S02 Halloween TBR: Best Believe We’re Still Beghouled 👻

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Hello, happy Halloween and welcome to Ropemance, your TV-

(00:07):
AHHHHH!
Oh my god.
Well that was on brand.
I gotta commit to that horror movie scream.
The screaming is a little bit different than the kind we're used to.
Yeah.
I get it.
It took you a second.
I did.
I don't know what sound it just made.
A good one.

(00:27):
But yes.
Yeah, it was a Halloween spooky sound.
That's what it was.
Gosh.
The day is finally upon us.
Thank the Lord Pumpkin.
Lord Sawin?
I can never say that.

(00:47):
The who and the huh?
Sawin?
You know, like the old name for Halloween.
Sawin?
I have never heard that.
Okay, well it's spelled like Sam Hain and it throws me every time, but I think it's
Sawin.
I'm so sorry to anyone listening who's like, oh my god this is painful to hear.

(01:10):
You mispronounce it so badly.
I mispronounce it every time.
And then I misspell it every time because I think to myself Sawin and it's Sam Hain.
What does this date back to?
Look, I don't know.
I just, I'm just recording.
I mean I know like all Hallows Eve.

(01:31):
It's the Gaelic festival on the 1st of November marking the end of the harvest season and
beginning of the winter or darker half of the year.
Huh.
Marked the Celtic New Year.
On this day the Celts believed the veil between the living and the dead was especially thin.

(01:52):
Come at me horny ghosts.
It is time.
Yeah bring on the horny ghosts.
Please.
The horny ghosts.
The vampires who we know are horny because that's like inherent to being a vampire.
You don't even have to say it.
It's understood.
Bloodlust and lust.

(02:13):
The witches.
The just the werewolves.
The witches.
The, they are, they are present.
The, all the monsters.
We are here for the monster smash.
Through the monster smash.
Through the smash.
Through the graveyard smash.
The monster smash.
Well that's how we get around copyrighted music.
We just sing it ourselves.

(02:36):
We love a DIY moment.
I put a spell on you.
In the tune of Monster Mash.
I'm mashing all the, all the boarders and the veils tonight.
You're mashing all the veils.
My brain is fried.
Nah same.
Uh.

(02:56):
Sau, Sauhain.
Now that I'm thinking about it, I have no zombies on here.
Has anyone written a zombie romance?
I have to assume so but I don't have any zombies either.
That's a bummer.
Um.
I can't say I'm like that sad about it.
I'm just like curious how it would work.

(03:17):
You know what I mean?
Like I'd love to see somebody pull it off.
Yeah I bet, I mean that's a good point.
Or mummies.
Yeah no mummies.
I just want somebody to attempt it, you know?
I mean I'm sure someone has but like someone that can actually write please.
That would be a nice prerequisite.

(03:37):
There were several novellas that I started and within like a page I was like you know
what there's like bad but in a fun way and then there's just like actually atrociously
written to the point where I can't continue reading this.
And unfortunately several I quit before I had even really gotten started.
It was tragic.
It made the ones that I was able to get through seem like oh wow you know what maybe that

(04:00):
one wasn't that bad.
Sounds kind of scary.
It was a little spooky, a little scary.
A little skeleton?
Doesn't deserve to be in the same brah.
I mean it was kind of yeah I just realized I left one off of my list.

(04:20):
I dare you.
I know I'm having a day.
No I didn't.
It made it on there.
I'm good.
Everything's great.
Lando Norris finished P5 by the way.
What is P?
For those of you who the fifth place.
Just P okay I was like I don't know what the P like.
The P is the place.
Peewee.

(04:40):
I know everybody was so desperate to know even though they were desperate to know but
they didn't watch the race.
You know how things work.
So for those of you that are just dying to know how Lando did at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Undying to know.
Nice.
So aggressive.
Nice.
Nice.
You still have a jewel.

(05:03):
Exactly.
He qualified very badly.
It was a whole thing I blame his strategists.
He ended up starting in 17th.
He fought his way up to 8th.
Then yeah no kind of that was the vibe.
Then he got kind of screwed by there was a crash and there was a red flag and basically
what happened was he pit stopped right before like he did it under a yellow flag.

(05:24):
And so when a red flag comes out everybody comes into the pit lane.
It's a full stop.
You can get out of your car or do whatever.
They have to like clean up the track.
So basically everybody gets a free pit stop during a red flag because you're just back
there.
So he lost a couple of places.
He was down in 10th place and then they restarted the race and he just got really unlucky and
fell back to 14th.

(05:46):
So all that work he did.
Now he's down in 14th and then he just zoomed his way past so many people and finished in
fifth place.
So yeah they're like yeah he moved up 12 places but really he overtook like 20 times.
Yeah because he was at 19th.
Dang.
Yeah he was jumping back and forth.
Anyway that's my non Halloween or book related update for how my day is going.

(06:09):
Honestly pretty good.
Yeah best believe he still begoo-ed.
Oh my lord.
Thank you.
Do you have these written down?
No it really just came to me when I said begoo-ed.
Wow.
I was like wait.
Gool?
Jewel?
I mean.
It's fine.
Hats off to you or heads off in the case of at least one of these.
Look at us.

(06:29):
I know I just read a headless horseman one to wrap up the Halloween reads because I don't
think I can take anymore.
I think I'm fully done after this.
I mean I've got a few that I'm like if I had more time I absolutely would.
There's too many I'll save them for next year I suppose.
I know but then more get published and then it's just like what.

(06:52):
That's true but most of my at least my historical ones are older.
That's true.
Yeah there were I didn't the ones I read were good but I didn't read a lot of historical
ones.
That was where most of mine came in.
Nice.
Well.
I don't have a Halloween segue into that.

(07:12):
I really tried.
Um.
No.
Yabba dabba doo.
Our brains are frighteningly bad right now.
Well that's what made me think of the zombie thing in the first place.
Because my brain she's not functioning anymore.
Has she been eaten?
She might be a little partially snacked on.
By maybe like a little Nicholas Holt.

(07:33):
Do you ever watch warm bodies?
Nope.
Ah well.
I was digging through my to see why I should know that name and I don't.
Yeah he's do you know him?
He's the one from the great.
Oh yes.
Okay.
I do know the name.
Yeah.
Got it.
So and it was a book so that I didn't read the book but it exists as a book so there's

(07:56):
our.
Well there you have it.
Our bookish segue into.
Our Halloween slash paranormal slash monster slash spooky season slash seasonally relevant
slash anything else that we have read that kind of fits the creepy vibes of this.

(08:16):
That's our longest episode title ever.
Yeah.
Can't wait to space that onto a graphic.
We got a lot to cover.
And I'm not ready for this.
Yeah well I would say first of all we're doing this TBR so let's try to avoid spoilers.

(08:37):
This is our.
I believe I agree.
I think if we start getting into spoilers we're going to be here a long time.
Yeah I don't personally I don't feel like talking that much.
I think we got to leave it short and sweet.
Like my man Josh Hutcherson.

(08:58):
Why did you come for him like that.
He's short and sweet.
I love him.
I just saw a tweet about someone.
They were like stop perceiving my man.
I was like I feel that.
I was batting so hard in his army in middle school.
God I love him.
He's in like a horror movie like Friday or something.
Five nights at Freddy's.
Five nights.
I love him.
So.
I did see I don't know if it was like a tweet or on threads or what from somebody who was

(09:22):
like I like came talking about how they came with a friend who like knows all the lore
and is like very into it because it's a whole thing.
I don't know anything about it.
Oh really.
I thought you were talking about Josh Hutcherson lore.
I was like I know.
No no no sorry.
No the Five Nights at Freddy's lore.
There's a lot of lore and like references to things that real fans like I get my sister

(09:43):
went to see it so I assume she knew what was going on with like they'd react really big
and then that person was just there to see Josh Hutcherson.
Like she agreed to come with her friend and was like I'm just here for Josh Hutcherson
and I was like if I because I refused to go.
My sister wanted me to and I was like I don't do scary even if it's just like kind of a
little bit I don't do I don't do scary.
I scream.

(10:04):
I just I don't like it and nothing about the trailer to that movie made me want to go see
it with the one exception being Josh Hutcherson.
Did you ever watch that show he was in?
Yeah it was that time travel one.
Yeah I watched the first season I think and it was just like not.
I thought it was funny.
Yeah.
There was that like dick out scene which obviously wasn't his real.

(10:27):
Yeah.
It was like it was still shocking.
It was shocking and alarming.
Speaking of shocking and alarming.
I actually can't use that as my segue because I've only read we're gonna go in we've divided
our books into sort of subcategories here.
Yeah so I can do a timestamp easier.
Yes so we're starting with full length books.
Yes.

(10:47):
And then we'll go into novellas later.
I only read one contemporary like sort of Halloweeny novel and it was not shocking and
disturbing so I can't start there.
Sorry.
Do you have any shocking and disturbing contemporary Halloween?
I'm like looking I think I did only just read one as well.
Like full length.
It was I'll Come Back For You by Cherish Read and I have a crazy obsession with Cherish Read

(11:12):
so I won't stop until I've read all of her books.
So that one was like her first paranormal one.
Like a pretty basic I'd say paranormal.
I think she and her sisters own like a bed and breakfast or something of the sort and
then he is on like a paranormal like ghost show where it's like kind of like considered

(11:36):
to be kind of just like you know junkie and not real ghosts and then they show up to this
B&B and uh oh real ghosts and they all get scared and it was like a very cozy but also
a little bit creepy paranormal like a nice segue into the season if you're not like looking

(11:56):
for anything like too like horror, gory stuff like that.
It's like a nice little mystery of like who was haunting them and stuff.
So I enjoyed that.
That's a good audio.
Tell me why I was digging through my list because I was like I swear I read one with
a similar premise.
You know it's just because I watched Casper the Friendly Ghost this month.
Honestly contemporary more sexy Casper the Friendly Ghost.

(12:20):
What a recommendation that is.
Yeah it gave like vibes I can't really remember like what the vibes were but they were.
It gave vibes.
I don't know what they were but they were vibes.
I have to preface this by saying I'm thoroughly unprepared so like that tracks with my brain.

(12:43):
Me trying to talk about a book that I didn't like.
It gave vibes.
Oh would I okay well of course Goodreads isn't working um but I said in my actual review
definite Ghostbusters vibes but also there was a little bit in the narrator that gave
me like What's New Scooby-Doo vibes.
Like kind of like the delivery of it and What's New Scooby-Doo has like a I don't know the

(13:08):
way the mysteries are solved and kind of like the way things are like revealed.
It gave me that.
The narrator really did.
So Ghostbusters, What's New Scooby-Doo, a little bit of Casper.
What can go wrong?
Nothing.
It was really good.
So yeah that's what I've got.
I don't think I have any more like adult.

(13:28):
I feel like I did but no well look at that.
Well I read um oh here's my standard disclaimer that we have to go back to doing.
Now that I have actually started my new job yay.
I work for forever.
They published the book that I'm about to talk about but I'm not being paid to talk

(13:49):
about it.
All of these opinions are my own.
There's your little disclaimer.
My one is Kiss and Spell by Celestine Martin.
Which I read Witchful Thinking back when it came out so like take this as a two for one
rec because they're connected standalones.

(14:11):
The premise of these two is a little New Jersey town like on the shore where it's just like
very magical.
A lot of magical creatures live there but it's just like a contemporary town that's
also magical.
It's very cozy incidental magic like we're just here being magical and living our lives.

(14:35):
So the first one I don't remember a town about the promise because it was so long ago that
I read it but it was a witch and a merman sleigh.
I was always so intrigued by that.
Sleigh and merman yeah.
That's all I have to say about that.
There's a part with his tail.
It's a whole thing.
This one Kiss and Spell I think I actually did like perhaps even more.
It follows there's a cut they make wishes at the beginning of this.

(14:59):
These witches that are like cousins they make wishes and so Ursula is the main character
in this one and she was kind of like her story started happening in the last book.
Things were going wrong for her.
She was planning this wedding.
It did not go through is a whole thing.
So now she's like kind of in this bad ish spot like broken up with her ex fiance feels

(15:22):
weird about her magic is trying to get back to that comfortable place where their magic
and also isn't really talking to her family because she feels bad about the things she
did with them whatever.
And meanwhile a fae prince shows up in town and he's been cursed and in order to return
home he has to have a perfect kiss.
Man.
I don't know I get it.

