Genre’d: A Book Podcast

We’re joined by our friend Kerry for an Off Book chat about reading across genres, building the ultimate Libby queue, and why sci-fi is the one genre she’d defend with her whole chest. We get into Red Rising, Ender’s Game, dystopian fiction, and the very real difference between sci-fi and fantasy when what you actually want is strategy, survival, and humans figuring things out.We also talk cozy mysteries, period pieces as comfort reads, smutty walking audiobooks, Kindle hacks, and the special humiliation of realizing you’ve only ever read a word in your head and never said it out loud.Plus: space travel anxiety, Titanic submersible discourse, adaptation hot takes, and a completely sincere interest in taking a survivalist class in Central Park.

In the dystopian city of New Found Haven, mercy is illegal and love can get you killed. So naturally… an assassin and the president’s executioner end up forced into a very public marriage.This week we’re talking about Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe, a brutal, addictive dystopian romance packed with political rebellion, morally gray characters, and some of the most actual enemies-to-lovers energy we’ve read in a while.We break down the world of masked elites and class warfare, why the forced marriage trope works so well here, and how this book somehow manages to balance violence, romance, and simmering feminine rage.Also discussed: vengeful women movie classics, Elyse’s questionable Alexa audiobook hack, and why this might be one of our favorite reads in years.⚠️ The first ~25 minutes are spoiler-free. After that we get into the full chaos.-------------------------------------------------------📚 Book: Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe🎧 Next episode: Half His Age by Jennette McCurdy

This week on Genre’d, we dive into Alchemised by SenLinYu — a sprawling, thousand-page dark fantasy that’s equal parts war chronicle, moral study, and emotional endurance test.We unpack the dense alchemical magic system (vitality, resonance, necromancy—oh my), trauma-bonded romance, and why this book might’ve worked better as a trilogy. Also: Elyse’s Top Chef obsession, Katy’s Dancing with the Stars lore, and a quick detour through Manacled fanfic land.💥 Spoiler note: first ~30 minutes are spoiler-free; full-on spoilers after that (clearly flagged).🚨 Content warnings: war violence, sexual violence, torture, memory loss, body horror.In this episode we chat about:Tropes & vibes: dark academia, morally black love interest, trauma bond, power imbalanceCharacters to watch: Helena (the healer who breaks herself to save others), Kane (obsession personified), Lila (warrior & reformer)Themes: memory, identity, power, and how women are erased from the stories they shapePop-culture detours: Mistborn, Top Chef, and Dancing with the Stars–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts📱 Follow @genredpodcast on Instagram & TikTok for more chaos between episodes

We’re kicking off Nic DiDomizio’s promo season (!!) with his first interview for A Murder Most Camp—a cozy murder mystery that’s basically a warm hug… with a body. We talk writing under a wildly chaotic deadline, why “genre” is both helpful and annoying, and how this book accidentally became the coziest mystery Katy's been searching for (without being tricked this time).We also get into Nic’s reading roots (hello, Goosebumps), his comfort reads + memoir obsessions, and the chaos of publishing—agents, acquisitions, P&Ls, and all the parts that are completely out of an author’s control.Plus: summer camp misfits, Annabelle supremacy, and a truly dangerous amount of memoir recommendations.A Murder Most Camp releases April 28, 2026— and Nic will be on tour (Saratoga Springs 4/28, Houston 5/1, Scottsdale 5/2 + more).Follow Nic on Instagram: @NicDiDomizioBooks

