Joyce: Hey lovhers, welcome to the Book Lovhers Club, the podcast where we celebrate Black sapphic love stories one book at a time. I'm your host, Joy, a married lesbian, lifelong book lover and relational communication scholar. Here, we don't just read the romance, we learn from it. I believe that love stories can do more than just entertain us. They can teach us how to love better, how to see ourselves more clearly. and how to create the love life of our dreams. Each week, I'll dive into sapphic stories written for us and by us while weaving in personal insights and communication lessons you can take off the page. So grab your drink, get cozy and let's turn the page together. Welcome to the club.
Joy: Hey Book Lovhers, welcome back to another episode of the Book Lovhers Club. And do y'all know what today is? Today is my final discussion of our October book picks. The books that I am discussing today are Death Card by Jasmine Smith and Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde if y'all have not finished these books, this is your opportunity to exit stage left. This is my well-placed spoiler alert. from this moment on, I am talking about the books and I will spoil it for you, okay. So you need to have read Death Card and Every Dark Desire because I'm about to go in. So first up, let's talk about Every Dark Desire, that ending. What the entire hell? So Shay really crashed out like this and killed damn near the whole clan because Sylvia didn't want to be with her like that. Like the fuck? This is the reason why they say that y'all do not need to be turning teenagers and children into vampires. Could you imagine being stuck in eternity without your frontal lobe fully developed? Because that can be the only reason why she crashing out like this over Sylvia. To be fair, the way that Sylvia is described and the way that she be blowing my girls back out throughout the entire book, Sylvia and Belle been getting it in. I get the jealousy. I do. Because she'll never look at you like that, Sylvia was not offering nobody no type of affection for real. And here come Belle's ass. But they were a true enemies to Lovhers, okay? Sylvia wasn't doing nothing to really win Belle over in the beginning. She just wasn't feeling it. So it was always a forever fuck Julia. Okay, Julia turned my girl against her will. So it was a forever fuck Julia. Okay, when she said it's up and it's stuck, we're gonna have beef forever, she meant that shit. Okay. So Belle ain't never let up. She ain't never fucked with Julia. It was a forever fuck you. You know, but the way that Julia kinda cowered. And submitted to Sylvia, Belle was like, That will never be me. I don't get it. Like, the fuck you kissing her ass for? And then in chapter nine, when Sylvia had my girl strung up on them chains, Belle didn't know what to do. She was like, I hate you, but why am I lusting for you like that? Why am I attracted to you like this? Okay, that was the start of the change. Once Sylvia did all of that to her body, Belle from that point on, she ain't want to let up. She like, nah, I kind of want to keep fucking her, you know. But she ended up catching feelings. The plot twist was Sylvia catching feelings too. but we had to wait most of the book. They was just sucking and fucking throughout this whole book. We didn't see no real emotion, like real connection, any intimacy really to like chapter 29. Crazy. But the fact that Shay sat here and pretended to be Belle's friend, and she was the ops the whole time, plotted on the demise of the entire clan. Because she was jealous? She was hating? Because Sylvia would never look at her like that. She didn't want her like that. Like, that's crazy. To crash out like that, this some real lesbian mess. And I don't know, are they really lesbians? I don't know if they disclosed that they were lesbians, but that's what it was giving. They really wasn't fucking with the men's like that, okay? These were some women loving women vampires. But the way that shaye went down bad, and something I love in books is when characters fuck around and find out. She did all that shit, and I just felt so much relief. Seeing her get burned like that. Like, come on, fuck around, find out. We had a fuck around and find out moment in Death Card too. Because I knew all along that that girl was plotting on Michaela. Brittany Dupree, I knew all along that her ass was plotting. How are you still mad that you did not win Valedictorian? And then this entire time thinking that this girl was cheating her way to the top academically. Because you saw her do a little magic. That was crazy. And now you out here cheating, collaborating with a demon, so your daddy could win this election, doing the same thing that you accusing Michaela of of being a cheat. The hypocrisy. Okay? The way that jealousy and hatred, those were the real villains in these books, okay? Even though we're dealing with supernatural. Creatures and monsters, demons, witches, warlocks, vampires. The real horror was jealousy, envy. Okay? Brittany was so envious of Michaela that she sat here and summoned a fucking demon to try to make sure that her father won this election and to, you know, harm. Michaela and her family, because she was jealous that they lived in this big house, jealous that despite her best efforts, Michaela always came out on top academically. She always beat her. And she couldn't handle that. That envy was eating her up. And then you mix that with racism and this hatred that she's been raised to have towards black people. Just crazy. So at no point did you think that the demon would turn on you? It's a fucking demon. And then the way that the magic was eating at her body. I just love a fuck around and find out moment. Like y'all really did all this crazy shit and had to find out the hard way that this motherfucking shit's gonna turn on you too. Which the demon did, okay? The demon was like, nah, I'm not finna save your family. Fuck you talking about. I know that's what we agreed on, but it's a hell no. Like, girl, you collaborated with a demon. They don't have no ethics and moral code. He just trying to come back and resurrect. Okay, this is crazy. And you about to usher the end of the world because you couldn't handle being second best. You know, she couldn't handle a black woman beating her academically, couldn't handle the black excellence that was displayed in Michaela's family. And now you're dabbling in magics that you don't know anything about. And it just reminds me of TikTok. You know, I be on spiritual talk sometimes And it's non melanated folks every day that end up exploring magical systems that they don't have any connection to. Things that are closed practices and they're pulling from those magical systems. And it's like This is not something that your ancestors prepared you for this is not for you. This is a closed practice. And they be dabbling in these things every day. And you know, people have those moments where they're gonna fuck around and find out. Just crazy to me. But yeah, I saw it. I saw it. I felt like that was kind of predictable. So I was getting so irritated with Michaela because you keep coming at Aria, Aria Hightower, accusing her and her family Of attacking your family and the coven. And she keeps telling you, it's not us. It's somebody else that's out here that's trying to harm you. And because you so fixated on us, you're not paying attention. Wake the fuck up. And Michaela was just so hyper focused on it being the high towers. You know, I'm glad that the author talked about confirmation bias in the book and like named it and mentioned it because you know I love when some academic shit. Pops up in a book, okay? But that was really refreshing. But the fact that Michaela, like, could see that this is what it is, like, you know, this confirmation bias. I was looking for evidence to support this theory that I already had developed, and it's because her elders put that in her head. That's another thing I don't like either. So Michaela is, ascending as the next queen of the coven. The thing is, she is still a teenager. She's still coming into herself as a woman, as a person. And the woman that was available that would have probably trained her and guided her has passed away. You know, so I feel like they dumped all this responsibility on her at an age and stage where she's still trying to figure out who she is. She hasn't even started college yet. Okay. She's still grieving the loss of her grandmother. I don't appreciate Auntie Lorraine, how she had all this criticism from my girl how she was handling a situation while she's also