00:08
What's up, Book Nerds?  Welcome to What the Smut Are You Talking About podcast.  This is your weekly podcast where pretty much anything goes.  Each week I have a new or returning co-host,  so be sure to stay tuned to see who I am chatting with this week.

00:28
Welcome back to season three of what the smut are you talking about podcast? My name is Courtney and I'm so excited for my guests today You know them from book talk and bookstagram as two bikins welcome Kristi and Jen. Hi How are you today?  Good we're excited to be here. It was  uh, we  had a rough start  Yeah  It's okay  You made it that's all that counts

00:58
I feel like everyone needs a drink after this.  Yes.  After?  Before? During? Where'd we put the bottle?  I love that. So what is your drink of choice that you've got going on right now?  We are big Prosecco fans. Yeah. We usually will buy like  one bottle, we'll share between us and that's like our  once a month.

01:29
Tell us a little bit about yourself. How did Two Book Inns come to be? Honestly, it was so random because we've been friends forever and she's been a reader on and off her whole life. I've never been a reader. And after COVID and having kids, we just couldn't really find a place to just have our own space and our own.

01:59
thing to do. So I had been like, you know what, I'm just, I'm going to get a book. I'm going to read a book. And I started reading a couple books and then we were together one time and I was like, Oh, have you read this book? And I was like, she's like, no, I read these kinds of books, which is usually like thrillers, suspense. And I was like, well, read this, let me know how you like it. Then she started like reading all the books that I was recommending and

02:26
We started watching these TikToks and sending TikToks back to each other  and sending memes and sending videos and randomly we were like,  what if we just did one? What if we made a TikTok? And we made up our name  at the bar at a BJ's. Oh yeah, good job. I mean, now it's just so appropriate.

02:46
Yeah.  And we made like one or two TikToks and we're like, oh, this is fun. We get to get together every few days. Like once a week  and our kids play together. Like this could be an hour time thing where it's something like we enjoy doing together. And so we just started getting together once a week and  make a video, make maybe two videos.  And then it just kind of progressed from there and it kind of snowballed pretty quickly. Yeah.

03:14
I have no regrets. not.  Absolutely not. I think we were just both in a,  I think a lot of people post COVID were just kind of looking for things that brought them joy, that also got them off the internet. And we just found that books, we  had something to consistently talk about, like our tech thread never stopped.  And it just really, even though we have been friends for 20 years, it really brought us even.

03:44
closer as friends because we had something consistently to update each other on. I think once a we say, what chapter are you on? That's our one text message that is consistently in our thread. What chapter are you on? Did you get to this part? I did. Where you at? Where you at? Physically or in the book? Yeah. Now we just stop each other's location. It's like, oh, I see you're not reading. You're at the grocery store. Are you listening?

04:13
Are you listening to something? What chapter are you on?  Yeah. So just like the, it evolved to  us, you know, like checking on each other, like normal friends do, say like once a month to hang out for dinner, whatever, to us getting our kids together  and talking about books and then just, Hey, I found this audio clip on TikTok. Let's make a TikTok.  Um,  and it was really, really rough in the beginning. We're putting on it like. uh

04:41
I've never felt so old in my life than when we first started to make TikToks. this. It was a lot of, ooh, what does this button do? Yeah. Why is there a filter? How do I turn that off? So it was a lot of trial and a lot of trial and error in the beginning. I still have issues with TikTok, so don't feel bad. There was one time we thought, we thought there was something wrong.

05:10
with our phone.

05:15
There was a filter and we didn't realize it until like a month later.  It was, yeah, it was just like a preset filter on TikTok and I couldn't figure out. was like, oh, the phone's broken. oh There's a delay. There's a delay. Oh my gosh.  I think mine was because I couldn't figure out how to get the sound, like the music on onto it. But I think at first I signed up for the wrong type of TikTok account.

05:45
And because like my niece would do like all these cute like little dancing videos. I'm like, come here, show me what I'm doing wrong. Yeah. So yeah, my 16 year old niece like help, help me out.  I know us, us poor millennials and  like we're supposed to be the ones that know technology. Like it was invented while we were growing up.  It's a very insecure feeling.

06:15
to be complete amateurs.  But you know, we've  figured it's that's what it is. It's kind of trial and error and figuring it out and then  we're still figuring it out. Every day is a new adventure.  I love it so much. So what are y'all currently reading?  So we were lucky enough to get  advanced copies for Prize Made by Chance by Megan Quinn.

06:43
We cannot stop laughing. Our text threads right now. I Megan. I'm living for them. Like, I went a little ahead. She's like two chapters ahead. And I'm like, okay, you need to tell me, I need a play by play of your mind through this chapter and this chapter. And then I need you to stop right here because I need to record you.

07:07
for this chapter. Like whoever was, I was in my garage and people were probably driving by like, what's that lady? Scream laughing.  So what chapter is this? Cause I'm starting it next. I just finished  In Good Company by Kat Singleton. So I'm starting uh Megan Quinton's next. So I need to know what chapter this is. Chapter 14, chapter 14.  She thinks it's like the funniest thing ever written. So I was laughing so hard.

07:34
I feel that my husband was on the phone and I screamed, laughed in my bathroom. I was like, Oh my gosh, she's on a phone call and I could not control it. I couldn't stop it. just burst out as I'm listening to it. Yeah. Sloan is the female main character and she just has this. Stass and he's a firecracker and that poor soul, that poor soul of a man. I would just love to follow Megan Quinn around for like a day.

