Books & Banter with Les & Co.

Join Les, Dem, and Madie for a chaotic and honest conversation about all things bookish habits — the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. From annotating and tabbing to DNF guilt, book buying addictions, reading slumps, midnight “just one more chapter” decisions, and everything in between. Join Les and rotating cast of co-hosts for a weekly fun filled, talk about all things books! You can shoot...

Join Jess and I as we meet R.K. Harrington to talk about her debut Historical Romantic Mystery novel, Kindred Schemes. We have so much fun talking about R.K.’s writing journey, learning more about creating characters and their titles as well as learning who was her favourite villain! We get to end off the episode in a fun way talking about movie adaptations and our true feelings about them. Join L...

This is the one for the thrill seekers and psychological or mystery lovers. Join Kiana and I as we talk thrillers. We also take a deep dive into the novel, The Quiet Tenant, by Clémence Michallon – so you don’t want to miss this one! If you have not read the Quiet Tenant and you plan to – you can skip this one. Join Les and rotating cast of co-hosts for a weekly fun filled, talk about all things b...

Join us while we talk about the Mindfuck Series written by S.T. Abby. If you haven’t read the series and you are planning to, maybe skip this one. If you have, I hope you have some of the same opinions as we do. This one is more a discussion and less banter -  but nonetheless, so much fun. Join Les and rotating cast of co-hosts for a weekly fun filled, talk about all things books! You can shoot us...

This week, I’m joined by Jasmyne as we look back at how my reading tastes have changed over time. We trace my genre timeline—from early romance and fantasy to dark romance, sports romance, and the high-spice romantic era—and how each shift has reflected my own growth. We also dig into the biggest romance trends heading into 2025, including STEM rom-coms, the resurgence of sports romance, neurodive...

In this episode, Jasmyne and I dive into how reading helped her find herself again in motherhood—because let’s be honest, she’s doing the parenting and I’m just here with my TBR pile and opinions. She shares how books rebuilt her confidence, gave her a purpose outside of mom life, and reminded her she’s more than a snack provider-in-chief. We also talk about how the book community helped her feel...

Alanna is back, and we’re diving into The Book Signing Experience—aka the thrilling sport of standing in line to say three words to an author while clutching seventeen books and a friendship bracelet. We chat about swag chaos, trading cards, social anxiety, time management, and how reading somehow turned into a full-contact fandom event. It’s funny, quirky, and painfully relatable for anyone who h...

Alanna joins us this week as we attempt to define Romantasy—because somehow dragons, destiny, and dramatic make-outs all ended up in the same genre and nobody stopped it. We chat about when fantasy picked up a romance side-quest, whether it’s gone too far (or not far enough), why BookTok is feral for morally grey love interests, and how covers and marketing now scream “there will be kissing.” We l...

Dem is back as co-host, and we’re diving into Book Club Central—where an introverted hobby somehow turns into group chats, meet-ups, and chaotic debates about fictional characters. We talk about Not Your Average Book Club, how people make friends through reading, whether virtual or in-person clubs are superior, and if buddy reads are bonding or just polite pressure. It’s fun, chatty, and packed wi...

Dem is our co-host of the week ( or two weeks) , and we’re tackling the chaotic truth behind “Hobby Reading? That’s a Thing!” We joke about how buying books and reading them are totally different hobbies, question what makes someone a real bookworm, and ask whether reading is a hobby, a trend, or a TikTok-fuelled smutty takeover. It’s fun, self-draggy, and full of unhinged reader energy—perfect fo...

Ben is back as co-host, and this week we’re diving into the wonderfully chaotic world of bookish abbreviations. We sort out the difference between genres—like Romantasy, Romance, Dark Romance, Fantasy, and Sci-Fi—and the tropes hiding inside them, from HEA to HFN and everything in between. We try to decode what readers are talking about, take some wildly wrong guesses, and laugh our way through th...

We’re kicking off our brand-new format and Ben is jumping in as co-host for the chaos. We scroll through romance novel covers and wildly speculate about the plots, tropes, steam level, and dramatic nonsense—before finding out what the books are about. Cue shocked reactions, confident but completely wrong guesses, and uncontrollable laughter. It’s fun, quirky, and the perfect tease of the more inte...