Bookwild - Summer Thriller Releases We Are Excited for with Gare and Steph

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

This week, Gare, Steph and I are talking about the 2025 Summer thriller releases we are excited to read!Bookwild MerchThrillerFest GoFundMeBooks We Talked AboutLove You to Death by Christina DotsonNight Watcher by Daphne WoolsoncroftThe Laughing Dead by Jess LoureyJust Emilia by Jennifer OkoOne Dark Night by Hannah RichellThe Ghostwriter by Julie ClarkDoll Parts by Penny ZangForget Me Not by Stacy WillinghamOur Secrets Were Safe by Virginia TrenchEcstacy by Ivy PochodaWe Are All Guilty Here by Karin SlaughterHigh Season by Katie BishopHer Many Faces by Nicci ClokeGuess Again Charlie DonleaKing of Ashes by S.A. Cosby 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 

Well, I'm back with Gare and Steph this week. Woohoo. Yeah. Hey, yo. Big potato. Yes. Hey, it was my favorite thing in the entire world. I know.

I love it. That has really broadened our horizons. Oh, my God. It's just like one of these, like, it's like one of my favorite things about her. It's like the shit that she comes up with. It's usually in regards to somebody saying something is spicy. That's where it started. I know.

Right? I use it all the time. So I think every time I see when Gare casts like a super hot cast, which is all of them, I'm just like, oh my God. I know, I know I've done a good job with my cast when Steph comments, hey, yo. Yeah. I'm like, yes, I did it. The one for American Psycho was good. It was really good.

Oh, my God. Ooh, we! I know. I was like, and then I was like thinking of like all the horrible things that those like very good looking people would have to go through. when I was like, I don't whatever. Sorry. Oh my.

Well, by the time this airs, everyone will have their merch, but I did get merch this week. So I'm wearing the t-shirt. If anyone, the main reason I'm bringing it up is a couple of people were like, I didn't see the post about it. So if there are people who want to do another like pre-order, we can do one. So here, this is the comfort colors one with like the kind of faded vintage looking logo. And this is actually, this is actually your stuff. But this is what the crewbex look like, the sweatshires. So when you say vintage, that means it's kind of like soft like try blend or?

It's the comfort colors ones. Oh. And so like it kind of prints on a little more vintage than like this, than the sweatshirt too. But I love it. So if anyone else does want to order, DM me or something. Somehow let me know and we'll do it again.

I'm excited. Me too. Me too. Now I have a shirt to wear to all of my events. Oh yeah. I'll be like, hi, I'm Book Wild. My name is Kate. I'm Book Wild.

I know. I want to bring it with me to Montreal. I know. I hope it gets there. I'm taking it tomorrow because I had to order bigger bags for the sweatshirts to deliver. So they're going to get here hopefully early tomorrow. And I'm hoping I can get them out tomorrow. So maybe you will have it.

I'm sure. I don't go until the 22nd. Oh, why did I think you said it was three days from now? I am dumb. I like read something wrong in the text messages. They, um, they, um, no, it's not until the 22nd, but they, they had me for a panel. Uh-huh. And then they switched my panel.

And then Monday, they asked me to switch back to my old panel. But I had already sent my pre, like, approval questions and stuff that I would discuss during my panel. Yeah. So now I have two books I have to read and I have to have my questions to them in like three days. That's what you. I only have three days to do it. I thought it was later in May, but my brain was just like, wow, that's snuck up on me. Yeah.

Okay. I feel better. Yeah. I feel a little bit better then. Um, yeah. Yeah. You have an icebreaker? I have an icebreaker.

I have been a tubi booby lately. Like, I have been watching so many movies on Tooby. I am obsessed. I know that there's like ads occasionally, but like they have so many like good gems on there, especially if you love like popcorn thriller movies or like older. thrillers. And one of the ones I watched the other night was Jagged Edge with Glenn Close and Jeff Bridges, where like his wife is murdered and like Glenn Close is like his defense team basically, but then she starts to question if he

did it or not. And the movie took place in San Francisco. And I loved her house in it. And I loved the movie. And I was just like, oh my God, I looked it up in like San Francisco gets 50 to 70 degrees and it's like very rare that they get like 90 degree days. Like it's just like 50 to 70 throughout like the year basically. So I was like, I think I'm going to move to San Francisco one day in my life. And that was my question is if you could relocate anywhere in the U.S., where do you think you would go and why? Oregon or Washington for some of the same reasons. Yeah.

I like like mountain lush forest and beach within a short. distance and I also like access to cities and I really like good food cities. Mm-hmm. Somewhere there. Man, I feel like you like just sold me on your answer, but I've also never, I haven't been many places. That's like the other hard part about this is I haven't traveled a ton. Mm-hmm.

So it's like like, like you're going to San Francisco? Yeah. No. Oh. But weather, weather alone and I know they have good food. So I'd be like. Right. I just want Glenn Close's townhouse in that movie, basically.

So in some ways, actually the Northeast Coast has the best weather for people with allergies, as well as the Denver area. So I think everything's legal in both of those. So that's not a determining factor. But I'm so torn because part of me doesn't want neighbors. and I like things that are very quiet. But then when I went to New York, I was like, public transportation is fucking nice. Like, it's nice just having access to that.

Like, I almost would probably even do more things if there was more access to, like, transportation like that. So I'm kind of torn. I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did. Like, as I knew I was going to enjoy the event, but I would have said, like, no, I need quiet. That would be too, overfirm.

simulating all of that but like it kind of wasn't I would imagine in that area though like things are so close together compared to in the Midwest like you could live somewhere quiet and have like relatively easy access to the city that's a really good point there are a lot of people that commute in I think it's just figured it out it's going to live somewhere on the outskirts you could live where I live and then we could just go to all the fun places in Canada I know that would be fun too. Like Toronto is like a little like Boston, New York City, but like 90% cleaner. It's like scary. Like you don't see like trash all over. Yeah. That's nice. Yeah. And they have Putin. Yeah, there's definitely like pros and cons to being in the heart of the city. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Oh my gosh. And the bacon and cheese bagels that we had every morning. So good. You just like, walk downstairs and like across the street. It was so good. That's what I like love about cities too is that there's like obviously like your popular touristy places but then like you'll find like when you travel like there's like these like little like nuggets that people are like no like I know that like if you Google like best pizza in New York you'll find this place but like this is really the one and like only New Yorkers know that you know what I mean? So like that's like really fun too to like explore.

