Tomes & Tonics

Y'ALL READY FOR TWISTS? We're so excited to kick off McFreida Madness by covering the first two matchups of this season! But before we dive into the twists and turns, we have to cover all the amazing bookish news that has dropped in the last few weeks! Then we jump right into McFreida Madness and complete the first half of our 2026 brackets! So grab your favorite wine or mocktail, download our bra...

Valentine's Day may be behind us, but we're always excited to talk about a good romance! This week, we have are joined by the incredible Bridget Van der Eyk as we chat all about her holiday romance, "The Husband Wishlist!" We talk all about the tropes, the banter, and of course that wishlist! We also may or may not have unlocked a new possible romance novel idea and Lauren argues the merit of a le...

Baguettes? Newbury Comics? Greek mythology merch brainstorming? A wheel spin? This episode has it all (and is definitely not flaccid - iykyk). Join us as we recap our latest reads, reveal our top reads of January, and of course dive into one of Christina's favorite books of 2025 - " The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo" by Taylor Jenkins Reid! We cover the massive twists and turns of this iconic star...

This week, we resume our journey through "Throne of Glass" by covering the emotional (and quite timely) Heir of Fire! Before we jump in to the exciting installment, we catch up on our latest reads, chat about the latest Bridgerton season, and of course cover Christina's reread of "Wuthering Heights" ahead of the film release next weekend. Then we dive right back into the world of Throne of Glass,...

We're still in the holiday spirit this week on Tomes & Tonics as we welcome our first indie author, Lauren Flynn, to chat all about her debut, "In My Heart!" We talk all about her spicy Hallmark holiday novella that is set in one of the cutest small towns we've read. Also, we hard launch a new business idea and Lauren gives us a glimpse into her upcoming release, as well as what's next for Tin...

We are kicking off the New Year with a bogo episode! Join us as we catch up on our holiday reads, including an in-depth conversation about Lauren's latest wheel pick, which Christina got to choose (iykyk)! Then we cover the exciting conclusion of Leigh Bardugo's amazing Six of Crows duology: Crooked Kingdom. We chat all about the Dregs, including our favorite morally gray character Kaz, the heart...

We might be a week late, but we're excited to wrap up our favorite books of the year! We collectively read more than 200 books and had some seriously amazing reads! Tune in as we chat through our honorable mentions, appoint some fun superlatives, and of course reveal our top five books of the year! We laughed, we cried, we felt ready to go to war, and of course, had a fun time revisiting our favor...

It's our last book of 2025 and we're in a total holidaze as we scramble to get our shopping done and fit in another book (or two) before the year ends! This week Lauren and Christina talk about Christina Lauren's holiday romance, "In a Holidaze!" Join us as we chat all about this time-travelling, Christmas-meets-Groundhog Day rom com that may have reminded us of another book we covered earlier thi...

We're officially in the full holiday spirit and are so excited to be back! It was great to catch up after a well-deserved vacation, chat about our current reads, and get Christina's thoughts on holiday romances, starting with this week's book, Tessa Bailey's "Wreck the Halls!" Join us as we chat all about Beat and Melody, their famous rockstar mothers, our thoughts on ista-love vs. insta-lust, and...

This week we're celebrating a lot of things! Christina hit 100 books this year, including two Mistborn novels and her first TJR read! Also, we're so excited to conclude another amazing series! We are covering the final installment of Mai Corland's action packed "Broken Blades" trilogy, "Three Shattered Souls." Join us as we talk all about our favorite liars, the role grief plays in this finale, an...

Happy (belated) Halloween (again)! This week, we chat all about our favorite Halloween candy, discuss which candy flavor is the best, and of course our final scary book, the sweeping and historical fiction/horror novel, "Vampires of El Norte" by Isabel Cañas! Join us as we dive into this beautifully written tale of Vampires, Mexican history and folklore, and romance, and discuss the important topi...

Happy (belated) Halloween! We're celebrating by closing out Frieda McFadden's addictive thriller "Housemaid" series by covering "The Housemaid is Watching!" Before we dive in, we chat all about our latest reads, the smoothness of Nitro mocktails, and new releases! Then we cover all things Housemaid as we chat about the final installment (for now??) - from Enzo to Millie's relationship 10 years aft...

A cozy inn? A talking (troublemaking) fox? Lovable found family? This week's book is the perfect fall/winter cozy read! Join us as we chat about Sangu Mandanna's "A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping," covering the lovable found family, strong emotional aspects, and Sera's incredible journey throughout this warm read. Also, Christina unpacks her latest Frieda read and Lauren spins the TBR wheel a...

