The Spicy Librarian Podcast

You know that pain you feel when someone trashes your God Tier reads?

Yeah. That's this episode.

This week on Spicy Librarian we are facing it head-on- reading out the one-star reviews of our absolute five-star books and defending them to the community. Some of these reviewers had valid points. Some clearly had no idea what they were picking up. And some have a LOT of big feelings about books we would die for.

As do we.

We're going to bat for Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid, A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas, Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton, Feathers So Vicious by Liv Zander, A Ship of Bones and Teeth by Karina Halle, The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig, and Kiss of the Basilisk by Lindsay Straube — and we are not backing down without a fight.

Is the criticism fair? Sometimes.

Is it going to change how we feel about these books? Absolutely not.

Come argue with us.

Perfect for fans of: book discourse, one star reviews, Haunting Adeline, H.D. Carlton, A Court of Silver Flames, ACOTAR, Sarah J. Maas, Heated Rivalry, Rachel Reid, Feathers So Vicious, Liv Zander, A Ship of Bones and Teeth, Karina Halle, Kiss of the Basilisk, Lindsay Straube, Rachel Gillig, dark romance, romantasy, MM romance, spicy books, BookTok, book podcast

Heated Rivalry- Rachel Reid

A Court of Silver Flames- S.J. Mass

Haunting Adeline- H. D Carlton

Feather so Vicious- Liv Zander

A Ship of Bones and Teeth- Karina Halle

Night and the Moth- Rachel Gilling

Kiss of the Basilisk- Lindsay Straube

Blood Wing Academy- Briar Boleyn

Poison Daughter- Shelia Masterson

Collateral Damage- Stassi

Shield of Sparrows / Rights of the Starling- Devney Perry

I Got Abducted By Aliens, And Now I’m In A Rom-Com- Kimberly Lemming

Wrath of an Exile- Monty Jay

The Hollow Boys- Monty Jay

The Wytchling Chronicles

Basted- Abby Hunter

*Content Warning*

We discuss themes of suicide, sexual violence and sexual assault within literary fiction.

This week on Spicy Librarian, Dee and Katie are joined by the wildly unapologetic CJ Riggs for an episode that is chaotic, hilarious, and just a little bit feral—in the best possible way.

CJ Riggs is redefining erotic horror, serving up stories that are equal parts spicy, disturbing, and completely unhinged. In this no-filter conversation, we dive headfirst into the deliciously dark world of erotic horror—what it is, why readers can’t get enough, and how CJ is gleefully pushing every boundary she can find (and then some).

Expect unfiltered opinions, questionable tangents, lots of laughs, and behind-the-scenes insights into the life of an indie author doing things her own way. We also get the inside scoop on her current projects, what’s coming next, and how she plans to keep shocking—and hooking—readers.

If you like your books dark, your conversations chaotic, and your authors completely unhinged… this one’s for you.

Perfect for fans of: CJ Riggs, erotic horror, dark romance, indie authors, spicy horror, horror romance, book marketing, indie publishing, BookTok, author interviews, and beautifully chaotic energy.

BOOKS MENTIONED
RIP, Skeleton King - Charity B
Harleigh Beck- Collected Works
CJ Riggs- Collected Works
Ignite- Melaine Harlow
Heartless- Elsie Silver
Flawless - Elsie Silver
Wait With Me- Amy Daws
Joe Hill Collected Works
The Final Girls Support Group, How to Sell a Haunted House- Grady Hendrix 
Intensity- Dean Koontz
The Surgeon, The Apprentice- Tess Gerritsen

We said what we said. And we are not taking it back.

This week on Spicy Librarian Podcast, Katie, Dee and backup, are doing something dangerous: sharing our most unpopular book opinions. The ones you whisper. The ones that get you cancelled in the group chat. We are saying them out loud, and we are standing by every single one.

We're getting into to whether or not we want Xaden to die? Is Throne of Glass overhyped? Why are fated mates always resurrected? Do we want male models on our book covers, especially if we're going outside to read... ?

Not everyone is getting a glowing review. Some of these are beloved. Some of these are untouchable. We touched them anyway.

Do we feel bad? Absolutely not. Is this the most chaotic, most honest episode we've ever recorded? Genuinely yes.

If your favourite book is on this list, we still love you. We just have thoughts.

Perfect for fans of: book discourse, unpopular opinions, Fourth Wing, ACOTAR, Throne of Glass, Sarah J Maas, Rebecca Yarros, Callie Hart, Brimstone, Heated Rivalry, Rachel Reid, Under Your Scars, One Day, BookTok, dark romance, romantasy, spicy books, book podcast

Books Mentioned

Fourth Wing- Rebecca Yarros

Throne of Glass- S.J. Maas

ACOTAR- S. J. Maas

One Day- David Nicholls

Brimstone- Callie Hart

Heated Rivalry- Rachel Reid

Ben Alderson (Author Shout out)

Under Your Scars- Ariel N Anderson

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