Escape with Me Bookclub

A YA vampire story that started in 2000 somehow became a 12-book series, a manga adaptation, a movie, and much more. But does Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare still hold up 26 years later?

For Episode 190, Sam and Tim revisit the beginning of The Saga of Darren Shan and take a look at the first book, Cirque du Freak: A Living Nightmare, by Darren Shan.

We’re looking at this story through a modern lens, asking what works, what feels dated, and whether this first installment still deserves the reputation it built over more than two decades.

But there’s another question we have to answer: is the manga better?

With multiple versions of this story out there, Sam and Tim compare the original book to its manga adaptation and discuss whether the story benefits from being brought to the page visually.

So grab your vampire cape, head to the Cirque du Freak, and join us for a trip back to the beginning.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro

Follow the Author: Darren Shan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarrenShanUSA/

Twitter: https://x.com/darrenshan

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What happens when Agatha Christie brings together four detectives from her previous books to solve one murder? Apparently, mystery magic.

For Episode 189, Sam and Hannah are tackling Cards on the Table , the 15th book in the Hercule Poirot series. But Poirot isn't solving this case alone! Christie assembles four detectives from her earlier works, giving us a crossover event worthy of the Avengers.

With four very different investigative styles in the same room, we get to see each detective's personality, strengths, and quirks shine. How do their methods compare? Who brings something unique to the investigation? And why don't more mystery authors bring their detectives together like this?

Sam and Hannah discuss the mystery, the detective dynamics, and whether Cards on the Table proves that detective crossovers deserve to be their own literary universe.

New episodes every Monday at 8 AM EST ✨Next week: Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:01 Note from Agatha and Easter Egg

08:19 Age Level and Content Warning

09:28 Judge a Book by Its Cover

11:28 Discussion

46:57 General Thoughts

47:58 One Question for the Author

49:52 Rating

52:26 Read Again?

53:12 Favorite of the Series so Far

54:00 Outro

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The UK/Australia-exclusive Twisted Tales have done it again. But this time, we have to settle a much bigger question: Are the UK books actually better than the US ones?

For Episode 188, Sam and Kaitlyn read Be Prepared by Farrah Rochon, the fourth Twisted Tales release that has been published in the UK/Australia but isn't getting a US release.

And at this point, we have evidence.

Mari Mancusi gave us Princess of Thieves, which we absolutely loved. Jen Calonita gave us a UK/Australia Twisted Tale after her US books didn't exactly win us over. And then there's Farrah Rochon, who already wrote the Lion King short story for the Twisted Tales anthology and we hated it.

So here's the deal: if we like Be Prepared better, we're finally going to have to admit it...

The United States is being robbed.

Sam and Kaitlyn break down this Lion King retelling, how it compares to the other Twisted Tales we've read, and whether this fourth UK/Australia-exclusive book is enough to settle the debate once and for all.

New episodes every Monday at 8 AM EST ✨Next week: Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie

⏱️ Time Stamps

00:00 Intro

02:24 Background

06:40 Age Level & Content Warning

09:17 Judge a Book by Its Cover

11:19 Discussion

47:01 US or UK?

51:20 General Thoughts

52:50 One Question for the Author

55:51 Rating

58:20 Read Again?

58:37 Favorite of the Series so Far

59:11 Outro

📖 Follow the Author - Farrah RochonWebsite: ⁠https://www.farrahrochon.com/⁠Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/farrahrochonauthor⁠Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/farrahrochon/⁠Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/FarrahRochon⁠BookBub: ⁠https://www.bookbub.com/authors/farrah-rochon⁠🔗 Connect with Us on SocialsFacebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575460276754Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/lunar_skulk/TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/lunar_skulk⁠⁠⁠⁠🎧 Listen Wherever You Get Podcasts

We’re back in the Kingdom Keepers series with Disney at Dawn and this time, we’re leaving the Magic Kingdom behind and heading to Animal Kingdom!

Keira is especially excited for this one since Animal Kingdom is one of her favorite Disney parks, but we have some questions. Namely: how does a book released in 2008 manage to feel like it’s set in a 2005 version of the park? And why does this story sometimes feel like it was written by two completely different authors?

Sam and Keira break down the Animal Kingdom setting, the changes from the first book, the parts that work, the parts that absolutely do not, and whether the Kingdom Keepers series is getting better or just getting stranger.

So grab your imaginary park map and come wander through Animal Kingdom with us!

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro

01:40 Background

03:46 Age Level & Content Warning

05:45 Judge a Book by Its Cover

07:50 Discussion

01:04:23 General Thoughts

01:09:59 One Question for the Author

01:11:29 Rating

01:15:49 Read Again?

01:17:04 Favorite of the Series so Far?

