Podcasts about kresley

It was a full guest list on Wednesday as Iowa track and field stars Kat Moody and Austin Kresley, and Iowa softball star Nia Carter all made guest appearances on the Hawk Fanatic radio show and podcast. Moody talked about winning both the shot put and discus at the Drake Relays this past weekend, while Kresley talked about his rise as a sprinter, and Carter talked about her success as a hitter.  

At the request of Instagram, we're talking Vampires today! We're doing some deep cuts, returning to Kresley Cole for a minute or two, and then digging into worldbuilding, morality chain, why these books lend themselves to massive series, and ultimately…why we love these big toothy jerks. If you're a paranormal reader, get your pencils ready — especially if you're new to it, because we're taking everyone way back to the beginnings of the subgenre! Thanks to Kelly Cain, author of An Acquired Taste, and Alyxandra Harvey, author of How to Marry an Earl, for sponsoring the episode.Our next read along is Julie James's Something About You. Get it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local bookstore. Show NotesWe've talked about vampires on past episodes: Kresley's IAD vampires (Conrad is our favorite); Dark Lover by JR Ward; and last fall, we had Jenny Nordbak on for a monster interstitial. If you're in Brooklyn and looking for a bookstore that carries lots of PNR, try The Bookmark Shoppe.In film, after 9/11, the rise of the anti/superhero to reconcile America's participation in a war. After the economic downturn, it was the rise of zombies to justify the way America was leaving poor people behind. And in this TikTok by Virgolikebeyonce, she suggests we're about to see media that reconciles our obsession with work/capitalism. We at FM have been noting a rise of the regular, blue-collar hero, which would track with this.A hegemony explainer.Tessa Bailey hit #1 on both the USAToday and New York Times bestseller lists with Hook, Line, and Sinker.The Sherilyn Kenyon situation is truly weird. Even eBooks can go out of print, for example, The Faustian Brothers series by Evie Byrne.Our next read along is Something About You by Julie James.

Season Four starts today, you Magnificent Firebirds!Season One gave us a full lAD deep dive (if you've never read Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark, general existential malaise is a really good reason to start), and Season Two gave us The Books That Blooded Us -- the books that made us the romance readers we are. Season Three was during a pandemic, so just let us live (but also, there was a Roy Kent episode)! Now, Season Four is here, and we have — dare we say — a plan? We're going to deep dive on books that are new and fabulous, old and transformative, and generally reveal how vast and magnificent the romance pool can get. We've got some great interstitials planned, including some fabulous, brilliant guests on deck…and when Munro is released, we'll (obviously) drop everything and read with you!But we've got something new and different to add to the mix — a collection of interviews with trailblazers of the genre—the people who have built the romance house over the last fifty years. We're already blown away by who we have on deck, with many many more to come! Stick with us, it's going to be a terrific ride. We begin our read alongs in two weeks with a delicious book that did not bring romance the bluestocking, but definitely made sure we all knew who she was. It's Amanda Quick's Ravished—which Sarah describes as “Harriet, in a cave, with a rake.” It's great. Get reading at: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local indie. You have two weeks to read, but in the meantime, sit back, relax, and let us give you a preview of what's to come! Don't forget to like and follow in your favorite podcasting platform!Show NotesThe only Fated Mates episode where one of us was absent was back when Sarah was sick and Kate came on to talk about sickbed scenes--It was March of 2020 and we weren't as Coronavirus-aware as we thought.Keeping our fingers crossed that the FDA will approve the vaccination for kids between 5 and 12. Health care workers are facing increasingly hostile and frightening aggression from anti-vaxxers. We were ahead of the ball on calling Ted Lasso as a romance. You should follow Phil Dunster, the actor who plays Jamie Tartt, on Twitter. Last week, Roy and Jamie had a heartbreaking and perfect moment.All about gaffing and scatting.Hannah Waddingham is from the theater world, so maybe that's why we didn't realize her brilliance before this show. Apparently we just didn't realize she was on Game of Thrones, which sounds terrible.Kresley sent a newsletter and let everyone know that she might have news this month about Munro and the next book in the Arcana chronicles.You can change the time zone of your Kindle, but I don't think the books arrive any earlier. The Flame and the Flower was published in 1972. We will not do a read along of the book, but we will talk about its influence on the genre. Julie Moody-Freeman, host of the Black Romance Podcast, was a guest on Fated Mates at the end of season two. Here's a New Yorker profile of Nora Roberts from 2009, and a People magazine story on Danielle Steel from 2014.Many of romance's writers and editors have already passed. Two we mentioned: Carolyn Nichols, the original editor for Loveswept, died in 2017, and legendary author Johanna Lindsey died in 2019. 24 ounces is a lot of fluid. Our first season four read-along will be Ravished by Amanda Quick.

