Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books Box March 2016 Review

Fantasy and Sci-Fi Books box is a monthly subscription box that sends 'a carefully selected new release' fantasy or sci-fi novel every month along with 3 or more bookish items. A month to month plan is $27.99 + shipping or you can get a 3 month plan for $80.97 + shipping. I purchased the March box. I don't believe they release the themes ahead of time, but the theme for this month was Aliens, Aliens, Aliens!

Dark Energy by Robison Wells, along with a signed bookplate

The novel for this box is Dark Energy by Robison Wells. The book was published by HarperTeen and came out on March 29, 2016. 

(Note: there are no prices on their info card that came in the box and a lot of the things I couldn't find online, so I don't know how to price it. Also, the info card lists the author's name as Robinson Wells, when the book clearly shows Robison. Just an observation, but it's an easy mistake to make.)

From Amazon:

"We are not alone. They are here. And there’s no going back. Perfect for fans of The Fifth Wave and the I Am Number Four series, Dark Energy is a thrilling stand-alone science fiction adventure from Robison Wells, critically acclaimed author of Variant and Blackout.

Five days ago, a massive UFO crashed in the Midwest. Since then, nothing—or no one—has come out.

If it were up to Alice, she’d be watching the fallout on the news. But her dad is director of special projects at NASA, so she’s been forced to enroll in a boarding school not far from the crash site. Alice is right in the middle of the action, but even she isn’t sure what to expect when the aliens finally emerge. Only one thing is clear: everything has changed."

2 Star Wars felt coasters

These coasters are such a fun item. They're entirely made of felt, so they aren't very heavy. I'd imagine the felt wouldn't move easily on a table with a drink on top, so these seem pretty practical.

Guardians of the Galaxy paper clips

How cute! I love the little Groot and Rocket. These are a good size too, so they can be used as bookmarks if you don't want to run the risk of losing them at the office!

Superman/Supergirl Change Purse

You can't really tell from the picture, but the purse is navy in color with the Superman logo. It has a slick inner lining and seems to be well made. My niece actually stole it after I took pictures, lol.

The box also included a promotional bookmark for B. Brumley's newest book Woe for a Fairie which is coming out this month.

Like I said, this is my first box and I think they did an excellent job in keeping with the theme.

Let me know what you think!

If you have any comments/questions/concerns, please feel free to email me at booksunderbed@gmail.com or message me on Twitter @booksunderbed.

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton is a YA novel about a girl, the desert, and the way the two intersect. I received the book in March's Uppercase box and read it in a few days. From Amazon:

"Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic. For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.

Amani Al’Hiza is all three. She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead.

Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d gallop away on mythical horse—or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.

Rebel of the Sands reveals what happens when a dream deferred explodes—in the fires of rebellion, of romantic passion, and the all-consuming inferno of a girl finally, at long last, embracing her power."

What I Loved: Amani is so strong and determined. You immediately root for her to get out of Dustwalk and I love how survival is her number one priority. Not to get too spoiler-y, but she drugs her love interest in order to escape. How many YA heroines would do that?! And she doesn't spend pages rethinking the decision or feeling guilt. It's clear that, while she is clearly not a morally bad person, she falls into that grey area that very few women in YA stories are allowed to occupy. 

And the world of Dustwalk and the surrounding desert is so well-envisioned, with little details that make it so easy to imagine. I had no trouble picturing the places Hamilton described or the items.

What I Didn't Like: To be honest, there wasn't much I didn't like. The supporting characters in the novel were good, the plot made sense, and the conclusion wasn't forced. It may have been a little abrupt, but that honestly just made me excited for the sequel.

If I was doing a rating system (which I promise I will eventually set up), I would give Rebel of the Sands 4 out of 5 stars.

Let me know what you think!

If you have any comments/questions/concerns, please feel free to email me at booksunderbed@gmail.com.

Owl Crate March 2016 Review

OwlCrate is a monthly YA book subscription box. You're guaranteed to get a new YA book as well as 3-5 other bookish goodies. This was my first month and the theme for March was 'Writer's Block.'

The Serpent King by Jeff Zenther - $10.81 on Amazon

"Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace.

He and his fellow outcast friends must try to make it through their senior year of high school without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self. Graduation will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out of their rural Tennessee town. And Travis is content where he is thanks to his obsession with an epic book series and the fangirl turning his reality into real-life fantasy.

