We wrap up this adorable series with Ben and Eleanora and we were both thoroughly charmed.

Our version of spooky season continues with "Mated to My Ex." We usually like Kate Prior's social commentary, but she goes a different route with this one. Laine is grossed out, but Laine has insufficient exposure to wolf stuff.

We were completely charmed by this contemporary vampire rom-com. I know! Who am I?

We start off spooky season with Laine cackling like a witch with glee at how absurd this book is.

This book makes you FEEL how precarious the characters' lives are (credit to Meg). Apparently it's less steamy than her usual fare, but it's definitely doing something new. That thing is just kinda stressful for Laine.

I cannot get the name of this book right for the life of me, but it's so good I need to figure it out.

Alex and Meg wrap up this series with a bang!

Meg and Laine try a new author, though this book was too short for us to draw any conclusions. If you've seen this book advertised as steamy, that is incorrect.

Ok look. We can't stay on topic to save our lives and we end up talking more about our platonic ideal of a romance novel. In short: this book is good. We want their to be a way to understand what open door means to each author so we have reasonable expectations.

Meg has fond feelings about this 90s-tastic Kleypas, and Laine read it for the first time. It brought us both joy, just in different ways.

Meg and Alex are joined by Sarah Wendell to discuss the final book in the Vorkosigan Saga.

Delphine Roy deals with some themes that are not our favorite, but does seem aware of the difficulty and makes some fun choices within a very not fun context. Mind the trigger warnings here for sure.

MacLean really nails the prose as she goes full medieval. We liked it.

Meg and Alex are joined by Kelsea Yu to spend most of the episode talking about the ending of this book.

Good news! This book was wayyyyy less problematic than the first in the series, in that it was not problematic at all.

There are many things to enjoy about this book and a ton of well developed B plots. Maybe too many, but we could have looked beyond that if all the talk of erotica had lived up to the hype. As such, we liked this, but didn't love it.

Meg loved this, Laine didn't, so maybe don't start here if you're new to SciFi?

Meg and Alex are joined by Jim Butcher to discuss Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, which TBH sounds like a romp.

Laine isn't a bird person and apparently Meg isn't a this book person, so we struggled a bit here.

This series keeps getting more and more bonkers. There are moments of fun, but we untimately had trouble connecting with the characters.

This book might be quintessential Milan. She deals with real issues with a lot of ressonance today in a way that is still so true to the Romance novel genre. This one is definitely on the angsty side, but bit really plays with the expected.

Meg and Alex are joined by Yoon Ha Lee to discuss Diplomatic Immunity.

Torie is basically the best and Dominic is... trying, but in a way we both REALLY enjoyed.

Alexandra Vasti's first full-length novel is here and we stan it almost as hard as Peter stans Selina.

We asked Eloisa James to join us for a discussion of one of the tropes in her new book, and she said yes! We touch on so many topics, but it was fascinating to get an author's take on how romance evolves with the times. Thank you, Elosia!

Meg and Alex have paired the Ekaterin Vorkosigan novellas, and they are definitely Ekaterin defenders.

We both had expectations for this seasonally-appropriate novella, which was probably a mistake.

To be honest, we were both nervous about this book, but Lydia Lloyd stunned us both in the best way possible. Fake rakes are our favorite rakes, and this is a second chance romance we can both get behind.

Ok real talk, this book was inevitably going to suffer by comparison to "The Undertaking of Hart and Mercy" becuase that book was surprising and perfection. It it fair? no. Did we appreciate the risks taken? yes. Are we ready for Rosie? Yes.

Listening to this episode had me rereading the Lord Peter Wimsey books, if you're wondering how much of the conversation is about the dedication and comedies of manners and romance. The episode is celebration that works out way better than Miles' dinner party.

It's our favorite time of year: Lady Sherlock Time

We talk for.... a while about season 3 of Bridgerton.

We both adored this book. It's perfectly feel good and exactly what we want from a romance. Can something spiritually have a virgin here even if he's not a virgin?

Alex and Meg are joined by Everina Maxwell to discuss the meet cute? of Miles and Ekaterin and the plot. But mostly Miles and Ekaterin.

We've reached the Ali Hazelwood singularity and we are here for it.

Usually spies do it for us but this book wouldn't have done it for us on that alone. Instead, the ending! The ending absolved so much.

Meg and Laine were both super intrigued by this book but omg is it visceral. Perfect execution; Meg cried and Laine was waiting to get punched, which is not what we generally expect from Romance novellas.

Meg and Alex are joined by Jill Tew to discuss a Vorkosigan novel without any Vorkosigans in it.

Henry is very put upon! Georgina is too mouthy for governessing! They figure it out!

Laine and Meg once again read Romantasy. Meg is glad they aren't teenagers, Laine has questions.

Charis writes fairy tales so well, and Laine wasn't even annoyed by the kids. This is the kind of living in a cave we can get behind.

Alix Harrow joins Alex and Meg to discuss Memory: the transition book between young Miles and Lord Vorkosigan.

None of us can remember the name of Sarah's hometown so we just call it Grover's Corners, which is fitting given how forgettable she is as a character. We also didn't recall how much of this book was threats of sexual violence. We had a great time recording, but make no promises as to your listening experience.

This books plays with using characters with anachronistically modern world views in a recognizable historical romance set up. Like it or don't, it's all very deliberate.

We're far enough into Susanna Craig that the appearance of characters from past series is a delight! We both really enjoyed this spin on the actor and his critic, and the low stakes found us both in the right moment.

Jo Walton joins Meg and Alex to discuss Mirror Dance. Come for the clones, stay for the amnesia.

We're back with more sentient space dildos! Meg loves virgins and Laine needs some innovation.

This series continues to impress, even when exploring our less-enjoyed tropes.

This book just did a lot of things right. It struck a balance: well researched without being explosive, a slow burn that knew how to incorporate early heat, and a dramatic set up but two characters who communicate.

Meg and Alex are joined by Olivia Waite to discuss this entry in the Vorkosigan saga. Is there a more fun way to represent issues of a fractious identity than clones?

Katherine Grant always impresses us with the diversity of experiences she puts in her romances. Both of us enjoyed reading this! Meg had a lot of thoughts on Persuasion and was into it, Laine thought the reality was a little TOO real to be sexy.

We are officially Sarah MacLean completionists with this book. We are NOT fans of this couple, but it was very fun to see how far MacLean has come.

This is a very promising debut, especially on the hot tamale scale. We just couldn't get over the hero's lack of conviction and making out with her cousin.

Meg and Alex are joined by Katherine Addison, author of the Goblin Emperor, to discuss Cetaganda. For a romp, there's quite a bit of social and political commentary.

Is this the biggest disagreement ever on plot trysts?

The title is meant to be Not!Jeopardy reference, but even though we loved this book all I can think is "baby don't hurt me."

We (reasonably IMO) expected a sex book. This was NOT a sex book.

We interrupt your usual Naismith/Vorkosigan family hijinks to explore some speculative, old-school SciFi. What if a planet inhabited only by men ran out of ova? One intrepid scientist must even *gasp* speak to a woman to find a solution!

This is a bite-sized good time, even if neither of us can articulate more than "it was fun and we figured out the mystery too soon so there should have been more sex."

This book really takes some chances and explored new-to-us things in Romance. We liked it overall, but if we're being honest Thorne's way of... taking control... is what really sold us here.

I think this is the closest we've ever come to grading on a curve. Is this good? No? Did it have potential that Sarah MacLean later realized. YES.

Max Gladstone joins Meg and Alex for a deep dive into three novellas. Buckle up! Start - Mountains of Mourning; 25 Minutes - Labyrinth; 65 Minutes - Borders of Infinity.

This book is neither hinged nor unhinged. It was fun, but we like the extremes.

This novella is a perfect standalone, and you should read it. However, it is the last book in a series, which made us sad, even though we wouldn't change anything about this book.

If you haven't yet, go sign up for Alexandra Vasti's newsletter. You get free gems like this seriously perfect novella. A plot AND sex scenes? Sign us up.

Meg and Alex are joined by R.E. Stearns to discuss the next book in Miles' coming of age journey. Given the social status of the main characters in this series, the social and political dynamics of being powerful and isolated are a focus of conversation.

If we didn't know better, we'd say Olivia Dade plumbed the recesses of our minds to produce Meg's platonic ideal of a sexy book and Laine's nightmares in book form. But with monster porn!

If you criticize Sunny, Meg will fight you. Just an FYI.

Ali Hazelwood breaks away from science contemporary into paranormal romance. A lot of her go-to tropes really worked for us here! Laine got a crash course in werewolf sub tropes that broke her.

Meg and Alex are joined by Lynn Buchanan to introduce the Miles-focused part of the series. So many characters get new framing from Miles's perspective that the discussion focuses a lot on character study.

This was a really tough one for us. On the one hand, West and Sophie have great banter and a series worth of feelings to work through. On the other hand, West is perfect and Sophie is very unforgivably mean to him.

Verify finally figured out who her phantom is! And he's hot! But he's also busy saving England. Is this book great? No. Is it the best in the series? Yes.

College sweethearts go on tour when one of them gets super famous writing about the breakup. Excellent concept, we were iffy on some of the execution but had fun!

Meg and Alex are joined by Aliette de Bodard for an in-depth discussion of Barrayar. Long live Cordelia.

This modern take on Dangerous liaisons charmed both of us. Who knew hide and seek could be so sexy?

This book is fun and charming and cute. However, be prepared that (for a book about a sex bet) it's very tame.

We really loved the unapologetic incorporation of a sexually active heroine, and if anyone knows anything about those pearls, hit us up.

Meg is joined by Alexandra Vasti for a new limited series in which they will dive into the Vorkosigan saga by Lois McMaster Bujold with a new guest host each week. This week, Elizabeth Everett joins them to discuss the foundation of the Vorkosigan series, Shards of Honor. How much did the cold war impact this book? How sexy are experienced heroes? Is this a Romance?

We bought this one completely, from the conflict to the love story. Maybe the ending was unbelievably sweet, but that's a good thing.

Look, this was an adorable book with a fun concept but the official rating is G.

Hypothetically a virgin widow crime fighter getting with the heir is a plot we can get behind. The specifics of this one, however, left something to be desired for us.

We kick off the new year with an adorable and sexy novella that understands sometimes you just need two hot people and weather-related forced proximity.