Yeah. Greg recommended it's the place we went and I can't even remember the name, but the pizza was really good. And it was just like small and not busy. Right up my alley. I know. Like I have no patience to wait anymore. I'm like, if it's downtown, I need a reservation app or I really don't feel like waiting or we go on like a weekday at like five. Totally. I'm like, yeah, who eats at five? It's me. Most like most of the time it's between 5 and 5.30. I know. I'm a 6 o'clock kind of guy. Yeah. My dogs just keep waiting me up earlier and earlier. So now I'm having breakfast at like 6 a.m. So I think I'm getting hungry earlier now. Oh, yeah. I have a breakfast. I can't believe I haven't texted you about this because Kate and I talk

about like fixation foods all the time. I cannot stop eating this breakfast and it's like the simplest thing. But like I have been making like sourdough bread. Well, no, I get sourdough bread and I make my toast with sourdough bread. I'm not making sourdough. But sourdough toast and then I put peanut butter on it and I put jelly on top of the peanut butter. And it is just like I can't get enough of it. Like I'm not sick of it. I think it's the best thing in the entire world. I'm on a sourdough kick too. It's my favorite bread. I love sourdough and I have discovered that you can, you don't know, do you eat fridge toast or is that too close to eggs for you? Too close eggs. Too close eggs. Too close to eggs.

But you can mix eggs with Greek yogurt and it's so yummy and you get a bunch more protein. Oh, yeah. I've done with your cottage cheese too. Yeah. Does that really? I mean, I think they're on sourdough French toast with peanut butter on top, but no jelly. So we are like almost, we're having similar vibes. I love a raspberry jelly like nobody's business.

And I've been getting raspberry jelly from Aldi's. and oh my god it is the best thing in the entire i love raspberry raspberries are elite that's my favorite i also love like you remember when soft serve was literally everywhere like those like shops everywhere like dark chocolate brownie with like the flavor or like brownie batter with raspberry sauce on top with oh my gosh that was my jam every single time and like i still i still dream about it sometime. We used to get, when I lived in Boston, my roommate and I, we would go to a place called chill and it was frozen yogurt. We'd go every Thursday and my thing was like the coconut froyo because it was like a little like tart and raspberries and shaved almonds was my go-to

order. Man, now I want to go get some. There's one that just like opened up again like the town over and I was like, ooh, okay. I saw, because I saw someone's TikTok that, that, like, cracked me up recently where she was like, remember we had these, like, all over the place? They didn't all have to go away. I know. I missed them, actually. Yeah. We have a ton of it around here.

Oh, that's nice. We just, we kind of just had another one pop up. So now I'm going to be like, let's Tyler, you want to go get ice cream? My stomach's not good with ice cream. Oh, yeah. I forgot about that part. No, no. But I did find Magnum, like ice cream bars.

They make almond ones, like almond milk ice cream. cream so it's dairy free and there's like little chunks of almonds and the chocolate that they dip them in elite that sounds so good oh they're so good i found those on my fat saturday when i got take out papa johns went to a bakery and then still managed to spend so much money grocery chocolate i've had papa johns in forever and it was like damn this is good it's so good it is really good that butter that garlic butter shit that they give you. It's lethal. I don't know what it's made of, but it's fantastic. Oh my god, that Diet Coke looks so good. I'm salivating. No, my name is right now, Alia. I love this. And I got a can that says, bro. And I was just like, I'm obsessed. Like, they're being so,

I will never find a Stephanie. I guarantee it. But I am loving all the names. I had a Chloe with a C and a Chloe with a K. Um, the A lea one, I would definitely chug bad because Alia is my favorite. singer. She's so good. I love her. R-I-P. Mm-hmm. R-I-P. The boat. I have an A-Lia in the book I'm writing. Writing or reading?

Writing. Oh, cool. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. I'm obsessed. Yeah. And her daughter's name is Alexandra, but I call her X-A-N. And I love it. It's like the coolest thing that ever, like, popped into my head. Yeah. Spoilers. I mean, Xander on Buffy was the first time I heard that.

And he's like the best character. So anything that sounds like that, I'm into it. Well, that's good. You're so funny. Any Aaliyah and Buffy reference, I'm like, oh, my God, sell me now. Yeah. Well, today, though, we are going to discuss summer 2025 releases that we are excited about. They're always so fun, I think, because they're just like filled with so much hope.

excitement. Yeah. Yeah. You're like, I think I'm going to love this. I see like, I feel like your guys' neck galley shows you different stuff than mine. I've been trying to. It does. Actually, like, not to request a lot, but I have some good ones I'm looking forward to.

Yeah. Yeah. Hopefully you guys will send some and I'm like, what? What is that? Yeah. My problem is I do a lot of research where she reads, like when I write about like anticipated things. So then like when I see something, I'm like, ooh, like I'm going to request that.

on that galley. That's good though. That's a good to find stuff. Yeah. And then I'm like, I have 40. I know. Yeah. How much time do we have?

Right. Well, we actually do have limited time. So I will start. I like our normal order now. I just do. Right. I know. I'm like, I don't even need to ask anymore.

This one? I had a public assistant to me, and I thought it just sounded so unique compared to like all the other thrillers that we've all read. But it's called Love You to Death by Christina Dotson. How well do we really know our friends? As the only black women at an Antibon-themed wedding, Kayla and Zori should have known this heist was doomed from the start. They should never have come, but when their financial situation became dire, they agreed to hit one last wedding. jaded and cynical Kayla has spent the last decade trying to fix her life since an angsty teen prank led to her arrest. Now, with her housekeeping job at a subpar hotel, and her disappointing Cinderella-esque relationship with her dad and obnoxious step-sister, she hates the life she's built.

Her only bright spots are her best friend Zori and her favorite weekend pastime of crashing weddings to seal the money and pawn the gifts. But what started as a lark has evolved into a group. ready obsession, making each wedding hall riskier than the last. While trying to avoid angry bride and groom, Kayla and Zori's getaway takes a gruesome turn, and suddenly the wedding crash killers are national news. The best friends are forced to hit the road and dodge the authorities, but their escape plan leaves behind a bloody trail of destruction from Georgia all the way to the bayou.

