ACOFAE welcomes back to the podcast friend of show, Aris, to discuss Lady Tan's Circle of Women by Lisa See. Celebrating International Women's Day (and month), Aris got to choose the book for this episode and what a choice she made! Laura Marie, Jessica Marie, and Aris are discussing all things plot related, with a focus on the friendships between the main character and the people in her orbit. Tan Yunxian is a female doctor in 15th century China and her story is one that is inspiring and educational. Set during a time when women bound their feet, gender inequality reigned, and Blood and blood are two different things, Lady Tan and her story are ripe for discussion and compassion. Celebrating women everyday, but especially now, ACOFAE and Aris are shining a light on women's fiction, women's stories, and women's lives.

TW / CW: none to our awareness
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: Lady Tan's Circle of Women, Bridgerton

Mentions: Onyx Storm, Memoirs of a Geisha, Rise of the Phoenixes, Iron Widow, Heavenly Tyrant, Project Hail Mary, Outlander, Wuthering Heights

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
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@ACOFAELaura
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It's 2026 and ACOFAE refuses to limit themselves to just one thing! As Laura Marie and Jessica Marie continue to get their kicks wherever they can find them, they are brought to one of Jessica Marie's favorite subject: Economics. How to tackle this subject that has a reputation of being for and about men? Taylor Swift of course, with Economist and author, Misty Heggeness. Join ACOFAE and Misty as they discuss pop culture and it's importance to economics and to women and the experience of girlhood. Laura Marie, Jessica Marie, and Misty share their first experiences as girls contributing to community and the economy, and reflect on the experiences that helped shape their view of what women can do.

*SKIP TO 27:05 FOR THE INTERVIEW WITH MISTY!
*
TW / CW: none to our awareness
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: Swiftynomics by Misty Heggeness

Mentions: fandoms including Taylor Swift, Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Harry Styles, Star Wars

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

Follow Misty Heggeness!
Instagram: @mlheggeness
https://www.instagram.com/mlheggeness/?hl=en

Websites:
https://www.swiftynomics.com/
https://www.mistyheggeness.com/home

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
@ACOFAEpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/

@ACOFAELaura
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It's International Women's Month and we can do anything.

When was the last time you were able to really sink your teeth into a fantasy? When was the last time you were really and truly surprised by a plot twist? Be honest. It may have been a while. The Raven Scholar is something that you can really sit with and reread. Laura Marie reread it 4x for this episode! Welcome to a fantasy that is enriched by the audio experience, that has footnotes, and contains a plot that is so expansive and detailed that even after 4x, Laura Marie is sure there are things she's missing. A book that has haunting the narrative down to a tee, The Raven Scholar combines plot lines into a story that has religion and belief warring with ambition and scheming. Truly, The Raven Scholar is a delight from start to finish. Jessica Marie was able to read through the book once, and the differences in reading experiences makes the conversations delightful.

"Bullies are just men who don't know they are cowards."

TW / CW: none to our awareness
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: The Raven Scholar

Mentions: Babel, Priory of the Orange Tree, Dune, Bitten, Sleep No More, Hamlet

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
@ACOFAEpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/

@ACOFAELaura
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Laura Marie and Jessica Marie are heated as they discuss _Heat of the Everflame _. Diem is making choices and they certainly are choices as her group journeys across borders and seas causing chaos every way they turn. Luther is single-minded in his determination to see Diem find her true purpose, and everyone else is along for the ride as betrayals are afoot and if Diem's mother has no haters then ACOFAE is dead. Period. Join Laura Marie and Jessica Marie as they battle their feelings and dive into the plot because this book is huge!

"So does murder."

TW / CW: none to our awareness
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: Heat of the Everflame by Penn Cole, The Kindred's Curse Saga overall, House of Flame and Shadow (HOFAS) by Sarah J. Maas (SJM)

Mentions: Throne of Glass, ACOSF, Supernatural, Nefertiti, Indiana Jones

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
@ACOFAEpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/

@ACOFAELaura
https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/

Vampires can be so many things: sparkly, fast, blood thirsty, gorgeous. They can also be Confederate and Southern, which is what is going on here in ACOFAE's True Blood rewatch Season 1 episodes 1 and 2. Sookie is just ordinary girl with an extraordinary ability until Vampire Bill walks into her seating section and changes her life. Throwing it all the way back to 2008, True Blood was a moment, is a moment, and will be a moment in time - the themes are just as relevant now as they were then, as ACOFAE watches Sookie put men in their place left and right; sheriff, coroner, brother, boss. It does not matter. The "I'm just a waitress" Stackhouse is fearless in the pursuit of her piece of calm in the noise and Vampire Bill is just that and more. The accents are thick, the teeth are real, and the messages are important as Laura Marie and Jessica Marie lament that they do not make TV like they used to.

