Bookwild - Books on Our Fall TBRs with Gare and Steph

Episode Date: September 13, 2025

This week, Gare, Steph and I share books we are excited about on our Fall TBRs!Books We Talked AboutThe Reformatory by Tananarive DueSalt Bones by Jennifer GivhanKeep This for Me by Jennifer FawcettThe Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten MillerCursed Daughters by Oyinkan BraithwaiteThe Hitchhikers by Chevy StevensThe Mad Wife by Meagan ChurchAlchemy of Secrets by Stephanie GarberThe Intruder by Freida McFaddenThrough Our Teeth by Pamela N. HarrisThe Haunting of Room 904 by Erica T. WurthThe Bone Thief by Vanessa LillieLife and Death and Giants by Bob Rinaldi 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 

I love you guys. I know. We've got, we've got the trio again, Steph and Gare and me. Yeah. I made it. Steph, I love you so much, but like I could see you and I trying to record an episode by ourselves. You and me? Could you imagine? I'd like, how do we do this river signs up? Like, I'd be like, wait, we didn't press record ever. We never did it. I've been talking for three hours about

three books, seven shows, gossip. And we're talking about it. Too funny. Well, we are going to talk about fall hopefuls. Not necessarily all new releases, but I don't know why I said it that way. Releases, but ones that we're looking forward to reading this. fall. Because it's finally pumpkin spice season.

And I know some people love to be like, I don't like that. And I'm like, that's fine. It's still pumpkin spice season right now. I don't drink pumpkin size, but I love what it represents. Right. I drink enough pumpkin spice for all of us. Great. You say I'm a little.

The first week that it was out, I had three pumpkin shy lattes. Oh, as you said. I couldn't stop. And I love like an apple cider. donut. I don't have any of those near me yet. I need a friend here. I think you have them at Duncan. Oh, yeah. You're right. Oh, man. I love pumpkin. I need some cream cheese frosting on a pumpkin bar. I just want cream cheese frosting like all over my body. We are just all hungry. I have an icebreaker. I'm excited. So if you won a contest and they were like,

Like, you can be a character in any author's next book. Who would you pick that you think would write your character justice? Oh, that's such a good one. Is it like you want you like, you want to be in one of their stories or they, you think they'd write you the best? It's like somebody that you want to be in their stories, but like you also think could like represent you the best, right? So like, love her so much, but like I would love to be in a Freedom McFadden book, but I don't, like, I think that. like my character might not be the best in a Freedom McFadden book

because she's known for more like plot twist. Yeah. But then my answer is somebody that I think would like fucking crush my personality. You might as well go first. Yeah, you go first. I want to be in a Jennifer Hillier book. Oh, yeah.

You would do well there. I love her so much. And like for a thriller author, I just feel like she would represent me so well and have people be like, oh my god I love this character and then I would get like the most brutal death in the entire world that is exactly what I want. So my instinct and I could be biased by the fact that I just saw her but I feel like multiple Rachel Harrison's characters feel so similar to me. Like for this

prompt I'm like and also there's like there's horror but there's also not like insane stuff happening you know too so it's like technically I would survive well in that world I think it would be her like black sheep Steph and I were kind of talking about it too but black sheep and it just came out play nice

both of those characters like there are just some hilarious lines but it also made me like how's your relationship with your mother Rachel so also I think I would just fit in it was a good one i could totally see that i mean i've only read one of her books which had like you read the return right yeah i think i think i had like four three or four maybe female characters and they were all like very distinct yes like they weren't like characters that you would ever

read in another book yeah i think you'd really like the main character and play nice gear i think you would too. I want all of her beerbacks. She's just a really bitchy moments. I'm not bad bitchy, like great bitchy move. Yeah. I don't really think there's bad bitchy. Men who wear sweatpants. Like, it's like so perfect to me. Yeah. She like, yeah. Her writing's just amazing. It's so entertaining. Yeah. I wonder if it's like a Canadian paperback. It might be. Is she Berkeley? Yeah. Yes. Yeah, they don't do that in Canada. Oh. Burks. That's stupid. stupid. Yeah. I want all of her paperback. I know. Your covers are so cool. Oh, they're so cool. And it was kind of cool at the event. Like someone, one of the questions was like what other horror authors do you enjoy reading?

And she mentioned Alexis Henderson, who is on my literal top shelf up there, an Academy for Liars. And I was like, oh my God, you are truly a girl after my own heart. I have never heard anyone else talk about that book. Yeah. That's really cool. It is really cool. Yeah. I have two.

Well, one is a preview of one I want to talk about today. I think Carson Miller would be great. Yeah. And also, like, that's of like, I think, a variety of ways. But if I really want someone to dig in my brain and like, I think it would be Rebecca McCanna. Ooh. I think I wanted to go like, just like,

flawed how my pick my brain apart and just write me as a story I'd pick her I think that's cool I like that one too I think we can all collectively agree that like Ashley Winstead would do all three of us justice too I know I was thinking about that too like the last housewife and midnight is the darkest hour lots of crossover for me yeah yeah and I'm definitely in my dreams I the knife in this book will bury me. Yes. Amen. That's the truth. Oh, yeah. I think she writes a really interesting friend group. You can pick one to write the three of us together. I feel like that'd be so. Yeah. That's a good point. Yeah. I would be the question. Sacrificial lamb. You guys can investigate my murder. And I'll only come back in flashbacks.

like a fall a fall themed thriller you'll haunt us somebody fucking stabbed him to death in a pumpkin patch is it so funny that you say like that and I'm like oh that's such a cozy

cozy mystery then and I'm like someone just got murdered just no I could imagine if you were like if something happened to you like in the summer and it was like in the middle of being outside I'd be like he'd never come here by himself. He was

dragged here. He would never go outside in the nature in the summertime. He was not this was not his doing. It was 90 degrees out that day and humid. Somebody lured him here. Definitely. Someone dumped

there. The pumpkin spice copy. They were like, it's fall over here, little boy. He had to ungrettle. You ever think about like when when authors write like a body was found and there's like a few mementos found like what would be the things found by you? That's a good one too. That's so good.

That's so good. That's so good. There'd be a pumpkin spice cup and like a, I don't know. It would be like a pumpkin. My Murphy keychain. My Sir Michelle Geller keychain. And then my my cats. stick.

My collection of keychains in my chapstick. Yeah. I love that. I feel like mine would be an emotional support water bottle. Yeah. Headphones because I don't...

That's how they got you. I'm listening to audio books anywhere I am. I was probably listening to a book while they killed me. I would have, I guess, or my inhaler if it was 90 degrees outside. Kate's dying wish is like, can you just let me listen to the last chapter? Yeah, I just want to know the end. I know what's going to happen.

Hold on a second. I think mine are my uterus necklace. Oh my gosh. I kept looking at it when I saw it when you were here. And then I was like, does it look like I'm just like staring at her chest? No. Somebody thought it was a cross once. And I was like, that's what happened like at first.

I was like, wait a goddamn minute. What? Oh, the phone. And then I was like, oh, no, no, no. know that's not what that is. That is a beautiful floral reproductive. Yes, it is. Have I seen this necklace?

