Hook and a Book is a monthly subscription box. Each month you get a new novel, full sized balls of yarn and a pattern(s) relating to the theme of the book, plus a little treat too.

It costs £21 a month, or you may also purchase a one-off box for £24. This seems like quite a hefty price, especially as a seasoned crocheter you’re unlikely to need a new hook each time, particularly a 4mm like I received. It is more expensive than other crochet subscription boxes, but you’re getting a brand new novel too. With these type of subscription boxes you don’t know what you’re getting in advance. I’ve never subscribed to anything similar, but imagine that the element of surprise and feeling like you’ve been given a present must be enjoyable. I certainly felt pleased when my box arrived last Friday. It was nicely presented; with co-ordinating tape, tissue and the font on the pattern cards all a pretty purple.

The little treat was two sachets of Beanies instant coffee, ok so it’s not Haribo, but that’s probably a good thing for my waistline! The Stylecraft aran yarn is going to be really handy for using on other makes as there is plenty left. I enjoyed practising my tapestry crochet skills on the cute paw print mug cozy again. There’s also one with a bone design to make.

I was surprised that there was no picture of the cup cozies in the box. I found out what they looked like after a day or two, by looking on Instagram as people showed their finished items. I’m not sure why this was omitted. I would definitely add one to each box as you naturally want to see what you’re going to be making.

I guess there is always the issue that you might have already read the book of the month, or it’s not a genre you enjoy, but as a frequent regifter I do not see this as being too much of a problem. I’ll give the cup cozy and book to my friend. As a new dog owner she’ll really appreciate both. I have seen on IG that others have paired up; with one reading the book and the other doing the crochet, which seems like a nice plan.

Subscribers receive a password to a Hints and Tips podcast on Vimeo. Maddie makes a cup holder, or maybe both, designed by Simply Hooked by Janet, I admit that I didn’t watch all of the tutorial. What I watched (about 30 minutes) is mostly in real time, apart from a few speeded up sections. I felt the process could have been edited to speed it up; as at nearly an hour it felt far too long. I just wanted to see Maddie demonstrating how-tos for tapestry crochet, rather than watch the whole process of chaining 30+ stitches and double crochet. This might be a personal preference, as others may enjoy crocheting along and need help with tapestry crochet. She did remind me of a neat trick I’d forgotten, where you can keep your chain from twisting before joining it into a round.

Vimeo do not, as yet, have the function to go back or forward for so many seconds at a time, like other online sites. This makes it tricky to skip parts, or go back to re-watch others; you end up watching the same sections. Maddie does endeavour to make it fun, telling cracker type jokes as she goes. This was my fave:

Why did the sheep stop going to bars? She didn’t like getting carded.

Boom-tish!

The background music though, oh the music! It gets really annoying which was the main reason why I couldn’t bring myself to crochet along any longer. It’s repetitive and seemed overly loud. But of course you’re not obliged to watch the podcast to do the crochet. I put my own music on and used the charted version of the pattern (both kinds of pattern are included) and really enjoyed the hooky, sitting in the autumn sun.

There are pro and cons to any subscription box; one month there might be one which really takes your fancy and another which misses. The yarn and pattern(s) in this one-off Hook and a Book box were good, the book is clearly brand new and arrived in excellent condition. If you’d like to subscribe here’s a link to Hook and a Book.

26/09/17 Maddie is offering readers 10% off your first box. If you’re interested click HERE.

**A one-off box was supplied by the creator for my review. All opinions are mine and completely honest.**