This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann & QuizMaster Jess chat about the BEST books they read in 2025. From their spiciest read to the biggest plot twist, the two uncover every favourite. This episode is for anyone who’s still trying to hit their reading goal this year or wants to start building their 2026 TBR list! 

And since this is the last episode for 2025, we wanted to give a massive thank you for an incredible year! From Lauren Roberts to Brynne Weaver, we chatted with some of the top authors in the romance genre and could not be more grateful!! Whether you’ve listened to every episode or this is your first one, thank you for your support. Looking forward to another incredible year! 

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Introduction and how we met

1:56 2025 reading goals

4:40 Jess’ favourite trivia

6:25 Our other reading goals

9:12 Top trope of 2025

10:36 A book we wanna read again for the first time

16:40 A book couple we’d third wheel for

17:55 Most shocking plot twist

22:50 Best enemies-to-lovers book

28:50 Most surprising favourite this year

32:50 Most emotionally damaging book

37:28 Spiciest book 

40:00 Honourable Mentions

43:30 Bookish Trivia

47:40 What we’re excited for in 2025

50:40 THANK YOU <3

FOLLOW US:

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Quizmaster Jess 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@quizmasterjess?_r=1&_t=ZS-92J52Kf7xon 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/quizmasterjess?igsh=MWR0ZG5heXNleHc4Yg== 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann chats about the top book adaptations of the year. She dives into what the show did well, what should be changed and what needs to be cut (like Belly’s haircut in season three of the summer I turned pretty). With the massive list of upcoming adaptations, Morgann also talks about what she’s most excited to watch next and what she hopes they don’t mess up. This episode is for anyone who doesn’t know what to watch next and loves to yell, “That wasn’t in the book!”

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Introduction 

1:18 The Summer I Turned Pretty 

11:31 We Were Liars

15:53 Maxton Hall

21:37 Rivals

26:00 Heated Rivalry

27:24 The Housemaid

29:43 People We Meet on Vacation

31:56 Bridgerton Season 4

35:13 Project Hail Mary

FOLLOW US:

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with Becka Mack, the author of the beloved hockey romance series, “Playing For Keeps”. The two dive into how this series started, how and why this was the creative outlet Becka turned to when faced with grief. Becka also opens up about her own infertility struggles and how that influenced her newest release, “Breath With Me.” 

They also dive into:

- Becka’s favourite snacks and hyper-fixations

- How writing stories began at a very early age 

- What readers can expect next from Becka! 

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Introduction

0:45 Becka’s favourite snacks

1:17 Beginning of Becka’s writing career

5:02 Becka’s old short stories

8:47 Favourite rom-coms

9:54 Life before writing 

14:05 Therapy and creative outlets

17:55 Writing the first book

20:04 Advice to your younger self

21:29 Grief & Writing 

22:56 Hyper-fixations

26:10 Creating the Playing For Keeps series

36:10 Social media response to Consider Me

28:10 Wattpad to traditional publishing 

44:43 Miscommunication in books

49:10 Breathe With Me (no spoilers)

53:30 Feeling ready for Breathe With Me

55:00 Balancing fiction with personal experience

56:17 Misconceptions with infertility 

1:04:39 What’s next?

FOLLOW US:

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with Justin Wu, the director of Sidelined: The QB and Me and Sidelined 2: Intercepted. Justin opens up about his early draw to the arts, breaks down how he discovered Sidelined, the process of adapting a book and if we can expect a THIRD movie? 

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Introduction

0:55 Justin’s draw to the arts

6:02 Being confident in yourself

10:30 Photography to directing

13:16 How Justin found Sidelined

16:01 Script or book first

18:30 What does it mean to direct 

21:10 The first time Justin said Action

22:10 Working with Siena Agudong

23:08 Working with Noah Beck

26:18 Non-negotiables as a director

28:01 Difficulties in directing 

31:48 The magic behind angles

34:45 When did the conversation start about Sidelined 2

37:35 What Sidelined 2 looks like

41:05 Changes between both movies

44:32 A third movie…?

