Fiction Fanatics
Three friends discuss their favorite books and fanfiction. New episodes every Tuesday!
Fiction Fanatics
We Love Fantasy Books and Nora!
Chanel, Ashley, and Stacy do not discuss a book this episode but we do get in to fantasy books with our special guest Nora! Join us, where each page turn in our discussion unveils the celebration of love in its myriad forms and the connection we find within the fictional worlds we adore.
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***Produced by Jen Hardin***
We love them. I'm just kidding, I just love love. Ok, do we Do? You see your face when I said that, though you guys are whole, even Nora she was staring at me.
Speaker 2:Do we?
Speaker 1:Do we love me? We love some of them. We love fictional men. Yes, yeah, I was trying to think of something to add to that, but no, we just love fiction. Oh.
Speaker 2:Hi, I'm Chanel.
Speaker 1:Hi, I'm Stacey.
Speaker 2:Hey nerds, this is Ashley and this is Fiction Fanatics.
Speaker 1:Nora, how was your guys' dinner last night, your girl's dinner? Who all went? It was me, nora, skylar and Sam. Oh, so not a girl's dinner. It was a double date, double date.
Speaker 2:Where'd you guys go?
Speaker 1:We went to Leverry. Oh nice.
Speaker 2:I haven't been there in a minute.
Speaker 1:It was Nora's first time. What did you think?
Speaker 2:I loved it.
Speaker 3:It was so good, them pinatas yeah it's a great place.
Speaker 2:It's a great place, nice, nice. Well, it's nice to see you, nora, nora, yeah, laura, that's how long it's been, I forget.
Speaker 1:Right, it's been years Agey full of yeas. Lacey, you and Chanel look like you're wearing the same outfit right now. Well, I'm wearing headbands on and these same colored crew necks. Well, they say, when they say you're best friends with someone, you solely mock their combine, their styles.
Speaker 2:So we can't help it.
Speaker 1:Ashley, we read the same books and sorry if I sound congested, I am congested. Everybody's sick, not me, not me.
Speaker 3:Why don't you see baby?
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, you got that, what's it called that you put in. It's like sit and like.
Speaker 1:Oh, alka Seltzer. That's my favorite thing to when I'm sick, that's the kind of medicine I take, because I like Alka Seltzer.
Speaker 3:I just pack it and just shove it in.
Speaker 2:Clear, clear the sizes right up, pack it long.
Speaker 1:Also where. So Pump Nora is on today with us to talk about all things fantasy Roundup, bam. I didn't even tell Nora what this episode was about. I was just like just come over, I feel the doggy.
Speaker 2:Oh, I'm bousky. Yeah, because I was like your book of the month, ashley, that you chose. I was talking to Stacy about it because I'm into it now.
Speaker 1:Yes, I told Nora last night, the book of the month is a Court of Thorns and Roses, and I have to say it like that because for some reason I want to say roses first and I'm just so used to saying acotar and then biting ways by Sarah J Mass. I've actually listened to the first two, yeah, so Nora's already done the first two.
Speaker 2:How was the audiobooks? I like them, I think they're really good.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I kind of wish I'm reading the second book right now, and I kind of wish I would have done the audiobook, because just so some of the names would be more clear. That is very helpful actually. I guess I could just look it up though.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, because I didn't know how to say the main girl's name Like she.
Speaker 1:It's Pharah right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she did have to pronounce it, like I think she says it in the book or whatever. But at first I was like Like Harry Potter.
Speaker 3:I said Ginny for the first. Ginny Ginny, so Ginny Ginny Pig. Yep, that's me, ginny.
Speaker 2:But yeah, yeah, it's good. Actually, I was at work the other day and I was reading it and there's a few of my co-workers at work that were like, oh, you're reading it, like they were super into it, and I was like I'm like really like 10, 15 pages. I had no spoilers and stuff. But then the Beast came and got her and stuff and I kind of said out loud and I was like I think this is because I haven't had any spoilers, I don't know what's going on with this book, and I was like I think this is Beastiality. I said this out loud and they started like laughing Because I was like catching on. I was like I think this is kind of a beast. I think this is Beauty and the Beast, but he doesn't turn into the Prince, and they started laughing at me.
Speaker 1:I didn't have any spoilers either when I read it and I had no idea that it was a retelling of Beauty and the Beast and I'm like this is Beauty and the Beast.
Speaker 2:But it's good. It's good, yeah, beauty and the Beast. Yeah, yeah. I like going into books without knowing what's happened, which is hard with the series because it's so popular to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's hard with any of her books. Well, even the own company has spoiled stuff Like their own publishing company has spoiled stuff.
Speaker 2:I heard that. I heard that, so I don't even. They did yes With this latest series. They did With Crescent City.
Speaker 1:I haven't read Crescent City yet because I'm trying to finish the glass first. I'm on the fifth book and, yeah, when they announced the third Crescent City book, they announced all kinds of spoilers with it, and it's just like OK, like some people aren't caught up. Well, they also announced there's going to be a new Aqatar book. Right, yeah.
Speaker 2:Oh, I didn't even know that Cool Good, because it's not finished and I'm upset about that.
Speaker 1:Well, spoiler alert, it won't be finished after this next book comes out either, chanel. So because they didn't say it was the last book in the series, they just said a new book in the series. So which don't get me wrong. Aqatar is amazing. We'll obviously get into it on our book episodes. But I'm reading the second one right now and as good as the first one is yeah, that's still good the second one is like up here. It's just like instantly amazing.
Speaker 3:I agree. Yeah, the second one's a lot better. I feel like it has a good storyline.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but the first one is still good. Like I love the first one, it's just it's a different story. Yeah.
Speaker 3:About her.
Speaker 1:I was telling Chanel, it's like because Chanel's read the first few, third of last books, it's like the throne of last series, like the first book's OK, but it doesn't even compare to the later books in like my opinion, but there's good world. I think it's because there's so much world building in her first book, which is understandable, but yeah, that second book though, the second book in Apatara, though Nora knows Ew, sweetie.
Speaker 2:So yeah, we kind of just want to do the theme of fantasy. You guys were saying we can kind of go around and we can start with Books that you've probably read, right, Is that we want?
