Whoa!mance

In honor of Romance Bookstore Day this past week, we're re-releasing one of our recommendations from the new romance section at Women & Children First in Chicago. Throwing it all the way back to episode 14! Giddy up.For this episode Morgan and Isabeau tackle a western! Do you love cowboys, history, and sex positivity? Got secret hots for the country doc? This book has it all!Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As promised, Part Two of yr girls’ conversation with the illustrious Scarlett Peckham, and a deeper dive into Judith McNaught’s canonical debut novel Whitney, My Love. Sexiest parts, weirdest parts, and all the parts in between. CW: sexual assault, intimate partner violenceIf you experienced sexual assault and need or would like help, visit centers.rainn.com for resources in your area, or call 800-656-HOPE (4673) for confidential support.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On July 25th, as part of the 2020 Chicago-North RWA Spring Fling Writers Conference, yr girls Morgan and Isabeau were joined by the brilliant and talented Scarlett Peckham for a very special live-via-zoom-taping of Whoa!mance, to discuss Judith McNaught’s authorial debut, Whitney, My Love. This week, part one of yr girls’ conversation with Scarlett on how this novel sparked a burgeoning love of Romance, the polarizing politics of pleasure, and how to judge a text that doesn’t age as well as its cover. Warning: this novel depicts scenes of rape and sexual violence, and the conversation reflects these difficult topics, listener discretion is advised. Stay tuned for Part Two, coming to podcatcher near you.CW: sexual assault, intimate partner violenceWhoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We don’t know about y’all, but after all that Entrop[e]y, yr girls needed a little faith restored. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau dive into the new multimedia romance audio series Ten Week Turnabout, by Amelia Rose, produced by ConSensual. Told through a variety of means, the story follows the reunion of Ingrid and Noah, former high school crushes from a small town in Indiana, who are meeting again in the sweltering heat of a New York City summer. Whoa!mance got a sneak peak of this new immersive experience and it’s a real scorcher y'all so dress to sweat.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We did it y'all. Yr girls have arrived at the final stop on this Entrop[e]y tour with one last trope: the secret baby. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau tackle the culture wars relic, Nobody’s Baby But Mine, Book 3 in the Chicago Stars series by Susan Elizabeth Phillips. Jane Darlington, a 34 year old physics professor, wants a baby. But she doesn’t want that baby to be a smarty pants weirdo like their mom. The solution: fuck a dumb guy. Who better than star quarterback and potential neanderthal Cal Bonner? But when Cal proves to have brains to match his brawn, Jane learns how poor calculations can still yield positive if strange results. What are the hallmarks of a good girl? Who should get a second chance? What even is a clip on headband? We’re closing this thing out with a bang y’all so call a sitter.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in December, the Romance Writers of America (RWA) tried to pull a yuletide fast one hoping twitter’s watchful eye was fixed on other cravings. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau reflect on that fateful reckoning, the Ritas becoming the Vivians, and other reasons to be cautiously hopeful about the future of Romance.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With SPORTS shut down due to Entrop[e]y, yr girls are graduating to a more sinister set of games. This week on Whoa!mance, Morgan and Isabeau explore love in the military-industrial complex with Book Three in Rebecca Yarros’ Flight and Glory series, Beyond What Is Given. Lt. Grayson Masters is on track to become an Apache helicopter pilot when he gets a blip on his radar. Sam Fitzgerald, a civilian and as it turns out, also a girl, is suddenly his new roommate. Upon further reconnaissance, affections are confirmed. But when efforts to camouflage his feelings are compromised, Lt. Greyson knows it’s only a matter of time before Sam overruns his defenses, and learns his deepest secret. Can love exist as a hierarchical power structure? Who wins when you’re the only game in town? What does it mean to rock one’s curves, and who are one’s curves rocked for? We’re going behind enemy lines for this one y’all, get ready for dust off. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After exploring romance through the lenses of hockey and American football, yr girls are calling a timeout to process all this masculine energy. This week on Whoa!mance, a few final thoughts on SPORTS romance, the normalization of male violence, and the toxicity of body image standards. Tune in since you can’t watch real SPORTS anyway.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We raised a barn. We perfected our slapshots. This week, Morgan and Isabeau are back on the O-line discussing one of their favorite sources of bad feeling, the NFL, with Fumbled by Alexa Martin. Poppy Patterson has built a life for herself independent of her high school sweetheart TK Moore, and she couldn’t be happier. But when TK, now a starting wide receiver for the Denver Mustangs, re-enters her life, Poppy calls an audible. Can Poppy reconcile a life of independence with the added aggression of TK’s burgeoning head trauma? Do high ratings and sponsorships justify pervasive personal and familial harm? Does the NFL give a fuck about women? It’s another week of SPORTS y’all so huddle up.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last time, yr girls explored the subversive quaintness of Amish romance in our inaugural Entrop[e]y episode. This week, Morgan and Isabeau are back in the game for our first installment on SPORTS romance with Pucked, by Helena Hunting. Here we find Violet, the step-sister of a successful hockey player, linking up with the impossibly hung team captain, Alex, for a night of passionate goal making. But when Alex starts to pursue Violet, her status among the other players, including her sexually possessive step-brother, takes a bender. What kind of relationship, if any, do yr girls have with hockey? When does a gesture become too grand? And did we mention how buck-fucking-wild this book is? We’re running this zamboni straight through yr five hole for this one y’all, so lace up.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If it isn’t readily apparent (full disclosure, it is) Whoa!mance is made by white people. This week, in lieu of an episode and in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, Morgan and Isabeau share some of their favorite black authors, critics, and thinkers in the romance community and beyond.Black Chick Lit - https://blackchicklit.comMy Imaginary Friends with L. Penelope - https://lpenelope.com/podcastDiverse Romance - http://diverseromance.comDeadline City - https://deadlinecity.com/episodesRebekah Weatherspoon - @wocinromance The Turn On - https://www.theturnonpodcast.comWhoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’ve all been talked about. And we’ve sure as shit all talked about. Then why, despite its ubiquity, does gossip still feel like a dirty word? This week, Morgan and Isabeau take a closer look at how gossip functions as a literary device, and how we benefit from its use as a complex social and pedagogical tool.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re coming out the gate at a wagon’s pace for this series y’all, beginning in the bucolic pastures of the middle west. This week, Morgan and Isabeau embark on a reverse rumspringa with a plunge into Amish romance, led by the deft hand of Patricia Davids in the first installment of her Amish of Cedar Grove series, The Wish. This slow burn sweet romance meanders through the agrarian and folksy close quarters courtship of our heroine, widow Laura Beth Yoder, and the formerly Amish and formerly incarcerated, Joshua King. But will the implications of racial and patriarchal supremacy outweigh the flutter of hands at the butter churn? Can a culture built on strict biblical fidelity produce enough heat to spark passion? Do yr girls have the patience for sweet romance? Unplug everything but yr podcatcher for this one y’all.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