You may not have seen it because I didn't notice it so I was in person with her. But it's like a little gold like floral reproductive system of a woman. Yeah. I also love when people who aren't religious get cross like tattoos and stuff. I know. I want like a cross right here. That would be cool. an upside down one like sometimes it will look upside down yeah they would just be like what's that

and I'd be like oh it just reminds me of Ethelcane not Jesus I want book bookish tattoos not like an insane amount but even like small ones like little ever get together we have to go get little tattoos yes that's what we need to do when we all finally get together yeah what would you get I mean, I do have a, I went through a phase where I was saving a bunch of different, like, cool, minimalist book, like, thin line book tattoos, basically. I really liked those. What else have I thought about? I mean, I would probably get something bookish. I'm not exactly sure yet, though. I would get, like, a thin line book tattoo. Or I would get, like, a little jar right here with, like, three little hearts in it for jar of hearts. That would be cool. cute that would be amazing and then Jennifer Hillier would be like restraining order yeah no she'd like I'm honored

I think she'd be cool with it I'm just like oh my god you get to be the Pantine ProVe model and I'm just going to fall in love with all your books yeah I get that I feel like that's a cool tattoo to honor her book mm-hmm yeah it's not like her face that's what would be creepy

Jennifer Hillier and guaranteed breathes forever Her life L-Y-F-E Yeah, L-Y-F-E Number four, L-Y-F-E Oh, boy Well, have you read anything

Recently you just have to talk about Before we dive into our fall ones I finished the reformat Reformatory The Reformatory by Zanahar you do. Oh my God. So emotional.

Again, I feel like Gare, this is not one you just recommend to like absolutely anyone who's having any kind of day. Like, it's really bleak and it's sad and important. I'm going to use that word that people are like, oh, once you say something's important, but it is. But it was fantastic. I was so attached to the characters. And her writing is just.

just like beautiful is kind of even though she was writing about stuff. The narrator really brought it to life. And the gist of the story, it's about a 12-year-old black boy who basically defends his sister and gets sent to a reforming school, which is essentially like a plantation meets a prison, is basically what happens. And a lot is harrowing. like his experience there but what I was going to say is the narrator also does a fantastic job and I think he was so smart that they chose a female for it because like when she's like

when he's like going through traumatic stuff and she's like talking in a little voice you're like oh my god this is a 12 year old so oh my god very heavy you like want to you want to like be in that moods even sounds weird but like you need you want to be like don't read it if you're depressed right now is what I'm saying. Yeah. But it's fantastic. It's really good. Damn. Is that, um, is it like, do you think that people who do not like historical fiction would still like really enjoy the story? I think so. Yeah. Okay. And it's, well, and the other thing is, it's the 1950s. So yes, that's historical fiction, but also 70, like 75 years ago. That's it. So it's like the other thing that it kept reminding me of is like this was so recent.

And a lot of people don't think it was that recent. So and you're and you're really, if you enjoy horror, like you're in and it has a lot of those elements more than just historical. Yeah. Sold. Mm-hmm. Anyway. I just finished playing nice speaking of Rachel Harrison. And I think that was one of my recent favorite.

just like her books just work for me so they're so fun probably always going to get a relatively high rating unless something crazy there's one left at my bookstore oh the reformatory really i can't talk about anything that i read recently or what i'm reading now because i am going to talk about them for this up oh yeah i actually this was kind of fun because i just got this one all Libby literally this morning so that's made me like add it to the list for today and it's called salt bones by Jennifer Javan I think is how I pronounced it it's G-I-V-H-A-N at the edge of the Salton Sea in the blistering borderlands someone something is out hunting Malamar Veracruz has never left the dust choked town of Elvay here is that

Elvay. I'm hoping so. B-A-Y-Y-E. Here, Mal has done her best to build a good life. She's raised two children, worked hard, and tried to forget the painful, unexplained disappearance of her sister, Elena. When another local girl goes missing, Mal plunges into a fresh yet familiar nightmare. As a desperate Mal hunts for answers, her search becomes increasingly tangled with inscrutable visions of a horse-headed woman, a local legend who Mal feels compelled to follow. Miles' perspective is joined by the voices of her two daughters, all three of whom must work to uncover the truth about the missing girls in their community before it's too late. And I am going to read this last part because I think it actually kind of helps too. Combining elements of Latina and indigenous culture, family drama, mystery, horror, and magical realism in a spellbinding mix.

Salt bone, salt bones lay bare the realities of environmental catastrophe, family secrets, and the unreliaments. linting bond between mothers and daughters. Sounds like it just has so much going on. And it was an Ardvarc book. And I've, I lately, like, I don't,

I'm not subscribed, but I obviously see their posts and, like, other people's posts. And I've been, like, more books, like,

where I wasn't seeing this anywhere else. And so I requested the audio book a few weeks ago or a while ago. I think it was, like, on my polls for, like, six weeks. And I just got it today. So,

I'm very intrigued by it. That sounds really good. It sounds very, like the cover's very fall. I love the cover. Yeah. I'm always intrigued by Persephone. Mm-hmm. It was compt to Mexican Gothic and Shutter, a retelling of Persephone.

And Demeter? Demeter, is that? I never know. I think it's Demeter. Yeah. Yeah. I'm excited. Damn.

Yeah. Ardvarc was how I found out. I mean, it was also through journal of Jada, but she posted about dissolution, which was one I talked about a couple of months ago that was like a really fun time travel one with like an 80 year old female protagonist. And it was just very good. Oh, yeah. So Ardberg, if you want to sponsor me, you can. Yeah. Girl up. Yeah. Gary up.

Okay. Well. Um, I have been so excited for this book and I just read it this weekend and I am completely in love with it. And like when I say that like I was just excited for this book and thought it was going to like, it's something in my brain. It completely exceeded my expectations. So like not only did I love it, but I loved it even more than I thought I would. And it's called Keep This for Me by Jennifer Fawcett. I will never shut up about this book.

this is my 2025. This book was written for me, but it is so devastating and beautiful and mysterious and creepy and atmospheric and I'm obsessed. My comps would be, so it says I have some questions for you and notes on an execution would be the cops. Mine would be notes on an execution and local woman missing. Oh, yeah, you said that. Yeah, yeah, like combines the two like dual timeline too.

Yeah. Stay less. Yep. I already have it in my interested list. So fucking good. So one hot August night in 1993, a young couple go to a party. When their car breaks down, they are picked up by a truck driver who attacks the man and abducts the woman. She's never seen again.

That woman was Fiona Green's mother. When the trucker, Eddie Ward is caught. A mass grave of bodies is discovered in his backyard, but Fiona's mother isn't there. 30 years later on his prison deathbed, Ward insists that he didn't kill her, so Fiona finds herself back in the small town where her mother disappeared. Fighting demons of her own, she's shocked when history repeats itself and another woman at another roadside breakdown disappears. Only this time, the primary suspect is Jason Ward, Eddie's son. Desperate Fiona hunts down answers unaware that she is being drawn into a dangerous trap. so good oh oh i was muted but um i'm about to start this one oh yeah yeah yeah it is it is good it is good

it's like way more than you're expecting if like character wise yeah i love when that happens you're like oh there's like a whole depth going on or whatever yeah Yeah. And like the atmosphere in it is just chef's kiss. It's raining. It sounds perfect for fall. Yeah. It's like there's like so much mention of like everyone like being cold. It's you'll love it. You know, I love that.

Yeah. Oh my. And for no one who's interested, she'll be on the podcast in October, I think. Oh, hell yeah. When does it come out? October? 7th. Yes. So that's when that episode will air. And might be a duo interview. Fun.

Yeah, I'm going to be there. You better. Kate told me she was like, oh, I was like gushing about the book. Kate was like, I'm interviewing her and I was like, when? And she told me when and I was like, I'm, I'm hopping on. Invite me. I'm happy on. Oh, my gosh.

