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- [00:00]
Hannah
I just thought about doing something to make you laugh, and I didn't, but it still made both of us laugh.
- [00:05]
Tina
Okay.
- [00:06]
Hannah
Okay.
- [00:16]
Tina
Welcome to Book Talk Etc, a podcast bound to grow your tbr. I'm Tina from TBR Etc.
- [00:22]
Hannah
And I'm Hannah from Hand Picked Books.
- [00:24]
Tina
This is a conversational podcast about books and more from two Midwest Mood readers who are easily distracted by new releases. And today we are lean in and we read some new releases.
- [00:34]
Hannah
If you enjoy listening, we'd love for you to follow us on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app. And if you have a quick minute, please consider leaving us a review on Apple Podcasts or sharing us on social media. It truly helps us connect with other book lovers.
- [00:51]
Tina
Hey, Hannah, how are you?
- [00:53]
Hannah
Hey, Tina. I'm doing great. First day of summer for me and. Yeah, how are you?
- [01:00]
Tina
Exciting, exciting times. We are in our first week, wrapping it up. Although I did a weird thing and registered our oldest for camp for the first week of summer. So I feel like she hasn't really had a break in the routine yet. And so I'm actually, I think all of us are a little bit excited to have. Okay, let's have. Let's take a beat. Starting this Monday, it'll really feel like summer break. Although I've enjoyed kind of, you know, having my, my time to work during the day, you know, important things like that. But no, other than that we're good, good weather, happy to have summer here. So sort of officially. Semi. Officially, yeah.
- [01:34]
Hannah
The pool is open at my parents, so we are, we are ready to rumble, as you said earlier.
- [01:41]
Tina
I said that earlier? I said, I'm ready to rumble. And I was like, is that what the saying is? You know, from the 90s songs? I'm like, it sounds about right. But before we kick off and jump into everything, Hannah and I thought we would share an update. Now, don't worry, it's not like a crazy, crazy update. But we noticed or sort of have come to the decision together that we're not going to do our bookstore brow episodes anymore. For a lot of reasons. But I would say the main two things that we sort of dialed in were one, scheduling. Hannah and I both work full time. We have two little kids, four little kids between us. And it is a lot to manage scheduling, and it was bringing us a lot of undue stress. And we're like, why are we doing this? It's not a requirement. Right. And while we've loved doing our bookstore browse episodes and loved speaking to the booksellers, we did. We Kind of decided collectively, I don't know that this is working. We also, of course, took a look at the numbers, and it looks like while we have some folks that have given great feedback about bookstore browse, they are our least downloaded episodes, quite honestly. And we're like, why are we doing it if it's not bringing us joy? If you followed us for a long time, we are creators that are always going to do what blows our hair back. And we've decided that we're going to kind of do some other things. Our patrons already knew about it, and their bonuses will be shifted sort of back to what we were doing prior to bookstore browse, but we wanted to let y' all know as well.
- [03:10]
Hannah
Also, those episodes are just wonderful standalone evergreen episodes that I'm so glad that listeners will be able to go back to because they really do stand on their own. And I feel like each of the booksellers that we were able to interview were also unique. Their stories were so unique, and I'm really happy that we were able to have their stores featured on our show. You know, one of the reasons why we decided to do this was, of course, to celebrate and promote independent bookstores, but also because it provided an opportunity for us to maybe read more books or get a little bit ahead of our reading calendar. Doing these episodes ended up not giving us the chance to read as much as we expected that it would. And honestly, we. We tried it. It was a change for a minute. And after trying something new, I think both came to the conclusion that we would rather spend that time just reading more books and sharing those books with all of you. And it sounds like maybe potentially that is what you would like as well. So we are hoping this ends up being a positive shift. And for now, we are going to move back to more topic episodes and see where it goes from there. We'll see where the wind blows.
- [04:29]
Tina
Exactly. And we, you know, as always, thank you for listening. I have a feeling this will be welcome news. Positive change. Yeah, positive change. Kind of a. A return to form, if you will. I am always glad that we try new things, but also, I'm happy to say, hey, if it's not working, let's keep it moving. To that end, I will dive in, as we always do with my loving lately. And I think this ties in really nicely, Hannah, to something you brought up a couple episodes ago. And that's the idea of an analog bag, really trying to spend more time doing analog activities versus being on your phone or having devices and things like that. And so I came across this Instagram account and it was so nostalgic. As soon as it came up, I was like, wait a minute, I need to pay attention here. The Instagram account is called Tabletop Family, and essentially they recommend board games for you, for your family, card games, fun at home. And specifically the. The piece that made me stop was that they were sharing paper and pencil games. And so it was this really simple thing where you're drawing boxes. It's kind of like a Sudoku type puzzle, but you're drawing it from scratch. And I was like, wait a minute. This. It, like, caught my attention because it was the opposite, I think, of what social media typically is showing me. I'm like, wait, this is. I recognize this. It was very nostalgic. And I've really been enjoying the paper and pencil planner. I'm still using my hobonichi cousins all the time. Love, love, love that. And I was like, why not bring this analog experience into more of my leisure time? What leisure time? I do manage to carve out. I just. Hannah opened one too, and she is sharing a myrtle. Oh, fun. Oh, wait, no, this is Murdoch, who. Anyway, doesn't matter. Head to their account. They're going to tell you all about these different video, these different analog or board games that you can play. I had no idea. This must be something that lots of folks are interested in. They have 1 million followers. I thought, I thought I was bringing, like. I'm like, ooh, an under the radar pick. And now I'm like, oh, wow, they really have a following. I think that's fantastic. I've been enjoying having the idea of creating a summer bucket list without putting too much pressure on us because it's okay for kids to be bored too and hang out around the house. But I think this is just a great account to follow if you want to have more analog activities in your life. So my loving lately is Tabletop Family on Instagram.
- [06:59]
Hannah
Well, 1 million followers or not, I have never heard of this account.
- [07:03]
Tina
Yeah. Okay.
- [07:04]
Hannah
I will be looking them up because we have just been enjoying a lot of that stuff for us, especially as our nighttime routine, which I mentioned when I, when I mentioned putting together those analog craft hobby baskets and yeah, it's just a great, like, summer can get hard to figure out what to do.
- [07:25]
Tina
Yeah.
- [07:25]
Hannah
And one thing that, that we've been doing too, which I think ties into this really well, is bringing pen and paper in your bag to a restaurant. Like, if you're waiting.
- [07:34]
Tina
Oh, yeah.
- [07:36]
Hannah
And if you have those activities that you learned from Tabletop family or somewhere where it's like, I. With just a pen and paper, here's something that we can do while we're waiting for our meals or whatever. It's just nice to have those handy.
