A Novel Bunch

A Novel Bunch
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Welcome to A Novel Bunch, your new favorite modern-day book club! Hosted by besties Molly Burnett and Alyssa Tabit Smith, this podcast dives into one book per month, broken down chapter by chapter. New episodes drop every Tuesday, so grab your copy and read along—right here on A Novel Bunch.

  1. 4 DAYS AGO

    Iron Flame (Ch 14-26): Xaden: "You Love Me. Maybe You're Not the One I'm Reminding."

    #51: This week on A Novel Bunch, we continue our deep dive, covering chapters 14–26 of Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, where Violet Sorrengail’s second year at Basgiath escalates from stressful to straight-up sinister. Because the real enemy might not be across the border… but inside the Riders Quadrant itself. *SPOILERS AHEAD* The Riders Survival Course kicks off with a twist no one sees coming. Violet and her squad are drugged with an herbal concoction that severs their connection to their dragons and signets, forcing them to survive the wilderness like ordinary cadets. No lightning. No dragons. Just a forest full of hunters. It’s supposed to be a test. But when infantry cadets start dying, it becomes clear this “exercise” is something else entirely. Back at Basgiath, the questions keep piling up. Why are professors suddenly capable of cutting riders off from their dragons? Why are historical records about wyvern mysteriously missing from the archives? And why does it feel like the leadership of Navarre is hiding something bigger than anyone imagined? Jesinia might be an ally… or she might be another loose thread in a system designed to bury the truth. Meanwhile Violet finally gets the chance to visit Xaden, only for Varrish to sabotage the reunion before it even begins. Punishments are piling up. Surveillance is tightening. And the message is clear: someone powerful wants Violet under control. Or dead. When Xaden and Violet finally reunite, the tension between them explodes. The chemistry? Still undeniable. The trust? Completely shattered. He wants three little words. She refuses to give them. And if fixing Aretia’s failing wards means digging into forbidden knowledge about the First Six, Violet may be forced to risk everything—including the people she loves—to find the answers. But the real danger arrives when Varrish drags Violet and her friends into interrogation. Poisoned drinks. Brutal beatings. Dragons cut off. Secrets demanded. And just when it feels like things can’t get worse… Jack. Freaking. Barlow. The cadet Violet watched die is suddenly alive again—and Nolan looks like a man who’s been trying to resurrect the impossible. As the chapter closes, another attack hits the border. Mira’s unit is involved. Xaden’s post is under fire. And Violet runs across Basgiath with one terrifying thought in her mind: If he’s dead, nothing else matters. The second year isn’t just testing riders. It’s breaking them. Let’s get into it, Bunchies!

    44 min

  2. 3 MAR

    Iron Flame (Ch 1–13): Xaden: "I Want Those Three Little Words Back."

    #50: This week on A Novel Bunch, we officially begin Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros and Basgiath isn't the only thing that's changed. The wards are cracking. The dragons know more than they're saying. And Violet Sorrengail wakes up to a truth that rewrites her entire life.  *SPOILERS AHEAD* Violet is alive. Brennan is alive. Aretia is real. Venin exist. Wyvern exist. And the war Navarre denies is very, very real. Instead of returning to Basgiath as a hero, Violet walks back in as a secret. One of only a few who know the truth. And knowing the truth? It’s heavier than any weapon. She’s still in love with Xaden—obviously—but she’s trying very hard to convince herself she’s not. Because how do you trust the man who knew your brother was alive this whole time? Brennan isn’t exactly offering comfort either. To him, Violet looks less like a sister and more like Xaden’s greatest weakness. Brutal. Back at Basgiath, the second year begins, and it’s clear this year isn’t about survival. It’s about control. Dragons are bonding less. Assassination attempts are rising. Interrogations are coming. And leadership has shifted in dangerous ways. Dain is Wingleader. Rhiannon is Squad Leader. And Violet’s circle is smaller than ever... five survivors from eleven. Andarna? Twice her size. No more time-stopping. Fully in her teenage dragon era. Moody. Defensive. Perfect. When a first-year assassin snaps Nadine’s neck in front of Violet, something inside her fractures. This isn’t random. This is targeted. Colonel Aetos wants her dead. Varrish is circling. Letters are redacted. Students are disappearing. And the Riders Quadrant feels less like a school and more like a trap. Xaden returns—finally—but distance and secrets still stand between them. He’ll earn her trust, he says… but only if she’s brave enough to ask the questions she actually wants answers to. And then there’s one name that shifts the air entirely: Catriona. The first year is when some riders lose their lives. The second year is when the rest lose their humanity. And we’re only thirteen chapters in. Let’s get into it, Bunchies!

    58 min

  3. 2 MAR

    Fourth Wing: Xaden Riorson’s Bonus Chapter (Chapter 9) | Live Reading

    #049: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re diving into Xaden Riorson’s BONUS CHAPTER (Chapter 9) from Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros… and let’s just say, seeing the rebellion king’s POV? Life-changing. Jaw-dropping. Unwell. Let's get into it, Bunchies!

