Ep. 48: Lit It or Quit It: Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli

Join Kelsey and Amanda as they dissect 'Heartless Hunter,' diving into the novel’s menstrual-blood-based magic and its über-predictable plot. Join them for a laugh-out-loud critique that pokes fun at trope overload while celebrating the quirkiest aspects of this romantic fantasy.

00:00 Welcome to Lit Vibes Only!

00:47 Follow Us on Social Media

05:35 BookTok Tea w/ Kelsey 

17:55 Summary of Heartless Hunter 

26:47 Book Discussion

46:28 LITerally the Best or LITerally the Worst

57:04 Final Thoughts and Social Media Engagement

Follow us on TikTok & Youtube @litvibesonlypodcast and on Instagram @litvibesonly_podcast. You can also email us at litvibesonlypodcast@gmail.com We'd love to hear from you!

See you on Mondays!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Lit Vibes Only!
• 0:47 Follow Us on Social Media
• 5:35 BookTok Tea w/ Kelsey
• 17:55 Summary of Heartless Hunter
• 26:47 Book Discussion
• 46:28 LITerally the Best or LITerally the Worst

Transcript

Ep. 48: Lit It or Quit It: Heartless Hunter

[00:00:00]

[00:00:02] Kelsey: Welcome to Lit Vibes Only, where we lit the shit outta books we love and hate. I'm Kelsey, the unhinged, diehard, romantic and fantasy reader. 

[00:00:12] Amanda: And I'm Amanda, the insightful, thrill seeker and historical fiction nerd. Welcome, welcome, welcome to our very first August episode. This is actually take two for us.

[00:00:25] Kelsey: Oh my God. Because someone, 

[00:00:27] Amanda: me forgot to turn on her mic, and so 

[00:00:30] Kelsey: I thought you were gonna blame me for a second. I was like, oh my God, Amanda. 

[00:00:33] Amanda: No, I will take full responsibility for the fact that my mic was not on. So we're taking this from the top, but we're so glad. We're so, so glad you're here. We're gonna dive deep into a book that Kelsey forced me to read.

[00:00:45] Amanda: It's gonna be a great conversation. Yes. But before that, if you are new here or if you've been listening for a while and just haven't yet. Please make sure to follow us on socials. Oh yeah. We are on Instagram at Lit Vibes only podcast. We're [00:01:00] on YouTube and TikTok at Lit Vibes only podcast. So please take a moment to like, comment, subscribe, follow all of that good stuff.

[00:01:08] Amanda: We love interacting with you guys so much. We love producing content for you guys. So if you're not following us there, please do so. And then of course, of course, of course. If you have not yet taken a moment to rate and review us, please do so. Do it right now. Do 

[00:01:26] Kelsey: it now. 

[00:01:29] Amanda: What is that, that's mean. 

[00:01:31] Kelsey: So threatening.

[00:01:33] Kelsey: What is that? But what is that? Just do it. What's his, isn't that just Nike name? Shyla 

[00:01:39] Amanda: Above 

[00:01:40] Kelsey: No. Is he would 

[00:01:41] Amanda: shy above. Yeah. 

[00:01:43] Kelsey: Does that, is there a name of shy above just saying just do it? Yeah, he does. That's a whole like if or whatever it is, and he's just like, just do it. 

[00:01:54] Amanda: Alright guys. We're channeling our inner shy above, so just do it.

[00:01:58] Amanda: Honestly, it takes. [00:02:00] Two seconds, especially if you're just rating it. Yeah. But if you can write a one or two sentence review on Apple Podcasts, we would love you forever. Or just write a comment on one of our Spotify episodes. It could be this episode. It's so, so helpful. We know that you guys are enjoying this podcast, but it really helps us if you put it in writing.

[00:02:19] Amanda: Mm-hmm. So, so that other folks can find us. 

[00:02:22] Kelsey: Yeah. It's been almost a year. 

[00:02:25] Amanda: Yeah. And no excuses. And we we're 

[00:02:26] Kelsey: definitely getting more like listeners, but it is slow going so far. So yeah. We need your help and we can't end our year on these like low. Downloads. Come on. So anyway, Amanda, I was gonna say that we should do like another because like our book giveaway did so well.

[00:02:46] Kelsey: Yeah. Like if we did giveaways for every person that rated and reviewed within two weeks or something, we did some sort of giveaway. Not books obviously, but 

[00:02:55] Amanda: Well, what we could also do is if you do write a review and rate us within two weeks and you're [00:03:00] put into a drawing for a book, right?

[00:03:01] Amanda: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's like that could be great. Yeah. But definitely I think the book giveaway that we did, another reason why you should be following us on our socials we did a book giveaway for when we hit 1000 followers on TikTok. So again, just another reason to follow us, also to just like show your love and support mm-hmm.

[00:03:18] Amanda: By doing things like rating and reviewing. But we are having a blast. We're so proud that we're almost at Yeah. Our year anniversary. It's crazy that we we're almost there. Like wild. It's so 

[00:03:30] Kelsey: crazy because also I think like people. Really doubted that we would be able to do this. Yeah. And they were like, you're gonna release an episode every week?

[00:03:41] Amanda: Yeah. Every month. Like, that's 

[00:03:42] Kelsey: what, and we literally have like, that's that. Yeah. We haven't missed a Monday. We haven't missed a single Monday. And so yeah, we 

[00:03:50] Amanda: fucking, which is also crazy because again, like we have full-time jobs, like, oh yeah. I was gone for two weeks, you know, traveling in Tanzania and I literally had a friend, she was like.[00:04:00]

[00:04:00] Amanda: Wait, you're in Tanzania, but you guys just dropped a new episode on Monday. How did that happen? I was like, oh, we, we got it locked. We've got our system on lock. Like, don't worry about it. 

[00:04:11] Kelsey: Kelsey's in charge of dropping the episodes. Amanda's in charge of doing all the editing. Like we Yeah. We make it work.

[00:04:18] Kelsey: Yeah. And it's not an easy feat. 

[00:04:21] Amanda: Yeah. So, 

[00:04:22] Kelsey: so, 

[00:04:22] Amanda: so we love it when you guys are enjoying it and are expressing that appreciation and mm-hmm. Letting us know what you wanna hear from us. We had someone not too long ago request that we cover Gideon the ninth on, oh my God. This podcast. And so Kelsey will be reading that.

[00:04:38] Amanda: Shut up, Amanda, for our September episode. She's thrilled. She like, literally told me just a few moments ago how excited she was to finally have the opportunity to read this novel. 

[00:04:49] Kelsey: Okay. You guys, I know nothing about this book except maybe it has neman in it. Yeah, it does. Honestly, I don't exactly know what that is, but [00:05:00] I just know that it's in there.

[00:05:02] Kelsey: It's like, it's like death 

[00:05:02] Amanda: magic. She just hates the cover guys. She took one Look at the Camus. It's literally just the cover. I could never, I could never. It's so ugly. I can't, I 

[00:05:13] Kelsey: can't. Just so close your eyes. Might just read it on my Cobo, so we'll see. We'll see. I can't, yeah, imagine it popping up on my phone every, every time.

[00:05:23] Kelsey: That's fair. 

[00:05:24] Amanda: I'm so excited for that episode. But anyhow, we'll be talking about that so much more in September, so be sure to tune in for that episode. Yay. But Kelsey do you have any book talk tea for us? Oh my God. I know it's been a minute since we've seen each other, since we've recorded, so what is happening?

[00:05:40] Kelsey: Okay. Amanda, I want you to put on a timer for like 60 seconds. Okay. And I'm gonna see how much of the TikTok drama I can. Spell out because Okay. Or spill out, I don't know. Whatever. 

[00:05:54] Amanda: T you spill. Spill the T. The T. How mu Exactly. Alright, tell me when you were ready. How, how many I can 

[00:05:59] Kelsey: remember. [00:06:00]

[00:06:00] Amanda: I'm actually gonna put a timer on.

[00:06:01] Kelsey: Yes, please do. Okay. Okay. Ready? Yeah. Go. Okay. First there was a plagiarized book called Beverly. And then there was this one talker, Mariana, who basically was fetishizing a teenage character and made a really disgusting comment on TikTok. And then also she supported ai, which it's like a specific kind of AI that steals from authors to create its own stories.