Speaker 1:to start with the Cynlyn Yu announcement that Ashley and Nora don't know. Yeah, you should tell them. You should tell them.
Speaker 2:I was freaking out. So I saw this on Bookstagram. I'm sure that's where you saw it too. Yeah, because one of my friends, sarah, posted it and I was freaking out. So there is an article. I can't remember the publisher, but Cynlyn Yu, I believe her name is Savannah Bell, I think is her real name and she signed a two book deal with a publisher to essentially it's manacled. She's right, she's doing a two book deal of manacled, officially as like, and writing manacled and I mean, you know, reworking.
Speaker 1:I think it's god.
Speaker 2:Alchemized is the name of the book, and it's going to be released in 2025.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's a big deal. I I'm super happy. I'm super happy for her. I can't even close my mouth.
Speaker 3:I'm just like yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, it's got to be two books, because she's going to have to like. Obviously like rework some things, so you would rework some things.
Speaker 2:We work two worlds. She's got to work two worlds.
Speaker 1:I mean I'm surprised she can do it in two books, because manacled is so long as it is and the back story is kind of already there, so that you have to redo all of that.
Speaker 2:Well, that's what I was saying. I was again talking to my friend Sarah and I'm just like we were both like there's a lot of emotions because also it's like it's not Germany anymore, it's not Harry Potter, you like, you have to make it kind of like we were talking with Kate. You know, she took this Ralo story and made it A Josh and Ari story, like an AU story, right, and so that's basically what Senling Yu is going to have to do and and I was kind of at, you know, talking to Sarah, is it still going to be fantasy, is it going to be kind of world? We don't really know, but it's out.
Speaker 2:They kind of said the premise in this article where it's, it's called Alchemized, is the name of the, at least the first book, and so it's this prisoner of war heroine and she's like a medical healer kind of, and she gets, has memory loss, like amnesia and stuff. So that's like the premise, right, which we already know, and and so again she's going to have to like rework this kind of romance of whoever this this girl falls in love with. And you know who is this guy that she falls in love with? Is he, you know, like the main, the main captain or you know. I don't know who that guy is going to be, who this girl is going to be and how they kind of fit.
Speaker 1:This is amazing. New storyline but yeah, I'm pumped, but like think about what Kate said. When Kate says she wrote you again, it was like writing a whole other book.
Speaker 2:It was like twice as hard.
Speaker 1:So not only is she going to have to rework this story, but she's going to have to rework the Harry Potter aspect if she leaves any magic in and the Handmaid's Tale. She'll have to rework that to an extent too, Because also like their- backgrounds.
Speaker 2:Right, yeah, that's what I was saying. Is it still going to be fantasy or is it going to be like? Is it going to be like they're in, maybe set in World War One, or is it going to be they're set in the Civil War or are they going to be set in, you know, I don't even know, like maybe it's a fantasy war, it's a made up war, or you know it's so. It's just going to be really interesting of how much Manicold is even left in the story, you know. But it's exciting and it'll be really interesting to read.
Speaker 1:It is.
Speaker 2:Oh, sorry, I was just going to say also that's probably like you said, ashley, of why it's going to have to be two books.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah For sure. Do you think she's going to pull Manicold then from the Internet, like everybody else kind of does with their books?
Speaker 2:I don't know, but I'm glad I have a copy.
Speaker 1:I think it would be. I think that her, I think not saying that the not saying that the other fan fictions are amazing and a top tier level, but I think Manicold sets at a whole another level by by itself. I would find it so hard for her to be able to scrub Manicold from the Internet, because even I can find I know because, ok, like you said, manicold is on a whole another level, but, like Ali, hazelwood was very popular. Yeah it was very popular.
Speaker 2:Uh-huh, julie Soto, the auction was very well, I guess the auction.
Speaker 1:Julie never pulled. Yeah, her still sucks up. You're right. You're right, but they are. Julie Soto's a queen. Sorry, she's a fucking queen.
Speaker 2:I know, I know, but they both pulled theirs, julie and or Ali, and they both pulled theirs. So, yeah, yeah, and I mean even Julie pulled her her one that's going to be the book she pulled, that one that's about to be a book.
Speaker 1:So I'm. I mean they might I don't know, but I mean the silver lining is everyone in this group chat has a book made as a gift by me to them, so they don't need a friend. I think honestly, though. Nor is the OG, Nor got all my OG original ones, so I need to make her a fresh one. I was going to say that are falling apart and yeah, nor are they falling apart.
Speaker 2:That's what she was still learning. They're like cut.
Speaker 3:I mean they're. I mean they're intact.
Speaker 1:I mean I don't read it, they're intact. Nor I'm making you a fresh present, don't you worry.
Speaker 2:I'm totally joking. It was just when he was still learning how to book by.
Speaker 1:Somebody posted on who was it, no, I can't remember, but on Instagram was posting like their original fan fiction that they had printed. And it just printed pages in a binder but it was really pretty and they like had written things on the pages and stuff. I was like, oh yeah, the OG way to to print.
Speaker 2:OG way.
Speaker 1:Print it off and put in a binder.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's like I think that's what, like they had did Never. She was talking with us and she was like I would like print off, like come on computer paper, you know fan fix and like bring it to class in high school class and stuff. And so, yeah, it's like, like you said, put it in a folder and read it.
Speaker 1:These kids these days don't know how good they have it. Read it on their phones in class.
Speaker 3:They have written a binder Like we did.
Speaker 1:Did you imagine if you read something like that in school and like a teacher took your binder and was like what are you reading? Yeah, it's.
Speaker 2:it's like Harry and Draco's butt Right.
Speaker 1:Well, if it was the, if it was teachers with me and Nora, they would have been surprised, because they've been like you too. Getting shenanigans and shenanigans Stacey and Nora took German together for years and I swear to God, senior year Stacey can only say one sentence in German.
Speaker 3:A plus like what were you doing for four years A plus.
Speaker 1:Nora taught me how to say that. I can still say it Ops. That's how I got an. A Senior, that means fruit in German. That's all you can say. Well, Nora taught me, Nora taught me how to say suck an airplane.
Speaker 3:I could say that the second time including in the echo.
Speaker 1:In the echo that's in the corner.
