Bookwild - January and February Books We Are Excited About with Gare and Steph

Episode Date: January 10, 2026

This week, Gare, Steph and I share our 2026 bookish goals, and January and February releases we are excited about! Steph also shares a few backlist she will be reading in January and February.Kate’s BooksKin by Tayari JonesSpies and Other Gods James WolffQueen of Faces by Petra LordOn Sundays She Picked Flowers by Yah-Yah Scholfield Unread: A Memoir of Learning (And Loving) to Read on TikTok  by Oliver JamesGare’s BooksA Box Full of Darkness by Simone St. JamesDead in the Water by John MarrsHere Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma SimmermanThe Exes by Leodora DarlingtonLast Seen by Christopher CastellaniSteph’s BooksDark Sisters by Kristi DeMeesterThe Act of Disappearing by Nathan GowerIt’s Not Her by Mary KubicaBest Offer Wins by Marisa KashimoThe Correspondent by Virginia Evans Check Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackGet Bookwild MerchFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrianMacKenzie Green @missusa2mba 

I'm back with Garrett and Steph for the new year. Happy New Year to everybody. What a year already. But, you know, at least, at least I finally watched Headed Rivalries what we were talking about before we hit reports. God. Yes, I'm obsessed. Everyone can send me all the memes. I can't stop sending them to gear now after the fact.

But anyway. I love it. Yeah. Everybody go watch it. I think, I mean, there are so many people I'm talking to who don't read or really watch romance who love it. And it is hard to describe entirely why you'll love it. You just kind of have to watch it. But I feel like if you were like, I was like kind of like, oh, I don't really ever watch romance.

That was like the main thing for me. And then I was texting Garrett. And I was like, how much of it is sex versus plot? And he was like, oh, there's plot happening. And then by the time I watched it, I was like, oh, it. I was just seeing all the cuts of the sex. There's a lot of other stuff going on. So yeah.

Yeah, I feel like I always show the juicy stuff. Yeah. I also feel like it's kind of like like what sex in the city did. Mm, that's a good point. Yeah, it is. And then like all of a sudden there to be like a wild sex scene with like Samantha or something. Um, but yeah, there is plot. And I also think that like some people, I don't think that you were like this by any means,

but like I think a lot of people steer away from romance. because they don't know the difference between a story that has romance in it and a rom-com. Oh, that's a good point, too. So I think a lot of people think that, like, you have, like, a rom-com, like, what the fuck was that, like, Sydney-Sweeney and Glenn Powell movie? Oh, yeah. Anyone but you. Yeah. Like, it's not like that.

You know what I mean? Like, there's romance has, like, more, like, angst and there's, like, drama, and there's romance and sex. and like a relationship that has outside forces that can get in the way of it. Whereas like a rom-com is like a juicy little like meat cue and third act breakup. Third act breakup. Like I do love that one on Netflix with Kristen Bell and. Oh yeah. Adam Brody.

Oh, yeah. The characters are so, like the sister and the brother, especially are like so funny. But I am kind of like, okay, how many times are you going to break up? Oh. I don't know. Like either make it work or don't. But like I don't usually like romance and I really like it because it has like more stuff going on. Right.

It's probably a very similar feeling then. I haven't seen that all and I can't remember what it's called. Nobody wants this. Yep. I recommend. Nice. Nice, nice, nice. I like that movie How to Be Single.

It has like Dakota Johnson and Leslie Mann and Rebel Wilson in it. Oh, I haven't seen it. Sounds great based on that. Yeah. Allison Breeze in it. Oh, wow. It's really good. Okay. It's like, I don't know if it's like really like a romp

but like there is like romance in it but it's like a really good like comedy and like it's about like kind of realizing your worth before you put forth any effort in a relationship oh I love that's important and like letting the right people in it's a really good movie nice there's been books I've read with romance that I like love when the main character actually like ends up single she's like choosing it yes and like no it needs to happen. Yeah. I love it.

It's funny too because you can like read a book and be like, girl, this guy's a piece of shit. And then like sometimes in real life you're like, you don't realize somebody's a piece of shit until every single one of your friends tell you. Yeah. You only want to see. And that's my 2025 recap.

I was like, I'm going to say, we'll be those friends here. Look at you. I get nice. That's why you have friends. Well, so that was 2025. We're going to leave that in 2025. But we were going to talk about some of our 2026 goals, too, for our icebreaker.

Oh my gosh, Steph. You putting your necklace in your mouth just made me think of heated rivalry too. My mind is completely completely heated rivalry. I was thinking the same thing. Okay, I wondered if you were. I was like, oh, my gosh. she's cosplaying as Ilya she is yeah

I'm a good thing or a bad thing I fucking love him it's a very good thing I love him he is the comedic relief too yeah I need that I need that oh my god did you get drunk I don't drink I don't drink I know that's my favorite

part of the show he's just like you fucking loser I love all the memes that are like I just need Ilya Ina rosenov to call me boring And I'm like, yep, yes. Yep. I am boring. Can I say that to AJ all the time?

I'm like, you're such a dud. Maybe you are, Elyah. I also sleep at like 8 o'clock every day. I'm like, God. Dude, I have been asleep around 930 lately. I wouldn't care if we could watch like a movie. I know. Yeah.

I'm sure Tyler feels the same way, but I am a sleepy girl. it's by 9 p.m. It's fine. I'll watch him away with you, staff. I'm like up until like 12.30, 1 o'clock every night anyway. That's, I think, how I would be, but now I've kind of gotten on the other schedule. But I'm like, that was how my natural clock would go. Yeah.

Yeah. I wasn't even awake for New Year's, which I almost never am. I'm like, okay. I made my mom watch insecure. Oh, on New Year's? No, she watched it in like a week. The little show. Wow.

I love that show so much. And we watched the finale on New Year's Eve. Oh, cute. Yeah. Oh, gosh. Yeah. And she like, love it. What is Warren's, actor's name?

Jay Ellis. Yes. He's so hot. Everybody. Everybody in the show is hot. Everybody. That's what she kept saying. She was like, I really don't care.

It is a bisexual person's dream. Yeah. My mom. My mom. was like, I don't care who these women end up with because all of these men are like drop dead gorgeous. And I was like, you know, Kathy, you raised a slut, but now I know what I got from. You're like, now I know why. I'm like, okay.

Oh, yes. If anyone hasn't watched Insecure, go watch it. Oh, yeah. There's some good ones from here. Yes. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Hendrick Sampson. Oh, my God. I love it. Yeah. And those are my two favorite men on that show. Hello.

And I love Daniel and I love Drow. Yeah. Drow is first season. My God. That scene in the studio lives rent free in my mind. Tell me about it. I like I watched it years ago. I do.

It is a good follow up if you kind of, it's not, it's not as queer as heated rivalry, but it does have some of the same like character development. different relationships, some sex scenes, but it's not as queer as heated rivalry. I think it's just a better version of sex in the city. I would agree with that. And secure you mean? Yep. Oh.

100%. Yeah. And like they're like friendships outside of their dating life are complicated too. Yeah. Yeah. It's just overall an amazing show. It really is. Well, anyway, I guess I guess I just, I guess we're talking about it. No, I think I took us. We got distracted by her necklace.

Oh, yeah. We'll distract. We'll see if we can get through this episode without any more references, but I'm not promising anything. But for 2026, do you guys have any bookish goals? Can I brag for one second? You can brag for more. I have met my books, why I started a bookstagram goal. which is pretty major for me.

I was like looking at my, I haven't been very good at posting anything on Bookstagram. So I just was like, oh, I'm going to gather my favorites and like look at my 20, 25 goals. And then I was like, man, in 2022 I started a Bookstagram because my shelf was like way too big. And then I joined Bookstagram and it got worse. And then I was like, okay, I want to have an under 25 TBR. I want to use the library and be a mood reader and read like more diversely, which is going to be in forever goal. Right.

My physical TBR is at 12. Good for you. You want a good neck alley. And I've been using the library so much and I've been mood reading a lot. I love all. You did do it. I am so jealous. It's been really nice.

