Recipe for Romance

In this week’s episode of Romance on the Rocks, we’re pairing Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon with Savor It by Tarah DeWitt, mixing brambles and beer while we dig into jealousy, growth and the kind of love that forces you to choose who you want to be.

First, we head back to 1957. Odd Girl Out follows college freshman Laura as she falls for magnetic upperclassman Beth in a relationship that has to exist behind closed doors. The emotional stakes feel young because they are. There’s jealousy, possessiveness and miscommunication; but there’s also honesty, tenderness and a love triangle without a true villain. We talk about secrecy shaped by the era, the presence of victim-blaming and self-harm, and why this foundational lesbian romance still feels emotionally authentic nearly 70 years later.

Then we shift to contemporary small-town Spunes, Oregon in Savor It. Fisher, a burned-out New York chef, lands in town after professional implosion and personal loss. Sage, a community-rooted teacher with a hobby farm, becomes his neighbor and eventual partner in both the Festival of Spunes and something much more vulnerable. We break down the banter, the communication that actually works and the grief that gets processed instead of glossed over. Indy’s storyline hits especially hard, proving that found family can be just as powerful as romance.

We also dive into audiobook performance, including dual versus duet narration and why Jacob Morgan/Zachary Weber’s voice acting can elevate chemistry on the page. Spice level lands at jalapeño. Cozy without being corny. Emotional without losing its edge.

As always, we close with scent notes, a booby prize showdown and a reminder that love stories are not just about who ends up together. They're about who grows, who risks and who learns to breathe easier.

Pour a drink and join us.

Meghan's Beverage & Book:  Odd Girl Out by Ann Bannon with Point Beer & a Martini

Nicole's Beverage & Book:  Savor It by Tarah DeWitt with The "Savor Slowly" Bramble

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Transcript

Nicole:

I'm Nicole Danielle. 

Meghan:

And I'm Meghan Leigh. And this is Romance on the Rocks, where two bookish biddies imbibe and talk about the romance novels that they have been reading. What do you have this time around, Nicole, or should we talk about drinks first?

Nicole:

Well, you know, we're still doing uh pick a number right now this month. 

Meghan:

That is true. 

Nicole:

So, we're doing the picks of numbers. And I um have a lovely book called Savor It by Tara DeWitt. And in this book, there is a lot of Marionberry mentions for those of our Oregonians. And a Marionberry, for those not familiar, is very similar to a BlackBerry. So, I'm excited to present to you. I'm real proud of this one. Okay. The Savor Slowly Bramble.

I don't have Marionberries because I live in North Carolina, not Oregon. But I had a bumper crap of crap or crop of blackberries this year, and they're frozen in my freezer. So, this involves gin. 

Meghan:

We love some gin, you and I. 

Nicole:

Absolutely. Lemon juice, honey, frozen blackberries, and uh, you know, it's called for a pinch of brown sugar. I feel like with the honey, I don't need it any sweeter than that.

Meghan:

Is the brown sugar just supposed to give it a different kind of sweetness, maybe like a little bit darker or more caramelly flavor?

Nicole:

No, it's supposed to like if your berries are too tart, but I like a tart. I like a tart, berry. I like a tart. 

Meghan:

You like a tart. 

Nicole:

I do. 

Meghan:

Lordy.

Nicole:

What was your book and what are you drinking? 

Meghan:

I read the first book in the Beebo Brinker Chronicles. It's called The Odd Girl Out. And this book was so full of beer. Lots and lots of beer. It's a, it's a college town. Like these are kids in college, so it was a lot of, you know, “let me pick you up. We can go for a beer.” You know, “they met for a beer.” And in fact, there's one scene where one of the main characters heads to the bar, she's feeling depressed. So, she orders two beers, sits by herself at a table, and by the time her buddy gets there, she has just been slamming back beers the whole time. And it says here, “when she first got there, Beth stopped at the bar to get some beer. They didn't serve anything stronger”. 

So, I went with a beer. It's the one that was in my fridge, which is a Stevens Point…

Nicole:

Well, is that a point? 

Meghan:

It's a point beer. Yeah. 

Nicole:

Well, we love Stevens Point, Wisconsin. 

Meghan:

Yep. And it's a lakeside. 

Although directly after that scene, she convinces her friend to take her to another bar that has real drinks, and she gets a martini. We all know I'm not so fond of a martini, but I did make myself a mini version in a tiny glass here. So, I do have my beer and my martini, which are the two drinks that were in this book. 

Nicole:

Okay. Two fisting it. 

Meghan:

Yep. I haven't had a beer in a while. I have a couple sips once in a while, but we're gonna we're gonna drink this one and enjoy it.

