This film is the English version of Mi Culpa, based on Mercedes Ron's Wattpad trilogy Culpable. This young adult romance is an enemies-to-lovers story that has captivated a large audience.

I’ll admit I have not seen the whole trilogy of the original Spanish movies or read the books…yet!

My Fault: London came out in 2025, with the sequel Your Fault: London coming out earlier this month. The English version follows a relatively similar story with some changes along the way. In this film, 18-year-old Noah, who moves to London with her mom to start a new chapter with his mother’s new Husband and his son. She meets Nick, her new step-brother, and the two of them start an enemies-to-lovers forbidden romance that I couldn’t get enough of! Asha Banks and Matthew Broome, who play Noah and Nick, had fantastic chemistry and acting on screen. I was rooting for their love story and am anticipating the final installment, Our Fault: London, when it comes out, which will hopefully be in the next year or so!

Now, if you’re looking for another fun, steamy romance to get into after the hangover left by these films, check out some of these novels. I know I will be!!

🚇 On the Subway:

• Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari

• Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde

• Verity by Colleen Hoover

• Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

• The Witch: A Novel by Marie NDiaye

• Future Feeling by Joss Lake

• The Art of Loving You by Natasha Bishop

• Tick Tock by James Patterson and Michael Ledwidge

• The Heart’s Invisible Furies by John Boyne

• Baby in a Box by Sarah Braunstein

👟👟Walking Down the Street

• Onyx Storm by Rebecca Yarros

☕Coffee Shop

• Disclaimer by Renée Knight

….

I have found myself being able to write almost every day, which is such a release of creative energy. I have started recording for season 10 of my podcast this month. I can read more books during the month through reading on the subway, with a commute, this is the best way to get my reading in.

The main character in this film Sasha, played by Charlize Theron, goes on a kayaking excursion in an Australian National Park months after losing her boyfriend in a climbing accident. On her own and in the wilderness, she marches on. While at the National Parks information center, she notices many missing persons posters, still, as a reckless adrenaline junkie, she goes off on her own.

While buying supplies, including homemade jerky at a local gas station, she meets Ben, played by Taron Egerton, who gives her directions to a campground. Before she knows it Ben has stolen her supplies and cornered her, sending her on a wild chase while he hunts her.

This is a wild adventure, a suspenful horror thirller that had me gripping the edge of my seat. I was so impressed by Charlize Theron's acting and climbing ability, having learned she did her own stunts. Taron Egerton has a great performance in a way I personally had not seen before. It was a great film.

If you enjoyed the film and want to read something that will get your heart racing and keep you glued to the page to figure out what happens next, the books below are a great fit for you!

Below are the books I saw being read on the subway in April.

🚇 On the Subway:

• Communion: The Female Search for Love by Bell Hooks

• White Malice: The CIA and the Covert Recolonization of Africa by Susan Williams

• Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments by Saidiya Hartman

• The Idiot by Elif Batuman

• Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

April was my second month in the city and filled with so much fun and exploration! I saw shows, read new novels and even participated in a book swap! I explored multiple places that are perfect for those looking to read or write. Here are some of my favorite cafe’s and venues:

• The Marlton Hotel Espresso Bar in New York City

• Conwell Coffee & Cocktail Hall

• Bibliotheque

• Book Club Bar

Guillotine Book by Delilah S. Dawson

This novel has sensitive topics written, so please be mindful when picking it up. This is a trigger warning. The story is what I would characterize as a horror thriller, so many scenes are graphic and bloody, dealing with dark topics of violence.

This novel is well titled, as my sister and I discussed. For a small history lesson, the guillotine was created by Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin. He designed it as a more “humane” way to execute people, the irony not lost on me in this novel. As many of us know, the guillotine became a symbol of the French Revolution. Students of History for more information.

With that said, it has become one of my favorite books I have read this year. For the short 208 pages that this novel is, you get a full story with full-fledged characters and suspense; it felt like I was watching a movie. Speaking of…I would say if you are a fan of the following films and TV shows, you’ll love this book!!

