Bookwild - Ten (Books) Before The End (of 2023) Challenge

Episode Date: November 17, 2023

This week, we do the Bookstagram/BookTok challenge #TenBeforeTheEnd and share ten books we want to finish before the end of 2023! Follow us on Instagram:Gare @gareindeedreadsKate @thegirlwiththecookonthecouch Books We Talked AboutAce of SpadesOne Little WordAlmost Surely DeadWoundedSince She's Been GonePerfect Little LivesTwenty-Seven MinutesDevilryRabbit HoleInfamous Park Avenue Prince 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. You are full of energy, and I love it. Oh, my God. I have exciting news. Ooh, well, you have reason to have energy then. I ordered greens for the first time. Ooh, nice.

I'm very excited. I've never tried them before, but they are always on my TikTok, and I'm always like, I'm very curious. So I ordered greens for the first time. And my dad is actually the one who was like, hey, do you take powdered greens? And I was like, no. And he's like, let's go on this journey together. That's awesome. So I'm like, cool. All right. So I just ordered them. And I even got the little like immersion blender, like the little. Yep. So. But we used to drink them a lot. Oh, really? Yeah, and then I'm not trying to ruin your greens experience, but I got to a point where I'd rather just eat a salad than try to drink it. Sometimes it worked for me and sometimes I was like, oh my gosh, this is like drinking a leaf.

So I'm excited for your journey, though. I'm trying to company Bloom. Yes, that is who we got. Those were the best. Like, those were our favorite. And they do have other flavors. So I got the original flavor because, like, I don't mind, I don't mind, like, I guess I wouldn't mind drinking. Yeah, I wouldn't mind like if it tasted like a leaf or lettuce or whatever.

Yeah. I mean, I say that now. Their mixed berry one was pretty good. They have their protein powders are really good, too. Oh, good, good. But did you know that today is National Fast Food Day? No, but now I feel like I don't need to make dinner. I know, right?

I know. Yeah. So I thought for an icebreaker, I saw it on crime junkie, like their podcast. Oh, nice. So since it's national fast food day, what is your, like, favorite fast food place? And what is your, like, go-to order? Oh, okay. Okay, okay, okay, okay. Fast food. It shouldn't be this hard. It's just that there are multiple that I really love. So I think this is this is fast. It might be called like fast casual, but like it, I'm still considering it fast food and it's a chain, but city barbecue is a chain that we have here. Because I just almost always love a pulled pork sandwich. it's one of my favorite things that's like I know you're like gross um oh my god that's yum

you like I love that for you I really do love pulled pork and of all the things that I can make at home it's one of those things where like I don't have a smoker I kind of wish I did but like I'm not going to maintain it so that's one of my favorite things to get is their pulled pork sandwich and they have um they have some really good sides but corn pudding. Their corn pudding is so good. Yeah. And then I get strawberry lemonade there too. It's just perfect. Yum. Yum. So very meat heavy. But what about you? You're like, I like a few meatballs in my lemonade as well. Right. I'm like meat. I guess like I don't know. I mean, I usually get take out pizza like every Saturday. Oh yeah. But my like go to is like a domino's hand toss pizza

with black olives, green peppers, and pineapple. Oh, that is quite a combo. It's like you get the salty of like the olive and then like the smokiness of the pepper and then you get like a little sweet with the pineapple. It's just chef's kiss. I love that. That's like I bet no one else's the answer would have been that too. It's just so good. And I get it in Canada. Is that like do they, is that something, is it like a combo that they have or is that just a combo you made up? That's my combo. Nice. I didn't know if it was like one of those things where like some people were like, oh yeah, it's that kind of pizza. It's just a gear pizza. It's just a gear pizza. It's kind of like my version of like a vegetarian Hawaiian pizza. Nice. Yeah. So, but yeah, it's just so good. It's so

good. I used to like, my parents used to get like Hawaiian pizza and I didn't like ham on pizza. So I would like pick the ham off and only have like whatever veggies were on it. And so that's what I was like, I don't think pineapple is really bad on pizza. And so that's my like go to. But black olives are my favorite pizza topping. So sometimes I just get olives and cheese. I don't do olives. I know. But it sounds so exotic and fun. This is like literally like everyone like is like always. grossed out when I'm like, oh, I love olives on pizza, except for Abby. Crying by the book. It's her favorite pizza topping are black comics as well.

