This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.
You can find Harper St. George at her website, HarperStGeorge.com, and on Instagram @HarperStGeorge.
We also mentioned:
If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.
Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)
What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at [email protected] or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.
Thanks for listening!
This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.
Hey there!
I enjoyed our conversation last month so much, I wanted to check in again. I also wanted to show you some of the spring we’ve got going on around here!
It’s SPRING.
My neighbor’s lawn is half covered by lily of the valley, and I want to take the deepest breaths of my life when we walk by. It smells impossibly good.
And then there’s my other neighbor who grows poppies!
I honestly didn’t think they’d grow at my latitude but they’re really happy:
That’s the first one, and about two days after I took this photo, there were dozens. They’re so pretty!
And finally, the azalea I adore, the one I wait all year to see bloom again has indeed exploded, and the wait was worth it:
I have never seen a yellow-orange creamsicle colored azalea, and I love this one so much. It’s also a lot taller than me, which means it’s been showing off for a long time.
I’m still working on my spring sawtooth star quilt, and a flannel baby quilt as well. I’m also sitting outside and listening to a LOT of audiobooks. Not only did I give myself quilt projects, but I signed up for a dragon stitch a long cross stitch project, and I’m about two dragons behind.LOL. “Two dragons behind.” That’s going to be my default answer when someone asks, “How are you?” I’m about two dragons behind, thanks!
While I play dragon catchup, I’ve listened to The Ward Witch by Sarah Painter, which was very good in audio, and I’m debating whether to start the next book, The Book Keeper, or try the other Painter series, Crow Investigations, which begins with The Night Raven.
Now that I’ve taken you on a tour of the flowers in my neighborhood (which should have been a Mr. Rogers song if it wasn’t) let me ask: what’s new with you? Hayadoin?
Are you two dragons behind, too?
Amanda and I are traveling to May 1994 and taking a look at the book reviews in this edition of RT Rewind!
We’re answering many questions, including:
There’s so much Fabio, a telepathic cat, blaming tornadoes for murder, and a lot of time travel.
But my gosh, golly, gee whiz, do not miss the visuals for this episode!
Music: purple-planet.com
Control Body Odor ANYWHERE with @lumedeodorant and get 15% off with promo code [SARAH15 ] at LumeDeodorant.com! #lumepod
Listen to the podcast →
You can find all the RT Rewind episodes wherever you get your podcasts!
We also mentioned Amanda’s review of Dreaming of You, and this incredible performance of “Fancy” by Kelly Clarkson at the Kennedy Center Honors concert for Reba McEntire.
If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.
Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)
What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at [email protected] or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.
Thanks for listening!
In this week’s podcast episode, we’re looking at the book reviews for the May 1994 issue of RT Magazine.
Thank you to Mari, the Romance Girl for this issue!
You can also find all the RTRW content at our category page for Romantic Times Rewind.
And, most importantly, if you want to listen and follow along with this entry, we have more detail in the audio, but you can click play and listen and read and absorb all the visual goodness:
Ok, let’s get started!
We’ll discuss the cover in the next episode, and there’s hardly anything to say about it.
Really, nothing going on with this cover, right? Yeah, sorry about that.
Historical Romance
I selected Dreaming of You which got four stars?
The rubric is VERY interesting especially regarding this book:
When 5 stars means “Classic,” and Dreaming of You gets 4 stars, it is indeed a strange time!
Amanda selected Prince of Thieves, and the greatest thing about discovering books in this issue is discovering the covers, which aren’t included in the magazine (we imagine because black and white would not be attractive, and full color for the whole magazine was not possible).
Y’all, there are very few images of this cover, but I found one:
Look at that shiny tight buttock!
I may have to haunt used book stores looking for some of these books.
Series
There were several 1-star reviews inside this section, which to recap means “Acceptable.” (Fabio’s historical romance got 2 stars in this issue.)
Amanda selected Dancing in the Dark by Lynn Erickson:
Harlequin Superromance had gold leaf borders and big illustrations on the covers back in the early 90s!
Also, everything about that picture says mercenary with a tough-guy image. All the details: tough. Guy.
I picked The Best is Yet to Be by Tracy Sinclair, which got 1 star:
Today in nothingburger reviews…and the cover is very of its time, too!
Regency
My pick: Old Lover’s Ghost by Joan Smith sounds VERY GOOD. Get a load of this:
She’s a Regency ghost hunter with her dad, there’s a famous and troublesome ghost called the Cavalier, and the Earl of Merton is like, ‘This is bogus, but I’m humouring my mom.’
SUPERNATURAL MERRY ROMP! I am here for this subgenre. The cover gives very little away as to the ghost hunting romp-ness, but again, this sounds nifty.
I found a teeny tiny version of the original cover:
Creepy!
Amanda selected Sweet Fancy, which led us to a side trip into Reba McEntire, Kelly Clarkson, and this performance:
The book is not about the “Fancy” from the song:
Get a load of the cover! MOST PASTORAL:
That’s really beautiful, isn’t it?
Mainstream and New Reality
The codes for this section are a journey for us:
They aren’t explained until you read the reviews, but without the answers, what would you guess that they mean?
Amanda also noticed that there is an Over 45 category, but it doesn’t get a letter abbreviation.
My pick: A Love Beyond Time by Flora Speer:
THAT is the MATTER about which I AM TALKING.
Look at that glorious cover art. It’s so fuchsia. It’s so aquatic. There’s a FLOWER CROWN. Is he a merman? It’s perfect.
Not only that, that possibly naked ocean man time traveled through a computer!
In case that’s too small to read, this is A RIDE.
Time-Travel
A LOVE BEYOND TIME
Flora Speer
Leisure Love Spell
3 (Very Good)
Whisked into Hank Marshes’ computer while trying to retrieve some valuable disks and notebooks for India Brant, Michael Bailey finds himself following in
India’s footsteps back to 779 Francia.
When a strange, unusually dressed man falls from a tree at Lady Danise’s feet she is intrigued and bewildered by the wounded man and her reaction to him. Nursing him back to health with the assistance of Charlemange’s royal physician, Danise is inexplicably drawn to the stranger who has no memory of his past.
Michael finds himself at home in Charlemange’s time. He is
enchanted by the beautiful angel who saved his life and is determined win her love.
Confused by her feelings for Michael, Danise believes she is betraying her precious love Hugo. who has been dead but a year.
In a magical and startling ter with Michael in the midst of a storm she finds peace and the miraculous answer to a prayer. Alas, there are those plotting to overthrow Charlemange, and Danise becomes a pawn in their vicious game of
fox and hound. And to add to her heartache, Michael has mysteriously disappeared and Danise fears she may have lost him forever.
A LOVE BEYOND TIME is a warm, touching tale of a powerful love that transcends the boundaries of time to unite two souls destined to be together throughout eternity.
(May, 439 рр., $4.99)
Time traveled back to 779, hanging out with Charlemange. As you do.
Amanda selected Cat on a Blue Monday by Carole Nelson Douglas, which has a cat solving crimes at a Vegas cat show:
But wow, WOW did that review bury the biggest lede, which is in the book description:
As Louie, aided by a telepathic Birman cat named Karma, follows the scent of the killer, Temple is delving into the past of Matt Devine, the handsome young hotline counselor who’s captured her heart.
A TELEPATHIC CAT. There’s a telepathic cat!
How do you not start every conversation without mentioning the telepathic cat? At the dry cleaners? Telepathic cat. Checking out at the grocery store? Telepathic cat! Honestly. I’d talk about that all day, and all night.
And now you know why I have managed a blog about romance for almost 20 years.
TELEPATHIC CAT.
Science Fiction
Amanda has found more time travel, and a very of-the-time cover for The Unknown Soldier by Mickey Zucher Reichert:
This time, the time traveler ends up in an ER in Iowa.
