Witch, Please!

[00:00:00] Speaker A: Whenever you're ready. [00:00:00] Speaker B: Ready. Welcome to Spellbound, a Romantasy podcast. I'm well, sorry. Can we. Let's keep it going. I'll just keep it going. Sorry, I'm a little rusty. [00:00:11] Speaker C: I know. You're like. [00:00:14] Speaker B: Not that little breath. Welcome to Spellbound, a Romantasy podcast. I'm Deidre. [00:00:28] Speaker C: And I'm Jillian. [00:00:29] Speaker B: Thanks for joining. [00:00:30] Speaker C: Hi. [00:00:31] Speaker B: Welcome back. [00:00:32] Speaker C: Welcome back to our summer episode. [00:00:35] Speaker B: Yeah, our summer minisode. This is not gonna be your long hour and a half long jaunt into a fantasy book. This is gonna be us keeping it real quick and snappy. [00:00:48] Speaker C: Just a quick stroll. [00:00:49] Speaker B: Yeah, exactly. Christian, you're gonna be home for dinner time tonight. It's great. How have you been since we last connected? [00:00:56] Speaker C: I mean, good. You know, just doing the summer thing. I was thinking today, I was like, I need to get a lot of more beach time in. [00:01:04] Speaker B: Okay. [00:01:04] Speaker C: But also, I have, like, a very complicated relationship with the beach. [00:01:08] Speaker B: The sun. [00:01:08] Speaker C: Yes. [00:01:10] Speaker B: When you say the beach, we mean the sun. We mean the sun. [00:01:12] Speaker C: We mean the sun. I'm allergic to the sun, so that's a problem. I mean, I like looking at the water, but, yeah, the sun and I are not great friends. [00:01:21] Speaker B: Well, I think it hasn't made it a good situation that the heat and humidity this summer has been atrocious. And obviously it's better closer to the lake because of the. The wind, but it has been abysmal. [00:01:34] Speaker C: Yeah, it's been bad. [00:01:35] Speaker B: The next two days are actually going to be so awful. I'm like. I'm looking at Birdie and I'm like, I'm not making any promises. You might just have to go out on your little pee pad out on the patio. It's just what it is. [00:01:45] Speaker C: I was thinking about this, though. Like, they're making such a big deal out of it, and I feel like maybe not if the last summer or the summer before, we definitely hit these temperatures. [00:01:55] Speaker B: Well, you definitely had terrible temperatures here in Chicago 30 years ago, which you were around for all the news coverage is that it's the 30 year anniversary of that heat wave, devastating heat wave that Chicago had that I never even knew about. But, like 700 people died. No, look up the facts. 700, like 700 people died in Chicago because the city was ill equipped for heat of that magnitude. [00:02:19] Speaker C: God. Well, we are 30 years too early on climate change, I guess. So. [00:02:23] Speaker B: I mean, I hope that, you know, I'm not up here spitting fake, fake news, fake facts. [00:02:29] Speaker C: We'll do a fact check on that. But, yeah, no, it sounds Right. [00:02:31] Speaker B: Yeah, it's terrible. So I don't know. I've got my AC turned to a good crisp 70 degrees and we're just living large. [00:02:40] Speaker C: How have you been doing? [00:02:41] Speaker B: I've been doing well. This summer's been great. I have, you know, turned 27 for the 10th year in a row, which is so wonderful for me. I love that for me. [00:02:52] Speaker C: So perfect. [00:02:52] Speaker B: Y and I had a great birthday. Had really good turnout for people that came. Lots of love, lots of just community and fellowship around the picnic table, which was great. But as far as my memories of the event, they're very foggy because of the terrible summer cold that was coming down on me at that moment. [00:03:13] Speaker C: Going around. Yeah. [00:03:14] Speaker B: But I'm. I'm feeling better now. I'm feeling good. [00:03:17] Speaker C: Good. [00:03:17] Speaker B: Things are busy, but I think things will, you know, hopefully in the next couple weeks, work wise, just kind of chill out and I'll have like a couple weeks in August to kind of enjoy at the beach. [00:03:27] Speaker C: Yeah. I like have already heard about people that are. Because in Europe they go on vacation for like three or four weeks, right? [00:03:34] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:03:35] Speaker C: So they're like already gone. [00:03:36] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. I've got folks that I work with all the time over in Europe and they do not play about their holiday. So you can be talking to them on Thursday of one week and then Monday you send them a follow up email and they're out of office messages like, sister, I love that you sent this to me. I think this is wonderful. You're not gonna hear from me until August 30th. Thank you so much. Be blessed. [00:04:01] Speaker C: Okay, so they do put on automatic replies. It's not like they just disappear. [00:04:05] Speaker B: Not that they just disappear, but I mean, I'm not gonna say everybody puts up an automatic reply. I know, but many of them do. And you're just like, well, what about this project? That's mid flight, right. [00:04:15] Speaker C: Where are we, what are we gonna do? [00:04:18] Speaker B: But you know, we figure out a way out of no way. But it's, it's always funny to me because. Yeah. I mean, they just do not bend when it comes to taking their time off, which. [00:04:29] Speaker C: Good for them. [00:04:30] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:04:31] Speaker C: God, we like, we'd be lucky to get more like more than like 10 days of vacation a year. I mean, it's crazy. [00:04:38] Speaker B: It's insane. I mean, you know, even people that have like endless boundless PTO at companies that are like responsible pto. [00:04:45] Speaker C: Right, right. [00:04:45] Speaker B: They don't ever want to take it because we just have a culture over here in the states of like totally Guilt of taking pto. But those people over there are like, I'm taking every day. [00:04:54] Speaker C: They're like, I'm leaving everything half done. [00:04:56] Speaker B: Yeah, it's just part of the culture. It's. We need that. We need to adopt that. I'm sorry, I'm also going back to my original statement. Yes. 739 heat related deaths in Chicago from that, from that event. 30 years. 1995 was a deadly year. [00:05:10] Speaker C: Wow. I don't remember, man. [00:05:15] Speaker B: 30 years ago you were by the wee child. You were just a wee child as. [00:05:20] Speaker C: An 8 year old. [00:05:22] Speaker B: Absolutely. [00:05:23] Speaker C: Oh, I was gonna tell you. So this past weekend I was like putting my nieces to bed and the older one goes, she's like, you know, up at her bed and she's like. Sighs and she's like, gigi, I just wish I was a fairy or a witch. And I was like, yeah, join the club. [00:05:40] Speaker B: Don't we all? [00:05:40] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:05:41] Speaker B: You're like, girl, get in line. The line starts back there. [00:05:44] Speaker C: Good to acknowledge your dreams and let's go reach them. Let's go reach for the stars. [00:05:49] Speaker B: I mean, who knows? This generation, her generation. Who knows? [00:05:52] Speaker C: Who knows? [00:05:53] Speaker B: I mean, anything is open to them. The possibilities are endless. [00:05:57] Speaker C: I mean, we're gonna, we're talking about a book about a young witch. [00:06:01] Speaker B: So. Yeah. So I mean, again, maybe be who you be who you you want to be. [00:06:07] Speaker C: You know what I mean? Make your own magic. [00:06:09] Speaker B: Make your own magic. Love that. [00:06:13] Speaker C: Okay, so should we get into a little hear ye, hear ye. [00:06:18] Speaker B: We should get into a little hear ye, hear ye. I've got a couple things to cover off this week. Maybe talking about keeping in line with 30 year anniversaries of things. [00:06:27] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:06:27] Speaker B: And turning it in from a bad thing. Obviously bad things were happening in Chicago 30 years ago, but the good thing happened 30 years ago. It's actually the 30th anniversary of the millennial darling that is Clueless. Oh, oh, Clueless. Our dear beloved Clueless was released in theaters July of 1995. And every time I think of that film, I just think of the unsung character Amber saying, Ms. Stroger, my plastic surgeon doesn't want me doing any activ activity where balls fly at my nose. And Dion says very swiftly, well, there goes your social life. [00:07:03] Speaker C: Yes. [00:07:03] Speaker B: And a seven year old me sat there and watched that scene multiple times, had no clue what was going on. My mother would plop me down in front of that VHS tape and be like, well, I hope she's having a good time. I don't Know what's in there? [00:07:14] Speaker C: You're not even paying attention. No, no. [00:07:16] Speaker B: But I was like, these are big girls, and I want to be like them. [00:07:19] Speaker C: The balls falling. [00:07:21] Speaker B: And I was like. I was going, yeah, tennis. [00:07:23] Speaker C: She can't. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She's got a doctor's note. [00:07:26] Speaker B: So then imagine my surprise years later when I'm like, there's a lot of adult innuendo in this film. It's such a great movie. [00:07:34] Speaker C: It's such a classic. [00:07:36] Speaker B: Yes. [00:07:36] Speaker C: It's amazing. [00:07:37] Speaker B: It's such a great movie. When I was little, I wanted Cher's closet. She had, like, the automated closet, and she could, like, put her outfits together on the computer. Computer. I mean, that seems like just child's play now. You know, Several people already have that option, but, God, what a dream. [00:07:54] Speaker C: That computer was, like, 30 pounds, probably. [00:07:56] Speaker B: Probably. She had, like, a great Jeep. She had her driver's permit, not a driver's license. There was just lots of things going on in that movie. So many things. So they're pulling the. The actors and actresses from the film together, like, doing, like, fun little, you know, reunion types of things. [00:08:14] Speaker C: Nice. [00:08:14] Speaker B: Yeah. I bring that up because, you know, as millennials, in the way that we are, it's just a cornerstone of our culture. [00:08:22] Speaker C: Oh, for sure. I mean, and also a cornerstone is, like, then growing up and realizing, like, what was problematic in the films. And I just want to say Josh loved him. My introduction to Paul Rudd, but it was kind of problematic. [00:08:36] Speaker B: It doesn't sit well in the body at all. Like, even. Okay, like, maybe I didn't pick up on the innuendo of, like, balls flying towards somebody's nose, but I did. At seven years old. No. It's not quite right to hook up with your former stepbrother. [00:08:51] Speaker C: Yep, yep. [00:08:52] Speaker B: It's not gonna work. [00:08:54] Speaker C: That's, like, still working for your dad. That's still, like, hanging out in your house. Like, your stepbrother. [00:08:59] Speaker B: He's eating your food. What's going on? I