Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!
In keeping in step with my announcements about being a new influencer for #bookboxes & book subscription services, I wanted to take a moment to highlight the #unboxing photographs I took for my 1st Crime Fiction Subscription Box as well as talk about my *excitement!* over which books were enclosed and why I think these are going to become wicked good reads for me as a reader who loves her journey into Cosy Crime & Crime Fiction narratives!
[ be sure to read my ANNOUNCEMENT to find out which niches of this genre
I prefer to read & which ones I am hoping to continue discovering! ]
I’ve had to sit on this news for a weekend as I had a difficult week and by the time the weekend came along, I admit, I was beyond exhausted and taxed by the week’s events. I even began a journalled post about everything but had to fob that off to finish until this week began as I honestly was simply drained of energy and focus! Thankfully, however, this begins a NEW week and thereby, it is the best time to share the giddiness I had *opening!* my first #CrimeFictionBox and the joy of discovering the authors who were awaiting me inside!
In case you’ve missed my first announcement –
here is what you can expect from receiving your very own #CrimeFictionBox:
→ One small switch from my first announcement: The #CrimeFictionBox NOW ships within a week of being ordered! No time delays for receiving your book box!
→ Remember: if a customer emails and asks for specific authors and/or types of stories not to be included they will do their best to fulfill those requests. They’re a small outfit so it’s not an issue.
→ If someone has a bad experience with the books, we just add an additional book the following month. No returns on books received.
→ They offer monthly, yearly and a bookcase option on their Boxes Page! You can choose from receiving 2x books per month OR 5x books per month. Those subscriptions are also calculated for yearly subscriptions vs monthly installments. The bookcase feature is a lovely idea – a small wooden bookcase filled with 5x books of Crime Fiction!
→ One aspect of this subscription service I *loved!* most is that they champion #CanLit Authors! You can request to receive Canadian Authors in your boxes and for me that is the best component of the box itself because I’ve been wanting to source and read more #CanLit Authors for such a long time!
→ In regards to the Crime Fiction novelists being featured in the #CrimeFictionBox: I had a curious itch to know the answer to this question as I read and follow so many who write these kinds of stories – I know some might visit my post out of curiosity… the answer was a sweet one: #CrimeFictionBox is OPEN to featuring world-wide authors of Crime!! Isn’t that beyond fab!?!
→ Shipping is FREE for North America. Seriously. I think that’s a game changer for most considering how steep shipping and handling fees are these days!
→ Before you ask – there aren’t ‘extras’ or swag or other inclusions right now currently in the boxes. There are plans being developed towards that end – however, wait til you read my REVEAL post and realise how *fab!* these boxes are even without some of the ‘extras’ you might be familiar with in other subscription boxes. REMEMBER these are tailored to your readerly interests and thereby not the traditional subscription box service.
→ SPECIAL FOR APRIL: Instead of receiving 2x novels, you’ll receive 3x!
(*) Due Note: I am a promotional #partner and/or Influencer with Crime Fiction Subscription Box but similar to how I receive books from publishers, authors & publicists or early review programs – I am not being monetarily compensated for sharing my experiences, impressions, reviews or the links to their website on my blog Jorie Loves A Story nor on my feeds on Twitter (@joriestory). Nor for the coupon code which is a discount for new subscribers to the Crime Fiction Subscription Box service.
IF you’d like to order your own Crime Fiction Subscription box,
you can use my coupon code → 25%JORIE
→ *This applies to your first order only.
And, reflects ONLY on the Main Box & Big Box Monthly subscriptions.*
Let’s take a closer look @
the #Crimefictionbox!
Now, before I get into the JOY of *opening!* this lovely #bookbox, I need to explain something to you first – BEFORE I ever laid eyes on this lovely parcel, it already provided a keen ice breaker to discuss the box with other people! Do you see all that lovely sparkly streamers? Those were happily ‘outside the box!’ enroute to me – given notice to postal workers & everyday mail gatherers alike to take stock and notice of this seemingly ordinary box – which had a curiously lovely label on the front of it announcing what it was delivering to me – yet, those streamers?! Those were the reasons why I was asked a heap of questions about “What kind of box is a #CrimeFictionBox?” which I happily responded and attempted to quickly explain what pulls me into Crime Fiction narratives!