[00:06:33] Kelsey: And then oh my God. Oh. The people were calling like the book Talk three, they were like bullying them and then people bullied Ali Hazelwood off of Instagram as well. Oh my God. What else? There's more, 

[00:06:48] Amanda: I mean, that's good. That was like 47 seconds and you crammed a lot in. And I also have questions.

[00:06:53] Amanda: Yeah. Because like, so many questions. So first of all, who, what is the book Talk three. 

[00:06:57] Kelsey: Okay, so it's Janna, [00:07:00] Mariana and Larry. And they're all women. Oh, I know two of them. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So, do you not know La Janna? No. Okay. So , those three, they are like. I have enjoyed their content in the past, but yeah, they're very specific.

[00:07:15] Kelsey: Like, but content creators, they have different tastes, but they all kind of stay within the same like, realm ish. Like Yana is really into romance and smut. And then yeah, , they're all into really similar things. I think Mariana's more into like Dark Romance. 

[00:07:31] Amanda: Okay. Yeah. I've seen that.

[00:07:32] Amanda: And 

[00:07:32] Kelsey: Larry is as well. But anyway, they are friends, the three of them. Okay. Mm-hmm. And they recently have been going like, on these trips together. Oh, we saw that. Okay. Yeah, it's really cute and fun. Like great for them. Like love that they have these friends. But then sometimes they do controversial stuff and because they're so big on book talk, like people just like mob them.

[00:07:52] Kelsey: Mm-hmm. 

[00:07:52] Amanda: Sure. 

[00:07:53] Kelsey: And so now people are basically calling them the book Talk three and just like kind of bullying them about being [00:08:00] so big on book Talk Pop Tyler. 

[00:08:01] Amanda: And I'm like, but we 

[00:08:02] Kelsey: did 

[00:08:02] Amanda: this so I, I don't get it. Exactly. This is like a, a creature of your own making. Yes. Like they became popular.

[00:08:08] Amanda: 'cause you're all following them. 

[00:08:10] Kelsey: Yeah. And so, so there's that. Okay. But Mariana, I would say it, that comment was a bit much what she say basically. It was on this edit of a character from a binding 13 or that binding series. Okay. I've never read them and Oh, the Tom and Boys series, I think is what it's called, but it's about teenagers and I didn't know this.

[00:08:36] Kelsey: But basically she, she commented something like, give me a hair tie in two minutes. Meaning, oh yeah, okay. It was gross. Okay. That comment is kind of gross, like. I'm like, why? I don't know. 

[00:08:52] Amanda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:08:53] Kelsey: It's just like, ugh, too much. And then what happened was, you know, people were like, these are [00:09:00] teenage characters.

[00:09:00] Kelsey: Why are you fetishizing and sexualizing teenage characters? And I'm just like. I, I don't necessarily feel grossed out about that aspect, only because it's all made up and fictional. Mm-hmm. Like I've never read these books before, but I'm sure that they're doing like things that adults would be doing.

[00:09:20] Kelsey: Right. Course. And I'm just like, I don't know. I don't know that there's a line there, but people were very, very upset. Hmm. , But , I don't know, I feel like people loved the Hunger Games and those were kids, right? And they were so infatuated with Peta or Gail and is it because though she 

[00:09:38] Amanda: was saying something more sexually explicit about doing something to her?

[00:09:41] Amanda: Maybe. I think that might be it. 'cause it's one thing to be like, oh my gosh, like. You know, I love Peter Gale. Right. Versus like, I wanna like do X, Y, or Z to Peter Gale. Right. 

[00:09:49] Kelsey: But , people make edits of these characters, which these edit, this is a new thing to me too, where it's like, okay they're basically, it's AI photos or photos they [00:10:00] find online mm-hmm.

[00:10:01] Kelsey: Or drawings that they make. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And then they make a video about it. And so someone was already making like a video about this character and probably sexualizing it. Yeah. Right. Like, I'm sure it was. Mm-hmm. I didn't see the original video. Yeah. But then she did make that comment and I was like, eh, yeah, that's not great.

[00:10:18] Kelsey: I didn't like that comment. Or like Yeah. Understand why she would make that. And I, I feel like those three women, yeah. That's kind of, I, I wouldn't say they created book boyfriends, but like they definitely fuel that Sure. Energy. Yeah. And that's part of their persona online.

[00:10:38] Kelsey: Mm. Where they're kind of thirsting for these men in books, right? Like it's Sure. And it's to this level of like a big exaggeration and dramatization. Yeah. And so, 

[00:10:48] Amanda: but I think that, but I think the key word, what you just said though, is like, men, like they're thirsting after the men in these books.

[00:10:54] Amanda: It is a little bit weird if it's like a 17-year-old. And I think for me, , especially 'cause [00:11:00] like I work with high schoolers. Mm-hmm. I think I'm more sensed around that subject too. Like, you know, so like 

[00:11:06] Kelsey: I, so I totally get that. Yeah. And I'm an educator too, and I have very, very strict lines around how I interact with students.

[00:11:15] Kelsey: Sure. Yeah. But like, I don't know, it just doesn't strike me as problematic. Because? Because they're not real all fake. Yeah. I don't know. I don't know. Yeah. I could be convinced that I'm wrong, but like, it just, it, it's all fake. 

[00:11:31] Amanda: Yeah. Like I, so, I dunno. I definitely think talking about doing something to , someone that doesn't exist is different than if it was an actual person, like a neighborhood boy, she knew like, I'd be like, okay, a hundred percent.

[00:11:43] Amanda: But I do think like they're not completely unrelated in that. Yeah. Like, do you know what I, I don't know. Like, oh yeah, it, yes, I understand that. Yeah. I think there's over, I think there's overlap. One is obviously worse than the other, obviously. Yes. But [00:12:00] there is, I think there is a enough overlap where I'm like, oh, this makes me kind of, this makes me a little uncomfortable.

[00:12:05] Amanda: Yes. It's a little crazy. Which is why like, 

[00:12:06] Kelsey: I think the comment does. Elicit some feelings for me where I'm like, yeah, yeah. But then everybody just like harping on her because I feel like the only reason it's getting so much attention or got so much attention was because she's so popular. Yeah. She's who she is.

[00:12:24] Kelsey: Yeah, of course. Because other people are doing this all the time. Someone made that edit, like, you know what I mean? Yeah. So I'm just like, this book talk community does do that. Yeah. Like so, 

[00:12:35] Amanda: but the book talk community also does that thing where it's like bandwagoning and mob mentality. Like they're always looking to jump on a bandwagon and go after someone.

[00:12:43] Amanda: We, we talked about it before. That's unfortunately really strong in book talk culture. Culture. Like there's a lot of great things about book talk too. Mm-hmm. But I think that is definitely. PR pretty prevalent, I would say. Even maybe sometimes more so like it happens on Instagram too. But I think book talk kind of [00:13:00] takes the cake when it comes to that.

[00:13:02] Amanda: Yeah. It's 

[00:13:02] Kelsey: wild. It is. And that 

[00:13:03] Amanda: yeah. 

[00:13:04] Kelsey: Brings me to this other point of like, yeah. Hazelwood Hazelwood being bullied off of Instagram for an opinion she had about a fictional character. And it's like, you know, I took the opportunity when it happened to post something on our socials because really that is what our account and our platform is all about, is like you and I are really good friends mm-hmm.

[00:13:28] Kelsey: And we disagree. Yeah. Oh, like very deeply about our book taste. Yeah. And that's fucking fine. It's 

[00:13:36] Amanda: totally fine. 

[00:13:36] Kelsey: It's actually, it makes, yeah. And actually I would argue that our friendship has deepened because of our relation, our conversations. Yeah. Over the year. Absolutely. And just learning each other's interests in books. Mm-hmm. And why you like books and Yeah. All of that. And it's so much more enriching 

[00:13:52] Amanda: Yeah. 

