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The BEST & WORST books we read in 2025! 👀 · Gorls Unplugged

0:00
I'm not sure who let us have microphones in 2025 because
0:03
everyone knows we are certified yappers, but here we are at the
0:08
end of our first whole year of podcasting, which is wild.
0:12
Crazy. I mean, we did take a summer
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break and we've done two seasons, but overall it is our
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first year. So crazy.
0:22
Yeah, literally insane. So we thought the perfect way to
0:26
wrap up this year is to just do our 2025 read and wrap up with
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you guys and go through the books we've loved, the books we
0:33
haven't loved, books that have made us laugh, books that have
0:36
made us cry, and just an overall view of the year as a whole in
0:39
general. Yes, let's talk about all the
0:42
things that pissed me off this year in books and book talk.
0:48
As if we haven't done that already.
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I feel like I've got so much to say about this year, like as we
0:53
hit the end of the year, I'm like, I just feel very
0:56
frustrated with like how my reading year has gone.
1:00
Yeah, Tor has not had a great reading year.
1:02
I have had a really good one, but I feel like my year last
1:07
year in 2024 was not good. So we've kind of switched a
1:10
little bit. So let's start by going through
1:13
the podcast the year as a whole. What do you think our funniest
1:17
off mic moment has been? I just think like the the start
1:23
of the year, like our first like awkwardness of trying to get
1:26
like posed photos together and just getting over that initial
1:31
like this is so foreign to US moment because actually some of
1:34
those points were so funny. And also, I mean they actually
1:39
filmed somewhere but it's like the moments of me trying to open
1:42
a podcast where I just freeze and burst out laughing like
1:47
every time. We end up in hysterics almost
1:49
every episode. Yeah, literally.
1:51
Tort really struggles with the opener guys and that's why it's
1:55
often me. But I'm also really bad at the
1:57
ending because I'm just like so abrupt.
2:00
I'll just be like OK, that's the end, subscribe and like and
2:03
follow us. And then tours like wait, that's
2:07
too rushed. But I feel like for me, the
2:10
funniest off mic moment is all of the stupid tik toks we
2:14
filmed. Like the Ke$ha trend where you
2:17
made me do that singing bit and then the one where you made me
2:21
dance. Oh my God, that no, the the
2:25
worst one was the millennial dance.
2:28
Yeah, yeah, he's so cringe. Really.
2:32
Giving the millennial cringe moment there, but it had to be
2:35
done. Yeah, and I just discovered how
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terrible I am at dancing. Oh, I think both of us.
2:41
It was not, it was not a good look, but it was really funny.
2:43
And that's what we love is just laughing at ourselves.
2:46
Yeah, filming the actual content outside of the podcast is so
2:50
funny and all. And like often, because the
2:52
podcast is the priority, we're in a rush when we do the other
2:56
bits of content, which just makes it even funnier because
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it's so chaotic. But yeah, so.
3:01
Funny. Hilarious, actually.
3:03
But yeah, OK, what has our biggest learning curve been?
3:08
I just think in general, it's been, and we're still doing it
3:12
now, right, trying to navigate like what people want to hear
3:16
about our initial thoughts where we didn't want to be like too
3:19
bookish. We wanted to give space to open
3:23
it up to broader topics. And actually, we've ended up
3:26
keeping it fairly bookish because it feels like that's
3:31
what people want. More, it seems to be what people
3:35
have responded to the most. Yeah.
3:37
And even just like learning through the year, like what
3:40
sounds good, like changing our mics, changing our visuals, like
3:43
where we sit and do the podcast, like so many things that have
3:48
just been a a learning curve for us.
3:50
But what was it I said to you on our first one something the
3:54
statistics were something like only like 20% or or something
3:59
even smaller maybe of podcast make it past the make it past 4
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episodes. So if you are, yeah, yeah, I'll
4:07
have to look it up. But I just think like, actually
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we've done really well. Like even if loads of people
4:13
don't, even if we only have a few steady followers and
4:16
listeners, you know what, a year, like we've done something
4:20
major that loads of people will never do in their lives.
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And I think that's really cool. And we've enjoyed it.
4:26
Like I think, yeah, generally we've had a really good time
4:30
doing it. And like, we don't really argue
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or we don't bicker about it. Like it's pretty fucking chilled
4:37
out, I would say, which is I think is, is an achievement in
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itself because working with other people can be really
4:44
difficult, especially creatively.
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And, and like, something me and Tor don't, not necessarily don't
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agree on, but don't have in common is our aesthetics.
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Yeah, although I obviously joke about how they overlap sometimes
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and they do because like, I'm still very simple and I don't
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like patterns and things like that.
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But that could have been really difficult for us.
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And actually we've made it work quite well.
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I think I feel like the biggest learning curve for me has
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probably been that like trying to be a good partner because
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when you do content normally it's pretty selfish.
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You film what you want, when you want, you edit how you want, You
5:23
know all of those things. You don't really have to think
5:26
about anyone else. Maybe you think about the
5:28
audience and you know what they want and how they're going to
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respond, but you don't have someone else doing it with you.
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So I think that has been a learning curve, but but not
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necessarily a learning curve in that it was ever difficult.
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It's just something I feel like we've naturally got better at.
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Yeah. And then my sort of technical
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learning curve, I think has been the audio and the audio editing,
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because like Tor said, we did have quite a lot of issues with
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mics and sound. Yeah.
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And just like how best to film that works for Rose.
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And I'd always done video editing, both for content but
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also like in my career, and I felt like I was pretty OK with
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that. But audio editing is a whole
6:09
different kettle of fish, so I can't talk.
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To you because it stresses me out even thinking about it.
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Yeah, it's just very glitchy and very techie.
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So yeah, that's definitely been a learning curve.
6:21
OK, So what is the episode that you would say that you are most
6:26
proud of that we've done this year?
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I think there's 2, so 1. I think on a personal level, I'm
6:33
really proud of the Smitty episode.
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Just we had a bit of a change of plan last minute and I was
6:39
nervous about that interview anyway because it was the first
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interview we'd done where we'd not met the person in real life.
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We'd obviously met Andy a few times and like he was a friend
6:49
of ours, but Smitty, I was like a follower.
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So a. Fan girl A.
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Fan girl of Smitty's content. So I feel like I was proud of
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myself for that one because I managed to get through it.
7:03
Yeah, I think our joint episodes, I really like the the
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autumn wrap up weirdly. I don't know, I just feel like
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that one was structured nicely. It flowed.
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I really enjoyed listening to that back when I was listening
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to like, check audio and stuff. And yeah, I just think that one
7:23
was a good one. What about you?
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I think that that was the first one back as well after the
7:27
break, wasn't it? Where we did it Like we changed
7:28
position, we moved one of the bookcase with the new
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microphones. It felt quite like natural and
7:33
just fun. And like the quality we both
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thought was so much better, like the video quality, the audio
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quality. So I was really happy from like
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an editing perspective. As well.
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So I think a bit like you 2 that kind of stem out to me was the
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chronic illness episode, mostly because I was really proud of
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mostly you, but both of us have been like quite vulnerable in
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that video. I think that that's really nice.
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And I think it's nice for people to see we kind of give a very,
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you know, Polish like da da da. These are the books I love on
8:07
book talk. And I think that that was a lot
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more like vulnerable, like know that you're not on your own when
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you're kind of struggling with things like this.
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And I think that that's that's why we didn't want to pigeonhole
8:17
ourselves as bookish, so that sometimes when the opportunity
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arises, we can talk about real things.
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And I think that that's a really brave thing to do.
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So I think that was a really good episode from that
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perspective. And then the other one that I
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feel quite proud of it was the first episode we decided like it
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was like impromptu and that was the casting of off campus.
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Because again, I just felt like that is something to be proud of
8:43
because it I feel like we were quite brave in like standing up
8:47
and getting on a podcast and actually calling out like really
8:50
bad behaviour on book talk, just like abusive bullying types of
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people. That was really frustrating us.
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And I just, I, again, I just think that's something to be
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proud of, is sticking up for what you believe in as opposed
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to just kind of letting it be quiet.
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Because we all find it entertaining, right?
