We Each Pick A Grumpy Sunshine Book And Compare Notes

Grumpy sunshine is the trope that turns emotional contrast into chemistry and we put it to the test with a brand-new format: we each pick our own book and bring the receipts. Along the way, we hit quick romance community news, including special editions, indie book day hype, and a Netflix adaptation update for a dark romance fan favorite. Then we define what grumpy sunshine really means, from classic brooding bodyguard energy to softer versions where the “grump” is just scared of hurting people, and the “sunshine” is optimistic because they choose to be.

Our book stack ranges wildly, which is exactly the point. We talk cozy romantasy with sentient buildings and a charming fairy-tale vibe, a surprisingly tender mafia romance centered on disability representation and protective devotion, and a cozy fantasy romance where a halfling and a goblin share a cottage and clash through culture, rules, and attraction. We also dive into a sapphic, steampunk-leaning political fantasy where automatons rule humans, rebellion simmers, and enemies-to-lovers tension raises the stakes. To round it out, we revisit a beloved paranormal romance finale packed with found family, trauma recovery, and a sunshine heroine determined to pull a grim hero back toward the light.

If you love romance tropes, grumpy sunshine dynamics, cozy fantasy romance, romantasy, sapphic fantasy, and character-driven love stories with real emotional payoff, this one gives you plenty of new titles to add to your TBR. Subscribe, share the episode with a fellow romance reader, and leave a review, then tell us what trope you want us to “choose our own” for next.

Links from the News Segment and Show:

• Sarah Beth Durst announced Spellshop book 4
  • Instagram Link
• Gerald Brom is doing a special edition version of Slewfoot
  • Instagram Link
• Hannah Schneider selected as showrunner and writer for Lights Out Netflix show
  • Instagram Link
• Illumicrate special edition of The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley
  • Instagram Link
• CM Nascosta  announced as an attending author at Romantasycon in Orlando
  • Instagram Link
• Shield of Sparrows book 3 by Devney Perry releases March 2027
  • Instagram Link

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Transcript

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Welcome And What’s New

Mari 0:16

Hello and welcome to of Swords and Soulmates, a podcast where we read, watch, and discuss romancy and romance adjacent stories. I'm one of your hosts, Mari, and with me I have Kelly.

Kelly 0:26

Hey everyone, it's Kelly. We also have Ashley.

Ashley 0:28

Hey guys, it's Ashley. We also have Jonathan.

Mari 0:31

What's good, everybody? It's JP. Yay! And we are all here and we're doing a new thing today. So we're trying something new, but before we get into any discussions of uh exactly describing what all we're doing, we're gonna go into the news, get that out of the way. As always, we'll do that first. So, first thing is from Sarah Beth Durst, who wrote the Spell Shop series, or I don't even miss called the Spell Shop Series. Is it called Spell Shop?

Jonathan 1:00

Yeah, I think it's yeah, it's because she says like spell shop one, two, three kind of thing.

Mari 1:03

Okay, so the spell shop series, she released, mind you, book three is not yet out. It's coming out this year, but she announced book four is gonna be coming out January 19th, 2027. So less than a year between book three and book four. And it's gonna be called the magical cheese emporium, which I love. And she like she doesn't have a cover reveal or anything like that. That yet, it's not available for pre-order yet that I could find anywhere. But uh, she said when she was describing it, she said it's about finding home, starting over, finding purpose, finding love, finding family, and unicorn cheese. Unicorn cheese? Unicorn cheese.

Jonathan 1:48

You think it's gonna be cheese made from unicorns?

Mari 1:51

I mean, I assume that means that someone has milked a unicorn. How do you make cheese from from milk?

Jonathan 1:55

Can you milk a unicorn?

Mari 1:57

I don't know. Sounds like it.

Jonathan 1:59

Unicorns got mammary glands. Or or it could be cheese that unicorns eat.

Mari 2:04

I don't know. I don't know. I guess we'll have to find out. Would you try unicorn cheese?

Jonathan 2:11

Would you eat cheese made from unicorn mammarian mammaries? Secretions.

Ashley 2:19

Me?

Jonathan 2:19

Yeah.

Ashley 2:20

I like goat cheese, so yeah, why not? Okay. Maybe it has magical properties.

Mari 2:25

Would you eat unicorn cheese? Who, me? Yeah, you asked us. Would you eat unicorn cheese?

Jonathan 2:31

You know, I would have to see a unicorn. Like, I want to see what it's coming from. You know what I mean? Like, I know what a cow looks like, and I'm like, oh, cow, I'd like to eat you. But then like unicorn, I was look at unicorn and be like, ooh, I don't know if I'd like to eat you. I also have a thought that I think I think unicorns are like, well, not the prerequisite, but like the precursor to the term dickhead.

Mari 2:54

Yeah, okay. I mean, what do you how do you feel about goats and goat cheese?

Jonathan 2:58

We had goat cheese when I was a kid. As an adult, I don't, I don't. Like if you're like, hey, here's here's of all the cheeses in all the worlds, you walk right in them. No, not goats.

Ashley 3:10

I don't know. I'd give it a try for those magical properties.

Mari 3:13

Yeah, yeah. I think it may depend on what the unicorn is like in that world, because like you think of like this gentle, almost goat-like, well, I guess goats aren't gentle, but almost like a small horse-like creature, like maybe. But like I'm I'm about to start reading the third book in S. E. Wendell's Halfling series, and it's called The Failing? I think it's called The Failing. And it's got uh it's a Faye and uh riding his unicorn, and this unicorn is like a beast of like a big black war horse-looking thing with a horn. And I'm like, that is a scary unicorn. I don't know about that unicorn cheese from something like that.

Jonathan 3:57

So yeah, there isn't there a movie with an ant man with you where he like eats and sells unicorns or something like that.

Ashley 4:05

Eats and sells?

Jonathan 4:07

Yeah.

Mari 4:07

I don't know.

Ashley 4:08

That got weird.

Jonathan 4:10

Who's the guy who's Ant Man?

Mari 4:12

Paul Rudd?

Jonathan 4:13

Thank you. I'm gonna

Special Editions And Witchy Reads

Jonathan 4:14

Google the Paul Rudd's here. Let me bing it. Okay.

Mari 4:16

Um but yeah, I'm excited about this book. I mean, Terabeth Dirce wrote it, so I'll probably read it. But yeah, I I think it'll be interesting to see a cheese emporium situation.

Jonathan 4:28

Death of a unicorn.

Mari 4:30

Oh, is that the one that's got uh Jenny Ortega in it too?

Jonathan 4:34

I think so.

Mari 4:36

I didn't watch it, but I remembered the trailer.

