🥒 Before there was Tamlin, there was Tam Lin. 🥒

This week, we're diving into the 500-year-old Scottish ballad

that inspired A Court of Thorns and Roses—and spoiler alert:

the parallels are EVERYWHERE.

In this episode:

✨ The original Ballad of Tam Lin—the full story

✨ Janet, the badass heroine who defies warnings

✨ Tam Lin, the cursed fairy knight held captive

✨ The Fairy Queen as the original possessive villain

✨ The trials, transformations, and rescue

✨ How Sarah J. Maas adapted the ballad for ACOTAR

✨ The parallels: Feyre/Janet, Tamlin/Tam Lin, Amarantha/Fairy Queen

✨ Where SJM stayed faithful and where she diverged

✨ The brilliant subversion—what if the rescue ISN'T the happy ending?

We're discussing:

💚 How knowing the source material changes how you read ACOTAR

💚 The folklore elements woven throughout the series

💚 Is Rhysand the TRUE Tam Lin of the story?

💚 Female agency in both the ballad and ACOTAR

💚 The fiddle (yes, we're talking about the fiddle)

💚 Why SJM made the changes she did

💚 Whether ACOMAF is a subversion or betrayal of the source

This is for the literary nerds, the folklore lovers, and

anyone who's ever wondered why Tamlin felt so... folkloric.

Turns out, it's because he IS.

FULL SPOILERS for ACOTAR series (because we can't help

ourselves when discussing the parallels).

Tell us: Did you know about the Ballad of Tam Lin? Does it

change how you see ACOTAR?

DM us @PicklePartyPod! 💚

#PickleParty #TamLin #ACOTAR #SarahJMaas #ScottishFolklore

#BookTok #Romantasy #Folklore

🥒 War is coming. And Feyre has a plan. 🥒Welcome to ACOWAR Part 1, covering Chapters 1-43: Feyre's time as a spy in Spring Court, her systematic destruction of Tamlin's court from within, and the desperate race to unite the courts against Hybern.In this episode:✨ Feyre's double life as Tamlin's "captive" High Lady✨ How she destroys Spring Court from the inside✨ The moment she escapes back to the Night Court✨ Reuniting with Rhys and the Inner Circle✨ The sisters' arcs: Nesta training, Elain struggling✨ Building alliances across Prythian✨ Meeting the High Lords and their courts✨ The Dawn Court summit—all the courts in one room✨ Tensions, negotiations, and old wounds✨ Preparing for war with HybernWe're discussing:💚 Feyre's revenge on Spring Court—justified or too far?💚 Tamlin's downfall—do we feel bad for him?💚 Ianthe getting what she deserves💚 The High Lords meeting—who shined, who disappointed?💚 Elain's visions and her role💚 The political maneuvering and alliance-building💚 Whether Feyre's actions as a spy were morally rightThis is ACOWAR Part 1: the setup, the strategy, the alliances. The war hasn't started yet, but the pieces are moving into place.FULL SPOILERS for ACOWAR Chapters 1-43.Part 2 coming soon—covering the actual war, the battles, and the ending that changed everything.Tell us: Do you think Feyre went too far with Spring Court? Which High Lord is your favorite? Are you ready for war?DM us @PicklePartyPod! 💚#PickleParty #ACOWAR #ACourtOfWingsAndRuin #SarahJMaas #BookTok #Romantasy #Feysand #HighLords

Episode 10 is for the girls—the real ones, the ride-or-dies, the “burn the world down for you” kind of friendships.

This week on Pickle Party, we’re making the case that the most important relationships in romantasy aren’t the romances… they’re the female friendships. From Bryce and Danika to the Wallflowers, Violet and Rhiannon, and the Valkyries of the Night Court—we’re diving into the bonds that actually shape these stories, carry the characters, and honestly? Hurt the most.

We’re talking chosen family, loyalty, grief, healing, and the kind of friendships that make these women whole in ways romance never could.

Because a love interest might be the plot…

but a best friend? She’s the foundation.

💚 Hot Pickle, Cold Take: Are female friendships actually more important than the romance?

💬 Listener Challenge: Which Valkyrie are you—and which fictional friendship hit you the hardest?

Grab your wine, text your person, and press play.

