Alyssa on Stories & Spoilers, Sapphic Romance, and Book Reviews

If you read across genres and love picking apart the deeper mechanics of a story, this conversation is for you. This week, I am sitting down with Alyssa, the brilliant host of the Stories & Spoilers podcast. As a self-proclaimed mood reader who hops from dark romance and monster smut to Indigenous horror and graphic novels, Alyssa brings a beautifully diverse perspective to the reading community. 

We dive into how our reading tastes evolve as we grow up, the structural importance of thorough book reviews over superficial aesthetics, and how dark romance serves as a safe space to process trauma and communication. 

Alyssa is the creator and host of Stories & Spoilers, a diverse podcast featuring author interviews, anonymous community confessions, and deep-dive spoiler discussions across multiple genres. She also runs Cozy Soul Reads, a personal blog dedicated to summarized, chaotic book reviews and real life updates. Alyssa uses her platform to heavily champion diverse storytelling, with a dedicated monthly segment spotlighting Black authors and book creators. 

In this episode, we're discussing:

• How our real-world perspective shifts our views on classic teenage reads when we revisit them as adults.
• Why the performative nature of bookish social media has pushed out authentic book reviews in favor of hyper-edited aesthetics and consumerism.
• When reading diverse representation, specifically Black and queer stories, shifts from a passive hobby to a deeply healing lifestyle change.
• How the horror and dark romance genres overlap by using extreme situations to explore power dynamics, absolute consent, and female rage.
• Why we need to support independent, Black-owned brick-and-mortar and online bookstores to keep the romance community genuinely inclusive.

CONNECT WITH ALYSSA:

Stories & Spoilers Podcast

Instagram - Stories & Spoilers | Cozy Soul Reads

YouTube

BOOKS/AUTHORS MENTIONED:

Check out the Bookshop Links

A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams (Amazon)

One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston (Amazon)

Bride by Ali Hazelwood (Amazon)

A Pack for Winter by Eliana Lee (Amazon)

Pen Pal by J.T. Geissinger (Amazon)

Lilith & Memphis by Alexandria House (Amazon)

Huntsman by Naima Simone (Amazon)

Club Petal Series by Eden Emery (Amazon)

Spite House by Johnny Compton (Amazon)

Monday's Not Coming by Tiffany D. Jackson (Amazon)

You Gotta Be You by Brandon Kyle Goodman (Amazon)

The Librarian's Gargoyle by Evelyn Sola (Amazon)

Never Whistle at Night - Indigenous Horror Anthology (Amazon)

Fallen Too Far – Abby Glines (Amazon)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (Amazon)

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (Amazon)

Archer's Voice by Mia Sheridan (Amazon)

All Superheroes Need PR by Elizabeth Stevens (Amazon)

Welcome to the Dark Side by Giana Darling  (Amazon)

Down South Bayou by Aricka Alexander (Amazon)

Outdrawn by Deanna Gray (Amazon)

Thunder Thighs by Evie Mitchell  (Amazon)

Kimberly Lemming (Amazon)

Hans by S.J. Tilly (Amazon)

Jay's House Website

Steamy Lit Website

Join the We Read Smut Lounge. Want early access to next week's episode, entry into our private Discord server, two monthly virtual silent book clubs, and a free monthly e-book? Head over to our Substack and join the paid community to access goodies and get early access to episodes. 

Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links in these show notes are affiliate links. If you make a purchase or borrow a book through these links, I may earn a small commission at zero extra cost to you.

Connect with Alesia:
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Running list of books mentioned (Doc)

This podcast was produced by Galati Media.
Proud member of the Feminist Podcasters Collective.

Transcript

Intro: Meeting Alyssa and Her Winding Reading Journey

Alesia Galati 0:00

If you are someone who reads across genres and not just smuddy romance, this is going to be a conversation you are definitely going to find interesting. Today we have Alyssa on to talk all about her journey into reading, how she reads across different genres, tons of recommendations for books, depending on what kind of vibe you're looking for, as well as me giving her some recommendations based on some of the books that she was looking for. We even get into our hot takes about the bookish romance space and the social media elements to it, why we're maybe missing some of those more thorough book reviews, and why people have so many books on their shelves. Listener discretion is advised. This podcast contains mature content intended for adult audiences only. Hello, Alyssa. I am so excited to have you on the podcast today. If you could start by telling us who you are and a bit about your reading journey.

SPEAKER_00 1:04

Hi, Alicia. Thank you for having me. I feel like once again, whenever I talk to you, I feel like the Spider-Man meme, we're like we're pointing at each other. We are the same person but different universes. My name is Alyssa. My pronouns are she, her. I am black and I am queer and I am here. And I love all things horror, romance, smuts, sci-fi, graphic novel, you name it, I love it. I adore nonfiction. I like to think that I'm truly a mood reader. I hop from thing to thing. I try to keep my podcast very diverse, not only in the authors I interview, but also the books that I talk about. I do author interviews. I record book talks where I dive into spoiler discussions and then I give you five minutes that are non-spoiler. I do this series called Bookish Confessions, where I have folks from Instagram send me their unpopular opinions and I share it anonymously. I think it gives people the opportunity to hear different opinions without feeling uncomfortable. It's very eye-opening. I like to keep them short and sweet. But honestly, the podcast for me is a major passion project. Books are a huge way I share who I am. I become more confident through talking about books. I've learned more about myself. And I just genuinely feel like that nerdy girl who you always had in class, maybe growing up, who would talk about the newest book to film adaptation, or who was obsessed with the deeper analysis of the Hunger Games before was cool. That was me. I was that weird, nerdy black girl. And I'm still that weird, nerdy black girl. I'm just now a more adult. That is the best way I can describe my podcast stories and spoilers. And yeah, that's about me.

Rewatching Hunger Games and Deconstructing Character Complexity

Alesia Galati 2:44

Oh, that's so fun. We recently finished watching the Hunger Games with our 11-year-old. So that has been like revisiting those stories. And I read the books before I watched the movies, and he has not, but we were at the last movie and the mutts show up, and they're creepy, vampire-esque white bodies, very creepy looking. And he's like, Can I sit next to you? Come on, Hattie.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Mommy, I need you. I look back on that series and I genuinely do not know how I read them and didn't process. I was older, if not the same age as the characters. I will admit I was maybe a little bit too fixated on President Snow. I was very fascinated by what made him so charismatic, what made him a good leader or a bad leader. I was very curious. I don't know. It fed this curiosity in me about the complexities of villains, what makes a villain, looking at Katniss, what the difference between her and President Snow was. Whenever I hear the theme of the only difference between a hero and a villain is time and like circumstance and perspective. I think of Black Panther, I think of Killmonger, I think of The Darkling from Shadow and Bone. I just, I often tend to think about when I read, I'm like, with maturity and time, I don't know. You look back on certain books you read when you were 16, and maybe it's a little harder to read when you're in your 20s or your 30s. It's you have more context now and more views of the world. And that goes for romance

Rereading Teen Favorites with Evolved Adult Perspectives

SPEAKER_00 4:14

as well. I sometimes try to reread books I read in high school to see if I feel the same way. And more often than not, I actually feel quite different because I have a different perspective now. I used to think that Ezra and Arya from Pre-Little Liars was hot as hell. And now I'm an adult and I'm sitting here, oh no. I read age gaps now, but I read them between characters that are 20 and up. And I'm not here to ick anyone's yum. I love a good age gap. I love a good taboo romance. My favorite author, Gianna Darling, is all taboo. I have her whole series up here, my coveted series. But I don't know. I just I read things now and I'm like, damn, I read a lot of really weird shit when I was a teenager. And now as an adult, I continue to weird read weird shit. It's just different now. I'm I don't know. You're different now. The books didn't change, you did. Yeah. Not beginning philosophical. Right. Damn. And that's how I feel.

