Bookwild - 2024 Fall Thrillers We Can't Wait to Read with Gare Billings

Episode Date: August 23, 2024

This week, Gare and I dive into our very long lists of fall books we can't wait to read!Books We Talked AboutWhere They Last Saw HerThe Bachelorette PartyMadwomanSociety of LiesBetween Lies and RevengeThis Girl’s a KillerOnce More from the TopLeave the Girls BehindAn Academy for LiarsThe Blue HourRunning ColdThe Boyfriend It Will Only Hurt For A MomentFair Catch  Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

Well, hello. Hi. For everyone listening, I'm just dealing with a shitty client. So I apologize if my energy takes a second to appear, but it will appear. Oh, nothing but books and bullshit over here. Yes, that's the theme of the week in my life. And I thought that my internet was spotty in my corner desk area. So I thought that if I moved to my bed, that that was.

would fix it and it did not. But now I'm in bed and I'm comfortable. So you're in bed with it's a new background. In bed with gear buildings. Yeah. Renamed the show. In bed with bleak buildings. Here I am. I like it. It's a cozy vibe. It is cool. That's all that's all I want in life is a cozy. Same. Cozy vibe. And it's annoying me. But the weather has been cooling down here. Mm-hmm. Same. Finally. Yeah. Yeah. I think it's supposed to be like mid-80s. Like maybe like for the next few days, but like 82 and three. Yeah. I went to a friend's house

last night and I got to wear a sweatshirt. Ooh. It's not that cool here for me yet. It was I think it was 71, 72. Mm-hmm. My handsome boy. Yeah, that's Harley. It's the girl. Oh my girl. It's okay though. She's tough. She looks like a boy sometimes. You would think by now I would know the difference.

Yeah, which I guess was kind of misogynistic of me to say that only men seem tough. So my bad. Nah. But she is. She's got a mainly vibe sometimes. Everyone who does know what we're talking about, my dog, if you're just listening, not watching. Yeah, I forgot. I forgot.

icebreaker for you. I am in my era of like I don't read or watch TV prior to going to bed. I scroll on TikTok for like an hour. That's like my like chill out time. Yeah. So I'm curious because I feel like my FYP is like

really random. But like is there something that pops up on your for you page on TikTok that you're surprised by or you think people would be surprised by? Ooh, this is a good one. Thanks. What is the random stuff? I have,

I, okay, I think that this is the most random one. For a little bit, I had, like, those videos that are, like,

oddly satisfying or whatever, and it's someone, like, power washing old rugs, like, over and over again. And they go from, like,

super dirty to, like, looking brand new. And somehow I've probably spent like three minutes watching a whole rug gate cleaned. And by the end, I was like, what did I just watch? What was that? Now, is it only the rug? Because I keep getting ones where it's like a split screen.

And one side is the rug cleaning. And the other side is like somebody doing a skit. Oh, I know. I know what you're talking about. And probably it's sometimes that. but the first ones it was just all the rug and a guy just like using different liquids and a power hose that is crazy I feel like I just saw something on social media where somebody was like how did this end up on my for you page oh yeah it was like specifically like rug cleanings and it showed like the video that they were watching

no no no I don't get I don't get those I get I sometimes get the ones where it's a split screen and it shows somebody like cleaning the rug, but then there's like somebody else that I've either followed or watched before, like doing skits. Mm-hmm. Oh, my kids. Mom, pay attention to me. Yeah, he's noisy. Mine is, I don't know how to pronounce it.

Is it mukbang or muckbang? I think I hear people say bang, but it could be either, really. Yeah, so muckbang. I guess. And I feel like I kind of cursed myself with this because I don't know who I was having a conversation with, but I said like, I would be a foodie if like there weren't so many options for like fast food and stuff that I think is like absolutely like a delicacy. Right. I know. So now I have like all these people that are like going to like chilies and applebee's, but like I love a good muck bang video. Like I just love them where they get like pizza or they get like their Taco Bell orders. And I find

people's Taco Ball orders like especially fascinating because everybody's is so different. But I don't know why like watching people eat and like talk about their day is just like nice. Yeah. I get them every now and then especially like when there's something new at a fast food restaurant specifically. Like there's this one girl who for whatever reason, what I remember is that she always says bone apple tits instead of appetite. Yeah. I saw her last night. Yes. And she's like a workout person, right? Like she's like into like working on bodybuilding or something. I mean, she looks like it probably. She looks like strong and healthy and yeah. I saw her last night because the thing that I keep seeing over and over again is the

Chili's mozzarella sticks that are dipped in like hot honey or like whatever kind of like wing sauce you want. Yeah. And apparently like the cheese pull is insane, right? Yeah. Yeah. Yes. I'm seeing this on TikTok too. I want to say for the record, I have been doing this for years. Yeah, like you, did you watch on YouTube? There's a place, 45 minutes from me. It's called Little Italy. Okay.

And they have what they call stoner sticks, which are mozzarella sticks that are like tossed in like buffalo sauce. And then you dip them in ranch. So I was like, when I heard and I like tried them, I was like, this is amazing. So I would just make mozzarella sticks at home and then, you know, toss them in like a wing sauce and because I don't eat chicken. obviously. Yeah. So, but yeah, the only thing that I don't like about them is I feel like I like make like tonight I'm making like avocado pasta and it's like really nice and fresh and it's going to be delicious. But then I'm going to see somebody tonight that's doing like a muck bang of like Arby's or like Taco Bell or something. And I'm going to be like, oh shit, I wish I would have went to Taco Bell for dinner.

