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© 2025 Besties and the Books Podcast
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We’re Ashley and Liz, two real-life besties who’ve loved books since we first learned to read, so naturally, we started a podcast! We would say the rest is history but in actuality, it's just the beginning. So come join us in the next chapter of our lives as we introduce ourselves, and laugh our way through the world of books with a focus on Fantasy, Romantasy, and Dark Romance. Of course we have love for all book genres, but those are our absolute favorites!
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Liz
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Ashley
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Don't be shy, subscribe! New Podcasts every Tuesday!
YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Podcast Platforms
@BestiesandtheBooksPodcast
Liz
Instagram | TikTok
@TheRealLifeVeganWife
Ashley
Instagram | TikTok
@AshleyEllix
Email bestiesandthebooks@gmail.com
68 Episodes
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Send us a text Welcome back to Ashley & Liz’s dystopian sci fi episode bonus series: The Hunger Games! We spend ½ of this episode playing the piano (yes, you read that right) and the other ½ convincing you to read this series. If that doesn’t do it for you… we don’t know what else you could want! If you’ve been following along and watched our “From 1984 to Hunger Games” dystopian themes in media and literature episode then you know we’re fascinated with everything about this genre a...
Send us a text Today we’re chatting about Romantasy Bookcon, Los Angeles, 2025! This amazing convention put on by Fabled Fantasy Events was Liz and Ashley’s first, but it surely will not be our last! We talk about our overall faves and fails of Bookcon (our faves being mostly the amazing community) and consequently, what our top five tips for attending your first book convention are plus 5 rookie mistakes to avoid. In short: get there early, map out a plan and get to know the layout, b...
Send us a text Welcome to Ashley & Liz’s dystopian sci fi episode bonus series: The Hunger Games! If you’ve been following along and watched our “From 1984 to Hunger Games” dystopian themes in media and literature episode then you know we’re fascinated with everything about this genre and needed to delve into this discussion! It just happens to be a BIG bonus that Ashley had never read it before. Watch here | https://youtu.be/Ns4E87T36KQ?si=P0wXBSgyvRkNAABd The debate currently on the b...
Send us a text This week is. The. Week. We’re officially back in mini episode bonus mode with The Hunger Games book 1, by Suzanne Collins dropping this Friday! So today Ashley and Liz are setting us all up for success in our dystopian sci fi series with an episode about the history of dystopias! Not surprisingly, there is a lot of ground to cover, so we do our best to take a whole lot of information and condense it down for you to put all of these stories we love so much into context. First, ...
Send us a text A few episodes back we brought you an exclusive interview with the extraordinarily talented Callie Hart, author of the New York Times bestselling romantasy novel Quicksilver (linked below). It should come as no surprise that Liz and Ashley both loved this book, rating it a solid five stars! So today, we’re breaking it down for you. What did we love about this book? Were there any things we disliked? We go over our favorite tropes, characters and plot points. And also chat...
Send us a text First there was a cringey Thanksgiving with a sack full of turkey. Then there was a cringey Christmas alien with a magic mirror, and a magic… you know what. And now, we bring to you: a very cringey Valentine’s Day featuring old timey detective vampires and a sweet stalker with Dexter-like tendencies. Today Ashley and Liz give our two cents on two holiday themed novellas we may not have picked up if it weren’t for our love of this series: Valentine’s Day With A Vampire by...
Send us a text Well, sh*t. 😂 Some of you are going to be screaming at your screen / headphones, upset at us that Onyx Storm just wasn’t it for us. And that’s okay! That’s what we absolutely love about reading. There’s something for everyone. And if this 3⭐️ / 2🌶️ romantasy jumble is your thing… we will listen and not judge. Promise! We just hope you can do the same for us. Today is all about breaking down this plot line. That ending? The 10,000 unnecessary characters? Ashley and Liz can...
Send us a text Today is all about romance. We’re gearing up for Valentine’s Day over here at Besties & the Books Podcast and what exactly does that mean (you might be wondering)? Well, it means we’re going to be diving back into the Reddit realms to bring you romance book and V-Day themed Am I the A Hole questions! Should you buy your ex-girlfriend red roses for Valentine’s Day if you’re in a new relationship? Are you the a-hole for expecting more than a personalized pen as a gift on thi...