But yeah, I don't know why. It's just like always been my jam, my little jam, you know? I want pizza too. Oh my God, I know. I know. There's actually a local place that just opened near us. And they have like sandwiches and different like putins and stuff like that. and one of their Poutines is like a Pulte port

Putin. And they do like brisket Putin and yeah. Oh my gosh. I love it. It's like it's just one of my favorite sandwiches. I know. I love takeout. Yeah. I know. Not cooking. Not cooking is always good.

Yeah, yeah. But I love grocery shopping. I don't love that either. I think it's the grocery store. that I go to. Like they just are like kind of like fun to like browse. Like Walmart, I want to get in and I want to get out. But like if I go to like I kind of have an equivalent to that. It's like nicer.

Trader Joe's fun. But yeah. Yeah, I don't end up going there. But that would be a browse store. Yeah. Yeah. Um, so. You had another good idea.

There's a trend on. I haven't seen it on. book talk, but you've seen it on book talk. I've only seen it on a bookstagram. Yeah. And it's a- Oh, nice. Yeah, I always saw on a book talk. I don't know. Is it, is it 10 by the end or 10 before the end? I think it was 10 before the end. I think it's 10 before the end. But it's basically this trend where people are posting 10 books that they want to read before the end of the year. and a lot of my friends that are like romance readers have posted them and I'm like oh my god that's so much fun so I thought it would be fun if we each did five books and then that would be our 10 um so we could each

do five books that we want to read and have done before January 1st so like end the year on a good note yeah so many I wish I could read even more but what we'll have been I've been like hardcore like I think I'm on my 13th book of the month oh my god that's amazing I've been like binging you mean like of November yeah it's November 16th for anyone who's listening yeah at a different time like you keep track it I was like oh my god but like I've been like yeah of November I read one two three, four, five, six,

seven, eight, nine. Yeah, I'm on my 13th book of November. Wow. That's amazing. And my 13th book

is my first thriller. I know. You took a break from the thrills. I'm back. I'm back. You are enjoying it. At least,

at least it's for a good one. Yeah. Yeah. It's really good. And there'll definitely be more to come on that. But yeah. So,

do you want to kick off? Yeah. Ladies first. I do because I just started this one, so I'm still going to include it because I am going to finish it before the end. And I just needed everyone to know how much I'm enjoying it. A couple different people told me after reading their vicious games, they were like, if you liked this, you would probably love Ace of Spades by Farida Abke Amediate. Mm-hmm.

Amide. Sorry. And I am obsessed with it. Like, I started it last night, and I can just, it's really long, so I'm not going to be able to blow through it. But I want to. Like, I wish I could. I love the cover, too. Oh, my gosh.

I think the cover is so cool. Something random, though. So are you talking about the cover with, like, blue as the background? with Ace of Spades like in the front. Basically, the cover on my Kindle book is not as cool as the one on Goodreads. And I'm like, why can't it look as cool as the one on Goodreads? It makes me want to swap it out because I like this one on Goodreads more. You know, it's little things though.

Yeah. But it is about students at Nivius Private Academy where money paves the hallways and the students are never less than perfect until now. because anonymous texter, Aces, is bringing two students' dark secrets to light. Talented musician Devon buries himself in rehearsals, but he can't escape the spotlight when his private photos go public. Head girl Shiamaka isn't afraid to get what she wants, but soon everyone will know the price she has paid for power. Someone is out to get them both, someone who holds all the Aces,

and are planning much more than a high school game. And I, so Steph, books in Badgeland, compared it to Gossip Girl, pretty little liars and get out all together. And I was like, I am sold. Like, I have to start this immediately. And it really already feels like all of those. And I'm loving it. Oh, I love that. I love that.

Yeah. I love the cover on Goodreads. Yeah, that's, I think that one is so cool. I think it's the UK paperback for any of like the cover. Okay. The cover queens like me. Yes. Yeah.

Because this is the only cover that I've ever seen. Yeah. That is the one that I have on my Kindle. But I think the other one. Which is so cool. Yeah. Yeah. I love the cover.

I love that cover. And then this one I think might be, it says it's like a paperback edition. So this might be like a UK paperback. Yep. So I'm a big fan of the UK paperback edition. The author is English. Oh, cool. Maybe that was the first cover.

