Heaving Bosoms

Hey HBs! It's time to cross the finish line of THE GIRL WITH THE STARS IN HER EYES by Xio Axelrod . Toni is starting to mesh with and carve out her role in the band, Seb is remining himself of his no-fraternization clause constantly, and Kandy is ready to make some waves! Y'all, this childhood best-friends to lovers set in the soundscape of an all-girl rock band, frankly, rocked our world. Bonus C...

Hey HBs! We planned this as a two-parter because we knew we would need to obsess over every detail AND WE WERE RIGHT. We're recapping THE GIRL WITH STARS IN HER EYES by Xio Axelrod ! It's a second chance, childhood-best-friends-to-lovers romance set in the music industry and ehrmegerd we're hooked. Bonus Content: Mel's entire personality is gardening, this book has so much TEXTURE, you can hear th...

Hey HBs! It's time to get our hockey on with HARD HITTER by Sarina Bowen! It's a massage, it's a yoga, it's a crime thriller! Ari and Patrick are so swoony! CW for discussions of past domestic abuse. Bonus Content: Sabrina (on record as NOT a re-reader) has read this book 3 times, Mel has been cut off by Hoopla, the gals both need massages badly, Mel learns what "uppers" actually are (yi...

Hey HBs! Mel and Sabrina are back with HIS PRETEND BABY by Theodora Taylor! Nyla and Go are imperfectly perfect for each other and it was SO SWOONY! Self love, acceptance, and hot hot s*x are huge themes in this book and we couldn't get enough. Bonus Content: Mel has a dick on her phone and both gals only share VERY begrudgingly. Lady Loves: Sabrina: Find yourself a local community. Having someone...

Hey HBs! It's chaotic over here. Mel's drunk, Sabrina's an ADHD, and birds are locking people out of their cars. Also, Bobby De Niro is here! In this episode we recap a 5 Star Review Bribe MOVIE: the 2007 film Stardust starring Claire Danes, Daredevil, and Not-Goldie-Hawn. This road trip romance is a romp that everyone needs to see! Bonus Content: did Mel incept Sabrina to DIY renovate her house o...

Hey HBs! We're here recapping THE MASTER by Kresley Cole! It was formerly a Patreon-only episode, but we're doing something we basically never do and releasing it wide. We originally recapped The Professional and then finished the series on Patreon. This episode was supposed to be a recap of both The Master and The Player, but we loved the books so much we had to give them their own episodes. Bonu...

Helloooooo HBs! I hope you've been exercising your huggin' arms because it's time for the 2023 annual Heaving Bosoms Reading Embrace!!!!!!!! We gave you 20 categories and you did whatever you wanted with them. And if you notified us that you even thought about doing the Embrace, YOU GET SNUGGLED INTO OUR BOSOMS! More than anything, we need to say the biggest, most heart-felt thank you to YOU, List...

Happy New Year HBs!!!!!!!!!! Mel and Sabrina are ushering in 2024 by recapping Grand Theft NYE by Katrina Jackson! It's horny in here! AND THERE'S A HEIST! Y'all know how much Mel loves a caper. Cleo is here to make an entrance and then a hasty exit... with Mr. Shimizu's heart. Bonus Content: 2nd grade humor, Jessica Hare, getting jokes live on the podcast, Ana Huang's Twisted series, a high speed...

Hey HBs! Your fave Nic is here with Mel and Sabrina for our annual Christmas movie episode! We signed up for a lighthearted romance and instead we got a lighthearted THRILLER! In this airport Marriott, Christmas Magic has turned malignant. Wishes will be distorted, bodies will be snatched, and cookies will be decorated to be PURPOSEFULLY UGLY gah! No, but seriously, WTF is this movie. Currently, y...

Hey HBs! This week we're here to recap the YA darling, THE CHRISTMAS CLASH by Suzanne Park! This book is so swoony, funny, moving, adorable, and a big inspire! Chloe and Peter are mired in a years-long family rivalry, but might need to work together to save their family's restaurants from being demolished, along with the mall they call home. Along the way we get romantic, illicit alley dinners, gr...

Hey HBs! Happy Hanukkah to every who celebrates! On this 5th day of Hannukah 2023 we're recapping one of the most adorable (and hot!) books ever, Mistletoe and Mishigas by M.A. Wardell. It's an MM contemporary about a sunshine, pocket-sized 1st grade teacher and the Queen-loving, grumpy bear custodian who wants to resist his charm and just can't. Fake dating, size difference, grumpy/sunshine, prot...

HBs! We're kicking off our special Patreon series the 12 Weeks of Maas-mas! That's right, for the next 3 (or probably more) months, Sabrina and Mel will be recapping Crescent City books 1 and 2 on Patreon, in preparation for book 3's release in January!! In this episode, we cover chapters 1-12 of HOUSE OF EARTH AND BLOOD and we don't hold back! What is haaaaappening?! How did she wreck Mel in the...

