We’re bringing the Olympics to the bookish world & it gets competitive! We each drafted our romance & fantasy teams by pulling book titles blindly then strategically decided which category they would perform best in. From one-bed bobsled to the slow burn endurance trial, every round proved a challenge. And stay tuned post-game as we chit chat about our highs, lows, & current reads!

(P.S. This episode is spoiler-free!)

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🤍 2026 Book Bingo Card: https://tr.ee/QO4azNLxDV

🤍 March Book Club: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

📖 Books Mentioned:

• We Were Liars - E. Lockhart
• The Will of the Many - James Islington
• November 9 - Colleen Hoover
• Love and Other Words - Christina Lauren
• A Part of Your World - Abby Jimenez
• Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas
• Shatter Me - Tahereh Mafi
• Time Will Tell - Hannah Bonam-Young
• Out on a Limb - Hannah Bonam-Young
• Love on the Brain - Ali Hazelwood
• Good Spirits - B.K. Borison
• A Fate of Wrath and Flame - K.A. Tucker
• Zodiac Academy - Susanne Valenti & Cartoline Peckham
• A Deadly Education - Naomi Novik
• Prison Healer - Lynette Noni
• Caraval - Stephanie Garber
• Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross
• Onyx Storm - Rebecca Yarros
• Bride - Ali Hazelwood
• The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - V. E. Schwab
• Next of Kin - Hannah Bonam-Young
• Rhythm of War - Brandon Sanderson
• A Tongue So Sweet and Deadly - Sophia St. Germain
• Flawless - Elsie Silver
• Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir

For Valentine’s this year, we’re reviewing The Improbable Meet Cute: Second Chances collection! 💘 Six romance authors took the prompt of ‘a second chance at love’ & wrote six short stories to binge for the holiday. We read each one & surprisingly have conflicting opinions on what these beloved & new-to-us authors had to offer. Tune in for some sibling rivalry & many laughs!

(P.S. This episode contains spoilers & explicit content!)

🤍 All CTB Links: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/checkthisbookout

🤍 2026 Book Bingo Card: https://tr.ee/QO4azNLxDV

📖 Books Mentioned:

• ​Time Will Tell - Hannah Bonam-Young
• ​Accidentally Yours - Christina Lauren
• ​Second Act Romance - Julie Soto
• ​A Play For Love - Trilina Pucci
• ​Death To Valentine’s Day - Catherine Cowles
• ​Valentine’s Slay - Navessa Allen
• ​Big Fan - Alexandra Romanoff
• ​Next of Kin - Hannah Bonam-Young
• ​The Exception to the Rule - Christina Lauren
• ​All The Missing Pieces - Catherine Cowles
• ​Lights Out - Navessa Allen
• ​Butcher & Blackbird - Brynne Weaver
• ​The Housemaid - Freida McFadden
• ​Falling - Christina Lauren

⏱️ Timestamps:

00:00 intro

03:30 general thoughts on short stories

05:45 the comets are fake 💀

09:20 time will tell ratings & review

15:30 accidentally yours ratings & review

21:40 second act romance ratings & review

26:20 hannah’s an actress

28:00 a play for love ratings & review

34:25 death to valentine’s ratings & review

46:20 valentine’s slay ratings & review

57:00 final thoughts!

Emily Henry is a staple author of ours so we must discuss People We Meet On Vacation with y’all!🌴 Diving deep into both the book & movie, we debrief the writing, characters, favorite scenes, & disappointments. This episode had us laughing hard & shaking our heads, so tune in for the chaos! (P.S. This episode contains spoilers!)

🤍 All CTB Links: ⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/checkthisbookout

🤍 2026 Book Bingo Card: https://tr.ee/QO4azNLxDV

🤍 February Book Club: The Improbable Meet Cute: Second Chances

📖 Books Mentioned:

• ​People We Meet On Vacation - Emily Henry
• ​Beach Read - Emily Henry
• ​Funny Story - Emily Henry
• ​Book Lovers - Emily Henry
• ​Happy Place - Emily Henry
• ​Great Big Beautiful Life - Emily Henry
• On Wings of Blood - Briar Boleyn
• Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
• The Raven Scholar - Antonio Hodgson
• In Your Dreams - Sarah Adams

⏱​️ Timestamps:

00:00:00 intro

00:01:15 star rating refresher

00:07:20 our ratings of the book

00:08:45 our ratings of the movie

00:09:20 writing style

00:17:00 that first ch was something special

00:19:00 thoughts on poppy & alex

00:24:45 men & women can never be friends

00:27:25 fav and least fav plot points

00:34:50 was the movie better than the book?

00:37:00 differences between bok & movie

00:41:30 giggle break

00:41:40 the past scenes were the best part

00:46:00 the ending & emotionally unavailable women

00:48:20 ranking emily henry's books

00:51:00 yap time! (reading journal & current reads)