Absolutely gorgeous book! I hadn't seen any reviews from a bullet journaler's perspective so I figured I'd give a comprehensive review:
First off, things you can't see in the product photos: the gilded page edges are gold, and the ribbon is red. Ribbon color doesn't exactly match the rest of the book (it's more geared towards the red/black colorway) but it's still nice. There is one ribbon bookmark and not two, which I understand is typical for this brand. (I make heavy use of two bookmarks, so I just bought the matching bookmark to supplement the ribbon one.)
I got the dot grid version, and while it claims to have 180 pages, 2 of those (the first and last page) are blank and not dotted, so really it's 178 dotted pages. Which is still more than an industry standard 160/176, just be aware!
The A5 dot grid paper in this is not industry standard but something unique to Quirky Cup. The dot grid is very slightly smaller (somewhere between 4-5mm I believe) and extends further to the edges of the paper (smaller white margins) than a standard bullet journal. There are also just more of them - a typical bujo is 26x38 squares, and this one is 30x40. The printing also extends closer to the edges of the page so keep that in mind when planning your layouts! The dot grid is faint and lovely, not too dark at all (which I've heard was previously an issue with some older releases).
The paper itself is also not true white but a slightly warmer white, not quite cream but just enough to add a rustic touch. I've attached an image comparing it to typical bujo paper from another popular brand. I like the paper color on this one!
I'm giving this 4 stars only because while the paper is thick and does not bleed (even three layers of highlighter did not bleed through!), typical writing, even with a Quirky Cup pen, does ghost noticeably. (An image of ghosting through my pen test is attached to this review.) For a book at this price point and 160 gsm I would expect no ghosting with a regular ballpoint or gel pen. It's also missing an elastic strap to hold it shut or any kind of pocket folder, but thankfully the latter is easy to DIY by sacrificing a couple pages and they make accessories for the former on Amazon/Etsy (but I would totally buy a cute matching Quirky Cup book elastic).
I also got the matching bookmark, pen and washi tape set and everything is absolutely gorgeous! I'm really looking forward to setting up my new bujo for 2026 in this notebook!! 💖