Infatuated

This week, we're talking about our five favourite albums. We break down our most-listened-to albums, share the songs we cherish the most, and do some of that lyric analysis we all love. Remember to check out The Infatuated Mix to listen to these wonderful tunes!    Our infatuations: Chip Chrome and the Mono-Tones – The Neighbourhood Red – Taylor Swift CALM – 5 Seconds of Summer Melodrama – Lorde L...

This week, Emily tells us about genre-bending mystery The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton, while Rebecca shares some favourite poems from God I Feel Modern Tonight: Poems from a Gal About Town by Catherine Cohen. We take a vocabulary test, write synopses for YA Fantasy novels based on our lives, and we read a Visitor's Guide to Dante's Nine Circles of Hell. Rebecca also tells us...

This week, Emily tells us about the gory and girly Bunny by Mona Awad, while Rebecca discusses the autumnal This Close To Okay by Leesa Cross-Smith. We take a look through the Notes app on our phones, talk about our favourite Classic Lit texts, and we take a quiz to find out just how obsessed with books we are. Emily also discovers some interesting cannibal facts!    Our infatuations: Bunny - Mona...

Welcome to season two! We're kicking off the new season by catching you up with all our favourites we've consumed over the past eight weeks. We talk about some beautiful music, discuss what TV shows we've been loving, and Emily reads an extended passage from a book she couldn't put down. Rebecca also ropes Emily in to naming her plants!    Our infatuations: Shadow and Bone  Seventh Tree - Goldfrap...

It's the season one finale! This week, Emily tells us about the heart breaking yet hopeful All The Bright Places by Jennifer Niven, while Rebecca talks about the aptly named Insatiable by Daisy Buchanan. We talk about balancing reading and writing time, discuss our unforgettable literature studs, and we learn some fascinating flora facts. Rebecca also shares a weird experience with her car!    Our...

This week, Emily does a deep dive of her favourite character in the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo, while Rebecca tells us about the lockdown plot in The Galaxy, and the Ground Within by Becky Chambers. We talk so much about our infatuations that we skip the writing chat, but we do discuss what we look for in strong female characters, learn why Louisa May Alcott named the Little Women mothe...

This week, Emily tells us about a Shakespeare-centric dark academia tale If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio, while Rebecca talks about great memoir writing using Clothes, Clothes, Clothes. Music, Music, Music. Boys, Boys, Boys. by Viv Albertine as an example. We talk about how we find our next reads, learning new poetry skills, and Shakespeare somehow makes it into most of the segments. Rebecca also...

This week, we have our first guest! Stephanie Koetsier, writer and good good pal of ours, joins us to share her infatuation, The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon. We talk about our writing journeys, our experiences studying Creative Writing at university, and we discuss our favourite re-reads. Stephanie also tells us about her frantic writing routine!    Find Stephanie here: Stephanie...

This week, Emily finally talks about her favourite book The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern, while Rebecca reads us a selection of 'Pandemic Poetry'. We talk about both being acknowledged by writers online in the past week, Emily gives us some good writing news, and we discuss our feelings on media using coronavirus as a plot point. Rebecca also shares the lesser-known etymology of a well-known p...

This week, Emily talks about dark magic secret societies in Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo, while Rebecca tells us about the three narrators of Whiskey & Ribbons by Leesa Cross-Smith. We talk about the etymology of the word 'infatuated', discuss who we would cast in a film adaptation of The Song of Achilles, and we even set you a couple writing challenges. Emily also shares some of her thesis topic!...

This week, things are a little different. Emily and Rebecca took a little break over the Christmas period, so we're bringing you a bonus episode in place of the usual episode! We play our own version of the Newlywed Game, which is basically an excuse for you to be nosy and learn more about us. We talk about our first time meeting, what our dream weddings would be, and what annoys us the most about...

It's CHRISTMAAAAS! This week we round up our favourite reads, listens and watches of the year, as well as some festive favourites. We talk about Baby It's Cold Outside NOT being a creepy song, take a quiz to find out what Dark Academia character we are, and discuss which Disney remake we would cast Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson in. We also exchange our Christmas presents!    Our infatuations: The Star...