Meg and Laine agree that this book does its thing very well and that there is significantly more attention paid to one character's development. We disagree about whether or not that makes for an enjoyable read.

Stephanie Laurens doesn't know how to write less than 300 pages and even when there's nary a whiff of plot to be found, we can't spend less than 40 minutes talking about it.

The good: well executed, sexy, and a total breath of fresh air. The Laine has notes: It is December and there was nary a Christmas carol to be found.

This is a novella about a Christmas sex cabin. It was so good, but we struggled to stay on topic when discussing

If you can deeply internalize the expectation that this will be very short and closed door, everything in this novella is perfect. If you hear the words "virgin hero" and start salivating, that's kinda hard to do.

Add this to the list of books we didn't think would work for us, but totally did! Everything that's usually annoying to us was charming. Maybe that's the meaning of Christmas?

A boy band member trying to rehabilitate his image with a Christmas movie is shocked but not appalled when his new costar is his favorite porn star. Meg loved it, Laine liked it, and it was VERY Christmas.

This cute newsletter novella scratched Laine's Christmas itch, but Meg struggled with some hamfisted Christmas hijinks. We both enjoyed the sex vacation.

We wanted to like this "rival archeologist" book very much, but the male main character is nothing like Lord Ingram or Rupert, so we struggled.

This episode went a little off the rails. We remain charmed by glimmer falls and enjoyed this new twist on an amnesia romance.

Happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy our unhinged outtakes and random discussions.

We really struggled to review this book! It was really fun and really sexy, but the characters were inconsistent and the plot was hard to follow. We both really enjoyed reading it, but sound like we didn't when talking about it.

Laine found this to be the perfect balance of zany and sincere. Meg had trouble suspending disbelief. Laine 's started a countdown to Christmas.

The perfect newsletter novella makes you want to read more by the author, and this achieves this in spades. It doesn't reinvent "falling for the wrong brother" in exactly the right way, and the heroine manages to be believably young but also not the worst.

Meg felt many things while reading this book, including devastation that the important scientific work of so many women was lost to history. Laine thought it was super sexy and fun. YMMV.

Moral of the story: all half-Scottish people are queer

This is a platonic ideal of a romance novella! Virgin hero, Christmas, and a whole lot of acted-on lust.

Harriet has needed a best friend for a long time: me. Chow might not be as useful as an honest friend over brunch, but he does keep her from making a colossal mistake twice.

We were so excited for this new release by Courtney Milan and it didn't disappoint! The couple was totally adorable even if their personal ethics didn't always point north.

This is a Christmas novel and it is perfect.

This book charmed both of us in different ways. Meg with touching emotional scenes and Laine with WTFery

We remain suckers for this series that is equal parts monster romance and office satire. Is capitalism getting you down? At least you're not at a mandatory off site corporate retreat while in heat.

We were very charmed by this debut novella that taught us we don't hate miscommunication when there isn't supposed to be a prior relationship built on trust and affection. Who knew?

Gambling hell owner and suddenly-legitimized duke's will inevitably have a lot of issues that gently bred but down on their luck women can solve.

We really like books in which the couple is on the same side but there are realistic circumstances keeping them apart. We loved this book.

In which we say the word "dildo" enough times that it loses all meaning.

Apologies because neither Laine nor Meg can keep family relationships straight when discussing this one. Dude who expects to get his family castle back finds out it's been gifted to a random American. Would have been normal inheritance shenanigans if it didn't take miscommunication to a whole new level.

A perfect closed-door screwball romance?? Who are we??

This novella is the latest entry in the Preston series and it was a lot of fun packed into very few pages. We enjoyed it, though it was surprisingly hard to keep from spoiling what happened during the episode.

The Wynchesters are at it again, but this time "at it" means Marjorie spends 10 hours in a room with a super hot dude just... talking.

This book is super heavy on the Pretty Woman references. Laine missed all of them.

Parts of this book are very fun and then a major spoiler/twist happens and we stopped having any fun at all, but the main characters weren't having any fun either. Meg is still personally victimized by chess.

Ok, so there's a secret society of lords who are sworn to protect the monarch (think Kingsman, but only 4 of them) and one of them is pretending to be a treasonous bastard to catch a bad guy, but he gets hit by a flying wasps nest because this girl is cursed so they have to get married. YEAH, we had fun.

Meg and Laine disagree, for those of you who see that as a selling point! Meg thought this was a book that exceeded her expectations. Laine is an old codger telling Cassie to get off her lawn.

This book has a ton of potential and we're definitely going to be reading what comes next from Lydia Lloyd. Did we have some minor and major quibbles? Yes. The friends seem kinda irredeemable. Did we have a good time overall? Also yes, very much.

Meg has very strong opinions on the right kind of starchy hero learning to question authority. Laine just likes it when badass women get a stoic dude hot under the collar.

Vasti has done it again with another pitch perfect novella. This time Laine is head over heels while these two romp through London deciding that announcing they're married is fine in the effort to annul their unintentional marriage. It's sexy and perfect and don't worry about it.

The prequel novella takes place entirely within one day (other than the prologue and epilogue of course) and we we so very charmed by that, and the events of the book. If you're looking for a quick read with a lot of heat, we highly recommend this. Just don't think to hard about Forever Your Rogue while reading it.

Darcy gets taken in by this great employer who pays well but everyone warns her about him, and she concludes it is quite possible he kills people. She decides he's too hot and into her for her to fret over a little thing like murder. We are not the intended audience for gothic romance, apparently.

I think four protagonists in a polycule is just too many to give each character and relationship the depth it requires to be compelling. Meg argued this book is a point of transition for the series, which is fair. However, it seems to be transitioning into more "weird politicking" and less "hot avatars of Greek Gods getting it on" so do with that what you will.

Buckle up people, because this book is B.A.N.A.N.A.S. There are a ton of terrible ideas with no consequences. and convincing yourself that your brother's widow giving you a hand job (while believing you're her husband) (because you're pretending to be him) is for HER benefit is the king of dick logic that makes us lol.

If you can't make the BFF you've been in love with fall in love with you in Italy, where can it happen? This is basically both of the main characters' plan. Yes, we loved it.

We really loved this entry into the palace of rogues series, and not just because it spends so much time with old favorite characters. Not you, Delacourt.

Secret pen pals meet in real life but don't know it, because she's THE secret author of erotic poetry trying to overcome her family's scandalous reputation. We liked it and think the author has a ton of potential.

We both really loved this book even though there are some elements and themes that aren't usually our favs.

This heroine is a working courtesan and the hero is the stereotypical second son meant for the clergy. The set up and the twist were both extremely unique. Meg took a while to read this one but ultimately enjoyed it. Laine was mostly frustrated that the characters weren't smarter.

This series about exiled French royalty is going to be right up our alley. It was less fluffy than we've come to expect from Michaels, but it was super enjoyable.

We say a goodbye, at least for now, to the Ice Planet Barbarians series with this review of Barbarian's Mate. There are a lot of themes here that we've already seen in this series, but this one introduces a slow burn. Given these books are about sentient dildos, we were not expecting that.

Are the hero and his friends a little too historically-accurate gross and misogynistic? Yes. Did we have a lot of fun? Also yes.

If you love Lorraine Heath, please tell us which of her books are a must-read and skip this episode. Meg and Laine just didn't get these characters or their choices or why they were having sex? I know, blasphemy.

We did not expect this story about a widow using an old friend who'd never grown up to retain custody of her kids would be scorchingly hot. But it was.

This book hit allllll of the right notes for us. There's communication, a believable conflict, and a ton of palpable sexual tension.

I think I could smell jelly shoes while reading this book. Welcome to 1998.

This novella is so feel-good and adorable, and packed way more 🌶️ than we were expecting! With a unique and real sense of setting, we both really liked it!

We really loved this book, Jack is the best hero she's ever written. The tropes here are pretty close to the first two books, but she really does something new with them here! We're hoping for some new situations with her next book, because topping this one would be really hard.

Oh no, these two people who are extremely hot for each other are forced into constant close proximity to keep him from marrying her daughter! Whatever will they do?

You'd think a book about two people stuck on a deserted island waiting for rescue would be stressful, but this one isn't at all. Caro and Max know their friends and family are fine and rescue is coming, so they get to focus on more important things. We liked it.

Camille finally gets her happily ever after and it involves a sex bargain! That sex is largely spent recovering from past trauma, which works for 50% of plot trysts.

Yasmin is a BAMF who has overcome a ton to become both sassy and likable. Giles is a wet noodle.

This short and sweet contemporary romance hit the spot for both of us! A total potato chip read, if you need something for a plane or beach!

Unexpected road trips and a fantastic epilogue made this a fun read, if you can handle a lack of communication as the central conflict.

"What Happens in the Carriage House" would have been a more accurate title.

Sometimes you just need a book where nothing bad happens and everyone is a good person just trying their best. This is that book.

This excellent debut novel has a ton of sexual tension and smart people, which we appreciated, even if their decisions stressed Laine out.

This book has so many trigger warnings and yet is also exceptionally hot? This is pretty much the whole book.

The best way for a man to beg forgiveness when he left you at the altar is to 1) actually grow up and 2) provide multiple organisms.

As promised, we rank all 15 of these books. We felt very differently about this series overall, but the important parts were unanimous.

Is it a man who has always worked for the system and begins to question the system? Are Meg and Laine trash? You bet.

Penvale and Jane agree to get married because they both love the same house, but Jane's hoping she can live in it solo. In excellent romance novel form, she realizes being with Penvale might be better than being alone, but we wish the realization process had been less ambiguously frightening and more explicitly f... More explicit.

We read a dino book, you guys. It was a whole thing (but also not as strange as we were ready for).

We end Maiden Lane with the least angst-y Hoyt ever? There are only three content warnings! Worth it for the reunion at the end alone.

Ana Maria is super into this dude but she's engaged to someone else and she's too much trouble for him. The first 70% of the book is described by the jacket, so if it sounds interesting it will be exactly what you expect.

Sophie Jordan has some serious magic powers, because we both loved this dark book with a ton of infidelity because it was hot and fun?

You know we love a competent man who learns quickly. Eli learns sex for Maria.

Welp. We finished Maiden Lane and have some THOUGHTS. Spoilers abound because there is so much trauma.

