Rachele and Becky end the year with a bang with the seventh rendition of the Besties Reading Challenge, and discuss their plans for the rest of December!
All the books we mentioned:
Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Two Can Play by Ali Hazelwood
Bride by Ali Hazelwood
The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Sociopath by Patric Gagne
The Wager by David Grann
Murder at the Lobstah Shack by Maddie Day
If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Jane Austen’s Bookshelf by Rebecca Romney
The Games Gods Play by Abigail Owen
The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
Wild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghy
The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas
Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler
Everyone on This Train Is a Suspect by Benjamin Stevenson
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Atonement by Ian McEwan
The Lost Village by Camilla Sten
Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater
A Fate Inked in Blood by Danielle L. Jensen
Mate by Ali Hazelwood
Alchemised by SenLinYu
Semi-Well Adjusted Despite Literally Everything by Alison Stoner
Finding My Way by Malala Yousafzai
Second Chance Romance by Olivia Dade
_______
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Rachele and Becky catch up on all they've been reading the past month and discuss the schedule for the last episode of the year!
All the books we mentioned:
The Thursday Murder Club by Richard OsmanKillers of a Certain Age by Deanna RaybournProject Hail Mary by Andy WeirThe September House by Carissa OrlandoForbidden Alchemy by Stacey McEwanThe Love of My Afterlife by Kirsty GreenwoodRemarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van PeltTold You So by Mayci NeeleyA Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky ChambersA Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky ChambersThe Deep by Nick CutterI Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline HarpmanForged in Blood by Sadie KincaidThe Hurting Kind by Ada LimónEmily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Fairies by Heather FawcettAgnes Albert’s Mystical Cat Shelter by Heather FawcettThe Lost Village by Camilla StenThe Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret AtwoodStation Eleven by Emily St. John MandelThe Only One Left by Riley SagerAtonement by Ian McEwanMidnight at Eberly Manor by K. P. GillespieWild Dark Shore by Charlotte McConaghyAlchemised by SenLinYuFive Prickly Porcupines
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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A very exciting episode where Becky & Rachele interview the father-daughter pair that co-owns Bigfoot Books & Brews, a new indie bookstore in Marion, NC! We interrogate them all about the reason they opened the store, some memorable customer interactions, all about their thriving, local community, and get to the bottom behind the Bigfoot inspiration!
Visit their website here: https://www.bigfootbooksnc.com/
And social media here!
https://www.facebook.com/bigfootbooksnc
https://www.instagram.com/bigfootbooksnc/
https://www.tiktok.com/@bigfootbooks
All the books we mentioned:
Mary Roach
Chuck Palahniuk
Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
The Last Voyage by Brian McLaren
Dead Wake by Erik Larson
Into the Raging Sea by Rachel Slade
Told You So by Mayci Neeley
The Gales of November by John U. Bacon
Hour of the Pumpkin Queen by Megan Shepard
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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A very special podcast episode! Rachele and Becky interview Rachele's dad Kevin who wrote his first novel! We ask him about his writing process, weirdest Google searches, and how difficult it is getting a book ready to publish. Check out all the links below!
Information and links:
Title: Midnight at Eberly Manor by K. P. Gillespie
Release Date: November 4th, 2025
ISBN: 9798998644733 / 9798998644719
Website: kpgillespiebooks.com
Goodreads link: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/243087868-midnight-at-eberly-manor
All other social links: https://linktr.ee/kpgbooks
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Rachele and Becky discuss their recent travels and book adventures! Then they play a game for bragging rights where they recommend books to each other that we've (hopefully) never heard of!
All the books we mentioned:
The Monk and the Robot by Becky Chambers
The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware
SkyBlue by M. P. Halladay
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
You Want to Be on Top? A Memoir of Makeovers, Manipulation, and Not Becoming America's Next Top Model by Sarah Hartshorne
Alchemised by SenLinYu
Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
The Ornithologist's Field Guide to Love by India Holton.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
Brightly Burning by Alexa Donne
The Summer War by Naomi Novik
The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton
The Last Sweet Bite: Stories and Recipes of Culinary Heritage Lost and Found by Michael Shaikh
Hominids by Robert J. Sawyer
A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales
The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison.
The Nanny's Handbook to Magic and Managing Difficult Dukes by Amy Rose Bennett
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Rachele and Becky get cozy and talk about what feels like Fall to them, the books they've read that remind them of the season, and some books on their TBR!
All the books we mentioned:The Knight and the Moth - Rachel Gillig
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping - Sangu Mandana
Daisy Darker - Alice Feeney
Love and Saffron - Kim Fay
When the Wolf Comes Home - Nat Cassidy
House of Hollow - Krystal Sutherland
Alchemised - SenLinYu
The Midnight Feast – Lucy Foley
The House of Silk - Anthony Horowitz
Wuthering Heights - Emily Brontë
Blood Over Bright Haven - M. L. Wang
Violet Thistlewaite Is Not a Villain Anymore - Emily Krempholtz
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Rachele and Becky discuss the September Bestie's Read-Along title, The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark! See what each of us rated the book, and listen to our full spoiler-y AND non-spoiler-y thoughts!