Oh, that'll be good. Yeah, I'm excited. Well, my first one also comes out on October 7th. And it was the one I previewed in my icebreaker. And it is called The Women of Wild Hill by Kirsten Miller. And I actually just earlier today saw that the audio came on neck galley. So maybe I'll get. I'm so glad I have that recorded me totally freaking out.

Yeah, because I was just like, honestly lately books, I'm so slow at eyeball reading lately. Yeah. There are places on earth where nature's powers gather. Girls raised there are bequeathed strange gifts. A few powers have powers so dark that they fear to use them. Such a place is Wild Hill. On the tip of Long Island, my reading is horrible today. It just happens sometimes.

Like, can you read where a comma is? is versus a period. For centuries, the ghost of a witch murdered by colonists claimed the beautiful and fertile Wild Hill until a young Scottish woman with strange gifts arrived. Sadie Duncan was allowed to stay. Five generations of Sadie's descendants called Wild Hill Home, each generation more powerful than the last. Then in the aftermath of a terrible tragedy, the last of the Duncan's once prophesied

to be the most powerful of their kind, abandoned their ancestral home. One of them, Bridget Leguer, moved to California and turned her dark gift into fame and fortune. Her sister, Phoebe, settled on a ranch in Texas where women visit in secret for her tonics and cures. Phoebe's daughter, Sybil, became a famous chef. Seemingly powerless, Sybil has never been told of the Duncan bloodline. Now, Bridget, Phoebe, and Sybil have been brought to Wildhill to discover their family legacy. The old one, furious at the path mankind has taken, has chosen three powerful, witches to turn the tide. The Duncans will fulfill their destinies, but only if they can set aside

their grievances and come together as a family. I'm so excited. That's a lot going on, but I'm interested to be like, okay, the powers combine like Captain Pina. Yes. She's like, I love how like different all of her books are too. Well, yeah, this one seems a little more like, I don't know, is it present day? Like sometimes like Yeah, sometimes like Which is wild still gives me like a historical vibe But like I think it's present day

I don't know They've just been around for a long time I think so I hope it has like practical magic vibes That would be awesome That'd be cool Also scheduling an interview with her right now So we're just starting off strong here on this pod

Hell yeah If you get my second pick I'm going to ship my pants. If you get an interview, if you get an interview with my second book, I'm going to shit my pants. Love to see.

Ooh. I guess I'll get going on mine so that we can find out who Gare's talking about. I just got this one on that galley. I think last week, it's cursed daughters by Uyinkan Braithwaite. I think it's Breithwaite. Oh, yeah.

It might be Breithwaite. Oh, this one just sounds so good. for so many reasons. Yeah. When Yvon gives birth to her daughter, Innai, on the day they bury her cousin, Monif, there is no denying the startling resemblance between the child and the dead woman.

So begins the belief fostered and fanned by the entire family, that Innai is the actual reincarnation of Monif faded to follow in her footsteps in all ways, including that tragic end. There's also the matter of the family, no man will call your house his home, and if they try, they will not have peace, which has been handed down from generation to generation, breaking hearts and causing three generations of abandoned

phalladon women to live under the same roof. When Anaii falls in love with the handsome boys she saves from drowning, she can no longer run from her family's history. As several women and her family have done before, she ill-advisedly seeks answers in the older, darker, spiritual corners of Lagos demanding solutions. Is she destined to live out the habitual story of love and heartbreak? Or can she break the pattern once and for all, not only avoiding the spiral that led Monif to her lonely death, but liberating herself from all the family secrets and unspoken traumas that have dugged, that have dogged her steps since before she could remember?

We're just talking about what doesn't have a lot going on today. But also kind of, like, the curse of the women in the family also gives practical magic vibes. Yeah. You're right. It seems a little more than, like, more going on than my sister, the serial killer. Yeah. You think so. Somebody on Goodreads, but I wish my family had a curse.

That's hilarious. No, that sounds so good. yeah, I'm excited for that one. And the cover is really pretty. Wait a second. What is this? Dude, that's the only thing in that review, too. That's amazing, yeah. Oh, my God.

That's fantastic. I want to read that. Did you say when it comes out? November 4th. Oh, yeah, if not. This one comes out. Oh, September 25th. Oh, Goodread says September, or November 4th.

Yeah, that's what mine says. too. Oh, that's interesting. No, you're right. So this says, you know how like at the bottom of after the synopsis, it says expected publications September 25th, but then you're right. Up top, it says expected for November. That's weird. So probably November 4th is my guess. Man, that sounds so good. I love that cover too. And like the reincarnation kind of popping up and thriller-ish stuff is fun. well yeah net galley says November 4th okay

I think we're good sweet I want it I'm sure you can get it I know I need to calm down on net galley oh yeah I need to calm down on that galley

I did finally like I'm finally multiple months do you see that stack that's this week that's what I got the mail this week that is so many I am not I keep my ass off that gallery it's a tower of books.

A tower. It's, I'm surprised I didn't hear it come crumbling down. Oh, okay, look at my book. All right. I'm ready to hear who this is. I know. Gosh, it's another October 7th release. And she's Canadian.

And I love her. Oh, I know. And I am talking about the hitchhikers by Chevy Stevens. Oh, the cover's so cool. I started it today. Yay. It is giving me, like, Chevy Stevens is so gritty, but, like, addictive and, like, I'm just obsessed with her so much.

Like, I think that she is one of the best authors that, like, to ever grace the world, and I'm very thankful that I live in the same time as her. I can't get that. When did your last book come out? it's been a while, huh? It was like, I want to say around maybe 2020 or 2021. Yeah. Dark Roads was her last one.

And that came out. 2021? August 3rd, 2021. Wow, okay. Like, she's another one I would get like a Chevy Stevens tattoo. Yes. But the hitchhikers, who-hoo. The open road beckons.

a chance for them to reconnect. Then they make a fatal mistake. It's the summer of 1976 and Alice and Tom set out on the remote Canadian highways in their new RV, hoping to heal their broken hearts after a devastating tragedy. They've planned the trip perfectly,

taken care of every detail. Then they meet two young hitchhikers down on their luck and offer them a ride. But Simon and Jenny aren't what they seem. They've left a trail of blood, destruction, and madness behind them. Now Alice and Tom are trapped, prisoners in a deadly game with nowhere to turn.

As the tension builds, the lines blur and the question becomes in whose heart does evil truly lie. What secrets are Jenny and Simon hiding and who will live another day. Yeah, that one sounds really good. It's the road trip, Steph. It's like

it's giving like the 70s vibe. Like I'm imagining kind of like once upon a time in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino, like, when I'm reading it. But, like, also, like, a very good representation of how, like, beautiful, but, like, also how scary Canada can be. When it comes to, like, camping and stuff like that, you know what I mean? Like, atmospherically, I guess. Yeah.

And the characters are, like, I've read 75 pages today, and I already have my cast done, and I already made my little movie poster. Because I was just so, like, inspired by. quiet. Yeah. Wowza. It's fucking, it's good. I love her. I love her so much. Yeah. My, my request is pending, but I will read it once it comes out. Yeah. I feel like her books, kind of like the thing with the reformatory, like you kind of have to be ready for some emotion. Yeah. Some hard, hard times. Yes. dark roads and probably never let you go i would say are her easiest ones to start off with if you don't want anything that's very like emotionally traumatizing oh okay i can't say anything for

the hitchhikers yet because i don't know how dark it's going to get but like on a scale of bambi to pretty little or pretty girls i would save those girls as like comparable to pretty girls when it comes to trauma. So if anybody's listening... I was thinking about that with the reformatory because I was like, I think this is the most harrowing book

I've read. And then I was like, I literally almost said in my stories since pretty girls. Have you read those girls? No, I haven't read those girls. It's worse than pretty girls. Yeah.

