Happy 2021, lovely listeners! It's our favorite time of the year: Urban Fic Month. (Okay, so we were still a little hungover from 2020 and this episode is a tad late. Forgive us!) This year, we read a classic: The Cartel, by Ashley & JaQuavis. There's money, romance, murder and a lot of anti-Haitian sentiment. It's uncomfortable. There's also some "sexy" farting (or should we say queuing?), a graphic castration and a whole lot of colorism. Get the alcohol ready, because this one is wild. Trigger warning for a mention of rape and discussion of homophobia starting at 1:07:40. If you wanna be part of the cool kids club, head over to Pateron and sign up. You’ll also get access to bonus materials including video and podcast outtakes. As always, a very special thank you to our Patrons: Adoria, Ali, Brittney, Bryonna, Catherine, Ellen, Emily, Erica, Frank, Heather, I Found This Great Book, Jennifer, Kat, Katie, Maria, Martel, Melissa, Montara, Sylvia, Terri, Therese, Whitney and YM. We also love it when you rate, review and subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Play, Google Podcasts and Spotify. Special thanks to Suite45 for our theme song, Jones’n. And thanks to YOU for listening! In this episode: The Burning God by R.F. Kuang Lead From the Outside: How to Build Your Future and Make Real Change by Stacey Abrams Our Time is Now: Power, Purpose, and the Fight for a Fair America by Stacey Abrams Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson Deacon King Kong by James McBride