Smut Syndicate

Bound By Gravity - Book Report

• Charlie & Danielle • Episode 28

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Welcome Smut Squad today we are covering a book that is near and dear to our hearts Bound by Gravity by Jenny Hickman. This a romantasy with twists and turns and ends on a cliffhanger. 

As we always say do not rob yourself the joy of reading this book. 

Live, Laugh, Mortal Trash 

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SPEAKER_02

Welcome, Smut Squad, to another episode of Smut Syndicate. We are your hosts, Charlie and Danielle.

SPEAKER_05

Yo, today we are going a little off our recent course to bring you a tale of faded mates, magical kingdoms, cerulean maidens, duster princes, and a love stronger than it all.

SPEAKER_03

Yes!

SPEAKER_02

That is right. We are talking about an all-time favorite romanticy book of ours. We are talking about book one in the Bound and Freed series, Bound by Gravity by our queen, Jenny Hickman. I am so excited. Oh, same. So a little bit of yap before we get into the book. Jenny is the literal queen of my heart. Yeah. Firstly, as an author, it feels like she has a direct link to my heart and soul, and she writes my dreams on paper. Every single one of her books is perfection, and they were written purely for my personal enjoyment. So you're all you're all welcome. Number two, she lives in Ireland. She is living my literal dream. If I find out that she is married to an Irishman, I will not recover from this. Number three, she is such a sweet and perfect soul. She is so kind to her fans. She's so engaging with everyone who talks to her. Anytime that I have a question about her books or anything like that, she's just so like available and always asks, like, answers everything. And I just I truly appreciate that so much. And she has even graciously agreed to partner with us for a signed book giveaway. Hell yeah! Which we are going to be starting this Friday, May 1st. We're going to be running it for a week. Head over to our Insta to see those details and to enter. And and and and and if that wasn't enough, she has been awesome enough to answer some of our prodding questions, which we will cover in a smaller episode that we'll release later this week.

SPEAKER_05

I'm so excited. I'm so excited. Um, one other thing to yap about here, too. A huge shout out to the narrators on the audiobook. This was my first time listening, and they just brought this world to life. Normally, I feel like if I am listening to a fantasy book, I kind of lose some of the whimsy, and this was not the case at all. Uh no, not Zura Johnson. I feel like I'm saying her first name wrong. No, I thought I think it is Zura. She was our Alette spectacular. And we have Will M. Watch as our Senin. They just did such an incredible job.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. And she's actually worked with them on the Always book and the Ever After um book. Like she's she's worked with them on a few other books. They're actually, like, when you look into them, I didn't really realize like how many of their books that I had listened to in the past. It it always seems a lot, like they do pair up quite a bit. Um, but they're fabulous. Like, honestly, you don't lose anything when you listen to the audiobook of this. It's just great. And lastly, this book does a bit of jumping around between the now and the flashbacks, and we will cover the ones that are necessary so that you understand what's going on. And because we are trying to keep this at a reasonable length, there will be a lot that we are passing over. As always, do not rob yourself the joy of this book. This book is so good, and Jenny is such an incredible storyteller that you are doing yourself a disservice by not reading this book. So, spoilers ahead.

SPEAKER_05

Okay, so first we meet Seninvale. Uh he's a scathian. Typically, these are colorful winged fays, except for the exceptionally strong. They have black wings. Senin has black wings. Yes, he does.

SPEAKER_02

You know, and in this world, we have two main peeps. We've got our scathians, they have wings, they have magic. Obviously, they can fly with these wings, they live in the high up towers, basically above the clouds, because all the peeps in this world get their energy, a lot of their energy from the sun. And then we have the tooths, is how I'm saying it. Is that how you're two? I pronounced it tooths, sooths. Sure. T. We get the teeth. The teas um who do not have wings or magic. They are kind of seen as the lesser beings. They don't get to live in the sun, and they normally work for the scathians.

SPEAKER_05

Just some peasants. I love it.

SPEAKER_02

That would be exactly.

SPEAKER_05

So Senin's strolling through the market and he sees this vibrant pop of color and he can hear this melodic laugh, and he is just taken aback. And she is there. She's got long blue hair, golden eyes. She's laughing, she's carefree, she's chatting with a vendor at the market. Yes, and he's instantly in love with her.

SPEAKER_02

He's already like planning their future together.

SPEAKER_05

As he should be. So he can glamour himself in public to look plain. Um, he describes it as like a potato, an invisible potato, which is so cute. Um so he's watching this little Minx buy her lemons, and he's like, Fuck it, I'm gonna shoot my shot. And so he just goes up and he's like, Why are you buying lemons?

SPEAKER_02

She's like, for cheesecake, my favorite dessert. And he's like, How shocking. That's also my favorite dessert.

SPEAKER_05

He thinks he's so smooth by paying for her lemons, but your girl is not impressed. And his glamour isn't doing anything either. She knows that it's Prince Senin Vale. So she's like, bye, and then just flies away. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

She's like, thanks for the lemons, bitch, and then just leaves. Love it. So fast forward roughly seven months later, we meet our couple again from the market, Senin and Alette, and they are basically Starcross lovers. He is a prince. Me too. I want to be Starcross lovers with Senan Vale. He is a prince, and she is just a beautiful maiden. She's just from a regular family. He is going to marry a princess and form alliances, and she's probably going to marry some wealthy, gross old man just to save her from the poor house.

SPEAKER_05

Which is sad, but yeah, you know, also. Do you gotta do what you gotta do for your kingdom? Yeah. Hashtag life. So they're in bed together at a dirty little inn and they have their little forbidden love thing happening. Uh Senin's brother Boris. Ew. Boris. You already know he's gonna be a piece of shit because his name is Boris. 100%. He's the new king, he's super strict. Senin is supposed to be heading to Nimbus to meet his betrothed. He's uh a little tied up right now.

SPEAKER_02

Let me, real quick, let you know that Senin is my kryptonite. He is funny. Oh, he's funny. He's charming. He tells Alette, um, my brother can force me to go with him to meet this princess, but he can't force me to talk. So the entire two weeks that I'm there, I ain't saying shit. And dare I say, he might be my favorite MMC of all time. And this time I mean it. You're lying right to my face. I am not, I am not. Cenevale is big. I agree with this wholeheartedly. This would change my life. It it honestly, we'll get to it, but it did. 100%. It did.

SPEAKER_05

Um, so we're back at Alette's crib. She's chatting with her friend who's also a maid. Um, so there is like, even though Alette is scathian, she's like, she's not pretentious. Like her best friend is a peasant. Yeah. She meant because she's like a maid for her, which like seems really sad because she's still a maid. She still has to like help her and like clean.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, she's still like scrubbing the toilet and she's like, Sell like, how's your day going? Like, what's up, girl? Like, let's just chat. And she's like, Kate, can you fuck off? Like, I'm trying to get my chores done.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. So Bessie's name is Wynne. She is obviously a two-oth. Um, they're talking about how tonight is the night that the portal to the human realm opens. Oh my god, this book is just it's so fresh. It's so new. It is I have never read anything even remotely close to this. And it just okay, go. I'm sorry, I'm going off on a tangent.

SPEAKER_02

No, this is also because I'm gonna go off on a tangent right now, so come along with me. Um, this is why I love Jenny so much, because so the festival that's going on in the human realm, it is Saoin, which is an ancient Celtic festival marking the end of harvest season, the beginning of winter. It's celebrated on sunset on August 31st, and it's considered the precursor to modern Halloween. Um which Celtic, Irish, anytime that you encounter a Jenny like romanticy book, like if you read like Bound and Freed, The Myths of Aaron, they are chalked full of Irish lore, which is so much fun because you're like, oh, Irish lore, what are you talking about? Like uh leprechauns? No, no, we're talking Irish lore. Like she is finding stuff that I'm sure if you live in Ireland, these are probably like some of the stories that you heard as a child or whatever. But for us, these are characters that I have never encountered. But then they also like I enjoyed them so much reading them, but then it would open up my mind to go and research them and like just totally turn me on to something super new and like really interesting and just sent me down like a wormhole. So if you ever want to go to Ireland and go to Salwin, girl, I go to it.

