Welcome to Read Flags — the book review podcast where we raise the green flags, wave the red ones, and occasionally get lost in the footnotes.
We’re your hosts: Yelena, an audiobook lover who vibes through stories, and Sam, a lifelong bookworm who dives deep into craft. One of us analyzes, the other just feels things — and together, we bring two perspectives to every story.
From classics to webtoons, romantasy to everything in between, we unpack every trope, plot hole, and character arc. Two friends. Two perspectives. One mountain of red (and green) flags.
Hey book lovers! This week on Read Flags, we’re diving into Katabasis by R.F. Kuang.
Grad student Alice Law has sacrificed everything to be the brightest mind in analytic magick at Cambridge, but her dreams hit a snag when her thesis advisor dies in a magical accident and his soul is sent straight to Hell. Desperate for the letter of recommendation that holds her academic future, she journeys to the Underworld to save him. But her plans get complicated when her biggest academic rival, Peter Murdoch, forces his way into her descent. To survive the upside-down rules of Hell, logical paradoxes, and amoral magicians, these two rivals will have to work together to save their professor.
Join Yelena (audiobook addict) and Sam (page-turning purist) as we unpack plot twists, chemistry, and chaos one flag at a time.
Read Flags is the book review podcast where we spot the green flags, wave the red ones, and occasionally get lost in the footnotes.
Two friends. Two perspectives. One mountain of red (and green) flags.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/readflagspodcast (http://www.instagram.com/readflagspodcast)
TikTok: www.tiktok.com/@readflagspodcast (https://www.google.com/search?q=http://www.tiktok.com/%40readflagspodcast)
YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ReadFlagsPodcast (https://www.google.com/search?q=http://www.youtube.com/%40ReadFlagsPodcast)
Michigan Daily Review - Estlin Salah
https://www.michigandaily.com/arts/books/you-have-to-want-to-fall-r-f-kuangs-katabasis-and-eschers-staircase-of-academia/
Thank you everyone for your patience on this episode.
We did have a couple technical difficulties with the recording of this one, so we are aware of some of the glitches happening.
Apologies, and we are going to be investigating this on the next recording.
9 Mar 2026
The Irresistible Urge to Fall for your Enemy
Hey book lovers! This week on Read Flags, we’re diving into The Irresistible Urge to Fall for Your Enemy by Brigitte Knightley.In a fractured version of the UK divided into warring tiendoms, Osric is a shadow-walking assassin with a terminal secret: a magical rot is eating him from the inside out. His only hope is Aurienne, a scholar of the Haelan Order whose "harm to none" oath makes Osric her natural enemy. What begins as a cold, secret trade. His gold for her healing. Slowly transforms into a connection neither of them can ignore. But as they uncover a dark conspiracy involving a manufactured plague and the return of ancient Death Knights, they realize they aren't just fighting for a cure, they’re fighting for each other.
Join Yelena (audiobook addict) and Sam (page-turning purist) as we unpack plot twists, chemistry, and chaos one flag at a time.
Read Flags is the book review podcast where we spot the green flags, wave the red ones, and occasionally get lost in the footnotes.
Two friends. Two perspectives. One mountain of red (and green) flags.
Instagram:www.instagram.com/readflagspodcast (http://www.instagram.com/readflagspodcast)
TikTok:www.tiktok.com/@readflagspodcast (https://www.google.com/search?q=http://www.tiktok.com/%40readflagspodcast)
YouTube:www.youtube.com/@ReadFlagsPodcast (https://www.google.com/search?q=http://www.youtube.com/%40ReadFlagsPodcast)
Start With This:
https://www.nightvalepresents.com/startwiththis
According to Alina:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ckcYAbdGl8&t=7s
Before We Go Blog:
https://beforewegoblog.com/review-the-irresistible-urge-to-fall-for-your-enemy-by-brigitte-knightley/
Los Angeles Times:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/books/story/2025-07-08/irresistible-urge-to-fall-for-your-enemy-review-brigitte-knightley
Beware of the Reader:
https://www.bewareofthereader.com/dramione-fanfiction-the-irresistible-urge-to-fall-for-your-enemy-by-brigitte-knightley/
Head Hopping:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRfjwfuWtL4
17 Dec 2025
Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Hey book lovers! This week on Read Flags, we’re diving into Strange Pictures by Uketsu.
