Romance ME Podcast

In this episode, we discuss Role Playing by Cathy Yardley.
At age 48, Maggie has learned to embrace her inner bog witch, possibly to the point of being detrimental to her mental and emotional well being. Various people in her life are encouraging her to be more social and less of a hermit, but the one with the power to reach her is her son, Kit. Based on Kit’s quid pro quo logic, she finds herself joining a local online guild where she can obtain loot, talk shit, and potentially make friends, like with the guild leader Otter. 
Unbeknownst to Maggie, Otter, who’s real world name is Aiden, isn’t a 20-something being nice to some woman old enough to be his mother, but instead a 50 year old nurse taking care of his actual mother. Isolated from the very family he’s helping, Aiden struggles to assert himself and fight for the life he wants. 
When they finally meet in person, their friendship grows. Can Maggie the bog witch give Aiden the confidence he needs so that he can tell his family to find another scapegoat for the things they don’t like about their own lives? And, in return, can a playful otter really fall in love with a grumbly old bog witch?
Content warning: Queerphobia, racism, emotionally abusive exes
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Coming next: Frost by C.N. Crawford

In this episode, we discuss Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert.
After a brush with death, Chloe rearranges her priorities and writes a list that will ensure she’ll be remembered well once she dies. Chloe is now determined to live her life to the fullest, despite living with the chronic pain of fibromyalgia. To complete the items on her list, she enlists the help of a man who doesn’t like her so she can successfully become all the Chloe she can be.
Always looking to play the knight in shiny armor, Red is a happy-go-lucky artist unless he is reminded of his painful romantic past, involving an upper class woman who, unfortunately, reminds him of Chloe. Despite this, he agrees to assist with getting Chloe a life in exchange for her professional website building expertise.
As Chloe and Red become friends, and maybe more, can they trust each other’s intentions once Chloe finally has achieved a life?
Content warning: An emotionally and physically abusive ex and living with chronic pain.  
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Coming next: Role Playing by Cathy Yardley

In this episode, we discuss Depraved by A.J. Merlin.
Having lived through a formative, terrifying experience when she was young, Sloane works and lives at a camp nestled into a residential area. Virgil is a serial killer just trying to get away from it all and take a little mini-vacay. Sloane finds him intriguing with his snake tattoo, charming looks, and easy way with her guard dog. But, once she finds out that he spends his leisure time un-aliving people, can she ever feel her heart is safe with him?
Content warning: Minimal animal cruelty, kidnapping, panic attacks/anxiety/PTSD, trauma survivorship. Dark romance including stalking, knife play, light strangling, primal play, light BDSM, consensual non-consent, and dubious consent.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Coming next: Get a Life, Chloe Brown by Talia Hibbert

In this episode, we discuss A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare.
Susanna’s idyllic seaside home is under invasion of a most brutish sort. These bombers of sheep, these red fever spreading cads, these teashop renaming bulls led by none other than the chief bull Bramwell, the recently elevated Earl of Rycliff. 
Susanna and Bram fight for the betterment of the locals – her by maintaining tranquility as well as an restorative atmosphere and him by preparing for a battle that may or may not happen. Will they be able to find common ground? Or will they make their demarcation lines in the sand?
Content warning: Dubious consent, FMC strikes the MMC
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Coming next: Depraved by A.J. Merlin

In this episode, we discuss Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks
Evelyn and Graeme are forced into an arranged marriage devised by their king to bring an end to the long-standing feud between their families. Both families think this is the worst thing that could ever happen, especially to poor, gentle Evelyn who is thought of as “daft.” How can she ever be a “true wife” to Graeme?
Once Graeme learns Evelyn’s secret and they begin to fall in love, they must now embark on the difficult task of overcoming the ingrained hatred between the families. And, now that Evelyn’s secret is out, Graeme must fight to protect Evelyn from her terrifying past. 
Content warning: Abilism, abuse, and captivity
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Coming next: A Night to Surrender by Tessa Dare

In this episode, we discuss Enemy Lines by Alex Lidell.
Kyan is determined to rescue everyone he can to make up for the one person he didn’t save. This includes his doctor Ivy, who moved to Denton Valley to escape the danger threatening her life. For mutual benefit, they make an arrangement: He will help her learn to function under constant pressure and she will help him get his medical clearance renewed. But, when Ivy backs out of their deal, will Kyan be able to forgive her and finally work to save himself?
Content warning: Trauma survivorship, unhealthy couple dynamics, emotional manipulation/abuse, physical altercation between the couple, indentured servitude
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Coming Next: Never Seduce a Scot by Maya Banks

In this episode, we discuss Beard in Mind by Penny Reid.
Beau has a vision of his future, and that vision does not include Shelly, the infuriating, rude mechanic his brothers hired to ensure their family business doesn’t turn into a parking lot. As he grapples with the complexity of Shelly’s prickly exterior, he realizes that there is more to the woman than he first assumed. When a family secret comes to light, will Mr. Fix-It Beau allow Shelly to provide him with the emotional support that he didn’t even realize he needed?
Content warning: OCD as a major theme, self harm
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com

