Latest / Fated / Favorite Tropes and The One Book that Changed it All
Transcript
- Tay: Welcome to the podcast where your next favorite story is already written in the stars. April: Where are your new book besties, April? Tay: and Tay here to get your book cravings started and satisfied. April: Why? Because around here, it's faded. Tay: It's faded. grab your current read and make a cozy drink, hide your TDR list because today we're talking about our favorite tropes and the one book that changed everything for us. April: Now, before we dive in, here's a little bit about us. We didn't just start a podcast. We started as two girls who couldn't stop talking about our love of books and Taylor Swift. Plus, it helps when you become friends with your boss. ⁓ Tay: Yeah, yeah, I hired you. I don't recommend that anybody listening right now. It was, you know, all in fate. And that's kind of why we decided to go with this title because I hired April. I immediately knew I was like, ⁓ man, like, I'm going to trap her and make her my friend. We have way too many things in common. This is meant to be. Luckily, she didn't stick around long. She decided to quit on me. ⁓ April: Yes. Tay: just, know, which is fine. But then I was like, cool, great. That means I'm not your boss anymore. So now we're really gonna hang out. So, so sorry. April: Yeah, now we can be friends. but that's great. I feel like some of the relationships in your life actually come from the people that you're around. ⁓ I that that's really awesome that it worked out that way. And thank goodness I quit. ⁓ Tay: Yeah, I think you can make friends as an adult. Yeah, no, that's great. Yeah, it was a benefit for me and you know, I will try to be better in the future, but I can't make any promises. April: Yes. Right? So when I think of kind of like what got our friendship started, I think about talking about the books that we loved. And so I think of our top favorite tropes that we love to read. So what are some of your favorite top tropes that you ⁓ Tay: I love me a good billionaire. I love a man with money. I, you know, there's just something about like making love in a penthouse miles of everything. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it just makes it, yeah, magically no one's looking and it's always like over in New York, over Seattle, over these like major glamorous cities, you know, and ⁓ giving that effect that we just love and. April: The glass is surrounding everything and magically nobody's looking. Tay: Yeah, so I'm gonna definitely recommend if you love billionaires to read The Stopover by T.L. Short synopses of this book, Emily Foster and Jameson Miles are on a plane together, all flirty, flirtatious. They end up having a stopover and they shack up. They go, that was really fun. I had a great time. They part ways. A year passes. Emily is now going to work April: Mm-hmm. Tay: at this company and who happens to be the CEO? Jameson Miles. Super, super good. This is the first book in the Miles High Club and I can recommend all of them, but this one definitely sets the tone for the rest of the series and it's ⁓ good. So highly recommend, but I love me a good billionaire. What about you April? Give me a trope of yours. April: Of course, of course he is. Mm-hmm. know, billionaires are really good. I recently read In Good Company by Kat Singleton, ⁓ that is definitely a billionaire romance that I think was done pretty well. So yeah, I like that. But I say I tend to lean more towards forced proximity probably one of my most favorite tropes. Like you are stuck with person. Now it can lead into enemies and lovers, which I'll talk about here in a minute, but Tay: Hmm. April: Forced proximity, you are forced to be around this person for whatever circumstance. the book that I can think of that I most recently with forced proximity was The Right Move by Liz Tomforde. ⁓ So ⁓ thank for holding it up. If you are watching, Taylor is so nice to have the book shown there, beautiful cover. But it has Indy Ryan, and Ryan is like this big NBA superstar, and Indy is going through a breakup. a different character, which is really great. I also really love when they're leaving kind of like a toxic situation and finding the person that's meant for them. But she's leaving that relationship and forced to have to move in with her best friend's brother too, which is another micro trope in here for people who really like that trope because I know it's popular. It is, it's so good. ⁓ And suddenly, know, you're forced to live with somebody that you maybe necessarily wouldn't. Tay: Yeah. April: live with normally. So down, so good. Tay: I love me a good force proximity. I really do. And it's also too, it just builds the tension even more so when they finally have that like collision, it is like just peak. It's like, I'm like, I have had so many moments like that where I sit there and I squeal when they finally get together, but it's like worth the wait because of the forced proximity because they're like making like, you know, innuendos at one another and they pass one another and it's just, I love it. It's so