Busy Girls Book Club

If you're around the age of 30, then "Happy Place" by Emily Henry might be a bit of a punch to the gut. The struggles of the characters hit a little close to home. But does the emotion of the book excuse leaning heavily on rom-com tropes?

Katharine's mom joins the Busy Girls for a discussion of Reese's Book Club pick "The Christie Affair" by Nina de Gramont. This book is historical fiction imagining what happened in the very real 10 days where author Agatha Christie disappeared with no explanation. It's told from her husband's mistress' perspective and tackles war, loss, PTSD and the dark side of Irish orphanages. It also includes a solid Christie-esque mystery.

BookTok is doing its best to fill the SJM void. Another attempt to help fantasy readers is "Trial of the Sun Queen" by Nisha J. Tuli. It's another trial-based fantasy book with sexy fae men. However, there are some very dark undertones with some topics that need a trigger warning.

In the ACOTAR void, many people are recommending turning to Sarah J. Maas' other series, "Throne of Glass." But it may be a really abrupt switch for people expecting more of the same who end up reading YA. So, the Busy Girls tackle the first book and the namesake of the series.

STEMinism and STEM romance was such a hit last time, so it had to make a comeback. This time with Ali Hazelwood's "Love on the Brain." The Busy Girls all agree they prefer it to "Love Hypothesis," but that comes with some caveats.

If you are on social media at all, even if it's not book social media, you've heard about "Fourth Wing" by Rebecca Yarros. This is the most viral book in years. So of course the Busy Girls had to read and review. You'll definitely want to jump on this one.

Space necromancers. Do we have your attention? Diving into Tamsyn Muir's "Gideon the Ninth" is confusing, but worth it? The adventures of Gideon and Harrow are crude and comical, yet written with sophisticated language. This is a weird one, but the Busy Girls are intrigued.

What causes a book written in 1992 to suddenly become a lingering BookTok sensation around 2022? "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt is quite the curiosity for that reason. This episode gets down to the answer, and provides a Busy Girl first.

The stakes are high and the food is good in "Six Crimson Cranes" by Elizabeth Lim. A princess is aided by a dragon to break a curse on her and her brothers, and while the adventure is somewhat predictable, it's incredibly wholesome. This YA fantasy read is a good discussion to listen in on, no matter your age.

Carissa Broadbent's second Crowns of Nyaxia book had a lot to live up to after the smashing success of the first. While still a good fantasy book, the hosts pick apart what could have been improved had the books not been a duology within a series.