L.A.M.E. Book Club Podcast

We’re back, and a little late with our Halloween costumes. SURPRISE. A Court of Splintered Harmony is finally here, and we’re starting with the bonus chapter, the prelude, and Chapters 1–4. Azriel finally gets his own POV and almost kisses Elain, then gets cockblocked by Rhys and regifts her necklace to Gwyn (excuse me?). We also get his brutal backstory, the TruthTeller twist, a Sleeping Beauty theory about Nyx, and a whole lot of “leave Nesta alone.” Plus, Rhys might be a hypocrite, the continent won’t sign the treaty, and Ellie + Melissa give the book a 2/5 so far. Heads u...

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It’s the Golden Son finale and we are not okay. Melissa and Ellie cover chapters 43–51: Darrow finally goes home to Lykos, his mom recognizes him, and Mustang learns the truth. Then the ending hits and Pierce Brown takes out half the cast. Some of it we called episodes ago, and it still hurt. Along the way you get gift-giving disasters, a dream about our old French teacher, and the phrase “walk, don’t run,” which we will now...

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Darrow calls for an iron rain, and yes, it’s literally soldiers shot out of ships like raindrops. We’re covering Golden Son chapters 36–42, where Darrow and the Howlers get fired at Mars in living space spitballs, there’s a near-drowning at the bottom of a river that gave Melissa hives, Ragnar gets his razor, and the Roque situation keeps getting worse. Then Chapter 42 hits with a reveal that sent Melissa out of her chair and sent us texting...

Ellie’s back, Melissa’s busy packing for a move, and Ellie’s husband Grant is filling in for a speed recap of the whole ACOTAR series before books 6 and 7 come out. We go through all five books in about 45 minutes, catch up on the House of Flame and Shadow crossover, then get into the book 6 teasers and the wildest fan theories out there: can mates be unmade, is Azriel a Prince of Hel, does Cassian die, and a Night Court civil war. Also: Tamlin as Thanos, a Costco rotisserie chicken shirt, and nobody ascending. Spoilers for every ACOTAR book a...

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Darrow saw the betrayal coming, and Melissa and Ellie are losing it. In Golden Son Ch. 29–35 the Howlers rise from the sea, Tactus gets the most beautiful redemption arc ever written… and then Lorn ***** him. Mustang takes Pliny’s eye, Sevro wants it for his collection, and Darrow tells RAGNAR he’s a Red before anyone else. Plus a 6-year-old roasting Melissa’s skin, Frankenstein teeth, Tyra Banks lore, a Hairspray deep dive, and a growing fear that Roque i...

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Chapters 22–28 of Golden Sun deliver the moment we have been waiting for — Sevro FINALLY admits he knows who Darrow is, and we are knocked completely off our chests (that's a phrase). We break down why this reveal hit different, what it means for Roque (spoiler: we're devastated and also not surprised), and whether Mustang eating bacon every day to feel close to Darrow is sweet or deeply unhinged. Plus: Pliny gets assigned his permanent villain casting, we go dow...

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Dr. Jackal is in surgery, and we are not okay. In Golden Son chapters 15–21, Darrow plays a game of truth or death with Octavia and her creepy scorpion oracles, the Howlers show up after a very dramatic "take cover" cube, and Sevro turns up with something mysterious in a bag (spoiler: it's Lysander). Then the Jackal performs brain surgery on a moving ship like he's McDreamy, Tactus breaks our hearts, and Darrow ends up backed into a corn...

We're a week out from the Threshing Day novella (dropping 9/29/26), so we couldn't wait — this is a surprise bonus theory sesh before the release. We recap what Threshing Day actually is, debate whether Brennan's backstory matters for book four, dig into when Jack Barlow really turned venin, and cast our bets on who's going mad next (Dain? Ridoc? Aaric?). Plus: our "board of directors for dragons" theory, why Cath might be lying about his name, and all the reveals we're hoping book four finally gives us. Spoilers for books 1–3 ahead — you've been warned.

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Darrow's plan to survive the gala goes sideways fast — a duel with Cassius turns into an arm getting cut clean off, Octavia oversteps her own law and immediately regrets it, and the whole Bellona family jumps in for round two. Throw in Antonia apparently not being dead after all and Fitchner casually tasing the Jackal, and chapters 8–14 of Golden Son might be the most chaotic stretch yet. We break it all down — the theories, the questionable decisions, and the...

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Melissa and Ellie kick off Golden Son, and things get messy fast. Darrow's final Academy test turns into a full-blown space trap, "Big Bologna" makes his appearance, and by chapter three our boy is bankrupt, homeless, and down a reputation. Enter Pliny, the smuggest, silkiest villain this series has given us yet, plus a very unwelcome reunion with the Jackal. We cover chapters 1–7, debate whether Darrow should still be pining for Mustang, and ask the important questions — like h...

