Red Wine Reads

If myself and Ella get into a room after having both read a book that one likes and the other dislikes, what happens? We answer that question in today's episode. 

The Interestings follows a group of characters who meet at summer camp for the arts and become inseparable. This book looks at them at the height of youth through middle age, as their talents, fortunes, and degrees of satisfaction diverge. Think of it as spying on pretentious, rich a**holes. 

Our everything expert, Ella Kopeikin, joins me on this argumentative quest to see who is right: Ella or Jenna. 

In this episode we cover: 

• How the debate of the century led to RWR's first-ever final ratings change. 


• Can someone's entire identity surround their own boobs? 


• Are we interesting? Or are we not interesting? Does that even matter? 

Open your book and press play on a podcast that will make you choose sides by having you answer the most important question of this discussion: Are The Interestings actually interesting? 

Mentioned in the Pairings section of the podcast:

• Succession (TV Show)


• Normal People (Book)


• Dead Poets Society (Movie)


• Conversations with Friends (Book)


• Igby Goes Down (Movie)


• The Secret History (Book)

Wine Pairings: Rich Bordeaux or Champagne 

Are angels sexy? If Faes and Shapeshifters had cell phones, what would they text each other? Has Jenna been living under a rock the last few years? We answer these questions and more in today’s episode. 

House of Earth and Blood is the first novel of the newest Sarah J. Maas series, Crescent City Series. This book follows Bryce Quinlan, a beautiful half-human half-Fae who discovers a demon has murdered her closest friends. But when more similar murders start happening years later, Bryce finds herself at the heart of the investigation, paired with Hunt Athalar, a notorious Fallen angel, now enslaved to the Archangels he once attempted to overthrow. Together, they must solve this murder mystery, while also navigating their very complicated feelings for one another. 

Our SJM expert and super fan, Sierra Marshall, joins me on today’s episode to talk about the incredible power SJM holds right now in the BookTok and Bookstagram worlds. 

In this episode we cover: 

• How Jenna has gone this long without knowing what #ACOTAR meant


• Why SJM is the best at writing really powerful female leads, who are just badass. 


• Why trying to fit 800 pages of book discussion into just 40 minutes is a pretty impossible task. But we like to attempt the impossible. That’s just how we roll. 

Open your book and press play on a podcast that will take you into a dark fantasy land where fallen angels seduce you and translucent demons hunt you down. It’s both scary and sexy at the same time…and we kind of loved it. 

Mentioned in the Pairings section of the podcast:

• Watchmen (TV Show)


• Red Queen (Book Series)


• Lord of the Rings (Movie)


• Percy Jackson Series (Book Series)


• Beautiful Creatures (Movie)


• ACOTAR Series (Book Series)


• Shadow and Bone (TV Show)

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Once you're done listening, hop onto our Instagram and TikTok @rwreadspodcast to give us your thoughts on the discussion and the book. We look forward to hearing from you!

As we close out the summer, I wanted to give you my favorite novels that you should pack in your beach bags and you spend hours in the sun with your toes in the sand and your nose in a book. These books fit my definition of a beach read: A book/books that you bring with you on vacation to the beach, where you sit outside for over six hours at a time for a few days in a row, and can blow through the book in one or two sittings. 

Verity by Colleen Hoover

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng

P.S. For the first time in Red Wine Reads history, I will not be giving away any spoilers. Woah! 

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Small Sips is a short and sweet episode where I dive into any topic that is book-related. Have ideas on what topic I should look at next? Let me know in the conversations happening on IG and TikTok. Follow us @rwreadspodcast

What do you get when you mix a woman with incredible talent but little self control, a recovering addict with on-stage sex appeal, and a band supporting them as they all stumble through life as up-and-coming rockstars? A really freaking good book. 

Daisy Jones and The Six is a novel about a band who came to fame in the '70s through their hit album, Aurora. But after just one album and lots of drama, the band split up. Why? The book is written as an interview with all of the bandmates as they tell the reporter what exactly happened during the fall of this seemingly unstoppable rock band. 

In this episode we cover: 

• Why we have a love-hate relationship with Daisy Jones...though it leans heavily toward the hate side of things. 


• Why we really need to stop pairing "Almost Famous" with every single novel we read about L.A. 


• Why Warren is the absolute G we needed in this novel. 

Open your book and press play on a podcast that will change the way you look at jean shorts paired with a white shirt...forever. 

Mentioned in the Pairings section of the podcast:

• Jem & the Holograms (Movie)


• Her Smell (Movie)


• That Thing You Do! (Movie)


• The Doors (Movie)


• Shampoo (Movie)


• The Unraveling of Cassidy Holmes by Elissa R. Sloan (Book)

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Once you're done listening, hop onto our Instagram and TikTok @rwreadspodcast to give us your thoughts on the discussion and the book. We look forward to hearing from you! 

What happens when you mix wine and coffee? A podcast for the ages is born. Join us on this book review episode, where we dive deep into one of the biggest WTF endings that we have ever read. 