Nicole:

All right. Well, you are up first this time, my lady. And I believe you went you went retro vintage.

Meghan:

Yeah. I had actually thought about keeping this book for our mothers of romance because that's a theme that we've got going on later on this year. We wanted to kind of hop backwards in time and take off our hats to the ladies who came before us. So, I had this one set aside, but I've been waiting a while to read it. So, I threw it into the ring with this pick a number, and she came up. Odd Girl Out is a very formative novel in the like lesbian romance genre. This book was written originally in 1957, and what made it different than a lot of the other uh lesbian fiction back in the day is it wasn't it wasn't tawdry. It it's got a lot of emotional depth. Our leading lady is Laura Landon. She's a college freshman in the 1950s, but we learn early on she comes to school fresh from a family scandal. You see, her parents have just recently gotten divorced. 

Nicole:

Not the big D. 

Meghan:

Yeah, the big D. Not that kind of D. It's a lesbian novel, Nicole. 

Um, anyway, heaven forbid we let the other students know about the divorce because whatever would they think? Laura comes across as fearful, quiet, uh rigid, uh, a very anxious sort of person. It's not easy for her to meet people, so when she gets invited to join a sorority, she jumps at the chance. It'll be an easy way to feel involved and make friends. But that brings us into the circle of both Emmy and Beth, two upperclassmen who end up being her roommates at the sorority house. Emmy has been hotly pursuing this campus legend named Bud. He's what we would call a super senior. He he's like in his sixth year of college and seems to be biding his time uh at school in order to keep drinking, chasing girls, and playing with the jazz bands at the local clubs. Emmy is smitten for whatever reason, and she does her best to do like everything she thinks that Bud wants her to do because she's trying to keep him. Because again, he's kind of a womanizer and she wants to make sure she's the one in his life. Beth, on the other hand, no time for the fellas. Apparently, she used to be quite the socialite, mucking it up with hordes of guys, but in the last like year or so, she has become far more guarded. She's still heavily involved with her classes and friends, but has pretty much withdrawn from the dating pool. Laura is all at once intimidated and fascinated by Beth. Beth seems to be a force of nature who could have any guy she wants, but she just doesn't seem to want it. 

As Laura becomes more acquainted with Beth, she starts getting these little jealous flare-ups whenever Beth spends too much time with anybody else. And at first Laura chalks it up to the fact that she's enamored with Beth. She wants to like *be like* Beth. And eventually she realizes it's because she wants to *be with* Beth. In one of our favorite tropes, we get some forced proximity based on cold weather and needing to stay warm or cuddling in bed at night, which is when Laura first confesses her crush to Beth. But for her part, uh, we find out Beth has been searching for something for years. So even though she has flung herself into relationships and plenty of compromising positions in the past, nothing has really scratched the itch. And she is desperate to feel something. She's never really felt like she's loved another person. So, when Laura makes the shocking revelation, because back in that day, that was a shocking revelation. Beth doesn't balk. She just takes a beat, considers the fact that maybe this is what she's been looking for. She really likes Laura, so why the hell not? Risks don't really scare her, but the possibility of never finding love does scare her. So that sets us on the path for these ladies to have a sweet little love affair while trying to navigate school and a society where their relationship is considered immoral and illegal. 

Laura's father obviously knows his daughter well. He knows she's painfully shy, and he wants her to feel comfortable at college. So, he reaches out to a family friend who also has a kid attending this school and asks, would your kid be willing to show Laura around? So, enter our major plot complication, Charlie Ayers. 

Charlie is a handsome upperclassman, and at his father's bidding, he calls Laura and offers to take her out, be a friend. They hang out a couple times, and it is very clear that Charlie has no interest in her romantically, and she certainly has no interest in him either. They're both just hanging out in order to make their fathers happy. 

Here's my interjection now about the back of this book. I read the back of this book, obviously, you know, when we first picked these from the martini glasses for a pick and number. But this sentence, “Beth defies her feelings by fleeing into marriage”. Okay. Keep that in mind because when I was reading this book, I had not read that back of this book in quite a while. So, as I was going through these characters, my brain made it Laura. Laura was the one that defied her feelings by going into marriage. 

Nicole:

I can see that, especially if she's being set up to like hang out with Charlie. 

Meghan: 

Exactly. So, I had gone through the whole beginning of this book reading it, thinking Laura was clearly the one who was going to push away her feelings and end up going off into a marriage, like a cold, rigid marriage. She's a cold, kind of rigid, anxious woman who plays by the rules and her dad is setting her up with this other guy. And I thought for sure, because Beth is such a kind of light and free spirit and whatever that she would feel that attraction and then run away from it, right? 

