Whoa!mance

Bon-joooor, mess aymees! Yr grls are dusting off their berets to make a novella-sized meal of "The Duke Makes Me Feel" by Adriana Herrera, originally pubbed in "Duke I'd Like to F" but now its very own thing! Victorian business woman Marena works hard to keep clientele and kiss'n'tell separate. Enter Duke of Linley and a trip to The City of L'amour and some very fancy lace to shake prod her boundaries. Can making the political explicit be exploitative? Is there a new shape of historical romance or is it just contemporaries in older clothes? And is it just Isabeau or are they all full of Henry Cavill? The bordelaise isn't the only thing getting creamed in this one!

Netherfield Hall is let at last. Do with that information what you will.

It's like all the fun parts of Encino Man with Brendan Fraser but somehow backwards and more tender? With a weirder age gap? Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

What can the self reflection of a divorced heterosexual man tell us about the Happily Ever After secret sauce - THE APOLOGY. More importantly, perhaps, what does that secret sauce say about us as Romance Consumers and Straight, Yt Ladies? Like, what is that secret sauce covering? Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Yr grls return once again to their be-hatted author safe space with THE PRINCE OF MIDNIGHT by Laura Kinsale. Don't get too comfy though, the Marquis Du Sade and a Murder Cult are here, as well. They say never meet your heroes, and by they we mean Leigh. She has sought out infamous highwayman The Prince of Midnight to save her village and get vengeance from the man who stole her family from her. She finds a capital-R Retiree who has a loyal wolf and not much else to recommend him. However, he is determined to make her like him, like really, really like him. Thus begins the angstiest buddy roadtrip you've ever been on. Can horror and romance vibe? What to do when the emotional stakes are something the hero can never grasp? Is doing that ON a horse basically doing it TO the horse? Kinsale away, Kinsale away, KinSAIL away with us.

In which Isabeau tries to answer Morgan's questions about "Bridgerton". Because, perhaps like you, we are just two assholes coughing up the dust Bridgerton has left us in. Join us as we bumble through Blibberton - from Anthony to Cletus to Ghouly, totally forgetting about Francesca and Gregory. We unearth Twitter controversies, desperately try to get on the same page about The Bridgerton Ball and cough up a couple of spoilers along the way. How does the show speak about race? And fatness? What is a Diamond, exactly? How does the show represent Romance to the broader public? The episode for when you've consumed absolutely everything or absolutely nothing about Bubberton!

We're just as susceptible to a novel (as in new) title/cover combo, gang. And this week yr grls are taking vows for "A Nun for the Viking Warrior" by Lucy Morris. Sweet baby novitiate Amée isn't super into the Viking husband her nobleman dad springs on her, until he's like really into revitalizing her 912 A.D. Francia community. Is this book about a viking and a nun woke? How important is an outfit to fantasy? Are short women pursuing big men a survival mechanism? Pick this one up like a GOOD habit.

At the conclusion of Jane Eyre, yr grls reflect on what brought us to Jane Eyre and where Jane Eyre has brought us - including, but not limited to, it’s contrasts with “Pride and Prejudice”. Is Jane Eyre a self aware text or does it mostly benefit from modern readers seeing its Id? Is the Darcy more prevalent than The Rochester? Is an archetype it’s arc? What’s next? What’s wet is always wet.

The story loose ends are tied and theory loose ends are frayed.

Jane is doing much better, thank you. And so is Rochy. That doesn't mean there aren't some...weird...moments. But there are lots of flirty, teasey, sitting in the sunshine moments.

We're back and so is Jane! Our Jane heeds to whispering, walloping call of Rochester's voice and finds her way back to Thornfield Hall. And boy, does she have a surprise coming.

1 month ago, suspicion and Kindle Unlimited ruled. It was a time of darkness, it was a world of fear, it was the age before we read a bunch of monster romance. Swept up by a magic spell for a thousandish pages. Now here in Chicago....the spell is broken! AND WE MARCH AGAIN!! To round out our Monster March with DECEIVED BY THE GARGOYLE by Lillian Lark. Grace the witch is(gently, apologetically) manipulated into joining a Gargoyle throuple as the all-important fourth wheel. Is spicy sex progressive sex? How much steam is too much steam and why are monster romance more likely to be saunas than fridges? What would you do with a tail? We are defenders of the bad feeling/good feeling mix 'em up! We are Gargoyle (romance discussing in this epsiode)! Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Our hearts take wing and our air mattress deflates in this installment of MONSTER MARCH featuring Dragon Bound by Thea Harrison. Pia manages to steal from a dragon's - or rather THE Dragon's - hoard but doesn't manage to not leave highly incriminating personal evidence at the scene. Lucky for us, and lucky for her, that means one powerful man-dragon can seduce her! And also some stuff about corporate espionage between dragons and elves and fairies. Is the miscommunication trope where our deepest insecurities hide? Can a fantasy novel be weird about race even in the absence of race? Who lied to us about the dragon dong? Is that a single horn extruding from your small, stocky body, or are you just happy to listen this episode?

