Brine Babes, we need to talk about a Norwegian fairy tale from the 1840s that Sarah J. Maas basically used as a blueprint. This week we're breaking down "East of the Sun and West of the Moon" beat by beat and holding it up next to A Court of Thorns and Roses — the bargain, the cursed beast, the prohibition, the impossible journey, all of it. We map who's who (Feyre, Tamlin, Amarantha, and yes, we figure out where Rhysand fits into a story that technically has no room for him), dig into what SJM kept almost exactly and what she changed, and argue about whether the 200-year-old version might actually be the tighter story. Hot Pickle Cold Take is fully unhinged this week. Full ACOTAR spoilers throughout — stay brined. 🫙

---**SPONSORED BY:**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order:https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod🤖 **Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#pickleparty #acotar #fairytale #booktok #bookish

The first book in the Crescent City series is going OUT WITH A BANG. 💥

In this episode of Pickle Party, we’re diving into Parts 3 & 4 of House of Earth and Blood — The Canyon and The Ravine — and things get WILD.

The mystery surrounding Danika, the Horn, and the Synth finally starts unraveling… but somehow every answer leads to another conspiracy. Bryce and Hunt grow closer, secrets come crashing down, and Bryce discovers that trusting people might be her greatest weakness.

Then everything explodes.

Hunt pays the ultimate price, Bryce refuses to give up on him, Micah’s connection to Danika’s murder is revealed, and we finally learn the truth about where the Horn has been hiding all along. And just when you think you've emotionally recovered… Lehabah. 😭🔥

We’re talking:
🥒 Danika’s endless secrets
🥒 Hunt’s rebellion & the ultimate betrayal
🥒 Bryce and Hunt’s relationship
🥒 Micah being the absolute WORST
🥒 Lehabah’s heartbreaking sacrifice
🥒 Bryce making the Drop
🥒 “Light it up, Danika!” ✨
🥒 Bryce going full badass
🥒 Hunt finally becoming FREE
🥒 And, of course, our HOT PICKLE/COLD TAKE debates

Plus, we’re asking the BIG questions:

Did Danika actually protect Bryce, or did all those secrets make her a terrible friend?

Is Bryce stronger because of her grief—or in spite of it?

And most importantly… are Bryce and Hunt actually a great match, or are they bonded through shared trauma? 👀

🚨 MAJOR SPOILERS for House of Earth and Blood ahead!

Brine Babes, we want your hot takes! Come argue with us. 🥒🔥

Until next time, stay brined! 💚

---**SPONSORED BY:**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order:https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod🤖 **Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#picklepartypod #crescentcity #houseofearthandblood #sarahjmaas #brinebabes

We are FINALLY covering Crescent City, and Jules and Leslie are not okay. This week we dive into Parts 1 & 2 of House of Earth and Blood — The Hollow and The Trench — covering Bryce and Danika's friendship, the brutal murder of the Pack of Devils, and Bryce's uneasy new alliance with fallen angel Hunt Athalar as the investigation kicks off.

We're breaking down the world of Midgard and its Four Houses, debating whether Danika was right to keep secrets from her best friend, and arguing over whether Hunt is a hero or just a guy with really good aim following really bad orders.

Heads up Brine Babes: full spoilers ahead for HOEAB Parts 1 & 2. Come cry with us.

Tell us: which Crescent City House would you want to be part of? DM us your hot takes @picklepartypod 🥒

---**SPONSORED BY:**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order:https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod🤖 **Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#picklepartypod #crescentcity #houseofearthandblood #sarahjmaas #brinebabes

Somebody on the internet asked the dumbest question of the year — "is fairy smut dumbing down literature?" — and Brine Babes, we are NOT letting that one slide. This week Leslie and Jules crack open the whole pickle barrel: real sales stats (romantasy pulled in $610M in 2024 alone), the BookTok-brought-me-back-to-reading pipeline, the "why does romantasy get roasted when thrillers don't" double standard, and yes — the actually-legitimate critiques too. This isn't a men-hate-fun episode — some of the sharpest critics of the genre are women, and we're sitting with all of it. Genre Court is officially in session.

