From Olympus, With Love | January 2021 OwlCrate Unboxing

Hey hi hello friends, and welcome back to my blog! 

This is a special post today! I ordered the OwlCrate box for January, which was "From Olympus, With Love." Obviously, I had to get it. I could feel physical pain at the thought of not getting this box. Think of the pretty Greek mythology inspired items! I had to. 

This is not sponsored by OwlCrate. I bought this box with my own money, and I'm also not continuing my subscription because I was only interested in this month's box. In case you don't know, OwlCrate is a bookish subscription box sent out every month including a new release YA book and an assortment of bookish items pertaining to a theme. I've gotten three boxes by OwlCrate in the past: October and November of 2018, and the special Call Down the Hawk box from November 2019. I've always enjoyed their boxes, but no surprise here, this month is by far my favorite. 

Alright, let's get into the box!

Here is an overview of the box. I love the black/white/gold color scheme, very Ancient Greek to me, ha. Let's go in on each of the items featured in this box!

First thing I grabbed was this tea! This "Nectar of the Gods" tea was created by Riddle's Tea Shoppe, and is a loose leaf rooibos and ceylon tea with peach, apple, apricot, and marigold pieces. It's decaf, which I appreciate (I drink way too much caffeine) and smells just like the peach rings gummy candy, which I'm completely obsessed over. Peach is my favorite flavor, scent, color, etc, so I'm super excited to try out this tea.

Next I grabbed the monthly enamel pin, which always is based on the book of the month. I love how it looks like Medusa's head. The quote reads "The eyes of the gods are upon you." This pin was created by the artist Icey Designs. 

To go along with the pin is this beautiful pin banner! I adore the laurel design around it, it makes me feel like a Grecian princess having just crowned her champion with a laurel wreath. The banner was designed by Michelle Gray. This is my first pin banner, and now I have a place to put my rapidly growing pin collection. 

I'm obsessed with this tapestry showing the entire lunar calendar for 2021! Do you recognize the goddesses keeping watch? On the left we have Artemis, who is the goddess of the moon and the hunt, and on the right is Athena, the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy. This tapestry was designed by Eden Cooke, and I am definitely looking up more of their work!

Possibly my most favorite item of the box (definitely my most favorite item) is this Madeline Miller wooden bookmark. In case you're new around here, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is my favorite book of all time, and Circe is high up there on that list as well. . I've been wanting pretty merch for these books for years, and now I finally have something! And also, the quotes they chose! " There are rare moments when another soul dips near yours, as stars once a year brush the earth. Such a constellation was he to me." and "I would know him in death, at the end of the world." Ugh, I'm crying! No for real. I actually shed a tear when I saw the Song of Achilles side of the bookmark. This bookmark was designed by In the Reads.

I am freaking out about this item. I've been wanting a message board for forever! I've seen them everywhere but have never taken the plunge to actually get one, and now I don't need to! Also, how adorable is this little felt pouch to store the letters in? I love the Hermes decal! This item was designed by Team OwlCrate in house. Also, my hand is super cramped from cutting all of the letters off of the plastic holders, and I'm only half-way done with that task. Wish me luck for that!

Finally we get to the book of the month! Lore by Alexandra Bracken, in which we visit a world where every seven years, the gods of Olympus are bound to walk the earth as mere mortals. They are hunted by ancient bloodlines intent on killing them and taking their divinity for their own. We follow Lore, who is recalled to this world of gods and monsters in modern day New York City as Athena seeks her out for an alliance. 

Alright, I'm not going to lie, when I first found out about this book, I didn't have any interest in reading it. I'm super picky about Greek mythology stories. I have high standards, and if those standards aren't met by the book, I will not endorse it. Plus, I've never been interested in Alexandra Bracken's books in the past. But the most I look at this book, the more I'm willing to give it a fair chance. It sounds intriguing. Bracken says that it's a modern, feminist take on Greek mythology, which was definitely something the Greeks lacked. So yeah, I'll probably read this soon. Also, she's chunky, and the font is pretty small for a YA book, so that means more story! It's 466 pages and has very pretty art in it. 

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So there you have it! That is the January OwlCrate box. I thought it was super strong! Let me know your thoughts on it down below in the comments, or tweet at me @AllyEmReads. 

Until next time!