Windy City Fever!

Summary

Podcast Summary: “Windy City Fever!”

Podcast: I'll Read What She's Reading
Hosts: Reggie, Mikaela, Kennedy
Date: February 4, 2026

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Episode Overview

In this lively, unfiltered episode, Reggie, Mikaela, and Kennedy dive deep into the “Windy City” romance series by Liz Tomforde. The trio analyzes each book in the five-part series, sharing their favorites, least favorites, and hilarious hot takes straight from their group chat dynamic. They also incorporate listener feedback, discuss trope fatigue, swoon-worthy heroes, and the essential ingredients for a standout sports romance—plus, they close with a spirited segment on dream fan casts and series rankings.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Approach to the Discussion

• The hosts review all five books in order, highlighting:
  • Faves & least faves
  • Average listener ratings
  • Most memorable moments
• They conclude with favorite male and female main characters, book rankings, and dream casting.

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2. Book-by-Book Breakdown

Mile High

• General Reception: Mixed. Hosts struggled to connect, particularly with the male lead, Xanders.
• Notable Comments:
  • Mikaela: “He has a lot of character development… but the first 50% is really hard to get through.” (04:09)
  • “Being inside of his head as a woman was really hard.” (02:39)
  • Reggie DNF’d (did not finish), Kennedy finished but wasn’t a fan. Mikaela skipped entirely.
• Listener Consensus: Average rating 3 stars.
• Memorable Moment: Xanders goes to a rescue shelter for Indy's favorite dog. (04:08)
• Critique: Overly sexualized POV and an abrasive narrator in the audiobook. “The man literally has a note on his phone with like girls names that he can hook up in each city…” (03:14)
• Advice to Listeners: “Try it – if you can’t get through 30%, maybe consider DNFing it.” (04:44)

The Right Move

• Consensus: Strong favorite; “five-star” contender for most listeners and hosts.
• Leading Man: Ryan Shea, universally beloved.
  • “The fact that man learned sign language for Indy’s father! Oh my gosh! When he—his vows—didn’t he sign them?” – Mikaela (09:21)
  • Reggie: “A quiet love… really refreshing.” (09:44)
• Favorite Tropes/Scenes: Acts of service: coffee, bookcase, fridge notes, paying for treatments; fake dating; strong communication (with the exception of the “third act breakup”).
• Listener Ratings: “57 of you rated it five stars… consensus is five stars.” (08:26)
• Critique: Third act miscommunication and a couple of formulaic, melodramatic elements, e.g., the pregnancy scare.
  • “I feel like Ryan was such a well-adjusted person and…the pregnancy scare…they didn’t have a conversation.” – Mikaela (13:15)
• Spice Level: Some criticism over “cringy” dirty talk and lengthy, frequent spicy scenes.

Caught Up

• General Reception: Middling. Rated 3–3.5 stars by hosts, with the ending redeeming earlier frustrations.
• Trope: Single dad, nanny–coach’s daughter relationship.
• Favorite Elements: The son (Max) and heartwarming baseball/pastry chef dynamics.
  • “I just actually really loved the food aspect…scenes of her baking with them…” – Mikaela (18:56)
• Critique: Relationship felt “very sexually driven” and lacked slow burn tension.
  • “Baseball Daddy” overused and cringey: “If I have to hear ‘Baseball Daddy’ one more time…” – Mikaela (20:50), echoed by Kennedy.
  • Audiobook: Male narrator’s “chuckling” was distracting (21:14).
  • Repetitive “I’m leaving so this can’t happen” conflict.
• Listener Favorite Female Lead: Miller is a fan fave, though hosts felt less attached.

Play Along

• Consensus: Breakout favorite among all the hosts.
  • “Five stars. And it’s so funny because I feel like when everybody talks about the Windy City series, you hear about The Right Move…not necessarily about Play Along.” – Mikaela (23:46)
• Leading Man: Isaiah Rhodes, a “shining star.”
  • “Every aspect—obsessed.” – Kennedy (26:01)
  • “The amount of quotes that man had that made me squealing like a little baby…” – Mikaela (25:43)
• Favorite Moments:
  • First meeting in the women’s restroom on his mother’s death anniversary (25:49)
  • Tender gifts: buying her shoes, her gifting him colorblind glasses (26:21)
  • Emotional depth: his vulnerability, scene during thunderstorms (33:19)
  • “Favorite romance book of 2025.” – Mikaela (29:38)
• Listener Consensus: “73% of you rated it five stars.” (31:42)
• Spicy Scenes: Unanimous approval—didn’t skip a page.

Rewind It Back

• General Reception: Mixed, but positive—particularly from Reggie, who saw her relationship reflected in the story.
  • “Almost the entire time I was reading this book I was like, this is a five star read…” (33:59)
• Structure: Dual timeline—back to high school sweethearts, present-day reconnection.
• Points of Critique:
  • The reason for the original breakup (family conflict, misplaced parental blame) felt a bit forced and unrealistic.
  • “His mom just, like, blaming her. Yeah. Freaking weird. Because she knew.” – Kennedy (36:24)
  • Some felt Rio was a different character compared to previous books, but others appreciated his deeper backstory (38:09).
  • Awkwardness with reading about younger characters in intimate scenes.
• Favorite Elements:
  • Music as symbolic connection: “The music aspect…a fun little added moment I really enjoyed.” – Mikaela (41:01)
  • Emotional full-circle: Rio’s learned lessons, group dynamic.
  • “Just loved Rio…he’s just been single for so long and then you hear why and just melted my heart.” – Reggie (43:49)
• Listener Feedback: Concerns about tone shift in Rio’s character, dual timeline structure.

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3. Series-Wide Reflections

Found Family Vibes

• The group’s standout praise is the “found family” dynamic:
  • “This is such a great Found Family little moment, and I’m obsessed with all of them.” – Mikaela (15:41)
  • “They choose each other.” (45:39)
• The dynamic between the girls especially receives love:
  • “It can be really hard to make female friendships and keep female friendships… I just love the, the setting they brought with, like just welcoming her… so wholesome.” – Kennedy (47:39)

Listener Polls & Rankings

• Top Book Boyfriend:
  • Isaiah Rhodes (45%)
  • Kai (26%)
  • Ryan (20%)
  • Followed by Rio and Xanders
• Top FMCs:
  • Split between Kennedy and Miller, followed by Indy, Stevie lowest.
• Personal Host Ranking (consensus):
  1. Play Along
  2. The Right Move
  3. Rewind It Back
  4. Caught Up
  5. Mile High

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4. Notable Quotes & Moments

• “The beauty of fiction is that it makes you feel things on a visceral level…you can cry with those characters, laugh with them. It teaches you to look at another’s perspective and to have empathy.” (44:04, Reggie reading from The Right Move)
• “Every aspect obsessed.” – Kennedy (26:01)
• “I have, I have issues with my family. Like, what's this book? Is this play about me?” – Mikaela (28:40)
• “If I have to hear ‘Baseball Daddy’ one more time. And in the back of my mind, I'm like, it cannot be that bad… It was that bad.” (20:50)
• “He just loved her. I know.” – Mikaela (30:06)
• “That’s not an extravagant gift. It’s such a simple thing. And it just shows how much she loves him.” – Kennedy (30:21)
• “I just know a romance book is going to be five stars when I'm actively rooting for the couple so hard." – Mikaela (30:41)
• “To Windy City. Windy City. We love it.” – Reggie (48:03)

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5. Fan Cast Dreams (54:00–59:00)

• Keith Powers for Ryan Shea—unanimous fan favorite pick.
• Emily Bader for Miller—not a perfect fit but frequently suggested.
• David Corenswet (Superman) for Kai—especially with long hair.
• Madeline Cline for Indy—not a match in hosts’ heads.
• General struggles: Athleticism and height would be a big challenge in casting; must “fit the profile of the sport.”
• “I’m gonna cast myself as Indy.” – Reggie (57:23)
• Playful notes about impossibly young Brad Pitts being suggested—“Pick someone else!” (56:26)

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Important Timestamps

• [00:15] Episode intro & format
• [01:10] Mile High review
• [07:15] Listener ratings for Mile High
• [08:02] The Right Move review & gush-fest
• [13:12] Critiques: Pregnancy scare, communication issues
• [16:08] Caught Up review
• [20:50] “Baseball Daddy” nickname debate
• [23:43] Play Along review begins
• [25:43] “Isaiah Rhodes, the man you are...”
• [33:46] Rewind It Back review
• [45:27] Fiction & empathy quote
• [48:07] Hosts rank favorite main characters
• [51:11] Fan casting and film adaptation rumors
• [59:00+] Closing thoughts, group chat nature of the pod

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Summary Tone & Style

• The episode is candid, chaotic, and relatable—mirroring the informal, sometimes riotous voice of close friends on a bookish group chat.
• Hosts are honest with both praise and critique, upholding the subjectivity of reading ("Reading is subjective!").
• Listener participation is central, with poll results and feedback often influencing discussion.

