The Spicy Librarian Podcast

Three books. Three genres. One episode that has absolutely everything.

This month's Spicy Librarian book club is serving a full course meal - we've got dark romance, romantasy, AND contemporary, and every single pick delivered.

First up, Bloody Black by Rhiannon Hargadon - a pirate dark fantasy retelling of Blackbeard that we did not see coming for us but here we are. Feminine rage, revenge, a slow burn that respects the trauma, and a found family crew we would absolutely sail with. Morally grey and magnificently unhinged in all the right ways.

Then we dive into The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen - the Greek gods romantasy that has taken over BookTok and rightfully so. Hades. A cursed nobody chosen as his champion. A deadly competition for the throne of Olympus. Enemies to lovers with world building that genuinely slaps. We have thoughts. Many thoughts.

And finally, something a little softer for our hearts - The Dating Pact by Lulu Morris. A nurse. A very drunk, very famous actor. A fake dating arrangement that was never going to stay fake. Warm, funny, swoony, and exactly the palate cleanser we needed after the pirates and gods.

This episode has range and we are not sorry about it.

Perfect for fans of: dark romance, romantasy, contemporary romance, fake dating, enemies to lovers, Greek mythology, Hades romance, pirate romance, Rhiannon Hargadon, Abigail Owen, Lulu Morris, BookTok, spicy books, book club, slow burn, found family, spicy podcast

Subscribe, leave us a review, and tell us - which of this month's picks are you adding to your TBR first?

BOOKS DISCUSSED- 

A Touch of Darkness- Scarlett St. Clair

Crescent City- S.J. Maas

God of Malice- Rina Kent

Speak- Ruby M. Darling

Stammer- Ruby M. Darling

Black Throne J.T. Geisinger

It's giving green flag. Actually no. RED FLAG. Actually… both??

This week on Spicy Librarian we are settling the debate once and for all — because we are taking the most iconic romance tropes and deciding, definitively, whether they are a green flag or a red flag. And yes, things got heated.

Enemies to lovers? Second chance romance? Instalove? The possessive MMC? We are going through them all, we are arguing about them, and absolutely nobody agreed on everything. This is the episode where our friendship was tested and we do not regret a single second of it.

Whether you are a ride or die for the slow burn or you will defend age gap romance to your last breath — this episode is going to have you screaming at your phone. We want to know your flags too, so get in the comments and defend your tropes, besties.

This is the most fun we have ever had and it shows.

Subscribe, leave us a review, and tell us — what trope is an automatic green flag for you? And which one sends you running?

Perfect for fans of: romance tropes, red flags green flags, enemies to lovers, second chance romance, slow burn, BookTok, dark romance, spicy books, instalove, why choose, romance podcast, book discussions, trope discourse, spicy librarian

 

BOOKS DISCUSSED- 

Play Along- Liz Tomford

Bull Rush- Maggie Rawdon

Daggermouth- H. D. Wolfe 

Zodiac Academy- Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti

Little Stranger- Leigh Rivers 

Speak- Ruby M. Darling 

Games Gods Play- Abigail Owen 

Bloody Black- Rhiannon Hargadon

Dreamland Billionaires Series- Lauren Asher 

Under Yours Scars- Ariel N. Anderson

This week on Spicy Librarian, Dee and Katie are sitting down with the incredibly talented J Rose- UK indie author, dark romance queen, and the woman behind the internationally bestselling Blackwood Institute series. And yes, we are absolutely fangirling. J Rose writes challenging, plot-driven dark romance packed with angst, heartbreak, and broken characters fighting for their happily ever afters. As a passionate mental health advocate, she weaves realistic and powerful representation into gritty, emotional storylines; championing found family, fierce heroines, and love interests who are just as damaged as they are devoted. In this exclusive interview, we get into the Blackwood Institute universe, dark, twisty, why choose romance with morally grey antiheroes, a fierce scarred heroine, and plot twists that will absolutely ruin you, her expanding world of interconnected series, her current and upcoming projects, and what is coming next. We also dig into the world of why choose romance; what it is, why readers are completely obsessed, and why J Rose does it better than almost anyone in the game right now. If you haven't entered the Blackwood Institute yet, consider this your sign. And if you have - you already know. Perfect for fans of: J Rose, Blackwood Institute, why choose romance, dark romance, reverse harem, morally grey, found family, indie author spotlight, BookTok, dark romance podcast, UK authors, spicy books, broken characters

We need to talk. Because this episode went fully, completely, unapologetically off the rails — and we are not sorry.

 

The episode you have all been waiting for, we are talking about the most chaotic, feral, and genuinely WHAT DID I JUST READ books we have ever picked up. Dark romance lovers, morally grey girlies, and "I read the trigger warnings and said yes anyway" readers — this one is absolutely for you.

We're shouting out Little Stranger by Leigh Rivers, That Sik Luv by Jescie Hall, Insatiable by Leigh Rivers, Open Wide by Jessica Gross, Lobster by Guillaume Lecasble, and Unhinged by Vera Valentine — and yes, we absolutely went there with every single one.

 

Oh, and because we cannot help ourselves — we also got into a full breakdown of exactly how many people were having sex on the Titanic before, during, and after impact. But was it relevant?  Yes. Did we spiral into a 20 minute tangent about it? Also yes. No regrets.

This is the episode we were always going to make. We're just glad you're here for it.

Make sure to update your TBR and tag us in what you’re reading next.

 

Perfect for fans of: dark romance, taboo romance, stalker romance, morally grey MMC, Leigh Rivers, Jescie Hall, spicy books, BookTok, unhinged reads, weird girl lit, sentient romance, spicy podcast

Your favourite chaotic book besties are back!

There is so so much going on we can’t tell you fast enough, from book club and releasing new events and the fact we can’t keep books on the shelf for longer than 5 hours!

Keep your eyes on our socials and stay close. Don't say we didn't warn you. 👀

We've also got exciting reads lined up for future book clubs that we can't spill on just yet — but trust us, your TBR is about to suffer beautifully.

Now. Let's talk about Melting Point by Cici Williams.

This month's book club pick had us in an absolute CHOKEHOLD. Set against the glittering chaos of the Winter Olympics in Italy, this best-friends-to-lovers, fake-dating slow burn follows snowboarder Sam Harrington and her lifelong best friend Finn — who just happens to have been secretly in love with her for years. When their team sponsorship falls through, they agree to fake a relationship to save everything. What could possibly go wrong? (Everything. Beautifully, deliciously everything.)

And because we love you, we sat down with author Cici Williams herself for an exclusive interview- we talked the Olympics setting, the slow burn, THAT tension, everything in between AND the very exciting updates on what Cici is up next and very soon! This one is genuinely unmissable.

Perfect for fans of: fake dating, best friends to lovers, slow burn romance, sports romance, contemporary romance, spicy books, BookTok, Melting Point, Cici Williams, winter romance, romantasy, spicy romance podcast