Pretty Mess Reading Podcast: Where Romance Gets Messy

Somebody come help Jamie McGuire's white son! He is suffering!  Being a rich, white male is fucking up his life - according to his mother. I tried to have a civil conversation with her. I had hope that something I said resonated with her. I thought we were really getting somewhere. That was a NEGATIVE! When I went back to her post to reply to something, I saw that wasn't the case and decided to stop commenting. One of my blogger friends asked if I would do a podcast about this whole thing considering I'm known for being pretty messy. I have always steered clear of social issues on this podcast because this is a place to discuss books. However, since this is involving a well-known romance author, whose books I read, I made an exception. Let's get into it, shall we. . .

As a reader we often find ourselves wanting to dive into a book when we really need to focus on our daily lives. I know I do. Over the years I've struggled to finding a balance between wanting to read and wanting to be present in whatever I'm doing. There are 5 things that I have implicated into my life to keep an even balance and I'm sharing those with you today. I hope you enjoy.

Todays episode is all about When They See Us, a Netflix limited series. I sit down with my 13 y/o son and husband to discuss the importance of this series and how it affects our lives personally. I urge you to listen with open ears and minds.

Todays episode is all about When They See Us, a Netflix limited series. I sit down with my 13 y/o son and husband to discuss the importance of this series and how it affects our lives personally. I urge you to listen with open ears and minds.

Today's episode is all about When They See Us, a Netflix limited series. I sit down with my 13 y/o son and husband to discuss the importance of this series and how it affects our lives personally. I urge you to listen with open ears and minds.

I'm back!!! It feels so good to record podcast again.  On today's episode, my husband and I are discussing an issue that came up regarding authors who dismiss the LGBTQ communities feelings regarding writing stories with gay or lesbian characters. We also discuss why some authors feel their books with black women on the cover do not sale as well as the other books. I'm also going to share some of the books that I have been reading by authors of color.  Fair warning - My husband's Scottish accent is very strong. 

Before you listen to this podcast I want to inform you a few things. I curse. . . a lot. I say bitch. . . a lot. I think Faleena Hopkins may need mental help. . . I could be wrong. My husband has a strong accent and I hope you can understand him ok. I asked him to tone that accent down for the podcase and hopefully he does. Faleena Hopkins decided to trademark the word "cocky" to protect her brand - or so she says. I'm not buying it. 

Hey lovers!!! If you haven't read The Idea Of You by Robinne Lee - I have no idea what you are doing with your life. I can say The Idea Of You is one of those books that will always stay with me and I recommend for all of my reading friends.  I had the privilege to chat with Robinne Lee about The Idea Of You, her acting career, what's she's working on and what we can look forward to in the future from her.  Enjoy!

Since becoming a blogger I have often wondered if I'm appreciated within the book world. Sometimes I feel like I am being taken advantage of.  Bloggers work very hard to put out quility reviews for books but we do we get out of it? I personally enjoy blogging so I guess you can say it makes me happy. What I don't enjoy is the behind the scene bullshit that goes on. I don't like PR companies dictating when I should do something all because they sent me a free ebook. I don't like being "blacklisted" because I didn't post or review something in their timeframe. PR companies get paid from the authors. Bloggers do not. Bloggers blog because we want to. Right now, for me, blogging is starting to feel like a unpaid job. I'm being pimped out. I'm tired of being used and I thought it would be interesting to hear my beautiful sister's opinion on the matter. Take a listen.

Welcome to the very first episode of Pretty Messy Monday's!  Pretty Messy Monday's is the place I get to come to and talk as much shit as I want. I guess I do that anyway's but here I am going to focus on characters from stories that I am not ready to let go of for many reasons. But today's episode is going to be more personal. I was blocked on social media from L.J. Shen - who used to be one of my favorite authors until she decided to go and get petty. She took it upon herself to send people nasty messages about me and my blog and it's only fair that I get a chance to tell my side of the story. I have supported this little girl's books for the longest time but because she didn't like a review I gave her for a book of hers, I became enemy number one. Don't try to come for me and expect me not to have something to say about it. I didn't think my review was that bad. I guess some people are just sensitive. If you are going to be in the entertain business then you need to thicker skin. Here's what happens when you dislike a book of someone that you are "cool" with. This is why I don't like getting close with authors. I will not be used! 

I was asked to do a podcast on my least favorite reads of 2017. In this episode I talk about 4 books I could not stand last year. I had a lot of fun recording this podcast because I got to get as messy as I wanted to. I'm a bit messy and pretty petty here but I have valid reasons. I hope you all enjoy!!!!! Those 4 books are. . . Hit The Spot by J. Daniels The Unrequited by Saffron A. Kent A Thousand Letters by Staci Hart Destroyed by Pepper Winters

Everybody needs time to sit back, drink, and talk shit with their girlfriends. That is just what Jill Mac and I did. We both got ahold of our favorite cocktail and talked about all things book. We went beyond messy talk and ended up bringing up all kinds of dirt and our experiences as bloggers. I can't tell you guys how much fun it was. Fingers cross that you enjoy listening just as much as we enjoyed recording it.

Chatting with other book lovers is one of my favorite past-times. I get a chance to be unapologetically book crazy without judgement. I had the pleasure of meeting Sophie and Ramona when I first started blogging and I refuse to let them go. In this episode, I get the chance to converse with these tow lovely ladies about all things books. We cover a range of topics from what we didn't finish, who our favorite authors are, our favorite books and series. I tried my best to cover as much fun stuff as I could considering we have over two hours of audio that had to edited. So you all enjoy!

I just had so much more that I needed to say about The Idea Of You by @RobinneLee so I decided to do a 5 Minute Book Review to chat with everyone about it. If you haven't read this book - you need to. If you don't like, oops. . . my bad. I hope you won't hate me because I love you.  I often find songs that sum up the book at the end of Sometimes I Cry by Eric Benét is how I could envision Hayes at the end of everything. 

For whatever reason, there seems to be a divide among book bloggers, booktubers, and book podcasting and I don't like it. I believe that we all play a very special role in the book community and it's time we come together. I enjoy booktubers, I think what they do is fucking dope. I wanted to chat with Desiree from Unbound Book Reviews because she's just a doll and I enjoy watching her videos. I thought it would be fun to just chat like girlfriends to show the world that we can all work together and enjoy each other's time and energy. Take a listen. . .

Today is all about the sex scenes in romance audio books. I don’t know about everyone else but listening to them can be funny as fuck. I thought it might be fun to record myself listening to a few. Also, I was able to get my husband to join in on the conversation too. Take a listen and let me know your thoughts on the matter.

Yes, compromising positions. Too many bloggers and reviewers are in compromising positions. As bloggers and reviewers start to create relationships with authors and others in the book world, do you think they have become less trust worthy? Can readers really believe reviews anymore? Has the world of blogging and reviewing become more of promoting books vs. being honest? The hubby and I have a quick chat. Well, he’s chatting – I’m ranting and being messy.

Welcome to Pretty Mess Reading’s first episode. I am so excited to start this new adventure into the world of podcasting. To kick things off, my first episode is with my wonderful husband, Andrew. I want to share a piece of me and my world with everyone so you can get to know the woman behind the words.