Episode 3: Books We Always Recommend
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Danikka: Hey there, welcome to the Snailed It podcast with Danikka and Erin, brought to you by Author's Own Publishing.
Erin: Hi everyone, welcome back to the Snailed It podcast with Danikka and Erin. Today we are talking books we will always recommend.
Danikka: I'm so excited to record this episode because I feel like, because we did actually record this episode really early on, it was one of the first ones we recorded, but the recording software we were using deleted it. But it actually works out well because now we have even more books that we can talk about.
Erin: Because now we have an updated list.
Danikka: Yeah, so we should maybe say what genres we read the most of. So like, I'm definitely a really big fantasy reader, like even most of the romance that I read has a fantasy element. I'm definitely more fantasy romance and a fair bit of erotica, let's be real.
Erin: The monster smut is calling.
Danikka: Yeah, exactly.
Erin: I'm also fantasy, but I read probably more light-hearted fantasy than you, I would say. Mine is less political and more romance, and obviously contemporary romance as well. And sort of where those two genres meet is kind of my happy place, I reckon.
Danikka: Yeah, yeah. I feel like you get the best of both worlds with romantasy.
Erin: I agree.
Danikka: You get the romance, you get the world building, you get like, yeah. I've got some books that are relatively recently published, and then I've got books that were published a long time ago, but they're ones that I go back to all the time. But also I should say that I mostly listen to audiobooks, if I'm reading for pleasure, because my eyes are so tired from editing.
So I don't read very much that I haven't worked on. That doesn't mean to say that I don't pretty much always recommend the books that I work on, because I'm really lucky in that, I reckon only one book I've ever worked on that I didn't like.
So that makes me really happy. Maybe if we start with romance, because I feel like my contemporary romance with no fantasy elements list is quite short. One that I recently found and that I really, really loved was Role Playing by Cathy Yardley.
Erin: I feel like I've seen that one.
Danikka: I think I told you about it when I listened to it, because yeah, it's an older couple. So the love interest, the main character, Maggie, is a 48-year-old hermit, basically, is how the blurb starts out. And her display name on her on the roleplaying game that she plays is BogWitch.
So like, immediately, I'm just like, Maggie, you are my person. Literally, the book starts out with her complaining that she has to leave the house to do groceries, because she does such big, massive loads of groceries that she only really has to go once a month. And I'm like, Maggie, we're the same person.
And she lives out in the middle of nowhere. So Maggie and her son has just gone off to college. So she's living on her own for the first time, because they, her and her husband divorced when he was in like, middle school or something.
And so yeah, she's BogWitch. And then she makes a friend on the online roleplaying game that she plays, which I can't remember what it's called, but his name is Otter. That's his display name.
And then like, she doesn't know where he lives or who he is or anything like that. But it turns out he lives in the town where she lives. And then he's also, he's 50.
So Maggie is 48 and he's 50. So like, immediately, I'm like, yes, they're like, older. We're not thinking about like, just because I'm not a college romance person. Like, I just….
Erin: it's not my favourite genre. No, I feel like I have read the ones in the past, but it's not like, if I had to choose, yeah, it's not my favourite. But maybe that's because I'm in my 40s. And so I have trouble reading.
Danikka: Maybe.
Erin:….From that age group.
Danikka: Yeah, I don't know. I just like, I don't, I've just, maybe because I didn't go to like, because Australian university is very different to American college as well. So it's just, it's, it's not the same.
Like, I do enjoy them, but just, I don't read a lot of them. But anyway, I just really liked they were older because it was, you know, you don't see that very often. And then, yeah, they're just, basically they pull each other like, out of their shells.
And I just really loved it. I loved all the gaming references. I loved that they were older.
And also something that I really liked that is not, it's not a pet peeve for me, but I just had never, like, when you think about romance, you think about like, that act three breakup kind of scene. And oftentimes like, that's where people, that's that like, widespread hate for like, the miscommunication trope or whatever comes in. Because it can sometimes feel contrived.
But like, I really liked that it was like, external problems that were kind of pulling them apart. It was like, family stuff and just having to decide the way their life was going to go. Like, it wasn't, they'd had a fight and we'd like, they didn't, we didn't know if they were going to get back together.
It was like, it just, it all felt very real. It felt like, you know, this is the moment in the relationship where we get to where we decide if we're choosing each other and sticking together and making our lives work together. Or if we, it's not going to work and we have to go our separate ways.
It wasn't like, anything super dramatic. It was just, that's the way life goes. So I just really enjoyed it.
It was really sweet. And I listened to it in like, a day while I was cleaning my house. And I think if you like romance, but you want, you know, a bit of a twist and something different.
And the, it wasn't grumpy sunshine exactly, but it was like, she was definitely grumpy and he was the more kind of outgoing one of the two. Yeah. Sunshine-ish.
That was my first one on my list.
Erin: My first one isn't so much just a single book as it is an author. And that is Sarah Adams, who I will recommend until the Cows Come Home. Because she writes, so she was originally Indie and she published, I think five contemporaries and two historical Indie.
And then The Cheat Sheet got picked up by a publisher and she since, so she, then they republished that trad and then she since published When In Rome and Practice Makes Perfect, which are my two absolute favourites of hers. They're just, she has a real, for writing, funny. So they're all like, laugh out loud, like her characters are hilarious.
