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2024 Superlatives
51 Plays14 days ago
Now Presenting…The Fifth Annual Smut Report Superlatives
It’s a new year, which means it’s time to look back on the past year. We were tired and found comfort in books. We were tired and struggled to read books. But no matter what, we reaffirmed how much we love to read and talk about books. So instead of a best-of list, we bring you without further ado: The Fifth Annual Smut Report Superlatives.
Note: These are books we read this year. We might have reviewed them or not, and they may be published in 2024 or not. We just like books.
If you'd rather read the list, full show notes are available at smutreport.com/podcast.
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Transcript
Introduction and Annual Superlatives
00:00:00
Speaker
mark was This one. yeah this This is on the first syllable. Sorry. Aaron, just you say it. I'm done. Make mine a Marquess. Marquess. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Smut Report! Hi, everybody, and welcome back to the Smut Report podcast. It's the end of 2024, so it's time for our annual superlatives. Fun fact, the very first time we did this, Ingrid and I were like, it's our first annual superlatives! And Erin got really mad. You can't say it's the first annual superlatives.
00:00:36
Speaker
Because that's apparently not what annual means. It's not annual if you're doing it for the first time.
Books That Made Us Feel
00:00:45
Speaker
We've reopened a closed wound now, Holly. Yeah, we really have, Holly. How very dare you. How very dare me. um Anyway, I think this is our fifth annual.
00:00:53
Speaker
This is our fifth annual. god i can't believe that We've been doing this for a long time, apparently. Anyway, I'm Holly. I'm Erin. I'm Ingrid. And we're the Smut Report, and we're here to tell you about all of the books that made us feel the most things.
00:01:11
Speaker
Good and bad. And ugly. And the ugly. So let's do this. let's do this Okay, so basically, these are books that we read this year that were our favorites for various different categories. We may have reviewed them or not. And most of them were probably not published in 2024. But these were the books that spoke to us this year. So anyway, first category, the book that gave me the biggest belly laughs.
00:01:40
Speaker
Ooh, which is a tough one because sometimes when I read, I don't actually belly laugh. Sometimes I tortle or I guffaw or I snort. We're so nerdy. I mean- I mean, these are valid observations. These are valid observations. I mean, absurdity also, absurdity is very amusing but doesn't necessarily make you laugh out loud. Right, right? Right.
Humor and Absurdity in Books
00:02:06
Speaker
Exactly.
00:02:06
Speaker
Yeah, anyway, well, mine was Vampires Never Say Die by Gloria Duke. And again, please recall, this is like my warning for the whole list. I have a really hard time remembering a lot of details from books. When when I read it, I just kind of close the book and then it's over for me. But this one I remembered because I remember being like, this is ridiculous. The whole book, there was just so many little like nuggets of absurdity. but So, I liked it a lot. It was a pretty fun book. yeah So, but the one I chose for this was Trouble by Lex Croucher. And like Ingrid said with her explanation of belly laughs, I'm pretty sure I didn't actually belly laugh during this one. But I do remember thinking, oh, this is funny, which is basically the same thing as belly laughing. I feel like same thing. yeah unless i like
00:02:53
Speaker
I feel like only true book lunatics or Aaron, perhaps laugh really hard out loud when they're reading. Do you know what I mean? Like most people do a snort or like a who like that. Yeah. And of course, it's like ha ha ha because she's Aaron. But I think exactly I mean, maybe Aaron needs to give us her books. But like, because I will say I feel like this wasn't a great comedy year for me. But I did think trouble, had a great rise, sarcastic, like really dry and kind of angry humor. And it was all about the narrative voice. And so I thought it was pretty fun. But I don't know, maybe I'll try reading Aaron's book and see if I actually fall off the couch, which is what I'm sure I think Aaron does when she's yeah, she fell off the couch.
00:03:42
Speaker
I do think that, ah for example, this year, one book that totally made me laugh out loud like in bed while I was listening to it while my husband was trying to sleep. I finally read the Hitman's Guide series by Alice Winters. and like Holly, I don't think you would enjoy that because it's just like totally twee over the top ridiculous humor, but like there were some situations that were just like super working for me in there. I am perfectly willing to lean into the ridiculousity, which I and know that not all readers can do, but I do
00:04:16
Speaker
seek out funny books because I need a little giggle. But I also sold this to my friend. but She's like, I need some books to read. I was like, okay, well. All these other ones, she's like, no, not that. No, not that. It's like, well, she was looking for ADHD characters because she also has ADHD. And I was like, well, this one, she's like, that sounds perfect.
00:04:35
Speaker
And it's the amazing Alpha Tau self-improvement project by Lisa Henry and Sarah Honey. This is like frat boys romance too, which Holly is definitely not gonna read.
00:04:50
Speaker
this book is like okay so there's this character he's in the prior book who's just like kind of a doofus he's like falls into the himbo category as well and he is like I I have a plan I'm gonna be like Trey and Trey is very successful academically and socially and he's like and Trey just got a boyfriend so I'm also gonna get a boyfriend so he walks over to the front across the street and knocks on the door and is like, you're the only gay guy that I know, will you be my boyfriend? And the guy's like, what?
00:05:25
Speaker
just goes from there. But it's stuff like, there's one point where this guy is like, well, okay, but like, are you even attracted to guys? And he's like, I don't know, I think they're hot. Like, he's just like, so lacking self awareness that it makes some really excellent situational comedy. I found extremely entertaining. And then by the end, it's like, oh, well, part of it is that he has undiagnosed ADHD, there's a moment where his He's like, Oh, yeah, my parents said they don't believe in that. You know, so it's kind of sad as well. It's like he just didn't get the support he needs. And that's why he is like here where he is now a senior in college and like trying to like figure himself out.
Deeper Relationship Dynamics
00:06:01
Speaker
So yeah, the amazing Alpha Tau self improvement project. There's a lot going on and it was just very entertaining. Well, maybe I'll try it. And maybe that'll be the book that makes me laugh next year.
00:06:11
Speaker
But I feel like the other thing I heard is that maybe I need to listen to audiobooks. Like maybe audiobooks are funnier. Well this one I actually read because the audiobook didn't come out until much later. Like I read this when it was released because I had read the prior book in the series and I was waiting for this one. um And I am a series reader which you are also not Holly.
00:06:31
Speaker
yeah So I do dig into those characters who are like, I want your book. But a lot of the other ones, if we get a good casting pairing, it's fantastic. I also read about, she's going to come up later, but I read, I did a Lily Morton binge this year and Joel Leslie, who sometimes doesn't succeed for me as the narrator. Like he was perfect casting for those audio books. And I did laugh out loud for a lot of those. And like I said, the Hitman's Guide, I was listening to the audio books that were narrated by Michael Ferriello.
