I feel a bit late to the game on this, as my Bookcase.Club packages arrive pretty early in the month (like, they ship out on the first). I almost didn’t do an unboxing post for this, but I figured some of you may be very interested in what you get in these kinds of subs.
This month, the packaging (which I already tossed- sorry) is exactly the same. The box is a very unisex feel; it’s dark blue and contains nothing masculine or feminine. It has the Bookcase.Club brand written on it in white, just like before. This packaging continues on the inside. It’s not the most aesthetically pleasing, but it serves the purpose of saying that this box is for any and all readers.
Like last month, this box contains two hardcover books. Here’s a little bit about the books
Departure by A.G. Riddle
According to the dust jacket, this book is about a plane that suddenly loses power and crash-lands in England… into a different world. This book follows five different people: Harper Lane, a write; Nick Stone, a venture capitalist; Sabrina Shroder, a genetic researcher; Yul Tan, a computer scientist; and Grayson Shaw, the son of a billionaire. These five apparently “hold clues about what’s really going on.” The dust jacket also says it’s “nonstop action…,” which isn’t really my thing. However, I like that there are female protagonists, and this is from the sci-fi box, so it must have some element of science fiction to it.
This book is 322 pages and the font and pages appear to be of normal size; I expect to read this in 5-6 hours. It retails for $21.99.
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Based on what I’ve gathered from this book’s dust jacket, this book is about a protagonist named Zacharias Wythe, who is a sorcerer (“Sorcerer Royal,” which appears to mean a sorcerer whose task is “maintaining magic within His Majesty’s land”). The dust jacket alludes that this protagonist might be a freed slave (at least, they say a freed slave is named Sorcerer Royal). England’s magic is apparently decreasing, and people believe it’s because the magical society is too loose with their use (giving freed slaves access, for example). Zacharias thinks this is obviously false and travels to find the true source for why England’s magic stock is drying up. During his adventure, he meets a very powerful woman (a sorceress?) and ‘he sets on a path that will alter the nature of sorcery in all of Britain – and the world at large.” I love books with magic and sorcery, so I’m excited to read this one! This also seems to have some social overtones; this alludes to some social tension among the “societal elite” and freed slaves (blacks?) and women, but it also appears to be empowering for those marginalized groups, so I’m interested in how these dynamics are written.
This book retails for $26.95 and is 371 pages long. The font and page size remind me a bit of Harry Potter, and the paper itself feels a bit reminiscent of papyrus, complete with unfinished edges that look a bit “torn.” I’m expecting this read to take 6-7 hours.
Overall thoughts: I’ll admit that I haven’t read last month’s picks. Neither of last month’s books appealed to me during the hectic times, and even though I brought one with me while visiting my parents, I still didn’t feel compelled to read them. This month, I’m actually very excited to read both. I’m hoping to finish both books before the next month. The overall retail value is $48.94, which is more than the price I paid for my three-month subscription! The cost of this sub makes each book cost $8 total (including shipping), and I think that is a steal.
Lucy Does Things 