good. Thank you. ⁓ April: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Tay: I actually recommended that one to you, so I'm grateful that you included that one. So, so good. I love the Windy series. Another one I can think of that kind of fits that same category is grumpy sunshine. I love me a good grumpy sunshine. I love when the character, which is, you know, people could say enemies to lovers, and I do cherish that one, and we'll talk about that one in a second. I think me and you share that one in common, April: Mm-hmm. Tay: Grumpy Sunshine, I just, know, when the girl is so positive or even sometimes when it's reversed, you know, the person is, guy is the sunshine and the girl's grumpy. Like I just love it either direction. I'm gonna recommend Down by Tessa Bailey. ⁓ Let me tell you, this is grumpy sunshine to a T. Wells Whitaker and Josephine Boyles. Josephine is like this like happy go lucky super talented golfer who is trying to save her parents golf place which is called the Golden T. And she needs the money. Wells is kind of this grumpy at the end of his career golfer she's everything that he needs to get back into the game. So he hires her on as a caddy so she can start earning money to help her parents Golden T there's a specific scene this book and I'll kind of derail off this cause it has to be shared. It is so golden, but she like rolls her ankle and her like April: You Tay: is like in her shoe and everything. And he's like, we have to check to make sure there's no broken bones or anything. She's like, no, no, no, it's fine. She's trying to get him to stop. And he takes her shoe off and painted on her toes, it says Wells. And then he takes, and then he's like, like literally says his name on her toe, on her toenails spelled out. And then he takes off the other shoe and it says Bells, Wells Bells, which is what she calls her fan club for him. Cause she loves him as a golfer. that moment, he's like, I have never seen anything like this, but I'm so turned on in my life seeing my name on her toes. I, y'all know me as a friend. I have a thing. I hate feet. I hate feet so much, but reading that in a book made me laugh so hard. I was literally about to pee my pants because it was so funny. I was like, he is so hot and bothered off of this Wells Bells toes. but it was so cute. Their chemistry is undeniable, but he is so grumpy. She is so sunny. I love it so, so, so much. So that is my recommendation for sure for a ground visa. April: Well, I can't say I've ever read a book where he is turned on by his name being on her toes. So that's the best. Tay: It died. It was like, it was too good. The first foot, like it describes perfectly of him taking off the sock, sees the shoe and then takes off the other one and then it reads and he's like, I cannot believe, I cannot believe she has my name on her toes. And he was just so in love with it. So I loved it too though. April: That's so great. I love that. See, Grumpy Sunshine is just like an adorable one. And I think that we tend to see that in a lot of books that have like a lot of that really fun humor, which makes it a really nice, like when you're feeling like you're having like a little bit of a reading slump to read a Grumpy Sunshine book is top-notch because they're just full of humor, which is always nice. But I, and I know a lot of people are probably going to relate to this, but Enemies to Lovers is probably right up there, one of my most top favorite choices of tropes. And when I was trying to think of some books, I knew you would have things to say about this book. So the book that I'm holding up for those who aren't watching is Kingdom of the Wicked by Carrie Maniscalco. And I have so many thoughts and feelings about this book and I know you do too. Tay: I, yeah, 10 out of 10. April: It is such a good book series too. But in this book, about, it really kind of revolves around in the beginning about sisterhood. she is, Emilia is her name and she has a twin sister, Victoria, they are witches her kind of goes missing. so it becomes this story of like her trying to get back her sister, but ⁓ she needs the from a certain person named Wrath ⁓ who I don't want to spoil too much about the book because I feel like there's so many things that you find out later on in the series, but they are forced to be together and it is like tension and yearning to the max. I mean, she really makes you wait for the payoff in these books, in order to get to the first time when they are together. Tay: No, I was texting you when I was reading this book continuously. I was like, I am on the edge of my seat, but I'm also so pissed off. I was like, because I loved it. It was so good. It kept me reading. I was very interested in it, but also to the payoff. The payoff was so worth it. April: Yeah. Yes! Mm-hmm. It is, yeah. She really did a great job of making you really want it, really want it, be super invested in the characters and the plot of the story too is great. So hands down, probably one of the best enemies to lovers that I have read. Another book though that I feel like would be a crime that I did not mention it