Jonathan 4:39

It's yeah, I think it has it Wednesday. Is that the Wednesday person?

Mari 4:43

Yeah, yeah.

Jonathan 4:43

Yeah. Okay, yeah. It's she's the daughter. Is that what it is?

Ashley 4:48

And I had not seen anything about this movie, and I'm looking at the movie poster, and it's this is not a unicorn. This is an evil unicorn. This is like donkey from Shrek with dragon teeth unicorns.

Jonathan 5:04

That could just be uh donkey's offspring. Didn't he have Dragon Donkey baby?

Ashley 5:09

What?

Jonathan 5:10

You didn't know?

Ashley 5:11

No, like I didn't I forgot about the connection. Dang. Okay.

Mari 5:14

Second bit of news. Gerald Braum is doing a special edition version of Sloughfoot, which is his um witch book, basically. It's like witch or witchcraft in like puritanical times. I think it's his most like best-selling book. I think it's his most popular book. It's a really pretty version. It's gonna be released September 2027. September 1st, 2027. It's only like 34 bucks, and it's got like the sprayed printed edges. Other than that, from what I could tell, the cover and then the art that he does on the inside is the same.

Jonathan 5:49

Interesting. Have you read this book?

Mari 5:51

Multiple times.

Jonathan 5:52

Okay. Alright. Does she have hoofs?

Mari 5:55

She does in that picture.

Jonathan 5:57

Oh, I get it. That's because Slough Foot. I gotcha. Would you eat her cheese?

Ashley 6:03

Uh no.

Jonathan 6:04

Just checking.

Ashley 6:07

I see what you did there.

Jonathan 6:08

Thank you. I tried. I tried to bring it. I try to keep everything, you know. Full circle. Yeah, full circle is how we roll.

Mari 6:13

Yeah. If anyone likes like witchcrafty books, that's a good one. And if anyone likes like the whole, I don't know what the the genre is, but like a puritanical setting, but like fight back against the pu the Puritans, against, you know, the patriarchy and and everything else. It's that kind of a vibe.

Jonathan 6:32

Is it like Salem y?

Mari 6:33

Yeah, I mean yeah, I mean it's it's that vibe. It doesn't take place in Salem, but it definitely has that witch cra witch hunt kind of vibes. It's like somewhere between like a witch hunt kind of thing, maybe Scarlet Letter kind of thing. It's got magic in it though. It's good. I like I said, I've read it multiple times. Krampus is still my favorite Gerald Braum book, but Slowfoot is second favorite for sure. Very strong second favorite.

Jonathan 6:58

Okay.

Mari 6:58

Um it's a good read, it's a good audio. If you're gonna do the audio, like look up the pictures or or or or get the the physical book as well, because he's also a very talented artist and he does all the artwork for his books. And so like there's the cover that that painting on the cover he did, but like the stuff on the inside is also just as good. Really high quality. I think I'm the only one who's read any of his stuff. Yeah, I don't think I've read it. Okay, Kelly, you haven't read any of the Brahms stuff I have, right?

Jonathan 7:28

No.

Mari 7:29

Okay. Yeah, I usually read usually not every year, but I'll usually most year or maybe every other year I'll read Slewfoot, maybe in like October, November. And I always read Krampus in like December. So Alright, next bit of news.

Dark Romance TV Adaptation Talk

Mari 7:44

So Hannah Schneider, producer of Why Women Kill, is set as the showrunner and the writer for the Lights Out TV show coming to Netflix, which I don't know if we've talked about this TV show. Um Lights Out is a dark romance, like a masked romance situation, uh written by Nevessa Allen. It is the kind of dark romance I like where, yeah, okay, I guess it's people get killed and it's a mass killer situation. But it's like only the bad guys die, and there's a lot of comedy in it. You know, it's it's got kind of that unrealistic dark. Yeah, it's funny. It's not dark.

Jonathan 8:22

It's not dark. Are these the good-looking books? The pink and the blue, yeah, and the green. I do I not do I not why haven't I read these?

Mari 8:29

These are great audiobooks, by the way. They're great to listen to.

Ashley 8:33

So it's not fantasy, though, to be clear. It's just it is dark romance. It's dark romance, though. Yeah.

Jonathan 8:38

Why haven't I read it, actually?

Ashley 8:40

Because you don't typically read outside of fantasy romance.

Jonathan 8:43

No, I read, I definitely do, but I don't understand why I haven't read these.

Ashley 8:47

Because you don't typically, Jonathan, if you want to read it. I would say it's it's yeah, maybe we could read it together.

Jonathan 8:54

I don't want to read it together.

Ashley 8:55

Yeah, we like tandem read it. I sit on the couch on Saturday.

Jonathan 8:59

Sounds creepy.

Ashley 9:01

We have this like local bookshop situation, but it's not really a shop. It's more like a warehouse. They're not gonna kidnap us because we've been there twice and it hasn't happened yet. But they do have it out.

Jonathan 9:12

We'll keep trying. I I definitely walk slowly while I'm there, give them an opportunity.

Ashley 9:17

And so in the warehouse in the middle of nowhere, Fort Pierce, um down here in Florida, they have they have a collection. Um, like literally, like I think like 99% of what they sell are signed books. And yeah, it's super cool. We've we go up there every time we find out they host it like once a month. You it is mostly like online only shopping, but they you know, they rent out this warehouse or whatever. So it's really cool. And there is a Novessa Allen book there, but I think it's like book three, and I don't know that if they have book one or two, and that's the only reason I haven't purchased from them. But wasn't she just there? Novessa Allen? Yeah, perhaps.

Mari 9:56

I think she was on tour recently. Perhaps I haven't read it. She may or no, no, sorry.

Ashley 10:02

I was gonna say, because there, you know, there's a lot of like indie books, book day, you know, advertisements going out, which is on April 25th today, as we record, it's only the 16th. And I think we have plans on the 25th, but um again, uh it's indie book day, so like go shop, you know, your independent books. Yeah. And so a lot of places, and I think the we're starting to see more independent bookstores pop up in our area for the first time. And Jonathan was laughing recently because they're like joining ranks and having like an indie book day like combined experience, and it's gonna have like authors and stuff. So maybe that's where we saw her name was where I was getting with that, but I'm not 100% sure because I think we have plans a day, so I wasn't paying attention elsewhere.

Jonathan 10:47

Yeah, I thought I thought I saw her like recently.

Ashley 10:51

It's not impossible. I I don't know if she's local, but for whatever reason, like I said, that bookstore has some of her books, which seemed interesting because she's one of the bigger romance authors currently.

Jonathan 11:03

I could have been wrong.

