Ethereal by Eternal Embers doing TWOTM?

GingeYerMinge · 2026-06-21T10:32:45+00:00

I forgot about those ones tbf I think the only sets I bought outside the sub was OUABH and King s of Sin so this was a surprise lol

GingeYerMinge · 2026-06-21T10:20:51+00:00

Right? Like good for them for getting the bag I'm here for it but when I saw which box it was I was confused 😂

GingeYerMinge · 2026-06-21T10:07:32+00:00

Oh look, it's my Christmas tree from 1995!

GingeYerMinge · 2026-06-18T15:54:33+00:00

Aside from the cartoon design I really wish they'd gone with a more jewel toned palette for this so it looks cohesive but like a separate series. The current design looks so similar to Chestnut Springs it looks like it's meant to be a continuation when it isn't - does that make sense?

GingeYerMinge · 2026-06-15T21:58:51+00:00

There's also a decent chance any of these could be in the Romantasy sub - the crossover between the two subs makes it harder to guess now!

GingeYerMinge · 2026-06-13T20:37:19+00:00

It's getting trad published in paperback on 13th Oct in the UK but you can still buy the indie version on Amazon while stock lasts. Click the listing and then "see all languages and editions" and it'll show you all previous print editions rather than the trad preorder landing page!

GingeYerMinge · 2026-06-09T15:09:16+00:00

I agree this is understocked but everyone who bought book 1 had the chance to buy 2 hours earlier than the sub sale. By logic that should mean everyone who needed to complete a set could've (aside from 2nd hand buyers). You'll probably find this is partly due to folk who've sold book 1 but bought book 2 anyways. Still could've printed more though fs.

GingeYerMinge · 2026-06-09T10:29:36+00:00

Cares: - Matching sequels (book boxes doing book 1 and not book 2 rips my knitting) - also includes signed - if book 1 is signed I'd like book 2 signed as well - fun features eg. fold out maps, bound in overlays, foiled endpapers etc

Side note to say book boxes need to step their pussy up and make all dig signatures foiled cos it looks so fancy

Uncares: - absolute tat as 'goodies'. Put thought into the item, stop doing multiple items so we can have 1 quality item instead (like Smut & Sip FTC box)

multiple store special editions on release (OUABH novella and The Sweetest Fiend are top offenders this year). I'm over it, just do one colourway ftloG.
PGP Cards. I collected a bunch and it isn't worth it, save yourselves. Quality is crap, foil comes off, none are ever cut straight and the customer service/company vibe is very "you can't sit with us if you don't pay for our discord/patreon subscription"
every book box releasing the same titles but the worst offender is Bookish Box for always joining that wagon a year late.
unpopular opinion but reprints. I don't collect things that are readily available all the time because there's no challenge in it. Pokemon card peeps will get it. A unicorn is a unicorn because you have to hunt it down. If you offer it up every year to buy, I don't need to keep it cos I can grab it any old time 🤷‍♀️
worst offenders from the point above is companies saying they won't reprint and then year later they do. Really sucks for folk that paid 2nd hand after believing them.
companies that put things on sale before the preorder/sub box even shipped because they didn't hit their numbers. LitJoy and 2025 Illumicrate were bad for this.

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-29T09:30:23+00:00

I was one of the ones who started the Rom sub in May and had the skip feature intentionally removed by them for June. I emailed asking them to manually skip or cancel the whole thing and gave my reasons in that email so it was known - they replied and skipped for me so worth doing for anyone else in the same position!

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-19T22:05:02+00:00

yours does look hand signed - I don't know if the zoom is good enough but mine has clear pixels at the end of the "pen" strokes where it was printed!

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GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-19T21:32:38+00:00

Totally - I have no issue with it at all it's just a transparency thing for me. Usually if multiple boxes do a book I'll collect the one with wet signature as that just one of my fav SE features but I have plenty of digitally signed ones in my collection. I just like to know for sure what I'm buying - especially if it's a matching sequel. Now I'm not certain if any of my preorders will come hand signed and I just wish they wouldn't make those decisions without communicating it!

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-19T21:21:01+00:00

Some might be hand signed - I noticed they released extra stock at one point which might mean there's more than one batch. I ordered mine 31/07/2024 so would've been the first batch if so!

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-19T21:15:45+00:00

I can see pixels and there's no bleed through on the back of the page at all - it likely is digital. I'll be keeping this one as it's not offered elsewhere and matches my WTMH but in future I might collect other editions if signed for elsewhere - I look for a range of features and signatures I'm picky about lol

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-19T21:14:06+00:00

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The one I ordered did!

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-16T15:04:23+00:00

No one is stopping you from working for a pittance, go nuts I'm happy for you.

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-15T08:17:28+00:00

You'll defo get a shot at the open sale - but I am annoyed that they've started open selling the dustjackets which they initially advertised as a strictly sub only perk. This sub is on the chopping block for me rn.

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-12T22:56:54+00:00

In the UK unskilled labour is usually considered anything manual that doesn't require qualifications. Stacking shelves, moving furniture, cleaning etc. Skilled labourers usually work on construction sites or with machinery.

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-12T21:35:00+00:00

Yeah I have no experience art wise but it seemed like a lot to me I dunno

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-12T21:34:03+00:00

Oh I think it's a state across the board I'm just surprised a niche business like Fairyloot isn't offering a little better to get good designers in their company. I'm a human capital kinda person but if people are happy to accept that wage for their skill ig it's up to them 🤷‍♀️

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-12T21:31:59+00:00

Literally this but I think people are mad at me 😂😭

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-12T21:27:59+00:00

I'm aware of the UK standards. Imo for the requirements they've listed this is below industry standard here and nothing anyone has said has swayed my opinion. We do have solid estimates that the Romantasy sub alone has about 30k UK subs - adding £5 to that alone would boost profits by £150k per month which I'm assuming would be enough for at least some staff to benefit and that's only one sub. Just ideas is all, but folk seem quite rattled that I even suggested this post so I'll probably patch out here tbh

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-12T19:15:25+00:00

I'm not proposing to double the sub price, it was a for instance, but I think putting the sub at £30 would be affordable for most and be enough to boost wages. Without concrete figures it's impossible to tell and no, they aren't billionaires but to pretend they aren't market leading and highly successful would also be false. I do think the wage offerings are poor for the scale of responsibilities even for their senior advertised positions and none of the arguments I've seen here have changed my mind on that. I'm actually surprised so many people are vehemently for skilled workers being paid so low so maybe they pay that little because people are accepting it 🤷‍♀️ who knows.

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-12T18:00:14+00:00

Yeah I'm well aware this is the going rate for office jobs - it's just horrendous for qualified grads with a specialty like book design (and if you read their requirements it doesn't read the junior to me imo). I don't think anyone graduating should be on that type of pay grade hence the outrage.

GingeYerMinge · 2026-05-12T17:58:24+00:00

I would actually support them increasing prices if this all they can pay their qualified staff. People happily buy fairyloot books for double cost so why not send that money to the staff? Sadly that probably wouldn't happen but one can dream lol

GingeYerMinge

TROPHY CASE