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- [00:00]
A
Foreign.
- [00:12]
B
Hello guys. Welcome back to I'll read what she's reading. I'm kennedy.
- [00:15]
A
I'm michaela.
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C
And I'm reggie.
- [00:17]
B
And today is our yearly irwsr awards. We have how many categories? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15. Around 15ish categories to go through ranging from favorite romance book, boyfriend to biggest disappointment and shortest book. And we're going to give you guys what book is in each category for each of us. I'm going to start by prefacing this by saying I think this year, out of the three years we've done this podcast has been the worst reading year for me personally. I don't know about for these two, but as I was making my list for these categories I was at a loss. So it was rough. It was a rough year for me.
- [01:13]
A
I think last year was really rough for me.
- [01:18]
B
A little swoopy tradesy.
- [01:20]
A
Yeah, I would say this year was mediocre. As far as reading year, I don't.
- [01:28]
C
Know where mine lies. I feel like this year's been like all over the place. So I can't like pinpoint exactly where it falls in the past three years ranking wise, but I read some really good books. But I also feel like I just read a lot less series this year. And so I feel like sometimes it feels like a better reading year when you have a series that you're like, yeah, obsessed with, you know, Actually maybe that's false though. I don't know. It's hard because I'm like, wait, I did read the last. Maybe they're not considered this year. Red Rising. I think I only read the last two this year anyways. I don't know. This is. It was just a pretty mid for me, I'd say. And I don't know if I'd say it was the best or the worst, but it was kind of fun to like review the books that I've read this year though.
- [02:20]
A
Yeah.
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C
To be like, oh, I actually read that this year. So some books I forgot about.
- [02:26]
B
But my apologies if some of the books I talk about are ones you've heard me talk about a lot.
- [02:34]
C
But hey, if they make it on the. If they get an award, kudos. They get an award.
- [02:39]
B
Kudos. Kudos. Let's do it. Our first category is favorite book cover. This is honestly one of my favorite categories. We do. Just because I feel like it's not the most thought about award that you.
- [02:53]
A
Could give when it comes to books.
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B
Mikayla, let's go. Let's have you go first.
- [02:57]
C
Me go first.
- [03:00]
A
This. This is, I feel, like, always the hardest thing for me to pick out for some stupid reason. I don't know why. It's, like, stressful to pick out. I mean, there's a lot. Been a lot of beautiful covers, but if I had to pick one, the one that I feel like was most unique and stood out the most to me was alchemized.
- [03:23]
B
Ooh. Okay.
- [03:25]
C
I just remember when Senlin Yu released the COVID I think we were, like, together when that happened or something, and our jaws were on the floor.
- [03:34]
B
Yeah.
- [03:35]
C
It is stunning. It's also very, like, intricate. The more I look at it, it.
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B
The more I'm like.
- [03:40]
C
And just like, the solo shot. Helena on the front and the red.
- [03:44]
A
Yep. So good.
- [03:46]
C
So good. That's mine too.
- [03:49]
B
My cover is different because I bought this book solely because I thought it would look cute on my bookshelf. And as I was scrolling on Goodreads, it just was my favorite one. Golden Summer by Carly Fortune.
- [04:00]
A
That was my second choice.
- [04:01]
C
That was my second choice too.
- [04:01]
B
Yeah, I love that color cover. Not color. I love that cover so much. I think it just perfectly encapsulates a summer read. And also, the book is literally the COVID Yeah, yeah. No, if you read the book, you know, so good. Yeah, it's really my favorite.
- [04:17]
C
For sure.
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B
Beautiful.
- [04:20]
C
Okay, book boyfriend. Let's start with romance.
- [04:23]
B
Yep. Romance. Book boyfriend.
- [04:25]
C
Why do you guys can't guess what mine is?
- [04:27]
A
I actually don't know.
- [04:28]
B
I don't know.
- [04:29]
C
Oh, you know, I don't know if it was a recency bias. I almost said Rio. What's his last name?
- [04:37]
B
From the Wendy from Windy City series.
- [04:39]
C
But I'm gonna go with Ryan Shea.
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A
Ryan.
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B
Oh, mine's Ryan Shea.
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C
Ryan Mother freaking Shay.
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B
Is yours. I have a guess.
- [04:48]
A
Mine's Charlie Break.
- [04:51]
B
Oh, wait.
- [04:52]
A
I mean, Ryan Shay is a good.
- [04:54]
B
Good one, actually. I take it back. I take it back. Minus Charlie as well. Yeah. Minus Charlie as well.
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A
Ryan Shea is really good, though.
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B
Charlie just has this, like, witty humor cockiness about him that I think is. Yeah.
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C
I think had I read One Golden Summer more recently, maybe I would say that. But for some reason, he kind of slipped my brain. As much as I love Charlie. Yeah.
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A
Ryan Shea is also.
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C
Yeah.
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A
I think why I chose Charlie over Ryan Shea because he was a contender was just because he's a little too serious for me. Yeah. But, like, I still love him.
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C
Yeah.
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A
Like, he's definitely top tier compared to Charlie. If I had. If I put them side by side. Side I like a little bit of a sillier guy.
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C
Yeah. That's why I almost picked Rio.
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B
I'm going with Ryan.
- [05:40]
A
Yeah.
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B
Yeah. But it's funny because it's so hard. I think both of them are access service guys.
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A
Yes, for sure. Yeah.
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B
Ryan Shay with the sign language. That got me real good. Yeah, but just Charlie. Yeah, I'm gonna go with Charlie as well. Ryan was on my list, but I'm changing to Charlie because I love. I love Charlie so much. And what's funny is some of the reviews I read for one Golden Summer said they hated Charlie because he came.
- [06:06]
A
Across as, like, cocky.
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B
Yeah.
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C
It comes on a little too strong. Yeah, I can see that. But we love a confident.
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A
Yeah.
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C
Confident king.
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A
Well, I feel like they. Sorry not to harp on one girl in Summer. I think they balanced each other out a lot because she needed someone who was confident. Mm. Because she. I feel like she wasn't.
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B
Yeah.
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C
Yeah.
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B
You know, he brought the confidence out.
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A
Yeah. Yeah.
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B
You can't go wrong with either of them, though.
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A
Wow. Wow. Okay.
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C
All right. Fantasy.
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B
Fantasy book boyfriend. I have two. I couldn't decide. I'll go first because mine's so basic. Zaden. I'm sorry. I didn't read a lot of great fantasy book boyfriends this year. So Zaden is mine, I think.
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A
The Guardian.
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C
Ooh, and Shelter Sparrows. Yeah. Is yours.
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A
Or Kane.
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C
Kane. Yeah. Mine's a toss up between Zaden and Kane. But then I kind of think that, like, it would be a little bit easier to be married to Zaden, in a sense, because of all of the trauma that Kane carries. And he's a little more. I don't know, but he's kind of funny. I feel like Zayn doesn't have as much of a sense of humor.
- [07:28]
A
I don't feel like Kane is that funny.
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C
Well, not that he's hilarious, but, like, he's kind of got a little.
- [07:33]
B
I'd put them, like, on the same.
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A
As far as humor goes, they both have dry humor.
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C
Yeah. Yeah. I'd say Zaden.
- [07:43]
B
The Guardian's a good one, though, too.
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A
Yeah.
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C
Oh, yeah. Literally, it's, like, impossible when it comes to fantasy because, like, are any of them bad? Not really. Well, I guess if you define.
