Besties and the Books Podcast
We’re Ashley and Liz, two real-life besties who’ve loved books since we first learned to read, so naturally, we started a podcast! We would say the rest is history but in actuality, it's just the beginning. So come join us in the next chapter of our lives as we introduce ourselves, and laugh our way through the world of books with a focus on Fantasy, Romantasy, and Dark Romance. Of course we have love for all book genres, but those are our absolute favorites!
Don't be shy, subscribe! New Podcasts every Tuesday!
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@BestiesandtheBooksPodcast
Liz
Instagram | TikTok
@TheRealLifeVeganWife
Ashley
Instagram | TikTok
@AshleyEllix
Email bestiesandthebooks@gmail.com
Don't be shy, subscribe! New Podcasts every Tuesday!
YouTube | TikTok | Instagram | Podcast Platforms
@BestiesandtheBooksPodcast
Liz
Instagram | TikTok
@TheRealLifeVeganWife
Ashley
Instagram | TikTok
@AshleyEllix
Email bestiesandthebooks@gmail.com
Episodes
47 episodes
Ep 35 Reacting to Bookish HOT TAKES from the dregs of Reddit & Threads!
Ashley and Liz just got back from the When We Were Young fest and boy do we have some good faves and fails of the week, including Gerard Way’s sexy hair swoop heard ‘round the world. After we hash THAT out for all of our collective enjoy...
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Episode 35
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1:15:00
New Moon…Where You Been Loca? | Twilight Saga Book 2 | Bonus Minisode
Welcome back to Ashley & Liz’s vibey, angsty, fall-girl mini episode bonus series all about our FIRST TIME reading Twilight.Episode 2 covers book 2: New Moon by Stephenie Meyer. The first five-ish minutes are spoiler free w...
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52:32
Ep 34 🎃 1st Annual Halloween Special! AITA, Smash or Pass, and Nostalgic Favorites
Happy Halloween Book Besties! Today’s episode is all about one of our favorite holidays, and everything Liz and Ashley love about the spooky fall season! We decided to put together the perfect taster episode o...
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Episode 34
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1:28:51
Reading TWILIGHT for the First Time! | Twilight Saga Book 1 | Bonus Minisode
Welcome to Ashley & Liz’s spooky mini episode bonus series: Twilight! If you’ve been following along and watched our “Why Vampires” episode then you know we’re fascinated with the lore and needed to be a part of this f...
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49:20
Ep 33 Why VAMPIRES? Vampires in Literature, Pop Culture, and Digital Media
Today on the Besties & the Books Podcast Ashley and Liz discuss some of our favorite monsters: Vampires, and attempt to understand why these undead, blood sucking creatures have dominated spooky lore, art, and literature throughout t...
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Episode 33
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1:00:23
Ep 32 Is A Court of Frost and Starlight ACTUALLY Important to Read? | BOOK 4 ACOTAR SERIES
Today on the pod, Ashley and Liz discuss A Court of Frost and Starlight, book four in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J. Maas, and a “sweet little Christmas special” of a novella to some. Is this book skipable? Is it full of Easter eggs and setu...
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Episode 32
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1:02:57
Ep 31 Totally Very Important UNHINGED QUESTIONS Answered!
Today on the podcast, we’re having a silly, good time. We asked you guys for unhinged book questions, and boy did you deliver. Ashley and Liz sit down and answer all of the things that you guys want to know, but let’s be honest, most of the...
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Episode 31
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48:27
we READ all the Harry Potter Books for the first time and THE FANDOM IS PISSED | Bonus Minisode
Today we’re here for the FINAL installment of our Harry Potter Mini Episode series. We laughed (sorta), we cried (not really), and some of you guys in the fandom came for us in the comments! Truly, it was a roller coaster over the last couple o...
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54:26
Ep 30 ACO-WHAT?! A Court of Wings and Ruin was wild! | BOOK 3 ACOTAR SERIES
Here we are, on episode 3 of our ACOTAR reread series with A Court of Wings and Ruin, by the Romantasy queen, Sarah J. Maas. And this go around, we’re doing things a little differently! Instead of doing a plot...
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Episode 30
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1:09:56
Deathly Hallows? More like deathly HOLLOW! | Harry Potter Book 7 | Bonus Minisode
It’s week 7… and the epic? … book conclusion of our Harry Potter mini episode series over here on Besties & the Books Podcast has officially happened… So let's discuss The Deathly Hallows.This series is over 3,500 pages of kid wizard...
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41:29
Ep 29 We Read HOCKEY ROMANCE Books So You Don’t Have To!
So… we did it… for science. During one of our unpopular opinion episodes, you guys asked: “Why does hockey romance exist?” And because neither of us had read one, we did our best to answer, but knew we had to soldier on...
