Allbooked

Cherie and Lisa discuss (after)life, love, and running a customer service desk in For Whom the Belle Tolls by Jaysea Lynn.

Katie and Lesley talk about two books that qualify for the Goodreads "Star Selections" challenge, a mythical retelling called A Song to Drown Rivers by Ann Liang and an award-winning Polish mystery called Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk.

Katie reviews Operation Bounce House by Matt Dinniman, a new standalone science fiction novel by the writer of Dungeon Crawler Carl.

Lesley reviews Catriona Ward's newest novel, Nowhere Burning. Set to come out on February 24, 2026, Nowhere Burning is a dark and twisty psychological horror loosely inspired by Peter Pan. 

Katie and Lesley share a list of favorite books of 2025, with features from Dani and Donald. Find out what stood out to us this year, and what we're looking forward to in 2026. 

Erline joins us to discuss Octavia Butler -- not her works of fiction, but her life as told in the new biography written by Susana M. Morris, Positive Obsession. 

Our resident manga experts Dani and Percy come to discuss their favorite manga, from the first manga they every picked up to the ones they're keeping tabs on right now.  Titles recommended:  One-Punch Man One Piece Skip Beat! Kitchen Princess Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun Soul Eater Tinker Bell's Secret Miss Not-So-Sidekick The Boy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Boy At All Sakamoto Days A Man and His Cat Library Wars Absolute Boyfriend Full Metal Alchemist

Jake joins us to discuss family dysfunction and Italian ghosts in Jennifer Thorne's gothic horror novel, Diavola.

We're back after a short break with Cherie to review Lynn Painter's new rom-com, Maid for Each Other. 

Sara joins us to talk about a book that got her out of her Romantasy reading slump, Shield of Sparrows by Devney Perry. 

Lisa and Katie review the road trip rom-com Anywhere With You by debut author Margo Glynn, featuring Roswell, a variety of Southeastern wildlife, and a viral social media account created to make your ex(es) jealous. 

Rachelle joins us for her debut episode to talk about Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. She and Lesley touch on strained family dynamics, how cool astronauts are, and an epic ending that kept a whole book club on the edge of their seats.

Jake and Katie talk about the top ten reasons you should reconsider a descent into hell to rescue your thesis professor (eg. a lot of math, chthonic dogs, an eventual rivals to lovers romance). Their only cited source is R. F. Kuang's dark academia book, Katabasis. 

Katie and Sara both read a cozy, funny fantasy romance by M. Stevenson called Behooved. It's a LadyHawke situation.

Cherie reviews an action-packed dark sci-fi novel called Not That Kind of Good Guy by John Ringo.

Kathy discusses power, identity, and the cost of change in Red Rising, a 2014 action-packed dystopian sci-fi novel by Pierce Brown that is the start of a seven book saga.

Jake, Dani, Lesley, and Katie talk about some of their favorite vampire reads from this year. We cover Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab, Hungerstone by Kat Dunn, The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones, and Of Monsters and Mainframes by Barbara Truelove. There's something on this list for everyone! 

Dani brings Shadow of the Leviathan by Robert Jackson Bennett, a science fiction series and a retelling of The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes that features a locked room mystery, murder by tree, and a surprising amount of algae. 

Erline reviews one of her must-read authors, Stephen King, and has some things to say about Never Flinch, the latest in the Holly Gibney series.

Avid Discworld fan Cherie joins us to provide three possible entries into the beloved universe of Terry Pratchett's Discworld series.