Book Club for Girls that Want to Make Friends and Drink Wine

Kitty, one of our wonderful members, has set up an amazing event for us book lovers! Please come out to support :) Here's the full details:

Welcome to Beyond the Covers: Bookfair for Adults at Social Beer Garden HTX in Houston, TX! Join us on Fri May 09 2025 at 6:00 PM for a night of literary fun and socializing!
Remember the pure joy of flipping through those Scholastic Book Fair catalogs, circling everything you wanted, and begging your parents for just one more book? Now imagine that—WITH COCKTAILS.
Join us for the ultimate nostalgic, bookish night out at Social Beer Garden HTX on Thursday, May 9th, from 6-10 PM, where we’re bringing back the magic of book fairs—all grown-up.

WHAT TO EXPECT:

Local indie bookstores & bookish vendors
Author signings & meet-and-greets
Flash tattoos for the bold book lovers
Literary-themed cocktails to sip while you shop
Food trucks serving up delicious bites
Surprises & giveaways all night long

AND the best part? A portion of proceeds benefits BE A Resource (BEAR) Houston, supporting kids in the foster care system.
This is NOT your childhood book fair—it’s better. Whether you were a Goosebumps kid, a Babysitters Club devotee, or just here for the fancy stickers, this is your chance to relive the magic. Bring your friends, your TBR list, and get ready to shop, sip, and celebrate your love of all things literary.

Share your book besties, RSVP now, and let’s make this event one for the books!

At our recent meeting, a few of us were wanting a more "female revenge fantasy" type-read, so per our Discord vote results, here we go!

Please make sure you join us on Discord to discuss our latest reads and vote on our upcoming ones! Discord link here: https://discord.gg/DENJYC7NAH

Full synopsis:

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Per our Discord vote, let's read the latest Emily Henry book! Excited for this one :)

Full Synopsis:

Two writers compete for the chance to tell the larger-than-life story of a woman with more than a couple of plot twists up her sleeve in this dazzling and sweeping new novel from Emily Henry.

Alice Scott is an eternal optimist still dreaming of her big writing break. Hayden Anderson is a Pulitzer-prize winning human thundercloud. And they’re both on balmy Little Crescent Island for the same reason: To write the biography of a woman no one has seen in years--or at least to meet with the octogenarian who claims to be the Margaret Ives. Tragic heiress, former tabloid princess, and daughter of one of the most storied (and scandalous) families of the 20th Century.

When Margaret invites them both for a one-month trial period, after which she’ll choose the person who’ll tell her story, there are three things keeping Alice’s head in the game.

One: Alice genuinely likes people, which means people usually like Alice—and she has a whole month to win the legendary woman over.

Two: She’s ready for this job and the chance to impress her perennially unimpressed family with a Serious Publication

Three: Hayden Anderson, who should have no reason to be concerned about losing this book, is glowering at her in a shaken-to-the core way that suggests he sees her as competition.

But the problem is, Margaret is only giving each of them pieces of her story. Pieces they can’t swap to put together because of an ironclad NDA and an inconvenient yearning pulsing between them every time they’re in the same room.

And it’s becoming abundantly clear that their story—just like the tale Margaret’s spinning—could be a mystery, tragedy, or love ballad…depending on who’s telling it.

Alllllllright--since everyone said they were ready for an unhinged read--let's dip our toes into some (light) dark romance with a lot of (dark) humor. I honestly found myself laughing out loud at various points in this book so at this point I'm selfishly asking others to read it to make sure I'm not crazy lol!

I believe the audiobook is readily available on Hoopla at this time and I will say it is very well done! I enjoyed the dual narration style :)

Also, fair warning, this book has a lot of spice. So, if you're doing audiobook, make sure those headphones are plugged in! lol

Please read with care--this book does touch on some topics that some people may choose to avoid, which is perfectly fine! I am sandwiching this book between two contemporary romances so if this isn't your speed, we will hopefully see you at the next meeting! The book provides trigger warnings at the beginning, and you can also Google - if you want to be sure you avoid spoilers, you can always send me a PM and I'm happy to discuss with you :)

Full Synopsis:

“I don’t need another kink.”

That thought pops into my head whenever I pull up my favorite social media app, but alas, every time I scroll, I learn something new about myself, and another one is born. And yes, I know I’m responsible for what the algorithm shows me, but I’m trying to ignore that fact.

Lately, my feed has been dominated by masked men. I’ve favorited videos with them dressed in full cosplay, decked out in futuristic military apparel, and wrapped up like ghouls.

But more than anything else, my FYP is filled with shirtless men wearing ghost masks. Bonus points if they’re heavily tattooed, wielding a knife, or covered in fake blood. At night, I dream about being chased by them, of them catching me and doing deliciously dark things to my more than willing body.

I never could have guessed that by sending one drunken text, those dreams would become my new reality.

Lights Out is a fast-paced dark romance with a morally grey male lead. Some themes and scenes may be disturbing to readers. Please check the TWs at the beginning of the book.