Illumicrate #35: August 2025
At the end of August, I already received the Illumicrate box for the month. It almost felt too soon, as I thought I had only just unpacked the July box. But since the July edition turned out to be such a gem, I was, of course, absolutely thrilled to open this one. I was extremely curious to see whether Illumicrate could maintain their elevated standard.
The theme for August was Kill this Love, with the intriguing slogan: These feelings are forbidden; I must kill this love to survive. With a theme like this, it’s immediately clear that the book will have a romantic edge, which aligns with a noticeable trend at Illumicrate this year: this is already the fourth romantasy they have included in their boxes. Not that I’m complaining – I do enjoy the genre – but I also like some variety.
Nonetheless, I obviously didn’t skip this month’s box. It was time to discover whether it would live up to my expectations or leave me slightly disappointed.
The first item immediately explained why the box felt so heavy: a set of two beautifully illustrated ceramic vases. The illustrations are by @Juli_artwork and inspired by The Scorpion and the Night Blossom.
I had hoped to use one of these vases as a replacement for the ceramic jug holding wooden spoons on my countertop, which I recently broke, but unfortunately, they are just a little too short to be practical. For now, I’m not entirely sure what I’ll do with them, but they are definitely lovely to look at.
Item two is a pillowcase featuring artwork by @riotbones, based on a scene from Silvercloak, one of the books I recently picked up in Newcastle. Honestly, I’m not immediately a fan and will probably pass it on to someone else. A scene of people kissing doesn’t exactly fit into my interior, lol.
The third item would have made me incredibly happy back in my reading-log era: a set of acrylic and rubber stamps, designed by @moehrenkunstshop and inspired by Heavenly Bodies. My enthusiasm for these has waned a little, but perhaps I’ll find a use for them again someday.
The final item is a new magnet in Illumicrate’s series depicting locations from well-known books. This is the third such magnet I’ve received, but the first from a book I haven’t read yet: Quicksilver. The design by @No0nedesigns is beautiful, and a magnet is always handy to have on display.
The book of the month is Voidwalker by S.A. Maclean.
Fi has carved out a career as a cross-dimensional smuggler by sticking to simple rules: keep your routes secret, always draw your energy sword first, and – at all costs – avoid the daeyari, the carnivorous immortals who have ruled for millennia.
When she’s hired to smuggle a bomb into the capital, instinct tells her the risk isn’t worth the pay, but the entreaty of a long-lost friend guilts her into accepting. Until the heist goes terribly wrong, and Fi is thrown at the feet of the daeyari lord, Antal, as payment.
Antal is a hunter – cold and cunning and furious at Fi for her part in the attack on his city. Her saving grace is a common enemy: he’ll spare her if she helps him uncover who masterminded the scheme. To save her life, her family, and the village she calls home, Fi must join Antal on a new hunt with far higher stakes than she’s ever faced before, bartering with neighbouring immortals who might offer an alliance – or tear their throats out in the snow.
She’s always known the dangers of her trade – and of the power she’s wielded since childhood, allowing her to see the secret doors between realities, to walk the Void itself. But nothing could have prepared her for meeting Antal. For the deal she’s been forced to make, and what that deal might ignite. A revolution. And a temptation – for how sweet the monster’s fangs might feel.
The synopsis immediately makes it clear that this will be a spicier story than I’m used to from Illumicrate. My suspicions are confirmed by the list of trigger warnings, which sounds quite intense. This book could either be amazing or a miss for me.
Illumicrate has once again delivered a completely unique, reimagined cover, this time by @monafinden and @chattynora. The link with the standard cover is clear, but I really like the use of different textures – matte for our world, glossy for the “void.” That said, I do feel the standard cover conveys the threat posed by the figure in the “void” slightly better. So, the Illumicrate cover is beautiful, but a little too tame in comparison.
On the hardcover itself, there is a full illustration of both main characters in the “void,” with glimpses of our world, also by @monafinden. I love the contrasting colour palette and how the characters are portrayed.
The sprayed edges emphasise the contrast between the colourful aurora borealis in our world and the colourless, dark void.
The endpapers are illustrated by @northyme. I’m a little less enthusiastic here; the way the characters are depicted differs too much from the cover illustrations, particularly at the front. The scene at the back is nicely done, though it still feels somewhat flat.
In terms of the box itself, I’d say this Illumicrate is one of the weaker ones in recent months. The items are certainly beautiful and thoughtfully made, but I don’t feel I’ll actually use them much. The book is also a bit of a question mark; the edition is lovely, but some of the artwork doesn’t fully appeal to me, and content-wise, I’m not yet sure if it’s my kind of story.
Still, I have absolutely no regrets ordering this box. I always like to try new things, and this edition has earned a place on my TBR shelf, waiting for the moment I finally have the time and motivation to read it.
Cheers,
Charlotte