dealing with the fear and impending, doom of her own death. She saw her own death. She knows that she's going to die soon, in the near future. So she's having to also face the reality that she's about to die. And now she's having to manage this situation for the family. And she's so young. She's so young. I don't like that. I don't like when adults put all these responsibilities on children. Cause she's still a child. She's still a teenager. Putting all of this responsibility on their shoulders and offering no help, no support, no guidance. So Michaela's expected to just resolve this situation, investigate things, do all this stuff because now she's been named. The next queen of the coven. but they got criticisms every step of the way. She needs help. She needs support. She's also dealing with her own emotions around this situation. And y'all's criticism constantly is not helping. And if you know what to do and you can do it better, you go investigate. You go to the high towers and figure out what's going on. Why y'all sending the kids to do it? You know? Why is she not getting any training, a period to develop? all of this happened so fast. And she's rising to the occasion, but I don't like that. I feel like if the adults gonna have this much criticism, like y'all asses could go and help, you know? Because the reason why she latched onto this theory is because y'all told her that. Y'all told her about the history with the high towers. She didn't really know nothing about them for real. This is the first that she heard that they were sacrificing on animals. And had the potential to start sacrificing on humans and that they've dabbled in this kind of magic before. She didn't know any of that until her elders told her that. So because that's what was planted in her head, she latched on to it. So then everything that she was researching after that and investigating, she was looking for evidence to prove that theory correct because she's a child. You know what I mean? That's the only frustration that I have sometimes with reading young adult books, is that The decisions that they make, the choices that they make are from that age and stage. Those are not the same decisions and choices that I would make. And I get frustrated because it's like the fuck. But you know, her grandfather was trying to help, but he was so focused on his election he doesn't want to ruin his public image. So he really like had her and Orion just out here managing very adult situations without any real guidance. He offered some support, but I feel like it wasn't enough. You know, so I'm proud of Michaela. Cause she rose to the occasion and she handled that situation well. But she put her life and Aria's life in danger, summoning that demon, even though Aria told her, I've never done this before. I don't know what you're talking about. And had this girl help her summon a demon. And she wasn't even the one that was working with him. So you sat here and put y'all's lives in danger, but she got the information that she needed. She finally got confirmation that it was not the high towers. But it's damn, it's late in the game now. It's late to be finding out this information. and now she's in a rush to go and save Joelle and Orion's life. And I just feel like it was so many things that she could have done prior to that to maybe prevent it from getting that far. But One thing this book talked about is just some things are inevitable. She was always going to die at the hands of Joelle. There was no way for her to prevent that. I'm also glad that that happened because she also needed the validation that is nothing wrong with her. Her powers are strong. You know, it's just a lack of confidence, a lack of self-esteem. She needs to believe in herself. And part of the reason why she didn't believe in herself is because she got all these adults. People that she looks up to, her elders, her family, second guessing her ability to lead the coven, questioning her every step of the way. And some of it is because some of them wanted the power for themselves. They didn't want her to ascend because they wanted to be the leader. Well then if that's the case, prove her wrong. Why you not stepping up and leading? You take the reins then. You go out in the field and do the work. So now that she done died and got resurrected, now y'all want to support her as the queen? Why does she have to die to get their support? Why does it have to go that far? You know, why do black women have to work so hard to prove that we are deserving and that we are worthy of these positions of power that we get placed in? Why does someone have to literally kill themselves like she died, y'all? She died. Died. Okay, I keep bringing that up because she died. And then was brought back to life. Now the coven supports her. Why did it have to get that far? You know? So, look, black women that are listening to this, which is that is pretty much my audience. Okay, so my black women, you queens, look, we are the queens of our own covens. We are ascending, baby. You don't need to damn near die to prove your worth. Okay? It don't need to get that far. And there's no guarantee that somebody's gonna be there to resurrect you. Protect yourself. Choose peace, whatever that looks like, okay? Cause they got my girl fucked up. I hated that she had to do all of that just to get the support of the coven. Like, cause they was like, Look, I'm not finna be out there almost dying for y'all. Like that was that's what it was, okay? Auntie Lorraine was like, Shit, if that's what it take to be queen of the coven, you can count me out, baby, okay? When they saw it, like you died for us, you got it. Okay, they was singing a different tune after Michaela took that knife to the chest because that's not some shit they're trying to do. You got it? Look, if you're willing to sacrifice your life to save us, you can lead the coven. Go ahead, baby. Like, no. No, that's crazy. Anyway, Death Card was good, y'all. I enjoyed that book. Feel like that book really put me in the spooky season spirit. It really did. It just was such a great book to kick off my month of October. You know, so I'm glad that I read it because it's just, I don't know. It just gave me all the feels like the New Orleans setting, the tarot reading, the witches, the warlocks, the mystery, trying to figure out who's causing harm. who's doing this to Michaela's family, to the coven, like the who done it aspect, the mystery. I really loved all of it. Also, I thought the romance between her and Joelle was so sweet. It was so sweet. And I get the conflict there. Like, I had a vision of you killing me, but I like you. I like you. And the more time I spend with you, the more I like you. And I just can't see how you would end up killing me because you're so sweet. And so likable. You know, so Michaela was really struggling. So I'm glad that they got to be together in the end. And that, Michaela is now leading the coven. Joelle was able to join the coven, and they'll be at Tulane together. Like, I'm just really glad that it had such a happy and sweet ending. There was a lot of death in the book, though. Okay. Them fucking Dupreys were killing. These witches left and right. Okay, threw a knife at Michaela at a party. Like they were just so vicious because of this racism and this hatred. They deserved every ounce of whatever that demon placed on them. That the the way that they scrounched up on the ground, they deserved all of that. That's what you get for dabbling in magics that you don't fully understand. And I just love a good fuck around and find out moment. I love justice. But I'm not gonna say I wanted them to be dead. I think I read too much urban romance and urban fiction because like why they get to live? I kinda wanted them to be dead. But that's probably too much for a young adult book. But Michaela was losing family members left and right. It was a lot of death in this book. Bodies dropping. why Brittany and her sidekicks get to live? I wanted them to be dead. I did. I did not want them to survive. I don't think that that was a fitting end for them to still be breathing. I want them dead. Okay. Y'all caused too much harm and killed all these people. They don't deserve to live. So that's the only thing I would have changed. They need to be dead. Six feet deep. Okay? Worm food. Anyway. But I I peeped it. Every time she ran into this motherfucker, she bringing up the damn valedictorian and how she lost. I'm like, she the ops. Why you even entertaining her? I don't know why she never considered that they would be out to get her like that. Like, they cannot be