Bookwild - Books We Are Kicking Off 2024 With

Episode Date: January 12, 2024

This week, we talk about the books we are starting off 2024 with!Follow us on Instagram:Gare @gareindeedreadsKate @thegirlwiththecookonthecouchBooks We Talked About:Walking Through NeedlesNo One Can KnowGood As DeadWhat Happened to Nina?They Are the HuntersThe New Couple in 5BThe FuryListen for the LieLadykillerThe Boyfriend Subscription 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 

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. 2024, motherfuckers. Episode two. Yeah, we didn't have our first episode. This is our first episode together in 2024 or just us together. Talking books and bullshit. Definitely books and bullshit.

And I was so excited when I thought of an icebreaker. Oh, my God, I've been thinking about it. Yeah. So there on book talk, you may or may not have seen it, but there's kind of like, it's not even a trend because it's, you know how like sometimes people are literally posting like the same text. But it's just like you keep seeing it a lot. Basically, I guess we can still call it a trend. There's a trend of people who are talking about how much of an ick they get when there's like a like current time. I'm like a pop culture reference or they get the ick if there are like phones in books. Like they're like and that it like totally ruins it for them. Really? Phones?

Yes. Like they don't want phones. They don't want apps. They don't want to like hear about modern things in their book. And like I've seen so many of them talking about how they get such an ick. when there are like pop culture references or like modern technology

and apps referenced in books and like obviously like I just never experienced it but my question for you is is there any genre you read where you're like oh no I don't want anything

modern referenced if that's not the case what is an ick that you get when you're reading sometimes this has been bugging this shit out of me this is like the best icebreaker in the world. Nice. This is, okay.

So my explanation, my answer is, have you seen any of the memes that people do where they do a carousel on Instagram? And it's like when he does this, next slide is like when he does this, when he does that. And it's like mostly like romance things. We're like, things and romance. Okay. My ick. And this has got to be just me because like I've had conversations with. people about this. Yeah. And it drives me nuts, but like, I feel like in MM romance,

there is a certain part in the book. And this is very often when one of the male characters calls the other male character baby. And it might be when they're like having sex or it might be when they realize they like are falling for each other or like it might be like a little slip. like, what do you want, baby? And I'm just like, I don't know why it bothers me so much. I hate that nickname. I hate that nickname. I don't like it as a pet name.

And I'm also like, I don't know if it's just like me and the guys that I'm like into or maybe there's something wrong with me. I've never had, I've been around a lot of men. No. Around a lot of men. And none of them have ever called me baby. Well, it's good at least. Like, it's a little bit more believable, I guess, for like a man-woman relationship.

Sure. Because, like, I've heard, like, men be like, oh, like, hey, baby, how are you doing? You know, like, when they're cat calling and stuff like that. But, like, I just have never, I've never been called baby by another man. I've been told you're being a big baby. Yeah. I've never been called baby. Not just directly

You're being a fucking baby And I'm like losing my mind But like I don't For some reason it's like I will be like reading the best book in the entire world That is giving me all the feels And like the minute he's like Oh baby

I'm like oh fucking Christ There goes half a star Yeah Yep That's my big egg right now I like that That's a good one I mean I was

changing every time you said. I was physically reacting, so I am with you there. Oh, my God. Like, I just don't like, I mean, obviously, like, you don't have to be like, yo, bro. Does that feel good? But, like, I mean, I guess, I guess in contrast,

Tyler has always called me Buck Wild because that's another so nothing close to baby. Because my previous name, my previous name, my previous last name was Buckner and I'm a little bit savage. So that's the only thing he's ever called me, which is also why I named my YouTube channel Book Wild. So, oh my God. I'm

obsessed with this. Yeah, little fact that I don't know if we've ever talked about it. I just realize we have saying it. I don't think we haven't. So there's no baby happening around here. Does he call you like Bucky? No For short No no He'll just be like Buck Wild

When I'm being Me When I'm being Typically in a more Larry-ish context of me Oh when you're like Oversimulated

And you're like You want to like snap his neck Yes Or just like Way too worked up About a person Just like Who's like

Doing shitty shit Oh my God This is the best thing In the entire world I think we could have An icebreaker I This is a best

icebreaker. The best icebreaker. Talk. I have like people that are like, oh my God. Like when he called him baby, like, and they always like, oh my God, I don't know. No. I hate it. I actively like fucking hate it. Yeah. Just try to skim over it.