This novel was super delightful! There was a lot of romance novel hijinks and some very heavy issues but the book managed to have so much levity and fun without every feeling dark or angsty. It's not deep, but it's a great time.

Contemporary workplace romance isn't usually our thing, but we really liked these characters!

This book is an absolute joy. We always love Lady Sherlock, but Ingram and Charlotte trapped on a boat is everything we didn't know we needed.

Laine and Meg really enjoyed this feel good, cross-class romance! A fluffy, fun, quick read!

We loved how many unconventional things Katherine Grant does in this book, but damn Irish history is depressing.

We're apparently on a monster romance in a normal world kick, and this entry is really fun! Our biggest discussion centered around how annoying it is to have individuals in delayed adolescence due to personal wealth giving a critique of capitalism, but he's a demon so it's not like that was the most unrealistic thing.

Laine and Meg really enjoyed this contemporary romance! The characters felt centered in a way that made us believe in the absurd conflict, and we loved all of the references to sci-fi and fantasy. Check this one out!

Maiden Lane continues to be fluffy, low angst, easy reading *sarcasm ends here*. Kyle and Alf are both very cool characters who maybe don't have the most chemistry? Idk, I'm dreading the next one.

Laine and Meg really enjoyed the latest from Joanna Lowell about a hipster who cultivated his aesthetic for the cred and a girl who's never before felt "seen". Except historical. And they're both awesome. And there's a lot of art.

We are so excited to finally release this episode and are so proud of the union! This book is an awesome return to Avon, and it gave us a lot to talk about. We both loved this book, but it prompted interesting conversations about where we require realism.in our romance novels and how much fan culture we can take.

You know we love talking romance novels, so getting to talk meta analysis of romance novels within a romance novel might be our favorite thing. If you were also fascinated by the moment in time when 50 Shades of Grey took over romance, this BDSM romance critique of that book will be super fun.

Laine and Meg both really enjoyed the main couple here, with Cassandra's attitude and Apollo's bossiness working extremely well in tandem. We're left with a lot of unanswered questions about the wider plot, but is that really the point?

This Novella is quick and fun, but after so many books of build up we were mostly surprised that Hippolyta Royle is resolved with so little fanfare. It's quick and fun ... and over before you know it.

Divorce is hard. It was even harder in 19th century England. Freedom comes at a price, and may require resisting your husband's very hot friend.

This book is WILD. Val is less morally ambiguous than totally unhinged, which was a unique reading experience to say the least.

Alexandra Vasti is doing some really interesting things with this series. You know we love independent women, and one who illustrates sex pamphlets is hella fun. This Novella packs a lot more in than the first, which sometimes felt like too much. Overall, we really enjoyed it and look forward to whatever she puts out next.

We change it up this week with Meg explaining a book to Laine. It is the mark of an excellent friendship when one of you can tell the other to skip a book, and neither one questions the judgment.

If a massive size difference in a monster romance is your sexy sweet spot, you'll probably love this book. Meg and Laine could have used more corporate satire and criticism of capitalism in our romance, but maybe we're the only ones.

The third entry in this series was written specifically for Meg. Rupert Carsington is a virgin hero.

Contemporary monster romance isn't usually our ish, but the corporate satire, not to mention the mysteries of the hero's body (like what form is it), kept us both super engaged. Unique, funny, and utterly weird in the best way.

Meg (a lifetime Phantom fangirl) and Laine (a Phantom newb) both really loved this modern, gender-swapped, Phantom of the Opera retelling. Very sexy, very funny, and very tongue in cheek, this checked all of our boxes.

Laine and Meg explain the serious change in audio quality, discuss things we love, and discuss some of the Bridgerton leaks

Laine and Meg talk about sexy consent, sexy violence, and our lines when it comes to sexual violence in romance.

This teaser novella definitely has us excited for Craig's new series! Yes, we are suckers for a low-angst book between adults who know what they want.

Kate Bateman doesn't know the meaning of the word "enemy" but she does know exactly how to write sexy and low angst romance.

This Novella about a best friend and a little sister hooking up after their shared loss gets off to a very cute start with a very sexy hot tub of potential. Sadly, the novella ends before anything can really get going.

This Novella is absolutely adorable and angst free, if a bit lacking in traditional Christmas tropes. Taking a triple dose of a love potion should only be done under supervision.

Elizabeth Hoyt's take on Christmas is exactly what you'd expect. Equal measures of sex and angst with a smattering of Christmas cheer.

Can the dungeons and dragons morality scale explain our taste in romance heroes? We do our best to explore that in this episode, while talking about the contrast between sexy love stories in angsty world building in this book.

We finish out the Love is All Around Trilogy with this adaptation of A Christmas Carol. There are some interesting concepts to explore in this one and we definitely appreciated the lack of infertility drama. TBH it isn't all that Christmas-y and the length means some of those interesting concepts can't be fully explored.

St. Stephen is not St. Nicholas and thus we are not moved by the spirit of Christmas in this Novella.

Meg picked this up because the idea of a Christmas novella based on Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer seemed fun. Not only is it fun, it's also sexy and innovative. Happy Holidays!

Changing things up this week with a Christmas novel featuring the bromance book club. This book is so much fun and we both enjoyed it a bunch. Laine hates bathrooms, Meg thought Colton was pushy, but overall this is a festive romp.

Laine and Meg kick off Holiday Novella season with this entry from Courtney Milan. Milan managed to include a lot of detail and characters in a way that totally works. The themes are a bit darker than we're used to for the holidays, but the love story is as sweet as you expect.

We both think this book is a fitting cherry on top of the London Steampunk sundae. Alexandra gets her happy ending and the gang gets back together one more time. If you want a quick, feel-good read about the humans surrounded by vampires, you'll enjoy it!

Meg and Laine talk about childhood chess trauma, how to do tropes well (hint: this book is the answer), and good secondary characters.

Bec McMaster certainly knows how to end a series. We face the existential crisis of being older than all of our heroines while relishing in the hate sex. DUH

Laine and Meg squeal over this perfect book. It's third in the Lady Sherlock series, but first in our hearts. Somehow we keep this spoiler free, so listen and prepare for the Art of Theft coming October 2019.

This novella took us both by surprise with just how great it was. Flawless execution, next time please add more baths.

This little novella asks the question, "what if there were all of the tropes?" And we liked the answer. Thanks, 2012 Tumblr.

Meg and Laine talk about hulking dudes, dirty talk, and big, thick Minotaurs.

This very angsty series gets an infusion of fluff with Lark and Charlie. The change of pace was very fun, as was the setting! Did we follow all aspects of the plot? We did not, but we also didn't mind.

We really enjoyed the setting and the romance in this ghostly love story. There was some angst, but not a ton of it was driven by the relationship which we always enjoy. Warning: Meg has a new mic and Laine hasn't gotten hers yet for this episode. The contrast is noticeable.

The sequel to His Mistress by Morning is romance novel x Blade. It was a lot of fun!

Laine and Meg found the perfect sexy fun historical with minimal agnst and depth and then spend the episode talking about Freud, feminism, and the historical purpose of vanity. We promise it's fluffy, sexy, and fun.

Maximus Batman... I mean Batten, is such a raging Alphahole. Meg and Laine debate whether is this entertaining or frustrating, but we both think the book as a whole is fun regardless.

Honestly we don't even know how to start describing this book even though we loved it a lot. It's like a more macabre "Hating Game" meets "Pushing Daisies" but with zombies? IDK just read it.

We kick off spooky season with the second book in Brotherhood of Blood (aka they're vampires). Plus to the second entry: no cancer. There are some OTT fun moments here, but ultimately we wish our heroine had stayed a bit more sassy and independent.

Laine has never been more shocked to hear there was controversy over a book, so we'll spare you the click-bait: we liked it, it was cute.

Sometimes you need to go back to basics, which we do with this tropetastic, sexy, and perfectly executed historical.

Everyone should be warned going into this that it's not Historical Romance in the way we've all come to expect from Enoch. Her character development remains incredibly strong, but the plot of this one made it difficult to enjoy.

Barbarian Mine deliberately goes back to whatever passes for basics in this universe. Neither of us were prepared for how gross that would be.

Dang, we both have a lot of ways to say "this book is just ok, have you read Thief of Shadows?"

The third Hathaway book may have a lackluster romance, but the sibling interactions are so good we can't recommend skipping it.

Meg liked this a bit more than Laine, but we're both convinced the author hasn't been to Maryland and we were distracted by the way certain things were depicted. The love story would have been better with his perspective, because he came off as in love with the idea of the girl rather than the person.

This book takes a lot of tropes we don't like, including student/teacher romance, but executes them in a way we couldn't help but enjoy. There's a lot going on in this book, which sometimes comes at the expense of the relationship, but a scorcher of a sex scene very much works to assure readers Olive and Adam have it bad for one another.

This book was impossible to put down and perfectly paced. The heat was indulgent in the best possible way and we're loving where Sarah MacLean is taking this series.

We've been waiting for Sesily and Caleb's book since 2017 you guys. While we might have wanted a little more on-page romancing, the on-page sexing more than kept our attention. We're also really excited for the upcoming books in the series, so this is definitely one to read!

Spies? Check. Very very very sexy? Very very very check.

We loved this series and enjoyed both (all three of?) couples in this finale, but ultimately felt like everything was very rushed. We're sad to say goodbye to all of these characters so soon, but look forward to what Craig does next!

Meg and Laine talk about virgin heroes, the naivety of Lois Lane, and the appropriate use of gritty origin stories (Laine attests they should not be brought up during a sex interlude).

The Wynchester series is the best at funny sibling dynamics but this one fell a bit short for us in the romance department. YMMV, but we needed a bit more heat and bonding between the romantic pairing.

We step outside of our historical romance wheelhouse into erotic historical romance. Vale deftly uses tropes to get to the sex as fast as possible, which is necessary when the heroine is seducing two men at once.

Throughout our convo, one thing kept coming up: this book is perfectly executed. It leans into plenty of romance novel tropes while throwing others right on their head and resists the obvious path. We were very very charmed by this story and definitely recommend it.

We remain trash for fairytale retellings in general and Charis Michaels specifically.

We're loving this series of secondary-character-focused fairytale retellings. The Peter Pan bits were super fun, but what we really loved was the chemistry between the main characters... And ok the spying.