Yeah. I've only read still missing by her. And that was like, that was tough. But I don't even think that's... That was my first. That was my first book. by her. I don't know how I picked it, but I was like, well,

I'm like, beginnings of my reading journey. They get dark, they get dark. But I think that she's just a fucking brilliant little angel. And never let you go and dark roads are probably the ones that aren't as dark as the rest, but still have dark thriller elements in them. those girls is the most traumatizing by far. Yeah. That one's really rough, but it's an amazing story.

Yeah. Sineek and I bonded over that. Ooh, that's cool. Yeah. Yeah. Because I was like, um, why do I love this book so much? Yeah.

Right. Chevy Stevens is my girl. And, and super exciting news, the Canadian cover is different than the US cover. Ooh. So I'm going to be, I'm going to be collecting them. Like the Canadian cover is freaking gorgeous.

Well, a little segue, I also just started my next pick. And it is called The Mad Wife by Megan Church. Yes. And the vibes so far are like something is unsettling, but like you don't know what yet. Mm-hmm. Like there's just some foreshadowing of like, Lulu is just, and I love the name Lulu, okay, Lulu is like some

shit's going to go down with Lulu, you just know. Yes. Okay, so they called it hysteria, she called it survival. Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of

exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives her second child, Lulu carefully crafted life begins to unravel. When a new neighbor, Bitsy moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker light lurks behind the woman's constant smile.

As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew, and soon others will begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind, or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept?

There is an author's note before you start the book that is like, you need to put this down, put it down. Yeah. So I'm very intrigued. I saw that too because like right now I need to read the Jennifer Fawcett one. What is? Why can't I think of the title? Gare just talked about it.

Take this for me. Yes. I need to read that. And then I, those are the next two I need to read on NetGalley. now and then the madwife this one comes out September 30th it was up but now it's September 30th yeah

that's right you got a PR package from them with this book like yesterday and it has like a sticker and like a little madwife patch that you put on like a jacket yeah so I just got this book and like the fact that there's something in there saying like if you need to put this down go ahead

like she's gonna I'm so this just fascinating she's going to be here on September 30th when it comes out she's going to be in Indiana for her pub day but Lane Fargo is also going to be here and I'm going to be making content with her I'm like how are there two really cool authors in Indiana on a Tuesday I'm moving to Indiana I think you really might want to you live in Carmel so that we can stay there yeah yeah yeah do they have Marcos pizza yeah we actually have one in my little

town. I keep seeing how Markos is actually the best fast food pizza, like, compared to like Pizza Hut and Domino's and everything. And I was like looking and I was like, oh, well, we don't have one here and it said that it's like more of a Midwest thing. So, okay. I'll look at all. Yeah. Okay.

Figure it out. Where do you pack your shit? We will go to all the Midwest, baby. Pack your babies. We're going to the Midwest. You're like, okay, Dodd. Yeah. So yeah. I'm excited for that one.

I need to clear some time for it. Because I have to use my eyeballs. I can't just listen. Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's, I think it's going to be good. Yeah, I think so, too. It kind of gives me, um, fuck, stuff. What, what is it?

The Jess Lowry. What was the Jess Lowry book? That was like 50s. Bloodlines. Bloodlines? Bloods line. Yeah, yeah. It kind of like gives me a little bit of that light.

too. I think so. I think I can't, it kind of is giving a little bit the devil and Mrs. Davenport as well, but I, I'm so quick into it. I don't know like what the mystery is. You know what I mean. I have no idea what it could be or if it's just womanhood. Like, I don't know. Yes. True. That reminds me when I interviewed Catherine Faulkner for the good other mothers a couple of years ago, I was like, is there something that like draws you to writing about like motherhood? And she was like, in her cute little British voice that I won't try to imitate, she was like, honestly, it's because motherhood is terrifying. I was like, get it, girl. Yeah. Also, her new book is really good. Oh, yeah, the break in. Yeah. Yeah. Very good. Very good. So much to read. I know. Well, I have, this is another one that I think might have been an artwork book.

No, I don't know. No, I don't think so because it doesn't come out until October 7th. But it was Journal of Jada who posted about it. And I was like, that looks interesting. And then she just posted how much she enjoyed it. So it's called Alchemy of Secrets by Stephanie Garber. Keep scrolling. It starts with a class in an oral.

movie theater. Yeah, the cover is very, very, very fun. Folklore 517, local legends and urban myths taught by a woman called the professor. Most students believe the professor's stories are just fiction, but Holland's St. James has always been convinced that magic is real. When she tracks down a local legend named the watchman who can supposedly tell you when you'll die, the world finally makes sense, except that the watchman tells her she will die at midnight tomorrow, unless she finds an ancient object called the alchemical heart. With the clock ticking, Holland's pulled deeper into this magical world in the heart of Los Angeles and into the path of a magnetic stranger.

Everything about him feels like a bad idea, but he promises Holland that her sister sent him to protect her. As they chase clues and stories that take them closer to the alchemical heart, Holland realizes everyone in this intoxicating new world is lying to her. even the stranger. If she can't figure out whom to trust, not even the alchemical heart will save her. There's like so much. It says like dark academia, fantasy. I'm realizing there is some magical realism I do enjoy.

It's just like until you read it, you don't know. You don't always know what it even means until you read it. And it's something kind of like horror. It's not like all of it works for me. But this one just sounds really fascinating. and I had like just added it to my TVR yesterday when I saw her review. I, yeah, that cover is very, yeah, like sexy and that sounds so fucking good. It sounds so good and creative and like, like dark academia, but also some other elements.

You know I love clairvoyance. And that. Right tomorrow? Okay. I also like love like myths and urban legends. and folklore. Yes. Me too.

And this mysterious stranger, I bet he's hung like a horse. I bet he is too. He's sexy. He's mysterious. He's David Cornswatt. He's so attractive. He's the new Superman.

Mm-hmm. He's like little Henry Cavill stud muffin. Somehow better. Oh. Yeah. Huffle, hubble, hubble. I always thought he was hot.

And then, like, if you Google image, the second image is like, wow. It's a little side smile. And I'm like, okay. There's paparazzi pictures of him, like, swimming in the ocean. And one of them is a side profile. And John Ham has, John Ham has competition. Damn. coming out of cold, cold ocean water.

Girl. He's super mean. He's super something. Holy shit. What? Did you see it? Well, part of it was legitimately his leg, so I would put it first. Okay.

Got it. The gays love him. He has like an old 1930s swimsuit on. Because it's the only thing that will hold everything in. Yeah. Either that or a fishing net. Always like arching back and just like sticking his hips out. Like you know what you're doing.

Yeah. And we thank you for it. Thank you for your service. Um, so Alchemy of Secrets comes out October 7th as well. So that's going to be like. A very, very exciting, popular day. It is.

Maybe that's why the Mad Wife got pushed up. Oh, that's a good point. Maybe. Did you see John Marr's hilarious reel about how he was like, my book was supposed to come out at this day? And then we changed it because I got McFaddened. So like, Frida had one coming out. And he's like, and so then I changed it.