So, when this complication finally arose and made it clear to me, I was like, wait a minute, it's not Laura that's running away to marriage, supposedly. It's Beth. Beth “defies her feelings by running away to marriage.” 

Nicole:

Okay. 

Meghan:

So, keep that in mind because I did not, when looking at these characters, I had them totally mixed up. During one of these early hangouts with Laura and Charlie, it was a group setting. Charlie and Beth catch each other's fancy. It's immediately clear that they have intense chemistry, great rapport, and would be good for each other. In fact, it's the first time Beth has ever felt a real romantic spark. And unfortunately, that includes her burgeoning relationship with Laura. 

The new and exciting prospect of dating Charlie is darkened by the fact that she does care for Laura, and Beth knows that trying to break it off would lead to a lot of heartbreak. And Beth doesn't want to be the one to crush Laura. So what follows is a lot of emotional tap dance and emotional reckoning. 

Nicole:

Don't love that. 

Meghan:

Yeah, it's tough. I don't think it's ruining anything to say that Beth and Laura don't end up together, since the back of the book makes it abundantly clear. 

Nicole:

Right, right, right, right. However, I was really happy with the fact that, in my opinion, Beth didn't actually seem to be quote unquote “defying her feelings and fleeing into marriage”, because the end of this book to me felt emotionally appropriate for Laura, Beth, and Charlie. I did not feel as though the Beth and Charlie relationship was something where she was just settling. It seemed like that's where she was supposed to be, but she felt torn because she had already started seeing Laura and felt a responsibility, which is not necessarily the best basis for a relationship, is “I feel responsible for you”. 

Nicole:

Yeah. 

Meghan:

All right, we're gonna go into some quotes. This is when Emmy is trying to set Laura up on a date, and Laura has no interest, but of course feels like she has to in order to make it look like she's a quote unquote normal girl. And it says, “Emmy went on to describe an irresistible young man. They were always irresistible until you're face to face with them.” 

Nicole:

Valid.

Meghan:

Yeah.  Oh, this made me think of this made me think of college. I think of all the gross apartments on like Water Street and whatnot that we had in in Eau Claire. 

Nicole:

It was Chippewa for me, but you know, right along there. 

Meghan:

Yeah, right or right around Dewey Street, wherever all these places were, and they were always houses that were falling apart. And Laura and Charlie are hanging out, and he says something about his terrible apartment, and she says, “What's wrong with it?” And his response is, “everything. You name it. If it's bad, we got it. Bad pipes, bad wiring, bad landlady, bad everything.” It's like, all you could see was the nasty apartments that we used to go party in.

Nicole:

And I'm like, yeah, the shithole I lived in on chip, like, which ran parallel to Water Street, it was supposed to be condemned. We weren't supposed to be living there. And when you pressed on the fake wood panel wall, you could hear the old plaster crumble inside right before you heard the scurry of mice.

Meghan:

The apartment that a bunch of our guy friends lived in had bats in the ceiling.

Nicole:

Oh, yeah.  You’ve always got bats.

Meghan:

So many bats, Nicole, that like if you were in the bathroom, you could see their feet coming through the um the vent. Like little, little bat feet. And once in a while there would be one just flying through the living room while they were playing video games. 

Nicole:

Yeah. Terrible. 

Meghan:

Yeah. 

Nicole:

The number of college places I was at where there was fucking bats around. No, thank you. 

Meghan:

So yeah, anyway, another one that spoke to me. 

Nicole:

Oh, hell yeah. 

Meghan:

Beth and Charlie are out on a date. And he's talking about how when he first met her, it had been years previous. She was dating somebody else that he knew, and he was, you know, besotted, but obviously he couldn't approach her. She was dating somebody else. And she was like, well, what was it you liked about me? And he said, well, actually, “I thought you were strange. I mean, it didn't seem right that you should be wrapped up in books”. Like, and for as much as that makes him sound like an ass, he is not that kind of person in the book. I genuinely was grateful that that Anne Bannon made him as kind and thoughtful and accepting. Beth confesses to him before they start dating that yes, she has been with other guys and slept with people, which back in the 50s, you don't do that and you don't talk about it. She's very honest. And he just nods and he's like, well, that was before. And I was like, Oh, okay. Okay, man, I see you. 

Nicole:

Yeah. 

Meghan:

And later on, he finds out about the relationship between Laura and Beth. And I found his reaction to be also very thoughtful and kind. 

Nicole:

Okay, we like that. 

