In Bed with the Bookish Biddies

In this episode, the bookish biddies climb into a Wisconsin hotel bed to tackle the “Mothers of Romance” — the legendary romance authors who paved the way for the genre we know today. 

Nicole read Until You by Judith McNaught and Meghan suffered through The Dawn of Love by Dame Barbara Cartland, leading to a LOT of questions about rich aristocrats, manipulative men, unnecessary lies, “not like other girls” heroines, and why historical romance MMCs refuse to communicate like functioning adults.

Along the way, the ladies discuss:

• Barbara Cartland’s connection to Princess Diana
• Why ellipses should sometimes be illegal
• Mistaken identity and amnesia tropes
• The ongoing “booby prize” competition
• Whether honesty is actually the sexiest trope
• And why these old school romances may have inspired modern romance… but haven’t necessarily aged well

Cocktails this episode include a blackberry sage gin infusion cocktail and a sparkling gin drink appropriately titled “The Proper & Improper.”

Plus, Nicole and Meghan preview next week’s reads:
The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss
The Bride by Julie Garwood

Grab a drink, climb into bed with the bookish biddies, and prepare for historical romance chaos.

Meghan's Book & Beverage:  The Dawn of Love by Dame Barbara Cartland with a gin drink

Nicole's Book & Beverage: Until You by Judith McNaught with The Proper & Improper

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Transcript

Hotel Room Setup And Theme

SPEAKER_01 0:08

Well, hello, I'm Nicole Danielle and Don Megan Lee. And this is a hotel. Technically, still romance on the rock. In the hotel room. In the hotel room. We we had tried to set up to look super professional over on the desk. And after a while, we just said, fuck it. This was way more fun. And comfortable, I would say. Yeah. So we're here on the bed, looking like we're filming in OnlyFans. You know, we've got our lights. We've got our boom mics. Yeah. We we got we got the whole thing. The atmosphere is beautiful. So, anyway, welcome to Romance on the Rocks. We're two bookish, bedded biddies. Uh, talk about the romance novels that they have been reading over the past couple weeks. Woof. Well, this month we are doing Mothers of Romance in on Mother's Day, which occurs in May. Correct. So we have two episodes of Mothers of Romance. And by that, Megan, we mean we're looking kind of back in time at historically the women who would have brought us into romance novels. I wouldn't say as we know them today, but inspired the people who are writing the romance novels of today. Paved the way, if you will. Correct. Paved the way. Yeah. Yeah. Moments of romance. Yeah. And you are up first. I

Gin Cocktails And Travel Mug Class

SPEAKER_01 1:38

am up first. Let's talk about cocktails. Oh shit. Yeah, cocktails. Usually you remind me because I just got right into it. Yeah. We're going classy with my big plastic travel mugs. Nicole did bring nice glass coops. They're out in the car, and we were too lazy to go get them because it is freezing today. It's cold. It is so cold. It's cold up here in Wisconsin. So cold. It was 74 degrees yesterday when I got to town. And it was 34 when I woke up this morning. So, you know. Typical. Yeah, happy Wisconsin. But what are you drinking in your cup, Megan? I have not tasted this yet. I assume it's going to be delicious. This is a little bit of lime juice and some ginger lime seltzer water with the gin that you gifted me for Christmas. Technically, not the gin, really. You gave me all of the an infusion. Infusion, yes. So I have had this in infusing. Infuse it. Steeping. Steeping. Like a sweet, like a fine tea for probably longer than it really should have been steeped. But I was very excited about it. So I threw all the stuff in there and it's been waiting. And I thought this was the perfect opportunity to use it because Nicole gifted it to me. And in the infusion kit, it was blackberries and sage that I grew in my garden and then lemon slices. Yeah. So I'm looking forward to this. I think it's going to be great. And we usually try and go on theme with our books. My book had no theme that I cared to even follow. So hanging out with Nicole and doing a Nicole infusion was way better. So I went on theme with mine. Okay. I'm doing the proper and improper, also a gin drink. And I have a lovely prairie organic gin in here, as well as some lemon juice. And then some brute Corbel sparkling wine. So it's quite a fizzy boozy drink. Look, a little bit like a Frank 75. A little bit, yes. Cheers. Cheers. Quit boozy. Oh, that's nice. That's very nice. This was a good choice. Okay, good. I'm glad that worked. Okay. Because I've been giving it to Christmas gifts for people for a couple of years. It's great. I love it. I'll take it. So I get to go first this time around.

