Book Lover Mystery Box – January 2017 Review & Coupon

The Book Lover Mystery Box is an Australian subscription box that provides you with a minimum of 2 romance novels (occasionally up to 4) – depending on the number of books in the box, bookish extras such as candles, bookmarks, jewelry, etc. may also be included.

Book Lover Mystery Box
Cost: $39.99 AUD (discounts available on longer subscriptions)
Shipping Costs: Free within Australia (varies to other countries).
Payment Method: Credit Card or Paypal.
Mailed Out: the first week of the month

CONTENTS

First up we have a few bookmarks – one is for the book ‘Bastard’ and is signed by its author, J L Perry. A Booktopia bookmark is also included.

Plus we have a lovely bookmark from Kristy’s Kreative Nook!

A closer look at the charm – it’s a stylized silver heart, quite elegant!

Cookies from Sweet.Bookie.Cookie which I was super excited to see in the box! These were in red velvet flavor and very yummy. 😀 I love the idea of EDIBLE book merch – I’ve seen a lot of different types of items in book boxes and this is the first time I’ve come across a company that prints bookish designs onto delicious treats! What a great concept. ❤

The books come wrapped to raise the suspense – they’re packaged in plain paper with the BLMB logo stamped on the front.

First up is a fantasy/romance ‘Through The Fig Tree‘ by K E Fraser ($18.83 AUD).

I like this cover a lot more than the alternative cover on Goodreads! This will look good on instagram… *plots*

Violet has spent the last few months falling in love with an incredibly clumsy man.
Daniel hasn’t told her that his clumsiness actually stems from the fact that he is experiencing things like riding an escalator for the first time; because he comes from a different world.

When Daniel’s responsibilities force him to end his inter-world travels, he leads Violet to the hidden doorway to his world, hoping that she will follow. Once she has travelled to the Realm of the Lilies, Violet finds herself in a world that is centuries behind her own; whose leaders are selected by bloodlines rather than elections and guarded by soldiers with swords and chainmail instead of machine guns and Kevlar. More alarmingly, Violet finds that she has been separated from Daniel and they both face adversity as they fight to be reunited in Daniel’s world.

Interestingly enough, this is an Australian debut from 2016, which is pretty cool!

Through the Fig Tree is the writing debut of an Australian woman. K. E. Fraser is a medical scientist, a mother of two, a sewist, a yoga lover, a mad Whovian, a self-confessed geek and a writer. Find me on facebook – https://www.facebook.com/KEFraserindieauthor/

Our second book is a paranormal romance, ‘The Road To Hell‘ by Jackie Kessler ($11.77 AUD)

Jezebel may no longer be a soul-stealing succubus, but she’s got a Hell of a past. She’d love to come clean to her sweet, super-hot boyfriend Paul but how exactly does a girl start that conversation? There’s no name tag that reads: “I Used to Have Sex with Men before Taking Their Souls to the Lake of Fire – Ask Me How!” Just like some people are worth being monogamous for (shudder), some secrets are worth keeping. Like the fact that bad boy incubus Daunuan keeps popping up from the Underworld to put some toe-curling moves on her; that her former associates are trying to strong-arm her back into the fold; and that every supernatural entity on the planet seems to want to have a conversation with her in the bathroom. But someone in the Underworld isn’t ready to play nice, and this time, the stakes are nothing less than Paul’s immortal soul. If Hell wants Jesse back so badly, they’ve got her. But payback’s a bitch, and this bitch is about to rock Hell like a hurricane – or lose her soul trying…

I’m fond of the urban fantasy sub-genre and this looks like it’ll be a funny, entertaining read. I haven’t read a book with a succubus before, so that’ll be interesting!

However, this is the second in a series, which isn’t optimal to receive in book boxes as some subscribers may not have read the first and thus your level of enjoyment depends on the your ability to jump into a series and hit the ground running.

Personally, I have a bad habit of starting off in the middle of the series – I have no patience and I’d always just start with whatever book was in the library as a kid! 😉 As this is a romance, hopefully the plot shouldn’t be too dense so as to throw off readers. I certainly start off in the middle of romances all the time myself, lol.

VERDICT

Quality of Curation: this is my second BLMB and so far they’ve been consistent with offering a variety within the romance genre. There are so many different types of romances available that it’s nice to get two books from completely different worlds, so to speak. It also seems to be a regular feature that we received signed items from authors, which will be valued by subscribers who like getting autographs! Plus I looove the book cookies, which is such a unique item in a box. 🙂 The only concern I have is regarding the inclusion of a second book in a series which may make it difficult for some who can’t get into a series without reading the first.

Worth It? The two books come to a total of $30.60 AUD. I’d estimate the ribbon bookmark is possibly $5-8 and the cookies at a couple bucks, so the value of the box matches the price that subscribers pay. The value would easily EXCEED the cost of the box if you subscribe using my discount code: 4YUXRY – this brings the cost down to $29.99 AUD. 😉

Find Out More: You can find BLMB on Facebook and Instagram.

There are still some boxes left for February, which is themed #AllAboutLove ❤

PR sample. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received.