With all unboxings my intention is to help you determine if the box is worth your money. I go through each product included in the box first and assign a rating at the end. Each item is rated out of 3: usefulness, quality, and do I personally enjoy it? Often I will give bonus points for extra items/ exceptional covers/ exceptional pins … etc.
This is the OwlCrate special edition box for Finale by Stephanie Garber – the final instalment in the Caraval series. Caraval was actually one of the first OwlCrate boxes I received back in 2017 so I was really excited to get my hands on this box.
I will say straight up here that this box blew me away. It is truly one of my favourite’s that Korrina and the gang have done. So let’s get on with the rave …
First up is the “Deck of Destiny” playing cards. For those who have read Legendary (Caraval #2) you will know how important this item is to the story and while OwlCrate could’ve included any old deck of cards this deck is exceptional … truly. I am not a card shark or game player of any kind but this might be one of my favourite OwlCrate items. This luxurious card deck has golden edges and was the collaboration of five different artists! Nicole Deal, Gina Hilton, Salome Totladze, and Diana Dworak illustrated the character “face” cards and Michelle Gray illustrated the card backs & card box. A truly exceptional collaboration and very special item.
This large candle from Rose and Adder smells of sugared citrus and sea salt. I’m obsessed – I love this scent that really reminds me of pink lemonade. Perfectly timed with summer approaching … although I don’t know if I’ll be able to burn this candle. I love the scent too much!
Leeloo’s soaps is one of my favourite bookish Etsy bath product shops, but unfortunately she doesn’t ship to Canada. So I love that OwlCrate continues to include Leeloo products in their crates. This shower steamer is another fresh, summer scent – strawberries dipped in pink sugar. Again, I just love the scent and haven’t the heart to use it so I’ve put it in my sock drawer as a drawer scent.
Book tin designed by Stella Bookish Art. This beautiful tin box pairs nicely with The Cruel Prince tin we received last summer. It features three different quotes from the Caraval world and apparently the front quote: “Whatever you’ve heard about Caraval, it doesn’t compare to the reality” is one of the first quotes Stephanie Garber wrote in her Caraval idea journal … that’s really cool.
Caraval tote. Another high quality tote with flat lay bottom – so if you put something in the bottom of your tote it won’t tip over, always appreciated. This tote was designed by Evie Bookish and I really love that it has some Night Circus vibes.
Throw pillowcase. Hands down my favourite pillow throw from OwlCrate – I just love the bright colours of peach & purples & constellations. I’m not a big fan of the dark & moody pillowcases so this was a fantastic change for me. This pillowcase was designed by Catarina Book Designs.
Melanie Bourgeois designed these two lovely art prints of our leading ladies and their leading lads. Scarlett & Julian depicted in a famous scene from Caraval and Tella & Legend from a scene in Finale.
Paper items + Pin. Alchemy and Ink designed three lovely enamel pins based on the three Caraval novels – my pin is Finale and it is really lovely. Also included was the monthly magazine (which has a handy character guide for the deck of destiny) and a vinyl sticker from the publisher.
The book design was the only downside for me – I’m not a super fan of the orangey/red font and prefer the original purple … but! a very minor grievance in such a spectacular box.
Overall Rating: A+
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Candle 3/3
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Shower steamer 3/3
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Deck of Destiny 4/3 (extra points for this amazing collaboration, it’s truly something you have to see in person to appreciate fully)
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Pillowcase 3/3
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Tote 3/3
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Book tin 3/3
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Art Prints 2/3 (I never really know what to do with these but they are lovely)
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Bonus point! Enamel pins – these are done so well and I thought it was neat that they made 3 based on the series and it was a surprise to which one you’d get!
This box was fantastic and such a hit for me personally. I love that OwlCrate doesn’t price gouge for speciality boxes – these are only a few dollars more than their monthly boxes – and yet it feels deluxe. Slam dunk!
Note on Rating: I rate each item out of 3 possible points: 1 for quality, 1 for usefulness, and 1 for if I personally liked the item/fandom. I then assign an overall letter rating for the whole box.