Kristin and Jenny explore the evolving of their popular podcast along with their relationship. Despite divorcing during the podcast's production, the two find ways to navigate their changing relationship along with the show and the podcast. At times funny, heartbreaking, and serious, this book was unputdownable and a delight to read.

I will be reading this again, and I am going to start listening to the podcast.

I confess I'm not familiar with the podcast Kristin and Jenny made. But I've always been fascinated by Buffy fans and how united and supportive they are, so I really wanted to see what two women who went through the effort of creating something that spawned a whole community are like.
I was pleasantly surprised at how candid and open they both are about some of the very difficult things they went through in their personal lives. It makes the book a lot more about these two creative women than Buffy, even with the interesting parallels that the episodes sometimes had to what they were going through. Or maybe it's that you can find those parallels so easily in Buffy that explains the show's popularity decades after the last episode aired.
As a book on its own merit, it gives a fascinating glimpse into what goes into making a podcast, even as it puts on display all the trials and tribulations Kristin and Jenny faced as individuals. It benefits from having the association with the show, but I would have found it interesting just from how honest the authors were.
I will say though, that it might be better as an audiobook to get a chance to listen to the many songs that are discussed.

Very happy thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the interesting read.

Honestly, I loved the story but I am a sucker for anything Buffy the Vampire Slayer. There is nothing I wouldn't read given the chance about this. If it's a retelling, an alternative story, folks who love Buffy like Jenny. Anything! I had a great time with this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book! :)

It was ok.
I didn’t appreciate the Buffy the Vampire Slayer spoilers. That was annoying. Not everything has to be spoiled. Yes, the show came out years ago but why ruin an experience for a new generation?
Also, I found myself getting bored learning about how they started their podcast, felt a little repetitive to me.
If you like their podcast then this is for you.

Not for me. Not at all cool with exploiting a fandom and the queer community just to rehash the demise of a relationship. Marriages end and grieving them is normal. Framing that ending as some sort of collective trauma just because you had a popular podcast and some of your listeners were overly emotionally invested in you as a couple does not a retelling worthy of a memoir make.

If you are fans of the podcast Buffering the Vampire Slayer you'll love this book. If you're just discovering them this book is for you. It gives a lot of background information on the podcasters ( Kristin and Jenny), their podcast and the love they have for Buffy!

Buffering the Vampire Slayer started off with Kristen watching Jenny's favorite show Buffy The Vampire Slayer and analyzing it. It was meant to enhance their relationship and while the podcast becomes a success their personal life becomes complicated. Their romantic relationship and marriage falls apart but they manage to remain committed to their audience, fans and show by producing episodes and Buffy events.

This book will spoil episodes so don't read it if you haven't seen Buffy! One of the most interesting things about the book is how it's disclosed that their relationship was mirroring Buffy episodes they were watching/discussing.

This is an interesting read. If you want to listen or revisit the podcast now is a good time to start because they Kristen and Jenny are going thru all the episodes again this time with spoilers!

I am not sure what I was expecting when I read this book but I didn't think the main focus would be about Jenny and Kristens relationship with Buffy as an afterthought. This doesn't mean it wasn't a good read because it was but I wanted more Buffy.

Not at all what I thought it was going to be but enjoyed it nonetheless.
Super interested in checking out the podcast now.
Loved the inclusion of the songs, definitely recommend paring this with the audiobook at the same time

An unedited look at the journey these two women made to be together and then stay friends after their divorce. It includes all of the love and confusion inherit in any relationship, setting an excellent example for those struggling with themselves. It really makes no difference whether you're gay or straight, it takes two committed people to come out on the other side and still be friends/ family.

I grew up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, as well as Jenny Owen Young’s music, but I never listened to the podcast so I wasn’t sure if I’d like this book. I gave it a chance anyway & I’m glad I did. While this does talk about the podcast it’s more about their relationship (and breakup). I loved how honest it was sharing both sides of the relationship, breakup & afterwards. There were times I was crying over these two people I don’t really know.

This was an interesting memoir and well-structured. It felt well-paced and easy to read. I liked that it had both the author's perspectives and was very clear about when it shifted between them. The drawings inserted throughout added to the read, too. I did wish there was a little more about Buffy in there, but I'm glad the summary was upfront that the show was not the main focus of the book.

I love Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but had never listened to this podcast so I don't feel like I was the intended audience. I really enjoyed this book for what it is, which is more of a memoir of the authors lives while making the podcast. It definitely made me interested in listening to the podcast!

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC!

Loved every second of this book. I highly recommend this book to everyone that loves a good memoir. Also Buffy The Vampire Slayer the end.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC!