Right. Yeah, that's the downside. Or like if you, especially because you're on TikTok, at night. Like, then you just get like, hungry. Night and munchies, basically. Yeah. The other thing that, like, I don't know that it's like totally shocking, but I'm always surprised by how long I will watch it. I end up watching like blonde consultations.

I end up watching like full hair consultations, like minutes of someone like, so do you like this about or do you like this about it? And I think why it's not like totally out there that I'm interested in it is like, I actually, well, I cut my hair and I cut my hair from home. And so I think it's one of those things where like I just like gathering all of the information. Like it's just like for whatever reason, hairstylists are so fascinating to me on TikTok. But then when my sister-in-law went to get more blonde highlights, I said something. And she was like, the girl said the same thing.

And I was like, school of TikTok. Yeah. And I was like so nervous too When they were like saying that they were gonna try to ban TikTok Oh me too Because it's just like such a good outlet for me to like decompress and like I don't know I always get like these weird ones too that like I don't know why I get these

But it's this guy and you never see him but he has like a jar full of something And he rolls them downstairs until they break And I'm like what in my life? life. I know and sometimes you watch all of them. I do. The green one, the blue one. Yeah, yeah. Or he like drops them on something to see if it breaks.

Yeah. Or there's like all these glass jars that are like on top of one another and he rolls like looks like a bowling ball down to like break them and see when they smash. Yes. And I'm like, what?

Am I destructive? What is going on? Probably. I know. I want to know the like science of why because like clearly we're seeing a lot of these kind of similar odd TikTok trends kind of stuff that catches on. I wonder what it is that's so engaging about like specifically this one, this dude like smashing glass containers full of colored water. Like I wonder what it is. Because if you told me, hey, do you want to watch a video of someone rolling stuff? I'd be like, no, I'm going to read.

Yeah, like if you were like, oh, like if somebody came up to me, I'm not going to say you, I'm not going to say you because I don't think that you would do this. But like, if somebody came up to me and they're like, oh, do you want to see something cool? And they showed me a video of that. I'd be like, okay. Like, whatever. But when I'm by myself, like watching, I'm like, yeah, smash the shit out of that. Like, it's so weird. It's so satisfying.

It is. It talks wonderful. They better not take it. Pry it from my cold, dead hearty. What is Jesus? My brain's not working. I don't know what that phrase is that I was trying to say. They'll have to pry it from my cold dead hands. Dead hands. Yeah. I've lost it. Yeah. Cold dead hands. I had a moment like that too. I had an interview with an author earlier this week or not earlier today. Oh my gosh. And I had another moment where I was like meeting to ask a question and I was like, in the middle of one of my sentences and I was like, oh my God. I have been like mispronouncing things and like having brain fog really bad lately. And like I'm not going to be that person, but like I guess that's like a really common

symptom of pots. Oh, well, yeah. I feel like when everything happens, I'm like, oh, it's pot. Oh, I know. Like last night I was watching like Housewives of New Jersey with a friend. and I went to say Margaret because I fucking hate Margaret. And I was like Margaret or Marge and it just came out Marg. And he was like, are you talking about a margarita?

And I was like, I would love one. Right. No, I just don't know what the fuck I'm saying half the time. Like in my mind, it's so clear. Mm-hmm. So I pretty much stay long COVID for everything. So I feel you. Yeah.

Yeah. which actually is kind of what probably Pots is. Mm-hmm. We're so much fun, guys. But I hope some of you are listening to that TikTok stuff and we're like, me too. Yeah, I hope that there's, I hope that everybody who is a fan of TikTok or squirrels or TikTok is like a little less insecure now about the weird shit that pops up because it's not just you. That's exactly what I was trying to say. Yeah.

like you're not alone to the weird shit on TikTok we too are watching things explode yeah we too are like hmm that's interesting but you know other than TikTok I love book talk

same I love book talk and one of the things right now is people that I'm seeing are posting their spooky TBR recommendations Yeah, I have seen that a little bit. Which I'm super pumped about. So the fact that it's like a couple of weeks away from fall, hopefully, arriving, and people are talking about spooky season.

And I officially have already seen Halloween decorations out. Oh, yeah. I think it's great. The PSL comes back in two weeks. Yeah. Yeah. I can't have PSLs, but to everybody who enjoys them. I hope you love.

I thought it was. would be really fun to talk about the books we're looking forward to in the fall. It's my favorite time of the year. Oh my gosh. My eyes twitching like crazy, guys. We're going to make it through this episode, but it'll be a little twitchy. But yes, four times a year we get to do our like season books of the next season that we're excited to read.

And I always have so much fun with the episode. I love them. And if I didn't have an allergic reaction on my face and took Benadryl, I'd probably really be more with it. But you just got to bear with me. This is what makes half of them fun. I feel like whenever we have an episode that we're really looking forward to, something happens. Right. I know.

This morning. I was like, I didn't have an interview yesterday. I'm like, this couldn't have happened yesterday. Whatever. What else? Because the rest of the week I have interviews. And I don't know when this is going to go away. So do you think it was like a.

chemical burn? Yeah. I did my, I can't remember if I updated you on that part. I did my nails last night. And that when I asked chat, GPT, the first thing it said was like an allergic reaction to like something new you used. And it's not new, but you do have to be careful with nail primer because it burns your skin. And so I'm pretty sure I was doing my nails last night and itched my face because my allergies are so bad. I'm literally the. nerdiest nerd ever. So I think I burned my face with nail primer. So girly girls out there, be careful with your nail primer.

