What would you sacrifice to bring back someone you've lost? How far would you go to preserve a love that defies death itself? These are the questions at the heart of Corina Halley's mesmerizing psychological thriller, "Grave Matter."

When Sydney arrives at the remote Madrona Foundation on Vancouver Island, she's eager to participate in groundbreaking scientific research that could revolutionize treatments for neurological conditions like the Alzheimer's that took her grandmother. The isolation doesn't bother her – she's focused on the work and the opportunity to prove herself after losing her Stanford scholarship. But from the moment her fellow passenger Amani mysteriously vanishes upon arrival, Sydney senses something deeply wrong with the foundation.

The cult-like atmosphere becomes increasingly unsettling – surrendered phones, ironclad NDAs, and a disturbing mantra: "Don't try to change the lodge, let the lodge change you." When Sydney encounters Professor Wes Kincaid, the brooding lead researcher who also serves as the mandatory psychologist for all participants, their immediate attraction creates a dangerous complication. Their relationship evolves from tense therapy sessions to forbidden romance, all while Sydney experiences increasingly terrifying phenomena – visions of a girl hanging from a tree, a half-rotted wolf with a still-beating heart covered in fungus, and the persistent feeling that her reality keeps glitching.

The truth, when it finally emerges, is more horrifying than Sydney could have imagined. The Madrona Foundation's experiments with the mysterious "excandesco amanita" fungus aren't just about curing disease – they're about conquering death itself. And Sydney isn't experiencing these events for the first time; she died on the island and was brought back, her memories reset multiple times as part of an ongoing experiment orchestrated by the foundation's ruthless leaders.

As Sydney pieces together her fragmented reality and fights to expose the truth, she must decide if the love she's found with Wes is worth the terrible price they've both paid. Can something beautiful grow from such darkness? And when you've been rewritten by science that defies nature, can you ever truly trust yourself again?

Dive into this haunting tale of science gone wrong, the lingering power of memory, and a love that refuses to die. Your perception of reality will never be the same.

Support the show

Editing done by Connor Luther @clfilms.co
Music by @thundercatlouis
Merch Here

What's more criminal in the book world – dog-earing pages or cracking spines? Would you abandon all fantasy books forever if it meant never having to read another detective novel? These are the tough questions we're tackling in our latest Book Bites episode!

We're playing a bookish version of "Would You Rather" that reveals surprising insights about our reading habits and preferences. From debating whether we'd rather read only books with ugly covers (but amazing writing) or gorgeous editions filled with terrible prose, to considering whether we'd survive better in a fantasy world without plumbing or a dystopian society where books are banned – our answers might surprise you!

The conversation takes amusing turns as we weigh the pros and cons of slow-burn romances versus insta-love, standalone novels versus series commitments, and whether we'd rather have an enemies-to-lovers story with no tension or a friends-to-lovers tale with zero chemistry. Our passionate reactions to certain scenarios (particularly around book care and unsatisfying endings) reveal just how deeply personal our relationships with books truly are.

This light-hearted episode offers a window into what readers value most in their literary experiences. Do we prioritize beautiful prose over plot? Would we sacrifice comfort for freedom? And why does the miscommunication trope drive us absolutely crazy? Join us for laughs, literary debates, and the revelation that some book preferences might actually be dealbreakers!

We'll be sharing these questions on our Instagram for you to weigh in with your own choices. Which side will you take in these bookish dilemmas? Let us know!

Support the show

Editing done by Connor Luther @clfilms.co
Music by @thundercatlouis
Merch Here

We explore Hannah Bonman-Young's romance novel "Out of the Woods," a story about high school sweethearts Sarah and Caleb who attend a wilderness couples retreat to save their 16-year marriage after a fundraiser disaster reveals deeper relationship issues.

• Sarah experiences an identity crisis after feeling like Caleb always swoops in to fix her problems
• The "Reignite" couples retreat forces them to confront communication issues through hiking and exercises
• Sarah struggles with wanting independence while Caleb doesn't understand why his helping is problematic
• The couple works through Sarah's desire to have purpose beyond being a wife
• A dramatic accident forces both to reassess what truly matters in their relationship
• The epilogue shows both partners finding fulfillment—Sarah as a successful writer and Caleb redirecting his business toward charitable work
• Both characters maintain their decision to remain child-free throughout the story

Check out our mini-episode where we try some of the communication exercises from the book! Follow us on social media for more book discussions and recommendations.

#BookReview #BookDiscussion #BookChat #BooksOfInstagram #ReadingCommunity #BookLovers #AmReading #BookAddict #TBR #Bookstagram
#BookPodcast #PodcastEpisode #NewPodcast #WhenGirlsTalkBooks #WomenWhoPodcast #PodcastLife #PodcastReview #ListenNow #PodcastRecommendations #PodcastersOfInstagram
#HorrorBooks #ThrillerReads #CreepyReads #ScaryBooks #DarkReads #PsychologicalThriller #GoryBooks #IntenseReads #HorrorFiction #PageTurner
#TheTroop #NickCutter #NickCutterBooks #TheTroopReview #TheTroopBook #TheTroopDiscussion #TheTroopPodcast #TheTroopReaction #WildernessHorror #BioHorror
#HorrorLit #GruesomeReads #BodyHorror #IslandHorror #SciFiHorror #YAThriller #MenacingReads #CampHorror #FreakyFiction #ContemporaryHorror
#WomenWhoRead #GirlsWhoRead #WomenInBooks #BookishGirls #BookishWomen #FeministReaders #ReadingWithGirls #WomenSupportingWomen #BookishBesties #WomenInPodcasting
#MustRead #BookTok #BookTokRecs #TikTokReads #Bookstagrammer #BookstagramFeature #InstaBooks #BookObsessed #ReadersOfInstagram #ViralReads
#WhatDidIJustRead #ThisBookTho #ICantEven #MindBlown #SoCreepy #BookHangover #Unputdownable #WTFBook #ShockingRead #BookReactions
#SurvivalHorror #StrandedStory #IslandTerror #ScienceGoneWrong #ExperimentalHorror #NatureHorror #ParasiticTerror #FeralFiction #BioThriller #MutantReads
#ExplorePage #ContentCreators #IGReads #ViralPodcasts #CreativePodcasts #NextRead #CurrentlyReading #BookishContent

Support the show

Editing done by Connor Luther @clfilms.co
Music by @thundercatlouis
Merch Here