Is that a bottle of Pom Wonderful in your pocket or are you just excited for another modern retelling of Hades and Persephone? Either way you came to the right podcast! This week yr kores spring into “Neon Gods” by Katee Robert.
Modern It Girl Persephone runs away to the mysterious Under City (see what they did there?) to wait out her trust fund to move to Berkeley (pardon???). In order to stave off the unwanted amorous notions of Zeus she gets publicly f*ng’d by cinnamon roll in a black on black suit Hades. And then guess what happens!
Are we ever done reaping what 50 Shades of Grey has sown? Do you like bad boys or do you just like a project? Is world building the world of Romance?
Take a bite. We’d like you to stay a while.

This episode of Whoa!mance is sponsored by “Sweet Talking Rancher” by Kate Pearce from Kensington Books.

Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network

You can find Neon Gods on GoodReads here: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/54659771-neon-gods 

We mentioned Rose Lerner's Audible Original, here it is: https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Wife-in-the-Attic-Audiobook/B08W2P8GZN

Episode 116: Purse'a'phone and Hayds - Neon Gods by Katee Robert

Whoa!mance is once again donning their trench coats and magnifying glasses to bring you the only romance novel-specific crime conversations on the web. This time around, Morgan takes Isabeau on a  journey to one of the dreariest corners - FAMILY COURT - via one of the most sparkling highways - CELEBRITY.
Danielle Steel.......'s husband sued two writers from People Magazine to keep adoption records sealed, and a book off the shelves in the process, and lost. But that particular champagne problem seems to have aged into a Wonder Bread problem while we were all signing up for the pre-Metaverse. 
What responsibility do we have to our inspirations, particularly when they can't collect alimony? What makes a celebrity? Does it matter when we've all got the same amount of public information? Who owns your earrings?
A warning shot on data and privacy comin' at ya from 1993.

Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Whoa!nus: True Crime - UNAUTHORIZED AUTOBIOGRAPHY feat. Danielle Steel

Jane makes new friends. One of them has a Roman-esque profile and dreamy eyes. Another one has an offensive, phonetically written accent.

Jane Eyre Public Access Read-a-Long - Chapter 29

In chapter 30 of Jane Eyre, Isabeau reads Jane reading St. John. And guess what? St. John goes on a long diatribe about St. John.

Jane Eyre Public Access Read-a-Long - Chapter 30

Excuse me, but - you can't look at that likeness like that. At least not in here. In front of...us. In this little house, with Jane standing right. there. I mean, get yourself together St. John. Oh my. Oh my goodness. You can't just jump into...you know...kneeling on an ottoman. 

Join us as we try to keep it together while reading Chapter 32 of Jane Eyre.

Jane Eyre Public Access Read-A-Long: Chapter 32

Remember how St. John ripped that piece of Jane's drawing and then acted like nothing happened? Well spread some bird seed, it is time for those chickens to come home to roost!
On a stormy, snowy eve St. John visits Jane and reveals all. Is it a deus ex machina? *Shrug*. Is it fun? *vigorously nods*.

Jane Eyre Public Access Read - A-Long: Chapter 33

Gang, we're starting to think St. John doesn't REALLY see Jane as a sister?
This chapter, Christmas occurs for two seconds and then Jane enters into an emotionally wrought new language practice with her first cousin cum benefactee, St. John. And things escalate when St. John invites her to join him in a colonialist, racist project. To say the least...
Join us as we unpack how Jane Eyre continues to be a book about race, nationalism, and men filling the void of women's confused silence with their enthusiastic consent. Heads up - the text is more self aware of some of these things than others.

Jane Eyre Public Access Read - A-Long: Chapter 34

Our time in S------ is coming to a close, but St. John is not letting Jane go without a bang and one orgasmic head pat. But you know what speaks louder than orgasmic head pats? The voice of true love, that's what!
Join us as we reflect on our time away from Rochester, the bad feeling bleeding through the presence of Empire in the text, and that this part of the book may be the part that matters the most.

