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Summer Reading Recap | S2Ep1
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Welcome to season 2! We're kicking things off this season by discussing our summer 2023 reading journeys. Find out our top reads of the season, the books that disappointed us the most, which new authors we're obsessed with, and more!
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Transcript
Season Two Introduction
00:00:04
Speaker
Hey guys. Hey. Hey people, like Shawn Mendes. Hi, how you doing? Longtime no talk. Welcome to Bring Your Own and Catch All Bookish with the Time podcast. I'm Brandi. I'm Kendra. And I'm Kayla. And this is season two.
00:00:29
Speaker
who we made it to season two. Oh my God, you guys. This is so crazy. Um, but yeah, today we're just doing like a little summer recap. It's been a minute. It's been a minute since we've recorded. It's been a minute since we posted. Like we just took a little, you know, summer break. So we're back. Yeah. Life's been a little crazy. But before we do that, what are you guys reading?
Summer Recap and Reading Highlights
00:00:51
Speaker
What are you guys drinking? Brandy, you should go first.
00:00:55
Speaker
Okay um I just this morning DNF'd an audiobook that I was listening to because my like only big writing pet peeve is when they use the same word all the time like over and over like I'm so easy to please with writing it takes a lot.
00:01:11
Speaker
And I was debating DNFing this audiobook. And I was like, you know what? No. I'm just going to push through. And then I hit play and literally within 13 seconds, she said hand twice, check three times, and services twice. And I was just like, I can't do it. And it was Jason Clark narrating. So it pains me to DNF. Yeah. But that's OK. So I'm going to be starting Business or Pleasure.
00:01:37
Speaker
by Rachel and Salomon. Yeah, I bought that one, so very excited to have that. And then I am reading Do Your Worst by Rosie Dannon, who is the person who wrote The Roommate. And that one comes out in November and it's like paranormal. She's a curse breaker and she shows up to this haunted castle in Scotland and there's an archaeologist there who's just like trying to do his job and they're butting heads and it's very fun.
00:02:02
Speaker
Um, I think you'll really like, I was going to say the same thing. Oh my gosh. We're all on such a wavelength today. It's really good. Um, and you said you liked the narrator of the brandy too. So yeah, it's not the usual names. It's not her, she's using like a fake name, but I listened to it and I was like, Oh, that's Kristin C.
00:02:22
Speaker
Yeah, she's great. What else does she do? Because I feel like I've heard her voice, but I can't think of what else she's done. I probably heard her in Funny You Should Ask. Oh, I didn't listen to that one. I read it physically, I mean. Elise assessment. Oh, OK. Then I've only heard her there, and then she also does John Green's books, which I listen to. Oh, she hasn't heard her before. I don't know. Did she do Turtles All the Way Down?
00:02:46
Speaker
Maybe I didn't, I haven't listened to that one. Um, that's Hank Green. Oh, sorry. No, I mixed it up. She does Hank Green's book, which are two sci-fi books that he's published. Sorry. Not John Green. My bad. My bad. No, you're good. You're good. Oh yeah. Uh, turtles all the way down was narrated by Kate Rudd, which was really good audio book. Okay. Oh, and then also I'm drinking. Um, I finally got a replacement fizzy thing for my soda stream. So I'm drinking my bubbly lemon water, but homemade.
00:03:15
Speaker
I thought I recognized that bottle. I was like, that looks like a Soda Stream bottle. I used to work at Bed Bath and Beyond. Those bottles haunt me. Oh my gosh. I feel like every time, like you've had like a million jobs. I feel like every time we talk about something, you're like, oh, I used to work there.
00:03:32
Speaker
Yeah, it's only a handful, but it's like iconic places. I'll go. I'm actually currently not reading anything. I just finished listening to The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston. Oh my gosh, that book is so good. Kayla's reading it now, so I won't say much, but it's about a woman who inherits an apartment from her aunt and the apartment is magical.
00:04:01
Speaker
And it throws her back in time seven years where she meets a guy who is staying there over the summer seven years ago. And it's just about how they get involved and it's really nice. The concept of it, I think it's what makes it so good because it's one of those books where like, or it's one of those concepts where you can put any two of your, like any one of your favorite couples, put them in that exact same scenario and then think about whether or not they would make it out.
00:04:29
Speaker
And oh, it was so good. That's so fun. I love that. Yeah, it's so nice. And like, it's like, has like Emily Henry feeling where it's like romance plus. So it's like, has two, I would say central themes outside of the romance that the book is exploring that I think it does a really good job of conquering. But yeah, that's gonna be one of my favorite books of the year. It was so good. Like I am re-listening to it right now as I have to like do chores today. And
00:04:54
Speaker
Oh, it just makes me so happy. What I'm going to read next, I don't know. So stay tuned, I guess, for whatever I say I'm going to read next, next episode. What are you drinking? What are you drinking? Oh, what am I drinking? I have two drinks today, as all hot people do. Sometimes even three. Hawaiian shaved ice, a lani new energy drink. That's one. And then water that is like a day old in this water bottle. So.
00:05:17
Speaker
A little lukewarm. A little dirty. But it's like a little bit. But it's not as lukewarm as I thought, which means it's a really good water bottle because I had ice in here. The ice is melted by now, but it lasted like almost 24 hours. So pretty proud of her. Yeah. Yeah. Good work. Love it. Kayla Ann. Yeah. So I'm only physically reading a book right now. Normally I have, you know,
00:05:41
Speaker
both physical read and an audio read going, but just physical and it is actually like physical. I don't remember the last time that I like actually physically read a book, which is crazy. But I am reading the seven year slip. I'm about 200 pages in really, really loving it so far. It's just so like funny and cute and like swoony. Yeah. And it's just like,
00:06:03
Speaker
It gives me the like the feelings that I want to get when I'm reading a romance book, you know, like the kind of giddy. It's just fun. And I'm so good. Yeah. Yeah, I don't I don't think that there's like any way that like it could go bad for me. So I think it's going to be at least a four point five, if not a five.