And there's just like little things in them that just kind of make you giggle and kick your feet. And they're just amazing. I love them.
Danikka: I actually downloaded When In Rome the other day, because I, I want to read it.
Erin: So When In Rome is pop star, she's a pop star and he is a pie maker. So it's When In Rome and it's Rome, Kentucky, not Rome, Italy, Rome. So yeah.
And Practice Makes Perfect is in the same world. So the female main character in Practice Makes Perfect is the male main character from the first book's sister. And she has, and apparently there's going to be a sibling because there's Noah, who's the brother, and then there's three sisters.
So Annie is the first one that's got her own book. And then there's two more. And I'm just so excited for them.
I love them. Yeah.
Danikka: Yeah. I love it when you can just like fall in love with the characters.
Erin: They're good as introduction to romance too, if you're not a romance reader. Sarah's books are a great introduction because there's no, there might be like a bit more of a hint in Practice Makes Perfect maybe, but like they're closed door. So there's, or fade to black maybe more, more accurately.
Her earlier ones are closed and locked and we have no idea. But in the sort of her newer ones, it's the door is maybe ajar, and the lights are in the hallway. So you kind of get an idea of what's happening.
You know what's happening, but it's not on the page, which is what some people don't love. And that's why romance is great because there's something for everyone. But yeah, so she, they're great.
They're a really good introduction into romance landia. Highly recommend.
Danikka: I love that. I love that.
I'm definitely more of an open door person, but I think that's mostly just because that's easier to find. Like..
Erin: Yeah, I think there is less, like I've got a few, like I'm friends with a few indie authors on Instagram and stuff. And one who was a bookstagrammer and has released her first book in 2023. She's written a closed door.
So yeah, it's there. Like there's definitely a market for it. Heaps of people don't want the open-door scenes, which is fine.
So I think there is more of it coming, but I think a lot of it maybe gets lost in Christian, in the Christian literature space, which just because you don't want it on the page doesn't mean you're necessarily a Christian. So it's well, not certainly. Yeah.
Anyway, yeah. So there you go.
Danikka: It's just how the ball rolls. Yeah.
Erin: Just go read some books. Just go read her books.
Danikka: I guess like that was the, I mean, like I always recommend your books to people, but they are open door. So if you don't like on the page.
Erin: Yes, they are.
Danikka: Then you would probably need to skip them. Skip the, not skip the book necessarily, but just like skip the scenes.
Erin: Maybe I need to start putting like a thing at the start of the book, like these are all the chapters. Yeah, like a thing.
Danikka: Skip these, these pages.
Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Like I love open door, but I also like for me, it has to further the relationship of the characters, which I feel like in your books they do, which is why whenever people are asking me about romance, I pretty much always just say, read Erin’s books because I am just obsessed with like, I can't choose a favourite.
Like I think I always have a soft spot for Nash. I love Nash, but I love Mac and like, I love Gemma and like her journey. And then I'm just like, but you know, I just, I love them all.
I just can't choose. So yeah, just read all of the Love In Brooklyn books. But like, I think it was mostly you that kind of got me into contemporary romance, to be honest.
I don't think I'd really read much before we started editing together. Like I had an idea of it because like the contemporary romance kind of formula for writing books is basically like a romance movie. Like it's very, romance stories, no matter whether a movie or if they're a book, they kind of always hit the same beat.
So like, I was aware of the genre, I was aware of the way the story needed to go, but I'd never really read widely in contemporary romance. But yeah, after reading your books, I've expanded a bit more and read a bit more because I just really enjoyed it and they're really fun to read. So yes, I...
Erin: And they're all about love.
Danikka: Just, just a plug, just a plug, a plug for Erin's books.
Erin: So Role Playing is your only contemporary that you can think of?
Danikka: On my books, on my books that I always recommend. Yeah, please, please go do more romance because my list is going to very quickly diverge into fantasy.
Erin: Yeah, so mine will get there also and we've got a bit of overlap. But one of my favourite romance movies is also Red, White and Royal Blue, which I know you didn't love. But I feel like, maybe it was the time I read that.
Like, you know how sometimes you read a book and you're like, that just got me at the right time. Like I think I was on holiday. I would have liked, I would have liked Dual POV.
That's my only real thing.
I wanted in Henry's head.
Danikka: That was my complaint too, because I'm a Dual POV person. It has to be really well written for a single POV to get me.
Erin: Yeah. So yeah, I wanted in Henry's head. But aside from that, like, I really liked the book more than, I enjoyed the movie, but I liked the book more than the movie because they just cut so much out of the movie.
Danikka: The movie was just like, they just kept all the sex scenes and cut everything else.
Erin: Which, fair enough. But yeah, so that's one that I really enjoyed. And I also liked, we were discussing this before we started recording, Astrid Parker Doesn't Fail, which is the second in a series.
So Delilah Green Doesn't Care was the first one. And I didn't vibe with that, but you, Danikka, did vibe with Delilah.
Danikka: Yeah. I prefer Delilah over Astrid. But I can't, I don't know why. Like I'm just, I'm still thinking about it. Yeah.
Yeah. And I think like that, that says a lot about books and what people read is like what we recommend might not vibe with other people and what other people love we might not vibe with. So it doesn't say anything about the quality of the book.