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Who Should Listen?

If you love romance novels (especially sports romance), enjoy book club banter, value honest reviews, or want to laugh about BookTok trends, this episode delivers both deep-dive analysis and joyful chaos. The Windy City series gets full-spectrum coverage—warts, swoons, and all.

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For detailed breakdowns, favorite quotes, and casting debates, check the timestamps above. Skip the ads and intros—these friends are here for fierce book opinions and fangirling only.

Transcript

[Mikaela]

Foreign.

[Reggie]

Hello everybody. Welcome back to I'll read what she's reading. I'm Reggie.

[Mikaela]

I'm Mikaela. And I'm Kennedy.

[Reggie]

And we're celebrating the month of love with some, you know, romancy themed episodes. And today we're going to be discussing the Windy City series which, you know, we've. It's kind of had us in a chokehold for the past few, few months. So we're excited to chat about it. Before we begin, this is just a reminder. We're currently matchy matchy if you're watching on YouTube wearing our book lover mock necks that just came out recently. So if you like them, if you haven't heard about them, go to our website. I'll read what she's reading.com to check out this insanely cozy, perfect mock neck. And then our we have two Kindle case designs that release as well to kind of get you in the month of love spirit. They're red pink hearts. I should have brought mine to show you guys for YouTube, but you know where to find us on Instagram and our website and stuff. So go ahead and snag one if you're obsessed with it like we are. But I mean, we are a little biased but lots of love has gone into these. So we're excited to see you guys wearing them and all the things. So just had to put in a little shameless plug to start off the episode. But let's get into the Windy City series. We're gonna kind of do this like we do our book club episodes, just a little bit different because we are talking about five books. So we'll start, we'll go in order with each book, share our faves, least faves, and the average rating from you guys as listeners because we had you guys fill out a little form for us on Instagram. And then after we go through each book with those things, we will discuss our favorite male main character, female main character, maybe rank the books and then that's when we'll kind of get into fan casts is at the very end of the episode. So without further ado, let's get into Mile High, which, okay, we feel bad that we didn't love Mile High. Okay. Michaela didn't even read it because she knew that me and Kennedy didn't love it. I DNF'd it. Kennedy pushed through, she finished it. And we understand there's a lot of you out there that loved this book and we're so glad you loved it. It just wasn't for us, unfortunately.

[Mikaela]

Okay, here's the thing. Since I'm the only one that finished it, I do have to give credit where credit is due. By the end of the book, Xander's does have. It's Xander's. Right? Not Xander. Okay.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

He has a lot of character development. Okay. The beginning of the book, he starts off as this playboy. Being inside of his head as a woman was really hard. I remember in my review on Goodreads I said something like, this was a really interesting way to introduce your male main charact character. Because after that was hard for me to root for him. The man literally has a note on his phone with like girls names that he can hook up in each city that they go to to play hockey in. And just the way he speaks about women was really hard to digest. So for me personally, I didn't love Xander throughout most of the book. He, like I said, has a lot of personal development and by the end he's great. I think Xanders is just a character that I prefer not to be in his head. And I know that there are people out there who love their relationship and love the character because I think a lot of people really enjoyed based on the form, they really enjoyed the way that Xander. Xander's approached Stevie's body image issues, which. That was sweet. And there were sweet moments about this book. But the first 50% is really hard to get through. We actually just got a DM right before we started recording this and someone is like, I'm having a really hard time with this book. Should I DNF it? Do the books get better? And that's the exact same way I felt reading the first book. I didn't know if I would like this series after reading the first, but since I finished it, I do have a favorite moment. And this is actually really sweet. So Xander goes to a rescue, I think, and rescues Indy's favorite dog from

[Reggie]

the rescue for her.

[Mikaela]

Like so sweet. And there are sweet moments, but the man at the beginning, he just over sexualizes women. And I don't like it. I think the book would be better if we didn't get his point of view. But I also know that people have said she wrote two other books and Xander. Xander's is a character in them, I guess. Did you guys see this on our Patreon? Someone on our Patreon said there's two other books, but they're not published where Xander's a side character. I guess I didn't read those, so maybe had I read those, I would appreciate them a little bit more. But it Just wasn't for me. And I know there's so many people

[Reggie]

out there that love it, and I

[Mikaela]

do feel bad to say skip it. Maybe I would take that back now that I'm here and say, try it. And if you can't get through 30% of it, maybe consider dnfing it.

[Reggie]

But there are so many people that loved the book still. I do think it's the lowest rated out of all the five.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

From what we've seen from your responses, but definitely give it a go. I mean, I'm assuming if you're listening to this episode, though, you probably have read it or already skipped it or something. But we just want you guys to know that there's nothing wrong with enjoying a book. It just wasn't for us, unfortunately. So is that a day not have said that?

[Mikaela]

No. I think that's great. I have no comments. I genuinely think, Michaela, you would have hated it. You would have DNF'd it. I know for a fact.

[Kennedy]

Well, it's really funny because Abby read it and she said it wasn't that bad.

[Mikaela]

Maybe we just said it was really bad, but she said she had really

[Kennedy]

low expectations for it.

[Mikaela]

He just is like, I just have never read a book where a man speaks and thinks about women the way he does.

[Reggie]

Yeah, well. And I started it a long time ago just knowing that it was an incredible book. I know everyone liked. All I had heard about the series was that they were amazing. The second one was the best, and so I was excited. And I honestly DNF'd it, not only because I wasn't loving being in his head, but it was a really long book, too, for a romance book. And at the time, I was just like, if I'm not loving this 20% in, I'm just gonna. I'm not gonna finish it, you know, because it was long. So we can sit and defend ourselves, but we get it. It's reading subjective.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Did she physically read it or listen to it? Do you know?

[Kennedy]

Listen to it.

[Mikaela]

I also didn't love the male narrator's voice. He almost sounded like, old. You know what she said it was

[Kennedy]

really interesting is that the dynamic between Indy and Ryan was very different in the first book than in the second book.

[Mikaela]

Interesting, because then she started the second

[Kennedy]

book, and she was like, this is a switch up from their dynamic. So I don't know, maybe she was also trying to REM about, like, her timeline. No, because they were already together.

[Mikaela]

I know some of them overlap just

[Reggie]

a teensy bit, Right?

[Mikaela]

No, No, I don't remember Indy and Ryan being together in Mile High.

[Reggie]

I know there's supposed to be, like, a cameo that introduces them.

[Mikaela]

Well, yeah, because Indy is. Indy is Stevie's best friend because they're both flight attendants, and obviously Stevie is Ryan's sister. And so I don't know.

[Kennedy]

I, I, I can't say I don't remember.

[Mikaela]

But I also, she said that was just, like, interesting.

[Kennedy]

But my first impression of them was literally me starting.

[Reggie]

Yeah, same.

[Kennedy]

The right move.

[Mikaela]

Yes. Which leads us to our next book. Well, actually, first you guys that filled out the form. The average rating for Mile High was three stars. So most of you, like, enjoyed it, which is great.

[Reggie]

I wish I would have enjoyed it.

[Mikaela]

Once again, if you make it through half of the book. He really has a lot of character development, which I appreciate.

[Reggie]

But, yeah, I'm sure if I would have finished the book, I would have liked it a lot more than the first 20 or however much I read, so.

[Mikaela]

But you want to know what? I love them in every single other book. I love him in every other book. I love her in every other book. So cute together. I'm obsessed with them.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

You know? Okay.

[Reggie]

Anyways, so, so sorry, we're moving on. But the right move. Indy and Ryan. What did you guys also. Wait, what did you rate?

[Mikaela]

I rated it two stars.

[Reggie]

Okay.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

What did you guys rate? The right four stars.

[Kennedy]

Ooh, I need to look. I think I rated it 4.

[Reggie]

I think you gave it 4.5.

[Kennedy]

Did I?

[Reggie]

I gave it 5. What is it? The right move.

[Kennedy]

The right move. 3.75.

[Reggie]

Oh, you didn't think you would.

[Kennedy]

Anyways, she was really stingy with that fourth star. I, I couldn't tell you.

[Mikaela]

I literally think it was because of the laughing.

[Reggie]

Oh, okay.

[Mikaela]

Okay. You talk about that in your least faves, you guys. As a collective, 57 of you rated at five stars. 28% rated it four stars, 14% rated three stars. So the consensus. Consensus. Consensus is five stars.