00:06:22
Speaker
I gave it five. And what I'm drinking right now, what's that? I gave it five stars. Yeah. What I'm drinking right now is I, we were talking about this before we started, but I'm just having water, but I'm having water from our book bonanza water bottle that we've got when we were there, because it's like now become my number one water bottle. I feel like I go through water bottle cycles where I'm like using one exclusively for however long. And then I move on to the next, but currently that is my book bonanza water bottle. So.
00:06:52
Speaker
She goes with me everywhere right now. Yeah. I love that as a straw. I hate having to tip my head. Yeah. I hate having to move. Yeah. I'm just trying to hydrate myself. Let's start with a little summer recap, you guys.
Top Summer Reads and Personal Achievements
00:07:07
Speaker
How has your summer reading been going? As expected? Better? Worse? I think it's going really good, actually. Last month, I read 17 books, which is the most that I've read all year in one month. Jesus.
00:07:20
Speaker
I don't think I've, since we've recorded, I don't think that I've read any books rated five stars yet. There have been some that have been like really close, like 4.75, but you know, sometimes you just like, you've finished a book, you really loved it, but it's like, did it actually like give me the five star feeling? You know what I mean? Now Seven Year Slip has the potential. So, you know, we'll see, we'll come back. But like, I've had a lot of really, really good books.
00:07:49
Speaker
So it's been going really good. What about you guys now? I'm nervous that you're not gonna give seven years of five stars Which I thought you won't give it anything less than a 4.5, which will still make me very very happy. Oh gosh. Yeah now I'm nervous I Can't say
00:08:04
Speaker
My summer reading has been actually really good, especially compared to last summer. Like I'm almost at a hundred books for the year and this time last, like all of last year I only read 92 books for the whole year. So I'm just like reading, reading, reading, which I felt a little slumpish like the past week or so. Kayla got mad at me cause I was like reading, what did I read? I read like you with a view and then this is our pleasure. And I was just like, it took me forever to get through you with a view.
00:08:32
Speaker
And I just I don't know so eyeball reading I don't think I'm slowing down on that but audios this summer have been really good for me It's been like a fun summer like I've had fun with a lot of my reads Which usually always happens in the summer and I usually always discover my favorite book in the summer I don't know if I can say I have a favorite book of the year yet but there are a lot of contenders and I think a lot of them came from the past like few months too, so I
00:08:59
Speaker
You said you're almost at a hundred. So like, I'm curious, like everybody right now, what book are you on? Like number per year. I'm on number 99. Seven, your slip is my 99th book of the year. I'm not exactly a hundred. You're on one, number 100. I saw your story the other day and you had a good one hundred books. So that made me happy. Um, I'm at 94. So, okay. Sorry to be so fucking slow behind you guys. Like I said, July, I like don't know what happened, but I read so many books.
00:09:29
Speaker
Yeah. I thought July was going to be a really slow reading month for me because I moved. I can't remember if I talked about it on the podcast or not, but I definitely have been posting that on my bookstagram. I moved from California to Colorado over the summer. Even my book template that I post on Instagram, I was like, let me just get one that has 12 slots instead of 16 because there's just no way. And then I read 16 books last month. So I also had a crazy month last month.
00:09:58
Speaker
four of those were rereads. I'm having a good summer, very eclectic. I don't know. I feel like the summer is usually when I just read anything and everything that catches my interest because I'm a teacher, so I just have so much time in the summer. But yeah, the audiobooks with the move was really helpful. Just popped in an audiobook while I was packing away and unpacking once we got here and everything. So
00:10:21
Speaker
It's been a good reading summer. June was by far the best reading month of the year for me. I read so many bangers in June, so chasing that high. How many did you read in June? Was that your best month in terms of numbers? No, 16 is my best for July. I read 13 in June.
00:10:42
Speaker
But I read, like, Love Theoretically, The Plus One, That Summer Feeling, The Devil You Know, Fourth Wing, Divine Rivals, all of that was in June. Wow. I was talking about this earlier. I was, like, thinking back to what I read in July. Like, can you ask me, like, what are some of your favorite books that you read in July? And I look back and I was like, oh, my God, I read that in July? Like, it seems like so long ago. Like, I read The Devil You Know in the beginning of July. And I was like, I felt like I read that, like, two months ago.
00:11:11
Speaker
July was such a long month. I feel like it really was. I don't know. I read a ton of really great books in July. But so then taking all of that, since we last recorded, since we last talked on our podcast, what have been some of your favorite reads of the summer so far? So like from June till now. Oh, OK. Oh, this is kind of hard because there are a lot. So it's like, how many do we want to give, like five?
00:11:37
Speaker
Yeah, let's do like five. Yeah. Oh, my God. OK. You go to your Goodreads in your story graph and look. OK, I read Reckless by Elsie Silver in June. So that is like.
00:11:49
Speaker
Oh my god, I'm so glad I don't have to include that since I read it in May. So Reckless, I can't not say that. Will There Won't They by Eva Wilder. I spent this summer at my parents house and I was reading that book like in the room and like that book is so horny so I'm just like oh fuck I'm like
00:12:10
Speaker
I can't, like, why am I at my parent's house? I love that one so, so, so much. I love Ava Wilder, like, so good. The Summer We Fell, Elizabeth O'Rourke. I keep thinking about that book. I can't not, like, it was just angsty and, like, delicious and hot, and I loved it. Probably Seven Year Slip, obviously. Oh, I get, what, one more? Ooh. Sure.