For links to the books mentioned, click here: https://amzn.to/358nZ8f  Follow Lit Wallflowers:  https://www.instagram.com/litwallflowerspodcast/    Follow The Fangover: http://thefangover.com  https://www.instagram.com/thefangover/  https://www.facebook.com/groups/thefangover/  Our Blogs: https://www.underthecoversbookblog.com/  https://ideallyinspiredreviews.com/ 

Rounding the corner on Season Three, and we're missing Kresley Cole! This week, we read a book neither of us have read before — Kresley's Captain of All Pleasures. A Victorian pirate book about a ship race. We talk about the magic of the debut romance, why pirates are often times icky, and why setting a book on a boat is risky business. Next week, we're back with an interstitial, and in two weeks, we're reading a romantic suspense—Whiteout by Adriana Anders. Find it at Amazon (free in KU!), Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or from your local indie. Thank you, as always, for listening! Please follow us on your favorite podcasting app, and if you are up for leaving a rating or review there, we would be very grateful!Show NotesThe requisite coronavirus chat: Sarah was very sick in 2020 and Kate and Jen did a “sickbed scenes” interstitial without her. Jen said someone is going to make a jingle out of “Fauci Ouchie” and it already happened. Sarah's upcoming book is available for pre-order. The title is Bombshell and it comes out August 24, 2021. You can read this interview with Sarah when EW did the cover reveal. Check out Season one, which is all about Kresley Cole's Immortals After Dark series.Quite a few of Lisa Kleypas's earliest novels are out of print and not available as eBooks, but you can probably find them used on eBay or Amazon. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake is Sarah's debut, you should read it. Borders was a bookstore that closed in 2011. Goodreads was invented in 2007 but took a few years to become popular, but once it was bought by Amazon, it completely stagnated. Sarah was probably talking about Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours of practice rule, but how many words would that actually be?The Stephanie Plum series is now on book number 27, and all Jen has to say is #TeamRanger forever. Don't @ her.Here's Kresley's FictionDB page for a complete list of her books in order. Ships vs. boats, if getting those names is important to you, I guess. The Amazing Race arc of IAD takes place over two books, No Rest for the Wicked and Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night. Again the Magic was actually published in 2004, a year after Captain of All Pleasures. The golden age of pirates was between 1650 and the 1730s, and of course our actual knowledge of pirates and piracy is limited. But most recently, of course, there are the Somali pirates. The race in Captain of All Pleasures was probably based on the Great Tea Race of 1866. The history of henna tattoos. A marchioness is a higher rank than an earl. Dr. Gunter has some information for you about the hymen. That's what she said. Hattie ties Whit to a mast in Brazen and the Beast, in case you want more of that. Next up, Whiteout by Adriana Anders.Music

Silver foxes, May/December, older heroines/younger heroes, look, Sarah's buttons were installed young, ok? We're talking age gap romances, how they played out in the early days of the genre, how they remain popular today, and what has happen (or not!) in the books to make them viable romance in 2021. We try to keep this one taboo but not dark, sexy but not erotic…but by the end, we're not making any real promises. Check all your Content Warnings before you begin with these books!Whether you're new to Fated Mates this month or have been with us for all three seasons, we adore you, and we're so grateful to have you. We hope you're reading the best books this week.Next week, we're reading Kresley Cole's debut, The Captain of All Pleasures. Neither of us have read it, so we're all jumping into the deep end without a mask on this one! Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Apple Books. Or find it from your local indie via bookshop.org.Show NotesYou can buy Iris Johansen's mansion in Cartersville, GA for a cool 8 million. Maybe Chaotic Evil isn't the best writing plan.Here's some pop psychology about the May December romance. By the way, the phrase May-December romance apparently dates back to Chaucer. In The Merchant's Tale, a young woman named May marries a much older man and a confusing idiom was born. As it turns out the “half your age plus 7” rule is not something Jen made up, because once you google it, you get charts and graphs and articles and everything. Sarah's reference to “Every terrifying post on that reddit board” is r/relationships, although r/amitheasshole is always available with some new tale of terrifying bad behavior. This problems presented from lack of sex ed are pervasive though historical romance, but how much better are we doing by our kids? Jen was talking about Marvin Gaye when she mentioned "Everybody wants their own piece of clay" shit.Diana Palmer has a long, storied romance career, and none of it involves that kind of DP. The first book in the Long Tall Texans series, Calhoun, was published in 1988, and the latest one is #57 in the series, Texas Proud, and was published in October of 2020. All joking about the Pioneer Woman aside, she does have some great recipes. It turns out that the “boiling frog” analogy is just a myth, so keep on reading! The movie Carol is based on Patricia Highsmith's The Price of Salt. The Jessa Kane book with the dirty version of the talk is called His Prize Pupil, in case you want to read it yourself. For science. Our next read-along episode will be The Captain of All Pleasures by Kresley Cole. If you want more Kresley, all of Season One is for you. MusicPee Wee Crayton - Long Tall Texan, Standard Fare - Older Woman, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg - Nuthin' But A "G" Thang, Cibo Matto - Know Your Chicken, Dr. Octagon - Waiting List