(15:42):
They hit it off.
I know where are the fae princes just like really.
Anyway she she like doesn't want to date him but she does agree to help him find his perfect
kiss and like set up his magical dating profile and such.
And it was just a silly goofy magical time.
Man.
So there you have it.
Also Celestine Martin commented on our forever 1989 post and said that she was using which

(16:07):
one one of the vault tracks is inspiration.
And it's critical that I find out right now what she said.
Wait.
Like gas.
Not for this.
Not for this.
Okay.
She says what is inspiring her next book pitch.
Oh my god.
I was like how did she know?
No no.
She's in her own family.
That would be yeah no.

(16:27):
She's using splat for whatever her next book pitch is she says.
Oh hell yeah.
I'm there you have both desperately awaiting and desperately terrified of our 1989 episode.
I have so many things to read but that's amazing.
I cannot wait because I love that song.
I forgot that I had two contemporary ish paranormal ones that I definitely read.

(16:54):
The first was This Spells Disaster by Tori Ann Martin.
Not my favorite contemporary witchy book but I did enjoy the vibes.
It was like a cozy small town sapphic romance which I really enjoyed.
Kind of opposites attract.

(17:16):
Both of them are witches but there are two different types of witches.
One is like competitive like in kind of like the witchy like I don't know competition
games situation and then the other one is more like low key and does kind of other kinds
of magic and potions and stuff.
She thinks that she one heroine thinks that she like gave a love potion to the other one

(17:40):
and doesn't tell the other one for romance reasons and so she tries.
It's like it's kind of like how to lose a guy in 10 days but not.
It was confusing because like she was trying to be a terrible girlfriend because she felt
bad for giving her a love potion but then she was also like but if it was a love potion

(18:03):
it would have ended so why is she still like me and I'm like well I don't know.
Let's investigate that more but it took her a long time to investigate it.
So while I wasn't a huge fan of the plot I really enjoyed the vibes and I did really
love the narrator.
I can't remember the narrator's name but the narrator is a favorite of mine and I think

(18:27):
you had recently-ish more recently than I had read the Sarah Hawley one.
The Witch's Guide to Fake Dating a Demon.
Yes and I thought that was on my scale of contemporary Ritchie ones I enjoyed that one
more than others that I have read and I just got the audiobook for book two and he has

(18:50):
amnesia.
He's like a devil with amnesia so that I don't know what spells my name more than pining
away for a devil with amnesia.
I got the physical copy of the second book and it's like the Witch's Guide to- no the
Demon's Guide to Wooing a Witch I think.
Yep.

(19:11):
But I told my dad as a bit I was like here I feel like you might need to read this and
he was like do you know how much trouble I would get in if your mom saw me reading that.
I was like that just sounds hilarious to me as a bit but I guess he didn't want to intentionally
cause marital strife so fair enough.

(19:31):
I mean relatable and then also I have to just I gotta mention my woman Cressley Cole because
while I feel in my heart that they are historical they are contemporary like paranormal crazy
times situations.

(19:52):
I only read No Rest for the Wicked this October because I was being a good noodle and not
getting too sidetracked by my second time this year maybe third time this year Immorals
After Dark reread but it gave me what it needed to give in the short amount of time that I

(20:12):
was living in that world this month.
And again no better time to read Immorals After Dark than right now so that is my last
little plug.
But yeah I think that I need I forgot that I had those.

(20:33):
So then to segue I guess into the historical romance.
Well first of all just to mention the ones that we've already covered in individual
episodes just briefly Bewitching was our most recent episode by Jill Barnett would recommend

(20:54):
Angelica Frankenstein Makes Her Match we also did an episode on that one.
Reread for both of us what a fun book.
And then Gay Wic by Vincent Pyrga which is generally accepted as the first gay gothic
romance and we did an old school episode on that.

(21:14):
So check those out and also read them if you have not already.
The first series I guess it's just like really two books that I read were by Elizabeth Boyle
they're like not Halloweeny but they are magical.
So I will say that like the second one takes place in May and it's not like it gives kind

(21:39):
of creepy vibes and there's definitely like monsters and paranormal things.
But I don't know why I couldn't just like have been a fall read.
I just think that would have been a very easy thing for Elizabeth Boyle to do but who's
to say.
But the first one was His Mistress by Morning and then the second one is Tempted by the
Night and the premise is kind of odd you definitely want to read them in order because I think

(22:03):
you'd be kind of confused.
Basically there's this like enchanted ring that the heroine of book.
Honestly it's everyone's precious like they're all trying to get at it.
Lessons to be learned there.
But there is there's an enchanted ring and she inherits it from her like family member

(22:26):
and she makes a wish that she will have the love of her best friend's older brother and
because he's never noticed her she's kind of like she's beautiful but she's poor and
that's just not his vibe.
Me looking at men.
Yeah beautiful but poor.

(22:46):
That is not my vibe.
Yeah like you at the beginning he is like into this like famous like courtesan.
She kind of like wishes she like makes a wish after she sees him lusting after the courtesan.
So boom booms his pop she like wakes up and she is his courtesan like and he's in love

(23:08):
with her but she like her entire life is changed.
Her family member is now like pimp her out.
It's a whole thing.
And then her friend isn't her friend anymore.
It was an odd I don't quite know why it had to be some things that it was.

(23:33):
But then he was like in the other timeline he was like rich and like very stoic and staid
and stuff and then in this timeline he was very lusty and broke.
Tag yourself I'm lusty and broke.
It honestly was his tag.
Tumblr would have loved him.

(23:55):
He was just.
That's never what you like to hear.
No he wasn't great because you were kind of just like you knew that wasn't really him
because it was like an alternate timeline but like it was interesting and then she spends
like two quarters or two thirds of the book like in that timeline like falling in love
with him but he's like falling in love with her but they're like different people but

(24:18):
they're like the same kind of weird.
And then you know things happen after that and then they're like the two magical people
who like have like the ring is from this one guy Milton it's like his ring and then there's
a kind of like a witch or something like quints and then she loses the ring and that's how
the heroine gets the ring and then like those two characters are like trying to get it back

(24:40):
the entire book and then that goes into book two which is the friend and then she is in
love with I believe it's he's an Earl and he has like a bad reputation.
I don't know why you would make that sound while I was drinking.
Well I can think of the Shrek scene.

(25:02):
Oh yeah.
Give him the chair.
Chaos.
Chaos has ensued.
So this one you see this this lord in the previous book and you don't really know what's
going on with him.
The friend just loves him.
She'll love him forever and then she makes a wish because she finds this ring after her

(25:23):
friend gets married and then the ring falls off of her and she's like I would love to
be invisible so that I could A wreak havoc upon my enemies and B find out all of his
secrets.
I mean relatable and then like a sub section that she forgot she added is that he has to

(25:44):
find out all of her secrets and then she doesn't really like remember that.
So they grant the wish she doesn't really know what's magical until the wish happens
and then she turns invisible every night from sunset to sunrise and she like follows him
around and she's like compelled to because of all the secrets and stuff that they have
to find out and then lo and behold he's like a mystical monster slayer hunter guy and yeah

(26:09):
and it's a completely different vibe than book one.
He would not have known that like mythical monsters and like kind of vampire demon things
were coming but they do and then it's all about like him.
It was it was very fun.
Were they also?
What?
Do the main characters they also they do in a very good way because this man like she

(26:30):
is invisible and like he can smell her because she has like apple blossom perfume.
It's not like sensing unfortunately.
That is a bummer.
Yeah it is.
Yeah but he can smell her apple blossom perfume and then she like left a glove so he like
eventually finds out who she is but almost all of their scenes when they're like intimate
are when she's invisible because it's at night.

(26:51):
So he just like he knows he just like that's insane.
Yeah I got a respect that I'm like he so he's just like feeling her up like he like you
know knows where things be on the body and he can get the job done and then like whenever
he removes a piece of clothing it becomes visible and then whenever she like puts a

(27:13):
piece on it becomes invisible and it was really fun like watching him find out who she was
and I enjoyed that one more than book one.
Book one has an audiobook book two doesn't but I will say the one dark cloud upon book
two that would have been it would have been five stars but the hero has a lovely dog.

(27:35):
He has a lovely dog that you see in both book one and for half of book two and then a fucking
monster just kills the dog and I was like what do you mean that's not good nor okay
nor allowed in my mind and I was like well they have a magic ring.

(27:55):
If I had a magic ring my dog just I'd be like well give me my dog back.
Is that logical?
Probably not.
It didn't happen.
They didn't wish for it.
She gave him a puppy.
Actually no it was like the brother of the dog and then they had like it was replaced
so it was kind of okay but it wasn't so like I can't fully condone a book that just like
brutally unalives a very loyal cute wolf hound so there is that but I think if you know that

(28:25):
you may fare a little bit better than me when I was like what do you mean but it was a it
was a solid book and I enjoyed it so there she be.
There she be.
So many to choose from.
Let's start with a ghost.

(28:48):
Captive Bride by Katherine Ash.
Would I say that this is like a really good book?
Perhaps not.
Did I have a wild time?
Yes.
You know what I mean?
Where I was like I can't like really solidly recommend it but I can be like wow what a

(29:10):
time I just had.
I don't know how to explain their relationship.
He has proposed to her many many times but he has this whole like family past where like
his parents were very like or his dad was very emotional and so he doesn't want to be
like over the top and he's like very staid because his family wasn't and he thinks that

(29:34):
she doesn't want him to be very emotional and over the top like she thinks that that
would turn her off so every time he proposes he's just like very chill about it and very
like will you do me the honor of becoming your wife and she keeps saying no because
she's like this man is not in love with she thought he was in love with her sister who's
now married so she thinks he's just proposing to like get the next best thing even though

(29:55):
it's been many years and he's continued to like come visit her in the country and propose
and also she has a terrible family who like her mom is the worst and keeps they like blame
her for everything including her terrible brother who gets them into this situation
in the first place because while he's there proposing to her the husband sorry the hero
he's proposing to her again and she's saying no then she gets a letter from her brother

(30:18):
who's always causing problems and he is in Wales and he's at a haunted castle with this
woman that he's very attracted to and he needs her help so she has to go and these two maiden
aunts are like well you cannot go alone and he's like don't worry I'm gonna go with
you and she's like oh absolutely not because she's like I cannot spend that amount of time
she's in love with him she cannot spend this amount of time with this man but the aunts

(30:42):
go with them the aunts are hilarious one of them is very grumpy the other one is a ray
of sunshine and I love them anyway they go to this castle in Wales no one is there except
for this young very beautiful girl well I guess she is also virile and supposedly I
don't think you even meet her or maybe you do talk to her once but she's got a great

(31:04):
grandma somewhere but she's like very sickly and stays in her bed right so it's basically
just her alone in this castle with the brother I don't even remember why he's there but
she can't leave because there is a ghost who has been haunting this castle for many years
and in order to break his curse he has to marry a virgin on Halloween and so if you're

(31:26):
a virgin you're the only one who can see him you have to be a maiden only maidens can see
him but everybody can hear him but also maidens can't leave the boundary of the grounds our
heroine tries and she like passes out and gets very sick and gets a fever and they have
to bring her back it's a whole thing that's unfortunate it is unfortunate but then you
come to find out that he's trying to marry this girl but if she goes willingly she'll

(31:52):
they'll both be ghosts together forever and if she goes unwillingly she'll die and she
doesn't want to and the brother is terrible but he wants to marry her and now the hero
is here and they're trying to solve this problem wait so and at one point we get down to one
virgin because one of the virgins is out and so now we have just the heroine who's bluffing

(32:16):
her way out of it she's like nah you're not gonna mess with me like wait this is all fake
you're just make your hold on hold on just which one is the hero like which is that like
like not the one is the one who keeps getting proposed to and he keeps so she's still the
heroine yeah okay there's just also this girl at the castle who her brother's really into
but now that girl's no longer a virgin so now she's the only virgin and she's like no you're

(32:41):
bluffing and the ghost is like if you say so and then he's it but then the hero they
have sex in a like outpost right before actually it's like as the clock is striking midnight
because that's the only way to make sure that he won't forcibly take her as his ghostly
bride um was not hot i'm hearing honestly the ghost was kind of hot but there's a girl

(33:04):
in the village who's in love with him that's a whole other thing but he fucked with her
i like it's so bizarre and also one of the aunts is also a virgin so she's kind of like
chilling with him it's a whole thing i i and that is the best way i can explain it like

(33:25):
it was just a wild time whoa yeah there's a lot there is a lot to unpack when was this
written i don't know not super long time ago i don't think it was it's not like old school
oh i thought it was i don't know why i thought so i just uh i'm trying to make good reads

(33:50):
work with me here i know but 2012 dang it was a silly goofy time so there you have it
there you have it well i too have two silly goofy times that were just the best things
that i have read this month and they were both by teresa mediaros in the same series

