Episode 10 is for the girls—the real ones, the ride-or-dies, the “burn the world down for you” kind of friendships.

This week on Pickle Party, we’re making the case that the most important relationships in romantasy aren’t the romances… they’re the female friendships. From Bryce and Danika to the Wallflowers, Violet and Rhiannon, and the Valkyries of the Night Court—we’re diving into the bonds that actually shape these stories, carry the characters, and honestly? Hurt the most.

We’re talking chosen family, loyalty, grief, healing, and the kind of friendships that make these women whole in ways romance never could.

Because a love interest might be the plot…

but a best friend? She’s the foundation.

💚 Hot Pickle, Cold Take: Are female friendships actually more important than the romance?

💬 Listener Challenge: Which Valkyrie are you—and which fictional friendship hit you the hardest?

Grab your wine, text your person, and press play.

🥒 To the stars who listen, and the dreams that are answered. 🥒ACOMAF Part 2: The second half that destroyed us all.In this episode:✨ Starfall and the shift✨ The mating bond reveal✨ The cabin scene (IYKYK)✨ Summer Court✨ Hybern's attack✨ The sisters being Made✨ Feyre's revenge plan✨ The ending that set up warThis is why ACOMAF is legendary. The romance. The devastation. The transformation.FULL SPOILERS for the second half of ACOMAF.What's your favorite moment? Tell us! 💚#PickleParty #ACOMAF #SarahJMaas #BookTok #Feysand #ToTheStarsWhoListen

🥒 All the Feels: The Book Moments That Destroyed Us 🥒Grab your tissues. We're talking about the romantasy scenes that made us ugly cry, the character moments we're still not over, and why we LOVE being emotionally destroyed by fiction.In this episode:✨ The scenes that broke us✨ Quotes that live rent-free in our heads✨ Books that gave us emotional whiplash✨ Why we love the beautiful devastation✨ The moments we can't reread without cryingACOTAR. Fourth Wing. Crescent City. All the feelings.What book moment destroyed YOU? Tell us! 💚#PickleParty #BookTok #Romantasy #AllTheFeels #ACOTAR #FourthWing #EmotionalReads #CrescentCity

🥒 Welcome to ACOMAF Part 1: The book that changed EVERYTHING. 🥒

We're breaking A Court of Mist and Fury into two episodes because there's simply too much to cover. Part 1 covers Chapters 1-27: from the Spring Court nightmare to discovering the Night Court and beginning to heal.

In this episode:

✨ Feyre's PTSD and the darkness of Spring Court

✨ Tamlin's controlling behavior and the wedding she doesn't want

✨ Rhysand collecting on the bargain

✨ The Velaris reveal—the secret city of starlight

✨ Meeting the Inner Circle (Mor, Cassian, Azriel, Amren)

✨ Feyre learning to read and fight

✨ The shift from Spring Court toxicity to Night Court healing

✨ The growing connection between Feyre and Rhysand

We're discussing:

💚 How ACOMAF destroys everything we thought we knew from Book 1

💚 Tamlin: trauma response or showing his true colors?

💚 The Night Court reveal and why it recontextualizes everything

💚 Found family done right

💚 Feyre reclaiming her agency

💚 When did you start trusting Rhysand?

This is the first half of the book that made ACOTAR a cultural phenomenon. The book that taught us what healthy relationships look like. The book that showed us the Spring Court "happily ever after" was actually a nightmare.

FULL SPOILERS for the first half of ACOMAF (Chapters 1-27).

Part 2 coming soon—covering Starfall, the mating bond, Hybern, and the ending that destroyed us all.

Tell us: When did you turn on Tamlin? When did you start shipping Feysand?

DM us @PicklePartyPod! 💚

#PickleParty #ACOMAF #ACourtOfMistAndFury #SarahJMaas #BookTok #Romantasy #Feysand

🥒 A Court of Thorns and Roses: The Deep Dive 🥒

We're going back to Book 1. The Beauty and the Beast retelling that started our ACOTAR obsession.

In this episode:

✨ Plot breakdown: Feyre, Tamlin, the curse, Under the Mountain

✨ Laughable moments vs cry moments

✨ Character analysis and first impressions

✨ How this book reads differently after ACOMAF

✨ Hot takes: Was Tamlin ever good? That riddle? Amarantha as a villain?

✨ Why this book became a phenomenon

ACOTAR is where it all started. The fae politics, the trials, the sacrifice, the transformation. We're breaking it ALL down.

FULL SPOILERS for Book 1 (and context from later books).

What was your first impression of ACOTAR? Tell us! 💚

#PickleParty #ACOTAR #SarahJMaas #BookTok #Romantasy

🥒 We read a Harlequin romance novel and we have THOUGHTS. 🥒

This week, we're paying tribute to the genre that built the foundation for romantasy: classic romance novels. We picked up a Harlequin, read it cover to cover, and now we're breaking it down and the history of romance novels.

In this episode:

✨ Our full review - the plot, the tropes, the steam

✨ What surprised us, what made us laugh, what made us swoon

✨ The history of romance novels and how they changed publishing

✨ How Harlequin revolutionized the industry

✨ The tropes that started in romance and live on in romantasy

✨ Why romance novels matter and what they gave us

We're diving into:

💚 The evolution of romance from bodice rippers to modern love stories

💚 How romance novels fought stigma and became a powerhouse genre

💚 The alpha heroes, the meet-cutes, the happily-ever-afters

💚 What romance taught us about consent, passion, and happy endings

This is our love letter to the books that came before romantasy. The books that proved love stories deserve to be taken seriously. The books that gave generations of readers escapism, hope, and the guarantee of a satisfying ending.

Without romance novels, there would be no romantasy. This is where it all started. 💚

Have YOU read a classic romance novel? What did you think?

DM us @PicklePartyPod!

#PickleParty #HarlequinRomance #RomanceNovels #Romantasy

#BookTok #ClassicRomance #RomanceHistory

Sarah J. Maas sat down with Alex Cooper on Call Her Daddy and we have THOUGHTS. 🥒✨ In this episode, Jules and Leslie break down the incredible interview, share their favorite revelations, and spiral over everything SJM teased about the upcoming ACOTAR books. From character insights to release date hype, we're covering it all. If you haven't listened to the interview yet, go do that first—then come back and fangirl with us. Warning: spoilers ahead and uncontrollable excitement for Books 6 & 7!

🥒 The ACOTAR debate that will never end: Azriel or Lucien? 🥒

It's time to settle this (we won't settle this). We're diving

deep into the love triangle that has the fandom in a chokehold—

and the woman at the center of it all who just wants to garden

in peace.

In this episode:

✨ Character deep dives: Who is Azriel? Who is Lucien?

✨ The Elain factor: What does SHE actually want?

✨ The mating bond debate: Destiny or biology?

✨ The Azriel connection: Real chemistry or rebellion?

✨ Hot Pickle, Cold Take: We each defend a side, then SWITCH

✨ The real question: What if she chooses neither?

We're talking about respect, agency, the bonus chapter that

broke the internet, and why everyone has OPINIONS about

Elain's love life except Elain herself.

Mating bonds. Choice. Wingspan implications. The yearning.

The "three brothers, three sisters" thing.

We're covering it ALL.

So pick your team and prepare to defend it, Brine Babes.

This one's going to be messy. 💚