{"podcast":{"title":"What to Read Next — Book Recommendations for Romance, Thrillers & Escape Reads","slug":"what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873","podcast_index_feed_id":9873,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/whattoreadnext/","website_url":"http://www.whattoreadnextblog.com","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/f7acd6df-7bd5-4b9f-bdcd-cc1c6c790629/4osSDj37v6rAcBIBBysi07ET.png","author":"Laura R Yamin","episode_count":928,"summary":"You know you want to read. You just don't know what. What to Read Next is the podcast for readers who love romance, thrillers, and women's fiction — and spend more time staring at their TBR than actually reading it. I'm Laura, and twice a week I bring you book recommendations built around one thing: how you actually feel right now. Not what's new. Not what's trending. The right book for this exact mood, this exact moment, this exact week of your life. Some weeks that means asking an author what they read for joy — not what they wrote, but what they reach for when they need to escape. Their answer is always your next discovery. Some weeks it means me telling you exactly what I read, what stayed with me, what I DNF'd at 40% and why, and which one I'd press into your hands right now if we were having coffee. Romance across every subgenre. Psychological thrillers. Beach reads with actual substance. Women's fiction that makes you feel seen. The books that give you the escape you came for — and a few that'll quietly change how you see things too. New episodes every Monday and Wednesday. The Reading Receipt — my weekly reading log — drops every Thursday on Substack. Start anywhere. The r…","last_synced_at":"2026-07-30T20:17:08.396085+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873"},"episode":{"title":"She Wrote Her Debut at 18 — Now It's a Viral Romantasy Series | Powerless by Lauren Roberts","slug":"she-wrote-her-debut-at-18-now-it-s-a-viral-romantasy-series-powerless-by-lauren-roberts","published_at":"2026-05-21T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873/she-wrote-her-debut-at-18-now-it-s-a-viral-romantasy-series-powerless-by-lauren-roberts","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873","url":"http://www.whattoreadnextblog.com","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/d7f40372-dd2e-40e9-8b20-13bd0b883b4c.mp3","summary":"This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. She wrote her debut novel at 18, self-published it, went viral on TikTok — and now she's a Simon & Schuster author with a dramatized audiobook. Lauren Roberts is living proof that passion plus scrappiness can take you very, very far. In this episode, Lauren breaks down the wild origin story behind Powerless — from pitching the idea live on TikTok to Googling her way through ISBN numbers and copyright filings. We talk about what makes the Powerless trilogy so addictive (enemies to lovers! forbidden romance! high-stakes trials!), the incredible new dramatized audiobook of Powerless , and the literary fiction authors who are quietly shaping Lauren's writing voice. Whether you're a romantasy superfan or just looking for your next unputdownable series, this one's for you. 📚 Books Mentioned Powerless by Lauren Roberts — Buy on Amazon | Romantasy / YA Fantasy | Audio ✅( Dramatized Audiobook available! ) Reckless by Lauren Roberts — Buy on Amazon | Romantasy / YA Fantasy | Audio ✅ Fearless by Lauren Roberts — Buy on Amazon | Romantasy / YA Fantasy | Audio ✅ Alone With You in the Ether by Olivie Blake — Buy on Amazon | Literary Fiction / Romance | Audio ✅ Masters of Death by Olivie Blake — Buy on Amazon | Literary Fiction / Fantasy | Audio ✅ One Dark Window by Rachel Gillig — Buy on Amazon | Gothic Fantasy | Audio ✅ Vicious by V.E. Schwab — Buy on Amazon | Dark Fantasy | Audio ✅ Dance of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson — Buy on Amazon | Fantasy / Romantasy (Duology) | Audio ✅ ⏱️ Timestamps [00:00] Welcome & introducing Lauren Roberts [00:45] Lauren's background — writing at 18 and the TikTok origin story [02:30] Figuring out self-publishing from scratch (ISBNs, copyright, e…","meta_description":"This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. She wrote her debut novel at 18, self-published it,…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1073,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873/episodes/she-wrote-her-debut-at-18-now-it-s-a-viral-romantasy-series-powerless-by-lauren-roberts/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873/she-wrote-her-debut-at-18-now-it-s-a-viral-romantasy-series-powerless-by-lauren-roberts.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}