Let's have a talk about speaking of pop culture moments. What is your, what are your thoughts on Joe, coy is that his name oh my gosh yeah what are your thoughts on him versus Taylor swift so this one specifically like that joke specifically um I just I don't think anyone needed to be offended for her and I I then there's like everything about like was she offended was she just bored looking like there's all kinds of things I don't think anyone needs to be offended by that joke I didn't think it was it's not super funny but I don't think anyone needed to be offended by it. So this is like I've talked about this before. Like I think Taylor Swift is like extremely talented. I think she's probably a really good

person. My whole thing is is like her hardcore fans that like riot over everything are what make me not care for her. Yeah. So I was like scrolling and like they were like, oh like she's pissed at him. All of her fans like hate him. And I'm like, what the hell happened? And like, I've seen interviews before where like Ellen DeGeneres and like other people interviewing her have like made comments about her dating life and stuff like that that I was like, that's really shitty that they did that to her. Yes. So I thought this was going to be one of those situations. And then like all he said was like that. It was more of a joke toward the NFL. It was more of a. like it was more of a joke that like he wasn't even making fun of her specifically but more so for the media like

Taylor Swift is at the Golden Globes and you think that she is going to be a major topic of conversation because she's super popular and yeah Taylor Swift is at the Golden Globes any award show and all he said was that you would actually see her more at the NFL than you went on the Golden Globes which is true because the minute she goes a game. All of her fans freak out. They watch the game so they can see her. They've kind of created this disaster. Do you know what I mean? Like they're the ones that are like, oh, like, I only thought of years with 10 times. Yeah. So they're going to keep doing it. Yeah. And it's just like, okay, like if it would have been Beyonce dating an NFL player, if it would have been like anybody else that was a big name celebrity, the joke would have still applied. So I don't understand why, like, if Taylor Swift was offended about that, I think it's really like annoying on her behalf. Yeah. My reaction was like, you've got to also be able to laugh at yourself is like, so then that's why I was saying at the beginning of your question.

I was like related to that joke specifically, that was my reaction. Overall, his jokes weren't funny, I think was also. And I even so like Tyler and I talked about this because like we're big comedy fans. And you can never win hosting this as a comedian. Like very rarely does it go over well for the comedians that do it, but they're still asked to do it. And they're asked to kind of roast the celebrities that are there. So normally I'm also like on the side of like it's comedy people like chill out like this is a hard job.

Flipside his jokes weren't that funny. Like the Barbie joke about like, oh, they made a movie about a doll with boobs. Like there's nothing funny. Like right. Right. Well, that's what the thing is. The other thing is like overall, I think he also was just kind of a dud. Like I expected to want to defend him. And I was like, these jokes just aren't that funny though. But when I was seeing like everyone getting offended for her, I was like, I don't understand why you're mad about a joke like that. And so then it's like up in the air. Was she just like, was it not funny to her? Because it wasn't like a super funny joke either. So was she just bored looking or is she offended? and her fans are all acting offended like the super fans. So yeah, I don't know. I don't think anyone should be offended though.

From what I've seen of his, from what I've seen of like the other jokes that he was telling throughout the night, the Taylor Swift one was probably one of the funnier ones. Yes, I would agree with that. And I think that little like I think Miss Americana, like being that the joke wasn't actually a. or derogatory or like anything. I think that like if anything, she could have like sucked it up and like laughed a little bit and like done a fake laugh. So you don't want to look like you're too good for like you have to know how famous you are. And that yes.

Everything cuts to you all the time and it's okay to laugh about it. Pointing it out shouldn't be like a bad thing. And like you said, like he's a comedian at the end of the day. And I just think that it kind of sucks that like, these hardcore fans that will like do anything for her are like attacking him and trying to make a bad name for him in his career because I'm sure when he was writing that joke he was like here's a Taylor Swift joke that could be funny that's pop culture reference that's not offensive yeah you know it's not like he's like oh Taylor Swift has another boyfriend if her new album will be out two days

after she and Travis Kelsey break up like that would have been mean you know that would have been like same old shit. Yes, it would have been. I just would have laughed though, even as a fan. I mean, listen, like, nothing against it. But whenever Taylor Swift breaks up with somebody, I'm like, oh, that's going to be a good album. I know. So, but I just was like reading all of these things on Twitter and social media. Like, well, because you know how Bookstagram is.

Like, anything that's Taylor Swift related, the memes. I know. I did share one. The memes about it the next day. that people were creating, I was like, I don't understand why everybody's so offended

over that joke. Like, yes. I just, and this is the guy that like, will gladly stick up for a woman over a man

in any situation. Oh, yeah. And so I'm just like, did I miss something? But I wanted to ask your opinion. I don't feel like it was that offensive and I just, I had to pull this up because I heard Hannah and Paige

our girls at Gigley Squad. They were talking about this after it happened to. And so Michael Chey, you know, him from SNL. Yeah. We don't really talk about comedy, but I figured you would know who he was.

I do like to laugh. Well, that's good. You're like, I do like to laugh. I do like to laugh. I do like a lot. He, so he won. He's hilarious on X, Twitter,

whatever. He's so funny on there. But he tweeted this, but then he's since taking it down. So I had to pull it up on a, and an article. So his tweet starts off saying comedians should boycott award shows. And so then his explanation is for one, it's very difficult to make movie stars laugh.

They're way too self-conscious to have a good time. Two, they don't even want to laugh. They're too busy thinking about their careers, their speeches, and their cause. And he put quotation marks around cause. They think they want to be made fun of, but they actually don't. They actually just want to come here to get their trophy in a nice photo. So then he goes on to say, imagine right before game seven of the NBA finals, you had to go into the locker room and try to make LeBron laugh. My point is, it's not fun for anybody.

