The Spicy Librarian Podcast
The Spicy Librarian 40 episodes Nov 5, 2026
The Spicy Librarian Podcast is a dark romance, romantasy, and spicy books podcast hosted by D and Katie. Each Thursday, they offer honest, chaotic, and obsessive conversations about the books they love. The show is aimed at readers who enjoy yapping about romance reads as much as reading them. Episodes are warm, unfiltered, and full of bookish enthusiasm.
Episodes
The Post Ball DeeBrief: Horses, Slippers, Festivals & We Are Not Stopping — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Dark romance and romantasy podcast The Spicy Librarian is back and slightly delirious. The Maasquerade Ball has been and gone, and this week Dee and Katie are sitting down to debrief everything — the horses, the fire, the slippers, the broken glasses, the men who were absolutely terrified, and what is coming next. Buckle up.
We are recording this on a Tuesday. You are listening on a Thursday. And
An Exclusive Interview with Jean Kwok: Dominion, Debut Romantasy & the Trauma Queen of New York — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Dark romance and romantasy podcast The Spicy Librarian sits down with Jean Kwok — Harvard physicist, former professional ballroom dancer, bestselling literary author and now debut romantasy writer. We talk Dominion, Ruby’s story, the twists we did not see coming, and why this book is unlike anything else in the genre right now.
This week on The Spicy Librarian Podcast we have one of our most speci
Would You Rather Round 2: The Halloween Edition — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Dark romance and romantasy podcast The Spicy Librarian is back for round two of Would You Rather — and this time we are throwing Dee and Katie headfirst into dark romance and horror for a Halloween special. Final girl or best storyline? Hunted or protected? Attic or cellar? They don’t have to agree. They do have to justify.
You asked for round two. We delivered. Last time we dropped Dee and Katie
September Reading Round Up ft. An Unexpected Catch Up — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Dark romance and romantasy podcast The Spicy Librarian is back with the September reading roundup — and we’ll be honest, this one went a slightly different direction than planned. Ber flu hit, catch up happened, and we read a lot of books anyway. As you do.
The ber season arrived and brought its flu with it. So instead this week on The Spicy Librarian Podcast, we sat down for an unexpected catch-u
The £20 Book Boyfriend Draft: Five Men, One Roster & the Arc That Could Save Publishing — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
The rules are simple. You have £20. You need five book boyfriends. Every man on the market has a price tag and you have to build the best possible roster without going over budget. Easy. Completely straightforward. Nobody lost their mind at all.
Drafting Zade from Haunting Adeline, Josh from Lights Out, and Acker from Metal Slinger ( the first book Katie ever spoiled, throwback) — who came all the
Spooky Season is Here: Gothic Reads, Our Fall TBR & Exciting Updates — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Spooky season has arrived and we here, at The Spicy Librarian, are not calm about it. This week we have exciting updates. As always, told here first, usually elaborated on, and most of the time Vickey doesn't need to cut out.
We're gearing up for our MaasVerse episode but before we do, our buddy reads this season are 24690 by A.A. Dark — the dark romance that the community cannot stop talking abo
Hyped, Overhyped & Criminally Underrated: The Books We Need to Talk About — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Dark romance and romantasy podcast The Spicy Librarian is settling the score this week — which books deserve every bit of their hype, which ones we think the community has got wrong, and the criminally underrated reads that need to be on your TBR immediately. Dee and Katie are not holding back.
The romance community loves hype. We love hype. But this week on The Spicy Librarian Podcast we are aski
Would You Rather: They Don't Have to Agree But They Do Have to Justify — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Dark romance and romantasy podcast The Spicy Librarian is back — and this week Dee and Katie are being dropped into their favourite books, whether they like it or not. Would you rather learn magic or warfare? Lead armies or strategies? Forced proximity or enemies to lovers? They don't have to agree. They do have to justify.
This week on The Spicy Librarian Podcast, we are asking the questions that
August Reading Round Up: Summer is Over, the Ber Months Have Arrived — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Dark romance and romantasy podcast The Spicy Librarian is back with the August reading roundup — summer is over, the ber months are here, and we read an unreasonable amount of books. We're debriefing our summer reads, defending our choices, and getting very hyped for the MaasVerse deep dive coming in September ahead of a vey exciting release…
Summer is drawing to a close, holidays have been had, a
Bookish Confessional: Judge, Jury and Executioner — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Dark romance and romantasy podcast, The Spicy Librarian is back — and this week we are confessing our deepest, darkest reading secrets, exposing the community, and serving as judge, jury and executioner on your most controversial bookish takes. Court is in session.