Who knows? Yeah, I've heard excellent things about that book. It is so good. There have been a ton of people who told me like, you should read it. Like, it's so good. I can't believe I hadn't heard about it. Like, literally had not until sometime last week. And I was like, how to have this?

But also, I've talked about not loving young. adult so that's probably why it really hasn't been like pushed too far in front of me could be it doesn't feel like it though young adult it feels like it could be happening at a college as well young adult either like really works for me or really doesn't I think that if I am in that mood this one would be one of the ones that does work for me yeah I think so that's how I feel as I'm reading it um yeah that sounds really good um I'm excited because I got her next book on NetGalley as well where sleeping girls lie. Is it connected?

No. No. So, okay. Cool. Yeah. I'm super excited though. Because now I know that I love her writing.

So I'm like, oh my gosh, I'm going to love this one too. Ooh, that's exciting. I love that. Yeah. God, I have so many different avenues I can go right now.

I bet. Speaking of an author, that you know you're going to love. Yeah. My first pick is an author who has a book out already and her next book is coming out as well. And it's somebody you recommended to me. Ooh.

So my first pick that I just received my copy of is one little word by Audra McLeer. Oh my gosh. I can't wait. Recommended by you. Her next book comes out. I believe the 5th of December. And I'm going to... If you see me.

Yes. So I'm going to order that and I'm going to read them back to back. So that's my plan for December. That would be so fun. But this one is about a woman named Allegor Hudson who was murdered and an anonymous source drops the note into Madeline Barton's lap exactly where she needs it most. The recently widowed single mother is struggling to make ends me as a freelance reporter and covering the mysterious death of the local best-selling author and legend Allegra Hudson could be the career launching story of her dreams.

Working with Allegra's grieving husband, Connor, Madeline plunges down the rabbit hole of Allegra's privileged life. The deeper she digs, the more dirt she finds, a conniving best friend, a stalker ex-boyfriend, and a marriage in shambles. The closer Madeline gets to the truth, the murkier the waters become. Her source is looming present in constant meddling in her. her investigation paired with her growing bond with Connor over their shared grief have blinded her to the facts, but they don't explain why Allegra Hudson's life feels so familiar.

So this sounds so good. I mean, listen, like, yeah, exactly. Like, you know me very well. You know, like, you can see something to be like, oh, I know you're going to love this. But, like, even, like, if this wasn't on my radar, it would work for me. Like, I just love when somebody kind of gets a look into, like, the life of like a privileged, like wealthy person who's hiding a lot of secrets. And it's an author. That part's fun too. Yeah. Yeah. And like being like, oh, like her ex-boyfriend's a stalker,

her best friend's like a backstabber. And like, I know the grieving husband's hot. Let's be honest. Like Connor is not like. He is hot. So yeah, that one just sounds so good. And I'm so excited for it. and my copy officially arrived. Is wild. Well, and I can't wait for her like her second one either because we talked about how like

interesting it is that she incorporated like the awful like epidemic of human trafficking in her second thriller. So I'm excited to see what she does with that as well. Yeah. Oh. So it's like a double future.

Yeah. I think you'll love the second one even more, but you'll love both of them. Yeah, I'm sure I will. I'm sure I will. And she's so sweet. She always tells me how much she loves this in a podcast. I know. She's so nice. I love her. Sweetheart. Yeah. Well, speaking of authors, we just know we love. I'll keep going on with that trends. Ooh, sneaky Pete. Because I just got access to Omina Oktar's books that comes out in February, almost surely dead. So it has a lot of elements that we love.

Dunia Ahmed lives in ordinary life where she definitely used to. Now she's the subject of a true crime podcast. She's been missing for over a year and no one knows if she's dead or alive. But her story has listeners obsessed and people everywhere are sporting merch that demands find Dunia. In the days before her disappearance, Dunia is a successful pharmacist living in New York. the daughter of Pakistani immigrants, she's coping with a broken engagement in the death of her mother.

But then something happens that shakes up her world when someone tries to murder her. When her would-be killer winds up dead, Denea figures the worst is over, but then there's another attempt on her life, in another. And police suspect someone close to her

may be the culprit. Denea struggles to make sense of what's happening, and as childhood superstitions seep into her reality. She becomes convinced that someone or something is truly after her. Just like repeatedly trying to kill her. Sounds terrifying. I love the, I love the trope of including a true crime podcast and a thriller. I know. Like I just feel like whatever somebody. That's what I was excited when I saw it. Yeah. Whenever somebody does that, I just like, okay, that's automatically going to be a yes for me.