08:03
Because some of the stuff she comes up with, I'm like, how ma'am? It's funny that you say that because I, what was the one part something about Oh, a feather. was a feather and a marker. And we're like, what I would love to just live in your brain for a day. How did you even think of that? She's like, I don't know. I will bet we don't have, we have just like a very small

08:33
view of what actually goes on in here.  Sure. Yeah. Oh my gosh. I love that so much. If you had to choose,  which is your favorite form of reading between like physical, e-reader, audio? I feel like it's funny you asked that because we were just talking about this the other day. We started a hundred percent as physical readers. So the journey for us in our reading was I would come over to her house once a week and she would just have like a tote bag of physical books.

09:03
that I would take, read, bring back and she'd refill it back up and then I'd take them. So we were 100 % physical readers. I felt like a drug dealer. Supplying and doing drop-offs with books, with books, because it literally went down just like that. There was one time he pulled into my garage and I was like, oh, hold on, let me get your bag. Yeah. It was just like a tote bag that she would just hand me physical books and

09:32
But then from there, after joining TikTok, we sort of shortly after we got Kindles  and we both got Kindle like unlimited memberships. And then it was kind of like, it was all up from there. And then from there, we started to get into audio books. Yes. Because we noticed that like, we always wanted to like kind of have it like where we're driving or cooking or cleaning or doing laundry. And we never wanted to like leave the books.

10:02
but still wanted to be able to listen to it. So then we started to into audio books and that was also the start of making more TikToks with like audio book type content and stuff like that. So now I feel like we're primarily Kindle and audio. And then the physicals are now like the trophies for our favorites. Yes. Oh yes. Yes. I feel that. There's something to like the, for us, I feel like it's a big mental health  support for us.

10:32
Like how much does your mind run wild when you're just like doing laundry or folding  or cooking? Your mind kind of can just get some of those like intrusive thoughts versus when you're listening to an audiobook and kind of multitasking. Like I feel so much more calm  than if I don't have an audiobook. eh

10:52
get more done if I'm listening to an audiobook. Because if not, I'm like in the middle of doing laundry. If I'm not listening to an audiobook, I'm like, oh, I got to go get this out of the bathroom. And then I won't return to my laundry for like another 30 minutes. I'm like, oh, this could have been started. And then I go back to it. And then I'm like, oh, let me go do the dishes in the sink real quick. And still laundry doesn't get done because I'm keep on  like distracting myself. So like, if I have a task I'm doing,

11:19
while listening to an audiobook, I will stay on task.  Yeah, it's so much easier to stay focused because your mind's not like hopping from one the next task to another. You can actually stay focused on the one that you want to do. Listen to the story and  while your hands are moving.  Right. Yes. Yes.  So I love that. Well, um who are your top five auto by authors? We talked about this and it's so hard.  It was hard to narrow it down, narrow it down. But I would say

11:47
auto-buy as in a new release is coming out, we're going to read it like pre-order it. It's already in the bank, right? Yeah. Might have multiple copies of it on accident, like that type of auto-buy. So for us, that's Megan Quinn, TL Swan, Kate Stewart, Jennifer Hartman. Lately, feel like Lucy Skor and Elsie Silver are tied for the books that we buy the most of. um

12:12
I am so freaking excited. I get to meet Kate Stewart for the first time this summer.  Yeah, completely shocked because she recently announced she's going to do a few book tours and book signings.  I already have a table  as a vendor at a meet and greet in Knoxville this summer. She'll be there. I'm like, yes.  That's so exciting. I've met  her.

12:39
Um, and which  I didn't really know who she was until recently. I don't know how, like, cause I've been on bookstagram for a year and a half now.  And I don't know how I went so long with no one spoiling the Raven hood series for me. Right. Yeah. Yes. Like I never heard of it until someone wanted to cover it on the podcast. And so I start reading flock and I'm like, okay, I love this.

13:08
And so I had to take a break from it and go read other stuff for the podcast. And then I finally picked up Exodus. And one of the girls I was working with, she's like, oh yeah, she's like, I got to that book and then I stopped. But then she just kind of stopped talking about it. And I didn't ask her like, why you stopped reading it after Exodus. And I'm like, like I told you, I do, I'm working and listening. And so I hit chapter 25 and I'm like,

13:36
Balling.  Yeah. Yes. Like I can't stop. I  shut the chills.  I had to shut my door. I was like literally you would think like someone killed one of my family members because like I was like  dying inside. And so I finally get calm enough and she's in our HR conference room, which is right next to my office. So I go in there and like my eyes are blotchy and she's like Courtney, what the fuck is wrong with you?  Why? Why?

14:06
oh Oh, she's like, I forgot what happened at the end of it. She's like, I knew something happened to make me not want to like continue the series. And so she's like, Yeah, I'm sorry.  And so about that time, my boss walks in who's also a reader. So she gets it like we grew up on Nicholas Sparks, right? So we always cry in books.  And so, so I'm like trying to tell her why I'm so sad. And as I'm like explaining what's good, like the premise of these two books,

14:36
Like I start crying even harder and I'm like, I'm just going home for the day guys. I'm sorry.  But yeah, so it was hard to get through it, but I still have the third book I got to finish. It's in Q, Unaudible. I overextended myself on ALC, so I got to get caught up on those and then I'll go back to it. But yes, you  need to finish those. Yeah. The Ravenhood is one of the books that

15:03
or the series that kind of started all this for us. So it was like one of the first posts. I think the first post we ever made was when One Last Rainy Day came out was like one of the first TikToks we ever made. Yeah. Like, don't know if I can make myself read that one. Honestly, I think we tried to like make this like in one of our TikToks, but like the

15:32
The first like 90 % of the book is just  so many secrets  are and if you especially like if you loved Flock and Exodus, like you have to read one last rainy day because people don't realize that that series up until the last book is just Cecilia's point of view. It's a one. It's one POV.  There's so much that goes on that you don't even know happened until you read.