While I am not a Buffy fan (never watched it - it was a bit before my time) I was eager to read this book. I am all about anything pop culture-related, and I can absolutely understand the impact Buffy has had on the scene.

I loved the community that Jenny and Kristin built, that alone was enough for me to want to continue reading. I actually listened to the audio of this book as well, and I highly recommend that version so everyone can hear the beautiful music throughout the book.

As I mentioned before, I have not seen Buffy, but I think I've been influenced to try!

Thank you again for the ARC!

“Dear reader, into every generation a girl is born, imbued with preternatural strength, speed, and agility, and destined to fight evil. Any evil will do, but there’s a particular emphasis on vampires.” - @jennyowenyoungs & @kristinnoeline

I was hooked with this quote. Did you love Buffy the Vampire Slayer as much as I did??? Because I looooooved it. Didn’t miss a week. To find a memoir that combined the years of a favorite show and the life, love, divorce, and fought for friendship of these two women was perfection. Jenny and Kristin share their decade long love story as they launched their Buffering the Vampire Slayer podcast in 2016 as Kristin watched the show for the very first time.

I will be rewatching each Buffy episode and then listening to each one of these podcast episodes. I truthfully can’t wait to start again.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this #advancedreaderscopy - pub date was 4/8/25. GO GET IT!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#2025bookchallengebook28of100
#netgalley
#slayersallofus
#teambuffy
#hadathingforspike
#buffythevampireslayer

I really enjoyed reading this and enjoyed the memoir element to this book, it had that element and magic that I was looking for from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I enjoyed getting into this journey and was engaged with how Kristin Russo and Jenny Owen Youngs shared their story, I'm glad I was able to read this and can't wait for more.

Reading this as a Buffy fan who hasn’t heard the podcast was possibly a bad choice. It talks a lot about songs in the podcast so I think it would work better if you’re familiar with the podcast, or if you listen to the audiobook instead.

I requested this book because Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of my all-time favorite shows. I remember watching every episode live in my childhood bedroom and, later, in my college dorm. Although I had never listened to the podcast, I was interested to see the authors' analysis of the show.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book! I think it would be a 5-star read for someone who was already familiar with Kristin and Jenny and their podcast. I think the parts about their relationship would have resonated more if I had an existing connection to them, but it was still interesting to me. I really enjoyed the parts about the show, but wished those sections had been longer.

I think this book is a must-read if you're a fan of the podcast, a should-read if you're a fan of the show, and maybe skip if you're not interested in either.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free copy in exchange for my honest review.

📚: Slayers, Every One of Us by Kristin Russo & Jenny Owen Young
⭐️: 3.5/5 (rounding up on #goodreads)

Nostalgia moment: I was such a Buffy the Vampire Slayer fangirl in my early teen years. I grabbed this book from NetGalley immediately - not *totally* realizing that it’s a bit more about Buffering the Vampire Slayer (a Buffy podcast) and its hosts. That said, I really enjoyed the Buffy thread throughout their life together, their split, and their lives now. It makes me want to give the old podcast episodes a listen, as well as a Buffy rewatch.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press via @netgalley for the digital ARC in exchange for an honest review. Slayers, Every One of Us is out now.

I'm a pop culture junkie, so even though I'm not a "Scooby" and I hadn't heard Russo and Youngs's podcast, I snatched this one up as soon as I could and I ended up really enjoying it. It's a mix of a memoir about the author's relationship and divorce and an exploration of the lessons learned from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Even if you're not a Buffy fan, I'd still recommend picking it up, because the story of the relationship of the authors is a story of found family and lost love and coming together in friendship and that's something we can all relate to.

If you have mentioned Buffy to me over the last eight years, I likely talked about Buffering the Vampire Slayer. A podcast hosted by two women who rewatched Buffy and podcasted about it - spoiler-free. Which is kinda funny when you think about how loyal listeners know how Slayers, Every One of Us goes: Jenny & Kristin fell in love, Jenny made Kristin watch Buffy, then podcast about it. They experienced a miscarriage. Got divorced. Kept the podcast going. Along the way parented a community that loves a good prom, and is very, very gay. We know the spoilers, but we don’t know the details. Like how they made the podcast and how they were able to compartmentalize so much heartbreak to give us seven podcast seasons. This super quick read will devastate you on the bus while it gives you a sense of what pop culture does for us in our most trying times. Fans of the pod will absolutely love this book. Most chapters feature Jenny & Kristin taking turns, then write a bit together. It really works. If you haven’t listened to the podcast, I still think you will love this tale of two women who loved each other and Buffy enough to work their way through heartbreaks and keep each other in their lives.