Announcement: Throne of Glass Special Series

Summary: Giddy up, friends, and join us for a ride into the wild world of horses. Holly has been a lifelong Horse Girl and Devin spent a decade taking horseback riding lessons, but neither of them have been as involved with the animals as any of the characters in their featured books today. For better or worse, a life revolving around horses can be all encompassing and high pressure; our hosts highlight the good and bad in their respective wheelhouses today. 

Topics Discussed:

• The Dagger (6:39): Holly discussed Girls and Their Horses by Eliza Jane Brazier, a thriller perfect for anyone looking to read about rich people behaving badly. We follow two teenage sisters, Piper and Maple, and their mother, Heather. as they move to an exclusive community in the heart of Southern California. Once there, they begin riding at the Rancho Santa Fe Equestrian, where horses (and murder) are a lifestyle. Holly’s key takeaways were:

• From the start we learn that someone is dead, and then Brazier weaves us through the lead up to the incident with alternating perspectives from Heather, her daughters, and other “Barn Moms” at the stables. 

• There are distinct socioeconomic themes and dynamics in this book; Heather is newly wealthy and determined to give her daughters the life she never had, but the established families in the community are suspicious and judgemental. 

• This book is full of characters that are flawed, hurt, downright unlikeable and their internal challenges clash against their peers as they feed their ambitions and fight for what they believe they deserve. 

• The Heart (21:44): Devin discussed Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage, a novel following professional barrel racer Emmy Ryder as she returns to her hometown of Meadowlark, Wyoming after an accident renders her unable to get back on her horse. Once there, she’s met with more than she expected as her brother’s best friend, Luke Brooks, becomes more than just an occasional thorn in her side. Devin’s key takeaways were:

• If you’re looking for some horse energy, this is the book for you. Emmy’s family owns Rebel Blue Ranch which raises cattle, horses, gives riding lessons and embraces the classic western vibes. Luke and Emmy spend most of their time around horses and the deepening of their romantic dynamic is part and parcel with those interactions.

• The story does not hold back on the steam front; this book is almost shockingly sexy and involves dirty talk. If you’re looking for a more subtle, closed door romance vibe, tread lightly with this book. If you’re not, join Devin for an absolute blast.

• Sage has ADHD herself and worked hard to bring more authentic representation of the disorder with Emmy. Both she and Luke have traumas and experiences that inform and block their connection that they work through together to grow as people (and together). 

• Hot On the Shelf (45:32):

• Holly: The Searcher by Tana French

• Devin: Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver

• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (50:00):

• Holly: The Night Of on HBO

• Devin: Mr. and Mrs. Smith on Amazon Prime 

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Welcome to Episode 3 of our special Throne of Glass series, friends! Get excited as we dig into the prequel novellas that make us fall in love with Celaena even more (and understand why she’s in dire need of therapy). Today we explore The Assassin’s Blade, five short stories focused on Celaena’s time as an assassin before she’s sent to Endovier and the plot of Throne of Glass begins.  

We have both been reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, a mutual favorite author who we celebrated in a previous LoveFest episode. We will be releasing monthly special episodes in which we debrief on each book as we go throughout the series. 

We encourage you to read along with us throughout the year–or at whatever point you’re jumping into these episodes–and enjoy our reactions, speculations, and gushing as we explore this new fantastical world.

As a reminder, each episode will have spoilers for the book being discussed and any of the books we've read previously, but we won't give spoilers beyond that point. Episodes will continue to drop each month until we finish the series.

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/shop/heartsanddaggerspod (purchases support our work)

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Sometimes the best gifts come in smaller packages - join us today, friends, as Holly and Devin review short story collections in their respective wheelhouses. With a deep history of reading short fiction from their college years, Holly and Devin reflected that while less common to read in adulthood, short stories haven’t lost their value or potency. Being able to impact a reader quickly enough to have a complete short story is a feat of writing prowess and the two collections they review today prove that. 