That's amazing. And like even sometimes book club, I'm like, I don't want to be a happiness. signed book. I know. I ended up loving some of them. So that's good. Yeah. Yeah. So my, my 2026 goal is to keep reading for joy.

And what was the second thing? Oh, I actually do want to post more on bookstagram because I want to hype books that I love. Yes. I feel you know. Those are my goal. I love that. Do you want to go? I think

mine is just like one of the things in 2025 that I did was like I gave zero fucks about like being a mood reader. Like I don't care if I read like 20 pages of a book. I was like I'm not feeling it. Yeah. Dunzo. Or like I hate to like say it, but like there would be sometimes where I would accept a review copy from a publisher and I would feel obligated to read it. And then like I would just be like, you know what? This is not where I am right now. And I don't want to read this and I wouldn't and I didn't feel obvious. So like sticking with a mood reader and like being less strict with like a TBR is one of my goals for 2026. And I'm going to brag too because there were two things that I made on Instagram that I was like, I don't know if I'm going to post these,

but like I had a fun time like making it and they were my two most popular posts of the year. You almost didn't even post it. Oh, no. I didn't know that. I had two things. One of them was actors that I would like to see in future seasons of heated rivalry. And I like almost did not post it because I was like people, who are they going to care? Like who I want to see in it? And I posted it and it took off and I got over 100,000 views. Nice. The people cared. And the people cared. And then randomly, I'm going to say honestly, two or three months ago, I made

a imaginary poster and a cast for the reboot that Carrie Washington's doing of Desper Housewives. And I was like, who's going to care to see this? Like, I'll just post this on a day that like nobody really cares. Or like, I don't care. I don't have anything to post.

And I posted it and it was, I think it's like 120,000 views now. Oh my gosh. That is amazing. So like, I'm going to just keep having fun with Instagram and if people don't like it, at least I had fun creating it, and I don't really give a shit if people don't like it. So that's my, those are my goals. I'm just going to be a mood reader and read what speaks to me and post whatever the hell I want. Yeah. Trust your gut, I guess.

I guess. My gut said no one was going to like it. Oh, that's true. Oh, that's true. I was like, whatever, you know, I had fun. Yeah. There I am. I love that. That is so cool. And to not talk about the same books 24-7 on the podcast.

It's so hard. I'm trying to be more of a variety. Yeah. I get it. Sometimes it's the first time someone will hear about a book, though, too. So you're like... True that. Sometimes you just got to talk about it. Just got to make it your personality for a second.

Watch me talk about bright young women. Like the next stuff. All year. Yeah. In 2027, I put it like a compilation together. Here are backlist books you should read regularly. Yeah, I was going to say, I'm like, well, it is your goal to talk more about backlist probably. Yeah.

Yeah. I'm like, well, I do want to read it again. Yeah. Well, mine, I would, I want to hit 3,000 followers. Yeah, girl. Because that's like the cutoff for a lot of ALC, audio list audio advanced listening copies my brain just um yeah 3,000 tends to be what I keep seeing is the cutoff so I can't even apply for a bunch of them. Um, so that's why like normally I'm not,

you know, like totally obsessed with a vanity metric, but that's, that's why. Um, so that is a goal on my 26 horizon. I, I was thinking I wanted to. read nonfiction with the opposite beliefs of myself each month because I mean to keep a very long story short, I like, I have freaked out a few times about what some of the people in this country believe. And for me, having knowledge helped me feel, it just makes me feel better. I know that's not the same thing for everyone. So I got to a point where like, that's probably I'm reading a lot more nonfiction right now. It makes me prepared for more conversations.

However, I started my first one in January and I was like, maybe this will be an every other month thing because boy, is it difficult to hate. Also, it's like every four weeks really isn't that spread out. No, it's not. So I think it might be an every other month thing because this is a lot. So that might just be in every other month thing. But I do want to know.

I want to know what these, what these people are thinking and how they're justifying things. So yeah, we'll see. We'll see. Even some things I enjoy doing every month, it's like a lot. Yeah. Yeah, you start to realize like, no, this really is a lot. But I am going to do what is tolerable for me is reading at least one band book a month. And I am going to set it up as a book club, but not like an in-person one. because obviously that's what gets really hard scheduling-wise. But Storygraph has a feature where you can like create, I don't know if they called a buddy read or a book club.

And so like as you progress through certain chapters, you can kind of like forum style for those of us who like use Reddit or were a part of like early internet. It's kind of like you make a forum where as people read, they can like go to different chapters. And like so it's not spoiling anything for anyone basically. So I did pick my, I need to do a post about it, but I picked my, the 12 band books that I'm going to read this year because I want to, I want to know what these people don't want us to know about. So that's my other, it's my other plan. I think that those are really good goals.

Yeah. And it's like, and plenty of them are books I am interested in, too, is the other part. So that's where I feel like that one is going to be easier than trying to like read. read about conservatism every single month. So these ones I'm interested in. So yeah, that'll be 2020. Yeah. Just helps me feel prepared. I'm surrounded by a lot of conservative, conservative Christian nationalists.

So it makes me feel prepared. Which is a good feeling. one of my goals is to not be surrounded by people in general that's a good one too serious or if i am bookish people yeah like the next thing is uh alice phony on the 21st i am so excited i'm so fucking pissed

i know you need that she comes indiana yeah oh wow damn the library's having a lot of stuff is that the library it's that it's a bookstore oh they but they're like as impressive as these libraries lately it's wild geese for anyone who lives in indiana or near indiana they have they have some fantastic authors wow that's cool yeah i think the last one i think was a rachel harrison or it was lane fargo came into town too i can't remember which was the last one i went to oh no it was i medusa it was iona gray in december they just have yeah this bookstore has so many authors coming in so i will be around bookish people

in crows. I feel like Madison and Milwaukee lack and I don't know if they just feel like Chicago's close enough. I don't either. I have a friend that I reconnected with who was actually my babysitter when I was like two. And she lives there and has gone to a lot of their events. And I was asking her, I was like, do they always have this many great authors? And she said it really accelerated a lot in 2025. So I don't know kind of what caused it, but I am surprised by like the quality of

Indiana authors. Hell yeah. Or authors coming to Indiana. So yeah. I'm jealous. Just come to Indiana on the 21st. I want to like live in the Midwest. You can sleep on this futon behind me.

That's interesting too. I'd be like let's see what Grinders like in Indiana. I bet it's pretty something. I, like, and it seems like the attendance at those events are pretty good. Because like when we went to Julie Clark in Chicago, like, I thought that more people would be there. I was shocked. And so it seems like people are going when.

Yeah. Like, Alifini is sold out at, I think, 300 tickets. That's pretty cool. It's a waiting list now. Yeah, it's cool. Especially I think British authors do well when they don't come here all that much. Yeah. Lisa Jewel always is a hit, I think.

Yeah, she is for sure. Yeah, and Mary Kubica is coming in February to the library. Did her new book come out yet? No, but Gary, you loved me, right? It's my favorite one by her. Okay, that's what I thought. I am waiting for it to, I don't really get denied for audiobooks so much on Nek Galley, but I am sitting in purgatory on that one.

So am I, actually. It is what I'm talking about today, so. That's okay. I'm like, if I just need to listen to it when it comes out, that's how it'll go. Yeah, same. But speaking of 2026 books, we're going to talk about January, February, books that we are excited for, or winter, if you want to call it that. I'm super excited because, as anyone who has listened, at any point in the last six months, I'm obsessed with Angel Pene as a narrator, and she has two books.

