Hearts & Daggers

Summary: Devin would like to welcome you all to her state! On this stop of their Summer Road Trip, Holly and Devin discuss books set in the Rocky Mountain state. Even though we’re all battling heat waves, both their books feature blizzards, being snowed in, and close quarters tension. In every other way, though, the plots differ drastically. Known for its outdoor culture, snow skiing, and craft beer this state has a lot to offer those seeking an adrenaline rush like our hosts!

Topics Discussed:

• The Heart (5:21): Devin discussed The Gamble by Kristen Ashley, a second-chances romance that follows Nina Sheridan, a visitor to the mountain town of Gnaw Bone, as she finds herself stuck in a gorgeous A-frame home with the homeowner, Holden “Max” Maxwell due to a rental mixup. Escaping to Colorado to think about her future and her neglectful fiancé back in the UK, Nina was hoping for peace and quiet but Max brings anything but; can she withstand the allure of this sexy mountain man? Devin’s key takeaways were:
• This is a quintessential Colorado book. Very strong sense of place, small town with resort energy on the sides and picturesque with the start of a blizzard and lots of good views, mountains, valleys, dive bars. Devin spent a good chunk of it wondering if it was modeled after the town she lives in specifically.
• There are trigger warnings for sexual abuse and violence, physical violence and threats. This book has heavy trauma, for every single character; it classifies as trauma porn in a lot of ways. If you like watching people who have suffered and then work to support, grow, and love each other this book will work great for you.
• There is a simmering tension between Max and Nina right from the start and while some of the build up is the annoying “interrupted” trope, it is a blast to read and experience. The book takes its time building everything and the side characters/town play a huge part, but the care, chemistry and overall vibes between our protagonists carry you through.
• The Dagger (21:08): Holly discussed No Exit by Taylor Adams, a psychological thriller that follows college student Darby Thorne on her frantic drive home to Utah to see her dying mother. In the mountains of Colorado, a blizzard forces her to stop at a remote highway rest stop. Trying to find cell service in the parking lot, Darby discovers a little girl locked in an animal crate in the van near her car; the situation becomes increasingly dangerous from there. Holly’s key takeaways were:
• The novel explores themes of survival as Darby must use her wits, courage, and resourcefulness to navigate the life-threatening situation and protect herself and the kidnapped girl. Adams underlines the moral choices characters make in extreme circumstances for good or evil; Darby’s determination to save the girl contrasts sharply with the kidnapper’s sinister motives.
• We aren’t seeing broader life in Colorado, but the book uses the wintry elements to great effect to increase the tension and stakes in the story. The setting of the remote, snowed-in rest stop amplifies themes of isolation and vulnerability. The characters are cut off from the outside world, heightening the sense of danger and urgency.
• No Exit has various twists and a nail-biting pace, even some horror elements. It reminded Holly a bit of The Shining just in the way of feeling trapped and isolated in a wintry wasteland. The reader feels the intensity of trying to survive as Darby uses her wits, courage, and resourcefulness to navigate the life-threatening situation.
• Hot On the Shelf (35:54):
• Devin: Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World Without a Bullhorn by Omkari L. Williams
• Holly: The Feast by Margaret Kennedy
• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (39:07):
• Devin: Bob’s Burgers
• Holly: New rescue dog, Toki!

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Howdy, partners! Stop number three on our road trip this summer is the Lone Star state - Texas! Join Holly and Devin as they take a romp around the second largest state in the union. It’s huge, it’s hot and as Holly underlines, tensions tend to run high. A melting pot of the West, the South, American and Mexican influences, Texas really does have it all. Holly and Devin share the ends of the spectrum with their books today.

