The Spicy Librarian Podcast

The Least Competitive Game of Bookish Bingo

Bookish Bingo lands on The Spicy Librarian Podcast this week — and it turns out Dee and Katie are not even a little bit competitive. From sports romance to special editions, historical romance to books that made us ugly cry, we're covering every square on the card.   This week join Dee and Katie for a game of Bookish Bingo — who we found aren't at all competitive. We're working through the full card, from books read in one sitting to series we're still in the middle of, plots that floored us, characters who share our names, and the very specific joy of a book you found because you spotted a stranger reading it. Every square is a recommendation, a confession, or a chaotic tangent — sometimes all three. If your own TBR survives this episode intact we genuinely respect it.   Timestamps: 00:00 — Sulking Over Bingo Dabbers 01:49 — Katie's Reading Week 02:35 — Dee's Reading Week 10:14 — Bingo Rules 11:55 — A Book Read in One Sitting 13:49 — A Book Set on an Island 15:24 — A Book That Was Borrowed 18:35 — A Special Edition 20:18 — Historical Romance Picks 21:48 — A Non Fiction Book 25:03 — A Plot Twist That Got Us 26:19 — A Book on Your TBR Right Now 32:30 — Sports Romance Recommendations 34:41 — A Book That Made Us Cry 36:52 — A Book We Reviewed 42:06 — Book to Screen Adaptations 43:10 — A Book You Read Because You Saw Someone Else Reading It 45:42 — A Character With the Same Name as Yours 47:24 — A Title With a Number in It 48:13 — A Book That's Been Annotated 49:38 — A Book You've Won 50:27 — A Series You're in the Middle Of 51:18 — A Title With a Colour in It 54:14 — Bingo Victory If you loved this episode follow the podcast so you never miss a drop, leave us a review — it genuinely means the world — and head to our website or Instagram for more details on everything we have coming up. We'll see you next Thursday. 🖤 Books Discussed in This Episode: Tourist Season — Bryn Weaver The Butcher and the Blackbird — Bryn Weaver Light Wielder — Rachel Schneider Wild Card — Karina Halle Direbound — Sable Sorenson Crown Me Dead / Crown Me Yours — Liv Zander Daughter of No Worlds — Carissa Broadbent Archer's Voice — Mia Sheridan Most of All You — Mia Sheridan Three Nights in Stockholm — Elizabeth Hardy The Dorians — Nick Cutter Grave Matter — Karina Halle Yesteryear — Caro Claire Burke Starfallen — Fern Cole Hollow — M.L. Burns Innamorata — Ava Reid The Games Gods Play — Abigail Owen The Tattooist of Auschwitz — Heather Morris The Secret — Rhonda Byrne Atomic Habits — James Clear Feathers So Vicious — Liv Zander Poison Daughter — Sheila Masterson Here One Moment — Liane Moriarty Flawless — Elsie Silver Perfect Deke — Ruth Stirling Heated Rivalry — Rachel Reid What We Need — Lizzie Stanley The Long Game — Rachel Reid Death Valley — Karina Halle The Trap — Catherine Ryan Howard Remarkably Bright Creatures — Shelby Van Pelt Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow — Gabrielle Zevin A Little Life — Hanya Yanagihara One Dark Window — Rachel Gillig Two Twisted Crowns — Rachel Gillig Of Mice and Men — John Steinbeck Sleuths — Samantha Moody Throne of Glass — Sarah J. Maas Edge of Darkness — Leigh Rivers Red Rising — Pierce Brown Red Queen — Victoria Aveyard