Trust me, I know everybody, we all hate it. Fans want a comedian to go out there and shit on all these celebrities and make the room tense and weird so they can enjoy it from the safety of their couch. I get it. It's funny, but that's not hosting. I feel like if you despise Hollywood so much, you want to insult anybody. You don't want to insult anybody. Then why say yes? Um, but there was something I could, oh, what is the end of it?

The end was so funny and I'm not finding the next tweet. But I thought it was like such a good point because this is also what happens every single year is like, yeah. I was seeing hate. Everyone was like, I was seeing people hate and say he's like misogynistic because of the Barbie jokes. And like some of the jokes just were bad. But like people like ask comedians to host it and then they get mad. Mm-hmm. when the job is to like roast them.

And I'm like, this is so weird. I also think like comedy wise, you kind of, it's never really a good situation to have a comedian host because you could go to, I was going to use Amy Schumer as an example, but I don't think anybody's seeing her anytime soon. This is so random. I saw a post that was like, check out Amy Schumer in a crop top talking about her 40 pound weight gain. Like, I just saw that like 30 minutes ago. And I was like, I'm not following a link.

Like, it wasn't even in the post. I was like, I'm not following a link to just see her wearing a crop top. But no, most people are. Most people aren't going to see. Like, the thing about comedy, right, is that like you have different tastes in comedy. So people might like Matt Rife. like they might be like oh my god he's like the best like i love him but then there might be people who

find his jokes offensive and would probably go see someone different so yes when you have a that's definitely what happened that is like very specific sense of humor yep we can do well at a venue because the people that like their sense of humor yes will go see them when you put your fans are coming yeah yeah when you put them in a room full of people who might not like comedy might not like that you're like kind of giving little jabs at them for comedy like that's where it kind of gets like I just think the only person that should be hosting award shows from now on who will do it with justice is Wanda Sykes. Oh yeah.

She would be amazing. I was like so excited to see who you were going to say. She would be great. She's like one of my favorite comedians. All the memes are going back around of when Tina Fainting and Kohler did it and they were fantastic. They're hilarious. Yeah.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. So. Yeah. It's such a, I know, it's so, because it's everywhere and it's so fascinating to me because I think there are like multiple things that are true. I think that comedians never win. I think his jokes weren't very funny, but no one needed to really be offended by them

either. Yeah. Yeah. Just mad sometimes. Yeah. Yeah. It's like kind of cringe because like I've been around, well, you'm sure you've heard the stories. I've been around someone who like will do that thing that's very,

this really gives me secondhand embarrassment. Like I will get flushed. They will, they will say something that they think is funny. That doesn't really land as funny. And like, the appropriate thing to do is to just continue on with the conversation. Yes. And he would repeat it or like be like did you hear that did you hear what I said like this and I'm like and yeah that is like that's what his jokes felt like to me I agree and then he turned on the audience he started getting mad and was like I really had 10 days to write this and like I you were laughing at the jokes I wrote the ones that other writers wrote you I'm like bro you can't just let go yeah turn on the audience this is so awkward

But it was just awkward. Yeah. It was not the job for him. No, no, no. But I'm happy Barbie won stuff still, so. I didn't even watch them. I didn't watch either. I just was like, because they're so long.

They draw them out so much, right? It takes forever. I am more apt to watch like the Grammys. Mm-hmm. Because they love the performances as well. Yeah. But like, even then I'm like, oh my God, it's three hours. of my year.

Yeah, it is. So I didn't watch them. I just saw the thing about Taylor Swift over and over and over and over again on social media. Like you would have thought that he called her a see you next Tuesday on stage the way that people react to. I'm like, do you guys remember like Ricky Jervais hosted these? Like, it's worse.

Right. Like this was tame. It was just kind of lame too. Yeah, yeah. It was just tame and lame. tame and lame tame and lame well

what's not going to be lame oh my god is our episode and the books that we're going to read in 2020 yeah yeah I thought it would be

really fun for you know like our first solo show of 2024 to be like here are some of the things that we're going to be kicking off the new year with

and seeing where we go from there yeah I'm so excited. I started, I just told you this earlier, but I had two five-star reads that kicked off 2024 for me. So I am on a roll and it is, I'm just hoping I stay on that rule. I had lackluster so far this year. I know. And I'm very sad.

But I heard a huge bang in my house. So I don't even know what I like said. But yeah, I think it's going to be really fun to, I hear people talking, so I'm assuming everything's okay. But I think it would be like super fun to just, I'm not like a New Year's resolution kind of person. You know what I mean? But I do believe in certain things in your life kicking off like a fresh start, you know? Like I don't do New Year's resolutions because I was just talking to my hair dresser about this. it just is weird to me that my birthday is in May, but I'm going to decide to be a different person in January.

