Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Bring Your Own...Comfort Book | S1Ep1
1.1k Plays3 years ago
To start things off we’ve each brought our favorite comfort books! What makes you treat a book like your personal safety blanket? When do you find yourself reaching for it the most? We discuss this and tell the story of how we all became bookish besties via the internet! Tell us your favorite comfort book and keep up with the podcast by following us on Instagram! @BringYourOwnPod
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction to 'Bring Your Own' Podcast
00:00:09
Speaker
Hello, welcome to Bring Your Own, a catch-all bookish, most of the time, podcast. I am Brandi. I'm Kendra. I'm Kayla. This is our inaugural episode. Yay!
Meet the Hosts and Their Social Media Presence
00:00:27
Speaker
This episode has been dubbed Bring Your Own Comfort Read, so we have all come locked and loaded with our comfort reads. Very excited.
00:00:39
Speaker
I guess we should introduce ourselves just in case if anyone's listening, they don't know who we are. So I'm Kendra. I have a tiktok account, a booktok account. My name's at Kendra dot reads with an S and then I have a bookstagram at Kendra dot reads with a C because Kendra dot reads is already taken with an S. Very funny. Yeah. Annoying. I don't even know who that is. I haven't even looked up the account. It just said username unavailable. She's like the nicest person alive. Oh, I'm so sorry.
00:01:09
Speaker
I like how you said I have a TikTok as if you don't have like over how many like a hundred thousand followers you're basically a celebrity, Kendra. Be so serious. Be a celebrity. I don't like thinking of myself that way. Do you still humble like that? Humble, yeah. I'm Kayla. I'm not really on TikTok. Well, I have a TikTok account, but I
00:01:35
Speaker
don't really post on there. So don't try and search for my TikTok. People follow me sometimes and I'm like, please stop following me, please. But I am mostly on Instagram. Kayla's bookshelf, Kayla's dot bookshelf is my Instagram. Amazing. Yeah. And like I said, I'm Brandy. I'm at Brando's books on both TikTok and Instagram. More active on Instagram, but I'm on both. I'm on both.
00:02:07
Speaker
love.
The Hosts' Friendship Origin Story
00:02:08
Speaker
And it's so funny that Kayla says that she's not like active on TikTok. When that's how I met Kayla was through TikTok. That's because I'm annoying on I'm like in people's comments all the time. I mean, you were. I'm not on TikTok, but I'm not actively posting my own content on TikTok, I guess is what I should say. Okay, you don't post that much, but you have like a lot of cute little aesthetic videos that you made.
00:02:34
Speaker
like some other videos that you made. Don't tell yourself short, Kayla. I will. It's okay. Kayla and I met on TikTok because she was in my comment sections a lot. And then she slid into my DMs. Oh my God, I was like, wow, she slid into my DMs. And then we would like talk a little bit. And she would always come to my live because I would go live on TikTok a lot. I just like recognized her.
00:03:02
Speaker
And then you used to do that all the time. Yeah, I don't go live now. I should. But it's just a lot because then you're like talking for three hours and you're like, where did the time go? And then I made a bookstagram account.
00:03:15
Speaker
And Kayla was one of the first people that followed my bookstagram account. But this is from your personal account. You followed it. This makes me sound like such a star. No, no, no, no, because I'm going to sound creepy too. Because when you follow it, I got so excited because, oh my God, I know her and I immediately followed you back. And I thought that was going to creep you out because like it was your personal account. But then we just like started talking a lot. And now she can't get rid of me. And now we're best friends and I'm going to move into her house and take care of her dogs. And it's going to be great.
00:03:44
Speaker
Um, and then Brandy, I also met on Instagram. I think you tagged me in a video, right? For like the simple while. Yeah. Which I read because of Caleb. So yeah, I was quietly taking Kendra's Rex for a very long time. Like before I made a book account for anything, um, I was following a lot, a few book talk creators, Kendra and Gracie and Mommy were the three that I, the first thing that I followed. Yeah.
00:04:09
Speaker
And they would go live together a lot. Yeah, so that's I was quietly taking Kendra's Rex for a very long time. And then I decided to make my own books to Graham. And then I read The Simple Wild because Kendra was raving about it because Kayla recommended it to her. And then I tagged Kendra.
00:04:27
Speaker
in it and just said, you know, I read this because Kendra and then we started chatting. And then of course, I met Kayla through Instagram when I started BBB Addicted series, which is another series she told Kendra to read. And then I read because Kendra. So like this is a chain reaction.
00:04:45
Speaker
I mean, we did follow each other through Instagram, but was that the first time that you and I had talked, Brandi? I'm wondering. We started talking when you were reading the Addicted series.
00:05:01
Speaker
we actually first started talking through there or not. Or if it was just like we were putting a group chat together. I really don't remember. So I was one of those people that followed you on TikTok when Kendra said like my friend Kayla recommended The Simple Wild to me. So then I followed you like before my account was even a book account. Like I just followed you on my personal. Yeah. And then when we actually started talking was because yeah, you swiped up on a story.
00:05:26
Speaker
of the Addicted series. And they were like, oh, give me your thoughts. And then, then I started messaging about because I was sending you guys the exact same updates. So then I just like made a group chat. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. And for reference, both of them, yeah, they're talking about my personal Instagram, because I didn't make a book talk or a bookstagram account for a long time. Just because I was like quietly
00:05:49
Speaker
following everybody else like all the all the quote big ones like Brandy said Gracie Lomi Kendra Logan like everybody I like can't think oh Kimmy obviously Kimmy is a massive one for me so yes exactly I think Kendra and Kimmy were probably like the first oh and Bree's books Bree's books she was also like one of the first book topic counts yeah so anyway
00:06:18
Speaker
And then I finally made my own bookstagram in April of this past year, finally. So yeah. And now she's crushing it. Yes, you are. Yes, Kayla. And now we're all just obsessed with each other. We talk every day. And like, truly just the power of talking about books on the internet. It's kind of crazy. No, it's insane. And Brandy and I,
Podcast Creative Direction and Concept
00:06:45
Speaker
like, it's so weird. We became
00:06:48
Speaker
mutuals on Instagram and then like she used to tag her location, which I won't say now, but I was like that's really close to me. That's so odd and then Like I don't know who I think I don't know who asked who first like you sent me something in the mail and you're like Oh, I realized if we live really close to each other I was like, yeah, and then we like got lunch and now she's like one of my only friends where we live We hang out all the time
00:07:11
Speaker
It's amazing. We're trying to convince Kayla to move to California. She hates it here. She did just come to visit a few weeks ago, though. So that was really nice. She was a real person. I was shook. Yeah, we had a great little Book Bestie meetup. Kendra and I had been talking nonstop for a little over a year. Yeah, we have texted each other every like every single day since January of last year when Running Wild came out. We have texted each other like every single day. We were we were talking before that, but not like every day like we are now.
00:07:41
Speaker
so yeah we finally met each other after a long time and then we met obviously we met up with Randy and then other people it was so much fun it felt like a cosmic shift it was amazing crazy and we're gonna see each other again a lot this year yeah that's it yeah Kayla thinks I'm joking when I say I'm gonna move into her house
00:08:10
Speaker
So that is our origin story. And then we just love hearing ourselves talk so much that we were like, let's do this. We were trying to think of like, I don't know, how do we want to like frame this? And we just thought it would be a good idea that we can all bring something every single time and thus bring your own. And of course, we're better to start than with our comfort reads. This is hard because Kayla and I
00:08:40
Speaker
Our taste in books is usually a perfect circle, even though last night we were talking that there are some outliers in that circle that we're trying not to break. So, Kit and I, all of our comfort reads are pretty much the same. So who wants to reveal theirs first?
Brandi's Comfort Read: 'Love in Other Words'
00:09:00
Speaker
Brandy, you were agonizing over this choice. I was. I think you should go first. I had two that I was deciding between. These are probably my two most reread books.