It just says more about the person who's reading it. But yeah, I don't know. I think like Delilah has a tattoo that has been on my list to get since..
Erin: Oh, really?
Danikka: Forever. Her storm in a teacup tattoo is like, I've had that on my list for a really long time of tattoos that I wanted to get because my adopted grandmother growing up, we always used to call her a storm in a teacup because she loved a bit of drama, but she was a very like prim and proper kind of person.
Erin: Demure, yeah. Yeah.
Danikka: So she loved a bit of drama and she loved like getting in on all the gossip. So we always storm in a teacup. So I, and she passed away three and a bit years ago.
So like, I've wanted to get that tattoo for ages. And then I was reading Delilah Green Doesn't Care. And she had a storm in a teacup tattoo.
And I was like, Delilah, you and me are the same person. Yeah.
Erin: Yeah. So there's a third one in that series as well. I haven't read that one yet.
Danikka: I haven't read that one yet either. Is it out yet?
Erin: Yeah, I think so. I think it came out.
Danikka: It is out?
Erin: Yeah.
Danikka: Yeah.
Okay. Well, I haven't read it yet.
Erin: I never know with trad ones because I feel like they talk about them for so long in advance, but I'm pretty sure.
Danikka: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Like trad books, you can pre-order them like a year in advance.
And I'm like, I forget that I've even bought them when I pre-order them that early.
Erin: Yeah, me too. It's like a surprise. Like look at this, it’s a book, it’s so exciting.
Erin: My other not contemporary, they’re historicals is Bringing Down the Duke and A Rogue of One's Own from Evie Dunmore, which are just, like historical is not usually my thing. I get a little bit swept away.
And then if I'm trying to work on something, everyone starts talking in like historical language because I really like all of that. But I can't maintain it and the research would do my head in. But like, so that's a whole series.
I haven't read A Portrait of a Scotsman just because everything else has taken over my brain. But Bringing Down the Duke and A Rogue of One's Own are so good.
Danikka: So good. Yeah. One of the things that I recommend is kind of, it leans into the historical space because it's set in Regency, England, but it's a fantasy Regency, England.
So I am absolutely obsessed with the first book in the series, which is Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater. So I think there's three, yeah, there's three books. But Half a Soul is my favourite.
And I think we're going to start to see a trend in who my favourite characters are because we've got BogWitch from Roleplaying, then we've got Delilah. And then we have Theodora Ettings in Half a Soul. And she has half a soul.
So her mother sold her in a fairy bargain before she was born. But then her mother went, it's kind of almost like a Rumpelstiltskin type thing. She went back on her deal and tried to keep her.
But then she passed away and Theodora is a ward of her uncle and auntie and is growing up with her cousin. And she goes off into the woods and the fairy who made the deal with her mother tries to steal her soul. But he only gets half because her cousin comes and saves her with a pair of iron scissors because fairies and iron don't mix.
So then she grows up with half a soul. And like reading it back the second time, because I recently reread it, and she's very autistic coded. Like she doesn't get social cues, she's very blunt.
So it's kind of like an autistic coded Regency character going to London for the season. And she falls in love with the Lord Sorcier, which is the royal sorcerer basically. And learns that just because she only has half a soul doesn't mean she doesn't feel things.
Because she's always been told that she's inhuman and doesn't feel things and blah, blah, blah. So she actually feels it a lot deeper than people who have whole souls. So I just loved it.
It was like cozy fantasy in a way. But you had the Regency elements, but then there was still high stakes. Like she goes to try and get the other half of her soul back and then gets trapped in fairy and the Lord Sorcier has to come and try and get her out.
And there's like a mysterious plague happening in the workhouses in London that's affecting the children. So there's like quite a few things happening. So it's not just romance, but you've got the romance element.
And it is completely closed door, which is how you know it's really good. Because like I don't read a lot of closed-door stuff, but this I like, I've read it twice, as I said. And I really liked it.
And then the second book in the series is kind of almost like a Cinderella type thing instead of Rumpelstiltskin. It was okay, but not as good as the first one. And then the third one is like a sapphic one and it follows the adopted child of Theodora and the Lord Sorcier from the first book.
Erin: Oh okay, so a bit of a time jump.
Danikka: Yeah so I liked the first book and the third book. The second one was okay.
It followed another one of the fairy lords. It was okay, just not as good.
Erin: Okay. I've just thought of another one which kind of crosses into so historical romance fantasy-ish is India Holton's The Wisteria Society for Lady Scoundrels. Which -
Danikka: I've had that on my, like you can see it there in the background.
Erin: Yeah, it is. So there's a few, there's three I think in this series. And once again, I've not read the other two. They're sitting on my shelf.
But Wisteria Society is just…
Erin: Again, closed door. Oh, is it closed door? No, maybe it's not. It's been a while since I read it. But I just like what she is told. So the fantasy element is that we're in like regency-ish times.
But Celia, who we're following, it's so hard to explain. So all of the women that she's with, the Wisteria Society, are kind of like witches. They fly, their houses fly.
Danikka: Yeah, yeah.
Erin: And they're like fighting against other like pirate type people. And it's just, like at one point, I think like I laughed so much. I think one of like the compliments that the love interest pays Celia is that she looks beautiful in the lights, like coming off the cannons in the moonlight or something.