Meghan:

Yeah. So, in general, I didn't hate that. My problems with this book were there was a lot of jealousy and possessiveness, most of it coming from Laura. The kind of stuff where you look at it and you're like, oh, this definitely feels like a young person with no experience who doesn't know how to handle their feelings or talk them out. And a lot of the behaviors I was looking at, and I'm like, I probably did that same kind of shit when I was like 19. Like it, it sounded very regretfully familiar.

Nicole:

I was just about to say, I'm like, that exactly sounds like pretty much a lot of college and high school girls who are still navigating their maturity and their feelings and their emotions and real-life situations and jealousy and how to deal with that and what's healthy and what's not. 

Meghan:

Yeah.

And it and it becomes slightly manipulative. 

Nicole:

Oof. Don't like that. 

Meghan:

But it happens. 

Nicole:

It happens. 

Meghan:

Exactly. I say slightly because it felt like both of the women were really trying to figure out how to deal with this. And of course, it's not a relationship they can have out in the open. It's not a relationship they can like, well, let's go out for coffee and talk about it. You know, so everything also has to be hush-hush. And then you've got these levels of hiding it or masking it to the world. And that just adds so much more complication that the jealousy and possessiveness is also coming from a place of so little control. So, it made a lot of sense. And there were there were things that all these characters, as they did them, even if I was like, oof, don't like it, totally understand.

Nicole:

That makes sense. Um, just as a comparison, when I read One Shot by AC Wonderland, that was a college set story. And yeah, we don't love when people don't communicate, but also, we're coming from a completely different place in our lives. And so I get that at a college age, these jealousy issues, these lack of communications, bouncing and skirting around, actually talking about things and feeling responsible, but also not taking full responsibility by communicating properly and the manipulation. I mean, it all makes sense at that age. So, I get it.  I get it. 

Meghan:

Yeah. I did not know how to talk about my feelings with a significant other until I was in college and with my fifth-year senior. And he like forced me to talk. You know what I mean? It was like, yeah, I can see that you're not, you're not feeling this. Tell me what's wrong. And just getting the words out just felt so foreign. So yeah, I related a lot to that when I thought back to where I was in that, you know, time period. The other thing I didn't care for, but was absolutely of the time, was the kind of victim blaming that happened with one of the characters. 

Nicole:

Oh.

Meghan:

Something happens to her out of her control, and it becomes one of those, well, “had you not been encouraging that person for the last four weeks, then maybe this wouldn't have happened”. And I looked at it and I'm like, don't love it, but that's exactly what would have been happening in this situation. 

Nicole:

Authentic for the time period. 

Meghan:

Yep. 

Nicole:

I mean it's still authentic for now, but…

Meghan:

I was about to say begrudgingly that unfortunately it's still true today. 

Nicole:

Yeah. 

Meghan:

Definitely during that time period. So again, even though I don't like it, it felt true for what this book was. Uh, so I love the emotional complexity. I love the general acceptance and kindness of the people around these characters when they found out that something untoward was happening.

Nicole:

Okay.

Meghan:

Because a lot of those books, it would definitely be a totally different reaction. So, to see things that were a little bit more tempered was very nice. 

Nicole:

Yeah. 

Meghan:

I thought it was very interesting. One of the characters was dealing with self-harm issues, and that's not something I think I've ever seen in an older novel. And it also made it feel more contemporary, even given like kind of the old language and the, you know, golly gee type of atmosphere. It reminded me a lot of the kind of writing you'd have with like an Anne of Green Gables or little women. It felt very wholesome, even though it was romantic. That…this is definitely a green pepper, right? You're even though this…

Nicole:

I was about to ask. Yeah. 

Meghan:

Yeah, yeah, for sure. For the time, it was the subject matter that made it so edgy. And for the time, it was the thoughtful treatment of the subject matter that made it such a cutting-edge book. 

But it really…the fact that you're going through these romantic relationships, and again, like Little Women, you expect Jo to end up with Laurie, right? And that's not what happens because they find the better relationships for them and they grow emotionally. And when you first meet those characters, they are young and impetuous and jealous and whatever. They get older and they become these whole human beings with different interests and different loves. 

This was just the first book in this chronicle. I think it's four novels altogether. So, I'm kind of curious because it does follow Laura, how she's going to grow from here, because she definitely grew in this book. Had she stayed the same, I probably wouldn't have liked her. But I have a feeling I would like her even better going forward. And so very glad I read it. It was not what I expected. I'm glad I read it. 

Nicole:

Okay. 

Meghan:

Yeah, that is my review. 

Nicole:

Okay.