And then today I just found out I got Hoovered. So Colleen Hoover has, so he's changing his pub day again. But his reel is so funny. I was like, what a guy. And it was one of those things where I went to comment to say, like, this is amazing. And then, like, Instagram refreshed. And I was like, are you fucking kidding me right now? But I need to go find it again.

I need to watch that. I love him so much. He's so funny. It's, like, kind of crazy, though. Like, there was... So, Colleen just announced hers. And I think Tal Bauer, he, like, like, a memorandum, just announced his book, September 13th.

Whoa. Like it comes out in two days. And he just announced it. Oh, wow. Yeah. Interesting. And the Kindle version says it's like 800 something pages. Holy shit. That's a lot. And I'm dying for it. So I'm ready. I'm ready for all these. I'm ready for all these surprise releases. I am very excited for Colleen, Frida, and John. January is going to be so much fun. Yes. But I'm also excited for October 7. clearly because speaking of freedom new one again yes yeah so she has one October 7th which is my next

pick and then January 26th Jesus is like one that's like a advice columnist trope I think which I don't see a lot in thriller so that sounds good but the intruder

comes out October 7th I love the cover here it for all you folks watching on the YouTube's. Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. Give me a little rain. Stratter glass.

Mm-hmm. Handprint. Free, fritty. There's a giveaway on Goodreads if anyone's watching. I'm staring at my arc right now and I'm like, I need to flip those pages open. I don't say one. Who knows what the storm will blow in? Casey's cabin in the wilderness is not built for a hurricane.

Her roof shakes, the lights flicker, and the tree outside her front door sways ominously in the wind. but she's a lot more worried about the girl she discovers lurking outside her kitchen window. She's young, she's alone, and she's covered in blood. The girl won't explain where she came from or loosen her grip on the knife in her right hand. When Casey makes a disturbing discovery in the middle of the night, things take a turn for the worse. The girl has a dark secret. One she'll kill to keep. If Casey gets too close to the truth, she may not live to see the morning.

Oh. This is your biggest fear is like home invasion. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, mine is like not usually like a child. Well, like yeah. Mine is like somebody breaking into the house. I'm guessing from this maybe Casey invites her in because she's like, why are you covered in blood, little girl? I would not do that. I would be like, call your mom. True. If she loves you, she'll drive through the hurricane to come get you. yeah here's a bottle of water right you ain't fooling me now if jacob a lordy shows up covered in blood and he's like i need help i would be like let me run you a bass yes and i will you want a home-cooked meal

stay in the bathroom after you leave yeah i'm gonna make a candle um but yeah it just sounds i love a storm and a book I love a storm in real life. I do too. I just love. There's something about like strong winds and like danger because I feel like it's like a very good way to like make something locked room without it being corny. Or like, you know. Yeah.

I get that. Far fat. It's not just like, oh, eight people stuck in a room. Yeah. What do you mean? What do you mean you forgot to fill the tank with gas? I know. That's like what that's where those get so tricky for me.

Yeah. Because there's so many convenient cliches that kind of have to be there to do it. I actually just read. No Road Home did a good good job with it. Yes. Yes, it did. And it was more symbolic some of the weather stuff too. So I think that's why it worked.

I just read the wasp trap. Oh, yeah. I've seen people posting about that. Yeah, me too. It is one of the most unique ways to have a locked room mystery. Whoa.

I didn't know it was a locked room. That's high praise from you. Since you said it's not your thing. Not my thing. But I, it was, yeah. Yeah. Oh yeah, Mark Edwards.

I remember him talking about this at Thriller Fest. I forgot about this. It was really good. It was very twisty. It was very interesting. Oh yeah, the blurb from Lisa Jewel, too. I love on this, the intruder, like people write comments when they added to their

just like reading it. And it's like, the devil works hard, but Frida works harder. Yeah, right. Yeah, people have like many comments in here. I just realized, I think this book, I just finished, but I want to talk about it's a September release. It comes out on the 16th next week, but it was, I think it was a locked room. now that I think about it and I didn't even know. That's hilarious.

Because I just kind of went into a blind. So I had texted Kate. Part of the author's note was in the beginning of this one. And she talks about like Rihanna and Chris Brown and how we like don't believe women. And we would rather believe like a man. And so like that's like the, I like that she put that before because you kind of know, you don't know everything, but you know kind of. kind of maybe what she's trying to say, but that doesn't necessarily mean that's how, like,

there's going to be a happy ending or anything. So this is called Through Our Teeth by Pamela N. Harris, and it is a YA. I would say the pacing is, to me, felt kind of like Megan Lally. Like, I was all of a sudden, like 30% in and I was like, I, how did that happen? Wow. And that doesn't happen to me very well. But just keep in mind when you're reading it, it is white. So that I know that's not for everybody.

Hope Jackson is dead. Everyone is convinced she took her own life, but Live, one of Hope's best friends, isn't so sure. Hope's boyfriend Brendan was always jealous and possessive and his alibi doesn't really check out. But in the town's eyes, Hope was just some nobody who was going to drag down the golden boy, Brendan. So with the help of Hope's other two best friends, Kizzy and Shiree, I think that's how you say it, Liv is determined to bring Brendan's actions to light. Together, they vow to make him pay. But as their actions keep escalating,

Liv begins to have second thoughts, especially as she's realizing that Brendan may or may not be the one with the motive or opportunity to kill hope. Is Liv really getting justice for hope? Or is she just helping one of Hope's so-called friends cover up their lies? Wow. This synopsis tells you nothing about what the book is. I mean, it's not like the vibe of the book.

It tells you nothing about like the plot. I actually really like. Yes, I do too. I've been appreciating that more. Yeah, I was like, wow, you have no idea where they are, what they're doing, any of the events. So no wonder I didn't really realize what was happening. Right. That sounds so good.

It was very fast-paced. I love that title. Yeah. Yeah. Well, and the Tiffany D. Jackson comparison to, too. And then I was scrolling down. Did either of you read the scammer, the one that just came out from Tiffany D. Jackson? It is still pending in my neck yeah.

Okay. Oh, it hasn't come out yet. Okay. I knew I had seen the cover. It's October 7th, by the way. Oh, of course it is. Yeah, because I was like, to me, it does remind me of Tiffany D. Jackson, like, the themes when it says, like, fans of Karen and McManess. Like, I get that with, like, parts of the plot and just, like, how it reads in some ways. so I can see why it's both of those. But I also got like Megan Lally's newest out of it where it's just like action-packed feeling.

Is it a little wild? Yeah, but maybe you're in the mood for that. Yeah. You know? I'm never not in the mood for a while. Yeah. Like if you're like, hey, I want something that's like, what the hell's happening here?

Right. These teenagers are crazy. That's perfect. That is something. you can put in a book that I will always believe every single time is like if you have like a character that like does something unhinged I'm like okay maybe but when it's like a teenager that does something unhinged and something crazy happens I'm like believable oh yeah it has a lot and like there's a lot of talk about just like mental health and like how like bullying affects

people and like the little like spider webs that happen because of it and I'm like I don't It's wild, but it's maybe kind of, but like I think the themes are not wild. Right. Yeah. Yeah. That's kind of like Ace of Spades. Ace of Spades shows the different ways, like the bullying affects, like, so many different kids. Yeah.

