Bookwild - Books You Can Easily Escape Into with Gare and Steph

Episode Date: February 21, 2025

This week, Gare, Steph and I share books that you can easily escape into!Books We Talked AboutWatch Out for HerDon’t Tell Me How to DieNotes On Your Sudden DisappearanceThe Real DealCross My HeartLenny Marks Gets Away with MurderThe Paradox HotelA Killer’s MindCackle 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'm with gear and stuff this week. Stuff is looking tan because she, like, went on a whole vacation. And I did not. So, you know. Sure, it'll fade. Or it won't. No, you've got, like, a serious blow. Yeah, you do.

Like, you're tan and, like, the, like, the light is, like, hitting certain aspects. And I'm like, oh, my God, look at that. I do use this sometimes during our podcast, too. So. I do not need anyone sealing the tequila puff. Survives. The phone last night. I'm classy.

I'm going to be classy and have a couple of glasses wine. And three hours later, I'm like chugging tequila sodas, like, airing out somebody who did me wrong's dirty laundry to the bartender and anyone who will listen to me. And almost doing the splits. You know, I had a Almost a sizzle like. Oh, okay. Actually, this fits our icebreaker really well. So now I won't say it.

Oh, okay. I just realized. I've had a really good iceberg idea. So I recently watched a show that was recommended to me, and I had zero expectations, and it completely exceeded what I thought it would be. It was exactly what I needed in the moment and ended up watching it again with her husband who ended up really loving it too. Mine was that Kristen Bell and Adam Brody show,

nobody wants this. Oh, nobody wants this. Nobody wants this. I loved it. I thought it was so fun. I loved, like, the side characters were so funny and charming. And I, we thought that, like, one of the Adam Brody's brother character reminded us of our dog so much, which was kind of funny.

But, like. Because he just, like, wanted to be on and everything. Like, oh, we're hugging. Oh, we're doing a group hug? I was like, that's something Shannon would do. Like, oh, we're touching. Okay. Anyways.

But so that totally exceeded my expectations. And I'm not really a rom-com person. Yeah. And I loved it. Nice. I always love this. I've heard really good things about that. I think they just recently renewed it for a second season, didn't they?

Yeah. It was at the end of the last episode. They said there's going to be a season two. And, okay, what I loved, I think, the most about it, and this is not really a spoiler, is that, like, the guy is not toxic. Like, isn't that weird? Isn't it weird that, like, the romantic interest is, like, a legitimately good guy? It's wild. Basically, cowlopoeia. I know.

Yeah, snooze. I know. What would you do that? Yeah, it was wild. People loved that when it came out. Like, it really, it, everyone loved it. The, the humor is good. So, like, even if you're, and it's really cheesy.

Yeah. No, Doc Shepherd was even saying, like, he watched it with her, and he was like, you guys haven't seen chemistry, like, the kiss scene. Like, he was like, I was sitting there. I was like, just kiss her, God damn it. Yeah. Yeah. They're adorable.

Well, mine Includes Siza. We saw one of the days, I think like two and a half weeks ago or three weeks ago. Before I went to New York, have you seen it? Gair's reacting. I just don't know.

No, I do love Siza. I also love Kiki Palmer, but it's on, it's released on digital. Yeah. And it's on digital now. And I just bought it today, and I'm going to watch it tonight after we record.

That's so tricky. Them. Yeah. Like it's like a whole The move. I was like, oh yeah, we saw that movie. It's just really fun. Like it's just super, super fun, like buddy comedy and I agree.

When I saw this is the Kiki Palmer. And then it's produced by Issa Ray. She's definitely the voice in like a commercial or something. There was something where I like Linda was like, that's Lisa's voice. So I think she's kind of in there, but she produced it. And it's just like a really fun buddy comedy. That's awesome. I'm so excited because I do not usually like comedies.

As you know, I love to eat bleak. But I'm really excited for it because I do love Siza. And I did have my tequila soda and did the Siza Super Bowl move last night. But I'm really excited for it. And I have like a whole little like Palantines date with myself. I have like a little heart-shaped pizza. Oh my God. And I'm going to watch like, yeah.

I'm going to watch. We're recording this on February. One time. The best day. Speaking of. I like almost forgot. I went to the movies for the first time in years last Saturday. And I saw heart eyes.

Oh, yeah. And I, my expectations were like a little, I don't want to say they were low. They were just like, I was like, I don't know if this is going to be like what I think it is. because I saw a lot of reviews that said, like, it's more of a rom-com with, like, slasher, like, elements in it. But, like, I felt like it was, like, a really good balance of all three. Like, something really suspenseful would happen. And then there'd be, like, kind of, like, a funny moment.

And then there'd be, like, oh, my God, have you guys just kissed already moment? And then, like, but it was, like, honestly, like, from 20 minutes in to the end, it was, like, action-packed. Like, there was, like, so much happening. And it was so good. I was like, the jokes were like funny but not like corny. There's like so many funny elements. The chemistry with Olivia Hull and Mason Gooding was incredible.

I'm in love with him. So like for me to be like, oh, they had amazing chemistry and not be like toxic and want to claw her eyes out is like fantastic. But it was such a fun movie. Yeah. I love like being there genre mashups. That's what I was just going to say. I was like, I think we've gotten to a point where it's like the next. thing is to be able to do that, but it also has to be done well, which I'm sure it is very hard.

Yeah. There were definitely moments where I was like, oh my God, oh my God, I'm like kind of creeped out right now or like, I'm afraid and I know something's going to happen. And then like two minutes later, I'm like slapping my like laughing. And it was just so good. I loved it. I can't wait to watch it again. Oh, yay. So exciting. Cool. I feel like that is a good segment. way into what our topic is, Kate. Yes. Yeah. So we kind of approach it. We've, like, talked about it extensively, what to even call it.

