Booktails Podcast

Recent Adaptations 2. Dearest gentle readers,  We have some urgent information that we believe to be of the utmost interest to discerning members of the Ton’s reading contingent.  You read it here first that the next in our Recent Adaptations series ‘An Offer from a Gentleman’; Bridgerton book 3 (season 4)! 🎭 is available now!  Expect scintillating conversation on Benedict’s rakish ways, the adaptation’s wholly new Sophie and why we shall never tire of attractive men swimming in country lakes.  If you want to accompany your listening pleasure with the society tipple of this season, look no further than The Lady in Silver cocktail, find the ingredients on our instagram or Patreon! 🍸 Trust us, this is one event you won’t want to miss!  Love, The Ladies Pissledown x 

New Adaptations 1. 📖🎬 Okay we give in. It’s time to join the locker room and google what the NHL is. That’s right, we are reading Heated Rivalry!🏒 This ice hockey romance has taken the world by storm so come with us to sip an Ilya & Shane inspired ‘Skating on Thin Ice’ cocktail ⛸️and delve into this spicy sports romance, including discussions on the real life professional hockey rivals who found love, how grateful we were that you don’t need to know anything about hockey to get involved in this story and, most importantly, those bums in the adaptation. They made quite the impression, IYKYK. 🍑😏

Books We Love to Hate 4 For the final book in this series of divisive books you asked and we answered! November 9 by Colleen Hoover is a romance with a classic premise: our protagonists vow to meet only on one day per year: April 17th. Nah, just joking, on November 9th obviously. Grab an autumnal cocktail and join the conversation as we discuss the meta nature of the book, the lack of events on the other 364 days of the year, THAT twist and ask why oh why are these characters so young? 

Books We Love to Hate 3. If your sexual awakening was the beast in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast then all we can say is clearly you were not alone! Beauty and the Beast has led to MANY romantasy Retellings and this Why Choose is no exception. We’re talking four (or five!) different flavours of Fae prince, small provincial town, endearing servants, eccentric outcast father and that all important curvy girl representation. It’s a camp old time and honestly we are HERE for it! Whether this book is all your fantasies rolled into one or you couldn’t get past the first chapter, join us for a truly wild ride. Just don’t tell Walt what we’re all up to! 

Books We Love to Hate 2 It’s our 50th episode babyyy! 🎉🎉🎉 Whether you love it or hate it this book is a global phenomenon and we want hear your thoughts on the Housemaid! 🥜 Grab your pepper spray 🌶️an impractical white dress and come on up to the attic, it’s time to get deadly. It’s time for us to discuss creepy children, creepy mothers, creepy (but sexy) gardeners…🤷‍♀️ We will dive into all this and more… just not yet. 😉

Books We Love to Hate 1 “And so the lion fell in love with the lamb.” 🦁🐑 And with those words a fandom was born that overtook teenagers everywhere, and we were no different! If you were also Twilight obsessed, or still are, this episode is for you!  🍎Alternatively if you think one hundred year old vampires watching young women sleep is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this book’s problems, this episode and this whole series is also for you! 🧛🏻We will be discussing internet obsession long before booktok or bookstagram (anyone else have a Twilight bebo skin?) our ideal Twilight fan casting and how Stephenie Meyer saved the town of Forks. 🍴 Twilight truly is the marmite of novels and whether you love it, hate it, love to hate it or hate to love it we want to hear your opinions! Drop your thoughts in the comments and remember, no matter what you say we are still irrevocably in love with you. ❤️😉

BONUS International Women's Day interview “I don’t read detective novels. I have no interest in crime.” 📌🐦‍⬛ Beloved Glasgow figure Rilke returns in The Cut Up with a new mystery to solve! When he finds a body outside the auction house with a hat pin through the eye Rilke’s troubles are just the beginning. Many familiar faces return as Rilke scrambles to save his friends before time runs out. We were joined by the fantastic author herself to discuss favourite Glasgow spots , vintage fashion and the twists and turns of the book before we do a spot of auctioneering ourselves!  Make your Rose Bowery cocktail and collect your bidding card, this auction is not to be missed! 👨🏼‍⚖️