I love a horror thriller novel. This sub-genre combines horror themes of fear, gore, and even the paranormal alongside the suspense and mystery of a thriller.

Saratoga Schaefer does a great job of this with their novels.

Especially looking at their most recent novels, Trad Wife and The Last Time We Drowned.

If you’re interested, you should definitely check out their novels: https://saratogaschaefer.com

Saratoga Schaefer will be a guest on my podcast later this summer to celebrate the release of their newest novel, The Last Time We Drowned.

For those who have not seen the films, we follow Grace on her wedding day as she is marrying into a very “old money” family, the Le Domas. They made their money through games, so on her wedding night, the family initiates her in by playing a game. She pulls a card, Hide and Seek, and that’s when the real game starts as she runs for her life.

One of my favorite parts of the second film, which came out earlier this year, is that it starts exactly where the first one ends. The ending scene in the first film is the opening scene of the second.

In the second film, unfortunately, our main character, Grace, finds herself in another game, fighting for her life this time with her sister alongside her.

The suspense in these films, balanced with great comedic timing, even during the horrors that ensue, is what I found so fun!

So, a few book recommendations that have the same suspense, mystery, comedy, and even darkness are below. Some are horror thriller novels, very dark and even bloody, some are YA and have more mystery than horror. All are great reads with complicated families that keep you on the edge of your seat.

🚇 On the Subway:

• Yellowface by R. F. Kuang

• An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen

• Whithering Heights by Emily Brontë

• The Giver by Lois Lowry

• The Savage Detectives by Roberto Bolañ

• Wedding People by Alison Espach

🏛️ In a library

• The Craft by John Dickie

In March, I saw so many people reading in the city, and it really excited me! Books have been a huge part of this month.

• Went to 3 different libraries

• Checked out 5 different bookstores

• Attended 3 different book events

• Read in 3 parks

• Spent 4 Sundays with my writing group

Four episodes played like a well-executed long movie that I binged in one day. Now, could they have added more? I think so, but the four episodes really did their job.

This show follows archaeologist Alice Monroe and her boyfriend Tom Parker. The pair are on vacation in France, taking a train to Arles, when Alice realizes Tom has vanished off the train. This starts her on a wild ride to figure out where he is, what happened, and some secrets about his past.

For those who loved this fast-paced thriller with characters who you think you know on a wild adventure, you should read the books below!

Our two main characters are Greyson, the son of the president and Shadera an assassin. The story has enemies to lovers, a forced marriage, and not one but two love stories we get to see blossom.

I was captivated from the beginning, as someone who loves this genre I’m excited to find a novel that rivals the excitement around romantacy with Dystopian Romantasy or Dystopian Romance. This brings together the excitement I felt reading dystopian novels back in high school like Hunger Games and Maze Runner now with a heavy and steamy romance! I was glued to the pages as I stayed up each night reading. The ending was absolutely fantastic leaving me wanting more and exicted for the next book!

So, for all those who loved this novel or are excited to read this novel, I have some suggestions for you!...

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Authors Discussed in this Episode:

• Nora Effron 

• Tom Wolfe

• David Sedaris

• Agustin burroughs 

• Jenny Losten

• Urma Bomback 

• Bret Easton

• Erma Bombeck

Books Discussed in this Episode: 

• The Bonfire of the Vanities by Tom Wolfe

• Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

• Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris

• Heartburn by Nora Ephron

• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

• Moby-Dick by Herman Melville

• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. (Jerome David) Salinger

• Animal Farm by George Orwell

• Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell

• Lord of the Flies by William Golding

• Walden by Henry David Thoreau

• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

• Fahrenheit 451by Ray Bradbury

• A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess

• I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron

• Less than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis

• The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

• A Confederacy of Duncesby John Kennedy Toole

• The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

• The Most Wonderful Crime of the Year by Ally Carter

• What A Way To Goby Bella Mackie

• The Heirloom by Jessie Rosen

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

• Real Americans by Rachel Khong

• Our Infinite Fates by Laura Steven

• None of this is True by Lisa Jewell

• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

• The Last One by Will Dean

• His & Hers by Alice Feeney

• Theo of Golden by Allen Levi

• The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

• So Old, So Young by Grant Ginder

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I am always looking to read in various genres each month.