Mari 11:04

I think book three is coming out or has recently come out in that series, so she might be doing a push for that. Maybe that's why you're seeing her name in places.

Jonathan 11:12

Perhaps game on. Yeah, yeah, that's they're that's what they're saying. Yeah, they're saying enemies of lovers, morally gray, mcs, fake dating, age gap, revenge, force proximity, pre-order, sign pre-orders.

Ashley 11:26

I want to read, I want to read that series very desperately, as well as um Butcher and Blackbird.

Mari 11:32

Oh, they're so good.

Ashley 11:33

Which I think are very similar vibes, right? Yes, yeah. It's on my nightstand.

Jonathan 11:38

They definitely had both of those books in the same ad.

Mari 11:42

Yeah. And I would highly, highly, highly recommend audiobooks for both of those. They're just so well done audiobooks. Like, it's just a whole experience. Um, like they both have funny or interesting premises, even though it's in like, okay, yeah, they're serial killer situation, but it's like you're it's like uh, and I didn't watch this show, so I may get the details wrong, but like it's like the Dexter thing, like where you're a serial killer, but you're a serial killer who like kills the bad guys, you know, you killed the serial killer, so it's like, are you a Robin Hood of a serial killer situation?

Ashley 12:14

You know, I think the narrators are quite acclaimed too for these two series. Um the audiobook narrators. I I I feel like I see a lot of like social media TikTok, like, oh my god, you know, these voices and whatnot. They're supposed to be very well done, I heard.

Mari 12:32

Yeah, I I I I would agree that they both are, and they both have like really interesting elements of comedy in them. So it's not like they don't take themselves too seriously, and that's what I like about it. Yeah, there's a scene in lights out, which doesn't reveal anything, and it's a lot of people have talked about how they're they can't wait to see this on the TV show. One of the main characters wears a mask, obviously. And uh there's a point where they fall, they fall asleep with the mask on and don't realize it. So they wake up and they're and the mask had like shifted into sleep. They're like, oh my god, I'm blind. So very unserious is what you're saying. Very unserious. I love it. Very goofy, like, okay, serious stuff happens, I guess, you know, but it's also like with this very like practical, like funny, goofy way of of dealing with stuff, too. Yeah, yeah. I I laughed out loud multiple times in that. I was like, okay, based off of those two, I thought maybe I liked more dark romance and masked people, whatever, but like I haven't found anything else that is the same vibe as those two. So if anyone has any recommendations, please let your girls know. Yeah, yeah. Um okay, um next is that uh Luma Crate is doing a special edition of The Exquisite Torment of Loving Your Enemy, which is the sequel to The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy. It's

Bookish Special Editions And Romanticon

Mari 13:54

it's the sequel, it's also the conclusion of the duology. It's a very pretty version. It's like got um, it's like white and it's got um on the vascular. Yeah, on the edges, like it's got like uh veins and arteries and stuff. Like the you know that uh what's it the human anatomies show? Nobody says series, whatever the traveling exhibit, exhibit is the word I'm looking for. Exhibit where it has like the human body like parsed out into this different like components, and you have the veins and things all spread out. That it looks like that on the edges. It's really and really pretty looking. It's gonna be available to purchase starting May 14th, and it's $39 a plus shipping. Hot dog. I will definitely be reading it because I enjoyed the the first one. I don't I'm not gonna get this special edition because it's it's very white and bright, and even though it's pretty, it just doesn't really go. Yeah, it doesn't really go with my vibe. It would it will stand out. I mean, unless I read it and end up loving it and feel like this particular version is the best thing ever. Most likely, if I do end up loving it as much as like the first one, I'll probably just buy the standard version. So I didn't get the first one because I like I like the the imagery on the standard version, but this version is very pretty. If you're thinking about it, I would definitely look it up and and see if that's something that you would like to add to your collection. Um next thing I have is the CM Nascosta was announced as an attending author at Romanticon in Orlando this year. That's our friend. That is.

Jonathan 15:26

Well, we don't know her.

Mari 15:31

But yeah, author of Morning Glory Milking Farm and Sweetberries and all all Cambridge Cambridge Creek stuff, that whole world. And a bunch of other she's written a bunch of other stuff too, but that's definitely her big thing that she's known for. I'm I'm looking forward to meeting her. I'm looking forward to maybe getting more of her stuff because I was trying to think, oh, okay, which one of her books am I gonna take to get signed? I actually only own one of her books in physical books. It's her um her her Krampus book, her Christmas book, which is really pretty, but it's a very just small little book. So apart me, that I need to decide if I'm gonna buy like a special edition of Morning Glory Milking Farm, because if anyone who's going to any any book convention, uh, you want to get on Beventi and check if your convention and those authors are on there because all their special order pre-order stuff that they have will have available at the events are there, including like the date you have to pre-order by if you want it. So you can look and see what's coming, what they're planning on bringing, and you can pre-order it so that pick it up at the event. Like Romanticon has this, Monster Rotica BookCon has this, Villains and Vixens, like pretty much all the book conventions have that. Um so I was looking through what she was gonna have at well, she actually doesn't have it up that she's gonna be at Romanticon yet. I understand it's all new, but I was looking at what she was bringing to other events that are coming up, and she's got special edition version of Morning Glory Milk and Farm and Sweetberries. I think all of those Cambridge Creek books and also like a new a new printing or a new version of because you know Morning Glory Milk and Farm is one story, and then there's like another story that's told from his perspective. Oh I I'm trying to remember what it is. I think it's called Blue, is it Blue Blue Bell? Blue Ribbon, Blue Ribbon, I think it's called. And it's it's it's cute. If you like the first one, I would read that one because you get his perspective on it. But she's got uh a book compilation, I guess. I don't know what to call it, coming out that you will be able to special order that I think is called Milked, and it's basically the two versions, like back to back, like um not back to back, like interspersed. Like interspersed okay, interspersed, like yeah, okay. Her version of events, his version of events, yeah. Dual perspective. Thank you, big birds.

Jonathan 17:48

Multi-syllabic. So I think honestly, we're gonna end up reading uh the Krampus uh story that she wrote. Most of the I liked it a lot. We stumbled on a signed copy of it, and uh now that we know that you have that, we no longer have to give it to you. So I'm gonna have to read that one now. Thanks, Mari.

Mari 18:09

I I know that um Sarah loves Krampus stuff too, and that and she loves Noscassa. She may or may not have that if you're looking for someone to pass that on to FYI.

Ashley 18:17

Ooh, okay.

Mari 18:18

I think we said that out loud too when we bought it.

Jonathan 18:22

She was our she's our backup plan.