I don't even know what a nail primer is. Yeah, it's the second step. You dehydrate your nail and then you put a primer on. So anyway. Be careful with step two. Be careful with step two. Literally, I was just teaching stuff how to do this and now I'm getting injured from it. And I'm like, don't listen to me.

I was like, I got injured from my nail, from doing my nails. You do realize that now your TikTok is going to be like nail injuries and like how to avoid chemical burns with like doing your own nails at home. Yes. Because my phone is right here. It knows. Yeah. But anyway.

But we have. I still, I was going to record, even if I couldn't conceal it, I was going to record this episode because it's so fun. You could have recorded just like this the whole time. She's been like, yeah, that's interesting. Kay's head was really heavy for her that day. Kate was super tired.

But yeah, we have so many books. So many books. Yeah, because we kicked it up from our regular, shmangular five to give you guys extra, extra, because I think that fall is the best time to plan a TBR because it's just like, like, you know how I say that like I don't believe in New Year's resolutions because I think like your new year should start on your birthday instead of just like January 1st. Yes.

I feel like your reading officially kicks off in September. Ooh, I like that. Like to me it's not like winter, spring. summer fall. It's like fall, winter, spring, and summer. I'm kind of with you on that because also like January just sucks most places. Like January and February are terrible. Yeah. So put them at the end. Yeah. And it's just like, oh my God. Let me out of here. Yeah. And it's like darker. Well, I don't, I know you like that, but I don't like when it's. Oh, I love it. But I don't like when it's the minority, I think. I want it to be light and chilly. Yeah. Yeah. I want it to be dark and chilly.

You're like, send me away. I know. I know. Did you want to kick it off? Yeah. I will. It was making me think, because I feel like in summer, I was like, oh my gosh, there's so many this summer. And then I went to pick these and I was like, there are so many this fall, too. So my first one comes out on September 3rd, and it is called Where They Last Saw Her by Marcy R. Rendon. And it is about, well, it says, I don't know why, I can't transition into a synopsis. All they heard was her scream. Quill has lived on the Red Pine Reservation in Minnesota her whole life. She knows what happens to people who look like her. just a girl when Jimmy Sky jumped off the railway bridge and she ran for help

Quill realizes now that she hasn't ever stopped running. As she trains for the Boston Marathon early one morning out in the woods, she hears a scream. When she investigates, she finds tire tracks and a lone beaded earring. Things are different now for Quill than when she was a lonely girl. Her friends, Punk and Galen, are two women who don't know what it means to quit. She has her loving husband, Crow, and two beautiful children who challenge her to be better every day. So when she realizes another woman has been stolen, she is determined to do something. And her first stop is a group of men working the pipeline construction just north of their homes.

As Quill closes in on the truth behind the missing woman in the woods, someone else disappears. In her quest to find justice for the women of the reservation, she is confronted with the hard truths of their home and the people who purport to serve them. When will she stop losing neighbors, friends, family? As Quill puts herself her family and everything she's built on the line to make a difference, the novel asks hearing questions about bystander culture, the reverberations of even one active of crime, and the long-lasting trauma of being invisible. That was so long, right? That sounds so good. And the cover is so beautiful. The cover is gorgeous.

I like that was don't judge a book by its cover but we all do I literally saw the cover on that galley and was like request I was like I'm here for it um I feel like missing and murdered indigenous women is something that like should be explored more in fiction so that we'll talk about it more um I live in an area where like we have like a lot lot of missing and murdered indigenous people in general because I'm so close to the Canadian border. And it's so scary. It's so scary. So that sounds incredible. It sounds really good. And it's coming up like all of mine that I hate picked are actually in my neck alley, on my net galley shelf. And so I'm going to be reading this one pretty soon because it's actually

like coming up basically in order for me. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That's exciting. Yeah. It sounds really good. I've heard really good things about her in general. I think she has like a series. Cash, the Cash Black Bear series. Yes.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So that sounds really good. I may be checking that. I went out with you. You should. It kind of matches your shirt.

Not that that really means anything if someone's listening. It does? You have like kind of a blue green. and there's like a blue-green sky. Oh, my God. I just love that cover. It's beautiful. I want to start, oh, but yeah, here's a little Easter egg, but actually it's pretty

blatant. I'm going to start talking to, like, cover artists on the podcast, too, not just authors. Oh, fun. Yeah. Yeah, and I think editors, too. I think I'm going to expand who I talk to on the Tuesday episodes. That's exciting. Yeah. But it also, by this list of books I'm excited for, I'm also going to probably want to like interview like eight authors in September like July.

True, true. So we'll see. We'll see. I think that I know my release dates, but I could be wrong. I guess it doesn't matter. Sometimes I just end up saying it on these. I hope you're enjoying this episode of Book Wild. and if you are, could I ask you a favor? Could you go and rate and review this podcast and whatever platform you're listening? Ratings and reviews make the biggest difference in discoverability of the podcast,

and I definitely want to find all of our fellow thriller readers out there. So if you could go rate the podcast and leave a short review, that would make a huge difference. Thank you. And let's get back to the show. My next one, or my first one, I should say, also comes out on September 3rd.

