In this episode, we dive into the romantasy book The Things Gods Break by Abigail Owen. This is the second book in The Crucible series. The first book in the series is The Games Gods Play, and the third book, The Wrath Gods Reap, is slated for publication in November 2026. Our full deep dive episode on the first book is also available.

During this episode, we discuss the mindblowing twist that we never saw coming, why we fall more in love with Hades in this book, how Iapetus might be our least favorite Titan, how we continue to be convinced Lyra and Hades are fated mates, why we feel like Rhea knows more than she’s sharing, and why this cliffhanger left us with more questions than the first book. Plus, we delve into theories, including why we believe other realms exist, why we’re convinced there is something more to Isabel’s death in Poseidon’s Labor, the importance of the broken fate connections, and our top two candidates for the Deceiver.

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In this episode, we dive into the contemporary romance book Pucking Strong by Emily Rath. This is the fourth book in the Jacksonville Rays series. We highly recommend reading this series in the following order: That One Night, Pucking Around, Pucking Ever After Volume 1, Pucking Wild, Pucking Ever After Volume 2, Pucking Sweet, and Pucking Strong.

During this episode, we discuss how much we love Henrik and Teddy’s meet-cute, the heartbreaking news of Henrik losing his sister and the injuries his niece sustained in the accident, the juxtaposition of Henrik’s apartment in Sweden compared to his one in Jacksonville, why Teddy’s mama and Elin made us furious, how much we loved Teddy’s personality and ability to be authentically himself around Henrik, the small ways Henrik showed Teddy he cared about him even when Henrik didn’t realize it himself, and why we can’t get enough of the Jacksonville Rays. Plus, we chat about the incredible spice in this book that earned it a four-pepper rating.

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In this episode, we dive into the romantasy book, Freed, by K.A. Riley. This is the sixth book in the dystopian romance Thrall series, continuing the story of Soleia and Bastian as well as scenes with Shara and Thorne. We were counting down the days until this book was released after learning that Soleia was somehow prophesied to change the Peaks, and the crazy demigod Sylvan was intent on taking the lightbringer power from his daughter, Aimee.

During this episode, we discuss the new character that we immediately fell in love with and cannot wait to learn more about, the numerous questions we have about Shara’s connection to the Sisterhood, why we’re grateful Bastian is a true shadow daddy, how we knew K.A. Riley would emotionally destroy us and why we’re still not over a certain death from Queen, and how we didn’t see the twist at the end coming. Plus, we jump down the rabbit hole and discuss our theories for this series.

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In this episode, we dive into the contemporary romance book, Honeymoon Phase by Amy Daws. It’s the third book in the Mountain Men Matchmaker series and focuses on a friends-to-lovers relationship between Luke and Addison. This romcom book also has some of our favorite tropes, including marriage of convenience, he falls first, small town romance, slow burn, and found family.

During this episode, we discuss why Luke is our favorite Fletcher brother, how Amy Daws emotionally destroyed us in this book, why Everly remains the queen mastermind, the phrase that needs to be on a t-shirt, why we’re trying to find a nearby lumberjack competition, how Johanna is the ideal mother-in-law, and and why we give this book a three-and-a-half-pepper spice rating for the incredibly well-written spice.

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In this episode, we dive into the romantasy book The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen. This is the first book in The Crucible series. The second book in the series is The Things Gods Break, and the third book, The Wrath Gods Reap, is slated for publication in November 2026.

During this episode, we discuss how it didn’t take us long to fall for the quintessential bad boy called Hades, why we’re convinced Hades and Lyra are fated mates, how much we loved the blend of present day with the Olympic gods, why we would never want to compete in the Crucible, why we believe there is a significant connection between Hades and Lyra, why we hate Zeus, and how we hated seeing so many characters dies in the various challenges. Plus, we discuss all of our theories about what’s really going on in this world, the potential reasons why Persephone is trapped in Tartarus, the identity of the oracle, and so much more.

