Books Mentioned
- The Briar Club by Kate Quinn
- The Hundred Loves of Juliet by Evelyn Skye
Tea
- Italian Panettone from The Tea Shop
[00:00:16] Welcome to Ink Drinkers, a literary tea party podcast where we discuss books and drink tea.
[00:00:30] Good morrow. Is that a thing? What did I just say to you?
[00:00:38] Good morrow. Is it morrow tomorrow?
[00:00:40] I don't know.
[00:00:42] I mean, it goes along with my books. I'm good with it.
[00:00:44] Oh, does it? Kind of. That's funny. It just came out of my mouth.
[00:00:49] What is with this weather?
[00:00:51] It's nice.
[00:00:52] But is it going to stay?
[00:00:55] I probably not. No, it's not.
[00:01:00] Does cold know how to stay down here?
[00:01:04] I don't know.
[00:01:04] And by cold, I mean it hit like 49 degrees this morning.
[00:01:08] Well, Lucia said that Elsa made it cold, so.
[00:01:12] Oh, well that was nice of Elsa.
[00:01:14] Yeah, but then Chester said, and I'm Elsa, so.
[00:01:17] Oh, okay.
[00:01:17] I did it.
[00:01:18] Well, last night at Foster's football game, Margo thought it was hilarious to continuously put her freezing cold hands all over my face.
[00:01:27] Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
[00:01:28] Yeah.
[00:01:30] We went outside and looked at the moon last night.
[00:01:32] Oh, the moon was very pretty.
[00:01:33] Mm-hmm.
[00:01:34] Is that Hunter's moon?
[00:01:35] Hunter?
[00:01:35] I don't know.
[00:01:36] Michael said something that I don't know anything about.
[00:01:39] I said, sounds good.
[00:01:40] Let's go look at it.
[00:01:41] And she said, I want to go catch it.
[00:01:44] And she was trying to run through other people's yards to get closer to it.
[00:01:48] And I had to tell her that it's up there for everybody, and if we take it down, then the whole world, everyone else won't be able to enjoy it.
[00:01:56] Oh, man.
[00:01:57] I really would have been sad if she had taken the moon down.
[00:02:00] Yeah, Mike told her that, you know, it was however many miles away.
[00:02:04] He gave her like a.
[00:02:06] An exact number.
[00:02:08] Yeah.
[00:02:08] She was just like, I want to grab it.
[00:02:12] No.
[00:02:13] I don't know what that many million miles means.
[00:02:16] It's probably not a million.
[00:02:18] I don't know how many.
[00:02:18] I have no idea.
[00:02:19] I don't know.
[00:02:21] But also at the game last night, I told Margo if she quit putting her cold hands all over my face, then as soon as the game ended, I would do the flippy thing with her that I did in Iceland with our tour guide.
[00:02:36] I don't know if you saw that video.
[00:02:37] Yeah, I did.
[00:02:38] Mm-hmm.
[00:02:38] And.
[00:02:39] Yeah, I watched all your Iceland videos.
[00:02:40] Well, I mean, you could have missed some stuff.
[00:02:42] I don't know.
[00:02:44] And so she was like, okay, okay.
[00:02:47] So she quit putting her hands on my face and there was like a minute and 50 seconds left on the clock.
[00:02:52] And I was like, okay, we'll do it in one minute and 53 seconds.
[00:02:57] And she goes, no, three minutes.
[00:03:00] I was like, all right, three minutes it is.
[00:03:03] If you want to go up, we'll go up.
[00:03:05] They're so funny.
[00:03:09] What's funny?
[00:03:10] I was in a terrible book slump for, Teddy was not happy about it.
[00:03:16] I was in a terrible book slump for weeks.
[00:03:20] I was like at the point where I was ready to take myself to the neurologist because I thought something must be wrong.
[00:03:27] I was like, okay, okay.
[00:03:27] But I finally found one that I really liked and was able to finish.
[00:03:31] Great.
[00:03:32] Me too.
[00:03:33] Okay, good.
[00:03:33] Because I tried some witchy books and I just couldn't get into it.