SPEAKER_05

Like it's not a it's still happening, it's a celebrated thing every year. Yeah, I love how it's it's in in real life, yeah, it's like a day of the year. And in this book, it's like we're gonna get fucking litty titty with some humans. I have never wanted to be a part of something so badly in my entire life. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And but like I want to go to Salwin, but I don't want to go to Salwin as a human. I want to go to Salwin as a scathian.

SPEAKER_01

People are like, what the what the fuck?

SPEAKER_02

That's what I want.

SPEAKER_01

Well, like, why does that girl have blue hair and blue wings? And I'll be like, Daddy, right?

SPEAKER_02

Like, let me live. This is my bound by gravity moment, and they're like, um, okay, weird, but whatever. So, anyways, they're gonna go wear masks, they're gonna go party. This is something that her parents did, and she has basically been dreaming of doing this for years.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, girl, fucking same.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

So she's gonna get her bestie a mask so that they're disguised. And after quite a bit of convincing win, she finally agrees to go through the portal. She's gonna have to be carried because she doesn't have wings, she's peasant, so everyone that partakes in this is obviously from the upper class, and they can just fly in through this portal. Yeah. So someone runs up and like scares the absolute shit out of Ollette. Like, hand over the mouth, puts her in a headlock, but it's Senin. Which I love. Okay. And he's telling her, yeah, he's gonna go with her through the portal, but she forgot that no one knows about her in Senin, so now she has to make a choice to tell Wyn about Simon, as she calls him. Um, so away they go. They basically see they're down this alley and they see a Stardust user, which in this book is an illegal drug and it makes them like super strung out, but they literally glow like a star.

SPEAKER_02

Cool for being like real naughty. I would do Stardust so hard. So what I would be such a dirty duster. You would know. You would know. I want to start calling people dusters because like if you know you know. If you know you know, and nobody will know what we're talking about, but I I just I love it so much. Like, that's what I mean. Like, there is this movie, movie, this book is gut-wrenching. Okay, it's a movie in my mind. This book is so gut-wrenching. Yeah, we're gonna be sad for like 95% of it. Yeah, buckle up the whole time. I'm happy about the sadness. Like, the way that she describes this stuff, the elements that she adds into it, the journey that she takes you on, the pictures that she paints. That's why I'm calling it a movie. Because like I know how this world looks. Like, if I could draw, I would draw you some beautiful stuff, but I can't, so you're not gonna get that. But it's like it's very descriptive. It it just it's so good. Like it, it like I said, like it's like she tattoos it on your brain. Like, anyways, sorry, another time to hop through the portal, okay?

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Uh they they get to the human realm, and there's a royal guard there. So this guard wants Senin to come back with him. Senin tells him, You're gonna let me stay for three hours and I won't have you fired. Because that's that's the way I would also throw around my royal status if I had it. 100%. So they all glamour themselves, they change into plain clothes, they put their masks on, and the guard has been checking out Alette like a lot. So they're drinking, they're dancing amongst among like these unknowing humans. Senin treats Wyn like an absolute fucking angel. He does not care that she is too off. Yes. He's like, no, girl, you're my you're my girl's girl, now you're my girl. And yeah, they're like dancing together and they're having drinks, and it's just he's the perfect he's the perfect male. He's the perfect man. He's the perfect man. So, which is the guard that's there, he is the fucking literal fun police. He's having the worst time. He's like doing ee or laps around a bonfire, and he reminds Alette, Senin is engaged to another woman. And she's like, cool, thanks, fucking. Big time buzzkill over here. Yeah, let me live. We also run into Lord Wendell, who is one of Alette's old man suitors. He happened to come through the portal tonight as well, and he recognizes her. And Senin is super jealous, and he's like, Look, bro, you can kick the fucking rocks. Like, get out of my face, get out of my face. He actually tells him to make himself scarce, which we just don't speak like that anymore, and I I want to. We used to be a proper species.

SPEAKER_02

We should try and bring this back. Okay. Well, uh try. Try us? We should get someone else to try. Someone more qualified. Yes, 100%.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. So send and allette put on their different masks, and he tells her she needs to run. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Okay. So he's planned this.

SPEAKER_05

He's planned for them to go to the human realm on this night so that they can run. He told Wynne to stay with his guard, and if they were to get separated, because the guard will take Wynne home, and they run into the woods and find an abandoned, like, decrepit cottage in the trees, and he tells her that they should stay there in the human realm so that they can be together and she can marry him. Oh, girl. So they make a blood pact, a magic one. They choose each other, mates, and husband and wife. And once the bond is in place, it can never be removed. So Senin has to start a fire after their little marriage, I guess you would call it. Um, but he can't use his magic. He doesn't know how, so he like basically has this inner conversation with himself about like, well, if we're gonna be living in this fucking human, like mortal realm, and I can't use my magic, I should probably figure this shit out real quick. Okay. He doesn't figure it out.

SPEAKER_02

He uses his magic. This is why you gotta learn everyday skills. You never know when you and your mate, you're gonna enter a portal, you're gonna go to another realm, you're gonna decide to stay, you're gonna make a few. So you don't need to marry a princess, you're gonna make a blood pack, you're gonna need a fire for survival, and then you add a luck. You know what? It happens a lot more than you realize. Agreed. Okay. So learn to make a fire.

SPEAKER_05

Just that's the bare yeah, bare minimum. Bare necessities, okay? Come on. So Alette wakes to the cottage literally burning to the ground. Um, so that's not great for her. She also can't find Senin. So she gets out just in time for this cottage to literally collapse. And there's three men outside, and one of them is completely saturated in blood, like head to toe, dripping in blood. And she looks to the tree line into the woods, and she sees Wyn dead.

SPEAKER_00

Man.

SPEAKER_05

We went from the happiest moment to the fucking worst day of my life in a span of like three chapters, and I'm upset. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Like, honestly, I forgot how much this book punches me in the dick because uh it gets you here and it's gonna keep on happening.

SPEAKER_05

It's gonna suck for a while, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05

So one of these dudes just punches her in the face, the other two pin her to the ground, and the one male stomps on her back, which breaks her glamour, and it basically like makes her wings come out. And then they cut off her fucking wings.

SPEAKER_02

They cut off her fucking wings.

SPEAKER_05

So Ison, the guard that was there at the fire with them, he comes out of the forest and slaughters these guys. Um, but her wings are gone, her best friend is dead, her mate is missing, and she almost burned to death in a cottage. So Okay.

SPEAKER_02

This the first time I read this book, I just bawled. Like, this was the first time where I started bawling.

SPEAKER_05

This was where you started, and you just didn't stop until then.

SPEAKER_00

This didn't stop until book two.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00

Like, but it feels good. It's such a good pain.

SPEAKER_05

Like it's gut-wrenching. That's like the only thing that I ever think of to describe this series. Is it just it makes me hurt well so badly.

SPEAKER_02

So this is one of the books where like every time that I recommend it to people, I get glowing reviews. Like I've never had a person be like, oh, it just wasn't really my book. Or everybody's fine.

SPEAKER_05

If it's not your book, we're gonna make it your book.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it is everybody's book. We will clockwork orange this book to you. Like, don't even play me. But I just recently recommended it to someone. And, you know, like I hadn't read it in like three or four months. So, you know, the pain like kind of eases the like grief lessens. And she was like telling me, like, oh, and then this happened, and then this happened. And I was like, wow, you know, I really should warn people when I recommend this too. This should be a go-in blind and just suffer the consequences because that's what we had to do. Yeah, and you know what? It felt great, and we're better for it. So, you know, be better for that. You know who's not better for it?

