Well, hello, everyone, and welcome to another episode of Romance
at a Glance. I'm your host, Bridget, and today I have a very
special co host, Trey. Hi, Trey.
Hi, Bridget.
I am very excited to have Tre here. She has a great instagram @xo.treleigh
l e I G H on Instagram. And that is how I found her. And she
was talking about Kimberly Lemming. And I was very excited because
her latest book, I Got abducted by Aliens, and now I'm trapped
in a rom com is coming out. And so I thought, who better to have
on than Trey to talk about it? Hi.
Thank you so much for having me. I'm so happy you found me. I'm
constantly screaming about monsters on all of my socials. I
have been for about three years now.
Yeah. I think there's something so delicious about monsters
and aliens because they allow you to just dive into it with a completely
open mind. You're like, they're not human.
Right.
So if they do something weird, you're like, they're not human.
Right.
Everything.
Like, there's no rules. Like, airport rules. When you read a monster
romance, like, anything goes and you just roll with the punches.
Yeah. I was very excited about this book because I think, like,
you, I had read some of her other books from the Mischief and
Mead. Is that the series?
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Mead and Mischief.
I think Mead and Mischief. And I liked her tone and, like, how funny
her books are. And I was excited because I love aliens and
I love rom coms. And so I was like, well, this is obviously gonna
be a match made in heaven. And it was. Yeah.
That's so interesting. I read a lot of monster romances and I usually
don't lean towards aliens. I started with Meet and Mishaps from
Kimberly Lemming that time I got drunk and saved a demon. And
I absolutely fell in love with it. Like, you said, the tone. She
is so funny. Like, and she's funny in a way that, like, doesn't
take you out of the book, but more so, like, you just, like, stare
into the camera like you're on the office. Like, I can't believe
this is what she just said.
Yeah, Her I really liked. And not to, like, get too far into the
book, you guys. Obviously, if you're listening to this podcast,
you know that we are going to spoil the entire book. So if you
haven't read it yet and you don't want it to be spoiled, turn
back now, push pause, come back later. I like so much about
the fact that this book is in just one character's point of view.
So many books now are in dual. And I thought for this type of story
where she's, like, getting abducted, discovering a new planet,
and trying to figure out these aliens, trying to figure out how
to communicate with them. There's a talking lion, there's talking
alien, bird. I think having it all from her point of view, for me
was the perfect choice because I think if it had dipped into one
of the other characters points of view, then I would have understood
things from, like, I would have just understood things. It would
have been in their mind. And then I would have been like, well,
now she doesn't get to discover it with me.
Yeah, it definitely felt like I was discovering everything with
Dory when I was reading the book. I do enjoy dual POVs because
I just want to be in the head of everybody else and know what they're
thinking. But I did enjoy, like, her learning about everything.
Like, she's taking me through the story with her. Like, we're all
discovering everything at the same time.
Yeah. Well, let's dip into the review and let's get it popping.
You ready to go?
Ready.
Romance at a glance. Romance at a glance. What you say now?
Romance at a glance.
Go ahead, girl. All right, you guys. Like I said, we're reading
I Got Abducted by Aliens and Now I'm Trapped in a rom com by Kimberly
Lemming. This is, according to the interwebs, book number one of
a new series from her called Cosmic Mishaps. And that was one
of the questions when I was reading the or cosmic chaos, rather
apologies, was I wonder if she's going to follow some of the
other characters because the world was so interesting. And so
I think based on the fact that it is book one, we are going to get
to see other characters. I will read you a quick synopsis for
all of you who haven't quite read it yet. Since it is just out
and it is hysterical. I'll read you the short one because it
is kind of a long one. So basically it is about a woman who
gets dropped onto a strange planet to fall for not one, but two
aliens. And Dory is getting her PhD in wildlife biology. She
gets attacked by a lion. Aliens save her. They're like bird
aliens. They save her, heal her, and then they drop her onto
a planet because they figured out that human women can breed with
this other species of alien that they accidentally almost wiped
out completely. And they feel bad, so they're trying to repopulate
this other alien race with stolen human women, but they're altruistic
Only the women who are about to die. So it's not just any woman.
Only on death's door are women. And through a series of, you
know, hilarious events, she accidentally gives a lion that tried
to kill her the ability to speak to her. And they set off into
this new land where dinosaurs are roaming and aliens are all around.
I think I liked a lot of the characters. I thought Dory was wonderful.
But I think Toto the lion, oh my. Be the gosh.
