Special Contest Episode

Welcome to Books I Make My Husband Read, a self-described hilarious and heartfelt podcast where I, Kristy the devoted book lover, curate an unexpected reading list for my husband, Jon. And that's me. Each episode, we'll dive into lively discussions, humorous debates and surprising insights on the books Kristy just has to make me read. We're here to explore everything from timeless classics to quirky hidden gems, challenging our perspectives and inviting you to join in on the fun. So settle in, grab your favorite beverage.

get ready for another literary adventure.

Hello listeners and welcome to a very special episode of Books That Make My Husband Read. I'm your host Kristy. And I'm your cohost Jon, the one that Kristy makes read all the books. Yeah, so normally I am the one who makes you read the books, but today it's going to be our listeners in this very special episode who are going to make you read a book. Back in January, we ran a contest of sorts on Instagram and we invited listeners to suggest a book that they thought that Jon should read.

We received about 30 entries and from there we narrowed it down to four books. Yeah. And then we invited those four guests to join us for today's episode and to pitch me why I should read their recommended book. Yes. It is a task that is not for the faint of heart. Ha, ha, ha. Shall we get started? Yes. So up first we have Leigh Jack. Leigh is actually the author of this book that she's going to recommend to you.

Her book released last November and it is a rom-com called Shared Hearts. You can find Leigh on Instagram at authorleighjack and leigh is spelled L-E-I-G-H. And in case you miss any of the Instagram handles that we're going to share for our guests today, we will be sure to link them in the show notes so you can grab them there. But without further ado, let's bring Leigh on. Let's hear her pitch.

Hi, my name is Leigh Jack. I am the author of Shared Hearts. It's my debut novel. It's out now. It's on Amazon, Kindle. It's on Kindle Unlimited. It's also in a lot of small indie bookstores. And I am here today to convince Jon to read Shared Hearts. Now, the first thing that I always think of when I think of Shared Hearts is I see the pink cover. And the pink...

and the hearts, the XOXO, I know it looks very girly. However, it is a blend of mystery and romance, which I think is perfect for both men and women to enjoy. There is something for everyone in this book. So some people who are really into the romance genre, they love that it's a he falls first. It's a perfect cinnamon roll boyfriend. It's the book boyfriend you dreamed of. However, there's also a mystery to it.

And I know that both Kristy and Jon have said that they love thrillers and mysteries. that's why I feel like this book is the perfect crossover. It's a whodunit. So there is a stalker in the book who is after Mae, who's the main character. And the whole book you're trying to figure out, along with Mae and Pierce, the two main characters, who is after her and why. Mae is a typical girly girl.

She loves shopping. She goes to get her nails done. And Pierce is just the best friend who has always had these special feelings for her. So he would do anything. He really like lives, eats, sleeps, and breathes to make Mae happy. And you see that come through for sure a lot in the book. Jon, do you live, eat, and breathe to make me happy? Do I have to answer that on the recorded call?

Listen, I know my husband right now with the pointer screaming, Absolutely not. Exactly. Something else about Shared Hearts is that it is dual point of view, which I think is really cool for a husband and a wife to read because hopefully my goal is that the female main character, the wife would be able to say, okay, I relate to her in this.

But then, know how sometimes characters do silly things, you know, like, why were they doing that? So hopefully you'll be able to say, like, what was she thinking? What was she doing? And then my goal is for the husband to read the the male chapters and to relate and to say, yes, I would totally do that to try and help to save. Or again, you could be like, what is he doing? Why did he run into that burning building after, you know, whatever it is that they story?

It ends not on a cliffhanger. It's definitely tied up, but there is going to be a book too that's going to come out in April. April 8th is Chasing Hearts. The last part that I wanted to mention was the setting because it is set in New Jersey and New York. It's got East Coast vibe. If you've ever been on the East Coast,

Hopefully, you know, some of the said we live on the East Coast. I do too. So I thought that's perfect. You know, it's very relatable. Kind of like all in our area of where we live. So that is my pitch to get you to read Shared Hearts. I love it. I'm so glad we invited you on. That was great. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. And it just came out in November. Is that right? It did. It came out November 22nd. Yep. And then book two is going to be April 8th. Exciting. Love it.