So like, for me, it's like, I'm just going to wait for, I'm just going to wait. If I want to, like, do anything for, like, self-improvement, I'm going to wait for my birthday in May. But, like, yes, a new calendar year for, like, reading. Okay, I'll take it. So, yeah, that's why, like, there are certain things that I will celebrate in January and there are certain things that I'm just going to be the same old bitch about. Yeah, sometimes you know We all know the things that we're not going to let go of That was also a very page thing of me to say

It was They've been showing up all over my TikTok and I am like obsessed I just can't stop Like laughing at them Because of how much they remind me I know I have the same experience And what was funny I can't remember if you said this on air

or if we were off air, but you were like saying like, no, really, you're Hannah. And I was like, yeah, but I do stay home like, Paige. And you're like, but you're Hannah. And then ever since you've said that, every clip, I'm like, yes, I'm Hannah. Like, I knew that.

Like, Hannah falls into the fact that page is very dramatic. Yeah. And like, did you see there was like a TikTok about Paige getting a manicure? Mm-hmm. And she got the first. French tips and she was like the woman like cut me and I was like oh my God. And like Hannah was like oh my God you almost bled out. Yes. Yes. And like her falling down the stairs. I can't go to dinner.

I just fell. Oh my gosh. That was me. I love her so much. That was me when this is so funny. I had a moment where I had like a huge dental journey in 2023. Right. I was like, I'm going to start going to the dentist, like, as often as I need to, as often as I should, whatever. So one of the issues that I was having was my gums on the bottom of my teeth were, like, detaching a little bit. And it was just, like, tartar. Yeah. Do you know what I mean? Like, it was, like, easy fix.

Like, I went for cleaning and it was, like, all taken care of and everything was fine. but when I was going through that waiting Friday to Monday for my appointment like my friend Nicole was like do you want to go out to dinner tonight like let's go like we haven't seen each other in months and months and months and I was like I can't what I can't go to dinner like what if something happens to my teeth and she's like you're just not going to eat for four days like I was like what happens that is my page coded yeah yeah so basically that is my like if you do not get a dental cleaning every six months, you can get tartar buildup that will make you think that your gums are going to fall out of your mouth, but they are not.

Just go to your dental cleaning. And don't smoke cigarettes. And don't smoke cigarettes. This is our action item for the podcast. Yeah. Yep. Yep. So now that everybody has our PSA is about dental hygiene being very important and Taylor Swift,

would you like to kick it off with your first book? I would love to So I'm going to consider this A Segway from last week's episode Because Walking Through Needles by Heather Levy Is it on your list? No, I just love that you did this as a segue

From like connecting episodes Is like the biggest like coolest segue in the entire world Yeah, I love a little timeline shakeup, you know? Obviously. So Walking Through Needles by Heather Levy, who we talked to last week. She was talking about it, and it made me want to read even more. So I bought it when there was a 2x Kindle Day here recently.

So when Sam Mayfair was 16, her life was shattered by an abuser close to her. News of her abusers' murder 15 years later should have put an end to the torture she's endured because of one decision plaguing her life. But with her stepbrother Eric as the prime suspect, Sam is flung back into the the hell of her rural Oklahoma childhood. As Sam tries to help exonerate Eric while hiding certain truths of their past from investigators, details of the murder unravel. And Sam quickly learned some people, including herself, will do anything to keep their secrets

buried deep. God damn. That does sound dark. It does sound dark. Holy shot. So she talked a lot last week about how it is just very dark. But she also was cracking me up is she also comes. kept saying like I didn't feel like I'd written a thriller like it's just not a thriller and I'm like this sounds like a mystery thriller yeah so and it's even actually um considered that genre on good

reads so I'm excited the way she writes characters I'm sure I'm gonna love it there are a lot of things where there's certain elements that can be like in a plot that people will be like oh automatically it's a thriller yeah so I'm wondering if she said that because some people like read it and they were like like okay the book 27 minutes by Ashley Tate yeah the reviews on goodreads aren't the best because people are like this isn't like it's a good book but it's not a thriller and that's what it was like marketed as yeah I'm very curious to read that one but yeah um but yeah Heather's sounds so good I know I'm excited because she's obviously like a new favorite of mine. So she's so cool. That's like this year I have a couple authors where I'm like I love them so

much that I'm reading more of theirs. I love that journey for you. Me too. I love it. My next two are like that actually. Really? Yeah. God. Um, my first one is a thriller. You did it. I did it. Um, I remember last year, reading What Lies in the Woods by Kay Alice Marshall and like love love loving it. So obviously when I found out that she had another one coming out this year, I was like, I thought you froze. You were like so stoic and like not blinking. And then like I went to pause to tell you that you froze and you blinked and it was like, oh my God. You're like, wait a second. She's alive. I can tell something was happening.

So Kate Alice Marshall's newest book is called No One Can Know. And it says that Emma hasn't told her husband much about her past. He knows her parents are dead and she hasn't spoken to her sisters in years. Then they lose their apartment. Her husband gets laid off and Emma discovers that she's pregnant. Right as the bank account slips into the red. That's when Emma confesses that she has one more asset, her parents' house, which she owns jointly with her estranged sisters.

