It's been a hot minute since I've been subscribed to Fairyloot and I'm honestly thrilled to be back. It feels like Christmas every month when you get to open a fancy box of goodies. That being said, the main reason I resubscribed was for the special editions (I'd rather pay for the box with goodies included than pay more for just the book from a secondhand seller). That being said, December is my first box back in a while and I'm quite excited to just dive into the goodies!
The first item that was included in this month's box was a sword letter opener inspired by Jacks' dagger from Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber. Now, I haven't read this book yet and I'm not sure if I will. However, this is a very subtle fandom item and it is very pretty. It will definitely get used, whether be for its purpose of opening letters or for pictures or some other decor.
The next item was an iron on patch inspired by Nasir's tattoo from We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal and was designed by the author herself. I actually read this duology right as I got this box and really enjoyed it. I do like the design of this patch, but I'm not sure what I'll end up using it for as I've never been much of a patch person. Maybe once I have my books out of storage and back on shelves I'll be able to think of some use for it.
Up next was a book sleeve inspired by These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong and designed by @celestialfang. I absolutely love this duology and this sleeve is gorgeous. The artwork is stunning and I anticipate this sleeve getting a lot of use in the future as I travel around. It's also nice to start building my merch collection for this duology as it is one of my favorites.
The next items were two foil bookmarks inspired by Hades and Persephone and designed by @gracezhuart. These are the first in a new collectible series and I'm quite excited about these ones. I love bookmarks and these two are absolutely stunning so I'm excited to see what the rest of the series is going to look like. Plus, bookmarks are one of those things that a reader can never have too many of.
Instead of a fifth item we actually got a bonus book this month! This book was The Coldest Touch by Isabel Sterling. It's a paperback edition, features an exclusive cover, and is digitally signed. I haven't read anything by Isabel Sterling yet, but I do own her another of her books and am interested in all of them. It's exciting getting a bonus book in a box but I'm not quite sure how I feel about the color schemes on this cover.
The tarot cards this month were the Nine and Ten of Pentacles and feature characters from the Red Rising series by Pierce Brown and designed by @lizzart_zardonicz. The cards and artwork are stunning and I'll definitely be keeping them with my Red Rising books once I have them all out of storage and back on my shelves. I do have to say, though, that it's a bit tiring to still be getting tarot cards as they've been doing them for literally years.
The book this month is Year of the Reaper by Makiia Lucier. This edition features an exclusive cover, sprayed edges, artwork on the dust jacket designed by @emiliesnaith_art, foil embossing on the cover by the same artist, and comes with a signed bookplate. There was also an author letter on the back of an art print designed by the same artist included. This book was one that was on my wishlist anyway so I'm quite excited to have this beautiful edition.
Overall, this was a strong first box back with Fairyloot. For me, not every month is going to be the best box I've ever received and that's okay. As long as I enjoy the majority of the box each month I'll consider my Fairyloot subscription to be worth it. This month is one where I like pretty much everything! I'm eager to see what Fairyloot has planned for 2022, though, as their editions have just kept getting more stunning each month.