Whoa!mance

What’s not to like about postprandial levity? This week, Mr. Rochester lets the wine do the talking, Jane plays it cool in the face of lustful advances, and Thornfield Hall proves it could do with an HR department. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Mr. Rochester has come to Thornfield Hall, and the shift in energy is palpable. This week, our heroine is fully vetted by her new employer, Jane gets to show off some of her moody artwork, and Mrs. Fairfax sheds new light on Mr. Rochester’s treacherous family history. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

We know the solstice is the real holiday y’all are out here getting wild for, but like any bird of prey, the Christmas-Industrial-Complex must be fed. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau take aim at propriety with Cecilia Grant’s Blackshear Family novella, A Christmas Gone Perfectly Wrong. When the uptight and proper Andrew Blackshear ventured to buy a falcon for his sister’s impending marriage, the last thing he expected was to himself become the hunted. Our heroine and daughter of the falconer, Lucy Sharp, is anything but conventional; and when a carriage ride from Andrew results in calamity, they must assume the role of happily married, in order to share a bed in the home of some acquaintances below their station. But as passion creeps into Andrew’s waking life, the couple must decide between ardent love and social customs. What’s your preferred mode of hunting? Does convention handcuff progress? And does dry humping ever really solve anything? While we hope y’all are forever grabbing life by the s

As routine takes hold at Thornfield Hall, Jane is getting restless. This week, our heroine journeys to post a letter, comes to the aid of an off-putting and unhandsome traveler, and finally puts a face to the swirling mystery of her employer. First time readers beware - spoilers abound in this chapter. Skip 28:10 - 33:17 to avoid spoiling more than the HEA. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Jane’s ad got a bite. This week, our heroine makes the acquaintance of her suspected employer, Mrs. Fairfax; Jane takes on the education of one Adèle Varens; and what’s the deal with Thornfield Hall? Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Holidays are hitting different this year, what with all the plague, but we at Whoa!mance are pledging to keep our Christmas humor to the last. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau shack up with this festive friends-to-lovers novella, One Bed for Christmas by Jackie Lau. Our hero, Wes Chang, a freelance artist and barbershop quartet mascot, is thrown by fate or meteorological happenstance into close proximity with his college friend, long time crush, and successful dating app CEO, Caitlin Ng, when a sudden snow storm leaves her stranded in Wes' modest working person’s apartment. What began as a convenience of warmth blossoms into a confirmation of long held desires, as Wes and Caitin are imbued with the magic of both holidays and snow days. Does capitalism prevent us from keeping the holiday spirit alive year round? Does the kaleidoscopic nature of Christmas belie a dragon chase of toxic nostalgia? Is the “one bed” a metaphor for our singular planet hurtling toward climate destruction, leaving us to gra

Who knew bungling a health crisis could lead to a change in leadership? This week, conditions at Lowood improve when Mr. Brocklehurst files for unemployment, eight years fall away like a cartoon calendar, and our heroine has an epiphany about the classified ads. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

This chapter hits way different during a global pandemic y’all. This week, spring brings typhus to Lowood, Jane, in good health, is free to wander the grounds, and the harsh reality of Helen’s health comes into sharp focus. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Did you ever watch those Geico caveman commercials and think, “I bet that hoss can really lay some club?” This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau plow for answers in Transcendence, a prehistoric romp by Shay Savage. It opens with our heroine and unaccompanied minor, Beth, traveling tesseract-style through millennia to arrive in the welcoming and paternally minded arms of our hero, a Homo savage known only by the guttural proclamation of, “Ehd”. Beth, similarly truncated to just “Beh” for the ease of her new partner, must navigate a preverbal relationship, find footing in a vastly undeveloped world, and acquiesce to a blossoming love affair that only the threat of death can provide. Where would you journey to in a personal time machine? Does Beth being 15 make it weird? When you picture a prehistoric man, what do you see, and why is it a tan Brendan Fraiser? Tune in for questions and commentary guaranteed to make your bed rock. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Few things are worse than a poorly fact-checked public shaming. This week, Helen comforts our girl Jane in her post-Brocklehurst woes, Ms. Temple offers solace and a seed cake, and Jane finally gets to bask in the warm glow of absolution. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Who knew Christian charity could be so draconian? This week, Jane and her cohort at Lowood continue to suffer from a lack of nutrition and comforts, the chill in the air is met with the return of the dreaded Mr. Brocklehurst, and Ms. Temple proves herself once again to be an angel in disguise. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Spooky season may be over y’all, but it’s gonna take more than a new month to get yr girls out of Scotland. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau embark on a historical romp through the Highlands in The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashley. Our titular character, Lord Ian, is shrouded in rumors and hearsay when he crosses paths with our heroine Beth, on the arm of her then fiance. As her fiance’s appetites wend beyond the scope of Beth, our heroine is thrown further into the orbit of the mysterious Lord. But as suspicions gather around Lord Ian’s potential role in a double homicide, our lovers are forced to question the very fiber of their beings. What helps ensure the successful portrayal of neuro non-typicality? How do we account for perceived limitations of accurate historical representation? Could this election finally be over? All this and more on your favorite pod sluicing app. This week’s episode of Whoa!mance is brought to you by If The Boot Fits by Rebekah Weatherspoon. Available n