They can't sell it, but they can live in it. But returning home means that Emma is forced to reveal her secrets to her husband, that the house is not a run-down farmhouse, but a stately mansion and that her parents died there. We're murdered. And that some people say Emma did it. Emma and her sisters have never spoken about what really happened that night. Now her return to the house may lure her sisters back, but it will also crack open family and small-town secrets lots of people don't want revealed. It sounds amazing.

It sounds... I've been excited about this one too. So good. I think I'm going to read it this weekend. That'll be fun. I have 75 pages left with Talbauer and then I'm going to dive into this thriller.

Oh, nice. So yeah, it'll probably start it tomorrow. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm super pumped for KLS Marshall and probably Domino's Pizza. That sounds so good. All I want.

I just got hungry like five minutes ago. So we will get. get detoured with food if I talk about it too much. I will not mention it again this episode. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant I'm like, if you, I'm like,

fuck you. If you say talk about pizza. No, but I do have a very segue way because the next one I am going to talk about is another repeat author for me. Good is dead by Susan Walter. So I read Over Her Dead Body and Lie by the Pool by Susan Walter. I read both of them in the course of like three weeks.

And I am such a fan of her. So from the get go, I want to tell everyone, I don't know why I'm phrasing it so formally. But she's so cinematic and she's a screenwriter. So I think that's like some of where it comes from. And so like so much of it feels like the way that. that like TV shows or movies, like give you information. It just reminds me of that a lot. And she does lots of, um, there's like always like four or more POVs.

So it's just like really fun to keep track of everything. But good is dead is her first book. And it is about Holly. Holly Kendrick's husband is dead. Holly saw it all in one violent moment. A hit and run accident turns Holly's life upside down. Then a fixer for the high-powered guilty party approaches Holly with an offer. She's in no position to refuse. Holly and her daughter, Savannah, will want for nothing beginning with a luxury dream house, all for the price of their silence.

But when their sudden appearance and privileged Calabasas, California peaks the curiosity of neighbors, the price becomes greater than they imagined. Because Holly and Savannah aren't the only ones in this neighborhood with something to hide. Told from alternating points of view, good is dead, draws together an unlikely group of people bound to one another by a crime, a cover-up, and compounding deceptions. As carefully constructed lives begin to crumble, how far will everyone will everyone be willing to go to bury the truth and protect the people that they love? Oh my God. It sounds like a murder mystery, desperate housewives. I agree the whole neighborhood part. And then the like fixer part reminds me of Ray Donovan,

which I loved so much on Showtime. So this just has a lot of elements that I will love. I never finished Ray Donovan, but I, oh my God. Yeah, he's hot. Oh, my God. Yeah, talk about a hot anti-hero. He, so he's really popular from the screen movies. Yeah.

He was in Scream 1, 2, and 3. And he, he, was good looking in those and now he's like beyond sexy like he just like aging like fine wine yes he is oh my god oh my god I want to check out her books now

oh my gosh you have to read at least one of them they're also all like 260 to 270 pages so they're all and like the chapters are short and it doesn't feel like you read a short book but they are so there's also that yeah with I think with like high pace fast pace high pacing with fast pacing and like

cinematic writing that gives you a lot of information like I can definitely see what you mean with that oh it's so fun I don't even I feel like I don't even know what you want to recommend the most I love all of them so I'll probably do like an mini mini monimo or

I'll read that one I'm interviewing her tomorrow oh my god yeah I'm excited excited. So that will come out next week. Perfect. Okay. All right. Live by the pool. That was hers that came out in 2020.

So it was her most recent one. So. Oh, my God. This is amazing. Yeah. I know. I have a segue. Nice. So I don't remember the name of the book. You're like, I know I have a segue. I just don't know what it's for.

There was a book. Okay, so there's an author name Dervla McTiernan. Okay. No, yes, McTiernan. And I read her book last year, and it was kind of like a legal thriller. Okay. And I'm very like back and forth with legal thrillers. And I was like, I'm going to give this a shot.

And I fell in love with it. And I like could not put it down. And it was one of my favorites. It was so good. The murder rule? Yes. Nice. Cool. So good. And she has a new book coming out in 2023, and it's called What Happened to Nina. And I am just so pumped for it because I think that she's just going to keep getting better and better with each book.

That's awesome. Nina and Simon are the perfect couple, young, fun, and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family's cabin in Vermont and only Simon comes home. Nobody knows what happened, Nina. Simon's explanation about what happened in their last hours together doesn't add up. Nina's parents pushed the police for answers, and Simon's parents rushed to protect him. They hire expensive lawyers and PR firm that quickly revamps up a vicious, nothing-is-off-limits media campaign. Soon facts are lost in a swirl of accusation and counter-accusation. Everyone chooses a side and the story goes viral, fueled by armchair investigators and wild conspiracy theorists, and illustrated with pretty pictures taken from Nina's social media accounts.

Journalists descend from their small Vermont town, followed by a few obsessive fans. Nina's family is under siege, but they never lose sight of the only thing that really matters, finding their daughter. Outgunned by Simon's wealthy, powerful family, Nina's parents recognize that if playing by their rules won't get them anywhere, it's time to break them.