Send us a text We’ve been keeping a BIG secret from you… our book besties… and today is finally the day we get to reveal it! We interviewed Callie Hart!! *Insert happy screaming here.* We are SO excited to share this SPOILER FREE author interview with you, so stick around if you’re interested in listening to us chat with the one and only Callie Hart, author of the New York Times bestselling romantasy book: Quicksilver! This amazing book is officially available on Paperback and Kindle now, wit...
Send us a text Today is the day we all do our best to take it…seriously. All the girthy 784 pages of this big boy must be discussed. And as the longest of the bunch (according to some) all we can do is grab onto that headboard and just like Nesta, “climb [that] mountain.” But seriously… today is the day Ashley and Liz go over the final (for now) book in the ACOTAR series: A Court of Silver Flames by Miss Sarah J. Maas. We discuss why this book is so polarizing, how we feel about the me...
Send us a text Liz and Ashley are back from their holiday hibernation, ready to talk about everything Broken Bounty Series by Ember Nicole. Today’s episode is the spoiler-y follow up to our spoiler FREE author interview that dropped in December. We discuss the major differences between the first two books and book three, Live For Me, the newest release in this dark romance rollercoaster of a series. We talk about what makes this storyline so unique, why it ripped our hearts and souls ou...
Send us a text Merry Christmas Book Besties! Today Liz and Ashley are here to discuss all things even remotely related to this glorious holiday… and we do it in special light up Christmas Tree hats. You’re welcome. First, we’ll ask each other a series of Christmas related questions like what our best and worst gifts have been, our family traditions, favorite music, and what we like to eat and watch. Next, we bring the DRAMA with AITA Reddit threads dedicated to Christmas family is...
Send us a text Today we have a very special interview* with dark romance indie author and the queen of heartbreaking cliffhangers herself, Ember Nicole. We chat all things Broken Bounty series to celebrate the release of Live For Me, book three in this emotional rollercoaster which is the bounty hunter romance she created. *Author interviews will always be spoiler free so everyone can enjoy them and determine whether or not we want to add these books to our never-ending TBR. So, proceed with ...
Send us a text We’re nearing the end of 2024. So naturally, Liz and Ashley are reflecting on the important things in life. Our goals, our hopes, our dreams… and of course, the most important thing of 2024: WICKED, Part 1 (and Jonathan Bailey). Let’s chat about Wicked in all of its glory! The movie, the play, and the books… and how they tie into our goals for the podcast in 2025! We discuss if bookish goals are useful and positive. Then move on to our individual and joint goals moving forward,...
Send us a text It’s officially Christmas season over here on the BATB Pod and Ashley and Liz are kicking off December with two “cringy” Christmas novellas that double as unhinged! This go-around we dive into Mr. Jingle, a Christmas-themed paranormal monster romance by Layla Fae that (not unlike Full Sack) has unforeseen twists, turns, tentacles, and surprises around every corner! Then we dive into a dark romance Christmas treasure, Hunted in Holly by Leann Belle. Think: primal play and du...
Send us a text Happy Thanksgiving Book Besties! Today Liz and Ashley are here to discuss all things even remotely related to Turkey Day, in all its glory… and we do it in special hats. You’re welcome. First, we’ll ask each other a series of Thanksgiving related questions like what our favorite memory is, our Thanksgiving family traditions, and what we like to eat and watch. Next, we bring the DRAMA with AITA Reddit threads dedicated to Thanksgiving family issues with things like&n...
Send us a text It’s truly the end of an era. Our Twilight virgin era. We read all the books for the very first time, and rewatched all the movies since our original jump scare years ago, and now we’re here. We’re Ashley and Liz, new Twilight fans and just girls, ready to talk to you all about our innermost thoughts in regards to this fandom. We rate the book series as a whole, and then we choose which movie was our most loved and most hated, and which book we liked least and most. We go...
Send us a text Every Friday is “Bestie Card Friday” with Ashley and Liz over on the good old Instagram. We pick some cards, we answer an unhinged “would you rather” question, and you guys vote on what YOU would rather do. We’ve been doing that for almost eight months! And you guys wanted more. So here we are, playing “would you rather” for an entire episode. Would we rather live in Velaris or Terrasen? Would we rather only read hockey romance or watch Harry Potter movies forever? Choose betwe...
Send us a text Here we are! Ashley and Liz discuss the epic book conclusion of the Twilight Saga. We seriously need to sort some things out with y’all. Like: why is imprinting a thing? It’s so disturbing. How is there a team Edward vs. team Jacob rivalry when CLEARLY Jacob is trash? And how do we feel about all of that buildup leading us to THAT particular ending? We’ve got unanswered questions. Episode 4 covers book 4: Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler ...
