Down The Rabbit Hole Book Box (December 2020 and January 2021)

Hello Lovelies,

 

I have a thrilling new book box to share with you and it’s the Down The Rabbit Hole Book Box. This book box is a bit unique because it’s a box that’s been curated around a dark read (more about dark reads in a bit). As someone who has always loved dark, gothic novels, I was intrigued by this book box.  

Here’s a little more about the box before we dig in.

 

What is Down the Rabbit Hole Book Box? Down the Rabbit Hole Book Box is a monthly book box that sends you one dark, mesmerizing, and gripping read (either paperback or hardback) along with 4-6 individually wrapped gifts that’s been curated around the book.

 Website

Price: $34.99 (plus shipping) at the moment this is only offered in the US

Use the coupon code SIMPLYANGELA10 for 10% off your first box or a year's subscription. This code is not an affiliate code.

How is it shipped and packaged? The box is shipped via USPS and the last two months it has arrived  in a plastic poly mailer. The box itself contains shredded paper packaging that protects the items inside. Each item inside the box (other than the book and pamphlet) is individually wrapped and numbered.

What is a dark read? Per their website, they define dark books as a book without a happy ending. The books we will choose for you will have scary and dark plots, not so nice protagonists that will leave you questioning the world as it is.  There will be no books with happy endings coming from us!

Genres included (but not limited to): Southern Gothic | Dark Fantasy | Psychological Thriller | Horror | Mystery | Dark Fiction | Crime

Because of the content of the dark reads, the website does recommend that this book box is for those 18 years of age and above.

Can I find out the title of the book? Unlike other companies, Down the Rabbit Hole Book Box makes it easy to discover the title. Each month hints will be revealed on their website and Instagram. You can also email the company directly to discover the title. 

Each month you receive a pamphlet that tells you the theme of the month, a little about the author, and how to open your gifts. Because this is an Immersive Experience Book Box, it’s best to open the gifts as you read (you’ll find a little sticky tab on the page telling you which gift to open).

What is an Immersive Experience Book Box? It’s a box that’s been curated to pull the reader further into the sensory experience of the story with sounds, scents, tastes, and objects of interest from within the story. While items like candles, drinkware, and jewelry could be included, it also includes story specific items such as letters, photos and such. 

Before we dig into the boxes, I want to apologize for combining the December 2020 box with the January 2021 and not posting until February. I’ve been under the weather and dealing with horrid migraines, which made it impossible for me to post sooner. 

Here’s what’s in December’s Down the Rabbit Hole Book Box.

 

December’s Book: Dark Places by Gillian Flynn (paperback)—published in 2009, this is a very dark/creepy mystery. I have read this and it wasn’t one of my favorites. It didn’t pull me in me in like Gone Girl, but it was still a dark, creepy, and twisty read.

December’s Theme: The Devil Is In The Detail

Item #1—Black Insulated Pom Pom hat

Item #2—Pentagram Necklace

Item #3—Newspaper Clipping

Item #4—Dreamcatcher

My thoughts on the December box: The hat and dreamcatcher were nice gifts. The necklace wasn’t my favorite but I passed it along to a friend. The newspaper clipping, the only story specific item, was a nice touch and will be nice to include in a book journal.

While I thought the items fit the theme, the sticker placement telling you when to open your gifts was a but jumbled up. There was a bit of a mix up and I realized they were placed on the same pages as November’s book. There was also a sticker for a fifth gift that wasn’t meant to be in the book. Teething problems are to be expecting when a box is new so, hopefully they’ll have a check in place in the future to make sure they’ve tagged the correct pages.

Number of Items received: 4 Gifts (1 story specific and 3 bookish) plus the book.

Overall, this wasn’t one of my favorite boxes. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I’ve already read the book—and it wasn’t one of my favorites but that’s the nature of book boxes. I still think that there was a nice variety of items that were of good quality but it just wasn’t my favorite.

 

Here’s what’s in January’s Down the Rabbit Hole Book Box.

January’s Book:  The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides--paperback. This is the 25^th anniversary edition (published in 2018) and it’s such a gorgeous edition. This is one that’s been on my ‘to read’ list and I was so excited to see it as January’s book.

January’s Theme: Suburban Tragedy and Innocence Lost

Item #1—Small, cloth-covered journal

Item #2—Bubblicious watermelon gum

Item #3—Tiara

Item #4— Black zippered jewelry box

Item #5—Invitation

Also included was a bookmark with a quote from the book.

My thoughts on the January box: The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was the lovely watermelon scent—honestly, I thought there was a candle in it because the scent was so strong.  

The bookish items (the jewelry box, tiara, and journal) are nice quality and the gum was a fun item to open. The story specific item (the invitation) will be nice to include in my reading journal when I record my thoughts on the book.

Number of Items received: 5 Gifts  (4 bookish items and 1 story specific) plus the book and bookmark.

Overall, I really liked January’s box. The items fit the book perfectly and I thought it brilliant that they included a book-themed bookmark that wasn’t one of the gifts. 

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

 

Libby Day was seven when her mother and two sisters were murdered in “The Satan Sacrifice" of Kinnakee, Kansas.” She survived—and famously testified that her fifteen-year-old brother, Ben, was the killer. Twenty-five years later, the Kill Club—a secret secret society obsessed with notorious crimes—locates Libby and pumps her for details. They hope to discover proof that may free Ben. Libby hopes to turn a profit off her tragic history: She’ll reconnect with the players from that night and report her findings to the club—for a fee. As Libby’s search takes her from shabby Missouri strip clubs to abandoned Oklahoma tourist towns, the unimaginable truth emerges, and Libby finds herself right back where she started—on the run from a killer.

 

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

 

The shocking thing about the girls was how nearly normal they seemed when their mother let them out for the one and only date of their lives. Twenty years on, their enigmatic personalities are embalmed in the memories of the boys who worshipped them and who now recall their shared adolescence: the brassiere draped over a crucifix belonging to the promiscuous Lux; the sisters' breathtaking appearance on the night of the dance; and the sultry, sleepy street across which they watched a family disintegrate and fragile lives disappear.