SPEAKER_05

Alette. No. We jump ahead about four years. Four years. Four. Four years. Years. Do you understand what can happen in four years? It's a lot of years. She's still fucking chilling in the human world. Yeah, of course she's child of a person. She doesn't have her wings. She doesn't have her mate. Without her wings, she's literally nothing. She's tried to tell Isan to find someone else because she is dead inside. Eason works at this like human prison. Alette is a seamstress and a scullery maid. They are trapped in the human realm, still and like barely making ends meet. Yeah, of course. But the portal opens tonight. No one has come through for the past three years, though. And when they go, no one comes through this year either. So Ethan and Alette are kind of a couple, but like not for love, but kind of by forced proximity and like a trauma bond, I guess. At this point.

SPEAKER_02

She's kind of like, bro, I had a husband and a mate, like give up.

SPEAKER_05

Barely hanging on.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Like, also, like, I don't have wings anymore. I don't have a best friend. I don't have a mate. Like, I know it's been like four years, but like, I'm a woman. We don't give up.

SPEAKER_05

Blood bonded.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, blood bonded. Bro, hello.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Easin is leaving for three weeks. So Alette goes to town and a vendor tells her to make sure that she grabs a mask for the Sawin Festival tonight. And she's like, tonight? Not the other night when Eason was like, let's go wait for the portal to not open that lying sack of shit. Yeah. Yeah. She doesn't know what to do. She thinks that Eason like maybe mixed up the dates. And because that's like Alette as a person is just she wants to see the good in everybody.

SPEAKER_02

But also she's been living with this guy for four years. Yeah. You know, he has been, he is the breadwinner. Like she's making a little bit of money, but it's him. He's the one who is like chopping a roof over their heads. He's he's building fires. He's building fires. He knows how to build a fire. Yeah. Like he is the one who's keeping them alive.

SPEAKER_05

So really, you know, she doesn't know what to think. Exactly. It's fair. She thinks that, oh, maybe he just got the dates mixed up and the portal will open, and Ethan is gone because he's gone for three weeks and she has no way to contact him. She cares for him, but she's not in love with him. Yeah. Which, like, girl, fucking dump is a dumpster.

SPEAKER_02

So like he sounds hot. So if it's not enough, just dump him, girl. Just dump him. You've had four years.

SPEAKER_05

Exactly. She's thinking about it and decides okay, I'm not gonna abandon him. I'll wait for next year and go on the right day. And they have this like old bitch next door trying to convince Alette that Sawin isn't tonight. She's lying to her face. This old hag was told by Ethan that Alette is an alcoholic, and that's why he has to lie to her about when Sawin is, so she doesn't go get Liddy Titty at the fucking parties.

SPEAKER_02

Cause she's gonna get drunk, drink meat. And dance naked in the town square. Like what?

SPEAKER_05

Like the audacity of that man. So he knew the right date all along. He's been lying and keeping her in the human realm. So fucking change of plan, homies. We gon' we gon' fucking jump through this portal. Bye, Felicia. Oh. Straight up. Bye. Like, could you imagine everything you've ever thought in your life being a lie?

SPEAKER_02

Even everything you've thought for four years being a lie. Four years. That's so long. The person that you have trusted with everything. Living in like some ramshackle fucking You're not. It's not just like, oh my God. Like the even like when you're like, oh, it's like a box in the woods. No, no, no. You're not even a human. She's patching things in the body. She's she's Alger Rigby, patching socks by the window. Yeah, like it's but it's not even that. Like she's not even human. This isn't even the world that she was born into. She doesn't even understand. She's gonna dye her hair. Oh the time. They can't see her blue hair. No, I couldn't understand. I couldn't, I can't imagine. Okay.

SPEAKER_05

But being the sweet baby angel she is, she still reads Easton a goodbye note and leaves him some money because she's a better person than I am.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, bro. Same. I wouldn't even leave him one square of toilet paper. I would take light bulbs out. There wouldn't be any wood left in the fireplace for you. There would be like no kindling, no axe, no nothing. Like you come in back, too bad.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. So she heads to this field where the portal opens, and alas, there are Faye landing. That fucking lying scoundrel. Oh, he makes me so mad. So she convinces someone to carry her back, and through the portal she goes, which is great. Back, baby! Yeah. So she's finally back. There is a fucking glowing dude getting his shit absolutely rocked by some giant guy. Hell yeah. And like remember, glowing from Stardust, he's a duster. Um and holy shit, it is Prince Senn and Vale. It's my bae! Hyperventiling. I think I was even like making that noise. The first time I read this, I was a different person.

SPEAKER_02

She mic drops. Yes. And there's a few of them that I put in here, but she mic drops so hard. Oh, yeah. So many times in this book, where like I this when you see people online and they're like reading a book and they like, ah, freak out and like throw the book across the corner, like across the room. I read those books, and I'm like, this book, this is real. This is real. This is real. The screams, the like tears, the hyper ven, like this is real. It's real good.

SPEAKER_05

It's real. It's real good. So Senin is doing like the Faye version of shooting up. He's cutting himself open, he's pouring in the stardust, and he sees the let, but he thinks he's hallucinating like he always does. This time, though, she doesn't disappear like she usually does in his hallucinations. But no one believes him because he's fucking high as balls. That's it. And then he gets dragged home. His boring brother Boris is like, hey bro, I you gotta go to rehab. You get married in 21 days, and the princess arrives in two.

SPEAKER_02

Life is so unfair. Yeah. Like, Jenny, why do you want me to feel why do you want me to feel bad? Yeah, why like why? Why are you doing this to me?

SPEAKER_01

I'm just I'm a good person.

SPEAKER_05

I know I wouldn't have left him a square, but I'm a good person. Yeah, you you are a good person. Yeah. So Alette now is like, okay, he's covered in tattoos, he's addicted to drugs, and from what I can see, he just like fucking ditched me. Like he just left me in the mortal realm. He's out here parting up, living his best life. So she's like, he's like getting married and like shit's happening. Like, what the fuck? Life went on without her. So she goes to her aunt's home and she finds out that she died years ago. So now she's all alone, wingless, best friendless, homeless, boyfriendless. Like just less. She's just less, man. I don't think it gets worse than this. She's just less. So she obviously can't purchase anything because the money she has is fucking useless human coins. So she's like, Alright, it's fine. Like, I'm gonna go to the castle. We're gonna figure this out. I'm gonna request to speak with Senin. I'm gonna tell him the guards, I'm his mate, and the guards are gonna be like, sure. So she does that. She climbs the steps to the castle, and the guards are like, you're like the fifth girl to claim this today. Get the fuck out of here, you wingless bitch.

SPEAKER_02

It hurts so bad. It hurts so bad. Cause also she's like, he's gonna help me. Like maybe there is still something, maybe he didn't leave, maybe I don't understand. And they're like, girl, everybody claims that. Like he's just a duster bum. Like you're talking about the duster prince? Is I heard that?

SPEAKER_05

Sure, you're his mate. I believe it. Good news. The castle is hiring, so she's gonna try and get on in there. She does, barely, but she does. So she lies about who she is using her dead best friend's name and her birthday, which just oh it hurts.

SPEAKER_02

My heart. Yeah. It's like we said so scary. You're gonna feel and you're gonna keep on feeling, and then that's gonna be the whole book. It's just you want you wanna see if you're still alive? Read this book, you'll find out.

SPEAKER_05

So we're back to Sendon's POV here, and he is hanging out with his baby brother Kiff. Um, and we find out that Boris, that piece of shit, is using baby brother as punishment to send us like when he's misbehaving.

SPEAKER_02

Kiff is like essentially like his bestie. He's also just like sweet, innocent, he's so much younger than him, and like Senna just wants to protect him from the world. Avi, because yeah, if Senin is like living this life that he did not plan for himself, he obviously doesn't want that for his little brother, but he also like wants to save him from kind of his brother's corruption. Like, you know, from his brother, he wants him still to be a child, like their mother died when he was super young, and he just wants to like hug that sweet baby angel.