is the Book of Azrael. So this one is by Amber V. Nicole ⁓ I know this book is actually super, super popular. Whereas feel like Kingdom of the Wicked is criminally underhyped, this book is actually I think appropriately hyped. So in this one, we have Diana and she is essentially this creature ⁓ is all bad. she has been made from a human ⁓ into this creature the big baddie guy. ⁓ And she has meet with this named Liam, who is kind of like her exact opposite in everything. They're actually enemies, true, true enemies. their peoples have been killing each for a very long time. he's a god. so it's just really, it's just a really great enemies to lovers book where ⁓ they are enemies. Like they, they try killing each other in the beginning. They are, they are trying to end each other in this book. then it's just, flips and it's like they truly get to know each other and realize that maybe they're not so different, which is probably one of my most favorite things about the enemies to lovers trope. Tay: want to read that one so bad you have told me constantly about that book. So that one is going to be definitely next on my TBR and I'm probably going to bump it above others. I'm sure our listeners here are thinking the same thing when they come across a book and they're like, I just have to read that and I want to read it now. ⁓ And there was a period of time probably over the last like four months where I was reading like back to back fantasy and I kind of broke it up with like April: Mm-hmm. Tay: sports romance and other things to kind of throw, you know, something different in between. Like we were talking about needing that grumpy sunshine to kind of just like give me a laugh or two because sometimes fantasy reads can be so heavy there's a lot of plot in them, a of world building. And that one definitely is like it, yeah, like it sounds so good though. I love me some good enemies to levers. I have actually an enemies to levers rec as well. This is going to be a kingdom of stars and shadows. So April: They thick. ooooh Tay: Holly Renee is definitely more of a contemporary author. This was kind of like her touch into fantasy. And let me tell you, I love it. I love a quick fantasy. never thought I would, you know, cause she kind of briefly touches on the world building, doesn't get too involved into it. but in essence, in this book, have Evren, who is our main male character. We have Endara and Endara is star blessed ⁓ she goes to get married to the Prince. I can't remember his name, so sorry. Evren is actually his brother and immediately from the get-go, there's a lot of tension and a lot of anger towards one another. there's whole stipulation of like, don't touch her kind of thing. You can't because your brother is marrying her kind of thing. And so he finds creative ways with, I will say a spine of a book, ⁓ to help our female main character. I know it is a good one. April: Eww. WHA- Tay: it is one of my favorites, but it also very quick read. So if you are starting fantasy, this to me is actually a really great lead in for that. because she is used to writing contemporary, she's touching into fantasy now. This is a really good starter book if you're wanting to dip your toe into a fantasy world. So, and then you can go on to bigger authors like SJM who has entire, like three different universes of major scale and size. And we can go into that in another day, but definitely. great enemies to lovers read. And I think me and April here can agree, like that is one of our favorites. It is like so good. I love when there's just tension and hate and then you know what that hate turns into. April: Yes. yes. Holly Renee, feel like, you said, is a great to fantasy because then you have you know, these books, like I was talking about, The Kingdom of the Wicked, which is not too heavy fantasy, but like the Book of Azrael is definitely pretty heavy fantasy for some people. So her books are really short. series is actually really short. And I think that they are a great intro, like you said. So that is great. And... Plus, I feel like we can speak to this. We both recently met Holly Renee and she was fabulous. Tay: She's a phenomenal human being. She led FaceTime with a friend of ours who wasn't able to make it. And she just made the experience just ⁓ one genuine because then ⁓ enjoy the but then you also enjoy the person who wrote them and get to see like a behind the scenes of their true character. ⁓ that just you want to buy everything that they have because honestly, ⁓ if you're to be ⁓ ugly nasty, you write a good book. I kind of don't want to buy your stuff after that. just doesn't give me like a good warm fuzzy feeling. And so she gave me all the feelings. Love her. April: Yeah. Mm-hmm. it of goes along with, just authors who are just really, really great. I'm so excited to talk about my next trope. I chose for my third most favorite trope, Touch Her You're Deleted. I I knew when I of the perfect book series really for it by Laura Thalassa is her Bewitched series. Now, Tay: you April: The third book in the series is coming out, I think in August. I think it got moved