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It's here — our last episode of Red Rising, and it's a big one. Darrow closes out the Institute by taking down the Jackal (yes, that reveal), losing Pax in the process, and discovering that Mustang's connection to the Jackal is closer than anyone guessed (except for Melissa — she guessed it). We break down every twist chapter by chapter, react in real time to the ending we did not see coming, and cap it off with our thoughts on whe...

Ahoy, howlers! We're back in the Institute and things are about to get bloody. This week we cover chapters 29 through 35 of Red Rising — Titus's execution, the Howlers officially forming, the siege on House Minerva, and the gut-punch reveal that finally catches up to Darrow when Cassius learns the truth about his brother. We scream, we theorize, we debate whether Fitchner is secretly Mad-Eye Mooney, and we watch Darrow build an army out of the one group nobody else wanted. Heads up — this episode was originally recorded for our Patreon, so the format's a little different than usual, but don't worr...

House Mars is falling apart from the inside, and we are here for every second of it. In this episode of the L.A.M.E. Book Club Podcast, we continue their Red Rising read-through with Darrow and Cassius navigating a brutal civil war for control of House Mars — complete with a horse-stealing heist, a very ill-fated flirtation with Mustang, one seriously cursed nickname for Cassius, and a Titus twist neither of us saw coming. Spoiler-free (we don't read ahead!), casual, and chapter-by-chapter, so you can follow along whether or not you've cracked the book yourself. New episodes drop we...

Sarah dropped the titles, blurbs, AND cover art for ACOTAR 6 and 7 today and Melissa is (solo, sorry our mics did not survive the emergency pod attempt) breaking down everything we just learned about Splintered Harmony and Forgotten Melody — aka the Valkyrie Cycle Movements. From an initial Ragnarok theory to a full pivot into "is Gwyn secretly a Lightsinger," plus what the blurbs might mean for the Lucien/Elain/Azriel love triangle, the Dusk Court, and those Crescent City connections we've been tracking since House of Flame and Shadow — these are all our predictions for book 6. Drop your own theories in t...

Melissa and Ellie are back and diving into Red Rising chapters 15 through 21, where Darrow gets drafted tenth out of a thousand (basically the NFL combine but with more murder), and finds himself trapped in a Silver Elite–coded nightmare with a golden ring and a body count of one. Also covered this week: whether a hot dog is a sandwich (it is not, fight us), the ongoing "prestigious vs. prestigious" pronunciation war, our sudden and deeply unqualified discovery that Pierce Brown is, in fact, hot, and the horrifying realization that Cassius has no idea what Darrow just did to hi...

Darrow's world just cracked wide open — chapters 8 through 14 take him from the mines straight into a secret plot to turn him into a Gold, complete with surgery, new eyes, dance lessons, and a card test that broke both our brains. We're going chapter-by-chapter through Red Rising, and this is where the story stops being Hunger Games in space and starts becoming something all its own. Want more? These episodes are recorded ahead for our Patreon along with a Morning Star read-through and bonus afterparty content — join us there to read along before anyone else and get 15% off all merch.

Welcome to the L.A.M.E. Book Club's Red Rising deep dive! We're kicking off chapter-by-chapter through Pierce Brown's series, and yes, this is officially our first SCI-FI read. Heads up: these episodes were originally recorded for our Patreon, so the format's a little different than usual — and since we don't read ahead before recording, chapters 1–7 are completely spoiler-free. Want more (and want it now)? Join our Patreon to get every episode archived and available early, plus 15% off merch. Buckle up — we're hooked already.

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Melissa and Ellie close out House of Flame and Shadow with chapters 94 through 102, covering Bryce's black-hole science experiment gone wrong, her very temporary death and resurrection (thanks, Hypaxia), the "they shared souls during the sex" debacle, the reunion of Ruhn and Lidia's boys, and one very disappointing Ariadne appearance — plus a Kanye West detour, an Incredibles/Prince of Egypt tangent, and the girls holding Rebecca Yarros accountable. This wraps the main feed's Crescent City coverage for now — next week we kick off our Red Rising...

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Melissa and Ellie are back with House of Flame and Shadow chapters 87–93, and it's a big one. Rigelus gloats his way into a "silly geese" moment before Hel's armies clash with Bryce and the gang on the battlefield, Ithan crosses the second line (again) with his backpack straps, and the crew is fully divided on whether water magic is just weak. Plus: the mask rewrites its own rules with Bryce, Tharion makes his big entrance, and that strawberries-and-cinnamon detail sends Melissa and Ellie down a fu...

