Once Upon a Book Club Review

Saturday, September 14th

2024 Book Club Reviews

Once Upon a Book Club

• Membership costs from $49 per month or up to $570 per year
• 1 book per month
• Staff chooses for you
• Options for kids and adults
• Flexible pause option
• Popular genres and literary fiction
• 4.7-star rating

Once Upon a Book Club offers an engaging reading adventure primarily for women aged 18 and above, though they have expanded to offer YA options as well. Each month, you'll receive a curated box containing a newly released book, either in paperback or hardcover format, along with 3-5 meticulously-wrapped gifts. These gifts are thoughtfully labeled with page numbers and intended to be unveiled at specific points in the story, so your gifts feel like you're participating in the narrative. Recognized by prominent media outlets such as Today, Woman's World, and Forbes, Once Upon a Book Club has garnered attention for its innovative approach to storytelling.

Tons of books to choose from and unique ways to read

You can select from a wide range of genres, including romance, mystery, historical fiction, literary fiction, and magical realism. There are over 70 different books in Once Upon A Book Club's online store as well as a fun selection of "speed dating with a book” novels where you buy a book without any info except the genre and have a "blind date”. Some of the novels offered include The Bridgerton Collection (historical romance) by Julia Quinn, All Our Shimmering Skies (literary fiction) by Trent Dalton, and Bright Star (fantasy) by Erin Swan.

Previews and hints for upcoming shipments

Your box subscriptions are 100% a surprise, but you do have control over a few things. First, you can choose between the box types: adult, YA, and tween. For the tween boxes, you'll see exactly what the book is in each upcoming shipment; that way when you're buying for a tween, you'll know but they can still be surprised. For the YA and Adult novels, you'll be given a hint as to the genre and general topic of the book. One hint for an upcoming box was "War of the Wicked” with a photo of a girl holding a fantasy-style sword. If you don't like your upcoming book, you can pause shipment for your subscription and wait until the following month's book to restart.

Higher pricing for immersive gifts

Making it simple compared to other services that offer multiple box types, Once Upon a Book Club has the same price for each box type. The only changes come depending on whether you want to pay month to month, quarterly, bi-annually, or each year. The prices range from:

• $49 per month
• $145 for 3 months
• $289 for 6 months
• $570 per year

The prices are pretty high for a box that offers just 1 book per month, but there are a lot of gifts included in the box to make up the price difference. The gifts accompanying a Once Upon a Book Club box range from keys and necklaces to letters and cooking items, all intricately connected to the storyline of the featured book. You will also receive a 5x7 quote print, discussion questions, and read-along dates for live discussions, fostering a sense of community among fellow readers.

Flexible payment and pause periods

Opting for longer subscription durations translates to cost savings, with prices per box decreasing as the subscription period extends. Once you commit to a subscription, it automatically renews until canceled. Shipments are dispatched at the end of each month, with free shipping provided for added convenience, and you can pause shipments any time before the shipment period and restart whenever you want.

Buy books anytime

If you can't get enough reading with one book per month, you can also shop for books directly from Once Upon a Book Club's library. The books range from $16 to $35 per copy as standalone purchases, with options for hardcover and paperback available.

Happy readers love the quality

There isn't a lot of feedback from subscribers, but what we found is pretty impressive. Between two review sites that focus on subscription services, Once Upon a Book Club earned a 4.1-star rating average from one and a 4.7-star average from another. Reviews underscore the well-written books selected by Once Upon a Book Club and the enjoyable and immersive reading experience from the gifts. Readers chose to stay with Once Upon a Book Club because the books were so good; multiple readers said they "couldn't put them down” and the gifts were really a bonus to the experience for most reviewers.

Top pick for immersive experience

While slightly pricier than some alternatives, Once Upon a Book Club offers a unique and immersive reading journey enriched by its accompanying gifts. Customers love the gifts and the way they support the individual stories, and the book selections themselves receive high praise, making Once Upon a Book Club an appealing choice for adult, young adult, and tween readers seeking a distinctive reading adventure. For this reason, it earns a very high rating in our review and sits as one of our top book club options overall.