to August for the release date. But the very first book in the series is called Bewitched. And this series is, it's like a light fantasy, I would say, where the main character is a witch. She's a young witch named Selene And she to join this coven of witches, which a coven almost acts as like a college is kind of what I would compare it to in this series. in order to like get to become a member of this coven, she has to go on like sort of like a magical journey. ⁓ she goes South and something drags her plane from the sky. Okay. Her plane literally crashes. ⁓ Everyone's worst nightmare, right? She them, but in saving them, she comes upon ⁓ this tomb and opens the tomb. then that is, of course, where we're going to meet Memnon, who is out to get her. It kind of feeds into a little bit of maybe enemies to lovers. But I will say incredible series and probably one of the best examples I can think of of like touch her and you are done. You are off this earth because he does not let anybody touch Selene only him, which is delicious. Yes. Tay: I mean, the guy was living in a coffin. I wouldn't mess with him either. just not even knowing his woman, I'd be like, you scare me, sir. But like added with the woman flair when they're like touch her and die. Like he really means it. He's like, sorry. April: Mm-hmm. Yes. It is so good. And I feel like that's another series that is criminally underhyped. I personally love out of the series. Now, ⁓ is two books out plus the novella and the novella is probably one of my most favorite books I've ever read. It's so good. Like Laura Thalassa's writing has really just gotten so good since her bargainer series. A lot of people recognize her from that series, but I'm telling you, if you have not picked up Bewitched yet, ⁓ missing out. ⁓ Tay: Mmm. have met her also in person and she is wonderful. Like she's one of those authors. It's like, you you meet her and then you want to buy everything because you're so sweet. I thank you for recommending that for our listeners. They need something to look forward to. ⁓ Honestly, have so many tropes that we know and love. I will give an honorable mention to one of mine, a one bed trope. I think we've seen that. love that when they are like, it's, which is kind of like forced proximity in some regards, but forced proximity to the extreme of like in a room, a singular room, singular bed. They have to share one. And most recently I read the latest list, Liz Tomforde in her own league. she an of a baseball team. He is the general manager. and they go on one of the trips a game. April: Mm-hmm. Tay: her room is too hot, his is too cold, but in his room he can keep her warm. Need I say less? It's so good. So I love me a good one bed trope. There is a lot of them, but this was the most recent read actually just finished. So, so good. ⁓ Give me your honorable mention, Apey April: together is perfect. Okay, so my honorable mention Found Family, which I feel like is a micro trope in so many books, especially romantic books. There's a lot of Found Family in those. I chose a book that I actually read a long time ago, and that is The Coppersmith Farmhouse by Devney Perry. This is kind of the book that started it all for her, which I think is really great because it is such an incredible story. we have Gigi and and her daughter are... moving their entire lives to this town in Montana. And there they meet Jess, who is the town sheriff. it's kind of just like this beautiful story of not only her finding love, but also finding like a support system of family in the people that live in that town. I just, stories get me found family, feel like, especially as adults, you really do find your people. it's really nice to read stories about people. who find their people who have their backs in. This is such a great example of that. So if you are a fan of Devne Perry, that is definitely one I feel like most people have read, but it's good, Tay: Yeah. I feel like I can really relate to found family too in that regard of a little bit about me. I'm an only child. ⁓ so for me, I didn't have siblings growing up. So for me, it was a lot of relying on, you know, being around my parents who were older and then they were around other older adults. and then finding people who kind of related to me on like a sisterly level. And I would say that's what our friendship has morphed into is I really lean on those bonds. I actually, April: Mm-hmm. Tay: April has an older sister who I call most mornings on my way to work. So shout out to Atron. She is the bee's knees. I'm grateful that I was able to acquire her through April. It was kind of like a legal deal. It was like, if you're going to be my friend, I also have this older sister and she's lonely as well. ⁓ So we all friends now. we just have this four trifecta. We have a friend named Mo and she is April: Yes. Yes. ⁓ Tay: honestly one of the like glue of this four friendship that we have. And I look forward to our conversations every day, but definitely they're my found family. You're part of that. When I read that in a book, it just makes my heart happy because you know, that's