Team OwlCrate Books Of The Month: What We Read In October 2024

Probably the most adorable and sweetest story I've ever read. If you love the anonymous romance trope, Internet/texting romance, or grew up making friends online, you HAVE to read this. 

As a child of AIM, Livejournal, and WoW, I can't begin to tell you how much I loved this and related to this. I devoured it in less than a day, and I'm sad it's over!

Jordan and I did a live chat with Jodi Meadows over on The Nest last month. You can watch it here.

Every year when I read a new CJ Cooke book, that book ends up being in my top three favorite reads of the year, and this one is no exception. I actually think this may be her best one yet. 

One timeline is historical fiction, and the other is a present-day, twisty mystery… and the way the two weaved together at the end left me speechless. The other piece that left me in awe, like with nearly all her books, is the way she captures motherhood in her storytelling. No one else does it better than her, and it's so beautiful, honest, and raw. This book is perfect, and the amount of research that went into it is incredible.

I am a Dark Academia Girly, and An Academy for Liars ticked every box.

When Lennon discovers her fiancé with another woman, she feels her life is over. That is, until she is contacted to be admitted to the mysterious Drayton College. Here she learns she is one of the rare people who has the ability to use her will to manipulate people, and sometimes more, as if it were a weapon.

Dark, unsettling, but simply incredibly told, if you love a sinister school setting, this is for you.

Prepare to be unsettled if you choose to read Monstrlio!

After the death of her son Santiago, grieving Magos cuts out a part of her son's lung and nurtures it back to sentience. But what comes to be is Monstrilio, who, although may day by day appear to be more like Santiago, has the deep desire to consume flesh.

Is it gross at times? Absolutely. But it's a fascinating look at familial love and the extent people will go to hold on.

This was my most anticipated read of the year and is the second generation series to Hollow Boys. It is a Dark College Romance with Romeo and Juliet vibes. If you like enemies to lovers, forbidden romance, family rivalries, an obsessive male main character, and a feisty female main character, add this to your TBR (but read Hollow Boys first)! 

This book did not disappoint. Monty’s writing is like poetry, and I found myself so emotional reading this. The ending was amazing, and I cannot wait for more to come in this series! I highly recommend it.

The Cherished is a bit mysterious and has you questioning so many things at first while slowly building the creepiness in the story. As things begin being revealed, it gets wild. 

Jo never expected to get her grandmother’s house in her will since they were not very close at all. Soon she begins to have weird and creepy visions of a visit at the farm, with her grandma and father yelling at her, and there was some blood and other strange things. 

But are these real or delusions? Jo has no idea that there is a dangerous enemy she is responsible for keeping locked up. I loved this book so much!

Blood and Moonlight has a thrilling mystery that kept me guessing throughout most of the book, and I loved that. I didn’t always see things coming, and that makes it so fun. 

The story follows Cat, who’s an orphan with a unique skill, one that she does not understand. But when she witnesses a murder and sees that the killer doesn’t stop committing crimes, she must help solve these murders. But what makes it hard is that she’s not sure who to trust and sometimes makes the wrong choice.

I loved this medieval thriller filled with secrets and magic and its narrator. I cannot wait to read book two!

When I was looking for new books to add to this year's Halloween TBR, a friend recommended this one to me. It is both scary and smutty. I adored it and could not have read it faster! 

Blythe is on the run and finds herself in this small town that celebrates Halloween all month long. She is happy to embrace this. Everyone wears a costume to the parties that take place at night, and a man in a skeleton mask is watching her, but he is not the only one. 

This is definitely a grown-up Halloween story! Make sure to check TW before picking this one up.