Where I Left Off

Reading Recap 1 - Riley Sager, Katherine Center, Christina Lauren and more!

• Kristen Bahls • Season 2 • Episode 23

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This is the first episode in the Reading Recap series, formally known as Recently Read and Currently reading. I give you a spoiler free rundown of the books I've been reading which are a mix of the thriller, romance, and climate fiction genres.

This week's reading rec is from Natalia Williams, author of Taking the Cake. 

For links to the books discussed in this episode, click the link here to take you to the Google Doc to view the list.

For episode feedback, future reading and author recommendations, you can text the podcast by clicking the "Send us a message button" above.

For more, follow along on Instagram @whereileftoffpod.

Kristen Bahls:

Welcome back. I'm Kristen Bahls and you're listening to Where I Left Off- A Bookish Podcast, and today on the podcast, I am sharing a reading recap and it has a mix of a thriller romance, of a thriller romance and climate fiction this time. So there is a variety for you, but a lot of romance. Just be warned, now you know. So I changed the title again. It's called the Reading Recap because you know at this point, like I'm so behind on the episodes I've done that are recently read or currently reading, that I just decided why not change it for a third time? Stick with this one for good and just call it a reading recap, because ultimately, that's what this is. It's a reading recap. So I am going with that. We're going to stick with it. That's what we're calling it. And yeah, reading recap. So that is the new title of the episodes where I talk about a bunch of books at once and things that I've been reading and my thoughts on them, and give you plot synopses that I write myself, so that way you can decide if they're books that you want to check out whether our reading preferences are similar or different, because, like I've said before, I sometimes use people as a litmus test of. I know that we don't have the same preferences, so if you like a book, I know that I'm probably not going to like it. So if I'm that person for you, then so be it. But here are my thoughts.

Kristen Bahls:

But before I get into everything, I just wanted to say this is going to sound very dramatic and it's okay, I know, but like what is happening right now, there are so many extended epilogues, chapters from a different character's point of view that we don't get to hear in the story, or just deleted scenes that authors are releasing for their books and instead of reading them when they come in my inbox like a normal person, I have been saving them. Why am I saving them? I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm just not ready to like leave those characters and have officially read like everything that author has done on a specific book. But at this point I have a lot of like extended chapters and stuff that I could read from different authors that are just sitting in my inbox. I even have a specific folder for them, thanks, thanks to like author newsletters and preorder campaigns and all that stuff. So I'm kind of wondering if, at this point, I should just wait a little bit longer until all of them come in, and then I should just make a day of it, like maybe it won't be so sad if I just read them all at once, and then it's almost like a mini novella by the time you put all of those pages together, because some of them are like five pages, some, I think, are like 10. So it's not like any one of them is a very like big amount. But anyway, I have deleted scenes and, like I said, bonus epilogues and all that kind of stuff.

Kristen Bahls:

Chapters from a different character's POV. I have that from are you ready? Sarah Adams, from her newsletter. So I have that for Practice Makes Perfect, the cheat sheet, I think. The Rule Book, no, yeah, yeah, I now have the rule book. So I also have The Rule Book and I think I also have When in Rome that I haven't read, I started reading Practice Makes Perfect, but I don't know, I think I got busy and kind of forgot. So I need to go back to all those because those are some of my favorites.

Kristen Bahls:

But now the rule book has joined her collection of scenes and then I have a scene from Common Grounds by Allie Samberts, and then I have scenes from, or I can't even remember what they are, but extras. I'll just call them extras, so I don't say it wrong. I have extras from Leah Brunner's DC Eagle series, and I believe it was all four books that I had no idea that existed. And then what was the other one? Oh, no, no, no, no. I had another one, who was, oh, Katherine Center just released something from the Rom-Commers. Are you kidding me? And then, as if I hadn't just already given you 50 million examples, then I also have, as a part of the pre-order campaign, which it hasn't come in yet, which is absolutely devastating, and I can't wait. I believe it's an extra from You With a View from Jessica Joyce, and it's coming in because I pre-ordered the Ex-Vows.

Kristen Bahls:

I just can't with all of these. There's so many, I want to read them, so bad, and yet I haven't. Like I said, maybe I'm just trying to hold out hope that, like I'm not done with the characters, I don't know what it is, but anyway, those are just sitting there waiting for me. If I just like took a day on the weekend where I really didn't have any plans and just decided to read them all, that would be like the best day ever, because it would just be all of my favorite characters, like combined. Anyway, clearly this was going on with me.