trusted, these non-melanated folks. And she can't let some shit from high school go and she lost fair and square. Yeah, she should have questioned that all along. So anyway, but back to every dark desire. You know, like I said, I love a good fuck around and find out moment. So I'm glad that Shay, died. But I hate that Belle's daughter is a vampire now. You know, she really tried her hardest to protect that baby. for the book to end with her being a vampire, I just I feel for Belle because she did not want that. She was really trying to protect that girl's humanity. And now she's one of them. But maybe she wanted to be a vampire. It's just like we didn't get enough resolution. or at least some insight into what happened there. But yeah, I'm sad. But as long as she stayed human. There would always be a vampire using her to get at Belle. So that wasn't the end of it. I think that girl's life was gonna always be in danger until she died or became a vampire. The moment that they found out that Belle had a daughter, that Naomi had a daughter, she was always gonna be in danger. Cause that's always something that they could leverage. You know, a weakness that she has this connection. That they could use to harm her. So, like I talked about in my last episode, it's only so many options you have in these vampire stories with humans. If they stay human, they're mortal. There's always a risk that they would die. That was part of the reason why Edward was so protective over Bella because she was mortal, she was fragile. So she could always end dying. So as long as, Belle's daughter was alive, that was always something that they could use as a weakness against her, a way to get back at her to attack her was through her kids. So it wasn't a whole lot of options. Either she stayed human, always be at risk of being killed or turned into a vampire, or turn into a vampire. You know, you only got a couple of options. But this book was freaked out. Freaked out. I don't think I realized that it was an erotica when I picked it up. So I know sometimes people get mad. When folks are on the internet talking about books are too freaked out. And they Well, you knew what it was when you picked up an erotica. You know, I didn't really know what I was getting into when I picked up the book. I didn't know that it was an erotica. I'm not complaining. I did enjoy some of the spicy scenes. Like some of were good. Okay? Some of were good. But I still like a little plot with my my books. I do. So that's the only criticism I have for this book. But I like that it's a real vampire story. For real. Like they're vicious and they're doing vampire things. And I love vampires. So, you know, I still enjoyed it. It did get more interesting towards the end of the book when they were at the party and then the party got attacked and bombed. But that's how you know the story freaked out. Y'all are fleeing for your lives, running for your lives, hiding in ice and snow, and still finding time to fuck. Come on. I guess if you think that you might die any second, you know, let me get one more orgasm off before I meet my maker. I don't know. Like what? Crazy. Book is way too freaked out. Okay? Way too freaked out. Like, time and place. Time and place. Y'all literally in a ice coffin that you dug in the ground and y'all fucking. But I get it. If the sex is like this, like the way that her and Sylvia was going at it, and the way that they had other people salivating, then maybe, you know, I I don't know what it's like to fuck a vampire, even though I'm not against it. I just told y'all I'm a fang banger. Okay. I'm I'm not against it. But you know, I'm wifed up. I can't be out here fucking vampires. However, you know, I like to read it on a page. But this book reminded me of the type of vampires we see in True Blood, interview with a vampire, the vampire lestat I would love to see what this cave looked like before it got bombed. It sounded like it was fire, okay? All the rooms, it looked expensive. They had the police like. You know, looking around like how y'all afford this? Who all lives here? That party before it got bombed and attacked, it sounded like it was a good freaky time, okay? but yeah, that book was freaked out. I'm very curious. I think I might go back and count how many sex scenes are in the book, just for my own records, Cause I feel like every page had a sex scene. This book was freaky. I liked that Belle sucked the blood from her nipple. That's what I want to see. Okay? I've been talking about how I need the vampire stories to be freakier. Y'all could actually take it further. It's so much you could do with blood and bites. Okay, y'all keeping it real cute, real PG, real safe. Only biting on the neck. You know, this book gave me what I wanted. Okay, we got bites on the thigh meat. Bites on the nipple. That's what I want to see. Okay, that I gobbled that up. Like I wrote that in my notes. I highlighted that. Like, yes, finally. They biting somewhere else other than the neck. Cause I would bite a nipple. I really would. Yes. That's what I want. Okay, give me some freaky shit. This this book really was freaky. It delivered, okay? I could have used a little bit more plot, but the book did kick up towards the end. And then to find out that it was one of their own, that Shay was crashing out over some pussy. Crashing out because Sylvia. Would not give her no time of day. She wasn't paying her no attention. You gonna kill your whole coven? That's a crazy crash out. That's a messy lesbian drama for real. Okay? But it's because she was turned as a teenager. Let this be the lesson here. Y'all do not need to be making teenagers and children into vampires. They don't have any emotional intelligence. critical thinking skills and it doesn't matter how much time they spend on earth, that immaturity always comes to the surface. Cause that frontal lobe is not fully developed. They're stunted. Their bodies are stuck at that age. So yeah. y'all need to only be turning humans that are like 25, 26 plus. Otherwise you're dealing with this shit. So Shay needed to be Taken down anyway. She needed to be taken up out of here because it was only a matter of time. Okay? But to be doing all of that because you jealous? Crazy. Crazy. Yeah. She crashed out something serious. Okay. But Belle, that bitch, okay, she tamed a beast. She tamed a beast. And they don't know what to do with it. Everybody is having feelings around it. The jealousy is running rampant. But Julia needs to die too. I'm glad that Julia fucked around and found out as well. Belle put foot to ass. Belle finally, finally beat Julia's ass. But Julia needed to die. She got on my nerve. So I really wanted her to take Julia up out of here. You know, so that's the only thing. I'm tired of people who should be dead in these books living. I don't like it. Mm-mm. If you cause harm like that, like she turned you into a vampire against your will. You know? We forgave that already. We did. But you bring my daughter in this mess, that was unforgivable. and now that her daughter done got turned into a vampire, I would go back and take that out on Julia. Because you are part of the reason of why we are here right now. I would rip her fangs out. Look, y'all can't give Capricorns certain superpowers. I feel like I got a little dark, morally gray side to me that if I was given the powers of a vampire, don't cross me, baby. Okay. I'ma take it to hell every time. Okay, I would have ripped that girl's fangs out. And wore them as earrings. So Julia needed to die too. Not just Shay. I hate that hoe whole lived. Anyway, but I think I ended up enjoying Every Dark Desire. it was touch and go there. It was touch and go. But once the party got attacked, it really kicked up for me. But I am not reading no more audiobooks where the black characters are narrated by a white audiobook narrator. I can't do it. I don't like it. I really wish I had listened to a sample of this audiobook before I purchased it, because I would not have purchased it. I wouldn't have. But I wanted to do an immersive read and the audiobook was only $5. So I was like, let me just go ahead and get it since it's only $5. And you cannot return audiobooks that you purchased with cash. So now I have this audiobook. I understand why people get them through the libraries, okay? Because you know, ain't no need in purchasing all of these. But yeah, I will not be listening to any more audiobooks where the black characters are narrated by a white author. Y'all really need to stop hiring white narrators for these black books. I hate it so much. I hate it. And I can't be the only one. I