Topics Discussed:

• The Heart (3:55): Devin discussed Pumpkin by Julie Murphy, a novel that follows Waylon Russell Brewer as his private, quiet drag aspirations are exploded into the public sphere after his audition tape for Fiercest of Them All (a drag show à la RuPaul’s Drag Race) is released. As a cruel joke, he and his twin sister’s girlfriend Hannah Perez are nominated as Prom Queen and King respectively. Instead of caving to the bullies, Waylon and Hannah decide to play to win. Devin’s key takeaways were:
• This is such a gay book; it’s amazing, it’s flamboyant, it’s loud and proud and includes so much drag. Waylon and his twin Clementine are both gay and we meet a myriad of other queer characters throughout. Whether some characters are already out or not, this book vibrates with positive energy for the queer community.
• When you hear about a queer book set in Texas, you go in assuming a central tension will be community rejection of the queer character but that was not the case in this book. Waylon’s parents accept him and his sister right away and there’s a Prism group of fully out high school students - most people aren’t repressed and even one character comes out during the book. Yes there’s bullying and vitriol but the school supports LGBTQ students and the tone overall is uplifting and supportive.
• As a high school story, this book explores the evolving sense of self we all remember from that age. While the focus is on Waylon with a first-person narrative structure, we see every character in the book evolve who they believe they are into who they can be.
• The Dagger (15:47): Holly discussed Bluebird Bluebird by Attica Locke, a literary mystery set in East Texas in 2016. We follow Darren Matthews, a Texas Ranger who has recently been suspended and is called over to Shelby County to help investigate two bodies, one of which recently washed up on the shore of a local woman’s back yard. Holly’s key takeaways were:
• Racial tensions abound in this novel. The bodies found were a Black man from Chicago and a local white woman. Darren also struggles with his own identity as a Black man and having to balance being a Texas Ranger with wanting to do right by his community, including the Black community that congregates at Geneva’s.
• Locke underlines the importance and value of community, particularly how the Black community in the town has had to find joy and safety where they can. How places like Geneva’s serve as a haven for locals or anyone passing through.
• Darren’s career has put strain on his relationship w his wife Lisa, so he’s also navigating being recently kicked out and wanting to go back, while also not wanting to give up his purpose or turn down cases like these.
• Hot On the Shelf (34:25):
• Devin: Lady Charlotte Always Gets Her Man by Violet Marsh
• Holly: Like Mother, Like Daughter by Kimberly McCreight
• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (38:12):
• Devin: Riding a horse!
• Holly: X-Men 97

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Ciao, bella! Welcome to the first stop on our Summer Jetset Series - Italy! Today Devin and Holly visit Venice and Positano together to understand the close relationship between love and death in Italy. Since the time of Shakespeare, the country has been a place of passion in literature (second only, perhaps, to France). They agree that regardless of your prior experience visiting the country, novels set in the country are always vivid, intriguing, and colorful.

Topics Discussed:

• The Dagger (4:19): Holly discussed Death at La Fenice by Donna Leon, a crime fiction novel set in Venice featuring the fictional hero Commissario Guido Brunetti. The book opens at the end of intermission at Teatro La Fenice; the conductor, Maestro Wallauer, has been poisoned and is dead on the floor of his dressing room. Holly’s key takeaways were:
• The mystery of who killed the Maestro is a slow burn through the book. Brunetti’s tactics are conversation focused, and the novel is the opposite of a templated popcorn thriller. That being said, it came together very effectively by the end.
• Leon has lived in Venice for years and brought her experiences to the page; we get great behind-the-scenes looks at the Venetian opera house, excursions by canal around the city, and a colorful cast of Italian characters (most of whom are constantly smoking and drinking coffee)
• This series is the Italian cousin to the Bruno Chief of Police series set in southern France; if you’re a fan of Louise Penny you’ll also likely enjoy these books!
• The Heart (17:35): Devin discussed One Italian Summer by Rebecca Searle, a novel set in Positano that follows Katy Silver on a vacation that was intended as a mother-daughter trip. When Katy’s mother dies before they can make it to the Amalfi Coast, Katy’s entire sense of reality and herself is turned upside down. She is unsure if she wants to stay in her marriage, and uses the vacation to get some space. Devin’s key takeaways were:
• This is essentially a time travel story; once Katy arrives, she meets her own mother (Carol) at 30 years old in the summer she had spent in Positano before meeting her husband and settling down. The time travel element isn’t fully explained and the reader is left unsure of how Katy travels back and forth across decades (best not to think too hard on this and just enjoy the story).
• Searle explores this mother-daughter relationship in-depth through the novel. Katy has a romantic fling as well, but ultimately the book posits that Carol is her soulmate. Katy must learn how to reframe herself as an individual, instead of as a bonded pair with her mother.
• Regardless of the plot holes, this novel had such vivid descriptions of Positano, the hotels, the hills, the restaurants, even Katy’s outfits, that the reader is fully drawn into the Italian adventure. The sense of place could not be stronger.
• Hot On the Shelf (38:34):
• Holly: Decent People by De’Shawn Charles Winslow
• Devin: In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (41:15):
• Holly: Libro.fm
• Devin: Ted Lasso Season 3