That’s right y’all. We asked for fan favorites that center on yr girls' least favorite tropes, and y’all came through like you always do. This week, Morgan and Isabeau reveal the selections and get ready to dip their toes in the water.This week's episode of Whoa!mance is brought to by "In To Her" by JA Huss. Available now at audible.com.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ever have a steamy threesome with a coworker and the mark yr boss sent y’all to murder? Of course you have. Whoa!mance is excited to offer a sneak peak at In To Her, a harrowing new tale of crime and passion by JA Huss. Available now at audible.com.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why do bad things sometimes make us warm? And we’re not talking about some slicked back James Dean or the guy in Misfits PPE. We’re talking about straight up military industrial complex, black site torture, for-profit CIA hijinx, the full front and back nine of bad feeling. Because that’s exactly the kind of bad this week’s book, Nothing To Fear by Juno Rushdan, manages to dress up for a night on the town. Our hero, Gideon Stone, is tasked with uncovering a mole in his deep state, Tom Clancy-esque, transcontinental murder-for-hire organization, Gray Box, before the whole operation is torn asunder. His chief suspect and our heroine, Willow Harper, is in his crosshairs for allegedly selling bio-agents on the black market, an act that’s surely grounds for termination. But as the real mole remains hidden in plain sight, Gideon will stop at nothing to keep Willow safe, even if it means dipping into his toolbox of grisly implements to extract the truth before it’s too late. Trigger warning: contains some descriptio

While we’re still not leaving the house, yr girls are giving the books a rest in favor of Romance on the silver screen. For this Whoa!nus, Morgan and Isabeau are revisiting their mutual childhood favorite and sleepover film par excellence, Romancing The Stone, directed by Robert Zemeckis. Joan Wilder (post-Body Heat Kathleen Turner) is a successful but cloistered Romance novelist, who embarks on a journey of treasure hunting and self-becoming set in motion by the murder of her brother-in-law. Travelling through Colombia, Joan links up with exotic bird trafficker and egotistical boating enthusiast, Jack T. Colton (pre-sex symbol Michael Douglas) to find a prize emerald, El Corazon. But the dreaded Colonel Zolo is on their heels, and will stop at nothing to claim El Corazon for himself. It’s a harrowing tale of adventure, discovery, the perfect smokey eye. This week's episode of Whoa!mance is brought to by "In To Her" by JA Huss. Available now at audible.comWhoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. H

As yr girls Morgan and Isabeau continue to shelter in place, stories of normal life - drinks in a cozy bar, dinner with a friend - are becoming just as titillating as the triumphs of our heroines. So imagine the excitement when Not The Girl You Marry by Andie J. Christopher was set in Chicago, with real life landmarks transported to the page like distant comforts. But the novel, which turns How To Lose A Guy In Ten Days on its head, is a not-so-friendly reminder that the “normal” we remember is still a funhouse mirror of patriarchal control. What makes a good ally? What role should believability play in a romantic fantasy? And aren’t we all just other girls? We may need a few more weeks indoors after this one y’all.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is an historic week y’all, for this is our final Boner. The ultimate rod. The closing chubby. That’s right, we’re going beyond the bone where no romance podcast has gone before, careening into the wild blue yonder to bring you: The Whoa!nus. Where it took plagues to discover gravity and write King Lear, our modern twist on the Black Death has generated untold megatons of creativity that bring you, dear listeners, the humble rebranding of our bonus episodes. And it is in this spirit of revision that yr girls Morgan and Isabeau are reaching back in this Whoa!nus to amend Whoa's and No's that don’t hold up in the face of time and memory. Dive into our inaugural Whoa!nus and see which bits of the Whoa!mance catalog are getting a well deserved tune up!Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As you know, we at Whoa!mance possess an undying reverence for yr grrl Jane (see JANEuary if you don’t), and we’re smitten with this own voices retelling of P&P. This week, Morgan and Isabeau escape to Toronto in Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, a modern Muslim twist on the Austen classic. Ayesha is an aspiring poet struggling to repay loans to her wealthy uncle, when her life collides with Khalid. While their styles and worldviews clash, there’s an unavoidable tug each feels toward the other. Can traditional and modern interpretations of Islam find a common ground of titilation? Are office dress codes tools of negation and oppression? What is the value of 100 marriage proposals if none begets a bride? This rendition may keep it sweet, but the stakes are high y’all.Whoa!mance is a part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.