Kristen Bahls:

So if you have not already sign up for the author newsletters, you get extras, you get to, you know, hear from your favorite authors, like it is just so worth it and it's just another way to support authors that doesn't come with a price tag, so why not do it? Anyway, that's my stance on author newsletters. You already knew I love them. I guess I just can't gush about them enough. But our reading rec from today and don't forget reading recs are where readers and authors alike can send in voice memos recommending books to you, and this one. This recommendation is from author natalia williams, and she wrote the book taking the cake.

Natalia Williams:

Hi, my name is Natalia, and a book I recently read and loved is called Lesson Learned by Katie K Wood. It's a contemporary romance, sort of a the Office meets Abbott Elementary. It follows two teachers, sarah and Owen, who work in an elementary school. Owen is in love with Sarah, but Sarah has a boyfriend and later a fiancé. Sarah has a boyfriend and later a fiance. There is an emotional affair in this book, but there's a lot of heartache, a lot of emotion, a lot of angst. It's a very slow burn. It's got real messy characters and I just really enjoyed it.

Kristen Bahls:

I will definitely be adding this book to my TBR, and my TBR is already a million miles long, so I am happily adding it. This is the Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren, and this is the first one of their books that I have read, but I also have the Unhoneymooners on their shelf, which I've heard a lot of good things about. This is contemporary romance. I gave it four stars overall and the spice level is a three out of five. So this is a marriage of convenience, but it has a fake dating feel and I really enjoyed this book, and if you're looking for a cute beach read, then this could be it. So here is my little plot synopsis.

Kristen Bahls:

Anna Green is a struggling artist and back in college she married Liam Weston to gain access to couple student housing, basically. So they committed fraud. They went their separate ways after college, but when Liam returns to find Anna, he he has some news, and not only are they still, but he needs a favor. He does offer her a hundred thousand dollars to act as his wife for his sister's destination wedding on a tropical island, because their family thinks that they have been married for the past five years Well, almost five years. She needs the money to take care of her sick dad, and so, really, anna can't say no. But will a romance blossom between these two, between these unlikely two on the island, and will Liam's complicated family dynamics and trust get in the way of everything that they could have? You will have to read to find out. So I really liked this one.

Kristen Bahls:

However, I can't put my finger on exactly why it wasn't total five star worthy in my mind. Is it possible that I'm in a bit of a reading slump when it comes to romance novels? Maybe Very strong possibility. So it could have just been that, because I've heard of a lot of people really loving this book, you know okay. So I think it might be that I really liked the characters, but I didn't fall in love with them as much as I normally would with like a five-star read, because I feel like this book was more plot and situation centered and not character centered. Like there was always a lot of action going on in the plot and I did get to know the characters, but I didn't get to like really dig in and spend time with them, if that makes sense. I feel like maybe I wasn't, like I wasn't fully transported to this island getaway. That being said, it was a really cute book. I listened to it on audiobook, I enjoyed it and I think that other people would enjoy it too, but it was four stars. For me, it wasn't a full five star, so I just feel like I have to say that because I don't want to gush too much about this book when something just didn't quite hit. But it was still really cute and I've heard a lot of people liking it. So this totally may be your book and it is a perfect beach read because it's very tropical and the whole thing basically takes place on a destination island and they're there for like several days before the wedding actually happens, doing all kinds of like tropical activities. So there's that and it was entertaining.

Kristen Bahls:

Next up, I finally finished a thriller. Okay, this one is Middle of the Night by Riley Sager. It's a thriller. I gave it four stars and full transparency, In the name of full transparency. I got an arc of this from NetGalley and it took me like over three months to finish. However, that has nothing to do with the actual book and everything to do with the fact that all of these other books just kept jumping in front for podcast episodes, like they were just jumping in front of the line. And another thing I am a chicken and I could not read this anywhere near. The time that I'm going to sleep, which is when I typically read is at night, on like a weekday, and so, yeah, I I think that's ultimately why it took me so long to read the book. It was not a bad book in any way, shape or form, but it did take me a really long time to read. So I'll tell you a little bit about the blurb and then I'll go into more of my feelings on the book and my overall, like Riley Sager ranking from all the books that I've read of his so far.