[00:03:38] Mine's not witchy.
[00:03:38] It's actually historical fiction.
[00:03:40] Okay.
[00:03:40] Which was kind of a random genre for me.
[00:03:45] However, I heard Ann Bogle talk about this book and it sounded so good that I put a hold on it at the library.
[00:03:52] And then when it became available, I was like, well, let me just try this and see if it'll work.
[00:03:57] And it did.
[00:03:58] Great.
[00:03:59] Do you want to hear about it?
[00:03:59] Yes, I do.
[00:04:00] Okay, good.
[00:04:00] Please.
[00:04:01] Because I was going to tell you about it either way.
[00:04:03] No, not really.
[00:04:03] Sounds good.
[00:04:05] Anyways.
[00:04:06] Anyway, let me tell you about my book.
[00:04:08] So it's The Briar Club by Kate Quinn.
[00:04:11] The what?
[00:04:11] The Briar Club.
[00:04:13] Briar Club.
[00:04:13] Okay.
[00:04:14] It's called that because there's a group of ladies.
[00:04:17] It takes place in the 50s, which is not a typical era for a historical fiction book.
[00:04:22] So I like that from the start.
[00:04:24] Um, but there's a group of ladies who live in like a boarding house.
[00:04:29] Um, and they call it Briar House.
[00:04:32] Okay.
[00:04:34] And each, it's interesting because each chapter we get to hear from a different person in the boarding house.
[00:04:42] And it, like each chapter continues the timeline of the story, but from a different perspective.
[00:04:49] And we only hear from each person once.
[00:04:52] Okay.
[00:04:52] So it takes place over like four years, I think three or four years.
[00:04:56] So the first person we hear from is Pete.
[00:04:58] And Pete is the son of the lady who owns the boarding house, who they call like Dolly's, whatever her last name is.
[00:05:07] I don't remember like Johnson or something.
[00:05:09] Mm-hmm.
[00:05:10] Dolly's Johnson.
[00:05:11] And I don't really know why they call her that.
[00:05:12] It's supposed to be, they don't call her that to her face.
[00:05:15] Mm.
[00:05:15] It's supposed to be some kind of like insult because she's not a nice lady.
[00:05:20] Okay.
[00:05:21] I don't really know how that's an insult, but it must be a 50s thing.
[00:05:24] I probably just missed it in the book.
[00:05:27] But anyway.
[00:05:27] Okay.
[00:05:28] So Pete at this point is like a young teenager and he's in a house full of women.
[00:05:34] So good for him, right?
[00:05:36] Um, so he kind of kicks off the story and introduces us essentially to everyone.
[00:05:40] When the story begins, there is a new boarder who enters the house and her name is Grace.
[00:05:46] And she's a little bit mysterious.
[00:05:47] Um, and she sort of brings the house mates together.
[00:05:53] So whereas before they were all just these boarders living in their separate rooms, living
[00:05:58] their separate lives, Grace kind of starts bringing them together on Thursday nights.
[00:06:03] They start doing a kind of little supper club.
[00:06:06] She has a television in her room.
[00:06:08] So they'll gather around the TV and watch and just hang out together.
[00:06:12] Sometimes they invite other people, but they have to do it all without the lady who owns
[00:06:19] the house knowing because she's super strict, um, and just kind of awful.
[00:06:24] So the next person we hear from is Nora and Nora, um, gets mixed up with a gentleman who
[00:06:34] is not, not a gentleman.
[00:06:36] He's a gangster.
[00:06:37] Oh, okay.
[00:06:39] And, um, she doesn't realize it at first.
[00:06:41] And, and then he's when she finds out, he's like, I thought you knew, like, I thought you
[00:06:47] knew who I was.
[00:06:48] I didn't realize that.
[00:06:50] Like I wasn't trying to mislead you.
[00:06:52] The, the, the pinstripe suit didn't give it up.
[00:06:56] Um, I'm not going to tell you too much about each woman.
[00:06:59] Cause that would be like a very long podcast episode and like go read the book.
[00:07:03] Um, Rekha is German and she escaped Nazi Germany.