[00:13:53] Kelsey: Than just being like, you don't like peta, so fuck 

[00:13:57] Amanda: you. Right. Well, also , as we've seen [00:14:00] happen over the course of this year, we've also found, we've said this multiple times.

[00:14:04] Amanda: Oh yeah. Like things that we actually ended up really liking that we didn't think we would. Oh yeah. Right. Mm-hmm. Like, I would've never even considered Right. Reading X or engaging with Y. Mm-hmm. But because you forced me to, I had this opportunity to step outside of my little reading bubble and my comfort zone.

[00:14:18] Amanda: Like, oh, actually this is making me rethink this or have a different perspective, which is why this kind of dialogue and conversation is important. Yeah. And a lot of people just can't do it. It's like a skill you have to build and 

[00:14:29] Kelsey: Yeah. Well if you see our country, 'cause those of you who know or realize we're based in the United States and like our country is deeply divided right now.

[00:14:38] Kelsey: Yeah. In the government, I would say and political beliefs. Yeah. And people cannot interact No. Together in that way. No. And it is a detriment to Yeah. What's like to us. 

[00:14:50] Amanda: Yeah. It actually is. And I think too, and this is like the last thing I'll say, because I, I don't want get like too long.

[00:14:55] Amanda: I know we're going really far this, are we gonna go into a whole, we'll have to do a lit chat, [00:15:00] lit chats episode about it. Yeah. But one of the things, you and I, we were talking about this yesterday, and I think the thing is people don't know how to draw a line between disagreeing with someone's opinion, right?

[00:15:11] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And having like. A well-rounded, thoughtful, intentional discussion or debate versus attacking someone else, right? Yeah. Like you and I can disagree and have different opinions, but it's never okay for me to attack you as as a person. Right. You have inherent dignity and worth and Yeah. Yes, I can be like, I disagree with you for these reasons and here's why I think like your evidence is flawed or whatever.

[00:15:33] Amanda: That's fine. Mm-hmm. But when it turns into like discrimination and prejudice and hate and vi like all of those things where you're attacking the other person because of that, then we get into problems and a lot of people can't separate someone disagreeing with you versus someone like Attacking you.

[00:15:49] Amanda: Attacking 

[00:15:49] Kelsey: you. 

[00:15:49] Amanda: Yeah. You know? And like people can't, yeah. 

[00:15:51] Kelsey: I can't do that. Mm-hmm. It's a difficult skill, but also it's a difficult, difficult skill also. It's something that folks need. Yeah. We [00:16:00] need in our life so desperately. 

[00:16:01] Amanda: Yeah. And we 

[00:16:02] Kelsey: gonna 

[00:16:02] Amanda: practice it like every Monday. You practice it. We're, we're gonna practice it very soon.

[00:16:09] Amanda: Yay. Gonna be a great conversation. Oh my gosh. Well, that's like a perfect segue. So, Kelsey, why don't you tell folks why you had me read Heartless Hunter by Kristen Elli, which I'll hold it up to for folks who are watching on YouTube. 

[00:16:24] Kelsey: Oh, yay. Okay. Heartless Hunter was getting a lot of, press or like of traction?

[00:16:33] Kelsey: Yeah, recently and Rebel Witch, the second in the Duology came out recently. And so it just seemed like a good time to get into this. And I recently read this one and I fell in love with it. And I loved the plot and like I loved that it was about witches and I just loved the dynamic between Gideon and RO and so many more things, [00:17:00] which I'm sure Amanda's going to.

[00:17:03] Kelsey: Tear to shreds in a little bit. I don't know what you're talking about. Why would we'll her do that? We'll see. We'll, it doesn't sound like me at all. We'll I didn't look at your Good Reads rating yet, so I have no idea. But the way that you're talking, it makes me think 

[00:17:15] Amanda: I have a huge, you did like an smile on my face right now.

[00:17:18] Amanda: I don't dunno what you're talking about. 

[00:17:21] Kelsey: So, is it my turn now to ask? Yeah, you have to ask me a question and then I have to get 

[00:17:24] Amanda: to the 

[00:17:24] Kelsey: summary. So, Amanda, quick two word answer two word. Is it a lit or acquitted for you? 

[00:17:34] Amanda: So this book was absolutely acquitted for me on your face. You're like, I know.

[00:17:43] Amanda: I'm like, anxiously waiting play. Let's hear it. Let's hear it. Yeah. Which will surprise no one. I'm so curious because 

[00:17:48] Kelsey: I, I thought you might have liked this one, so, 

[00:17:52] Amanda: oh, I'm curious to know why you thought that, but we'll get into that shortly. Let's hear the summary. Cool. So this is actually not a super long book, [00:18:00] especially I think it was like.

[00:18:01] Amanda: 400 ish pages, but the print is actually quite large. So it wasn't a long book, but I do feel like a fair amount happened. Perfect. So I'll try and try and keep this tight. Unlike Kelsey, I've never typed up my summaries beforehand, so we're just gonna wing it and see what happens. So this book takes place in the New Republic, which is an island.

[00:18:22] Amanda: There's like the mainland, which we don't really hear about a lot in this story, but in this world for hundreds of years on this little island the folks have been ruled by witches. And that time period was called the reign of Witches. And so in this world witches can. Cast spells using blood. And so if you are a witch mm-hmm.

[00:18:44] Amanda: You have these casting scars all over your body because you know, every time you're casting a spell you gotta gotta get some blood and use that to do your magic. The more blood you have, the stronger spells you can cast. So that's just kind of a little bit of like the magic system for [00:19:00] this world. Mm-hmm.

[00:19:00] Amanda: A woman realizes that she's a witch or not once she gets her first period. So if your period blood is black, that essentially is a sign that , hey, you're a witch. Generally it's passed down like through families, but sometimes it can just kind of pop up in people and so. In this world relatively recently, I would say about, I don't know, 10 , years ago, there was a revolution in which the humans overthrew the three witch queens because they were just tired of their tyranny.

[00:19:32] Amanda: They were successful. And so now they're, you know, it again, living in like this, this new dawn where the witches are gone and the witches who are remaining are getting hunted down and purged, which is just a fancy way of saying they, they're killed. So within this world, we encounter our female protagonist, or FMC, who is run.

[00:19:54] Amanda: And Roe's grandmother, not her biological grandmother, but a woman who basically took her in [00:20:00] after her parents died. She's a witch. She's quite wealthy. She's quite well known. And this is again, still during the time of the reign of witches. And so Roone grows up in this house, very aware of witches and their abilities and learning a lot about it from her grandmother.

[00:20:12] Amanda: She herself, her parents weren't witches. Sorun is like, you know, I, this is not gonna be my life, but love my grandma during the revolution. Because ruined a grandmother is a witch. They're like, we gotta get outta here. We gotta get off this island. Get to the mainland. But their plans are thwarted.

[00:20:27] Amanda: Somebody outs them to the blood guard who's like the armed forces for the humans who are overtaking the queens. Mm-hmm. And because of this, they're not able to flee. And so in this like dire moment, the grandmother is like, look, I can't stand to see you die ru. If we both get captured, we're, we're both gonna die.

[00:20:44] Amanda: So I want you to turn me in. Tell the blood guard , I'm here, hand me over, it'll keep you safe and mm-hmm. It'll show people like where your loyalties lie, that you're not a witch. Sympathizer so much to her chagrin, she turns her grandmother in. Of course her grandmother is killed [00:21:00] in front of her and she becomes kind of this hero of the new republic, right?

[00:21:04] Amanda: 'cause she did this , really great thing turned in her own grandmother. Like, oh my gosh. Right? So with her grandmother dying, she's now takes over her grandmother's vast estate and her wealth and her shipping mm-hmm. Company. Mm-hmm. So she's very wealthy and so she takes on this persona of like this wealthy, shallow socialite.

[00:21:22] Amanda: Ro has two really good friends. One of them is Alex and the other is Verity. Alex has an older brother named Gideon, who is a captain in the blood guard. Gideon is a witch hunter. Despises witches with every fiber of his being, and it's his job to hunt down witches and collect them and kill them.