As past grudges resurfaced, Kayla realizes that the best friend she thought she knew is more dangerous than she could have ever realized. Dang. Damn. So many things going on. Yeah. That covers love the cover too. So cool. You can like feel that it's in like Georgia. Yeah. It's kind of like the the plot kind of gives me like Thelma and the leaves.

Kind of yeah. With S.A. Cosby. Yeah. That's a really good comp. I love that. I need to like tell her that we have a new comp. Yeah. That sounds really good. yeah now it'll be on four now it'll be at 41 on that gallon thanks a lot i know i was reading i was like damn i want to read this right now that's how i always feel right i know oh my god um no that sounds so good july 22nd here we go yeah yep damn mark your calendars

and love you to death like such a cool title yeah yeah yeah I love that. To death. Well, none of mine are going to be a surprise to anyone. Okay. Like, these are all going to be like, the minute I talk about them, you're going to be like, yeah, that sounds like a garabook. Like, they're all like bleak and disturbing and they sound really dark and terrifying.

Okay. Nightwatcher by Daphne Wolsoncroft is my first one. Comes out July 8th. It is about Nola Strait is being watched again. after an encounter with the notorious serial killer in the Pacific Northwest as a child, Nola has grown up and tried her best to forget her traumatizing night with the hiding man. She's installed security cameras outside her Oregon home, never spoke of her experience, and now host Nightwatch, a popular radio call-in show.

Her semi-famous father used to run. When coincidences lead Nola to believe she is being stalked, and a caller on Nightwatch has a live incident with an intruder in the caller's home, the description of whom is chillingly familiar. Nola is convinced that the hiding man has resurfaced and is coming for her. With a mysterious next door neighbor lurking in the shadows, more people getting hurt, the police not taking her concern seriously, and evidence pointing toward her own father,

Nola decides to become, like her listeners, a night watcher herself, and uncover the monster behind a hiding, hiding man's mask. Okay, I don't know about this one. And what did you say the author's name was? Her name is Daphne Wollstonecroft. Okay. And she is actually the host of a true crime podcast called Going West. I just was reading about that.

Whoa. She has a plump English bulldog named Dewey, which I know. Oh my gosh. Bulldogs are adorable. She was, yeah. And Dewey. I mean, come on. I love that so much.

Well, that's cool. Is that pink on the cover too? Oh, my gosh. Face card. Bring on the pink and green. I don't have a copy of it yet. But yet. Yet.

I think it's like very like, I don't know if it's like pink or if it's like supposed to be like a reddish, but the little man, the little man by the lamp post. Freaky. Freak me out. Yeah. I can't wait to be terrified. I just entered the Goodreads contest. I've never won one. I've never once won one.

Me neither. But I'm very picky about what I even enter. So, like, I probably haven't yet. Oh, my God. Wait, we're good luck. What? We're good luck. I just got an email from her publicist.

Whoa. Throw the sea night watcher in your roundup. I'm happy to send you a galley of the book. I hope you love it. It's one of my favorites of the year. 4.09 p.m. Oh, that's amazing. Oh, my God.

That is cool. Talk about manifest that shit. Right? she was also like oh this book's about a stalker Garrett's gonna love it like this is a guaranteed five star read serial killer when they say they're gonna send you a galley does that mean e-book or physical book

physical nice Tyler just got back from his walk and Bruce wanted everyone to know oh my gosh well my first one I actually read it already it is the third one in a series by Jess Lorry,

Lori, one of my favorite authors. I'll tell you guys, I am not usually a series person. I am obsessed with this series, and to me, it's getting better and better, and I get, like,

mad at myself for reading it early because then I have to wait, like, a year. The next one. But, like, my way I can describe some of these is, like, almost a Ripley's,

believe it or not. Like, they're kind of weird, but, like, I'm into it. Okay. Like I said, book three, in the series and they in my opinion should not be read as stand-alone. You should read

them in order. I don't think you've said the series name. Oh, Steinbeck and read. Yeah. The two detectives. And what's the title for this one? The third one's, I'm sorry. This one's called the Laughing Dead. I got really excited. I know. That's okay. I did it too. I've done it. The first one is called

the taken ones. The second one is called the reaping. And this is the third one, the Laughing Dead. Okay. The body's of three teenage girls are found in central Minnesota, each with her mouth fixed in a ghoulish grin. Gross. Smiling at a deadly joke no one can hear. But authorities eventually close and forget the curious case dubbed the Laughing Dead. Decades later, cold case agent Evangeline Van Reed is called to the scene of a crime where the victim wears that same horror movie smile. But this time

someone seems to be sending a Vans, seem to be sending a message, I think it's supposed to say. Van's police ID has turned up at the crime scene, making her a prime suspect. It's not that outlandish considering her secrets, one she's never even told her partner, forensic scientist Harry Steinbeck. As she feels others closing in, Van reopens the mystery of the laughing dead, hoping to find a connection to clear her name. But the search only gets darker because the more Van digs backwards in time, The closer she comes to a terrible, wow, these sentences are caught. They do have some typos going on. Yeah.

Everything she has spent her life trying to hide is returning to haunt her. So, sorry, that was wild. I mean, two big typos. Yeah, there are two big typos in there. I would say it's just like a very close connection to her past. So that sounds so creepy and good. They're so fast. I'm so I'm so pumped too because I read the taken ones and like loved it like could not get enough of it

didn't even realize that the second one came out and then you had told us about the laughing dead and I was like wait what does she mean book three and then I was like oh I missed out on this so like I'm going to read the reaping and then laughing dead back to back so I'm so pumped it's interesting because like the first one is from van is van read and then the second one is from Harry, the other guy's perspective, and this one's from Vans again. Oh, nice. And to me, I told you guys I don't really cast much, but I think that Steinbeck could be Henry Cavill, in my opinion. He's supposedly super hot and dapper and wears like really nice suits all the time. Oh my God, I remember that about him. Yeah. I think Michael Fassbender. I would work. Oh, yeah, I think that would work too. I would say Henry Cavill. It would be.