International Women’s Day 4. Brace yourselves, because we’re about to ruffle some feathers here. 😬 In this series celebrating strong female characters and writers we wanted to include some Romantasy, so Throne of Glass was the obvious choice! 🧊 Come with us to Erilea and we will discuss the deadly competition narrative and how it does not live up to its full potential 🏹,whether Chaol is as chaotic as his name suggests (spoiler: no 😴) and our predictions for the rest of the series. It is Hot Take central and we are not holding back. Please still talk to us afterwards! 😘

International Women’s Day 3: Rachel’s Recommendation Imagine you’ve been raised imprisoned in an underground bunker for as long as you can remember with 39 older women who aren’t allowed to touch you. Imagine you’ve been given the bare minimum and never told where you are or why. Now imagine you suddenly have the chance to escape- to discover the outside world for the very first time. Things are bound to get better right? RIGHT?! Join Serena and Rachel to sip another bright blue cocktail and dive into Jacqueline Harpman’s seminal masterpiece. We will discuss the relevance of the characters’ femininity, our theories on the world and events of the book and whether it’s the most depressing read of all time… it’ll be fun we swear! 

International Women’s Day 2: Serena’s Recommendation The day of the girls is here… ⚡️If you’ve ever wished you had Palpatine level zapping powers to use on men who told you you’d be prettier if you smiled, then this one is for you. And with this power comes the strangely intoxicating smell of bitter oranges and in this case, the Mother Eve cocktail! 🍊 Join us to get tipsy and discuss electric eel abilities, gendered etymology and the sadly continuing oppression of woman in much of the world today. ⚧️ It’s a big one!  “We’re only pretending everything is normal because we don’t know what else to do.” 

International Women’s Day 1 It is a truth universally acknowledged that a book podcast in possession of an International Women’s Day theme must be in want of Pride and Prejudice. It is the classic romance, classic strong female heroine, the classic novel in every sense! Whether you’ve read it twenty times or you thought about watching the Keira Knightley adaptation once, this is for you. Join Serena and Rachel as they delve into what makes this book timeless, sexy sexy names, why everyone thinks Mr Collins is a sleazy old man and how to embrace being an old spinster at 27 (take note Charlotte Lucas!) So don’t test our poor nerves, just make yourself a Pemberley Pimm’s and join us on the dance floor! 

Interspecies Valentines 4. It’s time to get squeaky… but not squeaky clean. Squeaky dirrrrrtyyyyy! 🎈 Join an aspiring artist who meets a balloon seller and his boyfriend and ends up falling for them both. Just one catch- they are secretly balloon animals under a spell. And the sorceress who cast it wants them back… ✨ We are channelling all the fun of the fair with our nostalgic sweetie cocktail this week 🍬so grab a strong one and discuss trauma bonding, balloon appendage and THAT ending with Serena and Rachel. Once you pop you can’t stop… 🎈

Interspecies Valentines 3. Rawr. 🦖If your innocent dinosaur-obsessed inner child is ready to be traumatised, read on. Ready? Okay. It’s Dino Smut. And yes, some would say it’s deeply disturbing. But some people are into it (apparently!). And one thing is for sure, it’s a silly, tongue-in-cheek romp through prehistory so let’s just have a laugh about it, right? Riiiiight?!  Grab yourself a Palomasaurus (see what we did there?) and join Rachel and Serena to discuss the science of time travel and whether or not the author is really a palaeontologist as she claims. Wild! Come along and enjoy the riiiide! 🦕