Jane Eyre Public Access Read - A-Long: Chapter 35

Yr grls were working in the lab late one night, when their eyes beheld an eerie sight..
For a monster rose (a-wink) from the slab, and to their surprise
THEY DID IT IN MARCH! They did a MOoOnster March...
Join us for a seasonally inappropriate announcement. And then join us for the rest of the month as we read:
"Asquidentally in Love" by K. Hiers
"Love, Laugh, Lich" by Kate Prior
"Dragon Bound" by Thea Harrison
"Deceived by the Gargoyles" by Lillian Lark
Who needs October anyhow?

Whoa!nus: They Did The Monster March

1 month ago, suspicion and Kindle Unlimited ruled. It was a time of darkness, it was a world of fear, it was the age before we read a bunch of monster romance. 
Swept up by a magic spell for a thousandish pages. Now here in Chicago....the spell is broken! AND WE MARCH AGAIN!! 
To round out our Monster March with DECEIVED BY THE GARGOYLE by Lillian Lark.
Grace the witch is(gently, apologetically) manipulated into joining a Gargoyle throuple as the all-important fourth wheel. 
Is spicy sex progressive sex? How much steam is too much steam and why are monster romance more likely to be saunas than fridges? What would you do with a tail?
We are defenders of the bad feeling/good feeling mix 'em up! We are Gargoyle (romance discussing in this epsiode)!

Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Episode 133: Knotting Hill (Monster March No.4)- "Deceived by the Gargoyles" by Lillian Lark

We're back and so is Jane! Our Jane heeds to whispering, walloping call of Rochester's voice and finds her way back to Thornfield Hall. And boy, does she have a surprise coming.

Jane Eyre Public Access Read-A-Long: Chapter 36

We're just as susceptible to a novel (as in new) title/cover combo, gang. And this week yr grls are taking vows for "A Nun for the Viking Warrior" by Lucy Morris.
Sweet baby novitiate Amée isn't super into the Viking husband her nobleman dad springs on her, until he's like really into revitalizing her 912 A.D. Francia community.
Is this book about a viking and a nun woke? How important is an outfit to fantasy? Are short women pursuing big men a survival mechanism?
Pick this one up like a GOOD habit.

Episode 134: Beautiful aNUNymous - "A Nun for the Viking Warrior" by Lucy Morris

Do we talk about this book enough?
The red shoes?
The mother's wedding veil?
The pew?
Probably not. So we're just going to release the whole damn thing again.

Originally aired Summer 2020.

Abigail McKenzie felt like an outcast in her one train stop town. Yet when two men are wounded in the same train robbery, she agrees to take them in: David, the model of a gentleman, and Jesse, hot-tempered and alluring, vie for Abigail’s affections. But as she nurses them both back to health, intimacy and proximity push our heroine to explore her sensual side, and the true identities of her patients reveal a rich history beyond their injuries. This week, Morgan and Isabeau take a listener recommendation and fall in love with Hummingbird by LaVyrle Spencer. It’s got it all: gunfights, soup straws, moustaches, and above all, feet. Dust off a nice pair of something tall for this little ditty.

Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Hummingbird by LaVyrle Spencer (Triage a Trois Re!mance)

Yr grls return to discuss everybody's favorite pandemic baby - A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES BY SARAH J. MAAS!
Feyre thought things couldn't get much worse while she was desperately hunting a mysterious wolf to feed her starving family. She was right! Because things actually get pretty groovy once she's kidnapped by Tamlin the Beast/Fae King of the Spring Court (whatever that means!). But then they do actually get worse when she chases her new love under the mountain and has to face a buncha magical trials.
How can a text subvert the dread Mary-Sue? Can we identify genre fiction by its references? IS this a romance?
Order a third El Presidente Margarita - this one is for the Maasholes and greenhorns alike! Spoilers ahead.￼

Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network.