And usually they always work. Yeah. Have you heard of that case of the missing woman Who like God, I can't remember what her name is. This woman went from like Monterey, California to like this like yoga retreat That she looked forward to and it was like her and like nine other people that go on it every year. Yes.

There are like six people that were near her all day, but she disappeared. Yeah, they like saw her on a canoe and like the like one of the women that were canoeing like was like, oh, she fell out of the canoe and I think she drowned. But like the minute the police were called, everybody who was at the retreat like checked out and they refused to like cooperate with the police. Yeah. I've seen like very little so far. When I like saw it, I was like, this is like crazy and scary. But for some reason it reminded me of something that Amina would write. Oh, you're right. I just like picture her writing something like Yeah, at a yoga retreat. Yeah. Yeah. So I like thought it was like, I need to talk to Kate about that. Yeah. I need to read more about it because it is crazy.

I saw it on TikTok. I get like all of these like a little short like if you want a true crime terrifying story. And like I always scroll through TikTok before I go to bed. So. Yeah. Wild dreams. Speaking of resorts and spas, I have an author who I found and I'm absolutely in love with her. Her name is Ashley James. She's an MM romance author. But one of the things I love in, like, romance is sometimes like a bunch of authors will get together and they'll write like an eight, ten, ten. 13 series of books and they each write each author writes a different book so um 13 authors got together and they wrote um these books that feature the black diamond resort and spa um where the rich and famous go to disappear so ashley james her book is called wounded um and it's about

a character who is there for their last shot um he's hot-headed and he's hot-headed and reckless and self-destructive, and he doesn't want to be here, but not doing so means losing everything he's worked his whole life for. If he does not succeed in this trip to the spa, he's going to lose his band. So his band says he has a problem that he needs help. He thinks that whatever he's dealing with is just part of fame and drugs help and numb his pain. So he's doing his best to keep his head up and, you know, just kind of kill the time until he can go home. Then he meets Rowan Davies, son of Hollywood's most famous movie producer and the new pain in his ass.

Rowan is cheerful and his presence is refusing to be ignored. So when our narrator meets Rowan, they kind of end up finding that they're both broken and wounded where no one else can see and that bond causes them to basically look into their lives and what they really are trying to run away from. So it just sounds so good. Appropriately titled then. It just sounds so good. And I love her characters. Yeah. Yeah. You love her. Oh yes. Yeah. Yeah. She's actually like she wrote the trilogy called Hidden Affairs, which are about sex workers. So there's like somebody who has like an only fan,

like somebody who's like a high-end escort. And like that's kind of what got me into reading more M-M romance because I just could not put it down. And like the pacing in her stories reads like a thriller. Nice. Yeah. So that's the best. When you find that in another genre. Yeah, she's amazing.

She's amazing. So I have to read that one before the end of the year because in January she kicks off a five books. book series. And all five books come out in 2024. That is so that's so creative and interesting.

I'm spoiled. I'm spoiled by her. She had like a book come out in July, July, September, October, and then now January. Oh my gosh. She's cranking them out. Crazy. And they're all so good. I love her.

What? What a, what am I trying to think of? I don't know. I guess that's the thing about like being like, yeah. Like I guess that's the thing about being like an independent author. That's true. You know, like you don't have like an editor who's like going back and forth with a bunch of other people and you can just kind of like. Less lag.

Yeah. Like she can be like, I'm going to release this because I want to. I love it. And I'm like swipe, swipe, I'll buy it. I'll buy everything you write. Well, I don't have a segue. I was hoping I had something that took place in a similar setting, but I don't. But another book that I just got access, another arc I got access to this week that comes out in February is since she's been gone by Sagitt Schwartz, S-A-G-I-T.

I don't know I pronounced that correctly, so I'm sorry if I didn't. But this one sounds like some dual timeline fun. And it says, can we ever truly know the people we love? Losing her mother to a hit and run at age 15 through Beatrice Bean's Bennett's life into turmoil. Bereft, she developed a life-threatening eating disorder and went through a challenging recovery process, which paved the way for her work as a clinical psychologist decades later. When a new patient arrives at her office and insists that Bean's mother is still alive and in danger, Beans is forced to revisit her past in order to uncover the truth.

