What to Read Next — Book Recommendations for Romance, Thrillers & Escape Reads

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Ever wondered what a graphic novelist reads for fun? This week we're stepping outside our usual romance and mystery lanes to talk graphic novels and manga with debut author Richard Mercado. Richard Mercado joins the podcast to talk about his debut YA graphic novel Coming Out Perfect (pitched as H...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Ever wondered what happens when Formula 1 gets launched into zero gravity — and thrown in a childhood-best-friends-to-lovers arc for good measure? Debut author Meredith Lanzen joins us to talk about her sci-fi sports romance, Formula Zero . We dig into how a Drive to Survive rabbit hole turned in...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Rom-com author Lindsay Hameroff joins us to talk Wegmans obsessions, writing her first single-mom heroine, and the books that turned her into a romance reader for life. Lindsay Hameroff — author of Till There Was You and Never Planned on You — stops by to talk about her new release Rewrite the St...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Still thinking about recouplings, Casa Amor twists, and the text that ruined someone's summer? Same. So this week we're doing a full villa walkthrough — in book form. This solo episode rounds up the best Love Island–inspired reads out right now: one juicy nonfiction deep dive into the show itself...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What happens when a journalist with a nose for a story, a caterer with a glow-up, and a Jersey Shore murder collide? Enemies-to-lovers chaos — and we are here for it. In this episode, I'm chatting with Liz Lawson, author of the adult debut It Happened One Murder — a mystery rom-com packed with se...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you're the kind of reader who wants heartfelt book recs and a peek behind the curtain of building a reading life worth writing about, this one's for you. Audry Fryer of the Bookish AF Substack joins us to talk about the books she can't stop recommending — from Fredrik Backman's quietly devasta...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Storm chasing, forced proximity, and a debut romance that's giving Twisters — but make it swoony. This episode is for every reader whose TBR needs a little weather event. Debut author Heather Frances joins the show to talk about Chase Me If You Can , her contemporary romance about two rival storm...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A debut romcom inspired by Bollywood, built around one of the most delicious twists on fake dating you'll ever read — fake NOT dating . If you love big Indian weddings, chaotic families, and slow-burn tension between two people who desperately want each other but have to pretend they've never met...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What if your thriller author and your meditation teacher turned out to be the same person? That's exactly how this conversation started — and it only gets better from there. Laura sits down with author Jaclyn Goldis, whose upcoming novel The Last Time We Saw Her follows a group of former campers...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If politics feels overwhelming, chaotic, or just plain exhausting right now — this episode is for you. Emily Amick, the attorney-turned-Instagram creator behind Emily in Your Phone , joins the show to talk about her book Democracy in Retrograde (co-authored with Sami Sage) and why civic action do...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What happens when a beloved actress becomes a storyteller of forgotten Black history? Karyn Parsons — yes, the Hilary Banks from Fresh Prince of Bel-Air — joins us to talk about her powerful historical fiction for young readers, her nonprofit Sweet Blackberry, and why books like hers matter more...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you've been sleeping on sports romance, this episode is your wake-up call. Tennis romance is officially having its moment in publishing — and the author who was writing it a decade before anyone else is finally getting her flowers. In this episode, Laura chats with Jennifer Iacopelli, author o...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What happens when the first openly gay man competes in a Grand Slam — and falls for his opponent across the net? Debut author Eddie Schmit joins the show to talk about The Open Era , his queer tennis romance that's equal parts heart-racing competition and sweet slow-burn love story. Eddie shares...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. If you loved YA but drifted away — or if you're a YA fan wondering where to start in adult fiction — this episode is your permission slip to do both. School librarian and book lover Kelly Mayfield joins Laura to talk about the YA authors crossing over into adult fiction, and why the YA genre has...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. She wrote her debut novel at 18, self-published it, went viral on TikTok — and now she's a Simon & Schuster author with a dramatized audiobook. Lauren Roberts is living proof that passion plus scrappiness can take you very, very far. In this episode, Lauren breaks down the wild origin story b...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What if your dream bookshop was hiding inside the pages of a book? This week's guest is making that fantasy feel very real. London-based bookworm and Substack newsletter writer Alicia joins us to share her love of a very specific and very delightful trope: woman quits job to open a bookshop. If y...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What if your love stories came with secret societies, art forgery rings, and a twist you never saw coming? Author Ava Rani joins us to talk books, balance, and why she refuses to write a boring romance. Ava Rani is an author who does it all — indie publishing, traditional publishing, and somehow...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What if your perimenopause symptoms weren't just symptoms — what if you were turning into a werewolf? Author Sam Beckbessinger joins us to talk about her debut adult novel Femme Feral , and it might be the most cathartic book you read this year. Sam and I dive deep into why the medical industry h...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What if a rom-com could feel like a movie in your ears ? That's exactly what debut novelist and TV screenwriter Ash Perez set out to create with Speak Now, and you are going to want to listen to this one. In this episode, Laura chats with Ash Perez about Speak Now , an audio-first queer rom-com p...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. She writes historical mysteries set in post-war Paris, Civil War Washington DC, 1930s England, AND Victorian London — and somehow, Colleen Gleason/Cambridge makes every single era feel like home. In this episode, Laura sits down with bestselling author Colleen Gleason (also writing as Colleen Cam...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What if the Duke was a woman — and the courtesan trying to blackmail her was the love interest? If that premise just made you sit up straighter, this episode is for you. Anna Cowan joins us to talk about The Duke , her long-awaited second novel — a queer Regency romance that flips the classic his...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A cozy mystery with a messy friendship, a locked-room setting, and just enough murder to keep things interesting? I’m in. In this episode, I sit down with Molly Harper to talk about her pivot from paranormal romance to murder mysteries and her newest release, A Cute Little Murder . We dive into m...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Looking for your next addictive summer thriller with rich people behaving badly vibes? This one set at the Cannes Film Festival delivers glam, secrets, and a murder you won’t see coming. In this episode, I sit down with Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau to talk about her transition from YA romance to twisty...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. A chaotic wedding, secret crushes, and one very inconvenient almost-divorce—this episode is for rom-com lovers who live for messy, multi-POV drama. In today’s episode, I chat with Mallory Kass (also known as Kass Morgan) about her transition from YA to adult romance, her new book Save the Date ,...

This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What happens when the one that got away becomes the inspiration for your bestselling book boyfriend… and then walks back into your life? In this episode, I sit down with Kara McDowell to talk about her latest novel, The Write-Off —a second chance romance packed with college nostalgia, writer dram...