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B
Define bad Too much for me.
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C
I almost adorean.
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A
Class.
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C
But the more I think about it, the more I think that had. If given the opportunity, he would actually probably get on my nerves a lot.
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B
Oh, interesting.
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C
Because I just think he's just a little too full of himself a little bit.
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B
Isn't Zayden.
- [08:26]
C
Yeah, yeah, I know, but there's. There's something about.
- [08:32]
B
If I had to choose between Dorian and Zayden, I think I would choose Dorian. I think Jordan's a little less serious than Zaden.
- [08:38]
C
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know. It's hard.
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B
Just pick one. My final answer is. Zayden, what's your final answer?
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A
I can do the Guardian.
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C
My final will be Zayden.
- [08:50]
B
We're just basic. Okay. It's okay. It's okay.
- [08:53]
C
It's all for good reason.
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B
All right, Michaela, what's our next category?
- [08:57]
A
Our next category is the longest book.
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B
It's gonna be the same for all three of us. Ready? One, two, three. Alchemized. That's the longest book I've ever read. What's the page count?
- [09:07]
C
Like 1040, I believe.
- [09:10]
B
That's crazy. Longer than Kingdom of Ash. That was my. I mean, not that I read this year, but on my goodreads when I sorted it by page length or.
- [09:18]
C
I think Kingdom of ash is 980something.
- [09:22]
B
Yeah, that was my next. Yeah, so.
- [09:26]
C
Well, the next one's shortest book. Mine was God bless this mess by Hannah Brown. Her memoir.
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B
How many pages?
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A
Oh, oh, I don't know how many pages.
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C
I can tell minus.
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A
Do I need to look it up?
- [09:37]
B
Yeah, go look. Let's see. Let's see what everybody's page count is.
- [09:41]
C
I was actually shocked. That was my shortest one because I. I had planned in my brain to read like some shorter, like kind of self help books this year. Never did. Hers is 277.
- [09:54]
B
I feel like that's a good length for a memoir.
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C
Yeah.
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A
Sorry, I'm looking. Make your bed by William H. McRaven. It's 125 pages.
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B
Hey, your eyes. Is there like real book books?
- [10:10]
A
Mine's not.
- [10:11]
B
I don't think mine are technically real books. Why would they be real books? Okay, so my. Okay, I have two because I don't know if I really qualify. It is a book, but it's not really. One is the drowning faith by R.F. kuang. It was only 15 pages. Oh, see, that's what I'm saying. It was like a tiny little novella. It was like a point of view chapter from a character. Emotionally wrecked me. And then my other book, which I guess could be considered an actual book, not really, is the Lexington letter. It was 43 pages. If you've watched Severance, go read that book. It's a free ebook that you can get on Apple Books. Um, it's honestly kind of, like, a picture book almost. You basically have the handbook for the mdr.
- [11:00]
C
That's what it's called, right? Yeah, right.
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B
And then it kind of has this little plot of this person writing notes to, like, the iny and outy are writing notes back and forth to each other.
- [11:10]
C
That's cool.
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B
So it was prior to that whole rule being enacted, so it's kind of interesting. Those are. Those are my two shortest ones. If you guys want me to give you, like, a legit book, I can go find one. But that's what it was on my Goodreads.
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C
We'll count it.
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B
All right.
- [11:26]
A
I mean, if you counted it, mine's also the RF Khan one. It was just in the back of my book, and so I just didn't, like, mark it.
- [11:36]
B
Oh, it was in the back of the book. I don't think mine was on the.
- [11:38]
A
Back of the book. Yeah, mine was in the back of my book.
- [11:39]
B
I think I read it on my Kindle. I think that's why.
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A
So I just. I didn't think about marking it as, like, a separate thing.
- [11:47]
B
We can count mine as the Lexington Letter.
- [11:48]
A
No, that's okay. Still short books.
- [11:51]
B
Short reads four to three pages, and I'm still not hitting my reading goal this year, including those books.
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C
Okay, next is most disappointing read. Mine was the Fallen in the Kiss of Dusk by Carissa Broadbent.
- [12:07]
B
Oh, really?
- [12:09]
C
Yeah. It actually makes me want to cry when I think about it, because I was so excited for this book. I do think I did it a disservice because I didn't start it at the right time, so I had to listen to most of it, which I didn't think would bother me, but it did. The audiobook, Misha's. I think I can say that the female main characters narrator was. Took me out of the book. So I know you guys, you'll read it eventually. I would try not. His voice was great. I would try to not listen to the audiobook because she just sounded like a snotty little teenager voice the entire time.
- [12:49]
A
Yeah.
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C
And it really took me out of the story. I know I didn't have a problem with her when I listened to part of the book. The previous one. Yeah, it didn't bother me that much, but I think it's because I didn't listen to too much of it. I think I just read it at a bad time because, like, so it was. Part of it was my fault. It took me a little bit longer to read because of when I read it. There were two certain elements of the story that were insane and like, I absolutely loved, but it just like, wasn't the rest of it just felt like, not very memorable to me. And I'm really excited about the next book, but I feel like I'm gonna need a really good recap of Fallen in the Kiss of Dusk for me to enjoy the next book. There was just like, there was just so much going on, but like nothing going on at the same time. And I think I just am not. I was really rooting for the two main characters in the first book and then this second one, I just, it just wasn't like I wasn't really rooting for them. I don't know how. I can't really say anything else without spoiling it.
- [14:01]
B
Yeah.
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C
But so, yeah, if you're not familiar with Carissa Broadman's books, her. How does she call it? Their duologies in a series?
- [14:10]
B
What does she.
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C
She has like an. There's like a word for it. So like there's the first two books like Serpents and the Wings of Night has like, there's two books in that and then there's two books after that and then there's going to be two more books after that. But they're like, you need to read them in order. But they're like duologies of like different characters.
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A
Yeah. I can't remember what the.
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B
The weird thing is, is I. I mean, I guess I did take a decent break between the crowns of Nyaxia duology is this.
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A
It's not.
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B
Because it's not Crowns of Nyaxia, the second one.
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C
Yeah, they're all, all the books are.
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B
Technically Crowns of Nyaxia. Oh, wow.
- [14:44]
C
So this one was technically Crowns of Niaxia number four.
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B
Four.
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C
Because the first one Serpents. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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B
Because there's another book in this person. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
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A
Okay.
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C
Yeah.
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B
I'm like, wait me trying to do the math in my head. Yeah, I. I mean, I guess you could read the first two books and then take a break, but I feel like I couldn't really remember this character's journey from the first two books when I read.
- [15:11]
C
Carissa Broadman does have recaps on her website from books.
- [15:15]
B
Everybody should do that.
- [15:16]
C
Which is very nice.
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B
Even if her Crowns on Ax. Yeah, she does. Oh, I didn't know that.
- [15:20]
C
I mean, last I checked, there were. There was.
- [15:22]
B
That is just Chef's Kiss.
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C
Yeah.
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A
Yeah.
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C
Amazing. Yeah. I just love the previous one just so much more. It was five star read that. I thought this one would.
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B
Her books are either I love them. Or love her, though. Oh, am I going?
- [15:45]
A
Yeah, I have two that I'm, like, trying to decide between.
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B
Say them both.
- [15:51]
A
Be a hater. Okay. I feel like I have to preface this. It's not that I dislike.