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Mech-suits, mates, and a massive cannonball — we're covering chapters 79–86 of House of Flame and Shadow, where Bryce's mask-reanimation plan makes zero sense, Ithan freezes and shatters the Under King (RIP to a real one, or is it — Barrow White theory incoming), Ithan and Perry's mate bond finally clicks (head canon), and Sathia ghosts Tharion via Post-it note. Spoiler warning: all of Sarah J. Maas's works are fair game through this point in HoFaS, so ACOTAR, Throne of Glass, and Crescent City spoilers ahead. Join Patreon...

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This week we're covering chapters 71 through 78 of House of Flame and Shadow and honestly? We're thriving. Sabine is dead (finally, mercifully, ding dong), Ithan accidentally becomes the Prime, Nesta is BACK, and Tharion somehow proposes to someone in front of his wife. We also can't stop seeing energy drinks every time the book says "Prime" and we're not okay about it. Plus, the Afterparty is up on Patreon, and you do not want to miss it.

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Me...

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In this episode of the L.A.M.E. Book Club Podcast, we're covering House of Flame and Shadow Chapters 64–70, where Sarah J. Maas somehow manages to give Hunt a new existential crisis, Ithan continues his campaign to make the worst possible decision in every situation, and a major plotline gets wrapped up so quickly that we genuinely had to stop and ask, "Wait... that's it?" We dive into Bryce's latest plan, Hunt's surprising power upgrade, theories about Avallen and Prythian, and whether we're watc...

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This week Melissa and Elle are covering chapters 57 through 63 of House of Flame and Shadow, and buckle up because a LOT happens — and somehow we still have more questions than answers. We spend a truly unreasonable amount of time on the fact that Tharion got wet and grew zero fins, Aidas casually admits he's known about Helena's salt therapy room this whole time (so what was House of Sky and Breath even FOR), and the Golden Prince of Hel strolls out and goes "welcome, son"...

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Bryce is a Bratz doll, Hunt is an AI-generated man-child having a full hissy fit in a literal cave-in, and somehow this is a love story — chapters 50–56 of House of Flame and Shadow have us in a chokehold. We're breaking down Sathia's absolutely devastating takedown of Bryce's Fae logic, the murder twins finally getting names (Seamus and Duncan, bold choices Sarah), Ruhn giving Lidia the smoochy kiss we've all been waiting for, and the cave parallel that has Ellie going full red-string conspiracy board about...

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This week Melissa and Ellie are back to cover chapters 43 through 49 of House of Flame and Shadow, and things are moving — mostly in the wrong direction. Lidia meets her sons (one of them is fine about it, the other is NOT), the Ocean Queen picks a side after insisting she never picks a side, and we finally get some answers about what was in the Autumn King's personal notebook — kind of. Bryce and the gang split into Team Archives and Team Caves, Tharion completely ignore...

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Things are escalating and nobody is coping gracefully — Melissa and Ellie break down chapters 36 through 42 of House of Flame and Shadow, where the pressure on basically every character hits a new high and SJM reminds us she has zero chill. The gang reacts accordingly. Theories are floated, feelings are had, and at least one of our hosts may or may not spiral a little. Strap in.

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Surprise, besties — Ellie's on maternity leave (baby's here, everyone's safe, screaming and crying we love her), so Melissa's husband Zeke is filling in, and yes, he has not read a single word of Crescent City. We dragged him through House of Flame and Shadow Chapters 29–35 anyway: Bryce gets shackled by her absolute trash bag of a father, the Autumn King helps himself to Truth-Teller (rude), Ithan goes necromancer-shopping to un-kill Sigrid (we have Thoughts on resurrection cheapening a death, thank you), Jesiba Roga continues to liv...

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Buckle up besties, because for the first time in literal forever we did our HOMEWORK and came with RECEIPTS. We're tearing through chapters 22-28 of House of Flame and Shadow, which means it's time to unhinge our jaws and theorize about whether the Hawk is secretly Vaughn from Throne of Glass, whether Bryce's back tattoo horn used to belong to the Crochan witches, and whether Azriel is about to pull a full Enalius and finally free the Illyrians from their ancient nonsense. Plus: Bryce fr...

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Buckle up, besties!! Chapters 15 through 21 of House of Flame and Shadow are the ones that sent the entire fandom into a full-blown spiral, and we're getting into ALL of it. From a hologram info-dump that has readers divided, to a single sentence that may have just confirmed one of the biggest theories in the SJM universe, to a moment so brutal and unexpected our jaws are still on the floor — this stretch of holdfast is packed. We're breaking down the plot holes that have ever...

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Okay, we have a LOT to talk about. Apollion drops bombs we weren't ready for, Hunt's whole backstory might not be what we thought, Lidia finally shows her cards, and a certain shadowsinger shows up where we absolutely did NOT expect him. Also… we may or may not be formally apologizing to everyone who shipped Bryce and Azriel because we GET it now. Throw in the Mask, a giant worm, and an 8-pointed star theory that might change everything, and yeah — Sarah, we have questi...

