Reading For Pleasure

What is it about fake dating that we find so fun (particularly, watching the yearning overcome the boundaries)? Why is it that a female main character is never a slut if they are white (unless they are literally a succubus)? Why is Kim so mean to Sarah about liking bald men (I'm out here sparing the guys with hair for the rest of you)?

Trigger /Content warnings: Death of one of the main characters’ parents in the past (due to cancer), workplace sexual harassment of the main character (NOT from Adam, the love interest), power differential (Olive is a student and Adam is a professor; they clear out their fake relationship with the Dean early in the story and no abuse of power occurs), explicit and graphic sexual content, cursing and vulgar language

Tropes: Fake Dating: Olive kisses professor Adam Carlsen to convince her best friend she has moved on, leading to a fake relationship agreement.

Grumpy x Sunshine: The pairing contrasts Olive's optimistic, quirky personality with Adam's stoic, intimidating, and broody demeanor.

He Falls First: Adam has secretly harbored feelings and cared for Olive since before the fake arrangement began.

Age-Gap / Authority Figure: Adam is a young hotshot professor and lab tyrant, while Olive is a third-year Ph.D. student.

Forced Proximity: Shared conferences, labs, and public fake-dating appearances throw them together constantly.

(I think we got that info from her website?)

Who might feel repped? Women in stem/academia, smarty pants, women who have been harassed by a teacher or authority figure, orphans, people who lost a parent to cancer/pancreatic in particular

Master Kim’s Corner:

• https://www.theguardian.com/books/ng-interactive/2026/feb/14/theres-only-one-bed-fake-dating-and-opposites-attract-how-tropes-took-over-romance

Season 4 is here and we're just as surprised as you. BUT, we're back bb!

We attempted to do Sentient September bc of Wicker, but we're posting it in Oct. So, typical us.

Kim & Sarah talk about life updates to kick off the episode. Why has there been arise in sentient romance in recent years? Is there a relationship between sentient object romance and AI boyfriends?

Trigger Warnings/Content Warnings: sex with vegetables, abuse from a previous partner, explicit sexual content, dubious consent, religious trauma, and religious guilt

Tropes: mmf/poly, instalove, sentient objects, fresh start unrequited love, priests/forbidden love

Who might feel represented? People who have sex with vegetables, unrequited lovers, ppl who grew up on veggie tales, ppl with religious trauma

Master Kim's Corner -

Can you really consent to a succubus? What is it about minotaurs that appeals to older women? Will Kim ever learn what qualifies as beastiality?!?

Trigger/Content Warnings: death of a former mate (off page but referenced), assholishness of a former mate (off page but referenced), the dreaded words ‘we should talk,’ thrall attack, dominance play and beguilement (with consent), sexually explicit content

Tropes: Second Chance Romance, monster romance, small town, cozy fantasy, size difference, age gap
Who might feel repped? Middle aged people, business owners, people in small communitiesMaster Kim's Corner:

• Meet Graciella, aka Grapie Deltaco, the Bookworm Changing How We Look at Monster & Sentient Object Romance - Lyra Hale

• @grapiedeltaco - TikTok

• Minotaur from Models movie

Minotaur May is baaaack, and it's another week of us questioning our judgement.

How does romance differ post menopause? Why is it usually the woman who leaves everything she knows and loves to move closer to man? And the age old question: wouldn't hooves be really slick on a yoga room floor?

Trigger/Content Warnings: previous unhappy marriage described, first time flying, THC use, alcohol consumption, death of a spouse, discussions of menopause related body chances

Tropes: monster romance, minotaur romance, later in life romance, dating app, billionaire romance, long distance relationship

Master Kim’s Corner:

• Reading the Romance: Women, Patriarchy and Popular Literature - Jan Radway

  Romances for People in Their 50s? Author Jane Porter Says, ‘Why Not?’ - no author

Welcome to WEEK TWO of Minotaur May!

Where were indoor cats shitting in this world? Why aren't more romance novels outside? Why is sex work so often villainized in romance novels?

