Lit Vibes Only

Ep. 69: Lit Chats: 2025 End of Year Wrap-up

• Lit Vibes Only Podcast

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Amanda and Kelsey take you on a joyride through their top reads and audiobooks of 2025, while setting ambitious yet achievable goals for their 2026 reading adventures. From gushing 

over favorite authors to celebrating their reading successes, this episode is a literary rollercoaster you don't want to miss!


00:00 Welcome to Lit Vibes Only!

00:25 Follow Us on Social Media

01:49 Wicked Movie Night Recap

13:31 Current Reads and Reviews

17:28 Top Books of the Year

43:32 Top Audiobooks of the Year

51:20 Anticipated Books and Reading Goals for the New Year

01:00:03 Reflecting on Reading Goals and Future Plans


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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!

Amanda:

Welcome to Lit Vibes Only, where we lit the shit out of books we love and hate. I'm Amanda, the insightful, thrill seeker and historical fiction nerd.

Kelsey:

And I'm Kelsey, the unhinged, diehard, romantic and fantasy reader. Welcome, welcome to our episode. Happy last

Amanda:

Monday of 2025. Holy

Kelsey:

crap. Oh God. Before we get into that I want to lead you to our socials. And not forget, fill them away. The Yellow Brick Road. Yes. That leads you too. Can you tell we just watched

Amanda:

Wicked.

Kelsey:

Okay. You can find us on Instagram at Live Vibes only podcast and on TikTok and YouTube at Live Vibes Only podcast. We love hanging out with you over there. We make a ton of content and want you to see it. So come on over.

Amanda:

Come on over.

Kelsey:

Yes.

Amanda:

Coming out, follow, comment, subscribe, and then if they really love us, Kelsey, what else should they do?

Kelsey:

They need to go write us a rating and review. They need to write and review us.

Amanda:

They need to write us a, you need to rate and write a review. Yeah.

Kelsey:

They get it. Same.

Amanda:

Same. Yes. Yeah, same thing. Basically. Go show us some love on our podcast platforms, please. Thank you. We would really appreciate it. It's not too late to give us a belated Christmas present.

Kelsey:

Ooh. Yeah. It's not that belated Christmas. It's not that belated. It's just

Amanda:

like a couple days after, so we're still in that holiday season. So yeah, hit that five star rating. If you got extra time, write us a review on Apple or write a comment on this episode on Spotify. And make our holiday season a little merrier.

Kelsey:

You know what would be cool to see, because we are going to be. Sharing our goals for 2026. So you could share with us your goals and the comments. Yeah. So definitely Yeah. Easy and peasy.

Amanda:

Like we're giving you instructions. It's so scaffolded. We're such good teachers. We're telling you exactly what to do. Just drop a line and tell us what your reading goals are for next year, which we'll be talking about later in this episode. If we were really

Kelsey:

scaffolding, we would add sentence stems for them.

Amanda:

I feel like it depends on grade level. I think because they're adults. My reading goal for 2026 is, is blank. Oh my gosh. Okay. We're so glad you're here. And Kelsey and I are just like fresh off of a super fun night because, and I'm tired and we're, it was a late night. I didn't get home until 1130 I think. Because the movie ended at 11. But we watched Wicked For Good. And Yes, it was amazing. I, ugh, just dropped a little vlog of our little evening together, so I haven't

Kelsey:

seen it yet.

Amanda:

Yeah. I literally just dropped it this morning. One more reason why you should be following us on our socials. Granted, this is gonna come out like weeks after I've dropped it. Yeah. But you can go back and find that video on Instagram and TikTok, but it was great. Both Kelsey and I have seen the musical. Yes. I thought back in 2007 when I was studying theater in London. So I got to see it in the West end, which was super cool. How cool. Just like such a transformative experience. And I mentioned this in the TikTok video that as soon as I got back to the states, I immediately went out and bought the sheet music for it so I could play the songs on the piano. Yeah. And listened to the soundtrack on repeat and, ugh. Yeah, it was great. I think the only thing I didn't like, and Kelsey, we were talking about this, I didn't really particularly care for some of the new songs Oh, yeah. That they added. I did

Kelsey:

not I, the other one, the first one that Alphabet sings. With the animals. That's a new one, right? I've never heard of, I believe so. Wonder. Yeah. It's not wonderful. It's called something else. No, it's, yeah. Wonderful. Yeah. But, or it feels like home or something like that. Yeah. That one was okay to me, but then the bubble. The bubble. Oh, my bubble. I'm, what are we? It's so weird. No, thank you. No, but whatever, she did a great job singing it, but yes. I was not a fan of that particular song.

Amanda:

I know. And it was clear that they just needed to like. Flesh out the second act to make it into a full length movie. Yeah. But I still enjoyed it. I still loved it. As long as your mind Oh yeah. Is one of my favorite songs and it just got me. Ugh. So good. And I will say, the other thing that I love about this movie, and the first one I think I might have mentioned this before, is I am obsessed with costuming. Like I worked in my costume shop in college when I was studying theater. Yeah. Was like the student costume shop manager my senior year. And so I'm always like, just really what is the word I'm looking for? Honed in on the costumes and like really paying close attention and they're just absolutely. Just like luscious, exquisite, vibrant, the textures, the colors, the, oh, it's so good. The tailoring. It's just like eye candy.

Kelsey:

How about when FI's a Scarecrow?

Amanda:

That's more like CGI than cost. But it was, But it was so, it was so

Kelsey:

interesting to see like that. Yeah. Yeah. I'm sure. Yeah. Yeah. But still it's, that was fun.

Amanda:

It was. It was good. And I'll also say like on a slightly different note as As a black woman, I, one, I love the fact that Cynthia was cast in this role, but it was also so great to see that she was the one that Fiero chose. Because I feel like a lot of times, especially as black women, we can often be seen as undesirable and unattractive. And so for her to have that moment with him I mean throughout both movies, but especially in the second movie, and to see that she was the one that was chosen and she was the one that was seen as beautiful inside and out, like really hit home for me. As a black woman, I was like, yeah I wanna see that more in films versus, just like the black girlfriend side character, who's cheering on the white girl, who's got the guy and is the main character, the romantic lead. Yeah. So I love that so much.

Kelsey:

Yeah. I do feel like. Thinking about that, like the ending was definitely geared towards this happy ending Oh it was. And that's not how it, that's ends not the reality of, the musical or Yeah. Book, I believe.

Amanda:

No, the book is dark. The book is dark and sad and awful. Did you read the book? No, I think we talked about this a while ago. Yeah. Maybe not on the podcast, but in person. I remember I watched the musical was so Taken, realized it was a book because I didn't realize that beforehand. Yeah. Went and grabbed the book, started reading it. I was like, oh my God, what is this? This is, yeah. And it's a pretty. Dense read as well. Yeah. And I just was not in the right place to read it. I feel like now that I'm older, I might appreciate it more. But I, no, I haven't read the books in their entirety. No.

Kelsey:

And I would say too, that those books there's, it's a series. It's not just a one off. Yeah, no, yeah, there's several. Yeah. So I have no idea like how many books there are, but, and also where the story goes.

Amanda:

Yeah. I think there's three. I do know and one of them it follows, is it Alphabet's Child?'cause one of them is called like Son of a Witch, I think. What? Yeah. Again, or who. What was that? Who does she have a child with? Maybe fear. Fear. I don't know. Honestly, listeners, please like my cow, take all of this with a massive grain of salt because I have not read the books. And I'm just like spit balling off of random things I've seen here and there. I, at one point I have read through the synopsis of the book for the first one a couple of times, but that was like in passing. So I don't really know the details, but I've heard that they're good. Like they're, it's a really good story and it's dark and twisted and complex. I just, I haven't read them, so Yeah. Me neither. Yeah, and I think this reminds me of my whole conundrum where if I. Watch a movie that is based on a book. I cannot then go back and read the book. Like my brain just hates it. It's just no. And I feel like that with Wicked, if I had read the book first and then watched Wicked, it would've been I think fine. But once I watched Wicked and got in my head like, this is what Wicked is, this kind of lighthearted in some ways musical. I, I can't go the other way. Like it's my brain is just so resistant. Yeah, I hear you. Yeah. So I think that's why I just had a really hard time getting into it as well. And this, that happened also with, not to off on a tangent too much, but that happened with Lord of the Rings too. Me two. I remember watching the first movie and I was like, oh my God. Ran out and got the book and I was like, I can't do this.