She learns the patient is a member of a notorious family that owns a drug company largely responsible for the national opioid epidemic and that her mother was once tangled in their web. In a race against time and her mother's assailants, while once again facing the disorder she thought she put behind her, Beans discovers that like herself, her mother had a devastating secret. Damn. That sounds really good. Yeah. It sounds like very like actiony. That's what I was thinking. It sounds like there's, because this is the one that I was saying was compared to luckiest girl live, but it also does sound very like action-packed. Yeah. Yeah. It sounds very actiony, but like also like not like a spy thriller action.

Like kind of like, what's that movie? The Net with. Sandra Bullock? It's like a race against him. Oh my God. It's so, I mean, it's probably, it's probably aged, but it's like, well, yeah. It's like a fun 90s, like action movie with Sandra Bullock. It's like the race against time kind of thing, but, you know, I mean, listen, anything with Sandra Bullock, I recommend. Oh, for real though. Yeah. So. She's just amazing. But no, that sounds really good. And I'm also like interested to see like if the mother is alive, like I want to see how they like pulled off switching the bodies. Right. I agree.

So I always love seeing what creative things someone comes up with. Uh-huh. Yeah, me too. Not for any reason. Never. Wow. Oh, my God. Hopefully Tyler doesn't listen to this one.

Yeah. If he does, we still love you, but... He knows it's not. He's not that wouldn't be coming for him. Yeah. But... I don't have the segue. After that, I don't have a second.

One of the ones I'm looking forward to, I can't find it right now. But I love the cover is Perfect Little Lives by Amber and Danielle Brown, they're a sister duo writing team. And I read their book last year and I absolutely loved it. It was so good. But perfect little lies is their new one coming out December 5th.

And it's about Simone's mother was murdered when she was 13. Her father was convicted and overnight Simone went from living in a wealthy white neighborhood to scraping by. 10 years later, Simone has given up on her dreams and lives a quiet life, writing book reviews, and getting serious with her boyfriend. But with a true crime documentarian hounding her for scoop, in surprise encounter with her childhood next-door neighbor Hunter, the past seems to be haunting her. After Hunter reveals that his father and mother had a year-long affair, or had years-long affair, Simone is determined to find out who really killed her mother.

Simone is convicted that all the evidence points to Hunter's father, a renowned judge, who had everything to lose if his affair and love child came to light. Playing the game from all sides, Simone and List Hunter's help in order in her investigation into his family, whether he realizes it or not. But is she so desperate for closure that she'll risk imploding her carefully rebuilt life? That sounds complicated in a good way, and that cover is so cool. It's so cool. Your colors are in it. I know. Of course I love it. Yeah. Yeah. But it just sounds... I read their book last year, too. I forgot. I loved it. Yeah. It was so fun. Yeah. It was so fun. I really liked it. Yeah. It was really good. I just love like a cold case murder when they're like, is this person guilty or are they not? I love like her teaming up with somebody that like she's hiding a seat. from like, okay, I'm going to team up with you, but I'm, like, secretly investigating your father. So, yes. I think it's going to be really good.

And I'm very excited to read it. It kind of seems like something, like, I want to say for, like, a snowstorm. Ooh, that would be fun. Like, I'm just going to hug my dog and read that in Snowstorm. He's so cuddly. Oh, he is. He's either, like, cuddly or he's, like, he, like, sneak attacks. Like, you think he's going to cuddle you?

and then he just tries to chew on your hands. There's chew on your hands. The only thing, oddly enough, the only thing that, like, calms him down is, like, he loves Harry Potter movies. Oh, my gosh, that's adorable. He loves, like, a Harry Potter movie. I, like, I like to rewatch them around Thanksgiving.

I just think it's fun. And for some reason, like, the Harry Potter movies remind me of Thanksgiving. So, like, obviously, do not. support jk rowling whatsoever but you know the movies are the movies are on hbomax whatever so um i've just been like rewatching some of them um and murky's a fan he loves them he loves that is so cute he like literally like sit on the couch and like watch i don't know if it's like the music or all of the like flying around and like wild shit that they do but um yeah it is so much Yeah. Meanwhile, we watched The Killer. It's a new movie, a David Fincher movie on Netflix.