This book is a huge departure for the Preston series, starring a Preston who isn't an ethical consumer or a socialist. A lot of this book challenged us as readers and you know it didn't shy away from how messy/gross society can be or the sexiness... And how messy/gross sex (and it's repercussions) can be.

We really really liked this love story and the worldbuilding in this one. Man goes undercover in hopes of ruining a woman's family but falls for her instead? Yes, please. Add in a carriage hookup and you KNOW we enjoyed this.

This book is... A LOT. Meg and Laine disagree about some of the finer points, but on the whole it vacillates between a fun ride and a lot of trauma.

This book has a LOT going on. Even though it's the second in the series it goes back in time for several chapters of set up, there's a weird murder doctor love triangle that serves no purpose, and the pairings from book 1 and book 4 in the series get a lot of time on page. There is also a sex cabin that is a significant portion of the book and absolves all sins and you should totally read this.

This book is a total fantasy. Rich dude who desperately wants to spend his money? Check. Incredible chemistry? Check. Dude who solves all problems so his lover can sleep in? Check. Yeah, we liked this.

This whole episode is one big content warning filled with spoilers. Blue aliens have sex and this invented universe sadly has many of the same hangups as ours.

This low angst, high fun read was exactly what we both needed this week, even if we can't agree on how time works.

Content warnings abound in this one, and to avoid sounding like a broken record Laine resorts to song.

Is boxing sexy? Do you dream of sex on a boat? How do brothels work? Meg and Laine discuss these and other pressing questions in our review of this very fun, very sexy book.

Laine and Meg talk about fairy tales, BEEF, and beefcakes.

We are very sorry if this is your favorite Maiden Lane because it is not ours. The groundwork for the rest of the series, however, is excellent. Goodness knows we dig Harte's Folly!

We're joined by Kat from Page Rage to discuss the DC Bridgerton experience and chat season 2. If you hang around after the sign off, you'll also hear a lot about Robert Pattinson.

Marian and Rob are pretty much perfect for each other in every way, and the found-family HEA definitely put a smile on our faces. There's not much plot here, especially given most of the important stuff went down in the first book, but it's a fun, fluffy read with an excellent beginning.

This is the kind of mess we are totally here for. Was it perfect? No but also yes. As long as you can get past the extremely tenuous connection to the mythology this is a whole lot of fun.

There was a ton of promise in this series starter! Sometimes the exposition overwhelmed the romance, but when the romance was the focus, we were very onboard and we loved the unique setting, even if we wanted more Paris.

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Look, these families are terrible at feuding with one another but very good at f***ing one another. We can't complain. Totally admit this book has a bit of a rocky start, but in the end we both really liked this architect and daring society darling.

A+ concept, which made it so disappointing when the ending took a hard left into general misunderstanding. This is, however, all kinds of sexy, which we liked.

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Sabrina Jeffries's new series kicks off with a woman who saved herself with her sisters and a guy who never thought he'd inherit. It's tropey and fun, if lacking in heat.

We kick off our deep dive into Maiden Lane with... the beginning. Lazarus and Temperance felt secondary to world building, but Hoyt delivers on hotness and tragedy, if that's your thing.

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Gemma is exactly our kind of heroine, so we were both a bit bummed that this book ended up doing more for the wider plot of the series than the main couple. Bec McMaster's books are always fun, but this book really wanted us to care about people and relationships that didn't have enough backstory to warrant the emotional payoff. Gemma is a BAMF and she deserved a guy who would actually go down on her instead of faking us out with a thigh bite.

This one is a modern take on the "corrupting a priest" thing. Neither we nor the book could overlook the church's systemic abuse, which made some of the reading difficult and not sexy. The titular priest isn't super great about resisting temptation, but the resulting sex all over the church is creative but should not be used as instructions.

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Laine and Meg disagree about this story of an aspiring whipping governess and a pastor. Meg thinks Henry's piousness and consistency are sexy and intriguing, Laine thinks the book lacks depth and fails to problemitize evangelism. Also Laine hates foot stuff and this book has a lot of it.

We fell hard by this cute couple but weren't nearly as enamored with the wider book. We totally admit that might have been our fault for starting with book 7, but we have a LOT of questions.

A funny outtake, some insight into Laine's brain, a review of "The Lost City", and our immediate response minutes after finishing Bridgerton Season 2. 

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Apparently the consequence of Meg making Laine start in the middle of a series is an hour long episode. This series is BONKERs and each species has its own soulmate/boner rules so there was a lot we had to parse through. There's a scene like "Ghost" except instead of a pottery wheel it's a wall, so we talk about that a lot.

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Maya Rodale is a romance author but this book is a big departure from her usual fare and could generously be called flirtation adjacent. Don't let that put you off, however, because it's a very good book if you like pulpy books about the Gilded Age (and we do).

We enjoyed this conclusion to the Dear Lady Truelove series, which managed to stay true to the spirit of the original. In this episode, we shockingly agree that there are times when we respect that sex wouldn't have added to the plot. (???? Yes we are still us and have not been body snatched.)

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Look, Meg and Laine recognize we're probably not the right people to review this book. Cat Sebastian is a good writer, but the plot here missed the mark for us. The greatest joy to be found here is Meg coming to terms with missing all the Robin Hood parallels.

Meg and Laine spend way too much time talking about capitalism, racial coding, and Star Trek when discussing this sex book.

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Laine an Meg are once again joined by Maria (a romance novice) to discuss Bridgerton. This time, it's season 2! Our opinions were mostly aligned, which amused Laine and Meg given how book-centric they felt.

Martha Waters is becoming one of our favorite and most reliable romance writers. Neither of us are angst queens, and her ability to make what could be serious issues lighthearted is right up our alley. We could have done with a bit more resolved sexual tension as character development, but when isn't that true?

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

18 books in and the third straight book with the exact same plot and we're as charmed as ever. Does the plot make sense? No. Is there a plot? Also pretty much no. Did we have fun? You bet we did.

Jake and Cleo a ton of fun as long as you're along with them for the ride on their unconventional courtship. If you're not and you think too hard, Jake is a stalker. We didn't think too hard.

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Laine and Meg are here for a prissy, smart heroine and a rough around the edges hero. We give a lot of warning when we want to discuss spoilers, so know that if you want to skip from our warning until it's safe: No spoilers after 27:15

Laine and Meg talk about Sarah MacLean’s First Romance Novel and the “girl who is very hot but doesn’t know it” trope.

The world of the Pingkang Li gets richer and more complex with each installment, and we are very here for it. The mystery here let us both down, and Laine wasn't destined to be attracted to a man who has a regular table for staring at his love's front door, but Lin's skill at world building remains exceptional. 

Laine and Meg were both seemingly delirious when recording this episode, but managed to string enough coherent sentences together to review this book. It's fun, it's pithy, the characters are sexy, but something about this just maybe isn't for us? We're still a bit undecided on this series, but it's a romp!

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Loved this book. The mystery is more baffling the more we think about it and we couldn't care less. Five stars.

Sometimes you just need to laugh joyfully at a couple who can pretend they hate each other when they definitely don't AND can find joy in cave sex. We were pretty joyful reading and discussing this book.

In this special edition of Plot Trysts, Meg is joined by Tatianna Richardson, romance author and podcaster on Romance in Colour, to recap The Courtship! Catch Tati at Romance in Colour IG - @romanceincolour & @richardwriteson Twitter - @romanceincolour

Jeannie Lin is so talented and her characters really do come alive on the page. Less trauma than the first book, with more bad guys!

In this errata, we share clips from our recent discussion with the Bridgerton 2000 crew in anticipation of season 2, share insight into our different approaches to topics in our episode structure, and continue our discussion of the most ridiculous ways to be ruined.

Pretty much everything about this book worked for us, even the stuff that precedent would tell you we'd hate. We both somehow remembered this as having more sex than it did because the sexy stuff was that good? A+.

This steampunk romance was so dang cute it had us both smiling. It caught us by surprise more than once, but the happily ever after was perfect.

Imperial China might not be our usual romance setting, but we both loved pretty much everything about this book. Be prepared for some heavy subject matter and excellent world building.

This book is a sexy romp that also makes readers confront the bullshit of the patriarchy, which can be stressful. We took different things away from this book, but both really enjoyed it.

Goodness knows we love a spy novel and Elizabeth Boyle, so a whole lot of this really worked for us. It's more farce than badass spy mystery, but there's clandestine makeouts while undercover so we'll take it.

If you're going to give handjobs to pay off your student debt, there's no shame in that game as long as you're honest about engaging in sex work with yourself. We also discuss when in a monster book a line into bestiality is crossed. At one point we analyze our own forearms as a size comparison, but Laine edited that out.

Stephanie Laurens is a genius for writing the same book again, but this time with less logic. We stan.

If Mission: Improper was a TV show, Ingrid and Caleb would have been the will they/won't they pair that kept viewers waiting for all 15 seasons. Luckily Bec McMaster doesn't delay the gratification of seeing these two give in to each other for that long, but we did feel like this love story didn't get the attention it deserved. 

The sentient sex toy from the first book definitely has "brothers" but Liz isn't as thrilled by this fact as you would think. Sexy and funny, this sequel definitely makes you confront the difficulties facing our heroines in the few seconds between sex.

The Dark Olympus series continues with the story of Eros and Psyche, except not really? Both Meg and Laine thought this book's greatest weakness was how few parallels there were to the myth. Otherwise, there's a lot to enjoy here from the wedding day/night sex to the sex in front of mirrors.

Meg is really charmed by taking an absurd scenario to a logical conclusion, while Laine is less so. The unlikeable characters are very fun and add to the book's unique charm.

Meg and Laine love clothes, so you know this worked for us on the fashion front. We loved both main characters and bought the conflict, so we definitely recommend this one in spite of its chastity.

This one has enough plot threads to be a Cynster novel. How ok you are with the lack of pay-off on some of those threads may depend on your frame of mind when reading the book. Tuck and Lavinia make it fun and sexy, as we've come to expect from Boyle.

You know we love reinterpretations of classic stories and this modern take on the Greek pantheon was super fun. Half the fun was figuring out how the classics would tie in, and the other half was the super fun relationship of convenience with an expiration date between Hades and Persephone. Oh, and it's a SEX book.

Guys this book makes no sense. It asks the very important question, "what happens when sex telepathy works but it works so well you're convinced it was a trick?"