We're so thrilled to be talking morality chain romance! We've owed this episode to Katee Robert for nearly a year, and we have no excuses for how long this has taken, except that time in 2020 was a flat circle. Here, we get down to business—we tackle the definition of Morality Chain, and how it differs from Dark Romance, how it connects with mafia, criminals, pirates, highwaymen, and the original Alpha. Check all your Content Warnings before you begin with these books!S03.31: Morality Chain Romance InterstitialWhether you're new to Fated Mates this month or have been with us for all three seasons, we adore you, and we're so grateful to have you. We hope you're reading the best books this week.Next week, we're reading Alexis Daria's You Had Me At Hola, one of our Best Books of 2020! Find it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, or Apple Books.Show NotesOne very important note: we highly recommend doing a thorough search for content warnings for all the books and movies we mention this week. We love Katee Robert, who we had on as a guest for the menage interstitial. Katee bid on this item at Kennedy Ryan's Lift 4 Autism auction. It happens every spring, so keep an eye on this page for the 2021 auction if you'd like to pick the topic for a future interstitial. This week, Katee released Seducing My Guardian, the 4th book in her SUPER HOT Touch of Taboo series. If you'd like to read a morality chain romance written by Katee, we recommend The Bastard's Bargain.“In springtime, the only pretty ring time” is from Shakespeare's As You Like It. It's also possible Sarah knows it from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. She would like you to believe that it's from the former, but we'll leave you to draw your own conclusions. Either way, “If you liked it then you shoulda put a ring on it,” is from Beyonce. As it turns out, Chicago is a great town for beach volleyball.It's hard not to talk about morality chain & dark romance together, but we think they are inverse tropes. The internet definition of Morality Chain is “is a character who is the reason another character is Good.” Jen and Sarah's current definition is that in morality chain romance, the Love Interest pulls a hero towards humanity and goodness, while in dark romance, the love interest is pulled down into the hero's lawless world.Some examples in pop culture are Spike from Buffy and maybe Barney in How I Met Your Motherr. Also, check out a movie called The Professional, where a child (played by Natalie Portman!) befriends the assassin next door. The Jason Statham one with a kid is called Safe. The Hero's Journey is very common character archetype in literature and pop culture, but Sarah and Jen are both very taken with Gail Carriger's description of the alternative archetype, The Heroine's Journey. If you want more about morality chain, so many of Kresley's books from The Immortals After Dark series will work, so please listen to season one! Our favorites are Dark Needs at Night's Edge, Lothaire, and Sweet Ruin. We were divided on whether the character has to be a danger to others in order to qualitfy as morality chain. In the Gamemaker series: The Professional is about an assassin who is a danger to others, while in The Player he's only a danger to himself. Jen Porter wrote a long thread about what she thinks of as PEA, or problematic ever after, romance.Mickey is "kind of a Fagin-y" as a character, but without the antisemitism. In interesting historical facts, Dickens rewrote Oliver Twist later in life to remove all anti-Semitic characteristics from Fagin, after he'd been criticized for the portrayal of the character. Of course, it's not that simple. Read more about it from Deborah Epstein Nord. Scottie is the main character of Managed, and is classified more as grumpy one/sunshine one, which we argue is just morality chain dialed down. More about how most writers have a “core story."Next week, we'll be reading You Had me at Hola by Alexis Daria

Sarah is *still* on deadline (WE KNOW), but we're answering your questions about romance novels, publishing, writing and more. In this episode, we're talking about stand-alone romance series, heroes who do bad stuff, Jane Austen, cover reveals and more. Whether you're new to Fated Mates this month or have been with us for all three seasons, we adore you, and we're so grateful to have you. We hope you're reading the best books this week.Next week, it's Mary Balogh's A Matter Of Class — this is the truth. Get it for only $2.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or Google Books.Show NotesSarah and Eric, Sara and Derek! Jen recommends Let's Make Art if you're looking for something fun to power you through until we're all vaccinated. Check out Kelly's Romance Sticker of the Month Club.Next week, we'll be reading A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh. WE PROMISE. Why aren't there more Fantasy Romances? Later this spring, we're having an episode with Zoraida Cordova about fantasy romance. Until then, maybe you'll be interested A Court of Silver Flames, the newest release from Sarah J. Mass.When did Series becomes so Popular? We talked about this in our episode about romance families, so you might want to check that out for a longer discussion of this topic. Perhaps you are like Jen and want to know more about how to turn off the “popular highlights”series on your Kindle. Oh the 80s and 90s: Lovesepts series with the Delaneys, or Elizabeth Lowell's series with heroes named after states. What's the State of Publishing? What are the different Trim Sizes? One of the reasons mass market paperbacks (MMPB) are harder to get is because of a merger between printers, which explains the transition to Mass Market Max.All about stripped or remaindered books and what happens when a bookstore returns a book to the publisher. How Can You Afford Your Romance Habit? Kindle Unlimited, obviously. You should absolutely get the Libby app (managed by Overdrive) and use it to check books out of your local library. If your library system has Hoopla, you should check it out. Here's a quick primer on the differences between these apps.It's essential to subscribe to the BookBub daily email, you can choose from a number of categories. Also, you should follow The Book Queen on Twitter, who posts a daily thread of what's on sale. Finally, you should use eReaderIQ to track authors and specific books, and they will email you when the prices drop. Who do we want to write our Life Story? Kleypas and Kresley. What are the Best Romance Craft Books? OH-IO is what all the Ohioans say. And there's nothing more midwestern than “ope.” It's "Ope There Goes Gravity" and we will not be taking questions at this time. Sarah recommends the following craft books: Romancing the Beat, Save the Cat, and The Heroine's Journey. (And here's the Hero's Journey).Can a Hero by a Known Kidnapper? Ask St. Vincent, although he doesn't kidnap the heroine. It depends on the reason for the kidnapping--for example, his childhood home is part of her dowry, meaning A Rogue by Any Other Name or try Dark Mafia Prince. But these stories are less common in contemporaries, unless it's “dark romance.”Why aren't there more Vibrators? It's such a good question, and we are slowly seeing more of them. Check out Elia Winters' blog where she reviews sex toys. Other books to check out: It Happened One Summer, Happy Endings, and You Had Me at Hola. Why Are there so Many Dukes? Because people buy them.Why don't we have better names for different types of Illustrated Covers? Because we're readers and don't know enough art words? The word cartoon has a childish connotation, and so we think that's why we started using illustrated. Sometimes we hear the phrase "photo-realistic" to describe the previous illustrated style. Did Jane Austen write Contemporaries? Yes.Historical romance are set in the past, and an example of one set in the recent past is Loud is How I Love You by Mercy Brown.Why are Cover Reveals Important? Publicity, and if you want to see a great new cover, check out the new cover for The Kiss Quotient.Can You be a Casual Romance Reader? Yes! You can. Please just tell us to calm down, and maybe just start with our best of lists. Have fun! Where are the Curvy Heroes? It's so tricky, but we like Marie Liscomb's Champion's Heart series. There's a few from Jessa Kane. But body image issues are present even in children's toys. What does "Two Ps in V" mean? It's two penises, one vagina. Usually, one P waits its turn, but in The Architect by Nikki Sloan and also Ready and Willing by Cara McKenna, (which is no longer available) it's actually happening simultaneously. Romance really does have everything!

