Bookwild - Our Favorite Books of 2023!

Episode Date: December 29, 2023

This week, we talk about our favorite books we read in 2023!Follow us on Instagram:Gare @gareindeedreadsKate @thegirlwiththecookonthecouchBooks We Talked About:The Seven Husbands of Evelyn HugoLet's Do ThisDaisy Jones and The SixThe Gay Best FriendNinth HouseHow I'll Kill YouDid You Hear About Kitty Karr?DysfunctionalMidnight Is The Darkest HourThe TrapThe PushHidden Scars The New OneThe Murder Between UsNever Saw Me ComingBad, Wrong ThingsLay Your Body DownThe ShardsThe Hunger GamesBright Young Women Get Bookwild MerchCheck Out My Stories Are My Religion SubstackCheck Out Author Social Media PackagesCheck out the Bookwild Community on PatreonCheck out the Imposter Hour Podcast with Liz and GregFollow @imbookwild on InstagramOther Co-hosts On Instagram:Gare Billings @gareindeedreadsSteph Lauer @books.in.badgerlandHalley Sutton @halleysutton25Brian Watson @readingwithbrian 

Guys, welcome to the Killing the Tea podcast. This is Gare and Kate. And we are going to be discussing all things, chills, thrills, and kills. Kate and I are going to be talking about our favorite books, TV shows and movies that are in the thriller or crime fiction genre, as well as some reading habits and other items related to how we met on Bookstagram that will fit in with this podcast. So, Thank you so much for joining us, and we hope that you have fun and get totally terrified. What up, motherfuckers? Merry fucking holidays, everyone. Merry fucking holidays. This is our last episode of 2023. I know. It will officially be 2024 next time.

So wild. It's crazy. So wild. Do you have an icebreaker? I don't. You don't? No. I have one for you that I'm very curious.

about. Oh, I'm excited. So this makes sense for me, but I want to know if it makes sense makes sense for you. Yeah. So I see like memes or like TikToks and things about people who have anxiety tend to watch the same movies and TV shows over and over again because they know how it's going to end. No matter what genre it is. But I, that falls for me. Like on the weekends, like I will rewerews. Like, I will rewatch the same movies, like, on repeat that I love. And it kind of makes sense because I do have anxiety. Right. But we've talked in the past about how you don't really reread books. I don't. So do you rewatch TV shows or movies? You don't. You're a mystery. You're an enigma. I don't. I will say, because I've seen that, like, fact before or meme, whatever we want to call.

it. And I feel like if, but if I was going to like stretch it, it's like I do stay in a really similar genre, you know? So like in some ways it's like I, and it's kind of an anxious genre is the other thing I've thought about. So it's like I do really like thrillers, whether it's TV books or movies. So it's like I do have kind of like a comfort genre that I'm typically leaning toward. But I do wish I could enjoy rewatching stuff. I just don't. It just takes a lot of it away from me because I know what's going to happen. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes I do find myself like playing on my phone when I'm rewatching things that I've already watched. But then there's like other times where like I pick up on like different things and like have like different theories and stuff. But

it's like again, like that anxiety thing of like I know how it's going to end. Right. I do, what is, I feel like there has been something I've watched before, though, for the sake of watching it to catch more things. But I can't think of what it is. Yeah. But I remember feeling that actually, uh, keeping up with last week's episode, um, I have thought about watching saltburn again since obviously I saw it in theaters. And now I'm seeing some like foreshadowing that they managed to sneak into it. So now I kind of do want to go. There has been, there have been movies I've rewatched for that.

purpose where it's like what can I catch that I didn't see. Is it the window thing? I saw the window thing. Yeah, that was one of them. So I didn't notice that, but I saw that in a TikTok like after I didn't notice it. I saw it in a TikTok after. Like after I had, I'm trying not to get too close, but here I am. After I had, there was a dog. After I had watched the movie, I saw that TikTok about the thing in the window. And I had like obviously like in the TikTok I saw it so I didn't have to like rewatch the movie. But if there's like a ton of other things that like foreshadow something that happens in that, I would probably rewatch it. I'd rewatch it again because I'm a rewatcher. Right.

That's true. And it's just worthy. It's worthy of it. Do you hear a ton of squeaking? Mm-mm. I'll hear it. Okay. Okay.

He, um, Murphy has his little squeaking elephant that he just ran by with. and it is so annoying. Oh, I can't hear it. Okay, good. Perfect. Perfect. Yeah, I give it. But yeah, I just wanted to know because I am like a rewatcher like to a team.

Yeah, because you can rewatch a lot of stuff because you can do around the holidays. Yeah, I rewatch things on like the holiday. Like I rewatch like Home Alone and stuff like that, like Black Christmas. But yeah. You said it like those were really similar and they're like so different. I meant in the sense that they're both like Christmas movies. Like I rewatched. I know what you did last summer a lot like around the 4th of July because it takes place

on the 4th of July. But then like time like in between like I mostly like 80s and 90s like horror movies I guess or what I rewatched the most. But yeah, I was just curious. This year I started to realize that I is just like am a. Grinch because like I wasn't even enjoying. I had a couple books I read that included Christmas and I was like this is just annoying. Like I don't end up loving it. I can see that though because like over Christmas break I watched the movie Thanksgiving that like been slasher movie. Oh yeah. And I

freaking loved it and I actually want to rewatch it like again to see if you know kind of like salt if I could see anything foreshadowing what was going to happen. But I was like, you know, I really don't know how I'm going to feel about watching this not during a holiday season. Like if I watched it in June, would I still enjoy it? Yeah. That's a good point. There's like, like, I don't watch Black Christmas any other time except for like Christmas

time because I don't think that I could really enjoy it as much, you know. But no, I get that. I get that. I think my only exception is like the Halloween movies. Oh, yeah. Like Michael Myers just like running around doing his like bad shit. I'm like this is like perfect all year round. Yeah. Halloween's just an easy. Well, yeah. Now I'm thinking of like look closer had that Halloween element to it. Oh yeah. Yeah. I do know what you mean though with like books. So like where you don't like we've talked about it wasn't much. Yeah. We've talked about like seasons and books. right? Like, we don't want to read a book about a snowstorm in July.