Epsidoe 140:  - Do I Make You Thorny, Baby? - A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

This week yr grls ask you to consider the toilet in their discussion of A COURT OF MIST AND FURY by SARAH J. MAAS.
Friend of the pod and noted Fae convert Feyre is feeling...weird about Tamlin (see that guy's deal in episode 140). Rhysand gets it and thus sweeps her away to high-fantasy Santa Fe one week at a time. Feyre slowly discovers not only a whole new world, but a whole new Feyre and maybe even a whole new man, in the process.
Do romance readers rationalize Bad People for the sake of tingles? Is fating mates an Out? Can breaking the world you built be good world building? Can you believe we didn't even get to the eye ball ring?
Grab your plungers and unfurl your senstivie-like-an-ear bat wings, we're getting to WORK on this one.

Whoa!mance is a part of Frolic Media

Episode 141: Night Court - A Court of Mist And Fury by Sarah J. Maas

Light a fire, wrap a quilt around your shoulders, and hold that mug with two hands - this episode yr grls get in their comfies with THE CRAFT OF LOVE BY E.E. OTTOMAN.
Benjamin is a silversmith in need of a quilt. Remembrance is a quilter in need of a tea service. Can I make it any more obvious (in the style of Avril Lavigne). Also, Benjamin is trans and Remembrance's ex is a woman and it is 1830.
What makes a work of fiction cozy? How can authors talk about marginalized identities and the working class in historical romance without talking down about them? Why does romance produce more angst than cozies?

Episode 143: Warm Fuzzies - The Craft of Love by E.E. Ottoman

We're back and we're ready to get down to the business of weirdest, sexiest, and whoa/no of THE LOVE HYPOTHESIS by ALI HAZELWOOD.
This fic turned barn burner of a romance novel (you can buy it Target!) uses characters from the Star Wars universe to tell the story of a third year PhD candidate catching real feelings in a fake relationship with a tenured faculty in her department.
What is the line between real person fic and character fic? What about fic demands delicious cringe? Are there breasts so small and mouths so big?
In the words of Jar Jar Binks - Dissen ganna be bery messy!

Episode 149: Title IXs All The Way Down - "The Love Hypothesis" by Ali Hazelwood pt. 2

This week we're leaving the gun, taking the cannoli (per usual) with "TWISTED PRIDE" by CORA REILLY.
Serafina is about to fulfill the promise of her midwest-Mob upbringing by marrying an underboss (like her dad, her uncle, her twin brother...) but she feels weird about it, Thankfully, certifiable Very Bad Person and capo of a rival mafia family, Remo, kidnaps her moments before her vows and takes her hostage in Las Vegas. After blood, sweat, tears, more blood, additional blood, then blood, they fall in love! But can she reconcile who she thought she was with who she is becoming?
What are the limits of purity culture critique? Or the ability of the abject to pull you through a love story? How do you pronounce Giudice?
Pour yourself an Amaro and settle in - not unlike Mario Puzo's "The Godfather", it's long but worth it.(There's a Bernie Mac attack at the end!)
TW: Discussion of sexual assault, blood / gore, violence
Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Media Network.

Episode 151: Human Development in the Mafia Universe - "Twisted Pride" by Cora Reilly

This ep yr grls visit the cultural rupture known as 1995 to (finally) discuss LORD OF SCOUNDRELS by Loretta Chase. 
Scoundrel, rake, blight of his family name, Lord Dain has a lot of baggage, the least of which is some dumb guy named Bertie. But gorgeous, brilliant Jessica has accepted her lot as a spinster and developed an actual personality, so her dumb brother, Bertie, happens to be her biggest baggage. Little do Dain and Jessica know they are about the become each other's sexy, sexy baggage. Nothin' slaps like the hits, y'all!
What are the limits of "because it is a romance" as justification? How can novels show instead of tell the work of men deconstructing toxic masculinity? Who even is the main Main Character here?
For fans of romance deconstruction and materiality, this one's for YOU!

Whoa!mance is a part of Frolic Media.