SPEAKER_05

Which like protect this child at all costs. Of course. So Kiff goes to wake Senin up because his betrothed has arrived and told him if he doesn't, then Boris told Kiff he won't get any food. So if Sennen doesn't get his ass out of bed to go meet his fiance, then baby brother doesn't actually get to eat. Also, his princess arrives on a Pegasus fucking so badass.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, so badass. And like everyone when she arrives, she is just a fucking stunner. Like everyone is very taken with her. He has another brother, Ryan or Rayon, who is also very taken with her. Um, but Senin has plans. He's gonna make this bitch. Yes, he does. So that she calls off the wedding. Which he's still like, he's like, no, like that's it.

SPEAKER_05

He yearns for his hallucination girlfriend, okay? He just needs he needs his hallucination lady. Exactly. So Alette now is uh castle staff. So she wakes up in the servants' quarters and she finds out that she's gonna be assigned to clean some guest rooms on the fourth floor, and all the staff there wear masks to hide their fuck ugly peasant faces, which is so sad to me that they're like, not only do they have to like clean out toilets and shit, but they have to do it while wearing like a full face cover.

SPEAKER_02

Like, know your place. Like what? It's so sad.

SPEAKER_05

Um, we get a little Sen-in perspective, and he feels this like really unexplainable pull towards one of these rooms as he's walking by. So he's like, oh, let me just go take a little peek. Let me investigate. Alette is inside cleaning, and she feels the same pull.

SPEAKER_02

Girl, the first time that I read this, the scream that I scrumped. Yes, it almost made me drop my croissant. Okay, like it almost made me drop my croissant. Girl. I know. It it's so good.

SPEAKER_05

Yes, it's so good. Senin crawls underneath the bed and he's like hiding under the bed because this guy comes in looking for him. And Alette's like, yeah, no one's here, it's fine. And after this fucking guy leaves, Alette gets a good look at Senin, and he's again, he's covered in tattoos, he's taller, he's stronger, he's hotter, and he's like, What's your name? And just as she's about to give it, a woman comes in and she is fucking stunning. She's got lavender hair, perfect skin, and she says, Senin, my love. And Alette's like, Cool, so he's actually just moved on completely and forgotten about me and like my feelings.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

But also, like, why'd you have to give her lavender hair? That's like, I wish I had lavender hair so bad. Why couldn't she have had like, I don't know, I don't know what color, but not lavender. Lavender. Like, so she's just beautiful. Fuck all.

SPEAKER_05

Stunning. Yeah. Yeah. So Alec gives Senin her fake name. So she's like, yeah, my name is Wyn. And obviously that's gonna jog something, but not enough because he's a dirty duster right now. Exactly.

SPEAKER_02

Well, and like because she feels embarrassed. Like he is trying to move on from her for a reason. Yeah. And she also, like, she kind of wants to be like, yo, like it's me, but also she doesn't want to tell him, she doesn't want to make a pool of her saying.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

And also, like, she doesn't have wings. Yeah. She, you know, like she didn't have a lot to offer before, but it's like, bro, I literally just cleaned out your chamber pot. What's up? It's your love. Like, and girl, yeah, I feel it. Like, what did you what did you have for dinner last night? Because those were really stuck on there. Like, you know, so it's yeah, of course. And but after this happens, he is still like, who was that bitch? Because he asked the servant master, whatever the hell he's called, to like bring in the girl called Lenny, which is the fake name that he gave her. He felt some sort of tug towards her, but obviously because she was lying about because I think at this point she says Lenny. I don't think she said Wynne, just like you're right.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. She says like some rando name, not even the fake name that she was already using. This girl's just out here playing scripts. And because she was lying, and because they don't know her as that name, they bring some other chick in, and he's like, uh, who the fuck is this? And they're like, that I'm the owner of this house. Who the fuck are you? Like, but obviously it wasn't.

SPEAKER_05

So it's dinner time for the royals, and the servant's clearing the table, and again, he feels that tug.

SPEAKER_01

Yes.

SPEAKER_05

And so he's like, I'm gonna just excuse myself from this. Uh, take this bitch to her room because I don't want to see her anymore. So he takes his fiance to her chambers, and when he closes in on the servant, another servant calls out to win, that's right, um, to see if she's okay. And the name is like obviously jogging something in his memory, so the next rational thing to do is to just rip her mask off her face. Aggressive. Don't touch the face. But her hair is still dyed black, and he doesn't notice that it's her. Like, okay, this is literally just the love of your life. The girl that you also he's a duster and he's perfect. We'll let it go. The love of your life, and you do not know that it's her because her hair is a different color. Send in.

SPEAKER_02

Danielle, I want to agree with you, but also, number one, no. And number two, he thinks that she is dead. So, like, yes, it is love of your life, you should recognize her, but also it's been hallucinating.

SPEAKER_05

She's doing some heavy drag. Listen to me. Listen to me. The day that she fucking stumbled her ass back through that portal, he was high as balls and still knew it was her. He thought he was hallucinating, but he still knew it was her. Now you're an inch away from her face and you're like, Do better. But your hair is black. But you didn't have black hair before.

SPEAKER_02

I've never heard of hair dye. I've heard of a lot of things, but not that.

SPEAKER_05

He's like, I I gotta get the fuck out of here. I'm having a lot of feelings. So he pays off his guard Bell to take him to a pub and he goes to the bathroom to do some dust, but there's none hidden in his usual dirty bathroom spot. So he sneaks out through the vent in the bathroom and finds a shady dealer and just gets lit up.

SPEAKER_02

Even this kind of stuff, like I love how she low-key, like, because this is not a comedy book, like at all. But Jenny puts these little like things in there, and just the way that she like describes it, and him just like pulling himself through this dirty venture.

SPEAKER_05

After he just like ripped apart like toilets and shit to find the stash. Yeah, it's like kind of low-key funny. Like it's yeah. So he's outside and he sees that the portal works. The fucking portal works. He has been told all his life that it is only once a year, but it's working now. It's working. So Sennin confronts Boris and he's high as shit, but calls him out. Like, why have you and your guards been lying to me about the portal? And Boris is like, look, bro, it's been four years. You should just be over it by now. Yeah. And Boris tells him, Aletta's dead. Like, she's not coming back. She is dead.

SPEAKER_02

But also, if this is not my husband on my death, bro, what are we even doing? What are we even doing? Like, I want you to yearn. I want you to see me in crowds everywhere. I really just want it to emotionally destroy your life. You shouldn't have to be able to do also be hallucinating. You should be hallucinating. Like, people are just like, ugh, get away from me because you're just chaos. Yes. Uh, so you better hope that like you die first, because I've got real big plans for you, dude. Like, it's uh yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Big shoes to fill. Yeah. So Sennon tries to pawn his fiance, Leary. Leary?

SPEAKER_02

Leary or Ly.

SPEAKER_05

Leary. I think we're gonna go with Leary. Yeah. Um, off on his brother Rain. And he likes her, and she seems to like just about everyone. So he runs to Boris and tells him, like, hey, Rain and Leary actually seem to be hitting it off real good. So, like, could you just make them get married instead?

SPEAKER_02

Switcheroo.

SPEAKER_05

But no, no, no. Boris shuts that shit down real quick, and Sennen goes back to Leary and kisses her, which, like, bro, what the fuck are you doing?

SPEAKER_02

He's trying to force himself to get over a let. No, he's on drugs, he doesn't know how to make a fire, things are just not really going his way. Like, girl, I know that you're trying to be angry, but I'm just trying to justify real hard.

SPEAKER_05

Like, it it because he's that's my my brain when I'm having an upsetti spaghetti moment goes to rage, and I'm like, I don't feel sad because it then I'm gonna be sad. I just want to be angry. I have to be angry. My sadness with rage.

