AD – Today we are reviewing Your Paper Quest which is a UK self-published monthly book subscription service that has been brought to you by reader and Instagrammer Ryan Haidar and Indie author Steven William Hannah.

The book subscription service was created to give self-published authors greater exposure whilst at the same time giving readers the chance to broaden their minds to books that they might not have otherwise picked up.

Each month the team put together a different mystery theme and then chose books from self-published authors that highlight different perspectives of that theme. The theme that I received was ‘Horrors Beyond Comprehension’.

Each monthly letterbox-sized package contains at least two self-published books that have a minimum of 500 pages between them. Alongside the books, the subscriber will receive curated bookmarks and notes from the authors, plus, an invitation to their virtual book club via a QR code in the package, where the subscriber will have a chance to meet other subscribers and ask questions to be put to the authors when they are interviewed by Your Paper Quest at the end of the month!

The cost to subscribe is £18 per month, including shipping.

The first thing I noticed before opening my package was that it fit through my letterbox. Secondly, was the packaging which contained the company stamp, my blog name swirled on the front, and a ‘Your Story Awaits’ message, giving it a personal feel. There was also a company sticker on the back and the books had been sent via Royal Mail 48-hour tracked service. You can say I’m easily pleased. But these little touches do make a difference.

Upon opening the cardboard envelope I noticed that there were not two books but three inside, alongside the bookmarks (which contained quotes/passages from the authors), small notes about the books inside each book, a theme leaflet, and a leaflet about self-publishing services including a discount code.

As stated above this month’s theme was ‘Horrors Beyond Comprehension’ and the three books included were:-

Somewhere on the coast of England, Neverbury a little quaint seaside town with the kind of problems that a lot of quaint little English seaside towns have these days… demons, serial killers, immortals, thieves, time travellers, ghosts, vampires, haunted houses, witches, an extraordinarily strident village council, and monsters.

There are the gods above and the great thing below… praise them all.

When the plumbing around the centre of West Crumb starts to overflow, everyone believes the problem is a series of badly blocked drains.

What they don’t expect is a fatberg the size of a double-decker bus.

Council worker Ronald Pile is tasked with clearing the horrible mass, but soon finds himself dealing with a bureaucracy that works deep behind the scenes of the local council. Meanwhile, student Laura Bennett begins to notice how the fatberg seems to be influencing those around town.

Then, the reality of what the fatberg contains is revealed, and it begins to sprout.

Christmas and Magic intertwine throughout the holiday season to create joy, hope and love.

From elves solving disasters to angelic visitors, from opinionated talking toys to the temptation of the faerie folk, the stories in this collection bring more than a hint of magic to brighten winter evenings.

Includes “The Sleigh Crash of ’74”, “Angels We Have Heard”, “Toy Shop Nights”, “Rules” and “Christmas Pipes”

I was impressed by the quality of the books, and the package as a whole. I even worked out the price of the three books (via Amazon) and whilst the subscription costs £18 and has free delivery, the books totalled over £24 (prices correct as of 19/12/23) and obviously wouldn’t come with bookmarks or notes either, so all in all the Your Paper Quest book subscription is well worth it, plus, you are helping self-published authors gain exposure.

You know what is also amazing about this subscription service is that Self-Published authors can submit their books to be featured in upcoming monthly themes.

If you are a self-published author, from anywhere in the world, though you must write in English, you can submit your story through their ‘Submissions’ page (check out their guidelines on the page first). Don’t forget to include a cover letter.