The Bookyard Pod

This week, Sam and Kai are jumping into a series that they discovered on their quest to find a romance subgenre that was right for them. That series is the Cowboy Colony Mail-Order Brides series, by Ursa Dax. Yes, you read that right. Not only is this series about aliens, it is also about mail-order brides. And somehow also about a prison planet. We know how that sounds, but listen along to hear about the surprisingly cozy, empowering, and western-esque world of the cowboy colonies. As always, this episode contains spoilers. Please read this series before you listen if you are sensitive to spoilers of any kind.

This week, Sam and Kai jump into Butcher and Blackbird by Brynne Weaver. The first in the Ruinous Love Trilogy, this book is FULL of murder, sex, famous chefs who take a lot of unaccounted vacation time, women in male-dominated fields, and descriptions of food that will make you never want to eat again! Join us as we talk about the great parts of the book, and some parts that gave us the ick. As always, this episode contains spoilers, so go read the book before you listen to this.

In this episode of the Bookyard Pod, Sam and Kai follow up on their most recent Pitch A Book reads. If you haven’t heard episode 5 of this season, go listen to that first, and then hop on back to hear about the mystery books from the episode. After talking about these new reads, Sam and Kai introduce you to one of their favorite reading theories: The Fiddle. This has become a part of the girls’ everyday vocabulary. As always, this episode contains spoilers. Specifically, if you have not listened to episode 5 of this season, or read The Grace Year or Shield of Sparrows, read those first and come back to us.

In this episode, Sam and Kai dive into Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid. More accurately, Sam and Kai sniffle and sob their way through this episode. If you love space, love, family dynamics, and intelligent women, this is the book for you. As always, this episode contains spoilers.

What is a boy book? Good question. As Sam and Kai get more and more involved in their podcast and reading in general, they’re having more and more people get interested (and in some cases, concerned) about the books they are reading. In this episode, the girls take recommendations from men in their lives who have been very clear that the books they read are MUCH more profound than silly girl books. Are boy books for you? Find out in this episode.

This week, Sam and Kai talk about arguably one of the most exciting 2025 releases: The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig. Join us as we go over characters that had us kicking our feet, giggling, squealing audibly, and then immediately after, throwing our books across the room. This book is JAM PACKED with spoilers.

This week, Sam and Kai return to play their favorite game: Pitch a Book. If you were here last season, you know all about this experiment. If not, let us explain before you get into the episode. Pitch a Book Rules:Sam and Kai each pick and read a book without telling each other what it is.They cannot mark that they are reading this book or have read this book on any of their book trackers. Outside help to decide which book to read is permitted.On Pitch a Book day:Sam and Kai take turns explaining the concept of their book, sharing ratings, and answering questions that the other has. The other person then has to decide whether they would read the book based on the pitch.Pitch a Book follow-ups happen during the same season, when Sam and Kai have had the chance to read the book and report back. This episode contains minor spoilers from 2 mystery books. Sam and Kai try to keep key spoilers hidden during their pitches. However, some minor details are sure to slip out.

Do you ever get frustrated because people around you keep dying? Are you frustrated that whenever you eat poisonous berries, you get the powers of death and are able to do a bunch of cool things? Have you ever stayed up wondering whether the concept of death is actually a hot guy (Spoiler alert: he is)? This week, Sam and Kai jump into the Belladonna Series by Adalyn Grace, where all these questions and more will be answered. As always, this episode contains spoilers.

In this episode of The Bookyard Pod, Sam and Kai return to one of their favorite experiments from season 1. The girls go to Planted in Pages and have the booksellers choose the best book they’ve read recently and the worst book they’ve read recently. The books they chose are How to Help a Hungry Werewolf and The Wolf King. This episode contains spoilers for both books and from the sequel to The Wolf King, The Night Prince.