Currently, I am reading a memoir, a dystopian romance, and of course, a thriller.

At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream: Misadventures in Search of the Simple Life by Wade Rouse is a memoir. Wade Rouse is one of those amazing authors who writes in so many genres. I have read a novel under his pen name Viola Shipman, his newest novel under his name, and now one of his memoirs! I was lucky enough to meet him and interview him for the podcast; his episode will air on March 3rd. Reading this memoir about his move from the big city to rural Michigan and entering a new chapter of his life is very fitting for me. I am moving to New York at the beginning of March and what a great book to start with! The novel so far is laugh out loud funny, so relatable, something that is reminding me that we all have chapters in life that begin and end and all the obstacles and learning lessons in between. As I prepare for this move it is nice to know someone else picked up their life and started over somewhere new too.

Daggermouth by H.M. Wolfe is a dark dystopian romance that is just keeping me up at night swiping through every page and hanging on every word. I have been looking for a story to fully dive into, truly getting lost in the adventure and lucky for me this one kept popping up on my fyp! The love stories that are blossoming and the angst and danger is so intriguing and captivating. I am fighting to keep my eyes open and keep going as I read it before bed.

The Wives of Hawthorne Lane by Stephanie DeCarolis is the audiobook I am currently listening to as I clear out my apartment and pack up my life to move to a whole new city. Originally I picked this novel because I had just finished watching The Burbs on Peacock and loved the idea of nosy neighbors and a community mystery. Now, as I think about the new neighbors I will soon have and the community I will soon be building it seems like I could have picked something a little lighter. But regardless, the novel is for those who love fully formed characters with secrets and pasts that haunt them. The female characters in this novel are keeping me curious about what they’ll do next.

Overall I am having a good reading month!

Authors Discussed in this Episode:

•  E. Lynn Harris

• Anne Rice

• Christopher Rice 

Books Discussed in this Episode: 

• Blood Debuts by Terry J. Benton-Walker

• Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

• Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar

• We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

• A Density of Souls by Christopher Rice

• A Snow Garden by Christopher Rice

• Invisible Life by E. Lynn Harris

• What We Did to Survive by Megan Lally

• The Grand Paloma Resort by Clyvis Natera

• The Really Dead Wives of New Jersey by Astrid Dahl

• Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng by Kylie Lee Baker

• The White Guy Dies First by Terry J. Benton-Walker

• Her Many Faces by Nicci Cloke

• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig 

• Fable for the End of the World by Ava Reid 

• There's Only One Sin in Hollywood by Rasheed Newson

• Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson

• The Chiffon Trenches by André Leon Talley

• Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston

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The original film was categorized as dark comedy/horror. The plot surrounds a neighborhood who suspect one of their neighbors is committing murder in his basement.

The TV show is not far off from the film, but with many modern updates and cultural references. The premise surrounds a young couple who move to the husband's childhood home, played by Jack Whitehall, to raise their new family. While on maternity leave, his wife, played by Keke Palmer, makes new friends in the neighborhood who introduce her to a story of a disappearance that happened to the girl who lived in the house across the street 20 years prior. This starts her on a wild chase to figure out what happened and whether anyone on the charming culdasac were involved.

I was absorbed into this from the first scene, and it made me think of all the fun thriller novels I love to read. So, below are book recommendations for those who loved this show. Stories about community, small towns, secrets, and whodunit mysteries that will keep you on the edge of your seat.