Once Upon a Book Club reviewsReviews

Great Idea...Slight Fail on Delivery

Aug 24, 2020

I was SO thrilled with the concept as I LOVE surprises and books! I ordered my first box in July 1st for the adult box to be received in July. I got a shipment delivery notice and then after that date it took 2.5 weeks to get the item. The shipping label was created generating me a shipping link BUT it was not actually shipped from the location. Purchase 7/1/20, received 8/8/20.

I am thinking this genre of book was just not my thing. I am going to try the subscription one more time (one more book). The positives--the box it comes in is beautiful and the items were packaged pretty. Thoughtful choices of items...the story just was not a hit with me.

So So

May 31, 2020

I ordered both the adult box and YA box for my daughter and I because we were stuck in the house for COVID-19. No major issues with shipping--the boxes were late due to the pandemic but the company was really good about communicating delays. For the YA box, the book was good but the gifts were so junky and didn't really match what was in the book --nothing a teenage girl would want. For the adult book, the gifts were a lot better quality. If you like historical romances and chick lit, you would probably enjoy the adult box.

Fun to try

Apr 17, 2019

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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Gifts Always Disappoint

Sep 28, 2018

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.

Mixed Feelings

Jul 31, 2018

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.

Once Upon a Box

Dec 27, 2019

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.

Not for Me

Sep 19, 2018

I was very excited to try out Once Upon a Book Club because the packaging and items seemed so whimsical. Unfortunately, I accidentally ordered the YA box. While I found some items to be useful and cute, others were simply novelty as related to the book. So, I ultimately only found one viable item to my liking. I didn’t feel it was worth the price. I respect the effort and thought put into the box but it wasn’t for me. Worst of all, and this is no fault of Once Upon a Book Club, I’m just not patient enough to wait to open each item when the time comes in the book. That’s my own issue though.

Disappointed Daughter

Feb 09, 2020

The book that was delivered in February for my daughter was definitely not a book that she would read. It was magic and ghosts and she is not comfortable reading those types of books. We ended up just getting rid of the book. To us it felt like a waste of the $45 that was spent for that month. Is there a way that we can choose from a selection of books for the next month? Maybe not the titles because I know you want the book to be surprise along with the gifts, but maybe we could choose from a couple of different themes? I am aware that I have no idea how a business like this is funded or organized but I would like to make a suggestion that there be a choice between two or three books themes each month that the parents can choose from that will fit their child's reading interests. It was a disappointment to her that she did not get something that she would enjoy.

Thank you,

Really nice but needs

Dec 12, 2019

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.

Delays and Low Value

Dec 08, 2019

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

EHHHHH.

Dec 13, 2016

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.

awesome gifts

Aug 24, 2017

i was very pleased with the condition of the book and the gifts themselves... but the door hanger looked like it had been cut open with a knife and it was scored all the way down the sign and the box with the pocket watch was crushed so i kind of took away all of the surprise since i could see 2 of the 4 gifts... the shipping was very quick and i was pleased with the look of the package. it made me really excited to unbox it and see what my book was... i have actually already read the book for august but the thought of the gifts really brings it to life and makes me excited to re-read the story.

Some really good books, gifts are okay

Aug 29, 2019

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!!

Great book...awful gifts

Aug 26, 2019

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.

Not worth it

May 28, 2019