Meghan's Book: The Dawn of Love by Barbara Cartland

SPEAKER_01 4:07

Uh Mothers of Romance. I read me some Barbara Cartland. I like the way she says it. So Barbara Cartland was uh, I believe they made her a dame. I think she's a bit. A dame, yes. Yes. She is like the English rose of romance over there. Barbara Cartland, this cover on this book is absolutely gorgeous. The art is beautiful. That's the best part of this entire book. Well, and then we have her lovely bio. We discussed this when we were teasing last episode. Her beautiful bio pick, and it's quite elegant. It's it's beautiful. It reminds me of the 1980s uh glamour shots. And like straight off of Dynasty or Dallas or Falconcrest. Yeah. And something I did not know, and I was discussing this book with my grandmother because I was with my grandmother yesterday, and she watched me finish this book and heard all of my complaining. So, hi grandma. Say she she might watch this one. Uh she catches us once in a while. She said to me, she goes, Barbara Cartland, wasn't she someone's grandmother? Like she was somebody famous's grandmother. She was indeed. I looked it up. Uh Barbara Cartland was Princess Diana's stepgrandma. So there you go. Interesting connections. Okay, let's get into this. Yes, I want to hear all about it. Okay, let's get the laptop up. I think here's my show notes. I picked this book specifically because it seemed like the least terrible of my options, least offensive for an old school quote unquote romance novel. Why did this seem least offensive, you may ask? Because it was like a My Fair Lady Pygmalion vibe. Exactly. So this book was supposed to be loosely based on George Bernard Shaw's book Pygmalion, which most people do know better as My Fair Lady, the musical version. However, okay. However, dot dot dot and um heavy on the dot dot dot. We'll get into that later. In our book, Alston, the Duke of Windelmere, is a 30-something aristocrat who has more money than God and is super bored with his usual friends and his debauchery. He complains to one of the other rich bitches in his inner circle, Perry Gillingham, that he is so bored and he just doesn't know what to do with himself. Um, the Duke goes so far as to suggest that he is so bored he may even stop paying for all of the lavish parties that Perry and all the other hangers on have been attending for years. He's gonna stop paying for these weekly parties, and it sounds like most of the time it's like 30 plus people that show up at his house like every weekend for dancing, drinking, gambling, hunting, horse racing, etc. They are there all the time, and he is the one footing the bill for like their meals. Well, couldn't he just cut back to like once a month or once a month? On court? I'm just saying he's bored. And to him, he's like, Oh yeah, I've done it. So sick of partying. Yeah. And and Perry even does one of those little, like, oh, poor riddle little rich boy. But Perry also realizes if he really is serious about this and being bored, that means Perry's cut off and so are the other people. Oh yeah. Right? Okay, so he has to take this boredom thing seriously, even if he's like, ugh, poor little rich boy. Okay. Because what's he gonna do now when he doesn't get to go to these parties that are paid for all the time? Right. Okay, so he's gonna take this seriously so that his partying doesn't come to a standstill. But what will light that fire? Right? Enter George Bernard Shaw's book, Pygmalion. Yes. For those of you who may not be familiar with Pygmalion or My Fair Lady, the basic premise of this story is that a more wealthy, educated gentleman takes on a project of a lower class woman and swears that he can teach her how to be a lady. He can teach her how to speak eloquently. And it's a bet. It's a bet. He bets with his friend that he can do this. He can take this street urchin and turn her into an elegant lady who can pass off as a princess, basically. Right. Correct. And so they have this bet, they go through the whole thing. He does it, he succeeds in the end. So, so now enter this book. Some of the people at the party have now read this book because it's the new popular cool thing, and they are having the debate of whether or not this actually could happen in real life for them, right? Yeah. They're trying to think, could it be possible that we could do something like this? Now, this perks the Duke's interest, right? He's like, hmm, I wonder if we could do something like that. Perry sees him. He's like, there it is. We need to figure out how to do this. This will get him interested, and we can keep partying. The gentlemen all start taking bets on whether or not this really can be done. Duke gets excited, but how do you find the girl to throw into the mix? Yes. Why do you find the girl? Enter Sir Hugo. Okay. Sir Hugo is also one of the guys who comes pretty much every week to party. Okay. He's an older guy. I would say probably in his mid to late 40s. Okay. For this time, that's an older guy. Yeah. Okay. Sir Hugo has an 18-year-old niece. She's an orphan. Both Sir Hugo's brother and his sister-in-law passed away like three plus years ago. Sir Hugo's wife, Kitty, uh, she's a real piece of work. After the niece's parents died, Kitty made it clear that under no circumstance did she want her niece coming to stay with them. Uh, that would crimp her style. So instead, the last three years, Sir Hugo has been paying a hefty sum so that his niece could be educated at like a Catholic boarding school in Italy. Oh, that's kind of bougie. It sounds bougie, but I think it's kind of one of those like more cold. Oh, austere. There you go. There's the word austere. Okay. Uh, yeah. But now she's of age. Now she's 18. So she's gonna be leaving this school. So Hugo, Hugo needs to figure out where to put her next. Okay. Niece's name is Lorena. He volunteers to this group of men that they can just use her as their experimental Eliza Doolittle. Even though she's of age and could potentially like oh no, not during that time, really. She wouldn't have a say. Well, no, yeah, she wouldn't have a say. She's got no dowry, she's got no parents. And he's technically in charge of her. Correct. Okay. Okay. So he like offers her up because in his mind, he's like, well, she really hasn't mixed with our society. She doesn't know the rules. She doesn't know what's going on. She grew up in a less privileged lifestyle because her father was a pastor in a small vicarage out in like the country. And then she's been living with nuns for the last three years. So there's no way she'll be able to fold into the higher society right away. So what can they do to train her to fit in, right? Yeah. Throw in your bets, gentlemen. Let's just Yeah. Okay, Nicole. Here's something refreshing and new. Oh, Lorena? She's not like other girls. Well, of course not. Tell me more. Uh-huh. Lorena wears a different color than the one that's the most fashionable. Lorena utilizes a different dressmaker than all the popular ones that her classmates love. Lorena is unlike any other schoolgirl you have ever seen. Lorena doesn't blabber or chatter like other women would when taking a drive. Lorena, her beauty is unusual because she's not tall and blonde. She's small and dark-haired. Lorena, when the men are talking about a Nicole's showing the cover of this book where it shows a blonde woman. Ignore the cover. Okay. As we've discussed, covers don't always have to match. Correct. Yeah, very correct. Okay. Okay. Lorena, when men are talking about a subject that would bore other ladies, she listens with rapt attention. Lorena doesn't speak flirtatiously as some women might have done. Etc. Etc. And to quote one of the men in the book, she has an original mind, if nothing else. Oh boy. Okay. Anyway, the basic premise is that a rich man is bored as fuck, so his rich friends create a diversion at the possible expense of a naive young woman who has no control of her own destiny because why the fuck not? Okay. Uncle Sir Hugo presents Lorena at this large, stupid, overwhelming party. All the men know that it's a setup. All the women at the party aren't privy to the experiment. Well, why would you let them know about it? Because women are silly and chatty, and why include them? Also, most of the men are sure that Lorena won't be accepted by the women because women are just the worst, right? God. So best just to sit back and see if Lorena gets eaten alive. This is terrible. We come to find out that uh in this entire group of partying assholes, they are all cheating on their spouses, and every person attending the party is sleeping with someone else behind everyone else's back. And apparently, this was not only a well-known part of the social experience at this time period, but it wasn't frowned upon. To quote, he chose to amuse himself always with those who were married and had complacent husbands, most of whom were older than himself. Or another quote: Once a beautiful woman had been married for some years and presented her husband with an air, then it was more or less expected that she would enjoy a love affair, provided that it was discreet and never in any way that caused scandal. And apparently discreet just meant that you went to a neutral party's house in order to bang your extraneous partner. Anyway, what unfolds in the rest of the book is a lot of inane and boring conversations that made this book drag on for a thousand years. Okay. All to culminate, of course, in all the men having seen the light. Because this 18-year-old Lorena, she's a fresh visionary. She's a virginal beauty, and her insightful observations challenge them in ways that they could never have imagined. Note, I do not hate Lorena the same way I hated Laura in Bertrice Small's book, Laura. Yeah. However, Lorena is just a less molested and less pretentious version of that character. Okay. Also, Lorena's speech pattern is fucking ridiculous. I have never seen so many ellipses utilized in one book ever in my whole life. She's very halting in her speech. Yes. And maybe I just haven't lived, and that's why I haven't seen it. But I am telling you, and it was so bizarre. For anyone who can't quite place what an ellipses is, it's the three dots. Yeah, yeah. That you sometimes put pause in the conversation. So dot, dot, dot. Yeah. Here's just one example. I'll pause for each ellipses. Lorena is trying to explain why she feels sorry for somebody who has lost money on a bet. What I was saying was that if I were your grace, I would not allow people to lose in my home more than they really could afford. That was one sentence. Ready? Here we go. Another sentence. Not because I think gambling is wrong, although I do understand why it has an attraction for some people. It is just simply that I would want my guest to be happy. Next paragraph. Oh God. No one can be happy if he feels, as this gentleman does, that he has been very foolish in losing so much money in a game which he really has little chance of winning. Oh my Avenga. She spoke like this the whole book. Oh no. And I kept trying to like make it make sense. I kept trying to say it out loud to make her sound like demure or thoughtful, or there is no amount of demure and thoughtful that makes up for that many fucking emotions. She's just trying to figure out how to talk while she's thinking. I don't like I could not. And that was one example page. My poor grandmother had to listen to me in the living room as I kept trying to break against the I kept trying to be like, wait, wait, wait, wait, let me try this one. And I would, yeah. She just started laughing. She's like, Are you done with that yet? Like, no, I'm still have more chapters to go. Uh anyway, we're gonna end that there, and I'm just gonna give you give you a few quotes. Yes, yes. Okay. There were a couple things that I could relate to. Okay. One, this was talking about how Lorena had actually just had a very nice uh experience. She was watching the sunrise with the person who would eventually become her love interest. And this was the quote. Then she knew she could not bear to speak of this moment of happiness to anyone because it may be spoiled. And I was like, Yeah, you're trying to keep it private and quiet, and you know, you don't want to put that out in the world. Sure. This is something for my sister. Caitlin, I hope you're listening. It caught Lorena on the side of the temple and she fell to the ground as if pollaxed.