Alesia Galati 5:07

It's so interesting too because I feel very similarly about rereading books. And I'm always so freaking nervous to reread them because I'm like, 2020 Alicia Reading didn't know what in the world she was reading. She was five-starring left and right. And I go back and I'm like, oh no, that would not be a five-star now at all.

SPEAKER_00 5:30

I get that. Like, I don't know that I can read.

Alesia Galati 5:32

I'm gonna be 35 this year. I'm not super old, but I really don't want to read about anyone under the age of 25. Is your brain fully developed? Yes. Okay, let's talk.

Changing Tastes: Why Red Flags in Romance Aren't Hot Anymore

SPEAKER_00 5:46

Yeah, I think as well, the what I find attractive in love interests is very different than what I found attractive when I was a closeted teenager. I think now, oddly enough, when I read a good romance to me, I'm looking more for a character who's both confident and reassuring and sexy. I don't find the love interest being an asshole attractive anymore. I used to think it was like, oh, you get his perspective and he's loved to the whole time. Ooh, my heart. But now as an adult, I'm like, wait a minute, that's all fun and great. But I really enjoy a sarcastic, sexy, I've been obsessed with you, like Josh from Whites Out. I enjoy an unhinged, dark, moody, let me take care of it, like from Pen Pal. I enjoy the unhinged, dark, older MMC, like Zeus from Welcome to the Dark Side. There are so many romances I can think of from the top of my head where I'm like, this is unique. But then there are some where I'm like, okay, you want the sweet boy next door who's misunderstood. And I don't know, like the black swan or the one where everyone thought he wasn't cute, and then he becomes cute. So you want Archer from Archer's voice. In my head, I'm like, pick your white boy of the week. Right. Pick him, pick him. I'm like, oh, you want someone who's from a different time who's sexy and reassured and musical. Okay, so we're gonna go with a love song for Ricky Wilde. Pick your hot boy of the week. Yeah. It's the same thing with if you wanted a sapphic romance and you wanted someone who's from a different time, who's loving and flirty and confident. So you want Jane from One Last Stop. Pick your fighter. I'm like, if you want romance to see, you can go to Mead Mishaps from Kimberly Lemming. Okay, so you want a wolf. Do you want a dragon? What do you want? I genuinely feel like there's a romance out there for everyone.

SPEAKER_02 7:35

Yeah.

Fun Paranormal Picks and the Monster Romance Craze

SPEAKER_00 7:36

The only one recently that I loved that I feel like no one is talking about is Mate by Allie Hazelwood. I really enjoyed Bride. Paranormal romance is not for everyone, but I actually really enjoyed that duology. I had a good time with it. I read it in two days. Nice. I don't know. Like the whole wolf, Omega, beta, like I get it, like the whole universe of it. I know it's not for everyone. But I have a great time. I know, like, some people aren't into it with the heat and everything. But I don't know. It's fun. I can turn my brain off for a little bit. Right. And A Pack for Winter was fun. That was an interesting book. Very she's a teacher, and then the guys all fall in love with her, and she's a beta, and it's wintry. She's locked in the school and she needs help. And like just she's burnt out. She's burnt out because she's a teacher. She's underpaid and under penis. And things are happening. Things are happening. And like knowing I'm in Florida, so I don't know nothing about that. But apparently it's pretty bad. She needs their body heat. And next thing you know, bing bam boom, you got four boyfriends. Right. I mean I got three. I rounded up. I'm sitting here. I'm like, oh, okay. Fictionally, I'm following you. Realistically, I'm like, wow. So do you warm up? Do you stretch? What is happening? That's not the land of my people, but I'll support you, girl. You like it, I love it. Exactly.

Launching Books for the Soul and Championing Diversity

SPEAKER_00 9:03

You like it, I love it. That's genuinely the energy of my podcast. Is okay, so he wears a mask and he like stalks you, but we're into it. All right, all right. In a fictional setting. All right, all right. Like I I can follow you. I've tried to really push the importance of reading diversely on my podcast. I also do a monthly series called Books for the Soul, where I interview black authors, black book bloggers, and I try to talk about black stories that I'm really vibing with. And it's gonna sound crazy, but I've had a lot of listeners DM me and say that they were unsure of how to read diversely, maybe a bit overwhelmed, not really sure where to start. And that kind of inspired Books for the Soul. Because for me, I'm like, listen, I could always read more diversely. I'm sure there's subgenres I've never read before. I wish I could read all day, full-time job. So there are times that I'll read a subgenre, I'll be like, damn, this shit hit. Right. I just found this. And it turns out it's been around for a long time. So I never try to get high and mighty, be like, I've read every single no girl. The budget is small and my heart is big. Make it work. Make it work. But I recently found Indigenous Horror. Love it down. I've had two authors who I absolutely love from the genre come on and talk about their experiences writing in that genre. I'm having two more come on soon, too. So it's one of those things where it's like, it's so fun to read when social media isn't at the heart of your enjoyment of reading. Hot take. Yeah. Yeah.

Hot Take: The Performative consumerism of Bookish Social Media

SPEAKER_00 10:32

I mean, I will say it again for the girlies in the back. For the she's, they's, and quays. I'm here for the fact that social media, as much as I love it, I have two pages. I have my podcast page, I have a personal blog where I'm just messy and I talk about books and life updates and things like that. And I've noticed sometimes I think that people get so lost in this intention of creating a following that they lose track of the whole point of what the blog or the podcast was originally about, which was books. Yeah. It becomes less about what you read or talking to authors, and it becomes more about pictures. It becomes more about the challenge of how many books you own, how many special editions you own. I love a good sprayed edge as much as the next person. So I'm not judging anybody. Is your money do as you want? But I miss a good book review. I miss a good spoiler talk. I am not the first person to do it. I did not invent the wheel. But I don't know. I think everyone brings their own perspective. I watch book reviews all the time before I buy a physical copy because sometimes I want to know what trigger warnings maybe I'm not comfortable with. I would like to know at least what I'm going into. Right. I don't want to read a good reads or a story graph. I want to hear it from the actual person who read it. Hey, heads up, great book, but it does have A, B, and C in it. Enjoy. Come back when you've read the book, listen to a spoiler discussion. I record those. I love supporting other black creators who do that and creators who I think are just as creative from other communities. But it's very rare to find individual reviews now. Right. It's become all about what you've bought. It becomes all about how pretty the picture is. And I sometimes think that it becomes less about the hobby and the joy of reading. And it becomes more about how good it looks to look like you're reading. One of my favorite creators, I don't think she does book reviews anymore, but she's the one who really got me into it in the beginning. She used to read her favorite quotes from the book and then tell you about her favorite scenes. And then she would break down playlists she made and so detailed. And I really respected it because it felt like I was sitting on the floor of my bedroom in high school just listening to my friend talk about books. Yeah. I could relate to that. I can't help but feel like on social media, sometimes it's almost like the picture's been edited so much, it no longer looks real. It looks like AI. That's what the book community sometimes feels like.

SPEAKER_02 12:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:59

Sometimes it feels a little bit less diverse than I think people would like to make it seem. I think that when Black History Month rolls around, people like to tag black readers. But the moment that month's over, baby, you are never gonna see that again. And I can't help but feel like if it's not real, then don't do it. Agreed. It just doesn't feel genuine, it does feel earnest. I don't know. I like I said, like I love horror. I wish more folks would open their minds to how many amazing women and queer folks are coming out with wonderful horror books right now. Not because the cover is pretty and you want a picture on your social media, but because you're actually going to read the book. I want to see a review of the book you got. And it's like, what did you think of the book? I would like to know what you thought of the book. Yeah. Is it a hot take? Maybe. What are your thoughts? Do you feel like I'm coming out here like it's like a like out of the blue?

