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Holiday Gift Guide 2025: White Elephant, Secret Santa, and Yankee Trader Gifts
You know those $10- or $20-or-less gift exchanges? We've got suggestions. So does Elvis.
Book Review
The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
I am very confused by The Dead Romantics, a contemporary romance between a ghostwriter and an actual ghost. This book has a lot of parts to it, and I’m not sure how I feel about almost all of them. I will therefore write this review as a list of all the pieces and how I felt about them. Expect frequent use of words like “ambivalent” and “confused.” None of these are spoilers – they are … Continue reading The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston
Transcript Announcement
Episode 517, Your Transcript Has Arrived!
The transcript for Podcast 517. Rebuilding Your Life Over Dinner for One, with Sutanya Dacres has been posted!
Books On Sale
Get Some Holiday Weekend Reading: Alisha Rai, Lucy Parker, and Patricia Briggs!

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker is $1.99! Oh, yeah! This is a perfect weekend treat of a book. I read it on vacation last year and loved it, and Catherine Heloise (we miss you, Catherine) wrote in her A- review that ”
Lucy Parker could probably hear my squeeing from across the Tasman Sea (look, it’s not that far from Melbourne to New Zealand, and I am a trained singer…).
I was not disappointed.”
This is a perfect reading confection if you like contemporary romance and food, and the price is *chef’s kiss.*
Podcast
517. Rebuilding Your Life Over Dinner for One, with Sutanya Dacres
Sutanya Dacres is a podcaster whose new memoir, Dinner for One: How Cooking in Paris Saved Me, just came out. Her memoir is the story behind her podcast, Dinner for One: she met and married a French man, moved to Paris…and then her marriage didn’t work out. It’s also the story of her staying in Paris, rebuilding her life, and learning to embrace her new home. Her show features Sutanya cooking dinner for one while … Continue reading 517. Rebuilding Your Life Over Dinner for One, with Sutanya Dacres
Books On Sale
More Mary Balogh, Contemporary Romance, & More

Neon Gods by Katee Robert is $1.99! This is the first book in the Dark Olympus series. This is close to the top of my TBR pile and I’ve heard so many good things. A friend read it and wished it were spicier. Are you a fan?
The Rec League: Graphic Artists
This Rec League comes from Bel. Thanks, Bel! I’ve recently read and loved Drawn That Way and The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay–extremely different books in terms of tone and setting, I know , but something I really enjoyed about both books was the detail about the characters’ crafts (animation and comics, respectively) and all the character design and storytelling that came with it. This might be a weirdly specific ask/reading mood to be … Continue reading The Rec League: Graphic Artists
Ways to Help: Abortion Funds & Reproductive Justice

Sarah: People are mad and hurt and scared and upset, and there are a lot of ways to help, including caring for ourselves and our communities. Please remember that this is a space for us to feel safe, and to care for this community from within it. TL;DR, don’t be tools please. Amanda: If you’re looking for ways to help, here are a few links: Get Involved Abortion Access Front: They’re offering a workshop on … Continue reading Ways to Help: Abortion Funds & Reproductive Justice
Links: Music, Raffles, & More
Welcome back, everybody! I’m sure the mood this afternoon is more somber than last week’s and that’s understandable with Friday’s Supreme Court decision. I know Sarah is compiling a list of resources and actionable activities that should be going up soon (if not already). My focus is to give some lightness and distraction here if you need it. I cried, had some cocktails and comforting food, and then took an edible with my partner for … Continue reading Links: Music, Raffles, & More
Books On Sale
YA, More Horror, & More

RECOMMENDED: One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston is $2.99! Carrie and Tara did a joint review of this one and gave it a Squee grade:
Tara: I cannot recommend One Last Stop enough. It’s funny, it’s sexy, and it gives me all the feels.
Carrie: So much this! The book is fun, sexy, serious and comical, and deeply intersectional.