Topics Discussed:

• The Heart (2:58): Devin discussed Love in Color by Bolu Babalola, a collection of myth retellings centered around West Africa with a sprinkling of Greek and Middle East legends thrown in. Babalola reshapes the tales of Nefertiti, Scheherazade, Psyche and others to move away from patriarchal tropes and toward a women-centered happily ever after. Devin’s key takeaways were:

• Many of these myths end badly and usually with the death or subjugation of the female protagonist; by applying common romance tropes in the retelling they take on a more hopeful, lighter air and really underline the value of love conquering all

• The default characters were all BIPOC, and the book told stories that aren’t well-known outside of the home cultures/countries. It was amazing to recognize stories like that of Psyche and Thisbe from Greek mythology that we were taught in school, but then also dive headfirst into new-to-you myths. Definitely worth researching the myths as you go to compare vs. Babalola’s work.

• Told from the perspective of the woman instead of the man in all but one of the stories (Attem), the reader is left overall with a feeling of empowerment and connection. By resetting the myths in modern Manhattan, for example, we are reminded that myths aren’t history but evolve with us, acting as a mirror that reflects who we are and who we want to be. 

• The Dagger (15:56): Holly discussed Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales by P.D. James, a reprinted series of short stories published posthumously in 2017 from works written between 1973 and 2005. With the title a nod to Macbeth, James stories pack a punch with ordinary characters who commit dark acts. Holly’s key takeaways were:

• Influenced by the likes of Agatha Christie, James took the popular murder mystery concept and deepened it by adding emotional, moral, and psychological layers that draw the reader in and are clear even in the short story format. 

• Interestingly, many of the stories in this collection are set around Christmas. If you’re a reader who loves a little murder for the holidays, this collection is for you. For example, a cozy mystery author reflects on being caught up in a real-life murder as a youth when his family had guests to their home for Christmas and the person who dresses up as Santa is found dead. 

• Told mostly in the first person with unnamed narrators, James’ builds tension with car trips gone wrong (three were in the car when they pulled over, why do only two arrive at the house?), deep family history, wolves in sheeps clothing, and the close quarters of vacations and manor homes in the UK. 

• Hot On the Shelf (38:21):

• Holly: A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab

• Devin: Interesting Facts about Space by Emily Austin 

• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (42:38):

• Holly: Godzilla Minus One film

• Devin: Get On Your Knees comedy special by Jaqueline Novak on Netflix

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Grab that benzoyl peroxide and your Abercrombie cologne, friends, we’re talking teenagers on this lovely Galentine’s day! Whether you always felt like an old soul the way Holly did, or hid behind athletics and Evanescence like Devin to get through those spicy years of youth, the YA books our hosts discuss today will bring you comfort, connection, and cringe. 

Topics Discussed:

• The Dagger (4:35): Holly discussed Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Abike-Iyimide, a YA mystery following Sade as she navigates her third year at the prestigious Alfred Nobel Academy boarding school after being homeschooled most of her life. The very first night, Sade’s roommate and house sister Elizabeth disappears. Soon after, the body of a student turns up and the search for Elizabeth becomes frantic. Holly’s key takeaways were:

• With vibes that bring “Wednesday” and “Mean Girls” together, this novel is heavily dark academia. There is a clear sense of place, and boy is that place creepy! The uneasy undercurrents fit perfectly with the plot as Sade and her best friend Baz investigate their friend’s disappearance. 

• The student dynamics in play are not only fun to read but also amplify the sense of teenage angst through the novel. The Unholy Trinity, a group of 3 popular girls, along with Sade’s best friends not only have various queer and cis-het romantic intrigues but also deep relationships and conflicts that connect to the disappearance. 

• At over 400 pages, this book would have likely been more impactful and effective if it were edited down a bit, especially in the middle. There were some questions floating around about the mystery we follow that required some suspension of disbelief, although once past there enjoyable nonetheless. 

• The Heart (21:55): Devin discussed Henry Hamlet’s Heart by Rhiannon Wilde, a YA romance following the titular character as he confronts his final year at Brisbane Northolm Grammar School for Boys, the uncertainty of his future heading to Uni, and the burgeoning romantic feelings that he never saw coming. Devin’s key takeaways were:

• Henry’s struggle to understand his sexuality, his blossoming romantic love for his platonic best friend, Len, and also what he wants from his future as a high performing perfectionist at school is fantastic, authentic, and endearing. By contrast, Len’s confidence in his bisexuality and his self-acceptance acts as an anchor for us and draws Henry like a moth to flame. 

