I was actually planning to skip the February Illumicrate entirely. Although the predicted book seemed cool, it wasn’t exactly something I necessarily wanted a special edition for, especially since the standard cover was already very beautiful. Moreover, starting this year, Illumicrate is switching from four to just three items per box, while the price remains the same. In itself, that…

The first Illumicrate of 2026 is a fact, and wow…what a start! Both Fairyloot and Illumicrate are off to a flying start for the new year! This month’s theme was Power of Death. Not a small, cozy theme, but a pretty powerful message. It promises an epic fantasy book with a unique magic system…and yes, I’m already sold. But as…

The last Illumicrate of 2025 was another one I seriously hesitated about, but ultimately gave in to my FOMO. I knew beforehand that the book of the month would be by an author I’d already seriously burned myself with, which significantly reduced the chance that I’d ever spontaneously feel the urge to pick up another one of hers. Anyway, the…

After two Illumicrate boxes that disappointed rather than convinced me, my enthusiasm for the November edition was, frankly, rather low. I hesitated for a long time about whether to pick up this box, especially since this month’s book would be a YA title, a genre I’ve been burning myself with more often than I’ve truly enjoyed lately. But there was…

After the somewhat disappointing September box, Illumicrate got a second chance in October. The theme promised those medieval vibes I’d hoped for last month. The title might not immediately sound “chivalric,” but the book it predicted certainly did. So yes, secretly I was hoping for something a bit more knightcore than what we got before. The October theme is In…

When the theme for the September Illumicrate box was announced, I was genuinely curious to see what they would do with it. The theme’s illustration, for me, was definitely spot on, capturing exactly the vibe I was hoping for. The theme was called Knightcore, with the tagline: “A true knight can fight anything… except his feelings.” With such a promise,…

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…

At the beginning of June, Illumicrate announced the theme for their July box. They immediately revealed that the book of the month would be an adult romantasy debut. To be honest, as soon as I know that Illumicrate’s pick of the month is an adult title, I rarely even consider skipping the box. Lately I’ve been really impressed with the…

I hesitated for a long time about the June Illumicrate box. When the announcement said it was a Young Adult book, my first instinct was to skip it. Lately, that genre has been less and less appealing to me. But when I saw which fandoms would be represented in the box, I started to have second thoughts. And once I…

Before I could even get my Illumicrate box from the delivery locker, a friend had already told me that this box was really worth it. I was especially looking forward to the book of the month, because yes, I had already spoiled myself before I had the box shipped. An attempt to make my purchases a little more consciously… although…