16:01
somebody's another character's point of view.  you get some of that in the finish line. And then  in one last rainy day,  there's even so much  more.  But I think  for the Raven Hood series, what  maybe like stops people or the people that don't pick up the finish line is just that the grief trigger.  You know, like if that was

16:28
If that was not something that I guess that you can  cope with  or accept may make you not want to read the rest of the series, but  the rest of the series is really about forgiveness and healing and acceptance. So every reader journey is different, but it's one of our favorite. It's one of the only series that we've read more than once.  Yeah. Is the Ravenous series. One last rainy day for me  was  it like brought me back to a part in like

16:58
Because you get to basically relive Flock  and you learn so much more about Dom and Tobias. I mean, you get to learn so much more about the other characters. And it just, for me, it was like therapeutic.  Yeah. Kate Stewart's writing really is about the power of the POV and who  she's writing, like whose perspective she's writing from. So that series as it's, because even like the legacy series is coming out, the more POVs that we get.

17:26
just the more unfolds  even beyond what you think is possible or that makes sense. don't know. I don't know. Also, I think she can't get deeper.  Yeah. Okay.  She takes you deeper and you're just like, oh my gosh is one last rainy day. it going to break me as much as Exodus did?  See us taking a deep breath  simultaneously. eh So listen, listen.

17:54
It will it be as bad? No, because you already know it's coming. Right. But  it also gives you more of a why. Cause I think when you read, just like,  think we're just so like heartbroken. then I remember when I, you don't. And then after it happens, you're so conflicted and you're so heartbroken because especially if you read Flock and Exodus and you're a Sean girl and you're like, wait a minute, how am I feeling about this? Like it doesn't feel.

18:23
I'm like Team Sean, but I  feel this for Dom still. So  you have all these mixed feelings. And so when you read The One Last Rainy Day, feel like it gives the character perspective through flock that you just didn't know that you needed. Because the whole time, one of the biggest comments on Book Threat, or uh I would say one of the  critiques is like, oh, they're just gaslighting her. They're gaslighting her.  And when you read Dom's...

18:52
perspective of how much he tried to protect her and push and put like,  you think that he's just being an a-hole to be an a-hole, but there's so much more to his character and  why he made the decisions that he made.  And then even what's going on with just the Ravenhood. Cause it's  like, you don't even know the Ravenhood exists until you really get to the end of the book, right? You're like,  what are these boys doing?

19:20
So you pick up one last rainy day, you know immediately where you are in the plot and you're kind of reliving all the fog. Like my mind was blown. I like every three chapters was like, oh my gosh, that was what was happening. That was what was happening.  Right. So the story was, if you loved the Raven Hood, like you have to read it. If you're very triggered by grief, I would say just don't read the last five chapters. Just put it down. It's okay. Or, or read up until the point that you can't anymore.

19:49
and then flip to Kate's author's note because she writes about how, like  why she wanted to write Dom's story. Yeah. And  it's a very healing author's note. Okay. I'll just say that. Okay. Now it's making me want to go read it now. So should I  finish, finish line and then read that or should Yes. Yes. Okay. Yes. Yes.

20:14
Okay. need, you need to, because the finish line is the first time that you're going to get Tobias's point of view. oh Yeah.  I'm, I'm still conflicted with Tobias, like, cause I was a Dom girl, like even like when she first like got with Sean, I'm like, I don't like this guy. Like I like him as like a butt, like a buddy. But I was like, I was, when Dom came in, I'm like, um that's, that's going to be end game right there. And.

20:42
boy oh boy was I wrong. yeah.  feel like you'll,  the finish line really ties it and it  helps you understand why Tobias was the right choice for Cecilia. Okay. Yeah. I think when we get that comment that like, well, I'm a dom girl, like I'm a dom girl, she's a Sean girl. I'm a Sean and dom girl. Like I don't want to have to choose. Yeah, why choose? m

21:10
But I feel like when people  are like, well, I'm not really team Tobias, it's like my response is, well, that's okay. Because  I feel like Tobias is what Cecilia needed. And that's really what the love story is about. Like, why do they have to use Dom, but Cecilia needed Tobias and that's who the main character is.  I get that. I get that. And this,  I just took this like way off. I'm sorry.

21:39
I was like, oh, we're just talking about Raven Hood now. You know what? It's okay. We're in for it. More of our conversations have gone this way than any other ones, feel like.  Oh my gosh. Well,  we came to talk about Mr. Masters by Teal Swan. She was one of your autos.

22:00
I didn't know what to expect going into Mr. Masters.  And man, and I used to hate age gaps too. So when I like was reading this, I was like, Ooh, but I love age gaps now. Like I  am a fan. So we got a 14 year age gap. got an alcohol billionaire and boss nanny perspective on this.  I was in, um of course I listened to the book. we had things like Sophia Lett and Shane East on narration and Shane East is that.

22:30
Man, he can whisper sweet nothings in my ear anytime he wants to. love this audio. I read and listened. I kind of did the whole like immersion, immersion thing, immersive, immersive, immersive, immersion, blended. I blended them up and it was, it was wonderful. I devoured it. Yeah.

22:57
We devoured the whole Mr. series as like the whole series.  But I felt like Mr. Masters was a great way to kick off.  Oh yeah. The series.  And it ends with, you know, giving, um leading up to Spencer's book. um so I need to like,  plan on finishing the series too, because  I um am obsessed now. But I also put myself on an

23:25
audible buying ban. So we're trying to be like responsible adults now, right? And we're trying to like budget and working on paying off debt right now. And so it's like, so I had to like deep dive, okay, like, why don't I have any money? And it's because Amazon is taking my page. There you go. I got myself a library card. And so I'm doing hoopla and Libby now. So which I need to check to see if it's on there. I don't think I've looked yet.