- [07:49]
Tina
I agree completely. And we always like to have little things, little whatnots. And our girls generally are pretty good, huh? Yeah, right? I know. As I'm like. I'm like, wow, my kids really can't stop fidgeting as I have my fidget ring on my hand. But yes. What have you got?
- [08:07]
Hannah
Okay. My Loving lately is also an account, sort of. I do love this account, but it's also a specific video. And it's the book Leo on YouTube. And her specific video I watched kind of by happenstance the other day. It just popped up in my feed. And it's called these books will heal your brain rot. And I thought that it was really interesting because when you open up the video, she's actually not sharing a book list. And she does sort of at the end, she ends up sharing some books that helped her do that. But what she's actually sharing is a method that she is encouraging readers to use to discover books and find books that will help them heal their brain rot. And this method that she mentions is called the ABCD method. She was like, I wanted something easy for everybody to remember for an acronym.
- [09:04]
Tina
It doesn't get easier than that, right?
- [09:06]
Hannah
It doesn't get easier than that. And I will very briefly chat about what this ABCD method is because I really like it. I ended up journaling about it because it was something I wanted to come back to. And A stands for algorithms, but not just your digital algorithms, because, you know, she prefaces the video by saying, this is coming from someone who has one to two hours of screen time every day. Which I'm like, that is so impressive. But algorithms also with Spotify or Scribd or your explore page. And it doesn't have to be pertaining to books. If your Explore page is maybe a lot of food, you know, helping you find books about, like, foodie memoirs or even recipe books or things like that. So thinking about an algorithm in a different way than just, who am I following and what types of books did they read? And I liked that mindset Shift B is getting book recommendations from other books, and not in the way you might think, but even looking at the acknowledgments and seeing what authors that author reads. Because, you know, if Robin Hobb mentioned, oh, I can't think of a. I can't think of an author or if Leigh Bardugo, you know, mentioned Ve Schwab in her acknowledgments. Okay, well, I like Leigh Bardugo, so I might read Ve Schwab.
- [10:31]
Tina
I was trying to do an. I was trying to give you an assist while you were coming up with an example. I'm like, okay, so I've got an arc in front of me, and this one is an arc that's not blurbed. So this is helping nobody. Anyway, I see your point.
- [10:41]
Hannah
Blurbs is a great example, though. So, like, what authors have blurbed it and do. I agree with those authors blurbs. But that's a great way to get book recommendations from other books. Some books mention other books just within the text, like a character will be reading them or, you know, something like that. And that could be fun. You could even create a list of your own of book recommendations that I got from other books that I've read. I think that that just sounds really fun. C is pretty easy community, just book recs from people that you know, whether that's in book club or if your family are big readers, anything like that. And D is one that I, I think especially love is discovery, because I think especially with social media, and she mentions this a lot in her video too, we really lose the discover part of finding what to read on our own and being able to like what's something you're really interested in. Like, you've been really interested in space and maybe going to the bookstore and looking at some nonfiction about the planets or like, anything that's just an example that I'm pulling out of nowhere, but really getting back to the discovery phase and not relying on algorithms, which I know I mentioned earlier, but algorithms may be in the more traditional sense or relying on other people to tell you what to read. And that's really hard to do, especially I think, for people like you and I. Tina, who are in books every day wouldn't change it. But finding a way that we can get back to that discovery part of reading in whatever way works for us. And so I wrote all that down because I just thought that those were great reminders. And I really liked her video and I just like her account in general. But that is a specific video and reading method that I found particularly interesting that I've been reflecting on this past week. So my loving lately is the video. These books will heal your brain rot from the book. Leo.
- [12:42]
Tina
What a fantastic one concept. But also hook, like, that is a great hook, right?
- [12:48]
Hannah
I know. And then she's like, Actually, I'm gonna give you a task, actually.
- [12:52]
Tina
Yes.
- [12:53]
Hannah
You're gonna make this list yourself.
- [12:54]
Tina
And that's good because that does, you know, it's active thinking. It doesn't. You know, it engages your brain. Right. And I love, though, that it sounds like. And I've not seen the video, but it sounds like this person's not villainizing algorithms, media, or like getting, you know, it's like, hey, let's just have a more balanced approach to how we read. And it's almost a way you could even if you're a person, that's a TBR person, which I am now. I've worked hard to. Who knew, right? Having that. Having a little bit of something that you've seen from the algorithm, having a little bit of the books, you know, recommendations from other books, having a bit from Community, and then just the fun discovery of it all. I really like that approach. What a good loving lately.
- [13:37]
Hannah
Yeah. Thank you.
- [13:38]
Tina
Well done. Wow. So I could not be more excited to bring you all my latest read.
- [13:47]
Hannah
Oh, don't move. Don't move too much.
- [13:50]
Tina
Now I gotta get them all. I gotta get them all because all of them are down there. So I'm just gonna put them all in my lap so that we don't have this issue the rest of the show. Okay.
- [13:58]
Hannah
Look at me for once in my life. Hey, the actual physical books with me.
- [14:03]
Tina
Cheese. Okay. I could not be more excited to share my latest read with you. This is not technically my latest read. I read it a few weeks ago. But I must talk about this book on the show. It is Open Wide Baby by Jessica Gross. And this book is one that I would call a community recommendation. Somebody commented on one of my YouTube videos, shout out to this person, I cannot remember your name. I'm very sorry, but I think I was talking about unhinged main characters. And they're like, have you ever read Open Wide by Jessica Gross? And I'm thinking, my immediate thought. And a lot of people think this, that it's open throat, the one that follows. I think it's a tiger or a lion. A mountain lion is what it is. I'm like, no, that is different. That's a book I think Renee brought to the show and sounds great. This one is called Open Wide. This. Okay, let me read it. Read it to you, folks. It's about Olive. Olive is a podcaster. Olive's this really interesting main character. She's very curious about people and has this habit of recording. Not just recording, like, with her camera out in front. She'll just, like, stick it in her pocket and have the recording app going, because she likes to remember. She likes to immerse herself in sounds, and for the most part, it's pretty innocuous. She also struggles to connect with people and finds that this is a way that she can replay conversations and think, okay, how could I have done that differently? She is now, though, in her 30s, and so it's been some time that she's. It's a habit that she feels she should have grown out of by now. And then she's volunteering at a food pantry and runs into Theo. Theo is a surgeon, and he is fascinated by the human body. And he might just be as weird as Olive, which is a welcome distraction for her. They hit it off, and they kind of are like, equal freaks. You know what I'm saying? They, like, have this kind of particular brand of weird. They both seem to be into it. And Olive gets a little obsessed. Okay. She does. And she discovers that when he is sleeping. Stay with me here. There's a gap between.
