Hello, magical folx! This week we’re discussing A Dream so Dark by L.L. McKinney, the second book in the Nightmare-verse series! In this episode we’re making predictions about the future books in the series, talking about “urban” fantasy, and coming at you with some major Star Wars: Rise of the Skywalker spoilers (you’ve been warned!). For a refresher for what happened in the last book, check out our episode on A Blade So Black. Here are all the things mentioned in this week’s episode! Let’s start with a question! What are you wearing when you feel your most powerful? We mentioned The Neverending Story Dr. Martens – the badass shoe of choice! Ship It by Britta Lundin AAVE Sex Education Season 2 – We highly recommend the show in general! Buffy the Vampire Slayer (tv show) The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (tv show) Throne of Glass tv show? Yes! ACOTAR movie? Also, yes! Action Item: Read Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad and check out Leesa Renee Hall’s Patreon. Transcript Below (or access the pdf version) As always, we’d love to be in discussion with you, magical folx. Post or tweet about the show using #criticallyreading. Let us know what you think of the episode, anything we missed, or anything else you want us to know by dropping a line in the comments or reaching out to us on twitter or Instagram (@thelibrarycoven), or via email ([email protected]). You can also check out the show notes on our website, thelibrarycoven.com. We really appreciate ratings and reviews on iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or any other platforms. Help us share the magic by spreading the word about the podcast! Please support our labor by leaving us a one-time tip on Ko-fi or purchasing books from our Bookshop! Even better yet, become a monthly patron via Patreon and you can unlock a bunch of exclusive perks like mini-sodes, bonus episodes, and access to our community of reader-listeners on Discord. The podcast theme song is “Unermerry Academy of Magics” by Augustin C from the album “Fantasy Music”, which you can download on FreeMusicArchive.com. JK, it’s magic is recorded and produced on stolen indigenous land: Arapahoe, Cheyenne, and Ute (Kelly) and Chickasha, Kaskaskia, Kickapoo, Mascoutin, Miami, Mesquaki, Odawa, Ojibwe, Peankashaw, Peoria, Potawatomi, Sauk, and Wea (Jessie) You can support Indigenous communities by donating to Mitakuye Foundation, Native Women’s Wilderness, or the Navajo Water Project. These suggested places came from @lilnativeboy Episode 31 A Dream so Dark transition [00:00:14] [Bright, whimsical music plays]. jessie [00:00:14] Hello! And welcome to “JK, It’s Magic,” a bi-weekly podcast in which two bookish besties discuss (mostly) YA fantasy through the lens of intersectional feminist criticism. Why? Because critique is our fangirl love language. And because talking about books is pretty magical. I’m Jesse. kelly [00:00:29] And I’m Kelly. And in this episode, we are discussing A Dream So Dark by L.L. McKinney, the second book in the Nightmareverse series. And I didn’t write a plot synopsis before recording. So fuck it, we’ll do it live. [laughs] The novel picks up right after the battle that ended the first book. Alice is grounded and people are in trouble. And lots of villains come out of the woodwork and Alice has to go into Wonderland. But she also accidentally goes to Japan. And then there’s large battles and that’s what happens. [laughs] jessie [00:01:09] Chaos ensues. There’s chaos. Lots and lots of chaos. transition [00:01:13] [bright, whimsical music plays] jessie [00:01:18] All right. Initial reactions, I think, as you all know at this point. I love L.L. McKinney. I follow her on Twitter and I just love everything about her. She’s great. So you have to know that I love this book, too. It was fast paced and super fun. I loved getting some additional POVs this time around. So I stan, I guess. Like, yeah, I really enjoyed it. kelly [00:01:41] No choice but to stan. jessie [00:01:43] Yeah. [chuckles].