Kristen Bahls:

So Billy Barranger goes missing in the 90s after being kidnapped from a tent in his backyard. When he and his best friend, Ethan, are having a campout sleepover in the backyard, Ethan, Billy's best friend, is desperate to know what actually happened to Billy, who has long been presumed dead. Strange, haunting experiences happen to Ethan as he moves back to his childhood home and the scene of the kidnapping. This is like 30 years later. Billy has an affinity for ghosts and so is he the paranormal entity that's trying to get Ethan's attention. As Ethan investigates Billy's murder, much to the detective's chagrin, he uncovers ties to an occult research institute. Will Ethan finally figure out what happened to Billy? You're going to have to read to find out.

Kristen Bahls:

Okay, this book is so well written, from the suspenseful descriptions throughout to the cliffhangers conveniently placed at the end of several chapters frustrating, because I really wanted to go to the next chapter. It is really really well done. Also, there is a strong paranormal element throughout. Like I said, paranormal, occult, like you get all of that kind of stuff. So, whether you like it or don't, just letting you know that it's in there and it's kind of interwoven throughout. And, of course, no spoilers, but the way that everything is tied up. At the end you are not going to walk away with any unanswered questions, which I feel is great for a thriller, because it's really annoying sometimes when you walk away with like a million questions. Also, there were multiple plot twists and I audibly said what so many times it was. It was would have been borderline annoying. I was just like what, what, what, whenever all of the plot started going down, which is like the whole back half of the novel. However, it was pretty slow in the middle and I feel like overall, the book could have been a little bit shorter. Those would be my only real critiques of it. But it was really good. I enjoyed it. It's very close but I didn't give it a complete five stars for those reasons, but it was very. It was very close, like I thought it was really good.

Kristen Bahls:

Ok, my overall Riley Sager rating from the books that I've read of his are as follows, from my favorite to my least favorite. I think this is the order I settled on. I go back and forth. Number one, all time favorite of his is The Only One Left. Number two I did move Middle of the Night to the number two spot. Number three would be Final Girls. While I did give final girls technically an overall like higher rating, I feel like I wouldn't want to like reread final girls the way I could reread middle of the night. So that's kind of why it got in spot three. Number four is Survive the Night, and then five is the house on the lake, the house across the lake, the lake one. But this could change every five seconds. Ask me in a month and I may completely have changed my mind. I cannot decide. But anyway, if you're looking for a good summer thriller, if you want like some paranormalness, kind of like a ghost story, a little bit of mystery trying to solve things, things being like slowly uncovered over the course of the book, all leading up to insane plot twist at the end. Then this is going to be your kind of thriller. I liked it better than most of the thrillers that I have read lately. Um, yeah, I you know about my thriller slump. It was bad. I'm finally getting out of it. So thanks, Riley Sager. This book definitely helped up.

Kristen Bahls:

Next in contemporary romance because I have to go back to contemporary romance we have Faking Christmas by Cindy Steel. Holy five stars. It was so good. Uh, the spice level on this, I would say, is 1.5. It's closed door. It may technically be considered clean I don't know. It's kind of like bordering on that line but there is a decent amount of talking about things that would lead me to personally classify this more as like closed door, just to be safe and I know that some people don't read closed door books. I didn't even register that this book was closed door. It never crossed my mind like I am reading a closed door books. I didn't even register that this book was closed door. It never crossed my mind like I am reading a closed door romance book, to be honest, because the plot, the characters, the banter and everything was so well done. So even if you don't normally read these types of books, just do it For reference. I read both closed door and open door. I've said this before, but I just like to say it a million times, just so you know I read both and I'm going to be honest.

Kristen Bahls:

I started this book only because the audio book was available on Hoopla through my library, and it was going to return in less than 10 days and I know that eventually down the line, in a couple of months, I want to do a holiday wrap up and I wanted to get started now because I know that it's going to take me forever and as soon as Halloween hits I am not going to want to read Christmas books. So I didn't want to be stressed out later, so I started listening. I fell head over heels for this book and I lasted a whole two days before ordering a physical copy. I had to physically restrain myself from my phone as I waited for the book to come in so that way I could read like the last 40-50% with my eyes. It was a struggle, but I did it, and the page flags and annotations on this book. Yeah, that should also tell you something as well.

Kristen Bahls:

This is, without a doubt, one of the best books I've read this year for me. Um, I already want to reread it again and I just finished it. I feel like I could totally reread it again. Also, I need someone else to read it. And don't forget, if you do read it, in the description there's the send us a text message and the show notes. Please start a conversation with me about this book. Please just read it and then we can chat. Um, I feel like I may spontaneously combust if I just can't talk about how well done it was. Uh, and I don't want to give away spoilers until you've actually read it. So I need a book bestie to read this stat. I have had one book bestie read it and we also talked about how good it was. She really liked it too. So just throwing that out there please start a conversation with me about this book.

