Reading romance stories ideas with friends

We dive into the exquisite love-letter architecture of This Is How You Lose the Time War and ask what happens when desire is literally written into existence. We linger on what it means to love with (or without) a body—across a multiverse full of potential and very real war crimes. Red and Blue, our sapphic leads, slip across timelines and into each other’s hearts in achingly human ways. But let’s...

And now we arrive in Ireland. Finally. To discuss THE GROUND SHE WALKS UPON by MEAGAN MCKINNEY (1994).Ravenna is a social outcast who is also magically bound via geish to the Lord of her home, County Lir. Either Niall, at 20 years her senior, woos her, a lowly peasant, or his family looses the land they occupy in Ireland. What is the point of magic if it is just friendship or whatever? Does good r...

What was 2025, really? What did we say we were going to do—and did we do it? In this Year-in-Review episode, we take stock of the year with clear eyes. We revisit the wins, the misses, and the pacing problems from our shelf this year—from Ali Hazelwood’s Deep End to the dark-romance chaos of Nocticadia. We did a shadow-daddy bracket (a rigorous, peer-reviewed process; dissenting opinions noted for...

Man the canons, yr Colonels in the War on Christmas are attacking THE EARL'S CHRISTMAS PEARL by MEGAN FRAMPTON.The titular Earl meets the titular Pearl after her family abandons her in London over Christmas a la (kind of, vaguely) Kevin McAllister. He uses his skills as a Welshman to care for the young miss, even though his ankle like, really hurts and he doesn't even LIKE Christmas that much. Alo...

In part two of our discussion of NOCTICADIA by KERI LAKE yr grls dive into chapters 39 - epilogue. Does the ambiguity of an HEA in horror make it impossible (if already strange) bedfelllows with romance? What is the appeal of "dark" romance and what is the bright side for those of us who don't lean into taboo? TWINS??? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. S...

Stop twitching, that isn't the fluttering of dusty moth wings in your ear - its yr grls discussing NOCTICADIA by KERI LAKE.Lilia Vespertine is a destitute but extraordinarily hot smart orphan in evil Baltimore who happens to get a mysterious full ride to spooky Dracadia University - a private institution on an isolated island with a 30-year-old tenured professor of...biology? I guess? Let's see if...

Don't be scared! That is just the loud cracking of our ankles over a totally normally recording of Whoa!mance's discussion of THE RUIN OF EVANGELINE JONES by JULIA BENNET.The titular Evie is a psychic medium scammer under the control/support of a Svengali type. Harcastle is a Due under the oppression of his dead father. Plus his hobby is busting fake spiritualists in Victorian London. But, Evie is...

Welcome to the Shadow Daddy Bracket: Final Four, where our pleasures are interrogated and pitted against one another. Our contenders? Rochester brooding in his attic-bound domestic gothic, Rhysand a fae High Lord wielding sovereignty and seduction, a couple of aristocrats flexing thier authority, and Buffy’s Angel/Spike—vampiric embodiments of tortured desire and ethical ambiguity. But the bracket...

Shadow Daddy's abound. But how do you pick the best one? what would the best even mean? How do you quantify or categorize the shadows and the daddies? Morgan and Isabeau developed a tournament style bracket ranking the shadow daddies of the past, present, and super natural--follow along and make your own! Who will take the crown? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted...

Morgan and Isabeau return to the back half of Quicksilver—and yes, the vampires have arrived. With plenty of biting insights, they unpack what makes for a strong first-person narrative (and what can throw it completely off kilter). Then it’s on to the heart of romantasy: shadow daddies and fated mates. Why do some bonds feel electric while others fall flat? She's just the most beautiful mortal in...

This week we’re diving deep into the shadowy (haha) corners of QuickSilver—where Saeris Fane finds herself escaping a burning kingdom in the arms of a shadow daddy by the name of Kingfisher. Badass tattoos and appellation aside what makes a shadow daddy? Is it literally just commanding shadows and six pack? Is it the brooding and the martyr complex? Kingfisher checks all the boxes, and with a winn...

Doff your strawiest cap, we're on a summer holiday to Cornwall with "A Shore Thing" by Joanna Lowell. Muriel has been pigeon-holed into presenting on seaweed instead of her preferred botany interests. Thankfully, the English seaside is not only home to many kelps but also one Kit, a painter who Muriel initially admires as an illustrator of flora and later as an igniter of her more...fauna instinct...

