Bookwild

This week, I got to talk with Tori Eldridge about her newest novel Kaua'i Storm. Tori shares the inspiration for the book, how her settings matter so much to her, and how this book had her personally invested in nailing the culture.

Kaua'i Storm Synopsis

Returning to Kaua‘i, park ranger Makalani finds her family divided and their way of life at risk in this rich and emotional adventure by the bestselling author of the Lily Wong series.

After ten years as a national park ranger in Oregon, Makalani Pahukula is back on Kaua‘i for her grandmother’s birthday. Having been gone for so long, Makalani finds the disconnect with her people and her struggles have never been more profound. Neither has her need to reacquaint herself with everything she left behind. When she reaches the homestead, she finds a bickering family and the disconcerting news that her cousins—a failed college football player and a rebellious teenage girl—have gone missing.

Makalani hopes they just ran off, too careless to realize the worry they’ve caused. But when hunters find a dead body in the Keālia Forest Reserve, Makalani fears something ominous is at play, and the search for her cousins grows more desperate. Although her help may not be welcomed by family and locals, Makalani is determined to solve a mystery that poses a greater risk than anyone imagines.

The investigation will open her heart, reawaken her love for the land she calls home, and strengthen her bond with her family. Because no matter how long she’s been away, for Makalani, Hawai‘i is in her blood.

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This week, I chat with Brian Watson @readingwithbrian about how long we've both been reading, thrillers that stood out as ones that created our love for thrillers, and some of our favorite domestic suspense thrillers!

Books/Authors We Talked About

Regrets Only by Kieran Scott

The Push by Ashley Audrain

You Deserve to Know by Aggie Blum Thompson

The Woman Inside by E.G. Scott

A.R. Torre

Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker

I'll Be You by Janelle Brown

Local Woman Missing by Mary Kubica

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Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

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MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, the iconic Jaime Lynn Hendricks is back for the fifth time to chat about her newest page turner Their Double Lives! Gare and I ask all our burning questions, and we discuss Gare's dog Murphy's debut in a book!

Their Double Lives Synopsis

A down-on-her-luck waitress at a posh New Jersey country club, Kim Valva couldn’t be living a more different life from the carefree socialites she serves. Her live-in boyfriend recently cheated on her, her social life is in shambles, and her dog needs a life-saving surgery that she can’t afford. Then her luck seems to change when a mysterious figure identifying themself only as The Stranger contacts her with an offer she can’t refuse: Put a pill in the new member’s drink and, when he dies, she’ll have enough money to fix her dog and her life.

Her target turns out to be Tony Fiore—Kim’s bad boy ex-boyfriend from high school. Fifteen years have passed, and he now goes by Anthony Fuller. He’s cleaned up, made tens of millions, and his gorgeous fiancée, twenty-two-year-old PJ Walsh, is on his arm.

PJ had her own agenda from the second she met Anthony. Find him, trick him, marry him, kill him. It was supposed to be easy, but she finds that while living her double life, the lines blur between who she is and who she’s pretending to be.

Stunned to see Tony again, Kim can’t bring herself to go through with spiking his drink. Instead, it is PJ who dies horrifically at the table just as dinner ends. Was someone else at the club—member or worker—tasked with poisoning PJ just as she had been instructed to do to Tony? Who would want both of them dead? With no one to trust and The Stranger to answer to, Kim must peel back the layers of deceit to reveal a deeply buried truth, more shocking than she could ever imagine…

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, Gare, Steph and I are talking about the 2025 Summer thriller releases we are excited to read!

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Books We Talked About

Love You to Death by Christina Dotson

Night Watcher by Daphne Woolsoncroft

The Laughing Dead by Jess Lourey

Just Emilia by Jennifer Oko

One Dark Night by Hannah Richell

The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark

Doll Parts by Penny Zang

Forget Me Not by Stacy Willingham

Our Secrets Were Safe by Virginia Trench

Ecstacy by Ivy Pochoda

We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter

High Season by Katie Bishop

Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke

Guess Again Charlie Donlea

King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, I talk with Judy Hutson about her new spy thriller Spy Notes! We dive into the inspiration for the story, how her job as a publicist in the music industry informed the book, and how she chose the places for Johnny to travel to!

Spy Notes Synopsis

Music, Mayhem, and Missions...

When music publicist Johnny Harrington isn't managing her superstar client Naive, she's enjoying Christmas on her family's idyllic island home in Barbados. But this year's holiday harmony is shattered when an undercover detective turns up dead, and Johnny's new romance with charming businessman Henley becomes entangled in a web of suspicion.