But I sometimes have people in my DMs who will ask, like, is it easy to get into, like, I just need something that I can get into and, like, love immediately and just really picks up. And I've also had people kind of talking about, like, I just need escapism right now. I need to escape into a book. So kind of like books that are easy to escape into. And when we were all talking about it, I think it's actually cool that like there can be different reasons why you felt like you could escape into something really easily. So it's like all of us could have different reasons for our picks.

And I think that it'll just be nice. So people can kind of just like pick something that sounds appealing to it. yeah i like that a lot totes mcgots i also other thing i thought of calling it yeah what did you say slump busters oh slump busters yeah yeah i just kind of did like you know it's like sometimes you're like excited for a book and then like you read it and you're like did i read the same thing that other people did and i and i

It just kind of went based on mine where I like picked up something and like did not want to put it down. Like these are the things that I wanted to like cancel plans for or like I did not care what was going on in the outside world. I did not care what was like like it was just like me chilling with Murphy and like impossible to put this book down kind of vibes. Like fun reading experiences. Yeah. Yeah. Same. For sure.

I'm really excited actually to see what people are what you guys are choosing and why. like your reason for that one. Can it be anything? Yeah. Kate, you show over. Mine. This one came to mind because I just edited an episode of her for Imposter Hour

and I love her so much and I love to this book so much. But watch out for her by Samantha in Bailey. I was like, it's time to talk about this book again. Sarah Goldman, mother to six-year-old Jacob is relieved to move across the kind of

country. She has a lot she wants to leave behind, especially Holly Monroe, the pretty 22-year-old babysitter, she and her husband Daniel, hired to take care of their young son last summer. It started out as a perfect arrangement. Sarah had a childminder her son adored, and Holly found the mother figure she'd always wanted. But Sarah's never been one to trust very easily, so she kept a closed eye on Holly, maybe two close at times. What she saw raised some questions not only about who Holly really was but what she was hiding. The more Sarah watched, the more she learned, until one day she saw something she couldn't unsee something so shocking that all she could do was flee. Sarah has put it all behind her and is starting over in a different city with her husband and son. They've settled

into a friendly suburb where the neighbors, a tight click of good citizens, are always on the lookout for danger. But when Sarah finds hidden cameras in her new home, she has to wonder, has her past caught up to her and worse yet, who is watching her now? Wow. I love that book. It's like such a, such a good domestic like suspense and thriller. Like it's both. Like it in the ending like the last 20% you're just like what is happening. There are some super dark elements in that book. Like there's one scene that was very like I was like, I read it like three times. I was like, did she really like just put that on page?

But it was so good. I love that. Yeah. It's really good. And it's one of those where the cover, like eventually you're like, oh. Those are always fun. Yeah, she's really fun. I love her.

So cool. Her upcoming one, hello, Julia. It sounds so good too. I know. I missed requesting it on NetGalley or it wasn't ever on there. but when I looked it up, it said, like, it wasn't available. I still annoying when it happens. I feel like sometimes it's, I think it's through, like, Amazon.

Like, I think, I think her book's going to be published through Amazon. And I feel like sometimes those are, like, very strangely never on NetGalley or they're just, like, you know, wait for it to come out. It's very strange. I don't know how that works, but, um. Yeah, sounds good. Yeah. Yeah. I love that one.

Very good. Pretty good pick. Do you want to go next? Oh, you can. I was just noticing on Hello Juliet, like, has anyone ever gotten where it says this book is not currently available to request with the wishbone? You can click Wish for it. Has anyone ever gotten a witch for it? No.

I've seen that. But that's what I said when I looked to. That's like when I scroll through. the giveaways on goodreads. Oh yeah. And I'm like, should I even like click that button to enter?

Because I don't feel like I've ever really won these. I haven't. No. No. I actually think that I won one in eight years. And it was like a disappointment. Dudd. That's terrible.

I was like, err. I ran. Yeah. You go ahead, Gare. Okay. Well, I am wanted to talk about our systems accidentally open the video of me doing the as a move instead of the book. Like, God, like, he's talking about, like, here's what you should stay home and read if you're looking to read a book.

And, like, last night I was, like, practically doing the splits with, like, a tequila soda on my hand. So I recently read, this comes out in March. It's called Don't Talk. me how to die by Marshall Karp? It was a freaking experience. And like I had started it because Marisha like love her. But she was like, you have to read this. Like I need to know your thoughts. Every page. Like she is such a good book friend to have because like you never like feel like you're annoying her if you talk to her about a book. And she was like, you need to read this. And I started it. And I was like, oh, I have to go to dinner with friends. Oh, like I have to work. And you

don't you mean i was like damn it like why didn't i just wait but it was such a good experience um i have one thing to do before i die and time is running out i had it all a fantastic husband two great kids an exciting career and then at the age of 43 i found out i would be dead before my next birthday my mother also died at 43 i was 17 and she warned me that women would flock to my suddenly single father like stray cats to an overturn milk truck they did one hour one hour of Absolutely evil woman practically destroyed his life, mine and my sisters. I am not letting that happen to my family. I have three months and I plan to spend every waking minute searching for the perfect woman to take my place as Alex's wife and the mother to Kevin and Katie.

You're probably thinking she'll never do it. Did I mention in high school I was voted most likely to kill someone to get what she wants? From thriller writer Marshall Carp, a rich with Carp's deft array of three-dimensional characters, and his signature biting humor. Don't tell me how to die. Has so many twists and turns. You'll swear he wrote it with a corkscrew. Holy shit.