[00:07:08] Okay.
[00:07:09] Yeah.
[00:07:09] Okay.
[00:07:10] She's the oldest in the house.
[00:07:12] What are their age ranges?
[00:07:14] Do you know?
[00:07:14] It's a wide.
[00:07:15] Okay.
[00:07:16] Age range.
[00:07:17] So it's not a bunch of young women.
[00:07:18] No.
[00:07:18] Okay.
[00:07:19] Like Rekha, I don't know, it was probably in her like fifties or sixties or something.
[00:07:22] I've had to guess.
[00:07:24] And I am guessing cause I don't know.
[00:07:25] Um, Fliss is British and she has a young baby and her husband is off like at war still
[00:07:37] not at war cause the war's over, but he's still off like doing things for the army.
[00:07:43] Okay.
[00:07:43] Wherever I don't know where he is.
[00:07:45] Sure.
[00:07:45] Um, so she is just kind of like waiting around until he gets back.
[00:07:50] And in the meantime, she's living in this boarding house with her baby with these women.
[00:07:55] Um, she's adorable.
[00:07:58] I loved Fliss.
[00:07:59] Um, then we have B who was like a league of their own women's baseball player, like pro
[00:08:08] baseball player.
[00:08:08] Wow.
[00:08:09] Okay.
[00:08:09] Um, her, her story was very interesting cause that's like something that we don't hear
[00:08:14] about very often.
[00:08:16] You know, that group of women that actually got to play professional baseball.
[00:08:20] Right.
[00:08:20] Um, then we have Claire who also, um, gets mixed up a little bit in a relationship that she shouldn't
[00:08:28] be in, but I won't say too much about that.
[00:08:30] I'll leave that for you.
[00:08:32] Okay.
[00:08:32] And then we have Grace who is the mysterious one.
[00:08:36] Um, she, she doesn't say much about herself.
[00:08:40] Like when people ask her questions, she kind of deflects a little bit.
[00:08:46] Um, so everyone kind of wonders about her, but she's super nice.
[00:08:50] She gathers everyone together.
[00:08:51] Like she's, everybody loves her.
[00:08:53] She's wonderful.
[00:08:54] And then finally we hear from Arlene who is from the South and she's the one that everybody
[00:09:00] just kind of hates.
[00:09:01] Like she's really annoying.
[00:09:02] She says awful things and yeah.
[00:09:05] Okay.
[00:09:06] Um, but what I didn't tell you is that there's another character and that is the house.
[00:09:13] So the house has its own very short little intermezzo chapters.
[00:09:18] Okay.
[00:09:18] Through which we learn at the very beginning of the book that there are two dead bodies in
[00:09:25] the house.
[00:09:25] Oh no.
[00:09:26] Mm hmm.
[00:09:28] Yeah.
[00:09:28] I didn't think that was where this was going.
[00:09:30] Yeah.
[00:09:31] So that's current day.
[00:09:32] And then we go back in time to four years ago and go through all of these ladies to find
[00:09:38] out which ones are dead.
[00:09:39] To find out who's dead and how it happened.
[00:09:41] Oh.
[00:09:42] It was so good.
[00:09:44] So you have like a murder mystery tied up in this incredible historical fiction.
[00:09:48] And then also they're all dealing, I mean, they're in the era of McCarthy.
[00:09:53] So they're all dealing with like, you know, communism and communist sympathizers and McCarthyism
[00:10:01] and all these kinds of things.
[00:10:03] And it just, it was really, really well done.
[00:10:07] I was impressed.
[00:10:08] Great.
[00:10:08] I'm going to read it.
[00:10:09] And you also have to listen to the author's note, obviously, who doesn't read author's
[00:10:15] notes with historical fiction.
[00:10:16] But if you listen to the audio book, there's also an interview with the author and the audio
[00:10:25] book narrator.
[00:10:26] And it reveals kind of some of how she came up with these different characters.
[00:10:30] And it was, it was really good.
[00:10:32] Very cool.
[00:10:32] Yeah.
[00:10:33] I want to read it.
[00:10:34] Yes.