Their diverging paths could mean the end of their friendship. But not before Dill confronts his dark legacy to attempt to find a way into the light of a future worth living."

This book isn't something I would normally have picked up, but I'm eager to give it a try.

Custom pins from Bookworm Boutique - Value $8 (?)

These pins were made exclusively for this box, so I'm guessing on the value. They don't have any pins on their Society6 page, but they have a bunch of cute shirts and prints that I want now!

Banned Book Socks from Out of Print clothing - Value $10 

Bookish socks! These are super cute. The names of the books are marked out on one sock and readable on the other. 

642 Tiny Things to Write About - Value $6.42 on Amazon

Quill Pen from Kikkerland - Value $7.28 on Amazon

Subscribers would get either a black or white pen. I think it's super handy to include a writing prompt journal and pen in a box about writer's block.

This box had a value of about $42.50 using the Amazon prices. I think they did an excellent job with the theme and I'm in love with those socks. The theme of the April box is Dystopia, by the way!

Lit Cube March 2016 Review

Lit Cube is a YA book subscription box. Every box includes 'a readable, a wearable, and a snackable.' The March theme was 'Time Travel' and I think the box did an excellent job in keeping with the theme.

The book for this month is Loop by Karen Akins - Value $18.99; $14.25 on Amazon

"At a school where Quantum Paradox 101 is a required course and history field trips are literal, sixteen year-old time traveler Bree Bennis excels…at screwing up.

After Bree botches a solo midterm to the 21st century by accidentally taking a boy hostage (a teensy snafu), she stands to lose her scholarship. But when Bree sneaks back to talk the kid into keeping his yap shut, she doesn't go back far enough. The boy, Finn, now three years older and hot as a solar flare, is convinced he's in love with Bree, or rather, a future version of her that doesn't think he's a complete pain in the arse. To make matters worse, she inadvertently transports him back to the 23rd century with her.

Once home, Bree discovers that a recent rash of accidents at her school are anything but accidental. Someone is attacking time travelers. As Bree and her temporal tagalong uncover seemingly unconnected clues―a broken bracelet, a missing data file, the art heist of the millennium―that lead to the person responsible, she alone has the knowledge to piece the puzzle together. Knowledge only one other person has. Her future self.

But when those closest to her become the next victims, Bree realizes the attacker is willing to do anything to stop her. In the past, present, or future."

The box also included a bookmark and a card with the theme.

Doctor Who Shirt - Value $19.99

The 'wearable' item was an awesome Doctor Who t-shirt. The TARDIS sparkles, which is such a great touch!

That's It. Fruit Bar - Value $1.99

This bar was pretty good. It has 2 whole servings of fruit in the one bar and is made up of apple and coconut. 

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey candle by Frostbeard Studio - Value $4.99

This candle smells so good! It's such a perfect little travel size. Looking around their site, Frostbeard Studio sells larger candles and wax melts in scents like Old Books, Pemberly's Garden (which I'm totally getting!), and Headmaster's Office. 

Travel Pocket Journal - Value $5.99

I love journals, but I never end up writing in all of them. They just sit around with a few quotes or recipes in them and I eventually 'rediscover' them after months, lol. This journal is the perfect little size to throw in a purse or suitcase to take on a trip.

Hermione's Time Turner - Value $8.99

I've received a Time Turner in several different geek/nerd boxes, but I always love having more. This one is really well made, with a nice weight to it, and it has the inscription from the book on the sides. 

I absolutely loved this box. The value was about $56 using the Amazon price for the book, which is great. It was my first Lit Cube and I can't wait to get more. The next month's theme is 'Anniversary of the Dragon,' as it's the anniversary of Lit Cube's first year of operation! 

They're also running a Kickstarter right now for these cute vinyl figures based on book characters. They're first set is Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice!

Uppercase Box Review-March 2016

Uppercase Box is a YA book subscription box. Every month, they send out a new young adult novel, a signed bookplate (or the book itself will be signed), and a few bookish goodies. There aren't themes for each month, so there's a chance you may not love every month's book. It's $23 a month + $6 shipping to the United States. They also ship to Canada for $24. They have another monthly box for $17 a month + $6 shipping to the U.S. that doesn't include the bookish items (so, for this box, you wouldn't receive the Quote Couture earrings or the Read More magnet).

Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton- Retails for $18.99, on Amazon for $11.16

From Amazon:

"Mortals rule the desert nation of Miraji, but mythical beasts still roam the wild and remote areas, and rumor has it that somewhere, djinn still perform their magic. For humans, it’s an unforgiving place, especially if you’re poor, orphaned, or female.

Amani Al’Hiza is all three. She’s a gifted gunslinger with perfect aim, but she can’t shoot her way out of Dustwalk, the back-country town where she’s destined to wind up wed or dead.

Then she meets Jin, a rakish foreigner, in a shooting contest, and sees him as the perfect escape route. But though she’s spent years dreaming of leaving Dustwalk, she never imagined she’d gallop away on a mythical horse—or that it would take a foreign fugitive to show her the heart of the desert she thought she knew.

Rebel of the Sands reveals what happens when a dream deferred explodes—in the fires of rebellion, of romantic passion, and the all-consuming inferno of a girl finally, at long last, embracing her power."

Jewel Sugar 18k gold Quote Couture earrings- $18

These earrings are super cute and good quality! I don't have much bookish jewelry, so I'm excited to wear these. They come in a purple mesh drawstring bag.

Read More magnet- $5 (?)

I couldn't find the exact price of this magnet online, so I'm guessing. It's from a site called BadgeBomb and they seem to have a lot of different magnets and buttons. It's a big magnet, over 2 inches, and really well made. It will look cute on my fridge!

The book came with a personalized letter, a couple promo cards, and a signed bookplate. I really like having the signed bookplate because I think it adds value to the book itself, even if you choose not to stick the bookplate onto the book. It makes a handy placeholder as well, lol. There was also a bookmark with key words on it that correspond to page and when you go online and enter those words, you get bonus content like interviews with the author, artwork, etc.

My estimated value for the box, using the Amazon price and what I guessed for the magnet, is $34.16. That's not including the signed bookplate, which might add value to the book. For a box that cost $29, that's not a bad value at all.

This is only my second Uppercase Box and I really love them. I feel like this is the type of box that give you the big, buzzy YA novels, as opposed to any indie published books. It's not a bad thing, just that I saw a lot of buzz about this book before I got this box. If you're looking for lesser known YA books, this may not be the subscription for you.

A Stolen Kiss by Kelsey Keating

A Stolen Kiss by Kelsey Keating is a YA take on the fairy tale genre. It starts with a princess being cursed by a sorceress and the ripples from that action are felt throughout the kingdom of Opea. The story picks up nine years after the curse was cast and Maria, the princess, is locked alone every night so no one is privy to what happens because of the curse. Derric is a stable boy with a secret, one that would disrupt his life and the life of his sister Sarah, a lady's maid to the princess. Things of course can't stay secret for very long and Derric, Maria, Sarah, and Maria's betrothed, Prince Humphrey, set off on a quest to find the sorceress and reverse the curse.

From Goodreads:

"A stolen kiss. An unstable curse. One big mess in the making.

Derric Harver never expected to amount to anything more than the palace stableboy, but when Princess Maria's curse keeps her from accepting a prince's proposal, she turns to him for help, and he doesn't dare refuse.

With the help of a lady's maid and a prince, Derric and Maria embark on a dangerous adventure to find the sorceress who cast the curse. Along the way they battle deadly creatures and make new friends--all the while struggling with the undeniable chemistry between them. Reaching their destination won't be easy, but the true danger peril in the truths they've fought for years to keep hidden.

A Stolen Kiss is the first in the Stolen Royals Series--an adventure with magical creatures, dangerous lies, and being true to the power within."
What I Liked: The characters, their relationships! They were so well done. I loved how close Sarah and Maria are in the story. I loved how Derric and Humphrey became close friends, despite their 'rivalry' for Maria (which isn't really a rivalry, but spoilers!). Derric and Sarah have a close brother-sister relationship, despite the fact that they have different mothers and Derric was sent to the stables to apprentice when he was eight and Sarah was five.

I also loved how Keating took the tropes of fairy tales and turned them on their head. Yes, there's a dark forest that nobody enters willingly, but there's some surprises in that forest. The princess is cursed, but it doesn't follow the conventions of normal curses and there's some other things at play. The prince from another land who comes to marry the princess has a story of his own, one that is gradually revealed as the story plays out.