think I love the movie Clueless, but, like, probably the last 30 minutes, I just cut off. Like, it never even happened. [00:09:08] Speaker C: Yeah. Although I will tell you one of my favorite scenes when they're, like, dancing at a party and he noticed. Josh notices that Ty is not dancing with anyone. [00:09:19] Speaker B: Anyone. [00:09:20] Speaker C: And then he goes and dances with her, and he just. Yeah, he looks like such a nerd. [00:09:23] Speaker B: But, yeah, that was really sweet. Did anybody actually want Ty in the movie? I feel like all these boys dance with her, and then they were like, I don't like her. I Like Cher. Like Elton. Her stepbrother Josh, I think just the. The. The burned out skater boy on the hill. I liked him, too. They bonded over, like, in something. Yeah. Brecket. Was it Brecken Meyer? Yeah. But they bonded over their love of Marvin the Martian and forgot about that. Then she tried to become somebody else. That just didn't work. Also, not necessarily a rest in peace because she's still among us. But Stacy Dash. Absolutely. Just, like, buried herself. [00:10:05] Speaker C: Is she still among us? [00:10:06] Speaker B: She is still among her, but I don't think that her star is still shining in the celebrity universe. [00:10:13] Speaker C: She's a villain now. [00:10:14] Speaker B: Yeah. Given her really weird, quick turn into right wing white Christian, of which she is not white. I don't understand. [00:10:28] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. [00:10:28] Speaker B: I don't understand it. [00:10:30] Speaker C: It was crazy. [00:10:31] Speaker B: But I think people have, like, absolutely, like, cut her off. [00:10:34] Speaker C: Yeah, well, for good reason. Yeah. [00:10:37] Speaker B: Honor the fallen. [00:10:38] Speaker C: Honor the fallen. Oh, my God. Justice for Dionne. [00:10:42] Speaker B: Yeah. Justice for Dion. She deserved better. There's one scene where she is arguing with Murray. Her brother. Her boyfriend. [00:10:50] Speaker C: Her brother. [00:10:51] Speaker B: Yeah. She's not going down that path. [00:10:53] Speaker C: Donald Faison. [00:10:53] Speaker B: Donald Faison. And he. They're in the quad. I just remember there being this big thing with the quad, and he starts, like, picking on her some kind of way. And she's like. She's like, I do not wear polyester hair. Okay. But unlike some people, I do like Shawana. And then she's, like, waving this, like, polyester braid around. And I was like, there's a lot going on in high school in America. [00:11:19] Speaker C: Seriously. Oh, my God, I loved it so much. [00:11:21] Speaker B: That film was just so great. [00:11:22] Speaker C: It was so good. [00:11:24] Speaker B: Yeah. So I. I think I might need to run that back just in celebration of the 30th anniversary. [00:11:29] Speaker C: I think so, too. I mean, God, wouldn't it be fun to find, like, a. Like, in the theater? But I was thinking about this because in the book, she mentions a bunch of time. A bunch of times. Like, Jane Austen. [00:11:40] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:11:41] Speaker C: And so. And Clueless was after Emma. [00:11:44] Speaker B: Yes. [00:11:45] Speaker C: And. And, like, there were a bunch of movies in the 90s, right. That were, like, 10 things I hate about you. I guess she's the man was not in the 90s. [00:11:55] Speaker B: Or was it? She's all that. Was. She's all that. [00:11:58] Speaker C: Oh, she's all that. Was it. Was it Shakespearean thing? [00:12:00] Speaker B: Was it. [00:12:01] Speaker C: Let me see. I don't know, but I think there were, like. There were definitely plenty of movies. [00:12:05] Speaker B: Well, I know that there were plenty of problematic dynamics in 90s teen movies. [00:12:09] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:12:10] Speaker B: I cannot Starting off here, we just talked about clueless. I think about she's all that. They're Paul Rudd, not Paul Rudd. What's my blonde hair? Blue eyed angel who died? [00:12:22] Speaker C: Paul Walker. [00:12:22] Speaker B: Paul Walker. Now. May he definitely rest in peace. Fine. Anyway, moving on in. She's all that. He basically makes a bet with Freddie Prinze Jr. S character that he can do a radical makeover of some girl in their high school class and make her prom queen in a three week time FR or something. And so they go walking through the quad again. I actually thought the quad was going to make a much bigger. [00:12:54] Speaker C: Me too. [00:12:55] Speaker B: I was like, lo and behold, we didn't have a quad. But they start walking through their like public quad area looking at all of these girls. And Freddie Prinze Jr. Is like, I can do, I can do artsy, I could do ugly, I can't do fat or something. It's something. Some crazy kind of line that he. [00:13:16] Speaker C: Says, my God, you have to go. [00:13:19] Speaker B: Back and watch it to see the specifics. It was just a very different time then. And never been kissed. We have Drew Barrymore posing as a high school student. [00:13:27] Speaker C: Yep. Oh my God. [00:13:28] Speaker B: Falling in love with Michael Barton, Barton's high school teacher character. [00:13:34] Speaker C: Oh, that was so bad. [00:13:36] Speaker B: And it's like, it's okay at the end when he realizes that she's of age and she's actually an undercover reporter, but it's like, hold on, my man. Whole time you were falling in love with a 16 year old girl in your English class. [00:13:48] Speaker C: Yes. Oh my God. And we were all, probably all like, I want my English teacher to fall in love with me. [00:13:55] Speaker B: It's a wonder we've made it out alive. I know this far. [00:13:58] Speaker C: There are so many things. Yeah. I'll have to think about. Can't Hardly Wait was one of my favorite. I don't think there was anything, I mean, other than Seth. [00:14:08] Speaker B: Seth Green with his accent. [00:14:10] Speaker C: Yes. [00:14:12] Speaker B: God, how awful. They called that out in the movie. [00:14:16] Speaker C: Good. [00:14:16] Speaker B: I bet. I think they did. I think there was something about it where they were like, what are you doing? Yeah, this is too much. He's like wearing big old baggy jeans. He's like wearing these goggles on his head. [00:14:27] Speaker C: Goggles in his head. [00:14:28] Speaker B: He's like speaking and just slaying every scene. It's a rough, it's a rough watch. People need to be kind to millennials, specifically millennial girls. Because we were going through it. We had so many different messages in these films. [00:14:42] Speaker C: Maybe that's something we could like talk about. Is just like, go 90s film by 90s film and be like, this is the message that we got as girls. [00:14:50] Speaker B: What was the message with Julia Stiles dancing in front of, like, a barrel on fire? And what was supposed to be south side of Chicago? [00:14:56] Speaker C: Oh, my God, I forgot about that. And then just doing the braids and the. [00:15:03] Speaker B: God, her hair is wrapped up in a. In like a wrap. She's got big hoops on. It's just. There's a lot going on. I think we need to burn that. [00:15:11] Speaker C: We need to burn that film. Yeah. I mean, Kerry Washington. I forgot that she was in that. And then I was like, oh, my God, I wonder if she's ashamed. I mean, she didn't know. We didn't know, Nobody knew. [00:15:23] Speaker B: It's so bad. Everything. Every time I think about that film, it's so bad. Then Julia Stiles also dancing on a table and things like, what is she dancing to? Biggie's. [00:15:34] Speaker C: Some kind of some rap. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:15:36] Speaker B: And everybody's just like, yeah. [00:15:38] Speaker C: Everybody's like, yeah, you're so drunk. [00:15:40] Speaker B: Oh, I think people in the movie were like, look at that girl's moves. She is so bomb. And I'm just like, is that. How are the black kids at the party? [00:15:51] Speaker C: Were they like. I know, they're like, I mean, come. [00:15:54] Speaker B: On, I gotta get out of here. [00:15:55] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:15:56] Speaker B: What the is going on? [00:15:57] Speaker C: This isn't for me. [00:15:59] Speaker B: I can't wait to graduate. They're probably. [00:16:02] Speaker C: Probably. Yeah. Yeah. [00:16:03] Speaker B: Oh, God. Yeah. There's a full exploration that we could do as. As 90 girls. But yeah, that's something great also. Okay. The time has come. [00:16:13] Speaker C: Yes. [00:16:14] Speaker B: Sarah J. Maas revealed she's finished the first drafts of ACOTAR 6. Now, she posted a video on Instagram back on July 11, slamming her composition notebook down. And on the COVID was ACOTAR 6 and what appeared to be a possible arrow or an arrow pointing to what some people speculated was maybe the number eight. No one can quite confirm. But what we do know is that she's finished her first drafts of the next book in the highly anticipated Acotar series. I would just like also to note I was looking back at that post today, and the highly coveted notebook where all of our dreams are currently stashed. [00:16:50] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. [00:16:51] Speaker B: Is a Mountain Lake College ruled composition notebook sold by a company called Decomposition, which sells for only $15 on Amazon. My girl is like, Sarah needs a $15 notebook, a basic ass ink pen, and she makes magic work. [00:17:09] Speaker C: Mad. That girl makes magic you don't need. [00:17:12] Speaker B: If this is if this is telling you anything. [00:17:14] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:17:15] Speaker B: Don't buy all of the fancy materials to start that thing. Write that joke, write that book, write that story. [00:17:23] Speaker C: Get you a little notebook from Amazon. [00:17:25] Speaker B: And figure it the fuck out as Sarah has. What is in the pages of that notebook. [00:17:29] Speaker C: I mean, it's her mind that is the real moneymaker. [00:17:32] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:17:33] Speaker C: She's incredible. [00:17:34] Speaker B: It's crazy. Just a notebook, $2 pencil. In a dream. [00:17:38] Speaker C: God. And it has been met. [00:17:41] Speaker B: Oh, God. So we're not sure of the release date, but many are speculating late 2025, early 2026. Either way, we'll be. We'll be there. We'll be sad. [00:17:50] Speaker C: I mean, people were going nuts. I mean, there was like, there's this one influence who. Or influencer who was like, who posted? And he was like, I can't believe he lives in England. He's like, I can't believe this news has been out for six hours. I just woke up and so disappointed. [00:18:08] Speaker B: It's crazy. [00:18:09] Speaker C: It's insane. [00:18:11] Speaker B: It had to be on the top of everybody's, like, yeah list, because as soon as I, like, opened Instagram, I was a few hours. I was, like, four hours late from seeing it. But it was the number one thing. It was the first post I saw when I opened up my Instagram page. [00:18:23] Speaker