I selected Pigs Don’t Fly by Mary Brown:
That’s a photo courtesy of a person on Reddit, which gives you an indication of how few of these covers are easy to find online.
That poor guy in the blindfold. He’s going to have a bit of a day.
There are sections of that review that read like the start of a joke with a VERY pun-tastic punchline.
Mystery and Intrigue
Amanda picked Dead in the Cellar by Connie Feddersen:
Hiding a murder behind a tornado outbreak in Vamoose, Oklahoma?
The cover is very eye catching, isn’t it?
Meanwhile, I win the “wait, what was that character name again?” contest this month with the review for Tickled to Death by Joan Hess:
“Luanne has gotten herself engaged to a fantastic guy named Dick Cissi…[whose] first two wives died under mysterious circumstances.”
WOW.
I feel so bad for that character’s time in middle school. And Dick, according to the cover copy, is a dentist!
What does “ticked to death” refer to? Is Dick Cissi the dentist murdering his former wives by tickling them?
NO idea. Couldn’t tell you.
That’s the reviews for this month! This was a journey, wasn’t it?
Our next episode will examine the advertisements and features in this issue, and that’ll air on May 17. There are so many, and they are so good.
And remember, if you join the Patreon, you’ll get access to the entire issue as a PDF.
What do you think? Have you read any of these? Do you remember some of these titles? Have you time traveled through your computer this week?
This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.
TW/CW: discussion of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse, depression, stalking.
Music: purple-planet.com
Listen to the podcast →
You can find Len Pennie on Instagram @MissPunnyPennie, on TikTok @miss_punnypennie, and on YouTube @MissPunnyPennie.
We also mentioned:
And here’s a performance of “Taboo” by poet Grey Crosbie:
If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.
Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)
What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at [email protected] or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.
Thanks for listening!
TW/CW: The following post contains mention of intimate partner violence and domestic abuse.
Recently the Instagram algorithm served me a video of a young woman with incredible red hair and an absurdly glorious complexion sitting in her pjs on her bed trying to teach me Scots.You might have seen Len Pennie on Instagram or TikTok, as she has a daily program teaching folks like me the Scots word of the day.
It turns out the algorithm, and myself too, were late: Len started this project in 2020.
But her posts to Twitter, then to Instagram, built quite a following.
Len also just released poyums, a book of poetry in both English and Scots, and she’s been sharing videos and pictures from her UK book tour in March.
poyums was an instant bestseller in the UK (#2 on the Sunday Times list) and several of her events sold out. The US edition will be released tomorrow, 23 April.
The poems are feminist and heartbreaking, especially the ones that talk about abuse, gendered violence, and women’s rights. Librarian friends, I know you might be adding to your poetry collection, and this might be a very fun choice!
The poems are terrific, too. Some are entirely in English, or entirely in Scots, and some mix the two.
Here’s a video of Len reading “chattin shite.”
And this is “I’m no havin children,” which is her favorite, and is entirely in Scots:
(This one is one of my favorites, too.)
This is the first verse of “hauntit” (I don’t want to reproduce too much).
hauntit
There’s a ghost in ma heid, an A want it tae leave.
It isnae richt deid, but A’m wantin tae grieve
Fur the bodie it hurt till she startit tae want
Tae be the richt kind ae hollow fur ghostiest tae haunt…
As her Scots word of the day audience grew, Len has been subjected to horrible abuse from people online. At one point, she went private on Twitter, a departure that was mentioned on r/Scotland when it happened in 2022.
Fast forward to now: it’s 2024, and poyums has just released to massive praise and a lot of support online and off. And it would be neat if this were the ending, but alas, no, the release turned into a bit of an ordeal for Len.
CW/TW: Again, please be aware that from here on, I’m talking about domestic violence, abuse, and harm.
poyums released on 22 February in the UK, and Len had several events scheduled to promote it. But behind the scenes, she’d also been part of a BBC Disclosure documentary on intimate partner violence/domestic abuse, detailing an abusive relationship she’d been in between 2017 and 2020.
When she’d left her partner Gregor Monson, he began a campaign of harassment and stalking, endangering her personally and professionally. She had over a million followers, but had to set her accounts to private. The post in r/Scotland and the article it links to mentions an abuse campaign after her appearance at Transpoesie 21, but her withdrawal from social media was in part due to the specific targeted harassment and stalking from her former partner. (NB: she told me this herself in an interview, which is coming Friday.)
Gregor Monson pled guilty to domestic violence and was “sentenced to a two year behavioural programme for domestic abusers,” while Pennie was granted a 3 year non-harassment order, forbidding him from contacting her.
BBC Disclosure had been following seven women for a few years as they navigated the justice system in Scotland alongside advocates and volunteers for the documentary.
Surviving Domestic Abuse released 11 March 2024 – just as Len was doing public events for poyums.
Alas, the documentary is not available in the US, and I hope it will be. TW/CW for those able to play the video: it contains personal footage, audio clips, and extremely frank descriptions as well as court testimony for all the women involved. Folks in the UK can view it on the BBC iPlayer.
There’s also some footage in this 1 March article from Catriona MacPhee and Jax Sinclair of the BBC Disclosure team.
Y’all, you’d think folks would be able to show up on the internet and read poetry and teach people Scots without abuse, but alas, not. It’s a terrible timeline in a lot of ways. She’s mentioned the nasty comments she’s received in several videos, and has shared the revolting messages she gets on social media, some of which she’s turned into poems.
But a few absolutely terrible people accused her of timing the book release to the release of the documentary (are you fucking kidding me) (how would that even be possible) (I can hear the sound of a few dozen publicists rolling their eyes at the idea) (come ON now) (ffs) and it was a visible struggle for Len, as she put it, to differentiate between Big! Things! Happening! that are good, and Big! Things! Happening! that are not so good.
Book releases, whatever the genre, are hard enough as an author, even with a big platform and a big following, and my heart broke for Len over and over watching her navigate the joyful welcoming audiences at events for poyums while at the same time the press was asking for interviews and she was getting increased attention (some of it negative) from the documentary’s release. She’s said countless times that she’s so proud of all of her work on the program, but bringing all of it up and witnessing it through the documentary footage was brutal.
I’m really, really excited that poyums ( A | BN | K ) is available in the US tomorrow, and have ordered myself a copy of the audiobook (read by Len herself! Cheers to that!). You can listen to a sample as it’s available in Hoopla already. And Len will be my guest on this week’s podcast episode, talking about her book and about teaching Scots!
If you are struggling with intimate partner abuse, domestic abuse violence, the BBC has compiled a series of resources for various places in the UK, including Scotland’s Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline (0800 027 1234).
In the US, help is available in English and Spanish 24 hours a day at 1-800-799-7233 from the National Domestic Violence Hotline. They offer a text and chat service as well.
poyums is available at all major US retailers starting tomorrow. Congrats, Len!
This edition of our Bestsellers list is brought to you by nifty nonfiction, superb romance, an astonishing amount of pollen around here (I swear I can see it in the air), and our affiliate sales data!
Thank you for supporting the site with your purchases. You’re the reason we’re still here, so thank you.
I hope your weekend is beautiful, restful, replenishing, and your kind of fun.
This podcast transcript was handcrafted with meticulous skill by Garlic Knitter. Many thanks.
❤ Click here to subscribe to The Podcast →
I know it’s two windows, but don’t miss the visual aids! The ads are truly incredible.
RECOMMENDED: What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher is $2.99! This was mentioned in a previous Hide Your Wallet, and has been on sale a few times. Kim said in September 2023, “Loved What Moves the Dead–or, who am I kidding, all T. Kingfisher books. Genuinely creepy, atmospheric, with likeable and interesting characters. Fun science-y stuff, too. [The book] has a nonbinary main character and does interesting alt-history things with gender identity.”