[00:21:39] Amanda: Mm-hmm. Her other good friend is Verity Verity. Grew up in a house with two witch sisters who her mother ended up turning over to the blood guard and her sisters were executed. So she is also a witch sympathizer. And yeah, feels very close to, to witches, but she herself is not one. So , the three of them are [00:22:00] like this little trio, right?

[00:22:02] Amanda: So essentially when Ru turns 16, she finally gets her period, and that's when she realizes, oh my gosh, I'm a witch. And the only people who know that she's a witch are Alex and Verity. And essentially Ru takes on this persona. Called the Crimson Moth, and she sneaks around at night and she rescues witches before Gideon and the rest of the blood guard can catch them.

[00:22:26] Amanda: So she's out here saving witches, shuttling them off on her ships to the mainland to keep them safe. And of course the blood guard, they're annoyed because this crimson moth is like stealing these witches right from underneath their noses. And so everyone is trying to find the crimson moth. Mm-hmm. And it kind of, well, I guess this is a commentary, but I dunno, it made me kind of think of Batman because you know, he has like this Playboy persona, you know, like during the day and stuff.

[00:22:49] Amanda: And then he's like Batman at night. But anyhow, so she's essentially Batman and you know, over the course of the novel, she decides that. In order for her. [00:23:00] So let me back up. There's a really important witch that she has to find called Seraphine. This is a witch that was friends with her grandmother.

[00:23:05] Amanda: Her grandmother told her like in her dying breath, essentially like, go find this, this witch. She'll teach you what you need to know. Mm-hmm. When she goes to find her, she realizes that she's already been captured by the blood guard. And so she is desperate to get Seraphine out of the blood guards clutches, and off to safety.

[00:23:21] Amanda: She realizes that the only way that she can do that is to get close to someone who has access right to the blood guard, to the prison. Mm-hmm. And that is Gideon. So she decides to date him. What she doesn't realize is that Gideon also at the same time, has decided to date rude because he's like suspicious of her and thinks she might have something to do with the Crimson Moth, or may even be the Crimson Moth herself.

[00:23:46] Amanda: So. Unbeknownst to the both of them, they're dating each other under false pretenses, trying to like, manipulate and use the other. So that's like the whole setup for the relationship. Obviously as time passes, real emotions start [00:24:00] to develop between the two of them, which like obviously creates conflict. There's a couple of other things that happen, which I won't really get into.

[00:24:08] Amanda: But essentially as the story progresses, we realize that it's gonna take a lot to get Seraphine out of the prison. It's like this really impregnable fortress. So they end up stealing some belongings. Again, she's working with Alex and with Verity. Alex also has feelings by the way, for ruin unsurprising.

[00:24:32] Amanda: So both Gideon and Alex have feelings for her. And they end up stealing some items from Gideon in order to like access this prison. And the process of all of this happening Gideon ultimately finds out that Roone is the Crimson Moth, okay? And they've decided he's, he's heartbroken, she's a witch, she's lied to him, et cetera, et cetera.

[00:24:55] Amanda: And at the same time that all of this is happening. There's [00:25:00] been like these weird deaths happening. Like a lot of the blood guard soldiers have been found, with their bodies com completely mutilated and drained of blood. And they're also starting to see this mysterious symbol appear.

[00:25:12] Amanda: And it's the same symbol that would appear after one of the witch queens would like cast a. So when a witch casts a spell. There's like a lingering mark, I think it's called like a casting mark or something that shows like, which witch witch cast the spell, but the mark that keeps appearing belongs to a witch queen that's supposed to be dead cressida.

[00:25:30] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And so folks were like, what the heck? Like. Is, crest is still alive, et cetera, et cetera. Huge plot twist. Verity is actually Cresta in disguise. Okay. So it turns out Crest has been alive the whole, this whole time. We thought previously that Alex had killed her during the revolution and he didn't, 'cause he couldn't bring himself to do it.

[00:25:51] Amanda: So at the very end of the novel, Cresta marches on the town with her army of witches, many of whom are the same witches that Ro ended up [00:26:00] saving as the crimson moth. Mm-hmm. There's this huge showdown in like the town square. RO Han. Seraphine Cresta and all of the witches end up escaping because RO cast a really crazy spell called an Earth thunderer, which basically causes an earthquake to happen.

[00:26:18] Amanda: Mm-hmm. They flee and essentially the book ends with Gideon being really pissed that Ro lied to him and is like pledging himself to hunt down and, and kill her, essentially. Mm-hmm. And Ro is feeling really conflicted because Cresta is a bad witch. Mm-hmm. She's really corrupt and she's like, I don't really wanna align myself with her, but the option is like going back to like the new Republic and dying.

[00:26:42] Amanda: Mm-hmm. So that's essentially where it ends. And yeah, I think that's. That's in a nutshell, 

[00:26:48] Kelsey: you recapping this. I'm like, how? Why do you hate this? I love this store. So just, just you. Wait, okay. So, Amanda, yes. Thank you for the [00:27:00] recap. It was so fun. So fun hearing this. Oh yeah, it was a blast. But yeah, the other thing I wanted to Oh, yes.

[00:27:06] Kelsey: Mention mm-hmm. Just that so how Cresta has her mark. 

[00:27:10] Amanda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:27:11] Kelsey: The Crimson Moth also has hers, right? Yes. And the reason why she got the Crimson Moth name is because moths appear Crimson moths appear after her yeah. After she casts a spell. Yes. So Amanda, please tell us. What did you like about this book and story and characters and what have you?

[00:27:31] Kelsey: Oh God, 

[00:27:31] Amanda: I, it was funny. Obviously I knew you were gonna ask this question, and I was like, oh yeah, what can I possibly scrape together and say, oh my God, in order to like have something positive. I think one positive, and this is similar to what I said about Kai and Powerless I like it when the MMC is the male main characters.

[00:27:52] Amanda: Do something that is ooh, stereotypically feminine. And do a little bit of don't know, like just upending [00:28:00] gender stereotypes. Like, I find that really like romantic and so in powerless, right? It was Kai, braiding her hair and I was, oh, I love that. And in this book it's Gideon, designing and like sewing dresses.

[00:28:10] Amanda: Oh yes. For room and making these beautiful hand sewn silk flowers. I was like, that's really sweet. I love that. This is a grown ass burly man who's just like, let me sit here and design this frothy, beautiful gown, you know? Oh, Gideon for this girl that I love or sort of, I don't know, like that I like so I did like that falling for that.

[00:28:29] Amanda: Like, just like plucked at my little heartstrings. I was like, okay, I'll give you that. And then the second thing, it's kind of a positive, but also it's kind of like I, 

[00:28:38] Kelsey: the positive 

[00:28:38] Amanda: I appreciated, I appreciated the connection between magic and a woman's menstrual cycle because I think, you know, historically there's been a lot of, there's often a lot of shame mm-hmm.

[00:28:51] Amanda: Right around women and our time of the month. And like people don't wanna talk about it and it's a taboo subject and I remember even when I first got my period, it's like, oh my gosh, it's like [00:29:00] this horrible, scary, shameful thing. And so, mm-hmm. I think taking this thing that happens and like.

[00:29:04] Amanda: Essentially turning it into a source of power and magic. Mm-hmm. I think was a really kind of unique way of , showing maybe female empowerment and acceptance of this really cool thing that our body does. Mm-hmm. So I liked it. At the same time it was kind of like, it's a little cringe, which maybe is a me thing like, you know, I need to like get over my own, maybe ick around menstrual blood.

[00:29:23] Amanda: But the fact that she uses menstrual blood to cast her spells is, you know, it, it took a moment for me to adjust to So I think it does have a little bit of ick for me, but I think over overall, I think I can appreciate, what Kristin was trying to say, right? Mm-hmm. By having, again, this thing that our bodies do.

[00:29:45] Amanda: Mm-hmm. Be something that we should celebrate and is a source of Yeah. Our womanhood and femininity and our power. 

[00:29:51] Kelsey: I forgot that aspect. That's so funny. How did you 

[00:29:53] Amanda: forget that? It's so, 'cause it so much the plot. 

[00:29:57] Kelsey: So I don't know. , It's probably a cultural [00:30:00] thing overall.