Yes. Toto, just like, he embodies like the type of personality
I wish to have in that kind of insane situation where he's like,
well, we're just here now and like, what are you going to do? Like,
I have to eat and I have to be comfortable and I don't know. He
is just so funny. He's just so funny. Keeping Dory in check. Like,
girl, we're here.
Yeah. Hey, look at this other saber toothed tiger I found. I'm
going to go make myself a lady pride. Yes. I'm going to kill her
some stuff and feed her. Going good. She's like. He's like, you
have a mate. You smell horny. Okay. We all smell it. Okay. Don't
try to kid yourself. Go over there and I will leave the room for
sure.
He's just like the perfect like wingman, wing, lion. Totally
down for anything.
And unbothered.
I'm the king of the pride lands. I'm the predator.
Like, I'm the best. Like, regardless of what anything happens
here, you have to know that I am the top of the food chain. I'm
the best.
Yeah. I thought this was interesting. So many of the alien
romances that I have read, human women obviously end up on these
alien planets. But usually the aliens that they end up on their
planet, it's their planet. So they know what's going on in the
planet. Typically they're not the only women, although sometimes
they are, but usually they understand the local fauna all makes
sense. Like the world as it is obviously is not Earth, but it makes
sense as its own little ecosystem. I thought that this take
of having this be like a completely newly terraformed world
and them doing like the most minimal. Like this is like a D minus
project. Like they put so little effort and they're like, oh,
we went to this like two museums which all specialize in dinosaurs
and we just like snagged some samples and we just like chaos gardened
around this place and just created all these species. Nbd.
Yeah. It was like, this is what Humans, like, look at these
billboards that don't make any sense that are written by AI and
they, like, the car that.
Has nothing in it is just in the middle of the jungle.
Nothing makes sense.
The little cul de sac. They're like humans, like, cul de sacs. There's,
like, a little cul de sac of houses in the middle of the jungle.
Because that would make humans feel good.
Right. And one of them is basically like, the Mojo Dojo Cosset
house.
And they all have only one bed because the manual that they read
for creating this whole civilization was a how to write romance
novels. And so only one bed was the trope.
Yes. I just loved all of it. I did really enjoy back to talking
about how, like, we were discovering everything with Dory.
It was also nice that, you know, like, Sol and Locke were like.
Or Loki were, like, dropped into this. Into this planet as well
as you said. Like, usually it's like the aliens and they know
everything and women are dropped there. But it was nice, like,
seeing them discover the planet, too.
Right?
Like, that was so interesting to me.
Yeah. And then being like, wait, you know about these creatures?
Like, right? And she's like, well, I mean, I guess they're dinosaurs.
Like, yeah.
This frog.
They shouldn't all be here. Oh, my God. When Saul keeps shouting,
you know, saying like, oh, she's just shouting at plants again.
And Lock or lo. Or whatever his name is. Like, oh, it's. Oh,
wait, what? What is she doing? And he's like, this is a thing she
does. She shouts at plants. Like, you'll get used to it. Because
everywhere they go, she's just like. As a wildlife PhD biologist,
she's like, you shouldn't exist. What are you here for? How
did this all happen? And she's, like, trying to figure out.
And I. I know I'm skipping to the end, but I love that the resolution
in, like, the warring tribes of these other aliens is her knowledge
as a PhD student. Yes, absolutely. I was thrilled, because
sometimes I feel like authors forget to close the loop on. Like,
if you say someone's, like, super intelligent, then they're super.
Intelligence should be the superpower of the thing. And all
of a sudden, that super intelligent person, like, learns
to throw daggers, and that's what helps. And you're like, well,
that's cool. But also, they're smart. And so I liked that her knowing
about wildlife biology was the reason that she, like, saved the
day.
I know. Me too. And she was like, just move.
Yeah, you're in a migration Path. You're embarrassing yourself.
You've been here 10 years. This happens every year at the same
time. You didn't think to just, like, move.
And like, you didn't think to ask this other tribe because. Did
you ask them? Because they're not having problems at all. They're
fine. At all. They're just. They're just fine. And they think
you guys are nuts because you guys are always trying to kill people.
And they're like, we don't want to go by them. They're crazy.
Killing people and rebuilding your fence.
Yeah, always rebuilding the fence. Although, to be fair, I feel
like if it was like an entire tribe of warring dudes, not a single
lady. Checks out. Checks out. That checks out. I feel like it's
pretty accurate. Totally. Okay, I want to talk about the aliens
who captured her and are doing this experiment. The bird aliens.
Oh, my gosh.
