Lex.Btw.TheLines...

A Book Bestie’s Journey Into Tropes, Smut, And BookTok Confidence

• T-Lay Enterprises Podcast Studios • Season 1 • Episode 17

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We trace Lex’s path from closed-door romance to dark romance and into horror, breaking down why anti-heroes, revenge arcs, and detailed prose changed how we read and review. We trade messy trope confessions, memory hacks for multi-reading, and how BookTok helped us show up on camera with our full voices.

• shifting from soft romance to dark romance, thrillers and horror
• why revenge horror and splatterpunk land on the page
• when spice enhances plot and when it distracts
• favorite tropes including enemies to lovers and secret baby
• reading anywhere with zero shame and some strategy
• DNF rules, mood reading and avoiding “homework” books
• note-taking, highlights and memory systems for multi-reading
• prepping author interviews with catalog deep dives
• BookTok as community, confidence and creative practice
• choosing formats, series styles and favorite narrators

You guys can find her on TikTok and Instagram and on Facebook as Lex Between the Lines. That’s BTW.


outro

SPEAKER_00:

Hi everybody and welcome to BDST with Toya. I am your book bestie and host Toya. I am here today with my favorite book bestie. We're gonna put the spotlight on Lex today, honey. I'm going to take a moment. I'm going to let her do her spiel. Tell us a little bit about yourself, Miss Ma'am. Whenever you're ready.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh wow. Like my cheeks hurt from cheesing so bad. So I am licks between the lines. I am a reader, a reviewer, and I am a podcaster. Um for the most part, when I read and review, I try to say between the lines, but occasionally, more than occasionally, I do cross them. I'm a dark romance girly. Well, if you would have told me maybe about the beginning of the year, what was my favorite genre? I would say dark romance billionaire, but lately fantasy and thriller have been taking over my catalog. And so it's kind of like the scales of the different genres, it's not like battle of the genres. So I said, Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

So let me ask you. So what was it? What book or genre, what was it that got you into reading in the first place?

SPEAKER_01:

Romance. I think it was just really, and it was when I started reading, it was like Marie Force, like soft romance. Okay. And it wasn't even like real smut. I know, can't you believe that?

SPEAKER_00:

So it was like the closed door stuff.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes. And then when they did have like scenes and stuff, I feel like I was like invading. I was just like, and it wasn't even comp like compared to the stuff I read now. I would be like looking over my shoulder trying to see if somebody was like watching me read it.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay. So were you were you young? Is that why you was looking over your shoulder? No, I wasn't even. Because girl, I don't care who stands right now.

SPEAKER_01:

Like now I don't, but when I first started, like it may, it may be like three years now. Um, since I've been reading like smut and jumped into the dark romance. But before that, it was like I was ashamed to like girl, you would have thought my daddy was a priest like a pest or something.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my god. Girl, really? Yes.

SPEAKER_01:

Oh, yes.

SPEAKER_02:

Not for me, honey.

SPEAKER_00:

Not for me. Okay, let me ask you, let me ask you a question.

SPEAKER_02:

Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

What is it about horror that you love so much that has pulled you in and kind of taken over?

SPEAKER_01:

So in a dark romance, I love like a um an anti-hero and the things horror is introduced. Like, don't judge me.

SPEAKER_00:

I promise I won't, because I can't say nothing.

SPEAKER_01:

Some of the horror, and what's crazy is I can read it, but I'm not really like a horror fan, like TV show. But like, especially when it's a horror, when it's like a revenge horror, and they go into details, and it's like a splatter punk or splatter, what do they call it?

SPEAKER_00:

Splatter punk.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah. When they give more of the details of the unaligned. I know that's gonna sound so bad of like the unaliving.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so you you like to hear, you like to read more in depth, like, to be able to take your time with the scene.

SPEAKER_01:

Mm-hmm. And like they don't hold back, like there's no closed door violence. It goes straight.

unknown:

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

That's why I said don't judge me. So, so do you okay? So let me ask you this question. So, do you prefer your horror books to have smut in them, or are you okay with no smut in your horror books?