Do...do you hear that? That-that...throbbing hum? Then adjust your speakers! You're gonna wanna hear us discuss THRUM by MEG SMITHERMAN.Astronaut Ami is the lone survivor of a mysterious accident that killed the rest of her crew. It also means she is the lone Earthling guest of the extra-terrestrial calling himself Dorian Gray. I bet you can see where this is going...(no, you definitely can't, act...

We read the second half and discovered that you can live with a heart murmur, but maybe a romance can't exist well without some critical affection for its main characters. Join us as we investigate the missed opportunities and stumbling blocks holding this "cozy" would be charmer back. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...

It is a renn fest season and Pride month. Perfect time to chat about chapters 1 through 8 of Yield Under Great Persuasion by Alexandra RowlandTam and Lyford get it on like all the time. Much to Tam's chagrin. Not that it is like a non-con situation, just that he hates how much he likes having sex with the Lord. For...reasons. And pretty much everything else. His god/desses, his little village with...

Well we stood and are now delivering to you part 2:This episode covers chapter 15 through the epilogue of THROUGH A DARK MIST by MARSHA CANHAM, book 1 of the Black Wolf Trilogy. To recap we learn that not only is Lucien Wardieu Lord of Bloodmoor Keep, he is also a highwayman, is not dead in the crusades, and gains a whole new identity as Eleanor of Aquataine's most decorated and loyal knight. But...

What ho! A new challenge faces yr grls as they attempt a new format. An intentional two-parter! This episode covers the prologue through chapter 14 of THROUGH A DARK MIST by MARSHA CANHAM, book 1 of the Black Wolf Trilogy. Lucien Wardieu is Lord of Bloodmoor Keep. Or he is a highwayman. Or he is dead in the crusades. Or he is basically Robin Hood. Or he is basically Satan. In any case, young widow...

On this whoa!nus listen along as Morgan and Isabeau engage with Time magazine's 50 Best Romance Novels to Read right now (August 2024). You can hear in real time (haha) as Isabeau is faced with the dubious metrics of 'acclaim and social impact'. What books did the list get right? What books did they miss? We cover it all and share our opinions on what Romancelandia really needs. As always come to...

Over one frenzied month Morgan read all five of Emily Henry's original adult romance novels. Along the way, she lost herself. She turns to Isabeau to help her trace her way back, though the work and the public and personal reception. What differentiates a romance novel from everything else? And what can we learn from a breakthrough star? Assumptions are challenged. Late capital is contoured. The w...

Hold your nose and close your eyes - we're jumping feet first into DEEP END by ALI HAZELWOOD. Scarlett Vandermeer attends real-life American University Stanford on a diving scholarship. Tall, blond, Swedish, heavily-siblinged (ring any bells?) Lukas Blomqvist (...sure) attends the same very real school and is swim team captain. Other common interests include attending medical school someday, worki...

It's an Easter Miracle! Christos Anesti--or in this case handsome dead stranger is risen, in more ways than one! Sacrilegious dick jokes aside--this one has it all! Earnestly weird heroine with a mean brother and rambling estate. Hot stranger who doesn't get why the smart and pretty rich lady is in to him, and you know a monster roaming the woods. This Frankenstein retool by Sally Thorne of The Ha...

Isabeau found a romance from a free library--the cover was gorgeous, the title bananas. The premise: a revolutionary American privateer kidnaps a british artisto named Season and then proceeds to gaslight her and the reader about his varied identities against the backdrop of the American War for Independence. Season, a classically plucky coddled only child with ginormous boobs changes her politics...

Join fan fav and beloved friend of the pod Andrea Martucci from podcast Shelflove as we discuss 2024's 'Your Monster' a love story about female rage and personal growth. This discussion spans personal taste, romance conventions as adapted by other mediums, and of course that great white way: Broadway. As we've said before horror and romance share a wet middle in the venn diagram of genres, but wha...

This week, we tackle Charolette Stein's When Grumpy Met Sunshine, a listener request that's keeping us honest! We've reviewed this author previously and concluded then that we would like to read her again later. Listeners we did. When Grumpy Met Sunshine is a romance that pits supposed opposites against each other with mixed results. Mabel is a ghost writer with a predictable penchant for bright c...

A listener held us accountable. A listener reminded us that at the end of this very episode from 2018 we said we'd be curious what this author wrote in the future. And now, ahead of that discussion of a very new book by this very same author coming out next week, we want to give all of you the context you so richly deserve. Original notes below.____________________At some point we’ve all felt bull...