Smack and Gabi are back from being, um, busy and stuff, and we have a lot to catch up on! Smack goes feral and rabid for the first time since college over a Nebula finalist with an enormous cliffhanger and a contemporary werewolf black cat/golden retriever romance. Gabi “complains” about being trapped on a plane with hours of enforced reading time on her way to and from Brazil and recaps her vacation reading highlights. We also discuss our current and upcoming reads for the final month of Mysterious Galaxy Summer Bingo with a lot of anticipation for showdown throwdown. Most importantly, we are celebrating the release of Smack’s first novella, Death Valley Blooms, available as of today!! Order now at: https://www.mystgalaxy.com/book/9781966503125

Books discussed this episode include:

• Asunder by Kerstin Hall
• Teixcalaan series by Arkady Martine
• Death Valley Blooms by S. M. Mack
• Fan Service by Rosie Danan
• The Scholomance series by Naomi Novik
• The Geographer’s Map to Romance (Love’s Academic #2) by India Holton
• The Undercutting of Rosie and Adam (Hart and Mercy #3) by Megan Bannen
• Evander Mills series by Lev AC Rosen
• The Sunken Archive series by Sylvie Cathrall
• The Dragonfly Gambit by A.D. Sui
• The Clocktaur Wars series by T. Kingfisher
• Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal
• The Bane Witch by Ava Morgyn

Smack and Gabi recount their most enjoyable 2024 and most anticipated 2025 reads. There were truly an astonishing number of both, but of particular note is Heather Faucett’s Emily Wilde series which - with the third coming out shortly after this recording - was both one of our most highly anticipated of 2025 and among Smack’s 2024 favorites. She might even nominate it for a Nebula with her new powers! Smack also declared her favorite book of all time while we both are reminded how much Gabi is a sucker for pining dumb-dumbs. We have an ongoing book-buying avoidance challenge that got some modifications for the new year which will encourage our use of the libraries and there is a classic ITBR PSA for California residents in wildfire-vulnerable areas to download the Watch Duty app. All in all, when it comes to books it was a great 2024 and it’s shaping up to be a phenomenal 2025. Happy New Year!

2024 Reading Highlights and 2025 Most Anticipated Books & Authors:

• The Rising Worlds series by Martha Wells
• The Scholomance trilogy by Naomi Novik
• Tomorrow, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin
• The Sky on Fire by Jenn Lyons
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Emily Wilde trilogy by Heather Fawcett
• Cerulean Chronicles by TJ Klune
• Caitlin Rozakis
• Starlight’s Shadow trilogy by Jessie Mihalik
• The Space Between Worlds series by Micaiah Johnson
• Parallel Worlds: A Journey through Creation, Higher Dimensions, and the Future of the Cosmos by Michio Kaku
• Mallory Dunlin
• Emily Lloyd Jones
• Mossa & Pleiti series by Malka Ann Older
• A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
• Finding Echoes by Foz Meadows
• Weather Warden series by Rachel Caine
• Sarah Beth Durst
• Love’s Academic series by India Holton
• Alexandra Vasti
• A Study in Drowning duology by Ava Reid
• The Lucky Ladies of London series by Faye Delacour
• The Sun Chronicles by Kate Elliott
• Breath of the Dragon (Breathmarked #1) by Shannon Lee & Fonda Lee
• The Sunken Archives duology by Sylvie Cathrall
• Dark Lord Davi duology by Django Wexler
• Hench series by Natalie Zina Walschots
• Hart & Mercy series by Megan Bannen

Smack and Gabi continue to face off in their 4th Annual Showdown Throwdown in which we compete to see who had the better reading experience during Mysterious Galaxy’s Summer Bingo. This round, Smack is up against a super fun dark academia trilogy that ended up being one of Gabi’s all-time favorite reads, Gabi has to contend with some nonfiction and memoir powerhouses that Smack read, and we both benefit from an incredible collection of speculative short stories.

In this part two of two, the books showdowned throwdowned include:

• A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland v. The Last Graduate (The Scholomance #2)
• The High Mountain Court (The Five Courts of Okrith #1) by A.K. Mulford v. The Undermining of Twyla and Frank (Hart and Mercy #2) by Megan Bannen
• Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes v. Murdle: Vol. 1 (Murdle #1) by G.T. Karber
• Botanical Curses and Poisons: The Shadow-Lives of Plants by Fez Inkwright v. The Thursday Murder Club (Thursday Murder Club #1) by Richard Osman
• What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo v. Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men by Caroline Criado Pérez
• The Rogue Crown (The Five Courts of Okrith #3) by A.K. Mulford v. The Night Ends with Fire (The Night Ends with Fire #1) by K.X. Song
• The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles (The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti #2) by Malka Older v. Burning Girls and Other Stories by Veronica Schanoes
• American Resistance: The Inside Story of How the Deep State Saved the Nation by David Rothkopf v. A Deadly Education (The Scholomance #1) by Naomi Novik
• The Enchanted Hacienda by J.C. Cervantes v. The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance #3) by Naomi Novik
• Capture the Sun (Starlight’s Shadow #3) by Jessie Mihalik v. The Mimicking of Known Successes (The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti #1) by Malka Older
• Evocation (The Summoner’s Circle #1) by S.T. Gibson v. The Silvered by Tanya Huff
• Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah v. Winter (The Lunar Chronicles #4) by Marissa Meyer

Smack and Gabi are facing off in their 4th Annual Showdown Throwdown in which we compete to see who had the better reading experience during Mysterious Galaxy’s Summer Bingo. Gabi actually won Mysterious Galaxy’s black-out bingo lottery this year, so we begin with an accounting of how those winnings were spent (on books, of course). Then we get into Showdown Throwdown proper, with Smack trying to redeem herself after losing last year largely due to her inability to win our tie-breakers (rock-paper-scissors). Unfortunately, she’s up against some heavy hitters as Gabi has had a pretty great reading year and managed to stack her draft picks (a little bit). However, Smack does have some impressive contenders in her corner, including a sequel to a book we both loved (and Smack rated as in her top three books of all time) and a novel by T. Kingfisher, queen of blending fairy tales and horror. Time will tell whose line-up will triumph!