Okay, so Leigh, you're the author. So tell us a little bit as the author, what inspired you to write this book? That is a great question. So I was inspired first by Mae. She is the female main character and I put a lot of myself into her. She is an elementary teacher. I'm also an elementary teacher. Another big theme in the story is she has Type 1 diabetes. I also have Type 1 diabetes.

And that medical aspect does come into play, especially with like the mystery part of it as she gets into trouble. Because if you know Type 1 diabetics, you know our blood sugar can go high, low, very unexpected times. So I included a little bit of suspense there as she's getting herself into this trouble in the book. Another thing is her sister is her best friend. It's the siblings that kind of share everything in this book.

I know that my sister and I are best friends as well. So that was kind of where I started is I made Mae almost a copy of myself. And then I wanted to add some drama and some suspense in there. So I made her mom is an addict. The book starts and you meet her mom a little bit, but then her mom kind of goes away. And that's another kind of underlying theme. And then

I love reading the romance books with the book boyfriend where he falls first and he will do anything for her. So I'm hard to add that in there as well. Nice. I know. And Kristy likes to think that I was the one that fell first, but I don't think that that's true. think she fell first over that. How know exactly what I was going to comment on? don't, don't fool yourself, Jon. You 100 % fell first. Don't even try to lie on natural radio.

That is most husbands where they try and play it cool years later, but they're head over heels for the girls, for sure. She asked me at one point, she's like, crap, I'm not gonna remember this verbatim, but she's like, how do you, go ahead, I don't remember it verbatim. You're gonna fall in love with me, I'm gonna break your heart. That's right. And then my response to that was like, how do you know you're not gonna fall for me first? And I said, that never occurred to me.

Wait a second. I need to take notes because that is going in a future book. Leigh, I'm not kidding. If I told you our whole story, you could write a story on how we met and dated and married. I'm not kidding. It could be a book because when we usually tell our friends, they're like, I need to the rest of this. So we're to need to sit down for something one day. I'll bring my notepad. Yes, I want to hear that. I that idea.

Well, I don't remember what else I was going to say, but let's move on to the next question. So what would make someone want to read this book over maybe another romance that's out there, even if it didn't have a thriller component to it? So I definitely took a lot of inspiration from other books that I read. I am a really big romance reader. It has always been my favorite genre to read. I am new to the mystery and the thriller component.

But romance is 100 % my forte. So I took a lot of my favorite authors and what they have done. I love Abby Jimenez, Just for the Summer. That was one last year where- Jon loved that book. I know, I listened to your episode on that book. But just reading that book, I was like, yes. And that was my goal is to make you swoon.

to give you those quotes that you just want to highlight where it's just that love story where especially the guy, the male main character is just doing everything for the female main character. You know, very much like Fourth Wing and that whole like Xayden, like how he would do anything for Violet. That is what I want, but in more of a traditional romance novel. So that was my goal in writing it.

Love that. I just read my other question to myself and it doesn't make sense because you're the author. I think we have plenty. Yes, a lot of content here. Thank you. I appreciate both of you. Thank you. I'll be looking forward to it. Feel free to post anything because I love following your posts and I'll look forward to season two as well. All right. Thank you so much. And we'll be in touch for sure. Thank you both. Sounds great. Thank you. Bye.

Okay. Up next, who's next? Yes. Next we have Katie. She's recommending the book, A Love Letter to Whiskey by Kandi Steiner. And you can find Katie on Instagram at katieflipspages where she posts a lot of great book reviews. So highly recommend that you follow all of our guests. Let's roll that beautiful bean footage. Yeah. Let's hear Katie's pitch. I'm ready.