SPEAKER_01:

I'm okay with no smut because I have read some horror and it was like it didn't really flow with with it. It was like random pop-ups and stuff, but I like for it if it's gonna be in there to kind of flow with it. But for the most part, I can do without smut and horror.

unknown:

Oh, yeah, no, baby. I don't know.

SPEAKER_01:

Especially when the plot is plotting. Toya, I'm telling you, don't miss it. When the plot is plotting, like and the story is flowing, you don't even miss it.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, um I actually announced on my podcast how I think I may have lied because there are some slow burns that I can handle. It's still the but there's still smut in the slow burns, but I don't know if I can I may have to try. Well, I mean, there's the one that we read together, and that one didn't have no smut in it.

SPEAKER_01:

Which one?

SPEAKER_00:

The one with the LM Juniper, that book.

SPEAKER_01:

That one definitely didn't.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, and I enjoyed it. The the plot was plotting real well.

SPEAKER_01:

I feel like we read another together and it wasn't really.

SPEAKER_00:

Um, the only other one that I read that didn't really was The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. You would think with the title that there would be a whole lot of smut in there, but there was not a whole lot of smut in that book.

SPEAKER_01:

That's been on my show forever, and I have not tapped into it yet. I know.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my god. Oh my god, I know. Oh girl. Okay, so let me ask you this because you are what do you like to call yourself? Pantropeal. Is that right? Okay, okay. So if you can only read one trope for the rest of your life, just one, which trope would it be? Damn it.

SPEAKER_01:

Maybe uh enemies to lovers are a bully, like, because sometimes enemies lovers and bully be like, I'd like what's different? Well, it is a difference because a bully be more like young adult, and but yeah. Maybe an enemies just dang it, Toya.

SPEAKER_00:

That's your one. That's your one. Are you sure you don't want to change your answer? Do I need to start playing the Jeopardy music?

SPEAKER_01:

Oh my god, it's so hard because I like a secret baby too. I know like a lot of people don't like a secret baby, but I love a surprise pregnancy secret baby.

SPEAKER_00:

Baby, I love a surprise pregnancy and when they cheating.

SPEAKER_01:

And don't have it be a billionaire mixed in.

SPEAKER_00:

When it is messy, messy, messy, I love good, well, you know. Because I hate you read messy.

SPEAKER_01:

And that's a powerful messy plus billionaire plus uh a good and oh, and then a jealous ex-girlfriend. Or one who think that they should, it should have been their spot. I'm finna eat it up every time.

SPEAKER_00:

Okay, so you said that when you started reading The Smud, that you would kind of look over your shoulder and just kind of see, like, okay, where have you been? What is the wildest place that you have read a smuddy book and had to keep a straight face while you read said book?

SPEAKER_01:

That was just recently. Oh girl! My daughter was in like this coronation, and I'm gonna read anywhere I go. So I knew it was she was um like a princess to the queen, and the queen comes comes out last, right? Okay, so they have all of these other dances and the stuff in between before they even bring the queen out. So I was in the stands reading my book, Blackthorne by JT. Oh child, I'm up there reading, and it started. I said, um, and then now, mind you, there are actual people behind me.

SPEAKER_00:

You were Kindle reading.

SPEAKER_01:

Yes, I was reading on my phone, and what's crazy is I feel like the lady behind me was kind of reading my stuff, and as I was reading, and I was like, it was a little girl on the side of me, and her ass kept coughing. And she was coughing in my face. I'm I was kind of like had my jacket, I put my jacket kind of like over my mouth or something. So I would look at the girl and then I would look back at the mama like, you ain't gonna say nothing. So sometimes when I be looking back, it was like she'll be looking over my shoulder, like at my phone. Girl, I was like, but I still was reading it though, baby. But I was just like, and then and then my daughter and Monica was sitting on the side, so I really had my phone like like I was in school.