TW / CW: Alcoholism
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: True Blood, Throne of Glass (TOG) by Sarah J. Maas (SJM)

Mentions: The Boys, Wicked, The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Euphoria, Interview with the Vampire

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
@ACOFAEpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/

@ACOFAELaura
https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/

If you've been a listener for a while, then you are well aware that ACOFAE and the Empyrean Series have not always gotten along. There's been discussions about being bratty, snobby, and enjoying things just for what they are -- vibes. So in light of all this history, Laura Marie and Jessica Marie have called in some backup to discuss book 3 of The Empyrean Series Onyx Storm. ACOFAE welcomes Aris to the pod to help frame discussions to put them firmly in the realm of THEORIES. Yes, that's correct. ACOFAE is discussing guesses and theories as well as the plot and all it's details as Laura Marie, Jessica Marie, and friend of show Aris get into it.
That's tea.

"You might be onto something there..."

TW / CW: none to our awareness
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: The Empyrean Series (Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm) by Rebecca Yarros, Game of Thrones, Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas

Mentions: A Court of Thorns and Roses (ACOTAR) by Sarah J. Maas, A Court of Wings and Ruin (ACOWAR) by Sarah J. Maas, Avatar: The Last Air Bender, Shatter Me, House of Flame and Shadow (HOFAS) by Sarah J. Maas, The Boys

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
@ACOFAEpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/

@ACOFAELaura
https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/

Wicked is so many things: a book, a Broadway show, a movie and at it's core words and music. Join ACOFAE as they continue their Pop Culture Poetry series with a dive into the lyrics of Wicked Act 1. There is something special that happens when you look at the words on the page and tease out meaning from music. Laura Marie and Jessica Marie are gushing and tearing up as they recount their first experiences with Wicked and discuss their favorite lyrics and songs.

"It couldn't happen here."

TW / CW:
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: Wicked (Act I)

Mentions: Chicago, Hamilton, TTPD (The Tortured Poets Department)

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
@ACOFAEpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/

@ACOFAELaura
https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/

It's Laura Maries half birthday! If you've been with ACOFAE for a while then you know that Laura Marie's OG favorite genre is Historical Fiction and that her childhood hyper-fixation was ancient Egypt. So it shouldn't surprise anyone that Nefertiti is her choice this year! Set in 1351 BCE, before the Prince of Egypt and "river ohhh river", there was Nefertiti at 15 becoming Chief Wife to the Crown Prince of the richest and most powerful nation in the world. You might think that would be enough, but its never enough for Akhenaten, who has plans and dreams of his own that extend far beyond Thebes and Memphis. Nefertiti is the story of a young woman, her sister, her family, and the control it takes to run a nation, from behind the back of it's Pharaoh. Sometimes real life is stranger than fiction.

TW / CW: miscarriages, abortion, plague
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: History from 1300s BCE, slight ACOWAR spoilers.

Mentions:

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
@ACOFAEpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/

@ACOFAELaura
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Happy Earth Day! When is the last time you sat down and watched Ferngully? ACOFAE is joined by editor Sam to discuss Ferngully: The Last Rainforest. A quick environmental delight, Ferngully explores the complexities around nature and humans while Crysta, a tree fairy, just explores humans. Featuring Robin Williams in his first animated role, Christian Slater as ACOFAE Laura's fave, Pips, and Tim Curry as Hexxus; Ferngully has something for all ages. Join Laura Marie, Jessica Marie, and Sam Marie as the three of them discover that Crysta probably shouldn't be biting her lip so much and THEY SHOWED THIS WHERE?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!
"Yo the name is Batty."

Please note when Jessica says 'Anastasia' she meant 'Fantasia'

TW / CW: none to our awareness
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: Ferngully

Mentions: ACOTAR, Aladdin, Bluey, Captain Planet, Avatar, Buffy, Crescent City 3 (HOFAS), The Rocky Horror Picture Show

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
@ACOFAEpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/

@ACOFAELaura
https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/

ACOFAE welcomes to the podcast Romantasy author J.M. Wallace to discuss her new audio release Heir of Shadows and Ice! JM and ACOFAE keep things spoiler free and discuss everything from ironing out the writing process, finding your inspiration, how the audio experience is different, and even Shadowhunters! Laura Marie and Jessica Marie loosely touch on the plot, the politics, and the men of the world JM has created while keeping the mystery alive for book 2 which will release on audio Summer 2024! Laughing like old friends, J.M. Wallace and ACOFAE talk out their favorite tropes and bond over found family and being true to yourself and discover that greatest strength is self acceptance.

TW / CW: none to our awareness
For additional TW/CW information for your future reads, head to this site for more: https://triggerwarningdatabase.com/

Spoilers: none to our awareness

Mentions: Heir of Shadows and Ice, Shadowhunters

Follow J.M. Wallace!
Instagram: @j.m.wallaceauthor
https://www.instagram.com/j.m.wallaceauthor/

Read Heir of Shadows and Ice and all other work by J.M. Wallace
https://jmwallaceauthor.wordpress.com/

*Thank you for listening to us! Please subscribe and leave a 5-star review and follow us on Instagram at @ACOFAEpodcast and on our TikToks!

TikTok:
ACOFAELaura : Laura Marie
( https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaelaura)

ACOFAEJessica : Jessica Marie
(https://www.tiktok.com/@acofaejessica)

Instagram:
@ACOFAEpodcast
https://www.instagram.com/acofaepodcast/

@ACOFAELaura
https://www.instagram.com/acofaelaura/