I don't know that I have read another book where the aliens are
not humanoid who are like, the ones in charge in a row. I mean,
I'm sure I have at some point, but, like, none that I come to mind
right away. Where, like, the ones who are sort of manipulating
everyone aren't humanoid in some way or the reason that the aliens
got kidnapped is because they are humanoid in some way and want
those human women too. Like, they're not interested in the human
women.
No.
They're just like, trying to not get sued by a corporation.
Exactly. Which is so funny, the copyright infringement conversation.
But yeah, they're trying not to get sued by a corporation. I think.
I think Ice planet barbarians, when they're captured, the aliens
that capture them aren't humanoid at all. I don't think so.
Yeah, the first aliens, and then when they get to the ice planet,
those are mostly humanoid. That's the only thing that I could.
Think of that could be true. I mean, I have heard that book, but
it's been a while since I.
Read book one, so I'm like, maybe years, but maybe. Yeah, I thought
it was really interesting. I thought it was also interesting that
they were like, bird. Like. I don't know, I kind of expected. I
don't know, I kind of expected to be, like, really thrown into,
like, alien territory while reading this book. So the fact that,
like, you know, Dory and like, I as a human could recognize, like,
different dinosaurs and monsters. Not. Well, not monsters,
but animals and stuff like that. I. I liked that, I think, because
it kept me kind of like in the story being able to recognize these
things. As I said before, I'm not huge into aliens. So I don't
know if that's like a typical.
It's definitely not typical. And I think one of the best things
about it is that even though we were having to like, learn about
a new culture and learn about the bird culture and what they're
doing, learn about the other alien culture and learn about what
they're doing, I think it was helpful to not have to also learn
about everything else. Because sometimes, you know, when you make
any first book, whether it's fantasy, science fiction, alien romance,
whatever, if you're establishing a whole new world, you
have to do a lot of world building and explaining. Like, is
it a desert planet? Is it a water planet? Is it whatever planet?
And the fact that like her job brain was always like, oh my God,
what is this bullfrog so big for? Like, but we. I already know
what a bullfrog is, so immediately I'm like, oh, my God,
that would be crazy. If you saw a bullfrog that was as you. That
would be insane.
Yeah.
One that can't move because it's not strong enough and its tongue
isn't strong enough to get you your little legs. Like, and I. And
like. Or like the T. Rex coming and it's pink and she's like,
we were wrong all along. They're pink. Like all of that I
feel like, helped so that. Because like, imagine that if you're
on a planet and they're like, oh, the tuma little rock is a big
pink dinosaur. Like, you know, I mean, like, they'd have to really
explain that. True, very true. This book is fast, very fast paced.
Yeah.
And I think it would bog it down too much. Much.
Yeah, that does make sense.
For me at least.
No, I think that makes sense. Yeah, I do. Like, like the bird like
aliens. I think I imagine them in like little trench coats with
like their iPads, like, just like collecting data.
They're like how their little feathers were like connected to like
the digital world so they could pull up like little iPads and
stuff. I was like, that's cool.
Yeah, that was super cool.
Aliens are cool.
Yeah. Yeah.
Also, I liked that the one who was like observing them was an intern.
I know.
Because how perfect is that? That this company, genocided in an
entire alien world, stole all these human women, completely modified
them so they could breed with these other aliens. And then they
don't even send a manager level person. They just interned
over.
They're just like, you can do this. Just report back what you see.
He's like freaking out. Like, you guys have got to fall in love.
Look at this Tamagotchi. It's not. Let's get it. Someone is going
to fire me.
Oh yeah. The Tamagotchi thing was so weird. Like, what did you
think about that? I never had one as a kid.
Really?
No, I mean, like, I feel like other people did. I would like saw
them and I was like, I don't want to do that. That seems like
something I don't want to do. But everyone is like obsessed with
them.
Yes. They're so cute. I had one as a kid for sure. I would definitely
buy one today if I saw it.
Probably.
That's how much I love them. And I loved it being incorporated
in the story to have like a digital little soul, like dancing
whenever his little love meter went up. I thought it was nice.
I did too.
Yeah, I thought it was nice because like for the majority. Well,
yeah, like for the majority of the book, Dory was like, I'm just
gonna like do this thing and then I'm gonna go home. Like I'm
gonna go home and go home. And I felt like, you know, she was like
holding back a lot from like being into them or you know, even
soul. Just saying like, well, it's. You can't, you know, bottle
like mysticism and like, you know, ancient practice, like whatever,
it'll wear off. And so I felt like the Tamagotchi was really nice
because it was like, well, you can't lie. Either you like them or
you don't. So I liked it.