SPEAKER_00:

Oh my god. And so you was just trying to just kind of you still, so that means that you still be like kind of watching, making sure ain't nobody because sometimes my daughter be like, what you read?

SPEAKER_01:

And I'd be like, mind your business. We got buddy reads together. This ain't one of them.

SPEAKER_00:

That's cute. You and your daughter have buddy reads together. Oh, I love it. I love it. Oh man. Yeah, my daughter ain't reading nothing that's not lyrics to Chris Brown. She don't my daughter ain't reading nothing. She ain't reading nothing. What? No. My daughter's not reading anything. She did not pick up the the reading gene. Oh. Yeah. Because I started when I was 13, honey, and my intro was Air Drone Dickey.

SPEAKER_01:

Not your intro.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, ma'am. I started reading. I started with smut books at 13. Air Drone Dicky, Milk in my coffee.

SPEAKER_01:

And I started with like thriller and crime. I don't know if I told you, but my uncle's trifling um ex-wife now. She gave me like this box of books, but it was grown-up books. Like you bitch. Like now that I know that she now did I know that she's a trifling individual. I can understand why it didn't click in her mind. Like, I shouldn't give this to a child. Right. Because it had like kiss the girls. It was another book in there called God's Other Son, I must. Okay. I couldn't even, I I read a few pages of that book, and I gave it to my cousin who shouldn't have been reading it either. I couldn't, I couldn't even deal with that one. And then the kiss the girls, and I was like, this ain't like the movie. They went into detail. But because it was like a mystery, like who did it, like who the killer was, and stuff like that. I I went on ahead and read it. But like the forms of torture and stuff, I was like, what the hell? I should not be reading this.

SPEAKER_00:

But but wait, but how old were you at that time?

SPEAKER_01:

I was in like sixth grade, sixth, seventh grade. Should not have been reading it. I should not.

SPEAKER_00:

Let me tell you. Don't judge me. So I am not uh one of those parents who uh filters or sugarcoats things for my daughter. I have found that it's easier for me to just be up front with her. So when my child got into ninth grade, I sure did let her read that Messy S book that I gave.

SPEAKER_01:

No, you didn't.

SPEAKER_00:

I did. I did. She was like, oh my god. I was like go ahead and read this book back. Go ahead and read this. Because at the end of the day, in reality, this is how it is. So we was watching Bad Girls Club and everything.

SPEAKER_01:

I was just gonna say it's on TV anyway.

SPEAKER_00:

We watched all that stuff, and it was just like to me, it worked out in my favor because there were things that her friends were going through that she didn't have to deal with or go through because you got to read and see the mess. Maybe that's why she don't like to read it. I don't baby.

SPEAKER_01:

I I am the problem. You didn't shock her. You you shocked her sister. Speaking of cards, did you hear that new album? Oh that's so off topic.

SPEAKER_00:

Girl, it's okay. And no, I have not. Um you know, only the one where she was talking about how she was outside. And uh as a married woman, I don't get to go outside, so I'm just gonna live through her through that song.

SPEAKER_01:

Do you hear me? Do you hear me? I don't even have all the problems, but I sure was the girl popping.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, that'd be hoping like as if I do have problems and I don't. I don't know nothing about that. I am in love, Marligay. Okay, so let me ask you this question. When it comes to your books, do you DNF books or do you power through? Like how far into a book do you get before you DNF it, or you don't DNF it at all? You just kind of push through.

