This week is a big one. For the first time ever, three romance royals sit down together: Beverly Jenkins, Tia Williams, and Kennedy Ryan. They talk about pioneering Black love stories when the industry didn’t make space for them, reshaping modern romance with depth and desire, and why a happily ever after is anything but predictable — it’s powerful. From writing Black female desire without apology to protecting your creative vision, this conversation is funny, honest, and deeply moving. And at the end the three create the most unhinged romance ever!

BOOKS MENTIONED:

Night Song by Beverly Jenkins

Iola Leroy by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Frances Harper: Poems, Prose, and Sketches – This collection features “Bury Me in a Free Land”. by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

The Perfect Find by Tia Williams

Can't Get Enough by Kennedy Ryan

Before I Let Go by Kennedy Ryan

Seven Days in June by Tia Williams

Through the Storm by Beverly Jenkins

Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid

Hazard and Somerset by Gregory Ashe

Ghalen by Walter Mosely

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

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This week, we’re talking to director and screenplay writer Maggie Gyllenhaal about her upcoming film, The Bride! Maggie reveals how she gave a character from the 1930s with only a few minutes of screentime a big dose of main character energy. Danielle and Maggie also discuss the unthinkable thoughts of Mary Shelley, IMAX screenings, and what it was like to narrate a 48-hour audio book. Plus, get a sneak peek of the March Reese’s Book Club Pick, Lady Tremaine.

BOOKS MENTIONED:

Good Morning, Midnight by Jean Rhys

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

The Lost Daughter by Elena Ferrante

My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante

Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Mating by Norman Rush

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This week, we’re back with the author of the February’s Reese’s Book Club pick, Philippa Malicka, and we’re diving deep into her debut novel, In Her Defense. A whirlpool of love, lies and deceit, In Her Defense raises the chilling question: If you can’t trust your own memories, what else, or who else, can you rely on? Danielle and Philippa get into process, character development, reclaiming your own agency – and how, sometimes, writing a new story can feel like falling in love.

BOOKS MENTIONED

In Her Defense by Philippa Malicka

Hamlet by Wiliam Shakespeare

The Glass Essay by Anne Carson

Stranger, Baby by Emily Berry

Mother Mary Comes to Me by Arundhati Roy

Brother of the More Famous Jack by Barbra Trapido

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Dogger by Shirley Hughes

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Birthday Letters by Ted Hughes

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