Kristen Bahls:

Okay, here is my plot synopsis of faking Christmas. Olive's a high school English teacher who's just trying to get through the holidays. The novel starts right before Christmas break, as her and her jerky English teacher nemesis named Miles is on her case again and their total opposites Olive's a disciplined, organized, people-pleasing role follower, while Miles has more of a wild streak and decides to just mess with her relentlessly. And it all comes to a head after an assembly when Olive's convinced that Miles is enemy number one and for break, she decides to visit her family. She's super excited to get away from school and Miles specifically she visits her family at a ski lodge in Vermont, but not before telling her family that she has a fake boyfriend. So they won't expect her to get back with her ex, who they invited on this trip to Vermont with them. They invited her ex and his family. So the only problem is that she just so happens to say her boyfriend's name is Miles Pretty safe lie, and she can get away with it and just say that he's gone away on business or whatever and make it up as she goes. Well, whose family just happens to own the lodge? Yep, you guessed it Miles. So he is in Vermont at his family's lodge and they run into each other, because of course they do so if you like banter, if you like fake dating, if you want more depth than your romance novels and if you want a snowy landscape to boot and a lot of talk about like classic novels and also no third act breakup, then this book is for you.

Kristen Bahls:

I am going to be flying through Cindy Stills backlist at this point. She's officially an auto buy author. I've started reading some of her other books. I've loved every single one. Uh, they, I, I. She just has magic. Okay, she has a special type of magic that she infuses into her books that just make them so fun. She and Leah Brunner are two indie authors that I've discovered this year that I have just completely inhaled their backlist. I'm almost done with Leah's backlist. I have one more book left and I am saving it because I'm just not ready to be done with the characters. So if you have not read Leah Brunner, if you have not read Cindy Steel yes, they are closed door authors you can't even tell that they're closed door at all. So whether you read open door or closed door books and if you listen to me at all, so whether you read open door or closed door books, and if you listen to me at all, just take my suggestion and read Cindy Steel or read Leah Bruner. They're both amazing. Okay, enough on my uh gushing train about them.

Kristen Bahls:

Let's talk about the next book, because I still have books to go and this is going to be the world's longest episode as of right now. Then we have Interview with a Van Lifer and this is by MK Williams and this is climate fiction and I gave it five stars. Also, to be transparent, she did send me a signed paperback copy of this novella to read. It's a little novella, so it's like the perfect, perfect short summer read. Here is my review of her book.

Kristen Bahls:

So for me, I just felt like this was really a unique, fun read. Like honestly, this book was just unlike anything else I've read, which is pretty shocking, considering like the topic revolves around vampires. There were just several times when I thought to myself like wow, I never considered that vampires would need to do X, Y and Z and there was just so much like thought behind it. I guess you could say Like it just it's hard to describe, but it really goes into like how they would actually live their daily lives and what that would look like and what concessions they ultimately need to make. So M. K. really thought about the plight of the vampires and what their lives look like on like a day-to-day basis. And okay, this is the little plot synopsis. It's short because the book is short, it's a novella.

Kristen Bahls:

So the author she is doing an article on vampires turn influencers Ursula and Peter. They live in a van. They're traveling the world to spread their message because, you know, they have to live on our planet forever. The novella takes place over the course of their interview and they engage in conversation about their lives. So they answer a lot of questions and it's also kind of the reporter talking about like what, how they act and what they do and what they have to do from a daily basis, kind of like as she observes them as well. So it's like her questions and conversation with them like on the record and a little bit off the record and kind of like sets the whole scene. So you have a lot there. Basically, I've never read climate fiction before but I would consider reading more in the future.

Kristen Bahls:

After this book I just felt like it was done in a really entertaining, informative and ultimately just thought-provoking way. So I gave this novella five stars. Of course, if it was a full novel then I would want to get more like background and information on the reporter and learn a little bit more about her, because it is very vampire, centered in Ursula and Peter. But again, this is a novella, it's not a full novel. So you know, that's kind of what you aren't able to get to keep it a short novella. I liked it. I would recommend it. It felt very summery. Like I said, they're van lifers, so they're living in a van. It talks about them living in a van. If you've ever wanted to live in a van, I feel like this would be a really good book to read because it does have a lot of educational aspects into it and actual van life and then also in vampires. So it was just done in a way that, like, you don't realize you're reading anything about the climate because you're entertained by the vampires, if that makes sense. So I would recommend it.

