Raging Romantics

'Tis the season of gratitude, and we're so incredibly grateful for our independent (indie) authors out there. Let's shout some out!

Books we mention:

• Spit & Swallow (Kiss of the Basilisk) by Lindsay Straube
• Crimson Ridge series by Elliott Rose
• Cate C Wells
• Downpour by Maggie C. Gates
• Eve Dangerfield
• Captivated by Eve Dangerfield and Tessa Bailey
• Lena Hendrix

In case you haven't listened to our most recent trope off, tune in here to see how (spoiler) stalkers came in at the top of our guilty pleasure tropes.

• Episode 98 - All is Fair in Love and Brackets
• Episode 97 - Going Places with Lyla Sage

Books we mention:

• Guarded by a Broody Biker by Cassie Mint
• Indigo Ridge by Devney Perry
• Carmichael Security Series by Nichole Rose
• The Bribe by Willa Nash
• Wreck the Halls by Tessa Bailey

This is the romance sporting event of the year - that's right, it's TROPE OFF TIME! And what better to do during national month of stuffing yourself silly, than talking about our guiltiest of pleasures? Bookish pleasures, that is. Jen and Jackie submitted tropes, not knowing what the other would say, and now it's time for them to do your favorite thing - ARGUE IT OUT.

Questions/comments/concerns/recommendations? Email us at [email protected]

Books we mention

• The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
• Lights Out by Navessa Allen
• Credence by Penelope Douglas
• The System by Robert Reich

You don't have to be a football afficionado to appreciate wide receivers in tight pants. Here's some books to appease that appreciation.

Questions/comments/concerns/recommendations? Email us at [email protected]!

• Tutoring the Delinquent by Jessa Kane
• The C*ck Down the Block by Amy Award
• Falling Hard by Nichole Rose
• Treasure State Wildcat series by Devney Perry
• Close Knit by Kels Stone

Jackie's talked about her enough on the show, it was high time we got LYLA FREAKING SAGE onto Raging Romantics. Grab your Swig, a comfy blankey, and a cowboy to cuddle (a paperback one is perfectly acceptable), and turn it up!

Lost & Lassoed is out November 5th and available for preorder wherever you purchase your books. Make sure to also place it on hold or recommend it to your favorite local library! Thank you again to Lyla for taking time out of her busy schedule for sitting down and talking romance

• Rebel Blue Ranch series by Lyla Sage
• Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
• Austin Drake @bottlecap.creative

May your Halloween be full of treats with these bonus spooky titles!

• Stalked by the Wide Receiver by Maya Stratham
• Serpent and the Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent
• Fang Fiction by Kate Stayman London (bonus mention One to Watch)
• Inkspell by Cornelia Funke
• The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern
• The Woods All Black by Lee Mandelo
• Lights Out by Navessa Allen

Bonus: Raihn fanart by Enchanted Chapters Art

It's a cryptid; of course Jackie wants to talk about it again. That's right, let's get back into werewolves with everything we've learned over the past three years!

Books/legends/texts we mention

• the Epic of Gilgamesh
• The Legend of Lycaon
• Beowulf
• The Saga of the Volsungs
• Bisclavret by Marie de France
• Wilderness by Dennis Danvers
• Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
• Cate C Wells
• Crave to Conquer by Zoey Ellis
• Addison Cain
• Christine Feehan
• Sherrilyn Kenyon
• Bad Dreams in the Night by Adam Ellis
• Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien (sp. the one narrated by Andy Serkis)

Other werewolf episodes we've done!

• #27 Howling For Werewolves
• #28 Intro to Omegaverse
• #66 Did They Just Say Mothman Romance? (Cryptids)
• #35 We Ship It! Fanfiction and Romance Novels
• #29 Spilling the Tea on Romance Scandals (Omegaverse scandal)

Check out your new favorite book club Between the Covers at the North Syracuse library, every third Thursday of the month! Join us virtually on Zoom, or in person at the library. (See our event calendar at onlib-nopl.libcal.com.

Questions/Comments/Concerns/Recommendations? Email us at [email protected]

Books we mention:

• Butcher & Blackbird by Brynne Weaver (Ruinous Love Trilogy)
• Haunting Adeline by HD Carlton
• Bride by Ali Hazelwood
• Steminist series by Hazelwood

We're so honored to welcome author John Wiswell to the podcast! We talk all things horror, romance, monsters, sexuality, neurodivergence, short fiction, and so. much. more. Go check out John's website for more information about him and his vast array of writings!

Questions/comments/concerns/recommendations? Email us at [email protected]!

John can be contacted at:

• Website: johnwiswell DOT blogspot DOT com
• E-mail: johncwiswell AT gmail DOT com
• X: http://twitter.com/Wiswell
• Instagram: John_Wiswell

US cover by JM Fenner

UK cover by Stephen Player

John Wiswell's work:

• Someone You Can Build a Nest In
• Spectrum, an autistic horror anthology
• "Alligators by Twitter"
• "A Silhouette Against Armageddon" (skeleton)
• "For Lack of a Bed" (sofa)
• "The Three O'clock Dragon" (dragon runs for mayor)
• "A Taste of Justice" (magic dirt - not yet out)

Books, authors, works we mention

• JRR Tolkien
• Alexandra Dumas
• Mark Twain
• Margaret Atwood
• Marlon James
• Uncanny
• ClarkesWorld
• Strange Horizons
• Guan Un
• Locked Tomb trilogy by Tamsyn Muir
• Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
• Rumiko Takahashi
• Terry Pratchett
• Grendel by John Gardner
• Circe by Madeline Miller
• Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist
• Mongrels by Stephen Grahame Jones
• Clytemnestra Costanza Casati
• Medea by Eilish Quin
• Hera by Jennifer Saint
• Dracula by Bram Stoker
• Oscar Wilde
• Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice
• Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon
• Fifty Shades by EL James
• Dowry of Blood by ST Gibson
• Duskwalker Brides series by Opal Reyne
• City in Glass by Nghi Vo

It's that time of year- all the cool librarians strap on our superhero capes and dust off our soap boxes to scream about banned books! We may only officially recognize Banned Books Week the last week of September, but let's talk about, read, and celebrate banned and challenged books every single day.

Questions/comments/concerns/recommendations? Email us at [email protected].

Books we mention:

• Gender Queer by Maia Kobabe
• All Boys Aren't Blue by George M Johnson
• The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
• Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey
• And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson
• A Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo by Jill Twiss
• Prince and Knight by Daniel Haack
• The Hill We Climb by Amanda Gorman

Sources:

• "American Library Association reports record number of demands to censor library books and materials in 2022,” American Library Association, March 22, 2023. https://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/03/record-book-bans-2022
• "Book Ban Data", American Library Association, March 20, 2023. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data
• "American Library Association reports record number of unique book titles challenged in 2023", American Library Association, March 14, 2024. https://www.ala.org/news/2024/03/american-library-association-reports-record-number-unique-book-titles
• “Let Freedom Read,” Daniel Boone Regional Library, September 25, 2003. https://www.dbrl.org/adults/let-freedom-read
• “An Author’s Apology” in “Mrs. Warren’s Confession,” George Bernard Shaw, 1902, https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1097/1097-h/1097-h.htm
• “About” Banned Books Week Coordinator, ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, 2024. https://bannedbooksweek.org/about/
• Five Laws of Library Science, S. R. Ranganathan, 1931.