00:09:10
Speaker
ever. But I did ultimately go with the one that I've reread the most. I've never read a book more than I have read. Love in other words by Christina Lauren. Yes, I love this book so much. It was actually for a very, very long time. This was the only Christina Lauren book I'd ever read. This was the first one I ever read from them. And then I was just so convinced that nothing else was going to live up to this book that I didn't read another Christina Lauren book for a very, very long time. Like I think almost a year.
00:09:39
Speaker
after I read this one for the first time. You started strong with that one. That's like one of their best. Right. And it like, I don't know, it just like really, really stuck with me. I read it for the first time in November of 2021.
00:09:55
Speaker
And I'm not kidding, not over-exaggerating. I read it four times that month because I finished it and immediately turned back to the first page. This was actually the book that inspired me to make my account. Oh my God! My bookstagram, yeah, because I just couldn't shut up about it. So I was like, I have to put this thing away. Yeah, so how could you not pick this one? Yeah, you're so right. Now that I'm saying it out loud, like, yeah, definitely.
00:10:18
Speaker
Can you give us a really quick rundown of what is it about? Like the tropes, the characters, quick summary? Yes, absolutely. So Love and Other Words is about two childhood best friends, Elliot and Macy. They meet for the first time when they are 13. This is not a spoiler because you learned this in the first chapter, but Macy's mom has just passed away.
00:10:42
Speaker
and her dad and her decide to buy a like a weekend home up north in northern California and Elliot lives right next door so they meet for the first time they both very quickly discover they have a love for reading a love for words um like learning and they become very fast friends so it's actually told in dual timeline so it is present day and then we move through the past very like um we jump
00:11:11
Speaker
at different times throughout the past. So yeah, it's a second chance romance because when you see them for the first time in present day in the book, they have not spoken to each other in 11 years. And they run into each other at a coffee shop. And Macy freaks out and she runs out of the coffee shop. Elliot chases after her and he's like very determined to
00:11:38
Speaker
talk to her even though she's kind of hell bent on not talking to him. So you very quickly or like very slowly I should say throughout the whole book you discover like the reasons that they had a falling out why they haven't talked to each other in 11 years what they've been up to since then. And yeah it's just like a really really beautiful story I think part of the reason I love it so much is because
00:11:59
Speaker
I love being in Macy's head. This entire book is told from Macy's perspective. And I just love the way that Macy thinks. I love the way she thinks about Elliot. I love the way she thinks about like her family and her dad and their relationship. And I just remember exactly where I was.
00:12:16
Speaker
Like I said, I've read this book probably six or seven times. And there's one chapter that I skip every single time that I refuse to reread. And if you've read the book, it is the big one at the end that I am not going to talk about, because it is a massive, massive spoiler. But I remember exactly where I was. I was at work. Oops, reading on the clock.
00:12:41
Speaker
We all do it. Yeah. So I remember exactly where I was when I read that for the first time. And it just like really shook me to my core. And yeah, so I reread it physically. I reread it on audiobook. I know Erin Mallon is the narrator. She's very divisive. You either love her, you hate her. I love her as Macy. I think she does such a good job. So that is that is the rundown of the plot.
00:13:07
Speaker
You really want to reread it because I haven't read it in a long time. Same. I've only read it once but it's so funny. That was a book. I read it on my tik tok and then I got like a lot like I got like lonely to read it. I got Kimmy to read it. And you just said brandy that you love being in Macy's head. And when I tell you that
00:13:26
Speaker
I think that's like a rare, well not rare, because I didn't mind her head, but a lot of people didn't like her. I know that this is like pretty hit or miss, which and like, yeah, I get scared to talk about it too much because I like I'm really, really, really defensive of this book. There is like one plot point, which I wish was handled better like towards the end. This is like a tiny, tiny little, not tiny, it's a huge spoiler, like
00:13:49
Speaker
maybe skip ahead 30 seconds or something. I know that I wish the essay was handled better in this book. That is a huge critique I will give it, but I do know that they are planning to address that in the special edition copy that is coming out. They posted, they responded to a comment that they said that they're going to address it more in the special edition because we're getting Elliot POV chapters. Elliot POV, yeah. I knew we were getting his POV, but I didn't know that was going to be part of it. That's
00:14:18
Speaker
See, now I have to get it. You better hurry. I already got it so fast, but I have to get it. I spent so much money on special editions recently, so I was like, let me not, but... The art in it is so... No, I kind of feel like I have to. I've never used Apple Pay so fast in my life. No, literally. Like, a singular $50 book. I'm like, yeah, that's reasonable. I would do it. Oh my god. The little...
00:14:40
Speaker
If you guys haven't seen, they have a steamy lit special edition version of Love and Other Words up right now for pre-order that ships what is it next month? It's pretty soon, isn't it? Or is it March or May? It's one of the end months. Okay, so maybe it's May. All right, well, but like the back of it has little Elliot and Macy in it. It's so cute. You have to get it now, Kayla.
00:15:01
Speaker
I think part of the reason that I love being in her head though, and like you said, I know that's like a pretty like device. Like I had to tell them like, I was like, you have to read this book cover to cover. And I think once you get to the end, you'll have a lot of empathy towards Macy. And they did once they realized like what was really going on, they're like, Oh,
00:15:17
Speaker
But I had to walk them through so much shit-talking of Macy. It was crazy. But everyone loves Elliot from the jump. And I think that's why people get frustrated is because they're like, this perfect man is chasing you. Why the fuck are you not letting him win you or whatever? But I don't know. I just relate to a lot of the stuff. Because we were in Macy's, I related to so much of what she was feeling. I don't know. Do you guys remember that scene where they're making peanut butter and jellies when they're in high school?
00:15:44
Speaker
and they're talking about kissing for the first time. And Macy is just distraught to learn that Elliot's kissed other girls, because they're not together at this point. There's no cheating. They're only friends at this point. They've never discussed that their relationship definitely probably is more than friendship, but they haven't discussed it at all. And so she finds out that, because they go to different schools, he's kissed other girls. He's been intimate with other girls previously. And that just wrecks her. And she can't figure out why it's upsetting her so much. And she's pacing the kitchen.
00:16:13
Speaker
And she's like, I have no right to be pissed. She's so pissed. Like, I don't know that kind of stuff. Or I'm just like, I feel like they captured really well, like those huge emotions that you have surrounding your first love, or your first crush or your first, you know, that age of being like a young woman.
00:16:30
Speaker
is i feel like sometimes not captured very well like hell is a teenage girl or whatever but yeah um i don't know that that kind of stuff i was just like oh like they're so right which by the way i'm i hope everybody knows that christina and lauren are two different people they're co-authors it's crazy that so many people they so many people don't know it still i'm like guys read
00:16:55
Speaker
the author's bio that comes at the end of every book. It's a, there's a picture of two of them. Yeah. But that's so funny that you say that because I never used to read the author's notes until you were like, I read them every single time. You have to, you learned so much. Brandy, do you have a favorite or favorite moments from this book that you want to share?
00:17:17
Speaker
Yeah, I mean, there are lots of parts of it that make me like giddy. But some big ones that jump out immediately when you said that for this book are okay, so maybe some spoilers coming. But after Elliot chases Macy down after they see each other for the first time in 11 years, he like convinces her to get breakfast with him the next morning. And
00:17:40
Speaker
Oh, yeah, there's two parts of this. There's actually two parts of this breakfast that I'm obsessed with. The first one is Elliot's phone keeps ringing and she's like, like who's calling and he was like my ex girlfriend and she's like, why he's like, well, I broke up with her last night.
00:17:57
Speaker
And she was like, you broke up with your girlfriend after seeing me for the first time. For five seconds. For five seconds. She wouldn't even talk to him. She ran away from him. And he went home and had dumped his girlfriend of a year because he ran into Macy. And he said something along the lines. I don't have a tab because this isn't the copy that I originally read. But he says something along the lines of like, I can't go home. I couldn't go home and pretend to love her with everything I had after I saw you. Like that part.