This week on Genre’d, we’re talking Catch Her If You Can by Tessa Bailey — a marriage-of-convenience, friends-to-lovers, baseball romance set in Rhode Island… featuring a burlesque club owner, a down-bad Yankees catcher, and one very secret organ donation.But first, we have some things to say:We’re deep in our Carolyn Bessette Kennedy era thanks to Ryan Murphy’s Love Story — 90s New York, Calvin Klein minimalism, voicemail screening, and the return of the effortless button-down. Also: snowstorms, Quince hauls, and why we refuse to wear proper podcast headphones.Then we dive into:Marriage of convenience for health insurance (in this economy?)He falls first, he falls harderSports romance but make it reluctantVirgin with a kinkFound family energyOrgan donation as a love languageElyse thought it was cute, trope-stacked, and delightfully dramatic.Katy… did not.We get into all of it — the secrecy, the exhibitionist storyline, the third-act chaos, and whether this romance actually earned its happily ever after.First ~25 minutes are spoiler-free. Spoiler alarm after that.Next up: Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe.Rate, review, subscribe — and remember: no genre shaming… unless it’s funny.

This week on Off Book, we’re joined by stand-up comic and actor Jen Keefe (friend of Bryanna, Virgo sun, elite Libby strategist) for a truly unhinged retelling of A Court of Thorns and Roses.If you’ve ever wondered what ACOTAR sounds like to someone who does not read fantasy… buckle up.We cover:The art of gaming Libby holds like it’s TicketmasterWhy memoir girlies are built differentMagic Treehouse vs. Matt Christopher childhood loreDivision III hockey, minor spine surgery, and women’s sports having a momentAnd a blow-by-blow ACOTAR recap featuring:“Fire”Amber TamlinAmethyst the CrystalA scary windAnd blacked-out lap dancesJen also shares her favorite memoir recommendations (including The Glass Castle, Casey Wilson, Ziwe, and more), plus a shoutout to her 30-minute stand-up special Wife Guy now on YouTube.Spoilers for A Court of Thorns and Roses in the back half.Fantasy readers… please report to the comments.

This week on Genre’d, Katy and Elyse dive into My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney, a twisty psychological thriller about marriage, memory, and how well we really know the people we love.Before getting into the book, the sisters spiral delightfully into forgotten MTV original movies, early-2000s nostalgia, and a spirited discussion about book-to-screen adaptations — including why author control might be the key to fantasy actually working on TV.In the spoiler-free section, they cover genre, vibes, characters, and who this book might work for (including whether their mom would like it). Then, after a clear spoiler warning, they break down the many twists, unreliable narrators, and whether the reveals felt earned or just deeply chaotic.📚 Genre: Psychological thriller, small-town drama⚠️ Spoiler warning: First ~20 minutes are spoiler-free; full spoilers after📖 Next read: Catcher If You Can by Tessa BaileyRemember to rate, review, and subscribe — and no genre shaming unless it’s funny.

Welcome back to Genre’d: Off Book. This week, we’re doing a little mailbag episode: we asked you to send in your most burning questions about us, books, and the podcast, then pulled 10 at random and answered them with zero preparation and maximum sister energy.We get into the important stuff, like:Which one of us would die first in a dystopian world (spoiler: our eyesight is not apocalypse-friendly)Our 2026 book trend predictions (hello dystopian comeback and “science friction”)Our most side-eye-worthy book opinions (including a full “unlikable characters” rant)Where we actually live (NYC + Delaware life, explained)Where we love buying books (used bookstores, ThriftBooks, and the holy chaos of The Strand)What goes into making the podcast that you don’t see (so many lights, so much equipment, so much troubleshooting)Then we bring in a very special guest: our little sister Amanda for a lightning round of “who’s most likely to…” questions, featuring the return of the Dancing With the Stars paddles and absolute nonsense, including:Who would die first in a horror movieWho forgets titles but remembers vibesWho reads smut in public unbotheredWho judges someone’s bookshelf immediatelyIt’s chaotic, it’s personal, it’s extremely us.As always: rate, review, and subscribe wherever you listen. And remember: no genre-shaming… unless it’s funny.