SPEAKER_02

My thing is you have to also understand, like, this guy has had four years of, and we'll get a little bit more into it, but for four years, he has been telling everyone, like, Alette, Alette, Alette, my whole life, my mate, my this, my, you know, and everyone's while he lives in his fucking castle with unlimited money and drugs for the while. She's sewing gross patching socks. I don't know why the patch and socks bothers you so much. Maybe she likes patching socks, okay? Have you ever thought about that? Maybe they're nice socks.

SPEAKER_05

Um this fucking girl cannot catch a break, no.

SPEAKER_02

She can't.

SPEAKER_05

She sees them kissing. Of course she does.

SPEAKER_02

Of course she does. Of course she does, because Jenny doesn't want me to be happy.

SPEAKER_05

Right. Um, so the servants have the day off, and she's got this girl buddy servant friend named Braith. Um, and she's basically banging her to go out with the team. So they like cue this little montage of the girls getting ready, and they head to the pub, and they get white girl wasted. Yeah. They dance. And while she's dancing, a man holds her and starts dancing with her, and then he calls her name Alette.

SPEAKER_02

That one name her real single greatest line in any book ever. Because it's when he realizes it's her. I'm dancing with her. She's alive. She's alive. Alette is here, but also like she didn't make us wait forever. Like, she did kind of make us wait, but like normally you would not expect this moment to come until like pretty much the end of the book, and then you'd be like, Okay, thanks. I'm so happy that I spent seven hours getting there. No, like she Alette.

SPEAKER_05

Alette. It's her, and he knows it's her. But again, he thinks he's hallucinating. So she's like, I gotta get the fuck out of here. Why is she leaving? I don't know. Doesn't she like miss him as much as he misses her? Yeah, but also she saw him kissing someone.

SPEAKER_02

She doesn't know what the hell's going on.

SPEAKER_05

He's a drug addict, he's a deaf star. So he chases after her, and when he catches up to her, she tells him, like, you fucking abandoned me.

SPEAKER_02

He's like, yo, you're my mate. She's like, Bro, you haven't been my mate since you abandoned me in the human realm.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. Which like Mike Drop.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Um the king's guards ripped him back through the portal when this shit went down. Sentinel told her, like, I saw your body, there was a body there, there was blue wings, and that's when he realizes that they fucking chopped her wings off and staged her death. And like, as a normal, sober, sane person hearing that that's fucking awful. This guy's fucked up.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. But also, you have to understand at this point, the guy did not realize that the portal works all the time. So he waited a year. So for a year, he went, please let her be alive. Please let her be alive. He went through the 19 stages of every fucking problem. You know, like she's gonna be alive. No, she's not. She's gonna be alive, I'm gonna save her, we're gonna have a whole life together. And got there because she doesn't know the day. He gets to the location where he last left her and went, Wow, if I didn't go with her that night, you know, and if I didn't tell her to run, she wouldn't be fucking dead.

SPEAKER_05

Like, it sucks so bad.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05

Um, so he's finally put it together that she's been the servant that he's been seeing multiple times throughout the castle, and she just tells him, You have to let me go. Yeah. And then she just fucking dips. She's out of there.

SPEAKER_02

Because she saw him with the princess and is like, you moved on. Like you forgot about me. Like, even though he's like, he's putting this stuff together, he hasn't like fully explained it to her. And there's a lot of people. Could you imagine there's if they just sat down and had a conversation? Can you imagine if anyone in any book sat down? Can you imagine if human beings, adults, sat down and had you know, when people are like, Oh, I hate a miscommunication trope. Bro, we're all living miscommunication tropes. But when you have to read about it, I just heard her scream. Especially when you read dual POV. If it's like one person, you're like, oh my god, I don't know how if he knew, and then they're like, he knew, and you're like, okay. But when you read both of their minds and they're like, I love her, she's the only thing I want, and they're like, What? And it's like a simple conversation. Yeah, exactly. 20 minutes of your time would fix this. Exactly. It hurts.

SPEAKER_05

So she now realizes too, like they burned Wynn with her wings to stage Alette's death, and Ethan was obviously in on it, and she's been lied to four years, which is just fucking awful. Yeah. Um, so Senin pays a visit to Jestin, which is one of like their little worker friends.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, he was put in the pit by Senin because he touched Alette. But touched, he like put his arm around her shoulder. Which, hello, yes. He is also a stardust dealer, so he's a very trustworthy guy.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. So it turns out the drugs that Senin has been doing, it's gonna kill him. Um, it's been poisoning him. And Justin, he's like, uh, I you know, I there's an antidote. I got I got stuff. I got the But if Senin wants it, he's gonna have to let Justin out of the pits. Fair trade, man. Seems like a pretty fair trade to me. Yeah. So Senin convinces Alette to go on a date with him. And he takes her for a walk through the gardens, through the moonflowers, which are her favorite flowers. And when he takes his shirt off, he has moonflowers and Alette's name tattooed on his torso. He's also set up this picnic for her in the garden, and then they just like fall back into their old banter, even though like it's been four years. Yeah, he even brought her favorite cheesecake. They never stopped loving each other.

SPEAKER_02

They never stopped. They both, and it's like I love it. I love it so much. It's so good. It's so good.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, so they're like wasting no time here. They just start making out and kind of panics because she's like, What the fuck am I doing? Like, we are. Just we're basically cursed and destined to suffer. Like we will never be together, really. And she also decides that this is the appropriate time to tell him about her wings and what happened.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, and we get like a who did this to you, and like but also it's like sir, you saw the wings. Where did you think those wings came from?

SPEAKER_05

You think we're just made of wings around here? She's like describing in detail that she had them sawed off of her while she was still like alive and conscious and like not nice. Oh, but he's he's he's still gonna love her. Yeah. Alette Vale. He calls her Alette Vale, his wife. Yes. Fuck me right in the feelings now. Like it's so good. I cannot. It's just it's everything that I want like books with yearning to be is just rolled up into something.

SPEAKER_02

But also, you need to remember we still have many, many chapters to go. So don't get too comfortable. Okay.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah. So it's time for another royal dinner, and Billson, the ultimate cock block guard, rolls up and Hulson in out of the garden.

SPEAKER_02

And he goes to dinner, he is just going through it. He's thinking about everything that Alette went through. Obviously, he's got a lot of like guilt weighing on that. And when he gets to dinner, his betrothed is just all up in his biz. Like, where were you today? Like, bitch, I was with my wife. I was with my wife. I was with my wife. And he learns that his other brother, so he's got, they're just made of brothers in this.

SPEAKER_05

There's so many brothers. There's so many.

SPEAKER_02

A Aaron, actually it's Aaron, is going to be returning to the castle for the wedding. Yeah. And this brother has already been married off. Like, kind of the whole fam jam plan was let's just marry all these boys off to other kingdoms, and then we kind of own everything, which is a smart plan. Okay. Um, Alette is caught sneaking back into the castle by her friend Braith, and she's like wearing this fancy gown, like, ooh, the gossip is Josie.

SPEAKER_05

Which, like, also, I get that she's like still sneaking around and she doesn't really trust Braith yet. Of course. Because she's everything she loves gets fucking ripped away from her.

SPEAKER_02

Yes, 100%. Well, and also I understand why Braith doesn't super trust Alette yet. Like, is this just some new chick? You didn't know her before. Like, and again, this is very like cutthroat dog eat dog world. Like, these people are kept down in the dark. These people are given just like scraps. They're like work to the bone. And, you know, you kind of like we cover, like, we gloss over this a little bit, but they like really turn on each other quite easily because yeah, they really don't have any other like chance, right? So she's back in a servant's quarters, and there's a guard that's like leering at her, and he's harassing her about the dress. He grabs her, he starts dragging her down this hallway, and of course, pulls his dick out. Like, why wouldn't you? And she grabs this kind of like laundry paddle and just whaps him in the head with it a whole bunch of times.