Interspecies Valentines 2 Okay readers, let’s get weird 🕷️😈🔥 If you thought Ice Planet Barbarians was too strange you won’t believe what we’re talking about for our second book in our interspecies valentines series!Yup, it’s a spider romance. Kind of. We still don’t fully understand it. Ketahn is a vrix, an alien with armoured skin, mandibles and many legs. The queen of his community has been chasing him for some time when he stumbles across Ivy asleep in a crashed spaceship and decided to take her as a pet, but- well, you know where this is going…. So if spiders are your secret kink or you just fancy a laugh, join Rachel and Serena to discuss the ethics of getting freaky with a non-human and how, whatever form they take, apparently men will always be men. *eye roll* 

Interspecies Valentines 1 TW: This series features non human romance and questionable consent. Strap on your space belts because this is going to be a wild ride! Take a journey with Serena and Rachel to an icy far off planet full of VERY friendly locals! Grab a Big, Blue and Horny frozen cocktail and let’s get into it! For the first book of our alternative interspecies romance this Valentine’s month we will be discussing the representation and treatment of women and the surprisingly complex science of the characters staying alive on an inhospitable planet. But mostly discussing alien c**ks. Because wow is there a lot to discuss. Trust us you don’t want to miss this one!

Greek Retellings 3 This book was new to both of us and we may have made a mistake calling it a Greek retelling but we certainly didn’t make a mistake including it in the podcast! Join Serena and Rachel as they sip our Albatross cocktail, discuss the book’s relation to the Covid 19 epidemic, the power of positive thinking, joys of isolation and try to work out what is actually going on with that ending! We will also draw our own labyrinth based on the house and try our best to find the way out (tune in to find out if we’re still lost to this day) or if we even want to be found! 

Greek Retellings 2: Serena's Recommendation  You know the story of Achilles right? A beautiful and strong demigod, destined to be the greatest and fastest warrior anyone has ever seen, never mind that pesky ankle of his! Well, get ready to see him in a new light, and to hear his tragic love story play out before you with nothing you can do to stop it, as much as you might wish you could! Join Serena and Rachel to explore love, loss and war, ancient LGBT histories, the confusing levels of godhood and epic centaur wingman skills. Make yourself an Ambrosia cocktail and float away to Mount Olympus with us before a classic game of 'guess whether the quote is by ancient Greek poet Sappho or Taylor Swift'. And tell us once and for all, is it Odysseus' world and we're all just living in it?

Greek Retellings 1: Rachel's Recommendation It's time for a new year and a whole new Booktails theme! We are starting off strong with Greek myth retellings! First up is 'A Thousand Ships' by Natalie Haynes: a retelling of the Trojan war from the stories of the women who were front and centre! From slaves to queen's to goddesses, Haynes gives voice to them all and Serena and Rachel weigh in on why we are so obsessed with the Trojan war and play a classic game of Siblings or Lovers: Greek Gods Edition! Speaking of goddesses, this week's cocktail  Hera's Kiss just might be one of our favourites ever! Beautiful and delicious, it is also spicy and unexpected and packs one hell of a punch! 

Time for our yearly round up: the best books we read this year, whether surprise new releases or old favourites we've read many times, and our favourite episodes of 2025 in case you're wondering where to start! And our final game of the year is not to be missed: the Booktails Job Swap! Producer Mark is presenting, Rachel is editing and Serena is on 'music': it's going to be a riot.   Thank you so much for joining us this year on Booktails - next year is going to be super exciting and we can't wait to share it with you all! 

Festive Frolics 4: Serena's Recommendation Christmas is just around the corner and we are heartbroken that this is our final festive frolic of the podcast this year! But we've put the perfect gift under your tree in the shape of this delightful mature romance in a picturesque English village complete with quirky ensemble and disastrous dates! You'll want to try our yummy Gingerbread Margi-rita, the perfect accompaniment on these chilly winter nights! Don't wait to unwrap this gift of an episode which includes discussions on real life gingerbread villages, representations of female aging and why you would never want to live in a remote English countryside village. We hope someone nice comes down your chimney and wish you a wonderful Christmas! Make sure to join us next time for an episode of our best books of the year! 