23:55
But, so yeah, so I have to wait for those damn credits and it takes freaking forever for the months to go by. So, um. Do you know, have you ever tried WhisperSync? Do you do the WhisperSync too? That's what got me in so much damn trouble. Okay. All of a sudden. The 650, an audio book. Yeah. I was thinking we should make a video of how much we spend on books. No, I don't. Listen, it's very depressing. Yes. Yes. Yeah. Yeah.

24:25
I'm just going to say, okay, yeah, we'll just say,  yes, I have like, because I never paid full price for a book. Like I either use my credit or I use like the whisper sink. And because you're at the time you're thinking of it like  six bucks. That's no big deal. Right? Well, when you buy like 20 books a month,  yeah, yeah.  Yeah. We're not, we're not reading quite at that pace. We've

24:52
We're very fortunate that we do get at least like three free books a month that just like come to us because they were books we were going to buy anyways and you know, we get them. And then the other half come from Kindle Limited. What are the books for you that stand out that live rent-free? Because I feel like for somebody that reads as much as you do, that's a big indicator of a good book.

25:20
I'm just really a vibe person.  it's, I don't, it's hard to say. Like here  recently, my standouts have been, um, when we burn by Kristen Proby. Like I devoured that, did not want to put it down. So did that one. I did fight by Sloan St. James. Like  so good. good.  That ambulance scene. Like,  oh.

25:49
Right out of the gate too. was, I was here for it. And then I did Mountain Boss by S.J. Tilly. That one stood out. And then there's one more, Victoria Wilder, Bourbon and Secrets. Want to read that. That one keeps coming up in our FYP. I want to listen to it. Oh my God. Like I, cause I met Victoria last summer and she agreed to come on the podcast. And I was like, listen, I'm not.

26:17
reading Bourbon and Secrets because I am like desperately waiting for this audio, right?  And uh I held out, didn't get it spoiled. And I read it  probably about like two weeks ago now.  And it's still like lives rent free in my head. Like,  I've actually gone back and listened to like parts of that book. Like it is so good.  Like,  that's probably gonna be like one of my favorites this year. And I've read like a lot of like I've already read like

26:45
50 something books this year so far. So uh yeah. I'm obsessed. a good indicator to move it up. Yeah, we were waiting for the audio too. Yeah, it's coming soon. I think within the next couple weeks. So I definitely recommend that one. uh It's so good. But I'm big on fantasy too.  But I'm also a mood reader.

27:11
I get sucked into fantasy, but I can only read one book at a time and then I get bored with it almost. I wouldn't say bored. just get like, I don't know. I have to go and read something else. I need something. Your mood changes. We do the same thing. Sometimes we crave fantasy for more of an escape, but then sometimes it's so taxing on the world building.

27:38
that I'm so fired. versus if we pick up a contemporary or a taboo, that's real world. So all I have to pay attention to is the nuances of the characters and the plot, right? But sometimes we really want, know, because Court of Misinferiority is still one of our favorite books of all time. For me, it's what made me fall in love with romance, was Court of Misinferiority and the Ravenhood series. was like,

28:03
Why have I not been reading romance? I recently picked up the Zodiac Academy series  and... Well, we were thinking about that too. Yeah. It's a commitment. I didn't realize how many books are in that series because like... It's like eight or nine, right?  Yeah. And then they have like, because they have like multiple point of views, like so that goes back and tells it from like the guy's perspective. So I don't know.

28:29
I like bit off more than I could chew with this one. But like the last one I read  left it on a cliffy and I'm like, I need to know what happens next. But I also have to wait for credits.  makes it so intimidating to us because of the commitment. The length of yeah. So.

28:54
will say, the audio, I'm usually not a big graphic audio person,  but the first two books I did do the graphic audio because that's what was available on Hoopla.  Oh my God, it was so good. It was so good.  I love graphic audio.  You would love it. Awesome. We'll have to try that one. We did for our last fantasy read, did...

29:23
uh, Nikki St. Crow. It's like the Peter Pan retelling. It's like a Y. Choo's Peter Pan retelling. yes. We've covered that on the pod before. Yeah. Oh yeah. picked it up because they're, relatively short books or like, like sour. Yeah. Yeah. Super quick. And I was like, I need like something fantasy, but like not something that I'm  have to commit too long to cause these are, you know, so I only have two more books left in the series, but it's, it's, didn't, I didn't know it was a Y. Choo's.

29:53
When I picked it up,  I was like,  oh, okay. It's not just Peter Pan, it's all the Lost Boy, yeah. Yes.  I had zero expectations going into this book because I didn't, like, the thing with my podcast is the co-host picks what we talk about, right? So, We're doing a great job with that.

30:22
I love it. So... And then there's the be like, forget it, we're scrapping it. We didn't talk about the book we were supposed to at all. We'll get there eventually, okay? It's a journey, not a destination. The girl, she's like, yeah, let's do this series. I'm like, okay, we can do like a two part episode. That's great. She didn't tell me how smutty it was, which I love all forms of smut. Don't get me wrong, but...

30:52
I do like plot with my smut and that first book it was less plot more smut  and  I was not expecting that but did I devour it? Also yes.  Right. I remember I texted her I was like what was that book about?

31:13
Maybe because I was wanting something that like it was more fantasy based. I fell in love with like the Peter Pan vibes. Like I felt like I like when you say like you read for the vibes, I felt like I was into the vibes. I did not expect it to be a Y choose like that spicy. But as soon as I started posting about it, everyone in the story was like, I love that series. It's so good. Yeah. Waiting for me to crock and I'm like, crock? Who's crock?

31:40
Don't get me wrong, I liked the vibes too.  I just was like, did they leave the bedroom? Yeah.  No, they were in the living room. They never made it to the bedroom.

31:55
I  like, I just want to make sure that I wasn't supposed to walk away from this with like,  well, there's Tinkerbell. Like she does a replay of like a whole, I liked how she just did a whole spinoff of that, of Peter Pan and made it very adult, very uh new age. So I got, but I, again, I did not expect the, the Y-Tues when that started happening. I was like,  oh, okay.  Oh my gosh.