FOLLOW US:

Justin Wu

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@teamjwu 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/justinwu/?hl=en 

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with Kate Robb to chat about how this Canadian rom-com queen crafts the best magical realism worlds. From “This Spells Love” to “Kitty St. Clair’s Last Dance”, the two dive into how these books (and their character names) came to be… 

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Hamilton, ON

2:41 What was Kate reading growing up

4:25 Business school 

7:13 Writing your first book

9:15 Family reaction to becoming an author

11:40 Doubting yourself as an author

13:30 Working a corporate job

14:58 Is romance slowing down?

17:00 Kate’s 2025 favourites 

18:40 Blurbling books as an author

19:23 Titling books

21:06 Day in the life of an author

22:32 Type-A 

23:05 Kitty St. Clair's Last Dance 

28:55 Toronto scene

30:22 Med school 

33:16 Reeve

35:10 How Kate met her husband

36:20 Kate’s favourite scene

40:30 BOTM

42:32 Rom-Com Court

49:39 A trope we don’t love

51:13 What’s next?

FOLLOW US:

Kate Robb

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kate_robb_writes/?hl=en 

Find her books at Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/kate-robb/ 

Find her books at Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/kitty-st-clairs-last-dance-kate-robb/1146800920 

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann sits down with Cara Bastone to chat all things romance and audiobooks! The two discuss how Cara transitioned from ghostwriting to writing her own romance novels to becoming an Audible Originals author. Cara also shares the difference in writing romance for physical novels vs. audiobooks and what some of her favourites are! 

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Introduction

0:55 Fruit Hot takes

2:10 Becoming a romance writer

4:50 A scene that changed it all 

6:35 Ghost writing to published author

10:12 Kristin Hannah's Influence on Cara

11:06 What Cara has learned along the way

12:01 How does ghost writing work?

16:00 Author struggles

19:00 The scenes that come out of nowhere

22:55 Grief in Promise Me Sunshine

30:48 Pregnancy Trope in Ready or Not

33:01 Cover Design

34:09 Live again list (with a twist)

40:16 What it’s like to write Audible Originals

41:37 Difference between writing audio and physical dialogue

47:08 Would Cara narrate an audiobook?

48:02 Favourite audible original

50:49 Where are romance audiobooks headed?

52:11 Cara’s next book release

FOLLOW US:

Cara Bastone 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carabastone/?hl=en 

Find her books on Audible: https://www.audible.ca/author/Cara-Bastone/B085Z38C15 

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From steamy banter to loveable blue-collar heroes, Tessa Bailey sits down with Morgann to talk about how she keeps her writing fresh across dozens of bestselling novels, why she gravitates toward opposites-attract love stories, and how she balances heart, humour, and heat. We talk TikTok's impact on romance publishing, dialling back the dirty talk (sometimes), and the unexpected research that went into Pitcher Perfect.

Plus — we surprise Tessa at the end 👀

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Welcome, Tessa Bailey!  

5:29 How to keep your writing fresh

7:26 Recipe for creating an opposites attract romance

8:41 Tessa and blue-collar MMCs

10:04 Tropes were NOT doing

11:05 Influence of TikTok on writing 

13:18 Pitcher Perfect 

15:45 Dialling back the dirty talk

17:15 Why did Tessa publish her first book 

20:20 What would Tessa do if she weren’t a writer

23:24 Softball research for Pitcher Perfect

26:33 Tessa’s favourite moment from Pitcher Perfect

27:34 Crafting the characters in Pitcher Perfect

30:19 Solving people’s submitted problems!

41:21 It Happened One Summer Adaptation news

45:18 Bellinger Sisters book THREE

47:38 What’s coming next

51:35 Surprising Tessa with…

FOLLOW US:

Tessa Bailey

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@authortessabailey?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tessabaileyisanauthor/?hl=en 

Find her books at Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/tessa-bailey/ 

Find her books at Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/contributor/tessa-bailey/_/N-2xrn 

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Off The Shelf, Morgann shares her favourite romance audiobooks from swoony classics to laugh-out-loud romcoms to sweeping romantasy worlds.

Here’s what we dive into:

• Classics, reimagined: How Audible’s Pride and Prejudice full-cast performance breathes new life into Darcy, Lizzy, and every swoon-worthy moment.
• Modern love on audio: Why Emily Henry is even better narrated, the audiobook that made Morgann laugh out loud in public, and her go-to pick for the spiciest listen.
• Romantasy comfort reads: Which fantasy audiobooks Morgann replays like comfort shows, and why Elizabeth Evans is the voice of the genre.

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Introduction 

0:45 Pride and Prejudice

3:40 Emily Henry x Julia Whelan

5:38 Part of Your World

6:43 Guess the audiobook

11:21 Daisy Jones and the Six

13:19 The Roommate

14:28 Lights Out 

15:35 Throne of Glass Series

17:15 A Court of Mist and Fury 

18:26 Burning Questions

FOLLOW US:

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From writing After on Wattpad to producing major adaptations, Anna Todd joins Off The Shelf to talk about her evolution as a writer, producer, and storyteller. We dive into what it was really like to produce ‘After’, the fuel behind starting Frayed Pages Media, and why storytelling still feels personal after global success. Plus, Anna reveals some behind-the-scenes memories and what’s next in her ever-expanding universe.

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Welcome, Anna Todd!

3:16 How it all started on Wattpad

8:09 Virality of After 

9:37 Post Virality 

11:40 Morgann reading After

12:30 Support circle as an author

13:31 Adapting After

16:59 Starting Frayed Pages Media

21:09 What Anna is reading

26:35 Fan Fiction in the literary world

30:54 Producing Regretting You

33:06 Why Dave Franco? 

35:39 Why Anna loves casting 

40:36 Favourite set moment

41:48 Message of the movie

43:06 The beginning of Regretting You

45:10 The Last Sunrise

48:20 Writing a personal story

53:50 What’s next?

FOLLOW US:

Anna Todd

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/annatodd/?hl=en 

Find her books at Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/search?q=anna%20todd%20books&z=1 

Find her books at Barnes and Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/b/series/anna-todds-after-series/_/N-2wl2 

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

From producing Emmy-recognized content in Hollywood to writing her very first novel, Joss Richard joins Off The Shelf! We talk about her journey from Toronto to LA, working on The Ellen Show, Netflix, and Hello Sunshine — and how she went from producing celebrity interviews to publishing her debut romance!

CHAPTERS: 

0:00 Introduction and Release day

2:06 Joss’ Career Background 

9:28 Interview Gone Wrong

11:23 First spark to write a book

14:43 Deciding to publish

16:52 Feeling fulfilled as an author

18:05 Why a second chance romance?

19:00 Writing a book for the first time

20:15 Hard part of writing

21:02 Does 74 Perry Street exist?

23:13 Inspiration for this book 

25:18 Specifc book moments

32:17 Guess that rom-com

35:21 What’s next? 

FOLLOW US:

Joss Richard

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@jossrichardwrites 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/joss.richard/?hl=en 

Find her book at Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/joss-richard/ 

Find her book at Barnes and Noble: http://barnesandnoble.com/w/its-different-this-time-joss-richard/1146830426 

Morgann Book

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgannbook?lang=en 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/morgannbook/?hl=en 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorgannBook 

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/morgannbook 

Off The Shelf

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/offtheshelf.podcast/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@offtheshelf.podcast?lang=en 

Hosted by: Morgann Book

Created by: Bookish Media, Morgann Book, and Thomas Johnston 

Executive Producers: Morgann Book & Thomas Johnston 

Produced by: Stefanie Macchiusi

Edited by: Ricki Biramontes

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.