Like, she narrates two books that are coming out in January. And I'm like, I am so, I'm so blessed this January. Bookishly blessed. So I'm talking about two of hers, basically, two books. She's narrating. You should start. You will tell us about the angel from a true angel. angel. Yes. Well, the first one that comes out from her, I think it's on January 13th, is Ken by Tyari Jones. And it is about raised side by side in honeysuckle, Louisiana, lifelong friends Vernice and Annie grow into starkly different futures. Bernice leaves for Spelman College and a life shaped by privilege and powerful black sisterhood, while Annie embarks on a perilous search for the mother who abandoned her. Their diverging paths illuminate a deeply emotional story about motherhood

friendship and the complicated bonds that define womanhood and the American South. I've seen a few people who have already read it. I don't know if anyone was listening and everybody loves it. So I even pretty- She wrote an American marriage, which is pretty popular. That's what I keep seeing people talking about, too. I didn't read that one. An American marriage is one of my favorite books the entire world. Oh my God. So I mean to listen to that one too. Yeah. Wow. Okay. Okay. Isn't someone incarcerated in it? It's like one of the spouse or something. The husband's incarcerated. I know because this one sounds like there's a little bit of like a bit of suspense in it. Like she so I can't speak fully on her. I can say an American marriage had the pacing of a thriller.

Oh, that's cool. And like a very dramatic, intense storyline where you like didn't know where it was going. nice um because yeah he is the husband's incarcerated and something happens where he like gets acquitted and he's out unexpectedly and then he comes home to realize that like she's already developed a relationship with i think his like best friend oh boy okay and it is like drama and just I mean her characters are like phenomenal okay that makes sense because like even like uh Ken was kind of reminding me of like the vanishing half, like some of those like very character driven stories. So, okay. Well, now I'm going to want to listen to that one too.

Oh my God. It's so good. It's so good. I love it. Mm-hmm. That was not. Like if there was ever an icebreaker of like books that like someone was surprised you read, like I wouldn't have picked you for picking an American marriage because it's like older and not a thriller.

Yeah, 2018. I think I read it around when it came out. Yeah. I read it for work. Oh. Oh, okay. That's cool. So I won't say who, but I used to work with a producer in Hollywood, and I would read manuscripts and like arcs, basically, and write up a summary for this producer and then tell them if I think it would make a good,

TV show or a movie. How did we not know this about you? Because I only did it for a couple of months. I still got it. I only did it for a couple months. Yeah. But it was and that was one of my assignments was to like read that. And I was like, this is the best thing I've ever read my entire life.

Wow. Yeah. Okay. Well, now I want to read it. So I used to do that and I freaking love that book. I love that. I love that. I'm having it to my interesting.

Me too. Yes. This is probably the most like variety that I've like ever done on a podcast. episode and I was so proud of my picks today. So I was like it's like a perfect transition. I was like yeah. So even though you guys aren't

going to be surprised by a couple of these like I just love this like little group. But my first one is a box full of darkness by Simone St. James. Oh yeah. What does that come out? January 20th. Okay. And

it is back in Fell New York. where the sundown motel took place. So it's the same little town. So this one is about Violet, Vail, and Doty. Okay, also a little mini-gare

like, fun fact. I actually know somebody in real life whose name is Doty. Really? And it's one of my favorite names in the entire world. How is it spelled? D-O-D-I-E. Okay. I'd never heard of it. So Violet, Vail and Doty are the three Esme siblings whose lives were changed when their little brother disappeared during a game of hide and seek. After being haunted by visions of him, the three fled town and never looked back.

Violet can see dead people and now two decades later, the ghost of Ben is ready to give them answers as to what happened when he disappeared. Wow. Yeah. There's like a lot you can do with that too. There's so much you can do with that. It'd be so terrible. I feel so bad for those stories where it's like they were playing and then he just never came back. Oh, yeah. Dark rings too for everyone not on YouTube. Yeah. So two little girls go into the woods and only one comes out.

Oh. And like like a lost girl too. Years and years later. Like you and you like kind of like have all these like little like hints of things and you're like I don't know if I read the right thing. And then like you're walloped with what really happened in the end. And it is. Oh boy. A shit show and a half. And yeah.

Yeah. It's so good. So I'm really excited for that. Simone St. James. Yeah. I don't know where my copy is. I was going to show it.

But can you guys look it up when you can read it where you can click the link in the show notes. There you go. I always kind of forget about her books when they're going to come out because I always know that I'm not going to get a Berkeley arc. And so I'm just kind of like, I'll just handle it. I'll just deal with it when it comes out. Yeah. And then I, so I'm like, oh, yeah, that's smooth.

I've been getting a lot from them lately. Good for you. Oh, yeah. I'm doing a lot. I was like, yeah. So I will protect my little Simone St. James arc at all costs. I'm going to you. I finished most of my arcs for January, so I'm talking about other books I look forward.

I only had two, and then one I'm being. I finished makeup. It was never good. Yeah, I loved that. It was very juicy. And then I'm like 95% done with Alice Feeney's, and then I'm GnFing another one. Oh, who? Easy.

I'm stuck in line on my key for Dark Sisters by Christy Demester, which I know Kate really loved. Yes. Coming soon. And my, all right. So spanning three centuries, Dark Sisters follows three women whose lives are bound by a curse born from fear, control, and dangerous bargain to make to protect other women. From which hunts to rigid religious communities, each generation faces a different version of the same threat. Power taken, love punished, and voices silenced. As the past bleeds into the present, the women must decide whether to keep surviving or finally reclaim what was stolen from them.

It's so good. Damn. Yeah. I remember when Kate told me it was like kind of a darker version of women of Wild Hill and I was like, I'm in. Yeah. I'm in. It reminded me so much of that book without like being the same story as that book. Yeah.

That's my style of which. Same. Yeah, the only, I think he, I think he's considered a witch. The only male one that I've loved is, I can't think of his name in Agatha all along. I haven't watched that. But he is, you know, he is queer. So, you know, maybe, maybe that's, that's a part of what made it feel better. Is it Joe Locke?

Definitely the only one. What? Is it Joe Locke? It's been, I, it's been so long since I watched. Curly, Curly Hair, Kid? yes he's in heartstopper oh yes yep you should watch that next you're on your queer journey journey

I'll add it I loved Agatha all along and just a short little blip for everyone if you are not a musical person it is not as much of a musical as it makes it look and I devoured that show and loved it so much so

if you've ever yes it is Joe Locke okay so yeah he's called his name is Wiccan. So I don't know if being Wiccan is different than being a witch. But I was upset with that show. Yeah.

And like I like some things like Wednesday or whatever, but I don't want to read it in a book. No, I get that. I can't think of another example I have. That's how I feel about like a lot of like supernatural things. Yeah. Like I can like see it in a movie and be like, okay, I can fuck with this.

But like I don't know if I'd be able to read it in a book. that's why like i like simone st james because it's very like subtle yeah well i don't i was hoping i would have a uh a segue from there but i don't think i do um my next one is called spies and other gods by james wolf because I've got to have a spy one somewhere. Back to the room. Right? Six months from retirement, the head of British intelligence finds his authority and his mind, slipping as a whistleblower complaint,

drags his most dangerous case into the light. When a sharp, defiant parliamentary researcher begins asking questions, a deadly investigation spirals across Europe revealing secrets that could cost them both of their lives. So, I mean, pretty, pretty typical spy set up. But actually, my friend Amy, she's at mom advice, posted about this one being on her list for 20. And I was like, well, that sounds like one that I would like. I think it's January 20th that it comes out. A lot comes out with January 20th. Yeah. 27th. There's a lot. I've like already recorded a couple in there. Like on the 27th I have two interviews coming out and I was like I've got to get ahead of it.

I think it was like early or like mid-December. I was like starting to read all of my like January arcs. Yeah. And I was like I would be so ahead of the game of so much didn't come out in January. Right. There's so much. Yeah. Some good ones too.

Yeah. And some like big hitters. Yeah. For authors. Speaking of big. for authors that are releasing on January 20th. Love it. I'm really excited for Dead in the Water

by John Mars. Yes. So this kind of sounds like it's going to be like thriller-y, but also maybe speculative. I survive I'm getting. Yeah. Yeah. So like I know that a lot of people

love his thrillers. Like I'm one of them. And a lot of people love his like speculative thrillers. So this kind of seems like it's like a very like thin line in between the two. I think so, but it's basically about a guy named Damon who survives a near drowning.

His life flashes before his eyes and there's one memory that doesn't make sense to him of a dead little boy. So he's kind of desperate for answers and he revisits his past and believes the only way to find out who this boy is is to just keep dying over and over

again until he like the memory resurface is to show him who the little boy is. Because it's like a time loop, right? I think so, yeah. I think so, yeah. That was what I was getting from it. Yeah, John Mars's version of like Happy Death Day.