---**SPONSORED BY:**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order:https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod🤖 **Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#romantasy #booktok #fairysmut #romancereaders #bookishcontent

We're back, Brine Babes! Season 2 kicks off with the relationship that quietly makes every romantasy heroine so damn unshakeable: her sisters. We're breaking down the Hathaways, the Ravenels, and Mira & Violet from Fourth Wing to talk about why women who were loved first — no audition required — never settle for less. Featuring a Hot Pickle Cold Take on the most protective big sister in the game and a listener challenge you won't want to miss. Stay brined. 🥒

---**SPONSORED BY:**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order: https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod**Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#romantasy #bookishsisters #fourthwing #picklepartypod #brinebabes

The finale episode of A Court of Silver Flames is here and we are NOT okay. 😭 Nesta wields all three Trove items and stops TIME. Cassian turns the dagger on himself rather than hurt her. The mate bond gets said out loud. And then — three words that ended us all: "I give it all back."

We're covering the Symphonia, the ribbon getting cut, Gwyn's story (bring tissues), the Pass of Enalius, Briallyn's downfall, and that ending at the father's grave. Full spoilers ahead, Brine Babes — if you're not caught up, this is your warning.

This is the episode that closes out Season 1 and honestly? We will recover and can't wait to get back with you in the Brine in Season 2 this FALL!

🥒 Stay Brined.

---**SPONSORED BY:

**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order: https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod

**Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#ACOSF #ACourtOfSilverFlames #SJM #SarahJMaas #ACOTAR #NestaArcheron #Cassian #BookTok #Bookstagram #RomantasyBooks #BookPodcast #PicklePartyPod #BrineBabes #IGiveItAllBack #BloodRite #FantasyRomance #BookRecs #ReadersOfInstagram #BookCommunity #FinaleEpisode

This week, Jules and Leslie leave the world of fae and shadow daddies behind to dive headfirst into one of BookTok's most infamous monster romances: Morning Glory Milking Farm by C.M. Nascosta.

What starts as a book about a woman taking an unconventional job to pay off her student loans somehow turns into one of the sweetest, funniest, and most unexpectedly wholesome romances we've ever read. Along the way we discuss monster romance, workplace professionalism (or lack thereof), why Rourke may be one of the biggest green flags in romantasy, and how a book with one of the wildest premises imaginable manages to have so much heart.

We're talking:
🥒 Our honest reactions to that job.
🥒 Monster romance and why readers love it.
🥒 The surprisingly cozy world of Cambric Creek.
🥒 Green flag Rourke
🥒 Spice, laughs, and way more feelings than we expected.

Whether you've already ventured into monster romance or you're just wondering what all the BookTok hype is about, grab your favorite snack and join the chaos.

---**SPONSORED BY:

**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order:https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod🤖

**Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#MorningGloryMilkingFarm #CMNascosta #MonsterRomance #MonsterRomanceBooks #MonsterSmut #Romantasy #RomantasyBooks #BookTok #Bookstagram #FantasyRomance #SpicyBooks #SpicyReads #BookPodcast #RomanceBooks #BookLovers #CurrentlyReading #ReadersOfInstagram #PodcastRecommendation #PicklePartyPod #BrineBabes #SlowBurnRomance #GreenFlagBookBoyfriend #Rourke #CambricCreek #BookishHumor #ReadMoreBooks #WomenWhoRead #IndieAuthor #BookCommunity #PodcastLife

This week we're diving into A Court of Silver Flames Part 2 (Chapters 29–55), and honestly? Nesta Archeron is having the most unhinged character arc in Prythian.

We're talking about Nesta's terrifying scrying nightmare, Rhys finally understanding the trauma she endured in the Cauldron, and the pregnancy secret that has the fandom arguing to this day. Then things get even wilder when Nesta heads into the Bog of Oorid, comes face-to-face with a kelpie, claims the Mask, and emerges holding a severed head.