Nice. So I picked it. So if you want something a little bit, bit lighter maybe. For once, I'm the one that's not like my choice is a bleak. A book that I'm really looking forward to is called The Bachelorette Party by Sandra or Sandra Block. I'm not sure what she prefers. But this sounds so good. Everything seems to be going well for Alex. She has her dream job as an intern on a popular investment. investigative news program and is engaged to a man who is almost too perfect. Now her best friends are

taking her on a surprise bachelor at weekend planned with Alex's unusual set of interest in her obsession with the infamous 666 killer. Alex and her friends get thrill out of staying at the allegedly haunted hunting lodge in the Catskill Mountains where a serial killer once stabbed his victim and wrote 666 on the walls in her blood. Though getting snowed in by a blizzard wasn't part of the plan, the three girls make the most of their celebration. Then Alex wakes up to find her friends have vanished, blood splattered all over their sleeping bags and on her hands. With no idea what happened, Alex worries the decade-old murder has come back to haunt them and she's the one to blame. Her recent prison interview with the 666 killer seems to have stirred up some past demons,

throwing her friends into danger. The prisoner has always maintained his innocence claiming the real killer was still out there. Has the true 666 killer finally returned or has the convict been scheming from his jail cell? Cut off from the outside help. Alex must rely on her years of following true prime stories to help solve the case and save her friends. That was a really long synopsis. I know. I think we both had really long ones to start.

I was like, whey. This cover is so freaking cool. It is so cool. It is so cool. So it's like a top-down shot of snow. And there are bloody footprints going through the middle with a red stiletto, just one chilling in the middle. I know. Isn't it cool?

It's so cool. I love it. I feel like it's going to be kind of campy just from the cover. Yeah. I feel like it's going to be kind of campy. But also very creepy. creepy. I love like the aspect of her being obsessed with true crime. There being a possible serial killer in prison. And the fact that like it's a possibility that when she interviewed him, she could have said something to piss him off that put her friends in danger.

Yeah. So I feel like it's going to be really fun. That sounds awesome. And I hadn't seen it anywhere. That was like brand new info for me. Yeah. I just watched a movie. After that night, I don't know. I'm gonna have to look at it up. I'm so bad with titles. It's like ridiculous. You're like, I watched something.

I watched like a movie, something, you know, like that girl or like, I think there were like these people. Do you imagine me telling the story? That would be awful. It's called Fear the Night. And it is about a woman. Maggie Q is in it. So I love her.

I love Maggie Q. And she plays an Iraq war veteran and a recovering alcoholic who ends up going with her sisters and some of their friends to a bachelorette party in the middle of nowhere. And she kind of has words with some local men who look a little rough around the edges. And bad shit starts happening. That's what that's typically what starts happening in our stories. Yeah. So then shit hits the fan. I watched that movie recently and I was like, it's not winning any Academy Awards,

but it was like so fun and it was nice to see like a kickass woman just like fucking shit up with these like rednecks. So that is awesome. And I was like, well, now it's kind of in a book form, but like a little bit different. Yeah. I'm excited for The Bachelor at Party. That sounds really good. I added it to my. list. And my next one has a really long synopsis. And I'm like, are all of them going to be like

this? But this one, I believe, also comes out on September 3rd. I have like three that come out on September 3rd. And it's called Mad Woman by Chelsea Biker. It's B-I-E-K-E-R. So I don't know if that's Beaker or Biker. The world is not made for mothers, yet mothers made the world. Clove has gone to extremes to keep her past a secret. Thanks to her lies, she's landed the life of her dreams, complete with a safe husband and two adoring children who will never know the terror that was routine in her own childhood. If her buried anxiety threatens to breach the surface,

Clove, if that is really her name, focuses on finding the right supplement, the right gratitude, the right meditation. But when she receives a letter from a women's prison in California, her past comes screeching into the present entangling her in a dangerous game with memory and the people she thought she had outrun. As we race between her precarious present-day life in Portland, Oregon, and her childhood in a Waikiki high-rise with her mother and father,

Klove is forced to finally unravel the defining day of her life. How did she survive that day and what will it take to end the cycle of violence? Will the truth undo her or could it ultimately save her? A gripping story of motherhood and loss, motherhood and mother loss, intimate terrorism and terrifying love. The insidious ways male violence disrupts mothers and daughters and the and the brutal, mighty things women do to keep themselves and each other alive. Madwoman marks Chelsea Biker as a major fiction talent.

Wow. I'm like excited for it all over again after reading that. That sounds so good. And it sounds like it's going to blend together. a lot of different genres. I think so. Very interested. My next one is actually one that you put on my radar. And one of the reasons I wanted to mention it is because one of my things is that I feel bad when somebody has a book that's coming out and they push back the release date and it might not be like super widely known. So one of the books that I'm really looking forward to this fall is Society of

Langee by Lauren Ling Brown. And it was originally going to come out in August, and now the new release date is October 1st. So because of the dark academia vibes, I feel like October 1st is like perfect. But regardless if your, you know, summer TVR was too full in August like a lot of ours was. Now you have something to look forward to. So this one's about Maya. She can't wait to return to Princeton for reunion. It's been a decade since she graduated, but she's looking forward to seeing old faces and reminiscing about her college days.

And this year is even more special because her little sister Naomi is graduating. But what should have been a dream weekend becomes Maya's worst nightmare when she gets a call no one ever wants. Naomi is dead. The police are saying it's an accident, but Maya suspects there's more of the story than they're letting on. As Maya pieces together the months leading up to her sister's death, she starts. starts to realize how much Naomi hid from her. Naomi had joined Sterling Club, the most exclusive social club on campus, the same one Maya belonged to, despite Maya's warnings.