I know Kingfisher is an auto-buy for many of you. Did any of you pick this one up?
From the award-winning author of The Twisted Ones comes a gripping and atmospheric retelling of Edgar Allan Poe’s classic “The Fall of the House of Usher.”
When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.
What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.
Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.
RECOMMENDED: Snow Place Like LA by Julie Murphy and Sierra Simone is $1.99! This is the second novella in the Christmas Notch series, and when it was released, DiscoDollyDeb mentioned it in Whatcha Reading, saying “I think I liked the book more for the hilarious, snarky, pop-culture-infused, and self-aware narration of Luca rather than the romance itself…. A fluffy bon-bon of a book. Highly recommended.” Have you read this book?
Cowritten by #1 New York Times bestselling author Julie Murphy and USA Today bestselling author Sierra Simone—a steamy second chance Christmas in July rom-com.
After Angel and Luca connected on the set of Duke the Halls and had a whirlwind romance in the literal snow globe of Christmas Notch, Vermont, Luca found himself falling in love. Hard. He’d never been one to believe in fate or true love, but one thing was certain: Angel was his person. He knew it as well as he knew the history of American figure skating. But when Angel left for an art school semester abroad without a word, Luca’s already brittle heart was broken. No one ghosted Luca. Unless he was in a haunted house.
But with the spring semester long over, Angel is back home in Los Angeles for the summer, and unfortunately for Luca, this big town is turning out to be smaller than either of them ever expected.
American Dreamer by Adriana Herrera is $1.99! I read this one when it was released and gave it a B:
This was a truly delicious, delectable, emotional story with resonance and heart and so much food, it might as well have its own stomach because yours shouldn’t be growling alone.
Have you read this one?
No one ever said big dreams come easy
For Nesto Vasquez, moving his Afro-Caribbean food truck from New York City to the wilds of Upstate New York is a huge gamble. If it works? He’ll be a big fish in a little pond. If it doesn’t? He’ll have to give up the hustle and return to the day job he hates. He’s got six months to make it happen—the last thing he needs is a distraction.
Jude Fuller is proud of the life he’s built on the banks of Cayuga Lake. He has a job he loves and good friends. It’s safe. It’s quiet. And it’s damn lonely. Until he tries Ithaca’s most-talked-about new lunch spot and works up the courage to flirt with the handsome owner. Soon he can’t get enough—of Nesto’s food orof Nesto. For the first time in his life, Jude can finally taste the kind of happiness that’s always been just out of reach.
An opportunity too good to pass up could mean a way to stay together and an incredible future for them both…if Nesto can remember happiness isn’t always measured by business success. And if Jude can overcome his past and trust his man will never let him down.
RECOMMENDED: Ten Things I Hate About the Duke by Loretta Chase is $1.99! Catherine loved this one and wrote a Squee review for it:
Ten Things I Hate About The Duke was a joy to read. The humour and banter was delightful, but this was also a book with a lot of heart.
(I miss Catherine’s reviews!)
USA Today bestselling author Loretta Chase continues her Difficult Dukes series with this delightful spin on Shakespeare’s classic, The Taming of the Shrew.
This time, who’s taming whom…
Cassandra Pomfret holds strong opinions she isn’t shy about voicing. But her extremely plain speaking has caused an uproar, and her exasperated father, hoping a husband will rein her in, has ruled that her beloved sister can’t marry until Cassandra does.
Now, thanks to a certain wild-living nobleman, the last shreds of Cassandra’s reputation are about to disintegrate, taking her sister’s future and her family’s good name along with them.
The Duke of Ashmont’s looks make women swoon. His character flaws are beyond counting. He’s lost a perfectly good bride through his own carelessness. He nearly killed one of his two best friends. Still, troublemaker that he is, he knows that damaging a lady’s good name isn’t sporting.
The only way to right the wrong is to marry her…and hope she doesn’t smother him in his sleep on their wedding night.
The Kingdom Of Prep: The Inside Story of the Rise and (Near) Fall of J.Crew by Maggie Bullock is $2.99! This book caught my eye because I remember the complete chokehold J.Crew had on my high school years. I have an original J.Crew rugby (probably from 1991 or 1992?) with the mattress-ticking placket. It has HOLES in it and I can’t throw it out because it was one of the few J.Crew items I had as a teenager. I can tell you exactly where it is on the shelf, too.
If you’re watching RHONY, this will give you a LOT of backstory as to the rise of Jenna Lyons’ career, too. Described as a “juicy business narrative,” this book has 4 stars on StoryGraph and Goodreads, too. Do you remember the heydey of J.Crew? And have you read this book? (If so, please tell me everything because I’m diving into this one very soon. Maybe wearing my very old rugby!)
One of Vogue’s most anticipated books of 2023.
A quintessentially American fashion narrative about the rise and fall of the first lifestyle brand, J.Crew, and what the company’s fate means for the shifting landscape of the retail industry.
Once upon a time, a no-frills J.Crew rollneck sweater held an almost mystical power—or at least it felt that way. The story of J.Crew is the story of the original “lifestyle brand,” whose evolution charts a sea change in the way we dress, the way we shop, and who we aspire to be over the past four decades—all told through iconic clothes and the most riveting characters imaginable.
In The Kingdom of Prep, seasoned fashion journalist Maggie Bullock tells J.Crew’s epic story for the first time, bringing to life the deliciously idiosyncratic people who built a beloved brand, unpacking the complex legacy of prep—a subculture born on the 1920s campuses of the Ivy League—and how one brand rose to epitomize “American” style in two very different golden eras, and also eventually embodied the “retail apocalypse” that rocked the global fashion industry and left hollowed-out malls across the country.
In a juicy business narrative rich with humor and insight, Bullock combines the colorful characters of The Devil Wears Prada, the business insight of Deluxe, and the nostalgia factor of True Prep, to chart J.Crew’s origin story, its Obama-era heyday, and its brush-with-death decline through the stories of the mercurial characters who helmed the company. There is founder Arthur Cinader, who set out to sell the Ralph Lauren look for half the price, and his daughter Emily, who turned J.Crew into a new campus uniform, and then a temple to ‘90s minimalism. Then came ex-Gap CEO Mickey Drexler—the most renowned (and controversial) retailer of his generation—who took J.Crew to a never-before-seen peak, only to contribute to its financial disaster, and the brilliant designer Jenna Lyons, who rose from the anonymous ranks of a catalogue company to become a star in her own right, but burned so bright she left J.Crew in her shadow.
Through extensive interviews with more than 100 J.Crew insiders and top industry experts, Bullock crafts an impossible-to-put-down, neon-glitter-sprinkled tale that traces the trajectory of American style, invites us into the inner sanctum of fashion’s most bold-faced names, and weaves together the threads of style, finance, and culture like no other brand’s story in our lifetime.
Y’all, the April 2005 issue of Romantic Times is a treasure of truly amazing fun. So many of you told me that episode 609, where we looked at the reviews, made you laugh so hard you cried.
Well, let me share some highlights of what is about to happen to your eardrums.
It’s a glorious time. Come on over.
Did you ever attend Mr Romance at RT? Did you see the Mr Romance Pageant on tv?! And gosh, do you have a Romance SoundTrack CD? Please tell me everything.
Don’t miss the visual aids! The ads are truly incredible.
Listen to the podcast →
Again, The Visual Aids are Incredible!
Links! For your browsing pleasure!
One of the clips of the Mr. Romance Pageant on Oxygen:
Music: purple-planet.com
If you like the podcast, you can subscribe to our feed, or find us at iTunes. You can also find us on Stitcher, and Spotify, too. We also have a cool page for the podcast on iTunes.
Sponsor us through Patreon! (What is Patreon?)