have to be like not in his buffest moments and I don't think would fit yeah I think Margo Robbie was my van oh yeah she was like white blonde hair yeah and she's badass I know now I want to read it oh my god so we're just gonna say that every time yeah books are just so like weird but like good you know what I mean I'm not usually one that goes for like a little outlandish and I don't know if that's the right term it's just like what's happening is for real. I'm in different. Well, my next one is the kind of sci-fi that, like, I really enjoy. Also, when this was sent to me, they compared it to Severance. So I was like, of course. Of course, I'll read this. Winner. It's called Just Amelia by Jennifer Occo. The past, present, and future collide in a DC metro

elevators, three women get caught up in a gripping time travel tale of memory, emotion, and unspoken truths about their shared history. When Amelia Fletcher finds herself trapped inside a Washington, D.C. Metro elevator, getting out is the last of her problems. Sharing the confined space with her are M. A troubled teenager plagued by suicidal thoughts, and Millie, an elderly woman yearning to men ties with her strange daughter. As the hours drag on, hunger, exhaustion, and panic set in, revealing an almost incomprehensible truth. This one has been missing two words too. So like, what is happening? Is it a comprehensible truth? They are the same person. Locked in an uncompromising match of memories, the three women excavate an attempt to reckon with a shared shame and suffering stemming from

an unresolved trauma that has cast a profound shadow over their lives. Their lives. Brimming with fighting humor, compassion, and quick-witted insight, just Amelia. has a remarkable journey of self-discovery. I can't find it on goodreads. Is it A-M-E-L-I-A? E-M-I-L-A. E-M-I-L-A. Oh, okay.

That sounds like it'll be emotional and good. It does sound very emotional. I feel like I need to plan when I read it. No ludial phase reading of this book or I will just go into an existential crisis. But yeah, I love the concept. Yeah, it sounds really good. Yeah.

And the fact that they, like, gave that information in the synopsis is interesting. I kind of agree. I guess there's a lot of other stuff going on. Yeah. I agree. I'm really intrigued. Thank. What's you got, Gare?

I have one dark night by Hannah. I don't know if it's Richel or Rochelle, but it's R-I-C-H-E. E-L. Comes out August 19th, and it sounds really creepy. On Halloween, a group of teenage students meet in the woods near Sally in the Wood, a road steeped in local lore and rumored to be haunted by the ghost of a murdered girl. By the end of the night, one student will be dead. Rachel, the school guidance counselor, is trying to keep a handle on her increasingly distant

teenage daughter, Ellie, while students and parents panic and mourn. Her ex-husband and Detective Ben, dealing with the personal crisis of his own, has concerns about his daughter's safety as he investigates the death. Meanwhile, Ellie is keeping secrets from both of her parents, including one about where she was that night. Oh, man. That one's also a good reads giveaway that I just entered. Man. I think it closes today. So sorry, listeners.

Yeah, too late. Too late for you guys. my arc came in today. Ooh, even better. Yeah, and I was like, oh my God. It just sounds so good and creepy and I'm freaking pumped. Yeah. It was like a short synopsis too.

Yeah, I know. The fact that it doesn't give that much away, like, I'm like, okay. It kind of feels like you're going in like partially blind instead of like going in fully blind. So I'm like, hmm. And the covers, I love the cover so much. Yeah, I think I, it's just spooky. Yeah, yours is, is that, I have like, have it so I can see you guys mostly in my goodreads is like really slim.

Two people with flashlights, that is kind of creepy. Yeah. Yeah. And like a blurred effect kind of on like the whole cover. Mm-hmm. I like that. Oh, let's see. I guess I'll go with my next read because I'm reading it for.

a book club coming up and that is the ghost writer by Julie Clark I am so excited for that one yes so note I'm gonna predict that this one is a book of the month pick because they've had her other two I recently unsubscribe so I will be buying a copy from somebody I do need a matching set. If anyone is listening and has a copy, DM step. Yeah, I will be, I will pay you the amount of the credit plus whatever else. All right, let's see. I'll just read it off here. June, 1975. I love that already. Okay. The Taylor family shatters in a single night when two teenage siblings are found dead in their own home. The only surviving sibling, Vincent, never shakes the whispers and accusations. that he was the one who killed them. Decades later, the legend only grows as his career as a horror writer skyrockets. Ghostwriter Olivia Dumont

has spent her entire professional life hiding the fact that she is the only child of Vincent Taylor. Now, on the brink of financial ruin, she's offered a job to ghostwrite her father's last book. What she doesn't know, though, is that this project is another one of his lies.

Because it is not another horror novel he wants her to write. after 50 years of silence Vincent Taylor is finally ready to talk about what really happened that night in 1975 I love this premise it reminds me of like

the Hunter's daughter mixed with like dark places Gillian Flynn yes I can see that yeah I think that was the one it made me think of I feel like there's another one though Don't you feel like for her? I mean, like, the last flight was like kind of emotional and sad. And then there's the lies I tell, right? I think it is, which was like silly twisty kind of con artisty. And then this one seems like real thrillery. Yeah. And a lot darker. Dark. Yeah. I think it seems. I'm kind of interested in the turn. She's like so fascinating the books that are like from the perspective of like a child.

of someone possibly terrifying, where you're like, am I related to this person? Or am I related to someone who did something terrible? Yeah. And am I capable of doing something that's terrible? That's the other part. I don't know what in this case, but it typically is interesting. Yeah, I agree. That's what it was really intense about the hunter's daughter.

Yeah. Yeah, I'm really excited for that one. And the special edition, I don't know if we've already talked about it on here, but like, have you seen the special edition for that book? Oh my gosh, you need to go to her Instagram right now because she has it pinned because I was showing it to Tyler here recently. And if you're watching on YouTube, I will put it up here. It has like fire creeping on the edges of the pages. Oh, yeah.

That's cool. Yeah, I want it. I like that the fire is made of book pages in the front too. I just think that's really cool. There's so much cool imagery going on that, like, conveys, like, the synopsis points. It has 824 ratings on neckline as a four. So that's pretty good. I'm glad I still got access to it on neck alley.