Now that we're done with Christmas Novellas, we return to our bread and butter (historical SPIES). We loved how willing Susanna Craig was to lean into a LOT of absurdity and we say the word "coincidence" several times. Fun, sexy, and well-written, we definitely recommend this one.

Meg and Laine really like anachronistically progressive spies and their suffragette lovers. What can we say, we're predictable.  

We wrap up our ACOTAR reviews with a discussion of which genre this series falls into. Meg was grateful for the lack of sex cabin, which was a first.

Laine & Meg enjoyed this knitting propaganda disguised as a Christmas film so much they decided to watch it a second time and record their commentary! Enjoy some perfect romance tropes with a curmudgeon-ey Duke of our childhood dreams. Happy Holidays!

We wrap up our Christmas novellas with the most epic Christmas party ever! I need to go to this Arthurian grotto.

This Christmas Novella takes the "aristocratic woman marries low born but wealthy man" trope (better name TBD) and adds some Christmas house party shenanigans. We liked it, even if it was a bit tame compared with our standard fare.

This is a "virgin hero sells virginity at Christmas house party" story. Lots of potential in that description, but it's BARELY a Christmas book and there's a bit too much conflict.

Two unlikely travel companions get stranded in a small village for Christmas and make the best of it/learn the true meaning of Christmas while trying to act like all the bed sharing doesn't mean anything. (it does).

The Scotsmen with terrible parents have a cousin who gets a Christmas novella! Laine was very very charmed by two adults clearly communicating their desires and expectations. Meg was just glad Matthew wasn't there.

This sex book was so charming, and a hot air balloon wasn't the only thing to rise to the occasion. Did we recognize Jane from the previous book? Not really (now ask us how much we care).

I swear the Grand Palace on the Thames generates more marriages than mid-sized liberal arts colleges in Ohio. Our latest couple is a reserved and honorable duke and a street-smart actress with less generational wealth and a bigger age gap than you may be used to. It's a fun addition to the series, but Meg and Laine disagree over which age gap has been the biggest deal.

Marriage of convenience with agreement to produce an heir after a dumb ruination has never been so sexy. We had a lot of fun with this one, and we think you will too.

A kidnapped earth woman abandoned by her cruel abductors is rescued by her soulmate, who is basically an Avatar with genitalia. I don't even know, you guys.

Val and Caro are a second chance romance we're totally on board with! We were super impressed with how deliberate and well designed many of the scenes and plot points were in this one as well. Now if only it had a title that made it stand out so we could remember how much we liked it.

The second book in the Spoiler Alert series builds on the super fun universe of the first book in a way we both found extremely charming. It takes a while for this to go from adversaries to friends to lovers, but the payoff is excellent.

If anyone knows what the fairy tale is in this one please tell us because it's driving Laine crazy. Regardless, we very much enjoyed this sunshine/grump book with a no-nonsense heroine and her satanic cat.

Meg and Laine are always here for friends to lovers and sexy lessons, so you know we enjoyed the heck out of this one. Ana Maria has a level of independence rarely seen in romance novel heroines and both of them have a mentality toward sex and relationships that we found very refreshing. 

First of all, I can not be held responsible for keeping track of Amanda Quick/Jayne Castle's noms de plume. Meg has a lot of affection for the romantic-couple-solves-mystery, but in space! thing this book has going on. Laine wishes it made more sense and/or that the romance was given more development. Marriage of convenience is fun trope, you just have to know what you're getting into. 

BRB going to law school to become a divorce attorney, then learning how to time travel and make fictional universes real so I can FINALLY GET LORD INGRAM HIS DIVORCE. This book is very good, we discuss where the series is going, we rave about the character growth. Did I mention Lord Ingram is an archeologist and spy who is still married?

Kissing lessons, house parties, and women upsetting the patriarchy are all right up our alley, and this book has all of them! Laine quibbled a bit over some of the characterization and plot points, but Meg loved the dynamic between the main characters completely. Now if only we understood why her mom was THE WORST.

The premise of this book is perfect. It's basically a gender-swapped Anastasia which hit us right in the feels, and our heroes get to spend a surprising amount of time alone together given the time period. We're not complaining.

Laine and Meg have a difference of opinion on this one. Meg admits to a bias toward Amanda Quick and all of her other noms de plume, which Laine lacks. Laine admits to expecting a very different book based on the novella, and Meg had read this before. Scooby Doo, plucky women in consulting, and sassy best friends are all topics of conversation for this one.

We both thought this was a cute concept, even if Meg is a self-proclaimed Wine Grinch. We would have loved a bit more from both of these characters, but the ending makes it worth the read.

Not only does April get to go out with a hot celebrity from her favorite TV show, it turns out he's secretly been her online BFF all along. Olivia Dade is a great writer and this story is VERY well crafted. Laine was a little bothered by their poor communication skills, but the ending is adorable enough to make up for it.

Laine and Meg talk about kissing your future wife next to your cousin’s body, very stupid nicknames, and familial justice. Buckle up, this one is wild.

Meg and Laine gush about perfect books, talk about what it means to be ruined, and don't question what keeps happening to their clothing even a little bit.

Meg and Laine talk about doll funerals, non-penetrative sex, and science that isn’t botany.

Laine and Meg talk about wedding tropes and scars. Also cats.

This book is so full of tropes there's no way we got them all. We both agree this is light reading with great cooperation and heat between the main characters,.but disagree on whether or not that's a good thing.

This bachelor-esque tale was right up Meg's alley, and we both loved the way these men fell in love. The author does a great job outlining the trigger warnings, and we suggest you read them.

Laine and Meg go back to the beginning with the Mating Habits of Scoundrels to see where it all began. We love a good road trip romance, but this book has a few too many of our pet peeves to be a favorite. The series premise remains excellent, and we'll definitely be reading more Lorret.

Laine and Meg are joined by special guest Natalie to discuss the most recent in the Grand Palace on the Thames series. The series' charm remains as strong as the heroes and we definitely recommend this one.

Somehow Laura Lee Guhrke manages to take some of our least favorite tropes and turn them into a downright charming book with complex and consistent characters. It's hot, too!

This Fairytale retelling hits all the right spots for us. Whimsical and funny with two characters who cannot stop making out? Mirror mirror on the wall, that's our favorite thing of all!

Laine and Meg some of our favorite outtakes, romance musings, and excerpts from our conversations with the Lit Wallflowers!

This book has some fun takes on tropes we've seen before (gambling hells, debutant siblings) but has one glaring point of historical inaccuracy that you either make peace with or you'll be in for a bumpy ride. Potentially our favorite take on the capitalist feminist (not to mention the steamiest), we recommend this for anyone willing to look past the inheritance law shenanigans.  

The last Scottish brother is married off and this book did not go down as Meg or Laine expected. Both of us were charmed by Coll, and neither of us were charmed by his parents or brother in law.

We are huge Boyle stans so it hurts to admit this one didn't work for us quite as well as the first two books in the series. We loved Roxley's crazy aunts and the premise of a mustering, but the wider plot was hard to follow. Luckily it veered into "so weird I'm just along for the ride" so we still had fun with it. 

Meg and Laine are joined by Shani from Romance at a Glance to discuss the second book in the Palace of Rogues series. There's a lot to love with this book, but the debate about if gems or real estate are the better gift is the true substance of the episode.

We actually managed to keep this one spoiler free in the beginning and very clearly notate where the spoilers start, so those wanting a preview without knowing the mystery of Keir's parentage can safely listen. Turns out Scottish cinnamon rolls are the intersection of both of our types, so we spend most of this review swooning over Keir and his beard. 

Lolly is super lucky that the strange man who heard her sneeze happens to share her politics and be super hot and be super into her because God knows that's not what dating is usually like.

The Russian gets a character and boy does Meg like him. Having Vlad write a romance was a stroke of genius and put a new spin on the romance-reading crew. Laine got caught up in issues with IBS, sports stuff, and sex-trafficking but still thinks it's worth a read.

A spy falls for a Countess who recently opened a hotel with her dead husband's mistress in a former brothel. We had a lot of fun with this one and totally bought the chemistry between the main characters!

Laine really likes this book. Meg can't stop talking about plumbing. We agree that the interpersonal narratives are better than the external plot.

This road trip/fortune hunter book was a worthy successor to the first book in the series. It had a ton of our favorite tropes, but not enough carriage sex (TBH).

Elephant stampedes are super romantic, dontcha know?! Seriously, we were very into this couple and loved the setup of this conflict. We could have done with a bit more cooperation in the end, but this book is sexy regardless

Look, this isn't our favorite Kleypas. The main couple certainly has its moments and this might be her best use of former characters yet, but ultimately we had a few too many issues with this one to sing its praises. Not even library negotiation sexytimes can make up for diet culture bullshit and sexual assault. And feet, but that might just be Laine.

We loved the sexy and reluctant advice columnist paired with the wallflower finding her voice and thought most of this book was really fun, and the take on the gossip industry remains great. We wish the main couple had spent more time working together in the end, in all the ways you're thinking of.

Impoverished aristocrat is a fortune hunter in need of a marriage of convenience has been done before, but it's definitely done well here. We might rant about capitalism and a contrived ending, but overall we thought this was the most consent-driven fortune hunter book we've read, and that is definitely a good thing.

It seems we always have more to say about courtesy titles, Amelia Peabody, and Bridgerton.

Laine read this series a while ago and apparently can't keep the books straight or remember the gross plot elements. Meg was not here for Feyre's wet noodle personality. The first book in this trilogy is a pretty literal beauty and the beast retelling and the two main characters really have the hots for each other, but the real interest comes in the next book.

This gaslamp-ish romance is a ton of fun and made us laugh a lot. It's also filled with a LOT of literary references, and we're pretty sure we missed quite a few. We liked it best for the badass pirate society and the dick jokes, if we're honest.

The final book in the Stud Club series has a great portrayal of deafness and Deaf culture but a confusing plot tied up with a plot twist that made Laine very angry. Not our usual response to a Dare, for sure. We wouldn't call this "fun."

Laine and Meg are joined by "Just Plain Wrong" podcast hosts Erin and Tillie to discuss the romance in Witness. Harrison Ford is hot, the cops are really violent, and Laine comes up with the perfect sequel.

Laine and Meg talk about marrying for money, bad girls, and the funniest drinking game in the genre.

Meg and Laine talk about how smelly people on the run are, if we want to solve the mystery, and believably duplicitous brothers.