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B
Oh, this is gonna hurt me, isn't it?
- [15:59]
A
They're just the most disappointing to me. I don't think it's gonna hurt you.
- [16:02]
B
I'm just kidding.
- [16:03]
A
Onyx Storm and the Night in the Moth. I still really enjoy them. I feel like they were just the most disappointing to me. Yeah.
- [16:12]
B
Yeah, I could see that.
- [16:15]
A
When I, like, sit down and think about, like, my anticipated books, like, I feel like those kind of let me down a little bit. Mostly because of the theories I had going into Onyx Storm. Yeah. So maybe it's, like, my own fault. And then I end the moth. I just think my expectations were so high because I enjoyed One Dark Window Duology so much. But I still. I still really liked it, but I feel like it just wasn't as good as I was expecting it to be.
- [16:46]
C
Yeah.
- [16:46]
B
So, yeah, my most disappointing read. I don't know why I'm saying this as my most disappointing read, but. And maybe it's just kind of like what Reggie said. Recency bias. But I'm gonna say Taming seven by.
- [17:01]
C
Actually, I have two. Okay.
- [17:02]
B
Taming seven by Chloe Walsh is one of them. Because I really loved Joey's story. Like, didn't love Shannon's story. Joey's story brought me back into this, the series. And I thought, you know what? This is. This is great. I don't know why I was such a hater of the first two books. Then I listened to Tammy 7 and it reminded me why I didn't love the first two books. It's just such a weird series, and I don't know why. Joey, Joey and AA felt just way more mature, in a sense. And so the topics that were covered didn't feel out of left field. But then you go into Taming seven and they're back in high school and they act like high schoolers, but yet they're talking about these crazy mature topics. And then I'm sitting here reading this thinking, who is the target audience for this book? Is it, like, women, or is it. Do you know what I mean? Like, it's such a weird vibe. And also, I just didn't really love the storyline as much. And then my other most disappointing read of the year is actually Hopeless by Elsie Silver. It's my least favorite Chestnut Springs book, and I was very excited for Beau's story just because of everything you learn about Beau and just kind of his backstory. And I felt like it was so surface level when I say that these guys, the whole story is basically, they were just horny for each other. That's exactly what I felt like. So those are my most. Two most disappointing, unfortunately, and I read them in the last month, so help, help, help, help. Our next category is the book that made us cry the most. I'm going to start off with Michaela.
- [18:43]
A
Oh, boy. Oh, I need to start keeping a journal. I need. Yeah, I need to start keeping a journal because I feel like I'm a little jealous of you guys and the fact that you guys can remember, like, so vividly your crying, if that makes sense. Like, I feel like. I feel like I. I've cried at a lot of books. I just can't remember which ones they are. So, like, I feel like this is the one. I have the most documentation of me crying, and I know that I cried in it. Don't know if this is correct. I just know I have documentation of it. And that's Fearless by.
- [19:33]
B
Lauren Roberts. That was a tear jerker.
- [19:37]
A
Don't know. Don't know why I started my period well. And I don't know.
- [19:45]
C
Yeah, I mean, I remember you crying because I edited the vlog of that and there were tears. So.
- [19:50]
A
Yeah, yeah. But I. I don't know if that's the most correct. I just know I have documentation of that one. Yeah, but I. Yeah, I've cried other books, but I don't have documentation, so I don't remember it at all. I don't know. That was just a guess.
- [20:05]
B
That's a good one, too. It's a. It's a good guess. Yeah. Yeah, I cried in that book.
- [20:08]
C
I have documentation in mind. And guess what, guys? I was crying so hard I had to turn my camera off. I was, like, so embarrassed by, like, how violently I was sobbing.
- [20:16]
B
Can I just take a while? Oh, yeah.
- [20:19]
C
Oh, the last letter.
- [20:21]
A
Oh, yeah.
- [20:23]
C
Like, I actually was looking through the video of me sobbing to that yesterday when I was, like, making my list for this because I was like, I know I have a video of it. And I'm like, did I really cry that hard? No, you guys, like, I am, like, act like, you know how sometimes you make a Goodreads update or you, like, comment on something like, oh, I was sobbing reading this and you're, like, not being, like, 100 serious. No, like, I was like, like, my husband came home when I was reading it. He thought Someone had, like, died. He was like, are. Are you okay?
- [20:53]
B
Like, what happened?
- [20:54]
C
I was like. Like, I could not control myself. So that one's definitely, by a long shot, the one I cried the most. Reading.
- [21:04]
A
I'm just so curious. What could. I don't know. Anyways, continue.
- [21:12]
C
Anyways, so I'm gonna feel like a terrible human being.
- [21:16]
B
I don't want you to have, like, high expectations.
- [21:18]
C
Like, you're like, this is.
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B
You might not.
- [21:19]
C
Like, I don't want you. You might not cry. You. It's like, the saddest thing you've ever read. It might not be, like, something that hits you super hard. I don't know what it was with me. I. It literally. My face was swollen. It's not dripping down my face.
- [21:33]
B
I read that on a frame in Beach. In public. It was rather embarrassing. Okay. Yeah. I kind of forgot about that book.
- [21:42]
A
Yeah.
- [21:43]
C
Did you read that this year? Yeah. Okay, so wait, what's yours?
- [21:47]
B
I mean, that would be on the list, but I honestly forgot in this moment in time, that would be up there. I cry in every freaking book.
- [21:54]
A
I swear.
- [21:54]
C
Oh, wait, I'm gonna take a guess. It's one of the Beartown books.
- [21:57]
A
I'm gonna say Beartown winners.
- [21:58]
B
The Winners by Fredrik Backman. Yeah. That wrecked my soul.
- [22:04]
C
Second one or the last one?
- [22:05]
B
Yeah.
- [22:08]
C
Yeah.
- [22:08]
B
I don't need to elaborate on that. I've talked about Beartown a million and a half times. Something about that series just really hits my soul. I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's, like, because I live in a small town and it's just. I can make a lot of comparisons or just, like. I don't know. That one got me good. But the last letter, I need you to read that. You know what? Can we pick books for each other? Because that's gonna be the one I pick for you.
- [22:32]
A
It's been on my nightstand for a couple.
- [22:34]
C
They're making it a movie. I'm just gonna. That's all I'm gonna say. They're making it a movie, you guys, so. Did you not know that?
- [22:43]
B
No.
- [22:44]
C
Oh, I thought I said it in the group chat.
- [22:47]
B
You might have it.
- [22:47]
A
I might have missed it, but.
- [22:48]
B
Wow. Okay.
- [22:49]
C
It's gonna be a movie. I challenge you. Yep. It's been challenging. Michaela.
- [22:55]
A
What kind of mood do I need to be in? Because I don't wanna.
- [22:58]
B
I don't wanna, like, okay, we're gonna.
- [23:01]
A
Make this heartless person that doesn't.
- [23:03]
C
I don't want you to, like, expect that you're gonna, like, sob your eyes out. I would go into it just knowing that, like, the romance in it is really great.
- [23:10]
B
Okay.
- [23:12]
A
I need some good romance.
- [23:14]
C
I think that the romance is really.
- [23:15]
B
Great, and I don't think you'll cry.
- [23:17]
C
I don't think he'll cry either. I'm just gonna tell you that now. I also think that it's a very interesting premise, too. Like, do you even know anything about it? No.
- [23:27]
B
You don't want.