[00:10:34] Like, it was so good.
[00:10:36] Okay.
[00:10:37] All right.
[00:10:37] Adding it to the list.
[00:10:39] The ever growing list that I never get to.
[00:10:42] Yeah.
[00:10:43] Well, let me tell you about my book.
[00:10:45] Okay.
[00:10:45] So I don't, I don't know that I can call this historical fiction because it is made up,
[00:10:50] but it has elements of historical fiction.
[00:10:54] And I'll tell you why.
[00:10:55] Okay.
[00:10:55] So the book is called The Hundred Lives of Juliet by Evelyn Skye.
[00:10:59] It came out in like 2023.
[00:11:02] Okay.
[00:11:03] Um, so the main character is Helene.
[00:11:06] She's just gotten out of a really bad marriage relationship.
[00:11:10] Um, it's really the only real relationship she's ever had.
[00:11:13] She met her husband in college.
[00:11:15] She was a journalist.
[00:11:16] And so was he, they were on the track for that.
[00:11:19] And she's kind of given up all of her dreams over the years for his career.
[00:11:24] Um, she finds out that he's cheating on her and he has been with like every intern that
[00:11:29] he has.
[00:11:29] And he's just kind of a scumbag.
[00:11:31] Right.
[00:11:31] So she decides to leave.
[00:11:35] Um, I think they live in LA.
[00:11:36] She goes to Alaska because she's trying to write her own, um, story to get it published.
[00:11:42] And she's like, I'm just going to completely remove myself from this situation.
[00:11:47] And I'm going to go somewhere where he can't find me and I can, you know, write my book.
[00:11:53] So she goes to Alaska the first day she's there.
[00:11:56] She goes into this pub and all these fishermen, like they're like crab fishermen come off of
[00:12:02] the boat and, um, everyone's like cheering for them because they usually, one of the guys
[00:12:08] buys everyone in the bar, like around the drinks and all this stuff.
[00:12:10] And everyone really likes, everyone's excited that they're home.
[00:12:13] Yeah.
[00:12:14] And the guy turns around and instantly she is in her mind.
[00:12:22] Like, this is the guy that I write about in all of my stories.
[00:12:25] Like that's him.
[00:12:26] Like the image I've ever always had in my mind since I was a little girl.
[00:12:30] And I like made up, if you want to call it an like imaginary friend and who she writes
[00:12:34] about when she writes her stories, even though they have different names, this is his face.
[00:12:38] Like that is him.
[00:12:39] Have you ever like dreamed something like of a place and then like found it in real life?
[00:12:48] I don't know.
[00:12:49] Because that's happened to me several times and I'm sure it's just some kind of brain
[00:12:52] trick.
[00:12:53] Yeah.
[00:12:53] You know, some kind of bias, one of those things.
[00:12:55] Sure.
[00:12:56] But it's like, I will.
[00:12:58] Does it freak you out?
[00:12:59] Yeah.
[00:12:59] Cause I'm like, hold on.
[00:13:01] I know this place because I've dreamed, like I've been here in my dreams before.
[00:13:06] That's really cool.
[00:13:07] It's trippy.
[00:13:08] I'm sure.
[00:13:08] It's happened to me a few times.
[00:13:10] Yeah.
[00:13:11] Yeah.
[00:13:11] It's weird.
[00:13:11] But you kind of have that whole.
[00:13:12] I mean, my dreams are slightly prophetic.
[00:13:15] Wait, wait, let me tell you about one thing.
[00:13:17] Tell me.
[00:13:18] So night before last, I dreamed that Abby, who I work with, had two heart attacks.
[00:13:24] Oh no.
[00:13:25] Okay.
[00:13:25] I know.
[00:13:26] Thanks.
[00:13:26] And our boss was like, we're, you know, she's going to have to recover.
[00:13:33] We're all just going to have to pitch in while she's recovering from her heart attacks.
[00:13:36] Right.
[00:13:38] And then I get to work and Abby is freaking out because an event that she's supposed to
[00:13:47] have, like the, the guy who owns the place had her down for the wrong date and like everything's
[00:13:54] set and he had her down for the wrong date.