That's a lot of people. My arc is, like, on my nightstand right now because it's my next read after what I'm currently reading. And I'm like, I thought it was going to be my next one, too. That's why I reacted so much because I was reading the synopsis last night. I was like, I'm going to read this so bad. I know. I have to have it done by next one. So I have to read it next.

Oh my gosh. Are we all going to kind of read it this week? That would be cool. I mean, I love unintentional buddy reads. I have a couple exciting announcements for today. So first of all, there was some great response to the merch. So there is another pre-order that is going on. And it will be going on until probably like May 19th.

So if anyone is listening or watching and wants to get in on. on the second pre-order. That is available now and the link is in the bio. The other exciting thing is I have decided that I am going to make my way to Thriller Fest this year. And after I posted about it yesterday, I was kind of hoping I could maybe get like a commercial sponsor, like a bookish brand that would want to cover some of my expenses. But after talking to a few people who saw the post, they were saying like, I'd really like to donate. I think other people would like maybe you could structure it as a go fund me. So there is now a go fund me that is Get Book Wild to Thriller Fest and no pressure to donate,

but I really will appreciate it if you are able to donate. And that link is in the description as well. I hope you enjoy the rest of this episode. I think this other one you guys would be interested in, too. Not that I'm pushing it on you, but it's August 26th. And it's called Doll Parks by Penny Zang. For best friends, Nikki and Sadie, college was supposed to be a fresh start, a way to blast Courtney Love from car speakers and leave their youth behind. But along with sadness obsessed girls and

intrusive professors, a dark story plagues their small all-women's school, the Sylvia Club, a campus legend surrounding the deaths of multiple Sylvia Plath adoring students, all written off as suicides. Aspiring writer Nikki finds herself drawn to the tragic tales, so much so that dead girls begin to haunt her dark imagination. As she digs deeper, Nikki soon suspects there's much more to the story, a suspicion that will lead to a tragedy of its own, one that will tear her and Sadie apart. It's been nearly 20 years since Sadie last saw her estranged friend.

Now Nikki is dead, and when Sadie ends up pregnant by Nikki's grieving husband not long after the funeral, I forgot that part. She finds herself stepping into her ex-best. friend's seemingly perfect life. But the longer Sadie lives in Nikki's eerily preserved home, the more she sees her appear. And soon she's convinced that Nikki is sending her clues from beyond the grade because it seems Nikki never stopped looking for answers about what happened to the girls of the Sylvia Club. And she may have been its latest victim. Do I love one like dead people are along for the ride? I love that phrasing.

Like the one that Gare just finished, which I had read a while. Marley Bush's new one. Like, I love that. So good. I fucking love that. That's on my list too. But I wasn't, I wasn't ready to cry this week. It's like, it's sad. I mean, it's sad. I think it's just like, I don't know if it's a lot of like crying, but I think it's bleak, but I don't think you'll cry. Yeah. I thought you said you. Maybe I remember. I might have. Not you. I make you. Sorry. Did I cry? I don't know. I feel like you said that, but like, I think I got misty eyed. Like I think I got like misty eyed at one part. But like, like, yeah. But like, I think I got like misty eyed at one part. But like, like, I also like didn't like like it's not like a little life or like how we name the star I think I just felt like kind of like misty eyed at like one part because I thought yeah but like

I don't think that you'll like cry I'll be reading that one soon too when I see something compared to the virgin suicides I'm like oof oh my god is right yeah I know and Sylvia Plath like watched it for Josh Hartnett but watched it for Kathleen Turner

and she crushed up. Oh, yeah. Yeah, I love Kathleen Turner. I know. I actually got an arc of doll parts recently. Nice. I'm going to have to probably get a physical copy because pink and black. Yeah, right. The cover is good. So I've been saying that a lot, but like that's, I love the font. I do too. The tear, the mascara tier. Yeah. Give me like a handwritten cursive of like a glider person like if it's at kind of a dark academia and I'm like yeah I know cover definitely got me to read the synopsis

oh for sure and it's told in dual timelines I didn't read the little bold part at the bottom I love that I love a dual timeline I was slap right little timeline sleut my next one has a long synopsis but I am so excited

I'm so excited for this Like I can't even begin to tell you. I'm saying it. Forget Me Not by Stacey Willingham. Oh. Comes out the August 26th. 22 years ago, Claire Campbell's older sister Natalie disappeared shortly after her 18th birthday. Days later, her blood was found in a car.

A man was arrested and the case was swiftly closed. In the decades since, Claire has attempted to forget her traumatic pass by moving to the city and climbing rank as an investigative journalist until an unexpected call from her father forces her to come back and face it all anew. With the entire summer now looming ahead, a summer spent with nothing to do in her childhood home with her estranged mother, Claire decides on a whim to accept a seasonal job at Galloway Farm, a vineyard in coastal South Carolina, less than an hour away from where she grew up. At first glance, Galloway is an idyllic escape for Claire, a scenic retreat full of slow-paced nostalgia, as well as a place where her sister seemed truly happy in the last. summer before she vanished. It feels like the perfect place to pass the time. However, as soon as Claire starts to settle in, she stumbles across an old diary written by one of the vineyards owners, and what

seems like a love story of young rebellion turns into something much more sinister as it begins to describe details of various unsolved crimes. As the day stretch on, Claire finds herself becoming more and more secluded as she starts to obsess over the diary's contents, as well as the lingering feeling that her own sister's disappearance may be somehow tied to it all. Galloway was supposed to be a place to help her move forward, but instead Claire quickly finds herself immersed in her own dark and dangerous past. Damn.

I have not seen one. I got denied for that one. What? I got denied for a physical galley of it, an arc. Interesting. Really? Yeah. She is getting really popular.

I've seen some people read it already, some of them are like I I know they read a variety of genres and some of them are even like I'm not as much into thrillers as I once was but like read this one and we're like I loved it I haven't seen one person say like oh this was okay or like I didn't care for this like I've seen nothing but like people being like this is like bomb dot com I know and like fast pacing I think too yeah I need it well since you guys got denied there is a good giveaway for that one as well Gary. Your favorite.

10 copies of you. I don't know. Maybe I'll get one. We'll see. I don't know which one to pick for my last one. I think this one I'm going to talk about because I haven't really heard much about it anywhere.