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Starting House of Flame and Shadow is already… a lot. In these first few chapters, we’re thrown right back into chaos with zero breathing room—Bryce is in a completely different world, Hunt and Ruhn are getting absolutely wrecked, and somehow we’ve got magic, mech suits, and multiverse theories all colliding at once. We break down everything from the wild crossover moments to the questionable choices (looking at you, magic bean), and try to figure out if this book is actually se...

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Everything finally comes to a head in these chapters and… yeah, we were NOT prepared. From massive lore reveals to theories actually starting to make sense (or completely fall apart), this stretch flips everything we thought we knew on its head. We’re talking shocking truths, chaotic decisions, emotional damage, and an ending that genuinely left us staring at each other like “wait… WHAT?!” If you’ve been holding onto your theories, this is the episode where they either get validated or absolutely wrecked. Let’s get into...

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Welcome back to the L.A.M.E. Book Club Podcast! It is our second-to-last episode covering House of Sky and Breath by Sarah J. Maas, and things are officially popping off! Melissa and Ellie are breaking down the absolute chaos of chapters 64 through 70. We are diving deep into Baxian's massive reveal as Danika’s secret mate, Tharion making the wildest choice to enslave himself to the Viper Queen (and then immediately asking for PTO), and Ruhn and Cormac bonding over their terrible fathers. Plus...

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Chaos. Public scandals. Questionable decisions. A summoning that ABSOLUTELY should not have happened. And somehow… that’s not even the wildest part. In chapters 57–63 of House of Sky and Breath, Bryce chooses violence (socially), the Autumn King gets publicly humiliated, demon politics get messier than ever, and we spiral into theories that may or may not hold up under scrutiny. Also: masked ball drama, secret identities, romantic chaos, and one ritual that had us screaming “THIS IS A BAD IDEA” the entire time. If you’re feeli...

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Respectfully… what is going on in Crescent City right now?? These chapters delivered demon attacks, secret lore drops, near-deaths, Bryce power upgrades, and the Autumn King being his usual terrible self — and we are simply trying to keep up. One minute we’re discussing ancient magic and hidden truths about the world… the next someone’s throat gets ripped out, and Bryce is teleporting. In this episode, Melissa and Ellie break down chapters 50–56 of House of Sky and Breath and attempt to process the abs...

Sophie was dead this whole time and we would like a formal apology from House of Sky and Breath. Between squid boats, unhinged mate energy, Emile not being a Thunderbird, and Cormac getting emotionally body-slammed, these chapters truly said “plot twist” and meant it. We spiraled, we theorized, we questioned every life choice that led us here — and somehow we still want more. Grab your conspiracy board and your emotional support water bottle… because 43–49 did not come to play.

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Melissa and Ellie are back in full tinfoil-hat mode because these chapters were not subtle. Wolves through time? Erased bloodlines? Black adamant mind walls? Sarah, respectfully… what are we doing? In this episode, we dive into HOSAB 36–42 and ask the unhinged but necessary question: are the First Wolves actually connected to ACOTAR? We’re talking Danika’s secret research, forbidden wolf history, Alpha drama, Princes of Hel being dramatic as usual, and why everything suddenly feels like multiverse math. Is this a brilliant long game… or have we connected too many dots? Either way — CRACK THEORY TIME.

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These chapters took a hard left into unsettling, and we were absolutely not prepared. In chapters 29-35 of House of Sky and Breath, the world-building cracks open, the rules start feeling very suspicious, and suddenly nothing we thought we understood feels safe anymore. We spiral (politely), question everything, and start connecting dots that maybe were never meant to be connected. Respectfully… what just happened?

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Chapters 22–28 of House of Sky and Breath sent us fully into distress. Between secret rebellions, suspicious alliances, emotional whiplash, and yet another reason Bryce and Hunt can’t have peace, we are officially overwhelmed. In this episode, we break down Ruhn's mysterious connections, Bryce’s growing power, the Bone Quarter questions that refuse to be answered, and the relationship choices that made us pause… hard. Add in theories, red flags everywhere, and classic L.A.M.E. Book Club tangents, and you’ve got an episode that left us equal parts obsessed and frustrated.

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Nothing is adding up — and we’re officially spiraling. In chapters 15–21 of House of Sky and Breath, secrets pile up, history starts unraveling, and the “truth” looks a lot more manufactured than we were led to believe. From Danika’s hidden research to Dusk’s Truth, salt conspiracies, fake histories, secret rebellions, and engagements that make absolutely no sense — this section sent us straight into theory mode. We break down what feels off, what might be intentional, and why Crescent City is quietly becoming one of SJM’s most unhinged worlds yet. Spoilers for HOSAB chapters 1–21, House of Earth and Blood, and all o...