Mari 18:23

Yes, yes. So Morning Glory Milk Farm is really great, but there's also the second one in that series is called Sweet Berries, and I really enjoyed it. And it's a like human, it's shorter. There's a human and a um a Mothman, but the Mothman is very like, he's a scientist, he's very introvert, almost like coded on the spectrum. And so it's a really sweet little relationship between the two of them that I I thought was was really well done. Like, so I may end up getting that. We'll see. I haven't decided what all I may be buying for romantic on, but I'm trying to pre-shop through Beventi so I don't do as many impulse purchases at the event. Because I'm bad about that.

Ashley 19:02

I like I like to let Romancy BookCon

More Announcements And Event Planning

Ashley 19:05

tell me what I need.

Mari 19:06

It's gonna tell you you need all the things. Yeah, I know.

Ashley 19:09

We did a lot of damage this year.

Mari 19:12

Yeah, yeah. Um next thing is Shield of Sparrows book three was announced. Um, it's by Debbie Perry. It is gonna be released March 9th, 2027, and it's the conclusion of the series. So book two just came out. I have it and I haven't read it yet because I'm focusing on reading the upcoming book event I'm going to. I'm trying to read, have a book challenge to read one book by each of the authors that it's gonna be at Monster Rotica BookCon. And I'm like 80% through with the challenge now. So dang. That is my goal. Until it is done, that is my goal. But once that's done, I will be reading the second Sheila Sprouse book. You read the first one, right?

Ashley 19:56

I did. Um, and I actually like I read it recently, maybe in like December. And I'm glad I waited. And it I I was surprised, you know, because I I don't think I was as into it in the first, you know, couple chapters or third of the book or whatever, but I was really hooked by the end of it. So it mine did arrive on release day, and it's been sitting on my coffee table, just graciously waiting for me to make time for it. Um, so yeah, I I am and it's so pretty. I think that's one thing about uh this series is I think I bought the first one just because it was pretty. So I'm excited for this one.

Mari 20:33

Yeah, I think it'll be it'll be fun. The first one was fun, and I guess the later we read the second one, the less time we have to wait for the third one. Girl math. Yeah, it worked out, right? Jonathan Kelly, neither of you guys have read Shield of Thrones, right?

Jonathan 20:49

No.

Mari 20:49

Okay. All right. Last bit of news I have is Jacqueline Hyde and Cassie Keegan had had to cancel their set appearances for Monster Kata BookCon, both because of health issues. Jacqueline Hyde is one that we're gonna be reading later this year. You guys have heard me talk about her. I like her series. It's got like these It's the Punny one, right? Yeah, the Punny, yeah, like your coffin or mine, how are you doing, all that stuff. So she's working, I believe, still on the the fourth one, the the Lochness Monster one or whatever. But yeah, so they won't be there, uh which is fine. I won't get to see them, but it's fine. Um uh but we'll get to read her stuff later. So I hope you guys get better. Any any other news anybody has?

Jonathan 21:39

I don't think so. I don't I I mean I don't have I don't have any news. Uh do you Kelly?

Mari 21:45

All right, so then moving on to what we're doing. So we basically are

Grumpy Sunshine Trope Setup

Mari 21:50

doing a choose your own adventure situation. Um I think this is Kelly's idea. Um so it was basically we're gonna have we picked a topic, which our topic for this particular one was. Grumpy Sunshine, and we each read a book um that had a grumpy sunshine situation in it, and we're gonna talk about it. Um, but I figured before we do that, um, just a general overview. We're not doing a full-on trope episode, whatever, but just what a grumpy sunshine is, and it's basically a pairing where one of the members in the relationship or partnership or whatever is a grumpy type, whether that's brooding, whether that's you know, actual grumpy, whatever. That's just a stoic type. And then the other person in the relationship is a sunshine, maybe a you know, perky, talker, caretakery kind of person. Um and then mashing up those is usually leads to fun, fun interactions and fun times. Anybody else have a different like description or anything for Grumpy Sunshine?

Jonathan 22:49

Like Luke Gaines and Lorelai Gilmore.

Ashley 22:53

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. You crushed it there.

Jonathan 22:56

I tried, I tried. 157 episodes I watched.

Ashley 23:00

I think there's like different spins on it too. So like the black cat and the golden retriever. There's another one. It's like the cinnamon roll, uh, but I think I've only seen cinnamon roll like in on its own. I don't think it was paired with anything.

Mari 23:13

Coffee ground.

Ashley 23:16

That's fair.

Mari 23:17

I think also almost like a precursor or a relative of Grumpy Sunshine is the the comedy trope or comedy style where you have like a straight man and a funny man kind of situation. Okay. Yeah, I think that kind of works too. We have a person who's like not the jokester, they're just the one that the the jokes bounce off of, but they're you know, that relationship or that dynamic is is necessary to get the the humor across to the audience. Okay, so what we're gonna do is we're gonna roll the dice and decide who's who's gonna go first and talk about their books. So we didn't all read the same book, we each read individual books. And so I'm just doing this alphabetically. Ash, you're number one. Me, Jonathan, you're number two. Kelly, you're number three, and I'm number four, and I'm gonna roll a dice. A pointy little DD dice.

Jonathan 24:05

How many sides are on this dice?

Mari 24:07

How many you think? How many of us are there?

Jonathan 24:10

There's a four-sided uh what do you call that? Is it like a quad quad quadruple?

Mari 24:14

The little pyramid dice is all I call it. It's a pyramid dice. Yeah, that really did today with pointy.

Jonathan 24:20

Very pointy. Don't hurt yourself.

