{"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":"Writing Romance from Venezuela with Maria José Morillo  |  Celebrity RomCom","slug":"writing-romance-from-venezuela-with-maria-jos-morillo-celebrity-romcom","published_at":"2026-02-18T10:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/what-to-read-next-book-recommendations-for-romance-thrillers-escape-reads-9873/writing-romance-from-venezuela-with-maria-jos-morillo-celebrity-romcom","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/9140af91-7409-4109-8ce3-7b8f8e357613.mp3","summary":"This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What happens when a swoony rom-com set in Venezuela meets fake dating, music, and telenovela-level drama? I’m joined by debut author Maria José Morillo to talk about romance, bilingual reading, and writing against the odds. In this episode, I’m chatting with Maria José Morillo , a Venezuelan author making her Big Five debut with The Ex-Perimento . We talk about growing up bilingual, discovering romance through Harry Potter and Twilight , and what it means to write English-language romance from Venezuela. We also dive into celebrity rom-com tropes, Latin American pop culture (yes, Miss Universe matters), and how Maria José went from fanfiction to landing a traditional publishing deal. If you love high-concept rom-coms, global romance, or behind-the-scenes publishing journeys, this episode is for you. 📚 Books Mentioned The Ex-Perimento by Maria José Morillo — Contemporary Romance | Celebrity Romance You Deserve Each Other by Sarah Hogle — Rom-Com | Enemies-to-Lovers People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry — Friends-to-Lovers | Travel Romance Happy Place by Emily Henry — Second-Chance Romance | Emotional Romance The Sun and the Void by Gabriela Romero-Lacruz — Fantasy | Venezuelan Folklore Bochica by Carolina Florez -Cerchiaro — Gothic Horror | Latin American Folklore ⏱️ Episode Timestamps [00:00] Welcome & why Venezuela pop culture feels familiar [02:00] Becoming a reader through Harry Potter [05:00] Switching from Spanish to English reading [07:00] E-reading vs physical books outside the U.S. [09:00] From fanfiction to writing original romance [12:00] Why writing in English opened publishing doors [15:00] The book that didn’t sell — and why that matters [17:00] T…","meta_description":"This post contains affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. What happens when a swoony rom-com set in Venezuela…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1826,"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/writing-romance-from-venezuela-with-maria-jos-morillo-celebrity-romcom/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/writing-romance-from-venezuela-with-maria-jos-morillo-celebrity-romcom.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}