What in the Smut? Podcast

Welcome back WITS listeners!This week, join Elle and Kay while they discuss My Energy Drink Sparks My Kitty by Kaysie Reads. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙In this episode, we are firmly back on our sentient object BS. Kay poses the question of energy drink or coke- you have to choose one. We appreciate that the can did actually become people-sized rather than staying the size of a can, but we still are struggling with his "canhood." The FMC seems to be love-bombed by an energy drink, and somehow they both end up as sentient energy... we're confused too. For the first time, Kay didn't fan cast this one... reading it was quite enough. Overall, it was a ⭐ from both Kay and Elle, but this did not put us off from sentient romance, don't worry. Stick around for next weeks!Affiliate Links for this week's episode:My Energy Drink Sparks My Kitty by Kaysie ReadsNext Week's book: Fill my Divot by Lavender BleuFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS Listeners!! Can you believe this is EPISODE FIFTY?!?!Join Elle and Kay as they discuss a brand new release A Gold Medal in Love by friend of the pod, Alex La Bruyere. Stick around for an interview with Alex where we get all the good details at the end of the episode!WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙Elle has finally watched Heated Rivalry and now fully understands the hype. We discuss how the main theme of an eating disorder in a romance novel was done so well, and how the other main character, Blake, does not set out to "fix" Imani. The smut was smutting in the spicy scenes, which made us wonder what exactly the security at the airport is thinking when they see suitcases filled with toys.Overall, both Kay and Elle rated this ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and were delighted to discuss how much they loved the book with the author, Alex LaBruyere!If you or someone you know is struggling with an eating disorder, support is available to youNational Alliance for Eating Disorders 1-866-662-1235https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/treatment-for-eating-disorders/eating-disorder-hotlines988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline https://988lifeline.org/Links for this week's episode: A Gold Medal in Love by Alex LaBruyèreNext week's book: My Energy Drink Sparks my Kitty by Kaysie ReadsFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!This week, Kay and Elle discuss Surrender by Rilzy Adams.WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙In this episode, Kay and Elle talk about the importance of diverse reading and perspectives, as well as exploring the different power dynamics at play with the characters of this steamy second chance erotic novella.Overall, both Elle and Kay gave this 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and loved the idea of escaping to St. ThomasAffiliate links for this weeks episode:Surrender by Rilzy Adams Next Week's Book: A Gold Medal in Love by Alex LaBruyèreFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!This week, Kay and Elle discuss Valentines Slay by Navessa Allen. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙We've decided that rather than call these collections of books by the rightful name of collections, or Kay's favorite, a group project... Elle has decided they're more of a pot-luck. This book got the spiciest rating for the potluck, but the smut in our opinion was pretty sweet and straightforward. Kay graces us with some completely unrelated animal facts (because there were no animal things we needed to research in this episode) and a wild video recap that you can find here (but honestly, watch at your own risk, its weird). As for the book itself, we discover that Kay is a big fan of the second chance romance, and unsurprisingly Elle, though appreciative of it in the literary world, is much more practical. Overall, both Elle and Kay gave this 3.5 ⭐⭐⭐ and have added Lights Out to their TBRs. Affiliate links for this weeks episode:Valentine's Slay by Navessa AllenNext week's book: Surrender by Rilzy AdamsFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!We are joined yet again by the one and only Nik the Forge Bear to discuss Willing Prey by Allie Oleander.WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙🐙 (there's CNC in the triggers, but we discuss whether or not it was obvious on the page)Buckle up everybody, because this is a long one (and honestly, could have been 2 hours longer... its what happens when you get 3 yappers and a smutty story in the same conversation). When Kay first read Willing Prey she knew that we absolutely had to get Nik on the show again to educate us on what we would consider one of the more rare kinks, primal play. If it's something you've never heard of, or maybe you read the book and it piqued your interest, Nik gives us some Primal Play 101. A hilarious miscommunication catches up with us an hour later, leaving Kay giggling far after the mics were turned off and well into production of the episode. We discuss the character arc of the MMC, and we are delighted to get a male perspective on some of the burning questions that we have. We get a different perspective on fan casts, and yet again Nik opens Kay's eyes to some more actors that she is sad she didn't know existed before this recording.Overall, Kay and Elle both rated this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐, which was a wild rating for Elle who loved the book despite not wishing to be the FMC. Nik also loved it, but gave it ⭐⭐⭐⭐. Affiliate links for this week:Willing Prey by Allie OleanderNext Week's book: Valentine's Slay by Navessa AllenFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and TikTok @what.in.the.smutFollow Nik on Instagram and TikTokVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS Listeners! We may be currently buried under mountains of snow, but we couldn't wait to talk about Fake It Til You Mate It by Sarah Spade. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙 In lieu of smutverse news this week, Elle reminds us that though the world is dark right now, we must hold on to our whimsy, even though we are and should be angry. Take care of yourselves, and take care of each other. In this week's book, Elle is displeased at the mystery behind it- but Kay asks if thats just because she wasn't able to figure it out at the beginning. We discover that Elle's affinity for true crime podcasts makes her take issue with shoddy police work in the shifter world. Kay researches a few obscure animal facts about opossums, and Elle teaches Kay another new word (if you've been around for a while, neither of these things should come as a surprise). Overall, Elle and Kay both rated this ⭐⭐⭐ for the cozy romance vibes, losing points with less of a What in the Smut and more of a Where is the Smut?Affiliate Links for this week's episode: Fake it Til You Mate It by Sarah SpadeNext Week's book: Willing Prey by Allie Oleander (with our special guest Nik the Forge Bear returning to discuss!)What Else We're reading:Elle: Tempests and Tea Leaves by Rachel MorganKay: The Midnight Library by Matt HaigFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!Join us this week as we discuss Phil and the File Cabinet by Katy Ipock. WITS Smut Scale: Could be 🐙, but truly could also be 🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙 because there are still so many questions. We start this week's episode with another discussion on AI, and Elle brings our attention to the facts behind the AI water usage with the video linked here. For the first time in close to a year, we didn't feel jaded with a sentient object book, and it brought us back to our roots of questioning what in the smut? While we love an origin story, this file cabinet's origin story starts a little dark and only gets more confusing, and Kay really can't get over the fact that this file cabinet is not metal. Our main character Phil works in quite possibly the worst corporate job ever, with so many HR violations. As always, we get a few google searches (and some restraint on Kay's part where she DOESN'T google something for once) and learn a few new words. Overall, Kay gave this 1.5 ⭐ and Elle liked it just a bit more with ⭐⭐Affiliate links for this week's episode:Phil and the File Cabinet by Katy IpockNext week's book: Fake it Til You Mate It by Sarah SpadeFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!This week, join Elle and Kay as they discuss Ducked by Rebecca Massey and Adelyne Graves. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙🐙We start off this week's episode with a love letter to Heated Rivalry, which Kay has since watched and loved. Kay shares her thoughts on gentle parenting vs very underpaid retail workers. Both Elle and Kay fully hated the FMC's ex-husband, which we suppose is the point of it all, but didn't need to be quite as descriptive in many cases. As usual, Kay's search history got some questionable exercise, but the mind just sometimes needs a visual. We discuss the difficulty of two authors collaborating on a book, and at least we're consistent in our opinions on them based on past episodes. Both Kay and Elle got stuck on the inclusion of Greed, agreeing that it seems to be one of the more difficult deadly sins to utilize for a romance narrative. Overall, this was a miss for us, with Kay giving this ⭐ and for the first time, Elle gave this zero stars. Affiliate links for this episode:Ducked by Rebecca Massey and Adelyne GravesNext week's book: Phil and the File Cabinet by Katy IpockFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back and Happy New Year WITS listeners!This week, join Elle and Kay as they discuss Space Vampire by the alien romance queen herself, Ruby Dixon.WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙Elle found the best book news for this week's smutverse- if you have any suggestions for the Hay Festival Pleasure List submissions, fill out the form here! With our book this week, both Kay and Elle love the new trend of groups of authors releasing a series of books with a specific theme, the best kind of group project. Kay has decided in pretty much all of these romance books, whether they are aliens, vampires, alien vampires, or anything else where the MMC is not human, the human FMC always has zero self preservation skills. Both have issues with traveling in a confined space with another individual for four months... Elle wants her alone time, and Kay is really concerned about the smell. Other than that very specific detail, Ruby Dixon does it again with making an alien romance seem reasonable.Overall, Kay gave this one 2.5⭐ while Elle rated it a little higher with 3 ⭐Affiliate links for this week's episode:Space Vampire by Ruby DixonNext week's book: Ducked by Rebecca Massey and Adelyne GravesFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!This week, join Elle and Kay as they discuss Midnight Drop by Lee Jacquot. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙We start this week with another disappointing smutverse update regarding the new "Ask this Book" feature on Amazon. Our take: Don't ask Amazon. Ask your friends, booktokers, book influencers, your librarian, us... you don't need AI for this, we promise! We were unaware going into this week's book that it was going to have such a cosplay-heavy vibe, but Kay learned some things and overall we thought it was a fresh take on a romance. Kay loves an enemies to lovers trope, and needs the world to know that Elle gives the best pep talks. The shot scene in this book had us absolutely on the edge of our seats, and we were loving the switch vibes that both characters were giving. Overall, Kay gave this one 3 out of 5 ⭐, while Elle landed at 4.5 out of 5 ⭐.Affiliate Links for this week's episodeMidnight Drop by Lee JacquotNext Week: Space Vampire by Ruby DixonFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!!This week, join Elle and Kay as they discuss The Naughty List by Ellie Mae MacGregor. WITS Smut Rating: 🐙Despite the fact that this is only a level one on the smut scale, this week's book brings the heat. Kay found herself relating way too much with the FMC to the point where she almost wanted to put the book down, but oh boy is she glad she didn't! Elle also pictured Kay in this story, from wanting Santa to taste like hot cocoa, to using phrases that Kay has definitely been guilty of using in her day to day language. Both Elle and Kay loved the fact that Santa was ripped, with tattoos and... nipple piercings?! Kay recalls a college class lesson that may just have changed Elle's perspective on the beauty of the female form. For the second week in a row, both Elle and Kay gave this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐! More Christmas magic!!Affiliate links for this week:The Naughty List by Ellie Mae MacGregorNext week: Midnight Drop by Lee JacquotWhat else we're reading this week:Kay: Ironside Academy Series by Jane WashingtonElle: Potions and Prejudice by Tee HarloweFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!This week, join Elle and Kay as they discuss Tinsel and Tentacles by Kate McDarrisWITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙This week, the smut verse makes both Kay and Elle mad with the age old audiobook debate. Consuming books in any medium is reading, ok? They questioned how a book with tentacles and a throuple didn't automatically get a rating of "icky sticky tangle of tentacles" with a surprisingly sweet and detailed plot for a novella. Kay laments how books like this give her hope for running into a rockstar somewhere and them just falling in love with her, and Elle, our resident reasonable one, did nothing to help bring that hope back down to reality. Typically not fans of miscommunication tropes, this book gave us the best kind of miscommunication for the situation. Overall, this may be the first time that both Kay and Elle rated this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!! Tis the season for tentacles and love at Christmas time!Affilliate links for this week's episode:Tinsel and Tentacles by Kate McDarrisNext week's book: The Naughty List by Ellie Mae MacGregorFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!Join us this week as Elle and Kay discuss Elf'd by Ginger Kane. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙Elle and Kay discuss how its ok for there to not be a grocery list of trigger warnings, and question if "too many arms" is a content warning or a good thing. Kay recalls a time that she opened a "Santa's little helper" in a Christmas swap, though she didn't end up leaving with it that night... a shame, truly. Both ladies were momentarily confused, expecting a tiny elf instead of the delicious being that appeared in front of the FMC Holly. Kay is back on board with no peppermint flavoring being used in today's story, but Elle still hates that the scent is mostly sugar based. We did feel a little bad for the MMC in his "once a year" lifestyle, but he does turn back into the toy that she can utilize year round. Now that we are firmly back on our sentient object bullshit two weeks in a row, Kay rated this ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5 and Elle surprised us both with ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐!Affiliate links for this episode:Elf'd by Ginger KaneNext week: Tinsel and Tentacles by Kate McDarrisFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!!Join Elle and Kay this week as they discuss Frisky the Snowman by Lauren Biel. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙🐙We are back on our sentient object romance bullshit this week, with a welcomed palate cleanser after the Thanksgiving and Halloween smut of late. Kay introduces Elle to a necessary pop culture SNL character moment, though Elle may disagree... Superstar anyone? For the first time, Kay is really put off by a flavor/scent because she know's it wouldn't be pleasant. We also uncover a potential life plot hole in the form of kitchen location... is your kitchen in the front of the house??This week, Elle gave the book ⭐⭐⭐ while Kay was a little higher at ⭐⭐⭐.5Affilliate Links for this week's episode:Frisky the Snowman by Lauren BielNext Week: Elf'd by Ginger KaneFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!This week, Elle and Kay are joined by Jayce from Jayce Reads Romance to discuss Back for Seconds by J.L. Logosz and Vera Valentine.WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙In this episode, Kay uncovers the plot hole of the wishbone not having the time to dry before snapping, and both Elle and Jayce had chalked it up to something thats only been done on movies and in books. We all struggle a little bit with the second person point of view, and we're glad that its not all that common in books. Kay tries desperately to make sense of the Thanksgiving meal being able to work in tandem because they've been together for so long (middle of the Civil War- who knew? (not Kay, thats for sure). We all come to the consensus that 5 is too many. Oh- and Justice for Gregg!Overall, Kay gave this ⭐⭐⭐, Jayce rated this ⭐⭐, and Elle went with ⭐.5. We still think Vera Valentine can do no wrong though.Affiliate links for this weeks episode:Back for Seconds by J.L. Logosz and Vera ValentineNext week: Frisky the Snowman by Lauren BielFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smutFollow Jayce @jaycereadsromance and listen to her podcast Jayce Reads Romance (our episode!!)Go Fund Me page for author Nia Davenport.Visit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!!Join us as we continue the Thanksgiving theme and discuss this week's book, Home for the Gobble Days by Latrexa Nova. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙🐙This week, Elle and Kay debate whether ghost sex is a real kink but agree that one of the opening scenes of this book would put someone firmly in whether or not they are into exhibitionism. A few of the plot holes in timing make our resident traveler, Elle, quite irritated. You won't eat a full dinner 10 minutes after you land from a red eye! Kay gets a history lesson in a way that she likes, and uses some of her own historical New England knowledge. Elle shares information that she learned at a much later age than she would have hoped for, and it all makes sense why we get the ted talk most weeks!We were happy to have rated this higher than the past few weeks, with Kay giving this ⭐⭐⭐.5 and Elle rating this ⭐⭐⭐.Affiliate links for this episodeHome for the Gobble Days by Latrexa NovaNext week: Back for Seconds by J.L. Logosz and Vera ValentineFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod and on TikTok @what.in.the.smut Visit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS Listeners!This week, Elle and Kay discuss a new kink in Freeuse Thanksgiving by April Cross and Matt Lake. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙The reviews get us going this week, with a mention of AI narration for the audiobook, and boy do we have thoughts. The book being written by two different authors also gives an interesting perspective, but we can tell that the MMC is written by a man. The introduction to the new-to-us kink of Freeuse could have had some more information about the lifestyle, but we leaned toward having issue with the fact that the FMC had until just recently been a virgin. Overall, this was another week of ⭐ ratings from both Elle and Kay, who had higher hopes for this storyline. Affiliate links for this week:Freeuse Thanksgiving by April Cross and Matt LakeNext week: Home for the Gobble Days by Latrexa NovaFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspodVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners. Halloween is over, its time to get grateful. Are we grateful that we read this book... you be the judge of that one. This week, Elle and Kay discussed Basted by Abby Hunter. WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙🐙🐙 This week, Elle has some "what not to do" financial advice in the first year of a relationship, and Kay gets to the root of where her hopeless romantic ideals come from. They question the choice to keep the MMCs as turkey basters instead of going the typical sentient object route of turning them into men, though the addition of magical tendrils helps a little. Also, as always, Elle has a visceral reaction to the introduction of gravy into places gravy should never go. Overall, this was a ⭐ from both Elle and Kay. Its been a while since we had a story that really needed a little more plot for both of us. Affiliate Links for this episode:Basted by Abby HunterNext Week: Freeuse Thanksgiving by April Cross and Matt LakeFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspod Visit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!This week, Elle and Kay are joined by a very special guest, Nik the Forge Bear to discuss Corny by Sabrina Cross.WITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙Get ready for growls, laughs, and all the soapbox talks from Nik. Somehow, in a book about a succubus possessed crocheted candy corn, we discuss dating apps, utilizing toys with a partner, and of course, the age old debate of whether or not candy corn actually tastes good. Nik coins a new gender neutral term, and comes up with a term of endearment that both he and Elle are not at liberty to use as members of Camp No Candy Corn.Overall, Kay gives this ⭐⭐⭐ while both Nik and Elle rated it a little higher at ⭐⭐⭐.5, and then we get a special treat of dual fan casts from Kay and Nik.A very special thank you to Nik the Forge Bear for joining us!!Affiliate Links for this episode:Corny by Sabrina CrossNext week: Basted by Abby HunterFollow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspodFollow Nik on Instagram and TikTokVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.

Welcome back WITS listeners!!This week, Elle and Kay discuss Hallowpeen by Holly WildeWITS Smut Scale: 🐙🐙🐙This week, Kay and Elle were both not expecting really any of what went on in this book, but in true Holly Wilde fashion, we were taken on a ride. Kay related quite a bit to one of the main characters, as someone who tends to get herself into uncomfortable conversations with crying strangers. Though both preferred the storyline of Man Candy to the Hallowpeens, Elle had a LOT to say regarding sugar in certain areas. To finish things off, Kay creates a list of all of Holly's puns... that woman really should create her own thesaurus! Overall, Kay gave this ⭐⭐ and Elle gave it ⭐⭐.5 Affiliate Links for this episode:Hallowpeen by Holly WildeNext Week: Corny by Sabrina Cross (with a very special guest Nik the Forge Bear!!)Follow us on Instagram and Threads @thewitspodVisit our Buy Me a Coffee page!Don't forget to like, follow, subscribe, and tell all your friends!Love Sponge byTriple5 Here is licensed under a Attribution 4.0 International License.