So I absolutely love this book. I will say for somebody like looking to pick this up, it starts off very like family drama-esque with her childhood. There's not a lot of like thriller elements,

but the story is like so good that I just could not put it down. And I love the dialogue, the characters to, like, really, like, jump out of the pages at you. But then when the thriller element kicked in, I was like, holy shit. Have you seen the meme that was going around at the beginning of the year where it's like, this is what life feels like. And it's like the little girl on like that teacup ride and she's like holding on screaming. That's what I felt like when like the, like the thriller element starts. to pop off with this book and I like have had a really hard time not thinking about it like since

I finished it like I'm trying to move on but I can't yeah I can't so smart so it's such a smart book I have had people in my that were in my life for like 10 plus years that I like kicked out and I think about this book more than I think about them that is my blurb that is perfect Oh my God, that's so good. Like, I just can't wait to read it again. It was so good. So good. It is masterful.

I do not read a lot of books by men. I do not read a lot of books that have female main characters written by men. Right. I almost was like, is it really a guy? So I thought it was well done in that one, because I know a lot of people get frustrated by that. Yeah. I thought it was good. Like the way, you know those books where like you go through the whole thing and then you realize at the end like why everything was important or like why everything was

mentioned. Like I love that. Me too. I want to read it right now. I think you'll really like it. Just like it's like Gere said, like just give it a chance when it seems kind of dramay in the beginning. But it's still like endearing. Like you still want to keep reading. Yeah. I Yeah. I agree too. I was going to say that too, but obviously my opinion does not count as much when it comes to like female characters as as yours would. But like when I was reading it, I was like, wow, like he's not only doing a really good job writing female characters, but like also the snark and like wit of and like the brutality of teenage girls. Yeah. Like they were very believable especially like and like so witty. And like the like brutality. And like the like the like so witty. And like. like sassy and like especially when you're sisters right like two sisters like they do not give a shit what they say to each other like I'm going to roast you how you deserve to be roasted in my opinion right now and like there are no triggers and so like when he was writing that that

relationship I was like oh my god this is so well done yeah I agree yes and for audio listeners it's really good it's really really good yeah of our audio segments was stuff and I for the chapter's pretty short too. I don't know because I just didn't care. Like I was like I may keep going, right? You know what I mean? Yeah. I just wanted to like keep going and keep going. And one of my favorite things that like always like gets me with a book too is when there's different parts. Right. So like something happens and then you're like part two and you're like, holy shit. Like this is going to be multiple parts. Like what's going to happen in part two? And then you just. Yeah. It was impossible for me to put down. Mm hmm. Yeah. That one's really good. I think that's going to be, I hope. I think that one will be a hit when it comes out. The last time I felt this way about a book that, like, just wowed me that much that I couldn't stop thinking about was,

um, Kill for Me, Kill for You by Steve Kavanaugh. Hmm. Like when I was just like, holy shit. You guys are making me really want to read this one. That's like the thing, though, is that like, I'm so grateful for this trio because like when you guys recommend a book and you're like or a movie and you're like oh you're going to love this like I know going into it I'm going to love it you know what I mean

it's not like somebody being like oh I like this book so you should like it too it's like you guys are like you know what like I like and vice versa so I think this is going to be a real winner for you Kate well they better give it to me I requested it. I'll read it in March. I have plenty to read. I think you'll get it. I have a 430 page book club book I need to read in three days. What did you pick?

The Bible? Absolutely not. It's called rabbits. It is like a techno. Yeah. It just finished. This book will bury me, which was so fucking. good, but also like almost 500 pages. So it was taking me longer. And then I started this one.

I was like, oh, no, this one's almost 500 pages too. Yeah. I have a net galley book that I just requested and I got approved for it. I was so excited until I saw it was 480 pages. And I was like, why? Well, speaking of teen relationships, I love that too when people write just like real sassy sisters. And I realized that I love not YA, like adult books that have teens as a main character for at least part of it. I know I talked about this in a different episode about TBR, but I ended up reading notes on your sudden disappearance.

And I like hugged it. when I was done. And I think the reason was because, like, the first part is being sisters. And it was so funny. Like, I was laughing out loud at their banter and just, like, their experience. Did you guys ever watch Penn 15? Yes. I mean, forever ago, but yes.

It is very relatable, especially as a person who's 38, like, because they're in the 90s and they're, like, 37 and 38 in real life. so it's them in middle school and it's so funny. But anyway, so this is really funny in the beginning. And then it has like a death in the family. And that's what they're talking about, the notes on their sudden disappearance. So it has a lot of grief.

But it's also like weird, not weirdly, pleasantly light as well in the sense that there's still humor and like, shitty dialogue. So for much of her life, Sally Holt has been mystified by the things her older sister, Kathy, seems to have been born knowing. Kathy has answers for all of Sally's questions about life, about love, and about Billy Barnes, a rising senior and local basketball star who manned the concession stand at the town pool. The girls have been fascinated by Billy ever since he jumped off the roof in elementary school,

but Billy has never shown much interest in them until the summer before Sally begins eighth grade. By then, their mutual infatuation with Billy is one of the few things. things the increasingly different sisters have in common. Sally spends much of that summer at the pool, watching in confusion and excitement as her sister falls deeper in love with Billy, until a tragedy leaves Sally's life forever intertwined with his. Opening in the early 90s and charting almost two decades of shared history and misconnections, notes on your sudden disappearance is both a breathtaking love story about two broken people who are unexplainably, inconveniently drawn to each other, and a wryly astute coming of age tail,

brimming with unexpected moments of joy. Oh. I don't know. It is not mysterious really at all. Like, not a thrift. But it was just really, really good, in my opinion. Nice. It sounds good.

Yeah. No. I need to read something for her. Being a teenager, like, obsessed with the guy that jumped off the high school is, like, so relatable to me as 30. Yeah. you know, you know, that bad boy. I was like, that's exactly how I was in high school. And like now I just like I'm a little bit more dangerous.