When you *first!* open the box itself – you’re given a sparkly treat of delight – notice all those streamers of loveliness!? I truly felt like it was a gift of #randomJOY – the perfect box to meet you if you’re struggling with stress and/or just want a #liftofJOY right now to take your attention off *everything else!* happening in the world! Those streamers just leave you giddy – no way round it! As you pull the back a bit and put some of them aside, you’ll notice a blue chalk message awaiting you on the lovely brown paper wrapped books! (smiles)
Thanks Jorie
A simple message but what I liked most about this box is how unassuming it is – you’re in the mood to grab either a Mystery, Suspense, Thriller or Cosy Crime novel – but you’re not ready to make the selection yourself – ENTER the #CrimeFictionBox! Wherein someone else gets to hand select titles for you and give you a chance to meet NEW authors you might have overlooked yourself. These are examples of the kind of books you’ll find inside your own box – if you choose the Main Box monthly! Regularly receiving 2x books whereas in April there is a *bonus!* selection!
I honestly could not wait to *unwrap!* the books – scout out the information about the stories (ie. read the back cover copies) and dig into the books a bit – to see the layout, style & font and if I could glimpse any lovely information about the authors themselves! I was covered in sparkly streamers, a wicked Cheshire cat smile on my face and I couldn’t talk fast enough to equal the information on the books fast enough! When I discovered on was a #CanLit author and one was an American Thriller novelist – honestly, I couldn’t *wait!* to start diving into these plots!
The March #CrimeFictionBox :
featuring a Canadian Crime Fiction novelist:
“Cut You Down” (Book Two: Wakeland series) by Sam Wiebe (@sam_wiebe)
→ “Invisible Dead” (Book one: Wakeland series)
Borrow from a Public Library | Add to your shelves via LibraryThing
Subjects explored: Crime Fiction, Private investigators
Setting: Vancouver, British Columbia – Canada!
ISBN: 978-0345816290 | Pub Date: 13th February, 2018
by Random House Canada (@randomhouseca)
And, the second selection:
featuring an American Crime Fiction novelist:
The Gray Man (Book One: Gray Man series!) by Mark Greaney (@MarkGreaneyBook)
Borrow from a Public Library | Add to your shelves via LibraryThing
Subjects explored: Crime Fiction, Assassins,
Spy & Espionage, and Contemporary Thrillers
ISBN: 9780425276389 | Pub Date: 2009
by Berkley Books (an imprint of) (@penguinrandom)
Converse via: #CrimeFictionBox, #CrimeFiction & #CosyCrime
as well as #MarkGreaney, #GrayMan, #SamWiebe & #VancouverNoir + #WakelandSeries
I’ll admit it – as soon as I noticed one of these authors was attached to Tom Clancy (Mark Greaney) I was quite chuffed as I cut my teeth on Contemporary Spy & Espionage novels via reading the Jack Ryan series in high school. Mind you, most girls my age back then were NOT reading military spy novels much less quoting passages from the film “The Hunt for Red October” in their best Scottish impression of Sean Connery! And, most freshman weren’t as giddy I was reading “Red Storm Rising” either which was much more challenging & interestingly dynamic than anything offered in high school! In essence, if you thought I read diversely as a book blogger who loves to dance through genres – you might be curious to realise this is only a small portion of what I’ve read and what I gravitate towards reading as a lifelong reader!
When I spied the cover art for THE GRAY MAN in particular, I was truly wicked excited – as you’ll notice I have what I’m referring in my head as ‘the blue cover’ as this cover has changed so many times that I can’t find a trace of it online except for old listings which have a different copyright date than the paperback edition I have in my hands! The only thing which slightly worried me is this was labelled as the “new Jason Bourne” – scary for a girl who had to firmly ‘walk away’ from the Bourne trilogy of films (as they simply crushed my soul!) and who this year turnt down reading a novel about Treadstone! (I kid you not!) Still. When I turnt the book over to read the synopsis – to me it felt more Bond than Bourne! Only ‘just’ though in that context. And, not the Daniel Craig era of Bond – *shakes head* – the ‘other’ era of Bond when Bond actually felt like, er, Bond?