Yeah. You know, and I don't want to read about it. Finally cool off. Yeah. I think for like, yeah, for you, you're like, oh, like, I can't wait for like it to cool off. And for me, I'm like, I'm pissed that I'm hot and these people have like layers on and get to like enjoy their. Right. Right. They're like jackets and things like that. Yeah.

But I'm with you. But you had an amazing idea for tonight's episode. For our last episode of 2023, I was like, we have to talk about our favorites. Or well, our favorite reads of 2023. Yeah, yeah. And I think like with our list, like, this could probably be our biggest episode yet. I know. Especially because we are, we're going to talk about 10 each.

So we're not going to read all the synopsies. There's just going to be so many good books in one episode. Yeah. Yeah, we're going to have a ton. So we're not going to be like... And then I like shot myself in the photo because this is one of the hardest things I've done all year. I know. I posted like my top thrillers today on Instagram.

And I was like, I have 16 because I'm not doing like 20 or like trying to narrow it down to 10 would have been impossible. I know. Yeah, I had like 24 that I tried to narrow down. And I mean, I did. But just for the record, there are plenty out there that I loved a lot too. There's so hard. I love what Steph is doing, Books and Badgeline. She's doing her like quarterly favorites so that she can like fit all of them in.

And I'm like, that actually makes a lot of sense. So maybe I'll make like a post like that that includes all of them. But the good news like when I was looking back on it, I was like, this means I had a really, really lucky good reading year. if I had this day to pick. Yeah, I felt the same way. I think it's really cool as she's doing that. I also really like the book talk trend where people are doing their favorite read

from each month of the year. Oh, I like that. Have you been seeing the, they say silent book reviews, but they definitely make noises. They just don't use words. So I've been seeing silent book reviews where like you use just like your expressions

or like, like, you like don't speak about the book. You just try to convey it without words. So I've been seeing that on Book Talk, too. I haven't, no, I haven't seen any of that. I haven't been on TikTok as much as I, like, would like to. But I did see, like, some of the trends where people are like, it's like a song or something where it's like January, February, March. And then they got filled up like a book for, you know, each one.

That's a good idea, too. Yeah, I thought it was like really cool. But then again, I tried to do that before and I was like some months. I was like I had like a decent reading month, but I didn't like love anything enough for it to be in my like top of like the end of the year. And then sometimes you have like two of your favorites in the same month. Oh yeah. Yeah. Like I could not.

I could not narrow down some of them. So. Same. But yeah. Well, we did enough. We narrowed it down to 10 each. for this one. Ten each. Yep. Yeah. Do you want to go first? It was your, it was your grand idea. It was my idea. Well, this one I went back and forth on. I didn't even go back and forth on. I was just like,

oh, I talk about it all the time. But I of course had to include the seven husbands of Evelyn Hugo, because we were talking, you and I were talking about it actually. And it was like, do I just keep bringing up the ones that I can't stop talking about? And I was like, yeah, but if I looked back on, like, in 2025, I was like, what were my favorite books in 2023? If I didn't include this one, it wouldn't make any sense. So I definitely had to include this one. It's by Sandra Jenkins read in case anyone has not heard of this book. But it's about, it's mostly about Evelyn.

It's also about, I can't even think of her name, who is. who is sent there to write Monique. So Monique is a journalist who Evelyn asks to come interview her for this big retrospective that they're doing on her life. So she ends up telling Monique all about the seven different husbands she had in her time basically fighting her way up the ranks of Hollywood in like the 50s and the 60s. Um, and I mean, that just doesn't even encapsulate everything about it. But she is like such a powerhouse woman in a time when that was not something that you saw a lot of. And so it, it just looks at so many different things like socially and all of that. And I will never forget Evelyn, ever. Me either. I won't, I will never forget that story. It was so good. And it's completely. outside of anything I typically read. Right. Me too. Because like I still every now and then I try books that like say they're like it.

And sometimes it's like, yeah, this just still isn't my jam. So who knows what it is about it. But this one has like book crack in it basically. My God. It's so good. I'm waiting for the next big book because there's something that like just really gets me so excited when there's a book like that like everybody was talking about like Evelyn Hugo, gone girl, you know, like things like that were like every. everybody is just like buzzing about it. Yeah. But yeah, that's an incredible book.

Yeah. There's one called Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow that is like, I see a lot of people talking about. It's not exactly the same. And I keep being tempted to try it, but it just seems so outside of my jam. So if anyone has read it and you think it would fit me, just DM me and tell me why. I have a copy of it. So if you do go down that rabbit hole,

like let me know and maybe we'll try to do it together. I know every now and then when I'm like, what am I in the mood to read? I almost pick it up. So like I was looking at it last night and I was like, is it time? I know. I know. I'm like, I always like see it because I like love the cover and I've heard like so many people talk about it.

Yeah. I'm like, you know, I just don't know. I know because it's like about a lifelong friendship and video games. And that's like the two things you really know. And I'm like, it's just not like anything I've ever watched. watched her red. Yeah. Yeah. I'm not sure. But yeah. If anybody thinks that we would like it, let us know. Mm-hmm. My first one is something that no one's going to be surprised that I love. Well, we started off without surprises. Yeah. So this is actually a recent read for me. It's called Let's Do This by Lauren Lee.

And it is a MM hockey romance, friends to lovers. It just starts off. Like, it's like funny. It's like, Nice. Swoonie, steamy. It's basically about two guys who play on the same hockey team. Their names are Shaw and Berkey. And basically, like, one of them wakes up and you need to stop barking. One of them wakes up and there's a delivery from, you know, like FedEx or whatever. And he sees, like, it's for his roommate Berkey.

And he sees on it. it's like male anal toy, basically. And he's like, Berkey, like, what the hell did you order this for? And then they end up, like, having like a little, like, friends to lovers kind of romance. But it's like so steamy and it's like really cute. And I just like could not put it down. So, yeah. Let's do this.

And it's a purple cover. So you know I love it. And it's going to be the first in MM hockey romance series. This is a special edition, like alternate cover. So like if you look for it on Amazon and you see a man with like abs, that's the other cover. But yeah, highly recommend let's do this for all of my little M.Romance. Hockey lovers. Yes.