Yeah. There's like one part in that book where did you guys ever watch growing up like Jenny Jones or like Ricky Lake? Like those like talk shows, how they had like kind of crazy topics. Like there's one part in there about like this woman was on a talk show. Her mom didn't watch her want her watching the show, but of course she did anyways. It was like a woman with two vaginas. And she just was like, is this for real? And I don't know.

So I was just like, I just crack up at shit like that because I'm like, I remember sitting at home if we had no school watching those stupid talk shows like that. So it's like also nostalgia. Yeah. I'm right there with you. Yeah. We had this like weird little, I don't know what I say like, but we had this like tiny, tiny little corner store, like, down the road from, like, a mile. So, like, whenever we would have, like,

a snow day or something, my dad would take me down there and get me, like, all the snacks and, like, I could rent, like, a couple of movies and, like, get ginger ale, like, whatever I wanted for, like, the ultimate snow day. And, like, I would just, like, binge comfort food and watch, like, people's lives blow up on, like, Jerry Springer and Morp. And, like, all this stuff. And I was, like, that's probably why that really makes sense. It's, like, why I ended up the way that I did. sleeping like a little angel after everybody's lies were destroyed on like more you be comforting for you yeah right i was like oh god they're in a lot of pain see me sign me up oh man i remember watching this is probably in a show i'll

lay my bustle i feel like the price is right is the only thing i got to watch when i was home sick 10 a.m. Migrated, you know. Spin a wheel. I know. I'm starting to, like, think back on some of the things that my parents let me watch. And I'm like, this kind of makes sense. Like, no child under 10 should have been watching America's Most Wanted.

Oh. See, I was like a true crime fanatic. And I'm also, like, terrified of being abducted. Right. Like, always have been. Oh, my gosh. You know how I said, because we talked about. fears or something like one of my biggest fears is like being framed and like put in prison for

something i don't do i was listening to caleb heron's podcast that he dropped today and he said that he had like a period of his life where he was extremely paranoid about being set up for a crime and i was like someone else feels that and he's so funny so i was like oh my gosh i have something to be in holl in with caleb i could see that being like a fear that like yeah you don't realize is one of your fears until like someone else says it like I'm sure there's so many people that'll listen to like that episode where you said that actually now that I think about it that it's like quite terrifying uh-huh yeah I was just finished today the lock toward the new Sarah Peckinan book that is coming out not until August but I was like oh god like in that scenario

and then being put in like a scary place like that is like ooh oh sorry My next one also has to deal with middle school girls as part of its timeline. So I really love, I can't remember if this was last year, two years ago, 2024 last year. So Caitlin Devlin's debut novel, The Real Deal, was so good. I just loved it. And she just had a new one come out called Born for this. That's about like a Nepo baby, female actress. I could have just said actress.

who her long, her deceased aunt was super popular in the 90s. And now they're making a movie about her. And so she feels like she deserves that role. That's like the loose gist of her new one. But since I've been seeing that, it was reminding me of this book too. And I was like, oh, yeah, I was like immediately like hooked on this book. Bell Simon was just 12 years old when she was one of the six girls plucked from obscurity to star. in reality TV sensation, the real deal.

Under the wing of dazzling star Donna Mayfair, she and the other five girls were meant to become world-famous actresses, singers, and dancers. But at 26, Bella is trying to live anonymously away from being loved or loathed. The public eye has never fully shut, however, and when a producer offers Belle a big paycheck to join a reunion special for the real deal,

she finds it hard to say no. If people are going to talk about that shocking, final episode anyway, maybe this is an unexpected opportunity for her to show her side. Everyone watching thinks they know what happened, but only Bell knows what really occurred away from the cameras and outside the editing room. Is she ready to go back and confront her past? Will anyone believe her if she reveals the truth? It's also actually one too where I would not call it a thriller, but there is suspense because you're trying to, the whole time you're trying to figure out what terrible thing happened

that caused the show to go off the rails. And then there's all this tension within the girls who are being made to compete with each other on like their looks and like everything about that. I just loved it. It was such a fun read.

I remember, I think that's even in my review, I was like, I could not believe this was her debut. It's really good. I want those so bad. But I I have, like, ordered, like, six or seven physical books in the past couple of weeks, and you shared her new book. Yeah.

And I was like, and the covers, like, kind of have, like, similar, like, color pattern. Yeah. Yeah. And I was like, oh, my God. Like, these covers are so cool and they sound so good that, like, I want to have, like, physical copies of them. Yeah. Especially because, like, we had talked about a while ago how, like, you kind of, like, turned me on to, like, how, like, how. Hollywood thrillers.

Yeah. And, like, got me, like, into that. So, like, I really want to read both of those books now. I know. I have so much I want to read right now. I'm, like, really feeling like I'm not reading enough. Like, not in a bad way. I just wish I was reading more, I guess is what I'm saying.

I'm struggling with my current read. Or, yeah. And I have, like, 50 pages left, and I'm like, my God. Like, can this feel? Yeah. I just want to know. What happened? Yeah.

I think that it was in January. It was not my month. Oh, I know. I've actually reminisced a little bit and listened to some old episodes today. Yeah. And the one where, like, Steph was like, all of my January reads have been like four or five. And I was like, me too. And you were like, not meant me, bitch.

Not well, bitch. Not well, bitch. Yes. Oh, fuck. That sounds good. I love a 90s thriller. Like movie, like, give me, like, some, like, basic instinct hand that rocks the cradle, like, all of that good stuff. And recently I read, Cross My Heart by Megan Collins and, like, the writing in it and, like, the plot twists and everything that was, like, happening really reminded me of, like, one of those, like, 90s thriller movies.