00:12:38
Speaker
This is hard. I really liked funny feelings by Tara DeWitt. Finally read it. Shout out Brandy for convincing me. It only took me a year. It only took her a year. Yeah. Oh, and I really, I'm cheating. I'm going to do six. I read the daydreams by Laura Hinkin.
00:12:53
Speaker
And she actually narrates the audiobook and I thought she did a pretty good job. There are other cast members too in the audiobook, but she does a chunk of it. That book, if you are obsessed with like 2000s, 2010s, like teen celebrity culture, especially with like TV shows, like I was a big victorious fan. I was in the fandom. I feel like I was reading a book about
00:13:14
Speaker
the Victorious fandom and the Victorious TV show. It was so good. It was so interesting. I think the author just handled that conversation so well, especially given that Jeanette McCurdy's book came out. Was that this year, last year it came out? And she exposed a lot of what happened. Last year. Yeah, she exposed a lot of what happened with Nickelodeon. And I could not think of Dan Schneider while reading that book. I was just a little icked out. But it was just really good. And there was a cute little romance subplot in it that I just ate up.
00:13:45
Speaker
It's really good. Those are my favorites. I have a lot. I read a lot of other bangers, but those are like the top ones from that list. If you had to pitch one of them to our listeners, like if you could only give them one book from your summer reading list that they have to read, what do they got to read and what's the book about? Oh my God. Only one spot right now.
00:14:05
Speaker
Okay, well, they should read like, yeah, they, um, well, I kind of just pitched the daydreams, but I feel like that book, like it's not, it's not super romance heavy, even though there's a subplot. So I'm gonna say, Oh my God. Fuck. I forgot out on a limb by Hannah Bonham. I love that book. Oh my God. That book is so good. It's so sweet. I'll put it on mine for you to make up for it.
00:14:27
Speaker
That book is so good. I can only sing that book's praises. But it would have to be the seven year slip. Like Kayla said earlier, it just gave me all the feelings that I love to have while reading a book. And I just, oh my gosh, there are just moments in it that I know I'm gonna think about forever. You know how we always talk about moments in Magnolia Parks or moments in the Addicted series?
00:14:54
Speaker
I cannot stop thinking about certain things in that book. And I can't wait for Kayla to finish because then we can like talk about it. And then Brandi, now you have to read it too. It's narrated by Brittany Presley. She's amazing. And it was just it was so good. Like, oh, yeah.
00:15:10
Speaker
If you love, if you like Emily Henry's books, I think you would really like the seven year slip. I didn't read this author's first book because it has had many mixed reviews. And ever since I posted about reading the seven year slip, people have been in my, in my DMS, like a people being like, Oh my gosh, you have to read the first book. Yeah. And then others being like, do not read her first book. Yeah. Um, so I think I'm going to avoid it for the sake of my mental health, but I love the seven year slip. Um, so that would be if I,
00:15:40
Speaker
People only had to read one for me do the seven year slip. Kayla, what about you? What are your top five from the summer? So as that happened, as as kinder was going through her top five, I was like listing out like in my head, I wrote them down like my top ones and I have seven. So I have to narrow it down to five. But OK, I said I would choose out on the limb since kinder didn't pick that one business or pleasure. I really loved that book. I just thought it was so well done. It was so funny. It was really hot. Love that one. And I I don't know.
00:16:11
Speaker
I'm only gonna pick one Elizabeth or workbook because I read the devil series and the summer we fell but I think those are my two but I'll pick the devil you know because I love that book. I love the summer we fell but that's like a second Elizabeth. Okay yeah you can have that one that's fine. You read it you read it when did you read it? In June oh well you can have it too it's not like we can't like
00:16:34
Speaker
I know. And then I also read the Gold Rush Ranch series by Elsie Silver this summer. The last two books were so good. I think about The Front Runner all the time. I love that book. Okay, so hear me out.
00:16:55
Speaker
I love Mira and Val. What's this, Stephon? Stephon, Val, why did I say Val? Stephon and Mira, I love the most as a couple, but I like A False Start better as a book. So I think I'm gonna go with A False Start and then Love Theoretically. So those are my five. So again, Love Theoretically, A False Start, The Devil You Know, Business Your Pleasure, and Out on a Limb are probably my favorites from the summer. Solid. Amazing.
Narrators and Audiobooks Discussion
00:17:23
Speaker
I would say the amount of times that I read a book before Kayla or Kendra and get to be the one to recommend it to them is really rare just because I read fantasy. I read very eclectically where their tastes are basically a perfect circle. Anyways, all that to say- A circle has been broken. We have acknowledged that. Oh my God.
00:17:45
Speaker
Stop! But although to say three of the books on Kayla's list, I got to read before her. So she got to like send me updates about, which was so fun. That never happens. I know. Kayla, if you had to pick one to pitch to our listeners, which one should they read? And what's it about?
00:18:02
Speaker
It's between two, Business or Pleasure or the Gold Rush Ranch series only because the Gold Rush Ranch series is like not as popular. Yeah, you know what? Fine. I'll just go ahead and say it, even though this probably isn't my favorite of the summer. I'll just say read, especially the last two books in the Gold Rush Ranch series, because I feel like they're not as well known as her Trust Not Spring series. But I think they're equally as good. Yeah, I think they're equally as good. Like they get better as the series goes on.
00:18:30
Speaker
And they're also still really, really hot. And I like some of the couples better than I like some of the couples in the Chestnut Spring series and some of the books better than the books in the Chestnut Spring series. The one that I like the most is A False Start, which is about Nadia and Griffin. And there is a large age gap. It's her biggest one. It's like, she's 21, right? Or 22, 21. And he's 21. 34?
00:18:58
Speaker
I think it's 13 years. Yeah. Yeah. So it's a pretty big age gap. But they met previously when she was younger and they kind of shared this moment together. And then she was 18. Yeah. But not 17. Not 17. But they shared this moment, but I didn't like, you know, nothing like came of that. OK. OK.