- [23:28]
A
No idea? No, I don't want to know anything.
- [23:29]
C
So I think it's just a very. It's a unique premise I'm getting. And the Roman.
- [23:33]
A
I'm guessing there's a last letter. That's all. I'm guessing.
- [23:37]
C
Yeah.
- [23:38]
B
I don't think you'll cry. Well, then I feel like a heartless person. No, no, no.
- [23:43]
C
Start the book. No, there's got to start the book.
- [23:45]
B
You would not be a heartless person.
- [23:46]
C
I don't know.
- [23:48]
B
You just don't cry in a lot of books. There's literally nothing wrong with that.
- [23:50]
C
I'm just telling you, you're not gonna cry, so you don't expect that you're.
- [23:53]
B
It's gonna.
- [23:54]
A
Okay.
- [23:54]
B
You know what I mean?
- [23:55]
C
Yeah. Trying to set the bar low for you. So, anyways.
- [24:01]
B
Yeah.
- [24:01]
C
Yeah.
- [24:01]
B
Have you just been putting it off because you feel pressure?
- [24:04]
A
Yeah, I do.
- [24:05]
B
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. It's okay. All right. There's been. I swear there was a book one time, Reggie was like, you're gonna cry, and I'm like, I mean, it makes you feel better. I didn't cry in Alchemized. I also didn't cry in Man Cold. So does that make me heartless? Maybe just a little bit. So it's okay. All right, what's our next category?
- [24:27]
A
The Silence. Next category is the spiciest book. Who wants to start?
- [24:37]
C
I'll start because I want you guys to help me remember. I haven't read all the Chestnut Springs books this year, and I know they're pretty spicy, but I want to say Caught up by Liz Tomforty might be spicier than the most recent Chestnut Springs book.
- [24:53]
B
Which one's Caught Up?
- [24:54]
C
The one I just read. Yeah, Baseball Daddy.
- [24:57]
B
Not gonna lie. I skipped every spicy scene.
- [24:58]
C
Yeah, I did, too, so I couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell. They were pretty spicy.
- [25:02]
B
I once. Once I got the first one, and it was, like, 34 minutes long. I said, nope.
- [25:07]
C
Yeah, I think the last Chestnut Springs book I read was, like, the very beginning of the year, so it's like, hard to remember. I would say Powerless is probably the spiciest one. The only one I read this year of Chestnut Springs was Reckless, which I really liked. But I would probably say caught up, because there's, like, a specific scene that I'll, like, literally remember. It's like, burn into my.
- [25:29]
B
What happened?
- [25:30]
C
I just don't think I can ever go to a public pool again.
- [25:33]
B
What?
- [25:35]
C
Did you guys not read that part?
- [25:37]
B
I must have skipped it.
- [25:38]
C
Public pool. Oh, at night.
- [25:40]
A
Yeah, I do remember that.
- [25:42]
C
And it was also just grossing me out because I was like, this is like a pool. They had sex in a public pool?
- [25:47]
A
Yeah, like, yeah, because, you know, like, a hotel pool that would give me.
- [25:54]
B
A UTI so fast.
- [25:55]
C
Yeah.
- [25:56]
B
Yeah.
- [25:57]
C
Where did they have, like, edge of the pool?
- [26:02]
B
Wow. Okay. I was like, get a baseball diamond.
- [26:06]
C
I wasn't really, like, paying attention. I was listening because I knew it was like something was coming, and I was like, okay. Like, I think my phone was in the other room. And I just remember, like, pacing my kitchen, like, hey, where's my phone? So yours is, I think I'm gonna say, caught up.
- [26:20]
B
Caught up.
- [26:20]
A
All right, all right, all right.
- [26:21]
C
That's just, like, the one I can think of that seems the most spiciest from what I've read recently.
- [26:26]
B
Okay. Maybe Love.
- [26:27]
C
Hyp. Love Hypothesis was spicy, but, like, I.
- [26:31]
B
Don'T remember it being that.
- [26:31]
C
But it wasn't that bad.
- [26:33]
B
Yeah.
- [26:33]
C
Like, it didn't give me thick, but the public pool gave me death.
- [26:40]
B
What's yours, Mikayla?
- [26:41]
A
I bet you guys can't guess.
- [26:44]
C
People watching.
- [26:44]
A
Yeah, same by Hannah Bonham Young.
- [26:47]
B
Yep, same. And, you know, I love that she tried something different. I love that she tried to explore the kinky side of romance. I think what was hard for me is going from all of her previous books, they were so. There was so much emotional depth and so heartwarming that it was hard for me to, like, make this switch in my brain when I picked up her book. The unfortunate thing is, I actually love that cover.
- [27:11]
A
I know.
- [27:12]
B
It is such a great cover, but I just. Yeah, I know.
- [27:19]
A
I feel like the. The book does the COVID really dirty.
- [27:21]
B
Yeah.
- [27:22]
A
Because I'm trying to think. I feel like that never happens in the actual book.
- [27:27]
B
No. And I. I also think the book would have maybe been a little bit better had we not been in Milo's head. I think being in his head was just a little bit icky.
- [27:36]
C
I swear. Where did I hear this recently? I don't know if it was, like, a podcast or a tick Tock or what? I need to sneeze.
- [27:42]
A
Bless you.
- [27:43]
C
Excuse me. Someone was saying somewhere that, like, they feel like romance books are getting ruined because a lot of authors are trying to do the dual point of view. And that's why, like, Emily Henry and A.B. or. Yeah, Emily Henry's books are as popular as they are because she doesn't do that. Wait, but it could be just, like, dependent on the authority.
- [28:08]
B
Where do I know she has dual.
- [28:09]
A
Pooh point of view?
- [28:10]
B
We got Miles's in.
- [28:13]
C
What am I talking about? Never mind. Ignore that.
- [28:15]
B
But I've seen that. Yeah, I've seen that too. Yeah.
- [28:17]
A
Yeah.
- [28:18]
C
And I'm like, I can see that. Because I think sometimes I think of romance books I didn't love, and I'm like, maybe I would have loved it more if I didn't know what he was thinking.
- [28:27]
B
Well, I just feel like they don't.
- [28:28]
A
Have to be icky.
- [28:29]
B
Well, also, let's take into consider, like, let's take into account maybe one of our all. I'm seeing this on Reggie Shelf right here, one of our favorite maybe romance books of the year that we didn't include on. Maybe you guys did include it. Maybe, I don't know, like May Luna, for example. Is there any spice in that?
- [28:45]
C
No, it's like pretty closed door.
- [28:47]
B
And what do we all rate it? Four or five stars.
- [28:51]
A
Yeah.
- [28:51]
B
So anyway. Yeah, people watching, man.
- [28:57]
A
I'm sorry. I. I really love Hannah, but I'm young.
- [29:00]
B
Me too.
- [29:02]
A
And I. I'm just not her ideal audience for that specific book.
- [29:07]
B
Right. I will still buy.
- [29:09]
A
Yeah.
- [29:09]
B
Hannah Bonham Young's books, and I will still read them. I think. Just. I just prefer a little bit more romance. And that was just a little more spice. Kinky, heavy. Like, I finished that book thinking to myself, these two are not gonna stay together.
- [29:24]
A
Yeah.
- [29:25]
B
Yeah.
- [29:26]
A
Well, in it. Yeah. Sorry, I'm not gonna elaborate anymore.
