Bookwild - A Cruel Summer Book Playlist

Episode Date: June 23, 2023

Thanks to @caratbrlist on Instagram for this week's topic: what to read if you are as obsessed with Cruel Summer as we are.Follow us on Instagram:Gare @gareindeedreadsKate @thegirlwiththecookonthecouchBooks We Talked AboutAll The Missing GirlsThat NightYou Will Know MeThe Night ShiftThe Night She DisappearedA Flicker in the DarkPretty ThingsThe Girls Are All So Nice HereEverything You Want Me to BeAll These Beautiful StrangersThe Lucky OneThe Last Time I LiedYou Can Trust MeIf We Were Villains 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 

Hey guys, welcome to the Killing the Tea podcast. This is Gare and Kate. And we are going to be discussing all things, chills, thrills and kills. Kate and I are going to be talking about our favorite books, TV shows and movies that are in the thriller or crime fiction genre, as well as some reading habits and other items related to how we met on Bookstagram that will fit in with this podcast. So thank you so much for, joining us and we hope that you have fun and get totally terrified. Okay. I feel like we haven't recorded just us together in a while, but like it can't have been that long. It's been two weeks. Yeah, it just feels long. But that's long for us. Are you fucking kidding? That's true. I hate everything about today. Um, okay, so they gave up. Good. Um, okay, so I have an icebreaker. Oh yeah. I'm excited. So I keep seeing this TikTok, which reminds me of me, naturally. And it's, have you seen the TikTok of Kiki Palmer? Uh, like her reaction to, it's her, I don't know. I've seen a lot of Kiki Palmer lately. It's her favorite swear word.

Uh, I don't know. So basically she says it's motherfucker, which is my favorite. wristwear word. Yes. Yes. That, yep. Because she's like, you can say it like funny. You can say it like mad. You can say it like her. And she does like this great Angela Bassett impression. But I wanted to know

because I agree with Kiki, like motherfucker or fuck, like any form of fuck. Like I let, yeah. Fucker. Motherfucker. Fucking A. Fuck, fuck, fuck. Like all of them. So I just want to know what's your favorite like curse word. Like what's your go to when you like

stub your toe or when you're having a day. I don't know if you've had one of these recently, but like when you're having a day that like nothing just seems to be right for you. Yeah, I don't know if I've had one recently. I mean, I go to fuck. Fuck is like, if I stub my toe, I'm like, fuck. Yes. And I love motherfucker. I love how it can be motherfucking. Like, it's an adjective, it's an adverb, it's a noun, it's everything. Yes. I agree. What else? there's really that one yeah because like i say w tf a lot too like in texts and tyler and i have general reactions of like if something's weird we're like the fuck so there's a lot of like the disbelief of being like are you fucking kidding me yes probably hear me say a lot

yeah i think it in my head a lot to be my my go-to I can I get my throat clear, so I'm sorry if I sound gravelly this whole time. That's okay. My dad just got home and he's like confused us to what's going on. Motherfucker is mine. Motherfucker. Yeah, it's a good one. I wish I could do a good of a job as Kiki Palmer. I know. She's great.

If I woke up like a couple of her audio is going viral. She has one where she's talking about some Taylor Swift song. I can't remember which one. And it's like going viral too. Oh, Taylor. Oh, Taylor. Speaking of Taylor. Speaking of Taylor, we had a listener tag us in something.

That's very Taylor related. Yes. It's something I always think of. So on Instagram, Carla, no, I'm sorry. Kara, TVR list. Yes. I need to make a. an eye appointment.

I'm a dentist appointment and I need to redo all my prescriptions. I'm a mess. Kara TVR list on Instagram was watching the new season of Cruel Summer and decided to tag us in a post last night and say

like, hey, you guys should recommend books for people who like Cruel Summer. Yeah. Which is like... We immediately were on it. Like both of us were like we're obsessed with that show so good did you start the second season no I will not until they've all aired

oh that's right you did text me that you did text I just won't it's okay I um I started it last night it's good did you how was the first now do you like it I don't know why I'm short-circuiting I did like it my thing is I don't remember the first season if it had two timelines or three it's a good question this one has three but there were definitely only two at the beginning of the first one yeah so like I was like

this is a lot like it has three timelines I was like I'm kind of confused as to what's going on because it's like a minute for timeline kind of thing maybe not exactly a minute but it just feels like it yeah so like the minute you get like feel as to one timeline it's jumping in all these other different directions

but I recommend end, even if, like, people are like, I don't know if I'm into this. Give it at least until the end of the first episode. Oh, yeah. And then you kind of find out what's going on and it gets really juicy. Messy? Messy, juicy, dramatic. The music is on point because it's like, I believe, 1999 in the year 2000.

Oh. That is so cool. Spice Girls. I can't wait to start it. It's so good. So. But I'm loving it. But every time people mention cruel summer, I'm like thinking of Taylor. Are you thinking of?