00:19:21
Speaker
Well, except for later. And then they made out, but they didn't like do anything else. She wasn't, she wasn't 17 and she wasn't writing letters to him in jail when she was seven years old. Okay. So let me just stop here. I mean, they weren't, they are in Canada in that series, right? So she could have been 17.
00:19:44
Speaker
Yeah, she could have been, but she wasn't. Elsie was smart. Anyway. Oh my gosh. Anyway, so they meet up again like years later at her brother's ranch. I won't get too much into the details, but yeah, that's pretty much like the premise of it. It's like a second chance romance, sort of, kind of, with a big age gap and they're both super hot.
Unique Book Features and Recommendations
00:20:05
Speaker
And I love them. Imagine an 18 year old getting a second chance romance.
00:20:12
Speaker
It's not like it's not really second chance. It's like my second counter. And then. Yeah. Yeah. OK. OK. I was about to I was about to piss me off. They didn't like have a full blown relationship.
00:20:23
Speaker
Yeah, she has that kiss with him and she's been obviously making out people her own age and it's not been great. She has a bunch of other people. Yeah, so she's always comparing it to this guy that she met randomly in a bar bathroom or whatever. I do want to read the series. I want to read it soon too.
00:20:43
Speaker
Do you remember earlier in the year when I texted you guys, hey, just wanted to let you know that he spits on her pussy. Yes. Yeah. That wasn't a false start. I know because Kayla, the whole time Kayla was reading Gold Rose Ranch, I would ask her like, hey, like, which book does that happen? And she'd be like, oh, damn, it didn't happen this week, didn't happen this week. And then it finally, finally happened. So.
00:21:01
Speaker
That should be the selling point. That should be like the slogan on the outside of the book, like spits and pussy sold. Maybe just with the cat emoji because I can't say that on the cover. It's so hot, too. The whole scene is so hot. In the last two books, there were some things that happened and I was like, oh.
00:21:18
Speaker
Like Elsie, it was, yeah. Elsie's so cute and proper than your reader books. Guys, I can't look at thumbs the same. I'm like, Oh my God. Anyway, that was, those were my favorites. All right, Brandy.
00:21:36
Speaker
This is hard because as previously mentioned, I read a lot of really, really good books this summer. But if I had to narrow it down to five, I would do Tilly and Technicolor by Maisie Eddings, which is her first YA book that is coming out on August 15th, which I'm really excited for these two to read. I got to read the art. It is already out by the time this episode comes out.
00:21:55
Speaker
Oh my god, so true. So it's already out. You can go buy it. It's really good. It's like YA, but honestly, it's like cusping YA and new adult because the characters are 18 and 19. And they're both graduated from high school and looking into college and whatever. And it's just like, it's really sweet and really beautiful rep in it as Maisie always does. Like Tilly, the main character has ADHD and Oliver, the other main character is on the spectrum and they just like are navigating.
00:22:23
Speaker
They have to work together for the summer, so they're navigating that, and they got off on a really bad foot. Maisie is just so funny, and Tilly is just so funny as a character. It's just so well done.
00:22:39
Speaker
So good, I loved that. Listen to it on audio. I just want to clarify, the only reason it's not on my list is because I read it as an arc earlier in the year. OK, go ahead. Oh, that's right. That's right. I forgot about that. The W No by Elizabeth O'Rourke. I listened to that book in June on a Monday. I listened to it all the way down. And then I listened to it again that following Friday. Like back to back. You were obsessed. And I still am like I'm fighting off a reread at any given moment. Like I love Ben and Gemma. I think about them a lot.
00:23:08
Speaker
I just, yeah, it was so good. Divine Rivals, I read in June, so I'll put that on my list. That one is so good. Another Kayla wreck. Um, I also read Divine Rivals in the summer. Um, you guys know it was not a five star read for me. I still loved it. I explained why. Did you read 4.75?
00:23:31
Speaker
I explained why I did not rate it five stars. And I think it's a very reasonable thing in terms of personal taste. It's still a great book. Like I love it. I don't love it as much as, say, Kayla Ann. Kayla, how many copies of Divine Rivals do you have now? Exactly. Super four. Six. Six? I will create Fairy Loop, the Kindle edition, the audio edition. Oh, we're trying to Kindle it audio. Okay.
00:23:59
Speaker
Oh, do we not? I thought no, we do. We do. We do. I was just thinking of physical. That's why I said four. Yeah. Oh, then four physicals, but six total. Yeah. And we'll be doing the same with those vows.
00:24:12
Speaker
but Brandy, keep going. Sorry. I like divine rivals. It just wasn't one of my faves of the summer. Oops. It's so funny because I think Kendra and I didn't rate it five stars for the exact opposite reason. I didn't rate it five stars because I was expecting more fantasy in the book since it was marketed, you know, as a fantasy romance. And it is, it is a fantasy romance, but like I was magical realism. Yeah. I was texting Kayla throughout. I was like, Oh my God, I can't wait for like the fantasy elements to really pop in. And she was like, Oh, I'm like, yeah, that's crazy.
00:24:41
Speaker
And Kendra was like, I don't really care about all that stuff that's going on. Well, that's actually not why I didn't read it five stars. Why I didn't read it is spoilers. So I don't want to say. Oh, okay. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then the last one on my list is Damaged Goods by Talia Hibbert, which is part of her Ravenswood series and
00:25:01
Speaker
That series is so good. I still haven't read the last book because I don't want it to end. And also because I just can't listen to that male narrator do it again. The books are so good. The narration is just not it for me. So I'm going to put it on my physical TBR. I'll get to it eventually. But Damaged Goods is book 1.5. It's a novella between books one and two. And it's just really, really good. It brought me out of a physical reading slump. I was doing almost exclusively audio for most of June and July.
