chamomileandclove

Clovers, It’s time to unpick the plot threads of The Black Bird Oracle — the obvious, the not so obvious, the compelling, and the unfinished. In this episode, we’re talking about narrative questions, narrative and narrator choices, and the impact of TBBO on the rest of what we know about the All Souls Universe. Download the episode here. Thanks for joining us for TBBO — it’s been fun. If…

Happy Sunday, Clovers. So pleased to be with you again. In this episode, we’re covering Chapters 24-27 of The Black Bird Oracle. We’ve reached the end of the story… or have we? In this episode, we’re talking about Diana’s moral compass, antagonists, putting our protagonist in time out, what TBBO has to say about Higher Magic/Light and Shadow (we aren’t entirely sure, guys), that damned…

Clovers, Happy Sunday! We made it to Venice (what), used Ysabeau as a distraction (smart), and conducted a teensy witch heist (wait, again?), but we still haven’t quite met the antagonist for this book… or have we? In this episode, we’re talking about Diana’s character arc (…flatter than we expected?), her moral compass (wobbly), and the possibilities left by the last two chapters in this…

Clovers, Hi, hi. Happy 2025. January is always a bit of an odd, dark time — we’re in a slow season and everything is a little… off. You know, like perhaps the forest behind your family homestead puts off hallucinogenic fumes that take you on a sensual journey full of insects. We’re getting ahead of ourselves. In this episode, we’re talking about Chapters 17-18 of The Black Bird Oracle and…

Hi, Clovers! It’s not clear why this didn’t post as scheduled, but better late than never. In this episode, we’re tackling Chapters 9 and 10 of The Black Bird Oracle, which combines the witch version of a courtroom procedural with ancient mythology. We’re talking about allegory, long-term relationships, continuity, structure, and more — including whether we’re setting up for another trilogy —…

Hello, Clovers: It’s time to talk about Chapters 7 and 8 of The Black Bird Oracle. Once again, the gods of the pods were unkind — we had a mid-recording calamity that required two separate sessions, much to our dismay. The pod hiccups persist, but SO DO WE. Download the episode here. We accept your love and good wishes for a nonsense-free recording session for Chapters 9 and 10. If your oracle…

Oh, Clovers. Have you ever had a month (ish) where nothing went your way? Where everything went a bit to a hell and sideways and pear-shaped and you just couldn’t get your feet under you? That was, in effect, the last five (ish) weeks at C&C. Between work emergencies, sickness, power outages, internet crises, and the like, it took us eons to record this episode properly and get it to you. But,…

Clovers, We’re getting our witchlegs back under us as Diana travels (alone! Gloriously alone!) to Ravenswood, where there are buckets of other witches and a lot of VERY COMPLICATED FEELINGS. You guys, this thing where we haven’t read the book all the way through means we’re not very good at biding our time and being reasonable. Wait. Have we ever been good at that? Turns out that “P” stands for…

You guys. It’s been two years, but with the publication of The Black Bird Oracle, we could not resist coming back. In this episode, we’re catching up and finding our stride again as we cover Chapters 1-2 of Deborah Harkness’s TBBO.  We missed this, and we missed you. Looking forward to this next step into the universe of All Souls! xoxo Cait and…

Episode 120 – Endings, Beginnings, Change

Photo by Faye Cornish on Unsplash Dearest Clovers, Today is a bittersweet day. In this episode, we’re announcing our hiatus from podcasting. Both of us are about to embark upon major life changes and, 120 episodes and five years later, we think it’s appropriate to give C&C an intermission. We hope to answer your questions in the episode, but here’s a summary: we’re planning a possible return…

Episode 117 – A Discovery of Witches S3 Wrap Discussion – Plot Or Not

Steven Cree as Gallowglass, Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop – A Discovery of Witches _ Season 3, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Simon Ridgway/AMCN/SkyUK Happy Sunday, Clovers! This week, we’re bringing you our seventh (!?) plot discussion episode covering Season 3 of A Discovery of Witches TV. We’re doing a deep dive on the plot highlights of S3 and whether (or not) they follow a structure we’ve ever…

Episode 116 – A Discovery of Witches S3 Wrap Discussion – Arc Envy

Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop – A Discovery of Witches _ Season 3, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Simon Ridgway/AMCN/SkyUK Happy Sunday, Clovers! Sorry for the brief delay in getting you this episode — sometimes the external world plays tricks with our recording and editing schedule. Nonetheless — we’re bringing you our first wrap episode for S3 of A Discovery of Witches TV. In today’s episode,…

Episode 115 – A Discovery of Witches TV 3×07 – The Last Dance

Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop – A Discovery of Witches _ Season 3, Episode 7 – Photo Credit: Simon Ridgway/AMCN/SkyUK Clovers, Somehow, impossibly, we’ve made it here – to the finale of the adaptation of A Discovery of Witches. It’s bittersweet — we’re glad to see the Bishop-Clairmont scion get their happy ending, but it’s hard to close the curtain on this wonderful production and its cast and…

Episode 114 – A Discovery of Witches TV 3×06 – Menace Palace

Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop – A Discovery of Witches _ Season 3, Episode 6 – Photo Credit: Simon Ridgway/AMCN/SkyUK Happiest equinox, Clovers! We hope that there are glimmers of spring (or fall) wherever you are and that today finds you safe, well, and full of joy. So, HOLY ADAPTATION, BATMAN. We’re delighted to talk today about the smart, courageous, and very satisfying changes the writers’…

Episode 113 – A Discovery of Witches TV 3×05 – Birks N’ Socks

Alex Kingston as Sarah Bishop, Adelle Leonce as Phoebe, Matthew Goode as Matthew Clairmont, Edward Bluemel as Marcus Whitmore, Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop – A Discovery of Witches _ Season 3, Episode 5 – Photo Credit: Simon Ridgway/AMCN/SkyUK Happiest Sunday, Clovers. We’re nearing the end of our coverage of A Discovery of Witches TV and this episode makes it clear that we’re getting ready to…

Episode 112 – A Discovery of Witches TV 3×04 – All For None

Matthew Goode as Matthew Clairmont – A Discovery of Witches _ Season 3, Episode 4 – Photo Credit: Simon Ridgway/AMCN/SkyUK Dearest Clovers. Wow. As of yesterday, we’ve reached the finale of A Discovery of Witches TV — it’s an incredible accomplishment for the cast, the crew, the producers, and the fandom. We’re sad that we won’t have any more episodes to look forward to, but we’re going to…

Episode 111 – A Discovery of Witches TV 3×03 – Sticky Wicket

Teresa Palmer as Diana Bishop – A Discovery of Witches _ Season 3, Episode 3 – Photo Credit: Simon Ridgway/AMCN/SkyUK Happy Sunday, Clovers. We hope that February is treating you well and that you’re delighting in S3 of A Discovery of Witches TV as much as we are. In this episode, we’re traveling to New Orleans to reckon with Matthew’s past and the remainder of Marcus’s family. Meanwhile,…