Speaker 2:Wait, why is that a sentence?
Speaker 1:You didn't have to send it to Nora. That's what we did.
Speaker 2:You guys are crazy.
Speaker 1:Oh, should we do some rags? We haven't done rags in a while. Does anybody have anything new, or now?
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah. I say I have two rags that I would like to go ahead Go ahead. Lead, it Lead it, so I got to my first one. I was talking to Stacey and Chanel before we started recording. Chanel suggested this book, or didn't even suggest it. Posted it forever ago on her Instagram, and I don't know why I wait to read the books that Chanel posts about, but I don't know either.
Speaker 2:I don't know.
Speaker 1:It's called the Weight of Blood by Tiffany Jackson. I'm listening to it on audiobook. When I tell you, this book is amazing. It's like a retelling of Carrie In present time and in, like, the small southern town. The writing is incredible. I don't typically like I mean it's not been super scary yet, it's probably just like towards the end. I didn't read Carrie by Stephen King, but I'm not typically into like scary books or anything like this, but the writing in this book is just so great and the way that it's written. I'm obsessed with it. It's so good and I'm almost done with it. Like the prom is getting ready to happen. That's a good one, and I'm just like I don't think you can do that. I'm just like I can't stop listening, so that I'm listening to an audiobook.
Speaker 1:And then the other thing I wanted to wreck was the new season of True Detective came out. Oh, and I don't know if you're watching it, stacey, but it's set in Alaska and it's got this really supernatural feel to it and Jodi Foster's in it. It's so good. We watched the new episode last night and I just think it is excellent so far. Did you ever, I think Nora knows, does she listen to a lot of true crime like I do, it does have a good supernatural feel. But did you ever hear about the Dollhoff Pass incident in Russia, about the hiker?
Speaker 2:It's very reminiscent of that. I watched the documentary on it.
Speaker 1:It's terrifying Chanel, it's very reminiscent.
Speaker 3:Trail. It was like up in Chicago. They're doing like a series with that, like all these people died on this trail in Chicago, and they're doing like a docuseries on it. I don't know what it's called though.
Speaker 1:I'll have to check that out. All right, nora, this thing in Russia took place, I think in the 60s, and it was a bunch of campers, hikers and stuff like this up in the mountains and I don't know Russia or something. Anyways, it was like six people were murdered, but by Yeti. Well, nobody knows what happened, but like the crime scene, like whatever happened, exploded out like from inside the tent out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they don't, I mean, they can't even naked, Like they can't even say it was a murder. They don't know Like they were naked. They ran out of the tent naked, the tent exploded from the inside, but then the injuries like someone had like a jaw was broken, like blood and forced trauma and they're like but where, where did it come from the company? Was like hiding in a tree right and like froze to death, like they all froze, but it Drugs, but it's very.
Speaker 1:It gives that very like uneasy feeling when you, because this season of true detective, the crime scene is very reminiscent of that. So you're watching it and you're like it feels supernatural, but is it or is there like an explanation? You just don't know yet. So, anyways, it's really great. Everybody should watch it.
Speaker 2:Love, love Jodi Foster. So yes, a babe.
Speaker 1:Even she's like 62. A babe, she looks amazing. She's amazing, must be nice. Look at me right now. Like what is this? Like Beautiful, yeah, beautiful, beautiful. What about you, nora, yeah, nora. What have you been listening to? What have you been listening, watching, reading? What have you been up to?
Speaker 3:We started a new series called from. Have you ever heard of that one? Hmm, it's the guy from Lost, the Michael. Remember Michael and Walt? So the dad Michael, he's like the main character, he's like a share Walt. People get stuck in this town and cannot get out and then at night these like creepy people come out and like kill people. But they have these like little. I forget what they're called, but they put them in their house to and so they can't come in, but they like, like, they're kind of like, it's very, it's very. The creators of Lost are making this series and I we are obsessed. I'm like I'm an episode five and I think I started like two days ago, so that's a really good one. It's called it's just called from.
Speaker 1:I'm gonna have to watch it. Me and Nora were obsessed with Lost, like it was an addiction. We watched it together all the time. Yes, yeah.
Speaker 2:Actually my brother was watching that show, nora. He said it was really good. From yeah Cause I was like this sounds familiar.
Speaker 3:It's a look it's creepy, but it's like really. It's like really it's a good creepy, you know, it's like there's just, it's just a real and there's a mystery to it and I just can't figure it out yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah, sounds good.
Speaker 3:Yeah, sounds real good.
Speaker 2:I've been reading on audiobook Jeanette McCurdy's. I'm glad my mom died.
Speaker 1:Yes.
Speaker 2:What do you think?
Speaker 1:I want to read it so bad, but I'm afraid to.
Speaker 2:It's no, it's good, it's so good, it's hilarious and it's so sad, like I don't know how that's like possible, but it is, and you should do the audiobook because she reads it and it's so good to hear like her voice like telling it the infliction of it. Um, and, yeah, I gave it to my mom as a gift, that book. Yeah, she loves, um, she loves like autobiographies, like memoirs and stuff, and she was like this is really good, like you need to read it so, um, so I just started reading, I'm almost done and then, um, so everyone should read that book, it's really good and it's like it's just heartbreaking. But, um, the other thing is I I'm watching something and I can't remember what. Oh, I watched Origin, that movie. Origin, ava Duvernay's movie, and it has John Bernthal from the Bear, the brother Mikey. He's also was in Daredevil, he was a punisher.
Speaker 2:He was the punisher from Daredevil. He's so hot and, oh my God, such a good movie, but it's heartbreaking I was just crying and but it's not getting enough promotion. It's just. It was so good about just the connection between slavery and racism in America and the Holocaust and the caste system and India and stuff and just how like even though you don't think they're connected, because obviously the Holocaust killed people and like slavery is about like inferiority and just like punishing people there is a thread of connectedness as far as how subjugating people, like they go about it different ways, but it's all about making people feel inferior and stuff. So it's really good. It was based on a book and so it's really good.
