Time for another "Whatcha Reading?" Team OwlCrate Edition. If there’s one thing book lovers love more than actually reading books, it’s gushing about their favorite reads (and convincing you to read them!)
Every month members of our team love to share their personal favorite books of the month! We are a diverse team of readers, so if you’re looking for your next five star book, read on dear readers and check back next month for another installment!
Jordan
Middle Of The Night by Riley Sager
This was, quite shamefully, one of the very few horror/thriller novels that I've ever read. Growing up, I didn't enjoy horror or thrillers as a genre concept on television or in movies. I found them too scary and, quite often, too close to home, mirroring the news of the day. You could say they caused me 
anxiety
However, I've recently turned my TBR pile over to my friends, and it's made a world of difference. I read Middle Of The Night quickly, and since finishing it, I've found that thrillers are a great way to get past a reading slump. They're easily digestible, fast reads that, in reality, aren't too scary.
Middle Of The Night follows Ethan, a once-boy, now-man, whose childhood friend was ripped away from him in the middle of the night while camping in their backyard. What commences is a thirty-year exploration of what trauma looks like on the other side of childhood. We get to see how loss shapes our journey to adulthood, how everyone can be a suspect, and how endings are some of the hardest things to overcome.
Mayra
Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy
A Sister Holiday Mystery #1
I get all my book recommendations from Team OwlCrate. I mentioned in a meeting that I wanted to read a contemporary mystery with a lesbian protagonist, told from the first-person POV. Very specific, I know, but Maggie, our amazing Head of Product Operations, immediately messaged me and told me to read Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy, and it was exactly what I wanted!
The cover alone is *Chef's Kiss*, but that's probably a topic for another time. Scorched Grace is the first book in the Sister Holiday Mystery series, and yes, the main character is a nun. She's also queer, tattooed from neck to toe, a smoker, and an amateur sleuth who decides to investigate an arson spree surrounding her convent, school, and community.
What I appreciated most about this story is that it felt more like a deep dive into the main character than just solving a mystery. I really liked being inside a character's mind with such a unique yet relatable voice.
As with most crime stories, this one has its own content warnings, so do some research before reading it.
Blessed Water by Margot Douaihy
A Sister Holiday Mystery #2
Blessed Water is book 2 in the series, and I had to read it immediately after the first one because I wanted more Sister Holiday in my life. Book 2 brings a new mystery to light in a more "clock-ticking" setup, which takes place over the Easter weekend. Similarly to book one, we get all of Sister Holiday's inner monologues and chaotic thoughts, which I love. I also found it to be a quick read, and I couldn’t get enough!
Cade
A Talent For Murder by Peter Swanson
I couldn’t sleep until I finished this! It now sits in my top three favorites of Swanson's books, and this is the eighth book of his that I’ve read. His thrillers just have this way of gliding you along—always creating a steady feeling of excitement and leaving you with questions that need to be answered—but the pacing is never off. This, like all of his books, had such a satisfying ending, too. This one is technically part of a series, but you can definitely read it as a standalone!
Cindy
Dracula by Bram Stoker
This month, I found myself re-reading Dracula. It’s been a while since I last read it, but I love it as an easy read.
Dracula follows Jonathan Harker, who visits Transylvania to help Count Dracula with the purchase of a London house. During his visit, he makes a series of horrific discoveries about his client. Soon afterwards, various bizarre incidents unfold in England: an apparently unmanned ship is wrecked off the coast of Whitby; a young woman discovers strange puncture marks on her neck; and the inmate of a lunatic asylum raves about the 'Master' and his imminent arrival.
Want to find out what team OwlCrate read in May? You can read last month's article here.
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