Impale yourself on your fate: marrying the Devil can be heaven. Semilore Sobande shares her all-time favorite romance, "Devil's Bride" by Stephanie Laurens. This book has it all: Honoria Prudence Anstruther-Weatherby, a heroine who balances strength and vulnerability, and a hero who might just be Batman in disguise and has a similarly ridiculous name. Discover how this historical romance stands out with its compelling characters, feudal fantasies, and unexpectedly humorous plot twists, all while reimagining the dynamics of power and partnership in the Cynster family saga.

Guest: Semilore Sobande

https://english.brown.edu/people/semilore-sobande

Learn more about the Ready to Score release event with Dame Jodie Slaughter and Shelf Love host Andrea Martucci on Monday June 9, 2025 at 7pm at Lovestruck Books in Cambridge, MA: https://lovestruck-Jodie-Slaughter.eventbrite.com/?aff=Andrea

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Morgan and Isabeau from the Whoa!mance podcast join to discuss the 2024 film “Your Monster.” We discuss how the movie explores female rage and personal discovery, drawing parallels with romance novel conventions. We are divided in our opinions: did the film succeed in merging romance and horror? The conversation highlights how individual experiences and tastes shape reception of the film, making for an engaging discussion on the intersection of romance, rage, and narrative structure.

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Guests: Whoa!mance (Morgan and Isabeau)

Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Website | Listen on any podcast app!

Morgan & Isabeau joined me in episode 076 to discuss Strange Love by Ann Aguirre

and

Episode 089 to Problematize Romance

and

108 She-Devil (1989): Who's Entitled To Be Selfish in Love & Life? (Whoa!mance spectacular)

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Alice Murphy, a historical romance author, joins to recommend and discuss under-appreciated non-Regency historical romance. The discussion touches on Alice's upcoming book, "A Showgirl's Rules for Falling in Love," and a rich variety of historical romance novels set in diverse time periods and locations. We travel through Ancient Egypt, medieval Wales, 19th century Japan, the Gilded Age, the Civil Rights Movement in the US in the 1960s, and more. This episode is jam-packed with book recommendations!

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Guest: Alice Murphy

Website | Instagram | A Showgirl’s Rules for Falling in Love

Not recommended: Redeeming Love

Recommended:

• Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
• Defiant Love by Maura Seger
• A Husband for Esyllt by Virginie Marconato

• His Bride by Gayle Callen

• Fierce Eden by Jennifer Blake

• Flame on the Sun by Maura Seger
• A Viscount for the Egyptian Princess by Heba Helmy

• Hitched to the Gunslinger by Michelle McLean and Untamed by Lisa Rayne

• A Striking Romance by Lindsey Brooks
• As You Desire and The Other Guys’ Bride by Connie Brockway

• A Manhattan Heiress in Paris by Amanda McCabe
• The Companion by E.E. Ottoman
• Phoenix Pictures series by Brianne Gillen

• Let It Shine by Alyssa Cole
• A Midnight Feast by Genevieve Turner and Emma Barry
• Mrs. Milner Gets a Kitchen by Jane Hadley

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Why do we read Jane Austen but not the authors Jane Austen read and loved? The answer is a BIT more complicated than just "sexism." Guest: Rebecca Romney, rare book dealer and author of the new book, Jane Austen's Bookshelf.

Guest: Rebecca Romney

Jane Austen's Bookshelf | Type Punch Matrix

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Do you have a romance collection, or do you just love looking at other people's collections? Learn more about Romance Novel Collection, a new section of the Shelf Love Substack where I'll be sharing YOUR romance novel collections: https://shelflovepodcast.substack.com/p/introducing-romance-novel-collection 

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Can horror and romance coexist? Friend and author Laura J. Mayo joins me to discuss “Land of the Beautiful Dead” by R. Lee Smith. We explore the complexities of combining horror elements (zombies, staking, the apocalypse) with romantic themes, how this book makes us feel, and unlikable and defiant characters who are forged by context. Is it all a metaphor?! (Yes, of course it is!)