I'm drunk in the back of the car. I'm crying like a baby coming home from the bar. Yes. I was listening to it. I had to take my dog for a ride so that he would let me do this podcast and I listened to it the whole way. And I was like, only good vibes. Dogs. It's a cruel summer night. And so far it worked. Yeah. Well, speaking of it. of Cruel Summer, I saw TikTok last night of these three men. I believe they were gay men, but if they weren't... They just didn't know.

I know something you don't know. The next single by Taylor Swift is called I know something you don't know. Probably. I imagine. The way things are going right now. Yeah. The way my reveals are coming in. But they were sitting around a table

and they were talking about the lyric. He looks up, grinning like the devil. Mm-hmm. And they're like, Taylor, that is not very PG. Like, that's a very steamy lyric. It's very watermelon sugar. I never, in my entire life, thought that's what that meant.

Did you think she said something else, or did you just not think that's what it meant? I was definitely the team, somebody saying, like, he looks so pretty like the devil or like the devil or something like that. but when it was like he looks up grinning like the devil I guess I was just like so focused on the fact that I had the lyrics wrong that I like never really thought of it or I was like maybe he's just looking up at the moon like you know you know like a man like looks up and you see like the chin and you see like the nice like defining jaw line like maybe that's what you know

but then I realize that it is not a PG song kind of looking up from something else yeah well and the other thing is I wouldn't know what that's like. True. To have a man looking up from that area, grinning, or to be a man looking up from that area, grinning. You have a fair reason to be confused then. I've been near one of those in my entire life, and it was when I was born, and I was colic for six weeks after, so I have not seen what sentence, because all he did was crying.

I'm never going near that again. I'm never that traumatized. Sworn off. That is like my favorite. story. Like when I was born, the hospital was relatively empty because I was born on Memorial Day weekend. Um, so my mom was recuperating in her hospital bed and the nurse came in. When the nurse opened the door, she could hear this baby screaming from the top of its lungs from like the nursery. Oh my God. And she was like, you're a mad baby. She looked at the nurse and she was like,

oh my God, whose baby is crying like that? And the nurse is crying like that. And the nurse is, was like, oh, honey, that's your baby. That's yours. That would be yours. Your baby in there waking up all the other babies, just screaming like a psycho. I was 11 days late and they had to induce labor. Ooh. Like, she was just like, I just don't think you were ever going to come out.

Like, I just think that you were like, then you did come out. I'm not ready for the world. Yeah, I was like, I'm not ready. I'm 11 days late. Yeah. I'm not ready for the world. I don't know how long I would have been if we let things go naturally. and Kathy was like you came out pissed.

There you go. You were not going to know that a man would look up grinning like a devil. No. I will say. So interestingly enough, this is one of those songs that some people think that that song's actually about Carly and that she uses he pronouns because she's not ready to say it was about Carly. And then plenty of people think it's about Joe. So then the other point is that if it's about.

Joe, he's also someone, he's really tall. He's like three inches taller than her. And so they were all, that was like, I've seen like people dissecting that too. Like when people are like, maybe it just means he's looking up at her and they're like nobody looks like, like nobody taller than Taylor Swift is looking up at her. And I was like, no shit. No shit. You're right. So yeah, it's, I love it. I love. I had no clue as anyone who's in listening since I had like a gap in my fandom. I didn't know that she got close to like R rated in like because reputation dress is similarly provocative. And what's the other false God on lover is just like horny.

It's just a horny song. And I was like, I didn't know. I had a same reaction. I'm like, I didn't know this about you. I went to the reputation era or erotor with my friend. I'm so jealous. And I loved false god and he was like, they're not going to play that.

Like, she's not going to perform it, like, whatever. And I was literally like that meme, you know how they have the meme of the girl like crying at the end of the concert and like still sitting there and everyone's left. And she's like, I'm waiting for her to sing like whatever. That was me with false god. I believe it. Yeah. It's so good. Her performance on SNL of that is like so good. Oh, I know with like the, what is it, like the candles or like the lights all around.

Yeah, it's different lighting. And she's wearing like a suit of a masculines. Yeah, kind of like a very boxy. 80 suit. Yes. Some people also say it's a very top energy suit was what I was to be. dating saying. Oh, my God. You're like so up on the up and up with like queer news and queer theories more than me. I am the worst gay ever. Well, I, let's be fair. I really am the only knowing this about Taylor because Ares Tour has taken over my TikTok. But on this subject, yeah, the comparisons to Evelyn Hugo are pretty cool.

That's the other thing. That's what happened. I had a crossover of. like Taylor Swift and book talk and like Evelyn Hugo and now my TikTok is like you like Evelyn Hugo you like Taylor Swift here's everything to know about Taylor Swift and why she's like Evelyn Hugo so my like special interests are bouncing back and forth off each other do you know what I just thought of what do you remember when there was the rumor that there was the huge memoir or autobiography that's

supposed to be what, July 9th from Flatiron? Yes, I think so. I'm surprised that nobody else is talking about that anymore. I know. Because I, that's funny, because I thought about it. I think last week, I was like listening to something and it made me think of it. But I think what happened, there was that like her publicist or I think Tree, her publicist, her PR team, whatever, was like, no, this is not Taylor's.