SPEAKER_02 18:47

Oh, pollaxed! It's back, it's back, baby.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

Pollaxed. And for those of you who have not been around for a while, pollaxed is the most ridiculous word. It book was it in that you read for the podcast before? Okay, so first of all, the word pollax is in Robert Jordan books. He puts it in every single one of his books multiple times. And my sister and I always laughed at that because that word is not used anywhere. And we're like, did he make that word up? We really didn't know. And then Nicole, Dark of the Moon, Karen Rose. Yes, dark of the moon! Dark of the moon, Karen Regards, which is my I would be buried when she used the word polix. And I was thrilled because I'm like, this word exists. Well, now Barbara Cartland should bring it back Polex. Had had to celebrate that one. Um, okay, here's my I have thoughts. Oh, we didn't even hit that yet. Okay. I have so many thoughts, you guys. Oh, I'm sure you do. Um the love interest, which I'm not spoiling anything by telling you guys the love interest is the Duke, of course. The spoiled rich I'm bored. He needs something to do, guy. Of course. Here's here's Lorena as she's uh talking about the Duke in her head. She did not think of the Duke as a man, he was magnificent, like a king or a god in ancient Greece, omnipotent, but not human. There was a note of authority in his voice. The artist, and we're looking at a portrait, but the artist had captured his look of aloofness and the impression he conveyed of being imperious and overwhelming. Then there was a part where uh they're having a conversation, and the sentence was he did not allow Lorena to answer. Oh good, keep silent, that little girl, while this omnipotent god, oh gosh, who is aloof, lords over you. Uh to quote the Duke in one of the scenes, he knew that the one thing he really disliked about a woman was one who lost control of herself. And then Lorraine is really thrilled because the Duke was the one person who would not laugh at her ideas, as he called them. Oh my god. Okay, listeners who are not seeing me, that's in quotes. The word ideas was in quotes. Oh he wouldn't laugh at her, quote unquote ideas, as he called them. It was the kind of thing where you're like, this guy is is cold and quite full of himself, and and she's like somehow in love with him and silently following. Does he show her any kind of affection? Yeah, yeah, he does. He's fine. He's fine, he's fine, but he gets engaged to her the day he breaks up with his mistress, you know. Who was apparently losing control of herself, so he really didn't like that. Um two more two more things here, and then I will move on. Maybe three more things. Sorry, I'm lying. This is Lorena sitting at the dinner table. She had been a little bit daydreaming of, you know, some things she wanted to do for herself, and then she suddenly realized, oh god, you can't think about yourself, right? She rebuked herself for being selfish and thinking only about herself instead of trying to entertain the gentleman on either side of her at the dinner table. Okay. Because why be anything for yourself and it's all about other people? Here is something she was remembering was that mama once said it was the woman who makes the home what it is and gives it the love that encircles it with happiness. And I'm thinking, yeah, so if your house is not full of love, it's clearly the woman's fault. Because the woman's born switch that into the household. Yeah. And then at the very end of the book, the Duke confesses to Lorena that this was a whole thing about Pygmalion. So he basically says, Hey girl, this whole thing where you felt a little bit awkward and like people were putting you on the spot. Yeah, this was kind of like a bet. And we were like, Oh my god, do you think Lorena could do it? And he's like, Have you ever heard of Pygmalion? And she said, Yes, I read it while I was here at your house in the last three days. Oh Lord, okay. And he's like, Oh, I'm so glad you read it. I thought about reading it, but I just haven't. So basically, he's like, Yeah, we tricked you and did this whole bet thing about a book that I like heard about, but I don't really care about. And like, have you read it? And she's like, Yes, I have. And somehow she's the one that's not superior in this relationship. I don't know. This whole book was just garbage. So let me give you guys a recommendation regarding Barbara Cartland's The Dawn of Love, which I don't even think I introduced properly. This is the book we read, was Barbara Cartland's The Dawn of Love, published in 1980. Yes. Here's my recommendation. You should read Loving Remains by Esmeralda Stone. Okay. Which was an excellent book, and I really enjoyed it, and I laughed a lot. And I'm really looking forward to the rest of the books in this series. And I will be writing a blog in the future that talks about this book, and it is a book about the death industry romance, and it was phenomenal. Or you should read The Art Collector by Caitlin Brehm. I got this as a gift for Christmas from my brother and his partner Sarah, and this was fun and set in Milwaukee. It was a gift from one of the romance novel stores in Milwaukee, and it's a signed copy. Highly recommend. There's a succubus. Or you should read Hook and Sinker by Tessa Bailey, which I stayed up till 4 a.m. to finish after I bought it that day. And I read this before I read my Barbara Cartland because it was far more interesting. That's my recommendation regarding the book that I read called The Dawn of Love by Barbara Cartland. I hope you've enjoyed my book report. And Nicole, on to you. Well, wait, what's your spice level ranking? Green pepper. I'm shocked, I say.