can't. So I'm not a fan, and I will not continue to put any support behind that. But I wonder if that was intentional. So the book cover for Every Dark Desire changed. When I originally saw the book, it had a darker skin black woman on the cover. It was undeniable that it was a black vampire book. And then the book cover shifted. To where it looks like it's two white women, or you can't, you know, like basically the cover got whitewashed and now it has a white narrator. So now I wonder if it was on purpose, you know? And I just think about this larger conversation that's been have happening. Now I just think about this larger conversation that's been happening on social media where some of the authors are choosing. not to put black women on their covers because they're worried that it will decrease their book sales. So now I'm like side eyeing Fiona Low key because it does feel like the book cover got whitewashed. And then now it has a white narrator, so I'm just not a fan. But I did enjoy the book in the end, you know, but I'm biased. It's really hard for me to dislike a vampire book. I don't know what I would rate these books. Death card. I think that was a five-star for me. I loved it. I really did. I enjoyed it. I gobbled it up. The narrator ate. It was a good book. It was a good audio book. It's something I would listen to again. And I I could see myself reading that again for spooky season. Like it was really a good spooky season read. I'm really excited for y'all to hear. the conversation that I had with the author. So Jasmine Smith will be joining my podcast and our interview will air on Halloween. but every Dark Desire, I think I would give it a three stars. You know, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. But I enjoyed it. So I would recommend it. So I would give it a three stars. There were points in that story that I was like, if I wasn't reading it to discuss for my podcast or reading to you know, discuss it with my book club. I might not have finished it. I don't really DNF books though. Like I might do a pause for now because I am a multi book reader. I be juggling a lot of books, y'all. So it is possible that, you know, I'll read a book and then I'll pause it and come back to it later. But I rarely just DNF books. But if somebody in my book club hadn't told me that the story will kick up after chapter twenty five, like if they didn't tell me to just wait it out. I don't know that I would have kept going. I would have paused it. I probably would have finished it later, but I don't know if I would have pushed through. I'm glad I did. I'm glad I pushed through because I really did end up enjoying it. And I like the way that the action and stuff got brought in towards the end of the book. I just hate that we had to wait that long for some real action to occur, you know? But once it got introduced, like it did bring some energy to the story. And now I wanted to know who was attacking the coven and all the things. Okay. I think I love some mystery, like a who-done it aspect to a book. So I'm glad I stuck with it. you know, before we conclude today, I gotta give y'all a love lesson because, every week I wanna encourage us to take romance off the page. there's some lessons that we can take from both stories. I think about how intense the relationship between Belle and Sylvia was at several points throughout the whole, you know, most of the story. Once they introduced the sexual relationship, there was so much intensity. I think sometimes people can confuse intensity with intimacy. because Belle, she was starting to want more from Sylvia. As she started to feel like her feelings were becoming more complicated, she started to feel things that she hadn't felt since she was human. she didn't want to name it because she didn't think that Sylvia would even be able to reciprocate. But it was clear she was starting to develop feelings of love and a desire for more intimacy with Sylvia. So they had this very intense relationship, but you know, like I said, intensity doesn't necessarily equate to intimacy. Also, you know, you can't really build a lasting love, a lasting relationship without honesty. in every dark desire, Belle was hiding the fact that she had fallen in love with Sylvia. she don't want it to be out there. She don't want her to know And then we also see Michaela. She's keeping feelings to herself too. She doesn't want Joelle to know that she's a witch. She's literally concealing this big part of who she is and a big part of her identity from Joelle. rightfully so. she's not supposed to disclose that she's a witch to anybody who isn't a witch, But it is really hard. To build a closeness and gain that intimacy without honesty. So I just think about both stories and how both couples were able to really like take off and gain closeness once they were able to shed that mask. once Belle was finally able to express to Sylvia, like, look, I'm feeling things for you that I haven't felt since I was human. And Sylvia was like, Well, what you want from me? And she was like, I want more. I want you. I want you to be mine. And Sylvia was like, I could do that. Look. So she finally got what she wanted when she was able to be honest about it. And I think about how Death Card ended and how Michaela and Joelle are finally able to be together and have the closeness and intimacy that they both were seeking because Michaela was finally able to be her true self. and disclose, even though it wasn't something she wanted to do, Orion, you know, came clean. He was like, What you want me to do? You know, we out here navigating this crazy shit, demons and stuff. Like, I had to tell her. You know, she was what you want me to do? Like, I had to tell her. So even though Michaela, she didn't disclose to Joelle that she was a witch. Now that Joelle knows that's no longer something she has to hide, and now you can see their relationship really blossom. So I want us to take a lesson from that. Think about you know conversations that you may have avoided, things that you just avoid talking about, whether it's admitting an insecurity, discussing the future with your partner. acknowledging that something in your relationship isn't working. Think about all of the things that you have not been communicating, whether it's in your romantic relationships or platonic friendships what are some truths that you've been keeping hidden? What are the masks that you're wearing because you are afraid of being honest and transparent with the people that you love. sometimes you do that because you wanna keep the peace. You don't wanna rock the boat. So I'm encouraging you this week to, think about that. You know, try to identify like what are you afraid of? Like what are you afraid will happen if you tell the truth? what's one thing that you haven't been honest about? And it could be something simple, Just think about that. Cause this is Halloween. So some of the themes have been confronting your fears So I want us to lean into that again for this episode, confronting your fear. What's something that you've been afraid to say? And, you know, What's one actionable step that you can take to shed that fear to say your truth to be honest. So that's what I'm encouraging y'all to do. Okay? Sometimes you gotta cuss people out. You kn you know, I know I took it to a different place. Okay, I'm over here saying that you ain't been honest. You gotta tell people how they got you fucked up. Okay? It might not be that. Maybe you know, you've been forcing yourself to eat something. That somebody's always cooking you and you don't like it. And you want to be like, look, I don't actually like when you make that dish. So can you stop cooking it? their feelings might be hurt, but once you get that truth out there, you can thrive. Cause look at Michaela and Joelle and look at Belle and Sylvia now that their truths have come out. Now look, results may vary. Okay, you might go out here and be truthful and it might backlash on you. don't come sliding in my DMs cussing me out because I told you to be honest and say the thing that you've been avoiding and you didn't get the result that you were seeking. Okay, that is not my fault. Okay, but that is our love lesson this week. Okay, I want us to be brave and I want us to live in our truths, and I want you to say those words that you've been avoiding saying. All right. So that you can know some peace and maybe thrive and blossom in your relationships like our main FMCs.