And it was just, like, so, like, fun and bright, but, like, unhinged. Like, I called it like a candy-coated shit show because it's just like insane. Yes. But I loved it. I love this book so much. Rosie Lachlan wants nothing more than to find the one. A year after she was dumped in her wedding dress, she's working at her parents' bridal salon, anxious for a happy ending that can't come soon enough. After receiving a life-saving heart transplant, Rosie knows her health is precious and precarious.

She suspects her heart donor is daffy. Thorne, the wife of local celebrity author Morgan Thorne, who she begins messaging via an anonymous service called Donor Connect. And she messages him to learn more about Daphne. Sorry, I lost my place. But Rosie has a secret. She's convinced now that she has his wife's heart, she and Morgan, are meant to be together. As she and Morgan correspond, the pretense of avoiding personal details soon disappears,

even if Rosie's keeping some cards close to her chuffed. As she digs deeper into Morgan's previous marriage, she discovers disturbing rumors about the man she's falling for. Could Morgan had had something to do with his late wife's death? And can Rosie's heart sustain another break, or is she next? Can't go to shit shows? Perfect. It was so fucking wild.

It is. I just like still think of this and I was like, she was like in her bag when she like decided to write this. Like it wasn't just like the plot is so unique. Like I would never think to write something like this. And I was like, wow, this is like this sounds so good. And then I started writing it and I was like, she is just like unhinged typing on this keyboard right now. Like nothing's holding mama back.

And it was so fucking good. Yes. So many people I follow on both bookstagram and Goodreads gave it four or five stars a lot. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. It was like, it was the epitome of what I would consider, like, a book that would get me and did get me out of reading slump, but also, like, just so, like, binge-worthy for, like, the weekend. It's just, like, so perfect. It was a lot like Maycobs. Like, it had some of the same vibes as hers. Yes. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Like, Hollywood assistant and.

It's the other one I'm thinking of. My little darlings? What's that one? My summer darling? My summer darlings, there we go, yeah. Yeah. My little darlings. My little darling.

Sorry. You see either that or hunting wives, yeah. Yeah, that one too. Yeah, it really is just for a lot of her books. Yeah, her books are so fast. I've never read anything by Megan Collins before, but I've been seeing this one all over the place. Mm-hmm.

She's so sweet, Pirole. She is so freaking nice. She's cutie putty. I absolutely love it. I absolutely love it. Yes. No. She's so sweet.

She always, like, we always, like, have, like, very long conversations about, like, her books. Like, when I'm, like, this is how I felt. I mean, you should talk to you about it. Yeah. And she's, like, I wish that you could, like, blur all of my books. Because, like, I love the things that you call up with when you're, like, telling me how they make you feel. but she is. She's like, well, I can.

I call it. I will. She actually, because of this book, she did, she wrote an article and I was quoted in it because she had me. Is it a people one? It wasn't the people one. I think it was like a crime, a crime blog or like a crime website. But it was about like why. People are drawn to, like, female stalker stories.

Ooh, nice. Yeah. And I was like, because women are smarter than men, and there would not be a female stalker if a man didn't fuck up. True. Like, play stupid being. Fucking true. I'm going to boil your bunny. I just have to thank you on this podcast for being a perfect ally for women.

You are my favorite man. Oh my God, my heart is first. Like, you just get it. Like, I don't know if even, like, I know that many women that could have succinctly said that like that. You know what I mean? Like, we think it's like, yes. You said two sons. This isn't it?

Like, wrapped it up. Yeah. Wow. So good. It can't be, you can't be, I think it's like very strange to be a game. gay man in this world and like not be like the most biggest supporter of women right like whether it's like stereotypical or not like women have been like a comfort to like gay men for like everything in life you know so it's like you guys and my mom and sarah michel geller and my best

you, Nicole. And Shiza. I have like a black and bluework on my knee and I was like this. Like this is for you, girl. Sheila Gera is like, oh, you liked when I did that? Let me do it three more times before the other than night. Just get that bruised darker. Yeah.

Oh my gosh. Okay, I put that as an interested one because I, I wasn't sure. Like based in the synopsis, I was like, I don't know, but now, like, seeing that many people are into it, I'm like, it has mixed media in it, if you like that. I love mixed media. And honestly, I can just see it for, like, Valentine's Day, like, cross my heart and then some, and then Gairs blurb, a candy-coated shit show just on the front.

Yes. And they're like, this is the perfect Valentine's Day thriller. It was, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Episode I just posted with Hallie. She wanted to do a dark Valentine episode. so that's what we did and she chose cross my heart for that exact reason. Perfect.

Yeah. If you want something like fun and unhinged like May Cobb, I definitely recommend that one. If you want something darker and you are into that sisterly friendship, the winter sister is like so, so good. It's one of my favorite books all time. You're right. Yeah. And it's a lot darker and like a little bit. it more sad, but, um, but yeah, I love that one. Nice.

Oh, I don't know how to transition into my next one. But I, so I picked my books today of like worlds I would like to still be in, like worlds I didn't really want to leave. Yeah. And granted, my last one was kind of about grief. I thought like besides that, like the family dynamic. I was like, I could stay here for a while and stay in this book a little bit longer. My next one is Lenny Marks gets away with murder. And I listened to this on audio and it reminded me so much of The Good Sister by Sally Hepworth and had like a similar Australian narrator that I was really into. But speaking of Sarah Michelle Geller, like the main character and like someone she's really tight with love Buffy. And I was like, ooh, just like,

that's a winner statement for me. Yes. So, Lenny Marks is excellent at not having a life. She bikes home every day from work at exactly 4 p.m. each day,

buys the same groceries to make the same meals every week and owns 36 copies of the Hobbit currently arranged by height. The closest thing she has to a friendship is playing scrabble against imaginary Monica Geller while watching Friends reruns. And Lenny Marks is very, very good at not remembering what

