Litsy

Alice | Christina Henry

bailed

#ByeFelicia

Disappointing. I was enthralled with The Mermaid by Henry. But I just do not need graphic rape scenes that feel like they‘re only there to say “look how dark and gritty this world is.”

Henry‘s writing is great, so I might pick up something else by her later. After throughly checking trigger warnings.

BookmarkTavern #FairyTaleReadingChallenge 2y

Yuki_Onna Well, I agree, it was very dark and often too graphic for my taste. But the thing is - such violence is real sometimes. 2y

RaeLovesToRead I agree it was gratuitous and did nothing to advance the plot. I wasn't a huge fan. 2y

BookmarkTavern @Yuki_Onna You‘re right, and stories that deal with those types of topics are important. But this felt gratuitous, and is not the type of story that I want to read for myself right now. 2y

83 likes4 comments

Erinreadsthebooks

As Long as We Both Shall Live: A Novel | Joann Chaney

bailed

I can't 🤦‍♀️ When she starts referencing the cop's former nicknames, my eyeroll was intense and it was (past) time to move on. I gave it the good college try, but when I found myself reading words I've never seen in print and haven't heard since high school, I knew it was time to move on. Too many books out there to stick around and be grossed out repeatedly by this one✌️#byefelicia.

19 likes

guinsgirlreads

Darcy Swipes Left | Jane Austen, Courtney Carbone

pick

Cute concept and LOL funny to read about the characters talking through texts! #byefelicia

39 likes

Megabooks

The Last Time I Lied: A Novel | Riley Sager

Well, this happened today. Strikes against #botm

1. 10 days for shipping?!?
2. Bindings and jackets cheap now
3. Poor selection aka books I have little interest in
4. New credit system is too expensive

#byefelicia #endofanera

L_auren, Reviewsbylola, emilyhaldi

REPollock I feel the same, and at the same time I‘m heartbroken because I loved BotM for a good while there. It just got too much negative for not enough positive. 7y

Whimsical.Curiosity I recently joined so I'm not really aware of the changes. I will say I hate the jackets and I vaguely remember somewhere they said they send special gifts sometimes and I've yet to see any of those. 7y

Kindredanne I cancelled my membership because I thought it was expensive and the books were such a poor quality. Disappointing. 7y

See All 44 Comments

Megabooks @REPollock Agreed. I had so much fun doing the BOTM challenge last year, but this year there are some months I don‘t want to bother with any of them. 7y

Megabooks @Whimsical.Curiosity They haven‘t sent special gifts in a long time. They even stopped with the special bookmarks. ☹️ I hope you enjoy it, though. 7y

Megabooks @Kindredanne Yes. I wanted to choose more than one reason for stopping. It‘s just not that good anymore. I‘d rather buy a book a month from my local store. 7y

Kindredanne @Megabooks I agree!! I would rather buy a book from my local store than do BOTM. 7y

Reviewsbylola You go girl!!! Stay strong with me. 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 7y

Rachbb3 I cancelled this month too. It was my last. 7y

Megabooks @Reviewsbylola Support group!!! 👍🏻👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 7y

wordslinger42 Yeah, I tried it again after a long absence and ended up cancelling this month for many of the same reasons. I feel like they offer the same genres all the time and don't really branch out 7y

Megabooks @Rachbb3 it‘s just not worth the money anymore. 7y

Melkyl Like @Whimsical.Curiosity I recently joined #BOTM, and I really like it so far. I have loved the books I chose each month. Maybe I am blissfully ignorant of how it used to be 😊 7y

Megabooks @wordslinger42 Yes! It‘s like they‘ve found the lowest common denominator and go there every time. I miss the judges. If you look at the books in 15 and 16, they‘re so much more intellectual than what they‘re choosing now. Even last year was better. 7y

Megabooks @Melwilk I‘m glad you‘re enjoying it. 👍🏻👍🏻 it is a lot of fun to get the bookmail every month. 7y

wordslinger42 @Megabooks I definitely agree! I would rather spend my money at the bookstore or on a better bookish subscription! 7y

emilyhaldi Our #botmchallenge group is falling apart!! I cancelled too 😥 I agree with you completely- they have totally fallen apart. For $15 a book I can just buy from the bookstore or amazon 🤷🏻‍♀️ 7y

Megabooks @emilyhaldi It is sad, but I feel like I barely recognize BOTM. I have limited funds and would just rather get a better looking book from Amazon or my local. Maybe someday their quality will go up and I‘ll rejoin. One can hope. Because it was fun last year! 7y

MoniqueReads305 I brought the yearly subscription but I'm doubtful if I will renew it when I finish up the credits. I haven't read any of the books I have order and can't compare quality. But the back covers are ugly. 7y

keys_on_fire I just ordered a one month subscription (basically a trial) for Uppercase Books. Has anyone tried that? @emilyhaldi @Kindredanne @Rachbb3 @wordslinger42 7y

