smells lovely.

There was a War Storm (the next book in the Red Queen series by Victoria Aveyard) bookmark and a notebook with a quote from Red Queen (designed by Stella's Bookish Art). 

There was also a Rosemarked sampler and a zip pouch/pencil case designed by Miss Phi. The quote is from No Fear by William Shakespeare.

This month's book was Everless by Sara Holland, which doesn't come out until January.

It sounds really interesting and came with a signed bookplate and a letter from the author.

   

Did you get a Oh So Regal box?

What Funko and candle did you get?

Wildest Dreams Book Box Unboxing - Best of YA 2017

I was lucky enough to be one of the few people to get one of the first Wildest Dreams book boxes!

The theme was Best of YA 2017 and included in the box was:

a book (with a note from the author), a bath bomb, bookish tea, a bookmark (signed), and a postcard.

The book was The Nowhere Girls by Amy Reed, which is about three girls who avenge the rape of a fellow classmate. 

I was worried that I would have the book included in this box seeing as it's the best of YA 2017, but luckily I don't :)

The bath bomb is from Geeky Clean. It's a sorting hat bath bomb, and when it melts in the bath it reveals what Hogwarts house you are in.

The tea is based on After the Fire by Will Hill, and is made by Rosie Lea Tea.

I'm not really a tea person but this is chocolate orange flavour which sounds yummy!

The bookmark and postcard are for Book of Fire by Michelle Kenney. The bookmark is signed.

Book of Fire is plugged as "Percy Jackson meets the Bone Season" but sounds interesting. I actually have an ARC of this which I haven't gotten around to reading yet :/

Overall I was very pleased with the Wildest Dreams book box.

The book sounds interesting, the tea looks yummy, the bath bomb smells really good and the bookish swag is nice.

I'm definitely keen to order another Wildest Dreams box. 
I would definitely recommend it!
 

The January theme is Into the Jungle.

I would have ordered one but I'm pretty sure that I have an ARC copy of the book that is included.

Buy your box here! 

YALC 2017 Recap

Last weekend I was lucky enough to go to YALC for the third year in a row! I went for all three days and I had so much fun  : )

Here's how my time at YALC went . . .


Friday: 

 Panels - Heroines, SFF Now and We Love Buffy.
Signings - Alwyn Hamilton, Samantha Shannon and Elizabeth May.

Saturday:

Panels - Who Runs The World?, Myth Magic and Fairy-Tale, Laini Taylor and The Books That Made Me.
Signings - Katherine Webber, V.E. Schwab and Lauren James.

Sunday:

Panels - Patrick Ness
Signings - Anna Day





I missed out on a few panels so that I could queue early for authors I knew would have long queues. It was totally worth it - some authors were signing for over three hours!




I also went down to the Comic Con floor on the Sunday and met Alan Tudyk. He shook my hand and was lovely. He signed my Firefly dictionary that I got signed by Sean Maher last year : )

I bought this lovely drawing of Princess Leia. It's gorgeous!

 Throughout the three days I got my hands on LOTS of goodies . . .

I also got my nails painted by Anderson Press who were promoting Things A Bright Girl Can Do by Sally Nicholls. By tweeting a picture with the hashtag #BrightThingsAGirlCanDo you could enter to win a proof copy. My sister won a copy (yep, totally jealous).

 I got to see the reveal for the third and final book in the Rebel of the Sands trilogy, Hero at the Fall.

It's GORGEOUS!

I didn't buy as many books as I thought I might and managed to get a few proofs. I missed out on Zenith though : (

 Geekerella is a hardback and came with a poster. It's so pretty!

Editing Emma was a bargain - I bought it on the Sunday afternoon when publishers had lowered their prices to get rid of stock. It was only £1!

Waterstones were selling early copies of The Loneliest Girl in the Universe and I grabbed one as soon as I could (they sold VERY quickly!). I can't wait to read it.

These are the books I got for free/from the book swap.

YALC was really fun and I got to see lots of celebs in passing (Benedict Cumberbatch walked through several times) and I definitely want to go next year, BUT I found some of the stalls a bit disappointing this year - some were smaller and there was a lot less choice at the freebie table this year. It was good to see some book box subscription stalls there though.



Did you go to YALC?
What was your favourite thing?

Top Ten Tuesday - Ten Books I Loved Less Than I Thought I Would

Top Ten Tuesday is a feature created and hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week the topic is:

Ten Books I Loved Less Than I Thought I Would 

 I tend to have unpopular opinions when it comes to books that everyone else loves.

So you might be surprised by some of these.

1. Trial by Fire (Worldwalker, #1) by Josephine Angelini

I enjoyed the Starcrossed series, so when I heard that Josephine Angelini had written a book about witches, I couldn't wait to read it.
Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it :/

 2. And I Darken (The Conqueror's Saga, #1) by Kiersten White

 The premise for And I Darken really intrigued me but I got bored and didn't like the romance.




3. Talon (Talon, #1) by Julie Kagawa

 Dragons!
But . . . the love triangle and plot ruined it for me.







4. While I Live (The Ellie Chronicles, #1) by John Marsden

I loved the Tomorrow When the War Began books so when I heard there was another series with Ellie, the main character, I was really excited.
But . . .  I just couldn't get into this at all. 
It was so disappointing :(





5. Teardrop (Teardrop, #1) by Lauren Kate

 Another book where the blurb sounded interesting but then the book fell short.








6. Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass, #1) by Sarah J. Maas

 This one was a big disappointment.
I liked it overall but I expected to like it way more.
I enjoyed Crown of Midnight more but then Heir of Fire happened.
I found it sooo boring and then another love interest was introduced *sigh*




 
7. Black Ice by Becca Fitzpatrick

I'm a fan of the Hush, Hush books (they're a guilty pleasure) so I was excited to read another book by Becca Fitzpatrick but I found the protagonist really annoying.





8. Frozen (Heart of Dread, #1) by Melissa de la Cruz and Michael Johnston

A blackjack dealer as the main character?!
Unfortunately, I just couldn't get into this and found it predictable at times.





9. Take Back the Skies (Tellus, #1) by Lucy Saxon

 I found this predictable and some things happened way too easily.





10. Tonight the Streets Are Ours by Leila Sales

 I enjoyed This Song Will Save Your Life so I was interested to read Tonight the Streets Are Ours.
But the plot and characters were meh and the pacing was slow :/





What books did you think you would enjoy more?
Were there any you enjoyed less than you thought?