Yeah, I'm really excited for that one. Me too. So. You try to, you try to interview him. And actually one of my friends that I, like, that is like in my area that I went to high school with, she reads a lot of books. And like she like always gives me. me very good compliments about like getting recommendations from me and she just posted about how

she's reading this wild book about how your DNA can help find your soulmate and it was a John Mars book that she's reading. I was going to say is that John Mars? Yeah and I was like oh my god girl like yeah yeah and I was like I have that and I want to read it so bad and I just like haven't found the time yet but like I was influenced by somebody who was not a book influencer so cool cool little story. But this isn't in that universe or we don't know. I don't think so. I don't think so. Yeah, he considers some of the like really speculative ones do take place. The audio just got added to NetGalley for anyone who needed to know that. I did not know that. So I just requested it. Feels like when I would listen to. Actually, I read

Listen to what lies between us. That was so good listening to it. Oh, that narration was fantastic. Yeah. I think my mom read that book. Oh, yeah. I gave her just a bunch, and I said some of them, like, you can just, like, donate or whatever or, like, read it, whatever you want to do with it. Yeah.

And she, like, gave it back to me. She's like, oh, that was pretty dark. And I was like, yeah, it was. Yeah. Oh, that's so interesting. So when I click on that book, uh, Oh, I can request audio, but it's brilliant, so I'm going to get denied. But like it says dead in the water.

It says this book is not currently available to request, but you can wish for it. Unlike the Kindle version or the e-book. Oh, that's interesting. You guys ever see that? Yeah, I do see that every now and then. And I'm like, what? I'm like, why are you here then? No offense.

I know. Like, why does it? I think sometimes some people only pay to be. there for like two weeks or something. But still, just remove it then. My next one, so I've seen a lot of people, like, I shouldn't say that. I think it's kind of under the radar. I have to go pick it up from the library today.

But in the book world, like Bookstagram folks I've seen read, the act of disappearing by Nathan Gower, really liked it. It's like a face cover, which is not. my favorite but like but like when I saw some people talk about I'm like dang this I don't know people when I see it it's usually a good really good reveal it says a struggling writer is hired to investigate the haunting backstory behind a decades old photograph of a woman falling from a train bridge while clutching what appears to be a baby her search pulls her between present-day Brooklyn and 1960s Kentucky where the image is tied to a powerful family in a long very

tragedy. As she digs deeper, the mystery becomes as much about disappearance, identity, and truth as it is about what really happened that day. So, I don't know. It could be good. Damn. It sounds good. I do like a little mysterious photograph. Yeah. Me too. Like an inconvenient woman. Mm-hmm. It looks so good. I don't remember the photograph in that. what i don't think you have yet because i think you had you would have been madly texting us at the end of it

it's like a woman kind of like it looks like she's like looking through it's like a shadow yeah it looks like she's kind of like looking through a crack in a door or something i think i read that holly read it said it was a book of the year contender for her damn couldn't for some reason I thought I saw Dennis had a review of it, but I'm not seeing it now, so I might be wrong. I don't know, because usually my people following on Goodreads. Right. But anyway.

His reviews are so good, too. I know. Like, how are you always on point with him? Murphy is mad. It's okay. My parents are driving me nuts. I had to do a fucking hour-long training today for a, a new aspect of my job that I picked up and he was like barking like a little

fucker. I read an inconvenient woman on August 7th, 2024. Oh, yeah, that wasn't a long ago. Oh, this one has a 4.3. Oh, shit. I read it. Yeah, I feel like we read that after we did.

Yeah, it looks like I read it February 2020. Honestly, this cover looks like someone took a picture of the cover and then uploaded. it to Goodreads, but I think it's like intentionally supposed to be that way. Oh. Whenever I see it, I'm like, God, did someone just like upload that after taking a shitty photo of the book? Oh, covers, man. Not only is it a face cover, but.

Yes. I love the way you say things though so much. It just cracked. Here's this book. I'm super excited for it at 4.3 on Goodreads. Face cover, not my favorite, but it sounds really good. But it sounds good. It sounds really good.

I will always be honest. Yeah. Yeah. As you should. At least it doesn't have a movie title cover. That's my. Oh, my gosh. I hate that.

Don't need those. I don't know. What do you mean? What's a movie title cover? Like when they redo the cover because of an adaptation? Yeah. Like they put. movie poster on the cover? Like the house made cover right now.

Gotta go, girl, got to go. I love them. I love a movie tie-in. No, I mean, like the cover becomes the movie of the, the cover of the movie becomes the cover of the book. Yeah, it's called a movie tie-in. Oh, you like those? Yes. Really? I've never met someone that likes those. Hello. You have.

I think it's so. I think it's such a nice thing for gaining new readers. But I also feel like if you really love a book and they make a good adaptation of it, it's also like a very good keepsake for the reader. I get what you mean. Like it is like the kind of like sentimental part is like the author did it. Like they got an adaptation. Yeah.

But typically I just, I don't like what the covers look like. And actually there's a lot. a lot of heat right now because heated rivalry is so popular and it does not have a movie tie-in or a series tie-in and people are calling for it. So I think that it's going to be coming soon. See, I knew we would talk

about it again. I knew we would. The way I think I don't like it is because they're all face covers. That's probably, yeah. The house made one right now is just like so weird in my opinion. Like I said though, I only like them if it's a good adaptation.

You know what I mean? Gone Girl, I buy that. Yeah, I get that. But like the movie The Snowman that they made out the Yonesbo book, no, I would not buy that. That's a good distinction. So, like, he did rivalry I will buy. Every version. Every version. You're kind of a completionist, too. When you really like a book, you like having all of them. I think that's fair. Like, if you're a completist, I think that that's, like, part of the collection. Yeah. I 100% agree with that. Yeah. Yeah. like me finding that UK cover of bright young women. Oh yeah, it was beautiful.

It's beautiful. And it's like a hard cover without a dust jacket. I like that. It's like glossy and it just looks like it's from like the 70s. Oh, my God. It does. It does. I did bring up bright young women in 26.

We're up to one. I mean, some things just, it wouldn't be the same. without it. Right. Yeah. I'm just glad that. Like if I suddenly never talked about we used to live here again, people would be concerned. Okay. Gary, I didn't tell you, I finished that book in two days and I really liked it. I liked it. I just was like. Do you give it three? Well, I guess that's the way for people. Yeah, I liked it. Yeah. I just was waiting for something. to slap me in the face and be like, this is your explanation. Oh, right.

I get that. The whole point of speculative, you know, like horror and thrillers is you got to figure it out on your own. And I was not able to solve that case. I think great. Honestly, having you're not alone. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Otherwise, I would have been like, I think knowing a little bit, like having a little spoiler helped me like it. Yeah. Yeah. It does. It's with some books like that. But speaking of beautiful, gorgeous, wonderful covers. Yeah. Now, I listen to this one, but I will be getting this. It's called Queen of Faces by Petra Lord. I think it comes out on February 3rd. but it is like dark academia fantasy dystopia um anti empire so um trapped in a dying body she can't afford to replace because i don't know if i put this in the beginning it's in a world where bodies can you can buy bodies and switch your consciousness between bodies um and so trapped in a dying body she can't afford to replace Annabel Gage uses forbidden illusion magic to steal a new chassis, a new body, and is forced

into servitude as a mercenary rather than facing execution. Thrown into a city on the brink of revolt, animus navigate shifting loyalties and a dangerous crew as she decides whether survival is worth becoming the villain or fighting for something bigger. That does sum it up pretty well, but like also there's just so many cool things going on. on. The cover is amazing. The cover is beautiful. And then like the sprayed edges like I'm just so excited to get a physical copy. I listened to it. Oh yeah, here are you my YouTube friends. Gare is holding it up so you can see it. Yeah, the cover is phenomenal. And the author just does so much with kind of like trans identity, queer identity.

