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My Most Massive Book Haul Yet. 12 Books from FairyLoot, Owlcrate, Illumicrate & More
- hildabear
- Nov 12, 2025
- 7 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Today I'm sharing my most massive book haul yet, with a total of 12 books, which is pretty hefty for me. They've been sitting on my floor... in my office... collecting dust... so it's finally time to unbox them...organize them...and find a home for them on my bookshelf.
Some of these I ordered myself, and others came through some of my favorite monthly subscriptions, like FairyLoot, Owlcrate, and Book of the Month. They range from Adult Fantasy to Sci-Fi to Young Adult, and everything in between.
🎥 Don't want to read? Watch it on my YouTube channel.
1. Katabasis by R.F. Kuang
Katabasis is a dark academia adult fantasy, and it follows Alice, an ambitious student who is willing to do anything to prove herself. But her professor, the greatest magician in the world, dies in an accident and is sent to Hell. So Alice decides she's going in after him.
Which sounds pretty insane...but also so intriguing at the same time. I've never actually read an R.F. Kuang book before, but the premise sounds right up my alley and I'm really looking forward to reading it. I've been seeing some buzz about this book online, so my assumption is that it's either really, really good...or a huge flop.
2. Immortal Consequences by I.V. Marie
This is book one of the Souls of Blackwood Academy series, and it's another dark academia fantasy.
It takes place at Blackwood Academy, a legendary school located in the afterlife, and once a student enters...there is no way out. The only escape is winning a magical competition hosted by the academy called the Decennial, and this year, six top students have been chosen to compete.
I love these high-stakes type of stories, because there are always twists and turns...betrayals... and death...and they're always so much fun to read. I'm actually really excited to read this one.
3. Alchemised by Senlinyu
Alchemised is an adult dark fantasy that follows Helena, a talented alchemist who is now a prisoner. Her abilities have been suppressed, her memories are gone, and all of her resistance friends and allies were murdered.
I mean...damn. That's brutal. What more can go wrong for her, right?
She's being held captive by the new ruling class of corrupt guild families and necromancers after fighting a long war. And because she's lost her memories, they can't help but wonder if she's truly as insignificant as she appears...or something more. So now Helena must fight to protect her world and preserve the last remaining shreds of her former self.
Alchemy is such an intricate magic system that always fascinates me, so I'm really hoping the world building is well developed, because if it is...I will for sure gobble this book up.
4. Never Ever After by Sue Lynn Tan
This one is a fantasy romance, and the first book in a new series by Sue Lynn Tan that's influenced by Chinese fairy tales. This particular story is a reimagining of Cinderella, which sounds so fun.
Our main character is Yining, who after losing her beloved uncle, had to become a skilled thief just to survive. When she obtains a magical ring that can give her a better life, it gets stolen by her step-aunt, and she has to venture into the heart of the kingdom to seize it back.
The book itself is absolutely gorgeous and elegant...and I just can't wait to dive into this one.
5. Water Moon by Samantha Sotto Yambao
Now we're jumping into some books I ordered from Illumicrate, and this is one I ordered right after seeing it on a book vlog from one of my favorite YouTube channels. The cover is absolutely beautiful...and honestly, it just infatuated me. I had to have it.
The story is just as captivating. It's about a woman who inherits a pawnshop that not everyone can find. Most people will see a cozy ramen restaurant, and only the chosen ones...or those who are lost...will find it. Upon entering, they can choose to pawn their life choices or their deepest regrets. But on her first morning as the new owner, she finds the shop ransacked, a precious acquisition stolen, and her father missing. Then a stranger stumbles in and offers to help, and together they journey through a mystical world to find him.
Doesn't that sound so dreamy and whimsical? I'm definitely adding this one to my winter TBR.
6-8. Holy Terrors By Margaret Owen (+ Little Thieves & Painted Devils)
Okay, so I have to be honest about this one...I bought Holy Terrors, which is the third book in the Indie Next series, without owning book one or book two. I just fell in love with the artwork on the cover, and I told myself...if you buy this book, then you have to find the Illumicrate special editions of Little Thieves and Painted Devils.