We are joined by the fabulous Kate Clayborn — the first in the Fated Mates five-timer club! — to talk about about retellings in romance and to celebrate the launch of her new book, Love At First, which you can get wherever books are sold. We talk about the difference between retellings and homages, about Shakespeare and mythology and retellings of classic texts versus modern ones. And of course, we fill your TBR. Whether you're new to Fated Mates this month or have been with us for all three seasons, we adore you, and we're so grateful to have you. Next week, we're back with a read along of Mary Balogh's A Matter of Class, a short historical novel. Get it for only $2.99 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo or Google Books.Show NotesWelcome Kate Clayborn, our first five-timer. She was with us for the Best Friend's Sibling Interstitial, Kresley's The Player, the Sickbed Scenes Interstitial, Derek Craven Day 2021, and today's interstitial on Romance Retellings. Texas and the rest of America got hit with some espically bad winter weather this February. This is climate change. Kate released Love at First this week, which is an homage to Romeo and Juliet. Kate's 2020 book, Love Lettering, is an Overdrive read. Get it today with no wait! Dr. Jill Biden loves Valentine's Day.JK Rowling is a problem, and it's changed the way many Harry Potter fans think about her books. Yes, yes, the English Teacher memes are so funny. Well take that. Tl;dr: archetypes are about character,while retellings are about plot. In Where Dreams Begin, Zachary Bronson is a hero that follows the Beast archetype, and Jen saw it in the scene where Holly first enters his house. Story can be a safe way to explore terrifying ideas about society and people. For example, both La Lloronaand Medea are about mothers who kill their children, but have a kind of distance that the story of Andrea Yates does not.Dr. Jennifer Lynn Barnes writes about storytelling and the universal ID. Our next read along episode will be A Matter of Class by Mary Balogh.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform — and while you’re there, please leave us a like or a review.We’re getting down to the wire with Season One of Fated Mates — in two weeks, join us for Wicked Abyss, featuring the literal King of Hell, and the Queen who takes fully no shit from him. Get Wicked Abyss at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo, or at your local indie!Show Notes- You know Kresley is self-publishing when you see it's Valkerie Press.In IAD, a sorceri queen has the most power in that area.- Love triangles are very common in YA.- Eloisa James' first novel was Potent Pleasures, the the line Sarah quoted is: "Charlotte was one week short of 17 when her life was changed, falling into two halves like a shiny child's ball: before and after."- The best thing that ever happened at Coachella.- Uh. While researching for this podcast, Jen realized that Deadmou5 is real.- Sarah's hero/heroine/heroine's best friend on the line book is A Rogue By Any Other Name, which you can get in ebook for $1.99 right now!- There apparently was a crossover between IAD and Gena Showalter's Lords of the Underworld series. Tell us what you know.- Gay romance author and all around good guy Nathan Burgoine explains why "Gay for You" is a problem.- No one like a milksop.- All about the Kinsey Scale, and Jen thinks of this very funny tweet from her friend Zach every time she hears the phrase "Kinsey scale."- Happy Days didn't spin off from something, it was the spinner. Frasier was a Cheers spin-off. The Dacians is not an IAD spin-off. It is IAD. This is canon now.- The Arcana Chronicles is Kresley's YA series.- Jen recommends The Animators by Kayla Rae Whitaker if you're interested in a novel about women artists at work.- In two weeks, we're finishing Season One (sniff!) with Wicked Abyss!Lost Limb CountArms and Hands (8)1. Conrad cuts off his own hand with a rusty axe so he escape the "witched" chains his brothers locked him in. (Dark Needs at Night's Edge)2. Cadeon has both of his hands burned off in the same scene where he loses an eye. There's description of what Cade's baby fingers look like as they are re-growing. It's...kinda gross. (Dark Desires After Dusk)3. Sebastian pulverizes most of his right arm during the Hie. He regenerates. (No Rest For the Wicked)4. Lucia peels all the skin off from her hand in order to free herself from some handcuffs. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)5. In order to retrieve the ring from La Dorada , Lothaire cuts off her finger. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)6. Lanthe and Carrow cut off Fegley's hand so they can use his thumb to unlock their torques. He's later killed. (Demon from the Dark)7. After receiving Lothaire's heart in a box, Ellie cuts off her middle finger and sends it to him. (Lothaire)8. Chloe's shoulder is dislocated in the escape from her auction (MacRieve).Chest and Torso (7)1. Omort severs Rydstrom's spine and punches through his torso in a fight. Sabine saves him and enlists Hag to help heal him. (Kiss of a Demon King)2. Lucia's neck is broken. She regenerates. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)3. On Torture Island, Regin,4. MacRieve,5. and Brandr are vivisected. It's pretty terrible. (Dreams of a Dark Warrior)6. Declan's skin is peeled off by the Neoptera as a child. (Dreams of a Dark Warrior)7. Lothaire rips out his own heart and sends it to Ellie in a box. (Lothaire)Head, Face, and Eyes (6)1. Bowen loses an eye and most of his forehead during the Hie. Mariketa has cursed him and he can't heal until he returns to her. (Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night)2. Cadeon loses an eye and part of his forehead and hair when fighting. It all regenerates. (Dark Desires After Dusk)3. During a rugby match, Garreth has his teeth knocked out and swallows them. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)4. Lothaire kicks out La Dorada's remaining eye and throws her over a cliff. (Dreams of a Dark Warrior)5. In the Bloodroot Forest, the tree grows over Lothaire's lips and tongue. (Lothaire)6. After she gains her immortality, Chloe's hair grows, but she cuts it off every morning. (MacRieve)7. Lanthe agrees to have her tongue cut out to save herself and Thronos, knowing she can still use the power of persuasion telepathically. (Dark Skye)Horns (2)8. Cadeon cuts off his own horns to prove to Holly that he is worthy of being her mate. She tells him to let them grow back (Dark Desires After Dusk)9. Malkolm is captured by his enemies in Oblivion and taken to the city of Ash. The publicly cut off his horns and then intend to kill him, but Carrow saves him. (Demon from the Dark)Legs and Feet (3)1. Lachlain tears off his own leg to reach Emma. He regenerates. (A Hunger Like No Other)2. Mariketa's skull is fractured and her leg is torn from her body. She heals herself after Bowen lays on the ground. Ivy grows over her and heals her. (Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night)3. Thronos is chasing Melananthe and loses a foot when a portal closes on it. (Kiss of a Demon King)4. While in Pandamonia, Thronos is trapped in a Groundhog Day like trap, doomed to repeat his worst nightmare over and over again. When he believes that Lanthe is about to die, he repeatedly tears of his legs in order to reach her. He never actually loses a limb, but he was willing, so we're counting it. (Dark Skye)Beheading as a Romantic Gesture (4)1. The first time Garreth spies Lucia, it's when she shoots an arrow and beheads a kobold. He notices that it's "a fantastical shot" and he's super into it. Later, he helps her pick up the head because he's a real gentleman like that. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)2. Later in the book, they are under attack from vampires and Lucia asks him to help. Garreth promises to "give her their throats" and beheads two vampires. But she's upset about it because of a previous bad experience with cannibalism. (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)3. Malkolm beheads men that attacked Carrow in Oblvion, and he throws them to prove he's a worthy mate. (Demon from the Dark)4. Declan fights and beheads several creatures as they escape Torture Island, including squeezing one dude so hard his eyes pop out and then he twists his head off. (Dreams of a Dark Warrior)5. Thronos beheads several foes during fights, which impresses Lanthe; but he also beheads Felix, a sorcerer who once tricked Lanthe and stole her sorcery. (Dark Skye)6. The bag of heads, yo. This is the pinnicle of this category, obviously. (Shadow's Claim)Beheading as a Non-Romantic Gesture1. Ellie cuts off Lothaire's head, leaving a slender 1/8 of an inch left. It was kind of an accident, but he deserved it. (Lothaire)Maybe?1. Does Garreth's losing his connection with his mortal soul count? (Pleasure of a Dark Prince)2. When Soroya inhabited Ellie's body, she subjected her to a full Brazilian wax. Ellie doesn't realize it's happened until she takes control of her body again. (Lothaire)

