Booktails Podcast

Interspecies Valentines 1

TW: This series features non human romance and questionable consent.

Strap on your space belts because this is going to be a wild ride! Take a journey with Serena and Rachel to an icy far off planet full of VERY friendly locals! Grab a Big, Blue and Horny frozen cocktail and let’s get into it!

For the first book of our alternative interspecies romance this Valentine’s month we will be discussing the representation and treatment of women and the surprisingly complex science of the characters staying alive on an inhospitable planet. But mostly discussing alien c**ks. Because wow is there a lot to discuss. Trust us you don’t want to miss this one!

Greek Retellings 3

This book was new to both of us and we may have made a mistake calling it a Greek retelling but we certainly didn’t make a mistake including it in the podcast!

Join Serena and Rachel as they sip our Albatross cocktail, discuss the book’s relation to the Covid 19 epidemic, the power of positive thinking, joys of isolation and try to work out what is actually going on with that ending! We will also draw our own labyrinth based on the house and try our best to find the way out (tune in to find out if we’re still lost to this day) or if we even want to be found! 

Greek Retellings 2: Serena's Recommendation 

You know the story of Achilles right? A beautiful and strong demigod, destined to be the greatest and fastest warrior anyone has ever seen, never mind that pesky ankle of his! Well, get ready to see him in a new light, and to hear his tragic love story play out before you with nothing you can do to stop it, as much as you might wish you could!

Join Serena and Rachel to explore love, loss and war, ancient LGBT histories, the confusing levels of godhood and epic centaur wingman skills. Make yourself an Ambrosia cocktail and float away to Mount Olympus with us before a classic game of 'guess whether the quote is by ancient Greek poet Sappho or Taylor Swift'. And tell us once and for all, is it Odysseus' world and we're all just living in it?

Greek Retellings 1: Rachel's Recommendation

It's time for a new year and a whole new Booktails theme! We are starting off strong with Greek myth retellings!

First up is 'A Thousand Ships' by Natalie Haynes: a retelling of the Trojan war from the stories of the women who were front and centre! From slaves to queen's to goddesses, Haynes gives voice to them all and Serena and Rachel weigh in on why we are so obsessed with the Trojan war and play a classic game of Siblings or Lovers: Greek Gods Edition!

Speaking of goddesses, this week's cocktail  Hera's Kiss just might be one of our favourites ever! Beautiful and delicious, it is also spicy and unexpected and packs one hell of a punch! 

Time for our yearly round up: the best books we read this year, whether surprise new releases or old favourites we've read many times, and our favourite episodes of 2025 in case you're wondering where to start! And our final game of the year is not to be missed: the Booktails Job Swap! Producer Mark is presenting, Rachel is editing and Serena is on 'music': it's going to be a riot.  

Thank you so much for joining us this year on Booktails - next year is going to be super exciting and we can't wait to share it with you all! 

Festive Frolics 4: Serena's Recommendation

Christmas is just around the corner and we are heartbroken that this is our final festive frolic of the podcast this year! But we've put the perfect gift under your tree in the shape of this delightful mature romance in a picturesque English village complete with quirky ensemble and disastrous dates! You'll want to try our yummy Gingerbread Margi-rita, the perfect accompaniment on these chilly winter nights!

Don't wait to unwrap this gift of an episode which includes discussions on real life gingerbread villages, representations of female aging and why you would never want to live in a remote English countryside village. We hope someone nice comes down your chimney and wish you a wonderful Christmas!

Make sure to join us next time for an episode of our best books of the year! 

Festive Frolics 3

On the first day of Christmas Booktails gave to you a baby Alan in a pear tree!  It's the 12 days of Christmas as you've never seen them before! A grumpy widower and his children start receiving very specific and familiar gifts on the days leading up to Christmas... but who is sending them and what could they mean? 

Join Rachel and Serena as they rake through ladies dancing, unbelievable children, lords a leaping, maids a milking, unfit fathers, lack of Christmas activities, five gold rings, ghost mothers and whatever happened to that partridge chick in the pear tree?!

Festive Frolics 2: The Secret Christmas Library and interview with bestselling author Jenny Colgan. 

It's a big one readers: it's our first author interview and we were over the moon to have the one and only Jenny Colgan on to discuss their new book with us!

Join us as we drink a festive old fashioned, chat about real life castle libraries, why books are always the best Christmas gifts and play a festive game of Red Flag Green Flag! Will the love interests in this book will be on the naughty list this year? Only one way to find out! 

Festive Frolics 1: Rachel's recommendation 

It's the most wonderful time of the year! That's right, the season is upon us, time to roast those chestnuts and sing some carols in the snow! And for this first romantic romp you might just want to look out the mistletoe!

Join Serena and Rachel as they follow identical twins who swap lives for the twelve days before Christmas in this Hallmark-esque holiday adventure, featuring just about every festive romcom trope going, from small town bakeries to Christmas eve blizzards! Just don't forget the sourdough starter! 

Prize Winners 3: British Book Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year

We hope you're hungry readers, because if not you're about to be! Based on a true case this book explores murder, feminism and most importantly, the joys of eating. It's never too late to change your life or to start eating good food!

After today's game Rachel and Serena will never be eating margarine again. We're even putting butter in our cocktails these days! So grab a knife and join us for Butter!