00:18:26
Speaker
hurt me. But then also the end of that brunch. Imagine being that ex-girlfriend. And then we see her again. She's so pissed later in the book when we meet her. I was like, Oh my god, she's being so crazy. No, she's not. I would lose my mind. She's not being crazy. But yeah, and then at the end of that breakfast, that same breakfast, they're just like getting a little bit too familiar and it's freaking Macy out. And she like gets up to leave and he's like,
00:18:57
Speaker
you have to you like you can't tell me that you don't love me or something along those lines and she was like i'm engaged and he just like for like i don't know he like freezes it's written that he's like frozen he can't say anything he's just like blinking at her and she runs out i don't know i love jealous men in books like i love it yeah so that part was really good and also when he meets her fiance and he's just like not having it he's like i just like really don't like see you with other men ugh and then i was like
00:19:24
Speaker
There's so many small moments in this book, too, which is why it's hard, like, especially when they're kids and 13, 14, 15, 16, or whatever. And they have these just like really tiny moments of like, like falling in love with each other at such a young age is so sweet. Just little things like their hands brushing or heads and laps or whatever. Like, it's so it's so sweet. Yeah.
00:19:45
Speaker
You know one thing I really like too, and same with like, well you haven't read Every Summer After, Brandy, which like, I personally think you'll like it if you like them in other words. Let's see, I've heard them compare too much that I'm like, I don't want to read the different worst versions. I mean, I don't think it's necessarily worse, it's just different. Like Percy is just such a different character than Macy, Kayla, whatever. I liked Every Summer After, but one thing that I- And I liked it too, I did really enjoy it.
00:20:11
Speaker
Like yeah, you were the one who told me to read it. You forced me to read it. Taz was the one who was so loud about it until she finished. And then Kayla was like, Kayla read it and she's like, I need you to read it. I forget what the stipulation was, but you're like, you have to read it. And then I read it and I ended up really, really liking it. No, I, except for one thing. Yeah. Yeah.
00:20:34
Speaker
yeah but okay so reason why i liked both of those books is because in the past chapters you get these like teens who are like able to explore their sexuality in a way that's like super healthy and like not creepy and like i don't know i felt very safe seeing them do that and i almost wish that like young adult authors who are like terrified to do that could read that from like an adult's point of view and then take from it and granted i guess they have the benefit of the doubt because
00:21:02
Speaker
in both of those books, it's a woman like reflecting. So she's obviously viewing the situation a little differently. But I don't know, I thought it was really nice. Like, Elliot and Macy just like took their time together and like, learned and explored in ways that were healthy for themselves. And I thought Christina Lauren did a really good job with that.
00:21:19
Speaker
And they talked so much about it too. I mean, there's points when there are 14 where Macy's like, I can't believe my dad masturbates. She finds his magazines or whatever. And then they just have a conversation about Elliot saying, oh, well, people do that. It's not weird. It's not gross. You shouldn't think he's gross for doing that. It was just really sweet. We're learning with Macy, which again, I love being in her head, which maybe is a non-popular opinion.
00:21:47
Speaker
at every stage of her life, like I just empathize with her so much. And yeah, Ellie, it's perfect. So like, what can you do? And the same vein as love, in other words, and every summer after, I'll also throw out, although I do think that like, of the of these three, this one is my least favorite. It's still a good book, though. So You Still Love Me by K.A. Tucker is also a second chance romance book that also does the past present with two, two teens.
00:22:17
Speaker
That's also a similar book. But though I love Yeah, I love those kinds of books. Yeah, just the not only like childhood friends, becoming lovers, but you have a process of seeing teen love and like your first crush and your first love. And especially since this one is also purely told from the woman's POV as same with love, in other words, and every summer is every summer after I can't remember is that one? Just the woman. It's her
00:22:46
Speaker
I can't remember. It's just Percy. Yeah, I thought so too. But yeah, just from the woman's POV of having your first crush and your first love, as a woman, to read that, I think is great. K.A. Tucker is another one of those authors where I have only read one series from one because I'm scared that it won't live up because I loved it so much, which, wow, somebody clapped for me. That was a beautiful segue. It was.
00:23:15
Speaker
No, that's Kindred. Oh, shoot. Sorry, see the perfect circle of their taste. This is what I'm talking about. Yeah, you may as well. You can do we can do either we can switch on a dime before you throw those. But go ahead. Yeah, it's like who wants to take it? Okay, so my comfort read, which I don't have physically with me, it's in my other room in my library, or my bookshelves is Wild at Heart, which is a second book in the Simple Wild series by K.A. Tucker.
00:23:42
Speaker
it's yeah so it's a follow-up to The Simple Wild so you will have to read that one first to get to this one. But this book follows Jonah and Calla after the event of the first book and it's just them learning how to be a couple out in middle of nowhere Alaska and it's a lot of domestic scenes and family and smut that we don't even get to see because it's fade to black and it makes me so angry every time I read a scene.
00:24:12
Speaker
You know, Brandi, that's the thing I do imagine. I imagine all the time. We do, yeah. What do you mean? Of course we imagine. We talk like, okay, in what pisses me off.
00:24:23
Speaker
this isn't sounding like a comfort read now but what pisses me off is that K.A Tucker has other like spicy romances so I know she can do it if this was like something that she did all the time then like okay cool respect it no she writes spice so I don't get why she didn't do it from the series because one of the reasons why Wild at Heart is one of my comfort books is because Jonah and Calla are constantly like having sex the entire book like the whole time it's all over man
00:24:51
Speaker
spoiler, they like buy a big piece of land and have a house all over that that piece of land. And it's great. And it's like really nice to see a couple in their early like honeymoon stages. And I would have liked to see a little bit more. Tucker said no. And it pisses me off. It's awful. But yeah, no.
00:25:13
Speaker
I haven't read that book so many times. I reread certain parts of it a lot. But what's funny is that you would think that since the comfort read, I would read like the most comforting parts. But you love pain. I love pain. Yeah, I understand that though. Right. Because they're, since this book is like so domestic, and like you're seeing a relationship form,
00:25:37
Speaker
you get like the good and you get the bad and they're bad i just find to be like so relatable and realistic and the fights that they have in this book like they're not too far fetched um i feel like it's fights that like anyone building a life with someone would have and so like seeing them overcome them it's just so nice so yeah i'm constantly just reading their fights in this book
00:25:58
Speaker
And it's great. And then it helps me like go to sleep.
Kendra's Comfort Read: 'Wild at Heart'
00:26:01
Speaker
I'm like, Oh, I'm really anxious tonight. Why can't I sleep? And then I'll open up my Kindle app and I'll go to the chapter. I'll read them fight, duke it out. And then I'll go to bed and I'll like read them making up in the morning. It's great. Oh, you don't even read them making up until the morning though. Sometimes it just depends on like the night. See, if I read that, if I read the fight that you're talking about,
00:26:24
Speaker
I have to read the whole thing. I have to read the fight, the bleed up, the fight, and then the resolution. I have to read all of it. See, I think I'm like slightly normal in that I don't derive enjoyment from reading about the fight. Just kidding. I mean, I love when a book hurts, but I can't believe that's like the comforting part for you. Yeah, it's that. Okay, it's that part. And then also another spoiler.
00:26:50
Speaker
Jonah and Calla, like one of their love languages is like gift giving on both sides. So in Wild at Heart, it celebrates her birthday and Jonah gives her like the best thing.
00:27:02
Speaker
after making you believe that he kind of just like forgot about it and like whatever like he does that all the time throughout the series like he makes it seem like he's not listening but really he's like obsessively taking notes in his mind and he just i'm just gonna say it he gives her a jeep but not just any type of jeep like this girl had gone like jeep's website and like put all these like bells and whistles like put a custom color everything she was just doing that for like shits and giggles right
00:27:26
Speaker
this man took note of it, put the order in, like had the car, like special delivered and like obviously something goes wrong. By her best friend. Literally. And then she gets it. And she's so happy. And it's like, it's like, just a moment of pure joy. But also it's a moment that comes after they just have a fight. I'm describing this book. And if someone has a rant, they're like, oh, so all they do is fight in this book. And that's not true. They have some downtown drag outs though. Yeah. They're always fighting in parking lots.