Book Recs 101 Part One: The Best Romantasy & Dark Romance

Your ultimate guide to romantasy and dark romance is here. The Spicy Librarian Podcast's Book Recs 101 is the episode every new and seasoned spicy reader needs. Whether you're just starting out or ready for the deep end, Dee and Katie have you completely covered. Hold on to your TBRs because this week we are sitting down for a full hour of book recommendations- and we are not sorry about what we have done to your reading list. From gentle entry points to the books that will absolutely ruin you, we're covering the full spectrum of romantasy and dark romance in one gloriously chaotic episode. We break it down into three categories- start me gently, middle of the road, and drop me in at the deep end. We cover the first romantasy and dark romance reads you should pick up, where to go next once you're hooked, and what you graduate to when you are ready to go full feral reader. Consider this your official reading roadmap. Our TBRs have extended by approximately 100 books as a result of this conversation and we regret absolutely nothing. This is part one; buckle up. 00:00 — Introduction and Etsy Witches for the Weather 01:44 — Katie's Reading Recap: What's on Her TBR This Week 04:04 — Dee's Reading Recap: What Dee Has Been Reading 13:01 — HSF: Cringe Reading Moment of the Week 16:36 — Book Recs 101: Your Listener Requests Answered 26:25 — Romantasy Recs: The Best Books to Pick Up First 30:27 — Romantasy Recs: What to Read Next 33:33 — Romantasy Recs: High Fantasy Picks for the Deep End 35:47 — Dark Romance Recs: The Best Books to Start With 40:00 — Dark Romance Recs: Where to Go Next 48:21 — Dark Romance Recs: Pitch Black — The Deep End 52:28 — Wrapping Up: Come See Us & Send in Your Recommendations   If you loved this episode follow the podcast so you never miss a drop, leave us a review — it genuinely means the world — and head to our website or Instagram for more details on everything we have coming up. We'll see you next Thursday. 🖤   Books mentioned;  Bitter Sweet- Hattie Williams Crown me Yours- Liv Zanders Death Valley- Karina Halle Vanguard- Karina Halle Branded- Saffron A Kent White Rose painted Red- Blake Lawson and ELENA. LAWSON Blood of Hercules- Jasmine Mas The games God play- Abigail Owens Such a Dirty Girl- Effy Campbell Hot Creep series- Effy Campbell Sugar Baby, Good Girl, Brat Baby- Harley Madison Secret Club, Secret Job, Secret Proposal, Secret Stalker- Ruby Sky Starside- Alex Aster Blood and Steel Series- Helen Scheuerer Den of Vipers- KA Knight White Rose painted Red- Blake Lawson and ELENA. LAWSON Blackwood Institute- J Rose Credence- Penelope Douglas Birthday Girl- Penelope Douglas Sabre Security- J Rose When the Moon Hatched- Sarah A Parker The Knight and the Moth- Rachel Gillig Bad Bishop- LJ Shen Twister Pawn- LG Shen Made Mad Series- Danielle Lori Crescent City- S J Maas The Devil Night Series- Penelope Douglas City of Gods and Monsters- Kayla Edwards A Court of Thrones and Roses- S J Maas Servant of Earth- Sarah Hawley A Witches Guide to Fake Dating a Demon- Sarah Hawley A Ship of Bones and Teeth- Karina Hallie One dark window, Two twisted Crowns- Rachel Gillig Enchantra Phantasma- Kaylie Smith Fourth Wing- Rebecca Yarros When the Moon Hatched- Sarah A Parker From Blood and Ash- Jennifer L. Armentrout QuickSilver- Callie Hart Lights Out- Navessa Allen Butcher and Blackbird- Bryn Weaver Tourist Season- Bryn Weaver Sinners Retreat, Slay Ride, Ship Happens, Slaughter Park- Lauren Biel What We Need- Lizzie Stanley The Predator- RuNyx Lord Series, The Ritual, Chantelle Tessier Haunting Adeline- H D Carlton Hunting Adeline- H D Carlton Sanctuary of Lies- J Rose Feather so Vicious/ Shadow so Cruel- Liv Zanders

