Episode 176: Romance Book Roundup

Notes:

The Verbivore references a quote from romance author Chandra Blumberg (Digging Up Love, Stirring Up Love), who we interviewed back in 2021. That episode was “Episode 89: Interview with Chandra Blumberg”. Here is her full quote:

“There’s definitely a stigma about different levels of heat in romance. Some people aren’t comfortable with the high heat and they think it’s all the high heat. But there’s all sorts of romance for all different people. I was worried that if I write the sort of romance that I want to, will there be a place for it. And the answer is yes because there is. It’s the same thing with fantasy and so many other genres – they run the gamut. Just like there’s cozy mysteries or there’s dark, gritty mysteries.… There’s so much diversity in the genre and there’s really something for everyone.“

Towards the beginning of the conversation, we talk about the Romance genre being wide and growing, with characters that are starting to more accurately reflect the world around us - but there is still a long way to go. We strongly believe representation matters and that we all should be able to see ourselves reflected in stories with happy endings. If you’re curious to learn more about where the industry is at, here are a few articles on this topic:

- NY Times Article “The Changing Face of Romance Novels”

- The Ripped Boddice “The State of Racial Diversity in Romance Publishing Report”

- Writers Republic Article “Diversity in the Romance Novel Industry: Has there been any progress?”

Fable references the link between reading fictional stories, learning, and empathy. Here are a few articles that discuss this topic:

- Discover Magazine Article “How Reading Fiction Increases Empathy and Encourages Understanding”

- Medium Article “Reading Fiction Increases Your Empathy and Understanding of Others”

- Harvard Business Review “The Case for Reading Fiction” by Christine Seifert

Here are a few articles and websites we referenced for this conversation:

- MasterClass Article “Writing 101: What Is a Romance Novel? Learn About the History and Characteristics of Romance Novels”

- AllAboutRomance.com Review Power Search

Books and Films Mentioned:

- Book Lovers by Emily Henry

- The Heart Principle by Helen Hoang

- The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang

- The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood

- Love on the Brain by Ali Hazelwood

- Two Wrongs Make a Right (The Wilmot Sisters Series) by Chloe Liese

- Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

- The Charm Offensive: A Novel by Alison Cochrun

- The Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard Series Books 1 - 3 Collection Box Set by Rick Riordan (Sword of Summer, Hammer of Thor & Ship of the Dead)

- Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter

- The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

- Ice Planet Barbarians by Ruby Dixon

- The American Roommate Experiment: A Novel by Elena Armas

- The Spanish Love Deception: A Novel by Elena Armas

- The Marriage Game by Sara Desai

- The Dating Plan by Sara Desai

- The Singles Table by Sara Desai

- Yes & I Love You: A Steamy & Emotional Contemporary Romance (Say Everything, 1) by Roni Loren

- We Can't Keep Meeting Like This by Rachel Lynn Solomon

- Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon

- Radiance (Wraith Kings Book 1) by Grace Draven

- Spin the Dawn (The Blood of Stars) by Elizabeth Lim

- Unravel the Dusk (The Blood of Stars) by Elizabeth Lim

- The Wrath & the Dawn (The Wrath and the Dawn Book 1) by Renée Ahdieh

- The Rose and the Dagger by Renée Ahdieh

- A Far Wilder Magic by Allison Saft

- The Hating Game by Sally Thorne

- The Hating Game - Directed by Peter Hutchings

- The Roughest Draft by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

- To Kill a Kingdom (Hundred Kingdoms) by Alexandra Christo

- Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge

- The Bodyguard: A Novel by Katherine Center

- Secrets of a Summer Night (The Wallflowers Book 1) by Lisa Kleypas

- The Devil in Winter (The Wallflowers Book 3) by Lisa Kleypas

- My Beautiful Enemy by Sherry Thomas

- Beguiling the Beauty (The Fitzhugh Trilogy Book 2) by Sherry Thomas

- Tempting the Bride (The Fitzhugh Trilogy Book 3) by Sherry Thomas

- Not Quite a Husband (The Marsdens) by Sherry Thomas

- The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan

- Bombshell: A Hell's Belles Novel (Hell's Belles, 1) by Sarah MacLean

- One Good Earl Deserves a Lover: The Second Rule of Scoundrels (Rules of Scoundrels, 2) by Sarah MacLean

- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

- Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

- Mr. Darcy's Diary: A Novel by Amanda Grange

- Austenland – Directed by Jerusha Hess

- Austenland by Shannon Hale

- Geekerella: A Fangirl Fairy Tale (Once Upon A Con Book 1) by Ashley Poston

- The Dead Romantics by Ashley Poston

We don’t mention them here by name, but we also have several bookclub episodes where we talk in-depth about books or series that have romantic pairings we enjoy. Here are those:

- Episode 21: Mixing fairytale, myth, and good character development - Hunted by Meagan Spooner

- Episode 34: We Hunt The Flame Discussion

- Episode 52: The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas

- Episode 66: Let's talk about Caraval

- Episode 74: Let's talk about Jane Austen's Persuassion

- Episode 86: Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver

- Episode 91: Would Like To Meet by Rachel Winters

- Episode 95: Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo

- Episode 128: The Opposite of Always

- Episode 136: The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

- Episode 149: Miles Morales Spider-man by Jason Reynolds

Music from: https://filmmusic.io
‘Friendly day’ by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
Licence: CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)