Episode 12: What is the recipe for a perfect romantic lead? : Romance Fiction Tropes, The Hating Game, Great Big Beautiful Life & Recent Reads

Welcome to the Bound By Books Book Apothecary – our fortnightly mini podcast where we invite you into our literary dispensary: a place of clinking bottles, mysterious tinctures and soothing salves, all in search of the perfect book prescription for life’s modern-day ailments.

Nikki has been soaking up the culture! She’s been to see My Neighbour Totoro at the theatre, which she absolutely loved, and Pressure at the cinema, starring Andrew Scott. Another highly recommended film! Meanwhile, Hannah is in full nesting mode as autumn approaches. After recovering from work deadlines, she’s looking forward to an exciting author interview next month, which means plenty of reading and research to get through! It’s spooky season, and this week we’re discussing our latest Buddy Read: You Did Nothing Wrong by CG Drews. As ever, spoilers lie ahead as we explore the plot, characters and that twist in detail.

Welcome to the Bound By Books Book Apothecary - our fortnightly mini podcast where we invite you into our literary dispensary, a place of clinking bottles, mysterious tinctures and soothing salves, all in search of the perfect book prescription for life’s modern-day ailments. In this episode, we’re dispensing literary remedies for: The Sunday Scaries

Hannah has been busy with the new term and her daughter starting secondary school. She’s also looking ahead to the Abergavenny Food Festival, where she’ll be chairing and interviewing at three events. Nikki has been to see the Midnight Matinee of As You Like It at the Globe Theatre. Cue an in-depth discussion about jigs! She’s also been to the Duxford Airshow and experienced the excitement of seeing a Spitfire in flight. Current Reads Hannah The Wedding People – Alison Espach Blurb: Phoebe Stone arrives at a luxurious Rhode Island hotel dressed for a wedding - but she isn’t part of one. As the bride’s carefully planned celebration begins to unravel, Phoebe unexpectedly becomes entangled in the chaos. Hilarious, heartfelt and deeply human, The Wedding People explores love, friendship, family dysfunction and the surprising ways life can lead us towards happiness. This was a DNF for Hannah. We discuss the idea of finding the right book at the right time, and vice versa, and how that influences our experience and enjoyment of stories. How do we successfully order and curate our TBR piles?

In this episode of Bound by Books, we catch up on our latest adventures. Hannah shares her experience of attending the Green Man Festival and losing her festival virginity, while Nikki looks ahead to her upcoming theatre trips, including As You Like It and My Neighbour Totoro, as well as a visit to the Duxford Airshow. Then it’s time for our buddy read: Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke. Full spoilers ahead! Natalie seems to have the perfect traditional life: a beautiful farmhouse, a handsome cowboy husband, children and enviable homemade sourdough. But when she wakes up in a disturbing version of her reality, everything familiar feels wrong. As she searches for a way out, the novel explores tradition, fame, faith and the performance of womanhood. We discuss the book’s fascinating premise and its take on the trad wife movement, including the appeal of the aesthetic, the romanticising of traditional gender roles and the contradictions behind the polished social-media image. We also explore connections to influencers such as Hannah Neeleman’s Ballerina Farm and Nara Smith, as well as wider ideas around consent, submission and female liberation. Other topics include Natalie as an unlikeable female protagonist, whether readers judge unlikeable women more harshly than men, the lack of female friendship and community in the novel, Caleb’s role and motivations, and the mystery surrounding Shannon. And, of course, we get into the twist: whether it worked for us, whether it felt earned, and whether the characters’ motivations made the ending believable. What did you think of Yesteryear? Did the twist work for you? Let us know!