Telestrations: Dark Romance & Romantasy Tropes, Chaos & Bookish Mayhem

Dark romance and romantasy meets Telestrations on this week's Spicy Librarian - we're drawing tropes, guessing characters, and somehow attempting to pitch the next New York Times bestselling romance novel. We cover romantasy and dark romance rounds, weekly reading recaps, and watch the whole thing descend into glorious bookish chaos. This week on Spicy Librarian, we played Telestrations, that random game from primary school where you draw a section of a thing, fold the page and pass it on. But we made it bookish and spicy. We took the most iconic tropes, characters, and moments from dark romance and romantasy and decided to see if we could plot the next New York Times bestseller, but probably not. We do tropes, settings, plot twists and pairings, triggers and memorable quotes- and watched the whole thing descend into absolute bookish chaos. Let us know if you think our pitch has legs, better yet, write it yourself. 00:00 — Welcome to the Spicy Librarian Podcast 00:22 — Katie's Reading Recap: What's Been on Her TBR This Week 13:19 — Dee's Reading Recap: What Dee Has Been Reading 25:27 — Telestrations: The Bookish Spicy Edition Begins 26:37 — Romantasy Round: Tropes, Characters & Chaos 36:40 — Dark Romance Round: Plot Twists, Triggers & Memorable Quotes 49:50 — See You Next Week Books mentioned- YesterYear- Caro Claire Burke The Voice- Maggie Ray Jones Heavy- ML Burns The Dorians- Nick Cutter Black Phone- Joe Hill Remarkably Bright Creatures- Shelby Van Pelt Direbound/ Furybound- Sable Sorenson Regretting you- Colleen Hoover A Stage Set for Villains- Shannon J. Spann Pieces of the Night- Jennifer Hartman Branded- Saffron A Kent Ravenous- Thea Lawrence Crown Me Dead- Liv Zander Harvest Season- Brynn Weaver Butcher and Blackbird- Bryne Weaver Thursday Murder Club- Richard Osman Metal Slinger /Light Wielder- Rachel Schneider If you loved this episode follow the podcast so you never miss a drop, leave us a review, it genuinely means the world, and head to our website or Instagram for more details on everything we have coming up. We'll see you next Thursday.

An Emotional Cream Pie and an Apology for Spoilers with No Promise Not to Spoil Again

The May book club is here and besties, this month's picks were a whole lot. But first, we're pulling back the curtain on what is coming up for The Spicy Librarian. It's our birthday month in July, we have events in the pipeline, and things are getting very exciting around here. We are not ready to spill everything just yet but we wanted to bring you into it because you lot are the whole reason any of this exists. Consider this your official heads up. Stay close. 👀 But book club! We're talking The Auction by Sadie Kincaid - Beauty and the Beast meets dark mafia romance, a scarred billionaire, a secret brotherhood, and a slow burn so tense we needed a moment, and a lively debate about condiments. Then Starside by Alex Aster - the enemies-to-lovers romantasy that has absolutely taken over our bookshelves and for very good reason. And finally The Stopover by T.L. Swan - the book that has converted more people to contemporary romance than almost anything else on BookTok, and yes, we have feelings about it. If you haven't listened to our episode with TL Swan- get to know. Three completely different vibes. Three books that divided the room. Three books we could not shut up about. This is exactly what book club is for. Books mentioned-  The Auction- Sade Kincaid Starside- Alex Aster The Stop Over- TL Swan Made Man Series- Danielle Lori Crescent City- S J Maas June Book Club- A Stage Set for Villains- Shannon J. Spann Pieces of the Night- Jennifer Hartman Branded- Saffron A Kent Perfect for fans of: book club, dark romance, romantasy, contemporary romance, The Auction, Sadie Kincaid, Starside, Alex Aster, The Stopover, TL Swan, Miles High Club, mafia romance, enemies to lovers, slow burn, BookTok, spicy books, spicy podcast

Slaglines: We Wrapped Books, We Gave Clues & Absolutely Nobody Was Helpful

Slaglines: We Wrapped Books, We Gave Clues & Absolutely Nobody Was Helpful We invented a game. We wrapped books in brown paper, gave each other the most unhinged clues imaginable, and made each other guess the title. We're calling it Slaglines - a love letter to the tagline and an absolute disaster of an episode in the best possible way. This week's lineup was a lot. We had a tattooed bad boy demon with witchy enemies-to-lovers energy, little women but make it vampire, a bored gay werewolf, a shy trans banshee, a deeply unsettling crawl space, and a boyfriend who is giving very strong fish. You know the kind. If you think you could have guessed these faster than us - get in the comments and tell us. We are competitive and we will take that personally.   Books mentioned-  Starside- Alex Aster Here One Moment - Liane Moriarty What have you done- Shari Lapena Miles High Series- TL Swan Direbound/ Furybound- Sable Sorensen Crown me Dead/ Crown me Yours- Liv Zanders Crawl Space- Herbert Lieberman There’s Something Fishy About My Boyfriend- Gloria Duke Zodiac Academy- Twisted Sisters Fourth Wing- Rebecca Yarros Magnolia Parks- Jessa Hastings  Demon with Benefits- Aurora Asher Little Vampire Women- Lynn Messina Bored Gay Werewolf- Tony Santorella Shy Trans Banshee- Tony Santorella