The Midnight Readers Podcast

Hey listeners! Happy Tuesday and welcome back to the long, winding tale of The Historian. We join Helen and Paul again as they ride off to Budapest with the help of Helena’s aunt Eva. Poor Paul is put firmly into the spotlight when he finds out that Aunt Eva has volunteered him as the keynote speaker of a history conference at Helen’s alma mater, a situation that has brought the attention of the c...

This week, we're diving into part two of The Historian, where Paul and Helen collect yet another suspiciously convenient and male Dracula scholar. I mean seriously?!?!?!? Everyone keeps finding cursed books like it's the scavenger hunt from hell, and they're all having an absolutely terrible time. Our duo are also digging through yet another archive, just to uncover exactly enough vampire lore to...

Hey readers! This week we’re returning to the story of Dracula’s mysterious burial and the book that continues to haunt historians centuries later. As the narrator and her father explore the countryside of the vast Eurasian continent, we slowly unfold the story of who Rossi was and how entrenched Paul became in his disappearance. We meet Helen - a breath of fresh air in the stuffy pages of the arc...

Hellloooo listeners~ Welcome to the world of dusty tomes and secret histories! To round out our dark academia picks we’re picking up the story of the late medieval Vlad Țepeș, AKA Vlad the Impaler! Or at least, our historians do. This week we begin the story with an unnamed narrator who unveils the story of her father and his mysterious experiences in graduate school. A student of history, Paul is...

🎉100 episodes. One hundred. Triple digits. Somehow, despite all evidence to the contrary, we've been allowed to keep microphones for this long. To celebrate, we're doing what every bookish person secretly loves to do: judging things. Giving our opinions. Making it known. And fighting over it. Specifically, we're ranking some of the most popular book tropes from S-Tier masterpieces to F-Tier "Fuck...

Happy Pride Month, listeners! The curses of theater have come for us too - our audio got messed up this week (more than usual)! We knew we shouldn't have invoked the name of the Scottish play. Dammit. 😭We are so sorry, but we hope you enjoy the finale for If We Were Villains anyway. Join us this week as the book comes to a dramatic close with a brother’s betrayal becoming a beloved’s sacrifice. O...

Heyyy readers, Happy Tuesday. On this week’s episode we discuss Act 4 of If We Were Villains. Things heat up as Oliver is faced with his feelings right after discovering a revealing clue in the castle. Colbourne said the case was closed, so why is he sneaking around the school grounds? Plus, James breaks Oliver’s nose and Oliver takes a trip to Dr. Alexander, right before a sudden tragedy befalls...

Hey readers, we’re back with another episode of the If We Were Villains deep dive. Between the theatrical performances and borderline concerning level of Shakespearean recitations between friends, our acting troupe is used to dedicating themselves to their roles. But now, the lines are truly beginning to blur. What happens when James shows up at Oliver’s door over Thanksgiving break? Relationships...

Hey readers! This week, there’s trouble brewing at Dellecher Classic Conservatory...And our theater troupe is embroiled in some serious drama. Richard has taken to harassing James and Meredith on stage and he seems to be getting away with it. Oliver, who is beginning to recognize he cares deeply about both of them, is thrown into the line of fire despite his belief that he’s powerless to do anythi...

Hey readers! We’re excited to continue our dark academia theme this week with the first episode of If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio! It’s a completely different vibe this time around - and we’re wondering how this is going to play out just as much as the characters. This week we’re introducing the main characters and starting out with a bang. Why is Oliver in jail and did he really do it? Who will...

Spoiler warnings below! Hey readers~ What do we love about our beloved fantasy female main characters? What do we hate? Are there tropes that we love to see every time, or that turn us away immediately? We wanted to talk about some of our favorite MCs (mostly in the Maasverse) from the past seasons and alike. As we prepare ourselves for the new ACOTAR novel, we’ve been reflecting a lot on the book...

We’re back this week for the finale of Blood Over Bright Haven with an emotional rollercoaster of a finish! After the shocking revelations of the previous chapters, Sciona comes up with her final plan to truly stick it to the stuffy mages in the Magistry. But how does this end? We don’t want to spoil it here but we were left totally wanting more. Sciona truly shocked us all at the end and we had s...

Hey readers~ This week we’re getting into the nitty gritty of some more morality struggles through the lens of Sciona in Blood Over Bright Haven. Now that Sciona has faced the worst of herself (and Tiran), how will she grow from here? Or… will she? Sciona’s character is going to have to make some difficult decisions, all while she’s dealing with the trials of being a woman in STEM. In this episode...