And if she had to guess, she'd say Naomi was also tapped for the secret society within it. The more Maya uncovers, the more terrified she becomes that Naomi's decision to follow in her footsteps might have been, might have been what got her killed. because Maya's time at Princeton wasn't as wonderful as she always pretended it was. After all, her sister wasn't the first young woman to turn up dead. Now, every clue is leading Maya back to the past and to the secrets, she kept all those years. So I have read this one and can say that it is very, very fun. It is such good, dark academia.

It sounds so good. It sounds so good. And because we thought it was coming out earlier, I've already interviewed Lauren and she is so cool. She is stunning. She's, oh, she's beautiful. And she's so nice. Yeah. Like, she's very sweet.

I've had interactions with her on Instagram. I've never met her, like, you know, interviewed her or anything. But I've had interactions with her on Instagram and she's so sweet. And I'm just like, this sounds like so dark. and twisty and like it is it just again boggles my mind when these people are like so incredibly nice and they're like having the like most insanely creepy things in the pages so i'm really excited to read it oh it's really good and it's like you have dual pov and dual timeline there's like so much going on yeah and i haven't had like a good dark academia book and a lot of

long time. That's a good point. I can't remember the last time I read one other than that. The last one I read, I think I read these like way back to back, but the last two that I read that I really enjoyed was everyone. Oh, you're right. Everyone who can forgive me is dead. And then only if you're lucky by Stacey Williamham. I really love that one.

Yeah. And that was dark academia. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Well, this is this fall as dark academia for everyone. Yeah. So this is the hot, hot command.

But my next one, I also have kind of talked to this author, like through DM, not through DMs, maybe through comments. I don't know. Something on Instagram. I mean, she's really nice, too. It comes out on September 3rd. And it's called Between Lies and Revenge by Hand. D. Sharp also shout out to Steph because she sent this to me and I was like, yes, I need this right now.

You love stuff. I know. She's here in spirit. Yeah. But this one, years after the death of her brother and the theft of her heirloom jewelry, Xcon L. Can you hear Bruce? A smidge. Okay. So it's probably not like distracting, distracting.

Should I just keep going? No. Yeah. Okay. Xcon L is on the run until she spots a stranger wearing a signature piece. Determined to take back what is hers, Elle talks and befriends the woman, using her gemology skills as a ruse. Elle offers to appraise and clean the jewelry, replicating and replacing the pieces instead. Olivia is drowning.

She maxes out credit cards behind her financially strict husband's back. in order to pay for fertility treatments, keep her blackmailing father at bay, and maintain appearances with her wealthy friends in their cultist MLM social circles. When Olivia meets Elle, she finally feels understood and inspired. When Elle's expertise, with Elle's expertise and Olivia's connections, the two start a side hustle by way of home jewelry appraisal parties. When this isn't lucrative enough, they developed the perfect con, switching rich housewives' gems with fakes. But their hidden truths get in the way of their success and each other. Before their secrets bury them, they must confess their lies to one another and trust their final con.

We'll exact the revenge that will secure their freedom and their lives. I just keep having long synopsies. But like all of these are like things that are like so up your alley. It's not even funny. Oh, and like all of them are a little different. I actually have like, I was kind of surprised, like, the subgenre variety that I had. Mine are kind of different, too, I think. Yeah, they have been.

But I'm also like, they're like a little different, but like what you would expect that I'd want to read. Yeah. Well, yeah, same. But you are killing it with the covers. Oh, my gosh. This cover is. Because that covers amazing. It's beautiful, especially like.

with the gym, like all the jewelry. Yeah. Yeah, it also says for fans of Megan Marina and Sally Hepworth. That's a big, that's a great comparison. It kind of sounds like it's going to do for con stories what Janelle Brown did too. Oh, yeah. You know what I mean? Like how it's not just like.

I can't give it right now. I love that. one. Literally I'm obsessed with pretty things. Pretty things. Yes. I could picture like the cover. I was scary. I know me too. Now you know how I feel. This is like every day in my life. Or you can't think of a title. Even if it's like something you love. Yeah. Okay. Well, I can't think of it. But yeah. No, you're right. But it does sound like that. Yeah. I'm about to read this one too. It's coming up. well, I have three.

My next three, I'll have the same release date. So I might as well just kick off and say that October 29th is going to be a fantastic release date. Nice. One of the ones that I am very excited for, which is also another story that was supposed to come out earlier, but it was pushed back to October 29th. is called This Girl's A Killer by Emma C. Wells. Fantastic cover, by the way. Meet Cordelia Black. Cordelia loves exactly three things.

Her chosen family composed of her best friend Diane and her goddaughter, her hairdresser, worth every penny plus tip, and killing bad men. By day, she's a successful pharmaceutical rep with a pristine reputation and a designer wardrobe. By night, she's calling South Louisiana of unscrupulous men, monsters who always seem to evade justice until they meet her. It's a complicated yet fulfilling life that requires complete and total control at all times.

But when the evening news starts throwing around the word serial killer, pressure heightens her into the south, and it's only exacerbated when Diane starts dating a man, Cordelia isn't sure, is a good person. someone who might unravel everything Cordelia has worked for. Soon, Cordelia's world spirals and she loses her grip on those tightly held threads that keep her safe. This sounds so cool. It sounds so bad ass. Yeah.