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform — and while you’re there, please leave us a like or a review.Next week, we’re finishing up the Game Makers series with arguably Kresley’s most damaged hero, Dmitri Sevastyan! Basically, July is “Sarah’s favorite books” month, so settle in for that…we’ll be joined by one of our favorites, Kate Clayborn, who will reveal the name of our group text thread! Read The Player at Amazon, B&N, Apple Books, Kobo, or from your local Indie.Show Notes- Welcome, Nana Malone!- We were all about talking about songs and music videos today: Royals by Lorde, S&M by Rhianna, and Senorita by Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. Bonus hilarious conversation between Jen and her son about that last one.- The e is silent.- Shawn Mendes in Calvin Klein.- All about boy bands, why girls love them, the powerhouse that is BTS, and the many hairstyles of Justin Beiber.- Nick Jonas married up... Chasing that happiness, I guess. Priyanka Chopra is unbelievably gorgeous. We stan.- Meghan and Harry's wedding was our favorite movie of 2018, but Charles and Diana's makes us sad. Jen's favorite moment is the singing of Stand by Me, but Sarah's daughter likes this yellow lady.- Kate Middleton has a new fashion plan.- This list on Goodreads has FOUR HUNDRED AND FOUR romances where the hero is a duke.- Prince Albert of Monaco married Grace Kelly and her wedding dress is still gorgeous sixty years later.- All about the Romanceclass authors and their books.- Jen loves John Wick. But then again, who doesn't?- The Sierra Simone taboo scale.- That Sex in the City episode with the "bum licker," as Nana said.- Sarah wants 16th century Assassin's Creed, so this series by Robin LeFevers about a bunch of teenage assassin nuns is the obvious answer.- Have you pre-ordered Brazen & the Beast?- We can't keep track of what we're reading, when. Next week, The Player! In three weeks, back to IAD with the Dacian two-fer: Shadow's Claim & Shadow's Seduction!