🥒 To the stars who listen, and the dreams that are answered. 🥒ACOMAF Part 2: The second half that destroyed us all.In this episode:✨ Starfall and the shift✨ The mating bond reveal✨ The cabin scene (IYKYK)✨ Summer Court✨ Hybern's attack✨ The sisters being Made✨ Feyre's revenge plan✨ The ending that set up warThis is why ACOMAF is legendary. The romance. The devastation. The transformation.FULL SPOILERS for the second half of ACOMAF.What's your favorite moment? Tell us! 💚#PickleParty #ACOMAF #SarahJMaas #BookTok #Feysand #ToTheStarsWhoListen

🥒 All the Feels: The Book Moments That Destroyed Us 🥒Grab your tissues. We're talking about the romantasy scenes that made us ugly cry, the character moments we're still not over, and why we LOVE being emotionally destroyed by fiction.In this episode:✨ The scenes that broke us✨ Quotes that live rent-free in our heads✨ Books that gave us emotional whiplash✨ Why we love the beautiful devastation✨ The moments we can't reread without cryingACOTAR. Fourth Wing. Crescent City. All the feelings.What book moment destroyed YOU? Tell us! 💚#PickleParty #BookTok #Romantasy #AllTheFeels #ACOTAR #FourthWing #EmotionalReads #CrescentCity

🥒 Welcome to ACOMAF Part 1: The book that changed EVERYTHING. 🥒

We're breaking A Court of Mist and Fury into two episodes because there's simply too much to cover. Part 1 covers Chapters 1-27: from the Spring Court nightmare to discovering the Night Court and beginning to heal.

In this episode:

✨ Feyre's PTSD and the darkness of Spring Court

✨ Tamlin's controlling behavior and the wedding she doesn't want

✨ Rhysand collecting on the bargain

✨ The Velaris reveal—the secret city of starlight

✨ Meeting the Inner Circle (Mor, Cassian, Azriel, Amren)

✨ Feyre learning to read and fight

✨ The shift from Spring Court toxicity to Night Court healing

✨ The growing connection between Feyre and Rhysand

We're discussing:

💚 How ACOMAF destroys everything we thought we knew from Book 1

💚 Tamlin: trauma response or showing his true colors?

💚 The Night Court reveal and why it recontextualizes everything

💚 Found family done right

💚 Feyre reclaiming her agency

💚 When did you start trusting Rhysand?

This is the first half of the book that made ACOTAR a cultural phenomenon. The book that taught us what healthy relationships look like. The book that showed us the Spring Court "happily ever after" was actually a nightmare.

FULL SPOILERS for the first half of ACOMAF (Chapters 1-27).

Part 2 coming soon—covering Starfall, the mating bond, Hybern, and the ending that destroyed us all.

Tell us: When did you turn on Tamlin? When did you start shipping Feysand?

DM us @PicklePartyPod! 💚

#PickleParty #ACOMAF #ACourtOfMistAndFury #SarahJMaas #BookTok #Romantasy #Feysand

🥒 A Court of Thorns and Roses: The Deep Dive 🥒

We're going back to Book 1. The Beauty and the Beast retelling that started our ACOTAR obsession.

In this episode:

✨ Plot breakdown: Feyre, Tamlin, the curse, Under the Mountain

✨ Laughable moments vs cry moments

✨ Character analysis and first impressions

✨ How this book reads differently after ACOMAF

✨ Hot takes: Was Tamlin ever good? That riddle? Amarantha as a villain?

✨ Why this book became a phenomenon

ACOTAR is where it all started. The fae politics, the trials, the sacrifice, the transformation. We're breaking it ALL down.

FULL SPOILERS for Book 1 (and context from later books).

What was your first impression of ACOTAR? Tell us! 💚

#PickleParty #ACOTAR #SarahJMaas #BookTok #Romantasy

🥒 We read a Harlequin romance novel and we have THOUGHTS. 🥒

This week, we're paying tribute to the genre that built the foundation for romantasy: classic romance novels. We picked up a Harlequin, read it cover to cover, and now we're breaking it down and the history of romance novels.

In this episode:

✨ Our full review - the plot, the tropes, the steam

✨ What surprised us, what made us laugh, what made us swoon

✨ The history of romance novels and how they changed publishing

✨ How Harlequin revolutionized the industry

✨ The tropes that started in romance and live on in romantasy

✨ Why romance novels matter and what they gave us

We're diving into:

💚 The evolution of romance from bodice rippers to modern love stories

💚 How romance novels fought stigma and became a powerhouse genre

💚 The alpha heroes, the meet-cutes, the happily-ever-afters

💚 What romance taught us about consent, passion, and happy endings

This is our love letter to the books that came before romantasy. The books that proved love stories deserve to be taken seriously. The books that gave generations of readers escapism, hope, and the guarantee of a satisfying ending.

Without romance novels, there would be no romantasy. This is where it all started. 💚

Have YOU read a classic romance novel? What did you think?

DM us @PicklePartyPod!

#PickleParty #HarlequinRomance #RomanceNovels #Romantasy

#BookTok #ClassicRomance #RomanceHistory