Joyce: Thank you for tuning in to the Book Lovhers Club. If you love today's episode, make sure you subscribe so you never miss a chapter. And if you're feeling generous, leave a review, because you know those reviews help other lovhers find us. So if you want to keep this conversation going, please join me on Instagram or hop on over to Fable to join the virtual book club. And until next time, remember the stories we read can help us write the love lives of our dreams. See you next Sapphic Saturday.
Joy: Hey Book Lovhers, welcome back to another episode of the Book Lovhers Club. And do y'all know what today is? Today is my final discussion of our October book picks. The books that I am discussing today are Death Card by Jasmine Smith and Every Dark Desire by Fiona Zedde if y'all have not finished these books, this is your opportunity to exit stage left. This is my well-placed spoiler alert. from this moment on, I am talking about the books and I will spoil it for you, okay. So you need to have read Death Card and Every Dark Desire because I'm about to go in. So first up, let's talk about Every Dark Desire, that ending. What the entire hell? So Shay really crashed out like this and killed damn near the whole clan because Sylvia didn't want to be with her like that. Like the fuck? This is the reason why they say that y'all do not need to be turning teenagers and children into vampires. Could you imagine being stuck in eternity without your frontal lobe fully developed? Because that can be the only reason why she crashing out like this over Sylvia. To be fair, the way that Sylvia is described and the way that she be blowing my girls back out throughout the entire book, Sylvia and Belle been getting it in. I get the jealousy. I do. Because she'll never look at you like that, Sylvia was not offering nobody no type of affection for real. And here come Belle's ass. But they were a true enemies to Lovhers, okay? Sylvia wasn't doing nothing to really win Belle over in the beginning. She just wasn't feeling it. So it was always a forever fuck Julia. Okay, Julia turned my girl against her will. So it was a forever fuck Julia. Okay, when she said it's up and it's stuck, we're gonna have beef forever, she meant that shit. Okay. So Belle ain't never let up. She ain't never fucked with Julia. It was a forever fuck you. You know, but the way that Julia kinda cowered. And submitted to Sylvia, Belle was like, That will never be me. I don't get it. Like, the fuck you kissing her ass for? And then in chapter nine, when Sylvia had my girl strung up on them chains, Belle didn't know what to do. She was like, I hate you, but why am I lusting for you like that? Why am I attracted to you like this? Okay, that was the start of the change. Once Sylvia did all of that to her body, Belle from that point on, she ain't want to let up. She like, nah, I kind of want to keep fucking her, you know. But she ended up catching feelings. The plot twist was Sylvia catching feelings too. but we had to wait most of the book. They was just sucking and fucking throughout this whole book. We didn't see no real emotion, like real connection, any intimacy really to like chapter 29. Crazy. But the fact that Shay sat here and pretended to be Belle's friend, and she was the ops the whole time, plotted on the demise of the entire clan. Because she was jealous? She was hating? Because Sylvia would never look at her like that. She didn't want her like that. Like, that's crazy. To crash out like that, this some real lesbian mess. And I don't know, are they really lesbians? I don't know if they disclosed that they were lesbians, but that's what it was giving. They really wasn't fucking with the men's like that, okay? These were some women loving women vampires. But the way that shaye went down bad, and something I love in books is when characters fuck around and find out. She did all that shit, and I just felt so much relief. Seeing her get burned like that. Like, come on, fuck around, find out. We had a fuck around and find out moment in Death Card too. Because I knew all along that that girl was plotting on Michaela. Brittany Dupree, I knew all along that her ass was plotting. How are you still mad that you did not win Valedictorian? And then this entire time thinking that this girl was cheating her way to the top academically. Because you saw her do a little magic. That was crazy. And now you out here cheating, collaborating with a demon, so your daddy could win this election, doing the same thing that you accusing Michaela of of being a cheat. The hypocrisy. Okay? The way that jealousy and hatred, those were the real villains in these books, okay? Even though we're dealing with supernatural. Creatures and monsters, demons, witches, warlocks, vampires. The real horror was jealousy, envy. Okay? Brittany was so envious of Michaela that she sat here and summoned a fucking demon to try to make sure that her father won this election and to, you know, harm. Michaela and her family, because she was jealous that they lived in this big house, jealous that despite her best efforts, Michaela always came out on top academically. She always beat her. And she couldn't handle that. That envy was eating her up. And then you mix that with racism and this hatred that she's been raised to have towards black people. Just crazy. So at no point did you think that the demon would turn on you? It's a fucking demon. And then the way that the magic was eating at her body. I just love a fuck around and find out moment. Like y'all really did all this crazy shit and had to find out the hard way that this motherfucking shit's gonna turn on you too. Which the demon did, okay? The demon was like, nah, I'm not finna save your family. Fuck you talking about. I know that's what we agreed on, but it's a hell no. Like, girl, you collaborated with a demon. They don't have no ethics and moral code. He just trying to come back and resurrect. Okay, this is crazy. And you about to usher the end of the world because you couldn't handle being second best. You know, she couldn't handle a black woman beating her academically, couldn't handle the black excellence that was displayed in Michaela's family. And now you're dabbling in magics that you don't know anything about. And it just reminds me of TikTok. You know, I be on spiritual talk sometimes And it's non melanated folks every day that end up exploring magical systems that they don't have any connection to. Things that are closed practices and they're pulling from those magical systems. And it's like This is not something that your ancestors prepared you for this is not for you. This is a closed practice. And they be dabbling in these things every day. And you know, people have those moments where they're gonna fuck around and find out. Just crazy to me. But yeah, I saw it. I saw it. I felt like that was kind of predictable. So I was getting so irritated with Michaela because you keep coming at Aria, Aria Hightower, accusing her and her family Of attacking your family and the coven. And she keeps telling you, it's not us. It's somebody else that's out here that's trying to harm you. And because you so fixated on us, you're not paying attention. Wake the fuck up. And Michaela was just so hyper focused on it being the high towers. You know, I'm glad that the author talked about confirmation bias in the book and like named it and mentioned it because you know I love when some academic shit. Pops up in a book, okay? But that was really refreshing. But the fact that Michaela, like, could see that this is what it is, like, you know, this confirmation bias. I was looking for evidence to support this theory that I already had developed, and it's because her elders put that in her head. That's another thing I don't like either. So Michaela is, ascending as the next queen of the coven. The thing is, she is still a teenager. She's still coming into herself as a woman, as a person. And the woman that was available that would have probably trained her and guided her has passed away. You know, so I feel like they dumped all this responsibility on her at an age and stage where she's still trying to figure out who she is. She hasn't even started college yet. Okay. She's still grieving the loss of her grandmother. I don't appreciate Auntie Lorraine, how she had all this criticism from my girl how she was handling a situation while she's also dealing with the fear and impending, doom of her own death. She saw her own death. She knows that she's going to die soon, in the near future. So she's having to also face the reality that she's about to die. And now she's having to manage this situation for the family. And she's so young. She's so young. I don't like that. I don't like when adults put all these