Festive Frolics 3 On the first day of Christmas Booktails gave to you a baby Alan in a pear tree!  It's the 12 days of Christmas as you've never seen them before! A grumpy widower and his children start receiving very specific and familiar gifts on the days leading up to Christmas... but who is sending them and what could they mean?  Join Rachel and Serena as they rake through ladies dancing, unbelievable children, lords a leaping, maids a milking, unfit fathers, lack of Christmas activities, five gold rings, ghost mothers and whatever happened to that partridge chick in the pear tree?!

Festive Frolics 2: The Secret Christmas Library and interview with bestselling author Jenny Colgan.  It's a big one readers: it's our first author interview and we were over the moon to have the one and only Jenny Colgan on to discuss their new book with us! Join us as we drink a festive old fashioned, chat about real life castle libraries, why books are always the best Christmas gifts and play a festive game of Red Flag Green Flag! Will the love interests in this book will be on the naughty list this year? Only one way to find out! 

Festive Frolics 1: Rachel's recommendation  It's the most wonderful time of the year! That's right, the season is upon us, time to roast those chestnuts and sing some carols in the snow! And for this first romantic romp you might just want to look out the mistletoe! Join Serena and Rachel as they follow identical twins who swap lives for the twelve days before Christmas in this Hallmark-esque holiday adventure, featuring just about every festive romcom trope going, from small town bakeries to Christmas eve blizzards! Just don't forget the sourdough starter!   

Prize Winners 3: British Book Awards Debut Fiction Book of the Year We hope you're hungry readers, because if not you're about to be! Based on a true case this book explores murder, feminism and most importantly, the joys of eating. It's never too late to change your life or to start eating good food! After today's game Rachel and Serena will never be eating margarine again. We're even putting butter in our cocktails these days! So grab a knife and join us for Butter!

Prize Winners 2: Women's Prize for Fiction Winner Let's go girls! The Women's Prize was set up in response to the lack of female writers being shortlisted for the Booker Prize despite being more numerous than males, and they have been paving the way for representation and equality ever since! Yasss Queens! This week we dive into the Safekeep and discuss literary wartime lesbians, hare obsessions, twist endings and what pears have to do with any of it! Get yourself a Pears and Hares cocktail and let's get into it!

Prize Winners 1: Pulitzer Prize Winner First up in this prize winning books of 2025 category is a retelling of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which will turn that tale on its head with an unforgettable narrator and a completely new spin on the hi-jinks of a couple of children in the American South! Travel down the Mississippi with Serena and Rachel as they discuss past mojito trauma, the language of slavery, absurd travelling royalty, the power of writing  and the ultimate reveal. YOU'RE NOT MY FATHER! OH YES I AM!

Spooky Stephen King 4. Misery is the undisputed perfect name for this 1987 Stephen King classic, but we are here to ease your misery today! Listen along as we discuss the bodice ripping novel-within-a-novel, Annie's unhinged psyche and iconic quotes and an unexpected ending, all paired with a delicious Suffering Bastard cocktail courtesy of Hauntingly Good Spirits. Is it a horror or a thriller or just plain cockadoody? You decide.

Spooky Stephen King 3: Serena's Recommendation  This is the book King himself rates as his scariest and it's clear why! A normal young family moves to rural Maine and is ripped apart by the forces at work in the ancient burial ground in their backyard. This week Serena and Rachel find hidden Stephen King universe Easter eggs, learn what kind of pet would haunt them, find unexpected spicy scenes and realise that Stephen King is absolutely not a cat person. The perfectly paired cocktail this week courtesy of Hauntingly Good Spirits is the Corpse Reviver and this might have been our favourite of the collaboration. Just try it and thank us later. In the iconic words of Jud Crandall "Sometimes dead is better" but since it's spooky season let's revive some corpses and dig up Pet Semetary! 

