Hi, Victoria. Welcome to What Your Next Podcast. Hi, I'm so excited to be back. Oh my gosh. You've been around this podcast For the listeners who are not, who are, who have been listening because I do repurpose some of our Noble nights which are weekly live show every Thursday at 12 to 1:00 PM Easter standard time on YouTube. So. They probably have heard your recommendations over the past couple of months from dark academia to classics to everything between. But as always, you always come with your reading guides, which are seasonal reading guides that come out. And so we are talking about spring reading guide. We're gonna talk about the minimalist list. So talk just about the spring reading guide. Was spring reading looking like this year? Spring reading is looking very exciting. But before I even get into the guide, yes, be sure come to our YouTube show. We are fun. Francesca is also there. We are the lively trio. We talk about all the things. So come Thursday, 12 noon Eastern time on YouTube. But anyway, I'm really excited about the spring guide this year. The spring guide is a little chunky. Okay. We have 27 books. Across eight categories. Traditionally I would do the spring guide with six categories because we have summer coming up, which is a big season. Mm-hmm. That just means the summer guide is gonna be even bigger. I'm also gonna do a spring, summer mashup. So that's something exciting to look forward to. But the main categories are literary fiction, historical fiction. There's some great dystopian fiction out there. So I really wanted to spotlight that separately. We also have some science fiction and fantasy books. We have romance, we have mysteries and thrillers, we have cozy mysteries. Just lots of really fun books. And again, organizing categories so you can go straight based on your mood your favorite genres. If you wanna experiment with something, there's something in the guide. For you there. So that's the guide. You'll also find a fun spring reading challenge. The guide is exclusively available on Substack. I know it's easy to remember. Spring reading guide.com. You can still go to that link. It's the landing page on my blog, but then that link will take you to Substack. So you can get the current guide on Substack, but also all the past guides and if you stick around all the future guides. Now the minimalist list is one standout book from each category. So that is something I try to do to kind of help narrow down the books and share with you the best from the rest. I mean, all the rest are good, but the minimalist list are some of my favorites. But what I'm gonna do today is share four books. One from each of the four categories. And to get the other four books again, head on over to Substack and get the guide. So are you ready for the books? Yes. Let's go for it. Yay. Okay, so the first book I wanna share with you, and this doesn't happen often, but I got a book across my desk. And I read it over a weekend and I was like, oh my gosh, this is so good. I have to include it in the guide. And this happened one week out before the guides publication. So I had to decide who was I going to pull in order to make space for this book. And this is the Family and Friendship Selection. This is really Friendship, this particular novel, and it's entitled We Pretty Pieces of Flesh by Cal Will Brown. Now, this one is out March 4th, and it really dives into the complexities of family and friendship. Through the lives of three childhood friends from Yorkshire. Now I don't feel like there are enough books out there about Yorkshire, England. So it was really nice to me to kind of be transported back to that place, especially in a time of my coming of age. It's set in the nineties and we see these three friends who are then reunited back in like 2017, and in doing so, we see them being forced to confront like all their past history. Some truths, some betrayals, and of course, long buried secrets. The story is very raw. It's moving, but my favorite part, and I'm very curious to see how readers take to this. Is that it's also written in a Vivid Yorkshire dialect, which I also thought was very unique. So if you love messy, complicated female friendships, I think you'll really enjoy this one. You'll also see themes of loyalty, betrayal, and just the scars of growing up. So I think it's perfect for springtime too, because spring is also a time when you might be reflecting on past relationships. Thinking about, you know, starting backup relationships or deciding maybe it's time to let it go. So I highly, highly recommend we pretty pieces of flesh by Call Will Brown. Now, science fiction Fantasy is once was wilhem by MR Carey. This one is also out March 4th, and I want you to think about a couple who's grieving. They've lost their child and then we see them make a desperate deal with a sorcerer to resurrect their son Wilhem. But what they get back is not the same will him as before. Wilhem is different and at this point we're also wondering is will him even human? So of course now what happens? People are freaking out. So passed out by the village, we see wilhem having to force a new existence in the deep woods, encountering other outcasts and other things. And then there's also a sorcerer who is very sinister, mind you, who is plotting to also unleash another kind of power. It's dark, but it's gripping, and it's just layered with lots of really deep underlying themes. Of course, the everlasting battle of good versus evil. So it is perfect if you enjoy like high stakes adventure, but also emotional depth, just wrapped in a fantastical story. So, yeah, it's very thought provoking, but it's also fun and I think it's also good for spring because again, transformative literature as well. Now, let's get into all mysteries and thrillers. And the one I wanna share with you is all the other mothers hate me by Sarah Harmon. Now I have to tell you straight up the title alone. Caught my attention. This one is set to release on March 