Speaker 1:Isn't there a term for that? I remember hearing about that in the term they used it during the Holocaust, like when that was going on. It's not so loud and like violent in your face the way that they do it, to make you feel inferior. It's like almost Cacy. Do you know what I'm talking about? Remember, I thought there's a whole term for this. They try to make people feel like they're just so completely different than somebody else, like they don't even remember something, because I remember reading something, displacement or something like that kind of.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I was reading something. During the Holocaust with Nazis and stuff and the concentration camps, they weren't like yelling or screaming or so violent, quote unquote. Violent, I mean they were in a different way with them. Up front it was all like very kind of quiet and sedude to make it seem like they were just so different than them when they're not really. Anyway, sorry, I can't think of the term yeah.
Speaker 2:I can't think of it, either because she quotes from the in the movie, she quotes from the book and there's these pillars of how the Nazis, specifically, like you said, tore down the Jews. Because when she was talking, this author, she's black and she was talking with, like her own family and stuff and they're like it's all about racism and racism and she's like it's not about racism, it's about cast that's the big word, because in America it's about race Like. It's about like white people owning slaves and they make it seem like black, brown, asian people are less than but if you think about in Nazi Germany?
Speaker 2:if you think about in India? India, there's a caste system of people in hierarchy and there's the Dalits, which are lower. All of those people are brown. How can you say that's race? That's not racism at all. It's about a caste system of making people feel inferior and isolating these people and making them feel less than. It's the same with Nazi Germany. Those, the Germans, are white Jews. Majority of Jews are white.
Speaker 2:White, yeah, so but Germans had to find a way to isolate and subjugate Jewish people in the Nazi German reign. And so what they did, like you said I can't remember the specific word, but they had to make the Jewish people feel inferior and less than, but they couldn't do it based off of race, because no one would believe that they were.
Speaker 2:Like they look exactly the same as me, and so they spoke like she was saying there's all these pillars of how they said, they said they couldn't have relationships, sexually mating, everything, and so they slowly separated them out and they did it based off of the US's system of slavery and segregation. And she's like this is all based on a caste system. It's not based off of a racism system, which I thought was so interesting, because why there is connections between all three of these caste systems essentially. So, yeah, I really wanna read her book because, yeah, it's not just racism on how these giant events have taken place. So, yeah, the movie's really good and-.
Speaker 1:Sounds good, sounds really good.
Speaker 2:I'll read the book and tell you which I'm sure. It's really good. It was like on the bestseller's list for like a whole year. Let me say so. Yeah, anyway, those are my ricks. Go ahead, stace.
Speaker 1:So, as we know, I'm reading the Throne of Glass series, so I just started Empire of Storms and it's the fifth book, so it's really good. I'm really getting into it. There's only three books left, so I have this one, tower of Dawn, and then Kingdom of Ash.
Speaker 2:Are you doing the tandem read?
Speaker 1:No, I thought about doing it and I'm reading it on my phone Like I got a Libby version of it, so I'll be reading them separately. But I am excited because people swear by like the last this book and like Kingdom of Ash. They say it's so great that it's some people even like it better than the Akatar, like the last book in that one. So I'm pretty pumped. I literally have only read like four pages. I just got it last night on Libby but oh thanks, I'm really like into the world and into the characters and then watching. I just finished from Ashley's recommendation. I just finished season five of Fargo.
Speaker 1:It was so good, excellent, the character it has Winston from New Girl in it. He's a true Bernora. You would love it. He's amazing, winnie. And then it has the girl from Ted Lasso.
Speaker 3:Juno, oh Juno. Yeah, she's great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and then it has John Hamm in it. I mean, there's other famous people in it too. It's Great cast, but it's a great story. It's hilarious. I cried at the last episode.
Speaker 2:Actually, that's why, I cried at the last episode.
Speaker 1:But I like it because you don't have to watch the seasons in order on Fargo.
Speaker 2:That's what I heard so.
Speaker 1:Ashley was just like oh, I watched the fifth season. It's great, and then I watched it like week, so it's really good. 10 out of 10. Would recommend Very cool, very cool, very cool.
Speaker 2:All right, now we can get into our real discussion. See you, to see I was like if you forwarded through all of that, now we're actually talking about parts, but listen to our recs because they're great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2:Good recs, yeah. Okay. Okay, stacy, you can start us off with what's been like your favorite or most memorable. Fantasy reads, yeah. Fantasy books, fantasy books yeah.
Speaker 1:Well, obviously I was big with Akatar, which I'm glad you guys are starting, I felt like I had in red fantasy books in like a hot minute and then we at work all started reading that story. So that kind of like really jumped, started me into it again. So I really like that, which I like the whole like fairy idea and all that. But I will say like reading Throne of Glass that's probably been more of the fantasy world is just like jumped into a lot deeper with these books.
Speaker 2:I feel like they're more fantasy than Akatar's, probably more romance, right.
Speaker 1:More romance and relationships, which I like. Sometimes I miss that aspect in Throne of Glass, but the world building in the Throne of Glass world is very interesting in how it all like ends up interconnecting and intertwining from past and present, so I've like really enjoyed that aspect of it. So Ashley Clements, she's read all of Sarah J Mass's books and she said that Throne of Glass is her favorite. So I've heard it's good.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think I told you guys. I just read the first book in it like daughter of the moon. Goddess, that's the celestial kingdom one. Have you read that Stacy?
Speaker 1:No, but it's on my list because after you read it you said you liked it. I like the idea of the story.
Speaker 2:It's really good. It's based off of Chinese mythology and it's the main character. She is the daughter of the moon goddess, but it's really good and it has a love triangle between the two guys. I don't know, I really like it. Again, I don't think it gets a lot of hype that it should, versus fourth wing, which gets all the hype. I feel like it's very similar to fourth wing just because there's dragons in it. It obviously is fantasy and it's just like a strong female character. I thought it was really well written and done. It's a duology, so it's not like crazy long, like a whole bunch of books you have to read. You know what I mean. So, yeah, that was a really good one. My other one that I really love was Legend Born.
Speaker 1:Yes, I loved Legend Born. I haven't read the second book, but the first one is.
Speaker 2:Yes, I haven't read the second one either. I'm planning to, but that's a retail, like I don't know about retailing, but it's like a King Arthur kind of King Arthur's Knights round table thing and based like it's a black author and black main character and also, again, kind of a love triangle-ish. Did you like Selwyn? Are you more of a Nick girl?