00:06:59
Speaker
And they were really funny. So maybe, but you know, I understand the audio also doesn't work for everybody, but I think the casting does make a difference when you get a good audio book. well my family has big plans for a road trip. And we were like, let's get some audio books. But probably romance audio books are not gonna happen. and i bet that's not going to be a crowd yeah but So yeah, nope, it's fine. All right. i mean So let's go on to the book that made me think then, which for me, I picked I know, I didn't I feel like I read more books that kind of pushed me in different directions last year or something. I didn't
00:07:34
Speaker
I don't have a lot to that I felt like I really emotionally dug into this year, but I chose preferential treatment by Heather Gare because it's interesting the way that the main characters interact, especially what's her face.
00:07:51
Speaker
What is her name? I don't know. Anyway, so we're dealing with with the preferential treatment. It's a billionaire romance, but the heroine Kate is like holding him accountable for his choices. And she is his Dom, but it is still a transactional relationship. And just like some of the ideas that were played within this book were just like so great. I really liked them.
00:08:17
Speaker
So, preferential treatment was a great read. We buddy read it, but also I thought it did some cool stuff with billionaires and relationship dynamics. That one was definitely like a contender for me too, for the same reasons. And I thought that i thought it was examined in a way that wasn't like in your face, think think about this too. It was just kind of like context and so that was cool. Yeah. Yeah. Well, so what's yours Ingrid? You got two here on the list so I know, I'm sorry. arm Well, i can I've kind of decided that I'll be totally honest with you here. The one that I want to choose because I want to be ah smart and thoughtful and a worldly person is A Fragile Enchantment by Alison Safft because it examines this seamstress from like an oppressed nation who goes to the oppressor nation and then works for the palace and uncovers a bunch of stuff. and
00:09:08
Speaker
I mean, there's like clear historical parallels to Ireland and the United Kingdom back then. So it's interesting and I did enjoy it. It was fine. But the one that I, if I'm honest with myself and I really sat with it and was like, ooh, ooh, and like thought the whole time was Scandal of the Season by Adria Richards. And the reason is that basically it was very emotionally thoughtful, basically plays with what comforts us and what we think we need so like our motivations and stuff like when we're traumatized and when we think we need something to feel better like you feel bad and you want to feel better right he wanted to feel better by sticking it to her father who ruined his life and she wanted to feel better by being perfect
00:09:51
Speaker
And when everything blows up in both of their faces, what is actually healing and what actually progresses you forward as a person and as a couple and stuff like that. And I sat the whole time was just like, whoa, whoa, whoa. So that's the one that I honestly think was like more thought provoking for me. So that's the one. I think if I had to pick one, it would be Scandal of the Season by A.J.R. Richards.
00:10:13
Speaker
I don't know, it was super interesting. You just have to trust my judgment on it. All right, we'll trust your judgment. Yeah, or or we'll read it. I don't know. Ooh, did I intrigue you, Holly? You did intrigue me. Although, didn't we buddy read in Adrian Richards last year? You didn't like it. yeah And I didn't like it. You didn't like it. That was that one. It was like the trio and it was the farmer, wasn't it? Yeah. yeah And you hated it. The Duke farmer and i and he made me so, and it made me so mad. But maybe I'll give her another try.
00:10:41
Speaker
He might make you angry too, but it's on purpose. like He's supposed to make you mad, because he's like being a dingbat, but they're they're so really struggling through some stuff, and the way that they do it is just really, it's just juicy.
00:10:54
Speaker
cool. All right. Well, so I had something written down for thinky thoughts. And then like 15 seconds ago, I was like, Oh, wait, I read that in 2023. So think I'm gonna say my sweet folly by Laura Kinsale, which I mean, it's a is a weird book. There's a lot of different stuff going on there. Like, basically, these people start writing to each other, they've never met, she's like married to his third cousin or something. And they start a correspondence, and they like and they fall in love. But then he becomes her guardian. I'm trying to remember the details. But there's like all this stuff about mental health and
00:11:40
Speaker
Also, it was just like a weird book, and it had a lot of stuff going on in it. And I am struggling to remember all the details. But the short version of all that is, if I want a think he a thinky book, Laura Kinsale is always a always a good bet.
00:11:54
Speaker
And I didn't make them read it with me. Thank you. oh welcome You're welcome. You're welcome. But yeah. But you're not wrong. I agree. is a good Yeah. And then yeah if you we want a number two choice, then like Pansy's by Alexis Hall was just, but that was a book that was like Ingrid's, it sounds like the book you read was just like, it was a straightforward romance, but then that was really emotionally juicy. Like Pansy's and Alexis Hall is trying to do stuff.
00:12:21
Speaker
um He's like, I want to look at bully romance, and I want to look at grief, and I want to look at what does it mean to be a man and masculinity. and That sounds really interesting. And identity as a lad, like British lad. Like a guy's guy who is also queer, and how can I negotiate that?
Romantic Characters and Dynamics
00:12:48
Speaker
And as a gay man who once a wife, not a woman, but once a super heteronormative lifestyle.
00:12:57
Speaker
right So um so that was also a it it was really interesting. um And it was also a thinky thoughts book, but it was i very clearly a thinky thoughts book on purpose. Okay, so our next category is the book with the swooniest character.
00:13:15
Speaker
her So my pick is Hunter's Moon by Karen Roberts, which I'm just gonna say it. This is an age gap romance between an FBI agent and his unwilling informant that was written in the 90s. So it's just like a million red flags. Just say it. I'm just gonna say that. And will the FBI man like he's terrible.
00:13:40
Speaker
because he is you know he's like a classic paternalistic hero. But when they have sex, in the aftermath, there's this like shot. it's like It's like a movie shot of him sitting on the hotel bed wearing his shirt unbuttoned and his business socks. And that's it. And and it's just like, that's the sexiest thing I've ever seen in my life.
00:14:06
Speaker
and But and we're like we're in the heroine's head. And the heroine is just like describing this image of him and how hot it is and her daddy issues and all this stuff. And it's like that moment, I believe you. This is the swooniest character I've ever read.
00:14:22
Speaker
Wow. That's fun. I'm just saying, people write an age gap romance now. like <unk> not listen't No, that's not how we do it. We do it like we did it in the 90s. We're going to do it. Just lean into it. Yeah. Let's just go with the red flags.
00:14:39
Speaker
all that Scarf of red flags. Scarf of red flags. But you know what? He might be a grumpy, paternalistic hero for a heroine with daddy issues, but he also doesn't get mad at her when she goes on dates with other men.
00:14:53
Speaker
Oh. Before they're dating. Because he's mature. see Well, I mean, he he's like, you're going to give me an ulcer. But right but he doesn't like he doesn't slut-shamer. So love to see that and romance being written in Year of Our Lord 2025. Authors, take note. OK, guys. Who else has swoony characters? Well, I have one that I actually wanted to put in for. I we was really torn between this one and the fan yourself.
