Late Night Reads

In this episode, we’re joined by Aria Harding and discuss why she became an author, the creative freedom in being an indie author, the non-stop marketing required to promote her books, and her writing process. We also spend the majority of the conversation chatting about her latest book, Everything In Between, which tells the love story of a highly successful pop star and a star football player. We discuss how a well-known romance influenced the idea for this book, how she went about conducting research for the behind-the-scenes life of a football player, her thought process for when to include a spicy scene, and what she’s in the process of writing next. 

Also, make sure to check out Aria’s latest books, including:

• Everything In Between
• Chasing Infinity
• Wonderstruck
• Loathing Ryan
• Liberating Bells
• Just Josie
• His Perfect Canvas

All of Aria’s books are available on Kindle Unlimited or in paperback on her website or Amazon.

About Aria Harding

Aria Harding is a romance novelist from the Midwest, USA. Aria has been a long-time lover of romance novels and is excited to join the ranks as a romance writer. Her first book, "Chasing Infinity" was published in May of 2023, and there are many more exciting projects to come. Her goal is to write stories that make readers feel as though they are immersed in the world and experiencing the same highs and lows as the characters on the pages. Her favorite tropes to write include slow burn, enemies-to-lovers, and second-chance romances. Aria always looks forward to hearing from readers, so feel free to reach out and have a chat!

Connect with Aria Harding:

Website: www.ariahardingauthor.com 

Instagram: @ariaharding_author

TikTok: @ariahardingromance

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, we dive into the romantasy book The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde, which happens to be the first book in the Oak and Holly Cycle. This book gives us some of our favorite tropes, including enemies to lovers, forced proximity, bad boy, and a really good slow burn that pays off beautifully. 

During this episode, we discuss how much we enjoyed the mix of New York City with humans and monsters, why we believe that some of the odd things mentioned in this book have to be breadcrumbs for later in the series, how much we love a possessive MMC in a romantasy, why we have some serious questions about who to trust in this book, why we’re convinced that Jason isn’t dead, and how much we loved the spicy scenes. Plus, we have so many theories on what is really going on in this world and what could happen in the next book. 

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, we dive into the contemporary romance book Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn. This standalone book is her latest romcom and has completely hilarious hijinks with incredible spice that you can’t even imagine happening until you read it.  It also has some of our favorite tropes, including forced proximity, fake relationship, best friend’s sibling, opposites attract, and one bed. 

During this episode, we discuss how someone named Matt must have wronged Meghan Quinn or someone in her life, how going to a marriage camp with your co-workers has to result in countless HR violations, why we don’t understand the appeal of the coveted tent, the numerous questions we have about Wilder’s piercing (iykyk), and how much we loved seeing both Scottie and Wilder evolve throughout the book and deal with their previous baggage. 

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, we dive into the romantasy book The War of Two Queens by Jennifer Armentrout. Based on the author’s recommended reading order, this romantasy book should be read after the first three books in the Blood and Ash series and the first book in the Flesh and Fire prequel series, A Shadow in the Ember. We have been consumed by this series, and The War of Two Queens is our favorite book in the series so far. 

During this episode, we discuss how much we loved reading Casteel’s POVs, the jaw-dropping secrets we learn in this book (we’re still not over finding out the identity of the Dark One), our new nickname for Isbeth that she rightfully deserves, our extremely strong and negative feelings about Callum (he’s giving major Alastir vibes..iykyk), and our excitement that the Joining finally happened (we’ve been waiting for soooo long!). Plus, we have the most unhinged theories after reading this book that we discuss in depth. 

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, we dive into the romantasy book The Veil of Blood and Magic by Jade Presley. We fell in love with Jade’s writing style after reading The Never List and knew we wanted to read some of her other why choose books. After only reading a few chapters of this book, we knew we had to cover it on the podcast.  

During this episode, we discuss the uniqueness of the characters in this world, why this book gives us romantasy mixed with a little dystopian flair, how we figured out the identity of Six, whether they may be more of a connection between Livanna, Zev, and Jagger than they initially think, and how much we loved the incredible spice in this book. Plus, we have countless unanswered questions and potential theories about what could happen next.  

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]

In this author interview episode, we’re joined by Erica Mae and discuss how her love for reading and storytelling, combined with her family’s wedding reception business, made her fall in love with love, leading to her desire to become a romance author. We talk about how she balances working full-time, being a mom and wife, and finding time to write, as well as the primary differences she’s experienced so far between working with a publisher and being an indie author. 