- [29:29]
B
We love you, Hannah Bon and Myung. Yeah, we love you. We really do.
- [29:33]
C
We do. Next is audiobook for me. I almost said Onyx Storm, because Onyx Storm. No, wait. I'm thinking of the graphic audio Iron Flame. I almost said that, but I'm not gonna pick that. I'm gonna go with Wild Dark Shore. Who's it by? Charlotte something.
- [29:54]
A
Mahogany.
- [29:55]
C
Mahogany. It just. It was done really, really well because there's multiple point of views and each point of view is a different narrator. And, like, there's a little boy and it's not narrated by a little boy, but the narrator that voiced him was really cute. The dad's voice. So dreamy dream. Like, it was just like this rough grumbling. It was so good. And then one of the. One of the female main characters, her.
- [30:26]
B
She was.
- [30:27]
C
The audiobook was. Narrator is the same one that did Alchemized, which was kind of trippy for me. At first I was like, wait, I literally just barely finished Alchemist. And she's incredible. So. Yeah. And I think I also picked this one because there's some specific quotes in this book that when they were read by the narrators themselves. I feel like sometimes when you listen to a book, you can kind of miss things that maybe would hit a little bit harder had you been physically reading it. But listening to these audiobook narrators say some of these lines had me, like, weeping. And so, yeah, it was. It was a very well done audiobook and a great book overall.
- [31:13]
B
So what did you write that book?
- [31:17]
C
I almost gave it five stars.
- [31:19]
B
I want to say.
- [31:20]
A
I feel like you did four and a half.
- [31:22]
C
I gave it four and a half. There was just, like, one element to the plot that was. That still really bothers me. I think had that not been in there, I probably would have given it five stars.
- [31:32]
A
I see.
- [31:33]
C
But I think it's something that maybe it wouldn't bug other people, but it just really bugged me just to find.
- [31:38]
B
Out, because Michaela's gonna listen to it soon.
- [31:40]
C
Yeah. It's great audiobook. I hope you like it. Hopefully I'm not, like, overhyping it, but.
- [31:45]
B
No, I feel like I don't really.
- [31:46]
A
Have any expectations for it because I literally know nothing about it.
- [31:51]
B
Yeah.
- [31:51]
A
And so I feel like I. I don't know. Yeah.
- [31:56]
C
You want to go next?
- [31:57]
A
Oh, yeah. I feel like it's. For me, it's really hard to pinpoint specific audiobooks, but I feel like one that stuck out to me this year that was just unique and had a fun element to it, was first time caller.
- [32:11]
B
Oh, that's a good one.
- [32:14]
A
Just because of, like, the radio thing. It's like. Yeah. Yep. It was just a unique. They added a fun.
- [32:26]
B
The fun element with the radio.
- [32:27]
A
So I don't know. There probably was other ones I would rank above it, but I think that one sticks out to me the most.
- [32:33]
B
Because that's something unique about it.
- [32:35]
C
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [32:35]
B
Not as a good one. My initial pick, I feel like is cheating because it's a graphic audio. And I feel like you can't really compare graphic audios to regular old audiobooks. Originally, I was going to choose Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson just because it's a graphic audio. And also, I just think it's a sweet, wholesome, whimsical story. And then the other pick that I was going to do. Now, I'm not saying this is my favorite book of all time. I'm just saying the audiobook is probably one of the best audiobooks I've ever listened to. That is not a graphic audio, and that is Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Denman. Just because you have. If you guys don't know anything about Dungeon Crawler Carl, the. There is one person, if I'm understanding correctly, one person. His name is Jeff Hayes, and he narrates every single voice in the audiobook. And it's. It's crazy how many voices this man does. It's. It's incredible. I originally thought it was voiced by the person that does cronk because they have this. They have the same voice. No, it is not. And I think it's only him. So correct me if I'm wrong, but so well done. Not saying it's the best book I've ever read, but the audiobook is just. It's crazy. It's crazy what this guy does with his voice.
- [33:53]
A
Yeah.
- [33:55]
B
So, yeah. Also, I'm voting for that as an audiobook because I would never read them. I would only listen to them on audio. Our next category is the biggest surprise of the year. I'm just gonna brush by this really quickly just because I have talked about it quite a few times on the podcast, but the book of Doors by Gareth Brown went into it with zero. Zero preconceived notion. Didn't even really know what it was about. I don't even know how I heard about it. I think I saw someone on Good. Goodreads reading it, and then they rated it 5 stars. So then I marked it as want to read. I don't think. I don't even think I've had seen any tiktoks on it at the time that I had read it and so went into it blind and rated it five stars. It's one of my favorite reads of the year. So that's my vote.
- [34:45]
C
Nice. I have, like three that I'm trying to choose between. You guys.
- [34:49]
A
I have, like, two.
- [34:50]
B
Say them all, guys.
- [34:51]
C
Say them all. Okay. Wild Dark Shore was the first one that came to my mind because I just. We literally talked about it once on the podcast on the Goodreads, like Booktok Books, whatever. And I read that little synopsis and I was like, I'm gonna read this book and I did, and I was like, I loved it. But then another party wants to say, play along. I don't think they're not play along. Right.
- [35:18]
B
Move.
- [35:18]
C
Because I towed it off for so long. But I kind of think the book I actually want to pick is the Other side of now by Paige Harbison.
- [35:26]
B
Yeah, that's a good one.
- [35:28]
C
I think that's the one I want to pick because we did it as like, a bonus.
- [35:35]
A
Bonus book club book on Fable.
- [35:38]
C
We did it as a bonus book club book on Fable. And I was excited about it because it's got some, like, magical realism. And I was just kind of like, okay, like, whatever. Never had read a Paige Harveston book before, but I finished that book and I was just filled with, like, a lot of emotion. It was very well done, and there were just a lot of really beautiful quotes in there. And Paige Harbison, she also narrates the audiobook, right?
- [36:08]
B
Yeah.
- [36:09]
C
Yes. And she just did a fantastic job and, like, really brought the main character to life. She was really funny. So it was one of those, like, it was a feel good, but it was also kind of a. It was a romance, but it was like a feel good. It was like magical realism. It was a little bit of everything.
- [36:26]
A
Yeah.
- [36:26]
B
It was like a cross between. Between women's fiction, romance and magical realism.
- [36:31]
C
Yeah.
- [36:31]
B
Kind of like a mashup of a.
- [36:32]
C
Whole bunch of different genres. Yeah.
- [36:34]
B
And also I appreciated. She's really witty and funny, but also she added in some pop culture comedic lines that I appreciated.
- [36:46]
A
Yeah.
- [36:46]
C
Because sometimes those can be kind of cringey and take you out of a book. But it was done very well.
- [36:50]
B
It was done well.
- [36:50]
A
She did it.
- [36:51]
B
Correct me if I'm wrong. Her best friend dies. Right.
- [36:56]
C
Yes.
- [36:57]
B
And then she opens up this door and she's. She goes into a world where her best friend is alive.
- [37:03]
C
Yes. But it's a little more than that because it's like. It's just more like in another life. Like.
- [37:08]
A
Yeah.
- [37:08]
C
Had she made different decisions what her life.
- [37:11]
B
But that's like the short term is her best friend dies, then she like. Yeah, yeah.
- [37:15]
C
It's set in Ireland. Yes. It's a vibe.
- [37:18]
B
It is a vibe.