C: Really? [00:18:24] Speaker B: Yes. It knows. The algorithm knows what's going on. [00:18:27] Speaker C: See, you guys had to tell me because I. I don't know why I. You know, I miss things. [00:18:31] Speaker B: You're. You're in a cabin somewhere. You're off. You only come out into public to do this with me. And then you go back and I'm. [00:18:37] Speaker C: Like, jillian, I'm organizing my 200,000 unread emails. [00:18:41] Speaker B: Yes. [00:18:42] Speaker C: Or not organizing. [00:18:43] Speaker B: Or not organizing. Just looking at them with full discernment, staring. Absolutely. But there's lots of speculation about what's in book six, but many believe it's high time for us to get a story about Elaine and Asriel. Which I do not need. I don't need it. But even more about our girl Moore, who's a slippery one. She's a slipper. She's a slippery one. We need to know. But we haven't talked about these books yet. Waiting for the right time. Is there anything that you want to see in book six, specifically? [00:19:10] Speaker C: I mean, I don't want to see Azrael and Elaine. [00:19:13] Speaker B: No, no. [00:19:14] Speaker C: Like, I would love if it were Azrael and Aerys, but I think that's too. That's like. [00:19:20] Speaker B: Is it, though? [00:19:21] Speaker C: Well, I don't know I would love it. You just did a Nathan vase. [00:19:25] Speaker B: Is it, though? Oh, gosh. Nathan. We'll have to have him back. But I actually don't think it's too much to hope for an heire. I also am, like, I wouldn't hate Asriel and Gwen. [00:19:41] Speaker C: Oh, for sure. I mean, that would be after Eris. Yeah. That would be my. Because he saved her. He saved her. [00:19:47] Speaker B: I know. And if you read the bonus chapter, which we need to do a bonus chapter episode. But if you read the. The bonus chapter about. I know he did a. He pulled that real boy move with the necklace. The real ones who are listening to this know what we're talking about chapter. Yeah, but I'm not ready to write. I'm not. Obviously, I'm not gonna write Azriel off as a fuckboy, but I'm like, to delve into the outcomes of that decision and why he did that. It just feels very desperate. Like he's just trying to find a mate because his other friends have found their people, and he's just trying to, like, fit a, you know, round peg into a square hole. [00:20:24] Speaker C: Yeah, Yeah. I mean, I just. And I also don't like. What about poor Lucien? You know what I mean? [00:20:31] Speaker B: Like, justice for Lucian. [00:20:32] Speaker C: Justice for Lucian. He's, like, trying to steal. Feel her away from him. [00:20:36] Speaker B: I know. And, you know, I. For Lucian. I don't want Lucian to be with anybody who doesn't want him. [00:20:42] Speaker C: I know. I know. [00:20:43] Speaker B: So I'm honestly, like, I don't care if he and Elaine don't get together. I actually think something's better out there for Lucian. Sorry. [00:20:51] Speaker C: Elaine. [00:20:52] Speaker B: Honestly, I think she's gonna get with Tamlin. [00:20:55] Speaker C: Thank God. Yeah. [00:20:56] Speaker B: That would be good to ride into the sunset. [00:20:58] Speaker C: Absolutely. [00:20:58] Speaker B: I'm just like spring court. She knows how to be out here. She does urban farming. She's sheer flowers. Exactly. My girl knows how to grow a dahl. She's going to go out to the spring court, make it work. You know what I mean? Our man, who knows what's going on with his depressive episode right now, but the two of them deserve each other. [00:21:15] Speaker C: But you know what, though? I hope Lucian finds somebody first, though, because that would be like a stab in the back. [00:21:20] Speaker B: I know. [00:21:21] Speaker C: You know, to Lucian. [00:21:24] Speaker B: Who knows? I mean, we have not talked about those books, so people are probably like sisters. You have not talked about those books, but I think people who probably listen to this podcast have done the. Done their homework, done the work, but we're going to. We're going to get to Acotar soon enough. We've got some things in the works. We'll figure it out. We'll announce it when the time is right. Finally, in my. Hear ye, hear ye. This is so sweet. A love note in a bottle stands the test of time. This was an article in the Washington Post. So this is such an interesting story and something that I think is, like, actually really crazy. [00:21:54] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:21:54] Speaker B: But a couple back in 2012, their names are Brad Squires and Anita Moran, wrote a love note to each other after spending a day together on Canada's Bell Island. This is again, back in 2012. I'm happy for. Because that's not how my relationships in 2012 were. [00:22:10] Speaker C: No, no. 13 years ago. [00:22:12] Speaker B: God bless if you can even call them relationships. This is a better conversation for my therapist. We're going to move on with the story. They cast this love. They wrote a love note to each other. They put it into a bottle and they cast it out to the sea. Right. They cast it out to the. The Atlantic Ocean. The bottle was found 13 years later on a beach in Ireland nearly 2,000 miles away by another couple. And they tracked Brad down and Turns out in 2025, they are married with three children. Shut up. So love stands the test of time. Just like that bottle. [00:22:49] Speaker C: Where did they cast it out? [00:22:50] Speaker B: So they were on the coast of Canada. [00:22:52] Speaker C: Canada. [00:22:53] Speaker B: Yeah, Canada's Bell island, which is way up there. Like, I think, like, way up there. And they cast it out. And 13 years later, 2,000 miles later, it landed on the coast. This older couple was walking along the beach. [00:23:06] Speaker C: Wow. [00:23:06] Speaker B: Saw it, picked it up. They actually belong to this, like, cons. So they saw it and they were like, how fun would this be to open this during our meeting tonight? [00:23:18] Speaker C: No way. [00:23:18] Speaker B: And they open it up and it says their names and says, if you find this, call this number. Well, they called the number. It didn't work anymore. So they put it on their Facebook page and people saw it. It went viral and they finally connected who it was. Somebody finally saw it and they connected with the. Right. Brad and Anita finds. Turns out that they're married with kids. [00:23:38] Speaker C: Kids. I can't believe it. They were bonded. [00:23:41] Speaker B: They're bonded. I love to hear that. Such a sweet story. I also. Okay, so I'm going to pose this to you this week. This is something that I think would be very fun. You and I have been talking about these people for the last, like, I know one of them the last 24 hours. The other person maybe the last two weeks. Because, like, it's kind of in the news, but I'd like to talk about book boyfriends in the wild a little bit. [00:24:01] Speaker C: Oh yeah, let's do it. I know you're gonna say, you know. [00:24:03] Speaker B: Who I'm gonna say. But number one, we should start with probably the one that's more familiar among the masses, and that's David Corn Swe, who's currently playing the new Superman. Superman. [00:24:14] Speaker C: You know, I saw him in Twister and I was like, that's it. That's. [00:24:17] Speaker B: Man, you did, you did. You saw him and you were like, now listen, I know that we're all here for Glen Powell. I bought this ticket for Glenn Powell. I got extra butter on this popcorn for Glen Powell. But I'd like to know who this man is. [00:24:27] Speaker C: I'd like to know who that. I mean, he wasn't even a great character. He was like a stuck up FBI. [00:24:31] Speaker B: Guy, but he tried to be a villain. But I was like, baby, it's not working. Yeah, not working. [00:24:35] Speaker C: It was amazing. [00:24:36] Speaker B: He's like 6, 4. He's got dimples that are as deep as the Grand Canyon. He's a nice guy. Sweet as pie. I really need to go see Superman. That's a boyfriend for me for the week. [00:24:49] Speaker C: Yes. [00:24:49] Speaker B: My next book boyfriend is James Talarico, a Texas state representative who I have been obsessed with now for a couple years. [00:24:58] Speaker C: A Democrat. [00:24:59] Speaker B: He's a Democrat. Let's be specific. [00:25:01] Speaker C: Lord. When you say Texas. [00:25:03] Speaker B: I said Texas. State rep. You don't know what's going on. [00:25:06] Speaker C: Republican. [00:25:07] Speaker B: You don't know what's going on. You're like, what? What? Excuse me, sister. He is a Democrat. Let's make that clear. And he, he's a book boyfriend for me this week because he went into the actual, the literal mouth of the beast that is the Joe Rogan podcast. [00:25:22] Speaker C: I can't believe that. [00:25:24] Speaker B: And sat down with that man for a solid two, a little over two hours. Wow. And had a very productive conversation with Joe Rogan about the work that he is trying to do in loving thy neighbor in Texas and dispelling long held belief and rightly held belief. [00:25:46] Speaker C: Right, right, right. [00:25:46] Speaker B: That, you know, Christians in this day and age are help hateful people trying to control women and you know, don't support abortions and are anti gay and all of these things. And so he's really just a one man band down there. Well, I should say he would say he's not a one man band. He's working across the aisle. He's working with his colleagues to get things done. But he is really doing God's work down there. Trying to turn Texas blue. [00:26:10] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:26:11] Speaker B: And trying to change the heart. Hearts and minds of Americans everywhere. And to that, we say, we love you. [00:26:16] Speaker C: Love it. Yeah. And working, like, advocating for type 1 diabetics and the press of insulin. Yeah. [00:26:23] Speaker B: Love it. We love it. [00:26:23] Speaker C: Love it. [00:26:24] Speaker B: You know what? Let's. Let's watch him, and let's maybe put it on our vision board to have James Talarico come here on the show. [00:26:31] Speaker C: We really should. [00:26:32] Speaker B: He would do it. [00:26:33] Speaker C: He would do it. [00:26:35] Speaker B: He would do it. Say, james, read this book and be ready to do the Dirty Dozen. [00:26:39] Speaker C: Oh, my God. He totally would. [00:26:41] Speaker B: He would do it. He'd be like, okay, well, you know, maybe give me some of the lighter ones, the less money. [00:26:46] Speaker C: Yeah, Right, right, right. And we'd be like, no, we're gonna give you the dirtiest. [00:26:49] Speaker B: To the hilt, James. To the hilt. So, yeah, those are my book boyfriends this week. I love that. What do you think about talking about? [00:26:56] Speaker C: I like book boyfriends. Yeah. I mean, my book boyfriend every week is Pedro Pascal Evergreen. He's an Evergreen. [00:27:04] Speaker B: He's enshrined. He's enshrined. [00:27:07] Speaker C: He lasts through the winter. I mean. [00:27:10] Speaker B: And I. My. Honestly, my goals for book boyfriends in the. Be