Bring Your Own: A Bookish Podcast

We are back rating our listeners top ten books of 2024 for us to judge! We go through each list and award a letter grade. Will we rate yours?Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPodFollow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we asked our listeners to submit their top ten books of 2024 for us to judge! We go through each list and award a letter grade. Will we rate yours? Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

It's that time! This week we reveal our individual top 10 books of the year lists for 2024! We share our honorable mentions before jumping into our top ten lists and sharing why these particular novels made the cut. We also list the books that are on our 2025 TBR! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Our Holiday Romance Novella roundtable is back! We each read a holiday novella to share with one another and take turns recapping our books in extreme detail. They all are equal parts festive, spicy, and weird. Major spoilers for the following: Elf'd by Ginger Kane Working The North Pole by J.M. ThymeFrisky The Snowman by Lauren Biel Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPodFollow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we share our favorite fictional families from recent books we've read and who'd we want to spend the holidays with! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

his week we reminisce on our previous Top 10 Books of the Year lists from 2021 and 2022 and discuss if they still hold up!Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we discuss our current audiobook listening habits, our favorite (and least favorite) narrators, and share some new recommendations!Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Spoilers for Ready or Not start at ~33:30Author Cara Bastone joins us today! She walks us through her writing journey, what goes into producing Audible Originals, how the idea of Ready or Not took shape, and much more! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

It's time to judge books by their covers! We run through a list of well known book-covers from the romance, ya and fantasy genres and deem if they're good, bad, or straight up not fun to look at. We also discuss if the books cover matches the tone and overall vibe of the story. To see some of our favorite books covers follow us on Instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Monster Romance Roundtable is back! This week we're joined by our friend / monster romance connoisseur Maya. We take turns explaining in excruciating detail the plots of three different monster romances hand-picked by our special guest! Follow Maya @Maya_reads_spiceMajor spoilers for the following monster romances: Caught By The Monster's Trap by Mei Kaera, Wed to The Orc by Layla Fae and Bigfoot's Bride by Candace Ayers.Follow us on Instagarm @BringYourOwnPodFollow Brandi @Brandos.booksFollow Kendra @Kendra.readzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.bookshelf

This week we chat with Haley from the Gilmore to Say podcast about the highs and lows of the bookish community. We discuss everything from booktok drama to whatever the hell is happening on Threads. Follow Haley! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

We're back with another tier ranking! We work together to rank popular enemies to lovers books that were submitted by our listeners! Follow us on Instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we go head to head in a fun 2v1 style bookish debate. We go through books that two of us loved and the other didn't (and vice versa) and discuss why our personal opinions on books are correct (or why the other opinions are wrong)! All is fair in friendship and books! Time stamps for books discussed:Slow Dance: 11:38, Lovelight Farms: 19:30, Georgie, All Along: 20:35, Seven Year Slip: 25:05, Infernal Devices: 32:23, This Summer Will Be Different: 42:45, Foxglove: 51:56.Follow us on Instagram @BringYourOwnPodFollow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we talk all about FanFiction! We discuss our favorite fandoms, ships and share which books we would write fanfic for! Follow us on Instagram @BringYourOwnPodFollow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

USA-Today Best-selling Author Tarah DeWitt joins us to talk about her recent release Savor It, and the re-releases of Funny Feelings and the Co-Op! She also teases what readers can expect from her forthcoming novel Left of Forever and plays a round of “Build of Romance Book.” Follow Tarah on Instagram! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Game Night is back! Join us as we play three bookish mini games: Quote Challenge, Guess Who, and Name a Book Based off the Trope! Play Along and see how many you can get right!!Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we yap all about Sports Romances! We share what we love about the genre, the things we could do without, and share our favorite recommendations. We also host a sports romance draft where we pick our fav fictional athletes and micro tropes. Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Welcome to season 4 of Bring Your Own! We're kicking things off by sharing the best books we read over break and recapping all our summer activities including our time spent at Steamy Lit Con! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

NYT Best Selling Author Lauren Asher is back to talk all things Love Unwritten! She walks us through what readers can expect from book 2 in the Lakefront Billionaires Series while plying a series of bookish mini-games!Spoilers from 32:00 - 45:53.Follow us on Instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we share our summer reading plans and goals as well as the books we think ecerything should be reading this season!Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we tackle tier-ranking popular Friends to Lovers books that our listeners submitted!Follow us on Instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we take turns reading 1 star reviews of our favorite books!Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This episode features MAJOR Spoilers for Magnolia Parks: Into The Dark by Jessa Hastings! Proceed with caution! Our beloved friend Kimmy from @kimmybookss is back to recap the recent Magnolia Parks Universe installment, Magnolia Parks: Into the Dark by Jessa Hastings. We talk in detail about the best, most jaw-dropping and tear-inducing moments, while stating our hopes for the rest of the series. For more of the infamous Kimmy follow her on Instagram.Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Part two of airing out our listener's unpopular bookish opinions! We discuss if we agree or disagree with your hot takes on narrators, book couples, tropes and more! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf [

Join us as we take turns revealing our first and favorite books of authors our listeners submitted! We then share books that we think are underrated, overrated, and perfectly rated! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Next in our Author Spotlight Series: #1 New York Times Bestselling author Abby Jimenez! We rank her characters and couples, have a spoiler-filled chat about her four recent novels, and end off with some trivia questions! Time Stamps: 9:00 -- non spoiler chat SPOILERS: 30:54 -- Life's Too Short 41:30 -- Part of Your World 53:04 -- Yours Truly 1:05:11 -- Just For The Summer Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Author Giana Darling (@gianadarlingauthor) is here for a fun bookish game night! We play three mini bookish games while Giana dishes about her latest releases and what's to come! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we're forced to work together and tier-rank popular fake-dating romance books. Spoiler Alert: We fight!Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPodFollow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we recap our time at the Sweetgrass, a romance book signing that took place in Charleston, South Carolina in March of 2024. We also share our personal Q1 reading journeys and which books are in the running for our top reads of the year so far. Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we take turns imagining some of our favorite books as movies! Brandi pitches Elissa Sussman's "Funny You Should Ask", Kayla does "Check & Mate" by Ali Hazelwood, and Kendra takes on "Ready or Not" by Cara Bastone. We fancast each book, and share are overall creative visions. Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

It's Draft Day! This week we each take turns drafting different romance books, book boyfriends, and book girlfriends to our respective teams. Follow @BringYourOwnPod to see our teams!Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Author Hannah Bonam-Young(@authorhannahby) is back for an epic bookish game night! We play three mini games while Hannah walks us through what life has been like re-releasing her Next Series with a traditional publisher. Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we air out our listener's unpopular bookish opinions! We discuss if we agree or disagree with your hot takes on 3rd act break ups, book ratings, and more! Huge shoutout to everyone who submitted as we couldn't get get through them all.Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPodFollow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Welcome to a brand new season of Bring Your Own! To kick off season 3 we're sharing our 2024 reading in's and out's alongside our bookish goals for the year. A new season also means new book recs! We each provide three books that everyone should have on their TBRs this year.Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we reveal our individual Top 10 Books of The Year Lists! We take turns counting down from 10 sharing why these books stood out to us in 2023, and list our honorable mentions as well! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

In honor of the holiday season, we each read a Holiday Romance Novella to share with each another!Full of vampires, tentacles, and elves, we each take take turns recapping our holiday romances in extreme (and at times uncomfortable) detail. MAJOR SPOILERS for the following Holiday Romances: - Haunted Holiday: A Vampire Romance by Mandy M. Roth - Tinsel & Tentacles by Kate McDarris - Seduced by Santa's Elves by Melanie Nyx Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Court is back in session as the Lovelight Farms series by B.K. Borison takes the stand. Major spoilers for all three books in the series (Lovelight Farms, In the Weeds, and Mixed Signals). This week Brandi and Kayla (the defense) talk about why Lovelight Farms is a series they always recommend to people, while Kendra (the prosecution) lays out all the reasons why the series wasn't for her. Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

SPOILERS FOR THE ENTIRE MAGNOLIA PARKS UNIVERSE SERIES BY JESSA HASTINGS! IF YOU HAVE NOT READ MAGNOLIA PARKS, DAISY HAITES, MP: THE LONG WAY HOME, & DH: THE GREAT UNDOING YOU WILL BE SPOILED FOR THE ENTIRE SERIES. THIS IS YOUR FIRST WARNING! This week we're joined by the one and only Kimmy from @kimmybookss to recap the Magnolia Parks Universe by Jessa Hastings. We reveal our favorite characters, the scenes that will stick with us for the rest of our lives, and bond over all the pain the series has caused us. We couldn't talk about this series without spoiling everything so we spoil everything!For more of the infamous Kimmy follow her on InstagramFollow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