00:27:56
Speaker
I remember that I read Wild at Heart again from these two's suggestions. I read it after The Simple Wild and I was really, really nervous going into Wild at Heart that it was going to feel superfluous. Another book about the same couple, I was like, they had what could have been a solid ending in the first book if they wanted it to be
00:28:19
Speaker
And I was like, is this going to feel like forced conflict or whatever? But like you said, Kendra, like, it's so realistic for like a new couple in a new place, like trying to figure out how they're finding their footing together. It's just, yeah. Why this one over The Simple Wild, Kendra? Why is The Simple Wild not a comfort read? Because The Simple Wild is really sad.
00:28:42
Speaker
Like I know I just said I love like pain and stuff but in lot at heart like there's a lot of resolution to that pain and then the simple wild they're just simply Just isn't like something happened. You just can't come back from that But it's like you're right like in the simple wild though if a lot of heart didn't exist I think simple wild would still on its own be like one of my favorite books It would be amazing no complaints
00:29:09
Speaker
I would still be thinking about like, okay, like where, where Jonah and Calla now, like, I just am curious. And the fact that Kate Tucker was like, you know what? Let's just, let me just show you where they're at right now. Like, so if you originally read this simple while, I think people would say that it was a happily ever after, but now that obviously it's a series, it's a,
00:29:28
Speaker
It's a happy for now. I think she had a good job and it's crazy. So when people finish Wild at Heart they'll like side into my DMS and we always say the same thing and it's like we wish that we got Wild at Heart but for like other book couples like I got a lot of heart for it be treated I got a lot at heart for even like part of your world. I think it's just really nice and we were spoiled I mean, I think Kay Tucker with Wild at Heart and like the rest of the books that she does in the series and then the evil twins KBR with
00:29:55
Speaker
some kind of perfect. They're the only two authors who have given me something of that level. And that was like such a passion project for K.A. Tucker, right? Because Atria didn't even publish Wild at Heart. They didn't know. The rest of the series is self published. The rest of the series, yeah, the rest of the series is even like, yeah, so there's Wild at Heart, the second book, and then we also get a Christmas novella, following Jonah and Calla again.
00:30:24
Speaker
And yeah, I think about all the time, like how lucky we are to get that novella. And then there is a fourth book in the series that follows a different character from the Simple World series. But like, I think about how lucky we are. And yet also at the same time, I'm still consistently needing more. Both of them. I say this all the time, but I they are a couple they're like in the maybe like three to five couples I have.
00:30:54
Speaker
that I would read about doing quite literally anything. I would read about them painting a wall, taking out the trash, calling to make a doctor's appointment. You know, I would read about them doing
00:31:09
Speaker
I don't care what. Give me a book about whatever. I don't care. Just give it to me. If it's about them, then I'll read it. Kendra, you just said a couple that you would like another book for. Like if you can think of a book couple that you don't have one for right now that you want an equivalent of wild at heart for. Like you want a whole epilogue of them just like living their lives. You said B Street already. You said part of your world.
00:31:32
Speaker
For me, right now, I just reread it. So I know it's that part, like, part of it is the solvate equation. Again, by Christina's Lauren, I swear I'm not even that big of a Christina Lauren fan. But like, I want Jess and River doing anything. Yeah, they're good. Yeah, that's another one. That's hard. Because like, like we say, there's not a lot of there's not a lot of book series that follows the same couple for multiple books, like usually you'll get a series.
00:31:57
Speaker
that's a series of standalones. And then you'll see the couple in other books that aren't as silly about them, right? That's such a good point. Like you do get that a little bit in other places. Yeah. Yeah. But you're like, okay, I guess that's kind of nice to have. But I don't know. I'm trying to like think of another one. Because yeah, obviously, if you've read the addicted series, there's an entire epilogue novel, you know, for them. Um, that's a good question. Um, Juden Cardin. Oh,
00:32:25
Speaker
Oh my god, we might be getting something. Yeah, but I want like, we just skipped so much time in between the two series. So I want a nice little Oh, yeah, the in between novel in between. Yeah, that's it. Yeah, that's a good point. Kenner, what would you say to people who don't like this book just and find it quite boring that it's just Cala, chilling in Alaska, not doing anything? What would you say?
00:32:55
Speaker
to be nice. I don't know. I think like, like, I feel like people have like, it's like no taste. And then like, there's, I'm sorry, like, people can say that about me, like, they probably think I have no taste because I like it. I don't care. But one thing that I see a lot of people complain about in this book, spoiler, there is like, there's almost a surprise pregnancy that takes place in this book.
00:33:19
Speaker
she's not pregnant, but people get to that scene and people are just like, ruined the whole, it just ruined everything, like why did that have to come up? And I'm like, again, this is such a realistic thing that I feel like so many couples go through, especially like how early, like, they were literally having sex all the time without any protection. Jonah does not know what a condom is. Like, never. Like since the first time they did it. So to me, it was not that big of a shocker.
00:33:48
Speaker
And it felt very realistic and like seeing them process that emotion. And it's like, you guys want the married kids at the end anyway. Like, why does this go? It blows my mind when people say, like the surprise pregnancy or the pregnancy trope like ruins a book for them. I'm like, how? Like, I think it makes it 10 times more interesting. Because it's like, damn, like, yeah, now you have a kid. And I just, I love a kid in a book. And I love the end of the run. Say it. Say it, Kendra. One of my favorite
00:34:17
Speaker
things in a book is a reading kink. I love me a good reading kink. So no condoms, no protection, the better. But in real life, in real life, lock it up. Jonah is not shy about the fact that he does want kids too with Kawa. So he is like, you know, I'm excited about it. It felt natural. And also they're, they, granted, they haven't been a couple, I guess, for, you know, it's not been a year. Well, I guess at that point, it would have almost been a year.
00:34:46
Speaker
at the point that it happens. Or is it like six months or something? It's like six months. It's around the time. It's close. But we're a book and a half into the series anyway, right? So it's not like it's the first thing that happened. Yeah. You know, so it's not. Yeah. And I feel like
00:35:07
Speaker
And I feel like in this book, K.A. Tucker, she just expands on a lot of the themes that were explored in the first book. So if you liked like the found family aspect of it, if you liked obviously Jonah and Calla and you liked Calla's sort of, I don't know, like metamorphosis is like the right word, but like you really see her blossoming wild at heart. And so many people just, I mean, I don't want to say people, one person in particular, her name is Lomi, love her, but like sisters. But Lomi and I disagree on Calla all the time and we fight over Calla all the time.
00:35:37
Speaker
But one thing you can't deny is that Caleb really grows in the second book, like she becomes like such a better person, not only for the sake of her relationship, but I think like the sake of herself, like she is just going through a lot. And it's just was nice to hear her really blossom and wad at heart. So people who call it boring or whatever, again, I just think you have no taste or maybe you know, respectfully, yeah, a small or disrespectful. Yeah. Yeah. Disrespectfully.
00:36:04
Speaker
And like, maybe this just like is not the type of genre book for you, but then I don't want to hear you say like, Oh, I would read about, you know, another couple doing XYZ boring shit when you got all the boring shit in this book, and you hated it. Because clearly, you don't appreciate it. It's not boring. It was fantastic. It was so good. Like, oh,
00:36:24
Speaker
The thing about the thing about Kalatu is in the first book, she doesn't really have a direction. She doesn't know what she wants. She doesn't know what she's doing. She's living with her parents, right? Like she just is just like chilling. She's just here. And so she doesn't really like that feeling. And so then when she finds something that she feels when she has that family now, when she has that something to cling to in Alaska,
00:36:47
Speaker
Um, you know, that, that becomes her, her world, her life. And so then she kind of learns how to live this new life in this new world with this man that she now loves with this new family that she's got. And so she kind of learns to adapt and what that means. What does her life now look like in Alaska? What do I do now? So that's like a big piece of her, um, in this book. And some people may find that boring. I didn't.