Kelsey:

It was, it's the move and Okay. The books are so dense. There's like the movie is almost nothing like the books. Yeah. It's yes. The main plot points. Yes. Uhhuh, but they skip over so much. Many things. Yeah. And I was like, so I was like, but when did they get to the house? And I was, it was just like at the very beginning of when, yeah. The Hobbits are all there and yeah. The way the hobbits come together is different. Yeah. And I was like, what the fuck?

Amanda:

Yeah. It just throws me, because I'm constantly comparing the two when they don't line up. It just like messes with my head. Yes. And I read, but I read The Hobbit before I watched the movie and that was like, fine, because I was like, okay. Like I read it and I remember, I think I had to read it for school in high school. Oh really? Yeah. But yeah I just, it's really hard for me to go the other way. I don't know if other listeners, if you guys, some of you're like that as well, but it absolutely is. I just, I really struggle with that and it's why I have never read the first Hunger Games.'cause I watched the movie first realize it was based in a book. Oh. Couldn't read the first one. But then I read the, then I read the rest of them. Yeah. So you've n never read the first book? I never read the first book in the

Kelsey:

series. I know, I don't remember how, I don't remember when I read the Hunger Games. Was it after it? Oh my gosh. Was after you'd seen the movie though, because I, no, I don't know. Oh. Oh.'cause I've read all of them. Yeah. I don't know. Yeah. I dunno.

Amanda:

But yeah, I can't go the other way. But that also reminds me, last thing I'll say before we get to our current reads. Yeah. When we were at the movies last night, one of the trailers is for Weathering Heights. Oh yes. And I feel like Kelsey, you and I, we need to do an episode on that. Yes. For sure. I think that would be great. But you have to read it first. Yes, I have to read it first. It's really good. It's so dark and broody and gothic. I remember, I think I read it after college actually, like randomly got it from the library. Ah. And was not expecting it to, I was not expecting to like it as much as I did for sure. Okay. So we'll have to, so stay tuned listeners. Yeah. We might do a

Kelsey:

special I was telling you that I loved Jane Airy. Yeah. Did you say it was the same? Author or we're not sure. No,

Amanda:

it's, I'm gonna look it up. It's one of the Bront Bronte Bront Sisters Bron. So Wondering Heights is Emily. Did Emily also do Jane Eyy or is that, oh my gosh, this is horrible. I also hate Jane Eyy, so I This is you do, I thought we talked about this. I don't remember. Okay. Jane Eyy is Charlotte. Charlotte and Weathering Hearts is Emily. Okay. I was okay. Yeah. Did not like Jane Eyy or God like here's the thing, here's the thing. The story itself I enjoy, right? Like the plot I enjoy. The problem with Jane Eyre is that Charlotte spends insane amounts of time just describing stupid stuff. Like she'll spend eight pages describing like the British countryside and like the blades of grass and like, I don't care. This is boring. Please skip the next good part. So like the actual plot itself and the story it tells Love that there's just so much kind of downtime. And especially as an A DH, ADHD high schooler, it was really hard for me to stay engaged. But I do like the plot itself. Okay. And I love Weathering Heights.

Kelsey:

Okay. They sound similar. They're the same genre.

Amanda:

Yeah. So like that kind of gothic novel. Yeah. You also should read if you liked Jane Erin, those kind of gothic romances. Yes. You should read Rebecca. It's just called Rebecca. Yeah. It's just called Rebecca. It's by, what is it? I think it's Daphne DeMar. I think that's how you say her name. Okay. I think you'd really like it. Alright. It's great. Yeah. Anyhow, God, we could talk forever about all of this, but,

Kelsey:

Yes. Saw Wicked loved it. And in general, just watch it too. Five stars for Wicked Loved it. Five stars for Wicked. Especially, oh my God. I don't even know this actor's name, but the hot guy. Jonathan, was it Jonathan

Amanda:

Bailey? Jonathan Bailey's. What's his name? Jonathan Bailey. Jonathan Bailey.

Kelsey:

Okay.

Amanda:

Jonathan. Jonathan Bailey, who was voted he could be anything most sexy. I would watch it. Sexiest man Alive. I was say most. Yes. He voted Sexiest Man alive this year. Yeah. And he's, yeah. God gorgeous men. And, yes. Yes. Anyway, anyhow. Okay. It was great. It was fantastic. Yes. Just love looking at him. And he I wish he sang more actually. Like he really only, he only sang during As long as you're mind, I'm like, I wanna hear your voice more. Yeah.

Kelsey:

Yeah. But he also, I don't think he was a singer before this. No. Right. Like he took, I don't know. He had to train for that. Yeah. Ugh. So good. Could you imagine

Amanda:

him just on his knees stinging for you? Ugh. Ugh. Okay. Anyhow so moving on to our current reads. Oh yeah. What am I reading? Oh yeah. I am currently, I have it right next to me. So I'm currently reading an arc oh, this is Beth is dead. I'm gonna try and hold it up for folks. I'm like, which side should I, without the so much glare. You, Beth is dead by Katie Burnett Berna. I did not look up how to pronounce her name. I was sent this book by Simon and Schuster actually several months ago at this point. Yeah. And it is re it's getting released in January. Yeah. So next month. And so I wanted to get it ready and get my review out there before that happens. And in a nutshell, it's a modern take twist That's right on little women. Yes. And yes, the book starts off with Beth being murdered and there are sort of dysfunctional family. And they all have motivations, right? For motives, I should say, for killing Beth. Wow. The sisters Lori all, all of the characters from the book, the original, so it's good so far. I've just um, even Joe. Yeah, even Joe. So Joe is wow. In the story, Joe is like this attention hungry individual who's willing to do whatever it takes to get follows on her social. And she's oh, it's a modern

Kelsey:

take. Okay. Yeah. It's a modern take. Yeah, it's happening now. It's what?

Amanda:

And she got it, is this emerging author who's also trying to like, build her platform. And she's, she's been capitalizing on. Her fam. I don't wanna, you know what, I don't wanna say too much. I don't wanna say too much, but so far I'm enjoying it. And again, one more reason why you should be on our social so you can hear my review. Get excited about this book and get it on your bookshelves in January. Yeah, so that's what I'm reading.

Kelsey:

Is there, are there some rules? We're new to this. Are there some rules about when you can. Post a video about

Amanda:

that book? No. So basically, once you get it from the publisher, they want you to advertise it, right? They want you to be writing reviews, they want you to be sharing about it. Obviously, you can't spoil anything, and you also can't I can't share this copy with anyone. Like it specifically says on the back of it I can't share it with anyone. Yeah. So the only folks who get to read it are the folks who got sent to copy. So I feel very special. But yeah, you can't, you also can't quote the book either. Oh. So it's Yeah. But it's like

Kelsey:

before it's out.

Amanda:

Correct. Okay. And so essentially they, they want people to get on good reads to, give it that four or five star rating. So when people, when it comes out, they can already see like, oh, this book has got whatever rating this many people liked it, et cetera. But um, I do all my reviews as you know, on our, on our socials. I do video reviews and not written ones, but maybe I'll change that soon. We'll see. What are you reading?