What did you think of today's episode? Got ideas? Suggestions? You can talk to us on the blog entries for the podcast or talk to us on Facebook if that's where you hang out online. You can email us at [email protected] or you can call and leave us a message at our Google voice number: 201-371-3272. Please don't forget to give us a name and where you're calling from so we can work your message into an upcoming podcast.
Thanks for listening!
In this week’s podcast episode, .
Special and massive thanks to Kay Layton Sisk for sending me this issue!
You can also find all the RTRW content at our category page for Romantic Times Rewind.
And, most importantly, if you want to listen and follow along with this entry, we have more detail in the audio, but you can click play and listen and read and absorb all the visual goodness:
Cover time!
This is the cover of this month’s issue, featuring the original cover of Brenda Jackson’s novel Unfinished Business.
Not a bad cover, and I like the use of the left sidebar to show so much of the content. The covers for Jackson’s novels have undergone a lot of changes. Here are the old and new covers side by side:
The older cover looks dated in terms of the colors, but, as Amanda points out, the covers are communicating different things.
The first ad on the inside cover: Ellora’s Cavemen, and their serious expressions about headgear.
Amanda had a Jafar’s Staff toy growing up, which now sells for hundreds on eBay.
I also noticed the references to Borders and Waldenbooks – ah, memories. Do you remember the big, big Borders, or, if you didn’t have a mega-Borders, the route you’d take around the mall that included the bookstore?
Next up: These Covers.
We have some QUESTIONS from this ad:
1. Rapture’s Etesian: Are They Doing It?
It looks like they’re doing it. The AI people. Definitely AI Coitus.
2. A Hero’s Kiss: What’s With That Hair?
Are those AI generated people, and if not, what is happening with his hair? How many wigs is that?!
And…lastly.
3. Never Send a Dog to do a Woman’s Job by Shelley Munro:
First, if you told me that was an illustrated cover on a new book, I’d believe you. Secondly, that is a very shapely person right there. Very.
A lot of the issue is in black and white on newsprint paper, and the covers are often MORE disturbing if we find them in color. For example: Masks by ML Rhodes.
It’s pretty creepy in black and white. But wow, is it even MORESO in color:
Was he wearing that mask for the photo or was it added on?
And does that style of mask have a name?
More importantly, do I want to know the name if there is one? Probably not.
There was also an ad for The Erotic Adventures of Ulysses: The Lotus Eaters by Lady Isabeau
Big Sword!
But to my shock and delight, there is one color image of this cover remaining in the searchable internet. And I have it, because we snarked this cover in APRIL 2005! Aw, back when we were a baby website!
Wow. That is a big sword.
The letter from the editor is where I learn of something truly, incredibly amazing that I missed:
If you can’t read the text:
On March 14 at 10 pM (ET), friends and the RT BOOKclub staff will gather ’round the telly for the first televised version of the Mr. Romance Cover Model Pageant, produced by the Oxygen Channel, and we hope you will throw a party too! You’ll recognize many familiar faces, beginning with cover model Cindy Guyer, who is co-host for the six-episode reality TV show, and the “King of Covers” himself, Fabio.
RT BOOKclub fans in the L.A. area participated in several shows, and judges for the final elimination round included myself, plus Heather Graham, Harlequin publicity manager Marleah Stout and two former Mr. Romance winners, John DeSalvo and Tony Ranaudo. Comedian Fred Willard and Gene Simmons (of KISS fame) lent glamour to the final episode. The winner will receive $50,000 in cash and appear on a Harlequin novel. Be sure to check local listings for show times in vour area and cheer on your favorites!
FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS! Fred Willard and Gene Simmons lent glamour! I’m bereft that I missed this.
I found a clip, and it’s incredible:
There’s a full page ad for the program later in the magazine, so buckle up.
The letters to the editor in the mailbag are a TREASURE TROVE.
First: BUMMED BY BIGGER BOOKS!
If you can’t read the text:
I own a new and used bookstore and have been getting RT since its first issue.
It’s one of the most valuable tools for my store. Your reviews and ratings are what I use to place my monthly book orders and what I use for my personal reading list.
Your articles keep me up to date with all the news in the publishing world and let me pass information on to my customers that affects their reading and book buving.
In the March issue (#253), RT states that Simon & Schuster and Penguin are going to be releasing a larger–and more expensive- mass-market book in the near future. Can you tell me what imprints belong to these two companies?
I am trying to figure out which authors will be published at this new price because I am already getting complaints from my customers about it.
No one is happy about the price change, and my customers are already stating that they will not pay $10 for a paperback.
First, we have bad news about book prices from the future.
Second, this was, I’m pretty sure, the book size I called “The Venti.” I saw them in the Stop’n Shop and wrote about them in June 2006!
Remember those? I see them every so often, and they were not popular at the time, that is for sure.
RT responded (in the image below):
You’re not alone in your dislike of the new larger-sized mass-markets and their correspondingly larger prices.
We’ve heard complaints from many other readers about this development in the industry.
Some publishers have hinted that they may publish titles in both the more expensive and cheaper formats, or reprint titles in the cheaper format after a certain period of time (much as they do with hardcover to paperback reprints).
The best way to show publishers what you really want is to vote with your wallet.
Again, we have bad news from the future about paperback prices, y’all. Sorry.
There’s also a letter about authors with Star Wars collections!
Madeline Baker wrote:
Wow, I thought I was the only romance writer with a room dedicated to Star Wars collectibles. It’s nice to know I’m not alone. I’ve been collecting since the first movie came out and continue to do so.
My husband doesn’t understand my obsession–for it truly is an obsession, but what a fun one!
I wish I had the shelves shown in the pictures accompanying the Suzanne Enoch article in your March issue. I’d like to say that Star Wars is my only obsession, but I also collect Beauty and the Beast, Phantom of the Opera and a smattering of The Lord of the Rings memorabilia. And Suzanne, am I mistaken, or did I spot an Aragorn figure in amongst the Star Wars goodies?
Madeline Baker, author
via e-mail
We’re thrilled you enjoyed seeing the photos of Suzanne Enoch’s fabulous Star Wars collection but did you notice something strange on the first page? Unfortunately; a printing error caused the opening photo on that spread to be replicated by the one below it, so the same image was printed twice. Above is the photo that should have run.
And Madeline, in answer to your question about Aragorn from Lord of the Rings, Enoch admits to another little obsession. “That was definitely Aragorn–my addiction bas broadened to cover The Lord of the Rings too. In fact, I have enough LoTR stuff to cover a whole other article!”
Amanda and I both want to listen to Madeline Baker and Suzanne Enoch talking about their Star Wars collectibles. That’s so neat.
The cover feature of Brenda Jackson featured the news that she went on a 10th Anniversary Cruise with her fans. More cruises!
There was also this adorable bit of info:
I hope Brenda Jackson still has that license plate.
The middle of the magazine is all about YA and Teen Readers. It’s a massive section, all in full color, too. Our favorite parts:
Look at the bottom there — Lindsay Lohan was going to be in a Gossip Girl movie written by Amy Sherman-Palladino? Whoa!
List of Names! Very Little Context! Check out these Quality Authors!
This ad led us down a very, very wild rabbit hole:
Richard III: White Boar is fiction based on psychic readings. I’m wondering if colored-pencil-style illustrations will be the next ‘new’ trend in cover art?
And now: PAGE FIFTY.
We spent a lot of time looking at the strange assembly of model contestants.
Like why does the one in the middle look so…suspicious of us? And Mr. Iliac Crest is ready to show you all his treasures.
And then this poor person who has to lean over because they’re clearly taller than everyone else.
Amanda asked if maybe they got a deal on a group spray tan and I think she’s right and they did.
Amanda flagged this ad:
Pretty weird, like this guy is flashing this couple in the middle of their walk? Then we found it IN COLOR.
I appreciate the use of texture to create the suggestion of fur. But the painted on wife beater is INCREDIBLE. You’ll be seeing that style on runways this fall.