I did. I thought it was funny because it a like, like you said,
allowed us to track what she was feeling even if she was denying
it. It's like, well, it's going up so you're lying. I liked
that. It put the two guys were like, ahaha, my score is higher than
yours. Haha. My score is higher than yours though. And also
I thought it was funny that it related to the way that the alien
bird was trying to get them to fall in love. And she is like trying
to get this bird off her back and she's like, you can't just have
one bed and expect people to fall in love. You know anything about
like humans?
Yeah.
And he's like, well, what should I know? And she's like just
throwing out random stuff to try to get him away from. Well, we
have to be away from each other and pine because she just wants
her own bed for the night. But little does she know he's going to
like set up a series of events so that they get separated and kidnapped
so that she can pine for them. And he's like, you were right. It
worked. Look, the love meeting is going up. And she's like, did
you do all this? Is this your fault? That might kill you.
Yeah, that was perfect.
Yeah, he's. And, like, I also think them not just doing any real
investigation into human culture at all and her, like, having
her birth control pill. Because a lot of times when you read
romances like this, you're like, ruh, roh, we're gonna get pregnant
right away. Because not that I disapprove of pregnancy, I have children.
But, like, in a book, I want it to be on purpose, usually. And
I'm like, ooh, alien planet, a lot of alien sperm. That usually
is a recipe for babies, right? And this time she, like, still had
her implant because they didn't know about birth control implants
because they didn't do any research. And then when she tells
them, oh, we need chocolate and coffee or we can't have babies,
right? She's just like, listing stuff she wants. I need coffee,
right?
I need chocolate. Like, there's more to this. No, I loved
that. I did love that.
I want to know what your thoughts are about spice level in
books in general. Obviously, you read monster romance, so, like,
those books are usually very spicy. But when you pick up a book
that has, like, this has, like, a little sort of illustrated,
animated cover, if you've read her books before, you know it's going
to be spicy. But if you didn't, you picked this up, what
are your thoughts about just picking up a random book and dipping
into it, not knowing what's going to happen?
I mean, I'm open for anything. So, like, I love monster romance,
but I read dark romance, contemporary romance. Like, I'm a
romance girly, I think, picking up. I mean, since I'm into
so many different things, typically, I have to say that, like,
okay, I don't typically just, like, pick up a book in a bookstore,
right? Like, I have, you know, my bookstagram and my book talk and
stuff like that. So books are constantly being fed to me. So typically,
like, I'll see a cover and it'll be a blurb, and I'll pick it
up. When it comes to spice level, I don't really look at that.
Like, I don't typically care because I do read monster romance,
which we know is pretty spicy. So I don't gauge what books I pick
up by the spice level. It could be, you know, closed door,
it could be open door, it could be you know, erotic. It could,
you know, so things like that. I don't really, like, gauge my reading
by a typical spice level.
Yeah, that's a good answer. I don't either. I mean, we do read.
Obviously, in romance, you read some open door and some non
open door. I personally, if it's gonna be open door and you have
aliens or monsters, I want that to be involved. That's like
my biggest criteria. I don't want you to have human sex. Yeah,
basic missionary human sex with an alien or a monster.
Absolutely.
If you have horns. If you have horns, someone better be grabbing
onto the horns to hold on.
Yeah.
It would be someone. If there's a tail involved. Let's give
the tail a purpose.
Yeah.
And in this case, the tail had a great purpose.
Such a great purpose. But even, like, if there's horns, like,
I need that to be, like, a zone for you. You know what I mean?
I needed to activate something.
Yeah.
Which is so funny because I have this reel that's just taking
off on Instagram right now.
About.
It was a silly audio that was like, when I get 30% into a monster
romance, the monster doesn't have a weird peen. And I'm super
upset about it. And there's so many people in my comments that are
like, yes, why is it human? Like, why are we doing this? Like,
we're here for the strange, we're here for the weird. I wouldn't
pick up a monster romance if I wasn't down to clown with the weird.
Exactly.
Yeah.
100%. Like, I want the sperm better be magical or the penis better
be different in some way. Ridges, knots.
Yeah.
Two of them expands inside of you. I don't know. Pick your. Pick
your poison.
Yeah.
Something better be exciting. You know what I mean? Something exciting
should be different. Otherwise I could read contemporary romance.
Yeah.
And that's nice.
It's sweet. Or historical. It's nice as well. I mean, and you
could read dark romance with a human dude, and it could be dirty
and crazy, but also, he's still just equipped with man parts.
