Bodice Ripping

(A Promise of Fire by Amanda Bouchet) In which there are magic ropes, Greek Gods with a favorite goddaughter, and a kickass magic system, this is A Promise of Fire! In Bodice Ripping’s 7th episode, our heroines breathe a sigh of relief when they read a book that’s actually good! The book’s heroine, Cat, is the Kingmaker, a woman who possesses powers to divine the truth through lies, and when she’s found by the warlord Griffin, who is also the second in command of the kingdom, she finds herself literally roped into helping him keep his family on the throne. The book features a unique setting based on Greek mythology, well-rounded characters with developed arcs, and a plot that actually works outside of the main couple’s romance. If you’re looking for a fantasy series with cool magic as well as a hot romance, this is the series for you! Join our favorite ladies as they discuss Kylo Ren, how women-driven narratives make romance stories more enjoyable for women (surprise!), and the merits of sexy spanking.

In which Viking vampire angels are a thing, time travel has no consequences, and the leading man has too many titles (Yeehaw!), this is The Angel Wore Fangs! In Bodice Ripping’s sixth episode, our leading ladies find out that even though the last book was bad, the newest installment is something so terrible, they question their life choices that led them to this point. We join Knut the Vangel (Viking Angel) and Andrea the chef as they embark on a journey to a Montana dude ranch to find Andrea’s sister and fight an ISIS cult. However, they instead end up in Knut’s old life in Ye Olde Viking Times as a result of Michael the Archangel’s meddling and need to test Knut on what he’s learned about life and leadership, because now his people are facing famine and apparently, a modern day chef is all you need to avert starvation. They don’t know how to get back to their own time, but Knut and Andrea are too busy banging to really care. Did you get all that? Yeah, neither did we. The plot is bonkers, the sex is terrible, the dialogue is unspeakably bad, and everyone suffers in the end, except the lucky listeners of this podcast, because they didn’t actually have to read this hot mess! Join our heroines as they discuss incorrect Viking history, wearing designer cowboy boots in the bath, and farting in bed.

In which there is yet another brooding leading man, unsexy sex scenes, and an underutilized setting, this is Night Pleasures by Sherrilyn Kenyon! In Bodice Ripping’s fifth episode, our heroines try (and partially fail) to power through the worst book yet. The story is set in New Orleans, but you wouldn’t know it since it could literally be anywhere else, and though the leading man Kyrian, who is an immortal Greek Darkhunter constantly mistaken for a vampire, has a character arc and somewhat of a personality, his love interest, Amanda, isn’t quite as exciting. Though she intentionally wants to be boring due to problems with her supernatural family, she never really comes into her own or develops into anything more than cardboard, even when revealed to have psychic powers. Join our favorite ladies as they discuss consent (again), dramatic exits in body bags, magic vaginas that can apparently heal extreme trauma, and Barbies disguised as murder weapons.

In which there is gratuitous nudity for no reason, sexy transforming dragons, and a heroine who out sasses all those who came before her, this is Dragon Actually! In Bodice Ripping’s fourth episode, our leading ladies devour a dragon tale that’s actually two stories in one. The first and main story deals with a warrior woman named Annwyl the Bloody, who is trying to rescue her lands from her violent brother’s clutches with the help of Fearghus the Destroyer, a dragon who transforms into a man to help her improve her fighting skills. Is he hot? Of course he is. The second story deals with Fearghus’ parents’ romance, and was actually the most consensual, respectful thing encountered on Bodice Ripping so far. Join our heroines as they discuss the importance of safe words, friendship versus lust in a romance, and the finer points of human-dragon mating.

In which there is a mega-hot demon doctor, another badass redhead, and gratuitous amounts of hate sex, this is Pleasure Unbound! In Bodice Ripping’s third episode, our heroines finally stumble upon a book with multiple sex scenes and are ecstatic! The plot is fairly predictable, but it’s able to support the two main characters as they struggle with demon transformations, hidden bloodlines and past traumas, and of course, hating each other and trying to deny how hot the other is. Spoiler alert: they can’t handle the hotness. With interesting conflicts and juxtapositions between the demon and human worlds and likeable leads, this book checked every box. Listen in as our ladies discuss playing doctor, demon semen, and the sweet benefits of eating pineapple.

In which there are Scottish accents in the text, a stubborn lass in trousers, and a beefy man with a perpetual kilt tent, this is Some Like it Scot! In Bodice Ripping’s second episode, our four heroines discuss Suzanne Enoch’s Some Like it Scot, the fourth novel in her Scandalous Highlanders series. Being a traditional Regency Era “Bodice Ripper,” it’s no surprise that the book had little in the way of plot, but more than enough in descriptions of muscles, longing looks between the two main characters, and confusions in pronunciation when trying to read the written-in Scottish accents. At least this time, the main male lead is somewhat likeable and sweet at times, and the female lead is sassy and unjustly criticized for her fashion choices, which helped make the book a fun romp rather than a slog thicker than a foggy moor. Listen in as Alli, Gina, Lauren, and Rachel discuss antiquated gender dynamics, horrifying historical birth control, and of course, kilt tents.

In which there are Fae monsters roaming modern Dublin, a beautiful heroine with surprising likeability and killer nails, and a male lead who’s too Alpha to take seriously, this is Dark Fever!   Join the four heroines of Bodice Ripping in their debut episode, where they discuss the first book of Karen Marie Moning’s Fever series, Dark Fever. The theme of this dark-toned supernatural romance seems to be “zero to sixty,” where main characters brood for long periods of time before suddenly springing into action, where terrible Fae monsters suddenly show up after pages of inactivity, and where there is surprisingly little physical romance for a romance novel. However, Dark Fever at least has an interesting story and mythology to compensate, and the female lead character is definitely one of the high points.  Listen in as they discuss monsters, mythology, and of course, supernatural romance.