Spooky Stephen King 2: Rachel's Recommendation  Whoa it's a biggie this week! Over one thousand pages to be exact! We are diving headfirst into the sewers and into one of the spookiest Stephen King stories around! Journey with us to Derry, Maine where danger lurks just below the surface. Rachel and Serena become honorary members of the Losers Club this week as they sip on Drunk Ghost cocktails courtesy of Hauntingly Good Spirits, and discuss fear, success, trauma and friendship and the ongoing mystery of Bob Gray aka. Pennywise aka an alien?! We all float here at Booktails Podcast and we have a sneaking suspicion you'll float too...

Spooky Stephen King 1 HEEEEEEERE'S BOOKTAILS! It's finally spooky season and we are celebrating with the master of horror this month, Stephen King! Join us roaming the iconic hallways of the Overlook Hotel as the nights draw in. Join Rachel and Serena as they discuss unreliable narrators, the Kubrick film adaptation, justice for Wendy and try to get to grips with who or what Tony is, whilst getting more than a little tipsy!  But all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy so if you feel like visiting the Overlook's ghostly bar the Undead Gentleman himself would be only too happy to serve you up a delicious cocktail courtesy of the marvellous Hauntingly Good Spirits book! Seriously these cocktails are the real deal and not to be missed! This one is a Red Rum drink but hopefully murder won't be on the cards for you tonight...  Notes: Serena's frozen Jack photo is available on Instagram. 

Cosy Murders 3. Are you hungry? Grab a seat at the table because Rosemary Shrager is about to serve you up quite the meal and we are here to pour the tea!  Take a sip of your perfectly paired aperitif Death by Rhubarb and meet the cast of very posh potential murderers in this classic country manor setting where murder is definitely on the menu. But can our wholesome granny/ granddaughter sleuth duo solve the case before it's too late? Rachel and Serena get very hungry this episode exploring red herrings, celebrity writers, quirky sidekicks and mushrooms you definitely shouldn't eat in the woods.  Notes: 1) Rosemary Shrager was in such shows as Kitchen Showdown, Soapstar Superchef and the gem that was Ladette to Lady.  2) There was a 'Millicent Bulstrode' character in Harry Potter, not Matilda! 3) The Toxic Bachelors character is called Gray Hawk, Serena should never have doubted you Rachel. Tut tut.

Cosy Murder 2: The Trial by Rob Rinder (Rachel's Recommendation)  WE OBJECT, YOUR HONOUR - to the use of advocaat in a SECOND pod cocktail! But we do not object to the second book in our cosy murder series - The Trial by (Judge) Rob Rinder. The cocktail this week is the Cliveden's Gotcha, or if you fancy a mocktail, the Solicitor. Gather your evidence and get ready to present your case to the eternal judges Rachel and Serena as we cut through the legal jargon to examine this cosy courtroom drama. Will Adam Green ever get his tenancy? Will Jimmy Knight be sent to the slammer? Court is now in session. You are hereby ordered (politely) to serve as juror and justice WILL be served. What, like it's hard?

Cosy Murders 1: Serena's Recommendation  Get the gang together on your zimmers because the time has come for... COSY MURDER SEASON! 🔪🧣🍁☕ Change to your winter duvet, get your knitting out and put the kettle on because the seasons are changing and it's time to curl up with murder of the most comforting variety!  And we're starting with a modern favourite- The Thursday Murder Club!  Join our very own Booktails Murder Club by listening to the episode and CHASING it down with a Coopers Chase tea cocktail, sleuth your way through the book and find out which of the iconic granny gang is your spirit animal!  Notes: We recorded this episode before the movie was released. We do have opinions on it, but they are not shared here! Except perhaps #justiceforbogdan ;)

Deadly Competitions 3 That's right, it's the one you were all thinking of! There's no way we could do a Deadly Competitions series without including this beloved franchise. Get ready to be plucked from District 12 and dropped  into a fight for survival, with politics, intrigue and maybe even love along the way. Get your bow and arrows ready for business, and may the odds be ever in your favour...