Like it was completely ridiculous. And just, I laughed my way through the entire book. So that is also highly recommended.
Danikka: Okay, I really need to read that one. And then another, this one is more like, I wouldn't call it fantasy. Actually, this goes more into the like the historical romance.
But it's fantasy in the fact that it follows Mary Bennett from Pride and Prejudice.
Erin: Oh, okay.
Danikka: So it's called The Independence of Miss Mary Bennett. And it's by Colleen McCullough. So she's been around for a long time.
I haven't read a lot of her books, to be honest. But I really like this one because Mrs. Bennett has just died. So she's finally free, basically, because she was a sister left to look after Mrs. Bennett, because all the rest of them got married. So she was left to look after Mrs. Bennett. And she's decided she wants to write a book about the plight of the poor in England. And so goes off on her own to go research to write this book and gets into all sorts of trouble, basically.
But her and Elizabeth get quite close throughout the book. And I just found it really interesting because they kind of explored that theory of that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy weren't quite that well matched. Like it was very much like, they got caught up in things.
And then once they had to live together, her irreverence and his pride started to show cracks in the marriage. And so you've got this element of Mary going off and being crazy and getting kidnapped and all these other things. And you've got that kind of side where Lizzie and Mr. Darcy kind of have to come back together and reconnect in their marriage later in life after having a long period of not being connected. So I really like that. It was almost like a second chance romance as well as like a later in life romance for Mary as well. So it was really cute.
Adventure, Pride and Prejudice, Romance. Also closed door! So I said I don't read a lot of closed door, but now that I'm thinking about it, I'm like, I actually do. Yeah. I just never think of it because I read so much erotica that I'm like, oh, when was the last time I read something closed door?
Erin: My next one is possibly on your list as well and that is The Undertaking of Heart and Mercy.
Danikka: Oh, that book.
Erin: That book.
Danikka: That book. It is so good. It is so good.
You just, you need to read it. Just, if you're listening to the podcast and you haven't liked the sound of any of the other books, please just read The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy. You need to read this one.
This is the one that brings together romance. It brings together fantasy. It brings together, like, just all of the things.
All of the things.
Erin: Like, what's the author's name? Megan Bannon.
Danikka: Yeah, Megan Bannon.
Erin: Yeah. It's just, Mercy is an undertaker and Hart is a marshal in the fantasy world that Megan Bannon has created, which is just spectacular. Her world building.
She could write a book on how to world build from that book.
Danikka: Yeah, exactly.
Erin: It is so good.
Danikka: The only complaint I have about that book is that there isn't a map to go with the world. Like, I'll have to look up her website and stuff and see if she's got a map because the way it's described and how well everything is laid out, she had to have a map when she was writing it. Like, she had to because there's like all these different islands and then you've got like the, what does she call the world where the marshals go in?
And I've read, this is another one that I've read twice. Tanria.
Erin: Tanria. Yeah, I knew it started with a T. Yeah.
Danikka: So Tanria is like this magical world in the middle of the real world, basically. Well, the real world of The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy, which is all a fantasy world. There's zombies.
There's romance.
Erin: There's romance. There's some like complicated family dynamics going on. There's on from both, from both sides.
Yeah. For both Hart and Mercy. Yeah.
Danikka: And is this another one that you would say like the door is ajar and the lights in the hallway are on, but I wouldn't necessarily call it open door.
Erin: It was, I think the door was open. I think the door was wide open, but the lights weren't on.
Danikka: Oh, okay.
Erin: Yeah. A lot of levels. So yeah, similar door is wide open, hallway lights are on.
So you've got more light in the room.
Danikka: Yeah. It's not like full details.
Erin: It's not like some books where like the door is open, the windows are open, there is no roof. Like it's not one of them.
Danikka: No.
Erin: And it would probably be easy to skip over if it wasn't your thing.
Danikka: Yeah. It doesn't like go on for chapters from multiple points of view.
Erin: No, no, no, no, no, no.
Danikka: It's like a couple of pages and it's the next morning.
Erin: Like if you were doing the control find, I don't reckon you're going to find many, if any.
Danikka: No.
Erin: I can't even. You know?
Yeah. But the tension between the two of them is just.
Danikka: Just perfect. Like chefs kiss.
Erin: It's chefs kiss. There's no map on our website, by the way. I just looked it up.
Danikka: So rude
Erin: We’ll have to provide that feedback. Please give us a map.
Danikka: Yeah. Yeah. In the next book, please provide a map.
Erin: There is a second one coming out. The Undermining of Twyla and Frank or Frank and Twyla. I can't remember which way it goes, but I am eagerly awaiting that book.
Danikka: Yeah. Me too. I just really want to see what Megan does next because that, the Undertaking, like we're going to do a buddy read episode of the Undertaking of Hart of Mercy and do a deep dive on the world building and everything because I just think that it deserves it.
There, like there's not many, and I mean we also do a buddy read of Fourth Wing and I am going to compare these two books a lot because I feel like they're on a similar level, like they’re romance and their fantasy, but one works really well and the other doesn't.
Erin: Ooh spoiler. Yeah, they're very, yes. I can see why you would compare them because they are both.
See?
Danikka: Yeah. Yeah.