kind of how I felt. I didn't have people I could talk to every day and now I do. And it's great. April: for Tay: Actually, that feels like non-honorable mention worthy. I feel like that needs to be just kicked up the top four. We won't even that category. Be best. ⁓ April: Right. best, the most wholesome friendships. Yes. And with that, when I think of reading, Found Family is one that I feel like really draws people in because a lot of people do relate to that, right? But also the books, when I think of the books that got me into reading, a lot of those had themes of Found Family. Tay: Mm. April: for me, when ⁓ ⁓ know people are like, I've read my whole life. Well, yes, technically we all have all ⁓ our entire lives. But ⁓ think about the books that have just really stuck with you. And I will say like, ⁓ I with reading as a kid. I was not somebody who was a strong reader. But then I found, and I'm talking like little me found in my horse girl days, Kay, Tay: Mm-hmm. April: The Black Stallion and Black Beauty Books. Yes, I was a horse girl, okay? But I will tell you, those books me so into reading. I ⁓ own probably four different copies of Black Beauty, okay, on my shelf, proudly displayed. Everybody come and look at them. They're beautiful. It's a beautiful story of found horse family. Tay: Yeah. still. April: it's it's the books like that that draw you in and get you reading and then you start to discover other things. So then that was like, after I got into reading, you know, my horse books, I found Tamora and she wrote the song of the lioness, which I feel like is also criminally underhyped. It was my first of like true kind of fantasy books, but it's about this girl who goes out and she's kind of like the savior, you know, the chosen one trope. those books were fabulous. then, you know, I got a little bit older and we had Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, which was a retelling, which makes me think, that's probably why I really like ACOTAR these days is because of the retelling stories. So and I know what you're going to talk about ⁓ the book to end all that changed everything for everybody. Twilight. Tay: Yeah. You... Yeah. I I will you there was some type of crack that Stephanie Meyer just added to those books that just like as a 12 13 year old person reading that was just completely life-changing and I I mean I was kind of along the same lines as you like I I read my whole life I Probably took a gap for a while of thinking books were like in a not cool phase April: Yes. Tay: then my dad, who is ultimately a huge reader as well, was like, you know, really you should get back into reading. And I honestly, found it as like an outlet, because there was a lot of times when things weren't so good on the exterior, but I found I could lose myself if I read, and I could just build this whole world in my mind. Stephanie Meyer in her Twilight books was like my first, like true yearning in a book and how, I don't even think April: Mm-hmm. Tay: that they kiss until like book two, maybe three. And I didn't realize that till years later. I'm reading these books and I couldn't like, but then as an adult, I'm rereading it and I'm like, they didn't even kiss. They're just like holding hands and like looking at one another. But this whole time I could have believed that they kissed on page one. ⁓ of how involved I was when I read them, when I was like 12 and 13 and they were such, I remember going to midnight releases of the movies. I remember lining up at Hot Topic to meet Taylor Lautner. I invested. April: Yeah. Right? Tay: Like in my mind, I was like, he's going to see me and fall in love, which I kind of did manifest that he did marry someone named Tay because Taylor also married another Taylor. Shout out to them because they seem great. But I was like, he's going to see this Taylor and love me. That did not go down. He was like, I'm going to sign your thing. Hello. Nice to meet you. Goodbye. I replayed that over and over again. I was like, we're in love. ⁓ He know it. ⁓ April: you Manifested that, yes. Right? It is everything. Yes. Tay: But that was like the first Kickstarter and then after that I was hooked. I was reading books like ever more, I cannot at the top of my head remember the character names that I remember. There was something about him giving her red tulips and they met un dying love. So I had red tulips all over my room growing up because I was like, I'm her, it's me. Like I just, I was so invested in fantasy romance at such an early age that I... April: Yeah Tay: They just morphed into this beautiful thing as an adult and I just love it so, much. definitely, yeah, I'm going to go back to Stephanie. I'll give her the tip of the hat, all the things. she really knew how to capture a reader and an author. And then of course there's other authors along the way who kind of ping ponged off of her. E.L. James was a huge one. She kind of took a spin on that and turned it into something ⁓ dark and kinky go her because there was so many older women, I think in that turn of phrase that needed that. April: Yes. Yeah. Tay: They were