Booked & Busy w/ Olivia Ponton

Welcome back to Booked & Busy... my podcast for all the girlies who love to read 💌 This week I'm SO excited to be joined by Lucy Score, #1 New York Times bestselling author and the fabulous mind behind the 'Knockemout' series! In this episode we're talking 'Things We Never Got Over' (including the series adaptation in development with Amazon MGM Studios), writing routines, character chemistry, slow burns and the editing process that "kills your soul." We're ALSO getting a little p...

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day angels 🎀🪽 On today's episode of Booked & Busy we'll be focusing on 'The Deal' by Elle Kennedy... the perfect fake-dating hockey romance for Valentine's Day!! It's sweet, it's surprisingly deep and emotional, it's... a little cringe tbh. Honestly what else could we ask for?!?! Instead of doing a heavy synopsis, we'll be mostly chatting about my thoughts and opinions on the characters, their relationship, and why they do the things that they do. A quick TW...

Welcome back to Booked & Busy 📚💘 Today is going to be an extra fun episode because we're joined by Abby Abell, a member of the Amazon Editors team! We're diving into all the best romance and romantasy books of 2025, the most anticipated releases of 2026, and the trends we're seeing in the literary space continuing into 2026. Get ready to add 20+ more books to your never-ending TBR... because, from enemies to lovers and forced proximity to second-chance romances and love triangles, we ha...

Hi angels!! Welcome back to another episode of Booked & Busy! This week we're not just breaking down one book... we're diving into the ENTIRE 'Twisted' series by our absolute queen, Ana Huang!! The 'Twisted' series is not just one continuous storyline, but four different emotional fantasies (whether you're into obsessive devotion, enemies-to-lovers, or royal romances), which makes these books perfect for all different types of readers! So for this episode we'll dive into why the 'Twiste...

Julia Whelan is officially Booked & Busy! Today's episode is a really exciting one because I'm joined by Julia Whelan...bestselling author, former actor, and one of the most iconic audiobook narrators of all time (she's narrated 700+ audiobooks, like hello??). We're talking all things My Oxford Year, the book and the movie adaption, plus Julia's writing process, how audiobooks actually get made, adapting scripts into novels, and why sometimes your dreams change... and that it's not failu...

A house that feels to quiet. A wife who feels too perfect. A job that feels...off. Today on Booked & Busy, we're deep diving The Housemaid by Freida McFadden, a psychological thriller novel that burrows under your skin and refuses to let go. This is a story about power, control, survival and the terrifying intimacy of domestic spaces. From unreliable narrators and emotional manipulation to locked doors, gaslighting, and performance perfection... this book had me questioning everything. ...

Alex Aster is officially... Booked & Busy 📚✨ Welcome back to another episode of Booked & Busy, and today's a major one! We're welcoming our very first guest author, Alex Aster. In this episode, we deep dive into her viral fantasy series (Lightlark), her New York City rom-com Summer in the City, how BookTok changed everything, and what it's actually like to write four books in a year! We talk fast-paced fantasy world building, romance tropes, and the reader-favorite Team Grim vs Team...

The Bachelor reimagined through a dystopian, royal lens. Today on Booked & Busy, I’m diving into The Selection by Kiera Cass — a world of castes, palace politics, rebellions, and a love triangle that unravels slowly and beautifully. We follow America Singer as she navigates duty, desire, and the weight of choosing between what’s familiar and what could change her life entirely. I’m unpacking the characters, the social hierarchy, the rebellion threads woven into the background, and the s...

Welcome to the very first episode of Booked & Busy with me, Olivia Ponton! We're kicking things off with one of the most talked-about fantasy romance books of all time... Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros. Think dragons, romance, war college drama, and an underdog main character we can't help but root for. In this episode, I'm diving into all the twists, betrayals, and (of course) the romantic sparks. This one's for the readers who wish they lived in the world of Basgiath, can't stop thinki...