Author interview - Nikki St. Crowe, West of Wicked

Author interview - Nikki St. Crowe, West of Wicked

In this episode, the Coven had the absolute pleasure of speaking with author Nikki St Crowe about her new dark spicy Wizard of Oz retelling, West of Wicked!! We save spoilers for the later on in the episode so don’t worry if you haven’t yet read this one yet. Spoilers are from 29:20 until 49:38! We also talk to Nikki about her love of dark romance and writing spicy retellings, and why she chose Wizard of Oz for this newest story.  Towards the end of the podcast we let Brigitte go all fan girl on Nikki about what we can expect to get in book 2, which comes out November 2026!  You can find all of Nikki’s work on her website:  Follow the Coven on social media for more romantasy chaos!!  Instagram: @theromantasycoven  TikTok: @romantasycovenpodcast

Author interview: Rachel Vincent, The Alchemary

In this episode the Coven chats with author Rachel Vincent about her latest book, The Alchemary which came out April 2026 and which we got to read in advance of this conversation. We ask Rachel why she wanted to write a dark academia, which of the two brothers she likes the most and what inspired her to write such an unapologetically driven main female character. This was such a fun conversation! You can find The Alchemary everywhere that sells books, and you can find out more about Rachel's many previously published books on Rachel's website: www.rachelvincent.com [http://www.rachelvincent.com/] Please note: we chat spoilers from 28:55 onwards. If you enjoyed this episode, please share with someone you think might also enjoy it

Souls in Ruin by Jacqueline White

In this episode, Ria and Jess team up for a special episode on the dark romantasy, Souls in Ruin by Jacqueline White [https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/231389545-souls-in-ruin]. They spend almost the entire episode talking about how much they LOVE this book, the writing, the character dynamics, the tension, the ending!!  Please check the triggers before you read this book. And please note that in this episode we discuss torture, as well as sexual pleasure under duress and issues of non-consent.  But we also discuss how this is a story about one woman’s fight for autonomy over her body and her life.  If you enjoy this episode, please consider sharing with someone who might also like it. You can also find more reviews, recommendations, laughs and general bookish chaos from us on socials: @theromantasycoven on Instagram @romantasycovenpodcast on TikTok  Enjoy!!

The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig

In this episode we talk about how much we all adored Rachel Gillig’s The Knight and the Moth. Spoiler: this was a five star read for all of us! We chat about the comic relief, the found family, THE Rory Mendacious!! We talk about the breadcrumbs throughout the story and the emotional damage this book inflicted on us.  If you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving us a review or sharing with a romantasy-loving friend.  Please note: as ever this episode has lots of spoilers for Knight and the Moth. Happy reading fellow witches!

Brimstone by Callie Hart

The chaos resumes! In this episode we chat about the sequel to Quicksilver by Callie Hart, and why sadly it didn’t quite hit the mark for us. We talk about the mad magical admin, silly side quests and our love for most of the characters nonetheless.  Let us know what you thought of Brimstone! You can find us on Instagram @theromantasycoven and on TikTok @romantasycovenpodcast If you enjoy this episode, please consider leaving us a short positive review and/or sharing with someone you think might enjoy it! Thank you for listening. Apologies for the quality of the Sassy One's audio - the audio gods decided to curse her for her sassy blasphemous ways. Just focus on the mad stuff that the Forgetful and Wise Ones say.