Like, they came out and said it. And then I think everyone stopped talking about it. right because I was like, wait, we never really found out who it was yet either. I want to know if it's actually coming out or if it was just like something weird that had happened. Yeah, was it like a glitch? But it's very strange. Yeah. I know. That's going to be interesting to see if it does. Could you imagine if it's like no shade to anyone, but like a little shade, but like, could you imagine if it's something Neil Diamond? Yeah. someone benefited from like everyone pre-ordering that book.

Oh my God, I know. It's literally going to be like the same thing when like that iOS version came out and everyone had that U-2 album. Oh, yeah. Yes. You're right. They're going to have like all these warehouses. They were like, you will have this. Everyone's returning it. Yes. I don't even want it for free. I know I pre-ordered this because I thought it was Taylor Swift. Another rumor I think was Brittany, which I would also be happy with. I saw that one. I think that would be, I wish we could know. I don't think any of us know anything about what actually happens in her life.

I would be so pissed on July 9th when something doesn't come out or something comes out. I know. I know. Or it'll be like really shitty too. You had someone though who you were talking about who you wanted it to be and you had a really good one. I did. This is a while ago when we, it was like when the news. first broke. You said someone and I was like, oh, that would be awesome.

Drew Barrymore? Maybe it was true. Yeah, I think you, maybe I think it was true. Drew Barrymore, I'd buy. That would be. Britney Spears I'd buy. Taylor, I'd buy. I just, I don't know. At this point, I would have to. My whole thing with Taylor is just this whole like ice spice thing and how everybody is like brushed over it so quickly. And it just still feels really weird to me.

me. I agree. Like the remix of Ice Ice Ice comes out and all of a sudden there's like three reports that like Taylor and Maddie Healy are no longer dating and everybody's just like back to praising. Yeah. Yeah. But I will say because I mostly agree with you. Only caveat. She holds hands with lots of people. So they might not have actually been dating, but he doesn't seem like the best guy to associate with anyway. I think it's for me it's an

association thing anyway. It would be the same thing if Bella Hadid had said something like that. And she was like, still part of Taylor's squad. But right. I don't know. It's just very strange to me. Yeah. It was messy. Beyonce. I would buy Beyonce. Yes. I think you might have said that one when we talked about it too. Should be interesting. But cruel summer. Cruel summer. Cruel summer Cool summer. It's cruel with you.

Everyone's like cool guys. Everyone's like, okay, I'm hanging out. Get to the books. Yeah, like get to your fucking strategy here. So, I picked books for cruel, cruel summer. But I kind of

went with, I think my theme, did you do YA? or did you do I mean regular A somewhat there's like

college early 20s and then somewhat I guess the answer is kind of somewhat yeah okay

because I thought like 40s well I didn't do any like YA books like I didn't do any young adult like for anyone under 18

basically is what I'm saying like my books are pretty dark still I think I might have one where, yeah, they're 15. One of the girls is 15. So I have one in that range. So the rest are not. I didn't want to do like Karen McManus.

You know what I mean? I didn't want to do like just like books about teenagers. So I kind of what I did was because I think that one of the things that I love and admire about the show is like the deceptive secrets that are very like intricately. played out per episode and the different timelines. So a lot of mine deal with multiple timelines or something from somebody's past that comes back to haunt they ask. Oh my gosh. That's amazing. I don't have anything prepared that that's amazing. But we were definitely thinking the same because most of mine revolve around multiple timelines or distorted timelines and like multiple people's relationship dynamics.

Yes. Becoming a problem. Yes. Love it. Cool. We were tracking. I'm going to. I think you should kick it off.

Okay. Because I am very, very, very fucking excited to see what you came up with. I know. I'm excited to see what you came up with. but my first one is all the missing girls by Megan Miranda. It's kind of a long synopsis, so I'm going to try to sum it up as quickly as I can. But basically it's been 10 years since Nicolette left her rural hometown after her best friend, Corinne, disappeared.

She goes back home to take care of her father, and she's like brought into some present drama that like brings up all of her stuff with Corinne going missing in the past. And so back when Corinne, her friend went missing, the investigation was focused on Nicolette, her brother Daniel, her boyfriend Tyler, and Corinne's boyfriend Jackson. And basically none of them are really still in contact. but she goes back to take care of her dad and Tyler is dating someone named on a lease fucking Tyler's gotta be careful fucking Tyler's and they're on a leases man and um so and that this is intricate there's just no way to make it fast um I'm like I can I can shorten this

You just can't. So he's dating Annalise, who in the past was their younger neighbor and is also the group's alibi for the night that Corinne disappeared. So Nicolet goes back and then back to town to take care of her dad. And Annalise goes missing that same day. So past and present collide. They're trying to figure out how Annalise went missing. But the craziest part is that the book is told backwards from day 15. to day one and it works.