Hockey lovers. I saw a TikTok of someone who had that rose vibrator toy for women. delivered to herself while she was like at home over the holidays. And it was one of those things where Amazon like delivered it in the packaging instead of like in a box. And Ron was like, I don't know why this is here. And she was like, that's mine. And I was like, why order it when you're at home anyway? But clearly she felt like she should. Oh my God. Well, usually like it's in a box. And like if it's from Amazon, it just says Amazon. And I think that like when people order things, things like that.

Like, they don't want something that's like a giant dildo that's like, here's how to have the best orgasm in like 30 seconds. Like, they kind of wanted to be like discreet. Yeah. There's a woman I saw on TikTok who had ordered underwear. And it was delivered.

It was delivered like in the clear packaging. And she was like, obviously, like, I'm not that ashamed that. Right. Everybody needs underwear. But like,

you couldn't like put it in a box or something. Because like now everybody from the Amazon warehouse, to my house that, like, works for the postal service knows what my underwear looks like. It's so random the way they choose to sometimes not package stuff. Oh, my God, I know. Which I guess it makes sense. Like, sometimes we don't need all the boxes, I guess, but still. Especially around the holidays, you would think that, like, because, like, I mean, it's not, like, the most common thing that you get somebody, but, like, if somebody was buying that sex toy for, you know.

maybe there's a gift for her mom. Yeah. So. Yeah. But yeah. There we go. Let's do this. I love it.

Well, my next one will not shock anyone either. And I'm just getting my Taylor Jenkins Reed out of the way here at the beginning. Also, I read like all four of her big four that are connected this year. But these were my two very, very, very favorites. So I somehow narrowed it down to only two of her. books. Daisy Jones in the six is my second, my second one. And this one is about an entire band band, and Daisy. I can't remember how many band members. I feel like there are four band members, but it's told like you're reading the script of like a documentary being made about the band.

And so it is basically about how Daisy, who's like a really enigmatic character, becomes a part of a band, The Six, that already existed. Wow. I was just saying I didn't remember how many people were in it. And that's because I was mixing my memories of the TV show and the book. So in the TV show, they do less than six people, which didn't make sense. In the book, they kept the six people. Um, but anyway, how do you even describe the book? It's like about the rise and kind of fall of a fan of a band in the 70s, the beginning of the 70s. Yes. Um, some of it takes place at the very end of the 60s. But it's kind of about the way all of their relationships collide with each other and kind of a really big look at like loyalty, friendship. found family and also addiction as well so it was just another one where it's like it's hard to

I actually I don't have anything to compare it to it's also like so unlike anything that I normally watch or read and I got lucky enough that the TV show came out this year so I binged that loves that so much I thought it was such a such a just a really really really good retelling or not retelling um adaptation of it and i did a whole episode about how obsessed i was with the changes they chose to make and the things they chose to keep there so daisy's not gonna daisy will always be in my mind as well now i just looked it up to um i don't know if i told you this before but you know anybody who's listening um i got an arc of a book called the last of the midnight That comes out in February, and it's compared to Daisy and the Jones, but it has like a mystery thriller element.

Is it a blue cover? I don't know. I think it's like multicolored. Okay. Okay. I'm not thinking of the same one then. I'm looking at it. Oh.

Ah, now I know what you're talking about. Yes. Yeah. Because I love this cover, too. I do too. I think I requested it and haven't gotten it. That's the cover. yeah i love that cover so much um i really love the cover and it just sounds really really good

yeah compared to daisy jones you haven't read daisy jones in the six right i have not no i haven't i didn't think so yeah so this one would be more thriller um yeah so it's compared to daisy jones in the six and almost famous um but yeah i heard of it and i think it would be an excellent ready read for you and I. It will be. It says my request is still pending, so we'll see. Well, they better get it together because it sounds like something that you and I would enjoy reading together. I agree. I totally agree. Oh, um, my next one. My next one is a book that I loved over the summer. It's called The Gay Best friend. I'm not going to murder his last name. It's Nicholas. Didamizio. Didamizio?

I just have a hard time with his last name. Yeah. My friend Nicholas D. wrote the gay best friend. So quirky, so cute. I absolutely loved it. So it's about a guy named Dominic. And two of his friends are getting married to each other. But he is kind of like one of those personalities that like he's going to both a bachelor and the bachelor at party. And he can kind of be like one of the guys when he's with the group of guys and he can kind of be like one of the girls when he's with them. So he's invited to both.

And the bride wants to have like a low key like no steamy thrills. Yeah. She wants to have like a low key bachelor's at party. the groom wants to go all out. So when he goes to the Bachelor party, he witnesses debauchery and feels like he is keeping things from the bride. Because like he's not going to tell her like what went on when, you know, a Bachelor party happens.

But he also meets a guy named Bucky who is a PGA star and they have like a little romance, romance. which is like one of the secrets that he's kind of keeping to himself. Okay. But it's so swoony. It's so cute. It's steamy. There's a scene in a kitchen that I was like, I have to see this play out on like television or a movie because it's just so, so, so, so freaking good.

I absolutely love it. Oh my gosh. Well, hopefully someone picks it up. I was like laughing, like cracking up. I mean, listen, like I love like steamy M.Romanse, but like this is. like more of like a queer rom-com that like when you read it you're like I have to see this like as a movie yeah but yeah we need more rom-coms too mm-hmm yeah I think like for people who liked the movie like bros or fire island this would be a good book for you especially if you think

that Billy Eichner's annoying there's nobody annoying in this one so it's like bros without Billy Egnor. And I can't imagine that one of us may be the one holding that opinion. I actually love the movie bros, but like sometimes his character was like, oh my God,

but I just... Well, he's a lot. It's his whole shtick. Yeah. Like his and that's like kind of the thing too, and I was like watching it as I was like, this character's his character is really annoying to me, but I also don't know if because he like wrote the movie if like, yeah.

he was like if he's just really that intense in real life i think he is i think he's a little neurotic and yeah i do too i don't like hate or dislike him i just could only take him in small doses i get it yeah and he's loud sometimes yeah as well too in my face Luke McFarlane on the other hand i could watch like five hour movie with just him definitely gorgeous yes well i have No segue whatsoever. You're like, well, next one is 9th house. You're like speaking of Billy Eichner, I'm sure he did not read 9thous. I don't think Billy Eichner read 9thous.