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When these crazy things pop up, we all find it entertaining, but
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we take that and discuss it. And yes, sometimes it may come
9:15
across a bit gossipy and we might be gossiping, but it isn't
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a targeted nasty approach to anything.
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We're just discussing what's happening and why it's happening
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and how we actually what we want is a more positive space.
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So. Yeah, definitely.
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Have we had any behind the scenes disasters this year?
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I would say yes. And that would just be all of
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the audio issues where like things have cut out or not
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sounded great and I've had to do some major editing in the
9:51
background. Yes, I would agree the audio
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situation was really difficult and beginning.
9:58
And also me, I can't even remember what was wrong with me
10:03
for the city interview. You had a stomach bug.
10:06
Oh yes, me getting ill and I felt so bad.
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Like the guilt, the internal guilt I felt about it and I
10:13
didn't know what to do. Like that.
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That to me was a disaster for me and for you.
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Obviously it turned out really well.
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The interview was fantastic. Like you and Smitty had like
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great conversation, but like internally to me like that was
10:26
like Code Red level meltdown of stress.
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Yeah, one thing you need to know about tall guys is she
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experiences intense levels of guilt.
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Even if I say it's fine, don't worry about it.
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She is, in fact at home worrying about it.
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I'm. Welling up now just thinking
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about because I do. I'm such a stress head.
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I would just feel like I'm a massive people pleaser and I
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worry that I'm letting people down all the time.
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But my logic does kick in and tell me I'm really fucking I'll.
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I can't get on camera and do this, but I do stress about it.
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That was virtual. So it's not like we'd plan to
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like go somewhere and meet up with him.
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And do you know what I mean? Like it was just hopping on a
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Zoom call. It was really casual.
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And also guys, it probably doesn't help that I have resting
11:12
bitch face. So unless I am like in person
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being like it's fine. It probably looks like I'm like
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it's fine. So true.
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But it's true. It's just my Wednesday Adam's
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resting bitch face, guys, OK? And when we realized people
11:30
actually listen, were listening to us and I think the obvious 1
11:34
here and we just covered it is when we did the video on the off
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campus casting. Yeah, that that one took off
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quite drastically in comparison to the episodes that we've done
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prior. However, I would also say that
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the one that I realized people were actually listening to was
11:52
was after that when we did the Ali Hazelwood one, because with
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the off campus one, I was like, maybe it's just a fluke because
12:00
you know, it's drama. And then once we kind of started
12:04
to replicate those statistics of people listening to it and
12:08
watching it, I was like, OK, it is actually steadily growing.
12:11
It's not. And I think when we got to the
12:15
end of the year and seeing the Spotify rap for our podcast,
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that was like a real wow. Like we've done something really
12:22
cool this year. Like that was like a real oh,
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people give a shit about what I have to say.
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I honestly couldn't get over those statistics because I
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didn't. So like for context guys,
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obviously where I do the uploading, I'm in the back end
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of Spotify, but I didn't know they did a podcast wrapped for
12:41
creators. So I had just gone on to, I
12:44
think I was either uploading a video or I was checking the
12:48
analytics of a video and it popped up and I at first thought
12:52
it was lying and it was just being like, nice, because the
12:55
statistics, I was like, what? So one of them was like, we were
12:58
in the top 20% of video podcasts.
13:01
And then what was the other one? It was like, hold on, I'll get
13:05
it up. Yes, this is yeah.
13:06
OK, so it's 2025 instant hit show, a 2025 talked about show
13:12
and a 2025 most shared show. And then for the bit where it
13:17
said, you know, you know how you get like your top artist and how
13:20
many minutes you've listened and you're a top percent listener.
13:24
I was only a top 17% listener, even though I listen back to
13:29
every episode once they're up to check that everything's OK with
13:33
them. I was only in the 17%.
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So I was like, who of you guys watching at home is in the 1%,
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the 2%, the 5%? Like tell me.
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Yeah, we need to know. I do want to know.
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So core segments of the conversation today is the books
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we've read this year, obviously what we've loved and what we've
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hated. So let's start with our five
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favourites. You go first.
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OK. Number one favorite of the year,
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without a shadow of doubt, and I doubt anything is going to beat
14:05
it in the last couple of weeks we've got left is Blood Over
14:08
Bright Haven by ML Wang, and I was already a fan of her from
14:13
Sword of Kaigen. I loved that book last year in
14:16
2024, that was like my top three book, I think.
14:18
But this one is a little bit different in that it's dark
14:21
academia meets fantasy and it's a little bit smaller, and it
14:26
also has more of a European urban based world where sort of
14:31
Kaigen is Asian. And I really didn't think I was
14:35
going to like it because of the dark academia aspect.
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I worried it was going to go over my head a little bit.
14:40
But I absolutely loved it. And actually the magic system
14:43
was so easy to get your head around because it's kind of like
14:47
based on like typewriters and like computers and things like
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that. And I just loved the themes.
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I think. I think the themes are what made
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it so special to me. It looks at things like
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misogyny, racism, colonialism, all the isms, all the bad isms,
15:03
all the. Isms.
15:04
But not in a way that felt preachy or overdone or or heavy
15:11
to digest. It was just almost like legend
15:14
born where it's just in there nicely and it's impactful.
15:19
That is what I loved about it and I honestly think I would
15:23
recommend it to absolutely everyone because it's a stand
15:26
alone. So the world building isn't too
15:28
intense because obviously how can it be in a stand alone?
15:32
And I think it would be really good beginner fantasy, high
15:35
fantasy for a lot of people. So I definitely think it's one
15:39
for everyone. And there isn't romance, but
15:42
there's kind of like almost leading to romance.
15:45
Yeah, I, I mean, I wanted to read it anyway, but that makes
15:49
me more inclined here because I feel like I put it off thinking
15:51
that it's going to be really intense.
15:54
And also for me, obviously the dark academia, like it's hard
15:57
for me to, there's not a lot of dark academias that I really get
16:01
into, but I am, it's on my list. It's definitely staying on my
16:05
list as well. Knowing that you love Legend
16:08
Born, I think will really enjoy it because it's sort of just
16:11
more like a adult version of that.
16:13
The right style is quite similar, the themes are quite
16:17
similar. So I think you'll enjoy it.
16:20
We'll see. I mean, we already spoke about
16:24
this year and it hasn't changed and I knew it wasn't going to
16:26
change, but my top book of the year is The Unmaking of June
16:32
Farrow. It was just, it was so perfect.
16:37
Everything about it was just so amazing.
16:40
The audio was fantastic, the story was great.
16:44
It kept me hooked. It was a page Turner.
16:46
The pacing was amazing and I was just left so confused through
16:50
most of the book and then everything just wraps up
16:53
together so perfectly at the end.
16:56
Like the writing is just so well done and I would honestly
17:00
recommend. But any season, it's wintry,
17:05
it's summary, it's like the perfect, if you're in a slump
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kind of book like it. It could be a palate cleanser
17:12
because it's not too high fantasy, it's not too romancey.
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It's just absolute God tier. Yeah, I completely agree.
17:23
We both love that book. So.
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I'm so pleased that you love it. And I love Adrian generally, as
17:29
you know. And I do think one of the things
17:31
that are most special about her books is like what you said,
17:34
it's kind of like a fusion of genres.
17:36
So anyone can read them. And they work really well as
17:39
palate cleansers because most of them are quite small and
17:41
standalones. And yeah, just an absolutely
17:44
phenomenal book. OK, my next one is A Witch's
17:49
Guide to Magical Innkeeping, which is another one that Tall
17:52
hasn't read. Actually, I don't think you've
17:53
not read it, have you? I think we're only, I think, no,
17:56
I haven't. And I think you probably only
17:58
have one book on this list that is the same.
18:00
Interesting. OK.
18:02
But yeah, A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping is by Sangu
18:06
Mandana, who wrote a very secret Society of irregular witches.
18:11
They don't follow on from each other, so you could read them in
18:14
any order technically, but they're like a very similar
18:18
style, very similar world. In fact, I think it is set in
18:21
the same world and they're sort of like, they're sort of like
18:26
cosy magical realism romances or like romanticies, but not in the
18:31
way that you're probably used to reading them or seeing them.