Speaker 1:I am more of a Nick girl, which is really strange for me, because I love Selwyn like the Morley.
Speaker 2:Grey, dark.
Speaker 1:Yeah, but I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's because Nick's character is tortured in his own way by his family legacy and you can tell he wants to be better. I don't know.
Speaker 2:Because he has kind of dark vibes too, even though he's like a boy.
Speaker 1:I think it's just the author is so good at writing them. It's not like yeah, it's like your typical, like love triangle, like the bad guy and the good guy, but like there's so much more. I'm just not saying like so much. There's so much more depth to the good guy character, which I appreciate a lot.
Speaker 2:Yes, he's very. He's not two dimensional, You're right.
Speaker 1:Exactly, there's like he's like an onion, there's like lots of layers to him. You see them immediately. Why are you always quoting Shrek Stacey?
Speaker 3:Look at that boulder.
Speaker 2:That's a nice boulder, nice boulder In the morning I'm making waffles. This is the best movie ever.
Speaker 1:That's also my rep. Put that on my rep list Shrek from 20 years ago. Okay, don't age us please.
Speaker 2:So yeah, that is a nice thought to read the same, but I mean she. So she has a second book that's out and then she just announced she's it was supposed to be a trilogy and she just announced it's now a. What's it called when there's four books?
Speaker 1:Quad trilogy I have no idea. But there's four books I didn't know that, like duology was a term until recently. Yeah, I mean, it makes sense, I just didn't know. So I just call it a series, a series.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but there's four books in that After. Yeah, so she's, but only two are out right now. And then one more is Babel, which is my favorite book of all time.
Speaker 1:I have to read this. I've seen so much about Babel. Since you've wrecked it, it's on my list.
Speaker 2:It's, but it's a really long book but but it's worth it and it's just. It's just amazing. It's so good Anyway, but it's about four students one, the main, he's Asian, and then there's a black girl, and then there's a English white girl and then there is he's like an Indian guy there's I mean, he's like East Asian, and and they all go to school at Oxford and they learn about like language and how to take like their language and like put it into these silver bars and it creates like magic to like power, the British Empire, and they think they're doing this like noble thing of like helping their school and everything. But it's like actually like evil, essentially because it's in the 1800s and it's used for like slavery, like the countries that they come from. It's the British Empire is like taking advantage of them, essentially in the 1800s, right, like colonizing them. And yeah, it's just so good. So that's my third wreck, like fantasy wreck or whatever. So, yeah, okay, you guys can go Good fantasy books or series.
Speaker 1:So do you care if I go? I have nothing.
Speaker 3:I'm jumping in.
Speaker 1:So I have a couple. They're kind of like older series that I've read, but they're just books. I love my first one. This is like a young adult series but I feel like it's. I think I've talked about this book series in the past. It's the book series that got me into reading. It's called. The first book is called Blue, is for nightmares and actually let me make sure I say her name right. I haven't. I've been meaning to go back and reread it because it's been so long. But our friend, ashley read, read that book series. I told her I liked it so much and it is a little young. It's a young adult series but the main characters name is Stacy, which is why I also loved it. Is it spelled?
Speaker 2:like Stacy's.
Speaker 1:No, it's spelled. Oh it's why. Yeah, why Hold on, let me find the author's name real fast by Laurie Stollard Stollard's.
Speaker 3:Is it Stollard's? There's a Z at the end, so ours.
Speaker 1:There's four. Well, there's four books and technically five. The fifth one is a graphic novel but the main character is a witch, but it's definitely. It's more of like spells type things, not on action, not like powers, like moving things or anything like that. It was really good, but yeah, so if you want a young adult, not a whole series, that's good.
Speaker 3:I mean, it's a vampire Academy.
Speaker 1:And that was my second one. I'm still, to this day, obsessed with Vampire Academy and there's a spin-off series. So you see, what was it called with the Alchemist, what was that series called? It was so.
Speaker 2:You liked it better Cause you liked that character, I think I almost liked it better than Vampire Academy.
Speaker 1:Did you read it? It was with Sydney was the character's name. She's in Vampire Academy. She's an Alchemist and then she has her own separate series with some of the characters from Vampire Academy. Excellent Town to Town, would recommend. I personally like the characters that are in the Alchemist series from that a little better. Stacey actually just sent me this thing Stacey, what's the woman's name who? I'm so bad with authors names who wrote Vampire Academy? Rachel Mead.
Speaker 2:Rachel Mead.
Speaker 1:yeah, there's a new special edition that's coming out soon for Vampire Academy. It's really expensive but I think I might buy it, Like all the books are signed by her and it's like special art and some extras like little-.
Speaker 3:Deleted scenes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that are in it. I think the pre-sell is this month for it, but they've made a movie and they tried to do the series. I thought the series was great. It got canceled, which is ridiculous, obviously, because it anyway it's. I was gonna be mean. I feel like it got canceled because it's a very diverse cast and it was female lead.
Speaker 1:And for some reason I just don't think it gets as much as a priority as everything else. It was a great show, so those two series I love and then the last one I was gonna talk about I think it's still fantasy the Black Dagger Brotherhood series. Stacey Nora knows about that too, nora knows, you made Nora read it all.
Speaker 3:It didn't make me do nothing. I was best series. I loved it.
Speaker 1:When I tell you it is excellent.
Speaker 3:Excellent.
Speaker 1:To this day. I think it's some of the best smut that I've ever read in my life, like and she and sorry not to cut you all fast, but Ashley's right because she was writing smut scenes how they should've been wrote years before, years before, like when we were talking with Kate about how she had to cut a smut scene and now it's very popular. I mean, like she was keeping it all 100%, like 10 years ago, let me see. I gotta figure out when Dark Lover that's the name of the first book in the series came out. I'm just curious when it was published. Now, 2005 was when that happened.
Speaker 1:She's still writing for the series too.
Speaker 1:I don't think it's over yet. We actually went to book signing for her in Cincinnati and we have we got some signed books from her. That series is amazing. It's super long and there's some other like side series that have come from it. But the Black Dagger Brotherhood is like a group of vampires in New York. It's a suburb of New York called Well New York or something. I don't even know if that's a real place, but I don't remember now. They're like hundreds of years old and it's just really, really excellent smutty writing, if anybody's into that.