Episode 153: Marry Italian - "Lord Of Scoundrels" By Loretta Chase

This week, yr grls at long last encounter Derek Craven in "DREAMING OF YOU" by Miss Massachu herself LISA KLEYPAS. It is time for Morgan and Isabeau to wade into this collaboration with Shelf Love.
You probably already know this - but Sarah is a regency country mouse who is secretly a best-selling novelist. Facing the dreaded sophomore slump, she seeks out a real Gambling Hell to research her next novel and instead finds Derek Craven. Derek's a gutter baby cum Cockney made good by establishing the most luxurious gambling den in London. But, it turns out, his personal tastes skew a bit more bucolic if you catch our drift (they fall in love!).
What makes a character captivating and why doesn't Derek Craven have any of it? Is the sentimental version of the Culture Wars any more forgivable? It's 10 p.m. - is your child a Perry?
Take our "lump of ice" and tune in as we give this "weep and wail" it's "early hours".

Episode 155 - This Guy? "Dreaming Of You" By Lisa Kleypas [Whoa-llab w/ Shelf Love]

Have you heard April is the cruelest month? Wrong--it's February and boy does Lizzie Bennet know it! Without her best bud, without her best sis, without the sun what is Lizzie but a collection of misanthropic observations? Too harsh--you be the judge in this zippy little chapter

Public Access Read-A-Long "Pride and Prejudice" Chapter 27

We aren't going to leave these takes flappin' in the wind - join us as we land the conversation with part 2 of our discussion on A COURT OF WINGS AND RUIN by Maas.
What makes a "good" war text? How can we talk about gender and race in a fantasy-world divorced from our social reality? Or can popular fiction even effectively imagine such a world? Can you still get horny in a "Li-berry"?
Spoiler alert: This one split the judges on Whoa v. No. Tune in and decide where you land

158: Come for the Wings, Stay for the Ruin - "A Court Of Wings And Ruin" By Sarah J. Maas pt. 2

Is that a hockey stick in your pocket or is your weiner just like super big and bent at the very end? Let's find out while discussing TikTok sensation "THE DEAL" by ELLE KENNEDY!
Garrett needs help figuring out how different philosophers would justify genocide so he can pass his midterm and remain the beloved captain of his small liberal arts/Ivy-adjacent/D-1 unverisity's hockey team. Enter singer/songwriter/skinny-big-boobs Hannah. She's got an "A" in the class and a deal to strike. Tutoring for mutual orgasms so she can be ready for primetime with her quarterbackin' crush. What's a little sexual healing between friends, right?? Don't let the weird jokes about popular culture fool you, this book packs some high stakes trauma.
Why is the US University a Utopia in romance fiction? Was 2015 in general politically unaware? Why hockey?
We get timely and historical in this one, suit up and tune in.

159:  Why Hockey? - "The Deal" By Elle Kennedy

Nobody move! There's blood on the floor. And yr grls can't find their hearts. Thanks to whispered romance classic- "To Have and To Hold" by Patricia Gaffney.
Sebastian has everyone's fave romance hero first name and a brand new estate in an idyllic country town. Total snoozefest, but then most things are to Sebby. That is, until a captivating former-con with (gasp) SHORT hair named Rachel captures his fancy AND his rather horrid whimsy. Will these two be one another's reckoning in a good way or a bad way?
Are historical romances actually written about three times - the setting, the publication year, and the time it is read in? How can a text deconstruct while bolstering conservative sexual politic? CAN "the help" consent???

160: 2 HAVE 2 HOLD - To Have And To Hold By Patricia Gaffney

Over the hills and through the woods, to Velaris we go!
Feyre and Rhysand are getting ready for their first C̶h̶r̶i̶s̶t̶m̶a̶s̶ WINTER SOLSTICE together. All while reconciling the recent trauma of the War (see episodes 157, 158). 
What makes a Holiday Special special? How has the messaging around the true meaning of Christmas morphed in our current therapy-speak moment? Do you feel like you've been sufficiently fan serviced today?
Join us as we weave the threads of The Star Wars Christmas Special, "It's A Wonderful Life", and Tom Bombadil together to make sense of the Phenom that is The Worst Book In This Series.