SPEAKER_05

Which, you know what? Good for her.

SPEAKER_02

You deserved it. You deserve it, but also she is a two-eth scum, and he is a scathian royal guard, right? Come on, that dare off, right? Like, he deserved it. He's dead, he's a member of the royal guard. She is obviously panicking. Right, who, you know what? Get it, girl. I'm killing the man, but it's just like dripping in blood. She runs in and is like, uh, we're gonna have to fix this problem real quick. Yeah. She gets her cleaned up and she sees the scars on her back, her wing scars, and is like, okay, like, what the fuck? Hello. There's obviously a backstory here. The guards are rounding everyone up. Sorry. A backstory? Boom. Yeah. Um, they're rounding everyone up. They want, they like found the guard's body and they need to punish the killer. Like, this assault on a royal guard is the same to them as an assault on the king, which obviously cannot happen. True. Her servant buddies like lie covering up for her crimes. She's like fucking spiraling, like, okay, I gotta get the fuck out of here. Um, we flip over to Sendon's POV. He's spiraling because he doesn't know that this stuff is happening. He's worried about this antidote, right? Like, he's gotta get the antidote from Jessin. He's like also his both of their lives are complete shit. You know, like they're back together, but like he's got a fiance that he doesn't want. He's got a brother breathing down his neck, he's keeping his other brother fed. He's got a daughter coming in, he's dying. He's dying. He's dying. That's probably the biggest issue that's and so he is low-key planning for Alette in case if he dies. He wants to get her family's tower back, he wants to make sure that she got some money, he wants to sort everything out for her. As he's like kind of spiraling and coming up with these plans, Jess embusts in the door, dragging a bleeding Alette. She passed out after being whipped, um, which for other shit, but thankfully they didn't pin the murder on her. Alette comes in and she tells Sennen, like, yo, I killed a guard who like forced himself on me. So sad.

SPEAKER_05

And like she's that's her thing that she's upset about, is that she killed someone. She's not even like she's not worried about being in trouble. She's not worried, she's so upset with herself for killing someone, even though this guy was about to rape her.

SPEAKER_02

Yes. Yeah, right? And it's sad because like Justin still hasn't gotten the antidote, so we're like, okay, thanks for nothing.

SPEAKER_05

He's so useless. Honestly, I just like I feel like Senin should have just hauled his ass back to the pit and been like, you can come out when I have the antidote of my antidote, right?

SPEAKER_02

Um, they return to his rooms. Like, Senin has kind of, he's like, You're not going back down. Like, we're gonna we're gonna sort out from here. You're staying in my rooms. Alette's not there. Apparently, he arranged for her to have like rooms underneath his, just obviously because he still has this fiance kicking around. He goes and visits and they bang. Oh yes, they do. Sidebar, I have read like six or seven-ish Jenny books, and I've read the like I don't know, a thousand spicy books in my life. At least there's like some yearning and spice that's in this book that I have not read in any other Jenny books that I have not read in other spicy books, and let me say it had me sweating. Like, get it, Jenny.

SPEAKER_05

Because we actually get the story before the spice. Yes, it just feels good, man.

SPEAKER_02

It feels it feels so good. So good. Um, Senin, this frickin' genius, convinces Alette to come to dinner. She's gonna come under the guise of being one of A. Aaron's uh courtiers.

SPEAKER_05

What the fuck could go wrong there? Yeah, right. Also, like come on down so I can flaunt my wife, my future wife, off to my current wife. Like, what are you doing, ma'am? Like, no one's feelings are gonna be hurt.

SPEAKER_02

She doesn't need to come to dinner. It's fine, but whatever. And obviously, brother Aaron is like, this is dumb. Like, what are we doing? But he's like, Okay, whatever. My brother's a duster. Like, let's just bring this chick along with me. Um, and away they go. The prince and the street rat. And while they're at dinner, obviously, this stupid guy, her old beau Philip Wendell, is there and he recognizes her. Like, this guy can recognize her. This guy recognized her. Yeah. She still has black hair. This guy. But the love of your life was like, No, I don't think that's her. Yeah, right? Um, so obviously, like the plan is not working out super well. She runs out of dinner. After Alette leaves, King Boris comes up and he pushes some stardust into Senin's hands, and he's like, Hey, just so you know, like, I found this in Kiff's room. He looks up to you. Like, he took this and he said that he got it out of your room. He's like, throw away your life, but like, Jesus, do not throw away his life. Like, get it together, man. Right? Like, because he is like a lot younger. So after dinner, Senon comes back to the room and Alette is like, I just can't do this, man. Like, I don't want to be your mistress. And he's like, Mistress. He's like, um, are you high? Like, you're my wife. Like, I choose you.

SPEAKER_05

Like, we aren't choose you at dinner, okay? Yeah. My other wife was there.

SPEAKER_02

But now you're my real wife. Senin, you know what? Now you're my real wife. While they're in this like mid-conversation, bang whole situation. Yeah, the brother Rayan catches them mid-act. Yeah. And he fucking starts booking it towards fucking bitch brother Boris's room.

SPEAKER_05

Senin chases him down, and just as he's about to like tattle, like I just all I can picture is he's like running down the castle hall, like dick out after his brother, because like he was literally inside her when his brother gorged in. Wait! Oh, wait!

SPEAKER_02

Let me drop my pants around his ankle and his like dick is just blown in the breeze. Well, I never pictured that before, but now I am. So thank you. Um, and he's like, Rain is like in love with Senin's fiance, Leary. He's like her she like, how could you do that to her? Like, she is so good. Everyone loves her.

SPEAKER_05

She has lavender hair.

SPEAKER_02

You could have her, and of course, now speak of the devil, and she will appear. Leary's charging at him. She starts professing her love for Senin. She tells him, like, let's go bang right now. He's like, girl, I don't want to marry you. I'm never gonna want to marry you. If I do marry you, it's only gonna be out of duty. Like, get the hell away from me. She tries to go in for a kiss. He moves out of the way and she topples off the ledge.

SPEAKER_04

We're just so funny.

SPEAKER_02

With that again, this is like the low-key stuff where she writes it, and I don't know if she's intending to be funny. I don't know if this is just her little like sneaky tricks up her sleeve, but I love it. Like, it's just so comedic, and it's also like, girl, you deserved it. Like, what are you doing? Yeah. Send it's gonna go to help her, but he's like, Oh yeah, she has wings, like she could save herself. And then he's like thinking, he's like, Wait, have I ever seen her use her wings? What's what? And it turns out she's arrived on a Pegasus, she ain't got no magic, it was just a glamour, and so he catches her obviously before he falls. Like he doesn't want her to fall, but like, we're gonna come to a new arrangement. He's like, You could marry my brother, like he loves you, but you're gonna have to be honest with him. Like, yeah, people need to know. You can't be lying. Yeah, you can't go out here brag and have wings when he ain't got no wings. No, you're not allowed to lie, only me with my wife. Me with my destroy. So he's off to BBB's rooms. He wants to get everything sorted out with the king before he returns to Alette. Like, he's gonna, they're gonna go live with Aaron. We're gonna move to his kingdom, we're just gonna live happily ever after. We're gonna tell Boris, like, hey, you know, marry these two off. She ain't got no magic. Like, bro. And as he's like talking to Aaron about this, he's like, do not push this shit. He's like, no, like it's fine. He's like, it we're gonna be happy. Like it's he doesn't give a shit. He's like, do not push it. He's like, do you remember Madeline? Which was some rando that Aaron met at the same time that Senna met Alette. And he's like, that was my side bay. She was my little scathian girl who was not like higher class, whatever. Apparently they were in love. They were in love, she was pregnant, and he went and told Big Brother Boris that he would not be marrying the princess that he was promised to. And he was like, Okay, yeah, cool, cool, cool, cool. So Boris brought Madeline into the throne room, cut off her wings, and didn't allow for her to be healed. And her and the baby died. He's such a piece of shit. He's such a piece of shit. And that's the thing, like, he's such a bad character, but in this book, like he's only kind of like, you know, moving around the castle.