We have things to confess. You have things to confess. And somebody has to hold us all accountable — so this week on The Spicy Librari
The Post Holiday Reading DeeBrief Nobody Asked For & the Adaptations We're All Talking About — The Spicy Librarian Podcast
Dark romance, romantasy and everything in between. The Spicy Librarian Podcast is back with a post-holiday reading debrief nobody asked for and every book adaptation we are all having big feelings about. Dee and Katie read an unreasonable amount of books. We are not sorry.
We planned an episode. We did not do that episode. What we did instead was sit down, debrief everything we read over the summe
Bookish 20 Questions: An Episode We Very Nearly Didn't Come Back From
This week on The Spicy Librarian Podcast, Katie and Dee were forced to played bookish 20 questions. Post it notes on foreheads, sunglasses on, eyebrows firmly raised, and this is genuinely the closest we have ever come to a full falling out. You are welcome.
*If you want to play along, listen on audio, or for spoilers, head to the YouTube!*
We want to be clear. We are fine. We are friends. But th
July Reading Round Up: Dark Romance, Romantasy & Contemporary
The July reading roundup and book club is here! Between Dee and Katie, they've read what feels like half the internet this month. Dark romance, romantasy, contemporary, and everything in between. Buckle up, your TBR is about to suffer beautifully.
July was a big reading month. Katie and Dee take you through everything they've read this month — from indie darlings to highly anticipated sequels, spi
Community Outreach & Yap: Your Questions, Our Answers & Five Star Book Clinic
This week on The Spicy Librarian Podcast we are coming straight to you -- answering your bookish questions, giving you the latest shop and event updates. Then Dee opens the clinic to personally prescribe your next five star read. Come in, sit down, she'll see you now.
Consider this your official TSL check in. This week D and Katie are doing what they do best — yapping — but with purpose. We're g
F*ck, Marry, Kill: Book Boyfriends & Series We'd Die (or Kill) For
F*ck, Marry, Kill but make it bookish — this week on The Spicy Librarian Podcast we are making the hard decisions about our favourite MMCs and the series we love most. One night stand, forever, or goodbye. Nothing and no one is safe.
This week we are playing the most chaotic, most emotionally devastating version of F*ck, Marry, Kill you have ever witnessed. We are talking about our favourite MMCs
Salt, Sweet & Spicy Honey: An Exclusive Interview with UK Indie Author Juno Rose
This week on The Spicy Librarian Podcast we're sitting down with one of the UK's most exciting up and coming indie authors — Juno Rose. We're talking her debut novel Salt and Sweet, her next release Spicy Honey, an exclusive look at what's coming next, and of course things get completely unhinged along the way.
Juno Rose is a London-based indie author writing high heat contemporary romance with
June Reading Roundup: Dark Romance, Romantasy, Contemporary & More
The June reading roundup is here and we went wide this month — dark romance, romantasy, contemporary, beachy reads, and everything in between.
Dee and Katie are back with the book club picks, the reads that wrecked them, and the ones that surprised them most. Your TBR will not survive.
Yes we know it's not June anymore.
This month's book club brought us Branded by Saffron A. Kent, A Stage Set fo
The Least Competitive Game of Bookish Bingo
Bookish Bingo lands on The Spicy Librarian Podcast this week — and it turns out Dee and Katie are not even a little bit competitive. From sports romance to special editions, historical romance to books that made us ugly cry, we're covering every square on the card.
This week join Dee and Katie for a game of Bookish Bingo — who we found aren't at all competitive. We're working through the full ca
Book Recs 101 Part One: The Best Romantasy & Dark Romance
Your ultimate guide to romantasy and dark romance is here. The Spicy Librarian Podcast's Book Recs 101 is the episode every new and seasoned spicy reader needs. Whether you're just starting out or ready for the deep end, Dee and Katie have you completely covered.
