A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR #1) by Sarah J. Maas *Special Guest Emily* - Episode 231
Release Date: 11/18/2025
Terrible Book Club
Scribando tackles a rare author Patron's Choice this week which we tend not to do that often, since most authors and publicists just fire off an email to any podcast with the word “book” in it and want to be a guest on the show. However, our Patron Jeff seemed to get what was going on here. When asked if he understood the show, he replied: "Honestly, after I had listened to a handful of random episodes both recently and a couple years ago, I think my book might just be on brand for your brand...the book is like an onion with layers and at its core it might be either sweet or stinky...
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Sometimes you go to a pool party. Sometimes, that pool party also has a car with a trunk full of books. This was one of those books. Resources & References: Important Show Update: This episode was mostly edited, but did not go through our final editing process because, most unfortunately, Scribando's laptop was lost in Canada yesterday. If any of you live in or near Montreal, we wouldn't mind some help retrieving it (seriously)! The show may need to take on a different character for a few episodes while we get our bearings to deal with this major loss of material. We were about...
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This is the continuation of Episode 240. If you haven't listened to that, please go back and do so because otherwise this isn't going to make a ton of sense. If you've ever wanted TBC to be a sleepy podcast to help you drift off into dreamland, you're in luck this episode and the next! Scribando worked really hard on this one but it is really just him retelling history, both real and imagined. Our Patron Miles submitted this as his Patron's Choice this season saying, "This book was originally published online via the website Alternatehistory.com and then was later given an actual published...
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If you've ever wanted TBC to be a sleepy podcast to help you drift off into dreamland, you're in luck this episode and the next! Scribando worked really hard on this one but it is really just him retelling history, both real and imagined. Our Patron Miles submitted this as his Patron's Choice this season saying, "This book was originally published online via the website Alternatehistory.com and then was later given an actual published release. Much like a lot of stories on that site, it's broken up into various segments detailing how things have changed leading up to a certain point. I suppose...
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We're back, we're sober, and another Boston book has appeared on our digital doorstep! Now That You Have Seen Me was submitted to the show by the author herself sometime over the last two years. Every once in a while it's fun to experience Boston-based fiction and it's been a little bit since we've dealt with an unreliable narrator, so we thought we'd take this for a spin this season. In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion or mention of drug use, severe mental illness, sex, and just a dash of racism and a pinch of some phobias we gotta' talk about a...
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At last, we give you the final episode in our alcohol-fueled quadrilogy. Our wonderful Patron Beastwiththeleast mailed us this book of their own free will. Thoroughly in debt to them and their glorious book packages, we selected this one for review this year especially for our dear Beast. As we are far from being biblical scholars ourselves, we're desperately trying to summon Dan McClellan for an assist here to provide a fact check for our own sanity. In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion and consumption of alcohol (your hosts are intoxicated after...
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It's another alcohol-infused episode of TBC. Our long-time Ko-Fi Patron KiwiThing requested this book for 2026, so we were obliged to enter TRELLAND - the mishapen world that bubbled forth from a crucible of literary confusion, where popular video game franchises were melted down with Euopean fairytales and random writing exercises! In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion and consumption of alcohol (your hosts are intoxicated after sampling cocktails from the book we reviewed last episode in your timeline, but have yet to record in ours). TBC is an...
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You've heard of feminism, right? ... you wanna' drink it? You may recall us saying that we were a bit tipsy in the first episode of this season and would be for a whole four episodes in service to a later terrible book. Today, you meet that book. In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion and consumption of alcohol (your hosts are fairly intoxicated after sampling several cocktails from the book). Be forewarned that there's a big ol' vulnerable bummer section where we discuss the death of our family member from 1:54 - 12:49 before the episode properly...
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It wouldn't be a new season of TBC without a Victorian visit from the Dig your out of storage and enjoy a live reading of The Story of the Beetle Hunter by Arthur Conan Doyle, all set to the impeccable scoring and sound design talents of . If you'd rather hear a properly acted, serious version of this story, please check out the . In addition to our usual barnyard language, this episode includes irreverant and sexual humor and some bad Victorian ideas and opinions.
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Scribando and Bookbarella return! We're a little tipsy for the first four episodes of the season in service to a future TBC episode, so this one is perhaps not our greatest season opener. We try and fail to do a little scientific thinking around particle and quantum physics and sing a fake song for your amusement, though, so there's that. Special Thanks to: Ken from for narrating our cold open for this season for our new photos for our new logo and graphic design Links & References: You can find many episodes about particle physics and other quantum topics we mentioned on ...
info_outlineThe time has come. It was inevitable; at last, we submitted to the will of Terriblo, listeners, and fate to bring down the evil monarch and find our destined mate - I mean, bring you our review of A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, popularly known by its acronym of ACOTAR. To ease us through this experience, I’ve brought my emotional support Emily who herself is an avid reader who has suffered through not only this first book, but most of the series that follows.
In addition to our usual barnyard language, today’s episode includes discussion or mention of hunting, kidnapping, murder, disfigurement, sex/sexual slavery, shapeshifting, & torture.