I'm Not The Book Expert... But She Is

We wrap up our discussion on Battle of the Labyrinth (Chapters 12-20), starting with Percy’s return to Camp Half-Blood. Romance, betrayal, and epic battles await!

This episode also features special guest star Cash the Dog, who would not leave Rachel alone. (You will hear him chewing on his chew toy in the background.)

We’re back with another a-maze-ing episode for the first half of The Battle of the Labyrinth. Annabeth is leading her first quest, and plenty of twists and turns await.

It's the moment you've all been waiting for, listeners! Today, Maggie and Rachel share their thoughts on the first teaser trailer for the Disney+ adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. We have a lot to say (and a few theories to share).

Maggie and Rachel discuss the last chapters of The Titan’s Curse. Tears will be shed.

Book content warnings:

And we’re back from our hiatus! Thanks to all of you loyal listeners for sticking with us. In Part 2 of the Titan’s Curse, we reach the middle of the novel and our gang of heroes has a pretty wild encounter (pun intended).

We discuss the beginning of The Titan’s Curse, in which a rescue mission goes horribly wrong, Annabeth is taken captive by the enemy, and two gods swoop in to save the day… a little too late. We might have some rants about that.

We talked so long we had to split our episodes into three parts! Join Maggie, Rachel, and Lydia as we wrap up our discussion on The Sea of Monsters. As a bonus (?), we also go on a very long tangent about Six of Crows.

NOTE: This episode does include some brief spoilers for later Percy Jackson books, The Trials of Apollo, and Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom. 

Rachel, Maggie, and Lydia continue their discussion on second half of the Sea of Monsters! In this episode, Rachel misses her first trivia question (gasp) and we talk about Ares going to anger management classes (he should). Percy and Annabeth face plenty of fearsome foes in these chapters, and this is an episode you won’t want to miss!

P.S. Happy Birthday, Percy! (August 18)

Book trigger warnings:

Rachel, Maggie, and special guest Lydia embark on a new quest into the Sea of Monsters in this week’s episode. We meet new friends and foes, discuss how our protagonists have changed since the previous book, and rant about snakes.

Book trigger warnings:

It’s time to take a trip to Browadway! In this special episode, we talk about the musical adaptation of The Lightning Thief and how it compares to the book it’s based on. We’ll share our favorite moments, the most touching lyrics, and a few rants along the way.

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We’re on our way to the Underworld in this week’s podcast episode! As we wrap up our discussion on The Lightning Thief, we’ll yell about bad fathers, get defensive about antagonists, cry over character growth, and just generally have a lot of feelings. It’s still a good time though, so we hope you’ll join us on this visit to Camp Half-Blood!

It’s time to dive into the first book of the Percy Jackson series! Our hero finds himself trapped in an argument between two very powerful gods, and the only way for him to succeed is by traveling to the Underworld. In our discussion of the first half of The Lightning Thief, we chat about life at Camp Half-Blood, rant about the American education system, and share our headcanons about a few favorite characters.

The podcast is back with a brand-new season on Percy Jackson & The Olympians! In this episode, Rachel and Maggie talk about how we were each introduced to the series, who our godly parent might be if we were demigods, and share our thoughts on the cast (so far) of the upcoming Disney+ adaptation.

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We’ve reached the end of our first season! In this wrap-up episode, Rachel and Maggie rank all of the books we read together, discuss our overall impressions of these duologies, and share what we plan to do during our break between seasons.

Thank you so much to all of our listeners for following us on this journey! We’ll be back again soon to bring you Season 2: Percy Jackson & The Olympians.

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The time has come: We’re wrapping up our discussion of The Faithless Hawk! Join us as we chat about the last two thirds of the book, and share our favorite moments from the duology. If you haven’t listen to Part 1 yet, make sure you do so before listening to this episode!

Now that Fie has brought Tavin and Jasimir to Master General Draga, she can finally return to her roads and deliver mercy to the plague infected. Join Rachel, Maggie, and returning guest Leah again this week as we revisit our favorite character, meet some new faces, and cry. A lot.

After things go south, Fie, Tavin, and Jasimir are left to make their way to safety alone. We continue our discussion of The Merciful Crow, where we talk relationships, admire scary sword ladies, and debate whether or not Jasimir needs to be slapped (spoiler: the verdict is yes).

Maggie, Rachel, and special guest Leah dive headfirst into The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen. We talk about found family, girls who commit arson, and spoiled princes. We also declare our love of sword boys.

We talked so long we had to split this episode into two parts! Tune in next week for Part 2!