SPEAKER_05

We're not getting anything in their collective now. It's like we're getting a little bit more.

SPEAKER_02

We're just getting little flashes, like just little like angry where it's like, oh, I hate you. Why do you hate me? I don't really a hundred percent know, but I know that I do. And we'll get into it in book two. Um, so Senan then realizes he's like, whoa, pieces put together. What happened to Alette was because of me. And no shit. Like, hello, bro. Stop doing drugs. You need a clear mind to be figuring out what's going on here. Um, and he explains to Aaron, like, that's Alette. And he's like, uh-huh, I know. He's like, no, no, no, that is my Alette. Like, that is her. I know her hair is black, but people can dye their hair. That is the same person.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I recently left.

SPEAKER_02

He's like, I didn't know what hair dye was used for, but now I know. And he's like, I need your help. And so they're like, okay, let's go to my room. He goes and tells Alette, like, we gotta go now. It wasn't the humans, it wasn't like other guards like grabbing me, whatever. It was the guards that attacked you. And my brother has done this shit before.

SPEAKER_05

Like the betrayal in this book on all fronts is unmatched. It's it's not good. It's not good.

SPEAKER_02

It's not good. Um, so he's like, we're gonna meet at the old fuck shack inn. So pack your stuff, I'll meet you there. I've got a plan. Ezelette is walking out of the castle, um, one of her shit friends turns her over to the guard. She's like, Oh, hey, I just wanted to say bye. And there's like a guard that's there, and he's like, Is this the girl? And she's like, Yeah, that's the one who killed the royal guard. And they grab her and they drag her away to the pit. Fuuuuck. Like still just going back. Don't trust anyone. Don't make friends. No, don't tell anyone your secrets, don't kill royal guards, no, don't dye your hair. All of the stuff bad like happens. So Senna doesn't know that she's been taken. He's like waiting in Aaron's room, he's getting his stuff together. He's like, Okay, we're leaving. Like, he's still trying to get the antidote, but he's also kind of like, Well, if I can't fucking get it, like it is what it is. Um, BBB busts into the room and he's like, What the fuck did you do with Leary? Now she doesn't want to marry you. Um, he's like, Yeah, Boris, like, she doesn't have any wings, she doesn't have any power. He's like, Yeah, I know. He's like, You're useless. Why the fuck would I care if I gave you over to her? Why the fuck would it matter?

SPEAKER_05

It makes me so sad. It makes me so sad that even his like brother, the king, his brother, is like, oh, of course, I'm not gonna fucking I'm not gonna marry you off to somebody who's actually gonna like create a proper alliance or do anything positive for our family. And like, no, you take this peasant.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, like which and it also like it's kind of he's like saying, like, I I literally like I don't you're gonna die anyways. Like, I already know you're gonna die. You've been a mess for four fucking years, so at least if I can like marry you off, this is like a good, like, strong ally. You can get her pregnant, you can do your duty, and then you can die. Like that's so shitty. And he like tells Senn, like, yo, I know that you've been banging some maid. Okay, so does does he know that the maid is a let? Oh, yeah. Oh, he does. Oh, because he understands hair dye.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, he knows hair dye.

SPEAKER_00

Yeah, yes, okay, yeah, I was sure.

SPEAKER_02

Oh, uh, yes, okay, okay. Because I didn't know like if he had ever met her before, but obviously, like it wouldn't be that hard to be like, who is this chick that just moved into his room? He understands life. Okay, yes, cool. He's also not on drugs, totally tricked out. Um, so Senant looks over at his guard, Belle, and he's like, Okay, like I'm fucked. I gotta marry the princess, I gotta die. There's no antidote, but like, save Alette. And Bell is like, bro, like, stop living in the past, man. Like, she died in the human realm. And he's like, No, no, she didn't. That maid, that maid is a let hair dye, okay? It's Alette. And so then he's like, Yeah, fuck, okay, yes, like I'll save your girl, but like I need a chest of gold. Um, and obviously, I'm not doing this job anymore because like I'm defying the king. And then Jenny does this. She goes, You're a good man, Easton Bill.

unknown

What?

SPEAKER_00

Like your body visceral reaction.

SPEAKER_05

It makes a it makes sense.

SPEAKER_04

Goosebumps over everywhere in my body.

SPEAKER_05

Like I scream, I cry. Yes. And this is the biggest, this is the biggest lie I have ever read. Ethan Bell. Eason Bell. Yes. Easin Bell, you're Eastin Bell.

SPEAKER_02

I hate you. Man, Eason Bell. Go save my woman, East and Bell. And that's why he's like, bro, like living in the past, like she died in the human realm, because she like left a note, but he's also like, that bitch ain't got no wings. Like, where the fuck did she go? She just took off. Like, he doesn't know. And he's like, no, no, no, it's the maid. It's that's her. And he's like, perfect. He's like, she's in the pits. Go save her without a phone.

SPEAKER_05

No more of you people fucking aware of this chick. You lived with her for four years and you watched her dye her hair.

SPEAKER_02

We mean you don't recognize her. Right? You didn't pick up, well, because he's got other guards, okay, Danielle. We're trying to understand stuff. He's got other guards, but also like Eason still, he's like, fuck, like, if she left, but he he also doesn't realize like where honestly, you'd be like, yeah, her tower doesn't exist anymore. She doesn't have a family. Yeah, it just You're a good man, Isin Bell. Every time I say it, it gives me full body goosebumps. Yes, as it should. So the very next day, Senin and Princess Leary are married at dawn in a special ceremony. After the ceremony, they get locked into his room because basically the brother's like, breed and then die. Literally, I don't care. Don't care. And she tells Senon, like, you have to put a baby in me. Like, my family, I don't have any magic, I don't have any wings. Like, this is literally what they I am here to be read. This is this is what they sent me for. Like, we need to do this. Luckily for Senin, because they've been engaged since she was a child, she doesn't know what sex is. So he uses that to his advantage. He's like, let me show you. And he cuts her hand and he dumps the stardust that King Boris gave into her. And she just wigs out. While this is happening, Jesson pops in. He's like, Oh, um, kind of like Sorry, were you guys in the middle of consummating your marriage?

SPEAKER_05

I have like vials for you.

SPEAKER_02

Right.

SPEAKER_05

How did he get in there?

SPEAKER_02

Secret door. This is a castle. They have secret doors all over the damn place. They got shifty mirrors and you know, they got stuff. It's a castle. Um, and he pops in, but he also like he kind of thankfully, like Jessica kind of redeems himself a little bit. He like gives him the gears, like, bro, I thought you gave a shit about Alette. He's like, Oh, that bitch? No, no, no. That's that's something else. Don't look at that. And he's like, Okay, no, you can't do this one. He's like, Don't, don't look at it. It's fine. Let's just cover her up with a blanket. It's fine, don't look at her. Um, and he gives the vials to Senan and he's like, Whoo, yeah, your boy got it. The next day, Alette wakes up in the prison and there's some like old crone in there, too. It's very like Aladdin waking up in the prison when they're like, go get the diamond in the rough. And someone like grabs her and like drags her out of there, and she thinks that she's like going to see the king. Yeah, it's a trick. It's weird because yeah, the person who saved her isn't taking her to the king, he's taking her to the fuck shack in. And when she looks up, it's a good man, Ison Bell. Oh fuck. She gives him a hug because she a dum-dumb. She's dumb. She's dumb. Well, and also, you don't know. They don't know. All these people are being assholes and pretending to be good, and they're not good. And she's like, uh, he's like, hurry, like, we gotta go through the portal. She's like, what? No, I like Senin. Hello. And he's like, girl, he married Princess Leary. Like, what the fuck is it with him? Like, he fucked, he drank, he did drugs, he like forgot about you for years. He got engaged, he married someone else. Like, and she's like, Whoa, like years? What do you mean years? Weren't you in the human realm with me? And he's like, Well, well, well, remember when I said that I was going to work? It's a surprise. Like, remember when I told you I was going to work? Um, yeah, I was. I just worked in another realm. Yeah. Like that is that I didn't lie. Like I did kind of work for the prison. I did, you know, like he did just the one lie by omission. Yeah, just the one here. It was just a longer commute to work. And he like tells her, he's like, the truth is, like, I wasn't supposed to kill Wynne that day, but I was supposed to kill you. Like, I was given that direction. But the first time that I saw you, I loved you, which also I would fall for this. I'd be like, What?