[Reggie]

Yeah. I hadn't read a romance book in so long when I started this book, and it just, it just did it for me. I was. And I even had high expectations, too, because so many people are like, Ryan Shay. And I was like, okay, like, apparently this guy's so amazing and is the best book boyfriend ever. And so I kind of went into with high expectations, and I think those expectations were met, if not more. I don't know. It just worked the time I read it, loved it. I didn't have really any issues with it. And what I Can remember.

[Mikaela]

Are we starting off with Lee's faves or faves? Faves.

[Reggie]

Faves.

[Mikaela]

Okay. I mean, obviously Ryan Shea.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

The acts of service, the fact that

[Mikaela]

that man learned sign language for Indy's father. Oh, my gosh. When he. His vows, didn't he sign them? Yeah, yeah. That man is an angel.

[Reggie]

Him making her coffee every morning, building her bookcase, the fridge. The notes on the fridge paid for her treatments. I literally was like, writing all the.

[Mikaela]

He's. Oh, my gosh, I'm obsessed with him.

[Reggie]

And I feel a lot of people said this on when we asked you guys like your faves. A lot of you said he just had this, like, quiet, quiet love about him. And I really like that because. And I'm not saying this is every romance book, but a lot of romance books, it sometimes feels like the guys are just. I mean, he was obsessed with her, don't get me wrong. But there was something I really loved about and that was really refreshing about the quiet love that he had for her. He wasn't trying too. It was.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

It wasn't love bombing her. And sometimes it's really hard for me to read dual point of view books because I either love being in the middle main character's head, or I feel like it kind of can ruin my reading experience. But I just. There was just so much I loved about him as a character and just the way he not only showed love for Indy, but also for Stevie, which I loved, and even his friends. So.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, yeah, sorry, I just. I'm just reading all their favorite things. I'm like, yeah, yeah. No, I think reading this book, I was like, okay, Ryan Shea is setting the tone for. And I also just loved how he really had this conflicting. Like, he was conflicted. Like, he was like, low key obsessed with her. But he's like, I can't, you know, I don't know. I just. I kind of like a. A sibling thing. Like, and the fake dating was kind of fun.

[Mikaela]

You know, it's just like, kind of fun.

[Kennedy]

Like, I don't know.

[Mikaela]

I don't know. I had never read a sports romance outside of hockey until the right move. Oh, it was so good. It was just refreshing. Yes.

[Reggie]

Not read hockey. Yes.

[Mikaela]

And growing up playing basketball, I mean, the tiny, like you got like, literally the most smidgen amount of basketball in this book. But it just was so fun and just really easy for me to picture. Just because I grew up in a basketball gym.

[Kennedy]

I just.

[Mikaela]

Ryan Shea. And also I liked Indy too. I didn't really have Any problems with her? She's not like spoiler. She's not my favorite FMC in the Windy City series, but I did really like her.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, I. Yeah, I just think they're. At least. This is my first experience with her books and so I really just appreciated all the depth. We got. We got funny moments. We got some like really serious moments where she covers some topics that I think are done pretty well and. Yeah, I just. Yeah, I just. Honestly, the basketball aspect, besides Ryan Shea and learning asl, I just loved it. I just loved like an MBA moment,

[Mikaela]

you know, it was just fun.

[Kennedy]

Fun to be in that setting.

[Reggie]

Yeah. Also the camping scene. Sorry, I'm just like refreshing my brain on things in here. I'm just gonna read this response from someone of something they loved. It said there was good simplicity to the stories. The main characters tried to help each other be the best versions of themselves. There were no crazy lies or antics to get each other's attention and then said loved when he carried her out of the bridal shower party. It just.

[Mikaela]

Their romance felt realistic. Yeah, I wrote that down in my notes. Is. It just felt realistic to the point where like you're as a sibling, you don't want to date your sibling's best friend. You know what I mean? But like it just was, it just was so good. And I think, I mean we can go into lease saves. But I think for me the main thing that I didn't love about this book and why I didn't rate it 4 stars or 5 stars was I feel like Ryan was such a well adjusted person and I feel like their communication throughout the book was honestly pretty good until, you know, the quote third act breakup when there was that accidental pregnancy scare and like he like shut her out. They didn't have a conversation. Yeah, yeah.

[Reggie]

That was a little surprising.

[Mikaela]

That to me just felt so not like Ryan's personality. Now obviously I know that there was that trauma from the previous relationship where he thought the child was his and it turned out it wasn't. So. I understand that. But also, why didn't they just have a conversation?

[Kennedy]

Yeah. And also like the him buying a house and then her like freaking out over it. I was like, just have a conversation about it. You know, I was like, you guys are. You've been good at communicating besides, you know, the pregnancy scare. Like, just have a conversation. He wanted to surprise you and it. You can, you know, I mean, it doesn't make things dramatic. It makes things less boring.

[Mikaela]

Right, right.

[Kennedy]

If you're like, look, I don't know if I'm ready to. To get in a house like that together. Like, that's the mature thing to do, and that's not entertaining. You know, I'm also, like, looking back, I think after this book, I started skipping the spicy scenes, and that was why I probably rated it as low. Because I'm, like, looking back at these, and people's responses are, like, the dirty talk was, like, cringy, and, like, the Spice was, like, too much. And I think I was trying to, like, like, listen to it because sometimes I feel like during spicy scenes, there can be really important conversations. And then I think that's why I rated it as low.

[Mikaela]

If I. I wish I would have skipped them more. I mean, also, maybe it wasn't the laughing thing.

[Kennedy]

I'm looking back and I'm like, I think it was the spice because sometimes, you guys know me, if I. If I'm reading a book and then their spicy scenes are unlike their characters, and it just feels like that doesn't feel like Ryan Shea, you know, I don't know.

[Mikaela]

I think I just. In this series alone, I do think I fast forward through most of the spicy scenes because they're decently spicy. Like, I wouldn't say they're the most spicy books I've ever read, but there are, like, quite a few, and they're frequent and they're long. But actually, I did listen to the spicy scenes in one book, and I can tell you which book it is.

[Reggie]

I was gonna say I didn't skip any spicy scenes in the Right Move.

[Mikaela]

I just. It was so good. Like, I just remember reading and listening to the Right Move, and I was so glad that I continued because, like I said, after read Mile High, I was really scared that I just didn't jive with Liz. Tom 40, or Tom Ford. I don't know how you say your last name. It's very.

[Reggie]

I think it's Tom.

[Mikaela]

Polarizing. Okay. I just didn't know if I jived with her writing, but I'm so happy I continued on because this is one of my favorite interconnected standalone series. And just the found family in this series is so unmatched. I don't think I've. I mean, Chestnut Springs, but they're actually family. This is such a great Found Family little moment, and I'm obsessed with all of them. Yeah. So I'm so happy I continued. And I'm so, so happy that I like the Right Move as much as I did. Yeah. Yeah.

[Kennedy]

Moving on to the next one.

[Reggie]

Moving on to the next We've got caught up. I'll go first, Baseball Daddy. My rating was a 3.5.

[Mikaela]

Same.

[Reggie]

And I do think it would have been a three. But the last bit of the book bumped it up to a 3.5 for me.

[Kennedy]

I rated it 3, and I said the ending really revived this book for me.

[Reggie]

I feel like the first, like, 50% of the book or more was really hard for me. I liked the very beginning with them meeting and the whole conflict and being like, ooh, like, she's gonna be the nanny. He's a single dad. Her dad is the coach. I was like, this is gonna be so messy. This is gonna be so great. But I think once she actually became the nanny, I just really struggled with our relationship until about the very end, so. But as far as loves. Wait, did you say your rating?

[Mikaela]

Sorry, Three and a half.

[Reggie]

Yeah, three and a half. As far are concerned. I mean, for me, just.

[Mikaela]

I.

[Reggie]

Overall, tropes, like, I said, Max.

[Mikaela]

Yeah, Max.

[Reggie]

And I loved. I think my favorite part is when she brought Max to the game.

[Mikaela]

Yes.

[Reggie]

And he was like, no one has ever brought my, like, thought to bring my kid to the game. Which also, I'm like, you could have just said, hey, can you bring my kid to the game? To any of your past nannies. I don't know. But the fact that she, like, brought him and didn't she have him, like, wearing his jersey?

[Mikaela]

So cute.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

I thought that was the sweetest thing ever. And I also just loved how much the team was, like, helping him raise his son. And Monty was just such a saint and to take care of everybody, it was so sweet. So I think that's what I loved the most was just that family, everyone taking care of each other, and the tropes kind of moment.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

I think my favorite part was, like, the team aspect. I'm trying to think. I also.