responsibilities on children. Cause she's still a child. She's still a teenager. Putting all of this responsibility on their shoulders and offering no help, no support, no guidance. So Michaela's expected to just resolve this situation, investigate things, do all this stuff because now she's been named. The next queen of the coven. but they got criticisms every step of the way. She needs help. She needs support. She's also dealing with her own emotions around this situation. And y'all's criticism constantly is not helping. And if you know what to do and you can do it better, you go investigate. You go to the high towers and figure out what's going on. Why y'all sending the kids to do it? You know? Why is she not getting any training, a period to develop? all of this happened so fast. And she's rising to the occasion, but I don't like that. I feel like if the adults gonna have this much criticism, like y'all asses could go and help, you know? Because the reason why she latched onto this theory is because y'all told her that. Y'all told her about the history with the high towers. She didn't really know nothing about them for real. This is the first that she heard that they were sacrificing on animals. And had the potential to start sacrificing on humans and that they've dabbled in this kind of magic before. She didn't know any of that until her elders told her that. So because that's what was planted in her head, she latched on to it. So then everything that she was researching after that and investigating, she was looking for evidence to prove that theory correct because she's a child. You know what I mean? That's the only frustration that I have sometimes with reading young adult books, is that The decisions that they make, the choices that they make are from that age and stage. Those are not the same decisions and choices that I would make. And I get frustrated because it's like the fuck. But you know, her grandfather was trying to help, but he was so focused on his election he doesn't want to ruin his public image. So he really like had her and Orion just out here managing very adult situations without any real guidance. He offered some support, but I feel like it wasn't enough. You know, so I'm proud of Michaela. Cause she rose to the occasion and she handled that situation well. But she put her life and Aria's life in danger, summoning that demon, even though Aria told her, I've never done this before. I don't know what you're talking about. And had this girl help her summon a demon. And she wasn't even the one that was working with him. So you sat here and put y'all's lives in danger, but she got the information that she needed. She finally got confirmation that it was not the high towers. But it's damn, it's late in the game now. It's late to be finding out this information. and now she's in a rush to go and save Joelle and Orion's life. And I just feel like it was so many things that she could have done prior to that to maybe prevent it from getting that far. But One thing this book talked about is just some things are inevitable. She was always going to die at the hands of Joelle. There was no way for her to prevent that. I'm also glad that that happened because she also needed the validation that is nothing wrong with her. Her powers are strong. You know, it's just a lack of confidence, a lack of self-esteem. She needs to believe in herself. And part of the reason why she didn't believe in herself is because she got all these adults. People that she looks up to, her elders, her family, second guessing her ability to lead the coven, questioning her every step of the way. And some of it is because some of them wanted the power for themselves. They didn't want her to ascend because they wanted to be the leader. Well then if that's the case, prove her wrong. Why you not stepping up and leading? You take the reins then. You go out in the field and do the work. So now that she done died and got resurrected, now y'all want to support her as the queen? Why does she have to die to get their support? Why does it have to go that far? You know, why do black women have to work so hard to prove that we are deserving and that we are worthy of these positions of power that we get placed in? Why does someone have to literally kill themselves like she died, y'all? She died. Died. Okay, I keep bringing that up because she died. And then was brought back to life. Now the coven supports her. Why did it have to get that far? You know? So, look, black women that are listening to this, which is that is pretty much my audience. Okay, so my black women, you queens, look, we are the queens of our own covens. We are ascending, baby. You don't need to damn near die to prove your worth. Okay? It don't need to get that far. And there's no guarantee that somebody's gonna be there to resurrect you. Protect yourself. Choose peace, whatever that looks like, okay? Cause they got my girl fucked up. I hated that she had to do all of that just to get the support of the coven. Like, cause they was like, Look, I'm not finna be out there almost dying for y'all. Like that was that's what it was, okay? Auntie Lorraine was like, Shit, if that's what it take to be queen of the coven, you can count me out, baby, okay? When they saw it, like you died for us, you got it. Okay, they was singing a different tune after Michaela took that knife to the chest because that's not some shit they're trying to do. You got it? Look, if you're willing to sacrifice your life to save us, you can lead the coven. Go ahead, baby. Like, no. No, that's crazy. Anyway, Death Card was good, y'all. I enjoyed that book. Feel like that book really put me in the spooky season spirit. It really did. It just was such a great book to kick off my month of October. You know, so I'm glad that I read it because it's just, I don't know. It just gave me all the feels like the New Orleans setting, the tarot reading, the witches, the warlocks, the mystery, trying to figure out who's causing harm. who's doing this to Michaela's family, to the coven, like the who done it aspect, the mystery. I really loved all of it. Also, I thought the romance between her and Joelle was so sweet. It was so sweet. And I get the conflict there. Like, I had a vision of you killing me, but I like you. I like you. And the more time I spend with you, the more I like you. And I just can't see how you would end up killing me because you're so sweet. And so likable. You know, so Michaela was really struggling. So I'm glad that they got to be together in the end. And that, Michaela is now leading the coven. Joelle was able to join the coven, and they'll be at Tulane together. Like, I'm just really glad that it had such a happy and sweet ending. There was a lot of death in the book, though. Okay. Them fucking Dupreys were killing. These witches left and right. Okay, threw a knife at Michaela at a party. Like they were just so vicious because of this racism and this hatred. They deserved every ounce of whatever that demon placed on them. That the the way that they scrounched up on the ground, they deserved all of that. That's what you get for dabbling in magics that you don't fully understand. And I just love a good fuck around and find out moment. I love justice. But I'm not gonna say I wanted them to be dead. I think I read too much urban romance and urban fiction because like why they get to live? I kinda wanted them to be dead. But that's probably too much for a young adult book. But Michaela was losing family members left and right. It was a lot of death in this book. Bodies dropping. why Brittany and her sidekicks get to live? I wanted them to be dead. I did. I did not want them to survive. I don't think that that was a fitting end for them to still be breathing. I want them dead. Okay. Y'all caused too much harm and killed all these people. They don't deserve to live. So that's the only thing I would have changed. They need to be dead. Six feet deep. Okay? Worm food. Anyway. But I I peeped it. Every time she ran into this motherfucker, she bringing up the damn valedictorian and how she lost. I'm like, she the ops. Why you even entertaining her? I don't know why she never considered that they would be out to get her like that. Like, they cannot be trusted, these non-melanated folks. And she can't let some shit from high school go and she lost fair and square. Yeah, she should have questioned that all along. So anyway, but back to every dark desire. You know, like I said, I love a good fuck around and find out moment. So I'm glad that Shay, died. But I hate that Belle's daughter is a vampire now. You know, she