32:24
So like when they never land, let's go once you're finished. Once you're finished, are you going to continue with the Devourer of Men? Was that the one we saw on audible? That's full cast. I don't remember. I believe it is full cast. Yeah, that may be like it's a spin off of that series. It like covers like it covers like a croc and. What's the same hook? And there's a.

32:54
a third in that. Is it like a prequel kind of?  I think it's, I think it like continues the story. Okay. like, like even though I don't want to ruin it. You'll, you'll, you said you're on book three. Two.  we're on two. and two. We're going into three, which is Wendy's book or, it's not Wendy. It's Darling. Okay. What's  her name? Winnie. Winnie. Winnie. Yeah.  Winnie.

33:23
because something happens to her at the end of the second book and you're like, wait, what? Oh, and then, yeah. What's, what's her name? something happens at the end of three through and throughout goes throughout book four and then, so you find more out. then you, don't want to, I don't know if you know it yet, so I don't want to. Yeah. Don't, yeah. We'll, we'll get there. We'll get there for how short that book is. I am surprised how much story and smut.

33:52
is actually in there. have to, like, if we're going to give her anything, like, let's give her that. It's like a six hour quick read and there's a lot happening and  there's also a lot happening.  So,  you know,  I was wildly entertained. I  was working a lot that week and it was a really nice.

34:20
It's a good escape from reality for sure. Yeah. And you don't have to think too hard about it because you kind of already know like Peter Pan and Captain Hook and Tinkerbell and all that stuff. definitely not talking about Mr. Eats. Okay. think enough though. Shane East is Peter Pan and Mr. Masters. Yes, bet he is. We're getting closer. We're getting closer.

34:50
So Mr. Masters, let's try to us back. So, um, I love that, you know, we have Brielle she's mid twenties. She's what like 24, 25. Um, think so. Yeah. 24. Yeah. She is leaving her home country, Australia to head to London, basically, you know, to party up with her friend.

35:20
Her friend was going for a job. So she's like, well, for me to go, I have to get a job too. So she's like, oh, I can nanny doesn't know anything about kids. She's like, I'm just going to do this. How hard can it be? Right. And then, so she's expecting a female to be like waiting for her.  but she meets Mr. Masters  and I was like sucked in immediately from that. I'm like, Oh, this is going to be good. Cause like, I didn't read any like.

35:48
Usually before I read, I'll go see what the book is about. I'm like, nah, I'll just do it. Go in blind. And I'm so glad I did for this one. feel like that's the best book experience is going in blind. Yeah. When you think about it, before we talk about this sometimes is before we made our book account, all we did was go in blind. We weren't really on Bookstagram. We weren't on TikTok. We didn't even look at tropes before we read it. We just picked up a book and...

36:15
jumped in. we did the same thing with the Mr. Series because we know that we like Teal Swan's writing. So no matter what, it's going to be enjoyable. And I'm glad we did that too. We went in blind for all of them. Yes. So one thing with me, because I'm in my mid thirties and it's so hard for me to like a younger character these days. It's just because I can't really relate to them.

36:45
first, like I could not stand this FMC. I don't know. I think it's because she was like immature. but it finally did click. Like you do get like a good like character arc with her. Like you see her grow through this story. So I'm glad like we did get that. I don't know that I saw her as immature. I think I saw her as like a type B personality goes with the flow, shows up.

37:13
And she's kind of what those kids needed. And so  I like what she brought to the home that was lacking like spontaneity, curiosity.  And so I was attracted to like her and those like personality traits.  She was also very, very sure of herself. She knew who she was  and she didn't think or want to change herself for anybody.  And I think

37:43
She was exactly what Julian needed to kind of come out of his shell a little bit and lighten up a little bit.  And he kind of gave her also some like structure and support as well. Right. Yeah. If there was any like,  I don't know if I'm going to like him for me, it was Mr. Masters because like the  prologue chapter one, he's coming out of a brothel basically. Yeah.

38:11
It was a prologue. And I was like, this guy, we're not going to reform this guy. He's going to a brothel and having two women. Yeah. Come on. Yes. But sure enough, the story arc of him softening up and trying to prevent his feeling, because it starts very, very uh physical.

38:37
They have a transaction where they realize like, oh my gosh, there's chemistry here, but I can't do, you know, but you're also my kid's nanny, so we gotta have boundaries. And so the boundary  is getting a hotel room and  an email invitation and sending emails with  like a fake, well, they're not fake, but they're like, they're pseudonyms, right? Yeah. uh

39:04
So we're smiling, laughing, talking about it. Cause when you're reading it, you're just like, oh my gosh, what's going to happen next? oh I will say the real MVP of this story was Julian's mom.  yeah. I loved her. Like when we first met her, I thought she was going to be like one of those moms, like stay away from my son. Like who are you kind of thing. Just because of how like he's so like posh, right?

39:33
Like at the beginning of the story, I'm like, I'm going to hate this woman, but she was like my favorite of the whole book.  I loved her and I love that she loved  Brie  and could recognize that she was exactly what Julian needed. Yeah, like she kind of plays match. She plays matchmaker from like the beginning of like, oh, you're the nanny.  She walks in on her being a nanny for the kids and they're laughing. There's a mess everywhere.  And Brie's like,

40:03
Oh my gosh, I probably just made the worst impression, but for her it was like, oh my gosh, I haven't seen these kids smile since they lost their mom. Right? So, Chillswan is so good at like, like you read the spice and you're like, oh, it's not going to get any spicier. And then it does. And and then.