Nicole's Book: Until You by Judith McNaught

SPEAKER_01 25:43

Well, Meg, I uh read for my first Mothers of Romance book, Until You by uh Judith McNaught. It was published in 1994. That's a quintessential 80s-90s cover. Yes, with the the pearl in a shell. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. Someone's getting their pearl taken. Yeah, yeah, somebody did get their pearl taken, but we'll get to that. Um, so obviously historical romance. Well, maybe not obviously, it's a historical romance. For tropes, we've got some slow burn, some mistaken identity, and some amnesia. All right. Um, and just listening to your book report, Megan, we actually have a lot of overlapping themes or similarities or connected plot points. That's not a good thing. Um, I will have you know, my heroine, Sheridan Bromley, is also unique and unconventional. No. Is she not like other girls? She is not like other girls. She is an American teacher who is escorting slash chaperoning one of her students, Sharice Lancaster, to England to meet Sharice's fiancee. Sheridan knows how to behave properly and politely in society, but is also a spunky American girl and a red-headed Spitfire who had an unconventional upbringing with her traveling merchant father. All I can hear in my head is that that wild and crazy guy is she's a sponky American girl. Totally. Um, this is kind of a fun thing. She was described as having Titian hair. How is that spelled? T-I-T-I-A-N. I have read this book before, did not remember that term. Apparently never paid attention to it in in high school or junior high when I read it. It is a very specific type of copper-red auburn hair with golden tones, named after a Renaissance painter, Titian. Yeah. Who depicted women with this hair color. Yeah. And I'm like, as somebody in the cosmetology industry, where has this term been on my life? That's a beautiful word. I'm gonna start throwing it at my clients. Yeah. What do you think about some Titian hair for fall? I I know some Titian paintings, and now that you say that, that makes a lot of sense. Okay, interesting. I would also dare say that Clint also had some Titian-haired beauties. Yes. Yes, you are you are not incorrect. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:23

Then we have Stephen Westmoreland, the Earl of Langford. He's a sworn bachelor, having been burned by relationship before, and has a longtime mistress, Helene De Verne.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

Uh, yes, and I would like to say there's a whole note in my book, similar in yours, about how wives are for heirs and mistresses are separate, and most couples do end up once they've provided what they have to in the relationship as providing the heirs, then move on to greener pastures, though they stay married. Uh, so that was interesting in terms of aligning with your book. Yeah, I I'm sure there must be some very big truth to these. Yeah, yeah. The plot. Stephen is driving his carriage in London and accidentally runs over a drunk baron, Lord Burleton, who stumbles into the street. The Baron dies from his injuries, and Stephen discovers that the reason the Baron was out drinking is because he was celebrating the impending arrival of his American bride and their nuptials. Stephen feels guilty and personally goes to the dockyard to let the Beyonce know what has happened. Oops, I killed him.

SPEAKER_02 29:45

Awkward.

SPEAKER_01 29:50

At the same time, Sheridan Bromley and a maid are freaking out on the ship because the young woman they were in charge of bringing, Sharice Lancaster from America to England, has run off with another man, wedded him, and left the two of them high and dry without any money or a way back to America. And in this awkward position of having to inform this baron, like, oh, we lost your bride. Oopsies!

SPEAKER_02 30:16

You got one who's like, we lost her, and the other one's like, I killed her.

SPEAKER_01 30:23

They're both concerned they'll be found greatly at fault and retaliated against for failing their jobs. Um the mate is convinced they're gonna be put in jail. Sheridan's like, that doesn't sound right, but I don't know that you're wrong. Um Sheridan tells her, hey, if I'm not back in a couple of hours after I tell this guy that Sheridan ran off, you make a run for it and don't get in trouble too. Oh my gosh. Okay, okay. Now, Sheridan disembarks from the boat to give the fiance the bad news. Stephen thinks she's Sharice and begins to tell her that Burleton is dead, but immediately after he tells her a stunned Sheridan is hit with a cargo net and suffers a severe head injury. So all of these people are just getting wrong place at the wrong place. She wakes several days later at Stephen's London home and has amnesia. She can't remember who she is or anything about herself or her life. And the real Sharice wasn't on the boat, and the maid disappeared because she was waiting for Sheridan to come back. Right. And she didn't, so she took off. Um she's just stuck in freaking London. Because poor maid is now wandering by herself with no money. Oh poor. Um and everyone assumes Sheridan is Sharice. For some reason, the doctor caring for Sheridan and Steven mutually decide to tell her that Steven is her fiance so that they don't further shock her with the news of the death of her of her fiance. Do you know the movie while you were sleeping? Yes.

unknown 32:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 32:03

I love that movie, and this sounds a lot like that. Okay. At one point, Sheridan kind of remembers her name, is Sherry, her nickname, and she tells them that. But if we think about the the name Sheridan and Sharice, Sherry is a plausible nickname for either one of those. Correct. And so she's like, Oh yeah, I'm Sherry. That sounds right. And they're like, Sure, you're Sharice, and we'll call you Sherry. That sounds great. Good enough. Good enough. There's instant chemistry between Steven and Sherry. But there's some weird things, like she's wrapped with a turban from the bandage of her head, and she's like, What color is my hair?

SPEAKER_00 32:43

And she's like, As my fiance, you should know what my hair color is. And he's like, Oh, it's it's like a brunette, blah, blah, blah, because she had kind of darkish brows. Yeah. She goes to take a bath later.

SPEAKER_02 32:55

She's like, What the fuck are you talking about?