What starts as a simple analysis of a child’s drawing quickly spirals into something much darker. This isn't just a story, it’s a visual puzzle. With blog posts, diagrams and cryptic sketches, Strange Pictures allows the reader to play junior detective and be immersed in this creepy psychological mystery.
Join Yelena (audiobook addict) and Sam (page-turning purist) as we unpack plot twists, chemistry, and chaos one flag at a time.
Read Flags is the book review podcast where we spot the green flags, wave the red ones, and occasionally get lost in the footnotes.
Two friends. Two perspectives. One mountain of red (and green) flags.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/readflagspodcast
TikTok:
www.tiktok.com/@readflagspodcast
YouTube:
www.youtube.com/@ReadFlagsPodcast
Uketsu:
https://www.youtube.com/@uketsu
Mark Fisher: The Uncanny and the weird and the eerie- Encountering the writings of Mark Fisher.
https://outofthepicturefalmouth.photo.blog/2020/06/08/the-uncanny-and-the-weird-and-the-eerie-encountering-the-writings-of-mark-fisher/
The Guardian: 'Am I a Cyclopian monster?' How masked writed Uketsu went from asparagus videos to literary sensation.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/jan/27/uketsu-masked-writer-japan-surreal-videos
Erin Britton: Strange Pictures by Uketsu
https://crimefictionlover.com/2025/01/strange-pictures-by-uketsu/
27 Oct 2025
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Hey book lovers! This week on Read Flags, we’re diving into Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry.
Alice Scott, a sunshine-coded aspiring author, and Hayden Anderson, a Pulitzer-winning storm cloud, are both on Little Crescent Island to win the right to tell the life story of the elusive Margaret Ives, heiress, scandal magnet, and keeper of more than a few secrets. But Margaret isn’t giving them the full story… and between NDAs, half-truths, and undeniable tension, things are about to get complicated.
Join Yelena (audiobook addict) and Sam (page-turning purist) as we unpack plot twists, chemistry, and chaos one flag at a time.
Read Flags is the book review podcast where we spot the green flags, wave the red ones, and occasionally get lost in the footnotes.
Two friends. Two perspectives. One mountain of red (and green) flags.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/readflagspodcast
TikTok:
www.tiktok.com/@readflagspodcast
Bookmarked Podcast:
https://spotify.link/fQpoteIwNXb
Reese's Book Club:
https://reesesbookclub.com/book/great-big-beautiful-life/
27 Oct 2025
Prologue : Welcome to Read Flags
Welcome to Read Flags — the book review podcast where we raise the green flags, wave the red ones, and occasionally get lost in the footnotes.
We’re your hosts — Yelena, an audiobook lover who experiences stories through voices, soundscapes, and vibes, and Sam, a lifelong literature buff who devours the written word the old-fashioned way. One of us dives deep into craft and structure, the other just wants to feel something — and together, we bring two very different perspectives to the same story.
What started as chaotic voice notes about dragons, plot twists, and morally questionable love interests turned into the realization that we were living two completely different versions of the same story. Now, we’re bringing those perspectives together — from timeless classics to webtoons, romantasy to everything in between — to unpack every trope, plot hole, and character arc.
Each book gets judged with our signature flag rating system, because some stories are pure green-flag gold… and others should’ve been flagged from chapter one.
Two friends. Two perspectives. One mountain of red (and green) flags.
Instagram:
www.instagram.com/readflagspodcast
TikTok:
www.tiktok.com/@readflagspodcast
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