Shifting back to examining CUT YOU DOWN, my first instinct was – “am I ready to read this?” because by the cover art and the synopsis of this novel, I was thinking I might be on the fringes of my upper levels of what I can handle within the scope of a Contemporary Thriller which calls itself “Vancouver Noir”. I’m all in for Noir as this was one of my favourite ‘last discoveries’ of joy via TCM (ie. Turner Classic Movies) before we cut cable and I fell in love with my Roku! Wish they offered TCM as a pay a month as you stream service which would be positively brill! However, I digress – the novel is writ by a Canadian author and I’ve had my heart in Vancouver for awhile now. Most of the series and tv movies I watch are shot on location in Vancouver and that goes ALL the wayy back to when “The X-Files” were the most popular series on tv for a Speculative Fiction girl seeking a bit of a paranormal challenging series to watch!
I was thrilled to bits finding out THE GRAY MAN begins this series – as that is something of an inconvenience when you’re just becoming acquainted with a new series and new author – not being able to read them in order. Mind, this is going to happen when I begin reading CUT YOU DOWN, as with the world on lockdown and libraries on limited access to the public (thankfully mine are still open to check-out & check-in materials) – I decided NOT to attempt to ILL (interlibrary loan) this first novel. After I read the premise online it was a smarter move – as the plot involves someone with terminal illness and I shy away from reading those moreso than I can accept them. This might be one of the few times I’ll begin a series on a ‘second’ or different installment than the first entry,…
Likewise, being able to read a Canadian author is pure delight to me – I’ve been wanting to seek out more #CanLit for *years!* now but tracking them down is a bit complicated when you read such a hefty variety of genres and have an equally HUGE LIST of stories you love to seek out to read. Where to begin? Which publishing house to seek out first? And, grant you – I used to host blog tours and review for an Indie Publisher from Canada before they closed rather suddenly and without notice! (ie. Rebelight) Thus, one component of the #CrimeFictionBox I loved outright is the ability to receive at least one Canadian author per box!
You wouldn’t think this would be so complicated, eh? Of course everything is more complicated than you first realise as when it comes to chasing down new authors and reading specifically one country of interest at a time (as I’ve curbed the market for my interests & preferences in regards to the UK) is a bit more challenging when your local library wants you to do most of the legwork (in research) and in the grunt work (of chasing down what is available out of county and out of state) to request in via ILLs.
Now you can understand the joy of getting to sample what Vancouver Noir involves!
I honestly cannot wait to dive into these plots, seeking out the authors’ individual styles and sorting out which of them I enjoyed the most to read via my 1st #CrimeFictionBox! This is a whole new adventure for me as a reader – as I’m trusting the selections made by the Crime Fiction Subscription Box company whilst taking a ready chance on spontaneous reads, newfound #CanLit discoveries and the joy of tucking into Crime Fiction one story at a time!
As a side note – I am being mindful of how we’re all #InThisTogether in regards to new protocols for #socialdistancing & how best to keep all of us safe & healthy; which is why after I’ve read the current batch of #librarybooks – I’ve decided to strictly check-out their digital audiobooks moving forward until things calm back down – to not just ease the duties of the librarians themselves but to take pressure off of having to have their dispatch services ferret materials across the county as we have multiple branches where the materials are housed.
This is one reason I felt #subscriptionboxes might take off right now – as they are a) portable b) mailable and c) you can order from the comfort of your home whilst d) it arrives by Post and is left for you outside. Zero contact and pure blissitude! Plus, it is another way to help an Indie business and to help authors from a genre you love to read as you get to read their stories and see which Crime Fiction authors are your newly discovered favourites!
This post is courtesy of being a social influencer & blogger
for Crime Fiction Subscription Box. I became an influencer March, 2020.