This week on Genre’d, we’re talking We Who Will Die by Stacia Stark: a romantasy gladiator-trials situation with vampires, sigil-marked magic, corrupt monarchy vibes, and a main character who is (1) deeply traumatized and (2) absolutely not a strategic thinker.But first, we have some things to say: Katy’s quest to become a lip liner girlie (feat. the L’Oréal Blur Filler Blurring Lip Contour “thick boy”), Elyse accidentally forcing herself into Adobe Premiere like a creative director, and a quick detour into the Blake Lively/Taylor Swift text message rabbit hole because celebrities are, unfortunately, just like us.Spoiler warning: First ~20 minutes are spoiler-free (synopsis, characters, vibes). Full spoilers after that.In the spoiler-free section, we get into:Trials, “Chosen One” energy, found family, and a very Hunger Games / Gladiator-coded setupWorldbuilding that’s actually doing something (vampires + daylight deprivation as a whole personality)The magic system: sigils, power scaling, and Arvelle’s tiny gold mark that starts getting… suspiciousThen we go full spoilers on!Next pick: My Husband’s Wife by Alice Feeney (we’re taking a hard left into thrillers to cleanse the palate).As always: rate, review, and subscribe — and remember, no genre shaming unless it’s funny.

This week on Off Book, we’re joined by our favorite comfort creator Morgan (aka Coop’s Kitchen) for a cozy chat about how she got into reading, why fantasy is the ultimate “everything genre,” and the tropes she’ll never get tired of (yes, enemies to lovers forever).We also get into Twilight as the original romantasy gateway, fantasy misconceptions, book recs for new fantasy readers (The Hunger Games) and fully-converted fantasy lovers (Fourth Wing… with opinions), plus what Morgan’s reading right now (Nightbane and I Who Have Never Known Men). And of course: Coop the golden retriever, soup discourse, and the most organized book club on planet Earth (with a spreadsheet and a rotating menu).Follow Morgan: @coopskitchen on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

This week on Genre’d, we’re diving into Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen, a high-stakes romantasy packed with brutal trials, dire wolves with attitude problems, and secrets that have been festering for centuries.But first — we have some things to say.Katy is deep in a full-blown spiral over Heated Rivalry, the wildly viral hockey romance series based on the beloved books by Rachel Reid. We unpack why this show has completely taken over the internet, why the stakes actually matter, and how Katy ended up talking to her therapist about rival hockey men.Then we get into Dire Bound:A kick-ass street fighter enters a deadly set of trials to bond with a dire wolf and save her kidnapped sister — only to uncover a corrupt system, erased history, and a destiny she never asked for. Expect trials, magic schools, chosen-one energy, moody wolves, suspicious men, and romantasy chaos.💥 Spoiler warning: First ~20 minutes are spoiler-free. Full spoilers after that (including character reveals, mating bonds, and late-book twists).✨ What we cover:• Romantasy tropes, trials, and dire wolf bonding• A heroine who starts out already dangerous• Love interests you should absolutely not trust• Found family, pack politics, and power reveals• Why this is a solid entry point for adult romantasy readers⭐ Final verdict: A fast, fun romantasy that scratches the itch — even if seasoned readers may spot the twists coming.🎧 Rate, review, and subscribe — and remember: no genre shaming… unless it’s funny.

Bryanna’s back! You might remember her from the first three episodes of Genre’d, and she’s back in the (evolving) studio to talk about the genre that has her in a chokehold: contemporary “book club books”—think Reese, Oprah, and all the buzzy picks you need to be up on.We get into how she fell out of reading in her 20s (hi, chronic online era), how Sarah J. Maas dragged her right back in, and why she’ll always chase books that spark conversation and eventually become prestige TV. Plus: audiobook obsession, Alexa-as-a-narrator chaos, the real reason romance is the best-selling genre, and a passionate defense of “silly little women’s books” as actually…literature.