Hold on to your TBRs because this week we are sitting down for a full hour of book recommendations- and we are not sorry about what we h
Telestrations: Dark Romance & Romantasy Tropes, Chaos & Bookish Mayhem
Dark romance and romantasy meets Telestrations on this week's Spicy Librarian - we're drawing tropes, guessing characters, and somehow attempting to pitch the next New York Times bestselling romance novel. We cover romantasy and dark romance rounds, weekly reading recaps, and watch the whole thing descend into glorious bookish chaos.
This week on Spicy Librarian, we played Telestrations, that rand
An Emotional Cream Pie and an Apology for Spoilers with No Promise Not to Spoil Again
The May book club is here and besties, this month's picks were a whole lot.
But first, we're pulling back the curtain on what is coming up for The Spicy Librarian. It's our birthday month in July, we have events in the pipeline, and things are getting very exciting around here. We are not ready to spill everything just yet but we wanted to bring you into it because you lot are the whole reason any
Slaglines: We Wrapped Books, We Gave Clues & Absolutely Nobody Was Helpful
Slaglines: We Wrapped Books, We Gave Clues & Absolutely Nobody Was Helpful
We invented a game. We wrapped books in brown paper, gave each other the most unhinged clues imaginable, and made each other guess the title. We're calling it Slaglines - a love letter to the tagline and an absolute disaster of an episode in the best possible way.
This week's lineup was a lot. We had a tattooed bad boy
Yes We're Late, No We Don't Care: The April Book Club Roundup
Look. It's the April book club roundup. We know. We're late. We're had a lot going on.
This month we went three very different directions and we have absolutely no regrets. We're talking Three Nights in Stockholm by Elizabeth Hardy — the snowed-in, slow burn, enemies to lovers romance that had us feral from page one. Then The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson — dark, twisty, and not what we exp
Billionaires, Big Feelings & Prime Video: T.L. Swan on New Releases, Amazon & All Things Contemporary Romance
She is one of the biggest names in contemporary romance, and this week she is sitting down with us on Spicy Librarian- and yes, we are absolutely fangirling.
T.L. Swan has built an empire of swoony, steamy, emotionally devastating contemporary romance- and the world is finally catching up. We are talking about her latest releases, including The Heart You Kept, the first in her brand new Kings of t
Judging A Box By Its Cover
We did it. Our very first Spicy Librarian subscription book box is here - and in this episode, we’re talking about ALL of it.
We’re taking you behind the scenes of what went into creating this box, what we wanted it to represent, what’s inside, and why we chose _*What We Need *_ by Lizzie Stanley as our very first pick. This project means so much to us, and we wanted to properly share the thought,
We're Back, We're Unhinged & We Have Plans: The TSL World Domination Update
Your favourite chaotic besties are back, and we have a LOT to talk about.
This episode is pure unfiltered Spicy Librarian- no books to review, no guests to impress, just us sitting down for a proper catch-up with the people who make this whole thing worth doing. That's you, by the way. We see you.
We're getting into all the exciting things we have cooking behind the scenes and trust us, the pipeli
This or That: Bookish Edition
This or that: bookish edition. We are settling scores today and we're serious about it. This is the most fun episode, and with your help, a segment we feel will be sticking around.
This episode we are playing the ultimate bookish this or that game, and the opinions were STRONG. Standalone or 5-part series? Rather meet your favourite author or character? and a bonus f*ck, marry, kill. We went thro
Our Summer TBR
Summer is coming and so is our reading list- but no, they aren't all beach reads.
Think less chilled rosé on a sun lounger, more completely feral about fictional men and refusing to put books down until 3 am. We know summer makes people think of light and breezy reads- but this is the Spicy Librarian, so this is less of a Summer TBR and more a list of books we are really freaking excited to read
1 * Reviews of Our 5 * Reads
You know that pain you feel when someone trashes your God Tier reads?
Yeah. That's this episode.
This week on Spicy Librarian we are facing it head-on- reading out the one-star reviews of our absolute five-star books and defending them to the community. Some of these reviewers had valid points. Some clearly had no idea what they were picking up. And some have a LOT of big feelings about books we w
Deliciously Deranged: CJ Riggs on Erotic Horror, Indie Hustle & Unhinged Creativity
*Content Warning*
We discuss themes of suicide, sexual violence and sexual assault within literary fiction.
This week on Spicy Librarian, Dee and Katie are joined by the wildly unapologetic CJ Riggs for an episode that is chaotic, hilarious, and just a little bit feral—in the best possible way.
