In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez follows sisters Patria, Minerva, María Teresa, and Dedé Mirabal as they defy the brutal regime of Rafael Trujillo. It’s a powerful story of courage, sisterhood, and the price of resistance.

Fran Dorsey is a mom, digital content manager, and writer who grew up loving the internet. When she’s not writing or busy with her kids and husband, she’s trying to close the rings on her Apple Watch. She’s also always ready with a book recommendation for her friends. You can find her on Instagram and Threads @FranDorsey—don’t miss her hilarious memes—and check out her Substack, Frannie Pack.

Cuba Libre Drink

Ingredients

2 ounces rum

1 lime wedge

Coca-Cola, to top

Garnish: lime wheel

Steps

Fill a highball glass with ice and add the rum.

Squeeze in the juice from 1/4 of a lime and drop in the spent peel.

Top with the Coca-Cola, then give a brief and gentle stir.

Garnish with a lime wheel.

In this Episode

The Mirabal Sisters

Hobnail Drinking Glasses - AKA the Millennial glasses

Mariposa Cocktail

Hermanas Mirabel Province

Everything is Tuberculosis by John Green

Open Book by Jessica Simpson

Style Weekly Best of Richmond - Vote!

Tickets to Live Show with Meg Medina April 18th

Gone by Michael Grant is a gripping dystopian novel in which everyone over the age of fifteen suddenly disappears from a small California town, leaving the kids to survive on their own inside a mysterious barrier. As food runs out and strange powers begin to emerge, the remaining children must confront fear, chaos, and the struggle for control in a world with no adults.

Fiona Fenn is an author of fantasy novels that put complicated “heroes” front and center. A fan of villains, redemption arcs, and intense explorations of healing in all its forms, her debut novel,

The Crack at the Heart of Everything, is a love letter to every villain who wanted to do better but never got the chance. The City that Shattered the World is the second book in the series and will be coming out in October 2026!

Drink Blackberry Survival Smash

Ingredients

2 oz bourbon or dark rum

¾ oz fresh lemon juice

½ oz honey syrup

4–5 blackberries (muddled)

2–3 mint leaves

Splash of soda water

Instructions

Muddle blackberries, mint, and honey syrup in a shaker.

Add bourbon and lemon juice with ice.

Shake well and strain into a rocks glass over ice.

Top with a splash of soda and garnish with a blackberry.

In This Episode

Sarah J. Maas

The Spoken World Podcast - Michael Grant Episode

Sweet Valley High Books

Heated Rivalry

Our Rogue Fates by Sarah Glenn Marsh

Style Weekly Best of Richmond - Vote!

Tickets to Live Show with Meg Medina April 18th

On Beauty by Zadie Smith follows two feuding families—the liberal Belseys and the conservative Kippses—whose lives collide in a New England university town, exploring themes of race, family, politics, and love through sharp satire and witty dialogue.

Kirkus Reviews calls Marriage and Other Monuments, Virginia Pye’s recently published book, “A fascinating and audacious novel of family, marriage and a society in flux.” It is a #1 Amazon bestseller in New Southern FictionVirginia’s essays have appeared in The New York Times, Literary Hub, Publisher’s Weekly, Writer’s Digest, The Rumpus, and elsewhere. She has taught writing at New York University and the University of Pennsylvania, and, most recently, at GrubStreet in Boston. Virginia is Fiction Editor of the literary journal Pangyrus and serves on the board of the Women’s National Book Association, Boston Chapter.

Drink this week: The Zadie Smith - obvi! This recipe is from the book: Free the Tipple: Kickass Cocktails Inspired by Iconic Women - Check it out!

In this Episode

Marriage and Other Monuments by Virginia Pye

Style Weekly Best of Richmond 2026

Free the Tipple: Kickass Cocktails Inspired by Iconic Women

Tickets to Live Show with Meg Medina April 18th