It’s day two at Lowood y’all, and things are looking bleak. This week, Jane wakes to frozen wash water, her new best-friend-in-the-making Helen Burns is publicly dragged by the repugnant Miss Scatcherd, and our heroine confides in Helen her desire to smash all those who treat her unfairly. We feel you girl. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

It’s Jane’s last morning at Gateshead, and despite the ever-present rain, things are looking up. This week, our heroine takes a slow coach to Lowood, meets the esteemed faculty, and maybe makes a friend. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Yr girls are fresh from the cliffs and ready to slay some fey. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau are back at the Ball with another selection from The Monster Ball Year 2: Assassin’s Match by Everly Frost. Our heroine Tanzanina (yikes) is a born-witch whose power and love have been stripped from her by an evil curse. But when her only hope of lifting the curse, a special spellbook, is stolen, our heroine must put herself in danger for a night of thrills and passion at the Monster Ball. Are magic-at birth-narratives ultimately trojan horses for eugenics? Is Paradise Lost just Bible fan fiction? How do we cope when our love is not reciprocated? All that, plus musings on birth order, gargoyles, and the perfect hot buttered rum. Happy spooky season y’all. This week’s episode is brought to you by Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy, an anthology of stories by Diana Palmer, Marina Adair, and Kate Pearce. Available now from Kensington Books. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

With an out from Gateshead on the horizon, the anxiety is palpable. This week, Jane squares off with purity wonk Mr. Brocklehurst, tells her aunt where to shove it, and finds a new candor in Bessie. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

While the Ball rages on, yr girls have to refuel on angst and mood before another heavy bout of haunting. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau journey to the edge of the Cornish cliffs in Mistress of Mellyn by Victoria Holt, a nom de plume of Eleanor Hibbert. Our heroine Martha Leigh is past her seasons. In lieu of a husband, she becomes a governess to the daughter of gaunt widower and lesser of two heroes, Connan TreMellyn. But as Martha gets closer to her aloof employer, questions surrounding his wife’s death disrupt their nascent arousal. In a mansion of lavish decor and furnishings, something lies rotten. What remains in the absence of a loved one? How should we remember roads not taken? What’s it like to trust and be trusted by a horse? Saddle up and stay shook y’all. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Whew! That was a close call y’all. This week, Jane recuperates from a frightful stay in the Red Room, learns of poverty’s harsh realities, and is once again dreaming of escape. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Special surprise drop - but for real this time! Yr girls Morgan and Isabeau joined our friends Erin and Clayton over at Learning The Tropes to talk romance, sexiest parts, and life on and off the mic. Check out Learning The Tropes wherever you get your podcasts - rate, review, and spread the love. IG: @learningthetropes Twitter: @learningtropes Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

To keep this spooky train rolling, we’re chugging on up to Auld Reekie for the supernatural event of the season. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau crash a party with a selection from The Monster Ball Year 2, an anthology of works imagining that self same soiree, titled “Turning The Tides” by Wendy Higgins. In this telling, a malevolent beast known as the Magpie is throwing the Ball, and this once who’s who of the otherworldly has taken a sinister turn. Our heroine is Ada, a selkie (for brevity: shapeshifting seal people of yore), who in order to return to the sea, must retrieve her pelt from among the patchwork monstrosity adorning the Magpie. But with a little help from a dryad and a conniving necromancer, Ada just might get her wish. What makes for a memorable party? Is good sex just attentive sex? How young is too young for necromancy? Dust off your best frocks y’all - it’s game time. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.