All the books we mentioned:
The Ghostwriter - Julie Clark
The Knight and the Moth - Rachel Gillig
The Last Flight - Julie Clark
The Lies I Tell - Julie Clark
Alchemised - SenLinYu
Shield of Sparrows - Devney Perry
Flicker in the Dark - Stacy Willingham.
A Witch's Guide to Magical Innkeeping - Sangu Mandana
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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In this episode, Becky & Rachele chat about their recent and current reads, and Rachele talks about the bookshops she visited in West Virginia!
All the books we mentioned:
The Wedding People by Alison Isbach
Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson
Me, Myself, and Bob by Phil Vischer
Rose and Chains by Julie Soto
When the Wolf Comes Home by Nat Cassidy
Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
This Thing Between Us by Gus Moreno
The Ghostwriter by Julie Clark
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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On this episode, Rachele and Becky invite the husbands back onto the podcast and they tell us all what they've been reading lately! We all leave with new books on our TBR!
All the books we mentioned:
Blue Lily, Lily Blue - Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven King - Maggie Stiefvater
Dandadan series - Yukinobu Tatsu
The Magpie Murders - Anthony Horowitz
Ministry for the Future - Kim Stanley Robinson
Red Mars trilogy - Kim Stanley Robinson
The Making of the Atomic Bomb - Richard Rhodes
The Bastard Brigade:The True Story of the Renegade Scientists and Spies Who Sabotaged the Nazi Atomic Bomb - Sam Kean
The Retreat - Sarah Pearse
Listen for the Lie - Amy Tintera
ACOTAR series - Sarah J. Maas
Co-Intelligence by Ethan Mollick
Throne of Glass - Sarah J. Maas
Legendborn - Tracy Deonn
Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
Serpent and the Wings of Night - Carissa Broadbent
Parable of the Sower - Octavia Butler
The Forever War - Joe Haldeman
Leviathan Wakes (The Expanse Series #1) - James S.A. Corey
Red Rising - Pierce Brown
Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
Other Birds - Sarah Addison Allen.
Dark Matter - Blake Crouch
My Husband's Wife - Alice Feeney
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Rachele and Becky return this week with a trivia episode, a short game, and the announcement of the return of the Bookstore Besties read along with their September pick!
All the books we mentioned:
With A Vengeance - Riley Sager
The Dream Thieves - Maggie Stiefvater
Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
The Ghostwriter - Julie Clark
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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In this episode, the Besties catch up with Melissa on her summer off from school and talk about what she's been reading! Jonah makes a guest appearance, Becky gets some FANTASTIC news, and Rachele talks about a very exciting DM from an author!
All the books we mentioned:
Alchemised by SenLinYu
Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst
Twenty Years Later by Charlie Donlea
Captive Prince series by C.S. Pacat
Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli
Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli
With a Vengeance by Riley Sager
The Dream Thieves by Maggie Stiefvater
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
The Bodyguard by Katherine Center
The Wager by David Grann
Endurance by William Shackleton
The Favorites by Layne Fargo
The Labors of Hercules Beal by Gary D. Schmidt
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
The Poppy Fields by Nikki Erlick
The Rushworth Family Plot by Claudia Gray
The Prison Healer by Lynette Noni
Hillbilly Elegy by J.D Vance
Paris by Paris Hilton
The Woman In Me by Britney Spears
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy
Taste by Stanley Tucci
Spare by Prince Harry
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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In this episode, Rachele talks about her day trip for an exclusive event at the Strand in NYC to meet Alchemised author SenLinYu and Becky and Rachele chat about bookish news and their recent reads!
All the books we mentioned:
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jeanette McCurdy
Caught Up by Navessa Allen
The Retreat by Sarah Pearse
Dandadan Vol 1 by Yukinobu Tatsu
Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
Captive Prince trilogy by C.S. Pacat
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Gothictown by Emily Carpenter
The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley
The Great Big Beautiful Life by Emily Henry
Alchemized by SenLinYu
The Personal Librarian by Heather Terrell and Victoria Christopher Murray
_______
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Rachele and Becky talk about the books they are most excited about for the rest of the year and early 2026!
The Listeners - Maggie Stiefvater
The Raven Boys - Maggie Stiefvater
Lights Out by Navessa Allen
My Cousin Rachel - Daphne du Maurier
Journey to the Center of the Earth - Jules Verne
Graceless Heart - Isabel Ibanez
Graceview Patient - Caitlin Starling
The Starving Saints - Caitlin Starling
The Blonde Who Came In From the Cold - Ally Carter
Seasons of Glass and Iron - Amal El-Mohtar
Wild Reverence - Rebecca Ross
Divine Rivals - Rebecca Ross
Red City - Marie Lu
Accomplice to the Villain - Hannah Nicole Maehrer.