00:25:29
Speaker
A, didn't have time to read and also was just struggling with it. And then I read this all in like two days and it is novella. So it's only like 120 pages or something like that. But I was just so obsessed with it. That's crazy. Because I feel like now maybe this is just like our circle of friends that love that book. But like, is that just like the universal favorite of that series is the novella in between the first two books?
00:25:52
Speaker
Because it's Gracie and Lomi's, I think, favorite too, right? Yeah, that's what I was saying. I didn't know if it was just like our circle of friends or if that's genuinely the people's favorite. Well, I read this series because of Lomi, so I don't really know how other people outside of our circle of friends perceive this series, but yeah.
00:26:13
Speaker
Lomi was like, I can't wait for you to read Damaged Goods. And she was telling me that she and Gracie were so obsessed with it. So I don't know how everybody else perceives it outside of our friend group, but it's, yeah, I don't know. I don't know how she packs such a punch. It's so beautifully done. I'm very curious. I know you texted me and you were like, you have to read this, but I'm just so curious because you said it's only 120 pages. So I'm like, how is that possible in 120 pages?
00:26:40
Speaker
So you get a little bit of background on her character in book one. So let me have this be the book that I pitched to everybody to read. So in the first book, which you don't have to read in order to love this one, but I do recommend it. This woman is married to the antagonist of the first book. He's like a really shitty person and he's
00:27:04
Speaker
manipulative and a narcissist and he's like a really bad person and in that book she's painted as his like as his wife somebody who would be married to that person obviously is probably a shitty person too and she's antagonistic and she's what's the word I'm looking for like condescending to people in the town whatever like it's the rich family in town but then at the end of that first book you kind of
00:27:27
Speaker
find out that he treats his wife just as shitty as he treats everybody else. So she's in this abusive marriage and she's pregnant. And there is a final straw that you learn about in the book that finally prompts her to leave. So she goes to her parents like beach house that they've owned forever, but haven't been to since she was a kid, since she was 15. And she runs into the boy that she had like a 15 year old summer fling with. He still lives there.
00:27:53
Speaker
And they recognize each other right away, but she's like six months pregnant and not quite that, but whatever. She's far along pregnant and he's like content just like being her friend. And then she's like, obviously exiting an abusive marriage. So she's not ready to like jump into anything, but he just like takes care of her over the summer and she's like all alone. And yeah, I don't know. He just like really steps up.
00:28:20
Speaker
there are just lines in there that I think about constantly. Like, oh my God, it's just, it's so good and it's so sweet. I think that's why it's like everybody's favorite because it's just like very, very pure. And I think because it is condensed into that novella, like there's no third act breakup because it's novella. It's just them getting like building their relationship. Like of course there's conflict along the way, but it's not like as tumultuous as maybe a full length novel. So it's just all these beautiful, sweet moments. And then epilogue that's like,
00:28:49
Speaker
punching you in the gut. It's like 18 years later. It's so good. Speaking of Talia Hibbert, she was supposed to, I don't know when this is coming, but she like promised a series set in the town that Eve Brown takes place in. And I want that out. Like I did read Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute this summer too, which I would highly recommend on audio.
00:29:12
Speaker
She's so funny. And she's one of those authors that understands the way people talk so well to where when she references pop culture and slang, it doesn't come across as cringy because it just fits the characters so well. And that book, it's just, it's so fucking funny. And the narrators are great. I can't wait to see what else she does in the YA space, but I want more adult romances from her. But I do have to read that series because Gracie and Lomi have been
00:29:40
Speaker
literally shoving it down people's throats now for years, and they got to you. So I think I may be next. So we'll see. Yeah. It's so interesting because all of the books are in third person, but for some reason, whoever produces her audio books decided to get a male narrator, which is just odd. For most romance books, if it's in third person, they're almost always narrated by a woman.
00:30:05
Speaker
Yeah. And I'm not against male narrators. What is a man doing here? Why is a man here? Why would a man be there? Yeah, I just like, I don't know. I'm not against male narrators, of course, but it just feels odd to have an exclusively male narrator for a book written by, like a romance book written by a woman. I don't know.
00:30:28
Speaker
I know I wouldn't be complaining if it was like Zachary Weber or Jason Clark. Yeah, you're like, oh my God, guys, more maybe to do it. But this guy's like, I don't know, he sounds really old, but it's a British accent.
00:30:41
Speaker
So that's kind of fun. But yeah, I still haven't read the very like the final book in the series. I think a lot of people don't read them because the covers are heinous and they are. They're bad covers. I'm sorry. I don't even think they're very good depictions of the actual characters or books either because like
00:31:00
Speaker
All the women in the first three books are like plus sized and I don't think that's represented very well on the covers. So like I'm just, whatever. Honestly, obviously like covers are hard to do when they're trying to find like royalty free images unless you can do a whole photo shoot, which I'm pretty sure these are indie published. So I don't think she probably did a whole photo shoot for them. Anyway, all that to say, don't let the ugly covers deter you. Get it on Kindle. It's really good. Cute.
00:31:25
Speaker
With all of those amazing books that we talked about, were there any authors that you discovered this summer that you have now been like, all right, I'm going to definitely continue to read their work. For me, that's Hannah Bonham Young, because I read her backlist this summer, and I did read five Elizabeth O'Rourke's
00:31:50
Speaker
five Elizabeth O'Rourke books this summer as well, most of which I really enjoyed. Probably like three, I was maybe four. Yeah, four out of the five, I gave four stars and above. So that was probably mine. Oh, and I also, Business or Pleasure was my first Rachel Lynn Solomon book, too, which I love.