And there's a lot of body swapping going on. So there's, I just, I feel like it is a very approachable way to read about that kind of existence in fiction. And I, I think most people would derive a lot of empathy from it. Most of our listeners would. So I thoroughly loved it. I was hooked and it was like a 16 hour book and I still got through it in like three days. So that's how good it was. I could not stop listening. Is it a series? It's going to be. And like I got

to the end and I literally told Tyler, I was like, this is horrible. I need the next one immediately. I got to wait like a year. But also she is coming on the podcast. So, oh, nice. February. Yeah, they reached out to me, her publicist. I know. And I was like, fancy. I know. I know. I know. They reached out like in November and I was like if you could send me the audio book I'll be able to fit it in and so then they sent it to me last week and I was like all right time to listen so on February 3rd if your interest was peaked you can listen to my interview with Petra about it that's exciting that seems like a really interesting I don't read a lot of fantasy but it seems like a unique take or a new a new story yes yeah it was very much

It reminded me of a lot of the things I loved about in Academy for Liars. So if you like dark academia, fantasy that kind of like, you know, deals with eat the rich vibes. It reminded me of blood over Bright Haven, too. So two of my favorites in the fantasy genre. Can you go? It's so good. Spies, body swapping. Hell yes.

Yeah. An Angel Pene, you know, just round it out. Oh, that's the other one. Oh, no, sorry, sorry. I was just talking about kid in that first book I talked about. Oh, Angel Pene. I love this, though. Like, I mean this in the most supportive way.

I think it is so funny how many books you and I had in common. I know. We first met. And like now I'm like probably three a year. We'll read. Probably a little more than that, but it's not a ton. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. But like, there's just like something like finding your, mine are usually like within thrillers. You know, like right now, like I love like a female unhinged stalker who you just like, you don't mean. But you finding all of these like things that just like work for you. Like it's so exciting because it like broadens your reading horizons even more. Yeah. And I'm just like really excited for all of your little like.

You get to hear about all my. Yes. My little side quest genres. It's like, here's body swapping for the queer community. And it talks about like racism and like just like being empathetic. And I'm like, here's one about a woman who murdered her husband. Well, I have some of those next. But yeah, it is.

It's fun just finding other stuff. Especially as a mood reader. It literally lets you have more things to like cycle through. It also probably helps when you're like in a reading rot. Yes. Yeah, there's more to choose from. Do you ever wonder that though of like if it's going to be cyclical? Because like lately I haven't been reading as many thrillers or like certain things will be kind of like, it's almost like if you have like a temporary like I've eaten that too much and now I'm so sick with it.

Yeah. Is it going to come back around or is it kind of like, okay, that's just not my thing anymore. or do you just need a break? You know what I mean? Like, I wonder that sometimes, like, lately I'm like, if there's more than one twist, sometimes I'm like, Jesus, Chris. I know. And I used to not care.

So I'm like, am I going to get back to a point where I'm like, that was so fun. That was wild. I think it has to do with like, like you're saying, like, I'll have hyperfixation meals for a few weeks. And then all of a sudden I'm like, I don't want to eat this for like a month. Yeah. So I think you're right. I think there's like some of that.

but I was, I just had, as of the day we're recording, Amanda Jones, who's a librarian who fought book bands. But that episode just came out today. And she and I were talking about it. And I was like, honestly, like selfishly, like even if you just didn't want to do it because you're quote unquote woke in reading diversely, selfishly, it's just like variety. Like there's like whole different worlds to go into. And I'm like, oh, this is such a fresh perspective. And I think that was some of it for me was like I've read so many so many books now that sometimes it's like easier to just like switch it up completely because it feels so fresh but I'm sure it's a lot of things for everybody yeah I got burnt out on MM romance for like yeah I could see that

because I just felt like they were all like very um formulaic and like the next thing I know I wanted to read Heated Ravelry before the show. And like, now I was like, okay, it's not that I got burnt out on M.M. Romance is that I needed to find that like college romance, enemies to lovers, hockey romance is like those are what works for me. Yeah. So like it could only be, you know, maybe you need like quirky thriller characters. Like even if you don't read a thriller between like now and like next year, I guarantee the one that you would probably like this year is Mad Mabel. You know? So like that just could be it too. Mm-hmm.

My thing too is like back to back. If I read like a small town murder investigation back to back, sometimes I start like mixing the character. from like the one I'd read previously. So that's like the other thing. Sometimes you just need to switch so it's not so similar and like mixing up in your head. So yeah, the life of a mood reader.

Mm-hmm. They're loving it. Like I don't really like locked from mysteries that much anymore. I'm kind of overrope. You know, unless Jessica Knoll does it. That's interesting sometimes when like one of your favorites then writes

a subgenre you typically don't like and you're like what you're like this is interesting because like I love you I don't love this am I going to love it anyways or is it going to be like not my favorite book of yours like it's always kind of interesting

I think it's also interesting like when somebody so like I was explaining to my mom what a locked room mystery was the other night because we were talking about that movie no exit the Taylor Adams but I was like That was a locked room that I absolutely loved, right?

But if you're in a Gothic mansion and it's like all these rich people and like somebody, like the butler is like found dead and it's very like clue, I don't give a fuck. I don't give a fuck about rich people and a fucking Gothic mansion and a snowstorm. I hope they all die. I hope the killer gets away with it. And I hope the killer gets like the best BJ of his life every day until he is. you got to speak your truth yeah live your truth every once in a while i'll watch something or read something and i'll be like wait

was that locked room because i kind of enjoyed it yeah i think it's because it didn't fit that formula like you're saying yeah yeah it has to be like a little unique correct speaking of unique um um i have one that kind of feels like it's going to be like tell me lies with a bunch of dead boys. And it is called, Here Lie All the Boys Who Broke My Heart by Emma Simmerman.

And it is about a college student who writes eulogies in her journal for boys who like break her heart. But then they start to actually turn up dead. And she becomes the prime suspect. And she has to like team up. with her like frenemy that she also like flirts with named Asher to like find out who the real killer is. But it's just like it seems like it's going to be like unique and like darkly funny and it's got that like dark academia setting. Yeah. It says good girls guide to murder meets tell me lies. Yeah. It's called here lie all the boys who broke my heart. The cover even looks like

good girls. It gives the same vibe has good girls guide to murder. Oh yeah. Yeah. That sounds very very cool. I like that. It sounds really cool and it sounds like it's just going to be like really binge-worthy and fun. I'll grab it for it. Here you go, you two YouTube people. I love that. Hey, peeps. Oh, it's recently added audio too. Ooh. Yeah. Oh, Andy Arnt is good. Okay. Okay. I love that. How is this Vach? It is 370 pages. Oh, okay. but it's like a little floppy dappy so maybe we'll feel like 270 pages true arcs are always way better at being floppy yes some of them are and some of them I'm like why is this

book so staffish lame but some of them just feel so heavy and my little dainty hands that I like absolutely love it next one well I've heard it's really good um I'm looking forward to it's not her by Mary Kubica. Yes. A quiet family vacation at a lakeside resort turns horrifying when a woman discovers her brother and sister-in-law murdered and her young niece missing. As the investigation unfolds buried secrets about her family

and seemingly identical to surface, and with no one entirely trustworthy, she's left to question whether the truth is more unsettling than the crime itself. damn it's so good yeah gear was obsessed with it when he was reading it guess what very excited it's a little bit locked room oh yeah you said that in a very unique way yeah so that's really interesting because when you say that I'm like oh but then I'm like okay you loved it no because it's like it is cottages in the woods that are like where people are going for like a peaceful summer and that are like beautiful and there's this lake and like it's very homey and comfy and like the weather

is like really chilly at night and that's when things get creepy but like when you are involved in a murder investigation you can't leave yeah oh yeah there's only so far you can go and that's why it's a little bit of a locked room aspect because like how do you like just be like okay i'm gonna fly home now right what half my family is dad but like just like let me know what you guys find out that's right how it happens so good it's so atmospheric it is so dark ooh you have me so excited for it I'm again I'm just waiting for it on net callie so it might be something that I read once it comes out she's not sorry like that that twist I was like oh or the reveal I was like that was a big reveal so I was just like I