[Mikaela]

What.

[Reggie]

What notes did I put?

[Kennedy]

I also think, like you said, Max being involved is just really tender and sweet and adds, like, an element to it that obviously would not be the same story without him. Right. And I think it was needed because it needed to be something different than them just, like, meeting and falling in love. Right. And needed to have, like, her being the nanny. Him feeling, like, split in two different directions, you know? So I think that was probably, like, my favorite part.

[Mikaela]

Baseball, too. Just like, baseball sports. Sorry. I just loved how different she likes ball sports.

[Kennedy]

I honestly, I like hockey a lot.

[Mikaela]

I think it's overdone.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, I think it's just way overdone. So. Yeah. I thought it was just really fun, the baseball. I've been going to a lot more MLB games, and so it was just fun to, like, have, like, get a

[Mikaela]

sport that I have been going to recently. So I think that. I mean, I just actually really loved the food aspect and just the fact that she was a pastry chef. And just this. I don't know, just this. The scenes of her baking with them, I just thought was so precious. I also saw a lot of Kai in my. Myself and Kai in the aspect where, like, he's just the type of person that thinks he has to do everything by himself. And so by the end of the book, being able to, like, invite Miller into their dynamic and her be able to help him with things, I just think it just reminded me of myself in a sense, honestly. The weird thing is, is I feel like this is the book I remember the least about, and I don't know why.

[Reggie]

I think it's probably because we rated it a little lower than the others. I just felt like to get into Lee's face, if that's okay.

[Mikaela]

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

[Reggie]

And I want to preface by saying there is nothing wrong with this. Okay. But as a reader, it's just not my favorite thing to read. It felt just very sexually driven. And so to me, I'm like, I want more of a slow burn.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

I want there to be more tension. I want there to be a little bit more of an emotional dynamic than a sexual dynamic. And, yeah, I remember, like, skipping the spicy scenes. And I normally don't skip a lot of spicy scenes. I'm kind of just like, whatever. I enjoy spice, but, like, I just was. I don't know. I. They. I just did not love them. They're dynamic, and I think it was because they were just kind of driven by, like, that attraction and stuff, which. There's nothing wrong with that, but it's just not my favorite thing to read, and it just doesn't feel exciting to me.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

So that was probably, like, overall my least favorite thing. So if it had more of a slow burn, maybe I would have liked it a lot more. I don't know.

[Mikaela]

Baseball Daddy. No, literally, the thing is, is Mikayla read this before me, and she was like, if I have to hear Baseball Daddy one more time. And in the back of my mind, I'm like, it cannot be that bad.

[Kennedy]

No, it's bad.

[Mikaela]

It was that bad.

[Kennedy]

It's bad.

[Mikaela]

It was that bad. I'm just not a fan of an overused nickname. But it wasn't even a nickname. It Just was used. I don't know why.

[Kennedy]

Also, was this one the laughing one?

[Reggie]

I think this one was the last

[Kennedy]

laughing one, so I think that also ruined it.

[Mikaela]

If you guys listen to the audiobook, help us remember because we were having a debate. There is one of these audiobooks where the male narrator chuckled so often because

[Reggie]

someone said in their lease, babes.

[Mikaela]

Okay, wait. Yes. The audiobook, especially Miller's voice and especially her laugh in Kai's point of view, made me cringe so badly. I think it was this one that I didn't like the audiobook.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Some of you guys are saying, though it was too long, the spice was cringy.

[Reggie]

People also didn't like the conflict of the book. The I'm leaving, so this can't happen.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

Felt really repetitive.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

I felt like that was really. I don't know.

[Reggie]

I think we see that in books a lot.

[Mikaela]

I almost would have rather been like, she's off limits because she's the coach's daughter. Also, I'm like, monty had no problem with this. He was like, yeah, sure, date my daughter.

[Reggie]

Well, he doesn't. He say in the beginning of the book, like, don't fall in love with her or something like that. Something. And he's like, won't be a problem.

[Mikaela]

Psych. We all know it's gonna be a problem. I feel like if she's really that

[Kennedy]

big of a pastry chef, she could have figured it out, you know?

[Reggie]

Also, a few people, there was, like, one or two responses that said they felt like the pastry chef thing pulled them out of the story because it didn't feel very realistic, which I thought was interesting. It's kind of fun to see people's, like, what people thought because usually it's just us sharing ours. So I, like, we really appreciate the responses.

[Kennedy]

I didn't really think of it.

[Mikaela]

Me either that way.

[Kennedy]

But I will say she's probably my least favorite.

[Mikaela]

You want to know what's funny?

[Reggie]

She your favorite?

[Kennedy]

No.

[Reggie]

Oh, she's most people's favorite.

[Mikaela]

She's. She's most people's favorite, which. We'll get into that.

[Kennedy]

I'll.

[Mikaela]

We'll give you the percentage of what you guys voted, but. Yeah. Oh, I don't actually know which one's my. Well, no, I do know which one is my least favorite, but. Yeah, it just. For me, it just wasn't a very memorable book, but yet I rated it 3 1/2 stars.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

So moving on

[Reggie]

or. Nope. Sorry. Play along.

[Mikaela]

One other thing I want to say that I actually love about Liz is she always. Which I feel like most romance authors do. But the way that she would tie in the title of the book into the story, specifically with Play along, when Isaiah would be like, just Play Along.

[Kennedy]

Fainted.

[Reggie]

Melting.

[Mikaela]

What'd you guys rate? This one?

[Reggie]

I think I'd give five. Five.

[Kennedy]

Five.

[Mikaela]

Five stars. And it's so funny because I feel like when everybody talks about the Windy City series, you hear about the Right Move.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Yeah. Not necessarily about Play Along. I didn't get Play Along Tiktoks until I had read and finished the book that one published.

[Kennedy]

I don't know.

[Mikaela]

Oh, my gosh. Isaiah Rhodes, the man you are. I am obsessed with him. I'm obsessed with him.

[Reggie]

Absolutely. It was. Came out in 2024.

[Mikaela]

Maybe that's why. Maybe I could go off about this book.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, yeah, I. I know. I feel like the reason why Caught up is not as memorable is because Isaiah outshines Absolutely Brother, except for when he retires. I was sobbing like a baby.

[Mikaela]

That's true. That was really sweet. But Isaiah just.

[Kennedy]

I'm sorry. I think it's because also, I'm a type of person that likes a silly, funny guy, and I feel like. What's his name?

[Mikaela]

Kai.

[Kennedy]

Kai. Kai was like a very serious.

[Mikaela]

Yes.

[Kennedy]

Person. And that's just not typically who I'm drawn to as, like, you know, I don't know. But then you can have some, like, serious moments. Like Isaiah, like, he had a lot of. I just can't.

[Mikaela]

But also, let's compare and contrast the two brothers. Right.

[Kennedy]

So, yeah, we.

[Mikaela]

I do feel like there's some emotional and character depth in Mile High.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

There's some in the Right Move. Caught up for me. Just didn't have a lot of emotional depth. There wasn't kind of like, obviously they have their own issues, whatever, but there just wasn't something. Maybe it's because I didn't relate as much to the emotional problems that they had. But, like, to me, Caught up is probably the one that has the least.

[Kennedy]

Yeah. I guess I had the whole, like, family abandonment.

[Mikaela]

I mean, they're.

[Kennedy]

His mom. Yeah.

[Mikaela]

He had to take care of his brother.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

The parents passed away or just his mom. Yeah, just his mom passed away. Yeah. His dad. Yeah.

[Kennedy]

It's still. Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Okay.

[Kennedy]

That's right. That's right.

[Mikaela]

But Isaiah, the amount of quotes that man had, that made me squealing like a little baby. The fact that he.

[Kennedy]

The first time they meet, he's sitting

[Mikaela]

in the woman's restroom. I'm so sorry. On the same Anniversary of his mother's death.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, I'm just obsessed with this book. Every aspect obsessed.

[Mikaela]

Emphasize why you're so obsessed with me.

[Kennedy]

I had the Wago song, the going to the grocery store and picking out a toothbrush. I don't know why.

[Mikaela]

That was, like, him buying her the shoes, her getting him the colorblind glasses.

[Kennedy]

Oh, my gosh, let's not talk about

[Mikaela]

that, because I will stop.

[Kennedy]

Like, I. There is.

[Mikaela]

What did I put for my least. Let's start with Lisa's, because I could go off on my favorite moments. I. I don't know if I have one.

[Kennedy]

I don't have.

