Tea & Strumpets: A Regency Romance Review

This week we’re taking a trip to Spindle Cove! Except...oh no, the bridge is out and the carriage has broken, so I guess we’ll have to spend the night together in this roadside hut with ONLY ONE BED! It’s going to be a little tight in here because we actually have a very special guest for this episode too! Bookstagrammer and author extraordinaire Mazey Eddings (@romance.in.the.wild) is joining us to chat about Lord Dashwood and one of her (famously) favorite tropes - The Virgin Hero. It’s gonna be a trope-tactic time! **It's no secret there's Spoilers!**

Tom Severin, railway magnate, has never not gotten what he wants. One look was all it took for Tom to know that Lady Cassandra Ravenel was the one. However, Cassandra cannot be gotten easily. Her family objects and frankly so does she. As much as she wants a husband, she’s not interested in one with a frozen heart. With each meeting the attraction grows and Tom will do anything to make Cassandra his, including read the works of Jane Austen and Victor Hugo. In the end, no one could argue his commitment. Come listen to the New Release by Lisa Kleypas and the merry chase that leads to love and happily ever after. **you cannot run from Spoilers!**

It's a week for love and romance! While that is certainly our forte, this time, we're here to celebrate our favorite female friendships today. The genre is full of fierce females and their equally as fabulous friends. Today is for all your gal pals and girlfriends. Happy Galentines Day! Enjoy listening to us share our favorite examples of females friendships from Regency Romance.

Our episode today is one most scandalous,

A Lady and an Earl who were far from amorous.

A bold action to disparage,

Leads to a necessary offer of marriage.

Will there ever be trust between them then,

In this titillating tale by Scarlett Peckham?

And while our characters' love was allowed to soar,

Zoë and Kelsey could in no way reach an accord.

And with the end of this terrible poem,

We invite you to tune in for details and then some!

**Spoilers, I'm really bad at poems**

This week sat down with Kerrigan Byrne to talk all about her journey as an author. Well, that’s where we started, but honestly the alternate title of this episode could have been “I Digress: The Podcast Story.” But don’t let that turn you away, because with each twist and turn, the conversation got even more interesting! And throughout, we kept coming back to Kerrigan's amazing resilience to any naysayers in her day to day life as well as the poignant resilience of the characters she crafts. We budgeted an hour and a half for our chat but we could have gone on all day! So get comfortable and enjoy our inspiring morning with Kerrigan Byrne!

What do you get when you combine an icy marquess and a plucky school teacher? Why a marvelous tale from Pennyroyal Green of course! This week not only do we get delicious dialog and a cat straight out of Greek mythology, we also get a feel-good tale of two who were meant to be. However, we do need to get through a few tropes to find our happily ever after but it’s not too much trouble as our hero and heroine draw us along as much as they are drawn to each other. Come and read “How the Marquess was Won” by Julie Anne Long **don’t be fooled, there are spoilers**

Today's episode may seem a bit daunting in length, but be not afraid dear listener, there are a couple of excellent reasons for its loquaciousness. Firstly, the book we read had a lot of swoon-worthy moments to talk about and secondly, we were joined by some very special guests! Jeff Adams and Will Knauss of The Big Gay Fiction Podcast dropped in to talk about Cat Sebastian’s The Soldier’s Scoundrel. Will by-the-book Oliver let himself fall for don’t-ask-questions Jack? Will pessimist Jack open his heart to the idea of love at all? Sparks fly in this steamy regency as these two solve the mystery of some stolen letters and along the way find their HEA. **Spoilers are sneaking in**

It’s the middle of the season and everyone is bored. What is a lady to do? Why, solve a mystery of course! Lady Danbury has tasked the ton with unmasking their favorite gossip, Lady Whistledown! However, this crusade is just the backdrop for our latest Bridgerton tale.

Colin Bridgerton has recently returned from travels abroad and for some reason, he discovers that spinster Penelope Featherington is the person he most wants to spend time with. Penelope is not about to protest, but she is shocked to find that Colin is not just the charmer she’s been in love with for 12 years. That being said, Penelope is also not the person she thought she was either - maybe, just maybe, she is something more...and Colin’s heart is unprepared. We’re reading an absolute favorite of the Bridgerton Series: Romancing Mr. Bridgerton by Julia Quinn. **Spoilers and more!**

Happy New Year everyone - and welcome to the roaring twenties! With such an obviously historically-minded decade, we know it's going to be a fabulous time for historical romance. And we're ringing in this year by sharing some of the 2020 historical romances we are most excited about! So many books are already announced and we just could not keep our 2020 must-haves to ourselves any longer. Will your favorites make the list? Will we introduce you to some you didn't know were coming? Did we egregiously leave something out?! Get ready to mark those calendars and click preorder, because the list is long and full of HEAs we think you're gonna love.

Now that we’ve celebrated Christmas, it’s time for the Festival of Lights! This year we’re spending it in Edinburgh and it looks like the gift of a hot, highland man just keeps on giving. Do ye get where I’m going with this lads and lassies? This is only one of two Hanukkah tales that take place in the regency. We know because we looked, hard. This one also included some cool history facts and Zoë gets to put her Hebrew skills to good use (like she learned it in Israel so it’s the real deal and Kelsey was only a bit impressed, but only a bit!). Let’s get into our next holiday novella, A Highlander for Hanukkah by Lori Ann Bailey. **Spoilers, Oy vey!**