Send us a text Have you ever wondered what smutty Thanksgiving themed novella books are out there on Kindle Unlimited? Are you wondering what holiday themed kinkz this very specific genre may unlock for you? Well, wonder no more. Ashley and Liz did the research for you and now we’re presenting the evidence. It’s just science. We read Full Sack by Layla Fae and Three Times the Fun by Blythe Reid. We’ve got a little bit of Thanksgiving magic involving a turkey, a MMC named Racoon, and exp...
Send us a text Today Ashley and Liz are discussing the problematic and rage-inducing “love triangle?!” that is the bulk of the content in Eclipse. Find out why we think imprinting and kissing women against their will is wrong to do! And why we think Jacob and Charlie can go kick rocks. Episode 3 covers book 3: Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler free with our one sentence rapid star reviews. Then we jam pack this mini episode with an entire plot summary in five ...
Send us a text Ashley and Liz just got back from the When We Were Young fest and boy do we have some good faves and fails of the week, including Gerard Way’s sexy hair swoop heard ‘round the world. After we hash THAT out for all of our collective enjoyment, we get into our hot takes. We’ve got some from Reddit, we’ve got some from Threads… and we need to know. Do you agree or disagree? Should you count a book as “read” toward your goal if you DNFed it? Can something be overrated? Or is ...
Send us a text Welcome back to Ashley & Liz’s vibey, angsty, fall-girl mini episode bonus series all about our FIRST TIME reading Twilight. Episode 2 covers book 2: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler free with our one sentence rapid star reviews. Then we jam pack this mini episode with an entire plot summary in five sentences, what our faves and fail characters and plot points are, our feelings, notable quotes, and end with a fun piece of Twilight Saga tri...
Send us a text Happy Halloween Book Besties! Today’s episode is all about one of our favorite holidays, and everything Liz and Ashley love about the spooky fall season! We decided to put together the perfect taster episode of all your favorite treats, but made it Halloween themed… and we did it in silly wigs. Just because we can! We answer a series of spooky questions like what our fave scary book, movie, Halloween treat, and costumes have been over the years so we can all get to ...
Send us a text Welcome to Ashley & Liz’s spooky mini episode bonus series: Twilight! If you’ve been following along and watched our “Why Vampires” episode then you know we’re fascinated with the lore and needed to be a part of this fandom! Just for the inside jokes alone… As late high school and early college age gals, we missed the boat in exchange for studying, partying, and working, so we’re reading these FOR THE FIRST TIME as mid 30’s fantasy obsessed book podcasters. And we’re ...
Send us a text Today on the Besties & the Books Podcast Ashley and Liz discuss some of our favorite monsters: Vampires, and attempt to understand why these undead, blood sucking creatures have dominated spooky lore, art, and literature throughout the ages… as a way to set the scene for our TWILIGHT Mini Episode Series launching THIS FRIDAY! Where did the idea of vampires come from? Depending on the geographical location and culture, it varies. Could it be as simple as a way for huma...
Send us a text Today on the pod, Ashley and Liz discuss A Court of Frost and Starlight, book four in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas, and a “sweet little Christmas special” of a novella to some. Is this book skipable? Is it full of Easter eggs and setup for book 5? Our differing opinions may surprise you! In our new deep dive episode style we react to our least and most favorite parts, tropes, and characters. Share unpopular and popular reviews and quotes, and include our fan favorit...
Send us a text Today on the podcast, we’re having a silly, good time. We asked you guys for unhinged book questions, and boy did you deliver. Ashley and Liz sit down and answer all of the things that you guys want to know, but let’s be honest, most of the questions are just about who we would smash because you all are thirsty girlies, and we love you for it. We also dive into some questions we came up with for each other, of the unhinged book edition category. So if you’d like to know if we w...
Send us a text Today we’re here for the FINAL installment of our Harry Potter Mini Episode series. We laughed (sorta), we cried (not really), and some of you guys in the fandom came for us in the comments! Truly, it was a roller coaster over the last couple of months, and we’re just happy we came out of it relatively unscathed. In this episode we rate the Harry Potter book series as a whole, talk about our least and most favorite parts and characters, if we think this series was overhyped, an...