• Figuring out your sexuality in a cis-het society is full of stress, second-guessing, and gaslighting. Wilde’s gentle treatment can act as a guide for YA readers and a soothing balm for queer people like Devin who suppressed those feelings in high school and acted straight. 

• We root for Henry easily, but he’s also not mature or polished and grapples constantly with the impacts of his choices on his future, which feels too big. His internal narrative feels true to his age and he’s a bit of a mess, but is also pressured by various family members to focus on different aspects of himself as he takes the step to university. 

• Hot On the Shelf (36:13):

• Holly: Faebound by Saara El-Arifi

• Devin: The Lincoln Highway by Amor Towles

• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (40:24):

• Holly: Fleabag on Amazon Prime

• Devin: We’re Here to Help Podcast

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Welcome to Episode 2 of our special Throne of Glass series, friends! Buckle up as we get in deeper with Celaena, Chaol, and Dorian as they FAFO what happens after the king’s champion is crowned. Today we dive into Crown of Midnight and break down the romances, friendships, speculation and heartache that draw us deeper into SJM’s first fantasy series. 

We have both been reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, a mutual favorite author who we celebrated in a previous LoveFest episode. We will be releasing monthly special episodes in which we debrief on each book as we go throughout the series. 

We encourage you to read along with us throughout the year–or at whatever point you’re jumping into these episodes–and enjoy our reactions, speculations, and gushing as we explore this new fantastical world.

As a reminder, each episode will have spoilers for the book being discussed and any of the books we've read previously, but we won't give spoilers beyond that point. Episodes will continue to drop each month until we finish the series.

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/shop/heartsanddaggerspod (purchases support our work)

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Brrrrrr, it’s cold in here, there must be some novels in the atmosphere! (sorry). Join Holly and Devin today as they head up to the great white north and explore books set in the Arctic. Cold this biting can drive people together or even further apart, and braving the elements requires trust and risks a lot when that trust is broken. Holly and Devin both love when their protagonists battle the elements, but for very different reasons and with very different outcomes.

Topics Discussed:

• The Heart (4:31): Devin discussed The Tourist Attraction by Sarah Morgenthaler, a romance following Zoey Caldwell for her once-in-a-lifetime vacation to the town of Moose Springs, Alaska. Once there, in collaboration with her wealthy best friend Lana and a handsome townie who hates tourists named Graham Barnett, Zoey explores the natural wonders of the region… and some much more interpersonal wonders with Graham. Devin’s key takeaways were:

• If you’re looking for a taste of arctic adventures, this book delivers pretty well. There are moose (mooses? meese?) galore, four-wheeling adventures, whale watching, you name it. That being said, Zoey runs into a lot of problems on her adventures (even zip lining doesn't go right) so the reader’s enjoyment gets a bit clouded by the continuous mishaps. 

• The friendships and side characters in this book were amazing. Lana is a complicated and fascinating character I wish we had seen more of, and Graham's cohort of local friends are unique, rounded, and intriguing. Even Lana’s wealthy friends who suck are hilarious and add good color to the story. 

• Graham is a bit of a complicated (read: toxically masculine) protagonist; he won’t stop calling Zoey “gorgeous” as a pet name, he resorts to violence and throwing punches during any conflict, and isn’t great at processing his own emotions. He also hates tourists without acknowledging that all his income and his lifestyle are thanks to their money. 

• The Dagger (23:17): Holly discussed A Haunting in the Arctic by C.J. Cooke, a supernatural horror novel with two timelines set on a single location - the whaling ship Ormen. In the modern-day timeline, a cohort of explorers and content creators arrive in northern Ireland to squat on the shipwrecked vessel before it is dragged out to sea and sunk by officials. The reader gets insight into 1901 events that ripple into today, though, as they follow a young woman in Scotland who is attacked and taken aboard the Orman against her will. Holly’s key takeaways were: 

• Cooke creates a bone-chilling and creepy atmosphere with strong writing and invocation of rhymes and sailor song; the book captures the sense of isolation and madness that can plague people in arctic elements for too long. While great, Holly wishes there had been even more of this woven in. 

