Tea & Strumpets: A Regency Romance Review

What do you get when you combine an icy marquess and a plucky school teacher? Why a marvelous tale from Pennyroyal Green of course! This week not only do we get delicious dialog and a cat straight out of Greek mythology, we also get a feel-good tale of two who were meant to be. However, we do need to get through a few tropes to find our happily ever after but it’s not too much trouble as our hero...

Today's episode may seem a bit daunting in length, but be not afraid dear listener, there are a couple of excellent reasons for its loquaciousness. Firstly, the book we read had a lot of swoon-worthy moments to talk about and secondly, we were joined by some very special guests! Jeff Adams and Will Knauss of The Big Gay Fiction Podcast dropped in to talk about Cat Sebastian’s The Soldier’s Scoundr...

It’s the middle of the season and everyone is bored. What is a lady to do? Why, solve a mystery of course! Lady Danbury has tasked the ton with unmasking their favorite gossip, Lady Whistledown! However, this crusade is just the backdrop for our latest Bridgerton tale. Colin Bridgerton has recently returned from travels abroad and for some reason, he discovers that spinster Penelope Featherington...

Happy New Year everyone - and welcome to the roaring twenties! With such an obviously historically-minded decade, we know it's going to be a fabulous time for historical romance. And we're ringing in this year by sharing some of the 2020 historical romances we are most excited about! So many books are already announced and we just could not keep our 2020 must-haves to ourselves any longer. Will yo...

Now that we’ve celebrated Christmas, it’s time for the Festival of Lights! This year we’re spending it in Edinburgh and it looks like the gift of a hot, highland man just keeps on giving. Do ye get where I’m going with this lads and lassies? This is only one of two Hanukkah tales that take place in the regency. We know because we looked, hard. This one also included some cool history facts and Zoë...

It’s officially December, so we’re going full-holiday on you all! That special time of year where you spend time with loved ones...or with a family you happen to come across when your carriage breaks down in a snowstorm with Grandma inside! Even if you’re like our hero Adam and not that into Christmas, it’s hard not to find joy from an almost-kiss while hunting down holly for the Christmas Ball. O...

Happy Thanksgiving from the US-of-A! Looking back over the last year, we've realized we have so much to be thankful for. In honor of the holiday, we wanted to take a few minutes to share with you why we're especially thankful for romance! Plus, it turns out we're not the only ones who have strong feelings on the subject. So feel free to take a quick break from all the holiday craziness and listen...

We’re back aboard the Bridgerton Express, arriving at station stop Benedict! Join us this week for a stunning Cinderella story spun by our favorite fairy godmother, Julia Quinn! We get all the classics - an evil stepmother, a masked ball, and a Mysterious lady who disappears at midnight, and that’s only part one! Two years have gone by when suddenly our hero and heroine are reunited. Yet, it’s not...

Pennyroyal Green we have missed you! This next installment did not disappoint and for one of our hosts it was even better than the book before! Julie Anne Long delighted us with her witty back and forth dialogue, while also giving us a heroine who is not afraid to make her own decisions. Plus while our hero of a Duke has a dark and dangerous exterior, we learn he’s an absolute softy when it comes...

Join us as we speak with Evie Dunmore, whose first novel Bringing Down the Duke came out this past September to great acclaim. Evie walks us through how she became interested in romance and what inspired her to write her first novel. This Oxford-educated woman is a treat, telling us about being a new author and what actually is the difference between a suffragette and a suffragist. We bonded over...

Now that it’s pumpkin spice and sweater weather, we have a spooky selection for Halloween! Come with us to Havisham Hall where a ghost is rumored to haunt the surrounding moors! We've got clocks that don't tick, a Mad Marquess, and a ghost of dead mother’s past. Our hero has sworn to never open his heart to love but our heroine is not the title hunter he was expecting. Will Havisham remain the dus...

We’re very proud to bring you our first interview! We sat down with bestselling author Maya Rodale to talk about her book Dangerous Book for Girls: The Bad Reputation of Romance Novels Explained. She enlightened us on why Romance is so much more empowering than the patriarchy would want you to believe. This book is filled with interesting facts and statistics, which we talk about, but the intervie...

This episode we have a couple of firsts! Our first novella! Our first hotel room recording! Join us as we chat about The Governess Affair by Courtney Milan, a novella that, let’s be honest, sets the bar for all novellas. Courtney Milan truly played upon all of our emotions in a short amount of pages. We were brought to our metaphorical knees by a twig! A TWIG! And don’t get us started on hairpins...

You’re all cordially invited to join us at Aubrey Hall in Kent for Lady Bridgerton’s country house party! We’ve got more Whistledown (in prime form as always), more sibling sparring (delightful), and of course, COMPETITIVE LAWN SPORTS! So pick your mallet quickly unless you want to be stuck with pink or purple, and throw the rules into the lake this week! Winner takes your heart ❤️ **Spoilers for...

Warning: This episode contains discussions of consent and sexual assault. The ladies of Tea & Strumpets have done it, they've jumped on the Bridgerton train! How could they not when it's such a defining series in the genre?! From a prologue that tugs heavily on our heartstrings, to our heroine making seriously questionable choices, there was a lot more going on in this book than was expected....

Let's get ready to RUMBLE!!! We've stepped away from Pennyroyal Green and our co-hosts finally have grossly differing opinions on our book this week! No need to fear dear Listener, no pistols were seen at dawn. Instead there was a healthy debate about the use of adjectives as they apply to our heroine. Also we find our favorite character in the book had four-legs and a tail. **Spoilers! Spoilers!...

You've heard about it since day one and now it's finally here! Today we discuss I Kissed an Earl, by Julie Anne Long, featuring Violet Redmond and Captain Asher Flint. Not only do we get to see our main characters well-matched in wit and courage, but we also get a pirate battle and a chase across the high seas! Plus, who doesn't love a lady who can beat a self-assured man at chess (and we're not j...

Welcome to Tea and Strumpets: A Regency Romance Review! Join Kelsey and Zoe as they talk you through some of their favorite books of the genre. In their first episode, they discuss The Perils of Pleasure, by Julie Anne Long, and re-discover how buck-wild this first book of the Pennyroyal Green Series really is. From explosions to a mysterious shooter to a hayloft tryst, there are few romance novel...

Puppets, Museums and Mermaids, OH MY! This week we dive into book three of Julie Anne Long's Pennyroyal Green series, Since the Surrender. If you thought Episode 001 was wild, you may want to take a deep breath before pressing play. As we dive deeper, we learn a bit more about the Eversea family dynamic and that men really cannot resist a penis joke. **Spoilers are a thing, just FYI** This plot wa...

Never fear episode #2 is here! We continue our journey into Pennyroyal Green this time with: No Other Lover, by Julie Ann Long. While this book is less jam-packed, it is no less delicious. Our characters positively sizzle when they're near. Also, can we just talk about how nice it is that the main characters are actually honest with each other and do not make dumb decisions based on unnecessary mi...

Welcome to Tea and Strumpets, a Regency Romance Review! Join hosts Kelsey and Zoe Thursdays as they discuss novels from their favorite genre and what makes them steamy...or tepid. Read along or just listen in - it's like book club, only less work and a lot more fun! Also, it's 2021, Shakespeare. We're taking Strumpets back! Our first episode will feature The Perils of Pleasure by Julie Anne Long....