I have Savor It by Tara Dewitt, USA Today bestselling author. She's got a couple of other books titled Lost and Found, as well as Left of Forever, that are standalones but kind of fun and exciting, also connect to other characters we meet in this book. This is a fairly recent publication of 2024. I'm putting this in the romantic comedy, contemporary romance, but there was some heavy-hitting stuff that happened in here as well, as far as rom-com goes. Our main characters are Sage Byrd, and Byrd is with a Y.  She's a very community-minded gal living in a small town. And you and I have made fun of this as we've been previewing, previewing and teasing this novel. SPEWNS!  

Meghan:

Okay. How is it spelled? How's it spelled? 

Nicole:

Okay, S-P-U-N-E-S. So, it's not spumes of mane from earlier in our podcast history. It's Spunes with an N. And here's the thing. I'm actually glad that I ended up listening to the audiobook version, which I'll get into later in my review. But it is pronounced spoons like the utensil. 

Meghan:

Oh, and that's not as like fun. 

Nicole:

It's really not. But for the sake of correctness, it's spoons. 

Meghan:

All right. I'll allow it. 

Nicole:

Right. So Sage is a high school teacher, and when she's not teaching, she spends her time gardening and taking care of a menagerie of animals on her hobby farm. I found Sage to be sweet and caring, down to earth and delightful, though sometimes her inner monologue and thoughts meandered a little too much for me. Then we have Fisher Lang. He's a hotshot chef from New York City who's dealing with some huge professional and personal losses. 

First off, his sister Freya was killed in a car accident, and he's had trouble stepping up to the plate to take care of his teenage niece, Indy. And part of that is because of the intense nature of his job as a Michelin star-earning chef. But the restaurant he was working at lost its stars because of him, and he was fired because he lost his temper with a food critic. It involved pie. It was caught on video and put all over social media. But honestly, the food critic was a douche and he deserved it. And it happened right after Freya's death. So, I get why it happened. There's a tipping point for everyone, you know?

Meghan:

Mm-hmm.

Nicole:

The plot line, Fisher's former boss and personal friend, Carly, is giving him a second chance. She asks him to go to Spunes to help open her. It's just not fun when I say spoons. It's just not.

Meghan:

Sorry. 

So, she has him to go there and help open her new restaurant. And if all that goes well, he can then come back to NYC to that restaurant he was originally working at, and they'll work on rebuilding his reputation and getting their stars back. So, Fisher and his niece Indy head off to spoons and end up renting a place right next door to Sage for the summer. There's a meet cute. We love a meet cute, and a lot of fun angst and mishaps as Sage and Fisher get to know each other. They end up teaming up together for the annual Festival of Spoons competition. God, seriously, I just want to be like spewns.

Meghan:

It sounds like, okay, when you do it like that, it sounds like a little kid like pretending that they're shooting something, like “pew”. 

Nicole:

Right, right.

Well, it's just the festival of Spunes competition. But the thing is, Sage's ex-boyfriend Ian has won it for like the last 14 some years. Uh so Sage is like, “I kind of want to win it once. My parents won it at one point. Uh I want to be the one that finally wins it.” And so, Sage and Fisher kind of toy with the idea of the whole fake dating trope thing, but it quickly becomes real dating. And what I absolutely appreciated, instead of trying to force that trope and carry that trope through, Fisher and Sage just are mature enough to know better and just start dating. I was like, okay, thank you. Thank you, God. All three of them, and when I'm talking about three of them, I'm talking about Sage, Fisher, and Indy, his niece, have their own various traumas. 

Sage's parents both died when she was young, and her ex, Ian, was a real prick to her. And Fisher realizes he was way too wrapped up in his career, and it caused him to miss out on some really important people and moments in his life, including his sister, who's no longer with them. And he's struggling to get his groove back in the kitchen. And Indy, like any teenager or any human really, is obviously dealing with the loss of her own mom and not thrilled about being stuck in a small town for the summer. And the big thing looming over all of them is that this is just a summer situation. It's just a temporary situation. And some of them are getting big feelings. And I'm gonna leave it there so that I don't spoil any more of it. Spice level for me for this one. Meghan was a jalapeno. Eventually, I got real worried that it was gonna be a poblano. So, I was relieved when it finally got to at least jalapeno. You know, and most of our podcast regulars know, that I prefer habanero, so but I'll take a jalapeno if I can get a jalapeno.

Meghan:

See, and I'm usually a jalapeno girl, but I'll step down to a green pepper if it's nice and crisp and you know, looking for the flavor.

Nicole:

Things I loved. The dialogue between Sage and Fisher and Fisher and other characters was fantastic. Lots of great wit and humor. And there was a scene towards the end of the book with Indy that absolutely got me in the feels because it was so raw and real. And Meghan, we recently talked during a podcast recording for our drunkest but not so drunkest episode about if there's ever been a book that has gotten me in the feels and made me cry. 