Erin: But one's world building is, I don't know, not at the forefront, but kind of. I don't know.
I don't know. I don't even know how I would explain the two.
Danikka: It depends which one you're talking about.
Erin: Hart and Mercy, like that, it's not that it's at the forefront, but it's like it feels so like you could literally step into the book.
Danikka: It's seamless. It's seamless.
Erin: You know exactly where you were. You were like, oh yeah, I'm gonna walk this way to her Undertaking business and I'm gonna walk this way to the, all of the things.
Danikka: Yeah.
Erin: Oh look, there's an auto duck going past me.
Danikka: Yeah, exactly.
Erin: And I, to a point, because Fourth Wing is on my list, that is one that I would also recommend because I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I can understand why other people wouldn't.
Danikka: Yeah, I think, and this is what we'll get into when we, when you hear the Fourth Wing episode, is if you are a hardcore fantasy reader and you pick up Fourth Wing, you won't like it. If you're a romance reader who likes a touch of fantasy, then you'll enjoy Fourth Wing.
Erin: Yeah.
Danikka: Because I, I'm both of those readers, so like as a romance reader, except for the fact that I really don't like the main, Violet, the main character of Fourth Wing. Otherwise, I really enjoyed Fourth Wing as a romance reader, but as a fantasy reader, I had a lot of problems.
Erin: I think it was, we discussed this in the other one, we think it was marketed wrong, but anyway. Should we just move on from Fourth Wing? Let's not keep talking about Fourth Wing because we'll get, yeah.
Danikka: No, well, so basically Fourth Wing is on your list.
Erin: Fourth Wing is on my list, and I'm currently reading Iron Flame, and you are currently listening to Iron Flame.
Danikka: Yeah, if you want to know more about it, we're going to do a deep dive episode on Iron Flame and Fourth Wing.
Erin: We've done a buddy read episode, but yes, yes.
Danikka: Yeah, yeah, so you will, you will get a full debrief on that too, and there will also be a buddy read of Undertaking Hart and Mercy as well. But basically, read both books because, especially if you're a romance reader, because romance wise, they're both good. Yeah, but fantasy and world building wise, if you're a fantasy reader and you want to get into some more romance, then I would recommend the Undertaking of Hart and Mercy over the top of Fourth Wing.
Erin: Yeah, and then if you're, if you're a fantasy reader who maybe wants just a little bit of romance, not like, not like a lot of romance, we're delving into, when we recorded this the first time, I hadn't read this book, and so now I'm really excited that we can record.
Danikka: Yeah, because I'd read it last time, yeah.
Erin: About Kate Schumacher's The Call of the Sea until I am hoarse. As soon as I finished this book, I ran screaming into Kate's DMs. Well, actually, I had been screaming in her DMs during the entire read, let's be honest, when I finished it in particular. It is just so good.
Yeah. Like, I feel like I've said that about every book, it's just so good. But this one, again, her world building, less romance, Kate is a complicated fantasy writer.
Like, there's a lot.
Danikka: Yeah, she writes multiple points of view.
Erin: Yeah. Yeah. Which is not always, I, not that I have trouble reading or I don't enjoy reading, but I can get a bit confused, maybe, easily, if I have too many points of view going on.
I was not confused, I was just in it from literally the first chapter.
Danikka: And there's two romances in The Call of the Sea.
Erin: There is.
Danikka: Yeah, and I feel like the second romance gets a bit more airtime in the second book, because I'm currently editing the second book, so I know all the spoilers. The secrets, yeah. Yeah, The Call of the Sea, the way I described it to Kate, and she was so happy when I said this because it was exactly what she was intending, is you know that feeling that you get when a thunderstorm is coming and the air is just compressed and humid.
And tingling. And you can feel that something's building up and there's all these things kind of happening to like build up to when the thunderstorm hits and then everything kind of just goes crazy. That is The Call of the Sea.
The Call of the Sea is the boil up before the storm. If you like pirates, if you like Arthurian reimagining, if you like just, oh, I don't know.
Erin: From romance land, if you like like a cinnamon roll hero.
Danikka: Yes, yes.
Erin: He's a cinnamon roll fairy pirate.
Danikka: Yeah, I could go on. And like, I love all of Kate's books, so like if you like, so there's not as much politics happening in The Call of the Sea, I don't think. Maybe later in the series, I think there's going to be a bit more politics.
Erin: Yeah I was gonna say, it feels like it will increase.
Danikka: But it's not like, it's not like government politics, it's like God politics.
Erin: Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Danikka: Yeah, but then in Kate's first duology, which is now complete, The Tales of Aileryan. So you've got Shadow of Fire and Heart of Flame. So that duology is complete.
There's a lot more like human politics happening with the god’s kind of meddling in the human politics. So that's, it's a bit more like stepped back. There's still romance in it.
I think there's three romances happening in that duology that I can think of off the top of my head. One is more the main romance, and then you've got the secondary one, and then you've got the one that's kind of happening more in the background. Yeah, that one is definitely a lot more political, but you've still got your, you've got your fae, you've got like, not that I like, like the one that people will be more aware of is Game of Thrones.
You've got like the cold north and then the like the cities in the south, and then you've got the fae off in like their own kind of section, and then you've got your half-caste that are kind of, the half-caste between fae and humans that are kind of like discarded, no part of society really wants them. So yeah, I really loved those books as well, but they're definitely more for your more hardcore epic fantasy readers. Yeah, the romance is a plot device more so than the center of the plot, if that makes sense.