SPEAKER_01 32:57

I'm a redhead. I have brazen red hair. And he's like, Um, I was just messing with you. Just you know, the lighting and stuff. And and she's kind of like, hmm, that's weird, but then she doesn't think any further on it. Like, um bless her heart. Right. Steven has been enjoying his bachelor life and his mistress. And so he decides to tell Sherry that he'd like her to try meeting other men during the London season since she's so young. He thinks she's 19 because that's how old Sharice was, but she's really like mid-20s. And old, old lady. Yeah. And they allegedly became engaged so quickly. He's like, maybe I want you to just, you know, make sure that this is the right thing. But really, he's trying to find a way out.

SPEAKER_02 33:44

Like, um, find a way out. He's not the man she's supposed to be marrying, anyway. I'm like, why did you lie to her in the first place? Like, dude, you could you could make this problem for yourself.

SPEAKER_01 33:54

You could walk away from this real easy. So, anyway, he solicits the help of his family, including his mother, brother, and sister-in-law Whitney. His family all know that he's duping this girl to help prepare Sherry for London society and the season. Sherry is hurt by that proposal because she thinks he's her fiance, and that he's decided, oh, he's got second thoughts, he doesn't like her after all, and that his family is ashamed of her. This is the dumbest thing. This is so dumb. But Steven's family actually adores Sherry. Of course they do. And they want Stephen and Sherry because she's so unique and she's gonna be a girl. And so they want Stephen and Sherry to get married for real, and they're all secretly plotting to make that happen, including the doctor. So there's all kinds of weirdness happening where Steven is pushing her to meet men, but then getting, oh, your favorite thing, jealous. And his family is trying to get them to marry. Then Stephen gets news that Sharice's father in America has passed away. He was in ill health anyway, which is why he didn't come to England in the first place with Sharice. And so Stephen now feels even more guilty because he's like, damn, I killed her fiance. That's what Chad said. Who else can I come out of her life? So he feels even more guilty about her situation and decides he's gonna go ahead and marry her. I think he was honestly just looking for an excuse to like go ahead and go for it. Oh, yeah. Because he was falling for her a little bit. So he does a little bit. A little bit. So he goes back to Sherry and is like, JK, I know I told you you should meet other guys, but we're gonna go ahead and get married in five days. And you know what? He doesn't tell her that her dad is dead. He's gonna tell her after they're married. Because again, we don't want to shock her in her current state of amnesia and head trauma. Does she still also think he's a different person? She thinks that he's the fiance. She knows nothing of Lord Burleton, she just knows that that's the fiance. Yeah, but but okay, she knows this guy's real name. Not no Lord Burleton's name. No, no, no, no. Okay, hold on. Sorry, sorry, folks. Does she think this guy's name is Steven? Yes. And it is right. Okay, so she she is thinking she's getting engaged to a guy with the correct name. He's pretending to be Lord Burleton. Correct. Okay, I was under the impression that he was trying to pretend to be Burleton this whole time. And I'm like, no, that's even more fun. I mean, he kind of did it at the beginning. It was fucked up and weird. Anyway. Meanwhile, the real Sharice sees her name in the paper and that she's engaged in getting married to Stephen Westmoreland. And she's like, Can't I'm already married? Does she see that her dad died? No. We'll get to that. And she realizes the only person that could be Sharice is her governess, Sheridan. Or the maid. You guys don't even care. This is how classist you are. This word maid is in a gutter somewhere. No way she could be the person. She thinks Sherry is pretending to be her on purpose and manipulate and get ahead in life. So she comes storming in at Steven's house the morning of the wedding, and that's when Sheridan finally gets her memory back when she sees Sharice. Somebody she knows, yeah. She feels terrible because she's not the type of person to pretend to be someone else or manipulate a man into marriage. She also realizes then that Steven lied about being Sharice's fiancé. And that's pretty fucked up and confusing in itself. And then Sharice is now threatening to go to the papers about it and cause a scandal. And Sheridan realizes several important key facts that number one, it would be horrible for Steven and his family to be involved in a scandal like this in the papers. And she's like, So please don't do that. Please don't go to the papers. I will leave right now. And then she also realizes I'm just a low-ly governess. I I'm not in a social class position to marry this earl. And once he knows who I am, he's not going to marry me. And so she's like, I'm going to disappear. Can can I quick interrupt here? That that would be another commonality in our book that I don't know that you were thinking of immediately when you said like commonalities, but that social class thing that I think is interesting is she clearly was able to be in that other social circle without people questioning it. Questioning it. Oh, yeah, she was. Whereas my girl, the whole point was like she clearly was not part of that social circle, and you could tell. So she she was the governess, but she was able to. Oh, she easily she she was quite popular. Yeah, she was quite popular. She's so huge, she's different. She and Lorena were not like other girls. Right. But I will say, Shared and to her credit, leaves Steven a pretty she said she quickly left a note. No, it was not quick, it was pretty lengthy for the day. And it was explaining the full truth and what was going on, and that she was running away because she would hate for Steven and his family to be involved in the scandal. And obviously, she's not the appropriate social standing to be Stephen's wife. I'm like, okay, she just laid it out for you. Yeah, said why she was leaving. Yep. Poor girl, though, she don't really know anybody. Now she's gonna go find the maid and they can be in the gutter together. No, sadly. Um, sadly. Poor maid. I mean, uh for the maid, sadly. After wandering around lost and confused in London and trying to figure out what the fuck she's gonna do next, she ends up seeking help from one of the friends that she made, Nicholas. And Nicholas is a longtime family friend of Steven's brother and sister-in-law, Whitney. And Nicholas is like, What do you need? I'll help you. Do you want me to go to Steven and tell him what's happened? And Sheridan is like, no, because I left him a note telling him everything. Yeah. And this wedding obviously can't happen. And Nicholas is also like, hey, by the way, Sharice's father is dead. And that's when Sheridan is like, okay, not only did Steven pretend to be Sharice's fiance, but he was clearly only gonna marry her because he felt guilty about the dead fiance and the dead dad, and he didn't even tell her about the dead dad. And she's not even Sharice, she's just the governess, so that whole thing is just dead in the water, no matter what way you look at it. And even though she was in love with Steven, she's like, This is a fucked up situation. There's nothing I can do here. How long was this? Like, how how many weeks or months? And I'm only asking because you know me and my whole like how can you be in love with somebody after two days? It it was a few months, actually. Okay, yeah, okay. So there was a significant amount of time for them to like get to know each other. Yes. Okay, okay, I'm cool with that. Basically, the whole spring season, I want to say. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so Steven finds the letter and also encounters Sharice because she comes back to the house or she's still waiting. I don't know, whatever. He pays off Sharice to avoid the scandal, and that's all Sharice really wanted anyway, was the money. And he's like, by the way, Sharice, I'm sorry, your dad's dead, but he left you this money. Here's the solicitor information to get that from America, whatever. So she's like, Great, you just gave me a buttload of money. I have an inheritance now. Peace. And gets to go be with the man she loves. Yeah. Yeah. And so Steven waits all day for Sheridan to come to her senses and come back to the house and marry him. But of course, she doesn't. Because why would she? Right. Everything was based on a lie, sir. This is a house built on sand. And she already explained why that like can't get married. His automatic assumption is that she must be guilty. And Sharice must have been telling the truth that Sheridan planned this all along. And then he starts replanning conversations. He's like, Well, obviously, this whole thing was she's a great actress and blah blah blah blah. And she really was trying to pretend to be Sharice, even though the fucking note Sheridan left for him. Did he not explain that? Did he not read it? Did it did the butler move it? He read the whole note. And then he hears from a servant who followed after Sheridan when she ran that she went to Nicholas's house. And Steven's immediate thought is not gee, I should go to Nicholas's house and go get my bride. No, he's like, oh, now she's targeting Nicholas and she's gonna be his whore. Uh-huh. Nicholas helped Sheridan score a governess job. Eventually, Steven's family realizes the truth, and they still want to bring Sheridan and Stephen together because they see how miserable supposedly Steven is without her, and what a perfect match they were, and they really liked her. So they arranged this whole birthday scheme for one of their kids out of the country estate where they invite the kids and the family that Sheridan is governessing for to force the two of them to be together. That is such a brilliant plan. Needless to say, it pisses off Sheridan and Steven. Yeah. Yeah. Um, Sheridan still loves Steven, but she's quite angry about his shenanigans and his lies. Uh-huh. And tries, she tries to communicate. We love the communication. We do. Girl, Sheridan, she tried to communicate. She's trying to have a conversation about what really happened. And she was also like, Why did you pretend to be Sharice's fiance? Right. And why didn't you tell me that the dad was dead if you thought like blah, blah, blah, blah. And he doesn't give any real answers for anything. Basically, she is innocent in all of this. He is guilty in all of this. Yes. But he's making it her problem. Making it her fault and making her the guilty party. It's clearly her fault. Right. Right. It's clearly her fault. So she's like, Why, why did you do these things? He doesn't give her any real answers, and he's a total jerk to her about stuff. And she tries to prove her love to him by kissing him.