And Amy Tintara has blurbed it too. It's called Our Secrets We're Safe by Virginia Trench. And it comes out on July. 15th. Let's see.

Ten years after Sophia was killed in a tragic accident, her college ex, Caroline, and her former roommate Brooke almost have what they've always wanted. Caroline is on the precipice of scoring funding for her feminist tech startup. Brooke is newly engaged in starting her dream job at a prestigious prep school. But unless the two best friends can cheat fate a second time, one night's secrets could unravel everything. When Caroline gets threatening comments on her company's Instagram and Brooke receives a sinister email with ominous photos attached, all from Sophia, their carefully constructed facade begins to crumble. And when one of their last connections to Sophia turns up dead, they must decide how far they're willing to go in order to survive.

The devil's in the details and the tiniest mistake could prove fatal. Just one thing is certain, nothing is as it seems, in this sinister series of events, and readers will never guess. where this rabbit hole of revenge will lead. Prepare to have your allegiances shift along the way with every twist in turn. What was set in motion long ago is hurtling towards a jaw-dropping conclusion that will shock even the most hardcore thriller fans.

Wow. Yeah. I need to request this one too. I have an arc of what that went on the way. Do you? The cover's cool. The cover's really cool. I requested it forever ago,

and I honestly even forgot what it was about. So I'm kind of glad this is like... It sounds so good. Yeah. It sounds so good. It only has 30 reviews on neck galley. So hopefully more people request it, I guess. Is it a debut?

I'm guessing. It's average of a... Like a lot of them are fours, so that's good. Nice. Yeah, this is her first one. I mean, 30 is good too for your first one at this point. Rating 4.8 out of 5. And then that's amazing.

Yeah. Yeah. I didn't know. I mean, that's like somebody's specific review. Oh. Which is also great, but I'm like, you use 4.8? Right. Like, what was that point to deduction?

Right. What did they do wrong? Not even like a half star system. Like you actually use a tenth of a point. Wild. Do you have time to do another round? Do you want to do another round? I bet we all have them.

I do. I have time. I have. I have time and I also have picks for two more if you would like to. I have as many as I have and we are doing well on time. You're pretty efficient today. Yeah. We're just on it guys.

Yeah, I'm game. Let's do it. My next one is an author that I know about because of Gare. Ecstasy by Ivy Pichota. Oh. On June 17th. The cover is so cool. It's all the cool covers this summer.

Yeah. So a deliciously dark horror reimagining of a Greek tragedy by Ivy Pichota. Lena wants her life back. Her wealthy, controlling, humorless husband has just died. And now she contends with her controlling humorless son, Drew. Lena lands and Naxos with her best friend in tow for the unveiling of her son's pet project, the luxurious agape villas. Years of marriage amongst the wealthy elite has whittled Lena's spirit into rope and sinew.

smothered by tasteful cocktail dresses and unending small talk. On Naxos, she yearns to rediscover her true nature. Remember the exuberant dancer and party girl she once was. But Drew tightens his grip, keeping her coistered inside the hotel demanding that she fall in line. Lena is intrigued by a group of women living in tents on the beach in front of the agape. She can feel their drums at night, hear their seductive leader calling her to dance. Soon she'll find that an ancient god stirs on the beach, awakening dark, desires of women across the island.

The only questions left will be whether Lena will join them and what it will cost her. Ecstasy is a riveting, darkly poetic, one sitting read about empowerment, desire, and what happens when women reject the rules set out for them. I don't know that I would have, like, immediately been like, oh, retelling a Greek tragedy, but I trust Ivy. So I here we are. I've only read Is it these women or those women

These women? These women? I read that one and sing her down. Mm-hmm. Oh, that one was called. That one was really good. The way she like pulled those narratives together was really impressive. But I need to read her other ones.

These women. These women. That's what it is. Yeah. I don't know where my copy is. I used to have like a really cool. arc of these women. Oh, I like the cover.

Yeah. I don't know if it's the same as what you're describing. Brag about it, but I don't know where, I don't know where she went. Oh. She's gone. Okay, well, she ran away. She's hiding. These women is one of my favorite books in the entire freaking world, and it's like one of my, like, top books that I wish they would turn into like a series.

Oh, yeah. It's gritty, man. It's really gritty. Yeah. Um, well, my next one is probably going to be gritty. Mm-hmm. Um, it is, we are all guilty here by Karen Slaughter. Oh, yeah.

Um, comes out August 12th. Welcome to North Falls, a small town where everyone knows everyone, or so they think, until the night of the fireworks. When two teenage girls vanished and the town ignites, for Officer Emmy Clifton, it's personal. She turned, turned away when her best friend's daughter needed help and now she must bring her home. As Emmy combs through the puzzle, the girl's left behind. She realizes she never really knew them. Nobody did.

Every teenage girl has secrets, but who would kill for them and what else is the town hiding? Man. Wow. Yeah. I keep seeing people post about that one too, like loving it. Yeah, yeah. I just got a copy of it. Um, and I am a little sleuth. I think when I saw it on Amazon, it said book one of North Falls.

So I think this might be the beginning of like possibly a series. Ooh. Oh. Which I'm very excited for. She does love a series. Yeah. Yeah, she does. Yeah, she does.

And like nobody will friggin' sucker me into a series like Karen Slaughter when I binge all of the Grant County and all of the Will Tren and like a match. of like a few months and it was like 19 books. Do you think they're going to be connected again? Like because aren't those like Easter eggs with each other or not? Grant County leads into Will Trent. Oh. Yeah. So Sarah Linton from the like Sarah and Will series is one of the main characters in