Hey everyone, my name is Katie and I am in central Mississippi right outside of Jackson and I have been listening to the Books I Made My Husband Read for a few months ever since I listened to a chat with them and Book Club and Besties. So I'm going to be pitching the book, A Love Letter to Whiskey. This is one of her most like highly reviewed books. I was like, I want to try it.

Funny thing is, a couple months ago, I tried to listen to it on audiobook, paid for it, downloaded, and realized I had downloaded the German version. So I didn't get to listen to it. It started going and I was like, that's an interesting dedication. And I was like, okay. And I kept going. was like, I don't think, and just, you know, you keep waiting, like, well, maybe it's kind of, maybe this is, I don't know. Anyway, that didn't work out for me. So.

What I'm going to do, the first thing I'm going to do is kind of give you some tropes of the book. So it is a friends to lovers. I would say it's a second chance romance, but it's really like a second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, infinity because it's so many chances. It's so many chances. And so along with that, it's kind of the right person, wrong time trope. It's based on two friends and it just goes back and forth, back and forth. It is the

ultimate angsty slow burn, like the slowest burn of all time, but in such a good way, in a smoldering burn way. It is emotionally draining. It was for me at least. And then it definitely has some spice. It's not overridden with spice, but it's, feel like it's kind of got that, that perfect amount. So this book follows two main characters, Jamie and B. And B is

Her initial is short for something and that's kind of part of the book is why she goes by B and not her full name. So it actually follows them over a period of 13 years. And one thing I love about that is you get to see these characters in so many different walks of life. You get to see them as teenagers, you get to see them in their 20s and going into their 30s. And when I'm reading a book, I'm really, character development is a big thing for me.

So I think that this book did a really good job because you get so invested because you're following them over such a long period. They go from strangers to friends to, kind of feel some kind of way to all in to zero communication to back. It's just back and forth, back and forth. And because of this, because of that piece,

you will go through so many levels of emotion, know, and they say there's the different levels of grief. It's similar because you will go through times when you are so frustrated and angry, and then you'll go through periods where you are just like a lovesick teenager for these two. And you're just like, Oh my God, they're so sweet. just love them. You just want to pinch their cheeks. And then you'll go through.

Heartbreak and I cried and they're not everybody cries in books, but I cried and then there will be moments when you will be so pissed off and you just want to punch every character in the face and you want to go throw the book in the garbage and say I'm done. I'm not DNF in it is okay. Well, it's funny you say that because that is my next point this book is a complete roller coaster, but

It is the kind of roller coaster that you get off and you immediately want to get back in line. Okay. With all that said, I think that for y'all to read it as a couple, what I think is so neat about this is I don't know how y'all's relationship started, but I know like with my husband, like we started out as friends. And so obviously we worked out, we got married, we're happy. But I also think about what would have happened if it had not worked out.

you know, if we broke up years ago and we never got married and all the things, would we have ever been able to be friends or acquaintances? Or if we were friends, like would we ever lose that spark we had? Would we be able to go on and have, you know, another spouse and be completely disconnected from each other? I just think as a husband and wife, a male and female,

I think that's what would make the conversation so cool surrounding this because y'all could compare insight into both characters. And like I said, that overarching question of can a guy and a girl be friends without romance getting involved? You're muted, Jon. Thanks. It had to happen. It had to happen to one of us. That was wonderful.

That was wonderful. So I'm telling y'all, I want to sleep with it at night. It's so good. It's literally, it's literally one of my favorite books I have ever read. I love it so much. Katie, thank you so much for the pitch and for all the details about it. I'm really excited about this book. It was one she kind of secretly had on her TBR anyways. And so I think that gives it a little like a little extra tick, but I'm, I'm really excited.

Save yourself some time. Go ahead and pick this one and y'all can just, you know, just relax the rest of weekend. It's fine. That's great. I love it. was also just really wonderful to meet you. Thank you for taking time out of your Thank you so much. I know, especially with the family, it's hard to carve out time. So we really appreciate it. Yeah, I've enjoyed it. It was a lot of fun. Thank y'all. Yeah, thank you. Hope to come back.