happened the day her mother and stepfather disappeared when she was still a child. The day a voice in her, the back of her head started whispering, you did this. Until a letter from the parole board arrives in the mail, and when her desperate attempts to ignore it fail, Lenny starts to unravel. As long-buried memories come to the surface, Lenny's careful routines fall apart. For the first time, she reminds her she finds herself forced to connect with the community around her and unexpected new relationships begin to bloom. Lenny Marks may finally get a life and but what if her past catches up with her first. Equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming. Karen Main's stunning debut is an irresistible novel about truth, secrets, vengeance, and family lost and found with a heroine who's simply

unforgettable. I loved Lenny. And I loved, like, it said, her little, her, like, relationships be formed when she was very much a loner. And then she, like, embraced having friends. And I was like, it was, it almost bordered on like cozy. But then when you find out what happened, you're like, that is not cozy. I was going to say, like, I, the cover kind of gives cozy butter. It does. It does. Because I think she's like this person where you're like, what could have, what could have happened to her? Like, she's so. But then you're like, that's fucked up.

That's kind of like, I mean, it may not be totally, but strange Sally Diamond's a little bit. Like the cover's not like that. But you are just like, what happened? And then you're like, oh, my God. Yeah. Like, I think that it has. And I love, like, I love Sally and I love her. and then someone else compared to, I haven't read Una Out of Order,

but I think she kind of has similar vibes of that main character. And I'm like, I'm really drawn to the, like, they take things really literally. And sometimes it's kind of funny. But other times, like, you can tell they struggle a little bit, like, socially. But I'm really, really good. And I found it so endearing. I'm going to read out now. That's adorable.

Do you see she has one coming out this year? No, I did not. And it's called it Joy Moody is out of time. So she has kind of a theme with her. The cover is really cool. It's like a laundromat with like a really neon coat hanger sign that makes the title. That's how old rattledress. really cool cover.

August 25th. I'll have to check that out. Yeah. I know because I think all three of us are kind of on the same page that we're not really cozy fans. Right. Like it has to be like a pretty special story or character to be interesting. So I will say that if that helps anyone try and decide if it's for them or not. I'm not really a cozy fan.

Yeah. So. This one is interested. Yeah, I know you got me intrigued. Yeah. I randomly picked it up at a bookstore and sometimes like those names of like the name and then like they're like whatever. You know the. Yes, when the name is in the title.

Yeah. Like Sally Jones in the bad day or whatever. It's just kind of like, okay, what are we doing? Reviews and I was like, okay, I'll be able to try. Sally Jones in the really bad day. Silly Jones in the bad day. I think it's Alexander and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day.

It's book. That's just what it reminds me. Oh, my God, you are so funny. That was amazing. Well, it's like almost the version of the fantasy thing where it's like the house of wood and drywall. Like it's just everything is like the house of blank and blank. House on Needless Street. Yeah.

Yeah. Like all the Romanticy ones. I want to read that so much. Yeah. I think you'll like it. I think you'll probably like it. Yeah, you will. Well, my next one doesn't.

is not going to, there's not going to be a segue that magically pops up. But we're recording this on a Thursday, which for me and my religion is Severance Day. And so I was thinking about severance today and how I just wish I could watch a million shows like it. And then I was like, you know what? This book kind of reminded me of how obsessed I am with severance. So the Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart, January's job just got a whole. whole lot harder. Not the running security at the paradox was ever really easy. Nothing is simple at a hotel where the ultra wealthy tourists arrive, costumed for a dozen different time periods, all eagerly

waiting to catch their flights to the past, or where proximity to the time port makes the clocks run backward on occasion, and rumor has it, allows ghosts to stroll the halls. None of that compares to the corpse in room 526, the one that seems to be both there and not there, the one that somehow only January can see. On top of that, some very important new guests have just checked in because the U.S. government is about to privatize time travel technology, and the world's most powerful people are on hand to stake their claims. January is sure that the timing isn't a coincidence. Neither are those accidents that start to. Neither are those accidents that start stalking their bidders. There's a reason January can glimpse what others can't, a reason she's the only one who can catch a killer

who's operating invisibly and in plain sight all at once. But her ability is also destroying her grip on reality, and as her past, present, and future collide, she finds herself confronting not just the hotel's dark secrets, but her own. It's such good sci-fi. And, like, I still kind of consider this one. I mean, it is sci-fi,

but it's the kind of sci-fi that I still would probably call sci-fi light. like there's not like whole galaxies to learn like even though there's time travel like it is just all in one place so it is just more like the sci-fi that i talk about where like it's mostly a thriller and a mystery actually um with sci-fi elements so if you love severance i do think you would love this book actually i think hotels like haunted i don't not necessarily that it's haunted but it does talk about like ghosts. I mean, they're like, in hotels are always kind of creepy.

Yeah. And like, I think they lend themselves to that like time element really well. Yeah. The one we stayed at in New York had this weird, like, like, just like a small table. And every single floor had just this like black rotary phone on a table and nothing else on a table. And we were like, this is weird. Like, it's not connected to anything. And they're just like, this would be our decoration.

It's for another time. Yeah. Oh, God. A relic. I know. Did you read? Is it The Shining Girls by Lauren Bukes? I watched it on Apple TV before I knew it came from a book.

Okay. Okay. I'm very curious. I didn't finish the show. Uh-huh. But I'm very curious what you would think of the book. Oh, yeah. I wonder how much it, how different it was.

I feel like the book is a lot darker. Oh, really? Okay. Yeah. I also watched the show so long ago that I bet I would enjoy. I wouldn't remember a ton of it. I kind of want to read the book again, but I don't know where I put it. Ooh.

I have not, I had not seen the cover of this one. The cover is amazing. That is cool. What is it? I need to read that. The Shine Girls. It's like a serial killer, but it's like time travel. Yeah.