Meghan:

Yeah. 

Nicole:

I was getting teary-eyed by the end of this one. It really was. So yeah, noted for the podcast books. 

Meghan:

Very good. Very good. 

Nicole:

There's excellent communication between Sage and Fisher, which we love. 

Meghan:

We love communication. 

Nicole:

And it was really refreshing because we don't always see that in romance novels, as you and I know. I loved Fisher. Physically, he's not my type. He's like a pierced-up, tatted up dude, not really my vibe. 

Meghan:

Um, that's my vibe. 

Nicole:

I know. Not my vibe. Uh, it kind of reminded me almost of Charlie Lastra from Book Lovers that I recently read, but I loved Fisher's inner monologue and his snark and his smart-ass comments, just like I loved that in Charlie Lastra. I loved that he can cook and he's a pretty sexy freaking guy, all in all, regardless of appearances. And he was only made sexier for me thanks to the dual audiobook narration.

Meghan:

I wanted to see if you were gonna talk about that. Okay, okay. I was waiting.

I was waiting. 

Nicole:

The excellent audiobook narration performed by Zachary Weber, aka Jacob Morgan, because he uses different stage names for different types of romance and dark romance novels. And he is absolutely fantastic, and I instantly recognized the voice, and I told you this because he is that frickin' good. So, I'm just gonna, for our audience, play a little excerpt.

“Chapter 29. Fisher. I'm not sure how I got this far without realizing I was getting in too deep. I think I knew I'd wanted her badly, that much has been obvious. And over our time together, I'd found myself deciding that I'd find a way to keep her as my friend, at least, that I'd maintain that in some capacity after I leave. But then I met her in the sunroom that first midnight. She'd sat up, starlight shining through the glass, draped in a sheet with a smile my way, like I'd brought her the cure for something terrible, rather than some basic sandwich on a paper fucking plate. And right then and there that wedge in my chest pierced home. I realized that infatuation was the shortness of breath, the adrenaline, the idea that we could ever just be friends, and it wouldn't kill me each and every day. Love is this. Love is breathing. A sweet, deep, aching relief.”

He just gets me. 

Meghan:

You can have his voice. I'll have the description of the tatted up, pierced up dude. How's that? We'll split him up. 

Nicole:

Okay.vvSounds great. I'm willing to share. All right. Uh, and Meg, I think you would have loved Sage, the FMC, the female main character. She supports local businesses as an example. She buys all these fun kitschy robes and PJs from this one local shop because the owner hand makes them herself, and they're ridiculous. They're fucking cow print and they got kitschy weird sayings on them, and they are totally over the top, but she wears them proudly because she's confident, number one, and doesn't care. And also, number two, it's about supporting her community and friends. We love that. And Sage is a huge animal lover. She's always rescuing animals, and she's got a three-legged cat and a lonely goose and chickens, and it's just the best thing ever. I really think you'd enjoy her character. 

Meghan:

She sounds like she needs a second goose. 

Nicole:

That's a whole part of the book, and I can't spoil it. 

Meghan:

Okay. 

Nicole:

It's a whole thing. It's a whole thing. But yeah, yeah, it got me in the feels. Okay, we'll just leave it there. There's also a fun playlist at the beginning of the book, which I'm really enjoying seeing in some of the romance novels that we've been reading lately. So that's fun. 

Challenges. I'm so hesitant to talk about my challenges lately. I feel like, number one, I always sound bitchy, but we're committed to being honest in our reviews. And so, I'm gonna be honest. It is the same challenge that I've had with some of my other reads for the podcast. I had a really hard time getting into reading this book. The first several pages had this sort of like forced funny situation going on, which you and I have talked about. Don't tell me it's funny, show me it's funny. And I wasn't feeling like it was as funny as I was like meant to think it was. And I wasn't feeling it, therefore, and I just knew I had to get through this book for the podcast, which is not how anybody likes to approach a book, you know?

So that's on me. 

Meghan:

I was gonna say, I'm gonna quick interrupt there with that was something you and I talked about, was I think some of the times when we have a quote unquote challenge with the book, it's less about the book and more about the fact that we're trying to read the book within a certain amount of time with certain parameters, and we know that we are going to be talking about it. So, we're trying to make all these notes and get through it. Whereas if you had taken this book with you on a cruise, you probably wouldn't have the same kinds of thought process with it because it's a different kind of read, like a more relaxed read, and you wouldn't have felt like, well, I need to have this done in the next couple of weeks.