It’s a wrap on 2025. 🥂 In this "Year in Reading" episode, Katy & Elyse recap how many books they actually read (and why Goodreads is a liar), share their top 5 books of the year, and crown the best plot twist, worst third act, most unnecessary plot twist, and more.We also get into trope MVPs (small-town found family vs. morally gray love interests), the genre shifts the podcast sparked, and what we’re chasing in 2026—more thrillers, darker romantasy, fewer fated mates (sorry, Omegaverse), and finally cracking social media + YouTube.✨ Featured books & series include: Rose in Chains, Dungeon Crawler Carl, We Are All Guilty Here, Girl Dinner, Phantasma, Bourbon & Lies, Serial Killer Games, Silver Elite, Alchemised, Onyx Storm, and more.📌 Remember: no genre shaming… unless it’s funny.

It’s our holiday special 🎄✨ This week on Genre’d, we’re diving into Holiday Ever After by Hannah Grace—a cozy, low-stakes holiday romance packed with small-town charm, forced proximity, grumpy/sunshine vibes, and just enough smut to keep things interesting.Before we get into it, we do have some things to say: Hanukkah shout-outs, Goodreads goal confessions, audiobook chaos, and a brief detour into hockey romance discourse (as one does).In the spoiler-free section, we break down the vibes, tropes, characters, and whether this Hallmark-coded romance hits or misses—plus an important discussion on wooden dolls, small business drama, and why fixing sinks is apparently very hot.🎁 Spoiler warning: First ~20 minutes are spoiler-free. Full spoilers after.❄️ Tropes & vibes: big city girl / small town boy, forced proximity, grumpy MMC, cozy Christmas setting, low angst📚 Holiday rating: comforting, cute, and exactly what it promises to beWe’re off next week for the holidays, but we’ll be back in the New Year with our 2025 wrap-up. Until then—rate, review, subscribe… and remember: no genre shaming (unless it’s funny). 💚

This week on Genre’d: Off Book, we sit down with our forever friend Ankeen — Brooklyn massage therapist, philosopher-at-heart, and unapologetic romance lover — to talk all things smut, tropes, and why romance is so much more than “frivolous.”We get into how Harlequin paperbacks and Nora Roberts’ Montana Sky turned her into a reader at age ten, why “tasteful” sex scenes still hit, and what makes a perfect gateway romance versus a full-throttle smutty series (rock bands, hockey players, high-end sex clubs in London… we cover it all).Along the way we unpack big misconceptions about the romance genre, why men should absolutely be reading “books for girls,” the tropes Ankeen loves (brother’s best friend, sexy doctors, firefighters, found family) and the ones she’ll DNF without hesitation (college main characters, high-school second chance, surprise pregnancies, zero communication). We also talk about the unexpected overlap between romance novels, philosophy texts, and how we all crave intimacy and connection in every part of our lives.Plus: where to find Ankeen for lymphatic drainage, cupping, Ayurvedic face massage, and witchy goodness at Uncle Nat’s and Enchantments in NYC.

This week on Genre’d, we dive into Alchemy of Secrets, Stephanie Garber’s glitter-soaked urban fantasy about a grad student, a ticking countdown to her death, and a magical scavenger hunt across Hollywood. But first… we have some things to say about Girl Dinner, Dungeon Crawler Carl, and the emotional devastation of the Dancing With the Stars finale.💥 Spoiler warning: The first ~30 minutes are spoiler-free; after that, we get into the twists, scene stealers, and magical scavenger-hunt reveals.__________________________________________________________In this episode:We unpack the major tropes, vibes, and why LA feels like its own main character.Elyse explains why this reads more YA than the “adult fantasy” marketing suggests.It’s giving: Caraval energy, Veronica Mars vibes, hotel-bar devil sightingsFinal ratings, lingering questions, and our predictions for book two.__________________________________________________________✨ New episodes every week, covering everything from romantasy to thrillers to whatever TikTok tells us to read next.Follow us on Instagram & TikTok: @genredpodcastEmail us: genredpodcast@gmail.com🎧 If you enjoyed the episode, subscribe, leave us a rating, and share with a fellow book lover.