- [16:11]
Hannah
Oh, she really gets obsessed.
- [16:12]
Tina
Oh, she gets obsessed. She discovers that when he is sleeping, there is a gap between his front teeth that is just wide enough for her to slip inside. Yeah, that's right. She enters him in the night, like, his whole body, and then she unzips him and then gets inside. And listen, I didn't say this had to make sense. It sounds bonkers, and it is, but in ways that still sort of work. It's about. And honestly, I was telling Jonathan, my husband, about this book, and I'm like, I feel like I've said this before. Like, I want to just climb inside of you.
- [16:47]
Hannah
I was just about to say my husband and I have a joke with my son because he's obsessed with me, and we literally have a joke that's like, he would crawl inside of your body again if he could.
- [16:58]
Tina
If he could.
- [16:58]
Hannah
So it seems like this is a play on. We, as humans say that we're like, I'm so obsessed with you, I would literally crawl inside of you.
- [17:04]
Tina
I want to crawl inside of you. And she actually gets to. Yes, exactly. You get it. And so I would not say that this book is for everybody, but it definitely, definitely was for me. It is weird, but it's also heartfelt. There is. There are reasons that Olive has started to record people and has had that experience. You do get to meet her sisters. You get to meet her mom, and they have a really interesting dynamic that I liked reading through. This was not a bummer either. Sometimes I find with supremely strange characters, it gets very sad. And this didn't. And I liked that. I. I don't know what to say.
- [17:43]
Hannah
Weird.
- [17:44]
Tina
It's just weird. Now, you also have to be into visceral writing. The writing is good. But what I mean by that is, I mean, this guy is a surgeon. I want to say he. And I don't know the correct term, but he's. Does surgery on digestion. Like bowels. Right.
- [18:01]
Hannah
Gastrointestinal.
- [18:02]
Tina
Thank you. He's a gastrointestinal surgeon. And I was like, is he a liver surgeon? No, that's not a thing. Gastrointestinal. That's his profession. And he talks about it. Yeah, he talks about it. Fascinating. I. I was like, I'm all in. Like, take me into surgery with you. I want to know all about it. I was on. I really was unable to put it down, and I sort of was. I was consumed by this book. I couldn't stop listening. I was. And it was amusing me because I. And I posted about this on Instagram. I was like, I'm laughing that I'm, like, going to work, listening to this truly unhinged tale on my way. And it just made me smile. I'm like. It makes me happy that books are able to bring out this type of experience in the everyday. I think this is great. Again, you need to enjoy obsessed characters, which, you know, I do. You need to be okay with. Weird. There is one part, though. There is one. One, one, one, one part. One part in the very beginning that I cannot condone. I can't tell you what it is. It's not great. It's. It's a bad thing that she does that I'm like, no, babe, you can't do that. If you want look it up on Goodreads, somebody immediately talks about it.
- [19:13]
Hannah
People are talking about it enough. Like, I know what it is because.
- [19:16]
Tina
Oh, you do? Okay, perfect. So I'll leave it there. If you see this on Goodreads, it happened. She mentions it once or twice, and it's not more than that, so just go with it. Right. Again, I don't condone that, obviously, but I was a little bit like, oh, dear, I'm gonna have to put this
- [19:33]
Hannah
aside, but be too far for me.
- [19:35]
Tina
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But anyway, I digress. I. I enjoyed this book. I don't know what to tell you. I thought it was a really good time, and I'm very happy to have read it. This one is Open Wide by Jessica Gross. How fitting.
- [19:47]
Hannah
I got to hear you Wait, what?
- [19:49]
Tina
How fitting. Her last name is gross.
- [19:51]
Hannah
I know, right?
- [19:52]
Tina
It's like. No offense, but it's very. Yeah, it's gross, but like, very satisfying. I don't know.
- [19:58]
Hannah
Listen, if you like those kind of books, you get it.
- [20:00]
Tina
You get it.
- [20:02]
Hannah
Okay. My latest read could not be more different. And I. This actually is my. My latest read. I just finished this last night. This is the Night Tiger by Yangshi Chu.
- [20:14]
Tina
Wow.
- [20:14]
Hannah
This came out in 2019. Let me look. Yeah, 2019. So. And this. This entered my radar when it was selected for Reese's Book Club that year. So it's been on my shelves for six, seven years now. And I finally got to it, y'. All.
- [20:32]
Tina
I know it's time in the sun right now. I'm so happy for the night Tiger.
- [20:36]
Hannah
Thank you. Thank you. So this story takes place between May and July in 1931 colonial era Malaya, which is now Malaysia. And we follow Wren, who is a 10 year old orphan mourning the death of his master, Dr. McFarlane. Hear me out with the rest of this plot. This is. This is definitely a plot where you're like, hear me out. Stay with me. His ma. His old master, Dr. McFarlane is a were tiger who could change into a tiger at will even when he was still living. On his deathbed, Dr. McFarlane made Ren promise to find his missing amputated finger and bury it with his corpse within 49 days or the Weretiger's ghost will wander the earth forever. Meanwhile, our other perspective, we're following Ji Lin. She dreams of becoming a doctor, but her stepfather forbids it. She meanwhile, works for a tailor and secretly moonlights as a dance hall girl to pay off her mother's debt. After dance. After a dance with a strange man, she finds herself in possession of what appears to be a withered finger. And so this is how those two characters and timelines. Not timelines, just two characters. Their stories connect as the days tick down. A series of unexplained deaths rack the district along with men who apparently turn into tigers. And how Ren and Jilin's lives intersect along this wild journey is the path that we go on throughout this novel. So kind of a wild premise and you have to suspend some. Disbelief isn't really the right word, but just almost suspend like your own personal interests to give this book a chance. Because I would say that if you enjoy some magical realism and historical fiction, that you should try this one. The author does this thing where she combines elements of real history with folklore and superstition and the intersection of those two things. And in this particular book, I think it ended up making it just a really compelling and interesting story. Whereas I feel like if I just read that premise and didn't give the book a chance, I wouldn't have. I wouldn't have done that. And so I'm just really happy that I did give this book a chance. You are so totally immersed into the story through her descriptive writing. From the cultural influences to the fashion to the parties and the dance hall settings. It's all very lush and you could just picture everything perfectly. And I loved that and found that to be one of the most captivating parts of the reading experience. I also just loved Wren and Ji Lin. They were wonderful characters to follow. I enjoyed their points of view very much. They were likable and had these individuals, Everests, if you will, that they were trying to surmount. And it was easy to be rooting for them as they went along their own personal journeys while this other, bigger, mysterious plot was happening at the same time. One of the more complex novels that chu woven, I think perfectly, is that her five key characters were all named after the five Confucian knowledge, humanity, integrity, righteousness and ritual. And all of those stories are yoked together by fate. And that is kind of this like small nugget that is woven throughout the novel that I really enjoyed and actually was able to like, Google you know some things about that because I don't know a lot about that. So that was a really great part of of this book. It's noted that there's something wrong in all of us, and the tension with that phrase drives a lot of the book's sense of fate and inevitability. The biggest element that made this not a perfect read for me and that pulled me out of the story the most was there is a romance that involves a trope I don't personally love and it's a little bit taboo. I don't really want to mention it here. If you're curious, you can reach out to me and other reviewers I know have mentioned it, but I think it's a little bit on spoilery territory. So I don't want to mention here, but that was an element that just took me out of the story a little. I made it a less from perfect read, but I still really enjoyed this one. I think you should give it a chance if you enjoy historical fiction, if you enjoy magical realism. The writing is really beautiful and it helped me learn some new things. So I am so glad that I finally knocked this book off of my Shelf after six or seven years. And that is the Night Tiger by Yang Shi Chu. They'll find us when they're meant to. You know?