• Like many readers, when there are dual timelines Holly is usually drawn to one more than the other. Here, she found the present timeline was focused on content creation and engaging a social media audience. The other timeline that follows a woman as she awakes surrounded by a sailing crew headed deeper and deeper into the arctic held more intrigue. 

• This book is dark; it’s all about trauma and the permanent traces that haunt us, with many violent acts committed throughout. Cooke weaves in metaphors and commentary on humanity’s violation and pillaging of the environment - particularly the entitlement of men and the harms they’ve caused over time. 

• Hot On the Shelf (42:13):

• Holly: The Fox Wife by Yangsze Choo

• Devin: Heartstopper Volume 5 by Alice Oseman

• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (45:42):

• Holly: Poor Things, 2023 film

• Devin: Skiing Big Sky in Montana for the first time

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Let’s get meta, friends! Today, Holly and Devin talk through books with podcasters as the protagonists. They use this podcast medium to dig into the value of podcasting and the way that an audio medium impacts our lives, for better and for much, much worse. Due to its growing popularity in the last decade - true crime for Holly and comedy/science for Devin - podcasts are more and more featured in books and as podcasters themselves, our hosts are all for it. They’ll stop saying “podcast” so much now…

Topics Discussed:

• The Dagger (3:20): Holly discussed None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell, a psychological thriller that follows popular podcaster Alix Summers as she crosses paths with an unassuming woman named Josie Fair. After Josie pitches herself as the subject in one of Alix’s podcast episodes, the women become progressively more entwined and Alix is left to uncover the dark, terrible legacy of Josie after her sudden disappearance. Holly’s key takeaways were:

• Jewell alternates the POV between Alix and Josie and includes excerpts from the podcast episodes they record; Holly recommends this book on audio specifically because of the mixed media elements. 

• From the start, Alix and Josie are foils for each other. Alix is pretty, upper middle class, successful and fulfilled in her work. Josie is frumpy, constantly described as wearing denim everything and married to a man almost 30 years her senior. Jewell weaves them together in a fascinating and terrifying way. 

• As the title indicates, Jewell masterfully balances perspective (via Alix, who is uncertain about who Josie is and whether to keep working with her) such that the reader even to the end cannot feel confident in who to believe and where lies the truth. 

• The Heart (20:22): Devin discussed Hana Khan Carries On by Uzma Jalaluddin, a “You’ve Got Mail” retelling that follows Hana Khan as she balances her passion for podcasting with her efforts to save her mother’s halal restaurant, Three Sisters Biryani Poutine. When a competitor, Wholistic Burgers and Grill, opens on the same street, Hana is thrown into battle against the charming and gorgeous Aydin Shah. With her podcast, Ana’s Brown Girl Rambles, as a solace and the dedicated listener Stanley P as a confidant, how can Hana do it all? Devin’s key takeaways were:

• Instead of email for this Rom Com re-do, Aydin and Hana come together and are kept apart by her podcast and their DMs. Her engagement with audio allows the reader to explore what having a voice means, especially with moments of anti-muslim hate crime in the story. 

• Yes, this is a romance but Jalaluddin focuses on Hana as a full and complete woman outside of romantic love, and explores self-love, familial love, and community love and care through the novel - with a special emphasis on the Toronto Golden Crescent neighborhood. 

• With concerns over the failing restaurant run by her mother for so long, Hana has to fight to keep traditions alive but also has deep passion for audio broadcasting and the modern ways people connect to each other. Both Aydin and Hana have to wrestle with those pressures and the possible gentrification of their Muslim neighborhood in Scarborough. 

• Hot On the Shelf (39:09):

• Holly: Independent People by Halldor Laxness

• Devin: Text Appeal by Amber Roberts

• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (43:08):

• Holly: A new season of reading in 2024

• Devin: Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: To start year 3 of Hearts & Daggers with a bang, we are launching a brand-new special miniseries that is sure to delight Hearts and Daggers readers alike. 

