Young Adulting Book Pod

We may have missed the mark with this one in terms of it being "Young Adult" cause boy was it SPICY. As far as developed plot or characters, however, we found it lacking. Sorry Jennifer L. Armentrout (and the apparently thousands of readers who gave this book high ratings on Goodreads), but the sex scenes were not enough to convince us to like either Thorne or Calista....

Twelve years after the trials and tribulations at Highmoor, the youngest Thaumas sister, Verity, has come of age and wishes to leave the island she's been on her whole life and experience the real world. Instead, she travels from one haunted home to another... Erin A. Craig draws upon some of our favorite literary works to weave together another eerie tale and leaves us all asking... Are you team Alex or team Victor?

Set in a salty, eerie mansion by the sea, "House of Salt & Sorrows" is our first ghostly tale on this podcast! We're loving the creepy vibes and the fairy-tale inspiration, but of course we have our criticisms as well. Tune in for this week's discussion and let us know your thoughts!

Between pillows becoming pillow-men, fish becoming fish-men, and a whole lot of murder in the name of love, what more could one ask for in erotic fiction? From "Stuffed" to "Double Stuffed," Sylvia Morrow sure knows how to leave us with a cliff-hanger! Who will be coming back for a book 3??

The cuteness continues in the sequel to "Divine Rivals," but the sadness unfortunately also intensifies. Rebecca Ross keeps us going while we hope against hope for Roman and Iris to be reunited. Though perhaps not as incredible as the first book, it's still solid and our main criticism is that we wish there was more!

We're back baby! Spring has sprung and we're back with a very genuine, sweet love story that is well written and had us all captivated. In "Divine Rivals," amidst a godly war, two rival writers compete for a coveted position with the Gazette and can't help but to fall in love...IT'S JUST SO CUTE.

SJM, our queen, our idol.... You promised us colliding worlds and, well, I guess we got that? A bit? We're feeling a little lack luster overall with the latest in the Crescent City universe, but also like we couldn't get enough of Ruhn and Lydia. Anyone else ready for a spin-off of just them? Or of the sprites? Or of anyone except Bryce?....

Welcome to our first episode of "Barely Published," where we fully leave the world of YA behind to explore the vast world of smut! From sentient object erotica to alien sex, we're baffled some of these books were ever actually published... But if you, like us, have been yearning for something hotter on that chili pepper scale, join us as we deviate to some adult only reading...

It's book 2 of Crescent City and we're... mainly just excited for book 3. Whether you're re-reading, or reading for the first time, we feel like note taking is in order to be fully prepared for the next installment. And also maybe re-reading all of ACOTAR as well.

It's finally here, our first Sarah J. Maas book discussion! We all know you've been waiting for it... This week we get sucked into the complex, magical world of Crescent City, which somehow reminded us of multiple different animated Disney movies? This book sure kept us going, especially after around page 600 where you think it must be ending, but then realize there are still 200 pages left. Join us as we impatiently await the arrival of CC3 by re-reading the first 2 books in the series!

We made it to the double digits! And this episode has it all: new mics for the hosts, the too late realization that this is indeed a continuation of another series, and a general sense of feeling underprepared. But, we really enjoyed this one and think it holds its own outside of the Cursebreaker series prequel... What do you think?

OMG IRON FLAME!!! Assuming everyone else was as excited as we were for the sequel to Rebecca Yarros's "Fourth Wing," how do YOU think it held up?? Lots (too much) to discuss this week as we delve into as much as we can get to in just over an hour...

Join us for the conclusion to Novik's Scholomance Series. The end of Book 2 had us on the edge of our seats once again, eager to follow El and friends (I think we can truly call them that this time) out into the real world. With new world building, new relationships, and long-awaited uncovered secrets, we have a lot to say about this epic ending. Also, we make it real obvious we recorded this months ago, so you can pretend you're back in spooky October with us while listening this week!

This week we forge on with Naomi Novik's Scholomance series.. After the chaos of the short 2 weeks that made up Book 1, El is starting her final year at the Scholomance in a much better position. With more relationships, more magic, and many more Mals, book 2 in Novik's series actually has us wanting more! We apologize for our harsh critique of the previous book...

This is not your typical wizarding school novel... The first book in Naomi Novik's "Scholomance" series describes a school filled with monsters attempting to kill the main character, El, at every turn. So, what's a girl to do but utilize the mysterious hero boy who can't seem to stop saving her? This one might not have been our favorite read, but there's a lot to dissect this week and we'd love to hear your thoughts!

If you're looking for the YA fantasy novel sweet-spot, look no further - this week's book is Fourth Wing, by Rebecca Yarros. It has dragons, magic, murder, dumb boys, and forbidden romance. We hope it helped you ignore your real-world problems as successfully as it helped us avoid ours!

This week we're leaving the Shadow & Bone series behind! Lore, by Alexandra Bracken, is a stand alone novel based in Greek mythology, but with a very different, modern take on the otherwise well-known gods. Follow along as we discuss the action-filled, sometimes confusing plot. Did this one help you escape your adult responsibilities?

It's the final chapter in the Shadow and Bone series... Allies of Alina have greatly dwindled after the Darkling's attack on Os Alta, and those that remain now find themselves begrudgingly tied to the Apparat. What happened to Nikolai? Will Alina and Mal be able to repair their relationship? Will light prevail over darkness? And most importantly, did this book distract us from our real-world responsibilities?

This week we discuss book 2 in the Shadow and Bone series by Leigh Bardugo : Siege and Storm. Does the sexual tension increase? Does Mal redeem himself? Do we find out the disease behind the Apparat's gum issues? Tune in to find out, or - if you're keeping up with the reading and already know the answers - join us as we deliberate and commiserate.

Welcome to Episode 1 of Young Adulting! It's been a long time in the making, but we're excited to release our podcast where 3 millennials read YA books in the fantasy genre to avoid the real problems of the world and all the dumb responsibilities of being a not-so-young-anymore adult. This episode, we drink, complain, and discuss Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. Spoilers abound for the book and show, so listeners be warned!