Deadly Competitions 2 If you thought your school was bad, it had nothing on this one! It's time to dive into the Battle Royale phenomenon- 42 kids are taken on a 'school trip', given weapons and told to kill each other until only one survives. With a Kiriyama Bloody Mary in hand (pasta sauce) Serena and Rachel join the race for survival and find out how long they would last in a battle royale. Have a think to yourself who from your school days you would want to form an alliance with! Those of us who spent our days reading in the corner would make a great team... Right?  Notes: Go to our social media for the mentioned video of Rachel tasting bloody Mary. Difference between psychopath and sociopath: Sociopaths are prone to fits of rage and hot headedness, whereas psychopaths remain calm and emotionless. Psychopaths usually seem to lead normal, even very successful lives whereas sociopaths struggle to maintain regular work and family life.

Deadly Competitions 1: Rachel's Recommendation  Minus 55 minutes and counting On your marks, get set... DEADLY COMPETITIONS TIME! ⏳🔪 Grab your running shoes and grab a natural energy drink (cocktail) full of electrolytes because it's time for a new Booktails Podcast theme!  We're starting with a bang with The Running Man by Stephen King (as Richard Bachman) Join Rachel and Serena as we don our disguises and race alongside Ben Richards through streets, hotel rooms and sewers and and even through a pencil maze of our own creation and try our hardest to stay alive despite a corrupt government with all the wrong priorities. Topical who????    Notes:  Photos of Rachel's pencil maze available on Instagram and Patreon. Also, the new Running Man movie was partially filmed in Glasgow, ooh!

Centenery Series 3 (Rachel's Rec) If you've ever missed your stop on the train this episode is for you. We're channeling Kafka and staying alcohol free this week, but feel free to add a splash of something stronger to K's Defence if you prefer! He needs all the help he can get with this Trial after all! Have you ever felt like you're living in a bureaucratic fever dream? (Every time you have to book an appointment at your GP?) Don't go in a huff and burn your writing like Kafka! There's always the chance you might get a complete acquittal. I mean, no one ever has... But you might! ...Right?

Centenery Series 2. There's no way we could do a series on books from 1925 without including one of the most studied and revered books of all time! That's right, we are bringing out the big guns and meeting The Great Gatsby. But is he a hero or a fraud? Is Daisy really the worst? And what is actually up with those famous eyes in the sky? All these questions and more will be answered by Rachel and Serena this week. So grab a gin Rickey cocktail and look out your dancing shoes. There's a party in West Egg and you're all invited. 

Centenary Series 1: Serena's Recommendation  "Kissing your hand may make you feel very very good but a diamond and safire bracelet lasts forever." This is just one important life lesson given to the reader by the force which is Lorelei Lee. Join Serena and Rachel, 'Tiara' cocktail in gloved hand, as they talk through Lorelei's famous trip to Europe, meet her many suitors, wish Dorothy was their best friend too and reflect on the joys and misadventures of being a fabulous flapper in 1925.

Summer Beach Read 3: Serena's Recommendation  Serena and Rachel may be hungover this week but my oh my do they have some strong views on this book! Prepare yourself for chats on love-bombing, mommy issues, prejudice, sexism, ageism, classism, a whole lot of trauma and general all- round misogyny. You might need another summer beach holiday to recover from this ride. Toxic they certainly are, so fair warning: your blood will boil reading this book. But at least we can have some good laughs with a dark cherry martini over it.

Summer Beach Read 2 It's the beginning of summer, your boyfriend has just left you for someone else - but the sun is shining, it's time to get out of the city and spend a long, hot, sexy summer in ... a wee island in Cornwall? Join Rachel and Serena to surf the wave of Taylor Cole's One Summer and expect singing in Simlish, discussions on flaky heroines, cute animal sidekicks far too many eccentric old ladies with funny names and some mudlarking chat. We still don't really know what that is either.  NOTES: It's called the Relational Proximity theory. We still don't know what kind of dog Ted is.

Summer Beach Read 1 - Rachel's recommendation Peach schnapps lovers and sunscreen experts unite: this is your time.  It's classic romantic comedy this week complete with the AC breaking and cute inside jokes! Join us as we delve into this Emily Henry delight and discuss dream travel jobs and real life romcom situations! Learn about Serena's recent 2 star holiday, full of German karaoke, climbing walls and cash only cocktail bars. Real life should be as lovely as this book, so listen along and make your day that much more magical!