40:26
There's like intimacy at one point, you know, like she can literally write like smut, like, oh my gosh, what's happening. And then, oh my gosh, like he's in love with her.  I've never read a book aside from TL Swans where she could make me want to punch a man, but then also hug him like a few chapters later.  I get that.  do.  her, her angst is like the perfect balance of like,

40:55
I wanna fucking kill this character. To...  I love this character.  To I wanna fuck this character. Yeah, right back to that.  Get  to the good part. As long as he keeps his mouth shut. Yeah. Oh my god. So  if you had to pick, what would have been your favorite part of this book? The really funny part we were texting about. trying to remember. When she comes home drunk. Yes.

41:23
That's yeah. I want to talk to Julian. Not my last Mr. Master. Julian. Julian. Yeah. My friend Julian. And the narrator in this really nailed like the slurring. Yeah. Yeah, we're so drunk and oh, you're in your pajamas. Cute pajamas. That's a bonus.

41:54
Yes, that was definitely, definitely one of favorites. feel like the part in the book that made me like shift into like, oh, this is going to be good was when she realizes like when she walks in and he doesn't know that she's there and he like grabs her picture. Oh, off the fridge. took my picture. Is he gonna go?

42:24
Pleasure himself through my picture.  Oh, what about that? What about the couch scene and they're watching? What are they watching Terminator? Oh, oh oh, all the the couch scenes. The couch scenes like  the couch scenes where they're foodling around and the kids are just right there. uh

42:48
Oh man, she did that. She played on the age gap taboo for sure. That trope  definitely felt. ah I also love when she hits him with the golf cart.  I  did really love how she became a safe space for his kids.  Yes.  And especially his daughter who

43:19
was having troubles at school and she was able to recognize them and really like stood her ground and stood up for his kids. Even if that meant becoming enemy number one to him. And that just made my heart for her. It made me adore her character. And then also seeing him kind of soften up and start coming into her room at night. Right. Yeah, he started, he went to her.

43:48
first before they kind of went any further. the avoidance of the emotions is always like a good story arc because you're like, oh, you know you love her. So that was felt. The angst was felt. I I thoroughly enjoyed myself. yes. Yeah. I can't wait to finish this series. There's a fourth book coming out, Mr. Prescott.

44:18
Yes. Did we meet Mr. Prescott? I don't think we did. No, you'll meet him and Mr. Spencer. Okay. Okay. Yeah. So because when I was like getting all of my notes prepared, I was like, that says four bugs, but I'm sure there's only three out. So has she released a date yet? Do you know? So she had a date, but she had, uh we're in her Facebook group. So she had a pretty bad uh back injury.

44:47
Oh, things are a little delayed. Things are delayed. It was supposed to come out, think, this summer, but I think it's being delayed till 2026. So we'll see. But that just gives us time to make it the best release ever for her when she's ready. That's right. Yeah. I can't wait. It gives me time to get them all done. And I do love that throughout the series, you get more and more of

45:16
the boys' friendships. they're, like you get a touch of it in Mr. Masters, but a lot more in Mr. Spencer, Mr. Garcia. So I can only imagine how much more you're going to see in Mr. Prescott. They're all kind of happening like within, I would say like three to six months apart from each other. They're kind of, okay, they go, they go.

45:42
further into the future. So they overlap a little bit in the beginning and then there's some time  jumps.  Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Not a lot. But uh I would say I loved Mr. Spencer because Mr. Spencer is like hilarious. So funny because he's the ultimate fuck boy and he just immediately falls head over heels for the V card princess.

46:13
but wants to, he wants to fight it at the same time. It's hilarious. Yeah. Cause he wants, he doesn't want to like,  um, like ruin her or, you know, he's,  is the definition of like a fool in love. Yeah.  Oh, I can't wait.  Such a fool. Yeah. And then I do not see anything coming in Mr. Garcia. Like I don't even want to spoil it for you. I was just on the edge of my seat. The first.

46:41
25 % of that book. Did you see any of that coming?  So my  example where you want to punch a man,  you want to punch a man so hard  and then by the end of the book you're like, okay, all's forgiven. Yeah, took a while to get there, but yeah. um I love that kind of toxic though.

47:08
Oh, so toxic. So toxic. So toxic.  I like that one was like the most. And they all have an age gap. Yeah. Okay.  I'm here for it.  Yeah. They all have an age gap. I think. Is this one the biggest age gap? I think Mr. Spencer has the biggest age gap. Yeah.  Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. For sure does. Okay. Well, I can't wait to.

47:36
dive into Mr. Spencer.  Especially like, because I re-listened to it here recently. uh So when  I went to go start my re-listen, it was at the end, because like,  if there's like clips  of like the next book, I won't listen to it because I'm like, if I don't have it, I don't want to do that to myself.

47:59
But because that's where I stopped last time. when I clicked into it, I was driving. So I just clicked. So I thought it was like starting at the beginning of the book. And but it was the starting of Mr. Spencer's book. And I'm like, well, fuck now. I want to read this. know she's really good at giving you that teaser. Good at like that. really sucks you in for a slight two to three chapters.

48:24
I love in her audiobooks how  she records her own thank you message. Did you notice that in her audiobooks? I didn't. I didn't notice that.  At the very end. At the very end. She says, you know, thank you for listening and hope you enjoyed it and that she's going to give you a little preview. Yeah. So it's like right before the preview of the next book. Okay. So I must have listened to that when I read it the last time because it was like Spencer talking when I did. uh

48:53
When I clicked into it. Yeah. She does that for all her audio books. gives like a little thank you message. very sweet. oh So let's move on to our little game for the day. We're going to do a little this or that. Are y'all okay with that? Yes. Okay.  So  if you had to choose between  reading a book or watching a movie. Reading a book.  Yeah.

49:22
Paperback or hardback?