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Grab your beakers and your wolverine traps - Holly and Devin are talking biologists today! The more specific our themes get, the more fascinating we find the comparisons between books in our wheelhouses get; both books have a heavy focus on women in STEM and making careers in male-dominated fields, but while one gets your blood pumping with a fake dating trope, the other has your hackles up with the scent of murder. Overall, books featuring biologists and other scientists are entering the zeitgeist in a real way - with “Cli-fi” (climate change disaster fiction) and “women in STEM” rich ground for the modern writer.

Topics Discussed:

• The Heart (2:10): Devin discussed The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood, a STEM-y (get it?) story following third-year PhD candidate Olive Smith as she navigates her career and convincing her best friend Anh that she’s over her ex so that Anh will finally cave and date him herself. To prove that Anh has the green light, Ali decides to show and not tell by kissing the first man she sees - who unfortunately happens to be Adam Carlsen, the hotshot professor who is notorious for his scathing feedback and relentlessly high expectations in the department. Devin’s key takeaways were:
• The fake dating trope has never been more delicious to read; Adam needs to prove to his department head that he’s putting down roots and not planning to leave the university so his research funds get released, and Olive is desperate to help her friend find her own happy ending.
• Hazelwood confronts some very real, very upsetting realities for women working in STEM and navigating careers when internal politics, sexism, and unfair power dynamics create barriers at every stage; yes this is a romance, but it’s also an accurate and incisive look at what blocks success for anyone that isn’t a cis man in the sciences.
• This book features Hazelwood’s now trademark steaminess; Adam Carlsen reminds Devin of a brooding, cinnamon-roll-on-the-inside Adam Driver (so, basically, just Adam Driver); if you’re looking for a sexy, tension-filled romance balanced out by real science, this book is for you.
• The Dagger (18:27): Holly discussed A Solitude of Wolverines by Alice Henderson, a thriller that starts with a bang as protagonist Alex Carter almost dies at an event celebrating the completion of a recent conservation project to protect wetlands near Boston; someone has brought a gun to the event and opens fire. Saved at the last second, Alex decides to recover by taking a job studying wolverines in Montana. To Holly’s delight, the research takes place at a creepy, rundown old ski resort. Her key takeaways were:
• There is a heavy sprinkling of important (and real, Holly should know from her work at the Audubon society) wildlife conservation issues; Henderson explores not only wolverines interacting with their environment but the importance of native plants and programs collaborating with farmers and ranchers to help protect birds and other wildlife.
• Amidst the science, Alex is nearly driven off the road and spies footage in a wolverine trap camera of a badly injured man out in the snow; tension builds as time runs out to get to the bottom of what really is going on - all while still confronting lingering questions about what happened with the shooting in Boston.
• While this is a rock solid thriller, it wasn’t the most memorable Holly has read. Many of the male main characters felt interchangeable and became hard to follow at times. If you’re looking for a plot-heavy environmental thriller, A Solitude of Wolverines is worth a shot (winks awkwardly).
• Hot On the Shelf (38:39):
• Devin: The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston
• Holly: The Daughters of Izdihar by Hadeer Elsbai
• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (43:27):
• Devin: Good Omens Season 2 on Amazon Prime
• Holly: Only Murders in the Building Season 3 on Hulu

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

If you like what you hear, please tell your friends and rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify so that we can find our perfect audience.

