001. Lisa Kleypas Wallflowers Quartet with Amanda Diehl

Amanda Diehl (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books; NPR Books) and Andrea duke it out to select their favorite Wallflower from Lisa Kleypas’s memorable Wallflower quartet series.

During the Wallflower Rumble, we share crowdsourced contributions from readers about their favorite characters and books.

In Trope Town, we recommend Girl Squad romance novels. (Mostly Amanda recommends, since she is the queen of book recs.) Amanda also shares the premise for a sexy spy heroine in Write This Book.

In the course of casting each book we talk about, Andrea discovers a surprising connection to her favorite GLOW actor. We also discuss the meaning of “maladjusted narcissist” and Lisa Kleypas’s amazing, long-lived career as a romance novelist.

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Thank you to the contributors of this episode: KB, Sue D., Jane Galen, Morgan, Robyn, Claire A., Malin, Jess, Erica, Jayne Hendry, Maida Malby

Chit Chat

Amanda Diehl:

TwitterInstagram

Mentioned:

The Blacksmith Queen: Review on SBTBPodcast Amanda + Sarah Wendell about The Blacksmith QueenInterview on Smart Podcast, Trashy Books with Shelly LaurenstonStorylandLisa Kleypas Intro

People article title, 1987: “...Lisa Kleypas, New Wellesley Grad, Beauty Queen (Gasp!) and Successful Romance Novelist”

Origin of “All out of Spoons” aka Spoon Theory

Information on all Lisa Kleypas’s books/series

The Wallflowers Series

The Bechdel Test

Secrets of a Summer Night (2004)

It Happened One Autumn (2005)

Devil in Winter (2006)

Content warning in this book: kidnapping and threat of sexual assault

Dollar Princesses: https://www.history.com/news/american-heiress-marry-british-aristocrat

Scandal in Spring (2006)

The Throwdown

Highly scientific research shows Devil in Winter is a fan favorite:

56% Devil in Winter

22% Secrets of a Summer Night

22% It Happened one Autumn

Every time Andrea says “holding a torch” she means “carrying a torch.”

Trope Town - Book Recommendations

Girl squad romances:

Amanda’s recommendations:

Kresley Cole’s: Immortals after Dark (paranormal romance)Hudson Valley series by Alice Clayton (contemporary)Reluctant Royals series by Alyssa Cole (contemporary)Spindle Cove series by Tessa Dare (historical) - A Week to Be Wicked is one of Amanda’s favorite all-time romances.Bringing Down the Duke by Evie Dunmore (historical) - Suffragettes! Debut novel!Married Women’s Property Act (1882)Women gained the right to vote in the UK between 1918 and 1928

Recommendations from listeners:

Jayne Hendry:

Kristen Ashley's Rock Chick seriesCall of Crows Series Shelly LaurenstonSPTB podcast episode: “We talk about writing badass sisterhoods in romance” Ep 198Maida Malby on Twitter:Nora Roberts’ The Bride QuartetGirls Night out series by Eva MooreWrite This Book

(PS: when Andrea says “forced intimacy” she means “forced proximity”.

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