Kelsey:

One that you recommended to me. Oh, blood over BrightHaven. Oh yeah. Ml, what is the Lang Wong? Wong ML Wong? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. It is ML Uhhuh Wong. Okay. Okay. I was like, I know it's ml, but something yeah. I'm not gonna say anything about it. Yeah. I am almost done with it.

Amanda:

And we're recording these out of order because Kelsey's not done. Yes. Yeah, this episode is gonna drop after that episode. So it's gonna be weird to hear that if you're, don't listen to our

Kelsey:

episode because in our timeline we, I have not finished it. Yes. But in your timeline of listening to this, you've already listened. You've already recorded it. Mm-hmm.

Amanda:

Episode for it. Wild. It's recording. A podcast is real weird. It is weird. Real weird, Joel. It's

Kelsey:

weird. It's

Amanda:

weird. But yeah, I'm super excited to hear what she thinks and I'm, I've been loving the fact that we have both been so good recently about not saying anything. Yeah.'cause I also recently read The Love Hypothesis, which will be recording for for our January, January episodes. I did see, she didn't even know, she didn't even know I was reading it. She didn't even know I finished it. Yep. Yep. I really liking saw you posted a

Kelsey:

video about it, but

Amanda:

Yeah, I posted a video that I was starting to tweet it. That's right. But yeah I really like that. And you'll have to tune in next month for my review on Love Hypothesis, but yay. We are here today to just reflect, recap our year, the books we read, our reading goals yeah. And, new releases we're excited about for 2026. And what our reading goals are gonna be for the following year as well. Yeah, I, how do we wanna do this? We each have five-ish books for our favorite books and then our favorite audio books. Do we wanna go back and forth? We can go back and forth. Wanna just, okay. Yeah. Okay. I think that's fine.

Kelsey:

Back and forth. Okay.

Amanda:

Do you wanna start with like your first favorite book? Okay. Yes.

Kelsey:

Oh my God, what can I say about this book? You need to read it. Is definitely okay. One. Yeah. But also, have you not read this one yet, Amanda? Nope. It's still in my, actually it's in my Libby Hold. It's, I'm waiting for it

Amanda:

to come in.

Kelsey:

Yeah. Nice. Yes. When I said you, I meant like the audience. Oh, but also you all My Rage by S Tahir. I honestly wanna run and pick up all of her other books. I think she has like some fantasy books.

Amanda:

Yeah.

Kelsey:

That she's released. And I am very excited to read those'cause I. After reading this book, I just don't think she could do any wrong.

Amanda:

Oh, wow. Okay.

Kelsey:

I it's that good. And it is a YA book too, and some people have a thing about that, but it is so well written. And so well done. From the perspectives of these two, like teenagers, I just fell in love with this author and you gotta read it. You gotta do it.

Amanda:

You've been talking about this book on multiple episodes and like on social, so and originally you suggested it Yeah. One our res and I can't

Kelsey:

stop talking

Amanda:

about it. Yeah. I am excited to read it and I'm, it's a really good one. Yeah. I'm glad I like brought this heart, this book into our awareness so we can both enjoy it. It's funny because the first favorite book on my list is actually the book that Kelsey just mentioned. It's Blood Over BrightHaven. Oh, okay. By Emma. Long and it's, this book is so interesting because as you guys know, I. Am not a big fantasy reader. And this is not a romantic, this is just like a straight fantasy. There's a little bit of romance in there, but that's not the main focus.

Kelsey:

And

Amanda:

so for me, like to pick up a fantasy book of my own volition without being forced to and then becoming obsessed is like very, and you read it odd for me. This is a good book. The fact that I, as a non fantasy reader, mark, this is one of my top reads, literally cannot stop thinking about it, cannot stop recommending it. It's so fantastic. And again, as I've mentioned,'cause I've mentioned this in previous episode, like it does such a good job of using the fantasy genre to talk about real world issues like colonialism. Sexism, racism, xenophobia, like all of these things in a way that's just so stark and compelling and makes you stop and think oh my God wait a minute. We do these things in our world and oh, it's so good. I can't wait to talk about it with Kelsey. Or I guess I've already talked about it with Kelsey. Can't wait for you to hear

Kelsey:

us talking about it. Yeah.

Amanda:

Wait, no, you already did. No, they already did. Unless you skipped last week's episode, then you should definitely go back and listen to it. But yeah, literally do not have enough praise for this book. I would've given it 10 stars if I could have, and I wanna read more by her. Apparently another book that came up a lot that people recommended was the sort of, I think it's GaN that she wrote. Oh yeah. It's like almost, oh, I've heard of that one. 700 pages I think. It's a pretty long book, but I think I, maybe a winter break. Yeah. Maybe over winter break I'll dive into that tome of a novel. So yeah. My first one is Blood Over BrightHaven. Go out right now and read it and thank me later.

Kelsey:

Yeah. Cool. I won't say anything about it, but other than I agree with your assessment around like fantasy books for me a good marker of a fantasy book is that it does connect to like real world issues. Yeah, absolutely. And shows them in a new light in a different way. For people to understand them and them.'Cause yeah, our world is more wild than,

Amanda:

truth is stranger than fiction. Y'all. Truth is stranger than fiction. And sometimes we need fiction to see the truth. We go. Totally. That's my little saying for today. My little, yeah. I love that bang.

Kelsey:

Maybe that needs to be a shirt of ours, some merch. So my second favorite book of the year, which I think it is all thanks to me is all thanks to me just Okay. Calm down. I think this is the only five star I've given you. Yes. I'm pretty sure. I'm pretty sure. But Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reed. Yeah. There's no wrong in this book. It's so good and so Yep. No notes. Yeah. Intriguing and like hooks you right away. Love this book. If you haven't read this one, you need to get on board. You need to get on board. Then go listen to our episode on it. Yes. Yeah. Taylor, actually, it's, go ahead. Almost all of these books that I loved this year we have an episode on. Yeah.

Amanda:

Literally all of them. Except for two. Except for, yeah. Yeah, just for two. Yeah, it's funny because that was the second book on my list as well, was atmosphere. So yeah, go out and read it. I will say this, so I've had a couple of friends who read, who have never read Taylor Jenkins Reed, and then they read. The seven husbands of Evelyn Hugh and did not like it. And they were like, no, not for me. And I was like, look, understand, that's fine, but do not sleep on Taylor Jenkins, Reed. Go and read atmosphere instead because you're gonna love it. It's is just that good. So I would recommend if you're someone who's on the fence about Taylor Jenkins, Reed, you haven't read any of her books. I know The Seven husbands gets a lot of attention and praise and I personally enjoyed it. But start with Atmosphere or maybe Daisy Jones in the six. But atmosphere is stunning. It's all about women in space and there's a beautiful romance and it's about family. Mm-hmm. Both chosen and biological. And it's beautiful. It's absolutely beautiful. I cried. So since we both had that one. I'll skip into my next one. My next book is All The Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker. This was one of my first reads of this year, of 2025. And I, God, this book, it's not a fast-paced book but it's a combination of a thriller, a mystery, a romance, like a, I don't even know, like a drama. I don't know. It's a coming of age story. So all of those genres are so beautifully interwoven into it. And it's also one of those books where the writing is just like impeccable and delicious. Chris Whitaker knows his way around a sentence. And even if you didn't necessarily enjoy the plot, which you will just getting to sit with his words. And his like, reflections on life and relationships and heartbreak and tragedy. It's amazing. It's amazing. I was so happy I read this book. You won't wanna speed through it'cause I do think you'll just wanna sit with the story. It does have. A happy ish ending, um mm-hmm. but it, it, it's gonna destroy you. And if you like a book that destroys you, then you're gonna love this one. And that's all I'll say.