It's so good and it's such creative storytelling, but it's like you're finding out what happened when they were teens, but like it's taking place while they're adults. It's so good. I love that book. I like kind of wanted to reread it when I was looking at this because I read it in 2018. I'll check it out again with you. Yeah, I loved it so much.

And I like that kind of. story structure. I know. I know. And I will say that's a very popular book with very, very high praise from people. Like everybody who reads it basically loves it. So if you are intimidated by a book that it's told backwards. Yeah.

Don't be because things make sense. The pacing and everything is still very structured like your standard novel. It's just a little bit more. And Megan Miranda is just kind of good at that. She is good at, like, writing complex things. But, like, when you're reading it, it doesn't feel like you're having to, like, comprehend tons of stuff at once either. Right.

She's really good at that. Yeah. Okay, so this is a book that I've never talked about before on here. That's exciting. I think I have one that I've never talked about. By my Canadian queen, Chevy Stevens. Ooh. And I just remember this book being so, like, cinematic in my mind that I was like, oh, my God, like, this has to be a mini-series, but it has, you know, kind of like a cruel summer-esque vibe in the sense of, like, the reason that I picked it is because it reminds me of how a character in the past is, like, very different from the present because of what happened to them.

So the book I'm recommending first is called That Night by Chevy Stevens. And it is about Tony Murphy, who had the best adolescent life. She had a boyfriend, a younger sister. She couldn't relate to, although she did have a strained relationship with her parents and classmates who seemed hell bent on making her life miserable. So even though things weren't easy, Tony could have never predicted how horrific they would become, you know, it's kind of like one of those things where, oh my God, life sucks. That's what happens in our books. Life sucks. And I'm like, you're like, no, now it's going to suck. Um,

so her young sister is brutally murdered one summer night and Tony and her boyfriend, Ryan, were convicted of the murder and sent to prison. Now at the age of 34, Tony's out on parole and back in her hometown, struggling to adjust to a new life on the outside. Um, obviously prison has changed her. And she's doing everything in her power to, um, avoid violating her parole and going back, including having absolutely zero contact with Ryan, avoiding fellow parolees looking to pick fights, and steering clear of trouble in any way, shape, or form. But nothing is making that easy, especially Ryan, who is convinced he can figure out the truth, not her mother, who doubts Tony's innocence, and certainly not the group of women

who made Tony's life hell in high school, and may have darker secrets than anyone realizes. no matter how hard she tries ignoring her old life to start a new one is impossible. Before Tony can truly move on, she must risk everything to find out what really happened that night. That sounds really good. It's so fucking good. Everything she does is incredible. I just loved every single book that she's written. But I just remember that one and the twist in the end and like the dual timeline, I was like, holy shit.

You're making me want to read. it. I would love about this one. I think the perfect thing for you would be for the rest of your summer to catch up on your TBR because if you were to binge Chevy Stevens books and like all of them back to back, it would just be such a good reading experience for like fall slash early winter. Yeah, that would be fun. Like the minute the weather dips. I know I was thinking of about you yesterday because I was like the minute, like, weather dips below like 60K is going to be like just organically caffeinated. Well, I was thinking of you because they were saying that yesterday was the summer solstice. So beginning today, each day is going to get shorter and shorter.

Thank you. Thank God. Because I am sick of it being bright at nine o'clock. As of today, June 22nd. the days are going to begin to get shorter and fall. Nice. We'll arrive. And all the pumpkin. Oh my God, pumpkin. Sweat shirts. I know.

Your leggings. I literally waited to put a shirt on until we started, but I would not sweat. I had my hair up in a way that, like, wouldn't get creased. And I was just not wearing it and just had fans on me. It's been insane. Yeah, because last week, you know, with Riley Sager, just one of the maybe most popular episodes we've had, actually. I don't think I told you that. Oh, my God, that's exciting.

I know. And I just like, I was drenched and sweat. And you can, like, see my veins sitting to the outside. I'm like, I mean, I knew this was going to happen, but did it have to happen this day? So I like playing the head today. We're going to have, like, TV seasons. when we just blow up and become super popular one day and like only do author interviews from September to like April.

There you go. Because Kate doesn't want to sweat. She's fine, sweating with me, but not with anyone else. I know. It's never ideal, but I was like it would be on this day that like it was like dripping down my back as I was like, hey. Yeah. Everything's great.

Hello. First time meeting you. Happy summer. Yeah, but, you know, it's okay. It was about Riley anyway, so. Yeah. I reminded myself, I was like, I'm barely on screen. Also true.

Yeah. I also have a book that I haven't talked about at all on the podcast because I was just scrolling and scrolling through what I've read because I was just like, I just had time. That's what it is. So I was able to just keep scrolling through years of books. because a couple of them that I would consider like are my bonus or honorable mentions, there are a couple I've talked about so many times. So I was like, let's just see if there are any other ones. Were you about to ask me something or should I finally say this book that I'm heavily introing?