SPEAKER_01:

Sometimes I can probably count on my hand, on one hand, how many books I DNF. And as long as a book is entertaining to me, I'll go ahead and finish it. Because I'm so nosy, I gotta see what the hell is going on at the end. Like, I probably in my whole like thing of reading, because sometimes I'll just pause it because I'm a mood reader too, and sometimes I just don't be in the mood, but I'll pause it and then I'll go back to it. But the books that I did, DNF, one of them was like a chapter in, and I was just like, it felt like homework, like like I had to piece it together, and then it was just like all of these complex words that I had to go and look up because I didn't know what the hell was going on in the book, because it was like a and I was just like, I can't do this, I don't know what the hell is going on because I don't know these words, right? And it was like uh the main male character was some kind of engineer, and something happened with his girlfriend, but he was working for this tech company and like stuff was going on, and I was just like, okay, but it was just telling like the technical side, like just his job stuff, and I was just like, okay, we're the plot, or like what, like, I don't give a fuck what's going on to his job and all these words, like, is somebody picking on him up there? Is he gonna like you know? And it just was like them explaining what he did at work and stuff, and I was like, how is this gonna pertain to anything? Like, it was just that the whole and I was just like, Yeah, I can't, I can't even, I didn't it it didn't interest me enough to see where it went.

SPEAKER_00:

See, you have an ability to do something, and it leads me into my next question for you. You have this amazing ability about you um that I'm gonna be honest, I try to mimic, right? So you're gonna have to break this down for me. How the hell do you keep up with who, what, where, when, why when it comes to these books? Because let me tell you, I will read a book and I got about 72 hours before my brain does a dump on everything that that book was about. I am the person that they talk about on book talk when you're like, this book is really good, and the FMC and the MMC is really good, and oh no, but I don't know what the fuck happened in the book once I closed it. Baby, you do your videos and stuff, and you have the whole rundown, and you are a multi-reader, so what do you do that allows you to be able to like how do you do that?

SPEAKER_01:

I don't know, my brain just kind of I don't know, but I've been like that all through school and stuff, like to be able to multi, I don't know. I just say my brain is a multitasker, which in real life I'm a horrible multitasker, but when it comes to my mind, like processing stories and stuff, it's just I don't know. It's especially when it's a good one. Oh, I'm gonna remember even the smallest details, but then I can't tell you what happened yesterday, though, in my real life.

SPEAKER_00:

Listen, I am to the point now where I am taking notes. I will be at work, and I will it I don't care what a defendant is doing, hold on, because I have to get this scene down. I have to write, I need to write down these names and who they are and who is connected to who and all of that. And then when I get home, I need to plug it into something and type it up because when it gets to the point where I start doing other stuff, I need to know what I'm talking about.

SPEAKER_01:

Now I do highlight, I do highlight in the um books and stuff like this book that you got me reading, because I had to go back and highlight, because I said, um, I know I ain't just read what the fuck I thought I read. That him and Nora, this lady was in the hospital dying, and you and Nora was messing around, and then when this lady died, you marry her. So I highlighted that so that when we talk about it, I can go back to my highlight and be like, girl. So I highlight I do highlight certain things that catch my attention in the book and stuff, so that helps too.

SPEAKER_00:

So let me ask you when you are preparing to interview your authors and things like that, because you do do your interviews with authors and things like that. Is there research and things like that that go into it? Or are like what what do you do to prepare yourself for that?

SPEAKER_01:

Mostly that's why I try to stick to interviewing um the authors that I have read or I'm familiar with their work. And so that way the questions kind of form from me reading the instead of just interviewing somebody that I don't know their work, I don't know their, you know, because sometimes I be nosy, especially when I read a good catalog of people, you know, a good bit of their catalog. And I feel like I know them, and I'm not gonna lie, I be going and stalking them and go back. I'll probably be liking stuff from two, three years ago from you know how you be hitting them. So that's how I kind of prepare. I um read their books and then I go search their profiles. I'm still waiting to interview like Kiri Casey. When I tell you I ran this lady's profile at first, because I was like, why can't you find no information on her? So I did like a deep dive and then I found out that she lives in Shreve Put. I said, Yes, do you know that's right up the road for me? I was getting ready to say she lived down the block. I went and stopped this lady's profile, I went and found her Facebook, added her as a friend on. I had to be like, hey, I'm not a stalker, I'm not a stalker, but yeah, we do. Uh-huh. I'm stimulated in to kind of connect with her, but that's what I do. I go like a I go down a rabbit hole. And so whenever I have put my questions and stuff together, it be from like the stuff that I've seen that I'm post or the questions that I have that I read from the book that maybe I missed or didn't answer, or a question, like one of my questions for Samara. I can't wait to get her in. Is what was the actual diagnosis for um her character in the book that I read of hers? Because it didn't really get it, it didn't tell like what he was diagnosed with or what was his exact. So I kind of that's the question that I kind of asked. That's how I prepare.