18:34
They're very quirky, they're quite cutesy, they're quite
18:37
funny and they are just like this one in particular was just
18:43
so heart warming because it had quite large themes of mental
18:45
health and like depression. I thought it was really, really
18:49
well done where it didn't feel like depressing to read about,
18:54
but it felt very relatable at the same time.
18:56
Made you think. Yeah, it made me think.
18:59
And like a lot of the metaphors she used to talk about, it was
19:02
to do with like stars. And like, it just felt very
19:06
spiritual. OK.
19:09
Yeah, and then also, it has the best found family ever.
19:13
And me and Tor, we both love found family.
19:16
It's like one of our favorite tropes.
19:17
And it was just so funny, so quirky.
19:20
I absolutely loved it. And again, the audio is
19:22
fantastic. They are like my two favorite
19:24
books on audio ever I think. It's the same.
19:27
Didn't you say it's the same? Narrators from Yeah books.
19:34
Good. Now, yeah.
19:37
That's the one she does both of them and it's like very kind of
19:40
almost like very British Nanny McPhee style narration, which I
19:45
know, I think it feels so, so like old fashioned fantasy.
19:51
Almost like a nostalgic It's that kind of that feeling of
19:57
when you were younger and you could almost like really believe
20:00
it was actually, this could actually be real.
20:02
Yeah, exactly. And it also made me cry, which I
20:05
didn't expect, but one didn't make me cry, but that one did.
20:08
So it got like an extra boost of, yeah, an extra star because
20:13
I'm not a massive crier. But yeah.
20:17
What was your? What was your next one?
20:20
I mean, we spoke about this the other week, but and this isn't
20:23
really in any particular order except for the fact that I'm
20:25
making was my absolute favorite metal Slinger.
20:29
It was just really unexpected. I didn't have any plans to read
20:33
it and and there's nothing like particularly stand out
20:38
different. It follows a very kind of
20:41
obvious fantasy romance theme and like plot, but it was just
20:47
really well done. I enjoyed it.
20:50
The first couple of chapters it took it took me a little bit of
20:53
time, like with any new fantasy, because like wrapping your head
20:55
around what's going on. But just everything about it
20:59
again, it just made me feel good.
21:01
It made me want to read it. I was hungry for more every time
21:06
I couldn't read it, I wanted to be reading it or listening to
21:09
it, and I feel like that's really hard to find at the
21:13
moment in the fancy romance to genre.
21:16
So yeah, highly recommend, especially for anyone that
21:20
enjoyed The Bridge Kingdom. It's a kind of similar vibe but
21:24
with more magic. Yeah, just loved it.
21:27
And I know you read it as well and enjoyed it so.
21:30
Yeah, I absolutely loved it. I gave it 4.5.
21:33
That's a high rating for me with yeah, I absolutely loved it for
21:38
all the reasons that Tor has said.
21:39
But also something I really loved about it, which I didn't
21:43
actually think was very similar to other romanticities was the
21:46
world. So, you know, like, I don't
21:49
think it's a spoiler to say this, but the, the place where
21:52
she is is growing up is like in trees above water.
21:58
And so I could just like vividly picture all of these like tree
22:01
houses and like the way that that land was intertwined.
22:04
And it almost reminded me again of like childhood favourites
22:08
like the magic faraway tree and stuff like that.
22:11
And then a lot of people don't like this, but I really like
22:15
exposition and travelling in books.
22:17
I love it. I like to see parts of the
22:19
world. So those kinds of, not to give
22:23
too much away, but those scenes where she's travelling and
22:26
seeing different parts, like the forest, I just really enjoyed
22:29
all of that. I felt like I could so vividly
22:32
picture this world in my mind. And again, just like Thor said,
22:36
it was super addictive for me. I couldn't put it down.
22:39
I read it in like 2 days or three days, and it was one of
22:42
the quickest things I've read this year.
22:44
And then the ending just leaves you like on this massive high of
22:48
needing the next book, like yesterday.
22:51
Yeah, I always love. Yeah, me too.
22:54
I think that authors too often try and wrap it up and make it
22:57
too, like, happy sometimes these days.
23:03
Yeah. So yeah, the ending was like, I
23:06
think I messaged you straight. I was like, what the fuck?
23:14
So good. That was when like I knew I
23:16
needed to read it because my friend had already read it as
23:19
well and she said the exact same as Tor.
23:21
She was like, oh, it's like good all the way through, but it's
23:23
the ending that makes it like next level.
23:26
And then Hor said exactly the same.
23:28
I was like, I have to read it and yeah, I felt exactly the
23:31
same. But like Tor, mine are not
23:35
actually in other than Blood over Brighthaven.
23:37
Mine are not in a specific order because it's really hard this
23:39
year to rank, but my next one is an Adrian Young one as well and
23:44
that is a sea of unspoken things.
23:47
So that was actually my first read of 2025 and it was a six
23:52
star. I don't think this is a book for
23:55
everyone. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews
23:57
on it, but it was a book for me. It is very, it's like, again, a
24:03
fusion of genres. It's like part thriller, part
24:06
crime, part romance, tiniest, tiniest, tiniest, little bit of
24:11
magical realism, but like tiny. But it's very slow burn and
24:17
atmospheric. I think that's one of the things
24:19
that Adrian does really well is she builds this atmosphere of
24:22
like, you're with them. And this felt like Forks in
24:26
Twilight which just made it the perfect sort of wintery autumn
24:31
read. And then the romance itself,
24:34
although it was a subplot with second chance romance which is
24:37
one of my favorite tropes and I just liked how it the romance
24:41
also intertwined with the mystery thriller aspect.
24:44
Yeah, and it's on my list because I obviously this year I
24:47
did, I'm making of June Farrah and I did spells for Forgetting,
24:50
which I didn't love as much as #1 but I did enjoy it.
24:53
And like you said, it's the atmosphere that she builds that
24:55
kind of makes it you kind of on the edge of your seat.
24:58
So I definitely want to read it. So definitely don't give
25:00
anything away. Yeah, and.
25:02
Plus, Tor has been doing slightly more thrillers this
25:05
year, so if there was ever a chance.
25:07
You would we call them three layers?
25:08
I don't know. Yeah, you've done Julie Chan.
25:12
You did Nightshades. That was such a good book.
25:15
That isn't on my list, but that was so good.
25:18
And you did the Catherine Cowles romantic suspense Sparrow.
25:21
That's. True, actually I have been
25:23
branching out a bit. I know your book, your book
25:26
history even better than you do. Unless it's right in front of
25:29
me. Like I always find this topic
25:31
really hard because unless something really specifically
25:33
stands out, I'm thinking about the books I read in the last
25:36
like 2 months. Which is why, as we said at the
25:38
beginning, I think I feel like I'm having a really bad reading
25:40
year because since like October I've had a lot of let downs.
25:45
Yeah. What was your next one SO.
25:48
My next one, I feel like this is going to be a match.
25:51
I'll be surprised if this isn't in your top five, but
25:54
Nightshades like it again, a bit like I'm making a no, but like
26:01
metal Slinger. It actually wasn't really on my
26:03
radar and I picked it up kind of out nowhere.
26:07
Was really concerned about the amount of hype about it on book
26:11
talk and also the fact that you loved it so much because it's
26:15
not fantasy. So I was a bit like, am I going
26:18
to like it? Because our taste is so
26:20
different when it comes to romance books.
26:23
Although it has that kind of like like dark academia mystery
26:28
kind of element to it. But again, it was just such a
26:31
page Turner. And I think the way that the
26:33
author built the the romance and the tension between the two main
26:39
characters were really well done is another thing I think not a
26:44
lot of authors are getting right at the moment.
26:46
And it's such a personal preference thing and and taste,
26:49
I totally get that. But so many books I'm reading,
26:52
it's like they're just kind of throwing these characters
26:54
together and there's nothing really forming their bonds and
26:59
there's no obstacles that they're overcoming really to
27:02
like really gel together. And then so when I read a book
27:05
where the romance feels so natural but so well done, I'm
27:11
just like, all in because I'm like, this actually, in my head
27:14
feels like a relationship that is growing in real life.
27:18
And I think that Autumn did that really well in Nightshade.
27:21
And I'm so excited for Book 2 next year.