(34:13):
book one was breath of magic and uh book two is touch of enchantment and boy howdy were
those just so fucking good like so good um their time travel which i need more of in
my life the first one many major like plot points happen on halloween and all hallows

(34:34):
eve um so definitely like perfect for getting into the spirit um so book one she is a puritan
witch which you can imagine goes swimmingly for her nothing bad happens to puritan witches
guys she's fully accepted she's loved she has a great family and no that's true um

(34:57):
none of that's true no she is uh hated her mom's dead her stepfather doesn't really know
what he's he's a nice ish guy but he gets kind of swept away and then oh she's a witch
maybe sink her see if she sinks and all that she turned and then the new honestly she should
have he wasn't terrible but like he had a lot peer pressure get him down um and there

(35:19):
was like a terrible uh villain like preacher guy back then um and then so she's in the
puritan times and the hero is in 1996 i believe he's in massachusetts like i think he's in
boston i don't think it's new york but it definitely could be um and he's got a whole

(35:44):
past he may have murdered someone he may have gotten away with it he's rich he's a billionaire
he is a good old-fashioned billionaire and he is unhappy with life so what is he doing
he's searching for something was he searching for magic uh so he holds like this like contest
and he's like if anyone can prove magic exists i will give you a billion dollars and it's

(36:08):
he's got an ulterior why is he giving elon musk yeah but he's hot this guy he's really
hot and he's sexually skilled i don't think i can say the same about elon musk probably
not no definitely not no i mean this guy's kind of like a little bit of an anti-hero
he's not he's like definitely these were pre-2000 so he's definitely got some traits but again

(36:29):
he was hot he's a professional i love your complete lack of descriptors today it's giving
vibes he's got some traits well like he's a professional conclusion jumper he definitely
isn't like the most progressive um he's a little bit morally gray but he's also good

(36:54):
in his heart you know it's there and then and he's got a really good friend again these
books again were very like written pre-2000s they're not the most politically politically
correct there are some problematic things but um i don't know i had the best time she
accidentally magics herself all the way into his magic competition she crash lands her

(37:16):
broom on top of his uh the roof of his like penthouse place and he automatically thinks
because like the entire media is there so he thinks that she is scamming him he's like
tell me how you did it you are a liar and she's like no you held a competition to prove
magic was real and then as soon as someone did he was like so you're a liar you're lying

(37:39):
yeah it was very confusing until you found out why he held the competition you're like
oh okay maybe maybe that's why but any any yeah he was confusing he was a confusing guy
um so she now is a puritan witch in 1996 and he thinks she's just doing a whole bit that

(38:00):
she's a con artist and he's got some enemies that he thinks she's working with and it all
spirals but it is funny and great and it is just so good um hello this is editing hannah
i forgot to tell you that breath of magic has the single most incredible hottest steamiest

(38:33):
life-changing soul-bending world-shifting bathtub scene i've ever read i i i simply
and it came like late in the book i simply cannot um move on from it so i i desperately
need to tell you about it um that is all so that's all you get of that because you should

(38:59):
just read it that was a lot but also that was not all of it um so things happen there
and then obviously they have an hea so then book two is their child and uh she is all
grown up and she has like his brains she is a genius uh but she also has magic like her

(39:22):
mother and she doesn't want to have any magic because she grew up in a crazy household of
like her mom doing all this kind of magic stuff and so she wants a very normal life
too bad for her that she gets transported back to the 1200s and like stumbles upon a
knight who has just been like like stabbed sliced something he is not doing too hot but

(39:46):
he is hot yeah uh he was so hot actually like he was real hot uh so he's a knight and he
actually smells good not like most knights probably would have smelled and then they
get captured because he's being pursued by a bad guy and there's a lot of things that

(40:07):
happen but it was so good i just think everyone needs to read it and it i want a knight of
my own he was hot i don't know what else to say i that one was more that was that one

(40:28):
was more my jazz but they were both like five star reads for me it was like really fun and
yeah you just teresa medeiros man she can just get it she knows what to do she's got
my number i love her so much they were so weird but good um i can say they were so good

(40:56):
i'm continuing on my ghost theme uh with my lord ghost oh and who's that by i don't know
didn't write it down would have been helpful if i had done that my lord goes by june calvin
um this this is a signet regency from 1996 uh and it so it it's kind of like is there

(41:22):
a ghost like that's the vibe like there might be a ghost but also is it just someone so
basically you have this uh aristocrat i don't remember what he is lord faberal whatever
he needs to get married but he's kind of a garbage man um and his grandparents really
would like him to get married the thing is there's this um tradition in this family where

(41:49):
the first uh i think it's like ghost hammerswald or something the the first lord uh is a ghost
and he helps the heirs choose an acceptable wife um because he knows he the ghost knows
how to find women who are like they would make good i think they're duchesses or something

(42:13):
um or countesses i don't know they would make good ladies of the manor um the men in the
family who have not followed the ghost's directives have married foolishly and the women have
not been good choices and bad things happen to them whereas the men who have followed
the ghost's directions have had long healthy lives and children and such so they're waiting

(42:39):
for the ghost uh but they really need this guy's finally like okay i'll get married
so the grandparents are hosting a house party and just invited a bunch of like young blonde
aristocratic women because they know he likes blondes it's just a house party and everyone
knows that this is what's going on they're like he's choosing a wife we're hoping the

(43:00):
ghost is gonna tell him to choose us um our heroine is here uh because she's like kind
of that poor cousin to a young blonde woman is she blonde too no she's dark headed um
but she meets of course the cousin of lord faveuril who is hot and not a drunken wastrel

(43:21):
um and he but the thing is he has to marry well because he is uh you know like the relation
he's the cousin not the you know it's always the guy who's gonna inherit it he's also he's
like the um whatchamacallit he runs the estate um so he's and so he's very loyal to his cousin
so when the ghost starts getting involved and tell it it's becoming clear that she's

(43:47):
the ghost's choice for lord faveuril so he steps aside because it's his family beauty
yeah but but she doesn't even want to marry this guy so she's like i don't and then he
kind of accuses her of like manipulating it like making up that she keeps seeing the ghost
to try to marry this guy and she's like but i don't even want to marry him and then it's

(44:11):
like is there is there a ghost and then all these other ladies are also definitely making
up a ghost and it was a silly goofy time so there you go because there's another one there's
my lady ghost yeah that one has i didn't read it it has far worse reviews than this one
so i didn't really mess with that this one i thought was silly it was just shenanigans

(44:38):
ghost shenanigans ghost shenanigans i don't think i've ever read a signet so hats off
to you heads off to you nice thank you i think you already made that joke but i did but yeah
we're gonna keep doing it yep yep reduce your user cycle um well these two aren't i don't
know if i talked about them in the last halloween episode forgive me if i did um but on the

(45:04):
ghost uh front i read like half of it and that was like two years ago but you know it
passed the vibe check my hold on at the library just ran out and it was before i had a bunch
of different ways like scribed and all that three things so it wasn't meant to be but
it was too wicked to kiss by erica ridley which i did read and too sinful to too sinful

(45:28):
to deny uh which is book two which i got halfway through um and those are both in her gothic
love story series and they're both like pretty long so like it was kind of an endeavor to
finish them which is why i got through the first one but that one was like a very good
gothic romance like there was a little bit of spooky paranormal stuff there was a big

(45:50):
mansion that was you know could have housed murders and murderers um he has been accused
of being maybe a murderer uh things in his past all of that she is i think a poor relation
of her like cousin and then the cousin's mother is and so she ends up going to the manor or

(46:12):
like the mansion with them and obviously he falls in love with her and she's kind of like
is he a murderer does that matter to me if he is you know the classic conundrum of we've
all been there of two wicked two kids too sinful to deny um and that one i just really
enjoyed because it definitely kind of had like the is there actually paranormal stuff

(46:34):
happening is it just like you know weird things coincidentally happening i really i really
i gave it five stars i really liked it apparently um so i don't remember a lot of it his name
was gavin linecroft which raar hot um go him so that and her name was evangeline like very

(46:57):
good gothic names um and then the second one is a like one of the friends or one of the
people at that house party that they're all at in book one and she can see ghosts um so
spoiler alert paranormal stuff is occurring um and things happen and i again didn't finish
it but i would definitely recommend them if you're looking for either like a follow-up

(47:22):
to gay wick or something along just like the gothic historical romance vibes um eric really
is a great writer so i think she really she really shines there and i definitely wish
there were audiobooks because that's just my biggest inhibitor to those is just not
having the time and or patience i'm so bad at reading books physically my attention span

(47:48):
alas well i do have another is there something paranormal happening but first i do want to
finish my ghost train um with the widow of rose house by diana biller which i know you
didn't like as much uh but i will say if you listener know the differences between our

(48:08):
taste and know that you tend to align with my taste which is like you like a bit more
angst this was a five star for i love everyone loves that book i saw a pretty mixed maybe
it's just really on friends with my goodreads of people on friends everyone loved it oh
well mine i saw it were more mixed um it really worked for me um but i i like a touch of angst

(48:33):
and sadness not all the time it was really sad to me i think there was a very like i
didn't think most of it was very sad i think that and like the resolution and again no
spoilers but there is a it's a a woman who is very scandalous her abusive husband has

(48:54):
died but he basically smeared her in the press all over europe and now she's back in new
york and they all know about it too but she has a lot of money and she's here to be like
i'm just gonna do what i want and so she's got this she bought this old decrepit house
in kind of the new york countryside and is going to refurbish it and do a bunch of interior

(49:18):
design and document it all in a book that she's gonna publish about like interior design
for not super wealthy women but very quickly she doesn't believe in ghosts but everybody
says that it is haunted and very quickly the crew that she's hired to work there just abandon
ship and are like no we will not be coming back unless you can find a way to get rid

(49:40):
of the ghosts we're pretty sure there's a pack of ghosts living there it's a whole thing
meanwhile silly goofy sam uh what's his last name uh oh i'm blanking more yeah comes from
a family of famous scientists and he's really into ghosts and he's like please let me out
of your house he was so hot but he's like please let me study your house yeah please

(50:04):
i just want to talk to the ghost um and she's like there's no such thing as ghosts and also
i cannot get involved with you but i'm very attracted to you so this is going to be a
hard no from me fam um but then she needs to get rid of a ghost to quote him i don't
hunt ghosts i just want to make their acquaintance that's the vibe he is here to make the acquaintance
of the ghost slash pack of ghosts um and it turns out there's some tragedy as you start

(50:29):
to which makes sense it's a ghost um but as you start to get to the bottom of what's going
on with the ghost situation and also she can't be with him but they're very or she is not
emotionally a place where she can be with him due to the you know dead abusive husband
there's also some like family drama with the husband's twin and there's a lot yeah i did

(50:53):
devour it though i loved it so much i thought it was fantastic you also loved the bread
is star in paris right i did i did that one also that one's not quite as this one's a
little bit more gothic because it's like the haunted house vibe whereas that one is more
just like oh i'm seeing ghosts which also i mean obviously you're seeing those people

(51:14):
but that one ties even more into the like uh you have to deal with your emotional ghosts
if you want to move forward and just like those manifesting as actual ghosts whereas
this one was not her ghosts it was someone else's ghosts haunting a house um so it was
a bit more like kind of spooky gothic vibes um so yeah if you like a bit of angst you

(51:38):
don't mind a little sad storyline in there i thought that one was fantastic from what
i remember of those two books because i gave i think both of those three stars and then
the well that one actually gave three and a half but i rounded down just for good read
so like i still in my review i was like looking back at it and i was like i still recommend
it um but it just wasn't like up my alley taste-wise um but there's a distinct theme of all of

(52:05):
her heroes in all three of her books including hotel of secrets which is not related because
like the first two have like family members who are related and so that's kind of how
they jump together and then hotel of secrets i thought was part of it so that's why i read
these two before that and it's not there's no paranormal or anything in that um but all
of her heroes are so cinnamon roll so sexually skilled sometimes they have to learn it but

(52:30):
then when they learn it they're good uh the way she writes heroes i love i don't really
know what recipe she's she's cooked up but i really enjoy how she writes her heroes and
again like it wasn't that i didn't like the main character like the heroines either it
was more so the sad plots of both of them that i just didn't really vibe with um but

(52:50):
she's a really good writer and i really want her to write more i don't know where she is
in her next book but i want it um well i think i have one that we both read recently which
was vampires of el norte oh i didn't include that on my list yes yeah uh again i think