Yeah.
But if I'm doing an alien with horns and a tail.
Yeah.
And I feel like she delivered. I feel like, yes, she delivered because
the tail, I also, like, this is related to the tale. But she tells
him, like, he's like, what do you need? And she's like, I need
you to touch my. And he. And I thought this was great that he didn't
just magically know where it was because he never met a human
woman. He's like, show me where this clit is. And then he follows
her instructions, and then he levels it up by being like, oh, you
know what I have on my body? A tail that can suck.
Right?
And he just latches it right on there. And she's like, I can't
anymore. And he's like, yes, you can. You'll do it. You can take
it. You're here for this. You asked for it.
Yeah, Even that. And, like, their tongues. Like, her describing
their tongues being ribbed. You know, they have, like. Yeah,
it was, like, the perfect, you know, alien for me.
Yes. You know what I like about this character in general,
in relation to sort of everything in the world, but especially
the sex, is if I met a hot alien dude, I'm on an alien planet.
Okay.
All right. Set the scene.
Hot alien dude. Who knows what's gonna happen If I found out
that he had ridges on his tongue? My immediate thought would
also be, I would like to feel that between my legs. That would
be my next. The intrusive thought would be right there.
Are you into this?
Yeah. I'd be like. And if he was like, oh, I'm in love with you.
And, like, I want to get it on. I'd be like, well, what we're
not gonna do is not try it and see what's happening down there.
Yeah.
Just once.
Yeah.
And I liked that her thoughts were always, like, very, like, funny,
but also very real. Like, she sees. Okay. Okay. There's a pink
dinosaur. Okay. Aha. We almost died. Okay, well, you know. Okay.
You have a rib tongue. Well, definitely. You should lick me. No.
Bad Dory, don't say that to you. You know, like, that's very
relatable.
Right, right. Like, she mentioned that Toto had, like, never
had intrusive thought, and I'm like, neither have you. Like, what
are you talking about, girl?
I was excited because her other books. Correct me if I'm wrong,
but I feel like they were in this same world, but they didn't
introduce the characters. And they were, like, standalones in the
same series, basically. They were. They connected.
They were interconnected through. What's her name? Is it Cherry?
Between, like. Like, they were, like, sisters.
Oh.
The main girl, she was best friends with the girl who was in
the one that. That time I needed a love potion at a werewolf.
That's right.
And then the younger sister of the main character was, like, abducted
or taken in, like, the swamp, and so she ended up with the other
dragon.
Did you introduce the couple or just the character who. Then the
next book was about it was just the character, right? Or am
I wrong? I don't know.
I think it was the. I think both. I think the couple appeared
in the first one that was about the yeeted love potion. Like,
we had seen them or we knew of them in the town. And then, and then
the last one, because the sister had been abducted, she was,
like, kept in, like, the tower.
Right, Right.
So, yeah, that didn't really like, mesh with that story because
it didn't take place in that same town.
Right. I, I in general, like books, series like this. Like, usually
they're two series. It's like you have a main, like, characters
in the romance who are going to be in a trilogy. Same characters
throughout the trilogy. Or you have these where it's like, standalone,
but it's all in the same world. They're all connected. They
introduce the next couple, so you're excited about them, and then
they're book two. Maybe you see Doriel be there in the background,
perhaps. But like, the main romance of the next book is this.
This is sort of my preferred one. Unless I'm reading, like, a
bigger fantasy series or science fiction series in romance,
I usually prefer, like, that each book is contained with a happily
ever after and then it, like, leaves the door open for the next
couple.
I absolutely have to agree. I absolutely have to agree. If it's
a fantasy series, I need everybody to stay the same. I'm already
trying to learn the world. Please, like, everybody just stay
in the same box. But when it comes to, like, romance or, like,
you know, monster romance or series like that, I do like for each
couple to be in its own little, like, container, like, love
story.
Yeah, they're happy at the end. Happy.
They're so happy.
The sex was so good. Everything's great. And then, ooh,
these other people are feeling some kind of conflict. Feelings or
something's happening. Someone got kidnapped. Ooh, like, next time,
we'll visit them on next week's episode of Aliens. I. I liked
that again, like, I can't state enough how bad these bird aliens
were at creating this world and understanding humans and human
women. But at one point, late, like, sort of late in the book, they
find another human woman. This lady is like, a badass. She's like,
I need to get my jacket. It has a gun and a knife in it. And
Dory's like, it has what? What are you talking about? She's like,
give me my jacket. And she, like, gets. She has also been shot
with a love dart. And one of the other aliens has and he's like
the warlord kind of of this.
