The Great Obsession

By RiLee and SamArts Books

The Great Obsession episodes

January 02, 2024 RUTHLESS VOWS | miscommunication? OUT. excessive communication? IN!!!!
WE'RE SO BACK! The sequel to Divine Rivals is here, full of stunning prose and healthy levels of communication. As we deliberate whether this was a satisfactory conclusion to Roman and Iris's story, we also discuss the expanding world, god-human dynamics, and quotes that had us screaming.

This episode contains spoilers for both books in Rebecca Ross's Letters of Enchantment duology: Divine Rivals and Ruthless Vows.

Rating: 7.75 / 10

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1 hr 8 min
December 26, 2023 DIVINE RIVALS | roman can catfish me anytime
With complex characters, a striking take on war themes, and a romance that makes us GIDDY, this might be our favorite book of 2023. We discuss what makes this story perfect, RiLee speculates on the ending, and Sam gets so hype she changes her final rating.

This episode contains spoilers for Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. We do NOT spoil Ruthless Vows - we haven't read it yet. That's next week!

Rating: 8.75 / 10

Find us at:
Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod
Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod
Email: [email protected]

1 hr 9 min
December 20, 2023 2023 YEAR IN REVIEW | deeply chaotic and unserious
Time to revisit this year's greatest hits and biggest flops. Sam can't remember anything from her "favorite" nonfiction read, RiLee can't tell when movie CGI is bad, and we both feel the inexplicable pull of Jack Harlow.
The only spoiler in this episode is for the ending of Avengers: Endgame. (By now, you should know.)
Titles mentioned (by category):
Albums - Stick Season by Noah Kahan, GUTS by Olivia Rodrigo, The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess by Chappell Roan, Did You Know That There's A Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd by Lana del Rey, Unreal Unearth by Hozier, 1989 (TV) by Taylor Swift, The Good Witch by Maisie Peters, Rolling Up The Welcome Mat by Kelsea Ballerini, The Album by The Jonas Brothers, Autumn Variations by Ed Sheeran
Books - I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy, Carrie Soto Is Back by Taylor Jenkins Reid, The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea by Axie Oh, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Cackle by Rachel Harrison, We'll Always Have Summer by Jenny Han
Movies - Air, Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse, No Hard Feelings, Barbie, The Holdovers, The Little Mermaid, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, A Man Called Otto, Gran Turismo, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Magic Mike's Last Dance, The Flash, The Super Mario Bros. Movie
TV Shows - The Golden Bachelor, Love is Blind, Real Housewives of New York, Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, The Kardashians
Thanks to everyone who listened to us in 2023!
Find us at:
Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod
Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod
Email: [email protected]
1 hr 23 min
December 19, 2023RANKING OUR 2023 READS | spoiler free!
In honor of 2023 finally coming to a close we are revisiting everything we've read on the pod this year with fresh eyes. We let you know if we recommend you give a book a read or if you shouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole (we've got some hot takes!)

Rankings (grouped by series)
Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, completely not ever been done before
Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo

The Folk of the Air by Holly Black

Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A good ass time and nothing more
Once Upon a Broken Heart by Stephanie Garber

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

The Crowns of Nyaxia by Carissa Broadbent

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
Well, that was a book
The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by VE Schwab

Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros
Would actively discourage anyone from reading
Crescent City by Sarah J Maas

The Lost Hours by Cassandra Clare

Find us at:
Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod
Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod
Email: [email protected]
59 min
December 05, 2023 COZY CHRISTMAS READS | maximizing our holiday vibes
We're kicking off December with our SPOILER-FREE holiday book recommendations! We have suggestions from several different genres, all of which will pair optimally with a hot cocoa and large blanket. Listen to the end to hear Sam's least favorite holiday book, since even when we're being festive she can't resist being a hater.

Titles mentioned:
Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
The Christmas Bookshop - Jenny Colgan
The Princess Present - Meg Cabot
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Mary Ann Shaffer
Faking Christmas - Cindy Steel
Wreck the Halls - Tessa Bailey
The Christmas Wish - Lindsey Kelk
Royal Holiday - Jasmine Guillory
Snowed In - Catherine Walsh

Find us at:
Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod
Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod
Email: [email protected]
50 min
November 29, 2023 THE BALLAD OF SONGBIRDS AND SNAKES | too many snakes
World's hottest villain!! Too many names with the word anus in it!! Corio and Sejanus aren't actually friends!! On this episode (ft. special guest Abby Tree!) we discuss the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie adaptation and how it compares to the book.
Heed the title, this movie/book has hella snakes and I was unprepared.
Find us at:
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Email: [email protected]
Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod
1 hr 21 min
November 21, 2023 IRON FLAME | the short-awaited sequel...
We're HAUNTED by the luminary. Perplexed by petty girl drama. Baffled by Jack Barlowe. And SHOCKED at Xaden's dirty talk attempts... Welcome to our Iron Flame review!
Join us as we discuss the magic system, political intrigue, and character dynamics in Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean universe. This episode contains strong language and spoilers for both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame.
Rating: 4.5/10
Find us at:
Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod
Email: [email protected]
Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod
1 hr 16 min
November 16, 2023 YALL FEST 2023 | recap + recommendations
We're back from our first YALL Fest experience! After MANY huge Ws and a few Ls, we're here with some advice for anyone hoping to attend in the future. Listen to hear how we managed to meet Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, Tracy Deonn, and Adrienne Young all in one weekend! We've also got some restaurant recommendations and thoughts on how we'd plan our trip differently next time.

We'll return to our regular schedule this coming Tuesday, so don't miss our next episode!

Find us at:

Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod
Email: [email protected]
Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod
41 min
November 07, 2023 1989 TV | it all comes back to harry styles
1989 Taylor's Version is FINALLY HERE!! This episode is all about Harry Styles lore, Taylor's transformation from country darling to pop princess, and most importantly, the best Vault Tracks to date!

Find us at:
Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod
Email: [email protected]
Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod
1 hr 14 min
October 31, 2023 A CURSE FOR TRUE LOVE | aurora doesn't deserve purple hair
After many months of waiting it is finally here! Will Jacks get the girl? Will Apollo not be the bane of my existence?? On this episode we discuss the greatly anticipated A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber, the final book in the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy. Spoilers for the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy and the Caraval trilogy.

Rating: 6/10
Find us at:
Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod
Email: [email protected]
Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod
1 hr 8 min

About The Great Obsession

From the publisher's feed

Got an all-consuming obsession you NEED to talk about? We know the feeling. With fun little drinks in hand, join best friends RiLee & Sam as we discuss our recent fixations and long-term…