(53:12):
again but that was like the 1900s right yeah it's like a little or it was the i don't quite
remember the name i mean it was during like i know i just don't know my history it was
on the texas mexican border um 1840s might be okay yeah more sounds yeah so takes place

(53:41):
in the texas texas mexico border um it's like classified as a supernatural western
which i'd agree with um which was a fun kind of like genre blending and she's the daughter
of a rancher and she was attacked by these vampires in her childhood and then her best

(54:02):
friend the hero thought that she was dead because she was dead um i mean he he was reasonably
in his defense she was dead she was dead uh so he thinks that he's gonna be exiled so
he leaves and doesn't come back and she has miraculously survived and is kind of miffed

(54:24):
for the rest of like her past that he left she's like why did he leave no one has told
me why he's gone but he left in my time of need and i'm mad about it um and then they
grow up fast forward and she wants to be kind of like a healer for the war that's happening
and he's coming back as a vacchiero a soldier like he's like fighting and they converge

(54:52):
and she's angry and he's like you're alive that's news to me and she's like yeah you
didn't know that so she kind of like remains a little bit angry and then she kind of is
like well i mean he did have a kind of a valid reason and so you know i was on both of their
sides i saw for both of them she was salty and she was like so how many women have you

(55:17):
slept with he's like well um and then he was like but you were dead and i was trying to
heal my broken soul and so they both made sense and uh and then there were the vampires
and they were just bloodsucking eyeless black creature things that were kind of hairy and

(55:37):
they were giving like slender man vibes but if slender man was like a creature i mean
yeah like a more animal than man creature i love the vampires i wanted that was my one
note with this book was i wanted far more vampires it was definitely more along the
lines of um romance historical romance yeah which i was positively surprised because i

(55:59):
wasn't expecting much in the way the romance i thought it was going to be more like gothic
horror like historical fiction um but it was very it sort of felt like a ya historical
romance um it did with a little bit of horror and i was like but but but what if there were
more vampires i i do agree you did the audiobook right oh gosh both narrators were great but

(56:27):
nesters oh he was hot that man has a heavenly voice just saying it's a really good audiobook
no notes on the audiobook front it was he was real hot i was like in a phase of like
reading really hot like men narrate me books and it was a high point i must say it's a

(56:48):
high point for me uh yeah so we both read that and she's the author isabel acanyes is
the author and she was also the author of the hacienda which i haven't read but i've
heard good things about so there you have it uh yeah so uh going back to my is there

(57:10):
something paranormal happening here book and i will not tell you the answer on that um
is who is the author the lady's guide to attempting a transylvanian count which is by oh i cannot
say her name emmanuel de mappas oh yeah i know that okay yeah um she's written some other

(57:36):
ones in this series that sound fun but this one was the only like halloweeny one um so
i read this one uh and she is our heroine is making her way into i think it's like her
father just died um and so she she's the daughter of a diplomat so she basically has moved around

(57:57):
a lot her whole life and now um he's died so she is making her way uh deep into the
heart of transylvania nice uh to go to her husband who she hasn't seen in many years
because he basically just married her and then left her and uh corresponded with her
father some but not her uh and now she's like well guess what surprise i'm your wife and

(58:17):
i'm here i have decided that you cannot ignore me anymore so i am coming to transylvania
uh and she gets there and the head of the family has just died brutally there's a lot
going on nobody in the village likes the family like it's a very spooky it's like him and

(58:38):
the i think it's his older brother that was the head of the family that just died and
then the hero's aunt and his cousin who kind of hates her but she also might be sleeping
with the hero it's a whole thing um and then like a really really old guy who's bedridden

(58:59):
and you don't really see who's like a i don't even know uncle something he's in there somehow
um and then some servants and a lot of family secrets and a very creepy crypt a bunch of
villagers that don't trust them because they're cursed question mark
and it's very spooky and there's like vampire vibes but are there actually vampires what

(59:25):
is this curse why are you ignoring your wife that's really all i can tell you which i realize
isn't much but you really just have to like it's it's very like gothic spooky trying to
figure out what's going on with this weird family in a transylvanian castle i respect

(59:51):
it so i like that uh well the last one i have isn't really halloweeny nor that like creepy
spooky uh but i do think it gives kind of there's a creepy crypt that's kind of what
i wasn't going to mention it but there's a creepy crypt um it gives a little bit of

(01:00:12):
a gothic vibe there's also just like family secrets and stuff uh it is a nobleman's guide
to seducing a scoundrel by kj charles i adored this book and then i reread it and the audiobook
was even better than book one which was which was uh the secret lives of country gentlemen
which we have an episode on um yeah i'm not gonna really there's not much i can say because

(01:00:35):
things happen and spoilers would happen uh but their relationship is great it's uh
uh uh what's his what's his name he has a name guys he has a name i know he has a name
oh boy i don't know if i believe you great start uh base okay so in book one you have joss doomsday

(01:01:00):
and then you have gareth and they're the couple and joss is kind of like the leader of all the
doomsdays on the marsh and then he has a nephew named luke luke gets into some mischief and he
has a terrible father and the father gets in book one and luke has lots of trauma and emotional and

(01:01:23):
uh physical scars and all of that and he was like 13 in that book this is 10 years later
so luke is now an adult um he has left the marsh and he is kind of making it like a good name for
himself um and then there is rufus domasty which uh he inherits an earldom through some potentially

(01:01:49):
nefarious but like not really nefarious maybe like underhanded on people's sides aren't his like he
doesn't want to be an earl like he has he was a major he didn't really want this life but it was
thrust upon him and he's a very good person they're both very good people sorry i know that was
really related i was hoping your sentence would end and i didn't have to interrupt but

(01:02:11):
always interrupts for major hottie um it was just so heartwarming but then also angrying on like his
like his family like parts of them were like really angrying and i just loved the romance and
and a little bit of the gothic vibes of the marsh and um all of that and kind of just like there was

(01:02:31):
some murder in the past maybe some potential murder in the present who who really knows i do
but i won't tell you so i just think everyone should read that book because it was so good
um that is actually my last like full book length historical romance great i've got six more so
um my god we're just gonna see how quickly where do these live in your brain my god uh number one

(01:02:59):
firelight by christin callahan this is another uh it's technically a forever book although it's not
a recent one um it gives me phantom of the opera vibes it's um it's a heroine who i think it's like
victorian england i want to say um the heroine uh can summon fire nice just casually has that ability

(01:03:22):
but it's a secret uh for obvious reasons and her dad kind of blames her for like burning down a
factory of his and like i think he's she's kind of the reason they're destitute now and it's a whole
thing um so when this mysterious man shows up and demands her as payment uh the dad is like you owe
me and so she's like okay fine but then he's hot but he the thing is that he's wearing a mask he's

(01:03:45):
wearing like a full-on like a full face mask like his whole face because supposedly or so he says
he's like horribly disfigured and so he's like very scandalous he doesn't go out a lot but society
likes to gossip about him um you meet him very early in the book and it's clear that he's there's
something supernatural about him but you're not sure what um and it takes most of the book to

(01:04:07):
figure out what exactly is going on um he eventually it gets to a point where he actually wears a couple
of masks so for the first chunk of the book it's his whole face but then uh it's actually only half
of his face that really needs to be covered so he'll take the full one off when he's with her and
then it's kind of that phantom vibe of like half of his face is covered um and he doesn't know that

(01:04:28):
she can summon fire and um people are getting murdered and he's um a suspect because it's all
people that are connected to him in this like secret club that he's maybe a part of i what a
wild time so there's that one um i this one is paranormal sci-fi it's not halloween really at

(01:04:51):
all it's just like a shifter romance and it's darah joy and it's ray jar and it is an alien man
uh who so the thing is uh he's he's a familiar and a familiar is this alien race of cat shifters
and the thing about them is they're sexually skilled cat shifter when they're in their man form

(01:05:14):
um they're like renowned intergalactically renowned that's what they're known for is their
sexual skill um and they love women so much and they just want to please them and it's a whole
thing anyway he gets sucked through like a time portal situation and ends up in 1811 regency england
um in his cat form uh and ends up for some reason being really attached to this spinster

(01:05:40):
who he goes to live with as a cat and like during the nights goes out and takes his man form and
pretends to be a russian prince and then like woos her because he really wants to bang her but he
doesn't understand that like this is not a race where people are just having sex all the time
like this is regency england and so he's like pretending to be in her dreams but actually waking

(01:06:03):
her up but she thinks it's a dream what a wild book that was a sexually skilled cat shifter
pretending to be a russian prince but also her pet cat that's an i read the first hundred pages
of the third one in that series which ray jar is number two uh which was mine to take like i was
organized my books and then i realized that he was a cat shifter and chained up and she had to take

(01:06:26):
him and i was like you know what we've read uh a few books like that you know kiss of a demon king
prisoner of my desire and i was like i was on that theme um yeah i only got 100 pages in because it
was just like a random thing that i was gonna read for like an hour but it was crazy he was a
sexually skilled cat man chained up and she was like i need to come and you need to like take my

(01:06:50):
virginity so bad people can't and he was like no but then he he did agree and then she like freed
them and then they were in the woods and she was now awakened to the sensual pleasures of
cat alien men yeah that's as far as i got but i that was not a hard dnf i just did not

(01:07:12):
have time to finish it it's a soft horse dnf it's a soft purring kitty cat dnf because i will be
reading that uh because it gave me the vibes that i was looking for yeah i love the 90s we
well if there's one thing we know about darjoy it's that we will have a time i love her um that

(01:07:33):
woman so that's that one um this one i just actually remembered because it was not a recent
it was not a recent read it was from months and months ago but uh to to the book to swoon and to
spar uh by martha waters is not really halloweeny but the premise of it is that our heroine uh is

(01:07:55):
the ward of this guy who owns a kind of gothic castle type of situation um and he the the guy
that owns the castle really wants to be rid of her uh meanwhile it's his like i don't remember
how they're related but the hero who you've met in previous books in that series but it's okay if
you haven't read them uh it's i think it was like something that wasn't entailed to him so it got

(01:08:20):
sold away but he really wants that property back or something along those lines or he's related to
the guy that owned something so he's been trying for years to buy this property back and he can't
but finally the guy shows up and is like hey i'll sell you this castle if you marry my ward because
he just wants to like get rid of her so he does and he's a very nice guy about it and he's like i

(01:08:41):
will not marry you if you are being forced into this like please tell me if you don't want to do
but whatever so she goes through with it because she the uncle or whoever the guy is is like not a
good guy um she would like to not have to deal with him but she also doesn't want to deal with
a husband so she goes about haunting her own castle to scare that's how she oh that's why the

(01:09:01):
guy was selling it she haunted it to get rid of him and he was so scared that now he's like here
buy this castle and marry my ward so now she's gotten rid of him but accidentally gained a
husband she didn't want so now she and like the servants have ganged up to haunt the castle to
get rid of him so excellent vibes all around one thing about martha water's books i will be giggling

(01:09:26):
um and i did giggle i did giggle it was a silly goofy time um speaking of a silly goofy time
this is another forever book it's one that hasn't come out yet it comes out and i feel like march
is the answer but i'm not positive on that nobody quote me um lady charlotte always gets her man
by violet marsh yeah i saw you say scooby-doo and that yeah so i can't say that the whole thing is

(01:09:50):
the vibes but it's like because they know who the bad guy is she's engaged to this guy who's had like
two wives die mysteriously and also other people when they oppose him die and he's never proven
to be connected to it but she knows like you know he's a bad guy and her brother is best friends

(01:10:11):
with his brother and they're very nice guys and the hero is like a scholar doctor who's also really
buff and he has been off collecting specimens and writing papers and things but now he's back
gladly um he's back and she is working with this like cousin of hers who that side of the family

(01:10:34):
like the aunt ran off with a pirate and now she has these cousins or like a cousin and a friend
of the cousin who run this coffee shop in like georgian london um where it's like a a salon so
she the heroine and her mother run like a literary salon it's like that but it's a coffee shop and

(01:10:54):
now she's determined that this is how she's gonna when she runs away so she doesn't have to marry
this guy she's opening up like a back secret part of this coffee shop that women can come be a part
of so you have this going on and also the brother of the evil fiance is trying to prove that he's a
bad guy and so is she so we're all at first working separately but eventually working together to

(01:11:20):
prove that this guy is a villain so it's not like scooby-doo in the sense that we're trying to solve
a mystery it's more like we're trying to solve how to prove that he's a villain but there's like i
can't say what because spoilers but there's a very scooby-doo-esque scene it's giving like if it
weren't for you meddling kids energy oh and also the hero's like a vigilante uh like fighter

