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Ever wish your favorite academic rivals-to-lovers romance felt real? Author and researcher Dr. Jodi McAlister joins me to prove it can be.

In this episode, I chat with Australian author and romance scholar Dr. Jodi McAlister about her new novel The Academic Affair — a smart, funny rom-com set inside the cut-throat world of higher ed. We talk about how academia inspired her rivals-to-lovers + marriage-of-convenience story, what it’s like to study popular romance for a living, and how genres like New Adult and rom-coms have evolved. Jodi also shares her favorite Australian and New Zealand romance authors you need on your TBR.

📚 Books Mentioned List

An Academic Affair by Jodi McAlister — Buy on Amazon | Rom-Com · Rivals to Lovers · Marriage of Convenience | Audio ✅

Here for the Right Reasons by Jodi McAlister — Buy on Amazon | Reality TV Rom-Com · Bachelor-style drama | KU ✅ / Audio ✅

Battle Royal by Lucy Parker — Buy on Amazon | Rom-Com · Enemies to Lovers · Baking Show | Audio ✅

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske — Buy on Amazon | Historical Fantasy Romance · Queer | Audio ✅

The Ornithologist’s Field Guide to Love by India Holton — Buy on Amazon | Cozy Historical Fantasy Rom-Com | Audio ✅

Five Bush Weddings by Clare Fletcher — Buy on Amazon | Australian Rom-Com · Friends to Lovers | KU ✅

Love Unleashed by Melanie Saward — Buy on Amazon | Contemporary Romance · Indigenous Heroine | Paperback only 

⏰ Timestamps 

[00:00 ] Intro + why I loved The Academic Affair

[02:00 ] Jodi’s double life as author and academic

[03:00 ] How romance genres evolve (+ New Adult deep dive)

[07:00 ] Reality TV and The Bachelor franchise

[14:00 ] Inside The Academic Affair setup and themes

[19:00 ] Why the marriage of convenience trope still works

[20:00 ] Australian & New Zealand romance recs

[25:00 ] Where to find Jodi online

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