00:32:09
Speaker
I don't know if I'm allowed to say Elizabeth O'Rourke since I started reading her in April, but I'm going to cheat and say Elizabeth O'Rourke, but other than that, I rediscovered Ava Wilder. Oh my God. Oh my God. That's actually so fucking funny to me that you just said that. I'm sorry. That was mostly a joke. What about you, Kendra?
00:32:40
Speaker
I gave Elizabeth O'Rourke a second chance this summer because I had read the Waking Olivia book. I guess this is an unpopular opinion. I thought that book was not good whatsoever. So I was very hesitant going into the Devil series. Like, Brandy kept telling me to read it and I was just like, I just remembered Waking Olivia and I was like, I don't know. And then I did it on audio. I skipped the first Devil's book because you guys told me to.
00:33:04
Speaker
And then it's so funny because I skipped it and then suddenly everyone's in my DMs like, Oh my God, the first one's so good. And I'm like, all right, so I might go back to it. I don't know. I do think that Franny and I are kind of in the unpopular opinion. I was shocked about. I don't know. Yeah. I was like, really? Yeah. Cause so many people are coming. It's good. So we'll see. But I ended up, I mean, Summer We Fell is one of my favorite books now. So
00:33:23
Speaker
I think she's definitely grown since Waking Olivia and that book came out in like 2018. So I gave her a second chance. I also discovered Rebecca Jinshak who I have a love-hate relationship with because I can't stop listening to her books. They're like all quick, easy listens. Like she gets pretty decent narrators. But oh my God, I was telling Kayla and Brandy this in our group chat.
00:33:48
Speaker
Because I also just read her book, The Tip Off, which is my favorite book of hers now. It's so good. It's like, it's just good. But you have to go into that, like, expectations on the ground. Like, I had a great time, but don't, like, it was still good. It was so good. But I think I'm also saying that because I had read all her other, like, the previous books of hers that I've read. So I'm like,
00:34:12
Speaker
Whoa, Rebecca, I didn't know you had it in you, like this is crazy. But the reason I have a love-hate relationship with her is because she writes sports romances and all of her male main characters are like so bro-y. Like a lot of them aren't desirable, which is like, I would never look at any of her male main characters with probably the exception of like the one in the tip off and be like, oh my God, like he's written by a woman. I'd be like, if you showed me their dialogue, I'd be like, oh,
00:34:41
Speaker
Did a man write this? Because the way they speak, I'm just like, ugh. And a lot of her female characters are dealing with unpacked, internalized misogyny, too. They're always calling other women.
00:34:56
Speaker
just not cool like things that like should not be like happening in 2023 or things I just like don't want to see but I can't stop like she got me I think about the characters I I don't know I think she's gonna be my like reading slump author like oh don't know what to read let me go listen to another Rebecca Jinshak book
00:35:12
Speaker
So yeah, I discovered her this summer, and then I listened to my first Lynn Painter book too, which was The Love Wager, which, you know, honestly, forgettable. I don't remember a single thing that happened in that book. And Zachary Weber narrated it, and I was just like, it was cute, but it was not, like, I can't tell you anything. And I do remember the mailman character pissed me off at one point, and that was it. But they got a happy ending, yay.
00:35:40
Speaker
Should it be any different? Oh, and Ashley, the author of The Seven Year Slip, new to me author. Oh, yeah. So I just looked and of all the books I read this summer, which, wait, somebody do some quick math for me. 16 plus 13 plus four. Twenty three. Wait, you said or wait plus 13. Brandi, are you a teacher?
00:36:02
Speaker
Yeah, I teach music. Yes. Okay. So 33 books a summer. I've only read four new to me authors a summer. Okay. Yeah. Julie Soto, ST Abby, who did the mindfuck series. I thought like there's a lot of trauma handled in that book.
00:36:26
Speaker
And I can't really speak to how well that that was handled because she went through shit that I've never gone through that character. But I will say just from a reader perspective, everything felt very corny. The revenge plot felt really, really corny to me, some dialogue. There was just a lot of unexplained things that made it possible for her to have this elaborate revenge plot on an entire town. You know what I mean?
00:36:55
Speaker
It's on Hoopla. So if you get the urge, like all the audiobooks are on Hoopla and the audiobooks are like three hours each because it's five novellas that are put together to make one book. If you get the urge, like I don't think they're not worth listening to, but I gave all of them, I think like 3.75 or four stars. And then the last one to me author was Bridget Morrissey. Oh yeah, same. Love her, obsessed with her.
00:37:21
Speaker
With all of our love that we've been throwing around for so many good books, I want to know what was your most disappointing read or your least favorite read of the summer?
Disappointing Reads and Critiques
00:37:33
Speaker
Was there one that you were really looking forward to that just didn't meet your expectations? I'm going to go on Storygraph and see what my lowest rated books of the summer are.
00:37:43
Speaker
Okay, so this series, this hurts for me to say like, I just like want people to know like, I'm not trying to be bitchy. This just hurts for me to say because I feel like unfortunately, at least for me, the series started out really, really strong. But as it's gone on, I just feel like hasn't hit the same. You know, for me, the most disappointing read of the summer so far is Crimson River by Daphne Perry. I just didn't love it. I rated it three stars. I thought,
00:38:12
Speaker
I don't even remember what I said about it that I didn't love. But first of all, obviously it was very forgettable to me. And I just didn't really buy Lila and Vance's romance or tension. I just felt like it was non-existent. I just didn't like it, truthfully.
00:38:33
Speaker
With that said, I am still looking forward to Mateo's book, but I'm nervous for Mateo's book because I feel like we've been looking forward to his book for so long. But I don't know, with the way things are going with this series, I'm nervous.
00:38:47
Speaker
It's my least favorite Eden's book easily. Me too. What about you, Kendra? What was your most disappointing read of the summer? My most disappointing read because I was going to say the Love Wager, but I honestly like it's so forgettable. Like I can't even be mad at it except the one thing that I do know the main character did that was just so I'm like, why anyways? But no, mine was he just it's it's elaborate. Like he. OK. Yeah, that's.