00:15:23
Speaker
option. But it was when Grumpy met Sunshine by Charlotte Stein. But I decided that I had to put under this one because he is the sole reason that I was like, Oh my gosh, he's basically based on Roy Kent from Ted Lasso. hu So he's like real grumpy. And it's so good. I don't even know. Like if you like it when the guy is just like, if I recall correctly, she's like, sweet and plump and knits like little British, you know, like that kind of thing. And then he's like,
00:15:52
Speaker
a massive soccer superstar, and it's like hilarious and great. and I physically i remember being like, oh my, like that was the response from this one.
00:16:04
Speaker
So I feel like I'm falling down on the job guys because I typically think that I love a grumpy hero or like a stick in the mud hero who needs to get his hair must but I have like not been reading those books or if I have it hasn't been like oh yeah that's hot but like I feel like I keep on choosing these characters who are like so soft they're the softest softies they're going to take care of you.
00:16:30
Speaker
But I couldn't, I'm like having trouble deciding because also I wanted, I was like you know what, why are we always choosing a male character?
00:16:44
Speaker
are also swoony. Truth. But I realized that in my reading, I don't. You just read male male romance, Erin. Sometimes when I go, sometimes when I go through my list at the end of the year, I'm like, Oh, guys, I need to branch out. So just in terms of like, overall vibe, when I was thinking about a female little character to cite here,
00:17:08
Speaker
The closest one was maybe Tenley from Criminals Need Love 2 by Isabel Jordan because she's just like super competent. And she's like, I got this and I got you. You're in the struggle, Buzz. I got this. There's one moment I was just like, yes. Where his fiance, his ex-fiancee or whatever, ex-girlfriend is like invited to this party specifically to cause trouble for him. And she comes up, Tenley's pretending to be his new fiance. She comes up and like tries to scare her away. And Tenley's like,
00:17:36
Speaker
I eat women like you for breakfast. Try harder. like yeah So anyway, like that was the closest I got. I mean, also stuff like, she knows what she wants in the bedroom and like, she's also giving in the like, it was just a great dynamic that I enjoyed reading. But like, for the softest softies, I had yes like, I want a little bad boy action. So I had read from Red Flags on Tuesdays by Nordic and Knight, which was like,
00:18:05
Speaker
also a scarf with red flags kind of book except for he is super interested in Atticus who it there's a little breadcrumbing but like Atticus has some family stuff going on and also suffers from like major depression kind of thing like can't get out of bed for multiple days depression and so he is just like he he's kind of a little bit of a dick but he totally shows up for Atticus not just in this one scenario but like all the time and even stuff like he sees Atticus talking to another guy and he is jealous but he also acknowledges that this is not the place to talk about it. I don't necessarily have anything to be angry about because we haven't got agreements with each other like and he just walks away and talks to him about it later you know so stuff like that like even though we're dealing with some like
00:18:57
Speaker
andhe like weird men red flaggy mentalities, like the actual implementation was not like that. But if I'm just gonna go total like, oh my god, so soft, softest, softy, then it's gotta to be Todd from A Pebble for Lewis by Amy Bellows, which is an Omegaverse romance with Egg Pregg. And it's just like really ridiculous. But Todd, so like these guys meet when they're like teenagers and it's not allowed. Todd is a polar bear and Lewis is a penguin. Oh, polar bears are penguins. No, that can't be done. yeah No, thanks. Also, wait, wait, wait, but polar bears live in the North Pole and penguins live in the South Pole. and that just I'm sorry, that is just a bridge too far for me. There are readers who actually say that in reviews. There is actually an explanation for why the penguins moved up to Anchorage in the book. Oh my gosh.
00:19:56
Speaker
You've got to be kidding me. They're shifters, guys. This is already an obvious scenario. It's omega first shifters. I but you know what? No. Sorry. This just goes to show it's the level of dirty that reads romance.
00:20:13
Speaker
Yeah. It's high. It's true. It's high. Anyhow, that's hilarious, Erin. It is. I cannot even right now. It is. I know. I'm sorry. Okay, so Todd's a polar bear, and Lewis is a penguin, and penguins have this very insular community about their courtship rituals and how they mate.
00:20:30
Speaker
and So like Todd is not supposed to meet Lewis. Does he have to roll a rock over? There is pebble gifting, in fact. The series is amazing.
00:20:44
Speaker
so
00:20:47
Speaker
so they meet and then they kind of secretly start texting each other but like just as friends and then they like start playing video games together online like don't even see each other. this so This book takes it's a short book but it takes place over the course of years and then finally when they're like both 19 or something they Todd invites Lewis over to play video games in person and they just like hang out together but like they don't even touch because Lewis isn't allowed to right he's already breaking the rules but he's still gonna like not break these rules And then eventually like they sit close enough to touch, and then they finally like admit that they have feelings for each other, but it's still not allowed. and Oh, and the other thing is polar bear culture is more open to non-monogamy, but like also ah expected that you don't mate for life. So in penguin culture you mate for life, and in polar bear culture you don't, right? But Todd just knows that
00:21:40
Speaker
he's all in for Lewis. So he is like kind of diverging from polar bear culture and he's just so steadfast for years for this guy and then goes through the process of like the penguin public gifting thing so that Lewis's dad will accept him and like so that Lewis can have his traditional thing. And it is just like, oh my gosh, it's so sweet. It's the sweetest. Todd is the sweetest. So I guess I'm going to pick that one. Okay.
WTF Book Moments
00:22:08
Speaker
Okay. So I just want to say that our next category is book that made me text that my fellow smut reporters because WTF did I just read? And I would like to know that Erin is not going to be picking this like
00:22:24
Speaker
whatever that she just described for what the fuck are you guys the books that I read are all what the fuck are you Aaron doesn't even text us anymore she's yeah she's just like my husband doesn't want to have me explain egg prank to me anymore and we're like yeah us either
00:22:47
Speaker
So anyhow, yeah, I can go first on this one because I don't think this is a huge surprise. First of all, I did not push my boundaries much this year. I think because as we have recently discovered, I was the baby sister of the group. And so for years, I would just get handed books. So I would read whatever. So I read all kinds of stuff. And then the dynamic has slowly shifted. And now I need to stand on my big girl legs and find my own books.
00:23:11
Speaker
And so I didn't read a lot that were like, what the heck? So the one that I read that was like, what even is this is one that I i literally, I got it during one of my thrift store halls exclusively because the cover was so cool. And it was the two parter of Dragon and the Jewel by Virginia Henley. So I mean, one, it's, I was like, this is, this is legit. This is historically accurate. Yes. I mean, obviously not all of it, but the bones of the book were legit, which was what the F enough. And then.
00:23:41
Speaker
Both of the featured relationships because there are two in it because the first one dies because she's so hot that she dies on their buddy night. Before she's fully deflowered. match Let us make that clear. But it's very detailed about just the percentage of to which she is deflowered by the way.
