Meg and Laine talk about books
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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.
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The Undermining of Twyla and Frank by Megan Bannen
27:24
27:24
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27:24
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.
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My Word As Vorkosigan: A Civil Campaign
1:05:08
1:05:08
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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.
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It's our favorite time of year: Lady Sherlock Time
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We talk for.... a while about season 3 of Bridgerton.
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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?
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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.
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We've reached the Ali Hazelwood singularity and we are here for it.
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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.
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The Countess Without Conviction by Katherine Grant
31:32
31:32
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31:32
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.
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Meg and Alex are joined by Jill Tew to discuss a Vorkosigan novel without any Vorkosigans in it.
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All's Fair in Love and War by Virginia Heath
20:15
20:15
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20:15
Henry is very put upon! Georgina is too mouthy for governessing! They figure it out!
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Laine and Meg once again read Romantasy. Meg is glad they aren't teenagers, Laine has questions.
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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.
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Alix Harrow joins Alex and Meg to discuss Memory: the transition book between young Miles and Lord Vorkosigan.
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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.…
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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.
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The Lady Plays with Fire by Susanna Craig
27:11
27:11
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27:11
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.
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Jo Walton joins Meg and Alex to discuss Mirror Dance. Come for the clones, stay for the amnesia.
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We're back with more sentient space dildos! Meg loves virgins and Laine needs some innovation.
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This series continues to impress, even when exploring our less-enjoyed tropes.
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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.
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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?
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The Sailor Without a Sweetheart by Katherine Grant
34:59
34:59
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34:59
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.
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Eleven Scandals to Start to Win a Duke's Heart by Sarah MacLean
43:34
43:34
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43:34
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.
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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.
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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.
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Is this the biggest disagreement ever on plot trysts?
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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."
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We (reasonably IMO) expected a sex book. This was NOT a sex book.
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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!
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A Governess's Guide to Passion and Peril by Manda Collins
20:45
20:45
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20:45
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."
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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.
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Ten Ways to Be Adored When Landing a Lord by Sarah MacLean
31:25
31:25
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31:25
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.
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My Word As Vorkosigan: Borders of Infinity
1:25:59
1:25:59
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1:25:59
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.
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This book is neither hinged nor unhinged. It was fun, but we like the extremes.
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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.
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The Chemistry of Familiar Objects by Alexandra Vasti
23:46
23:46
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23:46
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.
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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.
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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!
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If you criticize Sunny, Meg will fight you. Just an FYI.
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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.
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My Word as Vorkosigan: The Warrior's Apprentice
1:03:51
1:03:51
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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.
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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.
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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.
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1
The Breakup Tour by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka
27:59
27:59
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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!
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Meg and Alex are joined by Aliette de Bodard for an in-depth discussion of Barrayar. Long live Cordelia.
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This modern take on Dangerous liaisons charmed both of us. Who knew hide and seek could be so sexy?
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The Suffragette Scandal by Courtney Milan
39:12
39:12
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39:12
We bought this one completely, from the conflict to the love story. Maybe the ending was unbelievably sweet, but that's a good thing.
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Her Adventures in Temptation by Megan Frampton
22:29
22:29
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22:29
This book is fun and charming and cute. However, be prepared that (for a book about a sex bet) it's very tame.
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