It was very interesting and very good and very witty and very violent. But there was like one of the people he was like stalking down had a huge pit bull in their front yard that kept barking. And Bruce was literally jumping because we have a projector. He was literally jumping against. the wall barking at this dog because the dog was having a really angry bark for like a three minute scene and Bruce was just losing his mind and just couldn't calm down. We were like, bro, it's not real. It's not real. He didn't know though. He thought it was real. Murphy keeps barking at, yeah, he barks. If there's a dog barking on TV, he like loses his mind. Yeah. And Bruce sometimes barks at horses and I'm like, bro. What are you going to do to a horse? Oh my God, that is so weird that you said that because what I was going to tell you is that the only time that I've had Murphy have like anxiety is when I watched Sleepy Hollow.

Like he'll bark if there's a dog on TV and like he's fascinated with Harry Potter. But like he I watched Sleepy Hollow and he legit was like whining and like did not like it. Like he hated the horse and it scared the shit out of him and I had to turn the movie off. That's interesting. Like I had to coddle him like a baby. Like he was just like not having Disdrawing hawls. No, he was not having it.

I was like, did you? No, we're sleeping hollow for you. I was like, were you a headless horseman in your past? Like, why are you like, in a past life, did you have an issue with a horse? But so that's- Yes, maybe you did. That's it. Yeah, he just loves Harry Potter, hates horses.

That's his Instagram bio. A huge. Oh my gosh. well I wish I had a thriller about a horse to talk about now but I don't but I do have a thriller called 27 minutes by Ashley Tate it comes out in January

and it's a very long synopsis so just buckle in with me which is actually kind of punny and you'll know why in a second so the question this is a dramatic synopsis, so I'm leaning into the question. For the last 10 years, the small, claustrophobic town of West Wilmer has been struggling to understand one thing. Why did it take young Grant Dean 27 minutes to call for help on the fateful night of the car accident that took

the life of his beloved sister, Phoebe? If he'd called sooner, she might still be alive. The secret. As the anniversary of Phoebe's death approaches, Grant is consumed by memories of that night on the bridge and everything he lost. His future, his reputation, his little sister, and the secret he's been keeping all these years of suffocating him. But he and Phoebe weren't the only ones in the car that night. Becca was there. She knows what happened and she will do anything to help Grant keep his secret. The truth. Everyone in West Wilmer remembers Phoebe, but only June remembers that another person was lost that night. Her brother, Wyatt, has been missing for 10 years and now June is alone, no family, no friends, until someone appears at the door. Someone who may

know where why it went all those years ago. Someone who knows what really happened on the bridge that night, someone who's ready to tell the truth. Taking place over three days and culminating in a shocking twist that will leave you breathless, 27 minutes is a gripping story about what happens when grief becomes unbearable, dark secrets are unearthed, and the horrifying truth is revealed. Nice. It is such a cool cover. It is really cool. It is really cool. That sounds so good. That sounds so good.

I don't know if it's like, I don't know if I just get like a high when we do the podcast or if it's your voice. That does it for me. I'm like, okay, now like when they like when they reached out to me and, you know, said like, hey, do you want to check this out? I was like, yeah, that sounds pretty good. Yeah. I'll get out. Yeah. But for some reason, like, you narrating that for me, I was like, this sounds so good. So.

It was the dramatic italics. The question. I'm down to buddy read that. I'm actually. We should. I'm down to buddy read that with you because. Yeah. Let's do it.

That is wild. And I love it. I like that cover is so cool. Like there's like there are these details. Like, it's kind of like you see. like headlights in the distance, but then like there's an overlay over the dark sky that's like a clock. And it's just, it's so cool. Oh, I know. Oh my God. Mm-hmm. We've got reading. I did not notice the clock until you just said that.

I'm glad I pointed it out then because I only notice the headlights. Yeah. I never noticed immediately. And then you see the clock. Oh my God. I know. Ashley, Audrey and blurbed up. That's awesome. And it also, because it says for fans of Jane Harper and Ashley Flowers. So we know how much we love Ashley Flowers book.

Oh my God. I hope it says bleak I'm actually. I know. You're like hopefully that, well, I mean, it does say like, what did it say? What happens when grief becomes unbearable? So I do think it'll be pretty bleak. Oh my God. You're going to be like,

Oh my God, I need like a mental health break and I'm going to be like, this is the best day of my life. Yeah, pretty much. Pretty much. Well, if you need a refreshing new genre after 27 minutes. Yeah. One of the books I'm going to be reading before the end of the year is my first book by Marley Valentine, who's like a very popular author. romance genre. And this book is called devilry.