00:24:00
Speaker
Of course, because this book is ridiculous. so yeah Both of the relationships gave me the ick. The first relationship takes up probably a third of the book and the second relationship takes up about two-thirds of the book. and In that two-thirds of the book, the sheer number of times, I literally lost count of the number of times that she would get mad at him and then he would just go and do something right without talking to her and she'd be like,
00:24:23
Speaker
Oh, yeah, well, I'm just going to do this. And then she would do whatever she wanted. Things would blow up spectacularly. He would be furious with her and punish her. And then she would be like, I don't understand what just happened. Like over and over and over and over and over again. So we we talk about red flags with people, but there are also like red flags where it's like saying derogatory things about gay people in the book. Like all of the things from the past where we're like, oh, that didn't age well. It has all of it.
00:24:52
Speaker
All of it. None of it aged well. There's spousal abuse, but she deserved it. He hates that he had to do that to her, but she needed a strong hand. Do you see what I'm talking about here? That's the whole freaking book. So anyway, it was hard. I read it in July and that second half took me a while. One, because I lost the book, but two, for like five weeks, lost this freaking book and I just wanted to finish it and get it done and I couldn't do it, but it was behind my nightstand. So anyway,
00:25:20
Speaker
Yeah, this book was, it was the slog of the year, memorably so, by a long shot. But it is a beautiful book, the cover I maintain. I mean, it's Gilt, there's a princess, he has an actual dragon tattoo, which I'm pretty sure isn't historically accurate.
00:25:38
Speaker
There's a lot going on.
00:25:42
Speaker
I'm going to give it to Erin now because I don't want it in my house, but I thought she might like it. That actually is what my TBR. Well, there you go, Erin. For now. I don't know. Maybe it'll stay. Maybe it'll go. I'm trying to do a TBR. It's worth the read just to be like, what the hell just happened? But I wouldn't spend any money on it. All right. All right. So you can have mine, and then you two can do a review revisited, and we'll see if you agree that it's like, did somebody just say, hold my beer?
00:26:09
Speaker
okay Yeah, so mine was The Pleasure Device by Regina Kammer. This is Victorian erotica. I think it was sent to us with the label of erotic romance, but it's erotica. It's Victor-rotica.
00:26:27
Speaker
Victor Radhika. And there's some very questionable medical ethics. And I mean, it's like about an evil doctor who uses his medical vibrator to treat hysteria. But unlike the other stupid doctors who don't understand that the vibrator is giving orgasms, he does. And he finds it very arousing. And it goes from there. But his grandmaster plan is he's going to teach women how to masturbate. And I'm just like... yeah That text was so funny. I don't remember. I mean, I guess I sent a memorable text because... It was just like, ah this is the situation. And we were like, and I were like, what? LOL, they can't figure it out.
00:27:19
Speaker
yeah i mean and I know it's a trope in romance books ah for the virginal heroine, especially like older romance books, for the virginal heroine to and not ever masturbate.
00:27:34
Speaker
right to have never had any kind of orgasm ever. I have body parts below my navel. Yeah, exactly. But a that's not like really the case in romance being written today, even like historical romance being written today. And be within the logic of this book, it doesn't make sense. Because the virginal heroine that like everyone wants to not just bone, but also marry, masturbates. And like, there's a scene of her masturbating. So yeah, so like, I don't know what this doctor is thinking, because all the ladies he treats for hysteria probably also masturbate. Once you figure it out.
00:28:21
Speaker
That wasn't necessary, Erin. We didn't need to go there. Sorry. All right. Well, let me make you more uncomfortable by telling you about- Great. I was looking forward to that.
00:28:35
Speaker
... by telling you about Milk of the Birth, Father, by You know, lactation kink.
00:28:48
Speaker
We got it. Thank you. You don't even have to say Lactation King. It's it's in the title, Erin. We're good. We're good. but You already texted us this. We don't need to talk about it anymore. We've got your review. We don't need to talk about it anymore. Erin's one sentence review of these books is so long that I'm genuinely worried about Erin summarizing this.
Emotional Responses to Books
00:29:13
Speaker
All right, moving on. What's our next category? i Well, who ugly cried this year, Holly? I i didn't. Did you ugly cry Holly? I always ugly cry. I don't know what it is. I like if a book gives me big feelings. I'm a crier.
00:29:32
Speaker
But I don't remember, I feel like in past years there have been like incidents where I yeah like ugly cried on an airplane or that like stuck in my head, right? And I didn't have that this year. So the book I picked was Nothing Good by R.J. Piper. And I'm pretty sure I actually didn't cry when I read this, but I felt so sad. Okay, I'm gonna i'm goingnna bring this to like you know American literature. So okay, so you know catch 22, right? Where it's funny, it's funny. And then all of a sudden, like the tone never changes. But all of a sudden, it's horrible. Right? That's kind of what this book was like, right? Like the tone is very like snarky and light hearted. And it's funny. And then you get in a little deeper. And it's horrible. And but like, just like so sad. I mean, it's about hitmen. And like, you don't become a hitman.
00:30:28
Speaker
unless you have some deep-seated trauma. Yeah. but Right? So. Sounds right. Yeah. If I learned anything from the Throne of Glass series, ah that is correct. Thank you, Ingrid. Oh my god.
00:30:46
Speaker
Ingrid. Yeah. I mean, the book is really good, though. I highly recommend it. But like these poor these poor boys, I felt so sad for them. Well, I read.
00:30:58
Speaker
I'm not going to review it, probably, because I don't want to. But my book club chose to read Reminders of Him by Colleen Hoover, which I also texted the group chat about a lot because it was infuriating. and all of my friends Almost all of my friends were like, four stars. And I was like, I don't think so. But this book is a total emotional... I think this is they liked the emotional manipulation of it, or they don't they definitely don't read as much as I do.
00:31:26
Speaker
and so there was that but then on top of that it was like I don't want to cry about like oh you're finally connecting like there was that moment in the Kate Claiborne book where Holly you know just like started sobbing about the hero finally getting told that she loves him like that she's the first person who's ever said I love you right and then like cue the waterworks for Holly right like I don't usually get set off by that. I tag now all the books that actually make me cry. And it's almost all about like family related stuff or animals dyke. Sick animals also will get me sometimes. So this one, the premise of the book is it's infuriating. But this woman who was 26, had a baby in prison, has no parental rights, the baby's father's parents
00:32:14
Speaker
have custody of the baby and she has never seen the baby at all because the baby was born prematurely and taken away to the NICU so she never even held the baby. Like everything designed for maximum emotional heart string pulling, right? and And all she wants is to like see her child and it was more than once.
