Page & Wick #2: May 2024
In January I got my very first box from Page & Wick, one where I was really impressed by the quality of the enclosed book. However, because it turned out that the import costs were not included in the purchase price, and I therefore had to pay a hefty sum on top of the already not cheap price of the box including shipping costs, I decided to skip the following boxes. Page & Wick allows you toskip a box up to 6 times a year, which actually means all boxes, since it is a bimonthly subscription.
With the March box I thought about skipping in time, but in May I was too late. In the meantime, they had already made a number of changes, so I was kind of hoping that I wouldn’t have to pay any additional customs fees, but alas. So this ended up being a very pricey book, and *SPOILER* one that I’m actually not that excited about…
The theme for May was Reunited and I was surprised to see the blue-purple theme card, considering the announcement had a green-and-gold colour palette. The reason for the big difference quickly became clear upon unpacking the book.
No candle in the box this time, because this is one of the changes that Page & Wick had made, the option to buy just the book. Since candles are not really my thing, I changed my subscription to book only, which at least saved me £5 😀
The May book is House of Beating Wings by Olivia Wildenstein, the first book in her The Kingdom of Crows series.
Until an oracle predicted my regal future, I’d never imagined myself rising above the curve of my round ears. After all, I was the magicless halfling loved by beasts but loathed by every pure-blooded faerie at court. Well… by all but one.
Dante Regio, prince of Luce, had owned my heart since he gave me my first kiss. If gathering a slew of iron relics could help me overthrow the current monarch and crown his brother to rule at my side, then treasure hunting I’d go.
If only the oracle had warned me what winged demon I was releasing into the world.
And that I’d become this demon’s obsession.
Fans of Sarah J. Maas and Mary E. Pearson will devour this epic fantasy romance full of deceit, betrayal, and false loves that could swallow a person whole.
Since this book was first published in 2022, I had already heard about it, for example from Becca & the Books. She was quite positive about it and I am interested in giving it a chance, but I didn’t necessarily need a special edition for this.
And yes, honestly, my first impression of the cover was not really positive. I personally really don’t like the style of the drawing at the front. I’m usually not a fan of people on the cover and I think this one looks a bit amateurish… I like the back, with the gold-colored birds, so I actually think it’s a shame that they didn’t turn the designs around.
It is really completely different from the original cover, which I really like. So yes, purely based on this cover, if I had to buy a copy of this book, I would have preferred to stick with the original. Would also have been better for my wallet 😉
Fortunately, I do quite like the hardcover itself. A beautifully striking sky blue colour with gold foil on each side. At the front it says “That you, Little Bird, belong to the sky“, at the back “O Ach Thati, Behach Éan.“.
The book block itself also has a very impressive illustration that continues on all three sides. The quality and detail of this illustration are really of the best I’ve seen!
Inside the book there is an illustration as the front and back endpaper, which personally doesn’t do much for me.
Finally, the book is also signed and includes a bound-in letter from the author.
All in all, my enthusiasm for this box was rather lackluster. That was certainly largely due to the sum I made of the price, but also the fact that I am not that enthusiastic about this book and the cover illustration cannot completely convince me.
When I look back at January’s book, then I had a somewhat similar reaction to the cover illustration. Apparently those are designed by the in house illustrator, so it looks like his/her style doesn’t really appeal to me.
Other than that there is really nothing to comment on this book. The quality is top notch and every aspect of the design is very well taken care of!
Cheers,
Charlotte