Alesia Galati 13:53

No, I agree. It's interesting too, because like I'm not someone who posts reviews. Okay, that's not true. Sometimes I do. It's few and far between, though. I don't do it often. And my reasoning being that I don't read a lot of what I would consider now five-star books. And I read so many, not because I want to say, oh, I read 150 books this year. That might have been me like four years ago. But it's because I thoroughly just enjoy the book. And when I'm done, I move on. And I'm done with that book, right? There are some that stay with me, but I would say most of the books I read, it's more of it's like TV shows, right? Like you're maybe watching a TV show and like you don't remember every single episode. But you remember, oh, the highlights or the main points or the things, the big things that happen.

The Performative Collection vs. Real Reading Habits

Alesia Galati 14:44

And there's that for me. But I do feel like the idea of an actual reviewer page. There are people who are like, oh no, you're giving away spoilers. But like you said, you can do it very spoiler-free. Anytime I do reviews, I am putting like here are quotes and here are the main points, or if I'm recommending a book to there's an episode where the trope we're talking about, such a good trope, is where the hero comes early. Okay. Such a good micro trope. There's so many recommendations. That's true. I can be like, okay, this is these are the tags I have for it. Go into it as you will. This one's got a female dom, and it has praise kink. Go ahead and have fun, right? I can give those kinds of context to it, but for the most part, I'm not gonna be doing in-depth reviews. But I also wonder, like you said, so much of social media is, especially in the bookish space, is so extremely performative. Very look into my incredible collection, and I've got a collection. I love my collection. And I also know I need to read more of them instead of reading on my Kindle constantly. But that doesn't mean that I'm only buying black books and reading white books on my Kindle and not reading the black books. No, I'm reading the black stories. And also most of the most of the books that I'm reading on my Kindle are street lit. I don't necessarily know that I can get the copies of those from Amazon, right? There might only be digital versions, or maybe I need to rack up on the Amazon credits. But I like, I also like my books signed. So they're like, that's a whole nother level to the collection.

SPEAKER_00 16:33

It depends on the person. I think the same way you can look at someone's bookshelf, you can tell a lot about them. The same way you can listen to a playlist and you can tell a lot about the person who made the playlist. I genuinely think that there is a niche for everyone.

The Magic of Haunted Houses and Indie Speculative Fiction

SPEAKER_00 16:45

I love a good haunted house, I love a good, sexy haunted house where there's things going on in the house. Is it haunted? I'm so horny. Why is there a hot person here now? Ooh, are you a ghost? I got rex for that. Listen, I got rex for that too. Me. I'm a meet you there. Yeah. I'm a meet you there. Yeah. The first one that comes to mind is one by this indie UK author. He owned an old house and he made it into a haunted house for Halloween. And the girl who comes, she gets really turned on by being scared. And he's a scare actor, and they get together, and that was fun. And I believe her name's Holly June Smith, and I had her on the podcast last year, and she was so sweet. Once again, the sweetest authors write the best. And I'm sitting here and I'm like, you cute little cupcake, tell me what you wrote. Tell me. And they're like, I wrote this. I'm like, ooh. Nerd yeah, nerd, nerd. Yes. And I'm sitting here and I'm like, you go, my British queen. You go, my little redhead. I love Holly. She is so sweet. Evie Mitchell, she writes amazing romances, so short. If you like a good spicy short romance, she also writes really beautiful books with disability rep. And I really appreciate how mindful she is of that and chronic pain. There are just so many amazing indie authors who I found through Kindle Unlimited that if I wanted to get their books, I would have to, I would love to get it through a small business. Yeah. That's one of those things where it's also books storage-wise, not everyone has the space for a massive bookshelf. I'm running out of space as we speak. And I think there's something to be said with that where I'm not judging folks for how they get what they want. I think it's more so that I don't know. I think I'll always have a soft spot for a good book review or even a bad book review. If it's honest, as long as you're not tagging the author and you're not saying some just gnarly discriminatory if, I have no problem with a book review that is genuine and honest. Here are the pros, here are the cons. If it's a hot take, it's a hot take. If you got something to say, at least say it in a way that, okay, like that makes sense. Don't be hateful. Right. I appreciate criticism on books that I love because it's a new perspective. Let's keep it fresh. If we all have the same opinion, it's like an echo chamber.

Mainstream Erasure: Why Diverse Creators Deserve Real Shelf Space

SPEAKER_02 18:58

Right.

SPEAKER_00 18:58

That's for for me, hyped books where there's this book where it's like, oh, I will take no negativity. That's not realistic. No book is perfect. There's no way. But I draw the line of tagging authors and bad reviews. I think that's fucked up. Yeah. Come on. They're human beings. They're gonna see that. I have a few authors on the podcast who you'll hear me repeatedly say, I cannot stand their shit. But I don't go tagging you F your mama, F your dad. I do F everything you believe, and I'll always hate you. No, it's more or less than I'm not a huge fan of Stephen King. I'm not a huge fan of Colleen Hoover, and I have my reasons for that. I just think that it's so often that white authors take up so much fucking space and they write in a genre, they become the queen or king of that genre. And meanwhile, there are authors of color who are doing to me who are writing in that genre in a more creative fashion, who don't get half the space in bookstores with film adaptations as these white authors do in a massive genre. It would, and by the time these these authors of color finally write books that get to the mainstream audiences, it's four or five books in, ten books in. And then they end up getting compared to these white authors in the same genre as if their books cannot stand on their own. And that's what frustrates me, especially when the author's books uh show people of color in a dark light or in a really derogatory light, and then they get rewarded for it. And they're like, they're the they're a master in this genre. And I'm like, part one, change your wording. And part two, no, they're not. You're not reading diversity, you're not even trying. And you just categorize this white man as oh, he's the best of the best. Have you tried literally anybody else from any other community? And they're like, no. And I'm like, okay, well, I'm I'm like, underline, highlight, and annotate why that's fucked up. I don't get it. Same thing with like Smut, where everyone's, oh, the best Smuddy books are from this author.

Alesia Galati 20:58

And I'm like, Smut is great. It's positive too, right? Like

Redefining Intimacy, Safe Spaces, and Healing Through Smut

Alesia Galati 21:03

it depends. There's so many, and that's why I have, and I talked about this on your show, and we'll make sure we link it in the show notes. My friend texted me the other day, and she had read a Christina Lauren book or something like that. She was like, it was the spiciest thing I've ever read. It was so hot. And I was like, oh, honey.

SPEAKER_00 21:21

I mean, to you. I'm sitting here and I'm like, to you? It's like the same thing with spicy food. Your tolerance is different than mine. For you, Tabasco may be the hottest thing you've ever had. And that's fine. That's okay. That's all right. For me, I feel like I'm on hot ones. I feel like Kiki Palmer. This one's got some sweetness to it. Right. This one's got a little lemon to it. We just we have different tolerances. When it comes to smut, I understand when it comes to sexy things, there are things that we may appreciate on the page that we may not find attractive in real life. Of course. Understood. Understood. I don't by any means want to pee near me. I don't want to address. I can rotating pin near me. But on the page, I'm like, wow, this is interesting. How does this work? Bing bamboo. Do I dab it? What's happening? Right. You know what I mean? And I'm like, what's going on? I have questions.

Alesia Galati 22:13

I need to see a photo, like a picture. Where is the drawing?

SPEAKER_00 22:17

Tell me what's going on. But I can appreciate characteristics of an MMC. I can appreciate chemistry. I always say a good romance is a good romance. I can appreciate it. And I love authors who have written, let's say, lots of straight romances and then come out of the woodwork with a queer romance, and they show so much care and respect, and they have sensitivity readers, and they circle back if they can improve. Gianna's done that with The Moon and His Tides. You've got a White Choose, MM Female, you've got Bisexual Representation, you've got Serpentine Valentine by Gianna Darling, a Medusa Retelling, Dark Academia, Sapphic. Obviously, Erica Alexander's amazing black Sapphic like stories come from her. They are wonderful. I own two of the books right now.

Alesia Galati 23:02

Yeah, they were on the podcast too, and on yours. So I'll make sure I link those from our episode, my episode and yours. So that way anyone Erica's amazing. Yeah, go check out Erica.

SPEAKER_00 23:13

Erica's like a human equivalent of Sun. Like they're just so, so wonderful. And it makes sense. All their romances, to me, that is probably some of the most passionate and vulnerable smut I've read with Sapphic rep. Deanna Gray. Also very passionate, sweet moments, great spice, great entry level for going into the sapphic genre, especially black romance. I just, there are so many books that I've read that have taught me how to communicate in my own relationship. There are so many books that I've read that have given me curvy representation that I needed to feel more confident. Evie Mitchell, once again, the way she writes curvy representation, like in Thunder Thighs, so good. I just love how she talks about women's bodies and how caring she is and how much female friendship means in her books and how the MMCs cannot get enough of their love interest. Love to see that. I could go on and on about how many amazing romance books there are out there that redefined intimacy and sex to me. I think there's some things when people say, like, oh, well, it's just a book. And I'm like, if you read something and that's all you take from it is just words on the page, that's fine. But for me and for folks like you and people who have so much love for the genre, you can take confidence and strength and communication skills from a story that does have sex in it. It could redefine sex for you, it can help you heal from sexual trauma. A lot of these authors put a lot of their own personal lives in these books. It's not just sex, it's a lot more than that. And some of these books, I will be completely honest, have taught me a lot about love and friendship and what it means to speak up for yourself in and out of the bedroom.

unknown 24:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:58

And that takes a lot of fucking strength. They're special, they're magical. So I love it. I love it. And it's a safe space for a lot of folks to explore things that maybe they don't have the space to in real life before they do it in real life. And a safe space, sexual education, a lot of these books as well. Authors provide resources if you have interest in learning more about that. I know Saints and Sinners, I believe, they had some little author tables and they would talk about the inspiration behind their stories. That was a great bookish convention. My friend Clarissa from Busy Reading Romanticy invited me to that, and that was so sweet. And that was the first spicy book event I ever went to, ever, where I saw so many authors talking about BDSM, talking about consent, talking about how they did research for their books. It was awesome. It was so safe.

Real Sex Ed, Kink Exploration, and Overcoming Shame

SPEAKER_00 25:47

Yeah. And that is like key in the smut genre is to feel safe. Even in dark romance, clear discussions of certain kinks and why do you want to read this? Are you comfortable with reading this? I know lots of girly pops who read their books with their partners and they begin conversations. That's a great before you do anything in real life. Let's discuss this. Please. Next thing you know, you lost a finger. Please, let's just discuss this. Before you bring out the flames, let's discuss safe candles. Okay. There are specific do not bring out a Yankee candle. I'm gonna need you to do some research. Do not bring out any silicone-based lube. It needs to be water-based. I'm sitting here and I'm like, do your research. Please, don't put it in any of your holes. Relax. Do some research. A lot of people do not remember sex ed. Okay, it's been a few years. And some people don't even get it, right?

Alesia Galati 26:39

Like. Oh my gosh. Scary. That's honestly. Scarily, like one of the things that I will forever be grateful for. My mom was a sex worker when I was younger. And when I became a teenager, we were in a cult. So no one was talking about sex at all. But she was very open about the topic. She was always about cleanliness, always about safety, always about protect yourself. And here's the hygiene that you need to be focusing on. And here are the important things about consent. And like all of those topics, she was so open and honest about that. It made it so much more comfortable to where I could go to her and be like, hey, I'm thinking about this, or I'm not sure about this, or my mom bought me my first vibrator. Like, be safe, girl. Be safe. Here you go.

SPEAKER_00 27:35

You don't always need a man. Here you go. Have some fun. And you know what? That's a good lesson. That's a very good lesson. There was a podcast I listened to when I was first learning about intimacy. And my mom was also very open. And it was a few years back, so I don't know if they still have it. It was called Horizontal with Lila. And it was about a woman who lived, and it's a like a there was this was this real woman's life. And she discussed living in an apartment where each floor was a different kink, and it was in New York, and discussing, she would lay down with people and they would wear robes and they would talk about their kinks and how they found them. And it was one of those things where it felt, once again, I had to feel like I was almost the audio element of listening to a conversation so I could truly understand what was being discussed. Because in some situations, visuals like in sex ed would be almost overstimulating because it was just a lot going on. It was the human body, it was discussions of body parts that I knew in my heart I didn't want to interact with. But everyone around me was like, Yeah, don't you dream about A, B, and C. And I was like, Yeah. Right. Yeah. Maybe preconceived notions about if you do this, the mean girls element, you have sex, you die, you have sex, you get pregnant. It was lots of conversations without genuine concern for like, hey, that's not how that works. Smut to me was the first space I was ever able to read about the taboo and ask questions. And I got to share my books with my friends and be like, have you ever read this? I think it was one of them, an alien romance my friend was reading at the time. And it was a massive book. It was like a half a guy's face and green squiggles. My friend was reading it. She I remember she slammed it closed and she was like, They're gonna have sex. And I was like, All right, cool. I my mom, I was like, my mom said said sex is okay. My mom said it's okay. As long as you have protection and the person's nice to you and they understand, no, you can take you can stop, you can take breaks. My friend was like, No, you have sex, you go to hell right away. I was like, then how'd we get here? Right. When I tell you she looked at me and she was like, What do you mean? I was like, oh no, what do you mean? And it was one of those things where I was like, Well, how do you think we got here? And she was like, Wait, that's not how I'm like, Yeah, that's that is how that that's actually how we got. Um it was one of those moments where I was like, I think our boats are going in different directions. So it was a moment where I was like, you don't know what you don't know. Shame has to come from somewhere. And once again, a lot of people ban a lot of these books thinking these are bad. And it's versus just clearly stating this topic makes me uncomfortable. This book unlocks something that I'm not comfortable with unpacking. Maybe the book's not the problem. Maybe it's how you're feeling in that situation. And I if I didn't read, I don't think I would have found my love for poetry. I read Audrey Lorde. I think I don't think I would have begun to realize how special and real being queer is. Being black and being queer is how powerful that is. I think about reading and I think about how it feels to be a black woman and to feel loved in the real world and on the

The Lifelong Emotional Impact of Seeing Yourself on the Page

SPEAKER_00 30:54

page. I didn't find good black romances until I was in my 20s. I am 27. I didn't read a book where I felt seen till recently, very recently. And now it's like I get to talk to these authors who I love. I feel so grateful and blessed because I get to thank them. A lot of them, these are people I read their books and I was like, holy shit, like to feel chosen, to feel represented, to feel seen. For anyone who's ever gone to public school or private school, and you see your friends dating and no one dates you. No one asks you to the dances, you're always the friend, you're always the therapist, the fallback girl, the I would date you, but I don't date. But books was the first place I was able to ever visualize myself as the main character. And then later on, when I got older, as the romantic lead. I didn't have to change the pronouns anymore. I didn't have to rewrite the story in my head anymore. I still do sometimes, because the book is so good. I'm like, make him black and make him make him a woman. Yeah. But I most times, thanks to Erica Alexandra, thanks to Deanna Gray, and to so many wonderful authors. Now I'm able to read queer books with amazing spice and still a beautiful storyline. Yeah. I'm able to read Horror Now, where black main characters survive, which is freaking great. I love that. F you Stephen King. I'm able to read about black vampires now, like Momi Good's books, The Blood Money series. I'm able to see The Immortal Dark now. We're able to see Black Fantasy, which is great, Oathbound. I cannot wait to read that series. There are so many awesome books that are coming out in the past few years. And it's exciting because for so long my library just didn't, there was nothing. I'm in Florida. There may very well may have been things, they just weren't here. And now it's like, all right, Libby, I see you. This is great. But I will say that I found a voice thanks to books. I've found pride and joy in how I look, who I am, how I move in this body, how