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform — and while you’re there, please leave us a like or a review.In two weeks, we’re finishing up the Game Makers series with arguably Kresley’s most broken hero (don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of this ranking on the episode), Dmitri Sevastyan! Basically, July is “Sarah’s favorite books” month, so settle in for that…we’ll be joined by one of our favorites, Kate Clayborn, who will reveal the name of our group text thread! Read The Player at Amazon, B&N, Apple Books, Kobo, or from your local Indie.Show Notes- Short chapters make for quick pacing.- The Morior are like the Super Friends...but evil.- All about The Starship Enterprise.- More about a witch's familiar.- Runes are actually from Norse Mythology. You'd think Rune would use the internet to learn more about them.- Rune is poison to everyone but her. Jen's never read The Poisoner's Handbook, but everyone says it's amazing.- Thinking about theme as a literary device isn't just for English class.- Our twitter friend Aunt Angelique has changed her username, so follow her for interesting tidbits like this.- That cock tweet.- All about edging. - The Mariana Trench is real deep, y'all, but we've still discovered plastic there.- Uluru is a sacred place for Aborigines, and Australia reverted to officially using this name in 2002.- Revenge is stupid.- Jen loves that scene where Captain America beats the shit out of everyone in the elevator.- In case you need help finding Shipper Names.- The What Would Allixta Do Button.- The story of Supergirl.- Speaking of our Heaving Bosoms friends, It wasn't Melody, it was Erin who said she doesn't read epilogues!- Speed is a romance. Don't at Jen or Bandherbooks.- The Player is coming up after our next interstitial!- Pre-order Brazen and the Beast, and if you say "Fated Mates" in the notes, Sarah will include a Fated Mates sticker!

The Game Makers Series! Kresley’s first foray into contemporary begins with The Professional, which is some kind of book, y’all. Originally released in three parts over six weeks, The Professional stars Natalie, an American Ph.D. who happens to be the long lost daughter of a Russian mobster, and said mobster’s bodyguard, who can’t get enough of watching her in the tub. Or on his cellphone. Or tied up in a sex club. You’ll see!

MacRieve is here and so is friend of the pod, Sierra Simone! We’re so excited to talk about The Full Kresley, what makes erotic romance, The Simone Scale™ of taboo romance, why MacRieve is so tough to read, why Sarah thinks it might be Kresley’s best book, and why Chloe is such a badass. There’s a lot of hysterical laughter, and Sarah is preparing for legal action.

Mr. Vivisection is here, and it’s a whole lot! Regin the Radiant is on Torture Island, and just her luck, the guy running the whole show is a berserker reincarnate who she’s loved in five earlier lifetimes. Declan Chase is a highly controversial Kresley hero, and Dreams of a Dark Warrior is a book Sarah and Jen always skip on the reread…but this week, we’re talking about it and *gasp!* we’re kind of on #TeamDeclan by the end?! UP IS DOWN! This episode, we’re digging into the way Kresley builds characters and lays the brickwork for the rest of the IAD series. We’re talking about torture, about childhood, about packing for the end of days, and about Lothaire’s Guide to Wooing Women. We’re joined by the wonderful Sarah Hawley, co-host of the Wicked Wallflowers podcast, and Declan-stan.

Show Notes- Update: Jen got THREE books for Christmas this year! These two from her brother, and her best friend gives perfect, #onbrand books. Sarah got Thomas Madden's Venice and the Great British Bake Off coloring book. Does that count as a book? - Sarah loves The Great British Baking Show, so you should watch. Or maybe you would just like to admire silver-fox, Paul Hollywood. -Here's a 1979 New York Times article about this new craze sweeping the nation: hand-raised pies. Everthing old is new again in Sarah's house!- Jen no longer has the decorative wooden book item, but she does like to window shop for glass jars full of...things.- "You can put your weed in there" is an old SNL joke.- Gatsby's books are a symbol, but maybe more than you wanted to know about how books are put together and how pages are cut.- Read some more AMAs if you're in the mood, and you know Jen can't wait to read that first one. - Strawberry Rhubarb pie is Sarah's favorite, and although Jen didn't mention it, a favorite pie she makes every summer is Strawberry Margarita pie.- Our favorite pie shops in Houston, Northern Michigan, Chicago, and Brooklyn.- Charlotte Stein and Sophie Jordan are auto-buys, and A Kingdom of Dreams and Dreaming of Youare comfort reads. Sarah's most re-read IAD book is Sweet Ruin, and Jen's is Demon from the Dark.- Kresley announced in her newsletter a few months ago that the next IAD book is Munro (he's Uilleam's twin brother).- It's not only romance where we talk about unlikable heroines, but it's also that we only ask women authors if their female characters are likable.- A quick overview of Gender essentalism.- A very long twitter thread where all of Romancelandia picked their IAD dream cast.- Olivia Dade made a list of cinnamon roll heroes.- The ultimate romance rule is HEA or GTFO (Happily Ever After or Get the Fuck Out). There's also HFN, or Happy For Now. Here's the rest of Jen's Romance Rules.- More about the the problematic fave- Your Kink is Not my Kink, a very useful way to be respectful when something just isn't your jam. Also, Sarah would like to remind you that decent people don't yuck other people's yum.- Jen could write odes to the arms of Linda Hamilton and Angela Basset forever.- Aidan Quinn, then and now.- We'll be ringing in 2019 with Neomi and Conrad.