In this part one of two, the books showdowned throwdowned include:

• The Witches’ Blade (Five Crowns of Okrith #2) by A.K. Mulford v. Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis
• Those Beyond the Wall (The Space Between Worlds #2) by Micaiah Johnson v. Murdle: Vol. 3 (Murdle #3) by G.T. Karber
• The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo v. A Pirate’s Life for Tea (Tomes & Tea #2) by Rebecca Thorne
• Calamity (Uncharted Hearts #1) by Constance Fay v. Murdle: Vol. 2 (Murdle #2) by G.T. Karber
• Court of Tricksters (Fae Tricksters #1) by S.L. Prater v. The Imposition of Unnecessary Obstacles (The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti #2) by Malka Older
• Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley v. Lone Women by Victor LaValle
• A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher v. Gwen & Art Are Not in Love by Lex Croucher
• How Civil Wars Start: And How to Stop Them by Barbara F. Walter v. The Assassin’s Blade (Throne of Glass #0.1-0.5) by Sarah J. Maas
• Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai v. Thank you For Listening by Julia Whelan
• Slewfoot by Brom v. These Violent Delights (These Violent Delights #1) by Chloe Gong
• Caught in the Basilisk’s Gaze (Monsters of Faery #4) by Mallory Dunlin v. Hunt the Stars (Starlight’s Shadow #1) by Jessie Mihalik
• King of Tricksters (Fae Tricksters #2) by S.L. Prater v. The Necessity of Stars by E. Catherine Tobler

Mysterious Galaxy’s annual summer bingo is in full swing and we are (still) getting ready to throwdown!! This week to complement the accounting of Smack’s reads last month, Gabi details some of her recent reads that will be feeding into our annual Throwdown next month. We begin by spending way too much time talking about a book of murder-themed logic puzzles - proving that Smack absolutely kills (haha) at birthday gifts - then discuss some incredible worldbuilding in an excellent anti-empire werewolf fantasy novel and a couple of novellas featuring sapphic Sherlock Holmesian stories on Jupiter. After a quick lesson on tardigrades and bemoaning her attempt to dip another toe back into the world of Sarah J. Maas, Gabi finishes by celebrating her first impressions of the Scholomance series, which has set the bar high for the rest of the trilogy, so we'll see how that goes...

Books discussed this episode include:

• Murdle Vol. 1 by G.T. Karber
• The Silvered by Tanya Huff
• Mossa & Pleiti series by Malka Ann Older
• The Three Little Tardigrades by Sandra Fay
• The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas
• The Scholomance by Naomi Novik

Mysterious Galaxy’s annual summer bingo is in full swing and we are getting ready to throwdown! Smack went to StokerCon and spent some time cat-sitting for Gabi by the beach, during which she read quite the spread of bingo books. Highlights included an excellent historical horror novel about a Black woman with a mysterious trunk trying to survive in rural Montana, a Goose Girl retelling that perfectly blends fairy tale and horror, and a memoir about a woman’s journey dealing with Complex PTSD that made Smack’s list of best books of the year. Meanwhile, Gabi details her mission to hunt down a title and author that she can’t remember from an old book that she didn’t even like and shares fun facts about deep sea beasties. We close with a classic ITBR PSA, this time about taking heat seriously this summer - drink water and make smart choices!

Books discussed this episode include:

• Capture the Sun (Starlight’s Shadow #3) by Jessie Mihalik
• To Run with the Wild Hunt by Mallory Dunlin
• Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley
• Lone Women by Victor LaValle
• A Sorceress Comes to Call by T. Kingfisher
• Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
• Bitter Medicine by Mia Tsai
• What My Bones Know: A Memoir of Healing from Complex Trauma by Stephanie Foo
• The Familiar by Leigh Bardugo
• Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom
• The Heat Will Kill You First: Life and Death on a Scorched Planet by Jeff Goodell

Continuing from where we left off last episode, Smack shares her recent reads which range from an incredible queer historical fiction novel to a Victorian mystery series with a (very) slow-burn romance to a new favorite monster romance author with books that definitely qualify as actual literature, even though the characters are in desperate need of a therapist. We conclude with an assessment of an ongoing book challenge and looking forward to the San Diego Book Crawl (which will have already happened by the time this airs).

Books discussed this episode include:

• The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid
• A Below Stairs Mystery series by Jennifer Ashley
• Caught in the Basilisk’s Gaze (Monsters of Faery #4) by Mallory Dunlin

Smack and Gabi reconvene after a bit of a life-induced break and go over what they’ve read since they last saw each other. This episode is mostly Gabi reads, but with some overlap due to her Smack Shelf books. Highlights include a complicated fantasy novel with friends teaming up to burn the world down to save a wife, a bunch of murderous and yet somehow beloved convicts trying to escape their prison ship, and a devastating contemporary(ish) fiction novel about friendship and video games and an NPC who deserved better. Tune in next month for the complimentary wrap-up of Smack reads!

Books discussed this episode include:

• Witch King by Martha Wells
• The Witchery (The Witchery, #1) by S. Isabelle
• She Is a Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
• Murder and Magic duology by Nicole Glover
• The Dred Chronicles by Ann Aguirre
• Tell Me I’m Worthless by Allison Rumfitt
• Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin