Once Upon a Book Club Box (Adult Edition)

Jan 26, 2023

Casey R.

1 Review

Subscribed for 2 months

As stated, I think this box is a super cool concept and it is clear that the creators care a lot about this project. The packaging of the gifts are beautiful. However, I had a few issues which would prevent me from purchasing from them again.
1) Shipping delays - the box was quite delayed, and since I purchased through Cratejoy there was no communication about that. I understand shipping can be off sometimes; however, based on reviews this seems to be a trend.
2) Charged for subscription after cancellation - I think there is a disconnect when canceling on Cratejoy, but still that is something OUABC needs to address. They eventually refunded me, but I found them a little rude about it and surprised they didn’t look into the discrepancies I pointed out about when purchasing a subscription for them from Cratejoy.
3) Curation - I wasn’t a huge fan of the book. Now, I expect this occasionally from book subscription boxes, but I was surprised by how alienating I felt their choice was. The book I received was primarily a Christian book before all else. Now, I’m not one to not want any mention of religion in my books, that would be ridiculous. But this was a lot, and I know they never would have done this with another religion. I just felt like a weird choice. I also didn’t love any of the items. One of useful, if not that nice. One was a blanket with a...

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Nov 22, 2021

Julia D.

1 Review

Subscribed for 4 months

Major shipping issues + moving to a new website. Boxes are way behind on shipping and can not determine what has shipped and what hasn;t. Love the books and boxes but be prepared to track whether your order actually ships

Nov 16, 2021

Samantha B.

1 Review

Subscribed for 3 months

I am really disappointed with the Halloween book I pre-ordered back in August that has still not been shipped. It’s almost Thanksgiving and I guess I’ll be lucky if I get it by Christmas. This happened with another subscription I did as a gift through this company, but with CoVid I was understanding. I feel like every single excuse is “oh it’s super duper late because of Covid”, but I’ve order many things through different small businesses and they still manage to be reasonable. This is an unreasonable wait time for something that is as expensive as this subscription is. It’s a cool idea, but is consistently significantly behind on shipments.

Aug 01, 2021

Madeleine G.

1 Review

2 Helpful

Subscribed for 5 months

MAJOR DELAY in receiving your book box - - A couple years ago it was great - Now I have waiting 3 + (!!) months and have been charged a total of $150 (*$50 per month - even though I signed up at *$45 per month - they added $5 after I signed on) - - AND HAVE NOT RECEIVED ANY BOOKS/BOXES. Very frustrating - especially when they obviously cannot handle the load - subscribers. *includes shipping/$10

Jul 27, 2021

Sandra L.

2 Reviews

Subscribed for 4 months

Box has not arrived

Jul 24, 2021

Raina T.

1 Review

1 Helpful

Subscribed for 5 months

Products included aren’t that great for an adult box. Most seemed designed with Young Adult in mind even though it’s marketed towards adults. For example, one item I received was a wireless microphone. Another item was a cheap glass jar you can buy at the dollar store. Overall disappointing.

Jul 13, 2021

Brianna B.

1 Review

Subscribed for 2 months

Depending on what happens from this point on and after I read the books I will update my review later on.

Mar 23, 2021

Lynn A.

1 Review

Subscribed for 7 months

I love the club and concept. Shipping has been terrible and behind. Part of the fun would be to partake in discussions, however when shipments are late, how can that happen? People are reselling boxes b4 another even receives theirs AND they all were ordered on renewal date....unless the special vip group receives much earlier. I made the mistake of attempting to ask on fb chat if this is common, as I've experienced this past 5-6 months. Because of it being considered "negative" toward company, I will never know. I do apologize for violating pist requirements in that manner. I do have another order in for three month prepay and maybe things will iron out within next three months. I contacted company and hope this is resolved soon. Once shipping stays up to date with discussion group times in box and on fb chat and within reasonable time of SAYING it was shipped, they will receive a t star.

Feb 02, 2021

Cassandra W.

1 Review

1 Helpful

Subscribed for 2 months

After 2 months of this subscription, I find myself completely underwhmed. I didn't want to make a snap decision, since the first book I received I did not enjoy and muddled through it, and was sincerely glad when it was done. But my second book I actually find riveting, and I couldn't put it down. The reason I was so interested in this was probably the same reason most people are interested in it, "bring the book to life" little gifts that literally jump off the page into your hand. I can't even begin to describe my disappointment in these. In my first box there was literally a box of glitter. In the second box a full copy of a Charles Dickens classic! I'm glad I bought my months in advance because I won't want to do this again.

Dec 27, 2019

Stacey N.

1 Review

2 Helpful

Subscribed for 20 days

Ordered 2 as gifts.
We just received our box and wanted to post a review.
Overall: The box looks pretty cool. It was a gift for my daughter so I am not the one reading the book or opening the gifts but have high hopes she will enjoy it.
My big issue was with the shipping of the box and the response of the company, I was pretty excited to give this as a gift so planned ahead and ordered early according to their recommendations on their website, so it would come in time for Christmas. They state that they ship between the 17-20 and that is not what happened and they responded with a “sorry for the confusion but we don’t guarantee deliver by Christmas and usps is doing all they can to get them delivered.” My biggest issue was that they didn’t take responsibility for their error. They didn’t have the box packed or shipped by the date they said they would and didn’t offer to refund any of the 9.50 shipping cost. The company didn’t really seem to care much that they made a mistake and that is why I give them two stars for shipping.
Would I buy again- I am not sure about that-there are a lot of book boxes out there to try and my interactions with the company haven’t been super positive.

Dec 12, 2019

Susan S.

1 Review

1 Helpful

Subscribed for 2 months

A lovely idea! And the boxing of the gifts are beautiful. But the items itself are a hit or miss. Either they are really good quality or made cheaply.
The recent advent box was a major disappointment. It was "a great price" but only 5 of the items were worth it. There were books and the short story that coincided with the items was a cliche short love story. The books are mediocre too. I just wish that the box was worth its price because it is expensive.

Dec 08, 2019

Julie R.

1 Review

1 Helpful

Subscribed for 3 months

I was really hoping to love this subscription, and I do think that it is clever and am excited to open up the box, but I have been disappointed by their shipping delays and the value of the gifts. I've been subscribed for 4 months, and 2 of those months have had shipping delays due to issues in their supply chain. Every month I have been billed for the next box before receiving the current month's box.
The subscription is pricey and while some people may like the gifts, I'm not a huge fan of a lot of them - we've received a single spoon, a necklace with a giant 'R' on it for a character which most people can't wear, admittedly a nice branded purse, charging cable, notebook, broken branded lipstick, cheap bluetooth headphones, etc. There is typically one nice gift per box but it does not make up for the shipping frustrations or how cheap/wasteful the other gifts are

Aug 29, 2019

Oilcansally ..

2 Reviews

Subscribed for 25 days

I loved the book and the anticipation of opening the gifts. The gifts were not great. One of my gifts was delivered broken even though it looked like it was packaged fairly well. I'm going to try another month and see if there is any improvement. It was such a good book though!! ETA: Seller contacted me and sent the replacement of the broken item. It was not broken this time. Looking forward to the next box!! Will post my review after. ETA: my second book wasn't as thrilling. All but one gift was very nice. I am hooked on the whole concept of gifts with reading!!

Aug 26, 2019

Sandie B.

3 Reviews

1 Helpful

Subscribed for 6 months

Here’s the 411 on my rating. I actually give a 5 star for the book which I’ll go into further review on my blog, AKnotty Girls view on books, boxes and beauty.
The gifts were shoddy and a disappointment after getting to our assigned page. The first was ok and useful, the rest, terrible. A tiny cup, an R pendant, and an email. ( much more a forgotten book addendum) I only hope that this gets better. I. Will say that the book was fabulous.

May 28, 2019

Ronda G.

2 Reviews

Subscribed for 2 months

Not thrilled with the cheap items. Book was great!

Apr 17, 2019

Danielle W.

3 Reviews

9 Helpful

Subscribed for 1 month

I subscribed for two months (adult) to get a good idea of what this box was like. Shipping was fast and I received the boxes perfectly with no problems. The packaging is very nice and I like the thought put into it. It's a really great idea and really motivates you to finish the book. The two books I got were very nice. The meet n greet with the author is a really nice touch and I enjoyed that a lot. Not a lot of people seem to participate in the discussion questions which is a bit disappointing and for the first box the company didn't post 3/5 of the questions on Facebook for discussion. All questions were listed on Instagram though. I was looking forward to the book club part so it's a bit disappointing that there wasn't a bit more effort on that. There seemed to be more of a response for questions on Facebook. The gifts were wrapped very nicely and some of them were pretty nice, but they're definitely more on the feminine side and not necessarily practical items which is fine for some. The items seemed OK quality, but not exceptional and some were a little underwhelming (50ml bottle of unscented moisturizer). I plan to give away 2/3 gifts from the second box. Overall, it was a fun experience that I'm glad I tried and it's a great idea, but not a box I will likely order again but that's me. I tend to look...

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Sep 28, 2018

Mary N.

2 Reviews

6 Helpful

Subscribed for 3 years

I often get in a “book rut” and I love that this provides me a book each month that I may not ordinarily buy myself. I always end up enjoying the book for the most part and they are new and high rated books. Im always super hyped to open the “gifts” but they almost always disappoint. I really dislike the items such as letters from the book and pictures because frankly, whats the point? The letters are in the book and what fun is a random picture? I dont really consider these to be “gifts”. I also really dislike cheap looking costume jewelry. For the most part, my “gifts” are lying around the house and will never be used. Many just seem really cheap, like Dollar Tree cheap. Each month I hope for better gifts but still hasnt happened. For the higher price I would really like to see better quality and more useful gifts. Please, no more pictures or letters, etc to claim as a “gift”! I love the idea and will continue for a few more months but likely discontinue if quality does not improve.

Jul 31, 2018

Sarah C.

1 Review

3 Helpful

Subscribed for 5 months

I initially enjoyed the subscription but got several repeat gifts, never exactly the same but like lava stone ring, then a lava stone necklace a couple of months later. I started to accumulate a lot of clutter. The price was getting to be too much, a lot of the gifts fell apart and the genre is either chick lit or WWII historical fiction on repeat.

Dec 13, 2016

Dacia M.

1 Review

1 Helpful

Subscribed for 1 month

I've never really spent this much on a subscription but I fell in love with the idea of this subscription box the moment I saw it, so of course I had to try it out. The idea neverrrrr came to me that I just might dislike the book! Because I disliked the book, the gifts with it didn't really mean anything to me except for one which was nice on its own even without the book. So I sadly did not enjoy this subscription.