Mini Mysteries: Cutebee’s Rose Detective Agency Book Nook Solves It All! – A Review!

I recently decided to create another book nook kit by Cutebee: the “Rose Detective Agency”, because: why not? Crafting this tiny detective’s office was a blast, I really think they are getting better and better.

Each detail, from the tiny magnifying glass to the actual “crime scene” involved, had me hooked, and even laughed out loud! Now that I’ve completed it, I couldn’t wait to share my thoughts with you all. So, here it is – my Cutebee Book Nook Review.

As an Amazon and Etsy associate, I earn a small commission from your purchase, with no extra charges for you.

What are book nooks again and who is “Cutebee”?


Book nooks are basically miniature dioramas that fit between your books on a shelf, creating a tiny world on your bookshelf.

So you can create book nooks yourself, but there are plenty of DIY kits available online in all kinds of themes, even Diagon Alleys and Magical ones.

Cutebee is a brand known for its incredibly detailed and charming DIY miniature kits, just like Robotime, but it is not the same company, to be clear.

The one we are talking about here today is this one:


You can also buy this Book Nook Kit straight from Cutebee and use my discount code of 8% off: EVERYTHINGVERYSMALL

After having a fantastic time building the Cutebee Chocolatier, I couldn’t resist diving into another one.

I chose The Rose Detective Agency because it is a charming two-floor book nook with a sense of humor, it is very detailed, and it is a perfect scale to fit between my books 🙂 (it doesn’t require a lot of space).

Also, further below you can see that there is an ingenious system built in to open the front door, I loved that!

In the video below, you can see that I am almost done.


Assembling The Rose Detective Agency, my journey!


Well, this heading says it all, I think. I never lie in my reviews, to be clear, if there’s something I don’t like, I go ahead and say that.

But in all honesty, it was some time ago that I really, really liked a DIY miniature kit this much, look at me rambling on hahahaha!


And the fact that it only took me about three weeks and about 12 hours I think, in between my other projects on YouTube and such, says even more 🙂


Yes, that’s all, what you get in the box is:

  • Wooden side plates for the frame ( left and right side, the back and on top )

  • Wooden “pop-out” plates where you just need to slightly push out the tiny pieces, all numbered from A to F.

    What I haven’t seen a lot before is that fragile pieces that might break off or chip off easily, have backups!

    I wish I had those for my tiny dollhouse in a dollhouse kit!

  • A plastic front side, serving as a dust cover and protection of your book nook

  • An English manual

  • A sheet with stickers (letters, picture frames, book covers, etc.

No need to cut out pieces of paper, you have stickers in this box
  • A battery holder and lots of electric wires: everything is already prepared for you

  • a small file

  • Multiple LED lights


fast grab tacky glue


I use Fast Grab Tacky Glue by Alleenes.

So, what you need to purchase yourself is glue (I always use grab-fast tacky glue these days), a pair of AA4 batteries, and a pair of tweezers sure come in handy!

You don’t need any paint or paintbrushes, that is all done for you and it looks wonderful as it is!


You can also buy this Book Nook Kit straight from Cutebee and use my discount code of 8% off: EVERYTHINGVERYSMALL



So what you need to do, is just ‘pop’ out the wooden, laser-cut pieces, and either just assemble them like a 3D puzzle, or sometimes you do need to glue pieces together.

It is all very clear in the manual when you need to do one or the other!


You start with the ground floor, and then go up to the second floor.

When you assemble the second floor, you will need some time to figure out all the wires, although they are already assembled!

Beware that these wires have different lengths, which is important to notice, as they all have their particular places to attach the LED lights!


It is a spiderweb of wires going everywhere

The desk and living room on the second floor:


=> There’s a little desk with a phone and magnifying glass, a living room, a typewriter, and more!

When you have done the 2 floors, first you need to install all the LED lights and gather all the wires, to push them all together through ONE hole. I just let my husband do that, he loves it hahaha!

Somehow, things like that he manages better than me, even though his hands are bigger lol!


Also, I have something quite wonderful to show you: you can open and close the front door without even getting your hands inside the book nook! It works with a little gear beneath the box, check it out!


After that, you can assemble all the sides..

The top is closed as well, and there you have the touch screen for the LED lights, which work like a charm!

And then finally, the backend with the battery box and a plastic dust cover in front, which looks very clear.

And here we have the final video! (please subscribe to my channel if you like this video, thanks!)

Cutebook Detective Agency Book Nook, my review!


Although I very much enjoyed this book nook, there could be some cons for some people, and I need to consider those.


You can also buy this Book Nook Kit straight from Cutebee and use my discount code of 8% off: EVERYTHINGVERYSMALL


So here’s a little oversight of some pros and cons:

The Good.


  • Very nice design, including a funny little crime scene with a yellow “stay out” ribbon, and the small gear for opening the front door is ingenious!
  • Assembled in a very short time; it only took me about 12 hours.
  • Everything fit together like a glove.
  • Requires some glue, but not as much as other DIY kits.
  • Electric wires were pre-prepared, minimizing struggles with wiring.
  • No need to cut out paper pieces; uses stickers that you can just pull off.
  • Everything is made of wood, except for the dust cover, making it durable.



  • Sometimes, edges need to be filed before pieces can click together.
  • Some pieces require a lot of force to click together, risking breakage.
  • People with hand disabilities, like arthritis, might find it difficult to assemble
  • Kits are not easily “hackable”; there’s little room for customization.
  • In the end, pushing all wires into a small hole can be challenging.


I think that’s about it!

My Final Conclusion


I hope that you have enjoyed this Cutebee book nook review called The ‘Rose Detective Agency’ because I sure enjoyed the process 🙂

If you have any more questions about this book nook kit, feel free to ask them down below in the comment section, or join me on my socials (especially my Youtube channel), for more pictures and tutorials of our tiny things!

I wish you happy crafting!

Kind regards,

Lizzy

4 thoughts on “Mini Mysteries: Cutebee’s Rose Detective Agency Book Nook Solves It All! – A Review!”

  1. Hello Lizzy
    I love this in depth post. What a wonderful idea to keep minds sharp. I actually found this post within your new forum. That too was a wonderful idea to spark conversations within your niche.
    So sorry, got side tracked, But back to my question. How long does it take you to assemble a project such as this? What age group would you suggest to begin such a project?

    Thanks
    Michael

    Reply
    • Hi Michael!
      Thanks for the compliments!
      About your question: the instructions of this kit say 14+, so it is defenitely not meant for small children. But with guidance from adults, I am pretty sure this can be done from 12+ years old.
      It is probably better to have the wirework and electricity done by adults though haha!
      And oh yes, the final assembling needs more hands as well, even for me 🙂
      Happy crafting!
      Lizzy

      Reply
  2. Hi Lizzy,
    I am new to the book nook projects. They look impressive and intriguing, which requires a lot of patience. You have done a great deal of work on your article, and it shows.

    Happy Book Nooking!
    Janice

    Reply

Leave a Comment