It's such a unique concept. Okay. I do need to read it because like I had kind of even forgotten that part. Yeah. I need to read it. Who was in it? Who's in it? Oh, you mean in the TV show?

It's, um, Handmaid's Tale. Yeah, the serial killer. Was it Janie Bell? Oh, yeah. I think so. I thought he said Jamie. So I was like, what? Shining Girls.

Yeah, this one cover was so cool, too. Yeah, Jamie Bell. Plays Harper. Yeah. I kind of want to read that book again. I really want to read it now. Add it to the list. That's on the list.

2013. Wow. It doesn't seem that long ago. I really know. I was thinking about that earlier today because, like, my job is like hybrid for some people. And they couldn't work today because the snowstorm that we had. And I was like, I can't believe I'm working from home. Like, I can't believe like COVID started like five years ago.

I can't either. It feels way for recent. Yeah. I think it's Iraq has been along in some places. Like in our town or in Madison area, the restrictions lasted a long time. It just doesn't feel like it, like, it just doesn't feel like it's been five years since, like, all of that happened. Yeah. It doesn't.

Because when I try to, like, sometimes it's how I can remember, like, I'll be like, that was definitely before the pandemic. So, I don't know, a few years. And then I'm like, oh, no. No, before the pandemic is like years ago. Yeah. It's crazy. Crazy. Um, yeah.

Well, so box. Um, well, kittens and caboodles, have I got a friggin' book for you? Ooh. I binged on my macha Kindle. The Macha Baby. The Macha Baby is fired up.

she is full she is all these stories that I need to read um one of them is a book that I recently discussed like wanting to read that was on my TBR and it's a backlist book so like that's check check um I read a killer's mind by Mike Ulmer oh yeah and I have never had such a hard time putting a book down like when I say putting it down I mean like I did not want to get up to physically like make myself dinner. Oh, I get that. I feel that. I, but I'm a vegetarian and I'm lazy. So like me making dinner is like literally like jarred pasta sauce and like boiling the water. Good point. So like, but the, oh my God, this book is so good. Um, three Chicago women have been found strangled and bombed and posed as if they are still alive. Doubting the findings of the local PD's

profiler, the FBI calls on forensic psychologist Zoe Bentley to investigate. Zoe quickly gets off from the wrong foot with her new partner, Special Agent Tatum Gray. Zoe's a hunter, intense and focused. Tatum's a smug maverick with a little respect for the rules. Together they must descend into a serial killer's psyche and untangle his twisted fantasies or more women will die. When the contents of three inconspicuous envelopes reveal a chilling connection to the gruesome murders from Zoe's childhood. Suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted.

Wow. This looks so good. And as Steph pointed out when you told us about it, it has 60,000 ratings, and it's a 4.2 average on good reads. What was the title again? I'll jump the author, and it didn't... A killer's mind. The cover's so cool.

Oh. I've clicked on the wrong person. The Like, so it's the first in a trilogy, but all of the covers have like similar vibes. And when I tell you like the dialogue, fantastic, fantastic. There is a misbehaved cat. That anything bad happens. Oh, cat.

There's a misbehaved cat. There is a loudmouth prickly grandfather. Nice. The serial killer is. terrifying. Ooh. Because you get like some of the like interwoven chapters of like the serial killers perspective. Oh.

You get interwoven chapters of Zoe Bentley's childhood. Oh. There is one scene in this book that I had to stop reading at a certain point and go make sure all of my doors were locked because it scared the living shit out of me. Oh my God. Whoa. That is quite the review. Yeah. And the ending, the last chapter and like the way that the book ends, I was saying things out loud that I didn't even know I was creative enough to come up with. Like swearing. I was like just saying everything. Like it was like a blooper reel of like Melissa McCarthy. Oh like when she's talking to that principle.

But I was like, it was like. It was like. I think like 1130 or like close to midnight on like a Monday night when I finished it. And like when I tell you I was addicted to this book, like I have to have things quiet when I read. I brought the matcha baby to the doctors with me and was reading in the like waiting room. Damn. Because I was like, I can't stop. I have to, you have to be everywhere with me. Yeah, you guys are just reading the best books this year.

I'm so pumped. I think after I read or after I read after I watch Cizah and Kiki tonight, I think that I'm going to start book two. Mm-hmm. Because like I am just beyond Florida with how freaking good it is. It's another Irish author too.

Is he? Yeah, it says he is. You're just bringing us the Irish recommendations this year. It takes place in like Chicago. and Virginia and Massachusetts. But like his dialogue, I would have never guessed that he was Irish.

Well, it says currently be living in Ireland. So maybe he was born in America. Who knows? Maybe. He's a video game developer and the CEO of the company Loading Games? That's amazing. Wow.

He has a very interesting imagination. And the book starts off and Zoe's like doing her like normal like psychologist stuff. She's like discussing like a serial killer that she's like actively investigating and then like they take her to this like case of the man who's like embalming women. And I'm like I wonder if this case that she's like discussing is going to be like something in an upcoming book. Hmm. That would be a cool tie in. There's like a lot of stuff going on.

in it. And like, embalming women and leaving them in public is terrifying. That's very terrifying. Like, when you, if you read it, like, when you see some of the ways that, like, these women are found and, like, people, like, thinking that they're fucking real. Damn. It's... It's kind of like the hunter's daughter. Not exactly, but kind of. Yeah. It's just, like... Oh, my God. I was like, this is so freaking dark and twisted. And then, like, the cat acts up or like the grandfather says something sassy and I'm like what like time to be a lie. I love that.

And I think they're like Kindle Unlimited. Yeah. Hmm. I think so. So very, very, very, very fun book. Nice. Mine's not that dark at all. So I had like very briefly mentioned this one at the end of our last like.