Kristen Bahls:

You can buy the novella. If you want a print copy, you can obviously do the e-book. You can listen to the audiobook on YouTube. Mk actually has the audiobook out for free, but of course, especially if you listen to it for free, from what she did on YouTube, don't forget to leave it a review, because she did take all the time and effort to record and edit that and put it out there for our public consumption. So just make sure that you leave a review on Amazon, on Goodreads, on Storygraph, on all the things, and that's for all the authors, all the time they put their blood, sweat and tears into these novels. So just don't forget to give, like everyone, a review and I know it's hard to review every novel you read. But I try to like come up with a list and write down things and make notes and then, as I get time, I'll kind of like chunk them and like review five novels at a time or something and put up their reviews on um, goodreads, storygraph and amazon to try to help them out, especially for indie authors. I make a specific point for indie authors, but of course traditionally published authors need your reviews too. Everyone needs your review. So I try to do it to just pay it forward and be nice and help the authors out, to thank them for all the time they spent writing their book.

Kristen Bahls:

Okay, moving on Last two books. Both are romance. Oh, I love them for different reasons and I'm going to go into it. I'm just excited to talk about these books. Next up is the Fake Out Flex by Ash Kelly. This is another closed-door hockey romance novel. So I gave this five stars and I would say that the spice level is one to 1.5, maybe closer to one. It's not super spicy, which is great, and it is hockey. So Frazier and Evie, they are just next level adorable. And this, just this book just had me smiling so much I was just smiling the entire time I read it.

Kristen Bahls:

Uh, this is dual POV and it has fake dating, forced proximity and the friends to lovers tropes. So, if you like hearing the tropes, you have fake dating, you have forced proximity and you have friends to lovers, which, friends to lovers, is my favorite. I know it's not the most popular, but it's my favorite, and I feel like it's kind of actually difficult to find some books that are friends to lovers. You know, I feel like a lot are enemies to lovers and of convenience and second chance romance and blah, blah, blah, blah, all the others. So this is a good example of friends to lovers. Let me go ahead and give you the plot synopsis and then I'll gush a little bit more about it real quick.

Kristen Bahls:

So Evie's a journalist, slash reporter, and she gets the happy news beats. Only, it seems like viewers don't want to hear happy news and her ratings are down, causing a lot of job angst. The last time her ratings were up was when she got dumped on TV by her boyfriend on her birthday, no less. And that same ex-boyfriend is now getting married. When Evie needs a date to the wedding, her brother her meddling brother recruits his best friend, frazier, who's a professional hockey player. Evie's had a huge crush on Frazier in high school and their budding friendship towards the end only strengthened those feelings. Come to find out he may also have some reasons for avoiding her too. The wedding date starts a whole chain of events as the two reconnect and they end up extending their fake dating agreement after paparazzi take some photos of them that give them the wrong idea. That is not accurate. But they decide to keep going with the fake dating.

Kristen Bahls:

This book you'll have to read to find out what happens. But you know what this book is? Just cotton candy, sweet, let's just kick your feet up and smile. I just love the banter, I love the romance and I tore through this book. I read it so fast, like I. At the end of the day I was thinking I can't wait to read the fake out flex. I was so excited to get back to my Kindle to read the fake out flex. This one is on Kindle Unlimited, but of course you can order the paperback, the ebook, all that stuff.

Kristen Bahls:

I gave it five stars, but I would like to point out that there are a few things towards the end that may trip you up a little bit. But honestly, I'm going to admit to full book blindness because I love this story so much. I don't care like I feel like I almost get blinders on and have book blindness, kind of like in the cheat sheet by Sarah Adams. I loved it so much that I didn't care. You can tell me a couple of the plot, things that could be fixed or adjusted or like yeah, but that wasn't my favorite. I don't know why the author did that, sure, sure, but I don't care because I just enjoyed this book so much. So that is one thing, but I did want to tell you that, like I said, there might be a few things towards the end that may trip you up a little bit, but I would not let that deter you from reading this book. I enjoyed it so much. I will be following this author. I will be following this author. I will be reading the second book when it comes out, and she now has me hooked.

Kristen Bahls:

I love her writing style. I love the characters. Evie reminds me a lot of Annie Walker and just a lot of things that she does. She's kind of like an Annie Walker and a Brie. Like she's a little bit kooky, she's a little bit quirky, but like it's so fun, like the way that she thinks is just so fun. And Fraser is so sweet and I just really love this couple. Like they're just a really good pairing, like I have fully fallen in love with both of them. I love them. They're amazing, they're so cute. I loved reading their story.