CJ Riggs is redefining erotic horror, serving up stories that are equal parts spicy, disturbing,
Our Most Unpopular Book Opinions
We said what we said. And we are not taking it back.
This week on Spicy Librarian Podcast, Katie, Dee and backup, are doing something dangerous: sharing our most unpopular book opinions. The ones you whisper. The ones that get you cancelled in the group chat. We are saying them out loud, and we are standing by every single one.
We're getting into to whether or not we want Xaden to die? Is Throne o
March Book Club Round Up
Three books. Three genres. One episode that has absolutely everything.
This month's Spicy Librarian book club is serving a full course meal - we've got dark romance, romantasy, AND contemporary, and every single pick delivered.
First up, Bloody Black by Rhiannon Hargadon - a pirate dark fantasy retelling of Blackbeard that we did not see coming for us but here we are. Feminine rage, revenge, a slo
Green Flag or Red Flag? The Ultimate Romance Trope Debate
It's giving green flag. Actually no. RED FLAG. Actually… both??
This week on Spicy Librarian we are settling the debate once and for all — because we are taking the most iconic romance tropes and deciding, definitively, whether they are a green flag or a red flag. And yes, things got heated.
Enemies to lovers? Second chance romance? Instalove? The possessive MMC? We are going through them all, we
Where The Broken Belong: J Rose on Dark Romance, Broken Heroes & Why Choose
This week on Spicy Librarian, Dee and Katie are sitting down with the incredibly talented J Rose- UK indie author, dark romance queen, and the woman behind the internationally bestselling Blackwood Institute series. And yes, we are absolutely fangirling. J Rose writes challenging, plot-driven dark romance packed with angst, heartbreak, and broken characters fighting for their happily ever afters.
Our Most Unhinged Reads To Date...
We need to talk. Because this episode went fully, completely, unapologetically off the rails — and we are not sorry.
The episode you have all been waiting for, we are talking about the most chaotic, feral, and genuinely WHAT DID I JUST READ books we have ever picked up. Dark romance lovers, morally grey girlies, and "I read the trigger warnings and said yes anyway" readers — this one is absolute
February Book Club- Cici Williams' Melting Point (and exclusive interview)
Your favourite chaotic book besties are back!
There is so so much going on we can’t tell you fast enough, from book club and releasing new events and the fact we can’t keep books on the shelf for longer than 5 hours!
Keep your eyes on our socials and stay close. Don't say we didn't warn you. 👀
We've also got exciting reads lined up for future book clubs that we can't spill on just yet — but trust
The Romantasy Take Over: Fae Vs Feminism
Are you obsessed with morally grey love interests, enemies-to-lovers slow burns, and magic systems that somehow make you feel things? You're in the right place.
In this episode of Spicy Librarian, we're diving deep into the world of romantasy, where fantasy worldbuilding meets heart-racing romance, and unpacking what these stories really say about love, desire, and feminine rage. From fae courts t
Fuckadoodledo: We opened a shop
After the most chaotic week on record, we finally got to sit down and record in our brand new shop. The Spicy Librarian is officially open, up and running. Join D and Katie for a debrief of a chaotic, wholesome week and opening weekend!
Dark Romance: When problematic is the point...
Join D and Katie this week as they talk all things dark romance- from the rise of dark romance as it takes its place in traditional publishing to the power in reclaiming the narrative, we explore what dark romance means to us.
From BookTok to our Bookshelf: The chaos and community
This week, join D and Katie as they discuss all things BookTok and Bookstagram, the good, the bad, and the ugly; from influencer culture to demystifying indie publishing, the trends we've all seen (and loved to) and our dream fancasts. Enjoy this joyful and chaotic discussion of online communities and why we're all here.
January Book Club- B.A. Pepper's Daughter of Stone
Join us this week for our weekly catch-up and book club review of B. A. Pepper's Indie debut novel 'Daughter of Stone'
So you've read ACOTAR, now what?
This week, D and Katie break down all things romance, chat all things sub-genres and tropes, their favourites and what's on the TBR for '26.
Welcome to the Spicy Librarian & The Book Super Bowl 2025
Episode 1: Welcome to the first episode of The Spicy Librarian podcast! Join us as we discuss our top romance books for each month of 2025 and which book was voted Book of the Year by our online community
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