[00:13:56] So that's heart attack.
[00:13:56] Number one.
[00:13:57] Right.
[00:13:58] Number two is she's been texting back and forth with this person named Aubrey.
[00:14:04] And she thought it was a woman the whole time.
[00:14:07] And then she talks to him on the phone and it's like, hi.
[00:14:09] And she's like, what?
[00:14:11] So I was like, I dreamed that Abby had two heart attacks and then I get to work and she
[00:14:15] has like two like major.
[00:14:18] That's so funny.
[00:14:19] Anyway.
[00:14:20] It's interesting how that happens.
[00:14:21] Yeah.
[00:14:22] It is.
[00:14:22] I think sometimes our dreams are trying to set us up so that we're not completely shocked
[00:14:28] by stuff that happens.
[00:14:29] Oh, absolutely.
[00:14:30] And I think sometimes, um, I'll randomly like I'll dream about someone or something
[00:14:35] will come into mind about somebody that I don't ever think about or like I'm dreaming and I'm
[00:14:39] like, I don't ever think about that person.
[00:14:41] Like that's really weird.
[00:14:42] They were in my dream.
[00:14:43] Does it worry you?
[00:14:44] I think about it.
[00:14:45] Well, what's happened in the past is that every now and again when that happens, I'll
[00:14:49] like run into them the next day.
[00:14:51] Oh, really?
[00:14:51] Or I'll get a text message like within the week from them.
[00:14:56] And in my mind, I'm like, is that setting me up for?
[00:14:59] That's so interesting.
[00:15:00] It's strange.
[00:15:00] Cause I will like dream that like something has happened to my aunt and I'm like, is she
[00:15:07] okay?
[00:15:07] Like my first thought is I need to text her and make sure she's okay.
[00:15:11] Anyway, this is now just a podcast about dreams where we interpret.
[00:15:14] So let me tell you about my dream last night.
[00:15:16] No, I'm just kidding.
[00:15:17] Please don't.
[00:15:18] Please continue telling me about your book.
[00:15:19] Sorry for that sidebar.
[00:15:20] No, that's fine.
[00:15:21] So, um, Helene walks up to him and.
[00:15:24] Yes.
[00:15:24] The man from her writing.
[00:15:25] Okay.
[00:15:26] And she sees a recognition on his face.
[00:15:29] Oh.
[00:15:30] And she says, I know you.
[00:15:32] And he composes himself and he says, I don't know who you are.
[00:15:35] Mm hmm.
[00:15:36] Mm hmm.
[00:15:36] And then he leaves the bar.
[00:15:38] Mm hmm.
[00:15:39] And he's very rude to her.
[00:15:40] Did he dream about her?
[00:15:42] Hold on.
[00:15:42] Oh my gosh.
[00:15:44] So, um, she's there.
[00:15:46] She's not understanding what's going on.
[00:15:48] There's a lady that owns a bookstore in town and, um, she doesn't have time to go see her
[00:15:55] first grandchild that was born a few months ago.
[00:15:57] And Helene offers to work at the bookstore.
[00:16:01] She's like, I worked at a bookstore all through college.
[00:16:03] Like, um, you know, in the book world, whatever.
[00:16:06] She's like, I can run it for you for however long you want to be gone.
[00:16:09] And he was like, sure.
[00:16:09] Great.
[00:16:10] So she keeps running into this guy and he's just more and more rude to her every time
[00:16:14] he sees her.
[00:16:15] And she, and everyone that she talks about is like, Sebastian's the nicest guy in the
[00:16:19] whole world.
[00:16:19] He does all these things for the community, this and that.
[00:16:23] And so she's like, why is he doesn't like me?
[00:16:26] Like, it's just me.
[00:16:27] I don't understand.
[00:16:29] So, um, she doesn't know what's going on, but then we kind of start hearing his side and
[00:16:36] he, he chirps, he chirps in.
[00:16:38] And what we come to realize is he says, yes, I did recognize her.
[00:16:43] Um, because I recognize her, her spirit every time she is reborn.