Summary: Bundle up and stay inside with us for a very topical episode today; Holly and Devin sip hot coco and discuss books set in the Winter! Whether you love the cold and the snow like Devin or have moved as far away from the season as you reasonably can like Holly, books set in winter create the perfect vibe for our host’s respective wheelhouses. Nothing is cozier or more ominous than this season, where being stuck inside can be perfect for smooching or for bodies being found.

Topics Discussed:

• The Heart (4:30): Devin discussed A Winter in New York by Josie Silver, a romance following Iris, a British woman restarting her life in New York City from London after the death of her mother and the end of an abusive relationship. At a street fair in Little Italy, Iris recognizes the characteristic door to Belotti’s gelateria as a place her mother spent time with a mysterious young man. A secret gelato recipe, an uncle fallen ill, and a gorgeous and kind Belotti’s heir Giovanni and Iris is in over her head. How can she reconcile her family’s past while struggling so much to build her own future? Devin’s key takeaways were:
• This story begins in the fall but spends the majority if the time deep in the New York winter; there’s romanticization of the city but the coziness of Iris’ tiny apartment and the back kitchen of Belotti’s where she and Gio work on the recipe was enjoyable to read, if not totally accurate to what NYC is like in the winter.
• Similar to other works by Silver, this story has a lot of layers to it, some of which work better than others. The guilt that Iris feels about having Gio’s family recipe from her mother and the romantic implications from teenagers goes a bit far and creates a false sense of strain between Iris and Gio, who otherwise could have had a totally normal, non-dramatic romance.
• One of the main themes through this book is family - how we’re connected, what our families teach us, what a legacy means, and what happens when you step outside that comfort zone and get hurt by strangers. Iris has just escaped an abusive relationship and the connection to her mother drives her to take sometimes unnatural steps to stay involved with Belotti’s.
• The Dagger (17:12): Holly discussed Drive Your Plow Over the Bones of the Dead by Olga Tokarczuk, a literary mystery following Janina, who lives a solitary life in a rural Polish village. Quirky and eccentric, Janina is deeply connected to nature and obsessed with astrology and William Blake’s poetry. Awoken in the middle of the night by her neighbor (who she calls Oddball) banging on her door, she discovers that her other neighbor, Big Foot, has died painfully. Unable to reach the Czech police, they take care of his body and things escalate after another community member is found dead. Holly’s key takeaways were:
• The novel challenges traditional notions of morality, presenting animals as equal agents deserving of justice and respect. Janina's belief that animals can take revenge for human cruelty questions the ethics of hunting, poaching, and industrialized animal exploitation.
• Janina is portrayed as an eccentric outsider, dismissed by her community for her unconventional views and behavior. Janina's character challenges stereotypes about older women, portraying her as intelligent, independent, and driven. Her alienation underscores the marginalization of those who challenge societal norms and the way society dismisses women.
• This book is perfectly atmospheric for winter; to give a taste of how winter is depicted from the first pages: “We left the house and were instantly engulfed by the familiar cold, wet air that reminds us every winter that the world was not created for Mankind, and for at least half the year it shows us how very hostile it is to us. The frost brutally assailed our cheeks, and clouds of white steam came streaming from our mouths.”
• Hot On the Shelf (32.35):
• Holly: All the Water in the World by Eiren Caffall
• Devin: Truly Madly Deeply by Alexandria Bellefleur
• What’s Making Our Hearts Race (35:34):
• Devin: Our Little Secret with Lindsay Lohan on Netflix
• Holly: John Williams Documentary on Disney+

Instagram: @heartsanddaggerspod

Website: www.heartsanddaggerspod.com

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