I leave Ardugo this year. I read this and Hellbent this year. But this is the one that I'm going to count and talk about. But this one, actually, you know, it's another one. kind of where it was like there were some elements to it that are outside of my normal reading habits. So it is kind of, it's a, it's kind of dark academia because it does take place in Yale. It also has like some paranormal elements to it in that there are these like houses amongst like ninth house, amongst

Yale where like different people have different somewhat supernatural powers but there are also some

murders happening on campus as well so if you've heard me talk about it before it's like it incorporates dark academia paranormal and like a crime procedural

all into one and the main character Galaxy Alex Stern is basically getting to go to Yale but the catch is that basically she

survives a horrific multiple homicide her senior year of high school and she almost dies herself but when she's basically in the hospital she gets offered a second chance to attend Yale and the catch is basically

that she has to kind of like monitor these paranormal-ish groups on campus. So that's how she's involved in that. But then she also kind of gets involved in like trying to figure out why these murders are happening on campus. So. So good. There's like so much to this book that it's like hard to describe.

But that's mostly what you need to know to decide if you're somewhat into it. Yeah. I will also piggyback off that and say that like I'm not a paranormal fantasy reading kind of guy. And I felt like it was really easy to follow. And I just really enjoyed that one. I know. It's like a really like if you're like a mystery thriller fan or you like Dark Academia. Yeah.

It's a really good like introduction book into fantasy because it's not all like 100% fantasy. Yeah, you're not keeping track of like magic rules. Right, yeah. Yeah. Or like a bunch of like world building basically. Yes. Yeah. But yeah, I would love to see that one as a miniseries.

Oh my gosh. I know. And her, I don't, I haven't read her shadow and bone. But that was on Netflix and it just got canceled. And a lot of her fans are really pissed off about it. And I get it. And people are getting tired of like Netflix picking up the. these like books with big fan bases and then just like dropping it when it's like

doesn't blow up to like Game of Thrones level popularity and I'm like oh because yeah I would love to see this as a series as well I don't know when the third one's supposed to come out I don't know if it's even it doesn't look like it's been announced I wonder if it's like I feel like sometimes people oh hi Murphy he died giving me a little bit of attention here. All right, come on. I'll have you help me talk about the next book. Oh, okay. All right. He's so big,

ish. He's being so big. He just needs a little extra attention. Do we all? Okay. So, Murphy and I would like to talk about our next book. Yeah. He was there with you when you read it. He was here with me. He actually was not. Okay, just kidding. This was one of the, this was one of my peaceful,

moments before I had a dog. A child. Yeah. So my next one is How I'll Kill You by Ren DeStefano. And Murphy would have loved this one, but he was being born when I read it. Yes. So this is one of my favorite ones of the year. It was so, so good. It's about a girl named Sissy and she is one of three triplets. Okay. You're going to get down now. Bye. She's one of three triplets, and her two sisters are serial killers. And in order for Sissy to, like, kind of adhere to their lifestyle, they recently have relocated to Arizona. And it is Sissy's turn to murder someone.

So she picks her mark, and he's a widower named Edison. and as she kind of falls into the game of like infiltrating her way into his life, she actually finds herself starting to feel for him. And it's kind of like one of those things where like if I don't kill him, like will my sisters try to or because they're kind of like, okay, like let's, you know, get the job done here basically and like be one of us. But it was like such a good thriller. The psychological thriller aspects were so good.

I love the cast. Yeah. And it did have like a little bit of a romance without being too heavy in the romance of Sissy and Edison. So yes. I absolutely loved this book. And the ending was so great. Oh, my goodness. So good.

So good. And the cover is so pretty. Yes. Yeah. I think all of my covers are pretty. Probably. I didn't do that on purpose. I'm just giving.

I'm just giving. props to the people who who made the covers for everything that came out in 2020. Oh, yeah. Well, I have a very pretty cover for my next one. It is, did you hear about Kitty Car by Crystal Smith Paul? Sometimes I get confused and say Crystal Paul Smith. So I was making sure that I got it right. But this is another one that, so this one was compared to Evelyn Hugo. And I actually saw Taylor, Jake and read blurb it before it came out. And so I got a net galley of it like ASAP and devoured it. And it's another one. I don't know if I said it earlier in this episode or not, but we've talked about how some

of what's exciting about Evelyn Hugo is that the pacing feels like a thriller. And that is how this one is as well. There are also some like big reveals. So I am really trying to make sure I don't give any of them away but that's also part of what makes it so fun to read and makes it similar to a thriller. But it is about Kitty Carr Tate who dies at the beginning of the book

and she's a white icon of Murphy is like I don't know she died he's like someone died if you don't care

you're just like that's at So she is a Hollywood icon, basically. But she gifts her multi-million dollar state to three, the, sorry, the St. John sisters, who are three black women. And so everyone is really confused. They're like, why did she gift her estate to them? They do. They are neighbors to each other. Murphy, I'm boring Murphy.

but that's like all anyone knows so we spent time with Elise St. John who is like the main sister who is really close to Kitty she's an actress herself and she starts kind of like looking into Kitty's past as she's like going through

her stuff basically and it's the same thing where like in Evelyn Hugo there's Monique who's like kind of like writing the story but then hearing everything about Evelyn so this is is one where you're spending time in flashbacks learning about kitty car the whole time. And Elise St. John is just trying to figure out why she left all of her money to her.

And there are so many wonderful things about this book. But I don't want to give anything away. So the end of the blurb says that it's a nuanced look at the inheritances of family, race, and gender. And the choices some women make to break free of them. So that's what I'll say about that one. It sounds really good. And I do like that, like, mystery element. But it sounds like old Hollywood, like Evelyn Hugo.

Yes. Kind of like a mystery element to it. But not like, not necessarily like a thriller. No. No. Which is good. Yeah. The pacing is so fun, though.

Yeah. One of my favorites. I love stories like that where it's not necessarily, that's what I feel about a lot of, like, romances that I've read is like the pacing feels like a thriller pacing, even though it's in like a completely different genre and I really love stories like that. Yeah, me too. But, you know, I also love thrillers.