Kate actually did a post on this really recently that outlined it really well. It was like the plot, the romance is essential to the plot, but it's not the whole plot, where in romantasy normally the romance is the main plot, you're following the romance. Yeah, but yeah, Kate Schumacher is just on a whole league of her own.
Erin: She is.
Danikka: Yeah, A Song of Magic is coming out, so the second book in The Call of the Sea is coming out in April.
Erin: Yeah.
Danikka: I think I just, I think things are happening faster because the edits get done, and I'm on to the next book already, so I'm a bit ahead, but no. So definitely Kate Schumacher for fantasy with romantic elements.
Erin: Other Australian author of romance, wow, and more romantic elements, like balance with fantasy, is Lauren Searson-Patrick, who has written the Amber Wolf duology, which is also one of my faves. Amber Wolf and Blue Pointed Star.
Danikka: Oh, Blue Pointed Star. I loved Amber Wolf, I loved Amber Wolf. Yeah, yeah, Blue Pointed Star was just like chef's kiss, and the imagery in those books, like Lauren just describes things so beautifully.
We actually have an episode with Lauren where we talk to her more about her writing process. We recorded it just before Blue Pointed Star came out, but we both read it at the time, so.
Erin: Yeah, their duology is great, the romance is great. Yeah, just loved it. They're just a joy to read, a joy to read.
Unless, so there is still some very significant political non-romantic things happening.
Danikka: Definitely, definitely.
Erin: Definitely, but the romance is very much, and in Blue Pointed Star there's two, you've got two romantic plots in there.
Danikka: Yeah, you've got two romantic plots, yeah, yeah.
Erin: So the first book is single POV, and the second book is dual POV, but not in the traditional way that you would assume in Romance Land.
Danikka: No, no, so.
Erin: Yeah, you've got a different type.
Danikka: In Romance Land, if you had a, yeah, exactly, you would have a single POV for the first book, and then you would maybe have the love interest POV in the second book. But that is not what happens. No, this brings in the POV of another character.
Erin: Yeah, and she's amazing.
Danikka: Yeah, no, no spoilers, because she's absolutely amazing.
Erin: She nearly took over, honestly.
Danikka: Yeah, I, I, yeah.
Erin: I would like her origin story.
Danikka: Yeah, yesterday, please.
Erin: Well, and there's also another, like, in the background romance, and I'm like, I would also like that spin-off.
Danikka: Yeah, yeah.
Erin: You look slightly confused. Do you remember the other one?
Danikka: No, no, I know who it is. I know who it is.
Erin: Yeah, I was like, at some point in the first book, I messaged Lauren being like, tell me there's a book about these two. She was like, not at the moment. I'm like, damn it.
Danikka: I feel like she needs to write a Christmas novella. I feel like her characters would work really well in a Christmas novella.
Erin: Yes.
Danikka: Yeah, because, like, found family is, like, Lauren's big trope. Yeah, yeah. Because, like, I'm editing another project for Lauren at the moment, which has a lot of found family elements as well.
Yeah.
Erin:That's the one. I think I just finished a beta read of it. Beta read, how would you say that?
Danikka: Yeah.
Erin: Howled my face off at multiple points. Like, sobbing. Yeah.
Sobbing during that one. Anyway, we can't talk about that one yet because it's not out. When that comes out, I will.
Danikka: No. Yeah, when that comes out, we'll also be doing a deep dive on that one.
Erin: Do another one, yeah. No. What else have you got?
Danikka: I'm just thinking, what else have I got? Like, those are kind of, to go kind of back more into the cozy romance space, we've got, what's it called? Where did it go?
I just re-listened to it.
Erin: Legends and Lattes? Is that what that one that you recommended to me a few times?
Danikka: Oh, I love Legends and Lattes. That's another one. That wasn't the one I was going to talk about.
I actually like this one better than Legends and Lattes. I love Legends and Lattes, but as much as I love cozy fantasy and cozy romance, I like there to be a little bit higher stakes. So Legends and Lattes, I would say, is quite low stakes, even though it is based around her business and what happens with that.
And there is a bit of stakes in there. It's not like no stakes. Yeah.
But The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches. Oh, she's on my list. By Sangu Mandana.
Like, I've listened to it three times now.
Erin: Like, it is- I pre-ordered this and it is yet to arrive.
Danikka: Oh, really?
Erin: I'm waiting for it. Yeah. Gonna check my order while we’re sitting here finishing this up.
Yeah, I've heard amazing things about this book. Amazing.
Danikka: It was just another seamless book. Just the world building was on point. The characters were on point.
The dialogue is just chef's kiss. Like, so I, like, as an editor, like, I feel like this is where I struggle the most is it's really, really hard for me to turn editor brain off when I'm reading and listening to books.
Erin: I can imagine, yeah.
Danikka: So that's what makes it hard. So like, that was what made it hard for me with Fourth Wing. That was what made it hard for me with-
Erin: Okay.
Danikka: Um, what was that? Red, white, and royal blue. I found that hard for the editor brain.
