Smack and Gabi are back from being, um, busy and stuff, and we have a lot to catch up on! Smack goes feral and rabid for the first time since college over a Nebula finalist with an enormous cliffhanger and a contemporary werewolf black cat/golden retriever romance. Gabi “complains” about being trapped on a plane with hours of enforced reading time on her way to and from Brazil and recaps her vacation reading highlights. We also discuss our current and upcoming reads for the final month of Mysterious Galaxy Summer Bingo with a lot of anticipation for showdown throwdown. Most importantly, we are celebrating the release of Smack’s first novella, Death Valley Blooms, available as of today!! Order now at: https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9781966503125
Books discussed this episode include:
Asunder by Kerstin Hall
Teixcalaan series by Arkady Martine
Death Valley Blooms by S. M. Mack
Fan Service by Rosie Danan
The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik
The Geographer’s Map to Romance (Love’s Academic #2) by India Holton
The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam (Hart and Mercy #3) by Megan Bannen
Evander Mills series by Lev AC Rosen
The Sunken Archive series by Sylvie Cathrall
The Dragonfly Gambit by A.D. Sui
The Clocktaur Wars series by T. Kingfisher
Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal
The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn
16 Mar 2025
E36: You Want a Sequel, You Say?
Smack and Gabi recount their most enjoyable 2024 and most anticipated 2025 reads. There were truly an astonishing number of both, but of particular note is Heather Faucett’s Emily Wilde series which - with the third coming out shortly after this recording - was both one of our most highly anticipated of 2025 and among Smack’s 2024 favorites. She might even nominate it for a Nebula with her new powers! Smack also declared her favorite book of all time while we both are reminded how much Gabi is a sucker for pining dumb-dumbs. We have an ongoing book-buying avoidance challenge that got some modifications for the new year which will encourage our use of the libraries and there is a classic ITBR PSA for California residents in wildfire-vulnerable areas to download the Watch Duty app. All in all, when it comes to books it was a great 2024 and it’s shaping up to be a phenomenal 2025. Happy New Year!
2024 Reading Highlights and 2025 Most Anticipated Books & Authors:
The Rising Worlds series by Martha Wells
The Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik
Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons
Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
Emily Wilde trilogy by Heather Fawcett
Cerulean Chronicles by TJ Klune
Caitlin Rozakis
Starlight’s Shadow trilogy by Jessie Mihalik
The Space Between Worlds series by Micaiah Johnson
Parallel Worlds: A Journey through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku
Mallory Dunlin
Emily Lloyd Jones
Mossa & Pleiti series by Malka Ann Older
A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
Finding Echoes by Foz Meadows
Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine
Sarah Beth Durst
Love’s Academic series by India Holton
Alexandra Vasti
A Study in Drowning duology by Ava Reid
The Lucky Ladies of London series by Faye Delacour
The Sun Chronicles by Kate Elliott
Breath of the Dragon (Breathmarked #1) by Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee
The Sunken Archives duology by Sylvie Cathrall
Dark Lord Davi duology by Django Wexler
Hench series by Natalie Zina Walschots
Hart & Mercy series by Megan Bannen
15 Dec 2024
E35: 4th Annual MGSBST Part Two - Vengeance Can Be Fun with Your Friends
Smack and Gabi face off in their 4th Annual Showdown Throwdown, pitting dark academia trilogies, nonfiction powerhouses, and speculative short stories against each other in a battle for the better reading experience.
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5.0 / 5
6 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
2 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 47 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
64
Social presence
90
YouTube
0
Engagement
32
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