Send us a text Here we are, on episode 3 of our ACOTAR reread series with A Court of Wings and Ruin, by the Romantasy queen, Sarah J. Maas. And this go around, we’re doing things a little differently! Instead of doing a plot play-by-play for ACOWAR, because let’s be honest, there are better and more detailed channels for that, we incorporate the triangle, and our infamous plot outline in five sentences or less! Then we react to our favorite tropes, least favorite tropes, talk about thes...
Send us a text It’s week 7… and the epic? … book conclusion of our Harry Potter mini episode series over here on Besties & the Books Podcast has officially happened… So let's discuss The Deathly Hallows. This series is over 3,500 pages of kid wizards, quittich, teen crushes, bullies, and magical probs. Was it worth our time? Was the finale epic and worth all the hype this franchise has implanted in our brains for the last 20+ years?! Listen on to find out. Join Ashley and Liz as they read...
Send us a text So… we did it… for science. During one of our unpopular opinion episodes, you guys asked: “Why does hockey romance exist?” And because neither of us had read one, we did our best to answer, but knew we had to soldier on and do more research. So here we are. Ashley read the viral bestseller Icebreaker by Hannah Grace, and Liz read Consider Me, the popular first installment in the Playing for Keeps series by Becka Mack. Then we compared notes. And things got roast-y. ...
Send us a text It’s week 6 over here in our Besties & the Books Harry Potter Mini Episode Marathon! Today we’re discussing the second to last book! The finale eve, if you will. And truly… we felt nothing. So we need to know. Is it just us and our hollow tin chests? 😂 Or did you need to be 12 to get attached to these characters?! Join Ashley and Liz as they read the entire HP series for the first time as full grown adults! Do you want our commentary? How about our thoughts on whether...
Send us a text Did you hear?! A couple of weeks ago we did our very first author interview with Lindsay Straube | @oxfordlemon and talked to her all about her new Amazon bestselling debut love triangle romance book, Split or Swallow. So what are we doing today? We’re taking our deep dive into the plot, so this one if for all the girlies who’ve read it, and who have been DYING to discuss it. Are you team Leo or Team Caspen? What did we think of the ritual? Are you a Bastian Stan? A...
Send us a text It’s week 5 over here in this crazy Harry Potter whirlwind of a miniseries! Join Ashley and Liz as they read the entire HP series for the first time as full grown adults! Do you want our commentary? How about our thoughts on whether or not it’s controversial enough for our parents to BAN us from reading it as kids? We give you all of our opinions. Episode 5 covers book 5: Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler free with our one sente...
Send us a text Let’s talk about fall, bay-bee. Let’s talk about Hall-O-Ween. Cuz we are fall girlies over here at the BATB Podcast! And we think a lot of you are too. Today we’re bringing you a full episode of spooky season reads. Ashley and Liz count down five book suggestions (EACH) that we think will put you in the cozy Halloween mood, and that you definitely should add to your TBR! Then we list our top 5 (EACH) fall season hopefuls. That’s TWENTY reads to get you in the ...
Send us a text It’s week 4 of Ashley and Liz’s Harry Potter journey and BOY do we have some things to say about this 752 page book. Shockingly… Yes, we were banned from reading Harry Potter as kids, so we are spending these 8 weeks discovering everything for the first time… with you! Episode 4 covers book 4: Harry Potter & the Goblet of Fire. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler free with our one sentence rapid star reviews. Then Liz attempts to detail the entire plot in five sent...
Send us a text Today’s Episode is BATB Podcast very first author interview! With none other than Lindsay Straube, Amazon BESTSELLING author of her popular love triangle basilisk romance, Split or Swallow. *Author interviews will always be spoiler free so everyone can enjoy them and determine whether or not we want to add these books to our never-ending TBR. So, proceed with absolutely NO caution!* Pick up your paperback copy or kindle download of Split or Swallon now @ Amazon! | * https://am...
Send us a text Here we are in week 3 of Ashley & Liz’s Harry Potter Minisode Series! Yes, we were banned from reading Harry Potter as kids, and yes, we’re reading them for the first time now as elder Millennials. And we wanna talk about them with you! Episode 3 covers book 3: Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler free with our one sentence rapid star reviews. Then Liz takes us on a chaotic journey of run-on sentences detailing the entire ...
Send us a text We’re back in your ears with Part 3 of your favorite silly series where we respond to “Am I The A Hole” Bookish Questions from Reddit, and then pose those same questions to you, our listeners! Do we think that curating your own free little library to NOT include ancient Tom Clancy paperbacks makes you an a hole? What about giving away the book your friend wrote, then gifted to you? Is it wrong to give a book 1⭐️, or to refuse to give back a book someone sold to you on acc...