Hey HBs! We're here with our first historical in a while and Sabrina has decided she lives there now. That's right, When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James has stolen our plucky co-host and may never return her! We've got an erroneously-ruined heroine, a supposedly-impotent and very grumpy doctor hero, and an arranged marriage that "doesn't suit." But swimming lessons might just be t...

Hey HBs! Happy Thanksgiving to all our American Listener! This week we're recapping Before Thanksgiving Comes by Marisa Carroll. It was a little heavier than our former Inspirational romance books, but we manage to find the funny! TW: substance use disorder (character currently in recovery), death of a spouse and grandmother (historical), mention of suicide (historical), parentification of a child...

Happy Veteran's Day, American HBs! We're bringing you book 2 of Suzanne Brockmann's Tall, Dark, and Dangerous series, FOREVER BLUE . A big ol' Navy Seal goes home for his brother's wedding (to his High School sweetheart) and reconnects with the little tomboy he paid no attention to back in the day. Also, there's a murder mystery! And some astonishing police work. Bonus Content: "Is it my meds...

Hey y'all! HB Nic is here to recap the sci-fi romance of our dreams! Saving Verakko by the one and only Victoria Aveline! It's road-trip, it's wilderness survival, it's cultural misunderstandings, it's suggested penetration and then ACTUAL penetration. It's delicious. Bonus Content: nervous first date energy, OMG the Victoria Aveline rabbit hole of it all, she was raised by Bear Grylls, he's desce...

Happy Halloween, HBs!!!!!! It's our SPOoooooOOOOKyyyyy eeeeeepissooooode! And this is LEGIT spooky! Mel and Sabrina recap Haunted Hookup by Eliza McLane! We've got a heroine in a rut, a hero getting his second chance, and a ghost who wants to wingman hard! She will happily traumatize you in service to her wingmanitude. Wingmanity? You get it. Bonus Content: Sneaky dance parties and operatic belche...

HBsssssssss!!!! We came to this paranormal series for spooky season. Little did we know, it's actually horny toad season! Meg Anne and K. Loraine throw down in this Why Choose romance full of vampires and shifters and demons and a whole bunch of other things we don't find out about until book 3 or 4! Because, yes, this is another multi-book HEA and, yes, it knocked our socks off. Deal with the Dem...

Hey y'all! It's a bonus episode! To celebrate the release of The Gargoyle from General Management, Mel narrates a scene from the book for you. Enjoy! If you loved this snippet, make sure to get The Gargoyle from General Management ! And the first two books in the series are great as well! Don't miss out on Love, Laugh, Lich and The Orc from the Office ! The above are affiliate links, which means t...

Y'allllll! The Overdue Podcast boys are here to celebrate our 300th episode with us! Mel and Sabrina are joined by Andrew and Craig to recap the new adult romantasy sensation FOURTH WING by Rebecca Yarros! Come hear us chat about writing to trend, a refreshing heroine, Canadian dragons, and so much more! Did you hear our brand new music by Brittany Pfantz ? It's AMAZING! And our brand new logo was...

Hey HBs! Happy 6th Podiversary! Kimberly Lemming, Alexis the Sword, Naima Simone, and Sabrina Bradley are here to celebrate in style! We've got Hard Limits Watch, Kinks Watch, Obsessions Watch, and so so so many Would You Rather scenarios! Stay tuned to the end for some announcements and surprises! I'll post a full list of books mentioned on our Patreon ! Enjoy!!!!! Subscribe! Rate! Review! Tell a...

Hey HBs! Sabrina and Mel recap The Professional by Kresley Cole! It's book 1 in The Gamemaker series and poor Sabrina got duped into thinking that's it's chiefly a mafia romance. FALSE! The Russian mafia is certainly there, but this is a BDSM erotic romance of our dreams! We've got stalking for reasons, we've got kidnapping, we've got dry h mping in corn fields, we've got wet h mping in maid's clo...

Hey y'all! Sabrina is back to recap Devil's Bride by Stephanie Laurens ! It's Cynster book 1 and we LOVED it! There's a super decisive hero (tyrant? lol), a strong-minded heroine, and a murder mystery! Bonus Content: Sabrina hyper-focus on fixing her tags in Storygraph, a whole passel of Stephanie Laurens, how do you say "Honoria" and are we French now?, we are Sherlock Holmses now, a mi...

Ooooh, it's our first cowboy book in a minute! Mel and Sabrina recap A Cowboy to Remember by Rebekah Weatherspoon, which a second-chance AMNESIA romance! That's a tough trope convo to pull off and this book is FANTASTIC! It's the last day of our Patreon fundraiser benefitting the people of Maui! Sign up before midnight ET on September 18th and we will double the first month's pledge and we'll spli...

Hey HBs! Kim Loraine (AKA Stella Hunter) is here to recap A French Fling by Emily Silver ! We've got an enthusiastic alt girl tour operator and an aloof French driver. If they can get past their first impressions, sparks will fly! And the narration performed by Samantha Brentmoor is brilliant! Bonus Content: Mel's new obsession with Floriography, Kim loves that violets are a sapphic symbol, our la...