Laine and Meg both really like Phoebe and West. They're cute together, well suited, and largely pretty sexy. However, there are some ill-conceived notions of masculinity and even MEG agrees there's too much Sebastian FKA St. Vincent.

Laine and Meg review a novella/writing exercise from Sherry Thomas in this one. It's... hard to talk about as a book because it mirrors Tempting the Bride so closely, but it does provide a lot of conversation fodder. Did he make his daughter a dog? Was anal sex a metaphor?

Alyssa Cole's latest is about the youngest woman in a line of badass female warriors with no respect for boundaries and maybe princess/definite doormat from New Jersey. Meg and Laine don't typically love pushover characters, especially those who turn down money, jewels, and status for reasons of principle we don't understand OR people who operate without concern for social comfort, so this wasn't really our thing. That said, the family dynamics and politics of this one were interesting.

Crispin and Henrietta have been locked in a will they/won't they thing for 11 years, and now they're locked in a wine cellar. This novella crams a lot of plot into a short span along with a lot of sexiness, and is a strange combination of angsty and fluffy. To the surprise of no one, we liked it. 

Diving in the way back machine today for Deception by Amanda Quick. We love piracy and academic women, but could have done without the sexual assault. Quick holds up better than most of her time, and this is a fun one.

Meg and Laine talk about believable conflict, period-appropriate dialogue, and sexy debate tactics.

This book has tropes galore and some seriously batshit plots (yes we bring up Cynsters...) but the characters are charming and we love tropes. Pay attention to the content warnings for this one, because some of them are intense.

Independent Doctor and Moral Spy trying to reform a corrupt system from the inside..... yeah Kleypas has our number. Add in some wonderful clothing and an inability to keep hands to themselves and you know we spent this episode raving.

In spite of the title Gabriel really is nothing like his father. You'd think that would make Laine happy, except he really wasn't much of a character at all. Meg tried to pretend the characterization of Pandora in the first two books could be dismissed, but even that didn't make this one our cup of tea.

We've enjoyed the Fitzhugh series so far but this one really turns up the heat. While this one deviates from our usual favorite tropes, Sherry Thomas continues to make us like things we usually don't. Maybe the best amnesia romance ever?

We're dipping back into the Tessa Dare Archives with this one. Trope-tastic, sexy, and more than a little absurd, this book definitely previews the good stuff to come with Dare's books, even if the jacket doesn't live up to her usual standards.

The last book in the London Steampunk series wraps up all the loose ends in a way we didn't always totally understand, but with main couple this perfect we found it quite easy to hand wave the plot away and enjoy the flirting.

A Civil War vet and a Chinese-born missionary widow team up to solve global communication issues in an equitable and sustainable way. If it sounds like all that characterization and plot would make romance come second, you're right, but this is still a very good book.

There's plenty to love here - from a critical examination of rakishness to some really well developed friendships. Meg liked this more than Laine (who is admittedly a bit over independent and undersexed women who hide their emotions) but both of us thought it was a romp! Very much a romcom in text form, we look forward to the rest of the series.

Martha Waters impressed us both with her debut novel, even if marriage in crisis isn't Meg's favorite. This series really gets us to dive in to whether romance novels in a series can or should be read as standalones.

Meg and Laine disagree about the merits of this book. Laine found it to be almost Cynster-esque while Meg was able to put that aside and buy into the story and some of the social commentary. Lucy might draw Anthony's tool but Laine thought he WAS the tool.

Everything about this book is ridiculous in the best way. Hilarious and sexy, this book put big grins on both our faces. We just wish there'd been only one room at at least one inn!

Spies! Again! Some more! But in this case it's a spy retrieving a much needed code book from an unsuspecting and bored widow. Meg and Laine disagree on how we felt about Amanda, but couldn't deny the chemistry between the leads. Worth a read!

Laine and Meg usually looooovveeee Sherry Thomas, and this book does have some cute moments and was was sexier than expected. But neither of us could really come around on rooting for a woman who was setting herself and her kids up to life as a mistress of an honorable dude.

This book has a lot going for it, it's just not the plot or the conflict or the secondary characters. This book is, however, extremely sexy. So we liked it.

Spies in Venice! Again! This book is FUN and really leans into the fantasy opulence of high society Italy. The main couple plays second fiddle to the plot here, but in a way that really works and gives plenty of opportunity for jewel porn.

In my mind I now live in steampunk London and I'm just waiting on a newly promoted cop whose mom was killed by basically jack the ripper to save me from myself. Plot took a backseat to romance in this one, but let's be real, we don't hate that.

Adrian is the grandson of a duke and the heir to a shipping fortune but his black ancestry can prevent him from inheriting if he can't convince parliament to grant him a legal pass. Enter Lisbeth, who decides the best way to marry is to see your groom for the first time on your wedding day. Funny, historically interesting, and sexy so we definitely liked it.

Laine and Meg enjoyed the tropes and the excellent chemistry between the two main characters. We were more than a little confused by the plot and the emotional arc, but overall thought this was an enjoyable read.

This debut novel is about a woman taking her destiny into her own hands and a man haunted by the choices he's made as a archeologist/spy. So yes we loved it and it's super sexy and Indiana Jones gets brought up so sue us. You should probably read this right now.

We're all for a good childhood friends to lovers plot, but we aren't fans of men who lie or meddling mamas without development. We do love women in sports always, however, even if their books let them down.

Laine and Meg don't know what this book was about, who the characters were, or why so much time was spent on subplots. This book is bad, you guys, but it's also kinda bonkers in an almost Cynster way and you know we're reading the rest of the Ravenels regardless.

This book takes on a lot of tropes in an innovative way while being inspired by Georgette Heyer, which we found very charming. We disagreed on the quality of the conflict, but it's definitely worth checking out.

Sherry Thomas continues to make us like narrative structures and plots we wouldn't care for written by anyone else. We're not sure this qualifies as our idea of romance, but it is a worthwhile read.

The Hathaways wraps up without any coitus interruptus, which doesn't seem very on-brand. We really liked certain parts of this book, but had a hard time talking about it because PTSD is scary and your wife can't be your therapist.

Meg loves tinges of fantasy in a romance world, and this new release is a great example of the genre. Elinor has a sixth sense for jewels that her new tiny vampire bestie recognizes as magic. Add in a hot and honorable Earl who thinks he knows what's best for her, and you know we're all in for this fun, romance adjacent series.

The third book in the Burlfriends Series has the excellent writing and boundary-pushing characters we've come to expect from Jen Trinh. We're not sure if we're cool enough for this book, but the believable characters and unique situations definitely got us talking.

This kickoff to a fun series about a family of Regency orphan Robin Hoods sets up Chloe and a Duke. Chloe is super forgettable, the Duke is super proper, and they have to navigate shedding their personas to go after what they really want. The book can be uneven at times, but the fun family dynamics and sexy encounters made it worth the read!

Leader of a secret society of female scientists needs protection from a grizzled bodyguard. We manage to avoid doing our best Whitney impressions while discussing how fun the personal arc was and how let down we felt by the mystery.

Laine and Meg like honorable men who go bad for the right reasons, decadent costumes, and nuanced world views. This book has all of those things, so this episode was a lot of us fangirling over Sir Jasper. We're not sorry.

Trying to solve a family mystery and find the rumored treasure is much more fun with your super hot ex who is definitely moving on with his life. If only they'd stopped to buy her a sports bra and some clothes that fit - oh and if he didn't have a girl back home. In the end, we thought this was totally fine.

This is a short, sweet, and sexy book. The meet cute was so perfect we both bought into love after one dinner, and the high level of sexual tension didn't hurt either.

We don't love this plot, we don't love this conflict, but we love this book so so so much and we basically can't stop gushing about how perfect Leo and Marks are.

We break down the quality of our predictions before the show (low), compare the show to the books (spoilers abound), and talk about what we think will happen with the series going forward (please don't make us watch G or H have sex they are babies).

Laine and Meg had a blast talking about this one! Do we have some questions about Russian titles, how to go on the run, and when desk sex is the right call? Yes. Did we like the Imperial Russian spin on the Renaissance man meets down on her luck lady? Also yes.

This innovative take on lovers from different classes is very very sexy. The wider plot confused us a bit, but we liked the main couple enough to make up for it.

This might be the fluffiest book we've ever reviewed on the podcast. If that's what you need right now, we've got you covered with this book that's so sweet it's not only the protagonist's son with a tooth ache.

This book is world building with a side of romance. Some of it really works and some of it was really boring, but we're still intrigued by the series.

Laine and Meg talk about seductive seduction and what counts as sex while imploring our heroine to GET SOME ALREADY.

Laine, Meg, and special guest Maria discuss what we loved and what we didn't about the Bridgerton TV series. Spoiler: the aesthetics were very good.

Keeping secrets is bad, but in this case Meg thinks good character development can make shitty behavior entertaining. Laine agrees, if only she hadn't had to endure the main character pointedly not thinking about the problem.

Gregory Bridgerton is Regency JimBob. This episode is pretty much us trying to work out if this even counts as a Bridgerton novel, let alone the finale. Also, Meg meant to say she hated Benedict, not Colin (obvs).

Laine and Meg love Lady Danbury and debate the relative merits of her grandson.

Is this novella ridiculous? Yes. Is is Christmasy? Not really. Did we like it? You bet we did.

Tis the season for Christmas novellas. Meg and Laine disagree about how Christmasy this one is, but both thought it was a fun expansion of the London Steampunk universe if you're into sexy baths.

Julia Quinn out does herself with this one. This is both her angstiest and sexiest book in the Bridgertons series. Meg feels this one deeply and Laine has no soul.

Laine and Meg talk about when kids become a trope, the inherent sexiness of celibacy, and Laine fangirls over Julie Andrews.

Laine and Meg are joined by the Lit Wallflowers to dive into The Wallflower Christmas novella! The main couple here is an afterthought, so much so that the heroine isn't even mentioned on the jacket. That said, if you love the wallflowers (especially Marcus and Sebastian) this is a very rewarding trip down memory lane. They even have a proper Christmas tree!

Hoyt's new release is a relatively low-angst, high-lust tale that checks a whole lot of our boxes: married early in the text, competency porn, and baths. We really enjoyed this one!

Colin Bridgerton is the literal best.

Benedict Bridgerton is the literal worst.