celebrities. It could be your everyday guy. I'll give you another one. My neighbor. I don't even know what his name is. We've been parking next to each other for a couple years now. There's a lot of construction going on behind my house. And when my car is not parked in my parking space, it's right along the alleyway. [00:27:31] Speaker C: Right. [00:27:31] Speaker B: So the construction crews can kind of think that they can move things there. And so recently, I came home and I parked along the street. I was like, I don't have time to deal with the construction crews back there. I'm just gonna park on the street. But when I got up my apartment, I looked out the back window, and I found that they had moved all the dumpsters and trash cans into my parking space. [00:27:51] Speaker C: Okay. [00:27:52] Speaker B: So I was like, well, you know, when it gets cool tonight, I'm just gonna have to go down there. It sucks. And move them out of the way. So I'm playing with Birdie. Like, probably an hour later, I'm playing with Birdie, and I look out my window again. She just. Just happened to glance out my window. Yeah, that neighbor is moving all of those things out of my parking space without being asked. He is out there slaving, pushing all of the dumpsters and Trash cans out of my parking space. He was looking out for. I think we're in love. I have a mini crush. [00:28:18] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, for sure. I'm sure. Yeah. [00:28:20] Speaker B: I can't wait to see him. I'm always like, is he here? Is he home? We just kind of have that kind of understanding, you know? [00:28:26] Speaker C: Good, good. [00:28:27] Speaker B: So he's my book boyfriend in the wild. Real time. [00:28:30] Speaker C: What's my book boyfriend in the wild? [00:28:33] Speaker B: Pedro. [00:28:34] Speaker C: Pedro. I did See, I can't remember. I'll prepare for this next time. [00:28:39] Speaker B: That's fine. [00:28:39] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:28:40] Speaker B: I'll give you. I'll give you two right now. Michael and Nathan. [00:28:43] Speaker C: Oh, there they are. There they are. [00:28:46] Speaker B: They have helped us tremendously over the last two weeks. [00:28:49] Speaker C: We had to. I was thinking about, like, we had to, like, thank them at the end. Mikey and Nathan are both dreams. They are dreams. Fascinating, fantastic dreams. [00:29:00] Speaker B: I mean, dream boyfriends. [00:29:01] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:29:02] Speaker B: Book boyfriends all the way. [00:29:04] Speaker C: We talk about this all the time. We're like, why? [00:29:06] Speaker B: I don't know. [00:29:07] Speaker C: I just don't know. [00:29:08] Speaker B: We're cursed, you know that? [00:29:10] Speaker C: Oh, God. So upsetting. [00:29:13] Speaker B: If they liked women, then I think that we'd be shoo in for sure. [00:29:17] Speaker C: Oh, for sure. [00:29:18] Speaker B: They're gonna listen to this and be like, I, you know, I don't know. [00:29:22] Speaker C: They'd be like, I don't know. [00:29:25] Speaker B: They'd be like, I think. I think we'd still be friends. I don't know. And that too, is a Mikey. Is a Mikey statement right there. [00:29:34] Speaker C: As long as they're in our lives, I'm happy. That's the important thing. [00:29:38] Speaker B: Exactly. Okay, perfect. Well, I think it's time, you know, I think it's time for just the tip. [00:29:44] Speaker C: Yeah, I think that time for just the tip, too. [00:29:47] Speaker B: Jillian is going to give us just enough to leave us wanting more with our latest book. [00:29:51] Speaker C: Okay. This week we're reading the Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu. I think that's Mandana. [00:29:59] Speaker B: Yeah, I think so. [00:30:00] Speaker C: Published in August 2022. Okay, so here we go. [00:30:06] Speaker B: Take your time. There's a lot here I'm preparing. [00:30:10] Speaker C: So we start off with our main girl, Mika, or Micah. How do you pronounce it? [00:30:14] Speaker B: I called her Micah. [00:30:15] Speaker C: Okay. I did Micah too. So, okay, Micah is a 31 year old witch. Yay for finally a millennial character. [00:30:23] Speaker B: 31. [00:30:24] Speaker C: I'll take it over 30. Thanks. [00:30:27] Speaker B: Wonderful. [00:30:28] Speaker C: Good job. [00:30:29] Speaker B: You know, I just let out a sigh of relief when I read 30 anything. I'm like, oh, thank God. [00:30:34] Speaker C: I know, I know. It's amazing. I Will say, though. Well, we'll talk about that later. Okay. So she was raised by a witch named Prim. Primrose. [00:30:45] Speaker B: Because they're the baddest. Bitch. [00:30:46] Speaker C: The baddest bitch. [00:30:47] Speaker B: The baddest witch. [00:30:48] Speaker C: The baddest witch. Witch, please. So there was a hex that was put on all witches that their parents die right after they were born, which is very sad. Very macabre. She is macabre. I knew you'd love that. I wrote that, and I knew. [00:31:06] Speaker B: I love a macabre. Write that down. Macabre. [00:31:08] Speaker C: Macabre. I think it's a French word. [00:31:12] Speaker B: Great. Sure. [00:31:16] Speaker C: Okay. So Micah was raised by Primrose, but was sort of, like, given a bunch of nannies, and Primrose wasn't really involved in her life. And Primrose has this thing about, like, witches cannot be seen together because that would be, like, too magic and too much magic in one place. And they don't want to be, like, found out. [00:31:38] Speaker B: It's like, when you and I get together, we can only do this for so long, otherwise things are gonna explode. [00:31:43] Speaker C: Things are gonna be. I mean, people are going. [00:31:46] Speaker B: It's dangerous. [00:31:47] Speaker C: I mean, people are gonna be, like, on drugs. On my vigilant Deidre. Drugs. Okay, so. Okay. Also, Micah is a witch influencer, which, when I was talking about, like, my niece saying that, I was like, you could be a witch influencer. And she's giving coven core. [00:32:05] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:32:05] Speaker C: Which is a new thing. And have you ever heard of that word, covencore? Yeah. [00:32:08] Speaker B: I've not heard of coven core. I heard after cottagecore. [00:32:11] Speaker C: Okay. [00:32:12] Speaker B: But I'm not. I was coven core in here. [00:32:14] Speaker C: Well, no. Blakely Thornton. [00:32:16] Speaker B: Okay. Yes. [00:32:18] Speaker C: He said Kevin core. [00:32:19] Speaker B: Love that. [00:32:20] Speaker C: What was he. Oh, was talking about practical magic, too. [00:32:23] Speaker B: Yeah. Oh, God. [00:32:25] Speaker C: So we gotta talk about that. Yeah. [00:32:27] Speaker B: They were on. On set for the first time here in, like, the last couple weeks. Week. Sandra and Nicole. God. [00:32:33] Speaker C: One of my favorites. [00:32:34] Speaker B: I know. And one of the. And Nicole Kidman's character's name. Jillian. [00:32:37] Speaker C: Jillian with the G. Okay. So very Kevin core. Anyway, she's DM'd out of the blue by this man, Ian. What? And he asks her if she can come to the school. What does he like? Actually, I can't remember what she. What he said to her. [00:32:52] Speaker B: He's offers her a job of some sort, and she doesn't know. She. We need please come now. It seemed like a very urgent ask. [00:32:59] Speaker C: Okay. Okay. But she didn't know. I couldn't remember if she, like, knew about the witches or not. [00:33:04] Speaker B: I can't Remember. [00:33:05] Speaker C: I know. I can't. I know. [00:33:06] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:33:07] Speaker C: But anyway, so she shows up at the school and finds this cast of characters. [00:33:12] Speaker B: So it's like a home. [00:33:13] Speaker C: A home, home, home, school, boarding school situation. Because. All. Because, you know, when a witch is born, their parents die. So they're all, like. Their parents have all died. They are. There are three young witches, ages 10, 8, and 7, I think. Very cute. The school is run by Ian, this older gentleman actor, and his husband, Ken. Ken. Housekeeper Lucy, and then our love interest, Jamie, the librarian, who's very boring. Anyway, okay. The school is owned by this older witch, Lillian, who's never around. I knew there was something going on with that. [00:33:52] Speaker B: I was like, what is the deal? This just up and left. [00:33:55] Speaker C: I mean, I've got some thoughts on. [00:33:56] Speaker B: This, but go ahead. [00:33:57] Speaker C: Okay, so. But they claim that her solicitor, which, for those of you who don't understand British lingo, it's lawyer. [00:34:07] Speaker B: Yes. [00:34:08] Speaker C: Is coming back to. Is coming to pick up some papers in a couple months, and they don't want the girls to accidentally use their magic. [00:34:15] Speaker B: So there's a whole thing's afoot. He's like, you all are slumming here, and I'm gonna find you out. [00:34:21] Speaker C: There's something weird going on here. Yeah. So anyway, so J. Jamie, and all of the adults are like, okay, we need some. We need Micah to come in and, like, glamour herself for somebody else, just to, like, make it seem like Lillian is there because she's. You know, they say, like, she's away on an excavation or whatever. So anyway, Micah teaches the girls magic. One of them, Terracotta, hates her, and she and Jamie start to romantify each other. And here comes the interesting part, maybe the only interesting part. All of a sudden, the book turns into the 1998 film Practical Magic. [00:35:04] Speaker B: Sure. Yes, absolutely. [00:35:05] Speaker C: Wait, did you ever see it? [00:35:06] Speaker B: I did, but it's been so many years since I've seen it, so I can't speak specifics. [00:35:10] Speaker C: Okay, so in the book, Jamie says. Jamie tells her, like, oh, actually, Lillian died last year, and we buried her under the sunflowers. [00:35:21] Speaker B: Yes. Okay. There is that element. [00:35:22] Speaker C: So do you rem. That they killed some dude, the guy who was in the er. And do you remember that was. [00:35:29] Speaker B: I do remember that. There was a man that was killed, and then, like, he had an evil spirit or something. [00:35:33] Speaker C: He had an evil spirit. And then they, like, they raised him from the dead, and then they, like, did a. What's. What do they call it? Like, an exorcism kind of on him. But anyway, then. So. So that, like, was kind of a little practical magic to me. So anyway, they bear in the garden. Micah raises her skeleton and then leaves in a huff because they lied to her. Blah, blah, blah, blah, Bl. Whatever. So Jamie comes and finds her at her house, and they finally have sex. And it's really. We got to talk about later. [00:36:04] Speaker B: I don't know that there's anything to talk about, but. Yes, go ahead. [00:36:07] Speaker C: Exactly. Exactly. [00:36:08] Speaker B: Just. Just a bleep on the radar. [00:36:10] Speaker C: Exactly. So then. Let's see. So then the solicitor comes and they. They basically are like. They