really tried her hardest to protect that baby. for the book to end with her being a vampire, I just I feel for Belle because she did not want that. She was really trying to protect that girl's humanity. And now she's one of them. But maybe she wanted to be a vampire. It's just like we didn't get enough resolution. or at least some insight into what happened there. But yeah, I'm sad. But as long as she stayed human. There would always be a vampire using her to get at Belle. So that wasn't the end of it. I think that girl's life was gonna always be in danger until she died or became a vampire. The moment that they found out that Belle had a daughter, that Naomi had a daughter, she was always gonna be in danger. Cause that's always something that they could leverage. You know, a weakness that she has this connection. That they could use to harm her. So, like I talked about in my last episode, it's only so many options you have in these vampire stories with humans. If they stay human, they're mortal. There's always a risk that they would die. That was part of the reason why Edward was so protective over Bella because she was mortal, she was fragile. So she could always end dying. So as long as, Belle's daughter was alive, that was always something that they could use as a weakness against her, a way to get back at her to attack her was through her kids. So it wasn't a whole lot of options. Either she stayed human, always be at risk of being killed or turned into a vampire, or turn into a vampire. You know, you only got a couple of options. But this book was freaked out. Freaked out. I don't think I realized that it was an erotica when I picked it up. So I know sometimes people get mad. When folks are on the internet talking about books are too freaked out. And they Well, you knew what it was when you picked up an erotica. You know, I didn't really know what I was getting into when I picked up the book. I didn't know that it was an erotica. I'm not complaining. I did enjoy some of the spicy scenes. Like some of were good. Okay? Some of were good. But I still like a little plot with my my books. I do. So that's the only criticism I have for this book. But I like that it's a real vampire story. For real. Like they're vicious and they're doing vampire things. And I love vampires. So, you know, I still enjoyed it. It did get more interesting towards the end of the book when they were at the party and then the party got attacked and bombed. But that's how you know the story freaked out. Y'all are fleeing for your lives, running for your lives, hiding in ice and snow, and still finding time to fuck. Come on. I guess if you think that you might die any second, you know, let me get one more orgasm off before I meet my maker. I don't know. Like what? Crazy. Book is way too freaked out. Okay? Way too freaked out. Like, time and place. Time and place. Y'all literally in a ice coffin that you dug in the ground and y'all fucking. But I get it. If the sex is like this, like the way that her and Sylvia was going at it, and the way that they had other people salivating, then maybe, you know, I I don't know what it's like to fuck a vampire, even though I'm not against it. I just told y'all I'm a fang banger. Okay. I'm I'm not against it. But you know, I'm wifed up. I can't be out here fucking vampires. However, you know, I like to read it on a page. But this book reminded me of the type of vampires we see in True Blood, interview with a vampire, the vampire lestat I would love to see what this cave looked like before it got bombed. It sounded like it was fire, okay? All the rooms, it looked expensive. They had the police like. You know, looking around like how y'all afford this? Who all lives here? That party before it got bombed and attacked, it sounded like it was a good freaky time, okay? but yeah, that book was freaked out. I'm very curious. I think I might go back and count how many sex scenes are in the book, just for my own records, Cause I feel like every page had a sex scene. This book was freaky. I liked that Belle sucked the blood from her nipple. That's what I want to see. Okay? I've been talking about how I need the vampire stories to be freakier. Y'all could actually take it further. It's so much you could do with blood and bites. Okay, y'all keeping it real cute, real PG, real safe. Only biting on the neck. You know, this book gave me what I wanted. Okay, we got bites on the thigh meat. Bites on the nipple. That's what I want to see. Okay, that I gobbled that up. Like I wrote that in my notes. I highlighted that. Like, yes, finally. They biting somewhere else other than the neck. Cause I would bite a nipple. I really would. Yes. That's what I want. Okay, give me some freaky shit. This this book really was freaky. It delivered, okay? I could have used a little bit more plot, but the book did kick up towards the end. And then to find out that it was one of their own, that Shay was crashing out over some pussy. Crashing out because Sylvia. Would not give her no time of day. She wasn't paying her no attention. You gonna kill your whole coven? That's a crazy crash out. That's a messy lesbian drama for real. Okay? But it's because she was turned as a teenager. Let this be the lesson here. Y'all do not need to be making teenagers and children into vampires. They don't have any emotional intelligence. critical thinking skills and it doesn't matter how much time they spend on earth, that immaturity always comes to the surface. Cause that frontal lobe is not fully developed. They're stunted. Their bodies are stuck at that age. So yeah. y'all need to only be turning humans that are like 25, 26 plus. Otherwise you're dealing with this shit. So Shay needed to be Taken down anyway. She needed to be taken up out of here because it was only a matter of time. Okay? But to be doing all of that because you jealous? Crazy. Crazy. Yeah. She crashed out something serious. Okay. But Belle, that bitch, okay, she tamed a beast. She tamed a beast. And they don't know what to do with it. Everybody is having feelings around it. The jealousy is running rampant. But Julia needs to die too. I'm glad that Julia fucked around and found out as well. Belle put foot to ass. Belle finally, finally beat Julia's ass. But Julia needed to die. She got on my nerve. So I really wanted her to take Julia up out of here. You know, so that's the only thing. I'm tired of people who should be dead in these books living. I don't like it. Mm-mm. If you cause harm like that, like she turned you into a vampire against your will. You know? We forgave that already. We did. But you bring my daughter in this mess, that was unforgivable. and now that her daughter done got turned into a vampire, I would go back and take that out on Julia. Because you are part of the reason of why we are here right now. I would rip her fangs out. Look, y'all can't give Capricorns certain superpowers. I feel like I got a little dark, morally gray side to me that if I was given the powers of a vampire, don't cross me, baby. Okay. I'ma take it to hell every time. Okay, I would have ripped that girl's fangs out. And wore them as earrings. So Julia needed to die too. Not just Shay. I hate that hoe whole lived. Anyway, but I think I ended up enjoying Every Dark Desire. it was touch and go there. It was touch and go. But once the party got attacked, it really kicked up for me. But I am not reading no more audiobooks where the black characters are narrated by a white audiobook narrator. I can't do it. I don't like it. I really wish I had listened to a sample of this audiobook before I purchased it, because I would not have purchased it. I wouldn't have. But I wanted to do an immersive read and the audiobook was only $5. So I was like, let me just go ahead and get it since it's only $5. And you cannot return audiobooks that you purchased with cash. So now I have this audiobook. I understand why people get them through the libraries, okay? Because you know, ain't no need in purchasing all of these. But yeah, I will not be listening to any more audiobooks where the black characters are narrated by a white author. Y'all really need to stop hiring white narrators for these black books. I hate it so much. I hate it. And I can't be the only one. I can't. So I'm not a fan, and I will not continue to put any support behind that. But I wonder if that was intentional. So the book cover for Every Dark Desire changed. When I originally saw the book, it had a darker skin black woman on the cover. It was undeniable that it was a black vampire book. And then the book cover shifted. To where it looks like it's two