Kelsey:

There you go. Beautiful. Now my third recommendation, if you just wanna have fun, this is the book for you. Have a good time. Have a raunchy. Good time. Yes. Quicksilver by Callie Hart. Oh my gosh,

Amanda:

this

Kelsey:

book was so

Amanda:

fun. Which we, I'm trying to get, okay. I'm trying to orient in time. We will. Have we dropped this at the beginning of this month? Yes. Yes. Okay. We have

Kelsey:

already recorded this episode, so we're good. Yes. We've already

Amanda:

recorded it. It's in, in the vault. And you will have listened to it at the beginning of this month. Yes. If you're tracking with

Kelsey:

us. So yeah I don't have much to say. It's just a fun book. I did like the plot. I also loved the romantic Amanda. And some people just might not. Like that aspect. Yeah. There's some spice not saying any names. Mm-hmm. But um, what, what was that, what was, not saying any names, but it's fun. It's a fun ride. Okay.

Amanda:

I would agree. Kelsey had me read this book and I enjoyed the ride. I did skip over some of the sm but like brimstone literally just came out like last week. And I texted Kelsey this, I was at Target yesterday and they had a whole brimstone display and did I go over and pick up one of the books and stand there for a minute and debate whether or not to buy it? I sure did. And that is insane. That is insane. That is not me. I'm just learning to have

Kelsey:

fun with her books. Oh my God.

Amanda:

Okay. My books are so fun. Alright, first of all, sometimes. Second of all, I do think I will probably actually read brimstone. Yes. Not probably. I am going to read brimstone. Ugh.

Kelsey:

I just I got it on Libby actually just recently. It came through. They already,

Amanda:

how is that

Kelsey:

possible?

Amanda:

It's

Kelsey:

Bri I knew because they got a bunch of copies. I think that's insane. Yeah. And I just got it. Oh, then I'm not gonna buy it then I'll just get it on Libby as well. I, it's audio,

Amanda:

so I don't know which one. Oh, gross. No, I wouldn't wanna listen to that on audio. Oh my God, I love the audio. No. Especially because like I did end up, you told me to go to socials and listen to the recording like excerpts Yes. Of the auto book to hear his voice. I'm like, no, I can't. This is so stupid. I know you wouldn't. But yeah I was shockingly surprised by the fact that it was fun and enjoyable. It's fast paced. Yeah. There's adventure and fighting and mystery and vampires and fairies. So

Kelsey:

yeah, there's that. And what are the sprites that you like? The sprites.

Amanda:

Oh my gosh. Archer. The cute little fire Sprite. Fire Sprite. I hope he is in the next one. He's so cute. I want a little fire Sprite. Okay. My next book is. I thought it was, well see, my books are like not fun in that way. They're kind of like, you see, I'm telling, that's what I'm telling you. I'm like looking at my list and literally you're getting it. Now all of them deal with like tear jerkers really. They're either tear jerkers or they're dealing with really difficult social issues, social like controversial topics. So this next one is The Reformatory by Nan and Du. It is a yes, yeah, that classified as a horror novel, but it really is about these horrible reform schools down the deep south back in the day that boys were sent to both black and white boys, but the black boys were often treated. Worse in some cases, obviously'cause Hello Racism. Yeah. It tells the story of one of those schools. It's based in a real school and you see just like the ways in which these boys were abused, tortured, some of them died at these schools. And so it is not light reading, it is not fun, but you learn a lot. There's actual real historical figures that show up in the book as characters. Oh, okay. And it does have that kind of eerie kind of ghost. There are ghosts in it, so it does have that kind of haunted horror aspect, but it's well written and you're gonna learn something while also, getting to read a creepy tale. It's a win-win in my book. Okay. Yeah. This book needs way more hype. I don't know why more people aren't talking about it. It's so

Kelsey:

good. I also just remembered how many favorite books do you have? Do you have a longer list? I have a little longer list.

Amanda:

I have a longer list, but some of them overlapped with well, one of them did. And I, some of them are like honorable mentions that I'll speak through. Oh, okay.

Kelsey:

I'm gonna add in here. Okay. Because I just, I was just, this is gonna be such a long episode though. Funny. It's so funny because I was telling Amanda, I was like, oh yeah, I read Silver Elite this year. But I was like, I don't remember what it's about. I just remembered what it's about and yes, I did like it. Okay.

Amanda:

I feel like I must not have, did that happen too? That big up an impression on you if you're like, I totally

Kelsey:

forgot and No, I actually wasn't memorable. I really liked that one. And it had some like mystery to it and it was like, it is this woman that enters essentially the Silver Elite, but she's like part of the opposition. Okay. And so she's undercover, essentially, and Oh, I see. And it's really cool. But anyway, silver Elite by Danny Francis. Thank you. You're welcome. I don't know why I know that. Probably'cause it was all over TikTok. Yes it

Amanda:

was. It was. And because that's my,

Kelsey:

yeah. Next one.

Amanda:

That's your next one. Okay. Yeah. My next one is All the Sinners Bleed by Essay Cosby, which I also read at the beginning of last year or this year, which also is another dark, heavy, gritty, brutal. Yes. This is what you

Kelsey:

do to

Amanda:

yourself, Amanda. This is what I do to myself. I just I really love books that Yeah. Peel back the, what is it? I don't know, the layers on our society and just dive into all the things people don't wanna talk about or address or whatever. And it's a thriller, crime fiction book about a serial killer in the South who's committing these crimes that clearly have a religious bent to them. And so there's a new sheriff in town, he's a black sheriff, which is like the first black sheriff in this town, which is a big deal. And obviously because it takes place in the south because he is a black sheriff, because these crimes are happening, race and racism comes up, especially the history of racism in the south. So it's a lot. But even if you took that element out, just the serial killer and the murders that happened, because he's sa Cosby has no qualms about being gory in his descriptions and like what happens to people. So definitely a little makes you feel a little queasy or me anyway. But I thought it was so well done and he yeah. Doesn't shy away from saying things that need to be said that other people might not feel comfortable saying.

Kelsey:

And

Amanda:

I really appreciate just like the blunt. Blunt honesty and his direct way of addressing what's happening in our world and what has happened or in our country. Yeah. So yeah. And then I went on to read, at this point, I've now read three of his novels this year. I went on to read Razorblade Tears and King of Ashes, which was a release this year, 2025.

Kelsey:

And have

Amanda:

loved all three. So yeah if you can stomach it, I definitely recommend are they also like

Kelsey:

horror?

Amanda:

No, there's no Okay. Horror or like supernatural oin or anything like that. It really is just like if they can get, they're brutal. I see. They're brutal books. Yeah. Lots of violence.

Kelsey:

For some reason I thought they were more like horror books. Yeah, no. When I see the covers and so I would like, I could see that suggest them to, especially

Amanda:

all the Sins Bleed. Definitely looks like it's a horror book, I think based on the cover, but it just not, yeah. Okay. I added another one.

Kelsey:

Oh my God. Oh, it's another one of mine. Okay. But that yes. We'll get to that. It's funny'cause I don't have any of Kelsey's books on my list. Oh funny. The Heart Principle by Helen Huang. Now this is the only romance I was willing to put on this list.

Amanda:

No actually, you have romantic, which I feel like kind counts, but

Kelsey:

that's I know it's technically different genre. Just romance. Sure. Romance. So the reason why I, she was actually an author I discovered this year. Helen Wong, and she's a romance author, but she also dives into of a very particular set of like identities. Where I believe she's Asian American. And then she also, so her. Books have a layer of that first. And then they also have this layer of disabilities or like there was a woman, like people like

Amanda:

Neurodiverse.

