I Read Just Enough to Open the Gifts: Once Upon a Book Club’s Beauty & the Vampire Box

Full box spoilers ahead: This post reveals the book and every gift included in the August Beauty & the Vampire Adult Box. If you have this box waiting for you and want to be surprised, this is your chance to back away slowly.

I should begin with a confession: Once Upon a Book Club intends for readers to wait until they reach the marked pages before opening the corresponding gifts.

That is a lovely concept for people who possess patience.

I am not one of those people.

Instead, I opened Vow of Eternal Night by Lily Crozier, read the passages surrounding each marked page and immediately opened the gifts. Have I read the entire book yet? No. Did I technically read the relevant parts first? Yes. I’m counting it.

So this is not a review of the novel—at least not yet. It is a full-spoiler unboxing and my honest first impression of the four gifts inside Once Upon a Book Club’s August Beauty & the Vampire Adult Box.

Before the Unwrapping

The presentation was part of the experience before I opened; I even took a video of all the gifts still wrapped up because so much detail went into them. Each package had its own shape, paper and page-number label, all coordinated around the Beauty & the Vampire theme.

The August Beauty & the Vampire Adult Box - Before my patience left the building.

Naturally, Tigger and Stormi supervised from the bed because the cats have no privacy and neither do I.

I pay $89.99 plus shipping for both the Adult and Young Adult boxes together, so that amount is not the price of this Adult box alone. Looking at the complete experience—the book, four gifts and themed presentation—I felt the bundle was worth what I paid.

Now let’s open everything. Or, more accurately, let’s look at everything I already opened because waiting was never a realistic possibility.

Page 100: The Bat-Wing Teacup and Saucer

The first gift was a black-and-red bat-wing teacup and matching saucer with a wonderfully dramatic bat-wing handle.

The clear winner - and a very dramatic addition to my former teacup collection.

This was easily my favorite item in the box. I collected teacups in the past, so finding one inside immediately felt personal—even though the people packing the box obviously had no way of knowing that. It feels sturdy and genuinely usable rather than like something made only for display.

The one catch is that hand washing is recommended. Apparently, my beautiful vampire teacup expects special treatment. Honestly, it will probably get it.

Page 173: Vampire Blood Bubble Bath

The second gift was a large bottle of Vampire Blood bubble bath, packaged in a black-and-red bat-covered box that fit the theme perfectly.

A perfectly themed gift with nowhere to soak.

It is nice, and I like the scent even though I cannot quite determine what that scent actually is. This ended up being my least-favorite gift for one reason only: I do not currently have a way to take a bath.

That is not the bubble bath’s fault. It showed up prepared to do its job. My life simply failed to provide it with the necessary bathtub situation.

Page 312: The Dagger Keychain

The third gift was a silver dagger keychain with a red stone and plenty of tiny gothic drama.

Bookshelf decoration or purse charm? The jury is still out.

I would actually use it, although I have not decided what “use” means yet. It may become a charm on one of my purses, or it may end up displayed on my bookshelves with the rest of my bookish treasures. Either way, it is not headed for a forgotten junk drawer.

Page 385: The Black Gloves

The final gift was a pair of long black gloves with a small bow and white detailing at the cuff.

Soft on the inside and potentially useful now that I live somewhere with winter.

They are surprisingly soft on the inside, and I can genuinely see myself wearing them. After living in Florida for roughly 25 years, I now live somewhere that has the audacity to experience actual cold weather. Tennessee Rebecca may get far more use from these than Florida Rebecca ever would have.

Was the Box Worth It?

For me, yes.

The teacup was the clear winner, the gloves are soft and practical, and the dagger keychain will either decorate a purse or join my bookshelf collection. Even the bubble bath—the one item I cannot currently use—was attractive, generously sized and completely on theme.

What made the box feel special was not just receiving four objects. It was the care put into the wrapping, the connection between each gift and its passage, and the fun of seeing the story translated into something tangible.

Would the experience have lasted longer if I had read the entire book and waited patiently for every marked page?

Probably.

Was that ever going to happen once four wrapped presents were sitting in front of me?

Absolutely not.

I will share my thoughts on Vow of Eternal Night after I actually read the parts between the presents. Until then, the August Beauty & the Vampire box gets a yes from me—and the bat-wing teacup gets permanent residence in my collection.

Which gift would you have opened first—and would you honestly have waited until page 385?

Disclosure: I purchased this subscription with my own money. This post is not sponsored, and all opinions are entirely my own.