00:32:35
Speaker
from like those parental feelings of like, this is the only thing. I'm just like, my kid walked in on me and I was like, wiping my face is like, ah what what is the matter with you? And I was like, this book is really, really emotional. You know, like that kind of situation. So this one was the most there were other ones that I was more satisfied with as a book, but they didn't like that was just like, oh, a couple tears, you know, at the end, where it was like, oh, the finally the the parents acknowledge they they repair the relationship or whatever. So this was the kicker. But oh man, was it also very infuriating. Yeah, mine was kind of more along the line of Holly. I read a lot of like weebie books this year. I feel like so love lies and cherry pies by Jackie Lau had a family moment that made me go Oh,
00:33:24
Speaker
like briefly, but it wasn't like I was like, Oh, God. So like, the closest one that I had was Keeper of the Light by Laura Strickland. And the only reason is, you know, how you have that feeling of just despair, where you're like, there's no way this is going to work. And then it kind of obvious it's a romance. So it does. But like, that's one of those books where like the whole book, I was like, I don't, I don't see how they have any way out of this. Like this is terrible. Like this is going to be really bad. And then it works out. But you know, you've spent however many pages being like, Oh, God, like that was that whole book. So that's the closest I had, though.
00:33:54
Speaker
Most of mine were not. Yeah, emotional like
Suspenseful and Engaging Plots
00:33:57
Speaker
that. so All right, so book that kept me on the edge of my seat, the suspenseful ones, the nail biters. I had two, again, sorry, I know I'm being like a pansy about making decisions here, but Jewel Me Twice by Cherish Reed was a Jewel Heist book romance.
00:34:13
Speaker
which I went into it being like, this is not going to be that good. And it was pretty good. like it was It was suspenseful. and And they had really great side characters and stuff with like you know rich backs. it was It was significantly better than I thought. I was i was so gripped. I couldn't put it down. The other one was Make Mine a Mark Hess by Tina Gabriel. Gabriel? Mark was Okay, Erin, make mine a Marquess. So this one is, they thought that the Marquess of Landon was lost at sea. but He survives. And then the whole time is just basically like, I don't know, I can't even, it's a good it's gripping. if you If you can get by the pronunciation of the title, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Go ahead, Erin.
00:35:02
Speaker
Sorry, okay, since I'm in trouble right here, I will say next that my Edge of My Sea book was Aurora Blazing by Jesse Mihalik. and it's actually the middle book of a trilogy space opera trilogy so we're like in the middle of a whole like political war story arc situation but this is another one where like the relationship got teased in the first book. The first book I really enjoyed because the heroine and the hero were both badasses like kept on rescuing each other it was very entertaining but this one kept me on the edge of my seat more because both of the
00:35:39
Speaker
main characters are genetically altered, which is illegal, even though it was involuntarily done too in kind of a situation. And so like They both have these secrets to keep, so that's intense. They're trying to find Bianca's kidnapped, air eldest brother. And then there's like all this like war stuff happening. And so Bianca's genetic engineering is that she can receive like radio signals and like internet signals in her brain. So she doesn't need a computer, but she can't explain why she has like secret information.
00:36:16
Speaker
And so just like all of these, this combination of factors where it's like, she's like physically weaker, but like has all of this brain power. And then they're like, go and fight people in the galaxy and like race to rescue people. It's like so exciting. I was like, let's go. I listened to it. I think all at once, like one listen at once. Well, I was running errands. Yeah, it was fun.
00:36:41
Speaker
It does sound fun. yeah and I will say, so I read the first book and I mostly enjoyed it, but basically just got a little bored. and i didn't yeah I didn't finish, but I i read to 85%. I was I don't really care about the ending. I got it. I'm good. ah The ending was very dramatic in that one. It's a lot of it's a good space opera. It's space opera-y.
00:37:04
Speaker
yeah yeah Okay, so my edge of my seat book was The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo. And I picked it because the Spanish Inquisition makes everything more stressful. So stressful. Absolutely true. And I don't think and any further explanation is needed. I mean, it's like the Spanish Inquisition is looming in the background for your whole for the whole book, then like
00:37:35
Speaker
Yeah, that'll do it. Yeah. I love it when authors can put in that just like underlying tension that they've introduced it and that's just there hanging in the background. like They don't even necessarily need to say anything else. You're just like constantly dreading the possibility that their shoe might drop for the end. entire book. That's so great. Yeah, well, I mean, in this one, it's like the the very beginning of the book is like, if this hadn't happened, none of this other bad shit would have gone down. So like, you know, yeah, there' there's there's bad stuff coming.
00:38:09
Speaker
And we're in Spain in the 1500s and that's just it.
Books That Evoke Rants
00:38:16
Speaker
But I feel like I can't actually talk about this book because all I hear is John Cleese in my head being like, no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. Our chief weapon is fear. Fear and surprise.
00:38:33
Speaker
so but The things that live in your brain forever. It was like, not the great books I read, but like really stupid Monty Python's gift. To be fair, I'd rather retain that. All right, okay, so awkward transition from Monty Python to the book that made me most likely to fan myself because Monty Python is probably the least sexy thing I can think about. You've jumped over one. What did I say? It's rantiest rant. Oh, no, you're right. rantiest rant. Oh, well, that's a much better transition. yeah
00:39:06
Speaker
Sorry, my bad. So the book that inspired my rantiest rant is Bad Boss by Stella Reese. oh And this is one we buddy read like I had something else picked and then I was scrolling through everything I had written this year like because I had a couple reviews that I was like kind of mean about they were mainly all this like boring contemporary single POV here and journey of self-discovery romance Yeah, I wrote several, I like to keep reading them for some reason, because it's really hard to tell in contemporary romance if they're trad pub because they all are the same. And so it's really hard to tell if you're going to get this like single POV journey of self discovery nonsense or not. Anyway, so I wrote several DNF rants for those. But my rantiest rant was bed Bad Boss, which
00:39:54
Speaker
I wrote, we buddy read it for our billionaires yeah adventure. And then I wrote a separate piece ah about and because I was so mad about the hero and his bad parenting.
00:40:12
Speaker
and I'll put a link in the show notes. Pretty funny, which is hilarious because Stella Reese, I don't remember when it was a while ago, I did a piece about how I was seeing some trends because of the Stella Reese books about how women want more than just the happily ever after they want like their career and stability. They're standing on their own or whatever too, so it's funny because it was like inspired by the same book or ah and the same series. It's the same series, yeah. And I had said from the jump, I was like, I mean, the dudes are kind of like, ah but though if you look just at this one thing, then like, it's it's interesting, it's good. And yeah, but Holly was like, no, no, he's a bad dad.
00:40:53
Speaker
I don't think you're wrong. They're billionaires. Instead of relitigating this, Ingrid, why don't you tell us about the dragon and the jewel again? Well, I already did. I don't know how much more I can say. I really just read the one book that ate up my entire year. so There's really not much else to say. like I read the book. It took me like six months to freaking finish reviewing it because I, one, lost it behind my nightstand and two,
00:41:16
Speaker
It just was so much. Why didn't you drip? Because I did. what one There one. i looked There was only one book I DNF'd and i i I just feel like it would be like sort of irresponsible to use that one in in this one because I wasn't ranting about it. I just didn't like the characters. and but i could But it was one of those things where I was like, I bet somebody else thinks this is fine. like The only one that even remotely qualified for a rant is this one. and it's and i didn't It wasn't like I messaged you guys about the other one either. so It was the same one. I'm sorry. it has to be It deserves both crowns. It is what it is. It was that. You talk about a scarf of red flags. This was like a full-on. I'd like it. This was the United Nations, which is all the red ones.