Science Fiction 3 What do you do at the end of the world? DON'T PANIC. Go to the pub and have a few pints of our Black Hole cocktail, then jump on a spaceship and listen to Vogon poetry as the earth blows up under you! Hitch a ride with us as we blast off to podcast universes unknown, and test your Hitchhikers Guide Knowledge at the end before you say "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

Science Fiction 2 - Rachel's Rec This week we are very excited to dive into Philip K Dick's trippy 1969 masterpiece Ubik, so use your anti-precog powers to go back in time with us. Drink your Ubik Coffee as we deep dive into what this book really means (hint: metaphors... maybe?) and, of course, reenact some Ubik style ads. And, for some reason, we sing Céline Dion and imagine Phil Collins drumming in space.

Sci- Fi 1- Serena's Recommendation  🎶Scieeeeence Fictiooon, triple feature 🎶  The time has come for us to take our protein pills and put our helmets on, we're heading headfirst into the sci fi universe! Be like our confident king Paul and feel your main character energy this ep. From concubines to pirates to bad robots, this book has it all. Is Paul Atreides as sexy as a Sharpie- breasted bird? Give yourself many fancy names for Chosen One and you can be a sexy little desert mouse too.

Nostalgia 3 - Serena’s Recommendation Are you scared of things that go bump in the night? What about living dummies or giant man eating blobs? It's time to pay homage to R.L. Stine, "the Stephen King of children's literature", and hopefully he made plenty of loofa doing it. ;) Whether these delighted you (like Rachel) or terrified you (like Serena) as a child, it's time to give yourself goosebumps.  Notes: Serena was wrong. There was a first Night of the Living Dummy, as discovered later on in the podcast. There were hundreds of Goosebumps books originally, but not all were reprinted more recently.

Nostalgia 2 - Rachel's Recommendation Fancy reliving your teens? Maybe not, but join us to reminisce about ours in the second instalment of our Nostalgia theme! Periods, boys, boobs and bras are the hot topics in Judy Blume's 'Are you There God? It's Me, Margaret'. Were you a Pre-Teen Sensation, or maybe more of a Laura Danker? Either way, there's space for you here. Whether you prefer your rim salty or spicy, wash it all down with one of the all time great cocktails - a classic Margarita!

Nostalgia 1 What makes you feel nostalgic? For us it's reindeer ice cream, Barbie motor homes, Groovy Chick everything and Fatdog Mendoza. And, of course, Jacqueline Wilson books. What teacher did you fancy at school and why is the answer your Art or English teacher? Like Ellie, we're all grown up now, but does anyone really grow up? Come with us for a deep dive into the ultimate comfort read. Grab your Blue WKD and your padlocked diary and let's get down to it!

Romantasy 3 - Serena's Recommendation A reader without a cocktail is a tragedy. A reader with too many cocktails is drunk. Is your favourite hobby starting a revolution like our shadow Xaddy? If so then you'll already know this social media Romantasy phenomenon, if not, welcome new rider.  Whether your soundtrack to Fourth Wing has been 'Ordinary' or good old Pirate Metal, let us be the new music in your ears to this epic spicy Dragon frolic, accompanied by a golden Andarna cocktail (ingredients on Booktails Instagram). Orgasm after orgasm. It's been our honour.

Romantasy 2 - Rachel's Recommendation Trigger warnings: Discussions of Sexual assault and violence. The moment has come! Two real Scottish lassies discussing Outlander in the homeland. We are shameful Scots who don't like whiskey, but we're drinking it anyway - in cocktail form! We would not be chill with just moving to the 1700s and would have very few useful skills, would you? Message us on social media to share yours!  *Notes* - The Outlander book series is not yet complete. - If you have been affected by the themes of this episode help is available: https://247sexualabusesupport.org.uk