Speaker 3:Is this like the old-time it's a fresh take.
Speaker 1:Twilight, no, well, no, these are like. It's kind of like Acutar, where it's like, you know, they're huge, these huge fairy guys, it's like these huge vampires that are like very masculine, but, that being said, they all carry daggers.
Speaker 3:They all carry daggers and they hide them in different places.
Speaker 1:There's like it's a whole world building thing. There's a whole world building thing Like vampires have their, there's their this own, like God character and devil character and like they're all. It's like fighting against good and evil and then- there's a hierarchy to it too.
Speaker 3:Yeah, vampires.
Speaker 1:Yeah, like the, it's like almost like a court system with like all of the different vampires and each book is about a different vampire and-.
Speaker 3:Have they done one with the girls? Yeah, I was about to say.
Speaker 1:They did one like and some of the warriors are female. That's in it that the books center around. So it's just, it's really great series. It's a definitely a different take than Twilight. It's more like when you say like original type vampire stuff, like they can't go out during the day, they like they drink blood, but they don't necessarily like they don't need humans to survive, they drink each other's blood.
Speaker 1:Yeah, right, it's more than like killing people to survive. Yeah, but I will say also the author, like I know there's always been queer romance has been out there, if you can find it, but it was especially when we were like going stuff. I still think it's really popular. But she also had. One of my favorite books is a queer book she wrote with between two males and at the time like Excellent you were thinking.
Speaker 1:I mean, it wasn't just like you know, this young adult queer romance. No, it was very graphic, just like her other books like in-depth beautiful.
Speaker 2:Too hot men.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's great yeah.
Speaker 3:Is it?
Speaker 1:Sandra Point and play.
Speaker 3:Play, point and play.
Speaker 1:There's also Chanel. Like some ABO in there too, with one of the characters.
Speaker 2:Wow, yeah, she was very advanced.
Speaker 1:She was sprinkling it all in there, man. The author's name is JR Ward I don't want to make us seem how old we are, nora and Ashley but one of her latest books she came out was actually which I don't want to spoil on things, so cover your ears if you're going to read it, chanel but the latest book is about Zadis and Bella's child as an adult in her romance. Like that's how far the book series has come From like her being a baby all the way to her being like An adult An adult in a romance. Yeah, crazy, yeah, I'm not old. Yeah, we're not old, stacey, we're so young and hip. Right.
Speaker 2:I got braces.
Speaker 1:I'm so young right now. I went to bed at 9.30 last night. Fell asleep reading on my phone.
Speaker 2:Nora, do you have any fantasy? Recs.
Speaker 3:Oh, I guess it was fine. I have started the Lord of the Rings. Is that dirty? I don't know.
Speaker 1:Yes, it's very, very fantasy. I've heard those books are excellent. It's free on.
Speaker 3:The first book's free on Audible right now. I've been listening to that.
Speaker 2:I only read the Hobbit.
Speaker 1:I haven't actually read the Lord of the Rings books, but the Hobbit it's a life goal of mine to read all of the books, Like I don't know when I'll get to it, maybe in a few years but it legitimately is a goal to like read them Right. One ring to rule them all. Even the trees walk in those movies.
Speaker 2:There's only one return. It's not in the key, you don't even know it is over the Jedi. You guys can't even say like you haven't read the books and you haven't seen the movies, so just shut up.
Speaker 1:Listen so much. Skyler was watching all of the movies this weekend. For some reason. I had drill and I came home and he was just like watching Return of the King or something like this three hour movie or some extended thing. I was like what do you do? And he's like I just decided to watch all the movies this weekend. It's just so random, why not?
Speaker 2:Why not? I mean, it isn't. Sometimes I'll just like randomly have a Star Wars marathon. I mean sometimes you just get in the mood.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm always in the mood for Star Wars, star Wars and Harry Potter.
Speaker 3:Put it on, put it on, just get in the mood, put it on.
Speaker 1:Where's the table? First one this is kind of I mean, I guess it's more sci-fi than fantasy. But, Nora, do you remember when we read the Uglies series in high school? Yes, I love that book. Yeah, I just listened to the first one again and I forgot how good it is for a young adult book. It's very good. I read the first one, Stacey, not too long ago for some reason, because you had recommended it, but I guess it would be considered more sci-fi than fantasy.
Speaker 2:I think it is more like dystopian kind of yeah.
Speaker 1:But still, it's good, I want to talk about it, so it's really good. I always get a little confused on the sci-fi versus fantasy because they seem so similar to me. Like I was going to talk about Dune, but that's probably more sci-fi too than fantasy, right?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so like fantasy I know because I had to like look this up a little while ago Fantasy is more like yeah, it's more like magical creatures and stuff like that, and sci-fi or dystopian is set in the real world, but it's like where it has advanced technology or things have kind of like crumbled or gone to waste, kind of.
Speaker 1:Oh, what I've read. Why didn't I blink on this? I just finished the second book in Holly's Black, the Folk of Air series. I just finished the Wicked King and it is excellent. My sister, katie, read the whole series. I'm on the last book. I'm just waiting to get it from Libby, but it's great. She does a really good job of writing characters that you hate but you still love reading about them. Does that make sense? Yeah, these characters are some of our assholes. It's like enemies to lovers, but like enemies to lovers, not like oh you know like they'll punch you in the face and try to kill you. Like enemies to lovers. Like it's legit, but it's really good. It's like fairies. The main character is immortal, but the world is just very beautiful how she describes it. I got Chanel, which is just sitting over here because we haven't seen each other in person forever, the paperback set. Ooh, but they're great. I can't wait. Katie says the last one's great.
Speaker 3:Why are you trying to tell?
Speaker 1:all of these series. It was her Christmas present. What about me?
Speaker 2:Stacey, what about, like TBR? What fantasy books are you wanting to read this year?
Speaker 1:So the first one I have, I just like I'm like every basic girl out there right now I'm going to read Crescent City. I have the first book. I got it from a friend online for Christmas. It's huge. It's like the first book is like 800 pages. I know, it's like it's big.
Speaker 3:Is that the?