Good news: Crime is gone! Bad news: it’s because of mind control. This week, Maggie and Rachel continue the Warcross duology with its sequel, Wildcard. Hideo’s algorithm now controls most of the world population, and Emika is determined to stop him. But with a bounty on her head, she’ll need to find new allies in unlikely places. We’ll talk about the scenes that surprised us the most, the morality of mind control, and what might be our favorite ship of the series (hint: it’s not who you think it is!)

Grab your VR goggles, because it’s time for a brand new episode! This week, we’re reading Warcross by Marie Lu, set in a world where virtual reality is a part of everyday life. After accidentally hacking into the system, bounty hunter Emika Chen catches the eye of its creator, Hideo Tanaka - and he has an important job for her. Tune in to hear our thoughts, what position we’d play in a game of Warcross, and more!

Five years after Eli and Victor’s final confrontation, a new EO is on the rise in Merit, and she is out for revenge. Join Maggie and Rachel this week as we discuss Vengeful, the sequel to Vicious (and only get sidetracked about a hundred times along the way).

(Also, Maggie kept hitting her microphone during the recording, and she apologizes profusely.)

What happens when two college students decide to turn their research from theoretical into experimental? This week, Maggie, Rachel, and special guest Charmaine discuss Vicious by V.E. Schwab and declare our undying love for Victor Vale.

This week, Rachel and Maggie discuss One of Us Is Next, the sequel to One of Us Is Lying. After the events of the first book, Bayview High tries to get back to normal… until a giant game of truth or dare ensnares the whole school and leads to a student’s death. Will our new heroes find out who’s behind the game before anyone else gets hurt?

Rachel takes on the role of book expert as she and Maggie dive into One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus. In a cross between The Breakfast Club and Murderon the Orient Express, five students enter after-school detention… but only four of them leave alive. Who is to blame for the fifth student’s death?

Maggie and Rachel tear into the Goodreads Choice Awards, announcing our favorites, least favorites, and issues we have with the winners and nominees.

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Twitter: @BookExpertPod
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Email: NotTheBookExpert@gmail.com

Books in this episode:

Beautiful World, Where Are You? By Sally Rooney
The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot by Marianne Cronin
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
The Maidens by Alex Michaelides
The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala
Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict
The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner
A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas
She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan
For The Wolf by Hannah Witten
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling
Neon Gods by Katee Roberts
The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood
One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
Act Your Age by Eve Brown
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule
The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix
The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix
Broken (in the best possible way) by Jenny Lawson
The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green
Cultish by Amanda Montell
FUZZ by Mary Roach
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty by Patrick Radden Keefe
The Doctors Blackwell by Janice P. Nimura
Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe
Extraordinary by V.E. Schwab
Run by John Lewis
The Sad Ghost Club by Lize Meddings
Avatar: The Last Airbender: Toph Beifong’s Metalbending Academy by Faith Erin Hicks, Peter Wartman, and Adele Matera
Your Guide to Not Getting Murdered in a Quaint English Village by Maureen Johnson and Jay Cooper
The Girl from the Sea by Molly Knox Ostertag
The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman
The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
The Gilded Ones by Namina Forna
The Fire Keeper’s Daughter by Angeline Boulley
Last Night At The Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
As Good As Dead by Holly Jackson
The Cousins by Karen M. McManus
The Box in the Woods by Maureen Johnson
Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
How the King of Elfhame Learned to Hate Stories by Holly Black
Iron Widow by Ziran Jay Zhao
Our Violent Ends by Chloe Gong
Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
Amari and the Night Brothers by B. B. Alston
Beasts and Beauty by Soman Chainani
Ophie’s Ghosts by Justina Ireland
Ground Zero by Alan Gratz

Other things we mentioned:

It’s been one heck of a year, and Maggie and Rachel are celebrating the end of it by counting down their top 10 books of 2021. Listen in to find out what made the cut. There may be a few surprises along the way!

Find us on social media!
Twitter: @BookExpertPod
Instagram: @BookExpertPod
Email: NotTheBookExpert@gmail.com

Books in this episode:
Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo
Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
The Cruel Prince by Holly Black
The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drews
These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong
The Ones We’re Meant to Find by Joan He
Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
Truly Devious by Maureen Johnson
Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger
What We Devour by Linsey Miller
The Merciful Crow by Margaret Owen
The Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owen
Little Thieves by Margaret Owen
Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige
Percy Jackson and The Olympians by Rick Riordan
The Kane Chronicles by Rick Riordan
Ghost Wood Song by Erica Waters
For The Wolf by Hannah Whitten