Just in time for Valentine’s Day, New York Times best-selling author Tessa Bailey is out with her latest spicy sports romance “Dream Girl Drama.” When a professional hockey player and a harp player have a chance encounter, there is an instant love connection. Unfortunately though Sig and Chloe find out their parents are engaged and they have to make some tough choices about their careers and relationship. The new release comes as Tessa is making a stop in the Valley on her book tour! She talks to Whitney about what she loves about meeting her readers, what her husband thinks about her love stories, why romance has become such a popular genre, and how a real-life hockey player inspired this book!

It's a new year, which means we have another year of new books and reading to look forward to! On this episode, we're joined by Rylie Occhipinto and Melati Parker from Wijaya House in Tempe. It's a locally owned bookstore and flower shop with regular classes for the community! They talk to Whitney about which books they are looking forward to this year. That includes the following:

Whitney's picks:

"Atmosphere" by Taylor Jenkins Reid

"Elphie" by Gregory Maguire

"One Golden Summer" by Carley Fortune

Melati's picks:

"King of Ashes" by S.A. Cosby

"Katabasis" by R.F. Kuang

"The Listeners" by Maggie Stiefvater

"Witchcraft for Wayward Girls" by Grady Hendrix

"The Unworthy" by Agustina Bazterrica

"Courtroom Drama" by Neely Tubati-Alexander

Rylie's picks:

"My Friends" by Fredrik Backman

"The Lamb" by Lucy Rose

"Fun and Games" by John Patrick McHugh

"Sunrise on the Reaping" by Suzanne Collins

Do you set high standards for yourself or others? Do you consider yourself a "perfectionist"? In this episode, we're joined by Dr. Ellen Hendriksen who's out with a new book called "How to Be Enough: Self-Acceptance for Self-Critics and Perfectionists." The author is a clinical psychologist who's been featured in major publications like the New York Times, the Washington Post, Psychology Today and many more. She also founded an award-winning podcast called Savvy Psychologist. Dr. Hendriksen talks about different forms of perfectionism, how it can lead to burnout and what you can do if you recognize those symptoms in yourself.