00:42:07
Speaker
Alright, so mine was, ah this was a late entry, because i I guess this is a harder one to choose now that I'm like, not actively reading to satisfy my rage. Maybe the only place that I've been like reading to satisfy my rage is because I feel like I should finish more for like book club so like the Colleen Hoover kind of thing like otherwise I'm just like blah Never mind, but also on my quest to like do some research for this Omegaverse situation I read not your damn Omega by Devin Sinclair, which is a spoken wheel which is a better term for reverse harem romance and
00:42:56
Speaker
It's all about how this heroine never gets picked because her sister's a movie star that everybody likes some more than her and she has a lot of drama about it and her mom's not that nice. And then she smells her pack.
00:43:14
Speaker
And she just can't trust that they actually like her because everybody likes her sister better, even though there's like this biological situation where you don't get scent matches all the time. So what the hell is her problem? And then all of the heroes are like, their entire personalities are building her up, but not in a particularly like meaningful way and like, soothing her. Like, she's so sexy. And like, sometimes I was reading some of the reviews and they're like, I love it when this situation happened. I was like, she was having this situation about limits during sex with one of the guys preparing to have sex with all five of them. Like, no, that is not how limits conversations
00:44:03
Speaker
work if you are having sex with multiple people. Do you have a lot of experience in that area? Okay, well fair. I guess maybe that's not how it's done. Come on. But yeah, it was just like this is this book was terrible. It was terrible. It was so and it was like, I think it's very self insert. And that's why people like it a lot because it's like four star book.
00:44:27
Speaker
look Why there's like nothing happening here except for and she goes on these dates with all of them Like okay, we have to build our one-on-one relationship in addition to the all five relationship, but they're so repetitive It was so I hated it. I hated it. Okay. Anyway, that's my entry You got it. But but so that was all like sexy sexy, but let me tell you what's actually sexy.
00:44:50
Speaker
with the book most likely to make me fan myself. I'm actually fanning myself in the video. Okay, okay. Ingrid, Ingrid, are you ready? We have I to gird our loins in case you're so worried about this. I'm about to tell us about some... Say that in response. Any word, like a dragon, egg, egg, tail, stimulation. Let's keep it to one sentence, Erin, okay? Give me one sentence. I was also trying to explain ovipositors to my husband. No! Oh my god, Erin. And he was like, stop talking.
Steamy and Romantic Books
00:45:20
Speaker
Team Aaron's husband. Team Aaron's husband, indeed. I'm gonna have to send him some extra Christmas presents. Aren't you curious? It's like, no. I don't understand. But anyway, um tell us about something that's actually sexy. Okay, no, actually, this year, I chose I did read some really weird stuff and it also made me feel myself, but just like your run of the mill tentacle stuff or like multiple corners. It's like, just like doesn't really, I'm like, okay, I've already read this before. So you have to, it has to be something like written in a certain voice. I was actually also talking to my husband about this. like It doesn't make sense sometimes when it's like, this is obviously
00:46:05
Speaker
It's supposed to be really sexy, but it's like mer. And then I read this other thing that's just like one scene, but the way that the author frames it is just like really sexy, right? So that's what I chose. It was Powerplay by Cara Dee. And it's... Okay, it's an age gap. Daddy gang.
00:46:28
Speaker
hey Oh my gosh. Romance. Anyway, it's gonna be a little bit kinky for people who are like, I don't know about that. But there is this one scene, the guy, the younger guy has his best friend who he has been sleeping with, just like they've slept together as friends. And the older guy is like, well, that's just how one of the ways that you guys express your love for each other. Like it's not the same as our relationship. So that's okay. And the the friend sleeps over.
00:47:00
Speaker
one night because of whatever and they have this threesome and it was just like whoa it was like you're really hot in terms of like the emotional connections and like how they were engaging with each other. Oh wow my. Thank you for that, Erin. You're welcome, you're welcome. So, Ingrid, why don't you tell us about the sexiest book you read? So, I mean, again, I gotta be honest, mine weren't like all of mine were like medium high. There wasn't anything that was like, but besides, I mean, like I said, when Grumpy Met Sunshine was kind of like, ooh, you know?
00:47:36
Speaker
But mine were all kind of like medium range this year. So obviously I need to have Erin and Holly picks up my books. I mean, stand on my own two feet and be a big girl and pick my own damn books. That's what I mean. Anyhow, ah but I just heard one Lark Lake Lodge, which I put on here because the basic gist is that she it has never had a very good, you know, and she hasn't had the hottest of encounters.
00:48:02
Speaker
And then she gets this lodge in her divorce that was like handed down to her ex-husband who's terrible. And the guy next door is is slightly older, like you don't know how much of a kind of like a silver fox type thing. And he hasn't had any like hanky-panky for like, I want to say like six or seven years, like it's been a long time.
00:48:23
Speaker
And let's just say they go to town on each other. like They are like teenagers. They can't get enough of each other. It's like very handsy-handsy. But in a well-done way. I mean, yeah, it was pretty good. Their relationship at that point, it was interesting because I was like, oh no, oh no, oh no. Because like the whole time they're doing that, you're like, you guys are drunk off this stuff and you are not thinking this through. And the author does a really good job. Because they're not. They're just like, oh, we love each other. This is so new and amazing. And you're like, you're too old for this, guys. You know better than this.
00:48:53
Speaker
And then, sure as shit, everything blows up in their faces, but it's right at the moment where I was about to chuck the book across the room. The author like figures it out and is like, all right. Because basically, it's one of those things where like they have a morning after talk where they're like, oh, the condom broke. We should probably take care of this. And then he's like, I mean, or we just see what happens. And she's like, oh.
00:49:13
Speaker
um like And I was like, you guys have known each other for three weeks, three weeks and your next door freaking neighbors. This is such a bad idea. Like it was that kind of thing where you're watching like a slow motion train wreck and she makes it work and everything. And it's, I maintain the only reason this book works is because of the epilogue.
00:49:31
Speaker
where like she shows that they've built this beautiful life and then they're like still super hot for each other as old people and it's really good. But I included it not because it was the best book I read all year, but because there was just so much and they were just like horny teenagers all over each other type of a thing. And I was like, well, all right. So that was it. All right. All right. but When Grumpy Met Sunshine was more electric, in my opinion. So take take that for that what you will. So I put For Real by Alexis Hall. And have you read it, Erin? You're kind of... sure No, it's on my list, but I know about the Lemon Room.