00:37:12
Speaker
I love Calla. She is a real, by the end of the series, she is a real Alaskan material girl. I love her so much. She's, she's the best. See, Kayla and I are crazy people and we have played out Jonah and Calla's entire life because obviously since K-8 has very like- You didn't have to tell people that. But no, we talk about like, okay, like
00:37:34
Speaker
if, how would they react to like this situation? How would they react to this situation? It's because like, I think Wild at Heart does such a good job of like, really establishing who they are as people to where you can sit there and go, okay, well, like, how would they react if this were to happen? Or like, how would Joan and Calla act if they like went on a cruise or if they did this, they did that. So I love them. Yeah.
00:37:56
Speaker
I mean, also, Kendra, you already kind of touched on this when you were telling us about the parts that you like to read to calm you down or that you find really comforting. Like, are those big fights like your favorite parts? Like, when someone says to you, like, what are your favorite parts about this book? Like, do you have favorite quotes that stick out, favorite parts of the book? Yeah, I do. Okay. My favorite part in the entire book is that fight. The one for her birthday?
00:38:20
Speaker
yeah when they're like in the parking lot screaming at each other and then she like because one of the again spoilers one of the big conflicts for Jonah and Cala is Jonah's best friend Marie who Jonah loved him but he's such an idiot when it comes to Marie because he like can't see that like Marie is like in love with him and Cala just like so very very clearly sees it and like we get in Marie's head so like we know that Marie also was like very in love with Jonah and like not she didn't always respect like
00:38:48
Speaker
her place of like just his best friend. Like she crossed a lot of boundaries, especially a lot at heart. And so when Calla like confronts him about this in the parking lot of this like town bar that they're in, John turns around and he's like, nah, what'd you mean by that? And like the way that he says nah, I swear to God, like I had to cross my legs, like pray to God. Like it's just like the hottest thing because I just imagine him getting like so, he gets so worked up.
00:39:16
Speaker
over it because he to him it's like ridiculous that like he would have eyes for anyone else besides Calla like and he tells her that he's like like you need to be more secure that's another criticism is that people do not like Jonah they think he's like mean and I'm like no I think he's just like no he's just a great man like I'm sorry you don't like assertive men damn yeah he's just straightforward yeah that
00:39:44
Speaker
that fight is my favorite. And then him getting her her Jeep is my favorite there. They buy a hot tub in this book. And I really like that they hang out. Yeah, there's one. And this is like, before her birthday, the day before it's really quick. So you might like, oh, yeah.
00:40:03
Speaker
But you learn that like Calla, she's like waiting for Jonah to come home from flying all day. And she got like blasted by herself, like got drunk on wine. And so she's like in the hot tub naked. And then she's like, I'm just gonna go meet him out on the driveway. So like he can see me keep in mind she's naked. So she just like walks naked and drunk, naked and drunk and just like meets him in the driveway and they like
00:40:26
Speaker
go at it. I mean, I'm assuming they go at it. We don't see it. Thanks. Yeah, she wakes up the next morning, um, covered in mosquito bites because they, they fucked outside and she said something. She's like, I know Joanna was at a really good time. And, uh, yeah, I love that. Oh, and then wait, I'm forgetting like one of the most iconic moments in this book. Yeah. So that's the one thing I went into this book.
00:40:51
Speaker
in a simple while you don't get a love confession like you know they obviously care about each other a lot and that you know it's gonna come and in the beginning of the book Calla mentions like oh like we just like haven't said it yet but like she knows she wants to so as I was reading I thought it was gonna be something that came up like later like I thought that might have been like a point of tension between the two of them because that's usually how it is in a lot of books like oh like we haven't said I love you like you can't say he loves a person whatever very Connor and
00:41:19
Speaker
he says it like right like it happens right away within like the first like 30 pages of this book yeah enjoy his love confession is so amazing and like spectacular and i don't like the fact that those words came out of his mouth i'm just like oh my gosh it's one of the best love impressions ever i'm madly in love with you califlecher he said he's like i need you more than this alaskan air like
00:41:45
Speaker
Yeah, I would say not only is this like a comfort book, but like, this is like a comfort couple, Jonah and Calla. Like, I just think of them whenever I feel sad, like I'll text Kayla, I'll be like, I miss them. And it'll be like a Tuesday. And I'm like, reading like something completely different, like not even small town, nothing. It's just like, I really miss Jonah and Calla. And it's just because they're just so nice to think about. They have such a beautiful relationship. So
00:42:12
Speaker
Now, I know for a fact that if you wouldn't have picked The Simple Wild, you would have picked a different book that I'm 100% sure is Kayla's comfort book today, because I think if Kayla didn't pick the one that she picked today, she would have picked The Simple Wild. These books are children of divorce, like Kayla has custody of the one. Yeah, exactly. It's just like, yeah, before this, we were just like, okay, Kendra, which one are you gonna pick? I'll just pick the other one that you don't like. It was just a matter of
00:42:42
Speaker
Which one? Which person is going to take which one?
Kayla's Comfort Read: 'Part of Your World'
00:42:45
Speaker
Mine is Part of Your World by Abby Jimenez and for those listening, I'm holding up my physical copy and this physical copy was annotated and tagged for me by Kendra. She gave it to me my birthday last year and it's like one of my most prized possessions. I love it so much.
00:43:03
Speaker
Um, so this book is about, uh, Dr. Alexis Montgomery, who's an ER doctor. And in the beginning she, uh, her car gets stranded in a ditch from a raccoon. Um, and then she accepts a tow from this handsome stranger who she later runs into at a bar that night because she's stranded in this middle of nowhere town. Um, she ends up later going home with this stranger whose name is Daniel. He's a,
00:43:30
Speaker
He's a carpenter. He's the mayor of this small town. And when I say mayor, I use that term extremely loosely. He doesn't really do much in terms of mayoral duties, but they go home together. They have this magical night. Um, but the next day when Alexis goes back to the city, she can't stop thinking about Daniel. She can't stop thinking about him. So she visits him again. And then it's just kind of about, um, their,
00:43:57
Speaker
falling for each other over this temporary fling. And Alexis knows that this temporary fling can't really go anywhere. She has this terrible, relentless ex that she's trying to escape. She has a very demanding family who expects things of her because they are a family of a lot of prestige in this hospital world that she works at right now. So she's just trying to escape her current life in the big city. And she does that by
00:44:25
Speaker
seeing Daniel and traveling back and forth to see him every weekend, pretty much. So it's about them falling in love and overcoming different obstacles of their own lives. They also have an age gap that's between them. It's a reverse age gap, so she is older. Also, there's a wealth gap between them, and there is just a societal gap between them. So it's just about them overcoming all of these different things and seeing whether or not their lives can fit in each other's worlds.
00:44:56
Speaker
And it's so freaking amazing. It was my favorite book of 2022. Mine too. I read this book in, well actually I first got it in a book of the month subscription, which I no longer have, but I got it in the April subscription from last year. Unless they want to sponsor us. Yeah, I let you guys want to sponsor us in a second. We'll take your money. But it sat on my shelf for a long time.
00:45:25
Speaker
And then, well, when I say a long time, I mean probably like a month and a half, two months maybe. So then I finally picked it up when I was just like kind of in between books, didn't really know what to think. And then probably when I was like 30 pages in, I was like, wait.
00:45:40
Speaker
I remember this. Kayla was in our group chat. And she's like, Oh, you guys, like, I'm reading this book. And it's kind of good so far. And then she was like, Okay, I'm halfway through. You guys should like maybe read this book. And then you finish it. You're like, Okay, I am demanding that all of you read this book. And it's not even like, when I was reading it, I was literally telling Kendra exactly everything that was going on. Because I'm not gonna read it. I truly thought she never read it simply because she was scared of the age gap.