- [25:21]
Tina
They'll find us when they're meant to. I love that you brought this one. I'm honestly inspired. I swear. I'm like, what if we did an episode on Discovery books or, like, books that, like, we've had. I don't know, that aren't everywhere, that we sort of stumble across. Not necessarily this one, you know, you've had. Right. So it's not necessarily of that. But, like, wouldn't it be fun to try and do an episode of Books we Discover Organically? I don't know how we would do that. That though, given we are literally immersed in this reading life. So heavenly. But I like the idea of it. Right.
- [25:57]
Hannah
I like the idea of that, too. And I. I mean, this is a book. You know how often I unhaul books.
- [26:03]
Tina
And yes.
- [26:04]
Hannah
I mean, I do it very regularly, and I've had this since 2019, and it has remained on my shelves. There's been something there that is like, I'm not ready to let that one go yet. And I feel like I have other books on my shelves that I feel the same way about, and I would anticipate that you would, too.
- [26:20]
Tina
Oh, I'm sure there's a whole shelf behind me that I.
- [26:22]
Hannah
We could do that. Like, books we can't let go of.
- [26:25]
Tina
Books we can't let go of. I love that idea. Okay. That's a really good one.
- [26:30]
Hannah
You got to witness a live brainstorming session.
- [26:32]
Tina
A live brainstorming sesh. We do this often. All right. What did you say? What was it called? Books we can't let go of.
- [26:41]
Hannah
Books we haven't been. Yeah, Books we can't let go of.
- [26:45]
Tina
You also mentioned something that I think is perfectly tied into our book talk and you mentioned we are talking today about tropes and sort of the idea of what tropes are, what tropes were drawn to, what tropes were kind of over potentially. And I think when I heard the book that you were just describing, I think probably initially I was like, oh, I don't know if I can get into that, but I do. Like when it sounds like this one had a tie into Confucius. You said magical realism, mythology, just sort of all of these other elements, historical fiction. I'm like, okay, if it's. If I want to. If there's something I can Google and learn about later on, I feel like I could get down with that type of trope. So obviously, when we're talking about tropes, I honestly have to admit, when I hear trope, I typically think of romance. But I think it's a genre that uses tropes often and it's sort of expected in that genre. I do know that it's used in other genres as well. Horror, certainly. I know I read a lot of mystery and we can definitely talk about tropes in there. But tropes are figurative use of language or a recognizable recurring storytelling device, motif, or character archetype. You also see this in fantasy a lot. Like the tropes, the chosen one or enemies to lovers. That's what we're talking about. Because sometimes I get confused or I conflate niche with trope.
- [28:11]
Hannah
Yeah.
- [28:12]
Tina
So.
- [28:12]
Hannah
Well, I didn't.
- [28:13]
Tina
But they are different.
- [28:14]
Hannah
Like a motif would be considered a trope. Again, though, it makes sense. If it's a recurring motif that's used across a wide, you know, swath of literature, then I guess I could. I could totally see that. Because I do feel like tropes don't always fall in one bucket of how they are used. So I'm glad that you gave us that definition. Like this is the definition of trope. Because I never really thought of motifs as being something that you could technically slot into.
- [28:46]
Tina
Into a trope, Into a trope and a trope. They say it's a neutral storytelling device or building block. It's an ingredient used to make a story. And when an ingredient. And then when it gets to be overused and it kind of gets lazy or unoriginal. That is cliche. I'm like, I totally see that.
- [29:04]
Hannah
That which we've seen.
- [29:05]
Tina
Which we've seen. So with that, I know we've had a list a little bit of here tropes we like. Tropes we're kind of getting over. And then you have one tropes you're expecting to see, which I'm so curious about.
- [29:16]
Hannah
Yeah, I. I guess I will. I'll kick it off with. With saying a trope that I will never tire of. Like, I feel like even if it's done just repeatedly the same way over and over again, it going to tire for me. And that's friends to lovers. I just am never going to get sick of it. I just. I never am. I don't know. I don't know if you have a trope like that where you're like, I can recognize that this might be tired for other people. I'm never going to tire of It.
- [29:41]
Tina
Oh, I'm sure. I'm sure. And you're. I'm laughing that you say friends to lovers because you did this Instagram post that was so great that you were like, I'm sick of these things. And one of them was. And some of them, I was like, I thought Hannah liked that. I'm like, okay, well, I don't know. Maybe I'm wrong. And then you said, friends to lovers. I was like, stop the presses. What do you mean? That is not.
- [29:59]
Hannah
Not.
- [29:59]
Tina
That's not. And the whole thing was like, anyway, here are some book recommendations. You were sort of, like, poking fun. Like, those are satire. It was satire. And a lot of people I don't think got it. I didn't get it at first because. And then I kept reading. That's the one that kicked me off or tipped me off, was I was like, nah, you love that she likes this, and I know it.
- [30:18]
Hannah
Listen, you know, I was just trying out some clickbait.
- [30:20]
Tina
Trying out some clickbait. And I love a clickbait now and again. Right. I think it's important to try. And, you know, if they're going to put this algorithm on us, you got to try and play the game a little bit.
- [30:30]
Hannah
Yes. Playing the Game of Thrones, if you will.
- [30:32]
Tina
Yes.
- [30:33]
Hannah
What? What? Can you think of any tropes or do you have any that are that way for you?