There was a recipe in this episode! A recipe with A LOT OF MEAT IN IT.
I know that’s very small text so here is the recipe:
DANTE’S TASTE-OF-HEAVEN
TORTELLINI TEMPTATION
2 tb. unsalted butter
2 oz. minced ground pork
2 oz. minced ground turkey
2 oz. finely chopped sausage
2 oz. minced mortadella
1 c. grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 pinch grated nutmeg
1 1b. fresh pasta dough, made with your own two hands
Salt and pepper to faste
In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat, watching it melt while you’re thinking of the beautiful woman you want to impress. Add the meats and sauté until cooked thoroughly. Remove from heat, add the remaining filling ingredients, choosing only the best quality for her. If needed, dice additionally in a food processor so everything is even and beautiful. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pasta dough (or use a pasta machine) to a thickness of us inch. Drop ½ teaspoon of filling along the length of the dough, about two inches apart. Then carefully cut the dough into squares with a pastry wheel.
With a pastry brush or your finger dipped in water, moisten the dough around the filling. Don’t overdo this because you want it to be a perfect tortellini cirde. Fold the squares into triangles and press the dough to mold around the filling.
Shape into the sexy curves of a belly button with your pinkie, pressing the ends together very well–you don’t want this to come undone; much better for her to do that when she eats this delight.
Allow tortellini to rest on a floured tea towel for at least an hour while you cook up something else with the pretty lady at your table.
Later, boil in salted water, being careful not to crowd the tortellini.
Serve with a meat sauce and a good red wine. Cap the meal with a kiss and a promise of more dessert to come.
“Shape into the sexy curves of a belly button with your pinky.”
Then we spotted this ad and the cover in color is something.
Gimp Masks!
At the bottom of the ad, this part made me extremely nostalgic:
Formats available: html, pdf, Rocketreader, Reb1 100, Reb 200, Hiebook, Mobipocket, Palmpilot, MSReader, Franklin, and pocketpc.
Remember writing your credit card number on a post card and dropping it in the mail?
A year for $54 via first class mail!
Then there was a whole separate ad for the Mr. Romance Pageant, which is run by the magazine and has nothing to do with the TV show, so: more chests!
Ed Scott, bottom right, totally just put the wrench down while fishing his daughter’s hair tie out of the bathroom sink so he could pose for this picture, which I imagine was submitted by his other daughter because her dad is the greatest.
Were you at this Mr Romance at RT 2005?
Then, the back cover. PLEASE SOMEONE TELL ME YOU HEARD THESE.
Romance Sound Track CDs!
I’m SO BUMMED I cannot find any trace of these on Al Gore’s internet.
Now, instead of simply reading your next romance novel… you’ll be able to “feel” every word like never before. Each one of the Romance SoundTracks provides you with a full hour of beautifully orchestrated selections – custom written and produced to enhance your romance reading experience. Whether at home or away, slip one of the Romance SoundTracks” into your CD player and settle in with a favorite novel for one of the most emotion-filled reading experiences you’ve ever imagined!
Value-priced at only $9.99 each, you can begin building a library of Romance SoundTracks” that will become a companion to all of your favorite styles of romance reading. You can currently choose from Bliss (Contemporary Romance), Edge of Midnight (Romantic Suspense), Emerald Passion (Celtic Romance), and Somewhere in Venice (Exotic Locale Romance). Additional titles are scheduled for release over the next several weeks including Historical-Regency Romance, Paranormal Romance, Inspirational Romance, Western Romance and many more.
Order today and take your romance reading enjoyment to a whole new level of feeling.
I love listening to music while I read (Brain.fm and lo-fi hip hop videos on YouTube are my favorites) but I had NO IDEA there were romance soundtrack CDs. And the titles and terms are generic enough that I can’t find them. Other search results get in the way of my quest! I wish I could find one and hear the whole CD.
Thanks for joining us in April 2005!
Did you listen to Romance Soundtracks on CD?! Did you watch Mr. Romance on TV? Do you remember any of these books?
A reminder: if you join the Patreon, you’ll get access to the entire issue as a PDF.
See you next month, when we head way, WAY back in time to May 1994.
RECOMMENDED: A Perilous Undertaking by Deanna Raybourn is $2.99 as a KDD today! This is book two in the Veronica Speedwell series and I LOVE THIS SERIES. I’ve listened to it one after the other. I reviewed this one and gave it a B, and wrote, “the series is a sizable amount of fun if you like historical mysteries, fearless and intelligent heroines who take negative-zero crap from anyone, characters who embrace sarcasm, adventure and nefarious plotting, and taciturn but brilliant heroes with simmering sexual tension.”
Veronica Speedwell returns in a brand new adventure from Deanna Raybourn, the New York Times bestselling author of the Lady Julia Grey mysteries…
London, 1887 . . Victorian adventuress and butterfly hunter Veronica Speedwell receives an invitation to visit the Curiosity Club, a ladies-only establishment for daring and intrepid women. There she meets the mysterious Lady Sundridge, who begs her to take on an impossible task saving society art patron Miles Ramsforth from execution. Accused of the brutal murder of his artist mistress Artemisia, Ramsforth will face the hangman’s noose in a week s time if Veronica cannot find the real killer.
But Lady Sundridge is not all that she seems and unmasking her true identity is only the first of the many secrets Veronica must uncover. Together with her natural historian colleague Stoker, Veronica races against time to find the true murderer a ruthless villain who not only took Artemisia s life in cold blood but is happy to see Ramsforth hang for the crime.
From a Bohemian artists colony to a royal palace to a subterranean grotto with a decadent history, the investigation proves to be a very perilous undertaking indeed….
RECOMMENDED: The Work of Art by Mimi Matthews is free today! Mimi Matthews has been a guest on the podcast in episodes 574 and 598, where we talked about “Historical Romances for Horse Girls.” The last time we featured The Work of Art, many of you commented positively about her work. TinaNoir said, “Work of Art was the first Mimi Matthews book I ever read and I loved it. Prompted me to check out her back list,” and SusanH said,”I love Mimi Matthews. She’s great for those who like their historical romance to feel very grounded in the era.” Have you read this one?
An Uncommon Beauty…
Hidden away in rural Devonshire, Phyllida Satterthwaite has always been considered more odd than beautiful. But in London, her oddity has made her a sensation. Far worse, it’s caught the eye of the sinister Duke of Moreland — a notorious art collector obsessed with acquiring one-of-a-kind treasures. To escape the duke’s clutches, she’s going to need a little help.
An Unlikely Hero…
Captain Arthur Heywood’s days of heroism are long past. Grievously injured in the Peninsular War, he can no longer walk unaided, let alone shoot a pistol. What use can he possibly be to a damsel in distress? He has nothing left to offer except his good name.
Can a marriage of convenience save Philly from the vengeful duke? Or will life with Arthur put her — and her heart — in more danger than ever?
RECOMMENDED: The Mermaid, The Witch and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall is $3.99! Maggie has been a guest on the podcast, and talked at length about this book in episode 406 and in episode 584, where we discussed this series, aka “Queer Pirate Decolonization Fantasy.”
Tara also squeed about this one:
Because, whoa, did TMtW&tS ever help me escape the world we’re in right now. I loved it so much and I can’t stop thinking about it. I’ve already told eleven friends in the two days since finishing it that they must read this book.
A desperate orphan turned pirate and a rebellious imperial daughter find a connection on the high seas in a world divided by colonialism and threaded with magic.
Aboard the pirate ship Dove, Flora the girl takes on the identity of Florian the man to earn the respect and protection of the crew. For Flora, former starving urchin, the brutal life of a pirate is about survival: don’t trust, don’t stick out, and don’t feel. But on this voyage, as the pirates prepare to sell their unsuspecting passengers into slavery, Flora is drawn to the Lady Evelyn Hasegawa, who is en route to a dreaded arranged marriage with her own casket in tow. Flora doesn’t expect to be taken under Evelyn’s wing, and Evelyn doesn’t expect to find such a deep bond with the pirate Florian.