Just like, even sometimes I think people don't think they are entitled or are acting entitled, but like those like moves that you're like you are, actually. You don't think so. Other people might not think so, but like, you know, in today's day and age, you have to like think harder. Yeah. And be more aware. We have some empathy. The last 24 hours have shown a lot of white privilege. Just a little bit. Just a teeny tiny bit. And empathy does not exist.

In a lot of corners. So this, a couple of. things. I listened to Bad Kree a couple or like last month. I really enjoyed it. And that was one that Vanessa Lily had mentioned when she was on the podcast. And so then that made me go look at all of her recommendations

because I remember when she was on I was like, oh, I'm getting more into horror. Like I love all these recommendations and then I didn't necessarily read all of them. So basically this was another one that I listened to and then she fell this week. So good.

I wish I read that one sooner. Like, that's my favorite one so far from her recommendations. But she did have another one and this libyhole just came in today too. So the haunting of Room 904 by Erica T. Worth and the cover. I love this cover so much. Did you read your other one? No, White Horse. It's like, I think if I like this one, I'll request that one too.

But yeah, I'm excited for this one. Olivia Bacente was never supposed to have the gift. The ability to commune with the dead was specifically, was a specialty of her sister, Nash. But when Nash dies unexpectedly and under strange circumstances, somehow Olivia suddenly can't stop seeing and hearing from spirits. A few years later, she's the most in-demand paranormal investigator in Denver. She's good at her job, but the loss of Nash haunts her. That's when she hears from the Brown Palace. a landmark Denver hotel. The owner can't explain it, but every few years, a girl is found dead in room 904, no matter what room she checked into the night before. As Olivia tries to understand these disturbing deaths, the past and the present collide

as Olivia's investigation forces her to confront a mysterious, impossibly dangerous cult of vindictive journalists, betrayal by her friends, and shocking revelations about her sister's secret life. I just got excited all over. again reading that synopsis. I do love a repeat happening in a hotel room.

Yes. Yeah. I also love being like, I'm going to uncover somebody that I thought I knew very well as like deep darkest secrets and like double lives. And this is probably like me, like part of me is like kicking myself in the ass because I'm like, why did I not? Why haven't I read this yet when I have it? That's how.

I guess how I felt when I was seeing how many I hadn't. But then I'm also like, maybe this is a sign for me to read it with you when you figure out because we could dive in together. You should. It'd be fun. I have like a list or like a list. I have a pile of like indigenous thrillers and horror books. Yeah. And like all of them are already out.

But like I will read pretty girls until the day that I die. But like with indigenous stuff because it like hits so close to. I'm like, I don't know if I'm ready. Like the, oh yeah. Only the good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones scarred me for like three weeks at least. Oh. I was like, I was like, I cannot. If I am driving at night, like I don't care if I look over here and I see like

a deal for anything because like I don't want to. Even that color makes me scared of tears at night. A lot of like the folklore like around our reservation. There's like one of like they called her the corn lady. And there are certain roads on the reservation that like if you drive at night, they say that like when you're driving, if you look into the cornfield, you can see her running through it alongside your car. That's scary. That's terrifying. Like indigenous, like folklore and urban legends and stuff like scare the shit out of me more than anything I've ever heard of my entire life.

Yeah, because like why has it been passed down for so long? Yeah. I won't say it out loud out of because I'm nervous but like sometimes on TikTok things will pop up on my TikTok about like things that are urban indigenous legends and like one of them scares the shit out of me but it's basically whatever this is like your cheek skin second word and then oh yeah mm-hmm should I say, do you want me to say it out loud? You can say it out loud, I'm not. I'm not. We'll just not say it. We'll give it the Voldemort treatment.

Yeah, yeah. But there are like some really scary shit when it comes like indigenous urban legend and stuff. And I think that I had a close encounter with one of them. Yeah, that would make it even scarier. There's like a legend around here. I don't know if it has a name, but it's basically like this. six foot tall, hairy, beast of an animal that smells really bad. And it sounds like a woman screaming.

So when you go to help her or see what's going on, it will attack you and stuff. Kind of like a siren type thing. Yes. Yeah. And I was outside at a friend's house and we heard a woman screaming bloody murder in the woods out back of her house. And I was like, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. And I literally, I did not say a single word.

I just turned around, walked down, gone to my car, and I left her house. I was like, nope, I'm not fucking doing that today. Goodbye. Right. No. No, no, no, no, no. It is, yeah. Damn. So, yeah, this one might be a little, little scary. So I want to read it with you. Let's do it. Okay. I'm down. I'm finishing a book right now, so I won't start it like right now. Any indigenous myth or mythical creature or anything will not be afraid of me, but I feel like you have what it takes to intimidate them. Thank you. I'm honored.

You will protect me. Speaking of Vanessa Lilly, though, is my October 28th, too. So you have plenty of time between the 7th and the 28th. Seriously. The next Sid Walker. and I hope there are more to come because I love Sid Walker so much and I love Inusillly so much. But the second Sid Walker book called The Bone Thief comes out on October 28th. When a native teenager vanishes from her small town, a place with dark ties to an elite historical society,

archaeologist Sid Walker is called to investigate. In the hours before dawn at a local summer camp, Bureau of Indian Affairs archaeologist Sid Walker receives an alarming call. Newly discovered, skeletal remains have been stolen. Not only have bones gone missing, but a native teen girl has disappeared near the camp, and law enforcement dismisses her family's fears. As Sid investigates both crimes, she's drawn into a world of privileged campers and their wealthy parents, most of them members of the Founder Society, an exclusive club whose members

trace their lineage to the first colonists and claim ancestral rights. to the land despite fierce objections from the local tribal community. And it's not the first time something or someone has gone missing from the camp. The deeper Sid digs, the more she realizes these aren't isolated incidents. A pattern of disappearances stretches back generations all leading to the founder's society's doorstep. But exposing the truth means confronting not just the town's most powerful families, but also a legacy of violence that refuses to stay buried. Wow.

People in power. Just always ruining everything. I know that I'm like little Mr. Comp King. It was a bad queen. You can be the comp a woman too. But it's kind of giving like the historical society that was like doing bad shit in vampire diaries. Oh. Yes.

Who are also all white. I mean, always. Why wouldn't they be? as I'm like, look at me as a koala. Oh, boy. Yeah, that one is fantastic. I love it. I was so excited.

I loved it. You were on the traveling art team, right? Yeah. Yeah. So cute. So the one in Canada started when we were in Montreal for the Montreal Mystery Festival. Oh, nice. Like she gave the art to like the first.

like person who had it at the Montreal mystery festival like it was all like lined up and stuff so that was really cool and she's a little library card in it it was it's such a cool idea she's so cool old school file cards yeah like we had to like her name on like the card that we checked it out essentially can I take a two second break yeah only two my water is happening I'm kidding up Danny clear my throat. I'm so excited for dinner.

I got a dill pickle pasta salad kit from all these. Ooh, that sounds good too. Yeah, I hope it's delicious. I'm going to have that and I'm going to have Caesar salad wraps with extra hot sauce. Mmm. That sounds amazing. I want pizza ever since you talked about Marcos. I want to go to Marco.

I got to fucking move to Indiana. It's crazy how many authors are coming here. I have nothing. I can't believe. She's like obviously way outside of our normal genre, but I can't believe RF Kwong was here for her pub date. Like she's international. Like why was she in Indiana?