In Closing,.. what is coming up next on Jorie Loves A Story:
I am quite EXCITED to share my experience of receiving my 1st #CrimeFictionBox – as I had intended to share this post last Friday. However, my week hadn’t quite gone to plan as I had projected – between having over 9+ days of angst to get food/supplies as stores were attempting to restock to keep up with the demand for products to having a medical emergency with my father which involved an ER visit – I honestly was not in the right frame of mind to blog or tweet about my JOY of the #CrimeFictionBox until now! I appreciate your patience in waiting for my revelations!
My next post about the #CrimeFictionBox will be spilt into two separate posts – as I happily received 2x novels I am wicked excited about reading, I’ll be revealling my thoughts about the stories, the writing style of the authors and my take on the selections I was sent overall!
In other words, more #CosyCrime & #CrimeFiction goodness is coming soon to Jorie Loves A Story! Meanwhile, I’ve started to requeue my Seventh Street Books readings – my top favourite publisher for Crime Fiction (as previously revealled) whilst I am ending the month championing my #MiddleGradeMarch & #WitchAThon reads, too!
I can’t wait to hear from you, dear hearts!
Have you heard about #CrimeFictionBox?
IF so, what was your favourite box you’ve received?
IF not, does this sound like the kind of box you’d enjoy receiving?
What are your personal experiences with #bookboxes!? I’d love to know!
Help me spread the word by clicking this s/o tweet to your followers:
I just found out about #CrimeFictionBox via Jorie Loves A Story! This #bookblogger has a coupon code for one of their #bookboxes! Find out what came in the March Box! Click To Tweet{SOURCES: All Crime Fiction Subscription Box March 2020 Photography Credit: © jorielovesastory.com. Stories of Jorie banner created by Jorie using Unsplash.com photography. (Creative Commons Zero) via Canva. Crime Fiction Subscription Box banner provided by crimefictionsubscription.com and is used with permission. Coupon Code 25%JORIE was given to me by crimefictionsubscription.com as I am a new Influencer / promotional partner of theirs for their book subscription boxes (I do not receive monetary compensation). Post dividers provided by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com. Tweets were embedded due to codes provided by Twitter.}
Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2020.
I’m a social reader | I tweet my reading life
?️My 1st #partner #unboxing for @crimefictionbox is LIVE on #JLASblog☺️Read my reactions to finding the #GrayMan & #WakelandSeries enclosed
?Full Reveal: https://t.co/OeT1p84BS7
?Use my code 25%JORIE to order the APRIL #subscriptionbox (Main OR Big Box monthly) pic.twitter.com/av7QsI9rN2
— Jorie (#WyrdAndWonder) ?? (@joriestory) March 24, 2020
Earlier, I was wicked thankful revealling what I received in my 1st #CrimeFictionBox – as have a keen interest in #amreading #CrimeFiction – police proceduals like #KayHunter to Contemporary #Thriller series like #TaraThorpe; I love a wicked good #CosyCrime story!☺️#partner??
— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter ?? (@joriestory) March 24, 2020
What I *loved!* most though is the #GrayMan series is an American Contemporary #Thriller whilst the #WakelandSeries is #CanLit #CrimeFiction!?Curious has anyone read either of these stories/series? I will be #amreading them & posting reviews before April! #partner??
— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter ?? (@joriestory) March 24, 2020
ICYMI: my latest #unboxing as a social #influencer & #bookblogger for a #subscriptionbox – Jorie’s featuring the @crimefictionbox!?️♂️
?1 #CanLit & 1 ??#CrimeFiction author
?feat. Vancouver #Noir & Contemporary #thrillers #partner #CrimeFictionBox https://t.co/OeT1p84BS7— Jorie, the Joyful Tweeter ?? (@joriestory) March 24, 2020
Comments via Twitter:
Influencer #partner with #CrimeFictionBox | Revealling what I received for the March Box! https://t.co/lfdr2tzfPo via @joriestory
— Clare Chase (@ClareChase_) March 24, 2020
Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- #CrimeFicFridays
I love the mystery month and the box as well. It is a great post with so much details. Good work, Jorie. I hope you staying safe home!