Discussed: Land of the Beautiful Dead by R. Lee Smith

Guest: Laura J. Mayo

Website | Bluesky | Instagram

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Romancelandia Holiday Fairies is a mutual aid effort for the romance novel reader community to support anyone in the community who could use a little material help with purchasing gifts for themselves, or loved ones this holiday season. Learn more:

bit.ly/holidayfairies

shelflovepodcast.com/holiday-fairies

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

I join The Historical Romance Sampler podcast with Katherine Grant to sample a scene from Lisa Kleypas's Secrets of a Summer Night. We discuss how historical romance has changed since the 1970s and talk about bestsellers and airport books. Also, learn more about Romancelandia Holiday Fairies 2024!

Romancelandia Holiday Fairies is a mutual aid effort for the romance novel reader community to support anyone in the community who could use a little material help with purchasing gifts for themselves, or loved ones this holiday season. Learn more:

bit.ly/holidayfairies

shelflovepodcast.com/holiday-fairies

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Learn more about Katherine Grant and The Historical Romance Sampler podcast

https://katherinegrantromance.com/historical-romance-sampler-podcast/episode-42-andrea-martucci-reads-lisa-kleypas

Katherine Grant on Instagram

The Historical Romance Sampler on Instagram

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Year of the Unicorn by Andre Norton is a 1965 fantasy novel with subtle romantic elements. How does this vintage novel featuring outsider characters compare with today’s romantasy? Romance reader Kassi joins Shelf Love to discuss Gillan’s journey of identity, empowerment, and agency as she embarks on an adventure: arranged marriage with a were Rider. Would you give up your power for a beautiful fantasy? It’s very demure, very mindful — this oldie is a goodie, although there are no unicorns.

Discussed: Year of the Unicorn by Andre Norton (1965)

Guest: Kassi

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Ever wondered why Regencies became all the rage? Or how historical romances shape and sanitize our perceptions of history? This episode delves into how Regency romances displace inconvenient historical truths. A critical look at older 'problematic' romances like Jennifer Blake's 'Fierce Eden' reveals the complexities of characters and settings, challenging the current sanitized romantic fantasies. This audio essay touches upon how modern Regency romance often overlooks deeper societal issues for the comfort of readers, questioning if this trend truly makes the genre better or just more palatable.

Read the original Substack essay here: https://shelflovepodcast.substack.com/p/colonizing-history-historical-romance

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Some call it Romantasy, some call it Dragon Corn (except replace the C with a P). Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is hotter than dragon’s breath, and so of course we have to see if we can figure out why it’s so popular. Sarah Skilton joins me to discuss “love triangles,” indescribable pain that we would actually like described, War College, and how…hot…Xaden…is. Also, is Fourth Wing enjoyable for people with romance or fantasy genre competence? Listen…or die.

Discussed: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Guest: Sarah Skilton

Website: www.sarahskilton.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiltongram/

Hollywood Ending by Tash Skilton: https://bookshop.org/p/books/hollywood-ending-tash-skilton/15806212?ean=9781496730671

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Ever wondered how "The Hating Game" fares in a classroom setting? Dr. Diana Filar is back to discuss her experiences teaching The Hating Game book and film in a class about popular genre fiction. We discuss the challenges of translating romance novels into films, how stereotypes of genres are formed and challenged, and what it's like introducing non-genre readers to romance. Learn about Dr. Filar's approach to incorporating popular genre fiction like romance, horror, and suspense into her curriculum, how class conversations resembled a Battle of the Sexes as they explored texts that engaged with gender in different ways, and why it’s so hard to both adapt romance and teach romance novels as a genre in the classroom.

Class texts also included Gone Girl, Arrival, and The Exorcist.

Guest: Dr. Diana Filar

Website | Twitter

Listen to Dr. Diana Filar on the #1 most-downloaded episode of Shelf Love: 

092. I've Got No Roots: White Immigrant Assimilation & (Romance) Adaptation

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]