Book Episodes

To celebrate Women's History Month, I'm highlighting favorite real and fictional badasses. Warning: I mention the word badass many, many times in this episode. Clearly I love me a bit of badassery. Women worthy of official biographies and iconoclastic female characters in historical romances all provide ready-made inspiration. I need as much of that as I can get. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com Virginia Woolf's house on Gordon Square (4th picture in right sidebar). She had many gath...

I'm really starting to feel that cultural and romantic invisibility cloak that covers women of a certain age. Luckily, there are a few aspirational, sometimes inspiring TV shows and movies that feature people over the age of 40 romancing each other and getting it on — even if it seems that you need to have a beautiful face, well-placed wrinkles and a near-perfect body to deserve the same.
CW: talk of anti-body positivity and toxic Hollywood and cultural beauty standards.

The lessons keep on coming! In this final episode in my miniseries on what I've learned from romance, I encounter...monster erotica. I'm tardy to the party, so giggle along with me as I explore my "first-won't-be-last" monster fucking romance, and listen to an excerpt from an erotic monster story--full of tentacle sex--by guest author VB Beringer.

My year of reading romances has modeled so many good things for me, especially stories with the family of choice trope. We're not all lucky enough to be raised in an emotionally healthy family, so reading about how loving, supportive people show up for the people they care about can be a healing experience. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com Lauren is a fellow member of the Heaving Bosoms podcast Facebook page, and we share a love of many of the same romances. She was so much fun to ta...

I've made some surprising discoveries about myself while reading romances this year. The wave of positivity, love, respect and acceptance for all sorts of fictional characters in these stories has encouraged me to love and accept myself, and even discover new aspects of my sexuality.

It's the Anglophile edition of the podcast, where I claim to "not be into royalty all that much," and then immediately prove myself wrong. Fake kingdoms in mountainous areas of Europe, fake royalty who always seem to speak with a British accent, commoners lifted from their humdrum, working-class lives as a metaphoric crown is placed on their heads: I might giggle uncontrollably over the contrivances, but I'll watch and read it all.

My current fantasy bedroom is full of steam & kink. I'm in the mood, people, so let's read-aloud from some of the hottest, kinkiest romances I've ever read! It's hard to find this level of heat, consent, care AND happy-ever-after on screen, but romance writers have got you covered.

There's nothing more intimate than a letter, card, text or message written for your eyes only. The epistolary novel has been popular for centuries, and romantic stories using this device can feel like the best kind of eavesdropping.

The sweet, sexy romantic cinnamon roll: there's no better hero in all of Romancelandia. Let's explore this gooey hearted, tender fictional confection and why this character brings all the feels.

Intimacy and love can be found in the most unexpected places. In sci-fi and fantasy-tinged romance, that means online, offline, synthetic or organic, from a lab, with creatures on earth or heaven above. Open hearts find love everywhere.

Sometimes all I want in this world is strong arms around me, someone who has my back, and a soft place to fall. That's when I pull out a good bodyguard romance. Nothing in the world makes me feel safer than these stories. They've got me dreaming of an avenger, a 24/7 personal protection officer of my very own.

Many contemporary romances are based on, or inspired by, rom-com movies. Turns out recycling romance is good for the narrative arc--and heart as well.

Music romances and seduces listeners, sometimes gently and sometimes with a rough, dirty, driving, relentless hot beat. That kind of romance rocks, and its rockstars are sex on legs.

I crave more sex- and age-positivity, a wider range of human sexuality and relationship, in the romantic TV shows and movies that I watch now. Romance novels have always done a great job at representing shame-free sexuality, desire, and fantasy. But the Netflix series Easy and the movie The Overnight also get it right.

Romances about people at the height of their physical prowess in pro sports finding love with a partner who matches their wit and talents is a bit unfair to us mere mortals. But I'll live vicariously through these stories all day long.

Found family, partners, true-blue friends: it's all about the groups of people who claim us, warm our hearts, and have our backs no matter what, who help us feel that we belong.

Banter is the best kind of romantic conversation, full of wit and emotional tension, leaving clues for us about how the couple really feels about each other. The best banter strip teases for our brain. It's verbal foreplay for the hot action to come. It's all about the juicy, sexy romantic banter in this episode.

Human beings exist on a spectrum of diversity and differences, and romances that reflect that are touching my heart lately. The widest range of life experiences represented in stories can only be a good thing.  Being seen and accepted, not treated as an exception, is inspiring. It's all part of the flow of life.

Some of my favorite romantic stories create intimate worlds where true, vulnerable, heartfelt things can be said--and done. Sometimes it takes half the story to get there, sometimes it takes most of the story, but it's always worth the wait for that magic moment when characters finally bare their hearts.

Most romance makes me feel warm, optimistic and hopeful. But sometimes hot and kinky is what you need. A touch of BDSM. Sex with an alien. The wild fantasies of some contemporary romances practically catch fire on the page. And sometimes non-fancy hot sex with good communication and a considerate fictional character who appeals to you does the trick. It's risk-free,  shame-free pretend in this episode, in any flavor you want. Vanilla?  I'm here to support it all.

I've been having fun reading a ton of contemporary romances featuring buff young things getting it on. But it's time to get real: which means ageless love, with plenty of imperfection, wisdom and fun thrown in. It's romance full of humor, honesty, acceptance and kindness. The sexiest combo I know.

This episode is about one of my favorite romantic tropes of all time: the grand--or small but meaningful--romantic gesture. https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com Stream NBC's Lipstick Jungle here The Age of Innocence trailer Elizabeth's thank you to Darcy and the second proposal scene from the 1995 BBC Pride & Prejudice The breathtaking glider scene from Fifty Shades of Grey. One Last Night by Vaults is on constant repeat lately, and I can picture every moment of this scene when I hear it...

In this extra episode, I continue talking about the actor Matt Bomer, because I can't get enough of his performance in The Last Tycoon. Someone, rescue me… https://www.confessionsofaclosetromantic.com The Last Tycoon trailer: https://youtu.be/KnRIv-QNtjg Pure glamor: https://condenaststore.com/featured/norma-shearer-and-irving-thalberg-in-a-garden-edward-steichen.html?product=poster Oh, this picture: https://artsmeme.com/2009/01/15/jewish-prince-of-hollywood/ More about F. Scott Fitzgerald and T...

In this episode I talk about some of my favorite visual romantic tropes— like a grab and a kiss and passion in the woods, used so well in the movie Becoming Jane. Becoming Jane movie trailer: https://youtu.be/qmd-ej9Hx20 That Dance: https://youtu.be/mXoa7RcYT8M Emma proposal scene: https://youtu.be/LTgOLHxQ9mM More about Jane Austen's early life: https://www.notablebiographies.com/An-Ba/Austen-Jane.html