49:27
Hardback.  There's so much more context that's needed. oh I guess hardback.  I could have all of my favorite books in a hardback. Yeah, hardback.  I'm a paperback girlie.  I mean, if I'm physically reading that book, I don't want it to be a hardback because that's lugging. Yeah, it's lugging it around and I've done it. Yeah. And it's just, I mean, that, yeah.

49:57
They're just prettier.  just last longer. prettier. What about Kindle or audio?

50:07
Oh, depends on the narrator. I'm just going to, I guess I would have to say Kindle. Like if I had to choose one for the rest of my life, I would have to say Kindle because like I can make up voices in my head. Yeah. I would say if I had to pick  one forever, it'd be Kindle, but  sometimes the audio is what makes the book. Yes. But then sometimes like I think we have a really, really good book and the audio can.

50:37
Not right. have the opposite. Yeah, that is true. That is true. But so now I have to know who are your favorite narrators. Oh, boy. So we've been listening to a lot of new ones lately. Masters just shot my first audiobook we heard. He was the Charlie method. Oh, that's right. That's right. That's right. That's right. Yes. But then also, we just listened to

51:08
Oh, the right move. Oh yeah. What was his name? Um, was it Sean Kristen? Yeah, that sounds right. Sean Kristen. Kristen. Is that Liz Comforte? And yes. And then, oh, her last name was Young. couldn't find her. Juniper Young. Juniper Young. She's not on Instagram. Oh my God. That audio was...

51:36
So it was really good. Yeah. I mean, we're huge Samantha Brettmore fans.  Yeah. Yes. We would. She's been like doing all of my books here recently and I am like here for it.  was like, ma'am, how do you even have a voice right now?  She's a forever fave.  She is. She's definitely a forever fave. uh I feel like we listen to a lot of Meg and Quinn audio books. So.

52:03
naturally like Jason Clark, J.F. Harding, like those are some of like our favorites. ah I'm a huge fan of Corvin King right now. His voice. him too. I haven't listened to any of his audio books.  We have.  I have listened to like Clips of Madness that he did, but I haven't listened to them. Which sounds really good, but I haven't listened Oh yes.

52:29
And then who was the narrator for Quicksilver? Oh, Anthony Polimi. He also does re-sand and the graphic audio. He's amazing. He's really good. Yeah. I did Quicksilver recently and I was obsessed with that one. That's so good. I can't wait for book two. So basically, like we just have a lot. A lot.

52:58
Oh, and then Shane East, Yeah, Shane East did Mr. Masters. I wonder if he's going to do Mr. Prescott. I mean, it would only make sense, but I'm trying to look at our bookshelf and see. know. Teddy Hamilton is always a good time. Yes, love Teddy. Brandon Francis is really good too. Yes, listen to him and fight. That was really good.

53:23
Yeah, we're coming to he's coming to spicy reads. So we're going to get to meet him. we're going to get a book. love Lucy Rivers. We haven't listened to one of her books in long time. Yeah, Lucy Rivers, Grace and Owens just seems to be coming up everywhere. we listen to a lot of him. Carter Craze has been coming up to like honor craze. We also love.

53:53
Oh, Angelina Rocca. Yep. Oh, yes. uh

53:58
He did the other Tales of Swarm books that we just listened to.  The Italian. Oh, Dane Anderson. Thank you, Dane Anderson. Love Dane. Who was the female on that? Because she was really good too, both of them.  was Sophia Let. Uh-huh. And then Rekha. There's a lot. There's so many. All of Yes, I feel that.  All of them, yes.  How do you understand a couple of secrets? I know. Really? I haven't found one narrator that I'm just like,  meh. It's usually like,

54:28
the story that I can't get behind. But I've had a few that I didn't vibe with  on some books. And there'd be like popular books too, that I just like DNF because I just couldn't vibe with it. Not saying like the narrator did a bad job, because one of them was like one of my favorite narrators. And I was just like, I can't get into this. So yeah, sometimes it happens. Sometimes. Yeah.

54:52
Sometimes that happens or sometimes they're like a newer narrator and they're still like kind of developing their craft.  so  you can tell when they just have more experience with like their side characters sound really distinct, you know, especially in like,  like dual narration, like  you have to have a lot of practice with having different tones and pitches for different characters for it to like, Oh, I know who's talking, right? Yes. Like what I know is talking and it's the same voice actor. That's how you know they're

55:22
really good at what they do.  Yes. I can never because I was like, I only have like one voice and it's like a hillbilly. I feel like I sound like I don't know. I like I could maybe do a man.  But I can't do the soft, sweet girl. That's just not my voice. No.  Okay, so now I need your man voice because you set yourself up for that one.

55:52
Did I say like a man?  Well, we need Samantha Brentmore to give you some lessons.  Her man voice is so good. It's so good. Yeah.  Oh my gosh. Okay. Sorry. took us way off track on that one. So enemies to lovers or fake dating? Enemies to lovers. Fake dating.  Oh, I'm fake dating. Small town or age gap? Small town. Age gap. Small town.  Cowboy or sports?

56:23
Sports.  I love an athlete. I go back and forth on this one.  I feel like I've just read more athlete ones. Same. I just, love that like Southern gentlemen. Ooh, have y'all done Alive and Wells on audio? No.  highly,  highly recommend Alive and Wells.

56:52
He's not a cowboy,  but it's so good. Like we read,  um,  we read Tame the Heart  and the way I fell in love with Charlie. Oh, he's a cowboy. owns a ranch. He's a cowboy. The cowboy. Yeah. I haven't done that one yet. I'll have to put that one on the list. It just came out on audio. It's Teddy Hamilton and CJ Bloom.

57:19
We'll say less. That's like my favorite duo right there. So it's good duo. We haven't listened. We've read it. We haven't listened to it yet. Man. Yeah. I'll definitely have to check that one out. And usually when there's a cowboy, it's in a small town. That's true. And that is true. It's, you know, he's going to put her in his truck. on a horse. Or on a horse. It's going to be protecting her.