This week, Emily talks about Dark Academia and the mysterious game of Montverre in The Betrayals by Bridget Collins, while Rebecca shares her thoughts on poet Rupi Kaur and two of her collections, Milk and Honey and The Sun and Her Flowers. We talk about trying not to get distracted by writing other ideas, what Movember has brought to light regarding male suicide, and Emily discusses an interestin...

This week, Emily talks about creepy houses and siblings in White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi, while Rebecca tells us about her favourite literary features in three texts by Carson McCullers. We talk about plotting big writing projects, what inspires and motivates us to write, and Rebecca discusses a writing idea she wants to pursue. Emily also shares some of her favourite memes about The Ilia...

This week, Emily tells us about what she calls her new favourite, The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab, while Rebecca shares Ghosts by Dolly Alderton, her fiction debut. We talk about writing buddies, how to tell what your own writing style actually is, and find out the Greek myth behind red roses. Rebecca also reminds us why 'global pandemic' is a pointless phrase!    Our infatuation...

This week, Emily tells us some creepy stories from Ghostly Tales and Sinister Stories of Old Edinburgh by Alan J. Wilson, Des Brogan and Frank McGrail, while Rebecca tells us about her favourite spooky holiday, Guy Fawkes Night, and film counterpart V for Vendetta. We talk about our favourite Halloween traditions, which trope character we'd be in a horror movie, and discuss what joint costume we s...

This week, Emily whisks us back to Greek mythology and the women within it with Pandora's Jar by Natalie Haynes, while Rebecca talks about cats in The Cat by Colette and Eve's Hollywood by Eve Babitz. We talk about hesitating over using the 'perfect' line, discuss at what point we send a draft to be read, and we take a quiz to find out which classic literary characters we are. Rebecca also has a r...

This week, Emily takes us to the world of moonlight magic in Woven in Moonlight by Isabel Ibañez, while Rebecca shares the brilliant essay Grand Unified Theory of Female Pain by Leslie Jamison. We talk about the issue of feeling cliche when writing about heartbreak, question what the title of our biopics would be, and we learn a fun etymology fact. Emily also goes into far too much detail when dis...

This week, Emily tackles the beautiful beast of a book which is Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, while Rebecca shares a selection of poems from The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy. We talk about roadkill, dive into some aspects of Emily's work in progress, and question if we would change the endings of any books. Rebecca also shares some Dundee based Taylor Swift news!    Our inf...

This week, we have the third and final part of our series on myth and folklore! Emily talks about the many stories from women and gods in A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes, while Rebecca does a deep analysis of Invisible String on Taylor Swift's new album Folklore. We talk about writing challenges, clementines, and discuss what fictional characters remind us of each other. Emily also informs us o...

This week, we have part two of our three-part miniseries talking about myth and folklore! Emily talks about the wholly underrepresented witch in Circe by Madeline Miller, while Rebecca shares the story of a real life "mad woman" in Taylor Swift's new album Folklore. We talk about trash drafts, Greek mythology that inspired the zodiac, and Emily writes a poem about Achilles and Patroclus. Rebecca a...

This week, we start a three-part miniseries talking about myth and folklore! Emily shares the book which broke her heart, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller, while Rebecca breaks down the teenage love triangle in Taylor Swift's new album Folklore. We talk about writing experiments, finding serendipitous crystals, and chat about our favourite book titles. Emily also brings our wonderful Greek...

This week, Emily takes us to a housewife's book club with a twist in The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix, while Rebecca shares some of her favourite poems about friendship and platonic love. We have a chat about studying creative writing at university, question what part of our favourite books we would want to experience, and chat about the wonderful art of translat...

In this episode of Infatuated, Emily recounts the mystical tale of Bone Crier's Moon by Kathryn Purdie, while Rebecca shares a love story in reverse from Out of Love by Hazel Hayes. We have a chat about our writing 'eras', discuss if we always finish the book, and we learn what colour our auras are. Emily also shares her weird Google search history!   Our infatuations: Bone Crier's Moon - Kathryn...

This week, Emily teaches us about the Female Gothic trope of being trapped in houses by looking at Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, while Rebecca shares repeated motifs in another Sylvia's work - Ariel by Sylvia Plath. We talk about how reading makes you a better writer, question if writing and communicating are the same thing, and we discuss our love of street art. Emily also shares what i...