197x300.jpeg" alt="The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory" width="197" height="300">

Divorced, beheaded, subjected to an extremely long and boring work of historical fiction. Ann Foster from Vulgar History joined us to discuss The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory. We were glad for Ann’s expertise, because now we now that it’s historically inaccurate in addition to being super boring. Listen to this episode on your way to your next gay witchcraft circle!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Brimping.

Gable hoods.

Coming up next: Spare by Prince Harry.

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Did you read Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus and think, “This could really use more victim blaming?” If so: have we got a book for you! Kristen and Jolenta from How To Be Fine (and By the Book) joined us to discuss Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever: The Making of a Happy Woman by Judge Judy Sheindlin. Listen to this episode on your way to pick up your husband’s dry cleaning!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: By The Book: Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever

Judge Judy To Megyn Kelly: ‘I’m Not A Feminist’ 

Coming up next: The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory.

197x300.jpg" alt="Corinne by Rebecca Morrow" width="197" height="300">

We got tired of waiting for Stephenie Meyer’s latest book, so we checked out a book that some book bloggers are saying Stephenie Meyer wrote. Corinne is written by Rebecca Morrow, whose author bio simply states, “Rebecca Morrow is a pseudonym for a New York Times bestselling author.” We had our friend Margaret H. Willison (of Two Bossy Dames, among other projects) join us to investigate Morrow’s identity: is she Stephenie Meyer? Or perhaps an even more dazzling author? Listen to this episode to find out!

Content warning: Religious trauma.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Reddit post: “Pretty sure Stephanie Meyer is wrote a new novel that’s slightly anti-religious under another name to avoid getting in trouble with the Mormon church.”

“Who Really Wrote Corinne by Rebecca Morrow?”

“Elin Hilderbrand to retire from writing beach reads in 2024”

Village Inn

Cream Cheese Mints

Coming up next: Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever by Judge Judith Sheindlin.

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Dear Ellen, our friend Vanessa from the podcast Hot and Bothered flew in from Plethora, Maine to discuss Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us. Millions of BookTokkers can’t be wrong…can they? Listen to this episode in Boston, where everything is better.

Content warning: Domestic abuse, child abuse, sexual assault, death of a child.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: “Bestselling writer Colleen Hoover apologizes for planned coloring book based on domestic violence novel” by Issy Ronald.

Hot and Bothered: It Ends With Us

Coming up next: Corinne by Rebecca Morrow.

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Although we had to check out of the real life Inn BoonsBoro, we were able to return there through the power of fiction. We read the second book in the Inn BoonsBoro trilogy, The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts, with our returning guest and Nora Roberts expert Christine.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Inn BoonsBoro

Coming up next: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.

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Thanks to our wonderful Patreon Patrons, we recently traveled to Nora Roberts’ bed and breakfast in Maryland, Inn BoonsBoro, along with our Resident Nora Roberts Expert, Christine, and Resident Robe Expert, Nicole! Please enjoy this bonus episode where the four of us talk about our luxurious weekend stay, debate the content of a dolphin massage, and fail to accurately describe the size of a pretzel.

Footnotes: Romancing The Shelf: Our Trip to BoonsBoro!

Inn BoonsBoro

Gifts Inn BoonsBoro

Ghost-scented lotion!

Bespoke tea blends!

Dan’s Restaurant and Taproom

Renata’s Instagram Post

Big Pretzel:

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Coming up next: The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts.

186x300.jpg" alt="The Next Always by Nora Roberts" width="186" height="300">

It’s our first episode of the year and we’re already longing to get away from it all. So we were joined by Heidi and Emily of the Romancing the Shelf podcast to discuss the book The Next Always by Nora Roberts. But also more importantly, we discussed Inn BoonsBoro, the B&B where this book is set, but also the B&B that Nora Roberts owns in real life! Heidi and Emily gave Kait and Renata travel tips for their upcoming stay in BoonsBoro. Listen to this episode on your way to pick up your next pizza.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Romancing The Shelf: Our Trip to BoonsBoro!