Using her backstage pass to Europe's most exclusive social circles through Naive's tour, Johnny becomes an unlikely spy in designer heels. As she juggles a volatile artist with her secret mission, she uncovers a deadly network of drug trafficking that hits dangerously close to home. In a world where every VIP party could be a cover and every intimate encounter could be a setup, Johnny must figure out who's playing her before she becomes the next victim.

From private island paradises to high-stakes concert venues, this glamorous thriller proves that in both the music business and espionage, the most dangerous notes are the ones you don't see coming.

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, Gare, Steph and I talk about five of our favorite authors and our favorite book of theirs!

Books We Talked About

The Last Housewife

Bright Young Women

Play Nice

The Woman Inside

Jar of Hearts

The Family Next Door

The Night She Disappeared

Dark Highway

The Quarry Girls

They Never Learn

The Trap

The Children on the Hill

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Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

Steph Lauer @books.in.badgerland

Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, I got to talk with Robert Bailey about his emotionally driven action thriller The Boomerang. We dive into the inspiration for the book, the research he did for certain parts, and his favorite parts of writing the relationships in the book.

The Boomerang Synopsis

The president of the United States has terminal cancer. Chief of Staff Eli James, his faithful consigliere and best friend, is one of the few who know. But just as the president’s condition mysteriously improves, Eli’s hit with another blow: his daughter has cancer too.

Hell-bent on helping her, Eli turns to Big Pharma’s top lobbyist for advice, but their encounter yields more questions than answers. As he races along a twisted trail to the truth, he stumbles upon a devastating cover-up worth billions of dollars—and millions of lives.

Armed with this deadly secret, Eli goes rogue, fleeing with his family out west. To keep them safe, he forms an uneasy alliance with land baron Nester “the Beast” Sanchez, known for his ruthless power tactics. An epic showdown brews, and it’s the state versus one desperate citizen, willing to risk everything to save his daughter. Can Eli broker a truce with his once allies? Or will there be war in the desert?

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MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, Halley Sutton is back and we delve into character development, the subconscious influences on storytelling, and the darker themes that often emerge in our work.

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Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

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Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, MacKenzie Green and I dive into everything we loved about Sinners. We dive into Ryan Coogler's succinct visual storytelling, how he tackled the themes of religion, spirituality and race, and how social horror paired with humor comes together so well.

Follow MacKenzie here

Listen to Manifestation Monday here

TikToks I mentioned

Seven Deadly Sins from TheReel Voice

Vampires Needing to Be Invited BrandonToksMovies

Sammy's Ability to Connect With People is What the Devil Wanted from 5hahem

Racism hurts White Couple Too from TheJaam

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Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

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Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

Erin Ashley @bellametaphor

This week, I got to talk with Liann Zhang about her incredibly voicey and suspenseful thriller Julie Chan is dead. We dive into the inspiration for the story, how her ability to write the environment of the Internet is linked to how she is chronically online (same), and her favorite backstories she created for some extra vapid influencers.

Julie Chan is Dead Synopsis

Julie Chan has nothing. Her twin sister has everything. Except a pulse.

Julie Chan, a supermarket cashier with nothing to lose, finds herself thrust into the glamorous yet perilous world of her late twin sister, Chloe VanHuusen, a popular influencer. Separated at a young age, the identical twins were polar opposites and rarely spoke, except for one viral video that Chloe initiated (Finding My Long-Lost Twin And Buying Her A House #EMOTIONAL). When Julie discovers Chloe’s lifeless body under mysterious circumstances, she seizes the chance to live the life she’s always envied.

Transforming into Chloe is easier than expected. Julie effortlessly adopts Chloe’s luxurious influencer life, complete with designer clothes, a meticulous skincare routine, and millions of adoring followers. However, Julie soon realizes that Chloe’s seemingly picture-perfect life was anything but.

Haunted by Chloe’s untimely death and struggling to fit into the privileged influencer circle, Julie faces mounting challenges during a weeklong island retreat with Chloe’s exclusive group of influencer friends. As events spiral out of control, Julie uncovers the sinister forces that may have led to her sister’s demise and realizes she might be the next target.

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Gare Billings @gareindeedreads

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Halley Sutton @halleysutton25

Brian Watson @readingwithbrian

MacKenzie Green @missusa2mba

Erin Ashley @bellametaphor