Maybe it's because they're noticing that a lot of people are like traveling. Yeah. And like a lot of people are like if these events are selling out, they're going to use that. Yeah, I couldn't even go. And I like tried to get tickets like a month before and it was already sold out. And there were 350 tickets and it was sold out. And then I even DM them because you could get on the wait list.

And I was like, hey, I'm not trying to like be annoying, but do people that typically get off the wait list? And they were like, yeah, people typically do, but we have 500 people on the wait list for her. So that means 850 people tried to see her in Indiana. Wow. So something about Indiana is a little more progressive than I thought. That'd be great. Yeah. I don't know how to connect this, but I think it could have some, like,

magical realism type connections. So I heard about this book. It actually came out this week, September 9th. But a friend from Book Club really, really liked it. And one of, it's a multicast narration, and one of them is January LaVois husband, Wilhelm. Mm-hmm. It's called Life and Death and Giants by Rob Ron Rindo.

And I like saw it just like pass by a few times, but then all of a sudden I saw all these really good reviews. So I was like, well, I'll try it. Gabriel Fisher was born an orphan, weighing 18 pounds and measuring 27 inches long. No one in Lakota, Wisconsin knows what to make of him. He walks at eight months, communicates with animals, and seems to possess extraordinary athletic talent. But when the older brother who has been caring for him dies, Gabriel is taken in by his devout Amish grandparents who disprove of all the attention and hide him away from the English world. But it's hard to hide forever when you're nearly eight feet tall. At 17, Gabriel is spotted working in a hay field by a local football coach.

What happens next transforms not only Gabriel's life, but the lives of everyone he meets. I have no idea what this is going to be. I can't tell either. I think he might be like a feel good found family story. I really don't know. I'm like, is it going to be like a blind side or something? But I'm curious. Yeah, we'll see.

I'm trying to hear. Hear what you think of this. Yeah. It says the first thing it says, a heart too big for this world, a life that changes everyone. So I don't know if he's like a gentle giant type. situation. I don't know. But I'm like, that sounds nice right now.

Yeah. Yeah. I would be some true escape. Yeah. The events are startling, sad, amusing, invigorating, and informative. Reading it is like meeting a family you never knew existed and becoming close friends in a few weeks. Okay. I'll take it. Yeah. I'm so, yeah, I'm intrigued. I love when you have ones where I'm like, none of us know what's happen. We're like, you'll have to report back. I know. I've honestly gotten to this point where I'm like, I'll try it. You're more experimental. I like it. Yeah. We'll see what happens. And I'm like, am I going to be just like a puddle on the floor at the end? Maybe. I don't know.

I cried in two books this week. I was like, oh, boy. Oh, man. Yeah. The reformatory. Oh, yeah. Yeah. It was the other one. And then she fell. The last like, the last two or three chapters are, it might have been like all one. I can't remember like probably like the last 40 minutes or whatever I was listening to it is really powerful in a way that I was not expecting at all. Like and not in an out of nowhere way. I just because she has a kind of fun, the other fun part of it is like the prologue for it and then she fell is so unique. And it's like this Mohawk woman Alice, it's back when she was a child.

But like Disney's Pocahontas comes out of the TV and like starts talking to her and like sets the record straight about like her name wasn't even Pocahontas. Obviously they were not in love like she was under control all of that. So it was this really, really unique prologue to open it with. And so then throughout her life, she has interactions that are that. kind of magical realism or like spirituality that's kind of like the other fascinating part of it so she can kind of go anywhere with it and the ending i just wasn't expecting it and i was like crying in the shower listening to the ending i was like this is so emotional i want to read that one

i think you really oh i didn't know that yeah so that's why i'm like very curious about it yeah and She's like, it's like blends in the creation myth. Sorry, not the myth. The creation story. So there's like that woven throughout it. It's, I was so impressed by like how many things I feel like happened and she talked about in like a 300 page book. It's really good. And your comps were.

Yeah. Books, there are a couple books I really liked. So. Yeah. It has a lot of the same mad woman vibes. Damn. But then, like, obviously much more spiritual stuff, too. So, yeah, I was, this was the week I cried while I listened to books and just, like, kept editing. I cried and keep this for me.

I know you said that. I did not expect to. I bet I will too. I'm like, oh, no. Yeah. Well, I don't have a segue. Well, no, I was just talking about how I definitely cried multiple times in the reformatory. and I was just like she is a powerful writer.

So I also, I got, I had three Libby holds come in between yesterday and today. The between by Tanana Reeve do. The hardback cover is so cool. So if anyone's looking on Goodreads and you get a cover that looks early 2000s, it's because it was early. Oh, it came out in 1995. But I love, of course, the pinkish cover is very cool. When Hilton was a boy, his grandmother sacrificed her life to save him from drowning.

30 years later, he begins to suspect that he was never meant to survive that accident and that dark forces are working to rectify that mistake. When Hilton's wife, the only elected African American judge in Dade County, Florida, begins to receive racist hate mail from a man she wants prosecuted, Hilton becomes obsessed with protecting his family. The demons lurking outside are matched by his intern. terrors, macabre nightmares, more intense and disturbing than any he's ever experienced. Are these bizarre dreams, the dark imaginings of a man losing his hold on sanity, or are they harbingers of

terrible events to come? As Hilton battles both the sociopath threatening to destroy his family and the even more terrifying enemy stalking his sleep, the line between reality and fantasy dissolves. And it says, chilling and utterly convincing. This is a haunting story of a man desperately trying to hold on to the people and life he loves as he slowly loses himself. It's only 3004 pages. Yeah, it's one of her short ones. Yeah. Damn.

Wow. Yeah, she fascinates me. Like, all of her books sound interesting to me, so I will eventually read them all. That sounds so good. I love the cover. The cover's so cool, the, like, two faces. is the colors in it the colors in it remind me of

this book that I read in high school that I probably should not have better reading high school called Addicted by Zane and it's about a woman who's a sex addict I think they turned it into a movie with Sharon Leal maybe but yeah that sounds very good And I do love the cover.

Yeah. I love that cover. One other of you said it's a banger of a debut novel. Yeah. Yeah. She has so many that I want to read. Right. Same.

Because she has a haunted house one called The Good House, and that one's 20 hours long on audio, too. And like 600 pages as well. Yeah. Oh, I love the cover to that, too. Yeah. That one is in my hold, so I will read that one. eventually. My Soul to Keep the African Immortals Book 1.

I know. That one looks interesting, too. She's got a series that... Some of her stuff reminds me of S.A. Cosby, too. Like, a lot of it's, like, in the South, dealing with racial tensions and dark. Pretty dark like his stuff. Yeah, she definitely seems like one to watch out for. Mm-hmm.

I know. I want to read everything. I'm in that, I'm in that phase again where I'm like, I have so many. I'm not in a reading song, but I have so many that I want to read. I'm going to add one more book to your ever like. Because this sounds so good. November 18th, so you have plenty of time to catch up. My last one is called Haven't K. In Years by Amy K. Green. the little like quote on the cover of the book says no one knows serial killers like she does Ooh So November 18th

And it is about No one is supposed to know Harmless Office Worker Gwen Tanner is the vanished daughter of a serial killer Abel Haggurdy But a low profile and a new name Aren't going to cut it when an obsessive new killer

starts targeting her Uh, Marin Haggerty, the daughter of a notorious serial killer, was only a child when they arrested her father. Ripped from her home and given a new identity, Marin disappeared. Twenty years later, Gwen Tanner keeps everyone out of distance, preferring to satirize the world around her than participate in it. It's for her safety and theirs, but when someone starts sending body parts to her front door, the message is, I know who you are. To preserve her secrets, Gwen must hunt down the killer, a journey which immerses, her in the twisted world of true crime fandom and makes her confront her past once and for all. Maybe she is capable of deep human connections, but she's not the only one keeping secrets.