Yes. Wink, wink.

I seriously don't know how you're going to pick one of these books. I know. I don't either. I meant when I said earlier too, I was like, I'm talking to this person. I'm definitely talking to that person. I'm definitely reading that one. Every time we talk to someone, like, oh, this is the one. then no, like I do not envy you. You want to them all. I think though what we've established is that I have done you a tremendous favor by telling you what books you're going to read. Yes.

Of course, of course you've done me a great honor. I will do you this favor. That was terrible impression. I'm the worst person had impressions. Was that supposed to be like Marlon Brando? Yes. Okay, so it wasn't that bad.

All right, so you want to talk about our next guest that we that pitched you a book? Yes. So next we have Jessica Guerrieri. She is also the author of this novel, and it is called Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. I love that title so much. It slaps. We watched Severance and someone said chapter or page 197 slaps. And I was like, I'm going to fit that in somewhere. I love it.

Yes. So this is Jessica's debut novel. It releases actually on May 13th. So it's not out yet. And you can find Jessica on Instagram at Jessica Guerrieri author. That's G U E R R I E R I author. But let's roll the audio. All right, Jessica, let's hear what you got.

All right, well, thanks for having me on guys. I'm so happy to be here. My name is Jessica Guerrieri and I am a proud author of my debut novel, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, which will be available everywhere May 13th of this year. It is being published by Harper Muse and I decided to write this book in the thick of the pandemic when I was home with a two-year-old.

a four-year-old and a five-year-old. Jon, I just made a lot of cocktails and played cards. Well, that's totally fair. And that's on brand because a lot of people did struggle with substance abuse as a result of the pandemic. I was also one of them. In the pandemic, I had six years sober of alcohol and I was in recovery. I convinced myself that I could explore other substances as

other forms of alcohol. so technically, I was sober from alcohol and I have been sober from alcohol for almost 12 years. But I did identify as a drug addict during the pandemic. And I have been clean for almost three and a half years. So congratulations. Yeah. So the addiction piece, the reason that a lot of it is so visceral is because I was writing it while I was high. Right. What you know is they say, right? Right. Exactly.

Well, thank you for sharing that. was very, absolutely. All right. Well, segue into the good segue into the pitch. I'm all ears to hear why I should be reading your debut novel. So obviously this is book club fiction, which is the now offshoot of what was previously women's fiction. But women are pretty known for book clubs. And one of the things that is so

true about book clubs in this day and age is you see them almost always hand in hand with like a glass of wine, right? It's like become like a glorified wine club. Now, how does this relate to you and what you're interested in as a guy? One of the population that has enjoyed it the most is the husband. And let me tell you why. It is like opening up or a chance to open up and peek inside a woman's brain.

Obviously it's about motherhood, but it's not exclusive to motherhood. You don't have to be a mother to relate to it. You don't have to be a dad to relate to it. You just have to be in a partnership and understand the dynamics of there's things going on with that other person in your partnership and you want to reach them. You want to get to them, but there's like, it's like they're inside like a glass cage and you just don't know what's happening. And so.

In Leah's case, she's struggling with alcoholism and it's her best friend and her sister-in-law. That's the one that really is able to see the addiction for what it is. And the husband, he wants to understand it. And so it's sort of just like a peek behind the curtain into like the thought process, the red flags, the like what you will see inside a marriage when somebody is falling apart at the seams. Okay. Pretty deep, pretty heavy. Yeah.