We're back and with our longest episode ever as we revisit Panem for one final journey (for now)! While we recorded this episode pre-Life of a Showgirl, we speculate about what the album would be, chat about our recent reads, revisit our brackets with our top picks for July, August, and September, and of course chat about one of the biggest books of 2025 - "Sunrise on the Reaping." Join us as we c...

Grab your snacks, songbirds because we're heading back to Panem this week as we kick off the prequels! Before jumping into Coriolanus' backstory, Lauren and Christina chat about Lauren's coffee consumption, our current reads, initial reactions to "The Housemaid" trailer, and Christina's thoughts on The Summer I Turned Pretty! We also get a visit from our resident ghost, who might be a Snow fan (?)...

Past lives? Movie adaptations not living up to expectations? Multi-level marketing for the devil? This week's episode has it all. We cover our current reads, thoughts on book-to-movie adaptations we've recently seen, and of course this week's read, "Our Infinite Fates!" Perfect for lovers of "Invisible Life of Addie LaRue," we cover all things Evelyn and Arden as we chat about our thoughts on the...

We finally did it! Tune in this week as we finally cover the final installment of the Hunger Games trilogy, "Mockingjay!" We discuss how Christina views the series rereading it as an adult, Lauren's thoughts now that she knows what Gale did and how everything unfolds, and of course, mourn our lost favorite characters. We also dive into our thoughts on the movies and share our thoughts on whether t...

This week on Tomes & Tonics, we're just happy to be here as we head to Coopers Chase to hang out with the Thursday Murder Club as we discuss, well - Richard Osman's "Thursday Murder Club!" Before diving in, we chat about our current reads, Christina's latest 4.5/5 star read, and Lauren's new journey to get through her TBR! Listen along as we discuss the four lovable busybodies, the cozy found...

Cooper's Hawk summer cocktails? A new background? A potentially haunted house? Crown of Midnight? This week's episode of Tomes & Tonics has it all! Join us as we chat about the amazing summer lineup at Cooper's Hawk, battle technical difficulties, and of course dive into the next installment of Throne of Glass, "Crown of Midnight!" We cover all things Celaena and Chaol, pour one out for our gi...

We are so excited to celebrate our 50th episode with the super talented Allie Samberts as we chat all about her novel, "Not a Strong Enough Word!" Join us as we dive into all things Scarlett and Ryan, the importance of mental health and therapy representation in media, how important it is to protect yourself against burnout, especially for authors, what's on the horizon for Allie, and her amazing...

We're so excited to continue our Hunger Games journey with "Catching Fire!" We've got our mocktails and notes ready to dive right into the world of Panem and discuss all things Peeta, President Snow, that arena, the rebellion, and of course the movie! And it wouldn't be a chat about Catching Fire if we didn't go into THAT Peeta moment (iykyk) and Lauren gives her predictions for the final installm...

It's Christmas in July with our first indie spotlight of July! We're so excited to chat with Emily Murray about her debut, "Alixandria Fire: Dani and Danny!" Join us as we talk all things romance, the coziness of Alixandria, whether we're team Sage or Team Lloyd, gush over Emily's fancast, and of course talk about her latest release, Alixandria Fire: Claire and Brodie!" So make sure you grab a cop...

It's finally happening! This week, we're kicking off the long-awaited Throne of Glass series and Christina's birthday month! Join us as we chat all about Adarlan's Assassin, Dorian and Chaol, and the importance of her decision at the end. We also reveal our top reads of 2025 and can't wait for all the amazing reads we have coming up in the second half of the year! So grab a goblet of your fave bev...

This week we talk about besties going on questies with the next installment in Mai Corland's amazing trilogy, "Four Ruined Realms!" We chat all about the twists and turns this exciting book took us on, and of course chat all about our predictions for the final installment, "Three Shattered Souls," which releases next month! So grab your favorite summer beverage and tune in for another episode of T...

This week on Tomes & Tonics we're excited to welcome back Mary as we round out the Ruinous Love trilogy! Join us as we chat all things Scythe and Sparrow, including the infamous trigger warnings, Barbara, our favorite Kane brother, and a ranking of our favorite books in this series, our predictions for Brynne Weaver's upcoming Seasons of Carnage series, and of course that surprising epilogue....