Whoa!mance

Light a fire, wrap a quilt around your shoulders, and hold that mug with two hands - this episode yr grls get in their comfies with THE CRAFT OF LOVE BY E.E. OTTOMAN. Benjamin is a silversmith in need of a quilt. Remembrance is a quilter in need of a tea service. Can I make it any more obvious (in the style of Avril Lavigne). Also, Benjamin is trans and Remembrance's ex is a woman and it is 1830. What makes a work of fiction cozy? How can authors talk about marginalized identities and the working class in historical romance without talking down about them? Why does romance produce more angst than cozies?

In which Mr. Bennet reads a letter from the relative who may turn out all the Bennet ladies on their ear and Isabeau gives Morgan a rather disappointing update on British politics.

Ghosts exist yearround, but they are most welcome at Halloween Time. Thus Mo and Isa are discussing THE DEAD ROMANTICS by ASHLEY POSTON. Professional ghost writer and hobby ghost talker-to'er Florence accidentally gets the tingles for her new editor, Kylo--EXCUSE ME--Benji, just as she loses tingles for her genre, romance. These problems get thrown into perspective when her father dies, followed shortly by the aforementioned editor. Don't worry though! Because Benji is a ghost now, so.... Are references overwhelming contemporary romance? Why aren't there Hallmark Halloween movies? And - we return to that deep question - what makes a Romance? Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

In which Darcy does a lot more thinking than finger flexing, causing Morgan to re-think that he's such a projector screen after all. Maybe we've made him that way ourselves?

This week yr grls ask you to consider the toilet in their discussion of A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by SARAH J. MAAS. Friend of the pod and noted Fae convert Feyre is feeling...weird about Tamlin (see that guy's deal in episode 140). Rhysand gets it and thus sweeps her away to high-fantasy Santa Fe one week at a time. Feyre slowly discovers not only a whole new world, but a whole new Feyre and maybe even a whole new man, in the process. Do romance readers rationalize Bad People for the sake of tingles? Is fating mates an Out? Can breaking the world you built be good world building? Can you believe we didn't even get to the eye ball ring? Grab your plungers and unfurl your senstivie-like-an-ear bat wings, we're getting to WORK on this one. Whoa!mance is a part of Frolic Media

In which Jane feels a lot better, Caroline feels a lot worse, and Darcy and Elizabeth raise eyebrows at each other. What can we make of a repetitive chapter by a talented author? What are the key changes in Bingley between text and film and why might that be? We don't know yet, but we're excited to talk about it with you.

Yr grls return to discuss everybody's favorite pandemic baby - A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES BY SARAH J. MAAS! Feyre thought things couldn't get much worse while she was desperately hunting a mysterious wolf to feed her starving family. She was right! Because things actually get pretty groovy once she's kidnapped by Tamlin the Beast/Fae King of the Spring Court (whatever that means!). But then they do actually get worse when she chases her new love under the mountain and has to face a buncha magical trials. How can a text subvert the dread Mary-Sue? Can we identify genre fiction by its references? IS this a romance? Order a third El Presidente Margarita - this one is for the Maasholes and greenhorns alike! Spoilers ahead. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

In which Caroline Bingley acts more like CRINGE-o-line Bing-leave-me-outta-it! and Darcy and Lizzie have...moment.

Do we talk about this book enough? The red shoes? The mother's wedding veil? The pew? Probably not. So we're just going to release the whole damn thing again. Originally aired Summer 2020. Abigail McKenzie felt like an outcast in her one train stop town. Yet when two men are wounded in the same train robbery, she agrees to take them in: David, the model of a gentleman, and Jesse, hot-tempered and alluring, vie for Abigail’s affections. But as she nurses them both back to health, intimacy and proximity push our heroine to explore her sensual side, and the true identities of her patients reveal a rich history beyond their injuries. This week, Morgan and Isabeau take a listener recommendation and fall in love with Hummingbird by LaVyrle Spencer. It’s got it all: gunfights, soup straws, moustaches, and above all, feet. Dust off a nice pair of something tall for this little ditty. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

In which Isabeau and Morgan maybe overidentifiy with the ridiculous Mrs. Bennet and the villainous Caroline Bingley.

In which Lizzie rethinks the whole "The Bingley Sisters aren't so bad" thing while Fitzwilliam continues to rethink the whole "My opinions about women are vaild" thing.

In which Mrs. Bennet schemes (but is it smart...maybe?), Lydea and Kitty dox some soldiers, and Jane's life is in everybody else's hands. And we come up with a good band name - Boy Sphinxes.

In which Darcy keeps blowing it.

There is even more to talk about regarding the ball but this time featuring the Lucases.

Yo ho, ye Swee'peas! Welcome back on board The Black Joke for the thrilling conclusions of our discussion on the more thrillingier THE WINDFLOWER by LAURA LONDON with the yet even more thrilling @chels_ebooks. We pick up where we left off with the love story between Merry and Devon (but also Cat, Raven, a dream Unicorn, and the rest of the crew) and finally settle on our sexiest parts and weirdest parts. Is a book being written in the eighties a valid excuse? Are romance authors written into the homes they describe? Are you sure that's a unicorn you're dreaming of? Swash your buckles, poop your decks and bring the squid - we're bringing this one into port in style!

Elizabeth and her best sister, Jane, reflect on that ball we just talked about. And it got Isabeau and Morgan thinking - is Bingley even that cool?

Avast me hearties! This week the gals are the gang when @chels_ebooks of TikTok fame shares one of their favorite romances - THE WINDFLOWER by LAURA LONDON a.k.a. Sharon and Tom Curtis. Merry is a sheltered lil’ patriot who gets in over her head when she’s kidnapped by pirates. The least pirate-y pirate, Devon, takes a shine to her….and so do all the other dreamy, fatherly, omnipotent, mysterious types that populate the ship. Is a bodice ripper a bodice ripper if the bodice remains unripped? When is purple prose, you know, good? Sky rockets and roses or gears and pulleys? Tangled feelings ahoy! Whoa!mance is a part of Frolic Media.

In which Darcy is tall first, handsome second, a real asshole third. Or is he? Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network

Puttin’ the ghost back in ghost writer and the cock back in Hitchcock, this week yr grls go down into the creepy basement of VERITY by COLLEEN HOOVER Lowen gets the opportunity of a lifetime - to assume the ready-made career (and romance) of an iconic suspense novelist. Too bad the best/worst thing Verity Crawford ever wrote is her own autobiography… Can a person be a liminal space? Is this meta commentary on romance the genre? Or is it a meta commentary on you as a romance reader? Is it JUST you??? Settle your teeth into our bite marks and your ears into this episode. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Introducing - The Bennet Bunch!