01:17:51 Outro

Follow the Author - Ridley PearsonWebsite: https://ridleypearson.com/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekingdomkeepersInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/ridleypearsonYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/ridleypPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ridleypearson/🔗 Connect with Us on SocialsFacebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575460276754Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/lunar_skulk/TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/lunar_skulk⁠⁠⁠⁠🎧 Listen Wherever You Get Podcasts

Episode 186 - Love Hina Vol. 4-6 by Ken Akamatsu

We're back with Love Hina!

For James, this series is a core memory. He first read Love Hina in high school, and it was one of his first manga series. For Sam, it's a completely different experience: she's been watching anime and reading manga for more than two decades, but this is her first time actually reading Love Hina.

So what happens when one person revisits a formative favorite and the other comes to it with years of anime and manga experience already under her belt?

That's exactly what we're exploring in Volumes 4-6.

We talk about:

• How Love Hina holds up through James' nostalgia
• Sam's perspective as a first-time reader
• How our previous experience with anime and manga changes the way we look at the series
• The characters, comedy, romance, and increasingly chaotic situations
• Whether James' high-school memories still match the series we're reading today

It's nostalgia versus a fresh set of eyes and we're finding out whether Love Hina survives the comparison.

New episodes every Monday at 8 AM EST ✨

Next week: Disney at Dark by Ridley Pearson

⏱️ Time Stamps

00:00 Intro

01:20 Background

02:15 Age Level & Content Warning

03:42 Judge a Book by Its Cover

06:51 Discussion

49:29 General Thoughts

51:56 One Question for the Author

53:09 Rating

56:09 Read Again?

57:42 Outro

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Episode 185 - Princess of Thieves by Mari Mancusi

Once again, we have read a Disney Twisted Tales book that was published in the UK and Australia.

And once again: WE WERE ROBBED!

Seriously, it will never stop baffling us that some of the best books in the Disney Twisted Tales series aren't published in the United States.

Sam and Kaitlyn dive into Princess of Thieves by Mari Mancusi and this isn't just another enjoyable entry in the series.

This book is FIVE STARS.

It may even be one of our favorite Disney Twisted Tales books we've ever read.

We talk about:

• Why this book deserves to be available to more readers
• What makes it stand out in the Disney Twisted Tales series
• How it compares to other books in the series
• The characters, story, and everything that worked for us
• And why we are once again asking the very important question: WHY CAN'T WE HAVE THE GOOD BOOKS?!

If you've been following our Disney Twisted Tales journey, this is an episode you won't want to miss.

New episodes every Monday at 8 AM EST ✨

Next week: Love Hina vol. 4-6 by Ken Akamatsu

⏱️ Time Stamps

00:00 Intro

01:05 Background

05:24 Age Level and Content Warning

07:57 Judge a Book by Its Cover

12:09 Discussion

58:36 General Thoughts

01:03:11 One Question for the Author

01:06:25 Rating

01:06:59 Read Again & Favorite of the Series so Far

01:07:48 Outro

📖 Follow the Author - Mari Mancusi

Website: ⁠http://www.marimancusi.com/⁠Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/marimancusi⁠Twitter: ⁠https://x.com/marimancusi⁠YouTube: ⁠https://www.youtube.com/marimancusi⁠

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Episode 184 - Divergent by Veronica Roth

Two readers. Two different experiences. And one very important question:

Was Divergent actually done dirty by being compared to The Hunger Games?

Danielle read Divergent when it originally came out. Sam is reading it for the first time, and together they're digging into one of the biggest YA dystopian series of the 2010s.

We talk about why comparing Divergent to The Hunger Games can actually be a disservice to the book, how the movie adaptation helped drag the series down, and (yes) the MANY problems that exist in the book itself.

But then things get really interesting.

Veronica Roth is revisiting the world of Divergent with an alternate-timeline story, which raises one extremely important question:

Which faction will Tris choose this time?

And because we couldn't leave well enough alone, we also took the BuzzFeed faction quiz.

We had our predictions.

We were wrong.

Sam: Candor
Danielle: Erudite

Apparently we know ourselves less well than we thought.

We discuss:

• Divergent vs. The Hunger Games
• Why the comparison isn't necessarily fair
• The book's strengths AND its problems
• How the movies affected the reputation of the series
• Veronica Roth's alternate-timeline rewrite
• And which faction Tris might choose in the new story

New episodes every Monday at 8 AM EST ✨

Next week: Princess of Thieves by Mari Mancusi

⏱️ Time Stamps

00:00 Intro

01:40 About the Author

04:42 Background

07:27 Rewrite?

10:09 Age Level & Content Warning

12:30 Judge a Book by Its Cover

13:55 Discussion

01:04:04 General Thoughts

01:09:39 One Question for the Author

01:13:17 Rating

01:14:12 Read Again?