While opening herself up to others help find the killer or remind her why it was necessary to hide her true self in the first place, the apple never falls too far after all. That sounds amazing. When you said body parts, my eyes weren't following reading the synopsis anymore. You said body parts and I literally yeah. I know because it's like oh like she's having a new identity and then like someone's like sending body parts being like I know who you are. But like the fact that she could also be just as

dangerous as this person. Yes. It's like the hunter. Hunter's daughter. Hunter's daughter. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's giving like the hunter's daughter. What was the other one? The locked door by Frieda McFadden had like the daughter of a serial killer trope and that was really an entertaining too. But yeah, that sounds right up my alley. I love stalkers. I love serial killers. I love daughters of serial killers who are like trying to escape. And like the toxicity of the true crime fandom. That's what I would even read the book. I was like this cover feels like true crime.

Yeah. It gave me the vibe of it. And I was like I like I like how like pretty instantly I was like oh, it almost looks like a true crime documentary flat lay. Yeah. I love how it went from like true crime experts in thrillers to like true crime toxic. Yeah. fandom in thrillers because like it's getting more and more like toxic as like I love to watch true crime documentaries and like listen to podcasts. But like I am not actively on Twitter and everything and then TikTok coming up with my own conspiracies and trying to like defame the names of like innocent people. but like some of the shit that I see I'm like wow like this is getting crazy yeah I did just request it you did add it to my list yeah or even sometimes good it's kind of like people act like they are actually so knowledgeable about it like they're part of the investigation team it almost gets parisocial yeah or like so they'll like go and like claim all

these things on like about I'll say I'll take like Ashley once said or something like they'll be like well actually blah blah blah blah blah blah and so like I'm like how do you know but you know what I mean like did you see that on TikTok or something like how do you know well it's also like all of those people like with that Idaho case happened and they were like condemning this like poor kid who walked two of the girls to like a food truck and like they were like well he was on his phone when they walked away like he was like calling out a hit or something and I'm like when you're standing by yourself waiting for food at a food truck who's not going to look at their phone and like scroll or you know what I mean like you guys are so insane and now there are actually people that even though they

have DNA and he admitted it like there are people that are like Brian Koberger did not do this and they believe it yeah and they believe it yeah because they didn't get a few answers as the things that answers that they do not deserve. Right. And they like come up with their own little theories and they think that they're right. Like why do you think you need all the information from your couch that you feel like you should just have it? Right. Yeah. Like my opinion is if he accepted a plea deal, part of the plea deal if the families wanted it would be that he had to answer everything that they wanted and that he should have told them exactly what happened, what his motive was why it happened. But like that should have been for their own piece, not for public knowledge.

Right. Unless they wanted it to be. But like, no, like you do not, you are not owed any questions of in regards to a true crying case that you were not involved with. Right. I feel like that is just like a sentence that is so applicable to so much era of like everything being out in social media. Like no one owes you funny. Yeah. Hi. Yeah. For real. Interesting. So my last one has been out for a while since 2019, but it is a pick for one of my book clubs. So I have to read it by September 29th.

I don't know. Glowing reviews so hard. I have to read it by. been out for six years but I have to read it now you guys do two yes you may have already

I really don't know I was shocked this one because you were doing I thought you were going to say I really don't care I don't even care I don't even care whatever no I

I made this list our September book club theme was dark academia and like we had all these people like chime in and so I just picked like the top five best ratings but then this one I added just because I was curious and it ended up winning it is bunny by Mona AWod oh yeah I haven't read it yet I'm like I've heard it's bonkers I am interested we'll see what happens I was shocked that it won to be honest I was just because I was yeah I was like because all these books are

rated like four whatever this one is a three point four I think it has a great cover. Yeah. It's a little bit like, oh, what is that? Like, the cover makes me curious. Bunny is Dark Academia? Like, I think that appeal, like, gets it both. Yeah.

So, Samantha Heather Mackey. Oh, of course, a Heather. Interesting for that. Academia. Is it like the heathers? Samantha Heather Mackey couldn't be more of an outsider in her small, highly selective MFA program in New England's Warren University.

A scholarship, student who prefers the company of her dark imagination to that of most people, she is utterly repelled by the rest of her fiction writing cohort click that of unbearably twee rich girls who call each other bunny and seem to move and speak as one. But everything changes when Samantha receives an invitation to the bunny's fabled smut salon. All right. Okay. And finds him become inexplicably drawn to their front door, ditching her only friend, Eva, in the process. As Samantha plunges deeper and deeper into the bunny's sinister yet saccharine world, beginning to take part in the ritualistic off-campus workshop where they conjure their monstrous creations, the edges of reality begin to blur. Soon her

friendships with Eva and the bunnies will be brought into deadly collision. It is mainly I know this is a controversial or not controversial people are divided on their reviews. I think it's very like people either love it or they yeah it says it chronicles the female experience of loneliness and belonging friendship and desire and the fantastic and terrible power of the imagination. So that like already kind of gives me like so how is this all going to like end up um as far as like imagination versus reality. But I'm curious and I think it's just going to be one of those books where you just kind of have to let go and embrace it for what it is. Because I mean, like if I read a book about like the heathers or something, I probably would have been like, what is happening? But you're

watching it and it's like campy. Like if you go in being like, it's campy and wild, maybe you'll end up loving it more than like, what does it mean? I will say. Did you read it, Kate? No, I haven't read it yet. But I, so Justine, who I talk to a decent amount, her reviews, that's weird, darkly funny and very clever. This is the secret history meets Heather's. And then she said a lot of people describe this as horror, which is one take on it, but it's most definitely social satire. So I feel like that's like some good info from her. And a lot of people don't understand or know that something is satire and then end up not liking it. That's true.

They don't understand that that's what it is. You read it, yeah? I think even I tried to your vibe right I DNFed it yeah but I think it was more of a mood thing yeah definitely you gotta be in a specific mood yeah so I'm kind of

I'm a lot more curious about it because there's actually a sequel coming out the 23rd oh yeah yeah the cover is very cool too how many cool things can you do with a bunny apparently I just like love I like the thing that like intrigues me about hathers is one of my favorite movies in the entire world. Right. But one of the things that like also intrigues me the most is that like how fun would it be

to be like a bitchy college girl who is in a click called the bunnies. Yeah, totally. Like, oh my God, did you hear about bunny, bunny gear? He was being a total fucking bitch today. Yes. Or yeah, on living it says. You were not arguing and being like bunny knock it off. And you'd be like, listen bunny yeah people compared it a lot to um julie chan is dead as well that's exactly what i was thinking as i was reading it like how to attend it gets like so crazy and the and the whole speaking the same and like saying the same words and stuff yeah i could see that i've heard some comes of the craft too that makes sense the on liby it says john swift plus witches of eastwick plus mean girls plus creative writing degree in hell oh that's margaret atwood's review of it

holy shit i didn't realize i was reading her review of it okay well now i need to have an opinion on i've got her i said this book starts off very strongly as one thing and then veers into some wild triple d territory someone pulls that steering wheel away from you pretty hard l m ao and then they're like It had me scrolling Reddit theories by the end. I really want to. Sorry, guys. I've got to go read. Sorry, bye.

We're done.