We barely read this month and somehow had more to say than ever. This is our June wrap up and July TBR, and it got existential fast.

Cassie went down a full Carly Fortune rabbit hole (Every Summer After, One Golden Summer, Our Perfect Storm) and has thoughts on where to actually start. We both got completely wrecked by The Midnight Train by Matt Haig, the companion to The Midnight Library. And we finally talk about the Siren Mage duology by Kalie Cassidy, because In the Wake of the Ruined drops in July and the yearning genuinely changed us.

Plus the Every Year After adaptation that broke our hearts (and not in the good way), House of the Dragon season three, and the July TBR we are absolutely going to lie to ourselves about.

In this episode:
– The Carly Fortune ranking and where not to start
– Why The Midnight Train hit harder than The Midnight Library
– The Siren Mage duology and the best yearning we've read in ages
– When the Moon Hatched: do we agree with BookTok?
– Book vs show: Every Year After, House of the Dragon, Midnight Library
– Our wildly unrealistic July TBR

If you love romantasy, contemporary romance, and honest reactions over hype, hit follow and tell us in the comments: where should a Carly Fortune beginner actually start?

#romantasy #booktok #bookpodcast #romancebooks #julytbr

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookbitsclub

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BookBitsAndChill

Do audiobooks count as reading? We have thoughts. This week we're getting into the best audiobooks we've ever listened to, the narrators we can't stop thinking about, and whether the right voice actor can actually make a book better (or completely ruin it).

We cover our audiobook gateway drug, the books that hit harder on audio than on the page, graphic audio (and whether it's a little too graphic), and the narrator obsessions living rent free in our heads.

Books and narrators we get into:

• Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, aka the audiobook we hand to anyone who says they don't like audiobooks
• Taylor Jenkins Reid's full catalog, from Daisy Jones and the Six to Atmosphere
• The Favorites by Layne Fargo and Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• Allie Hazelwood's Mate and Problematic Summer Romance
• Trial of the Sun Queen by Nisha J. Tuli and Duskbound by Greenwich and Lennox
• Julia Whalen, the narrator we'd follow anywhere
• Plus Dark Matter, Catch Me If You Can, Babel, The Knight and the Moth, and our graphic audio hot takes

Whether you're a die hard audiobook listener or someone who's never pressed play, consider this your guide. Tell us your favorite narrators and we'll see you next week for our June TBR wrap up.

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookbitsclub

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BookBitsAndChill

This week, we're sharing our 5-star reads of 2026 so far and helping you figure out which ones belong at the top of your TBR.

From books that completely consumed our lives to stories that left us emotionally devastated, we're matching our favorite reads to the type of reader who will love them most.

Looking for your next obsession? A reading slump cure? A book that will make you feel something? We've got recommendations for all of the above.

In this episode, we're talking about:

⭐ The book that had us staying up way too late
⭐ The most emotionally impactful read of the year
⭐ The perfect reading slump cure
⭐ A recommendation for romantasy readers looking to branch out
⭐ The one book we'd bet money you'll love

Books discussed:
• Binding 13 by Chloe Walsh
• The Bright Years by Sarah Damoff
• Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe
• One Golden Summer by Carley Fortune
• Into the Blue by Emma Brodie
• The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
• Wild Reverence by Rebecca Ross
• The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Plus, we're debating what actually makes a book five stars and if readers have become harder to impress...

Grab your notes app. Your TBR is about to get longer.

Follow on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookbitsclub

Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BookBitsAndChill