    29 min

  4. 24 FEB

    Fourth Wing (Ch 29–39): "Welcome to the Revolution, Violet."

    #048: This week on A Novel Bunch, we are spiraling straight into the back half of Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros—where lightning doesn’t just strike once, secrets fracture loyalties, and Violet Sorrengail realizes the war she’s been fighting… isn’t the real one. *SPOILERS AHEAD* Jack is dead. Fourth Wing is celebrating. Violet is not. She thanks little Andarna—“worth it,” our tiny golden queen says—and then promptly spirals over what it means to kill. Violet doesn’t fear Jack’s death. She fears what it’s turning her into. She always thought she’d be a mender like Brennan. Instead? She’s becoming the weapon. And according to Xaden and Tairn… she is the weapon. What follows? Oh, just Violet telling Xaden to stop being honorable and ruin her life. Lightning answers the call. Curtains catch fire. Windows shatter. Shadows splinter wood. Their first night together quite literally shakes Basgiath as her pleasure triggers a storm over the Riders Quadrant. Romance? Explosive. Power control? Questionable. Emotional restraint? Gone. In the aftermath, Xaden reveals the truth behind the 107 scars across his back—one for each child of the rebellion he protected. If any of them betray Navarre, he dies. The weight he carries is brutal.  On the Parapet, Violet finally admits it first: she’s in love with him. He takes her to his room. Lightning strikes again—hard enough to blow out his window. And just as they’re mid-round-five chaos? War Games begin. But it’s not a drill. At Athebyne, the mask drops. Xaden and the marked ones have been secretly supplying weapons to gryphon fliers to fight something Violet thought was folklore—Venin. Creatures who drain magic from the earth. Creators of Wyvern. The monsters Navarre insists aren’t real. Her father’s cryptic note clicks into place: it only takes one desperate generation to erase the truth. And Dain? He stole her memories. Told his father. Sent them into a trap. The choice becomes impossible: obey command… or save 300 innocent civilians in Resson from four Venin. They stay. Dragons. Gryphons. Wyvern. Blue fire. Death rings. Chaos. Liam dies. Deigh falls. Tairn is struck from the sky. Violet watches everything burn—and finally understands: kill the Venin, and the Wyvern fall with them. With Andarna stopping time and Xaden’s shadows at her back, Violet unleashes everything. She kills the leader. Xaden destroys the last. And then she falls. Poisoned. Dying. Too far from Basgiath. Xaden risks everything and takes her somewhere forbidden.When Violet wakes, they’re not at Basgiath. They’re in Aretia. Rebuilt.  And standing in the doorway? “Welcome to the revolution, Violet.” Brennan. The secrets were never small. The war was never simple. And Violet Sorrengail is officially on the wrong side of the kingdom—and the right side of history. Let’s get into it, Bunchies!

    1h 2m

  5. 17 FEB

    Fourth Wing (Ch 19-28): The Kiss That Lit Up the Sky

    #047: This week on A Novel Bunch, we are spiraling deeper into Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros—where secrets turn lethal, dragons guard dangerous truths, and Violet Sorrengail stops just surviving…and starts uncovering a war no one is talking about. *SPOILERS AHEAD* Andarna has stopped time. Our tiny golden queen proves “though she be but little, she is fierce,” and suddenly Violet is holding the most dangerous secret in Navarre. So this stays between Violet, Tairn, Sgaeyl…and Xaden. “You’re all dead,” Xaden says calmly as his shadows snuff out everyone but Oren—before he finishes the job himself. Violet has never killed anyone. Xaden has. The contrast is sharp. Intimate. Unavoidable. Amber’s betrayal explodes next. She orchestrated the Codex breach, and even when Violet begs for mercy, Tairn enforces dragon law. The cost of leadership is brutal. And Dain? Still choosing the rules over Violet. Meanwhile, hostility toward the marked ones grows, Squad Battle looms, and Violet starts noticing something is very wrong with the war effort. Entire villages are being ransacked. Pleas for help sit unanswered on her mother’s desk. What exactly is Basgiath training them for? Solstice brings chaos, oranges bring karma (bye, Jack), and Violet’s power finally begins to simmer under the surface. But the real storm? It’s Xaden. The wall kiss. The snow. The thunder. The hands on her face. “You have incredibly touchable skin.” He stops it—because he refuses to act on desire that isn’t fully hers. The tension is unbearable. The restraint? Somehow hotter. He gifts her a custom knife. Takes over her training. Sets a boundary that lasts approximately three seconds. And when their dragons can’t be separated for more than three days, he leaves his post to be near her. At the front lines in Montserrat, Violet reunites with Mira, sees how broken the border truly is, and realizes the war they’re being taught about doesn’t match reality. Gryphons attack. Xaden kisses her as a distraction. And our jaws are on the floor.  Violet can speak to Xaden mind to mind. The secrets are stacking. The attraction is undeniable. The politics are rotten. And Andarna—sweet, darling baby—may be the key to everything. Time can stop. But this story? It’s accelerating. Let’s get into it, Bunchies! 🐉🔥