Mari’s Cozy Romantasy Pick

Mari 24:22

Okay, so um number four is what came up. Of course, it would be what came up. Damn it. So that's me. Okay, so uh had a book in mind when we came up with this. I was like, I had a book I was wanting to read. And so I picked it to read, but in the meanwhile, because you know, I can't read more than I can't just read one book at a time. So in the interim, I also read another book that fits this criteria very well. So I'm gonna start with the one that I had in mind, and that is a romanticy book. It's called This Damsel Is Not in Distress by T Harlow. That's T-E-E-H-A-R-L-O-W-E. I've read one book by her before this, and it was fine. Um, it was like potions and prejudice. It was like a magic pride and prejudice type situation. This book, however, had all the things for like cozy fantasy, romancey. Like, if there was one word I had to I would have to like say about this book, is it was charming. Like it was just so good. So it's book one in the Brothers of Fairwick Isle series. So it's it's it's gonna be a series and they're all brothers. And this one is basically a has sentient buildings. So like all the buildings are sentient. So there's a castle, there's a tower, there's a cabin, like they're all sentient. Has a talking bookworm, has a world with magic in it. Um so you have the the main character, female main character is the sunshine character. She's bookish, she had fled her old kingdom where she used to live because war came to that land, and she hides out in this tire tower just reading with her little bookworm friend, literal bookworm that talks. And the very first chapter starts with the main character and his brother tearing down her walls of their tower because so the main male character is Wolf, Rage Wolfgang is his name, and his brother. His brother's the prince. And the prince got drunk, and someone told him a prophecy that he was gonna find his princess in the tower. So he went off to do this, and so Wolf is like taking care of his flighty brother and making sure he doesn't get into trouble. Stay safe, and he's being the bodyguard. And so Wolf is the grumpy, stoic, silent bodyguard type. And basically, they go off to the the princess kingdom where the castle has to accept her in like six weeks' time. The whole thing takes place in like six weeks' time. And the way that you know you're accepted into the town is and into the castle is a key tattoo appears on you. Um and so nobody knows how to get accepted. Um, and so she's just doing everything she can. And it's basically her trying to get over her anxiety, but also being this chatterbox and being really happy to have people around. And Wolf being like, Oh my god, will you just shut up in his head? Like he doesn't tell her this, but in his head, and but he also ends up trying to keep her safe and trying to keep everybody safe, and then she ends up making him open up, they fall in love, of course. Like it's a romantic book, you're gonna have happy ever after. Like, I can't tell you a whole lot of the details because it's just gonna ruin the book. But you're you have the whole family involved in it, you have a lot of side characters, you have parts of it that felt kind of like Princess Bride, and parts of it that felt kind of like Sword Heart, like T. Kingfisher, that I very much like. And the next book is coming out very soon, and it's basically the basically nerdy younger brother. Because they they basically the castle had to move, and they landed in this bog, and then there's this bog witch, and it's gonna be the bog witch, who is all green, very alpha buck-coated, and this nerdy younger alchemist healer type is gonna be the second book. Yeah, it's it was charming, it was had a little bit of humor, I had a little bit of spice, and it just left you feeling happy at the end. There were issues that people resolved, but it didn't feel heavy-handed, like it didn't leave you feeling depressed or like too too deep, you know. Yeah, I enjoyed it. I would 100% recommend it to anyone who is wanting like a cozy romance. Oh, and also the female main character is in her upper 30s, and the main main character is in his 40s.

Ashley 28:59

So reasonably aged people.

Mari 29:02

Actual adult grown people. What a concept. Um the the fact that they're like brothers and there's gonna be a whole series kind of reminds me of the Julia Cross's Day Spail series, but it's not set in a modern time, it's definitely set in like this fairy tale time, like almost like Assistant to the Villain kind of vibes in terms of where it was set. The second book uh that is coming out in June of this year is called uh This Witch Is Not Wicked. Okay. So um so I read that, but then of course I I had to have a extra

Mari’s Mafia Disability Romance Pick

Mari 29:40

credit. Yeah, because I was like, I also read this book and it's definitely Grumpy Sunshine, but it's definitely outside of my wheelhouse of like the books I would normally read. So this book is called His Tesoro, T-E-S-O-R-O, and it's by Emilia Rossi, and it is a mafia romance, which it's not generally my thing, but honestly, the fact that you have this like billionaire mafia person and they're A, a good person, B a benevolent billionaire, C, like actually about doing good social stuff rather than crime, it's it's as as fantastical as anything we read, to be honest. But it's interesting. I this book first came onto my radar by because I follow Avery Avery reads romance on YouTube, but uh she's renamed her channel, now it's Avery's Bookish Diary. And she does a lot of, she has chronic disabilities, and so she does a lot of like recommends books with main characters with chronic disabilities. So this book is a mafia main character, stereotypical mafia main character, head of his family, whatever, grumpy, broody, etc. And his head of another mafia family is like trying to ally with him, but also kind of stick it to him. And so he's like, Yeah, you're gonna marry my daughter, and then you're gonna get access to whatever they wanted, money, whatever. Um, so he's meeting his bride for the first time on their wedding day, and he goes in and she goes on the aisle down the aisle in a wheelchair. And the female main character is Sophia, and her family is horrible. And the male main character is Mateo. And I think the the expectation was all the the tropey mafia machismo stuff, where like, you know, the wife of the head, whatever, can't possibly be, you know, someone who uses a wheelchair or whatever. But he ends up being smitten with her. She is like when she gets comfortable with him, she is like the super sunshine, she bakes for him. And so he's like, Mr. Works Out, doesn't eat sugar unless she she bakes something, he's gonna eat it. And if anybody says anything about her or if she of her not being like, you know, worthy or whatever because of her her chronic health condition, like he will protect her no matter what. He is there's a lot of misunderstandings because she is used to an abusive family, and he just wants to take care of her, and so he's like angry with her at the beginning because he's like, How dare you use that wheelchair? How are you using that wheelchair? And it's a basic wheelchair that her and her sister stole from like a hospital because their their family wasn't helping them, and so the wheelchair is not doesn't fit her, it's too heavy for her, it's too clunky. And so he like gets her a custom wheelchair. It's just it's so freaking sweet. Yeah, I was like, I I don't know, I haven't read a lot of mafia books, and I don't know that I will, but like this particular story was I mean, obviously pure and utter fantasy, but it was really sweet. It had a very a lot of really sweet, protectory, like accepting people how they are kind of vibes. Um, and definitely a sunshine, grumpy, brooding kind of pairing that worked out really well to make a really sweet relationship. That's what I got.

Ashley 33:00

So two high quality reads, man.

Mari 33:02

They were so good. I got very lucky. Um, okay, so next dice roll, unless anyone has questions about my book. My books. I feel I feel like you covered that. That was well, well done. Um, all right. So next roll is going to be wait, did you switch?

Jonathan 33:23

Did you flip to like a uh you go to like a three-sided dice now?

Mari 33:27

No, no, I'm she's just gonna exempt herself. Yeah, like if I end up rolling another four, which is the number I gave myself, I'll just will roll again. But I rolled a two. That's you, best friend.

Jonathan 33:37

Oh shit.