(01:11:49):
secretly i love that like he's running across rooftops parkour me daddy it don't say that ever
again it's uh he's like the ghost of st giles kind of but like in a more organized fashion
i don't know how to explain it this was so fun um i think it's it's either closed or they just never

(01:12:13):
fully so like don't go into this expecting like sexy but it's so silly there's a parrot side
character who is so mean he's like a one-eyed parrot and he gets involved in everyone's business
is no okay i'm going crazy that was a loud sound i don't know what that was oh i don't know there's
a one i think he's a one-eyed parrot or being haunted by ghosts are they horny i don't know

(01:12:39):
i prefer it give us a sign if you're in the room with us give us a sign haunt me baby one more time
nice anyway there's a parrot and he falls in love with a monkey the monkey also is a silly goofy time
the parrot helps the hero on his vigilante escapades

(01:13:01):
there's just a lot happening there so keep an eye out for that one and finally i have two that i
can't say much about because i they are in progress reads i'm about halfway through each of them um
one of them is the vampire vi count by karen harba harbo harba something um and it's another
signet regency romance from i want to say like 95 maybe i think it's from 1995 um and this one

(01:13:26):
he's like a very kind angsty vampire who doesn't want to be a vampire he was turned i think against
his will um and he needs a virgin bride so far it's unclear what for except that he has this
spell that he's following that he needs her for um to try to not be a vampire anymore and he ends

(01:13:46):
up winning her away and he gambles her father gambles her away but then it turns out he's very
nice and she her father's abusive and she wants to get out of there she's a governess um and she's
like you know what you're actually very nice so this is good with me and he hates himself because
he's a vampire and he smashes mirrors and stuff but he also is very gentle and flirtatious

(01:14:11):
so no idea where this is going because again i'm only halfway through they just got married but
a vibe to be certain um and the other one is uh be mine tonight by someone katherine smith which is
another vampire historical um our hero drank from what he thought was the holy grail many many like

(01:14:32):
600 years ago but it turns out it was the grail of death or the death grail or something um which is
is get this uh god turned lilith into silver and that silver was like the pieces of silver that
judas was given for betraying jesus and then that silver got turned into this chalice and he drank

(01:14:58):
from it and it turned him and all of his friends into vampires so now 600 years later our heroine
is on the quest for the grail um with like a scholar they're trying to find it because well
she's the only one who knows why she's so interested in finding everybody she has cancer
and she's dying and she doesn't have very long to live and so she's trying to find the holy grail

(01:15:20):
to drink from it and like cure her illness and stuff um but the catholic church has gotten
involved as we are want to do uh and he's there working with the church and uh they're like very
into each other immediately but she doesn't know that he's a vampire so there you go wow i did it
is on my that was on my tbr i do want to we talked about them in our last episode halloween episode

(01:15:46):
but i do want to bring back please go read after midnight by teresa mediaros and the vampire who
loved me agree banger banger books so surprised not not surprisingly but to us it was surprisingly
because i had never read a therese mediaros before and it was just so well written and really great

(01:16:06):
the vibes were immaculate i may honestly that may wrap out my or round out my halloween reads
because i'm in the mood to reread by a hot maybe vampire man but did you have your historical
we're done that's all my historical okay well then we've got ya and i know you read i've got

(01:16:28):
one that i want to read so why don't you start off with that uh yeah i read my dear henry which is
like a jekyll and hyde remix i want to say that was on my tbr and i am blanking on the author but
it's uh so i have also actually you could also i think i probably talked about it in the last
halloween episode but the other uh like classics remixed from that series i don't know what else

(01:16:53):
you would call it it's not a see like it's a bunch of different authors that have all written
remixed classics um but i read what souls are made of last year but i think that one's toshisuri
um and that one's a weathering heights remix which also i think is good for the spooky season
because it's got that kind of gothic vibe that one's really great um i really i joke that that's

(01:17:19):
like my canon weathering heights um it's a south asian remix which actually makes a lot of sense
um because if you've read weathering heights you know there's a lot of conversation about uh
yeah what's his name yeah heathcliff's like he's dark he's kind of foreign he's ostracized and
sort of dehumanized a lot um but in this one both kathy and heathcliff are south asian but kathy is

(01:17:45):
white passing and also it's kind of a spoiler but also if you're like me this is helpful to know it's
an hea like it kind of rewrites the end of the story this one actually too my dear henry also
rewrites the end of jack lenn hide so both of these are kind of y a romances like they have happy
endings um so it's not a retelling it's a remix this one um i do not love jack lenn hide um i think

(01:18:10):
it's an interesting book i think it's worth reading especially because it's so short my dear henry
slapped also it's good to have read jack lenn hide because this one there's even more of a
of a difference uh like she changes a lot more in this one than the weathering heights one perhaps
even did uh it ages them down it's y a so they're in their teens like kind of late teens but they are

(01:18:36):
um uh udderson who is the kind of main character i guess in jack lenn hide um is they're both black
they're at medical school um and dealing with all of the trauma of trying to be a black man in a

(01:18:58):
medical school in victoria in london um and henry jekyll's father is like a professor there
uh but udderson gabriel doesn't actually want to be a doctor he wants to be a lawyer uh he is boarding
in the same boarding house with henry jekyll they become very close very quickly rumors are spreading
about them uh gabriel ends up getting kicked out of the university also henry's father gets accused

(01:19:21):
of some stuff and then so you kind of deal with all this stuff in the past and then you jump to
the future which is not super far ahead but it's kind of i think it's like a summer later or
something he's back in town and henry is acting very weird and avoiding him and not acting like
he even really knows him let alone the fact that they were like kind of in love um and like hanging

(01:19:43):
out in his father's laboratory a lot uh gabriel cannot figure out what's going on and then also
there is this very handsome very charming very charismatic um boy with like gray hair who's been
appearing and getting involved in gabriel's life um and i love so the original jekyll and hide you

(01:20:05):
know that jekyll brought all of this about because he was trying to separate man's like evil nature
from his good nature um and what resulted is hide is the manifestation of evil that wasn't very smart
at all that wasn't very smart of him yeah um this one i think did something really fascinating with

(01:20:28):
why jekyll has these two sides because it's not good and evil that have been separated his uh you
know it's his father that's doing the experimenting on him um but his father without giving too much
trying to separate out something else from henry uh oh and it was very emotional but also just

(01:20:53):
like a really fascinating take on that classic would absolutely recommend i really loved that book
so that was definitely on my tbr and i do want to read it because i don't think i've ever read
jack lenni i think it's very short i would read that one before okay it's like a three hour

(01:21:13):
audiobook or something okay cool because i know there was a scooby-doo jack lenni episode i did
watch that not to brag uh i read one like well i guess maybe another one but it's kind of a spoiler
so i read one like fully like paranormal uh ya which was spellbound by f.t. lukens and what a

(01:21:36):
good book might i add it was might i add i mean i have to add it because i'm talking about it
but it was it was really good it's just really if you've seen school of rock uh jack black
goes through this whole like monologue about the man and how and how like the man is controlling

(01:21:57):
everything and then the man creates mtv and it drags everything down and then rock and roll
is like the way to you know defeat the man and you know rocking is is the thing you want to do
sure well i kind of equate this book to that because it really got me thinking some type of
way about the man i was like man the man needs to go down but in this case the man was the man

(01:22:20):
but then mtv was like a rogue government agency trying to instill its rules upon the masses
and make decisions for the whole when it shouldn't be and rock and roll would be casting spells
or rock and roll i guess would be magic and then rocking would be casting spells

(01:22:42):
so you can see my review for that one and it kind of takes you through the whole scene
and so basically what they got to do is give magic to the masses and teach people how to rock and
roll aka cast spells um convoluted extended metaphor yeah it works better if you can see it

(01:23:03):
but i can't i can't do anything about that it was just a really good book it was these two
apprentices for two different magicians one was human i mean they're both human i guess but one
was like a non-magician who can't cast spells and then the other one was a magician or wizard or
whatever their term was for it and the human tries to get around that being able to do spells by

(01:23:28):
creating like this instrument to help with it which is technically illegal because the government
doesn't want people knowing how to do it who aren't uh magical because the magical like
humans or non-magical people can pay magical people to you know give them spells and all that
so then if everyone can do it what is capitalism um and then obviously their two mentors get

(01:23:54):
kidnapped and they have to work together one of them turns into a cat for a while it was actually
hilarious it was really fun and i was like captivated by the cover when i first saw it come
out and so that's honestly why i read this i was like i want to read that because of the cover and
it turned out to be really good the narrators were great i think i'd heard them both and other why

(01:24:15):
a ones um yeah it was fun all around the man sucks magic is awesome and rock and roll that's all i've
got well my other ya uh this one i do feel they need to asterisk um it there is a romantic

(01:24:37):
relationship but it is not a romance uh not even like they don't it's a it's a hopeful ending in
the sense that the characters that are alive the main characters live uh but it's not a romantic
like hea situation um so just so you're aware uh but certain dark things by silvia marino garcia

(01:25:02):
is a neo noir uh so dark dealing with like corrupt government agencies and all of that good stuff um
it's uh our man the man um stick it to the man as the uh you got me feeling like i'm the man

(01:25:23):
all right well that was different i was going with the school of rock musical but uh uh our main
characters are we're in sort of an alternate like sci-fi mexico city almost um and it's a
uh a vampire who's she's from like a family of very powerful vampires but the vampires are kind

(01:25:46):
of like gangs um and her whole family has been murdered by this rival gang and so she's on the
run um and she meets this kid who's like a homeless kid in the train tunnels um and basically pays him
a lot of money to he thinks sleep with her but it turns out it's actually to let her drink his blood

(01:26:08):
um and he is just like a very soft he's like but i really like you and i brought you a gift and
she's like you need to leave me alone um but he just kind of keeps showing up and so eventually
she's like you know what fine uh you can help me she has a big dog also that's important later um
and then you get a lot of like povs from other characters so you have the rival

(01:26:29):
vampire who's he's a different breed of vampire there are lots of different kinds of vampires
um and the government's after them also because it's like kind of illegal to be a bit like you'll
get killed it's like a disease sort of that has been banned so that's a whole thing and then there
are different kinds of vampires and there's this asshole vampire that's after her and then there's

(01:26:50):
also the human that's working with him to try to bring her down and then you have a human
police officer who is involved with this other like criminal gang but also is trying to
solve these murders and bring the vampires to justice and meanwhile our main vampire
is just trying to get out she's trying to get to like brazil maybe i don't remember where

(01:27:14):
she's trying to get out of mexico though for sure uh so there is a lot happening
and it's in war so there's a lot of like violence and darkness and oh no corrupt
government agencies and bad people and vampires i didn't really do a great job of pitching that

(01:27:36):
but as long as you know they don't end up together at the end um i really enjoy silvia marino garcia's
writing both of her other mexican gothic is really really great um like it's probably my
favorite thing of hers that i have read so i would recommend that as a gothic that one does have a
hopeful like romantic relationship that makes it through to the end um and also it's just fantastic

(01:27:59):
um and then velvet was the night is a i think that one's also noir it's not neo noir it's
like a true noir i think it's set in like 50s mexico city um so i recommend all of those
oh yeah i forgot that i had read this one like earlier in the year but it is i guess they are

(01:28:25):
two books by kendall culper the starlet's secret to a sensational afterlife and then murder for
the modern girl which i believe i liked uh starlet's what was that uh a starlet secret to a sensational
afterlife better uh it was a really good audiobook it was like dual narrated by um the two main

(01:28:47):
characters i'm not remembering too much but she could see ghosts and he was like super strong he
was like a 1930s like stunt man it's like ya so he's a stunt man child teen um because he just
can't die and so like he's great in that regard but also people kind of realize that this kid

(01:29:14):
should maybe be dead um because of all these things that keep happening to him like getting
stabbed by a giant ass wood plank and stuff um and the harrowing again like i said can see boats
boasts can see ghosts things happen it was a really fun story i really liked it i don't read
a lot in the 30s um but that one it was really fun and she was like a hollywood actress like she

(01:29:37):
wanted to um get into the game and then they have to like fake date for pr reasons and then there
are a lot of other actresses who have went missing and she's being haunted by their ghosts and it's
a mystery to solve who has been killing them and uh i really liked it it was it was really it was
really good again the audiobook was really good um and then you didn't have any more right yep

(01:30:02):
uh so i then read three like ya thrillers because i also think that kind of gets me like the spooky
vibe they're all three very different uh the first one i don't even the only reason i read it is
because i loved the cover i thought it was like a very well done cover but it's clown in a cornfield
which two things i don't like cornfields and clowns really don't like either of them they both give me