Processing Identity Through Nonfiction Memoir Realities

SPEAKER_00 33:00

I think in this body. And I'm reading a memoir right now. I know nonfiction is not for all the girlies, but this one was so freaking good. And the author actually does on their Instagram page, they do sex ed, and they talk a lot about it's like messy Mondays, and they talk a lot about people sending their spicy confessions and he reads them, and he's kind of ooh, that's not how and he'll explain. And I think he's so funny and so charismatic. The author is named Brandon Kyle Goodman, and the book is called You Gotta Be You, How to Embrace This Messy Life and Step Into Who You Really Are. It is so good. It's only 224 pages, and he dives into his personal life. He dives into discussions of sex, intimacy, navigating being black and non-binary. And his first chapter is all about sex. And he just dives into all these different topics and using hand soap as lube and how that's not you should not do that. Nope. He dives in like personal anecdotes. And that's one of those things where I'm like, oh my gosh, most people would think in nonfiction, oh, well, they're not they're not gonna discuss sex, or they're oh, they're not gonna discuss A, B, and C. They do, they discuss a lot, but there's a whole concept that I just wish more people talked about, like how healing smut can be. Yeah, how you can find yourself in horror, sci-fi, romance, this black representation everywhere now, this Hispanic representation, indigenous representation. It is such a beautiful time to be alive and to read. It may not feel like that, but it is. It is. And for me, worst case scenario is there is no rep. Everyone looks the same again. All the covers are the same, all the book to film recommendations are all the same. All the black authors are once again the back of the Barnes and Noble and the back of the store, can't find their shit. You've got Kennedy Ryan now. You've got so many amazing authors who are finally getting some time to shine. Kindle Unlimited, you've got so many amazing indie authors kind of coming out doing their thing. Like Evelyn Shine, who's one of my favorite authors, had her on the podcast. She did a whole monster romance. It's The Librarian Scargoyle. That was fun. There are just so many awesome books coming out right now. And I just like, as hard as things can be, I find so much joy and so much magic and how much love a lot of minority groups are getting on the page from authors. Yeah. For every hater, truly, there's two authors who are working really hard to market their own books. And that's amazing. And that's so cool. I try to see it from that. Yeah.

Alesia Galati 35:31

Well, I think people like you and I help to push to the publishers hey, these are the kinds of stories that we want to

Forcing Publishers to Notice Diverse Audiences

Alesia Galati 35:38

see. I don't know about you, but I get the emails from the publicists being like, hey, we have this new author. We'd love for you to interview them on the podcast. Hey, we have this new author. And my pushback is always I focus on diverse authors. And so if you have diverse authors, I would love to know more about them. If they're not, but maybe their topic is maybe about body diversity or about ability diversity or something like that. Then I might be interested. But I also am always going to prioritize BIPUC authors and queer authors. And then maybe I might have room for a written interview, right? Still finding space to support the authors that are doing really incredible work. But maybe I just don't have space in the podcast right now, right? Maybe we circle back later. But I'm finding that it's really allowed me to push to the publishers, hey, these are the kinds of people I want to see. And I think that with more black readers and BIPOC readers in this space, and not that we've never been in this space, but that more visibly than taking up the space in this, that we're able to push the narrative for a lot of these black authors. We're coming off of, oh God, I hope I don't butcher her name. Jacquel J? Jacqueline L.

SPEAKER_00 36:55

Yes, I love Jacquel J. Yes. Her books feel like a miniseries. 10,000 Hours With a Rich Menace. That book that got me into urban romance. I'm grateful that was the first book I ever read that got me into the genre.

The Lifesaving Nature of Audiobooks and Supporting Black Bookshops

SPEAKER_00 37:11

Yeah. Capone. I love Capone. I love him. And I found so many of her books on Libby, which I'm so grateful. Audiobooks I really appreciate. I'm in college and I'm also working full-time. So audiobooks are my best friend. Also, once again, for the sake of space, I actually when I can't afford to have more space, I cannot wait to get physical copies of her books. I also think supporting black bookshops, both online and brick and mortar. My favorite black-owned bookshop is Jay's House. I am an ambassador for them, but even before I was, they were the first black-owned bookstore I ever saw tabling. These two best friends who sell baked goods and books and do book boxes, and they were the sweetest people in the whole world. One of the owners is named Sherry Pennett. She is also an indie author. It's one of those things where it's if you're going to support black authors in black bookshops, Barnes Noble is a billion-dollar company, probably trillion dollar. And don't get me wrong, I'm there all the time. It's great. I meet my friends there. But if I had a physical black book bookstore in my city, you bet your ass I'd be there. But unfortunately, I do not. So I end up going to see me lit. Also great. We love supporting women on businesses. They do great author events. They just did one that was absolutely wonderful. I had a great time. And now Jay's house is going to open up a physical location, which is amazing. So it's one of those things where it's like you don't realize how emotional and how important representation is until you realize you don't have it. Right. And then when you do have it, you want to do everything in your power to support it. Money is tight right now. Where people put their coin, you know they genuinely care. And for me, it's you want to show up, buy the book. Right. You want to show up, post the review. And be kind. A lot of these authors spend years preparing to write a single book, if not a series. There's so much love and care that goes into it. And I don't know. I just think that in that way they deserve their flowers. Same thing with black-owned businesses and bookstores. So many times they try to get a location or they try to get funding or they try to organize everything. And there's just so much love that goes into that. And urban romance, I wish more people were open to exploring that genre. I don't know why so many people are like, I don't know if it's for me. And they have these preconceived notions. And I'm like, okay, fine, let's unpack that. Why do you feel that way? Let's talk about it. Let's discuss it. I've had urban romance authors on my podcast who are absolutely wonderful. And I asked them, is that how you would identify the genres you write? And you're like, absolutely. Why is there this weird? I don't know. I don't know how to describe it, but I've had a lot of people write in for their bookish confessions how they're unsure how to dive into that genre if they even want to, as people of color. And I'm like, okay, let's talk about that. What's going on? And because I'm reading it anonymously, it's not a dialogue. But that's honestly in some ways where people most feel comfortable. And that's okay. But if we start a conversation, I think it would unpack some things that maybe is not just about the book, it's about how you feel about yourself and preconceived notions on of the genre. And people say, Oh, I don't read horror. I'm like, it's not about horror, it's about that this topic makes you uncomfortable. The monster is not

Confronting Reality: Why True Horror is Often Human

SPEAKER_00 40:32

real, but the topic is. And that makes you uncomfortable.

Alesia Galati 40:35

You know what I think is interesting though about horror? Because I don't read a ton of horror. I have read some, but not a ton. I love a good erotic horror, okay? Let me tell you. I do too. Those are good. In erotic horror, you're not getting an uh happily ever after, most likely, right? You go in with that idea. But one thing I find about horror that is maybe a little scarier than monster romance is that the monsters are human and humans can be monsters. And so I think there's a little bit too much realism in horror.

SPEAKER_00 41:17

If you're trying to escape, horror may not be your bag. Right. But if you're open to like I think horror has forced me to face things that I have been afraid of for a very long time. And they gave me the opportunity, especially as a black, queer person, and I'm also white. It's had me sit down with certain things that made me uncomfortable, or it's given me the platform to discuss things with my family or with my friends or on the podcast. And there are horror authors who I absolutely love, who I, by talking to them, were able to find this union together. Why did you write this? Why did it make you feel that way? And now we can talk about that. And that's fun. And for me, that's scared feeling. I'm a scaredy cat. I'm scared of shit. I don't read my horror at night. I'm on a uh no baddies rise. I don't read my horror at night during the day like a normal person. Right. But with the lights on. Look, the lights on, my night with my nightlight on. But yeah, I read a story that genuinely left me sitting after the book was over. I had to sit for a minute and be like, why does this make me feel so uncomfortable in a good way? I could visualize a character in the book. I knew exactly who I was thinking about. And I called him and I was like, this discusses black men and it discusses your experiences in America and the pressure to appear bigger than you are and the pressure to protect and to provide and how exhausting that must be. And I was like, Do you feel that way? And he was like, I do feel that way. And I would actually love to read that book. I to know someone wrote that and considered him was very powerful. And that was Spite House. And that was a great horror book. That was a debut. That was a man's first book. And I'm sitting here and I'm like, okay, Ryan Kugler, back to hell up. You got a degree, so you think you know everything. But he's also an amazing author. I'm having him on the podcast very soon. Oh, yeah. Um, I'm so excited. But that's my thing, is like when people say, Oh, Pennywise is the most terrifying thing I can imagine. It does not scare me. The concept of danger coming to a child scares me. The idea of feeling powerless and like adults aren't paying attention scares me.