00:46:10
Speaker
I personally do not think at all. I mean, maybe in the beginning, Alexis is really hesitant. She's like, I had this one night stand with this 28 year old guy or whatever. She's like, I, you know, this is, this is crazy. Like I'm not doing this again. And then I truly don't think that after that, I really don't think that it's an issue. Maybe some people disagree, but I don't think that it's really mentioned that much at all for me. Cause that's what I was kind of nervous about going into this book, but, um,
00:46:37
Speaker
It's not really a problem. And they these two are 100% like soulmates like that. When I think of soulmates, this is like, these are the these are the people I think of, like to a T that's what they are. And I think the part of the reason that this is just such a comfort read for me is that it reminds me like a lot
00:46:57
Speaker
of why I love romance books why I love love stories like both of these characters just separately and together they felt so real I wanted to know like every single detail about these characters I was swimming I was giggling and I was laughing like this book is also very funny and their love felt like so genuine and the emotion like that they were feeling I felt like I was feeling that with them at the same time
00:47:22
Speaker
And so another thing with this book is that it also has one of my favorite, if not my favorite, audiobook of 2022. It's narrated by Julia Whelan and Zachary Weber, and they absolutely crushed it, crushed it with this book. Like I, after I read it for the first time, I immediately got the audiobook and I reread it on audio and I didn't
00:47:47
Speaker
really like cry when I read it the first time but I cried when I listened to it for the first time because there's a couple scenes that Zachary Weber absolutely crushes and I mean he crushes the whole thing but there's a couple of them that like really got to me and so yeah because it just felt so like they were they weren't just reading this book out loud Julia and Zachary they were like they were acting acting acting acting
00:48:17
Speaker
So that's like just another huge reason why I love this book. I mean, I would love this book without the audio, but I think that's also what really helped drive home that this book is genuinely like one of the best romance books I've ever read.
00:48:29
Speaker
Zachary Weber, for those of you who don't know, also has a second name that he narrates under, which is Jacob Morgan. So we had all already heard him read the Sinner audiobook for the first time. That was the first time I heard him. I'm pretty sure that was everybody's first time. It was my first time hearing him. And it was my first audiobook that I ever did. So he like... What an experience. Oh my god. Yeah, he kind of did that for me. He really just like ate in Sinner. Like it's just so
00:48:57
Speaker
good every single part and he made it so emotional like I cried listening to that one too. So then listening to him do a completely different kind of character that is Daniel like in part of your world like he's so soft he's such a cinnamon roll like he's just yeah and like hearing Zachary do that one and oh my god Kendra forced me to listen to the part we were in the corner which is like listen to the way he like his voice cracks here like during the saddest part of the entire book
00:49:25
Speaker
This was before you had read the book, really? No, after. We were just in the car one time and Kendra was like, let's listen to him make us cry. But he's so talented. When I finished the book, and I looked up the audio book, the entire reason why I was like, let me get this is because he was narrating it. I was like, oh,
00:49:47
Speaker
I have to get this now. This is a mustang. There's a couple other things I want to mention. You mentioned that Daniel is a cinnamon roll. He is definitely a massive cinnamon roll. He is not your typical
00:50:04
Speaker
brooding grumpy, you know, small town man. He's not that way at all. He is the kindest, sweetest, most like selfless person I've ever seen, or read about like in my life. He is his big thing in this book, that the author drives home is that his love language or his form of giving love is quality time. He values that so so much. And there's, there's, there's
00:50:36
Speaker
There's a certain point in this book where the main female character Alexis realizes that where she realizes that like this is his way of giving love is quality time it's and he doesn't have time is the thing.
00:50:50
Speaker
And he like, like I said, he's the mayor. Again, I use that term loosely, but he still he like cares literally after everyone in this town. Anytime that anybody has any issues, they call Daniel and he goes immediately. He runs a bed and breakfast. So he has that job. He's also a carpenter. So he makes pieces for people. So he's busy.
00:51:09
Speaker
all the time. It's not like he's just chilling in a house somewhere. He's busy all the time, but he makes time for the people that he loves. And so when Alexis realizes that he spent time doing something for her, there's one of my favorite scenes that I'll just say now is when he gives her this, and it sounds so silly when you say it out loud, but he was at the shore of this river and he finds this rock and it's in the shape, sort of in the shape of a heart, and he gives it to Alexis.
00:51:39
Speaker
And he's he talks about, you know, he spent time on this shore looking for this rock for her this special thing. And so then she realizes that like, you know, I, Daniel spent time that he doesn't have this extra time that he doesn't really have to find this for me, because he cares about me, you know, it's just like,
00:52:00
Speaker
I can't even think. You're gonna make me cry. It's so good. It's so sweet. He's just the sweetest man. And then another part of this book is that there's really like one other part of that. I really like it. It's very magical feeling or like there's a very big magic element to the town in this book to walk on.
00:52:21
Speaker
you know there's like lots of talk of dragonflies there's a stained glass window that changes every time like well when the when the characters look at it they're like oh i don't remember it looking at like this before um there's a certain scene where like these um petals are coming all around them as they're kissing you know it's like a very like it's a very much like a cliche type romance book moment but it still feels to me it feels like very genuine and like every time i'm just like
00:52:48
Speaker
oh that's so cute um there's if the town doesn't like somebody it will find a way to drive out those people you know what i mean like or if the town loves somebody like it loves alexis it will find a way to bring them back so that's another reason like why this book is just like it's so special it's so magical and i love that about it oh gosh that book is just so freaking good
00:53:13
Speaker
Yeah, and it's dual POV. So you do get in Daniel's head too in the way that like Daniel thinks about Alexis is just...
00:53:24
Speaker
He's like definition of man obsessed. Like he is down so incredibly bad from the get go. Yeah. It's made like more, I guess it's made better because of his age. Like he's 28. So Alexis is 37 in this book. So you expect like, I think in her mind, she was thinking like, Oh, this 28 year old man probably has like all these other things he wants to do. Like he doesn't, yeah, like he doesn't want to be tied down. And like, he's just so
00:53:53
Speaker
Yeah, like he's just so obsessed with her and like willing to like do anything for her. He's just such a good, great, fantastic, beautiful, show-stopping, never before seen. Yeah, amazing. He's just so sweet.
00:54:11
Speaker
Earlier, Kayla, when you were like, you know, he's not your typical like, romance hero, I think that's what makes him stand out because there's so much negativity in Daniel's life where it would have been really easy for him to be a grumpy hero. But the fact that he like tries to find the positive and everything and it didn't come off as like, sometimes like, quote unquote, sunshine characters can be very cringy, like if they're overdone.
00:54:32
Speaker
I feel like Daniel's level of optimism was just very realistic and he was a very well-balanced person. Like he was very hopeful, but he still knew like, okay, maybe things won't turn out my way exactly, but I'm still going to try to like search for the good name. He's just like the sweetest boy. Yeah. I love him. Yeah. Yeah. His circumstances, like he's not, like I said, he's not living like this easy going life. Like he's, um,
00:55:00
Speaker
His mom is a terrible human being. He's fighting a lot with his mom in this book, who you see. But yeah, like his level of optimism is great. And one of like the very first things that made me fall in love with him, and this is like what, like the second or third chapter, is when Alexis and him, you know, see each other again after he helps her get her car towed out of the ditch.
00:55:22
Speaker
at this bar and he's like, he says, uh, I'm not an asshole. It's my favorite thing about myself. He's so cute. He's just so sweet. Um, yeah, he's just the sweetest guy like ever. And, um, my favorite parts from this book, I was like trying to think I have so many because I was just like looking at chapters, like trying to name a chapter. And my favorite parts from the book take place probably from chapter 27, all the way to chapter 35.
00:55:52
Speaker
It's just like a long, I love all of it, but like things that like come top of mind are there's a really funny, I'll just name the funny ones first. There's a really funny scene, probably the funniest in the book, when Daniel is trying to take pictures for elected. He's trying to take very specific pictures.
00:56:12
Speaker
He is. He's trying to take pictures and he like doesn't know what he's doing. And while he's trying to do something or while he's trying to take dick pics, his friend calls him up, figures out what he's trying to do. And he's like, let me help you. And so he comes over and he brings a whole production. He's got a ring light. He shows him exactly what position
00:56:36
Speaker
It's hilarious. That's probably like my favorite scene. Other people get involved, too. It ended up working, right? Because Alexis gets the picture, and she's like, oh, god. She gets it in the middle of dinner with her parents, who are all terrible, terrible people, by the way. But she gets it in the middle of dinner, and she's like, she doesn't know what to do with herself. It's fantastic. That scene.
