August 2021 can really be summed up for me with two words: Samantha Young. Honestly, I wasn’t influenced or paid to swoon over her books but I will anyway because it’s true. Her books are just that good. Before we get to that though, we have more 2021 Hallmark Summer Nights movies to talk about. They really did knock it out of the park in August! Can we also talk about what soap operas you watched growing up? It’ll make sense when you listen. Ryan - I’m still open to starting a Christmas tree farm together if you hear this. Okay, now to books! There was no August book club pick but there was certainly no shortage of books. From Here With Me to There With You, the first two books in The Adair Family series by Samantha Young, to her first published book On Dublin Street, the only thing that could make all this better is if any of these men existed and if I lived in Scotland to find them. I was also happily surprised by Emily Henry’s Beach Read. After just hearing about Beth O’Leary a few months ago I officially read all three of her books by finishing The Flatshare. I get why it launched her success. And rounding out the books is a brand new author, Lily Menon with her first book Make Up Break Up. You can find links to all of these books on the website www.sockbunstudios.com in this week’s blog post!

When I say it’s been an absolutely wild two weeks, that is not an understatement. What started as trying to get in on the fun OOTD videos on TikTok from the girls rushing at Alabama, turned into a near Dateline style of info being thrown my way with a series of videos going semi-viral one after the other. Rush coaches, dorm decorators, attending the “right” summer camps - the whole world of sorority rushing in the South was exposed and it’s time to dive in deep and find out just how poor the rest of us are! Honestly, how’d we go from television shows like Felicity with dorm fridge drawings to actual cabinets being specifically made (at the tune of anywhere from $900-$1400) *just* to hide the fridges?! It’s wild, but also fun, and also crazy, and then there’s just some downright weird things happening in Texas specifically. Are you ready? Let’s go!

If you know me at all, you know that when someone asks for a book recommendation the first words out of my mouth are, “Have you ever heard of Jill Mansell?” She’s been a powerhouse since 1991 writing the feel-good, behind closed doors, Love Actually style romcoms for the world to enjoy after leaving work at the NHS. Thirty years later, it’s time to get into all 32 of her books (plus a look ahead at her newest one coming out early next year) and telling you which ones to definitely read and which ones you should still read but aren’t my favorite. Let’s face it, if it says Jill Mansell, I’m reading it and telling you to do as well. Head over to the website sockbunstudios.com and check the blog for links to my top 5 (plus a few) that you ABSOLUTELY must read. Then just work your way past that through the list!

Sorry that the July wrap-up pod is actually coming out in August but it’s the Olympics. Sorry not sorry! There was only one new Hallmark movie this month during Christmas In July, Crashing Through The Snow. I made it through six books before the games came on and my life was consumed with sports so let’s get into them! Book club pick And Now You’re Back by Jill Mansell wasn’t my favorite of hers but I still liked it. Beth O’Leary had another hit in The Switch. Finlay Donovan is Killing It by Elle Cosimano really did kill it: get that book! How no one told me to read The Hating Game by Sally Thorne is beyond me, but it and The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata from 2016 were both good reads. And then there was How To Love Your Neighbor by Sophie Sullivan. You can’t read it until next January so major thank yous to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advance copy, but put it on your Christmas list! You won’t want to miss that. Want links to these books? Head over to sockbunstudios.com and check the blog for them!

Soooo let’s just pretend I did this podcast when I was supposed to a month ago and call it a halfway check in! We’re now over halfway into 2021 and it’s time to take a quick temp check on our mental health and our vision boards! How’s everyone holding up? I’m going to be honest, it’s been a rough year in a lot of ways for me mentally and that’s OKAY. Sitting in uncomfortable feelings can be very eye opening and cathartic. That’s why I also make vision boards, to help with these check-ins. So, take a moment, make sure we’re all in a good head space, and let’s make sure we’re on track and working on crushing the second half of 2021, yeah?! We can do this!

Ho ho ho, jingle bell sounds are in the air because it’s officially Christmas in July season! I went through all 93 Christmas movies playing on Hallmark Channel and gave the list of ship it or skip it. Aka, I either really love them or really hate them. Also, learn the three Hallmark guys that have found their way to my Instagram stories and the only one that actually hit the DMs. Which, I’m still looking for a wedding date, Travis if you somehow hear about this. Which, no please don’t. Hope you’re ready for Christmas this year because I’m already prepping for all the TV Christmas movies this season. It’s gonna be a busy two months. But, it’s still July so let’s get into it!

We are officially halfway through the year and WOW where is the time going? There was a full slate of Hallmark movies to get into - but can we first talk about how they axed June Weddings this year and went straight to Summer Nights?! From meh You Had Me At Aloha, to the downright bizarre The Baker’s Son, they pulled it together with a Galavant cast for Her Pen Pal before finishing strong with Sand Dollar Cove featuring Chad Michael Murray and Aly from Aly and AJ. Then it was a brief June book club addition since there was already a full podcast all about The Soulmate Equation by Christina Lauren and a look ahead to And Now You’re Back from my absolute favorite author, Jill Mansell. Finishing the podcast I got into the other books I read in June: from what I liked the least My Favorite Half-Night Stand by Christina Lauren and People We Meet On Vacation by Emily Henry, to an okay YA Kisses and Croissants by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau, to YOU MUST READ THESE: How To Fail At Flirting By Denise Williams, The Road Trip by Beth O’Leary, Much Ado About You by Samantha Young, and Plot Twist by Bethany Turner (it’s a better version of People We Meet On Vacation). What are you waiting for? Grab those To Be Watched and To Be Read lists and hit the listen button!

Continuing the series of books that have made me cry this year - this time it’s all the happy tears imaginable. Christina Lauren’s new book The Soulmate Equation will have your head in the clouds by the end because it’s just THAT cute. Sign me up for the Shondaland movie adaptation. Seriously, I need to see Juno Merriam and River Nicolas coming back from ballet class. I NEED REAL LIFE RIVER NICOLAS! Okay, on that note - just get this book and listen to this podcast! You won’t regret either!

Honestly I can’t believe I was able to wait two months to make this podcast in the first place. The Heir Affair by Heather Cocks and Jessica Morgan is the long awaited sequel of The Royal We that came out last year and we need to talk about it because...well, a lot of people didn’t like it. Which, I GET IT. BUT - the writing. It’s real. It’s raw. It’s what it needed to be after where we left off in The Royal We. This book was everything it needed to be and when I say I CRIED at the end for Freddie. Whew boy. The emotional rollercoaster! Come back tomorrow for part 2 of this series with the full rundown of the new Christina Lauren book The Soulmate Equation and why I cried all the happy tears at the end. But now - to The Heir Affair.

Every MDW brings up that one year Disney pulled all their DCOMs out of the vault and played them back to back all weekend long and now I’m here to give the ultimate definitive rankings. From where it all started with Under Wraps to High School Musical and everything in between and after, here’s to the movies you should definitely watch *cough cough Rip Girls* to the ones you should skip - Can Of Worms - Disney were you okay?? Also, Christy Carlson Romano and Kimberly J Brown, can we be friends?? Can I join your friendship? I promise I’m cool.