[00:16:49] Oh.
[00:16:50] And what we come to find out is that they, that Helene is the reincarnation of Juliet from
[00:16:57] Romeo and Juliet.
[00:16:58] Oh.
[00:16:59] And he, and he is Romeo, but, um, he never dies.
[00:17:03] He's immortal basically.
[00:17:05] Oh my God.
[00:17:05] And so he.
[00:17:07] Why is he like mad at her?
[00:17:08] Sure.
[00:17:09] Because what happens, what we find out is that every Juliet that lives, it, once he,
[00:17:16] once they meet and fall in love in every lifetime, she dies.
[00:17:22] And so he thinks it's.
[00:17:23] By her own hand, right?
[00:17:24] No.
[00:17:24] Well, I mean, but initially.
[00:17:26] Initially.
[00:17:27] Well, so there's like an alternate of the story.
[00:17:30] Interesting.
[00:17:31] Yeah.
[00:17:31] That he says that's not actually what happened.
[00:17:34] Interesting.
[00:17:34] And he's, he explains what happens and he explains why he thinks there's this curse
[00:17:38] on them.
[00:17:40] And, um, he, I don't want to say too much, but.
[00:17:45] Yeah.
[00:17:46] Anyway, so, um, and she has the same birthday as Juliet.
[00:17:51] Like every Juliet has the same birthday, but they're, they're born in different cultures.
[00:17:55] They're born in different.
[00:17:56] Huh.
[00:17:56] They don't look the same.
[00:17:58] This is a fascinating concept.
[00:18:00] Yeah.
[00:18:00] But the spirit, like he recognizes her spirit and she recognizes him and their soulmates.
[00:18:05] Yeah.
[00:18:05] In the scenario.
[00:18:06] Um, and so she has been in her mind, had this image of him her whole life and she's been
[00:18:12] writing these stories.
[00:18:14] Right.
[00:18:14] Or so she thinks.
[00:18:15] Right.
[00:18:15] Right.
[00:18:15] Right.
[00:18:15] Right.
[00:18:16] Um, but really her soul knows.
[00:18:19] Yeah.
[00:18:20] It's like past lives that she doesn't realize.
[00:18:22] And so, um, it was just really, I don't know.
[00:18:27] I really liked it.
[00:18:27] It was really interesting because what he did is he went back in time to each of those
[00:18:31] individual lives.
[00:18:33] Yeah.
[00:18:33] And he went from Romeo and Juliet to the next one and then on.
[00:18:38] And he, so it's all these different characters that have different personalities, but at their
[00:18:43] soul, they're the same and how he met them, how they each died.
[00:18:47] I mean, he just goes through.
[00:18:48] So it is somewhat historical because you're going like, it's the French revolution.
[00:18:52] Yeah.
[00:18:52] I mean, like it's just all of these situations, Pearl Harbor.
[00:18:56] I mean, it's everything.
[00:18:57] It was just really interesting and well done.
[00:19:00] This is, I just want to say such a Marissa book.
[00:19:03] I know.
[00:19:04] I loved it.
[00:19:05] It's true.
[00:19:06] Um, but it sounds really fascinating.
[00:19:07] Yeah.
[00:19:08] I love the idea and the concept.
[00:19:10] I, for me, like, um, like fairy tale kind of retellings are hit or miss, but this is
[00:19:19] kind of a different take on that.
[00:19:21] I, it's not a fairy tale.
[00:19:22] It didn't feel.
[00:19:23] Yeah.
[00:19:23] It's a Shakespeare play.
[00:19:25] Right.
[00:19:25] Um, so I'm, I'm very intrigued.
[00:19:27] And it didn't feel fantasy.
[00:19:30] It didn't feel honestly magical.
[00:19:33] Like it doesn't give off that.
[00:19:36] Right.
[00:19:36] Like, it's like he's living his life.
[00:19:38] He can't die.
[00:19:39] And when one Juliet dies, another one is reincarnated, but her birthday is always the
[00:19:44] same.
[00:19:44] So he has to wait like a decade or two to like meet her generally.