It kind of sounds, it kind of gives me like, I feel like it's going to be like satirical in the sense of like when it's like, oh, like I love my hairdresser. She's worth every penny, but I also love like murdering men. So I kind of feel like it's going to be like satirical in the sense of like maybe like a female Dexter combined with like some of the wit of Elaine Murphy. Ooh, yeah. And like maybe a little bit of the book, Kill for Love by Laura Pickles. Oh, yeah. I could see that.

So that's like the vibes that I'm getting right now. but regardless of like what happens, it just sounds so good. And I kind of love, as much as I love a serial killer story, I'm really, really digging the like female revenge serial killers. But like, it just, I don't know. It's something like very refreshing and it's kind of nice to read about like women who are taking care of bad men instead of consistently reading about men who are doing bad things to innocent women. Yes.

Yes, yes, yes. Because I'm all for the ladies. I'm glad you brought that one up because I know we talked about buddy reading it. Buddy, buddy, buddy, e reading. I don't know what happened there. And I needed to go request it on that galley. Oh, I just did that. Yes, yes.

And I also packed up a book for you today to send to you for a buddy read. I'm so excited. Thank you. Well, my next one is not the same. No segue here. But it is once more from the top by Emily Layden. And it just sounds so cool. Everyone in America knows Dylan Reed, or at least has heard her music. Since releasing her debut album, her senior year of high school, Dylan spent 15 years growing up in the public eye. She's not only perfected her skills when it comes to lyrics. melody. She's also learned how to craft a public narrative that satisfies her fans, her label, and the media. In the circles of fame and celebrity in which she now travels, the careful maintenance of Dylan Reed pop star is often more important than the songs themselves. And so lots of people think they understand everything about Dylan Reed. But what no one knows is that part of her

origin story she has successfully kept hidden. Her childhood best friend Kelsey vanished. the year before Dylan became famous. Now, as Dylan's at the height of her career, Kelsey's body is found at the bottom of their hometown lake, forcing Dylan to reckon with their shared past, her friend's influence on her music, and whether there's more to their story than meets the eye. Dun, done, done. Damn. Yeah.

That sounds really good. And I need to read. I can send you. they sent me two copies because I'm interviewing her so I'll send you one that would be fun that would be fun yeah also

Emily Leiden has a book called all girls and it is dark academia and it follows like nine girls I think in like a prep school setting it's very character driven so it's not like your average thriller but it's very good.

It's very good. So if you ever want to check that out, when you're in like a dark academia mood, I thought it was really well written. Yeah, that's good to know. Because I'm like, I'm pretty excited for this one. It sounds really interesting in a lot of ways. Yeah. Yeah, it does.

And the cover is fucking. It's so beautiful. I meant to pull it out because I, actually had a copy this time. But I did it. It's okay. Things happen. Yeah.

Speaking of great covers. October 29th, again. My next pick is Leave the Girls Behind by Jacqueline Bublitz. She wrote the book before you knew my name

that I loved last year. and this one is about a woman named Ruth Ann Baker. She's a college dropout, a bartender, and an amateur detective who cannot stay away from true crime. 19 years ago, her childhood friend was murdered by suspected serial killer Ethan Oswald. Still tormented by the case, Ruth can't help but think of the long dead Oswald when another girl goes missing from the same town. When she uncovered startling new evidence that suggests Oswald did not act alone, she's determined to find his deadly partner in crime. Embarking on a global investigation, Ruth becomes close to three very different women, one whom might just hold the key to what happened to the missing

girl and her childhood friend all those years ago. Man, I love this. too. Oh, the cover's amazing. That covers amazing. And she just completely crushed it. Yeah. Before you knew my name. that was the book that I was like I don't know if I'm going to be like super into this but I really want to try it and it was just so well written and like expertly plotted and it just stuck with me for so long so I'm really excited for this one yes man we're gonna we're gonna we have so much to read I know I know we have so many more to talk about I know I know I know I'll keep it going. My next one is kind of giving 9th house vibes to me is what made it catch my attention. It's called an Academy for Liars by Alexis Henderson. Linen Carter's life is falling apart.

Then she gets a mysterious phone call inviting her to take the entrance exam for Drayton College, a school of magic hidden in a secret pocket of Savannah. Linen has been. chosen because, like everyone else at the school, she has the innate gift of persuasion, the ability to wield her will like a weapon, using it to control others, and in rare cases, matter itself. After passing the test, Lennon begins to learn how to master her devastating and unsettling power. But despite persuasion's heavy toll on her body and mind, she is wholly captivated by her studies, by Drayton's lush, moss-draped campus, and by her brilliant classmates. But even more captivating is her charismatic advisor, Dante, who both intimidates and enthralls her.

As Lennon continues in her studies, her control grows, and she starts to uncover more about the secret world she has interned into, including the disquieting history of Drayton College and the way her mentor's tragic and violent past intertwines with it. She is increasingly disturbed by what she learns, for it seems that the ultimate test is to embrace absolute power without succumbing to corruption, and it's a test she's terrified. She's going to fail. So many vibes.