try to trick him, and then he ends up, like, being locked in a shed. I don't know any. Turns out Lillian is Primrose's sister, or was. So Primrose comes, saves the day. Micah gets what she wants, which is a potion shop. Basically, like in Practical Magic, she had an apothecary shop. [00:36:43] Speaker B: Oh, okay. I need to go back and watch Practical Magic. I haven't seen it in so long. It's the best. Yeah, it was on TV not too long ago, and I caught the tail end of it, and all the witches kind of came together and were sweeping the. [00:36:57] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:36:57] Speaker B: You know, the dust and the bad energy out of the house. [00:37:00] Speaker C: They were actually just like. They weren't witches. They were just neighbors. They were women in the neighborhood. Yes. And so both Sandra and Nicole or Sally and Jillian, they were, like, trying to do this. This exorcism, and they needed more people or more women. [00:37:17] Speaker B: Okay. More female energy. [00:37:19] Speaker C: Yeah. So Sally went down the whole. What do they call call those? The school parent list. You know, so she basically, like, just called all these ladies. [00:37:29] Speaker B: Oh, I thought they were all witches. They were secretly witches or something. Okay. [00:37:33] Speaker C: No, so they knew about. They knew these. The two witches when they were young. And then they would, like, make all these jokes and be like, you witch. And then. [00:37:41] Speaker B: And they came to their rescue. [00:37:42] Speaker C: Then they came to their beautiful. So anyway, so that's kind of what happened at the end of it. I mean, they just. The witches came together and. And Jamie was like, I don't want to go see people and don't even give it. [00:37:55] Speaker B: We're going to get there. Was it the love it or leave it for you? [00:37:58] Speaker C: It was a leave it. It was a throw it out the door. [00:38:02] Speaker B: It was. Yeah, generally a leave it for me. I'm like, you know, if you want a very soft, almost saccharine sweet book that is like, the coziest thing you've ever read in your life. Yeah, you have. No, you Want no conflict, you want no tension. You want everything to just happen as it should, and you want it to be a fast read and you want no investment in the characters whatsoever. I think this is the perfect book for you. This is the perfect book for somebody who just wants to read a story. [00:38:37] Speaker C: Right, right, right. [00:38:38] Speaker B: Just to have a story. But there was. Yeah, for me, it was like a leave it. Just because I just had no investment at all in the story or any of the char whatsoever. Okay. So breaking it down a little bit for me, some of the elements. [00:38:54] Speaker C: Yeah, let's do it. [00:38:54] Speaker B: So love it. For me, I did actually like the witches and the magic. All the witches in the magic lore. I like that they were kind, loving witches who sadly didn't have a strong community because there was this, like, overarching belief that none of them could be together because of this, you know, unspoken rules that if they congregate for too long, their powers will be too strong and their secret will be out and all that stuff. But I did love that there were so many diverse witches of so many different, like, racial backgrounds, orientations, and that they actually, you know, when they're not. The whole thing with the witches in this book is that they meet on, like, the third Thursday of every third month. There is, like, that funny rule. [00:39:36] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:39:37] Speaker B: But I like that beyond that, they're all living their lives among everyday people while having these really cool gifts. Like, you know, Micah potion making. There's ward casting, and then, like, even Primrose with her memory influencing. I liked the magic of Nowhere House. I like that it was, like, warded from prying eyes and there was all this magic. You know, I liked the element of, like, Micah being really good at potions and, like, using so many fun things. Like, there is a. There is a. What was going on? There was something she was using. Stardust. [00:40:15] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:40:15] Speaker B: Like moon shavings one night when there was, like, this, you know, astronomical event that was going on. And I thought it was really cute and quaint that her little sedan was nicknamed Broomstick. [00:40:27] Speaker C: That was cute. [00:40:28] Speaker B: That was cute. I really liked that. So there were, like, very cute elements of the magic and the witchiness of the book. Like, that was all really fun and cute. It was a. Leave it for me with the witches that they die after giving birth to witches. [00:40:44] Speaker C: I know. [00:40:45] Speaker B: I didn't know, like, that was, like, wild to me because of some error in a long ago spel. I kind of wish that that had been, like, fixed in some way. I mean, that was probably the. The only way that A bow could be tied on this and make it even more of like just a. A sugary story. [00:41:03] Speaker C: You know what I will say. Then they would have the pregnancy trope. [00:41:07] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:41:08] Speaker C: Do you know what I mean? [00:41:08] Speaker B: Cancel it. Cancel it. Let's remove the last 30 seconds, I mean, of the podcast. [00:41:13] Speaker C: So it's like, why not have the witches die? [00:41:15] Speaker B: Yeah, you're right. You're right. [00:41:17] Speaker C: But, you know, so now it ended. [00:41:19] Speaker B: Up their own contraceptive time, right? [00:41:22] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, yeah. Well, no, I mean, I think, like, so the way it ended was like, okay, we're gonna raise these girls together, you know, which was sweet. But like. Yeah, I agree. It was like too sweet. [00:41:33] Speaker B: It was really sweet. I mean, like, painfully like, sweet tooth sweet. It's like, come on. Which leaves it to my next point about a. Leave it for me. And we can really dig into this. But the main male female characters of this book. Micah, love you to death. Jamie was the most boring man in the pages of a published book I've ever read in my life. [00:41:58] Speaker C: I know. [00:41:59] Speaker B: No chemistry with those two. [00:42:01] Speaker C: No chemistry. No. There was no wit to him. He never laughed. He always scowled, growled, huffed, puffed. I mean, it was just like, it was. I mean, and she only talked about like, oh, like, he's the most beautiful man I've ever seen. But, like, one time. [00:42:16] Speaker B: I don't believe it. [00:42:17] Speaker C: I know. I didn't believe it either. And I didn't believe it was either. [00:42:19] Speaker B: And I also, I hate to say this, and I hope, Lord forgive me, it doesn't get me canceled. I don't really like the idea of an Irish accent. Sorry, that's me. [00:42:27] Speaker C: Oh, that's interesting. I love the Irish accent. [00:42:29] Speaker B: I just, I. I don't know, I'm like, it's. There's too much in the throat for me. I don't know what's going on. [00:42:35] Speaker C: I mean, he actually had like a Northern Irish accent which is like very, very heavy. Like, almost like if you meet like a 90 year old man from Belfast, you're like, I don't. You're speaking it differently. [00:42:47] Speaker B: That's what I'm saying. I'm like, I. I don't know if it's gonna work for me. I don't know. Love you from. Love you from afar. [00:42:52] Speaker C: British accent. [00:42:53] Speaker B: Okay, yeah, yeah, I could do it, but I don't know. [00:42:56] Speaker C: I. So what's it, you know our boy Matthew. Good. [00:43:01] Speaker B: So. Okay, okay. I'm glad that you're bringing this up because I was thinking about this because he did that film like 15 years ago, it was with Amy Adams. And he had a. An Irish accent. And it was fine for me that there. But, like, am I seeking it out? Like, am I, like, going abroad being like, baby, give me that Irish accent. Fire that up now? No, I'm not doing that. You know, I'm saying this, and I'll probably fall in love with. I know that's my man. That's my baby over there. [00:43:31] Speaker C: God. Do you hear his accent? [00:43:34] Speaker B: People were like, deidre, is that English? And I'm like, you just don't understand him. [00:43:38] Speaker C: You just don't understand him. Yeah, yeah. I mean, I. So I will say another. Leave it for me. Was this setting, weirdly. Okay, so I did like her, like, their. Her room in the attic. But, like, they're just, you know, it was supposed to be this, like, very homey. And maybe it's just like my brain on romanticy is like, I need a war. You know? And, you know, I'm like, not very violent, but I like some violence. [00:44:05] Speaker B: You like. You like tension and conflict? [00:44:08] Speaker C: I like lots of conflict. I like yelling. This is very. Yeah, she just did that. [00:44:14] Speaker B: You do not like this in real life at all. [00:44:16] Speaker C: Not in real life, but, like, in. And the other thing is, I was like, I don't know. Jamie's a human, and I don't like that. [00:44:24] Speaker B: You just cannot have anything normal. [00:44:26] Speaker C: I know you don't like the Irish accent. I don't like the human. [00:44:32] Speaker B: Correct. So we don't like this man at all. [00:44:34] Speaker C: No, we do not like this man. [00:44:36] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:44:37] Speaker C: I will say, though, like, the magic was really cool. Like, the way that she would talk about how, like, magic, you know, they. We've seen this before. Like, the light calls to, like. [00:44:46] Speaker B: Right. [00:44:46] Speaker C: But, like, how, like, you have to be friends with the magic. It's air. Which I thought was like, a really cute way of describing it. [00:44:53] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:44:54] Speaker C: But otherwise, no. [00:44:55] Speaker B: Yeah, I like that, too. You know, with the magic. Yeah. It's like this gold dust that kind of covers people, and she understands that you kind of have to play with it. I also liked, you know, we talked about the carping broomstick. I like that she could cast it to go faster. I like that she could carry around, like, a magical compact greenhouse. I love that. You know, she named all of the koi fish, you know, after witches, which was really great. And even her dog, her beautiful. That's a love it for me this week is the animals. I thought, like, Cersei, her dog was the sweetest thing. Like, wonderful side character. And then all the koi Fish just being named after these, like, beautiful, you know, kind of cool witches was also an element. But that ties into the magic too. Of like. Yeah, there's a lot of just like really cool elements of the magic that they could do and the potions that she would cook up that, you know, was great. [00:45:48] Speaker C: And we haven't done a lot of. I don't think we've done any books about witches, but like the