In honor of Valentine’s Day, we start by discussing what we are drawn to in romcoms, ones we’ve covered and ones we haven’t yet! Let’s unpack depictions of LOVE in pop fiction...

** Express Yourself. No matter how they get there, the truly memorable moments are when someone finally says the words. Words matter to writers like us so when it’s done right, the declaration of love is everything! We discuss the “big speeches” from Dirty Dancing, Runaway Bride, The Notebook, Forces of Nature, Notting Hill, Say Anything, and Bridgerton. (04:07)

** What’s Your Theme, Heather? A play on our regular episode segment, What's Your Damage, Heather? We discuss the particular themes in love stories that we are drawn to, and might reveal a little something to say about our own journeys and points of vulnerability, what really gets us and why. 

* For Carinn, it’s the theme of the thin line between love and hate. She believes that both emotions are loaded in relationships where you feel so much. She discusses Simon’s speech to the Queen in Bridgerton and When Harry Met Sally. In the novel Beautiful Disaster by Jamie Maguire, we see how to hurt people can heal each other, even if the one they love triggers old pain. Real love makes you both stronger and weaker. She ends reading passages from Gone Girl where Nick describes Amy as his “forever antagonist.” Kate jumps on this theme too, somehow mentioning two of her childhood favorites, Anne of Green Gables and Pride and Prejudice! (25:15)

* For Kate, it’s the theme of “the one that got away.” She discusses the variations of this theme in Bethany Chase’s novel, The One That Got Away, Emily Giffin’s Love The One You’re With, and Jill Santopolo’s, All The Light We Lost, then moves on to the movies, The Notebook, Sweet Home Alabama, and Always Be My Maybe. What Kate loves is how the one that got away can act as a mirror to remind the protagonist of who she really is. Carinn then declares the one that got away is really HER! Mind blown. (47:40)

** Straight To The Source. We aren't the only ones fascinated by love and relationships. Many of the authors we interviewed chatted with us about the topic. We’re going straight to the source and sharing one of our favorite clips from our complicated conversations with New York Times bestseller author, Emily Giffin. (63:03)

** What is Love, Anyway? We play a clip from one of our favorite episodes, Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid, where we grapple with this big question! (68:01). 

** We end with words of wisdom found in a NYT essay from Roxanne Gay and discuss why a Valentine’s episode was non-negotiable this year (76:16).

Follow us on Instagram and Facebook @popfictionwomen and on Twitter @pop_women. To do a full deep dive, check out our website at www.popfictionwomen.com. Stay Complicated!

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