Hey readers! We’re excited to continue our dark academia theme this week with the first episode of If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio! It’s a completely different vibe this time around - and we’re wondering how this is going to play out just as much as the characters.

This week we’re introducing the main characters and starting out with a bang. Why is Oliver in jail and did he really do it? Who will meet their end… and how does the lives of these seven students completely upend so quickly, when they work together so well?

And please.. Someone familiar with Shakespeare throw us a bone! I guess “Confusion now hath made his masterpiece” because this week we’re thrown into the fire with little to guide us! If you’ve got some guidance, leave a comment. Join us this week on the Midnight Reader’s Podcast.

Let us know your feelings too in the comments! Join the discussion. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Youtube @themidnightreaderspodcast.

Interested in more from us? You can also read our stream-of-consciousness reactions to the reading and show notes and see what didn't make it to the show on our Patreon now. And consider joining our growing community there for other bonus content, chaos and more.

Spoiler warnings below!

Hey readers~ What do we love about our beloved fantasy female main characters? What do we hate? Are there tropes that we love to see every time, or that turn us away immediately? We wanted to talk about some of our favorite MCs (mostly in the Maasverse) from the past seasons and alike.

As we prepare ourselves for the new ACOTAR novel, we’ve been reflecting a lot on the book women we love and what they mean to us. If only we had done this episode after Blood Over Bright Haven - I definitely would’ve talked about Sciona!

Who would you throw in the ring? As usual...It got crazy by the end. Join us for a bonus episode as we discuss our favorite characters and some of the moments that have stood out to us from our favorite fantasy books (and a lot of Throne of Glass / Aelin love!).

Let us know your feelings too in the comments! Join the discussion and let us know what you think. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Youtube @themidnightreaderspodcast.

Interested in more from us? You can also read our stream-of-consciousness reactions to the reading and show notes and see what didn't make it to the show on our Patreon now. And consider joining our growing community there for other bonus content and more.

Spoiler warnings: All Sarah J Maas books, Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thompson series, the Zodiac Academy series, The Empyrean (Fourth Wing) Series, and the Twilight series.

We’re back this week for the finale of Blood Over Bright Haven with an emotional rollercoaster of a finish! After the shocking revelations of the previous chapters, Sciona comes up with her final plan to truly stick it to the stuffy mages in the Magistry.

But how does this end? We don’t want to spoil it here but we were left totally wanting more. Sciona truly shocked us all at the end and we had so many feelings about it.

Let us know your feelings too in the comments! Join the discussion and let us know what you think. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Youtube @themidnightreaderspodcast.

Interested in more from us? You can also read our stream-of-consciousness reactions to the reading and show notes and see what didn't make it to the show on our Patreon now. And consider joining our growing community there for other bonus content and more.

Hey readers~ This week we’re getting into the nitty gritty of some more morality struggles through the lens of Sciona in Blood Over Bright Haven. Now that Sciona has faced the worst of herself (and Tiran), how will she grow from here?

Or… will she? Sciona’s character is going to have to make some difficult decisions, all while she’s dealing with the trials of being a woman in STEM.

In this episode we discuss some heavy-hitting moral issues and also laugh over our own imagined versions of the characters.

Stay tuned till the end for some completely off-the-rails goofery, which we needed after discussing this section of Blood Over Bright Haven!! Join the discussion and let us know what you think. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Youtube @themidnightreaderspodcast.

Interested in more from us? You can also read our stream-of-consciousness reactions to the reading and show notes and see what didn't make it to the show on our Patreon now. And consider joining our growing community there for other bonus content and more.

Hey readers! This week the stakes are already rising high for Sciona and Thomil in Tiran. Blood Over Bright Haven has blown us away with its unique magic system and storytelling - but now the characters are taking center stage and our hearts are heavy with anticipation and emotion.

We get into it this week while discussing Tiranish belief systems - maybe we were a little harsh on Brittany (and Sciona)? You be the judge. We love a good debate and a thought-provoking book… You be the judge.

Tune in this week as we discuss the reveal of what Blight truly is and how Sciona’s world comes crashing down around her.

who she might consider to be out of his league. But is he? Thomil has got something up his sleeve too.

This is the beginning of a rich world with intense discussions about religion, classism, and equality. Join us this week! And let us know what you think. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Youtube @themidnightreaderspodcast.

Interested in more from us? You can also read our stream-of-consciousness reactions to the reading and show notes and see what didn't make it to the show on our Patreon now. And consider joining our growing community there for other bonus content and more.

Hey readers~ We’re back with a bang! This week we dig into the first section of M. L. Wang’s amazing fantasy book Blood Over Bright Haven, a fun, lore-heavy dark academia novel packed with magic and feminism.

Sciona Freynan is about to prove everyone wrong by being the first woman mage to pass the university exam and become an Highmage - but not without any pushback. The other highmages are not exactly happy to have a woman joining their midst, but she’s used to that.

What really surprises her is the ally she makes by being forced to partner with a Kwen - an outsider - who she might consider to be out of his league. But is he? Thomil has got something up his sleeve too.

This is the beginning of a rich world with intense discussions about religion, classism, and equality. Join us this week! And let us know what you think.

You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Youtube @themidnightreaderspodcast. You can also join our growing community on Patreon for bonus content and more.

📕💀🕯️Hey, readers - this week we’re taking some time to discuss our upcoming season of standalones only. Instead of choosing a full series this time around, each of us have chosen a book to review and discuss. We ended up with a dark academia vibe, which we are not upset about at all.

Join us to discuss our choices for the upcoming season: Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang, If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio, and The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova! Are you excited for these reads? What are your favorite standalones?

Tell us what you think. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Youtube @themidnightreaderspodcast. You can also join our growing community on Patreon for bonus content and more.

Listeners! This week we're reacting to the interview that shook the book community. That's right. We FINALLY got ACOTAR news.

From lore hints and cryptic answers to moments that had us pausing the audio to go, "Wait. WHAT?", this interview had the fandom buzzing, and so we obviously had to weigh in.

Did we learn anything new? Maybe. Did we spiral into theories? Absolutely. Was it informative? Debatable. But was it entertaining? Absolutely.

We're overanalyzing, theorizing, spiraling, and we hope that you join us on the crazy train. So grab your red string board because the speculation is getting out of hand...just like us.

So are you excited for the upcoming books? What about what SJM revealed about her personal life? What are your theories about whose story will take center stage in ACTOAR 5? 6? 7? Whatever number it is...

Let us know your thoughts in the comments. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Threads and Youtube @themidnightreaderspodcast. You can also join our growing community on Patreon for bonus content and more.