SPEAKER_00:

So are you are you a people person? Is it easy for you to do your interviews and stuff like that, or do you get nervous?

SPEAKER_01:

You know what? I is both. But I am a I I try, I like to say I'm an introvert, but I'm like an introvert extrovert. Like I really am a people person because I'm a statician and I have to talk and deal with people all day and stuff, but then sometimes I like to be by myself and I'm kind of shy. But when it comes to stuff that I really like or that I really, especially, or if I really know my shit on it, then it's like like I'm about to talk your head off. Right.

SPEAKER_00:

So then it just flows. It's real easy for you. It is okay. So what got you into book talk? Like what took you over there?

SPEAKER_01:

So when I got into reading, remember I told you about three years ago when I started reading for uh reading my dark romances and stuff, and then I was on TikTok, but I was on there for my other business. And then some kind of way I heard somebody say something about book talk. And so I went and Googled book talk.

SPEAKER_00:

Not the Google, honey.

SPEAKER_01:

I felt dumb as hell when I've well, that's why I tell people now when I say, Oh, are you on book talk? And I say, Hey, it's just it's just TikTok, but it's just the book side. Because I'm thinking that it's an actual app or it's an actual, you know. And so I went looking for it, and then it was like, it's a part of TikTok. And I was like, wait, book talk is on TikTok, or book talk is, but I was new to TikTok, and I would just post my videos and I barely knew how to do that. So I started putting, and then that's when people were like, you know, you could just type in something on TikTok, and then it'll show you like everything that's like related to it and stuff. So I said, let me start um putting in some of these books and stuff that I'm reading, because maybe there are other people out there who are reading this, and I can kind of, you know, and that opened up the floodgates. What I found people who like the same books, and there was no shame. And we could talk about like what I could talk about this on the live and or the things that this anti-hero or this MMC did, and we know in real life that it's not okay, but in this situation, in this fictional world, girl, we here.

SPEAKER_00:

So I have a confession. I have a confession. Just just a little bit. You are what inspired me to show my face on my booktop. What so what happened was originally when I started, um like I said, I've been reading forever. So I was like, I had taken a break from social media from October to January from all forms of social media. Um, and I was just reading. And then I was like, there's I saw something before I ended my social media and did my break about book talk, and I had researched it and was like, oh, okay, I'm gonna join this when I come back. So I had everything. I had girl, I had gone to Hobby Lobby Marshalls, I had gone to Michaels and was buying all this stuff because I'm like, I'm gonna do an account and it's gonna be faceless. And when you look up stuff on social media for book talk, you get all the pretty backgrounds and everything so colorful and coordinated, and there's no form of chaos when you first go and look up book talk. It's like okay, so I was gonna do that, I was gonna take pictures, I was not gonna show my face, and then I came across your page, and I was like, oh, okay, well, I'm gonna follow her. I don't know why. Um, I think it was because when I'm talking about books, I can be very animated in what I'm saying. And I felt like I don't know how these people are going to accept the fact that I am animated as fuck. When it comes to these books, I can get real loud and start clapping, and the words come out. There's probably not where you're not gonna find the words in the dictionary. But you heard what I said, and you know what I said, you heard me. Don't play with me. So I'm looking and I'm looking at your page, and I'm like, I can do that. She did that, I can do that. And then I started talking to you. And I was like, oh, I like her, she is fun. I'm about to mimic the shit on this page. Maybe she's gonna be like, you better not take nothing else. And I didn't take anything, but it was just more so uh an inspiration. So thank you. Because everybody sees my face because baby, I was not, I was not gonna show my face, honey. Mine was gonna be all cute with the pretty pictures and everything else. And then the more I started looking and the more I was seeing more people that just posted real book stuff. It wasn't let me color coordinate all of this. Oh man. And I was real happy that there was no color coordination, it was just you just on there. So thank you. Oh my god. Look, how does it feel to be on the other side of this?

