Whoa!mance

When you call, Whoa!mance answers! A special listener recommended THE SECRET HEART by ERIN SATIE when we asked for weird books. So you KNOW we had to pick it up and lay it down.I guess you could say we felt similarly to Adam, Earl of Bexley, when he first sees Caro Small in her ballet smalls - intrigued and horny! Caro decides to take advantage and improve her circumstances by throwing them both on the assignation-to-wedding pipeline. Sure he's her best friend's better-to-do cousin, and sure he's an entrepreneur (barf) AND secret pugilist-she can deal. But when Caro finds HERSELF kicking her feet and smiling, it all gets complicated in a new way.What's the distinction between bad and unlikeable? How responsible are masc characters for their predilections? Is the general obsession with lady smallness eeking anybody else out?If you have a book you'd like us to discuss, hit yr grls up via our socials or whoamancemail@gmail.comAnd if you'd like to join us for a LIVE romantasy panel, go to otherworldtheatre.org Ho

Baby sisters ruin everything. Or in this case Lydia's antics seriously harsh the vibe of Pemberly and the folks enjoying the views of the woods, and the views of Darcy's adorable face.Is all hope now as lost as Lydia's virtue? Only time and a few more chapters will tell Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Quick Q - How whimsical are the jars you store your herbs in? Doesn't matter. Either way, Isabeau and Morgan are chatting IN CHARMS WAY by LANA HARPER.In the halcyon days of a Great Lakes region summer, Delilah's magically-caused memory loss (read: desperate circumstances) call for turning to blood magic and the help of sexy, gladiator-sandal-sporting, half-fae mercenary Catriona (read: desperate measures). But are their magical adventures mere illusion? Only two ways to find out! Reading the book or listening to this podcast.What can mend a righteous anger? How can romantasy ground a reader for maximum, magical effect? Is a rogue succubus just a tradwife (probably)?Want to join yr girls AND Lana Harper for a discussion of Romantasy? Get your tickets at https://www.otherworldtheatre.org/ for our panel March 23 @ 11am (feat. mimosa, ever heard of her?)Thank GODDESS we like this book, right? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Well Lizzie is back at Pemberly and this time she's joined by a former frenemy: Caroline Bingley. Caroline attempts some pretty petty quips and only hurts herself. We also learn that Darcy thinks Lizzie is one of the handsomest women of his aquaintance! Thank you so much Caroline. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Time to get cuffed - winter is upon us.Wynter of the Craig is the King of Wintercraig, and also a Weather Mage (guess what kind of weather he controls). Thamsin, a.k.a. Storm is a princess of Summerlea, and also a Weather Mage. They end up together for political reasons, but stay together for both-being-sexy reasons. But when the winds of magical evil and state-based evil converge against them, will they be able to weather the storm???Where is the line between romance and fantasy? Or fantasy and historicism? What is camp and does it translate to the necessarily warm feelings romance inspires? Do you know how chimneys work?Don your furriest loin cloth, this one is chill in a NOT chill way. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The soil of A Court of Thorns and Roses is rich, and from it bountiful fan theories bloom. At the dusk of reading the most recent installment, A Court of Silver Flames, for the podcast, and at the dawn of Cresecent City 3's release, yr erstwhile grls met to inhale the fragrance of and admire the colorful bloom from just such flowers. Moonbeams, owls, and that Ilyiad musical on TikTok all blossom in this conversation. Morgan even sprouts her own fan theory about the author.Spoilers abound, so make sure your caught up on our ACOTAR series episodes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