[00:30:00] Kelsey: Okay. Okay. I don't know. It's part of your body. Yeah. And to me it's all like, without getting too like woo woo, but like, it's all like sacred, right? Yeah. And so, I just don't find that gross or mm-hmm. You didn't say that, but you know, like the ick uhhuh.

[00:30:18] Kelsey: Yeah. So it just wasn't this like big highlight for me. Yeah. I was like, oh yeah, that happens. 

[00:30:23] Amanda: I think that's lovely. I feel like I wish I grew up in a culture where's like, oh, this is this beautiful, sacred thing and an entrance into your womanhood. Whereas I feel like, yeah, I don't know.

[00:30:32] Amanda: I grew up in a house where I was like, oh God. Yeah. Yeah. And I, I 

[00:30:35] Kelsey: mean like, I too grew up with that shame too. This was like later on in my life that was like more open to those things. Yeah. But , you know, back in, in my culture, like women were isolated during their menstrual cycle.

[00:30:49] Kelsey: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But they would literally like bleed into the ground, you know? Oh. And it was like you know, just this connecting, like literally grounding 

[00:30:58] Amanda: Yeah.

[00:30:59] Kelsey: To the [00:31:00] earth. Yeah. 

[00:31:00] Amanda: And, 

[00:31:00] Kelsey: Yeah, it's just really interesting. And then also we're taught that when you are on your menstrual cycle, you are your most powerful.

[00:31:08] Kelsey: Mm-hmm. And so you're not allowed to go into certain spaces when you're on your menstrual cycle or there's rules around like, you know, it would be best if you didn't cook for other people while on your menstrual cycle, those types of things, because you have this like. Deep energy 

[00:31:23] Amanda: like coursing through you.

[00:31:24] Amanda: Yeah, yeah. That is 

[00:31:25] Kelsey: happening during this cycle. Mm-hmm. And so,

[00:31:27] Amanda: yeah. So yeah, no, it reminded, it also reminded me of lo Bona, right? Mm-hmm. 'cause in that book too, her power is connected to this kind of monthly cycle, right? That's like happening to her. Yeah. So I did, I I did appreciate that connection.

[00:31:43] Amanda: Mm-hmm. But outside of those two things I mean, I guess the third thing, okay, one more thing I will say. Ooh, I did appreciate. So there's a moment in the book where Ro is almost captured by Gideon. Mm-hmm. And he almost unmasks her. They're down in this dark [00:32:00] mind. They have like, oh yeah, this struggle.

[00:32:02] Amanda: And she ends up escaping barely. And then shortly after, they're at this masquerade party. Mm-hmm. And you know. Ruin has to kind of think really quickly to figure out how she's gonna throw Gideon off the scent. 'cause he's really close to figuring out and he's like coming to a arrest, or he is like, pretty sure that ruins the Crimson moth.

[00:32:19] Amanda: And in that moment, I appreciated her quick thinking and that she had essentially told other people prior to this meeting, and I'm sorry guys if this is confusing if you haven't read the book, but essentially Gideon fed Roone fake information. Mm-hmm. And Right, right. So he's like, the only person who's gonna show up to this mine is run because I'm the only person that told her that, you know, this witch is being held captive there.

[00:32:42] Amanda: But she had, unbeknownst to him, spread the word. Right. Like a bunch of other, people in her social circle. Mm-hmm. And so that threw suspicion off of her and like made him mm-hmm. Second guess himself. I was like, oh, okay. That was clever, you know? Yeah. It was a nice little use of her wit and intelligence.

[00:32:57] Kelsey: Yeah. And that was part of the book that I really [00:33:00] liked. Like she was. Definitely doing these things on her own. She had Alex and Verity, but they Yeah. Definitely weren't like the lead of No. This you know, her, they weren't the 

[00:33:11] Amanda: brains of the operation. Right. 

[00:33:13] Kelsey: Of the operation. Yeah.

[00:33:14] Kelsey: And she came up with all of the you know, the, the, oh my God, the plans. Yeah. Strategies and exactly strategy. Mm-hmm. She was very smart and intelligent. Mm-hmm. And I appreciate that about her character and the fact that she was playing everybody into believing that she was this false like person, right.

[00:33:35] Kelsey: Like, yeah. That, and this person that like, doesn't care about anything except for mm-hmm. You know, the finer things in life. Yeah. Made herself look so gosh, words are failing me today.

[00:33:46] Amanda: Well, she's like this shallow airhead, right? Just like this little socialite who Yes. Or that she's like 

[00:33:50] Kelsey: not a threat to anybody.

[00:33:52] Kelsey: Yeah. And so no one would ever suspect her. That was very smart. 

[00:33:56] Amanda: Yeah. 

[00:33:56] Kelsey: Yeah. 

[00:33:57] Amanda: I mean, I don't, I personally don't , have anything against [00:34:00] Ro Uhhuh as a character. I think, you know, the, and I was actually talking about this with some of my book club friends Uhhuh like two days ago. 'cause we had book club and I, I told them that you were forcing me to read this book.

[00:34:11] Amanda: Mm-hmm. And I think my problem with this book, and a lot of the romantasy books you've had me read so far is just, yeah. and I know this is the reason why you like them and why a lot of people like them is just, they're so predictable. There's so many tropes that are the exact same, like, almost word for word the same.

[00:34:30] Amanda: And so for me, you know me, I love novelty. I love surprise. I love things that are gonna keep me guessing. 'cause I, I need that like mental stimulation. And so when I'm reading a book that is so formulaic and so predictable, it just doesn't do anything for me. And so there were so many elements that I was like, oh, this, like, I saw this in powerless.

[00:34:50] Amanda: Like you have the two brothers, one of them's the golden boy, Alex, and one of them's like the shadow daddy, Gideon. And you have this little love triangle. Even though you already know [00:35:00] Alex is only there to serve as like an obstacle to Gideon and Rune's romance. Like, you know, already from the beginning, nothing's gonna really happen there.

[00:35:07] Amanda: And so it just takes away interest. I'm like, all right, I already know where this is going. You know, or like, yeah, that's fair. Uhhuh no even. Gideon's relationship with Cressida. So one of the things I didn't mention Oh yeah. In the mm-hmm. The summary is that basically Gideon is enslaved to Cressida, right.

[00:35:24] Amanda: The youngest witch queen before they're over. Mm-hmm. They're overthrown and she's awful to him. And she used and abuses her power and he basically is like her whore. And I was like, Hmm, where have I seen this before? Resand and a Amantha from aar, you know, and it's just like, I've read this story already, you know, you know, we have Gideon who's the rule follower just like Dane from Fourth Wing, just like Kai from Powerless.

[00:35:49] Amanda: We have this same exact ending we see in powerless where it's like, oh, they almost fell in love and now they hate each other's guts. And Kai is about to go hunt down whatever her name is. And Gideon's going to hunt down Ru. And I'm like. [00:36:00] I just find it so underwhelming. 'cause I'm like, I already know what's gonna happen.

[00:36:05] Amanda: And Uhhuh really the only thing that changes like, oh, it's a different setting and maybe there's like a different magic system. Mm-hmm. But the story itself. Exactly the same, 

[00:36:14] Kelsey: but that's why I, yeah, like you said, that's why I like it. Mm-hmm. The setting is completely different. Yeah. And it's like different characters.

[00:36:23] Kelsey: And I, but they're not, 

[00:36:23] Amanda: well, the 

[00:36:24] Kelsey: characters 

[00:36:24] Amanda: aren't different though. They're very much like, what's the word? I'm, they're like stock characters, right? Like I said, you have the shadow daddy. You have the golden boy. Sure. You have like the plucky, oh, this is the other thing.

[00:36:34] Amanda: You have like the plucky, like undersized female character. Like I do not understand why every single, and I'm saying this as a five nine woman, right. Why do all of these FMCs Yes. Have to be like these petite little nothings that can just be like, scooped up in the palm of a man's hand. Like she spent, Kristen spent so much time going on about how like she's a whole, literally she says this, she's a whole foot [00:37:00] shorter than Gideon and how tiny her palm is in hi in his hand, and how like his entire hand fits around her bicep and I'm like.

