Have You Tried a Blind Date With a Book?

I met my husband on a blind date. Now I can see how blind dates can not work out, and probably most of the time that’s the case. But for me, that date was successful and life changing.

But what about with a book?

I guess the idea of a surprise book is engaging. The Blind Date With a Book phenomenon is everywhere these days. I see books wrapped up in all the bookstores now. I’ve spotted them in gift shops. And I’ve seen them online. They have hints to guide you. The packaging usually lists genre and some tropes that might intrigue you.

I was online when I found this particular Blind Date book that I am featuring in this post. The vendor is a friend of a friend, and a small business owner, so I had to check it out. I love supporting small businesses and indie authors. The site is at: https://shopmonicaleigh.com/. Her shop sells graphic tees, accessories, beauty and self care items, and gift boxes too, but the book was what I honed in on. I ordered it maybe a month ago or more, but my life has been too chaotic to check it out until now.

The categories available on this site include romance, fantasy, personal development, thriller and Christian Faith. I chose fantasy, since it’s one of my favorite genres.

Each Blind Date with a Book that she sells is wrapped in fun paper and includes some surprises. Your paper and your goodies will probably vary from what I show in my pictures.

What you might find includes:

• bookmark(s)
• beverage(s) (a tea/a coffee/a cocktail etc.)
• book review tracker
• pens, highlighters, pencils, etc.
• post-it notes/flags
• paperclips & other stationary
• stickers
• among other goodies

This is how my book arrived. I have a nice thank you card. The paper was slightly ripped on the edge, but it didn’t spoil the surprise. You can see all the fun goodies tucked into the wrap.

Here’s a closer look at the exact stickers and ephemera that I received. The book flags are wonderful for annotating for a review and I love that I got multiple colors. The flower shaped post its are delightful. I got two cute bookmarks, several stickers for a water bottle or a journal, a flower shaped paper clip and a couple pens (one not pictured). Let’s be honest, the book related goodies are almost as fun as the book itself.

Blind dates with a book can obviously be a risk. You can always get a book that won’t appeal. Choosing a book sight unseen may not be for everyone. It’s like getting a book as a gift from a friend who just knows your general taste in genre and maybe some tropes. It’s also kind of similar to having a book subscription box where you get a book every month plus book related goodies and don’t always get to choose the book in question. I have had those subscriptions in the past and occasionally I got a dud. I typically donated those or gifted them to friends or family who would enjoy it more. A situation like that doesn’t bother me too much, and I am prepared to take that chance for the experience. This one worked out well for me and I am looking forward to reading it.

Now for the book. I’ll drop a photo below and tell you about it, but since I don’t know if Monica Leigh uses the same book on repeat for some of her fantasy blind books (I suspect that’s not a huge risk), I will put some space below before the photo and description so that you can opt out of the spoiler if you’d like to. Scroll down to get the details if you do want to see what I got!

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The book I received is The Song of the Marked, book one in Shadows & Crowns, by SM Gaither. It was published in 2020.

The story features a mercenary who needs to earn enough to buy the expensive medicine she uses to keep her mentor alive. The king offers her a job that she can’t resist, but it means that she’ll be working with the king’s annoying right hand man. Their assignment is to find a cure to the plague ravaging the land. But of course, nothing is as straightforward as it ought to be.

This fantasy appears to be some level of enemies to lovers romance. On research about the book, I find that the themes include a strong female protagonist, anxiety representation, unique magic, and a slow-burn romance. Since it is a quest to find a cure for a fictional plague and I have a pharmacy background, I think I will really enjoy this.

That said, I have a very full reading schedule right now, so it may be a while until I get to this book, but I wanted to post about the vendor and the experience in case others want to try it too, for the chance at a fun summer read.

Would you or have you ever tried a blind date with a book? If you did, was it a fun surprise or a disappointment? Thanks for reading!