white women, or you can't, you know, like basically the cover got whitewashed and now it has a white narrator. So now I wonder if it was on purpose, you know? And I just think about this larger conversation that's been have happening. Now I just think about this larger conversation that's been happening on social media where some of the authors are choosing. not to put black women on their covers because they're worried that it will decrease their book sales. So now I'm like side eyeing Fiona Low key because it does feel like the book cover got whitewashed. And then now it has a white narrator, so I'm just not a fan. But I did enjoy the book in the end, you know, but I'm biased. It's really hard for me to dislike a vampire book. I don't know what I would rate these books. Death card. I think that was a five-star for me. I loved it. I really did. I enjoyed it. I gobbled it up. The narrator ate. It was a good book. It was a good audio book. It's something I would listen to again. And I I could see myself reading that again for spooky season. Like it was really a good spooky season read. I'm really excited for y'all to hear. the conversation that I had with the author. So Jasmine Smith will be joining my podcast and our interview will air on Halloween. but every Dark Desire, I think I would give it a three stars. You know, I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. But I enjoyed it. So I would recommend it. So I would give it a three stars. There were points in that story that I was like, if I wasn't reading it to discuss for my podcast or reading to you know, discuss it with my book club. I might not have finished it. I don't really DNF books though. Like I might do a pause for now because I am a multi book reader. I be juggling a lot of books, y'all. So it is possible that, you know, I'll read a book and then I'll pause it and come back to it later. But I rarely just DNF books. But if somebody in my book club hadn't told me that the story will kick up after chapter twenty five, like if they didn't tell me to just wait it out. I don't know that I would have kept going. I would have paused it. I probably would have finished it later, but I don't know if I would have pushed through. I'm glad I did. I'm glad I pushed through because I really did end up enjoying it. And I like the way that the action and stuff got brought in towards the end of the book. I just hate that we had to wait that long for some real action to occur, you know? But once it got introduced, like it did bring some energy to the story. And now I wanted to know who was attacking the coven and all the things. Okay. I think I love some mystery, like a who-done it aspect to a book. So I'm glad I stuck with it. you know, before we conclude today, I gotta give y'all a love lesson because, every week I wanna encourage us to take romance off the page. there's some lessons that we can take from both stories. I think about how intense the relationship between Belle and Sylvia was at several points throughout the whole, you know, most of the story. Once they introduced the sexual relationship, there was so much intensity. I think sometimes people can confuse intensity with intimacy. because Belle, she was starting to want more from Sylvia. As she started to feel like her feelings were becoming more complicated, she started to feel things that she hadn't felt since she was human. she didn't want to name it because she didn't think that Sylvia would even be able to reciprocate. But it was clear she was starting to develop feelings of love and a desire for more intimacy with Sylvia. So they had this very intense relationship, but you know, like I said, intensity doesn't necessarily equate to intimacy. Also, you know, you can't really build a lasting love, a lasting relationship without honesty. in every dark desire, Belle was hiding the fact that she had fallen in love with Sylvia. she don't want it to be out there. She don't want her to know And then we also see Michaela. She's keeping feelings to herself too. She doesn't want Joelle to know that she's a witch. She's literally concealing this big part of who she is and a big part of her identity from Joelle. rightfully so. she's not supposed to disclose that she's a witch to anybody who isn't a witch, But it is really hard. To build a closeness and gain that intimacy without honesty. So I just think about both stories and how both couples were able to really like take off and gain closeness once they were able to shed that mask. once Belle was finally able to express to Sylvia, like, look, I'm feeling things for you that I haven't felt since I was human. And Sylvia was like, Well, what you want from me? And she was like, I want more. I want you. I want you to be mine. And Sylvia was like, I could do that. Look. So she finally got what she wanted when she was able to be honest about it. And I think about how Death Card ended and how Michaela and Joelle are finally able to be together and have the closeness and intimacy that they both were seeking because Michaela was finally able to be her true self. and disclose, even though it wasn't something she wanted to do, Orion, you know, came clean. He was like, What you want me to do? You know, we out here navigating this crazy shit, demons and stuff. Like, I had to tell her. You know, she was what you want me to do? Like, I had to tell her. So even though Michaela, she didn't disclose to Joelle that she was a witch. Now that Joelle knows that's no longer something she has to hide, and now you can see their relationship really blossom. So I want us to take a lesson from that. Think about you know conversations that you may have avoided, things that you just avoid talking about, whether it's admitting an insecurity, discussing the future with your partner. acknowledging that something in your relationship isn't working. Think about all of the things that you have not been communicating, whether it's in your romantic relationships or platonic friendships what are some truths that you've been keeping hidden? What are the masks that you're wearing because you are afraid of being honest and transparent with the people that you love. sometimes you do that because you wanna keep the peace. You don't wanna rock the boat. So I'm encouraging you this week to, think about that. You know, try to identify like what are you afraid of? Like what are you afraid will happen if you tell the truth? what's one thing that you haven't been honest about? And it could be something simple, Just think about that. Cause this is Halloween. So some of the themes have been confronting your fears So I want us to lean into that again for this episode, confronting your fear. What's something that you've been afraid to say? And, you know, What's one actionable step that you can take to shed that fear to say your truth to be honest. So that's what I'm encouraging y'all to do. Okay? Sometimes you gotta cuss people out. You kn you know, I know I took it to a different place. Okay, I'm over here saying that you ain't been honest. You gotta tell people how they got you fucked up. Okay? It might not be that. Maybe you know, you've been forcing yourself to eat something. That somebody's always cooking you and you don't like it. And you want to be like, look, I don't actually like when you make that dish. So can you stop cooking it? their feelings might be hurt, but once you get that truth out there, you can thrive. Cause look at Michaela and Joelle and look at Belle and Sylvia now that their truths have come out. Now look, results may vary. Okay, you might go out here and be truthful and it might backlash on you. don't come sliding in my DMs cussing me out because I told you to be honest and say the thing that you've been avoiding and you didn't get the result that you were seeking. Okay, that is not my fault. Okay, but that is our love lesson this week. Okay, I want us to be brave and I want us to live in our truths, and I want you to say those words that you've been avoiding saying. All right. So that you can know some peace and maybe thrive and blossom in your relationships like our main FMCs.
Joyce: Thank you for tuning in to the Book Lovhers Club. If you love today's episode, make sure you subscribe so you never miss a chapter. And if you're feeling generous, leave a review, because you know those reviews help other lovhers find us. So if you want to keep this conversation going, please join me on Instagram or hop on over to Fable to join the virtual book club. And until next time, remember the stories we read can help us write the love lives of our dreams. See you next Sapphic Saturday.