Send us a text Welcome back to Ashley & Liz’s Harry Potter Minisode series! We were BANNED from reading Harry Potter as kids, so naturally, we’d grow up to read them in our mid 30’s and podcast about it. Episode 2 covers book 2: Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler free with our one sentence rapid star reviews. Then Liz takes us on a poetic journey detailing the entire plot in five sentences or less. Will she succeed or will we have to th...
Send us a text Where did we come from? Where did we go? Where did we come from… Cotten Eye Joe? Today on the pod Ashley and Liz tell you all about our recent Alaska Cruise Vacay, and how much fun it was to buddy read our ARCs of Split or Swallow by Lindsay Straube @oxfordlemon while sailing through fjords and glaciers! It truly was magical. Then we grace your ears with one sentence reviews of every book we read from January until June in our first ever rapid review reading recap e...
Send us a text Welcome to Ashley & Liz’s first mini episode bonus series, this round featuring Harry Potter! If you’ve been following our “satanic panic” series then you know, we were BANNED from reading Harry Potter as children, so we’re reclaiming that experience for ourselves by reading this series FOR THE FIRST TIME as mid 30’s fantasy obsessed book podcasters. And we’re takin’ you all along for the ride! Episode 1 covers book 1: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone. Th...
Send us a text This episode is exactly what it sounds like! After our last “unpopular opinions” episode, you all sent us your most unpopular bookish opinions so Ashley and Liz can react to them. And we sure had a blast! We start off with some easy ones like: do you dog ear your pages or satisfyingly crack those book spines? Then we move into some more polarizing unpopular opinions about House of Flame & Shadow, H.D. Carlton, and a new popular book about serial killers! Do you ...
Send us a text Today is the day Ashley and Liz take the deep dive. You know us, we’re usually Sparknotes gals… but in order to paint the entire Satanic Panic picture we have to take you back to where it all began…so we did the research! What exactly started our parent’s obsession with the occult, ultimately resulting in them banning us from reading Harry Potter? Was it Charles Manson, Ted Bundy, and the Zodiac Killer? Or could it have been razor blades in Halloween candy, ouija boards a...
Send us a text Believe it or not, we’re on our FOURTH installment in our Book Trope Series! Today is all about the book Ashley picked for Liz based on her top five favorite book tropes, and book boyfriend qualities: A Touch of Gold & Madness by K. L. Devore. Did this book cover all of Liz’s bases? Like a morally grey MMC, mutually healing trauma, and enemies to lovers? Or did we uncover “icks” that Liz didn’t even know she had… that involve dancing and musical instruments? Lis...
Send us a text Today is the big kick off of our Satanic Panic Series! We laugh, we cry, we use this platform to help heal ourselves, and hopefully you all, by discussing topics that are difficult, but ultimately helped to shape us as people. First and foremost, take care of yourselves. Please be aware of Trigger Warnings, and adjust your listening as necessary. Your mental health comes first. Ashley and Liz discuss 2 books (each) that we read as kids that drastically changed our outlook...
Send us a text Today we’re back for our fourth installment in our “Books That Made Us” nostalgia series, covering our reread of a classic: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. We venture back to highschool in the early 2000’s to remember all the books that made the deepest impact on us, even if we didn’t realize it then. The themes, the quotes, the characters… everything holds up to make The Great Gatsby more enjoyable and immersive each time we read it. Find out how we rated it, and what...
Send us a text We’re back at it with Part 2 of the popular series where we respond to “Am I The A Hole” Bookish Questions on Reddit, and then pose those same questions to you, our listeners! Do we think getting upset at your coworker who won’t leave you alone about books is okay? Does telling your group of friends at a party that your husband isn’t “well read” make you an a hole? What about reading aloud on a cruise ship for everyone to hear? You hear all of our opinions here firs...
Send us a text Welcome back to the BATB Podcast, where your hosts Liz and Ashley pick books for each other to read based on our most liked and least liked tropes so that we can talk to you about them! Well… sometimes that’s what we do! Today is our first follow up episode to our favorite tropes / “non-icks,” where we report back on The Book of Azrael by Amber V. Nicole, the book Liz picked for Ashley based on her top five favorite tropes: a good twist (or several), slow burn, enemies to love...
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