- [37:19]
A
Yeah. The book was actually surprisingly.
- [37:22]
B
Yeah.
- [37:23]
A
Really good.
- [37:23]
B
I would read a lot of work by Paige Harverson now that I read her that one book.
- [37:30]
A
Oh, what are your two? I don't know. Okay. Me Luna or All Roads Lead Here.
- [37:42]
B
Thought that was going to be one of them.
- [37:45]
A
I hadn't read Mariana Zapata before. Like, that was My first introduction of her work, and it was just a very, like, refreshing romance book, and I loved it. And then May Luna. I just. I don't know, I was just surprised of how much I, like, really, really enjoyed that one. And it didn't even have any spice in it.
- [38:16]
B
Does all roads leave here, lead here? Maybe at the very, very end.
- [38:19]
A
Yeah, Very, very end. Slowest, slow burn.
- [38:23]
B
100 and no, not even, like, 400 pages in. And they touch hands.
- [38:27]
A
Yeah.
- [38:27]
B
Yeah.
- [38:28]
C
Love.
- [38:28]
B
I don't know, old man.
- [38:30]
A
Mr. Rhodes, I think you would enjoy it. Mr. Rhodes can get it. Yeah, I think I listened to it and it was a pretty good audiobook.
- [38:41]
B
So was it dual narration? I want to say yes. I think it was. Maybe not. I feel like I have this, like.
- [38:52]
A
Memory of hearing his gravelly voice, but also I could be just making it up so I can't remember.
- [39:01]
B
Yeah, both great options.
- [39:03]
A
Also, another option that I was considering was the Paige Harbison one.
- [39:08]
C
Yeah.
- [39:08]
A
The Other side of Now. So that one was also.
- [39:12]
B
It was really great. Yeah, very, very great. Best romance.
- [39:18]
C
This one was so hard for me. Do you have one?
- [39:24]
A
I feel like one Golden Summer.
- [39:27]
B
That's what mine is.
- [39:29]
A
I don't know.
- [39:29]
B
I just.
- [39:30]
A
I have an obsession with that book.
- [39:32]
B
Me, too. I love. I love the romance. I love Charlie. I felt like it was a perfect balance between spice. No spice. And also I could relate to the female main character. Can't remember her name. Sorry. So much. Because I was going through this weird phase with my photography job and just reading that book and hearing her talk about photography the way that she does and just. It just hit home for me. And so it just. All. All aspects of the book were perfect for me at the time that I read it. And when I was going through all my other romance books. I don't know if I rated any other romance book 5 stars. See, I think that was the only one.
- [40:11]
C
I know you guys were obsessed with it. I didn't give it five stars.
- [40:14]
B
Did you give it five stars?
- [40:15]
C
I did.
- [40:16]
B
You did?
- [40:16]
A
Well, I technically rated 4.5, but I rounded up.
- [40:20]
B
Just time and place, you know?
- [40:21]
C
Yeah.
- [40:21]
A
I read it on a beach.
- [40:23]
C
Yeah. What a vibe.
- [40:25]
A
It was a vibe.
- [40:26]
B
I read it on the treadmill. Walk in. I do remember that.
- [40:31]
C
Okay. I have three romance books that were five star reads this year.
- [40:36]
A
Oh.
- [40:37]
C
So I was trying to decide between the three of them. Now I have to know what I was gonna say. Atmosphere. Taylor Jenkins, Reid, May Luna. I can't remember the author of May Luna. I'm so sorry. Forgive me and rewind it back by Liz Tom 40. I think I'm gonna remove atmosphere because I think as much as I loved it, it just doesn't scream as much. Like, it's very romantic, but also, like.
- [41:07]
B
I feel like women's relate.
- [41:08]
C
Yeah, I could relate. Like, rewind it back. I don't want to set, like, high expectations for you guys. I saw so much of my own, like, love story with my husband in this book. Like, there's a certain element to it that I was like, literally, me and my husband do that exact same thing. So it was kind of like there were so many different elements where I was like, I've been there. Or it just reminded me a lot of my husband. But then, like, May Luna is just so different. And it's not spicy. There's nothing in there. That was kind of like, okay, I think I'm gonna go with me Luna.
- [41:45]
A
That's a very great pick.
- [41:47]
C
That's what I'm gonna go with. I just love a rockstar romance.
- [41:50]
B
She's like, we gotta. We gotta say the author just because we gotta give her a little shout out. Hold on. What's funny to me is I was trying to read it.
- [41:59]
C
I can't. I can't read from here because the.
- [42:01]
B
Light is shining in my eyes. I feel like this romance book took book talk by storm. Kelly McNeil.
- [42:06]
C
McNeil. Yeah. Very good. I mean, we've talked about it on the podcast a number of times, I feel like. But it's like a rock star romance. She is the. A journalist for a band. And I just. Yeah, it would be such a good.
- [42:24]
B
Such a good movie.
- [42:25]
C
I kind of felt like it was a fanfic of.
- [42:29]
B
My life, of what.
- [42:30]
C
Could have been, had my husband's band made it big.
- [42:35]
B
Yeah.
- [42:36]
A
Would you be the journalist for them?
- [42:38]
B
Yeah.
- [42:39]
C
No, like, literally, like, I would follow them. My husband was in a band. Okay. It sounds cringy, but, like, they were cool. I, like, was their photographer. I was their social media manager. I was like, their videographer. I made, like, did music videos for them. I was like, the band wife. It was the best. Um, and so, like, I could relate to, like, the found family you have. Anyways, it sounds so dorky and cheesy, so. But I think that's what my pick will be. I did recently move it to five stars, though, because I had it at 4.5. But the more I sat with it, I was like, yeah, anyways, I'll shut up about me Luna, but it's a great read. And I also Think the COVID is so cute. I normally don't love, like, real life pictures.
- [43:24]
B
Yeah, I do like that cover a.
- [43:25]
C
Lot, but I feel like it's tastefully done for sure.
- [43:27]
B
So without giving away too much of the book.
- [43:31]
A
Yeah.
- [43:31]
C
Is it my turn?
- [43:33]
A
Yep.
- [43:34]
C
Best plot twist is next. I went with Onyx Storm because even though it wasn't my favorite fantasy read of the year, I about chucked my book across the room. I was ready to write a very worded letter to Rebecca Yarros. And I can't believe, like, I just sit there and I think I have to wait how much longer to know. So that's. That's my. That's my pick. Maybe that's a basic girl answer.
- [44:09]
A
No, because I think mine. I'm deciding between two, but one isn't necessarily, like, the biggest plot twist, just, like, the most shocking, like, the shock value. I don't know if that counts, but it's between Onyx Storm and Dark Age. Ooh.
- [44:30]
C
Yeah.
- [44:31]
A
I don't. The thing is, with Dark Age, I don't think I was necessarily shocked or, like, the plot twist wasn't like, it's.
- [44:41]
B
Like, integral to the plot, but also not the same if it's the one.
- [44:43]
C
I'm thinking of lots of different things that were, like.
- [44:46]
A
But I also wasn't, like, it wasn't surprising to me because of how dark the book is itself.
- [44:54]
B
You talk about the tree, right?
- [44:55]
A
Yeah.
- [44:56]
B
Okay.
- [44:57]
A
Yeah. And so most, like, biggest plot twist, probably gonna have to say Onyx Storm, but, like.
- [45:09]
B
Shock value is a dark age in general.