[Mikaela]

I do actually have one. Kennedy did frustrate me a little bit, because I'm like this, man. I'm like, this is taking you so long to reciprocate those feelings. And it kind of got to a point where I was like, you are stringing this sweet angel golden retriever man along. Just admit it to him. Yeah, that would probably be. If I didn't nitpick something, it would

[Kennedy]

be that I think I kind of liked it.

[Mikaela]

I mean, like, cat and mouse. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Kennedy]

Well, I also think there's just, like. Especially with Kennedy, there's just a lot going on with her family. And so, like, I can see how she's not a very trusting person. And, like, her family throws on a facade in front of everyone. And so, like, I can see how, like, is he just having a facade with me, or is, like, this actually Braille?

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

You know, and so I understand. At least for me, it didn't bug me at all, because I just. I could understand how, like, she's been around these people who are snobby to her face and, like, in private, but in per. Like, everyone else, they're just like, oh, everything's so fine, posh.

[Mikaela]

I love my children, and so let me invite you to my annual. Wait, no, that's the wrong book. You say Christmas party.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Whoa, whoa. I'm so sorry.

[Reggie]

Wrong book.

[Kennedy]

I just. Yeah, I just. I just love how protective he was

[Mikaela]

of her in front of. When he called out her mom.

[Kennedy]

Yes.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Wait, was it her mom? Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Reggie]

The yearning.

[Kennedy]

I just. I. Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Okay, you guys, not to make this about me, but in another life, I wanted to be an athletic trainer, so not to be, like, I was the main character of this book.

[Kennedy]

No, but you were.

[Reggie]

You were.

[Mikaela]

But literally, I was, like, in another life. I love my husband to death. When I. Before I met him, I had every plan to go to Weaver State and study athletic Athletic training and be an athletic trainer. Then I met my husband, and that just didn't happen. But I was like, this would be me.

[Reggie]

You in another life, like Kennedy with red hair.

[Mikaela]

I was, Yeah. I grew up around baseball. My dad coached baseball. Like, so I was the main character.

[Kennedy]

I'm sorry, you were, you were 100%.

[Mikaela]

I have, I have issues with my family. Like, what's this book? Is this play about me?

[Kennedy]

About me? I also just love the dynamic of, like, her being the athletic trainer. And, like, I feel like it was really fun to see the separation of, like, I'm doing my job, but, like, being a little flirtatious about it and. But it wasn't just, like, all lusty.

[Mikaela]

Right.

[Kennedy]

If that makes sense. Like, while she was doing her job, she was like, I, you need to do this because you're injured and stuff like that.

[Mikaela]

And so except for the time it was at his house.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, yeah.

[Mikaela]

Which also, I just. This is such, like, a stupid thing to love, but I just love that. The fact we got this whole side quest of them having a bet and Isaiah lost and they got to pick out decor for his house.

[Kennedy]

Huh?

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

Just the group of friends.

[Mikaela]

I just want to be their friend. Yeah.

[Reggie]

This.

[Kennedy]

I. It was just.

[Mikaela]

Yeah. It was my favorite Roman romance book of 2025.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Oh, yeah.

[Kennedy]

Easily. Yeah. And just to go, go back to the glasses, I was uncontrollably sobbing. Like, I don't know why. Well, especially when he, like, first mentions, like, actually seeing the color of her

[Mikaela]

hair when he asks everyone what color it is because he's colorblind.

[Kennedy]

I, I straight up can't, because I was just like, he, I don't know.

[Mikaela]

I. Crying right now. He just loved her. I know.

[Kennedy]

And just like, it, being at their wedding.

[Mikaela]

Right.

[Kennedy]

And having such an intimate moment like, of like a wedding gift and like, such a simple.

[Mikaela]

Like, that's not an extravagant gift. It's such a simple thing. And it just shows how much she loves him.

[Kennedy]

Yeah. And she was, like, so sad that it didn't work at first. And then she's like, oh, maybe it's not working. And he's like, what? And then all of a sudden, like, he just sees her hair.

[Mikaela]

And I'm like, I can't. I just know a romance book is going to be five stars when I'm actively rooting for the couple so hard. And I knew they were going to end up together. I didn't exactly know how or why when he offers to be traded somewhere else for her, but then she turns down the job. I just was like, ye, I love them.

[Kennedy]

And also having such great banter between characters.

[Mikaela]

Yes.

[Kennedy]

Like, you're actively laughing out loud because he is such a funny character. And I. I also think she's really funny too. Like, she could hand it back to him, you know, I don't know.

[Mikaela]

I just.

[Reggie]

He. He.

[Mikaela]

They just make me giggle. It just makes me giddy to talk about it. I feel like it's because I was

[Kennedy]

surprised also by this because I don't feel like a lot of people talk about Isaiah. Yeah, Isaiah is a shining star for me.

[Mikaela]

He is a shining star. Anyways, sweet baby angel.

[Kennedy]

Why does everyone else rate it? Did we talk about that yet?

[Mikaela]

We did not. So the average consensus is 73% of you rated it five stars.

[Kennedy]

Oh, my gosh. That's the highest one.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Yeah. Everyone, favorite moment. Isaiah freaking Rhodes. Isaiah Rhodes. Isaiah Rhodes.

[Reggie]

Also, like, on all the least fave responses, most of them are nothing. Like, there was nothing that I disliked. Wait, someone says they didn't love the spicy scene against the window during the fireworks. Loved that.

[Mikaela]

Come on. That's like, yeah, I fear I did listen to every single spicy scene in this book.

[Reggie]

Can't miss a single moment.

[Kennedy]

Nope.

[Mikaela]

Not with Mr. Isaiah.

[Kennedy]

I think I did because I didn't want it to get ruined for me.

[Reggie]

Yeah, that's fair.

[Kennedy]

Like, I was enjoying it so much. I was like, I don't want to risk, like, me not liking the book because of, like, a spicy scene, for sure. You know? So I was like, they indeed did

[Mikaela]

have sex on a window during a firework show. Yeah.

[Kennedy]

In Vegas.

[Mikaela]

No, no, in Chicago.

[Kennedy]

In Chicago.

[Reggie]

Interesting.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Also, just the shoes that he bought. Okay, I'm going to stop.

[Kennedy]

I'm going to stop.

[Reggie]

Also, let's just, like, we haven't even talked about the fact that, like, they literally got married in the first few

[Mikaela]

pages of the book, which normally I don't love. Yeah, that, like that whole trope. Marriage.

[Reggie]

I just remember, honestly, the best part of the of Caught up was the end of the book when Isaiah's like, this is my wife.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

The way I like, tossed my phone in the air and was like, screaming. Yeah, I have like. I was like, I need to read this next book immediately.

[Mikaela]

But loved also the scene where. Oh, my gosh, oh, my gosh.

[Kennedy]

Oh, my gosh.

[Mikaela]

We haven't talked about this. He hates thunderstorms. Oh, and the way, okay, when he can't get a hold of her and he calls her a million times and she shows up at his Doorstep in the rain.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

There's nothing better than a scene where someone shows up dramatically during just like.

[Mikaela]

No, but just this.

[Reggie]

Give it.

[Mikaela]

Sweet angel. Funny guy opening up to this girl about his anxiety and just. I'm sorry, no notes.

[Kennedy]

Okay, no notes.

[Mikaela]

I'm done.

[Reggie]

Well, moving on. Rewind it back.

[Kennedy]

I'm really curious to.

[Mikaela]

I feel like this is the book

[Kennedy]

we've talked about least together.

[Reggie]

Yes.

[Kennedy]

Because it's the most recent read for Kennedy and I and Reggie, you read it just. Just a little bit ago.

[Reggie]

Yeah. I'm really torn on my review, like, and rating for this book because almost the entire time I read was reading this book, I was like, this is a five star read. This five star read. I finished it. I gave it five stars. But that I've sat on it for a while. I'm like, maybe it's more of like a 4.5 because I'm realizing there were some imperfect things about it. But I'm like, my reading experience was great. But then it also, I. You compare it to the other book and I'm like, it's literally not like it's so hard. So maybe I'd say like a 4.5. But I've said this before, but I just feel like the reason I love this book so much is because I just saw a lot of my own relationship in it.

[Kennedy]

Yeah. So I feel like you can't top that. Like, if you see your, like, own relationship in a book, it's like. It's like hard to not like, rate it high.

[Reggie]

Yeah, for sure.

[Kennedy]

What did you rate it?

[Mikaela]

I think I rated three and a half.

[Kennedy]

I think. I think I have four. But I would rate like 3.75. Because I'm thinking about my ranking of the books and I, you know, I just have to, you know. Yeah. I. Should we just start with least faves?

[Mikaela]

Because I feel like it's easier to go.