11th, and it's just a really suspenseful debut. Now we have our main character who is a former pop star, turned struggling mom, and long story short, 'cause I don't wanna spoil it for y'all. She finds herself at the center of a case when a school trip goes very wrong and then you know the evidence that pops. Up threatens to turn her world upside down. So we see her taking on the role of detective, but then suspicion falls on her own child. So now her son's drawn into this and we really see like the lines between truth and deception starts a blur. Now here's the thing. This is a mystery. It is suspense. It has thrilling elements. But I think what makes this one rich is the emotional depth. We get that here, but we also get satire like it's so funny. I mean, look, the title alone, all the other mothers hate me. That alone should tell you that in addition to the phone, you're also gonna get a commentary on motherhood. Also, classism is big in this one, so, social hierarchies as well. But it will keep you at the edge of your seat at the same time. So if you love a good who done it. That has humor and heart, but also edge of your seat kind of vibes. I think you're gonna enjoy this one. And if you're not seeing this video, Laura is nodding her head, so I'm like, girl, can you read this one? I am listening to it. The audio is excellent. I got access to early coffee and it's just excellent because there's sarcasm and there's like a sense, it's an American living in London, which actually has this whole set of like ladies in London, you know, Americans are looked down in London and. He has to, she doesn't have friends. And she's like, at one point she's like, she calls a mother who happens to be a lawyer. She's like, I think I got arrested. And she's like, don't you have friends? She's like, no. And I was like, I love you for that. It's so good. And here's the thing, right? Every country has its problems. Okay? Yeah, we all do. But I'm gonna tell you something. The biggest thing in English society, I think social hierarchy is more important than anything else. Like, you could be poor, but you're from a good family. You know, you got, you're from good. Stock. Like you're already a terror above. Yeah. So you could be next to a millionaire, a billionaire even. But you know, they're new money and you know, yeah. You have a family name or something and it's also very different for Americans. So I think that also is just a fun satire. It really is fun, you guys. So, pick it up. Pick it up. Pick it up. Yeah. Okay. The last book I'm gonna share with you is romance. And I really had lots of fun with this one in particular, and it's my big fat fake marriage by Charlotte Stein. Now this one is being published on March 11th, so see, good news. All the four books I'm sharing with you today are released in March. There's some other books in the guide also coming out in April and early May. But anyway, in my big fat in my big fat fate marriage, it's a romcom. And we have our main character who's seen too many two nice guys that show up in her life having hidden agendas. I think that's something women can all relate to. You think it's one thing, but then it turns out to be something else, but then she finds herself in a really unexpected situation. When her charming neighbor confessed that he accidentally lied about being married. So then she decides I'm gonna agree to like this fake marriage, to help him keep up his appearances during a work getaway, like a work retreat or something. I. Anyway, what starts off as something very convenient, you know, it soon evolves into something deeper and we really see them kind of realizing that the attraction between them might be real after all. So this book is fun. It's lighthearted filled with lots of humor. There's forced proximity in there as well. But I like the cinnamon roll hero vibe. I think I'm a sucker for that. You know, I love Cinnamon Roll Heroes. I also think it's good for spring in a weird way because it's also about being open to new beginnings. Mm-hmm. And the possibility that love just might be waiting around the corner, you know, even though it might come up in the most unexpected way. So those are the four books I'm sharing from the Minimalist list. Again, there are four other books. In four other categories, but also each book that I shared in a category today, there's like three other books in there. I have like six literary books, two additional romances, two additional mysteries. I even have a cozy mystery category, which I'm telling you, I think that is some of the best fiction I've read this go round, add some great literary reads, great dystopian reads, like this is the dystopian era and I'm living for it. I had some great picks in the winter guide and even better picks in the spring guide. There's this one book in the spring guide, and I know this is a huge teaser, so shameless plug, but it makes 1984 by George Orwell look like Charles play. It really upped the ante on that. So if you are interested in that, you know, get that in the guide. Also, you can get more romance, more mysteries, and I read some amazing cozy mysteries. I think that was a standout genre for me. So if you're looking for comfy, cozy. I have that too, but you can find that in the guide again, spring reading guide.com. The link there will take you straight to Substack because again, all guides are exclusively available there. Thank you Victoria. And so if you wanna get more book recommendations to only join Victoria Substack, but also join us every Thursday from 12 to 1:00 PM Eastern Standard Time on YouTube or Facebook or Twitch. We're everywhere on each other's channel. Where we share book recommendations. We have the whole year plan. We have recommendations about books said in Alaska, Ireland, black Joy Transy. On dark academia. We have lots of recommendations for all different types of seasonal and mood reading for you to have, so, all right. So thank you so much for listening. Bye bye everyone.