Kris and Mads

Bestselling fantasy author Rachel Gillig joins us for a conversation we’ve been dreaming about ever since we read her Shepherd King Duology in 2023! In this episode, we sit down with the author of One Dark Window and the bestselling Shepherd King duology to talk about her new series, The Stonewater Kingdom and its conclusion, The Knave and the Moon, out September 1, 2026 from Orbit.If you love adult fantasy romance, but with a dark fairy tale spin, and lush worldbuilding, complicated characters, and unforgettable romance, this is an episode you absolutely won’t want to miss.Rachel takes us behind the scenes of The Knave and the Moon and her new series, while also revealing plenty about the person behind some of our favorite fantasy books. We talk about her secret nerdom, her love of classic literature, the hills she is willing to die on, and the hamlet where she would most want to live.We also get into BookTok, online book reviews, book influencers, and the ways the online book community can be our best. Rachel shares her thoughts on the rapidly evolving world of book culture, readers, reviewers, and the conversations surrounding books online.If you want to find more from Rachel Gillig, you can find her here:https://www.instagram.com/rmgillig/?h...https://rachelgillig.substack.com/Timestamps:0:00 - Intro 1:31 - Rachel’s 2 Truths & 1 Lie7:08 - On artists drawing inspiration from her work9:19 - Rachel’s literary hot takes15:40 - Rachel’s fandoms19:02 - The Five Hamlets as a Personality Quiz20:44 - Duologies!25:01 - What hill will you die on?27:46 - On the inspiration from old fairy tales35:33 - Was Rachel a scene kid?40:05 - On propaganda 43:58 - A novella?!47:08 - Future projects & other genres!50:12 - Rachel’s dream tea party52:53 - Rachel’s book recLet’s connect!Join our Patreon read-and-watch club for free for 7 days: / krisandmadssisterhood Have a business inquiry? Email our manager: [email protected]: / kris.and.mads Instagram: / krisandmads All our other links are here: https://linktr.ee/kris.and.madsTo check out our brother C.Ray's music, which we use in all our episodes, you can find him here: / @seerayhardly This episode was edited by Daniel Pena: https://danielpena.carrd.co/#BookTube #FantasyBooks #BookClub #Reading #Books #RachelGillig #TheShepherdKingDuology #OneDarkWindow #TwoTwistedCrowns #TheKnaveandtheMoon #TheKnightandtheMoth #romantasybooks #adultfantasyromance #gothicromance #gothicfantasy #darkfantasy #fairytalefantasy #BookTok #fantasy

It's time for our July reading recap! 📚 We're sharing everything we read this month, what surprised us, what disappointed us, and which books we'd recommend.Books discussed:The Odyssey by Stephen FryThe Odyssey by Homer, translated by Emily WilsonLucky by Marissa StapleyThe Vanishing Half by Brit BennettThe Correspondent by Virginia EvansWellness by Nathan HillA Man Called Ove by Fredrik BackmanMansfield Park by Jane AustenThe Bone Ships by R. J. BarkerTheo of Golden by Allen LeviLand by Maggie O'FarrellThe Housemaid by Freida McFaddenAnna Karenina by Leo TolstoyLet us know what your favorite read of the month was!Let’s connect!Join our Patreon read-and-watch club for free for 7 days: https://patreon.com/KrisandMadsSisterhoodHave a business inquiry? Email our manager: [email protected]: https://www.tiktok.com/@kris.and.madsInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/krisandmadsAll our other links are here: https://linktr.ee/kris.and.madsTo check out our brother C.Ray's music, which we use in all our episodes, you can find him here:https://www.youtube.com/@SeeRayHardly#BookTube #FantasyBooks #BookClub #Reading #Books

In this episode, we're coming at you like a defibrillator for your reading habit, to revive your passion for stories, in case you're in a reading slump! It can happen. Sometimes we read too much of the same thing, and it all starts to run together. That's when switching up genres, or reading something in your favorite genre that breaks the mold, is perfect! We've got ten book recommendations for you today, across genres. These books were able to subvert our expectations, do something fresh, and hook us! If you're headed toward a slump or want something to have on hand when it comes, we hope this list helps you out.Timestamps0:00 - Intro0:53 - Why we need Slump-busters3:41 - 11/22/63 by Stephen King10:45 - The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie17:03 - The Unselected Journals of Emma M. Lion by Beth Brower23:54 - The Broken Earth Trilogy by N.K. Jemisin30:55 - I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harper37:15 - Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild40:39 - The Knight and the Moth by Rachel Gillig44:56 - Ghosts by Dolly Alderton48:16 - Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wong51:33 - Ascension by Nicholas Binge54:13 - Wrap-upLet’s connect!Join our Patreon read-and-watch club: / krisandmadssisterhood Have a business inquiry? Email our manager: [email protected]: / kris.and.mads Instagram: / krisandmads All our other links are here: https://linktr.ee/kris.and.madsTo check out our brother C.Ray's music, which we use in all our episodes, you can find him here: / @seerayhardly #BookTube #FantasyBooks #BookClub #Reading #Books

We started reading some chunky sci-fi and fantasy series in January, and had such a good time! We're embracing the "quality over quantity" mantra this year, and that means fewer books, but hopefully bangers only! Off to an amazing start with these series: A Song of Ice and Fire, The Expanse, Stormlight Archive, Malazan, and Hierarchy! And we had time for a couple stand-alones too.BOOKS MENTIONEDThe Midnight Feast By Lucy FoleyLeviathan Wakes, Caliban’s War, and Abaddon’s Gate(Books 1-3 of the Expanse Series)By James S. A. CoreyThe Way of KingsBy Brandon SandersonGardens of the MoonBy Steven EricksonStrength of the FewBy James IslingtonStonerBy John WilliamsGame of ThronesBy George R. R. MartinTimestamps0:00 - Intro2:00 - Getting into our January reads!3:10 - Our new Patreon Spreadsheet4:03 - The Midnight Feast by Lucy Foley12:20 - The Expanse Series by James S.A. Corey25:27 - The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson37:02 - Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erickson43:41 - The Strength of the Few by James Islington49:29 - Stoner by John Williams54:26 - A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin1:05:30 - Wrap up!Let’s connect!Join our Patreon read-and-watch club this month for Wuthering Heights: / krisandmadssisterhood Have a business inquiry? Email our manager: [email protected]: / kris.and.mads Instagram: / krisandmads All our other links are here: https://linktr.ee/kris.and.madsTo check out our brother C.Ray's music which we use in all our episodes, you can find him here: / @seerayhardly #BookTube #FantasyBooks #BookClub #Reading #Books #stormlightarchive #malazan #theexpanse #asongoficeandfire #gameofthrones