Like the genres listed are fantasy, horror, gothic, mystery, thriller, fiction. I mean, can you go wrong? Yeah. The cover is giving me like silence, the lamb's vibes too. And I love when like a cover is just like kind of like simple. Yeah. And like I catch you. Somehow creepy. Yeah. Yeah. That sounds really good. And it definitely does give ninth house lives. Yeah. I was like, I mean, for how much I liked ninth house, I definitely want to try this one. Yeah. Yeah. We're all about trying new things. Mm-hmm. Kind of.

flies, kind of. In my very controlled way. You are. I'm not. Because my next one is, no surprise to anyone. October 29th. Woohoo. Woohoo. I am talking about the Blue House by Paula Hawkins.

Oh, yeah. Because I'm obsessed with the girl on the train, and this sounds so good. welcome to, I believe it's ERIS, E-R-I-S. I think so. So that's what I'm just going to call it. But if I'm wrong, then whatever. That's not the point. So welcome to ERIS, an island with only one house, one inhabitant, one way out.

Unreachable from the Scottish mainland for 12 hours each day. Once home to Vanessa, a famous artist who notoriously unfaithful husband disappeared 20 years ago, now home to grace, a solitary creature of the tides content in her own isolation. But when a shocking discovery is made in an art gallery far away in London, a visitor comes calling and the secrets of ERIS threaten to emerge. This one sounds, it feels very psychological. It does. One of my things that I love, which is actually what got me addicted to the girl on the train, is her way of doing the dual P-O-V between multiple different women.

So I'm really, really excited for this one. I feel like it's going to be super atmospheric. Yeah. Even the cover feels like. The covers. Oh, my God. It's so pretty. I am obsessed with the cover.

I do not care what happens in a movie and a book and my life. Like if I could just recreate that cover all of the time, I really would because like I just love a window open and you can almost like see the breeze coming through. You can. And it's just. Smell the fresh, fresh ocean air. Yeah, and feel a little like chill on your nipples. Yes. Definitely.

Definitely that. There's nothing just like being like, oh, I feel like chill on my nipple. It's time to go out on a sweatshirt and then you don't follow us here. Follow me for more life advice. Oh my gosh. Oh, well, my next one I think is going to be somewhat atmospheric too. And I got confused when I just pulled it up because, oh, that would just be completely wrong. It says published January 1st, 2024.

And I'm like, I don't think. think it is. So I checked, you guys don't need to know this, but I checked Nightgalley. It does come out in October. And it's running cold by Susan Walter. Julie Adler's perfect facade is shattered by grief when her husband commits suicide. His death reveals that their luxurious California life was the house of cards. And his secret business dealings have left Julie penniless. As she strikes out on her own, Julie feels drawn to her old stomps. camping grounds in Banff, a charming and isolated ski town where she once trained for the Olympics. She finds work as a housekeeper at a luxury resort, but just as she starts to piece together new life, an eccentric guest turns up dead. And Julie, the last person seen in her hotel room is the prime suspect. The evidence is stacked against her, but even in the encroaching blizzard, Julie knows her way around these mountains. She just needs to evade the police long enough to find the truth behind the murder

and before the real killer finds her first. I'm so excited for this one. I know. Very moody and cold. The cover's amazing. So cool. The author is incredibly nice. She actually just sent me a copy of her book last week.

Nice. That's awesome. I love her. We should buddy read that. I'm down. Yeah. Let's do it. It sounds really good. And I love...

I've loved every single one of her books. So this is going to be my first one. That's what I thought. So I'm excited for that because I know that you've mentioned her before. Yeah. And she actually, she started following me on Instagram recently and was like, oh my God, like, I don't know how I haven't found your Instagram because I love like the casting thing that you do. So she was like, can I send you a copy of my book and see if you like it? And I was like, absolutely.

And it sounds really good. So I'm really excited. Yeah. So that would be really fun. to read together. We should. I'm obsessed with like the pink on the cover. I know. It's like hot pink. I'm stimming over here.

Hot pink font on a cover that looks extremely cold and dark. Yeah. Yeah. Your vibes. Dark mountain. Like I would not be surprised if like offline you were like, I actually designed that cover. Right. I have a 10th job now. I'm designing the covers.

Oh, it's about time to have a different job. Anyway. Same. My next one is one that I think that we should buddy read to. Ooh. Because it sounds like it is right up my alley and I'm so excited for it.

And I'm just waiting for the day that it is just chilly enough for me to be under a blanket and my favorite sweatshirt to binge the fuck out of this book. And I am talking about October 1st release called The Boyfriend by Freedom McFadden. It is about Sidney Shaw, who like every single woman in New York, has terrible luck with dating. She's seen it men who, she's seen it men. That doesn't make sense. She's seen men who lie and they're dating profile. Sorry, Frida, but I'll correct you on that one. Yes. She's seen men who lie. Yeah. That's where I got my screenshot from. So Sydney has seen men who lie in their dating profile, men who stick her with the dinner bill, and worst of all, men who can't shut up about their mothers.

But finally, she hits the jackpot. Her new boyfriend is utterly perfect. He's charming, handsome, and works as a doctor at a local hospital. Sydney is swept off her feet. Then the brutal murder of a young woman, the latest in a string of deaths across the coast, confounds police. The primary suspect is a mystery man who dates his victims before he kills them. Sidney should feel safe. After all, she's dating the guy of her dreams, but she can't shake her own suspicions that the perfect man may not be as perfect as he seems. Because someone is watching her every move, and if she doesn't get to the truth, she'll be on the killer's next victim. Damn. You like dating thrillers.