27:26
Yeah, I completely agree, it is on my list as well so I might as
27:30
well just talk about it from my perspective now as well.
27:33
But I feel like Tor has covered pretty much all of the things I
27:35
love too as well. So I had had this on my radar
27:39
for quite a while because I followed her as an indie author
27:42
on Instagram. And what drew me to the book was
27:46
the fan art, because the fan art was like, already giving a
27:50
different vibe to the romance. Like, she looked very dark
27:54
academia. Like, as in the main character,
27:56
she looked very dark academia, a little bit of a softer FMC.
28:01
And he was like, big and tattooed and rugby player.
28:04
And I was like, oh, OK. Like this seems like the kind of
28:06
dynamic that I'm probably gonna really enjoy.
28:09
And I did. And I feel like Tor is exactly
28:12
right. It is the build up of the
28:14
romance. It's very slow burn, but in the
28:18
slow burn, there is so much banter between them.
28:21
And although she's a softer FMC, she doesn't just like take what
28:26
he says lying down. Like she does banter back with
28:29
him. And they have like a lot of like
28:32
funny little inside jokes that they do, which I won't tell you
28:36
how or like because then it might be a bit spoilery, but
28:40
they they're just so cute together.
28:43
The sort of thriller suspense plot.
28:47
It is a tiny bit predictable, but I think with it being like
28:51
an NA quite young romance, it almost feels like fine that it's
28:58
a little bit predictable. It didn't bother me that I knew
29:00
where it was going to be either. It didn't.
29:02
Bother me at all that it was a bit predictable.
29:04
Yeah, it didn't. Pull you out of the story.
29:06
You still wanted to know where things were going to go and what
29:08
was going to. Happen.
29:10
It kind of made it feel. It kind of gave it that cosy
29:16
autumn vibe because you knew, although it was kind of like it,
29:20
you can't, can you call it thrillery?
29:21
I don't really know. It's such a mix of genres.
29:24
Again, like we were just saying about Adrian Young's books.
29:26
But because it was a bit predictable, it made it feel
29:30
less intense, more cozy. Yeah, completely agree.
29:33
Like a comforting autumn read. And again, like that atmosphere
29:38
was just so on point. The eerie gothic wintery vibes
29:42
of this Scottish castle Academy was just chef's kiss.
29:46
And also just like Alex as an MMC is just perfect.
29:51
Like if he was older as a character he would be like #1
29:56
fictional book boyfriend. He is the best and I.
30:00
Talk about the page doesn't age him a few years to give it a
30:03
frontier real life boyfriend. Yeah, please, guys.
30:07
And also, I didn't know that it was going to be a duology.
30:12
So when I reached the end, I was like.
30:14
What? I was paid, you thought.
30:19
It was going to be a stand alone.
30:20
Did you Well? Yeah, I had no idea that it had
30:23
a cliffhanger, that it was a duet.
30:25
I was honestly like, what the F Like what?
30:29
I was like searching for the rest of the book at like 2 in
30:31
the morning. The fact that you just said what
30:34
the F is killing me off. I couldn't concentrate anything
30:37
you said after that because I was like, why didn't you just
30:39
say fuck? I don't know.
30:42
I've never done that before. I'm a big swearer.
30:45
Why did I just change that? OK, so the next one is another
30:49
really easy one for me, and that's Human Rights by Juno
30:53
Dawson. It is the end to the HMRC
30:56
series. And again, I feel like people
30:57
that have been watching all year are going to be like Toy, you've
30:59
already spoken about this. Please stop talking about the
31:01
same books. But nothing has changed my mind.
31:04
It was the perfect ending to a phenomenal series and I really
31:11
think it's so. It's fucking criminally under
31:14
hype, that series in my opinion, it's so good.
31:17
It's like gritty British BBC drama type TV mixed with this
31:24
magical chaotic world with these very realistic family and
31:32
friendship dynamics. You know, it's just, it's so
31:37
bloody good. And like I said, the ending was
31:39
just fucking perfect. Not what I expected, obviously
31:44
some parts predictable all but like are most books because you
31:48
expect some things from the end of a trilogy.
31:51
But how it was done, I couldn't have guessed in any way, shape
31:54
or form what she was going to do.
31:56
And yeah, just it was fantastic. You you need to read the rest of
32:03
the series. It's going on my 26 for 2026
32:07
because I feel like as soon as I get to the new year, I'm just
32:10
going to reread book one on audio and then like carry on
32:13
like how I did with Legend Born at the start of last year.
32:16
Because I think doing that reread gets you like back in the
32:19
excitement for the rest of the book.
32:21
And it would be such a good series that in January you're
32:23
staying in, you've got no money, it's cold, it's miserable.
32:26
It's bringing in like what it like that would.
32:28
It would be like the perfect January kind of binge read.
32:33
Yeah, so true. So yeah, I'm definitely going to
32:35
do it. And although I've only read book
32:37
1, I feel like I completely get what Tor is saying about it
32:41
feeling like a gritty BBC drama, but then like adding magic to
32:45
it. I also feel like it's perfect
32:47
for like, adult Harry Potter fans who don't necessarily
32:52
believe, well, don't believe in what JK Rowling is now doing.
32:56
And yes, it's a good development of those ethics and morals, I
33:02
feel, without giving too much away.
33:06
But yeah, I I loved the first book.
33:08
It was a five star. So I definitely I'm going to go
33:10
back to it and read it next year, early next year.
33:14
My final one is at is one that Tor has was telling me to read
33:18
for so long. And that is when the moon
33:20
hatched. I absolutely loved that book,
33:25
and it's the book this year that got me back into a good place
33:28
with romanticity as a whole, because I feel like it is the
33:31
definition of romantic fantasy. Everything about it is fleshed
33:37
out in terms of there's a really great expansive world, there's
33:42
an interesting magic system, interesting magical creatures,
33:46
sort of like a not a real mythology from real life, but
33:50
like a mythology that she has built in this world in a
33:53
spiritual, almost like religion characters have in terms of how
33:58
they view certain elements of the world that I just absolutely
34:02
loved. And then the romance was a
34:05
little bit different as well to your typical romance to see,
34:08
although the FMC and the MMC definitely had some standard
34:12
kind of like Marley Grey badass tropes or traits that a lot of
34:18
characters in romancey have. Their actual romance dynamic was
34:22
different and I loved it. And then the plot itself as well
34:27
was just, it was just really great.
34:28
Like it. It was just, it was different
34:32
and it was beautiful, I think. She was.
34:36
I think she writes, you're either going to love it or
34:39
you're going to hate it because her writing style is so it's
34:43
almost like purple prose where it's overly flowery and overly
34:47
poetic, which I love, as you guys know, if you listen, but
34:53
not it's not for everyone, I don't think, but.
34:56
And it usually isn't for me. So I would say even if it's
34:59
something that you don't normally go for to try, because
35:04
I really love everything that I've read of hers.
35:07
And I've obviously read the first two books in the To
35:09
believe the Crystal Bloom series, and I've read When the
35:12
Moon Hatched and really loved all three of those books.
35:17
And I normally struggle with that more kind of descriptive
35:24
writing because I can't, it's almost to my, my brain kind of
35:28
so, so badly tries to visualize everything that they're trying
35:33
to say. It doesn't come quite so like
35:35
naturally for me. But with Sarah, I don't find it
35:38
too intense. Like like for me, and I know
35:41
that you enjoyed A night in the moth, but like for me, Rachel
35:44
Gillig is one of those that also she's very, very descriptive.
35:48
And I just kind of find myself not knowing what I'm even
35:51
reading. Whereas Sarah, I don't feel like
35:53
that. Yeah, that's interesting.
35:56
So yeah, maybe people who don't normally like that should give
35:59
it a go then, and you can let us know what you think if you do
36:01
read it and you haven't already read it.
36:03
But my last book and I'm going to cheat, but only because I
36:07
read the whole series this year so picking a book is really
36:10
hard. But the Ashes of Bezma series by
36:16
Helen Shearer. The first book is Iron and
36:18
Embers, and then we had we have Fire and Thorns and then Silver
36:23
and Smoke and she released all three this year.
36:27
And it was just such a it was just such a good trilogy.