Heeey listener, how's it going? Living the dream? Listen, we just wanted to touch base with you about "Love, Laugh, Lich" by Kate Prior? Yeah. Yeah. It is a romance novella about the executive assistant to a Lich who has office--you know--with her boss. Yeah, well the thing is, the Lich, has a real out-of-the-box...you know. Uh huh. I think we can circle back to that offline. And just to be clear, offline means online in this week's episode. Sound good? Well, some of the things we're thinking are... Can comrades get turned on by billionaire boss boy romance with enough smoke and mirrors? Is your office Mount Doon wrapped in industrial carpet or is Mount Doon your office wrapped in mountain? How do you make ten bucks off a baby list? Please advise. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network

So he said what's the problem baby What's the problem I don't know Well maybe I'm a GOD(GOD!) Searchin' for the killer of my acolyte Tuckin' my tentacles in tight Avoiding my family and Fallin' for a PI... Monster March begins with the Cthulhu-adjacent, pun-apparent, politic-of-death-exploring, Acsquidentally in Love by K.L. Hiers. Is it reasonable to approach a book with expectations as a reader? What is appealing about Urban Fantasy? What ISN'T appealing about tentacles? Wake your darkly dreaming asses up! We're talking a lover with three appendages for sex and dozens for just hugs and holdin' hands and stuff. This episode is brought to you by Kensington’s newest title, The Most Eligible Bride in London by Ella Quinn. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Yr grls were working in the lab late one night, when their eyes beheld an eerie sight.. For a monster rose (a-wink) from the slab, and to their surprise THEY DID IT IN MARCH! They did a MOoOnster March... Join us for a seasonally inappropriate announcement. And then join us for the rest of the month as we read: "Asquidentally in Love" by K. Hiers "Love, Laugh, Lich" by Kate Prior "Dragon Bound" by Thea Harrison "Deceived by the Gargoyles" by Lillian Lark Who needs October anyhow?

Our time in S------ is coming to a close, but St. John is not letting Jane go without a bang and one orgasmic head pat. But you know what speaks louder than orgasmic head pats? The voice of true love, that's what! Join us as we reflect on our time away from Rochester, the bad feeling bleeding through the presence of Empire in the text, and that this part of the book may be the part that matters the most.

Gang, we're starting to think St. John doesn't REALLY see Jane as a sister? This chapter, Christmas occurs for two seconds and then Jane enters into an emotionally wrought new language practice with her first cousin cum benefactee, St. John. And things escalate when St. John invites her to join him in a colonialist, racist project. To say the least... Join us as we unpack how Jane Eyre continues to be a book about race, nationalism, and men filling the void of women's confused silence with their enthusiastic consent. Heads up - the text is more self aware of some of these things than others.

We return to sweltering, medieval Spain for la segunda parte of our discussion on "The Flesh and the Devil" by Teresa Denys. And the climate is not the only thing making us sweat...join us as we turn over the sexiest and the weirdest parts of this book. Are gloves the sexiest accessory? Is this the greatest title of any romance novel ever? Are you more willing to accept something for having things you love than disregard it for having the things you hate? Paso the doble, please! Trigger warnings: discussion of sexual assault, ableism, murder (not graphic). Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. IG: @whoamance TW: @mance_whoa FB: /Whoamancepod www.whoamancepodcast.com Also on Goodreads!

Isabeau and Morgan return to an almost forgotten realm in Whoa!mance, but one that still remains familiar - THE BODICE RIPPER. And not bodice ripper as in "their boobs are so big it is ripping the bodice". But somehow, the experience of reading Denys is very, very different. And the reasons why feel as elusive as a copy of the book itself. Can a long book still have brevity? Is "bodice ripping" something that you can condition yourself through or is it just a result or contextual relativism? Is this thing worth 800 U.S. dollars? Trigger warnings: Sexual assault and murder. Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network