[00:37:08] Amanda: Please Will somebody write a grown ass woman? Like some of us aren't five one and 95 pound soaking wet. Yes. Like this obsession with having to be like this dainty little woman and the guys are all like these six three burly, like, I'm just like, I'm so over it. I'm so over it. And it's so not inclusive of different body types and body shape.

[00:37:26] Amanda: Definitely. It's like, so problematic. And again, stock character, like you could literally take why am I blanking on names? The girl from Fourth Wing and like put her into this store and be like, oh yeah, she's really smart too. Violet. She's really smart too. And she's also a tiny little, nothing that people underestimate, but she's victorious in the end.

[00:37:44] Amanda: So they're the same, it's just they take the same characters. Yeah. And just put them in different settings. Like there's no, there's no, I, 

[00:37:53] Kelsey: I don't know. I think for me the small details differences [00:38:00] mm-hmm. Are enough. Mm-hmm. Like I, I knew that Verity was gonna be cressida or at least one of the witches.

[00:38:06] Kelsey: Oh yeah. That's so obvious. Oh my God. But, I still liked that. Like I liked that that came about and I was like, yeah, like her closest advisors are like, 

[00:38:16] Amanda: it was so predictable though. Like you saw a mile away that Verity was cressida. And 

[00:38:21] Kelsey: I cried when Alex died. 

[00:38:24] Amanda: Oh my God. Oh my God. I was so sad.

[00:38:26] Amanda: Here's the thing, here's the thing though. You get on my case when my thrillers are predictable and your books are so predictable, Kelsey. The hypocrisy, the utter hypocrisy is just like off the charts. 

[00:38:39] Kelsey: I mean, fair, but those are supposed to not be predictable. Like that is the whole point. 

[00:38:45] Amanda: But I feel like for this book, sh Kristen was like, oh, this is gonna be the big plot twist.

[00:38:50] Amanda: Wait till they see it. And I was like, no, this was so, it was so predictable. 

[00:38:58] Amanda: Yeah, I, I think [00:39:00] I'll also to 

[00:39:00] Kelsey: do better with my recommendations and yes, 

[00:39:02] Amanda: please. Because not only was it predictable, this is like the last thing, well, not the last thing I'll say, but this is another thing I'll say, which kind of goes along with predictability maybe, is that sometimes with these books, it's like they're trying so hard to like they're so on the nose with their imagery, right?

[00:39:20] Amanda: So the name of this book is Heartless Hunter, right? And so all throughout the book, like every five pages, you're getting some sort of hunter slash prey imagery. Mm-hmm. Like she's just beating you over the head with this. Like, we get it, she's a witch. He's a witch hunter. The name of the book is Heartless Hunter.

[00:39:39] Amanda: We know that. They're like the, like I, it, I, it makes me feel stupid. I feel like I just, I feel like in these books, I'm getting talked down to, I was like, I, I got it. I promise you I got it. The first three times you told me, now you've beaten this , imagery to death and now I don't care anymore.

[00:39:57] Amanda: , Literally one of the quotes, this was in the first like five [00:40:00] pages, tell Mero was a quote, RO was a dear and he was a hunter taking her measure and noting every detail and flaw, trying to decide if she would be worth a hunt, unquote. And I'm like, oh, great. Thank you. Thank you so much, hunter. Okay.

[00:40:15] Amanda: I'm like clarifying that she's a witch and, and he's hunting her. 'cause I wasn't sure, I couldn't tell from the title. I couldn't tell from the fact that that was in the des like it was just mind numbing. 

[00:40:28] Kelsey: So, the next book is called Rebel Witch. 

[00:40:31] Amanda: Mm-hmm. What 

[00:40:32] Kelsey: do you think that's gonna be about? Oh, I dunno.

[00:40:34] Kelsey: Maybe and I, I already read it by the way, so I can confirm or deny. Well, she's a 

[00:40:38] Amanda: witch, but she's like rebelling against the other witches because Cresta is not a good witch and so she's gotta like still be living in her witchy truth, but also not aligning herself with this corrupt power hungry witch.

[00:40:50] Amanda: You know? It's just I understand this is YA and so I get that this is, you know, targeted towards, is it, how old are they? Yeah, I think they're, I mean, when I [00:41:00] was doing my like reviews and stuff for it, everyone was saying that this book was ya, isn't there a sex scene?

[00:41:05] Amanda: There is a sex scene. You can have sex scenes in way, and it wasn't super explicit, like it wasn't as detailed as some of the other ones. But 

[00:41:15] Kelsey: I've been reading Rereading Heat and I was like, oh my God, I forgot that this was here. 

[00:41:22] Amanda: Well, was a book. You'll never read that book with a book with a title like Heat.

[00:41:25] Amanda: I can only imagine what's happening. But it wasn't, 

[00:41:28] Kelsey: it's not, that's not the like the story That is a side story. Yeah. Part of the story, but yeah. 

[00:41:35] Amanda: Yeah. But it was, I was like, oh, damn, I, yeah, I will not be reading that. 

[00:41:42] Kelsey: No, you're never gonna get there because you're, I'm gonna have you read Spark if they ever flame, and you're gonna absolutely hate it.

[00:41:48] Kelsey: Yeah. I already know. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And then the other two, the next. One is like 800 pages and the third one is like a thousand pages. So, no. Yeah. 

[00:41:54] Amanda: No, I could never, 

[00:41:55] Kelsey: you're not, I could never, you're not willing, you're never gonna be willing to read those. No, 

[00:41:58] Amanda: I would never read those. I'm [00:42:00] sorry. I care about you, but not that much 

[00:42:03] Kelsey: care about this podcast, but not that much.

[00:42:04] Amanda: Not that much. But yeah, I mean, honestly, there's other books 

[00:42:07] Kelsey: out there. 

[00:42:08] Amanda: Honestly, I like don't have that much more to say about this book because there's not that much to say. I could literally copy and paste all of my comments from like, powerless, right? Or like, interesting. Any other book and be like, oh, I have the same, I have the same comment.

[00:42:24] Amanda: Yeah. This book did have two typos, which I didn't appreciate. Oh my God. 

[00:42:28] Kelsey: Where were the typos, Amanda? On page 

[00:42:30] Amanda: one 13 and page 96. Okay. What were the typos? I think on one of them she like Misspells, Gideon's last name, which is Sharp. Oh. And then on page I'd act, I have to go in and see page one 13.

[00:42:44] Amanda: I don't remember. I'd have to like look it up and I don't wanna take too much time to do that. Yeah. But yeah, there was like another interesting, another typo. And then there was just like some inconsistencies, , so Verity has this mimic spider called Henry that she keeps in a jar. Mm-hmm. And at [00:43:00] one point in the book they're talking about how Henry is, I think, feasting on a bird, right?

[00:43:05] Amanda: That he's caught in his web. And I'm like, Henry lives in a jar. Please tell me how Henry caught a bird in his web while he's in a jar. Like that just doesn't make any sense. Right. Or they're talking about the hum of electricity, but everybody uses gas. Whi like, I'm just like, it's those little things where I'm like, oh, either someone didn't edit this well, or , you just got confused writing your own book.

[00:43:25] Amanda: I don't know. Oh my God. But yeah, I don't know. Oh, and then the other thing, you know, which again is like every other romantic toy book, I was like, oh, Alex smells like leather and oak. And like, of course he does, because every single MMC smells like leather and oak or cedar. They cedar or something smell like something.

[00:43:44] Amanda: But it's always either leather, oak, cedar, or mint. Like those are like the four masculine scents for the romantics world. 

[00:43:51] Kelsey: Yeah. I wonder if anyone will ever put sandalwood? 

[00:43:56] Amanda: I have not seen it on 

[00:43:57] Kelsey: sage. Maybe Sage. [00:44:00]

[00:44:00] Amanda: Oh, I mean, and, and all of your readings, you've never come across sandalwood or sage for men?

[00:44:05] Amanda: No, I don't think so. Okay. That's interesting. Maybe, maybe sage, but not 

[00:44:09] Kelsey: sandalwood, I don't think. Okay. 

[00:44:10] Amanda: Yeah. 