Kelsey 2.0:

Yeah. There's a woman with autism in Okay. This book. And I just think she does such a great job of talking about those, or expressing how those folks might feel in particular situations. And in this situation, it's like a family that expects her to be just like everybody else. Even though she's not. And then also it comes with the taboo of Asian cultures, at least in this, in the way that she describes it around either mental illness or neurodiversity It's not really. Acknowledge talked about. Yeah. And swept under the rug. And that's the experience of this FMC. Yeah. And it's just, it was really well done. I liked it. Yeah. I

Amanda:

remember you mentioning her. I think it was during one of our Lit Rex episodes when we were talking about neuro diversity. Yeah. I think she came up and was one of the books she recommended. Yeah. Amazing. My next book is Dream Count by Chima Men and Gochi. She wrote Americana, which is one of my all time favorite books. She's a Nigerian author. And I think the reason why I liked this book so much is because it really just dives into the experiences of womanhood and women. And I know that's like a broad thing to say, but you know what it looks like to. Mature as a woman and how that impacts our experience in the world. Relationships, childbearing, female friendships, just all of the, there were so many times in this book where I was like texting my friends quotes from the book and I was just like, oh my gosh. This directly relates to me or to our friendship or to like my experiences, as a 30 something year old who's trying to figure out like what I'm doing with my life, both in terms of personal relationships, romantic relationships, my work

Kelsey:

Getting

Amanda:

older as a woman and what that means. And so even though the characters in this book are like Nigerian and Nigerian American, their experiences are in many ways universal to women. And it felt like therapy, reading the book, watching them go through these trials and how they manage them and responded to them and the choices that they made. Yeah, there were so many quotes where I was like, I just need to reflect on this and how it is. Directly connected to me and what I can learn from it. And I did recommend it for my book club as well.'cause it's also a great book to discuss with a group of women. So hopefully we'll get around to reading that. But how long is that one? Oh, I have the book. I'm like looking at it. I'm eyeballing it. I looks like it's probably I don't know, 360 pages. It's not super long. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So it'd be a good book club book for sure.

Kelsey:

Yeah. My book club likes to stay pretty, like short as well. Yeah, for sure. But if you that it's oh, it's 416 pages. Okay. Sorry guys. I didn't eyeball it. I also don't

Amanda:

have my glasses on, so we're just

Kelsey:

gonna blame it on that. But anyway, they, yeah, they probably would want a shorter book, but Sounded intriguing. Yeah, it's great. It's so good. We're always looking for books that we can like discuss as women because it, yeah. Okay. My next one, we also did an episode on this called the Oh, Al. Oh, that's a good one. Okay. I thought you by um, yes, I, it's just a great book. We reached out to Stacey for an art. Oh my God. Oh my God. And we so hope we get it. Oh my God. Oh,

Amanda:

I literally, guys, okay, I have to interject. I emailed her, I have never emailed a national bestselling author before and I was like, she's not gonna respond. She's gonna, it's just gonna go to like her spam folder and sent. I was like, Hey.'cause she commented on two of our videos, two of them, two our videos. So I was like, hi Stacy, we'd love you and I dunno if you know who we are, but you commented on our videos like da. And sent this email off into the ether, and then didn't hear anything back for a couple of days. And I was like, oh, bummer. But also, yeah, obviously, like why would you respond? Yeah. Then I just had this little inkling, this little like, Amanda, you should go and check. The spam folder of like our, oh my gosh, account, shut up. And sure enough, that's stupid. Emails send it to spam and like she took the time to She herself wrote us back and was like, yes. Loved your video. So glad you're enjoying the book. Oh, would be happy to send an arc. She's like, I sent your names to the publishers so that you guys can get an arc in the spring. I think it'll be April. Oh my God. So Stacey, we love you. We're dead. We loved this book. I did. We're so excited to get an arc of forsaken prophecy. And we're, we might, I dunno if I should say this on the podcast, but we might try and see if we can get her on the podcast. We're gonna, we're gonna say it, we're gonna manifest it. Hi. We're gonna manifest that. She's gonna come and do an interview. But yeah, sorry. I yeah, I also love that book. We just like chill for a second. Yeah it's just wild. I'm like, who, what is, what's our lives trying to manifest this? What is our lives that an actual real true blue author is like, yes. Here's some books. Okay, I'm gonna try and speed through these. So I'm gonna do these last two together. These are honorable mentions. Okay. The first one is Wild, dark Shore by Charlotte McConaughey. It's short, it's beautiful. It is. I don't read a lot of nature fiction because I'm like, I feel like it would be boring, but she did such a great job of talking about the beauty of the Natural World.'cause this takes place, down near the South Pole. This family lives on an island and it's kind of apocalyptic. Like There's a huge, as you know, climate crisis. And it's reached peak levels in this book. But it's also a story about. Family and loss and how you live your life after loss. And there's a little bit of a mystery baked in there as well. So it combines a bunch of different things. I loved it. I cried at the end. It's gonna pluck your little heartstrings. And then my other honor, honorable mention is James by Perceval Everett. Read this also at the top of 2025 and it tells the story of huckleberry Finn, but from Jim, the enslaved man's perspective, which is why it's called James. It is so good. Oh, like it is so good. This is another really short read. Okay. The way that he captures the voice of this character and brings him to life and makes him three-dimensional and complex and nuanced as he's processing life. The south as an enslaved man on the run. And you would think oh, this is gonna come across as like really dated. And so you're, I felt like what he would have to say in this book would not feel relevant and I was so wrong. A lot of his interactions with the white characters in the book, I'm like, oh, these interactions are still happening today. They might look slightly different. But the underlying beliefs and tensions, et cetera, are still there. And oh, I was so powerful. It was so good. And I'm really happy that I found this book. And those are my top

Kelsey:

physical books from 2025. There you go. There you go. I will quickly recap the last two I have as well. First I have to mention Bride by Ali Hazelwood. So gross. This is such a fun book. It's not. I get over it and, the thing that like, I can't get over it either because it's

Amanda:

horrible.

Kelsey:

The thing that hooked me was like the very beginning and I laughed so hard and I was like, this book is gonna be funny. So that's how I took it the whole time. Oh. But it was like when she was walking down the aisle and Uhhuh, they're about to kiss or something. Mm-hmm. She was like, why do you smell like that? And I was like, what? So stupid, so funny, so stupid. And that was my experience. The entire book, everything was just funny and it was hilarious. Anyway then I, this year I went down the rabbit hole of Ali Haywood. So that was really fun doing. I'm surprised none of her other books made it on your list. Yeah, I, they're fun, but I don't know that they're five star reads. I see. Okay. And the last one that I will say is you did not make me read this book. I didn't, but I recommended it. But I heard you talking about it multiple times and help me pronounce it, but code name Helene Uhhuh. Yay. Got it. By Ariel Lahan. We read Frozen River, right? Yeah. That was the one we read for the podcast. This one was better than that one. It, God Yeah. It was so freaking good. Good. And to know that, like a woman did all of these things, like I just, I can't wrap my brain around it is insane. Yep. She's a badass. And it was so cool to see her story and also was heart wrenching as well, because I know people die. People die in war and fucking sucks. It does. But anyway.

Amanda:

Ah, yeah. Good. I'm so glad you read it and I'm trying to remember now. Why I pivoted.'cause I originally was gonna have you put in Helene, and then I was like no. And I think it was because overall I was seeing. Frozen River have more traction like online and like book talk and things. And so, I was like, I think it's gonna appeal to more people, but in my opinion, I agree. I like codename Helene more than Frozen River. I enjoyed them both.

Kelsey:

But

Amanda:

the fact also, like you were saying, that it's based on real events, this real woman who did these real things. Yeah. Again, truth is stranger than fiction. I'm also like obsessed with World War ii history. And that's what this book is based on.

Kelsey:

Yeah. And for me, I've never learned about the occupied territories, right? More of the occupied territories. So this is like more about France and how it was for people in France to be occupied essentially. Yeah. It was wild. That makes me want, oh, go ahead. Sorry. Her whole like, story around having to travel to Spain to escape, like that was wild. It was like coyote situations, where like people were like taking them and Yeah. It was wild.