36:30
It's a spin off from her Blood and Steel series for anyone
36:33
that's read that and it's so worth a read.
36:36
It's nothing, you know, groundbreaking or new, but it's
36:39
just a really well done balance between romance, fantasy, plot,
36:46
world building. It's just an all round well
36:48
balanced series and book. And I would say Ren is
36:54
definitely a character for like the Nestor girls, like anyone
36:59
that's kind of read a guitar and love Nestor as a character that
37:01
kind of like more like tortured soul that kind of like needs to
37:05
find her way again. It hits.
37:08
It hits a spot for that. It just it's just really good.
37:12
I love Helen's writing. Anything that she's written so
37:14
far I've really enjoyed. And everyone.
37:17
I think it should be on everyone's hit list.
37:20
Another one that I still need to read.
37:22
Yeah. And it's one of those that I'm
37:24
like, I'm not sure I feel feel like the series for you is going
37:26
to be like one of those what mood are you in and what you
37:29
fancying at the time? And it's just going to be that.
37:31
Is it your cup of tea? But it is I do, I do think, But
37:36
if you read Blood and Steel, you'll really enjoy it.
37:39
The only thing I would say about the original series is that
37:42
there are some points where I felt like it was like too
37:46
romance intense, like too many like really romantic spice type
37:52
scenes. Because for me, it's very easy
37:55
to topple over into the wrong balance, especially if I'm not
37:58
in the right mood for it. But again, that's a very
38:00
personal preference of mine. So I do think that.
38:04
Most people that enjoy fancy romance will like those books
38:07
because they're really well done.
38:09
Yeah, I think we've said it before, but me and Tor are
38:11
definitely like romantic fantasy people, not fantasy romance or,
38:16
yeah, paranormal romance people. And I think you've said that to
38:20
me before, which is why I've not been putting it off.
38:23
But I've been waiting until I'm like in the mood for it to give
38:26
it something. Like that?
38:27
Yeah, to give it its fairest shot, because so much of my
38:31
taste does depend on mood. So I don't want to, like, go
38:34
into it when I know I'm not in the mood for that and then be
38:37
like, not for me, Yeah. So.
38:40
Yeah. So, Speaking of books that might
38:43
not be for us, what are the books this year?
38:48
The five books that we maybe haven't loved quite so much?
38:52
Do you want to go first? Yeah, I mean, I feel like I've
38:55
really had a year of being like anti things of book talk really
39:00
enjoyed and loves and Braves about.
39:04
So the first one for me would be the Ever King, but I think it's
39:08
LJ Andrews. It was just massive let down.
39:12
I don't understand what all the fuss and hype is about because I
39:15
was actually bored and I really tried to push through as well.
39:18
I think I got to like 60% because I was like, there's got
39:22
to be something about this because people that I really
39:24
trust their opinions on as well have really enjoyed it.
39:27
So I was like, what's happening here, but I was honestly so
39:31
bored. I I didn't have massive let down
39:36
in my opinion. Yeah, I hate when that happens.
39:39
I feel like I've had a pretty good year for book talk books,
39:41
but one that I didn't love and Tori is going to hate me is Soul
39:46
Searching. And that was like a two star
39:51
read for me, which is exceptionally low for a Lila
39:55
Sage book because I love her other books so, so, so much.
39:59
But I was just so bored all the way through and I just couldn't
40:04
get on with the female main character.
40:06
So yeah, unfortunately that was a massive let down.
40:09
But we've spoken about this in the autumn.
40:11
Wrap up one if you want more details.
40:13
If you want to hear us arguing, yeah.
40:17
Yeah, you can go and watch the past videos, but yeah, not a
40:20
good one. OK, my next one is Brimstone.
40:26
So just I just do want to quickly want to say there were
40:29
parts of it that I really enjoyed and I actually haven't
40:34
raced it on good Ridge yet, but I think it will still get like a
40:36
three stars. But for anyone that follows me
40:38
on TikTok or listens on here, that's quite a low rating for
40:43
me. It's hard.
40:45
It's hard to push things under a Fort because I'm so easy to
40:50
please. But again, this is there was an
40:53
issue for me pacing. It's, I feel like I've said that
40:56
word so many times a bit. I think it's so important for my
40:59
personal taste and there's something that isn't being done
41:02
well across Quicksilver and Brimstone is the pacing.
41:06
The 1st 6070% I just feel like, but it's boring.
41:11
There are bits that I enjoy but I'm like, I really enjoy it for
41:15
like 5 minutes and then for ages I'm like what's what's the point
41:20
in this? What is this adding to the
41:22
story? It's not adding to the romance,
41:24
it's not adding to the plot. It's just boring.
41:26
And I think that happened a lot again in Brimstone.
41:29
The ending again was really good.
41:31
The last 30% I was like, oh this is this is juicy.
41:34
Like where's it going? Which is why it got the three.
41:39
But realistically if it didn't have such a good ending it would
41:43
have been like a 1 1/2 two star read for me, which is really low
41:47
for me. Yeah, I didn't.
41:49
But because because I'm so intrigued on that, I think what
41:52
frustrates me and I was supposed to be quit firing through these,
41:55
but what really frustrates me with books like this is when
41:58
they get picked up by publishers.
42:00
Like why isn't this getting picked up on?
42:01
It's got such an interesting plot.
42:05
It's got such an interesting story with an interesting magic
42:09
system and interesting characters.
42:12
Everything about this, if you look at the individual pieces of
42:15
the story, should be absolutely golden.
42:19
But the way it's like put together, it just ruins it.
42:23
Yeah, yeah, I completely agree. I think we've said it before and
42:27
maybe it's a future episode, but like this whole idea of just
42:31
pumping out books fast and not really changing them and editing
42:35
them massively is letting books down.
42:37
My next one is Noctocadia by Kerry Lake.
42:43
So I loved Kerry Lake's other series Anathema and Eldritch,
42:48
but Noctocadia was just again, I think it comes down to what you
42:53
said tour about the balance between like plot and romance.
42:57
Because it started off with this really interesting plot of like
42:59
parasites and this mystery island and this mystery Academy.
43:04
And then once the romance begun everything took a back seat to
43:08
that and it the romance was a bit cringe for me.
43:11
The female main. Character, isn't it?
43:12
Student teacher? Yeah, that should be like
43:15
Academy. Student teacher like love.
43:18
It exactly, it had all the ingredients to make a great
43:21
book, but it just didn't quite deliver.
43:24
And I'd be interested to see what you think because of us
43:27
having that similar to like teacher, student and Academy
43:32
settings, blah, blah, blah. I gave it three stars.
43:35
So it wasn't like massively low or DNFI did get through it.
43:39
Easily a five star for me then. But mostly it was just like I
43:44
wanted the focus to be on the plot and it wasn't.
43:48
And then I got and the ending was anticlimactic.
43:51
So yeah, just wasn't great. But you know what?
43:54
If a three star is in my low lowest five of the year, I'm
43:57
doing pretty well so. OK, OK.
44:02
My next one is Fearless by Lauren Roberts.
44:06
I. I don't want to say I told you
44:10
so, but I told you so, guys. Yeah, I mean, Powerless was fun.
44:15
It was a good time. I enjoyed it.
44:17
Book 2, I already kind of knew by then that I wasn't enjoying
44:21
the series as much. But I do think a lot of books
44:24
have that, like second book, there's a point to a second book
44:27
and they're usually not, as you know, entertaining and
44:30
fast-paced. But Book 3, I think I did after
44:35
like 20 percent, 25%, I was like, this is going nowhere.
44:38
I'm not interested. The bromance has lost me.
44:40
The characters are irritating me.
44:42
We're done. Bada, Bing, bada, boom.
44:44
You're out of here. Yeah.
44:46
Yeah, I mean the less I say on that series, the better I think.
44:52
Speaking of a series my another one of my lowest ones is
44:56
actually a series that I DNF D at book 2 and that's the War of
44:59
Lost Hearts series by Carissa Broadbent.
45:02
Which is crazy because her other series, The Crowns of Niaxia is
45:06
one of my favourites. In 2023 I read Daughter of No
45:11
Worlds and I only gave it three stars.
45:13
I didn't see what everyone else saw in it so I never continued.
