I love this subscription box. Once Upon A Book Club Box is a monthly subscription box with a difference. Each month you get a book, and a lovely framed quote print. Then, as you read the book, on certain pages there are prompts to open gifts included in the box that chime in with the book. It brings the book and reading experience to life. As you can see below, you get 3 to 5 gifts, all marked so you know when to open them. Use my code HERMIONEFLAVIA10 for 10% off your first order. The box also contains book club questions, so you can join the Facebook group and read along with others, discuss the book, and sometimes engage with the author too.

The little gifts are beautiful quality, I was really impressed. And they are all inspired by a key moment in the story. So, above, there’s a little portable speaker at a moment where two key characters bond over music, the flower is a gift given by one character to another at an emotional point, and it’s such a sweet moment, I’m going to smile every time I see this cute vase in my flat.

This month is the March box, which features the book Harley In The Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman. This is a young adult novel. Once Upon a Book Club box have an adult or young adult option.

“I don’t want to be perfect. I want to be vulnerable and messy and free and wild. I want to experience all the crooked edges in the world, and make mistakes, and grow from them. I want twisty roads and dark corners and big, wide bends.”

Harley in Harley In The Sky

Harley In The Sky is a really pretty book. The camera doesn’t pick it up, but the book has a metallic gold sheen to it. The colour yellow has a special meaning to the main character, so I think that’s a nice touch.

Harley is 18, and her parents own a circus restaurant in Las Vegas. They want her to go to college, but she has big dreams of being a trapeze artist. Her parents demands have a huge emotional weight, and once night after a big fight, Harley does the unthinkable and runs away with a rival circus. But things are not simple, Harley may have acted impulsively and she isn’t made welcome in her new home. Can you make her dream a reality? And will her parent’s ever forgive her for what she’s done?

I really loved the fun energy of this book. It feels colourful and vibrant and exciting. There’s something really magical about the circus, it’s a dream world, and I love books that are set in one. I like that in this book we get a sense of Harley’s passion for the creativity and magic of the lifestyle, but also the reality of making money and competition between performers and rival companies. It makes for a really interesting and also balanced story.

Harley is at the heart of this book, and she’s a nice main character. She comes from a really mixed family, one with roots in Italy, China and Japan, and branches in America. I found how she feels about that to be a really intersting part of her, as she tries to come to terms with who she wants to be and where she belongs. I also liked her emotional makeup. It’s never stated outright, but it seems like she may have bipolar disorder. The book addresses it in an interesting way, and I like that it’s part of who she is, but isn’t the main thing about her. She makes some bad decisions and some impulsive, emotional ones, and she’s often a bit down on herself, and it felt just like what it feels like to be 18 and starting out. I was rooting for her to make it.

I found this book to be a real page turner. I liked the themes in this book. Harley is breaking free, but she’s also learning how to be more mature in relationships. The book explores being who you are, and that it’s our flaws and the things that make us seem imperfect to ourselves that others love about us. I really like that. The book is vibrant, exciting, and the plot moves swiftly, the characters are all well drawn and unique. And it’s set in the circus world. Really good fun.

I also found the pop culture references nerdy and sweet, awkward but cute. The characters, especially Harley, use Pokemon, Starbucks, Star Wars, Zelda, Harry Potter and The Avengers as their cultural icons, peppering their conversation.

You can see above the whole box, with all it’s items. Once Upon A Book Box is $35usd plus shipping, (based in the US but ship to Canada as well) and the books are all up and coming titles. You can choose Young Adult or Adult, and can buy one off books, or subscribe monthy, canelling anytime. I think a box would make an excellent gift. My code is HERMIONEFLAVIA10 for 10% off your first order. The site also has a shop section, where you can pick up old boxes, previous titles, or other fun gift items. I really like this box, with its great box design and immersive experience, and they really pick some great books and items to tie into the story. I loved being drawn into the story with the gifts coming right out of the plot of the book.

Once Upon A Book Club Box sent me this box to review and share with you. This isn’t an ad, all opinions are my own, honest thoughts.