- [30:37]
Tina
Yes. I love an unreliable narrator. I love an unreliable narrator. And I recognize also that that is a tough one because it is sort of a spoiler to say, oh, she's an unreliable narrator now. Sometimes I don't. When I say that when I'm doing a review, I don't necessarily mean, you, reader, are being lied to, which can be what an unreliable narrator does. What I mean by that is, I don't know. Is she hallucinating? Is it, you know, what's going on? Is there a brain injury? Is it mental illness? Is she totally in the right? And it is supernatural. I don't mind, though. I like an unreliable narrator, I think, because I am an unreliable reader and I enjoy following her along or him along in their paranoia. I love that. I think it's fun. I totally recognize, though, that it can be very tired for many readers, probably readers that are better detectives than me, and they're like, you're being silly. Obviously, the clues are there. Meanwhile, I'm like, no, I have no idea either. So you're along for the ride. I'm along for the ride.
- [31:42]
Hannah
Yeah. A couple others that I'll mention that I Do tend to really enjoy, even though they're very tried and true and. And. And old tropes that have been used over and over again. Is coming back home or. Yeah, love it. I know you really like that one too. Coming of age, which is a little bit more of a. Like a generalized one. But I love coming of age stories because I feel like with those two, you can do so much outside of them besides, like, we've heard a lot of the same stories, But I also feel like those are a little more general and you could do so much with those. And then I also love a morally gray villain and even love interest. I'm sorry. I just love it.
- [32:22]
Tina
I love a morally gray character. I do. Ones that most people probably won't like, but I'm like, yeah, but I liked
- [32:28]
Hannah
reading about them, which ties into a little bit of the unreliable narrator.
- [32:32]
Tina
True. Exactly.
- [32:32]
Hannah
It might make sense why you like that.
- [32:34]
Tina
Why I like it so much.
- [32:35]
Hannah
I don't care. I just want to know.
- [32:36]
Tina
I just want to know. I also love. I live for a creepy house. I live for a house with secrets. I don't care if it's haunted. I don't care if it's possession. I don't know what it is. There could be a roof leak. I want to know. I love a creepy house. And similarly, I love isolation, bad weather, remote location, no technology. Sign me up. I'm into it.
- [32:58]
Hannah
I think when I told you, was it you? I think I told you I don't know if I'm into haunted house stories anymore. And you were like, hold it. Stop.
- [33:08]
Tina
I don't.
- [33:08]
Hannah
What?
- [33:08]
Tina
I don't know if that was me. But also, I agree with whoever reacted that way. What do you mean? I love a haunted house. Can't get enough. Live for a haunted house. I also love when everyone gets together to fight the monster. I'm thinking, like, Stephen King's it. I love that, like, the band gets back together for one final scene. Love it.
- [33:27]
Hannah
You don't see that often.
- [33:28]
Tina
You don't see it often. You don't see it often. And you certainly don't see it. Well done. I see it sometimes in, like, domestic suspense, but it's not always executed in a fun way. Monster can be literal or metaphorical. Yeah.
- [33:40]
Hannah
I think that's part of why I loved Stranger Things so much. Just throughout the whole series, because every season ended on, the gang gets together and they fight the monster, and I'm,
- [33:49]
Tina
like, hearing the Stranger Things theme song. Yes. Actually super great tie in. Another thing I love is a scientific Screw up a lab accident, Government cover up? Something like that. Oh, I love those. I love it. So juicy. There's some secretive laboratory or secretive base. I'm into it also. Thanks. I feel like you. You would like those too.
- [34:12]
Hannah
Yeah, I do.
- [34:13]
Tina
I also love a new. A new mysterious neighbor. What's going on with her or him? What's going on on the block? That kind of ties probably into overused tropes. Don't care. Want to know what's behind closed doors?
- [34:24]
Hannah
I've read that in romance before and I like that. The new neighbor.
- [34:28]
Tina
I could get down with that. Okay.
- [34:30]
Hannah
Yeah.
- [34:31]
Tina
And okay. I could get down with that. I think lastly is sort of the same thing that we've talked about is everyone has secrets and they all know each other's secrets, and it's like they did something bad when they were kids and now they have it back together. Huh?
- [34:44]
Hannah
Oh.
- [34:45]
Tina
Oh, I don't care. Something bad happened. We may or may not know as readers, but the people know it. And now they come back as adults for a reckoning. I love those. Love those.
- [34:53]
Hannah
Yeah. Because I love it especially. And sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt while you were going, but I love it especially if they all know the secret and they're alluding to the secrets throughout the book, but you don't know as the reader and so you're trying to piece together. I hate that dang secret.
- [35:09]
Tina
Oh, my God, Yes. No, I like that. But they have to tell me the Big Bad early enough if they spend the entire book alluding to the Big Bad thing and the Big Badly twist. Truly, madly, deeply. Liane Moriarty did this. And the Big Bad doesn't happen until the last 10 pages. And I was so mad. I'm like, this is all. This is what all the hubbub is about. This thing here that annoyed me. So I hear you, but I want to know the Big Bad a bit earlier than I would even say. By halfway. I want to, because why do I care if you know what I mean? Because I'm not going to figure it out on my own. You need to tell me.
- [35:44]
Hannah
Yeah, fair enough. Well, speaking of you hating that, are there any other tropes that you are wary of that you don't like or etc.
- [35:55]
Tina
Two, specifically, that jumped out up to me. One, you actually taught me, and it's something I used to enjoy and now I'm wary of it. It is a fake out death. And Hannah taught me that if the character doesn't die on the page, be wary. They might be coming back. And I'm like, dang it, you're absolutely right. And it is something that happens often. Now that I've noticed it, now that I've like, I. I'm like, okay, we didn't like, meaning they like, like there's no body or whatever. We didn't see it happen on the page or whatnot. You got to be wary. They might be coming back, which I'm kind of not into. I also, this might be unpopular opinion. I'm kind of over a podcast tie in or a true crime podcast element. I feel like it's overdone. I feel like we've been there and I feel like it's often shoehorned in to, like, be buzzy because it's like the thing that's happening. Mixed media. I've been there, I've done it. I'm good for now. Now, I think, unless it's really, really well done.
- [36:55]
Hannah
And I think you brought in a good point, which I, I had written this down to. To talk about this, and I'm going to go ahead and plug it here. But publishers are now printing trope labels on books as a way to market them. Because you were like, oh, people use that, like, as a. I don't mean that literally. I mean more just, like, metaphorically. Like, they're using trope labels as a way to market their books, to your point, True crime podcast. Or like, you're right. You're like, oh, they're. They're kind of just adding it as a way to, you know, sell the book, basically.
- [37:28]
Tina
Right.
