Team Owlcrate Books Of The Month: What We Read In May 2024

Lately, I've been feeling a little out of sorts for the realms of high fantasy, like I'm not at the mental capacity to take in all the additional facts and figures that comes with intense, incredible world-building. And then there's Faebound with its elves, and fae, and an endless war, and prophecies, and romances that somehow made diving into this feel somehow effortless? Whatever alchemical magic Saara El-Arifi has, consider me a convert. This story took me on a ride, ended on a twist, and still has me geared up and ready for more. I cannot wait for book two.

Mira Grant (or Seanan McGuire as others may know her) is a BEAST of an author and right here, written under her sci fi/horror pseudonym, is a story that is woefully underrated. Unbreakable is a magical girl-inspired novella that picks up right when the world is ending. The Big Bad (TM) has won, our girls have lost. But as you probably have guessed, there's far more to the story than that. Mira's take on the magical girl genre is scientific-like in its analysis and still somehow presents a story that is impeccably told, intricately detailed, and absolutely devastating in its precision. Oh, how I wish there was more.

I took a little break from my fantasy binge to dive into my second favorite genre: thriller! I devoured THE CHAMBER in a single day, and it deserves all the stars. I kept having flashbacks to THE MARTIAN while reading it. An isolated and claustrophobic thriller that has a ton of interesting science and facts to back it up. It was so fascinating to learn about the extreme career of a SAT Diver (seriously, google this!) Will Dean clearly did a TON of research on this and it shows. High rec for anyone looking for a bingeable summer thriller.

This was recommended to me by Jordan and Syl from Team OwlCrate and I'm so glad I went for it. I really like sci-fi but I'm not usually drawn to outer space stories. And then comes this book, where a young woman joins the Wayfarer crew with all of these unique and amazing characters as they head to their biggest wormhole tunnel-making job yet. This is the kind of story that makes you want to be there, hanging out with these characters, if only you could avoid all the mishaps and the life and death situations!

This is the light hearted sci-fi, queer, found family story we all need. To me, it really highlighted the whole idea of belonging.

I’m always drawn to family dramas, but I was completely surprised by how much I enjoyed this multi POV, multi generational story weaving together a love story in early Y2K New York, a coming-of-age in a small East Coast town, and a historical fiction account of China’s cultural revolution in the time of Mao. The writing is incredible here but do be warned going in that this reads like three interconnected short stories.

Which Emily Henry books are your favorite is a very personal thing - and fans can be quite vocal! As for me, I genuinely have enjoyed all the Emily Henry books that I’ve read, and Funny Story didn’t disappoint (of course a Julia Whelan audiobook narration never hurts). When Daphne’s fiance leaves her for Miles’ fiancee, the two jilted lovers move in together, eventually start fake-dating … and it all goes from there. Honestly, I just really liked the characters of Daphne and Miles – their internal struggles being very relatable to me.

Set in Mexico, Beautiful follows the tale of two intertwined brothers, Miguel and Santiago. Miguel is almost preternaturally beautiful, his natural allure charming all those who meet him from the day of his birth. In the wings of Miguel's life is his Santiago, perpetually overlooked, but with a fierce and complicated attachment to his younger brother.

Beautiful is a stunning exploration of character, sewn through with magical realism and complicated emotions. Miguel and Santiago are by no means perfect people, but this was a book I found clutched to my chest after I turned the last page.

As soon as I saw the cover of Haru I know it needed to be mine. This adorable Middle Grade graphic novel follows Haru and their (yes, our main character is non-binary and it's handled beautifully!) best friend Yama, who are overlooked in their little woodland school. But when Yama comes across a mysterious artifact that seems to have ill-intent, the duo are swept up in an adventure to save their world!

This was SO STINKING CUTE, while also having high stakes and an immediate "I need volume 2 now" ending. Haru: Summer comes out in October!