Trigger/Content Warnings: claustrophobia, cave-ins, spiders, corpses, rats, grave robbing, parental neglect, financial insecurity, gambling, addiction, alcoholism, unprotected sex, rampant misogyny, knotting, sexually explicit content

Tropes: fish out of water, monster romance, fantasy, marriage of convenience, found family, broke heiress

Who might feel repped? Nerds, virgins, tall women, cat moms

Master Kim’s Corner:

What the World Needs Now is Adventure Romance - Jessica Pryde

Welcome to MINOTAUR MAAAAY!

We're kicking things off with the one that started it all - Morning Glory Milking Farm. Join us all month as we break down the tropes, rate the hotness of cows, and fill our hearts with regret.

Is Violet a sex worker? How much would you need to get paid to let someone eat you out? How are we coping with the KU/Audible breakup?

Trigger/Content Warnings: sex work, glory hole, authority kink, sexually explicit content

Tropes: monster romance, billionaire romance, age gap, low angst, slow burn, employee/customer relationship

Master Kim’s Corner:

• Minotaurs, werewolves and basilisks–the weird sexual politics of romantasy - Kathleen Stock

• Definitely a look at monster from the outside

We're joined this week by special guest and REAL gay person, Hank!

Are there meaningful differences between MM books written by real gay men vs women/AFAB folks? Why do gay men like outside sex so much? How does body positivity differ in the gay male community?

Trigger/Content warnings: cursing, sexual content, homophobia, lack of realism around safety, explicit language, consensual sexual degradation, bondage and domination.

Who might feel repped? Gays (men), fats, sluts, (the tri fecta)

Tropes: GAY, vow of celibacy, body positivity, career vs personal fulfillment, strangers to lovers, the lure of the wilderness, deception from omission

Master Kim’s Corner:

• Why aren’t more gay male bestsellers written by gay men? (And does it matter?) - Taylor Henderson

Popular gay slang inspired by the animal kingdom explained - Pride Editor

*SARAH WOULD NOT BE A PIG!!!!*

Should Cis Women be writing MM romance? Does our digital footprint even mean anything anymore? What's the relationship between sex work as WORK and people who do it for the love of it (or...for the fans)?

Trigger/Content Warnings: mention of childhood sexual assault (not detailed on page), mention of sensitive religious topics, detailed trauma recovery & healing, mention of death & grief, death of a parent (off-page), homophobia (mild), filming of sexual acts for money (online sex work), negligent parents, divorce (mentioned), sexual explicit content

Tropes: enemies to lovers, hate to love, grumpy x sunshine, stepbrothers, forbidden romance, secret romance, sports romance

Who might feel repped? College kids in the closet, football players, blended families, sex workers, step brothers

Master Kim’s Corner:

We're joined by the one and only Producer Livia this week to discuss the book behind the latest season of Bridgerton!

What are the differences between and book and the show, and why? Does Benedict care about Sophie at all? How does the show continue to challenge the white utopia that the book series created?

Trigger/Content Warnings: child abuse, emotional abuse, sexual assault, sexual harassment, death of parent (off-page), attempted rape, fatphobia, pregnancy, classism, bullying, abandonment, slavery, grief, sexual explicit content

Tropes: cinderella retelling, upstairs/downstairs, forbidden romance, secret identity, insta-love, love at first sight?
Who might feel repped? Orphans, rich whites, poor people, the working class, children born out of wedlockMaster Kim's Corner:

Empty this week :(

What is it about this story that women love so much? Why is it so special to see secondary female characters portrayed so well? Does part of the allure of MM romance come from the closeted aspect?

Trigger/Content warnings: homophobia (on-page), death of a parent, mentions of off-page suicide, dementia, injury (on-page), alcohol consumption, grief, strained familial relationships, sexually explicit content

Tropes: sports romance, contemporary, enemies (rivals) to lovers (ig), hockey romance, angst, closeted, secret relationship
Who might feel repped? Immigrants, people afraid to come out of the closet, gay men, professional athletes, closeted professional athletes, neurodivergent people

Master Kim’s Corner:

• Are Men “So Back?”: Notes on Masculinity’s Return to Gay TV - Ira Madison III

• Women are Feral for Heated Rivalry. What does that say about men? - Julia Carrie Wong