I also love M.M. Romance thrillers. Ooh. Like, dysfunctional by Isabel Lucero. Mm-hmm. Oh, M.G. This book is so freaking hot. It is ridiculous. It is so hot.

obsessed with it. It's so, like, it's so hot. This is all you have to say. But it's also, yeah, it's just as hot. Okay, bye. Yes. No, but it's basically just, like, romance, but, like, really dark romance. So, like, check your trigger warnings.

Yes. I mean, I don't think any of my others have, like, trigger warnings, but definitely check trigger warnings with this one, because it is about a man named Ezra, who, like, just moved to a small. town. And he basically is, like, very adamant in admitting that it's been a long time since he spelt someone else's blood on his hands.

And, like, he kind of misses it because he's murdered before. But then when he's in this small town that he just moved to, he notices this man who is, like, kind of watching other women. And, like, he believes that this man is, like, a stalker or possibly a kid. killer because, you know, it takes a stalker to know a stalker. So he's like watching this man stalk all their women, basically. And then they just kind of have like a little like romantic cat and mouse game as like women are disappearing. But like he's like, I don't know if it's him or not. But it seems like it is. But I'm really attracted to him. And it just kind of reminds me of like

small town basic instinct. So if you like that like sexual thriller cat and mouse kind of game except it's just two men. Yeah. Even better. Yeah, even better.

So dysfunctional by Isabel Lucero. Like, I read this book and I immediately ordered like every physical copy of all of her books that I could get. I remember. I do remember this. I just absolutely love this one. And I think that cover is so freaking cool.

It's every time I'm just like truan's fixed by the cover. Oh, my God. Like a knife on it with like a human heart. Yeah. Perfect. Well, I have one that is about a dysfunctional relationship as well. Multiple dysfunctional relationships. And we just talked to her two weeks ago.

But midnight is the darkest hour by Ashley Winstead. Absolutely one of my other favorites. So it is about Ruth, who is a pastor's daughter in a very small town. And it's like a very fire and brimstone church that's like very obsessed with hell and telling people they're going to go to it. So she's grown up in a lot of fear with that. But then there's also been the rumors of the low man. who is this like vampiric figure who is killing sinners in their houses in the middle of the night. So that has been going on.

And I'm assuming this is in the synopsis. I feel like it is. A part of a body is uncovered at the beginning of the book. And basically her and her childhood, is it Everett or Emmett? I'm already forgetting. Emmett. Everett. Oh.

Her childhood friend slash kind of crush Everett are basically the only two people who could maybe figure out what's going on in the town, especially because they don't buy into everything. So then there's also like she's a bookworm obsessed with Twilight. There's all kinds of stuff going on in this one. But it's just wonderful. So good. I love that bug. Yeah. That is on one of my, like, my top thrillers of the year.

But like, in a minute I saw it, I was like, one of us is going to mention this. There's another one I think both of us are going to mention, but we'll see. Really? Yeah, there's only one more that I think we might. Oh, my God. I think I know what it is. Yeah. Should I do that one next?

Yeah, see if you're right. That's what it is. Okay. Is it? Jump, jump, jump. The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard. It is. Yeah.

Oh my God. So I can include one of my other ones now. Do you love this book, Murphy? Do you love this book? Oh my God. He's like, that is one of the best books I've ever read, guys. Pick it up. Yes.

It is Murphy. It's amazing. So good. I love her in general, but like this is, I mean, I was just hooked the entire time. I know. So yeah, I'm glad we have one in common. Well, too, technically. But, um, yeah.

But, yeah, this. Okay, you're getting too excited about the buck, Murph. Um, but this one is about, um, it's about a woman who her sister had disappeared. And she was one of three Irish women to disappear. And, um, basically she's been like looking for her. And the police have no leave. regarding these three missing women, including her sister. And then meanwhile, there's a woman named Angela who is working for the missing persons unit

and just wants to be part of like the Irish police force. And she starts to notice a trend. But if she pulls this thread to unravel it, it could be like the end of her future with the Irish police department or force. And then also the third aspect of this story is that there is a man driving a car throughout the town who has a woman in the backseat of his car and he's willing to tell her everything about what he's been doing. So you have kind of those like three timeline perspectives. Yeah. Oh my God. The ending will just have your jaw on the ground for like a week.

Yes. And this is one of the things I was going to say to is like when you're like, I don't reread books. I don't rewatch TV shows and I watch movies. I do. And like, this is one. Yep. I just included this in an article. I just included this in an article for she reads. Yeah. And like, when I was like writing it, I was like, first of all, this is one of my favorite covers in the entire world. I love it. Secondly, like, this is one of those books that like I want to read again. I will always, I will always remember and have such mad respect for what she pulled off in that book. me too that's how i'll phrase it yeah me too and her endings are like that a lot that's also true that's a good point she's just like brilliant that way um and there's actually a really good documentary on youtube that i watched um it's about the dublin triangle the irish triangle. It's something triangle where a bunch of women did go missing in the 90s and like they didn't really know what was going on. But the, the documentary was really interesting to watch after

I read the book. So if anybody wants to check that out, it's on, I found it on YouTube, because I don't get any of the Ireland channels. So, um, you don't? But no. And she also wrote a book called The Nothing Man that I really recommend. That's loosely based on the Golden State Killer. Yeah, and I need to read that one too. Oh, my God, it's so good. All of her books are so. I have a couple of first.

I have that one, one other one to read, I think, of her still. That's what it's time for. I don't know. Well, I replaced that one really quickly with another one that is just a two-word title.

It's my segue. And I read The Push by, Ashley Audrain this year. And just like it was, we've done episodes before about like reading experiences that you remember. That's what this one was like. Like I felt like I was just getting like yanked to the end of the book because I just had to know what was going on. And it is about a new mom whose name is Blythe.

And she is like thinking she's like she's been wanting to be a mom. She has like all these thoughts of like what being a mom. mom is going to be like is really excited for it. But like from the get go, she just feels like there's something off about her daughter. But she's also like as what I think it does a good job of exploring too. I say as if I've had postpartum feelings. But like when women are postpartum, it's really hard to separate what you're really like what you're feeling versus like if it's your hormones. And so her husband very much doesn't think there's anything wrong with their kid. And he thinks it's just all in her head. But she is just like struggling to bond with her daughter for years.

