Besties and the Books Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Today is all about romance. We’re gearing up for Valentine’s Day over here at Besties & the Books Podcast and what exactly does that mean (you might be wondering)? Well, it means we’re going to be diving back into the Reddit realms to bring you romance book and V-Day themed Am I the A Hole questions! Should you buy your ex-girlfriend red roses for Valentine’s Day if you’re in...

Send us Fan Mail We’ve been keeping a BIG secret from you… our book besties… and today is finally the day we get to reveal it! We interviewed Callie Hart!! *Insert happy screaming here.* We are SO excited to share this SPOILER FREE author interview with you, so stick around if you’re interested in listening to us chat with the one and only Callie Hart, author of the New York Times bestselling roma...

Send us Fan Mail Today is the day we all do our best to take it…seriously. All the girthy 784 pages of this big boy must be discussed. And as the longest of the bunch (according to some) all we can do is grab onto that headboard and just like Nesta, “climb [that] mountain.” But seriously… today is the day Ashley and Liz  go over the final (for now) book in the ACOTAR series: A Court of Silver Flam...

Send us Fan Mail Liz and Ashley are back from their holiday hibernation, ready to talk about everything Broken Bounty Series by Ember Nicole. Today’s episode is the spoiler-y follow up to our spoiler FREE author interview that dropped in December.  We discuss the major differences between the first two books and book three, Live For Me, the newest release in this dark romance rollercoaster of a se...

Send us Fan Mail Merry Christmas Book Besties! Today Liz and Ashley are here to discuss all things even remotely related to this glorious holiday… and we do it in special light up Christmas Tree hats. You’re welcome.  First, we’ll ask each other a series of Christmas related questions like what our best and worst gifts have been, our family traditions, favorite music, and what we like to eat and w...

Send us Fan Mail Today we have a very special interview* with dark romance indie author and the queen of heartbreaking cliffhangers herself, Ember Nicole. We chat all things Broken Bounty series to celebrate the release of Live For Me, book three in this emotional rollercoaster which is the bounty hunter romance she created. *Author interviews will always be spoiler free so everyone can enjoy them...

Send us Fan Mail We’re nearing the end of 2024. So naturally, Liz and Ashley are reflecting on the important things in life. Our goals, our hopes, our dreams… and of course, the most important thing of 2024: WICKED, Part 1 (and Jonathan Bailey). Let’s chat about Wicked in all of its glory! The movie, the play, and the books… and how they tie into our goals for the podcast in 2025! We discuss if bo...

Send us Fan Mail It’s officially Christmas season over here on the BATB Pod and Ashley and Liz are kicking off December with two “cringy” Christmas novellas that double as unhinged! This go-around we dive into Mr. Jingle, a Christmas-themed paranormal monster romance by Layla Fae that (not unlike Full Sack) has unforeseen twists, turns, tentacles, and surprises around every corner! Then we dive in...

Send us Fan Mail Happy Thanksgiving Book Besties! Today Liz and Ashley are here to discuss all things even remotely related to Turkey Day, in all its glory… and we do it in special hats. You’re welcome.  First, we’ll ask each other a series of Thanksgiving related questions like what our favorite memory is, our Thanksgiving family traditions, and what we like to eat and watch.  Next, we bring the...

Send us Fan Mail It’s truly the end of an era. Our Twilight virgin era. We read all the books for the very first time, and rewatched all the movies since our original jump scare years ago, and now we’re here. We’re Ashley and Liz, new Twilight fans and just girls, ready to talk to you all about our innermost thoughts in regards to this fandom.  We rate the book series as a whole, and then we choos...

Send us Fan Mail Every Friday is “Bestie Card Friday” with Ashley and Liz over on the good old Instagram. We pick some cards, we answer an unhinged “would you rather” question, and you guys vote on what YOU would rather do. We’ve been doing that for almost eight months! And you guys wanted more. So here we are, playing “would you rather” for an entire episode. Would we rather live in Velaris or Te...

Send us Fan Mail Here we are! Ashley and Liz discuss the epic book conclusion of the Twilight Saga. We seriously need to sort some things out with y’all. Like: why is imprinting a thing? It’s so disturbing. How is there a team Edward vs. team Jacob rivalry when CLEARLY Jacob is trash? And how do we feel about all of that buildup leading us to THAT particular ending? We’ve got unanswered questions....

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wondered what smutty Thanksgiving themed novella books are out there on Kindle Unlimited? Are you wondering what holiday themed kinkz this very specific genre may unlock for you? Well, wonder no more. Ashley and Liz did the research for you and now we’re presenting the evidence. It’s just science.  We read Full Sack by Layla Fae and Three Times the Fun by Blythe Reid...

Send us Fan Mail Today Ashley and Liz are discussing the problematic and rage-inducing “love triangle?!” that is the bulk of the content in Eclipse. Find out why we think imprinting and kissing women against their will is wrong to do! And why we think Jacob and Charlie can go kick rocks. Episode 3 covers book 3: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler free with our one s...

Send us Fan Mail Ashley and Liz just got back from the When We Were Young fest and boy do we have some good faves and fails of the week, including Gerard Way’s sexy hair swoop heard ‘round the world. After we hash THAT out for all of our collective enjoyment, we get into our hot takes.  We’ve got some from Reddit, we’ve got some from Threads… and we need to know. Do you agree or disagree? Should y...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome back to Ashley & Liz’s vibey, angsty, fall-girl mini episode bonus series all about our FIRST TIME reading Twilight. Episode 2 covers book 2: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler free with our one sentence rapid star reviews. Then we jam pack this mini episode with an entire plot summary in five sentences, what our faves and fail characte...

Send us Fan Mail Happy Halloween Book Besties! Today’s episode is all about one of our favorite holidays, and everything Liz and Ashley love about the spooky fall season!  We decided to put together the perfect taster episode of all your favorite treats, but made it Halloween themed… and we did it in silly wigs. Just because we can!  We answer a series of spooky questions like what our fave scary...

Send us Fan Mail Welcome to Ashley & Liz’s spooky mini episode bonus series: Twilight!  If you’ve been following along and watched our “Why Vampires” episode then you know we’re fascinated with the lore and needed to be a part of this fandom! Just for the inside jokes alone… As late high school and early college age gals, we missed the boat in exchange for studying, partying, and working, so w...

Send us Fan Mail Today on the Besties & the Books Podcast Ashley and Liz discuss some of our favorite monsters: Vampires, and attempt to understand why these undead, blood sucking creatures have dominated spooky lore, art, and literature throughout the ages… as a way to set the scene for our TWILIGHT Mini Episode Series launching THIS FRIDAY!  Where did the idea of vampires come from? Dependin...

Send us Fan Mail Today on the pod, Ashley and Liz discuss A Court of Frost and Starlight, book four in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas, and a “sweet little Christmas special” of a novella to some. Is this book skipable? Is it full of Easter eggs and setup for book 5? Our differing opinions may surprise you!  In our new deep dive episode style we react to our least and most favorite parts, trope...

Send us Fan Mail Today on the podcast, we’re having a silly, good time. We asked you guys for unhinged book questions, and boy did you deliver. Ashley and Liz sit down and answer all of the things that you guys want to know, but let’s be honest, most of the questions are just about who we would smash because you all are thirsty girlies, and we love you for it. We also dive into some questions we c...

Send us Fan Mail Today we’re here for the FINAL installment of our Harry Potter Mini Episode series. We laughed (sorta), we cried (not really), and some of you guys in the fandom came for us in the comments! Truly, it was a roller coaster over the last couple of months, and we’re just happy we came out of it relatively unscathed. In this episode we rate the Harry Potter book series as a whole, tal...

Send us Fan Mail Here we are, on episode 3 of our ACOTAR reread series with A Court of Wings and Ruin, by the Romantasy queen, Sarah J. Maas. And this go around, we’re doing things a little differently!  Instead of doing a plot play-by-play for ACOWAR, because let’s be honest, there are better and more detailed channels for that, we incorporate the triangle, and our infamous plot outline in five s...

Send us Fan Mail It’s week 7… and the epic? … book conclusion of our Harry Potter mini episode series over here on Besties & the Books Podcast has officially happened… So let's discuss The Deathly Hallows. This series is over 3,500 pages of kid wizards, quittich, teen crushes, bullies, and magical probs. Was it worth our time? Was the finale epic and worth all the hype this franchise has...

Send us Fan Mail So… we did it… for science.  During one of our unpopular opinion episodes, you guys asked: “Why does hockey romance exist?” And because neither of us had read one, we did our best to answer, but knew we had to soldier on and do more research. So here we are.  Ashley read the viral bestseller Icebreaker by Hannah Grace, and Liz read Consider Me, the popular first installment in the...