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In this episode, we dive into the contemporary romance book Pucking Sweet by Emily Rath. This is the third book in the Jacksonville Rays series. We highly recommend reading this series in the following order: That One Night, Pucking Around, Pucking Ever After Volume 1, Pucking Wild, Pucking Ever After Volume 2, Pucking Sweet, and Pucking Strong.

During this episode, we discuss how much we love Poppy’s feisty character, why the juxtaposition of the bad boy, Novy, and the teddy bear, Colton, was perfection, how much we loved seeing Novy break down his walls and allow himself to be loved, why Poppy should have went no contact with her family a long time ago, and why we can’t get enough of the Jacksonville Rays. Plus, we chat about the incredible spice in this book that earned it a four-and-a-half pepper rating.

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In this episode, we dive into the romantasy book The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson. This is the first book in the Dark Inheritance Trilogy. The second book in the series, The Wicked and the Damned, is scheduled for release in February 2026.

During this episode, we discuss how we were hooked on this book from the first chapter, why Reid is climbing our book boyfriend list, how much we loved the camaraderie between the Veragi coven, our shock when the traitor was revealed, and why this book is one of our top reads of the entire year. Plus, we’re sharing our unhinged theories on the connection between Vaasa and Reid, why we think Melisina knows way more than she lets on, why we believe Vaasa not initially wanting the arranged marriage with Reid will play a bigger role in the second book, how we think someone is coming back from the dead, and how we’re hoping Ozik can’t make deals with other witches. 

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In this episode, we dive into the romcom book Merry Christmas, You Filthy Animal by Meghan Quinn. It’s the second book in the How My Neighbor Stole Christmas series. 

During this episode, we discuss why we’re never going to look at chocolate-covered cherries or popcorn garland the same way, how much we loved Max’s dramatic side, why Storee is the queen of plotting and meddling, how we would have left Buzz in the snowstorm, and how this is book is a slow burn until it catches on fire with spice about halfway through the book. This contemporary romance book proves once again that Meghan Quinn is the queen of spice and romcoms. Plus, we talk about the creative spice that happens and why it earned a three-and-a-half pepper rating.

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It’s time to share our TBR schedule featuring the books we’re covering on the podcast in December. Each week, we deep dive into a new book, alternating between the contemporary romance and romantasy genres. 

Here are the books on December’s TBR:

• December 3 - The Serpent and the Wolf by Rebecca Robinson
• December 10 - Pucking Sweet by Emily Rath
• December 17 - The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen
• December 24 - Honeymoon Phase by Amy Daws
• December 31 - Freed by K.A. Riley

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In this episode, we dive into the romantasy book Fall of Ruin and Wrath by  Jennifer Armentrout. This is the first book in the Awakening series, but it does have some tie-ins to the Blood and Ash series. As a result, we highly recommend reading this book after reading The Primal of Blood and Bone. 

During this episode, we discuss the similarities between this book and the Blood and Ash series, why Thorne is quickly becoming one of our favorite MMCs, the numerous breadcrumbs that we believe Jennifer Armentrout is dropping for us, and why we cannot wait to get our hands on the next book in this series. Plus, we’re sharing our theories about how this book relates to the Blood and Ash series, whether Grady has romantic feelings for Lis, who we should trust, why we believe certain names have significant meaning, who we think King Euros might be, and what we’re hoping to see in the next book.

Here’s our recommended reading order for the Blood and Ash and Flesh and Fire series: From Blood and Ash, A Kingdom of Flesh and Fire, The Crown of Gilded Bones, A Shadow in the Ember, The War of Two Queens, A Light in the Flame, A Soul of Ash and Blood, A Fire in the Flesh, Visions of Flesh and Blood, Born of Blood and Ash, and The Primal of Blood and Bone. We also recommend reading the Fall of Ruin and Wrath after The Primal of Blood and Bone. 

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