00:50:12
Speaker
so see him anyway Yeah, so I've read a lot of Alexis Hall before and I know his stuff ranges in heat level. And I did not know that for real is by far his most explicit book. hu Like if you go to his website, I think he has a thing where he like lists them in order of it and like more than the Arden St. Ives books.
00:50:34
Speaker
Oh, that was a lot. Yeah, so that happened. There is a scene with a lemon meringue pie.
Authors We Binge-Read
00:50:44
Speaker
Oh my goodness. And and an an anal hook. Oh, I'm so curious. um Yeah. ah The combination of that is making me a little concerned for sanitation. and i it's like There's some bondage stuff going on. They eat the pie, right? It's just they eat the pie. They just eat it, Holly. They just eat the pie. Don't traumatize Ingrid Holly. I'm going to tie you up with this anal hook, and you're going to sit there while I make this pie.
00:51:22
Speaker
on the other side of the kitchen. Oh, man. Yeah. I don't know what an anal hook is, guys, but I don't want to look it up. Don't tell me. Please don't tell me. I mean, it is what you think it is. No. So it is what you think it is. Don't look it up. Okay. But yeah, I mean, so there's a lot of sex, but it's one of those books where it's a lot of sex, but the sex is doing a lot of work about these characters. Oh, that's good.
00:51:47
Speaker
Right? The whole thing is it's a, it's a Dom sub age gap relationship, but the Dom is the young one. Oh, that's interesting. Right. And the sub, the older one is very, this is just play that I do. And it's not, this isn't real life. But like, maybe it actually is. So it's, you know, it's about like, negotiating what is a real relationship in the context of like, play, right dominance, play, more thinking thoughts.
00:52:16
Speaker
more than he size his pansy yeah Same series as pansies. Yeah, it was it's really good, but it is extremely explicit. Which brings me to author I love to binge. And I say that, it was extremely explicit. And I read it right after I read all of the Beyond series by Kit Rocha, which is dystopian erotic romance, which is also extremely explicit. And like I read 12 novels and five novellas and five shorts, all in a row that are all just like kinky sex. And then I read for real and was like, oh my god. So that that's what's going on. But anyway, so the author I love to binge was Kit Roja because I read
00:53:02
Speaker
basically all of their books. Well, no, i didn't I didn't read the Gideon's writers books. But yeah, I read all of the Beyond series, which is fun. And I had them in an omnibus Kindle book. So it was like a million pages long, and that's fine. But I probably would not have read the whole series if it hadn't been all in one thing because I didn't like the first one.
00:53:24
Speaker
and was met on the second one, but then I was all in starting with the third one. So if you read the first one and you're like, ah, it seems like there's some like weird misogyny going on and like not much plot outside the kinky sex. Don't worry, keep reading. I think the misogyny is on purpose because it needs to be challenged within the world. And yeah, if you want some dystopian fiction where we're kicking ass and taking names and also finding our partner who Matches us sexually then
00:53:56
Speaker
Read these. I'm going to cheat because ah like I said, I gradually started Akatar in July and besides the books I assigned myself for the blog, I have basically been plowing my way mercilessly through Akatar and Tower of Glass now. I have one and a half books left.
00:54:20
Speaker
from Tower of Glass. So I really resist this because I don't think that they're straight romance. I think they're far more romanticy slash and Tower of Glass is fantasy straight up. It's not romance. Their relationship has very, I mean, I am almost all the way through and I don't think that that the primary relationship has the the front seat here.
00:54:40
Speaker
It's not even like a driving. It's like very tertiary. So I don't know. But that is who I've been reading a lot. And I know other people do think that she's romantic and hot. So I'm including it for frame of reference, I guess.
Buddy Reads and Shared Experiences
00:54:51
Speaker
Well, and for reality is you've been binging her for Sarah J Maas for six months. It's to the point now where I'm kind of tired. Like I don't want to read it anymore, but I'm close and I got to finish it. It's just those books, especially Tower of Glass, those books are long. They are a haul.
00:55:09
Speaker
but there' It's a good series though, if you like fantasy, which this is not romance. It's not romance. Well, I look forward to knowing what you will binge next year then. Will it be romance? Will it not be romance? Will we have to left our romanticy era? We'll have to look at our resolutions for that. What was your binge, Aaron? I binged, I guess I did kind of a couple binges, but I was like in September and I was like, I haven't
00:55:37
Speaker
But then I decided to just, I've been kind of in an audiobooks only few months where I can read with my eyes, but it's just been a struggle. But listening to stuff while I'm doing other stuff has been amazing. And so I was like, I don't remember why this is on my TBR.
00:55:55
Speaker
but I'm just going to listen to Dealmaker by Lily Morton and it just snowballed from there because I mentioned this earlier, but she has Joel Leslie narrating I think every single one of her audiobooks. She's got humor. I think she must follow some kind of romancing to be like sort of story arc because she definitely has a ah narrative formula that it like just totally works for her and she's got my absolute kryptonite which is like starchy dudes who need to get their hair must and then snarky love interests who go and must that hair and cause in romantic trouble for them so it's just like really fun yeah she's just got this like comedy some situational comedy
00:56:49
Speaker
and this like great push-pull between the characters. Just there's some special sauce that like Lily Morton and then combined with Joel Leslie maybe doing the narration like he just did a really good job on these audiobooks and it was just really fun. It was fun.
Heartwarming Books for the New Year
00:57:04
Speaker
It was fun to read so I read them all. So okay so more fun things, more fun things. What are our favorite buddy reads? This is a new category friends, lovely listeners. We decided to add ah what was our favorite buddy read for the year and but now i have to make a decision i like this category because i feel like some of these books like my favorite that i picked my opinion changed because i would not have finished reading it if i hadn't buddy read it so like sometimes the buddy read really makes a big difference when you're like
00:57:36
Speaker
So, what was it, Ingrid? Well, it was an Emily Wilde series, which I got on the group chat and was like, what the hell just happened after the first book? because i was like Was this even a romance? like What the heck? just I literally closed the book and opened it and like was looking for extra chapters because I was like, this can't be the end. This doesn't make any sense. Baffled, bewildered, frustrated, and Holly was like, yeah, I'm going to have to read that. And I was like, crap.
00:57:56
Speaker
And I would not have, I would have just like chucked the book and called it a wash, but the series as a whole was fantastic. And I almost put Emily Wilde down as a swooty character because she's got moxie. Like she's got, you know, that special sauce. And like what's this nugget always says like she, she just can handle anything. She's just so like, darn capable. So yeah, mine was Emily Wilde. I didn't, I very shocked to say it, but If Holly hadn't been like, we're doing this, I probably wouldn't have finished it and I did enjoy it. Now I want to read it. I want to be clear though, Kulti would have been my number one. It's just that I don't think it counts because it was my favorite regardless of it being a buddy read. So that's my criteria here. If it it helps you guys at all with your criteria is that obviously Kulti is one of my like diehard favorites of all time. It gives me the tingles every time. But Emily Wilde was my favorite buddy specific read.