[00:19:47] And he meets her the same day in July that he met her at the birthday, at the party.
[00:19:55] Yeah.
[00:19:55] So she, her birthday was like a couple of days after the party, but he, when he runs into
[00:20:01] her in general and he doesn't know what year or when it's going to be, but it's always
[00:20:04] on that date.
[00:20:05] God, he's got to be like every year on that date.
[00:20:08] Just like, oh, is this going to be the day?
[00:20:11] I will say, I think she's generally of age.
[00:20:13] Like, so I think he kind of has an idea of it has to be at least like two decades, you
[00:20:19] know?
[00:20:20] But, um, he doesn't have a full sense of it.
[00:20:22] And the timeframe of her living is always different.
[00:20:27] It's like, it could be two days.
[00:20:28] It could be two weeks.
[00:20:29] It could be two years.
[00:20:31] It just, it's, and it's always something just like completely random that happens of
[00:20:35] how she dies.
[00:20:36] Um, but it also goes with the time period.
[00:20:39] So like things that are going on in that time period during history, he discusses and the
[00:20:45] way that they die is affiliated with.
[00:20:48] Like the bubonic plague or something like that.
[00:20:50] Something like that.
[00:20:51] Yeah.
[00:20:51] Interesting.
[00:20:52] Interesting.
[00:20:52] This is very fascinating.
[00:20:54] And what's it?
[00:20:55] The 10 lives of Juliet?
[00:20:57] The 100.
[00:20:57] 100 lives?
[00:20:58] Oh, 100.
[00:20:59] Just a hundred.
[00:21:01] The 100 lives of Juliet.
[00:21:02] Okay.
[00:21:02] Yeah.
[00:21:03] Cause it's over.
[00:21:04] Yeah.
[00:21:05] A very long.
[00:21:06] Right.
[00:21:06] Okay.
[00:21:07] All right.
[00:21:07] Yeah.
[00:21:08] Um, I just really liked it.
[00:21:10] It's so, it's like romance and whatever, but it had that feeling of historical fiction.
[00:21:15] And I really enjoyed hearing about all the past lives and like what happened to those
[00:21:20] characters and how they got to where they were and how she is coming up with those stories
[00:21:26] in her mind that are actually past lives.
[00:21:28] Right.
[00:21:28] And like how that happened anyways.
[00:21:29] Very cool.
[00:21:30] Yeah.
[00:21:30] Okay.
[00:21:31] How did you find this book?
[00:21:33] I don't remember.
[00:21:34] Oh, okay.
[00:21:34] I was just like searching.
[00:21:36] Yeah.
[00:21:36] I don't know.
[00:21:37] Rom, I think I should search like romance, um, witchy fall vibes and it like came up in
[00:21:43] a list.
[00:21:44] Interesting.
[00:21:44] Okay.
[00:21:45] So it's not witchy at all.
[00:21:46] And it's only magical because of the reincarnation part of it, but it's not really.
[00:21:52] Well, and the immortal part.
[00:21:54] Right.
[00:21:56] But otherwise.
[00:21:57] But it, it doesn't feel like that, you know, anyway.
[00:22:00] So yeah, it was really good.
[00:22:02] I liked it a lot.
[00:22:03] Okay.
[00:22:04] Awesome.
[00:22:05] Um, well two fantastic books today.
[00:22:08] Yeah.
[00:22:08] And they have similar historical.
[00:22:11] I know.
[00:22:11] Of course.
[00:22:12] And also I would say a fantastic tea.
[00:22:15] I know.
[00:22:15] It's very good.
[00:22:17] Yes.
[00:22:17] So again, Huli, my sister-in-law went out of the country, um, or just anywhere she goes
[00:22:23] and she always brings us back tea cause she's so thoughtful.
[00:22:26] Um, they just recently got back from Spain and she brought, um, it's actually from the
[00:22:32] tea shop, which I've seen this.
[00:22:34] I think that's where I brought back our, like, it's weird, but I recognize that handwriting.
[00:22:40] Yeah.
[00:22:40] Cause she, the lady wrote.