    51 min

  6. 10 FEB

    Fourth Wing (Ch 10-18): Two Dragons. One Rider. That Kiss on Threshing Day… and the One Watching

    #046: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re continuing Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, covering Chapters 10–18—where Threshing Day tests every rider, the dragons make choices no one expects, and Violet Sorrengail learns that survival sometimes means breaking the rules…and trusting the impossible. *SPOILERS AHEAD* The gauntlet looms, and somehow, Violet Sorrengail’s squad is the only one without a single death since the Parapet. That luck doesn’t last long. As cadets face the obstacle course, Violet survives on grit, memory, and sheer will—only to watch Aurelie fall to her death. The brutality of Basgiath is relentless, and Violet learns quickly that surviving doesn’t mean escaping loss. While burning Aurelie’s belongings, Violet has a rare, quiet moment with Xaden Riorson, one where shadows listen, truths slip, and he admits that every day he lets Violet live is how he proves to himself he’s still a good man. It’s intimate. It’s dangerous. And it changes everything. Presentation Day arrives—the deadliest day of the year. Violet’s size nearly costs her everything, but she outsmarts the Gauntlet in a way no one’s seen before. Accused of cheating by rule-obsessed Third Wing cadet Amber Mavis, Violet survives only because her photographic memory saves her life. Again. Then comes Threshing. Dragons line the Vale. A rare golden feathertail appears. And when Jack, Oren, and Tynan decide the smallest dragon is expendable, Violet does the unthinkable—she steps in front of them. Broken, bleeding, and outmatched, Violet risks her life to save a dragon… and is chosen by the most powerful black dragon alive: Tairneanach. And as if that weren’t enough, the feathertail—Andarna—chooses her too. Two dragons. One rider. Chaos ensues. With Tairn bonded to Violet—and revealed as the mate of Xaden’s dragon, Sgaeyl—their fates are officially entwined. Violet survives another assassination attempt, earns her relic tattoo, and kisses Dain Aetos… only to feel absolutely nothing. The shift is undeniable. The bond with her dragons is changing her—making her feared, isolated, and powerful. By the end of Chapter 18, Violet has bonded with legends, gained enemies, lost her childhood love, and discovered Andarna’s terrifying secret ability: she can stop time. Basgiath is done playing nice. And Violet Sorrengail is no longer just surviving... she’s becoming something unstoppable. Let’s get into it, Bunchies! 🐉🔥

    53 min

  7. 3 FEB

    Fourth Wing (Ch 1-9): “Going for Blood Today, Are We, Violence?”

    #045: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re launching into Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros, covering Chapters 1–9—where conscription is a death sentence, dragons choose violence, and Violet Sorrengail is forced onto a path no one believes she can survive. *SPOILERS AHEAD* Violet Sorrengail was trained to be a scribe, not a rider—but on Conscription Day, her storm-wielding mother shoves her into the deadly Riders Quadrant at Basgiath War College, where cadets die before classes even begin. The parapet claims its victims fast, including sweet Dylan, and Violet survives by brains, grit, and a well-placed knife. Enter Xaden Riorson, son of the Great Betrayer, leader of the marked ones, and the man Violet is warned will kill her on sight. Their first meeting is immediate enemies-to-lovers energy, and when Xaden promises the parapet will finish Violet for him, we know this man is a problem. As Violet navigates combat training, broken bones, and assassination attempts (looking at you, Jack Barlowe), she leans on new friend Rhiannon and childhood best friend Dain Aetos, who begs her to quit before she’s killed. But Violet refuses, armed with her late brother Brennan’s cheat sheet and her own sharp mind. When Violet stumbles upon a secret meeting of marked cadets, Xaden catches her—and reveals his rare signet: he commands shadows. Instead of killing her, he lets her go. By the end of Chapter 9, Violet has survived every attempt on her life, turned poison into a weapon, and faced Xaden Riorson in the sparring ring, where he calls her “Violence,” pins her down, and spares her again. The threshing looms, dragons are watching… and Violet is choosing to stay. Let’s get into it, Bunchies!

    47 min

  8. 1 FEB

    A Court of Silver Flames: Live Reading: Azriel's Bonus Chapter

    #044: This week on A Novel Bunch, we’re doing a live reading of Azriel’s BONUS CHAPTER from A Court of Silver Flames—and yes, it is unhinged, emotional, and incredibly juicy. Let's get into it, Bunchies! 📚✨

    39 min
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About

Welcome to A Novel Bunch, your new favorite modern-day book club! Hosted by besties Molly Burnett and Alyssa Tabit Smith, this podcast dives into one book per month, broken down chapter by chapter. New episodes drop every Tuesday, so grab your copy and read along—right here on A Novel Bunch.

Information

  • Creator
    A Novel Bunch
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    52
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 A Novel Bunch
  • Show Website
    A Novel Bunch

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