The 5 O’Clock Book Club

Hello listeners! Happy Wednesday and welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week we finally read the second book in the Zodiac Academy series , Ruthless Fae by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti. Was this book objectively good? No. Would we recommend it widely? Also no. Did we love it? Big fat yes! Something about these books just has us hooked. Maybe it's the m...

Happy Wednesday! Welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club! This week we are discussing the first book in the Letters of Enchantment duology, Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. Ross introduces a unique fantasy world where a fresh take on Greek-mythology-esque gods mixes with a retrofuturism vibe. Journalists Iris Winnow and Roman Kitt are the quintessential slow-burn "enemies"-to-love...

Hellloooooo listeners! Happy New Year! We are back for 2025 and kicking off strong with a beautifully depressing read. Bewilderment by Richard Powers explores the potential effects of modern science and technology in a not-too-far-away United States. Astrobiologist Theo Byrne and his son Robin struggle through the horrifying realities of life on Earth and the death of their wife and mother. This b...

Hello, hello and happy holidays! Welcome back to another episode of the 5 O'Clock Book Club. This week we read a book that really needs no introduction (though we did provide one), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. It's no wonder that this is book one of the best-selling series of all time. In this episode, we discuss J.K. Rowling's success and controversy as well as discuss s...

Hello and welcome to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club! This week we read the second in Rachel Gillig's The Shepherd Kind duology, Two Twisted Crowns. This book was a super solid follow-up to One Dark Window. While the first book in this duo followed the love story of Elspeth and Ravyn, they both take on more of a back-burner role in Two Twisted Crowns allowing us to get to know and love...

Hellooooo and welcome back! Buckle up and get ready for this, our first 2-hour episode. This extended yap sesh can be attributed to missing last week's episode (sorry), this book being a million pages, and a very literal interpretation of happy hour (tee hee). That being said, this week's book was Iron Flame, the second in Rebecca Yarros' The Empyrean series. We were so excited to read this follow...

Hello, hello! Welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club! This week we read Rachel Gillig's dark, moody, and atmospheric One Dark Window . This first novel of The Shepherd King duet is unlike any fantasy book you've ever read due to its truly unique magic system. It's giving tarot card vibes, it's giving occult(-ish), it's giving gothic, its giving what it needs to give! Pour up a...

Welcome back to another episode of The 5'Oclock Book Club! This week we read and discussed one of 2022's most acclaimed books, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. If you're not a gamer, don't be off-put by this book's description - we aren't either. While centering around the lives of video game creators Sam and Sadie, this book is about everything and for everyone. If you are...

Hey, hey, hey!  Welcome back to another episode! We finally read Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros! This was a first read for one of us and a second read for the other so we brought some different perspectives to the discussion. Fourth Wing is a stand-out within it's genre. We love the slow-burn enemies-to-lovers, we love the dragon mind bond convos, and we love ending on a cliff-hanger! Overall, we h...

Welcome back to another episode of the 5 O'Clock Book Club! This week we read Eileen by Ottessa Moshfegh. This one's for all my weird girls, this one's for all my grimy girls!!! Eileen is a truly strange novel about a truly strange woman told eloquently, but never pretentiously. Eileen reads like a modern-day The Bell Jar - a bleak and unfiltered look into the strange mind of its protagonist. If y...

Hey guys!!!  Welcome back to another episode of The 5 O'Clock Book Club! This week we are delving into the dark romantasy series, Zodiac Academy, with book #1 The Awakening. What to say about this book? We certainly had our qualms, but overall this book was a fun, fast-paced, adventurous exploration of a new world! If you're looking for enjoyment and entertainment over objective literary quality t...

Hello listeners! We are back this week with a bit of a revamp (which we'll explain in the episode).  Welcome to our Halloween-ish episode. This is our third and final installment of spooky season reads and we had to go for the most iconic one: The Shining by Stephen King, of course! Pour up a drink and get ready to delve into the mysterious and terrifying Overlook Hotel. As two people who had seen...