[Kennedy]

I think I really struggled with the reason they broke up in the first place. Like the parents, mistakes being on them.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

It was just such a tricky situation. Like, I though. Because you didn't know for a while what happened.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

And then when I found out what happened, I'm like, okay, yeah, like, that's crazy. But I sit and think about me as somebody who dated and married their high school sweetheart. And I'm like, that's really hard shoes to be put. Like, it would be really hard to be in their shoes. But also I just think of, like, how much I loved my husband when we were dating and that being in that Exact same, like, age and stuff. And I can't. It's so hard because, like, maybe some of you are like, well, no duh, like, but I just try to put myself in. And I feel like you just. There's a conversation, like, if you love each other, you can have the hard conversations and you can sit and resolve conflict. I know not everyone's like that, but because I saw so much of

[Mikaela]

my

[Reggie]

relationship in this book, to me, it didn't seem very realistic, the whole conflict and them just.

[Kennedy]

Well, I think what I struggled with is his mom just, like, blaming her. Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Freaking weird. Because she knew.

[Kennedy]

She knew. I'm like, she's. What was she, 17, 18 year old? And she knew, and she's like, I don't know what to do. And it was like, the mom blaming this 17 year old.

[Reggie]

Yeah. Like, put yourself in her shoes. Like, what would you do?

[Kennedy]

Like, I get it. You can be upset. Like, why didn't you tell me? But, like, I. I forgive you. Because, like, what do you do in that impossible situation? It, like, ruins everyone's lives involved. And so I was really. I really hated that. I really did. And I think that ruins the book for me. Yeah.

[Reggie]

Well, and also how close she already was with his family. Like, they'd known each other. I don't know.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

Anyways, that's kind of, like, my least fave of it.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

I think that was kind of the general consensus among you as listeners. From what I'm reading here, a lot of people said they felt like the Rio we got in this book wasn't the Rio we saw in previous books.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

Which I can see that. But I also really liked that because I feel like in the previous books, Rio is just kind of this. He's like a funny guy, but he's just, you know, he's just really stuck in life. And these girls are just.

[Mikaela]

He.

[Reggie]

He has these friends, and the girls are trying so hard to just help him. But it made a lot of sense. I liked getting to understand him, I guess, but I don't feel. I wouldn't say he felt like a completely different character. I think I just appreciated that we got to, like, understand him.

[Mikaela]

He's got a backstory. Yeah.

[Reggie]

But a lot of people here on the former saying that they didn't feel like he was the same person. But I think it's because.

[Mikaela]

I think it's because he hadn't shared that side of himself with the group until that moment. Yeah.

[Kennedy]

Like, no one really knew anything.

[Mikaela]

They didn't even know her. Name?

[Kennedy]

Yeah. Or like, yeah, I don't know. I just think he was a side character in all the books. In this book, he's. He's the main character. And so, like, you're not gonna see everyone's personality and a couple sentences about the character before you get their own

[Mikaela]

book, you know, like, I'm trying to even think of, for example, like in Kai's book. I don't even feel like we got. Isaiah is a really. His personality in Kai's book.

[Reggie]

And their brothers.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

You know, I think it was just that there's like, someone said it was the playfulness of Ryo's character and he felt a lot more serious.

[Mikaela]

Yeah. Okay.

[Reggie]

In this book. But also I'm like, yeah, you would be a little more serious if all of a sudden blast from the past appears to be your next. You know what I mean? So I can see why people would say that. But yeah, I liked that it gave him a lot more depth, so. And I feel like you kind of got his playfulness side too, seeing him as a teenager, which I also don't usually like when you're reading stuff like that.

[Mikaela]

It's weird because I did like the dual point of views, but also I didn't at the same time and I can't pinpoint why I didn't like it.

[Kennedy]

I think it was a little juvenile to read them having, I think, like sex.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

They're like. And I'm like, oh, I'm like a 25 year old woman and I'm reading about these like 16 year olds having sex. I know that happens. I know it does.

[Mikaela]

But I'm like, I don't think I was prepared for that going into this book. I don't think I was prepared for it to be them that young. But I also didn't hate. Yeah, it wasn't the dual point of view. It was just kind of like I liked it, but then at times I was like, I don't like it.

[Reggie]

Yeah, it's kind of hard to do Dual point of view and also dual timeline.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

So.

[Kennedy]

Oh, sorry. That's what I meant.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

Dual timeline.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

I didn't hate the dual timeline. I think there was just some instances where I was like, okay, it was just different.

[Mikaela]

Which is actually kind of refreshing because

[Kennedy]

I feel like it was different from her other books and it needed to be something a little bit different. Yeah. To get backstories, especially from a high school sweetheart kind of thing, you know,

[Mikaela]

I did think it was sweet that they just saved themselves for each other. Yeah. Do we want to say our faves? Sure.

[Reggie]

I love that.

[Mikaela]

I also love, like, dang, that's hard. But, yeah, kudos to you, my friends.

[Reggie]

Him buying the house is like a blank slate for her.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

Loved that. The number on his jersey.

[Mikaela]

Oh, my gosh.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Rip my heart out. I. One of my favorite parts was. Was it the epilogue or something? Basically the last paragraph in the book just. I wish I could remember exactly what it said. And I wish we had the physical book and we could just read it.

[Reggie]

I can pull it up on my

[Mikaela]

Kindle, but basically it's kind of saying, like, was it in Rio's point of view? I think it was Rio's point of view. Had to have been the things he learned from all of his friends, like, how to be, like, how. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I just started sobbing. I just love a full circle moment. And just the fact that Liz tied in all the other characters and the lessons they learned from their books and what Rio learned from them, I just thought that was so sweet. I also really loved the music aspect. Just the fact that that was a fun little added moment I really enjoyed.

[Reggie]

Yeah, me and my husband do that.

[Mikaela]

I figured. I figured that was what the aspect of your relationship was.

[Kennedy]

I. Yeah. I also really liked that it reminded me of a time when I was not yet dating my husband, but he. I broke my face in a soccer game. And I know it sounds so cheesy, but he made me a playlist.

[Mikaela]

I love it.

[Kennedy]

And he labeled it for those days when you break your face. Stop. And it was just, like, filled with, like, the most wholesome, like, music, like, so cute and so, like, I still have that playlist. And I'm like, that's just so tender. That he kept, like, his boombox, whatever it's called, so he can play, like, the CDs.

[Mikaela]

Was that.

[Kennedy]

Or a cassette.

[Mikaela]

Cassettes.

[Kennedy]

It was like, cassettes. And I was just like, that's just really freaking tender.

[Reggie]

Well, even, like, the exact dialogue of him saying like, or I don't know who starts the music thing, but them saying, what's the song for this moment?

[Mikaela]

I think it's her that has the music. Yeah.

[Reggie]

She starts, like, I have. We haven't. We. I literally still have my playlist. And we, like, add to it, like, especially too, like, us becoming, like, parents now. We're, like, incorporating songs. Not, like, songs my kids are obsessed with, but, like, the song that was playing when Lennon was born or, like, just things like that. And so, to me, I was Just like, I can see people reading this going, that is the cheesiest, most stupid thing. But I was like, that's me.

[Mikaela]

Well, no, music really does transport you back to that time in your life. Like, if it was really significant, I love it. I don't think it's cheesy at all.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, I just think there's so many different forms of putting you back in the moment or like enhancing a scene. And that's. I think it's music a lot of the times, like, can you imagine like your favorite movie without its famous sound score? Like, music just really like. And also, can you imagine like Pirates of the Caribbean? Every time the beginning of that song is played, you're like, pirates of Caribbean takes you back to watching that movie.

[Mikaela]

You know what I'm saying?

[Kennedy]

Like, just having like music that relates to certain moments, it's so easy just like get pulled back into it. And so I think it's just like the most tender thing ever.

[Reggie]

Absolutely. I feel like too, like that's because. I think a reason why I saw a lot of my self and my relationship in this book was because one, I met my husband when I was 16. And also the music element to it. Like we met through music and stuff. And so to kind of see that the music part element to that was kind of a full circle moment for them. I don't know. Just loved it. And I just love Rio because I just remember when I learned that the fifth book was going to be about Rio, I was like, okay, like, obviously this is gonna be exciting because he's just been single for so long and then you just hear why and just melted my heart. I was just so happy for him. Um, I wanted to. Before we get into like ranking the boys and maybe the books really quick, there's a quote from the Right Move that I wanted to read that kind of, I feel like summarizes what you were saying, Kennedy, about like. Like how much you love the characters and how this book ends with him kind of tying that up. But in the right move. I don't know whose point of view this is. I'm gonna guess indies. But it's in the Right Move. It says, how else would you get to live a thousand lives in the span of only one? The beauty of fiction is that it makes you feel things on a visceral level. You can cry with those characters, laugh with them. It teaches you to look at another's perspective and to have empathy. In non fiction, you simply learn about something instead of feeling it. I don't know How I technically agree with that last line, but I just love that a lot. I felt like that kind of, just kind of summarizes how the series has made me feel.