00:56:58
Speaker
there's the scene the saddest scene is probably again i know i'm like kinder i like pain um so i probably listen this is probably the scene i've listened to the most is when spoiler spoiler um is when dang or alexis breaks up with daniel yeah i guess it's a breakup breaks up with daniel when he comes to visit her um in minneapolis after she gets her
00:57:23
Speaker
promotion it's very that whole scene when he comes into the hospital after she gets promoted and he just wants to be there for her because at that point they are technically they are boyfriend and girlfriend they had agreed they were gonna stay together as boyfriend and girlfriend so when she breaks up with him it's like so I hate breakups like third act breakups usually in books like especially if they're over stupid stuff but this one felt like
00:57:51
Speaker
I don't know, it felt realistic. It felt like it needed to happen. You know what I mean? It's done so well too, to the point where people end up getting so mad at Alexis. You two are Alexis truthers to the end. I was so pissed at her. I was so mad at her during that scene. Are you kidding me? Yeah, we all know the number one Alexis hater is Selena.
00:58:20
Speaker
Selena at Bookish Cell. We're calling you out right now. She literally dragged Alexis for Phil. And I'm like, are you kidding me? Alexis is like my girl. This is an issue. Once I love a character, they can do no wrong to me. And any criticism, even if it's valid, I don't care.
00:58:41
Speaker
A lot of what Abby Jimenez has talked about that she needed to sell the fact that Alexis couldn't just simply walk away from her life in the city. She's got a really emotionally abusive ex that she shares a house with. They both own this house.
00:59:03
Speaker
And so they're fighting over that right now. And then also her parents, more her dad, but also a little bit her mom are really pressuring her to carry on the family name of
00:59:15
Speaker
of the hospital because her family initially founded this hospital, right? And so they're really pressuring her to keep this legacy up. And a lot of people are counting on her to do this, essentially. And so I feel like I probably didn't tell it very well when I was just saying that, but I feel like in the book, for me personally, I think Abby Jimenez really sells the fact that Alexis can't, she can't just leave.
00:59:39
Speaker
She has responsibilities and things that she needs to take care of while she's here, or while, you know, with her life in the city. And same thing with Daniel. Daniel also can't just pack up his life and walk on because so many people are counting on him in this town that he can't just leave. And so that was really like the crux of this whole book is, okay, they both have these different worlds. I get it. They both have these different lives. How can they make them fit together?
01:00:06
Speaker
Um, and you know, the, I think the solution that she ends up coming up with is obviously fantastic. Um, but it, it, yeah, Abby Jimenez did have to sell the fact that Alexis couldn't just walk away. And so some people would, when Alexis breaks up with Daniel, they're like, you are so stupid. Why are you letting this man go?
01:00:28
Speaker
Yeah. And to that point, I think I either want a character for myself, or I want them to be happy with their partner. Like, that's how I feel about characters I have questions on. Like, I'm like, Oh, I just want you to be so happy, like that person is made for you, or I want them for me.
01:00:44
Speaker
And I think the issue that Selena had is she wants Daniel for her. Yeah. She's like, I would never do that to him. I will give, I will give, I fully, I want Daniel for myself. I'm a married woman, but I also, I do want Daniel Grant.
01:01:05
Speaker
We have all three of us here have had the opportunity to read Abby's next book in this series, Interconnected Standalone, yours truly. Thank you so much for ever publishing. What are your thoughts on that one? Everybody, but also like Caleb, you said that this is your comfort book. I know it's one of 10 just as well. What are your guys thoughts on yours truly? Yeah, you go first. Hey, Brandi, you can go first. I know what you're going to say.
01:01:36
Speaker
Loudly and proudly say that Yours Truly was probably my favorite romance book I read last year. I ended up not including... It's in my top three. I ended up not including it in my end of year ranking last year because it comes out this year. I already pre-ordered the audiobook because Zachary Weber narrates it again and I just know he's gonna be so good. So I'm planning on rereading it this year and then I'll include it this year. For me that one was
01:02:00
Speaker
my favorite of the two so far. I loved Part of Your World. Like I really, really, really enjoyed reading that book. I read it in like two days. I don't love it to the same.
01:02:08
Speaker
level that Kendra can do. I don't think anybody in the world does. I think Abby should get them on the phone. Call us. Yeah, but yours truly is like one of my favorite books I've ever read in my life. Like I loved it so, so much. And I was the first one of us to read that one. And I remember being really, really scared because I know how much you guys love Party Your World. I was like, there's just no way that this is going to top Party Your World. And I think I'm right. I think both of you still prefer Party Your World.
01:02:38
Speaker
yeah yeah i would say so it's only okay so how i view it is like yours truly to me has the characters i'm able to relate to a lot more especially like jacob and like his social anxiety i think like a lot of people that have social anxiety are gonna like see him and like latch on to him i think abby did such an amazing job with his character you can tell she puts a lot of research into her books before she starts and like it's just like a labor of love from her side but
01:03:08
Speaker
why I like Partier One more is because it was a more concise full circle story and since it's like the start of the series there's elements like the magic and all that that I wanted to see in yours truly like continued whereas like with yours truly like you know they're little plot holes like it's more character
01:03:32
Speaker
Wendy, what happened to that doctor position? You really don't want to hear me talk about it. They literally tell you that a guy never retired. Yeah, but like why make it such a big deal in the first place if you're not going to like actively follow up on it. I'm not talking about plot holes because of the photography. I'm just talking about partying a little, spoil it differently.
01:03:53
Speaker
I just, I felt like Part of Your World was a more, much more concise book when it came to the plot. I loved Full Circle Stories and Yours Truly was a little more like wavy, but I still loved it. I loved the characters, I loved the romance. There was a lot more going on in Yours Truly that I thought could have used some trimming. Oh my God, I thought you were gonna be like, it was still so good. I just still love Part of Your World. No, like it was, okay, so I loved Yours Truly. No.
01:04:23
Speaker
I loved yours truly. Like I thought it was really good, but like there were times where I was reading, I was just like, I just, I don't know. Like I love both love stories and they're both great. And there are moments in yours truly that are just so freaking good. And Jacob to me, just, and Brie, Brie and part of your world was such an amazing character. I was so excited to get to her story and yours truly. And she overperformed, like she did such an amazing job. And yeah.
01:04:53
Speaker
For those that don't know, Brianna Ortiz is Alexis's best friend. She's introduced in part of your world pretty quickly. And she's one of the things like you learn about her incident instantly is that she is hilarious. But she's also just a really good friend. She's like part of the reason to like when there's a certain scene in this book that Daniel is going really down and out.
01:05:18
Speaker
And Brianna is like the entire reason that he even goes to see Alexis right after that, you know, because he doesn't want to at first. And he talks with Brianna afterwards, and he finally goes to see Alexis. But Brianna, it's Brianna's love story. And we introduced to a new character named Jacob, who's a new doctor at the hospital. And personally, for me, what I think about yours truly is like, okay, part of your world is like up here, right? Yours truly is like,
01:05:44
Speaker
right there. It's so close. I think I like it a little bit more than Kinder did. I really, really I still love it. I still love it. Oh my god. I know. I know you loved it. But I think I loved it a little bit more than you did. That's okay. Like, but I will say I did also want to include yours truly in my top 10 of the past year. But I didn't because it was an arc. And it comes out this year. So it'll probably still be in my top
01:06:13
Speaker
of 2023 like my top romance books if not just my top 10 books in general of 2023. It's yeah like you said the social anxiety representation in that book is like chef's kiss. It's so there there are so many things that Jacob says where you're like okay hold on I need you to like get out of my head you know like please just stop you know it gets a little bit sometimes I was like okay this is too much you know what I mean not in like a bad way but Jacob it's another like
01:06:41
Speaker
is another like cinnamon roll type character, like he writes letters, he has plants, he loves plants, he's just an all around amazing human being. Yeah, I think in yours truly as well, like the caretaker, like rep is like really beautiful, like Bree is taking care of her brother who's going through kidney failure. And it's just like, yeah, I don't know, she was really vulnerable at that meet and greet, she did the live
01:07:08
Speaker
Instagram live so I know Kayla saw it as well at the same time. That she's just I don't know she's just been very vulnerable about her own experience with like medical issues and stuff like that. Until like Kendra said she just puts so much love into her books. You should always read your author's notes because the author's note in yours truly I think is like phenomenal and she gives a lot of insight and in Partier World she gives a lot of insight to it's like her process of creating. I think the one in yours truly is a little bit more important because you're like oh Abby wow. So
01:07:37
Speaker
spoil anything, but I think everyone should read it when the book comes out. We also have heard small snippets of the narrators performing certain parts in the audio. And they sound fantastic. Like we said, Decker River does perform as Jacob again, which we were like, so hoping for that he would come back and do this book. So we were so excited for that. But there's a new or new to us narrator for Brianna.