Speaker 1:series that the new book just came out. Yeah, I've heard not great reviews about the new book.
Speaker 2:I have it.
Speaker 1:I've been trying to pull a Chanel and be less like, even though I know the spoiler for the main series. I've been trying to kind of avoid it because I know it's on the horizon for me. I'll probably start it once I finish Throw in Glass, but that's my main one that I want to finish this year, just so I can get caught up in her world all the way. I'm trying to think I feel like there was another. Maybe I have it on my phone.
Speaker 3:Here's a serpent, one I think you told me about.
Speaker 2:You want us to come back to you, yeah, come back to me, um, but let me see I oh, here, actually I have it right here. I want to read have you seen this? These violent delights. I got this, the special edition, woo.
Speaker 1:What else did she write? That author? She's wrote something else, right.
Speaker 2:She's written a lot. She's, uh, this is a duology, but the foul lady fortune is the other, her other popular series, which, um, that's her second series. But, um, this is a duology that is based off of Romeo and Juliet and it's um set in Shanghai and, like, the girl is the heir to one gang and then the guy is the heir to the other gang and they, like, obviously, are enemies to lovers and, um, so that's what I want to read. And then, um, my other one, which I don't have it yet but it's supposed to come, is, uh, a day of fall and night, which I know you've, I know you know what I'm talking about, Stacy. Um, it's, oh, speaking of 800 pages. It's um a thick one and I don't know, I don't know what it's about, but I just know it has dragons and it's sapphic and I'm super excited to read it.
Speaker 1:Sign me up. Sign me up for that.
Speaker 2:So those two are on. Oh, and fey bound, um, it's like. Again, I think it's like fantasy dragons. It's like the beautiful um cover that everyone's been talking about. It's like red and black and um, I think so. So, raffi, I don't know what her name is um, let me get her, let me find her. Sarah L Arafi is her, um is her name, the author's name. But the main girl says asa, warrior in the Elven army. She's known nothing but violence her whole life. It's about her and her sister, and there there's fey and elves and I don't even know. Anyway, but that's what I want to read. Fey bound, it's like on the. It was like number one on the best sellers list. I know, you know what I'm talking about, right.
Speaker 2:It sounds it sounds familiar.
Speaker 1:She now just like disappeared from her background.
Speaker 2:first I think that's a my cue to listen to. They did all those special editions with it.
Speaker 1:Oh, I remember what my other one was, which is probably taking from Ashley's. But Katie, our youngest sister, really wants to see the red queen series. So I have the. I have the first book in the red queen series. I promise. I swore to Katie as soon as I finished my Sarah J Math tour that would be the next series I do. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She pretty much wanted a blood oath at this point that we read this book.
Speaker 1:She said this, my favorite book of all time, my book, the next books I want to read. I get them all, from Chanel's books to Graham. Yeah, I just like save my, but my big one that I want to. There's two one of them. One of them isn't a fantasy, but I really want to read blood like fate that you just did a book review on.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, that's fantasy yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that one's fantasy, so I have that one saved that I want to read. This next one isn't fantasy, but it sounds so good they're vicious games that you just did a review on.
Speaker 2:Oh, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:That book sounds amazing yeah.
Speaker 2:That's not fantasy, but it is really good.
Speaker 1:It's like a because I think you talked about it last episode it's like it's a boarding school right, and it's kind of like a thriller type book, but I know it's not fantasy, but it is not. It's high up on my list, but this blood like fate is fantasy and it sounds amazing.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so blood like magic is the first one, because it's a duology also.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that series is on. That's probably my number one fantasy series to read. Don't tell Katie. And then Red Quinn.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that's a good one. It's good magic and it's actually kind of sci-fi and magic because it has like kind of technology, like futuristic, but then there's magic in it.
Speaker 1:So yeah, it's a good one.
Speaker 2:Oh, Nora, do you have anything?
Speaker 3:I think the only thing that's I've wanted this Serpent Wing Knight. Have you guys heard of that one by Carissa Brodebint, I think oh yeah, I've heard of it yeah. That's one that I'm going to probably listening here to, oh what's the one you're listening to?
Speaker 1:A hooked one right now, right Like a Peter.
Speaker 3:Pan thing. The hooked was. Well, I just finished that one. And then there's, I just finished that one too, nora. I was listening with Sam, my husband, in the car, and I'm not kidding you, every time we open the door and we go, knock, knock, it's me clock because it's got a little bit of a sexy scenes in those, but it's like I love you and Sam so much. You look good too.
Speaker 2:That's funny.
Speaker 3:Her next book was Scarred, so I'm listening to that one right now, too Nice.
Speaker 2:Nice.
Speaker 3:Good.
Speaker 1:I swear to God my TBR is never ending. I have so many books here that I need to read, yeah.
Speaker 2:I don't know, I'm just I know, I know, man, because people are always putting out new ones. Yeah, You're like stop.
Speaker 1:Too much content. I know yeah, I finally, I signed up for a book of the month, and when we had the guest star Jayon, the manacle reactions, he said his favorite book of all time was that Tomorrow, tomorrow, tomorrow. So that's the book that I picked for my book of the month, and so I really want to read that book too, because I've heard great things, but it just keeps going down on the list every time. I know. I don't know, it's just it's too many books.
Speaker 3:There's not enough time in the day to read all these books.
Speaker 2:Do you only get one book for book of the month?
Speaker 1:I don't know because. So I signed up when they had a deal where it was like $5 for your first book and it was for January, so I have I need to look and see like I haven't picked anything for February yet.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:What's nice is that if you skip a month you don't have to pay, or you can't pay and you just get to keep the credit they give you, like an extra book for your birthday. You get deals. I add on a lot to mine. I ended up always having extra credits floating around. I have like two whole shelves in my bookcase. It is literally just like book of the month books. I have a problem, I know. Have you read that? No, they're my little trophies.
Speaker 2:I mean I can't complain because I have a whole shelf that I haven't read and they're not a book of the month, they're just books. But at least I can be like I can stop. You're just going to keep getting more.
Speaker 1:Literally. I was at Target yesterday with Theo and his mom and I was like Theo, should we look at the books? And he was like it's a trap. No, it's a trap. He gets so annoyed because he, he looks at the bookshelf. He's like there is no possible way you could read all these books in your lifetime. And I said, just give me time, just give me time.