165: It's a Wonderful Strife: "A Court of Frost and Starlight" by Sarah J. Maas

You're going to want to double KNOT your Easter Bonnet for this one - because BRIDE by ALI HAZELWOOD is likely to blow it clean off.
Vampyre, Misery, enters an arranged marriage with Alpha Werewolf, Lowe to protect a tentative truce between their cultures. And then...well, guess. We bet you can guess what happens next. Go ahead. What do you think? C'mon. Don't be shy. We know why you're here. We're right here with ya. Yeah. That's right. Omegaverse-style canid sex.
Why do we seek out the bestial in our most human, romantic stories? When does Virginity stop being a social issue and become a personal one? What kind of personal aircraft will be acceptable when the revolution comes?

170: BLOOD PRAXIS - Bride by Ali Hazelwood

This episode, yr grls feel the earth move under their feet thanks to SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE 1906 by KATHLEEN DUEY.
Sierra, she of the old-fashioned braids and humble dreams, works as maid in the grand Palace Hotel of San Francisco. Joseph Harlan, he of the ranch inheritance and general decency, is staying in The Palace Hotel. Joe is completely smitten with Sierra but she is coming to terms with her crush turning out to be a gold digger. Sierra and Joseph collide just as the Pacific Plate and North Atlantic Plate, and thus find themselves on the greatest adventure known to man. No, not love. Surviving the aftermath of an up to 8.3 on the richter scale earthquake in turn-of-the-century San Fran.
Remember when men were men and young adult fiction was for young adults? And also historical? Have we expanded the possibilities to the point of choking out skilled, professional writing?
You know what they say. If the tent's a-quakin', look out for the ensuing fires.

171: Razor Blades vs. Blunt Axes - "San Francisco Earthquake 1906" by Kathleen Duey

Knock knock! Who's there? A whole ass wife in the form of Lydia, of course. 
In chapter 51 Lydia and Wickham return to make everything awkward over the course of a short ten days. Just enough time for Lydia to drop a bombshell at the very end of the chapter.
Does the text like Lydia, or is it just us giggling and kicking our feet in the air every time she gets the spotlight?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Chpt. 51 - Public Access Read-a-Long

Monty is all set up for one sexy summer when he embarks on his Grad Tour with hot friend he's falling for, Percy. But this would-be teen sex comedy get real weird as Monty and Percy face a vengeful duke, a sinking crypt, a dead alchemists lonely adult children, their own marginalized identities, and falling in puppy love! 
What does it look like to write conscientious historical romance, effectively? Can anyone tell the difference between an adventure story, a romance, and bildungsroman? And, PLEASE! SOMEBODY! What even is "Young Adult"???
Light the braziers and tune up your crystals - we're turning lead into gold for real on this one!

174: Gentle(bildungsro)man - A Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzie Lee

What webs we weave, indeed! This episode we attempt to unknot that cross-over of the century - the NINETEENTH century that is - PRIDE AND PROMETHEUS by JOHN KESSEL.
Mary Bennet decides to take one last crack at life before resigning herself to spinsterhood and two people wind up dead. That's what happens when you pin your hopes to the saddest Swiss nerd at the ball. Especially when they have the kind of baggage that is super tall, speaks at least three languages, has committed murder in the name of loneliness, and is technically their child.
Do the major differences of "Frankenstein" and "Pride and Prejudice" boil down to imagination vs. domesticity? Where is the fascination of sex to be found without love and affection? What can be made of men talking about women talking about men? 
Trigger warnings - we talk about anatomy, sterilization, murder, and miscarriages in this episode.

180: Actually, it's Frankenstein's Incel - "Pride and Prometheus" by John Kessel

Darcy and Lizzy need to tell the Bennets what's what

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Chapter 59 Read A Long

Pride and Prejudice gets PENULTIMATE! 
In this, the second to last chapter of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, there are lots of sweet nothings and victory laps to be had. And the conversation begins circling the drain that leads to...romance novels?

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Chapter 60 - Public Access Read-a-Long

Ready for some dark romance this holiday season? Sure you are! The days are short anyway. We've got a labrador retriever male main character who makes masked man thirst traps and does some stalking. And we've got a snarky female main character who loves those thirst traps and is looking for a little IRL action.

Listen while Morgan and Isabeau untruss this popular bird, get at the juicy bits and carve out what makes this a mega romance audiobook hit.