Nicole:

I had a free book credit from Libre FM, which we're an affiliate for, which I love because it supports whatever local bookstore of your choosing, no matter where you are in the country. So that's exciting. And who doesn't love a free audio book credit? And as I told you, I was super excited when I found out that the male POV narration was Zachary Weber slash Jacob Morgan. As I said, his voice and his voice acting are just fantastic for me. But then I was struggling with the female narration and POV. The chapters from Sage's perspective are more meandering, I guess. And I really struggle sometimes. And you and I have talked about this before when voice actors do certain inflections for other characters. And it just that's what was happening for me here again. And I was really trying hard to figure out what the issue was for me here. I know I personally prefer duet narration versus dual narration. Those are two very different things. And I'm like, is that what I'm struggling with? And maybe that was part of it.

Meghan:

Do you want to explain, explain to the audience what the difference is? Because I don't know.

Nicole:

Yeah.

So, duet narration is where no matter what the chapter is or whose point of view it is, the specific actors assigned to a character will read for that character's voice. So, if the point of view is from the female point of view, you will still get the male narrator filling in for his character. And I like that. That's my preference, just from an acting background. Dual narration, you only get each person reading their POV chapter, so their point of view chapter. So, if it's Sage's viewpoint in this situation, you will only hear Sage reading for all the characters. If it's Fisher's POV point of view, we will only hear Fisher reading all the characters.

Meghan:

Can I ask a question? 

Nicole:

Yeah. 

Meghan:

I think the only audiobooks I've ever listened to are definitely not romance novels. And it's usually one narrator for the entire book, no matter who’s perspective.

Nicole:

So that's an older model. The newer model is moving more towards this duet and dual narration versus the solo narration. 

Meghan:

Huh. Interesting. Interesting. Okay. 

Nicole:

Yeah. But this is something new I'm learning too. I know a lot of our listeners have probably like been exposed to the whole audiobook narration thing longer than we have, because admittedly, this is a whole new foray for us, honestly. We both had not read romance novels for many, many years and just jumped back-to-back into it with the start of the podcast. And I only started listening to audiobooks back in October of 2025. But I'm quickly, as a theater person, and I think this is why I feel the way I do, as a theater person, I like the multiple characters. I like to hear those characters representing their characters regardless of the chapter or the POV. And that's personal preference. And I freely acknowledge that. 

Meghan:

Also, this was a slow burn, which I love and you don't. 

Nicole:

I know. Again, a me problem. 100% a me problem. Although, I will say it was not as slow as book lovers and some of the other ones I've read. But that always gets me a little angsty too. But I appreciated that that things happened a little more swiftly, thank God. Because you know me. I need the heat.

Meghan:

I'm good with that just waiting and waiting. It's that buildup, that anticipation. Love it. 

Nicole:

I ain't got time for that. 

Final thoughts.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. There was some seriously fun moments, some great emotions. Dialogue was great, as I mentioned. I feel like I'm using the word great too much. There was comedy, there was drama, and they were both handled really well in a variety of scenes. And if you like audiobooks, Zachary Webber or Jacob Morgan is seriously a voice narrator rock star. His pacing, his tone, his emotions, fan-fucking-tastic. And if you like slow burns and small-town vibes, this is a great read. 

Scents, quote… 

Meghan:

Oh, yeah, yeah. 

Nicole:

“I keep catching whiffs of his mild scent in the cab. It's clean and yet warm. Something minty and woody, too. It's addicting in its subtlety and makes me want to lean in and seek more of it out.”

Meghan:

See now there weren't many woodies in my book because this was a lesbian novel.

Nicole:

That's fair. All right, boobie prize. I have a feeling you're gonna win yet again. Although, can we ever beat the one pager that you had last time or recently?

Meghan:

Uh my one pager, I think it was paragraph three. Is that what we determined? Because there is still could be beating it as long as we put boobie and yeah in in earlier paragraphs. Uh I am page 20 this time around. 

Nicole:

Oh yeah, girl. 

Meghan:

Okay. So, my green pepper novel got it on your jalapeno.

Nicole:

Yes!

Meghan:

Yeah, okay. I assume the first sentence I'm gonna read here counts, but both of these sentences are on page 20. “I guess my busts are kind of small, said Laura. Laura's small breasts bothered her.” I think busts counts though, right? 

Nicole:

Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. 

Meghan:

So, page 20. She got tiny itty-bitty boobies and it bothers her. But girl, same. Same. 

Nicole:

I was about to say, welcome to the itty-bitty titty committee.

Mine was on page 91. And I'm gonna tell you, Meghan, brace yourself for this quote. It's not gonna be one sentence because I could not leave out this whole fucking section for you. It's a wild ride. 