(01:30:27):
creepy vibes um but wow was that a violent bloody gory book oh it was odd the reason for the murder
not valid i don't think i don't but was i upset no was i like logical no but it made for a compelling

(01:30:51):
book again when i got to the end i was like they killed them all for that kind of like what um
yeah it's just a clown goes fucking crazy oh like what was that 2016 yeah so i think it must have
been written in response to that which the response was just a clown goes fucking crazy and

(01:31:16):
and was i both scared and intrigued yes someone like someone got so beheaded by a chainsaw
and it was just not someone i anticipated being beheaded by a chainsaw so when it happened i just
kind of like stopped i was like cleaning i just like stood still kind of like honestly i respect

(01:31:36):
it but also i was like that wasn't in i didn't see that written in the stars um if you don't like
slasher film i mean i don't even like slasher films i don't know why i read this book but
people who like slasher films were in the review saying i really liked this book because it really
gave me slasher film vibes so do with that what you will but if you want a really gory gruesome

(01:32:01):
kids against a clown conspiracy thing it exists there's a second one that i'm kind of scared to
read because like the author said that none of the beloved characters who survive book one are safe
and i'm kind of like oh give them peace but also i'm compelled so i think i may wait until book

(01:32:26):
three comes out because like i'm not that compelled to like want to hurt that bad right now um so we'll
see where that journey takes me and then i read suddenly a murder wait so that one was by so that's
cloud and a cornfield by adam cizar and then suddenly a murder is by lauren munos and that

(01:32:47):
one was described as i'm just trying to see what they said in the copy so i'm just gonna
i'm just trying to see what they said in the copy um one of us is lying meets knives out
which i kind of agree with they're at this like 1920s themed party on an island manor mansion

(01:33:09):
place um they're all rich except for the heroine obviously that's kind of how it always works out
and they all like it starts out with someone killing this guy because they're it's like a
locked in thriller locked in the room thriller where um one like someone killed a person and
you kind of like get some flashbacks and then you see who gets killed and all of that and then

(01:33:31):
everyone's a suspect everyone is a suspect including the the main character who is
narrating so it gets a little bit unreliable which i really enjoyed um and i would say the
one of us is lying meets knives out is like a pretty good comparison my review is all it's
just linking to the youtube video of the not gonna lie they had us in the first half because that

(01:33:54):
was me i didn't see the second half coming and it was a really good book really good audiobook
um and it just it gave you those like good murder mystery vibes um so i really liked that and then
then i read you're not supposed to die tonight by kaylin bayron i think um and that one wrote my

(01:34:20):
dear henry oh really i think so oh my gosh wow look at that little kovinky dink yep kaylin bayron
um what a book might i say um i don't know how i feel about it but i didn't hate the time i was

(01:34:41):
reading it i was so wrong i thought things were happening and i was so so wrong um like mega wrong
owls come into play oh in a way that i was not prepared for um basically it's set at a summer
camp which was the set of a big like murder summer camp movie in the past and it's kind of like a

(01:35:07):
tradition where every summer they recreate the murders from the movie and people like pay to
get scared and then the way that these actors like make it seem is that like it's gone off the rails
and someone actually got murdered and then the people get really scared and like something i
would never go to because that just screams bad luck and you're asking for it um but the main

(01:35:30):
character is the main she's the final girl like the girl who like survives the entire um murder
movie and stuff like that um and then people start like her co-workers start disappearing
they're not the smartest uh characters they did things and i was just like why are you here doing

(01:35:52):
what you're doing because you're not built to be the final girl you are screaming next to murderers
who then can hear you and know where you are uh it took a wild turn and again i still don't know
if i like the turn that it turned but i respect it and i i can't say much more i it it was so odd

(01:36:16):
but not bad but just confusing but in like a creepy way so if that for some reason compelled you
i you know do what you do and go read it it was a good audiobook it was really quick it was like
six hours so i read it in like three and it didn't start getting like really creepy until like halfway

(01:36:40):
through um and i did have to listen to it when it was in the daylight because i'm a wimp so
there is that i was like i'm the only one up in my house and i have to turn this off
so uh i think that's my that's my final ya1 wow oh wait i'm a liar i'm a lying liar who lies uh

(01:37:03):
i think i probably mentioned in the last one but the stalking jack the ripper series i like carrie
maniscalco i love it so much uh book two deals with vampires great spooky vibes um they're all
i mean they all do with like murders and there's a serial killer like wound throughout them obviously
the jack the ripper thing um book two really had me uh by the throat when i was reading it for the

(01:37:29):
first time so i do like to read those once a year um because thomas creswell is my husband
uh audrey can fight me she'd probably win but i don't know i'm plucky so there there's that and
uh yeah okay on to novellas on wood jaunty oh all right we gotta pick up the pace here i know uh

(01:37:59):
contemporary novellas i actually only have a few most of my novellas were under the category
monster stuff um you love to see a contemporary uh what the hex by alexis daria um yeah
um yeah honestly not a ton to say about it it was short and sweet and uh witchy it's a family of

(01:38:20):
witches on i really liked that one uh an island and there's a wedding that's supposed to be
happening but the groom is possessed by a demon and everyone's under its spell and she and her
old high school rival have to work together because they're the only ones not affected so
so there you have it there i have it uh and i only have one as well because the other two that i have

(01:38:46):
fall into the monster but it's a tale of two cities by alexandra warren just a very like simple
uh contemporary romeo novella they're at a halloween party i think it's a bachelorette party so like
they all a group of friends like travel i think it's to vagas and um it just takes place over

(01:39:08):
the weekend and she is uh getting with i don't know if he's the um what's the man of honor what's
the the best man i really i'm gonna blame my horny ghost for muddling my brain because i really could

(01:39:34):
not remember that uh the best man and she may i think she's the maid of honor don't quote me on
that but they just have a very cute sexy weekend together and she may or may not extend her trip
in vagas to be with him some more and it was a very like realistic approach i think to like
if you meet someone on kind of like a holiday like that and like what would happen um i really like

(01:39:58):
and she also has i think another kind of like really nice relationship with her ex because
they have a child together and i really liked their relationship and like seeing how like
that all worked out and her kid was awesome um so that one was just really cute like pretty short
just if you need like a hella weekend read but nothing too crazy or spooky or anything like that

(01:40:21):
that's what all of these ones that i have well all three of these ones all are i think all three of
them are also black romances um that one was as well yeah uh but same vibes boot up yeah that was
on my tbr danielle allen is like uh she's home from college for the weekend and her parents are
there and she goes to it's like an old friend from high school who her birthday slash halloween party

(01:40:47):
is that weekend but the night before that she's having like just a small get together with some
friends and uh it turns out they're setting her up with a guy and they hit it off and there's like a
slightly paranormal possibly element to it where like all the white people are doing a seance and
they're like absolutely not we are out of here but then they end up like stuck together because of a

(01:41:08):
storm and it's a whole thing um and it also was just like a cute like they meet they kind of spend
the whole weekend together and it's erotic and you know same vibes um and then also uh trick and
treat are two different ones um they're i thought they were going to be about the same couple they

(01:41:31):
were not um i think the characters are from or at least in trick the characters are from another
series by the author shay sanders uh so they're like kind of referenced and i didn't know what was
going on but it doesn't really matter um trick is these are both really short trick is a first date

(01:41:53):
like they met in a one of the books uh with like a romance with their like friends or something
she was like possibly posing for erotic photo or she was like filming porn i don't know he was like
a i don't know i don't know they met at some point in that book and they've agreed to this first date

(01:42:14):
and it's kind of a setup because they're on like a hayride and she hates it so much and he's kind
of awkward and then he has like an allergic reaction to some or she starts itching all over
and she's like we have to get out of here i cannot do this and then he also starts itching all over
so they go back to her house and they shower together and it's like well while we're here
and like that that's it that's the conserve water shower with me the date goes better from that point

(01:42:42):
forward um so that was trick treat was a um an established relationship they have kids together
um but she marriage freaks her out so she has never been interested in committing and then she's kind
of crazy like she's really out there well is down for anything loves to go party um and is kind of

(01:43:03):
kinky like likes to try things he is super vanilla and super predictable and so this hallowe weekend
he has committed to um doing this for her and so he surprises her by taking her to this like
sex club where there's this woman who works there who like guides them through this erotic experience

(01:43:25):
and that's it that's the whole thing i love that for them yeah so those were my contemporary
novellas and they're all they're short contemporary like nothing crazy just kind of a little
romantic time erotic time i should say and romantic you say i do say cool well then to take us to the

(01:43:49):
historical um halloween-ish these are both kind of like on the cusp the first one i'm just going to
mention because you mentioned uh the phantom of the opera vibes and this one is by our beloved
author kate bateman and i just want to say she can write the shit out of a novella and this one was
the phantom of jury lane and again he wasn't a phantom he he wasn't but he was hot and he was

(01:44:17):
kind of it was kind of like who is this man i mean strictly speaking the actual phantom of the opera
also wasn't a phantom that's so crazy he was supposed to disfigured man yeah this wasn't the hero but
uh it was great and it's it follows because it's characters in the um series that we've talked

(01:44:39):
about are a daring pursuit a wicked game a ruthless match um it's characters like in their family line
and if you've read that series you'll know that kate bateman's whole thing is just writing heroes
who have been in love with the heroines for their entire lives but like they don't know how to
express it because they were too young to really do anything with that knowledge then they just

(01:45:00):
kind of like become enemies in quotations um and like try to annoy the heroines because that's all
that they can do with these emotions and then they come to a point in their life where they're like
oh man i really love her but we've been quasi enemies for so long that she's not going to believe
me so i have to like set up all these different elaborate schemes that are tailor-made to her exact

(01:45:22):
tastes to make her believe that i could actually in this life love her and everyone else knows that
we love each other um except for her and she hasn't accepted that she loves me yet so i just
have to kind of like make her get used to the idea that we could be in love um because she is my son
and i revolve around her and i'm a scent for her um and that's all of those books including this one

(01:45:48):
and kate i love you so that's my that's my love letter to kate bateman it's like literally all
of those heroes in that series that's what they all are so uh yeah winner winner winner chicken
dinner i read a few other books in that series too and i enjoyed them it was the devil of dreary

(01:46:09):
lane and then the scoundrel of dreary lane um the scoundrel one that was an audiobook and that was
five stars it was really good um but not really spooky or anything but i thought they kind of
gave the fallish vibes uh i only read one uh it was lord's sawin's night uh i can't say it lord

(01:46:32):
saw saw saw lord's night uh lord i lord sawin's night by joe beaverly um
i didn't love it but it's so short that it's kind of like you know yeah if you just want like
historical with a little bit of the thing about it but the thing is uh the thing is

(01:46:57):
uh so uh so you have um two brothers and this woman who i can't remember why exactly but she
was like raised with them in one of those situations they've all been very close but like siblings
um and recently one of the brothers has proposed to her and she's been like thinking about it kind

(01:47:25):
of and then the other brother comes home and proposes to her and she's like oh your brother
summer i turned spooky yeah the summer i turned spooky indeed um the sawin's night i turned spooky
because uh but the the first brother that proposed to her like there he had a thing going on with

(01:47:51):
somebody else um and then typical man and then she doesn't really know what she's more interested in
the brother that proposes second because the first one she really sees as a brother
but there's like some conflict where like she doesn't know how serious he is about it
and like she thinks maybe he was just trying to make sure she was taken care of and if the other

(01:48:15):
brother marries her like he doesn't have to worry so she's not sure if he's serious it's a whole
thing um and they have this uh they're they're sitting there telling ghost stories by the fire
on halloween and uh the the stories are getting really pointed they're getting really like one
brother is supposed to marry a woman and then he gets locked in a cellar type of ghost stories um

(01:48:40):
and for some reason they do this thing where you can do a spell on halloween where like you throw a
uh i think it's like a chestnut something like that you throw it you like write your potential
lover's like initials on it or something like that and then you throw it in the fire and then
depending on how it burns it it'll reveal like their true you know if they'll be faithful or

(01:49:02):
if they're whatever so they all do this to see right because they're all fighting about this
uh and one of them like explodes and it's the brother that she's kind of more interested in
but he just kind of gives up very easily so she's like oh he must not be that serious about it so
the next day she agrees to marry the other brother um but then but then chaos ensues and that brother

(01:49:27):
dies um and the other brother is engaged to the woman that that the brother that she got engaged
to was in love with that other woman that he was kind of involved with before so now they're both
engaged to other people but then her fiance dies and now it's lord sawin's night again oh it's
because lord sawin was like oh you thought it'd be funny you'll fuck with me huh um so he dies and