No, you go right ahead. Okay. But it's called You Will Know Me by Megan Abbott. And it, yeah, so like it says it's not young adults. which is interesting, but it is very dark. So that might be part of it. But Katie and Eric Knox have dedicated their lives to their 15-year-old daughter, Devin, a gymnastics prodigy, and Olympic hopeful. But when a violent death rocks their close-knit gymnastics community, just weeks before an all-important competition, everything the Knoxes have worked so hard for feels suddenly at risk.

as rumors swirl among the other parents revealing hidden plots and allegiances. Katie tries frantically to hold her family together while also finding herself drawn irresistibly to the crime itself. In the dark corners, it threatens to illuminate. So it's not YA because it's through the parents. That's what I read it a long time ago. So it is mostly told through the parents. And I just remember it being really dark.

in regards to like what was happening and how young they were. Her books are really dark. They are. But like also like very twisty and yeah. She's really good. She's a great storyteller. I love her. I agree.

I love her. We don't, we haven't talked about really like any of hers is what I realized. I still have a couple to read technically. So. Yeah. There's a new one. crazy gymnastics or not crazy twisty whatever I'm losing the word that I want acrobatts

there we go speaking of crazy acrobats no I'm just kidding that would die um no I'm just going to talk about I mean I've talked about this book before so this will be like very short and sweet but the night shift by Alex Finlay. Such a good one. I love this book. And it's so good for Cruel Summer because it has that dual timeline. So like New Year's Eve, 1999,

basically a bunch of teens working at a blockbuster video in New Jersey who are working the night shift are attacked and only one survives. The police identify a suspect. who basically takes off and is never seen again. And then 15 years later in the same exact town, a bunch of teens working at a ice cream store, I believe, are attacked and only one makes it out alive. And the survivor from Blockbuster and the survivor from the ice cream store basically

remember the killer saying to them, good night, pretty girl. So it's, fucking crazy. But it's like dark, like cruel summer. But it's not like here in Slaughter Dark. Like it's just like twisty and like cruel summer-esque because you have, you know, teens and then you have like dual timeline. And it's told through three perspectives. So the survivor of Blockbuster,

the brother of the original suspect who thinks that like the police has it like wrong. Like wrong. Yeah. And then the FBI agent was like investigating both cases and trying to figure out how they're connected. Yeah. Yeah.

And I didn't even catch this until I talked to him about the book. But that detective is like introed in every last fear. And I didn't even catch it. He like said it. And he was like, and you know, she's from blah, blah, blah. And I was like, yeah. I don't think I don't know. And I was like, whoa.

Yeah. So also. if you end up liking that one. Every last few years really good too, but it's... Every last year is really good. Yeah. Yeah. Every last year is really good.

I would not have thought of the night shift. I love that one. I have another one that's dual timelines. And it is the night she disappeared by Lisa Jewel. Ooh, good one. I still love this one so much. Like, I remember loving reading it. But in 2017,

19 year old Tallulah is going out on a date and leaves her baby with her mom Kim. So Kim watches her leave and basically she does not return. And so the next morning, Kim calls Tallulah's friends who tell her

that Tallulah was last seen heading to a party at a house in the nearby woods called Dark Place. She never returns. And then two years later in 2019, Sophie is walking in the woods near the boarding school where her boyfriend has just started work as a head teacher when she sees a note fixed to a tree and it says dig here. A cold case and abandoned mansion, family trauma and dark secrets lie at the

heart of this novel. It's so good. So good. And like there are so many layers and also there's like a lot I mean she does a lot of character development always. But like I just remember caring so much about the characters in the same way that I did a local woman missing where I was like oh I care about these people so much so it's one of those I love that yeah Lisa Jules a fucking crazy storyteller I love her yeah that was also one that I put my sister-in-law asked if there were thrillers that she would like meaning like not leaving you totally disappointed in the world at the end, like at least some characters are good. So I've been trying to think of some. And this

was actually one where I was like, I think you can enjoy this one and you wouldn't be like, it wouldn't have the same effect that the book she was mentioning did. I think I found you would be another good one for two, maybe. You're right. That would be really good for her. I think anything other than the family duology. Yeah, definitely not that. Other than that, I think that you're Good. Yeah. Watching you was pretty not too dark. Yeah. I remember that one. I remember everything. Yeah, there's like the principal, right?

Yes. Okay. I was making sure I was in the right one. That one's good. Yeah. Speaking of books that you should not recommend your sister law. I know. if you're listening, do not read this one. But if you're looking for something like Cruel Summer and you don't mind a little dark,

open your ears. My next pick is my girl, Stacey Willingham, a flicker in the dark. Did you pick that? No. I was nervous. I was nervous about that one. Now that's a really good one. So the reason I like this one is because the parents are very involved.

in both seasons, which I like because it's not in a way that you're used to with like a young adult show where like the parents are like getting in the way or like their nosiness is like annoying them. Like it's like very much like they're involved in different aspects depending on the parent. So with this one, I was like, ooh, I really like this dual timeline kind of story where the parent is heavily involved and not in like a cliche kind of way similar to cool summer. So a flicker in the dark is about Chloe Davis, who was just trying to live her best life in a small Louisiana town when she was 12 years old and six teenage girls went missing. By the end of the summer, Chloe's father had been arrested as a serial killer and promptly put in prison. Chloe and the rest of her family were left to deal with the aftermath and try to move on.

And then 20 years later at 32, Chloe's a psychologist working in bad. Rouge and getting ready for her wedding. She finally has like somewhat of a normal resemblance of life. But a local teenager goes missing and then another. And all of those like traumatic thoughts from that summer that she was 12 kind of start coming back to her. So she just decides to kind of look into things and see if there are. are any connections or if it's like a copycat or if her father maybe was not a serial killer

or if it was aliens or you know a lightning bug in the dark. Oh my god. I love that fucking cover. That cover is so cool. I think they did something too. I think the lightning bugs were like white on the hard cover and then they were yellow in the paperback. Huh. Or maybe it's the font.

I'm not sure. There is a little bit of a difference, and I was like, ooh, I kind of dig how they did that. Yeah. So. She's great. She's great. She is great.

Also a very talented story teller. Mm-hmm. I can remember what I was saying. Story maker. Yeah. Story writer. Story, story. Well, another person who I also feel

is really good at telling stories is Janelle Brown. And I feel like pretty things is very similar. Lots of like complicated relationships, but they're more like early 20s. But like there are such large shifts multiple times in the book where you're like, wait, what? So that part of Cruel Summer is very present in this one. It's a super long description. and I've kind of talked about it before.

But basically a grifter and an heiress, like two girls, are brought together because one is trying to scam the other. And so Nina, basically, Nina's the one trying to scam Vanessa. Vanessa is an heiress. Nina really thought that her fancy liberal arts degree was going to, like, lead to a real. really fulfilling career and that did not end up happening. But Nina grew up with her mom, who was like the original con artist of her life. So she knows how to do that. So basically trying to capitalize on the skills that she does have, she kind of books like a kind of like a vacation at a place where that like Vanessa owns but like rent out to like Airbnb type stuff.

And Vanessa is like kind of like an Instagram Instagram. She's an Instagram influencer, but like already had tons of money beforehand. So just post like all this rich people shit. And so. Yep. So Nina's like, girl, I'm coming for you. And basically she and her boyfriend go to stay there on the property. And Vanessa is there.

and things get diabolical and messy. And it's amazing. Mm-hmm. That's such a good book. That's what I definitely like to read again. It's a chunker, but like it just goes by so quickly. Yeah. It's 500 pages, but it's so good.

Do not be intimidated by that book. It does not feel like it. Yeah. I remember when I got a copy of that. I was like, oh my God, it's going to take me forever. And it like took me like two or three days. Yeah. Whoa.

one of the top comments on Goodreads is about it being adapted as an Amazon series, but that was in 2021. So who knows if that's changed? Well, lucky as girl alive was announced to be adopted in 2015 and didn't come out until 2022. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes things are worth weight. Right. Especially if it's Janelle Brown or Descanol.

Yes. The queens. So naturally, my first pick was going to be, or like the first book that I thought of was going to be in my dreams I hold a knife by Ashley Winston. Oh, yeah. But like, consider that even if you're not interested in that book, the plot summary is emblazoned in your brain because of this podcast. So I went with something else. I went with the girls are also nice here by Lori Elizabeth Flynn. That was the one that I was going to say next. Is it? Yes, I haven't pulled up. That was what I was going to say next. I have a backup.

I have three backups or honorable questions. So we're good. All right. Yeah. But I even picked that one for next. That's crazy. That's crazy. It was that was like I picked a backup for. But I was like, I wonder if she picks it if she'll just do that one early and be like, I beat you to it. Because you remember that one podcast? We had like three or four in comments. I was like, I'll just do a few before I do this one. But yeah. Yeah, the girls are also nice here.

This is a long summary. So I'm gladys, but we love this book. A lot has changed in the years since Ambrosia Wellington graduated from college and she's worked hard to create a new life for herself. But then an invitation to her 10-year reunion arrives in the mail along with an anonymous note that reads, we need to talk about what we did that night. Dot, dot, dot, dot, dot. So basically, it seems that the secrets from her past and the people she thought she left there aren't as buried as Ambrosia believed. She can't stop fixating on what she did or who she did in larger than life, Sloan, Sully, Sullivan.

It's a lot. Yeah. So she's Ambrosia's former best friend who could make anyone do anything. She is like the it girl. So at the reunion, Ambrosia and Sloan receive increasingly menacing messages. And it becomes clear that they're being pursued by someone who wants more than just the truth of what happened. There is somebody who's basically looking for revenge for what they did and the damage they caused, the extent of which Ambrosia is only now fully understanding. And it was all

because of the game they played to get a boy who belonged to someone else and the girl who paid price. So again, alternate timelines, kind of that like morally gray character. you know, because you're going back and forth between like the reunion and the freshman year of college. And I just was like, damn, I remember reading that one and I just was like hooked on the very first page. Yeah. It's so good. It's so good. It's like the best nasty dark academia. Like just heartbreaking multiple times too. Yeah. Yeah. It's so good.

That one is the baby genius. And the ending, oh, was so good. I, like, respected the ending so much. Okay, so this is a book that I actually, like, love, love, love, love, love, and we'll always recommend and be like, this is a five-star. I remember the plot. Yeah, yeah. I'll tell you later what it was that I loved it, what I love about it.

Yeah, I'll have to read it, too. I have one that revolves around teenage girls, as about this was one of my backups. And it's definitely about like how our perceptions of each other or other people can be so wrong. And it is everything you want me to be by Mindy Mejia about Heidi Hoffman, who has spent her whole life playing many parts, the good student, the good daughter, the good girlfriend. But Hattie wants something more, something bigger, and ultimately something that turns out to be exceedingly dangerous. When she's found brutally stabbed to death, the tragedy rips right through the fabric of her small town community. It soon comes to light that Hattie was engaged in a highly

compromising and potentially explosive secret online relationship. The question is, did anyone else know into what lengths might they have gone to end it. Haddy's boyfriend seems distraught over her death, but had he fallen so deeply in love with her that she had become an obsession? Or did Haddy's impulsive, daredevil nature simply put her in the wrong place at the wrong time, leading her to a violent death at the hands of a stranger? And I just realized how perfect this one was while I was reading the summary. I was like, oh my goodness, I'm not going to say why. But this is a very, this one's great for cruel summer, basically is what I'm saying. It is.

I'm so glad you picked it, but I'm so pissed off at myself for not picking it because like, I thought you might pick this one. I don't know how I didn't. I don't know how I forgot. Not forgot. It's one of my favorite books in the entire world, but I don't know how I didn't pick it because like that is probably out of all of the ones that we've talked about tonight. that's probably the most perfect.

It is. That's the one that's the closest to cruel summer and like the one that's like the most like start with this one. I don't give a shit what goes on after after that. Like that's the one that you need to start with. If you really want a similar like a very similar vibe. I feel like that's the book that literally like we could have any subject and like that's the one that I would be like bending the rules to include.

Like if you were like let's do serial killer throw. and I'll be like this one by Mindy Mejia, but even though I'm not going to tell you if there is or isn't a serial killer, but there may or may not be a serial killer. Right. And like just like then the rules. Or if you were like domestic suspense, I'd be like she has parents.

It is. You know, like it's just so good. It is. Because it is also about like everyone's lives in the community. I also love how the character of Hattie plays with the reader because it's, I mean, in the synopsis, but it's kind of like that thing of how everybody is different around different people. Like her boyfriend thinks one thing of her. Her family thinks another thing.

Her friend thinks another thing. There's other people that think like, so it's just so good. It's so good. Yep. I love anytime anyone plays with perception because it's also a humbling experience to remember that like, we don't know everything we think we know. Yeah. It's so good.

Mm-hmm. and if you like that one. What? Yeah, I have my last one. Okay. Nice. So my last one is another book that I've never talked about. But the more I think about it, the more I'm like this one is like number two, like second place for our recommendations.

Okay. That's funny that we did it. We both did that at the end. Because I'm just like, wow, this book is actually like, when I'm, I started watching Cruel Summer, Cruel Summer reminded me of something and I'm having the lightbulb moment that Cruel Summer was reminding me of this book. Whoa. Nice. So the book is called All These Beautiful Strangers by Elizabeth Clayfoth, K-L-E-H-F-O-T-H. In the last day of summer, Grace Fairchild, the beautiful young wife of real estate mogul, Alistair Calloway, banished from her family's

lakehouse without a trace, leaving behind her seven-year-old daughter, Charlie, and a slew of unanswered questions. Years later, 17-year-old Charlie still struggles with the dark legacy of her family name and the mystery surrounding her mother. Determined to finally let go of the past, she throws herself into a life at Knowlewood, the prestigious New England school she attends. Charlie quickly becomes friends with Noel Woods' It crowd. Charlie has also been tapped by the A's, the school's former, sorry, the school's elite secret society, well known for terrorizing the faculty, administration, and their enemies.

To become a member of the A's, Charlie must play the game, a semester-long, diabolical, high-stakes scavenger hunt that will jeopardize her friendships, her reputation, and even her place at the school. As the dark events from the past and present converge, Charlie begins to fear that she may not survive the terrible truth about her family, her school, and her own life. I want to read this right now.

You will fucking love it. I've never seen this book cover. The cover is gorgeous. The cover is amazing. Stunning. And the book is so, so good. I read it in one sitting. You will gobble it.

You will gobble it up. Yeah. I guarantee it. I'm just going to stay up tonight. I would love to revisit. Well, I'd love to revisit Mindy Mejia. Yeah. I'd love to revisit this book.

And I'd also love to revisit The girls are also nice here. Yeah. I know. These are all so good. So good. So good. It's kind of cool.

It's a summer vibe as we go into summer. Yeah. Lined up well. Summer vibe, dark academia, dual timeline, multiple mystery. Yeah. I love like a secret society.