I was just telling Kate before this, I'm like, there are certain authors that I feel like I've kind of, I'm not as shocked by them anymore. Like, I kind of get their. Yeah. And like, I'm like, for her, I haven't figured it out yet. Yeah. I read two, I think, maybe three by her. So I, she still surprises me. Yeah. I've read every Mary Kubica buck. I think I have. Right. And I think, in my opinion, she just keeps getting. better and better and better. Yeah. I agree. I like. Yeah, because you're, uh, her, her first one was like your first Instagram book, right? Her bookstagram book, yeah? Yeah. The good girl was actually, um, I was posting about it on my personal Instagram and people that I knew in real life were coming up to

me at like bars and restaurants being like, that book was so good. What else are you reading that you recommend? And then my friend shortly after that was like, you should start a bookstagram. I love that. Yeah, I just haven't read. I actually didn't read Just the Nices Couple, so that's the only one I didn't read. Oh, I haven't read that either. I've read the rest of them. Just the Nices Couple is good when you want a slow burn about like people's secrets, but like you don't need something that's like super fast-paced. That's why it stands out from her other ones. If you're, Well, my other angel peen one is called on Sunday. She picked flowers by Yaya Shulfield. So fleeing her abusive mother, Judith Rice finds refuge in a haunted house deep in the forest of southern Georgia, where she grows from a wounded runaway into a healer who tins both the land and its restless spirits. When a mesmerizing stranger arrives and awakens buried memories and by the,

violent urges. Jude is forced to confront the darkness woven into her past and her bloodline. This is like right up my horror alley. Like I saw the cover and I was like, I bet I'm going to like that one. The cover's cool. Yeah. And then I was like, oh my God, Angel P. Anything that's like horror S that has the word bloodline in it too, you know it's going to be like pretty fucking solid. Yeah. It's going to be pretty fucking solid. Yes. Yeah. I'm really excited for that one. When do you interview Angel Pean? I would love to know. It's like she doesn't, I don't know how, I might have to like email

her from her website. She's like not on Instagram. To narrate this podcast. I know. I'm like, girl. Ooh, I love, I love Haynes. I do love. I know. Yeah, that's the other part. Mm-hmm. A what? Haints like ghosts. Yeah.

It just doesn't look more like the Viby vibe. Ghost and bloodlines. Because it was in In Cinners, he was like, it's a ghost. She's like, no, it's a haint. Oh, a haint is a specific type of ghosts in southern U.S. folklore, often seen as lingering, malevolent, or mischievous spirit, whereas a ghost is a broader term for any disembodied spirit. Okay.

Yeah, he instruments or folksy, like, reformatory all that kind of yes yeah yeah like it says like while ghosts ghosts might be passive memories

haints actively manipulate the living which is very the reformatory jee one of my friends is reading that right now I let him

I lent it to him and he he's like I'm getting I'm reading that right now and like he's just like a more sweetly sensitive soul and I just just like

Godspeed I've not seen one bad review about that book. No, I don't think I have either. Unless it's like people who are like it was too heavy and I'm especially if you had that racial trauma in your past. I'm sure that could be very overwhelming. But that's the only thing I ever see. Yeah.

In my book club, I think there are some people that found like the middle like the legal stuff a little slower, which is like I switched to audio at that point. And it was really pick up at the end. So like that was the one. And I think, I just kind of told him, I was like, it kind of gets a little slower in the middle, but it'll pick up again. Yeah. Yeah. Hints are little mischievous.

Yeah, they are. Speaking of mischievous. Mm. Coming out February 3rd, we have The X's by Leodora Darlington. I've been seeing that one. Oh, my God, it sounds so good. Natalie is desperate to find the one, but each time she thinks she's close. another name is added to her list of exes until the night of the big fallout left her feeling

even more alone. When she meets the handsome James, she thinks he might actually be the one and he won't end up dead. As hard as she tries to be a normal wife, she begins to question her dead exes and wonders if the monster is inside or someone toying with her from the outside. Man, I love the cover of this one. I've been so tempted, but I had so many January and February books and I was like, Kate, you can't. You can't. get another one. It sounds so good. It does.

I can't help it. There is like something about when you mention like that night or that event or what happened years ago and like I don't know what it is and I'm probably not going to find out until between the middle and the end of the book, sign me up. And all your exes are dead because they didn't realize your value. So they're all dead. Yeah. Goals.

Goals. Kind of like the last party. Yeah. Like the whole time. It did happen. I said I had a lot of variety on this list, but literally my last two picks were about a woman who all of her exes are dead. Oh, you're right. And she could possibly be the suspect.

But you know what? Yeah. They like here lies. Once in college and once an adult. So that's my variety. That's okay. You've had some other ones too. Yeah.

I mean, dead in the water is basically speculative. So true. I would read John Maris grocery list if he asked me to. Right. I'm sure. In about that. Yeah. My next one, I know at least one of you have read,

but I think it just came out recently and it was given in my book club's blind date with a book and the person that received it was so freaking excited. So I ended up buying a copy. and it is best offer wins by Marissa Koshino. I know. When did that come out, December? Yeah. November 18th, I think.

Oh, okay. Here it does. YouTube. After losing bed after bid in a brutal housing market, a frustrated publicist becomes fixated on securing the perfect suburban home before it ever hits the market. What starts as harmless research quickly escalates into boundary-crossing behavior as she inserts herself into the cellar's lives, convinced this house will fix everything.

Darkly, funny, and deeply unsettling, the story asks how far ambition can stretch before obsession takes over and why we still might be cheering her on. The person that wrapped up this book and gave it, she was, her and I would talk about perimenopause sometimes, and she's like, you'll appreciate it even more. I guess in the book, it gets brought up. Oh, yeah. Love it. It is so good.

I can't wait. It is so good. She is quirky. That's why I hear. She does not give a fuck. She is just like, I love her. I've heard it's like part cringy, but you're still like rooting for her. Maybe I'm a crazy bitch because I was like,

I didn't think it was like that cringy. I've definitely read like, I was just like, I know you're going to make a bad decision right now. And like, I just really don't care because it's for my entertainment. Right. Yeah. if you go and like it's also like you're kind of like if i were in her exact position would i do the same thing it's it is next to impossible to buy a house right now yeah when you find the perfect one yeah yeah i'm excited i think it'll be fun i've heard it yeah there's something

like there's so many books that deal with like unhinged female stalkers literally just doing whatever it takes to get what they want. House, baby, husband. Money. Money. Silence. Just kidding. I'm not.

You know there's one out there we've read where she was just like, can I just get a silent moment? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Women just want to be left in peace. Totally. Oh, yeah. I'm excited to hear what you think. You need to read that.

I think I worked with so many realtors for so many years that sometimes that's what makes it hard for me to want to read about real estate. But everybody loves it. There's not a lot of realtors in the book. Yeah. Like they're not like a big character. It's like her and her boyfriend or husband and then like maybe a couple of her friends and then a couple that like owns the house. yeah yeah there's not like a ton of like that's realtor's that you would be like oh god that reminds me of like so-and-so right totally because she's trying to do things on her own

she's like fuck that realtor she does not need a realtor yeah well i my last one i i had to include a non-fiction of course since that's apparently who i am now but it is is called unread by Oliver James. After graduating high school, functionally illiterate, Oliver James commits at age 34 to learning how to read and publicly documents his struggles and breakthroughs, becoming a book talk sensation in the process. Through the 21 books that shaped his journey from barely reading menus to finishing nearly 100 books in a year, he shows how stories can transform lives and prove it's never late to grow. You, know how excited I am for a book like this. Yeah. And I've watched his journey on book talk too for

like years. So the fact that he has a book coming out, I'm like, this is just so uniquely cool. And in general, a lot of the book talk audience was so supportive and happy and excited for him. He did a lot of lives where he would be reading and talking about it. So I'm just excited. I'm really am excited to read his journey now too. what's his name Oliver James Oliver James I want to read this too

I just got approved for the digital copy on my good reads is like did you mean Oliver Twist like fuck no no so yeah there's 250 pages too not very long

but yeah I'm gonna try I would love to have him on I would love to have him on really good. I love his smile. Oh, he's such a, yes, he's just like a ray of sunlight. Yeah, I was so excited when I saw him post about this. Yeah, I would see his life. There's a stitch with him and the new Reading Rainbow host. Yes. I love the new Reading Rainbow host. I haven't like, I saw there was so much like when it was. Yeah. Starting with him. I haven't seen a lot lately, but I'm like, you seem awesome. Oh my God, hubba, hubba, he's so cute. I know. I agree. And he, like, comments on a lot of stuff on threads.