What I Didn't Like: I feel like Keating relies on the reader's knowledge of fairy tale tropes to inform much of the places and things. The dark forest, named Fangralee Forest, isn't completely described. The kingdom of Opea is only talked about in how it relates to other places. She doesn't really describe what the land looks like or the buildings. The reader has to fill in the blanks in regards to those things, which isn't necessarily a bad thing because I'm sure most readers know what a dark forest or a fairy tale castle looks like.

Overall, if I was doing a rating system (which I will eventually set up), I would give A Stolen Kiss 4 out of 5 stars!

A Stolen Kiss is available now!

Any questions/comments/concerns, please feel free to email me at booksunderbed@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I received this book for free. All opinions expressed are my own.

$10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway!

Hello! For my very first giveaway (and to see how all this stuff works!), I'm giving away a $10 Amazon gift card. Hopefully whoever wins will use it to buy books! But it's of course up to you what you use it for.

The only mandatory entry is that you must be following me on Twitter @booksunderbed. Other than that, all entries are optional!

The giveaway is open to US people only (this is my first giveaway, so eventually I will work up to doing Intl giveaways so stay tuned!). You have to be comfortable with giving me your name and email address so I can send you the Amazon gift card electronically. It runs for seven days, until March 21st.


a Rafflecopter giveaway


ETA: The winner has been contacted. Thanks everybody for following and commenting!

Let's Try This Again

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I'm sorry for all the random posts, if you caught them. I was trying to add Bloglovin to this blog and claim my blog on the site, which involved switching over the HTML in order to get the link for Bloglovin to work. I'm still learning though, and I appreciate you sticking with me through this journey!

The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh

The Wrath and The Dawn by Renee Ahdieh is a YA take on A Thousand and One Nights. From Ahdieh's site:

"Every dawn brings horror to a different family in a land ruled by a killer. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, takes a new bride each night only to have her executed at sunrise. So it is a suspicious surprise when sixteen-year-old Shahrzad volunteers to marry Khalid. But she does so with a clever plan to stay alive and exact revenge on the Caliph for the murder of her best friend and countless other girls. Shazi’s wit and will get her through to the dawn that no others have seen, but with a catch . . . she’s falling in love with the very boy who killed her dearest friend.

She discovers that the murderous boy-king is not all that he seems and neither are the deaths of so many girls. Shazi is determined to uncover the reason for the murders and break the cycle once and for all."


What I Liked: Ummm, pretty much everything regarding Shazi! Shazi is such a strong female character and she's so complex. She's brave, loving, clever, and stubborn. Her relationships with everyone in this book are very realistic. I especially love her female friendships, which are done really well. Khalid, admittedly, didn't intrigue me as much. I understand his torments and struggles, but I just didn't find him as well-rounded of a character as Shazi.


What I Didn't Like: Okay, this isn't only about this book, but I'm so tired of love triangles in YA. There's already plenty in this book to drive the plot and provide tension. I don't feel like the story needed the love triangle elements. I also wanted a little more magic in the story, though that's a personal gripe.

Overall, I absolutely loved the novel and would recommend anyone read it based on Shazi alone.


If you have any comments/questions/concerns, please feel free to email me at booksunderbed@gmail.com.


Thanks for reading!

The Residence by Kate Anderson Brower

The Residence by Kate Anderson Brower is a nonfiction account of life in the White House. From HarperCollins:

"A remarkable history with elements of both In the President’s Secret Service and The Butler, The Residence offers an intimate account of the service staff of the White House, from the Kennedys to the Obamas.

America’s First Families are unknowable in many ways. No one has insight into their true character like the people who serve their meals and make their beds every day. Full of stories and details by turns dramatic, humorous, and heartwarming, The Residence reveals daily life in the White House as it is really lived through the voices of the maids, butlers, cooks, florists, doormen, engineers, and others who tend to the needs of the President and First Family.

These dedicated professionals maintain the six-floor mansion’s 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, 28 fireplaces, three elevators, and eight staircases, and prepare everything from hors d’oeuvres for intimate gatherings to meals served at elaborate state dinners. Over the course of the day, they gather in the lower level’s basement kitchen to share stories, trade secrets, forge lifelong friendships, and sometimes even fall in love.

