Show notes:

It’s February, so you know what that means: love is in the air! Or at least on the pages of the books we’re discussing today. We’re basking in some fictional romances that run the gamut from 5-tissue-box worthy ones to light and fluffy ones and everything in between. To paraphrase Mr. Darcy, you must allow us to tell you how ardently we admire and love these books.   

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• Books mentioned*:
• • MWF Seeking BFF by Rachel Bertsche
  • The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer
  • The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
  • November 9 by Colleen Hoover
  • American Royals by Katharine McGee
  • 28 Summers by Elin Hildebrand
  • The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo
  • The Girl He Used to Know by Tracey Garvis Graves
  • There’s Something About Merry by Codi Hall
  • Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
  • To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
  • The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks
  • The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon
• Also mentioned:
• • Reading Through Life, episode 9: The Loneliness of Motherhood

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Show notes:

We’re both 100% book nerds and totally proud of it. If you’re listening to this discussion, you probably consider yourself a book nerd too. But what exactly IS a book nerd? And how do you know if you are one? These are the burning questions we answer in today’s episode. And a bonus question: do book-scented candles smell like dust? Join us for the scoop.  

Click here to join us on Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!

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• Books mentioned*:
• • Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
  • Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
  • One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
  • I Kissed Shara Wheeler by Casey McQuiston (available May 2022)
  • 1,000 Books to Read Before You Die by James Mustich
  • The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  • Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton
  • A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
  • Mia’s poetry collection, In the Depths
• Also mentioned:
• • Author Marie Force on readers who email her negative comments

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Show notes:

Do you remember diving into your favorite book series as a kid? Not-so-patiently waiting to get the next installment from the library or store? In this episode, we had fun revisiting some of the books we loved as a kid, but also sharing the books our kids love now. Fantasy, adventure, comics, historical fiction, and poop jokes - these book recs have them all! Get nostalgic with us, won’t you? 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!

Related Links:

• Books mentioned*:
• • The Silver Linings Playbook by Matthew Quick
  • This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel
  • Books by Roald Dahl: BFG and Matilda
  • Sweet Valley High books by Francine Pascal
  • The Baby-Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin
  • Amelia Bedelia books by Peggy Parish
  • Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
  • Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan
  • Harry Potter series by JK Rowling
  • I Survived books by Lauren Tarshis
  • Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey
  • Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
  • Ninja Kid by Anh Do
  • Henry Hecklebeck by Wanda Coven
  • Sideways Stories from Wayside School by Louis Sachar

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Show notes:

Oh hey, just your friendly TBR expanders (that’s a thing, right?) here. It’s the start of a new year and we know there are some exciting books being released in the near future. We’ve gathered 12 books that we can’t wait to read and we think you’ll like them, too. As always, there’s a mix of genres to suit every reader. We aim to please! 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!

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• Books mentioned*:
• • February 2022 Releases
  • • A Taste for Poison by Neil Bradbury (Feb 1)
    • The Fashion Orphans by Randy Susan Meyers and MJ Rose (Feb 1)
    • The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (Feb 22)
    • What My Bones Know by Stephanie Foo (Feb 22)
    • The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka (Feb 22)
    • Influenced Love by Shellee Marie (Feb 22)
  • March 2022 Releases
  • • One Italian Summer by Rebecca Serle (Mar 1)
    • Memphis by Tara M. Stringfellow (Mar 1)
    • The Unsinkable Greta James by Jennifer Smith (Mar 1)
    • Private Way by Ladette Randolph (Mar 1)
  • April 2022 Releases
  • • Hope and Glory by Jendella Benson (Apr 19)
    • Such Big Dreams by Reema Patel (Apr 26)

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Show notes:

Guess who’s back? Back again? RTL’s back, tell a friend. Sarah and Mia are here to welcome you into the new year. But before we can fully celebrate 2022, let’s take one final look back at 2021 and talk about what we read in December. In true RTL fashion, we’ve got books for everyone in this episode. You know how we roll. So buckle up and get your TBRs ready. AGAIN.  

Click here to join us on Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!

Related Links:

• Books mentioned*:
• • 72 Hours by William Casey Moreton
  • The Grace Year by Kim Liggett
  • The Mistletoe Promise by Richard Paul Evans
  • Somebody’s Daughter by Ashley C. Ford
  • The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber
  • The Christmas Candle by Max Lucado
  • The Best Worst Christmas by Kate Forster
  • The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
  • Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson [available February 1st, 2022]
  • The Ballerinas by Rachel Kapelke-Dale
  • It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover
  • The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Show notes:

The Idea of You is one of Sarah’s all-time favorite books (and Mia loves it, too!) so it was an absolute delight for us to interview the author, Robinne Lee. We actually interviewed her for our writing community, Illuminate, but we knew that you bookworms would enjoy this discussion as well! In this episode, we asked her about writer’s block, creating characters in her stories, women and aging, the writing and publishing process of her book, and so much more. Robinne was so gracious and lovely to talk to, and she even shared a juicy tidbit about how her husband reacted to her steamy novel. Don’t miss it!

