We have made it to 2022! New year, New boxes! Since we took the month of December off to spend time with our families, I will actually be showcasing the boxes that were supposed to be Decembers 😅 Next Month we will have a round up of the boxes to date and I will ask YOU to decide which one you like the most! This month we feature three new competitors:
I Smell Books
Beacon Box
LitJoy Crate
About the box
I Smell Books Since I purchased my box, I Smell Books has new owners. They haven't yet sent out their first box under the new ownership so I can't say how different it will be from my box. You can check out the official announcement of the new ownership on Instagram here.
Beacon Box Can you imagine taking your love of reading and turning it into a business at the age of 14? That's just what Cameron Allen did. He wanted to share his love of books with others and took his idea to his parents. What started as an idea bloomed into a beautiful book subscription box. You can check out more on how they came to be here.
LitJoy Crate is a quarterly subscription box, like the Book Hook Up. Regrettably I could not find any information online or on LitJoy's about page as to who they are, how they started, or why they make book boxes. If you are able to find anything, please let us know in the comments below.
Price
I Smell Books - $35.99, with an additional $9 for shipping has this around the average price for a book subscription box at a total of $44.99.
Beacon Box - $29.99 is a fantastic price for a book box. Shipping is calculated during the check out process, for me that came out to $9.99 making the total cost of this box 39.98. Beacon Box allows you the option to purchase the full box, the book only, or the goodies only.
LitJoy Crate - $34.99, like Beacon Box LitJoy gives you the choice of full box, bookish goodies or book only - which will obviously adjust the price. Also like Beacon Box, shipping is calculated at check out. Mine came out to $9.23 making my total $44.22 for this quarterly box.
The clear winner for the price here is Beacon Box. At just under $40 you are getting a full box and curated goodies delivered every day to your door.
Ordering and Shipping
I ordered all 3 boxes on the same day. The process was simple and easy for each one. There were no kinks or hiccups. All three boxes offer different types of boxes from Classics, to Adult. You can choose what your preference for your box is, or buy one of each! They also offer the option to buy single purchases, or multiple months at a time. Obviously the more you buy at once the bigger the monthly savings. Becca purchases multi month, where as I am a monthly subscriber. It's all about your own preferences. The options with these three boxes seem endless.
Since all three boxes arrived around the same time and ordering was pretty standard, I won't be awarding any points for this section.
Packaging
I Smell Books offers the classic brown box with the I Smell Books logo (glasses) printed on it. This was the smallest of the 3 boxes I received.
Beacon Box features a blue heathered pattern as the background along with the Beacon Box logo which is a lighthouse.
LitJoy Crate was the same width and length as Beacon Box and the same height as I Smell Books. It features a blue background with the words LitJoy Crate printed on it.
LitJoy stood out to me due to the internal packaging. I received some pretty delicate items and they were wrapped and cushioned to ensure they arrived in one piece. Since there weren't any fragile parts in the other two boxes I can't say if they were as secure.
Theme + Items
I Smell Books offered up the theme of Villians. Included was a copy of All of Us Villians (which is on my TBR) and multiple Disney themed items. 2 Art prints, an apple notepad, bad apple socks, Disney Villians pin, bookmark and necklace. You can't see it well in the photo, but the necklace is a beautiful mermaid scale pendant with a mermaid charm, not really along the villians theme, but a great box for those who love disney villians.
Beacon Box's theme was Secrets of the past. The featured book, Year of the Reaper, I hadn't even heard of until this box, but now I am excited to read. My favorite item of the winter arrived in this box, my 'There were boos involved' beanie. Also included was a recipe card, art print, magnet, drink cup, sticker, and discounted book 'The Wolf Queen'.
LitJoy Crate I had high hopes for. Since it is only a quarterly box, I had expectations that it would have to be brilliant for the price to keep folks coming back every 3 months. I was not disappointed. Magician's Duel was the theme for this box. Dreams Lie Beneath is the included book and the edition is stunning. With a reversible dust jacket, tip ins that include a signed page, a letter from the author and fan art; don't forget the sprayed edges. To go along with the theme there is a LOTR door sign, Discover of Witches bookmark, Sorcery of Thorns photo strip, and a Sword in the Stone puzzle in a velvet bag. Additionally, ACOTAR is the design of this boxes cup and saucer while Nightmare Circus is the candles featured scent.
If you can't tell already, I loved everything about the LitJoy Crate. Not that I didn't with the other two boxes, but the biggest stand out was the special edition of the included book. Neither Year of the Reaper or All of Us Villians had any personalization to them that would make them stand out if next to a basic hardcover edition.
The Winner
I have to be honest that it is getting more and more difficult for me to do these. I love all of the dedication, thought, heart, and love of books that goes into each and every one of these boxes. Some boxes are more well known, some are just starting out, but everyone has something that makes it stand out. I don't want to discount the amazingness of the other boxes just because I am choosing one that I preferred. With that said, this month's winner is LitJoy Crate. While it is only a quarterly box, the offer many different types of subscriptions that could have you receiving a box more often. The book is a beautiful addition to my library and I can't wait to read it.
If you want to check out our previous month's of Book Box Battle you can here.
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