Tomes & Tonics

A cozy inn? A talking (troublemaking) fox? Lovable found family? This week's book is the perfect fall/winter cozy read! Join us as we chat about Sangu Mandanna's "A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping," covering the lovable found family, strong emotional aspects, and Sera's incredible journey throughout this warm read. Also, Christina unpacks her latest Frieda read and Lauren spins the TBR wheel a...

We're back and with our longest episode ever as we revisit Panem for one final journey (for now)! While we recorded this episode pre-Life of a Showgirl, we speculate about what the album would be, chat about our recent reads, revisit our brackets with our top picks for July, August, and September, and of course chat about one of the biggest books of 2025 - "Sunrise on the Reaping." Join us as we c...

Grab your snacks, songbirds because we're heading back to Panem this week as we kick off the prequels! Before jumping into Coriolanus' backstory, Lauren and Christina chat about Lauren's coffee consumption, our current reads, initial reactions to "The Housemaid" trailer, and Christina's thoughts on The Summer I Turned Pretty! We also get a visit from our resident ghost, who might be a Snow fan (?)...

Past lives? Movie adaptations not living up to expectations? Multi-level marketing for the devil? This week's episode has it all. We cover our current reads, thoughts on book-to-movie adaptations we've recently seen, and of course this week's read, "Our Infinite Fates!" Perfect for lovers of "Invisible Life of Addie LaRue," we cover all things Evelyn and Arden as we chat about our thoughts on the...

We finally did it! Tune in this week as we finally cover the final installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, "Mockingjay!" We discuss how Christina views the series rereading it as an adult, Lauren's thoughts now that she knows what Gale did and how everything unfolds, and of course, mourn our lost favorite characters. We also dive into our thoughts on the movies and share our thoughts on whether t...

This week on Tomes & Tonics, we're just happy to be here as we head to Coopers Chase to hang out with the Thursday Murder Club as we discuss, well - Richard Osman's "Thursday Murder Club!" Before diving in, we chat about our current reads, Christina's latest 4.5/5 star read, and Lauren's new journey to get through her TBR! Listen along as we discuss the four lovable busybodies, the cozy found...

Cooper's Hawk summer cocktails? A new background? A potentially haunted house? Crown of Midnight? This week's episode of Tomes & Tonics has it all! Join us as we chat about the amazing summer lineup at Cooper's Hawk, battle technical difficulties, and of course dive into the next installment of Throne of Glass, "Crown of Midnight!" We cover all things Celaena and Chaol, pour one out for our gi...

We are so excited to celebrate our 50th episode with the super talented Allie Samberts as we chat all about her novel, "Not a Strong Enough Word!" Join us as we dive into all things Scarlett and Ryan, the importance of mental health and therapy representation in media, how important it is to protect yourself against burnout, especially for authors, what's on the horizon for Allie, and her amazing...

We're so excited to continue our Hunger Games journey with "Catching Fire!" We've got our mocktails and notes ready to dive right into the world of Panem and discuss all things Peeta, President Snow, that arena, the rebellion, and of course the movie! And it wouldn't be a chat about Catching Fire if we didn't go into THAT Peeta moment (iykyk) and Lauren gives her predictions for the final installm...

It's Christmas in July with our first indie spotlight of July! We're so excited to chat with Emily Murray about her debut, "Alixandria Fire: Dani and Danny!" Join us as we talk all things romance, the coziness of Alixandria, whether we're team Sage or Team Lloyd, gush over Emily's fancast, and of course talk about her latest release, Alixandria Fire: Claire and Brodie!" So make sure you grab a cop...

It's finally happening! This week, we're kicking off the long-awaited Throne of Glass series and Christina's birthday month! Join us as we chat all about Adarlan's Assassin, Dorian and Chaol, and the importance of her decision at the end. We also reveal our top reads of 2025 and can't wait for all the amazing reads we have coming up in the second half of the year! So grab a goblet of your fave bev...

This week we talk about besties going on questies with the next installment in Mai Corland's amazing trilogy, "Four Ruined Realms!" We chat all about the twists and turns this exciting book took us on, and of course chat all about our predictions for the final installment, "Three Shattered Souls," which releases next month! So grab your favorite summer beverage and tune in for another episode of T...