We also spend a significant part of the conversation discussing the first book in her Scottish Stars Series, The Stars of Scotland, which tells the beautiful story of a 30-year-old divorced mom who finds love on a trip to Scotland. We also chat about why it was important for her female main character to be in her 30s and working to heal from a divorce, the amount of research required to accurately detail the inner workings of a television set, and what she’s writing next. 

About Erica Mae

Erica Mae is an author, mom, wife, and book lover. Her books are full of swoony romance, big adventures, and slow burns, offering dreamy escapes for the romantics. Her mission is to bring more love into the world, one book at a time, and her greatest hope is that her books fill you with love and sweet possibilities. When she’s not writing, you can find her curled up with a book, exploring with her family, on a yoga mat, or cooking up a new recipe.

Also, make sure to check out Erica Mae’s books:

• Scottish Stars Series
  • The Stars of Scotland
  • Where the Stars Burn (Coming October 20, 2025!)
• Falling for Lemon Snowballs

Connect with Erica Mae:

Website: www.ericamae.net

Instagram: @EricaMaeBooks

Threads: @EricaMaeBooks

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, we dive into the contemporary romance book Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry. This book is unlike any other romance novel written by Emily Henry because it has a much deeper story that forces you to think deeply about what’s most important in your life, with a romance thrown into the mix. 

During this episode, we discuss the impact keeping secrets can have on your loved ones long-term, the entertaining banter between the Hayden and Alice, the difficulties of growing up with a parent who never believes you’re doing good enough, the inability of two writers to communicate effectively, and how we would have loved a few much spicy scenes in this book. 

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, we deep dive into the first book in the Flesh and Fire prequel series, A Shadow in the Ember by Jennifer Armentrout. Based on the author’s recommended reading order, this romantasy book should be read after the third book in the Blood and Ash series, The Crown of Gilded Bones. We had no idea what to expect when reading this first book in the prequel series, and were quickly consumed by what it all means for the Blood and Ash series. 

During this episode, we discuss how our minds are blown when we finally learn the identity of the first Maiden, see countless similarities between the primary characters in this book and Poppy and Casteel, why our love for draken only grows when we meet Reaver-butt and baby draken Jadis, why we’re super suspicious of some of the gods, and how much we loved it when Nyktos fulfills his promise. Plus, we attempt to figure out how everything in this book is connected to what’s going on with Poppy and Casteel in the Blood and Ash series, so we have a ton of theories. And, we chat about how ready we are to jump into the next book in the series to see what happens next. 

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]

In this episode, we dive into the fifth book in the Thrall series, Chained, by K.A. Riley. We’ve been counting down the days until this romantasy and dystopian book came out after the major cliffhanger at the end of the fourth book, Bound, when Bastian destroyed the cavern entrance to the Obsidian Sky and we learned that Aimee had been kidnapped. 

During this episode, we discuss how surprised we were to see Bianca be helpful for once, the shocking similarities between prophecies about Shara and Soleia, the multiple times we thought K.A. Riley was going to emotionally devastate us, the super creepy vibes that Sylvan gives off, and how glad we were to see Thorne. Plus, we theorize about what could possibly happen in the next book, Freed, which is scheduled to be released in November 2025. And what we’re definitely hoping doesn’t happen…especially to Bastian.

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]

It’s time to share our TBR schedule featuring the books we’re covering on the podcast in July. Each week, we deep dive into a new book alternating between the contemporary romance and romantasy genres. We also will release author interview episodes on Fridays. 

Here are the books on July’s TBR:

• July 2 - The Veil of Blood and Magic by Jade Presley
• July 7 - The War of Two Queens by Jennifer Armentrout
• July 9 - Till Summer Do Us Part by Meghan Quinn
• July 16 - The Wren in the Holly Library by K.A. Linde
• July 21 - A Light in the Flame by Jennifer Armentrout
• July 23 - A Very Italian Wedding by Donna Ashcroft
• July 30 - The Robin on the Oak Throne by K. A. Linde

Connect with Late Night Reads:

Website: https://www.latenightreads.com/

Instagram: @latenightreadspodcast

TikTok: @latenightreadspodcast

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

Threads: @latenightreadspodcast

Email: [email protected]