- [37:29]
Hannah
And that's something that absolutely came directly from TikTok. Because people aren't really searching for book recommendations based on genre anymore. They're more searching for tropes or an emotional pattern. And they're not even necessarily doing that on Google. They're not looking for a romance book or historical fiction recommendations. They're literally typing in TikTok search bars, in Pinterest search bars, et cetera, unreliable narrator book recommendations or mixed media true crime podcasts. And so to your point, some of these tropes do feel like, oh, that was really popular for a minute. And eventually it is going to tire out because that trend is no longer going to be trending.
- [38:11]
Tina
Yes.
- [38:12]
Hannah
And we get burnt out to this exact example. I'm burnt out on that as well. And so it's not necessarily going to market the book to me anymore.
- [38:22]
Tina
Right.
- [38:22]
Hannah
But yeah.
- [38:23]
Tina
Oh, and I have a perfect shelf addition to tie this all with a nice bow. Do you have any others that you are over.
- [38:29]
Hannah
I would say for me. And this isn't one that's like a new. A new one that I'm kind of overseeing. But in general, enemies to lovers and fake dating in the romance space, unless they're put in with other tropes that I joy those are not. They're almost anti buzzwords for me, which I feel. I feel blasphemous saying that because enemies to lovers. To say that as a romance reader is just. I mean, everybody loves that trope, but I. It just doesn't always work for me. A little bit tired of the vampire trope. And that is coming from someone who has brought two vampire books this year that I really did enjoy. Buffalo Hunter, Hunter and Coffin Moon. I did find those two particular books to be really unique though, and they had these other ele outside of vampirism that made them wholly unique stories. But in general, vampires is not going to pull me in.
- [39:24]
Tina
Interesting.
- [39:25]
Hannah
And I feel like that has been really pop. Like it's been really coming back the last few years. I would say I'm into the Trad Wife trope right now. Yeah.
- [39:34]
Tina
Oh my God.
- [39:35]
Hannah
Worried that it's going to get overdone. There are two books out literally this year titled Trad Wife. One a horror novel, and then the other one is the new Sarah Langdon, which will come out later this year titled Trad Wife. And of course, course, Yesteryear, which doesn't have that in the title, but that's absolutely the trope that marketed that book and made it as buzzy as it is. Again, I'm not tired of this trope yet, but I am worried about this trope 100%. It's already getting really popular and oversaturated. So those are the ones that I kind of anticipate or already do or already am tired of. Tropes I think we're going to start to see more of is like Ozempic culture and an influencer culture in general. And how. Because I feel like Ozempic culture ties into influencer culture too, because we're just seeing a lot of that in the media, in books, et cetera. So those are. That's one that I anticipate that we'll see more of in the future.
- [40:37]
Tina
I immediately can think of two books off the top. One I brought to the show. Nothing Tastes as Good. And then there's another one that just was published on Tuesday that that's very similar to that. Very. That's a good call out. I definitely see those as well. And I actually will go Ahead and take an opportunity to just walk us right into our. Our books. Because it's funny you mentioned Trad Wife, because I'm reviewing Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer. I did talk about this on the show once. It was my current read at the end of Summer Bonanza. So you may listeners be like, hey, did you already talk about this? And the answer is sort of, but I wanted to close the loop and make sure that I fully brought my thoughts. Thoughts here. Okay. Trad Wife by Saratoga Schaefer. This is horror for sure. For sure. Okay. It is about a traditional wife influencer that, yeah, gosh, allows a demonic creature to impregnate her, as one does. Yes, you do. So, okay, you're following Camille. She is the perfect wife. She's very young, got married very young, and she is, you know, cooking, cleaning, trying to have a baby. And she's building her online following slowly. And her husband Graham, of course, is perfect online, but in real life, maybe less so. And she feels like, gosh, in order to really rise to the ranks in influencer culture, specifically tradwife culture, I need kids. I need babies to rear. And then she sort of. I really like this part. Makes a wish in a cursed wishing well, and the wish is that she has a baby, and the demon comes and yada, yada, yada. Okay, this is very much a body horror book. There's one scene that gave me a jump scare, which I can always appreciate, a good jump scare. I was like, excuse me, what happened now? Like, it was a really great reveal, a really great sort of jump scare. And, okay, here's why this didn't work for me completely. I walked away giving it three stars because for a lot of it, Camille felt like this empty vessel. I'm like, oh, my gosh, babe. Like, is there any there there? I always say that I like for my characters to be in on the gag or for the author to be in on it. And she just felt so cookie cutter and caricature. I was like, okay, she's like a bubble head, sort of like, oh, my husband. And, you know, I felt for her, but I was like, gosh, there's got to be more there. And you do find out other elements to it. You find she. She becomes more fully realized as the book goes on. But by then I was like, I think I've sort of my mojo for this. If you like spooky stories, if you like body horror, if you like pregnancy stories, you'll like this. I mean, you really get that it's horror it goes off the rails in a way that's very well done. It just maybe wasn't my overall favorite story. I would totally read this author again and they actually came out with a thriller this week that I was very intrigued by. I'm like Saratoga Schaefer. They just wrote Trad Wife, so they have two books that have come out recently which I enjoy. This one that I'm holding came out in February, so not terribly long ago. Overall it was a decent read. Perhaps not my favorite. I would say if you did read we talked about Nothing Tastes as Good by Luke Dumas. If you read that and liked it, you might like this as well. Similar. Different story written in the same font if you will. But I liked the other one a little bit more. Overall, a Luke A very, very lukewarm recommendation. This also gets religious, I should say, and I think I will. Those elements probably lost me as well. A lukewarm recommendation. Not mad that I read it, but not one that I'm like, oh, this one's top of my my list. But this book is Trad Wife by Sarah Toga.
