The romance genre has been quietly running a masculinity experiment for years, and Nikki and Meg are here to analyze the data!

This week, they’re breaking down the himbo: the handsome, kind, not-always-the-sharpest-tool-in-the-shed hero who may actually be the most politically interesting archetype in contemporary romance.

What you’ll catch in this episode:

* Why the word “bimbo” was originally Italian slang for a man and the Oxford English Dictionary’s 1929 definition that will make you throw something

* What the rise of the himbo says about collective reader exhaustion with alpha heroes, billionaires, and men who need fixing

* Why he gets to be big, strong, and protective with none of the control, aggression, or emotional withholding that usually comes packaged with that

* Why the himbo’s lack of sexual hangups makes him the perfect vehicle for a queer awakening arc

Nikki and Meg make the case that the himbo isn't a silly trope! He's a cultural dispatch from a moment when readers are flat-out done doing the emotional labour of fixing men, even fictional ones.

This episode developed the Himbo Archetype Framework — First Dates & Soulmates' guide to romance's most underestimated hero, including how to distinguish the Himbo from the Meathead, the Golden Retriever, and the Cinnamon Roll.

The Himbo Book List:

* 10 Ways to Accidentally Fall in Love by Emmy Sanders: https://amzn.to/4epUi7s

* An Unwitting Bargain by Grae Bryan: https://amzn.to/3RhK7Ip

* Muscling Through by JL Merrow: https://amzn.to/4cZeNpc

* Whit by Cora Rose: https://amzn.to/3RimFL9

* Himbo Hitman by Saxon James: https://amzn.to/3R2QGi1

* Mr Romance by Louisa Masters: https://amzn.to/4tKpnaH

* How to Flirt With a Hellhound by Shannon Mae: https://amzn.to/3P21Y5A

* Not All Himbos Wear Capes by C. Rochelle: https://amzn.to/4tKpumD

* Time to Shine by Rachel Reid: https://amzn.to/48EAlGt

* Irresponsible Puckboy by Eden Finley and Saxon James

* Jacked (Gymbos 1) by KM Neuhold: https://amzn.to/4eXYgEr

* The Barkeep and the Bro by AJ Truman: https://amzn.to/3Pkbi4O

* Against A Wall by Cate C. Wells: https://amzn.to/4tb66hu

* A Court of Silver Flames by Sarah J. Maas

Our Ships this week:

* Charming Puckboy by Saxon James and Eden Finley: https://amzn.to/4t7FMox

* Bedside Manor by C. G. Mason: https://amzn.to/4tgCX4K

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