[Mikaela]

Yeah, well, I was trying to explain to somebody the other day how I'm sure there's been some study somewhere. I don't even know. I'm convinced. My brain cannot comprehend that these people

[Reggie]

are not real and they are not my friends.

[Mikaela]

And so just the fact that I. Well, we might see them again. Just the fact that it's over and I don't get to read stories about these people makes me depressed because I really do love all. I love all of them and just their dynamic and their friendship. It's just, it's so great because I mean, some interconnected standalone series, you don't get to keep seeing those characters again. It's like about a sister and then you never see the other characters in the other book or, you know, they're already family or whatever. This just feels so special because they choose. They choose each other.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

So cheesy.

[Reggie]

I love fun for Liz to write too. I know that he's so fun.

[Kennedy]

I also really love that he chose not to go to a different team and he decided to like stay and he's like. Because the thing. I was going to be so mad and upset if he chose to go to the other team because I know that she was ready to go with him and like they had that conversation, like eventually she was going to be there with him. But I'm also like, you have found a family and these people. And I was like, your mom is just wonderful person. She's not even like, you know, she couldn't just move, you know, like she doesn't have anything. Well, obviously at the end you found out she was dating her ex husband's brother.

[Mikaela]

But,

[Kennedy]

but I was like, especially, I know they're fiction, like you said, it's hard to separate. But like that is a once in a lifetime thing to find and like, you gotta hold on to relationships like that and just like grasp it. Especially like, I just love the girl aspect between all of them.

[Mikaela]

Well, also Rio and the girls. Rio and the girls.

[Kennedy]

But I just love how like I feel like as women it sometimes can be really hard to make female friendships and like keep female friendships because I feel like there's a lot of emotions. You know, we're, we're emotional people by nature.

[Mikaela]

You know, it's.

[Kennedy]

It's in our DNA.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

But I just love the, the setting they brought with, like just welcoming her Just like, welcome. Welcome to this group. Like, we're so happy to have you. And, like, we love Rio, so. We love you. So, like, I. Yeah, I just. I just love it. I just thought it was so wholesome. Like, so wholesome. I just loved it.

[Reggie]

Yeah. Well, to Windy City. Windy City. We love it. Now that we.

[Mikaela]

Now that we've talked about female women, we love that we're going to pit the women against each other and choose our favorite.

[Reggie]

Which one's your favorite? We'll make this kind of quick because

[Mikaela]

I feel like a lot to talk

[Reggie]

about her fan cast a Kennedy.

[Mikaela]

Same.

[Kennedy]

And Isaiah.

[Mikaela]

I'm just gonna say same. Those are my favorite. Shouldn't be a surprise.

[Reggie]

I think I'd probably say same, too.

[Mikaela]

I don't.

[Reggie]

I don't know. There's not. I guess maybe. Yeah. Kennedy sounds out a little bit more to me than the rest. I wonder how it would change if I were to reread them. But. Yeah, Isaiah. I didn't think that would be the case because I do love me Ryan. Shayan Shay. But I think Isaiah just got the goofy side to him that I need in somebody.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

Yeah, yeah. But wait, did they vote?

[Mikaela]

Oh, yeah. Let's see.

[Reggie]

What everybody to you guys. Number one book boyfriend. I'm kind of. I'm not surprised by this, but I didn't think it was going to be by this much. 45% said Isaiah Rhodes.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

And 26% said Kai.

[Mikaela]

Interesting.

[Reggie]

And 20% said Ryan.

[Mikaela]

See, I would go Isaiah Ryan.

[Reggie]

I'd go Isaiah Ryan.

[Mikaela]

I think I'd do Rio.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

And then Kai and then Xander's.

[Mikaela]

I mean, if I'm getting Xander's end of the book. Yeah.

[Kennedy]

I don't know.

[Reggie]

And then for the fave fmc, pretty split between. I mean, the most we got was for Kennedy, followed very closely with Miller. And then Indy.

[Kennedy]

My poor girl. Stevie.

[Reggie]

I love Stevie. I really do.

[Kennedy]

She just got the least.

[Reggie]

She did.

[Kennedy]

I just feel like there was a lot more going on with the other characters.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

For sure.

[Reggie]

If that makes sense.

[Mikaela]

They. I think the reason why people probably vote Kennedy and Miller is because I feel like they're a lot more, like, strong of a character. Do you know what I mean? Like, they're a little bit more.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

I don't know how to describe it.

[Kennedy]

Yeah. I. I have a question. What would you rank these books?

[Mikaela]

I would go Play along.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

Mine would be.

[Mikaela]

I think I might put. Oh, wait, play along. The right move. Duh.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Rewind it back. And what's the other One Caught up. Caught up or kind of like.

[Kennedy]

And then Mile high. Yeah, that's probably mine, too.

[Reggie]

I'd probably put rewind it back before Caught up. Oh.

[Kennedy]

Oh, yeah, that was mine.

[Reggie]

Oh, I thought you guys were saying you'd put.

[Mikaela]

I don't know. It would probably depend on my mood and the time that you get.

[Kennedy]

Mine would be play along number one. Second one would be right move. Third one would be rewind it back and then caught up. And then mile high.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

Right now that's probably my answer. But if you ask me tomorrow, I might split flop the other two. Yeah.

[Reggie]

All right. Well, it's our favorite part of talking about books. When we get a dream about a potential fan cast, I want to say, did someone. Has this. Has this been picked up? Someone DM'd us and said it had, but I haven't seen anything about it anymore.

[Mikaela]

Let me Google it.

[Reggie]

So let us get a confirmation on that, because I really am hoping this is a series on.

[Kennedy]

I don't know. Here's the thing. I. At least for the fan cast that we're about to do, I had one. I can't find it.

[Mikaela]

Um, I'm not seeing anything. According to this, like, thing that comes up when you Google, there's no current TV show adaptation announced.

[Kennedy]

I didn't think there was.

[Reggie]

I didn't think there was either. It just said, I saw on Twitter someone reached out to Liz's agent and was told the rights were taken. So it looks like there's a TV deal, But I think if.

[Mikaela]

I mean, confirmed, we know that rights can be purchased and nothing can happen. I'm convinced that nothing. I will never think something is being adapted until I see a script. Like a script has been made.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, yeah. Or like a cast. Yeah, yeah. Because I feel like people can have scripts and never do anything with it.

[Mikaela]

That's true. That's a good point.

[Kennedy]

I would love it, though, honestly. I don't have anyone, so I'm gonna let you guys take. Because I think there are so many people who could play this character. The only person that I thought, gosh, I wish I had it, because I. I don't know where it went. I thought I saved it, and I apparently didn't.

[Reggie]

No, I thought I saved one, too.

[Mikaela]

I don't have a fan cast, but you guys have some.

[Reggie]

Yeah, I mean, I can share what I have.

[Mikaela]

Yeah, sure.

[Reggie]

I think this is a very popular one for Ryan, and that's Keith Powers. I could see it. Powers put as many photos on the screen. This is him oh, he's in.

[Mikaela]

He's cute. He's really cute. I love it. Doesn't he blue? Doesn't Ryan Shay have blue eyes? Give him some context. Yeah, he's cute.

[Reggie]

Very popular. I feel like a lot of the ones I agree with are ones I've seen already, but I will say, okay. I love this idea for this girl to play this character. However, it's mentioned so many times in the book that she's got, like, more of a curvy body, like, thicker thighs. And this girl does not have that. But a lot of people want Emily Bader for Miller. I could see her.

[Mikaela]

Girl doesn't have a softball body.

[Reggie]

Yeah. But I just don't feel like she fits the look of her. I feel like she could play her. But I've seen so many people say that recently, and I just am like,

[Kennedy]

I don't know if that's my favorite.

[Reggie]

I don't.

[Mikaela]

I don't know if I like that

[Kennedy]

either, but I wouldn't throw a fit about it.

[Mikaela]

You know, I almost would rather see her as like, Halle.

[Reggie]

Yeah. Yeah. Holly.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

I do see, though, Dave. What's his name? David Corn. Corn Sweat. Is that his name? Fork High.

[Mikaela]

Who?

[Kennedy]

Yeah. Why am I new?

[Mikaela]

Superman.

[Reggie]

Yeah. With his longer hair.

[Mikaela]

Yes.