In this episode, we discuss Bound to the Battle God by Ruby Dixon.
When Faith goes to check on a sound in an empty apartment, she inadvertently finds herself a plaything of the gods as she is sent to another world where she is now the low woman on the totem pole. All she wants to do is go home, where she's a slave to the dollar and not a sex slave or sacrificial lamb. 
The arrogant battle god Aron is being taught a lesson by the High Father when he's sent to walk amongst the mortals, who he assumes will be eager to provide him aid. His sole supporter is Faith, as she considers him her ticket out of trouble. Soon, the two set out to win Aron's battle to return back to the Aether. 
As they trek across the countryside and plan for victory, will god Aron keep taking his Faith for granted? Or will he move Aether and Aos to remain anchored forever? 
Content warning: Dubious consent, non-consent, slavery (including sex-slavery)
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com

In this episode, we discuss Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell.
Dumpster-fire walking, Tennal is self-medicating and self-indulging in an effort to cope with the enhanced mental capabilities of his “reader” brain. He’s living the charmed life of a socioeconomically advantaged civilian as if there are no consequences… until there are, you know, consequences. The next thing he knows, he’s forcibly enlisted in the Cavalry and bullied into syncing with a babysitter, aka “architect”, Lt. Surit.
Hard working Lt. Surit is a model soldier. He doesn’t plan to disobey orders, but when he is ordered to sync with the non-consenting Tennal, Surit is forced to reevaluate why a social pariah like him was given this opportunity in the first place. 
Content warning: Themes surrounding a lack of consent
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Happy Place by Emily Henry.
Although Harriet and Wyn know they have been broken up for five months, no one else does. When they are summoned to Maine for their annual Summer meetup with their besties, they don’t want to let said besties know that there is trouble in paradise. In fact, paradise is lost, possibly for good. 
So, to keep the peace for one final summer hang, they agree to remain fake-engaged before going back to their separate, uncoupled lives. But, as the forced proximity with Wyn causes Harriet to relive their greatest hits, she begins to wonder if her Happy Place is actually a place at all.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss By the Book by Jasmine Guillory.
Isabelle works in publishing, helping to encourage authors to bring their stories to life. While she enjoys her work, she is feeling underappreciated by her boss. She wishes she could grow her career and she doesn’t really want to be a babysitter for a beastly writer who isn’t writing.
Beau, the grumpy pants author, has writer’s block and the bad attitude that often accompanies it. He is clearly not prepared for Izzy to intrude upon his domain, armed with tips, tricks, and a spine of steel. Izzy confronts Beau, his bullshit, his writer’s block, and his personal baggage. Izzy is clearly good for Beau, but is Beau good for Izzy?
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Husband Material by Alexis Hall.
Four weddings, one funeral, but no Andi Macdowell in this romantic comedy. Instead, we are reacquainted with Luc and Oliver! They fell in love with each other in Boyfriend Material and now, two years later, they are still in love, watching those around them do the next socially expected thing: aka get married. As Luc and Oliver work out what they want in their ceremony, and struggle to compromise, they learn whether they are forever-level compatible.
Content warning: Homophobia, abusive parents.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss The Duchess and the Cowboy by Debra Erfert.
Lady Jane has everything: a nice estate, pretty dresses, dutiful staff, and a husband she gets along with. But one day, her brother-in-law stages a duel with her husband, robbing her of her safe lifestyle. Jane decides to escape her nefarious brother-in-law by moving to Nevada where she meets cowboy Heath, who has his own issues. They become friends, but will their differences in social class and cultures stand in the way of falling in love?
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Seven Years by Dannika Dark.
Seven years after disappearing, Austin Cole returns along with his grumpiness and sexiness. Lexi Knight is trying to not appreciate either as she attempts to learn why he left after Wes, his best friend and her brother, died under mysterious circumstances. However, things escalate when her mother is abducted, and Lexi learns a secret about her past, which forces Lexi and Austin under one roof so he can protect her and they can sort out their feelings. 
Content warning: Obsessive exes, rapey dudes, other man drama
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Shame On You by Tara Sivec.
Army veteran Kennedy is struggling with her new normal: civilian life, single parenthood, and new business ownership. In the course of her duties as a bounty hunter, she joins forces with Griffin, a former friend who kept her husband's infidelity a secret while she was serving her country in Afghanistan. While on the hunt for the bail jumper, can Kennedy discover who the actual bad guy is? And, can she learn compassion for the men who've wronged her? 
Content warning: In this world, casual misogyny, man-hating, gun violence, and familial abuse are funny.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh.
Sascha is a Psy who is experiencing a problematic flare up of emotion, which could get her sent to ‘rehabilitation’ to have her feelings/personality removed. To avoid this fate, she suppresses her emotions to pass as a normal Psy – nothing to see here. That all changes when she meets Lucus, a Changeling who’s used to expressing all of his feels and getting his own way. Lucus is trying to catch a serial killer. He senses that Sascha is different and hopes she can help. 
Exposure to the Changeling way of life has Sascha questioning everything. While they try to stop the murderer from starting an all-out war, Sascha must also decide if she wants to continue to control her emotions.
Content warning: Mind rape, elements of dubious consent
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Transcendence by Shay Savage.
Ehd is a man with a cave but no tribe. As a result, he struggles to find a purpose for his life after the end of another long, lonely winter. Enter his purpose: Elizabeth, a mysterious woman from the future. Together, they must face the prehistoric wilderness while trying to find some way to communicate without words.
Content warning: Dubious consent, attempted rape, threat of child loss, heroine is maybe a highschooler
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Spellbound by Allie Therin.
In 1925 New York, booze and non-heterosexuality were illegal. A magical disaster is threatening the city, and New York’s mightiest heroes are attempting to prevent the atrocity. Two of these champions are Arthur Kenzie, a wealthy veteran of The Great War, and Rory Brodigan, a poor orphan hiding a secret identity. When Arthur’s past returns to threaten the future, they work together to save the city and themselves.
Content warning: Racist and homophobic laws and social conventions of the past.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss The American Roommate Experiment by Elena Armas.
New romance writer Rosie moves into her bestie’s empty apartment to avoid being crushed to death by the bathroom ceiling in her own apartment. Bestie is on her honeymoon, so Rosie can’t ask her for permission, but assumes it’s fine. While there, she meets bestie’s cute older cousin Lucus, who she’s had an online crush on for months. Unlike her, he is supposed to be there. 
Since neither Rosie nor Lucas want the other to be out of a place to stay, they agree to cohabitate as roommates until Rosie’s apartment is fixed. It is under this not-crumbling roof that they devise a plan to help Rosie out of her romance writer’s block by engaging in dating experiments. When it works to inspire her, she and Lucus are left wondering if they can truly believe in the results.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod
Check out Em's recommendation for this episode: Moment of Truth by PBS NewsHour.