And basically is spending like years feeling all the shame about I'm not connecting with her. And it's my fault. And like I'm a bad mom. But then she has her son Sam and everything is totally different. And he's wonderful. And their relationship feels. really wonderful. And it even seems like Violet, her daughter seems to like him. But then something really, really terrible happens that forces her to confront all of her fears about her daughter. And that's all I can say about it. But like, it's like you do feel like so much like dread going through the book.

And you're just like, what is the truth? What's actually going on in here? And I just cannot put it down. I love to. It's, the ending is insane. Fucking mind blowing. It is kind of, it's kind of bleak.

It's nowhere near like bleak, bleak, bleak. But it is kind of a bleak read because the whole time you're like, who's messed up? Mom or the child. Right. So it's just great. I love Ashley O'Drain, too. I've read the Whispers. That would be a good TV show too.

I think it would be so good in like a six or eight episode series. Like whoever did big little lies. Yeah. Like that kind of style. Was that Hello Sunshine too? I can't remember. Probably. Probably.

Probably is at this point. Yeah. Well, my next book is never going to be a TV show because it was so dirty. It's too dirty. Too dirty. They'll be a point of show. Yeah. Hidden Scars by Andy Jackson is another M.

Hockey Romance. it's very dark like check the trigger warnings on our website yeah but it's enemies to lovers I just have to check really quick and make sure that I don't say anything

that I shouldn't I feel you that's how I've been on a couple of these yeah I'm like I don't know if okay so Jeremy basically gets this roommate his name's Charles Preston Carmichael and they like immediately do

not get along and like Charles is a perfectionist and like every time like Jeremy messes up during like hockey practice or anything like he's like Charles is very quick to be like you fuck that up or like don't be so stupid like he's very like harsh um but there's like still like some sort of like attraction that he has to Charles and then one day Charles comes back from visiting home and he's like completely like devastated and like a shell of the person that he was and that kind of builds Jeremy's like feelings for him when he sees like a different side of his his personality. But it's so good. It's so dark.

It is so steamy. And the characters like just like I love, love, love this one so much. But like there's a there's a sequel. But it's not about them. It's about a different couple. and I really enjoyed the sequel, but like when I found out that the sequel was not me spending more time with these two characters, I was like, oh, like, but I miss them. Yeah. But yeah, it's just so good, but definitely check trigger warnings.

It's very, it's very dark. So, yeah. You're like, we'll include links for all the trigger warnings this week. Oops. I know. I feel like our audience can handle it. I think like 30%, I think like three of mine have like pretty dark trigger warnings. And then like four maybe are like, this is a little.

It's getting close. Getting close. Yeah. But yeah. Well, that's just me. That's just me as a person. My next one has sci-fi elements, which is something that I talk about a lot, is my best segue there.

And it is called The New One by Evie Green. Probably hard to see this cover. So this is about a couple, well, it's about a family. But the couple is Tasman and Ed. And they both just work like really long hours for minimal pay. And live in a trailer park with their really rebellious daughter, Scarlett, who has just really started acting. up lately and they just don't know how to deal with her.

And then there is a tragic accident that happens that has Scarlet basically comatose in the hospital. And a doctor or someone comes up to them and says that they have an experimental program that they're doing in Switzerland where they could basically create an artificial version of her that really still has like all of her personality traits, but without. like all of her extreme rebelliousness and that she really would feel like their daughter. So they're basically like, we can't pay for her to stay in the hospital and this person is giving us an opportunity.

Sounds weird, but like, let's go ahead and go for it. So they uproot their lives. They start living with their AI replacement daughter whose name is Sophie. And it seems exactly like what Scarlett was like before she started acting out. but then Scarlett makes a full recovery. And in her return to being in their lives, some other secrets about the program are revealed. And there are just,

there are hella twists at the end of this book that I'm really just making sure I don't go anywhere near. So it was, it was like everything I love about a sci-fi thriller where like it has like a commentary on AI and technology. in like a very black mirror way. But like there's also still a whole plot happening. And it's like a domestic thriller plot that's just like really well written.

That sounds really good. Yeah. I loved it. Do you think it's like, do you think it's good for like people who aren't used to sci-fi like as like a, I don't want to say like a starter book, but like as like somebody who like me? Yes. So like, yes.

It's not sci-fi at all in that like there's nothing to really keep. track of. There's just sci-fi and that like they're like, hey, this version of your daughter was made by technology. If you ever or anyone, I don't think you've watched any Black Mirror episodes, but the Black Mirror episode that has Miley Cyrus in it, that's like about a pop star and like the difference between like AI versus a pop star, it's like a lot like that in terms of the amount of sci-fi to keep up with. Okay. Cool. So yeah, it's not, there aren't lasers. We're not on the moon. We're in space. Um, I just know how I can be with like sci-fi or anything, but. Oh, yeah. It kind of sounds like

it's one of those things where you don't have to like keep track of as much as you do just have to like believe that like a human was cloned and then you're fine. Yes, that's really it. And you're just spending time in the mom's mind as she like tries to adjust to like living in this new place. and like everything feels better and then all of a sudden her real daughter is healed and she's like, wait, what do I do? Yeah. I might check it out.

It's wild. It's wild. It sounds really wild. It also kind of reminds me of like, for some reason, like the movie Megan. I was about to bring that one up earlier too. Definitely similar. Cool. Yeah.

Well. Well. To no one's supposed to, prize since I'm still in my M.M. Romance era. Yes. The Murder Between Us by Tauvauer and the sequel. I think I think you did that earlier too where you were like there's two of them. I'm going to talk about. Yeah. That's like that's basically this is I'm not going to talk about both of them because you'll want to read them back to back. Yeah. And do you do to do whatever. I'm just going to I'm just going to go with it because it's in like the first like 20 pages anyway. But this one is about. an FBI agent named Noah Downing.

And when he's in Vegas for like a conference or something work related, like FBI shit, he's like while in Vegas, like maybe I should act on the fact that I've always had this like question on if I'm attracted to men. So he has this like hot one night stand and is awoken in like the early morning hours because a serial killer that he was tracking who had disappeared six years ago just resurfaced. So he goes back home to Iowa. Yes, Iowa. And during the task force for this resurfaced serial killer, he runs into FBI profiler,

who was the man he slept with in Vegas. So there's like kind of this like, holy shit, like Cole. Cole thinks that Noah kind of like ghosted him and like Noah didn't mean for it to come off that way. But like we're working together to hunt a serial killer. But we're also really attracted to each other. Yeah. I will say it's more like. Yeah.