SPEAKER_01:

You see me? I'm like, don't do not cover up your face. I'm like, oh my god, stop. I'm blushing. You were like, oh, so I'm like look, inspiring people.

SPEAKER_00:

Was that the goal?

SPEAKER_01:

It would I was just out here to make book friends to talk about some of the stuff that I like and didn't get like side-eyed for it. But you just added to my days, like what?

SPEAKER_00:

Uh-huh. That's how I started, honey. When I got on that, when I started this book app, I was on Drake, no new friends. We wasn't doing it. I was like, mm-mm-mm-mm. I'm just gonna get on here and post some book stuff and let me see what they're talking about. Because I think the first book that I posted about was um 365 days. I was like, okay, here we go. But then it turned into something else, honey. And then yeah, and then poof, here you come. God was like, let me go ahead and put this girl in your lap real quick so that way you can do what the hell I need you to do.

SPEAKER_01:

And look how we how everything lined up and what we're doing now.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes. And it's absolutely amazing. It really is.

SPEAKER_01:

He sends help, he sends help. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_00:

Because child, yeah, I'd have never thought I'd have had this damn floor to ceiling bookship. In here, but I was happy with my three little bookshelfs. Like, oh, we'll figure out how to get this, baby. I got on booktuck, and they was like, and here's 86,000 more books for you to be trying to add.

SPEAKER_01:

So, all these new releases, and then all of these recommendations on top of the new releases. What? Like, what?

SPEAKER_00:

Listen. So, I'm gonna play a little game with you. We are going to do a little bit of this or that. Because the last time we did this or that, I had you stumped. And it was a tell me Tuesday post. So I'm like, oh no, we're gonna play this little game real quick with you and see. Okay, you ready? I'm ready. Okay. This or that ebook or a physical copy?

SPEAKER_01:

Ebook. Because I can read it anywhere in ebook.

SPEAKER_00:

You know, I want the I want the physical copy. Okay. So do you prefer a series or standalone?

SPEAKER_01:

I'll take a ser I I could do either or, but I do like a series. But I like the series where it kind of carries over into like the same like you know how they do like the different couples and stuff. I do like the same couple going through the series and stuff, but I'll take a series with the different friends, especially if they're in they're interested.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I'm not even gonna try to answer that because I don't get the answer for you. Okay, so there are two narrators that are very popular in the book world.

SPEAKER_01:

So Corbin King or Teddy Hamilton, Corbin Corbin, really Oh, over teddy. I don't know, that was a hard one.

SPEAKER_00:

I agree.

unknown:

I agree.

SPEAKER_01:

Well I want to kind of draw back my answer, but girl.

SPEAKER_00:

Does it depend on the book? Because for me it depends on the book.

SPEAKER_01:

It's the voice.

SPEAKER_00:

It it depends. It depends on which one. It really didn't.

SPEAKER_01:

It has.

SPEAKER_00:

I appreciate you doing this interview and being on the other side of this hot seat, chat.

SPEAKER_01:

It's so different being on the other side of being like interviewee instead of the interviewer. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00:

Because you can't how you prepare, I think, might be a little bit different. So it's okay. It's okay.

SPEAKER_01:

I like this. This was a good experience, though. Yes, this was a really good experience.

SPEAKER_00:

Well, I'm happy I provided a good experience, honey. This works. Oh, well, thank you everyone for joining us. I have had an amazing time talking with Lex. You guys can find her on her where? Where can they find you, darling?

SPEAKER_01:

They can find me on TikTok and Instagram and on Facebook as Lex Between the Lines. That's BTW.

SPEAKER_00:

All right. Thank you so much, and you guys enjoy your evening. Bye.