The Housemaid (2025) movie review + Frieda McFadden book-to-film breakdown (Paul Feig, Amanda Seyfried, Sydney Sweeney).

SPOILERS: We compare the twist and ending, as well as the changes made from the novel to the movie.

Megan and Shirin are back with a full deep dive on The Housemaid—the new adaptation of Frieda McFadden’s viral domestic thriller.

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It’s our 2025 Fully Booked recap—part “podcast Wrapped,” part honest creative debrief. We break down our top 5 most-listened episodes (and why the internet clearly loves a timely adaptation take), share our personal favorites (from book hangovers and games to big-topic conversations like banning books), and unpack the months that felt too rigid, too narrow, or just creatively exhausting.

We also talk about how the book-to-screen world keeps accelerating—trailers, releases, streaming drops, and adaptations arriving so fast that staying locked into strict monthly themes can mean missing the exact conversations everyone’s already having. So we’re making a change: 2026 will be looser, more flexible, and more “let’s talk about what’s happening right now.”

If you’ve been listening all year (thank you!), this episode is both a celebration and a reset—plus a little peek at what we’re excited to cover next.

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Our 2025 reading wrap-up is here! We’re talking fantasy burnout, new mom thriller binges, ARCs we loved, and a late-year return to horror, cozy fantasy, and darkly funny mysteries.

If you’re hunting for fantasy, thriller, and horror book recommendations—plus real talk about reading through seasonal slumps and motherhood—this episode is for you.

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Why do some fantasy series absolutely explode while others quietly disappear from your TBR? In this episode of Fully-Booked, Megan and Shirin unpack the rise of romantasy, dark romance, and spicy dragon epics to figure out what really makes a fantasy series go viral.

Is there a magic formula behind today’s breakout fantasy hits? The hosts talk worldbuilding vs romance, character-driven sagas, the role of BookTok and RomantasyTok, and whether every new “high fantasy” release really needs explicit spice on every other page. They compare classic epic fantasy vibes (Tolkien, The Dark Tower, Shannara) with the current wave of dragon academies, fae courts, and dark romance crossovers, and wonder if we’re due for the next shift.

If you’ve ever picked up a “high fantasy” only to discover it’s basically an erotic novel with dragons, or you miss old-school worldbuilding where the plot is more than just who’s kissing who, this conversation is for you.

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Welcome back to Fully-Booked, and happy Wicked Week!

In this spoiler-packed episode, Meghan and Shereen sit down the day after seeing Wicked: Part Two to ask a big question: was this sequel actually good, or just really, really pretty?

Drawing on Meaghan’s experience with Gregory Maguire’s novel and the Broadway musical, and Shirin's fresh movie-focused perspective, they unpack how the film handles Elphaba’s story, why Glinda weirdly feels like the main character in Part Two, and how much the new original songs actually add to the runtime. They talk fan expectations, social media intensity, and why some viewers seem ready to defend this franchise like it’s a personality trait.

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Hey there, fictional friends!

On this episode of Fully Booked, Meghan and Shirin take a break from “serious” adaptations and dive into a mixed bag of comfort reads, ranging from horror to romance.

💘 Main Chat: Forever My Girl – Book vs Movie
We unpack the Heidi McLaughlin novel and its 2018 film adaptation: runaway groom country-music star, furious florist ex, secret kid, small-town Louisiana vibes, and why the movie softens some of the book’s toxicity while dialling up the swoon.

🧠 Escapism, Doomscrolling & Mental Health
Why horror and small-town romances are hitting so hard right now, how feminists are remaking body horror, and why taking a social-media break to read might be the ultimate self-care move.

👻 Bonus: Sparks x Shyamalan = Remain
We also scream a little about Nicholas Sparks & M. Night Shyamalan’s new supernatural love story Remain and its upcoming film with Jake Gyllenhaal and Phoebe Dynevor — the exact horror-romance crossover this era deserves.

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Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is finally on Netflix—here’s why this Creature-first, practical-effects gothic works (and where it stumbles).
We break down Oscar Isaac’s Victor, Jacob Elordi’s heartbreaking Creature, Mia Goth’s dual role, and the film’s lush, tactile world.

We caught an early festival screening and a limited theatrical run before release, so this episode digs into the performances, the production design (including those glorious built sets), and why this isn’t a shot-for-shot adaptation but a bold interpretation that honors Mary Shelley’s spirit. We also trace Frankenstein’s cultural afterlife and tease where the Bride may rise next.

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On Halloween Day, Meaghan and Shirin celebrate the end of October with a love letter to the Universal Monsters—and the filmmaking moves that made them immortal.

We trace the real beginnings of Universal horror (hint: Jekyll & Hyde was on screen long before Bela Lugosi’s Dracula), peek at the bootleg chaos of Nosferatu, and geek out over Lon Chaney’s groundbreaking makeup that hard-coded the “look” of classic monsters—Phantom’s skull-mask, Frankenstein’s square brow, caped Dracula, and the bandaged Invisible Man.

Beyond trivia, we dig into why these creatures endure: unchecked power (The Invisible Man), inner conflict (Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde), the tragedy of creation (Frankenstein), and the tug-of-war between terror and seduction (is your vampire a monster…or a crush?). We talk modern riffs—from sympathetic monsters to today’s reboots—and why Universal’s IP keeps shapeshifting across eras without losing its bite.

If you love Halloween, classic cinema, or just believe monsters say more about us than about them, this one’s for you.

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If you’ve ever wondered why It (2017/2019) still crawls under our skin, this episode is your sewer-level deep dive. We revisit Chapters 1 & 2 and talk about how Stephen King’s coming-of-age terror works on two timelines—childhood and adulthood—to explore memory, guilt, friendship, and the way a town learns to look away. We break down:

• Pennywise as a mirror for human cruelty—and why Bill Skarsgård’s performance vaulted into horror’s pantheon.
• Beverly’s story of survival; Richie & Eddie’s dynamic; Mike’s under-sung backbone; and Henry Bowers’ terrifying escalation.
• The casting magic: kids and adult counterparts who feel like the same people decades apart.
• The scenes that still devastate (hello, funhouse mirrors and “you’ll float too”).
• Why It is one of the most effective King adaptations—and how It: Welcome to Derry extends the mythos.

With horror thriving at the box office and prestige circles, this rewatch lands right as It: Welcome to Derry (a 1962-set prequel on HBO/Max) premieres, promising more of Pennywise’s origins. We connect those dots and share what modern horror trends say about It’s staying power.

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What makes folk horror so unsettling? This episode maps the weird woods: isolated settings, old customs that refuse to die, and the outsider who realizes too late they can’t leave. Shereen arrives a skeptic; Meaghan leads the tour—through forests, farmlands, and edge-of-the-map towns where tradition presses against modern life.

We unpack how setting becomes a character, why slow dread beats jump scares, and how folk horror pits the past against the present. We also explore how the subgenre is evolving—think eco-anxieties and even tech-resistant towns—and share a stack of must-reads and must-watches that capture the vibe: Brom’s Slewfoot, Stephen Graham Jones’s The Only Good Indians, A.M. Shine’s The Watchers, plus The Wicker Man and The Village. If you’ve ever walked into a place that felt “off” for reasons you couldn’t name, this one’s for you.

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