It's so good. But it's more thriller than romance. So like even though they're attracted to one another, like the thriller serial killer portion takes precedence over. like butterflies and little heart bubbles coming off their heads. Yeah. Yeah. But it's so good. The grave between us is the second one, and I love that one even more.

I don't have a segue for mine, so. Oh, you don't? I know. We are not a segue show this year. This year, oh, my God. We're not a segue show this episode at all, but that's okay, because my next one is never saw me coming by Vera Curian. Just all of the best dark academia vibes that you just told me I had to read.

And I'm so glad that I did this year. So it is about Chloe, who, who happens to be a psychopath. And she gets accepted into college for a program that is studying psychopaths. Oh my gosh, excuse me. That's our bad time. That yawn just like snuck up on me and I couldn't do anything about it. So she basically is a part of the study where they're studying people who don't have empathy. And one student gets murdered in the study and a cat and mouse game begins between Chloe.

and whoever is trying to pick them off. But also the main reason she wanted to go to this school is that she wants to kill Will Bachman, who is a childhood friend who wronged her. So she's in college hoping to kill Will. And then all of a sudden people start killing people in her psychopath study. So there are so many things going on. and she's so snarky and amazing and wonderful.

I love her. I love like when she's like, I'm going to kill Will Bachman. Like that's why I'm here. And then like when like she thinks that there's like somebody after her, she's kind of like not like, oh my God, holy shit. Like somebody's after me.

She's like, oh great. Like now I have to like cancel my plans to kill Will so I can like waste my time dealing with this idiot. Like she's just so funny. I can stay alive. Yeah. I love that book. I know.

I love that book so much. You're so right telling me to read that one. I know. I know. I usually am with my recommendation. You usually are. I know you're like nudge, nudge.

That could have been your segue. Like speaking of a book that you bullied me into reading. Oh, that's a good point. You're right. So he's trying to bully me into reading the murder between us guys.

Yeah. Yeah. Like just the text. messages like I like casually mention it and then you get like seven text messages. It's like why it's so fantastic. I'm in a book rut so he's trying to help me out. I think my little monster is being a little monster. As they do. He's just okay. I don't have a segue either. But I will say yeah. This is probably one of the books that I'm like if you are going to check any trigger warnings for any of the books. You have to check them for this one because I could,

I'm not like a trigger warning person, but I could see where bad wrong things by C.P. Harris is definitely one you want to check. This one is my word. It is a MM romance. It is very, very dark. and it is about a guy who begins kind of a relationship with his best friend's father. So it's like possessive, obsessive, it's very dark. It's very, very, very, very, very, very smutty at times. But I just absolutely loved it. Like, he, you know, kind of develops this relationship. ship, like, the way that it develops was really, like, believable.

And then, like, there are darker elements. So, like, I would almost consider this one, like, a sex thriller in a sense, because it does get darker, like, as the book goes on. But it's just really good. It's just really good. And that's all I can say without spoiling anything, because I'm not going to read the whole back of it. But it just says one promise, one summer to see it through one explosive love fueled by mutual obsession. best friend's father.

You know if you like those tropes. Yeah. If you like those tropes. That's enough. And there are some twists in it that I did not see coming. That's always fun. And like one was like very much like in the beginning and I was like wait a second. Like this is happening already.

So yeah. If you like kind of that like we were saying like books that are not thrillers but have thriller pacing. Yeah. Bad wrong things. C.P. Harris. Yes. I will never forget this book. I will never forget the steam in this book.

Your glasses fogged up. I have little like windshield wipers on them. Yes. You're like it was that steamy. Oh my God. It was so stupid. Yeah. Mine is not, even though it might sounds like it.

My next one is lay your body down. Which is not steamy, even though it maybe would seem like it. But this one is about a girl named Del Walker who goes back to her really rural Minnesota town because the man slash childhood friend she loved and really thought she would marry one day, but did not. He dies. And it seems really suspect the way that he died. I'm looking to make sure I don't say what is suspicious if it's not in the synopsis. Okay, it's not the synopsis. The way he died seems really suspicious, but no one in the town was looking into it, and that's part of why she ends up staying there

because she's like, why does nobody care about this? And so she is up against a small town who almost all attends the church that she attended growing up with her parents. And it's a mega church. It has some like really, really patriarchal teachings, the pastor pastor rick does a like blog about like being a godly wife or something like that noble

wife um he lists off all the ways that you can be a noble wife yeah so it's like culty yeah pastor rick um so she's kind of up against people who are that close-minded and they're like we've been told to just not care about this murder so we're not going to um but she's like I am going to sort through these lies and figure out what happened to Lars, even if it means having to face all of the trauma that she had growing up in that town. So it's wonderful. It's another one that has just a really killer line at the end. And you know how I feel about really killer lines, especially when they're vengeful.

So I feel like vengeful stories. There's definitely some venge in this. There's revenge in this. I just am always obsessed with how happy and excited you get when you talk about revenge thrillers that have people going against religion. I know. It's that transparent. Yeah. Yeah, I love going against some establishment.

Yeah. Murphy, stop barking. Yeah, he says fuck the establishment too. It's like, oh my fucking God. Religion don't get me started. So my next two are known surprise. Oh my God, hold on. I think I scared the shit out of him.

My next two are like to no one's surprise. That's kind of why they're last. But the shards by Brett Easton Ellis. is just like one of my favorites in the entire world. Ever. Oh my God. Are you joking? My dad just got home and now Murphy is like running around screaming like a cycle. Oh, I get it. So the Shards by Brett Easton Ellis is like one that will forever just be my favorite. 80s Los Angeles. And there is a senior in high school named Brett who, um, his friend group welcomes in this new student.

I need to get his name right. Robert Mallory. And Brett kind of finds himself, like, attracted to and very, like, curious about Robert Mallory. But at the same time, there's a serial killer that's haunting Los Angeles, and he is, like, kind of obsessed with this case. But also wondering if maybe Robert Mallory. timing of like showing up is a little too coincidental with this serial killer. So it's like just so good. It's like 600 something pages, but it reads so quick.