SPEAKER_02 43:22

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 43:23

I'm not as scared of the fucking clown. I'm scared of the message under it of black kids no

Unpacking Subversive Messages in Mainstream Vampire Media

SPEAKER_00 43:28

one caring what happens. That scares me. Tiffany D. Jackson. Listen, Monday's not coming. It scares me. So it's things like that where I'm like, that's not a horror book. It should be. A weight of blood, a carry retelling. Oh, it's just a carry. Like, no, girl, that was about racism. I did a whole episode about it. That was about racism, baby. That was some internalized hate, honey. But it's one of those things where it's it's insidious. And that's what makes it makes people so uncomfortable. Tradwife by Sarah Chuck Schaefer. You hear that and you think, Oh, like how bad could it be? When people say, Let's go back to the good old days, but they don't want to discuss how bad it was for some of us. It wasn't good for all of us. How about that? So it's one of those things where I'm like, Do y'all see the help? Dyker was not doing that by herself. Her sourdough did not rise by itself. It makes people uncomfortable because it doesn't fit into the aesthetic of their painter's page. No one wants to talk about who was doing the work in the background. And no one wants to discuss it. So when the horror comes up, get out, and the help now has a voice. And now black authors are rewriting the genre and making people uncomfortable and doing the job better than the Stephen Kings. And we have indigenous authors who are coming out with things like Never Whistle at Night, which is an amazing horror anthology. Now people are seeing sinners and they're like, damn, I want to see this story from a different perspective. Yeah. It's all fun and games until you have to unpack why it makes you uncomfortable or why it scares you so much. Vampirism. Oh, vampires are so sexy in Twilight. Are we not gonna discuss like how the fact of the matter is we didn't get a black main vampire character until what the third or fourth movie? Yeah. And I don't count Laurent because he was in the background and got ripped apart in book two and a new moon. It's been like 10 years, baby. It's not a spoiler, it's a fucking fact. Let my locked king go. So I'm sitting here, I just I'm sitting here and I'm like, are you mad about it? Yeah, actually, I am. So it's one of those things where I'm like, oh, the Brazilian vampires, yeah, we didn't get them, or the Amazonian vampires, we didn't get them until the fourth or fifth film, baby. And they were on that screen and they were gone. We got Confederate Jasper front and center. They made the one indigenous love interest, Bella's best friend, Jacob. They made him imprint on a fucking kid because they had to make him unattractive in the end because he was like too available. I don't even know. When he said, I'm the wrong monster for you, when he said that, I think it was an eclipse. I don't know why, but for me, for some reason, what scared me was that it was this concept of I would do anything to be accepted by you. I would do anything to be seen and be loved by you, and you just won't give it to me. And it's this concept of what would you be willing to do for love? How much would you be willing to sacrifice to feel loved and feel seen and feel accepted? But you have no control of that, and that is scary. Yeah. So it's things like that where I'm like, it's not just a book. Yeah. Smut is about power, consent, love, control, a myriad of things. And it's one of those things where it's like even tropes like the breeding trope. Okay, both people have to agree going in what's going on. Yeah, that's also a discussion. Some things aren't that deep, but some things actually are. And that's okay. And that's okay. When I think about certain genres like the horror genre, it's not for everyone because it's too real. What scares me is that we don't discuss it because it's so uncomfortable. And then when bad things come later on, it's like I didn't know they felt that way. They never talked about it out loud. But it's a lot of sides were there. Yeah. It made them uncomfortable. So they buried it and buried it. Versus if we discussed it, at least now you know the person feels, or we can unpack why you feel that way. I don't know. So that's why for me, talking about horror, talking about things like that, I think it's important to discuss and all that rage. I love female rage, but we only really see that in the horror genre.

Reclaiming Female Rage and Hunting Down Assassin Tropes

SPEAKER_00 47:41

And we're low-key beginning to see it in dark romance. We're getting to see female rage while also having a romance and being able to discuss hard topics and how women survive horrible events and how they end up getting their revenge while also getting romance later. I am waiting for the female equivalent of a John Wick in the book genre. I would love to see a little assassin. Oh. This is my job.

Alesia Galati 48:09

I got you. Girl. Okay, here you go. Gimme. Lilith by Alexandria House. Ooh. Okay, first. Why is he giving John Wick? Because she's an assassin. She's literally a paid assassin. And her boss, it's a second chance. So her and her boss used to date, and she was like, never mind, I don't fuck with you no more. And then let me double check which one it is.

SPEAKER_00 48:36

Who is the author?

Alesia Galati 48:38

Alexandria House. So it is not Lilith, it is Memphis. Lilith is the first one. This guy is sent to kill Lilith, but he kidnaps her instead. And he's gonna protect her because that's what assassins do in our romance books. And then the second book is about her sister, Memphis. She is also an assassin. So when she sees Homeboy with her sister, she's like, I know who the fuck you are, and I know why the fuck you're here, and I want to get it. Let's go. Do I need to do I need to handle this? And he's like, I got it. I'm handling it. Very good. So Memphis, the second one, very great badass FMC. I'm also thinking Huntsman by Naema Simone. It's a retelling of Snow White and the Huntsman. She is Snow White. Her aunt had her mom killed. She's trying to take over the mafia from her aunt. Her aunt sends the huntsman, an assassin, to come kill her. Lo and behold, she has been stalking the shit out of this huntsman for years because she's obsessed with him. So he shows up, gets knocked out, wakes up, tied up. She's on top of him, eating an apple with a knife. There is some knife play. It is delicious. That book is so good. That's okay. Revenge plot.

SPEAKER_00 49:55

That's okay. As long as my king says ooky. Yep. As long as it's a happy ooky, then yes, let's go for it. I generally feel, oh my gosh. I don't know if anyone's seen this meme, and that's exactly how I feel when someone recommends me a book and I know I'm gonna like it. It's Bibble from Barbie. It's like a blue, purple spotted little creature, and it's like, ah, that's how I feel. Or I feel like Stitch when she prays for a friend and he comes out of the fiery truck in the rain, like when he's he comes out of the ashes. That's how I feel. When someone recommends me a book and they're like, I'm like, guys, some weird shit. And you're like, Yeah, tell me, tell me, I can recommend, tell me, tell me. I'm like, okay. And I tell you exactly what it is. And it's and you are the best person for that. She has for every trope I love, I'm like, do you have a recommendation? You're like, yeah. In our episode together, I was able to recommend you a few books you haven't read yet, which was a huge blessing. We love to see it. So I'm sitting here and I'm like, if I do say so, my sales, yes. I just I love your podcast so much and I love your Instagram blog. I appreciate how diverse and how varied all your recommendations are and on the authors you speak to. And at the end of the day, for me, if I'm able to find a book that hits the spot after a long day, fills my cup, my dark, sexy, messy cup, then it's a good, it's a good day. It's a good day. Curls are on point, my eyebrow may be melting off in this Florida rain. But if I can find a good book, I feel like a baddie again. The light comes back in my eyes. My glutes somehow rise from the ashes. And I haven't been to the gym in a few days, feel nasty and dusty. Next thing you read a good book and you're like, damn, maybe I am that bitch. Yeah. Maybe I am. Maybe I am. Foundation doesn't match because you've been outside in three days. Things aren't going right. But sometimes it's sometimes things are gonna be okay. Also, I see a book in the background on your bookshelf. I've been meaning to read. I think it's all superheroes. It was it was like all superheroes need PR. It was stuff like that.