[Reggie]

Walking from off the base.

[Mikaela]

Off the.

[Reggie]

What's it called? Baseball. Diamond. Base. Out of the dugout with.

[Mikaela]

Isn't he a pitcher? Yeah. Off the mound.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

Give him to me.

[Mikaela]

What position does Isaiah play?

[Kennedy]

I think he's shortstop.

[Reggie]

Just kidding.

[Mikaela]

I don't think it's ever mentioned. Is it. I don't know. It's just a swinger.

[Kennedy]

Like, he just spats.

[Mikaela]

I don't think it's ever mentioned what. Maybe it does. He's a. Are you looking at third base?

[Reggie]

Look it up.

[Kennedy]

Look it up. I want to say easily base.

[Reggie]

Right fielder.

[Kennedy]

But maybe he's just a. He just bats.

[Reggie]

A swinger. A swing, he said. I don't know.

[Kennedy]

I feel like they only ever talk about him batting, so I don't know.

[Mikaela]

Unfortunately, it's giving me a real idea.

[Kennedy]

Rhodes plays baseball, so I can't find.

[Mikaela]

Just say in Winnie City, who's the

[Reggie]

guy that everyone keeps posting as thirst traps for?

[Mikaela]

Monty.

[Reggie]

That's an actual MLB coach.

[Mikaela]

I don't know what I'm here for,

[Reggie]

but that's who I play.

[Kennedy]

The shortstop. Shortstop.

[Mikaela]

All right.

[Kennedy]

That's cute.

[Mikaela]

And his brother's a picture. That's such a cute, adorable.

[Reggie]

A lot of people have been saying Madeline Klein for Indy. Nah, she's not who I Pictured at all.

[Kennedy]

Sorry, girl.

[Mikaela]

I saw me.

[Reggie]

Nah.

[Kennedy]

Well, I just feel like maybe. Maybe it's because I've seen Madeline Klein play really young characters, and so I haven't. I'm gonna give her the benefit of the doubt. I haven't seen her play mature characters or, like, older characters. I know she is older.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

But, like, I feel like the only movies I've really seen her in. Outer Banks, the Glass Onion, and she's playing, like, a young girl.

[Mikaela]

I know.

[Reggie]

I don't see her. People are saying Michelle Randolph, who suddenly just rose to fame all of a sudden. I think it's because she's dating Glenn Powell.

[Mikaela]

She's also in Landman.

[Reggie]

Yeah. I just felt like I was following her when Cassie, her sister, was on the Bachelor, and I'm like, oh, my gosh. She's, like, so famous now.

[Kennedy]

I could see her.

[Reggie]

Yeah. I.

[Mikaela]

Someone said Dr. Avery from Grey's Anatomy is Ryan Shea. Yeah. But he's kind of old now.

[Reggie]

He's too old.

[Kennedy]

He's old.

[Mikaela]

Someone said Michael B. Jordan for Xander's. Okay, here's the thing. Yeah. But give. Like, 10 years ago, I have a

[Kennedy]

bone to pick with people. Fan casting people that are old.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

And them putting, like, you. It's not a fan cast if they're 30 years ago. True.

[Mikaela]

You're not wrong.

[Reggie]

Like, that's like, we are getting older, and we're not really up to date with the, like, super trendy young show. You know what I mean?

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

I don't know.

[Kennedy]

I guess it is a fan cast, But I also had. I have a bone to pick one. They're like, I want Brad Pitt, but when he was 25, I'm like, he's literally 50. What are we going to do about that? Pick someone else.

[Reggie]

Who is this man that is half Italian.

[Kennedy]

Let me see.

[Reggie]

Not like, the best photo of him, but, you know, if he was like,

[Mikaela]

oh, my God, let me see.

[Kennedy]

That's who I pictured in my head.

[Reggie]

That is my boy Rio, everybody. Yeah. He is handsome.

[Mikaela]

Who is he?

[Reggie]

Fabian. Fabian. I don't know. He's beautiful.

[Mikaela]

Someone cast Roman Flynn? Hell, yeah.

[Reggie]

Oh, yeah.

[Mikaela]

Hell, yeah.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Reggie]

You know what?

[Mikaela]

Okay, hold on.

[Reggie]

I'm gonna cast myself as Indy. Okay. I'll just cast myself as Indie. I feel like I have high school theater experience. I think I can do it. Let me just, like, send in a tape right now.

[Kennedy]

I feel like the hardest, hardest part about adapting these TV shows is that these are. Are athletes, and so they have to look and play the part as athletes. Or it's going to kill the vibe. Like, he has to be a tall man.

[Reggie]

Hey, like, zac Efron is 5 8, and he played a basketball.

[Mikaela]

He was a high school basketball player.

[Kennedy]

Okay.

[Mikaela]

He was a high school basketball player.

[Kennedy]

School.

[Mikaela]

High school.

[Reggie]

Kidding.

[Mikaela]

This man is a professional athlete.

[Kennedy]

He has to be above 6 4. Yeah.

[Mikaela]

He has got to be like. I mean, they got some short. They got some short point guards in the NBA. Not really.

[Kennedy]

The shortest one is like six two. I swear.

[Mikaela]

There's a six foot point card.

[Kennedy]

Is there?

[Mikaela]

I swear. Because I swear Kyle's been like, he's my height.

[Reggie]

Trick photography.

[Mikaela]

Okay.

[Reggie]

You can just.

[Kennedy]

He wears the heels. No, I'm just saying that.

[Mikaela]

No, I agree.

[Reggie]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

They have to be athletic looking.

[Mikaela]

Yeah.

[Kennedy]

They have to fit the profile of the sport. Or it's going to be like, that's not realistic. Especially for, like, people who are. Are involved in sports. Like, I've watched sports my entire life and I'm like, you're gonna be in the NBA. No.

[Mikaela]

You know?

[Kennedy]

No.

[Mikaela]

So I feel like that's gonna be the trickiest part. I think it's also mentioned that, like, the Rhodes brothers are super tall.

[Kennedy]

Yeah.

[Mikaela]

I don't feel like for the girls.

[Kennedy]

The girls. Not that they can't be athletic. They can, obviously. Miller played softball.

[Mikaela]

Right.

[Kennedy]

But I just feel like with the men, they have. They have to nail it on the dot.

[Reggie]

Yes. And we have a lot of love for this series, and we hope you guys do too. So thanks so much for listening.

[Kennedy]

I could yap and yap all day about this series.

[Reggie]

We could yap about this a lot. Okay. As you can tell, we're really excited for what's the name of the book that's coming out in.

[Mikaela]

In Her Own League.

[Reggie]

In her Own League with Grandpa Monty.

[Mikaela]

People were strung out when we called him grandpa. I'm like, he's literally a grandpa.

[Reggie]

Also, my apologies, you guys.

[Mikaela]

I.

[Reggie]

While we were recording the episode, I wanted to fact ch how old Indy was in the books. Not Indy or sorry, not indie. Uh, what's her name?

[Kennedy]

We can't.

[Mikaela]

Reese. That's right.

[Reggie]

I want to factor how old Reese was. And when I googled it, Google told me she was 25. Okay. And I just believed it. I should have done some more digging, but we're in the middle of recording. Liz. Tom, 40, called us out. A lot of you called us out. And I apologize.

[Mikaela]

So embarrassed. I was so embarrassed.

[Kennedy]

Like, she's like, she's 35, smiling. I was like, list on board.

[Mikaela]

I actually, you guys are wrong.

[Reggie]

Yeah. So list on 40. I'm sure you're not listening to this, but my deepest apologies. Okay. My.

[Kennedy]

But you want to know what?

[Mikaela]

Still. I was still into it when she was 25.

[Reggie]

I was still so excited, so I

[Mikaela]

was a little hesitant. Yeah, we're sorry.

[Reggie]

I just, I. I apologize for not fact check checking that better. I shouldn't have looked at the first thing I saw on Google. I feel really bad, especially because.

[Kennedy]

Liz, I'm so sorry.

[Reggie]

Everybody makes mistakes.

[Mikaela]

So we texted our group chat.

[Kennedy]

Liz. Tom Ford commented on you guys.

[Reggie]

I literally fell to the ground. I was on my knees like shaking. I felt so embarrassed.

[Mikaela]

We love you, Liz.

[Reggie]

So, you know.

[Kennedy]

Yeah, we do.

[Reggie]

We really do. Thank you so much for listening and yep, check out our new merch at website. I'll read what she's reading dot com. Follow us at what she's reading pod on all the socials. And you can always sign up to our for our patreon for more bonus content. That's everything. So thanks so much for listening. We will see you next week.

[Mikaela]

Bye.