This week on Tomes & Tonics we're excited to welcome back Mary as we round out the Ruinous Love trilogy! Join us as we chat all things Scythe and Sparrow, including the infamous trigger warnings, Barbara, our favorite Kane brother, and a ranking of our favorite books in this series, our predictions for Brynne Weaver's upcoming Seasons of Carnage series, and of course that surprising epilogue....

It's finally happening! This week, we kick off our read through of the worldwide phenomenon - "The Hunger Games," and Christina is enjoying watching Lauren embark on this new journey. Before we dive into our thoughts on the first installment, we chat about our current reads, plan our spooky season theme, and introduce a new segment based on Fable's new TBR shortlist feature and select our three pr...

New week, new release! We are so excited to be ever but visitors in Rachel Gillig's atmospheric new novel, "The Knight and the Moth!" Join us as we chat all things Aisling, Traum, Rory and Sybill, and of course our new bestie, Bartholomew. If you haven't read this one yet, we highly recommend checking out this episode once you have, as we do discuss spoilers and theories for the next installment o...

Bird demons, poison maidens, and a found family comprised entirely of morally gray characters - our book this week has it all, and then some! On this week's episode of Tomes & Tonics, we chat about our current reads, excitement over receiving one of our most anticipated reads of the year, and Cooper's Hawk Paloma before we dive into our latest read, Mai Corland's exciting and character-driven...

Anyone else wondering how we are already halfway through May and almost halfway through the year? This week, we reflect on major milestones (Lauren hitting and adjusting her reading goal), celebrate our favorite reads in Q1, and introduce our bookish bracket! Join us as we chat about our current and upcoming reads, highlight our fave books for the first few months of 2025, and what we have coming...

We are so excited to be back with our April indie author spotlight, featuring the amazing Rebecca Garner! Tune in as we talk all about her debut, "Why Won't My Boobs Grow...and Other Annoyances," the hottest millennial debate, reminisce about Bennigans, discuss the importance of strong relationships and consent, and, of course answer the ever burning question - pizza always or pizza never (the ans...

March is on its way out and we have an out of this world episode to close it out! This week we welcome Cy Harold for this month's indie spotlight to discuss his debut, "Law or Aurornova!" Tune in as we chat our current reads, uncover Cy's lore as an author, delve into his writing process, and discuss the importance of representation in literature, as well as showing strong, female leads in promine...

Happy Women's History Month! This one's for the girls as we try to stay warm with all the blankets, coats, and hot showers possible! Tune in for another episode of Tomes & Tonics where we catch up on new hobbies, what we've been up to (and most importantly what we're reading), what comes to mind when we hear Coopers Hawk, and of course dive into E.M. Meyers' Bingo Buddy pick for us, "Dream Gir...

Happy Hringkalla-holla! This week we are so excited to dive into Mary's Bingo Buddy pick for us, Leigh Bardugo's expertly crafted fantasy, "Six of Crows!" Before diving into our first Grishaverse novel, we discuss the importance of sensitivity readers and being respectful and inclusive in writing and editing. Christina and Lauren also share their current reads and a few exciting upcoming episodes...

March is off to a...well, a start! This week we are sipping on tea as we combat sickness and talk about how we relate to Disney villains in our adulthood, the books we've been reading, including this week's topic - Amy Tintera's surprisingly funny thriller, "Listen for the Lie." Join us as we chat all the salacious details of this small town podcast thriller, how much we love Grandma Beverly, and...

We are fully in our Greek mythology era on this week's episode, in which our heroines kick off our Indie Spotlight series with E.M. Meyers and her debut, "Ink of Copper!" We are so excited to share this fun episode as we dive into this modern retelling of the Odyssey! Join us as we chat with E.M. Meyers on all things Ellie and Evander, the importance of strong, relatable FMCs, fan casts, wing span...

Happy belated Valentine's and Galentine's Day! This week on Tomes & Tonics we welcome Mary back as we crack into a nice cold Diet Enemies as we chat about "Leather and Lark," the second installment of Brynne Weaver's Ruinous Love Trilogy! What better way to celebrate last week's release of the finale, "Scythe and Sparrow" than to recap all the mayhem and madness of Leather and Lark! We chat th...

It's been a loooooong week, if you know what we mean, and what better way to cheer up than with another episode of "Tomes & Tonics!" This week, we are battling cold and flu season, dreading allergies, discussing our current reads, and our first ever Fable Book Club pick - "The Housemaid's Secret!" Tune in as we discuss the second installment of Frieda McFadden's "Housemaid" series, Frieda's ex...