45:17
However, I do quite often think about the romance and the love
45:21
interest specifically as a character.
45:24
So I thought, you know what, I'm going to give it another go this
45:25
year. So I reread book 1.
45:27
I did enjoy book one more this time around than I did the first
45:30
time. I ended up changing it from
45:32
three to four. Book 2 DNF.
45:36
I was about 60% of the way through.
45:38
The mood had changed. Everything was so depressing and
45:42
melancholic. They were separated, so there
45:45
wasn't even any like romance to kind of make up for it.
45:49
There was a whole new character and a whole new plot added in.
45:52
It just felt so random and I one of the things that I think
45:55
Carissa doesn't do great in even both series is explore the magic
46:01
system and the world. Some things often feel a bit
46:04
underdeveloped, and that was one thing I struggled with in her
46:09
Crowns of Niaxia Book 3 as well. I just, I just feel like
46:13
sometimes not everything is as well explored as it could be.
46:16
So yeah, I DNF that and that's basically my second DNF of that
46:19
series. Sad times, sad times.
46:24
I need, I need to go back to that series.
46:26
Another one that fills people with hate in the Night and The
46:30
Moth. I just, I couldn't.
46:32
I just, I've tried, I just don't.
46:35
And I've come to realize, I'm sure that if someone maybe
46:39
explain the story to me, I'd probably be like, that sounds
46:42
really interesting and something I'd love because I know that so
46:44
many people absolutely adore it. I just can't get on with her
46:48
writing style. It's not for me.
46:52
I've said I might try it on audio at some point, and I
46:54
might, but no. Yeah, fair.
46:59
I think writing style is so specific, you can't really argue
47:03
with that. If someone says the writing
47:04
style is not for them. I do think you would like the
47:07
plot a lot, so maybe it is one worth trying on audio, but also
47:11
completely understand like different priorities.
47:14
You've got other books you want to read first.
47:16
My next one is again, I DNF D it, but it was like I still gave
47:21
it a three stars because I felt like I didn't DNF it because it
47:25
was awful. It was terrible.
47:26
I hated it. I just knew where it was going
47:28
to go so I just couldn't be bothered.
47:31
And that is a court is cool and lovely.
47:34
That's like it. That is also on my like DNF
47:37
lists of books this year, but I it didn't make the top five.
47:40
Yeah, I feel like you got to like book 2, didn't you, before
47:43
you DNF? Yeah, again, not terrible, not
47:46
horrendous. Writing style was quite nice.
47:49
I was interested in aspects of it.
47:51
However, it just felt like another plated prisoner, another
47:55
actor, another fae romance, see that I've seen 10 billion times
48:00
before and didn't really offer me anything new or different.
48:03
So I just thought I'm just going to cut my losses rather than
48:06
trying to stick it out for the sake of another average book.
48:12
Yeah, OK. I do agree it wasn't.
48:17
It was just very mid. Yeah, it was just fine.
48:21
Yeah, Book 1 I I did enjoy, but it was very mid.
48:24
You kind of knew it. Like you say, you knew where
48:25
everything was going and that's just not.
48:28
Yeah, that's been a theme for me this year.
48:31
I felt like you could change the name of the love interest to
48:34
rape and I wouldn't, you know, know any different, that it
48:37
wasn't actually him sort of thing.
48:39
Yeah, it just felt a bit samey, so yeah.
48:42
I agree. I agree and my last one again
48:46
just overhyped. Not nothing nothing I can say
48:50
that's like this specific reason why I didn't enjoy it.
48:53
But I have DNF literally in the last couple of days.
48:58
The Bond that Burns which is the second book on the on wings of
49:01
blood series. Book 1 was fun, but it was
49:07
disjointed, I want to say. Like I feel like there's so many
49:10
elements of things that have just been like thrown together
49:14
because it's like vampires and Dragons.
49:17
And it almost reminded me a bit of Quicksilver in the beginning
49:20
because she literally like first page wakes up in the middle of
49:22
like another world and she doesn't know how she got there.
49:27
And also there are like, different characters that
49:30
reminded me of, like, parts of it reminded me as if I was
49:35
playing World of Warcraft. Like, it was it.
49:38
That's what I mean. Like, it just felt so disjointed
49:42
in what it was trying to achieve.
49:43
It felt like the author didn't really have a very clear vision
49:47
of what she wanted, but she threw together a lot of elements
49:50
of things that people enjoy. And like I said, like Book 1, I
49:55
enjoyed it. But by Victor I was like this
49:59
really isn't going anywhere but I think I am going to get
50:03
anything out of this book and I have been trying to get through
50:07
book 2 for like 2 months and I just have no desire to pick it
50:10
up. So nothing specific that I'm
50:12
like this was really shit but it just I have no desire to read it
50:16
so why am I trying to read it? Yeah, literally.
50:19
It's just like, if you know something's not going to be a
50:21
four or five star read, what's the point?
50:24
And I feel like that's why my reading year has been a lot
50:27
better this year is because I've got better at identifying those
50:31
reads and just sort of axing them.
50:33
My final one, there was a few that were all sort of similar
50:36
rating and it was a struggle to decide which one.
50:39
But I've gone for Sinners Atone by Some Sketcher, which is the
50:45
4th book in the Sinners Mafia romance series.
50:49
So like, first of all, mafia romance is not, you know, it's
50:53
not one of the big genres that I read.
50:55
I typically only read them when I'm in a slump or like need
50:59
something super light, easy read because I'm stressed or
51:03
something like that. But when I read the first three
51:07
books, I had actually really enjoyed them.
51:10
Specifically books two and three, which are about the
51:12
middle brother Wraith loved. He's one of my favourite book
51:16
boyfriends ever. That duet is great, but book 4
51:22
which is about the other brother, I already have my
51:25
doubts anyway because I didn't love him as a character in the
51:28
didn't like intrigue me in the other books.
51:30
And then when you paired that with the love interest, the
51:34
female main character, I didn't really relate to her either.
51:38
The plot also just felt a bit dead, like nothing was really
51:41
happening and it wasn't as high stakes as some of the other
51:44
mafia parts of books 1-2 and three.
51:47
And I could have easily DNF D it.
51:50
And the only reason I didn't DNF it was because I knew it was
51:52
going to be book one in their duet.
51:54
So I thought well maybe book 2 will be better and which remains
51:58
to be seen. It's not out yet, but yeah, it
52:01
just wasn't, it wasn't great. It didn't really deliver the
52:04
mafia romance and you had to. Wait for ages for it wasn't it?
52:07
So it's like so annoying when you when something so like
52:10
you're anticipating it for so long and then it ends up being
52:14
bit naff. It makes it more annoying.
52:16
Yeah, the way it was like 2 years.
52:18
I, I'm not sure why. So don't you know, don't really
52:23
know anything about it, but yeah, the expectations were high
52:26
and they just weren't really Matt.
52:27
Which is also what happened with A Theory of dreaming.
52:31
But that's that's a review for another day.
52:35
Yeah. So you have had a few let downs
52:37
this year then realistically even though you've had a good
52:39
review? I have definitely, but just not
52:42
as many DNFS and like one stars as last year.
52:45
So we've talked good books and bad books, what we've loved and
52:48
what we've hated. But let's do some just like fun
52:52
quick fire roundups of the other bookish things that we have
52:57
loved and hated this year, Book that made us cry in 2025.
53:02
I feel like I've cried at loads this year.
53:04
You know, obviously I already said which is Guide to Magical
53:07
Innkeeping, but I think the biggest book that made me cry is
53:11
actually Blood over Bright Haven because never have I cried a
53:14
book 9 pages in before. Like that's one.
53:18
That's really that's really impressive from the author, to
53:20
be honest. Yeah, and it wasn't just me
53:23
because I, you know, we talked about it with Luce in our
53:25
interview with Luce. I've since seen that.
53:27
She said in her review that she also cried on like 9 pages in.
53:32
So. Yeah, that one definitely made
53:35
me so if you. Cried.
53:36
I'm going to cry. Yeah, you will.
53:40
I can't really. It's like one of those like
53:42
typical. I can't really think.
53:43
I can only think of one book that made me cry.
