The 17 Books We Read in May: A 1-Star Romantasy, Our Fave of the Year, & First Stephen King!

…”I mean I know I just talked about dopamine nation” lol 😂 chestnut springs is so good

I can so relate about the romantasy fatigue. It’s so hard to find a good one.

I just tried Spark of the Everflame. It has rave reviews. It started out with such potential! But I feel like the FMC was very annoying by the end of the book. I was into the story enough that I tried the sequels. Unfortunately, she just gets more stupid as the series goes on. By the end of book 3, I pitied the MMC 😅

This was so much fun to watch, omgoodness I laughed so much

I want to try out Olivie Blake because I resonate with a lot of Maddie’s tastes, but I don’t know where to start. What do you recommend??

This was such a fun time!

My favorite book last month was SO UNEXPECTED. I read “Out On A Limb” with my in person book club and loved it. Kristen, I think you’d enjoy it! Also really loved 11/22/63 with the Patreon and Children of the Fallen Gods.

Amazing podcast! 🙏🏼. And Maddie, thank you for that hell of Dune guide! I have opened it and I am in awe. Dine has been in my tbr for ages, because I feel it like a mountain hike 😅

I'm about to rewatch season 3 of The Wheel of Time (my favourite show of all time) though I can't ever commit to 14 books, so I'm not even trying to read those

You should try Billy Summers by Stephen King if you liked 11.22.63! 11.22.63 is my favorite novel, and i have yet to find another book like it! Do you guys have any recommendations??

The shining was SOOOOOOOO much better as a book. It was so character development heavy, and to be honest wasn’t as scary as I expected it to be. I loved it tbh.

Kristen please read Deep End by Ali Hazelwood!!! It was so good🥵 so HOT and nothing cringey!!!

I have to tell you guys that I DNFed The Atlas Six. It was my first Olivie Blake and I really didn't like it. Now I'm afraid to try anything else of hers.

Absolutely loved this longer form!! ❤

Enjoyed every minute of this!!

Onyx storm was a shit show - there were so many names and characters dropped that kept making me think “am i supposed to know who/what that is???”
Plot was messy as hell and the romance should have become a sub plot at this point… ugh so disappointing

My top read of May was The Things We Water by Mariana Zapata - i am not a big romance reader but Mariana’s slow burns are my comfort. But it is 700+ pages of slow burn so definitely not for most people lol

But i read Billy Summers by Stephen King recently and i think you would both love it! It is a crime fiction novel and also not scary - themes of redemption and good vs evil

On a whim I decided to get the audio books for Dungeon Crawler Carl and OMG finished the first two in the last 5 days of May. Almost onto the 4th now 😅 great weird book rec! It’s such a nice change up

I loved that the Knight and the Moth was not about how objectively hot the characters were, but rather how they were ‘hot’ to each other. Rory’s endearing crooked teeth etc

And the delayed gratification thing can be applied to not speeding through books, but taking more time to enjoy them!

Also ps I just stated The Sirens by Emilia Hart and it’s alllll about sisters and sisterhood bond so you guys might like it!

i’ve started ROTE with both maddie and margaret’s recommendation and i’m currently on Ship of Magic. . . i cannot stress this enough THANK YOU! i’m having such an incredible time. my days are now measured by when i’m reading Ship of Magic and then everything else in between and i wouldn’t have it any other way.

Maddie doing the most with WOT, I quit at book 7 😂

Rachel Gillig can do no wrong 😊. I went to her tour and I vibe with everything about her so hard. Her writing is beautiful and lyrical. That being said, fourth wing series is my guilty pleasure, fully enjoy the theory-diving and vibes 😂. But I also loathe everything about SJM books, so I have no clue what my real taste is. Romantasy is tough😅

I need a video on the best Fantasy Romance because as a genre I love it but finding good ones is hard

okay the Dune chapter guide is so epic thank you!! adding it to my re-reads and prepared to excel now with this guide in hand 😜

I’ve been dying for a GOOD romantasy and the knight and the moth DELIVERED!!! One of my new favorite books. All of the characters are so fun and the plot is so unique and interesting! And I totally agree-the MMC is a breath of fresh air.

Man, I would love to get my hands on a Maddie reading guide for LOTR✨ i’ve never read it, and I’m a little scared to jump in because it is such high fantasy – but I would be willing to give it a try if Maddie had a reading guide for it! 😂😂

The lack of character differentiation you’re describing with onyx storm is something I’ve been struggling with in the Faithful and the Fallen series by John Gwynne. I am hoping it improves in the later books!

