Illumicrate ‘Monstrous’ May 2020 Unboxing

Yay my May Illumicrate box has arrived. I am really pleased that Illumicrate seem to have caught back up after the initial Covid 19 issues. This box was right on time. May’s theme is ‘Monstrous’ and one that I have been excited about since it was announced. There are a lot of cool fandoms included. Also, it has a highly sought after book inside! April’s box was not my favourite so fingers crossed that my Illumicrate ‘Monstrous’ May 2020 unboxing is a little more exciting!

Book of the Month

May’s book of the month is The Girl and the Stars by well known fantasy author Mark Lawrence. This book is highly anticipated by his large fan base, especially as the tale is set in the same world as The Book of the Ancestor series. Having not read his other books however I have still been eager to check out his latest release.

Yaz is a member of the Ithca, an ice tribe. To ascend to adulthood the 16 year old must face judgement by the regulator. However, children who are found wanting are broken “In the ice, east of the Black Rock, there is a hole into which broken children are thrown.” Yaz is torn from her family, her tribe and the only life she has known. Now a dark world awaits her where she can only hope to survive.

Mark Lawrence describes The Girl and the Stars as an “action-packed high-stakes adventure…. it’s about right and wrong in a place where the two can be hard to disentangle.” It sounds great doesn’t it? The cover is so pretty and the black sprayed edges really make it special. Honestly, the picture doesn’t do it justice as the gold foiling looks lovely when it catches the light.

Illumicrate ‘Monstrous’ Box Contents

• Book Sleeve
• Hot Chocolate
• Post-it Notes
• Decals
• Phone Stand

Harry Potter Book Sleeve

I think that this is the item that most subscribers were really excited about! Illumicrate announced that they are working with  @pauhami on a series of Harry Potter book sleeves. I love the sleeve from November 2019’s box and it’s exciting that they are creating a full collection. As this is the second in the series, the sleeve is inspired by Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets. It is a very good quality sleeve and the design is cute. To me the Basilisk seems a little dragon-like rather than a monstrous snake. The art is beautiful though! Is there such thing as too much Harry Potter merch? I don’t think so.

Hot Chocolate

The Mercado De La Muerte hot chocolate is an interesting addition to a May box. I would usually expect this in a winter box but as I love hot chocolate I am looking forward to trying it. The flavour is “Dark Spice” with both vanilla and cinnamon in the list of ingredients. Thank you Illumicrate for keeping it vegan-friendly! Do you have any idea what fandom the hot chocolate is from? Let me know if you do because I haven’t got a clue!

Post-it Notes

The Witcher themed item is this cute pad of post-it notes. My first thought was to try to make a little flick-pad with the “toss a coin to your Witcher” song as I don’t want to use them up. I’m a little sad that The Witcher item is so small but hopefully it will be featured again in future boxes.

Decal Set

When Illumicrate announced they were working with @lioninthetrees on an item for the box I expected a nice decorative item. Probably as the last item they created together was a lovely tea-tin. I’m a little disappointed that the art was used for decals. It seem like a bit of a cheap addition when there are already post-it notes in the box. Admittedly, a lot of the ‘value’ has gone into the book sleeve so I probably expected a bit too much. These just aren’t my thing but I am sure others will enjoy using them.

Phone Stand

Bonus points to Illumicrate for coming up with yet another original item. When I first opened the box I had no idea what the two bits of wood were supposed to be! I was excited to see what item they would do for Howl’s Moving Castle and this is pretty cool. The design is very simple and I am pleased to receive yet another useful item!

Illumicrate May 2020 – My Thoughts

Upon opening the box I wasn’t blown away by it’s contents but they have grown on my very quickly. The book is a great choice and it is a lovely edition. Other than the decals I do like the items but I’m not super excited about any of them in particular. That is simply down to my personal taste and I know a lot of people love this month’s box. I think the box holds decent value, particularly with the book sleeve. I think I probably liked last month’s ‘Squad Goals’ box a little bit more overall but it is very close. Illumicrate’s June box is sold out and I suspect it is going to be rather special so I look forward to sharing my next unboxing with you then.

What do you think of the Illumicrate ‘Monstrous’ box? Let me know below!