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I spent all of yesterday re-organizing my skincare tower. Tower makes it seem like a huge deal. It's a small little multi-drawer unit. It's small, I swear! It's just tall. I organized it the exact same. Total waste of my time but my brain likes it. My Chronicle Book Box is my UK book subscription box. I picked the quarterly option and the mystery/thriller genre. It's really a brilliant box. There are three books, newly released included. Plus, some little goodies that tend to be quite thrilling to my eye. I've gotten "goodies" from other boxes that are crap or just filler. They are a UK box. I do pay more for shipping but it's worth it for me. Just something to note. 
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I was pretty excited to begin this book. I love books about art crime (Mostly the gentleman thief variety). Art and antiquities crime is a huge international black market. Truly harrowing to think about. Adam Worth was a master criminal, known for his frauds and deceptions, but also for stealing a painting of Georgianna Cavendish (Duchess of something) by Thomas Gainsborough. There are run-ins with the Pinkertons (before they became totally union busting jerkfaces), safe cracking, crimes across Europe and America. Adam Worth is also the supposed inspiration for Moriarity in the Sherlock Holmes books. Allegedly. Ben Macintyre does talk about this in one of the chapters, so fun to read about it.  For the Book Drop in February, I received a romance option. I have the mix of romance and fantasy, so they switch off depending on the month. I'm behind in my reading from subscription boxes so I haven't yet read this title. The book drop is my monthly book subscription (I also get a quarterly one from the UK). I enjoy it because my taste is different than The Book Drop's taste/selection, so I get to try new authors. Which I need help with as I tend to read the same authors over and over (no complaints...I just end up in the mystery section every time).  Anne Stuart is probably one of my favorite authors. I tend to go to her when I get in a book slump (the Ice and Fire series usually). She bounces around different sub-genres in the romance genre, so she's done romantic-suspense, gothics, historical, contemporaries, etc. This one follows a bit of noir bent (in the sense that it plays with it). I found this one in my local used bookstore, but some of her older releases can be rough to find! Sometimes she releases a kindle version, so that's been great. She has a lot of books out...like a lot. She's a reader's dream come true. I've seen this likened to Catspaw, and I can see it. It's a bit zanier than that one to me, but I get it!  November isn't as bad as last May. I'm getting closer. Sorta! Macy's is my only beauty box that I get. I stay subscribed because sometimes their waitlist is impossible. I tend to have more hits than misses with the box. Only giving away a few things. This month's theme was Yves Saint Laurent. I like YSL makeup, although it can be on the higher end. I also have some of their fragrances, so I was quite excited for this box. I believe this is the second brand take over, with the first being Jo Malone. I like these high-end takeovers. The bag even matches! It's a brown/purple (almost eggplant?) YSL bag.   Ooo, we're getting into my favorite subject matter in nonfiction---artsy farsty stuff. LOVE it. I'll read anything with art theft, art forgery, and art history. Endless fascinated. I took a lot of classes in art history and humanities in college (way back when), so this book wasn't filled with all new information for me. I loved re-exploring it though. Alexander Lee focuses on the Renaissance period and touches on the money and power that moved the art to its greatest zenith for the time. Michelangelo, Brunelleschi, and Raphael were just a few of the artists that were patronized by the wealthy and powerful (like the Popes, the Medicis, the royal families of Europe, etc.) that were in constant power struggles with each other and within their own ranks. It's truly fascinating...even if you don't like art.  Oh gosh. May 2021? The Pandemic really wrecked me didn't it? Well, I mean it did. I stayed on my couch for most of it and binged true crime shows. Uuuggghhh.... Postmark'd is a card subscription service that I desperately need. I don't really have a nice shop for that stuff where I live. It's a bit of a bummer. Lots of monogram places...but my monogram isn't thrilling. Anyways, May 2021 had a lovely spring theme.
 Samantha Irby has a really eye-catching cover design for her books. I picked up another one because there was a cat on the cover (it was bright yellow I think?). She's an award-winning essayist that really knows how to land a story. I tend to remember and think about her stories way after I've shut the book. I mean, they aren't all deep and serious, but I wasn't expecting to really have them stay with me like they have. Plus, there's a lot of funny moments.   Isn't this stunning? Papergang has been doing a lot of geomatic themes, but they went back to a more romantic theme with this month. It's lovely. I really enjoyed No. 59, which I'm guessing might be February 2021...oh gosh. That's way behind on my end. A whole year. Surely not. Am I that behind?? I'm going to go with I just missed this one. Yup. Sure.
The desktop or mobile background is here on their blog. I don't download all their backgrounds, but I did with this one. I love the romantic aspect of the work. Papergang site: This is for sale in their online shop if you just want this box. It's called the Blushed Blossom Box and is about $26. It includes all that's in the box below:
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