SPEAKER_02 52:01

I've seen that series.

SPEAKER_00 52:03

That is this one. Yes. I saw I see do you have lots of Legos? I'm like, okay, girl, you got one?

Superhero Retellings, PR Agencies, and Monster Traits

Alesia Galati 52:10

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 52:10

I am a body.

Alesia Galati 52:13

I am a Lego, an audiobook girly, and a and a puzzle in audiobook girly. I love to just sit and just be and just have my earbuds in. My kids are watching something, playing the Switch, whatever they're doing. And my kids are older now, they're 11 and 8. So they're relatively self-sufficient. They can make themselves breakfast, right? And so, yes, okay. All superheroes need PR. This is a Superman kind of retelling. Aliens fall down from the sky as babies. They get taken in. Now they're adults. There is a bit of a commoditization of the superheroes. They join the villain league or they join the super league and they battle it out constantly, and the humans tend to be like collateral damage. But what I find really interesting about this is so each of the supers have different powers, but they also get brand deals. So they have to act a certain way. Or and so in this one, he needs PR. She owns a PR agency and she's helping him. Come to find out she is his mate. You will notice in the cover, if you guys are watching this on YouTube, that he's normal black man here. And up here, he's got horns. Okay. So once he fully comes into himself, once he has sex with his mate for the first time, typically what happens. He sheds his entire skin and becomes red, has horns. I'm pretty sure there's a tail involved. There's a knot. I don't know what Elizabeth puts in her books, but I devour every single one of them. So this is book one. Okay. Start with this one. The next one is heavy on the BDSM, heavy on the degradation. The female main character is into it, right? It's not anything non-consensual. He is an asshole. He is the worst guy possible. And she sees him for who he is. He does not try to pretend with her. And she's like, I've seen you on TV. You're supposed to be a good guy, and he is not. And he's like, fend for yourself. I'm not saving a measly dumb little human. So yes, it is. That one is fantastic too.

SPEAKER_00 54:38

I beg your pardon. Me waiting for him to become a better person, you. Right.

Alesia Galati 54:44

So definitely recommend those ones are. Yes, I love anything Elizabeth Stevens writes. I just give it to me. I own all of her books. So you can see here, I these, and then all of those are also hers.

SPEAKER_00 55:00

I'm okay with it. I will say I have a book. It is, it's over there, and I cannot grab it because it's super far away. But the author, I have yet to find a book that matches this vibe.

Stalker Tropes, Sex Clubs, and Unhinged Dark Sapphic Recs

SPEAKER_00 55:14

And I'm challenge accepted. I'm trying to think of it. I'm gonna tell you the plot, and then I'm gonna try to brainstorm in my brain because I know it's over there somewhere. So it's a girl, she goes to a sex club and she's wearing a mask, and you fill out this document about your kinks and everything. And then you get paired up with the person who works there, and then you have a spicy night together. So she fills up all her stuff. She's got no limits, everything's on the table. Correct. And the person she gets signed up with is the owner of the club, not to her knowledge. And they have a wonderful, spicy, brilliant night together. Mm-mm. Delicioso. And then she goes home thinking, all right, I'm gonna go to my university. She's like an artist and stuff, and she starts painting what she visualizes this woman she had this amazing night with. Little does she know, the woman is stalking her. They had that amazing night together, and now she follows her home, leaves her notes. She's like, I'm gonna go wherever you go. Be aware, they're both adults. So the main character goes to this university. Imagine Oxford, and she's teaching her art classes and stuff, and then she sees the eyes, the face of the person she slept with in the classroom, a grown-ass adult. And she's like, Did he miss me? I'm here. And the girl is like, I don't even remember you. And the girl was like, Don't lie. Don't lie to me. Don't lie to me. And it turns out that the girl who she slept with, the sexy club owner, is the daughter of a mafia family. She stole lots of money. She was a hacker. And now her family's coming after her. And it's giving a little bit of John Wick situation because she can defend herself. And they're going after her girlfriend, the professor. And she's got tattoos, and there's, I believe, non-binary representation, very spicy, lots of pew-pewing, very hot. And I remember the club was called Club Petal. And I think that was the name of the series. Yes, by Eden Emery. I have yet to find a book that matches the energy of this series. The first book was called Don't Stop Me. There was Don't Leave Me, Don't Forget Me, and then Don't Hate Me. They are like taboo. One of them was like one of the girls went to a club and she meets someone there, and then they have a wonderful night together. And then she goes home. Her super shitty boyfriend is like, Come home and meet my mom with me, or else I'm gonna blackmail you, blah, blah, blah. She goes to meet the mom, and the mom is the one she slept with. And the mom is pissed because she's lied to me, you told me you were single. And the girl was like, I am sick. Before she can correct the mom, the boyfriend's like, hey, honey, I'm here. They are not together. Right. And he's blackmailing her. And he's a piece of shit. That is part of the series. And the mom will like, the oh, the super hot mom in the suit will be like pressed against the main character. And she's like, We can't be doing this right now. You're seducing me. And the main character's, I miss you. And the girl's like, shut your fucking mouth. And you're like, but it's super hot. It's super hot. And you're like, oh, oh no. You don't understand me. Miscommunication, but also, what's up? Yes. It was such a good series. There was another one. It was like the girl who was like the enforcer. She's on a motorcycle. She fell in love with her adopted stepsister when they were kids. They never were together or anything, but she always had feelings for her deep down. She ran away, got her motorcycle, got into fights and shit. And now she works at the club and she's having a great time. She's super sexy. Now her kink is piercing. Like when she pierces you, she also does sexy things. So then you come, but you also pierce. And you're like, ah, and it's great. It's great, right? But now her sister is at the club and she's fuck you. I'ma do my thing. We're not related by blood and it's so bad, it's so wrong, but it's right. That book was okay. It was alright. So I'm sitting in here and I'm like, you know, it was okay. But nothing hit as much as the first one. Because it was something about the guard tattooed my family's mafia and stole from them. I don't give a flying S. Let's do stuff in this public setting. And that was, I'm pretty sure that was Don't Stop Me. I remember reading it and I was like, nothing will ever beat this. But it was absolutely wonderful. Yeah, the book I'm talking about where it was like, I want you, this is crazy, has to be this one. Yeah, it's Don't Forget Me. And it starts with the perspective of her waiting outside her girlfriend's house, watching her in the shadows. And she's like, We had this great night together, and I'ma have you, I'ma get ya. I won't change I want you. And it's just, it's so good. But I'm like, there are so many amazing dark romances out there. But for some reason, that book I think about a lot. It was just very, it was unhinged. Yeah. It was genuinely unhinged. Same energy as Hans from SJ Tilly. I need the energy of don't touch my notes from my lover, or else I will burn your house. It, I love it. Especially with curvy rep, one person's nerdy and the other person's the dark, unhinged one, but they're super into the nerdiness. I can't. I am dating the human equivalent of a teddy bear in real life, okay? My partner is as dark as a light bulb, all right? There's no shadows in there. But when I read books, I tell them about them, I'm like, yeah. And then she chained him, cut off his hands. And my partner's, should I be worried? No. I'm like, yeah. And then they slept together and then they you left him in a fiery pile of sheets. The hot the sex was so hot. My partner's like, did they say thank you after? Was there any aftercare? I'm like, no, because it was just so hot and unhinged. And the horns and the tail and the and they're like, are they the dragon the whole time? Like, when does it stop? Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter, okay? Tentacles and then the ocean. So it's just it's it's one of those things where it's like, you smut readers, we probably sound crazy to our partners where it's like, tentacles? How many holes are there? Doesn't matter. It goes everywhere, it goes all over the place. What do you mean? And I do appreciate a good tentacle as well. Yes. I think Kimbly Lemon does it so well. I think it was book two, where he's a magical smoke tentacles.