SPEAKER_00 43:45

And she that's all her intention was to show her physical love because he's not listening to her.

SPEAKER_01 43:50

And he's like, She's like, I'm gonna show you how much I love you. And things escalate from there. And he's like, Are you sure? I will give Steve. Credit for that, I guess, but she's like, I know what I'm doing. No, she did not know what she was fucking doing, and things escalated, and they have sex. And then you know what he says to her after that? Of course you would, you whore. This is exactly what you're trying to do. He's like, Okay, you can be my mistress and I'll set you up with a house and shit. But you're gonna be exclusively mine, and I never want to hear you say you love me again. Think it over and let me know in the morning. But I still don't believe you, but this is gonna be great for you. This is exactly what you really wanted. Oh boy, girl, I have thoughts, but we have to wait till next episode for me to get into that one. Okay. Okay. Um, okay. Come in the morn, Sheridan is like, fuck you, you're an asshole. I'm not gonna be your mistress. Yeah, that's not what I wanted. I tell you I love you, I pour my heart out to you, I tell you the truth, and that's your fucking response. Fuck you. I mean, she didn't say fuck you, but the vibe was yeah, it's a fuck you vibe. Yeah. She's like, I'm gonna go home to America as soon as I have enough money saved for passage, bye-bye. And he is somehow shocked because he's still telling himself she deliberately pretended to be Sharice, even though she's told him the truth twice now. And he and the doctor are the ones who made the assumptions that she was Sharice and forced this whole charade, Sharice Charade, Sharice Sherrod, that he should lie about being her fiance and all these other things. I'm like, you're the lying asshole in all of this. Yes. And then Steven finds out that Nicholas told Sherry that Sharice's father was dead, and you know what Steven does then? Seeks out Nicholas. Because Nicholas was wrong for doing that. How is Nicholas the villain? You super honest. How dare you! He seeks out Nicholas at some gentleman's club in London, and the two of them have a confrontation behind closed doors. Like, literally, the door is closed. We don't get to know what the conversation involved. We just know that they like maybe punched each other up a little bit and then come out shaking hands. And then he's like, hey, I want like Sherry after all. So then Nicholas, who was previously helping Sherry, now is helping Steven and trick Sherry into going to a church under the pretense of meeting a new employer who will pay her enough money to get back to America. But really, it's to marry Steven. I hate these. I hate these so much. I hate them. Here's what's worse. Hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. Here's what's worse. Sheridan and Steven have a very brief conversation. She's like, okay, I'll marry you. The end. I hated these. Yeah. I hated them. She was written in big green leathering. She defiled the Barbara Cotlin book. I did so much defiling, but the very last page says, I hated this. With a big smiley face. Uh, yes. So spice level for this one is a jalapeno. Megan and I just had to re-evaluate like how we're ranking this. I'm shocked that it's a jalapeno, actually. Well, there is sex, um, not just between Sheridan and Steven, but also Steven and his uh mistress. It's fairly glossed over, and the wording is subtle and not super explicit. And yeah, I know that's not how you pronounce subtle. Oh, things I love. I enjoyed Sheridan as an FMC heroine for the most part because she's so unique and not can ride a horse. She's very genuine and nice to people. I appreciated her. I liked a lot of the banter between Sheridan and Steven. She she gives it just as much as he gives it overall, until some explicable bullshit, inexplicable bullshit at the end. I liked the discussions of the London scene and the events and the clothing because that was something lacking in a recent historical romance that I read. At one point, um, things were getting steamy between Steven and Sherry before their original wedding, and he's like, okay, we're gonna have to tone it down and just have a few chaste pecs. So we don't actually use the word peck in chaste. He used the word chaste. Chaste is good. I just want to know did he use the word. I have it in quotes, a few chaste pecs. So we don't get carried away. That made me giggle though, because we always joke about the chaste kisses. Yes. And I was like, oh, Steven, you have no idea. I also like Judith McNott's overall writing style. Also, I I did remember eventually that I originally read this book in the 90s. I vaguely recalled it that I read it, but I couldn't remember the details or how it ended. So as I was reading it, I started to remember things and it started to come back to me, but I still couldn't remember the ending. So it was kind of fun to remember things as I went, yeah, but still kind of be on the edge of my seat with how it was gonna end. So I liked that. Challenges. Stephen isn't as big of an asshole as his older brother Clayton, who is the MMC in Judith McNaught's previous book, Whitney My Love, but he's still an asshole. He's just not as rapey of an asshole. Um he did ask for consent, where I'm like Clayton and Whitney, my love, legit fucking raped Whitney. Um, it's a huge issue for a lot of readers back then and even to this day. So, yes, we got consent here, but that doesn't make Steven that much less of an asshole. He's the one who lied to Sherry and kept things from her and manipulated her repeatedly. Yeah. He's the one who refused to listen to the truth twice and made no attempt to go find her on the wedding day, even after reading the letter and finding out where she went. He could have just gone to her and confronted her, whether he thought she was innocent or guilty. That reminds me of your book, Borderlord's Bride, which was also a Patrice Small. Right. That was a Patrice Small, yes. Where the bride disappears and he barely looks for her. Yeah. And he's like, ah, I guess she's gone now. Yep. Yeah. Steven just assumed the worst and then still wouldn't listen to her later on when they finally did talk in person. And even though he felt personally responsible for her when he thought she was Sharice, he never takes any responsibility for her or for any of the bullshit he does throughout the book when he discovers who she, Sherry, really is or the truth. And I'm like, well, that's kind of bullshit. Yeah. You're gonna sit there and pretend like, oh, it didn't matter, I would have married you anyway, but you don't treat her the same once you know who she is. He never apologizes to her in any way to the end, like throughout the whole fucking book. And he never, Megan, tells her even once that he loves her. He says, until you ellipse, dot dot dot, and then that's it. She starts having some thoughts, and that's all he says, and she's like, She knew that he loved her. And I was like, but he didn't fucking say it, bitch. He just said until you, and the loser couldn't even finish the sentence.