In this episode, we discuss Book Lovers by Emily Henry.
Nora Stephens is not a small town girl. Nora Stephens is the city girl who gets dumped by boyfriends for the small town girl. As a last hoorah before her sister gives birth, Nora and her sister Libby go to Sunshine Falls, NC, so they can have a vacation from city life… a life Nora loves. 
But, what’s a vacay without a checklist? Not one Nora and Libby want to be on, so they devise a list of Small Town Must Dos to keep themselves occupied – one of which is for Nora to date a small town guy. Nora goes along with this despite the fact that she’s developing feelings for a not-so-small town guy who doesn’t count as far as her sister is concerned.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast | Facebook: @romanceMEpod

In this episode, we discuss Bows and Eros by Ava Devlin.
In a quiet, snow covered town, grade school teacher Noor expects to deal with the chaos of Family Fun Day, not ancient Greek gods running amuck.
Amidst the mayhem, she pairs up with Ethan, the single father of a former student, both to find his child and to help tame the wild love magic. But, with so much love in the air, how can Noor know if her developing feelings for Ethan are real?
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast

In this episode, we discuss Forbidden by Beverly Jenkins.
Eddy is traveling to California with dreams of owning her own restaurant. On the way, she trusts the wrong person and is abandoned to die in the Nevada desert. Luckily, Eddy is rescued by Rhine, a local business owner who happens to be in the right place at the right time.
Eddy and Rhine have an immediate, yet forbidden, attraction to each other. But now Eddy is out of the frying pan and into the fire of social rules which state that people of color can’t marry white people. Rhine has a secret that will allow them to be together, but is he willing to give up the privileges he’s been granted passing for white so that he can marry Eddy?
Content warning: Racism including segregation, some racist language, hate crimes, and mentions of racist violence. Threat of sexual assault. Mentions of child abuse and pedophilia. One of the main characters is a former slave.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast

In this episode, we discuss A Ticking Time Boss by Olivia Hayle.
Perhaps you’ve heard this before: a journalist and a billionaire walk into a bar and become texting buddies. 
The journalist, Audrey Ford, is having a panic attack because blind dates are stressful, and the billionaire, Carter Kingsley, is just the sort of guy who can help out with a joke or two. They bond, exchange phone numbers, and stay connected. 
Later, Audrey meets Carter face to face once again when she goes to interview her new boss, who turns out to be Carter. Awkward. As they try to figure out who they are to one another and whether they can even still be friends, Audrey and Carter might just discover a truth they didn’t see coming.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast

In this episode, we discuss There’s Something about Merry by Codi Hall.
When her life implodes after yet another terrible ex, Merry Winters moves back home to Mistletoe, Idaho to be where she feels rooted. Single dad Clark Griffin is now working on the Christmas Tree farm owned by Merry’s parents. When the position on the farm Merry wants is given to Clark, a tension develops, causing isolationist Clark to actively avoid the boss's daughter.
Longing for an adult connection, Clark signs up on an online dating site where he meets KnottyGirl. As he juggles his feelings for Merry and KnottyGirl, Clark wonders if there just isn’t something about Merry.
Content warning: Animal abuse (but they are still okay, guys) and characters with history of childhood abuse.
Website: romanceMEpodcast.com | Twitter: @romanceMEcast