Alyssa Cole kicks off a new series in a familiar universe with this fun novel about an ambitious woman and an overburdened and unprepared king. Some things were a bit of a stretch for our imaginations, but when creative hallway sex is included in that you know we're on board.

Only Loretta Chase could convince us waiting until the wedding night can be sexy. His Grace with the Angel Face has to work for it, but the result was the perfect book.

Meg and Laine talk about bee stings and Colin Bridgerton. Meg says "coitus" a lot.

Laine and Meg talk about what a difference 20 years makes, characters who maybe shouldn't have ended up together, and wondering how an adaptation of this will even work.

Meg and Laine debate what makes a Young Adult book and celebrate the moody mentor being treated like the scum he is rather than a romantic hero.

This novella is an exceedingly cute story about childhood companions who have a falling out and resolve it by getting snowed in together. While it doesn't reinvent the wheel, it's extremely adorable. The only negative is a B-plot that takes up half of the pages.

This book is... a lot. It handled a difficult subject in a compelling way but left us wanting more from the characters. The main couple really works, but this book didn't feel like an escape.

Both of the main characters in this book have a dead parent. Unfortunately, their past trauma takes precedence over the romance. This isn't the fun successor to the first two books in the series we were expecting, but if you're into angst you'll probably like this.

The fifth and final Carsington book. We're both a little sad to be done with the series because it's Just. So. Good. He's an explorer, she's a woman who can't abide by society's rules, and they're stuck in a castle together. It's basically perfect, and very, very sexy.

Laine and Meg like good guys working for corrupt institutions and the women who seek to broaden their world views. We also would have liked some train sex.

Laine and Meg enjoyed this short flashback to how two characters from "Beguiling the Beauty" first met. We were left wanting more, but this is a fun and free add on to a good book.

Meg and Laine both really liked reading about these enemies coming around to one another while forced to attend double weddings and resisting their attraction. Sexy limps are all the rage.

The Widow of Rose House is a gilded age ghost story/romance with a perfect hero. We both had some (different) issues with the ghost plot, but none with the romance unless you count wanting more of it as a problem. We recommend this book, especially if you're looking for a seasonally appropriate romance.

The first third of this book has a rich cast, hilarious duel plot lines, and a flirtatious couple being compromised which was all pretty great. The back end of the book is less interesting and a lot more formulaic. Worth a read if you know you love Quick.

What would Halloween be without vampires? This take is a bit different, with vampirism presented as a progressive disease limited to the highest ranks in society. When a mortal woman needs protection, she turns to the ruler of the underworld who happens to be a vampire. Sexy, fun, and intriguing, we were able to look past the flaws and enjoy this one.

This book mixes the lore of Arthur with the origin of vampires in a very cool way, and has a fun and sexy main couple. The only BIG downer is that she's dying of cancer and you really can't forget it.

Pandora's Bottle is a magical take on the straight-laced guy with a wild side trope with a plot that's mostly spoiled by the book jacket. Cute concepts that could've used some extra pages to develop and an editor catching problematic language.

We continue our Halloween reads with Tangled Dreams, where ghosts enable kinky mind reading sex to facilitate their ability to move on. Too bad consent and consistent characterization were in such short supply.

The fifth meeting of the Lord Ingram appreciation society has officially convened. We do leave room to talk about well crafted mysteries, amazing character development, and the fact that were both (sigh) a little tired of Moriarty.

This novella introduces a lot of sci-fi world building into a a fairly short novella, but still manages to squeeze in a fun relationship dynamic with a Halloween hookup.

The main characters in this book are very cute and their flirtatious banter is excellent. Important discussions were had about bullying and working through issues, but we mostly wanted to keep reading about the flirting in the Canadian wilderness.

Katie can't commit to men or a profession until she's sent back in time to meet a dude in King Arthur's court who is the ancestor of the dude she's supposed to marry. The dude she is supposed to marry is only on like 10 pages.

The best ever execution of "only one room at the inn" plus a set-up we've never seen before in a romance novel? Yes, please. We spend this episode gushing about how perfectly this book handles some serious topics, which can be misleading as this book oozes charm and fun on every page. Read it!

The final book about the Carsington Brothers has the villanous interludes of Miss Wonderful, a potential bride from Lord Perfect, and the money of Daphne in Mr. Impossible. While we find this plot the weakest, it's also the most explicit so do with that what you will.

Tessa Dare writes very sexy books, but for a thirty-something gentleman/spy, Piers fell rather short in the emotional maturity department. His emotional issues are mostly forgiveable because the house party investigation shenanigans make for a fun read!

Laine and Meg thought this book was sexy. Like... Really sexy. Clio is a badass who is finally asking for what she wants and deserves and Rafe is pining for her more than ever. We were already hooked and then he did this thing to her hand...

Meg and Laine talk about sexy respect, sexing lobsters, and sexy Scots.

Izzy has a way with words but instead of spinning tales she spins a reclusive Duke into her bed. This wasn't our favorite Tessa Dare book, but we had a good time reading and talking about it.

Laine and Meg don't find stalking romantic and require more sexual tension than this book provides to look past a woman driven by trauma and a man who falls immediately in love with the first person he sees at home who doesn't share his DNA.

If you can accept magic and fate without having to question the how or why, this novella is incredibly fun, cute, and sexy. How clean does jail have to be for a romp? What sort of injuries can love heal? This novel surprised us at times, but definitely left us wanting to read more by Elizabeth Boyle.

Laine and Meg like flirtatious couples with similar senses of humor. Throw in a sexy road trip and a treasure hunt and you know we were all about this book.

The Highwayman was a sexy, dark romance filled with tropes and "mysteries" that we downed like potato chips. Dorian is a more violent and sinister Nick Gentry from Worth Any Price, and you know we have a lot to say about that.

Laine and Meg like desk sex and crushing the patriarchy, and so does Katherine Grant. Overall a fun read, if a bit on the tame side compared to our usual fare.

This book was a serious history lesson with a dang cute and sexy couple. It was a bit heavy on trauma and torture for us, but that's probably not what we'll remember about this book anyway.

Diana and Aaron spend a lot of time at the blacksmith's sparking at one another until they ignite. This novella takes desk sex to a whole new level and we are here for it.

We were expecting an adorable romcom genderswap of Pretty Woman. This is a lot sexier than that.

Laine and Meg finish their recap of The Wallflowers with this tale of a manic pixie dream girl and the guy who is obsessed with her. What it lacks in substance it makes up for in angst-free cuteness.

Laine and Meg grin through this review of an adorable and trope-y love story. Sometimes you just need to read about two compatible people bantering, and this book has that in spades.

This book is really really sexy... and not much else. We had fun, but did feel like this fell short of perfection.

Meg describes this book as all frosting, no cake in the best way and honestly I can't top that. Everyone is adorable, the story is fluffy, and they do get naked eventually.

Meg and Laine talk about the first romance novel they had in common. This one has it all, and very little angst.

This book has everything we say annoys us and yet we both really liked it. Is anyone in the book part of the titular secret society? No, but give us a pining hero who can't keep his hands off of a mystery-solving heroine and we'll forgive almost anything.

Laine and Meg really enjoyed the finale to the Bareknuckle Bastards series. This book is fun, sexy, and capable of laughing at its own absurdity, which always wins points in our books.

Meg revisits one of her first romance authors and Laine is highly entertained by the romantic notions of 1986. Brad is a duke who never wants to love and Caroline is a sharpshooter who constantly reminds the reader she's not like the other girls. Oh and guns.

Laine and Meg (and Conner) talk about their favorite romantic plots in video games. Meg likes fidelity and Laine likes bros.

Laine and Meg rave about this novel and Bujold's mastery of her craft. Bujold herself called this book what happens after the happily ever after. What this lacks in explicit sexiness it makes up for in everything else.

Meg and Laine are totally fine with historical anachronisms as long as the book is sexy and fun, which this is. Our only complaint is that we wish it were longer because we could always use more Tessa Dare backstory.

Laine and Meg gush about the Carsington Brothers' perfection and lament how hard it is to be clever about something that's just very very good.

Laine and Meg complain about parental sex tips, offensive selections of mental illness, and why we are so entertained by the Cynsters.

Laine loves fairytale time travel, Meg hates self-absorbed heroines and heros that don't show up until the last chapter. Laine loves the insanity and the nostalgia, Meg hates the suicide pact and the sex death. Join us as we discuss the relative merits and demerits of this book, which was written in 1994.

Meg learns about climbing, Laine rants about dating, and both really like this book!

Laine and Meg go on tangents about boats, the Kleypas universe, and Mr. Rochester's wife.

Trigger warning for child abuse, pandmeics, and dermatological issues. This book can't decide what it wants to be. Parts are Batshit but taken too seriously and parts tackle serious issues but are taken too lightly. Laine's disgusted, Meg's offended, but we ended up indifferent to it in the end.

Laine and Meg rave about swashbuckling romantic heroes, mistaken identities, and doomed love with yearly gestures. If you've never read Prisoner of Zenda, what are you waiting for?

Laine and Meg talk about how important a raw and honest fight can be to a budding relationship, what to do when you're suspected of murder (again), and swoon at the idea of a man who cares about clothes.

Laine and Meg sit down with Conner, author of the blog "Reader, I Clicked on Him," to discuss the dating sim featured in Alyssa Cole's "A Prince on Paper." Important topics discussed include whether or not you have eyes, dating pigeons, and the importance of paying for what you like. Check her out on Twitter @kaleido_leopard or www.readericlicked.wordpress.com

Meg thinks this books suffers in comparison to Amanda Quick's bibliography. Laine suffered reading this book.

The epitome of a reformed rake requires Meg's defense when Laine comes in swinging. Is Sebastian a true bad boy capable of being redeemed or is he too awful for reform?

There is a lot of trauma packed into this novella. Milan is a good author who is capable of deftly handling some heavy issues in romance. The question, dear listener, is if you can get past the subject matter to fall for the characters.

Laine and Meg break down this excellent murder mystery/romance and the excellent character development in the series so far. She's a badass with a quick wit and courage. He's Lord Peter. What more can we say?

Stephanie Laurens puts on her deer stalker and calls for the Orient express in this community-centered whodunnit. Generic Cynster Man and Future Cynster Wife fall in love while solving the brutal murder of a close friend, but all's well that ends well.