whole thing of like, you know, they really like having the window open. Like they're very like nature and plants and animals like that I really love too. [00:46:02] Speaker B: Yeah, absolutely. [00:46:04] Speaker C: Not that like fairies aren't, but, you know. [00:46:06] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. What will you do? [00:46:10] Speaker C: But I will say way. So our man, our book boyfriend, Mikey. [00:46:15] Speaker B: Oh, yeah. [00:46:16] Speaker C: Has a cat named Cersei. [00:46:18] Speaker B: I know. So sweet. [00:46:20] Speaker C: Just like the dog. [00:46:21] Speaker B: Yeah. Good. I mean, that's a good. That's a good sign. [00:46:23] Speaker C: Yeah, I. I mean, I read that and I was like, yeah, Just flipping through the pages. [00:46:28] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. It's interesting with this book because we talked about it's a general leave it for us. When I started out, I was like, oh, this is going to be like a really nice book. But it just was like boring overall to me. It was like, it was just too boring. Here's a. Love it for me. Okay. Supporting cast of characters gave this story a little bit of humor and soul that it needed. Specifically the elder and biracial gay couple of Ian and Ken. [00:46:51] Speaker C: Yes. [00:46:52] Speaker B: Very like fun characters that gave the story like humor and levity that we needed. [00:46:58] Speaker C: Loved Ken. [00:46:59] Speaker B: Lucy, we didn't see a lot of her justice for Lucy though, because there is. [00:47:04] Speaker C: I know. [00:47:04] Speaker B: Yep, there is. Do you know the part in the back? [00:47:06] Speaker C: I know the part where you're talking about. No. [00:47:08] Speaker B: There is a mention. They're basically all the people in this house. So, you know, there is. Micah moves in to help teach these kids. Jamie is the librarian, as Jillian said. And then there's Ian, Ken and Lucy who basically just act as like keepers of the home. Like they just kind of manage the house in some way. And Ian and Ken are married. Lucy is just kind of, you know, she's solo, but they're all around talking about the potential love and romance brewing between Micah and Jamie. And there is just this off color remark that Ian, mind you, an elderly man said, makes to Lucy a 56 year old woman who basically saying, young. She's young. By the way, let's make it be known, 56 is young. Basically saying that like love has kind of escaped her. She's old. Washed up in a spinster. And I was like, cancel, cancel order. Send it back. [00:48:00] Speaker C: Did not like that at all. I can't believe she put that is 2022. [00:48:04] Speaker B: I cannot. I was like, oh, I hate that so much. I hate that so much. [00:48:09] Speaker C: I'm like, oh, bad. [00:48:10] Speaker B: You act like she's like an 88 year old woman. Even men don't sit here and talk about a woman's inability to like be worthy of love. Like what is going on. [00:48:19] Speaker C: It like immediately takes away like all of her worth and I don't like that at all. Like she was like a. She was like a, you know, a dynamic. She's raising these three girls. [00:48:30] Speaker B: She's like the only mother figure that they've had and that they know and. [00:48:33] Speaker C: They don't really bring that up at all. [00:48:34] Speaker B: No. [00:48:35] Speaker C: So it's like she's the one who cleans the house and she's a Spencer and. And I fucking hate it. [00:48:39] Speaker B: I hated it. I was like, justice for Lucy. Yeah. I like as soon as that moment happened, it was all I could think about. [00:48:46] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. [00:48:46] Speaker B: Because I'm like, she deserves a love story too. [00:48:48] Speaker C: Oh my God. Yeah. [00:48:49] Speaker B: But this idea that like post the age of like 35 women are just like done. [00:48:54] Speaker C: Right, right, right, right. I hate that. You know what I will say about Jamie and about the story that I didn't love is like, were you in the beginning, like a little bit skeptical of like why is Jamie, Jamie, you know, like this 35 year old man who. [00:49:10] Speaker B: 35. I thought he was well into his 40s. [00:49:12] Speaker C: No. Or no, he's 36. Okay. Yeah. Is like taking care of these three girls. [00:49:17] Speaker B: I know. I'm like, are you all like. [00:49:21] Speaker C: I mean, I don't want to feel that way, but I was sort of like, what's going on? Like, why is. And it made sense in the end, like when they explained it, but I was sort of like, this is kind of. I don't know, this is odd. [00:49:33] Speaker B: I don't know that they. It rang in my spirit necessarily as I was reading that. I didn't necessarily pick up on that. But I see where you're coming from. [00:49:43] Speaker C: Yeah. I mean, maybe I'm just like. Yeah. [00:49:45] Speaker B: I mean, you know, don't trust. You can't trust these men. Yeah. I don't know. But Primrose, I loved her. [00:49:54] Speaker C: Love her. [00:49:55] Speaker B: What a blueprint for the life I want to live as an older woman for sure. She's like, I'll give a about this. I got money, I got homes. Not worried about this. You call me when you need me. I'll be around. Love you. [00:50:06] Speaker C: We're gonna go to. We're gonna go have tea and scones at a fancy restaurant. Yeah. [00:50:10] Speaker B: She, like, drives off when she's. Who knows where she goes? [00:50:12] Speaker C: Love it. [00:50:13] Speaker B: Who knows? It's nobody's business. No, she's just doing her damn thing. And then there were the honorable mentions, the diverse array of witches and their origins. There was a couple of witches that she ran into the book. There was one girl who was, like, Korean that she ran into with her girlfriend Hilda. Hilda. And then at. There was a witch that was. She's a black witch. And Rosetta was just like, oh, my. [00:50:37] Speaker C: God, was that Kate or. No, Belinda. Belinda. [00:50:43] Speaker B: Belinda. And Rosetta was just like, oh, my God, there's somebody that looks like me, and she's a witch. So from all the perspectives of, like, a representation perspective. I loved it. There was a lot of, like, this author was like, everybody's getting representation. [00:50:58] Speaker C: Yeah, Right, right, right, right, right. [00:51:00] Speaker B: Except for Lucy. [00:51:01] Speaker C: Except for. Except for Lucy. Except for Lucy. Honestly. Yep. [00:51:04] Speaker B: I hated that. I was like, how are you gonna do an older woman like that? [00:51:08] Speaker C: It was awful. Awful. I mean, they. I know the way that she was described. Like, I was expecting them to be like, oh, she's like, 70 or something. And they were like, she's 56. [00:51:18] Speaker B: So it's like, either like, the 56 just, you know, assigned to being a spinster for the rest of her life. Unlovable. Then there's also Primrose, who seems like an old, bitter, like, character who doesn't believe in love and togetherness and community. So it's like. It's like older women were just kind of. [00:51:34] Speaker C: I know. [00:51:35] Speaker B: They were like, you know, there's no. There's a coldness around that. [00:51:40] Speaker C: Yeah. O. I didn't like that at all. [00:51:42] Speaker B: No, I hated it. You know what else irritates out of me? You know, I'm ready to talk about these kids. [00:51:48] Speaker C: You know that. I mean, that this. The. The middle of child. She. She needed a ton talking to somebody. [00:51:55] Speaker B: Needs to get on that ass. [00:51:57] Speaker C: I know. [00:51:58] Speaker B: I was like, terra, she needs one time. One time to nip it. [00:52:02] Speaker C: Totally, totally. [00:52:03] Speaker B: We don't need to do nothing else beyond that, but somebody needs to, like, nip it in the bud. She was giving Wednesday Adams. That's kind of what she was giving. And I'm like. I know the intent here is to, like, make her a humorous character because she's so, like, murderous and. [00:52:18] Speaker C: Right. [00:52:18] Speaker B: But I'm actually very irritated by her behavioral issues, and everybody here should be concerned. [00:52:23] Speaker C: Yeah. And you know what? When they were, like, doing that whole thing, like, the. She was up in the tree, and then Micah came up to save her, and then they were like, their power was a storm or whatever. And it. It like, mentioned Micah had her, like, her fist balled up. [00:52:40] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:52:40] Speaker C: And I was like, did she just punch her in the face to stop. To stop the magic? And at that point. [00:52:47] Speaker B: Point I was like, maybe, Maybe. [00:52:49] Speaker C: But you know what, though? I feel like this author maybe didn't know children because the developmental stages were kind of off, you know, of like Altamira, for sure. Like, she talked like. And I know, you know, you know, my oldest niece, You've met her. Like, she is like a, you know, a grown woman, but they. It's not like she doesn't really talk like that. [00:53:15] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:53:15] Speaker C: You know, it was like two and then. And then Rosette was, like, too immature, meaning not too mature for the 10 year old. You know, she's felt more like a 12, 13 year old. I don't know. [00:53:29] Speaker B: Yeah. I just was like, I. I was most connected to Rosetta. I wanted good things for Rosetta. We saw a little bit more for. For and from Rosetta as a character. I felt bad. I mean, you know, they're basically just in seclusion. They had no friends other than themselves. So there's like a moment where they take Rosetta out to a bookstore. I was nerv. Because I'm like, her power's about to just pop off. [00:53:52] Speaker C: I mean, something's gonna happen. [00:53:53] Speaker B: They just, like, smoothed over that. But, yeah, I just was like, I don't know. I know that these characters are supposed to endear us to the story and to them, but I just. I didn't feel connected. But that's me. [00:54:06] Speaker C: No, I didn't either. I mean, I think I'm not there for, like, childcare. Do you know what I mean? Like, I'm not reading these books for that. [00:54:15] Speaker B: For nanny, you know, I'm not here for childcare under anything. [00:54:18] Speaker C: I know, I know. But, like, it's like, great. Okay, but. But it's. It's, like boring to me. [00:54:24] Speaker B: It was, you know. Yes. Okay, I think we need to go really quick. I have one last. Leave it. But we need to talk about the sex scene. [00:54:33] Speaker C: Boring. [00:54:34] Speaker B: First of all, a paragraph. [00:54:37] Speaker C: And it was basically like. Like, he pulled down his pants. Pulled down his pants. Yada, yada, yada. One thrust, two thrust. And then put his pants back on. [00:54:49] Speaker B: It wasn't even two thrusts, Jillian. It Was one thrust. Shut up, Jillian. One. I was like, what? [00:54:54] Speaker C: And then all of a sudden, he gets off her and he puts his. [00:54:56] Speaker B: Pants on, then lays back in the bed with his outside clothes