[00:44:11] Kelsey: Well I'm sad you didn't like this one. I do. Are you 

[00:44:14] Amanda: surprised though that I didn't like it? 

[00:44:16] Kelsey: I thought you might have, but I very, I thought very highly of this book and I was like going into the second book, which I read like recently.

[00:44:25] Kelsey: Yeah. And I was like, oh, I love 

[00:44:26] Amanda: this. Series. I mean, reading it, I was like, oh, I absolutely know why Kelsey loves this. Yeah. Like, this is such a Kelsey book, like in all the ways. And then of course, yeah, she's gonna love like the bit about witches. 

[00:44:38] Kelsey: Yeah. 

[00:44:39] Amanda: But the 

[00:44:39] Kelsey: witches were fun. I don't read a lot of witches, I feel like.

[00:44:42] Kelsey: I mean, I 

[00:44:42] Amanda: don't either. Yeah. Obviously they're enth 

[00:44:45] Kelsey: throne of glass, but, and 

[00:44:48] Amanda: I think too, and this came up in one of the reviews I read mm-hmm. And so we can talk about in a moment, but. There was, this was another like weird thing that didn't make sense to me. Well, one, one, it didn't make sense until I found it [00:45:00] problematic.

[00:45:00] Amanda: So in order to cast spouse, like they need blood, right? Yes. It could be the menstrual blood, it could be blood from cutting themselves and like one uhhuh don't like the fact that this is a YA book and it's like all like in involve self-harm in order to have magic happen. Mm-hmm. That seems problematic.

[00:45:13] Amanda: 2, 2, 2, 2. Her grandmother and other old witches have been doing magic for years. Like I feel like they would have run out of space on their bodies. Like if you're doing magic on a fairly regular basis and you're 85 years old, like there's no skin left to cut unless they reopen old scars, which is kind of gross.

[00:45:31] Amanda: Oh. Which, yeah, I'm sure they did. So it also was just kind of like, that seems like a weird, 

[00:45:36] Kelsey: but also like it leaves like a design. If you do a design, you make a car carve design. Yeah. And so it's like a continual like. Continual lines and they, it could be like very intricate, I feel. 

[00:45:48] Amanda: I mean, they were like, they're supposed to make these things of beauty and they're like, silvery.

[00:45:52] Amanda: Yeah. And people have all sorts of designs carved into themselves. But Uhhuh, I don't know, I think a little bit similar with the menstrual blood thing, like that just didn't sit right [00:46:00] with me that they're carving themselves up. And or having to take blood from other people. Like obviously they can ask for consent.

[00:46:08] Amanda: Like, Hey, can I have a pint of your blood to do some magic? Or, you know, you can just like kill someone and then do corrupt, you know, bad magic. But yeah, it just, mm-hmm. The whole magic system was a little ick for me, to be honest. I wasn't a fan, 

[00:46:25] Kelsey: but I hear you. 

[00:46:26] Amanda: Yeah. So those are my thoughts. 

[00:46:28] Kelsey: Are you ready to get into, are literally the best and literally the worst?

[00:46:35] Amanda: I so am I don't even think we need to do final recommendations because I think it's very clear that I don't recommend this book. I do recommend And then you do, 

[00:46:42] Kelsey: Amanda doesn't, here we are. But yes. 

[00:46:45] Amanda: Let's get into some good reads, reviews. I will obviously be reading one star reviews mm-hmm. 

[00:46:51] Kelsey: From Good Reads, and I will be reading five stars.

[00:46:54] Amanda: Yes. One of mine is really short. It's a sentence, and then another one, one of them is longer. Yeah. [00:47:00] And they have, I have 

[00:47:00] Kelsey: two like really short 

[00:47:01] Amanda: ones and then 

[00:47:02] Kelsey: one longer. 

[00:47:03] Amanda: Okay, cool. I, I was like on the fence about the longer one, but it's really good and it touches on so many important things, so. Okay.

[00:47:10] Amanda: But I'll go first. Yep. So we can end on a positive as always. So my very first and also my, also my shortest review, oh God. This is from Marta, the book Slayer. A menstrual cup would be a game changer for her. Wait, how is that a bad review? She's like giving advice. I think she's also just saying like, this is so ridiculous that she's collecting period blood to do her magic.

[00:47:38] Amanda: But yes, that would've been really helpful because I'm like, I also was curious. I'm like, how does she. Capture all of that to use it later. Yeah. So yeah, I think she would've benefited from that. So that's my first one star. All right. This 

[00:47:50] Kelsey: is a five star review from Jessica,

[00:47:52] Kelsey: I loved this, like wholeheartedly loved this. It reminded me of the reading experience with blood and moonlight, serpent and dove, [00:48:00] and small favors. Not because the plots are similar, they're not, but because I was so effortlessly submerged in the stories, the characters are fully developed, the plot is engaging, the writing is spot on, and the overall vibe is entertaining.

[00:48:14] Kelsey: It's just a high quality novel in all the ways that matter to me as a reader. So this is an easy book to recommend. 

[00:48:23] Amanda: Yay. Thank you Jessica. Yay. Thanks Jessica. I am, I'm glad this book brought you Joy. I am. It's interesting 'cause Serpent and Dove came up in some of the one star reviews and people were like, this isn't as good as Serpent and Dove, or Serpent and The Dove, whatever it, it's called.

[00:48:36] Amanda: Yeah, I haven't heard of that one, so I, I haven't either it up. Yeah, it sounds like you would like it. Okay. Second one, star review from books and crafts. Yep. This one is going to be a DNF. I'm very sad about it too, but I tried one last time today to get into it and I can't get past the collection of period blood for spells and a plot that has been done a hundred times.

[00:48:58] Amanda: I do not understand the [00:49:00] hype. Okay. That was your long review. No, no, no. My long review last okay. But yeah, I, I agree. I just felt like it was really predictable and the peered blood did kind of throw me for a loop. Okay. 

[00:49:13] Kelsey: Yeah.

[00:49:13] Kelsey: It's so funny. That wasn't even like a blip. It wasn't even a thing. Yeah, yeah. 

[00:49:18] Amanda: But she makes such a big deal about it, like how hard it is to collect and how she has such limited amounts. Like she brings it up all the time. So anyhow, she's like, yep, that makes sense. 

[00:49:28] Kelsey: Okay. This is my long review. I did cut a couple things out to make it shorter, but it's my longer review.

[00:49:35] Kelsey: Okay. This is from Kendall. It's official. Kristen has made me fall in love with fantasy again. There was crack in this book. I couldn't put it down, and whenever I did have to, I wanted to weep. I seriously can't get over this. One of my friends is a huge fantasy lover and I pushed this thing on her. She's had it for almost a week and still hasn't started it, so please feel free to bully her in the comments.

[00:49:59] Kelsey: Ruin was [00:50:00] actually everything to me. I ate up every one of her chapters, getting to see just how intelligent she was and the way she had everyone wrapped around her fingers. The girl boss, she is at only 18. I could never Gideon sharp that man that you are, I was literally screaming every time he so much a.

[00:50:20] Kelsey: Spoke, the things he said, the things he thought, the things. I love this man with everything that I am. No one understands final thoughts. I'm still foaming at the mouth whenever I so much as think of this book. It was such a perfect introduction into a beautiful fantasy world. Another thing that should convince you to read this is I am not a fan of third person, which this book was in and I ate it up.

[00:50:49] Kelsey: Dude, I could talk about this for hours. Y'all don't understand. 

[00:50:55] Amanda: Think folding at the Kendall, the mouth. Okay. Like I [00:51:00] have often talked about unhinged reviews, but that's a whole new one. Yes. Foaming at the mouth every book. All right, well, nice job, Kendall. That just proves my point. That's, that's something else.

[00:51:10] Amanda: Okay. Thank you, Kendall. All right, so, third. One star review from Charlotte Stewart, top 10 worst books I've ever read. This was like if a book was playing a romantic fantasy in a musical, it was a satire of itself. I think the author thought all of her readers were five because there was no nuance or depth in this book.