This week on Genre’d: Off Book, we’re joined by Elyse's longtime friend Melissa, a self-proclaimed dystopian-fiction girlie who swears she “doesn’t really read fantasy” (we have notes). We talk about the books that broke open her love of bleak futures and authoritarian governments, why The Giver in fifth grade was maybe a bit much, and how dystopian stories are secretly… kind of hopeful?Come for the dystopian deep dive; stay for the celebrity memoir recs, curriculum hot takes, and a bonus mini-interview with Melissa’s four-year-old son Alex, who explains why Captain Underpants is his bestie and teaches us all how to take deep breaths when we’re sad or mad.In this Off Book episode, we chat about:How The Giver, A Wrinkle in Time, and The Handmaid’s Tale turned Melissa into a dystopian-fiction liferWhy The Hunger Games is her go-to “starter pack” rec (and how classics like 1984 and Brave New World hit differently as adults)The biggest misconception about dystopian books—and why she thinks they’re actually love letters to human resilienceHer favorite tropes: the “truth drop” gut-punch and the moment the rebel finally wakes upWhy high fantasy and magic systems don’t work for her, plus tech-y, near-future recs like Silo, The Power, Vox, and moreHer “cheat genre”: celebrity memoirs (including Mindy Kaling, Jessica Simpson, Drew Barrymore, and Britney Spears)A very special kid-lit segment with Alex featuring Captain Underpants, The Pigeon Has to Go to School, rainbow bear Coco, and the world’s cutest breathing exerciseLight spoilers for The Giver, 1984, The Hunger Games, and The Handmaid’s Tale (all decades-old, but still).

This week on Genre’d, Katy and Elyse unpack Girl Dinner by Olivie Blake — a darkly funny, campus-set satire about ambition, sisterhood, and the messy, conflicting pressures of modern womanhood.Come for the spoiler-free first 20 minutes; stay for the chaos, the academic gossip, the wellness-culture unhinged moments, and a twist ending we absolutely had to talk through.💥 Spoiler Warning: First ~20 minutes spoiler-free; full spoilers after.What we cover:Satire, camp, and why this book toes the line between “too real” and “too absurd.”Nina & Sloane: ambition, motherhood, identity, and the pressures of belonging.Sorority culture, tradwives, wellness as a status symbol, and modern feminism.The infamous “girl dinner” concept… and yes, the twist everyone wants to dissect.Who this book is and isn’t for, and why it makes such a wild book-club pick.Our one-line plots, unfiltered reactions, and final ratings.-------------------------------------------------------------🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts📱 Follow @genredpodcast on Instagram & TikTok for more chaos between episodes

Katy interviews co-host and sister Elyse about her first love—fantasy. They talk origin stories (thanks, Oma!), gateway recs for brand-new readers, what to try if you’ve “read it all,” and why tropes like fake dating/marriage of convenience never get old. Expect Tamora Pierce nostalgia, a passionate plea to (maybe) finish a certain unfinished trilogy, a defense of romance in high fantasy, and a spicy primer on… Omegaverse.Highlights: what fantasy actually offers (social commentary in disguise), recs by age/experience level, and Elyse’s genre “cheat” list when she needs something lighter.

This week on Genre’d, we check into ⁠A Witch’s Guide to Magical Innkeeping by Sangu Mandanna — a cozy, witchy fantasy where found family, grief, and a sentient inn collide under one teapot-raining roof.We talk about the quiet magic system, why “grumpy × grumpy” romances hit differently, and what makes a comfort read still feel substantial. Plus: vintage Nancy Drew hauls, Katy’s birthday Kindle chaos, and the great Dancing with the Starsstreaming mystery.💥 Spoiler note: first ~17 minutes are spoiler-free; full spoilers after that (clearly flagged).In this episode:- Nancy Drew book haul and Hallmark season kick-off- The Inn as a sentient character with main-character energy- Representation we loved — autism, disability, and outsider themes- Debate: what we’d change about that ending------------------------------------------------------------🎧 Listen now wherever you get your podcasts📱 Follow @genredpodcast on Instagram & TikTok for more chaos between episodes