We also discuss:

⚔️ Nesta accidentally Making three legendary weapons

⚔️ Why Ataraxia may be one of the most important objects in the series

⚔️ The Inner Circle taking a vote about Nesta without Nesta

⚔️ The explosive reveal of Feyre's pregnancy risk

⚔️ The devastating lake scene and Nesta's long-awaited breakdown

⚔️ Gwyn's growing role in Nesta's journey

⚔️ The Harp, the Prison, Lanthys, and a mysterious fourth object

⚔️ Cassian continuing to keep certain very important information from Nesta...

Plus we're serving up Hot Pickles, Cold Takes on Rhys's decisions, Nesta telling Feyre the truth, and whether Cassian was justified in interrupting a certain ancient god before he could finish a sentence.

Grab your pickle juice and join us as we break down one of the most emotional, controversial, and action-packed sections of the book.

✨ Spoilers for ACOSF Chapters 29–55
📚 Next week: Morning Glory Milking Farm Discussion
🥒 Follow & tag us @PicklePartyPod

---**SPONSORED BY:

**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order: https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod

**Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#ACOTAR #ACOSF #SarahJMaas #BookTok #FantasyBooks #PicklePartyPodcast

This week on Pickle Party, Jules and Leslie venture into completely uncharted territory: snowman romance.

That's right. We read Frisky the Snowman by Lauren Biel, and somehow this tiny holiday novelette delivered a sentient snowman, a magic beanie, peppermint-scented chaos, questionable life choices, and one of the most bizarre romances we've ever encountered.

Was it romantic? Was it terrifying? Was it a fever dream brought to life by Christmas magic and poor impulse control?

Join us as we break down every wild chapter, debate whether Frisky is boyfriend material or a walking red flag, discuss the infamous carrot myth, and ask the question nobody else was brave enough to ask:

Where exactly does object romance fit on the romance spectrum?

Grab your hot cocoa and maybe a therapist. This one's a ride.

🥒 Low judgment. High chaos.

---**SPONSORED BY:**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order:https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod🤖 **Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#PicklePartyPodcast #BookTok #RomanceBooks #DarkRomance #SpicyBooks #BookPodcast #RomanceReader #BookishHumor #BookCommunity #ReaderProblems #LaurenBiel #FriskyTheSnowman #SnowmanRomance #MonsterRomance #UnhingedBooks #WTFDidIJustRead #HolidayRomance #BookDiscussion #BookRecommendations #BrineBabes

Welcome back, Brine Babes! 🥒✨

This week we're diving into A Court of Silver Flames Part 1 (Chapters 1–28) and discussing Nesta Archeron at her absolute lowest—and the long road back from it.

We're talking about the controversial intervention, the magic of the House of Wind, Cassian's relentless persistence, training montages loaded with tension, and the beginnings of the Valkyrie sisterhood we all know and love.

Plus, we're tackling some of the fandom's biggest debates:

🔥 Was the intervention necessary or a violation of Nesta's autonomy?

🔥 Is Rhys helping or controlling?

🔥 Is Nesta a morally grey heroine—or simply a traumatized woman trying to survive?

🔥 And is the House of Wind secretly the best character in this entire book?

Join us as we break down the first part of Sarah J. Maas's emotional healing journey disguised as a fantasy romance.

⚠️ Spoilers for ACOSF Chapters 1–28.

📩 DM us your thoughts @PicklePartyPod and let us know:
Team Intervention or Team Autonomy?

---**SPONSORED BY:**☕ **Javvy Coffee** - Fuel your reading sessions with the perfect brew! Use our link to get 15% off your first order:https://javvycoffee.com/a/PicklePartyPod🤖 **Sometimes We Get You Media** - Your AI Guru Hub! Need help with marketing and tools to streamline your brand? Check out their website: http://www.sometimeswegetyou.com or email them at [email protected]

#ACOTAR #ACOSF #SarahJMaas #BookTok #FantasyBooks #PicklePartyPodcast