[00:51:34] Amanda: The author didn't trust her readers or her characters enough. What do you mean, avi? She's not the Crimson Moth. She doesn't seem intelligent enough for that. Are you dumb? I wanted to dnf this book so bad, but I pushed through so I could give it a one star hot slash lukewarm. Take Enemies to Lovers.

[00:51:53] Amanda: Only truly works when there are multiple books. Another hot take is that romantic fantasy books are best on [00:52:00] Kindle. Okay, well there's that. There are multiple books for enemy 

[00:52:07] Kelsey: and they are enemies. 

[00:52:08] Amanda: I guess she maybe meant a trilogy or more instead of just like a duology. I don't know unless she read this before she realized that there was a second book coming out.

[00:52:16] Amanda: Maybe. Oh yeah, maybe. Or wrote this before she realized. Yeah. 

[00:52:20] Kelsey: Alright. My shorter reviews. Mm-hmm. This one is from Deepak. I hereby temporarily give this book my heart. This was one of the most poetically, theatrically, chaotically. Fucked with my feelings type of endings I've ever witnessed.

[00:52:37] Amanda: Oh, okay. Lots of adjectives in there. I mean, yeah, it's definitely not a happily ever ending, for sure. Happily ever after ending. Okay, this is my longer one. I did take some stuff out, but I loved all the things she had to say. So this is from Randy with an eye. Randy. All right. Jesus. I don't know where to begin.

[00:52:57] Amanda: I feel lied to and cheated. [00:53:00] Whoever marketed this book was probably a court assassin in a past life or something. Slipping poison into goblets of celebration feasts. Anyway, there are so many trope icks in this book for me. I feel like the author singled me out, asked everything I hate in a book, and then made this book, but added playing with period blood just to list some of them for first red flag.

[00:53:21] Amanda: Obviously the use of period blood, like ew, but okay, plot reasons Don't do Blood Magic. Using self-harm cuts because it makes you a target for witch hunts still. Ew, love Triangle slash hinge one is tall, dark and brooding with a tragic past, physically strong.

[00:53:38] Amanda: The other is lean, blonde, intellectual, her childhood friend. Ah, smell those tropes. Oh yes. Those two are brothers. Yes. She kisses them both and more. There is no mention of using protection in the smut scenes. This is ya. A, she lost her virginity. I don't care if it's not realistic. It's fantasy. Used fake magic to prevent STIs, sex [00:54:00] safety for the youth.

[00:54:00] Amanda: Wait, what? I don't think she was a virgin. She was, she said that she'd never had sex before. 

[00:54:07] Kelsey: I don't know. Yeah, I just read it. 

[00:54:11] Amanda: Yeah. The fact that gross Gideon feels the absolute need to have sex with someone to prove she has no scars is weird. Weirder and creepy is that random ass chick Harrow keeps pushing for him to have sex with her.

[00:54:25] Amanda: I know it's for plot and romance reasons, but how fucking creepy peer pressuring people into doing the deed is ew. Short chapters. I don't think a single chapter was over 10 pages long with huge font. I accidentally skipped an entire chapter because two pages got stuck together.

[00:54:42] Amanda: Weirdly upsetting. The plot was ridiculously easy to predict, and as much as I like to be right, reading for plot, heavy books is not one of them. It was obvious from early on that Cresta wasn't dead because Alex didn't kill her. She was literally the only character ever posed to be even a possible villain.[00:55:00]

[00:55:00] Amanda: Literally. Who else could it be? The only other witches in the whole fucking story? Arro, who we have the POV of and Seraphine, who's in fucking prison, LOL. There was zero chance of Alex surviving this trope heavy book. Obviously he's an obstacle to the roone slash Gideon pairing and he needs to be gone.

[00:55:16] Amanda: The second Roone accepted his proposal. I knew he was dead and I was right. I'm a wizard. The entire book, the prose was, he is so tempting, but he's my enemy. I must save witches to atone for my grandma. There he is, perfume as strong as fuck. Why is Gideon so hot and dark and spicy? Wow. Wow. Wow. The ending was okay.

[00:55:35] Amanda: I left a lot to be answered in book two, but to be honest, I'll probably just mine reviews and summaries for what happens next. If I even remember by the time it comes out, I am just not interested in carving out even another day of time for this series. Well, she felt strongly she did. I mean, I agree with most of her comments though, and some of them I actually said, so yeah, I feel like she's on point.

[00:55:58] Kelsey: Yeah. Yeah. [00:56:00] Well, final review. Mm-hmm. Haley Jones. Five star. I am genuinely unwell from start to finish. This book had me in a choke hold and it did not disappoint at all. Such good Enemies to Lovers, amazing and devastating plot. I cannot wait for the next book. Crying Face. 

[00:56:24] Amanda: I'm curious, especially because you read a lot of these, like yeah.

[00:56:27] Amanda: What made this enemies to lover trope? Enemies to lover trope any better than any other enemies to lover's trope. I felt like it was like very par for the course. 

[00:56:37] Kelsey: No, it's very similar. Okay. It's exactly what you said. Like I like a particular kind of book and I like Enemies to Lovers. I don't compare them.

[00:56:48] Kelsey: I see. I like them 

[00:56:50] Amanda: for what they are. And so there's not a book where you're like, oh, this one did Enemies to lovers, but they did it really bad. No, that 

[00:56:56] Kelsey: can be a thing, but and I, [00:57:00] I don't have like a specific example for you right now. Okay. But but yeah. 

[00:57:03] Amanda: Okay. Well, well I'm glad I'm done with this series.

[00:57:08] Amanda: I guess this duology maybe if I'm feeling curious, I'll hop on Wikipedia and read the summary for the second book. But it sounds like I did the same thing for powerless and like read this Uhhuh, I think I told you, and I started reading through the summary. I was like, I actually don't care enough to even finish reading through this.

[00:57:22] Amanda: Oh my God. I didn't even finish reading the summary. I was like, okay, for reckless or fearless. Whatever the, what's the second one after Powerless? Reckless? Oh, it's, oh, it's reckless. Okay. Yeah, yeah. I started reading for Reckless and I was like, yeah, I don't care. So, but I'm glad you loved it. I'm glad this is a book that brought you joy and you enjoyed the second one as well.

[00:57:40] Amanda: That makes me happy. But I now need to get rid of this book, so maybe, Hey y'all, this might be paid giveaway this like in a book giveaway, so if you wanna read or you 

[00:57:47] Kelsey: give it to me, 

[00:57:49] Amanda: you already read it. Yeah, but I don't have it. That's true. Well, we'll see, we'll see. But yeah, do you wanna run through socials for us as we run through?

[00:57:58] Amanda: Yeah. 

[00:57:59] Kelsey: [00:58:00] So first. Most important. Mm-hmm. Go rate and review our podcast. That was the time. We need your help and support me too, to get our name out there. So take a few seconds, a minute at the most mm-hmm. To go rate and write a little comment for us. Apple Podcast, Spotify. Those are the greatest places to do that.

[00:58:18] Kelsey: Thank you. Or wherever you listen to your podcast. Secondly, we are very active on social media, especially on Instagram and TikTok. You can find us on Instagram at Lit vibes only underscore podcast, and at Lit Vibes only podcast on TikTok and YouTube, where you can see our fool episodes 

[00:58:37] Kelsey: and so, yeah. , Come hang out with us. 

[00:58:40] Amanda: Yeah. Come. Yeah. Like follow, comment, subscribe, all that amazing stuff. And it's also just a way to give us your feedback too, in addition to like grading and reviewing so that we can get a sense of what people are loving, what they're not. Yeah. How we can switch things up for you.

[00:58:52] Amanda: Especially as we get ready to kick off our second year. Oh my God. Like my God, theres something that's like not working for you or something you'd love for us to do that we're not currently. Mm-hmm. [00:59:00] Let us know and we are so happy to accommodate. So, yeah, come follow us, come hang out. Thank you guys for hanging out with us today.

[00:59:07] Amanda: We hope you enjoyed this episode. Obviously tune in on Thur, well not tune in, hop on our socials on Thursday so you can vote and let us know if you're a team, Amanda or a team Kelsey on this one. And otherwise, we'll see you next Monday. Bye bye.