I'm just, like, so kind and wonderful. Literally, the bar for me is, like, kind. You know, it's, supportive. I don't even know if that's a bar. I don't even know if that's a bar, because finding a man who is kind is, like, finding a fucking needle in a haystack. Yeah, for real.

Oh, my God. I want to read that, too. like a huge nonfiction person but like I do want to read like a few more like memoirs that speak to me this year right especially like this is like so such a bookish memoir and I want to read I want to read that and I want to read the Chanel Miller oh remember my name or same yeah remember my name I read nobody's girl by Virginia Jufre oh prepare yourself take your time my nose is cold mine too um

I have no segue other than that was very random one technically um I have another book about a bunch of dead boys that's what we like I was like these are so unique and they're so different and I'm like what the fuck you're

where you think you when you thought these were all different but this one is the smiley face killer version of Ask for Andrea. Oh. So, oh my God. It's my birthday.

So it's called Last Scene by Christopher Castellani, I think. C-A-S-T-E-L-A-N-I. Men are disappearing and their bodies are being found in icy rivers all over the country. Some believe these boys are victims of the smiley face killers.

When four of the guys find themselves banning together in the afterlife, each tells their story that led to their death and intertwined fates and unresolved grief. Wow. Wow. Unresolved to grief is always interesting. Yeah. I'm wondering if it's going to be, because I haven't read it yet, and I'm really excited to, but like, I wonder if it's going to be kind of like lovely bones where maybe they're watching their family members and loved ones kind of like mourn them or try to move on. but it just sounds really good and really, really unique. What was it called again?

It's called Last Scene. You think that, is that cover like Ice? Do you think that's what that is? I think so. I think it's okay. At first I was like, what is it? Who's the author? Because there's nothing coming out.

His name's Christopher Castellani. I had to type in his last name after last scene to get it to pop up. C-A-S-T-E-L-L-A-N-I. Help me out. I thought it wasn't a. I did too. At first. Yeah, that sounds interesting. Yeah, it sounds really, really good.

And like, it wasn't on my radar, but this was like the publisher reached out and they were like, is there any way that like you think that this would be at your alley? And I was like, yeah, or fucking right it would be. Oh, yes, it is. Yeah, absolutely. My head is completely in the gutter because I also thought of something different when I first saw the cover. What did you think it was? What did you think it was? I don't see it.

Did I really have just completely? I was like, what is? Oh, okay. Did you think it was jazz? I kind of thought it was jizzy or a condom of something old. Oh. Especially when I saw all those small versions. I thought it was a branch.

I was like, what is this? I thought it was a branch. Oh, my brain is wrong. honest is like a clear plastic bag and water like that's what i oh yeah that's a good one too is it ice i think it must because it said like their bodies turn up in ice in rivers that's what finally out but i was like what is this because it kind of looks like a black light on like black sheets yeah yeah i'm just not used to seeing that because i swallow oh good for you a winner. We've got a champ

among us. I'm a vegetarian, okay? I get protein wherever I can. It has a 4.12. Oh, it's only 16 ratings. Yeah. It's still pretty good. Yeah. I just feel

like it's going to be, I think it's going to be my sneaky hit this year. Ooh. I love that. I feel like it's going to be the one that wasn't on my radar and I wasn't prepared for and I'm probably going to read it and be like this is like my entire personality. I get that.

The Nett Galley reviews are saying, one said this was so uncomfortable and the truth it reveals. Interesting. I love uncomfortable. Sounds like it's a slow burn. Yeah, it does. The writing is lush and vivid.

Ooh. Hey. Bold, eerie. It's like good for me. Oh, bold, eerie, and achingly beautiful. Sounds like a haunting. That's very gay. Mm-hmm.

I wonder if it's going to give me like rabbit hole vibes Oh yeah Based on some of these reviews I think that that's kind of The vibe I get is like Slower very character driven and uncomfortable For like Christmas and New Year's

My friend Carmel Went to like Italy and Greece And was just like traveling like living his best life And he came home yesterday and after I drove through a fucking blizzard to get my hair appointment, he was like, oh, by the way, I forgot to tell you. I read how we named the stars. And I was like, you forgot. And I was like, did you cry? And he's like, no, but it was sad. And I was like, are you heartless? Like, how did I cry in that book in unit? Excuse me. Yeah. So that was a really nice little, like, somebody that I'm very, very close with that I talk with every single day being like, oh, by the way, I read a book you recommended. And I thought it was really good. And I was like, I was like, I was a really good. And I was like, I was like, yeah. And I was like, like that is so crazy what that is like if i read like um oh gosh what's the one that i'm afraid is going to kill a density of souls that but also it's the one it's the one about the daughter who's killed and it's about her parents the last winner of danny lansing that one that's like if

i read that and didn't tell you yes that one yeah we would all be like your guess what i did yeah Okay, I'm going to read this review of the book you just talked about because I think it sounds so good. Oh, go for it. His last scene starts with an unforgettable statement. I'm one of those boys they keep finding in the river. Thus we meet Caleb, who died right before Christmas. His voice and story is joined by others, Matthew, who is looking for his ex, and Leo, who is running through the woods and Stephen, period. Nothing for Stephen.

Nothing about Stephen. Maybe it's Stephen DeMarco. Castellani provides an atmospheric and almost claustrophobic read as we hear the stories of the men in different rivers from different times and for different reasons. The stories slowly unwind the truth in what happened to each man, each boy, and what happens when their bodies are found. Haunting Miracle, beautiful and unforgettable. I get like, please see us like haunting leave us. Yeah. I'm like a little bit asked for Andrea.

I'm also kind of picking up on like maybe a little bit rabbit hole vibes because it rabbit hole deals with like the true crime community and like it's in the synopsis that like some people think it's the smiley face killers. And like I feel like no matter where you live in like America and maybe Canada I don't know but like no matter where you live in America you're like you know somebody who knows somebody who like could have possibly been a smiley face killer victim or something. right yeah the only complaints i'm really seeing are like um pacing it does say literary fiction so i think if it's kind of like um just like a melancholy book

like that might just like why but you know yeah into it i think this sounds kind of cool okay kind of random but you read the winter people right stuff yes did you listen to her or did you it. I have done both. I had to read, I reread it because I read it like a few years ago and then we did it for book club. So I listened as well. Okay. It's our book club pick. So I just started listening. I feel like the audio, the narrator whispers. And I'm like, does she stop whispering? So I didn't notice that. It might just be me. It's an older book. So I don't think that it's like I knew it was probably not going to be as good of an audio. But a lot of people liked how, um, if it's the book. that she was like what's the word like emotive oh okay yeah um i'm i'll keep trying i only

listened to like 20 minutes of it so and it was a diary entry so i'm kind of hoping maybe it's like she's doing it for the diary entries is kind of my help well to yeah there's that it's an interesting story for sure just like a lot going on christopher follows me on Instagram and he's actually pretty good looking. Wait, really? Oh, hey. Yeah, I don't want to be like... I see him in my Goodreads picture.

Oh, handsome. Wow, he's written a lot of books. Really? Twelve books, it says, I think. Yeah. Get it, Christopher. Okay. Okay, so you did remind me, Gare, that I did buy

I want to read the new Noel Ely Ely. I want to read that. For you saw her? Yeah. It's a must. If you write Ask for Andrea, it is, I know. Dare I say even better. Yeah.

So I have to read that. I think maybe I should. Well, okay, so I want to read that for sure. But then I also have a hold coming up for this book that I've heard is really good, called The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Everybody's talking about that. Yeah, and it's written in all letters. Yeah, entirely.