A History of Wild Places tells the story of a private detective who comes calling in search of a disappeared children’s author when he ends up stumbling upon the commune, Pastoral. The lives of the characters quickly unravel as they reckon with sneaking suspicions that they might not really know each other, or themselves, at all.  

In this episode we cover: 

• Why the twist at the end of this book had us bowing down to the almighty Shea Ernshaw


• What happens when power-hungry leaders use hypnosis to control their community


• But really...is Bee okay? 

Open your book and press play on a podcast that will leave you digging back in your memories to find any hidden secrets of who you may have been in another life. 

Mentioned in the Pairings section of the podcast:

• The Wilds (TV Show)


• The Maze Runner Series (Book Series)


• Before I Go To Sleep (Movie)


• Divergent Series (Book Series)


• The Giver (Book)


• The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window  (TV Series)

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Once you're done listening, hop onto our Instagram and TikTok @rwreadspodcast to give us your thoughts on the discussion and the book. We look forward to hearing from you! 

I am previewing the four books we will be reviewing this month! From badass female leads who don’t take s**t from anyone to entitled little brats who can’t seem to make their way in this world without daddy’s money, this month has it all! Here is our July lineup: 

• Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid


• Crescent City Series Book 1: House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas


• The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer


• The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn

We hope you read along with us and participate in the conversations happening on IG and TikTok. We’re always looking for topics to discuss and ways to dive deeper into the wonderful world of books. Follow us and let us know your thoughts @rwreadspodcast

When women in 18th century London find a way to take the power away from men and place it in their own hands, it ends in murder, poisons, and secrets that span over centuries. And we're here to talk all about it. 

The Lost Apothecary  is a dark and gripping tale with a tart edge about women struggling to survive in a world built by men, for men. Sarah Penner's debut novel really grabbed the attention of the entire internet, but did it do the same for us?

In this episode we cover: 

• How far is too far when it comes to the crazy ex boyfriend


• If the dang vile was empty and blue or full of blue liquid


• Does women empowerment include the poisoning of awful, abusive men?

Open your book and press play on a podcast that will leave you looking for a little bear carving that will lead you to a secret society of women taking back their power. 

Mentioned in the Pairings section of the podcast:

• Hustlers (Movie)


• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab (Book)


• The Flight Attendant  (TV Show)


• Outlander Series (Book)


• The Age of Adaline(Movie)


• The Time Traveler's Wife (TV Series)

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Once you're done listening, hop onto our Instagram and TikTok @rwreadspodcast to give us your thoughts on the discussion and the book. We look forward to hearing from you! 

Did you know that the Tall, Dark, and Handsome character trope started in pulp fiction stories? Did you know that pulp fiction is a real thing outside of being a 1994 film starring John Travolta? Well, keep listening to learn more! 

Inverse Article: THE SCIENCE OF 'TALL, DARK, AND HANDSOME' IS EXTREMELY COMPLICATED

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Small Sips is a short and sweet episode where I dive into any topic that is book-related. Have ideas on what topic I should look at next? Let me know in the conversations happening on IG and TikTok. Follow us @rwreadspodcast

What happens when starving artists, hard-working immigrants, and strung-out rockstars create a city that's entirely their own? L.A. happens.  

L.A. Woman captures the L.A. that Eve Babitz grew up in perfectly. It's weird, it's dirty, and it's all hers. 

In this episode we cover: 

• Why Babitz is the queen of 1960s and 70s L.A.


• How California was created by weirdos, slackers, and outcasts


• Why it's absurd to have high schoolers map out their lives at age 17. 

Take a shot, open the book, and press play on a podcast that will take you back in time and leave you searching for your own 8-foot pencil (if you know, you know). 

Mentioned in the Pairings section of the podcast:

• Never Have I Ever (TV Show)


• City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (Book)


• Almost Famous (Movie)


• I’m with the Band by Pamela Des Barres (Book)


• Licorice Pizza (Movie)


• Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Movie)

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Once you're done listening, hop onto our Instagram and TikTok @rwreadspodcast to give us your thoughts on the discussion and the book. We look forward to hearing from you! 

What if Pride & Prejudice took place in a burlesque club complete with sexy playing cards and nipple tassels?

Vanessa King took this idea and ran with it in her newest novel, A Certain Appeal. Complete with a brooding main man, a strip tease centering around a single glove, and twins spinning on silks hanging from the ceiling, this book has it all.

In this episode we cover: 

• What a sex print is


• Why Sierra and I are always drawn to main romantic interests who are tall, dark, sexy, and brooding


• How taking off a glove can be so damn sexy

Grab a drink, open the book, and press play on a podcast that will leave you Googling all of the dance tutorials from Burlesque. 

Mentioned in the Pairings section of the podcast:

• Burlesque (Movie)


• Pride & Prejudice (2005 Movie)


• Pride & Prejudice (1995 BBC TV Show)


• Glow (TV Show)


• Unequal Affections: A Pride and Prejudice Retelling (Book)

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Once you're done listening, hop onto our Instagram and TikTok @rwreadspodcast to give us your thoughts on the discussion and the book. We look forward to hearing from you!