on. [00:54:59] Speaker C: Exactly what I thought. [00:55:00] Speaker B: You don't do outside clothes, Jillian. I went back and reread the whole scene because I can't be reading this. Right. [00:55:07] Speaker C: Oh, my God. [00:55:08] Speaker B: This man cannot be in the 600 thread count sheets with his dungarees on. [00:55:14] Speaker C: No. [00:55:14] Speaker B: Oh. [00:55:15] Speaker C: Oh, my God. I know. I was horrified. I think that was like the. The moment that I was like, I'm done. I'm done with this. [00:55:22] Speaker B: And I'm like, you just lay there and cuddle each other in your jeans. [00:55:25] Speaker C: In your. It's so weird. [00:55:27] Speaker B: I said, where. How did this not make it. How did this make it through the editors? [00:55:31] Speaker C: Also, I want to say she wasn't ready. Do you know what I mean? There wasn't enough time. [00:55:35] Speaker B: There wasn't. [00:55:38] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:55:38] Speaker B: What I found interesting was like the same speeds spell in this book. [00:55:42] Speaker C: She. [00:55:43] Speaker B: There would be moments in the story where she would just speed through it. [00:55:46] Speaker C: Yeah. Yada, yada, yada. And this happened. [00:55:49] Speaker B: He made up with his family. [00:55:50] Speaker C: Boom. Yeah. She. [00:55:53] Speaker B: The. The lawyer came, saw, went, got sent him home. Boom. It was so done. [00:55:58] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:55:58] Speaker B: Like there was no, like deep ex. Exploration of these moments that you. We were building towards. [00:56:04] Speaker C: Right, right, right. [00:56:05] Speaker B: She would just smooth through them, like even preparing for the solicitor's visit. It was like winter solstice came, we opened gifts. [00:56:13] Speaker C: Boom. [00:56:13] Speaker B: Done. [00:56:13] Speaker C: Right, right. [00:56:15] Speaker B: It was just like. It was. There were moments where she just breezed through things. And the sex scene was no different. [00:56:20] Speaker C: It was. I mean, it was terrible. [00:56:22] Speaker B: He was. It. Jamie was a one pump chump. [00:56:25] Speaker C: He was a one pump chump. [00:56:27] Speaker B: You know, that makes me think. I'm gonna sing into the microphone. [00:56:29] Speaker C: Do it. [00:56:30] Speaker B: It makes me think of the 2001 Missy Elliott hit featuring Twitter tweet where she's like, oh, I don't want. I don't need. I can say no minute. I don't want no minute man. 12 year old me had no business singing that song. But now I will sing that song. I will do the dance routines. But when I read that whole scene, I was like, not a one minute man. [00:56:54] Speaker C: No one. I mean, if that, if that. [00:56:58] Speaker B: I'm giving it about 30 seconds. [00:56:59] Speaker C: I know. [00:57:00] Speaker B: 37 seconds. Seconds max. [00:57:02] Speaker C: God. I know. It was terrible. It was terrible. [00:57:05] Speaker B: First of all, he had no personality. They had no chemistry. He was. He's like a 40. He's a. Well, you've corrected me. He's a 36 year old, like, just. [00:57:15] Speaker C: Librarian. [00:57:16] Speaker B: Librarian, recluse. [00:57:17] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Who doesn't want to socialize with people. Yeah. [00:57:20] Speaker B: And she's like, that's my man right there. Whip it out, whip it out. [00:57:25] Speaker C: I hate, hated it. [00:57:27] Speaker B: It was awful. [00:57:27] Speaker C: I hated it. Yeah. I'm sorry, Micah, but you're a witch. There's a lot more out there. [00:57:34] Speaker B: I'm like, girl, get a little situation going with your hands. Get some magic going. Seriously. And go like the rest of us. Go to sleep. [00:57:41] Speaker C: I know. Without those dirty jeans next to you. [00:57:45] Speaker B: No, no. I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep if a man was in my bed. [00:57:49] Speaker C: Oh, my God. [00:57:51] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:57:51] Speaker C: Excuse me. [00:57:52] Speaker B: Do you have somewhere to go? [00:57:53] Speaker C: I mean, I have somewhere to be. I have definitely, like, said that anyone who's ever sat on my bed with any outside clothes on, I'm like, are you a psychopath? [00:58:02] Speaker B: Well, I hate to tell you. [00:58:02] Speaker C: Yes, I know I should ask that in, like, assessments. Like, do you sit on your bed. [00:58:10] Speaker B: In your outside clothes? [00:58:11] Speaker C: No. [00:58:12] Speaker B: A bed? [00:58:12] Speaker C: No. [00:58:13] Speaker B: Under the covers? [00:58:14] Speaker C: No. Even on the covers. You know, when I go to a hotel, you know, I'm not touching that duvet. Honestly, I'm bringing my own sheets. Like, tell you, I'm not even touching those sheets. But, like, gross. [00:58:26] Speaker B: No. Not. Not a. Not a pair of Levi's jeans up in between the sheets. [00:58:34] Speaker C: No. After you spent the day, like, on the bus. On the. No. [00:58:39] Speaker B: Can you imagine a man traversing across Chicago and then coming. Stop. [00:58:43] Speaker C: Stop. [00:58:44] Speaker B: To your home and getting between your sheets? [00:58:46] Speaker C: No. [00:58:47] Speaker B: Just bring the Hazmat crew in. Just bring them in now. [00:58:51] Speaker C: I will say that. Luna. I don't. I mean, I wipe her feet off. I wipe everything. But, like, also, I'm like, get up here, girl. [00:58:58] Speaker B: Yeah, it's warmed up for you. [00:59:01] Speaker C: She's a city girl. [00:59:02] Speaker B: That's fine. [00:59:02] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:59:02] Speaker B: That's my baby. [00:59:03] Speaker C: I know. [00:59:05] Speaker B: Can't. There's nothing. There's nothing bad to say about her being up in between my sheets. And that's just what it is. Okay. My last and final. Leave it. [00:59:14] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:59:14] Speaker B: Mine personally, is why did they not investigate Lillian's death? [00:59:18] Speaker C: Okay, I. [00:59:21] Speaker B: This woman died. [00:59:23] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:59:23] Speaker B: Like, just a minute in her home. And they were like, we gotta bury her. They didn't do an autopsy. They didn't explore it. [00:59:30] Speaker C: Didn't they do that? [00:59:31] Speaker B: Well, they were scared because they were like, okay, well, they're immediately going to enact her will. But I'm like, yeah, we figure out how she died. [00:59:38] Speaker C: I know. [00:59:38] Speaker B: I thought that Primrose would at least be like, levitate the body and be like, let me take this on back. [00:59:43] Speaker C: I know what's going on. I know. But I mean, I think. I mean, then I was like, oh, my God. You know those girl. Which was weird. Those girls dressed the skeleton up. I don't understand what that was. [00:59:52] Speaker B: I was like, we don't need that. [00:59:54] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:59:54] Speaker B: I've watched enough true crime documentaries to know, though, that now that it's in its skeletal state, we can't tell the cause of death. So maybe that's. That's why I'm thinking about that right. [01:00:02] Speaker C: Now, to know that. What about, like, archaeologists that are, like, finding bones from. [01:00:06] Speaker B: I mean. Yeah. If there's like a. Like blunt force trauma against the bone, but like, they were poisoned or there's some other thing. [01:00:13] Speaker C: Right, right, right. There's no way. [01:00:14] Speaker B: Sorry. [01:00:14] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:00:15] Speaker B: It's catching to the wind. I just don't know. God bless. [01:00:20] Speaker C: Maybe someday, you know. [01:00:21] Speaker B: Yeah. But justice for Lillian, too. Again, another woman and another older woman getting the shaft. And not a good way. [01:00:30] Speaker C: No, not in a good way. Being told she can't get the shaft. Yeah. Yeah. [01:00:35] Speaker B: Sorry, girl. Hate to see it. [01:00:37] Speaker C: Didn't like it. [01:00:37] Speaker B: All these people that you've given a home to buried you back there in the sunflower feet. [01:00:41] Speaker C: Oh, my God. [01:00:42] Speaker B: Can you imagine? [01:00:43] Speaker C: I know. There was, like, no emotion to it either. It was just sort of like Lillian died and we buried her body. It was like there was nothing. It's sad about it. Yeah. [01:00:52] Speaker B: And they turned to each other like, put the kettle on. [01:00:53] Speaker C: Yeah. I think we need another. A cup of tea. [01:00:57] Speaker B: Cup of tea. Fashion. The cup of tea. Cup of tea, love. I love your British accent. It's a non existent British accent. I did not go over there and offend those people by trying. Right, right. Like, get. [01:01:11] Speaker C: Yeah. Here. Oh, my God. [01:01:14] Speaker B: So, all in all, I'll leave it for me. Anything else for you? Any other elements? [01:01:19] Speaker C: No, I think that was it. Yeah. I think that was the. Leave it. Yeah, Just leave it. [01:01:24] Speaker B: Shout it if you. Again, if you want, like a little sweet treat. [01:01:28] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. [01:01:30] Speaker B: And you don't want to think about it. [01:01:31] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:01:32] Speaker B: That this is the one for you. I don't. I won't be revisiting this one, I don't think. [01:01:37] Speaker C: No. You know, and I was even thinking about this, and I like, you read more like romance than I do. You know, Just like straight up a bad name. [01:01:46] Speaker B: You should know. You should know because I gave this a bad name. [01:01:48] Speaker C: Okay. Because I was like, well, this is Why? I read fantasy. [01:01:51] Speaker B: No. [01:01:52] Speaker C: You know, because I, like, need the attention in romance. [01:01:55] Speaker B: More contemporary. There is tension. [01:01:57] Speaker C: Okay. [01:01:58] Speaker B: Yeah. Okay. It might not be, like, people sparring and cutting wings off and. [01:02:02] Speaker C: Right, right. [01:02:03] Speaker B: You know, doing all that stuff, but there is a healthy dose of tension in a lot of the more modern romance novels. [01:02:12] Speaker C: I mean, the thing is. Yeah, there was, like, no plot with this one. There was no, you know, problem really to work out. Yeah. [01:02:20] Speaker B: So as one contemporary romance reader, to you, the romantic, like, purist, I would say. Yeah. This wasn't a good representation of the genre. Raw, but good. Yeah. It was a romance, I would say, with just a little moondust romance magic. [01:02:38] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:02:39] Speaker B: Sprinkled in, but nothing to, like, really take us over the line. [01:02:43] Speaker C: Yeah. Nothing. I would be like, you have to read this. [01:02:45] Speaker B: Yeah. Right. [01:02:46] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:02:46] Speaker B: Okay, well, listen. And you know this, but in the game this week, and