It's not, it's not a light read. No, it's not. Okay. Which is not for everybody, but I think some men appreciate that because it's nothing else but honest. It's unflinchingly honest. Yeah. Could you maybe help describe some of the key attributes or characteristics of each of the main characters like Leah and Lucas? Maybe. Leah is, she talks a lot about her shadow self meaning like

what her life could have been, the person that she could have been and what she was before she accidentally got pregnant by her current husband. And so she is, she's like a kind of a bohemian surfer traveler in her own, like in her free spirited nature. She's an artist and she gets sidelined by pregnancy and sort of subscribes to the maternal domestic.

role without really an understanding of what that meant. And then in her alcoholism, like a deep, deep seated resentment of being like forced into that role, even though it was her decision ultimately. again, she's angry and putting blame in places where it doesn't belong. The husband is like charming and steadfast and very family oriented. That is his main

appeal is that he, it's all things to do with family and his view of family is very like loving and nurturing, whereas her view of family is more, makes her feel stuck as opposed to a part of. And so.

Yeah, the other characters, there's the mother-in-law who is very prominent in this and she has her own secrets and her own tragedies and it's really up to you to decide if you believe Leah as a narrator because she's drunk a lot and when she's drunk it's hard to know who's telling the truth. But you'll actually see characterizations of her through other people and how she's observed.

in interactions with other people, which will lend itself to you potentially changing your mind on, is Leah just being really hard on her mother-in-law or is she actually this terrible? Because I love the trope of the horrible mother-in-law, right? Like it's funny and it's done, but it's overdone. And it's also not always the case. Like I had the most wonderful mother-in-law who passed away unexpectedly during COVID. And so...

I like the idea that relationships aren't this black and white idea. It's they're fluid and dynamic. And that's what comes across, hope. Yeah, I totally agree with that statement. I love that. As the author of this book, sort of what was the key moment that inspired you to write? Like, what was that flicker or flint that turned it ultimately turned into a flame that turned into a book? So I've read a lot of either addiction recovery memoirs.

in my life and I've read a like, like I love like Augustin Burroughs, you know, a million of them out there. I had yet to come across a fictionalized account of what it actually looks like in active alcoholism. Not that other books haven't done it, of course they have, but I really wanted to do something where it felt safe to explore like the harrowing

nature of it in a fictionalized sense because to me, if you're in the throes of married to someone with alcoholism or you have a family history of alcoholism or you yourself are struggling with addiction, you're not going to the self-help aisle in Barnes and Noble and you're not like, memoir addiction, self-help, great, let's pick this, Yes. And so I love the idea of doing it in a safe space of fiction and having it be like,

a surprise that like, I thought this book was going to be about something else entirely. And now it looks like this. And like that helps open that dialogue safely and also like a reflect, you know, reflective mirror. So for me, it was born out of an idea that I really wanted there to be a book like that because I needed a book like that. Right on. Yeah. Well, thank you for that pitch. That was wonderful. Are you going to read it? I win? We can't.

You'll have to stay tuned for the episode to release. Fine! I guess I will. So good. Well, I want to be mindful of your time this evening as well. thank you for going a little bit over with us. Well, I'm so grateful for you guys and thank you for this. And I'm excited to hear how it all shakes out and I'll be listening and watching. Thank you. Absolutely, you guys. Take care. Have a good night. thank you for sharing your story with us. Of course. Take care.

Jessica was so much fun. I really enjoyed her sharing her story and being so vulnerable with us. Yeah, for sure. And I think if this book gets picked, I'll go into the book with such a different kind of context on reading it and where it came from, the root of it. Yeah. Only you have the power to decide that, though. It's true. Only you can prevent forest fires

was literally just going to say that. Literally just going to say that. Also, Jessica's book is a book I have read, so I am not going to give you any indication on. I don't want you to be swayed in any way. Sure. But let's get back to the show. We have one more. We have one more pitch. Who's up? Yes. So.

Not that we need to make your decision any tougher, but we did have a fourth guest. We had Linzie and Maggie, and they are from Book Clubbin Besties, which is their Instagram page. It's book.clubbin.besties. And they share a lot of great book reviews and they frequently have authors on. So be sure to follow them so that you can hear from some different authors. But they are recommending the book, A Sea of Song and Sirens by Whit Stanfield.