SPEAKER_00

You loved me. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I'd be like, Oh my god, maybe I. Could marry them both, like, yeah, so it's it's better that it's not me. He's like, I faked your death. He's like, and I kept you with the hopes that you would love me too. And like she liked him, but she didn't like him like him. Like, bro. And he's like, only for you to like leave me for some dust or shithead. And then again, Jenny does it to me again. Get the fuck away from my mate. Yeah. Jenny's home. Oh my god. It's so good. She just has these like one-liners that like I will never have a time in my life when I can say, get the fuck away from my mate. But I really want to start saying it too.

SPEAKER_04

I think you should just try it one day. Yeah. I think you should just you should just give it a go. Just see what happens. Like, what's the worst? Should I do it like totally nothing?

SPEAKER_02

I could get fired from my job. My boss's like, hey, like, come to your light today. And it's like the fuck away from my mate. Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Try it. Let me know how it goes for you. You're a good man, Easton Bell. Like, just they're like, what? But you know what? Okay. I am going to start saying this to people. Maybe other people maybe I'll make this a stim and then other people will say it, and then I'll just live in like happiness. So obviously they start fighting. Obviously, Bell is winning. Yeah, because jacked.

SPEAKER_05

He's like the best King's Guard in all of the King's Guard.

SPEAKER_02

Also, he's been like flying to and from, like he's been hiking five miles up a mountain every day to get to work. Like, hello. And Alec gets him with the pointy side of the sword. That's the best side. That's anyone with if you're gonna get someone with a sword. They grab their packs and they run the fuck out of there. There's guards everywhere, and they're like, we gotta go through the portal. It's our only chance. Like, we gotta get the fuck out of here. They run to the street where the portal is, they're steps away, and then guards start superhero landing all around them, and then they part, and big brother King Boris is there. Why he's like, he asks Senan, like, where is your wife? He's like, this bitch or the other bitch. He's like, I was in your room and she's gone.

SPEAKER_05

Yeah, I went to the scenery. Why was everyone going to his room when they were expecting him to be banging this chick?

SPEAKER_01

Like we want a little bit of privacy.

SPEAKER_04

Have you no decency? Yes.

SPEAKER_00

Make yourself scared. It's working.

SPEAKER_02

It's already working. The guards grab a let. Another pair grab Senan. They pin him to the ground. They bust his wings out. The king dumped some kind of black vial down his throat. He's like out of it. He's slurring. They hand the king a silver sword and he saws off Senin's wings. Why?

SPEAKER_05

Jenny just loves to hurt my fucking feelings, girl. Like his wings. His wings. God damn.

SPEAKER_02

His wings. You're a good man, Ison Bell. Like you're Jenny, I've been through enough. Yeah. They drag him over to the edge of the portal and they kick him in. Alette fights free. She runs and she jumps in after him. Curtains close.

SPEAKER_05

Oh what do you mean? You know how we're talking about like full-body goosebumps? The ending of this book does that to me every time too, and I'm like sweating and like my heart rate's really hurt.

SPEAKER_02

My bones hurt. Like, why do my bones hurt? My skin's too tight. Like, Jenny, I think I need to shave my head. Like, what's happening? Like, please don't make me. Okay. When we read the end of the this book, we read this book at the end of 2024. I know. The second book didn't come out for like six months.

SPEAKER_04

I wanted to die. I couldn't. That was way too long. I couldn't.

SPEAKER_02

It was way too long. I don't know why I did that. Like, I stumbled upon this book. This was another one. Like, I've had a few. I've had a few where like, woo, put them on my tombstone, man. Like, I just want a list of all the five-star books that I found first. I want this one right at the top. Because I remember like reading this and being like, I don't like recommending books until I finished reading them because I've recommended some books that did not turn out super great at the end. Yeah. And I felt embarrassed about my life choices. This book, as soon as I made it, like pretty much chapter one, I was like, everyone needs to read this book with me. Like it is just so good. When I got to the end of this book and then was like, okay, yeah, like the second one, like what happens? Oh my god, oh my god. And it didn't exist. I was like, did I just do this to other people? I was like, am I gonna go to jail? Is this like I may have just ruined people's lives because yeah, it was like the worst six months of my life. I couldn't stop thinking about it.

SPEAKER_05

It agreed. It's been two years since I read it in the world.

SPEAKER_02

I still can't stop thinking about it. She runs and jumps in after them. Yes. Neither of them lie. I know. Also, he's on drugs. Like, I don't know what he's on, but he poured something black into his throat. It's never good.

SPEAKER_05

Never black that you're pouring down.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Just in a weird vial that a king named Boris gets out of his like robes, it's not going to be good.

SPEAKER_05

Oh, this book, man. I cannot wait to get into a second one with everyone.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah. Or at least just wallow. Wallow in it for a while. Yeah. Just cry in the shower for a few days. Yeah. They didn't have any wings. He's bleeding. It's not good when wings are cut off. When anything is cut off, it's not good. It's not good. He can't even make a fire. How's it gonna fix this? She knows how to sew socks.

SPEAKER_05

Like it's maybe that'll help. You know, she's done it before. She can do it again. Yeah. It's gonna be okay. It's gonna be okay. I love this book. I love this series. I love it so. I have no other words for you. That's it. That's my steps with you. I love it.

SPEAKER_02

I want her to rent out a room in her house to me.

SPEAKER_04

I don't think she wants to do that.

SPEAKER_02

But I want her to.

SPEAKER_04

I don't think she should do that.

SPEAKER_02

I think she should. I think it'd be a great idea.

SPEAKER_05

And we could pick wild flowers in the garden together. You're like making her flower crowns, like braiding it into her hair while she sleeps. That's just what she's like, what the hell?

SPEAKER_02

And I'm like, I love that book. It made me feel a lot of things. Is your husband Irish? Because that's my dream. Like just, I just love her. I love her so much. I love the book so much. Like we said, there is a lot of stuff that we did not cover. There's a lot of stuff that's still gonna punch you in the gut. This book is so incredible. Read it. Read it, read it, read it. Listen to it. Like I said, the audiobook. Normally, with a fantasy audiobook, I feel like they miss some of the whimsy and the joy and the magic. This one, no, it it's there. It's her words. Like she just the picture that she paints. And again, if anybody has any fan art that they've done for this, please send it to us at smutsyndicate at gmail.com. We love seeing your guys' fan art because my brain is like operates at like a level four. Some of these people who draw these like artwork, they're operating at a level 10. And it's like, you got that from the same book that I got that from. Like, I just I love seeing that stuff. It's incredible. Um, like we said at the top of the hour, we are doing a signed giveaway for this book with Jenny. You can find all the details for that on our Instagram. Um, it's not starting for a few more days, so you've got some time to get over there. You can hit us up on any of the socials. We are the most active on Instagram, but we are literally on anything. If you have any questions, comments, let us know if you've read this book. Let us know if this like punched you in the gut, too. Let us know if you're a good man, Ison Bell, at smutsyndicate at gmail.com. Thanks so much for listening.

SPEAKER_00

Live laugh trash.