The Great Obsession

WE'RE SO BACK! The sequel to Divine Rivals is here, full of stunning prose and healthy levels of communication. As we deliberate whether this was a satisfactory conclusion to Roman and Iris's story, we also discuss the expanding world, god-human dynamics, and quotes that had us screaming. This episode contains spoilers for both books in Rebecca Ross's Letters of Enchantment duology: Di...

With complex characters, a striking take on war themes, and a romance that makes us GIDDY, this might be our favorite book of 2023. We discuss what makes this story perfect, RiLee speculates on the ending, and Sam gets so hype she changes her final rating. This episode contains spoilers for Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross. We do NOT spoil Ruthless Vows - we haven't read it yet. That's next w...

Time to revisit this year's greatest hits and biggest flops. Sam can't remember anything from her "favorite" nonfiction read, RiLee can't tell when movie CGI is bad, and we both feel the inexplicable pull of Jack Harlow. The only spoiler in this episode is for the ending of Avengers: Endgame. (By now, you should know.) Titles mentioned (by category): Albums - Stick Season by Noah Kahan, GUTS by Ol...

In honor of 2023 finally coming to a close we are revisiting everything we've read on the pod this year with fresh eyes. We let you know if we recommend you give a book a read or if you shouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole (we've got some hot takes!) Rankings (grouped by series) Talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique, com...

We're kicking off December with our SPOILER-FREE holiday book recommendations! We have suggestions from several different genres, all of which will pair optimally with a hot cocoa and large blanket. Listen to the end to hear Sam's least favorite holiday book, since even when we're being festive she can't resist being a hater. Titles mentioned: Legends and Lattes - Travis Baldree Li...

World's hottest villain!! Too many names with the word anus in it!! Corio and Sejanus aren't actually friends!! On this episode (ft. special guest Abby Tree!) we discuss the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie adaptation and how it compares to the book. Heed the title, this movie/book has hella snakes and I was unprepared. Find us at: Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod Email: thegreatobsess...

We're HAUNTED by the luminary. Perplexed by petty girl drama. Baffled by Jack Barlowe. And SHOCKED at Xaden's dirty talk attempts... Welcome to our Iron Flame review! Join us as we discuss the magic system, political intrigue, and character dynamics in Rebecca Yarros's Empyrean universe. This episode contains strong language and spoilers for both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame. Rating: 4.5/10 Find us...

We're back from our first YALL Fest experience! After MANY huge Ws and a few Ls, we're here with some advice for anyone hoping to attend in the future. Listen to hear how we managed to meet Leigh Bardugo, Holly Black, Stephanie Garber, Tracy Deonn, and Adrienne Young all in one weekend! We've also got some restaurant recommendations and thoughts on how we'd plan our trip differentl...

1989 Taylor's Version is FINALLY HERE!! This episode is all about Harry Styles lore, Taylor's transformation from country darling to pop princess, and most importantly, the best Vault Tracks to date! Find us at: Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod Email: thegreatobsessionpod@gmail.com Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod

After many months of waiting it is finally here! Will Jacks get the girl? Will Apollo not be the bane of my existence?? On this episode we discuss the greatly anticipated A Curse For True Love by Stephanie Garber, the final book in the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy. Spoilers for the Once Upon a Broken Heart trilogy and the Caraval trilogy. Rating: 6/10 Find us at: Instagram: @thegreatobsessionp...

Evangeline makes some strange choices in this book and we're here to ask: Why? But of course we're also gonna fangirl over our favorite broken boy(s). As we discuss these characters and their development (or lack thereof), we speculate about Stephanie Garber's purpose in writing this sequel and share some theories about what's to come in the next book. This episode contains spoiler...

No one wants to slow burn these days, EXCEPT Stephanie Garber. And thank God! Along with a plot recap and review, we discuss whether or not you need to read the Caraval series before this one, and ponder questions like the meaning of Jacks's apples and the significance of his hair color. This episode contains spoilers for Once Upon a Broken Heart as well as all 3 books in the Caraval trilogy b...