(01:49:48):
he shows up on that night and lord sawin is like what's up you're dead um and you will be going
to hell with me unless you take this night as a ghost to go solve all the problems you caused
and so he has this night as a ghost to go make sure that his brother marries her and that's the
plot he has to go figure out how to do that as a ghost but he's dead he doesn't like come back to

(01:50:14):
life or anything spoiler alert he is a ghost so like it was kind of depressing you know
i don't know love the wacky things we do for it i was like joe joe beverly why why but you know

(01:50:39):
i read it she's a witch she's a witch um the only the only other one i have is the secrets of a
moonlit night by elisa brayden um i really enjoyed it it was a fuck of five stars it was good vibes
all around uh she was the governess um she's living next door um to this like big empty

(01:51:06):
mansion that just is now inhabited by a very big very scarred uh technically the mysterious uh
uh half-faced man of the rumors um and he comes knocking at her door and she's with since she's a
governess she has like the two children and she's been telling them like a ghost story of this like

(01:51:29):
half-faced man and then uh-oh he knocks on their door and everyone in the house is terrified
and she's also kind of terrified but also like whoa he's big um and he's like keep the kids out
of my abby it's dangerous and she's like okay uh kids obviously don't listen they get into some
mischief she goes over to his place and uh she has this whole interaction with this woman

(01:51:57):
and she is like talking to her and having a good conversation and then because the one kid like
lost his glasses in this place so then she has to go find them before the big scary man uh finds her
uh finds her but uh oh he's there and he finds her and then they get locked in like a cellar
and things happen and she's like so that lady can't she unlock the door he's like what lady

(01:52:20):
i don't have anyone working here they're all too scared because it's haunted and uh or like
everyone thinks it's haunted and she's like well uh i was talking to her and she was fully pregnant
so like you're pretending that like you don't know her but she's not your mistress and like you want
me but also like you have a pregnant mistress he's like what are you talking about i do not have a
pregnant mistress i would know and then they're like oh it's a ghost natural conclusion um so

(01:52:46):
then there's a little mystery of why there's this pregnant um ghost haunting this place and it gets
a little that brings up some biological questions for me yeah like is the is the fetus also a ghost
can the fetus be born and if the fetus is dead because the mother is dead is she still pregnant

(01:53:12):
questions of which probably weren't answered but compels you nonetheless right true yes so true
uh it was just it was short it was creepy it got the job done i liked them both it was well written
i didn't expect a lot from it and what i got was good so it did what it needed to do but that was

(01:53:35):
my only other historical one i think onto the monster stuff folks we're coming to the end
hitting the home straight here uh i feel like several of these let me try let me start with
the ones that i didn't love and we can finish on a high note uh it read two that i'm gonna get
confused one of them is seduced by the pumpkin king and the other one is just the pumpkin king um

(01:54:01):
i'm just gonna talk about them in one fell swoop because neither of them needs a lot of discussion
seduced by the pumpkin king was by melanie nix this one
one just evil laughter i'm just remembering this gremlin why doesn't goodreads even have a description

(01:54:24):
um all right some things can't be okay well she um the book the novella opens with her taking her
boyfriend who's been traveling but now he doesn't feel good so he can't see her she surprises him
with soup but the door is open oh no he's fucking another woman so she's leaving she's mad it's also

(01:54:48):
halloween she leaves she's driving she gets lost she's never seen this but she's confused this is
not the way she came she's taking back roads there's like something happened on the highway i think
her gps isn't working she ends up in a ghost town but it's not a ghost town it turns out everyone's
just in the church she's like perfect let me ask someone for directions she goes in they're having

(01:55:10):
an argument about someone getting sacrificed like one of their children they're like a newcomer
she'll get sacrificed everything is off she's like i don't love this she runs into the forest
she gets chased into the forest and they're like perfect that's where we needed you to go
so they're all just kind of standing so she gets stuck in this forest and she's like you know what

(01:55:32):
fine whatever um she's getting sacrificed to like the pumpkin king or whatever um who has a different
name i think but that's not the point the point is she's stuck in this forest and she can't come out
until morning because her car is back there and she's like okay i'm gonna go get some food and

(01:55:53):
she's like okay i'll just stay here in this forest even though it's cold and uncomfortable and then
there are spooky noises and she almost gets eaten by a werewolf but she gets saved by this pumpkin
headed demon guy who takes her and is like no she's mine and then carries her back through the woods
and they escape from all the other creatures of the night into his very cozy cabin um and basically

(01:56:16):
it turns out that he like rules this town and every year on halloween they have to sacrifice
someone to him because he's looking for a mate he needs a mate but most of them either get eaten by
other things in the forest before he can get to them classic or he kills them because they are so
scared of him they don't want to be his mate and she's like fair enough makes herself a sandwich

(01:56:39):
goes to have a shower but she's also like kind of turned on by him and then they bang it out
wow so i like spoilers because i don't know what else you really need to know about that one seduced
by the pumpkin king that's really all you need there are some weird things where like his tongue
can extend really far so he gives her cunnilingus while they're both standing up

(01:57:02):
so there's that um and then on the other hand if you want a different pumpkin headed demon king
you have the pumpkin king by kara the one that's like a little bit more like a little bit more
demone demone i don't know um demone because that just fits um and this one she is like a

(01:57:26):
scientist of some kind camping out in a natural park natural national park you know what i mean
uh and naturally she's wearing this bear onesie which is important because she follows these
lights into the forest because she's like hello who is you're not supposed to be here and she

(01:57:46):
follows the lights and she ends up in this like halloween town type of situation with this weird
zombie guy who thinks that she's a bear person and it turns out this is where all the creatures of
the night live and tonight is the night that the pumpkin king is going to choose a bride and there's
this crow and the crow decides who the bride is going to be and it's all these creatures and it
lands on her and they're like what she's a human you can't marry a like oh no but then he does

(01:58:11):
anyway and then they also bang it out so and she thinks this is all a dream but it turns out she
just became the queen of these creatures of the night and honestly there's not a lot of reckoning
for her she just kind of is like well all right well damn damn well this one wasn't a pumpkin

(01:58:40):
king i did not venture into the pumpkin land uh this year but i did read beauty in autumn by
ruby dixon um basically it's kind of like hunger games esque in situ in the like though basically
every year all these maidens spin around this pole and they like drop their like ribbons one by one

(01:59:07):
and whoever drops the last is like fated to go be sacrificed to this like monster in the woods
and it's like a beauty and the beast situation confused about why if you were one of those
maidens you wouldn't just immediately drop your ribbon you can't it's like chosen for you so like
you're like kind of like entranced to keep walking and then it just happened yeah so like

(01:59:32):
shit just goes down and they can't control it but the heroine would wish to control it because she
kind of feels like a an inherent sexual pull towards being fucked by a giant monster in the
woods yeah so she's kind of like honestly like i have a vibe and the vibe is that i'm going to
be chosen and i'm willing no one else is willing and years past they've all died but i'm willing

(01:59:57):
it's the life i want to lead and so lo and behold she's fated to go into this forest she's so ready
um and once she meets him he's so surprised that she's willing and raring to go uh hot and ready if
you will for him and then they just like they mate and then it like things happen and it's a happily

(02:00:23):
ever after it was very short but it wasn't bad it was not bad i respect her energy of just being like
that sounds fun this life here kind of sucks and is boring so why don't i get sacrificed to this giant
creature that no one's seen but everyone knows is murderous i like the vibes of like i bet he

(02:00:45):
would be good to fuck yeah you don't know what he is because she's been having dreams i think of
like being chased by this giant monster and then being pleasured and they all come to fruition uh
it's like a series so i think they have one for each different season so meet me back here for
our winter holiday episode and i'll tell you what happens to that one so oh yeah midnight um

(02:01:16):
wow uh-huh wow um most of these we have both read um
um
sweet vengeance uh more your taste than mine
yeah where i'm like oh hell yeah the widow of rose house give me a depressing ghost story you're

(02:01:38):
like hell yeah give me demon murdering and murder um okay first he's a virgin demon like
uh i told you my name is spelled virgin demon lover second it's all about revenge baby yeah
yeah and she gets it yeah yeah it was a little hardcore i get why this is a pretty popular one

(02:02:03):
most people i've seen have loved it and i respect that it's not you want to rock hard
hard you personally gotta be hardcore all right um but you know he was a demon he was he was a cute
little cinnamon roll demon who could also murder someone with a snap of his fingers if he needed to

(02:02:24):
yeah yeah i bagged with it i know
we all do
do yeah uh i guess i can go with the last one i think that we both haven't read and then i just
have the two more uh did you corny by sabrina cross did you read this no

(02:02:48):
although tomorrow uh well when this episode comes out it will already be halloween but
october 30th is national candy corn day it's a holiday that i knew that i honor every year
um i'm so serious you can look back at forever's uh instagram feed from october 30th of last year
and you'll see a post that had my name stamped all over it to the point where like my bot not

(02:03:16):
estelle but like the editor is in the comments and i don't know that she even knew i don't know how
she knew that i'm candy corn's number one defender but somehow she did because you can see her in the
comments being like did caroline make this post and i did well i don't want to say that like
this book is you because i think that'd be a very weird thing for me to claim

(02:03:39):
but hear me out it's not as weird as you'd think it was actually very good and i say that
because one of them is a candy corn a crocheted candy corn okay but the premise makes so much
sense so they're a group yes one of them is a crocheted candy corn but it makes it's so

(02:04:02):
logical it actually is so we find out there is this friend group and they make the logical decision
of like i assume when people want to play with a ouija board which i never have i will never do
that but they want to summon a demon for some quirky reason and she's crocheting a like explicit

(02:04:28):
candy corn because she sells them because she makes like fun like kitschy like crocheted things sure
and so so she's crocheting this candy corn with like huge boobs and a huge ass and in like a string
bikini but it's also like a candy corn which i've like seen i've like seen a crocheted candy corn

(02:04:49):
and i don't know where i've seen it but i've like seen this with rockin' knockers yeah and a whole
lot of junk in the trunk yeah i don't know where i've seen it but i've seen i think it exists
anyway uh so she's crocheting this candy corn and they just assume that their spell didn't work
you know as normal people probably would assume like uh well that didn't work

(02:05:10):
what they don't realize is that they've now entered a deal with uh the devil which uh means
that they each will have their own demon um and the demon basically has to help them find their
like true love mate situation uh within a year and if they don't um then their soul is forever

(02:05:35):
like satan's and so like the demons aren't really like bad but like they're really horny
and so like this candy corn is now inhabited by this really hot demoness
but she's a candy corn and so like a rockin' bod with a rockin' bod and the candy corn does

(02:06:01):
have sexual skills um but she dreams she when she's dreaming it's like this really hot demoness
that she's rocking with and she's like whoa i could get behind this and then she wakes up and
it's that candy corn that she's rocking with and honestly i was like you know what let her bejeweled

(02:06:25):
in that tiny little candy corn potty like she's hot she can do what she wants i don't care and
it worked because then like she was like being set up on dates but she was pining for this demoness
who was currently in the shape of a candy corn and then things happen and it works out and i
had a really good time i will be reading the series the next one is being crocheted into

(02:06:47):
like this like octopus thing so yahoo with some tentacles i don't know what her demon's gonna be
but i sure am excited so like the entire series is all the friends one by one having to find their
their true loves and or have their souls sold to satan and it was remarkably good i enjoyed it

(02:07:14):
i enjoyed the writing it was funny it was campy it was candy corny so you know things could be
worse than a sapphic candy corn romance wow so yeah wow indeed i was honestly i was like wow that was good

(02:07:39):
um yeah i have no segue i read uh uh not strictly halloween but paranormal
monster shifter type situations so i'm counting it um the hellmouth guardians lover by adriana herrera
which is

(02:08:03):
there was a lot of plot i don't really know there was like a hostage situation and like evil
organizations that they used to work so like uh there were hell mouths that could open up and like
monsters and things could come out of them and so you would have hellmouth guardians
that would be chosen and taught they can like open and close portals and that's the heroine

(02:08:25):
and they would be paired with these i can't remember i think they were like sentinels or
something like that um that would guard them and like fight with them and be like the you know they
were like partners um and that's the hero um but he the thing is he's also a demon um because of a
whole not really fully explained backstory where like his dad fucked somebody over and so they

(02:08:49):
cursed him and his brothers to be um snake demons so he shifts into like a snake demon form
when his emotions are high i'm a snake i'm a sneaky snake um but like a sexy one because his
venom is like an aphrodisiac so like when he spits his venom on her parts it like really heightens