Soon the unlikely pair set in motion a wild escape that will free a captured mermaid (coveted for her blood, which causes men to have visions and lose memories) and involve the mysterious Pirate Supreme, an opportunistic witch, and the all-encompassing Sea itself.
RECOMMENDED: Rosaline Palmer Takes the Cake by Alexis Hall is $2.99! Amanda has featured this book before, and wrote, “Carrie and I jointly reviewed this one and agreed on a B+. As a bisexual woman, I definitely felt seen by this book and I’m here for all the baking romance reads.” A mild heads up from Marjorie, who wrote in the comments when this book was on sale in 2023, “I enjoyed Rosaline Palmer but it was SO much darker than I anticipated from the cover. I’m really over these cartoon-y covers that are like shiny candy coatings on a Brussels sprout.” Have you read this book?
Fans of Casey McQuiston, Christina Lauren, and Abby Jimenez will love this scrumptious and sweet romantic comedy from the “dizzyingly talented writer” of Boyfriend Material (Entertainment Weekly)!
Following the recipe is the key to a successful bake. Rosaline Palmer has always lived by those rules—well, except for when she dropped out of college to raise her daughter, Amelie. Now, with a paycheck as useful as greaseproof paper and a house crumbling faster than biscuits in tea, she’s teetering on the edge of financial disaster. But where there’s a whisk there’s a way . . . and Rosaline has just landed a spot on the nation’s most beloved baking show.
Winning the prize money would give her daughter the life she deserves—and Rosaline is determined to stick to the instructions. However, more than collapsing trifles stand between Rosaline and sweet, sweet victory. Suave, well-educated, and parent-approved Alain Pope knows all the right moves to sweep her off her feet, but it’s shy electrician Harry Dobson who makes Rosaline question her long-held beliefs—about herself, her family, and her desires.
Rosaline fears falling for Harry is a guaranteed recipe for disaster. Yet as the competition—and the ovens—heat up, Rosaline starts to realize the most delicious bakes come from the heart.
The New Plant Parent: Develop Your Green Thumb and Care for Your House-Plant Family by Darryl Cheng is $2.99 at Amazon – come on over, price-matching fairies! This is a friendly guide to caring for your house plants, and it is reviewed very positively – 4.43 on StoryGraph, 4.45 on Goodreads (with 2k+ ratings!) where Jennifer wrote, “This little plant book is the BEE’S KNEES and absolutely one of the better reads I’ve had this year!” If you’re looking to level up your houseplant care, this might be a great option!
For indoor gardeners everywhere, Darryl Cheng offers a new way to grow healthy house plants. He teaches the art of understanding a plant’s needs and giving it a home with the right balance of light, water, and nutrients. After reading Cheng, the indoor gardener will be far less the passive follower of rules for the care of each species and much more the confident, active grower, relying on observation and insight. And in the process, the plant owner becomes a plant lover, bonded to these beautiful living things by a simple love and appreciation of nature. The New Plant Parent covers all of the basics of growing house plants, from finding the right light, to everyday care like watering and fertilizing, to containers, to recommended species. Cheng’s friendly tone, personal stories, and accessible photographs fill his book with the same generous spirit that has made @houseplantjournal, his Instagram account, a popular source of advice and inspiration for thousands of indoor gardeners.
RECOMMENDED: The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakraborty is $4.99! We mentioned this book in a recent discussion about stories that are tremendously fun to read, and Carrie gave this book a SQUEE! grade, saying,
In a plot filled with external sources of tension (such as the aforementioned scorpion-tentacle monster) it’s the internal conflict Amina feels about her past as well as her relationships with her biological and found family that both ground and drive the story.
“A thrilling, transportative adventure that is everything promised–Chakraborty’s storytelling is fantasy at its best.” — R.F. Kuang, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and The Poppy War
“An exhilarating, propulsive adventure, stitched from the threads of real history, Amina’s adventures are the reason to read fantasy.” — Ava Reid, internationally bestselling author of Juniper & Thorn
Shannon Chakraborty, the bestselling author of The City of Brass, spins a new trilogy of magic and mayhem on the high seas in this tale of pirates and sorcerers, forbidden artifacts and ancient mysteries, in one woman’s determined quest to seize a final chance at glory—and write her own legend.
Amina al-Sirafi should be content. After a storied and scandalous career as one of the Indian Ocean’s most notorious pirates, she’s survived backstabbing rogues, vengeful merchant princes, several husbands, and one actual demon to retire peacefully with her family to a life of piety, motherhood, and absolutely nothing that hints of the supernatural.
But when she’s tracked down by the obscenely wealthy mother of a former crewman, she’s offered a job no bandit could refuse: retrieve her comrade’s kidnapped daughter for a kingly sum. The chance to have one last adventure with her crew, do right by an old friend, and win a fortune that will secure her family’s future forever? It seems like such an obvious choice that it must be God’s will.
Yet the deeper Amina dives, the more it becomes alarmingly clear there’s more to this job, and the girl’s disappearance, than she was led to believe. For there’s always risk in wanting to become a legend, to seize one last chance at glory, to savor just a bit more power…and the price might be your very soul.
RECOMMENDED: With Love from Cold World by Alicia Thompson is $1.99! This book was mentioned in Hide Your Wallet (Amanda is always into books set in Florida) and Dahlia Adler featured it in her August roundup of Queer Romances, saying “this immediately shot to my list of all-time favorites.” And Maureen mentioned really enjoying it in the comments of a Whatcha Reading? thread, and said “I liked their interactions and the way they were able to admit when they were wrong.” Have you read this one?
She has a to-do list a mile long and falling for her coworker isn’t on it–yet somehow he’s become her top priority in this romantic comedy from the national bestselling author of Love in the Time of Serial Killers.
Lauren Fox is the bookkeeper for Cold World, a tourist destination that’s always a winter wonderland despite being located in humid Orlando, Florida. Sure, it’s ranked way below any of the trademarked amusement parks and maybe foot traffic could be better. But it’s a fun place to work, even if “fun” isn’t exactly Lauren’s middle name.
Her coworker Asa Williamson, on the other hand, is all about finding ways to enliven his days at Cold World–whether that means organizing the Secret Santa or teasing Lauren. When the owner asks Lauren and Asa to propose something (anything, really) to raise more revenue, their rivalry heats up as they compete to come up with the best idea. But the situation is more dire than they thought, and it might take these polar opposites working together to save the day. If Asa thought Lauren didn’t know how to enjoy herself, he’s surprised by how much he enjoys spending time together. And if Lauren thought Asa wasn’t serious about anything, she’s surprised by how seriously he seems to take her.
As Lauren and Asa work to save their beloved wintery spot, they realize the real attraction might be the heat generating between them.
RECOMMENDED: Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron is $2.99! This book is inspired by Jane Austen’s Emma, is lighthearted and rather sexy as well, and I recorded a podcast episode with Farah about the release. Have you read this book?
Kamila Hussain’s life might not be perfect, but, whew, it’s close. She lives a life of comfort, filled with her elaborate Bollywood movie parties, a dog with more Instagram followers than most reality stars, a job she loves, and an endless array of friends who clearly need her help finding love. In fact, Kamila is so busy with her friends’ love lives, she’s hardly given any thought to her own . . .
Fortunately, Kamila has Rohan Nasser. A longtime friend of the family, he’s hugely successful, with the deliciously lean, firm body of a rock climber. Only lately, Kamila’s “harmless flirting” with Rohan is making her insides do a little bhangra dance.
