August 2020 Fairyloot – Unboxing

august 2020 fairyloot

Hi everyone! How are you all doing? I hope you’re healthy and can find something to keep yourselves distracted from everything. In this post, I’ll unbox the August 2020 Fairyloot box. This (or well, last) month’s theme was “Let the games begin” and I can’t wait to show you what was inside. So let’s have a look!

As always, we start with the spoiler card that contains all the details about the items in this box. On the reverse, there’s this month’s artwork, created by Taratjah. You can see this beautiful illustration in the big picture at the top of this post.

Bookmark and bath bomb

The first item in this box is a metal bookmark, also created by Taratjah. It’s dark grey and features two daggers and Mia Corvere, the protagonist in Jay Kristoff’s Nevernight. There’s also a cutout in the shape of Mr. Kindly, everyone’s favourite shadow cat. Oh, and look at the black tassle! I’ve never used a metal bookmark, I just use them to decorate my shelves, but I might use this one!

august 2020 fairyloot bookmark

Next up, we have a bath bomb. This bath bomb was made by Little Heart Gifts and is inspired by the Harry Potter series. Remember the Triwizard Tournament, where Harry needed to find a way to open the golden egg? You can try to do that with this seriously glittery bath bomb. I’m not even kidding, as soon as I opened the little box this was in, my hands, clothes and furniture were covered in glitter. Oh, and its scent is very strong. It’s oatmeal, milk and honey scented, but it’s a bit overwhelming, to be honest…

Pin and notebook

The next item is an enamel pin that was created by IronAndInkDesigns. It’s inspired by Aurora Rising, the scifi book by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. The quote on it reads “My current situation could be adequately described as suboptimal”, and is surrounded by planets and stars.

If you’re anything like me, you love collecting notebooks (and then never write in them because they are too pretty). In that case, this item is perfect for your collection. It’s a hardcover notebook that features a quote from Kerri Maniscalco’s Hunting Prince Dracula. It reads “Monsters are only as real the stories that grant them life. And they only live for as long as we tell those tales”, in a design by Noverantale. The endpages feature artwork of Audrey Rose and Thomas, the main characters in the series. This artwork was created by Taratjah. The notebook comes with a ribbon bookmark and elastic closure.

august 2020 fairyloot notebook
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Magnet and book sleeve

So far, this box contained items inspired by some of my favourite books and the next item does so as well. It’s a magnet designed by Taratjah and features the cover artwork of Neal Shusterman’s Scythe. It’s a fairly simple item and design, but that doesn’t mean it’s any less adorable. In fact, I’ll give it a place of honour on our freezer!

Since we’re talking about franchises I loved, we just have to mention Sabaa Tahir’s An Ember in the Ashes (even though I’ve only read the first and second book so far, but I have to take it slowly or they’ll break me completely). MonolimeArt created an absolutely stunning book sleeve featuring Laia on one side and Elias on the other. It’s also a pretty sturdy looking sleeve, with a zipper, so your favourite book will definitely be safe!

august 2020 fairyloot book sleeve

Tarot cards and more

Before we move on to the featured book of the August 2020 Fairyloot box, it’s time to show you this month’s tarot cards. We’ve already had a bookmark and a pin that were inspired by books written by Jay Kristoff, and now we can add another item to that list. Five of Swords is Mia Corvere, assassin-in-training, and Six of Swords is Mr. Kindly, her shady companion.

There’s also the Fairyscoop newsletter and a bookmark featuring this month’s artwork.

The book

And now it’s finally time to unveil the featured book of the August 2020 Fairyloot box. It is… Star Daughter, by Shveta Thakrar! The story is a contemporary fantasy, described as a blend of Stardust and Hindu mythology. Sheetal Mistry has a secret. Her mother was a star, who returned to her place in the constellation Pushya years ago. Since that day, Sheetal has been forced to hide. But the pull from the sky is growing stronger and Sheetal loses control, a flare of starfire burning her human father. Only a full star’s blood can heal him, so Sheetal has no choice but to ascend to the sky. But her celestial family has summoned her for a reason: to act as their human champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens.

august 2020 fairyloot book

I love Stardust (it’s past time for a rewatch, if you ask me!) and this book sounds absolutely amazing! This edition is a Fairyloot exclusive, with artwork by BxRomance on the reverse of the dust jacket, shimmery sprayed edges, and endpapers that are signed by the author! There is also a letter from the author, with gorgeous artwork on the reverse. I’m in love with how gorgeous this all is!

And that’s all for my unboxing of the August 2020 Fairyloot box. My favourite items were the notebook and the book sleeve. What were yours? Let me know in the comments below!

august 2020 fairyloot overview

Final note

This August 2020 Fairyloot unboxing is the last one I’ll be doing for the time being, since I cancelled my subscription. I think I’ve outgrown these boxes a bit, because I don’t feel the same spark of joy anymore when a box arrives on my doorstep. I also have to confess that my collection of merch from these boxes is getting out of hand and I don’t know where to keep it all.

And the final reason for my decision is the way the Fairyloot team handled the credit card issues on their website a couple of weeks ago. After learning of fraudulent charges on several subscribers’ cards, they waited too long to communicate about this and even then kept denying the issue was with their webshop, despite evidence from people who only used their card for Fairyloot purchases. They even let a pre-sale of a highly coveted exclusive box go ahead, leading to more issues. This is, in my humble opinion, not the correct way to handle the situation and it led to problems for many people. So yeah, that’s what made me pull the plug, combined with the other reasons I mentioned.

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