Grant County. Hmm. And you have to read Grant County before you read Will Trent because if you read Will Trent, it'll spoil a lot of things in Grant County. Oh. Yes, it will. Kind of like the whole. reason we're with Wiltratt. Yeah, yeah, basically. So, um, that's be cryptic. But then there was

the Andrea, I can't remember the pieces of her, there was a sequel to that with Andrea in it as well. So I don't know if this is going to be like a duology or like a whole new series, but I'm super pumped. Hmm. That is exciting. Yeah. Karen for the win. I love Karen. Karen, I love you. You're never going to hear this. I love you because you're busy writing 25 books in 25 years. Yeah. Yeah. The little I've seen of her, like, I don't follow her account, but when I have seen stuff, she seems like a fun person. She's so much fun. She's so much. We did an Instagram live like during like COVID and we were talking about like the best like snacks. She was like adamant about like what you put in your pop. corn and she's just like super cool. She like loves her cats right doesn't she shared like cat memes in her

yeah. She loves cat memes. Yeah bring it on love it. Oh my gosh she's so active on Instagram like she's like oh thank you for sharing or like she'll comment on like everything and I'm like girl how are you doing this like I can't even comment on like half of the like I am like so slow with Instagram and then I'm like she's reading like 400 page books a year. I know and you know she's probably writing more than one but maybe not two but like she's probably writing like one and a half a year yeah i don't think she i don't think she sleeps i don't think so either i don't think she takes the vacations either like i just love writing it's like stephen king like i just love writing yeah yeah all right where does mine go um i don't i think i'm gonna do i know garre i believe has this one

I don't know if you've read it yet. It's high season by Katie Bishop, which comes out in August. Yeah, Kate put me on that one. Wait, did you read it? I read it this week. I just finished it a couple of days ago. Are you interviewing her? I did DM her.

I haven't heard anything yet, but it might be in her requests. Well, that's good because I also requested this one a million years ago. So I was like, I was like, oh, I hope I still want to read it. You know, you get those feelings where you're like, oh. Okay. And also the cover is so good. Oh my God. I love it a lot.

One of my favorite colors of the year. Yeah. Okay. So on a beautiful summer's night years ago, troubled 17-year-old Tamara. That's what I'm going to say it tomorrow. Tamara, Drayton was found floating face down in the pool of her family's idyllic mansion in the south of France, leaving her twin brother, Golden Boy Blake, to pick up the pieces of their shattered family. Also left behind was their sister Nina, who at six years old became the year.

youngest person ever to testify in a French murder trial. Because she's the only one who saw what happened, who watched as her babysitter Josie Jackson pushed Tamara under the water and held her there until she stopped breathing. Oh my God. Didn't, didn't she? 20 years later, Nina's memories have faded, leaving her with no idea of what really transpired that night. When a new true crime documentary about her sister's murder is announced, Nina thinks this might be her chance to finally find out. But the truth always comes at a cost who will pay the price. Hmm. It is very good.

And I'll say here that my comp is, it reminded me of, uh, don't believe it by Charlie Donnelly mixed with like the storytelling structure of the lake of lost girls. So like it doesn't mention it in the synopsis, which I think you always should since people love mixed media so much. Yeah. There's like so much mixed media. There's different timelines. and different perspectives.

So there's so much information that you, like, get from different sides. I loved it. Oh, my God. I'm so excited. My immediate question is, so, like, it's 20 years later. Nina's like, what do I remember? It sounds like, I'm like, who's doing the documentary that they know more than you? Or you know what I mean?

So I'm just like, oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, we'll see. We'll see. I don't know. I guess we'll find out before August. Yes. Yeah.

Yeah, I loved that one, especially for that comp. And this one grabbed my attention immediately because of the comps that it starts out with. It's called Her Many Faces by Nikki Cloak. And it says for readers of Girl A and notes on an execution, Cution comes a whip smart and suspenseful story of a woman on trial for murder, as told through the eyes of the most important men in her own life.

Daughter, client, lover, monster victim. You were a sweet girl. You were the prettiest girl I'd ever seen. You were a bomb going off in my life. You were a challenge. You were the story of a lifetime. We got all kinds of stuff in the stops, this guy. Wow.

When four wealthy and influential members are poisoned at London. most exclusive private club, a young waitress is arrested. As her personal life and upbringing are picked over, her obsession with online conspiracy theories is exposed. After the murder accusation, five men begin to question how well they really knew her. To each of them, her father, a reporter, her former lover, her friend, and her lawyer, she is someone entirely different, but which is the true face of Catherine Cole and is she a killer? The truth about who Catherine is and what exactly she has done, lies somewhere between these five male perspectives. The searing laser of the male gaze has never been more dangerous

as Catherine's trial groups the nation and theories and perceptions about her spiral out of control. What follows is a chilling kaleidoscope of a thriller, both a smart courtroom drama and a frightening examination of how one woman can be so ruthlessly deconstructed by the men who know her best and just what happens when she decides to speak out at the nest. This one sounds ragey. Yeah, it does. In all the best ways. What was the word you used?

Ragey. Yeah, okay. Yeah. I'm immediately asking, I'm requesting for my library to buy it. Yes. This is another one that has so many four and five star reviews already. And it comes out July 15th. Yeah, I'm excited for this one.

I just got to prove for this one. It reminds me of what is the Mindy Mejia one that we both loved? Everything you want me to be? Yes. It reminded me of that, but like an adult, obviously. That one centers around, oh, that cover, a teenage, a high school age girl. But it's told through everyone else's perspectives of her. Yeah, and like who, especially when you're a teenager, like how you show up for each person is just so.

so different. I want to read it. I know. Sounds very interesting. I also want somebody one day to be like, to tell me you were like a bomb that went off in my life. I heard you laugh at that one. I was like,

that one spoke to him. Like everybody would be like, oh my God, I can't believe they said that to me. I'd be like, what a compliment. Tell me how I fucked up your life. Yeah. Well, my last one is one

that I kept for last. because I thought that one of you little tricky monkeys was going to steal it from me and you didn't. So ha ha ha. Was it going to get my third one? Huh? This one? I wonder if I was going to talk about it. This is my last one, yeah.

And it's the one I thought you guys were going to take. So that's why it's my last one. What is it? Guess again by Charlie Dunley. Oh, okay. I do have this up with my big list. I have an arc of this one, I think. I was going to ask you if you, I have an extra physical arc.

I was going to ask you if you wanted it. Oh, yeah. I have it for a book club. Oh, tons. It sounds really good. Yeah. Yes. Ten years ago, 17-year-old high school volleyball star, Callie Jones vanished from her quiet Wisconsin

Lake community. A highly publicized search followed her, but nobody was ever found. The case went cold, but the echoes still linger. Ethan Hall, a former renegade detective turned ER doctor, left law enforcement to escape the horrors of the Kid Crime Division. On the 10th anniversary of Callie's disappearance, his former partner, Pete Kramer, makes a desperate request. Pete is the veteran detective who originally investigated the case. Now he's dying and to ease his conscience and get closure for the Jones family, he needs Ethan to return to the haunting work he left behind and solve what happened to Callie once and for all.