SPOILERS FOR LOVE REDESIGNED START AT: ~31:12This week Lauren Asher is here to discuss her latest release Love Redesigned (Lakefront Billionaires #1). We chat about what goes into starting a new romance series, how life as an author has changed since dropping her first book and what goes into producing your own audiobooks. Lauren also gives us a sneak peak at what to expect from the next book in the Lakefront Billionaires series and plays a fun “Most Likely To…” game involving all of her characters. To keep up with all things Lauren Asher follow her on Instagram.Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Its Game Night! This Week we compete against one another while playing three bookish-themed mini games. Games include a Quote Challenge, Guess Who, and Name a Book based off a Trope. Play along and help determine the winner by the end of the episode! Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we're joined by our bookish bestie Selina (@bookish.sel) to recap the Fallen Men Series by Giana Darling. We take turns sharing our favorite books, couples, characters, spicy scenes and more in a hilarious spoiler-filled discussion. For more of the amazing Selina follow her on instagram! @bookish.sel Follow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

In honor of Halloween, we each read a Monster Romance to share with one another!Not a single moment is spared as we take turns recapping each book in excruciating detail from the incredible (and weird) monster smut to the plot points that made our jaws drop. MAJOR SPOILERS for the following Monster Romances: - Love, Laugh, Lich by Kate Prior- Sweet Berries by C.M. Nascosta - The Gargoyle's Captive by Kate RobertFollow us on instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week we each take turns building our own romance books! We list out which tropes we'd include, how steamy they'd be, and share our dream fan casts. If you could build your perfect romance novel what would it include? Let us know on our instagram @BringYourOwnPod Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week Elsie Silver drops by the pod to talk all things Chestnut Springs, how she crafts near perfect smut scenes, and what readers can expect from her latest release, Hopeless. She also give us a sneak peek at what's to come after the Chestnut Springs series and plays a fun "Who Said It?" game with us! Follow @BringYourOwnPod for more fun bookish content! Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Happy Fall! This week we're chatting all about Fantasy and Romantasy books! We share our fantasy starter packs, favorite fantasy couples, and hand out tons of recommendations along the way. We also (Kendra vs. Kayla and Brandi) get in a little spoiler-filled tussle over the Belladonna series by Adalyn Grace (25:22 - 29:45 if you want to skip).Keep up with the Pod on instagram (@bringyourownpod)Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Spoilers for the Right Move start at ~27:13This week Liz Tomforde (@liztomforde.author) is here! We chat all about the Windy City series, her life as an IRL flight attendant for a professional hockey team, and what readers can expect from her upcoming novel, Caught Up! (Windy City #3) Follow @BringYourOwnPod to see us gush more about The Windy City Series! Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week the men of BYO stop by the pod for a fun couples quiz! Hosted by Kendra, Brandi's boyfriend Daniel and Kayla's husband Jared take turns answering bookish questions about their partners. (Spoiler alert: they each struggle a lot) Follow @BringYourOwnPod for more fun bookish content! Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

This week Hannah Bonam-Young (@authorhannahby) drops by! We chat all about her hit summer novel, Out on A Limb, how she got started in the world of indie publishing with The Next Series, and where to find a man who will treat you right (hint: it involves dice)!Follow @BringYourOwnPod to see us talk about Out On A Limb and more of our fav romances of the year! Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra @Kendra.ReadzFollow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Court is now in session; beware of MAJOR spoilers for How To Fake It in Hollywood starting at ~14:30 This week How To Fake it in Hollywood by Ava Wilder is on trial as the first installment of Defend a Book takes place. Brandi and Kayla (the prosecution) express why this book was a miss for them, while Kendra (the defense) explains why HTFFIH is one of her favorite books of the year. Follow @BringYourOwnPod to see more of our fav celebrity romances! Follow Brandi @Brandos.Books Follow Kendra @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Mazey Eddings stops by the pod! We fangirl over her adult contemporary romance series “A Brush With Love” (which everyone should read, btw!), discuss neurodiverse joy, sex positivity, and how the heck Mazey managed to break into publishing while being a full-time dental student. Mazey also spills all the tea on her newest release, “Tilly In Technicolor” & tells us what readers can expect from her upcoming 2024 sapphic romance, “Late Bloomer”!Read Tilly In Technicolor Pre-Order Late Bloomer Follow Mazey on Instagram @MazeyEddings Follow @BringYourOwnPod to see our favorite Mazey Eddings Quotes Follow Brandi @Brandos.BooksFollow Kendra On Instagram @Kendra.Readz Follow Kayla on Instagram @Kaylas.Bookshelf

Welcome to season 2! We're kicking things off this season by discussing our summer 2023 reading journeys. Find out our top reads of the season, the books that disappointed us the most, which new authors we're obsessed with, and more!Follow the podFollow BrandiFollow KaylaFollow Kendra