But between planning the local shelter’s puppy prom, throwing a huge work event, and proving to everyone that she’s got it all figured out, Kamila isn’t letting herself get distracted—until her secret nemesis returns to town with an eye for Rohan. Suddenly, it seems like the more Kamila tries to plan, the more things are starting to unravel—and her perfectly ordered life is about to be turned upside down.
RECOMMENDED: Fool Me Twice by Meredith Duran is $2.99! This historical is book two in the Rules for the Reckless series. Whenever Duran is mentioned, I know many of you talk about how much you love her books and hope she returns to writing someday. Fool Me Twice was a finalist for a RITA, so we have two RITA Reader Challenge reviews. Nita G. gave it an A-, and cover snark connoisseur PamG gave it an A. Both praised the writing and the character development. Have you read this one?
Sensible and lonely, Olivia Mather survives by her wits—and her strict policy of avoiding trouble. But when she realizes that the Duke of Marwick might hold the secrets of her family’s past, she does the unthinkable, infiltrating his household as a maid. She’ll clean his study and rifle through his papers looking for information.
Alastair de Grey has a single reason to live: vengeance. More beautiful than Lucifer, twice as feared, and thrice as cunning, he’ll use any weapon to punish those who fooled and betrayed him—even an impertinent maid who doesn’t know her place. But the more fascinated he becomes with the uppity redhead, the more dangerous his carefully designed plot becomes. For the one contingency he forgot to plan for was falling in love…and he cannot survive being fooled again.
There are so many great deals today, from retcon romantasy to romance to memoir to dishy nonfiction.
The Winter King by C.L. Wilson is $1.49! This is book one in the Weathermages of Mystral series. This is a fantasy romance originally published 10 years ago in 2014, and it has some interesting magical systems and societies, but readers on StoryGraph have warned that there is dubious consent and assault. This is part of what I think of as “Retcon Romantasy:” an older book that fits what is right now the very hottest reading trend. Have you read this one? (And isn’t that cover something?)
After three long years of war, starkly handsome Wynter Atrialan will have his vengeance on Summerlea’s king by taking one of the man’s beautiful, beloved daughters as his bride. But though peace is finally at hand, Wynter’s battle with the Ice Heart, the dread power he embraced to avenge his brother’s death, rages on.
Khamsin Coruscate, Princess of Summerlea and summoner of Storms, has spent her life exiled to the shadows of her father’s palace. Reviled by her father, marriage to Wintercraig’s icy king was supposed to be a terrible punishment, but instead offers Kham her first taste of freedom—and her first taste of overwhelming passion.
As fierce, indomitable Wynter weathers even Khamsin’s wildest storms, surprising her with a tenderness she never expected, Kham wants more than Wynter’s passion—she yearns for his love. But the power of the Ice Heart is growing, dangerous forces are gathering, and a devastating betrayal puts Khamsin and Wynter to the ultimate test.
Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain is $4.99 at Amazon and Kobo (come on over, price matching fairies!).
This is Bourdain’s tell-all memoir, containing stories about what really happens in the kitchens of restaurants, and how he became a chef. Bourdain fans love this book, and with all the kitchen-set dramas and reality shows, it’s perennially relevant.
RECOMMENDED: Speaking of kitchens! Battle Royal by Lucy Parker is $1.99! Catherine gave this one an A-:
I loved Battle Royal. While it did have minor flaws, it more than made up for them with humour, tenderness, and food porn.
Beloved author Lucy Parker pens a delicious new romantic comedy that is a battle of whisks and wits.
Ready…
Four years ago, Sylvie Fairchild charmed the world as a contestant on the hit baking show, Operation Cake. Her ingenious, colorful creations captivated viewers and intrigued all but one of the judges, Dominic De Vere, the hottest pastry chef in London. When her glittery unicorn cake went spectacularly sideways, Dominic was quick to vote her off the show. Since then, Sylvie has managed to use her fame to help fulfill her dream of opening a bakery, Sugar Fair. The toast of Instagram, Sugar Fair has captured the attention of the Operation Cake producers…and a princess.
Set…
Dominic is His Majesty the King’s favorite baker, the go-to for sweet-toothed A-List celebrities, and a veritable British institution. He’s brilliant, talented, hard-working. And an icy, starchy grouch. Learning that the irksome Sylvie will be joining him on the Operation Cake judging panel is enough to make the famously dour baker even more grim. Her fantastical baking is only slightly more troublesome than the fact that he can’t stop thinking about her pink-streaked hair and irrepressible dimple.
Match…
When Dominic and Sylvie learn they will be fighting for the once in a lifetime opportunity to bake a cake for the upcoming wedding of Princess Rose, the flour begins to fly as they’re both determined to come out on top.
The bride adores Sylvie’s quirky style. The palace wants Dominic’s classic perfection.
In this royal battle, can there be room for two?
My Fair Concubine by Jeannie Lin is $1.99! This is a historical “My Fair Lady” style romance – set in the Tang Dynasty in China. Readers loved the retelling and the depth of characterization, and it has a 3.74 star average on StoryGraph. Have you read this one?
THE NOBLEMAN WHO TURNED A TEA GIRL INTO A PRINCESS…
Yan Ling tries hard to be servile-it’s what’s expected of a girl of her class. Being intelligent and strong-minded, she finds it a constant battle.
Proud Fei Long is unimpressed by her spirit-until he realizes she’s the answer to his problems. He has to deliver the emperor a “princess.” In two months can he train a tea girl to pass as a noblewoman?
Yet it’s hard to teach good etiquette when all Fei Long wants to do is break it, by taking this tea girl for his own…
RECOMMENDED: Endgame by Omid Scobie is $4.99. If you can get the audiobook, I recommend that most emphatically as Scobie reads it himself.
I’ve said before on the podcast that watching the story of the royal family since Queen Elizabeth’s passing is watching the unraveling of a delicate balance of propaganda between the monarchy and the press. Endgame looks at the fragility of the agreements made between the British press and the monarchy through the lens of the absolute mess that’s been made since the queen died. I love reading nonfiction wherein a member of the media attempts to analyze the media itself, and I thought this was a really interesting book.
Endgame, the explosive book from longtime royal journalist Omid Scobie and author of the international blockbuster Finding Freedom, is a penetrating investigation into the current state of the British monarchy—an unpopular king, a power-hungry heir to the throne, a queen willing to go to dangerous lengths to preserve her image, and a prince forced to start a new life after being betrayed by his own family.
Queen Elizabeth II’s death ruptured the already-fractured foundations of the House of Windsor—and dismantled the protective shield around it. With an institution long plagued by antiquated ideas around race, class and money, the monarchy and those who prop it up are now exposed and at odds with a rapidly modernizing world. Relying on his vast experience as a royal reporter and over a decade of conversations and interviews with current and former Palace staff, trusted friends of the royals and even the family members themselves, Scobie pulls back the curtain on an institution in turmoil to show what the monarchy must change in order to survive.
This is the monarchy’s endgame. Do they have what it takes to save it?
RECOMMENDED: A Power Unbound by Freya Marske is $2.99! This is book 3 of The Last Binding series, a queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light (which is in KU so if you haven’t read this trilogy, it’s easy to start). A Power Unbound was mentioned in Hide Your Wallet, and Freya Marske was a guest on the podcast to talk about the second book A Restless Truth. This trilogy is terrific, and A Power Unbound has a 4.39 star average on StoryGraph and 4.32 on Goodreads. Have you read this book?
A Power Unbound is the final entry in Freya Marske’s beloved, award-winning Last Binding trilogy, the queer historical fantasy series that began with A Marvellous Light.
Jack Alston, Lord Hawthorn, would love a nice, safe, comfortable life. After the death of his twin sister, he thought he was done with magic for good. But with the threat of a dangerous ritual hanging over every magician in Britain, he’s drawn reluctantly back into that world.