And after many hours and two days of searching...I found them. The perfect pair on Mercari. One thing I was really concerned about was the condition of the dust jackets, since Little Thieves came out in 2021 and Painted Devils in 2023. But when I got them, I could tell right away they had been well taken care of. For being a few years old, they were in great condition, and I was so happy finally having the complete set!
Without spoiling any of the later books, the first story follows Vanja, a maid who steals the identity and life of a princess using magical pearls. But everything comes with a cost, and when Vanja crosses the wrong god, she's cursed to slowly turn into jewels, and she only has two weeks to lift the curse.
This story sounds so intriguing and enchanting...and I can already sense there's going to be a lot of tension. I just love that feeling of mischief wrapped in consequence.
9. Metallic Realms by Lincoln Michel
Now we're jumping into my OwlCrate Sci-Fi quarterly subscription box, and I'll be honest...the premise of this book is a little confusing and it was difficult to decipher exactly what it's about.
But one thing is for certain...there are solar whales swallowing suns, extraterrestrial romances, interstellar wars, and everything you could ever hope for in a Sci-Fi book. It sounds like an absolute masterpiece!
10. Modern Divination by Isa Agajanian
Modern Divination is dark contemporary fantasy and the first book in the Spells for Life and Death duology. It follows a 23-year-old witch named Aurelia Schwartz, who has always balanced her life carefully as both a human and a magical witch. She attends the elite Cambridge University and has almost everything she could possibly want.
But when her magic begins to fade and she finds out that someone is hunting witches and stealing their powers, she asks her fellow classmate for help. They seek refuge in a remote town, but as she grows closer to him, the witch killer draws nearer and threatens to destroy everything she loves.
This one feels really moody...and there's definitely a slow burn romance brewing in the background. It sounds like there will be tension and secrets that unfold as the story progresses. It sounds really promising!
11. Play Nice by Rachel Harrison
These last two are my Book of the Month choices for September and October, and first up is a horror book titled, Play Nice by Rachel Harrison.
It follows Clio, a star influencer who leads a perfect life, but beneath it all she has a secret...she grew up in a possessed house. After her parents divorced, her mother moved Clio and her sisters into a house occupied by a demon, or at least that's what her mother claimed. But after her mother's sudden death, the supposedly possessed house passes on to Clio and her sisters.
Where Clio sees an opportunity for house flipping, her sisters see childhood trauma. And as memories resurface and Clio finally reads the book her mother wrote about the house, a sinister presence begins to manifest.
I absolutely love reading horror books...they're so thrilling and twisted and creepy. This one feels like Clio is peeling away the wallpaper of her own past, but then realizing the real haunting was never the house...but what happened inside it. Definitely a good pick.
12. Red City by Marie Lu
And last we have my October Book of the Month pick, and it's another fantasy book about alchemy, which is so cool.
In this story, alchemy is a hidden art of transformation exclusive to powerful crime syndicates who market it to the world's elite in the form of sand. Doesn't that sound so familiar? Essentially this drug enhances those who take it into a more perfect version of themselves...more beautiful, more charismatic, and simply more.
The main characters are Sam and Ari, two childhood friends who are part of rival syndicates and get caught between conflict and a coming war. At its core, this is about two people who started with the same dream and ended up on opposite sides of it...which feels so intense and tragic.
It really makes you question what you'd sacrifice to become the best version of yourself, and what the cost of that perfection really is. Definitely another great pick.
Have you read any of these?
And there you have it, my insanely massive book haul!
If you've read any of these books or have any recommendations for what I should absolutely read next, drop them in the comments below. I'd love to hear from you!
If you want to see the full unboxing and my reactions, you can watch the video on my YouTube channel. It's right above this post.
And if you love content like this, when I welcome you to be a part of the hildabear club on YouTube by subscribing. We do lots of fun things on this channel! We are a small but mighty community of other girly nerds & boys who love gaming, disney, reading books, collecting comics, and so many other nerdy hobbies...so come join us!
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