Special Edition Box Review: The Beck Michaels Box from Nerdy Book Box
Updated: Apr 12, 2022
*Caution: Spoilers! This review contains spoilers for what is in the Beck Michaels box from Nerdy Book Box!*
I just love indie books, and I've been eyeballing Divine Blood by Beck Michaels for a while. I was really glad I didn't buy a regular copy when Nerdy Book Box announced it was offering an exclusive special edition set for the book, along with its sequel, Bonded Fate.
I'll have to say, for this being Nerdy Book Box's first Special Edition Box, I feel it was quite a success. It had high-quality items, most are useful, and it did not contain an overabundance of paper goods that also counted as "items." (I hate when boxes put a ton of paper and prints in a box and call them "items.")
First up in the box is the pin. It's pretty large, about 1.5", and has nice art on it. The quote is beautiful and makes me want to read the book more. I have an overabundance of pins, but this one is nice enough that I'll make room for it.
Then we have character cards, which are paper items, but these are a set with beautiful artwork on them and they're HOLO!, so I very much love them. Rawn Norrlen's card looks like a rendition of Legolas, which I'm not objecting to in the least. There are five in all, and I don't know who any of them are. I look forward to discovering the characters while I read the books and referencing the art for a more accurate idea in my mind of each of them.
Moving toward the more useful items in the box, there is a beautiful bookmark on lovely, sturdy card stock. It has an expanded quote from the book that matches the one featured on the pin, and the lettering and art on both sides are simply beautiful and romantic. I love bookmarks (I have a giant dang ton of them), and any time I read a book, I have to have a matching bookmark. This one is perfect.
The box also included a small, enamel-coated metal mug, which I like but feel is much too small for my use. When I drink hot stuff like tea, I need larger mugs. It will make a nice pen holder or bookmark keeper for my bookish things. The art on it is whimsical yet simple. It's nice.
My two favorite items in the box are the candle, which is scented to smell like Faerie Wine (raspberries, autumn nights, and desire). It has a massive amount of glitter in the top and a wood wick. It looks to be about 4 oz, so it's a nice size and the smell is a really nice combination of fruit and forest. I bet it will be gorgeous when it is lit. Last is the blanket, with beautiful art by one of my favorite bookish artists, @morgana0anagrom. It's so pretty. It's not large enough to put on the bed by far, but it will make a nice lap blanket for sitting in a cozy place and warming the legs while reading. It's also fluffy and cozy but not thick, so it can be used when it's a bit warmer outside. The candle label has matching art as well.
Finally, for the denouement, the books. These are both signed, though I'm not sure if it's a tip-in or the author signed all the books. I feel it was bound in with the book but signed separately. I may be wrong, but the crease on the cover doesn't look to be bent enough, or at all, for the covers to have been opened wide enough for a person to sign. Either way, it's not a book plate or a digital signature, so I'm quite pleased. The editions have exclusive white covers in contrast to the standard black, and the edges are sprayed lovely shades of red and orange (sparkly!) to match the elements on each cover. They also have bonus content and sneak peaks for the next book in the series! They're beautiful editions, though mine got beat up a bit on the top edges of the spines before they made it to me. It's a shame, as the editions are so lovely. I don't bend the spines of paperbacks when I read them, so these will be babied because they are special editions, though I wish the edges were more crisp and new looking.
Overall, this box was a big success I feel, especially for a first offering of a special edition box from Nerdy, though I wasn't worried. I've gotten a few boxes from Nerdy Book Box before; they've all been pretty nice and I love indie books, which NBB always includes. Everything was wrapped and packed densely in the box with tissue paper, stickers, and purple packing squiggles. I can say absolutely that I'm glad I got this one. 5/5 stars!
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