In this episode, we talk about Sarina Bowen's M/F new adult romance, The Year We Fell Down: "She expected to start Harkness College as a varsity ice hockey player. But a serious accident means that Corey Callahan will start school in a wheelchair instead. Across the hall, in the other handicapped-accessible dorm room, lives the too-delicious-to-be real Adam Hartley, another would-be hockey star with his leg broken in two places. He's way out of Corey's league. Also, he's taken. Nevertheless, an unlikely alliance blooms between Corey and Hartley in the "gimp ghetto" of McHerrin Hall. Over tequila, perilously balanced dining hall trays, and video games, the two cope with disappointments that nobody else understands. They're just friends, of course, until one night when things fall apart. Or fall together. All Corey knows is that she's falling. Hard. But will Hartley set aside his trophy girl to love someone as broken as Corey? If he won't, she will need to find the courage to make a life for herself at Harkness -- one which does not revolve around the sport she can no longer play, or the brown-eyed boy who's afraid to love her back."

We also talk about why men should consider giving romance a shot, how asking for consent can be hot as hell, and much, much more!

You can follow me (Claire), and all podcast updates, on Instagram or Bluesky. If you’re interested in my writing about sex and culture, you can check out my ongoing series of essays on film and sex, My Favorite F***ing Movie, or visit my blog. If you have questions or comments for the podcast, you can email us at [email protected].

Meet your hosts, Claire and Blythe, as we discuss our new devotion to romance novels and invite you on our journey of discovering all we can about sexy books and our own desires. In this episode, we talk about how and why we became interested in romance novels, what our history is with sexy smut, and what we're hoping to get out of this podcast.

There are a couple of audio skips in this one - very minor, but please bear with us while we get used to this whole podcasting thing. We also mentioned our favorite romance novel bookstore, The Ripped Bodice in Culver City, but the name got cut out!

You can follow me (Claire), and all podcast updates, on Instagram or Bluesky. If you’re interested in my writing about sex and culture, you can check out my ongoing series of essays on film and sex, My Favorite F***ing Movie, or visit my blog. If you have questions or comments for the podcast, you can email us at [email protected].