Which some people thought they wouldn't like and then they ended up loving it. So I ended up picking, I don't know. I keep hearing about that too. I'm wondering. People love it. Yeah. All kinds of leaders. A sharp-tongued solitary woman, which I'm like, I can relate.

Yeah. Spencer Day's writing letters to friends, family institutions and long dead off. authors as a way of making sense of the world on her own terms. When unexpected correspondence from her past arrives, it gently disrupts the carefully ordered life she's built. Rye, tender, and deeply observant, the novel traces how connection, memory, and self-reflection can quietly expand a life that seemed fully settled. I will say, like, one of my things I've really enjoyed in 2025 was, like, sassy older people,

like melting a little bit. It was a theme I really enjoyed. And typically it was because there was like an extroverted little kid in their life, which I'm not a kid person, but it was like I really liked books like that this year. So it seems like that could be kind of on that same theme where she's like, this is the way I do things. And I'm 80 years old and I'm not going to change for anybody. And then all of a sudden she's like, oh, I kind of like that. Yes.

Yes. That's why I think I'm, I think you're going to love Mad Mesa. people. You already read it? I haven't read it. Okay. I know what it's about. Right. They sent it to me, but I'm like, I think I'm going to enjoy it too. I've been seeing forever and it's not out till April. I know. I bet that one's going to be a book of the month. Probably. Yeah. I would think so. I have not been a member of that for a while, so I'm not always in the know. Yeah. Yeah, the correspondent, it always intrigues me pretty much kind of because of like your first sentence, that it's like a, a snarky-ish lady writing letters and making sense of the world. I haven't picked it up yet.

I think I saw it was on sale with Libro FM. It's only like, I mean, it's less than 10 hours. It's like nine hours. And it's a long cast, so. Oh, wow. I was just surprised that I, when I just looked at. it up on Libby. I'm at 10 weeks and I just put my hold on in November. Whereas like, okay, I put in defensive witches. I still have 12 weeks left and I placed my hold on February 12th of last

year. Wow. Yeah. So it's just like really, really wild. Yeah, what was the one I just placed? Oh, actually, what I forgot to mention was when I opened it up, an American marriage, I was able to borrow the audiobook immediately. Oh, see, that's how I ended up reading. That made me excited. I could not believe that. We used to live here was available within, like, a day on living. That is crazy.

Yeah. I was the other one. There's one called Slashed Beauties. Have you seen this cover? I've seen, yeah, I've heard of that. I heard it's really good. I keep seeing it everywhere. And it sounds fascinating.

And it's like 16. week wait and I placed the hold on November 16th so like it's popular I've never heard of it yeah somebody's fascinating it's like one of the most anticipated horrors

of like the year oh really that's where I think I started seeing it was you did see it's body horror right yes I did well the body horror element of it it sounds kind of like a little bit like feminine Frankenstein is like the gist is like um two two timelines revolving around three

anatomical venuses ultra realistic wax figures of women that come to life at night to murder men who have wronged them holy shit okay so some of the body horror I think I could get on board with but I have not read it yet so I don't know I was also surprised I think Dennis really liked it. I think maybe I saw the hymns post. I just kept seeing it kind of like in the summer and in the fall and then I finally placed a hold. You give it five stars. Okay. Yeah, a lot of people are loving it. And actually, it's who one of the people in your book club that I met through you stuff was reading it. No, it is. I just think of her as karma as a cat. Cat's reading again.

Is that? Really? I'm surprised she's reading. Maybe. No, she was because I have my DMs where she started it. And I was like, you need to let me know if you like it. And she's loving it. Wow.

I know. All right. All right. It's so funny in that book club, um, cat who I love dearly. Uh-huh. She is,

if there is a mention of, of an animal. She didn't make a note of that. I'd be like, does anyone know if the dog, like, I'm like, just go on does the dog die.com? But like she asks like every time she's like, I notice there's a dog. Yeah. So like someone has to like send her if the, if something happens to the animal. She's just like so sweet. I saw her story last night. Her story last night was like, okay, I actually really am loving this, but I did cry about a bird for anyone who's like sensitive to animals and I was like that is so precious. Animals are the only thing

I'm sensitive about. I know. So I read this. I read a drift by Will Dean. Oh yeah. Okay. There's a dog in it. I message Dennis whose review pushed me to pick it up sooner and I was like, hey, listen, like there's a dog in this. Does the dog die? And he's like, no, dog's dog, the dog doesn't die. I was like, okay, cool.

10 pages later, dog dies. And I was like, Dennis. And he was like, oh, sorry. He's like, I read it like a month ago. My bad. Like, it wasn't. He felt bad. He felt bad. I thought it was the funniest thing in the entire world. Because I was like, I'm always in the position where people ask me something about a book. And I'm like, I don't fucking remember. Because I have no memory. But like, he was like, just like very adamant. Like, no, the dog doesn't die. And then I was like, bro, the dog just fucking die. I have not delivered the same fuck. Oh, that's funny. And he's like, oh my God, I'm so sorry. I forgot. And I was like, it's okay.

There was a lot that happened in the book, so I kind of get it now. Yeah. But that was my, like, I was like, you should just do this from now on. When people are like, oh, like, does this book have, like, a lot of sex in it? And it's like, smutty as fuck. You should be like, no. It's like really tame. No, there's not that much.

And then there was, like, fucking. It just gets back. Yeah. And I was like, you should just. do this from now on is like trick people that's funny that was I was dying laughing I was like I'm not even traumatized by the dog dying in this book because of how

much I'm like laughing or the fact he was like no you're good just scared you false hope and confidence so if anybody out there is sensitive to dog deaths the dog does die in a drift by will be so if you go on like does the dog die dot com does it just say yes or no

or does it like give details Sometimes there's details. Sometimes there's details, yeah. And they does do like other animals too if people didn't know that. Sometimes they conflict though. That's what I really hate. Like some people will be like, no, the dog doesn't die and people will be like, yes, the dog dies. And I'm like.

Clearly you got a dentist problem there. Yeah. I was like, did you, was that like your pee break or something? Yeah. So I'm like. Well, sometimes it's like, okay, maybe it wasn't hurt by a human, but it still died like because it was old. like it's still oh yeah yeah yeah i don't know you got one book i read this year and i it was a five-star book for me but like the dog was just old and it had like a death scene and i was sobbing and i'm like

it was it was still good and i'm like not you know but i was just like god this that was tough dog death in this one no off page like it's just like i found out that the dog died like months ago. I'll steal myself for it. I was like, damn. I know, I thought about like messaging her, but I was like, I'll just brave it. So I had two dog deaths in a week. Good God.

I'd be a mess. Yeah. Well, sometimes, too, there's authors that, like, always put a dog, but you know that they wouldn't do anything to it. Yeah. Yeah. Like, Alice Feeney loves her dog. I was like, I would be so shocked if something happened to a dog in one of her book.

I would be shocked. It's like Karen Slaughter. Megan Collins book. She even like her like intro says that. Like none of the wonderful animals in this book die, but I can't say the same for the humans. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. We're like, who cares? Yeah. I don't know if it was an interview I read with Karen Slaughter or if it was when I did like Instagram live with her, but she was like, you will never see me kill an animal. That's good. She was like, if you're a person in the beginning of my book, like, it's not good for you. But like, you won't see me kill an animal.

And I was like, girl, I love you so much. Mm-hmm. Torture the fuck out of those humans and let me solve this case, but, like, leave the animals alone. Yes. When is when time starting again? The show. Mm-hmm. Is it coming back?

Yeah. It's like January 6 or the 8th. So I think it's this week. Oh. Yeah. And his and hers starts on the 8th. I am so right. I don't remember anything about it. I remember really liking the reveal. I was like, ooh, I like that.

We need to do an episode about it, maybe. Yeah. Yeah, that'd be fun. I mean, I don't remember the book much, but I remember liking the reveal. So I hope that's... Yeah. I just remember like the third act and I was like, damn, this is intense. Mm-hmm. Well, I think we have quite the variety of books for everyone. There's a little bit of something for everybody. And shows. almost and shows.