Booked, Blonde & Busy w/ Olivia Ponton

Welcome to Season 2 of Booked, Blonde & Busy!!! 🎀
We are back and even more booked, busier and blonder than ever! That’s right, new name alert - we are now Booked, BLONDE and Busy. Because blonde is a state of mind ;)
To kick things off, I brought in someone truly iconic... Victoria's Secret Angel AND certified book girlie, Josephine Skriver. Yes, THAT Josephine Skriver. She showed up and did not disappoint. This week we're diving into Keeping 13 by Chloe Walsh, spilling our most chaotic reading habits, debating the ACOTAR fan casting of our dreams, and so so much more.
We are SO back, angels!
xoxo, Olivia

❤︎ Join The Conversation
→ Patreon (it's free!): https://www.patreon.com/cw/OliviaPonton
→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olivia.ponton
→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamoliviaponton
→ Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/olivia_ponton12

TIME STAMPS
00:00-3:30 Intro/Beverage of the day
3:50-7:17 what got us into reading
7:18-11:30 the rise of fanfics and Wattpad
11:33-16:16 dark books and red flags
16:20-19:00 Keeping 13
19:11-21:05 Throne of Glass series
21:06-24:58 Boys of Tommen series
24:58-28:05 rereading ACOTAR
28:06-31:25 Sarah J Maas universe
31:26-33:29 publishing schedules
33:30-35:10 fan theories
35:11-40:12 Book adaptations
40:13-45:49 ACOTAR fan cast
45:50-49:14 ACOTAR predictions
49:15 wrap up :)

#booktube #romantasy #bookrecommendations #fantasybook #bookish #booktok

Surprise!! 🎀 We couldn't fully conclude season one of Booked & Busy without taking it back to our very first guest, the one and only Alex Aster! I sat down with Alex at Spotify Studios to chat all things Starside, her most recent book that she'd been writing in secret for years. From the world of Starside vs. Stormside, magical swords, the 'beast tree,' and female rage - to the romantasy genres booming success, audiobooks as an immersive portal into new stories and even the one's we already love... this is a bonus episode you do not want to miss! Special thanks to Spotify for hosting us at their studio, and if you're an audiobook reader - be sure to check out their 'Page Match' feature! This may be the OFFICIAL last episode of season one... but I have a feeling there's an update in store for you all very very soon ;)xoxo,Olivia Listen to the Starside Audiobook on Spotify Now: https://open.spotify.com/show/3heMK5Z9F20k9r0j2EoZjH?si=a1bec28f19924c6f❤︎ Join The Conversation→ Patreon (it's free!): https://www.patreon.com/cw/OliviaPonton→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olivia.ponton→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamoliviaponton→ Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/olivia_ponton12Timestamps:00:00-00:06 - Intro00:06-00:53 - Writing adult romantasy for the first time00:53-01:41 - What does Alex want people to get out of 'Starside?'01:41-02:25 - Escapism, and why fantasy and romantasy are having a moment right now02:25-03:10 - Books as medicine + swapping scrolling for reading03:10-04:08 - What inspired the world of 'Starside' + the talking the sword magic system04:08-05:28 - How the audiobook format amplifies the reading experience05:28-07:20 - Reaching a new audience through this adult genre + the audiobooks07:20-07:48 - How reading transforms us + builds community07:48-08:11 - If 'Starside' had a playlist, what songs would be on it?08:11-08:35 - Alex describes 'Starside' in three words08:35-09:40 - Sword tattoos, dagger sisters, and the 'beast tree'09:40-09:51 - Outro✎ This Episode Is For You If You Like...→ Genres / Topics: romantasy, fantasy, author interviews, world-building, maps and magic systems→ Themes: female rage and resilience, rising from the ashes, enemies-to-lovers, → Books & Authors Mentioned: Starside by Alex Aster, Lightark series, Summer in the City, Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, King of Greed by Ana Huang★ If You're Searching For:→ Alex Aster Starside book review and discussion→ Alex Aster interview→ author interview 2026→ Lightark series→ enemies to lovers fantasy books 2026→ female rage in fantasy books→ best romantasy books 2026→ how to get back into reading#booktube #romantasy #bookrecommendations #fantasybook #bookish #booktok

Season one of Booked & Busy is a wrap, but we honestly could not let it go by without a best moments compilation 🎀📖

From my best friend Emma Brooks talking about the wretched Korea Town apartment that started it all, to Rebecca Serle revealing the psychic prophecy that literally inspired In Five Years...this season was one for the books ;))

We talked about changing dreams, crying in ubers, writing on kitchen floors covered in index cards, friendship soulmates, manifestation, what the 20s are actually for, and why a crush is just a lack of information (life changing revelation, by the way).

If you're new here, this is your sign to go back and watch every episode, and if you've been here from the start...thank you!!! genuinely. this podcast started because i kept DMing authors with questions and someone told me to just start a show and now here we are 🥹🪽

big things coming soon 💝

xoxo,
Olivia
❤︎ Join The Conversation
→ Patreon (it's free!): https://www.patreon.com/cw/OliviaPonton
→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olivia.ponton
→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamoliviaponton
→ Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/olivia_ponton12

Rebecca Serle is officially Booked & Busy 📖🌊

Okay so I need to set the scene. I started reading 'In Five Years' on a 6-hour bus ride to the Kelly Slater Surf Ranch surrounded by surfers who absolutely did not care about the emotional spiral I was having. I finished it on the way back... was not okay. Stared at the wall for a minimum of 30 minutes after the last page and had so many questions. A few weeks later I somehow ended up sitting across from the author herself, and that's why I love this podcast!!

We get into EVERYTHING. The full breakdown of In Five Years (spoilers included so be sure to pay attention to the timestamps), the psychic prophecy that actually inspired the entire book and turned out to be true, why Rebecca wrote that ending, and a peek into her brand new book 'Once and Again.' We also talk about motherhood, growing apart from friends, why happy marriages don't make interesting novels, and sooo much more!!!

Grab a drink and snack and let's get into it 🎀

xoxo,
Olivia
❤︎ Join The Conversation
→ Patreon (it's free!): https://www.patreon.com/cw/OliviaPonton
→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olivia.ponton
→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamoliviaponton
→ Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/olivia_ponton12

Haley-Grace McCormick is officially Booked & Busy 💙🕗

If you know me, you know I don't cry from just any book, but then I finished 'The Enemy of Time' by Haley-Grace McCormick in a hotel room the night before a big shoot and proceeded to absolutely fall apart... 

We talk everything from the story behind how this book came to life starting with a college short story class and a bunch of old journals, growing apart from friends, writing through her first real heartbreak and how that changed the story, the 'spicy' scene her dad had to read out loud to her (i could actually never), what's coming next from her and SO so so so much more!

Grab your beverage of the day (ours was a blue smoothie to match the cover) and let's get Booked & Busy ;) 

xoxo,
Olivia
✎ This Episode Is For You If You Like...
→ Genres: contemporary romance, emotional contemporary fiction
→ Tropes / Vibes: author interviews, debut novels, emotional devastation and heartbreaking love stories, friends to lovers, flashbacks, non-linear storytelling
❤︎ Join The Conversation
→ Patreon (it's free!): https://www.patreon.com/cw/OliviaPonton
→ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/olivia.ponton
→ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@iamoliviaponton
→ Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/olivia_ponton12