Wow. Oh, my. That sounds amazing. It sounds so good. I love legal thrillers. So now I want to read the murder rule. Oh my God. It's so good.

It's so good. It sounds amazing. Yeah. It's really, really good. Nice. Like, it's like one of those ones that like you say to yourself like, maybe I'll try like the first 50 pages tonight and then you're like up until 2 a.m. And like don't want to put it down. Oh, yeah.

I get that. If I didn't take magnesium, I could maybe stay awake. It kills my ability to read until two in the morning. Did I tell you my magnesium story? Yes. About your mishap. My mishap. I got the wrong magnesium.

I've been taking magnesium. I'm not a doctor, but this is just my little advice. Neither of us are, by the way. I would trust Kate more than I would trust me. Okay, let's just put it that way. But I got magnesium for anxiety because I, read that it was something that would really help with anxiety. And so I got it and it's been working. I have not had anxiety since I started taking it. It's been wonderful. And then I was like, oh,

I'm getting a little low. I should get some. And I got magnesium citrate, which is the magnesium they give you to prepare yourself for a colonoscopy. And I am glad that I noticed that I got the wrong magnesium before I started taking it because I would have just would have not have been a fun experience. It would not be a calm experience. Awful. Awful. So. Pay attention to your magnesium.

Yeah. Yeah. Get the right one. The right one. Like, trade will do everything to your body. Not anti-anxiety, basically. No. At least you got it.

I have no segue. But that's going to be on our merch as someday, too. I have no segue. But this is another author who I read a book recently, and now I just want to read more of hers. And the book is called They Are the Hunters by Faith Gardner. I read The Prediction by Faith Gardner, which was like a very like black mirror-y sci-fi thriller. And I loved it. So I wanted to read more of hers, but she just had one come out today.

Yeah, today. came out on a Thursday called They Are the Hunters. The hunters appear to be the textbook definition of a perfect family leading a charmed life. When the enigmatic Olivia West befriends their teenage daughter, Eliza, Olivia becomes one of the family an honorary hunter. Here's what they don't know about Olivia. She's planning a murder. And whether they like it or not, every member of this family is going to become an accomplice.

And here's what Olivia doesn't know about the hunters. they've killed before. And if Olivia threatens the reputation, they will absolutely kill again. That sounds terrifying. It sounds terrifying. And like the way she's been like promoting it is like, the best way I can say is that she's promoting it like a really cunty thriller too

because the tagline here is the family that slays together stays together. I love it. And I'm just like this feels like it's going to be like campy. even as well. So I'm really excited for this one. I wonder, yeah, I might have to check it out. I think you would like this one. I mean, I haven't read it, but I wouldn't necessarily push the sci-fi ones on you. So, and this one is not. Well, one of the, like, Kill for Love by Laura Picklesomeyer was, like, one that I was like, oh, I don't know.

Like, this might be, like, campy and, like, too much satire. for me. And it was like one of my favorite books that I read of the year. And it just sounds like this could be something similar to like her writing style. So yeah, I'll just let you know. The cover is really cool too. Okay. Let me just. You will like the cover. I don't know what that laugh that I just did was, but. It was very maniacal. I know. We are the hunters. They are the hunters. Oh. Close.

I almost felt like a self-help book. Ooh, I do love that cover. Oh, M.G. I know. Oh. Also, I found her on TikTok, which is always like a fun thing, too. She just, like, promotes her books in a really cool way. Her, like, something looks very familiar, too.

me. About faith. Yeah. Like maybe I've seen one of her books on social media before. Probably have. She has a bunch. Very cool. Yeah. Very cool. Well, I do not have a segue.

Yeah. I will say this is a book by an author that I've read a lot of and loved every single book. Yeah. It's my girl Lisa Unger. Yes. I love her so much. Yeah. The new couple in 5B, sensational cover. It's gorgeous. gorgeous, gorgeous. It is about a couple who inherits an apartment with a spine tingling past. Rosie and Chad Lowen are barely making ends meet in New York City when they receive life-changing news. Chad's late uncle has left them his luxury apartment at the historic Windermere in the glamorous Murray Hill.

With its pre-war elegance, an impeccably uniformed doorman. The building is the epitome of New York charm. One would almost never suspect the dark history lurking behind its perfectly maintained facade. At first, the building and its eclectic tenants couldn't feel more welcoming, but as Lowen settle into their new home, Rosie starts to suspect that there's more to the Windermere. then meets the eye. Why is the dormant ever present? Why are their cameras everywhere? And why have so many gruesome crimes occurred there throughout the years? When one of the neighbors turns up dead, Rosie must get to the truth about the apartment building before she too falls under its dangerous

spell. Oh my gosh. Sounds so terrifying too. The thing that I really love about Lisa Unger is how she can like how good she is at building a big cast. Yeah. So the fact that like it's an apartment building and there's like all these like shady tenants and like fucked up shit happening. I'm like, just get it to me. Yeah. Just give it to me now. I know. I'm excited for that one too. And I have an extra one for you. And it will match my nails. I wear for hot pink instead of like it. It'll match your entire life from here. It will match my entire life. Because like, yes. But pink and purple will like stick with you for life. I am consistent. This is one thing I will always be. But my next one is an author that you love as well. And I had to talk about this one because you also sent me a copy of this one. And you're in it.