Amanda:

It's truly an insane book. She wrote her own biography, I heard. Yeah, it's you, I think it's like either out of publication. It's really hard to get,'cause I looked for it. It's called like the, was it the white Mouse or something? Because that was like one of her news. Oh yeah. I think you're right. Yeah. Yeah. But yeah it's amazing. And I don't know why they haven't made a movie about this woman already. Or maybe they have. That would be really great. I don't know. There might be, I think maybe

Kelsey:

there was a documentary maybe. I have to look at it again. Maybe.

Amanda:

But yeah, so good. And I'm so glad that yet another one of my book recs made it on Kelsey's list. So yeah, definitely check that one out. And there was something else I wanted to say. I was like gonna interject and then I forgot what I was gonna say. But anyhow, unimportant. That's okay. Okay, so then moving on to audio books, like our top audio books. As yes. Some of you might know if you're new, you might not know. Prior to this year, I did not listen to audiobooks. I could literally count on my hand. How'd you get into audiobooks

Kelsey:

Amanda.

Amanda:

I dunno that's strange.

Kelsey:

There's, it's

Amanda:

a

Kelsey:

funny

Amanda:

story. Just

Kelsey:

tell people

Amanda:

how you got audiobook. Kelsey was a huge reason why I got into audiobooks. Like I was saying, prior to this podcast, prior to this year, I could count on one hand the amount of audiobooks I had listened to.

Kelsey:

And it

Amanda:

was generally when I was driving back when I lived in New Jersey, like home to Ohio for Christmas, I'd do an audiobook. Oh, okay. And that was it. That was pretty much it. And then, yeah, Kelsey was just always talking about how she was listening to them, and I. Knew also because I'm not a great auditory processor. I was like the only way I'm gonna get better at it is if I do it more. So let's do the thing. And of course, I was also encouraged to do this because I'm like, it's gonna up my book count. I can listen to this while I'm cleaning my bathroom, driving, whatever. So this is a huge shift for me to be regularly listening to audiobooks now at least a couple a month. So I guess I'll just, I think I might just go through all five. Okay. And then we'll move on. So I ranted and raved about this first one on socials. It is the favorite. Yes. I remember by Lane Fargo. It's about these ice dancers, the competitive world of ice dancing. It is drama for days. It is nonstop uhhuh. The characters are voiced by different actors, which I really enjoy that when it's not just one narrator for the whole thing. Oh yeah. That's so fun. So it just was so dynamic and because. The book has these segments that are basically a documentary, like in those chapters, right? All of the characters are being voiced by different people. I listened to several biographies, but the one that I loved the most was Finding Me by Viola Davis, who, if you're not familiar with who that is, that's really sad. But she's best known for How To Get Away With Murder that whole TV series. Okay. And it's about her life and her struggle, quite literally. Just climbed out of a really abusive low income, just upbringing. Like all the things that go along with that. Her life is insane. You're listening to each chapter, you're like, it couldn't get any worse. It couldn't get any worse. And you're like, oh my God, it got worse. Yeah. So the fact that she got to where she's today is like truly. Phenomenal. Incredible. So that was amazing. And also, she's an amazing actress and she reads the book and so just getting to hear her emote throughout this book was beautiful. Yeah. A Calamity of Souls by David Baldacci. It is a crime fiction book. Sentenced the deep South about this black man who's convicted of murdering this older white couple. So this white lawyer teams up with a black female lawyer to train prove his innocence. So well done another book where we have multiple voice actors. The story itself is so compelling. You're probably seeing a theme here with the books that I recommend. Like I said, they often touch on issues and our society, social justice issues. That was beautiful. And then the last two recommendations are here because they're just fun and heartwarming and cozy, not my normal dark, heavy, gritty reads.

Kelsey:

What are they?

Amanda:

The first is Summer Beyond the Sea by TJ Clone. Oh, Uhhuh, which is the sequel to the House in the Ilian Sea, which I read. And then Kelsey listened to the audio book and was like, the audio book is amazing. So I was like, all right, I wanna listen to the sequel instead of reading the sequel and Oh, my HI laughed out loud. Cute. The children are so cute, cute, cute. He does all the voices and they're just, that is so

Kelsey:

insane to me. The way that he does them is crazy. Love that. But so freaking talented.

Amanda:

So talented. Oh my God. So talented. There's a book I listened to. Recently, and I'm blanking on the name. And the o the person was able to also just shift their voice in so many different ways. Like back to back. I'm like, how do you do that? It's wild. That's insane. Yeah. So some are beyond the sea and then, oh my gosh. So Vera Wong's, unsolicited advice for murderers. It is, a mystery book where this 60 something year old grandma essentially is like out to solve a murder. She finds a dead body in her tea shop. It is heartwarming, laugh out loud, funny. It will also make you cry. The characters are lovely. The mystery itself is not, it's pretty simple to figure out in my opinion, someone who reads a lot of them. But you're reading it for the characters and they will just worm their way. Vera's gonna worm her way into your heart and you're never gonna wanna say goodbye. Cannot. There's a sequel. Can't wait to read it or listen to it. Okay. So those are my top five audio books for this year.

Kelsey:

Okay. Nice. I'm

Amanda:

loving this journey.

Kelsey:

I'm so happy for you that you discover these. Thank you. Thank you. Okay. I have four. Yes. Okay. Quicksilver by Kelly Hart. Oh my God. Anyone who has listened to this audiobook knows what I'm talking about. Besides Amanda, don't,

Amanda:

I listen to a clip of his voice. So the other thing too, I,

Kelsey:

okay. Side note. The other thing is when I initially start an audiobook, it's not automat. It typically isn't automatically like, oh, it's like a little, you're getting used to the, yes. The narrator acclimated Uhhuh, and, over time, you just fall in love with his voice. It's just so good. Mm-hmm. Okay. Okay. So I'll leave it at that. Okay. How do I pronounce this word? Patron? Not patron. Patron. It's spelled the same way. There's no accent. Mark over the O. Oh, okay. Camp Patron tr and I listened to this and this phrase I did too in the book, but like I did, I it still did not click. Patron, patron, Patron, saints of Nothing, Saint of nothing. By Randy ve, ve Reba, Reba Reba. We both listened to this

Amanda:

on audiobook.

Kelsey:

It was a good one. I really liked this book. I do like his voice. Oh, you didn't? I didn't. Oh, no, I thought it was fine. Yeah, I didn't like it, but I like the book. Um, Anita Dete Laughs last No, it's like Anita Dete. That's how she says it. This is how she says it. I, this is such a good audio book. Oh, funny. Okay. By Sochi Gonzalez. Yep. So good. Such a good audio book. She's so fiery. Like the narrator's

Amanda:

so fiery and passionate. It's great.

Kelsey:

And I think that's what's, that's what's. She's trying to convey in the book anyway. Yeah. And so it just comes off beautifully. And then under The Whispering Door by TJ Clone, I think he has the same narrator for all books. I think he might, and he does all of the voices. And it's just phenomenal. I just, I can't get over it. There's no children in this book, but I just love his books. They're talented. Yeah. Love his books.

Amanda:

I think for me, like one of the markers of a good audio book, especially someone who has a theater background and has done a lot of acting and done some reader's theater, like I appreciate it when the narrator isn't just reading and is actually performing. And I feel like especially with Anita De Monte, like that narrator is working her ass off. Like she is fully ass off embodying the character of Anita. And like that to me really elevates the whole book. And also is. Add something to the book, right? Because reading and listening to a book are two different experiences. And if you're going to craft an audio for a book, I feel like it needs to embody, the tone and the spirit of the book. And you have so much more space to play around with that in an audio. Oh, absolutely. So I love when authors really lean into that verse is just like, and this happened and this happened, and now we're moving on to the next chapter. Yes. And she really, yeah. Really leaned into that. Yay. So yeah, all of those books and audio books we recommend, we loved them. They're amazing. And you should check them out if you haven't already. And now we're gonna talk about the books. That we're looking forward

Kelsey:

to. Are we gonna talk about our goals at the end? Yes. Okay. I think that's what we did last year. Okay.