Ooh. And she has multiple covers for it. One of them is a man's booty. Oh, nice. But yeah, it sounds very good. Attending King University was at the top of my bucket list. Falling in love with my professor was not. Earning a full scholarship to King University was my hard-earned ticket out of hell.

I'm happy to be away from the small town I grew up in and all the equally small-minded people who live there. Ping was going to be my safe haven, a place where I could leave the old me behind and finally grow into the young man my family had desperately tried to hide away. Diving headfirst into new experiences, new friends, and parties, I didn't expect to run straight into the one thing I wasn't ready for. His arms are welcoming, his body is addictive, and his lips are heaven. Cole Huxley is everything I could fall in love with except for one problem. wanted to fall for a professor. I do. I do.

Oh, I want to fall for that cold hoxies. That is right up in Raleigh. Mm-hmm. I know the names in Mail-Mail, romance are pretty amazing. Oh, my God. They always, so, like, I always, like, giggle to myself because I think the queen of character names is Sarah Shepard,

who wrote Pretty Little Liars, because, like, every character in Pretty Little Liars has like a very cool name. Yes. So I always like giggle because like whenever I read male male romances, I'm like Sarah Shepard, the one that's like helping pick out some of these names because they're always like so cool. Oh, that's awesome.

So yeah. I'm just looking at the different covers. So did you see the butt one? No, I haven't been able to find the butt one. So you asked to send me the butt one. Oh my gosh. Did you read the first one? I see this is a series

No, so the first one is Male-Female Romance And the second one's a male-man romance But they can be read as standalone I see I see a cover with an apple But it's just a literal apple

If you are watching this on YouTube And you don't want to see a butt Look away But here is the devil recover Ooh Yeah see I don't see that on good reads. Yeah, but you won't. That's special content. Yeah. It's really cool, like on her website, if you order a book from her website, you can pick what addition you want. So as you're like the

standard one or like maybe like an illustrated cover, but if you has like a not safe for work cover option, you'll get a butt. Nice. So that's my mail mail romance. Advice of the day. I love it. I mean, the covers matter, as we already discussed with Ace of Spades. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Covers totally matter. Yeah.

Speaking of cool covers. You're like speaking of a book with an ass on the cover. Not a butt, but it is a very cool cover. My last one is Rabbit Hole by Kate Brody. Ooh. So it is about 10 years ago, Theodora Teddy Engstrom's older sister, Angie, disappeared. Her case remains unsolved. Now Teddy's father, Mark, has killed himself.

Unbeknownst to Mark's family, he had been active in a redid community fixated on Angie, and Teddy can't help but fall down the same rabbit hole. Teddy's investigation quickly gets her in hot water with her colleagues at the pretentious high school, where she teaches English, her gun nut boyfriend, and her long-lost half-brother. Further complicating matters is Teddy's growing obsession with Mickey, a charming amateur sleuth who is eerily keen on helping her solve the case. Bewitched by Mickey, Teddy begins losing her grip on morality. As she struggles to reconcile new information with old memories, her erratic behavior reaches a fever pitch, but she won't stop until she finds Angie or destroys herself.

the process. A biting critique of the internet's voyeuristic entitlement. Rabbit Hole is an outrageous and heart-riching character study of a mind twisted by grief and a page-turning mystery that's as addictive as a late-night Reddit binge. I made it through it. Does it sound bleak though? It does. It does. But I also like, I love cold cases. Okay. You had me, uh, so I, the minute you told like you were like 10 years ago, Angie went missing and her case was never solved. Yes. It's compared to Gillian Flynn,

my favorite murder and flea bag. Yes. Isn't that crazy? So I automatically had to add this to my like, I have to buy this. I have to own this book. This book has to be in my possession. Yes. But the thing that's like very interesting to me is I love the cover very, very much.

Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's cool But it sounds Incredible Like internet voyeurism Oh my God Like what a little I'm pissed I did not

Like I'm pissed that I just have never heard this Two of my books had grief in them this week How proud of me are you? Very That sounds I'm bringing you back to I'm just secretly trying to bring you back To thrillers with bleakness

I will say Like there was like a time where like I read like 10 thrillers in a row and then I read like 10 romances in a row. And now that I've like, I'm kind of getting back into my thriller era. I'm very excited for like the back and forth. Like I'm reading a thriller right now that I'm loving. Yeah. But I'm also looking forward to like what I'm going to read for like Thanksgiving break.

