This week on Off Book, we’re joined by our favorite comfort creator Morgan (aka Coop’s Kitchen) for a cozy chat about how she got into reading, why fantasy is the ultimate “everything genre,” and the tropes she’ll never get tired of (yes, enemies to lovers forever).

We also get into Twilight as the original romantasy gateway, fantasy misconceptions, book recs for new fantasy readers (The Hunger Games) and fully-converted fantasy lovers (Fourth Wing… with opinions), plus what Morgan’s reading right now (Nightbane and I Who Have Never Known Men). And of course: Coop the golden retriever, soup discourse, and the most organized book club on planet Earth (with a spreadsheet and a rotating menu).

Follow Morgan: @coopskitchen on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.

This week on Genre’d, we’re diving into Dire Bound by Sable Sorensen, a high-stakes romantasy packed with brutal trials, dire wolves with attitude problems, and secrets that have been festering for centuries.

But first — we have some things to say.
Katy is deep in a full-blown spiral over Heated Rivalry, the wildly viral hockey romance series based on the beloved books by Rachel Reid. We unpack why this show has completely taken over the internet, why the stakes actually matter, and how Katy ended up talking to her therapist about rival hockey men.

Then we get into Dire Bound:
A kick-ass street fighter enters a deadly set of trials to bond with a dire wolf and save her kidnapped sister — only to uncover a corrupt system, erased history, and a destiny she never asked for. Expect trials, magic schools, chosen-one energy, moody wolves, suspicious men, and romantasy chaos.

💥 Spoiler warning: First ~20 minutes are spoiler-free. Full spoilers after that (including character reveals, mating bonds, and late-book twists).

✨ What we cover:
• Romantasy tropes, trials, and dire wolf bonding
• A heroine who starts out already dangerous
• Love interests you should absolutely not trust
• Found family, pack politics, and power reveals
• Why this is a solid entry point for adult romantasy readers

⭐ Final verdict: A fast, fun romantasy that scratches the itch — even if seasoned readers may spot the twists coming.

🎧 Rate, review, and subscribe — and remember: no genre shaming… unless it’s funny.

Bryanna’s back! You might remember her from the first three episodes of Genre’d, and she’s back in the (evolving) studio to talk about the genre that has her in a chokehold: contemporary “book club books”—think Reese, Oprah, and all the buzzy picks you need to be up on.

We get into how she fell out of reading in her 20s (hi, chronic online era), how Sarah J. Maas dragged her right back in, and why she’ll always chase books that spark conversation and eventually become prestige TV. Plus: audiobook obsession, Alexa-as-a-narrator chaos, the real reason romance is the best-selling genre, and a passionate defense of “silly little women’s books” as actually…literature.