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Episode 29
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1:15:03
Felt Nothing…Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince | Book 6 | Bonus Minisode
It’s week 6 over here in our Besties & the Books Harry Potter Mini Episode Marathon! Today we’re discussing the second to last book! The finale eve, if you will. And truly… we felt nothing. So we need to know. Is it just us and ...
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38:15
Ep 28 Going Deep into Split or Swallow by Lindsay Straube
Did you hear?! A couple of weeks ago we did our very first author interview with Lindsay Straube | @oxfordlemon and talked to her all about her new Amazon bestselling debut love triangle romance book, Split or Swallow. ...
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Episode 28
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1:13:24
The Order of the Phoenix (and the triangle) | Harry Potter Book 5 | Bonus Minisode
It’s week 5 over here in this crazy Harry Potter whirlwind of a miniseries!Join Ashley and Liz as they read the entire HP series for the first time as full grown adults! Do you want our commentary? How about our thoughts on whether or no...
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42:28
Ep 27 🎃 5 Fall Book Recommendations + Halloween Hopefuls!
Let’s talk about fall, bay-bee. Let’s talk about Hall-O-Ween. Cuz we are fall girlies over here at the BATB Podcast! And we think a lot of you are too. Today we’re bringing you a full episode of spo...
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Episode 27
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1:02:46
There Ain’t Nothin’ in that Goblet of Fire...Snooze Fest Harry Potter | Book 4 | Bonus Minisode
It’s week 4 of Ashley and Liz’s Harry Potter journey and BOY do we have some things to say about this 752 page book. Shockingly…Yes, we were banned from reading Harry Potter as kids, so we are spending these 8 weeks discovering everythin...
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50:22
Ep 26 It’s Serpent Summer with Lindsay Straube! | Split or Swallow Author Interview
Today’s Episode is BATB Podcast very first author interview! With none other than Lindsay Straube, Amazon BESTSELLING author of her popular love triangle basilisk romance, Split or Swallow.*Author interviews will always be s...
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Episode 26
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57:54
What’s Up with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban? | Book 3 | Bonus Minisode
Here we are in week 3 of Ashley & Liz’s Harry Potter Minisode Series!Yes, we were banned from reading Harry Potter as kids, and yes, we’re reading them for the first time now as elder Millennials. And we wanna talk about them with yo...
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46:10
Ep 25 But...AM I THE A HOLE?? | Reacting to MORE AITA Reddit Book Edition
We’re back in your ears with Part 3 of your favorite silly series where we respond to “Am I The A Hole” Bookish Questions from Reddit, and then pose those same questions to you, our listeners! Do we think that curating ...
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Episode 25
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1:07:52
"I Want What's In THAT Chamber of Secrets!" | Harry Potter Book 2 | Bonus Minisode
Welcome back to Ashley & Liz’s Harry Potter Minisode series! We were BANNED from reading Harry Potter as kids, so naturally, we’d grow up to read them in our mid 30’s and podcast about it.Episode 2 covers book 2: Harry Po...
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33:41
Ep 24 Recommendations & Warnings! 1 Sentence Rapid Book Reviews! (Jan-June Reads)
Where did we come from? Where did we go? Where did we come from… Cotten Eye Joe? Today on the pod Ashley and Liz tell you all about our recent Alaska Cruise Vacay, and how much fun it was to buddy read our ARCs of Split or Swallow b...
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Episode 24
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1:28:37
Reading Harry Potter For The First Time As Adults! | Sorcerer's Stone | Bonus Minisode 1
Welcome to Ashley & Liz’s first mini episode bonus series, this round featuring Harry Potter! If you’ve been following our “satanic panic” series then you know, we were BANNED from reading Harry Potter as children, so we’re recl...
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41:03
Ep 23 Reacting to YOUR Unpopular Book Opinions!
This episode is exactly what it sounds like! After our last “unpopular opinions” episode, you all sent us your most unpopular bookish opinions so Ashley and Liz can react to them. And we sure had a blast! We start off with some easy...
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Episode 23
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1:04:45
Ep 22 Satanic Panic of 90s! Book Bans, Ouija Boards, and Mansons OH MY!
Today is the day Ashley and Liz take the deep dive. You know us, we’re usually Sparknotes gals… but in order to paint the entire Satanic Panic picture we have to take you back to where it all began…so we did the research! What exact...
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Episode 22
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1:30:14
Ep 21 Should YOU Read "A Touch of Gold and Madness"? | BOOK TROPE UPDATE
Believe it or not, we’re on our FOURTH installment in our Book Trope Series! Today is all about the book Ashley picked for Liz based on her top five favorite book tropes, and book boyfriend qualities: A Touch of Gold & Madness by K. L. Devo...
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Episode 21
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1:26:40