Yeah. So. But that sounds fucking incredible. I know. God. I'm very excited. I have a lot to read before the end of the year. Sothold. Kate Brody. Wow. Yeah. So actually, what's so crazy is we chose this subject earlier today. I added this to my list. I've had it on NetGalley for like a month. And then they emailed me and asked if I wanted a hardcover copy today after I had just put it on the list to talk about tonight. It was a really crazy coincidence. So I was also like, also she, uh,

wants to be on a podcast. I'd love to talk to her about it. So we'll see. I just can't wait to read it. It sounds very, very good. Yeah. Yeah, that sounds very good. And I need to. That's exciting that they emailed you to see if you wanted a hardcover. I know. And like right after I put it on my list, they were like, we saw that you requested it. and we wanted to know if you'd like a hardcover copy. I was like, sure. Add it to my shelf. Do a post about it. Right?

Tell them you what two. Yeah. Oh, yeah, that's true. I don't want one. I want two. Thank you very much. But yeah, that sounds incredible. Yeah.

This is what I love. You and I talk every single day. all the time about all different things. And I would have never, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't even know about this book. Yeah. I hadn't really talked about them with anyone yet. And I was like,

this is a perfect time to talk about my slowly growing net galley shelf. Sounds so good. I can't stop steering out that cover. I'm sorry. I love it. Sounds so good. I have one that I, I am so excited to read.

It is probably my most anticipated read this month. Have you ever watched the movie Cruel Intentions? Yes. I mean, a while ago, but yeah. Yeah. So this sounds like a MM romance that is like a modern retelling of cruel intentions. It is called... Oh, that's so cool.

Oh, my God, it's so cool. Do I have it here? It's called Infamous Part Avenue Prince by Ella Frank and Brooke Blaine. I love the cover. Love the cover. And it's going to be one of six. So they already announced that there's going to be six books in the series.

That's exciting. But it just sounds so good. It says, who are we? Like you even need to ask. We're the seven richer than sin legacies causing debauchery at a prestigious Astor University in Manhattan. Some call us spoiled, some call us trouble, but everyone calls us the Park Avenue Princes. Weston the Rue Playboy. I never want to turn down a bet, especially not when it comes to retaliating against the dean for pulling a dick move before

summer break. So when the dean's golden child arrives at Astor for his freshman year, my fellow troublemakers throw down a wager I can't resist. The target, the dean's son, John Thomas Hawthor, or JT. The bet, corruption in any way I can choose. It should have been easy with his mess of brown curls, pouty lips, and good boy reputation. J.T. is the perfect revenge. And even better, he's straight. Challenge accepted.

I'll do whatever it takes to prove a point no matter how reckless it might be. Nice. I just love, like, literally I was like, oh, he's going to get revenge against the dean by trying to, like, hook up with his son cruel intentions it's like literally so that is if anybody doesn't hear

yeah if anybody doesn't hear for me around Thanksgiving is because I'm doing a rewatch of cruel intentions and reading this book but I'm just like so so pumped like I love cruel intentions is one of my top five

favorite movies like ever I could probably recite it word for word so I'm really excited for this one And I'm also excited that it's first in a series of six books. I know. And I already have the second one. You already have it or they do?

I already have the second one. You have it? Yeah. Nice. Yeah. So. You're going to be breezing through them. Oh, my God.

I know. I'm going to be like, oh, like, here's a little like university M.M. Romance. And then we're going to read like all the bleak thrillers together. Dude, when you're a couple of games is, um, university stuff. So like dark academia and romance. You like being in university. In university. I saw British. You love to be in university. In uni. I do. I do love uni. Give me all the unis. Yeah. I don't know what it is about like I don't know what it is about like a like a frat romance or professors.

and then I'm just like or like murder Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. So good. They're just so good. I love a university setting. Even like my scary movies.

Like I love a scary movie that has like a college campus in it. Mm-hmm. I will just always devour them and probably be like, that is the best movie in the entire world. Because it is. Because they are. So yeah.

We've got a lot of reading to do. Yeah. moral of this podcast story. Yeah. So hopefully you guys have more books to add to your TBR or books in common with us to finish off the year strong.