Basically Bookish Podcast

Another Hunger Games book? Hear me out. 👀📚 In today's episode of Basically Bookish Podcast, Sarah is flying solo to talk about the ideas and background of Suzanne Collins's Sunrise on the Reaping. From Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven to The Philosophy of Composition, there's much more going on in Panem than you might think. We're going beyond the plot to explore the literary conn...

IT'S THE RED RISING FINALE! 🚨We've made it to the end of our first Red Rising deep dive...and WOW. Darrow's journey from Red miner to the Reaper of House Mars has officially come to a head. In this final installment, alliances are tested, the Institute descends into chaos, and Darrow has to decide exactly what kind of person *and leader* he wants to become. We've got thoughts. In...

It's the 3rd installment of our Red Rising deep dive and things are getting interesting! Bonds are forged and broken, castles are stormed, the howlers are beginning to form, and Darrow is transforming into The Reaper of House Mars before our eyes. This stretch of chapters is a rollercoaster and we hope you will come along with us for the ride! In this episode we will be covering chapters 23-33...

Welcome to A Basic Girl's Guide to Red Rising by Pierce Brown! Part 2We're continuing our journey into the world of this beloved sci-fi dystopian novel, things are about to get intense and that does not begin to cover it.⚠️ **This episode contains heavy spoilers for Chapters 12-22 of Red Rising.** ⚠️In this episode, we'll break down **Chapters 12-22** so if you're reading along wit...

Welcome to A Basic Girl's Guide to Red Rising by Pierce Brown! We're kicking off our very first journey into the world of this beloved sci-fi dystopian novel, and we're taking you along for the ride. It's a deep dive!⚠️ This episode contains heavy spoilers for the Prologue through Chapter 11 of Red Rising. ⚠️In this episode, we'll break down the Prologue through Chapter 11, so...

Welcome to A Basic Girl’s Guide to the Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig! In this episode we will explain everything you need to know (or everything you may have forgotten) about this iconic romantasy novel before you read The Knave and the Moon! Don't want to do a full re-read? We've got you. Just want to relive the magic and yearning that is this book? Us too! We’re talking characters, plot,...

Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke is probably the most talked about book of summer 2026 and we had to know if it was worth the hype. Join us as we discuss this biting satire that follows Natalie Heller Mills, a tradwife influencer who wakes up in 1855 ... or does she? This episode will be more of a free format discussion as we really just want to pick each other’s brains about this book and what it...

Welcome to the Basically Bookish Podcast! In this episode, we are going to tell you everything you need to know about Devney Perry’s Shield Of Sparrows: the first book in a romantasy trilogy that we here at Basically Bookish can’t WAIT to finish. In this episode we will be giving you an unspoilered review and star rating, as well as an in depth plot breakdown (don’t worry, we will warn you before...

Need a little female rage anyone??In this episode we are breaking down our thoughts on the fantasy standalone, Blood Over Brighthaven by ML Wang. Come with us as we venture into the world of dark academia and meet Sciona Freynan, the first woman to be admitted into a prestigious institute of magic. This review will not contain spoilers *at first*, but we will get into in depth character analysis a...

Emerald Fennell's 2026 adaptation of Emily Bronte's gothic masterpiece, Wuthering Heights has left us with mixed emotions... In this episode we will be sharing our honest thoughts and opinions of the movie currently taking over our timelines. We hope you'll let us know your thoughts on this adaptation.. I think we're still processing. Don't forget to subscribe for more bookish...

Welcome to our, 'Basic Girl's Guide to Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte' (part 2!) In this episode we will be breaking down the second part of this classic literature masterpiece in a way that is straight forward and easy to understand. It's our first time reading about this incredibly tragic and toxic romance so we will give you our first impressions of the plot as we go. Join us...

Welcome to our, 'Basic Girl's Guide to Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte.' In this episode we will be breaking down the first part of this classic literature masterpiece in a way that is straight forward and easy to understand. It's our first time reading about this incredibly tragic and toxic romance so we will give you our first impressions of the plot as we go. Join us in the mo...

Happy New Year and welcome to our second annual tbr! In this episode, we will be telling you about all of the stories we are most excited to hop into in 2026 and why. We also may or may not get on a Wurthering Heights tangent towards the end... (Deep dive coming soon!) We're both mood readers so expect books across all genres from Fantasy, to Romance, to Thrillers. We hope you find a book on o...

