{"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":"Speak Now: The Queer Audio Rom-Com You Need to Hear | Author Interview with Ash Perez","slug":"speak-now-the-queer-audio-rom-com-you-need-to-hear-author-interview-with-ash-perez","published_at":"2026-05-07T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873/speak-now-the-queer-audio-rom-com-you-need-to-hear-author-interview-with-ash-perez","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/91e7fb98-22c9-4f45-ae22-994c464010bb.mp3","summary":"This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What if a rom-com could feel like a movie in your ears ? That's exactly what debut novelist and TV screenwriter Ash Perez set out to create with Speak Now, and you are going to want to listen to this one. In this episode, Laura chats with Ash Perez about Speak Now , an audio-first queer rom-com published by Simon & Schuster featuring a full cast of actors, sound effects, and production that rivals a Hollywood film. Born out of the 2023 writer's strike, Speak Now blends Ash's screenwriting background with a lifelong love of 90s/early 2000s rom-coms. Think second-chance romance, Nancy Meyers vibes, a luxury hotel kitchen, and a HEA you absolutely deserve. This episode is perfect for audiobook lovers, rom-com fans, and anyone who's been sleeping on audio-first fiction. 📚 Books Mentioned Speak Now by Ash Perez — Buy on Amazon | Queer Rom-Com | Audio ✅ (Audio-first/only; also available via Spotify Premium and library request) Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket — Buy on Amazon | Literary Fiction/Novella | Audio ✅ Murder Bot Diaries series by Martha Wells — Buy on Amazon | Science Fiction | Audio ✅ Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston — Buy on Amazon | Queer Rom-Com | Audio ✅ The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster — Buy on Amazon | Classic Fiction | Audio ✅ ⏱️ Timestamps [00:00] Welcome & introduction to Ash Perez [00:45] What is Speak Now ? Audio-first rom-com explained [01:30] How the 2023 writer's strike led to this book [03:15] Why rom-coms & audio are a perfect pairing [05:00] Co-directing the production & what it felt like [05:45] The plot of Speak Now : queer second-chance romance, chef, boutique hotel [07:00] Casting a queer audio romanc…","meta_description":"This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What if a rom-com could feel like a movie in your e…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1255,"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/speak-now-the-queer-audio-rom-com-you-need-to-hear-author-interview-with-ash-perez/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/speak-now-the-queer-audio-rom-com-you-need-to-hear-author-interview-with-ash-perez.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}