Now Jack is living in a bizarre puzzle-box of a magical London townhouse, helping an unlikely group of friends track down the final piece of the Last Contract before their enemies can do the same. And to make matters worse, they need the help of writer and thief Alan Ross.
Cagey and argumentative, Alan is only in this for the money. The aristocratic Lord Hawthorn, with all his unearned power, is everything that Alan hates. And unfortunately, Alan happens to be everything that Jack wants in one gorgeous, infuriating package.
When a plot to seize unimaginable power comes to a head at Cheetham Hall—Jack’s ancestral family estate, a land so old and bound in oaths that it’s grown a personality as prickly as its owner—Jack, Alan and their allies will become entangled in a night of champagne, secrets, and bloody sacrifice . . . and the foundations of magic in Britain will be torn up by the roots before the end.
RECOMMENDED: When We Left Cuba by Chanel Cleeton is $2.99! This one features a character from the first book in this series, Next Year in Havana, but I believe you can manage this one as a standalone. If I’m wrong, though, chime in below! Here’s what Sarah had to say:
When We Left Cuba is beautiful and fascinating. Better recommendation comes from my house sitter earlier this year who very shyly asked if she could read my ARC of book three because she loves the series so so much and was so excited that a preview copy was in her vicinity.
In 1960s Florida, a young Cuban exile will risk her life–and heart–to take back her country in this exhilarating historical novel from the author of Next Year in Havana, a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick.
Beautiful. Daring. Deadly.
The Cuban Revolution took everything from sugar heiress Beatriz Perez–her family, her people, her country. Recruited by the CIA to infiltrate Fidel Castro’s inner circle and pulled into the dangerous world of espionage, Beatriz is consumed by her quest for revenge and her desire to reclaim the life she lost.
As the Cold War swells like a hurricane over the shores of the Florida Strait, Beatriz is caught between the clash of Cuban American politics and the perils of a forbidden affair with a powerful man driven by ambitions of his own. When the ever-changing tides of history threaten everything she has fought for, she must make a choice between her past and future–but the wrong move could cost Beatriz everything–not just the island she loves, but also the man who has stolen her heart…
RECOMMENDED: Cold-Hearted Rake by Lisa Kleypas is $1.99! Elyse reviewed this one and gave it an A:
Cold-Hearted Rake has the elements that make me love Kleypas so much as a writer: female friendships, a hero who is a rake but somehow also emotionally aware, a setting that’s fully developed and not a backdrop, and scalding sexual tension.
A twist of fate…
Devon Ravenel, London’s most wickedly charming rake, has just inherited an earldom. But his powerful new rank in society comes with unwanted responsibilities . . . and more than a few surprises. His estate is saddled with debt, and the late earl’s three innocent sisters are still occupying the house . . . along with Kathleen, Lady Trenear, a beautiful young widow whose sharp wit and determination are a match for Devon’s own.
A clash of wills…
Kathleen knows better than to trust a ruthless scoundrel like Devon. But the fiery attraction between them is impossible to deny—and from the first moment Devon holds her in his arms, he vows to do whatever it takes to possess her. As Kathleen finds herself yielding to his skillfully erotic seduction, only one question remains:
Can she keep from surrendering her heart to the most dangerous man she’s ever known?
RECOMMENDED: The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean is $3.99! Elyse read this one, and gave it an A:
Let me start by saying that The Rogue Not Taken by Sarah MacLean is my favorite book of hers to date. If you’ve read her, or know me, then you know that I just said a thing. I mean, there is a scene in this book where the hero sensually rubs honey on the heroine’s body while she dreamily describes the bookstore she’ll own one day.
Lady Sophie’s Society Splash
When Sophie, the least interesting of the Talbot sisters, lands her philandering brother-in-law backside-first in a goldfish pond in front of all society, she becomes the target of very public aristocratic scorn. Her only choice is to flee London, vowing to start a new life far from the aristocracy. Unfortunately, the carriage in which she stows away isn’t saving her from ruin . . . it’s filled with it.
Rogue’s Reign of Ravishment!
Kingscote, “King,” the Marquess of Eversley, has never met a woman he couldn’t charm, resulting in a reputation far worse than the truth, a general sense that he’s more pretty face than proper gentleman, and an irate summons home to the Scottish border. When King discovers stowaway Sophie, however, the journey becomes anything but boring.
War? Or More?
He thinks she’s trying to trick him into marriage. She wouldn’t have him if he were the last man on earth. But carriages bring close quarters, dark secrets, and unbearable temptation, making opposites altogether too attractive . . .
Hey y’all! I’m driving the Whatcha Reading? bus this week, as Amanda is traveling the globe.
Spring has SPROINGED around me. This is a picture I took recently of my neighbor’s camellia (I think that’s a camellia) against the sky. In a truly dorky move, I’m trying to match the colors for a quilt in progress because I love blue, green, and pink together.
Here’s what’s on the currently-reading list at SBTB HQ – with a mild TW for some discussion of depression.
Elyse: It’s FINALLY spring here so I assume it’s my brain telling me to get outside. I downloaded the audio of Ghost Station by SA Barnes to accompany me on walks.
Lara: I’m struggling to find a book that sticks around. I’m DNFing pretty often lately.
Elyse: I think I’ve started and put down 5 books this month. My brain is tired and restless.
Lara: I need a word that describes the unsettling sadness of not being able to find joy in reading because none of the books you pick up are hitting the spot.
Elyse: Rich calls it “book ennui.”
Sneezy: Well now!!! I’m stealing that. My book ennui is making me appear saintly while I shelve my books. (Yes, aftershocks [from the earthquake in Taiwan] are still being drama llamas, but fuck it I want my floor space back.)
Sarah: My brain is restless, too! The book that seems to be tempting my brain the most is Happy Medium by Sarah Adler ( A | BN | K ), because I can’t stop thinking about it.
Lara: The book I’m currently trying is Gator Queen by Tara Lush ( A | BN | K ). I think it’s a comedy but it’s very early days yet.
Susan: It’s seasonal depression new years for me, so I’m listening to the audiobook of Dana K. White’s How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind ( A | BN | K ) while I try to unfuck my house from its depression pit state.
I find her stuff great for helping me not focus on the shame of letting things get this bad, because her attitude is “whatever you do is progress.”
Sarah: Oh, heck. I hate the depression pit and I’m sorry you’re there.
Susan: Thank you, it sucks here! I’m doing the most scattershot job of sorting things out and booking workmen, but it’s progress.
Tara: I’ve been reading A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland ( A | BN | K ) and it’s beautifully written.
It takes place in the 1800s in Nova Scotia and is a sapphic retelling of the folk tale The Selkie Wife. It has a romance, but is not a romance, and has a gothic vibe to it.
Some of you might be wondering if it has a happy ending or not, because queer stories in this era are often heartbreaking.
Shana: I’m reading Shadowlands Omega by Elizabeth Stephens. ( A | BN | K )
It’s a standalone in a dark fantasy romance series and I spent the first chapter flailing about trying to figure out the world building. But I got totally sucked in and now I’m having trouble doing anything else but read this book. It comes out April 18.
Also, the heroine is bald which is delightful!
Kiki: I’m listening to The Perils of Pleasure by Julie Ann Long ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). I tried one of the other books in this series before and was put off by what felt like a very bad ratio of internal narration vs actual conversation between the characters, but I’m liking this one better so far.
Sneezy: I’m rereading Father, I Don’t Want This Marriage on Tappytoon. I forgot how funny it is!
The main story is completed and smutty versions of the side stories that are coming out alongside the non-smut version. Fellow Smut Demons, please note you HAVE TO buy the smut chapters from a separate link and all smut is only available on browser. If you buy the wrong chapter, you’ll have to pay twice!
What about you? Whatcha reading? Tell us everything in the comments!
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