00:39:12
Speaker
My most disappointing is The Devil Gets His Dew by Elizabeth O'Rourke. That's your most, your most disappointing of the whole summer. It's that one. It's that one. And A Cowboy to Remember by Rebecca Weatherspoon. And that one was just that.
00:39:32
Speaker
That one was just sad because it's like, I love Raven Zenny so much. And the narrator was so good. Like she killed it. But there were just too many POVs in that book. And like, I struggle a lot with the amnesia trope. It just was not an enjoyable reading experience. So that one, but Devil Gets Is Due, like actually made me angry.
00:39:58
Speaker
listening to it because i hated the melman character so much i wrote on instagram um i gave it i was nice i was nice i need to bump it down i gave it probably like a 3.75 um but like gram pissed me off so much i wrote on instagram that if
00:40:20
Speaker
The father of my unborn child spoke to me and said things about me to my face, how he spoke to Keely. He simply would not have a place in my life anymore. The birth certificate would not have his name on it. He annoyed me so much and I feel like every time she would get close to redeeming him in that book,
00:40:43
Speaker
he would just do something to piss me off again. Keely just deserved so much better. She was such a fun character, but like Graham, especially like, look at Graham's brother. I don't care. Look at Graham's brother. Graham's brother had the exact same trauma and was fantastic. Such a great moment character. I'm like, how are these people raised by the same people? Like, why is he such a... I don't care.
00:41:08
Speaker
You can still be, like, desirable. Like, he just was not desirable in any way, even like the smut. Like, I was just like, oh, because I like, Keeley, like, you get this man off of you. Like, he already got you pregnant. Like, stop touching him. Like, and that's another thing. Like, it came so late. Like, they did not have sex until it happened in the book. And I was just like, it happened a lot later than I. What are we doing here? Like, oh, yeah, that book pissed me off so bad. But when Kendra was reading this book and she was talking because she was the last
00:41:35
Speaker
one of the three of us to read this book and she was texting us about it and she was only like 30% in and she was like, I hate Graham, I hate Graham, I hate Graham. And all I could think was in my head. No spoilers, but like all I could think in my head was she's, there's no way that she's going to like him, especially by like, you know, the, the end there. She's just not, it's just kind of a lost cause because
00:41:56
Speaker
He made me the maddest. He made me the maddest at the end. To be fair, when Kayla and I were talking about this book while she was reading it, I was like, oh yeah, Graham sucks. Graham's the worst male main character in the series and Keely is so fun. She's the redeeming quality of this book. I don't hate him as much as Kendra does because I felt a little bad for him at times.
00:42:19
Speaker
Is what it is. You felt bad for Graham, but have no child Graham. I felt bad for the child Graham. OK, I just know that they're. Their kid is going to be such a mama's kid like they're not going to be a daddy's. Do they have a girl? She's not going to be a daddy's girl at all. Oh, you know what else I thought was when he got that dumbass tattoo, the butterflies get out of here like, oh my God, he just got mad at her for the dumbest things. I'm like, you cannot. But yet he wanted her so bad. Why are you?
00:42:49
Speaker
Okay. Anyways, I'm done. Sorry. Anyway, Kendra hated the devil. I hate it. The devil gets his zoo. I think it just, it was just a disappointment after the devil, you know, I was like, how did we draw so far? Cause the devil, you know, I thought was fantastic. Oh my God. I love that book so much. Thank you, Brandy. Um, but yeah, that book is just you. I'm just going to pretend that didn't happen.
00:43:12
Speaker
Yeah, it's very inconsequential in the Elizabeth O'Rourke world of characters anyway, because you don't see them again. At least I assume, because you saw a couple of people in the summer we fell, but Keely and Graham were not either. Although I would love to see Keely. I love her. Graham can stay home.
00:43:34
Speaker
My biggest disappointment of the summer was probably Tempt Me by K. Tucker. It was my first time trying to read anything by K. Tucker that wasn't the Simple Wild series. And I had a friend who really highly recommended it just as a good time. The Wolf Hotel series, right? Yeah, the Wolf Hotel series.
00:43:54
Speaker
I had a friend on TikTok who just like it was like, if you need just like some smutty fun, like do this. And it probably would have gotten there. And like, I know this friend has good taste. So I'm sure that if I would have had stuck with it, four books about one couple that I don't like just isn't doable for me though. And I just didn't like them.
00:44:15
Speaker
at all. And it was she's having like a like a sexual awakening after being cheated on by her fiance who she thought that they were saving themselves for each other for marriage. So there's a lot of like, I don't think the sex positivity was handled incredibly well in this book.
00:44:33
Speaker
particularly by the mailman character knowing that she was a virgin who's like dealing with all of this he's like fucking her roughly from behind the first time they ever have sex i was like this is just not i think what i needed at the time so yeah but if you're interested it's like an age gap boss employee relationship kind of deal so he also like arranges for her to be his like secretary or like his personal assistant i don't know it just like didn't
00:45:00
Speaker
sit well with me. Is it classified as like a dark romance? No. I think it's supposed to be like billionaire contemporary, but I just like, I don't know, the power dynamics are sometimes really fun in books, like to play around with or whatever the power dynamics of this one for me personally weren't hitting. So that was probably because I was like, I really just needed like a fun, smutty book at that time. So yeah.
00:45:26
Speaker
I haven't read the Wolf Hotel series. I read her Fallen Empire series, which is a mafia series. And I think I rated all of them between 3.5 and 4 stars because they weren't anything fantastic. They're just smutty. That was it.