Word soon spreads in everyone in the town of Cherry View feels a rush of hope that answers will finally be found. amid a sweltering heat wave Ethan's investigation gains momentum but re-examining old evidence won't be enough. He needs a new way onto the case no matter how dangerous or unconventional. Soon Ethan's methods draw him

deeper into a twisted psychological game because there's much more to the nightmare of Callie's disappearance than he imagined, including a connection with his own dark past and secrets that are worth killing for. There's so much going on. I love all

of the like it says fans of Anna Downs, Alex Finley, Stacey Ellingham, and Karen Slaughter. I'm like, okay, sign me up. Yeah. And he's like also like somebody who's like not afraid to be bleak.

No, he's not. Like Callie is not like oh, I like hang out with my boyfriend for a couple of years. No. No. Did your arc come with this like vintagey looking questionnaire with a little folded up paper from the publisher.

Oh. Like inside of it? Like a self-assessment? That? Kind of. Yeah. Like, but, oh, yours is actually in the book. Mine was in that folded up part.

Oh. Yes. That is so like it, I, it doesn't really say much about that in the synopsis, but I'm interested of like, I haven't looked much into it, but it sounds kind of interesting. Here's the thing I find very interesting. the first question is do you find yourself more interested in stories where the romantic interest is an anti-hero someone who acts outside of social norm engages in risky or illegal behavior has a trouble past and it's already filled out where somebody said sometimes and crossed it out and then put often

and then there's a doodle on the top so it's like there's a doodle of a snake and a heart yeah a snake so it's like how is this like little marketing piece I don't know. It's kind of, I don't know what it is. It's interesting. Yeah. Do you know what this is? No. It's a hybristophilia self-assessment. Yeah, I haven't. I like saw that, but I haven't looked it up. Like, I don't know. On the back, it says hybristophilia is the phenomenon of an individual being sexually aroused and attracted to a criminal offender. Oh, great. Oh, you would think there'd be more about this kind of in the synonymous. Yeah. Fascinating. What?

He's like, do you like bad boys? Yeah. He's the suspect of previous romantic interest. I'm like going to cast like Aaron Hernandez in this book. My first like huge celebrity crush. um did i talk about i forgot what our last topic was did i talk about the new essay cosby we didn't know i mean we we talked about it but we didn't like read anything about oh okay i think i just said that whoever we cast us to be hot i think that's yes okay so that one i did listen to for our

audiobook friends he has the same actor named i will look it up he reads all of his books and his voice is delicious Adam lazar white who I think is also an actor he reads all of us at A Cosby's books and so I always like look forward to listening um to his uh being of gritty and like like I feel like Ivy Pachota's like L.A. noir and these women this is to me like Southern noir in a way um when Elda son, Roman Carruthers, is summoned home after his father's car accident. He finds his younger

brother, Dante, in debt to dangerous criminals and his sister, Navea, exhausted from holding the family and the family business together. Nevea and their father, who run the Carruthers crematorium in the run-down central Virginia town of Jefferson Run, see death up close every day. But mortality draws even closer when it comes, becomes clear that the crash that landed their father in a coma was no accident and Dante's recklessness has placed them all in real danger. Roman, a financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, has some money to help buy his brother out of trouble. But in his work with wannabe tough guys, he's forgotten that there are real gangsters out there. As his bargaining chips go up and smoke, Roman realizes that he has only

one thing left to offer to save his brother, himself, and his own particular set of skills. Roman begins his work for the criminals while Nevea tries to uncover the long ago mystery of what happened to their mother, who disappeared when they were teenagers. But Roman is far less of a pushover than the gangsters realize. He is willing to do anything to save his family, anything, because everything burns. The way that Cosby talks about like burning and fire like throughout the book, I think is just like the way. he connects everything is amazing and also i can't remember if we said the title it's king of ashes king of ashes yeah i can't remember i think you just asked if we talked about it and i think we may have no said it oh yeah i think i have this assumption that when we're like oh the new asa cosby

that everyone's like oh yeah yeah most people will i think that's why it just hit me i was like wait a second did we when you said the fire i was like have we talked about the title yeah so king of ashes it's like he talks about fire a lot and and like the the owning of the crematorium it just like all plays together um but i will say i am not typically a fan of like crime thrillers with like organized crime like synchists yeah of like kind of like mafia gang related activity like drugs like i'm not really um usually interested in that type of thriller but like something about his writing i'm like, okay, sounds good. Yeah.

Right. Yeah. I think it sounds like really good and not something that I would normally pick up, but it's S.A. Cosby, so like I'm going to read it, like you said. But I'm also like very curious. I love a cold case missing person's story. And so like finding out what happened to the mother is also very intriguing to me. Yeah.

Yes. Yes. I think there's some, there were definitely some like unexpected moments. and it's just so interesting because I feel like he has a lot to say when he when he writes like I mean obviously razor-bellied tears I felt like that was like a little in your face in a good way of like what the what part of it was about and then there were a lot of like there were some tough topics in what was his last one all the sinners bleed yeah like and so this one it's I think it's a little more more more, what's the word I'm looking for, like understated? Subtle. Maybe subtle, yeah. Where it's like, yeah, it's this like family crime issue, but like there's probably a lot

being said too. So I'm excited to read reviews from people who are a lot deeper than I am. I mean, I think I'm just like a really deep like review. I'm like, what is this? What are the themes like beyond what I'm realizing they are and like the deeper? connections because I'm like on the surface it was great this is what I noticed but like there's probably a lot more going on yeah but yeah I always have to count on other people to do those things for me and I'll be like oh yeah there's you're so right I think you discount yourself a little bit yeah maybe a little

thank you but I was like there's just people that like get that I think right away I feel like you I feel that way after movies though I'm like I always know there's like ones that I really love I'm like I can't wait to see the content because some people will catch stuff that I won't. Yeah.