Book Bits & Chill

Emma Brodie, author of Into the Blue, sits down with us to talk about writing a fictional fandom that feels completely real, the improv background behind AJ and Noah's connection, why she chose to market this as a love story instead of a novel, and THAT ending that we're still processing. Plus the origin of the hairdryer, her honest take on the romantasy crossover, and the TV adaptation news we're manifesting as super fans of this book. Spoiler territory starts about halfway through, you've been warned.
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It's time for another Monthly Reading Wrap Up!
July gave us everything... new obsessions, unexpected disappointments, emotional damage, and a few books we already know we'll be recommending for a long time.
This week we're sharing everything we read in July, including our biggest surprises, books that lived up to the hype (and ones that maybe didn't), before building our August TBR featuring BookTok favorites, romance, fantasy, literary fiction, and the books we're most excited to pick up next.
Books Mentioned:
 • Games: A Love Story
 • Along Came Amor
 • Burn Down Master's House
 • The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion
 • Ballad of the Falling Dragons
 • The Paradise Problem
 • This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me
 • On Mystic Lake
 • The Good Parts
 • Big Fan
 • Piranesi
 • The Alchemist
 • Love Hypothesis
 • Razorblade Tears
 • The Shampoo Effect
 • Little Wonder
 • Evenings and Weekends
Whether you're looking for your next romance, fantasy, literary fiction, or emotional read, we've got plenty of recommendations.
💛 And if you're looking for more book recommendations, author interviews, and weekly conversations that feel like chatting with your book besties, make sure to subscribe and join us every week.
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Is Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey a faithful adaptation, or did he rewrite Homer for the algorithm? 
We saw it opening weekend expecting a straightforward book to screen discussion and left with a full spoiler breakdown instead. In this episode we get into Matt Damon's performance, the Cyclops scene that had us covering our eyes, the sirens moment the internet cannot stop talking about, and why the American accents have everyone online so fired up. 
We also rank our favorite scenes, make some very confident Oscar predictions, and give you our book recommendations if you loved the vibes and want more siren lore, more Circe, or more Penelope. Full spoilers ahead, you've been warned.
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This week on Book Bits & Chill, we're sharing our ultimate spicy romance guide by ranking 12 of our favorite romance books from Entry, Intermediate, and Expert spice. From beach reads and vacation romances to cowboys, billionaires, romantasy, and books that will have you checking the trigger warnings twice, we're helping you find your perfect summer read.
We're talking fake dating on a lake, Sicily vacations, cowboy ranches, Olympic athletes, romantasy with primal play, rock stars, private jets, and everything in between. Plus, we debate what actually makes a romance book "spicy" and discover that Emily's spice scale might not be the same as everyone else's.
Whether you're reading by the pool, packing for vacation, heading to the beach, or just trying to mentally escape your air-conditioned house, this episode is packed with romance recommendations for your summer TBR.
Books Mentioned:
• Funny Story by Emily Henry
• Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood
• One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
• Wild and Wrangled by Lyla Sage
• Along Came Amor by Alexis Daria
• Deep End by Ali Hazelwood
• Fall of Ruin and Wrath by Jennifer L. Armentrout
• Games: A Love Story by Anna Maria Volkova
• The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson
• Backstage Pass by Olivia Cunning
• Chasing the Wild by Elliott Rose
• In Flight by R.K. Lilley
✨ Let us know in the comments:
 What's your romance spice level: Entry, Intermediate, or Expert?
If you enjoyed today's episode, don't forget to subscribe for new book recommendations, reading guides, author interviews, BookTok discussions, and all things romance, romantasy, and reading every week.
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Kalie Cassidy, author of the Siren Mage duology, joins us to talk sirens, sea monsters, and the morally gray heroine everyone in the romantasy space cannot stop talking about.
We get into how Kalie built the world of In the Veins of the Drowning and In the Wake of the Ruined out of a lifelong obsession with Greek mythology, why she committed to telling Imogen's story in two books instead of stretching it into a trilogy, and how her background as a theater actor shapes the way she writes tension, pacing, and atmosphere. We also talk about Theo, the yearning that has completely taken over our brains, and what it actually takes to write a slow burn where the tension never lets up.
This is a must listen if you love dark fantasy romance, morally gray heroines, forced proximity, or a slow burn that actually delivers. In the Wake of the Ruined is out now, so grab a copy first if you want to stay fully spoiler free.
Follow Kalie Cassidy on Instagram @kaliecassidybooks for updates on her next project.
New episodes of Book Bits & Chill every week. Follow along for honest book talk, reading recs, and the occasional unhinged Google search history.
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