This week we're blessed with the return of special guest Abby Tree to talk about Heartstopper! While Sam is away on vacation, Abby is here as guest co-host and resident Heartstopper expert to share her wealth of fandom knowledge as we discuss character storylines and our favorite scenes. Listen to find out if we think Charlie sent THE text at the end of the finale! This episode contains spoile...

Apparently one thing we're gonna do is compare these books to early 2010s dramas. Strap in for a behemoth of an episode, because we covered this whole 800-page book in one sitting! And spoiler alert... if you love Crescent City, you may not enjoy our review. We have a lot of frustration to unpack as we go through all the major plot points and realize they all led NOWHERE! This episode contains...

Join us as we tap into our teenage angst and work on having a single original thot as we discuss Olivia Rodrigo's new album GUTS. Aside from the semi-unfortunate name, we were anxiously awaiting this album release and for the most part Olivia lived up to the hype. Even though we aren't able to say the name Arnold Palmer we are able to have an engaging conversation about this music. Find us...

Gossip Girl parallels? In a Crescent City conversation? More likely than you’d think. Part 2 of our House of Earth and Blood discussion is a deeper dive into the character arcs and plot lines, ultimately leading us to our final rating of the book. This episode contains spoilers for all of House of Earth and Blood, along with some vague references to Sarah J. Maas’s ACOTAR and Throne of Glass serie...

Want to hear 5000 reasons why Crescent City 1 is hard to read? Because today we're FULL of unanswerable questions and frustrated rants. Drinking game idea: Take a shot every time we say "I don't know." In part 1 of our House of Earth and Blood review we have a lot to process before we can thoughtfully analyze. Part 2 will contain a more extensive breakdown of plot points and characters once we put...

It's 2014 again baby! We're taking a trip down memory lane, discussing the original 1989 era and our retrospective understanding of this time in Taylor's life. With a track by track breakdown and plenty of tangents, we're here to fill your swiftie content void while the Eras Tour is on a break. Find us at:  Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod  Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod  Email...

The Summer I Turned Pretty? More like The Summer Belly makes back to back poor choices that show a complete lack of empathy and self-awareness. This is not Belly's finest season but Conrad is still hot and Steven/Taylor gives us life so we can’t complain too much. If you are team Jeremiah, this is the perfect episode for you to listen to all the reasons you're wrong. This episode contains spoilers...

THIS is our most special episode yet! We are joined by Abby, our very good friend and resident Summer I Turned Pretty hater! Time for a great debate - is this the best summer teen drama on earth, or is it objectively the worst show made by Amazon this year? Listen to find out who gets convinced in the end… This episode contains spoilers for the Summer I Turned Pretty TV show, Season 1 only. Find u...

We won't blame you if you haven't been keeping up with the Kardashians, they have gotten DULL. As two certified reality tv devotees, we've got some strong opinions on this one. No need to watch the latest season, we give a FULL debrief of what America's most allegedly hard working family has been up to....spoilers, it's not much. Find us at:  Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod  G...

This episode is powered by the creative mind of Greta Gerwig and NOT Mattel. It's BARBIE BABY!!! and just Allan. Get ready for some surprisingly philosophical musings about the patriarchy, capitalism, and of course the color pink. Find us at:  Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod  Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod  Email: thegreatobsessionpod@gmail.com

Kick back, relax, and learn from our resident expert, Sam, about the wide world of fanfiction and all of its quirks. You’ll learn how 1D fanfic altered our brain chemistry as teenagers, and get Sam's pointers on navigating AO3 to find the best (and worst) fanfic content. We even read part of AO3's top explicit Marvel fanfic for you...you'll be surprised. Find us at:  Instagram: @thegreatobsessionp...

We finally joined booktok and 1 million of our closest friends in reading viral sensation Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. We had a lot more mixed feelings about this book than we anticipated...many high highs and several low lows. Most importantly, we spend 5 minutes contemplating the likelihood that we would fall off a dragon....spoiler it's highly likely. 6.5/10 Find us at:  Instagram: @thegr...

Time for us to get EMO. Speak Now Taylors Version has FINALLY dropped!! We unpack all the songs, all the discourse and all the emotions. Tune in to find out which one of these rerecords made RiLee cry. Find us at:  Instagram: @thegreatobsessionpod  Goodreads: The Great Obsession Pod  Email: thegreatobsessionpod@gmail.com