01:08:05
Speaker
um and i apologize i don't remember her name but she sounds she also sounds amazing yeah yeah i think once i listen to the audiobook i'll end up liking this book more because i think that also sold part of your world so much was like their performances so i think once i still love this book i don't think i hated this book i loved this book i just like part of your world more oh my god i'm so sorry i made you feel bad i am i would fight for yours truly and i did you saw it i did
01:08:35
Speaker
Yeah, you should read my review of it. I think my review is pretty good. I'll send it to you. Okay, yeah. No, it might ruin our friendship. We got to hang out tomorrow. I don't want to. That is one thing I genuinely, genuinely, genuinely love about talking about books with Kendra is like dead honest at all times. Like tore one of my favorite books of the year so far to shreds. I'm not even gonna say which one it is. Wait, do I know what it is? Yeah.
01:09:05
Speaker
Um, no, I like, I just like genuinely really love that. And, um, yeah, but that's not what she was doing with yours. Truly. I'm so sorry. I made you feel bad about it. It's okay. I, yeah, I try to, sorry. I can't help it, but here's the thing, right? Is that like, I want everyone to feel empowered to do the same to me.
01:09:23
Speaker
I feel like when you have a favorite book and like in our instances, like we're talking about our comfort books, you need to be that book's like defense attorney. If it's your favorite, back it up. And if you're going to talk shit about a book, back it up. And I think that's a lot of people's problems is that they'll say that they don't like something and they can't like articulate why. And I just feel like I'm really good at articulating why.
01:09:40
Speaker
Yeah, I think you have great critical thinking skills. And I also like, for example, when you saw that video on TikTok that called Daniel Grant from Part of Your World Broke. Oh my god, stop it. You were in those comments. Yeah, Daniel slander. Listen, if he the richest man on earth, no, no. But we were talking that like a lot of the book would not have worked if this man was like, swimming in money. Okay, it was very intentional.
01:10:07
Speaker
Kayla said earlier, Daniel literally does not have time. He takes care of everyone in this town. So like, if he didn't have all this responsibility, if he didn't have to like cut his mom a check every month, yeah, he's probably a little bit more well off. So he's not broke. He's just not rich. And also, Alexis taught him how to value himself better. Anyway, he was selling furniture, but he was not selling
01:10:31
Speaker
you know, at the rate that he could have been. And so Alexis taught him, you need to value yourself more because you are charging way less than you should be. That's another part. And also when Daniel and Alexis, Tina, I'm also Daniel's defense attorney. And also when Daniel and Alexis had their first night together, she didn't know who this man was. She just knew about his character. She didn't know anything else materially about this man. You guys defined them both too. Like Daniel and Alexis equally.
01:10:58
Speaker
Yeah, that time that Selena was like, Alexis doesn't know how to sweep, you guys were like... And I'm like, listen, Alexis grew up extremely privileged, like she had people sweep for her. Yeah, if I lived in a mansion and had a nanny, you think I'm gonna know how to sweep too? You think Kim Kardashian's kids know how to sweep? No! We've all seen that video of Kendall Jenner trying to cut a cucumber. They don't know how to do shit because other people do it for them, like,
01:11:22
Speaker
And she acknowledges it and then she works to get better. And now homegirl is like fixing a dishwasher. She can like change a break. Yeah, she can. Oh, the garbage. Yeah, she can cook now she can clean. She is a great person. And I'm tired of people.
01:11:42
Speaker
talking shit about her by P5 and Selena. We're gonna have to have Selena odd. I love Selena, love Selena so much. Kayla, any final thoughts on part of your world? Another selling point to this book is that there are lots of animals, very cute animals, a baby goat that wears pajamas, and a dog named Hunter who is based off of Abby's own dog. And he's kind of insane. He causes a lot of problems, but he loved him.
01:12:12
Speaker
very much and also just like the side character side characters like Doug who is Daniel's friend like Brianna Alexis's best friend some amazing people the rest of them oh and Popeye Popeye's great the rest of the characters we don't really love we don't really talk about them intentionally we don't like them we really like Liz though I think that's another good part of the subplot with Liz there's also like we we had talked about how Abby
01:12:42
Speaker
really does her research and takes great care in talking about serious topics. And there also is domestic domestic violence subplot with another side character named Liz. And I do also think that she handles that with great care as well. And Alexis kind of gives her some advice. And again, I think that the way that Alexis talks to her and talks to her, you know, not just as, you know, a victim, I think is really powerful. There's a certain scene. Yeah, that's like,
01:13:11
Speaker
your heart kind of stops when you were reading
The Power of Comfort Books and Personal Connections
01:13:13
Speaker
about it. At least that's how I felt. My heart kind of like, you know, stopped when I was reading about it. But I think that she handled it really well. Yeah, so those are our comfort books, or what we identified today as our comfort books. I'm sure for me, at least my comfort books, which is I was like having a crisis about which book to bring today. And I know you guys kind of share the simple wild a part of your world and some others, which hopefully we'll talk about another time.
01:13:39
Speaker
Is there a comfort book that you wish you would have talked about here? I was debating between this one and Juniper Hill by Daphne Perry because those are my two most read books on my shelf. I ended up with this one just because, like I said, it started my bookstagram journey and I've read it more than any other book I've ever read. But yeah, your runners up are each other's.
01:14:01
Speaker
Yeah, but I think another one for me is The Long Way Home, Magnolia Park's Long Way Home. I reread that book so many times. Obviously, I don't read certain parts of it because that's too much pain. Yeah. But the nice pain in that book is really good. And then same with Daisy Hates too. Yeah, I just kind of go to bed. It's like, what do I go to? Jonah and Calla? Do I go to BJ and Magnolia? Do I go to Julia and Hates? Yeah. Who's on deck?
01:14:31
Speaker
Who's hurting the most tonight? Yeah.
'Lessons in Chemistry' and Its Emotional Impact
01:14:35
Speaker
For me, that's hard because obviously I think part of your world and the simple wild series in general are just like me. I can't pick between the two. But if I had to pick another runner up, I also think that for me and the running would be lessons in chemistry. Elizabeth thought to me as a character, I love her so much.
01:14:59
Speaker
loved her journey that she takes. It's very emotional, but it's also very like at the end, it was very full circle. And I loved like Kendra also said earlier today, you love full circle moments. And this is a very full circle book. Yeah. And the audio book is also great. That I think I guess I would say more the audio book is a comfort for me rather than the typical book. Definitely.
01:15:22
Speaker
Well, amazing.
Celebrating the Podcast's Inaugural Episode
01:15:24
Speaker
Thanks for hanging out with us for our first episode of Bring Your Own. Yay! We did it!
01:15:31
Speaker
Thank you to all three listeners who made it to the stage. Thank you to my mom, to Kendra's best friend, Madison, and to Kelly. Brandi's boyfriend, Daniel. Her best friend, Bailey. We're going to be great. Our five listeners. We love you. Yeah. But hopefully we get to do this again. And if we do, next time we'll be bringing something else. So yay. All right. Love you.