This Romance-adjacent read covers the most traditionally romance-y book in the Amelia Peabody series. Amnesia? Check. Love triangle? Check? Passionate makeouts in caves while lives are threatened? Check.

Laine and Meg compare this to the first book (mostly favorably) while praising the complex characters and ranting about Chardonnay. Ok the last part is just Laine but STILL.

What does it take to make Meg and Laine hate a book by Lisa Kleypas? A boring heroine, a mistmatched pair, oh and the hero having sex with the heroine when she's too drunk to consent.

The Batshit continues... with masks! Asking a friend for help is so embarrassing, especially when you're not sure if they're willing to help at all. The only thing to do in a situation like that is masquerade as a masked widow and give in to his seduction while continuing your very awkward real life acquaintance without his knowledge. Top 5 carriage sex scenes.

Laine says the world fairytale 37,000 times but Meg wasn't charmed by this book.

Laine is overwhelmed with excitement over her favorite book and spends the whole episode gushing. Meg manges to get insightful comments in over the sounds of Laine's rapturous joy.

Laine and Meg talk about several books set in Egypt and where they go wrong. All of them have different issues, but a woman can talk to panthers and uses her skills to save Cleopatra's life so we had our fun.

Laine and Meg talk about what makes a romance and how to make us love tropes we usually hate.

This book takes the angst and sex of the rest of the series and turns it way way up. A library is put to excellent use, and we discuss what "full angst" means to us.

How was this book written by the same woman who wrote "In the Prince's Bed"? No real conflict, no real relationship building, no real plot. What's the conceptual opposite of having it all? This book.

Laine and Meg review a meta sports romance! Cute, fun, and irreverent in a loving way, we really enjoyed this summer-y read.

Laine and Meg start reviewing the wallflower series with this dive into class conflict and hotel sex. What this one lacks in substance it makes up for in gems, snake bites, and linen closets.

A book about two horse people falling in love. She's young, he's a Cynster, they are both blonde.

No one's first novel should be this good. Lust, agnst, and Mr. Hopple's vests combine to make a story we are very much here for. A few trigger warnings, but no more than we've come to expect from Hoyt. On the flip side, this book is somehow even sexier that we've come to expect from Hoyt.

Laine and Meg are very excited to read about seduction by whist between two fully-formed adults.

Meg and Laine hate brothers who lose their sisters in gambling matches but love it when problematic romance tropes get called out in text. This one is very cute, we mean that mostly as a compliment.

There is nothing I can put in this description that can come close to describing the crazy that is this novel. Convos with God, drugging a man so he'll knock you up, being blackmailed into marriage by a will and a butt birthmark are only the beginning.

Meg and Laine sort of get distracted by the best bad boy they've read in a while. Thorne may have spent time in prison, but the man can iron his own clothes. Tessa Dare manages to turn a list of tropes we sometimes struggle with into a book we both love.

Laine and Meg talk about good boys pretending to be jerks because of their pain, how to have sex without revealing disfiguring scars, and whether sex is more important than character development.

Laine and Meg rave about a set up that involves carriages and only one room at the inn, though also discuss how (not) sexy a hero can be when he's pushy and jealous. Francine the fossil is along for the ride.

Laine and Meg *gasp* disagree. Meg loved this cute tale of a bad-boy prince and a sheltered uppercrust African woman. Laine could have done without references to eggplant emojis mid hookup.

Laine and Meg talk about Ottoman inspired sex cabins, the realistic difficulties of harp playing in the nude, and well-written low-stakes angst. Oh, and carriage sex.

Laine and Meg admit their mistakes, Laine gets quizzed on quotes from classic literature, and the connotations of the word "naughty" are dissected.

Laine and Meg talk about Victorian Steampunk Romance. We liked it.

Laine and Meg talk about the Scottish economy in Opals, whether mortals can use magic selkie tools, and how a young woman disguises herself as an old crone in this very realistic novel.

Laine and Meg talk about Scottish alpha males, lament missed opportunities in carriages, and speculate wildly on the series.

Laine and Meg take you on a journey through this acid-trip of a book where the aristocracy doesn't care about their heirs and women must be seduced against their better judgement (and will). Buckle up.

Laine and Meg compare Stephanie Laurens to Agatha Christie and Beowulf. While Vane's story doesn't have the literary merit of either, it outshines both in sheer absurdity. A cat unlocks and opens a third story window exactly as a lover arrives in stealth and our only response was, 'sure' because then they immediately hook up and we are easy, apparently.

Laine and Meg wrap up our 12 Novellas of Christmas with this tale involving Chinese spies, deadbeat dads, and awkwardly running into that guy you went out with a few times. We swear it's a cute, angst-free holiday story!

Laine and Meg like secret passageways, hot chocolate, and old lovers reuniting. We don't like long separations or agnst, but we like this novella anyway.

Laine and Meg basically rewrite this one as a comedy in the line of home alone. Heiress Alone is fun, but we like our version better.

Laine and Meg talk about the lack of sex in Christmas novellas, whether frolicking in the snow is festive or stupid, and it turns out neither of us have respect for a squatting family of 8 who never pay their bills.

Laine and Meg talk about sex cabins, mentos commercials, and terrible book jackets (again) as we continue the 12 podcasts of Christmas.

Laine and Meg wrap up our review of Seduction on a Snowy Night with a discussion of cat abduction and racism. Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all!

Laine and Meg rage about a Christmas novella that doesn't even try to get into the Christmas spirit. Unless you find mass horse murder, making out with the guy who you think knocked up your sister, or nearly drowning and freezing to death romantic, probably pass on this.

Laine and Meg continue the 12 podcasts of Christmas with this novella that definitely should have been a novel. This has a ton of Christmas and allusions to Cyrano de Bergerac, but it's also simultaneously cloying and agnsty. We were a bit conflicted.

Laine and Meg talk about stupid secrets, war wounds, and smart, bad-ass ladies. Sadly, we don't really talk about Christmas.

Laine and Meg talk about advice columnists, sexy hookups in closets between people who are lying, and Christmas in New York (not to be confused with the Pogues' song, Fairytale of New York).

Meg and Laine talk about how christmasy a good Christmas novella should be, second chance flings, and whether or not to have kids in a made for TV Christmas movie.

Meg and Laine talk about the level of Christmas cheer needed for a great novella, Pirates of the Caribbean, and the level of appropriate sexiness in a burning building

Happy Turkey Day! Laine and Meg talk about sexy consent, unsexy overalls, and how refreshing it is to ocassionally diversify beyond the landed aristocracy.

Laine and Meg talk about how professional adults who are great at their jobs, care about how they look, and communicate with each other about what they're looking for is really really sexy.

Laine and Meg talk about romantic classics, the fake betrothal trope, and how much we love well written casts.

Laine and Meg talk about weird grottos, marriage in crisis and how we don't love it, and bad book jackets.

Laine and Meg talk about frustrated make outs and cute sex while complaining about unnecessary B plots. Laine forgets the gift of the magi.

Meg and Laine are sort of charmed by this very cute and uncomplicated text-based relationship. We were less charmed by the actual goat purchase, but admit it might be a 21-year-old's dream. Cute!

Laine and Meg talk about evocative writing with unlikable characters, deeply troubling commentary about Arabs, and how all 18 year olds are garbage.

Laine and Meg talk about a lot of spoilers Laine had to edit out, canne de combat, and sexy character development.

Meg and Laine talk about anxiety, secret love nest cabins, and duels. Like a lot about duels.

Laine and Meg talk about good setups with weird plots, tragic backstories, and whatever the f a dunkelder is.

Laine and Meg admit their bias and talk about Rupert Carsington, their perceptions of historical accuracy, and the importance of seduction.

Laine and Meg talk about Laine's thing for left-handed pitchers, Bull Durham, and race relations in Ohio.

Laine and Meg talk about progressive politics, contraception, and New York sex appeal when discussing this debut novel from Lindsey Brooks.

Laine and Meg talk about scheming siblings, gold diggers, and the importance of sex at poetry readings.

Laine and Meg talk about our interest in men in uniform and how it doesn't extend to a military kink, our aversion to bachelorette accessories, and how to talk about a book with no plot.

Laine and Meg talk about how hard it is to not compare books about suffragists and dukes, reasons people should be sore in romance novels, and romance marketing.

Meg and Laine talk about liking something when you know you shouldn't, the types of fake identities, and really sexy sex.

Laine and Meg admit when they are wrong, discuss historical accuracy, and share a favorite outake.

Laine and Meg talk about romantic magnifying glasses, spoiler-filled book jackets, and how sexy a build up can be.

Laine and Meg talk about being good enough for marriage, art heists, and dog themed items.

Laine and Meg talk about our obliviousness to the Beauty and the Beast retelling, femurs, and villains without a cause.

Laine and Meg talk about fragile masculinity, sex as physical therapy in the water, and believably desperate sex.

Meg and Laine talk about what makes a good mystery, how sexy honorable men are, and stealth feminism.

Laine and Meg talk about the only appropriate use for a carriage, badass women who can do better, and dudes with daddy issues.

Laine and Meg talk about secret identities, getting some when you’re already ruined, and pool sex.

Meg and Laine talk about roofies, convoluted fake murders, and how gross sex in a boxing ring would be.

Meg and Laine talk about bad boys who aren’t that bad, botany as a trope, and a very sexy scene that is all talk and no action (in a good way).

Meg and Laine talk about gambling hells, fallen men, and dowry politics.

Meg and Laine talk about confusing families, reality tv names, and punctuation cockblocks.

Meg and Laine talk about bisexuality in literature, gothic romances in space, and longing looks.

Meg and Laine talk about body insecurity, dead wife tropes, and Justin Beiber.

Laine and Meg talk about pineapple sex, American heiresses, and how to properly christen every room in a house on this Fourth of July themed episode.

Laine and Meg talk about riding a chamber horse, evil brothers, and revenge gone wrong.

Laine and Meg talk about Paris, well-crafted mysteries, and the absence of beef.

Meg and Laine talk about not finding your name on a keychain, overindulgent B plots, and long distance phone sex.

Laine and Meg talk about workplace fantasies, elevator trysts, and getting that promotion, girl.

Laine and Meg talk about BDSM as therapy, when to give an author another chance, and an abundance of tragedy.

Meg and Laine talk about the 90s, consent, and men who can do it all.

Meet the hosts! Laine and Meg talk about what drew them to romance novels, what they like, and the content they’ll be covering.