Click here to join us on Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!

Related Links:

• Books mentioned*:
• • The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
• Also mentioned:
• • Follow along with Robinne online: 
  • • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • Facebook
    • The Idea of You Facebook group
  • Illuminate, our writing membership + community for women

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Show notes:

We could’ve just vomited a list of our best books for you, but to be honest, neither of us wanted to record a 2 hour long episode. You’re welcome. Instead, we decided to do a superlative style recap for you. Join the fun as we talk about books that made us cry, that surprised us, that kept us up at night, and so much more. 

Click here to join us on Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!

Related Links:

• Books mentioned*:
• • The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate
  • The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
  • I Would Leave Me If I Could by Halsey
  • Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
  • My Dark Vanessa by Kate Elizabeth Russell
  • The Push by Ashley Audrain
  • A Good Marriage by Kimberly McCreight
  • The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab
  • Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
  • The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
  • Shadow and Bone Trilogy by Leigh Bardugo
  • People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
  • The Lazy Genius Way by Kendra Adachi
  • We Are Not Like Them by Christine Pride and Jo Piazza
  • A Promised Land by Barack Obama
  • Storyteller by Dave Grohl
  • A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
  • The Thousandth Floor by Katharine McGee
  • Razorblade Tears by S.A. Crosby
  • Mothertrucker by Amy Butcher
  • Once There Were Wolves by Charlotte McConaghy
  • Sparks Like Stars by Nadia Hashimi
  • How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
  • Invisible Girl by Lisa Jewell
  • When We Believed in Mermaids by Barbara O’Neal
  • The Death of Vivek Oji by Akwaeke Emezi 
  • Regretting You by Colleen Hoover
  • All the Lonely People by Mike Gayle

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Show notes:

You already know that we’re a couple of nerds who love to organize our lives and schedules. So it should come as no surprise that we love organizing our books and reading lists as well. Well, maybe Sarah loves it a little more than Mia, but we digress. In this episode, we’re talking all things book organization - digital books, physical books, books we’ve finished and ones we haven’t even read yet - and so much more. Come be nerds with us. 

Related Links:

• Books mentioned*:
• • Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
  • One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London
• Also mentioned:
• • Goodreads
  • StoryGraph
  • Trello
  • Book Riot book journal

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Click here to join us on Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!

Show notes:

November is such a great month to do some reading. (Do we say this every month? Probably!) In this episode, we share and review 10 books that we read in November. BUT we actually read more than 10 books this month - Sarah and Mia actually read 11 books each. Twinsies! In order to hear about the rest of the books we read, make sure to become a patron and check out that Overflow Books bonus episode. Happy listening and happy reading!

Related Links:

• Books mentioned*:
• • The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
  • Maybe in Another Life by Taylor Jenkins Reid
  • Mothertrucker by Amy Butcher
  • Razorblade Tears by SA Crosby
  • Rafael by Laurell K. Hamilton
  • The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
  • Olfaction by Kristin Rouse
  • A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
  • Ghosts by Dolly Alderton
  • 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard
  • Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
  • The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley and Austin Siegemund-Broka (releases January 25, 2022)

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Click here to join us on Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!

Show notes:

There are some great books out there, obviously, but in this episode we want to talk about the books that you can’t put down and have to finish immediately. Join our reading frenzy as we share the genres that reliably keep us reading and also a list of books you’re going to want to read ASAP. We’re #sorrynotsorry for adding more books to your TBR. 

Related Links:

• Books mentioned*:
• • The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman
  • The Thousandth Floor series by Katharine McGee
  • The Idea of You by Robinne Lee
  • 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard
  • Falling by TJ Newman
  • Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips
  • The Royals Next Door by Karina Halle
  • The Push by Ashley Audrain
  • They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
  • Love in the City Series by Jen Morris
  • Every Last Secret by A.R. Torre
  • The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins
  • Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
  • In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

* The books noted above contain affiliate links. This means that we may get a small kickback if you purchase through our links, at no additional cost to you.

Click here to join us on Patreon to get extra bookish goodies like bonus episodes, end of year rating guides, book club, and more!