00:45:45
Speaker
but the the female main character wasn't a virgin in that situation but he it's very much like a Stockholm Syndrome type of thing because he does like kidnap her and take her so yeah if you're not into that don't I was also control searching a couple of the other books in the Wolf Hotel series
00:46:01
Speaker
And there was like a scene where there was a third person, like a woman came in and like in her internal monologue, the female main character was like, I don't know if I want to do this, but it would turn him on so much. So let her eat my pussy. I was like, oh, yeah, I don't like that. Like she should want to do it, not. Yeah. And you also, this is just more like funny, but you were also complaining about some of the words that were used in our group chat when you were reading this book.
00:46:29
Speaker
Oh my god, wait, what was it? Like slippery pink something? What was it? Cream. Oh yeah.
00:46:40
Speaker
How does the same woman that wrote like Simple Wild write that and then write the series, the other series that Kayla read and then also do like her fantasy stuff? I'm like, she just, she just be writing. She doesn't stop. Yeah. It was tight pink hole. That's what I kept complaining about. Every time he talked about her pussy, he would say tight pink hole. Girl. What is this song? My pussy pink, my booty hole brown. My coochie pink, my booty hole brown. That's maybe he liked that song.
00:47:09
Speaker
Dylan, I started calling Peach Bootyhole Brown. That's that song. Yeah, guys, I saw Peach this summer and she bit me unprovoked. So her. Oh, my. And she loves throwing that out there. They were playing happily for like 30 minutes. And then Kendra stopped playing with her. And Peach was like, no, I want to keep playing. So she playfully nipped at Kendra's hand. Didn't even like bite her. She went and Kendra's like, she's an asshole. Yeah, it was very dramatic about pets, though. So.
00:47:38
Speaker
Okay. But guys, I got to meet Kayla's two dogs this summer because Kayla and I went to go see Taylor Swift, which was so much fun. Um, and the dog that Kayla loves the most is, has to be the most depressed dog I've ever been. Like he just has a, he has a sadness that like, I can't unsee. Like every time I saw him, he just looks so sad, but cast the reason that he was sad is because that
00:48:06
Speaker
that prior week, it was so, so hot that he was not allowed to stay outside for longer than like a minute because he would like die. So he just wanted to do anything. He just looks like I don't know. I saw I stared into his soul and he was just like, I am not happy. And then I can't wait for Kendra to get a pet. Oh, it's not. I can't wait for
Pet Ownership Reflections
00:48:27
Speaker
Kendra to get a pet. We're going to talk so much shit. Like, yeah, I always said that I want it like a dog, but
00:48:33
Speaker
Like after being around like Casper and Kylo and then I had to watch my sister's dog a few times this summer. I like being a lot of work after being around Casper. Are you saying you don't like my dogs? No, I do love your dogs, but like it is a lot of work. Like we had a whole conversation about how much y'all pay to like take them to the vet a year. I'm not paying that. Like, no, I don't know. I was very happy today that he's going over to his cousin's house and they have a fenced in backyard and they're going to go have so much fun.
00:49:00
Speaker
Caster's my favorite dog out of Kayla's dogs. He and I cuddled one night for like the whole night. It was so great. He didn't love her at first. Just to be clear. Oh my God. She says that he was just like warming up to me. Um, and then one day Kayla like had slept in a little bit and I'm like on the couch reading the summer we fell.
00:49:17
Speaker
And Casper just like, he couldn't get enough of me. Like I sent a picture to Brandy and I forget what Brandy's reply was, but it was so funny. Like Casper just genuinely felt joy that entire weekend that I was there. And I know he has not experienced it since I left. Yeah. I said, you're going to talk so much shit in years. Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah. No, we are going to talk a lot of shit about when you eventually get a pet. Yeah. I should say dogs. There's no way you're going to get a cat.
00:49:44
Speaker
Yeah, no, I'm not. You guys will have to wait like years at this point. I'm not even going to pay like I can't pay for a dog right now. They're too expensive. You guys, we read so many bangers this summer. I know it was a good summer. It was a good summer. But I'm really looking forward to fall because there are so, so many good releases like back to back to back cannot wait.
00:50:07
Speaker
Yeah. Oh, my God. And speaking of that, like we can't give too many details, but you guys, we have some really exciting interviews set up for this the season that we're really, really excited about. The one that we can say. No, I wouldn't say that. Yeah, no. Let's check our Instagram.
00:50:29
Speaker
A lot of them are related to some upcoming fall releases that a lot of people are looking forward to. So we can tease that. We can say that. And one might be related to a recent release too. Maybe. Yeah. I'm really excited. I'm glad that we're back. I love doing this podcast with you guys. It's always a fun time.
Anticipation for Fall Releases
00:50:51
Speaker
I'm also excited for all the episodes we have planned outside of the fun interviews that we have lined up because it'll be a good time.
00:50:59
Speaker
You will see all three of us get into a fight at least four times this season, at least.
00:51:05
Speaker
because, yeah, it's it's just bound bound to happen. I don't think we. Oh, wait, guys. Any plans to read Unravel Me by Becca Mack? That book just came out. She surprised, dropped it. I am nervous. I was so excited. We were all so excited. And then people started reading it and I'm like, hmm, I don't know what I'm going to do. Not like not any time soon, I don't think.
00:51:32
Speaker
Yeah. I might wait for the audiobook. That's fair. Yeah. But you know, I was nervous about Becca Mack's surprise dropping it. It went number one. That's crazy. It went number one. Yay. Yay. Okay. We'll catch you next week with a very special guest. If you're wondering who it is, check out our Instagram. At bring your own pod on IG. And you can follow all of our personal bookstagrams too. At Kendra.reads with a Z.
00:52:03
Speaker
at brandos.books, at Kayla's.bookshow. Oh my gosh, we all have dots. We're so excited. Period. That's so cute. Period. All right. It's going to be back, guys. Love you so much. Bye. Bye.