SARAH J. MAAS may have tried with A COURT OF SILVER FLAMES, but hasn't written one too long for us yet!Political wunderkind and human-turned-fae-by-mystical-creation-myth-cauldron Nesta is running from her problems in self-destructive ways. So her sister, her sister's mate, and her sister's mate's B-Fri's seclude her a mountain mansion until she can turn that frown upside down. The B-Fri in charge is Cassian, a bat-hunk who knows a thing or two about regret as well as tai chi as well as battle training, but is lacking in Diplomacy. I think you know where this is going. (A five page beej scene).How does the structure of a romance differ from a fantasy? And what are the nuances of both? What's going on with the portrayal of the Illyrians? WHERE IS THE THREESOME???Shoot us a rude gesture down the bond if you must, just make sure to listen first. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You know that feeling when your crush shows up and you want everything to go just right, and you want everyone in the room to think you're smart and funny? But you can't stop worrying that you're gonna put you're foot in your mouth so you spend the whole time like a ball of anxiety saying not that much at all and feeling really hot and bothered but not in a good way? Yeah no us neither. And not the dauntless Lizzie Bennet either....Are we all just a little bit Mrs. Bennet? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We did it y'all. Lizzie and Darcy meet back up at his place. It's so embarrassing. It was an accident. He was sweaty. She was nervous. His housekeeper is really into giving him compliments. Big feels. Big fiz. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're adjusting a rearview to take in a (disappointing) spreadsheet and share our objective data and subjective views on the texts and discussions from the Whoa!mance feed in 2023.What are our In/Outs and Resos for the year ahead? How did we live up to our own hopes for 2023? Glenn Howell???? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this chapter Lydia is gone, relative calm returns to Longbourne house and the narrator gets contemplative on the conjugal felicity of Mr and Mrs Bennet or rather the horrific lack apparently. IS this a romance or a buildings roman? You decide, dear reader. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this chapter Lizzie confronts her dad about Lydia's reckless flirtations and too frivolous behavior. She really tries to get dear ole dadio not to let Lydia go to Brighton. But Pops does not see it Lizzie's way and Lizzie refuses to be more honest about her fears and concerns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ho! ho! ho no. This eppy, yr grls go whatever the opposite of carolling is about - Christmas Masquerade: A Pride & Prejudice Intimate Variation by Vivien NorvilleLizzie and Darcy (who you know...) are spending their first Christmas together and Darcy is BLOWING it. Or wait, Lizzie is blowing it? Honestly, no one is getting blown. When did the public opinion pendulum swing from sweet to spicy? Is self-publishing the field from which we must harvest the bitter oats sown by celebrating ROI and SEO instead of the HEA as Romance's primary virtue? Is it just a conifer?This Christmas, get duped by Capitalism. Again! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane and Lizzie finally get a chance alone to go over everything that has happened. Namely 1) Mr Darcy proposed like and ass but maybe isn't one? and 2) Wickham is the worst person on planet earth.Jane tries to have it both ways and Lizzie has none of it.And is Mrs Bennet a secret proto feminist? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this stunner of a chapter we again find ourselves in a carriage, but this time it's with the sisters fully reunited and on their way to Longborne. There's a hat box, a question of who paid for lunch and a lot of charm oozing from that youngest and potentially worst/best Bennet sister: Lydia. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Full of the unsought advice of relatives? Ready to be at home with your actual favs and your comfy pants? Lizzie Bennet is too, y'all. Join this female main character on one more annoying carriage ride as she escapes her cousin Mr. Collins' tender and slightly belligerent farewells. Ready to hear us dish on writers and commenters--desperate goobers full of anxiety or blindly confident weirdos? We're serving hot takes only with this post holiday bonus! Get home safe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You traveling this holiday? Lizzie Bennet too. Got relatives telling you which highways and byways and coaching inns are best? Yr girl Liz is in the same spot. Turns out time is a flat circle, and some chickens come home to roost sooner than others.Or in this case blindspots about dads.Enjoy your holidays! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the thrilling conclusion to our Western Civ I, we tackle shame. Shameless or shameful, shame has a utility. Is it worth examining in the context of romance? You betcha buckaroo. Saddle up while we unpack this particular pair of chaps. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why, it's Andrea Martucci of Shelf Love stopping by the Whoa!mance desk to talk about darling of her childhood, weird uncle of her adulthood - A LADY OF THE WEST by LINDA HOWARD. Victoria leaves Reconstruction behind for The American West, and, its representative, The Major (with her kid sister and cool cousin in tow). The Major got his ranch the old fashioned way. By murdering his boss's enitre family - or so he thinks - and loosing a testicle in the process. His employee, Jake, also wants to get the ranch the old fashioned way - but with a side of revenge. And Victoria. Mostly Victoria. He also doesn't want to lose a testicle.How can we wrestle with a book we enjoy that has harmful ideology? How can we trace the contours of conscientiousness if characters in romance don't share the text's awareness? Is Scarlett O'Hara the white woman's Patrick Bateman?Andrea, Morgan and Isabeau have some big saddlebags to unpack with this one. Which is why it is a two-parter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more