53:45
I definitely would have cried at other things, but Onyx Storm,
53:49
like I the girls have multiple pictures and videos of me
53:55
sobbing at the end of that book like I was fucking inconsolable
54:00
over something I never would have even thought I'd cry about.
54:03
But I yeah, I was, I was unwell at the end of that book.
54:07
I can't even. Remember what what it was that
54:10
you cried at? Someone died.
54:13
In book 3. Oh, yes.
54:16
Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
54:17
I was thinking of book two. Yeah.
54:19
OK. Yeah.
54:20
In book three. Got you.
54:22
I was. Yeah.
54:22
I was unwell. Yeah.
54:25
Yeah. I get that now, OK.
54:26
Funniest book for 2025? That's a hard one, actually.
54:30
Wait. I do feel like I have read some
54:34
funny books, but now my mind has gone blank.
54:36
Oh yeah, I know what it is. The irresistible urge to fall
54:39
for your enemy, which is like one of the dramini ones that was
54:43
traditionally published. It was originally Draco Malfoy
54:46
in the mortifying ordeal of falling and being in love.
54:49
Falling in love, that is. That 1 is so funny because it's
54:53
very like, quirky banter back and forth between them.
54:59
And he's just like this assassin who is put in this weird,
55:04
awkward situation with her and he's just not having a good time
55:07
with it. And it's really funny.
55:08
It's like sarcastic banter. So yeah, definitely that one, I
55:11
think. What about you?
55:12
I still haven't. I still I still have not read a
55:15
dramini and I haven't read any of the rewrites.
55:20
I'm giving up, guys. She's not going to do it.
55:22
I know it. I will at some point I will, I
55:24
will, I will. So funniest books of 2025.
55:27
I have a couple, right? And I I'll put fire through
55:29
them. The first one was God, what's it
55:32
called? 7 rules?
55:34
Is it 7 rules for the perfect marriage or something?
55:37
And it was, I got this proof from Bloomsbury.
55:41
And it's just, it's just like a romance book.
55:43
I took it on holiday. And it's so funny just because
55:46
it was so relatable. There was a lot about the main
55:49
character in it, like does social media.
55:52
So that was like a lot of very relatable things about like what
55:56
you optically give out to the rest of the world and what's
55:59
been what's going on behind the scenes, especially within a
56:01
marriage. And like how much effort goes
56:03
into what you put out to the Internet.
56:06
But also just I think a lot of romances are done from like a
56:09
meeting perspective and then like a happily ever after.
56:13
This was like a very realistic, you get married.
56:16
Like things go a bit stale. Like you come up against
56:19
challenges, like how do you make it work?
56:21
And just some of the like arguments and things that
56:24
happened. It was so realistic and
56:26
hilarious. And then I reread Zodiac Academy
56:31
this year and then read Dark More and again, just the twisted
56:34
sisters in that whole world. Just no one does it like them.
56:38
I cried with laughter so many times during that reread and my
56:41
first read of Dark More that they're just.
56:45
I laughed a lot reading this year.
56:46
Actually, a lot. Yeah, I mean, the Twisted
56:49
Sisters are just hilarious, aren't they?
56:51
They're just so funny. OK, Biggest bookish ick of 2025.
56:57
I have go. 1st. My biggest?
57:02
Thing. I don't think it will be.
57:04
Mine is a specific type of character that authors keep
57:08
writing and that is the pick me bubbly, quirky female main
57:13
character. I have seen this in books so
57:16
often recently where it's like she's so happy, she's telling
57:20
you she's really happy. She's always positive she's
57:23
looking on the bright side. Except anytime the male main
57:26
character gives her a little bit of banter, she starts to cry.
57:30
And also the fact that she's like this female main character
57:34
always wearing quirky patent sparkly girly things and he's
57:38
never seen any woman like that before.
57:40
What do you mean she's wearing patent clothing?
57:42
Oh my God, never seen anything like it before.
57:44
Like so fucking pick me. I can't cope and it's everywhere
57:49
at the moment. I'm not going to name names with
57:51
the books but it's everywhere and I can't stand it.
57:53
It needs to stop. I feel like, I mean, you're
57:56
going to need to tell me the books.
57:57
So I'm like I'm struggling to think of any.
58:00
I can think of a few. One of them, I will say, is a
58:02
recent Christmas romance that I just read.
58:05
Oh, did you treat good spirits? Yeah, I love that book.
58:10
I didn't hate the book, but that was in there for sure.
58:15
I just don't even. I think that's the thing though,
58:16
is that sometimes if something's irritating you, pick up on it
58:19
everywhere. Like because that isn't like a
58:21
specific thing for me. I'm like.
58:23
And it's not the first time I'd read it.
58:24
Whereas like, if you've only just read that, you're not going
58:28
to notice it. Yeah, Beth, Speaking of pick me
58:32
behaviour, I it's like this this whole book talk thing at the
58:39
moment of like begging, publicly begging for books.
58:44
I just it just listen each to their own, but I just I just
58:52
find it so cringy. I can't possibly watch it.
58:57
I have to scroll past the videos because I just I can't stand it.
59:04
It's just very icky to me. And what it irritates me even
59:07
more is publishers giving into it because I'm like, if you're
59:10
not, you're. This kind of goes into a broader
59:14
topic that I think needs a full episode.
59:17
I think part of the problem with the publishing industry right
59:20
now, so many people from the community are finding their way
59:23
into the publishing industry. And then they're just like
59:28
picking people for reasons that are not about marketing the
59:31
book. So people are like beg, beg,
59:33
beg, beg, beg, beg, beg for these books.
59:35
I'm like pestering for them, get them, but they're getting so
59:37
many proofs. They're not reading them and
59:39
they're not actually marketing it very well to the people that
59:42
you as the publisher want reading that book.
59:46
And I just see that as it's such a business brain, but I just see
59:51
that as such a waste of resources, time and money.
59:55
It makes no sense to me. Yeah, I fully agree.
59:58
That's also a bookish ick of mine and definitely needs a
1:00:02
whole episode because there's so many things that tie into it and
1:00:06
such a larger scale issue with the publishing industry as a
1:00:09
whole. But.
1:00:11
Both was me and tour come from corporate working jobs and mine
1:00:15
is marketing and communication specifically.
1:00:17
So I definitely have thoughts. And I feel like, yeah, the, the
1:00:21
main issue with the way they market books is that it's an
1:00:25
echo chamber. They're giving proofs to people
1:00:27
who are already interested in the book who are barely showing
1:00:30
it, But when they are, they're showing it to people who are
1:00:32
already interested and know about the book and it's already
1:00:34
on their TBR anyway. And then that is just like a
1:00:36
cycle that repeats until everyone you're following is
1:00:40
only reading the same books. And that is part of the reason
1:00:42
I've like not been as active on book talk this year is because
1:00:45
I'm not finding any, barely any content is useful to me at the
1:00:49
moment. So yeah, I mean, whole different
1:00:52
episode. Like we said, let us know in the
1:00:53
comments if you do want us to go into that and want to talk about
1:00:56
it more if you have thoughts as well, because we definitely
1:00:58
could dive into that next one. Biggest bookish surprise of the
1:01:03
year Whether it's a good surprise or a negative surprise,
1:01:05
like a book that just didn't meet your expectations or really
1:01:09
exceeded them. I've had a few moments this year
1:01:12
in terms of surprises. A book that really surprised me
1:01:16
was Julie Chan is Dead. Wasn't expecting to read it.
1:01:19
It's not the type of book I'd ever pick up, so wasn't
1:01:22
expecting to get the proof. But kind of part of what you
1:01:25
just said about the echo chamber, that was way outside of
1:01:27
my remit actually. And when I did content about
1:01:29
that, like it was responded to really well.
1:01:31
Maybe because it's not my usual, but it was such a good book.
1:01:34
That was a great bookish surprise.
1:01:36
The second bookish surprise that I just loved this year was
1:01:41
getting invited to 2nd Skies event to meet Kaylee Smith and
1:01:45
then finding out Adeline Grace was going to be there as a guest
1:01:47
star. And then on top of that Adeline
1:01:51
Grace showing me the very secret front cover for her newest adult
1:01:56
romancy that's releasing next year.
1:01:58
That was like peak bookish what the fuck is my life moment since
1:02:03
joining Booked ARC. It was very cool.