- [44:26]
Hannah
She I'm glad that we got to hear you close the loop on that one after hearing it as one that you were reading when we got to hear you chat about it before my next read. My first read that I am bringing also ties into our book Talk topic and that is because it is Tropesick by Lauren Okey. So fun that we both got to bring something that kind of tied into our book talk topic today. And this is also book one from my Summer Bonanza. Oh, I'm proud of you. Thank you. This book is about Katie Caruso and she is a completely normal 25 year old girl. At least for the last 8 years she has really tried to be. She likes glitter and sequins and flirting with cute boys at New York City bars and she is also a ghostwriter for the Marriage Bradford, the best selling romance novelist of all time. Think Nora Roberts. Danielle Steele kind of author. But then Tyler McNally walks back into Katie's life and her bedazzled facade crumbles at her platform sneakered feet. Katie and Tyler have not spoken to each other since the death of Katie's older brother. Tyler was her brother's best friend and Katie naturally of course is the girl next door. But now Tyler is an Ivy League educated aspiring literary fiction novelist who is not years sober and also Katie's writing partner for the summer. Katie and Tyler soon find themselves removed from Manhattan and instead are writing a love story for Meredith in this forced proximity setting at Meredith's isolated Southampton home. As the summer unfolds, the tropes Katie and Tyler have written into their novel end up playing out in their own lives. So as you can hear from the premise, this is a little bit of a meta story because it's very aware of the tropes and is purposefully tying it into its own story. And I really did enjoy that this was exactly as good as I hoped it would be. And I'm so happy that even though I hadn't read from this author before, I put it pretty high on my Summer Bonanza list because I trusted my reading tastes and based on the premise for this one, I just had a feeling this would be a standout romance read read for me and I was absolutely correct. This is not super light and fluffy and that's great for me. It's why just harder hitting romance books have worked better for me in the past. There are elements of grief and hardship that these characters have to tackle in order to be together and for me that makes a love story feel very earned because the stakes are higher. I really loved Katie and Tyler. I thought that their characters were really well developed as well individuals. And because the story had a dual timeline and a dual point of view, we really got to see their history unfold as the present day story came to fruition. So that history gave readers the chance to really feel how much these two had to overcome to get where they are today as individual humans, but also what they will inevitably have to overcome in order to be together. This was not a perfect romance for me. The ending was a little bit drawn out and there were pieces of their story that they were both writing together that was tied into the narrative. I didn't find that this added anything to the book. I think you could skip those little paragraphs of the story that they were writing together and you wouldn't miss anything from the actual story. That's just my 2 cents. I also read this one in print. I like to note that because it's something I'm working on doing more of this year, but I have heard that the audio will have a dual narration when it hits the digital shelves on June 16th. So if you like the that you can look forward to a dual narration romance since I know that's something that a lot of romance readers will seek out for their audiobook romance Listening I really really enjoyed this one and I think that if you like hard hitting romances that feel a little bit meta, that kind of makes fun of its own genre in a way that still owns it and loves it. Then I think that you will really enjoy this one. And that's Tropesick by Lauren Okey.
- [48:49]
Tina
I love that, that it's able to make fun of itself but still loves it. It's not diminishing romance. It's not. Yeah, I, I really enjoyed hearing you talk about that one. And good job. Reading your first Bonanza book now I'm like, oh, I haven't read any. It's literally June 5th. We've got time.
- [49:05]
Hannah
We've got, we've got time. I just know myself. I'm like, if I'm gonna get momentum, I gotta.
- [49:10]
Tina
Yes, you can start now. Okay, so my, my next review is for Dissection of a Murder by Joe Murray. This is a debut, it came out in May and this is getting a little bit of steam. It's actually already got 10, 000 ratings, which is great for a debut. Okay, this is.
- [49:29]
Hannah
Never heard of it.
- [49:30]
Tina
Never heard of Dissection of a Murder. It's. Yeah, it's buzzy in the thriller space. It's also. It was a book of the month selection I think last month. Well, obviously in May. And it is about Layla Reynolds. Layla Reynolds. Reynolds has been given the case that's going to make or break her career. She is a barrister in the UK and is shocked by the victim. It's ohi well respected judge that has been allegedly murdered and she has been hired to represent the defendant and unfortunately for her, her husband is the prosecutor. So she is set to go up against her very experienced husband in court to defend her client against this charge of murder. And that's it. I'll. I'll kind of give you that setup. The rest of what follows is a legal thriller where you really are taken for a ride. I very much respect that. The author in the beginning included some definitions of murder, the jury, solicitor, barrister, because it says this is how the criminal trial system works in England and Wales. So it sort of gave all readers more perspective as to who these people are because you hear things like Pupil, you hear like King's Counsel. And that comes into play in the story. And it helped me to have those definitions. You are also given a lot of chapters that are a little bit vague. You're like, okay, who is Witness X? And for me what really worked is that those sections were very short. You got maybe two pages from Witness X or maybe three or four for from that person or that point of view. And that was helpful because it didn't take me out of it too much. You also, though, I love get a countdown and I know this is hard to see, but it says Layla the date and then it says 126 days before trialer before trial. So the entire book you're getting closer and closer to the day. Now I will say you also get perspectives and point of view from the past a little bit. So it does get a tiny bit convoluted. It admittedly in the beginning I was like, I'm not following. I need to really focus on this. At the in the beginning I only had an E copy and this print copy here. So you know, I was like going in and out quite a bit. Then I got the audio and was able to really lock in and do more of a tandem read which tends to work for me really, really well. And once this gets going, I was off like a shot. I was into it. I love how this all came together. I think the author was really SM in how she constructed the story. I was hooked. I love courtroom thrillers though. You are taken to trial with them, you know, and. And you've got this added layer of a married couple having to go up against each other in court. Layla was an enjoyable character to read too. I loved reading about her as a woman in this industry and you know, all of the things that are extra things that are layered upon her because she's a woman in a mostly man's profession. And I think it was really great. They also dissected really well. It's called dissection of a murder, specifically murder trial and like the jury and all of this and how people would come across. You also find out that the person she's defending was really insistent that she be the one to defend him and you find out how they're connected and that type of thing. That's very early on. I loved this book. I'm giving it five stars. I thought it was a great legal thriller and one that you definitely should give a shot to. But again, if you do pick up it up, give it time to get going. Would not call this a popcorn thriller. I would call this a really, really well constructed legal courtroom thriller that will leave you most likely very satisfied. Although I will say I've had a couple early reviews. Glowing. Since I talked about it online, I've seen a couple people, oh, I really disliked that book for other reasons. And I was like, that is so interesting to me because I see this very clearly as a five star read. But of course that just goes to show you never know. Right? Right. Overall, still Highly recommended. If you read it, let me know what you think. This one is Dissection of a Murder by Joe Murray.
- [53:42]
Hannah
You reviewed that so well. Good.
- [53:45]
Tina
I feel like you did not, but thank you.
- [53:47]
Hannah
You nice British accent for the British book. Love that. No, I think that that sounds great. I feel like we haven't had a good, like, legal thriller recommended on the show in a minute. Maybe I'm wrong.
- [54:01]
Tina
I can't think of the last one that I've read.
- [54:04]
Hannah
Right. And I feel like we have a lot of listeners who love legal thrillers.
- [54:08]
Tina
I love a legal thriller myself. So glad that we brought one.
