Year of the Unicorn by Andre Norton is a 1965 fantasy novel with subtle romantic elements. How does this vintage novel featuring outsider characters compare with today’s romantasy? Romance reader Kassi joins Shelf Love to discuss Gillan’s journey of identity, empowerment, and agency as she embarks on an adventure: arranged marriage with a were Rider. Would you give up your power for a beautiful fantasy? It’s very demure, very mindful — this oldie is a goodie, although there are no unicorns.

Discussed: Year of the Unicorn by Andre Norton (1965)

Guest: Kassi

Shelf Love:

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Ever wondered why Regencies became all the rage? Or how historical romances shape and sanitize our perceptions of history? This episode delves into how Regency romances displace inconvenient historical truths. A critical look at older 'problematic' romances like Jennifer Blake's 'Fierce Eden' reveals the complexities of characters and settings, challenging the current sanitized romantic fantasies. This audio essay touches upon how modern Regency romance often overlooks deeper societal issues for the comfort of readers, questioning if this trend truly makes the genre better or just more palatable.

Read the original Substack essay here: https://shelflovepodcast.substack.com/p/colonizing-history-historical-romance

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Some call it Romantasy, some call it Dragon Corn (except replace the C with a P). Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros is hotter than dragon’s breath, and so of course we have to see if we can figure out why it’s so popular. Sarah Skilton joins me to discuss “love triangles,” indescribable pain that we would actually like described, War College, and how…hot…Xaden…is. Also, is Fourth Wing enjoyable for people with romance or fantasy genre competence? Listen…or die.

Discussed: Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Guest: Sarah Skilton

Website: www.sarahskilton.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiltongram/

Hollywood Ending by Tash Skilton: https://bookshop.org/p/books/hollywood-ending-tash-skilton/15806212?ean=9781496730671

Shelf Love:

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Ever wondered how "The Hating Game" fares in a classroom setting? Dr. Diana Filar is back to discuss her experiences teaching The Hating Game book and film in a class about popular genre fiction. We discuss the challenges of translating romance novels into films, how stereotypes of genres are formed and challenged, and what it's like introducing non-genre readers to romance. Learn about Dr. Filar's approach to incorporating popular genre fiction like romance, horror, and suspense into her curriculum, how class conversations resembled a Battle of the Sexes as they explored texts that engaged with gender in different ways, and why it’s so hard to both adapt romance and teach romance novels as a genre in the classroom.

Class texts also included Gone Girl, Arrival, and The Exorcist.

Guest: Dr. Diana Filar

Website | Twitter

Listen to Dr. Diana Filar on the #1 most-downloaded episode of Shelf Love: 

092. I've Got No Roots: White Immigrant Assimilation & (Romance) Adaptation

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Do you love scent marking, some healthy jealousy, and a beautiful and believable mix of internal and external romance in your paranormal werewolf romance? Get your parka and bundle up for "Cold Hearted" by Heather Guerre, the first book in the Tooth and Claw series, in discussion with foremost vampire defender, Dame Jodie Slaughter. We explore werewolves, vampires, Alaska as a transporting setting, depression, Andrea’s soft vulnerable belly, and found family and community, highlighting the book’s atmospheric setting and rich character development. The conversation delves into the unique elements of limited third-person narrative, the dynamics of jealousy, and the beauty of slow-burn romance.

Guest: Dame Jodie Slaughter, Shelf Love’s Vampire Defender

Website | Twitter | Instagram

To learn more about Dame Jodie Slaughter, follow her on Instagram @jodie_slaughter and on Twitter @jodieslaughter. Check out her books, including "Play to Win" and "Bet on It," and keep an eye out for her upcoming sapphic romance, "Ready to Score."

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

“What is a greater expression of love than eating someone else or wanting to consume and have that person in a way that no one else can have?” Dr. Nicola Welsh-Burke joins to delve into the intriguing topic of cannibalism in romance novels. We explore the intersection of food, eating, and sexuality, discuss the metaphorical use of cannibalism in literature, and examine the societal taboos and fascinations with the concept. The conversation touches upon various themes such as erotic vampirism, werewolf lore, incorrect eating, and how these elements are used to explore deeper human desires and fears.

Media Mentioned/Discussed:

• Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause
• Tooth and Claw series by Heather Guerre
• Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
• Hannibal (TV show)
• A Certain Hunger by Chelsea G. Summers
• Fresh (film) Twilight (books/film)
• Betwixt the Sheets Podcast
• Kinky History Podcast
• Sex historian Esme Louise James

Guest: Dr. Nicola Welsh-Burke

Dr. Welsh-Burke is an academic and lecturer at Western Sydney University in Sydney, Australia. She’s an early-stage researcher in folklore and fairy tales and the romance genre, and her PhD was on contemporary YA supernatural romance, retellings of little red riding hood from the 21st century.

Twitter

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

If you’ve always wanted to hear about a romance that takes place within a traveling circus and features a telepathic tiger, hang onto your trapeze bar: Emma from the Substack Restorative Romance and the Reformed Rakes podcast is here to talk about Susan Elizabeth Phillips' “Kiss an Angel,” a contemporary romance that feels like a historical and features an arranged marriage that leads to circus life. In a highly contentious conversation between rival podcasters, the one thing we can agree on the importance of conflict and character flaws in creating a compelling story.

Discussed: Kiss and Angel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Guest: Emma, a law librarian and writer at Restorative Romance on Substack, and a member of Reformed Rakes.

Substack | Reformed Rakes Website

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

Guest: Sarah Rutherford, a romance reader and Associate Professor of Design at Cleveland State University

@sarahatschool on Instagram

Highlights:

1. The evolution of romance novel covers from the 1980s to the contemporary post-digital age.
2. The significant role of design elements such as typography, color, and imagery in conveying the genre and themes of romance novels.
3. The impact of digital publishing on cover designs, including the preference for stock photography and simplified imagery.
4. How cover designs serve as a branding tool for books and how they contribute to personal branding for readers and collectors.
5. Sarah shares anecdotes about identifying and collecting romance novels based on their covers, highlighting the emotional and aesthetic appeal of cover art.

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

I was a guest on The Categorically Romance Podcast to discuss my category romance collecting addiction, reading some books from Kiss a short-lived Harlequin line from the early 20 teens, and how not being allowed to read romance as a teen actually made me more obsessed with reading romance. Hope you enjoy this episode and I definitely recommend that you check out the Categorically Romance Podcast if you're not already listening.

We read The One that Got Away by Kelly Hunter (Kiss #1) and If You Can't Stand the Heat by Joss Wood.

Learn more about The Categorically Romance Podcast: https://linktr.ee/TheCategoricallyRomancePodcast

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

In this episode, host Andrea Martucci embarks on a journey with Dame Jodie Slaughter to the Covering Romance exhibition. The event showcases romance novel cover art by award-winning artist, John Ennis. Interviews with John Ennis and other attendees, including author Nisha Sharma, romance fan Mary Lynne Nielsen, and Fin, owner of Wolf and Kron books, a genre bookstore. Andrea purchases several pieces of cover art and reflects with Jodie on the cultural significance of fandom and passion for the genre.

Fellow Traveler: Dame Jodie Slaughter, International Fandom Criticizer

Website | Twitter | Instagram

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]

An exploration of prison planet romances with Megan Erickson. We discuss Guardian by Emmy Chandler and how it explores issues of consent, agency, and morality through an extreme version of the forced proximity trope. Are these brutal dystopians actually hopeful explorations of humanity and love?

Shelf Love:

• NEW! Substack for original writing and stuff | Website | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
• Email: [email protected]