Oh, my God, you know, Crew King Osid.
Yeah. And he can't. Like, it's impossible for their race of people
to hurt their soul mates or whatever you would call them. Zalis
H A L I. Yeah. And this other lady just pulls out her gun and shoots.
Shoots him in the. And everyone is shocked.
Yeah.
Dory's shocked, too, because she shot him even though she knew
it was gonna happen. Because the lady's like, I'm gonna shoot
him. He's shocked because he's like, you shouldn't be able to hurt
me. The bird is like, you shouldn't be able to hurt. That's
not a human thing.
Right.
Right. It's not us.
We can do whatever. No. Blair is a badass.
Yeah.
She was like, get me out of here.
Yeah.
Y. I can't wait. I hope the next book is about them.
It has to be.
I need it. The fact that they're at couples counseling and
she's, like, tearing down this facility and maniacally laughing
and shooting. It's amazing.
It's amazing. I already looked up. I was like, does she post when
the next one comes out? Which is crazy. And, Kimberly, I apologize,
because this is what readers do. Okay, Kimberly, this book. We
are recording this nine days before your book comes out. And I
apologize in advance that I'm already like, when the fuck's the
next one? Get on it. Okay. Work faster, please, girl. Right.
Yeah. I actually see Kimberly next week at YALL Fest.
Oh, cool.
So I'm hoping to have her sign some of my books that I have of hers
and bring this up.
Here's the thing about Monsters 2 is it allows you to experience
things that you would never experience in real life. Like, I
don't want to be stalked.
No.
In real life, hardest, hardest, hardest imaginable. Pass.
I don't want to be kidnapped. I don't want to be kept from my family
and friends and loved ones. I don't want to be injured in some
dramatic way and then resuscitated or whatever. All of
that sounds terrible. However, in a book, I would like to dip my
little toesies of imagination in a land where I've been stalking,
kidnapped by some sort of creature, and then it turns out that
I'm their mate and they're gonna just basically fuck me until
I pass out. That is a world that I would like to imaginatively
live in. Literally.
Right. And love me undeniably. Like, my every whim is their, like,
complete and total desire.
Yes. Like they are here for me to do whatever. They think all my
quirks are wonderful. Right?
I'm so funny.
Yeah. When Saul's like, she just shouts at trees. How cute is
she? Like, that is what I want.
She's so cool.
And Locke is like, oh, you're trying to pretend like you're not
wet right now when my finger's inside of you. How sweet. How sweet
you are. Your body isn't lying to me. You're so silly. You're so
silly. You're so beautiful and wonderful.
Absolutely. I feel the same way. I mean, I read dark romance.
I think it's like, kind of like the same. I get the same feeling
when I read dark romance as when I read monster romance. Although
monster romance tends to be, like, a bit on the lighter side.
But like you said, it allows you to experience those things. Like,
ooh, he's outside my window. That's kind of creepy. But also,
I'm a little into it in the pages.
Okay. He's in some sort of violent motorcycle gang. Oh, my God.
What's gonna happen in real life? I'd be like, wait, you guys
have guns? I don't think so. That's not for me. I'm gonna go home,
drink some tea, and read a book. Thank you. No, thank you.
Yeah, totally, totally, totally.
That's so funny. Are there any books aside from this one that you
have on your radar that you wanna talk about or you're excited
to read?
Not in the monster romance or just any.
I mean, it doesn't have to be monster romance.
Oh, yeah. Oathbound by Tracy.
Oh, my God. Like, that is right before you came on. Guys, I'm
holding up a copy of Legendborn. Yes. I just started my
reread because I have to. It's been so long since I read the first
one, and I was like, I can't. This is such a good story. So I'm
gonna reread this and the second one so that I'm ready for
the third one to come out.
Yes. I'm in the middle of my bloodmarked reread right now. I have,
like, a buddy read over on Storygraph, so that's really fun.
Okay, cool.
And I'm hosting a Oathbound midnight release party in Atlanta.
Oh, cool. Wait, are you doing that with Amanda?
No, they're in New York.
They're in New York. Okay.
I'm in Atlanta. I'm doing mine with Brave and Kind books. It's a
black owned woman run bookstore here in Atlanta. Amazing.
Yeah. So Oathbound is like, on the top.
Yes, I agree. I've been waiting. When this book came out,
I want to say it was like November, release the first one when
it came out or something before Christmas, I literally bought
like six copies because I was like, this book is so good. I gave
it to my niece, I gave it to my brother. I gave one to a bunch
of friends. I was like, guys, you have to read this book. This
book is incredible.