Amanda:

So yeah, books that we're looking forward to, i'll start with my first one. And I'm not, these are gonna be really quick. I'm not diving into because I haven't read them. The first one is it's not Her by Mary Cubica. I have read four of her book books already. Every last lie, the other misses the Good Girl and local Woman missing and enjoyed all of them. So she's a thriller author. And so I am primarily excited because I've read a bunch of her other things and love them. And I'm assuming I'm gonna love this one too. So Great. I'm excited to read it.

Kelsey:

Yay. Okay. So I found this author. I really wanna dive into authors I don't know yet. And more indie authors and more POC authors because we get so flooded by all of the things on TikTok Yeah. That I I just, I wanna figure out how to find those other books and authors. Yeah. And that's really what our platform is about anyway, but with that being said. I found this one Graceless Heart by Isabel I Ibanez. Okay. And I read about it this morning and I can't remember what it's about. It's a fantasy. I know, but I'm excited about it. Okay. So a new fantasy author of color is what I'm hearing? Yes. Yes. Okay. I'm I don't know yet.

Amanda:

Okay. Okay. Fantastic. Sounds great. My next one is actually on both of our lists. It's a forsaken prophecy. We already chatted about it. It drops in the summer. We're gonna hopefully get our arcs in the spring. Oh. And we'll be promoting the shit out of this book. So yeah. Get excited for that. Yeah, I guess I'll do my next one since we've got that one shared. Did, and then you go, did you say the author? I didn't,'cause we already talked about it name, but it's Stacey McKewan, just I'll say it again. Yes. So Forsaken Pro, forsaken Prophecy by Stacey McKewan, who we were just ranting and raving about. And then I actually have mixed feelings about this next one on my list. I, Frieda McFadden, I have I don't wanna say a love hate relationship because that's a little bit strong, but her books can be pretty hit or miss. Like, when she hits, she hits hard. And when she misses, she misses pretty hard. So last year, or I guess this year, she released a book right at the beginning of the year in January that I was anticipating it was the Crash. And it was awful. I have it on my bookshelf, I need to donate it'cause I don't want it. And I don't know, like this book could be great or awful. It's called Dear Debbie, it's gonna be her newest release. It's once again releasing in January. I think. She's does this like every January release thing. Oh, I see. So I don't know I'm hoping, I'm hopeful. I am hopeful that it's good. And on a side note, I just realized that, I dunno how this was not on my radar, but the movie for the Housemaid is out now. And, that is a Freedom McFadden book that I do love. Okay. And I'm excited to see it. It's got a great cast. Okay.

Kelsey:

Did you have me read Freedom McFadden yet? It was The

Amanda:

Cell,

Kelsey:

yeah. You read The

Amanda:

inmate? Yeah. Okay. Yeah. The Cellmate. Yeah, the Inmate Uhhuh. Yeah.

Kelsey:

Okay. And you weren't a huge fan. Yeah. Yeah, I wasn't a huge fan. The next one on my list, oh. And I still, I just don't know if I'm gonna torture you with this book yet. Oh no. Because it's so long. It's such a long one.

Amanda:

Oh, is this the sequel to Win the Moon Hatched or whatever? Yes. I can see the author's

Kelsey:

name, the Ballad of Fallen Dragons, which, oh my God. I can already envision like what this book is gonna be about. And I just like. I love it. I'm so excited about it by Sarah A. Parker. And so I haven't decided whether or not I'm gonna torture you with it yet. Isn't it super long? It is a very long book. Yeah. No, thank you. And I had to read it twice because I was like, what the fuck happened? Oh my God. But it was so good. It's so good. I

Amanda:

feel like the rule, we're gonna make a new rule. The rule is no rules. No rules. That the rule is that you only can give me one like 700 pager book a year. That's a year. Oh my God. I don't give you any. That's more than fair. One a year because that's I really

Kelsey:

thought we were gonna be able to read Spark of the Ever Flame this year, and it's now into next year again.

Amanda:

Oh, because of the release date for the Yeah. Burn. Yeah.

Kelsey:

She's still not done with the book. Oh no. How? Yeah.

Amanda:

How sad. I'm so distressed. Anyhow, my next book,

Kelsey:

I'm

Amanda:

just deciding is,

Kelsey:

Anatomy not a rule. Oh, I did not agree. You didn't What? I didn't agree about what the rule you just made. I didn't agree to it. You don't have to agree to it. It's rule. Yes. So there's no you don't agree. It

Amanda:

just is. This is a democracy, Amanda, also, you can't, not a dictatorship. Yeah. It's a democracy. You can't force me to read a book. This is not a dictatorship. Anyhow, the other way round my next book, my next book is Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston. She was a new author to me this year. I read First Lie Wins by Her and really enjoyed it. And again, another thriller author, most of these books on here, almost all of'em are thrillers except for forsaken prophecy. So yeah, really loved for ly wins and so I'm excited to see what else she's got up her sleeve and if she can. Maintain her the great experience I had with firstly winds. So I am excited about this one.

Kelsey:

Yay. So my next one is, it's coming out in May. Oh, I forgot to mention that the Ballad of Fallen Dragons comes out on my birthday. So how you Oh, what a great birthday present. Okay. That's fantastic. Anyway, but broken Elite, the second of Silver Elite comes out in May, so I'm excited for that one.

Amanda:

Okay. All right. This next one I'm curious about. Actually, this is not a thriller, this is more of a murder mystery, which, I guess I can fall into the thriller category too, but it's the ending rights itself. And the really cool thing about this book is that it was written by two authors, so v Schwab the author of the Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. And Kat Clark, who I've actually never read before, they teamed up to write this book underneath the pseudonym Evelyn Clark. And so I'm really curious'cause you don't often get books that are written by two authors. Two pretty well known authors. Okay. And some of you'll remember at the beginning of this past year, or this year, I guess I've been saying this past year that I read, you're fatally invited. You are fatally invited. And this book, the ending writes itself, has a pretty identical premise. So it's essentially a bunch of like authors are. Put in this house like are invited to this house to write an ending to this novel because the author has died and whoever writes the best ending wins, I think. And there's like this whole prize, but someone ends up murdered and they have to figure out who it is. So it's very similar. It's like a locked room mystery. So I'm hoping it is. As good as or better than you are fatally invited because I do love a good locked room mystery. So we'll see.

Kelsey:

That's all I have. You already told me. Oh, okay. Okay. Talked about for second. Sweet. Then my last

Amanda:

one, I'm super excited about this one. I've never read this author before, but it's, you did nothing wrong by CG Drews and okay. Literally this is the blurb, like a little, like excerpt from the description. It says that this book is a horror inducing, psychological suspense. I'm like done, sold everything in that statement. Horror, psychological, suspense right up my alley. The initial reviews are in on Good reads and it seems to be doing well so far. Okay. So I'm excited and I'm always looking for new authors, so hopefully this might be a new favorite of mine. Nice. And speaking of favorite authors, I just really wanted to insert as well that thanks to Book Talk and our new book Friends, I was able to get recommendations for new authors this year to check out, and I just realized there's one that should be added to this list, but Ru Tis is a historical fiction author. Ya mostly that I discovered this year. Absolutely. Love, have read God, three or four of her books as of today. Wow. Essay Cosby, who I mentioned earlier, who's a thriller, crime fiction writer. And then Jason Kulik, who was another thriller author. All authors I discovered because of book talk and your recommendations. So thank you. And then I also discovered Jennifer Hillier because of you guys. Oh. Who's a local p and w author. I have read God, five of her books I think already this year. Dove in and I really just, yeah. Jumped right into the deep end. So I love that this book community is doing its job, and that we're able to share our favorite author's, favorite books and expand our reading. So thank y'all. I appreciate it. Woo hoo. Alright, so looking ahead. Yeah. I guess we'll look at what our reading goals were for this year and what our goals are for next year. Do you wanna start, Kelsey?