And that is our lone fantasy book for you to choose between the four. This is also our longest book of the bunch too. Yeah. I'm excited about to hear this one, but right. think the length might give me pause, but I'm ready and willing to hear said pitch to convince me why I should pick this one. All right. Roll it. Yeah. Roll it.

Okay, awesome. So here we go. Linzie and Maggie, welcome to the show and do a little introduction of yourselves. Maggie, do you want to go first? Sure. I'm Maggie. I'm one half of the book clubbing besties. I'm a mom and a wife and a school counselor. And I really like to read romance, thriller, fantasy, kind of hop around. If it sounds good, I'll read it. Nice. I'm Linzie, the better half.

No, I'm just kidding. The other half of the Book Club and Besties, also a mom and a wife and I teach music to elementary students full time Pre K through 5th grade. Awesome. You're here to pitch me a book. You guys have listened to a few episodes. know that fantasy is a genre that she makes me read. Why should I pick this fantasy book over maybe another fantasy book?

in the genre. It will make you want to leave your home and search from underwater mysteries. That sounds awesome and dangerous. It will also alter your brain chemistry, I'm telling you. And the character building or the character development is incredible, but not too long. The world building happens throughout and it's not just like bam in your face in the beginning, which I love too. And

It definitely has some spice. That was my question. How many chili peppers? I would say, I don't know, maybe two? There's spicy scenes. But it's not the whole book. Right, it's not a huge chunk of the book. Jon likes a level two. Yes. Okay. I prefer a little more heat, In my book. I'll take five.

In my books, I like the two. There you go. There you go. It's enemies to lovers. This is a trope that I love, like a grumpy sunshine type thing. It is Kristy's as well. Yeah. Yeah. I do like that. But there's also like supernatural and the plot twists. You will. It'll blow your mind. You think you know what's going to happen and then what? Bam. You have no idea. It is twisty.

There is a little bit of like magic, like hypnosis in it. And it's like, it's just like this rage-filled female main character. And then this like really yummy, but sometimes rage-filled male main character. And so the butting of the heads is happening and then, you know, it's just- banter and all that. Great segue to my next question. Could you help me understand the main characters a little bit more? Like what are some of their main-

traits or characteristics? Like how would you describe the main characters in the book? I think the female starting out, you definitely can tell like when you first start reading it that like she comes off strong and I was like, okay. Like that's cool. Cause you know, sometimes when you start reading a book, they, don't really see that strength kind of come out or like knowledge of where they are until later in the book. But this kind of, she comes out very strong in my opinion.

Which I like. Yeah. So we have our female main character is a mermaid, Niyad, and we have our male main character who is a prince. From a different land. From a different land. Completely different land. But the mermaids are sirens. And so they'll be singing, you know, and when they sing, the people above water all try to jump into the water, like very typical of like a mermaid fantasy. And so maybe Kristy could learn some things to like hit

hypnotize Jon into doing things that she needs him to do. Just saying, she could just take some notes. Maybe... Siren him to whatever you want. Also, like, she doesn't start off as a mermaid. okay. Fun little plot. Yes. Okay. The thing is, is that the prince, he all of a sudden turns on her. So they find a boat.

that's coming to get the prince, they get on the boat, and well, bam, she is locked up. And he is a completely different person. And so she's worried about, you know, her island and then the mermaids that she knows. So, yeah, so that's kind of like where it starts and then it kind of goes and goes and goes. And from then on, I don't want to tell you anything that's going to happen. Sure. right. Yep. That was great. That would definitely help. Yes. Thank you for that.

It's just a great mermaid book. should read it. Yeah. Well, awesome. Thank you for your time and your pitch and everything. It is very compelling. I am. I have no idea how I'm going to pick. know. Are we your last one? Kind of dreading it. You are. Yes. Best for last. Yes.