Hey readers! This week the stakes are already rising high for Sciona and Thomil in Tiran. Blood Over Bright Haven has blown us away with its unique magic system and storytelling - but now the characters are taking center stage and our hearts are heavy with anticipation and emotion. We get into it this week while discussing Tiranish belief systems - maybe we were a little harsh on Brittany (and Sci...

Hey readers~ We’re back with a bang! This week we dig into the first section of M. L. Wang’s amazing fantasy book Blood Over Bright Haven, a fun, lore-heavy dark academia novel packed with magic and feminism. Sciona Freynan is about to prove everyone wrong by being the first woman mage to pass the university exam and become an Highmage - but not without any pushback. The other highmages are not ex...

📕💀🕯️Hey, readers - this week we’re taking some time to discuss our upcoming season of standalones only. Instead of choosing a full series this time around, each of us have chosen a book to review and discuss. We ended up with a dark academia vibe, which we are not upset about at all. Join us to discuss our choices for the upcoming season: Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang, If We Were Villains...

Listeners! This week we're reacting to the interview that shook the book community. That's right. We FINALLY got ACOTAR news. From lore hints and cryptic answers to moments that had us pausing the audio to go, "Wait. WHAT?", this interview had the fandom buzzing, and so we obviously had to weigh in. Did we learn anything new? Maybe. Did we spiral into theories? Absolutely. Was it informative? Deba...

Welcome to the happy ending, readers~ This week we discuss some of the intricacies of Serena’s heat and how the book ends on both a high AND low note! We’d love to hear your thoughts this week. Did you feel just as confused about the endings as we did? We wanted concrete answers! So many ends left untied. Join us as we wrap up Ali Hazelwood’s Mate with a lot of laughs this week. You can find us on...

Hey, readers! We’re back with part 3 of our discussion on Mate. This week we discuss all the sordid details concerning Serena and Koen’s union. These fools are finally facing the truth, and personally, we’re thrilled to finally get to the good stuff. How will Koen handle the new information about Serena’s mysterious illness and her family history? Protective Koen is on full display this time aroun...

Welcome back readers! It’s time to get into the good stuff~ This week we’re finally entering Koen’s territory, and it’s feeling quite domestic. Yep, we’re going to the Den that raised Lowe and brought us the very sexy, intense Koen. But what does that mean for Serena? There’s so much to unpack for Serena as we discover that she may have a tie to the Northwest pack that doesn’t include Koen. And he...

Welcome back, readers! This week we’re starting Ali Hazelwood’s Mate! Serena Paris stars in this sequel, and we open the book with a very interesting mysterious prologue.. Who is Serena Paris and what’s going on with her? And what’s Koen’s deal? Serena Paris has been thrown into a completely new world now that she has discovered she’s half Were. Yet.. she hasn’t been able to shift since she met th...

Heeeyyyy readers. In the last section of Bride, some things get turned on their heads… some of us were not happy with the ending. This week we discuss the resolution of the mystery (who was the mastermind?!), the poisoning of Ana and Misery, Serena’s whereabouts, and the dynamics of Lowe and Misery’s relationship. Including the dynamics of a knot, once again. We definitely get a little bit candid!...

Happy Tuesday, readers! We’re back this week with some very spicy discussions about our favorite werewolf/vampire couple! Things are finally heating up for Lowe and Misery, especially after Ana and Misery get mysteriously sick and Lowe’s protective instincts kick in. There’s no hiding this romance anymore, babes. What will it mean for the forbidden duo when Misery begins to feed from Lowe? Plus, t...

Welcome back, readers! This week we’re finally getting to know a little more about Mr. Wolf (Lowe Moreland aka Angsty Wolf Extraordinaire) and all the chips on his shoulder. Misery gets caught snooping around the Moreland home and Lowe slowly starts to fall for her. Things heat up between the two as Lowe struggles to suppress his instincts. Plus, what we originally thought might be a story about l...

Hey readers! We’re back again with some vampire/werewolf romance. This time around we’re taking our first look at the popular paranormal romance Bride by Ali Hazelwood. This one is a little different - we’re used to crazy but not like that. We’ve heard through the grapevine that some fanfiction tropes have finally made it to the mainstream, and honestly, we couldn’t be more thrilled! Join us for t...