[00:22:43] Okay.
[00:22:44] Yeah.
[00:22:44] Like, I'm pretty sure that's from, from Spain, from Spain.
[00:22:47] Oh, I didn't.
[00:22:48] Okay.
[00:22:48] I was like, that looks so familiar, but I couldn't remember what the situation was.
[00:22:52] Okay.
[00:22:52] So the company.
[00:22:53] Was she in Barcelona?
[00:22:54] I don't know.
[00:22:55] Yeah.
[00:22:56] So the company is called the tea shop, which I think has a lot of locations.
[00:23:00] Yeah, they do.
[00:23:01] Um, this one is called Italian Panettone.
[00:23:04] Um, and I had to look up the description because it's in Spanish, which I do not speak.
[00:23:13] Um, wait, is there a description on here?
[00:23:15] I think on the, on, look at the back.
[00:23:18] I can't read that.
[00:23:21] Oh, I think it's just telling you how to brew it.
[00:23:23] Okay.
[00:23:24] Well, so this is an oolong tea.
[00:23:27] Um, it says the king of all parties on an oolong tea base, along with sweet sultans and fused
[00:23:35] citrus flavor.
[00:23:37] Um, the description is a new blend within the tea dessert family inspired by the traditional
[00:23:43] Italian sweet and made with classic ingredients made in a soft and silky oolong tea base together
[00:23:49] with sweet sultana grape and with a blended sweet citrus flavor.
[00:23:53] Oolong tea is a semi rusted tea, which makes it a good ally to combat stomach heaviness and
[00:24:00] therefore very digestive.
[00:24:01] Ideal to take hot and for its low content in thean, thean?
[00:24:07] Theanine.
[00:24:08] Theanine throughout the day.
[00:24:09] And then the ingredients are oolong tea, raisin grapes, citrus peel, lapacho?
[00:24:16] I don't know.
[00:24:17] Orange blossom, citrus oil, and scents.
[00:24:20] Just random scents.
[00:24:22] We like to just throw scents in there.
[00:24:26] We just waft them into the tin.
[00:24:30] Yes, yes.
[00:24:31] Um, it tastes really good though.
[00:24:32] It's very good.
[00:24:33] Yeah, I like it.
[00:24:34] And we don't usually do oolong.
[00:24:36] No, but...
[00:24:37] We're a black tea.
[00:24:38] Yeah, but I do like oolong.
[00:24:40] It's a little bit lighter and um, apparently good for digestion.
[00:24:43] So we need to be drinking it more often.
[00:24:45] Yeah, it smells delicious.
[00:24:46] The tan is really...
[00:24:47] The tan.
[00:24:48] The tin is really cute.
[00:24:49] It has lemons and um, blossoms all over it.
[00:24:52] It is a cute tin.
[00:24:53] You have to save that.
[00:24:54] I am.
[00:24:54] I am.
[00:24:55] When you're done with the...
[00:24:56] I'll give it to Lucia and she can play with it.
[00:24:58] Oh yeah, because she likes to have her tea.
[00:25:00] Put little treasures in it.
[00:25:00] Mm-hmm.
[00:25:01] Yes.
[00:25:02] Uh, but yeah, thank you Hooli.
[00:25:03] Delicious.
[00:25:04] Yeah, thank you.
[00:25:04] This was so good.
[00:25:04] And we love dessert tea, so...
[00:25:06] Yes.
[00:25:08] Um, awesome.
[00:25:09] Okay, well, that was great chat, great books, great tea.
[00:25:14] Yeah.
[00:25:14] So I think on that note...
[00:25:16] Cheers.
[00:25:17] Cheers.
[00:25:17] Thanks for listening.
[00:25:19] Be sure to check out the show notes for the full list of books we discussed today.
[00:25:22] You can find that in your podcast app or on our website, inkdrinkerspodcast.com.
[00:25:28] And please support us by subscribing anywhere you listen to podcasts and leaving a review.
[00:25:33] You can find us on Instagram and on Twitter at inkdrinkerspod.
[00:25:38] Cheers!
[00:25:40] Cheers!