Romance ME Podcast

In this episode, we discuss Happy Place by Emily Henry.

Although Harriet and Wyn know they have been broken up for five months, no one else does. When they are summoned to Maine for their annual Summer meetup with their besties, they don’t want to let said besties know that there is trouble in paradise. In fact, paradise is lost, possibly for good. 

So, to keep the peace for one final summer hang, they agree to remain fake-engaged before going back to their separate, uncoupled lives. But, as the forced proximity with Wyn causes Harriet to relive their greatest hits, she begins to wonder if her Happy Place is actually a place at all.

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss By the Book by Jasmine Guillory.

Isabelle works in publishing, helping to encourage authors to bring their stories to life. While she enjoys her work, she is feeling underappreciated by her boss. She wishes she could grow her career and she doesn’t really want to be a babysitter for a beastly writer who isn’t writing.

Beau, the grumpy pants author, has writer’s block and the bad attitude that often accompanies it. He is clearly not prepared for Izzy to intrude upon his domain, armed with tips, tricks, and a spine of steel. Izzy confronts Beau, his bullshit, his writer’s block, and his personal baggage. Izzy is clearly good for Beau, but is Beau good for Izzy?

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Husband Material by Alexis Hall.

Four weddings, one funeral, but no Andi Macdowell in this romantic comedy. Instead, we are reacquainted with Luc and Oliver! They fell in love with each other in Boyfriend Material and now, two years later, they are still in love, watching those around them do the next socially expected thing: aka get married. As Luc and Oliver work out what they want in their ceremony, and struggle to compromise, they learn whether they are forever-level compatible.

Content warning: Homophobia, abusive parents.

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss The Duchess and the Cowboy by Debra Erfert.

Lady Jane has everything: a nice estate, pretty dresses, dutiful staff, and a husband she gets along with. But one day, her brother-in-law stages a duel with her husband, robbing her of her safe lifestyle. Jane decides to escape her nefarious brother-in-law by moving to Nevada where she meets cowboy Heath, who has his own issues. They become friends, but will their differences in social class and cultures stand in the way of falling in love?

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Seven Years by Dannika Dark.

Seven years after disappearing, Austin Cole returns along with his grumpiness and sexiness. Lexi Knight is trying to not appreciate either as she attempts to learn why he left after Wes, his best friend and her brother, died under mysterious circumstances. However, things escalate when her mother is abducted, and Lexi learns a secret about her past, which forces Lexi and Austin under one roof so he can protect her and they can sort out their feelings. 

Content warning: Obsessive exes, rapey dudes, other man drama

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Shame On You by Tara Sivec.

Army veteran Kennedy is struggling with her new normal: civilian life, single parenthood, and new business ownership. In the course of her duties as a bounty hunter, she joins forces with Griffin, a former friend who kept her husband's infidelity a secret while she was serving her country in Afghanistan. While on the hunt for the bail jumper, can Kennedy discover who the actual bad guy is? And, can she learn compassion for the men who've wronged her? 

Content warning: In this world, casual misogyny, man-hating, gun violence, and familial abuse are funny.

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh.

Sascha is a Psy who is experiencing a problematic flare up of emotion, which could get her sent to ‘rehabilitation’ to have her feelings/personality removed. To avoid this fate, she suppresses her emotions to pass as a normal Psy – nothing to see here. That all changes when she meets Lucus, a Changeling who’s used to expressing all of his feels and getting his own way. Lucus is trying to catch a serial killer. He senses that Sascha is different and hopes she can help. 

Exposure to the Changeling way of life has Sascha questioning everything. While they try to stop the murderer from starting an all-out war, Sascha must also decide if she wants to continue to control her emotions.

Content warning: Mind rape, elements of dubious consent

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Transcendence by Shay Savage.

Ehd is a man with a cave but no tribe. As a result, he struggles to find a purpose for his life after the end of another long, lonely winter. Enter his purpose: Elizabeth, a mysterious woman from the future. Together, they must face the prehistoric wilderness while trying to find some way to communicate without words.

Content warning: Dubious consent, attempted rape, threat of child loss, heroine is maybe a highschooler

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Spellbound by Allie Therin.

In 1925 New York, booze and non-heterosexuality were illegal. A magical disaster is threatening the city, and New York’s mightiest heroes are attempting to prevent the atrocity. Two of these champions are Arthur Kenzie, a wealthy veteran of The Great War, and Rory Brodigan, a poor orphan hiding a secret identity. When Arthur’s past returns to threaten the future, they work together to save the city and themselves.

Content warning: Racist and homophobic laws and social conventions of the past.

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas.

New romance writer Rosie moves into her bestie’s empty apartment to avoid being crushed to death by the bathroom ceiling in her own apartment. Bestie is on her honeymoon, so Rosie can’t ask her for permission, but assumes it’s fine. While there, she meets bestie’s cute older cousin Lucus, who she’s had an online crush on for months. Unlike her, he is supposed to be there. 

Since neither Rosie nor Lucas want the other to be out of a place to stay, they agree to cohabitate as roommates until Rosie’s apartment is fixed. It is under this not-crumbling roof that they devise a plan to help Rosie out of her romance writer’s block by engaging in dating experiments. When it works to inspire her, she and Lucus are left wondering if they can truly believe in the results.

Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

Check out Em's recommendation for this episode: Moment of Truth by PBS NewsHour.