virgoreader

Last summer I picked up a book series I had high hopes for: it was a Disney retelling centered around the villains and a BDSM club. I loved all of them, binging the six books in a few days. I went on to rave about them on TikTok, and my video got over a million views. 

This series has a special place in my heart not just because I enjoyed reading them so much, but because they're tied to me really finding my place on TikTok and feeling like I belonged. So when I heard Katee Robert was doing a swag box with special edition covers, I leaped for them.

I got the signed hardcover books, a set of art prints of the characters, a set of bookmarks with quotes, an Underworld emblem enamel pin, a "villains do it better" keychain, a paddle keychain, and a scented candle. All together, it was $228. 

First Impressions

I have no regrets on my purchase, though I can't remember if the bookmarks / keychains were add-ons or included in the price of the hardcover books. If I was to redo it, I probably wouldn't purchase these items, just because they're not my favorite "swag items" to have. I keep my key ring light, and I usually read on ebooks so I don't have a lot of bookmarks. 

The enamel pin is cute - I collect enamel pins so am always stoked when authors have them available. I do wish more authors made character enamel pins, as it seems the only ones I have are for ultra-huge fandoms like ACOTAR. 

The candle is, no joke, my favorite candle ever. I will never burn it because it's too pretty (the candle itself is half-topped with something glittery), but it smells so good. I now want to hunt down a full sized candle with a similar scent or see if I can get more individual ones from the seller.

The art prints are one of each couple + a group shot. I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed that the art print poses are the same as the ones from the cover. I was part of Katee's Patreon when she was making these boxes and I saw that the artist had done a rough draft of 2-3 poses for her, so I thought that one would go on the cover, and one would go on the print. 

The books themselves are lovely. I don't love hardcovers in general but I think for special editions with dust jackets they just feel special, though I wouldn't have minded a paperback. Katee added formatting within the book that gives them a unique feel. If I'm being a nit-picky asshole I'd say I personally think it would have looked better with wider margins, but that's just because I have an "itch" about the way things are laid out. 

However the quality of all items seems great. I think Katee puts a lot of thought into her books (I am obsessed with the matte, creamy cover on The Dragon's Bride) and I so appreciate that.