No, it's the most amazing thing. It's like what I live my life
for every single day is to wake up and have Tracy Dion notice
me online. Absolutely obsessed with her and she knows that. So I
cannot wait for Oathbound. There are some other books that I'm
excited. Nia Davenport was talking about her adult book that's
coming out called Our Vicious Oaths that comes out this year. And
oh, Lore of the Tides. Have you read Lore of the Wilds by Annalee?
What is Annalee's last name? Oh, my gosh, please don't hate me,
Annaleigh. Please. Yes, yes. Her second book, Lore of the Tides,
comes out this year and I'm very excited about it.
Okay, I'll have to check that one out.
It's an adult fantasy. Lots of Fae, which I love.
I love a good fae.
Yeah. I categorize Fae as monsters. I don't care.
I think they are monsters.
They are.
I. I mean, well, I think it depends on who you ask, but I think
if you think about the way that monsters function is like they
are not human in some way. So they either have powers or physically
they're different. But I feel like the Fae, like, check that they're
like physically different. They're usually faster or stronger
or both. Live longer. Yeah. Have powers of some kind.
Yeah.
I think they go into that same fantasy. Because monsters are really
fantasy. I mean, they're just fantasy. They're just like a little
subset of fantasy.
But that's true.
That's your fancy for sure.
Because I put everything that isn't human under monster and I call
it a day. I'm like, Edward Cullen monster.
I mean, he eats people. So I would say vampires are monsters for
sure.
That is true.
That is true. Oh, Edward Cullen. What a. What a character.
What a character. Shiny skin, you know what's creepy? And I feel
like typically, or maybe, I don't know, maybe this is not true
now that I'm saying it, but I feel like in monster romances that
are like monster monsters, like some sort of hooved individual,
some sort of, you know, like you said, Kraken individual. Whatever.
Sometimes they're really old, but sometimes they're like the same
age as the character or very similar age. But like when you have
like vampires or whatever, they're always really old.
Yeah.
It's inevitable.
Yeah.
And. And when you think about, like, if you made him look his age,
so he would have been 100 and something, when the. If you made
him look like a little shriveled one hundred and something
year old man hitting on this seventeen year old girl, it really
takes the fun out of vampires. It does.
It absolutely does. I also, like, I'm part of like the Edward
Cullen, like, hate fan club. Like, I am always like, meh, Whatever.
I'm always. I've been team Jacob since I first read Twilight
in 2005.
Okay, I get that. Where because you like werewolves, you
like the more monstrous ones, you know, shapeshifters.
You're onto something. Wait a minute. Am I being perceived?
Well, here, let me ask you a question. I had this debate with
friends last night. Do you think in Beauty and the Beast the
Beast was hotter as a beast or as a man?
As a beast, he turns into a man. He looks so dirty.
What a letdown. What a letdown.
You could have at least given him a beard. He could have been like,
play it up.
Thank you. Not this, like, pretty, like with his pretty hands.
I was like, what are we doing here?
His like, golden locks. Like, I don't want to see that, Barb.
So I was at a dinner and they were like, there were three women
who are all like my age, like mid to late 30s. And then there were
four guys, all also mid to late 30s. When I tell you the guys
were shocked that we preferred the Beast over the prince, the girls,
I was like, well, you thought the Beast was hotter. And she was
like, of course I did. And the other woman was like, yeah, obviously.
And they were like, wait, wait, wait, what? And I was like,
yeah, the Beast can get it. That human man. Hard. He would have
turned back into a prince. And I would have been like, well, you're
welcome. I fixed your curse. I'll just hang out in the library
and you can putter around as need be. But I'll be in this beautiful
library drinking tea with my friends Cogsworth and Lumir. And
you can do you. Not me, because you're real.
110. I actually read a monster romance that is called Beast by Jennica
Snow. Have you read that? It is. It's like if the Beast never
turned into a human.
Okay.
And it's everything I needed.
Yeah, yeah. It. I mean, I don't. I'm not looking up the COVID
right now because I'm like, did I need it?
I think the COVID is in black with, like, rose petals or something.
I think it's Jenna. Is that her name?
Yeah, that's right. Let me look. Oh, yeah. It's like the rose.