Alesia Galati 1:01:36

That one was interesting.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:38

It was something like that. I was like, oh, okay. New level unlocked. What is this? It's one of those things that you read about, you're like, this has to be fictional, right? Jason Mamola, what are you doing here? It was one of those things where I was like, Aquaman, what do you mean? So it was just so fun. I'm excited to read the all superheroes series, though, because I loved Smallville growing up. I would love to read a romance where like, I may be gay, but there was something about that man from Smallville. I may be a lesbian. I wouldn't even know what to do with all that man. But I guess I'd figure it out. I could imagine. That's a very attractive man. Michael B. Jordan as well. I'm like, I wouldn't even know what to start. I think I would just start with, hello? But also just a be just a beautiful person. I'm like, damn, are you my go-to block casting? No. But you are my runner-up. Sometimes that's enough. It was so amazing talking to you. I'm like, so much smut so little time.

Alesia Galati 1:02:39

I know. Okay, so I have some recs. I don't know that these fit into exactly what you're looking for. So I've got pieces from where everywhere you were talking. Excited. The first one that came to mind that was Dark Sapphic stalking, Bedlam by Jack Whitney. She is the drummer in a rock band. Previously had some addiction issues. There is a sexual assault scene, so everybody triggers. Her stalker becomes her bodyguard. She does not know that this woman is her stalker, also. It is fantastic. You giggling, you it's gonna get really dark. It's so good. So there's a bit of the I'm sleeping with my stalker, but I'm also sleeping with the head of security. And oh my god, how are they the same person? Right? There's a little bit of that back and forthness of like I'm cheating on this person, but you're not because it's the same other person. I'm jealous of myself. Right for the sexy club. If you've not read the Paradise Club series by J.A. Lowe, J.A. Lowe is an Australian author. She was one of my very first authors from when I had started reading, and I blew through her books very quickly. A lot of the billionaire romance, that kind of thing. But in this case, it is a sex club island, and he's the owner. So that series is fantastic and it's interconnected series. Say less. The other one is Priceless by Miranda Silver. Now, this one has some degradation. It has some sex work, it's got some mystique to it of what is happening in the back end. We're not really sure what's going on with these characters. They're both in college. She is a bratty brat and also just going through like a rebellious phase and wants to get paid for sex. He is not rich in the least bit, but is willing to one, I you don't really find out like why he's doing this until later on. But he's all right, you want this is what you want? Sure, I'll go ahead and pay you for sex. There's quite a bit of degradation in that one. There's some public play. So good. That is a book that was like one of the very first books I bought to own a copy because I was like, I need this. I need to have this. Peep Show by Isabella Starling. That one is stalker, fairly dark. He has OCD. It is pretty extreme OCD. That one is definitely on the darker side. I have it as a five-star. I don't know that if I read it again, it would be a five-star, but there's some voyeurism, degradation, etc. And then my all-time favorite, Debt by Nina G. Jones. Debt is top tier. She hires someone to consensually non consent her in her home, but it was not the right guy. For like, she really shouldn't have picked him. He made her pick him. And so, yeah, there's a lot of like back and forth, him trying to get revenge because of something that happened to him when they were younger. She does not remember him or like what any of this is about. And he's like, I'm gonna find my way in here and I'm gonna ruin everything. Well, he's very like tortured hero. And she's like, I just wanted to try a kink. Like, I just wanted to do this thing, and I'm not sure why you keep like bothering me now. But that one is that was one I read with a friend of mine. Like I started reading and I was like, you have to read this. And so we would talk back and forth as we were reading it, and it is oh, hands down, one of the best dark romances.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:45

It's so good. Ooh. That's how I felt about Pen Pal by J. Gessinger. I remember I read that for the first time. I had never read what is it, like when they chase you? Primal. Yeah. I had never read that. As a cardio girl myself, I was like, I was reading it and I found myself walking on the treadmill, and I was like, ooh, tighten your booty hole. Because if you got a big booty and you're cute, hurried, hurried. No one's safe. I was like, oh, this is something unique. Unique. As Beyonce said. Capital U, unique. And I was like, this is I'm not mad.

SPEAKER_02 1:07:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:07:27

I'm not mad at it. I'm not mad at it. And I was like, I had never read a story that had dark elements, trigger warning for domestic violence. But it was one of the books that I read where I genuinely was like, there is something dark and dangerous here. There's also something very sexy here. There's also something very passionate here. The female main character was not always likable. That was interesting. In a romance, in a dark romance. I also will say an older series. I do not know if you've read it. If you have, okay. It's called Fallen Too Far by Abby Gleins. It is older. It was the first romance series I ever read where I was like, I cannot stop reading this. It's not perfectly well written. But if you turn your brain off for a little bit, it's actually a pretty interesting experience. All I'm gonna say is that it's set on a fictional beach called Rosemary Beach in Florida. Imagine like Key West. This girl in her pickup truck, everything that she owns is in that truck. Her mom recently passed away from cancer and she's dealing with the grief of that. She has nowhere else to go. She had to sell her house to pay for all the medical bills. That's important because her father left her at one point and she calls him and is like, I need help. And he's like, Okay, come to Rosemary Beach. I'm married into a wealthy family. You can stay at our guest house, you get on your feet. By the time she gets here, he's gone. He's on his honeymoon, and she meets her stepbrother. Once again, it was like, but they're not related by blood. It was like married into the family. It was the first taboo romance I ever read. He is such a dick, most of the book, but you realize that he's keeping secrets. There's things he knows she has no idea about. I don't know how describe it. There's lots of like talk you through it energy, which was fun. There's also lots of discussion of him fucking up, making up for it, spicy moments, which was fun. There's a little bit of drama in it, groveling for sure. There may be a scene where he really messes up and she sleeps with him and he's begging her to stay, and she doesn't. Like there, you start off as this sweet character, and then it grows and grows into this position of I love you, but I love me more. And it's a series. It is so good. The characters do grow. It does have a happy ending eventually. It's three books. But when I tell you the audiobooks, her, whoever did the audiobooks, her southern accent was so fucking good. Right. So good. And that Florida, like she's I think she's supposed to be from Alabama, but she comes here. There were so many scenes where that thick Southern accent, I was like, that would be accurate, correct. Also, his name is Rush, her name's Blair. It was a very good series. I don't recommend it very often because it's not by any means perfectly written. It's not gonna blow your mind. But the story I could not stop reading. I had to know what he was hiding, and it all connects, and it is so fucking good. And it makes the sex and it makes the way he carried himself, it makes everything so like you really shouldn't. Once you know what he did, you're like, don't do it. And then he does, and you're like, you piece of shit with your big dick and your pretty ass, you piece of shit. But it's just it was such a good series, and I think you'd really like it. And there's other books in the series as well that follow other characters, but if you were to just start off with that and you like it, it is very good. I remember it also being very sexy. So very fun. So yeah, a recommendation for recommendation. Yeah. A queen for queen. But thank you for having me on your podcast. You're genuinely so wonderful. And I know I've talked for literally ever.

Alesia Galati 1:10:53

No,

Outro: Where to Support Alyssa Online

Alesia Galati 1:10:54

we're gonna have you back on in another season or two to talk about your favorite. Oh, we will. I think it's gonna be so much fun to have a discussion with you again, give more recommendations. Everybody, go check out Alyssa, go check out your podcast, go check out all of those things. So, where can people light least talk you on social media to get to know you and to check out your stuff?

SPEAKER_00 1:11:18

Yeah, I'm on Instagram, stories.andspoilers.podcast. I should have done that better in the past. I'm also on YouTube and Spotify. You can listen to the episodes there. And for chaotic book reviews and life updates about me, I also have a personal blog called cozy. Yeah, that's where you can find me. Thank you for having me on the podcast. You are literally amazing. I cannot wait to read all the recommendations you gave me. Trust and believe, I'll be DMing you play by plays. Oh my golly, Wally, what is it?

Alesia Galati 1:11:53

Awesome. Yes. Everybody go check out your stuff. We'll have it in the show notes and the YouTube description for anyone doing other things while they're listening to us. Thank you so much. Thank you.