I just found you guys and you are my new favorite podcast!! So excited!

I found you guys on insta because of your TBR wheel and I’ve never been more grateful. I was CACKLING with you guys for some parts! Great episode!

Yay for a new video! Always excited to watch your content. Maddie, I totally understand the frustration of reading a book in a series that's feels like a "bridge book". Please reconsider the idea of only reading/buying series once they're complete! This can actually hurt authors especially self-pub ones; if people don't go out and buy books as they're being released, publishers may not pick up the authors/renew contracts. Reading a series once it's completed may not impact the popular authors (Sarah J Maas for example) but it could hurt the non-mainstream or upcoming ones. Just something for you to consider! 🙂

My favorite May reads: Anna Karenina and Oathbringer.

I read the Morning Glory Milking Farm but I didn't read it for the erotic Minotaur I just read it because my friends had they also said it was funny and occasionally it got a laugh out of me but it wasn't my vibe either. I'm tempted to pick up the moth man one but I don't know if I bring myself to done it because they are ridiculous smut haha!! I'm currently reading Assasin's Apprentice and I'm loving it, I've been wanting to read this series since I was in my teens I'm 38, so glad I'm finally doing it and I'm like you Maddie Romantasy isn't giving like it was but it's because we can already anticipate the vibes and tropes they're going to bring nothing feels new anymore it's rinse and repeat plot and characters. I'm intrigued by new Rachel Gillig book, might add it to a future tbr. Thanks for a great show ladies!! x

The knight and the moth did not disappoint! Do I always want a thousand pages more of her books YES but she’s never not earned a page of her work so far so I’m happy. I agree too on wanting to wait for a series to be complete & reviewed before investing time, I took a risk with this one because I loved The shepherd king so much, and wanted to support the release for her this time!

I get so excited when I see new videos from you ladies! This one was great. You two should treat us to a Q & A video!! ;)

Kristen when Maddie explaining Wheel of time got me 😂 so funnyy

"Milk was everywhere" - 🤮 Lol, I honestly have never been more glad to subscribe to a channel - love you girls so much!

I could listen to you guys for HOURS 🥹🤩

❤️❤️❤️❤️

Fave book of May was Black Woods Blue Sky by Eowyn Ivey. A beauty and the beast retelling of sorts with magical realism. I thought I might DNF at the beginning, but something about it kept me going and I’m so glad I did!

I literally got chills when Maddie was talking about Robin Hobb's talent and impact on the fantasy genre. I think [male] writers who haven't finished their magnum opus don't fully deserve to be compared to her and that she's in a league of her own. But that's just my opinion 💁🏻‍♀️😅

Kristen made me want to buy the B&N exclusive of Knight and the Moth even tho I have too many unread books 😂

I had THREE 5 star reads this month! 🙌🏻 The Forgotten Kingdom, Thick as Thieves (Queen's thief book 5) and Great Big Beautiful Life!

Love your episodes! Thanks for sharing :)

I love a chatty long video from Kris and Mads 🎉 coming home to this from work - best present Monday could ever give me

Don’t watch the WoT TV show. It’s only “just ok” and it finally started to hit its stride in season 3…and Amazon CANCELED it. Nothing will ever be resolved.

My favorite books of the month were Enchantra & Direbound! I think I liked Enchantra more than Phantasma. It was so good.

I have never read Olivie Blake before. Where should I start?

I just started Assassin’s Quest and I’m absolutely loving this adventure. It reminds me of summers as a teen where I would just read a series all summer long, like Harry Potter. I’m so content to just sit in this world for a while and I don’t feel like I’m scrambling to find a good book to read next.

Maddie’s face while Kristen was explaining the first book lolololol 😂

I would love to recommend reign & ruin by J.D. Evans! It is fantasy with romance and each book can be read as standalones. I feel like the 2nd and 3rd book are more romantasy whilst the 1st, 4th and prequel are more fantasy with romance.

Would it be wrong if Maddie did a fabulous book 1-11 recap for those who just want to read Sanderson’s books? It feels wrong (please do it).

Reading book 2 in Liveship Traders, “Mad Ship” and need someone to talk to about the series. Thinking maybe I join Fable? Thoughts? I need to find a IRL book club.

Please do this every month on the podcast!

THE SIX by STEVEN SCHWANKERT!! An amazing Titanic story (non fiction). Also there is a documentary about this story on an app called MagellanTV!! 10/10 book and documentary!! I have been messaging K&M about this book on Instagram 😂 I absolutely loved it!!

Love this format!!