like rediscovering their sexuality. And it was it's okay to like these things. It's okay to read these things. It's okay to be the, you know. And then after that, it kind of paved the way for all these other authors to be like, I can write about this stuff too. ⁓ I'm gonna do that. I'm gonna like release all the books and do all the things. just, I'm so grateful. Grateful to all of them that kind of paved the way for what we have now of just smut galore. ⁓ April: Yes. Truly. Right. The best. know Twilight kind of gets a bad rap. And I will say, ⁓ I was a huge Twilight girl in my teenage years. I would like she really did. She opened a lot of doors and got a lot of people reading. to me, that's just like a wonderful thing. ⁓ regardless on if it's like the piece of literary work that anybody has ever read, which let's be honest, okay, we know it's not. However, Tay: Mm-hmm. April: it will forever hold a special place in my heart. I'm scared, I'm scared to go back and read it as an adult because I feel like I would pick up on things now where I'm like, that is not a healthy relationship. But for me at the time, my little teenage was like, this is so romantic, which if there's any younger girls listening, please know that was not a romantic relationship. Okay. But it opened the doors to so many more authors to be able to come out and release some incredible books. that's just the best. That's just the best. Tay: books, was, me April were talking about this before we started recording, but my poor Twilight books are so worn out that the spines are falling off. They are like, just have been held so many times because ⁓ I re-read it over and over again. I couldn't stop, I couldn't get it out of my head. I just, about the buildup was so worth it. it is not a great literary piece by any means, but it holding that place. April: Yeah Tay: in like it kickstarted the love back and the love is here to stay. I I that same like continuation for my kiddos so they can sit there ⁓ and go know what like because I have some of those memories of my dad we were sitting there reading A Wrinkle in Time, Ender's Game together and like my dad had a big thing he was like one or two chapters a night that's it. I would beg sometimes please like let's read the next chapter I want to know what happens nope. April: Yes. Tay: have to wait till tomorrow night. it just kept me so invested as a kid and I want to develop those same relationships with my daughter. And then, you know, when she's old enough, she can enjoy the other type of books I like to read. ⁓ the after versions. But in the interim, it's just so fun, I think, to watch probably your kid develop that like just now kind of turning that I'm sure he probably loves that I love reading. April: Yes. after dark versions. ⁓ shout out all the romance out there who are doing the work. And it's so exciting because I feel like for a long time, romance books were kind of like, why are you reading that? There was a certain stigma that came with that if you were reading those books. But I feel like recently, I went to Walmart the other day and their are filled with nothing but romance novels and of all different kinds, all different genres and tropes and things like that. ⁓ the whole romance umbrella. I just think that that's really great that we're seeing this rebirth of it and in a positive to where it's not so much a judgment anymore to what you're ⁓ Tay: Yeah, it's awakening femininity in our bodies. That's just like, you know, we get to be out there loud and proud displaying our books. I remember my grandmother's books of her Fabio covers were like in her closet. she didn't keep them out loud and proud. when I'd find them, my grandma was like, ⁓ my gosh, put those books away. I just was like, ⁓ you know, thinking about that and now, she had to hide what she enjoyed because there was like a stigma built with. April: Yes. Tay: You can't show that women aren't sexual. We don't talk about these things. So I'm super grateful that they kind of like paved the way to now where we can display them loud and proud. We can be proud to be a woman and get to read the things that we do. shout out, I was telling April, my shirt, women in STEM, baby. We just went to the moon and around the moon we're back. ⁓ ⁓ to wear this today. It's so prevalent for what's going on. ⁓ April: Mm-hmm. Yeah. NASA! So good. Yes. We do. Tay: just need that. We need people being excited about stuff, being excited about reading, being excited about women going to space. These aren't things that happen every day, but we need it to because it's awesome. That's my rant. ⁓ April: Yes, it is awesome. All besties. That is it for today's episode. Tay: Make sure to follow, download, and share our podcast socials with your other book besties. We would love to hear your favorite tropes and book recs as well. Please leave a comment on your favorite platform letting us know. April: And join us next week where we will talk about book releases that we are excited for and give y'all some book recs based on Taylor Swift songs. Tay: And remember... April: We're glad you're here because faded.