Show Notes- Our special guest this week is romance author Adriana Herrera. American Dreamer, her debut novel with Carina Press, comes out in March of 2019. -Jen interviewed Adriana about domestic violence in romance for the Smart Bitches.- Jen and Sarah both loved The Opposite of You, a food truck romance by Rachel Higginson, and Sil at Book Riot made a list of food truck romances.- Kresley's historical trilogy is called The MacCarrick Brothers, and you can get all 3 bundled together, of course. - There's nothing more amazing than warring think-pieces. So here's Huffington Post and Slateteaching us about fuckboy, and Jezebel telling us how they're doing it wrong.- The five witches' castes are warrior, healer, enchantress, conjurer, and sorceress. Jen's going to make a Buzzfeed Quiz that tells you which witch strength you'd have. (This is a lie. Jen does not know how to make Buzzfeed quizzes. But it's a good idea, right?) -Speaking of vibrators, the best Romancelandia blog is the Bawdy Bookworms, which features review of both books and sex toys!- Here's a serious video explainer of the Hero's Journey, and also a slightly more silly one.- This blog is dedicated to looking at feminism and Snow White in American culture.- Deconstruct Disney for yourself or for your kids.- There's an IAD wiki, and it's pretty useful for when you're listing Hekate, Haxa, and can't remember the third one is Hela.- As symbols, apples do a lot of heavy lifting.- Mirrors and feminism have a long complicted history. And since we're talking action movies, check out this think piece by Carolyn Petit about feminism, movie criticism, and John Wick's house of mirrors. And then I found this article about Sylvia Plath's senior thesis at Smith and it's very far afield from the current topic, but this is a super interesting read.- Jack Ryan on Amazon.- There isn't a video for Cardi B's Money yet, but here are the lyrics.- How young women have internatlized the Girl Power vs. Feminism dichotomy. - There's a famous image that illustrates the difference between equality and equity. It's most often used in the context of race, but can be used as a way to envision any kind of oppression.- Romance has been thinking about consent for a long time. Jen wrote a review of a graphic novel for teenagers called What Does Consent Really Mean?- Our next Dark Needs at Night's Edge is next.Lost Limb Count(Leg - 2, Arm - 1, Eye - 1)- Lachlain tears off his own leg to reach Emma. He regenerates. (A Hunger Like No Other)- Sebastian pulverizes most of his right arm during the Hie. He regenerates. (No Rest For the Wicked)- Bowen loses an eye and most of his forehead during the Hie. Mariketa has cursed him and he can't heal until he returns to her. (Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night)- Mariketa's skull is fractured and her leg is torn from her body. She heals herself after Bowen lays on the ground. Ivy grows over her and heals her. (Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night)

We're two books in this week, reading No Rest for the Wicked, starring Kaderin the Cold-hearted and Sebastian Wroth, participating in the Talisman Hie…Kresley's version of The Amazing Race.Sarah & Jen cover everything from pop-culture in romance novels to the lengths we'll go for the people we love, and the immense trust required when we fall in love…all while marveling at the way Kresley sets the stage for a series that will subvert tropes and genres again and again.Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform — and while you're there, please leave us a like or a review. Our next read (in two weeks) will be Wicked Deeds on a Winter's Night — and the witches are coming! WDOAWN is the story of Bowen MacRieve (werewolf) and Mariketa the Awaited (witch)…and the book that really breaks open the wide world of IAD. We'll be joined by the brilliant Adriana Herrera, and you won't want to miss it. Get ready for the read along at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books or your local indie. Show NotesSome fun facts about The Amazing Race.The Valkyeries in mythology, and maybe you didn't notice that "Val Hall" is a play on Valhalla.Vampires in pop culture & literature.Remember your high school English teacher talking about characters who are foils of each other? This is not to be confused with your algebra teacher talking about how to solve quadratic equations.On Urban Dictionary, I want to kiss the person who defined Frigid it as "An outdated, Victorian term used to describe women who aren't interested in sex. Only used today by drunk men in bars to explain why the woman they attempted to pick up wasn't interested."A wacky look at some potential real life examples of time travel.Just out of curiosity, this is what you'll find if you google "Bad Ass Estonian General." IMPRESSIVE.Sarah's wet noodle joke is part of a long literary tradition where