- [45:11]
A
Yeah. So I don't know if that necessarily counts, but that's just kind of like, where my thoughts went to. Yeah.
- [45:19]
B
Yeah.
- [45:20]
C
I, like, get terrified to read that book again.
- [45:22]
B
I'm ready.
- [45:23]
C
I'm going to. I actually, like.
- [45:26]
B
Yeah.
- [45:28]
A
You haven't said yours, Kennedy.
- [45:29]
B
No, I put. I mean, Onyx Storm. Yes. But I had a feeling someone was going to put Onyx Storm, so I wanted to also do a book that I hadn't talked about yet. So I'm gonna go with the Dragon Republic by R.F.
- [45:42]
A
Kuang.
- [45:43]
B
Oh, there's just something that happens, like, towards the end of the book that my jaw was on the floor. I didn't necessarily chuck my book across the room, but I was shocked by what happened, so I'm gonna go with that this year. Honestly, I feel like a lot of the books that I read weren't anything that I was flabbergasted by, so it was hard for me to choose. And I do remember that one being shocking. To me.
- [46:13]
A
Yeah.
- [46:14]
B
So I'm gonna go with that.
- [46:15]
A
I feel like a lot of books I read this year, maybe you would agree they were fun. Like, the plot twists were fun, but not necessarily, like, you were shocked by. Like, I could have seen that coming, but it was. You weren't shocked by it?
- [46:32]
B
Like, maybe, sort of. I have this idea that this could have possibly happened, and then it happened, and I was like, oh, my gosh. But I kind of thought it would happen. Type of a plot twist. Yeah, yeah.
- [46:42]
C
Best thriller, which this probably shouldn't even be a category, honestly, because any of us really read anything.
- [46:48]
B
I think I read, like, four thrillers. I only read two. Oh, all right. What was theirs?
- [46:52]
C
Mine was between Not Quite Dead yet and Listen for the lie. I'm gonna go with. I don't know, because maybe not quite dead yet just because of, like, the premise of it was a little more exciting, but I was just, like, disappointed by it. They were both, like, not just, like, super great, but I'll go with Not Quite Dead yet by Holly Jackson because I love her.
- [47:21]
B
I mean, if you listen to our book club episode on that, then you know how bad the thrillers were this year.
- [47:26]
A
Just kidding.
- [47:26]
B
I'm kidding. It was fine. I'm gonna go with Passengers by John Mars. I talked about it in last week's episode, so I don't feel like I really need to talk about it too much here, but techno thriller, kind of crazy.
- [47:38]
A
Mine was the Mind F series. Who's that by?
- [47:45]
B
St. Abby.
- [47:46]
A
That's right.
- [47:47]
C
Stabby.
- [47:48]
A
I don't know if those are technically, like, thrillers.
- [47:51]
C
Yeah, I would count it.
- [47:52]
B
Me too. They're thrilling.
- [47:53]
A
But, yeah, those were definitely my favorites.
- [47:57]
B
Those are crazy books.
- [47:59]
A
I know. I just.
- [48:00]
C
Why do I want to say it's getting adapted?
- [48:02]
B
It is.
- [48:02]
A
It is.
- [48:03]
B
I want to say it was Amazon, maybe My sister dark. My sister loves, like, thrillers, dark books. And usually when I recommend books to her, she's like, that wasn't dark enough. Recommended the Mind F series to her, and she ate it up. I gonna be a dark.
- [48:21]
A
Well, I feel like they'll make it comedic.
- [48:25]
B
You think?
- [48:26]
C
Do you think that they're gonna make it as, like, some of the stuff I remember, like, in so much detail that, like, it made me ill.
- [48:32]
B
I don't know how you put that much. Well, I don't know how. Well, yes, but there's certain parts with what she makes them stick in their mouth. I don't know how they do that because it's. At some point it gets to Be, like, too far. Okay.
- [48:49]
C
Yeah. There's just some things in there that.
- [48:50]
B
I was like, well, I don't know. I just.
- [48:54]
A
I don't watch a ton of, like, things like that. So I just. I don't know, like.
- [48:59]
B
Yeah. How far they'll take it. Okay, so. So it is Amazon that's adapting it. Sylvester Stallone's daughter is executive producing through Balboa Productions. I mean, I don't know, because I grew up watching the Saw movies, and those are so graphic.
- [49:20]
A
Yeah.
- [49:20]
C
Like, I'm just wondering how graphic they'll actually make it.
- [49:25]
A
Yeah.
- [49:25]
B
Like, what do you think is, like.
- [49:26]
A
The most graphic, like, TV show you've seen versus, like, the most graphic movie? Movie?
- [49:31]
B
Well, if it's Amazon, it doesn't matter. I feel like there's not really, like, the Boys on Amazon. Is that TV show. Yes. It's, like, so graphic. There's so much nudity. So, like, so much goes on. I've never seen the Boys, but just from what I've heard, it's pretty, like, hardcore. Because I feel like Amazon, like, your regular tv, TV networks, they have not rules, but, like, regulate, not regulations even, but, like, has to be safer tv. But whereas Amazon, Netflix, they don't really have as much as many rules. I feel like.
- [50:03]
A
Yeah.
- [50:05]
B
I don't know.
- [50:06]
C
I'd almost want it done like, how they did the U on Netflix.
- [50:11]
B
Yeah.
- [50:11]
A
I was gonna ask, because I know you've seen you.
- [50:14]
C
I mean, there's things that are pretty graphic in it, but, like, it's not, like, super consistent.
- [50:19]
B
Okay. Did you read the book?
- [50:20]
C
No. Oh, I know. The book's a lot worse.
- [50:23]
B
It is. I guess we'll see. We will sure see, won't we?
- [50:28]
A
Yeah.
- [50:29]
B
Our next category is best fantasy Book. Who wants to start with their best fantasy book of the year?
- [50:39]
C
Alchemize.
- [50:42]
B
No surprise there.
- [50:44]
A
I think mine started between Shield of Sparrows and Alchemize.
- [50:50]
B
I'm gonna go with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
- [50:54]
A
Very good.
- [50:55]
B
So I'm just gonna settle on that. I'm gonna settle with Harry Potter and the Deathly House. And listen, I couldn't remember, like, I couldn't remember anything from that book. And then I think just the time I read it, right after I finished it, I went Universal Studios, got to visit. Everything just was peak experience. I felt like I was going to Hogwarts, So I'm gonna go with that. It's iconic. So good. Made me laugh, made me cry. I'm sad it's over.
- [51:22]
A
Yeah.
- [51:22]
B
It's good for A reason.
- [51:24]
C
Amazing.
- [51:26]
A
I'm really excited for Shield of Sparrows to become a movie.
- [51:31]
C
Yeah, the vibes are gonna be immaculate.
- [51:35]
A
I'm hoping for this year I have more contenders. Me too. For that list. Like I wanna. I wanna bigger race. In competition between the fantasy books I read this year.
- [51:50]
B
I also think I just need to have a better attitude. I feel like I was going into every fantasy book this year as a hater. Just being like so critical. Just looking out for everything that I didn't like about it. And I need to just stop, stop. Just read a book. Let it be what it is.
- [52:07]
A
Yeah.
- [52:09]
B
So.
- [52:11]
A
All right, the next category.
- [52:14]
B
There was so many books that I wish I would have skipped. So many wish we would have skipped. I'm just gonna go with my most recent one, the Running man by Stephen King. I really wish I just would have watched the movie.