Combining incredible first-person anecdotes from extensive interviews with scores of White House staff members—many speaking for the first time—with archival research, Kate Andersen Brower tells their story. She reveals the intimacy between the First Family and the people who serve them, as well as tension that has shaken the staff over the decades. From the housekeeper and engineer who fell in love while serving President Reagan to Jackie Kennedy’s private moment of grief with a beloved staffer after her husband’s assassination to the tumultuous days surrounding President Nixon’s resignation and President Clinton’s impeachment battle, The Residence is full of surprising and moving details that illuminate day-to-day life at the White House."


What I Liked: Reading about the changes that occurred in the White House staffing and even the decorations between each First Family was really interesting. I think most Americans think of the White House as being unchanged from when the first presidents lived there and that simply isn't true. It was also neat to hear about the different jobs that each of the members of the White House staff had to perform, sometimes under enormous pressure. They weren't just making beds or holding doors open. They had to remain in the house for hours until on end, past the end of their workday a lot of time. And if there was an event at the White House? They pretty much all had to contribute and work some part of it.

What I Didn't Like: This may have been the result of my expectations, but I was a little disappointed that there wasn't more insight into recent events from the staff point of view. Brower touched on things like the Kennedy assassination and 9/11, but not on more recent things that have happened with the Obama's. Being the first African-American family in the White House is a huge deal and I was hoping for a little bit more of an insight into how the staff felt serving them.


Overall, if you like nonfiction novels and are interested in American history from a different perspective, I would definitely look into this book.

Any questions/comments/concerns, please feel free to email me at booksunderbed@gmail.com


Thanks for reading!

The Darkest Corners by Kara Thomas

I received an ARC of Kara Thomas' The Darkest Corners in a FanMail box for February, which is a subscription box full of geeky/nerdy items that is targeted towards females. The book was randomly placed in a few of the February boxes (everybody else got the first few chapters of the book to preview). The book was not sent to me for review purposes and there was no notion of me writing a review. I honestly just loved the book and wanted to write about it.

The story is about two teen girls, Tessa and Callie. Callie's cousin Lori disappeared when the girls were younger, believed to be the victim of a serial killer at the time, the 'Monster.' The story picks up 10 years after Lori's disappearance and Tessa is returning to the town and Callie. It's a mystery/suspense YA novel, that does an excellent job of keeping the reader guessing.

What I Liked: Tessa, the narrator, is a completely believable young adult narrator. She's quiet, but not moody, which would be an easy out for an author to take in order to generate some conflict within her main character. Tessa had a hard childhood and the reader can see how that affected her, but it doesn't make her a brat. Callie is another main character on the edge between teen and young adult and her actions, while a little more bratty than Tessa, are completely in line with how you might expect a traumatized teen to behave. Both girls are different and nuanced and such strong characters, that I easily found myself rooting for them and wanting them to solve the mystery of Lori's disappearance and what happened that night.

All the other characters are pretty well-developed, though most don't have much screen time. Maggie, Callie's mother, is probably the most important secondary character and she's completely believable as a mother who loves her daughter and Tessa to a degree, but is still human and makes mistakes. I think that's what I loved best about this novel, that all the characters are so realistic. It made the story easy for me to get into, because I wasn't constantly wondering why these characters were acting so irrationally.

What I Didn't Like: Being an ARC, there were a few grammar/spelling mistakes. At one point, a tertiary character is referred to as Nikki and then as Maddie a few pages later. Danny is changed to Denny and back, but overall it wasn't enough to detract from the story.

The one plot point I had a problem with was the reveal of the serial killer, nicknamed 'the Monster.' No spoilers, but I felt like the reveal was kind of unexpected and not in a good way. There's didn't seem to be a lot of clues as to the killer's identity and the revelation was seemingly thrown in there to wrap that plot up.

It wasn't enough for me to dislike the story, but it was a very abrupt ending to that plot point.

Overall, though, I absolutely loved this book and would highly recommend it to anybody.

Any comments/questions/concerns, please feel free to email me at booksunderbed@gmail.com.

Hello! Welcome to my blog!

I started this blog because I wanted to review an ARC I randomly received in a subscription box. I loved the story and wanted to review it, but I wanted a place to gather all of my book reviews that I will hopefully be doing in the future. Hence, the creation of Books Under The Bed!

(The name is a reference to the limited space I feel I have for books, lol. So far, I haven't actually stored any books under my bed. Next to it, but not under it.)

I will have my first review up shortly, so stick around! Feel free to comment on any post or email me questions at booksunderbed@gmail.com.

Thanks for reading!
Martina