We needed to talk about the Fury. Nobody's probably going to be able to see it on YouTube totally. But Gare is like right here. Blurbed. In the opening. In the opening. whatever, like the literal first page. So I had to talk about this one and I'm excited for it.

Did I say that it was the Fury or did I just show it? Just showed it. Okay. Well, it is the Fury for our audio listeners out there. I did it again. I got so excited to show it. But it's The Fury by Alex McLeadies. This is a tale of murder.

It feels like I need to get in character to read this. Whoa. I love that voice. Oh, well, I'll try to stick with it. Or maybe that's not quite true. At its heart, it's a love story, isn't it? Lanna Farrar is a reclusive ex-movie star and one of the most famous women in the world. Every year, she invites her closest friends to escape the English weather and spend Easter on her idyllic private Greek island. I tell you this because you may think you know this story. You probably read about it, read about it all. You probably read about it at the time. I was right the first time. It caused a real stir in the tabloids, if you remember. It had all the necessary ingredients for a press, a celebrity.

I think there's something wrong in this synopsis. For a celebrity, a private island cut off by the wind and a murder. We found ourselves trapped there overnight. Our old friendships concealed hatred and a desire for revenge. What followed was a game of cat and mouse, a battle of wits, full of twists and turns, building to an unforgettable climax. The night ended in violence and death as one of us was found murdered. But who am I? My name is Elliot Chase and I am going to tell you a story unlike any you've ever heard.

That was such a dramatic synopsis. The theatrical. Yeah. The synopsis speaks very well to how it's written. That's what I wondered. That's cool. Um, it's so wild and it's so much fun. I'm so excited.

It comes out on January 16th. Yes. This is one that is not out yet. Yeah. So, oh my God, it's so good. I can't wait for people to start talking about that. I saw a TikTok about it, someone who was like, I thought I couldn't love a book more than The Silent Patient and then I read this one.

And I was like, damn. There's so much going on in the book. It's so good. Ooh. I love that. The, yeah, I'm just going to say, like, I thought it was, like, so much fun. I thought it was so much fun. I read it in May, and I still think about it.

Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I'm going to love it then. Yeah. It was so fun. Oh, so good. Well, here is my segue. It's something that I hope never happens to us.

Oh, boy. So my next one is called Listen for the Lie by Amy Tintara. What if you thought you murdered your best friend? What if everyone else thought so too? And what if the truth doesn't matter? After Lucy is found wandering the streets covered in her best friend Savi's blood, everyone thinks she's a murderer. Lucy and Savvy were the golden girls.

of their small Texas town, pretty smart and enviable. Lucy married a dream guy with a big ring and even bigger new home. Savvy was the social butterfly loved by all, and if you believe the rumors, especially popular with the men in town. It's been years since that horrible night, a night Lucy can't remember anything about, and she has since moved to L.A. and started a new life. But now the phenomenally huge hit True Crime Podcast, Listen for the Lie. and it's too good-looking host, Ben Owens,

decide to investigate Savvy's murder for the show's second season. Lucy is forced to return to the place she vowed to never set foot in again to solve her friend's murder, even if she is the one that did it. I am so obsessed with everything going on in this book. I know. Oh, my God. To get approved for it, but it says my request is pending, so we'll see. Oh, it has so many, like the podcast element. Oh, my God, yes.

Did I kill someone element? I think it's going to be like, I think the title is going to be a double entangra. Yes. I think it's because it's the name of the podcast in the book, I think there's also going to be something. I just can't wait to see how this all takes place. Like it just sounds so good. It does. So.

I love a double entendre. I'm a fan. Two. Double double. Well, my last one I am equally excited about. So it doesn't come out until July, but I'm just so excited about it that I might read it here soon because I did get a net galley of it. Oh. And it is called Lady Killer by Catherine Wood.

and I sent you the cover too. The cover had me obsessed from the get-go too. The cover's just so cool. But it also has a lot of some of my favorite elements in it, as you'll hear in this really long synopsis. When an heiress goes missing, her best friend races to unravel the secrets behind her disappearance using clues left behind in an explosive manuscript.

Gia and Abby have been best friends since they were girls, forever bonded by the tragedy that unfolded in Greece when they were 18. Apparently, I'm also talking about books that take place in Greece today. In the aftermath, bookish Abby threw herself into her studies while Aris Gia chronicled the events of the fateful summer in a salacious memoir. Twelve years later, Gia is back in Greece for the summer with her shiny new husband and a motley crew of glamorous guests, preparing to sell the family state in the wake of her father's death. When Abby receives an invitation from Gia to celebrate her birthday in September beneath the northern. lights. She's thrilled to be granted the time off from her high-pressure job. But the day of her flight, she receives a mysterious threatening email in her inbox, and when she and Gia's brother,

Bini, arrive at the Swedish resort, Gia isn't there. After days of cryptic messages and unanswered calls, Abby and Bini are worried enough to fly to Greece to check on her. Only when they arrive, they find Gia's beachfront estate eerily deserted, the sole clue to her whereabouts, a manuscript she wrote, detailing the events leading up to her disappearance. The pages reveal the dark truth about Gia's provocative new marriage and the dirty secrets of the guests they entertained with fizzy champagne under the hot Mediterranean sun. As tensions rise, Gia feels less and less safe in her own home.