Or like, yeah, kind of dating related thrillers. You know what I mean. Yeah. No, I am so into the whole like plot device of online dating. Yeah. Partly because it reminds me one of my favorite books that came out in like the 90s or very early 2000s is the book Valentine by Tom Savage. And it's kind of similar to that. Like there's, it's a lot about like dating and stalkers within this book about serial killers. Yeah.

And the past like a couple of books that I've read that had that just kind of give me the Valentine by Tom Savage vibes. And I'm really excited for this one because I do love a Freedom McFadden book. I've never been disappointed by her. And I'm excited to see her spin on like a serial killer. story. I know. That's exciting. Yeah. Boyfriend. Don't have boyfriends. Moral of the thriller world story. Yeah. That's why I don't have a boyfriend

because I'm not going to get murdered. I think he'll already call me. Please. If you were a serial killer, I would hide your identity. Yeah. Mine is in a totally different direction. It's called It Will Only Hurt for a Moment by Delilah S. Dawson. Sarah Carpenter is starting over.

She's on the run, leaving behind her unsupportive narcissistic ex-boyfriend and alcoholic abusive mother, headed for a new beginning at Tranquil Falls, a secluded artist's colony. There with no cell signal or internet to distract her, she hopes to rediscover her love for pottery and put back together the broken pieces of her life. But when Sarah finds the body of a young woman while digging a hole for a pit kiln, things start falling apart. Her fellow artists begin acting. We've got another error because it says her fellow artists begin acting.

because it says her fellow artists begin acting. The fiber artist seems to be knitting an endless scarf. Okay. The violinist sounds like he's battling the devil himself every evening. The calligraphers scrawls strange words and grins at everyone with ink-stained teeth. Not to mention the strange dream Sarah has been having night after night. When she discovers glass shards in her clay, Sarah begins to wonder if someone is out to get her, or if she's losing her grip out here in the wilds where the pounding of the waterfall never ever fades as she investigates the beautiful grounds and the crumbling resort looming over them all she unearths a chillingly dark past that can no longer remain buried

so this sounds kind it is horrory and thrillery i was going to say it sounds very very dark very dark covers amazing it is so cool and hallie satin is the one who told me about this one she's got great taste mm-hmm she does howly rhymes and sally yes i just love that she said that like that's like what i like i know um no that does sound really good and i just i because i'm obsessed with all of the covers for everything that you've talked about tonight um yeah but it's It says that she's a Bram Stoker Award nominated author. Wow. So I bet you it's going to be very dark and very atmospheric.

Yeah. Yeah, it says an atmospheric feminist horror novel. Yeah. Sounds really good. Mm-hmm. Like unsettling good. Yeah. Man, I want to read it now.

Like, hang up. Like, okay, bye. Talk about your last book and shut up. well if you want to go in a completely different direction the name of this game this episode my last one is not a thriller but I'm sure it will be thrilling it is the book coming out August 30th and it's called Fair Catch

by C.E. Ritchie or Rishi it's the third book in the Leighton University College Sports M.M. Romance series and I'm just so excited for it because I love her stories but the Leighton University series is like one of my favorites. But it says taking in Kaysen Fuller as a roommate is meant to be a favor. One I regret immediately. The bumbling virgin football player drives me to the brink of sanity,

stealing my food, my sleep, my peace, and my solitude. My solution, call a ceasefire. Get him out on dates and out of my hair. Yet as our truths shifts, I realize there's a depth to this connection unlike any I felt before. It turns out I don't mind his presence. I crave it, along with every morsel I learn about him.

But falling for the guy from the wrong side of the tracks wasn't in the cards, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Now I'm at a crossroads between the life I thought I'd have or risking everything to catch him. That would be that would be so difficult within what is your roommate. Yeah.

Yeah. And you're like, oh, this is bad if things go bad. It also sounds. So here's like the thing that I like, obviously like, I love an M.Romance, but like the thing that I love about her stories is that they're like, none of them are like very cookie cutter. None of them are similar.

And there are times where you're like, is this relationship toxic or, like is this relationship like there's like in it or there's like something that makes it like very realistic to the point that like not everyone's love story is like the same and there are like sometimes like you have to go through hell before you end up with the person that like you're meant to be with and I just like love them and then they're really sexy and then they're really sexy and then they're really sexy tagline at the end yeah and I love that she just does what she with these characters because I think that all of her books are memorable.

But there is like a, there is like something at the bottom of like your synopsis on Amazon for a lot of like romance where it's like this is a story for 18 and up. Oh, okay. But like it'll tell you like what it features for like. 18 and up. 18 and up and tropes and stuff. But there is something I can just picture her writing this. but it says that is a standalone college sports romance featuring one frustrated virgin,

flirtatious roomies, and a not-so-sanitary use of butter that will have you clutching your pearls. What a promo. And I'm like, girl! That's amazing. I'm going to be super excited for this one to get here. Oh, yeah. because last summer I read all of her books. Like I binge all of them like back to back.

And then I was like, okay, now what do I do with my life? So like it's the first time that I'm like excited for a book from her because I read everything last summer. So I'm really pumped. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I remember. I even know who she is because you loved her so much.

Oh my God. I like could not stop. I think like her books are like somewhere between like, to 500 pages and I think I read like one a day. That's awesome. I would just like get done work and I would just like start reading. I don't even know if I like eight for like five days straight. It's fantastic.

That's the best though when you find that. Yeah. Yeah. So we're all chasing all the time. I know. It was such a good high. Yeah. We're going to be reading all fall.

Yeah. Pretty huge, but still. If you don't hear from us between. now in like November. You know why.