I love like, I just love everything about it. It hits all the Mars. It does. I have a bonus one. Yeah. Go for it. Because this was one of the ones that I was like,

I might pick this, but I was like, I'm not going to pick this because Kate's going to pick it. And you didn't mention it. So I don't know if you're going to be like, I don't know if you're going to agree with me or not.

And if you don't, then let me know. but I thought for sure one of the books that you were going to talk about tonight was the lucky one by Jessica Payne. Oh, no, that's a really good example. Yeah, like the dual timeline. I was getting a mixed up. I had to think of which one it was. I thought you were going to talk about that one because like that was like, oh, that would be really good to talk about. That is a really good one.

But, yeah. So that's about a woman who's survived. a serial killer and they call her the lucky one. And then dot, dot, dot, tear ensues. Same thing. She goes back to town because her dad is sick. And murder starts happening again. Murder as she wrote.

I had, we've talked about it many times. But the last time I lied, another little shout out. Oh, very good. Very good. Yeah. Very cruel summer vibes. But I think I think a lot of Instagram even knows about that one. So that's why I was like, we'll even count that one technically as a bonus. But the other one that I kind of thought was you can trust me by Wendy Heard. It's not totally the same, but it's like summer vibes and about two girls friendship. Yeah. So it's almost a bonus one. But it's also just really good. One of my honorable mentions was the It Girl by Ruth Ware.

Yeah, that's a really good one too. But I kind of like, I was like, I knew I was going to make fun of myself tonight and be like, in my dreams I hold a knife by Ashley Winstead. But like, if you enjoy that and you also enjoy Girl Summer, then you're like, the girls are also nice here. So then I was like, I can't do a third recommendation of dark academia about like a death and two trend lines. A friend group, a death, like, listen, is it one of my favorite tropes in a thriller? Absolutely. Like, reading those three back to back would be fucking amazing.

Yes. And then binge how to get away with murder. Yeah. And then like you would be like, okay, I'm sorry, are we talking about cruel summer? Or are you just doing dark academia books that deal with like a friend that died 10 years ago or a super that happened 10 years ago or like a college reunion. Yes. We love a reunion. We love our reunion. That I really need to fit if we were villains into my schedule because it's showing up

on book talk again. And I'm like, damn it, I want to have an opinion. I do too. I think if you do it, I want to do it with you. We have to do it together. It's kind of like I need you to like coddle me and hold my hand during this experience. Yes. Because I'm very intimidated by the Shakespearean obsessed cast.

I know. Same. I don't want them to be pretentious, annoying, try too hard to be unique and cool. Yeah. Like if there's a man with like a, is it an ascot? The little scarf that goes around your neck. If there's one of those, if there's a pencil mustache. If there's a vest

The casting director has spoken If there's a vest over a t-shirt or a shirt with jeans, I'm gone. If there's like those like long fancy French cigarettes, I'm out. If they only drink like cognac, oh my God. I'm done, though.

If they burst into song, I'm completely done. If one of them has hair, like Alice from the first Twilight movie I'm gone but it's a man it's a boy oh my god that's even worse oh god

if the teacher's French oh my gosh and hot or like creepy yeah well what we should do is I If there's one single teacup, I guess. Like whenever I decide to, I'll tell you, hold on Harley Bear, baby. She's whining at me.

I will start, I will start reading it because you read faster than me right now just because of what life and whatever. Anyway, I'll start reading it. Then I'll be able to get the vibe check enough. And then if it's good, I'll be like, start reading it if you want to. And then you'll catch up with me anyway. Yeah. So we could do that.

Okay. But also there's like so many to read, but I want to have an opinion on it. I do too. I really want to have an opinion on it. I think the thing is too is like I've had this conversation with other people where I'm like, I don't want to read about Shane's hearing him. And people are like, you either, they've either said the same thing about. Carrie Soto where they've been like, the Shakespearean aspect might drive you nuts or you don't notice.

And it's the same thing with like what people say about Carrie Soto with like the tennis. So we'll see. Yeah. I felt the same way. I didn't know if I would like it. And Carrie Soto, that's also why I don't recommend it necessarily to like, I'm not like telling you, you have to read it. Right. But I ended up enjoying it just for all kinds of.

the thing. Some people are like, there was too much tennis that distracted me from the story. And then there were other people that were like, it is a lot of tennis, but it didn't distract me at all from the story. Yeah. It was like everything was so much about her emotions, even when she was playing, that it, I think that's what made it work for me. Yeah. So yeah, but it's not like cruel summer. So don't even consider it. Maybe our next episode will be books to read if you love if we were villains. Oh my gosh. I know. So that we just read it this week and get our opinion. And we both like love it and are obsessed. We're like, what were you thinking? It'll be like me with ninth house where I'm like, I don't know.

And then I'm like, this book changed my life. This is my personality. Why don't more people write this specific subgenre? I'd be like, I need Shakespeare in all my thrillers. I just want Shakespeare obsessed people in college who may have, may not have murdered someone. Oh my gosh, that would be, that'll be funny. Yeah, well, tune in next week to find out.