01:15:40 Outro

📖 Follow the Author - Veronica Roth

Website: https://veronicarothbooks.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VeronicaRothBooks?fref=ts#

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/veronicaroth/

Threads: https://www.threads.com/@veronicaroth

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Episode 183 -The People of Sparks by Jeanne DuPrau

What happens when the book you remember loving as a kid has to live up to the original?

Sam and Keira are heading back to the world of City of Ember with The People of Sparks, the second book in Jeanne DuPrau's series.

Both of them read City of Ember as kids, but their journeys stopped in very different places. Sam went on to read the first three books, while Keira stopped after Book 1.

So this isn't quite a reread for either of them.

For Sam, it's a return to a series she hasn't touched since childhood. For Keira, it's discovering what happened after the story she remembers.

And there's one major problem:

The first book was REALLY good.

We talk about:

• Revisiting The City of Ember series as adults
• How The People of Sparks compares to the first book
• The differences between reading the sequel as a longtime reader versus someone who stopped after Book 1
• Whether the series successfully expands beyond its original premise
• And whether this sequel lives up to the childhood favorite that came before it

Sometimes the hardest book for a sequel to compete with is the book you loved when you were a kid.

New episodes every Monday at 8 AM EST ✨

Next week: Divergent by Veronica Roth

⏱️ Time Stamps

00:00 Intro

01:18 Background

06:28 Age Level & Content Warning

09:08 Judge a Book by Its Cover

12:10 Discussion

01:02:31 General Thoughts

01:07:14 One Question for the Author

01:09:23 Rating

01:10:53 Read Again?

01:11:40 Favorite of the Series so Far

01:12:29 Outro

📖 Follow the Author - Jeanne DuPrau

Website: https://www.jeanneduprau.com/

🔗 Connect with Us on SocialsFacebook: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575460276754⁠Instagram:⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/lunar_skulk/⁠TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/lunar_skulk⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠🎧 Listen Wherever You Get Podcasts

Episode 182 - Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

The Anti-Hastings Club gets a much-needed break this week.

Sam and Hannah are back with Agatha Christie, but Murder in Mesopotamia gives us something we don't always get in these episodes: a different narrator. And Sam is particularly excited because this mystery takes us into the world of ancient Mesopotamia, one of her favorite historical subjects.

Set at an archaeological excavation in Iraq, the book brings together a suspicious group of characters, buried secrets, and, naturally, murder.

Sam has theories.
Hannah is along for the ride.
And for once, Hastings isn't here to ruin anyone's day.

We talk about:

• The mystery and its unusual setting
• The archaeological and historical elements
• The narrator and how the change affects the story
• Sam's theories as she tries to solve the mystery
• And whether this Christie classic lives up to its reputation

Grab your metaphorical archaeologist's hat and join us for another Christie mystery!

New episodes every Monday at 8 AM EST ✨

Next week: The People of Sparks by Jeanne DePrau

⏱️ Time Stamps

00:00 Intro

01:11 Agatha History

02:59 Background

03:42 Age Level & Content Warning

03:54 Judge a Book by Its Cover

06:01 Discussion

53:32 General Thoughts

54:38 One Question for the Author

55:30 Rating

56:30 Read Again & Favorite of the Series so Far

57:42 Outro

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Episode 181 - The Cat Who Sniffed Glue by Lilian Jackson Braun

We're back in Pickax with Qwilleran, Koko, Yum Yum... and somehow the biggest mystery isn't the murder.

It's Qwill's love life.

Sam and Tim continue their journey through The Cat Who... series with The Cat Who Sniffed Glue, but this time the romance takes center stage and not necessarily in a good way.

We discuss:

• Why the romance overshadows the mystery
• Qwill's inability to decide what he wants
• Whether Polly deserves someone who can actually make up his mind
• Why Agatha Christie may have been right to keep Poirot's love life out of the spotlight
• And yes... we eventually get around to talking about the murder, too.

As much as we love spending time with Qwill, Koko, and Yum Yum, this installment left us wishing the mystery had received as much attention as the romance.

New episodes every Monday at 8 AM EST ✨

Next week: Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

⏱️ Time Stamps

00:00 Intro

01:52 Background

02:06 Age Level & Content Warning

03:46 Judge a Book by Its Cover

05:15 Discussion

41:52 General Thoughts

44:30 One Question for the Author

47:31 General Thoughts

49:49 Read Again?

51:55 Favorite of the Series so Far

52:48 Outro

🔗 Connect with Us on SocialsFacebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61575460276754Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/lunar_skulk/TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.tiktok.com/lunar_skulk⁠⁠⁠⁠🎧 Listen Wherever You Get Podcasts