we all know you love your dirty dozen and your mask, we have got quite the story to tell, and you might want to saddle up, because it's a good one. So last week, Jillian, I were invited to Lila Bond, a clothing boutique here. And I say Lila Bun because I looked at the pronunciation of Lila Bond. It's Swedish. Yeah. Bon is child. [01:03:17] Speaker C: Barn is Bun Bun. [01:03:19] Speaker B: Lila Bun. [01:03:20] Speaker C: Oh, Lila Bun. [01:03:21] Speaker B: Lila Bun, a clothing boutique here in the Andersonville neighborhood of Chicago. We were invited as special guests for this. You were like, what? [01:03:29] Speaker C: We didn't. We didn't show up. We were invited. [01:03:30] Speaker B: We were invited, a special guest for their second smutty book swap event. And we just want to give a major shout out to Bergen Anderson, the founder of Lilibon, for her continued support of us as fellow female entrepreneurs. [01:03:46] Speaker C: So great. [01:03:47] Speaker B: Just as podcasters and for inviting us to such a special event and being a part of it. [01:03:51] Speaker C: Yeah, she was. Yes. I mean, she was amazing. She really did curate, like, a very, very, like, warm, supportive experience. [01:03:59] Speaker B: She did. [01:04:00] Speaker C: So what a. What a great time, right? [01:04:02] Speaker B: Yeah, I loved it. [01:04:03] Speaker C: It was amazing. [01:04:04] Speaker B: Lots of really great people in attendance. I bought the. Oh, my God. Okay, first of all, you know, we've been reading. I've been reading a lot of these books on Kindle, so I have not had a lot of time. I. I do not get in my mind how big the tones. [01:04:19] Speaker C: Oh, yeah, they're big. [01:04:21] Speaker B: And I bought the. The soft cover of Quicksilver. [01:04:25] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:04:25] Speaker B: To. I was like, okay, I'm gonna buy this and I'm gonna bring it. And I couldn't even. Massive, really. But I put it on the table for the book swap, and I noticed at the end of the night, Quicksilver was gone. So somebody's out there getting it in, enjoying it with our boy. [01:04:40] Speaker C: Quicksilver. Wow. [01:04:41] Speaker B: King Fisher. [01:04:42] Speaker C: Kingfisher. [01:04:43] Speaker B: Hopefully, once she finishes the book, she'll come back and listen to our Quicksilver episode. [01:04:47] Speaker C: Yes. Yes. That was the dirtiest of the dirty. [01:04:50] Speaker B: Design compared to what we just read, which is like a one pump and one pump and back to sleep. [01:04:59] Speaker C: No, no dirty jeans. No, no, thanks. [01:05:03] Speaker B: Yeah, no, don't want it. [01:05:04] Speaker C: You know, there's, like, grease in the sheets then. [01:05:06] Speaker B: So anyway, with our story, there's all types of mites. Anyway, anyway, okay, so with this event, it was wonderful. Really great participation. Jillian and I had a really great time just immersing ourselves in the community, I think. [01:05:23] Speaker C: Yeah, for sure. It was, like, one of the first, like, events we went to. [01:05:27] Speaker B: The first. We had a lot of fun preparing for it and ultimately bringing it to life, which I think is great that. [01:05:35] Speaker C: Like, everybody there was, like, down to, like, yeah, sure, I'll do a reading. And I mean, it was great. [01:05:41] Speaker B: Exactly. Exactly. [01:05:43] Speaker C: Yeah. So, okay, so it wouldn't be us if we didn't bring the fun. So as part of our very special presentation, we asked the book swap attendees to help us go craft our very own romantic story by playing a rousing game of Smutty Mad Libs. [01:06:00] Speaker B: The. The people loved it. Don't you think they loved it? It was such a great time. [01:06:03] Speaker C: For sure. [01:06:04] Speaker B: Yeah, it was such a great time, and I'm really glad that we had that. Everybody was, like, down to play. Play it. It was really great also, Jillian, because what we did, we walked around the room and we had participants choose words out of a magic challenge. [01:06:19] Speaker C: Magic chalice. Yep. Yep. There was a little cattywampus from. It was 8 or 12 from home goods, but shouldn't be saying that. [01:06:27] Speaker B: It was still magical. [01:06:29] Speaker C: It was magical. [01:06:29] Speaker B: You can get magical cattywampus, twelve dollar chalices from anywhere. You don't know where magic is gonna find you, but the character or the. Well, the participants were very down for the cause. And you. You also, like, cut the. The words out on, like, very cool parchment paper. [01:06:45] Speaker C: Parchment paper. [01:06:46] Speaker B: Like, the. The font was, like, a very cool, like. And we were the sorceresses for the evening. [01:06:51] Speaker C: We were really amazing sorceresses. Yeah, I know. [01:06:55] Speaker B: We were dressed the part. I was in a denim romper. [01:06:57] Speaker C: I. Yeah, yeah. [01:06:58] Speaker B: Like any sorceress. [01:06:59] Speaker C: Yep. [01:07:00] Speaker B: Of the modern age. [01:07:01] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah. Oh, my God. We should really play up with. Play up that, like, do that somewhere. Yeah. [01:07:07] Speaker B: We'll figure it out. We could take that on the road. Yeah, well. So, without further ado, we are proud to present a very live reading of a quarter cat. Cowboys and demon Lords. Did you like that? Yeah, I did a spellbound Romany. And here we go. [01:07:23] Speaker C: Here we go. Okay, so it is a court of cowboys. Yeah. And demon lords. [01:07:38] Speaker B: Love that. Love that. [01:07:40] Speaker C: Courts of cowboys and Demon Lords. Paragraph one. In the mystical land of Wegovy, a trembling mage named Rowan lived in a towering silk rope shaped like a climax crystal. Known for their ability to enchant forbidden spells and seduce with just a glance, they spend most days riding their wanton collection of enchanted chalices. Ooh. One blood soaked night, as thunder sizzled through the sky, a cloaked figure burst through the spellbook, holding a glowing thigh and moaning, I need you to whip this into the sacred goblet or the realm is doomed. They were wet, winded and wildly wicked. [01:08:28] Speaker B: Yeah. [01:08:29] Speaker C: Rowan smirked, tossed their dagger, and slowly purred toward the stranger, whispering, you should know, I don't obey on the first quest unless you bring wine. The stranger responded by removing their potion, revealing a dripping symbol glowing across their member. Not a member. With urgency and haste, they began the rituals. Candles were lit, potions were stirred, and at one point, someone definitely throbbed on a moonstone by accident. Still, engine felt like a charged enchanted mirror. Every spell cast with increasing dominance and every glance thick with breathless promise turned into teasing. During a heated quiver duel, the stranger nearly thrusted when Rowan shouted, you call that that a thrust? Tease harder, damn it. The room filled with magical moans and the soft thud of collapsing rooms. Ooh. Okay, you got the roll. Then came a loud moan and an explosive arrival. The villain, Johnny Depp and Chaos Conjurer screamed, you stole my wand and my saddle. [01:09:54] Speaker B: There's the cowboy. There's the cowboy. [01:09:57] Speaker C: A spell duel erupted, wands flaring, bodies pulsing, and someone accidentally turning a tingle into a very aggressive fox. When the dust cleared and the sapphire stopped pulsing, only passion remained. So the stranger murmured, murmured, lips brushing against a trembling ankle. Does this mean we're bonded now? Rowan grinned, whispered a slick spell, and replied, not yet, darling, but let's make sure it sticks. How great was that? [01:10:33] Speaker B: Amazing. [01:10:34] Speaker C: It was amazing. [01:10:35] Speaker B: What a story. It's flying off the shelves. New York Times number one bestseller. Sarah J. Maas is shaking her boots. [01:10:42] Speaker C: We had some great actresses. I mean, it was amazing. [01:10:45] Speaker B: I mean, everybody's got a career in voiceovers for romance. Voice acting. [01:10:50] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [01:10:51] Speaker B: Everybody in it. What was my favorite word out of that? It was Like Climax Crystal. [01:10:58] Speaker C: Oh, Climax Crystal. I loved that one. Yeah. [01:11:01] Speaker B: Wet and Wicked was also. [01:11:04] Speaker C: Yep. The villain Johnny Depp. [01:11:05] Speaker B: Villain Johnny Depp. Always a villain. Villain in anybody's story. I do. [01:11:10] Speaker C: Everybody's. [01:11:11] Speaker B: Everybody. Well, great. Well, I think that does it for today's episode. [01:11:17] Speaker C: I think that does it for today's episode. [01:11:19] Speaker B: Okay. Well, thank you for tuning in to our minisode. As always, if you are feeling the vibe, rate and subscribe. Like we mentioned earlier, we are taking a bit of a summer break. Jillian and I are putting our heads together to see how we can continue to bring you really great content in future episodes. But don't fret. We will be back. Yes. To our usual yapping in just a few short weeks. [01:11:45] Speaker C: Yeah. And as always, thank you to Christian McCann for keeping our sound in check. And to the illustrious Lincoln Lodge in Chicago, Illinois, for letting us do our thing. [01:11:54] Speaker B: And also, we'd be remiss if we didn't ask our resident book boyfriend, Christian, to tell us about an upcoming. He's a. He's a musician. What more do you want out of a book boyfriend than a man who tickles the ivories? [01:12:06] Speaker C: We got piano man. [01:12:07] Speaker B: Christian, tell us about your upcoming event. [01:12:09] Speaker A: Yeah. Myself and the charming and talented Christian Borky have a dueling piano show called Christian and Christian Dueling Pianos. We've been doing for a few years now. [01:12:18] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:12:18] Speaker A: And we're doing a cabaret show on the 31st of July from 7 to 11 o'. [01:12:23] Speaker B: Clock. We'll be there. [01:12:25] Speaker C: We will absolutely be there. [01:12:26] Speaker B: Christian and Christian Dueling Pianos. Sounds like its own little, you know, romance. [01:12:31] Speaker A: It's a good time. We're gonna have some. Some of our friends are gonna come do some stand up. There's gonna be some poetry reading. We'll be on the pianos the whole time. It's kind of like one of those deals. You buy a ticket, you come and go as you please. You don't have to be there for four hours. You can if you want, you know. [01:12:44] Speaker C: Okay. [01:12:45] Speaker A: The whole thing's gonna be a banger, but I realize that that's a long time. [01:12:48] Speaker B: Whoa. [01:12:49] Speaker C: Okay. All right. [01:12:50] Speaker B: We love it. [01:12:50] Speaker C: Well, we're gonna. [01:12:51] Speaker B: We're proud of you. [01:12:51] Speaker C: Yeah. [01:12:52] Speaker B: A man of the arts. [01:12:53] Speaker C: Get. Get prepared. [01:12:54] Speaker B: Yes. Okay. Well, until next time. [01:12:56] Speaker C: By.