Jonathan’s Cozy Goblin Cottage Romance

Jonathan 33:40

In my head, I was like, what comes next? Coin toss. Um, cool. The the book that I chose is How to Lose a Goblin in Ten Days by Jesse Silva. And I found this book. I was we were at uh we were at uh Barnes and Noble just opened up in this town. We're like, hey, let's go spend the afternoon there. And I was walking by books, and like a rando was like, hey, you should read this book. And I was like, you know what? I like a book with circles on the cover, and there's like a hobbit hole door on the cover, and I was like, that's a circle. I'll yeah, I'll take that book. And then I got home, I put it on my desk, and uh, and then you were like, hey, do this. And I was like, well, let me just Google which books are grumpy sunshine on the stack of my uh that are on my desk, and like this one came up. So I was like, okay, I'm gonna read that one. And the synopsis is uh when a halfling, pansy, and a goblin, wren, each think they've inherited the same cottage, they make a bargain, they'll live in the house together, and whoever is driven out first forfeits their ownership. Amid forced proximity, cultural misunderstandings, the two begin to fall in love. When the cottage and their communities is threatened by a common enemy, the duo must must learn to trust each other and convince goblins and halflings to band together to oust the tall intruder. Wait, wait a minute, tall intruder, I feel called out now. So Jesse is a Jesse is a Canadian author. I like Canadian authors. I have no idea why I feel like Canadian authors, they get me. She writes SFF, which I've come to learn is science fiction and fantasy, with an emphasis on queer joy telling stores uh stories of full magic adventure, and of course, kissing. So the I didn't know anything. I went, I went, I I went into this, I bought this book because purely because somebody was like, you should buy this book. And there was a circle on the cover. I'm an easy seller. Sold. Yeah. And then uh when I found out that it was Grumpy Sunshine, I was like, I guess I'll read that book. So I did not know that I was getting into kind of cozy, queer, sophic uh sort of storytelling. And I got kind of confused halfway through. So I feel like it's I I like, I love I love this book. I thought it was a great book. Like I think that it's a fantastic story. I do wish that I had no going into it that I was like that I knew that one of the characters was non-binary. It would just made the it was at some point I was like, wait a minute, whose day? And I like had it like and I was kind of like you missed something important. Yeah, I was like, I don't know if I'm following the story. And so like had I known had I been armed with that piece of information from the like from the get-go, I would have uh the story would have made a little bit more sense for me. So my my biggest point here is that the character, one of the characters is non-binary, and it's written in such a way that now you know, and if you read this, if you elect to read this book, you'll have a better, maybe you'll have better context when they say they, what they're what they're speaking about. So is my only I still would say this is a five-star book for me.

Ashley 37:21

Oh, high praise.

Jonathan 37:22

Yeah, it's it's cozy, fun. I don't even know if I want to say that one was grumpy and one was sunshine. I think they they both have grumpy and sunshine in them.

Ashley 37:34

They tag teamed?

Jonathan 37:35

Yeah, like they're like there are times when one when one takes more than the other, uh, and vice versa. And there are times when like the person you like you might think is this is the sunshine is actually the grump in there. So and I don't think and it wasn't like one wasn't mean. I just think they they just kind of maybe uh it was definitely more along the lines of like the odd couple kind of coming together. Um, but I did in like I I wholeheartedly enjoyed it. You know what I thought of when I read this? I kept thinking of Frozen. You ever see like the the was the are they trolls in Frozen?

Ashley 38:19

I think so. Yeah. Yeah.

Jonathan 38:21

Like I kept thinking, I kept like envisioning like I I don't know if it's like a good thing or a bad thing. Ham fisted. Is that like a people got just they just got like big hands? Uh-huh. I felt like the character had like meaty hands for some reason. Has not this has just so you know, this has nothing to do with the book. I just envisioned that these characters were kind of like these little trolls, and they had like like plump little plump hands. And then like, and then there is uh and then the halfling I imagine was like more more like elvish almost. Uh yeah, anyway, and it was there was there were bits of magic and uh and a fun cottage and like social acceptance elements.

Ashley 39:09

Uh was the cottage magic too?

Jonathan 39:12

Uh no.

Ashley 39:13

No seems like a missed opportunity.

Jonathan 39:15

But there's like I don't yeah, well, no, there were other things that were magic around. There was a lot, there was plenty of magic to be had. Um there so that's it's you don't need to live in a magic domicile. But yeah, I thought it was uh I liked it. I liked it a lot, and I thought it was fun, and I thought it was cozy. And if if I were to start over and reread it with the understanding that a a character is um non-binary and the words, uh their pronouns that are in use. And not everybody in the story is non-binary. So it's when when they're speaking, it's uh without that without that preface. I'm just like, what's happening? I but anyway, it's uh I thought it was clever and it was clever storytelling. It was a fun, cozy world, and it uh it it was warming. I don't know what what else is. I don't want to give too many details away.

Ashley 40:18

Gave you the warm and fuzzies.

Jonathan 40:20

I don't know if it gave me the warm and fuzzies. It didn't give me the hot and heavies. It gave me the it gave me the s uh. You know, it's a a if I had like a bowl of tomato soup and like a grilled cheese sandwich.

Ashley 40:35

It was comforting. Yeah.

Jonathan 40:37

It was comforting that's what and it was enter it was entertaining.

Ashley 40:40

Okay, that's important.

Jonathan 40:42

Yeah, so it wasn't just like I'm looking for the next kiss around the page or looking for this evolution of the story. It was just it was entertaining. If it was if it was a movie, I would watch it. If it was and I would watch it like on the on a on a day where like I'm trying to watch like you've got mail, I would watch this movie kind of thing. Does that make sense? Yes. All right, yeah.

Mari 41:08

Alright, so let's see who is uh next. Number three, that would be Kelly. Kelly.