Meghan:

Okay, I'm ready. Bracing for it. 

Nicole:

“But suffice it to say, I was too embarrassed to talk to my brothers about needing to buy a bra when I started budding. And I'd found this nudie magazine in Micah's room once that had women those little pasties on. I mime an X shape on my nipple, as if he needs some sort of demonstration. Then feel myself blush ferociously when I catch him studying the movement. I shift back to the road and try to concentrate. Anyway, I um I put duct tape on my nipples and ripped a piece off of one of them. And it was bad enough that I had to get stitches. I blurt out in a rush.” 

Meghan:

Oh, poor baby.

Nicole:

I know I was like, oh no. 

Meghan:

Oh, honey.

Nicole:

I know, right? I was like, this is the wildest boob quote I've ever had for the podcast.

Meghan:

That just makes me well, I am. I'm clutching my breast. I am so sorry, sweetheart. That's very well written. Because I can feel it.

Nicole:

It is well written. I know, right? And then because she's trying to cover up for the awkwardness of that, she starts talking about how one time in high school she was asked to read a paragraph and she messed up a word and accidentally said ejaculate in high school. And she's like, and yep, I'm in a small town and forevermore, they made fun of me for that. And then it dawns on her, she's like, Jesus Christ, I'm talking about my ripped-off nips and ejaculation, like all in front of this dude that I barely know. It was a wild ride. But I needed to give you the full quote so you could fully appreciate. 

Meghan:

Okay. So anyway, um coming up on the next episode on the podcast.

I'm excited about this one. I just got to I got this at Novel Bay Books, which is my local small-town bookstore over here on Third Street. Third Street, Third Avenue, whatever. It's right over here. It's called “I Think I'm in Love with an Alien” by Ann Aguirre.

Nicole:

To say that the alien looks more like a dragon than an alien.  

Meghan:

Pretty sexy, right? 

Nicole:

I mean, I don't, whatever floats your boat. 

Meghan:

So anyway, it's called I Think I'm in Love with an Alien by Ann Aguirre. And here we go. Alien Tamzir Jarn, aka Seeker, is paying the price for risking an illicit holiday on an interdicted planet. His ride off-world never showed, and he's been stranded on Earth for nearly a year. His gear is breaking down, food is becoming a problem, and if his camouflage unit fritzes, he'll wind up in a government lab. But he's met some cool humans online, and they've invited him to the biggest space-themed convention around. Why not make memories with them while he figures out how to get home? SpaceCon or bust. Jeanette Hammond is an endearing weirdo, voted most likely to bang an alien in high school. Her house is full of gray man collectibles, adorable tentacle monsters, and yes, in college she volunteered for a SETI type program. Not that she's ever had any close encounters of the sexy alien kind. Heck, she's never been able to convince anyone to attend SpaceCon. But that's about to change. Finally, she has online friends who've agreed to go. And it'll be a romp to remember. And she'll finally put a face to the name of her longtime crush seeker. When Alien meets Adorkable, they're destined for an out-of-this world affair.

Nicole:

I love the use of the words romp and adorkable. I'm here for it.

Meghan:

I'm excited for this one. It should be fun. 

Nicole:

Yeah.

Meghan:

What do you have, my Nicole? 

Nicole:

Oh, my lady, I have Tarte by Lauren Dane. Juliet Lampre is having the time of her life running her successful bakery Tarte when Gideon Carter comes back into her world, returning home to help run the family farm, Gideon is now back for good. When they meet again, the spark between them is immediate, and it isn't long before the former childhood friends play ketchup in bed. That's not good news for local lawyer Cal Whaley. Though the sexually open but strictly monogamous Cal has loved Jules for a long time, he's hardly ever taken it further than friendship. When he sees her start to fall for Gideon, he knows he has to make his move or risk losing her forever. Who would have anticipated that all three of them would connect on such an intimate level? The trio's scalding liaisons take them places they've never dreamed. But such an intensely passionate and unusual relationship comes with equally complicated emotions. And when Jules must suddenly leave town, she wonders if she'll have a choice to make when she returns. 

Meghan:

Oooo.

Nicole:

And you were like, they're just gonna leave her and hook up together and cut Jules out.

Meghan:

Right. They might find some good bro time.

Nicole:

It's a bromance. I don't know. 

Meghan:

Uh well, thank you for joining us today for Romance on the Rocks. Please like, subscribe, and follow. And if you are a bookish biddie like we are, please think about giving us a review on iTunes, Spotify, YouTube, Pandora, wherever you catch your podcasts. And until next time, just know that your support really does mean the world to us. Stay safe and know that you are loved.