Speaker 2:And I will no you definitely could yeah. You definitely could.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I could. They're my little trophies. I look at them and they make me so happy. They don't even have to open them. I just see them and I'm like my little babies.
Speaker 2:The key word is could you, could you, could I, could I could you could we don't know which?
Speaker 1:will I start deciding that I want all the StereoJ math books and I start buying all of them? He'll lose his mind, Wait you don't even have them.
Speaker 2:I'm like I'm not going to give up. I'm like I'm not going to give up. I'm like I'm not going to give up.
Speaker 3:Oh well, that's the next girl's trip. Everybody just bring the books that they haven't read. Yeah, and then we'll just go for a weekend and just read in different places and nooks and crannies of an Airbnb. Yeah, I like it.
Speaker 1:Just saying Good idea Of course Stacy. She's so sick right now. Look at her.
Speaker 2:I know, baby, all right, let's see some kudos Wrap it up.
Speaker 1:Okay, I'll go first. Obviously, my kudos is for Nora, because we had dinner last night and I was just like come record with us randomly she could. It's amazing because I feel like I haven't seen you in years. I know, I mean, I think it's just been like a month or something, but it feels like forever. We were talking about last night just gets harder and harder. Everybody's so busy with like their full time adult jobs and lives. It's hard to get together with friends and stuff a lot. But so, yeah, just thanks for coming over today and having coffee with me, and she's been having to deal with the dogs being crazy. So, and then my second kudos, as always, is for you guys, because you're amazing and we haven't recorded in person the last couple episodes. So I freaking miss you guys. I miss you, I miss you guys. I'm sorry. I'm so like, so sneezey today. No, it's okay, I was sick, was it last week or two weeks ago? I was like couldn't, I like didn't leave my house for a week. I was so sick.
Speaker 1:Yeah, work for a week was terrible. Indiana is not a vibe this time of year, guys. I don't know where everyone's listening from, but if you're from Indiana, you know how bad it sucks to be here, right now?
Speaker 3:Hey, it kills all the bugs in the wintertime, it's fine. Yeah, all the big ones.
Speaker 2:That's true, my kudos is first. Nora, thank you for coming and hanging out. Thank you.
Speaker 3:You're welcome.
Speaker 2:And second, well, I have a couple birthday shout outs. One, obviously, our friend Jen. It was her birthday. I know you got to hang out with her, ashley, I'm so jealous, but so happy birthday, jen. And then my yeah, my best friend, molly. It was her birthday a few days ago as well, and so happy they, molly.
Speaker 1:Happy birthday, Molly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so happy birthday. Of course, ashley and Stacy, you guys are great checking in on me when I was struggling this week, so yeah, I texted now.
Speaker 1:I'm like, are you alive? Like I was talking to Stacy, I'm like, wait, Chanel hasn't responded in the group message in like two days, Are we okay?
Speaker 2:Do I need to call her?
Speaker 1:What's going on? It was rough.
Speaker 2:So yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1:I would have noticed sooner, but I was like on my long stretch of work. Of course, I did like this huge stretch of work. Now I'm off for like two weeks and now I'm sick. So it's just like yeah, it was rough for you to it was rough yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yes, go ahead Stacy.
Speaker 1:My kudos is for my beautiful Nora. Obviously I'm so glad I get to see you on the computer. I haven't seen you in person. It's literally been months for us. My life is chaos, so I'm sorry. But basically to you guys, you're my favorite and best support system If I'm ever. I'm sad. I just didn't like these unhinged things in our group chat and then I feel better these, these TikToks and all this other stuff, so thanks for keeping me alive. We didn't even talk about it. It's been an unhinged. Unhinged TikToks Say something's pretty good and announce the Taylor Swift news. That's all the TikToks.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, taylor's offline, she does, I don't know why oh okay. Taylor, she announced her new album last night.
Speaker 3:Yeah, is it the breakup one the breakup? No, it's not reputation.
Speaker 1:It's well the society of something. Poets.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it's the. What is it? Traumatic poets.
Speaker 3:No, I don't know. Oh God, let me look it up. I don't know.
Speaker 1:I just wanted reputation.
Speaker 2:I'm mad, yeah, I know.
Speaker 1:It's called the tortured poets department. I'm sure it's gonna be a great album and I'm excited for it, but I was just like wait, where is reputation? I know Chanel.
Speaker 2:Reputation Besides red reputations might like. Those are my two albums, so I'm a little mad, so sorry.
Speaker 1:She's just messing with us at this point. I know she almost randomly dropped like reputation like on some random Wednesday or something, with like no notice and just be like surprise. Here it is.
Speaker 2:I know, but honestly I'm like I'm mad, but at the same time, this is what I said right before I went to bed. I said you just can't mess with perfection, so maybe that's why yeah.
Speaker 1:And reputation is perfection.
Speaker 2:That's what I said to myself to comfort myself, literally before I turned off my phone and I went to bed.
Speaker 1:Chanel, I love you. I just want to hear getaway car to getaway car again. I just like, want to like.
Speaker 2:I'm gorgeous.
Speaker 1:What a great song. I haven't listened to that song in forever. I know.
Speaker 2:So whatever I was like what I mean honestly, like when she said that I was like wait, what? Yeah, where's reputation? I? Was like anyway, I'm mad, okay, we digress, we digress, we digress.
Speaker 1:Thank you everyone for listening.
Speaker 1:Yeah, thanks for listening, guys. Yeah, lead us out, stace. We want everyone to have a great and safe week. We can't wait to hear our next episode, which will be love themed for Valentine's Day or anti love, whatever you're into, like. No, it's going to be love, because we love men. We love them. I'm just kidding, I just love love. Okay, do we see your face when I said that, though you guys are even nor as you stare at me, do we? Do we love me? We love some of them. We love fictional men. Yes, yeah, I was trying to think of something to add to that, but no, we just love fictional men.
Speaker 3:We're ladies. We're ladies when we read our porn. Yeah.
Speaker 1:We're ladies, we're classy ladies when we read our porn and that everyone. Make sure you read what you like and have a good week.