Warrior Princess Assassin - Bridget Kemmerer
The Kiss of Deception - Mary E. Pearson
Not My Type - E. Jean Carroll
In the Veins of the Drowning - Kalie Cassidy
Sister Wife - Christine Brown
My Husband's Wife - Alice Feeney
Katabasis - R.F. Kuang
Poppy War - R.F. Kuang
Rose in Chains - Julie Soto
Alchemised - SenLinYu
_______
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Rachele & Becky chat it up! They talk about their recent, current, and upcoming reads, Rachele's exciting work update and the plans for the next episode!
All the books we mentioned:
Heartless Hunter by Kristen Ciccarelli.
Lights Out by Navessa Allen
The Retreat by Sarah Pearse
The Rebel Witch by Kristen Ciccarelli
Fearless by Lauren Roberts
A Court of Sugar and Spice by Rebecca Kenney
Guilt and Ginataan by Mia P. Manansala
The Guest List by Lucy Foley
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
1984 by George Orwell
Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab
Circe by Madeline Miller
Book Lovers by Emily Henry
Cruel Prince by Holly Black
Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
King's Rising (Captive Prince #3) by C.S. Pacat
Night Film by Marisha Pessl
Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone by Benjamin Stevenson
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
The Mercies by Kiran Millwood Hargrave
The Martian by Andy Weir
All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr
Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
Little Women by Lousia May Alcott
Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery
Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
_______
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Becky and Rachele tackle the Reading Challenge #6 (where they have to choose one book to read from a short list) and share the successes or failures of this challenge!
All the books we mentioned:
Paris - Paris Hilton
Beautiful Ugly - Alice Feeney
Listen for the Lie - Amy Tintera.
Heartless Hunter - Kristen Ciccarelli.
Onyx Storm - Rebecca Yarros
A Court of Sugar and Spice - Rebecca F. Kenney
_______
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Becky and Rachele celebrate a HUGE milestone of 100 episodes together! They reflect on lessons they've learned in those 100 episodes, people they've met, and their best memories of the past two and a half years.
All the books we mentioned:
Head Cases - John McMahon
Will Trent series - Karin Slaughter
Powerless - Lauren Roberts
Reckless - Lauren Roberts
Red Queen - Victoria Aveyard
Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
Listen for the Lie - Amy Tintera
Paris by Paris Hilton
The Will of the Many - James Islington
Beautiful Ugly - Alice Feeney
Turn of the Key - Ruth Ware
Death of Mrs. Westaway - Ruth Ware
Little Women - Louisa May Alcott
Recipe for Persuasion - Sonali Dev
Rhapsodic - Laura Thalassa
Project Hail Mary - Andy Weir
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Becky makes an unofficial return to chat with Rachele about recent and past reads, future plans, and the besties give each other 3 (or 4!) books to choose from to read this month!
All the books we mentioned:
Sunrise on the Reaping - Suzanne Collins
My Time to Stand - Gypsy-Rose Blanchard
Hidden Pictures - Jason Rekulak
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins
Little Threats by Emily Schultz
Head Cases by John McMahon
We Used to Live Here by Marcus Kliewer
Never Live by Freida McFadden
You Are Fatally Invited by Ande Pliego
Powerless by Lauren Roberts
The Main Character by Jaclyn Goldis
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Red Rising by Pierce Brown
The Undertaking of Heart and Mercy by Megan Bannen
A Love Song for Ricki Wilde by Tia Williams
Paris: the Memoir by Paris Hilton
The Spell Shop by Sarah Beth Durst
Beautiful Ugly by Alice Feeney
The River Has Roots by Amal El-Mohtar
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone
_______
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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The episode where David reads A Court of Thorns and Roses for the very FIRST TIME and discusses it with Rachele!
All the books we mentioned:A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas
and the other books in the series :)
_______
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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In this episode Rachele yaps about her February reads, the highs and the lows (lookin' at you lil' tuna)
All the books we mentioned:
The Trap - Catherine Ryan Howard
Wild Robot - Peter Brown
Beach Read - Emily Henry
First Lie Wins - Ashley Elston
Night She Disappeared - Lisa Jewell
Beautiful Ugly - Alice Feeney
Daisy Darker - Alice Feeney
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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Rachele gives the Besties a VERY unexpected reading update...what could it possibly be?!
The Boyfriend - Freida McFadden
Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
The Trap - Catherine Howard Ryan
The Wild Robot - Peter Brown
Beach Read - Emily Henry
First Lie Wins - Ashley Elston
Emily Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries - Heather Fawcett
Beautiful Ugly - Alice Feeney
Psalm for the Wild Built - Becky Chambers
Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes - Suzanne Collins
_______
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Rachele: Littlelovedbooks
Becky: Bexmex
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