And I think that's maybe why I liked Delilah Green Doesn't Care because even though there was elements that I didn't like, it wasn't the editor side of me that wasn't liking it. It was just like a reader. It was just my personal preferences, which I can look past.
And another one that made it hard for my editor brain was Kiss Her Once For Me, which is a sapphic Christmas romance, which I do recommend. I really liked it. But there was just elements, especially at the end for editor brain, that were like, hmm, I'm not happy with this.
Yeah. But yeah, so when I say that a book was really well written, you know that I mean it because I was able to turn off editor brain to listen to it and read it.
So The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches, is another one that's like that. Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher is another one where my editor brain, it's like a cozy fantasy romance mystery, like murder mystery.
And Legends and Lattes didn't irritate my editor brain at all either. It's really well written. And it's also written by a dude.
So that's another big plus for me. Sometimes I find it really hard to read books written by men. Not because they're poor quality, but sometimes I just think they're edited differently to women's writing, which frustrates me.
Erin: It's really interesting.
Danikka: Yeah, I just feel like they get given a lot more leeway in editing than what women do. And that annoys me.
Erin: Oh okay
Erin: There is two more, and they're theories that I will recommend while you're putting up yours. One is the Mirror Visitor series by Christelle Dabos, which I adore. It's fantasy.
There is romance, but there's a lot of other stuff going on. Like it is around like the central story is a marriage of convenience essentially, but there's a lot of other shit going on. And the world that she has created, so she's a French author.
So they're originally written in French. And so I obviously read the English translation. And it's just so...
The writing is just beautiful. And so it makes me wonder how it read in French, because that's like I'm reading the translator who has obviously had to translate it from French to English.
Like that would have been a whole thing all on its own. Anyway, they're just, yeah, they're remarkable. I love them.
And then the last one is Six of Crows, which was one of my-
Danikka: I've never read Six of Crows.
Erin: I loved it. So, which is Shadow and Bone.
So the Six of Crows is by Leigh Bardugo. Shadow and Bone, I don't know which way it goes. Shadow and Bone, Ruin and Rising, Siege and Storm.
I think is that the first trilogy. And that centres around Alina, who is the main character. And she, they’re first person in Alina's head, and she drove me up the wall.
I finished the first one and I couldn't carry on with the others. But Six of Crows is third person and split over six points of view, because there are six crows. And it's so good.
So there is a romance element, but it is loose, like the very loosest. Like it has you going until the end of the second book. It's only a duology.
The second one's called Crooked Kingdom. And so you're like hanging in there. Actually, there is another two.
There's two romance. Oh, no, actually, there's kind of three romance plots. Three separate couples, sort of over the course.
But it's not as romance-y. Like there's all of this other stuff. They're kind of hijacked for taking the main plot points.
But they're just, they're so relevant. And because there's so many points of view, like something really like cliffhanger-ish, like at the end of a chapter, and then it'll jump to someone else who's not there. And you're like, ah, no.
Danikka: Yeah, yeah.
Erin: So you're reading through the next chapter to get back to where you were.
Danikka: Yeah, see, that's my favourite part about multiple POV is it's really, you can have those cliffhangers inside the book, which is really hard to do with single POV. And the other one that was really flawlessly written, that didn't irritate my editor brain, I just got really angry at the end, no spoilers though, was Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Muir, Muir?
Erin: I feel like you have mentioned this one to me before. Gideon the Ninth.
Danikka: It was so well written. Like, again, world-building on point.
Erin: Oh, but this is the one that made you angry at the end, sorry.
Danikka: I was so mad at the end. I haven't read the second book. I think it's a duology, or there's going to be more, I'm not sure.
But it follows Gideon and Harrow, who are enemies. They really don't like each other. But then they have to work together in like this, well, see, that's what I, like, when it was, the reason I picked it up is because they told me it was Lesbian Necromancers in Space.
And I was like, I'm sold. I'm sold, I'm reading this.
Erin: There's a book to end all books, like that.
Danikka: Yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. So flawlessly written.
Dialogue, so like this, if you want to read well-written banter, it's this book. It's this book, like snarky banter. Just so good.
Erin: Just so good. Which is just, snarky banter is, I think the reason that all of the three enemies still love it. Like that is, that's why we're there.
Danikka: Yeah, yeah, yeah. So without spoiling it, the ending has made me so mad that I haven't been able to pick up the next book yet. And I need to pick up the next book because if I pick up the next book, I'll maybe stop being mad about the end of the first one.
Like maybe there'll be something else that will happen that will make it better. But I just, I just, I have PTSD. I have PTSD from this book.
Erin: So... Maybe there's a bit of a caveat about that one. If you want some PTSD, pick up Gideon The Ninth.
But otherwise...
Danikka: Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Erin: Snarky banter is leading into potential anger at the end. So just a bit of a...
Danikka: Yeah, exactly. But flawlessly written, flawlessly written. Like I have no complaints about the writing.
So that's what makes it really hard for me is my editor brain wants to be the editor for all the books. So if a book can turn off my editor brain and make me not feel like I would have made any different editorial decisions, then it's an amazing book. It gets five stars from me.
But that was everything on my list.
Erin: Yeah, me too.
Danikka: That... And I mean, we went off on some tangents and mentioned some other titles that I didn't have.
Erin: I'm sure as soon as we stop, I'll be like, oh, and I even read a list beforehand. Anyway.