Kelly’s Steampunk Rebellion Love Story

Kelly 41:15

Alright, so I read Crier's War by Nina Varella. And it is a sapic romance that is a grumpy sunshine enemies to lovers kind of sort of deal. It's an interesting setting because I've has a lot of like feel of like the steampunk type stuff in it. So in this world, we focus on this one kingdom, but essentially the gist of the main thing in this world is that at some point some super smart alchemist wizard created automatons basically, so created artificial beings and created them as servants, and then like any good science fiction story, they eventually rebelled against their creators and became their own self-ruling people, and you know, essentially think of themselves as a superior race. So one of the things that keep the Automa going is they use this stuff called heartstone that is like this mineral substance. We're not really told in this book exactly what it is, but it's some kind of thing that's mined, ground down into dust, then usually mixed with water to make sort of almost like a wine thing that the Otima drink to replenish their energy. And so without that, they would, you know, eventually run out of power. So that's kind of one of their weaknesses. And so this story centers around one of the Otima crier who was made by one of the sovereign rulers of one of the big kingdoms who's an Otama. So he wanted an Otama daughter, he had her created, and so it centers around her, she's led kind of the protected life, life of sort of leisure, and centers on Kayla, who is a human servant that is basically seeking revenge because her family was murdered by Autama in a raid to suppress human rebellion type stuff. So her whole goal is to you know assassinate the sovereign's daughter of Cryer. And somehow she manages to get herself in as the servant, handmaiden of Cryer. So obviously it sets up the perfect revenge scenario for her. But as you know, the book unfolds, of course, they start to have feelings for each other, and Cryer realizes that somehow, when she was designed, one of the people that created the Autama changed her and didn't follow the blueprints exactly for how she was supposed to be built, giving her essentially the ability to feel human feelings. Of course, she thinks that because of that she's flawed. So you can kind of see how this whole thing is gonna play out somewhat. Not gonna go too much into it, but there's a lot of political intrigue. You know, there's human rebellion movements and then the Ottima, you know, trying to figure out how to put down the human rebellions and then all that kind of stuff. So there's some political intrigue and stuff like that. As time progresses, Cryar kind of is realizes by her interactions with Ayla that maybe her dad, the sovereign, is not the most benevolent ruler he's made out to be. She starts to, you know, figure out ways to rebel against her father and all this stuff. And so essentially the plot sort of moves along like this until there becomes you know a moment of you know final choice where Ayla has to decide between her motive for revenge or how the feelings that she started to develop for Cryer and the same for Cryer. And we're kind of left off at a cliffhanger that continues with the sequel. But it definitely has a lot of the elements of the grumpy sunshine because Cryer is a very sheltered, not really like naive, but somewhat naive and positive about the world, whereas Tayla, having watched her family get murdered and all of this stuff, is a much more bitter and hateful person. So you have that grumpy sunshine relationship there.

Ashley 45:27

Kelly, how did you find this book?

Kelly 45:29

This book was recommended to me by one of my coworkers.

Ashley 45:34

This sounds amazing. I'm immediately intrigued.

Kelly 45:38

And part of the political intrigue does, you know, another one of the plot points that don't really want to go too much into is that Cryer is supposed to be betrothed to this other Automa who is apparently working on this other substance that can power Autama instead of using the Heartstone, because the Heartstone is only found in this one place, so it's a heavily guarded secret, and the supply trips, you know, are always vulnerable to getting attacked and raided and stuff. So if I he's trying to create this other, you know, alternative source of power. Obviously, it turns out there's a little more nefarious than that. So there's a lot of different subplots and stuff all going on at the same time.

Ashley 46:18

Sounds amazing. It does. It looks really good. I'm invested. I don't know how I'm gonna I'm not gonna like I can't top that, guys. That's that's a hard act to follow.

Kelly 46:29

So it has a lot of uh the vibes I'm currently feeling right now, I guess, in life is uh, you know, a human who hates the current ruling government and their wealthy people who run the government and wants to kill them all and overthrow them. And you know, the corrupt political system that's there and all that kind of stuff.

Mari 46:50

Rebellions are built on hope, Kelly.

Kelly 46:53

Uh I think Shay Rivera would say uh rebellions are built on guns.

Mari 46:59

Yeah, true.

Ashley 47:02

Goodness. That sounds really cool. That was a wild ride just listening to it.

Jonathan 47:08

Yeah.

Ashley 47:08

Was it a thick book, like a doozy?

Kelly 47:11

It wasn't too no, it wasn't too bad. You know, on the Kindle, I can't really tell how thick it was, but it was a fairly easy read.

Ashley 47:18

Print length is 464 pages. Oh, okay. So not too bad.

Kelly 47:22

Not tiny, but like I mean, it moved along pretty well. I know that some other people who reviewed this book, you know, recommend it. It's not truly a young adult, you know, YA type novel, but it's often recommended to a younger adult age group. Um, and it does it, it reads pretty fast.

Mari 47:43

Okay. Yeah, I think that's going to my TBR.

Ashley 47:46

Ashley clicks download.

Mari 47:50

All right, Ashley. No sense rolling. Yeah, you are in.

Jonathan 47:54

You don't want to roll the dice. I'm invested in the dice.

Ashley’s Witchy Finale And Found Family

Ashley 47:59

I'll get you your own set, baby. So transparently, I played it slightly safe because the moment that Grumpy Sunshine came out of my mouth, because I think it was actually my suggestion, I had two thoughts. And number one was assistant to the villain, who we all know and love. But number two, and I don't think I could rank these in any way, shape, or form, but number two was Juliet Cross's Grim and Barrett, which I had not read in a very, very long time. And so I felt inclined to indulge because listen, if Juliet Cross has a million fans, I am one of them. And if Juliet Cross has zero fans, I am dead. I think she does, she writes so extremely well. And Grim and Barrett is part of a beloved series. We've read at least one as a group, although I think some of us have read most of the series for the Stay a Spell book, um, which is a family-based book. Each book is a sister. The Savoy sisters, they're witches, living in a supernatural community alongside humans. So this is modern times. And in each book, basically everybody finds a partner, right? We're here for the romance. Grim and Barrett is about Clara Savoy, who is the personification of sunshine. Like literally the sunshine. She's the blonde haired, the blue eyes. She is an aura. That is her magical power, her witchy power, which basically means she can sense the emotions of others around her. She can see it in their aura, but she can also impress upon them, right? So if somebody's stressed out or in grief or in mourning, she can, I think she calls it like her happy power or something like that. Like she can push a little bit of happiness into them just to kind of calm them down or cheer them up. And what was interesting in the book as well is we found that when Clara herself is experiencing extreme emotions, she can actually impact the weather. I think for me, this book was all about the relationship because Clara went in knowing who her partner was, right? Henry Blackwater, who again is the personification of Grumpy because he's a literal grim. Like that's who he is. I mean, he's not the first Grim that we meet in the series, but he is the most damaged, right? So he's grumpy, not because he's an asshole or because, you know, he's just mean. He's grumpy because he's traumatized, right? He had uh an instance when he was a kid, it it traumatized him. He's afraid of his powers. He's one of the most powerful of the line, right? Um, and so he he doesn't want to hurt anybody, basically. So he's isolated himself, but he's also the most caring, right? His cousin is part of the picture. He's he's taken on his little brother and he's, you know, growing him up in a safer household. And so for me, I think what Juliet Cross does so well in this entire series is combine the family, right? Existing family, as well as found family. And then how the found family finds family within the family, if that makes sense. So like there's a there's a point where Grumpy Henry is now becoming part of the guys' group, and there's like a game night, and they're playing some kind of version of Game of Thrones. And they're just they're just ripping on each other, right? They're gossiping like little girls, and it's just it's the power of of found family to be. Um, just listening, you know, like reading them just go back and forth. So it, you know, it's a story of how they how they, you know, work together to overcome, you know, his trauma. There's, you know, a big situation that she has to help him through. They get through it together. And then, you know, this is the the ending of the series and you we get some wrap-up in the rest of the story. And it it couldn't have been any better. You you laugh, you know, you feel Henry has to go through, you know, some this really tough situation with his dad, and he doesn't want to believe him because dad's part of the trauma. Um, and she has to tell him, like, hey, you know, he's telling the truth, he's not lying about this, and they lean on each other, right? Um, he I think when you're in a dark place for a really long time, it's hard to accept the sunshine. And watching them get through it together was so heartwarming. And I I just I loved everything about the series.

Mari 52:35

They complement each other so they really do.

Ashley 52:38

Yeah, and again, they're opposite ends of the spectrum for all intents and purposes, right? Um, like he literally walks with the dead, and she literally does everything, you know, within her power naturally to make all of the humans feel better. It was just it was really nice to see a strong female character not be the damsel in distress per se, right? You know, she was she was very sure that this was the person for her. She went up to him and she said, You're gonna, she brought him cupcakes, right? You're gonna ask me out on a date. And he's like, I am. And she's like, Yes, you are. And she was just so sure, you know, um, throughout the whole process that he was the one for her. And he just needed to have a little bit of faith, right? And open himself up to that, to accepting that that love. And so it's just it's really, it's real good stuff. You laugh, there's some sexy stuff. This is definitely a spicy book. And it it it wraps it up just as nice and tidy as it could for what a six or seven book series, to which she continues with the next generation of you know, the Savoy sisters and their families.

Mari 53:45

Southern Charm, I think, is the n the name of the next series, like the next generation.

Ashley 53:50

I haven't read it, but I think Jonathan has.

Mari 53:52

I have as well. I thought yeah. It's Rebel Without Claws. Yes, without clause. Yeah, Rebel series is called Southern Charm is what that that that part of the I love all of that, that entire all of it.

Ashley 54:07

Yeah, it's just it's so well written, like nothing's cringy about it. It flows really nicely, and you know, you get these complimentary pairings, you know, to your point where again, these are very opposite beings, right? That just seamlessly fit very well together. And I really liked, you know, she she touches on discrimination of the different supernaturals and you know the secrecy of of some of the supernaturals. And so I think it dabbles in, you know, some some real world situations without, you know, it it's race related, but not necessarily race related. And so you know, it's just it's not heavy, right? But you know, she doesn't ignore it either, which I think is really um, really important, you know, to to to make sure that we're paying attention to in this day and age.

Mari 55:00

And it really ties up the series because the

Final Thoughts And Where To Follow

Mari 55:03

first book started with that kind of antagonistic relationship between the witches and the werewolves. That was like the main, you know, stumbling blocks or traumas or whatever of the first book, which uh we did an episode on. So you guys can go back and listen to that one.

Ashley 55:19

Yeah, 10 out of 10. Like, definitely Juliet Cross's Day of Spell series is uh is unmatched. I don't know that I've ever read a series this long and be this good each time. Like, there's not a disappointing book.

Mari 55:32

Agreed. All right, so I'm assuming that everyone would say that their books are kissing books.

Ashley 55:39

Yes, mine is definitely a kissing book.

Jonathan 55:41

Yeah. Same thing. I don't know if mine's a kissing book.

Ashley 55:45

Were you not ready for this question?

Jonathan 55:47

Yeah, I'm yeah, I didn't think about it.

Ashley 55:50

Yeah, the answer is no.

Jonathan 55:52

I focus on Grumpy Sunshine. Let's see, kissing book.

Ashley 55:58

You forgot you had homework.

Jonathan 56:00

Yeah, no, I don't know. I don't know if it's a kissing book, but I think it's a snugly book.

Mari 56:06

It's it's a cuddling book. Um, Jonathan, have you read Legends and Lattes?

Jonathan 56:13

I have not.

Mari 56:14

Okay.

Jonathan 56:14

Although I did, so like I'm on this, like, oddly, like it just feels like everything that I pick up that I'm interested in, like the the cover of is uh like isophic recently. Is Legends and because I and I think it is yeah because something popped up on my feed. Like I must just be my algorithm is set to that. So like um it so like it popped up, and I definitely look at the cover of that book all the time, and I'm like, that's the kind of green person that is interesting.

Mari 56:49

It's very cozy, it's very like a cozy fantasy. It is sapphic, but it's also like almost like the spell shop kind of vibes in terms of like makes you want coffee and and cinnamon rolls. It's very cozy. Um you read that one, right, Kelly?

Jonathan 57:05

Yeah.

Mari 57:06

Would you say definitely like uh related to to spell shop in terms of like the coziness, right?

Kelly 57:12

Yeah, it's definitely a cozy.

Mari 57:14

So if you're if you're low stakes. Yes. Was it um a tale of low stakes and high fantasy and low stakes? I think was the tagline. If you're going down that vibe, Jonathan, I would definitely recommend that one. It's definitely it's sapphic, it's cozy, it's it's got fantasy elements. Nice. So I think it's got a lot of things that you would enjoy. It's not a fast moving story, because I think Ash, you read it and you you it just the plot wasn't like super fast.

Ashley 57:40

Um, I I actually don't think I finished it. Um and it could have just been my headspace at the time. It wasn't bad, um, but I it it fit it felt sluggish to me. And I know you guys rave about this book. I I want to love it. I it's something I should try again.

Jonathan 57:57

That's why I haven't read it, I think, is because Ashley, every time I'm like, do you think I I should read? I'm attracted to this book. And Ashley's like, meh.

Ashley 58:05

To be fair, you ask me my experience with all right.

Mari 58:09

Anything anybody wants to say before we wrap it up? This was fun. Yeah. It was good kind of branching out and and doing show and tell with our books.

Ashley 58:19

Show and tell with our books. That is an an accurate.

Mari 58:23

So we'll definitely do this more. Pick a different topic and just kind of choose your own thing. Um so thanks for listening to Of Swords and Soulmates. Before we go, make sure to check our show notes, rate, review, and subscribe to us on your podcast app of choice. It helps others to find us and let us know what you're enjoying. Follow us on Instagram, TikTok, or Goodreads at Of Swords and Soulmates. Check us out on our website of Swords and Soulmates.com. If you'd like to offer suggestions for a future episode book or topic, feel free to reach out to us on the DMs of any of those options. If you want to read along with us as we prep for a new episode and get chapter-by-chapter interaction, join our Fable App Book Club by searching for the Of Swords and Soulmates Book Club on there. And last but not least, we hope you'll enjoy you'll join us in two weeks for our next episode when we will be celebrating AAPI month by reading the Hurricane Wars by Thea One Zong.

Jonathan 59:15

Bye.

Mari 59:15

Bye, guys.