I don't think so, but I'll have to check it out because I. I
do enjoy a retelling of a fairy tale for the same reason that
I think it was nice that all of the animals and creatures and
dinosaurs and plants in this book were human or earthbound. I
guess. Right. When you dip into those retellings, your brain
automatically understands where the story starts. And so even
though it ends up in a different place, you already know,
oh, I know what the beast is like. I understand the curse might
be slightly different, but I understand sort of the basic players
and the basic plot so I can get behind. Like, there's a bunch
of Peter Pan ones.
I want to get into romances. Yeah, I love Peter Pan. It probably
is one of my top fairy tales. But I have not dipped into all the
books that I've seen that are like, dark romance. Peter Pan. I
know that Emily McIntyre has one. It's called Hooked, isn't it?
Yep, I read that one. I also read Never. It's a dark romance.
Let me think about this.
Oh, it's like a Lost Boy.
Never King. Yeah, Lost Boys. Never Something. Never. I think it's
called Never King.
I think it's called the Never King.
The Vicious Lost Boys. Maybe that's the series. Maybe Nikki St.
Crow. The first one is called the Dark One. Oh, wait, no, that's
the second book. The Never King is the first one. Dark One is
the second one. Vicious Lost Boys. I read those. I made a mistake,
though, because I really need to pay attention more to whether
the whole series is complete. Because I read the first one, burned
through it. I was like, this book is so fun and dark and weird,
but, like, Peter Pan and the Lost Boys, everybody's fucking like,
I'm into it. Read the Segue book, got to the end, went to Kindle
Unlimited, tried to get the third book, and it wasn't out yet.
And I was like, oh, I've made mistakes. I've made. I've backed
myself into a corner, and I can't get out of the corner because
this book doesn't come. It was like six months before.
Are you that type of reader where you need the series to be complete
before you start it?
So not Always. And like, back when we were younger, because books
came out once a year, I was used to waiting. I think it depends.
If I'm reading, like, a book in, like, that I get, like, for instance,
like, Legendborn, I got. And I knew it just got published. It'll
be a year. I knew it. But I feel like sometimes when I'm on,
like, Kindle Unlimited or I'm reading series that are faster and
maybe slightly shorter, or even romances where I just, like,
don't really think about it and it's like, ends on cliffhangers
all the time. Then I'm like, oh, shit, I should have waited. Because
part of me is such a mood reader. And also, like you, I get
sent a lot of books. I get recommended a lot of books. And so
I feel like sometimes if I miss my window of when I'm like,
have a. The time. And also I'm like, into that series, then I won't
finish it or I won't ever go back to it if I miss. You know what
I mean? Like, if I. Unless, you know, in two years when book
four comes out or whatever, or in a year when book four comes out,
then someone's like, oh, my God, did you read the last book?
And then I'm like, wait a minute. I didn't wait. I must go
back and find it. So that's tricky.
Yeah. Yeah. I think. I don't know. I think because like you said,
like, we both get, like, get sent a lot of books. I can like,
supplement in between where I'm like, okay, I want to finish
this series, but I have all these other books in the meantime
that I could just, like, plug in there.
Yes. I mean, that is definitely what I do. I. Now that
I'm thinking about it, I'm like, did I read the final book?
I read the first three. When did the fourth one come out? Let's
peruse. March of two years ago. So who knows? It's hard to say
whether I read it or not.
Yeah.
Impossible to know. I'd have to reread the whole series. This
has been a delight. Thank you so much for coming on and talking
about this book with me. I was so excited a. Because I just thought
it was so cute. Like the COVID of it. So cute.
Yes.
And after we read the first one on the podcast, I wanted to read
another one of her books. And, you know, this was the perfect mix
of dinosaurs and hilarious, you know, banter and aliens and horns
and tails.
Yeah. I do want to mention the, like, ending of the epilogue,
where yeah, the intern. His code name is now Cupid.
I'm like, oh, my gosh. I signed it. I.
Love.
And he's obviously going to be in the rest of the books, which is
exciting because he was a very funny little character.
Yes, he was.
And I'm excited. In the next book, presumably, he'll find out
that they duped him about the coffee and the chocolate, which will
be a very fun little time.
Absolutely.
All right, well, you guys, if you want to follow Trey, you can
go to Xo Treylee on Instagram, and I'll, of course, drop a link
in the description of the app that you happen to be listening on.
And until next time, may your books be your lover and your hand,
your best friend. Bye for now, kids. Thanks for hanging in with
those romance readers. Head over to Instagram to continue chatting
with us. We're super friendly. We want to cackle with you. We want
to know what your favorite sex scene was, and we need more book
recommendations. If you want to read along with.
Us, go to our website, romanceataglance.com to.
See what we're reading next. And we'll see you next podcast.