Danikka: Yeah, exactly. I feel like we'll probably have to do like an erotica one as well, because I've read so much erotica that I need to like be like, okay, well, these are the ones that are well written that can turn off my editor brain and these are the ones that like, you just do the control F to find the scenes and then you're like, okay, I'm done. I can't, I'm done.
Erin: Chapters seven, 12, 15, 21.
Danikka: Yeah. Yeah, exactly. But yeah, those are all...
Oh, so I haven't... This is the book I always recommend. And it's by an Australian author, Melina Marchetta.
I read these books once a year and it's the Lumatere Chronicles. So Finnikin of the Rock, Froi of the Exiles and Quintana of Charyn.
Erin: And you've recommended these to me like numerous times.
Danikka: So they're YA and I credit them with starting my obsession with political fantasy. So there's romance. So the first book is kind of, you could read it as a standalone and then the next two books follow Froi who was a minor character in the first book.
But the politics and everything that happens in the last two books makes a lot of stuff that happened in the first book make way more sense. Like they're intricately connected with like the lore and what's happened and like how all of the characters came together. And like the reason the first book happened gets explained in the last book.
Like it's all...
Erin: Oh, okay.
Danikka: So like you could read Finnegan of the Rock as a standalone and enjoy it and be like, cool, I read the first book.
And then Froi of the Exiles, like so many people that I recommended it to told me they stopped reading in Froi and I'm like, I get so mad because I'm like, keep going. You have to read it because it all starts to make sense in Quintana of Charyn. And then when you go back and read Froi again, it's just, you just, it blows your mind.
Like, so I read these books every year. I have audio book version. I have e-book version and I have print version.
Like I read all of them.
Erin: Have the bases covered, yeah.
Danikka: Yeah. And yeah, they started my obsession with political fantasy with... And I mean, they have romance elements as the two couples, the couple from the first book and then the couple from Froi and Quintana.
Oh, well, actually there's lots of couples, but there's two main couples.
Erin: Yeah, okay.
Danikka: And yeah, I just, I love them. I love them and...
Erin: Well, you have like a yearly reread, that is.
Danikka: Yeah, and like a yearly reread since like I read them as YA. Like my mum bought me Finnikin of the Rock when I was in like grade 10. So like I've read them, like I read Quintana of Charyn and Froi of the Exiles as they released and have read them every year since then.
That is, so yeah.
Erin: I feel like that's kind of all you need to say. I will reread them every year until I'm gone. That's it.
Danikka: Yeah, yeah. Like I just, I love them so much. And I definitely think Melina is probably the biggest influence on my writing.
Of any author I've read. It's Melina Marchetta. Okay.
Shout out to Aussie authors, both Indie and Trad.
Erin: Indeed, indeed.
Indeed. Well, I think that is all. I think we rambled quite a way.
Danikka: Yeah.
Erin: But if there was gonna, if we were gonna have a long one, this was gonna be it, really
Danikka: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thanks so much for listening everyone. And we will talk to you in the next episode.
Danikka: Thank you for listening to the Snailed It podcast with Danikka and Erin. Brought to you by Authors Own Publishing, the home of indie publishing. Don't forget to subscribe wherever you listen to your podcasts and follow us on Instagram at Authors Own Publishing.
Music brought to you by Mikel with more details in the show notes.
Episode Description
Join Danikka and Erin as they talk about the books that they always recommend to other readers. Many of the books feature POC and LGBTQ+ characters.
Books included:
Role Playing - Cathy Yardley
When In Rome - Sarah Adams
Practice Makes Perfect - Sarah Adams
The Wedding Planners; Five Dates Between Friends; Strings Attached - Erin Thomson
Red, White, & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Delilah Green Doesn’t Care - Ashley Herring Blake
Astrid Parker Doesn’t Fail - Ashley Herring Blake
Bringing Down the Duke - Evie Dunmore
A Rougue of One’s Own - Evie Dunmore
Half a Soul - Olivia Attwater
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels - India Holton
The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet - Colleen McCollough
The Undertaking of Hart & Mercy - Megan Bannen
Fourth Wing - Rebecca Yarros
The Call of The Sea - Kate Schumacher
Shadow of Fire; Heart of Flame - Kate Schumacher
Amber Wolf; Blue-Pointed Star - Lauren Searson-Patrick
Kiss Her Once for Me - Alison Cochrun
Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree
The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - Sangu Mandanna
Paladin’s Grace - T. Kingfisher
The Mirror Visitor Series - Christelle Dabos (books: A Winter’s Promise, The Missing of Clairdelune, The Memory of Babel, The Storm of Echoes)
Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo
Gideon the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir
The Lumatere Chronicles - Melina Marchetta (books: Finnikin of the Rock, Froi of the Exiles, Quintana of Charyn)
Brought to you by: Authors Own Publishing, Danikka Taylor, and Erin Thomson.
Danikka’s Details:
Website: www.authorsownpublishing.com
Instagram: @danikkataylor or @authorsownpublishing
Erin’s Details:
Website: www.erinthomsonauthor.com
Instagram: @authorerinthomson
Intro & Outro Music by Mikel & GameChops. The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are solely those of the individuals involved and do not necessarily reflect the views of Authors Own Publishing. Thanks for Listening!