- [54:11]
Hannah
Yeah, absolutely. Okay. The final book I am bringing, the final new release that I am bringing today is the Fountain by Casey Shesca. And I brought this, I think as a book on the radar. It came out pretty recently. It is about Vera Van Valkenberg and she has not been home in 180. 80 years. Yes, you heard that right. But now Vera, forever 26 and able to heal from any wound, has returned to the Catskills. Whatever made her family immortal happened here. And if she can just figure it out and uncover the mystery, maybe she can reverse it. After nearly two centuries, an endless sequence of unnoticed, meaningless lives, and a soul shaking incident in the desert, she longs to be released. Posing as a newly arrived forest ranger, she quickly blends into the upstate community and learns of something curious and disturbing. A very mysterious, well funded company is snapping up local property, no matter how high the asking price is. But when her brother, who is also a fellow immortal, shows up accompanied by a woman whose face is incredibly familiar to Vera, the purpose of her return gets clouded. And Vera is in a race against time to find out what has caused her condition before somebody else does. I unfortunately don't have a ton to say about this one. And overall I found the premise to be a little bit more memorable than the execution, in my opinion. And I'm sad about that because I really love Tuck Everlasting. I love the idea of a story that pulls from kind of that, that folk story, that legend. And I did think that this was original enough. I think what bored me, and I don't know why, but I hate using the word bored. It just makes me feel like I don't have anything better to say when I say that I was bored, but. But I was a little bit. I think what bored me is that this ended up being very family politics oriented. And that's just not what I wanted from a book about, you know, like, like a Tuck Everlasting for Grown ups, basically.
- [56:24]
Tina
Yeah. Yeah.
- [56:25]
Hannah
And that could have partially been my expectation. Right. And so hopefully I can give you enough to know what you could expect going into this one. But it was very much about these siblings and we get a lot of additional moments between these characters that I genuinely didn't feel were necessary. I love slow moving books that have moments in them that make on the surface feel, quote unquote, pointless, but actually carry a lot of meaning to the overall plot and point of the story. But I didn't get that in this one with those moments between characters. It just felt long to me. And it's only 290 pages. The middle really dragged. And while I enjoyed the ending and overall theme on eternity and immortality, it took a little too long to land the plane, in my opinion. And there were just some elements at the end where. Where yes, I was surprised about things that came together, like in a good way surprised. It just wasn't enough for the overall story to feel worth it. I think this may have worked better as a longer novella. I didn't mind the writing. I actually would try something by this author in the future. I think this particular story and narrative didn't land for me fully, so I'm saddened to say that. But that was the Fountain by Casey Scheska.
- [57:42]
Tina
I love the COVID I love the COVID And I'm glad that you brought something different. Right. I think that's always kind of fun, but I have not seen that one.
- [57:51]
Hannah
Yeah, I haven't really seen a lot of other people talk about it either.
- [57:53]
Tina
Well, folks, we were talking earlier about tropes, and so I thought this was a very apropos shelf edition to bring because it is. Backstabbers. This is a novel by Eliza Jabor, and I am bringing. I say it's tied in nicely because I sampled this for Summer Bonanza. And the reason I didn't go for it for it is because there was a true crime podcast tie in. And I was like, I don't know. I feel like I've done it, but I am still open. So it says, when three friends lose their way in a serial killer's old hunting ground, they must fight to survive the threat in the woods and each other. So you're following three friends. They're hiking Washington State's Bones Hollow Trail, braving cougars, black bears, and storms that roll in without warning. Their anxiety isn't helped by listening to a true crime podcast about the serial killer who once prowled the same forest. One of them twists their ankle. No one's there. To hear them scream. And the only sign for life for Miles is a cabin that looks to be straight out of a horror movie occupied by a man that's all too eager to invite them in. And the friends essentially have to find a way to stay alive together. Now, I. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know if this one's going to work because I feel like I've read this before. I feel like I've heard this exact story kind of pieced together in other ways. And I'm like, that cover before, right? And I'm like, if. The only difference is that now there's a true crime podcast. I don't know that I need it. I don't know.
- [59:23]
Hannah
I just think they can surprise you. Absolutely.
- [59:25]
Tina
Now, if this is done well, maybe I'm going to be eating my words. And. And unfortunately, I think I've resold myself on it. I'm like, wait, that really kind of does sound good. Maybe I will like it. Maybe I won't. We'll have to wait and see. If you've read it and you have an opinion, let me know. This book is Backstabbers by Eliza Jabbor.
- [59:45]
Hannah
Okay. It's so funny that you brought one that you're like, I don't know about it, because I feel kind of the same way about my shelf edition, which was sent to me by Scribner, and it sounded interesting enough that I was like, they're gonna send me a copy. I'll try it out. It's they All Fall in Love at the End by Hailey Blasingame. And I really do like the COVID of this one.
- [60:07]
Tina
Me too.
- [60:07]
Hannah
Has a nice cover. Yeah. So this one is set in the fall of 2024, and 24 year old cat Sinclair isn't asking for too much. All she wants is three boyfriends to write her little novels and survive another chaotic presidential election. She is in an open relationship with her college sweetheart, Jay. But non monogamy isn't just a hot trend she's trying. It's her sliver of freedom in a world eager to wrestle it from her for being a black woman going after what she wants with reckless abandonment. While political tensions roil the campus where Kat is slowly earning her creative writing degree, she finds herself drawn to Jay's best friend Tristan, who is smart, super hot, and in a monogamous relationship. And then she meets Tristan's girlfriend, Nia, a captivating art student with her own gravitational pull. Friends and family urge her to just be happy with Jay, but Kat is determined to have it all or blow up her life trying to. I think I just resold myself on this one. It just sounds juicy and which might be great for Summer, but I still am not 100% on it. I don't know. I'm going to try this. It sounds interesting. I love the COVID and it sounds like it might be juicy enough to just really pull me in. So we will see. That is they All Fall in Love at the End by Haley Blasingame Excellent cover.
- [61:29]
Tina
Definitely digging those vibes. So let us know.
- [61:33]
Hannah
Yeah, I will. If and when.
- [61:35]
Tina
You know if and when, right? No promises over here. Well folks, we so appreciate you for listening as as always, but that is it for today. Thank you for spending a part of your day with us. Links to all the books mentioned can be found in the show notes and if you enjoyed today's episode, you can help us by following wherever you listen and by leaving a review on Apple Podcasts. It helps us get our show out to new listeners and grows our audience. And don't forget, if you'd like access to exclusive bonus content and community, join us for $5 a month on patreon.com booktalk Etc.
- [62:09]
Hannah
If you'd like to connect with us, you can email us@booktalk etcmail.com you can also connect with us both @booktok etc on Instagram and Tinabrec and Hannah @handpickedbooks. Talk to you next week and you
- [62:22]
Tina
if the meantime, remember, everything's better with books. That was so fun. What a great time. What a great time.