It’s our Basically Bookish 2025 Wrapped! 🎧📚In this episode, we’re ranking every book we read this year; from fantasy giants to cult favorites, and breaking it all down with our opinions, stats, and a little chaos. Join us on the living room floor as we dish about our favorites, flops, and everything in between! This episode is our love letter to the books that shaped our year (We may or may not...

Welcome back to the Basically Bookish Podcast! Today, we’re diving into Alchemised by SenLinYu, the book that’s been setting BookTok and the dark fantasy corner of the internet aflame. 🔥In this episode, we give you:✨ Our full review✨ What worked, what didn’t, and what surprised us✨ The writing, world-building, tropes, pacing, and character dynamics✨ Our official Basically Bookish Rating (you...

Halloween Special 👻🎃Join us on the most haunted day of the year: Halloween. This episode dives into all the wild theories surrounding We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer. Think: secret Morse code messages, dimensional shifts, peculiar ants, time-loops, and unwanted house guests who might be more than they seem.🔍 Here’s what we unpack:The recurring Morse code at the end of chapters - many rea...

The truth finally comes home. 🏚️Halloween Eve finale of We Used to Live Here - Chapters 19 until the end. You won’t believe what we uncovered. 🎃🐜It’s the haunting finale of our deep dive into We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer - we are peeling back the final layer of this twisted, beautiful nightmare. What was real? What was imagined? And what does it mean to be haunted? by a house, a memory...

Eve’s reflection is starting to lie back. 🪞This week we’re diving into Chapters 13–18 of We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer — and nothing feels real anymore. Welcome back to The Basically Bookish Podcast — the show where Tess and Sarah untangle the strange, the spooky, and the deeply human side of storytelling. In Part 3 of We Used to Live Here, the story fractures: Dreams bleed into reality,...

Religious trauma? Sleepwalking?! Slenderman?! Send help. We are back with Part 2 of We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer and the tension is thick as fog. As Eve digs deeper into the past, reality begins to warp. Can the house itself be trusted… or is it mirroring her unraveling mind? Join us as we decode hidden symbolism, eerie foreshadowing, and the creeping question of what “home” really means...

In the first installment of our complete retelling of the scariest book we've ever read, we cover chapters 1 through 6 of We Used To Live Here by Marcus Kliewer and give our predictions for what directions the book could take. We're already getting the creeps but stick with us as we will be releasing an episode Every Thursday for the month of October until we finish the book! So read along...

Hello! It's Hoa Hoa Hoa Hoa season and what better way to celebrate than with a full plot recap of One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig?! Grab some snack and some tea and let's nestle down into the dark, gothic, world of The Shepherd King Duology. This is a moody, gothic fantasy filled with forbidden magic, political intrigue, romance, and a monster in more ways than one. In this episode, we r...

“In Faerie, there are no fish sticks, no ketchup, no television” 📺In this episode of Basically Bookish Pod, Sarah and Tess sink into Holly Black’s The Cruel Prince. This tale is laced with treachery, desire, and the sharp edges of Faerie politics. We explore its intoxicating fairytale tone, unforgettable characters, and why this book has captured so many readers’ imaginations.‼️As always, we firs...

🔥 Heir of Fire Deep Dive (Chapters 1–15) | Basically Bookish Podcast Things are getting INTENSE in Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas and we’re diving deep into it all! In this episode, we break down chapters 1–15, where the Throne of Glass series really begins to shift. We are introduced to two iconic characters: Rowan Whitethorn and Manon Blackbeak. Explore the emotional unraveling (and rebuilding)...

Welcome back to the Basically Bookish Pod! 🤓📚🎙️ It’s time for our mid-year reading check-in and we’re holding ourselves accountable. In this episode, we revisit the TBR goals we made at the start of the year, talk about the books we actually read, the ones we swapped out, and the ones still staring at us from the shelf… silently judging. We’re sharing: ✔️ Our standout reads of the year so far ✔️...

Looking for a richly layered story about love, memory, and the complicated threads that tie families together? The latest novel by Emily Henry, "Great Big Beautiful Life" is just for you. This is the second Emily Henry book we’ve covered on the pod, and it might be her most intimate and reflective work yet. We start with a spoiler-free review for those deciding whether to read it, and then shift i...