Kristen Bahls:

So, like I said, gushing about this book, I loved it. I would recommend it. I enjoyed it. It it was so fun. It was a true escape. It was cotton candy and sunshine and rainbows all wrapped up into a book. Thank you and good night.

Kristen Bahls:

No, I'm kidding, I have one more. So now I know it's just gonna sound like all I did was gush about books, but you know what? This is my podcast and I can gush about books. Last up we have the Rom Commerce by Katherine Sinter center. I gave it five stars. The spice level is a one. On this, I would like to make the proclamation declaration all of them. Let it be known that this is my new favorite katherine center to date, and remember I've read all but two of her books and she has a decent amount of books out in her backlist. This beats the Bodyguard and Things you Save in a Fire, which are two novels that I absolutely adore and are contenders for like my favorite novels of all time. I don't want to give you unrealistic expectations or hype on this book, but I just have to say that it was one of, if not the best, romance novel I've read this year. It I think it honestly may be in spot number one right now. Like it was that good. Okay, let me. Let me give you a little plot synopsis and then I'll get into more of why I love this book.

Kristen Bahls:

So Emma's balancing a lot. She's taking care of her father, who requires constant, round-the-clock care, and is still trying to get her big break in the screenwriting industry, which is her career. When her agent, who is also an old friend, gives her the deal of a lifetime, she gets to work with screenwriting. God, charlie Yates to fix the rom-com script that he's written. He's not a rom-com writer, he writes more like action or sci-fi stuff like that. After making sacrifices and getting everything figured out. She flies all the way there. She meets Charlie, only to realize that he doesn't know that her help has been enlisted and, worse, he thinks his terrible screenplay is actually good. Emma's tasked with not only making the screenplay a success, having to deal with a very difficult Charlie, but she just might be able to show him how to find his own, happily ever after.

Kristen Bahls:

And if you think that I just ruined the plot of this book, then you know what? In Catherine's own words, this isn't a spoiler. It's something to look forward to. So it doesn't count. It's a romance. You know they're going to end up together. So, like I said, it's not a spoiler, it's just something to look forward to. Okay, I just have to gush about it for a second. Forward to. Okay, I just have to gush about it for a second.

Kristen Bahls:

Emma's does in her internal monologue are adorable and just add to her overall like character arc. And this book just has so much heart, like it's funny, it's raw and I enjoyed every minute. I will fully admit that I was laughing so much, but, uh, I was also crying a lot, like whenever it gets to a certain point. I mean, this is a Catherine Center classic. You cannot read a Katherine Center book and not cry. It's going to happen Like her characters are kind of going to be dragged through the mud a little bit before they find their happily ever after it. Like they are always dealing with so much internally and they have to find it within themselves and overcome some like huge obstacle internally to be able to get their happily ever after. And that's definitely what happens in this book with Emma and Charlie. They are both dealing with some things that they have to kind of figure out together and they help each other and they make each other better and there are just some really sweet scenes that just had me absolutely bawling. But oh my gosh, I just can't.

Kristen Bahls:

I can't say enough good things about this book. If you are ever questioning reading Katherine Center which I don't know why you would, because she's amazing just just read the rom-commers. Oh my gosh, you know half the books in this episode. Like, just read them, add them to your TBR, put a little star, put a little heart, so that way you'll remember that you know, or move them up a little bit higher on your TBR. But there are so many good books in this episode and if it feels like I'm gushing about them. It's because I've read a lot of good books and I'm choosing some of my favorites to get to talk about today on purpose, because I wanted to spread the love and tell you how much I love them and why you should read them and why you need to add them to your TBR. And if I sound really impassioned, it's because I haven't been able to do that many episodes by myself, and so now I just get to like basically scream at you over the airwaves on all these great books. And with that, that's it for today.

Kristen Bahls:

On Where I Left Off- A Bookish Podcast, Stay tuned next time for more author interviews coming your way, more reading recaps where I talk about a bunch of books at once, more bestie book club episodes, where I'm going to. I have a little mini book club of me and some other authors that get to read and tell you our thoughts about some different books, and then, of course, I will still have Paige on whenever we do our deep dives as well. So just so many things to look forward to. You're getting all the varieties, all the formats, so many books that will be talked about. So just stay tuned and don't forget that you can send us a text message using the link in the description and let me know what kind of episodes you would like to see on the podcast moving forward.