(02:09:13):
it like it dramatically heightens her pleasure her parts yeah well any all of them
and also he can like unhinge his jaw whatever the point is um he's a demon but the the organization
hates demons so he's like like a special one but they're still not going to kill him so he's like

(02:09:35):
a special one but they're still not good they really feel like the jedi council in the prequel
movies you know what i mean like that's the vibe where they think they're the good guys but actually
they're kind of the they're the man yes once again we are facing the man anyway it's like a second
chance because they were working together and then they got involved which it was a secret because
they weren't supposed to um and then something went wrong and then he left her like she he he knew

(02:10:02):
like you know there's things where like he was doing what was best to keep her alive but she
doesn't know that she just feels betrayed so she doesn't work for the organization anymore but he
does he has another hellmouth guardian that he works with but now that one's been kidnapped and
he needs her help and she meanwhile is running the monster smash i'm pretty sure is what it's
called which is basically like a giant traveling orgy for monsters um and she runs it and it could

(02:10:30):
be a whole novella of itself well it is it it's this one um oh wow but she shows up and is like
i need your help and she's like i hate you so much um have sex with me right now and they do a lot
but then they also yeah but then they also go on this mission to like stop someone from opening a

(02:10:51):
portal and sacrificing someone so they like fight a lot of monsters and also have a lot of sex and
also he's a snake demon so there you have it cool snake demon have not encountered bucket list

(02:11:14):
uh do you have any more that we haven't read i know my last two are both ones that i think we both
okay let's do the talia hibbert one first because then i have like one that we haven't read that
goes along with the next one that we both read okay uh it'll all become clear ominous mating the

(02:11:38):
huntress i absolutely did devour yeah the way that talia hibbert has not written more paranormal
romance and that i needed immediately i know talia i know that's the theme all these authors just
dabbling with paranormal knocking out of the park and then never doing it again like what what do you
mean you wrote one werewolf virgin werewolf novella where he just is obsessed with this his mate

(02:12:02):
oh so obsessed he was so obsessed i love him just he was so awkward too because he didn't know how
to like oh awkward what do you mean title not available no i need to look at my highlights
kindle i'm feeling betrayed by that right now because as with any talia hibbert book i highlighted

(02:12:26):
so many things i love her so much show me my highlights
imminent death her mother would remind her was no reason to abandon good manners
also this so relatable he asked for very little creatures to devour excellent wi-fi and a complete

(02:12:49):
lack of human company to be specific that's so me like i just the way talia hibbert writes like
just even this sentence like the love of luke anthony's life cleared her throat and said good
morning sir what can i get you yeah that's iconic like that's just so talia hibbert coded like the

(02:13:09):
hero well it's not coded it is in fact i'll be a hipper well that's so true it encoded decode
i don't know okay he is such a sim once he figured out how to ask a human woman on a date
luc would mate her and fuck her and live happily ever after as her devoted swain
is really all i ever want in a hero that's the it's the like number one once i figure out how

(02:13:33):
to ask a human on on a date it's over for all you bitches like because he literally googled how to
ask women out without making her fear for her life yeah no he's really doing his best he said i know
i am a werewolf i know i do not understand how humans work however i love you so much would you
like to come to my house god her humor is just so dry and witty and british i love it

(02:14:01):
oh i he i i actually all i have to say about this is just reading out the giant list of quotes
because i know for those of you who haven't read it it's a werewolf romance she comes from a family
of huntresses like they hunt werewolves um which but to their knowledge because they're missing
some knowledge now to their knowledge werewolves are like mindless killers like they're they're

(02:14:24):
just animals essentially um but he knows that this one who she's not allowed to hunt because
of a prophecy but she comes from a family of huntresses she's a barista and for reasons that
are explained in the prologue um he knows that she's his mate but he's like a human in his human
form he's i mean he hasn't hung out with humans so he's like awkward but he's not like a mindless

(02:14:49):
monster that eats people indiscriminately so like the math isn't math-ing and also he's obsessed
with her and he just wants to like as we said hold her and fuck her and live happily ever after as
her devoted swain and she tries to kill him and it turns him on and that's really all you need to

(02:15:10):
know honestly she wasn't sweet or gentle or bitable she was a bloodthirsty fucking murderer
his heart sang i also highlighted that one yep yep one fake date arranged with the intention of
murder a single short but excellent makeout session and a rather passionate fight to the death did not
a relationship make and then also she'll write like really beautiful emotional things about like

(02:15:36):
you don't need my darkness i know that but i'll give it to you anyway i'll give you everything i
have and you're like why did you have to do that to me my favorite moment of those themes was uh
themes was uh since she was like her family like owns the like bakery coffee shop thing and she's

(02:15:56):
like a baker and he was trying to impress her and like make her feel better so he was like making her
like cupcakes or like a cake and he was like apparently his mate wanted minimum lumps in the
in this batter therefore he would eliminate all lumps it's just like i love him i love him so
much also he's the virgin he is he's a virgin werewolf that's he's a virgin he's a virgin

(02:16:20):
werewolf that's all i've got like if that doesn't get you to read this book immediately i truly
don't know what will i mean no notes no notes and that brings us to our sleepy hollow headless
horseman erotica situations have you read the legends of sleepy hollow many many moons ago

(02:16:50):
i watched the movie i don't remember it me neither but i feel like i have a pretty good grasp after
reading two of the things i did i have to assume i'm having a grasp at it i don't know i have way
more interest in these than i do someone was grasping something that's so true in uh the first part of hollow
by uh cm nascosta multiple people were grasping multiple things with multiple appendages

(02:17:16):
and multiple heads because they were headless it was um it was memorable to say the least
uh yeah i skimmed that one i didn't i should have i didn't i started in earnest and then i was like
no shame for the people this works for it this is not for me though i mean i i did read it but it

(02:17:40):
was a at a high speed what i didn't realize is that on the cover it says a trick and a treat
and i didn't have that knowledge so i like you was very earnest about starting this and then i was
reading it i was like what is happening like i had seen enough social media stuff that i knew there
were two because at first i was confused because i started it and it felt very contemporary and i

(02:18:04):
was like i swear i saw something that said it was historical and so i went back and did some
digging and then i realized it's two separate there's a contemporary story and then there's the
longer kind of main one which is historical um but yeah when i started i was like wait yeah because
that one it's like definitely felt more contemporary iqabod is icky with abad and he's just icky and

(02:18:33):
then he like is the headmaster at this like a like academy and he just gets a lot of blowjobs and
sexual favors for favors he does for mothers in like the pta and stuff and i'm like icky and then
he like stumbles upon like these two like headless horsemen in like the headless horsemen like sport

(02:18:56):
club i have to polo that's what it was yeah i couldn't remember i was thinking like oh yes
headless horseman sport club we've all been there so which i i found the use of headlessness very

(02:19:19):
compelling i will admit i thought that was fun because like these two men were both headless but
they had their heads so they were each sucking simultaneously the other's dick and i thought that
was very useful and time timely you know i think it got the job done and i honestly i thought that

(02:19:42):
was great i was like well that's hilarious like this one felt just like very like a joke like a
trick like it tricked me i was a little tricked but i i would have liked the headless um aspect to have
been more present in the the longer second one because i was just very intrigued by the idea of
these headless men just throwing their heads around on all their heads and it was a thing

(02:20:07):
and then iqabah gets like he has a humiliation kink and he gets like degraded and like
and it was a whole thing yeah lots of fluids and things and it and then you have like the
katrina von tassel like getting fucked also by one of the brahm one of the headless horsemen
in like a paddock and she was having a good time with it and i was like huh because then she's in

(02:20:33):
the next one i didn't realize that they were like parallel universes and like things so i took me a
little bit but so that was the first part because there were like two and then the second one was
very good i was very compelled um that one felt more just like sleepy hollow headless horsemen

(02:20:54):
headless horsemen erotica yeah but like also was a weird time but it was i was to be fair we picked
up headless horsemen erotica so it's not like we did be surprised by that we really did and i
yeah no i was surprised by the plot yeah i was like because i knew where it was gonna have to go

(02:21:15):
and i was like i support it honestly no spoilers but you gotta do what you gotta do yeah i was it
was a very like morally gray like very compelling story like i really enjoyed it so yeah

(02:21:36):
yeah yeah yeah what a time what a time that was um and then i also read i just finished it before
we started this um and it's also an arc so you can't even read it right well you maybe could
because i think it's like free on like book funnel or like book spread or something just an exchange

(02:21:58):
for a review um but it is uh splinter a diverse sleepy holler retelling by jasper hide um and
i really enjoyed it i will say sometimes i don't need romance and i could just go full like this
thing happened and i'd like support it and like it would make a very interesting story um which is

(02:22:23):
to say it this is a romance so like i still enjoyed it but i think that it could have done
something differently you know like a different way that i was like flabbergasted by but i was also
like yeah that took guts um but still i enjoyed it it was uh honestly it's my canon sleepy hollow now

(02:22:46):
because i really don't plan on reading the original um but i've been able to piece together like the
different characters because there's like the brahm and there's like the katrina and then there's
ikabod and because i see i saw the movie like a long time ago um with like christopher wakhan as
the headless horseman so like i have some of the knowledge in there bumping around my brain um but

(02:23:07):
this one was she was drusilla is the main character and she's the sister of the katrina it's in like a
contemporary world um so like there's like a prologue which starts in like the 1800s and then you
realize that that's like a dream that the heroine has been having um but there was actually like

(02:23:28):
real events and stuff and then ikabod is the love interest it's like a second chance kind of and um
um her sister is uh mourning the loss of brahm i'm assuming he probably dies in the original just
based on everything that i've read in these two books um and there's a headless horseman

(02:23:51):
wreaking havoc on this town people are being murdered and um about halfway through it turns
like more paranormal and like witchy in a way i didn't expect which was exciting and then like
and then like the end conclusion i thought went pretty metal and i was like i support and it ended
in a way that for romance fans i think we'll be very happy about but there was a little metal part

(02:24:14):
inside of me that was like raw death but but i still enjoyed it and the writing was inside me
one who wants an hea and one who says raw death
yeah and that's exactly how i felt i don't for the record that was me doing an imitation of you

(02:24:35):
because i do not really have that raw death no but i think if you read it i think you would
understand what i was talking about okay like it it makes sense in the context of this like i think
in the vein of like hollow like it kind of hmm i don't know would have been interesting to read
but that is to say i have no interest in reading any other thing that's not a romance so i don't know

(02:25:02):
i like the security of a romance um but sometimes the raw death in me makes itself known
and that's the end sure is wow yeah yeah um
um you know we do have some things that we haven't read yet i'm not going to talk about them

(02:25:27):
but we can put them in the show notes there's too many there's too many too many things to read
yes don't worry everyone we'll be back next year will we i i plan to read the full thousand pages
of this once upon a haunted romance historical romance anthology actually at 618 pages i was

(02:25:48):
being oh yeah that's doable yeah did i think i was gonna finish it this weekend because it just came
out yesterday maybe did i absolutely not uh so yeah i can't talk about that but i want more
haunted historical and they gave it to me so i appreciate that maybe yeah i know so next year

(02:26:10):
stay tuned hopefully more horny ghosts and hot dupes being haunted by them and vice versa
or haunted horny duke ghosts so wow yeah a collab
but sweet jack skellington this was a lot

(02:26:34):
yeah go forth eat some candy corn read some halloween related romances
and have a spooky day and a safe halloween night and uh join us on friday for moon struck madness
by laurie mcbain an old school school episode not a clue what it's about i'm excited she's a

(02:26:59):
she's a highwayman you told me this last time when i forgot and you're telling me again and i'm excited
all over again story of my life and they really do love them uh yeah have a creepy little

(02:27:21):
creepy little i don't know day night vibe about you have a creepy little vibe about you
go forth and be like a little creepy if that's your thing if that's your trait
do it for us do it for you do it for the horny ghosts happy halloween happy sowhain

(02:27:49):
happy all hallows eve goodbye

All Episodes

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

Dateline NBC

Stuff You Should Know

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

.css-15opob5{left:0;position:absolute;top:0.8rem;} All Episodes

.css-14f5ked{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:2;overflow:hidden;}S02 Halloween TBR: Best Believe We’re Still Beghouled 👻

Episode Transcript

Popular Podcasts

.css-r6mb8g{margin:0;word-break:break-word;display:-webkit-box;-webkit-box-orient:vertical;box-orient:vertical;-webkit-line-clamp:1;overflow:hidden;}Dateline NBC

Stuff You Should Know

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

All Episodes

S02 Halloween TBR: Best Believe We’re Still Beghouled 👻

Dateline NBC