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Rainbow Crate – The world’s #1 LGBTQIA+ monthly Book Subscription Box!
STATUS 9/20/2021: As stated before, September boxes will be shipped around the 27th (as opposed to the 25th) in order to accommodate the September 31st release date for Dark Rise.
Subscriptions are sold out! If you would like to start a subscription, we are operating a first-come-first-serve waitlist. You can join by clicking the button below (opens email client) or sending an email to waitlist@rainbowcratebookbox.com (feel free to send us a short message but not required)! You will receive an automatic response (check your junk folder), and when there is a free spot, they will be offered to persons on the waitlist in the order signed up.
OCTOBER 2021 THEME:
Buckle up, Rainbow Readers, because these hallowed halls are filled with something dark… Something layered and mysterious, and a little creepy… Something potentially tinted with the dregs of magic. October is going to be a wild ride, so join us in celebrating one of our favorite tropes… DARK ACADEMIA!
Our October book is actually Rainbow Crate’s first ever adult choice… and oh, wow, is it a good one. We’re proud to include the fresh, prickly Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo!
****Note: Summer Sons is an absolutely phenomenal book – one of our favorites of the year – but it does discuss a few heavy topics (listed here after the book summary). If you have any questions about any of the content warnings and whether you would be able to read it safely, please don’t hesitate to email or DM us on any of our social media and we will answer any questions the best we can!
SUMMARY:
Best friends bonded more deeply than brothers, Andrew and Eddie did everything together until Eddie left for a graduate program at Vanderbilt University. Six months later – only days before Andrew was to join him in Nashville – Eddie dies of an apparent suicide. He leaves Andrew a horrible inheritance: unimaginable wealth, a roommate he doesn’t know, friends he never asked for, and an angry phantom with bleeding wrists muttering of revenge.
As Andrew searches for the truth of Eddie’s death, he uncovers the lies and secrets left behind by the person he trusted most and a family history filled with ancient curses and hungry things that lurk in the woods. Summer Sons whirls between the increasingly dark academic world Eddie spent his days in and the circle of hot boys, fast cars, and hard drugs that ruled Eddie’s nights. And among all of this, the walls Andrew had built against the truth of himself begin to crumble.
Brand new hardcovers of Summer Sons will be included with hand-signed bookplates and an author letter from Lee Mandelo themselves!
Queer rep: multiple gay, bi, pan male mc & scs, bi or pan trans male sc, mlm (various identities, multiple pairs), polyam V (mmf)
Other rep: asian sc, depression
CW: smoking, recreational drug use (mj, cocaine, molly), discussion of suicide, suicidal imagery, blood & gore depiction, alcohol abuse, driving while intoxicated and while high, sexual situations (fairly graphic), slurs, internalized homophobia, strangulation, murder, child abuse
Our ebook for October is Shepherd of Souls by Liv Savell and Sterling D’Este! More info coming in a future post!
OCTOBER FANDOMS:
– ACE OF SPADES by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé (monthly magnet) (wlm (bi f, bi m), wlw (both bi/pan), mlm (both gay), mlm (gay, bi))
– PLAIN BAD HEROINES by Emily M Danforth (lesbian, bi f, bi/pan f, gay, polyam triad)
– THE RAVEN CYCLE by Maggie Stiefvater (mlm (gay, bi))
– A LIGHT AMONGST THE SHADOWS by Kelley York and Rowan Altwood (mlm (bi, gay))
– You can expect something related to each of these books, as well as our main book! Including something handy for your phone, something fun for your fridge, drinkware and more! Our fandom items are, as always, exclusive to this box!
NEW SUBSCRIPTION SPOTS for October will not be open to the public. We will contact people on the waitlist in the order they emailed for any open spots. You can join the waitlist by emailing WAITLIST@RAINBOWCRATEBOOKBOX.COM. Our next big increase will be next month, Nov 2021.
ABOUT US:
Hi! We are Jamie and Danielle – an artist and a librarian by trade!
We, like a lot of you, love love love book boxes. But we had come to notice that it seemed like queer fictional couples (even main couples) were being overlooked in favor of straight ones in. We looked and looked for a queer subscription box, but while there are a lot of great boxes, there just wasn’t one focused on lgbt+ lit.
So, we started to toss around the idea of creating our own box. A book box seemed kind of daunting. It would be a LOT of work (we had no idea how much, but we do now). What if we did all this and nobody cared?
But the thing is…. we just love love love queer books. We want to read them. We want to see merchandise featuring queer pairs (of all sorts!!). We want to make people excited to open a box and (hopefully) love all of the things that we lovingly curated inside. And so, we talked about it. We asked around in book communities. We got a mentor . And ultimately, we decided that we had to give it a shot. Nobody else was going to! And so… here we are!
This is THAT queer book box that we wanted!
Our Neil & Andrew collectible magnet from our Feb. 2021 crate. Photo courtesy of shelf_blame.
Our nightlight inspired by The Bright Sessions. Photo courtesy of regal_leaves.
our The Song of Achilles tumbler and Carry On chopstick set. Photo courtesy of awildbooknerdappeared.
Photo courtesy of regal_leaves.
what is a book box?
A book box is a subscription service where subscribers receive a box, usually monthly, containing a new-release book and book-related goodies! Most boxes are limited in quantity, and once that box is gone, it’s gone. Genres and age ranges of the book vary depending on the box (in case you haven’t guessed, we are only doing books with major queer characters in them! More about that later this week!). The goodies made for that month’s box are curated by the box, and not available for sale any other way. Most boxes have between 3-5 goodies in addition to the featured book of the month, and all of them relate to a theme.
Photo of our June 2021 crate courtesy of shelf_blame.
Photo of our Timekeeper pin from the September 2020 Crate courtesy of Manicfemme.
Photo of our September book and metalmark courtesy of Merrowchild.
Photo of our OCTOBER 2020 DARIUS THE GREAT IS NOT OKAY GLASS MUG courtesy of awildbooknerdappeared.
how does it work?
curate
We start by requesting upcoming lgbt-related manuscripts from publishers. And then, we hunker down and start reading. A lot. We create lists of our favorites, and then discuss what book we want to feature that month. From there, we start talking to our contact at the publishing house and secure an OK that we will be able to feature that book.
After the book is set, together we choose a theme that fits the book, and fandoms that would fit within that. We chose very popular fandoms for our first box, but from here on out, we plan a range of popular and more obscure fandoms. There are a lot of great stories out there that just aren’t being discovered! Then, we discuss items, and after a loooooooot of work, voila!
subscribe
Choose your plan! We offer 1, 3, and 6 month subscriptions. You don’t have to worry — your box will come until you cancel! We also have limited one-time boxes while supplies are available.
Plans start at $39.99 monthly,
plus shipping. We are a new company, so we have a little higher shipping than some, but we are working to get you the best! If and when we get better discounts, we will pass the savings on to you!
arrive
Your Rainbow Crate is delivered to your address by a charming postal worker.
We ship each monthly crate during the third full week of the month! If you’re unsure of when that is, please don’t hesitate send us an email!
enjoy!
Read your book and enjoy discovering your items! Please let us know what you think! We love to get comments and photos on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and in our email!
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