- [52:30]
A
So.
- [52:31]
B
Don't waste your time. Stephen King. Stephen King is an icon. But I think the movie will be tenfold better than the book that was mine too. Oh, twin.
- [52:44]
A
No one come for me. The Deal by Ellie Kennedy.
- [52:54]
B
Do you think you'll watch the show? I think I will give it a shot.
- [53:00]
A
Maybe. I don't know. I don't know. I. Watching a trashy ice skating. No. Ice skating.
- [53:10]
B
Hockey.
- [53:10]
A
Hockey. Romance. Or like reading campus. Yeah, I probably would choose reading. Unless I'm like in a major slump. Maybe I'll. I'll watch it.
- [53:21]
B
Is it Amazon?
- [53:23]
A
I think so.
- [53:24]
B
I can't remember.
- [53:26]
A
The little bits I've seen look fine. I don't think the casting's super great.
- [53:33]
B
I. I think a lot of people feel the same.
- [53:36]
A
Not that I'm like a huge lover. Like. Like I care that much about the casting, but I'm. I'm just not like super impressed. But I'm sure it'll be. I don't know. I just.
- [53:49]
B
It's.
- [53:49]
A
It's trashy and so I'm curious how this is going to translate into a show. Sorry, not trashy. That's maybe not a good word that I would use. Just like college.
- [54:01]
B
Yeah.
- [54:01]
A
Party, spicy. You know, which I don't think any of that stuff is trashy. That's just not my vibe. I'm gonna be 26 next year and I'm just way past that. So, you know, I don't know.
- [54:18]
B
Yeah, they don't. A lot of people will probably love it because I know it's actually really popular book. Yeah. And I think a lot of people really love that college age party type show.
- [54:31]
A
Yeah.
- [54:31]
B
Romance show.
- [54:32]
A
So.
- [54:32]
B
Yeah, I. I'VE come to find out that for some reason I just like. For some reason I don't enjoy hockey romances. Specifically hockey. For some reason. Any other sport.
- [54:44]
C
I only read one.
- [54:45]
B
Well, I think there was a time period where there I was reading quite a few and that's what I felt like. The only sports romance was out there was hockey.
- [54:52]
A
Yeah.
- [54:53]
B
And so it feels really overdone to me. So when I got to caught up and the first book was hockey, I was kind of disappointed. But since then it's branched out.
- [55:01]
C
Yeah.
- [55:01]
B
And I've really enjoyed it.
- [55:02]
A
Well, I feel like we said this in our previous episode that what's popular, it's just gonna get repeatedly done. And I think the publishing houses need to stop doing that.
- [55:15]
B
Yeah.
- [55:16]
A
Because I think.
- [55:19]
B
It makes.
- [55:21]
A
It turns people away from that stuff. If it's like the same or similar too much, it's gonna be like, okay, I've seen this before.
- [55:27]
B
Yeah.
- [55:28]
A
There's nothing unique about it, you know.
- [55:30]
B
So should we open our own publishing house? I'm just kidding.
- [55:35]
C
Wouldn't that be something?
- [55:37]
A
Oh, gosh, no, I don't.
- [55:39]
B
Okay. Our last and final category is favorite podcast episode from this year. Reggie, start us off.
- [55:49]
C
I have to say our episode with Pierce Brown.
- [55:51]
B
Unfortunately, same.
- [55:53]
A
I'm gonna be different and say Elizabeth Evans episode.
- [55:57]
B
That one's good too. What about non interview related? I'm putting us all on the spot because I don't think I prepared for that. I'm gonna go with our Halloween episode.
- [56:09]
A
Actually had that one too.
- [56:10]
C
Yeah.
- [56:11]
B
I always have fun.
- [56:12]
C
Non interview would be Halloween.
- [56:13]
B
Yeah, Halloween. We got really fun. Spooked.
- [56:15]
A
Yeah. That one was spooky.
- [56:16]
C
That was really spooky. And.
- [56:18]
A
And then come to find out after the fact that it was all the person who submitted it. Like, we all know very well.
- [56:27]
C
Yeah.
- [56:27]
A
And so I feel like that even spooked me even more after the fact.
- [56:31]
C
Yeah.
- [56:32]
A
Because I. I truly and honestly believe that individual.
- [56:37]
B
Oh, for sure.
- [56:38]
A
And like, I don't think she or her husband would make that up.
- [56:44]
B
No. So. And also it's impacted me personally. There's been times where I've been driving down the road at night and I'm like, did I just see something? Did I just see that?
- [56:54]
C
You guys got to go listen to that if you haven't already. It's not even book related. We except for our costumes, if you watch on YouTube.
- [56:59]
A
But yeah.
- [57:01]
C
Yeah. We just shared some spooky stories and they were spooky. The Elizabeth Evans, that was such a good one. She's the Audiobook narrator for all of Sarah J. Maas books. And she's incredible. And then, you know, Pierce Brown, he's incredible.
- [57:18]
B
I've manifested that for a year and a half. And here we are, last year's naughty or nice episode. I said, there's no way we would ever interview Pierce Brown. You didn't manifest it. You just said, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait. I said that, but then I started manifesting it. I had from decept. This makes me sound like stalker. I started taking notes of questions that I wanted to ask him last year.
- [57:40]
C
Dang.
- [57:42]
B
We interviewed him. It was great. So it was.
- [57:45]
C
It was a fun episode, and I feel like it's performed really well and it's been. Yeah, it was an iconic moment for us.
- [57:55]
B
Same with Elizabeth Evans. Well, I, Hannah, Bono, mia, all the interview episodes from last. From this year have been. We're very lucky.
- [58:02]
A
I think with Elizabeth Evans, it was really fun because it was our first audiobook narrator. And so to see and hear from her about, like, just kind of the behind the scenes of audiobook narration was so fun and so cool. Yeah, I really enjoyed it. And it was crazy to, like, be talking with her and be like, you've destroyed me.
- [58:28]
B
I've listened to your mom spent listening to you.
- [58:31]
A
Yeah. And so I think that was, like, a very surreal moment.
- [58:35]
C
Yeah. So agreed.
- [58:38]
B
Well, yeah, like you said, Mikaela, just to hear about all the behind the scenes of how much work goes into an audiobook. They don't just show up and start reading a book. It's way more than that. And obviously, you know that. But just hearing about the preparation and how much time goes into it was incredible.
- [58:58]
C
Yeah.
- [59:00]
B
Overall, such a great. Well, such a decent reading year for me. Sounds like it was a lot better for these two. But such a great year for the podcast. We are so thankful for you guys and for all the support that you've given us. We said this in the last episode, but just, you know, being here, listening to the podcast, following us on socials, buying our merch, just whatever way you support us in whatever capacity you do it in, we are so grateful and we're really excited for 2026. I can't believe I'm saying that we are going into. Wait, no. When this episode comes out, it is 2026.
- [59:36]
C
Yeah. Yeah.
- [59:38]
B
Happy New Year, everybody.
- [59:39]
C
Happy New Year.
- [59:40]
B
Can't wait to see what the next year holds for us. But, yeah, thanks for being here. Thanks for listening. If you want to, you can shop our merch at. I'll read what she's reading.com we also started a Patreon. So if you want to go check out the tiers, see what comes with that, feel free to. And here's to the best reading years of our lives. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks for listening, guys. Bye.