57:47
And he might be a stubborn ass and she's going to be this ray of sunshine so they're going to be the enemies to lovers and it's going to be the trifecta. She's got a point. You definitely need to pick up Aladdin Wells then. Sold.

58:06
billionaire or brother's best friend? Brother's best friend. Billionaire, I think. You both are good. I feel billionaire though. I know. eh do love billionaires. my brother, don't tell my sister.  Listen, so I was at this cute little local bookstore that we have here  and  they have those blind date with the book. Oh yes. Yeah. So  they write the vibes on it and then they'll usually say like,

58:36
what the main trope is.  And I had one picked up because it was like very like Taylor Swift themed. And I was like, okay,  yes, I want this. But then I put it back because I saw billionaire um fake dating. I'm like, well, I have to go with this.  That is like the best combination, billionaire fake dating. Yes. So  I was not disappointed.

59:04
Uh, fantasy or dark romance? That's hard. It depends on the day. So I'm to say today would be dark romance. Yeah, I would agree. Today would be dark romance. Yeah. I'm in my fantasy kick. So I would say fantasy, but yeah, I agree. It depends on my mood. All right. So last up, just because I had to do this, Julian Masters or Spencer Jones. Don't you dare. Oh man.

59:34
Oh man. I'm going to go with Julian Masters. I think you're more Spencer. I'm probably more Spencer. She's definitely, she would do better with Spencer.  Yeah. He's hilarious. I'm going to go with Julian for now, but that will probably change once I read Spencer's book.  He's a very messy golden retriever.  So like. Say less.  Yeah. So what's up next for you guys? That's a wide open question. What's up next?

01:00:03
next. Well, as in the next 10 minutes. Finishing off this bottle of wine. Exactly. Yes. You know, you know, as us already, we're going to be in Chicago in May. Yeah. So we're getting ready for Wild and Windy in Chicago. Really excited about that. I to that one so bad. Super excited. So that's why we are trying to finish the Wild and Windy series by Liz Tomforti. So we did.

01:00:33
ah The theme of our pre-orders was special editions or signing editions. ah I did pre-orders for some of our favorites like Sarah Kate, Sarah Jane.  I did one for Liz Tomforti.  Who else? I got a QB Tyler one. ah Oh, Chantelle is going to be there. We finally are going to get to meet her because we've read all the Lord series. I pre-ordered Madness and Carnage. oh

01:01:03
What's next after that? don't know. We've got a couple things kind of up in the air. Yeah, there's a local small romance bookstore opened not too far from us. So we want to maybe do some events with them. we're just kind of trying to see if we could coordinate a signing or just a release. Because they did a release party for Lucy's Cores Book We Win. It was a lot of fun. So we're like, oh, maybe we can coordinate with them to do more release.

01:01:33
parties with them.  I had like like book themed drinks and they had activities. It's like a fun little class.  Oh fun. and those are those are businesses that are you know need our support that aren't Barnes and Noble but you can still go and get a local coffee from a small town coffee shop and then  stop at your local romance bookstore. So I say like that's kind of what's been new. It's kind of networking with them.  you doing any other events this year?

01:02:03
So not this year. We don't have anything  scheduled.  Nothing set in stone. Yeah, nothing set in stone. And then  for the following year, 2026, we  are going back to Spicy Reeds, but it's going to be in San Diego, California this year.  Oh, fun.  And we are very excited for that.  Much closer to us. We don't have to fly anywhere. So yeah, that's always nice.

01:02:30
So yeah, and that will be, that's in June of 2026, right? Yeah. So, and then we'll, we'll see from there. Yeah. haven't booked anything for 2026 yet. I just kind of like seeing what's going on. Um, but I told myself- You should come to California and do a live podcast at the event. fun would that be? That would be a lot of fun. That would be a lot of fun, but-

01:02:58
That's also me getting on a plane and flying across the country. So that's going to be really hard with my kids. So send you a bottle of champagne. Yeah, they'll be here. We'll send you. Well, sorry, we'll send you some beer. They'll be a year older. A lot. A lot can change in a year. When in June is it? It's like the last week in June.

01:03:26
Um, cause my birthday is the 26th and her, youngest daughters is the 27th. So that's usually like birthday party time. So yeah, but maybe we'll see. It'd be a great present for you. It would be. I did apply for a vendor. What was it called? It's like.

01:03:51
Sins and Stardust or something like that. Sinners and Stardust. Okay. We wanted to go to the one that was in Boston. Was that the same one? Yeah. So that was one of the first book events we signed up for, but we were looking like back on the price of how much it was going to cost to get out there. Our hotel room, like we had everything booked. And then we were like, we can't afford this. Yeah. So we had to our tickets and drop out. Yeah.

01:04:19
So they're doing one in New Orleans and I'm like, that's like a seven hour drive for me. So I was like, I I would do that. So I applied for a table. So we'll see if that happens. Yeah. So that's the only thing that's like kind of on my radar for 2026, but I really want to, um, go up north. Cause like, I've just been staying, doing stuff in the South here lately. Um, so I really.

01:04:49
want to go up north and do some fun events. But again, everything happens in the wintertime, I feel like. And I'm like, I'm not driving in that. Right. Yeah, I don't blame you. I don't blame you either. Yeah. I mean, and now as your kids get older, it will it will get easier. Just to yeah. Give you hope for well.

01:05:10
Yes, I hope so.  Well, before we go, please tell my listeners where they can find you at. As always, you can find me hanging out over on Instagram at What The Smut Podcast. If you're interested in being part of this podcast, please fill out the contact form on my website, www.whatthesmutpodcast.com. If you enjoyed this episode, please go give us a rate and review. A five star rating goes a very long way for podcasts. Thanks for tuning in and we will see you guys next week.