We have both been reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, a mutual favorite author who we celebrated in a previous LoveFest episode. We will be releasing monthly special episodes in which we debrief on each book as we go throughout the series. 

We encourage you to read along with us throughout the year–or at whatever point you’re jumping into these episodes–and enjoy our reactions, speculations, and gushing as we explore this new fantastical world.

In this our first episode, we will share a brief introduction to the series; the order in which we'll be reading; and then dive into discussion of the book Throne of Glass. Each episode will have spoilers for the book being discussed and any of the books we've read previously, but we won't give spoilers beyond that point. We will warn you in this episode before we get into spoilers, in case you want to listen and get a taste before diving into the series yourself. Episodes will continue to drop each month until we finish the series.

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

 Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/shop/heartsanddaggerspod (purchases support our work)

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Welcome to year three of Hearts & Daggers, friends! We are so delighted you are along on this ride with us. To get 2024 started, Holly and Devin are digging into books by debut authors. There may be nothing more impressive that someone who puts their heart and hard work on the line to publish their first book. It’s not only difficult to get published in the first place, but once your book is out there are thousands if not millions of people who experience your finished work. Holly and Devin both love reading debuts, finding that the more diverse voices added to the canon the more they enjoy diving in. 

Topics Discussed:

• The Heart (3:45): Devin discussed Lunar Love by Lauren Kung Jessen, an enemies-to-lovers centered around Olivia Huang Christenson and Bennett O’Brien as they go head-to-head in a competition to see whose Chinese zodiac matchmaking approach is best. Liv is working hard to maintain the traditions of her grandmother’s matchmaking business and Bennett has launched a new dating app that recommends matches using the Chinese zodiac. Devin’s key takeaways were:

• The crux of the romance and the plot of the novel is the push/pull between tradition and innovation. How can one maintain culture via traditional practices and where should technology and new perspectives impact those traditions? 

• Devin is year of the Horse and Holly is year of the Snake, but either had been exposed very much to the Chinese zodiac before Devin read this book; Kung Jessen pulls from her Chinese-American heritage to add a unique cultural and historical perspective to the novel without making it seem like a lesson at school.

• Lunar Love was a bit light on the romance side and not very steamy. That being said, it was built authentically through Liv and Bennett’s competition. Reading how each of them watched each other on dates that they themselves orchestrated and the complicated feelings there was especially enjoyable. 

• The Dagger (19:22): Holly discussed Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden, a crime thriller following Virgil Wounded Horse as he delivers vigilante justice for his Lakota Nation community when the American legal system and the trivial council fall short. When heroin makes its way onto the reservation and directly impacts Virgil’s nephew, his career in vigilantism suddenly becomes personal. Holly’s key takeaways were:

• This novel was not only an extremely solid debut, but an important fresh voice for the triller genre; it was character-driven and a slower build in terms of action, but Holly read it in a day and found it was impossible to put down. 

• Winter Counts explores themes of justice and the corruption that can preclude real accountability and fairness within not only the federal policing system as it interacts with the Native communities, but also the tribal councils themselves and the cascading impacts it has on the people.

• Through Virgil and the other characters of the book, Weiden explores not only how personal history and trauma influence perspectives and actions but also the challenges of maintaining and evolving cultural identity and traditions for the Native communities in the modern era. 

• Hot On the Shelf (35:26):

• Holly: The Eyes Are the Best Part by Monika Kim

• Devin: The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (41:29):

• Holly: Rewatching Avatar: The Last Airbender

• Devin: The Old Man and the Pool by Mike Bribiglia

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Happy Holidays, folks! To start year 3 of Hearts & Daggers with a bang, we are launching a brand-new special miniseries that is sure to delight Hearts and Daggers readers alike. 

We have both been reading the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J Maas, a mutual favorite author who we celebrated in a previous LoveFest episode. We’re excited to share that we will be releasing monthly special episodes in which we debrief on each book as we go throughout the series. 

We encourage you to read along with us throughout the year–or at whatever point you’re jumping into these episodes–and enjoy our reactions, speculations, and gushing as we explore this new fantastical world.

The first episode will air in January and they’ll continue to drop each month until we finish the series.

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.