Sarah & Jen talk A Hunger Like No Other, why reading Alphas in 2018 is a tricky situation, how Kresley instantly changed the game with Lachlain MacRieve, and why Emma's bite sets the standard for the whole series.Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast in your favorite podcasting platform — and while you're there, a like would be awesome! Our next read (in two weeks) will be No Rest for the Wicked — the story of Sebastian Wroth (vampire) and Kaderin the Cold-Hearted (valkyrie), and the beginning of the IAD Amazing Race mini-arc! Show NotesWhy do people hate the word moist?There really are catacombs below Paris, and they seem very creepy.Co-ed is a more dated word than you'd expect. According to the Oxford English dictionary, it's been in use since the 1880s. Game, set, and match to The Independent, which printed the following sentence in 1903: "Any college where the girls are commonly called ‘co-eds' is not a truly co-educational institution."The TSTL trope in romance heroines.All about Mary Sues.The Fated Mates trope.Maybe you all missed the Kavanaugh hearings. I love myself, so we'll just stick to one informative infographic.Jen's romance book club at 57th Street Books in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. If you're not in Chicago, bookstores and libraries across the country and online will be participating in The Great Big Romance Read in December 2018. Find your people!Romance isn't the only genre examining old favorites through the lens of #MeToo. Molly Ringwald looked back at John Hughes and The Breakfast Club in The New Yorker. This podcast from WNYC is about pop culture in the #MeToo era.The list of

We're joined this week by Kresley Cole and Gena Showalter, bestselling authors of some of our favorite books--and real life besties!  We talk about their upcoming projects, their tortured heroes, kickass heroines, and their epic friendship. You'll find out about who wants to wear the other one's skin, the literal shrines they have to each other, and why this game of Fuck/Marry/Kill has a shockingly high body count! Ways to listen: iTunes: Click the button in the banner or here to download (and subscribe!) iTunes: 51 - Maya Rodale: Duchess by Design Stream on Simplecast: Ep. 51 Maya Rodale: Duchess by Design Click here for GooglePlay! It's also available on Stitcher, Spotify, or most other podcast apps! To find out more about Maya, you can check out her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Highlights and favorite quotes from the episode: "Gena knows how to kill people REAL BAD!" -GS All about Gena's Gods of War series--spoiler alert, it contains lots of Alpha heroes! How Gena is the heroine of all her books Why Gena's friends don't piss her off Why Gena's new YA series called The Forest of Good and Evil is the hardest to write that she's ever experienced "I just want one fucking book to flow out of me!" -KC "Let me inspire and excite you!" -GS "It's like going to war and battling for every word." -KC How the pressures of audience expectations impacts their writing and how they work past it "When you're writing, it's like sanding wood and you can feel the grains that still need to be sanded." -KC How often there's synchronisity between their separate projects How their epic friendship began ("Can I lick your face?" "When is she going to lick my face?") "We are not a tasteful show!" -SH Why writer jealousy is bullshit "By God, you better fucking like your own product...or don't sell it!" -KC What it's like writing a storyline that you know will disappoint fans Kresley's inspiration for the Arcana Chronicles and how she developed it Their hilariously differing responses to killing characters Gena and Kresley's preferences when it comes to Kresley's Gamemaker Trilogy What's coming next in the Immortal's After Dark series! "Twist our arm!" The Gena shrine "Can my game be Kill/Kill/Kill!?" -GS "So it's like a praying mantis situation?" -GS "I want to incentivize them for good sex. Bring it or die!" -KC "We emerge as the only survivors...with some very fond memories!" That time they had too much to drink and got lost in Manhattan and ended up in a horse drawn carriage--with Cherry Adair. Books mentioned in this episode: Wicked and the Wallflower by Sarah MacLean Shadow and Ice by Gena Showalter Dreams of a Dark Warrior by Kresley Cole Captain of All Pleasures by Kresley Cole Alice in Zombieland by Gena Showalter Poison Princess by Kresley Cole Warrior's Woman by Johanna Lindsey Darkest Warrior by Gena Showalter The Master by Kresley Cole The Player by Kresley Cole The Professional by Kresley Cole Books by P.C. Cast Books by Jill Monroe Josh and Hazel's Guide to Dating by Christina Lauren

Welcome to the fourth episode of Just F Already. Holly and Yoli fan girl over Krelsey Cole's Immortals After Dark series. The first full length book in the series follows Lachlain Macrieve, leader of the Lyake Clan, and Emmaline Troy half vampire half valkyrie on their quest for hot steamy sexy love. WE LOVED THIS BOOK, and are already reading the rest of the series. Be our best friend Kresley Cole?

Welcome to the fourth episode of Just F Already. Holly and Yoli fan girl over Krelsey Cole's Immortals After Dark series. The first full length book in the series follows Lachlain Macrieve, leader of the Lyake Clan, and Emmaline Troy half vampire half valkyrie on their quest for hot steamy sexy love. WE LOVED THIS BOOK, and are already reading the rest of the series. Be our best friend Kresley Cole?

This podcast is only 3.5 weeks late. Sorry about that. In August for our Boozy Book Club we read one of our most favorite books EVER: The Hating Game by Sally Thorne. Most of us read it TWICE and stayed up all night to read it. Check out our chat about The Hating Game plus Arcana Rising by Kresley Cole and join us for our NEWLY RESCHEDULED Book Club on Tuesday 9/27 at 10 pm EST. View us here LIVE! Join our Book Club on Goodreads!