Hey all, this is my book box sub renewal breakdown for June 2026! This month marks the start of the summer season, which is traditionally the publishing industry’s peak period where they push many of their biggest titles. While last month had a lot of decent but forgettable picks outside of the ongoing series, this month has some great standalone picks that I’m really looking forward to!
Confirmed Book Picks:
Aardvark Book Club (Skipped)
Starting with my oldest and only non-special edition book box sub and one where you can pick your books, I opted to skip this month. Most of last month’s reasoning still applies: I’m being very selective with this sub due to how big my TBR backlog is, especially Aardvark, even though I made some good progress over the last two months.
Of this month’s options, The Unicorn Hunters is an amazing pick and one I would’ve gone with if a certain other subscription or two hadn’t also gotten this title. Sublimation is a highly anticipated scifi/speculative fiction release that I’m definitely planning to read, but it’s not something I necessarily want to own in hardcover, as stories about immigration usually aren’t my thing. Alex Finlay’s new book is another big title people are hyped for, but it feels a bit generic to me personally; I like my thrillers to have either a distinctive premise or setting. This is an average month, not bad but not worth worsening my Aardvark backlog for.
Goldsboro Fellowship: The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden (Sold)
While I haven’t read Katherine’s most recent book The Warm Hands of Ghosts, which I own, this is a book I had my eye on and was thrilled to see Goldsboro select. Unfortunately, another company also picked it up, which meant one of them had to be skipped or sold. This decision may come back to bite me when the books arrive, but I opted to go with the other company since their edition will be fully redesigned, whereas Goldsboro’s only had exclusive sprayed edges. Still, Goldsboro’s hand‑signed and numbered copies always feel special and collection‑worthy despite being mildly customized versions of the UK trade edition. I love this pick for Goldsboro, especially since we haven’t had any historical fiction picks yet this year and Arden is an excellent writer.
The Broken Binding Fantasy: Wrath by John Gwynne (The Faithful and the Fallen #4) (Renewed)
Copy/paste my breakdown from last month. I’ve already renewed and committed to this series, which I’m looking forward to, even though I have yet to receive any of the books due to ongoing delays with the printing company. The wait will be worth it!
Surprise Book Picks:
Illumicrate (Skipped)
Nemesis Mine by Amy Archer
When it was first teased, I was planning to renew Illumicrate this month because I loved the premise, and M/M romcom is an underrepresented romantasy subgenre. Illumicrate continuing to promote queer and ethnically diverse picks is also very on‑brand for Pride Month. While I really like the book pick, I unfortunately do not care for this month’s artist lineup, particularly the endpaper and cover art styles. Illumicrate’s classified newsletter usually gets me excited, but this is one of the rare times the early previews discouraged me from renewing and confirmed my worries. I ultimately skipped, especially since this month had several stronger and safer picks.
Illumicrate Afterlight (Renewed)
The Open Era by Edward Schmit
I swear Illumicrate heard me considering canceling Afterlight and chose to serve up this unexpected pick, tennis pun intended. While I should’ve expected Illumicrate’s history of matching picks to themed months, I didn’t expect them to choose this book, which I’ve been really looking forward to and which has been getting great pre‑pub reviews. My only mild worry is that the artist lineup is quite… stylized, and very different from typical book‑box special edition aesthetics. Illumicrate mentioned in their quarterly livestream that this design is one of their most experimental and unique, which could go either way. Even if I don’t love the design, I’m still hopeful for the book itself. Then again, I had high hopes for Afterlight’s other M/M pick Star Shipped in March and rated it 1.5 stars, surely this one will be better.
Owlcrate Adult Fantasy (Skipped)
Strange Familiars by Kershe Chow
Although I skipped this pick, Strange Familiars gets my honorable mention of the month because I kept flip‑flopping on it. Early ARC reviews seemed very middle‑of‑the‑road, so I initially planned to skip. However, many of the negative reviews came from romantasy‑heavy readers who found it too action‑forward to be cozy and lacking in romance, both of which actually align better with my reading taste. OwlCrate’s previews showing a corner of the stained‑glass dust jacket and edges featuring a familiar cat also looked great. Then TBB posted previews for their July SF&F pick (technically a June renewal), which was a story I wanted more, knocking this one into the skip category. Depending on the final edition and whether OwlCrate continues the duology, I may pick this up secondhand or through excess inventory. A vet clinic for magical familiars is absolutely my kind of premise, so I’ll likely read it even if I don’t buy it.
The Broken Binding SF&F (Renewed)
The Demon Star by Jesse Aragon
I had the option to get the ARC from DAW but passed due to a five‑book ARC backlog I was trying to clear. Months later, I’m kicking myself, it would’ve been nice to preview this one especially since it’s getting special treatment as an in‑house TBB UK publication. Some folks passed on this sub because the regular trade cover already looks very TBB‑coded with its wide scenic background behind character figures. I renewed because I already have plenty of fantasy options through other subs, and I specifically picked up the SF&F sub hoping for more traditional scifi. (I didn’t have Starbright at the time, and OwlCrate’s Scifi sub had ended.) Some people have taken issue with TBB’s recent art direction, which I don’t agree with, so I’m curious to see what they do with this book. Another perk: this month’s book will also have sewn binding and acid‑free paper, which is always a huge plus for UK‑based subs.
FairyLoot YA + Adult Combo (Renewed)
The Unicorn Hunters by Katherine Arden
I know I’m not the only one who saw the teasers and thought, “finally something good and worthwhile.” While the YA sub has been solid, FairyLoot’s adult picks this year have been obscure, mediocre, or polarizing, Weavingshaw being the only well‑received one out of the first five. With my four allotted skips nearly used up, this month was a no‑brainer renewal. As mentioned earlier, The Unicorn Hunters was already on my radar, and FairyLoot editions are usually very pretty. I sacrificed Goldsboro’s numbered and hand‑signed edition for FairyLoot’s—please don’t let me down, FairyLoot.
Shadow Reaper by Lynette Noni
Shadow Reaper isn’t necessarily a book I would’ve bought on its own, but it looks promising and is one of the more popular YA picks this year. I’m more than willing to give it a go. If all else fails, this is exactly the type of YA book FairyLoot tends to design beautifully.
Illumicrate Mindsight (Skipped)
Fellow Creatures by Emma Lowther
I’m not sure a mystery/thriller book sub is for me. It’s a genre I read regularly but don’t often reread, so I’m unsure how much I’d want to keep these editions. I mostly signed up for the waitlist knowing it would be long if I passed, and the first book being a highly anticipated title was a bonus. This one looks interesting and the early newsletter teasers are atmospheric and dramatic, but this month and next have too many other strong picks. Mindsight is also more expensive than Illumicrate’s other subs and roughly the same as OwlCrate, only about $5-8 less than Goldsboro and TBB, which include international shipping. With only two skips per year, I opted to skip this one, especially after hearing the next pick is by an author with solid name recognition.
Off Month / No Renewal:
- The Broken Binding Scifi
- Illumicrate Starbright
Recap
As expected for the summer season, June’s lineup is stacked and required me to be selective. I ended up renewing and keeping five books, selling one, and skipping four. In addition to limited bookshelf space, skipping OwlCrate and Fae Crate—which could’ve gone either way—was also preparation for July, which is looking even better (aka worse for my wallet). Spoiler: I’m renewing the trio of TBB subs plus the FairyLoot combo, which already matches the number of June books kept—and there’s even more I’m keeping. What a time to be alive.