A Little Dark(romance) Meat: Lights Out By Navessa Allen

Here it is, the last chapter. The bow tie. The final thoughts. The Darcy. The Rochester. The end.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen: Chapter 61 - Public Access Read-a-Long

If Whoa!mance had a nickel for every time we discussed a novel featuring a werewolf who flies personal aircraft, we would have TWO nickels. Thanks for the hypothetical pay raise, COLD HEARTED by HEATHER GUERRE.
Grace has to Teach for America her way away from her terrible ex and terribler Chicago. So she makes her way to the small, insular, warm yet secretive community of Longtooth, Alaska. Even thought Grace really sets local boy Caleb's maybe-metaphorical-maybe-literal tail to wagging, he's been burned by City Folk before and he isn't going to be heartbroken again, dang it! When it turns out Grace's ex was worse and more supernatural than just a boring stalker, he's going to have to put his feelings aside...or actually, for some reason, centering them works better?
What makes a comfort read comfortable? Is a villain more captivating than the main character a failure in a romance, or just the The Nature of the Beast? Its 10 p.m., do you know how many copies of "Watership Down" are within driving distance of you right now?
Turn "Deadliest Catch", we've got something much sexier and equally Alaskan to discuss.

182. Short Days, Long Teeth - "Cold Hearted" by Heather Guerre

Ellie from the Butt Out Baby Podcast had the best idea. For all of us to watch Carol (2015) directed by Todd Haynes and then talk about it. 
Therese gets a funny feeling when she first sees the glamorous Carol, and it isn't just because its Christmastime. But it is the 1950s, and Carol is going through a divorce, and is a devoted mother, and is at least a decade older and a gajillion dollars richer, and it's Christmas! What is it they about the course of true love?  
Do age gaps matter? Does Christmas matter? And what even happened with that ending!
Be sure to tune into this romance-centered discussion of Carol. And, by the way, I like your hat...

Whoa!nus at the movies: Carol (2015) w/ Ellie from Butt Out Baby podcast

One last round of eggnog, we're talking "MEET ME IN LOS FELIZ" by KELLY REYNOLDS.
Nora accidentally barges in on Bowie peeing and catches feels for the (sort of) Short King. Is king a slur if you're a Brit in LA who inherited a house and tea shop(pe)? Amid the hustle of trying to make it as an actress, Nora makes room for a new love.
What makes a novella work? Does normalizing rough sex minimize it? How much are CBD lattes going for in your local area?
Pick your exit off the 210 carefully, we're parked in this holiday traffic.

Meet Me in Los Feliz by Kelly Reynolds

We were in the books in 2024 and now 2024 is in the books. Hardest and softest no!s and whoa!s, the places we visited the most in literature, what we did great at and where we came up short. All that and more as we look back on the year that was...2024.

Whoa!nus - Maybe it's not Twenty Twenty for you??? 2024 in Review

Heads up--there is discussion of rape and violence in this episode.

WOW! We talk about religion, Three Billboards, the complexity of complicity, the complexity of consent, the complexity of guys who won't shut up about their Women Studies class, and some pretty graphic sex!

4: "Priest" by Sierra Simone

Hold on to your stays for this romance classic! Shanna has it all! Pirates! A marriage plot! Assumed names! A feisty heroine and a Caribbean island. If you like Sandals Commercials you will like some of this book. Listeners beware there is discussion of non-consensual sex and slavery. #the70s #whoa!mance #romance

6: "Shanna" by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss

If The Shape of Water tickled your sashimi, Melissa Broder’s New York Times dubbed “romance novel for intellectuals” The Pisces will either turn you pescatarian for life or give you full blown mercury poisoning.  This week, Morgan and Isabeau plunge romance’s murky depths through the depressive eyes of Lucy, a newly single academic, as she navigates the choppy surfs of Tinder, group therapy, pet care, and the dexterous tongue of a merman.  Can you smell that fresh salt air?  Catch of the Day: MP

Whoa!mance: Romance, Feminism, and Ourselves

Pinned to spotlight

Popular tracks