Calentines-Palentines episode of like romance and thrillers. This is kind of more like really good for today, February 13th. And it's Cackle by Rachel Harrison, who I'm like obsessed with her now. But this was just like such a feel-good witchy book. All her life, Annie has played it nice and safe. After being unceremoniously dumped by her longtime boyfriend, Annie seeks a fresh start. She accepts a new teaching position and moves from Manhattan to a small village upstate. She's stunned by how perfect and picturesque the town is.

The people are all friendly and warm. Her new apartment is dreamy too, aside from the oddly persistent spider infestation. Then Annie meets Sophie, beautiful, charming magnetic Sophie, who takes a special interest in Annie and wants to be her friend. more importantly she wants annie to stop apologizing and start living for herself that's how she lives she being sophy annie can't help but gravitate towards the self-possessed sophy and starts to spend more and more time with her despite the fact that the rest of the townsfolk seem a little afraid of her and like okay there are some things sophy's appearance is uncanny and ageless her mansion in the middle of the woods feels a little unearthly and she does seem to wield a certain power but she couldn't be could she? Oh, it's so fun. Yeah, it was fun.

Sounds really fun. I think that there's times where it's really appropriate to have the mood of like, you don't need a romantic partner to be your best self. Totally. And sometimes you need this like, there's like this gorgeous witchy woman that's like, I'm single and it's the best. I love that. Yeah.

But there's also like kind of creepy. Like it's, I would say horror light. Mm-hmm. I would say there's some creepiness and some interesting. Like, you know, when you wonder if you have powers because you're mad at someone and then like something bad happens to them, like there's some of those post moments. When I think we wish we all had those in real life. I wish I had those kind of. God, I still love that one like tweet or whatever it was.

where it's like, I just really want to burn things with my mind. Yeah, I need to read this one. Alexis Henderson blurbed it, and you guys know how obsessed I got with an academy for liars and House of Hunger. Oh, yeah. It's a really good. I mean, if there's people that like witchy stuff in October, it's great to save, but not necessarily.

And it kind of takes place over Valentine's at least one part. Oh, nice. I would love Like A box set of paperbacks Of all of her books Oh yeah That would be nice

Yeah One two three Four five Six I forgot what her new one is going to be about Is the new one the veil Or is that an old one? I think so

I haven't Oh it says July 8th 2021 I wonder if he's not on here yet, but I know she announced it on her. Oh, play nice. That one doesn't have a cover. Yep, 2025. Oh, yeah.

Hmm. A devastating clever take on a haunted house novel. That'll be fun. Yeah. I like that she does, like, all of that. Yeah. Yeah. She takes on, like, different horror tropes, I guess, you could say.

Mm-hmm. I feel like we could do a little, like, icebreaker for the end. Because I have something that I'm, like, dying to ask you guys. And I just... An ice closer? An ice closer. Or just something in general. But, like, is there an author who, like, even if they haven't announced their next book

that you, like, really want to have something come out in 2025? I'm sure there is. You go first, here. I'm dying for a new Simone St. James book. Oh, sure. I just thought Murder Road was released in paperback, and I have to get it because I have all the rest of hers in paperback. I want to get it in paperback, too. And it looks cool.

It's a cool cover. Yeah. Oh. I might say Evie Green, which, again, guys, sorry, I can't stop talking about severance, but I did her book, The New One. was one of my picks for like, if you like Severance, you might like this book. And it reminded me how much I loved that book. Like, it's an all-time sci-fi fave for me, for sure. And I just want her to write another sci-fi thriller. Mm-hmm. I would say between, I'd be interested in another Sally Hepworth, because I think she's getting darker and darker as she goes. So I'm interested in. that.

Or what was the other one I just saw? It's kind of like Lisa Jewel. Yeah. Some of them are like, I have read their 2025 release already. Yeah. Also, I think that it's coming, but I don't know what year. Kirsten Miller, I think, is going to write a really ragey book coming up. And I'm like, I'm going to be all over it.

So. Nice. You have some good ones. I have one that came across my radar and I can't find the synopsis. That's so bad. Is it an author you've read before? No.

Oh. No. I have not read her. Let me see here. I have this thing where I really love when an author kind of takes like not takes a movie plot, but like write something that's like similar to like a movie that you've heard before.

Mm-hmm. And then like does their own thing with it. And one of my favorite movies in the world is The Vanishing with, um, Kiefer Sutherland and Sandra Bullock. Mm-hmm. When is it from? Was it older? Yeah.

Oh, yeah. It's like one of Sandra Bullock's first movies. Oh, okay. Jeff Bridges is in it. And it's like they stop at like, uh, they stop at like a gas. station and she goes inside to get snacks and never comes out and like she completely disappears. And then this guy's like basically like I took your fiance and like the only way that I am going to allow you to know what happened to her is if you relive her last day.

Damn. And it's fucking terrifying, but it's so good. But there is a book that comes out in October by Jennifer Fawcett. It's called Keep This for Me. And it is about a couple who is going to a party in the 90s. Their car breaks down and they are picked up by a truck driver. The truck driver attacks the man and abducts the woman and she's never seen again. And then now, like, years later, he's caught and they find like a bunch of bodies in his backyard.

But this girl, like, is not found, like the one that he abducted. So 30 years later, um, her daughter is like, like, trying to find out what happens, what happened to her mother. And, like, the truck drive, like, the deranged truck driver is, like, on his deathbed. And he's like, I did not kill your mother. And she's like, well, like, someone dead. And I know that, like, you're connected somehow. But it just sounds like, like, what a freaking chilling opening to be like in the 90s, truck driver attacks the boyfriend, takes the girlfriend. And then, like, she's never seen again. And it's for fans of notes on an execution. I saw that. And it's blurbed by Rachel Harris. Yeah.

Like, I think that it should be something that we all read. Definitely.