1:02:06
Yeah, that is exciting. I feel like mine is more of like
1:02:10
a book that exceeded my expectations, which is Night in
1:02:13
the Moth. Tor didn't love that, which I
1:02:15
totally understand because I was in the minority with one dark
1:02:18
window and didn't enjoy. That.
1:02:20
Which was why the night in the Moth was such a pleasant
1:02:23
surprise for me because all of the issues I had with one dark
1:02:27
window, I felt were like rectified in Night in the Moth.
1:02:30
And I absolutely loved the inspiration for the world and
1:02:37
the themes being that it was like old English medieval based
1:02:41
on sort of English religion. And I could just picture this,
1:02:44
these beautiful like abbeys and cathedrals in my mind.
1:02:48
The writing style I I really liked.
1:02:50
And also I really enjoyed the male love interest a lot.
1:02:54
He is one of my favorites of this year.
1:02:55
So that was a really good pleasant surprise.
1:02:58
Not so pleasant surprise was, as I mentioned earlier, A Theory of
1:03:02
Dreaming by Ava Reed. A Study in Drowning was a five
1:03:05
star book for me, one of my favourite YA fantasies ever.
1:03:09
And unfortunately, A Study, a Theory of Dreaming just didn't
1:03:13
live up to that book one. It just wasn't as much magic,
1:03:18
there wasn't as much fantasy. The plot felt quite low stakes.
1:03:22
And yeah, it was it was fine, but it was not for five star
1:03:26
like studying drowning. So yeah, couple of couple of
1:03:30
little surprises there, but you win some.
1:03:32
Yeah, give me a word that describes your 2025.
1:03:38
Chaotic, chaotic. I've had so many good moments
1:03:44
this year, but also some tougher ones.
1:03:46
And, you know, I've had a lot of career changes and things like
1:03:49
that this year, so it's kind of been like all over the place.
1:03:52
Yeah, that's what's your, I feel like successful, transformative.
1:03:59
I feel like, you know, podcast like normal work's been going
1:04:05
quite well this year. I've obviously lost a lot of
1:04:08
weight this year, which I've worked really hard on.
1:04:14
I just think it's been a very like steady uphill state year
1:04:20
for me. I think it makes me kind of
1:04:22
worry for what 2026 might bring, but I have a very positive
1:04:26
outlook going into 2026. And I feel like I've, I've, I
1:04:32
feel like I personally have achieved so much this year for
1:04:37
myself from like content to like personal image, like podcasts,
1:04:43
my career. I just, yeah, I think I've got a
1:04:47
lot to be proud of from this year.
1:04:49
And I think that that's really nice feeling to have at the end
1:04:52
of the year as opposed to a lot of regret from a year.
1:04:55
Do you know what you mean? It's a nice change of pace.
1:04:58
Yeah, I I would agree with that. I think you've had a very, very
1:05:01
amazing year, lots to lots to kind of reflect on and and lots
1:05:05
that you've achieved. So Speaking of end of the year
1:05:08
in 2026, what is a word you want for 2026 to describe your year?
1:05:13
I think if I was going to pick one word, I would say success.
1:05:18
I think I've got really high aspirations for what I want to
1:05:23
achieve next year and a plan of a plan that I want to make to
1:05:29
make that happen. Like I'm very set in myself this
1:05:32
year that this next few weeks. Well, as we hit 2026, I want to
1:05:37
and I've already started working on kind of reflections from the
1:05:40
year going in 2026. And I really want to create very
1:05:44
strong planning goals to have an even more successful 2026.
1:05:48
So your success is the word that I would use for what I want next
1:05:52
year. I was also going to pick
1:05:54
success, but since you picked it, I'm going to pick some a
1:05:57
word that I feel needs to happen to make the success, and that is
1:06:02
discipline. I think in 2026 I need to be
1:06:05
really, really disciplined in a lot of different ways.
1:06:08
This year, I felt like every time I got kind of on a track of
1:06:12
progress and success, something would kind of derail it.
1:06:15
And then I would let that derail for a long time before I got
1:06:19
back to being consistent, whether that be work, sort of
1:06:24
fitness, like anything like that.
1:06:26
I just would get progress, derail, stay derailed and then
1:06:29
try again. So I would like to be really
1:06:32
disciplined in 2026. And I've set myself quite
1:06:35
intense goals specifically for health and for content and
1:06:41
getting back to doing content much more than I have this year.
1:06:44
So fingers crossed that I can be disciplined guys because that is
1:06:48
not my Forte. Both of us will be
1:06:51
accountability buddies. OK.
1:06:53
So to round off our quick fire end of the year questions, what
1:06:58
has been your best moment in 2025?
1:07:01
I mean, it's really hard because like we just said, I've had a
1:07:04
really good year, but it's so cheesy.
1:07:06
But to bring it back to the kids they had last last week or the
1:07:11
week before they Enzo had his nativity.
1:07:14
He's only four and he like you could hear every word that he
1:07:17
was singing on stage with a huge group of people and literally
1:07:20
probably 100 adults in this like theatre.
1:07:22
He's literally in nursery. And the same week Zola had her
1:07:26
nativity, first time she had like her own line to say.
1:07:30
And in the same day as her school nativity, she had a
1:07:34
performing arts club performance that evening.
1:07:36
And she did the greatest showman with her own lines and her own
1:07:38
songs and her own dance moves. And again, she's only 5.
1:07:41
And I was just like, wow, like what?
1:07:44
What amazing kids I've grown. So I think that was really,
1:07:49
really like making me emotional. Really lovely moment for me at
1:07:52
the end of this year. It was really nice.
1:07:54
That is so cute. And I feel like I need to see
1:07:56
photos and videos, especially of my little queen Zola.
1:08:00
She's like, guys, she's. The fucking cutest.
1:08:03
And we're like. Oh, they just make me so proud.
1:08:05
They really, they really do. They do me and Carl very proud.
1:08:08
So yeah, that was great. Yeah, that is great.
1:08:10
I feel like mine can't really live up to that.
1:08:14
I have not grown humans guys who have performed.
1:08:18
What I have done this year is interviewed and met Adrian Young
1:08:21
and I think that was just cycle. It was just a really lovely
1:08:25
moment in a tough few months as well.
1:08:27
And not to get too deep, but my granddad was really poorly and I
1:08:30
just spent a lot of lots of time going backwards and forwards and
1:08:33
backwards and forwards and travelling and I was so burnt
1:08:35
out. So when I got to do this and it
1:08:37
was like last minute, I only found out I was doing it two
1:08:40
days before, you know, a favorite author of both mine and
1:08:44
Tour, really getting to meet her, getting to film content
1:08:47
with her, hearing about her writing journey and the book
1:08:50
that she's recently released, Fallen City.
1:08:53
It was just such a lovely reminder of all the hard work
1:08:56
that I've done for book talk and content, but also like why I do
1:09:00
it. And it was just great
1:09:02
inspiration creatively as well to hear from an author that you
1:09:05
admire so much. So that was that was a really
1:09:08
definitely an up there moment. And then I think like
1:09:11
personally, just how my career is going has been quite a good
1:09:15
moment this year because I had a tough couple of years with with
1:09:18
a job as Tornos that I wasn't very happy in.
1:09:21
And that has completely changed this year.
1:09:23
And it's made a very big difference to my mental
1:09:26
well-being. So yeah, those those were some
1:09:29
key really great moments of the year, I think.
1:09:32
Oh, what a positive note for us to both land on So nice.
1:09:36
And we've had I feel like we both we've had an amazing year
1:09:40
and we're so thankful to every single person that has like
1:09:44
subscribed, shared our staff, like interacted with us.
1:09:48
Come on the podcast, Smitty loose Andy, like it's just been
1:09:52
such a fantastic year. And you know, we have high hopes
1:09:56
for next year and we really hope that you stick with us.
1:10:00
We're going to take a nice little break over Christmas for
1:10:02
both of us. We need to rest and recharge and
1:10:04
take time from podcasting content and jobs and winds down
1:10:09
a little bit. So please come back next year
1:10:13
when we're ready to give you more content.
1:10:16
Subscribe and we'll see you in 2026.
1:10:21
Bye.