Illumicrate #25: September 2024
Ten days after the Fairyloot, my September Illumicrate arrived with the mailman. This was going to be a fandom neutral box in a theme I’ve always been drawn to, but which often leaves me wanting in books.
The theme was Darker Academia, about how within the hallowed halls of knowledge, something dark and restless can lurk.
Item #1 was a long-awaited item for many subscribers, after we got a Sci-Fi version in April: the “dark academia” bookshelf puzzle. I’m not much of a puzzler myself, but these bookish puzzles do make me want to. Designed by @ChattyNora with an illustration by @OliviaGibbsIllustration.
Item #2 is a to-do and weekly list journal. The entire book has the same pre-printed spread, so you can fill in and check off each week. The cover has a very nice illustration by @Lichen_and_Limestone.
Item #3 is also always cool, even though I don’t end up using it much: Playing cards with reading prompts.
Every time I get something like this, I want to use it for a monthly TBR, but I always forget. Still, I think this one is also very nicely made (by @CoverDungeonRabbit) with some cool, challenging prompts, including specific Illumicrate ones.
Finally, item #4 is a glasses case, designed by @CreativeWannabe_. Nicely made, with a nice design, but I don’t think I’ll use it for my glasses. I prefer hard glasses cases, because I’m always afraid of crushing my glasses in my handbag, lol.
And then of course the book of the month: A Dark and Drowning Tide by Allison Saft.
The blurb reminds me a bit of a mix between Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries and The Phoenix Keeper, but with a darker plot.
Lorelei Kaskel, a folklorist with a quick temper and an even quicker wit, is on an expedition with six eccentric nobles in search of a fabled spring. The magical spring promises untold power, which the king wants to harness to secure his reign of the embattled country of Brunnestaad. Lorelei is determined to use this opportunity to prove herself and make her wildest, most impossible dream come to become a naturalist, able to travel freely to lands she’s only ever read about.
The expedition gets off to a harrowing start when its leader—Lorelei’s beloved mentor—is murdered in her quarters aboard their ship. The suspects are her five remaining expedition mates, each with their own motive. The only person Lorelei knows must be innocent is her longtime academic rival, the insufferably gallant and maddeningly beautiful Sylvia von Wolff. Now in charge of the expedition, Lorelei must find the spring before the murderer strikes again—and a coup begins in earnest.
But there are other dangers lurking in the forests that rearrange themselves at night, rivers with slumbering dragons waiting beneath the water, and shapeshifting beasts out for blood.
As Lorelei and Sylvia grudgingly work together to uncover the truth—and resist their growing feelings for one another—they discover that their professor had secrets of her own. Secrets that make Lorelei question whether justice is worth pursuing, or if this kingdom is worth saving at all.
For the cover, Illumicrate went for a complete redesign.
At first glance, I didn’t really like the style of the illustration, but the more I look at it, the more I like it. There are a few elements that I find a little creepy – like the dead eyes and the disproportionately long toes on the blonde girl – but I can’t decide if that’s intentional or part of the style. I guess I’ll have to read the book first. The illustration is further enhanced with gold foil, which gives it a lush feel.
The illustration is by @niallcgrant and the composition by @chattynora.
Because the original US cover by @AudreyBenjaminsenArt is still loved by many, Illumicrate chose not to completely let go of it, but to print it directly on the hardcover. The hardcover has a mother-of-pearl colour, which gives the printed illustration extra shine. Furthermore, the book block was given a digitally printed illustration by @niallcgrant.
The two endpapers also got gorgeous new illustrations, this time by @hopechristofferson, whose style I recognize from the beautiful reading log from a few months ago. With this one, I’m not that far off with my association with The Phoenix Keeper, lol.
Finally, the book also comes with a bound-in letter from the author and the book was signed by hand.
Yet another very solid box from Illumicrate. Not all items that I get excited about, but I cannot deny their quality and beautiful designs.
And yes, the fact that they almost completely did their thing with the book is something I can really appreciate. I am always happy to see a completely new cover for a book, and although it was not love at first sight for me, I appreciate it more and more. In addition, the rest of the edition is also very well thought out and executed. So definitely another asset to my bookcase!
Cheers,
Charlotte