But the pages end abruptly leaving Abby and Benny with more questions than answers. Where is Gia now? And more importantly, will they find her before it's too late? My God, it's going to be so good. I know. it just sounds so fun. I am so excited to read it. I've seen the physical arcs on bookstagram.

So they're starting to go out. And I believe when they reached out to me, I believe I asked for a physical arc. So if I get it, we can read it together. Yeah, that would be fun. That sounds so good. Yeah. Sounds so good.

I love stuff that. is related to manuscripts and film. And it sounds like dual timeline stuff is happening as well. I'm a big fan of that. I know you're going to hate me for saying this, but it kind of gets me pumped for like summer reading too. Yeah. That's okay.

I just don't mind the cold. But it's kind of rough. It's kind of rough. It's been a very mild winter here. Yeah. So that's why I can't complain. It says we're going to be in the single digits. Why is it thumbs-uping right now of all times?

Like one degree. Yeah. It says we're going to be in single digits Friday, Sunday, Monday. Oh. Like three is our low and nine is our high. And I'm like, that sounds terrible. Oh, my God. So no, I'm not mad that you're looking.

forward to summer reading. There's like, I think there's like a countdown. It's like less than 100 days until we start getting like 8 p.m. sunsets. Oh, yeah. I just like when- That's the one part that I'm fine. I love that it gets dark early, but not many, almost no one else agrees with me, so I get it. I don't mind the cold. I just don't like when it gets, when I feel like it's like midnight at like 6 o'clock.

I mean, I'm adjusting to it fine now, but I do like when the days feel a little longer. Yeah. But what do I know? I'm just a little vampire in the dark. Vampire? Yes. Are those the ones that are in the dark? Yeah, they don't go in the sun.

Yeah, no, vampires do not go in the sun. This is me telling everyone I don't read vampire novels. They like to stay asleep during the day. and come out at night and they love to suck. Speaking of things that love to suck. That's a great segue. My next book is called The Boyfriend Subscription by Stephen Salvatore.

After losing his marriage and his beloved retail plant business, Teddy Hughes is ready to drown his sorrows or would be if he could afford another beer in his favorite dive bar. He has no choice but to uproot his dreams and leave New York for good. Then a gorgeous stranger walks in with cheekbones that could cut glass and a confidence that leaves Teddy panting. Like the leather harness he wears under his

designer suit, Cole Vivian is a mass of contradictions. He's a successful entrepreneur whose app versatile allows consumers and sex workers to form real, if temporary connections. But now Cole is unfamiliar position of needing something from someone else. A fake boyfriend can help Cole project a more traditional image for a potential investor. And Teddy, shy, smart, and so much hotter than he knows, is perfect for the part. Maybe too perfect. Cole has just two conditions, no kissing and no falling in love. In exchange for one week together, Teddy will get enough money to get back on his feet and no messy feelings will be in the mix. But some rules are meant to be broken. That sounds like a steamier gay pretty woman.

That's what it's comp. That's what it's comp is. It's like it's like a gay like pretty woman like rom-com kind of thing. I have just been so obsessed with like wanting to read this book. My arc recently came in and I like was just like shaking it like, oh my God, you're finally here. But it sounds so good. It sounds so cute. Yeah.

And I just can't wait. read it. Oh, yeah, that sounds fun. And it's kind of like Heather was saying, like, I'm just like really excited and happy that there are more stories coming out without like stereotypes of sex workers or having that be like the main focus of of the story. Right. So it's really cool that like different versions of sex work are being told in these stories. And I love me. an M.M. Romance. Of course. Harley just shook her ears really loud at me.

So I was like, wait. She's like, I can't wait to read that. Yeah, I know. She wants to read it too. She's like, can you give me an audiobook version? Oh my God, I wish I could. I know. They just heard, I think I muted it in time,

but they just heard the neighbor dog barking. So they were in a barking contest. Oh, fuck yourself, neighbor dog. Yeah, they were unhappy about that other dog's existence. But yeah, we have a lot to read this year. Yeah, yeah. It's going to be a very good year. I think nothing against any 2023 thriller that came out.

I think a lot of people felt that there weren't like as many. Like there were a lot of them, but there weren't as many that like really like kind of like hit you upside the head. like can't stop thinking about. So it just seems to me that like publishers and authors alike have like realized what's like not working right now and like what is kind of like overdone and like redundant at this point. And they're like kind of dipping their toes and other like avenues. So I'm excited for the thrillers of 2024 because this episode tonight has definitely got me in like the mood where I'm like I want to read. I want to read some good thrillers.

me too all the time