VeganCleopatra The covers severely went downhill! And while I never loved all their selections, it was better when there were judges. I've never loved BOTM but it is a shell of what it was when I joined. 7y

Whimsical.Curiosity @Melwilk I really do like it. Or the idea of it anyway. I love the book mail part and the fact they don't charge if you skip. My only quam is that I keep skipping and I'd like bookish items too. But I haven't found a subscription that does that yet. I still love getting the picks and looking them up! 7y

Whimsical.Curiosity @Megabooks I do enjoy it, I just wish it could be better. I keep skipping though. 7y

Whimsical.Curiosity @keys_on_fire oooh is it just like botm or different? 7y

keys_on_fire @whimsical.curiosity It‘s a book box. You get one book and then several bookish items. There are several other ones out there, so I just gifted myself one month to see if I like it, and then I‘m gonna try the same thing with a different service. www.uppercasebox.com is what I got for August and then I‘m gonna try www.onceuponabookclub.com (edited) 7y

keys_on_fire Once Upon a Book Club is really intriguing me, because they wrap the gifts and put bookmarks in the book to tell you when to open each gift, so it corresponds to the story. Sounds soooo neat! @Whimsical.Curiosity (edited) 7y

Megabooks @MoniqueReads305 I got a 6 month gift for myself and renewed a single month. The yearly is the only way it‘s a good deal. I hope they improve. The covers are ugly. 7y

Megabooks @keys_on_fire I‘m excited to see what you think! 7y

Joy0201 @keys_on_fire I wasn‘t a fan of Once Upon a Book Club. Cute idea but the bookish items weren‘t really doing it for me. I‘m going to try Uppercase Box 7y

Megabooks @keys_on_fire oooo!!! I‘ve never heard of once upon a book club. That sounds really cool! 😎📚 7y

L_auren The end of an era!! I wonder why they couldn‘t keep up 7y

MoniqueReads305 @keys_on_fire @Megabooks There are very slim pickings when it comes to adult themed book boxes. I'm thinking of trying Page Habit because the books are annotated by the author and they have different genre selections. 7y

8little_paws Yeah i'm canceling when my current membership ends. The physical quality of the books is worse and the books aren't as cerebral as they once were. 7y

8little_paws That said I LOVED 2 2018 picks so far. Small country, and the girl who smiled beads 7y

Megabooks @L_auren I don‘t know. 🤷🏻‍♀️ It is sad. 6y

Megabooks @MoniqueReads305 I got a free month of page habit, but it was a horror book, so I didn‘t read it. It seems like a cool idea though. 6y

Megabooks @8little_paws Yeah, it‘s just not the same. Maybe they‘re funneling all their money to tv ads. 6y

wordslinger42 @keys_on_fire I haven't tried Uppercase before, but I'm thinking of trying Once Upon A Book Club in September if I'm able. I've seen some of the gifts they include on their Instagram & it looks like a high quality box!! Plus, it seems like they choose a wider variety of genres! 6y

keys_on_fire @wordslinger42 Yeah, OUAB allows you to pick either an adult box or a young adult box, where as Uppercase appears to be Ya only 6y

Megabooks This has been such a great thread! Thanks for all the ideas! 6y

rather_be_reading 😢😢😢 6y

MicheleinPhilly Good for you! As soon as I use up all of my credits (I pre-paid for a year) I‘m out too. The only other box I‘ve seen that looks interesting is the Powell‘s box. But they don‘t always have spots open. I like the idea of buying one book a month from a local indie so I think I‘m going to do that. 6y

Megabooks @rather_be_reading I know! It‘s sad. 6y

Megabooks @MicheleinPhilly Thanks! I almost signed up for the Powell‘s box last time there were openings. I think I‘m going to hold off jumping into another box right away, though. High five for supporting our local bookstores! 6y

100 likes44 comments

Reviewsbylola

The Line That Held Us | David Joy

WOO HOO!!! I picked my last #BOTM selection and CANCELED my membership. If you‘d told me last year that I would have done this, I wouldn‘t have believed you. But I‘m fed up with their business model, poor customer service, and what are (to me) lackluster selections. #byefelicia 👋🏻 👋🏻 I will still look forward to spoilers every month! What did everyone else choose for August?