Kelsey:

Yeah. My goal was 50 books. And I have surpassed it by 11 books. Yay. And that's just insane to me because the year before I think I read some, like I've doubled what I've read Yeah. What I read the year before. And it's a huge part to this podcast. Yeah. And yeah, I just I feel very accomplished. I still think I could get like 10 more books in because Yeah. We have a month

Amanda:

left over a month.

Kelsey:

Yeah. And we have two breaks. So I just feel like there's a lot of reading potential happening in the next like month. And so we'll see. We'll see. Are we talking about our future? Yeah. Then what's your goal for next year? Yeah. I think I'm gonna s. Say like 60. Okay. I don't want to,'cause I don't know, I don't wanna put like more pressure on myself. If I get super busy Yeah. But 60, I say, yeah, I was gonna say 75, but I'm like that'll be more of a stretch. And then, yeah. What if I just feel like super stressed out about it? It's fine.

Amanda:

Yeah.

Kelsey:

I wanna do that to myself.

Amanda:

I talked about this last year and I personally find reading goals super stressful. Yeah. I'm someone who already is prone to be anxious and then putting this pressure like, oh my God, I have to hit this goal. Versus I just am reading because I enjoy reading. I, as of today, which is November 23rd, I have also surpassed my second reading goal. I originally set it as 50'cause that's how many books I read last year. I think I read 50 something, 52 or something. Oh really? And so I was like, okay, I'm gonna underset it at 50'cause I know for sure I can hit 50.'cause I did it last year and so I set it at 50 and then I hit that goal by the beginning of June I think. And I was like, okay, I still got a lot of year left. So I doubled it and reset it to 100. And so as of right now, I've read 104. Currently reading my a hundred and fifth book. Ooh. So I think, like Kelsey was saying, we still have a month in change. So my goal is to hit one 15 and get okay. About 10 more books in there. Yeah. And then my goal for next year, I think I am gonna set it for a hundred.'cause that that seemed very feasible for this year. And and now it's nice too because like now that I've surpassed my goal and it's like November 23rd. I feel like I can kind of coast for the rest of the year. It's like if I read a bunch more books, great. If I don't also find so I've also been spending some of my downtime now doing other things like I've been knitting and, pursuing some of my other hobbies. Especially now that we're inside more, so it's nice to have a bit more breathing room as well. Yeah. Yeah.

Kelsey:

Totally.

Amanda:

Yeah. So those are our goals. But I would say, I think overall, looking back on my year, I feel like it was a pretty strong reading year. I feel like I read a lot of books that I really enjoyed. I thanks to you experienced a lot of books Yes. That I wouldn't have otherwise. And some of them, which I also really enjoyed shockingly. So I am just really, I'm here for it. I'm here for this journey. That's awesome. And yeah,

Kelsey:

I was telling you right before I was like, I'll just wait for the podcast. But I think honestly, I don't track my books very well. I feel like there's at least maybe three or four that I've probably missed. And just because I'm like I don't, it's not a thing where I'm like, oh yeah, I wanna put it in good reads. Yeah. It's oh, I have to put it in good reads. And so it's so it doesn't feel I feel like I've missed some books for sure. Yeah. But I'm like, so maybe you're at like 65 instead of 61 or something. Yeah, maybe. Yeah. But, and also mid-year, my Libby, I had to restart it or something, and then it deleted half of my timeline for the year. Yeah. And so I only know from like half of the year. And so that's, that sucks. Yeah. Yeah. So I can't look back at all of that. But yeah. So Yeah. The other thing too, I was gonna tell you I dove really deep into romance this year. You did? And I just, there's not a lot of five star romance reads for me. Yeah. Because they're just like, you know, fun. They're, yeah. They're just like a fun one that like, I don't know, a lot of them are like four stars. Three or four stars. And so they wouldn't end up on this list because. They're like, good, but not amazing. And so I think one of my goals for this coming year, one is to read more diverse authors. And then two is to read less romance. Like I just Oh, interesting. I'm not, yeah. I'm not feeling like they're the amazing books So I just, I wanna back off on romance a bit.

Amanda:

Yeah. That's fair. It's, obviously I've read more romance this year than I ever have because of this podcast, Uhhuh, and it's been fine. But for me, and I hope, I don't like, offend any of our romance book listeners, but it's almost like eating dessert and I can only eat so much sugar. It's like fun and light and sweet and cutesy and happy and those are great for me. in small doses. But if I was reading majority, because I know some folks like that's their primary genre is romance. I'm just like, I feel like I'd have a stomach ache, after reading. It's a really good way of putting it. Yeah.

Kelsey:

It's like this fluffy nice yeah.

Amanda:

Yeah. I dunno. It's and they're, like I said, they're nice in moderation. Especially after I've read maybe a couple of my more heavy hitting books like, oh, you know, right. let's have a slice of cheesecake or like some cotton candy. Yeah. But I just couldn't read 4, 5, 6, romance Novels in a row, I think. I think yeah, it would. It would. And I think I've done that this year and I'm like,

Kelsey:

Yeah.

Amanda:

Yeah,

Kelsey:

that's fair. I want more of my fantasy and like hard hitting,

Amanda:

Yeah. I think I, I think in terms of like broader reading goals, I think the same, I wanna continue to explore diverse authors. I still wanna do a better job about reading books during the heritage month that is being celebrated. So reading books by authors of that heritage, which I haven't been great about it. I did it for Filipino Heritage Month and that was about it. Yeah.

Kelsey:

And I'm trying to get to, I have so many books for this November and I'm like trying to still get to, I know which I will over this week because it's like Thanksgiving week, but. Not until the end of the month and I'm like, oh, so annoying.

Amanda:

There's just like a lot of demands on our time when it comes to books. There is, because I'm like reading for the podcast, I'm reading for book club as we both are. And then I've also now had the introduction of reading arcs as well. Which I'm happy to do and I think that's a really cool part of what we get to do as book podcasters, but then it leaves less time, right for me to read.

Kelsey:

We still have full ass jobs. Yep.

Amanda:

If we were doing this full time, it wouldn't feel like D Oh my God. That would

Kelsey:

be a, could you imagine someday? I know if you could. Ugh, that's, I was watching this woman's vlog and she was like, I got up and I like edited some videos and then I read for five hours, and I was like, Ugh. Okay, fine. We get it. You're living

Amanda:

the dream. Good for you. Yeah.

Kelsey:

And we are manifesting it. We're manifesting

Amanda:

it. We're guys help make our dreams come true by rating and reviewing this podcast. So more folks will come find us. Tell your friends, tell your book club members. Tell your neighbors, tell the folks at your coffee shop. And yes. Yeah that's what we're aiming for. But anyhow, I think that's it for us. We hope you enjoy this episode. Um, Happy New Year. Happy new Year. I'm gonna quickly plug our socials before we jump off. So please hop on Instagram at Split Vibes only podcast or TikTok or YouTube Lit Vibes only podcast. Let us know what your 2025 reading journey looked like, what your loves were, your top books were, what you're looking forward to next year, your reading goals. We wanna hear all about it. So be sure to do that. And then of course, like I just said, rate and review. It's still the holiday season. It's still the season of giving. It's not too late to give us a buy local. Yes, also buy local if you're buying books for the holidays. But yeah, we just appreciate you know, you guys being here and we wish you a happy new year, a wonderful start to the year and we'll see you next Monday in January. Yeah, bye.