SPEAKER_00 51:10

So I firmly believe that Steven does not deserve Sheridan.

SPEAKER_01 51:14

Also, Sheridan knows he has a mistress, and at one point she thinks, Oh, when we're married, I'm gonna tell him that's not gonna fly. But they never actually have that conversation, and he never really has that thought process at any point, and he keeps fucking his mistress through the whole fucking story. So he stops talking about her once they're like finally married. But unlike Med's book, where he broke up with his mistress, they broke up. They broke up. It was a big deal. Yeah, Steven did not break up with Helene. But may I say, he also never said he would never have a mistress again. Uh-huh. And there were earlier conversations where he was pleased that Lorena did not react negatively when she found out that one of the heroines in a book that she read was married when she started a love affair with someone else. My biggest issues with these, Nicole, is the lack of communication and honesty. Because not on Sharidan's part. No, no, I'm not saying that. But like I have I have zero, zero issues with people having multiple partners. What I have big issues with is the lying, the hiding, the deceiving, the pretending, the just fucking a guys, just talk about it. I honestly wish that Sheridan and Nicholas had become a couple and gotten married. And he just sounds nice and honest. And he had been attracted to her, so I don't know why he didn't go for it when he thought Steven was out of the picture. I mean, I thought that relationship could have been great because Nicholas seems like a pretty snazzy dude. Honesty is sexy. Yeah. I'm looking directly at the camera right now. I know that Nicole will not be using this particular shot. I don't care. It's for me. Honesty fucking sexy. Hugely sexy. Let's let's just put that out there. Yeah. Thank you. My final thoughts for this book. Because I have thoughts too. Bring on the thoughts. This gets a three out of five stars for me. Wow, that's more stars than I try to be. I try to be nice in my ranking. So when I truly though, saying that, when I give a book a one or a two, you know it sucks balls. So anyway, if you if you like a mistaken identity and amnesiatrope, and you don't mind an MMC never apologizing or grovelling or saying I love you, it's an okay historical romp. Judith McNaught is a really good writer and was quite popular in the day. Um, also, a parting fun fact, Judith McNaught and Jude Devereaux, who is also one of my favorite old school authors and who I read uh for one of our early podcast episodes are friends. Oh, that's cool. Judith mentions in her book's acknowledgement section that Jude supported her when her first book, Whitney My Love, came out, and that it really helped launch her career. I think that's really cool. And I never knew that. And those are two big ones that I always read when I was in my youth. Um, so I I really was like, oh, that's really cute. I actually love women supporting women. Sense. We we're doing sense this season. Yeah. Uh, make I can't fucking remember, but I think it was a lot of stuff like he smelled masculine, quote, and she smelled feminine, quote. And it wasn't very descriptive beyond that, except for maybe one time she took a bath and it smelled of lavender. But here's why that's important because the the mistress's signature color and scent was lavender, and she kept getting put in the mistress's clothes and toiletries. Oh, that's inappropriate. Yes. That is so not comfortable. Any sense for you, Meg? I feel like I probably highlighted something it didn't stand out enough for me to even care. Yeah. Uh I had uh yeah. A booby prize.

Booby Prize Breast References

SPEAKER_01 55:09

Yeah. I have a couple notes on my booby prize. First of all, last episode, I think, was the first time we had decolletage. Yes. And you educated me on the fact that there was decolleté. Yes, ma'am. So do you know why I know decollete? Barbara cotlet. Bob Cotlet. So I'm reading a Barbara Cotlet. I won't count this one. Okay. Because I do not think she's talking about the bosom. I think she's talking about the cut of the dress. Yes. So I am not counting it, but I needed you to know that there was extreme décolleté. Woo! Yes, we love an extreme decolleté. Correct. So I was very excited to let you know that that existed. Um, even though it is not going to count. Okay. Um I feel like it should. Nope, nope, that's a cut of a gown. It's it's not her actual boobies. So we're gonna go with another one that I also feel like doesn't quite count. Bosoms? No, no. We're on page 155. Sir Hugo watched her go, then drew his handkerchief from his breast pocket and wiped his forehead. I mean, technically it's a breast reference. I know, right? But not really. Not really. I mean, I'd allow it, I would have allowed decolletane. I just focusing on the bosom region. It is, and there there was a little bit further on, if we can't count either one of those, page 167. And can I just tell the audience out there that's three breast references for me, and I am very proud of myself for highlighting all of them. Okay, okay. However, because she must leave it, there was a pain in her breast far more intense than the ick in her temple. So, anyway, that's what I've got. I've got decollete breast and breast. It's really up to you. They are all so green pepper. Well, my my lady Judith McNaught did not let me down as the dame let you down. I have page two. Woohoo! And I'm gonna tell you, Megan, I even was like, based on the size of this, compared to the size of your other book where you got a page one word paragraph. And I was like, if this had been on a bigger book size comparable to the book that you read, whereas page one, what paragraph would it have hit at on the first page? Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Uh no, I'm still page two. Page two. Okay. I'm still but not for this episode. But one of us is gonna pick up a book one day where it says her breast as like the very first sentence, and it's like, well, can you get better than the second one? Also, podcast listeners and watchers, if you know of one that hits within the first two paragraphs, message me first and not make it. No cheating. Although it would be it, it would be best for her to be the winner of this one. Okay, so page two for this episode. I win. Uh I still don't win the season or the podcast. No, no, I still got that one.

