Fairyloot Adult #52: July 2026

The theme for the July Fairyloot Adult box was actually one where I immediately thought I should probably skip the box. But because the predicted author was someone whose previous book I had really enjoyed, I ultimately decided not to skip it. So this unboxing will partly have to determine whether that was the right decision, lol.

The July theme was Playing for Revenge, promising a book for fans of magical sport, forced proximity and winged beasts.

And yes, stories about sports generally don’t really appeal to me. So I have to admit that this book didn’t exactly grab my attention based on the theme. I basically ordered the box purely because of the author.

The book of the month was The Winged Game by Sophie Kim, whose The God and the Gumiho I really enjoyed.

Carriwitchet, the violent, rugby-esque game played atop winged beasts, was once Taissa Cho’s whole life, and she was once the United Kingdom’s most promising player. Until her nemesis, rival player Kion Locke, destroyed her career in a single moment. Expelled from the sport in disgrace, Taissa has spent the last two years dreaming of nothing but revenge and relishing watching Kion’s team plummet to the bottom of the league.

So when Taissa is offered the chance to redeem herself and her career, she can’t refuse―even if the offer is coming from the very man who ruined everything in the first place. It’s close to a dream come true… except for that pesky clause in her contract that demands she and Kion enter a fake relationship in order to garner some much-needed positive PR for the team. This could not be a worse match. Taissa and Kion only have two things in common: their love of the game, and their undying hatred for each other.

Yet as a mysterious illness befalls the winged creatures of the entire league―putting both the beasts’ lives and the very sport itself at stake―the athletes find themselves partnering up in other ways, determined to crack the case of the eerie sickness. As their investigation takes them on a whirlwind adventure, Kion and Taissa are prepared for anything…

Anything, that is, but their fake-for-the-cameras relationship to maybe, just maybe, become something real after all.

I can’t help it, but this entire premise automatically makes me think of Ginny Weasley and Quidditch, lol.

But anyway, the premise of this book really doesn’t appeal to me all that much and, really, I should have been strong and just skipped this book. The promise of a pretty Fairyloot edition did eventually convince me to cave, though, because I could very easily imagine them doing something amazing with it.

But did they?

Mjah. This cover and newly designed artwork don’t really convince me. Pretty colours and all that, but otherwise I find it rather boring and fairly generic. I’m not a huge fan of the standard cover either, but there seems to be much more creativity in that one than in this rather dull picture of a feather.

No hate towards the illustrator @sukutangan, but yeah, this isn’t exactly impressive.

On the other side of the dust jacket, Fairyloot have at least included the standard cover again, albeit with a slightly altered colour palette.

The hardcover was designed by @fdasuarez and @amysharpillustration and, oof, no. Really not my thing…

It’s not that the illustration is badly done, because it is certainly pretty, but I really don’t understand the choice. Why is there only an illustration of the male character? And this is a story about a sport involving flying beasts, yet none of them are shown?

Ugh, no. This one really misses the mark for me. Such a strange choice…

The book block has a digitally sprayed design all around that matches the cover. Look, the pattern and colours aren’t ugly and I actually think it’s quite fitting for a sprayed edge… but as a cover, it’s rather uninspired, lol.

The endpapers contain illustrations by @rosalynnarts, and these are pretty decent. In particular, I think the illustration on the back would have worked much better as the hardcover artwork.

At least that one actually shows the sport the story revolves around. The title is literally The Winged GAME, so I do find it a little strange that the winged beasts are completely absent from the hardcover.