This week, Sam and Kai jump into a new release that has caused a lot of drama on Booktok. Let’s talk about Silver Elite, by Dani Francis. What is the book about? What are the controversies surrounding it? Most importantly, should you read it? Find out with us this week! As always, this episode contains spoilers. As promised in this episode, we have included the link to an article that we reference. We would highly recommend checking this out if you are interested. https://michelleschusterman.substack.com/p/the-real-silver-elite-controversy

In this week’s episode, Sam and Kai welcome you back to season two of The Bookyard Pod. To start the season off, we are jumping right into one of our all-time favorite series, Frank Herbert’s Dune. Recently, the franchise had a spike in popularity due to the new movies. However, this series has always been wildly popular and for good reason. If you are a fan of space, the future, religious cults, crazy governments, and witches, this is the series for you. There are some serious spoilers for Dune in this episode. If you didn’t expect that, we aren’t sure how to break it to you…but this is a book podcast.

In this episode, Sam and Kai travel back in time to episode three, where they each pitched a book for the other to read. In the present, both of them have completed their reading, and it is time to see what they each thought about the other’s recommendation. After the discussion, the girls offer an inside view into what Season 2 of the podcast has in store for listeners. We hope to see you next season! This episode contains spoilers for both Shark Heart and The Wishing Game.

In this episode, Sam and Kai talk about their LAST experiment of season one. Welcome to Best and Worst, where we go to a bookstore and ask a bookseller for the best book they’ve read recently, and one that was not their cup of tea. This time, we went to Poppy Books in Spanish Fork, Utah. This episode contains spoilers for both The Thirteenth Child and Tehrangeles. Listen along to hear us compare the reads and share our thoughts. As part of the Worst and Best series, we want to remind you that people have all kinds of takes. Just because someone didn’t enjoy a particular book, it doesn’t mean that you won’t or that it isn’t worth a read. We hope you’ll read both books we discussed in this episode.

In this episode, Sam and Kai talk about another fun reading experiment that they recently finished. They read trending books and then read other books written by the same authors. They discover writing style changes, preferred genres, and other helpful insights. This episode contains spoilers for books written by Emily Henrie, Rebecca Ross, Stephanie Meyer (disclaimer in episode), and Rebecca Yarros.

In this episode, Sam and Kai talk about Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins’ new installment in the Hunger Games series. The girls talk about Haymitch, surprisingly recognizable side characters, and corrupt governments. The book is incredible, and we dive into it with you. As always with a deep dive, there are major spoilers in this episode for the book (and the whole series).

In this episode, Sam and Kai launch into the original Hunger Games trilogy in preparation for the release of Suzanne Collins’ Sunrise on the Reaping. The girls talk about how the Hunger Games shaped their childhoods and dystopian fiction. They cover the love triangle and avidly defend Peeta (the chosen MMC). They go into what they most hope to see from the next book in the series, which they will talk about in episode 15. It goes without saying that there are a lot of spoilers in this episode about the Hunger Games…and yet…here I am saying it.

In this episode, Sam and Kai talk about the Rebecca Ross theory. What started as a theory about how the second books in Ross’ duologies weren’t living up to expectations ended up taking a surprising turn when Sam and Kai decided to read ALL of Rebecca Ross’ books before jumping to conclusions. After discussing Divine Rivals, Ruthless Vows, A River Enchanted, A Fire Endless, The Queen’s Rising, The Queen’s Resistance, and The Sisters of Sword and Song, the girls propose a new Rebecca Ross theory. Notes: Although the episode doesn’t directly relate to the Throne of Glass Universe, there is a significant spoiler for the death of a character. Please do not proceed if that will make you sad. Also, we accidentally turned on the reverb setting on our mic for about 15 minutes of this episode. Please forgive the audio quality.

In this episode, Sam and Kai talk about Intermezzo by Sally Rooney. Was it one of the best books they read in 2024? You’ll have to listen to find out. As always, there will be spoilers in any episode where Sam and Kai do a deep dive into a book.

In this episode of The Bookyard Pod, Sam and Kai talk about some of their favorite bookstores in Utah County and beyond. Join us as we take you on a tour of four bookstores building their local communities and selling amazing books. The stores included in this episode are Pioneer Book, Planted in Pages, Folklore, and Poppy Books and Gifts.

In this episode, Sam and Kai talk about All the Colors of the Dark, a thriller that we are absolutely obsessed with. We talk about the author, the characters, and all the different aspects of the book. This is a thriller that has love stories, friendship, abuse, murder, abortion, and so much more. If you are squeamish about those topics, this may not be the episode for you. This episode contains spoilers (like all of our episodes).