I'm just saying, there was a reason that we had to be last. Yes. Not just because of her voice. No, Little Mermaid lost her voice and so I lost mine. It was all for this. That's hilarious. It's true. Well played. Well played. That's compelling. You see? What do they say? That's not a coincidence, that's a sign. It is, it's divine.

Yes, it's divine for sure. All right. You too. Have a great night. You all Have a good one. Thank you.

I don't know how I'm gonna pick. You're so screwed now!

Okay, so I hate to break it to you, but you have to pick one of these books. I don't fucking know how. I was a little concerned when we did this that when we would, I don't know, like get on and maybe people would be like, here's my one or two line thing about why you should read this book. But everyone had so much to say and I had such a good time talking to these people. Like, this should be the podcast. Like, let's just.

jump on with some random people that we met on Instagram. Like, let's talk about books. Like I had such a good time on each of the calls. Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised with everyone's response and everyone's engagement and our conversation with them even after the recording stopped. Yeah, I think that's a great idea. Maybe we can figure out how to do something like this on a more regular basis on the show. you want...

people to pitch you books and then you have to disappoint three of them. You don't fit their book. I'm like sweaty thinking about having to tell these people. I mean, it was bad enough with the people who didn't even make the cut of four. I so bad reaching out to people. I'm like, please still follow us. to our podcast, I know it's going to feel like a breakup. I don't want to like, I hate letting people down. I hate it.

And all these books are all for these books are great again. I've read one, but I have interest in reading the other three, whether you pick them or not. So all right. The time has come. You have heard from all four coaches on the voice. They have given you their pitch. I got a four chair turn. You got a four chair turn. You cannot go wrong with any of these choices. Which coach slash

book. Do you pick? think we've made it pretty clear that this decision was fucking impossible. Before I say which one, I just want to give another shout out to Katie and Linzie and Maggie and Jessica and Leigh. Every one of you took the time to craft a pitch to talk to people to practice your pitch with people. Everything about that, Kristy and I just

really appreciate. I do want to read all of them. just know that I had to pick one because Kristy's making me pick one. Just kidding. That's what this whole experiment You agreed to this. I did agree. I know I did. I know. So my runner up was Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea. I just really connected with Jessica's story and I feel really compelled and drawn to read it. I just don't know that I'm...

in a space mentally that I could consume it the way that I feel like I would want to consume. Yeah, it's heavy. It's a heavy topic. Right. Without further ado, the book that I choose. my gosh. Of these four is. Shared Hearts by Leigh Jack. Yay. Congratulations. You want to believe I mean, no, you did. No, no.

Yeah, I'm super excited. It was such a fucking hard decision, but I love the concept of like a romance thriller. Thriller is my favorite genre. I'm excited to have the author on the episode later to ask questions about the characters and things like that. also makes me super nervous, but I'm also really excited to have her ask me questions. So that will make my job easy that episode. will. Your job will be a lot easier. do? Listen and laugh. Do you feel?

Like Atlas Shrugged the weight, like you have shrugged it, know? The weight has been lifted from your shoulders. I mean a little, but it's just been replaced with like guilt that I didn't pick the other way because they're so good and compelling. I feel like I should write them a handwritten note saying, sorry. You should. I mean, I don't think they'd be able to read it because your handwriting is terrible. is a true statement. You can type them an email.

That's so impersonal. Put some emojis in it. But yes, I agree. And thank you once again to all of our special guests. We couldn't have done this show without you and we really appreciate your time and the effort it took to pitch us your book. And don't forget that a free way to support our show is by leaving us a review and rating us on Apple Podcasts. Also, if you don't want to rate us, but you have a question or feedback on the show or maybe even a book you think Jon should read.

You can email us at booksandmakemyhusbandread at gmail.com and Jon would love to disappoint you.

Well, that's another one in the books. It is sort of another one in the books, or it will be once you read it. good point. Well, who knows? Maybe shared hearts will be the one your husband reads. Maybe. Take care. Thank you, everyone.

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