Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh

Ivory and Bone is a prehistoric fantasy with allusions to Pride and Prejudice. It's Kol's story of how he met Mya - both heirs to their individual clans. However, their two clans have an uneasy history, and when Lo arrives with her clan, Mya's distain towards Kol grows - as does Kol's interest in Mya. 

2/5 stars

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Unfortunately, I couldn't get into Ivory and Bone. To begin with, I really struggled with the writing style - this book is written in second person, so it's written from Kol's point of view, but he is addressing "you" throughout (aka Mya). I've never read a book written from second person before, and now that I have, I definitely don't have any plans to pick up another anytime soon. I also found that the plot just didn't pull me in at all - it definitely picked up after the first third of the book, but by then I was very much just trying to get through it (I almost considered stopping reading after the first 30 pages or so, but I can rarely bring myself to not finish a book once I'm a few chapters in).

The characters didn't seem to do much at all, and the misunderstanding between Kol and Mya towards the beginning of the book that set the pace for the way that their relationship played out seemed very petty in my opinion. Kol's favourite thing to do in life was collect honey - which I suppose may have been accurate considering the books Neolithic era setting, but I'm sure they did more exciting things back then (plus I was very disappointed that no one had a pet mammoth, or at least rode a mammoth, or something like that). I imagine it must be a challenge to any author to write a novel set in this era, but I think a bit of artistic licence in order to make the plot better would have been fine. However, the one thing that didn't stick with the era - and that really got to me - was the frequent use of the word parka. Everyone in this book is described as wearing parkas - and from the description given of them, this obviously meant some sort of fur hood or cloak. This is not a parka. Heck, I own a parka and it is green, made from manmade fabrics, and has zips and pockets. I'm sure what Kol and Mya wore could have been described in a better way, even if it was just "furs". I'm sorry if this is a bit of a pet peeve but I just couldn't cope with it. Anyway...

Overall, I think this was a very ambitious idea for a novel, and it just didn't quite cut it for me.

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Has anyone else read Ivory and Bone? What were your thoughts? 
Let us know in the comments!
Love,

June Fairyloot Unboxing

This month, we both decided to order our first book subscription box. After looking around at our options, we opted for the Fairyloot box - the contents of the boxes are always well thought out, unique and fit with the theme, the packaging is beautiful, and they're UK based! 

{by the way - this post will contain spoilers and photos of the contents of the June Fairyloot box. If you're still waiting for your box and want it to be a surprise, look away now!}

Both of our Fairyloot boxes arrived at the beginning of the week, and we were so happy with what we received! This months theme was "Classic Twist", and although classics aren't our favourite books, the items we received in this box were still neutral enough for us to love them. 

Here's what we got in the box: 

+ Funko POP! Vinyl from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies 

The first item was a full sized Funko from the recent film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith. We haven't read the book/watched the film, but these funko's still look pretty badass on a bookshelf. 

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+ Brontë's Secret candle from William and Joseph 

This candle was absolutely perfect for this box - it has a really nice floral scent, and is so cute and quaint that it really fits with the theme!  

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+ Earrings from House of Wonderland 

These earrings are absolutely adorable! Fairyloot boxes often seem to include a gorgeous piece of jewellery from an independent or boutique store, and these swallow earrings from House of Wonderland are no exception. 

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+ Pack of three bookmarks from Fable and Black 

We aren't really users of bookmarks - I'm actually pretty sure that we'll use anything but a bookmark to hold a page in a book. However, these three bookmarks with bookish quotes are too perfect not to use! They all feature some well known book-related quotes, whilst still linking back to the classic twist theme.

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+ Pride and Prejudice print from Fairyloot

Fairyloot's own contribution to their box was this beautiful watercolour style print, featuring a well known quote from Pride and Prejudice. We absolutely love book inspired artwork, so this was perfect for us!

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+ Wristband from Chapter 5 

A little extra gift included in this month's Fairyloot box was a wristband from Chapter 5. It's a festival style fabric wristband reading "proud to be bookish", a statement that we can both definitely get behind! 

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+ Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh

Of course, the main feature of any book subscription box is the book itself! This month we got Ivory and Bone by Julie Eshbaugh. This book has been described as having allusions to Pride and Prejudice, but set in prehistoric times. We'll be putting up a full review of it once we've both read it!

Alongside the book, we also received a promotional bookmark, postcard, a signed bookplate and a signed letter from the author.

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That's it for this month's Fairyloot box! We've also both ordered the July box, Pirates and Power, so keep an eye out for our unboxing of that next month!

Did you order June's Fairyloot box? What did you think of the contents of it? (whether you ordered it or not!) Let us know in the comments!