Inn BoonsBoro

Coming up next: The Last Boyfriend by Nora Roberts.

Another year has come and gone, and yet we’re still here, talking about books! For a treat, here are some good ones.

Footnotes: Boston Globe’s Best Books of 2022 (featuring Renata’s picks for middle grade and YA!)

Coming up next: A January hiatus. Happy New Year! We’ll see you in February!

Kait’s Top 5 Best

146x220.jpeg" alt="Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert" width="146" height="220">145x220.jpeg" alt="" width="145" height="220">145x220.jpeg" alt="Small Angels by Lauren Owen" width="145" height="220">

137x220.jpeg" alt="What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher" width="137" height="220">145x220.jpeg" alt="These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall" width="145" height="220">144x220.jpeg" alt="Season of Love by Helena Greer" width="144" height="220">

5. Take a Hint, Dani Brown by Talia Hibbert

4. Experimental Film by Gemma Files

(4a. magazine.com/short-fiction/each-thing-i-show-you-is-a-piece-of-my-death/">each thing i show you is a piece of my death by Gemma Files and Stephen J. Barringer)

3. Small Angels by Lauren Owen

2. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

1.  These Fleeting Shadows by Kate Alice Marshall

Bonus fave: Season of Love by Helena Greer

Renata’s Top 5 Best

145x220.jpeg" alt="Great or Nothing by Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, Jessica Spotswood" width="145" height="220">147x220.jpeg" alt="Her Majesty's Royal Coven by Juno Dawson" width="147" height="220">150x192.jpeg" alt="Ducks by Kate Beaton" width="172" height="220">

143x220.jpeg" alt="Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore" width="143" height="220">145x220.jpeg" alt="Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin" width="145" height="220">

5. Great or Nothing by Joy McCullough, Caroline Tung Richmond, Tess Sharpe, & Jessica Spotswood

4. Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson

3. Ducks by Kate Beaton

2. Self-Made Boys by Anna-Marie McLemore

1. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

Renata’s Top 2 Worst Books To Be Banned/Challenged

150x217.jpeg" alt="Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez" width="150" height="217">150x215.jpeg" alt="Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe" width="150" height="215">

2. Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez 1. Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe

196x300.jpg" alt="Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert" width="196" height="300">

Democracy works: our Patreon patrons voted for us to read Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert, so we did. And we, along with our returning guest Meredith Goldstein, of the Boston Globe’s Love Letters, actually kinda…loved it? Sorry haters, we’ve been Gilbertpilled. Listen to this episode while eating incredible homemade pasta, or just some frozen pizza if you’re currently in the USA.

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: “The ‘Eat Pray Love’ Problem: How Movie Liz Ruined The Story Of Book Liz” by Linda Holmes

“In which I don’t review ‘Eat Pray Love'” by Crunk Feminist Collective

The new colonialism of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’ by Sandip Roy

“Elizabeth Gilbert Is Owning Her Past Mistakes” by Lizzy O’Leary

gilbert-announces-shes-dating-another-woman.html">“‘Eat, Pray, Love’ Author Elizabeth Gilbert Announces She’s Dating Another Woman” by Claire Landsbaum

Coming up next: Bests & Worsts of 2022.

184x300.jpeg" alt="Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown." width="184" height="300">

Duarte’s been asking us for more feline representation, so we were joined by Phillip Mottaz, author of the Psychic Barber Mystery series, to read the first Mrs. Murphy mystery, Wish You Were Here by Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown. It’s a small town cozy mystery solved by a postmistress and her pets. Unfortunately, the pets have weirdly regressive attitudes. Turn the volume up on this episode to make sure you can hear it over all the almonds being blended!

Readers advisory: Here.

Footnotes: Rita Mae Brown’s Wikipedia page

Coming up next: Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert.