Chick Lit Book Club Podcast

Slight change of plans! We got an ARC of Not Another Love Song by Julie Soto, so we pulled an audible and read that one instead. Given our background in music, this one was catnip for us. Xander and Gwen play in the same pops orchestra–although they don’t really play “together.” In fact, he doesn’t even know she’s in the orchestra until she tells him at an outside gig. When Gwen lands the promotio...

Strap in because this week, we’re diving into our inner cat ladies with The Unnatural Habitat of a Cat Lady by Dani Elias. When Ben realizes that the love of his life–a woman who broke up with him 20 years ago–matches with him on a very specific dating app, he’s determined to talk things out. For her part, Amelia agrees to talk to him… and then to maybe up the ante. When life throws some curveball...

We’re diving head first into some monster romance and no one here has a single refret. Today, we’re talking about Wed to the Basilisk by Layla Fae AND you get to hear from Layla herself! Wed to the Basilisk is part of the Arranged Monster Mates series, in which humans and monsters are matched using DNA at a temple. Voss, the last surviving basilisk, is extremely skeptical that his human bride, Ali...

Welcome back, dearest gentle readers! We watched the second half of Bridgerton Season 3 and we have THOUGHTS. Some of those thoughts are good and some of them are bad and some of them made us shout “WE DON’T CARE ABOUT THIS.” After this, we’ll be waiting for two years for Benedict’s story. (eyeroll.) Up next: Wed to the Basilisk by Layla Fae SHOW INFORMATION:  Join the Discord Follow us on Spotify...

We’re jumping back to Victorian England to discuss The Love Remedy by Elizabeth Everett! But the best part? We’re actually TALKING to Elizabeth! Apothecary Lucy Peterson is on the brink of financial ruin. A rival apothecary stole the formula for a throat lozenge and is passing it off as his own invention and she believes he stole another formula that has gone missing. So she hires Jonathan Thorne...

Riders, you are not ready. This week, we’re diving into Downpour by Maggie Gates. Downpour picks up during that critical moment when Ray is in the chute, waiting for the gate to open. We see snapshots of his recovery and the process of him becoming more independent, but he still needs some at-home assistance. Enter: Brooke, a beautiful disaster attempting to burn his kitchen down. Also discussed:...

The two-year wait is FINALLY over! Kind of! We got the first half of Bridgerton season three–the long awaited Colin and Penelope season and Rae cannot contain herself. Here, we cover the first half of the new season. We talk about each episode, what we like and what we don’t, and what we’re anticipating for the second half. We’ll finish this up next month after the second half releases.  Up Next:...

The day has FINALLY come, dear listeners! We’re talking about one of Rae’s all-time favorites: Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn. In case you’ve been living under a rock, this is Colin and Penelope’s story and it’s so very sweet (with a little spice). This episode is about the book, but we do discuss the upcoming season of Bridgerton from Netflix. Also discussed: everything Bridgerton, the g...

Hello, hello, loves! We got an ARC of the latest work from S.L. Prater— Coven of Ill Repute . This series opener introduces our main characters, Quiet (a witch) and Rorick (a vampire). They’re investigators charged with solving a murder, which just happens to be one of Quiet’s sister witches and Rorick’s cousin. What neither of them realizes is that the house is literally haunted and it has no pla...

Welcome everyone! Today, we’re not only talking about Risks and Whiskey by Dani McLean, but we’re talking to Dani McLean herself! Risks & Whiskey is a friends-to-lovers workplace romance with a double grand gesture and plenty of spice. We do our regular compliment sandwich plus ratings, stunt casting, and recommendations, and in between, you’ll get to hear Dani talk about this book, as well as...

Welcome lovely listeners! Today, we’re discussing Love You, Mean It by Jilly Gagnon. We got an ARC through NetGalley and we’re covering it early for scheduling reasons. Marketed as a playful romantic comedy featuring dueling delis, fake dating, a shockingly awesome ex, and juuuuuust the right amount of amnesia. Having read the book, we can confirm that it’s the perfect amount of amnesia. Also disc...

The ladies are getting in on the single dad action (...what?) with Dust Storm by Maggie Gates. Christian Griffin, widower with two adorable daughters, took over operations from his father, but business doesn’t always go as planned, and they’ve hit a rough patch. City slicker Cassandra Parker is in hot water at work, so she’s being exiled to the sprawling Texas ranch to develop a long-term plan for...

Hiya, wee lads and lasses! We landed an ARC of https://www.threads.net/@akileybooks debut novel Kilt Trip , which means you get to listen to Rae’s Scottish accent. When Addie Macrae’s wanderlust leads her to her homeland—specifically, Edinburgh—to consult with a family-run travel company, she’s thrown face-first into ghosts from her past. And the person leading that charge? Logan… the heir to the...

Our second pick for Black History Month is Never Tell by Stacey Abrams (writing as Selena Montgomery). Never Tell is a romantic suspense initially published in 2004, but republished in 2023 by St. Martin’s Griffin. Dr. Erin Abbott is a professor in New Orleans, Louisiana, who finds herself at the center of a serial killer’s tangled web—and journalist Gabriel Moss is the only person taking her seri...

Welcome to a BONUS episode of CLBC! We landed an ARC of Lauren Morrill’s new book More Than a Feeling and we couldn’t not tell you about it. Due to technical difficulties, this episode is releasing a week after the release of the book, but we’re incredibly honored to have had the opportunity to interview Lauren and hear all about her plans for the Cardinal Springs series. More Than a Feeling intro...

To honor and celebrate Black History Month, we’re starting off with bestselling author Xio Axelrod—featuring an interview with Xio herself!—and her brand new book Girls with Bad Reputations ! This is book two in The Lillys series, where we follow drummer Kayla and bus driver Ty as they get to know each other on the road. They both have things to hide, but they’re both trying to find their way in t...

We’re back with the first book review of the year, which just so happens to be the viral sensation Done and Dusted by Lyla Sage. Emmy Ryder is coming home to Meadowlark, Wyoming after an injury… that her family doesn’t actually know about. She’s helping out around the family ranch and winds up spending more time with her brother’s best friend, Luke Brooks. Emmy thinks Luke is an irresponsible play...

Ladies and gents, welcome to our third anniversary show! Thank you so much for being here. We appreciate each and every one of you and we’ll appreciate you even more if you can get someone in Antarctica to listen to us. We’ll recap our faves from 2023 and drink too much champagne. What else is new? Also discussed: Rae isn’t allowed to choose movies anymore, December was a complete disaster, and ou...

Merry Effing Christmas dear listeners! As our gift to you, we’re releasing our holiday episode one week early (aren’t you lucky?). This week, we’re talking about Snowed In by Catherine Walsh. In order to get through the holidays with a buffer, childhood school mates Christian and Megan agree to forge a fake relationship—Megan because she hasn’t been home since she pulled a runner on her wedding da...

In one of the biggest surprises we’ve had this year, we present to you, dearest listeners, The Fake Mate by Lana Ferguson. Mackenzie Carter teams up with Noah Taylor in a relationship-of-convenience shifter romance. Mackenzie wants to get her grandma off her back and Noah is potentially in trouble with the hospital board for concealing his alpha status. Mackenzie will pretend to be his mate, solvi...

Folx, it’s a rough review this week. We wanted to cover something that people are in denial about. We settled upon Kiss an Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. We’ve read amazing novels from this author, however, this was not one of them. If you wanted to hear us lose our minds for an hour, this is the episode for you. Also discussed: the wonders of Reddit, how the 90s held different standards of hu...

The ladies are both getting ill again, and not in the fun 90’s r&b kind. This week it’s another ARC for us with The Plot Twist by Erin La Rosa. Sophie is a blocked romance writer who’s never been in love and Dash is a recovering alcoholic and child start trying to find their path. Along the way they gravitate toward each other and struggle to find if what they’re experiencing is the big ‘L’ wo...

Crossover month concludes with another spooky book: An Inheritance of Monsters by Cate Corvin. Please welcome back special guest Ween from the Booze, Boobs, and Blood podcast! This book was her pick, so if you hate it, blame her. (Kidding.) When ghosthunter Juno gets an exclusive invitation to live in the most haunted house in America, she can’t refuse. And when she finds out monsters live under h...

It’s spooky season, bishes! We’re doing two spook-ish books this year and the first one is Bad Luck Charm by Julie Johnson. When an animal sacrifice is left outside her beloved aunt’s shop in Salem, Massachusetts, Gwendolyn Goode is expectedly shocked. To add insult to injury, her childhood crush—a man she now hates—has been brought in to consult in the ensuing investigation. Can Graham Graves pro...

The final ARC before a mini-break is The Love Rematch by Kay Marie! If your mom went on national television and begged America to find you a boyfriend, would you agree to be on the Bachelor-style show that calls a couple of days later? Well, Emily reluctantly agrees—not to find a husband, but to promote her homemade jewelry line. The only snag in her plan is that one of the field producers is none...