SPEAKER_00 58:26

Propped up on her elbow with her golden hair spilling over her naked back and breast. Helene DeVerne was a delectable sight.

SPEAKER_01 58:38

I tried to act it out. Thank you. I appreciate it. I don't have golden hair in that. I'm sorry to have it spill on the right parts of me. Right. You just look like a spaz. Okay, so we got one more episode of Mothers of Romance.

Next Mothers Picks And Sign Off

SPEAKER_01 58:53

You guys, it is taking all of my energy to not already spill the beans on some of the things that attach so well to the next cast. What we've already talked about today, because I started reading my book yesterday. It's like almost 500 pages, and I'm on like page 150. I started it yesterday. Read it in the hot tub at this hotel where you and I are gonna go hang out in fabulous Las Vegas whiskers. We are putting on our swimsuits in like probably 10 minutes. Oh, yeah. Making another, well, probably making the drink first. Making another drink, heading down to the hot tub. Reading in the hot tub because that is classic. Because we're old bookish fitty, isn't it? The heat to be classic. Okay, I am very excited. So okay, but what do you have coming up for your book? Do you have your book in your description? Of course. It guys, god damn it, this book. Oh no. Yeah, okay. This is where I am in this book. I'm on page 158 already.

SPEAKER_02 59:57

Okay, I'm just gonna stop you for a second. The bookmark that's sticking out of your book. It's a dolly. Salvage our dolly. Wait, tell me what it looks like. It's peeking your book.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:09

Uh it looks like penises, but when you kind of open it a little bit, it I realized it's feet, but I'm gonna tell you that's not what it looks like. It's Salvador Dolly. He probably meant for them to look like penises. Okay. I'm gonna tell you that I got this bookmarked when I was in Spain with my sister in the Dolly Museum, and there's a lot of weird shit in there, and a lot of it looks like penises.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:33

I was just like, why do you have penis?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:35

I was just on the ceiling. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:36

Also, I'm not gonna question that you do have penises coming out of your book. I was like, oh dang, where'd you have that book marked?

SPEAKER_01 1:00:46

Well, okay. Bookmarks from Spain. The book is from Who the Hell Knows where I grabbed this. I was so excited. It's a Kathleen Woodywiss. She's an icon. 100%. She's an icon. The number of other contemporary authors who have mentioned Kathleen Woodywiss as one of their foundational romance writers. And I had never read any. I've never read her either. Yeah, I felt like I really needed to. Give us the synopsis. Yes, please. This is The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodywiss. Fearing for her innocence, doomed to a life of unending toil, Heather Simmons commits a shocking and desperate act. Now she must flee and seek refuge in the arms of a virile and dangerous stranger. Captain Brandon Birmingham is a lusty adventurer married to the sea. Though courting scorn and peril through his actions, he abducts the beautiful fugitive from the tumultuous London dockside. For it is destiny that has brought Heather to Brandon's side, and no power on earth will force him to relinquish his exquisite prize. Only she can unlock the tenderness in his heart, and Brandon vows that she will be his, to love, to cherish, to desire, and to carry off to uncharted wealth of sensuous pleasure. Also, is she aware that when you go to the talks, you can be hit with a cardinal net and get amnesia? There's no there's no amnesia in this one. There's a lot of other bullshit in this one. The fact that I'm already enough into it that I want to argue with the back of the book is a problem. I wanna I wanna argue with this. How is it that you always make me fucking tear up with laughter? I couldn't even barely make it through that synopsis. I got you, I got you the oh, you were laughing so hard I couldn't even put it. No, I laugh flushed with heat now. Dang! Okay. She flushed with heat. But the moment you started talking about she ran to the docks and I'm like, girl, drove over the docs. She'll get hit with a cargo net and get him nature. Dude, she gets hit with worse. She gets such a whit worse at the dogs. I've already passed that already. Oh Lord, okay. God. Okay. What do you have coming up for a mother's book? Oh, okay. I have uh the bride.

SPEAKER_00 1:03:27

The bride, my Julie Garwood. By edict of the king, the mighty Scottish laird, Alec Kincaid, must take an English bride. When he encounters Jamie, the feisty and beautiful daughter of Baron Jameson, he immediately selects her, determined to touch, tame, and possess her forever.

SPEAKER_02 1:03:50

I can't say it if you're making me emotions. I'm trying to help.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:59

Okay. You got this, you got this. Don't look at me. But Jamie has vowed to never surrender to this fierce Heinland barbarian.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:11

He is Don't look at me.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:14

I can't I'm trying not to. You're right in my line of sight.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:20

He is everything, because I know you're gonna start fucking doing shit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:25

Okay. He is everything she had been warned against. An arrogant scoundrel whose rough good looks hints at savage pleasures.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:35

No, his scorching kisses fire her blood. She brazenly resists him until one rapturous moment quells their clash of wills, and something far more dangerous than desire threatens to conquer her completely.

SPEAKER_02 1:04:58

Oh Lord. Barely made it through. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 1:05:06

Well, well, well, that concludes this fucking episode. It does. Anyway, thank you for joining us today for romance on the rocks. And if you are a fellow bookish bitty in bed, like we are, please give us a like, uh, subscribe. Any of the places that you may be checking us out, which is all over the place. Stay safe. Yeah. Just guys, your support really means the world to us. We need all the support we can get. Like a good underwire. I'm glad you're here for us. Stay safe. And know that you are lucky.