00:58:47
Speaker
Yeah, see, i I feel like I have to say culty, because i didn't like like I didn't like reading it. Okay, like, here's what I'm thinking. Because I feel like it sparked the best conversation. It did. And and that's why I'm picking it because that was a juicy one. You know, because as we know, Ingrid really loves it. And I thought it was really irritating.
00:59:10
Speaker
But I think we had a really great conversation about it and like that I still think about about some of the stuff we talked about and like the ways of how to build the South right and how and how we see her because we're in her brain versus how we would see her if it was a third-person narrative or how the book would be different in dual POV. And so I feel like it sparked a lot of a good conversation about craft and character building. Yeah, that was a good one. You're right.
00:59:39
Speaker
So long ago, we should do that again. Well, I'm gonna do something different and just go with book that I just really enjoyed reading as a buddy read, which was The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas. Yeah, that was so good. And it was it was a great book. It was a fantastic book. I feel like we had a fantastic conversation about it. But also, because I've been so focused on reading, I don't know, with like my hyper fixation reading at the moment, like I haven't been picking up historical romance, which is what I started with. and Every time we do a historical romance buddy read, I'm like, that was awesome. so I probably wouldn't have read it. It's been on my TBR for a long time. I probably wouldn't have read it without you guys, and it was so great. Thank you. That was a good one. I like this category. We should definitely do this next year. Let's do it again. Yeah. Let's read Borscheri Thomas together. Let's read more historical romance together. Oh, all right. Anyway, anyway, all right. So well, we are coming to our conclusion. And we always like to wrap up with the book that gave us the biggest heart eyes, just like my heart is so full, and carry that forward, I guess.
Plans for 2025
01:00:47
Speaker
New Year, right? Is that what we're doing? Yeah, that's what we're doing.
01:00:51
Speaker
So my choice for this year was The Prospects by Katie Hoffman, which features a, the characters knew each other in college, but kind of fell apart. And there's a little bit of like, well, was that because the one guy Gene transitioned around the time that the other guy got picked up professionally or like, what's going on here? So there is some conflict. One character has like,
01:01:20
Speaker
very serious clinical anxiety. And there's, you know, just some like life difficulties. But overall, the characters are both just like very present for each other. And like Jean in particular is just like looking at life with such a positive outlook. And it's just generally a feel good like the whole thing is These characters are playing for a minor league team and the hope is that they get called up, right? But you know, nobody thinks that Jean's gonna get called up because Jean is a trans baseball player. And of course we get our like totally happily ever after like moments with Jean and it's just like, sorry if that's spoilery, but like it's just so heartwarming. It's very sweet.
01:02:03
Speaker
Mine, I'm tied again because I have ne'er-duke-well by Alexandra Vasti. It's just basically like he's a duke trying to get custody like ah official legal custody of his father's two illegitimate children, which is apparently like a lot harder than it sounds back then. ah like All of their conflicts are so wholesome.
01:02:28
Speaker
Never in my life have I seen like a couple where I was like, you definitely should be raising these children together because these children will be fine if they have you guys together. They were so so rock solid. And I know what you're thinking. If it's too solid, then it's not spicy enough. ah Not in this case. It was it was so good. i could I have never in my life cheered for couples as hard as I've cheered for them. And then the other one was Love Lies and Cherry Pie. And that one, I mean, Jackie Lau is pretty reliably adorable.
01:02:55
Speaker
Um, and then this, it's one of those, like the mom's trying to set her daughter up with this guy and she's like going through the motions and then she convinces him to fake date her and she's a writer and he's like, you know, doing everything right. I can't remember if he's like in software, what he is, but he's, you know, successful and it's so cute. And then there's layers of heartache. So there's like the relationship that she ends up building with obviously the hero. And then there's also the relationships that she's building with her family where she kind of has to like show up and be authentic with her family and stuff. And it's, oh, it's so good.
01:03:26
Speaker
It was so cute. Well, so Ingrid, just for like the sake of what picture we're gonna put on the thing, what would you say? I think in ne'er-du-guel, only because I feel like Love Lies and Cherry Pie is a little bit skewed because there's that family dynamic, you know what I mean? But if I'm looking at the at the actual relationship, I think that the ne'er-du-guel, it was more, my heart eyes were more about the couple than it was about the whole book. And unfortunately, my heart eyes were spread all over the place with Love Lies and Cherry Pie. So that's probably what I would say. But but you should definitely read them both if you want to like your heart to grow three sizes, Grinch style. like
01:04:05
Speaker
Read them both. Read them both. Okay, my pick is ah What is Love? by Jen Comfort. And it's ah it's a Jeopardy! romance. So ah for the nerds. Oh my God. But I picked it because there's a thing that happens in the epilogue and I very distinctly remember this because I read it and I screamed because it's just like what just happened and it's the perfect ending to the story. It's so good. Delete this part, but then tell us what it is. Okay. I don't know. Maybe I should read it. Yeah, what is it? Okay.
01:04:43
Speaker
so It's gonna cry. Shut up. Shut up. Okay.
01:04:51
Speaker
Sorry. I love it. I love it. So sweet though. You're right. Now I want to read it. Yeah. anyway That's my heart. i heart maximum heart yeah ah Yeah. What a great way to wrap up the year. Okay, so guys, now friends, listeners, that brings us to the end of 2024.
01:05:13
Speaker
And this is the end of 2024. So let's start 2025 strong. We've got goals. We've got goals again. So those will get published tomorrow. We like to do that just for like a fun thing. I don't know. How did you all do it last year? Because my goals were sad last year. I'm usually very, very worried. I don't even remember what my goals were. I was like, oh, hard fail. I am pretty sure my goal is always, I'm going to write some stuff and then I don't.
01:05:42
Speaker
yeah We'll just try and get this year. I think last year i I was the first year I was actually like, I'm not going to do my goals. So I feel like I actually have a shot of meeting them. I'm really looking forward to that. All right. But we have already made some plans for next year because we want to do more buddy stuff, podcast stuff.
01:06:10
Speaker
Ingrid is just like a wild person and it's like, let's do another bracket and Holly and I are like, okay. You know I love those brackets. Listen. Okay. Like 90% of my aggressive reading happens when we do those brackets. Yeah. We're going to have fun together next year, I think is the primary goal, right? Yeah. Mm-hmm. So we'll see you again on the podcast in 2025.
01:06:34
Speaker
and If you would like to read our superlatives in text format or get whatever minimal show notes we might include, you can find the notes for this and all our other podcasts at smutreport.com slash podcast. We're on a lot of socials, but we will typically primarily or always reply to comments on the blog. You can send us an email on the blog and keep it smutty, folks. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, that's my report.