LittlePixels I've been happy with the selections, but the quality is a bit lacking. My subscription was a gift, so the free #bookmail is awesome, but I'm not sure I'd continue on my own. 7y

howlinglibraries I don‘t blame you! I cancelled last winter because of all of the reasons you listed. Plus it had reached the point where I ordered my box on the 1st and didn‘t receive it until the 20th! 7y

emilyhaldi This is a monumental moment!!! 😱 I have one credit left too and then I‘m out! ✌🏻 7y

See All 28 Comments

tammysue 🙌🏻👍🏻 7y

DGRachel I keep thinking I need to cancel, but I always forget to do it after my book ships. I don‘t want to do it until my book is in my hand, because I figure then I have no bargaining power if something goes wrong with the shipment. One of these months, I‘ll remember to do it. 7y

Cinfhen OHHH.EMMMMM.GEEEE 😱😱😱NEVER thought I‘d see this day 7y

stuck.in.the.stacks That was my pick to. Let me know if you ever find another subscription box that provides only books. 7y

Mdargusch So sad! 7y

Reviewsbylola SAME!! @Cinfhen 7y

Reviewsbylola I haven‘t so far but I will definitely let you know if I find one! @felinesandfiction 7y

The_Heeler_Booklife This month was meh. I chose Sweet Little Lies. I love thrillers, but crime ones I‘m meh about. Then, for an extra I got Spinning Silver. I almost got Goodbye, Paris, but that didn‘t seem like a me read either. 7y

Hollie I said #byefelicia to BOTM, too and haven‘t once regretted it! 7y

Suzze I quit for awhile and just rejoined last month. I skipped this month though as I have an ARC of one and I‘m not interested in the others. I‘ll try next month since I‘ve already been charged, but may stop then too. The books do take forever to come! 7y

catiewithac I‘ve been a member since Dec 2016 and have definitely noticed a decline in book quality (in terms of titles offered, lack of variety, and poor print and binding). It‘s a major bummer, because the concept is so good ☹️ 7y

KT1432 Omggg I was wondering if it was just me! I got my credits down to 1 & this may be my last month too! The title selections have definitely changed since I joined Jan. 2017, & their old model worked better for me. The shipping was a bit slow but not abysmal, my books weren't torn, it felt more like a club than a marketing company, & there was a judge who really fit my reading aesthetic. I'm disappointed in their new direction. (edited) 7y

Reviewsbylola I joined in May 2016 and BOTM was so much better then. @lele1432 @catiewithac @Suzze @hollie @allthingskayla @Mdargusch @DGRachel @whatshesreadingnow @emilyhaldi @howlinglibraries @LittlePixels It feels like an entirely different company now. 7y

SaraBeagle I‘d like to burn up my credits and cancel but I keep skipping because I can‘t bring myself to waste even throw away credits on these picks!! 🙄 7y

Redwritinghood I got this book too, but I‘m wanting to do the same thing and cancel. I haven‘t been impressed with their picks lately. But I still have 8 credits, so I‘ll stick around for awhile, I guess. 7y

howlinglibraries @catiewithac omg thank you! I have had so many people tell me they think I‘m imagining things, but I cancelled in April or May of 2017 and came back in October and the quality of the binding and dust jackets had dropped TREMENDOUSLY!! 7y

Rachbb3 I'm canceling as well. This is my last month. 7y

Livelovebark I cancelled about a year ago.. and I‘m not even sorry about it. BOTM just isn‘t what they used to be 🤷🏼‍♀️ 7y

LittlePixels @SaraBeagle Same! I have seven credits left, and this will be the third or fourth month I've skipped this year. 😕 7y

LittlePixels @howlinglibraries Was the quality better before? I just got a gift membership last Christmas, and I've been underwhelmed by the quality since my very first shipment. Two of them have actually had pages falling out when I got them, the binding was so poor. 7y

SaraBeagle @LittlePixels There are some older ones that I‘ve been wanting to order, but couldn‘t since I‘ve been skipping. I picked one so I can get the extras. The August pick is going to go to the Little Free Library down the street. And now I‘m three credits closer to canceling 😬 7y

howlinglibraries @LittlePixels I felt like it was! I got it for 5-6 months at the end of 16/beginning of 17 and the books FELT identical to the regular editions, they just had the BOTM logo! 7y

Megabooks 🤯😲 I was wondering if you‘d really do it. I‘m not quite ready, but I‘m proud of you! The selections just keep getting worse. I certainly wouldn‘t have done the challenge this year!!!! 7y

Reviewsbylola I really didn‘t think I could do it but with the crappy selections recently, it was actually easy. Now I just have to stay strong!!! @Megabooks And I had the same exact thoughts about the challenge. I bailed on my fair share last year but I have a feeling I‘d have at least a 50% bail rate this year. 😂😂 7y

Megabooks @Reviewsbylola At least 50%!!! #truth 7y

105 likes28 comments

introvertedbooks

Fairest: The Lunar Chronicles: Levana's Story | Marissa Meyer

bailed

I made it 100 pages in and I just cant. Maybe if i was 15 and reading this I wouldn't mind but the fact this whole book seems to be about Levana trying to get someone to love her that doesn't, I'm bored. Now I have to find another novella to fit my challenge but oh well. #bail #byefelicia

6 likes