It's probably like I would I've read a couple of Brett Eustin Ellis books before and I was like, I had a hard time with them because the way they're written in the tone. But I would say like this is probably his most like commercial. commercial one that people could like read and really get into. So don't be, um, what's the word I'm looking for? Don't be intimidated by the, yeah, thanks. Don't be intimidated by the fact that it's Brett Easton Ellis. Yeah. It's just so, so, so good. And I could not put it down. There are animal deaths in this one. Yeah. So if that's a trigger warning for you, it might not be the one. Just be prepared. I don't like animal deaths and books, but I still was able to.

to finish and loved it. Yeah. Bruce is hiding under a desk right now. So I think he's scared of the animal deaths. Oh, yeah. He's like, don't talk about that. He's like, what do you mean? But yeah, but, yeah, basically, there are somewhere like you can get through them quick enough that it's not terrible. Yeah. But yeah. At least people know. They know to expect it. I have to warn. well speaking of death and lots of death um my last one that i just had to include is the hunger games so one i feel like most people at least tangentially know about the hunger games by now um obviously the books came out a while ago and the movies did but we went and saw the sequel that came out. And I was like, oh my God, I really do love these. So sometime at the beginning of this year,

I like binge the movies on Netflix. And it was also my first time having seen the movies. And when we saw this movie at the end of the year, I was like, man, I think I want to read The Hunger Games books. And there's one of those things where I was like, but if I started, I'm going to have to read all three. And I'm like, do I have room for that? And I was like, I'm just going to. Anyway, And I'm so glad that I did. So I, even having seen the movies, you get so much more context in the books. I love Catness so much. Like, I am obsessed with Catness as a character.

And the other thing I would say is, like, I've mentioned it before. I'm not, like, very YA. I don't read too much of it. The subject matter is just so heavy, though, that, like, even though, even though, she's 17 at the beginning of the books. Like, it's really hard to say that it's actually YA or that it feels like it. And it's been funny. I've seen TikToks where a lot of people are rereading it now.

And they're like, how was I just casually reading this at like 14? Like, people are dying all the time. Like, it is like a very real dystopia that Suzanne Collins created. But you get so connected to the good characters. and it's, I mean, it's such a good, like, exploration of, like, society, government, war, like, why humans are violent, like, just all of it. And if people don't know, the very gist of it is, there's a, there are the hunger games where basically, um, 24 kids. So it's two from each district. are forced to fight to the death every year.

Kids between 12 and 17 years old in Panem. And at the beginning of the first book, Katniss's sister Prim, who's 12, her name is drawn to go for their district. And Katniss volunteers as tribute and says that she'll be the tribute instead so that her sister can stay behind. So she basically goes and plays the Hunger Games

with PETA, the breadmaker's boy from her district and there's just all kinds of stuff that happens. Yeah, it's like, I have like a trilogy of info in my head. So most people know what the Hunger Games are and I'm just here to say that they don't feel like YA. So if you've been thinking what I love reading the books, you probably would. It's also really interesting that you say that too because I was like kind of thinking about like the R. L. Stein and the Christopher Pike and all of those books that I read when I was like younger and it was just like casual, like all of these like teenagers dying.

Yeah. I'm like, God, like what was happening in like the late 80s and early 90s when we were like just so desensitized by death that like it wasn't even phasing us when it's like supposed to be shocking in like a book or a movie? And now look at us. Like thrillers are like the biggest genre of like. Yeah. Fuck.

I know. My niece just got really into them at thrillers and she's 13. But she was telling me that she's assessed with school spirits on Netflix, which is a teenage girl, a high schooler, is murdered. And it's like her ghost haunting the high school to figure out why she was murdered. So this generation has some dead teenagers in their repertoire too now. I saw that advertised and I'm like really, really thinking I need to check it out. She said it was amazing and I was like, you're kind of convincing me to watch it.

I've heard really good things about it. But then I watched murder at the end of the world instead and just everyone go Google it and see if you want to watch it because I feel like a lot of our, a lot of our listeners would probably be great for that TV show too. Yeah. Yeah. Well, to no one's surprise. Yeah. My last one. No, you've got left.

Yeah. Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll. Imagine. Imagine that. It's just, it's my favorite book of the year. Like, I will say that. Everybody knows that. If you are new to this podcast,

I talk about this book all the time. If this is like your first episode that you're listening to, then welcome. I love Bright Young Women. by Jessica Noel. Yes. So basically in the 70s, there is a sorority president named Pamela Shoemaker, Schumacher. And her sorority is attacked one night by a man and two girls are maimed and two girls are

murdered. And they're trying to find out who did it and why. And across the world, or across the world, across the country, there's a woman named Tina Cannon. who basically her best friend Ruth had mysteriously vanished. And she believes that the man that took her friend is responsible for the attack on the sorority. So obviously, if you're a true crime junkie in the 70s with these things happening, like you can very well tell that this is a modern loosely based on Ted Bundy story. but it is told from the perspective of the victims and the women that he affected

versus being told from Ted Bundy being the main character sort of energy. That's one of my favorite plot devices in a thriller or anything crime fiction where an author focuses more on the victim than the killer because this is something that even true crime documentaries don't get right, which is shocking to me. but you know instead of focusing on the who and the why you focus on like the actual believable destruction that is left behind with people when something like this happens. Yeah. But it's incredible. I absolutely loved it. I am thinking of this like thing that I want to do where the last two or three days at the end of the year I reread my favorite book of of the year. So I'm thinking of rereading this one this weekend.

Just as like my farewell to 2023, read my favorite book again. That's awesome. Bright young women. Oh, yeah, and it's a weekend. So it'd be perfect. Yeah. Yeah. Perfect timing.

It's always perfect timing to read a Jessica know book, in my opinion. Definitely that too. She's my Taylor Jenkins reads. For real, though. I know. Yeah, I love her. I hope she comes out with another one. Taylor next year. We'll see. I haven't seen anything announced.

Oh my God. That would be my wish too. It's Jessica Null come out with another book. Yeah. She takes her time, which it's worth, they're all worth the wait. So I have no, I have no complaints, but, but yeah, I will be very, very eager to see what Jessica Null does in the future and Taylor Jekin's read. I know. It's going to be interesting to see what our favorites of 2024 are. Oh, my God, I know. A year. from now. We don't even know. Another year of books.